Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Solid Waste Management Options For Maine: The Economics Of Pay-By-The-Bag Systems, Stephanie Seguino, George Criner, Margarita Suarez

Maine Policy Review

State and federal environmental mandates during the last three decades have changed the nature of the debate over solid waste disposal, but not the basic question: What do we do about the garbage we produce? Unlike years past, however, disposal options are now fewer and more costly. This has resulted in a shift in focus away from solutions that simply try to deal with the output of the disposal process—the trash—to those that focus on inputs—reducing the volume of materials going into the waste stream. Among the volume reduction strategies are recycling, which focuses on specific input materials, and volume-based …

Hindsight, Organizational Routines And Media Risk Coverage, Robert A. Stallings

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

Professor Stallings describes how journalists explain catastrophes by coupling them with flaws in human organizations.

Expanding The Maine Economy, John Mckernan

Maine Policy Review

Maine Governor John McKernan highlights his administration's efforts to expand the state’s economy, including its initiatives to reduce the cost of doing business in the state, to reform education, and to build consensus among various constituencies around goals and strategies for economic development. The article is based on McKernan’s remarks at the 21st annual Governor's Economic Development Conference held at the University of Maine last fall.

An Interview With Chip Morrison: Public Service As A Value, Chip Morrison

Maine Policy Review

Earlier this year, Charles "Chip" Morrison completed seven years of service in the administration of Maine Governor John McKernan, first as Commissioner of Administration and then as Commissioner of Labor. At a time when experience in government, whether in an appointive or elected capacity, is looked upon by many with a mixture of suspicion and disdain, Morrison preaches the sermon of government-as-service. In this interview, Morrison also talks about the values which have guided him in his public service career and touches upon a number of public policy issues with which he was involved as a department head.

Characteristics Of Social Welfare Stasis And Change: A Comparison Of The Characteristics Of Two Child Welfare Agencies In The 1920s, Eve P. Smith

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This article describes and compares two child welfare agencies of the 1920's with regard to qualities that influenced or inhibited their ability to change. While one agency gave up its institution in favor of foster home care and mother's pensions; the other continued to provide only institutional care. Four characteristics may account for the difference. They are the organizations' networks; amount of "sunk costs" associated with change; ideologies and interests of organization leadership and the agencies' "boundary spanning" activities. If further studies confirm these, then we may encourage organizational changes so that contemporary agencies may meet emerging client needs.

Purchase Of Service Contracting In The 1990s: Have Expectations Been Met?, Peter M. Kettner, Lawrence L. Martin

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Privatization and purchase of service contracting (POSC) are generally considered to be two of the most important factors that have helped shape the human service system during the 1970s and 1980s (Gilbert, 1983, 1986; Kammerman, 1983; Demone and Gibelman, 1984, 1989; Weddell, 1986; Kettner and Martin, 1985; Termell, 1987; Rein, 1989). Therefore, as we enter the decade of the 1990s, it would seem both appropriate and worthwhile to reflect on the original expectations for privatization and POSC and to assess the extent to which these expectations have been realized.

The Myths Of 'Broken' Government: Moving Beyond The Conventional Wisdom, Anthony G. Cahill

Maine Policy Review

The budget difficulties faced by Maine and by most other states have prompted a national search for better ways to deliver government services. In Maine, a conference entitled "Rethinking Maine Government" was held at the University of Maine on January 5-6, 1993 under the auspices of the Margaret Chase Smith Center for Public Policy. Maine Policy Review selected three of the presentations at that conference for this issue. Anthony Cahill challenged the 400 legislators, state government officials and business leaders attending the conference to think in terms of a "revolution" in rethinking Maine's state government.

Challenges Facing Maine's Budget Process, Donald Nicoll

Maine Policy Review

The budget difficulties faced by Maine and by most other states have prompted a national search for better ways to deliver government services. In Maine, a conference entitled "Rethinking Maine Government" was held at the University of Maine on January 5-6, 1993 under the auspices of the Margaret Chase Smith Center for Public Policy. Maine Policy Review selected three of the presentations at that conference for this issue. Donald Nicoll was the co-chair, along with Merton Henry, of the Special Commission on Governmental Restructuring.

Competing Objectives In The Reorganization Of Maine State Government, Kenneth Palmer

Maine Policy Review

The budget difficulties faced by Maine and by most other states have prompted a national search for better ways to deliver government services. In Maine, a conference entitled "Rethinking Maine Government" was held at the University of Maine on January 5-6, 1993 under the auspices of the Margaret Chase Smith Center for Public Policy. MPR has selected three of the presentations at that conference for this issue. Kenneth Palmer in this article provides a historical view on previous efforts to reorganize Maine government.

Privatization As A Valid Alternative, Sawin Millett

Maine Policy Review

At the "Rethinking State Government" conference held at the University of Maine in January 1993, a panel explored the issue of privatization, of using private enterprise to provide public sector services. Sawin Millet provides the perspective of someone who has worked primarily in the public sector.

Move With Caution Toward Privatization, Cushman Anthony

Maine Policy Review

At the "Rethinking State Government" conference held at the University of Maine in January 1993, a panel explored the issue of privatization, of using private enterprise to provide public sector services. Lawyer Cushman Anthony urges moving with caution to ensure that privatization is really the optimal approach.

Real Costs And True Potential, John Hanson

Maine Policy Review

At the "Rethinking State Government" conference held at the University of Maine in January 1993, a panel explored the issue of privatization, of using private enterprise to provide public sector services. John Hanson raises concerns about possible drawbacks and consequences in the rush to privative, including self-interest, efficiency, accountability and decreased employment.

Advocacy And The Public Advocate, Ralph E. Townsend

Maine Policy Review

No abstract provided.

A Local View Of Facility Siting, Don Meagher

Maine Policy Review

The seeming paralysis in siting waste disposal facilities and other new facilities in Maine and other states underscores the difficulty of designing and implementing processes that will safeguard the environment and human health while sustaining economic development Don Meagher of the Eastern Maine Development Corporation describes the lessons learned from his involvement in an effort to site a demolition debris facility.

In Search Of A Strong Agenda: An Interview With Kenneth M. Curtis, Kenneth Curtis

Maine Policy Review

In an interview this fall with Maine Policy Review, Kenneth Curtis, the former governor, former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, and former U.S. ambassador to Canada, shared his insights into the civic and political life of Maine and the nation. Not surprisingly, Curtis, currently president of Maine Maritime Academy, argues that many attitudes about the ineffectiveness and the unresponsiveness of government could be overcome by strong leadership from the executives of federal and state governments. He asserts that federal and state chief executives need to offer a vision of the future, put forth strong political agendas, and then …

Matching Municipal Challenges And Resources: Intergovernmental Options, Christopher Spruce

Maine Policy Review

For most of the era since 1960, when environmental policy and resource policy have been central public issues, the focus of public debates on those policies was at the federal and state levels. Now, more and more of the decisions and policies that will determine the quality of life for citizens are being made at the local level. There is concern over the ability of small governmental units, which often rely heavily on the New England tradition of volunteer government, to manage the new array of technical issues. Christopher Spruce asks if we should not think more carefully about the …

Resource Challenges To Municipal Growth Management, Dennis E. Gale

Maine Policy Review

For most of the era since 1960, when environmental policy and resource policy have been central public issues, the focus of public debates on those policies was at the federal and state levels. Now, more and more of the decisions and policies that will determine the quality of life for citizens are being made at the local level. Issues that have historically been local prerogatives are increasingly identified as crucial for effective environmental policy and for insuring "quality of life." Those local decisions are often constrained by a wide variety of state and federal policies on environmental policy and resource …

Strategic Planning In Human Service Agencies, Stephen A. Webster, Mary Wylie

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Recent public policy initiatives including deinstitutionalization, deregulation, decentralization, and privatization have resulted in: (a) rapid growth in the number of private not-for-profit organizations; and, (b) competitive environments. These conditions have forced agencies to examine their planning processes to determine if agency goals are appropriate for meeting market demands. An exploratory study of 154 human service agencies examined if and how strategic planning was used to respond to these conditions. The Chief Executive Officers for those agencies reported that strategic planning was replacing incremental planning as a preferred planning model. However, the choice resulted because of pressure from outside influentials not …

The Army's Command Sergeant Major Problem, John C. Bahnsen, James W. Bradin

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

Work-Related Perceptions Of Social Workers Versus Administrators: More Grist For The "Is Social Work A Profession?" Mill, Robert A. Snyder, Jane M. Ridolphi

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The work-related perceptions of 683 employees of a federally funded public assistance agency were examined by occupational classification. The results show that persons employed as social workers report distinctively different patterns of attitudes and values than do those employed as administrators. These distinctions were most dramatic for the younger members of each group. The overall results fail to refute previous predictions of an evolving anc critical duality in the field of social work.

The Service Orientations Of Social Service Administrators: Towards A Normative Model, Walter Lamendola, Patricia Yancey Martin

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The service orientations of 28 administrators of social service agencies are examined as part of a normative model of service delivery. Six service issues are identified, and their interrelationship is described and examined. The service orientation issues include: effectiveness, efficiency, responsiveness to constituency interests, agency autonomy, community involvement, and services integration. In part, the results show that, as a group, the executives rank effectiveness (or the setting and achievement of programmatic goals) as of greatest concern. Community involvement and responsiveness follow in importance. Efficiency ranks fourth and autonomy, fifth. Services integration is of least concern. Service orientation is examined in …

Non-Governmental Emergency Food Services: A Descriptive Study Of The Tertiary Welfare Sector, Stanley Wenocur

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This paper presents the findings of an exploratory study of voluntarily organized emergency food centers in Baltimore. These agencies comprise the heart of a tertiary welfare system that provides basic survival supplies without a means test to the needy who cannot obtain relief from traditional public or private sources. Forty-one emergency food services were identified in Baltimore and the heads of 37 of these agencies were interviewed in depth. The findings indicated that a large and heterogeneous population bad utilized emergency food agencies and that the agencies generally met the requisites for a true safety-net function - i.e., accessibility, non-bureaucratic …

Public Monitoring Of Contracts With Nonprofit Organizations: Organizational Mission In Two Sectors, Bruce S. Jansson

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Public officials in the human service delivery system must wrestle with complex decisions regarding utilization of agencies in the nonpublic sector to deliver publicly funded services. Data from a survey of 167 agencies in a major metropolitan area suggest that there are still substantial differences in priorities and service approaches of public and nonpublic agencies. These differences suggest that public officials may need to devote more resources to ascertaining whether and when public agencies should themselves deliver publicly funded services and to strengthening public monitoring of contracts in the private sector.

Comunication Disturbances In A Welfare Bureaucracy: A Case For Self Management, Robert E. O'Conner, Larry D. Spence

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

The survey data in this study of 1313 caseworkers and income-maintenance workers of the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare provide some elements of a description of white-collar alienation in government bureaucracies. We interpret our findings to indicate that the hierarchical communication network of this department operates to deny implicitly the worth and intelligence of workers. As perceived by employees, the general pattern of message construction, message transmission and message acknowledgment takes no account of their needs for information and validation nor does it allow the information generated at the work place to be fed back to the administration. Thus, the …

Discourse Management: Key To Policy Development, Joseph R. Steiner

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Skills in discourse management are necessary in order for democratic policy development groups to be productive. These skills, like other skills, are developed by practicing their utilization. A general cognitive frnework, however, can assist one in this development. This paper develops and then describes the use of such a general framework.

Opinions And Expectations Of Nursing Home Administrators, Jordan I. Kosberg

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

From a comparative analysis of 214 nursing homes in the Chicago area, it was found that the nursing home field is composed of institutions with great variations in treatment resources available to the residents (Kosberg and Tobin, 1972). While the determination of organizational correlates to the extent of treatment resources was the major objective of the study, an exploration of the attitudes of a sample of nursing home administrators was undertaken in an effort to learn of possible relationships between attitudes and the characteristics of facilities.

There is a commonly-held assumption that not only the academic background of an administrator …

A Serendipitous Relationship Between Theory Modification And A Study Of Staff Development, Patricia A. Brown

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

There are instances in which the guiding impetus to a study is a very practical problem, the answers to which are expected to have immediate applicability. Although the practical purpose is accomplished, at the study's end comes the recognition that perhaps the most important contribution of the investigation had been the uncovering of theoretical implications.

The above serendipitous process is applicable to the following report of a limited study of staff development in a new youth serving agency. The study is presented in detail so that the main elements associated with the validation and elaboration of a conceptualization of organizational …

Innovation, Involvement, And Contemporary Service Organizations, Frank A. Kastelic

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Purpose of This Paper

Innovation and involvement have come to be ascribed an almost mystical potency for the task of bringing more relevant services and more human relationships to clients of service organizations. Many descriptive

and hortatory articles have appeared in the social welfare and health literature concerning the virtues of contemporary organizations exhibiting these characteristics, but little in the way of hard thinking about their real implications to service organizations has been done. The majority of the articles are reprises of proposals, or accounts of the first year or two of a program, with an emphasis upon positive prospects …

Introducing The Hon. H.D. Evans, Department Of Agriculture, Western Australia

Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 4

THE new Minister for Lands, Agriculture and Immigration the Hon. Hywell David Evans (46) brings to bis work a background of country experience.