Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

War Against Muslims Post 9/11?, Alev Dudek

Alev Dudek

Issues On Voter Participation Among African Americans And Bureaucratic Behavior, Andrew Ewoh, Maruice Mangum

Maruice Mangum

No abstract provided.

Financial Security Scorecard: A State-By-State Analysis Of Economic Pressures Facing Future Retirees, Christian Weller, Nari Rhee, Carolyn Arcand

Christian Weller

As Americans increasingly worry about their retirement prospects, states play an important and growing role in retirement security policy. States already manage long-term care programs for the elderly through Medicaid. Concerned about the impact of future elder poverty on state and local budgets and their local economies, a number of states are exploring the creation of low-cost and low-risk retirement savings plans for private sector workers who lack access to pensions or 401(k)s on the job. Some states have developed programs to help older workers find work.

This report presents the Financial Security Scorecard, designed to inform state-level stakeholders and …

Pillar Ii In Focus--The Responsibility To Assist: Police Capacity-Building In Timor-Leste And The 2012 Parliamentary Elections, Charles Hawksley, Nichole Georgeou

Charles M Hawksley

This briefing paper provides a short background to the 2012 elections in Timor-Leste, and explores the UNPOL mandate to support and build the capacity of the Polícia Nacional de Timor-Leste (PNTL – the Timor-Leste National Police), so that Timor-Leste will be able to manage security for its citizens without international assistance. Based on fieldwork conducted during June 2012, including interviews with human rights-focused NGOs, and with international police implementing bilateral and multilateral capacity building, we argue that the 3,200-3,400 strong PNTL is theoretically ready to go it alone when the UN Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste departs, and explore questions as …

Community Improvement Districts In Georgia: Administrators' Views On Their Effectiveness, Performance, And Accountability, Andrew Ewoh, Kristin Rome

Andrew I.E. Ewoh

Since the early 1990s, Georgia has been a leading participant in public-private partnerships, as exemplified by its many community improvement districts (CIDs). The goals and uses of CIDs vary, but commonly include fundraising, maintaining aesthetically pleasing business environments, controlling traffic flow, and infrastructural improvements. A survey research method was used to examine the effectiveness, performance, and accountability of CIDs in Georgia as perceived by their leaders. Lack of citizen participation was found to be a major problem of CID governance; this has serious public policy implications that can only be remedied by demands for inclusion by residents.

Pillar Ii In Focus--The Responsibility To Assist: Police Capacity-Building In Timor-Leste And The 2012 Parliamentary Elections, Charles Hawksley, Nichole Georgeou

Nichole Georgeou

This briefing paper provides a short background to the 2012 elections in Timor-Leste, and explores the UNPOL mandate to support and build the capacity of the Polícia Nacional de Timor-Leste (PNTL – the Timor-Leste National Police), so that Timor-Leste will be able to manage security for its citizens without international assistance. Based on fieldwork conducted during June 2012, including interviews with human rights-focused NGOs, and with international police implementing bilateral and multilateral capacity building, we argue that the 3,200-3,400 strong PNTL is theoretically ready to go it alone when the UN Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste departs, and explore questions as …

Comparative Analysis Of Municipal Public Services In Romania And The United States: The Case Of Water And Wastewater Services, Andrew Ewoh, Lucica Matei

Andrew I.E. Ewoh

Some of the most important basic services provided by any level of government are the primary responsibility of municipalities, and urban managers devote more time and attention in making sure that these services are delivered. The availability of public services in any local jurisdiction usually depends on location, history, laws and regulations. Some local governments use alternative service delivery such as public-private partnerships, intergovernmental agreements, and contracting out or privatization. Using an exploratory case study approach, this paper provides a comparative analysis of water and wastewater services in Romania and the United States. Six cities were selected from both countries …

What Is A "Constitutional Conservative" Anyway?, Brian Glenn

Brian J. Glenn

No abstract provided.

Pay-For-Performance Reform And Organizational Discrimination: An Exploratory Analysis Of The United States Federal Agencies, Andrew Ewoh, Stephen Stonnenfeldt-Goddard

Andrew I.E. Ewoh

The federal General Schedule system, established under the Classification Act of 1949, has received increasing criticism within the past decade. Scholars and practitioners alike have decried it as being outdated, inefficient, and restrictive in allowing government to acquire the critical talent it needs to administer. With these challenges in mind, alternatives for replacing the General Schedule system have been offered. One of the most popular, prominent, and promising paths toward reform is the pay-for-performance approach. Using EEOC data published as a requirement of the Notification and Federal Employee Antidiscrimination and Retaliation (NO FEAR) Act of 2002, this article explores the …

Public Participation In Regulatory Decision-Making: Cases From Regulations.Gov, Thomas Bryer

Thomas A Bryer

Regulations.gov is an award winning government website that has democratized the rulemaking process by making it easier for citizens to search, read, and comment on proposed rules advanced by federal agencies. Submitted comments from three cases are analyzed; cases come from the Department of Health and Human Services, Environmental Protection Agency, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The issues in each are classified as low salience/high complexity, high salience/high complexity, and high salience/low complexity, respectively. Quality of comments submitted is analyzed across cases. It is suggested in conclusion that if costs are not accepted to better prepare citizens to be …

Linking Students With Community In Collaborative Governance: A Report On A Service Learning Class, Thomas A. Bryer

Thomas A Bryer

Collaborative governance is increasingly becoming a topic for scholarly research, practitioner skill development, and a component of graduate programs in public administration. This article documents a service learning project in a graduate level Masters in Public Administration class on cross-sector governance. The article begins with a brief review of literature on university-community relations and, specifically, the civic mission of institutions of higher education and the role of service learning in public administration programs. The teaching case is then introduced, with the full context and detail explained. Lessons are offered for replicating this kind of class. An analysis of the success …

Costs Of Democratization, Thomas Bryer

Thomas A Bryer

Link to PowerPoint recorded video.

President Obama, Public Participation, And An Agenda For Research And Experimentation, Thomas Bryer

Thomas A Bryer

The Obama Administration has offered citizens and onlookers from other nations a host of innovative efforts to make the United States federal government more open, participatory, and collaborative. In this issue of the International Journal of Public Participation, a set of invited authors consider the varying levels of success of this work demonstrated thus far and raise important research and practical questions for the Administration and others who might learn from the Administration’s experiences. In this introduction, some of these questions are reviewed and notable practices are summarized. Ultimately, it is concluded that, though the Administration is still young, there …

Public Engagement In The Obama Administration: Building A Democracy Bubble?, Thomas Bryer

Thomas A Bryer

Following the Bush Administration, the Obama team enhanced access for citizens to participatory venues. Extending and enhancing access gives citizens opportunity to develop their citizenship skills, potentially influence policy, and potentially become better connected to community life. The Administration can be applauded for participatory innovations, but the Administration needs to proceed strategically to ensure the innovations do not produce more harm than good and to ensure that the real change they are producing is not whisked away in the next Administration as rapidly as an information cascade infects the citizenry. This article develops the idea of a democracy bubble as …

Living Democracy In Theory And Practice: Getting Dirty In A Local Government Incorporation Process, Thomas Bryer

Thomas A Bryer

Poinciana, Florida is a growing community in Central Florida. The master homeowners association contracted for an incorporation feasibility study to determine whether Poinciana could survive as a city. This article describes the public participation process designed and implemented as part of the feasibility study and articulates the goals, principles, and venues of the design, the challenges or barriers confronted, and suggestions for revisions to statutory guidelines for incorporation are described with the purpose of moving towards the institutionalization of public participation as a cultural norm.

Contemporary Cases: Policy, Privatization And Networks, Tony Carrizales, Andrew Ewoh

Andrew I.E. Ewoh

Editor's introduction.

Explaining Responsiveness In Collaboration: Administrator And Citizen Role Perceptions, Thomas Bryer

Thomas A Bryer

Between 2003 and 2006, researchers facilitated a collaborative learning process with representatives of Los Angeles neighborhood councils and officials from city agencies. In two cases, each involving a large city agency, the quality of responsiveness on the part of agency officials to participating citizens was substantially different. This study considers the reasons why agency officials differed in their responsiveness. Using an inductive qualitative and quantitative content analysis across three sources of data, the study develops theory pertaining to bureaucratic responsiveness to citizens in collaborative processes. Specifically, the case findings are generalized to theory through seven propositions for future study. The …

Developing A Young Professionals Network For The Arts, Thomas Bryer, Kristin Stewart

Thomas A Bryer

The Young Professionals Network for the Arts simulation is an exercise that allows students to think through the process of creating a network from the ground up. The structure of the class session that includes the simulation consists of a lecture on the readings and an 8-Step network building process, followed by the simulation.

Public–Private Partnerships In A Texas Municipality:The Case Of The City Of Houston Tax Increment Reinvestment Zones, Andrew Ewoh

Andrew I.E. Ewoh

This article examines the public–private partnerships' (PPPs') processes, governance structures, financing, and promotion strategies through tax increment reinvestment zones' (TIRZs') provision in various projects and their impacts in the City of Houston, Texas. In conclusion, the analysis delineates the policy implication of using PPPs or TIRZs as a government reinvention tool in public service delivery in the 21st century and recommends how to implement successful partnerships.

Challenges In Enhancing Responsiveness In Neighborhood Governance, Thomas Bryer, Terry Cooper

Thomas A Bryer

When numerous stakeholders, constituencies, and service requests are competing for limited city agency resources, administrators need to decide to whom and how to be responsive. A review of literature on bureaucratic responsiveness suggests five possible determining factors for agencies facing conflicting demands: (a) organizational culture, (b) organizational leadership, (c) organizational rules and structure, (d) dependency on a stakeholder making a demand, and (e) the extent of external control placed on the agency. Based on an action research study of City of Los Angeles neighborhood councils and departments, this article suggests areas for future research on these and other possible influences …

William Robertson: Exemplar Of Politics And Public Management Rightly Understood, Terry Cooper, Thomas Bryer

Thomas A Bryer

William Robertson, director of the City of Los Angeles' Bureau of Street Services, is profiled here as an exemplary public administrator. The authors suggest that Robertson practices politics appropriately in his role in order to achieve great outcomes for his bureau, the citizens with whom he works, and the city as a whole. To adequately define the ways in which Robertson uses politics, Sherry Arnstein's "ladder of participation" is reconceptualized as a circle of participation in which Robertson uses multiple strategies of interaction with citizens, elected officials, employees, and peers. Lessons for public administrators are offered based on Robertson's example.

Toward A Relevant Agenda For A Responsive Public Administration, Thomas Bryer

Thomas A Bryer

The relevance of the concept "bureaucratic responsiveness" has been questioned in recent years. One reason for the questioned relevance is the apparent environmental changes that are occurring in public administration. Globalization and devolution have infiltrated the halls of bureaucracies. Public agencies are being asked to collaborate with actors in other sectors of society, including, and especially, citizens and citizen associations. In addition to these environmental changes, administrators are being confronted with potentially competing ethical obligations that make decisions regarding responsiveness challenging. This article uses these evolving environments and competing ethical obligations to formulate a set of six variants of bureaucratic …

Collaborative Design Of Citizen Engagement In City And County Comprehensive Planning: A Simulation, Thomas Bryer

Thomas A Bryer

The Secretary of the Florida Department of Community Affairs has called a special meeting. Invited are an elected official, two public managers, a citizen activist, a business representative, and a facilitator. The Secretary's charge to them is to create an alternative proposal for engaging citizens in comprehensive planning. The purpose of this simulation is to allow students to experience a collaborative problem solving process, as well as to explore the challenges of public managers collaborating with the public. In addition, the simulation can be used to teach facilitation skills.

Negotiating Bureaucratic Responsiveness In Collaboration With Citizens: Findings From Action Research In Los Angeles, Thomas Bryer

Thomas A Bryer

The Collaborative Learning Project conducted an action research program in the City of Los Angeles between 2003 and 2006, in which researchers facilitated a collaborative process between recently created neighborhood councils and city departments of council choosing. In two cases conducted, the patterns of administrative responsiveness to the neighborhood councils differed substantially. This dissertation asks: How can we explain the patterns of administrator responsiveness observed in each of two cases of collaboration between administrators and neighborhood council representatives? To answer the question, an exploratory assessment of each case was conducted from multiple emergent perspectives using an inductive analysis. Data from …

Citizen-Centered Collaborative Public Management, Terry Cooper, Thomas Bryer, Jack Meek

Thomas A Bryer

Civic engagement and collaborative public management are concepts that are defined broadly, making theoretical explication challenging and practical application of empirical research difficult. In this article, the authors adopt definitions of civic engagement and collaborative public management that are centered on the citizen and the potential for active citizenship. Following a historical review of civic engagement in the United States, a conceptual model of five approaches to civic engagement is offered. Citizen-centered collaborative public management is enhanced through these approaches. The authors suggest the need for further empirical research on collaborative public management that is grounded in citizenship action.

Beyond Gratz And Grutter: Prospects For Affirmative Action In The Aftermath Of The Supreme Court's Michigan Decisions, Euel Elliott, Andrew Ewoh

Andrew I.E. Ewoh

This article explores the meaning of the Supreme Court's Michigan decisions and their implications for higher education in the judicial, political, and social–cultural context. It concludes that the complex and dynamic interplay of judicial policymaking, politics and public opinion, and demographic changes could have important consequences, including unanticipated ones, in the years ahead.

What Free Election Is Meant For Taiwan. Taipei Times, Chiehwen Ed Hsu

Chiehwen Ed Hsu

No abstract provided.

台灣媒體 變成了緊張大師. 台北中國時報論壇, Chiehwen Ed Hsu

Chiehwen Ed Hsu

No abstract provided.

The Status Of The Uniform Guidelines On Employee Selection Procedures: Legal Developments And Future Prospects, Andrew Ewoh, James Guseh

Andrew I.E. Ewoh

This article examines the legal status of the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures from the perspectives of judicial opinions and race-norming provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1991. Specifically, the analysis provides a discussion of important U.S. Supreme Court’s decisions with special emphasis on their relevance for disparate impact theory. Because the 1991 Civil Rights Act has altered the selection procedures somewhat, the article offers implications of these changes for personnel managers or specialists and recommends modification of the Uniform Guidelines.

The Evolution Of An Issue: The Rise And Decline Of Affirmative Action, Euel Elliott, Andrew Ewoh

Andrew I.E. Ewoh

This article examines the development of the affirmative action issue since its inception, and compares its dynamics and evolution with the broader civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s. It identifies and discusses three periods or phases of the affirmative action regime. This vein of research helps provide at least a partial explanation for why policies in related areas of civil rights may produce different outcomes, and explicates the broad resistance to key elements of the anti-discrimination effort of the last three decades. A tentative model based on the congruence of the policy stance of political institutions to public …