Public Administration Commons^™

Institutionalism: Intergovernmental Exchange, Administration-Centered Behavior, And Policy Outcomes In Urban Agencies, Herman L. Boschken

Herman L. Boschken

This article inquires about the sufficiency of institutional exchange theory in explaining the impacts of intergovernmental power structure on agency policy making. Based on rational behavior, transactional exchange, and game playing, this so called new institutionalism points to the degree of autonomy held by an agency in its collaboration with other government jurisdictions as a principal determinant of a patterned bias in agency policy outcomes. The author first summarizes theory arguments and derives hypotheses about agency outcomes that are skewed to favor some interests over others. He then reports results of a multiple regression analysis of a sample of forty-two …

Global Shift In Container Traffic And Its Implications For Economic Development Along The American Land Bridge, Herman L. Boschken

Herman L. Boschken

Since the “container revolution” in the 1970s, seaports on the Pacific Coast have been the engines of economic development, regionally, nationally and globally. But circumstances continue to change that threaten the long-term viability of the intermodal “land bridge” system that emerged from that revolution. These circumstances include railroads not maintaining rail lines critical to transcontinental container traffic and the shift in the locus of global production that raises the question of obsolescence for the existing infrastructure moving trade West to East from the Pacific Rim. The implications are enormous, especially for policy makers at the regional and local levels as …

Differentiating Regulation Of Public And Private Institutions: A Preliminary Inquiry, Jonathan G.S. Koppell

Publications from President Jonathan G.S. Koppell

Twenty years ago, James Q. Wilson and Patricia Rachal argued that government cannot regulate itself. In an era of revived federalism, increased reliance on contractors, and proliferation of quasi-public organizations, the importance of government self-regulation is greater than ever. This paper tests an underlying assumption of Wilson and Rachal's claim: that regulation of public and private organizations can be differentiated. Employing a meta-research design, this pilot study uses existing regulatory case studies to create "regulatory relationship profiles" for public and private organizations. These profiles include information on the structure of the regulator, the intent of the regulation, the enforcement tools …

Updating The Colorado River Compact, Jeffrey A. Freer

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Water is essential to life in the arid environment of the western United States. For centuries, humans have used the Colorado River to fulfill their needs and until the past 100 years, the use of the river was sustainable. Over the last 100 years, the Colorado River has been dammed and diverted to "reclaim" the arid west for man's use. In 1946, a Department of the Interior report stated that "Tomorrow the Colorado will be utilized to the very last drop. Its water will convert thousands of additional acres of sagebrush desert to flourishing farms and beautiful homes for servicemen, …

Solid Waste Management (Swm) Options: The Economics Of Variable Cost And Conventional Pricing Systems In Maine, Stephanie Seguino, Margarita Suarez, Jeff Young, Robert Mckay, Christopher Spruce, George Criner

Government & Civic Life

Solid waste management has been influenced by the growing trend to apply market-based incentives to environmental problems. The impetus to reform solid waste management procedures in part stems from the increasing costs associated with solid waste disposal, thus encouraging municipalities to seek innovative ways to reduce solid waste generation. One method adopted by numerous municipalities in Maine is known as variable cost pricing. Alternatively, this system is referred to as unit pricing, volume-based fees, and pay-by-the-bag (PB). Under this system, waste collection fees are based on the volume of solid waste disposal. A household's solid waste disposal costs change with …

A Multiple Case Study Of Selected Individuals Who Facilitate The Successful Adoption Of Environmental Public Policy, John H. Austin

Health Services Research Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the personal and professional characteristics of successful individuals who have had a positive influence on the development of public policy concerning the environment. Additionally, which characteristics are most likely to enhance success and determine which of these characteristics might contribute to efforts toward developing public environmental policy in the future were investigated. The purpose was accomplished through the design and implementation of a multiple case study utilizing a qualitative research methodology. The sample for this study included six public servants who were identified as actively involved in affecting the development of public …

Analyzing Performance Skewness In Public Agencies: The Case Of Urban Mass Transit, Herman L. Boschken

Herman L. Boschken

Previous studies of public organizational performance have focused mostly on operating efficiency, without dealing with the complex accountability problems associated with plural public interests. The fact that an agency exhibits multiple and often paradoxical performances has not been of comparable concern. This failure to account for performance in a multiple-constituencies context has led to a narrow view of how well agencies do. To broaden the research on agency performance, a multiple-constituencies model is introduced and tested for statistically significant variances. The findings confirm the model's robustness in structuring a dependent variable for empirical research on why agencies perform toward different …

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 …

Turbulent Transition And Organizational Change: Relating Policy Outcomes To Strategic Administrative Capacities, Herman L. Boschken

Herman L. Boschken

A competitive public economy places greater burden on agencies to cope with uncertainty and change, especially in periods of "turbulent transition." As transition provides new opportunity, we find great variance in the ability of agencies to defend, enlarge or change their public domains. Administrative adroitness seems to be related to both adequate perception concerning change and the capacity to process reliable information, plan innovative programs, and manage conflicting demands. This article looks at critical variables which show promise in explaining how public organizations enlarge their discretion in policy formulation and service delivery during transitional periods. It assesses them empirically using …

Strategic Planning Of Seaport Development In A Global Economy: Observations Of An Executive Port Director, Herman L. Boschken

Herman L. Boschken

Seaport management is central both to the use of coastal resources and to the needs of a global economy. As a major point of supply-chain activity along the coast and as a source of pollution, ports need to be administered strategically to provide the greatest benefit according to economic and environmental demands. This article is an annotated conversation that provides a practitioner's insight into the management of change along the coastal zone. To address the problem, we probe organization theory for new insight and attempt to apply concepts to practice.

Participation Of Environmental Coalitions In The Development Of Public Policy, Wayne Richard Knight

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

Rural Coastal Landowner Attitudes And Implementation Of Connecticut Coastal Area Management Act, Joseph Diamond, Richard Ledbetter

Storrs Agricultural Experiment Station

No abstract provided.

State Plans Inventory, Maine State Planning Office

Maine Collection

State Plans Inventory

Maine State Planning Office, Comprehensive Planning Assistance Divsion

Augusta, Maine (December, 1978).

"The preparation of this report was financially aided by a 701 Comprehensive Planning Assistance grant fro the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development."

Contents: Letter of Transmittal / Introduction / State Plans Inventory / Indices of State Plans / Tables