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1
Harrigan, Brian. "Government environmental policy in Brazil." Thesis, University of Ottawa (Canada), 1995. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/9881.
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Brazil is not a homogeneous mix of peoples or ecological traits and its regions are in fact characterized by widely divergent cultures, beliefs, perceptions and attitudes reflected in a wide array of social and political structures. This thesis posits that there are underlying characteristics which form the foundation of the Brazilian governments' environmental policies, and that fundamental trends have emerged from this policy process. Part 1 attempts to hone the meanings of both the environment and policy, and presents the elements which form the environmental policy framework, and provides the blueprint from which Brazil's environmental mapping is traced. Part 2 underlines Brazil's diversity alluded to previously, and which must constantly be contrasted with the admittedly simplifying policy instruments developed in Part 1 in order to more accurately reflect the country's diverse realities. Brazil's less than brilliant environmental reputation is also briefly described. Part 3 and, particularly, Part 4 form the nucleus of the thesis, and describe Brazil's historical formation viewed through its effect on the environmental policy framework elements, namely long and short-term forces, "environmental players", and the constituent parts of the policy process including: Agenda setting and policy formulation, and policy legitimization, implementation and evaluation. Nearly five hundred years of social, political and economic evolution and their effects on the environmental framework are sectioned into five periods, with relevant elements affecting Brazil's environmental policy arena concluding each historical section, and with particular analytical emphasis starting from the onset of the military regime in 1964. Finally, Part 5 is a retrospective overview which pulls together the analysis of the previous parts, and unfold Brazil's environmental policy map, identifying the clear characteristics and trends which have surfaced within the country's environmental evolution, thus reaching the thesis' objectives. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)
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Gobewole, Stephen H. "Public Corruption in Liberian Government." ScholarWorks, 2015. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/355.
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There is a widespread public perception of corruption in Liberia's election process, yet there is little documentation on the characteristics of voters and their perceptions of electoral corruption. The purpose of this correlational study was to explore the relationship between gender, ethnicity, physical location, and perceptions about political activity during the 2005 national election. Roderick Chisolm's conceptualization of the internalist view of justification served as the theoretical construct. Data were acquired from the Afrobarometer survey (n = 1,200), which used a representative cross-sectional sample design, and were subjected to cross-tabulation analysis, a chi-square test, and a correlation analysis. The results of the analysis indicated that elections were perceived as unfair and that gender was an important predictor of perception. The analysis revealed that 26.8% of women perceived the National Election Commission as untrustworthy and 79.0% reported that they did not feel completely free to choose their preferred candidate. A chi-square test of association confirmed that among males, the belief that elections are free and fair was statistically significant (p = .002), though not for females (p = .151). Gender was moderately correlated (r = .088) with corruption of government officials. It was also found that the theoretical construct may explain the behavior of elected officials, but was not predictive of voter engagement. Recommendations to remedy this problem include widespread election reform that focuses on combating negative perceptions of voters, particularly among women, and correcting technical irregularities in Liberia's electoral processes.
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Gleeson, Deborah, and d. gleeson@latrobe edu au. "Developing Policy Leadership: A Strategic Approach to Strengthening Policy Capacity in the Health Bureaucracy." La Trobe University. School of Public Health, 2009. http://www.lib.latrobe.edu.au./thesis/public/adt-LTU20100513.120047.
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In recent years there has been increasing interest in improving the quality of policy through building the policy capacity of public sector institutions. To date, however, there has been little evidence on which to base capacity building interventions.
This thesis presents a study of policy process and policy capacity in the Department of Human Services (DHS) in the Australian State of Victoria. Policy capacity was defined as the organisational infrastructure that supports effective policy development and implementation (including individual competencies).
The study drew on the health policy, public policy and public administration literature. Data collection methods involved (i) individual in-depth interviews with policy workers in four policy-oriented organisational units of DHS to explore the policy process and policy capacity, and (ii) a focus group and individual interviews with experienced policy workers to explore potential capacity building strategies.
Findings indicate that building policy capacity requires attention to four domains: building and managing a policy-competent workforce; developing formal processes and guidelines for strengthening the policy process; strengthening organisational culture and policy leadership; and strengthening structures and relationships to support policy capacity. Building capacity also involves negotiating tensions between policy capacity and two other elements of governing capacity (administrative capacity and state capacity).
The appropriate choice of capacity building strategies depends on context and contingency, including the specifics of particular policies, times and settings. Accordingly, the thesis concludes that a focus on developing policy leadership at the middle and senior levels would be a strategic approach to building policy capacity. Policy leadership involves local level judgement, mentorship, initiative and responsibility, and the ability to mobilise organisational resources to build policy capacity.
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Inameti, J. E. "Government housing policy in Nigeria 1960-1985 : An analysis of public policy-making." Thesis, University of Nottingham, 1987. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.377813.
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鄭會欣 and Hwei-shing Cheng. "Foreign debt policy of the Nationalist government, 1927-37." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 1991. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B31210193.
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Edwards, Geoffrey. "Defining the 'Public Interest'." Thesis, Griffith University, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10072/365184.
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The 'public interest' (including 'national interest' in foreign affairs) has long been recognised as a yardstick in public policy. Intuitively, one would expect that first-rate policy analysis, including multi-disciplinary inquiry and public consultation, should be adequate to document a reasonable approximation of the public interest to guide- political debate. Yet the precise nature of the public interest remains enigmatic. The concept plays out in three primary ways: as a rhetorical device, as a statement of current policy, and as a normative standard. Error arises from assuming that these usages are equivalent. When it is found that rhetorical and current formulations are inadequate, the temptation is to discard the concept as meaningless without further normative inquiry. Indeed, the academic literature on the subject seems to peter out in the 1970s without reaching any consensus on whether the term has meaning other than as a device for propaganda.
Since economic rationalism rose to prominence in the 1980s, governments have allowed markets to determine what is in the public interest and have neglected other standards such as ethics, the wisdom of the ages, the deliberations of a non-partisan public service, international treaties and biophysical limits to economic growth.
As a working definition, the present research describes the public interest as the stake that the community at large has in public affairs and searches for some objective criteria in the literature and through case studies, survey and logical analysis. The three case studies related to (a) real property rights, (b) international free trade and (c) aviation safety. It was found that: the private rights and public responsibilities of holders of real property are poorly defined; the Australian Government's insistence that free international trade is a major limb of national interest is defective on both theoretical and evidentiary grounds; and in aviation a search for a widely accepted definition even of 'safety' was unsuccessful.
The research also explored the features of gross domestic product, a universally accepted measure of economic growth popularly taken as an indicator of public well-being. The concept was found to be riddled with defects, even as a narrow measure of economic prosperity. Nor did any of several philosophical lenses evaluated in the thesis lead to a clear benchmark (though 'natural law' was found to have promise as it holds that some ethical traits are inherent in human nature and are augmented by a corpus of moral standards that have gained consensus over the centuries). The analysis did not support the prevalent view that government ministers determine the public interest or that public interest arises as the pluralist-style resultant of contending interest groups.
In short, no authoritative or objective standard could be discovered. Further, the hold that relativism and neo-liberalism have within the social sciences and the policy community makes it unlikely that scholars will reach a consensus on how to crystallise the public interest in the foreseeable future.
The research therefore turned to look for some foundation in the biophysical environment and in global affairs. Two findings rescued the quest: the demonstrable limits of the natural environment and the existence of international treaties. Some axioms are derived from these for the biophysical, social and public policy arenas. The thesis argues that it should be possible to align government policies and actions to achieve objectives consistent with these, though this process is inconsistent with the predominant market-led model of framing public policy. In brief, the public interest can be served by progress towards internationally accepted ideal conditions even if, by definition, a normative standard remains elusive.<br>Thesis (PhD Doctorate)<br>Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)<br>Department of Politics and Public Policy<br>Griffith Business School<br>Full Text
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Greer, Robert. "THREE ESSAYS ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT DEBT." UKnowledge, 2013. http://uknowledge.uky.edu/msppa_etds/6.
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The local government tax-exempt debt market is a growing, and complex, sector of public finance. As local governments turn to debt financing the factors that contribute to interest costs of that debt have become important considerations for local government officials and politicians. Governance at the local level involves a network of overlapping governments some of which share a tax base. This system of overlapping governments that share a tax base are subject to externalities that arise from taxation, expenditures, and debt. These externalities are usually analyzed in terms of tax or expenditure reactions, but there are implications for local government debt as well. For example, it can be shown that overlapping governments that share a tax base and issue debt can increase the interest costs paid on bonds by a higher level government. Further complicating the debt situation of local governments is the prevalence of a variety of special districts with the authority to issue tax-exempt debt. These special districts may have the authority to issue debt, but little is known about their financing processes. By comparing how different types of government approach the credit rating process this dissertation compares risk assessment of traditional municipalities and special districts. Through this comparison similarities and differences in the credit rating process across types of local governments can be identified. To explore these issues of local government debt several advanced econometric techniques are used to estimate various models.
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Hur, Hyungjo. "Three Essays on Policies to Help Government Improve Workforce Resilience." The Ohio State University, 2017. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1492098355373946.
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Wallace, Harold Duane Jr. "Electric Lighting Policy in the Federal Government, 1880-2016." Thesis, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, 2018. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10843973.
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<p> Federal policies have targeted electric lighting since the 1880s with varying success. This dissertation examines the history of those policies to understand policy makers’ intent and how their decisions affected the course of events. This qualitative study poses three research questions: How have changes in lamp efficacy affected policy development? How and why have federal policies targeted electric lighting? How have private sector actors adapted public policy to further their own goals? The analysis uses an interdisciplinary approach taking advantage of overlapping methodologies drawn from policy and political sciences, economics, and the history of technology. The concepts of path dependency, context, and actor networks are especially important. </p><p> Adoption of electric lighting spurred the construction of complex and capital intensive infrastructures now considered indispensable, and lighting always consumed a significant fraction of US electric power. Engineers and scientists created many lamps over the decades, in part to meet a growing demand for energy efficient products. Invention and diffusion of those lamps occurred amid changing standards and definitions of efficiency, shifting relations between network actors, and the development of path dependencies that constrained efforts to affect change. Federal actors typically used lighting policy to conserve resources, promote national security, or to symbolically emphasize the onset of a national crisis. </p><p> The study shows that after an initial introductory phase, lighting-specific policies developed during two distinct periods. The earlier period consisted of intermittent, crisis-driven federal interventions of mixed success. The later period featured a sustained engagement between public and private sectors wherein incremental adjustments achieved policy goals. A time of transition occurred between the two main periods during which technical, economic, and political contexts changed, while several core social values remained constant. In both early and later periods, private sector actors used policy opportunities to further commercial goals, a practice that public sector actors in the later period used to promote policy acceptance. Recently enacted energy standards removing ordinary incandescent lamps in favor of high efficiency lamps mark the end of the later period. Apparent success means that policy makers should reconsider how they use lighting to achieve future goals.</p><p>
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Green, Alix Rivka. "Using history in public policy development." Thesis, University of Hertfordshire, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/2299/13902.
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This thesis addresses two key problems: that historical practice in the academy is largely disengaged from politics as a domain of public purpose and that policymaking remains fixed on a very narrow (and quantitative) definition of evidence, although the “policy-relevant” disciplines have not proved able to solve long-standing policy issues. It inspects both phenomena with the aim of describing the space in which the two problems can be brought into a workable accommodation. The argument is made that public policy should be regarded as an important concern of academic history, and policymakers themselves as people with legitimate interests that historians should take seriously. Public history provides a helpful framework and set of concerns to work with in this respect. Given that the social and natural sciences have not been able to solve the pressing policy problems with which governments are faced, a certain obligation may be claimed for historians to reconsider their stance. The re-connection of history and policy – the nineteenth-century discipline clearly discerned a public-political purpose for history – requires attention to be given to articulating and demonstrating the distinctive cognitive tools of the historian and their distinctive value to the policymaking process. The thesis addresses two primary fields, whose interests and professional practices appear divergent such that both the principles and the terms of collaboration are difficult to imagine: academic history and government policymaking. The primary material on which the research draws is accordingly the products of these constituencies: works of historiography and policy documents of various kinds. Also of relevance are commentaries and analyses that address these domains, whether from other disciplines with an interest in political decision-making, from the media or from other organisations with a professional stake, such as think tanks. The originality of the research lies in conceiving of the question of the uses of history for public policy as one of integration of “supply” and “demand” perspectives. It seeks clarity on the distinctive value of historical skills and approaches, but not as an end in itself. Rather, the case is assembled for the affinities between history and policy as processes and hence that the two can be brought into a productive alignment. So, instead of history providing pre-packaged accounts for policy, it can be embedded as a way of thinking and reasoning in policy.
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Mentoor, John W. "Public participation in public policy making." Thesis, Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 1995. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/855.
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Thesis (MA (Public and Development Management))-- University of Stellenbosch, 1995.<br>ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study assesses public participation in public policy making by way of a case study approach. The Regional Education Boards and the Regional Services Council form part of the case study evaluation of public participation in public policy making. In essence, a structural-functionalist analysis of the two cases is given. From this approach this study points out what the
activities of the two institutions are, what services they render and the policy measures with which they are engaged in. This is
imperative because by way of an analysis, the extent to which
the public is allowed to participate in the policy making
process, with reference to the two institutions, is determined.
Before the assessment of the two cases a conceptual framework
pertaining to public participation in public policy making is given. In this conceptual framework the different typologies, policy levels, participants and the modes of public participation in public policy making are highlighted.
In earlier years public participation in public policy making was simply seen as being confined to voting turn-out. As the study of public policy making expanded the operational definition of public participation was broaden to include activities such as campaigning, handing petitions to members of parliament,
attending political meetings, writing letters to communication
media, written representations submitted to a minister and
protest action. Thus, as the study of public policy making expanded it became clear that separate participation modes exist because the activities which emanates from the implementation of public policy differ systematically in the requirements it place on the citizens. What is significant of this thesis is that it proposed a nine-point criteriological model for effective participation in
public policy making. Each criterium is analyzed in depth and it is indicated how important it is for effective public
participation in public policy making.<br>AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie bepaal publieke deelname in openbare beleidmaking by wyse van 'n setwerklike benadering. Die Onderwysstreekrade en die Streekdiensterade vorm deel van hierdie evaluering van publieke deelname in openbare beleidmaking. Vir hierdie benadering word 'n strukturieel - funksionele uiteensetting van die werkswyse en beleidsmaatreëls van die twee instansies gegee. Hierdie uiteensetting is belangrik omrede, deur middel van 'n analise, daar bepaal word tot watter mate die publiek deel uitmaak van die beleidmakingsproses ten opsigte van die twee instansies. Voor die uiteensetting van die setwerklike benadering word 'n raamwerk met betrekking tot die konsepte wat van toepassing is op publieke deelname in openbare beleidmaking, gegee. In hierdie raamwerk word die verskillende tipologieë, beleidsvlakke, deelnemers en die verskillende maniere van publieke deelname in die openbare beleidmakingsproses, uitgebeeld. In vroeër jare was publieke deelname in openbare beleid gesien as bloot deelname aan verkiesings. Namate die studie van openbare beleid uitgebrei het, het die operasionele definisie van
publieke deelname groter geword om aktiwiteite soos petisies aan
parlementslede, bywoning van politieke vergaderings, briewe aan
kommunikasiemedia, geskrewe voorleggings aan ministers en
protesaksies in te sluit. Dit het derhalwe duidelik geword dat daar verskillende maniere is betreffende publieke deelname omrede die aktiwiteite wat vloei uit die implementering van openbare beleid in verskillende gemeenskappe, verskillend is.
Wat die studie merkwaardig maak is dat dit 'n nege-punt
kriteriologiese model vir effektiewe publieke deelname in die
openbare beleidmakingsproses voorstel. Elke kriteria word in
diepte geanaliseer en dit word uitgewys hoe belangrik dit vir
effektiewe publieke deelname in die openbare beleidmakingsproses
is.
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Wilson, Darrin Hugh Eugene. "Local government decisions in a time of economic decline| A study of county government budget policy during the Great Recession." Thesis, Florida Atlantic University, 2016. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10154944.
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<p> This dissertation examined the literature of cutback management in the context of the Great Recession. Specifically, it studied the relationship between cutback management policies used by county governments during the recession and revenue changes. </p><p> The purpose of this dissertation was to test whether or not the percent change in revenue had an impact on the probability that cutback management policies were used in the recession. According to the cutback management literature developed in the 1970s and 1980s, there should be a relationship. </p><p> The theoretical framework used for this study was the rational-approach framework, which proposes that every expenditure reducing and revenue increasing policy is enacted based on the percent decrease in revenue the government faces. This suggests that the cutback management policies are a proportional response to revenue decline. The framework was operationalized by using a binary logistic regression that used policy enactment as the dependent variable and the percent change in revenue as the independent variable. Eighty-six counties were sampled and 7 years of each county’s budget book were examined for policies and financial data. </p><p> The research found that eleven expenditure policies and three revenue policies had a statistically significant relationship with the percent change in revenues. This resulted in the conclusion that the framework and, therefore, the cutback management literature were useful in explaining primarily expenditure policies.</p>
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Woods, Wayne E. "Government 2.5: The Impact of Social Media on Public Sector Accessibility." ScholarWorks, 2016. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/2593.
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Innovative approaches to communicating with the masses continue to evolve in the private sector, while accessibility of goods, services, and public information within federal, state, and local government organizations has been declining for decades. This situation has resulted in a lack of trust and sense of isolation from communities. At the same time, the implementation and use of social media have increased exponentially. Despite the simultaneous occurrence of these events, limited research has explored the connection between them. Specifically, the purpose of this case study was to address the central research question of whether the adoption of social media platforms results in increased accessibility of goods and services within the public sector. Rogers's diffusion of innovations theory founded the framework for this study. Data were collected within a local government organization through semistructured interviews with 15 employees and 15 clients, observations of daily operations, and analyses of postings made on selected social media platforms. Inductive coding and a comparative method of analysis generated emerging themes and patterns. Key findings of this study indicated significant increases in public accessibility of goods and services as the result of the implementation and use of social media. Relative to diffusion of innovations theory, findings illustrated the spread of new technology through certain channels among employees and clients. Recommendations focus on establishing strategies to ensure widespread diffusion of social media and to address socioeconomic disparities. Government agencies can use this research as a means to advance social change through open communication, an engaged workforce, and increased transparency.
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Osinowo, Gbenga Ayodeji. "Internet and Telecommunications Companies' Provision of Customer Information to the Government." ScholarWorks, 2019. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/7248.
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The strategy of the National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance program is to incorporate the private sector into the bulk data collection of customers information, yet there is little legislative and judicial oversight. As a result, internet and telecommunications companies participated, placing at risk protected privacy interests of their customers. Using policy feedback theory and narrative policy framework as the theoretical framework, the purpose of this qualitative, case study was to explore how the federal government gains compliance of the internet and telecommunications industry to engage in information sharing with NSA during post 9/11, 2001 terrorists' attack. Secondary data were collected about internet and telecommunications companies through document analysis, corporate records, and credible news sources. These data were compiled as raw data and developed into codes, which led to categories and eventually developed into themes. Findings indicate that private companies participated for three main reasons: first, an interest in preserving national security, second, they believed they had limited or no liability, and third, profit-making. At the same time, the participants expressed concerns that the government gained compliance via the use of coercion, influence, and persuasion. The positive social change implication of this study includes recommendations to public policy practitioners/evaluators that it is necessary to include private sector analysis in a comprehensive review of public policy because inter-dependencies of the private-public sector guarantees effective public policy implementation/ assessment.
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Kaka, Eddy B. "Decentralization of Local Government and Rural Development in Rivers State, Nigeria." ScholarWorks, 2018. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/4797.
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Rural communities in Rivers State, Nigeria are fraught with underdevelopment crises despite the accrual of wealth from oil and gas. Community Development Committees (CDCs) are established by the Rivers State government in each town and village to facilitate community development. However, the CDCs have failed to generate substantive development in rural communities. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to investigate the perceptions of local stakeholders as to the factors that have contributed to this policy failure. Benet's theory of polarities of democracy was used in this study. Twenty-two participants in the Khana region of Rivers State were interviewed regarding why the CDCs have failed to promote rural development in the Khana Local Government Area in Rivers State, Nigeria. Saldana's method of coding and content analysis were used for data analysis. The results from the analysis revealed that CDCs protected personal and political interests of the elites, excluded the voice of the local citizens, lacked representation from the minority, and CDC officials mismanaged funds and resources. To improve the lives of the rural people in Rivers State, Nigeria, it was recommended that CDCs become more inclusive. Also, CDC leaders need to work closely with all local stakeholders so that each stakeholder and not just the elites of the community will benefit from CDC policies or programs. Implementation of these recommendations might bring about more social justice and equity in the local communities served by CDCs. They might also help to promote reasonable distribution of government wealth through the provision of viable projects in the rural communities in Rivers State, Nigeria.
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Shafik, Nemat. "Private investment and public policy in Egypt, 1960-1986." Thesis, University of Oxford, 1989. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:d3c6cec8-2027-4952-95ff-bead802bd8ef.
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The determinants of private investment and the role of government policy in Egypt are analyzed with a focus on the debate over "crowding out" versus "crowding in," the implications of administered interest rates, and the consequences of uncertainty. A theoretical model of investment is developed that integrates the microfoundations of firm decision making with the determinants of investment at the macroeconomic level. The model, which draws on case studies of fifty private firms in Egypt, is characterized by oligopolistic markets, putty-clay technology, credit rationing, and rigidities in the supply of capital goods. Econometric testing of the model uses the recent literature on cointegration and error correction to address the problem of spurious correlations while retaining long run information about the equilibrium relationship between aggregate investment and its determinants. The empirical evidence shows that the investment decision depends on expected profits which are a function of demand, costs and mark ups. The impact of government policy on private capital formation operates through these determinants, such as the positive effects of protection or restrictive licensing on private sector mark ups. Using the model to analyze the oil boom of the 1970s, it is possible to explain the sectoral distribution of private investment, which diverged from the predictions of conventional Dutch disease theory about the consequences of a trade shock. The findings indicate that the sharp rise in the private investment ratio during the 1970s in Egypt stemmed more from the consequences of the foreign exchange windfall on demand, costs, and mark ups than from the effect of fiscal incentives introduced by the state. However, government policy was crucial in determining the structure of incentives in the economy which favoured capital intensive, heavily indebted, import substituting investments in protected sectors. The private sector responded to this incentive structure by concentrating on those activities where economic rents were highest.
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McLaughlin, Andrew Martin. "Governing the motor industry : analysing public policy and government-industry relations." Thesis, University of Strathclyde, 2004. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.288717.
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Welsh, Mary, and n/a. "Promoting quality schooling in Australia : Commonwealth Government policy-making for schools (1987-1996)." University of Canberra. Education, 2000. http://erl.canberra.edu.au./public/adt-AUC20061110.123723.
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Promoting the quality of school education has been an issue of international, national
and local significance in Australia over the past three decades. Since 1973 the pursuit
of quality in school education has been embedded in the rhetoric of educational
discourse and framed by the wider policy context.
This study focuses on the Commonwealth (federal) government's policy agenda to
promote the quality of schooling between 1987 and 1996. During this ten year period,
successive Labor governments sought to promote quality through a range of policy
initiatives and funding programs. Through extensive documentary research, fifty
semi-structured interviews and one focus group with elite policy makers and
stakeholders, the study examines how the Commonwealth government's 'quality
agenda' was constructed and perceived. An analysis of relevant government reports
and ministerial statements provides documentary evidence of this agenda, both in
terms of stated policy intentions and the actual policy initiatives and funding programs
set in place in the period 1987-1996. Set against this analysis are elite informants'
perspectives on Commonwealth policy-making in this period - how quality was
conceptualised as a policy construct and as a policy solution, the influences on
Commonwealth policies for schools, whether there was a 'quality agenda' and how
that agenda was constructed and implemented. Informants generally perceived quality
as a diffuse, but all-encompassing concept which had symbolic and substantive value
as a policy construct. In the context of Commonwealth schools' policies, quality was
closely associated with promoting equity, outcomes, accountability, national
consistency in schooling and teacher quality. Promoting the quality of 'teaching and
learning' in Australian schools took on particular significance in the 1990s through a
number of national policy initiatives brokered by the Commonwealth government.
An exploration of policy processes through interview data reveals the multi-layered
nature of policy-making in this period, involving key individuals, intergovernmental
and national forums. In particular, it highlights the importance of a strong, reformist
Commonwealth Minister (John Dawkins), a number of 'policy brokers' within and
outside government and national collaboration in constructing and maintaining the
Commonwealth's 'quality agenda' for schools. While several Australian education
ii
policy analysts have described policy-making in this period in terms of 'corporate
federalism' (Lingard, 1991, 1998; Bartlett, Knight and Lingard, 1991; Lingard,
O'Brien and Knight, 1993), a different perspective emerges from this study on policymaking
at the national level. Despite unprecedented levels of national collaboration on
matters related to schooling in this period, this research reveals an apparent
ambivalence on the part of some elite policy makers towards the Commonwealth's
policy agenda and its approach to schools' policy-making within the federal arena.
Policy coherence emerged as a relevant issue in this study through analysis of
interview data and a review of related Australian and international policy literature.
Overall, informants perceived the Commonwealth's quality agenda to be relatively
coherent in terms of policy intentions, but much less coherent in terms of policy
implementation. Perceptions of Commonwealth domination, state parochialism,
rivalry, delaying tactics and a general lack of trust and cooperation between policy
players and stakeholders were cited as major obstacles to 'coherent' policy-making.
An analysis of informants' views on policy-making in this period highlights features of
coherent policy-making which have theoretical and practical significance in the
Australian context.
This research also demonstrates the benefits of going beyond the study of written
policy texts to a richer analysis of recent policy history based on elite interviewing.
The wide range of views offered by elite policy makers and stakeholders in this study
both confirms and challenges established views about policy-making in the period
1987-1996. Elite interviewing lent itself to a grounded theory approach to data
collection and analysis (Glaser and Strauss, 1967; Strauss and Corbin, 1998). This
approach was significant in that it allowed relevant issues to emerge in the process of
research, rather than relying on 'up front' theoretical frameworks for the analysis of
data.
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Hill, Celeste. "Policy Perspectives: Nonprofits and Government Impact on Aging in Place." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2019. https://dc.etsu.edu/secfr-conf/2019/schedule/26.
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In recent years, tremendous growth in the older adult population has prompted the US Federal government along with state governments to fund programs and organizational structures that can help meet the needs of older adults. Further, organizations such as the National Council on Aging, as well as the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), and nonprofits such as the United Way also partner in these efforts. This project seeks to analyze the content of American state and federal policy as well as nonprofit programs in order to identify the policy priorities that are currently being supported. Do current policy efforts promote “aging in place” strategies as a way to maintain quality of life and older adult health? An analysis of public policies and nonprofit program structures in the United States since 2000 will help to identify policy priorities that impact aging adults, and will hopefully pave the way to prepare our society for further actions and needs in order to continue to serve them in the next several decades.
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Mavundla, Ntombizandile Hendrieta. "Women's employment equity in South African local government : a study of senior managers." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/12119.
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Includes bibliographical references (leaves 94).<br>Includes abstract.<br>This is an analytical as well as evaluative study which uses qualitative methods. The focus of the study is the local government sphere and its subjects are district municipalities and metros as administrative entities. The study seeks to understand whether local government has succeeded in meeting the objective of gender parity in senior management positions. The study draws extensively on the literature covering the historical evolution of women’s movements and feminists theories. It reviews empirical evidence on the implementation of gender equality initiatives in South Africa. A data set on employment statistics of local government is utilised. As an analytical device, the data for local government is compared with national and provincial governments.
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Kenyon, Steven. "The concepts of poverty used by the ANC government between 1994 and 2004." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/10705.
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The choice of how poverty is conceptualised can have a significant effect on who is defined as poor and consequently who is targeted by government policies aimed at poverty eradication. This thesis examines the discourses of poverty used by the ANC government in its first decade in power and analyses what concepts of poverty underpin those discourses. By examining what concepts are used, this thesis lays a foundation for understanding what effect (if any) the concepts of poverty used by the ANC government might have on its efforts to combat poverty.
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Williams, Janet Elerene. "A Phenomenological Study of Leaders' Perceptions and Experiences in Local Government." ScholarWorks, 2015. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/1634.
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An emerging crisis in the public sector of the United States is that local government organizations are unable to recruit and retain leaders. A large proportion of high-level and mid-management public administrators leave the profession within a 5-year period. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore, identify, and describe patterns in the experiences and perceptions of local government administrators to promote career longevity. The central research questions were designed to determine whether work adjustment theory accurately described the lived experiences and perceptions of the subjects' career success in local government. Data collection included in-depth interviews with 10 current high level and mid-management local government leaders in the state of Virginia. Key findings of a thematic analysis of the interviews were that altruism was a strong motivator for career longevity and progression, intrinsic rewards outweighed extrinsic rewards such as salary and compensation, and that most of the participants perceived that an advanced education supports career success. The study further found that reactive adjustment of adaptability was a key driver of the participants' career success and longevity when applied through the theory of work adjustment. This study contributes to positive social change by providing specific recommendations to municipal governments related to the recruitment and retention of existing leadership. Ultimately, this guidance for existing and future public administrators will promote career longevity by utilizing satisfaction formulas, yield career sustainability with success attributes, and frame government leadership for the future by revealing existing experiences and genuine perceptions.
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Jeffares, Stephen Ruari. "Why public policy ideas catch on : empty signifiers and flourishing neighbourhoods." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2008. http://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/193/.
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Asking the question ‘why do ideas catch on in public policy’ reveals the inadequacy of ideational accounts to compete with the predominance of mainstream models of policy analysis. This thesis reasserts ideational accounts through the application of the political discourse theory of Laclau and Mouffe. The approach posits ideas as demands operating in governing discourses and understands how general equivalent demands then become empty signifiers. This thesis develops current understanding on how general equivalents and empty signifiers function through an application to urban governance. It develops a qualitative account of governing in Birmingham using interviews between 2003-2005, and documents and media archives from the past twenty years. The thesis examines how mainstream ideational, rational, institutional and interpretative accounts understand the emergence of policy ideas and their role in coalitions, policy change and agency of actors. Discourse theory is revealed as a comprehensive approach for understanding these questions of ideas. The thesis develops a framework for the empirical application of discourse theory in Birmingham, exploring the relationship between two taken-for-granted governing discourses: renaissance and size. It shows how actors were motivated to reiterate and protect discourses from dislocation with development of the empty signifier of ‘flourishing neighbourhoods’. The thesis traces the credibility and emergence of flourishing neighbourhoods and contributes to a research agenda around hegemonic policy analysis.
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Moya, Hazel Nasiphi. "Examination of centralisation practices in South African local government." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/10825.
Full textAbstract:
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 80-94).<br>Democratic decentralisation in South Africa was undertaken
as part of post-apartheid restructuring. This signified a shift on local
government's status from being a tier to being a sphere with its own and powers functions.
The empowerment of local government is evident in five tested indicators, which are the areas
that are empowered to lift local government's autonomy as stipulated in the constitution and
in supporting legislations. These areas include legal, financial, functional, human resources
and public participation. However, these areas are facing challenges which lead to scholars
and government to view local government as inefficient and ineffective. As a result, central
government is intervening in local government's affairs claiming to ensure the intended
constitutional objectives.This dissertation examines the evidence of centralisation by
testing five areas that are constitutionally empowered to ensure democratic decentralisation.
In South Africa, these indicators are evident in empowering of local government based on the
national legislations and supporting local government policies. However, the central
government's interference has undermined these powers and function.
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Carne, Kerry Ann. "Fiscal Policy Rules and Public Capital Formation in Australia." Thesis, Griffith University, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10072/365753.
Full textAbstract:
Subsequent to the abandonment of the Bretton-Woods agreement, many governments experienced worsening fiscal outcomes and subsequent heightening debt levels over several decades. Many have recently adopted rules-based fiscal policy regimes in an attempt to correct this. The experience of capital formation by Australian national and sub-national governments is therefore examined before and after their adoption of fiscal policy rules. Applying non-parametric and parametric methods to data drawn from public policy documents, the degree to which the examined governments complied with the constraints imposed on fiscal measures by adoption of fiscal policy rules was ascertained. The Australian governments have generally, though not always, met fiscal constraints imposed by their fiscal policy rules. The absence of penalties for non-compliance may have contributed to the occasional exceptions to this high level of compliance. However, intentionality of compliance where observed cannot be ascertained due to the virtually simultaneous adoption of accrual-based financial reporting frameworks, and resulting informational effect, and other possible causal factors.
The degree of compliance varied with the type of fiscal policy rule. In order, constraints imposed by net debt, followed by net worth and budgetary balance rules were most frequently met. Possible causes include the significantly enhanced information set available to governments after adoption of accrual-based financial reporting networks and the significance attributed by governments to their credit ratings.
Attention was then focused on the experience of public capital formation and whether it changed at the date of adoption of net worth fiscal policy rules. The Commonwealth, Victorian, Queensland and Western Australian Governments increased the level, growth rate or output elasticity of their investment when they adopted a fiscal policy rule requiring, at a minimum, that they maintain their net worth. The Victorian Government’s experience showed the effects of unique infrastructure financing arrangements. The investment experience of the New South Wales Government cannot be modelled effectively in this way due to its practice of transfer of assets to other levels of government during the period of the study.
One potential implication of the research findings reported in this thesis is that the usual macroeconomic assumption of exogeneity of government expenditures may be too strong in circumstances where governments have adopted such fiscal policy rules. Specifically, it appears necessary to review the general assumption that only certain elements of government expenditures, those that are related to automatic stabilisers, are business cycle dependent. That is, other government expenditures, those usually considered to be independent of levels of economic activity, may no longer be able to be considered to be so when certain institutional arrangements, such as fiscal policy rules, exist. Instead, constraints imposed by adoption of fiscal policy rules appear likely to assume the position of determining upper or lower bounds on certain fiscal measures.
Further, consistent with the literature on supply-side effects of public capital formation, the jurisdictions experiencing increased growth of public capital formation subsequent to adoption of fiscal policy rules are those which have experienced higher growth rates than other jurisdictions. This indicates the existence of a number of interesting directions for further research.<br>Thesis (PhD Doctorate)<br>Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)<br>Department of Accounting, Finance and Economics<br>Griffith Business School<br>Full Text
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Flowers-Henderson, Ryshell. "Access and Use of E-Government Public Services Amongst Older Adults." ScholarWorks, 2019. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/6830.
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Lack of trust in technology, personal preference, and perceived inability to use online services are possible reasons for lagged adaptation to electronic government (e-government) among older adults in the United States. Although e-government policies promote, or require, that many public services be provided electronically, it is unclear whether older adults are able, or willing, to access such services. The purpose of this qualitative, exploratory study was to gain insight from older adults (e.g., "individuals who are 65 years or older") about their ability and willingness to access e-government services in a mid-Atlantic County. The framework for this research was Roger's diffusion of innovation theory. Data were collected via interviews with 21 older adults and then inductively coded and subjected to a thematic analysis procedure. Most participants reported using e-government services in some capacity, while the remaining 10% did not because of vision issues, the overabundance of information, personal dislike of technology, and/or the belief that e-government was not conducive for self-management. However, 28% of the participants who had used e-government preferred face-to-face interactions with people instead of online servicing while also recognizing the benefits of e-government services in terms of convenience. Moreover, participants suggested that e-government usage might improve if explanations of online terminology, examples of services, and instruction on primary online services, such as web services, are offered. The study may contribute to positive social change by providing information that federal, state, and local government officials can use to develop policies for e-government accessibility, types of services, and alternative options for the aging population.
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Edwards, Floyd. "U.S. Individuals' Perceptions of Government Electronic Surveillance After Passage of the USA Patriot Act." ScholarWorks, 2018. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/4617.
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Since the implementation of the USA Patriot Act in October 2001, public trust in the U.S. federal government to protect individuals' right to privacy has been affected negatively. Many studies have addressed this topic, but few have delved deeply into the reasons behind the distrust. The purposes of this qualitative study were, to explore the perceptions and attitudes of U.S. citizens regarding the effect of the USA Patriot Act on their right to privacy, to determine whether a loss of trust in the government occurred, and to identify the factors contributing to the lack of trust. The theoretical foundation for this study was Rawl's Social Perspective of Public Trust, Sax's Augmentation of Social Contract Theory, and Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behavior. The central research question pertained to the views of U.S. citizens about the federal government's use of electronic surveillance to monitor their communication without their knowledge. A generic qualitative study design was employed using purposeful, semi-structured interviews of 20 purposely sampled adult male and female U.S. citizens. Data from the interviews were coded and categorized for thematic analysis. When confronted with the lesser known specifics of the electronic surveillance provision of the USA Patriot Act, participants were more likely to reject the government interference as an invasion of privacy. This study can provide guidance for the democratic basis of policymaking designed to protect U.S. citizens. The implication for social change includes providing information to policymakers of both the US and organizations of various sizes regarding the polarized views and lack of trust pertaining to electronic surveillance among U.S. public. This information can be used to implement program or campaign to foster trust.
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Bradley, Dorotha Myers. "A policy approach to federalism cases of public lands and water policy /." Diss., The University of Arizona, 1986. http://etd.library.arizona.edu/etd/GetFileServlet?file=file:///data1/pdf/etd/azu_e9791_1986_347_sip1_w.pdf&type=application/pdf.
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Foley, Katherine Marie. "Software pilferage in government agencies." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 1992. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project/755.
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Foster, Deborah. "Privatisation policy in local government : the response of public sector trade unions." Thesis, University of Bath, 1991. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.292079.
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Keast, Robyn Leigh. "Integrated public services : the role of networked arrangements." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2003. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/15804/1/Robyn_Keast_Thesis.pdf.
Full textAbstract:
Networked arrangements have moved from the periphery to the centre of public policy making and now occupy a position alongside of government as key mechanisms for social and organisational integration. Despite the current prominence of networked arrangements, little is known about how networks are actually formed and what explains their structure, operation and management strategies. Moreover, despite the pivotal position as the architects, administrators and facilitators of the network reform process, the role of central agencies of government in networked environments has yet to be fully determined. The purpose of this thesis was to examine the variation in networked arrangements and its effect on design and management and, in doing so, uncover the emergent role of central agencies of government. Using a mixed research design of case study and network analysis, this thesis 'unpacked' three exemplars of cross-sector networked arrangements within the Queensland human services arena. The research produced a number of findings. First, it provided empirical evidence to support the previously largely descriptive proposition that networked arrangements are differentiated. Second, through the synthesis of two parallel integration literatures, a framework to guide the design of networked arrangements was produced. Third, it identified a set of network management strategies and demonstrated that these horizontally oriented strategies were different to those currently utilised within government. Finally, the research developed a set of general and specific roles to guide central agencies' operation within the current networked environment.
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Keast, Robyn Leigh. "Integrated Public Services : The Role of Networked Arrangements." Queensland University of Technology, 2003. http://eprints.qut.edu.au/15804/.
Full textAbstract:
Networked arrangements have moved from the periphery to the centre of public policy making and now occupy a position alongside of government as key mechanisms for social and organisational integration. Despite the current prominence of networked arrangements, little is known about how networks are actually formed and what explains their structure, operation and management strategies. Moreover, despite the pivotal position as the architects, administrators and facilitators of the network reform process, the role of central agencies of government in networked environments has yet to be fully determined. The purpose of this thesis was to examine the variation in networked arrangements and its effect on design and management and, in doing so, uncover the emergent role of central agencies of government. Using a mixed research design of case study and network analysis, this thesis 'unpacked' three exemplars of cross-sector networked arrangements within the Queensland human services arena. The research produced a number of findings. First, it provided empirical evidence to support the previously largely descriptive proposition that networked arrangements are differentiated. Second, through the synthesis of two parallel integration literatures, a framework to guide the design of networked arrangements was produced. Third, it identified a set of network management strategies and demonstrated that these horizontally oriented strategies were different to those currently utilised within government. Finally, the research developed a set of general and specific roles to guide central agencies' operation within the current networked environment.
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Frawley, Patsie, and timpat@pacific net au. "Participation in Government Disability Advisory Bodies in Australia: An Intellectual Disability perspective." La Trobe University. School of Social Work and Social Policy, 2008. http://www.lib.latrobe.edu.au./thesis/public/adt-LTU20090122.114029.
Full textAbstract:
This qualitative study examined the participatory experiences of people with an intellectual disability as members of government disability advisory bodies in Australia. These forums are one of the strategies adopted by governments to enable people with an intellectual disability to participate in the formulation of social policy. Such opportunities have arisen from progressive policy that frames people with an intellectual disability as full citizens with equal rights to inclusion and participation in society.
Little research has considered how people with an intellectual disability experience the participatory opportunities that have grown from this recognition of their rights. This reflects the more traditional focus on their status and participation as consumers and service users. The central question of this study is how people with an intellectual disability experience participation in government advisory bodies, and how such forums can be inclusive and meaningful.
This study positions people with an intellectual disability as the experts about their own experiences by relying primarily on their first person accounts of their experiences. Ethnographic and case study methods were employed including in-depth interviews with the central participants, document analysis, observation of the work of the advisory bodies and interviews with others involved in advisory bodies. Analysis led to the development of a typology of participation that describes the political and personal orientations people have to participation.
The study found that structures and the processes used by advisory bodies can mediate people�s experiences; however more significantly, the experiences of people with intellectual disability are shaped by their perception of how they are regarded by others. Central to this is the efficacy of support based on the development of collegiate relationships, similar to the notion of civic friendship described by Reinders (2002), rather than support that is solely focussed on tangible accommodations
The study concludes that citizen participation bodies have not fully recognised the personal and political potential of members with an intellectual disability. It presents evidence that people with an intellectual disability are capable of this form of participation, can provide legitimate and informed perspectives on policy and can engage meaningfully, given full recognition of their capacity to participate as well as structures and processes that enable this.
34
Lee, Tung-hao. "Optimal public debt policy under uncertainty : a new classical approach /." The Ohio State University, 1986. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu148726702499746.
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Keeler, Rebecca L. "Democratic Accountability for Outsourced Government Services." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2011. https://dc.etsu.edu/etsu-works/654.
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Wong, Lai-ching Elyssa, and 黃麗菁. "Government re-regulation and de-Regulation of the Hong Kong bus industry." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 1995. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B31954510.
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So, Oi-tsz Teresa, and 蘇愛慈. "Public rental housing policy: the issues of equity." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 1996. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B3125925X.
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Morain, Stephanie. "Contested Boundaries: Evaluating Institutional and Government Authority in Academia and Public Health." Thesis, Harvard University, 2014. http://dissertations.umi.com/gsas.harvard:11264.
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This dissertation explores tensions between individual freedom and institutional authority. Chapter one examines public perceptions of the legitimacy of "new frontier" public health measures. I present results from a national survey of 1,817 adults concerning the acceptability of public health interventions for noncommunicable diseases. We found that support for these interventions is high overall; strongly associated with race and political orientation; and tied to perceptions of democratic representation in policy making. There was much support for strategies that enable people to exercise healthful choices, but considerably less for more coercive measures. These findings suggest that the least coercive path will be the smoothest. Additionally, the findings underscore the need for policy makers to involve the public in decision making, understand the public's values, and communicate how policy decisions reflect this understanding.
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Kass, Jacob Daniel. "Justifying an Ethical Government Response to the Obesity Epidemic." Scholarship @ Claremont, 2012. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/422.
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A great virtue of our fairly liberal society is its willingness to allow, legally and socially, individuals to choose their own lifestyle, free from interference or coercion. For this reason, there is rightly a strong resistance and hostility to government regulation of wholly self-regarding behavior – acts which only affect the actor. Whether justified by an appeal to sovereignty or utility, that which one does to oneself is seen as beyond the jurisdiction of government.
Yet the problem of the so-called obesity "epidemic" – the explosion in the prevalence of overweight and obesity in recent decades – is a case of self-harm which does indeed warrant government intervention.
This thesis considers utilitarian and autonomy-based arguments against interference in self-regarding action, then show why obesity merits intervention nevertheless.
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Altameem, Torki Abdulaziz. "The critical factors of e-government adoption : an empirical study in the Saudi Arabia public sectors." Thesis, Brunel University, 2007. http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/5070.
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This thesis draws on electronic government (e-govemment) policy formulation, implementation and execution. IT has been enthused by the perceived lack of a model for e-government in Saudi Arabia public sectors. A model for e-government implementation is developed for Saudi Arabia. It examines critical factors that have impacts on e-government implementation in Saudi public sectors by collecting and analysing data in both quantitative and qualitative approaches, and further presenting an extensive review on literature. This exercise is significant, to avoid the pitfalls of imposing universal approaches to research and policy practices. The conclusions and recommendations of this research are significant for both practitioners, in providing guidelines for e-government implementation, and scholars, in suggesting further research in the new area of e-government.
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Chen, Lan Wilson, and 陳瀾. "A study of the Hong Kong government's policy on noise mitigation for public roads in the 1990's." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 1997. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B31965155.
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Leung, Hang-san Steven, and 梁恆新. "A study of the regulation of public light buses in Hong Kong." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2000. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B31952707.
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Miles, Mary Alice, and n/a. "A critical analysis of the relationships between nursing, medicine and the government in New Zealand 1984-2001." University of Otago. Faculty of Education, 2006. http://adt.otago.ac.nz./public/adt-NZDU20061024.145605.
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This thesis concerns an investigation of the tripartite arrangements between the government, the nursing and the medical sectors in New Zealand over the period 1984 to 2001 with a particular focus on primary health care. The start point is the commencement of the health reforms instituted by the Fourth New Zealand Labour Government of 1984. The thesis falls within a framework of critical inquiry, specifically, the methodology of depth hermeneutics (Thompson, 1990), a development of critical theory.
The effects of political and economic policies and the methodologies of neo-liberal market reform are examined together with the concept of collaboration as an ideological symbolic form, typical of enterprise culture.
The limitations of economic models such as public choice theory, agency theory and managerialism are examined from the point of view of government strategies and their effects on the relationships between the nursing and medical professions.
The influence of American health care policies and their partial introduction into primary health care in New Zealand is traversed in some detail, together with the experiences of health reform in several other countries.
Post election 1999, the thesis considers the effect of change of political direction consequent upon the election of a Labour Coalition government and concludes that the removal of the neo-liberal ethic by Labour may terminate entrepreneurial opportunities in the nursing profession. The thesis considers the effects of a change to Third Way political direction on national health care policy and on the medical and nursing professions. The data is derived from various texts and transcripts of interviews with 12 health professionals and health commentators.
The histories and current relationships between the nursing and medical professions are examined in relation to their claims to be scientific discourses and it is argued that the issue of lack of recognition as a scientific discourse is at the root of nursing�s perceived inferiority to medicine. This is further expanded in a discussion at the end of the thesis where the structure of the two professions is compared and critiqued. A conclusion is drawn that a potential for action exists to remedy the deficient structure of nursing. The thesis argues that this is the major issue which maintains nursing in the primary sector in a perceived position of inferiority to medicine.
The thesis also concludes that the role of government in this triangular relationship is one of manipulation to bring about necessary fundamental change in the delivery of health services at the lowest possible cost without materially strengthening the autonomy of the nursing or the medical professions.
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Kumar, B. G. "Poverty and public policy : Government intervention and levels of living in Kerala, India." Thesis, University of Oxford, 1987. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.384695.
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Buckley, Owen Barbara. "The development of UK government policy on citizens' access to public sector information." Thesis, Loughborough University, 2011. https://dspace.lboro.ac.uk/2134/8312.
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The aim of the research was to investigate the development of United Kingdom government policy on citizens' access to public sector information (PSI) from 1996 to 2010. In addition to a mapping of UK policy documents, the main research method was the undertaking of open and semi-structured interviews with influential experts and the analysis of interview transcripts. These experts came from both inside and outside government, including: policymakers and implementers; regulators and advisors; lobbyists and campaigners; academics; and the information profession. Main findings were: lack of co-ordination of information policy across government; new skills required within government to provide information in the Web 2.0 environment; uneven progress in the development of citizen-centric services; lack of information literacy policy; and low involvement of the information profession in driving forward the developments in the provision of PSI. A major gap identified was the lack of co-ordinated evaluation of information policy in general, and of the provision of PSI in particular. A framework for assessing implementation of policy was developed and tested against the Power of Information Taskforce recommendations, and suggestions were made for new measures. The research also charted the increase in the opening up of government data for re-use during 2009 and 2010, both during the run-up to the general election and subsequently when plans for transparency were put in place by the new Coalition government. It is considered significant that this increase in transparency, by both main political parties, should come at a time when trust in government was low, citizens' expectations of electronic access to information were rising and the technology was enabling new channels for engagement. The influence of individuals was found to be considerable, not least as exerted by Sir Tim Berners- Lee, Professor Nigel Shadbolt, Tom Steinberg, Labour Digital Engagement Minister Tom Watson, and Natalie Ceeney at The National Archives. Recommendations to government address: policy co-ordination mechanisms: the role of the Office of Public Sector Information; and support for intermediaries. Those aimed at the information profession cover: new skills needed; co-ordination for lobbying on specific issues; and support for developing information literacy. This research has been the first within the information policy academic community in the UK to address how government is opening up its data in the wake of new technological innovations and is focussed on the needs of citizens.
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Yung, Chi-wai Esther, and 翁智慧. "Policy coordination of planning of public infrastructure projects in Hong Kong." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2012. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B50258096.
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Dangerfield, Brian Charles. "System dynamics models in the process of corporate and public policy." Thesis, University of Salford, 1991. http://usir.salford.ac.uk/14741/.
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The thesis is a contribution to the literature on policymaking in business and government. By a critical examination of relevant published work in the field and by specific examples it seeks to demonstrate how the system dynamics modelling methodology can contribute to an improvement in the process of corporate and public policy design. It is argued that the relative lack of use of models in the policy process may now be reversed. This is, in part, because of the development of user-friendly interactive modelling software on personal computers together with large screen colour projection facilities. But the most important stimulus to the fulfilment of the potential of modelling work in these areas will come with a realisation by policy makers of the proper role of the model in the overall process. This is a central tenet of the thesis: the model provides a fulcrum for debate and enhanced understanding and should never be viewed as an 'answer generator'. All too often miscasting models in this latter role has, in the author's view, seriously affected their adoption at the strategic policy level. Three specific examples are used to support the above line of argument. These are concerned with: M Technology policy and planning in the steel industry. A model is devised which addresses the crucial role of the blast furnace in an integrated steel works. The pursuit of economies of scale has led to larger and larger furnaces being installed. Given the often cyclical nature of customer demand for steel, together with forced interruptions to production in order to periodically reline the furnaces, it is argued that larger production units are not necessarily advisable. (ii) Public policy considerations arising from the AIDS epidemic. The spread of AIDS and the implications of this for health planning has taxed governments worldwide. A model is presented which captures the spread of HIV disease within the U. K. homosexual population and policy issues arising from model runs are discussed. This is in contrast to some other models which attempt to 9forecast2 the progress of the epidemic. (iii) Financial policy in a firm which failed (Laker Airways). This example differs from the other two in that the policy issues surrounding the firm's financial management are directed at students. They are the 'clients' who would want to use this model in order to explore the implications of alternative strategic policies. System dynamics models of a real-life case study can be usefully harnessed in such a pedagogic role.
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Oet, Pui-kuen. "A study of the five-day week policy of the HKSAR Government." Click to view the E-thesis via HKUTO, 2007. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record/B38645981.
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La, Grange Adrienne. "Privatization of public housing in Hong Kong : a policy evaluation /." Thesis, Click to view the E-thesis via HKUTO, 1997. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record/B42128456.
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Koekemoer, Jonathan. "Government debt levels and the systemic risks associated with post-crisis fiscal policies." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1004168.
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The study analyses the concepts of intergenerational equity and fiscal sustainability in South Africa. The question raised is whether or not South Africa can adopt stimulatory fiscal measures, with a simultaneous increase in debt, so as to improve long-term growth potential in a sustainable manner without creating an excessive burden on future generations. The debate surrounding the use of stimulatory fiscal policy has come to the fore once again as monetary policy has become a restricted and ineffective macroeconomic policy tool in certain countries after the world-wide financial crisis and the Euro-debt crisis. Fiscal sustainability risks and high debt levels remain a source of concern in the United States and the Euro-zone, while South Africa presently seems to be at no great risk. With South Africa’s intention to become a developmental state, the use and appropriateness of fiscal policy is considered. An overlapping-generations model is used to determine whether or not future generations will be burdened due to current stimulatory policy. The use of fiscal rules in South Africa is discussed and considered in light of various political incentives and constraints. The conclusion given is that the possible use of a procedural fiscal rule, such as the ‘golden rule’, may add credibility to the current regime, while a numerical fiscal rule is seen as unnecessary given South Africa’s responsible use of fiscal policy thus far. As it stands, there is little possibility or risk that the public debt in South Africa will become too high in the near future. Although South Africa has been affected by the crisis, the developmental nature of the economy has been sustained through the use of responsible discretionary fiscal policy, putting South Africa in a positive position to meet its long-run growth potential.