Academic literature on the topic 'Samoa – Politics and government'

This thesis discusses the nature of London's governmental and political system and the part played by the city in the political, commercial and legal life of the nation in the late fifteenth century. The first three chapters examine the city's electoral processes, the backgrounds of its most senior governors, and the relationships between its governing bodies and other civic organisations, such as the city companies. From this, it emerges that Edwardian London's political system was hierarchical rather than oligarchic, even though its governors were able to secure election to high office without following a lengthy civic cursus honorum. However, change was already under way, as the aldermen came to rely less on the wards and more on the companies for political support and legitimisation. The more oligarchical style of government clearly visible in the sixteenth century can be shown to have had its roots in the late fifteenth century. Chapters Four and Five examine the effectiveness of the city's financial organisations and system of law courts. In raising revenue for both civic and royal purposes, the city was relatively efficient, though its methods were ponderous and their effectiveness was heavily dependent on individual financial officers. The city's law courts remained busy and responsive to the needs of litigants, contributing to the effectiveness and prestige of civic government by their activities. In the final chapter, London's place in national and international political events is considered. The governors' normal aim was, above all, to protect the city's interests. Although London played an important role in the wider political scene, it had that role largely thrust upon it by others. This stance helped to prevent the city from mirroring the national tumults of the late fifteenth century.

This PhD thesis examines the E-government implementation in Dubai and examines the critical success factors and barriers to a successful E-government implementation. The study is based on primary research conducted on the subject of E-government in the United Arab Emirates. The thesis critically reviewed extant literature on E-government implementation. The methodology used for this research is a mixed-methodological design comprising of quantitative survey of 450 employees of the Dubai Smart Government Department. A survey questionnaire was designed to assess the impact of various independent and dependent variables on the effectiveness of E-government implementation. To complement the shortcomings of the high level of abstraction often associated with quantitative methodology, a qualitative methodology was used which involved in-depth interviews with 25 middle and high ranking officials in the Dubai Smart Government Department. The results of these questionnaires and interviews helped provide a theoretical framework for the postulation of standard operating procedures, which could ensure the success of E-government implementation, in Dubai. The research analyses and discusses the primary data (questionnaire and interviews) to generate insights regarding the success of E-government implementation in Dubai. The analysis also examines the various factors which limit and hinder successful E-government implementations and offers recommendations for improvement. The study finds that some of the major barriers to E-government in Dubai include: technology, security, legal, monetary and strategic. Employees surveyed also generally expressed fear of complexity, system integration, data security, and job losses. Researchers have repeatedly shown that there is need for empirical based studies to understand contextually relevant aspects of E-government implementation in non-western contexts. This PhD thesis contributes to this debate with fresh empirical data sets from Dubai on E-government implementation including the identification of critical successes factors and barriers of a successful E-government implementation. This study also contributes theoretically by challenging the popular normative stage models with a more robust theoretical framework encompassing both human centeredness and context relevance. In so doing, the study came up with a tripartite approach comprising management support, cultural change, and system design. The study concludes that dynamic interplay between internal and external forces; socio-economic and technological factors (including maturity of ICT capabilities) are all relevant for a successful implementation of E-government in Dubai. This study’s key significance lies in its contribution to improve the implementation of a successful E-government in the UAE context, thereby leading to a development of a road map for facilitating practical implementation of strategies and reversing the declining trend of E-government participation in Dubai. In addition, the study’s emphasis on the public sector, could lead to strengthening of the role of E-government for administrative and institutional reform and inclusion in the public sector. The study could provide a useful guide both for the Dubai Smart Government Department and other E-government agencies in Arab regions and for internal stakeholders in the field who wish to gain insight into the process of E-government globally.

PONTIFÍCIA UNIVERSIDADE CATÓLICA DO RIO DE JANEIRO<br>CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICO<br>Usando uma base de dados inédita com informações sobre o gasto do governo federal brasileira com propaganda, nós lançamos luz sobre o comportamento de anunciantes do setor público a relação entre propaganda governamental e voto. Em particular, nós investigamos possíveis motivações políticas por trás da alocação do orçamento dedicado à propaganda governamental e seu impacto sobre voto. No espírito da literatura de distributive politics, primeiro nós calculamos a correlação entre gasto com anúncios por entes públicos e votos no partido do governo no nível local. Em seguida, nós exploramos a variação exógena gerada pela cobertura de sinais de rádio para testar a hipótese de que o gasto com propaganda aumenta os votos recebidos pelo partido do governo. Nossos resultados sugerem que, ainda que resultados de eleições passadas prevêem onde no território o governo anuncia, os eleitores não parecem ser persuadidos pelos anúncios a votar em favor do partido no poder.<br>Using a unique data set of central government expenditure on advertising in Brazil, we shed light on the behavior of public advertisers and the relation between government ads and voting. In particular, we investigate political motivations behind the allocation of the advertisement budget by the federal government and its impacts on voting. Borrowing insights from the literature of distributive politics, we first correlate ad money and votes for the government s party on the local level. Next, we exploit plausible exogenous variation on radio signal coverage to test if money spent on ads turn into votes for the government s party. Our findings show that although past presidential election outcomes predict where in the territory the government places ads, voters do not seem to be persuaded by those ads to favor the party in power.

This thesis presents a model of EU legislative politics. The model sees national political parties as actors, rather than institutions, countries or trans-national party groups. The empirical focus is on the Codecision procedure after the Amsterdam reform came into effect in 1999. In essence, the thesis argues that governing parties dominate EU legislative politics. The governing parties' advantage stems from two factors. First, they are represented in the Upper House, the Council of Ministers, while opposition parties are not. Second, the shifting majority requirements in the European Parliament (EP) mean that a qualified majority in the Council can impose its preferences on the EP if the Council has the support from a blocking minority in the EP. Nevertheless, the qualified majority requirement in the Council also means that most governing parties would like to see a larger change in policy than what the Council can agree to in their common position. This has implications for the legislative strategy of both governing and opposition parties. Three hypotheses are tested. Hypothesis 1: Governing parties are more active as Codecision agenda- setters (rapporteurs) than opposition parties. Hypothesis 2: Rapporteurs from governing parties are more likely to see their initial legislative proposal being accepted by the Council of Ministers in the first reading. Hypothesis 3: The majority of governing parties and ideologically close opposition parties are more likely to support second reading amendments than other parties. The empirical evidence supports the hypotheses. Thus, there are empirical grounds for arguing that government and opposition exist in EU legislative politics. The governing coalition is the qualified majority of the governing parties and its ideologically close parties in the EP. The opposition is the losing minority in the Council and its ideologically close parties in the EP. The opposition also includes those parties that are neither ideologically close to the minority nor close to the majority of the governing parties. The evidence shows that behaviour differences are more evident between governing and opposition parties from adversarial member states. In non-adversarial states, which often have minority or oversized coalition government, the difference between governing and opposition parties is smaller.

What happens to subnational states when the parent federation undergoes a regime change process? This is a crucial question in understanding political processes in federal countries. The visible political differentiation amongst subnational states belonging to the same federation underscores the fact that some processes are at work that are being ignored by the literature's current focus on national developments. To fill this lacuna, I develop an analytical model that seeks to explain regional differentiation during federal regime change by focusing directly on subnational politics and institutions in comparative fashion, while accounting for the inescapable influence of broader federal actors and processes. In constructing this model, I draw extensively from the theories of federalism, regime change and political parties. I argue that the decision to initiate a transition in an authoritarian setting belongs to the federation. However, regional political actors mediate federal processes in their territory and give them a profoundly subnational logic. Regionally specific institutions, interests and histories thus become intangible frontiers between subnational politics and external processes. The constant repetition of this mechanism throughout the transition creates distinct subnational polities. To test my hypothesis, I study three cases in central-northern Mexico: Guanajuato, San Luis Potosi and Zacatecas.

The aim of this thesis is to provide an overview of the period 1509-1515 in England, this being the first six years of the reign of Henry VIII. Within this timespan it is possible to witness the rise of Thomas Wolsey and also to examine the political situation before his ascendancy. Reaction to the new king will be examined on a number of fronts. His succession and the expectations placed on him will be looked at, expectations not only from his own people but also from those abroad. The highly visual natural of Henry VIII's court heightened this sense of expectancy and set the boundaries of the succeeding years. That group of men which attached itself to the king at work and play provides the starting point for this thesis. These were the middling courtiers, the men who sought favours and provided services. The desire for promotion at court provided a common bond for this diverse group. Young courtiers on the up, seasoned campaigners seeking rejuvenation and men of service, all sought promotion, through patronage, pedigree, personal ability or the grace of the king. Many men continued in positions of responsibility as held under Henry VII, creating a certain amount of continuity in administration. Edmund Dudley and Richard Empson felt the wrath of a monarch anxious to clear the air at the start of the reign and stamp his own brand of kingship on the court. Their associate Thomas Lovell continued and prospered under a king with no intention of embarking on a purge. William Compton rose from humble beginnings to become one of the king's closest confidants, recognised by many as the man to befriend. Opportunities were available for the ambitious courtier.