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Public Procurement Reform and Governance in Africa (Contemporary African Political Economy)
by S. N. NyeckThis book presents an interdisciplinary exploration of the governance of public procurement reform in Africa. Through a bottom-up approach to case studies and comparative analyses, scholars, practitioners, and social activists write about the organizational mechanisms and implementation gaps in public procurement governance in light of the general premises of national reform. Reforming the ways in which government purchases works, goods, and services from the private sector is one of the most sweeping policy reform undertaken in Africa in the past decade. Despite the transnational scope of policy change, very little is known about the mechanisms of public procurement governance at the subnational level. The argument in this volume is that policy reforms that mitigate contractual hazards along the three-dimensional “law-politics-business matrix” are more likely to bring about meaningful institutional transformation and broader social accountability. Key to substantive transformation of public procurement is the revitalization and professionalization of the public sector to meet the opportunities and challenges of development by contract.
Public Procurement’s Place in the World: The Charge Towards Sustainability and Innovation (Central Issues in Contemporary Economic Theory and Policy)
by Francesco Decarolis Marco FreyThis volume addresses different issues related to green innovation procurement as well as exploring the challenges involved in public procurement. It offers a broad array of perspectives, addressing both general, abstract problems of optimal public procurement and concrete cases of national or even local public procurement systems.
Public Produce: Cultivating Our Parks, Plazas, and Streets for Healthier Cities
by Darrin NordahlWhy plant trees that only provide shade when they could yield fruit as well? Why not take advantage of sunny patches at the outskirts of parking lots to grow carrots and strawberries, free for the harvesting? The idea that public land could be used creatively to grow fresh food for local citizens was beginning to gain traction when Public Produce was first published in 2009, but there were few concrete examples of action. Today, things are different: fruits and vegetables are thriving in parks, plazas, along our streets, and around our civic buildings. This revised edition profiles numerous communities and community officials that are rethinking the role of public space in cities, and how our most revered urban gathering spots might nourish both body and soul. Taking readers from inspiration to implementation, Public Produce is chock full of tantalizing images and hearty lessons for bringing agriculture back into our cities.
The Public Productivity and Performance Handbook (Public Administration and Public Policy)
by Marc Holzer Andrew BallardA productive society is dependent upon high-performing government. This third edition of The Public Performance and Productivity Handbook includes chapters from leading scholars, consultants, and practitioners to explore all of the core elements of improvement. Completely revised and focused on best practice, the handbook comprehensively explores managing for high performance, measurement and analysis, costs and finances, human resources, and cutting-edge organizational tools. Its coverage of new and systematic management approaches and well-defined measurement systems provides guidance for organizations of all sizes to improve productivity and performance. The contributors discuss such topics as accountability, organizational effectiveness after budget cuts, the complementary roles of human capital and “big data,” and how to teach performance management in the classroom and in public organizations. The handbook is accompanied by an online companion volume providing examples of performance measurement and improvement manuals across a wide variety of public organizations. The Public Performance and Productivity Handbook, Third Edition, is required reading for all public administration practitioners, as well as for students and scholars interested in the state of the public performance and productivity field.
The Public Productivity and Performance Handbook (Public Administration and Public Policy)
by Marc Holzer Andrew BallardA productive society is dependent upon high-performing government. This third edition of The Public Performance and Productivity Handbook includes chapters from leading scholars, consultants, and practitioners to explore all of the core elements of improvement. Completely revised and focused on best practice, the handbook comprehensively explores managing for high performance, measurement and analysis, costs and finances, human resources, and cutting-edge organizational tools. Its coverage of new and systematic management approaches and well-defined measurement systems provides guidance for organizations of all sizes to improve productivity and performance. The contributors discuss such topics as accountability, organizational effectiveness after budget cuts, the complementary roles of human capital and “big data,” and how to teach performance management in the classroom and in public organizations. The handbook is accompanied by an online companion volume providing examples of performance measurement and improvement manuals across a wide variety of public organizations. The Public Performance and Productivity Handbook, Third Edition, is required reading for all public administration practitioners, as well as for students and scholars interested in the state of the public performance and productivity field.
Public Program Evaluation: A Statistical Guide
by Laura LangbeinFirst Published in 2007. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an Informa company.
Public Program Evaluation: A Statistical Guide
by Laura LangbeinFirst Published in 2007. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an Informa company.
Public Program Evaluation: A Statistical Guide
by Laura LangbeinThis readable and comprehensive text is designed to equip students and practitioners with the statistical skills needed to meet government standards regarding public program evaluation. Even those with little statistical training will find the explanations clear, with many illustrative examples, case studies, and applications. Far more than a cookbook of statistical techniques, the book begins with chapters on the overall context for successful program evaluations, and carefully explains statistical methods--and threats to internal and statistical validity--that correspond to each evaluation design. Laura Langbein then presents a variety of methods for program analysis, and advise readers on how to select the mix of methods most appropriate for the issues they deal with-- always balancing methodology with the need for generality, the size of the evaluator's budget, the availability of data, and the need for quick results.
Public Program Evaluation: A Statistical Guide
by Laura LangbeinThis readable and comprehensive text is designed to equip students and practitioners with the statistical skills needed to meet government standards regarding public program evaluation. Even those with little statistical training will find the explanations clear, with many illustrative examples, case studies, and applications. Far more than a cookbook of statistical techniques, the book begins with chapters on the overall context for successful program evaluations, and carefully explains statistical methods--and threats to internal and statistical validity--that correspond to each evaluation design. Laura Langbein then presents a variety of methods for program analysis, and advise readers on how to select the mix of methods most appropriate for the issues they deal with-- always balancing methodology with the need for generality, the size of the evaluator's budget, the availability of data, and the need for quick results.
Public Pulpits: Methodists and Mainline Churches in the Moral Argument of Public Life
by Steven M. TiptonSince the 2000 presidential election, debate over the role of religion in public life has followed a narrow course as pundits and politicians alike have focused on the influence wielded by conservative Christians. But what about more mainstream Christians? Here, Steven M. Tipton examines the political activities of Methodists and mainline churches in this groundbreaking investigation into a generation of denominational strife among church officials, lobbyists, and activists. The result is an unusually detailed and thoughtful account that upends common stereotypes while asking searching questions about the contested relationship between church and state. Documenting a wide range of reactions to two radically different events—the invasion of Iraq and the creation of the faith-based initiatives program—Tipton charts the new terrain of religious and moral argument under the Bush administration from Pat Robertson to Jim Wallis. He then turns to the case of the United Methodist Church, of which President Bush is a member, to uncover the twentieth-century history of their political advocacy, culminating in current threats to split the Church between liberal peace-and-justice activists and crusaders for evangelical renewal. Public Pulpits balances the firsthand drama of this internal account with a meditative exploration of the wider social impact that mainline churches have had in a time of diverging fortunes and diminished dreams of progress. An eminently fair-minded and ethically astute analysis of how churches keep moral issues alive in politics, Public Pulpits delves deep into mainline Protestant efforts to enlarge civic conscience and cast clearer light on the commonweal and offers a masterly overview of public religion in America.
Public Pulpits: Methodists and Mainline Churches in the Moral Argument of Public Life
by Steven M. TiptonSince the 2000 presidential election, debate over the role of religion in public life has followed a narrow course as pundits and politicians alike have focused on the influence wielded by conservative Christians. But what about more mainstream Christians? Here, Steven M. Tipton examines the political activities of Methodists and mainline churches in this groundbreaking investigation into a generation of denominational strife among church officials, lobbyists, and activists. The result is an unusually detailed and thoughtful account that upends common stereotypes while asking searching questions about the contested relationship between church and state. Documenting a wide range of reactions to two radically different events—the invasion of Iraq and the creation of the faith-based initiatives program—Tipton charts the new terrain of religious and moral argument under the Bush administration from Pat Robertson to Jim Wallis. He then turns to the case of the United Methodist Church, of which President Bush is a member, to uncover the twentieth-century history of their political advocacy, culminating in current threats to split the Church between liberal peace-and-justice activists and crusaders for evangelical renewal. Public Pulpits balances the firsthand drama of this internal account with a meditative exploration of the wider social impact that mainline churches have had in a time of diverging fortunes and diminished dreams of progress. An eminently fair-minded and ethically astute analysis of how churches keep moral issues alive in politics, Public Pulpits delves deep into mainline Protestant efforts to enlarge civic conscience and cast clearer light on the commonweal and offers a masterly overview of public religion in America.
Public Reason and Bioethics: Three Perspectives
by Hon-Lam Li Michael CampbellThis book explores and elaborates three theories of public reason, drawn from Rawlsian political liberalism, natural law theory, and Confucianism. Drawing together academics from these separate approaches, the volume explores how the three theories critique each other, as well as how each one brings its theoretical arsenal to bear on the urgent contemporary debate of medical assistance in dying. The volume is structured in two parts: an exploration of the three traditions, followed by an in-depth overview of the conceptual and historical background. In Part I, the three comprehensive opening chapters are supplemented by six dynamic chapters in dialogue with each other, each author responding to the other two traditions, and subsequently reflecting on the possible deficiencies of their own theories. The chapters in Part II cover a broad range of subjects, from an overview of the history of bioethics to the nature of autonomy and its status as a moral and political value. In its entirety, the volume provides a vibrant and exemplary collaborative resource to scholars interested in the role of public reason and its relevance in bioethical debate.
Public Reason and Political Community (Bloomsbury Research in Political Philosophy)
by Andrew ListerPublic Reason and Political Community defends the liberal ideal of public reason against its critics, but as a form of moral compromise for the sake of civic friendship rather than as a consequence of respect for persons as moral agents. At the heart of the principle of public justification is an idealized unanimity requirement, which can be framed in at least two different ways. Is it our reasons for political decisions that have to be unanimously acceptable to qualified points of view, otherwise we exclude them from deliberation, or is it coercive state action that must be unanimously acceptable, otherwise we default to not having a common rule or policy, on the issue at hand? Andrew Lister explores the 'anti-perfectionist dilemma' that results from this ambiguity. He defends the reasons model on grounds of the value of political community, and applies it to recent debates about marriage.
Public Reason and Political Community (Bloomsbury Research in Political Philosophy)
by Andrew ListerPublic Reason and Political Community defends the liberal ideal of public reason against its critics, but as a form of moral compromise for the sake of civic friendship rather than as a consequence of respect for persons as moral agents. At the heart of the principle of public justification is an idealized unanimity requirement, which can be framed in at least two different ways. Is it our reasons for political decisions that have to be unanimously acceptable to qualified points of view, otherwise we exclude them from deliberation, or is it coercive state action that must be unanimously acceptable, otherwise we default to not having a common rule or policy, on the issue at hand? Andrew Lister explores the 'anti-perfectionist dilemma' that results from this ambiguity. He defends the reasons model on grounds of the value of political community, and applies it to recent debates about marriage.
Public Regulation of Financial Services: Costs and Benefits to Consumers
by Arnold A. Heggestad Arnold A Heggestad Sr AnalystIn the many studies that have been conducted on the provision of financial services for consumers, regulation has emerged as one of the most important factors. The impact of regulation on financial service industries is a major focus of this comprehensive bibliography of relevant source materials in the field of regulatory economics. The bibliography includes entries from the major economics and finance journals published over the past twenty years, major law and business journals,government documents, books, and doctoral dissertations--all indexed according to subject matter--as well as abstracts of many of the papers.The product of extensive research, Heggestad's work is invaluable to university libraries, regulatory agencies, financial institutions, and financial experts, and is an efficient and essential reference tool for anyone wishing to study specific markets and the impact of financial regulation on them.
Public Regulation of Financial Services: Costs and Benefits to Consumers
by Arnold A. Heggestad Arnold A Heggestad Sr AnalystIn the many studies that have been conducted on the provision of financial services for consumers, regulation has emerged as one of the most important factors. The impact of regulation on financial service industries is a major focus of this comprehensive bibliography of relevant source materials in the field of regulatory economics. The bibliography includes entries from the major economics and finance journals published over the past twenty years, major law and business journals,government documents, books, and doctoral dissertations--all indexed according to subject matter--as well as abstracts of many of the papers.The product of extensive research, Heggestad's work is invaluable to university libraries, regulatory agencies, financial institutions, and financial experts, and is an efficient and essential reference tool for anyone wishing to study specific markets and the impact of financial regulation on them.
Public Relations and Neoliberalism: The Language Practices of Knowledge Formation
by Kristin DemetriousFocusing on two of the most fraught and intractable public debates of the present time: human-induced climate change and the human rights of refugees, asylum seekers, immigrants and the stateless, this book raises critical questions about the role and relationship of public relations in weakening democratic political systems. It shows a clear, but often indirect, link between PR and a neoliberal agenda that has been vastly underestimated and oversimplified as "spin." This comes at a great cost for society. Public Relations and Neoliberalism provides a panoramic view of public relations from the post-war period, when a powerful communication template propelled by the PR industry served the neoliberal agenda to create political diversion, division, and hegemony at the same time. But today, public relations is not just a tool of industry or government. Rather, it has become the default mode and style of being and relating in the world, that seeps into and affects all areas of life: professional, corporate, domestic, political, activist, and technological. And the metastasis of neoliberal meaning into so many realms has important ramifications for society and individuals. Looking at the confluences and contradictions within the logic of public relations both as a practice and in terms of how it has been theorized and understood, this book provides an important contribution to critical work in the communicative field.
Public Relations and Neoliberalism: The Language Practices of Knowledge Formation
by Kristin DemetriousFocusing on two of the most fraught and intractable public debates of the present time: human-induced climate change and the human rights of refugees, asylum seekers, immigrants and the stateless, this book raises critical questions about the role and relationship of public relations in weakening democratic political systems. It shows a clear, but often indirect, link between PR and a neoliberal agenda that has been vastly underestimated and oversimplified as "spin." This comes at a great cost for society. Public Relations and Neoliberalism provides a panoramic view of public relations from the post-war period, when a powerful communication template propelled by the PR industry served the neoliberal agenda to create political diversion, division, and hegemony at the same time. But today, public relations is not just a tool of industry or government. Rather, it has become the default mode and style of being and relating in the world, that seeps into and affects all areas of life: professional, corporate, domestic, political, activist, and technological. And the metastasis of neoliberal meaning into so many realms has important ramifications for society and individuals. Looking at the confluences and contradictions within the logic of public relations both as a practice and in terms of how it has been theorized and understood, this book provides an important contribution to critical work in the communicative field.
Public Relations As Activism: Postmodern Approaches To Theory And Practice (PDF)
by Derina R. HoltzhausenThis volume applies postmodern theory to public relations, providing an alternative lens to public relations theory and practice and developing public relations theory within the context of postmodernism. Author Derina Holtzhausen focuses on two key issues and their application to public relations theory and practice: the postmodernization of society, and the possibilities postmodern theories offer to explain and understand public relations practice in today's changing society. Holtzhausen's argument is that existing theory should be evaluated from a postmodern perspective to determine its applicability to postmodernity. Utilizing practitioner perspectives throughout the volume, she explores the practice of public relations as a form of activism. The volume is intended for scholars and students in public relations. It may be used as a supplemental text in advanced courses on public relations theory, PR management, organizational communication, and related areas.
Public Relations in Local Government
by Tom F. RichardsonPublic Relations in Local Government discusses various topics concerning public relations in local government. The book is comprised of 16 chapters that tackle various aspects of public relations, such as technology, marketing, and contacts. The coverage of the book includes the nature of public relations, information dissemination, and division of responsibility. The text also covers the tools and methods utilized in public relations, such as establishing personal contacts and using various forms of media. The book will be of great interest to government employees who are in the public relations department.
Public Relations in the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries: An Arab Perspective (Routledge New Directions in PR & Communication Research)
by Talal M Almutairi Dean KruckebergThe Arab world has engaged in public relations for thousands of years, and the public relations literature provides multiple examples extending from ancient times. However, modern public relations is much more vaguely defined. This is partly because the research surrounding public relations practice in the Middle East remains sparse, especially in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. This book presents a clear picture of contemporary PR practice in this region, providing a background on the evolution of public relations in each GCC country. It shows how environmental factors (historical, cultural, socio-political, and economic) influence practice in the region. It also contributes to public relations scholarship, education, and practice worldwide by providing new perspectives to those unfamiliar with its practice in this region. This book will benefit scholars and practitioners alike through its informed analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of practice in the GCC countries, as well as being of great benefit to the development of professional practice in the region.
Public Relations in the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries: An Arab Perspective (Routledge New Directions in PR & Communication Research)
by Talal M Almutairi Dean KruckebergThe Arab world has engaged in public relations for thousands of years, and the public relations literature provides multiple examples extending from ancient times. However, modern public relations is much more vaguely defined. This is partly because the research surrounding public relations practice in the Middle East remains sparse, especially in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. This book presents a clear picture of contemporary PR practice in this region, providing a background on the evolution of public relations in each GCC country. It shows how environmental factors (historical, cultural, socio-political, and economic) influence practice in the region. It also contributes to public relations scholarship, education, and practice worldwide by providing new perspectives to those unfamiliar with its practice in this region. This book will benefit scholars and practitioners alike through its informed analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of practice in the GCC countries, as well as being of great benefit to the development of professional practice in the region.
Public Religion and the Urban Environment: Constructing a River Town
by Richard Bohannon'Nature' and the 'city' have most often functioned as opposites within Western culture, a dichotomy that has been reinforced (and sometimes challenged) by religious images. Bohannon argues here that cities and natural environments, however, are both connected and continually affected by one another. He shows how such connections become overt during natural disasters, which disrupt the narratives people use to make sense of the world,including especially religious narratives, and make them more visible. This book offers both a theoretical exploration of the intersection of the city, nature, and religion, as well as a sociological analysis of the 1997 flood in Grand Forks, ND, USA. This case study shows how religious factors have influenced how the relationship between nature and the city is perceived, and in particular have helped to justify the urban control of nature. The narratives found in Grand Forks also reveal a broader understanding of the nature of Western cities, highlighting the potent and ethically-rich intersections between religion, cities and nature.
Public Religion and the Urban Environment: Constructing a River Town
by Richard Bohannon'Nature' and the 'city' have most often functioned as opposites within Western culture, a dichotomy that has been reinforced (and sometimes challenged) by religious images. Bohannon argues here that cities and natural environments, however, are both connected and continually affected by one another. He shows how such connections become overt during natural disasters, which disrupt the narratives people use to make sense of the world,including especially religious narratives, and make them more visible. This book offers both a theoretical exploration of the intersection of the city, nature, and religion, as well as a sociological analysis of the 1997 flood in Grand Forks, ND, USA. This case study shows how religious factors have influenced how the relationship between nature and the city is perceived, and in particular have helped to justify the urban control of nature. The narratives found in Grand Forks also reveal a broader understanding of the nature of Western cities, highlighting the potent and ethically-rich intersections between religion, cities and nature.
Public Religions in the Modern World
by José CasanovaIn a sweeping reconsideration of the relation between religion and modernity, Jose Casanova surveys the roles that religions may play in the public sphere of modern societies. During the 1980s, religious traditions around the world, from Islamic fundamentalism to Catholic liberation theology, began making their way, often forcefully, out of the private sphere and into public life, causing the "deprivatization" of religion in contemporary life. No longer content merely to administer pastoral care to individual souls, religious institutions are challenging dominant political and social forces, raising questions about the claims of entities such as nations and markets to be "value neutral", and straining the traditional connections of private and public morality. Casanova looks at five cases from two religious traditions (Catholicism and Protestantism) in four countries (Spain, Poland, Brazil, and the United States). These cases challenge postwar—and indeed post-Enlightenment—assumptions about the role of modernity and secularization in religious movements throughout the world. This book expands our understanding of the increasingly significant role religion plays in the ongoing construction of the modern world.