...Extensive research has been conducted on the topic of how media circulation affects political accountability and government policy. Theory predicts that for a higher share of media receivers, political accountability and hence government expenditures increase. Besley & Burgess (2002) give additional insight into this topic by analyzing the impact of media circulation on government responsiveness to falls in food production and crop flood damage in Indian states. The authors use the extent of public food distribution and calamity relief as proxies for government responsiveness. In addition to media factors, political and economic factors are introduced as potential determinants of policies. The predictions of the theory are underlined by the results of the paper: Government responsiveness increases with a higher amount of media users within a state. Further, political factors are also relevant determinants, whereas, economic factors are of low importance. In the following, the paper will be critically assessed within these sections. First, the theory, the propositions as well as the empirical strategy are introduced and compared to discussions in class. Second, the results of the paper are outlined. Third, the empirical strategy as well as the results will be analyzed and compared to prior research and theory. Finally, a short conclusion and outlook will be given. 2. Theory, Propositions and Empirical Strategy The theoretical two-period model of Besley & Burgess (2002) is based on...
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...A critical examination of the success of implementing operations management theories within the local government Operation management theories can be used as templates over almost any industry, the usage of which can affect the outcome of almost any situation, which arises within the organization. The theories can cover anything from the large operations a business is responsible for including transport to the smallest factors, which can include production methods. My topic for discussion today will be the inclusion of the theories within the local government sector and how successful the plans have been. Firstly, layout and flow becomes an important aspect of almost any business. This helps the organization not only provide the best service to the customer and enabling all the resources needed are to hand but also ensures the customer can travel within the business smoothly and free of queuing. The governments major operation to provide the best layout comes from within the hospitals where layout management can quite literally mean life or death. Poor management of the layout of government buildings such as hospitals need to be laid out so that not only are facilities closely available to the patients that need them but also the doctors who need to be able to navigate throughout the hospital without hindrance. A company sourced by the government who specialize in medical architecture back up the importance for proper planning and try to ensure that their plans cater for...
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...Meaning of Privatization Paul Starr Privatization is a fuzzy concept that evokes sharp political reactions. It covers a great range of ideas and policies, varying from the eminently reasonable to the wildly impractical. Yet however varied and at times unclear in its meaning, privatization has unambiguous political origins and objectives. It emerges from the countermovement against the growth of government in the West and represents the most serious conservative effort of our time to formulate a positive alternative. Privatization proposals do not aim merely to return services to their original location in the private sphere. Some proposals seek to create new kinds of market relations and promise results comparable or superior to conventional public programs. Hence it is a mistake to define and dismiss the movement as simply a replay of traditional opposition to state intervention and expenditure. The current wave of privatization initiatives opens a new chapter in the conflict over the public-private balance. This Article attempts to clarify the meaning of privatization as an idea, as theory and rhetoric, and as a political practice. In the process I...
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...Jillian Wheeler-Spence Philosophy 121 Essay 2 10/04/2012 In this paper I am going to be discussing the differences in Hobbes and Locke’s theory of the state of nature. One of the major differences is that Hobbes was a rationalist. His theory of the state of nature is really the starting point for a legal system. What Hobbes talked about was the time before government. He believed that by nature human beings were passionate and reasonable. That by nature we are all capable of taking care of ourselves. To Hobbes there was no such thing as justice. Everyone has the right to defend themselves. In my opinion he believed in the theory of due unto others as you would have done unto you. So for example if you didn’t want someone to steal from you, you shouldn’t steal from them. If someone did threaten you in anyway, then you were able to defend yourself by any means necessary. Hobbes believed that if there were no rules in place at all that everyone would just kill each other. So there needed to be some sort of government to help enforce those rules. He just wasn’t sure how to go about getting that government set up. He thought that a government should in place basically to help us keep our promises to each other. A government wouldn’t really had out punishment but just enforce the rules that we had already set. Those rules I believe were set by each individual. What I might think is the right thing to do, may not be the right thing for someone...
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...liberal ideologies, liberal IR theory focuses on market structure as variable explaining both openness and closure. The resulting commercial liberal explanation of relative gains seeking in foreign economic policy is quite distinct from that of Realism, which emphasizes security externalities and relative (hegemonic) power, or that of Institutionalism, which stresses informational and institutional constraints on interstate collective action. One source of pressure for protection lies in uncompetitive, monopolistic or undiversified sectors or factors that lose the most from liberalization and have an incentive to oppose it. Commercial liberalism has important implications for security affairs as well. Trade is generally a less costly means of accumulating wealth than war, sanctions or other coercive means, not least due to the minimization of collateral damage. Yet governments sometimes have an incentive to employ coercive means to create and control international markets. To explain this variation, domestic distributional issues and the structure of global markets are again critical. Yet economic development tends to increase the material stake of social actors in existing...
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...Organizational Theory Angele Muhammad February 5, 2014 Assistant Professor Darren Gil Southern University at New Orleans Abstract I will discuss the basis of an organizational theory as it applies to the criminal justice system. I am discussing and giving a clear understanding of the criminal justice system as an organization of a bureaucratic management system with hierarchies and processes of inputs, processes, and outputs within one aspect of the criminal justice system i.e. police, within one city. I will also discuss how New Orleans Police Department was created throughout history and what organizational theory has been implemented. This is a brief history of the New Orleans Police Department and why a bureaucratic management system is the basis for this organization. Organizational Theory Understanding that Organizational theory is the study of organizations in the aspect of design, structure, the relationship of the organization and the external and internal environment including the behavior of the hierarchy within the organization. The police, courts and parole, which are the criminal justice agencies, fit the description of being an organization. They consist of having a process of input, processing and outputs. This system desires to process and close cases that will stay closed within a hierarchy frame. They all have sets of written rules and specialized training within a hierarchy of authority that desires the bureaucratic structure to become...
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...In 1956 three professors of communication-Fred S. Siebert, Theodore Peterson and Wilbur Schramm-brought out their Four Theories of the Press which went a long way in establishing a typology in the minds of journalism educators and students. Siebert, Peterson and Schramm discuss journalism philosophy presenting four theories (or concepts): 1. the authoritarian theory, 2. the libertarian theory, 3. the communist theory and 4 the social responsibility theory. Very briefly, here are the main characterstics of each of these theories. Authoritarian: The state, as the highest expression of institutionalized structure, supersedes the individual and makes it possible for the individual to acquire and develop a stable and harmonious life Mass communication, then, supports the state and the government in power so that total society may advance and the state may be viable and attain its objectives. The State (the elite that runs the state) directs the citizenry, which is not considered competent and interested enough to make critical political decisions. One man or an elite group is placed in a leadership role. As the group or person controls society generally it (or he or she) also controls the mass media since they are recognized as vital instruments of social control. The mass media, under authoritarianism, are educators and propagandists by which the power elite exercise social control. Generally the media are privately owned, although the leader or his elite group may own units in...
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...encourage me to read a book that I know I should read, but which I might not otherwise rush to.” This is true, and therein lies a big challenge—this book will be read by far more academics studying the bureaucratic side of the public service, and by those working in it, than by elected politicians. That is a shame. A big part of our job is to keep government to account, yet not nearly enough of us on the political side learn how the civil service really works, and how we must work together. Together, elected politicians and members of the civil service form part of the larger concept of service to the public, service to country. In the democracy that is Canada, politicians represent the will of the people. They are the ones ultimately held accountable to the public. The other side of the public service, the civil service, carries out the administration of the government and its services to Canadians. The two work hand in hand, balancing the policy directions articulated by the people through the politicians, with the consistency of programs and services—and advice—provided by an impartial civil service. At least that’s how it works in theory. This book explores all of that, and more. Thirty four individual authors are represented, and they provide a rich, substantive range of...
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...it’s suppose too; there is always flaws in the system. The structure of the government system has allowed groups to form and these groups have helped in creating some laws and policies in our system these groups are called interest groups. I will discuss the 3 types of theories with interest groups, the function of interest groups, and the different type of interest groups. There are three theories that cover the interest groups. The first out of the three is the pluralist theory. The pluralist theory is competition amongst individuals trying to get their preferred policies. An example be the groups allowing for abortion and the other against abortion; there both competing against each other to get a policy to their reason. The next theory would be the elite theory. The elite theory is that the upper-class elite hold most of the authority and control most of the government. An...
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...Policy Transfer: Willingness and Oversight Public policy making is the process of conceptualizing problems, providing it to government policy makers, who in turn create solutions that gets evaluated, measured and revised (Sabatier, P. 2007). A Policy transfer on the other hand, is the process of using knowledge from one political setting into the development of ideas in another setting (Dolowitz and Marsh. 2000). In the article “Policy Transfer: Theory, rhetoric and reality”, the author describes the hurdles of transferring new policies to the UK. It is a challenging endeavour...oftentimes regarded as messy and unpredictable...due to policy makers’ instincts and the lack of organization of knowledge (Duncan, S. 2009). According to the author public policy in the county had the following characteristics (1)Policy makers have a vast knowledge base when it comes to policy making; (2)Policy makers recognize the need for evidence in the initial direction of ideas; (3)The government utilize international sources to obtain evidence (4)There were successes and failures in replicating international policies (5) Without guidance, policy makers will revert to instincts in policy making. Willingness is a crucial factor for strong policy transfers (Sabatier, P. 2007). The UK Cabinet Office had willingness to learn, it even had Skills Training for civil servants to analyze foreign data (Duncan, S. 2009). Conflict arose when it came to tailoring the policy for the UK. In addition...
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...Equity Theory of Motivation As the cliche goes, no man is an island. Everything man does is influenced by other men and his environment. Be it in school or at work, the reason why people persevere lies on the desire to achieve a certain goal. Hence, motivation is essential to keep the drive of doing things passionately and effectively. However, the enthusiasm to sustain the dream and keep the motivation alive can be tampered by life’s uncertainties. Given the unique characteristics that each student possess, the amount of effort exerted by an average student does not always equal the amount of effort exerted by an outlier in class, yet the results are the same or sometimes exceeded by the outlier. Perhaps there are instances when studying overnight and not studying at all yielded the same result. These situations affect the level of motivation a student harness when studying. The feeling of unfairness affects how he/she will prepare for the next exam. In the workplace setting, motivation is likewise an important factor to increase productivity. For example, an employee who worked overtime to get the job well done vis-a-vis an employee who slacked off and produced a mediocre output both received the same salary and the same praises from their boss. The hardworking employee might feel wronged upon seeing how his extra effort was overlooked. To give justice to the unfairness he feels, he opts to mimic the other employee, thus also producing a mediocre output. The equity theory of...
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...setting which individual or group holds power to control others, which leads to the larger question of how they use that power. In terms of countries, this group is often a form of government (democracy, monarchy, dictatorship, etc.). In the U.S., for example, the governing body is the federal government (in collaboration with those on the state level), which control the lives of citizens. This questioning of placement and use of power can then be applied to various aspects of society, and pertains to the methods in which the governing power addresses a certain issue or goal. The structure of the governing power and the nature of its actions will often fall under...
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...and Hobbes believe that people need a system of government to live properly and to have a working society. However, Hobbes believes that without a form of government, specifically a monarchy, humans would act like animals in a "state of nature", while Locke believes that humanity is born "equal and with natural rights" and are governed only because of their contract of consent and have the power to change the government if it breaks the people's contract. Locke's theory had a more direct impact on the American system of government as one can see his work and ideas in not only the Declaration of Independence, "life, liberty, and property", but also in how the American government works as a whole. Although Hobbes' Leviathan does not play a key role in our government in the sense of an "all-powerful" government, his idea that people need a single ruler to govern to "guarantee the rights of the weak against the strong" was implemented in the creation of the executive branch of the American government system. 2 Locke's ideas and theory shows up all throughout the Declaration of Independence. Three examples of this are: "all men are created equal", "endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness", and "Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed". These three quotes are directly related to the theory and works of John Locke. I do agree with...
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...began to apply concepts of reason to all functions of society. Politics and the role of government had a major impact on theorists like Hobbes and Locke. In this paper, I will focus on what is the difference between Hobbes and Locke in regards to the role of government? And why are their theories important to today’s government? To respond, I will be arguing that Hobbes and Locke have two completely different views on how governments should be run; Hobbes focuses on authoritarian regime and Locke’ main idea is there should be a civil society. To answer the latter, I will analyze Hobbes’s theory of government with today’s government and I will also analyze Locke’s Theory of government with today’s government. Thomas Hobbes believed in a form of government in which people were controlled by an absolute ruler (Leviathan). For Hobbes, he believed that all human beings were naturally selfish and cruel; he believed that the State of Nature is short, poor and disorderly (Lecture). People in the State of Nature pursue their self-interests (material gain and personal safety), and this will lead to human beings to make enemies and create conflict (Lecture). Therefore, without government there will be no control over humans and life would be disorganised. In his eyes, a ruler is necessary for a state to thrive and flourish, without a leader, society would be chaotic (Leviathan). In this type of government, people would need to hand over their social contracts and their rights to a ruler....
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...elected? Some argue that elected judges is a part of democracy or that they are representation of the people who elected them. The judiciary system is one of three tiers in our government which also include the legislative and executive branches. These three branches work together to provide the people with a check and balance system of government and that all three are equal in power and authority. However, some argue that popular election of judges is a bad idea, and it opens up the judicial branch to the same partisan and commercial pressures that the legislative and executive branches of government already experience (Kiplinger, 2013). The concern is that judges may be bought by those with money forcing them to make decisions in benefit to those who bribed them. Another issue with financial side of elected judges is that elections cost money. Very few judges bank roll an election from their own pocket, therefore they rely on donations and fundraising to pay for election campaigns. But can a judge remain unbiased and non-partisan if they were bank rolled by someone who was seeking judgments to benefit them directly or the market they work or own businesses in. An article published in the American Journal of Political Science, stated that the article was developed and tested a theory specifying the conditions under which trial judges will alter their sentencing behavior to improve their electoral prospects. Monitoring judicial behavior is difficult for voters,...
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