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- Title
- A Baudrillardian examination of municipalities as public relations and marketing firms.
- Creator
- Zavattaro, Staci M., College for Design and Social Inquiry, School of Public Administration
- Abstract/Description
-
Local governments are adopting both the rhetoric and practices of market-based governance interventions. Imported into these cities are public relations and marketing tactics to sell cities to internal and external audiences alike. Public communication in these cities went from a public information focus hinging on a just-the-facts approach to a public relations and marketing focus on selling and image generation to please customers. Acute attention to image generation leads to the metaphor...
Show moreLocal governments are adopting both the rhetoric and practices of market-based governance interventions. Imported into these cities are public relations and marketing tactics to sell cities to internal and external audiences alike. Public communication in these cities went from a public information focus hinging on a just-the-facts approach to a public relations and marketing focus on selling and image generation to please customers. Acute attention to image generation leads to the metaphor of municipalities presented in this research - as public relations and marketing firms. Private sector public relations (PR) and marketing firms gain results for their clients, usually in the form of consumer consumption. A city acting as a public relations and marketing firm puts priority on the image-generation potentials of nearly all its governance functions to sell a commodity to customers. To illustrate this, a six-point model was devised of PR and marketing tactics used in cities operating as public relations and marketing firms: branding, media relations, in-house publications, use of volunteers and outside organizations as PR tools, aesthetic and affective appeal, and sustainability and going green. A city using all six is a fully realized PR and marketing firm, as it adopts, adapts and executes the tactics in meaningful ways. An over-reliance on image-generation (PR and marketing) versus substance (information) pushes public organizations through Baudrillard's four phases of the image. The image of the city becomes dissociated with reality, and the government operates in a simulation of itself. This research uses Qualitative Media Analysis (Altheide, 1996) supplemented by a discourse analysis method created for this research - Baudrillardian Discourse Analysis., Baudrillardian Discourse Analysis examines market-based, consumer-driven, postmodern language found in public organizations because of the governance changes mentioned earlier. Implications for public administration include: developing a model of organizations for other scholars to examine; introducing a discourse analysis method; and showing realizations of postmodern critiques and impacts of market models on cities.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2010
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/1927610
- Subject Headings
- Influence, City and town life, Social aspects, Sociology, Urban, Place marketing
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- An empirical analysis of the roles assumed by public administrators: the case of public procurement specialists.
- Creator
- Roman, Alexandru V., College for Design and Social Inquiry, School of Public Administration
- Abstract/Description
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This dissertation examines administrative roles within the context of everyday public administration. Specifically, it studies the relationship between administrative roles assumed by public administrators and (1) the perceived presence of administrative discretion, (2) individual level beliefs regarding involvement in policy formulation and (3) tenure with organization. This dissertation has a three-fold purpose. First, it delineates the types of roles assumed by public procurement...
Show moreThis dissertation examines administrative roles within the context of everyday public administration. Specifically, it studies the relationship between administrative roles assumed by public administrators and (1) the perceived presence of administrative discretion, (2) individual level beliefs regarding involvement in policy formulation and (3) tenure with organization. This dissertation has a three-fold purpose. First, it delineates the types of roles assumed by public procurement specialists. Second, it tests whether administrative discretion, beliefs regarding participation in policy formulation and organizational tenure are significant in explaining the assumption of certain types of roles. Finally, the dissertation evaluates the implications for the public procurement process of the predominance of certain roles. vi The theoretical logic for this dissertation draws on the theory of representative bureaucracy and role theory. ... It is found that administrative discretion, individual expectations and organizational tenure are indeed important predictors of the assumption of administrative roles. Administrators who believe that they have access to relatively high levels of discretion and those who believe they should be involved in policy formulation are more likely to assume a representative type role. On the other hand, with increased tenure public administrators are less likely to assume a representative type role.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2013
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/3362569
- Subject Headings
- Public administration, Methodology, Transparency in government, Comparative government, Bureaucracy
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Collaborative governance and the implementation of the Ryan White CARE Act: a case study of HIV health services planning councils in two South Florida counties.
- Creator
- Agbodzakey, James K., College for Design and Social Inquiry, School of Public Administration
- Abstract/Description
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The complex problems of the twenty-first century cannot be effectively addressed with twentieth century top-down bureaucratic governance alone because of limited stakeholder participation in collective decision making and/or implementation. The somewhat limited stakeholder participation in the policy process, especially, that of target populations, can impact generating viable solutions to complex problems. Collaborative governance has emerged as a promising alternative to traditional...
Show moreThe complex problems of the twenty-first century cannot be effectively addressed with twentieth century top-down bureaucratic governance alone because of limited stakeholder participation in collective decision making and/or implementation. The somewhat limited stakeholder participation in the policy process, especially, that of target populations, can impact generating viable solutions to complex problems. Collaborative governance has emerged as a promising alternative to traditional management in addressing contemporary complex problems. Collaborative governance is thus a type of governance that promotes joint participation of state and non-state stakeholders in decision making and/or implementation by using agreed upon processes of engagement to collectively address problems. Such governance is especially beneficial for addressing the challenges posed by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). This dissertation uses the collaborative governance concept to explicate the efforts of HIV Health Services Planning Councils in Broward County and Palm Beach County of South Florida with the purpose of accentuating how collaborative governance works in providing various categories of services to meet the needs of people with AIDS (PWAs), as part of the implementation of the Ryan White CARE Act. The study focuses on critical variables of collaborative governance such as facilitative leadership and institutional design, the collaborative process variables such as trust building, commitment to the process and shared understanding, and outputs such as allocation priorities of the Councils. This study employed mixed methods in collecting data from various relevant sources., The combined findings from surveys, interviews, observations and document reviews were essential to knowledge and understanding of collaborative governance of the respective Councils. The results revealed more similarities than differences between the Councils in their efforts towards addressing the HIV/AIDS problem. The Councils are similar in all variables of collaborative governance with few exceptions relative to facilitative leadership and institutional design. The differences were relative to membership, number of committees, amount allocated for various service categories and number of clients served. Furthermore, the Councils were slightly different in reaching consensus on subjects of deliberation. On the average, Palm Beach County's Council make decisions by consensus relatively easily when compared with the Broward County's Council. Nonetheless, both Councils are consensus-oriented and strive to make decision by consensus as evidenced by unanimous votes or simple majority votes on various subjects of deliberation. In addition, representation and participation of target populations in collaborative governance have contributed to the empowerment of those target populations. The study contributes to the literature by developing a conceptual model for HIV/AIDS collaborative governance for producing outputs to help meet needs of target populations. Also, the study contributes to collaborative governance theorizing by drawing a nexus between variables of collaborative governance and by complementing the existing non-linear perspective of collaborative process for collective problem solving. Collaborative governance involving state and non-state stakeholders thereby enhances efforts of public managers by harnessing resources to effectively manage and/or address complex problems for the benefit of society.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2009
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/368614
- Subject Headings
- HIV infections, Government policy, AIDS (Disease), Patients, Services for, Public-private sector cooperation, Public administration, Decision making
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Democratic accountability for outsourced government services.
- Creator
- Keeler, Rebecca L., College for Design and Social Inquiry, School of Public Administration
- Abstract/Description
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Public administration scholars have raised serious concerns about loss of democratic accountability when government services are outsourced to private forprofit businesses because of the very different values and missions of the two sectors. Particular concern for democratic accountability arises when administrative discretion is delegated to governments' private sector agents. Furthermore, if contractors may adversely impact individual rights or interests, or may adversely impact vulnerable...
Show morePublic administration scholars have raised serious concerns about loss of democratic accountability when government services are outsourced to private forprofit businesses because of the very different values and missions of the two sectors. Particular concern for democratic accountability arises when administrative discretion is delegated to governments' private sector agents. Furthermore, if contractors may adversely impact individual rights or interests, or may adversely impact vulnerable populations, special democratic responsibilities arise. It is these three features of outsourcing transactions that constitute the elements of the proposed framework used in this research in order to assess need for heightened attention to democratic accountability. Some scholars argue for application of constitutional and administrative law norms to some government contractors., Public service ethics and transparency requirements found in administrative law are heavily value-laden and mission-driven. If applied to certain government contractors, they can help to bridge the sectors' mission and value differences, thus enhancing democratic accountability for the services performed by governments' private sector agents. This research offers an analytical framework for identifying features of outsourcing transactions that call for enhanced democratic accountability measures such as ethics and transparency requirements, and explores the application of ethics and transparency requirements to governments' contractors. Contracts and laws governing three Florida local government service categories were subjected to close systematic textual and legal analysis: residential trash collection, building code inspection, and inmate health care., The analysis revealed circumstances calling for greater attention to democratic accountability in that the selected outsourcing transactions delegated to contractors the authority to exercise police power, make public policy, and commit expenditures of public funds. Contracts and laws haphazardly required contractors to abide by public service ethics and transparency requirements, thus beginning to adapt the mission and value system of their private sector agents to those of government.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2010
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/1927311
- Subject Headings
- Contracting out, Privatization, Public administration, Decision making, Public contracts, Management
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- The social construction of breast and prostate cancer policy.
- Creator
- Martinez, Jocilyn., College for Design and Social Inquiry, School of Public Administration
- Abstract/Description
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Breast and prostate cancers are the most commonly diagnosed forms of cancer in women and men in the United States. The federal government has played an active role in dedicating resources toward breast and prostate cancers since the early 1990s, when policy actors successfully lobbied Congress to adopt policies that increased awareness and spending. Using theories of social construction, I argue that the key to their success was the ability of these policy actors to socially construct the...
Show moreBreast and prostate cancers are the most commonly diagnosed forms of cancer in women and men in the United States. The federal government has played an active role in dedicating resources toward breast and prostate cancers since the early 1990s, when policy actors successfully lobbied Congress to adopt policies that increased awareness and spending. Using theories of social construction, I argue that the key to their success was the ability of these policy actors to socially construct the illnesses of breast and prostate cancers into politically attractive public issues that appealed to federal policymakers. Through the use of embedded collective case study and content analysis of newspaper coverage and congressional data, this dissertation demonstrates how the social constructions of these illnesses impacted the way that breast and prostate cancers were treated as they moved through the policy process. The way in which social construction influenced the types of policies that were adopted to deal with these illnesses is also examined. Because social construction is a multidimensional and dynamic process, several different elements of this process were examined in this dissertation: the ways that policy actors attracted attention to these illnesses, how gender influenced advocacy efforts, the symbolic aspects of these illnesses, and the way the illnesses were defined on systemic and institutional agendas. Since this dissertation examines two different policy issues, the similarities and differences in breast and prostate cancer policymaking were analyzed. I found that discussing breast and prostate cancers in relation to their social constructions provides support for the importance of symbolism and non-rational policy-making processes.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2010
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/1927310
- Subject Headings
- Breast, Cancer, Patients, Services for, Prostate, Cancer, Patients, Services for, Health services accessibility, Government policy, Medical policy
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- The influence of the global economic crisis on the relationship between governance and economic growth.
- Creator
- Albassam, Bassam A., College for Design and Social Inquiry, School of Public Administration
- Abstract/Description
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The current economic crisis has affected all aspects of life, which has resulted in political instability, personal financial troubles, and a growing number of business bankruptcies. While these are serious issues, simply developoing a government policy that injects an economy with money is not an appropriate means to achieve economic recovery and long-term economic development unless combined with an effective and efficient governing system. The present research studies whether the strong...
Show moreThe current economic crisis has affected all aspects of life, which has resulted in political instability, personal financial troubles, and a growing number of business bankruptcies. While these are serious issues, simply developoing a government policy that injects an economy with money is not an appropriate means to achieve economic recovery and long-term economic development unless combined with an effective and efficient governing system. The present research studies whether the strong relationship between governance and growth exists during economic crises or only during non-crisis periods. The results of the current research show that the global economic crisis has had an influence on the relationship between governance and economic growth. In addition, this study found that different levels of development affect the relationship between governance and growth differently during times of crisis. Consequently, the results of the current research show the instability in the relationship between governance and economic growth during the economic crisis ; this unsteadiness is a sign of the need for long-term strategies to promote global and national good governance practices that are not adversely affected by crises.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2012
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/3360745
- Subject Headings
- Globalization, Economic aspects, Financial crises, History, Sustainable development, Government policy, Industrial organization (Economic theory)
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- An evaluation of the impact of local government institutions on business resilience in disaster.
- Creator
- Atkinson, Christopher L., College for Design and Social Inquiry, School of Public Administration
- Abstract/Description
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This dissertation explores how local government policies affect pre-and postdisaster business resilience, in the context of institutional and neo-institutional frameworks. The study builds on past research on business vulnerability and resilience to examine government policies in the pre-disaster and response and recovery periods, and explore how government responses of varying types can contribute to different outcomes for local small businesses in the recovery period following hurricane...
Show moreThis dissertation explores how local government policies affect pre-and postdisaster business resilience, in the context of institutional and neo-institutional frameworks. The study builds on past research on business vulnerability and resilience to examine government policies in the pre-disaster and response and recovery periods, and explore how government responses of varying types can contribute to different outcomes for local small businesses in the recovery period following hurricane disasters. The project examines two cases surrounding events in 2005 and their impact on business resilience: Hurricane Katrina and its effects on the New Orleans metropolitan area; and Palm Beach County's experience with Hurricane Wilma. The dissertation involves a mixed-method approach to the subject matter. The statistical analysis portion uses multiple regression analysis of surveys of government-registered business owners in the affected areas. Business resilience is examined in light of the p redictive power of the size of the disaster; the influence of the institutional policies in public procurement, and vii economic development through small business programs; the role of institutional culture; and finally business vulnerability. The interview portion involves interviews with public officials, and coding and analysis of the field texts of these discussions, for additional information about the role that institutions play in the resilience of businesses before and after disaster. The statistical results suggest that institutional culture; size of disaster, institutional policies (particularly in procurement practices), and vulnerability can play a role in determining the resilience of a local business community., The statistical analysis is supported by interview data, which suggest that public institutions can create a culture of resilience in the business communities they serve, through support of proactive measures that make businesses less vulnerable, and creation and maintenance of supportive networks in the business community through public-private channels. Such approaches, combined with forward-thinking policy toward economic development as a general imperative, can create business communities that are more resilient in the face of disaster.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2011
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/3174502
- Subject Headings
- Business cycles, Emergency management, Government policy, Small business, Planning, Disaster relief, Government policy
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- A comparative study of the relationships between conflict management styles and job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and propensity to leave the job among Saudi and American universities' faculty members.
- Creator
- Alzahrani, Mohammed., College for Design and Social Inquiry, School of Public Administration
- Abstract/Description
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This study used Rahim Organizational Conflict Inventory-II, Form C to examine the preference for conflict management styles among Saudi and American faculty members. Additionally, the study examined the relationships between conflict management styles and job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and propensity to leave the job. A random sample that consisted of (N = 300) faculty members was drawn evenly from Al-Baha University (BU) and Florida Atlantic University (FAU). Multivariate...
Show moreThis study used Rahim Organizational Conflict Inventory-II, Form C to examine the preference for conflict management styles among Saudi and American faculty members. Additionally, the study examined the relationships between conflict management styles and job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and propensity to leave the job. A random sample that consisted of (N = 300) faculty members was drawn evenly from Al-Baha University (BU) and Florida Atlantic University (FAU). Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was conducted to examine whether or not there are differences between American and Saudi faculty members in their conflict management styles. Nationality was used as the factor, and the five conflict management styles (Integrating, Obliging, Dominating, Avoiding, and Compromising) were entered as dependent variables. The level of significance was 0.05. Additionally, Pearson's correlation was used to determine if a statistically significant relationship exists between the five conflict management styles and job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and propensity to leave the job. The level of significance was set at 0.05. Findings indicated that there were no statistically significant differences in conflict management styles between Saudi and American faculty members. Furthermore there were no significant correlations between any of the conflict management styles and job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and propensity to leave the job. Results were discussed in light of literature review. Practical implications, limitations of the study, and recommendations were provided.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2013
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/3362326
- Subject Headings
- Conflict management, Interpersonal communication, Job satisfaction, Personnel management, Labor turnover
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Public asset management: empirical evidence from the state governments in the United States.
- Creator
- Lu, Yaotai, College for Design and Social Inquiry, School of Public Administration
- Abstract/Description
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Public asset management is a critical component of the financial integrity of government. However, in practice, problems exist in the field of public asset management at different levels of government in the United States. This research explores the management of public fixed assets owned, controlled and used by state governments in America. It attempts to answer two major questions: (1) What are the characteristics of a modern public asset management system based on the available literature?...
Show morePublic asset management is a critical component of the financial integrity of government. However, in practice, problems exist in the field of public asset management at different levels of government in the United States. This research explores the management of public fixed assets owned, controlled and used by state governments in America. It attempts to answer two major questions: (1) What are the characteristics of a modern public asset management system based on the available literature? and (2) How do public asset management practices at the U.S. state government compare to the system standard described in the first question? Based on systems theory and current research on public asset management and public procurement systems, this research develops an intellectual framework of a public fixed asset management system. This system is composed of six interdependent cornerstones, including legal and regulatory requirements, organization structure, management process throughout th e life cycle of assets, human capital strategies, information and technology resources, and monitoring, integrity, and transparency. Each cornerstone consists of a number of components that reveal the underlying working principles of the relevant cornerstone and together determine the standards of fixed asset management in the relevant area. Survey results demonstrate that state governments fundamentally satisfy the standards identified in the fixed asset management system. However, certain problems obviously exist in the area of each cornerstone. In addition, survey results reveal that the six cornerstones of fixed asset management system are interrelated with one another. In most states, when a management element in the area of one cornerstone is widely implemented, the relevant management elements in areas of other cornerstones are employed and vice versa., A major contribution of this research is the development of a fixed asset management system. State and federal governments may compare their fixed asset management to the standards identified in this system. Local governments may find appropriate management components to adapt to their characteristics from this system.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2011
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/3171677
- Subject Headings
- Finance, Public, Infrastructure (Economics), Finance, Organizational behavior, Government policy
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- How do home and community based services change long-term care?.
- Creator
- Perez, Enrique M., College for Design and Social Inquiry, School of Public Administration
- Abstract/Description
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The relationship between Public Administration and the people is one that requires legitimacy and compromise in order to solve complex problems. Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and their families during the last fifty years have put forth an agenda that calls for the advancement of rights for the disabled and more integration into the larger society. In this arena, government, with post civil rights legislation like the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act ...
Show moreThe relationship between Public Administration and the people is one that requires legitimacy and compromise in order to solve complex problems. Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and their families during the last fifty years have put forth an agenda that calls for the advancement of rights for the disabled and more integration into the larger society. In this arena, government, with post civil rights legislation like the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), plays a huge role in promoting social awareness and bringing down barriers of stigmatization, understanding, and access. This struggle is fought on many fronts. A significant part of the effort focuses on moving the locus of long-term care of the disabled, including the IDD population, from an institutional setting to the least restrictive setting that will foster social ties and integration. Since the early 1980s as part of this effort to deinstitutionalize the disabled, legislation at both the federal and state level has supported and incentivized the creation of Home and Community Based Service (HCBS) programs. HCBS waivers, as they are typically called, are also promoted as a means of containing government expenditures for long-term care. However, the effectiveness of these waivers is poorly understood. The critical questions being - Do HCBS waivers promote and create an environment that increases awareness of the needs of IDD individuals? Do the programs help reduce stigmatization, promote understanding, and increase access to services and activities that foster social interaction? Or, do HCBS waivers create a new "iron cage" where the intellectually or developmentally disabled are once again relegated to existing as second class citizens? In this research, programs are mapped and then evaluated to paint a better picture of how HCBS waivers change long-term care., This research combines qualitative and quantitative approaches to triangulate on these phenoamea as a means to investigate when and how HCBS waiver programs facilitate, promote, or stifle the social integration of those with IDD. How does social integration manifest itself in the quality long-term care of those who often cannot take care of themselves?
Show less - Date Issued
- 2011
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/3318667
- Subject Headings
- Long-term care of the sick, Medical care, Quality control, Sociology of disabiltiy, Heath care rationing, Outcome assessment (Medical care), Community health services
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Mimetic, coercive, and normative influences in institutionalization of organizational practices: the case of distance learning in higher education.
- Creator
- Caravella, Kristi D., College for Design and Social Inquiry, School of Public Administration
- Abstract/Description
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In this study, DiMaggio and Powell's (1983) institutional model of isomorphic change is hypothesized to explain the changes witnessed in educational organizations with regard to the acceptance, implementation and institutionalization of distance learning. In order to show the power of institutional theory in explaining organizational change over time, a comparative qualitative case study methodology is utilized. Document analysis and interviews are used to explore the utility of this...
Show moreIn this study, DiMaggio and Powell's (1983) institutional model of isomorphic change is hypothesized to explain the changes witnessed in educational organizations with regard to the acceptance, implementation and institutionalization of distance learning. In order to show the power of institutional theory in explaining organizational change over time, a comparative qualitative case study methodology is utilized. Document analysis and interviews are used to explore the utility of this isomorphic change model. Each research question seeks to explore different influences of institutional isomorphism, coercive, normative, and mimetic. DiMaggio and Powell (1983) suggest organizations converge on similar practices and behaviors and appear similar to like organizations over time. The appearance of change toward homogeneity is explored through the isomorphic change theory which indentifies three forces, coercive, normative and mimetic, influential in determining how adopted behaviors and pr actices become isomorphically accepted by the organizational field. Coercive isomorphism stems from political influence and organizational legitimacy, often conveyed through laws, regulations, and accreditation processes (or outside agency requirements); normative isomorphism is associated with professional values; and mimetic isomorphism is copying or mimicking behaviors that is a result of organizational response to uncertainty. By examining the organizational field for the presence of these forces and measuring the extent of these forces at various points in time one is able to explain convergence on regularized practices and institutionalized behaviors, or how an organizational field becomes institutionalized, around a particular idea or practice., The coercive, mimetic, and normative forces present in the field dictate institutionalization and theoretically produce an environment that induces organizational conformity, or homogeneity, through pressure to appear legitimate, competition, mandates associated with funding, and influential professional group and network values.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2011
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/3169915
- Subject Headings
- Distance education, Influence of technological innovations on, Education, Political aspects, Organizational behavior, Diffusion of innovations
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- The Sisyphusian predicament: existentialism and a grounded theory analysis of the experience and practice of public administration.
- Creator
- Hollar, T. Lucas., College for Design and Social Inquiry, School of Public Administration
- Abstract/Description
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Public administration addresses issues that competing and aligning groups determine to be meaningful enough to address. However, there seems to be no shared universally objective ways of remedying anything. Everything is up for argument. Additionally, attempting to solve one set of problems often creates other connected problems and/or unintended consequences. So, public work ever [sic] never ends. This dissertation's purpose was to contribute a new theoretical understanding of the experience...
Show morePublic administration addresses issues that competing and aligning groups determine to be meaningful enough to address. However, there seems to be no shared universally objective ways of remedying anything. Everything is up for argument. Additionally, attempting to solve one set of problems often creates other connected problems and/or unintended consequences. So, public work ever [sic] never ends. This dissertation's purpose was to contribute a new theoretical understanding of the experience and practice of public administration. Its research addressed if and how a grounded existential theoretical framework could emerge that would help practitioners and scholars understand and describe public administrative efforts and experiences. Currently, there is no existential theory of public administration. This dissertation sought to initiate work in that direction. This dissertation employed a grounded theory methodology to collect information from Senior Executive Service (SES) members, to analyze the information for emerging concepts and theoretical relevance through constant comparison, and to discover/construct a theoretical framework for understanding public administrative efforts and experiences. "The grounded theory approach is a general methodology of analysis linked with data collection that uses a systematically applied set of methods to generate an inductive theory about a substantive area" (Glaser, 1992, p. 16)., This dissertation identified the emergence of three categories/themes that organized what the SES members were saying, doing, and perceiving. These categories include "the environment," "the work," and "the individual." The core category/theme, "the Sisyphusian predicament," theoretically unifies these categories/themes through a metaphorical application of existential concepts. It describes the issues administrators experience (never-endingness, boundedness, and finitude in the face of infinitude (managing the scope and scale of one's intentions; generating and authoring relevance, significance, and meaning; and the choice for metaphysical revolt/ microemancipation). There are scholarly and practicable applications of this framework. This dissertation contributes exploratory work towards developing a new theoretical alternative within public administration. It provides an alternative approach for viewing and understanding organizational processes within public organizations. Additionally, an existential approach facilitates a plurality of competing schools of thought wherein administrators can select approaches to decision making and acting on the basis of context and utility.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2008
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/165673
- Subject Headings
- Public administration, Philosophy, Public administration, Moral and ethical aspects, Administrative agencies, Management, Policy sciences, Public administration, Research, Methodology
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Space, place, and identity in Yevgeny Zamyatin's We and J.G. Ballard's The Drowned World.
- Creator
- Mandell, Megan., College for Design and Social Inquiry, School of Public Administration
- Abstract/Description
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Intimate spaces play a key role in the development of human identity, constructing identity through an internalized experience of the house itself. Building on Bachelard's theories in The Poetics of Space, I argue that characters in Yevgeny Zamyatin's We and J.G. Ballard's The Drowned World gain a new awareness of self after experiencing nature as a substitute for the house. The emergence of a new identity occurs because nature offers protection from the forces that inhibit both D-503 and...
Show moreIntimate spaces play a key role in the development of human identity, constructing identity through an internalized experience of the house itself. Building on Bachelard's theories in The Poetics of Space, I argue that characters in Yevgeny Zamyatin's We and J.G. Ballard's The Drowned World gain a new awareness of self after experiencing nature as a substitute for the house. The emergence of a new identity occurs because nature offers protection from the forces that inhibit both D-503 and Keran's individual growth ; it offers the safety of the house that neither character is allowed in a private home : D-503 because of the panoptic space of the One state and Kerans due to the nature of the changing circumstances of the environment and his own biology that force him to accept his role as a "new" human and the jungle as "home".
Show less - Date Issued
- 2013
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/3362559
- Subject Headings
- Criticism and interpretation, Criticism and interpretation, Gender identity in literature, Nature in literature, Dystopias, Totalitarianism
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Attitudes toward gun control laws: exploring relationships in recent gathered data.
- Creator
- Borkowski, Elizabeth., College for Design and Social Inquiry, School of Criminology and Criminal Justice
- Abstract/Description
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Recently, empirical attention has been directed toward understanding public opinion about gun control laws. Despite this focus, three gaps are evident in extant scholarship. First, few current examinations have relied on recently collected, national data to explore predictors of public attitudes. Second, relatively little work systematically investigates whether type of weapon bans (e.g. handgun versus semi-automatic weapon) affects public support for a given gun control initiative. Third,...
Show moreRecently, empirical attention has been directed toward understanding public opinion about gun control laws. Despite this focus, three gaps are evident in extant scholarship. First, few current examinations have relied on recently collected, national data to explore predictors of public attitudes. Second, relatively little work systematically investigates whether type of weapon bans (e.g. handgun versus semi-automatic weapon) affects public support for a given gun control initiative. Third, and importantly, the general focus in prediction support for gun control measures has been on social and demographic factors. Little is known from a theoretical perspective about how other variables - such as knowledge of Constitutinal issues or perceptions of the U.S. Supreme Court - affect public attitudes toward gun control. Using national poll data collected in 2011 by Time magazine, this study addresses these research gaps by estimating several logistic regression analyses. Research and policy implications are discussed.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2012
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/3358285
- Subject Headings
- Gun control, Political aspects, Gun control, Social aspects, Gun control, Statistics, Firearms, Law and legislation, FIrearms ownership, Social aspects, Firearms and crime, Public opinion
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Preventing the next Abu Gharib: understanding institutional cruelty from the perspective of object relations theory.
- Creator
- Hofacker, Paul., College for Design and Social Inquiry, School of Criminology and Criminal Justice
- Abstract/Description
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The cruelty of Military Police guards at Abu Ghraib prison contributed to American shame and questions regarding how such cruelty emerges. The accepted approach of "situational attribution theory" - based upon Zimbardo's (1973, 2007) social psychological perceptions and results of the Stanford Prison Experiment - proposed that personality or "disposition" has little role in the emergence of such cruelty. Termed "institutional cruelty," this manuscript presents the possibility that...
Show moreThe cruelty of Military Police guards at Abu Ghraib prison contributed to American shame and questions regarding how such cruelty emerges. The accepted approach of "situational attribution theory" - based upon Zimbardo's (1973, 2007) social psychological perceptions and results of the Stanford Prison Experiment - proposed that personality or "disposition" has little role in the emergence of such cruelty. Termed "institutional cruelty," this manuscript presents the possibility that understandings and preventive measures afforded by situational attribution theory can be extended via acknowledgement of a greater role played by disposition. Psychoanalytic and object relations approaches are presented to this end. The manuscript addresses the most puzzling characteristics of institutional cruelty: 1) rapidity of onset, taking days or, at most, weeks for initial expression, 2) emergence in ordinary, normal individuals, and 3) emergence in the "mock" situation of the Stanford Prison Experiment. Criminological, organizational culture, and social psychological theories are explored for their application to institutional cruelty.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2010
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/2100581
- Subject Headings
- Prisoners of war, Abuse of, Prevention, Iraq War, 2003-, Prisoners and prisons, American, War on Terrorism, 2001-, Moral and ethical aspects, Object relations (Psychoanalysis), Good and evil, Psychological aspects
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- An exploration of religious terrorism over time: a content analysis of The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.
- Creator
- Zurburg, Heather., College for Design and Social Inquiry, School of Criminology and Criminal Justice
- Abstract/Description
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The current study is a content analysis and comparison of news articles from the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. The objective of this study is to explore media coverage of terrorism over the last five decades to determine the impact of religion and to compare coverage between two respected news sources that are known for their liberal (New York Times) and conservative (Wall Street Journal) view points. Using a stratified random sample, 1,832 news articles were selected between...
Show moreThe current study is a content analysis and comparison of news articles from the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. The objective of this study is to explore media coverage of terrorism over the last five decades to determine the impact of religion and to compare coverage between two respected news sources that are known for their liberal (New York Times) and conservative (Wall Street Journal) view points. Using a stratified random sample, 1,832 news articles were selected between 1960 and 2006 from the two news sources of interest. The articles were read, analyzed, and categorized. Then, a qualitative analysis examined a random selection of articles pertaining to religious terrorist events. Results suggest an increase in coverage of religiously perpetrated terrorism in recent decades. Interestingly, coverage from the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal showed similar patterns despite being representative of opposite ideologies. Implications are discussed.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2011
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/3174311
- Subject Headings
- Mass media and public opinion, Terrorism and mass media, Mass media policy, Newspapers, Objectivity, War on Terrorism, 2001-, Press coverage
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- The frames and ideographs of water reuse policy discourses: an application of narrative analysis and text analytics.
- Creator
- Stevens, Jeff M., Miller, Hugh T., College for Design and Social Inquiry, School of Public Administration
- Abstract/Description
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This dissertation examines environmental policymaking as more of a symboldriven ideological contest over meaning than a rationally discursive democratic process through two interpretive modes of research: historical narrative analysis and text analytic frame mapping. Both are applied to the case example of the city of San Diego’s controversial policy innovation of indirect potable reuse via reservoir augmentation, or “toilet-to-tap,” as it became known through local news media. The...
Show moreThis dissertation examines environmental policymaking as more of a symboldriven ideological contest over meaning than a rationally discursive democratic process through two interpretive modes of research: historical narrative analysis and text analytic frame mapping. Both are applied to the case example of the city of San Diego’s controversial policy innovation of indirect potable reuse via reservoir augmentation, or “toilet-to-tap,” as it became known through local news media. The dissertation develops its theoretical foundation from the literature pertaining to political communication in public policy, including the role of signs and symbols, media theory, frames and framing, and agenda setting. Electronic documents are used as data.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2012
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004257
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- An analysis of accountability in public-private health care programs serving vulnerable populations.
- Creator
- Cleare, Thomas W., School of Public Administration, College for Design and Social Inquiry
- Abstract/Description
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References to accountability are common throughout public administration literature. However, a clear model to assess accountability in government programs is not fully developed. This research fills this gap and provides policymakers with a tool they can use to assess accountability in both public and contracted programs and enables them to make more informed contracting-out decisions. In addition, the Integrated Accountability Framework introduced in this research will serve as a guideline...
Show moreReferences to accountability are common throughout public administration literature. However, a clear model to assess accountability in government programs is not fully developed. This research fills this gap and provides policymakers with a tool they can use to assess accountability in both public and contracted programs and enables them to make more informed contracting-out decisions. In addition, the Integrated Accountability Framework introduced in this research will serve as a guideline for how public administrators can improve accountability in the programs they administer and oversee. For the public and private health care programs analyzed in this study, the findings indicate that the publicly delivered programs provided more accountability to the vulnerable populations served than the contracted-out health care programs.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2011
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/3169917
- Subject Headings
- Health services administration, Public administration, Moral and ethical aspects, Municiipal services, Contracting out, Administrative responsibility
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Understanding group emotional intelligence in the public sector.
- Creator
- Ghuman, Umar., College for Design and Social Inquiry, School of Public Administration
- Abstract/Description
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In recent years behaviroal management literature has created and utilized the concept of group emotional intelligence in work groups and work teams. This dissertation is a re-conceptualization and an empirical analysis of group emotional intelligence in the context of public administration work groups. This dissertation proposes a new conceptualization of GEI and utilizes it for the empirical measurement of GEI. By critically reviewing previous theoretical and empirical literature on group...
Show moreIn recent years behaviroal management literature has created and utilized the concept of group emotional intelligence in work groups and work teams. This dissertation is a re-conceptualization and an empirical analysis of group emotional intelligence in the context of public administration work groups. This dissertation proposes a new conceptualization of GEI and utilizes it for the empirical measurement of GEI. By critically reviewing previous theoretical and empirical literature on group level phenomena and their measurement, this dissertation offers a re-conceptualization of group emotional intelligence. it also defines group emotional intelligence (GEI), creates a model for GEI, provides an empirical means of measuring (GEI) and demonstrates how GEI in groups can afect group performance and group learning ability.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2011
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/3353085
- Subject Headings
- Emotional intelligence, Group relations training, Organizational behavior, Social psychology
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- A Content Analysis on Police Killings of Unarmed Black Males: An Assessment on Experts' Quotes in National News Sources.
- Creator
- Fulcher, Christopher, Crichlow, Vaughn, Florida Atlantic University, College for Design and Social Inquiry, School of Criminology and Criminal Justice
- Abstract/Description
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There is increasing concern in news media sources regarding police killings of unarmed Black males. However, there is limited research on the portrayal of such incidents in the news and the implications for police-community relations in African- American communities. In order to address this gap, this study analyzed 120 experts’ quotes provided by two of the largest and most respected newspapers in the United States -- the New York Times and USA Today. This research comprised a content...
Show moreThere is increasing concern in news media sources regarding police killings of unarmed Black males. However, there is limited research on the portrayal of such incidents in the news and the implications for police-community relations in African- American communities. In order to address this gap, this study analyzed 120 experts’ quotes provided by two of the largest and most respected newspapers in the United States -- the New York Times and USA Today. This research comprised a content analysis of quotes related to the deaths of Eric Garner (Staten Island, New York), Michael Brown (Ferguson, Missouri), and Freddie Gray (Baltimore City, Maryland). A number of factors are discussed: The news organization’s predominate category and specialty of experts selected; whether the experts’ quotes attributed to pro-police or community bias; if the experts’ quotes discussed social or racial inequalities in the cities selected; whether the experts addressed evidence-based strategies necessary to improve police-community relations in the Black community, and whether experts’ quotes discussed solutions to improve police and community relations in the Black community. The findings suggest that the selected national news sources, in the one year following the deaths of each of the unarmed victims, highlighted quotes from state manager, particularly politicians, at a much higher rate than intellectuals. Although revealing a substantial level of procommunity bias, the quotes presented very little regarding evidence-based strategies for improving police-community relations in the Black community and reducing the number of unarmed deaths caused by police. The implications for research on media and crime as well as policing strategies are discussed.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2016
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004594, http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004594
- Subject Headings
- Police misconduct., Police brutality., Police--Complaints against., Police-community relations., Police corruption., Post-racialism., Racial profiling in law enforcement., Discrimination in law enforcement.
- Format
- Document (PDF)