The Bidding Game: Competitive Funding Regimes and the Political Targeting of Urban Programme Schemes

2004 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 405-428 ◽  
Author(s):  
PETER JOHN ◽  
HUGH WARD ◽  
KEITH DOWDING
Keyword(s):  
Statistical Models ◽  
Public Welfare ◽  
Competitive Bidding ◽  
The Political ◽  
Bidding Game ◽  
Tobit Models ◽  
Pork Barrel ◽  
Competitive Funding ◽  
Official Evaluation

Public bodies adopt procedures for the competitive bidding for funds in the belief that they improve public welfare, while critics regard such practices as a waste of resources and open to political manipulation. We test the operation of a competitive bidding regime through Tobit models of data drawn from successful and unsuccessful bids in four years of the Single Regeneration Budget programme in England. We derive hypotheses from a model of competitive bidding, the official evaluation of the programme and the pork-barrel literature. Our data and statistical models show that successive rounds did not greatly improve the quality of the bids, did not systematically reward needy communities and diverted resources to ministers' parliamentary seats in some regions.

The Changing Patterns of North Korea’s International Film Co-Productions Since the 1980s: A Global Value Chain Approach

2020 ◽  
pp. 83-108
Author(s):  
Moon Hwy-Chang ◽  
Wenyang Yin
Keyword(s):  
Value Chain ◽  
North Korea ◽  
Film Industry ◽  
International Standards ◽  
The Political ◽  
Global Value Chain ◽  
Comprehensive Understanding ◽  
Changing Patterns ◽  
Film Productions

Although North Korea is one of the most closed countries in the world, it has long been pursuing international cooperation with other countries in order to upgrade the quality of its film industry to international standards. Preceding studies on this topic have mainly focused on the political influences behind filmmaking in general and very few studies have exclusively dealt with North Korea’s international co-productions. In this respect, in order to develop a comprehensive understanding of the internalization strategy of North Korea’s film productions, this paper uses the global value chain as a framework for analysis. This approach helps understand the internationalization pattern of each value chain activity of film co-productions in terms of the film location and the methods for collaborating with foreign partners. By dividing the evolution of North Korea’s international co-productions into three periods since the 1980s, this paper finds that although North Korea has shown mixed results with different aspects of the film value chain, it has generally improved its internationalization over the three periods. This paper further provides strategic directions for North Korea by learning some of the successful Chinese experiences in the film sector regarding collaboration with foreign partners—to foster a win-win situation for all involved parties.

The Myth of Rigorous Accounting Research

2014 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 869-887 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul F. Williams
Keyword(s):  
Statistical Models ◽  
Policy Recommendations ◽  
Stable Property ◽  
Accounting Research

SYNOPSIS In this brief paper, I provide an argument that the rigor that allegedly characterizes contemporary mainstream accounting research is a myth. Expanding on arguments provided by West (2003), Gillies (2004), and Williams (1989), I show that the numbers utilized extensively to construct the statistical models that are the central defining feature of rigorous accounting research are, in many cases, not adequate to the task. These numbers are operational numbers that cannot be construed as measures or quantities of any kind of stable property. Constructing elaborate calculative models using operational numbers leads to equations whose results are not clearly decipherable. The rigorous nature of certain preferred forms of accounting research is, thus, largely a matter of appearance and not a substantive quality of the research mode that we habitually label “rigorous.” Thus, the policy recommendations implied by the results of rigorous accounting research may be viewed with considerable skepticism.

Institutions and Political Support

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shaun Bowler
Keyword(s):  
Political Institutions ◽  
Political Process ◽  
Institutional Reform ◽  
Institutional Arrangements ◽  
Individual Characteristics ◽  
Political Support ◽  
The Political ◽  
General Expectation ◽  
Using Data

This chapter analyzes to what extent variation in political institutions affects political support. The chapter observes that the existing research is not always clear on which institutions should produce what kind of effect, although a general expectation is that institutional arrangements improve political support when they give citizens an increased sense of connection to the political process. In general then, we should expect institutions that strengthen the quality of representation to strengthen political support. This general expectation is specified in six hypotheses that are tested using data from the ESS 2012. The chapter demonstrates that electoral systems that provide voters with more choice about candidates, multiparty governments, and “responsive” legislatures, correlate positively with political support. However, compared to other macro-level factors and individual characteristics, the effects of political institutions on political support are modest. The chapter concludes that the prospects for institutional reform to strengthen political support are limited.

Depressions Plural

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
K W M (Bill) Fulford ◽  
David Crepaz-Keay ◽  
Giovanni Stanghellini
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Mental Health Care ◽  
Personal Values ◽  
The Political ◽  
Medical Law ◽  
Isaiah Berlin ◽  
Political Philosopher

This chapter examines how values influence the heterogeneity of depression. The plurality of values is increasingly significant for contemporary person-centred mental health care with its emphasis on quality of life and development of self-manvnagement skills. Values-based practice is a partner with medical law invn working with the plurality of personal values. The chapter explains what values are, shows how the plurality of values influences the heterogeneity of depression at several levels, and provides an overview of values-based practice. It looks at the resources available for combining values-based practice with medical law in contemporary person-centred care and indicates some of the challenges this raises. It concludes with a brief reflection on these challenges understood as an instance of what the political philosopher Isaiah Berlin called the challenge of pluralism.

What is Happening in the United States? How Social Classes Influence the Political Life of the Country and its Health and Quality of Life

2021 ◽  
pp. 002073142199484
Author(s):  
Vicente Navarro
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
United States ◽  
Access To Health Care ◽  
Universal Access ◽  
The United States ◽  
Political Context ◽  
Political Life ◽  
The Political ◽  
Race And Gender

This article analyses the political changes that have been occurring in the United States (including the elections for the presidency of the country) and their consequences for the health and quality of life of the population. A major thesis of this article is that there is a need to analyse, besides race and gender, other categories of power - such as social class - in order to understand what happens in the country. While the class structure of the United States is similar to that of major Western European countries, the political context is very different. The U.S. political context has resulted in the very limited power of its working class, which explains the scarcity of labor, political and social rights in the country, such as universal access to health care.

scholarly journals Measuring Disability Inclusion Performance in Cities Using Disability Inclusion Evaluation Tool (DIETool)

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 1378 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nataša Rebernik ◽  
Marek Szajczyk ◽  
Alfonso Bahillo ◽  
Barbara Goličnik Marušić
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
The Political ◽  
Sustainable Cities ◽  
Evaluation Tool ◽  
Sustainable City ◽  
Evaluation Systems ◽  
European Cities ◽  
Technical Developments

Cities are exposed to a growing complexity, diversity and rapid socio-technical developments. One of the greatest challenges is as of how to become fully inclusive to fit the needs of all their citizens, including those with disabilities. Inclusive city, both in theory and practice, still lacks attention. Even in the context of ambitious contemporary concepts, such as smart and sustainable city, the question remains: Do smart and sustainable cities consider inclusiveness of all their inhabitants? Among numerous evaluation systems that measure city’s smartness, sustainability or quality of life, those tackling inclusion are very rare. Specifically, disability inclusion is hardly covered. This may be one of the reasons why cities struggle with applying disability inclusion to practice in a holistic and integrative way. This paper proposes a Disability Inclusion Evaluation Tool (DIETool) and Disability Inclusion Performance Index (DIPI), designed to guide cities through a maze of accessibility and disability inclusion related requirements set within the political, legislative and standardization frameworks. The testing in two European cities shows that the tool is beneficial for providing diagnosis as to how disability friendly a city is, and as such offers an opportunity for designing informed corrective measures towards disability inclusive city design.

Explaining Political Knowledge: The Role of Procedural Quality in an Informed Citizenry

2016 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas Clark
Keyword(s):  
Political Process ◽  
Political Knowledge ◽  
The Political ◽  
Factual Knowledge ◽  
Governance Indicators ◽  
Informed Citizenry ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Comparative Study ◽  
Knowledge Seeking

While much is known about the micro-level predictors of political knowledge, there have been relatively few efforts to study the potential macro-level causes of knowledge. Seeking to improve our understanding of country-based variation in knowledge, this article demonstrates that individuals have an easier time finding and interpreting information in political environments that provide the public with greater opportunities to engage, observe, and learn about the political process. To investigate that possibility, the article analyzes how the procedural quality of the political process affects political knowledge. Using data from the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems and the Worldwide Governance Indicators Project, survey analyses show that the transparency and responsiveness of a political system indeed influence the public’s information about political parties and, to a lesser extent, the amount of factual knowledge retained by survey respondents. In other words, the quality of democratic governance affects how much individuals know about the political process.

Alumni Evaluate Poly Sci Courses

1983 ◽  
Vol 38 ◽  
pp. 15-16
Author(s):  
Frank Whelon Wayman
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Political Science ◽  
Liberal Arts ◽  
Occupational Status ◽  
The Political ◽  
University Of Michigan ◽  
Job Market ◽  
Arts Programs ◽  
The University

The political scientists at the University of Michigan, Dearborn, concerned about what becomes of political science majors in today's job market, have completed a survey of the occupational status and quality of life of recent alumni. This paper examines the potential contributions of that survey as a model for future evaluations of political science programs and other liberal arts programs. In the paper, I will discuss the design of the study, its findings, and the lessons that might be useful to those who would wish to do such studies on their own campuses.DesignThe University of Michigan, Dearborn evaluation was done primarily by, and for the benefit of, the political science faculty. Thus, the evaluation was tailored to particular faculty interests and concerns.

“If indeed this is the will of the Ekiti people”

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 461-484
Author(s):  
Ayodeji A. Adedara
Keyword(s):  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Epistemic Uncertainty ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Actor ◽  
Generic Structure ◽  
Fair Competition ◽  
The Will ◽  
Emerging Democracy

Abstract Based on the idea that the quality of a democracy may be measured against the quality of its public communication, this paper deploys Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) to investigate a Nigerian gubernatorial concession speech in discursive terms. It argues that as an uncommon genre in political discourse in an emerging democracy this hybridised speech both indexes a growing culture of ‘fair competition’ in Nigeria’s eighteen-year-old civilian rule and presents the incumbent as a deft political actor who strategically claims political capital. The paper examines the text’s generic structure, the political and other actors mentioned or implied in it, its manipulation of pronominal references for rhetorical effect, as well as the epistemic uncertainty implied by a query-concession sequence noticed in it. Drawing on the concession speech literature, the paper charts a course for studying the concession speech as an emerging genre in a neonatal democracy like Nigeria.

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