Public trust in the aftermath of natural and na-technological disasters

2016 ◽  
Vol 36 (5/6) ◽  
pp. 410-431 ◽  
Author(s):  
DeMond Shondell Miller
Keyword(s):  
Hurricane Katrina ◽  
Public Trust ◽  
The Body ◽  
Nuclear Radiation ◽  
Trust In Government ◽  
Private Industry ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Government Institutions ◽  
Fukushima Daiichi ◽  
The Government

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze public trust during the aftermath of technological and hybrid natural-technological/natech disasters – Hurricane Katrina (2005) and the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear meltdown in Japan (2011). The work identifies common themes, actions and inactivity that can lead to citizens distrusting the government after disasters. Design/methodology/approach – News reports from the two areas leading newspapers formed the body of the Hurricane Katrina and the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear meltdown case studies. Of key interest were emerging themes of trust and/or distrust during the immediate impact phase of the disaster in addition to government failures and social breakdowns resulting in a loss of trust in government institutions and individual leaders. Findings – The series of examples illustrate how specific action or in-action by local and federal governments served as a catalyst for a loss of trust in government institutions and individual leaders in government while proposing potential strategies to help public leaders reduce distrust during times of crisis. Research limitations/implications – The two limitations were the use of only newspapers and the passage of a new law in 2013, the “Specially Designated Secrets Protection Law,” designed to limit news reporting of the press in Japan on the issue of nuclear radiation exposure of the general public in Japan, some of the new data are not available. Practical implications – The research concludes by offering specific ways to regain trust after a perception of failure during pre- and post-disaster management in the age of mega disasters. The paper lists several recommendations that can be practically implemented to develop a culture of transparent communication, civic engagement in planning processes and inspire trust among stakeholders. Originality/value – While the paper identifies barriers to establishing trust among government agencies, the citizenry and private industry, it seeks to help inform policy frameworks regarding the importance of the government’s ability to sustain a strong sense of trust that engenders civic participation in preserving or regaining trust in the aftermath of disasters.

Perceived effectiveness of e-governance as an underlying mechanism between good governance and public trust: a case of Indonesia

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dadang Hartanto ◽  
Juhriyansyah Dalle ◽  
A. Akrim ◽  
Hastin Umi Anisah
Keyword(s):  
Local Governments ◽  
Good Governance ◽  
Underlying Mechanism ◽  
Public Trust ◽  
The Body ◽  
Perceived Effectiveness ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Body Of Knowledge ◽  
Governance Effectiveness ◽  
The Government

Purpose This study aims to investigate the association of perceived accountability, perceived responsiveness and perceived transparency, and public trust in local government. Additionally, mediation of the perceived effectiveness of e-governance was also tested between these relationships. Design/methodology/approach Using a quantitative cross-sectional field survey, primary data was collected at local administration levels from two cities in Indonesia. The final data set of 355 respondents was then analyzed using SmartPls3 and the measurement and structural models were tested. Findings Positive results were obtained for all the hypothesized links (direct and indirect relationships). The study’s findings revealed useful insights for policymakers and researchers regarding the public’s perception of good governance and their expectations from the government, which further lead toward trust in local governments. Practical implications The study concluded that good governance practices develop and enhance the public’s trust in the government, thus provided key policy directions. Originality/value This study contributes to the body of knowledge related to good governance elements and their impact on public trust in the local government via the underlying mechanism of perceived e-governance effectiveness in developing countries in general and particularly the Indonesian context. Moreover, it is a unique study in the good governance domain while considering three good governance elements into a single theoretical framework. Previous studies have explored these elements individually with public trust, so this combined framework advances the body of knowledge. This research’s findings also contributed toward validating good governance theory with e-governance effectiveness and public trust integration in a single comprehensive framework. This research also helped answer the questions arising from past literature about declining public trust trends in local governments.

Israel’s government will likely limp through crisis

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Healthcare System ◽  
Prime Minister ◽  
Public Trust ◽  
The State ◽  
Trust In Government ◽  
State Budget ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Government

Significance Resurgent COVID-19 cases and policy chaos have weakened Netanyahu politically and are undermining public trust in government. Meanwhile, allies of the prime minister have implied that he may seek to trigger fresh elections later this year amid frustrations over impasses within his government. Impacts Despite resurgent case numbers, the healthcare system appears able to cope with the additional burdens. The government will be reluctant to order a second full lockdown, fearing the economic hit and that people may simply ignore the rules. The preoccupation with the pandemic has delayed addressing other issues, most notably the state budget.

scholarly journals Determinants of Overall Public Trust in Local Government: Meditation of Government Response to COVID-19 in Indonesian Context

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dadang Hartanto ◽  
Siti Masliana Siregar
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Good Governance ◽  
Public Trust ◽  
Partial Least Square ◽  
The Body ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Government Response ◽  
The Government

Purpose This study aims to empirically investigate the relationship of perceived transparency, perceived accountability and perceived responsiveness with overall public trust in local government. Moreover, it addressed the “why” and “how” questions about the existence of this relationship by examining the underlying mechanism of the government response to COVID-19. Design/methodology/approach Quantitative research design is applied in the current study. Data was collected from two cities situated in Indonesia via a cross-sectional survey at local administration levels. The final data set of 330 respondents was then analyzed using Smart partial least square (PLS)3 by testing through the measurement and structural model. Findings Results revealed positive associations among the study variables. Also, the mediatory role of the government response to COVID-19 was supported by the results. Originality/value This study aims to bring awareness and contribution in the body of knowledge about the importance of elements of good governance in building and sustaining public trust in local governments based on the fact that in countries such as Indonesia, there is a dearth of literature in this context. Further, it provides strategic and practical suggestions to the state regarding the advantages of using good governance practices in their communication with citizens in certain and uncertain situations, especially nowadays during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Twitter users exhibited coping behaviours during the COVID-19 lockdown: an analysis of tweets using mixed methods

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruchi Mittal ◽  
Wasim Ahmed ◽  
Amit Mittal ◽  
Ishan Aggarwal
Keyword(s):  
Data Analysis ◽  
The Body ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Twitter Data ◽  
Long Run ◽  
The World ◽  
Twitter Users ◽  
The Government ◽  
Using Data

Purpose Using data from Twitter, the purpose of this paper is to assess the coping behaviour and reactions of social media users in response to the initial days of the COVID-19-related lockdown in different parts of the world. Design/methodology/approach This study follows the quasi-inductive approach which allows the development of pre-categories from other theories before the sampling and coding processes begin, for use in those processes. Data was extracted using relevant keywords from Twitter, and a sample was drawn from the Twitter data set to ensure the data is more manageable from a qualitative research standpoint and that meaningful interpretations can be drawn from the data analysis results. The data analysis is discussed in two parts: extraction and classification of data from Twitter using automated sentiment analysis; and qualitative data analysis of a smaller Twitter data sample. Findings This study found that during the lockdown the majority of users on Twitter shared positive opinions towards the lockdown. The results also found that people are keeping themselves engaged and entertained. Governments around the world have also gained support from Twitter users. This is despite the hardships being faced by citizens. The authors also found a number of users expressing negative sentiments. The results also found that several users on Twitter were fence-sitters and their opinions and emotions could swing either way depending on how the pandemic progresses and what action is taken by governments around the world. Research limitations/implications The authors add to the body of literature that has examined Twitter discussions around H1N1 using in-depth qualitative methods and conspiracy theories around COVID-19. In the long run, the government can help citizens develop routines that help the community adapt to a new dangerous environment – this has very effectively been shown in the context of wildfires in the context of disaster management. In the context of this research, the dominance of the positive themes within tweets is promising for policymakers and governments around the world. However, sentiments may wish to be monitored going forward as large-spikes in negative sentiment may highlight lockdown-fatigue. Social implications The psychology of humans during a pandemic can have a profound impact on how COVID-19 shapes up, and this shall also include how people behave with other people and with the larger environment. Lockdowns are the opposite of what societies strive to achieve, i.e. socializing. Originality/value This study is based on original Twitter data collected during the initial days of the COVID-19-induced lockdown. The topic of “lockdowns” and the “COVID-19” pandemic have not been studied together thus far. This study is highly topical.

Governance of the Chinese Super League

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yang Ma ◽  
Markus Kurscheidt
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Organisational Change ◽  
The Body ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Republic Of China ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Depth Analysis ◽  
The Government ◽  
Governance Processes ◽  
Super League

Purpose In 2017, the Chinese Super League (CSL), the first professional football division in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), became the highest-spending league in the international players’ transfer market, with a total spending of €377m. Moreover, the government of the PRC is backing the CSL with an ambitious football plan. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to examine the governance of the CSL by questioning the organisational viability of the league. Design/methodology/approach In addition to the relevant international literature, this study is based on 14 recent scholarly articles published in Mandarin from 2013 to 2018 to reflect the national academic debate. Moreover, website research on all CSL clubs has been conducted. The institutional analysis follows the integrative change model of Cunningham (2002) complemented by agency and bureaucracy theory. Findings The CSL still faces substantial governance problems caused by the divergence of goal setting, organisational inefficiencies and compliance issues. The organisational change is notably constrained by internal competitive value commitments and external power dependency. Research limitations/implications The institutional findings on the CSL provide a starting point for empirical studies. The approach contributes to the theory of sport governance processes. Practical implications The material and insights are informative for decision makers to evaluate the competitiveness of the CSL. Originality/value This paper is the first international in-depth analysis of the governance of the CSL using the body of knowledge published in Mandarin.

Regulating and manipulating the corporeal functions of women academics through political rationality

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 698-718 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nurdiana Gaus
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Public Management ◽  
Work Performance ◽  
New Public Management ◽  
The Body ◽  
Control Mechanisms ◽  
Women Academics ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Audit Culture ◽  
The Government

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the impacts of the politicisation of women academics body in higher education as a result of the implementation of audit culture of new public management. Design/methodology/approach The research was conducted in Indonesian universities, by conducting interviews to collect data from 20 women academics from two universities in eastern regions of Indonesia. Findings The impacts of audit culture on women academics’ body in this study can be understood from the constraints told by them, reflected on the creation of several types of bodies. Research limitations/implications This paper, though, has some limitations in terms of the inclusion of only women academics, exclusion of male academics and of their limitations of addressing important constructs to elaborate the politicisation of the women body, such as culture, religion, patriarchy, and academic tribes and territories. Practical implications The results of this study are important for the policy maker of Indonesia to take into account “gender perspective” on research productivity and publication policy to effectively obtain the political objectives of the government. For higher education in Indonesia, the result of this study may give an indication of the importance to establish different and distinctive standards of work performance evaluation on research and publication for female and male academics. Originality/value The analysis of this issue is framed within the bipolar diagram of power that seeks to gain political-economic function of the body (bio-power), via a set of control mechanisms of sovereign power to regulate and manipulate the population (bio-politics), developed by Foucault (1984).

scholarly journals Trust in government in times of economic crisis

2016 ◽  
pp. 111-126
Author(s):  
Robert Sobiech
Keyword(s):  
Public Administration ◽  
Economic Crisis ◽  
Public Trust ◽  
Trust In Government ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Evaluation ◽  
Public Debates ◽  
The Government

The aim of the paper is to provide an overview of the existing studies concerning the phenomenon of public trust in government. Low trust in government has been frequently defined as a key problem influencing the policy process in many countries. The economic crises reinforced the importance of trust and triggered public debates on the necessary reforms of the public sector. The paper examines the key theories and research conducted by social scientists with a particular emphasis on the role of trust in risk societies. The review of the existing literature concentrates on the drivers of trust, showing the importance of two interlinked logics: the logic of consequences (the performance approach) and the logic of appropriateness (the process approach). The first one explains trust as a result of outputs and outcomes of government policies and services. The logic of appropriateness claims that trust is built on values and identity and depends on the adoption by governments the rules of integrity, openness, responsiveness and transparency. Trust in government is also deeply rooted in a broader system of rules, norms andvalues known as the trust culture. The last part of the paper is an attempt to trace an impact of an economic crisis on public trust. Studies of public opinion do not fully confirm the opinions on low trust and a decline in trust in government and trust in public administration in times of crisis. Some studies reveal considerable fluctuations of public trust in selected countries. In other countries, the public evaluation of government and public administration is high and there are only slight modifications in citizens’ perception of the government.

News wars will not deter Philippines’s Duterte

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Public Trust ◽  
Foreign Ownership ◽  
International Community ◽  
Internal Security ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Government ◽  
Trade Preferences ◽  
The Eu

Significance The SEC in January ordered Rappler to shut down for breaking foreign ownership laws, which Rappler denies. Critics suggest the move was a politically motivated attempt by President Rodrigo Duterte’s government to clamp down on news outlets critical of the government, which Duterte and his administration deny. Impacts The international community, for instance the EU, could decide to halt or cancel trade preferences. Improved Philippine internal security could enhance journalists’ safety, but money shortages will bedevil this effort. Any self-censorship by journalists could undermine public trust in the media and scrutiny of the government. Large Philippine television networks use PDRs and could be at risk if Rappler loses its court appeal.

The Archivists’ Understanding of New Public Management and Outsourcing of Government Information: The Case of Sweden

Mousaion ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Proscovia Svärd
Keyword(s):  
Public Management ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
New Public Management ◽  
Data Gathering ◽  
Trust In Government ◽  
Government Information ◽  
Sustainable Solutions ◽  
Government Institutions ◽  
New Public ◽  
The Government

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the archivists’ understanding of New Public Management (NPM) and its impact on their role as gatekeepers of government information. The paper therefore presents the views of the archivists who traditionally manage the creation, capture and organisation of information at the Swedish Transport Board (STB). Government information is key to institutional transparency and hence the stringent legal framework that governs it. Sweden is considered a highly transparent country and through its Press Act, which dates as far back as the 1766, all its citizens enjoy the right to access government information. This way, citizens can follow and scrutinise the government processes, which increases openness and trust in government institutions. However, this image of Sweden as open and transparent was challenged by the “Transportgate IT scandal,” which put it in the limelight of both national and international media. The scandal was due to outsourcing. Global governments these days operate under increased financial constraints, demands for efficiency and environmentally sustainable solutions and are therefore engaged in the outsourcing of government functions. Outsourcing is a strategy within New Public Management and is regarded as a solution to the above-mentioned constraints. Outsourcing is being done within the growing popularity of NPM, which is the adoption of methods and best practice from the private sector. However, among the challenges that outsourcing poses is data/information security. Yet, one of the building stones of trust in government institutions is secure and trustworthy government information. As the “Transportgate IT scandal” unfolded, the focus was on IT security and there was a total lack of discussion on the information contained in the systems. This paper used a case study as a method to explore the above issues. It applied a literature review and interviews as data gathering techniques. The results confirmed that the archivists had a full understanding of NPM and its impact on the management of government information. They are supposed to play a key role in the management of government information, but they were not at all involved in the outsourcing process. There is a danger that this development might impact the trust citizens have in government institutions since access to government information might be compromised. Therefore, outsourcing of government information should involve all the stakeholders and there should be well-formulated clauses to protect it.

The effects of ownership structure on likelihood of financial distress: an empirical evidence

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 589-612 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shahab Udin ◽  
Muhammad Arshad Khan ◽  
Attiya Yasmin Javid
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Governance ◽  
Ownership Structure ◽  
Financial Distress ◽  
Generalized Method Of Moments ◽  
The Body ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of corporate governance proxies by ownership structure on the likelihood of firms’ financial distress for a sample of 146 Pakistani public-limited companies listed at the Karachi Stock Exchange over the period of 2003-2012. Design/methodology/approach The dynamic generalized method of moments (GMM) estimator and panel logistic regression (PLR) are used to determine the impact of corporate governance on the financial distress. The ownership structure is used as a determinant of corporate governance, while the Altman Z-score is utilized as an indicator of financial distress, as it measures financial distress inversely. The smaller the values of the Z-score, the higher will be the risk of financial distress. Findings The authors find insignificant impact of ownership structure on firms’ likelihood of financial distress based on the dynamic GMM method. However, the PLR results indicate that foreign shareholdings have a significant negative association with firms’ likelihood of financial distress, in the case of Pakistan. An evidence of a negative and insignificant relationship between institutional ownership and financial distress was observed, which indicates the passive role of institutional investors in Pakistan. The results also reveal a positive and significant relationship between insider’s ownership and likelihood of financial distress. This finding is consistent with the entrenchment hypothesis which predicts that insiders are more aligned with their self-interest than outside shareholders’ interest when their shareholding increases in the business. Furthermore, the results also reveal insignificant association between government shareholdings and the probability of financial distress. The reason could be the social welfare objective of the government entities rather than profit maximization. Practical implications The findings of this study provide more insight to corporate managers and investors about the association between the quality of corporate governance and the degree of financial distress, with respect to Pakistani firms. Furthermore, this study contributes to the existing literature by adding new evidence from developing countries like Pakistan which are helpful for regulatory bodies and policymakers in the formulation of long-term corporate governance strategies to manage the financial distress. It is well established that strengthening the quality of corporate governance practices enhances the efficiency of capital markets and reduces the probability of financial distress. Originality/value The study extends the body of existing literature on corporate governance and the likelihood of financial distress with reference to Pakistan. The results suggest that policymakers may pay special attention to the quality of corporate governance, specifically ownership structure, while predicting corporate financial distress.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document