scholarly journals Motivated Reasoning and Blame: Responses to Performance Framing and Outgroup Triggers during COVID-19

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory Porumbescu ◽  
Donald Moynihan ◽  
Jason Anastasopoulos ◽  
Asmus Leth Olsen
Keyword(s):  
Motivated Reasoning ◽  
Chinese Government ◽  
Public Official ◽  
Performance Information ◽  
Public Officials ◽  
The Public ◽  
Blame Attribution ◽  
Repeated Use ◽  
Information Framing ◽  
Trump Administration

To manage citizen evaluations of government performance, public officials use blame avoidance strategies when communicating performance information. We examine two prominent presentational strategies: scapegoating and spinning, while testing how public responses vary depending on whether they are ideologically aligned with the public official. We examine these relationships in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, where the Trump administration sought to shift blame by scapegoating outgroups (by using the term “Chinese virus”), and framing performance information on COVID-19 testing in positive terms. Using a novel pre-registered survey experiment that incorporates open and close-ended items, we offer three main findings. First, there is clear evidence of motivated reasoning: conservatives rate the performance of the Trump administration more positively and are more apt to blame prominent Democrats, Chinese residents and the Chinese Government. Second, performance information framing was found to impact blame attribution among conservatives, but only for open-ended responses. Third, while exposure to the term “Chinese virus” increased blame assigned to Chinese residents among all participants, conservatives exposed to the term appeared to blame President Trump more, suggesting repeated use of divisive blame shifting strategies may alienate even supporters.

Chinese Citizenry Social Media Pressures and Public Official Responses

2020 ◽  
pp. 139-181
Author(s):  
James Robert Masterson
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Public Domain ◽  
Chinese Government ◽  
Public Official ◽  
Government Officials ◽  
The Public ◽  
Access Information ◽  
The Government ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
High Level

Widespread use of social media in China is a double edged sword: social media offers opportunities for the government to connect with society, gauge the opinion of citizens in the public domain, and allow citizens to voice their anger when necessary by blowing off steam online rather than in the streets. However, social media also allows citizens to access information outside of China much more rapidly and efficiently and to link up and communicate with other citizens much more quickly. Social media allows users to share texts, photos, and files, making it much more difficult for the government to control information and to thwart organizing for political purposes. In some instances, the use of social media has forced the Chinese government to take actions that it otherwise would not have done or to reverse actions or policies already set in place. The goal of this chapter is to illustrate the double-edged sword that social media poses to government officials in China, particularly high-level party officials in Beijing.

Freedom of Speech for Public Officials vs. the Political Parties' Right to Equal Opportunity: The German Constitutional Court's Recent Rulings Involving the NPD and the AfD

2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 189-212
Author(s):  
Thomas Kliegel
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Equal Opportunity ◽  
Freedom Of Speech ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
Public Official ◽  
Public Officials ◽  
The Public ◽  
Election Process ◽  
Political Function ◽  
The Right

Public Officials are bound by the fundamental rights when they are acting in their political function. Acting as such they cannot, in general, claim the freedom of speech for themselves as normal citizens do. If they give statements regarding other political parties they have to abide by the principle of neutrality. Statements that could be understood as negative will be — especially if they are made during the election process — a violation of the right of political parties to equal opportunity, which is an indispensable element of the free and open process of forming popular opinion. The delineation of whether a public official is appearing as such, as a “party politician” or “private individual” can, however, be difficult and it is the obligation of the public official to leave no doubt about the role he is exercising. Different from any other public official the Federal President needs not comply with the principle of neutrality. He has a broad margin of assessment and only transgresses his legal boundaries if he violates the integrative task of his office in an arbitrary manner.

scholarly journals Conflict of Interest in the Administrative Contracts in Albania

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (34) ◽  
pp. 182
Author(s):  
Adriatik Llalla ◽  
Fjorida Ballauri
Keyword(s):  
Public Service ◽  
Conflict Of Interest ◽  
Public Official ◽  
Public Officials ◽  
The Public ◽  
Private Interests ◽  
Political Interests ◽  
Domestic Legislation ◽  
Personal Interests ◽  
Public Decision

In Albania the issue of conflict of interest is present at today’s public debate, as in many other countries. Due to this phenomenon, public funds, state property, public service, etc., are at risk at any time, and therefore there is obligation of the state to establish the appropriate legal instruments to prevent such situations. In principle, while exercising official duties and functions, the elected person or the public official should not be influenced by personal interests. In this sense, through actions, inactions or decisions, they cannot gain benefits or advantages for themselves, their family members, relatives or other persons, in case they share economic or political interests with them. In Albania, the domestic legislation provides restrictions and prohibitions for several private interests of the officials exercising public functions, depending on their functions, responsibilities and competencies in public decision-making. Also, the law provides specific prohibitions and restrictions in cases of entering into administrative contracts, considering a contract as a special public decision, which is vulnerable to be damaged by the action of officials’ private interests. This paper aims to make an analysis of the legislation in terms of restrictions of private interests of public officials to prevent specific cases of conflict of interest while concluding administrative contracts. Also, the paper leads to conclusions on how conflict of interest is related to other criminal offences like abuse of office, corruption or violation of equality of participants in public tenders or auctions etc.

Blackout in the Name of Sunshine

2015 ◽  
pp. 2219-2232
Author(s):  
William R. Sherman
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Open Government ◽  
Public Official ◽  
Public Officials ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Square ◽  
New Public ◽  
Open Meeting

Local governments, and particularly local public officials, have adopted online social networking tools en masse in an effort to communicate with constituents. As this chapter shows, the resulting information flow consists of communication from the public official to constituents, from constituents to the public official, and among constituents, but in the context of the public official's social network. This environment constitutes a “civic social network,” which operates as the new public square. Many local governments, however, are attempting to bar officials' use of civic social networks because they risk violation of open government laws, such as open meeting and open records laws. This effort to stifle valuable civic communication harms norms of transparency and accountability – the very values that open government laws should promote. These laws should be revised or reinterpreted to allow civic social networks to fulfill their promise as the new public square.

Blackout in the Name of Sunshine

2014 ◽  
pp. 224-237
Author(s):  
William R. Sherman
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Open Government ◽  
Public Official ◽  
Public Officials ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Square ◽  
New Public ◽  
Open Meeting

Local governments, and particularly local public officials, have adopted online social networking tools en masse in an effort to communicate with constituents. As this chapter shows, the resulting information flow consists of communication from the public official to constituents, from constituents to the public official, and among constituents, but in the context of the public official's social network. This environment constitutes a “civic social network,” which operates as the new public square. Many local governments, however, are attempting to bar officials' use of civic social networks because they risk violation of open government laws, such as open meeting and open records laws. This effort to stifle valuable civic communication harms norms of transparency and accountability – the very values that open government laws should promote. These laws should be revised or reinterpreted to allow civic social networks to fulfill their promise as the new public square.

scholarly journals Pengaruh Kemampuan Menyusun Perencanaan dan Memobilisasi Stakeholder terhadap Pencapaian Target Kinerja Pejabat Publik di Indonesia

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 231-252
Author(s):  
Putri Wulandari Atur Rejeki ◽  
Yuyu Yuningsih
Keyword(s):  
Leadership Training ◽  
Linear Analysis ◽  
Public Official ◽  
Research Needs ◽  
Public Officials ◽  
Organizational Goals ◽  
The Public ◽  
Performance Targets ◽  
Planning Ability ◽  
Independent Variable

Public officials as leaders who take care of the interests of many people are bound to have managerial abilities such as planning ability and mobilizing stakeholder ability to achieve organizational goals. This research aims to discover the influence of the ability to formulate plans and mobilize stakeholder in achieving performance targets for public officials in Indonesia. This research used a quantitative approach. The population was all public officials in Indonesia. The sample used was all participants of the Leadership Training in Puslatbang PKASN LAN in 2019. Multiple linear analysis was used to analyze the data. The dependent variable was Performance Target Achievement of Public Officials (PTKPP). The independent variable was Ability to Plan (KMP) and Ability to Mobilize Stakeholder (KMS). The results showed that the R2 value was 0.878. It means that 87.8% of the public official performance targets could be explained by planning and mobilizing stakeholder ability. It also showed that both variables had a positive and significant influence on the achievement of public officials’ performance targets. Further research needs to be conducted to measure and modelize various aspects related to the achievement of public officials’ performance targets beside two variables used in this research, such as human resources, budget, and facilities. Keywords: Public Officials, Planning, Mobilizing, Stakeholder, Performance Abstrak Pejabat publik sebagai seorang pemimpin yang mengurusi kepentingan orang banyak dituntut untuk memiliki kemampuan manajerial, seperti kemampuan menyusun perencanaan dan kemampuan memobilisasi stakeholder dalam rangka pencapaian target kinerjanya. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui bagaimana pengaruh kemampuan menyusun perencanaan dan memobilisasi stakeholder terhadap pencapaian target kinerja pejabat publik di Indonesia. Penelitian ini menggunakan pendekatan kuantitatif. Populasi dalam penelitian ini adalah seluruh pejabat publik di Indonesia. Sampel yang digunakan adalah seluruh peserta Pelatihan Kepemimpinan di Puslatbang PKASN LAN pada tahun 2019. Teknik analisis yang digunakan adalah analisis regresi linier berganda. Variabel dependen dalam penelitian ini adalah Pencapaian Target Kinerja Pejabat Publik (PTKPP). Variabel independen adalah Kemampuan Membuat Perencanaan (KMP) dan Kemampuan Memobilisasi Stakeholder (KMS). Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa nilai determinasi (R2) sebesar 0,878 yang berarti bahwa sebesar 87,8% variasi pencapaian target kinerja pejabat publik di Indonesia dapat dijelaskan oleh kemampuan menyusun perencanaan dan kemampuan memobilisasi stakeholder. Hasil penelitian juga menunjukkan bahwa kedua variabel tersebut memiliki pengaruh positif dan siginifikan terhadap pencapaian target kinerja pejabat publik. Penelitian lanjutan perlu dilakukan dengan menambahkan beberapa variabel independen yang berkaitan dengan pencapaian target kinerja pejabat publik, seperti dukungan sumber daya manusia, anggaran, dan sarana dan prasarana. Kata kunci: Pejabat Publik, Perencanaan, Mobilisasi, Stakeholder, Kinerja

Mediated Corruption: The Case of the Keating Five

1993 ◽  
Vol 87 (2) ◽  
pp. 369-381 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dennis F. Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Social Science ◽  
Political Theory ◽  
Political Science ◽  
Political Corruption ◽  
Public Official ◽  
Democratic Process ◽  
Public Officials ◽  
The Public ◽  
Contemporary Politics

The Keating Five case exemplifies a form of a political corruption that is increasingly common in contemporary politics but frequently neglected in contemporary political science. I focus on this form by developing a concept of mediated corruption, which links the acts of individual officials to effects on the democratic process. Unlike conventional corruption, mediated corruption does not require that the public official act with a corrupt motive or that either public officials or citizens receive improper benefits. The concept of mediated corruption provides not only a more coherent account of the case of the Keating Five but also a more fruitful way of reuniting the concepts of systematic corruption in traditional political theory with the concepts of individual corruption in contemporary social science.

How to Tell the Truth without Outraging the Press?

MedienJournal ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 37
Author(s):  
Li Xiguang
Keyword(s):  
News Media ◽  
Public Affairs ◽  
Chinese Government ◽  
Government Officials ◽  
The Public ◽  
News Stories ◽  
The Press ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Government ◽  
Chinese News Media

The commercialization of meclia in China has cultivated a new journalism business model characterized with scandalization, sensationalization, exaggeration, oversimplification, highly opinionated news stories, one-sidedly reporting, fabrication and hate reporting, which have clone more harm than good to the public affairs. Today the Chinese journalists are more prey to the manipu/ation of the emotions of the audiences than being a faithful messenger for the public. Une/er such a media environment, in case of news events, particularly, during crisis, it is not the media being scared by the government. but the media itself is scaring the government into silence. The Chinese news media have grown so negative and so cynica/ that it has produced growing popular clistrust of the government and the government officials. Entering a freer but fearful commercially mediated society, the Chinese government is totally tmprepared in engaging the Chinese press effectively and has lost its ability for setting public agenda and shaping public opinions. 

PENGARUH SISTEM INFORMASI AKUNTANSI DAN TEKNOLOGI INFORMASI TERHADAP KINERJA PELAYANAN DI SEKTOR PUBLIK

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hari Wahyudi
Keyword(s):  
Information Systems ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Service Sector ◽  
Accounting Information ◽  
Service Performance ◽  
Test Reliability ◽  
Test Results ◽  
Performance Information ◽  
Accounting Information Systems ◽  
The Public

This study aimed to investigate the influence of accounting information systems and technology to service performance information on the public sector. Samples in this study were RS. M. Djamil in Padang, PLN, PDAM in Padang and taken at random (purposive sampling). Of the 122 questionnaires had been distributed only 85 questionnaires could be processed. Test Equipment used to test the validity of this study is the test, Test Reliability, Test for multicollinearity, coefficient Determination Test, and the t test, results of this study are: (a) The first hypothesis tests can be concluded that the accounting information systems has significant influence on performance in service sector public. (2) Information technology does not significantly influence the performance of services in the public sector.

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