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Government Officials (government + official)
Kinds of Government Officials Selected AbstractsHow Race, Sex, and Age Frame the Use of Authority by Local Government OfficialsLAW & SOCIAL INQUIRY, Issue 3 2010Shannon Portillo Thanks to the civil rights movement, women and racial and ethnic minorities increasingly hold positions of public authority,but they experience and exercise this authority differently from white men. Based on 162 narratives collected from 49 US local government officials (city administrators and police), I find that women, minorities, and younger officials in positions of authority face a paradox of rules. Because they have lower social status with the public and within their organizations, they must rely on formal and explicit rules as a key basis for their authority, but such reliance causes their very authority to be questioned. Social status based on implicit assumptions about social identities, including race or ethnicity, sex, and age, originates outside of organizations and has effects society wide. This study shows that social status continues to permeate US local government organizations in both subtle and explicit ways, even in bureaucratic settings that are formally committed to merit and professional norms. [source] TAX REVISIONS OF 2004 AND PRO SPORTS TEAM OWNERSHIPCONTEMPORARY ECONOMIC POLICY, Issue 4 2010N. EDWARD COULSON Tax law revisions of 2004 altered the "roster depreciation allowance" enjoyed by pro sports team owners. Supporters claimed this would practically eliminate costly legal oversight by the IRS and, ultimately, increase owner tax bills. Government officials and leagues remained silent on team value impacts but outside analysts argued they would rise by 5%. We model this policy change and investigate it empirically. Supporters in Congress were absolutely correct that owner tax payments should increase but outside analysts underestimated team value increases by half. No wonder Major League Baseball and the National Football League favored the revision. (JEL D21, G38, H25, L83) [source] A survey of tobacco dependence treatment services in 36 countriesADDICTION, Issue 2 2009Martin Raw ABSTRACT Aims This paper reports the results of a survey of national tobacco dependence treatment services in 36 countries. The objective was to describe the services and discuss the results in the context of Article 14 of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which asks countries to promote adequate treatment for tobacco dependence. Design, setting and participants A questionnaire on tobacco dependence treatment services was e-mailed to a convenience sample of contacts in 2007. Completed questionnaires were received from contacts in 36 countries. Measurements The survey instrument was a 10-item questionnaire asking about treatment policy and practice, including medications. Findings According to our informants, fewer than half the countries in our survey had an official written policy on (44%), or a government official responsible for (49%), treatment. Only 19% had a specialized national treatment system and only 24% said help was easily available in general practice. Most countries (94%) allowed the sale of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), bupropion (75%) and varenicline (69%) but only 40% permitted NRT on ,general sale'. Very few countries responding to the question fully reimbursed any of the medications. Fewer than half (45%) fully reimbursed brief advice and only 29% fully reimbursed intensive specialist support. Only 31% of countries said that their official treatment policy included the mandatory recording of patients' smoking status in medical notes. Conclusion Taken together, our findings show that few countries have well-developed tobacco dependence treatment services and that, at a national level, treatment is not yet a priority in most countries. [source] THE SECOND ANNUAL MEYER ELKIN ADDRESSFAMILY COURT REVIEW, Issue 1 2000The Changing Family in the New Millennium A year ago, our journal had the opportunity to publish the inaugural Meyer Elkin Address by Jonah, Peter, and Marian Wright Edelman. This past summer, the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts was honored to have George Thomson speak at its conference in Vancouver, British Columbia. Thomson was presented with this honor for his hard work and dedication to family law in Canada and throughout the world. The Family and Conciliation Courts Review is honored to publish this speech by Thomson. Described by his colleagues as a "miracle worker" and "superman", Thomson has led a fascinating career that has followed several different paths. As an undergraduate student, Thomson attained a B.A. in philosophy and English from Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario. He remained at Queen's University and received an LL.B., then completed his formal education with an LL.M. from the University of California. Thomson has had a diverse background in the legal field, serving as an educator, a judge, and a government official. From 1968 until 1971, he worked as both an associate professor and assistant dean at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario. After his brief stint with the university, he was appointed judge of the Provincial Court for the Province of Ontario. Thomson held this position for five years before becoming an associate deputy minister of Community and Social Services, where he served as the head of the Children's Services Division. In the 1980s, Thomson returned to the bench in the provincial court. Additionally, he was the director of education for the Law Society of Upper Canada. Most notably, however, Thomson chaired a provincial committee on social welfare reform. By 1989, Thomson had moved from the bench into governmental work. He briefly served as the deputy minister of citizenship for Ontario. He was then appointed the deputy minister of labor until 1992. From 1992 until 1994, Thomson served as Ontario's deputy attorney general. He then became the deputy minister of justice and deputy attorney general of Canada. Most recently, Thomson has been a special advisor to the minister of justice and attorney general of Canada. The following Meyer Elkin address was presented at the annual Convention of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts in Vancouver, Canada, in June 1999. [source] F. L. McDougall: Éminence grise of Australian Economic DiplomacyAUSTRALIAN ECONOMIC HISTORY REVIEW, Issue 1 2000Sean Turnell This paper examines the principal economic ideas of F. L. McDougall, a largely forgotten, sometime government official and ,amateur' economist who exercised an enigmatic influence upon Australia's economic diplomacy in the interwar years. Beginning with his conception of ,sheltered markets', the international manifestation of the Bruce Government's vision for Australia of ,men, money, and markets', the paper explores McDougall's later advocacy of a ,nutrition approach' to world agriculture and its extension into ,economic appeasement'. McDougall's ideas were theoretically unsophisticated, and realized little in the way of immediate achievements. In the longer run they could be viewed more favourably. Naive perhaps and idealistic certainly, McDougall's ideas were part of a broader movement that, after the Second World War, redefined the role of international economic institutions. If nothing else, McDougall's active proselytizing of his ideas lent Australia an unusual ,voice' in international forums at a time when it was scarcely heard. [source] Strategic corporate environmental management within the South African automotive industry: motivations, benefits, hurdlesCORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT, Issue 6 2009Anderson Gwanyebit Kehbila Abstract This paper conveys the experiences of the South African automotive industry as it attempted to implement the ISO 14001 standard. Through a questionnaire-based survey, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as well as larger companies were asked about the key motivations for engaging in environmental change, the benefits accrued and the barriers that prevented them from doing so. This paper analyzes the variation in adoption rates in order to establish different relationships between them. The results reveal substantial differences and some similarities with regard to the hurdles, benefits and motivations behind the implementation of environmental management systems (EMSs) that are hidden behind corporate rhetoric and commitment to sustainability. This paper concludes by prescribing robust recommendations that would set off the pace for government officials to incorporate effective and realistic incentives into future policy to better encourage environmental compliance and improved performance while minimizing costs both to businesses and to the Government. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source] The Politics of Service Delivery ReformDEVELOPMENT AND CHANGE, Issue 1 2004Richard Batley This article identifies the leaders, the supporters and the resisters of public service reform. It adopts a principal,agent framework, comparing reality with an ,ideal' situation in which citizens are the principals over political policy-makers as their agents, and policy-makers are the principals over public service officials as their agents. Reform in most developing countries is complicated by an additional set of external actors , international financial institutions and donors. In practice, international agencies and core government officials usually act as the ,principals' in the determination of reforms. The analysis identifies the interests involved in reform, indicating how the balance between them is affected by institutional and sectoral factors. Organizational reforms, particularly in the social sectors, present greater difficulties than first generation economic policy reforms. [source] Community Resilience and Volcano Hazard: The Eruption of Tungurahua and Evacuation of the Faldas in EcuadorDISASTERS, Issue 1 2002Graham A. Tobin Official response to explosive volcano hazards usually involves evacuation of local inhabitants to safe shelters. Enforcement is often difficult and problems can be exacerbated when major eruptions do not ensue. Families are deprived of livelihoods and pressure to return to hazardous areas builds. Concomitantly, prevailing socioeconomic and political conditions limit activities and can influence vulnerability. This paper addresses these issues, examining an ongoing volcano hazard (Tungurahua) in Ecuador where contextual realities significantly constrain responses. Fieldwork involved interviewing government officials, selecting focus groups and conducting surveys of evacuees in four locations: a temporary shelter, a permanent resettlement, with returnees and with a control group. Differences in perceptions of risk and health conditions, and in the potential for economic recovery were found among groups with different evacuation experiences. The long-term goal is to develop a model of community resilience in long-term stress environments. [source] Greek Monetary Economics in Retrospect: The Adventures of the DrachmaECONOMIC NOTES, Issue 3 2005Sophia Lazaretou This paper enumerates the adventures of the drachma step by step, dividing its story into seven parts. Specifically, its main purpose is to present some historical perspective on the behaviour of the monetary and fiscal policies pursued in Greece during the period from the early 1830s until the introduction of the euro. For Greece, the lessons of historical experience are very important. Since the formation of the modern Greek state, government officials have striven , sometimes making hard efforts , to keep abreast of international monetary developments. This was because they understood that the participation of a peripheral, poor and inflation-prone country with a weak currency and an underdeveloped money market, like Greece of the time, in a monetary club of powerful economies could improve her international credit standing and imply important benefits in terms of exchange rate and monetary stability, and long-term foreign borrowing. [source] Beyond corporatism: A configurational theory of policy concertationEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF POLITICAL RESEARCH, Issue 6 2003Hugh Compston Policy concertation (defined as making policy by means of agreements struck between government officials and representatives of employer associations and trade unions) is a major policy style in Western Europe. This article seeks to explain the political dynamics of policy concertation in terms of the varying configurations of three variables: perceived problems, the degree of shared economic understanding among the participants and the perceived implementation capacity of the participants. It is found that the incidence of broad policy concertation over the twentieth century in nine West European countries can be explained almost completely in terms of this configurational theory. [source] Social inequality and the reduction of ideological dissonance on behalf of the system: evidence of enhanced system justification among the disadvantagedEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 1 2003John T. Jost According to system justification theory, people are motivated to preserve the belief that existing social arrangements are fair, legitimate, justifiable, and necessary. The strongest form of this hypothesis, which draws on the logic of cognitive dissonance theory, holds that people who are most disadvantaged by the status quo would have the greatest psychological need to reduce ideological dissonance and would therefore be most likely to support, defend, and justify existing social systems, authorities, and outcomes. Variations on this hypothesis were tested in five US national survey studies. We found that (a) low-income respondents and African Americans were more likely than others to support limitations on the rights of citizens and media representatives to criticize the government; (b) low-income Latinos were more likely to trust in US government officials and to believe that ,the government is run for the benefit of all' than were high-income Latinos; (c) low-income respondents were more likely than high-income respondents to believe that large differences in pay are necessary to foster motivation and effort; (d) Southerners in the USA were more likely to endorse meritocratic belief systems than were Northerners and poor and Southern African Americans were more likely to subscribe to meritocratic ideologies than were African Americans who were more affluent and from the North; (e) low-income respondents and African Americans were more likely than others to believe that economic inequality is legitimate and necessary; and (f) stronger endorsement of meritocratic ideology was associated with greater satisfaction with one's own economic situation. Taken together, these findings are consistent with the dissonance-based argument that people who suffer the most from a given state of affairs are paradoxically the least likely to question, challenge, reject, or change it. Implications for theories of system justification, cognitive dissonance, and social change are also discussed. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Deterrents to Intercountry Adoption in BritainFAMILY RELATIONS, Issue 4 2000Peter Hayes Some local authority social workers in Britain have used their responsibility to make parental assessments to deter parents from adopting abroad. Prospective parents of foreign children may respond to these deterrents by making unauthorized adoptions. Central government officials have condemned both unauthorized adoptions and the obstructive policies towards intercountry adoption found in some local authorities. Prospects for reform depend partly on changing attitudes, and partly on expanding the role of independent intercountry adoption agencies. [source] CHANNING COPE AND THE MAKING OF A MIRACLE VINE,GEOGRAPHICAL REVIEW, Issue 2 2004DEREK H. ALDERMAN ABSTRACT. The history of kudzu illustrates the fluidity with which people can redefine their cultural relationship with exotic species. Although much of American society views the fast-growing Asian vine as a pest, this has not always been the case. During the first half of the twentieth century, individual entrepreneurs and government officials touted kudzu as a "miracle vine" and carried out massive planting campaigns across the southeastern United States. This study traces the changing place of kudzu within southern society from its introduction in the late 1800s to the present. Specific attention is devoted to the role that the gentleman farmer, author, and radio personality Channing Cope played in popularizing the cultivation of kudzu. Cope's promotional activities are interpreted as environmental claims making. Analysis focuses on the metaphors he used in persuading the public of kudzu's supposed benefits. Conducting such an examination advances our general understanding of the historical geography of exotics in America and the importance of human agency and cultural representation in the spread of non-native organisms. [source] Disaggregated Sovereignty: Towards the Public Accountability of Global Government NetworksGOVERNMENT AND OPPOSITION, Issue 2 2004Anne-Marie Slaughter Networks of government officials , police investigators, financial regulators, even judges and legislators , are a key feature of world order in the twenty-first century. Yet, these networks present significant accountability and legitimacy concerns. This article identifies and responds to the potential problems of government networks by suggesting means to increase their accountability and proposing norms to govern the relations of members of government networks with one another. Finally, the article develops the concept of disaggregated sovereignty, arguing that government networks have the capacity to enter into international regulatory regimes of various types and thereby are independently bound by the existing corpus of international law. [source] Regulated competition and citizen participation: lessons from IsraelHEALTH EXPECTATIONS, Issue 2 2000David Chinitz PhD Objective To investigate the relationship between health system structure and citizen participation, in particular whether increased reliance on competition encourages or depresses citizen involvement. Setting The case of Israel's ongoing health reform, based on regulated competition among sick funds, is examined. Design Interviews with government officials and representatives of consumer groups; analysis of policy documents, judicial rulings, public surveys and journalistic accounts. Results The Israeli reform is based in large measure on a regulated competition model, in which citizens have free choice among highly regulated competing sick funds. At the same time, the reform process has been accompanied by legal, institutional and political frameworks, as well as significant interest group activity, all aimed at increasing public input into processes of health policy making and implementation. The Israeli case, it is argued, lends support to the proposition that citizen participation (voice) and individual choice (exit) are complementary, rather than alternative, modes of ensuring citizen influence over health services. The question is whether the development of multiple avenues for citizen involvement represents disarray or a healthy social learning process regarding the running of the health system. Conclusion This paper expresses cautious optimism that citizen participation is a projection of a healthy social learning process, and suggests directions for public policy to encourage this outcome. [source] Recent Work in Seventeenth-Century Economic ThoughtHISTORY COMPASS (ELECTRONIC), Issue 1 2006Brian Weiser During the Stuart era, theorists, merchants, government officials, and everyday Englishmen and women tried to understand the rapid shifts in their economy. Such inquiry changed perceptions of how the economy worked. This article explores recent scholarship on economic thought in the Stuart era. It begins with Joyce Appleby's seminal book which sees economic events as the prime mover behind shifts in economic theory, and then considers Andrea Finkelstein's recent assertions that scientific and medical discoveries strongly influenced economic thinkers like William Petty and Thomas Mun. The article then examines a series of works that analyze the impact of politics on economic thought, how economic thought inspired literature, the interplay of economic thought and religion, and how those who were not economic literati viewed the economy. [source] Old Age Protection in the Context of Rural DevelopmentIDS BULLETIN, Issue 4 2010Xiaomei Pei This study examines the potential of rural communities for generating and allocating resources for rural old age support in the context of decreasing family resources and inadequate state provision. In-depth interviews with elderly people, their families, community leaders and government officials of three villages, respectively located in three provinces provide us with clear evidence on existing local institutional arrangements for rural old age support and the role of both government and community in organising such programmes. They confirm the potential of rural communities to generate and distribute resources for old age support, offering community opportunities for social inclusion through fair flows of resources to promote social harmony and stability, and accelerating economic growth. The findings of the study imply that there is a need for policymakers to link the state effort for old age protection to rural community development, and encourage grassroots efforts in old age support. [source] Pathways out of Patronage Politics: New Roles for Communities, New Rules for Politics in the PhilippinesIDS BULLETIN, Issue 6 2009Jude Esguerra III This case study discusses adaptations of co-production and co-financing approaches pioneered by two non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in the province of Palawan in Metro Manila, part of the Baranggay-Bayan Governance Consortium, a loose network of NGOs across the Philippines. The Consortium associates itself with local government officials, social movements and political parties that are interested not only in making use of the existing so-called democratic spaces but also of the political empowerment of the poor. It does so by creating community capabilities for increased bargaining power vis-ŕ-vis local elected officials, reversing the exclusionary logic of patronage politics in the country and supporting co-production and co-financing between local governments and communities willing to put efforts towards solving their own problems. [source] Reducing Irregular Migration from ChinaINTERNATIONAL MIGRATION, Issue 3 2003James K. Chin With the development of China's economy since 1979, a new type of Chinese migration has emerged, which is more diversified and quite distinct from previous migration patterns. Trafficking in human beings and other forms of irregular migration are one of the most pressing and complex human rights issues today, reaching across borders and affecting most of the countries in the world, with new and serious security implications. As part of the international irregular migration flows toward and into the European Union (EU), the Chinese, particularly from Fujian and Zhejiang provinces, have played a major role since the 1980s. To some extent, it could be said that China provides the largest number of East Asian irregular immigrants to Europe. Based on fieldwork conducted in southern China over the past seven years, this paper proposes to examine current Chinese irregular migration trends. It will further present the Government's response regarding the migratory modus operandi and policy implications with the aim of offering policy makers an empirical insight into the most active region of emigration in China. Because of the difficulty and sensitivity involved in collecting data on the topic, materials in this paper are mainly based on a content analysis of local Chinese newspapers and my interviews with various people involved in irregular migration activities, such as "snakeheads", illegal migrants and their family members, and police, local, and government officials at different levels. [source] The Role of Trust in Channels of Strategic Communication for Building Civil SocietyJOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION, Issue 4 2005Carl H. Botan In these turbulent times, development communication is a growing and important area of both academic research and practice. This article explores the role of strategic communication channels in the development of civil society in Bosnia. This case study reports the results of a survey that asked Bosnians about their levels of trust in government officials, alternative media, and state-controlled media outlets. The findings suggest that shortly after the war Bosnians had medium levels of trust in their communication channels, and when it comes to obtaining important information, it appears that alternative media were considered more trustworthy than either the state media or local government officials. Finally, political affiliation and ethnicity affect trust in communication channels in complex ways. [source] Landmines and Local Community AdaptationJOURNAL OF CONTINGENCIES AND CRISIS MANAGEMENT, Issue 2 2002Aldo A. Benini Despite international mobilization for greater humanitarian mine action and despite considerable clearance achievements, the majority of mine-affected communities have not yet been involved in formal clearance activities. They adapt to the contamination largely by local means. The differing degree to which local adaptation is successful is now better understood as a result of the Global Landmine Survey, a multi-country survey project launched in the wake of the 1997 Ottawa treaty to ban anti-personnel mines. Socio-economic impact surveys have since been completed in several countries. In addition to landmines, the Global Landmine Survey records impacts also from unexploded ordnance (UXO). The ability to avoid mine incidents is used to measure adaptation success. We use a variant of Poisson regression models in order to identify community and contamination correlates of the number of recent landmine victims. We estimate separate models using data from the Yemen, Chad and Thailand surveys. We interpret them in a common framework that includes variables from three domains: Pressure on resources, intensity of past conflict and communities' institutional endowments. Statistically significant associations occur in all three domains and in all the three countries studied. Physical correlates are the most strongly associated, pointing to a lasting deadly legacy of violent conflict, but also significant learning effects over time are present. Despite different measurements of institutional endowments, in each country one factor signifying greater local development is correlated with reductions in victims, whereas factors commonly associated with the presence of government officials do not contribute to local capacity to diminish the landmine problem. Strong spatial effects are manifest in clusters of communities with recent victims. Two policy consequences emerge. Firstly, given humanitarian funding limits, trade-offs between clearing contaminated land and creating alternative employment away from that land need to be studied more deeply; the Global Landmine Survey will need to reach out to other bodies of knowledge in development. Secondly, communities with similar contamination types and levels often form local clusters that are smaller than the administrative districts of the government and encourage tailored planning approaches for mine action. These call for novel coalitions that bring advocacy and grassroots NGOs together with local governments, agricultural and forestry departments and professional mine clearance and awareness education agencies. [source] An ethical judgment framework for corporate political actionsJOURNAL OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, Issue 3 2008Yongqiang Gao Despite the popularity of businesses' involvement in politics, little discussion has been conducted on the ethics of corporate political actions (CPAs) in the business, corporate social responsibility, business ethics and ,business and society' literatures. The sporadic studies on ethics of CPA mainly focus on one or two aspects of the CPA in judging its ethics, such as its goal or means or consequences, very little has been done in a systematic way to analyse and articulate ethical standards for those corporations and industries who proactively seek to influence government officials. This study attempts to make up this gap. By applying three basic ethical principles including Utilitarian theory, theory of rights and theory of justice into the CPAs, I propose an ethical judgment framework for CPAs. The ethical judgment framework focuses on and judged by four issues/attributes of a CPA, including the goals/purposes of the CPA, the means taken to achieve the goals, the consequences resulted from the CPA, and the process of the CPA. The ,means' and ,consequences' are the core criteria in the framework, but ,goals' and ,process' also contribute to the ethical judgment of a CPA. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Interests and lobbying in Lithuania: a spectrum of developmentJOURNAL OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, Issue 1-2 2008Ronald J. Hrebenar By focusing on the case of Lithuania, this paper develops a framework for understanding the development and characteristics of interest groups and the broader category of interest systems in the former Communist countries of Eastern Europe. Nearly two decades have passed since the transition to democracy in the former Baltic Soviet republics and Eastern Europe. These nations have established democratic elections, modern judicial systems, institutions of representative government and guarantees of civil rights and civil liberties. Successful democratization, however, also requires the construction of a civil society characterized by open channels of communication between citizens and interests and their governments. Recent studies of the democratization of the former Soviet republics and satellite states in Eastern Europe have rarely addressed the development and role of interest groups and lobbying in these nations. This paper fills this void by presenting the findings of the first major study of interest group politics and lobbying in Lithuania. The major findings are based upon interviews of nearly 50 Lithuanian political, academic, bureaucratic and media elites conducted in the July of 2005. Overall, the lobbying community in Lithuania is underdeveloped, often corrupt, and is negatively perceived by many Lithuanians elites. Much of this is due to the legacy of communism which heavily influences the perception and efficacy of interest groups and lobbying resulting in a suspicion among the public and government officials that has impeded the development of an effective lobbying community. Lithuanian interest groups do not use sophisticated practices or tactics of lobbying; access is largely based on personal connections and corrupt practices. The business community is the most effective lobby due to its contacts and extensive resources; in contrast, the labour lobby is weak due to a hangover from communist times. Looking to the future development of the Lithuanian lobbying community, it is unclear what effect the entry of Lithuania into the European Union (May 2004) will have on the development of interest group activities and lobbying. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] How Race, Sex, and Age Frame the Use of Authority by Local Government OfficialsLAW & SOCIAL INQUIRY, Issue 3 2010Shannon Portillo Thanks to the civil rights movement, women and racial and ethnic minorities increasingly hold positions of public authority,but they experience and exercise this authority differently from white men. Based on 162 narratives collected from 49 US local government officials (city administrators and police), I find that women, minorities, and younger officials in positions of authority face a paradox of rules. Because they have lower social status with the public and within their organizations, they must rely on formal and explicit rules as a key basis for their authority, but such reliance causes their very authority to be questioned. Social status based on implicit assumptions about social identities, including race or ethnicity, sex, and age, originates outside of organizations and has effects society wide. This study shows that social status continues to permeate US local government organizations in both subtle and explicit ways, even in bureaucratic settings that are formally committed to merit and professional norms. [source] Justice Excused: The Deployment of Law in Everyday Political EncountersLAW & SOCIETY REVIEW, Issue 2 2006George I. Lovell This paper examines the use of legal claims by government officials and citizens in everyday political encounters involving civil rights. Data come from 580 letters sent to the federal government between 1939 and 1941, and from the replies sent by the newly formed Civil Rights Section of the Justice Department. In almost every case, the department refused to intervene and explained its refusal by making legal claims about federal jurisdiction. These legal claims masked the department's discretionary choices and thus helped depoliticize the encounters. Surprisingly, however, a substantial number of letter writers challenged the government's legal claims by deploying their own legal and moral arguments. The willingness of these citizens to challenge official legal pronouncements cautions against making broad generalizations about the capacity of ordinary people to respond effectively when government officials deploy legal rhetoric. [source] The twelve competencies: Leadership training for local government officialsNATIONAL CIVIC REVIEW, Issue 2 2007Fred Fisher First page of article [source] The Internal Israeli Conflict: The Past, Present, and Future of the Jewish West Bank and Gaza SettlementsNEGOTIATION JOURNAL, Issue 2 2005Robert Mnookin On October 14 and 15, 2004, just days before the Israeli government submitted to the Knesset a draft legislation to authorize the evacuation of Jewish settlers from Gaza Strip and some settlements on the West Bank, a two-day conference titled "Past, Present, and Future of the Jewish West Bank and Gaza Settlements: The Internal Israeli Conflict" was held at Harvard Law School. The conference was sponsored by the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School, the Saltman Center for Conflict Resolution of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and the United States Institute of Peace. This interdisciplinary conference's six panels, whose proceedings are summarized in the series of articles that follow, explored the religious, ideological, psychological, political, legal, and international dimensions of the conflict. Presenters included former and current Israeli and American government officials, experts on resettlement policies and compensation mechanisms, and scholars from a variety of disciplines. While presentation topics covered a range of issues relating to the settlements, three broad themes arose from the conference. First, participants agreed that it is important, if not fundamental, to understand the perspectives of the national religious settlers who are the driving force behind the settlement movement. Exploring the settlers' diverse interests, fears, and identities is necessary in order to see why relocation is so threatening to them. The Israeli government can lessen opposition to withdrawal by showing the settlers empathy and reassurance, but only if government officials first achieve a true understanding of the settlers' concerns. Participants also argued that a reframing of the relocation in ideological terms could be another critical component of a solution to this problem. It may be necessary for the leaders of the settlement movement to develop a new narrative or modify the existing one in order to legitimize their relocation. Part of this narrative will involve the concept of "a greater good", the government must reassure the settlers that their sacrifice is for a higher cause. Several participants noted that Israel needs to show the settlers "tough love." When the relocations begin, many expect that there will be violence and that disturbing images will be broadcast throughout Israel and around the world. Internal disruption could put the government led by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his Likud party coalition in jeopardy. The government must not waver in the face of this crisis, conference participants argued. In fact, the threat of violent and disruptive resistance by settlers and their allies can be part of the solution, not just the problem. The government and relocation supporters can use this extremism to justify decisive measures and to redefine the problem for the broader population to convince them that the stability of the country is at stake. Another major conclusion of conference participants was that, while the Israeli settlement issue has unique features, there is much to be learned from comparative analysis. Other countries have dealt with settlement situations, and their experiences offer invaluable lessons. In particular, participants contrasted Israel's settlements in Gaza and the West Bank with French settlements in Algeria and English settlements in Ireland. Some pointed to the French withdrawal from Algeria, which was politically painful but ultimately successful, as an example of "tough love" that Israel should follow. Finally, the involvement of third parties to help solve this conflict is indispensable. Participants noted that while much of Israel feels alienated from the European Union and the United Nations, the Israeli government is highly sensitive to the concerns of the United States, as evidenced by Sharon's decision to show the Gaza withdrawal plan to the U.S. government before he had even raised it with his cabinet and the Israeli parliament, the Knesset. International participation could help legitimize withdrawal and reduce Israeli responsibility for Gaza's future. Third parties can apply political pressure to encourage an accountable and responsible Palestinian leadership. They may also be called upon to provide some sort of financial aid. The participants acknowledged the complexity of the settlement problem and recognized that easy solutions do not exist. Yet, if the Israeli government works toward understanding the settlers' perspectives, learns from comparative analysis, and involves third parties appropriately, the likelihood of a successful outcome increases greatly. [source] The Unequal Burden of Pain: Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in PainPAIN MEDICINE, Issue 3 2003Carmen R. Green MD ABSTRACT context. Pain has significant socioeconomic, health, and quality-of-life implications. Racial- and ethnic-based differences in the pain care experience have been described. Racial and ethnic minorities tend to be undertreated for pain when compared with non-Hispanic Whites. objectives. To provide health care providers, researchers, health care policy analysts, government officials, patients, and the general public with pertinent evidence regarding differences in pain perception, assessment, and treatment for racial and ethnic minorities. Evidence is provided for racial- and ethnic-based differences in pain care across different types of pain (i.e., experimental pain, acute postoperative pain, cancer pain, chronic non-malignant pain) and settings (i.e., emergency department). Pertinent literature on patient, health care provider, and health care system factors that contribute to racial and ethnic disparities in pain treatment are provided. evidence. A selective literature review was performed by experts in pain. The experts developed abstracts with relevant citations on racial and ethnic disparities within their specific areas of expertise. Scientific evidence was given precedence over anecdotal experience. The abstracts were compiled for this manuscript. The draft manuscript was made available to the experts for comment and review prior to submission for publication. conclusions. Consistent with the Institute of Medicine's report on health care disparities, racial and ethnic disparities in pain perception, assessment, and treatment were found in all settings (i.e., postoperative, emergency room) and across all types of pain (i.e., acute, cancer, chronic nonmalignant, and experimental). The literature suggests that the sources of pain disparities among racial and ethnic minorities are complex, involving patient (e.g., patient/health care provider communication, attitudes), health care provider (e.g., decision making), and health care system (e.g., access to pain medication) factors. There is a need for improved training for health care providers and educational interventions for patients. A comprehensive pain research agenda is necessary to address pain disparities among racial and ethnic minorities. [source] The importance of news media in pharmaceutical risk communication: proceedings of a workshop,,§PHARMACOEPIDEMIOLOGY AND DRUG SAFETY, Issue 5 2005Felicia E. Mebane PhD Abstract In response to mass media's role in the national and global system of pharmaceutical risk communication, the Centers for Education and Research on Therapeutics (CERTs) convened a ,think tank' session on the ,Importance of Media in Pharmaceutical Risk Communication'. Prominent journalists and experts from the pharmaceutical industry, academia, medical practice and government were invited to consider the benefits and challenges of improving the way we communicate the benefits and risks of therapeutics via mass media, especially news media. Workshop discussions revealed a paucity of systematic research directed towards understanding how and why news media report on therapeutic risk, the impact of this coverage and how coverage can be improved. Consequently, participants produced a research agenda capturing the key aspects of the flow of information around this topic, including the meaning of risk, how news audiences process and use therapeutic risk information in the news, how and why news organizations report on therapeutic risk, and the role and impact of the pharmaceutical industry, government officials and academic researchers as sources of therapeutic risk information. The workshop ended with a discussion on action items addressing what news professionals, representatives of regulatory agencies and the medical products industry, and academic researchers can and should do to enable news media to effectively report therapeutic risk information. In sum, this proceedings report provides an outline for developing mass media risk communication research, influencing the practices of journalists and expert sources and ultimately, improving the quality of the public's life. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Race, Gender, and Communications in Natural DisastersPOLICY STUDIES JOURNAL, Issue 4 2007Darrell M. West We examine public attitudes toward vulnerability and evacuation in hurricane natural disasters. Using the results of an opinion survey in a coastal, New England state, we find important differences in how men and women, and Whites and minorities perceive natural disasters. Race, gender, and geographic proximity to the coast affect how vulnerable people believe their residence is to a major hurricane, while government officials and media reporting telling people to evacuate influence evacuation decisions. In order to avoid future breakdowns, governments need to understand the different information processing approaches of various groups of people. [source] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||