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Federal Level (federal + level)
Selected AbstractsIt's the Economy Stupid: Macroeconomics and Federal Elections in AustraliaTHE ECONOMIC RECORD, Issue 235 2000LISA CAMERON In this paper we examine the impact of macroeconomic conditions on Federal electoral performance in 20th-century Australia. We find that the electorate penalizes a government for high inflation and high unemployment relative to trend. Real GDP growth and real wage growth were not found to have a systematic relationship with incumbent vote share at the Federal level. We also examine the voteshare of the Federal incumbent in three electorates: the safe Liberal seat of Kooyong, the safe Labor seat of Melbourne Pans, and the swinging seat of Latrobe. We find some evidence that unemployment affects electoral outcomes in the swinging seat, but no macroeconomic variables affect outcomes in the safe seats. [source] The Creation of a Vocational Sector in Swiss Higher Education: balancing trends of system differentiation and integrationEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF EDUCATION, Issue 4 2003Juan-Francisco Perellon The article discusses the establishment of a vocational sector in Swiss higher education as a complement to the existing two-tier system of cantonal Universities and federal Institutes of technology. The origins of this new player, its missions and organisational features are discussed. This overall discussion is placed into the context of changing landscape of Swiss higher education policy characterised by increasing pressures for geographical reorganisation of the higher education sector under the auspices of a more direct role of the federal government. The article makes two points. First, it argues that the creation of a vocational sector in Swiss higher education combines two contradictory trends. On the one hand, this new sector tends to provide differentiation at the system level, through the creation of a new, more marked-oriented sector of higher education. On the other hand, system differentiation at the system level is threatened by increased demands for greater inter-institutional cooperation and system integration, emanating principally from the federal level. Second, the article also argues that the distinction between ,academic/scientific' vs. ,vocational/professional' education generally referred to when studying the emergence of non-university sectors in higher education, is not pertinent for the analysis of the Swiss case. Two reasons are brought forward to sustain this argument. First, this distinction reinforces an artificial binary divide, no longer relevant to assess the evolution of higher education institutions placed in a context of academic and vocational drifts. Second, the ,academic' vs. ,professional' opposition does not take into consideration the political organisation of the country and how this impacts on policy making in higher education; a crucial element in the Swiss context. [source] Moving up, moving down: Political careers across territorial levelsEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF POLITICAL RESEARCH, Issue 2 2003Klaus Stolz In the sparse literature on political careers in federal systems, regional positions are often seen as mere stepping stones on the way to federal office. But are they really? The recent professionalization of state politics in federal systems and the regionalization of former unitary states point to the strengthening of the regional level as a career arena in its own right. Could this lead to the emergence of a regional political class with a set of career interests distinct from those of national politicians? This article takes a first, comparative look at current patterns of career movements between regional and national parliaments in a wide range of federal and newly regionalized systems. The study shows that, contrary to general belief, the number of deputies actually moving from the regional to federal level is generally relatively low. While some cases show fairly integrated career structures, others exhibit a pattern of career development in which state or regional office functions as the main focus of political careers. The territorial structure of the political class is dependent upon a whole range of social, cultural and institutional factors. At the same time, it is also an important factor in the mechanics and institutional development of each federal system in question. [source] Fighting for Other Folks' Wages: The Logic and Illogic of Living Wage CampaignsINDUSTRIAL RELATIONS, Issue 1 2005RICHARD FREEMAN Living wage campaigns have enacted ordinances/policies to raise low wages in over 100 localities. The campaigns galvanize citizens more than national economic issues and allow for pay increases fine-tuned to local realities, but cover relatively few workers. To help the low-paid broadly, the coalitions in living wage campaigns have to scale up to the state or national level while unions and national groups work to devolve labor issues from the gridlock at the federal level to states and localities. [source] Organizations advocating for youth: The local advantageNEW DIRECTIONS FOR YOUTH DEVELOPMENT, Issue 117 2008Sarah Deschenes Youth occupy a unique place in our democratic society. They must primarily rely on others to speak on their behalf as decisions are made about the allocation of resources within and across various youth-serving institutions. Advocacy organizations comprise crucial representational assets for all youth, but America's poorest children and youth especially need an effective voice to speak for and about them. Yet advocates for youth in urban areas face tough challenges since urban voters typically have few positive connections to youth. This article draws on three years of research focused on three organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area that have successfully advocated for better policies for youth. The authors explore the strategies that these organizations have employed to overcome the challenges they face, with particular attention to the advantages that follow from advocating at the local rather than at the state or federal level. [source] Fiskalpolitik als antizyklisches Instrument?PERSPEKTIVEN DER WIRTSCHAFTSPOLITIK, Issue 2 2010Eine Betrachtung der Schweiz First, we find that the federation adopted a countercyclical fiscal policy in approximately 60% of all periods observed. During recessions, fiscal policy was always countercyclical and therefore helped to stabilize the economy. In case of the cantons, fiscal policy was countercyclical in 55% of all recessions. In recent years, there has been a trend for both the federation and the cantons toward stronger stabilization. Second, the two stabilizing instruments of fiscal policy, automatic stabilizers and discretionary fiscal policy are compared with each other. Over the last 50 years, automatic stabilizers have been expanded continuously, particularly on the federal level. We find that the impulse of automatic stabilizers is about twice as large as the one of discretionary fiscal policy. Third, macroeconomic effects of Switzerland's fiscal policy during recessions are examined. Automatic stabilizers have been particularly effective in the cantons whereas the effects of discretionary fiscal policy on economic growth have tended to be weaker. [source] Wirtschaftliche Auswirkungen der direkten DemokratiePERSPEKTIVEN DER WIRTSCHAFTSPOLITIK, Issue 2 2000Gebhard Kirchgässner First the transmission of information in direct and representative democracies is investigated. Because there is more supply and demand of information, citizens are better informed in direct democracies than in purely representative systems. Then, a survey is given about empirical studies of the economic consequences of direct democracy which show that these consequences are mostly positive. Finally we discuss some of the arguments which are often raised in Germany against the introduction of direct democratic rights on the federal level, especially the reference to ,bad experiences' in the Weimar republic. It is shown that these arguments are not valid. [source] The Great Unraveling: Federal Budgeting, 1998,2006PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION REVIEW, Issue 4 2007Irene Rubin Since 1998, budgeting reforms at the federal level have unraveled extensively. The budget process has become ad hoc, fragmented, and opaque, balance has been elusive, and the failure to prioritize has become endemic. One cause was the mismatch between the budget process in 1998, which was designed to eliminate deficits, and the emerging budgetary surpluses of that time. A second contributing factor was the desire to reduce taxes while expenditures were increasing as a result of wars and natural disasters. The consequences of this great unraveling include the failure to fund Medicare and Social Security adequately when the opportunity was presented, as well as threats to constitutional and democratic governance. Renewed reform may require greater transparency and a willingness to embarrass elected officials with iconic stories. [source] Tax Expenditures in Michigan: A Comparison to Federal FindingsPUBLIC BUDGETING AND FINANCE, Issue 1 2002Kyle I. Jen A substantial literature exists on federal tax expenditures, but almost no empirical research has been done on state tax expenditures. This article examines Michigan tax expenditures, with an emphasis on comparison to findings from the federal level. Three major topics are addressed: (1) allocation of resources by policy area, (2) distribution of tax expenditure benefits by income class, and (3) tax expenditure growth over time. Only the findings on resource allocation are consistent with findings from the federal level, suggesting that simple theories may be insufficient to systematically describe tax expenditures. [source] The Politics of Obesity: A Current Assessment and Look AheadTHE MILBANK QUARTERLY, Issue 1 2009ROGAN KERSH Context: The continuing rise in obesity rates across the United States has proved impervious to clinical treatment or public health exhortation, necessitating policy responses. Nearly a decade's worth of political debates may be hardening into an obesity issue regime, comprising established sets of cognitive frames, stakeholders, and policy options. Methods: This article is a survey of reports on recently published studies. Findings: Much of the political discussion regarding obesity is centered on two "frames," personal-responsibility and environmental, yielding very different sets of policy responses. While policy efforts at the federal level have resulted in little action to date, state and/or local solutions such as calorie menu labeling and the expansion of regulations to reduce unhealthy foods at school may have more impact. Conclusions: Obesity politics is evolving toward a relatively stable state of equilibrium, which could make comprehensive reforms to limit rising obesity rates less feasible. Therefore, to achieve meaningful change, rapid-response research identifying a set of promising reforms, combined with concerted lobbying action, will be necessary. [source] Political Representation and Gender in Brazil: Quotas for Women and their ImpactBULLETIN OF LATIN AMERICAN RESEARCH, Issue 2 2008LUIS F. MIGUEL In the 1990s, Brazilian Congress approved an electoral quota for female candidates in parliamentary competition (with exception of the Senate). The reticence of the law and the peculiarities of the Brazilian open lists electoral system have given rise to concern that the quotas will fail. In fact, there has been no great increase in the number of women in Brazilian legislatives , there has been some change in the municipalities, a little less in the states and almost nothing at the federal level. Analysing in detail the results of four elections to the federal Chamber of Deputies, two before and two after the quotas, it becomes apparent that, in Brazil, the impact of quotas is mediated far more than in other countries. Quotas provide, above all, an incentive to party elites to support an increase in the number of female political leaders, and the results may appear only at mid term. [source] Best practices in community-based prevention for youth substance reduction: towards strengths-based positive development policyJOURNAL OF COMMUNITY PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 6 2008Jeong Woong Cheon Substance use among youth remains a major public health and safety concern. One fundamental way to address youth substance use prevention is to keep young people on a positive trajectory by engaging them in positive activities from early years of their childhood. In this article, the author offers a best practice analysis of systematic review about 12 selected community-based preventions, and proposes policy changes towards incorporating a strengths perspective. A substantive, methodological, and value-based critical analysis of the strongly effective preventions was conducted. A strengths-based positive youth development perspective is specified as one feasible needed improvement and subsequent policy changes in the school district as well as in the local, state, and federal levels are proposed along with the suggestion of a mandated community youth participation strategy. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] Alternative Funding Policies for the Uninsured: Exploring the Value of Hospital Tax ExemptionTHE MILBANK QUARTERLY, Issue 2 2000Nancy M. Kane The tax exemption accorded private, nonprofit hospitals is being subjected to more scrutiny as the numbers of uninsured grow; meanwhile, charity care competes with market-driven priorities. Current public policies tie hospital tax exemption to the provision of charity care, but there is a gap in the size and distribution of values between tax exemption and the charity care that is provided. Most hospitals, in a study reported here, provided free care at a level below the value of their tax exemption, even when 50 percent of bad debt was included in the care value. However, hospitals in the poorest communities offered considerably more care than the value of their tax exemption, whereas those in wealthier communities offered considerably less. Policies at local, state, and federal levels should be designed to exert leverage on hospitals to provide free care at a level commensurate with the value of their tax exemptions. [source] Indirect land use emissions in the life cycle of biofuels: regulations vs scienceBIOFUELS, BIOPRODUCTS AND BIOREFINING, Issue 3 2009Adam J Liska Abstract Recent legislative mandates have been enacted at state and federal levels with the purpose of reducing life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from transportation fuels. This legislation encourages the substitution of fossil fuels with ,low-carbon' fuels. The burden is put on regulatory agencies to determine the GHG-intensity of various fuels, and those agencies naturally look to science for guidance. Even though much progress has been made in determining the direct life cycle emissions from the production of biofuels, the science underpinning the estimation of potentially signifi cant emissions from indirect land use change (ILUC) is in its infancy. As legislation requires inclusion of ILUC emissions in the biofuel life cycle, regulators are in a quandary over accurate implementation. In this article, we review these circumstances and offer some suggestions for how to proceed with the science of indirect effects and regulation in the face of uncertain science. Besides investigating indirect deforestation and grassland conversion alone, a more comprehensive assessment of the total GHG emissions implications of substituting biofuels for petroleum needs to be completed before indirect effects can be accurately determined. This review fi nds that indirect emissions from livestock and military security are particularly important, and deserve further research. © 2009 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd [source] Institutional Field of Dreams: Exploring the AACSB and the New Legitimacy of Canadian Business SchoolsCANADIAN JOURNAL OF ADMINISTRATIVE SCIENCES, Issue 4 2005Margaret C. McKee Abstract The past 10 years have witnessed a rapid expansion in the number of Canadian business schools seeking accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International (AACSB). Despite initial resistance in the early 1990s, the heavy financial and human resource costs involved in accreditation and maintenance, and the fact that Canada's publicly-funded universities owe their accreditation and legitimacy to well established governance at university, provincial, and federal levels, many Canadian business schools were at some stage of AACSB accreditation by 2005. Drawing on neo-institutional and legitimacy theory, this paper attempts to explain the institutional influences on the processes of AACSB accreditation in order to assist business school deans and faculty in weighing their accreditation options. Résumé Au cours des 10 dernières années, on a assisté à une augmentation fulgurante du nombre d'écoles de commerce canadiennes en quête d'accréditation auprès de Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International (AACSB). Malgré une résistance initiale au début des années 1990, les coûts élevés des ressources humaines et financières liées à la maintenance et à l'accréditation, et le fait que les universités canadiennes, financées par les pouvoirs publics, doivent leur accréditation et leur légitimité à une gestion solidement implantée aux niveaux universitaire, provincial, et fédéral, beaucoup d'écoles de commerce canadiennes n'étaient qu'en cours d'accréditation à l'AACSB en 2005. Grâce à la théorie néo-institutionnelle et à la théorie de la légitimité, le présent article met en lumière les influences que les institutions exercent sur les processus d'accréditation AACSB, ceci dans le but d'aider les doyens d'écoles et des facultés de commerce à mieux évaluer leurs options d'accréditation. [source] Executive Summary: The Institute of Medicine Report and the Future of Academic Emergency Medicine: The Society for Academic Emergency Medicine and Association of Academic Chairs in Emergency Medicine Panel: Association of American Medical Colleges Annual Meeting, October 28, 2006ACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 3 2007Daniel A. Handel MD The findings in the Institute of Medicine's Future of Emergency Care reports, released in June 2006, emphasize that emergency physicians work in a fragmented system of emergency care with limited interhospital and out-of-hospital care coordination, too few on-call specialists, minimal disaster readiness, strained inpatient resources, and inadequate pediatric emergency services. Areas warranting special attention at academic medical centers (AMCs), both those included within the report and others warranting further attention, were reviewed by a distinguished panel and include the following: 1) opportunities to strengthen and leverage the educational environment within the AMC emergency department; 2) research opportunities created by emergency medicine (EM) serving as an interdisciplinary bridge in the area of clinical and translational research; 3) enhancement of federal guidelines for observational and interventional emergency care research; 4) recognition of the importance of EM residency training, the role of academic departments of EM, and EM subspecialty development in critical care medicine and out-of-hospital and disaster medicine; 5) further assessment of the impact of a regional emergency care model on patient outcomes and exploration of the role of AMCs in the development of such a model (e.g., geriatric and pediatric centers of EM excellence); 6) t e opportunity to use educational loan forgiveness to encourage rural EM practice and the development of innovative EM educational programs linked to rural hospitals; and 7) the need to address AMC emergency department crowding and its adverse effect on quality of care and patient safety. Strategic plans should be developed on a local level in conjunction with support from national EM organizations, allied health care, specialty organizations, and consumer groups to help implement the recommendations of the Institute of Medicine report. The report recommendations and other related recommendations brought forward during the panel discussions should be addressed through innovative programs and policy development at the regional and federal levels. [source] Comparisons of U.S. Government Communication Practices: Expanding the Government Communication Decision WheelCOMMUNICATION THEORY, Issue 3 2010J. Suzanne Horsley Government communication is pervasive and has an impact on every aspect of American public life. However, there is minimal theory-driven research in this critical area of communication. This research explores comparisons of communication practices and the status of professional development among the four levels of U.S. government organizations through a survey of 781 government communicators. The study identifies six significant differences and two similarities in how the public sector environment affects communication practices at the city, county, state, and federal levels. The findings were applied to a modification of the government communication decision wheel, a model that offers a theoretical foundation for the study of government communication within its unique environmental context free from the bias of corporate-centric research assumptions. The findings contribute to communication theory development for the underresearched public sector. Comparaisons des pratiques de communication du gouvernement américain : pour développer la roue des décisions communicationnelles du gouvernement J. Suzanne Horsley, Brooke Fisher Liu, & Abbey Blake Levenshus La communication gouvernementale est omniprésente et affecte tous les aspects de la vie publique américaine. Néanmoins, il existe très peu de recherches guidées par la théorie dans ce domaine critique de la communication. Cette recherche explore des comparaisons dans les pratiques communicationnelles et le développement professionnel auprès de quatre niveaux gouvernementaux américains, par une enquête menée auprès de 781 agents de communication du gouvernement. L'étude identifie cinq différences importantes et trois similarités dans les façons par lesquelles le milieu du secteur public influence les pratiques de communication aux niveaux de la municipalité, du comté, de l'État et du pays. Les résultats ont été appliqués de façon à modifier la roue des décisions communicationnelles du gouvernement, un fondement théorique pour l'étude de la communication gouvernementale dans son milieu unique, sans les biais des hypothèses de recherche axées sur le secteur privé. Les résultats contribuent au développement des théories en communication à propos du secteur public, toujours sous-étudié. Vergleiche von Kommunikationspraktiken der US-Regierung: Eine Erweiterung des Kommunikationsentscheidungsrads der Regierung J. Suzanne Horsley, Brooke Fisher Liu, & Abbey Blake Levenshus Die Kommunikation der Regierung ist allgegenwärtig und berührt jeden Aspekt des Lebens der amerikanischen Öffentlichkeit. Dennoch gibt es wenig theoriebasierte Forschung in diesem zentralen Feld der Kommunikation. Diese Studie betrachtet Vergleiche der Kommunikationspraktiken und professionellen Entwicklung auf vier Ebenen der US-Regierung mittels einer Umfrage unter 781 Regierungskommunikatoren. Die Studie identifiziert fünf signifikante Unterschiede und drei ähnliche Aspekte, wie der öffentliche Sektor die Kommunikationspraktiken auf Stadt-, Landkreis-, Länder- und Bundesebene beeinflusst. Die Ergebnisse wurden zur Modifikation des Kommunikationsentscheidungsrads der Regierung herangezogen - eine theoretische Basis für die Untersuchung von Regierungskommunikation innerhalb ihres einzigartigen Kontextes und frei von Befangenheiten unternehmenszentristischer Forschungsannahmen. Die Ergebnisse tragen zur Entwicklung von Kommunikationstheorie im bislang unterbeleuchteten öffentlichen Sektor bei. Las Comparaciones de las Prácticas de Comunicación del Gobierno de los EE.UU.: Expandiendo la Comunicación de la Rueda de Decisión del Gobierno J. Suzanne Horsley, Brooke Fisher Liu, & Abbey Blake Levenshus Advertising and Public Relations, University of Alabama, 255 S Central Campus Dr., Room 2400, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA Resumen La comunicación del gobierno es dominante y toca cada aspecto de la vida pública Americana. No obstante, hay un mínimo de investigación dirigida por la teoría sobre esta área de comunicación crítica. Esta investigación explora las comparaciones de las prácticas de comunicación y el desarrollo profesional entre 4 niveles del gobierno de los EE.UU. mediante una encuesta de 781 comunicadores del gobierno. Este estudio identifica 5 diferencias significativas y 3 similitudes en cómo el sector público del medio ambiente afecta las prácticas de comunicación al nivel de la ciudad, el condado, el estado y el estado federal. Estos hallazgos fueron aplicados a modificación de la comunicación de la rueda de decisión del gobierno, una fundación teórica para el estudio de la comunicación del gobierno dentro de este contexto único del medio ambiente libre de las preconcepciones de las asunciones de la investigación centradas en las corporaciones. Los hallazgos contribuyen al desarrollo de la teoría de la comunicación para el sector público poco investigado. [source] Similarities and differences in the historical development of flood management in the alluvial stretches of the Lower Mississippi Basin and the Rhine Basin,§IRRIGATION AND DRAINAGE, Issue S1 2006Dick de Bruin ingénierie hydraulique fluviale; développement historique des bassins du Rhin et du Mississippi inférieur; plaines alluviales Abstract Although the rivers Rhine and Mississippi cannot be compared as features of nature,the Mississippi River as a feature of nature is much bigger and more impressive than the Rhine,one can still observe striking similarities on flood management in both river basins, in particular in the alluvial flat reaches. But there are also some fundamental differences, not only technically but also institutionally. Since industrialization (around 1800), inland navigation became a major user on both river systems and later flood control started developing more fundamentally. Large intervention works were needed, mainly developed and based on trial and error. In both cases it has led to irreversible effects, which demand continuous attention. For the alluvial stretches in both river basins, a review is given on the most important developments in river engineering over the last two centuries. For both rivers, nautical management and flood control were held in one institutional hand at national/federal level, because both uses/sectors need the creation and regular maintenance of one similar issue: a stable and deep main channel. But the way in which in particular flood management gradually developed institutionally, as an essential part of integrated water management in the alluvial flat lower reaches of both river systems, has diverged. Discussions on financing, priorities, public disclosure, multifunctional aspects, etc. have led in both basins to lengthy procedures and complicated policy making. This paper elaborates on the historic development of fundamentals in river engineering and river management in the alluvial plains of the Rhine Basin and the Lower Mississippi Basin, more in particular focusing on the development of flood protection dikes, and on the stabilization of major channels. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Bien que le Rhin et le Mississippi ne puissent pas être comparés en termes physiques,le Mississippi est beaucoup plus grand et impressionnant que le Rhin,on peut pourtant observer des similitudes saisissantes dans la protection contre les inondations des deux bassins, en particulier dans les plaines alluviales. Mais il existe également quelques différences fondamentales, non seulement techniques mais institutionnelles. Depuis les débuts de l'industrialisation (vers 1800), la navigation est devenue un usage très important sur les deux fleuves et la protection contre les inondations à commencer à se mettre en place de façon plus systématique. De grands travaux d'intervention ont été nécessaires, principalement basés sur la règle empirique de l'essai/erreur. Dans les deux cas, ceci a entraîné des effets irréversibles, qui nécessitent une surveillance permanente. Pour les plaines alluviales des deux bassins, l'article passe en revue la plupart des développements de l'ingénierie hydraulique fluviale des deux cent dernières années. Pour les deux fleuves, la gestion de la navigation et la protection contre les inondations ont été regroupées dans une même institution au niveau national/fédéral, parce que les deux usages/secteurs demandaient la création et l'entretien régulier d'une même infrastructure: un canal principal stable et profond. Mais la manière dont la protection contre les inondations s'est progressivement développée sur le plan institutionnel, comme élément essentiel de la gestion intégrée de l'eau dans les plaines alluviales des deux fleuves, s'est différenciée. Des débats sur le financement, les priorités, l'information du public, les aspects multi fonctionnels, etc., ont conduit les deux bassins à mettre en place des procédures lourdes et des prises de décision complexes. Cet article présente le développement historique des principes fondamentaux de l'hydraulique fluviale et de la gestion de fleuve dans les plaines alluviales du bassin du Rhin et du bassin inférieur du Mississippi, en mettant l'accent sur le développement des digues de protection et la stabilisation des canaux principaux. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||