Political Interference (political + interference)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


NHS AS STATE FAILURE: LESSONS FROM THE REALITY OF NATIONALISED HEALTHCARE

ECONOMIC AFFAIRS, Issue 4 2008
Helen Evans
The British National Health Service is often held up as a beacon of egalitarian healthcare, funded through general taxation and free at the point of use. Instituted by arguably the most socialist government in British history after World War II, it has manifested all the flaws that might be expected from a state monopoly: waste, inefficiency, under-investment, rationing and constant political interference. The result has been poor health outcomes for British citizens compared with other wealthy countries, and a failure by the NHS to live up to its founding principles of comprehensive, unlimited healthcare and egalitarianism. [source]


Policy entrepreneurship for poverty reduction: bridging research and policy in international development

JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, Issue 6 2005
Julius Court
Bridging research and policy is a topic of growing practical and scholarly interest in both North and South. Contributions by four experienced practitioners and in four papers by researchers illustrate the value of existing frameworks and add four new lessons: the need for donors and research foundations to foster research capacity and to protect it from political interference; the need for researchers to use detailed case material in order to inform high-level policy debates within and across national boundaries, often by working in cross-country teams; the importance of presenting research results in such a way that they cannot be over-simplified; and the value of creating alliances between researchers and civil society advocacy groups. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Land-use and cover changes (1988,2002) around budongo forest reserve, NW Uganda: implications for forest and woodland sustainability

LAND DEGRADATION AND DEVELOPMENT, Issue 6 2008
E. N. Mwavu
Abstract Land-use and cover changes around Budongo Forest Reserve (BFR) were analysed from multi-temporal LandSat images (1988 and 2002) and associated field-based studies in 2003,2004. Three major land-use and cover classes: forest/woodland, sugarcane plantations and grassland/shifting-cultivation/settlements were clearly discriminated. The area under sugarcane cultivation increased over 17-fold, from 690,ha in 1988 to 12729,ha in 2002, with a concomitant loss of about 4680,ha (8·2 per cent) of forest/woodland, mainly on the southern boundary of BFR. Land-use and cover changes were a result of (a) agricultural expansion, (b) increasing human population, exacerbated by large influxes of refugees, (c) conflicts of interest and political interference in the management of BFR and (d) unclear land tenure. Agriculture is the main land-use practice and source of income to local people, with commercial sugarcane and tobacco as the primary cash crops. Individual smallholder sugarcane plantations covered distances ranging from 30 to 1440,m along the BFR edge, with no buffer zone, resulting in direct conflicts between farmers and forest wild animals. There is an ever-increasing need for more land for agricultural expansion, resulting in continued loss of forest/woodland on private/communal lands and encroachment into BFR. This unsustainable agricultural expansion and the local people's perception of BFR as an obstacle to agriculture, threatens the conservation of its threatened wild plants (e.g. Raphia farinifera) and the endangered chimpanzees. Therefore, their sustainable management for both development and conservation will require strong and incorruptible institutions that will seek a balance between resource exploitation and conservation. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Government and Science: A Troubled, Critical Relationship and What Can Be Done about It

PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION REVIEW, Issue 1 2008
W. Henry Lambright
The U.S. government,science relationship, which helped win World War II, put a man on the moon, unravel the human genome, and nurture economic growth, is troubled. Money is one reason. However, far more than funding, the tensions between government and science are about politics and policy management. Many scientists and their allies argue that the Bush administration has crossed the line separating appropriate control of information from political interference. That is, there has been a "politicization of science." This essay examines the current debate about politicization in historical context; discusses the tensions among scientists, politicians, and administrators; and suggests possible ways to strengthen the government,science partnership in the future. [source]