Christopher L. Atkinson and Alka K. Sapat
Hurricane Katrina remains the “most destructive disaster in U.S. history” (Farber & Chen, 2006). The purpose of this article is to examine the public procurement practices…
Abstract
Hurricane Katrina remains the “most destructive disaster in U.S. history” (Farber & Chen, 2006). The purpose of this article is to examine the public procurement practices followed by local government officials in and around New Orleans within the context of Hurricane Katrina, and define impacts of disaster on procurement processes. Original and primary data drawn from interviews with officials working in and with public procurement are used to examine the role of institutional culture and practices which encourage or constrain active, responsible behavior. We find that this behavior influences the quality, including the transparency and fairness, of purchasing responses.
The purpose of this paper is to explore the roots of environment policy through a review and application of policy literature, portraying a disjointed process worried with…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the roots of environment policy through a review and application of policy literature, portraying a disjointed process worried with procedure over substance and too often removed from the reality of environment degradation and attainment of sustainability.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper involves literature review and application of policy literature to sustainability.
Findings
Government is responsible for protecting the environment in the face of rapid industrial growth, but ineffectiveness in and misunderstanding of the policy process, confounded by a multitude of actors and interests, and, often inadequate resourcing, threaten the possibility of sustainability.
Research limitations/implications
Policy literature is voluminous. This paper seeks to apply public policy literature to the concept of sustainability, but a comprehensive review of all literature would be beyond the scope of a journal article.
Practical implications
There is a separation between academic approaches to public policy and complex policy processes in practice. More nuanced sophisticated understanding of the policy process in the literature may allow for greater application to difficult policy problems like sustainability.
Social implications
Sustainability is critical and should be promoted by public policy; however, interactions within the policy process are difficult and textbook approaches to defining or delineating processes are insufficient to encourage greater understanding of sustainability and how it may actually be achieved through public policy.
Originality/value
Application of policy literature to sustainability in this manner is fairly unique in the literature.
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Peter M. Carlson, Pamela T. Dunning and Jamie N. Atkinson
This article addresses whether ASPA, the primary association of public servants, is able to effectively meet the needs of those who rely upon the organization for professional…
Abstract
This article addresses whether ASPA, the primary association of public servants, is able to effectively meet the needs of those who rely upon the organization for professional development, networking, and for currency in the field. This article follows up on a 2003 survey of members of the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA), and asks a random group of 2007 members what the major challenges of public service are today and if ASPA is contributing to their ability to deal with these issues. The results of the current survey indicate that the challenges remain remarkably similar, and highlight the need for ASPA to modify their approach if the association is to remain relevant and a premier professional society
Christopher Pich and Guja Armannsdottir
Brand image remains a “nebulous” construct with very few frameworks dedicated to understanding the process of uncovering brand image. This is supported by explicit calls for…
Abstract
Purpose
Brand image remains a “nebulous” construct with very few frameworks dedicated to understanding the process of uncovering brand image. This is supported by explicit calls for greater clarity on how to examine brand image, particularly in different settings. Political branding is one setting that has received some attention, however, research has focused on “party” political brands and neglected “non-party” brands (independent candidates). Therefore, this study aims to examine how young citizens interpret independent non-party brands through the theoretical lens of brand image in the context of Guernsey and develop a systematic brand image framework that provides greater clarity to this topic area.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative interpretivist approach using focus group discussions was adopted to investigate the phenomenon from the perspective of young voters 18–24 years of age. Focus group discussions ceased upon reaching theoretical saturation and a six-staged thematic analytical strategy was adopted to analyse the findings.
Findings
This study revealed deep insight into the political brand image of non-party brands from the perspective of young voters in an under-explored context. More specifically, this study uncovered that Guernsey’s political brands were seen as “accessible”; however, there was little differentiation, identification and connection between young voters and politicians. Further, this study uncovered a series of opportunities for strategists such as the desire for a younger generational view and younger representation in the Guernsey Parliament and greater clarity, distinction and authenticity related to political brand image.
Originality/value
This study addresses explicit calls for further research on brand image with a distinct focus on non-party political brands. Further, this study concludes by presenting the “consumer brand image schema”; a systematic framework which can be used to uncover brand image within and beyond the setting of politics. Further, the framework operationalises the complex concept of brand image and provides a three-stage process to examine and develop brand image. This will enable strategists to develop targeted strategies and adopt appropriate tactics to manage brand image to ensure brands are differentiated and interpreted as authentic, relatable, engaging, accessible and identifiable.
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Stephen F. Witt and Christopher L. Pass
The “causal model” approach to business forecasting attempts to discover, mainly on the basis of economic knowledge, those variables which appear to have influenced the forecast…
Abstract
The “causal model” approach to business forecasting attempts to discover, mainly on the basis of economic knowledge, those variables which appear to have influenced the forecast variable in the past, and then estimates by econometric methods the quantitative relationship between the causal and forecast variables. Future values of the forecast variable are then obtained by using forecasts of the causal variables in conjunction with the estimated relationship.
M.R. Denning, Fenton Atkinson and L.J. Cairns
October 13, 1970 Redundancy — Redundancy payment — Entitlement — Apprentices — Deeds of apprenticeship making apprenticeships assignable — Apprentices serving three masters during…
Abstract
October 13, 1970 Redundancy — Redundancy payment — Entitlement — Apprentices — Deeds of apprenticeship making apprenticeships assignable — Apprentices serving three masters during five‐year period — Whether “continuously employed” — Meaning — Redundancy Payments Act, 1965 (c.62), ss.1(1), 8 (1) (2) — Contracts of Employment Act, 1963 (c.49), Sch. 1, para. 10(1).
Aristotle's Politics provides an example of what a biopolitical science might look like. Three key elements stand out: (1) an account of political structure as a multilevel…
Abstract
Aristotle's Politics provides an example of what a biopolitical science might look like. Three key elements stand out: (1) an account of political structure as a multilevel society including kin and non-kin relationships; (2) an account of the human species that includes comparison with other social species that are capable of coordinated action; and (3) an emphasis on the human capacity to understand and communicate moral rules. Over the last 50 years, a number of research programs in evolutionary anthropology have provided the basis for a biopolitical science that maps onto the elements above. Schultz, Opie, and Atkinson describe the trajectory of human evolution from solitary to a pair bonded, familial species. Michael Tomasello's two-step account of the evolution of human cooperation shows how the ancestral humans went from merely gregarious to genuinely political animals. Christopher Boehm shows how the human capacity for moral emotions and decision making by consensus developed. Richard Wrangham provides evidence that the suppression of reactive aggression by ancestral human societies resulted in a self-domesticated species, a process that enhanced the human capacity for cooperation and communication. Bernard Chapais argued that the emergence of pair bonding among ancestral humans laid the foundation for both consanguineal and affinal kinship structures. That these bodies of research hold together can best be seen when they are viewed in light of Aristotle's biopolitical science.
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M.R. Denning, Edmund Davies and L.J. Lawton
June 22,1972 Damages — Remoteness — Negligence — Economic loss — Contractors damaging cable supplying electricity to factory — Physical damage to metal in factory's furnace as…
Abstract
June 22,1972 Damages — Remoteness — Negligence — Economic loss — Contractors damaging cable supplying electricity to factory — Physical damage to metal in factory's furnace as result of power cut — Loss of profit from “melt” and from further melts which would have taken place if no power cut — Whether economic loss recoverable — Whether economic loss attaching to physical loss recoverable — Doctrine of parasitic damages.
Lijo John, Wojciech D. Piotrowicz and Aino Ruggiero
The impact of COVID-19 on the lives of people and businesses across the globe was devastating. While governments across the world had undertaken a slew of measures to control the…
Abstract
The impact of COVID-19 on the lives of people and businesses across the globe was devastating. While governments across the world had undertaken a slew of measures to control the spread of the COVID-19 virus within their geography, many of these measures had long and unintended consequences. The restrictions imposed by the governments on the movement of people and goods across the world brought supply chains to a grinding halt. This study identifies the cascading effects of supply chain disruptions (SCDs) on the energy sector and thereby on the security of supply of energy from a European Union perspective. Since these systems are closely integrated and the impact of COVID-19 needs to be analysed at a much broader level, this study uses a systems-thinking approach to study the effect of SCDs on energy services. The study develops a causal loop model to gain further insight into how SCDs caused by COVID-19 affected the coping capabilities of society and how critical services were affected. Furthermore, the study puts forth certain policy recommendations for both businesses and governments to prepare for and protect against a similar situation in the future.
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Media power plays a role in determining which news is told, who is listened to and how subject matter is treated, resulting in some stories being reported in depth while others…
Abstract
Media power plays a role in determining which news is told, who is listened to and how subject matter is treated, resulting in some stories being reported in depth while others remain cursory and opaque. This chapter examines how domestic violence and abuse (DVA) is reported in mainstream and social media encompassing newspapers, television and digital platforms. In the United Kingdom, newspapers have freedom to convey particular views on subjects such as DVA as, unlike radio and television broadcasting, they are not required to be impartial (Reeves, 2015).
The gendered way DVA is represented in the UK media has been a long-standing concern. Previous research into newspaper representations of DVA, including our own (Lloyd & Ramon, 2017), found evidence of victim blaming and sexualising violence against women. This current study assesses whether there is continuity with earlier research regarding how victims of DVA, predominantly women, are portrayed as provoking their own abuse and, in cases of femicide, their characters denigrated by some in the media with impunity (Soothill & Walby, 1991). The chapter examines how certain narratives on DVA are constructed and privileged in sections of the media while others are marginalised or silenced. With the rise in digital media, the chapter analyses the changing patterns of news media consumption in the UK and how social media users are responding to DVA cases reported in the news. Through discourse analysis of language and images, the potential messages projected to media consumers are considered, together with consumer dialogue and interaction articulated via online and social media platforms.