William Duncombe and Cynthia S. Searcy
School business officials procure goods and services through a variety of methods to deliver educational services in a timely and cost-effective way. Recommended practices by…
Abstract
School business officials procure goods and services through a variety of methods to deliver educational services in a timely and cost-effective way. Recommended practices by professional procurement organizations have changed in recent years to include new technologies aimed at streamlining and cutting costs of traditional procurement methods. Little is known, however, about what procurement practices school districts adopt-new or old. To partially fill this gap, we describe results from a survey of procurement practices of New York State school districts. Our results reveal that despite the potential for new technologies to make certain practices common among all types of districts, competitive bidding laws and enrollment size dictate the procurement methods used most frequently by school districts.
Statements by Lord Denning, M.R., vividly describing the impact of European Community Legislation are increasingly being used by lawyers and others to express their concern for…
Abstract
Statements by Lord Denning, M.R., vividly describing the impact of European Community Legislation are increasingly being used by lawyers and others to express their concern for its effect not only on our legal system but on other sectors of our society, changes which all must accept and to which they must adapt. A popular saying of the noble Lord is “The Treaty is like an incoming tide. It flows into the estuaries and up the rivers. It cannot be held back”. The impact has more recently become impressive in food law but probably less so than in commerce or industry, with scarcely any sector left unmolested. Most of the EEC Directives have been implemented by regulations made under the appropriate sections of the Food and Drugs Act, 1955 and the 1956 Act for Scotland, but regulations proposed for Materials and Articles in Contact with Food (reviewed elsewhere in this issue) will be implemented by use of Section 2 (2) of the European Communities Act, 1972, which because it applies to the whole of the United Kingdom, will not require separate regulations for England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. This is the first time that a food regulation has been made under this statute. S.2 (2) authorises any designated Minister or Department to make regulations as well as Her Majesty Orders in Council for implementing any Community obligation, enabling any right by virtue of the Treaties (of Rome) to be excercised. The authority extends to all forms of subordinate legislation—orders, rules, regulations or other instruments and cannot fail to be of considerable importance in all fields including food law.
Robert J. Eger III and Bruce D. McDonald III
The current classifications for public school costs are provided by the National Center for Educational Statistics. To improve comparability between school districts, we provided…
Abstract
The current classifications for public school costs are provided by the National Center for Educational Statistics. To improve comparability between school districts, we provided an alternative classification with fewer numbers of expenditure categories, distinctions between school-based and non-school based administration costs, and school levels. The new classification was then applied to five comparable urban school districts. We found (1) that teacher salaries per student are affected by school level disaggregation; (2) that separating administrative costs into school-based and nonschool- based provides for an observable cost relationship; and (3) that curriculum and instructional support per student differ by school level disaggregation. The alternative classification may assist auditors and investigators whose role is to assess the costs performance of urban school districts by providing comparable school level and cost type.
Sean Chabot and Stellan Vinthagen
The emerging synthesis between nonviolent action and contentious politics studies has yielded important insights. Yet it also reproduces the dichotomy between politics and culture…
Abstract
The emerging synthesis between nonviolent action and contentious politics studies has yielded important insights. Yet it also reproduces the dichotomy between politics and culture that continues to haunt both fields. Extending recent work by Jean-Pierre Reed and John Foran, our contribution introduces the political cultures of nonviolent opposition concept to forge a new synthesis, one that recognizes the politics of nonviolent culture and the culture of nonviolent politics. We apply our theoretical framework to two empirical cases, the Indian independence movement and the Landless Workers Movement in Brazil (known as Movimento Sem Terra or MST), and conclude with ideas for further research on political cultures of nonviolent opposition.
Niskanen (1971) established an influential and enduring model of bureaucrats as budget maximizers. Since this theory’s inception, most empirical tests have demonstrated the…
Abstract
Niskanen (1971) established an influential and enduring model of bureaucrats as budget maximizers. Since this theory’s inception, most empirical tests have demonstrated the limited validity of Niskanen’s vision. Using state agency heads as an analytical unit, this paper further develops ways that the rational choice assumptions inadequately characterize bureaucratic budget aspirations: First, instead of being self-interested, many bureaucrats focus on the interests of collectives across governmental and societal actors, and second, an enhanced focus on transparency in presentation of budgetary and programmatic information reduces the information asymmetry that is central to Niskanen’s theory. The findings show that intentions based in a broad public interest and motivations of accountability and transparency tend to reduce, rather than enhance, growth aspirations in state-level bureaucrats.
Long and short‐range‐planning helps, as in the chemical and and drug industry, with planners beating nonplanners' sales and profits by 60 percent. To start formal, integrated…
Abstract
Long and short‐range‐planning helps, as in the chemical and and drug industry, with planners beating nonplanners' sales and profits by 60 percent. To start formal, integrated long‐and short‐range planning, select and appoint a planning director, teach planners about planning usage and results, create a standard view of the organization, define future goals by phases or years, select a planning site, determine future goals, run the plant by the plan, and revise planning yearly. This requires educating staff in planning's desirability, techniques, and corporate goals. It also requires economic, technological, social, political and legal, and competitive views going into the planning, to be understood. Planning should define risks, resources, and competitive advantages over rivals.
Dragan Stanisevski and Luke Fowler
Since the 1978 adoption of Proposition 13 California’s fiscal conditions have steadily deteriorated. This article questions whether this fiscal deterioration is due to a lack of…
Abstract
Since the 1978 adoption of Proposition 13 California’s fiscal conditions have steadily deteriorated. This article questions whether this fiscal deterioration is due to a lack of budget affordability or of institutional ineffectiveness. In examining the institutional ineffectiveness of California’s budget system the article focuses on: (1) general revenue mobilization, (2) expenditure mandates in education, and (3) legislative party divisions in face of supermajority requirements. To this end, the article develops a pre-post regression model that analyzes the factors that influenced the state budget balances. The article finds that California’s deteriorating fiscal conditions are strongly influenced by the declining effective tax rate. The study also finds that increases in education spending are a statistically significant factor, but finds mixed support for the argument that political divisions drive California’s budget deficits.
Andreiwid Sheffer Corrêa, Alexandre de Assis Mota, Lia Toledo Moreira Mota and Pedro Luiz Pizzigatti Corrêa
The purpose of this study is to present a system called NEBULOSUS, which is a fuzzy rule-based expert system for assessing the maturity level of an agency regarding technical…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to present a system called NEBULOSUS, which is a fuzzy rule-based expert system for assessing the maturity level of an agency regarding technical interoperability.
Design/methodology/approach
The study introduces the use of artificial intelligence and fuzzy logic to deal with the imprecision and uncertainty present in the assessment process. To validate the system proposed and demonstrate its operation, the study takes into account the Brazilian technical interoperability maturity model, based on the Brazilian Government Interoperability Framework (GIF).
Findings
With the system proposed and its methodology, it could be possible to increase the assessment process to management level and to provide decision-making support without worrying about technical details that make it complex and time-consuming. Moreover, NEBULOSUS is a standalone system that offers an easy-to-use, open and flexible structuring database that can be adapted by governments throughout the world. It will serve as a tool and contribute to governments’ expectations for continuous improvement of their technologies.
Originality/value
This study contributes toward filling a gap in general interoperability architectures, which is a means to provide an objective method to evaluate GIF adherence by governments. The proposed system allows governments to configure their technical models and GIF to assess information and communication technology resources.