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This article examines the interaction between bureaucratic red tape and intranet usage in state human service agencies. We propose a sociotechnical model for the relationship between intranet usage and bureaucratic red tape that t...
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This article examines the interaction between bureaucratic red tape and intranet usage in state human service agencies. We propose a sociotechnical model for the relationship between intranet usage and bureaucratic red tape that takes into account the complexities of causal linkages including bidirectional causal relationships and a range of internal and external influences. This model is tested with data from the National Administrative Studies Project, Phase II. While we are not able to corroborate the “demand pull” hypothesis advanced by Bretschneider and colleagues, we do find support for its corollary (the “technology push” hypothesis) indicating that intranet usage is associated with reduction in red tape. This finding on the salutary effect of intranet usage holds for both a global measure of red tape and a more specific procurement red tape measure. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of our findings.
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While Poland has established some of the most ambitious environmental standards in the world and significant environmental improvements have been noted in the literature, there remains a substantial gap between regulation and impl...
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While Poland has established some of the most ambitious environmental standards in the world and significant environmental improvements have been noted in the literature, there remains a substantial gap between regulation and implementation. This paper first examines in detailone environmental hog spot in Poland-Katowice Province-to provide evidence that despite significant reductions in air emissions by large firms, pollution levels remain high and of concern.
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Research has identified several factors that affect fear of crime in public space. However, the extent to which gender moderates the effectiveness of fear-reducing measures has received little attention. Using data from the Chicag...
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Research has identified several factors that affect fear of crime in public space. However, the extent to which gender moderates the effectiveness of fear-reducing measures has received little attention. Using data from the Chicago Transit Authority Customer Satisfaction Survey of 2003, this study aims to understand whether train transit security practices and service attributes affect men and women differently. Findings indicate that, while the presence of video cameras has a lower effect on women's feelings of safety compared with men, frequent and on-time service matters more to male passengers. Additionally, experience with safety-related problems affects women significantly more than men. Conclusions discuss the implications of the study for theory and gender-specific policies to improve perceptions of transit safety.
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This study evaluates the conversion of one local government's fleet from gasoline to bi-fuel E-85, compressed natural gas, and liquid propane gas powered vehicles at the midpoint of a 10-year conversion plan. This study employs a ...
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This study evaluates the conversion of one local government's fleet from gasoline to bi-fuel E-85, compressed natural gas, and liquid propane gas powered vehicles at the midpoint of a 10-year conversion plan. This study employs a behavioral model based on the theory of reasoned action to explore factors that influence an individual's perceived and actual use of alternative fuels. Analysis is based on survey data collected from primary drivers of bi-fuel fleet vehicles at the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County, Illinois. Findings show that environmental attitudes do not have a significant effect on actual or perceived use; however, external variables such as fueling convenience, vehicle performance, and the extent of informal communication significantly affect the driver's likelihood of using alternative fuel. The results have implications for fleet managers that could promote regulatory and infrastructural developments to achieve higher rates of alternative fuel use.
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Since establishment of the ISO 14001 environmental management system in 1996, Japanese facilities have led the world in numbers of certifications. This research utilises survey data from more than 1700 Japanese facilities as well ...
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Since establishment of the ISO 14001 environmental management system in 1996, Japanese facilities have led the world in numbers of certifications. This research utilises survey data from more than 1700 Japanese facilities as well as follow-up interviews to identify the determinants of ISO certification, to examine the differences between early, recent and in-process certifiers, and to understand how ISO 14001 certification affects various environmental and managerial outcomes in Japan. Findings show that ISO certified facilities are larger and report higher levels of environmental management capacity. In addition, early certifiers are more likely to have established voluntary environmental agreements and are more active in international trade and business. Findings also provide evidence that while many facilities believe that ISO 14001 certification is excessively costly, they also report that certification has resulted in the establishment of new energy efficiency and waste reduction targets and higher target levels. Nevertheless, evidence indicates that certification does not generally result in longer-term outcomes such as post-certification adjustment of non-regulated targets.
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Faculty at research universities are evaluated on a number of productivity measures including their ability to conduct research, teach, and engage in service. Research outcomes include publishing research results and acquiring gra...
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Faculty at research universities are evaluated on a number of productivity measures including their ability to conduct research, teach, and engage in service. Research outcomes include publishing research results and acquiring grants and contracts to conduct additional research. While it is assumed that researchers who are awarded grants are more likely to publish research results, there is little research investigating the ways in which grants affect outcomes or how principal investigators differ from researchers who do not hold research grants or those who are co-principal investigators. This research seeks to understand if principal investigators are more or less productive than co-principal investigators and those who do not have grants, and if so, what explains that variation in productivity. It also examines whether women PIs are more or less productive than men PIs. This research uses longitudinal data drawn from an NSF funded survey of academic scientists in Carnegie-designated Research I universities in six fields: biology, chemistry, computer science, earth and atmospheric sciences, electrical engineering, and physics. From this national random sample of men and women scientists and engineers we investigate whether there is variation in the production of outcomes (e.g. publications, teaching, and training graduate students) among PIs, co-PIs, and other researchers. Findings show that productivity and outcomes vary significantly for PIs, co-PIs and by sex.
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This paper examines possible causes, consequences, and potential solutions for addressing vaccine hesitancy in the United States, focusing on the perspectives of academic scientists. By examining the experiences of scientists, who...
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This paper examines possible causes, consequences, and potential solutions for addressing vaccine hesitancy in the United States, focusing on the perspectives of academic scientists. By examining the experiences of scientists, who are arguably a critical community in US society, we gain deeper insights into how they understand the complexities of vaccine hesitancy and whether their insights and opinions converge with or diverge from the current literature. We present findings from a national survey of a representative sample of academic scientists from the fields of biology and public health regarding vaccine hesitancy and related topics. Empirical analysis using descriptive, bivariate, and multivariate analyses covers multiple topics, including vaccine controversy, trust in science, causes of vaccine hesitancy, preferred policy and regulatory approaches, risk perceptions, and scientists' ethics and perceived communication roles. The results highlight a diversity of opinions within the scientific community regarding how to improve science-society communication in regard to vaccines, including the need to be transparent and candid to the public about the risk of vaccines and their research.
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This study examines the determinants of Environment Management System (EMS) adoption by public wastewater treatment facilities in the US. Based on the literature, it considers the range of regulatory, market and political influenc...
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This study examines the determinants of Environment Management System (EMS) adoption by public wastewater treatment facilities in the US. Based on the literature, it considers the range of regulatory, market and political influences on EMS adoption. The paper also incorporates prior work on publicness theory to articulate possible sectoral differences related to voluntary policy adoption. Hypotheses are tested using ordered logistic regression on data from a national survey of public wastewater treatment facilities in the US. Findings indicate that public wastewater treatment facilities that perceive stricter environmental regulation and greater attention from environmental groups and the public are more likely to voluntarily adopt an EMS. In addition, facilities reporting a higher degree of publicness are more likely to adopt in response to politician demands and when they apply greater amounts of biosolids to land. The findings carry implications for policy makers who aim to encourage public sector voluntary initiatives.
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This paper seeks to understand the effect of social, economic and political conditions on the selection and effectiveness of voluntary policy in Japan. Borrowing from two sets of literature, the paper develops a two-dimensional fr...
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This paper seeks to understand the effect of social, economic and political conditions on the selection and effectiveness of voluntary policy in Japan. Borrowing from two sets of literature, the paper develops a two-dimensional framework for analysis of voluntary policy that helps clarify the contextual factors that determine voluntary policy choice and effectiveness. The establishment of voluntary agreements in Japan are then investigated and the specific experiences of one Japanese city's experience, Kita Kyushu. Findings show that insufficient national and local statutory regulations, local citizen pressure resulting from significant pollution problems, city-controlled non-regulatory resources, and local level regulatory power determined Kita Kyushu's policy choice and the resulting effectiveness of voluntary environmental agreements. Findings then indicate where the Japanese experience falls within the framework. The usefulness of the framework for analysis and practice is then reinforced, and challenges for some of the basic assumptions of current theory are suggested.
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US local governments are under increasing pressure to adopt electronic participation technologies to engage stakeholders in decision-making. The choice set of technologies and the ease with which they can be applied, has potential...
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US local governments are under increasing pressure to adopt electronic participation technologies to engage stakeholders in decision-making. The choice set of technologies and the ease with which they can be applied, has potentially increased the complexity of the context within which managers operate. Using data from a national survey of 850 government managers in 500 cities, we investigate whether different channels of e-participation technology and the intensity of e-participation technology use are associated with managers' perceptions of outcomes. We find that the relationships between complexity of e-participation technology and perceived outcomes depend upon the type of external stakeholder group considered.
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