Politics and privatization decisions in four American cities

Public choice theory has emphasized economic explanations of privatization decisions, while often neglecting the politics associated with the decision-making process. This research finds that the political context is important in understanding why American municipal governments decide whether or not to privatize a service. Four case studies reveal that the degree to which the decision-making process is politicized is a factor warranting our attention.     

A profile of Erich Fromm

Daniel Burston is a psychologist and political theorist who lives and works in Toronto, Canada. He is the author of a new volume on The Legacy of Erich Frommand numerous articles on the history of psychoanalysis.     

Spatial voting in non-partisan cities: A case study

In spatial voting theory, voters choose the candidate whose policy preferences are most like their own. This requires that (a) voters and candidates have policy preferences that can be meaningfully summarized in terms of low-dimensional “ideal points” on a left-right scale; (b) voters are able to discern, either directly or through relevant cues, the ideal points of the candidates who are running for office; and (c) voters incorporate this information into the choices they make at the ballot box. Perhaps more than in any other elections, it is not clear that any of these requirements are met in non-partisan municipal elections: policy preferences may not be ideologically structured, information may be inadequate, and voters may choose candidates for reasons other than ideology. This makes non-partisan municipal elections an especially hard test for spatial voting theory. Using novel data from both municipal candidates and eligible voters in a major non-partisan municipal election in Canada, we show that municipal policy attitudes are ideologically structured and that these municipal policy ideal points are strongly related to mayoral and council vote choice. Thus, despite the institutional and informational obstacles, spatial voting can play an important role in non-partisan municipal elections.     

Winning hearts and minds: A commentary on circular cities

There is growing interest in the concept of the circular city, which looks to embed the principles of the circular economy across all urban functions. This commentary paper outlines the concept of the circular city, explores how 3 European cities, namely, Amsterdam, London, and Paris, are currently looking to develop a vision and an action plan for the transition to a circular city, and offers some general reflections on the role public relations and communications may play in the transition process. The findings reveal that each of the action plans has its own distinctive flavour but that a number of common elements can be identified. The paper suggests that public relations and communications will have an important role to play to in raising and building awareness and changing attitudes, with the ultimate goal of changing behaviour, within the corporate world and amongst public sector decision makers and policy makers and the general public.     

Divided cities as complex cities: transition and complexity in city of Mostar

ABSTRACT

The article analyses planning processes in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) in order to offer insights into newly-shaping planning systems in South-Eastern Europe during the late phase of post-socialist transition. The article argues that societal complexity impedes a multifaceted transition (i.e. post-war, post-socialist, and neoliberal) in BiH, creating obstacles on the multifaceted transition path. Through a thorough literature review and a series of semi-structured interviews, the article shows that due to these, and many other, complexities, BiH is moving slowly on its transition path. However, it appears that the bottom-up processes are challenging the embedded notions of division.     

美国MPA与MBA学位比较研究

该文对美国的MBA与MPA学位做了历史性的回顾与分析。对MBA与MPA的异同、发展趋势以及学员动力、性别差异等方面做了较为深入的检阅。在过去近一个世纪发展的历程中,美国的MBA与MPA学位均有稳定的上升趋势。中国的MBA教育正方兴未艾,MPA目前犹如雨后春笋。美国的经验对中国的MBA及MPA教育有积极的借鉴意义。公共管理硕士MPA与工商管理硕士MBA是管理学中既有共性又有特殊性的两大分支,管理和科学技术一道共同构成人类社会滚滚向前的两大历史车轮。正因如此,MPA学位与MBA学位正在成为21世纪中国高等教育的两颗耀眼的星星。中国的MPA与MBA教育肩负着历史的重任。     

A note on cognitive branding and the value profile

The aim of this paper is to present a pragmatic inspired branding method called a value profile, within the theory of cognitive branding. The method is theoretical anchored in Charles S. Peirce's pragmatic theory and can be used to identify the core values of brands and also identify the possible consequences of how these values influence people to purchase products. Moreover, it can be used to analyze the values themselves.     

A History of American Studies of Chinese Elite Politics

Journal of Chinese Political Science - This review essay examines a historical process of knowledge construction in American studies of China. Before 1989, U.S.-based scholars argued that Deng...     

The challenge of our declining big cities

Abstract

This article describes the population forces that caused U.S. metropolitan areas to grow rapidly after 1940 but caused falling population in many large older cities. It shows why the basic processes that generated the spatial growth and development of American metropolitan areas have also undermined the fiscal strength of many older central cities and inner‐ring suburbs. By concentrating low‐income households in inner‐core neighborhoods, these processes create undesirable conditions that motivate economically viable households and firms to move to surrounding suburbs and not move back.

Three strategies have been suggested for improving these conditions: major structural reform of metropolitan institutions, limited reform of big‐city governments, and community development of inner‐core areas. The first is the most capable of changing the dynamics causing decline, but it lacks political support because it would require the majority of metropolitan residents to sacrifice some benefits they gain from existing arrangements.     

Humanitarian implications of armed conflict in cities

The Syrian civil war and the military campaign against the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, have prompted a major reconsideration of responses to armed conflict in cities. The growing consensus among practitioners is that responses to urban armed conflict should extend beyond short-term aid and lay the groundwork for dealing with longer-term challenges posed by urbanisation.