Public affairs perceptions and practices: a ten‐year (1993–2003) comparison

• The past ten years have been marked by significant changes in technology, politics and economics. These changes have affected the social and regulatory environments in which public affairs (PA) officers operate. This paper describes how PA officers at 74 large US corporations perceive these environmental changes and how PA activities have changed from ten years ago.
• The data reported in this paper were collected first in 1993, then again in 2003. The results show a rather even split between respondents: half (39) believe that their political/regulatory environment is simpler today than was the case ten years ago, half (33) believe that it has become more complicated; half (35) believe there is less social interest in their operations and half (32) believe there is more. The paper then examines the changes in PA activities and performance over the past ten years
• Overall, PA officers are more pleased with their performance (at least in managing social issues and achieving social objectives) than they were in 1993.

Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Identities of Competitive States in U.S. Presidential Elections: Electoral College Bias or Candidate-Centered Politics?

When discussing the biases of the U.S. Electoral College, researchersconclude that competitive states seem to occur randomly withoutany explanation. This study examines the consistency with whichthe same states have been competitive in presidential electionsfrom 1824 to 2000. It also identifies "spectator" states. Spectatorstates are those that have not been competitive for ten presidentialelections in a row. A statistical analysis illustrates thatthe identities of competitive states have become more unpredictable.In addition, few states have been spectators for long periods.In terms of representation, the facts that competitive statesare not consistent and that there are few spectators mean differentstates are in the presidential spotlight at different times.As opposed to any biases associated with the Electoral College,the changes in consistency coincide with the rise of candidate-centeredpolitics and decreasing voter loyalty to parties. The highlychangeable nature of competitive states strengthens the federalismargument for continuation of the Electoral College.     

Homicide-suicide (dyadic death), homicide, and firearms use in England and Wales

Homicide-suicide forms a distinct form of homicide. An analysis of cases in the Yorkshire and Humberside region of England between 1991 and 2005 revealed 37 episodes with 42 victims. Previous studies have shown a high rate of use of firearms. Over the last 2 decades firearms legislation has become more restrictive. In this study all assailants were male, mean age 46.8 years. The commonest method of homicide was strangulation (36%) with 16% killed by firearms. This is a reduction compared with a previous study in the same region. All killers who shot their victims killed themselves with firearms. There were no multiple killings with firearms in this study and no stranger killings. Hanging was the commonest method of suicide. During the same period the use of firearms as a method of homicide increased in England and Wales with handguns, the most common weapon. Nationally, suicide after homicide has remained at a similar rate over the half century and is an uncommon phenomenon. Firearms use remains low in both homicide and homicide-suicide episodes in England, and further analysis is required to determine changes in patterns of killing.     

女大学生就业“难”问题审视与改善对策

女大学生就业"难"主要表现为:就业机会"难"与理想持平,求职过程"难"获尊重礼遇,薪资待遇"难"与能力对应,工作地位"难"与男生平等。性别刻板印象的存在、人才培养模式的滞后、相关保障措施的乏力、社会责任意识的欠缺、女性生理心理的特征是导致女大学生就业"难"的主要原因。坚持以人为本,营造女大学生就业氛围;完善保障政策,保护女大学生就业权益;优化培养结构,增强女大学生就业能力;履行社会责任,保障女大学生就业岗位;强化自强意识,拓展女大学生就业空间等,有利于改善女大学生就业"难"问题。     

干部选拔任用过程中规范和建立优先条件制度的探索

本文以河南省Z市干部选拔任用过程中业绩优先条件制度的探索为例,研究干部选拔任用的创新途径。该市在选拔任用干部过程中,根据干部使用导向设置了全局性优先条件、岗位优先条件和综合素质优先条件,分类制定了各项优先条件的标准和认定办法,严格将优先条件与干部选拔任用相结合,在实践中取得了良好的效果。     

我国社会组织政策参与及其制度分析

在现代社会,以社会组织为载体的参与是比公民个人直接参与更为合理有效的政策参与途径。由于我国社会组织自身能力有限以及制度空间的挤压,目前其对于政策的影响只起有限的作用。当前我国社会组织政策参与主要存在政策参与率较低、政策参与内容的非政治化和途径的非制度化等问题。针对导致社会组织政策影响力低的制度因素,政府应为社会组织的发展创造能促型的法律、制度与政策环境,即构建"分类管理、项目引导、行为监管"的新管理模式、制定出台社会组织基本法以及进一步转变政府职能、拓宽社会组织政策参与的渠道等。     

我国公务员周边绩效的影响因素及其提升对策研究

周边绩效是近年绩效评估研究的重点和热点,绩效影响因素的分析是建立绩效评估指标的基础,也是建立整个评估机制的重要根据。本文通过研究我国公务员周边行为和周边绩效的特点及其内外部影响因素,深化了公务员这一群体的周边绩效理论,明确了我国公务员周边绩效的影响因素,提出了提高我国公务员周边绩效的建议,可使周边绩效在我国公务员的绩效管理中得到合理关注,发挥其应有的价值和作用。     

服务型政府建设的浙江经验

与市场化进程和社会治理体系发育互动演进的政府改革是"浙江模式"的重要组成部分。浙江服务型政府建设包含三个层面的内容:转变施政理念,实现从"发展型政府"向"服务型政府"转变;推进制度建设,实现从政府职能"重新定位"向"全面履行"转变;创新政策工具,实现从公共服务的"单一供给模式"向"复合供给模式"转变。但浙江服务型政府建设仍然面临着深入推进的现实困境。当前我国的权力配置结构未发生重大调整,地方政府行为逻辑未发生实质性转变,是服务型政府建设推进艰难的重要原因。在法治的框架下,以调整政府层级间关系为突破口,建立"混合型行政管理体制",增强地方政府自主性,加强社会问责,确保政府职能全面履行,是服务型政府建设的重要路径。     

澳大利亚绩效审计发展新趋势

本文以澳大利亚审计署网站最新资料为研究样本,利用文本分析法对绩效审计相关信息进行理论识别与系统分析,揭示澳大利亚绩效审计在广度和深度方面的突破趋势:在审计内容、审计过程、审计脉络、审计范畴和审计内涵等方面,集中展现绩效审计的系统功能;通过加强绩效审计主体的制约力量、保证扩大绩效审计对象范围落实到位、增强绩效审计的资金和技术支撑等举措,不断加强绩效审计的组织建设;在持续完善绩效审计的过程控制体系方面,不断完善绩效审计的基本法律法规、持续推进绩效审计过程的标准化管理和重视绩效审计的质量认证机制等特征最为突出。文章最后就澳大利亚绩效审计发展趋势对我国绩效审计发展的启示与借鉴进行了阐释。     

“零容忍”反腐败:内涵、特征与进路

本文在研究"零容忍"反腐败的内涵和特征以及借鉴新加坡和香港"零容忍"反腐败的基础上,提出"零容忍"反腐败的进路思考。"零容忍"反腐败要建立一套完整有效的法律制度,形成一支坚强有力的执行队伍,加强执行权威,建构一个公民参与的、广泛细化的反腐败网络,也要通过反腐败教育提高公民反腐败意识和公务员廉洁奉公的情操。