Unleashing Innovation beyond Organizational Boundaries: Exploring Citizensourcing Projects

By using information and communications technologies, public administration encourages external actors to get involved in governmental activities once performed by civil servants. This article seeks to investigate the open innovation phenomenon beyond the entrepreneurial domain in the context of open government. For this purpose, a multiple case study was conducted to explore the current state of open government in Austria. The study first reveals the role of citizens as an active part of the system, then discusses the impact of citizensourcing projects, and finally concludes with giving implications for research and practice.     

What Interventions Work Best for Families Who Experience Homelessness? Impact Estimates from the Family Options Study

What housing and service interventions work best to reduce homelessness for families in the United States? The Family Options Study randomly assigned 2,282 families recruited in homeless shelters across 12 sites to priority access to one of three active interventions or to usual care in their communities. The interventions were long‐term rent subsidies, short‐term rent subsidies, and transitional housing in supervised programs with intensive psychosocial services. In two waves of follow‐up data collected 20 and 37 months later, priority access to long‐term rent subsidies reduced homelessness and food insecurity and improved other aspects of adult and child well‐being relative to usual care, at a cost 9 percent higher. The other interventions had little effect. The study provides support for the view that homelessness for most families is an economic problem that long‐term rent subsidies resolve and does not support the view that families must address psychosocial problems to succeed in housing. It has implications for focusing government resources on this important social problem.     

Prospective Links Between Ethnic Socialization,Ethnic and American Identity,and Well-Being Among Asian-American Adolescents

Ethnic socialization and ethnic identity have been related to positive outcomes, but little research has examined these associations longitudinally. This three-wave study prospectively linked socialization messages at Time 1, ethnic identity and American identity at Time 2, and self-esteem and depressive symptoms at Time 3 in 147 (58 % female; 25 % first-generation) Asian-American adolescents. The results indicated positive links between cultural socialization messages and ethnic and American identity, though the latter association was significant only for females. Ethnic identity was positively related to self-esteem, and mediated the positive effect of cultural socialization on self-esteem. The promotion of mistrust was positively linked to self-esteem and negatively related to ethnic identity, though this latter association was significant for foreign-born youth only. Our findings highlight the importance of elucidating prospective links in identity development, and examining gender and generational differences within them.     

Implementing Public Utility Commission Web Sites: Targeting Audiences, Missing Opportunities

Research demonstrates that some government agencies are more accomplished than others when it comes to e-government. More generally, various scholars suggest that e-government is moving forward at a relatively slow pace, especially in relation to the sophistication of government Web sites. With these issues in mind, this research utilized interviews with state public utility commission staff members to explore their agencies' experiences with staffing, funding, coordinating, and prioritizing their e-government efforts, particularly their Web site activities. Assessing such efforts in both quantitative and qualitative terms, this research found that a mix of various factors, including financial resources, knowledgeable staff, and administrative oversight, related to better performance. Moreover, although public utility commissions have a clear mission to serve both consumers and regulated utilities, this research indicates that the commissions are focusing more of their e-government efforts on industry rather than citizens.     

Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Obesity During the Transition to Adulthood: The Contingent and Nonlinear Impact of Neighborhood Disadvantage

Neighborhood disadvantage in early adolescence may help explain racial and ethnic disparities in obesity during the transition to adulthood; however the processes may work differently for males and females and for minority groups compared to Whites. The present study examines the relationship between neighborhood disadvantage and young adult obesity and the extent to which it contributes to racial/ethnic disparities among males and females. Data are from waves I and III of The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), a nationally representative sample of adolescents administered between 1994 and 2002. The final sample of 5,759 adolescents was 54% female, 63% White, 21% African American, 16% Hispanic, and 14 years of age, on average, at wave I. Using hierarchical logit models and controlling for prior obesity status, findings indicate that, for females, adolescent neighborhood disadvantage partially explains racial/ethnic disparities in young adult obesity. Further, neighborhood disadvantage increases the odds of becoming obese for adolescent females in a curvilinear form, and this relationship significantly varies between Whites and Hispanics. Neighborhood disadvantage does not increase the risk of obesity for males, regardless of race/ethnicity. Implications for obesity prevention are discussed.     

Uncounted Votes: Informal Voting in the House of Representatives as a Marker of Political Exclusion in Australia

This article examines the implications of high levels of informal (or invalid) voting in Australian national elections using a social exclusion framework. The rate of the informal vote is an indicator of social and political exclusion with particular groups of Australians experiencing inordinate electoral disadvantage. Poorer voters, voters from non‐English speaking backgrounds and those with low education levels are especially disadvantaged by factors peculiar to the Australian voting experience. We begin by exploring the character and pattern of informal voting and then canvass the technical and socio‐economic factors which explain it. We conclude by considering proposed options for reducing informality, some of which are: the abandonment of compulsory voting, major structural change to the voting system as well as ballot re‐design, electoral education and community information initiatives.     

Ethnic Identity and Family Processes Among Adolescents from Latin American,Asian, and European Backgrounds

Ninth graders (N = 679; 50% male, 50% female) from Latin American (41%), Asian (38%), and European (21%) backgrounds reported on their ethnic identity and family attitudes and relationships. Adolescents also completed daily checklists of family interactions over a two-week period. Results indicated that ethnic identity, measured through exploration and belonging was more strongly associated with family obligation and assistance than with parent–child closeness and family leisure time. Adolescents from Latin American and Asian backgrounds reported significantly higher levels of obligation and assistance as compared to adolescents with European backgrounds, and these ethnic differences were mediated by ethnic identity. Longitudinal analyses indicated ongoing associations, with ethnic identity predicting respect and obligation one year later. The discussion focuses on the role of ethnic identity in children’s family connectedness during adolescence.