Examining the Evolution of the Field of Public Administration through a Bibliometric Analysis of Public Administration Review

In 2015, Public Administration Review celebrated its 75th year of publication. For this milestone, the PAR Editorial Board selected the 75 most influential articles in the history of the journal and invited scholars to “revisit a selection of these articles” in order “to take stock of what these articles meant for the field.” Bibliometrics offers a complementary view of the history of a discipline and the evolution of its research and practice agendas through an analysis of its published literature. This article examines the changes over time in PAR from 1940 through 2013 in authorship: contributions, impact, gender composition, institutional and national affiliation, profession as scholar or practitioner, collaboration networks, and the status of the 75 influential articles. Through an extensive quantitative analysis of scholarly production, this article demonstrates PAR’s centrality to the discipline of public administration and its bridging role between public administration and political science.     

INNOVATIVE APPROACHES IN CHILD CUSTODY EVALUATIONS

This article discusses the joint office interview as an innovative technique for evaluation of families, the feedback or "summary" sessions by evaluators, and the role of the mediator in the feedback process. A retrospective analysis of the procedures revealed that considerable material could be studied and presented. Summaries of these data are offered as a guide to those interested in the resolution of child custody disputes.     

Mediation within the French Industrial Relations Context: The SFR Cegetel Case

This article examines the introduction of mediation in the French industrial relations context, as illustrated by the case of the SFR Cegetel collective agreement on social dialogue, which was signed in June 2002. This article provides an overview of relevant French legislation and explores why mediation is used so infrequently in France to settle labor conflicts, examines the growing interest in mediation in France as exemplified in the implementation of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) programs in several firms, and analyzes the barriers and incentives to mediation as well as the impact of internal mediation on the relations between management and employees.
We conclude that while inherited customs and lack of information curtail the use of mediation, disputants increasingly favor mediation as an option when they wish to gain time or when the situation is filled with especially acute open conflict. In addition, we conclude that the introduction of mediation favors a more participatory style of management, improves relationships between management and employees, and induces a better social dialogue within the firm.     

Human Rights, Refugees, and The Right 'To Enjoy' Asylum

Increasingly hard-line and restrictive asylum policies and practicesof many governments call into question the scope of protectionsoffered by the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees.Has the focus on the 1951 Convention been to the detriment andsubordination of other rights and standards of treatment owedto refugees and asylum-seekers under international human rightslaw? Which standard applies in the event that there is a clashor inconsistency between the two bodies of law? In analysingthe interface between international refugee law and internationalhuman rights law, this article looks at the right to familylife and the right to work. Through this examination, contentand meaning is offered to the almost forgotten component ofthe right ‘to enjoy’ asylum in Article 14(1) ofthe Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948.