Administrative innovation in municipal government

The purpose of this study is to identify those factors which account for administrative innovation in municipal government bureaucracies. Two dimensions of administrative innovation are examined: management and technology. Management innovation refers to procedures and methods by which policies are implemented. Technology innovation refers to the adoption of new physical products or processes. Multiple indicators of specific innovative practices are used to create a management scale and a technology scale and the two scales are then combined to create a composite administration innovation scale. In order to explain the dimensions of innovation the study employs a model comprised of three sets of independent variables: community variables, political system variables, and bureaucratic variables. Multiple regression analysis is used to examine the relationship between each set of independent variables and the dipensions of innovation. A second stage of analysis combines the three sets of explanatory variables into a single equation for each type of innovation. The results indicate that the three sets of variables are of significant power in explaining innovation, although as one moves from community variables to political variables to bureaucratic variables there is a decline in the amount of variation explained. Some variables are more important for certain types of innovation than for others, but population size, community growth rate, and electoral competition cut across the various types of innovation.     

Book Reviews

Throughout the twentieth century, the city of Khartoum was the subject of analyses and knowledge produced by diverse actors, such as scholars, urban planners, government agents and institutions, urban dwellers and, more recently, actors from the humanitarian and private sectors. The aim of this article is to offer a critical analysis of Sudan urban studies from the 1970s onwards, and to illustrate their strengths and shortcomings. A revisitation of the work of anthropologist Richard Lobban on Tuti Island, where I recently conducted ethnographic fieldwork, will allow me to comment on Marxist anthropology as the theoretical framework used by Sudanist scholars in the early decades of urban studies, to focus on methodological strategies for data collection, and to analyse the use of concepts such as “urbanisation” and “community”. These reflections will be used to suggest a research agenda for urban studies in Sudan, as well as recent academic approaches to the treatment of the urban question.     

Competitiveness concerns in Hong Kong: business fears and government incomprehension

Much of the analysis of the anti-globalization movement that has emerged in the last five years has focused on the degree to which the Internet has played a crucial role in contemporary social movements. It is commonly argued that the Internet helps create ‘virtual communities’ that use the medium to exchange information, coordinate activities, and build and extend political support. Much of the commentary on the web as a means of political mobilization for social movements stresses the degree to which the Internet compresses both space and time, accelerating the exchange of information among whomever has access to this technology. Equally important in this view is the deterritorialized nature of on-line protest and the diminution in importance of ‘place’ in current anti-globalization campaigns. Certainly this argument features prominently in analyses of the campaign against the Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI) in 1997-98 and the protests against the World Trade Organization (WTO) meetings in Seattle in November and December 1999. Our examination of the antiglobalization movement in Australia however leads us to a different conclusion: that while the Internet does indeed compress time, it compresses space in a different, and indeed quite variable, way. We examine the way in which Australians protested against the MAI and against the WTO meetings in Seattle, and show the differences in the nature of protest in each case. In the MAI case, the protests were well-organized and national in scope, with the Internet playing an important role in organizing the movement. By contrast, in the case of the WTO, the movement was minor and relatively marginal, with the Internet playing little discernible role in galvanizing protest. We conclude that crucial to an understanding of the differences was the considerable difference in the importance of ‘place’ in each case.     

Multilateralising regionalism: what role for the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement?

Abstract

The Asia-Pacific region is home to a large and rapidly growing number of preferential trade agreements (PTAs). These agreements differ widely in design, scope and purpose. The “noodle bowl” that has resulted runs the risk of distorting investment and trade. Neither global institutions (the WTO) nor regional institutions such as the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) grouping have successfully addressed these issues. Amidst this increasingly messy situation, the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement stands out for a range of important economic and political reasons, not least of which is its potential to take existing PTAs in the Asia-Pacific region in a new direction. The aim of the TPP negotiators is to produce a comprehensive, high quality, multi-party agreement to tame the tangle of PTAs and be a potential stepping stone to achieving the goal of liberalizing regional trade on a non-discriminatory basis. The economic gains from removing border barriers among the countries involved in the initial TPP negotiations are likely to be limited, however, given the small size of many of the economies and the existing PTAs among them. To date, the US has been unwilling to offer a single set of arrangements for all TPP partners, preferring to build on existing bilateral agreements. Pessimism about the immediate results from the TPP should be tempered, however, by considerations of the dynamics that it might set in train; on the other hand, it has the potential to divide the region and exacerbate China's concerns about “containment”.     

Learning from the news: Experiments in media,modality, and reporting about star wars

This study explores what ordinary American adults learn from news reported in different communications modalities and media. In the first experiment, the text of news items about Star Wars is held constant but the communications modality varies. In the second experiment, news reports reflect the journalistic style of television, newspaper, and magazine reporting. In the modality experiment, subjects learned equally well from the audiovisual, audio, or print versions of the stories. In the media experiment, subjects in the magazine and television conditions gained substantially more information than those in the newspaper condition; but when subjects were asked to apply information to policy judgments about Star Wars, magazine readers were more dovish than television viewers. For Star Wars news, it appears that the content and characteristic style of a news medium have important effects on news comprehension, particularly for the least informed and least interested members of the public.     

Charcoal production and strategies to enhance its sustainability in Kenya

In sub-Saharan Africa, 72 per cent of urban and 98 per cent of rural households use fuelwood for energy. In Kenya use of charcoal in urban areas has risen by 64 per cent in two decades. Despite the charcoal industry providing employment to 500,000 people and generating over US$427 million that benefits grassroots communities, it has been kept out of the formal economies of this country. This review presents the status of the charcoal industry in Kenya, highlighting its contribution to livelihoods, production, utilisation, and implications for the environment; policy issues; and stakeholders' involvement. The review also proposes strategies to improve the sustainability of this sector.

La production de charbon de bois au Kenya et des stratégies pour l'augmentation de sa durabilité

Dans l'Afrique subsaharienne 72 pour cent de ménages urbains et 98 pour cent de ménages ruraux se servent du bois combustible pour leur propre énergie. Au Kenya l'usage de charbon de bois dans les secteurs urbains a augmenté par 64 pour cent au cours de deux décennies. Malgré le fait qu'elle fournit un emploi à 500,000 personnes et qu'elle génère plus de US$427 million de bénéfice aux collectivités populaires, l'industrie du charbon de bois reste écartée des économies formelles de ce pays. Cet examen présente la situation de l'industrie du charbon de bois au Kenya, en soulignant sa contribution aux moyens d'existence, à la production, et à l'utilisation ainsi que les implications pour l'environnement ; des questions concernant la politique ; et l'implication des parties prenantes. L'examen propose également des stratégies pour l'amélioration de la durabilité de cette industrie.

Producción de carbón y estrategias para aumentar su sostenibilidad en Kenia

En el África subsahariana, 72% de los hogares urbanos y 98% de los hogares rurales utilizan la leña como fuente de energía. En las áreas urbanas de Kenia, el uso de carbón ha aumentado 64% en dos décadas. A pesar de que la industria de carbón crea empleo para 500 mil personas, generando us$427 millones en beneficios para las comunidades de base, se la ha marginado de las economías formales de este país. El presente artículo examina la situación de la industria de carbón en Kenia, analizando, por un lado, su contribución a los medios de vida, y por otro, su forma de producción y su utilización, así como sus implicaciones para temas de política ambiental, además de la participación de los actores en la misma. Asimismo, el artículo propone estrategias para mejorar la sostenibilidad del sector.

Produção de carvão e estratégia para aumentar sua sustentabilidade no Quênia

Na África Subsaariana, 72 por cento de famílias da zona urbana e 98 por cento de famílias da zona rural utilizam lenha como fonte de energia. No Quênia,o uso de carvão nas áreas urbanas cresceu 64 por cento em duas décadas. Apesar da indústria de carvão proporcionar emprego a 500.000 pessoas e gerar mais de US$427 milhões que beneficiam comunidades de base, ela tem sido deixada de fora das economias formais deste país. Esta revisão apresenta o status da indústria de carvão no Quênia, destacando sua contribuição para os meios de subsistência, produção, utilização e implicações para o meio ambiente; questões de políticas e envolvimento dos stakeholders. A revisão também propõe estratégias para melhorar a sustentabilidade deste setor.     

Gender relations,authoritarianism and democratization in Chile

This article takes Chile as a case study to examine how the women's movement, the non‐governmental sector and the state have worked together to design policies for the prevention of domestic violence, and to transform the culture of authoritarianism which remains an integral part of gender relations within the state and in society. It conceptualizes the linkages between gender relations, authoritarianism and violence, examines how violence against women became a prominent issue during the transition to democracy, and shows that women's organizations have made significant advances in Chile as elsewhere in Latin America, by framing legislation on violence against women within the context of women's human rights. The study indicates that collaboration between the state, women's organizations and the police force can provide a window of opportunity to promote a democratic culture within the state and society.     

The changing face of wardship

Abstract

I have been teaching Ethnic Minorities and the Law at undergraduate and Masters level for some eight years now. It is my conviction that the subject has achieved a certain maturity and that it is high time that serious notice was taken of it in legal education circles at all levels. This article presents some reflections on approaches adopted and experiences of being involved in teaching this field. In the next section some of the reactions that are likely to be encountered when working in this area are discussed briefly. In the following section the nature and extent of ethnic diversity in the UK are outlined, and some of the limits in academic and policy conceptualisations of this diversity are highlighted. There follows a critical discussion of the various paradigms within which legal knowledge has framed discussion relating to ethnic minorities in the UK. This forms a prelude to the introduction of legal‐pluralist perspectives which, it is argued, offer the most positive approach in the area of ethnic minority legal studies. Lastly, some of the practical issues that arise in teaching about ethnic minorities in law are discussed.