The government versus management controversy: Ascribing responsibility for the failure of a public corporation in Nigeria

Efforts to employ public corporations in African countries to promote development have had limited success. A major controversy has developed over who is responsible for such failure. On the one hand are those who accuse management; on the other hand are those who accuse government. This study seeks to assess the merits of the contending arguments through an analysis of Nigeria'S Cross River State Agricultural Development Corporation (ADC). There is a strong prima-facie case against management. It failed to sustain the enterprise; it failed to produce any profits; it failed to give employees satisfaction in their work; it failed to give strong direction to the corporation; it failed significantly to advance the technology of the ADC; and it made little contribution to the community. But, on close examination, it is apparent that management'S failure was a consequence of structural and financial constraints imposed on it by government. Thus, real responsibility for the failure of the ADC belongs with the government. The reasons for government ‘killing’ its own public corporation are partly constraints imposed on it and partly the opposition of its supporters to public enterprise.     

Political research and practitioner approaches: a review of the research methods used in voting behaviour research

Quantitative research has been the dominant methodological approach used to study voting behaviour. There is an emerging recognition, however, that there are alternative ways of attempting to understand how voters decide. The academic preoccupation with measurement, reliability, validity and generalisability may obscure some of the findings that are uncovered by practitioners using qualitative research. Practitioners of politics, both in the USA and the UK, tend to utilise both methods when formulating policy and exploring voter attitudes towards these policies. This paper will review the arguments for each tradition and examine the apparent divergence of practitioner and academic political research. Finally, it will look at how both positivist and interpretivist methods can be utilised to complement each other when attempting to build a picture of voting behaviour. Copyright © 2004 Henry Stewart Publications     

Nonseparable Preferences, Measurement Error, and Unstable Survey Responses

A person has nonseparable preferences when her preference onan issue depends on the outcome of other issues. A model ofsurvey responses in which preferences are measured with errorimplies that responses will change depending on the order ofquestions and vary over time when respondents have nonseparablepreferences. Results from two survey experiments confirm thatchanges in survey responses due to question order are explainedby nonseparable preferences but not by the respondent's levelof political information, partisanship, or ideology.     

Inter-observer error for area of origin analysis using FARO Zone 3D

In a bloodletting incident, the area of origin (AO) of an impact bloodstain pattern is crucial when establishing the sequence of events. The use of laser scanners and other three-dimensional (3D) technologies to document and analyse bloodstains have been the subject of previous papers, especially where AO analysis is concerned. FARO Zone 3D (FZ3D) is a relatively new software programme that can be used for bloodstain AO analysis. FZ3D requires a greater understanding of inter-observer errors associated with AO. This study looked at the inter-observer variation between 21 examiners when repeatedly calculating the AO six times for a single impact pattern on a plain white wall. An impact rig which consisted of a spring tension arm was positioned and fixed 45 cm from the X wall (right wall), and 45 cm from the Y wall (left wall). This experimental design resembles an impact blow for a bloodletting event. The AO was unknown to all examiners, making it a blind study. The collected results were documented in a Microsoft Excel datasheet and later analysed. From previous literature, a 30 cm acceptable allowance was utilised for AO analysis; however, there is currently no accepted standard error for this type of analysis. The overall total 3D mean error for all examiners was 5.62 cm. The maximum error for any one impact analysis was 24.27 cm. The variation of the data, which was collected by all examiners, was documented as X = 1.14 cm, Y = 1.24 cm, Z = 1.68 cm, and the total 3D error = 2.28 cm. The total 3D error for any one examiner and the variance between examiners did not exceed the 30 cm acceptable allowance utilised in previous literature.     

文化创意产业集聚区的管理模式分析

在中国,文化创意产业集聚区大量涌现,但由于认识和经验的不到位,文化创意产业集聚区出现了显著的管理与运营问题。本文依据文化创意产业集聚区的形成机制和管理主体的差异,分析了集聚区的基本类型,探讨了不同类型文化创意产业集聚区的运营与管理模式。     

我国第三方政府绩效评价组织的自律实现问题探析

政府绩效评价作为一种评价和改进政府绩效的实用工具,已经被广泛地应用于当今世界各国政府治理实践中。经过长期的探索与实践,目前已形成了多种评价模式,其中第三方评价依靠其自身人才、理论和技术方面的优势,在政府绩效评价中占据极其重要的地位。本文主要针对我国第三方政府绩效评价起步较晚以及缺乏相关评价机制的现状,从组织自律的相关概念出发,提出了在构建责任和效能政府过程中,如何发挥我国第三方政府绩效评价组织自律机制作用的设想。     

政府公信力的信息互动选择机理探究

政府公信力事关政府存亡,是提高政府工作效能的重要保障。当前政府绩效提升与公信度不一定呈正向演进趋势,其中政府、媒体、公众三者对于政务信息的选择性接受和传播造成的沟通变异是其重要根源之一。为了提升政府公信力,本文在借鉴国内外相关理论研究的基础上,剖析了政府公信力的GMP信息选择机理,并运用此机理对政府公信力流失的过程进行了研究和探索,同时提出了相关对策建议。