Diffusion milieus as a focus of research on innovation in the public sector

Public policies to increase the efficiency of state and local governments through fostering the use of new technologies are based, implicitly at least, on theories of diffusion. Existing theories of diffusion have been found to be deficient. This paper presents an approach to the diffusion of technological innovations in state and local governments organized around the concept of diffusion milieus.A diffusion milieu contains those elements external to the organization which bring pressure to bear on the organization to alter its existing practices, which define the range of feasible alternatives to these practices, and which condition the information flow on the performance characteristics of the proposed innovation(s). These milieu components are then filtered through the internal decision-making process(es) of the organization to produce a decision to accept or reject the innovation(s). More specifically, the milieu contains (1) the specific nature of the demands upon the agency to change behavior (performance gaps), (2) the supply of alternatives to existing practices (technological change), (3) agency-executive relationships, (4) the activities of suppliers in marketing innovations, (5) the resources available to the agency to acquire new techniques, (6) the characteristics of the knowledge infrastructure which affect the search behavior and the degree of uncertainty associated with adopting new techniques, (7) the impact of intergovernmental relationships, and (8) citizen demands. The components of the diffusion milieu are then (9) related to a set of agency decision-rules concerning the adoption of new techniques.The rate of diffusion in each field will depend upon themagnitude of the components and on thelinkages between them.Functional fields differ in both respects.Research for this paper was supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation, Office of R & D Assessment. We have benefited from the helpful comments of Professor Marvin Rozen, an anonymous referee and the research assistance of Ms. Lee Ann Kozak. The views expressed in this paper are the sole responsibility of the authors. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 1975 American Political Science Association meetings.     

Stammwähler und die opportunistische Wahl parteipolitischer Programme

This article explains political radicalism by the number of voters who are biased towards a party. With little voters biased in favor of a party, this party has to rely more heavily on its programmatic distance to other parties. Because large parties – i.e.: parties with a high number of biased voters – gain votes when they move to the center of the political spectrum, parties with a lower number of voters that are biased in their favor are forced to the edges of the policy space. We draw on a computational model of political competition between four parties in a two‐dimensional policy space to investigate this relationship. We use panel corrected OLS estimates to analyze the data generated by the computer simulation. Our results substantiate the hypothesis of a negative relationship between the number of biased voters and the inclination of a party to adopt a more extreme policy stance.     

Who's the Boss? Patterns of Perceived Control in Adolescents' Friendships

This study examined the nature and correlates of different patterns of perceived control in adolescents' relationships with their best friends. Participants included firstborn adolescents (M = 14.94 years), their younger siblings (M = 12.44 years) and both their mothers and fathers in 163 families as well as a best friend of each adolescent (M = 15 years). Data were collected from family members during home visits regarding adolescents' family relationships, friendships, and psychosocial adjustment; time use data were gathered during a series of 7 nightly phone interviews. Information was obtained from best friends during a brief phone interview. We developed a typology of 3 different patterns of perceived friendship control based on the combination of adolescents' and their best friends' ratings of relational control. Patterns of control in adolescents' friendships were associated with the distribution of control in both parents' marriages and adolescents' sibling relationships. Further analyses, designed to test developmental predictions, revealed connections between friendship control and other qualities of adolescents' friendships (i.e., intimacy, conflict, perspective-taking).     

Pax Democratica: The Gospel According to St. Democracy

The thaw of the Cold War ended the chess game between the superpowers and seemingly gave new momentum to the revival and spread of liberal democracy and its corollary, capitalism. Just as missionaries once offered Christianity to "save" colonised peoples, democracy has become the new gospel promising "salvation". Both donor and recipient countries appeal to democracy, hoping that it will reverse decades of misfortune. Donor nations and multilateral financial institutions preach democratic governance. "Born again democratic" national leaders in the South who are intent on clinging to power attend to their sermons. None appear to have a genuine faith in democracy. While some nations and NGOs do give altruistically, most use foreign aid as another means of pursuing their national interest. Democracy is an elastic concept. Indeed it seems, at least at this point, that the new gospel of democracy is but a convenient tool used by different players for they own selfish reasons.     

Kapital oder Kompensation? Erwerbsbiografien von Männern und die sozialen Beziehungen zu Verwandten und Freunden

Der Beitrag behandelt die Auswirkungen unterschiedlicher Beschäftigungsverhältnisse und berufsbiografischer Erfahrungen auf die Integration in soziale Beziehungen, insbesondere solche zu Freunden und Verwandten. Ein wichtiger Aspekt sind hierbei Erfahrungen von Diskontinuität und Unsicherheit auf dem Arbeitsmarkt, die nach Sennett auf den Bereich persönlicher Beziehungen übergreifen und die Integration in enge, verlässliche Beziehungen erschweren. Dem gegenüber gibt es allerdings auch theoretische Argumente für eine Kompensation berufsbiografischer Unsicherheiten durch eine verstärkte Hinwendung zu engen und stabilen Primärbeziehungen. Empirische Analysen mit den Daten des Familiensurvey 2000 zeigen sowohl negative Auswirkungen als auch kompensatorische Zusammenhänge, wobei letzteres wohl nur dann möglich ist, wenn das Unsicherheitsniveau nicht ein bestimmtes Maß übersteigt bzw. individuelle Bewältigungsressourcen vorhanden sind. Überraschenderweise sind nicht primär die Verwandtschaftsund Familienbeziehungen Basis solcher kompensatorischer Zusammenhänge, sondern Freundschaften.