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Book part
Publication date: 25 March 2011

Rebecca J. Hannagan

The 2005 APSR article by John Alford, Carolyn Funk, and John Hibbing presented data from the Virginia 30,000 Health & Lifestyle Questionnaire (VA30K), AARP twin studies, and an…

Abstract

The 2005 APSR article by John Alford, Carolyn Funk, and John Hibbing presented data from the Virginia 30,000 Health & Lifestyle Questionnaire (VA30K), AARP twin studies, and an Australian twin study (ATR) to test their hypothesis that political attitudes are influenced by genetic as well as environmental factors. Political attitudes, they suggested, were expected to be highly heritable and particularly so on issues most correlated with personality. They employed survey responses from the Wilson–Patterson Attitude Inventory to measure political attitudes. To gauge heritability, they utilize the 2:1 genetic ratio between monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins. The authors argued that while previous studies in political attitudes had concentrated on measuring the influence of environmental variables, their test added explanatory power by considering heritability (Alford, Funk, & Hibbing, 2005).

Details

Biology and Politics
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-85724-580-9

Book part
Publication date: 25 September 2013

John M. Friend and Bradley A. Thayer

Purpose – Acknowledging that the field of neuroscience is expanding rapidly and the implication of recent neuroscientific advances on the study of politics is…

Abstract

Purpose – Acknowledging that the field of neuroscience is expanding rapidly and the implication of recent neuroscientific advances on the study of politics is equally vast, this chapter will focus primarily on three key areas of convergence that have influenced the direction of neuropolitics: first, decision-making (emotions, preferences, and voting behavior); second, research on in-group/out-group relations, such as coalitional groupings and discrimination and prejudice; and, third, the rise of neuroeconomics.

Approach – This chapter is concerned with the intersection of political science and neuroscience and discusses how recent technological and theoretical developments in the latter are greatly contributing to the field of neuropolitics.

Findings – The insights generated by neuroscience permit the study of politics to be anchored on a scientific foundation for the first time. In turn, this opens the door to a renaissance in the political psychology subfield of political science, as the scientific origins of political behavior are revealed.

Research implications – The ongoing revolution in neuroscience is producing insights into international political behavior that is largely unacknowledged by political scientists.

Value – The implications for domestic and international policy are major. Fundamentally, this is because neuroscience allows us to comprehend better the origins of human political behavior.

Details

The world of biology and politics: Organization and research areas
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78190-728-3

Keywords

Abstract

Details

Politics and the Life Sciences: The State of the Discipline
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78441-108-4

Article
Publication date: 6 May 2014

John Alford and Sophie Yates

The purpose of this paper is to add to the analytic toolkit of public sector practitioners by outlining a framework called Public Value Process Mapping (PVPM). This approach is…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to add to the analytic toolkit of public sector practitioners by outlining a framework called Public Value Process Mapping (PVPM). This approach is designed to be more comprehensive than extant frameworks in either the private or public sectors, encapsulating multiple dimensions of productive processes.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper explores the public administration and management literature to identify the major frameworks for visualising complex systems or processes, and a series of dimensions against which they can be compared. It then puts forward a more comprehensive framework – PVPM – and demonstrates its possible use with the example of Indigenous child nutrition in remote Australia. The benefits and limitations of the technique are then considered.

Findings

First, extant process mapping frameworks each have some but not all of the features necessary to encompass certain dimensions of generic or public sector processes, such as: service-dominant logic; external as well internal providers; public and private value; and state coercive power. Second, PVPM can encompass the various dimensions more comprehensively, enabling visualisation of both the big picture and the fine detail of public value-creating processes. Third, PVPM has benefits – such as helping unearth opportunities or culprits affecting processes – as well as limitations – such as demonstrating causation and delineating the boundaries of maps.

Practical implications

PVPM has a number of uses for policy analysts and public managers: it keeps the focus on outcomes; it can unearth a variety of processes and actors, some of them not immediately obvious; it can help to identify key processes and actors; it can help to identify the “real” culprits behind negative outcomes; and it highlights situations where multiple causes are at work.

Originality/value

This approach, which draws on a number of precursors but constitutes a novel technique in the public sector context, enables the identification and to some extent the comprehension of a broader range of causal factors and actors. This heightens the possibility of imagining innovative solutions to difficult public policy issues, and alternative ways of delivering public services.

Details

International Journal of Public Sector Management, vol. 27 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3558

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 March 2019

Enrico Bracci, Luca Papi, Michele Bigoni, Enrico Deidda Gagliardo and Hans-Jürgen Bruns

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role and impact of accounting within the fragmented field of public value theory literature.

1922

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role and impact of accounting within the fragmented field of public value theory literature.

Design/methodology/approach

The work develops a structured literature review (SLR) and seeks to shed light on the state of public value research, with particular emphasis on the role of accounting scholarship.

Findings

The lack of empirical research and the limited number of accounting papers reveal how accounting scholars need to achieve a deeper understanding of the public value conceptualization, creation and measurement process.

Originality/value

The paper develops the first wide-ranging SLR on public value accounting. It is a starting point to develop new research avenues, both in the fields of accountability/external reporting, and management accounting and performance management.

Details

Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting & Financial Management, vol. 31 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1096-3367

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 January 1930

We have from time to time suggested that librarians should pool experiences in regard to annual estimates, but there seems to be no enthusiasm for the suggestion. If library work…

Abstract

We have from time to time suggested that librarians should pool experiences in regard to annual estimates, but there seems to be no enthusiasm for the suggestion. If library work is to develop it must be by gently progressive finance, and nothing helps one librarian more than to be able to point to another who is progressing. We all tend to wait upon one another. In such a matter as salaries, a librarian circulates his colleagues to learn what they are getting; and library authorities almost invariably ask, “What is paid at So and So ?” This is a vicious circle which cannot be broken unless librarians in consultation can reach a Standard. Perhaps the active London and Home Counties Branch of the L.A. will give a lead since the L.A. itself is too busy to do so.

Details

New Library World, vol. 32 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0307-4803

Book part
Publication date: 14 August 2015

Laura A. Heymann

Artists operating under a studio model, such as Andy Warhol, have frequently been described as reducing their work to statements of authorship, indicated by the signature finally…

Abstract

Artists operating under a studio model, such as Andy Warhol, have frequently been described as reducing their work to statements of authorship, indicated by the signature finally affixed to the work. By contrast, luxury goods manufacturers decry as inauthentic and counterfeit the handbags produced during off-shift hours using the same materials and craftsmanship as the authorized goods produced hours earlier. The distinction between authentic and inauthentic often turns on nothing more than a statement of authorship. Intellectual property law purports to value such statements of authenticity, but no statement has value unless it is accepted as valid by its audience, a determination that depends on shared notions of what authenticity means as well as a common understanding of what authenticity designates.

Details

Special Issue: Thinking and Rethinking Intellectual Property
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78441-881-6

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 April 2015

Fiona Buick, Deborah Ann Blackman, Michael Edward O'Donnell, Janine Louise O'Flynn and Damian West

The purpose of this paper is to focus on the potential role that performance management could play in enabling employees’ adaptability to change and, therefore, successful change…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to focus on the potential role that performance management could play in enabling employees’ adaptability to change and, therefore, successful change implementation.

Design/methodology/approach

This research adopted a qualitative case study research design, focussed on seven case studies within the Australian Public Service (APS). This study utilized documentary analysis, semi-structured individual and group interviews.

Findings

The findings of this research demonstrate that adaptability to change is integral for high performance; however, the constant change faced by many public servants is disruptive. The authors posit that applying a performance framework developed by Blackman et al. (2013a, b) to change implementation will help overcome, or at least mitigate, these issues. The authors argue that applying this framework will: enable adaptability to change; and provide an ongoing management function that enables change to occur.

Research limitations/implications

This research has been limited to seven organizations within the APS, yet it does reveal interesting implications in terms of the apparent role of performance management in both developing change capacity and supporting espoused outcomes.

Practical implications

This research identifies the potential role that performance management can play in supporting effective change implementation through enabling employees to cope better with the change through enabling clarity, purpose and alignment with the organizational direction.

Originality/value

The originality of this paper stems from the synthesis of different strands of literature, specifically high performance, performance management and change management, and empirical research in the public sector to provide a new way of looking at performance management as a change enabler.

Details

Journal of Organizational Change Management, vol. 28 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0953-4814

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 February 2002

Eric Glasgow

The influence of the early editors of Contemporary Review, on its establishment and development, is discussed. The friendship between its first editor, Henry Alford and Alfred…

205

Abstract

The influence of the early editors of Contemporary Review, on its establishment and development, is discussed. The friendship between its first editor, Henry Alford and Alfred Tennyson, is considered, and the impact of Tennyson illustrated. The intellectual background and circle of Victorian figures assembled around the second editor, J.T. Knowles, is also discussed. The subsequent history and influence of the title is considered.

Details

Library Review, vol. 51 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0024-2535

Keywords

Abstract

Details

Politics and the Life Sciences: The State of the Discipline
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78441-108-4

1 – 10 of 564