Special Libraries, Summer 1988

Volume 79, Issue 3https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/sla_sl_1988/1002/thumbnail.jp

British government policy and diplomacy in Southern Rhodesia, 1979-1980.

This thesis focuses on the use of policy and diplomacy by the British government in Southern Rhodesia during 1979-1980. In particular, the necessity of combining short-term flexibility and contingency alongside long-term policy planning during this period will be explored. In order to do so, this thesis uses documents from the British National Archives, in particular files from the Prime Minister's Office (PREM) and the Cabinet Office (CAB). These documents, released in 2011, allow for a close examination of the issues faced by the British government in achieving long term goals whilst circumventing short term crises. This is due to their thorough documentation of high-level political decisions within the British government and their chronological approach, which offers an insight into the ways in which priorities and alliances shifted over time. This work will contribute to the existing material and knowledge on the subject due to its ability to use these recently released documents, which provide a more in-depth insight into high level British government political decisions on Rhodesia than had previously been available. By utilising these within a chronological approach, this work aims to show the development of long-term British government policy in Rhodesia and the ways in which emerging crises and changing relationships affected this

Executive scandals during the workers' party governments in Brazil: causes and mechanisms

Corruption scandals involving the president or other members of the executive branch have long been used as a control or independent variable in studies on Latin American presidentialism. This research seeks to contribute to the literature by treating executive scandals as the dependent variable, using the Workers’ Party governments in Brazil (2003-2016) as a case study. First, a number of independent interval variables that potentially affect the dependent variable are tested using regression analysis, and then, independent categorical variables are identified and causal mechanisms connecting the independent interval and categorical variables to executive scandal emergence are uncovered, making use of "Y-centered theory-building process tracing" and data from interviews with media professionals and an ex-Supreme Court judge. Four different potential causal mechanisms connecting a total of up to five different independent variables to executive scandal emergence are identified, providing a point of departure for future research on the topic. This study contributes to the Latin American presidentialism literature by providing insight into the causes of executive corruption scandals, a previously overlooked topic.Escândalos de corrupção que envolvem o presidente ou outros membros do Poder Executivo têm, durante muito tempo, sido usados como variável independente ou de controle em estudos sobre presidencialismo latino-americano. Esta investigação busca contribuir para esta literatura através do uso como variável dependente de escândalos que envolvem o poder executivo, usando como estudo de caso os governos do Partido dos Trabalhadores (PT) no Brasil (2003-2016). Primeiro, algumas variáveis independentes intervalares que podem afetar a variável dependente acima indicada são testadas usando regressão, e depois, variáveis independentes categóricas são identificadas e mecanismos causais que conectam as variáveis independentes intervalares e categóricas com a emergência de escândalos envolvendo o poder executivo são desveladas, usando "Y-centered theory-building process tracing" e entrevistas com profissionais de média e um ex-ministro do Supremo Tribunal Federal. Foram identificados quatro potenciais mecanismos causais que conectam um total de até cinco variáveis independentes com a emergência de escândalos envolvendo o poder executivo, assim fornecendo um ponto de partida para investigação futura do tema. Esta investigação contribui para a literatura sobre presidencialismo latino-americano ao fornecer novo conhecimento sobre as causas de escândalos de corrupção envolvendo o poder executivo, um assunto anteriormente desconsiderado

A national sustainable development strategy: How New Zealand measures up against international commitments

In 1997, New Zealand, along with many others, made a commitment at the UN General Assembly to produce a national sustainable development strategy (NSDS). In 2002, New Zealand again committed to implement an NSDS by 2005; however, no NSDS was produced. This report describes the actions taken. The key finding of this report is that the New Zealand government is currently not pursuing a National Sustainable Development Strategy (NSDS). This is contrary to international commitments, but more importantly, it is contrary to the interests of New Zealanders. This paper reviews the history, outlines the current landscape, reports on progress and suggests a way forward.&nbsp

Telecommunications reform programme of Thailand: institutionalism and the reform process

The thesis presents an empirical study of the telecommunications reform experience of Thailand between the mid 1980s and 2000s in an attempt to explain the effect of national institutional arrangements upon the reform process. This time period permits an exploration of the development of the reform as well as its major impediments in relation to three different political settings. The progress of reform on the three basic reform issues (privatisation, liberalisation, and regulation) is thoroughly examined to understand the consequences produced by different industry environments. An historical institutionalist study of the Thai experience identifies the political tensions among the reform's interested parties as well as the unwieldy political settings that were the dominant features that heavily influenced the reform story. The thesis places a special emphasis on the latest political regime (the hegemonic era) since it provided a different industry outlook compared to the previous two regimes (the bureaucratic and pluralistic eras), allowing substantial progress towards reform to be made. The telecommunications reform in Thailand is not complete. Thus, it may be too early to confirm the advantage of the strong politics on the reform in the long run, especially considering the possibilities of rent-seeking or the overuse of political power of the hegemonic govenunent. In any case, the Thai reform experience confirms that an institutionalist framework is helpful, and that institutional arrangements really matter in the policy-formation, policy-implementation and policy-outcome of a particular country

James Monroe’s White House: The Genius of Politics and Place

This research endeavor has discerned the origins of an enduring American nationalistic distinctiveness perpetuated by President James Monroe’s White House. A careful scholarly examination of Monroe’s White House as a cultural landscape enquires into the genesis of interdependence between place and politics. It also studies the depth of the American people’s ability to embrace, as their own, the symbolism and national vision fashioned in these spaces. The juxtaposition of James Monroe’s election as the first United States president after the War of 1812 with the resurrection of the White House manifested for him an exclusive opportunity, still fraught with perils, to define national identities and interiors for the early republic and its posterity. Early attempts to write about the White House compartmentalized the historical context by architecture, social aspects, executive functions, political power, and biographical literature. Self-imposed confinement in historical discourse prohibits a comprehensive narrative while encouraging the autonomy of places, events, ideals, and people. Interpreting the White House as a cultural landscape illuminates the agency of culture as a force in shaping the visible features within those spaces. Reciprocally, the physical environment retains a central significance as the medium through which human cultures act. Consequently, Monroe’s White House transubstantiated disaffection into a maturing national consciousness. Emphasizing and interpreting primary resources permits the examiner to expose a seemingly mutually exclusive trajectory of James Monroe’s early political career with the White House’s architectural evolution. In contrast, their paths reveal a diminishing parallel. At the point of infinity, the newly elected President Monroe refurbished the interiors and nurtured administrative protocols to foster domestic public and foreign diplomacy while encouraging national respect and integrity for the country

Leadership best practices of Hispanic leaders in public organizations

The last five decades have seen the population of Hispanics in California rise from 16% to 39% (California State Data Center, 2013). As the number of Hispanics has grown, so has the number of Hispanics responsible for heading public organizations in the State. As more Hispanics obtain leadership positions, they face the same challenges that many other leaders’ face; to do more with less and to operate under the scrutiny of the citizens they represent (Kettle, 2009). The pressure to deliver effective and efficient services is further complicated by the hierarchical structure of public organizations; and the ideals of the old public administration, new public management, and new public service that shape how public administrations function today. The purpose of this study was to determine the best-practices that Hispanic leaders employ to make them successful in leading a public organization. This descriptive phenomenological study utilized a purposive sample of 10 participants who currently provide direct or indirect leadership to a public organization in their role as an elected official. Data was collected through semi-structured interviewed utilizing an eight-open ended question interview protocol. As a result, 6 key findings were identified. One notable finding was that Hispanic leaders of public organizations indicated that key components to their success included; (a) collaboration, (b) communication skills, and (c) continual engagement of internal and external stakeholders. As a result, this study identified current best-practices of Hispanic leaders in public organizations, which help inform current and future Hispanic leaders on what is required to lead a successful organization. It addition, it provides the components to develop a toolkit of diverse leadership skills and abilities that may assist Hispanic leaders navigating through the bureaucracy that engulfs public organizations

Best Practices for Critical Information Infrastructure Protection (CIIP): Experiences from Latin America and the Caribbean and Selected Countries

Over the past few decades, Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) has witnessed numerous changes in its development, with most being beneficial. Positive changes relate to sizable growth and expansion of the region’s network infrastructure sectors, such as transport, energy, and information and communications technologies (ICT), among others. In many cases, ICT interconnects these critical infrastructures, creating substructures referred to as critical information infrastructures (CIIs). This publication is written to provide insights to the strategic thinking behind the creation of the national critical information infrastructure protection (CIIP) frameworks. It also builds its recommendations on in-depth analysis of the best CIIP practices around the world, with consideration of the region-specific landscape to originate a base line from which further development can be delineated