Political Corruption: Establishing the Parameters

This article considers the potential contribution of the New Public Management (NPM) to address a number of World Bank suggestions dealing with political accountability improving the management of the public sector. Previously, (deLeon and Green, 2001) we posed a similar set of questions, but were only able to address them through examples drawn from the American political system. The argument was made that an examination of United States incidents of political corruption would at least test the theory that modernity ameliorates political corruption. We now cast a somewhat wider net, looking at other developed nations as well as the US, to ask the central question: what effects would NPM have on the incidents of political corruption across a number of nations

Contexts and Corporate Voluntary Environmental Behaviors: Examining the EPA\u27s Green Lights Voluntary Program

Why do an increasingly large number of firms choose to spend their own money and resources to protect the environment beyond the extant regulatory requirements? This article addresses this question by examining the EPA’s Green Lights (GL) voluntary program in which a firm’s policy makers made an early commitment to limiting greenhouse gases through the installation of energy-efficient lighting technology in its facilities. Two theoretical perspectives—resource-based theory and neo-institutional theory—are adopted to investigate the contexts by which a firm is encouraged to undertake voluntary environmental actions and evaluate environmental strategies associated with them. Accordingly, the authors focus on two major contexts: market contexts in which a firm adopts voluntary actions as a strategic response to market pressures and to advance competitiveness; and institutional contexts in which a firm takes voluntary postures as a strategic response to institutional pressures, to obtain institutional legitimacy and weaken regulatory scrutiny. The research results partially support both contexts and their associated strategic behaviors

The Design and Promise of the Institutional Analysis and Development Framework

In September 2009, Peter deLeon and Christopher Weible, co-editors of this journal, approached Dr. Elinor Ostrom with the suggestion that she identify a list of authors who would contribute to a "state-of-the-art" report on the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) Framework that had been formulated over a number of years by Dr. Ostrom and her colleagues at Indiana University's Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis. The co-editors suggested that while there was a sizable literature on the IAD, it was circulated within the policy community, and it was not as well disseminated and utilized as should be the case. Dr. Ostrom agreed and proposed a program to develop a series of articles, which included a two-day seminar at the School of Public Affairs, University of Colorado Denver. These articles were then subjected to the journal's peer review process. The revised manuscripts were given a second presentation at the 2009 meeting of the American Political Science Association. This issue of the Policy Studies Journal reflects these activities. This Introduction briefly comments on the individual articles as well as suggests avenues for the continued refinements of the IAD

The Future of Comparative and International Education in a Globalised World

Abstract – This article examines the history and future prospects of comparative and international education with particular reference to the impact of globalisation and Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs). Connections and interactions between comparative educationists and the technologies of printing and electronic communications are examined in a historical context. The global nature of commu-nications in comparative and international education is demonstrated both spatially and historically, using information from all regions of the world. The changing nature of technologies is noted to have broadened the audience for comparative insights. The development of textbooks, journals, conferences, international agencies, the Internet, web-based communications, and professional comparative education soci-eties is related to the themes of communications and globalisation. Zusammenfassung – In diesem Artikel werden die Geschichte und die künftigen Aussichten der vergleichenden und internationalen Bildung untersucht mit besonderem Augenmerk auf den Einfluss von Globalisierung und Informations- und Kom-munikationstechnologien. Verbindungen und Interaktionen zwischen vergleichende

Severe Asthma Standard-of-Care Background Medication Reduction With Benralizumab: ANDHI in Practice Substudy

Background: The phase IIIb, randomized, parallel-group, placebo-controlled ANDHI double-blind (DB) study extended understanding of the efficacy of benralizumab for patients with severe eosinophilic asthma. Patients from ANDHI DB could join the 56-week ANDHI in Practice (IP) single-arm, open-label extension substudy. Objective: Assess potential for standard-of-care background medication reductions while maintaining asthma control with benralizumab. Methods: Following ANDHI DB completion, eligible adults were enrolled in ANDHI IP. After an 8-week run-in with benralizumab, there were 5 visits to potentially reduce background asthma medications for patients achieving and maintaining protocol-defined asthma control with benralizumab. Main outcome measures for non-oral corticosteroid (OCS)-dependent patients were the proportions with at least 1 background medication reduction (ie, lower inhaled corticosteroid dose, background medication discontinuation) and the number of adapted Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) step reductions at end of treatment (EOT). Main outcomes for OCS-dependent patients were reductions in daily OCS dosage and proportion achieving OCS dosage of 5 mg or lower at EOT. Results: For non-OCS-dependent patients, 53.3% (n = 208 of 390) achieved at least 1 background medication reduction, increasing to 72.6% (n = 130 of 179) for patients who maintained protocol-defined asthma control at EOT. A total of 41.9% (n = 163 of 389) achieved at least 1 adapted GINA step reduction, increasing to 61.8% (n = 110 of 178) for patients with protocol-defined EOT asthma control. At ANDHI IP baseline, OCS dosages were 5 mg or lower for 40.4% (n = 40 of 99) of OCS-dependent patients. Of OCS-dependent patients, 50.5% (n = 50 of 99) eliminated OCS and 74.7% (n = 74 of 99) achieved dosages of 5 mg or lower at EOT. Conclusions: These findings demonstrate benralizumab's ability to improve asthma control, thereby allowing background medication reduction

Global urban environmental change drives adaptation in white clover

Urbanization transforms environments in ways that alter biological evolution. We examined whether urban environmental change drives parallel evolution by sampling 110,019 white clover plants from 6169 populations in 160 cities globally. Plants were assayed for a Mendelian antiherbivore defense that also affects tolerance to abiotic stressors. Urban-rural gradients were associated with the evolution of clines in defense in 47% of cities throughout the world. Variation in the strength of clines was explained by environmental changes in drought stress and vegetation cover that varied among cities. Sequencing 2074 genomes from 26 cities revealed that the evolution of urban-rural clines was best explained by adaptive evolution, but the degree of parallel adaptation varied among cities. Our results demonstrate that urbanization leads to adaptation at a global scale

Policy formulation: where ignorant armies clash by night

Summary in GermanSIGLEAvailable from Bibliothek des Instituts fuer Weltwirtschaft, ZBW, Duesternbrook Weg 120, D-24105 Kiel / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekDEGerman