Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2002. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 159-171). Also available on the Internet.

In this study, I undertake a discourse analysis of struggles over representation as they were manifested in the Charlottetown referendum campaign. I utilize transcripts taken during the campaign derived from the CBC news programs The National, The Journal, and Sunday Report as well as from The CTV News. The issue of (im-)partiality provides the analytical focus for this study. Who can legitimately speak on behalf of whom, or, to what extent do individuals have a particular voice which places limitations on whom they can represent? On the one hand, underlying what I call the ‘universalistic’ discourse is the premise that human beings can act in an impartial manner so that all individuals have the capacity to speak or act in the interests of all other individuals regardless of the group(s) to which they belong. On the other hand, a competing discourse based on group-difference’ maintains that all representatives express partial voices depending on their group-based characteristics. I argue that the universalistic discourse was hegemonic in the transcripts but, at the same time, the group-difference discourse was successful at articulating powerful counter-hegemonic resistance. Ironically, the universalistic discourse was hegemonic despite widespread assumptions of partiality on the basis of province, region, language, and Aboriginality. This was possible because the universalistic discourse subsumed territorial notions of partiality within itself. In contrast, I argue that assumptions of Aboriginal partiality will likely diffuse themselves to other categories, beginning with gender, in the future. I also describe the strategies used by the competing discourses to undermine one another. The universalistic discourse successfully portrayed the group-difference discourse as an inversion to a dangerous apartheid-style society where individuals were forced to exist within group-based categories. The group-difference discourse used the strategy of anomaly to demonstrate that individuals were inevitably categorized in the universalistic discourse; impartiality was a facade for a highly-partial ruling class. In examining these strategies, I demonstrate that the group-difference discourse justified its own position by making assumptions about the operation of power and dominance in society. Thus, impartiality was impossible not for the post-modern reason that inherent differences make representation highly problematic, but because power relations hinder the ability of representatives to act in a truly impartial manner.

What happens to subnational states when the parent federation undergoes a regime change process? This is a crucial question in understanding political processes in federal countries. The visible political differentiation amongst subnational states belonging to the same federation underscores the fact that some processes are at work that are being ignored by the literature's current focus on national developments. To fill this lacuna, I develop an analytical model that seeks to explain regional differentiation during federal regime change by focusing directly on subnational politics and institutions in comparative fashion, while accounting for the inescapable influence of broader federal actors and processes. In constructing this model, I draw extensively from the theories of federalism, regime change and political parties. I argue that the decision to initiate a transition in an authoritarian setting belongs to the federation. However, regional political actors mediate federal processes in their territory and give them a profoundly subnational logic. Regionally specific institutions, interests and histories thus become intangible frontiers between subnational politics and external processes. The constant repetition of this mechanism throughout the transition creates distinct subnational polities. To test my hypothesis, I study three cases in central-northern Mexico: Guanajuato, San Luis Potosi and Zacatecas.

Les professionnels de l'information traversent actuellement une période de redéfinition de leur profession provoquée par la transformation de l'information et des processus informationnels vers un mode de plus en plus électronique. Les systèmes d'information Web (SIW) — c'est-à-dire des systèmes d'information basés sur les technologies Web tels que les sites Web externes, les intranets, les systèmes de commerce électronique et les extranets — font partie des technologies à l'origine de ces changements. Ces systèmes sont de plus en plus adoptés par les organisations et, en particulier, par les gouvernements dans leur volonté de devenir électroniques. Le gouvernement fédéral canadien est reconnu comme un des plus innovateurs en matière de SIW et doit adapter son environnement informationnel, dont font partie les professionnels de l'information, à l'introduction de ces systèmes. Malgré l'innovation que les SIW représentent, peu d'études empiriques ont été menées pour identifier quels sont les intervenants nécessaires à leur mise en place. Aucun consensus n'émerge de la littérature quant à la nature de l'intervention des professionnels de l'information dans ces systèmes. Cette recherche vise à accroître les connaissances sur l'intervention des professionnels de l'information dans les SIW. Pour les besoins de cette recherche, les professionnels de l'information sont définis comme les personnes ayant une maîtrise en bibliothéconomie et sciences de l'information ou toute autre formulation équivalente. Cette recherche étudie quatre questions de recherche qui portent sur : (1) les rôles des professionnels de l'information décrits dans les politiques d'information pan-gouvernementales liées aux SIW ainsi que ceux des autres intervenants mentionnés en lien direct avec les SIW, (2) les types de SIW dans lesquels les professionnels de l'information interviennent, (3) les tâches des professionnels de l'information dans ces SIW, et (4) les autres intervenants qui travaillent dans ces systèmes. Une approche qualitative a été utilisée pour répondre à ces questions et implique quatre modes de collecte des données : (1) des entrevues en profondeur en personne avec des professionnels de l'information impliqués dans des SIW, (2) une analyse des SIW où interviennent ces professionnels de l'information, (3) une analyse des politiques pan-gouvernementales liées aux SIW, et (4) la documentation pertinente. Les professionnels de l'information rencontrés proviennent de sept ministères du gouvernement fédéral canadien, ministères retenus pour leur implication dans les SIW. Les résultats indiquent que les professionnels de l'information rencontrés interviennent dans les SIW aux niveaux micro et macro, c'est-à-dire dans des SIW spécifiques ainsi que globalement au niveau de l'ensemble des SIW d'un ministère ou du gouvernement fédéral. Ces professionnels de l'information sont impliqués dans toutes les dimensions et les phases de développement des SIW. Les tâches liées au contenu sont prédominantes mais les tâches technologiques sont aussi très présentes. Trois variables se dégagent de cette étude qui ont un impact sur l'intervention des professionnels de l'information dans les SIW : les types de SIW, les types de postes occupés par les professionnels de l'information et les types de gouvernance. / Information professionals are rethinking their role, which is being challenged by the transformation to the electronic environment of information and information processes. Web information systems (WIS) — that is, information systems based on Web technologies such as external Web sites, intranets, extranets and electronic commerce systems — are one of the technologies that is bringing these changes about. Organizations are making massive investments in WIS. Governments are implementing WIS as they move toward e-government. The Canadian federal government is one of the most innovative in term of WIS, and has to adapt its information environment, including information professionals, to cope with these systems. Despite the innovative character of WIS, few empirical studies were found which try to gain a better understanding of the players needed to implement such systems. No consensus seems to exist in the literature on the role of the information professional in WIS. This study aims at increasing knowledge of the roles information professionals play in WIS. In this study, an information professional is someone with a graduate degree in library and information science or equivalent. The study examines four research questions: (1) the role of information professionals described in the WIS-related cross-governmental information policies as well as those of the other players directly related to WIS, (2) the types of WIS in which information professionals are involved, (3) the WIS-related tasks of information professionals, and (4) other players involved in WIS. A qualitative approach has been used based on four data collection techniques: (1) in-depth face-to-face interviews with information professionals involved in WIS, (2) an analysis of the WIS in which those information professionals are involved, (3) an analysis of the WIS-related pan-governmental information policies, and (4) relevant evidence in the existing documentation. The information professionals interviewed are from seven departments of the Canadian federal government. These departments were chosen because of their work in the area of WIS. The results show that information professionals are working with WIS at the micro and macro levels, involved with specific WIS as well as with all the WIS of a department or of the government. The information professionals are involved in all the dimensions and the development phases of WIS. Their content-related tasks on the WIS are predominant but the technological tasks are also very present. The study found that three variables impact on the role of information professionals in WIS: types of WIS, types of jobs of information professionals, and types of governance. / Fondation J.A. DeSève Conseil de recherches en sciences humaines du Canada (CRSH) Fonds pour la Formation de Chercheurs et l'Aide à la Recherche (FCAR)

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MBA Professional Report / Aproved for public release; distribution is unlimited. / In light of the limited recognition of electronic reverse auctions (e-RA) in the acquisition field, the purpose of this research paper is to further the use of e-RAs throughout the federal government and the Department of Defense (D0D). By exploring a multitude of auction types and designs that have been or are currently being used in the private sector, these practices set a basis for researching the auction types being used in the public sector. This paper further explores the regulations guiding the use of e-RAs and investigates the federal government's application of reverse auctions through studies, reports, and interviews with users of e-RAs. Details as to what attributes are prevalent in these e-RAs, what features are best suited for e-RAs, and what benefits have been derived from the use of e-RAs in the federal government are also included. Finally, the researchers found that e-RAs have increased transparency, cost savings, and efficiencies in the acquisition process. Although reverse auctions are being used effectively, the researchers found that there are still opportunities for improvement including incorporating a fully functional best-value tool into e-RA technology and developing more thorough federal guidance on e-RAs as an alternative pricing method.

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[Truncated abstract] The objectives of this study are threefold: Firstly, to consider the relevance (to subnational state development) and adaptability (to globalisation) of federalism from a Western Australian perspective. Secondly, to consider the way in which various State Governments in Western Australia have implemented economic development policies to benefit from the global political economy. Finally, it proposes alternative mechanisms for guiding long-term economic development policy decision-making in Western Australia. This final objective is addressed in light of the findings of the first two. It is recognised that incremental changes are possible in full knowledge of the embedded nature of the policy-making process in Western Australia . . . In the case of Western Australia, subnational autonomy does not herald the end of the nationstate so much as a new stage in globalisation. In terms of how the Western Australian State Government attracts capital and labour investment, its history as an independent colony and its physical isolation from the other colonies have created the initial conditions that frame the policy-making process, which includes a set of drivers influencing the decisions that are made by State agents. Overall, the State Government continues to reinforce the State’s role as a peripheral resource supplier to the national and global political economy. Within this context, however, alternative strategies can be proposed that may contribute to the long-term sustainable development of the State’s economy.