Local government in South Africa forms part of an overall state system also consisting of national and provincial government. Together their main objective is to promote the general welfare of the populace through service delivery and development initiatives. For the purpose of delivering services and promoting development local government is of significant importance as it is the state agency that citizens firstly come into contact with. The local sphere of government has undergone fundamental transformation, both from a political and structural point of view. In addition to local government becoming democratic structures in line with the overall democratisation of South Africa, the approach to and actual municipal structures also changed dramatically. Municipalities, the organisational units of local government, have the task of pursuing the ânewâ goals of local government within this changed environment. One of the significant changes that have been introduced into municipal management is the utilisation of an integrated strategic approach to organisational planning. This has been facilitated by legislative reform that provides for municipalities to compile integrated development plans (IDPs) and utilise it, together with budgets and performance management systems, to promote service delivery and development in their areas of jurisdiction. Therefore reference to the term integrated strategic planning. The introduction of this new system has, however, not been flawless with dissatisfaction about the service levels of municipalities being expressed through negative reporting on municipal performance from a variety of public role-players as well as through local communities illustrating their dissatisfaction through protest action. A critical question therefore revolved around why there was such a high degree of dissatisfaction with municipal services, in spite of legislative provisions for improved municipal planning. This thesis therefore explored the implementation of integrated strategic plans in Free State municipalities in order to ascertain what the typical factors were that contributed to the inability of municipalities to implement such plans. Recommendation were furthermore provided, based on empirical and literature research on the issue with the view of improving the status quo, not only in the Free State, but in South Africa as a whole.

In a drive to make local government as interesting and popular as generations of Westminster's politicians have believed it ought to be, the reform of local government as become as English an obsession as the weather. Throughout the 20th century a range of subjective criteria have been developed to justify reorganisations of local government, along with increasingly complex models of how subjective measures can be used to justify change. The complex and time-consuming procedures that characterised the 1929 'review' of local government were compounded by a layer of additional complexity in the, eventually abandoned, review of 1945. By then the development of urban spatial planning as a discipline had given policy makers a renewed optimism in their ability to effect scientific change, and the complexity of post war local government reorganisation increased incrementally. The Government in 1992 and again in 2003, avoided the question of identifying what the purpose of local government was, and establishing cross-party consensus on how it might be established. Instead, local administration has become synonymous with local democracy, whilst being referred to under a generic title of 'local government'. Proposals to reform one have created concerns regarding the future of the other. This confusion, along with a general lack of interest by the general public has led to a scenario where government ministers have become defenders of the status quo, or champions of change, but rarely informed arbitors of reform. With the benefit of 170 years of evidence to draw from, objectives that stood little chance of success remain stated outcomes of local government reform. It will be shown that fanciful claims have not been consigned into the dustbin of history, but have incrementally produced heirs.

Existing research on MPs using the Internet (Halstead 2000, Perrone 2002, Ward and Gibson 2003, Jackson 2003, Ward and Lusoli 2005, Ward et al. 2005, Jackson 2005, Auty 2005, Jackson 2006b) has tended to be too reliant on content analysis; restricted to one part of the Internet, and involved limited research on the views of actual users of an MP.s online presence their views of it. This thesis seeks to identify the impact of the Internet on MPs through: their campaigning abilities; the impact on their role as representatives and how MPs communicate. The research triangulates data on the impact of websites, email, e-newsletters and weblogs through content analysis, questionnaires and interviews. The data collated has helped develop a theoretical understanding of how MPs campaign, represent and communicate. First, there is evidence that e-newsletters can be used as effective vote- winners by encouraging constituents to switch votes. This „incumbency effect. (Krasno 1994) suggests that existing research (Curtice and Steed 1997, Butler and Collins 2001) has under-estimated the effect of a personal vote (Cain et al. 1987). Second, websites and e-newsletters are helping MPs develop a new representative role, by providing an „information portal. which encourages local participation. Third, there is evidence that we are on the threshold of a new model of e-representation. MPs. use of e-newsletters appears to be developing a parallel of e-constituency which enhances the relationship geographical constituents have with their MP. At the same time, weblogs are creating a separate e-constituency whose online link to an MP is based on interest not geography. Fourth,a typology has been created for explaining how MPs use the Internet, with four different characteristics:technophobes; bandwagoners; mapie; and pioneers. The Internet is creating a new architecture of representation with both a territorial axis, and an issue axis accessible from the computer keyboard.

<p> Public Service Motivation is a leading issue in public administration literature. This study uses a mixed-methods research design and survey data to evaluate the existence of Public Service Motivation among attorneys employed by the State of Tennessee. The survey was distributed to the entire population of Tennessee-employed attorneys via e-mail and received 264 responses from 631 participants for a response rate of 41.8%. Data was collected using a survey instrument comprised of Perry&rsquo;s (1996) Public Service Motivation scale, Lewis and Frank&rsquo;s (2002) employment motivation scale, and six open-ended employment motivation questions developed by the researcher. The researcher analyzed the quantitative data using logistic regression and analyzed the qualitative data using content analysis. The quantitative analysis reveals that Perry&rsquo;s scale&mdash;attraction to policy making, commitment to the public interest, and compassion&mdash;is not a good fit for the data. Several of Lewis and Frank&rsquo;s predictor variables&mdash;provide a valuable public service, job security, high income, an interesting job, helping other people, and flexible working hours&mdash;are effective predictors. The qualitative analysis reveals that Perry&rsquo;s scale is not an effective predictor of outcomes in the survey sample, while other motivational factors provide insight, including job characteristics, organizational characteristics, and mission valence. These results demonstrate that, when public sector attorneys in Tennessee are asked to identify their motivation in their own terms, public service motivation is not a significant motivator among the group as a whole. This study contributes to the literature by extending the study of Public Service Motivation to public sector attorneys employed by the State of Tennessee, using a mixed-methods approach, and answering calls for larger sample sizes, primary data, and contextual realism. The results suggest that additional research is needed to determine why Perry&rsquo;s scale does not fit the data in this particular context.</p>

<p> This dissertation analyzes administrative discretion in public policy implementation in application of a new framework of integrative approach to administrative discretion developed from deficiencies of the citizen participation, representative bureaucracy, and private-interest groups democracy frameworks. The new framework holds that public agencies use discretion to integrate in decision making views of elected authorities, private-interest groups, public-interest groups, and other groups that seek to influence implementation. The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) policy is used as the case study, and the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) is the implementation setting. The dissertation answers the following question: How integrative of group views was DOE&rsquo;s discretionary decision making in the implementation of NCLB? This research applies a structured content analysis method that consists of content analysis and a content analysis schedule (see Jauch, Osborn, &amp; Martin, 1980). Using a Likert question, the dissertation developed six integration levels of DOE&rsquo;s discretionary decision making from not at all integrative to extremely integrative and found that most decisions were very integrative.</p>

<p> The dissertation is about the significance for, and impact upon public administration of the correspondence theory of truth or veridicality, and its underlying epistemological assumptions. The underlying thesis is that, unduly influenced by the success of the natural sciences, and na&iuml;ve in accepting their claims to objectivity, many disciplines have sought to emulate them. There are two principle objections. Firstly, all other considerations aside, the supposedly objectivistic methodologies apparently applied to the explanation and prediction of the behavior of interactions of physical objects, may simply be inappropriate to certain other areas of inquiry; and more specifically objectivist methodologies are indeed inappropriate to understanding of human subjects, and their behavior, relations and interactions, and thus to public administration. The second objection is that it is of course logically impossible for any supposedly empirical discipline, as the natural sciences claim to be, to justify the belief in a supposedly objective realm of things-in-themselves existing outside, beyond, or independently of the changing, interrupted and different &lsquo;appearances&rsquo; or experiences, to which an empirical science is qua empirical, necessarily restricted. Correspondence of any empirical observations or appearances (and the consequent or presupposed theoretical explanations) to an objective realm, upon which the claim to objectivity is based, is unverifiable. </p><p> In light of the above it becomes evident that far from being objective, the natural sciences themselves, and the empirical observations upon which they are supposedly grounded, are subject to conceptual mediation and subjective interpretation; subjective and inter-subjective coherence replacing objective correspondence as the criterion of veridicality. Consequently it becomes clear that the presuppositions and prejudices of the observers enter, in the forms of concepts and preconceptions, into the very observations, and even more so into the theoretical constructions, or theories, of the natural, and indeed human and social sciences, and their claims to be authoritative and true. Subsequent discussion is then focused on both the coherence of individuals&rsquo; experiences and understanding, and their inter-subjective coherence &ndash; which both rises from and constitutes, a &ldquo;community&rdquo;. The role of language facilitates such coherence.</p>

<p>The Incident Command System (ICS) exists as the nationwide standard for on-site incident management, as called for under the National Incident Management System (NIMS). However, the effectiveness of ICS is debated, both for its systemic efficacy as a response model and for its inconsistent application. Since the development of ICS, individual responders have trained to work together as Incident Management Teams (IMTs). Even though little research exists on IMTs, their use has increased widely since the release of the NIMS. The alternative to IMTs is implementing ICS through a collection of individuals in an ad hoc manner, often referred to as an Emergent Multi-Organizational Network (EMON). This study strives to determine the impact of IMTs versus EMONs on the effectiveness of emergency and disaster response. It is hypothesized that the use of IMTs will increase the perceived effectiveness of a response, specifically in the application of the Incident Command System. The population for this study is emergency and disaster responders at large, regardless of disciplinary or jurisdictional demographics. The sample population is individual responders comprising both members and non-members of Incident Management Teams. The responders were from across the four state area of FEMA Region VII (Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska). Non-IMT responders serve as a control group of EMONs to determine whether IMT membership has any effect on response. This study is limited in that it is not based on specific responses. Instead, respondents provide feedback to a survey based on what their normal actions were for their last biggest response.

A variety of archaeological Field Evaluation techniques are used by Curatorial Archaeologists in England to assess archaeological remains prior to implementing strategies for their protection through Town and Country Planning or Scheduled Monument Consent procedures. Yet the effectiveness of these techniques and methodologies applied have not previously been quantitatively tested. This innovative research uses Process Modelling to recognise the Decision-making processes within current archaeological Field Evaluation practice. This allows an application of Decision Analysis, a formal theoretical approach to Decision-making, to be used to identify thirteen Decision-making Points (DMPs) and DMP 12b is selected from these as the key point at which the success of Field Evaluation techniques can be tested. Data from a statistically sound Case Study sample of 100 development-led archaeological interventions is recorded using new characterisation and quantitative measurement methodologies. This information is fed into the Process Model of Decision-making Point 12b to provide a measured degree of confidence in the effectiveness of a range of techniques and methodologies. Decision Matrices are produced which show that it is Logically Unsound to rely on Field-walking or Geophysical Survey to identify the type and date of archaeological features. Even Trial Trenching, the most effective technique, can only produce good Performance Scores for the i, dentification of feature types on less than 32% of the Case Study sites. Statistical Analysis of Trenching methodologies shows that an increase to at least a 10% sample size is required for acceptable performance improvements. This research changes the way we look at archaeological Decision-making with the identification of previously unrecognised Conditions of Incomplete Knowledge at DMP 12b. Two original new concepts (Local Locational Factors and Past Landscape Use Patterns) are introduced as tools to assist with these, and their utility for improvements in performance using Predictive Modelling is also explored to provide a body of archaeological research to stimulate the profession and its operators to advance our knowledge of Decision-making into the 2lst Century.

<p> In her maiden speech in the House of Commons in February 1960, Mrs. Margaret Thatcher introduced a Public Bodies (Admission to Meetings) Bill whose purpose, she asserted, was 'that of guarding the rights of members of the public by enabling the fullest information to be obtained for them in regard to the actions of their representatives upon local authorities'. This private member's Bill was amended, then passed by Parliament and came into force in June 1961. Open government as envisaged by the 1960 Thatcher Act is the subject of this thesis. Its practice is studied in the early 1970s in four English boroughs - Ipswich, West Bromwich, Bolton and Preston. Each council had a different variant of holding council and/or committee meetings open to the public and/or press, and of appointing dedicated press relations officers to spotlight openness. The impact of Labour or Conservative Party control of the borough councils on open government is assessed. A total of 55 councilors, town clerks and other officers in the four boroughs were interviewed and 181 respondents serving as elected councilors returned mail questionnaires which explored the relationship between local authorities, the public and the press. Contrasting perceptions of participatory democracy and openness at the local level emerge, this study finds, consistent with the opaque character of Thatcher's 1960 Bill.</p>

Lobbyists for hire - commercial lobbyists - are a small, distinct,, accepted but minor addition to the dramatis personae of UK public policy-making. Their differentiating feature,, marking them off from other types of lobbyist., is that they are for hire and it is the feature which is the least previously researched. There is little explicit theory of commercial lobbying: it is best accounted for as an implication of neo-pluralism. Through primary fieldwork amongst them and the two groups with whom they interact - clients and decisionmakers - the nature of their hiring is analysed. They are mostly hired by large businesses and less so by public sector interests facing change. Clients show varying propensities to hire and services hired in by clients can be grouped under four headings. Commercial lobbyists are client-led and have no independent political influence. They are businesses seeking market share,, offering only what hirers want. Their work can be viewed through the prism of two ideal types: backgrounder and foregrounder. On balance, they work on the processes of policy-making rather than its contents; are less rather than more visible in the policy process; more reactive than proactive in their client relationships. They have a range of negative and positive relationships with decision-makers, who accept them in terms of supplying information otherwise difficult to access. There is no demonstrated methodology for evaluating their contribution to policy outcomes. The data suggests that this contribution is minor. But this 'minor' conclusion has to be qualified when looked at from the hirers' viewpoint: for them the hiring may help yield competitive advantage. Commercial lobbyists are corporate accessories and the source of any concern about their practices and about asymmetrical access to decision-makers lies in the nature of their relationships with other more substantial players in the UK policy process. Their role will be better understood if this process is more transparent and open.