This was an interesting Ted talk and a great idea but I think that it was a bit idealistic and grandiose in its premise. I’m not sure that the idea of charter cities simply arising in areas where there is currently nothing and having them be perfectly run with perfect rules and living conditions is realistic. From the perspective of Lessig’s four aspects of regulation, I can certainly see them playing an important role with Mr. Romer’s strict adherence to good rules. But in order for Lessig’s ideas to even take root, the city would have to be technologically adept and capable of an information technology architecture. It could take decades for the proper facilities to be built and not to mention the cultural issues that would plague a largely western ideology being imposed, even if by choice, on a disparate culture.
In relation to my own interests as a PA student, I like the idea but I think it’s one of those theories that will probably remain just that, a theory. Much like socialism and capitalism, both work great as theories, but in practice 100% of either one will (and has) fail miserably. My interests in PA are generally confined to social justice and democracy within the realm of technology; leaving it squarely in established societies and governments. While I would love to participate in laying the groundwork of my interests in a new type of charter city, my frame of reference is still of the western democratic influence and thus I am not yet sure how successful my ideas would be in this new type of venture.
In this article, Carl Malamud, has decided to take on the state of California and challenge the state’s assertion that all of its regulation and laws are copyright and thus subject to constraints on distribution and access. His claim is that public laws cannot be copyright and that by making access to regulations and laws open and easier to retrieve, it spurs innovation and new means of access and search capabilities. Read the rest of this entry »
Human motivation is a complex and well studied field that has broad roots in a diverse collection of academic disciplines including psychology, sociology, education, political science, and economics. In simplified terms, motivation can be defined as, “what causes people to behave as they do” (Denhardt et al., 2008, p. 146). Unfortunately, this simple definition hides the dynamic intricacies of the motivation literature. Read the rest of this entry »
OK, not exactly my best work…in fact, pretty far from it. But I think the information and resources in here may be helpful for some folks so I decided to post it.
Concealed Carry Weapons Laws, Stakeholder and Legislation Overview
The Second Amendment to the US Constitution is quite possibly one of the most debated and contested amendments in modern times. The importance and sensitivity of the gun control debate is one that every politician and congressional representative must take to heart; falling within the company of hot-button social issues such as abortion, taxation, and environmental policy. Read the rest of this entry »
Slobogin, C. (2007). Privacy at Risk: The New Government Surveillance and the Fourth Amendment. University Of Chicago Press.
In America today, privacy is slowly becoming a fleeting memory. After the terrorist attacks on 9/11, fear has become the fuel by which the Bush Administration has enacted some of the most far-reaching legislative acts to retract privacy protection in this country. From the USA PATRIOT Act to warrant-less wiretapping, the concept and protections of privacy have taken a backseat to the political interests of the state.
Traditionally, the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution has provided a measure of protection against unreasonable searches and seizures; and by judicial interpretation, a right to personal privacy against government intrusion. Ever since Katz v. United States in 1967, the Fourth Amendment has served as the yardstick for measuring the protection of personal privacy. However, recent measures of political and security related importance have belittled the citizen’s right to privacy in a variety of settings. Read the rest of this entry »
In The Language of Public Administration, David Farmer argues that the modern language of public administration, by which its scholars understand and approach the field (bureaucracy in particular), is limited. He suggests that the language of public administration can be expanded through the advent and acceptance of postmodernity and provides justification through the analysis of distinct characteristics in modernity and postmodernity. Read the rest of this entry »
Camilla Stivers’ Bureau Men, Settlement Women is a historical reconstruction of the early days of public administration with a particular emphasis on gender influences. Focusing on the Progressive Era, Stivers dichotomizes municipal research bureaus and settlement houses as distinct yet complimentary forms of governmental reform organizations central to the rise of the administrative state. Research bureaus, focused on objective and procedural efficiency in administration, are identified as masculine; while settlement houses, focused on substantive social improvement, are seen as feminine. Read the rest of this entry »
Robert Denhardt’s In the Shadow of Organization focuses on the impact of individuals within organizations and how organizational efficiency or rationality is encroaching into our individuality. Modern organizations and organization administration have heavily borrowed principles of rationality and objectivity from the sciences. This has resulted in a one-sided focus of placing the rational goals of the organization above, and often in place of, those of the individual members of the organization. This, according to Jung, inhibits the necessary individualization required by people to become whole and balanced beings. Read the rest of this entry »
Vincent Ostrom’s The Intellectual Crisis in American Public Administration is an argument against bureaucratic administration in favor of democratic administration. Ostrom sees a fundamental dichotomy in the field of public administration and presses for a paradigm shift in classical Kuhn fashion. This shift is away from the traditional theory of public administration as layed out by Woodrow Wilson, Max Weber, and others. Drawing upon Alexis Tocqueville, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and others, Ostrom argues that fragmentation of authority and overlapping jurisdiction allow for less abuse of power and greater efficiency in administration. Read the rest of this entry »
