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The Quality of Divided Democracies: Minority Inclusion, Exclusion, and Representation in the New Europe (New Comparative Politics)
by Licia CianettiThe Quality of Divided Democracies contemplates how democracy works, or fails to work, in ethnoculturally divided societies. It advances a new theoretical approach to assessing quality of democracy in divided societies, and puts it into practice with the focused comparison of two divided democracies—Estonia and Latvia. The book uses rich comparative data to tackle the vital questions of what determines a democracy’s level of inclusiveness and the ways in which minorities can gain access to the policy-making process. It uncovers a “voice–polarization dilemma” for minorities’ inclusion in the democratic process, which has implications for academic debates on minority representation and ethnic politics, as well as practical implications for international and national institutions’ promotion of minority rights.
Quality of Governance: Values and Violations
by Hester Paanakker Adam Masters Leo Huberts"Quality of governance: Values and violations arrives at a time when governance faces new and often dire challenges and as traditional democratic values strain against the rise of authoritarian forms of populism and anti-government sentiment. This comprehensive volume considers these challenges from a variety of angles- transparency, bureaucratic pathologies, public values, sector relations- but at the same time manages a higher degree of integration than one usually finds in most edited volumes. The individual selections focus on topics of widespread interest but with new theories, analytical frameworks and insights. This book should be read by anyone interested the values bases of governance and in exploring good ideas about how to improve policy and management. The book serves a professional academic audience but could also prove quite useful as a text or supplementary book for graduate and undergraduate courses in public affairs."Barry Bozeman, Regents' Professor, Arizona State University, School of Public Affairs, USA. "Public governance matters. It touches almost every aspect of our lives, from the most mundane to the most important, the most commonplace to the most intimate. This book critically examines some of thorniest values and issues for governance in the 21st century -- democracy, legitimacy, accountability, transparency, integrity, professionalism, and more -- all of which are of crucial importance for practice and research on the quality of governance."Tina Nabatchi, Syracuse University, USA, Co-Chair of the Study Group ‘Quality of Governance’ of the International Institute of Administrative Sciences."This volume provides an up-to-date overview of key themes and theories about the quality of governance. Many of the field's most thoughtful scholars have contributed chapters on both the positive and problematic dimensions of good governance, providing fascinating insights in this important topic. Therefore, this book is a must read for all scholars, students, and practitioners interested in improving the quality of governance in their countries and institutions."Zeger van der Wal, National University of Singapore and Leiden University The Netherlands.This volume unravels the meaning of public values for the quality of governance, for good and bad governance, and examines their significance in governance practices. It addresses public values in context, in different countries, policy sectors and levels of governance. In a series of in-depth studies, a critical eye is cast over eight central values: democratic legitimacy, accountability, transparency, integrity, lawfulness, effectiveness (in terms of service quality), professionalism and craftsmanship, and robustness. How does for instance integrity or lawfulness contribute to the accomplishment and preservation of quality, and what happens if we fail to address it adequately? This unique exercise yields important lessons on the differences in normative interpretation and application of often abstract values in the demanding administrative settings of today. Practitioners, scholars and students of public administration, public management and political science will find the volume a vital resource for theory and practice.
The Quality of Government: Corruption, Social Trust, and Inequality in International Perspective
by Bo RothsteinThe relationship between government, virtue, and wealth has held a special fascination since Aristotle, and the importance of each frames policy debates today in both developed and developing countries. While it's clear that low-quality government institutions have tremendous negative effects on the health and wealth of societies, the criteria for good governance remain far from clear. In this pathbreaking book, leading political scientist Bo Rothstein provides a theoretical foundation for empirical analysis on the connection between the quality of government and important economic, political, and social outcomes. Focusing on the effects of government policies, he argues that unpredictable actions constitute a severe impediment to economic growth and development--and that a basic characteristic of quality government is impartiality in the exercise of power. This is borne out by cross-sectional analyses, experimental studies, and in-depth historical investigations. Timely and topical, The Quality of Government tackles such issues as political legitimacy, social capital, and corruption.
The Quality of Government: Corruption, Social Trust, and Inequality in International Perspective
by Bo RothsteinThe relationship between government, virtue, and wealth has held a special fascination since Aristotle, and the importance of each frames policy debates today in both developed and developing countries. While it’s clear that low-quality government institutions have tremendous negative effects on the health and wealth of societies, the criteria for good governance remain far from clear. In this pathbreaking book, leading political scientist Bo Rothstein provides a theoretical foundation for empirical analysis on the connection between the quality of government and important economic, political, and social outcomes. Focusing on the effects of government policies, he argues that unpredictable actions constitute a severe impediment to economic growth and development—and that a basic characteristic of quality government is impartiality in the exercise of power. This is borne out by cross-sectional analyses, experimental studies, and in-depth historical investigations. Timely and topical, The Quality of Government tackles such issues as political legitimacy, social capital, and corruption.
The Quality of Growth in Africa (Initiative for Policy Dialogue at Columbia: Challenges in Development and Globalization)
by Akbar Noman Joseph E. Stiglitz Ravi KanburIn recent years, concerns about the outcomes and nature of economic growth have given way to a new emphasis on its quality. This volume brings together prominent international contributors to consider a range of interrelated questions concerning the quality of growth in Africa, with a primary focus on sub-Saharan countries.Contributors discuss the measurement of growth, the transformations necessary to sustain it, and issues around equity and well-being. They consider topics such as the distribution of income gains from growth; the extent to which economic growth has resulted in improvements in employment, poverty, and security; structural transformations of the economy and diversification of the sources of growth; environmental sustainability; and management of urbanization. Offering both diagnoses and prescriptions, The Quality of Growth in Africa helps envision a future that goes beyond increasing GDP to ensuring that growth translates into advancements in well-being. Although the book focuses on sub-Saharan Africa, much of the contributors’ incisive analysis has implications for countries outside the region.
Quality of Life: Concept, Policy and Practice
by David PhillipsQuality of life is one of the most important issues facing the world today and is central to the development of social policy. This innovative book discusses this crucial topic, assessing the criteria for judging attempts to raise quality of life, including the satisfaction of basic and social needs, autonomy to enjoy life and social connectivity. It considers key topics such as: individual well-being and health-related quality of life human needs - living fulfilling and flourishing lives poverty and social exclusion social solidarity, altruism and trust within communities. Quality of Life is the first systematic presentation of this subject from both individual and collective perspectives. It provides a powerful overview of a concept which is becoming increasingly prominent in the social sciences and is essential reading for students of social policy, sociology and health studies.
Quality of Life and Human Difference: Genetic Testing, Health Care, and Disability
by David Wasserman Robert Wachbroit Jerome BickenbachThis study brings together two important literatures one volume. One concerns the role of quality assessments in social policy, especially health policy. The second concerns ethical and social issues raised by prenatal testing for disability. Hitherto, these two literatures have had little contact with each other: few scholars have written about both, or have compared the two domains in a systematic way, while people with disabilities and disability scholars are underrepresented in recent discussion on health policy and quality of assessment. This book turns the perspectives of disability scholars on issues that have largely been the province of health methodology, policy and philosophy, while angling philosophical policy analysis on problems that have largely been the province of disability scholarship. This volume will be sought after by bioethicists, philosophers, and specialists in disability studies and healthcare economics.
Quality of Life and Well-Being for Residents in Long-Term Care Communities: Perspectives on Policies and Practices (Human Well-Being Research and Policy Making)
by Kevin E. Hansen Jennifer L. Johs-ArtisensiThis book explores key factors long-term care recipients have identified as impacting their quality of life and offers programmatic and policy recommendations to enhance well-being within long-term care communities. Leadership and staff who work in nursing homes and other residential care communities serve as gatekeepers to resident well-being, often without recognizing how residents’ quality of life is impacted by their decision-making. This book takes a life domain approach to build on research-based studies that document key drivers of care recipients’ quality of life, including relationships, autonomy and respect, activities and meals, environment, and care. Using a framework that enhances understanding of resident quality of life, it outlines practical, programmatic, and policy suggestions for long-term care stakeholders, such as administrators, managers, front-line staff, family members, and policy-makers, whose directives and actions impact the lived experience of long-term care residents. As such, this book serves as a roadmap for leaders and managers of long-term care communities, along with policymakers who regulate health and human services, to best structure care environments to maximize quality of life and well-being for long-term care recipients.
Quality of Life and Work in Europe: Theory, Practice and Policy
by M. Bäck-Wiklund T. Van Lippe L. Den Dulk A. Doorne-Huiskes Tanja van der Lippe Laura Den DulkIntense globalization, rapidly changing workplaces and family patterns have renewed the international interest in quality of life. This book examines different institutional arrangements, work-place conditions and gendered work and care that affect the conditions for achieving quality of work and life in European countries.
Quality-of-Life Community Indicators for Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management
by Megha Budruk Rhonda PhillipsWhile community quality-of-life indicators are gaining much needed attention in both scholarly work and practice, their application in the areas of parks, recreation and tourism management are not as well known. The applicability of indicator systems for natural resource and natural resource area management within the parks and recreation arena is very high, including urban parks and recreation programs and their influence on quality of life. Tourism is also an area that needs much more work in terms of assessing impacts as well as developing indicators for gauging progress in the long term. All three areas are an integrated discipline and most programs throughout the developed world are housed co-jointly. There are several researchers across the globe who are conducting innovative work in these areas. The editors feel that a volume on the topic will spur additional interests as well as serve to lead the research efforts.
Quality of Life for Handicapped People (Routledge Revivals)
by Roy I. BrownFirst published in 1988, Quality of Life for Handicapped People examines developments and innovations in research and practice concerning the quality of life for those with disabilities. The book centres on the topic of rehabilitation education, with a particular focus on issues relating to quality of life, including what is meant by ‘quality of life’ and the measures and systems required to assess the variables involved. It highlights the significance of rehabilitation education in underlining the key issue of how individuals feel about themselves and how they perceive the services available to them for the purpose of rehabilitation. It considers the importance of environment and the improvement of environment in increasing quality of life, and examines a range of vocational and social programmes from a variety of perspectives. Quality of Life for Handicapped People will be of use to those with an interest in the history and development of rehabilitation education.
Quality of Life in Argentinian Cities in 2010 (The Latin American Studies Book Series)
by Santiago Linares Claudia Andrea Mikkelsen Guillermo Ángel VelázquezThis book introduces a quality of life index that compares the intra-urban particularities of 23 cities in the Argentine Republic. Integrating demographic size, functional specialization, and regional location, the chapters employ a standard set of variables to assess socioeconomic and environmental inequality and wellbeing. A result of collaboration between 33 contributors from institutions around the country, the book provides a rich assessment of the mechanisms and processes by which the residential areas of Argentinian cities form, change, develop, and decline. Consistent measures of education, health, housing, and environmental wellbeing allow for deep examinations of each area and meaningful comparisons between them. The book also explores patterns that recur in multiple cases. Redevelopment and renewal processes in central and old areas of cities can lead to the creation or reenergization of modern, high-density neighborhoods that, benefitting from new construction and integrated commercial and service areas, exhibit high quality of life indices. Urban expansion stands out as a process that often results in or reinforces socio-spatial segregation: New, exclusive, low-density residential neighborhoods with single-family homes and green areas tend to have a high level of quality of life, thanks to good education, health services, housing, and natural amenities. In contrast, low-income neighborhoods with precarious housing, limited access to health and education services, and unfavorable environments exhibit lower quality of life measures. Increasingly common gated communities—with private security, exclusive services, and (internally) shared recreational spaces—reinforce this pattern of segregation. Analyzing the quality of life in different Argentinian cities is important to understanding the living conditions of the inhabitants, identifying areas for improvement, and supporting the development of inclusive and sustainable policies. These measurements can facilitate more just and prosperous environments for all citizens.
The Quality of Life in Asia
by Takashi Inoguchi Seiji FujiiThis book studies and compares quality of life in 29 countries/societies in Asia: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Korea(South), Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam. We utilize the AsiaBarometer Surveys conducted annually from 2003 through 2008. We focus on the notion of subjective quality of life and conceptualize it as two levels, global and domain. After we explain about the AsiaBarometer Survey Project, we explore current country profile, demographics, lifestyles, value priorities, specific life domain assessment and overall quality of life. We then estimate the independent effects of demographics, lifestyles, value priorities, life domain assessment on the overall quality of life within each society. As well as comparing the results between nations, we look for key generalized characteristics of life quality for the entire and sub-regions of Asia.
The Quality of Life in Latin American Cities
by Eduardo Lora Andrew Powell Pablo Sanguinetti Bernard M. S. van PraagA growing number of cities around the world have established systems for monitoring the quality of urban life. Many of those systems combine objective information with subjective opinions and cover a wide variety of topics. This book assesses a method that takes advantage of both types of information and offers criteria to identify and rank the issues of potential importance for urban dwellers. This method-which combines the so-called "hedonic price" and "life satisfaction" approaches to value public goods-was tested in pilot studies in six Latin American cities: Bogotá, Buenos Aires, Lima, Medellín, Montevideo, and San José of Costa Rica. It provides valuable insights to address key questions such as, Which urban problems have the greatest impact on people's opinions of city management and the most widespread effects on their lives? Do gaps between perception and reality vary from one area of the city to another, especially between high- and low-income neighborhoods? Where can homebuilders most feasibly seek solutions to problems such as inadequate road infrastructure, a lack of recreational areas, or poor safety conditions? Which problems should government authorities address first, in light of their impact on the well-being of various groups of individuals and given private actors' abilities to respond? Which homeowners benefit the most from public infrastructure or services? When can or should property taxes be used to finance the provision of certain services-or the solution of certain problems? 'The Quality of Life in Latin American Cities: Markets and Perception' proposes a monitoring system that is easy to operate and that entails reasonable costs but also has a solid conceptual basis. Long the ideal of many scholars and practitioners, such a system may soon become a reality and have the potential to make a significant contribution to the decision-making processes in any city concerned with the well-being of its residents.
Quality of Life in Urban Landscapes: In Search Of A Decision Support System (The Urban Book Series)
by Roberta Cocci Grifoni Rosalba D'Onofrio Massimo SargoliniThis volume introduces an innovative tool for the development of sustainable cities and the promotion of the quality of life of city inhabitants. It presents a decision-support system to orient public administrations in identifying development scenarios for sustainable urban and territorial transformations. The authors have split the volume into five parts, which respectively describe the theoretical basis of the book, the policies in question and indicators that influence them, the decision-support system that connects indicators to policies, the case study of Ancona, Italy, and potential future directions for this work. This volume is based on transdisciplinary research completed in May 2016 that involved about 40 researchers at The University of Camerino, Italy and other European universities. With purchase of this book, readers will also have access to Electronic Supplementary Material that contains a database with groups of indicators of assessment of urban quality of life and a toolkit containing the data processing system and management information system used in the book's case study.
Quality of Life in Urban Landscapes: In Search of a Decision Support System (The Urban Book Series)
by Roberta Cocci Grifoni Rosalba D'Onofrio Massimo SargoliniThis volume introduces an innovative tool for the development of sustainable cities and the promotion of the quality of life of city inhabitants. It presents a decision-support system to orient public administrations in identifying development scenarios for sustainable urban and territorial transformations. The authors have split the volume into five parts, which respectively describe the theoretical basis of the book, the policies in question and indicators that influence them, the decision-support system that connects indicators to policies, the case study of Ancona, Italy, and potential future directions for this work. This volume is based on transdisciplinary research completed in May 2016 that involved about 40 researchers at The University of Camerino, Italy and other European universities. With purchase of this book, readers will also have access to Electronic Supplementary Material that contains a database with groups of indicators of assessment of urban quality of life and a toolkit containing the data processing system and management information system used in the book’s case study.
Quality of Pupil Learning Experiences (Routledge Library Editions: Education)
by Anne Cockburn Neville Bennett Charles Desforges Betty WilkinsonVery little is known about the quality of the learning experiences provided for pupils. This book contains the results of a major research project, conducted in a sample of English primary schools, in which particular attention was paid to the tasks children were assigned, to the degree of match between assigned tasks and pupil attainment, to the detailed observation of children at work. The teacher’s problems in assigning work appropriate to children’s attainments and the special problem of matching posed by the transfer of children from one class to another were also subjected to analysis. Lessons learned from the project were used as a basis for the design of an in-service course for teachers. The course, which was aimed at improving teachers’ matching skills was closely evaluated. The report contains data and analysis pertinent to each of the above issues. The findings reveal that despite the conscientious efforts of able teachers a number of serious issues are apparent – particularly in areas such as classroom organization and teacher diagnosis of children’s work.
The Quality of Society: Essays on the Unified Theory of Capitalism
by Adolfo FigueroaThis book explores the policy implications of the unified theory of capitalism—how economic growth has led to a new epoch, the Anthropocene, and it presents a new set of economic principles that are needed in this new age. The unified theory of capitalism has been published as a new scientific endeavor, attempting to present new economics for the Anthropocene age that are empirically verifiable and fully consistent with the physical sciences. This book elaborates on the implications of the unified theory for both the science of economics and for public policies. In particular, this book develops in more detail the policy implications, discussing the fundamental economic and societal policy issues of our time—employment, inequality, the environment, and quality of life—in empirical terms.
The Quality of Society, Volume II: Essays on the Unified Theory of Capitalism
by Adolfo FigueroaThis book articulates a unified theory of capitalism as an attempt to provide a comprehensive scientific theory of this social system. A unified theory of capitalism is not the combination of the predominant economic theories—neoclassical, classical, and Keynesian—so as to make them compatible. It is not a composite economic theory. It is a new economic theory. Predictions of the theory’s models were consistent with eight basic empirical regularities of capitalism dealing with economic growth, income inequality, employment level, and environment degradation. Therefore, the unified theory can be accepted as a good approximation of the real capitalist world. But the models were constructed at a high level of abstraction. Also problematic was the need to work out more fully the public policy implications of the theory. It is, therefore, no wonder that essays on the unified theory to answer these questions are a natural outcome of a new scientific endeavor attempting to reach a unity of knowledge in economics.
The Quality of Society, Volume III: Essays on the Unified Theory of Capitalism
by Adolfo FigueroaThis book contains another set of essays dealing with the fundamental economic problems of our time: inequality, environment degradation, and social disorder, which are analyzed in light of the unified theory of capitalism. This theory is a scientific endeavor that seeks to explain the capitalist system taken by parts and then taken as a whole, as a unified theory. By parts, the theory analyzes the First World and the Third World and also the short run, long run, and very long run economic processes, showing why and how economic growth has led to a new epoch, with ecological equilibrium disruption, known as the Anthropocene Age. The empirical predictions of the theory are proven to be consistent with the available facts. Therefore, the theory can be accepted as a good representation of the real-world capitalism; moreover, its derived causality relations become inputs for the debate on the needed science-based policies for the new age. Indeed, this book proposes structural policies to change the way capitalism operates, through changes in its basic institutions, mainly the electoral democracy, which would certainly imply a re-foundation of the capitalist system.
The Quality of Territorial Policies in Europe’s Periphery: Urban Regeneration and Environmental Protection (Urban and Landscape Perspectives #22)
by Mauro Tebaldi Marco CalaresuThis book focuses on territorial policies as instruments for local development in Europe’s periphery. Using a multiple-case research design in three typical case studies in the context of the Mediterranean island of Sardinia (Italy), we empirically test the hypothesis that the institutionalisation of the governance system is an independent variable that is capable of influencing the quality of public policy, intended as a dependent variable. According to this hypothesis, the two above-mentioned variables tend to change according to a linear and direct correlation: upward variation of the degree of institutionalisation of the governance system tends to correspond to upward variation in the quality of the policy, and vice versa. In our conclusions, we discuss the descriptive and prescriptive implications of the empirical findings of the research for the local development of peripheral areas. Regarding the descriptive implications, we explain how territorial policy-making can be articulated, based on the degree of institutionalisation of the governance system and the quality of the territorial policies. Regarding the prescriptive implications, we identify the best practices for territorial governance in order to improve the chances of local development in Europe’s periphery.
Quality Standards, Value Chains, and International Development
by Johan SwinnenOver the past decades, the world has witnessed an unprecedented growth in global value chains, propelled by increasingly demanding quality standards. These trends lead to concerns about the impact of value chains on development and poverty and about the possible protectionist nature of quality standards in rich countries. This book offers the first integrated theoretical analysis of the economic and political factors which determine the level of quality standards, as well as their economic effects along the value chain. Using realistic assumptions motivated by empirical research, the theoretical framework in this book makes it possible to study the efficiency effects as well as the distributional consequences of one of the most striking evolutions affecting global trade and development today.
Quality Teaching and the Capability Approach: Evaluating the work and governance of women teachers in rural Sub-Saharan Africa (Routledge Research in Education)
by Alison BucklerThis book provides an analytical exploration of the condition of teachers working in expanding school systems across the world, with a particular focus on the lives of women teachers in rural Sub-Saharan Africa. Drawing from award-winning research, it looks beyond the official portrayals of teachers’ lives in order to better understand the reality of the contexts in which teachers live and work. Positioning Amartya Sen’s capability approach at the heart of the study, each chapter considers documentary evidence alongside ethnographic research from rural, remote and under-resourced schools in Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa and Sudan. Interweaving rich narratives from teachers in a variety of contexts, the book proposes a concept of professional capability and examines female teachers’ agency to pursue and achieve this in their classrooms. This key examination challenges existing notions of ‘quality education’ and reveals insights into the broader purpose of schooling for rural communities. Quality Teaching and the Capability Approach will be of value to researchers, academics and postgraduate students in education, particularly those concerned with gender, development and teaching, as well as educationalists and policy makers concerned with education and development.
Quality Unknown: The Invisible Water Crisis
by Richard Damania Sébastien Desbureaux Aude-Sophie Rodella RussWater quantity—too much in the case of floods, or too little in the case of droughts—grabs public attention and the media spotlight. Water quality—being predominantly invisible and hard to detect—goes largely unnoticed. Quality Unknown: The Invisible Water Crisis presents new evidence and new data that call urgent attention to the hidden dangers lying beneath water’s surface. It shows how poor water quality stalls economic progress, stymies human potential, and reduces food production. Quality Unknown examines the effects of water quality on economic growth and finds upstream pollution lowers growth in downstream regions. It reveals that some of the most ubiquitous contaminants in water, such as nitrates and salt, have impacts that are larger, deeper, and wider than has been acknowledged. And it traces the damage to crop yields and the stark implications for food security in affected regions. An important step toward tackling the world’s water quality challenge is recognizing its scale. The world needs reliable, accurate, and comprehensive information so that policy makers can have new insights, decision making can be evidence based, and citizens can call for action. The report calls for a paradigm shift that emphasizes safer, and often more cost-effective remedies that prevent pollution by combining smarter policies with newer technologies. A key message of Quality Unknown is that such solutions exist and change is possible.
Quality Work in Higher Education: Organisational and Pedagogical Dimensions (Higher Education Dynamics #54)
by Mari Elken Peter Maassen Monika Nerland Tine S. Prøitz Bjørn Stensaker Agnete VabøThis book focuses on quality work in higher education, and examines the relationship between the organizational and pedagogical dimensions of quality work in higher education. Bringing together different disciplinary traditions, including educational science, sociology, and organisational studies, it addresses the following principal research question: How is quality work carried out in higher education?The book addresses a wide variety of academic, administrative and leadership practices that are involved in quality work in higher education institutions. The chapters in this book examine core issues crucial in the design and content of study programs, such as modes of teaching, learning and curricula design, as well as institutional practices regarding assessment and quality enhancement. The introductory and concluding chapter present an overarching focus on quality work as a lens to analyse intentional activities within higher education institutions directed at how study programmes and courses are designed, governed, and operated.