The Experts below are selected from a list of 448659 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform
Benny Geys - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Community Heterogeneity: A Burden for the Creation of Social Capital?
Social Science Quarterly, 2006Co-Authors: Hilde Coffé, Benny GeysAbstract:This study examines the relationship between community heterogeneity and social capital on the local Government Level. Copyright (c) 2006 Southwestern Social Science Association.
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institutional performance and social capital an application to the local Government Level
Journal of Urban Affairs, 2005Co-Authors: Hilde Coffé, Benny GeysAbstract:Abstract:A large and growing body of research is devoted to the effects of social capital on institutional performance. This literature reveals that societies characterized by higher Levels of social capital tend to achieve superior performance. Still, enquiries to date predominantly concentrate on country-Level data or large sub-national units. The primary purpose of this article is to extend the empirical work to the local Government Level, while retaining the use of objective data to gauge institutional performance. This use of local data has the advantage of increasing the data set available and provides a more stringent test of the effect of social capital because social capital is likely to vary less at lower Levels of Government. The results—based on an empirical analysis of 305 Flemish municipalities in 2000—support the view that social capital leads to Government (out)performance also at the local Level of Government.
Dennis A. Randolph - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Factors Associated with Privatization of Winter Maintenance Functions at Local Government Level
Transportation Research Record, 1997Co-Authors: Kirk R. Harrier, Dennis A. RandolphAbstract:With the increasing cost of and dissatisfaction with services provided by Government agencies, a new notion has appeared that gives hope to some and instills fear in others. Many believe that privatizing Government services is the answer to the ills associated with today's Government-provided services. County road commissions in the state of Michigan are one of the many Government entities examining privatization. High cost and poor service are concerns that have thrust road commission operations under the privatization spotlight. Snow and ice removal from roads is one operation currently under scrutiny. To come to conclusions about privatization and the winter maintenance services that road commissions perform, one must fully understand the road commission concept and how it functions within the state of Michigan as well as the idea of privatization. The nonquantitative factors that affect privatization at the local Government Level are described. Two road commissions in the state of Michigan and their w...
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Factors Associated with Privatization of Winter Maintenance Functions at Local Government Level
Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 1997Co-Authors: Kirk R. Harrier, Dennis A. RandolphAbstract:With the increasing cost of and dissatisfaction with services provided by Government agencies, a new notion has appeared that gives hope to some and instills fear in others. Many believe that privatizing Government services is the answer to the ills associated with today’s Government-provided services. County road commissions in the state of Michigan are one of the many Government entities examining privatization. High cost and poor service are concerns that have thrust road commission operations under the privatization spotlight. Snow and ice removal from roads is one operation currently under scrutiny. To come to conclusions about privatization and the winter maintenance services that road commissions perform, one must fully understand the road commission concept and how it functions within the state of Michigan as well as the idea of privatization. The nonquantitative factors that affect privatization at the local Government Level are described. Two road commissions in the state of Michigan and their winter maintenance operations are examined so that judgments can be made about the value of private delivery.
Hilde Coffé - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Community Heterogeneity: A Burden for the Creation of Social Capital?
Social Science Quarterly, 2006Co-Authors: Hilde Coffé, Benny GeysAbstract:This study examines the relationship between community heterogeneity and social capital on the local Government Level. Copyright (c) 2006 Southwestern Social Science Association.
-
institutional performance and social capital an application to the local Government Level
Journal of Urban Affairs, 2005Co-Authors: Hilde Coffé, Benny GeysAbstract:Abstract:A large and growing body of research is devoted to the effects of social capital on institutional performance. This literature reveals that societies characterized by higher Levels of social capital tend to achieve superior performance. Still, enquiries to date predominantly concentrate on country-Level data or large sub-national units. The primary purpose of this article is to extend the empirical work to the local Government Level, while retaining the use of objective data to gauge institutional performance. This use of local data has the advantage of increasing the data set available and provides a more stringent test of the effect of social capital because social capital is likely to vary less at lower Levels of Government. The results—based on an empirical analysis of 305 Flemish municipalities in 2000—support the view that social capital leads to Government (out)performance also at the local Level of Government.
Kirk R. Harrier - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Factors Associated with Privatization of Winter Maintenance Functions at Local Government Level
Transportation Research Record, 1997Co-Authors: Kirk R. Harrier, Dennis A. RandolphAbstract:With the increasing cost of and dissatisfaction with services provided by Government agencies, a new notion has appeared that gives hope to some and instills fear in others. Many believe that privatizing Government services is the answer to the ills associated with today's Government-provided services. County road commissions in the state of Michigan are one of the many Government entities examining privatization. High cost and poor service are concerns that have thrust road commission operations under the privatization spotlight. Snow and ice removal from roads is one operation currently under scrutiny. To come to conclusions about privatization and the winter maintenance services that road commissions perform, one must fully understand the road commission concept and how it functions within the state of Michigan as well as the idea of privatization. The nonquantitative factors that affect privatization at the local Government Level are described. Two road commissions in the state of Michigan and their w...
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Factors Associated with Privatization of Winter Maintenance Functions at Local Government Level
Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 1997Co-Authors: Kirk R. Harrier, Dennis A. RandolphAbstract:With the increasing cost of and dissatisfaction with services provided by Government agencies, a new notion has appeared that gives hope to some and instills fear in others. Many believe that privatizing Government services is the answer to the ills associated with today’s Government-provided services. County road commissions in the state of Michigan are one of the many Government entities examining privatization. High cost and poor service are concerns that have thrust road commission operations under the privatization spotlight. Snow and ice removal from roads is one operation currently under scrutiny. To come to conclusions about privatization and the winter maintenance services that road commissions perform, one must fully understand the road commission concept and how it functions within the state of Michigan as well as the idea of privatization. The nonquantitative factors that affect privatization at the local Government Level are described. Two road commissions in the state of Michigan and their winter maintenance operations are examined so that judgments can be made about the value of private delivery.
Richard Meissner - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Understanding Water Security at Local Government Level in South Africa
2019Co-Authors: Richard Meissner, Nicola S Funke, Karen Nortje, Maronel SteynAbstract:Copyright: 2019 The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG. The attached pdf contains an abstract only. For access to the published chapters, kindly visit the publisher's website at https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-02517-5. For access to the e-book, kindly visit https://www.palgrave.com/us/book/9783030025168
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Water security at Local Government Level in Sekhukhune: A perspectives analysis and capability, presented to the Motetema Community, Sekhukhune
2018Co-Authors: Richard Meissner, Elliot S MoyoAbstract:This document contains a presentation on water security at local Government Level in Sekhukhune: a perspectives analysis and capability, presented to the Motetema Community, Sekhukhune.
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Water security at local Government Level in South Africa: a qualitative interview-based analysis
The Lancet Planetary Health, 2018Co-Authors: Richard Meissner, Elliot S Moyo, Nicola S Funke, Karen Nortje, Inga M Jacobs-mata, Maronel Steyn, Justinus Shadung, Winile Masangane, Ngowenani NohayiAbstract:Abstract Background As one of the 40 driest countries in the world with an annual average rainfall of 497 mm, South Africa is a water-scarce country. Additionally, South Africa's rate of economic development is closely linked to its water security. Thus, increasing water stress, supply variability, flooding, and water pollution Levels and inadequate access to safe drinking water and sanitation are slowing economic growth. Despite the high premium placed on South Africa's water resources, no commonly shared understanding of water security exists. The aim of this study was to research, using qualitative social scientific methods, how people in two South African localities understand water security. Methods We used interviews and qualitative analyses to establish and compare how people from different lifestyles perceive water security in the Greater Sekhukhune District and the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipalities of South Africa. The inland Sekhukhune has a drier climate and more rural socioeconomic profile than the coastal, urbanised eThekwini with its complex economy and diverse socioeconomic structure. We did face-to-face structured interviews with a diverse stakeholder group consisting of community members, traditional leaders, municipal officials, researchers, business people, and farmers in each municipality and focus groups in two communities of each municipality: Leeuwfontein and Motetema (Sekhukhune) and Inanda and Ntshongweni (eThekwini). Each interview lasted 40–60 min, and focus group discussions lasted 90–120 min. We asked the respondents about their understanding of the concept of water security and whether they believe that, at the local and national Level, the authorities had achieved water security for all. Findings Following a qualitative analysis, we found that water security is a state of mind based on context-specific (ie, localised and individualised) perceptions held by an individual of water-related threats and how it influences individuals and their natural surroundings. We discovered that perceptions depend on many different factors. First, the changing state of the natural environment a person lives in—eg, one respondent from eThekwini said “When it rains in summer a lot of stuff gets washed down into the storm water drains and into the sea. The main concern here is pathogens.” Second, socioeconomic status is important—one community member in Ntshongweni noted that only some community members have the financial means to buy water tanks for rain harvesting to enhance their household water security. Third, experiences relating to various interactions with local Governments and members of the community can also affect perceptions—eg, some respondents were unsatisfied with responses to problems by local authorities. A respondent from eThekwini said “Sometimes when we report water leakages it takes a long time for them to get fixed”, and a respondent from Sekhukhune said “Sometimes we have asked the authorities about the problem of water supply cuts, they told us about a stolen water pump and gave us inconsistent answers”. Therefore, a changing natural environment, like flooding and drought, is not the only variable that influences water security perceptions; such conceptualisations also depend to varying degrees on interpersonal relationships (eg, with local authorities) and practices (eg, collecting rainwater), which are directly or indirectly related to water security enhancement. Interpretation How people perceive water security has policy implications at the local Government Level in South Africa and further afield in other low-income and middle-income countries where data collection is unreliable. We established that people from diverse lifestyles hold various understandings and interpretations of water security relating mainly to the availability, access, and quality of water resources. Understanding how people perceive water security in specific localities could aid policy makers and health practitioners to develop more nuanced responses to ameliorate water insecurity and its negative effects on people's wellbeing. Funding We received funding for this project from the Department of Science and Technology, South Africa, through a Parliamentary Grant, the National Research Foundation, South Africa, the Water Research Commission, South Africa, and the European Union's KnowHow Marie Curie International Staff Exchange Scheme.
