Stephanie L. Witt - Böcker

This volume explores American attitudes toward affirmative action policies through an extensive study of a national sample of university faculty. By examining views about affirmative action in academia within a framework that outlines the larger issues involved in using affirmative action to promote equality of opportunity for historical victims of discrimination, Stephanie Witt offers new insights into the competing values in American society which the policy of affirmative action serves to bring into conflict. She finds important differences in the perceptions of white males as opposed to those of protected categorical groups in regard to affirmative action, findings which suggest that further progress toward gender and racial equality via affirmative action may be slow in coming. The analysis also includes an extended treatment of the impact of recent Supreme Court decisions on affirmative action.Witt begins by providing a general overview of the policy of affirmative action as expressed in the official statements and policy clarifications supplied by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. She then examines the historical progress--or lack thereof--made in increasing the numbers of women and minority faculty in American universities in recent decades. Two chapters explore the conflict between competing values of individualism and egalitarianism which are thrown into sharp relief by affirmative action policies. The remaining chapters are devoted to an in-depth analysis of the empirical data derived from the study. Witt's results indicate that the objective self-interest of the respondent--whether he or she is a white male or a member of a protected minority--is the most predictive factor of his or her views toward affirmative action policies. Policymakers as well as scholars in women's studies and ethnic studies will find Witt's work a sobering assessment of the progress that can be expected from affirmative action programs.

This book examines anti-gay voter initiatives from both the political science and communication perspectives. In recent years, anti-gay initiatives sponsored by conservative Christian groups have been placed on the ballot in several states. This development provides an opportunity to evaluate the initiative process as a way of resolving public policy questions on this divisive topic. Using examples and data from Colorado, Idaho, Oregon, Maine, Missouri, Florida, California, and Washington, the authors discuss the emergence of the new religious right and why anti-gay initiatives are sponsored by conservative Christian groups. Interviews with the leaders of the groups opposing and supporting the anti-gay initiative in Idaho and a listing of the measures themselves are included.

Sound HRM practices matter—they are a sine qua non of effective governance in democratic government—equally so at the local, regional, state and national levels of government. The NASPAA (Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration) accreditation standards demand critical competencies for public managers that are vital to human resource managers and supervisors at all levels. These competencies include: skills to lead and manage in public governance; to participate in and contribute to the policy process; to analyze, synthesize, think critically, solve problems and make decisions; to articulate and apply a public service perspective; and to communicate and interact productively with a diverse and changing workforce and citizenry. This second edition of Human Resource Management is designed specifically with these competencies in mind to: Introduce and explore the fundamental purposes of human resource management in the public service and consider the techniques used to accomplish these purposes Provide exercises to give students practice for their skills after being introduced to the theory, foundation, and practices of public and nonprofit sector HRM Facilitate instruction of the material by introducing important topics and issues with readings drawn from the professional literature Provide information and examples demonstrating the interrelatedness of many of the topics in public sector HRM and the trends shaping public and nonprofit management, especially diversity, ethics, and technology. Demonstrate and describe differences among HRM practices in public, for-profit and nonprofit organizations, and between the levels of government. Human Resource Management is organized to provide a thorough discussion of the subject matter with extensive references to relevant literature and useful teaching tools. Thus, students will consider the issues, purposes, and techniques of HRM and conceptualize how varied their roles are, or will be, whether a personnel specialist in a centralized system or a supervisor managing in one of the increasingly common decentralized systems. Each chapter includes a thorough review of the principles and practices of HRM (including the why and the how), selected readings, important themes, diverse examples, key terms, study questions, applied exercises, case studies, and examples of forms and processes would-be managers will encounter in their roles.

Cities, Sagebrush, and Solitude explores the transformation of the largest desert in North America, the Great Basin, into America’s last urban frontier. In recent decades Las Vegas, Reno, Salt Lake City, and Boise have become the anchors for sprawling metropolitan regions. This population explosion has been fueled by the maturing of Las Vegas as the nation’s entertainment capital, the rise of Reno as a magnet for multitudes of California expatriates, the development of Salt Lake City’s urban corridor along the Wasatch Range, and the growth of Boise’s celebrated high-tech economy and hip urban culture.The blooming of cities in a fragile desert region poses a host of environmental challenges. The policies required to manage their impact, however, often collide with an entrenched political culture that has long resisted cooperative or governmental effort. The alchemical mixture of three ingredients--cities, aridity, and a libertarian political outlook--makes the Great Basin a compelling place to study. This book addresses a pressing question: are large cities ultimately sustainable in such a fragile environment?