This paper examines how the objectives outlined in B.G. Peters' book, "AmericanPublic Policy: Promise and Performance" pertain to the duties of a firefighter.
Abstract The paper first examines the many duties and job requirements of a firefighter. The paper then explores the transformation of the individual over time within the firefighting career. Similarly, the paper addresses how the organization changes over time. The paper finally discusses the issue of the fire department competing for the little money available that the state/city has to offer by examining the efficacy of their potential programs or equipment from a cost benefit analysis, using B.G. Peters' book, "AmericanPublic Policy: Promise and Performance" as the basis of the discussion.
From the Paper "American Public Policy: Promise and Performance also addresses the cost-benefit analysis of policy choices. A cost-benefit analysis can be applied in a broad sense to not only money but also social and environmental costs. It is easiest to measure cost and benefit as it applies economic wealth, but it is also shortsighted, especially in a discussion of service organizations such as a fire department."
Tags: jobs emergency 9/11, social programs, fire department
Abstract This paper is an in-depth examination of the Americanpublic's support military involvement during the Clinton/Gore administration. The author looks at several gallop poll surveys taken to gauge the Americanpublic's support for military involvement in areas around the globe. The polls taken include questions about Kosovo, the Balkans, Panama and the Middle East. The results of these surveys show that although there was wide public support to keep the military strong and prepared during this administration, when it came to actually sending troops into battle, the support was mixed. This, the author states, is keeping with American tradition of wanting to have strong military, but avoiding unnecessary involvement in conflicts abroad.
From the Paper "Thus when one asks the question of how high was the level of public support for U.S. military involvement during the Clinton/Gore administration, one must be content to allow for some measure of uncertainty in the answer. There is also, in this case, the fact that "U.S. military involvement" is not a homogeneous principle. Some wars are in general considered to be "good" wars. Most Americans think that their country did the right thing in World War II. The level of public support is much less, of course, for Vietnam. There are no doubt Americans who passionately believe that the United States has done the right thing by intervening in the Balkans but thinks that we should stay out of the Middle East, just as there are no doubt Americans who think that we should be much more activist in the Middle East but stay as far away as possible from the political, military and historical powder keg of the Balkans."
Abstract This paper presents an in-depth look at American urban history as it pertains to public health concerns. It focuses on the period between the Civil War and World War II. It particularly looks at the history of public health in New York City, Chicago, Newark and Seattle and how conditions have been improved in these cities to improve the overall public health of the citizens.
Table of Contents:
Introduction
The Past
New York City
Chicago
Newark
Seattle
Conclusion
From the Paper "In Seattle, for example, the city implemented something called a Chlorine Boat. It was a boat that traveled on Green Lake and deposited gallons of chlorine into the water in effort to purify the water supply to that area. At that time the Seattle Health Department and Water Department worked in tandem to try and provide the purest water supply possible in the interest of public health. For many years before World War II Seattle allowed the Public Health Department to supervise and monitor the water supply."
Abstract This paper describes the war that existed in the Philippines after the Spain's defeat at the hands of the United States during the Spanish-American War. As a direct result of the war, the Philippines were given to the United States and the Filipino people who originally believed that they were fighting a war for freedom and independence against the Spanish begin to turn against American troops who they view as simply another occupying force. The first part of the paper gives a background to the Filipino insurgency and its main leader, General Emilio Aguinaldo. Aguinaldo's tactics of fighting a guerrilla war against American troops is examined, as well as the effectiveness of these attacks on shocking the Americanpublic back home. Feeling betrayed by America who promised the Filipino people freedom after the Spanish were defeated, Aguinaldo embarked on a series of deadly attacks on American soldiers in the Philippines. As a result, American troops responded with equal brutality in their reprisals with very little organized military command holding them back. Diaries are heavily cited in this section of the paper, giving primary sources that tell of how desperate the American soldiers were at the time and how they needed to racially dehumanize the enemy in order to commit such vicious acts of reprisal. The second part of the paper deals with how the American press responded to the war. Numerous newspaper articles and other criticisms of the war are given as examples, some written by the early 20th century's most prominent figures such as Mark Twain. The general point of this section is to show how deeply divided the Americanpublic was over the war in the Philippines and how many felt that it would lead to American involvement in other world affairs. A direct parallel is also drawn to the Iraq War in modernity. Finally, the paper ends with a detailed account of how individual soldiers from both sides viewed the conflict. The Filipinos clearly viewed the insurgency as a necessary action in order to preserve their promised independence, while many American soldiers were disgusted and frustrated with why they were in the country to begin with, and often responded violently towards the natives since they began to view them as subhuman. The psychology of warfare is briefly discussed, as soldiers often dehumanize the enemy as a means of justification of their own violent behavior. The end of the insurgency is also discussed, with American troops brutally putting down the rebellion and establishing a tight control over the entire area for decades.
From the Paper "On April 11th, 1898, the President of the United States William McKinley went to Congress and asked the elected body to declare war on Spain for their role in oppression overseas and to accommodate public opinion that was strongly anti-Spanish due to the sinking of the United States battleship Maine only a few months earlier that was blamed on Spanish agents. Congress eventually sanctioned the war, and the Spanish-American war commenced with several battles over Spanish colonies such as Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines. The war itself was over fairly quickly, as hostilities were ended only a few months after war was officially declared. The involvement in the former Spanish colonies clearly demonstrated that America had shifted to a strong imperialistic attitude when it came to the Western Hemisphere and indeed the world in general, and would be forced to endure all of the benefits and tribulations that came from being an imperialistic power."
Tags: aguinaldo, american, emilio, filipino, history, philippines, spanish, war, wars
Abstract This paper briefly looks at the historical treatment of Spanish-speaking patrons by the Americanpublic libraries. It discusses the implications of properly treating Spanish-speaking Americans for the library profession. It then explores the many options and solutions being considered and implemented by professional librarians seeking to formulate some kind of a rapprochement with the Spanish-speaking community. Next, the paper looks at how one major stakeholder (private business) has responded to the ongoing problem about how the library system of the United States can best serve the needs of Spanish-Americans. Finally, the paper provides an analysis of some of the solutions that appear to be available and which one of all of these appears most promising.
From the Paper "There can scarcely be any doubt that American public libraries have historically done a poor job of meeting the needs of Spanish-speaking Hispanic Americans. Part of the reason for this unhappy state of affairs is that Hispanic Americans, until quite recently, did not constitute a large proportion of the American population. In addition, however, there is a general sense (at least in some quarters) that public libraries overlooked the language needs of Hispanic Americans because of a perception that America was an "English-speaking" nation and thus had no pressing obligation to provide for those who spoke another language. This perception has been challenged in recent years - at least in part because libraries are coming to the conclusion that one of the two groups (the other group is Chinese) that is really beginning to assert itself with regards to the use of the latest information technology is Spanish-speaking peoples. For this reason, the ability of American public libraries to accommodate this growing group of patrons is now of undeniable importance."
Abstract This paper takes an in-depth look at who and what manipulates the American media, and why. The paper discusses the impact this media has on the Americanpublic and their consciousness, and how it ultimately effects their lives and society as a whole. The paper also studies various writings related to this topic.
Table of Contents:
Chapter 1: Introduction
Statement of the Problem
Purpose of Study
Importance of Study
Overview of Study
Chapter 2: Review of Related Literature
Chapter 3: Methodology
Description of the Study Approach
Data-gathering Method and Database of Study
Chapter 4: Data Analysis
Chapter 5: Summary, Conclusions and Recommendations
From the Paper "Further, the majority of the power to define reality, in this view of the news process, resides at the point of the reporter-source contact. By the time the story makes its way to the editor, the most important gatekeeping decisions have already been made. The factors that serve to constrain or, conversely, facilitate reporter interaction with some sources and events and not others are important for understanding news content (Rotberg & Weiss, 1966). In this environment, gatekeepers have played an increasingly important role in the West. "Due to widespread uncertainty over the precise ingredients of a best-seller formula," write Rossman and Suman, "administrators are forced to trust the professional judgment of their employees. Close supervision in the production sector is impeded by ignorance of relations between cause and effect" (2000, p. 72).
The concept of "agenda setting" took its name from the concept that the mass media have the ability to transfer the importance and relevance of items on their news agendas to the public agenda (Bryant & Zillman, 1994). The concept was originally investigated in the traditional context of mass communication and voter behavior; however, it is being increasingly applied to other social and political events as well. For instance, "Through their routine structuring of social and political reality, the news media influence the agenda of public issues around which political campaigns and voter decisions are organized" (Bryant & Zillman, 1994 p. 4). This impact is felt every day as journalists throughout the world deal with the news in several important ways, which are discussed further below."
An examination of various polls conducted during the period starting from 1963 till 2003 to analyze how the Americanpublic assesses the political issues in the Middle East and the other Arab countries.
Abstract This paper discusses how Americans feel that the Arabs barely recognize the role of Americans in helping the Arab states. It evaluates how public opinion seems to be that Americans feel that the Arabs just want the Middle East policy to be a zero-sum game, which would mean they stop supporting Israel and this is where the Arabs are largely disadvantaged. It analyzes how the root of the conflicts is due to the fact that Arabs want the U.S to choose either them or Israel. However, the U.S. chooses to maintain a diplomatic relationship with both. It examines different polls on different countries and analyzes the results.
Outline
Egypt
Iraq
Palestine
Lebanon and Turkey
The Country that Attracts the Most Attention
Predictions about U.S. Public Opinion about the Region in the 2003-2008
From the Paper "Americans view events in the Middle East important for US foreign policy. They think that the Middle East is the most important region in the world for the interests of the US. In April 2002, Americans were asked if America was risking its position by taking part in the Israeli-Palestinian crisis, 61% said yes, while only 35% said no. In May 2000 a Gallup survey asked, "How important do you think what happens in each of the following areas of the world is to the United States today?" On the Middle East, 53% majority said it was "vitally important" and another 34% said it was "important but not vital." Just 10% believed it was not important. The Middle East was the only region that a majority felt was vitally important. In comparison, 39% felt Western Europe was vitally important, 36% felt the same about Asia, and all other regions were deemed vitally important by 30% or less."
Abstract The paper focuses on David C. Berliner's and Bruce J. Biddle's counterattack on the widespread criticism launched at Americanpublic schools. The paper describes how Berliner and Biddle systematically address issues of concern to public school critics, including standardized test scores, violence in schools and literacy and how they react to some of the propositions for public school reform, most notably the voucher system. The paper quotes the authors' opinion that the real problems with Americanpublic schools mirror the problems endemic in the United States such as poverty, prejudice, inequality and wrongly allocated funds.
From the Paper "David C. Berliner and Bruce J. Biddle counterattack the widespread criticism launched at American public schools in "The Manufactured Crisis: Myths, Fraud, and the Attack on America's Public Schools." The book is well-researched and scholastic in scope even if the authors' tone is sometimes scathing. Their resentment and frustration is directed at a range of targets including special interest groups, political parties, individual politicians, and the media. Berliner and Biddle systematically address issues of concern to public school critics, including standardized test scores, violence in schools, literacy, and the job market. Moreover, the authors react to some of the propositions for public school reform, most notably the voucher system. Berliner and Biddle's critique is thorough, well-documented and well-composed and therefore The Manufactured Crisis emerges as one of the most important books of its kind."
Abstract This paper argues that the U.S. education system has dealt with the the tension between liberalism and democracy in the American education system by creating a public school system that embraces as many different cultures as possible via a policy of accommodation. In short, the paper looks at how the American education system earnestly seeks to give private individuals and their families some semblance of choice while pursuing an agenda that satisfies the socialization goals of liberal democracies. The paper then discusses and defines the uneasy relationship between the liberal dimension of political liberalism and the liberal democratic demands of political liberalism and briefly looks at how America has dealt with this schism in general. The paper concludes by exploring the modern-day education system's efforts to privilege tolerance for others in a way that still permits individuals to exercise some autonomy - even if the traditional role of parent has increasingly fallen into the hands of the public school.
From the Paper "The relationship between liberalism and democracy is undeniably tense in modern American life and this is especially evident in the United States education system. Meira Levinson writes that the "liberal" dimension of political liberalism seeks to keep as much of the individual citizen's life in the private domain as possible; in short, the objective is to shield people from state interference. Conversely, the aforementioned political liberalism also has a democratic dimension wherein the maintenance of liberal democratic institutions is considered of the utmost importance. Consequently, there is a countervailing insistence that citizens identify with the political community and demonstrate the public virtues of critical reflection, mutual respect, and tolerance (Levinson, 333-334)."
Abstract Discusses Tocqueville's observations about public administration in the United States. Argues that Richard Stillman II incorrectly concludes that Tocqueville is condemning American administration. The paper asserts that Tocqueville understood that the weaknesses in American administration were "by design" in order to prevent tyranny and over-centralization.
From the Paper "Often times, it seems that the best critic is an outside observer? one who can offer plain insight without prideful bias. This is demonstrated by the fact that the best-known commentary on American politics and administration was written not by an American, but by a 26-year-old Frenchman by the name of Alexis de Tocqueville. As an outsider, he had a much clearer perspective than those around him and was able to more accurately report on both the strengths and weaknesses of the American system."
Abstract This paper begins by explaining the difference between a public debt and a federal debt and then takes a look at President Bush's tax-cut policy, the theory behind why it is supposed to help the economy, its effects, and its implications for American citizens and the American economy.
From the Paper "A debt that has been accumulated by the Federal Government in either its Treasury or in its Financing Bank is referred to as a "Public Debt". The debt could have been incurred by either the selling of "securities" and bonds to the public, or through the borrowing of funds from a Federal account. A public debt can also be defined as the total amount that the Federal Government has accrued due to all its borrowings in the past. (Definition of Public Debt) Federal Debt, on the other hand, can be defined as the total amount of debt that is owed by the Federal Government that is as yet unpaid. A federal debt can consist of both public debt and agency debt. A federal debt is made up of the funds owed to the Treasury, in the form of Treasury Bills, Treasury Notes, and also Treasury Bonds."
Abstract This paper discusses the role of public administration in five different American cities. The cities examined include Columbia, Missouri; Bozeman, Montana; Denver, Colorado; Fargo, North Dakota; and Yuma, Arizona. Different aspects of each city are discussed, including an examination of city organization and governmental structure.
From the Paper "Public administration within the context of any city can take on a variety of forms. A number of organizational structures and functions are relatively common, such as fire and police protection. However, some cities have specialized needs and must develop organizational systems capable of meeting those needs and providing for the citizens of the city. These special needs often are developed outside the standard organizational structure of the city's administration functions. This is evident when we consider the Storm Water Task Force, developed as a special committee in the city of Columbia, MO. In 2001, the city council of Columbia authorized the Public Works department in the city to create a new task force that would deal specifically with storm water issues and agendas (Willett)."
Abstract This paper is an in-depth examination of the public's opinion of government assistance programs that deal with job finding and a guaranteed standard of living. It includes a discussion of the 1996 Welfare to Work At and how it was received by the Americanpublic. The writer examines the relevant literature to test the hypothesis that the profile of an American who supports government assistance in job-finding will be dependant on their race, sex, and income level.
From the Paper "In the late nineteen-seventies and the early eighties, the United States faced high rates of unemployment coupled with a recession and high rates of inflation (Milkis 1999). To help ease the percentage of unemployed Americans, the government established programs to assist those who were out of work, especially for those in minority communities, to find new employment. Programs such as "Welfare to Work" and ?Community Jobs,? have remained through the past thirty years, still helping those in need find gainful pay. However, in today's booming economy, I expect more Americans are wondering why their tax dollars are being used to fund programs for people who, in their assumption, could easily find a job on their own."
This paper identifies the various publics involved in this public relations case study of Tylenol and attempts to differentiate between the internal and external publics.
900 words (approx. 3.6 pages), 3 sources, 2006, $ 35.95
Abstract This paper presents a public relations case study on Tylenol. The paper identifies the different publics involved in the case study as the American consumers who had grown to rely on the business and the product. These consumers were especially important in the Chicago area where the deaths linked to the use of Tylenol had occurred. Stakeholders and employees within the company that contributed to making the product or invested in the product over time are also identified as members of the varying publics in the case study. Additionally, the paper identifies the state and federal governments that were involved in the case because it involved illegal activity, as well as the local police and federal authorities that were attempting to investigate the matter as members of the different publics.
Examines discrepancies between social and economic status in respect to public education, addressing intentional discrimination in the Public School system.
1,650 words (approx. 6.6 pages), 7 sources, 2002, $ 62.95
Abstract In the United States, the public school system is intended to provide comparable degrees of schooling for all students, regardless of the social or the economic backgrounds of the students. However, many sociologists that study the structure of the Americanpublic school system find that there is a direct correlation between the social and the economic status of the students in the public school system and the quality of the education provided. This correlation indicates that, while the public education system in the United States is supposed to provide identical educational standards for all students, that those students who are in areas with a higher standard of living will receive a better degree of education. This paper examines the correlation with the intention of demonstrating to the reader that the public education system in the United States provides discriminating education according to social and/or economic conditions for all students.
