The image of the shinkansen - or 'bullet train' - passing Mount Fuji is one of the most renowned images of modern Japan. Yet, despite its international reputation for speed and punctuality, little is understood about what makes it work so well and what its impact is.
This is a comprehensive account of the history of the shinkansen, from its planning during the Pacific War, to its launch in 1964 and subsequent development. It goes on to analyze the reasons behind the bullet train's success, and demonstrates how it went from being simply a high-speed rail network to attaining the...
The image of the shinkansen - or 'bullet train' - passing Mount Fuji is one of the most renowned images of modern Japan. Yet, despite its internati...
Owing to the changing nature of Japan and its role within the world, more needs to be known of the dynamics of Japanese politics. This timely set brings together key articles on the most crucial issues facing Japanese politics today, and the relationship between Japanese politics and the main institutions including big business, the bureaucracy and the media. This is an area that has been studied by leading academics for a number of decades, but whose work has yet to be given sufficient notice or credit. With more and more students enrolling at universities to study Japan, there is a...
Owing to the changing nature of Japan and its role within the world, more needs to be known of the dynamics of Japanese politics. This timely set b...
Christopher Hood, Oliver James, B. Guy Peters, Colin Scott
Are public sector institutions being exposed to ever-greater oversight, audit and inspection in the name of efficiency, accountability and risk management? "Controlling Modern Government" explores the long-term development of controls over government across five major state traditions in developed democracies - US, Japan, variants of continental-European models, a Scandinavian case and variants of the Westminster model. A central aspect of the study is an eight country comparison of variety in the use of controls based in oversight, competition, mutuality and contrived randomness in the...
Are public sector institutions being exposed to ever-greater oversight, audit and inspection in the name of efficiency, accountability and risk manage...
This important new study, by a leading scholar in the field, offers a fresh perspective on public management. In contrast to the widespread claim of the modernization gurus' that a new era of global convergence is dawning in public management, it uses cultural theory to show why ideas about how to manage government are inherently plural and contradictory, and likely to remain so.
This important new study, by a leading scholar in the field, offers a fresh perspective on public management. In contrast to the widespread claim of t...
The blame game, with its finger-pointing and mutual buck-passing, is a familiar feature of politics and organizational life, and blame avoidance pervades government and public organizations at every level. Political and bureaucratic blame games and blame avoidance are more often condemned than analyzed. In The Blame Game, Christopher Hood takes a different approach by showing how blame avoidance shapes the workings of government and public services. Arguing that the blaming phenomenon is not all bad, Hood demonstrates that it can actually help to pin down responsibility, and he...
The blame game, with its finger-pointing and mutual buck-passing, is a familiar feature of politics and organizational life, and blame avoidance pe...
An examination of different theoretical, methodological and practical approaches towards the management of risk. Seven dimensions of the debate are identified, and the case for each position is put forward, the whole discussion being set in context and perspective. This volume attempts to identify and juxtapose the contested doctrines and underlying assumptions in the field of risk management.
An examination of different theoretical, methodological and practical approaches towards the management of risk. Seven dimensions of the debate are...
