Kategoria BISAC: Political Science >> American Government - State

• Approaches public authority 'from below', exploring a variety of concrete encounters between forms of public authority and the more or less mundane practices of ordinary people

Second only to the Red Sox as a major league sport in Massachusetts is hardball politics as it is played at the State House on Beacon Hill. Drawing on over thirty years as a participant-observer, teacher, and commentator, Richard A. Hogarty provides an inside view of the Bay State's political arena, including the workings of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, as well as the administrative bureaucracy.

Hogarty examines both the process of policymaking and the complexities of on-the-ground implementation, identifying the various participants and their roles and strategies....

Nationally recognized scholars and practitioners examine opportunities in which services traditionally provided by local governments are offered by the private sector though a contract or are transferred to a private business completely. Many large U.S. cities have contracted services for many years. With the movement to rightsize governments in recent years there has been renewed interest by local governments in similar ventures. Privatization, in its many forms, is now seen as a viable alternative to traditional ways of providing public services and can bring substantial benefits to...

This volume provides a reliable reference work for researchers and students -- a single source that readers can trust for current and accurate information about:
-- The actions...

Each state government produces large varieties and quantities of useful information that are largely unknown outside their state of origin. This book leads the public to the most useful information sources produced by each state, as well as to depository libraries that will facilitate more effective research. For each of the 50 states, important publications are detailed, along with information on how to obtain them. The publications' topics range from crime statistics to vital statistics, business statistics, health information, statistical abstracts, education directories, state budgets,...

Local and regional government information is essential to government workers, corporate researchers, students, and many other citizens, but finding a city ordinance or a county report can be a daunting experience. This unique, timesaving, and easy-to-use reference guide offers strategies for locating local and regional government information, including what to look for, how and where to search, and what to expect.

Leading users through the labyrinth of records and reports available from a wide variety of sources, this guide provides tips on how to use sources effectively and efficiently...

In 1956, two years after the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously outlawed legally imposed racial segregation in public schools, Mississippi created the State Sovereignty Commission.

This was the executive agency established -to protect the sovereignty of the State of Mississippi . . . from encroachment thereon by the Federal Government.- The code word encroachment implied the state's strong resolve to preserve and protect the racial status quo. In the nomenclature the formality of the word sovereignty supposedly lent dignity to the actions of the Commission. For all practical purposes...

During the 1980s fifty-seven of Mississippi's 410 county supervisors from twenty-six of the state's eighty-two counties were charged with corruption. The FBI's ploy to catch the criminals was code-named Operation Pretense.

Ingenious undercover investigation exposed the supervisors' wide-scaled subterfuge in purchasing goods and services. Because supervisors themselves controlled and monitored the purchasing system, they could supply sham documentation and spurious invoices. Operation Pretense was devised in response to the complaint of a disgruntled company owner, a Pentecostal...