In Frankenstein Was a Vegetarian: Essays on Food Choice, Identity, and Symbolism, Michael Owen Jones tackles topics often overlooked in foodways. At the outset he notes it was Victor Frankenstein's "daemon" in Mary Shelley's novel that advocated vegetarianism, not the scientist whose name has long been attributed to his creature. Jones explains how we communicate through what we eat, the connection between food choice and who we are or want to appear to be, the ways that many of us self-medicate moods with foods, and the nature of disgust. He presents fascinating case studies of religious bigotry and political machinations triggered by rumored bans on pork, the last meal requests of prisoners about to be executed, and the Utopian vision of Percy Bysshe Shelley, one of England's greatest poets, that was based on a vegetable diet like the creature's meals in Frankenstein. Jones also scrutinizes how food is used and abused on the campaign trail, how gender issues arise when food meets politics, and how eating preferences reflect the personalities and values of politicians, one of whom was elected president and then impeached twice. Throughout the book, Jones deals with food as symbol as well as analyzes the link between food choice and multiple identities. Aesthetics, morality, and politics likewise loom large in his inquiries. In the final two chapters, Jones applies these concepts to overhauling penal policies and practices that make food part of the pains of imprisonment, and looks at transforming the counseling of diabetes patients, who number in the millions.

Chan Su Jung provides a thorough review of goal ambiguity in the public sector, exploring the general assertions, arguments and empirical evidence regarding performance goal ambiguity, particularly highlighting its causes, consequences, and mediation effects. The author proposes a new conceptual framework for successful analysis of goal ambiguity that can effectively relate to diverse organizational and program characteristics. Using U.S. federal programs, South Korean central government agencies, and English local authorities as examples, Jung empirically tests his framework to validate the new approach for goal ambiguity analysis. The author corroborates management capacity, third-party involvement, learning times, size, and work complexity as predictors of goal ambiguity and performance. In addition, Jung studies political insulation structures as moderators between management capacity and goal ambiguity, along with the negative effect of goal ambiguity on performance. Based on these empirical findings, the author provides clear and transferable principles to guide further theoretical and conceptual studies on the topic. An essential read for quantitative researchers and doctoral students of public management and policy, this book will guide future empirical studies on goal ambiguity and performance in the public sector.

Since the early 2000s, digital data has transformed the way we live and work. This timely book looks to big data analytics to understand this revolutionary change, unpacking the impact of big data analytics on the mobilization and allocation of individuals, organizations and societies' resources. Contributions from leading experts on modern technological trends examine the promises, applications and pitfalls of big data. The contributors assess the ways in which contemporary trajectories of data processing have increased efficiency and had a transformative effect on all avenues of life, from energy, tourism and social media, to human resources, welfare systems and urban citizenship. At a time when our personal data is more valuable than ever, this book seeks to make sense of how big data analytics has transformed our lives and how it will continue to shape society in the future. Astute and comprehensive, this book is critical reading for business and management scholars with a focus on information systems and communications technologies. It will also prove to be vital information for students and researchers of big data and digital society, as well as politics and administration more widely. Contributors include: P. Aagaard, A.R. Alaei, S. Becken, P. Bonev, E. Breit, B.K. Daniel, C. Egeland, V. Estivill-Castro, P. Gillingham, S. Hiremath, T. Kelly, I.B. Loberg, K. Loefgren, A.O. Lyneborg, P. Mikalef, Q.V.H. Nguyen, J.S. Pedersen, P. Ross, A. Sandgaard, T.M. Scholz, M. Soederberg, B. Stantic, W. Webster, A. Wilkinson<>P>

The political and symbolic centrality of capital cities has been challenged by increasing economic globalization. This is especially true of secondary capital cities; capital cities which, while being the seat of national political power, are not the primary economic city of their nation state. David Kaufmann examines the unique challenges that these cities face entering globalised, inter-urban competition while not possessing a competitive political economy. Varieties of Capital Cities offers empirically rich case studies of four secondary capital cities: Bern, Ottawa, The Hague, and Washington, D.C. Analysed with an innovative research framework, this book shows through its clearly structured analysis, that while the pressures facing these cities are the same, the mechanisms they employ to cope with them are very different. They have formulated a wide variety of policies to supplement their capital function with economically promising profiles, even though they cannot escape their destinies as government cities. This book is an impressive contribution to an area of study largely neglected by urban studies, political science, and economic geography. With vital lessons for urban policy makers, the interested practitioner will find a pool of inspiration for their urban strategies. Students and scholars of these subjects will find this book interesting, and will also find it invaluable as a lesson for how to develop and execute comparative case studies.

Providing context-specific regional and national perspectives, this novel Handbook sets out to disentangle the considerable intellectual ambiguities that surround Asian public administration and Asia's diverse applications of Western administrative models. Building a holistic understanding of public administration systems across East, Southeast and South Asia, chapters explore the various historical formations, contemporary changes, and impacts of local contexts. It also covers social accountability, performance and human resource management, and the role of local governments. An international range of leading scholars track the gradual embrace of market-driven reforms in Asian public policy and administration, including privatisation, agencification, outcome-based performance, and customer choice. With its cross-regional and cross-national comparisons finding divergences in these reforms, the Handbook's most significant revelation highlights the impacts of national political contexts and actors on bureaucracy. Illustrating a clear overarching picture of the divergences in Asian public administration, the comparative focus of this Handbook will prove invaluable to students and scholars of Asian politics, public policy and administration. It will also be a useful point of reference to Asian policy makers and bureaucrats dealing with national administrative reforms who are looking to innovate the public sector.

Businesses, philanthropies and non-profit entities are increasingly successful in capturing public funds to support private provision of schooling in developed and developing countries. Coupled with market-based reforms that include weak regulation, control over workforces, standardization of processes and economies of scale, private provision of schooling is often seen to be convenient for both public authorities and businesses. This book examines how the public subsidization of these forms of private education affects quality, equality and the realization of human rights. With original research from leading experts, The State, Business and Education sheds light on the privatization of education in fragile circumstances. It illustrates the ways in which private actors have expanded their involvement in education as a business, and shows the influence of policy borrowing on the spread of for-profit education. Case studies from Argentina, Bangladesh, Brazil, China, India and Syrian refugee camps illustrate the ways in which private actors have expanded their involvement in education as a business. This book will be of interest not only to academics and students of international and comparative education, but also to education development professionals in both the private and public sectors, with its empirical assessment of case studies, and careful consideration of the lessons to be learned from each. Contributors include: M. Avelar, J. Barkan, M. de Koning, A. Draxler, C. Fontdevila, S. Kamat, F. Menashy, M.C. Moschetti, E. Richardson, B. Schulte, C.A. Spreen, G. Steiner-Khamsi, A. Verger, Z. Zakharia, A. Zancajo

W.A.J. Coetzee was born in Piketberg in 1928. After matriculating, he started work as a post-office clerk. He was later transferred to the office of the Deputy Postmaster-General in Pretoria. As an extramural student he successively obtained his B.A., B.A. Honours, and M.A. degrees in Public Administration from the University of Pretoria. In 1973 he was appointed senior lecturer and head of the Department of Public Administration at the University of Durban-Westville. He became a professor in 1977 after obtaining his doctorate (D.Phil.) in 1976 from the University of Pretoria and has subsequently served as dean of the Faculty of Commerce. Professor Coetzee is the author of a number of books and articles in Public Administration in South Africa and has delivered papers at conferences locally and abroad. He has been a member, director or chairman of various cultural and professional organizations, and has also served on a number of university senate committees.

During the COVID-19 era, the functions of social policy and public administration have undergone a meaningful change, especially with the advancement of digital elements and online and virtual functions. Cyber developments, cyber threats, and the effects of cyberwar on the public administrations of countries have become critical research subjects, and it is important to have resources that can introduce and guide users through the current best practices, laboratory methods, policies, protocols, and more within cyber public administration and social policy. The Handbook of Research on Cyber Approaches to Public Administration and Social Policy focuses on the post-pandemic changes in the functions of social policy and public administration. It also examines the implications of the cyber cosmos on public and social policies and practices from a broad perspective. Covering topics such as intersectional racism, cloud computing applications, and public policies, this major reference work is an essential resource for scientists, laboratory technicians, professionals, technologists, computer scientists, policymakers, students, educators, researchers, and academicians.