Michael Harris

Ideology and Privatization Policy in Israel

In this paper we explore the impact of economic ideologies on one important area of policy. We compare the periods of 1968–77 (Labor) and 1978–87 (Likud) to determine whether differences in the stated economic ideologies of the Likud and Labor parties are reflected in their privatization policy. Furthermore, we examine whether there are differences in the techniques used to privatize by the Labor and the Likud parties. Although Labor and Likud policymakers may both choose privatization as a policy, different political environments and political bases may affect such choices. We explore the impact of these differences on the design of the specific privatization techniques selected, assess whether differences in the techniques exist, and attempt to account for such differences. Our analysis reveals that both Labor and Likud parties undertook similar privatization policies. The empirical findings contradict the hypothesis that ideological differences between the two large parties in Israel will be reflected in significant variation in privatization policy. There arc no significant differences between the two parties in number, type, or implementation of privatization policy. We find evidence that an important factor for all Israeli governments is budgetary pressure, operationalized as a deficit variable. We also find some difference between parties in the implementation of privatization, with Labor demonstrating a greater propensity to sell complete enterprises, and Likud engaging in more partial sales of state assets. We argue that this difference results from the differing ability of each party to negotiate with Israels largest labor union. The fact that there were no significant differences in the number of actions taken by Likud and Labor administrations suggests that there are other barriers to this process. Two explanations for this process are indicated.

Policy termination: uncovering the ideological dimension

deLeon and others assert that progress in policy termination research requires an emphasis on political-ideological reasons for termination. One obstacle to pursuing this line of inquiry is that cases of successful policy termination are relatively rare. As a useful alternative, one could examine cases in which ideology has apparently prevented a strongly indicated policy termination. An example is the Israeli Labor governments decision to bail out Israels failing kibbutzim (collectives) despite severe budget pressures and the near-certainty that some kibbutzim will still not become self-supporting. Labor will not terminate its policy of support because, although the kibbutzims direct political power is diminished, they retain substantial moral authority as past nation- builders and as embodiments of Labors socialist/humanist ideals. Anomalous non-terminations such as this should offer rich possibilities for policy termination research.

POLICY TERMINATION: THE CASE OF TERM LIMITS IN MICHIGAN

This article tests a theoretical framework by examining a case study of term limits in the Michigan legislature. The Michigan case tests the “fit” of Danielss seven generalizations about policy and organizational termination. The goal of this paper is to extend the discussion of termination policy to the issue of term limits and formulate an agenda for future research that can develop a better understanding of term limits based on the concept of termination.

Assessing the Electoral Reform of 1992 and Its Impact on the Elections of 1996 and 1999

IN MAY OF 1999, ISRAELI voters went to the polls and elected Ehud Barak as Prime Minister. Barak defeated the incumbent Prime Minister, Binyamin Netanyahu. The 1999 election was the second election conducted after the fundamental reform made to the electoral system in I1992. The 1996 election was the first election that allowed Israelis to vote directly for the office of Prime Minister. In that election Binyamin Netanyahu defeated the incumbent Prime Minister, Shimon Peres. Prior to 1996, the electorate voted only for the 120-member legislative body, known as the Knesset. All seats in the Knesset were awarded in direct proportion to votes earned in the national election; therefore, the country was essentially one electoral district that elected 20o representatives. Had one party received a majority, the leader of that party would have been elected Prime Minister by the Knesset. However, this never occurred; rather, what happened in all previous elections was that the President, after consulting with leaders of the different parties, invited the leader of the most viable party to form a coalition government with other parties. Once a legislative majority was attained in that way, the leader of the coalition would be made Prime Minister.,

Renovation as Innovation: Transforming a campus symbol and a campus culture

Taylor and Francis PSP_A_295900. gm 10.1080/136031 0801957418 Perspectives 360-3108 (pri t)/1460-7018 (online) 2 08 & Francis 0 002008 I think campuses are headed not so much to a cliff but toward a brick wall. Tuition has risen far faster than inflation...We are going to be less affluent in this country, and our institutions are going to be less affluent. And what I hope comes from that is not just trying to maintain the old paradigm and watch everything slowly decay, but that we actually go through the paradigm shift and fundamentally operate in different way—a sort of rediscovering of what we are.

Uncompensated Costs and Indigent Health Care: Volunteers and a Community Services Budget

With thirty-seven million people now without medical insurance, private insurers have argued that caring for those unable to pay for the services they need or without insurance is a public responsibility and not an overhead cost. However, tax-conscious voters have limited the ability of governments to spend more for health. An additional and sometimes overlooked possibility for dealing with uncompensated care is the responses that local communities can make. A community services budget framework that includes the inputs of volunteers makes large-scale and sophisticated responses possible through forms of collective organization outside the usual public programs. This framework, applied to one community, illustrates the responses that are possible and the policy questions that must be addressed to expand the options for dealing with the challenge of uncompensated medical care.

Values-Based Leadership: At the Heart of Sustaining School Reform and Improvement

The critical challenge facing educational leaders is promoting innovative change that generates systemic improvements in student achievement as well as the school culture. This chapter introduces and highlights the significance of professional leadership in the reform process and its importance to positive change outcomes. Throughout the chapter, the authors also argue that it is time to recognize and better understand the need and importance of values-based leadership as a viable methodology for leading change. The authors based this assertion on a review of leadership and their findings which demonstrate that leaders often acting as innovation entrepreneurs drive changes in policies and practices to specific outcomes related to their values. Furthermore, when exploring the role of leadership, the authors address another related area of interest and acknowledge that leadership values and effectiveness make a difference, specifically, when leaders communicate a sense of personal responsibility and accountability to forward school reform agendas. Finally, the authors reiterate their interest in values-based leadership and address the importance of specific leadership qualities and behaviors as they relate to school reform while Exploring values-based leadership as a framework for sustainable improvement Sharing their observations to provide a rationale for the importance of values-based leadership Examining lessons learned about values-based leadership from history, business, and other fields Framing values-based leadership within an educational focus Explaining the importance of values-based leadership by providing examples of unsuccessful and successful school reform initiatives Identifying implications for the future

The impact of Syrian refugees on Jordan: A framework for analysis

The civil war in Syria has caused a mass influx of Syrian refugees into other countries throughout the region and beyond. Jordan has received a large share of Syrian refugees, currently totaling to the alarming number of 1.2 mln people. Addressing the need of Syrian refugees has drained the resources of Jordanian government and has had its substantial impact on Jordanian society overall. In an effort to better understand the humanitarian, political, economic, sociocultural and environmental challenges to Jordan and its government, this study has developed a comprehensive analytical framework. The comprehensive analytical framework has been developed based on the system thinking approach and the systematic review of gray literature and peer-reviewed articles. This framework provides a better capacity to discover the potential consequences of a massive refugee influx and covers the vital factors based on the realistic criteria regarding the burden of refugees on the formulation of policies. The analytical framework is applied to Jordan as the receiving state since the influx of Syrian refugees into Jordan in 2011 to 2015 and it potentially could be used as a comparative analytical tool for other receiving states.