In addition to addressing the basics, American Public Administration: Public Service for the 21st Century stands out from other books in the market by... offering a broader context in which to understand public administration and by devoting comprehensive coverage to current topics and trends, many of which are given chapter-length treatment (e.g., civil society, privatization, management information systems, and ethics). The most recent and compelling research is woven throughout every chapter to give students a useful, in-depth understanding of the field today. Real-world case studies and vignettes, helpful chapter pedagogy, an abundance of charts and graphs, and numerous Web listings help students learn and engage them in the text.

Updated in a new 8th edition, this book goes beyond a simple presentation of data to include a critical analysis of the role of public opinion in... American democracy. It provides an in-depth analysis of public opinion, beginning with its origins in political socialization, the impact of the media, the extent and breadth of democratic values, to the role of public opinion in the electoral process. Using the most current survey data from the 2008 elections and the latest literature on the subject, Erikson and Tedin analyze public opinion and its role in the policy and politics of the United States. 

An in-depth analysis, American Public Opinion explores the following important topics:  the origins of public opinion in political socialization; the... impact of the media on public opinion; the relevance of public opinion to democratic values; political trust and social capital; and the role of public opinion for elections, political parties and interest groups. As in previous editions, the Updated Seventh Edition examines the relationship between public opinion and policy.

Best-selling AMERICAN PUBLIC POLICY: AN INTRODUCTION engages student interest through its unique emphasis on specific, substantive issues of public... policy. This text draws students into American public policies by presenting their historical context, prompting students to evaluate and discuss possible alternatives. The discussion kindled by AMERICAN PUBLIC POLICY: AN INTRODUCTION helps make public policy personal as students apply their knowledge to real-life policies. This new edition includes updated and expanded coverage on key policy issues: immigration, global climate change, health care reform, gay rights, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The authors present policy material step-by-step, building a picture of the existing policy that students can use to evaluate alternatives.

Best-selling AMERICAN PUBLIC POLICY: AN INTRODUCTION takes a unique perspective on issues of public policy and presents them in their historical... context. Not stopping there, the text also prompts you to evaluate and discuss possible alternatives. The discussion kindled by AMERICAN PUBLIC POLICY: AN INTRODUCTION helps make public policy personal by showing you how to apply your knowledge to real-life policies. AMERICAN PUBLIC POLICY: AN INTRODUCTION includes updated and expanded coverage on key policy issues: immigration, global climate change, health care reform, No Child Left Behind, gay rights, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The authors present policy material step-by-step, building a picture of the existing policy you can use to evaluate alternatives.

Now in its eighth edition, B. Guy Peterss trusted text once again provides a meticulous overview of the process behindand the current state of American... public policy. In addition to balanced and comprehensive coverage of governmental structures and policymaking procedures, Peters addresses an array of specific policy issues as well as cost-benefit and ethical analysis. Brief background sections now start each issues chapter, providing readers with additional context before they dive into current problems and policies. In addition to an in-depth look at economic policy in light of the current financial turmoil and recession, this revision includes valuable new material on the politics of international treaties and climate control and devotes further attention to foreign policy. In a brand new chapter Peters accessibly explains approaches to the policymaking process, including institutional, economic, constructivist, and stages models, along with concepts such as the advocacy coalition framework, bounded rationality, and incrementalism. Updated graphics, tables, and charts throughout ensure that students have access to the latest data in the field, while new photos illustrate important points.

In this seventh edition of his classic introduction to the process and content of public policy in America, B. Guy Peters provides the background... and context needed for any introduction to the subject. Deftly handling such core topics as the governmental structures and procedures through which policy is designed and implemented, Peters also examines substantive policy areas--including health care, education, social security and welfare, energy and the environment, and defense and law enforcement--to give students a solid foundation as well as a real sense of the issues and tradeoffs facing today's policymakers. Readers will appreciate the seventh edition's updated material on the George W. Bush administration along with cases and material drawn from recent events and scholarship. In addition to analysis of the impact of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, the continuing efforts to implement results-based legislation such as the "No Child Left Behind" policy, and an expanded discussion of the changing role of ideology, this revision also includes valuable new material on the defense budget, earmarking in the budgeting process, and the President's Tax Reform Commission. Showing students why such politically divisive issues as abortion, gay marriage, and school prayer are so unyielding to bargaining and compromise, Peters includes a unique and insightful chapter on social policy and the culture wars. Finally, updated graphics, tables, and charts throughout will ensure that readers have access to the latest data in the field.

This text presents the realities of school finance policy, issues, and applications to prepare educational leadership candidates for their future roles... as school principals, superintendents, and other administrative positions. Authors William Owings and Leslie Kaplan provide guidance to help administrators understand the general finance and appropriation structure of federal, state, and local government as well as how to formulate and manage school budgets. They also go beyond coverage found in other texts by providing critical analysis and unique chapters on misconceptions about school finance, demographic issues, spending and student achievement, and future trends.

Alexander and Alexander's best-selling AMERICAN PUBLIC SCHOOL LAW, Seventh Edition, sets the standard for texts in educational law, an increasingly... vital area of expertise for today's school and district administrators. This combined textbook/casebook provides an authoritative and comprehensive view of the law that governs the public school system of the United States, including common law, statutes, and constitutional laws as they affect students, teachers, and administrators. Featuring civil and criminal cases selected from hundreds of jurisdictions and newly updated to reflect the latest legal trends and precedents, the text reviews key laws and relevant court decisions. The case method offers ample opportunity for class discussion to discover and expose the underlying rules and reasoning, and the text actively encourages readers to relate factual situations to the law while anticipating similar experiences they may have as practicing teachers and administrators. Written in an engaging and accessible style, AMERICAN PUBLIC SCHOOL LAW, Seventh Edition, explains even complex points of law clearly and effectively for non-lawyers, and the authors maintain a diligent focus on the unique needs of professional educators preparing for successful careers in administration.

This market-leading text for graduate-level courses in educational law is a combined textbook/casebook that provides a comprehensive view of the law... that governs the public school system of America. The case method approach allows instructors to involve discussion to discover and expose the reasoning of the law. This helps students relate factual situations to the law while recognizing similar experiences they may have as practicing teachers and administrators.

Alexander and Alexander's bestselling American Public School Law sets the standard for books in educational law, an increasingly vital area of expertise... for today's school and district administrators. Now in its Eighth Edition, this combined textbook/casebook provides an authoritative and comprehensive view of the law that governs the public school system of the United States, including common law, statutes, and constitutional laws as they affect students, teachers, and administrators. Featuring civil and criminal cases selected from hundreds of jurisdictions and newly updated to reflect the latest legal trends and precedents, the book reviews key laws and relevant court decisions. The case method offers ample opportunity for discussions aimed at discovering and exposing the underlying rules and reasoning, and the text actively encourages readers to relate factual situations to the law while anticipating similar experiences they may have as practicing teachers and administrators. Written in an engaging and accessible style, American Public School Law (Eighth Edition) explains even complex points of law clearly and effectively for non-lawyers, and the authors maintain a diligent focus on the unique needs of professional educators preparing for successful careers in administration. About This Edition New Features A new Instructor's Manual provides a quick reference for professors. Regarded for its user-friendly descriptions of law for non-lawyers, the Eighth Edition includes new charts that define the law, new boxed notations to highlight relevant points of law, and additional recent case notes--making the book even easier to read and understand. Chapter 1, "The Legal System," includes a new section on "How to Find the Law" (how to do legal research). A new "Research Aids" section for the non-lawyer, organized by topic, appears at the end of each chapter. These sections specify key sources of the law that can be accessed via the Internet or in a law library. Each chapter now begins with an introduction section that sets the stage for the material that follows, and concludes with a new "Summation of Case Law" section that summarizes the key points of the various legal precedents discussed. Both of these new features help students to identify, understand, and retain the most important points and cases of each chapter. Every chapter is updated with coverage of recent precedents and modifications in the law. Topics include student speech and expression, school curriculum and orthodoxy, immigration and school attendance, the Internet and student discipline, student searches: drugs and weapons, true threats of violence, bullying as a legal issue, charter school law, emerging restrictions of teacher rights, pursuit of duty law as it relates to school administrators, and precedents regarding Federal civil rights laws. Cartoons have been added where appropriate to provide political and policy insight as well as humor to lighten the presentation. Additional Features The authors carefully selected cases from hundreds of U.S. jurisdictions, including those that best exemplify the prevailing view of the courts in the various areas of law relevant to public education. The authors provide interpretive, concise, and simplified explanations of esoteric but important legal concepts that affect the daily conduct of schools, rendering even abstract legal precedents simple for non-lawyers to grasp. The organization of the text reflects a logical and sequential presentation, ranging from foundational material on the nation's legal system, historical foundations of public schools, and school governance to topics such as laws related to school attendance, curriculum and instruction, student rights, teacher rights, and collective bargaining. American Public School Law (Eighth Edition) offers exceptionally comprehensive coverage of legal problems and issues pertinent to practicing educators, including common law, statutes, and constitutional law. Featuring an abundance of cases and extensive content to reflect the latest trends, precedents, and points of law in this rapidly changing field, the text provides readers with a current and comprehensive review of the essential legal considerations relevant to their profession.

Questions of ethics in public administration are increasingly in the news, where commentators seem too often detached from the sources of those ethics... and their application to current political conflicts. American Public Service: Constitutional and Ethical Foundations examines public administration ethics as contextualized by constitutional, legal, and political values within the United States. Through case studies, hypothetical examples, and an easy-to-read discussion format, the authors explore what these values mean for specific duties of government managers and for the resolution of many contemporary issues confronting public sector officials. Key Features: Describes the philosophical underpinnings of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Identifies the values that anchor and define what government and public administrators should do. Indicates where these values fit into a framework for moral decision-making in the public sector, and how they apply to discussions of current controversies in public administration. Written by authors with rich experience as both lawyers and academics in public administration programs.

Understanding the effects of radical change on public personnel systems is critically important both now and in the future to all those interested in... the quality of American democracy. Civil service reform is occurring at all levels of government both in the United States and abroad. American Public Service: Radical Reform and the Merit System is a collection of papers that examine the innovations, strategies, and issues found in the contemporary civil service reform debate. Offering diverse perspectives from expert contributors, this book presents matters concerning radical reform and the merit system at the federal, state, and local levels of government. This volume offers fresh insight into the effects of merit system changes on employees. Divided into four sections, this book… ·     Examines a portrait of contemporary reforms from across the country and concepts to interpret those data ·     Addresses whether the relaxation of civil service protections against partisan intrusion will result in corruption ·     Provides examples of ongoing changes and analyzes survey data from state managers ·     Discusses a variety of key issues, such as the impact on racial inequality of moving from a protected class employment status to an unprotected at-will relationship The book provides a baseline of data on reforms as well as an account of their current promises and pitfalls. Covering topics ripped from the headlines, this text also identifies pressing issues and makes suggestions for the future. Offering a variety of methodological approaches, it is ideal for all those interested in effective governance.

Contrasting queer life today and in years past, this landmark book brings together autobiographies, poetry, film studies, maps, documents, laws, and... other texts to explore the meaning and practice of the word queer. By this Shneer and Aviv mean: queer as both a form of social violence and a call to political activism; queer as played by Robin Williams and Sharon Stone and as lived by Matthew Shepard and Brandon Teena; queer in the courthouses of Washington D.C. and on the streets of hometown America. Contextualizing these contemporary stories with ones from the past, and understanding them through the analytic tools of feminist social criticism and history, the authors show what it means to be queer in America.