Tenure In Office Research Articles

From Blackface to Black Twitter: Reflections on Black Humor, Race, Politics, and Gender

From Blackface to Black Twitter: Reflections on Black Humor, Race, Politics, and Gender

Pre-Colonial and Colonial British Equation of Exploration, Expropriation and Exploitation (3Es) Through Monarchical Hierarchical Orders of Diplomatic Agents in the Gold Coast (Ghana) of West Africa 1621-1957

The present paper brings 111 British pre-colonial and colonial diplomatic agents who moderated the activities of Exploration, Expropriation and Exploitation (3Es) in the Gold Coast (GC) located in the Rich Zone of African Gulf of Guinea (RZAGG) in the West African Region between 1621 and 1957 when GC gained independence as Ghana been the first Black African Country under the President ship of an African legend Pan-Africanist known as Kwame Nkrumah. The history of Ghana is very important in views of its previous Ghana Empire and Kingship system which European imperialist and colonisers destroyed with over ambitions of 3Es in the Centuries that followed culminated with slavery and slave trade dealings of human beings shipped as lodge of woods across the Atlantic Ocean to American plantations. The teaching of African History in the 21st Century entails us to know those agents and goes deep into their archives to search and evaluate their Machiavelli did in the specific countries during their tenure in office. This is because they laid the groundwork and foundation of Western European imperialism, colonialism and neo-colonialism which later cropped up during the second decade of the 20th Century at independence. Our intension is not to bring out all what they did but rather, the identification of principal actors of the period which can be beneficial to the young generation of historians to open up new research avenues by going deeper to illustrate the activities carried out by each of those foreign diplomatic agents in their 3Es instructions and executions. The scrutiny of specialized and secondary sources facilitated us to use a historical analytical approach with visible statistical tables illustrating each of those monarchical actors of Kings and Queens and agents appointed to fulfil their foreign gains from natural and human resources of GC later Ghana at independence.

Does the promotion pressure on local officials matter for regional carbon emissions? Evidence based on provincial-level leaders in China.

This paper constructs data from 30 provinces in mainland China from 1997 to 2016 and mainly adopts panel data fixed effects models to investigate how the promotion pressure on local officials affects regional carbon emissions. Our empirical results show that the relationship between the promotion pressure on local officials and regional carbon emissions has a dynamic evolution characteristic during our research period. Specifically, the promotion pressure on local officials is positively associated with regional carbon emissions before 2009; however, this relationship weakened after China's carbon emission regulatory policies were strengthened in 2010. Furthermore, our heterogeneity analysis results show that the effect of promotion pressure on regional carbon emissions is moderated by the regional industrial structure, the economic development level, regional innovation capability, the tenure of officials and the age of officials. The conclusions of this study are helpful for understanding the driving factors of regional carbon emissions from the political economy perspective, and they also have implications for the formulation of performance evaluation and carbon emission reduction policies.

President Andrew Johnson Impeached: The First Presidential Impeachment in American History

Introduction. The article is devoted to the mechanism of impeachment procedure on the example of the first practical application of it in the history of the U.S. in relation to President Andrew Johnson. This created a necessary precedent in the further political struggle between the branches of government and has made the study of the history of the first presidential impeachment an urgent problem. Impeachment cases were brought against six subsequent presidents: Cleveland, Hoover, Truman, Nixon, Reagan, and G.W. Bush in the lower house of Congress. W. Clinton and D. Trump’s impeachment was discussed in the Senate, but was not successful. Methods and Materials. The article is based on materials from the American press as well as cartoons. The novelty of the source base is in combination of verbal and visual materials. The author used theoretical concepts developed within the framework of interdisciplinarity. The problem-chronological approach was the methodological basis of the research. In American historiography, Johnson is regarded as the “worst” President in U.S. history. However, the debate over the legitimacy of the first impeachment of a President in U.S. history has not subsided until now. In American studies, the impeachment of Andrew Johnson has not been specifically considered. Analysis. The conflict between the President and Congress was caused by the Reconstruction policy. The confrontation between the two branches of government led to impeachment. The President was charged in connection with the dismissal of Secretary of War E. Stanton, which was a violation of the Tenure of Office Act. The article examines how the impeachment procedure was implemented by Congress and why it failed. Results. Despite the failure, the first impeachment of a President in the history of the United States showed the effectiveness of the “checks” and “balances” mechanism in implementing the principle of separation of powers. It has become a deterrent to the relationship between the President and Congress.

TOTIC: PORTUGUESE PRE- COLONIAL AND COLONIAL DIPLOMATIC AGENTS OF TERRITORIAL EXPLORATION AND EXPLOITATION OF SAO - TOME AND PRINCIPE ISLANDS OF THE GULF OF GUINEA IN THE ATLANTIC OCEAN 1485-1975

The present article brings out typologies of pre-colonial and colonial great figures that strongly coordinated, moderated and put in radical human forces of European exploration, exploitation and colonisation activities in the overseas colonies in Sub-Saharan Africa with examples drawn from the following important lucrative region known as the Gulf of Guinea within the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS). The two countries used as our case studies include Sao-Tome and Principe from 1485 to 1975 (490 years) with 210 official agents remarkably during the pre-colonial and colonial periods. Considering the fact that most history books at times mentioned only few colonial administrators of the Continent, we therefore deemed it necessary to carry out this research on the various portfolios of specific foreign actors in full beginning from pre-colonial to end of colonial exploitations. The pre-colonial era brings out some of the foreign agents who in one way or the other prepared the ground work for deeper colonial partition, expropriation, expansion, exploitation and exaggerations of colonial activities as the best means to compensate themselves from the natural providence of the Black Continent in terms of natural and human resources well accessible in to the Atlantic Ocean. The work is divided into two parts using a chronological approach as indicated on the various tables and it brings out the total number of all prominent pre-colonial and colonial agents of the two countries. The scrutiny of specialized documents based on the pre-colonial and colonial Africa actually inspired us in the writing of this paper which can open new avenues to future researchers to find out in detail which of the Portuguese agent did what and when during their tenure of offices characterized with changing portfolios and revision of radical exploitative colonial policies colonialism.

Career trajectories of regional officials: Russia and China before and after 2012

ABSTRACT Authoritarian leaders rely on regional leaders for both political support and the fulfillment of their policy objectives. In addition, top leaders face trade-offs between following established rules for managing bureaucratic officials’ careers and exercising a free hand in choosing regional officials. This paper compares patterns of appointment of regional officials in Russia and China before and after 2012. In recent years, the leaders of both countries have centralized and personalized state power. We hypothesize that these changes have altered policies for managing the appointments of regional leaders in such a way as to increase their dependence on the central authorities and reduce their autonomy to create their own networks at the regional level. We analyze a comprehensive original set of biographical data on all top regional officials from 2003 through 2019 in China and from 2000 through 2019 in Russia. We discern clear differences between the pre- and post-2012 period for China and less marked differences for pre- and post-2012 Russia. Turnover of regional officials has become more frequent in both systems; average tenure in office has fallen; and the share of “outsiders” has risen. However, the corps of regional officials has not been rejuvenated.

PREPARING FOR TRANSITION: A STUDY OF NEW COLLEGE PRINCIPALS’ SITUATION IN GHANA

The importance of leadership transition in Colleges of Education in Ghana cannot be overemphasised due to its immense impact on quality teacher education and training. This requires that newly appointed principals prepare adequately for the transition. However, there is a seeming absence of research on the concept in the Ghanaian context. This qualitative study which employed the phenomenology approach, therefore, investigates how new college of education principals in Ghana prepare for the transition into their new role. The study purposively sampled ten (10) newly appointed principals of public colleges of education for the study. Interview protocol was used to collect the data for the study. The responses from participants were analysed using Colaizzi's phenomenological data analysis method. The result revealed that the newly appointed principals prepared for the transition by coping with the psychological, social and professional impacts of the new appointment to manage. Goal setting was also paramount for their tenure of office. The study recommended that preparation prior to assumption of duty is necessary as it helps to get oneself ready for the role and for that matter the transition.

How Does Local TV News Change Viewers’ Attitudes? The Case of Sinclair Broadcasting

ABSTRACT How does local television news shape viewers’ national political attitudes? The answer is unclear, because local news typically focuses on local, not national, stories, and is politically neutral. But the rise of Sinclair Broadcasting, now the nation’s second-largest owner of local TV stations, upends that assumption. News on Sinclair-owned stations focuses more on national topics, and presents them with a right-wing slant. Given this, we might expect it to shift its viewers’ attitudes in a pro-Republican direction. Using data on Sinclair’s acquisition of local TV stations between 2008 and 2018, I show that living in an area with a Sinclair-owned TV station lowers viewers’ approval of President Obama during his tenure in office, and makes viewers less likely to vote for the Democratic nominee for president. This has important implications for our understanding of the effects of local TV news, as well as for media trust, as I discuss in the conclusion.

A Meta-Analysis of the Relationship Between Chief Executive Officer Tenure and Firm Financial Performance: The Moderating Effects of Chief Executive Officer Pay and Board Monitoring

Prior empirical research investigating the relationship between chief executive officer (CEO) tenure and firms’ financial performance has shown inconclusive results. Based on arguments of agency and behavioral agency theories, we suggest that this relationship is nuanced and may vary depending on CEO pay and board monitoring. In response to these arguments, we meta-analytically test 385 studies ( n = 1,029,602). We find that CEO tenure is positively related to firms’ financial performance. This positive relationship is enhanced when CEOs receive higher cash compensation or hold more stock ownership. On the other hand, the above positive relationship becomes weaker when CEOs receive higher long-term incentives or when the firm has more independent board directors. These findings suggest that CEO pay and board monitoring, or agency mechanisms in general, can offer new research avenues to help explore boundary conditions of the CEO tenure and firms’ financial performance relationship.

Testing the Relationship between Land Approval and Promotion Incentives of Provincial Top Leaders in China

This paper investigates the question of how provincial top leaders’ promotion incentive drive their strategies of land approval in China. This question is situated in broad theoretical knowledge of politicians’ incentives and behaviors for career advancement. In view of promotion rules in China, we make officials’ age a proxy for promotion incentives. Then based on the fact that land is essential for economic growth and the power of land approval is largely in provincial governments, we establish a theoretical framework to uncover the relationship between provincial leaders’ age and their strategies of land approval. With detailed information of provincial leaders and data of land approval areas of 30 provinces in China from 1999 to 2014, we identify an inversed-U relationship between the amount of construction land approved by provincial governments and age of provincial party secretaries, while not for governors. And the maximum of land approval scale corresponds to party secretaries’ age of 57, 2 years before their sensitive age of political career, which can be explained as proactive behavior for upcoming promotion incentives. Furthermore, once the tenure of officials in the same province exceeds 5 years, the scale of land approval will no longer be affected by age. Our study contributes to the existing literature by testing and confirming politicians’ strategical behaviors intrigued by promotion incentive and make it more concrete with the case of land approval in China. Furthermore, we provide a political perspective to understand the expansion of construction land in China.

«Поколенческий разрыв» в дискурсе современных российских либеральных медиа

The article examines the way in which liberal media represent the concept of age and the conflict of generations in contemporary Russia. Three media are studied: “Novaya Gazeta”, “Echo of Moscow”, and “Radio Liberty”. The participation of young people and adolescents in protest rallies makes it relevant to study both generational differences per se and their images in the media. The author comes to the following conclusions. First, the politicisation of generational differences and the use of age metaphors are becoming a characteristic feature of liberal political discourse. Second, metaphors of age are used in Russian contemporary liberal discourse to contrast generations, to glorify the younger generation in general and the leaders of political protests in particular, and to delegitimise the government which is attributed negative “senile” qualities. Not only the age of a politician but also the length of his tenure in office are grounds for labeling him as “old” with the accompanying negative meanings — such as moral and physical obsolescence, incapacity. Third, generational change is often seen by the liberal media as one of the preconditions for political transformations which are described by the metaphor “youth is our future”. The conflict between the government and the opposition is seen as a confrontation between the “past” and the “future”. When describing young people, liberal media use mostly positive characteristics, among which fearlessness and activity stand out. Fourth, the liberal media also associate the value gap in Russian society with age: young people are seen as the most Europeanized part of society and as carriers of European values. Fifth, metaphors of age are used to describe both Russian and foreign politicians.

MICHAEL GOVE 2010–2014

The article provides an overview of the extensive and fast-moving reforms ­initiated by Michael Gove as the Secretary of State for Education in the years 2010–2014. These include the rapid acceleration of the academisation programme and the development of free schools.
 There is a more extensive exploration of the reform of the curriculum and the reformation of examination structures. This latter review is set in the context of university advice and against the backdrop of international performance.
 Much of the focus of the article considers the implementation of the intentions of a minster who had been in waiting for three years before taking office. However, consideration is also given to the unexpected, yet significant, issues which intersect a politician’s tenure of office. The Birmingham based ‘Trojan Horse Schools’ situation is considered both as an issue of accountability but also its implications for the nature of schooling, state funding and societal values.

Spatial effect of environmental regulation on green innovation efficiency: Evidence from prefectural-level cities in China

With slowing economic growth and outstanding environmental problems in China, the government proactively adopting environmental regulation (ER) to promote green technology advancement is the key to solving the dilemma of environment and economy, which is of great significance to the sustainable development, also set an example for other emerging economies. This study probed the impact of ER on the green innovation efficiency (GIE) from the perspective of spatial correlation of the prefecture-level cities in China on the base of theoretical analysis. Firstly, the GIE of the cities was calculated by a special data envelopment analysis (DEA) called super slacks-based measure (Super-SBM) and taking undesirable output in account, and the comprehensive index of the ER was calculated by entropy method. Secondly, this study established a spatial model to test the effect of ER on the GIE in a city, and examined the direct, indirect and total spatial effects. Finally, this study attempted to explain the spatial effect from the perspective of financial ability between enterprises and fiscal decentralization between regions. The empirical results showed as flowing: (1) GIE has declined first and then increased from 2008 to 2015 in China, which is highest in the east and lowest in the central. (2)The spatial spillover effect of ER on the GIE is significant, which was a U-shaped impact that suppressed firstly and then promoted, regardless of local-effect or neighboring-effect. (3) Shorter official tenure and lower enterprises’ profitability have weaken the impact of ER on the GIE. The government should strengthen regional cooperation, improve the public environmental supervision mechanism, and formulate stringent but differentiated ER based on local conditions.

Why Monarchy? The Rise and Demise of a Regime Type

Monarchy was the dominant form of rule in the pre-modern era and it persists in a handful of countries. We propose a unified theoretical explanation for its rise and decline. Specifically, we argue that monarchy offers an efficient solution to the primordial problem of order where societies are large and citizens isolated from each other and hence have difficulty coordinating. Its efficiency is challenged by other methods of leadership selection when communication costs decline, lowering barriers to citizen coordination. This explains its dominance in the pre-modern world and its subsequent demise. To test this theory, we produce an original dataset that codes monarchies and republics in Europe (back to 1100) and the world (back to 1700). With this dataset, we test a number of observable implications of the theory—centering on territory size, political stability, tenure in office, conflict, and the role of mass communications in the modern era.

Qualitative Analysis of the Student Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES) in Tertiary Institutions in Ogun State, Nigeria

This study was carried out to appraise SIWES in sixteen (16) tertiary institutions in Ogun State, Southwest Nigeria using descriptive method. Among other things, it investigated the percentage of SIWES unit in tertiary institutions in the state that has: (i) a structure; (ii) budget; (iii) coordinators’ tenure of office; and (v) a succession plan for coordinators. The study engaged a purposive sampling technique to select one participant from each institution and used descriptive statistics to analyze the data. These include frequency distribution, percentage and ranking. The study among other things concluded that 13(81.3%) tertiary institutions had SIWES structure while 03(19.7%) did not have; 5(31.2%) tertiary institutions had SIWES budget while the majority-11(68.8%) did not have; 5(31.2%) tertiary institutions had SIWES coordinators tenure of office while the majority-11(68.8%) did not have. The study also concluded that no institution (0%) had a succession plan for SIWES coordinators. Based on its findings, recommendations are made to improve the SIWES unit in higher education systems in the state.

Organizational Silence: A Study on Employees of General Directorate of Sports Headquarter

Purpose – Organizational silence is described as employees’ remaining silent for various reasons in the institutions that they work. Organizational silence is one of the situations that affect the labour productivity in connection with employee productivity. The aim of this study is to specify the organizational silence perceptions of the employees in the General Directorate of Sports. Design/methodology/approach – The survey was carried out among a total number of 402 people, 162 of which are women and 240 being men, who work in the General Directorate of Sports. The demographic features and organizational silence status of the employees were ascertained. The data obtained were analysed in the SPSS 22.0 for Windows statistics package software. Findings – According to the findings of the survey, it was observed that, among sex, marital status and the tenure of office and the silence levels for the benefit of the organization, there are statistically significant differences among the silence accepted with title, silence for the benefit of the organization, and general organizational silence levels. Discussion – In the results of the study, it was concluded that the organizational silence levels of the employees in the Department of Sports Services vary depending on personal factors.

Party Leaders vs. Technocrats

This article takes a close look at the selection and survival of prime ministers in Romania. While many factors are deemed important in understanding why prime ministers are “weak” or “strong,” have short or long tenures in office (including the relationship with the president and with the governing parties), this article focuses on the level of party credentials as a critical factor in both the selection and the survival of the prime ministers. Following Grotz and Weber (2017), I argue that a better understanding of how impactful this factor is comes only after a full assessment of the political circumstances in which the selection of the prime minister takes place. “Post-electoral” context may be defined by different goals, tactics, and ambitions than the “replacement” context. I found that party leaders survive longer in prime ministerial office, that they are the first choice in post-electoral contexts, but not necessarily in both contexts taken together, and that technocrats are preferred in replacement contexts, especially when the next legislative elections are getting near.

Tenure of Office and the Treasury: The Constitution and Control over National Financial Policy, 1787 to 1867

The disputed scope of the President’s authority to remove subordinates in the executive branch, and to direct them in the performance of their functions, is one of the central issues of federal constitutional law. On the one hand, some argue that Article II gives the President such authority. By contrast, others claim that the Constitution allows Congress to regulate the tenure of office of executive branch officers by limiting the President’s removal power. In the context of this debate, some have argued that financial institutions—the components of the “treasury”—were historically insulated from presidential control. They rely on early Congresses’ creation of several commissions with the Chief Justice as a member, establishment of the First and Second Banks of the United States, and use of distinct language to establish the Department of the Treasury and some of its officers. This Article shows that these claims are incorrect. Drawing on congressional and executive sources, case law, and contemporaneous treatises, this Article demonstrates that the prevailing view in the years between the Constitution’s adoption and the impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson was that financial government institutions were no different from other parts of the federal government for purposes of presidential control. The President had the constitutional authority to remove officials within the Department of the Treasury. The institutions over which presidential control was conspicuously lacking—the First and Second Banks of the United States—were generally understood to be private, rather than arms of the government, and to perform non-sovereign functions. But to the extent the Bank was understood to perform sovereign functions, its opponents argued that it did so impermissibly, using a variation of the modern argument that Congress may not delegate such functions to private entities. This Article’s exploration of these issues both bears on contemporary debates about the scope of the President’s removal power and shows how early expositors of the Constitution understood the allocation of federal government control over national financial policy.

Teaching Constitutional Law Using Real-life Examples: An Example from the Practice of Assent to Bills Passed by the National Assembly After the Tenure of Office of the President and the Assembly

As a matter of tradition and necessity, teachers of constitutional law within Nigeria (and elsewhere) are often compelled to refer to case law to provide illustrations of principles of constitutional law as enshrined in the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended). However, in some instances, where the said constitution does not provide explicit provisions, teachers of constitutional law are compelled to cite foreign case law as persuasive precedents. Still there are instances wherein there are neither foreign case law nor indigenous case law as precedents. In such situations, teachers of constitutional law are compelled to examine existing case law and relevant legislation until there is a pronouncement from either the Supreme Court or an alteration of the constitution by the National Assembly. One such situation is the subject of the analysis in this article: the situation whereby a president provides assent to bills after the expiration of the tenure of the National Assembly. As legislative tradition, the last session of each Chambers of the Nigeria’s National Assembly culminating each legislative term is usually a valedictory Session. Accordingly, Thursday, 6 June 2019 witnessed the last Session of the eighth National Assembly. As the president transmitted a Proclamation letter terminating the term of the eighth National Assembly inaugurated on 9 June 2015, it becomes paramount to examine the legal and constitutional implications of bills passed by the eighth National Assembly between 2016 and 2018 and up to 5 June 2019, which were assented to by the president after the tenure of the Assembly and office of the president. Thus, this article examines the constitutionality or otherwise of assenting to bills passed by the National Assembly and assented to by the president after the expiration of tenure of their offices. The article argues that the provisions of the 1999 Constitution had been violated when the president signed into law bills passed by the eighth National Assembly after the tenure of office of the president and the eighth National Assembly. It concludes that bills rejected by the president will require another legislative process of being passed into law again by the same Assembly or subsequent one before it can be assented to by the president. Failure to follow this constitutional process will render the assent unconstitutional.

A Study of Metaphors used for Bingu wa Mutharika and Peter Mutharika as Presidents of Malawi and the Impact on their Political Legacy

Metaphor analysis has been a very attractive area of scholarly research within cognitive linguistics in which different abstract ideas get mapped into tangible concepts. In Africa, it has become common that individuals like presidents are given metaphors to conceptualise their performance in office with the objective world. However, such political metaphors have not received much attention in academic discourse, and research studies that address the impact of metaphors on presidents’ political legacy are rare. Therefore, this paper analyses metaphors that Malawians have used in relation to their political leaders by drawing examples from two State Presidents: Bingu wa Mutharika and Arthur Peter Mutharika, and how the legacy of the two eventually has come to be associated with the metaphors. In politics, metaphors are essential because they are the lens through which people view and assess their leaders at both theoretical and functional level. Using the approach outlined by Schmitt (2005), the study analyses four major metaphors, namely: MOSE WA LERO (The New Moses), NGWAZI (The Conqueror/The Great Warrior), CHITSULO CHA NJANJI (The Railway Steel), and ADADI (The father/Dad). This paper argues that political metaphors, whether for praise or self-glorification, have an impact on influencing, shaping, and preserving the image of political leaders during their tenure of office which eventually become their legacy. The study acknowledges that presidents’ legacy can be traced through metaphor analysis. The analyses can become meaningful and valid in unearthing the history of conduct and performance of individual leaders.