Administration Paradigm Research Articles

Theoretical models of public administration and patterns of state reform in Greece

Departing from the post-war Weberian-oriented bureaucratic model, the Greek administrative system has been subjected to several reform programmes with a view to its modernization. This article aims to explore the main shifts in the course of administrative change and relate this process with the broader theoretical developments in the field of public administration. It is argued that the Greek administration has been unable to follow and take advantage of a vigorously expanded constellation of ideal-types and hybrid models of state (re)organization. Transformations have diachronically produced weak results and failed to build a consistent conceptual and operational administrative paradigm. Even under the current economic contraction and the external conditionality pressure, there is no strong evidence of a paradigm shift in the administrative pattern but rather fragmented changes of limited ambit. Points for practitioners Despite the fact that the Greek public administration has undergone a series of transformations, interestingly almost none of these reform efforts seem to have incorporated a particular administrative pattern. This article summarizes old and more recent theoretical developments on models of administrative reorganization, with a view to broadening practitioners’ choices in the process of state reform.

Repeated low-dose kainate administration in C57BL/6J mice produces temporal lobe epilepsy pathology but infrequent spontaneous seizures

More efficient or translationally relevant approaches are needed to model acquired temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) in genetically tractable mice. The high costs associated with breeding and maintaining transgenic, knock-in, or knock-out lines place a high value on the efficiency of induction and animal survivability. Herein, we describe our approaches to model acquired epilepsy in C57BL/6J mice using repeated, low-dose kainate (KA) administration paradigms. Four paradigms (i.p.) were tested for their ability to induce status epilepticus (SE), temporal lobe pathology, and the development of epilepsy. All four paradigms reliably induce behavioral and/or electrographic SE without mortality over a 7d period. Two of the four paradigms investigated produce features indicative of TLE pathology, including hippocampal cell death, widespread astrogliosis, and astrocyte expression of mGluR5, a feature commonly reported in TLE models. Three of the investigated paradigms were able to produce aberrant electrographic features, such as interictal spiking in cortex. However, only one paradigm, previously published by others, produces spontaneous recurrent seizures over an eight week period. Presentation of spontaneous seizures is rare (N=2/14), with epilepsy preferentially developing in animals having a high number of seizures during SE. Overall, repeated, low-dose KA administration improves the efficiency and pathological relevance of a systemic KA insult, but does not produce a robust epilepsy phenotype under the experimental paradigms described herein.

Emotional Impairment and Persistent Upregulation of mGlu5 Receptor following Morphine Abstinence: Implications of an mGlu5-MOPr Interaction.

Background:A difficult problem in treating opioid addicts is the maintenance of a drug-free state because of the negative emotional symptoms associated with withdrawal, which may trigger relapse. Several lines of evidence suggest a role for the metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 in opioid addiction; however, its involvement during opioid withdrawal is not clear.Methods:Mice were treated with a 7-day escalating-dose morphine administration paradigm. Following withdrawal, the development of affective behaviors was assessed using the 3-chambered box, open-field, elevated plus-maze and forced-swim tests. Metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 autoradiographic binding was performed in mouse brains undergoing chronic morphine treatment and 7 days withdrawal. Moreover, since there is evidence showing direct effects of opioid drugs on the metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 system, the presence of an metabotropic glutamate receptor 5/μ-opioid receptor interaction was assessed by performing metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 autoradiographic binding in brains of mice lacking the μ-opioid receptor gene.Results:Withdrawal from chronic morphine administration induced anxiety-like, depressive-like, and impaired sociability behaviors concomitant with a marked upregulation of metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 binding. Administration of the metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 antagonist, 3-((2-Methyl-4-thiazolyl)ethynyl)pyridine, reversed morphine abstinence-induced depressive-like behaviors. A brain region-specific increase in metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 binding was observed in the nucleus accumbens shell, thalamus, hypothalamus, and amygdala of μ-opioid receptor knockout mice compared with controls.Conclusions:These results suggest an association between metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 alterations and the emergence of opioid withdrawal-related affective behaviors. This study supports metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 system as a target for the development of pharmacotherapies for the treatment of opioid addiction. Moreover, our data show direct effects of μ-opioid receptor system manipulation on metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 binding in the brain.

О ПРИНЦИПИАЛЬНОЙ НЕСПОСОБНОСТИ ОСНОВНЫХ АДМИНИСТРАТИВНЫХ ПАРАДИГМ СФОРМИРОВАТЬ МЕХАНИЗМЫ ПРЕОДОЛЕНИЯ СОВРЕМЕННОГО АДМИНИСТРАТИВНОГО КРИЗИСА

The hypothesis of the article is that the basic administrative paradigms (Weberian and neo-Weberian; NPM; New Public Governance) are not capable of providing tools and procedures (sets of administrative mechanisms, attributed to the basic administrative paradigms) for governance which are suitable for overcoming the global administrative crisis. The arguments in support of this hypothesis are outlined according to an analysis of scenarios of using such administrative mechanisms under the conditions of administrative crisis: (a) to use each set of administrative mechanism (or to limit their usage through some “good mechanisms”) in the practice of governance despite their attribution to different basic administrative paradigms; (b) to select the “best” basic administrative paradigm and to only follow this particular vision with recommendations on how to shape the administration and its work.In the final part of the article the possible principles of a new administrative paradigm that could be relevant to the fast-changing contemporary situation and current instability are discussed.

Od centralnego planowania do współzarządzania? Polski system edukacji w epoce zmiany paradygmatu administrowania

The aim of this paper is to analyse the public administration in Poland from the perspective of the evolution of subsequent paradigms of public administration (Public Administration, New Public Management and Governance). The general model is applied to the case study of the education sector in Poland. Special attention was paid to the issue of delegating public services by local governments to non-governmental organisations in education in Poland and the role of the state in regulating this process. According to the author, simultaneous interaction of conf licting paradigms of management has created favourable conditions for the autonomous institutional process that led to an unstable balance of power between the market and statist solutions in the Polish educational system.

A ‘paperless’ wall-mounted surgical safety checklist with migrated leadership can improve compliance and team engagement

BackgroundOutcome benefits of using the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist rely on compliance with checklist administration.ObjectiveTo evaluate engagement of operating room (OR) subteams (anaesthesia, surgery and nursing), and compliance with administering...

Hormesis: Decoding Two Sides of the Same Coin.

In the paradigm of drug administration, determining the correct dosage of a therapeutic is often a challenge. Several drugs have been noted to demonstrate contradictory effects per se at high and low doses. This duality in function of a drug at different concentrations is known as hormesis. Therefore, it becomes necessary to study these biphasic functions in order to understand the mechanistic basis of their effects. In this article, we focus on different molecules and pathways associated with diseases that possess a duality in their function and thus prove to be the seat of hormesis. In particular, we have highlighted the pathways and factors involved in the progression of cancer and how the biphasic behavior of the molecules involved can alter the manifestations of cancer. Because of the pragmatic role that it exhibits, the imminent need is to draw attention to the concept of hormesis. Herein, we also discuss different stressors that trigger hormesis and how stress-mediated responses increase the overall adaptive response of an individual to stress stimulus. We talk about common pathways through which cancer progresses (such as nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2-Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 (Nrf2-Keap1), sirtuin-forkhead box O (SIRT-FOXO) and others), analyzing how diverse molecules associated with these pathways conform to hormesis.

Five challenges for public administrations in Europe

Abstract This article examines five ‘challenges’ facing most administrative systems across Europe. The first challenge stems from the increasingly asymmetric nature of European multilevel governance; the second challenge arises from the missed opportunity of reforming in the absence of a dominant administrative paradigm; the third challenge lies in rescuing and transforming the welfare state; the fourth challenge is concerned with making the most of the knowledge generated in the field of strategic management for strategically managing public services; the fifth challenge lies in staff (de)motivation. These challenges are pitched at very different levels: some are related to issues of public governance, some to issues of scholarly and practitioners’ collective understandings of public administration in Europe, and some to trends in the global economy, and notably the financial, economic and fiscal ‘crises’.

Destructive Obedience Without Pressure

Abstract. Studies on obedience to authority highlight the power of the situation by showing how an experimental setting can trap participants and force them to commit acts contrary to their values ( Bocchiaro & Zimbardo, 2010 ). The source of obedience has generally been represented by an institutional scientific authority. In the present experiment, we tested a more widespread form of authority: a managerial authority implemented in the form of an administrative violence paradigm ( Meeus & Raaijmakers, 1986 ). Specifically, we compared two forms of authority: obedience to authority as manipulated by Meeus and Raaijmakers (1986) , where the requests are made in an authoritarian manner, and compliance without pressure, where the participant is told that he is free to do what is requested ( Enzle & Harvey, 1982 ). The results illustrate that a substantial level of obedience can be elicited even in the absence of explicit authoritarian pressure.

Local Government Capacity in Australia

This paper analyses how effectively local government in Australia performs its functions as a key element of subnational governance. Service delivery and local democracy are identified as the core functions of local government. The analysis takes into account paradigms of public administration, democracy and management, the public organization, accountability and capacity. The concept of ‘capacity’ brings together many of the issues discussed in this paper. Questions of capacity relate to whether local governments are effectively performing their institutional functions, how they do so with regard to principles of good governance, and whether the dimensions of their capacity can be reformed if there was the need to meet additional demands.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.ppaa.14.3.13433

Androgen-primed castrate males are sufficient for methamphetamine-facilitated increases in proceptive behavior in female rats

Methamphetamine (MA) is a psychomotor stimulant associated with increases in sex drive in both men and women. Women, however, are far more likely to face social disadvantages as a consequence of MA use, and their increased sexual motivation poses additional health concerns such as unplanned pregnancies. To better understand the mechanisms underlying MA-facilitated sexual motivation in females, we previously established a rodent model where a “binge”-type administration paradigm of MA to sexually receptive female rats significantly increases proceptive behavior in the presence of a sexually active, gonadally-intact male. Our previous work with this model has led us to consider whether the increases in proceptive behavior are truly indicative of increased sexual motivation, or instead a consequence of heightened motor responsivity. Here, we test whether MA-induced increases in proceptive behaviors are specific to a sexually relevant stimulus. Females' sexual, social, exploratory behaviors, and interaction times were scored during the exposure to stimulus males, including castrates, and dihydrotestosterone (DHT)-treated castrates. MA-treated females demonstrated significant increases in proceptive behaviors toward DHT-treated castrate males but not toward castrate males. While the non-MA-treated females did display proceptive behavior, there was no significant difference between behaviors elicited by DHT-CX males compared to CX males. Our results support the hypothesis that MA facilitates proceptive behavior only in response to specific, androgen mediated sexually-relevant cues.

Doxorubicin: Comparison between 3-h continuous and bolus intravenous administration paradigms on cardio-renal axis, mitochondrial sphingolipids and pathology

Doxorubicin (DOX) is a potent and effective broad-spectrum anthracycline antitumor agent, but its clinical usefulness is restricted by cardiotoxicity. This study compared pharmacokinetic, functional, structural and biochemical effects of single dose DOX bolus or 3-h continuous iv infusion (3-h iv) in the Han–Wistar rat to characterize possible treatment-related differences in drug safety over a 72h observation period.Both DOX dosing paradigms significantly altered blood pressure, core body temperature and QA interval (indirect measure of cardiac contractility); however, there was no recovery observed in the bolus iv treatment group. Following the 3-h iv treatment, blood pressures and QA interval normalized by 36h then rose above baseline levels over 72h. Both treatments induced biphasic changes in heart rate with initial increases followed by sustained decreases. Cardiac injury biomarkers in plasma were elevated only in the bolus iv treatment group. Tissue cardiac injury biomarkers, cardiac mitochondrial complexes I, III and V and cardiac mitochondrial sphingolipids were decreased only in the bolus iv treatment group. Results indicate that each DOX dosing paradigm deregulates sinus rhythm. However, slowing the rate of infusion allows for functional compensation of blood pressure and may decrease the likelihood of cardiac myocyte necrosis via a mechanism associated with reduced mitochondrial damage.

Prenatal exposure to ethanol stimulates hypothalamic CCR2 chemokine receptor system: Possible relation to increased density of orexigenic peptide neurons and ethanol drinking in adolescent offspring

Clinical and animal studies indicate that maternal consumption of ethanol during pregnancy increases alcohol drinking in the offspring. Possible underlying mechanisms may involve orexigenic peptides, which are stimulated by prenatal ethanol exposure and themselves promote drinking. Building on evidence that ethanol stimulates neuroimmune factors such as the chemokine CCL2 that in adult rats is shown to colocalize with the orexigenic peptide, melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH) in the lateral hypothalamus (LH), the present study sought to investigate the possibility that CCL2 or its receptor CCR2 in LH is stimulated by prenatal ethanol exposure, perhaps specifically within MCH neurons. Our paradigm of intraoral administration of ethanol to pregnant rats, at low-to-moderate doses (1 or 3g/kg/day) during peak hypothalamic neurogenesis, caused in adolescent male offspring twofold increase in drinking of and preference for ethanol and reinstatement of ethanol drinking in a two-bottle choice paradigm under an intermittent access schedule. This effect of prenatal ethanol exposure was associated with an increased expression of MCH and density of MCH+ neurons in LH of preadolescent offspring. Whereas CCL2+ cells at this age were low in density and unaffected by ethanol, CCR2+ cells were dense in LH and increased by prenatal ethanol, with a large percentage (83–87%) identified as neurons and found to colocalize MCH. Prenatal ethanol also stimulated the genesis of CCR2+ and MCH+ neurons in the embryo, which co-labeled the proliferation marker, BrdU. Ethanol also increased the genesis and density of neurons that co-expressed CCR2 and MCH in LH, with triple-labeled CCR2+/MCH+/BrdU+ neurons that were absent in control rats accounting for 35% of newly generated neurons in ethanol-exposed rats. With both the chemokine and MCH systems believed to promote ethanol consumption, this greater density of CCR2+/MCH+ neurons in the LH of preadolescent rats suggests that these systems function together in promoting alcohol drinking during adolescence.

Hippocampal cell fate regulation by chronic cocaine during periods of adolescent vulnerability: Consequences of cocaine exposure during adolescence on behavioral despair in adulthood.

Given that adolescence represents a critical moment for shaping adult behavior and may predispose to disease vulnerability later in life, the aim of this study was to find a vulnerable period during adolescence in which hippocampal cell fate regulation was altered by cocaine exposure, and to evaluate the long-term consequences of a cocaine experience during adolescence in affecting hippocampal plasticity and behavioral despair in adulthood. Study I: Male rats were treated with cocaine (15mg/kg, i.p.) or saline for 7 consecutive days during adolescence (early post-natal day (PND) 33-39, mid PND 40-46, late PND 47-53). Hippocampal plasticity (i.e., cell fate regulation, cell genesis) was evaluated 24h after the last treatment dose during the course of adolescence (PND 40, PND 47, PND 54). Study II: The consequences of cocaine exposure during adolescence (PND 33-39 or PND 33-46; 7 or 14days) were measured in adulthood at the behavioral (i.e., forced swim test, PND 62-63) and molecular (hippocampal cell markers, PND 64) levels. Chronic cocaine during early adolescence dysregulated FADD forms only in the hippocampus (HC), as compared to other brain regions, and during mid adolescence, impaired cell proliferation (Ki-67) and increased PARP-1 cleavage (a cell death maker) in the HC. Interestingly, chronic cocaine exposure during adolescence did not alter the time adult rats spent immobile in the forced swim test. These results suggest that this paradigm of chronic cocaine administration during adolescence did not contribute to the later manifestation of behavioral despair (i.e., one pro-depressive symptom) as measured by the forced swim test in adulthood.

A Study to Improve the Public Data Management of the City of Busan

The government of the Republic of Korea has recently released a new administrative paradigm called “Government 3.0” to encourage the use of public data. Although this has caused a consistent increase in public data’s usage, users and managers still experience difficulties in the system because of management issues such as disordered naming, unstandardized classification, and the unprofessionalism and insufficient knowledge of on-site operators. To respond to these problems, this study focused on identifying the critical issues and points for improvement of public data management with case studies and focus group interviews with on-site persons in charge of public data belonging to Busan’s city government.

NON-FORMALIZED METHODOLOGICAL APPROACHES TO THE SMALL BUSINESS STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT ANALYSIS

One of the key elements of strategic management is the scientific approach to assessment and analysis using formalized and unformalized methods to substantiate the management decisions. Such understanding of the economic analysis logic seems to adequately match administrative paradigms and logic of small business functioning under market environment. Based on the conclusions of scientists who have dedicated their works to cyclical fluctuations and cycle-forming fac-tors, it is possible to use non-formalized methodologies for assessing the economic situation of a small business. To identify the financial position it is expedient to apply the method based on a combination of two significant features: the own capital and the net working capital. The methodology of small business system competitiveness management accepts the hypothesis that competitiveness can be several elements, is measurable and correlated with specific potential of an economic system. The small business subjects competitiveness is regarded as economic effect created from the synergies of industrial, organizational, informational, innovative, resource, environmental, financial, economic and other results of the entity. The article presents such understanding of the formalized methodological logic approaches to the analysis of small businesses strategic management

Daily Injection But Not Continuous Infusion of Apomorphine Inhibits Form-Deprivation Myopia in Mice.

To compare the effects of daily injection versus continuous infusion of a nonspecific dopamine agonist, apomorphine (APO), on refraction and ocular growth in normal postnatal mice and mice with form-deprivation myopia (FDM). The C57BL/6 mice were subjected (or not) to monocular FD by covering the left eye with a frosted goggle and leaving the right (fellow) eye uncovered. During postnatal days 28 to 56, both groups received APO (5 mg/kg/d) or vehicle either as daily intraperitoneal injection or by continuous subcutaneous infusion with mini-pumps. After these treatments, binocular refractions were measured by photoretinoscopy and binocular ocular dimensions were measured by optical coherence tomography. Monocular photopic flash electroretinograms were recorded from non-FD mice. In normal mice, daily injection or continuous infusion of APO did not affect normal postnatal development of refraction. However, in the FD group, daily APO-injection attenuated ocular growth and also myopia development, as reflected in the interocular differences for APO-injected mice compared with vehicle-injected mice: (1) refraction, -1.04 ± 0.37 diopter (D) (APO-injection) compared with -4.14 ± 0.77 D (vehicle-injection) (P < 0.05); (2) vitreous chamber depth: -0.002 ± 0.005 mm compared with 0.032 ± 0.009 mm (P < 0.05); and (3) axial length: 0.000 ± 0.005 mm compared with 0.057 ± 0.007 mm (P < 0.05). By contrast, continuous APO-infusion failed to affect these biometric parameters. Furthermore, daily APO-injection decreased the ERG a- and b-wave amplitudes, whereas continuous APO-infusion increased these responses. In monocularly FD mice, daily APO-injection, but not continuous infusion, attenuated myopia development. Therefore, evaluating different dopamine agonist administration paradigms is important for identifying effective dopamine-based treatment for myopia.

Challenges in Health Research Funding: an opinion.

Challenges in Health Research Funding: an opinion.

Acceso desigual de los hombres y de las mujeres a las disciplinas científicas: la influencia del discurso naturalista del siglo XVIII sobre las prácticas directivas educativas actuales

This article reviews how the general thinking developed during the 18th Century Enlightenment served as today´s basis for stigmatizing the participation of women in the sciences and constructing gender stereotypes. The author observes how western educational models date back to 19th century conservative gender relationships. The article strives to state how, in spite of evident steps to promote gender inclusion, current administrative educational systems have failed in overcoming gender stereotypes. From an administrative standpoint, the persistence of the aforementioned paradigms must be considered when developing alternatives. The current educational administrative paradigm must be reviewed and order to incorporate a gender perspective and attain lasting changes in the coeducational system.

Stereochemistry of mephedrone neuropharmacology: enantiomer-specific behavioural and neurochemical effects in rats.

Synthetic cathinones, commonly referred to as 'bath salts', are a group of amphetamine-like drugs gaining popularity worldwide. 4-Methylmethcathinone (mephedrone, MEPH) is the most commonly abused synthetic cathinone in the UK, and exerts its effects by acting as a substrate-type releaser at monoamine transporters. Similar to other cathinone-related compounds, MEPH has a chiral centre and exists stably as two enantiomers: R-mephedrone (R-MEPH) and S-mephedrone (S-MEPH). Here, we provide the first investigation into the neurochemical and behavioural effects of R-MEPH and S-MEPH. We analysed both enantiomers in rat brain synaptosome neurotransmitter release assays and also investigated their effects on locomotor activity (e.g. ambulatory activity and repetitive movements), behavioural sensitization and reward. Both enantiomers displayed similar potency as substrates (i.e. releasers) at dopamine transporters, but R-MEPH was much less potent than S-MEPH as a substrate at 5-HT transporters. Locomotor activity was evaluated in acute and repeated administration paradigms, with R-MEPH producing greater repetitive movements than S-MEPH across multiple doses. After repeated drug exposure, only R-MEPH produced sensitization of repetitive movements. R-MEPH produced a conditioned place preference whereas S-MEPH did not. Lastly, R-MEPH and S-MEPH produced biphasic profiles in an assay of intracranial self-stimulation (ICSS), but R-MEPH produced greater ICSS facilitation than S-MEPH. Our data are the first to demonstrate stereospecific effects of MEPH enantiomers and suggest that the predominant dopaminergic actions of R-MEPH (i.e. the lack of serotonergic actions) render this stereoisomer more stimulant-like when compared with S-MEPH. This hypothesis warrants further study.