Public Policy Research Organization Research Articles

Evaluation of Transborder Crimes in Nigeria

Transborder crimes are criminal activities that transverse borders of two or more countries. Notable crimes that flourish across Nigerian’s borders are illicit drug trafficking, Terrorism, proliferation of small arms and light weapons ( SALWs), Human trafficking, internet fraud, oil theft, smuggling of goods among others. All these activities have precipitated security and economic complications across West Africa sub region. The 2022 Global peace Index ranked Nigeria 143 among 163 independent Nations and Territories according to the level of peacefulness while Cato Institute a Washington DC based public policy research organization rated Nigeria as the most unsafe place on earth after Iraq. This phenomenal rise of criminal ratings of Nigeria had attracted local and international attentions of scholars, policy makers and governments. Thus, this study investigates Transborders crimes in Nigeria using qualitative research methodology by reviewing the existing literature and conducting in-depth interviews of 85 informants selected randomly from government establishments and among stakeholders in Nigeria. The study relied on rational choice theory and behavioural theory as theoretical frameworks. The study revealed that Transborder crimes thrive across the West African nations because of many factors which include but not limited to the implementation of ECOWAS protocol on free movement of persons and goods, porous borders, youth unemployment, poverty, poorly trained and ill-equipped security personnel, corruption, poor inter-agency coordination and collaboration. The study concluded that despite various measures by the Nigerian government and International organizations like ECOWAS, UNO, AU to checkmate the scourge, the desired results have not been achieved. The study therefore recommended effective border monitoring and management, job creation, community policing initiative, increased military actions and surveillance, among others as panacea to Transborder crimes detection, reduction and prevention.

Comments of the R Street Institute in Opposition to the Proposed Rulemaking, in Changes to the Claim Construction Standard for Interpreting Claims in Trial Proceedings Before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board

The R Street Institute respectfully submits the following comments in response to the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking dated May 9, 2018. R Street is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, public policy research organization whose mission is to engage in policy research and outreach to promote free markets and limited, effective government. Broadly, this comment makes three recommendations in response to the Notice. 1. The Office should not proceed with its proposed rulemaking to change the claim construction standard used in post-grant proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. This is because changing the standard will: • Undermine the public interest in clarity of patents; • Create bad incentives toward ambiguity for patent applicants and holders; • Raise novel legal questions for post-grant procedure, such as the relevance of infringing products and the applicability of collateral estoppel; • Decrease certainty and predictability of claim construction outcomes; • Encourage hasty claim construction practice in district courts in efforts to preempt the Board; and • Open up the troubling possibility that a patent could be infringed by its own prior art, as a result of inconsistent claim constructions between the Board and district courts.

A Conversation with Emery Neal Castle

This article presents the transcript of an interview with the eminent economist, Emery Neal Castle. Emery discusses his youth in rural Kansas and how it shaped him and his career. After several years in the US Army Air Force during World War II, Emery returned to Kansas State University for his undergraduate studies and then completed his PhD at Iowa State University. He eventually landed at Oregon State University (OSU) in the mid-1950s, where he taught farm management and developed early courses in water resource economics. Emery and colleagues nurtured what became a world-renowned resource economics program at OSU. Emery also spent a decade running the nonprofit public policy research organization Resources for the Future in Washington, DC. Throughout his long career, Emery made significant contributions to three subfields of applied economics: farm management, resource economics, and rural studies. Emery has received numerous awards for his impact on the profession and the agricultural economy.

Oracle vs. Microsoft: Corporate Espionage or Competitive Intelligence?

O n June 27, 2000, Silicon Valley’s Oracle Corporation, the world’s second largest software manufacturer, admitted that the company hired a private investigative firm, Investigative Group International (IGI), to probe two private public policy research organizations that supported the world’s number one software firm, Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Washington, during the recent landmark antitrust trial initiated by the U.S. Department of Justice. Oracle hired IGI, a firm headed by former Senate Watergate attorney Terry Lenzner, to gather information on whether Microsoft financially supported the Independent Institute and the National Taxpayers Union, both of which were releasing independent research supportive of Microsoft’s position during the antitrust trial. IGI ‘‘conducts confidential fact-finding around the world for corporations, law firms, financial institutions, public agencies, and private individuals.’’ ‘‘Left undisclosed, these Microsoft front groups could have improperly influenced the outcome of one of the most important cases in U.S. history,’’ said Oracle in a statement. ‘‘It’s absolutely true we set out to expose Microsoft’s covert activities,’’ said Larry Ellison, Oracle’s chief executive officer. According to Ellison, the Independent Institute and the National Taxpayers Union made it appear that it would be best for American taxpayers if Microsoft won the antitrust trial. ‘‘These experts were bought and paid for by Microsoft, by two taxpayers, Bill Gates and Steve Balmer,’’ stated Ellison. ‘‘I feel very good about what we did,’’ said Ellison. Oracle’s Ellison responded to criticism by challenging Microsoft to spy on Business and Society Review 107:4 501–511

A study of education policy research at the Brookings Institution

This paper reports a study of the education policy research efforts at the Brookings Institution, a leading non-profit public policy research organization (think tank) in the United States. The data for this study was derived from on-site interviews, the Brookings Institution library as well as archival materials. The on-site interviews took place during the summer of 1996, and focused on contextual factors, including a review of research efforts in education policy at Brookings. The data from the interviews and those from the library and archival collections were analyzed in conjunction with each other. The findings of this study show that the Brookings Institution has a long history of involvement in education policy research in the United States. The findings also reveal that a number of factors work together in policy research efforts at Brookings, including a progressive trend of involvement in education policy over time, availability of a critical concentration of scholars with some degree of interest in education reform, and an organizational climate conducive to research on innovative education policies. The latter includes a sense of cohesiveness, and mutual understanding and respect between the scholars and administrators. Strong administrative support, as well as technical support for research and dissemination of research findings, are key factors. These findings should help educational researchers, policy makers and administrators gain a clear picture of the role of a leading public policy research organization in education reform, and provide a basis for researching the role of think tanks in education policy.

Think tank directory: a guide to nonprofit public policy research organizations

Think tank directory: a guide to nonprofit public policy research organizations

The human costs of over-regulation.

Pacing and Clinical ElectrophysiologyVolume 19, Issue 3 p. 360-362 The Human Costs of Over-Regulation DAVID C. MURRAY, Corresponding Author DAVID C. MURRAY Competitiveness Center of Hudson Institute, Indianapolis, IndianaAddress for reprints: David C. Murray, Research Fellow, The Competitiveness Center of Hudson Institute, 5395 Emerson Way, PO Box 26–919, Indianapolis, IN 46226–0919. Fax: (317) 545–9639.Search for more papers by this author DAVID C. MURRAY, Corresponding Author DAVID C. MURRAY Competitiveness Center of Hudson Institute, Indianapolis, IndianaAddress for reprints: David C. Murray, Research Fellow, The Competitiveness Center of Hudson Institute, 5395 Emerson Way, PO Box 26–919, Indianapolis, IN 46226–0919. Fax: (317) 545–9639.Search for more papers by this author First published: March 1996 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-8159.1996.tb03339.x Hudson Institute is a not-for-profit, non-partisan public policy research organization that conducts research in the public interest. It is funded through a combination of grants and contracts from various endowments, corporations, and institutions. The views expressed above do not necessarily reflect those of Hudson Institute, its trustees, staff, or contractors. AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Volume19, Issue3March 1996Pages 360-362 RelatedInformation

Nonprofit public policy research organizations: a sourcebook on think tanks in government

Nonprofit public policy research organizations: a sourcebook on think tanks in government

Managing Diversity in a Technical Environment

ABSTRACTA landmark study completed by a public policy research organization concluded that American technical businesses can expect a heterogeneous labor force in the future. To maximize productivity, it is crucial that managers tap the potential of all employees, no matter how diverse employee backgrounds might be. A major change in attitudes and behaviors is necessary so that no employee may be limited by the barriers of organizational structure, whether formal or informal. This article recognizes some of the companies that are pioneers in their efforts toward diversity education, and presents a model approach for planning diversity in a technical environment. The model approach was developed by the author by careful review of current diversity programs in the literature.

The “Grey” Ghetto: Key Issues Related to Public Policy Research Literature

“Grey”, “ephemeral”, “fugitive”, and “non‐trade” are terms used to describe the unique publications issued by American private public policy research organizations. These research organizations often publish the best and brightest analytical thinking about public problem‐solving and wield considerable influence in the process of national policymaking. Information professionals, responsible for social science collections, have for decades agonized over issues related to acquiring, cataloging, and organizing this unorthodox literature. Librarians have traditionally viewed this body of literature as too difficult and laborious to locate and inferior by library standards to sit on open shelves among the general collection.

Introduction to the seminar

Interest in computing’s potential contribution to local governments has increasingly become international as well as national, and in the past decade a number of major international conferences and symposia have been convened to compare, and share, experiences with computing and information systems at the local government level [l]. This symposium presents selected papers from a recent international seminar entitled “Municipal Information Systems, Pacific Area Community” (MISPAC). The seminar took place at the East-West Center in Honolulu, Hawaii in July 1983. The seminar was organized by the Public Policy Research Organization (PPRO) of the University of California, Irvine and the Local Authorities Systems Development Center (LASDEC) of Japan (see Notes).

A demographic portrait of physicians sanctioned by the federal government for fraud and abuse against Medicare and Medicaid.

? From the Public Policy Research Organization, University of California, Irvine, California. Supported by a grant from the National Institute of Justice, U.S. Department of Justice (82-1J-CX-0035). An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Meetings of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, Chicago, IL, March 28, 1984. Address correspondence to: Henry N. Pontell, PhD, Program in Social Ecology, University of California, Irvine, CA 92717.

The Mayor as a Policy Leader in the Council-Manager Form of Government: A View from the Field

Foundation (PRA 76-15549) and the RANN Division of the National Science Foundation (I.E. 41202500). James L. Perry and Kenneth L. Kraemer, Diffusion and Adoption of Computer Applications Software in Governments, Final Report submitted to the Division of Policy Research and Analysis, National Science Foundation (Irvine, CA: Public Policy Research Organization, 1978); and Perry and Kraemer, Technological Innovation in American Government: The Case of Computing (New York: Pergamon, forthcoming). Four innovation processes were examined in the research: adoption, adoptability, transfer, and diffusion. Adoption refers to the decision surrounding whether or not a particular computer application will be adopted by local governments. Adoptability refers to probability that an application will be adopted by local governments. Transfer refers to the process of moving a computer application developed in one local government (or federal, state or private agency) to another local government. Diffusion refers to the overall spread of computer applications among local governments. 14. The survey was supported by the National Science Foundation, Research Applied to National Needs Division (I.E. 41202500). 15. Nan Lin and Gerald Zaltman, Dimensions of Innovations, in Processes and Phenomena of Social Change, ed. Gerald Zaltman (New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1973), pp. 93-116 at 109. 16. Kenneth L. Kraemer, Local Government, Information Systems, and Technology Transfer, Public Administration Review, Vol. 36, No. 4 (July/August 1977).

Innovation attributes, policy intervention, and the diffusion of computer applications among local governments

Several shortcomings of traditional diffusion research create major impediments to our understanding of the diffusion of innovations as well as to the development of effective strategies of policy intervention to facilitate diffusion. Among the criticisms of diffusion research are the selection bias of many diffusion studies and the futility of curve fitting as an adequate test of theoretical relevance. These shortcomings can be avoided by substantive and methodological changes in diffusion research. We argue that innovation attributes, together with policies associated with the diffusion of an innovation, account for significant differences in diffusion patterns. An empirical analysis of this thesis focuses on the diffusion of computer applications software in local government. This paper is part of a research project entitled “Diffusion and Adoption of Computer Applications Software in Local Governments.” This project is supported by a grant to the Public Policy Research Organization and the Graduate School of Administration from the Division of Policy Research and Analysis of the National Science Foundation (PRA-76-15549). The views expressed herein are those of the researchers and should not be ascribed to the National Science Foundation. The full report of this research is forthcoming in Technological Innovation in American Local Governments: The Case of Computing (New York: Pergamon).