Consolidation

This book addresses two issues related to the structure of local government: the determinants of consolidation and the potential impact of consolidation on local government spending. This is a narrow undertaking and leaves important elements of local government reform for future analysis. The study's primary foci are examining the factors that influence city-county consolidation, considering the impact of city-county consolidation on local government spending, and estimating the potential savings that could result from the scale economies and efficiency gains from consolidating local government units. While other regions of the United States are considered in this study, but the analysis focuses primarily on the Midwest where population declines and changes in the employment base and state policies (such as property tax caps in Indiana) have had dramatic effects on the fiscal viability of local governments. The current economic climate, along with policy changes related to property tax restructuring in many states, has led to substantial reductions in local governments' budgets. As a result, many local governments are in crisis and are considering some level of consolidation. Statistical methods and data on consolidation referendum attempts in the United States since 1970 are used to test whether governments that have consolidated (i.e., voters approved the consolidation referendum) had higher spending prior to their consolidation (as measured by local government employment rates, payrolls, and expenditures) compared to the average local government in the state. The effects of city-county consolidation are explored; using consolidation referendum data, the impact of consolidation on local government employment rates, payrolls, and expenditures is examined. The influence of consolidation on economic development is also investigated with some interesting results. The study also used two methods to estimate the savings from government consolidation and presents aggregate models to examine the potential savings from economies of scale and efficiency improvements. The book also helpfully provides a helpful discussion of the economies of scale and efficiency for several functional areas, including police and fire protection, sewerage, solid waste, public welfare, administration, health, education, and libraries. This book will be an essential resource for political scientists and policy makers interested in American government. Written in a highly accessible manner, it will also be a valuable read for students and general readers.

An argument that individuals and collectives form memories by analogous processes and a case study of collective retrograde amnesia. We form individual memories by a process known as consolidation: the conversion of immediate and fleeting bits of information into a stable and accessible representation of facts and events. These memories provide a version of the past that helps us navigate the present and is critical to individual identity. In this book, Thomas Anastasio, Kristen Ann Ehrenberger, Patrick Watson, and Wenyi Zhang propose that social groups form collective memories by analogous processes. Using facts and insights from neuroscience, psychology, anthropology, and history, they describe a single process of consolidation with analogous—not merely comparable—manifestations on any level, whether brain, family, or society. They propose a three-in-one model of memory consolidation, composed of a buffer, a relator, and a generalizer, all within the consolidating entity, that can explain memory consolidation phenomena on individual and collective levels. When consolidation is disrupted by traumatic injury to a brain structure known as the hippocampus, memories in the process of being consolidated are lost. In individuals, this is known as retrograde amnesia. The authors hypothesize a "social hippocampus" and argue that disruption at the collective level can result in collective retrograde amnesia. They offer the Chinese Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) as an example of trauma to the social hippocampus and present evidence for the loss of recent collective memory in mainland Chinese populations that experienced the Cultural Revolution.

This book argues that democracies emerging from peaceful protest last longer, achieve higher levels of democratic quality, and are more likely to see at least two peaceful handovers of power than democracies that emerged out of violent resistance or top-down liberalization. Nonviolent resistance is not just an effective means of deposing dictators; it can also help consolidate democracy after the transition from autocratic rule. Drawing on case studies on democratic consolidation in Africa and Latin America, the authors find that nonviolent resistance creates a more inclusive transition process that is more resistant to democratic breakdown in the long term.

"A fascinating account of how the city of Jacksonville met the major challenges of the last half of the 20th century, from those posed by race relations to downtown development to the environment. Crooks has provided a well-written, clear, and thoughtful analysis of the need for and movement to establish a consolidated government, and the early years of that government. His understanding of Jacksonville and of the times is impressive."--Joan S. Carver, Jacksonville University In the 1950s and '60s Jacksonville faced daunting problems. Critics described city government as boss-ridden, expensive, and corrupt. African Americans challenged racial segregation, and public high schools were disaccredited. The St. Johns River and its tributaries were heavily polluted. Downtown development had succumbed to suburban sprawl. Consolidation, endorsed by an almost two-to-one majority in 1967, became the catalyst for change. The city's decision to consolidate with surrounding Duval County began the transformation of this conservative, Deep South, backwater city into a prosperous, mainstream metropolis. James B. Crooks introduces readers to preconsolidation Jacksonville and then focuses on three major issues that confronted the expanded city: racial relations, environmental pollution, and the revitalization of downtown. He shows the successes and setbacks of four mayors--Hans G. Tanzler, Jake Godbold, Tommy Hazouri, and Ed Austin--in responding to these issues. He also compares Jacksonville's experience with that of another Florida metropolis, Tampa, which in 1967 decided against consolidation with surrounding Hillsborough County. Consolidation has not been a panacea for all the city's ills, Crooks concludes. Yet the city emerges in the 21st century with increased support for art and education, new economic initiatives, substantial achievements in downtown renewal, and laudable efforts to improve race relations and address environmental problems. Readers familiar with Jacksonville over the last 40 years will recognize events like the St. Johns River cleanup, the building of the Jacksonville Landing, the ending of odor pollution, and the arrival of the Jaguars NFL franchise. During the administration of Mayor Hazouri from 1987 to 1991, Crooks was Jacksonville historian-in-residence at City Hall. Combining observations from this period with extensive interviews and documents (including a cache of files from the mezzanine of the old City Hall parking garage that contained 44 cabinets of letters, memos, and reports), he has written an urban history that will fascinate scholars of politics and governmental reform as well as residents of the First Coast city. James B. Crooks is emeritus professor of history at the University of North Florida

Why did precarious and collapsed democracies in Europe develop into highly stable democracies? Gerard Alexander offers a rational choice theory of democratic consolidation in a survey of the breakdowns of and transitions to democratic institutions. Through an analysis of developments in Spain, Britain, France, Germany, and Italy, Alexander explores how key political sectors established the long-term commitment to democracy that distinguishes consolidated democracies. Alexander makes a highly accessible rationalist argument about the conditions under which such commitments emerge, arguing that powerful sectors abandon options for overthrowing democratic rules only when they predict low risks in democracy. The author's argument parallels established claims about the predictability essential to the development of modern capitalism. The Sources of Democratic Consolidation outlines Alexander's claim that a political precondition, rather than an economic or social precondition, exists for consolidated democracies. Drawing on interviews and archival research, the author links his argument to evidence from the five largest countries in Western Europe from the 1870s to the 1980s and also discusses the implications for the prospects for democratic consolidation in other regions. Political pacts, power-sharing, and institutional designs, he says, may help stabilize uncertain democracies, but they cannot create consolidation.

The book concludes with a hopeful view of the prospects for a fourth wave of global democratization.

Drawing on years of academic research on democracy and measurement and practical experience evaluating democratic practices for the United Nations and the Organization of American States, the author presents constructive assessment of the methods used to measure democracies that promises to bring order to the debate in academia and in practice. He makes the case for reassessing how democracy is measured and encourages fundamental changes in methodology. He has developed two instruments for quantifying and qualifying democracy: the UN Development Programme's Electoral Democracy Index and a case-by-case election monitoring tool used by the OAS.

Stone is one of the oldest building materials, and its conservation ranks as one of the most challenging in the field. The use of alkoxysilanes in the conservation of stone can be traced as far back as 1861, when A. W. von Hoffman suggested their use for the deteriorating limestone on the Houses of Parliament in London. Alkoxysilane-based formulations have since become the material of choice for the consolidation of stone outdoors.^l This volume, the first to cover comprehensively alkoxysilanes in stone consolidation, synthesizes the subject's vast and extensive literature, which ranges from production of alkoxysilanes in the nineteenth century to the extensive contributions from sol-gel science in the 1980s and 90s. Included are a historical overview, an annotated bibliography, and discussions of the following topics: the chemistry and physics of alkoxysilanes and their gels; the influence of stone type; commercial and noncommercial formulations; practice; lab and field evaluation of service life; and recent developments. This book is designed for conservators, scientists, and preservation architects in the field of stone conservation and will also serve as an indispensable introduction to the subject for students of art conservation and historic preservation.

Expert Consolidation in Oracle Database 12c is your key to reducing data management costs and increasing data center efficiency. Consolidation and cloud computing are converging trends sweeping the industry. The same technologies enabling cloud computing enable consolidation as well, leading to savings on all fronts from the amount of power used for servers to the amount of floor space consumed to the number of administrators needed to manage an installation. Yet the consolidation process can be a long and winding road. Success requires planning, and consideration to the impacts on supporting infrastructure. Expert Consolidation in Oracle Database 12c guides you through planning and implementing a consolidated Oracle Database installation using the many new features built into the latest release of Oracle’s database management system. You’ll learn to identify candidates for consolidation and to recognize instances that are best left stand-alone. The book guides in working with clustered systems and ASM storage in the consolidated environment. Focus is given to Oracle Enterprise Manager 12c Cloud Control as a monitoring and management dashboard. Always the goal is to drive towards a cost-effective environment that is efficient both in technology and people. Focuses on the new consolidation features in Oracle Database 12c Helps you evaluate and correctly decide when to consolidate Leads to cost savings and improved data center efficiency What you’ll learn Master the new consolidation and cloud features in Oracle Database 12c Correctly decide when to consolidate and when to remain standalone Reduce cost by reducing demand for rack space, power, and floor space Streamline administration with Oracle Enterprise Manager 12c Cloud Control Ensure the correct supporting infrastructure for a rock-solid environment Safeguard your new consolidate infrastructure from disaster and data loss Who this book is for Expert Consolidation in Oracle Database 12c is aimed at database administrators involved in consolidation efforts, or who are interested in exploring Oracle Database 12c’s strong support for consolidation and cloud computing. Table of Contents1. Consolidation as an Industry Trend 2. Oracle 12c New Features 3. Supporting Hardware 4. Supporting Software 5. Installing Oracle Linux 6. Installing Oracle Database 7. Pluggable Databases 8. Monitoring the Hosting Platform 9. Learning About Data Guard 10. Implementing Data Guard 11. Backup and Recovery 12. Upgrading to Oracle 12c

This book constructs an innovative theoretical analysis framework for corporate consolidation through M&A under the condition of government competition during the transition period. Under the condition of transitional economy, the government is an important agent in economic development. Government behaviors, especially government competitions, are institutional variables that affect enterprise behaviors and corporate consolidation. Based on the perspective of local government competition, starting from the essential problems of China's enterprise M&A during the transition period, and taking “the existence of M&A waves-the occurrence mechanism of M&A under government competition-the process of corporate consolidation under government competition—the macro and micro effects of M&A” as the main line, this book reveals the mechanism and effects of enterprise M&A on the evolution of industrial economic structure and regional economic structure under the paradigm of government competition. At the same time, taking “the motivations for government competition-conducts of government competition-effects of government competition” as the hidden line, the path of government competition and its impact mechanism are investigated. Relevant analysis of government competition is embodied in the logical framework of M&A and corporate consolidation.