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Originally published in 1988, this is a collection of symposium papers examining the link between public infrastructure and economic growth. Subjects covered include Economic theories of infrastructure Decision-making, Issues in the supply of Public infrastructure, Life cycle behaviour and the demand for infrastructure, limitations, financial sources and budgeting, the role of the local and federal government, different models and case studies in South Carolina, North Dakota, and the Pennsylvania Agricultural Access Program

The power of app-driven mobile phones was first unleashed in 2011 when they were used to mobilize protesters and gain support for political movements in the United States and abroad. Mobile devices have since become the bedrock of political activism. To examine the influence of app reliance on offline and online political participation, this study builds on the Orientation-Stimulus-Reasoning-Orientation-Response (O-S-R-O-R) model by (a) applying the model to mobile apps, (b) testing whether trust in, and reliance on political discussion are mediators between reliance on apps and political participation, and (c) using trust in both offline and online discussion as measures of cognitive elaboration. This study's path model suggests that app reliance is related to online political discussion, which, in turn, is related to online political participation, but not offline participation. Although both offline and online discussion are linked to offline and online trust in political discussion, trust in political discussion does not influence either offline or online political participation.

Social networking sites (SNSs) seem to have become a political filtering machine that allows users to classify their online friends based on their political ideologies. Hiding and unfriending on social media has turned into being a political gesture, discriminating individuals with opposite political views on SNSs. Unfriending activities during the 2016 U.S. Presidential election and during the Hong Kong Umbrella Movement are two notable examples. Individuals have the tendency to consume politically congenial information and be surrounded by people who share the same views. The formation of echo chambers and the reason for relationship dissolution on SNSs can be explained by Social Identity Theory.Through an online panel survey of 386 SNS users, this study examined how factors of political ideologies, social media and offline political participation and likeminded exposure on SNSs can predict hiding and unfriending/unfollowing on Twitter and Facebook. Results from ordinary least square (OLS) regression analysis revealed that if individuals had been in a politically homogeneous SNS environment, they were more likely to unfriend, suggesting the reinforcement of echo chambers in SNSs. Both social media and offline political participations predicted the dissociative, indicating that unfriending and hiding could be regarded as a new form of online political participation to engage in political affairs.

View the Executive SummaryWhat should the United States do about Afghanistan? After nearly 13 years and substantial U.S. national commitment in a country on the other side of the world, much has changed in Afghanistan, the United States, Afghanistan's region, and the globe. To prepare policy and strategy recommendations on Afghanistan for U.S. leaders, this monograph answers six key questions: 1. Did the United States have or develop critical national interests in Afghanistan and its immediate neighborhood on or because of the events of September 11, 2001? 2. Was overall U.S. strategy to pursue those interests successful and appropriate? 3. What outside conditions shaping U.S. involvement in Afghanistan exist now? 4. Do new vital and/or important national interests not met by our earlier strategies exist in this region? 5. What strategy(s) should the United States adopt or emphasize to achieve critical national interests in/around Afghanistan? 6. What risks and challenges are associated with new policies and/or strategies? ; https://press.armywarcollege.edu/monographs/1478/thumbnail.jpg

This research used a path analysis model to explore the degree to which reliance on off-line and online media, off-line and online discussion of political issues, as well as political attitudes predict whether an individual will engage in selective exposure to political websites. The study also looked at selective avoidance of contradictory information on websites. The results indicate that respondents did indeed practice selective exposure when accessing information on political websites, especially among those who are politically active online and those who rely heavily on websites and blogs for political information. However, the results showed that selective avoidance did not occur, with those exhibiting increased political interest and online participation significantly less likely to avoid information that challenges their views.

In "No Sign until the Burst of Fire: Understanding the Pakistan-Afghanistan Frontier," Thomas Johnson and Chris Mason argue that Pashtun tribal identities explain the lure of the Taliban and the shortcomings of the initial U.S. approach to the war in Afghanistan. 1 They carry this argument too far, however, and engage in cultural reductionism by portraying the Pashtun tribal code as the determining factor behind politics and preferences in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Area (FATA). Johnson and Mason make the following errors: (1) treating Pashtun identity as if it were set in stone; (2) failing to consider that today's radical Islamists rely on different sources of support than did the mullahs (Islamic religious leaders) who led jihads against the British Empire; and (3) misinterpreting the role of the ofªcial maliks (tribal and village leaders) in the FATA.

To the Editors (Kimberly Marten writes): In "No Sign until the Burst of Fire: Understanding the Pakistan- Afghanistan Frontier? Thomas Johnson and Chris Mason argue that Pashtun tribal identities explain the lure of the Taliban and the shortcomings of the initial U.S. approach to the war in Afghanistan. They carry this argument too far, however, and engage in cultural reductionism by portraying the Pashtun tribal code as the determining factor behind politics and preferences in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Area (FATA). Johnson and Mason make the following errors: (1) treating Pashtun identity as if it were set in stone; (2) failing to consider that today's radical Islamists rely on different sources of support than did the mullahs (Islamic religious leaders) who led jihads against the British Empire; and (3) misinterpreting the role of the official maliks (tribal and village leaders) in the FATA.

Governments frequently formulate policies designed to stimulate regional economic development. Rarely, however, are efforts made to measure local preferences for economic development outcomes. While the political process should eventually sort out how well local governments are meeting the needs of their constituents, the irreversible nature of many development outcomes makes it preferable to incorporate local preferences directly into the decision making process. This paper presents a straightforward means of measuring preference trade‐offs. The analytical hierarchy procedure is applied to local economic development outcomes in three Virginia counties and is shown to improve the targeting of industries by incorporating local preferences in the targeting process. The method has wide applicability for different development decisions.

This study examined the extent to which heavy users of the Internet and other nontraditional media differ from heavy users of traditional media in their knowledge of the issue stances of Bill Clinton and Bob Dole as well as their images of the two candidates. Nontraditional media had little influence on political knowledge. Although nontraditional media had a greater impact on images of the two candidates than traditional media, few relationships remained significant after controlling for other factors. In 1996, the Internet was getting a "test drive" as a new campaign medium. The election of 2000 should be studied to determine how Internet use has changed and how Internet content might affect future political campaigns.

The impact of negotiation politics introduced by Nelson Mandela & Frederik W. De Klerk in 1990 is analyzed in relation to factors of restitution & ethnicity. Restitution resolves past political injustices, while ethnicity proves to be a synthesizing force in reformed South African society. Controversy regarding individual privacy & the state's role in protecting human rights is discussed, & restitution is proposed as a healing process moving in the direction of justice & peace. The Commission of Truth & Reconciliation serves a need for public disclosure of acts of injustice committed by both the former government & the African National Congress. However, in addition to exposure of injustice, reparations, apologies, & forgiveness are needed to further the healing process. Ethnicity must be discussed in a manner that takes into account its past exploitation. Connotations of symbols of apartheid society & the new South African government are discussed. Acknowledgment of minority rights in multiethnic South Africa by three opposing political parties is determined to be a vital factor in the nation's stability. 26 References. M. Grounds