Report on a special investigation of Oran Township in Fayette County for the period January 1, 2003 through September 22, 2009

Report on a special investigation of Oran Township in Fayette County for the period January 1, 2003 through September 22, 2009

Report on a special investigation of the Rodman Volunteer Fire Department and Park and Recreation Department for the period January 1, 2006 through September 30, 2009

Report on a special investigation of the Rodman Volunteer Fire Department and Park and Recreation Department for the period January 1, 2006 through September 30, 2009

Report on a special investigation of the City of New Albin for the period January 1, 2006 through July 31, 2009

Report on a special investigation of the City of New Albin for the period January 1, 2006 through July 31, 2009

Work motivation and pro-social behavior in the delivery of public services : theoretical and empirical insights

This Ph.D. dissertation seeks to study the work motivation of employees in the delivery of public services. The questioning on work motivation in public services in not new but it becomes central for governments which are now facing unprecedented public debts. The objective of this research is twofold : First, we want to see if the work motivation of employees in public services is a continuum (intrinsic and extrinsic motivations cannot coexist) or a bi-dimensional construct (intrinsic and extrinsic motivations coexist simultaneously). The research in public administration literature has focused on the concept of public service motivation, and considered motivation to be uni-dimensional (Perry and Hondeghem 2008). However, no study has yet tackled both types of motivation, the intrinsic and extrinsic ones, in the same time. This dissertation proposes, in Part I, a theoretical assessment and an empirical test of a global work motivational structure, by using a self-constructed Swiss dataset with employees from three public services, the education sector, the security sector and the public administrative services sector. Our findings suggest that work motivation in public services in not uni-dimensional but bi-dimensional, the intrinsic and extrinsic motivations coexist simultaneously and can be positively correlated (Amabile et al. 1994). Our findings show that intrinsic motivation is as important as extrinsic motivation, thus, the assumption that employees in public services are less attracted by extrinsic rewards is not confirmed for this sample. Other important finding concerns the public service motivation concept, which, as theoretically predicted, represents the major motivational dimension of employees in the delivery of public services. Second, the theory of public service motivation makes the assumption that employees in public services engage in activities that go beyond their self-interest, but never uses this construct as a determinant for their pro-social behavior. In the same time, several studies (Gregg et al. 2011 and Georgellis et al. 2011) bring evidence about the pro-social behavior of employees in public services. However, they do not identify which type of motivation is at the origin of this behavior, they only make the assumption of an intrinsically motivated behavior. We analyze the pro-social behavior of employees in public services and use the public service motivation as determinant of their pro-social behavior. We add other determinants highlighted by the theory of pro-social behavior (Bénabou and Tirole 2006), by Le Grand (2003) and by fit theories (Besley and Ghatak 2005). We test these determinants on Part II and identify for each sector of activity the positive or the negative impact on pro-social behavior of Swiss employees. Contrary to expectations, we find, for this sample, that both intrinsic and extrinsic factors have a positive impact on pro-social behavior, no crowding-out effect is identified in this sample. We confirm the hypothesis of Le Grand (2003) about the positive impact of the opportunity cost on pro-social behavior. Our results suggest a mix of action-oriented altruism and out-put oriented altruism of employees in public services. These results are relevant when designing incentives schemes for employees in the delivery of public services.

Report on a special investigation of the Cedar Rapids Community School District for the period July 1, 2002 through August 24, 2009

Report on a special investigation of the Cedar Rapids Community School District for the period July 1, 2002 through August 24, 2009

Report on a special investigation of certain collections of the Tama County Clerk of Court and the Tama County Sheriff’s Office for the period January 1, 2007 through August 31, 2009

Report on a special investigation of certain collections of the Tama County Clerk of Court and the Tama County Sheriff’s Office for the period January 1, 2007 through August 31, 2009

Report on a special investigation of Squaw Township for the period April 19, 2001 through March 18, 2009

Report on a special investigation of Squaw Township for the period April 19, 2001 through March 18, 2009

Whose Interest Is Being Served? An Investigation of a Walker City Council Member’s Conflict of Interest, April 15, 2010

The Ombudsman received a complaint concerning Bill Smith, a city council member who is also the Walker Fire Department Chief. The complainant stated that Mr. Smith votes regularly as a city council member on matters before the Walker City Council (Council) pertaining to the Walker Fire Department. These actions were alleged to be conflicts of interest in violation of Iowa law.

Special investigation of the City of Collins Library for the period July 1, 2007 through July 30, 2009

Special investigation of the City of Collins Library for the period July 1, 2007 through July 30, 2009

Special investigation of the Newell Ambulance Service for the period August 1, 2004 through September 30, 2009

Special investigation of the Newell Ambulance Service for the period August 1, 2004 through September 30, 2009

Report on a special investigation of the Food Service Department of the Springville Community School District for the period July 1, 2005 through March 31, 2009

Report on a special investigation of the Food Service Department of the Springville Community School District for the period July 1, 2005 through March 31, 2009

Report on a special investigation of the Muscatine County Drug Task Force for the period January 1, 2004 through November 30, 2009

Report on a special investigation of the Muscatine County Drug Task Force for the period January 1, 2004 through November 30, 2009

Report on a special investigation of the Clinton Community School District for the period July 1, 2005 through February 28, 2010

Report on a special investigation of the Clinton Community School District for the period July 1, 2005 through February 28, 2010

Report on a special investigation of certain driver’s license collections at the Sioux County Treasurer’s Office for the period July 1, 2009 through May 31, 2010

Report on a special investigation of certain driver’s license collections at the Sioux County Treasurer’s Office for the period July 1, 2009 through May 31, 2010

Prescriptions de protection incendie en Suisse : étude de leur domaine d'application et de leur respect par l'investigation d'incendies

Avant - Propos Le feu et la protection incendie Quel que soit l'usage d'un bâtiment, chaque étape de la construction est soumise à l'application de normes. Certaines, utilisées par les architectes et les ingénieurs, concernent le gros oeuvre ; en simplifiant leur rôle, elles assurent la solidité et la stabilité de l'immeuble. Si celui-ci est ouvert au public, des aménagements particuliers concernant la sécurité des personnes sont imposés. D'autres comme les prescriptions sur les installations électriques intérieures, précisent la manière de construire une alimentation, le type de matériel utilisable en fonction du courant et de la tension, les sécurités destinées à éviter toute détérioration des circuits et tout risque d'électrocution, etc. Enfin, les prescriptions en matière de protection incendie jouent évidemment un rôle préventif et, dans le domaine judiciaire, servent de références pour qualifier une éventuelle infraction ; elles évitent qu'une source de chaleur installée dans un bâtiment - tel qu'un appareil de chauffage ou des plaques de cuisson - ou susceptible d'apparaître consécutivement à l'usure d'un matériau ou à son vieillissement - disparition d'un isolant thermique, défaut d'étanchéité d'un conduit transportant les gaz chauds de combustion, par exemple - ne communiquent une partie de l'énergie calorifique dégagée à un combustible et ne l'enflamme. Le concept de protection incendie implique d'exposer et de développer les principales notions relatives à l'inflammation d'un matériau, à sa combustion ainsi qu'au transport de l'énergie calorifique. Fréquemment, le milieu dans lequel le générateur de chaleur est installé joue un rôle dans la phase d'allumage de l'incendie. Il est évident que les prescriptions de protection incendie s'appliquent à chaque élément de construction et, par conséquent, doivent être respectées par toute personne participant à la réalisation d'un ouvrage : le chauffagiste, l'électricien, l'installateur sanitaire, le constructeur de cuisine, mais également le maçon qui construit la cheminée, le peintre et le décorateur qui posent des revêtements ou des garnitures inflammables, le menuisier qui utilise le bois pour dissimuler des conduites de fumée, etc. Dès lors, tout sinistre, hormis celui qui est perpétré délibérément, ne peut s'expliquer que par : - le non-respect ou le défaut d'application d'une prescription de protection incendie; - une lacune de la norme qui ignore une source d'échauffement et/ou un mode de transfert de l'énergie calorifique. Le but premier de ce travail consiste à : - analyser les sinistres survenus durant les années 1999 à 2005 dans plusieurs cantons suisses qui ont fait l'objet d'une investigation de la part d'un service technique de la police ou d'un expert ; - examiner les éléments retenus pour expliquer la cause de l'incendie à la norme afin de répondre à la question : « l'application d'une ou de plusieurs directives lors de l'installation ou de l'utilisation du générateur d'énergie calorifique aurait-elle évité à ce dernier de communiquer une partie de la chaleur dégagée à un combustible et à l'enflammer ? » Le second objectif visé est d'apporter une solution à la question précédente : - si la norme existe, c'est un défaut d'installation ou d'utilisation de la source de chaleur qui est à l'origine de l'incendie. Il importe donc de connaître la raison pour laquelle la prescription a été ignorée ou appliquée de manière erronée ou lacunaire; - si la norme n'existe pas, ce sont les prescriptions en matière de protection incendie qui doivent être complétées. Le chapitre suivant abordera ces thèmes en proposant divers postulats destinés à évaluer l'efficacité actuelle du concept de protection incendie en Suisse.