Opening thoughts

I have been fixated on the concept of accountability for nearly 25 years, and some of my colleagues would argue that the fixation has turned into an obsession. Guilty as charged. With weblog technology, I can now share this obsession with anyone who bothers to stop by for a 'look see'. It also provides an opportunity and outlet for me to publicly reflect on the news, ideas and events of the day that attract my attention. Reactions and comments from those who 'stop by' are welcome.... Some relevant background. At the moment I am located in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and have been here since September 2003 as a senior fellow at the Queen's University Institute of Governance, Public Policy and Social Research (will just refer to it as the Institute of Governance from now on). My home, however, is in Massachusetts, and in the US I have my academic home at Rutgers University - Newark. I am a political scientist by training, and for most of my career I have been associated with the field of public administration. Along the way I will give more background as it becomes relevant, but what is most important for the reader to know is that my obsession with accountability is primarily academic. You are not likely to find 'rants' or extended commentaries on the politics of the day (although I might slip into that mode every so often). Rather you'll find my comments to be more analytic and related to some research idea I might have -- pretty boring stuff for most. That said, this isn't going to be a place for scholarship -- I am planning to use this as an outlet for general observations about things I come across each day. Let's see what develops.... Tags: accountability