Meanings of measurement
<title>Abstract</title> In public domains, performances -- also in ambiguous fields like policing -- are controlled, by making them transparent, by comparing them, and by linking them to targets. Although this ‘numerical capture' of complex phenomena has been heavily criticized, management by measurement is blossoming and in specific cases, measurements like crime monitoring have played a role in reducing crime. The question, however, is whether such improvements are caused by distinctive measurement methods, or by ‘something else'. This paper will analyze how one particular measurement method, the so-called Rotterdam ‘Safety Index', contributed to safety policies. It will show how this dubious instrument is made meaningful; how, indeed, ‘something else' is at work. Political and administrative key players made certain moves in order to ‘link', ‘store', and ‘advocate' the Safety Index. These acts, moreover, occurred amidst distinctive socio-political conditions. Because of ‘acts in context', the Index became a workable tool, producing tangible effects.
Year of publication: |
2008
|
---|---|
Authors: | Noordegraaf, Mirko |
Published in: |
Public Management Review. - Taylor & Francis Journals, ISSN 1471-9037. - Vol. 10.2008, 2, p. 221-239
|
Publisher: |
Taylor & Francis Journals |
Saved in:
Online Resource
Saved in favorites
Similar items by person
-
Designing to Debias : Measuring and Reducing Public Managers’ Anchoring Bias
Nagtegaal, Rosanna, (2020)
-
Staging Science : Authoritativeness and Fragility of Models and Measurement in the COVID‐19 Crisis
Van Dooren, Wouter, (2020)
-
Risky business : high professionals and professional fields (must) deal with organizational issue
Noordegraaf, Mirko, (2011)
- More ...