Postmodern postures: A proposed alternative research milieu applied to the Spanish-American War Act of 1898.

摘要

Purpose. The purpose of this study was to define what the postmodern means within the context of public administration and explore the possibility that the postmodern can serve as a useful framework to conduct public administration research. In addition, this study intends to both inform and demonstrate to its readers how the postmodern may serve as an alternative theoretical perspective that has both utility and credibility within the field of public administration.;Theoretical framework. The theoretical framework of this study is based on the research foundations of: Postmodern Theory; Public Administration Theory; Interpretive Public Administration Theory, and Hermeneutic Theory.;Methodology. A three-tier topology of the postmodern was created. It included; the postmodern as viewed through a wide lens, the postmodern in the social sciences, and the postmodern in public administration. Each level was subject to a hermeneutic analysis. The product of the analysis was a model of the postmodern. The model was found to be composed of three postures: skepticism, pluralism, and transformationalism. The model was then applied to a policy issue, the Spanish-American War Act of 1898, so that the postmodern as an alternative milieu of research could be demonstrated as being something useful.;Findings. It was found that the postmodern proved to be a useful alternative means of conducting research. It was found that the postmodern excelled in defining where values lie and negotiating the issue of subjectivity.;Conclusions and recommendations. Postmodern theory appears to be promising theoretical genre within public administration because it offers an alternative research milieu for the changing world. It is suggested that further work be undertaken to develop a more formalized and well-tested postmodern methodology for something in particular like meta-analysis.