Mediating an invisible policy problem: Nottingham’s rejection of congestion charging

2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (6) ◽  
pp. 463-471
Author(s):  
Amanda K. Winter ◽  
Huong Le
Keyword(s):  
Policy Problem ◽  
Congestion Charging

The Old Order Changeth, Yielding Place to the New (Murli Manohar Joshi’s Tenure)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
R.V. Vaidyanatha Ayyar
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Case Law ◽  
Theoretical Explanation ◽  
Educational Institutions ◽  
Original Intent ◽  
Policy Problem ◽  
Old Order ◽  
Reinforcing Factors ◽  
The Right

This chapter elaborates the shifting case law over the 24 year period from 1982 to 2006 in regard to the right of private individuals and organisations to establish educational institutions, the regulation of admissions to private-unaided institutions (self-financing institutions), and the regulatory power of AICTE. It offers a theoretical explanation of these shifts by elaborating two major reinforcing factors. The first is the adoption of an interpretational philosophy that legitimates judges going beyond the express wording and original intent of Constitution makers, discerning the purpose underlying a constitutional provision, and applying the purpose so discovered to rectify failures of public policy and governance types. The second factor is the inbuilt trait to expand as a result of a generous policy of admitting appeals. Given that judges differ considerably in the judicial philosophy they hold, and their perception of policy problem and solutions case law has bene fluid, creating uncertainty for institutions which are regulated as well as regulators like the AICTE.

scholarly journals Policy learning as complex contagion: how social networks shape organizational beliefs in forest-based climate change mitigation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antti Gronow ◽  
Maria Brockhaus ◽  
Monica Di Gregorio ◽  
Aasa Karimo ◽  
Tuomas Ylä-Anttila
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
Social Influence ◽  
Belief Change ◽  
Forest Degradation ◽  
Policy Learning ◽  
Policy Network ◽  
Policy Problem ◽  
Perceived Need ◽  
Organizational Beliefs ◽  
Policy Subsystems

AbstractPolicy learning can alter the perceptions of both the seriousness and the causes of a policy problem, thus also altering the perceived need to do something about the problem. This then allows for the informed weighing of different policy options. Taking a social network perspective, we argue that the role of social influence as a driver of policy learning has been overlooked in the literature. Network research has shown that normatively laden belief change is likely to occur through complex contagion—a process in which an actor receives social reinforcement from more than one contact in its social network. We test the applicability of this idea to policy learning using node-level network regression models on a unique longitudinal policy network survey dataset concerning the Reducing Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) initiative in Brazil, Indonesia, and Vietnam. We find that network connections explain policy learning in Indonesia and Vietnam, where the policy subsystems are collaborative, but not in Brazil, where the level of conflict is higher and the subsystem is more established. The results suggest that policy learning is more likely to result from social influence and complex contagion in collaborative than in conflictual settings.

scholarly journals Bringing the problem home: The anti-slavery and anti-trafficking rhetoric of UK non-government organisations

Politics ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 026339572096240
Author(s):  
Nick Turnbull ◽  
Rose Broad
Keyword(s):  
Human Trafficking ◽  
Policy Framing ◽  
Female Victims ◽  
Policy Problem ◽  
The Past ◽  
Problem Framing ◽  
Labour Exploitation ◽  
Modern Slavery ◽  
Problem Frame ◽  
Historical Rhetoric

Rhetoric is a way to explain policy problem framing by recognising the practical necessity to persuade audiences in contextual situations. Modern slavery and human trafficking is a complex and emotive problem, simplified through rhetorical demands to motivate an audience of supporters. This article analyses rhetoric by 212 UK anti-trafficking and anti-slavery non-government organisations (NGOs) to uncover rhetorical practices and their effects on policy framing, supplemented by archival research to compare past and present anti-slavery oratory. Our data show NGOs use rhetoric to motivate supporters and promote a humanitarian problem frame, in opposition to a state-driven security frame. Findings confirm other research in identifying an emphasis on female victims and on sexual over labour exploitation. Past and present rhetoric are equivalent in terms of liberal, Christian values (ethos) and appeals to pathos through sympathy for victims. Historical rhetoric is distinctive in arguing for the equal human status of slaves, whereas contemporary activists argue victims are denied agency. Contemporary rhetoric represses the question of migration, whereas past rhetoric is more deliberative. Rhetoric varies with the requirements of persuasion related to contextual distance, between unlike humans in the past, but in regard to geographical distance today.

Simulations: Urban Fiscal Crisis

1986 ◽  
Vol 51 ◽  
pp. 15-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcus D. Pohlmann
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Role Playing ◽  
The Other ◽  
Fiscal Crisis ◽  
Educational Game ◽  
Political Environment ◽  
Policy Problem ◽  
Other Hand

PurposeI wish to describe a role-playing simulation, as opposed to an educational game. A game normally has an elaborate set of rules and requires participants to function within the logic of its own reality. A role-playing simulation, on the other hand, allows the participants to maintain their own personalities and values as they interact within far more general roles and rules, creating a unique reality each time. The goal of this particular simulation is to overcome a public policy problem within a simulated political environment.

scholarly journals Scandinavian Approaches to Begging as a Policy Problem and the Double Insider/Outsider Status of Marginalized Intra-EU Migrants

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
KARIN BOREVI
Keyword(s):  
Legal Status ◽  
Criminal Policy ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
Social Needs ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Immigration Control ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Policy Problem ◽  
Cross Country ◽  
The Empirical Analysis

Abstract The present article investigates how begging performed by citizens of new EU-member states in Eastern Europe was debated in parliaments in Denmark, Sweden and Norway during the period 2007–2017. The empirical analysis shows significant cross-country divergences: In Denmark, efforts targeted controlling migration, either directly or indirectly, via various deterrence strategies. In Sweden, the emphasis was rather on alleviating social needs while migrants reside in the country and trying to decrease their incentives to migrate in the first place by ameliorating conditions in sending countries. In Norway, one predominant framing revolved around the issue of human trafficking of beggars. Despite substantial differences, the analyses show a gradual shift in a similar direction in all three countries. While a social frame was initially more commonly understood as the appropriate way to approach begging, over time a criminal frame has gained ground in all three countries. The article argues that this development must be understood in light of marginalized intra-EU migrants’ legal status as both insiders and outsiders in the Scandinavian welfare states. Due to these individuals’ “in-between status”, neither conventional social policy nor immigration control measures are perceived as available, making policymakers more prone to turn to criminal policy tools.

scholarly journals Equity Effects of Congestion Charges: An Exploratory Analysis with MATSim

2017 ◽  
Vol 2670 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucas Meyer de Freitas ◽  
Oliver Schuemperlin ◽  
Milos Balac ◽  
Francesco Ciari
Keyword(s):  
Travel Time ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
Promising Tool ◽  
Travel Time Savings ◽  
Time Savings ◽  
Time Changes ◽  
High Level ◽  
Congestion Charging ◽  
Equity Effects

This paper shows an application of the multiagent, activity-based transport simulation MATSim to evaluate equity effects of a congestion charging scheme. A cordon pricing scheme was set up for a scenario of the city of Zurich, Switzerland, to conduct such an analysis. Equity is one of the most important barriers toward the implementation of a congestion charging system. After the challenges posed by equity evaluations are examined, it is shown that agent-based simulations with heterogeneous values of time allow for an increased level of detail in such evaluations. Such detail is achieved through a high level of disaggregation and with a 24-h simulation period. An important difference from traditional large-scale models is the low degree of correlation between travel time savings and welfare change. While traditional equity analysis is based on travel time savings, MATSim shows that choice dimensions not included in traditional models, such as departure time changes, can also play an important role in equity effects. The analysis of the results in light of evidence from the literature shows that agent-based models are a promising tool to conduct more complete equity evaluations not only of congestion charges but also of transport policies in general.

The Policy Capacity of Bureaucracy

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharma Shubham ◽  
Lei Shi ◽  
Xun Wu
Keyword(s):  
21St Century ◽  
Policy Decision ◽  
Active Role ◽  
Organizational Level ◽  
Everyday Functioning ◽  
Global Issues ◽  
Policy Problem ◽  
Policy Capacity ◽  
The Individual

Bureaucracy is one of the oldest institutions of a government system. Its role and importance have grown immensely in modern government systems. Bureaucrats or public administrators are indispensable in the policy decision making process in the 21st century. From the early conception as a branch of government responsible for the implementation of policy decisions and everyday functioning, bureaucracy has assumed a more active role in the policymaking process. It has gone through many reforms; however, these reforms have been largely incremental and static. While the external environment or the problems faced by bureaucracy is continuously evolving, the change in bureaucracy has not been in the same proportion. In the 21st century, many issues confronting bureaucracy are not only wicked but also global in nature. Moreover, challenges posed by technological disruptions and long-term processes such as climate change put bureaucracy at all levels of a government in a far trickier position than their earlier envisaged basic functions. In dealing with such challenges, the policy capacity of bureaucracy cannot be taken for granted. There are often significant gaps in capacity to anticipate a policy problem, to ensure coordination and preserve legitimacy, to translate global issues at local levels, and to learn from the past. It is crucial to strengthen analytical capacity at the individual and organizational level, operational capacity at the organizational level, and political capacity at the systems level to address these gaps. Tackling capacity gaps systematically would enable bureaucracy to design and implement policy and administrative reforms with a long-term vision of adaptation and evolution instead of merely in reactive mode. The policy capacity framework presented in this article is useful in identifying the capacity gaps that inhibit bureaucracy from evolving and the remedies to address these gaps.

Structuring the water quality policy problem: Applying Q-methodology to explore perspectives in hydrology, government, and community

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Schuyler Houser ◽  
Reza Pramana ◽  
Maurits Ertsen
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Water Resource ◽  
Q Methodology ◽  
Knowledge Integration ◽  
Water Quality Management ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Problem Structuring ◽  
Policy Problem ◽  
Resource Governance ◽  
Starting Point

<p>Recognizing the interrelatedness of water management and conceptual value of IWRM, many water resource governance systems are shifting from hierarchical arrangements towards more collaborative and participative networks. Increasing calls for participation recognize the value of drawing on social, political-administrative, and other kinds of knowledge in addition to technical water expertise. Participatory mandates, coordination bodies, and science-policy networks have emerged to facilitate knowledge integration, promote adaptive capacity, and align organizations in poly-centric systems.</p><p>Since the maintenance and effectiveness of such arrangements are contingent on trust and alignment rather than command and control, and since diverse stakeholders are engaged to co-produce knowledge, collaborators must grapple with identifying shared goals, developing knowledge management strategies to organize inputs, and attaining early progress to promote ongoing cooperation. But guidance is limited with respect to how such integrative aims are to be accomplished.</p><p>This research explores how systematic (but not necessarily convergent) problem structuring can support the forming, reordering, and cohering of water resource networks, especially when a complex issue – in this case, water quality management – rises to prominence on the policy agenda. In the early stages of a water quality project in the Brantas River Basin, Indonesia, stakeholder discussions suggested divergent conceptualizations of water quality and ideas about what conditions ‘matter’. Thus, instead of taking hydrological data as the starting point, this research first asks: What Brantas River(s) are we talking about, and why? Q-methodology is used to identify alternative perspectives on water quality held by a diverse set of stakeholders, including hydrologists. The analysis explores which aspects of the policy problem are consistent, which are contested, and whether problems indicated by hydrological science overlap, conflict, or cohere with those perceived by other stakeholders.</p><p>The research posits that, if scientists, engineers, decision-makers, community leaders, and other participants can appreciate areas of convergence and divergence regarding the water quality problem itself, they can lay groundwork for knowledge co-production; recognize opportunities for cooperation; better locate science in the problem space; and identify potential early wins to secure commitment. The research also asks to what extent consensus in problem structuring is necessary, or whether it is sufficient to identify strategies that are acceptable to different ontological viewpoints.</p>

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