Louisiana’s Intentional Exposure to HIV Policy: The Social Construction of Target Populations

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 100-113
Author(s):  
Jamie L. Barney
Keyword(s):  
Social Construction ◽  
Target Populations ◽  
The Social

Social Construction (Continued)

1995 ◽  
Vol 89 (2) ◽  
pp. 437-446 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert C. Lieberman ◽  
Helen Ingram ◽  
Anne L. Schneider
Keyword(s):  
Social Construction ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Social Constructions ◽  
Policy Changes ◽  
Target Populations ◽  
The Social ◽  
Group Identities ◽  
Citizen Perceptions

In this Review in June 1993 Anne Schneider and Helen Ingram argued that the social construction of target populations is an important political and policy phenomenon. Robert Lieberman criticizes Schneider and Ingram's “circular” conceptualization of public policy and social construction. He proposes a “historical-institutional” framework for understanding the role of group identities in political change. Lieberman analyzes the dual experience of African-Americans in the American welfare state as an example of political institutions and policy changes' affecting changing group constructions. Ingram and Schneider respond that their purpose is to understand how social constructions shape policy designs, which in turn affect citizen perceptions and participation, and argue that Lieberman's ideas of institutions and history yield no analytic improvement. They provide their own analysis of the case of welfare to illustrate the advantages for future research of their conception of policy targets.

School Desegregation and Federal Inducement: Lessons From the Emergency School Aid Act of 1972

2016 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 86-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily M. Hodge
Keyword(s):  
Social Construction ◽  
Education Policy ◽  
Financial Incentive ◽  
School Desegregation ◽  
Policy Instruments ◽  
Historical Sources ◽  
Origin And Evolution ◽  
Target Populations ◽  
Incentive Program ◽  
The Social

This study uses the example of the Emergency School Aid Act of 1972, a federal desegregation incentive program, to discuss the benefits and challenges of equity-oriented incentives. This study applies theories of policy instruments and the social construction of target populations to congressional records, archival program materials, and other historical sources to trace the origin and evolution of the incentives and mandates built into the Emergency School Aid Act. The study ultimately concludes that the program’s combination of a financial incentive with rigorous oversight offers lessons for how to incorporate equity-oriented incentives into current education policy.

scholarly journals Social construction of drug policies and target populations: U.S. Policy and media discourse

2017 ◽  
pp. 47-62
Author(s):  
Jonathan Langner ◽  
Anna Zajicek
Keyword(s):  
Social Construction ◽  
News Media ◽  
Drug Policy ◽  
Social Constructionist ◽  
Institutional Racism ◽  
Media Discourse ◽  
Target Populations ◽  
The Social ◽  
Meaning Production ◽  
Drug Policies

In this review, we discuss the historical changes in U.S. drug policy discourse, institutional racism, and the social construction of target populations in media discourse. We do not intend to show a cause-effect relationship; instead, we use a social constructionist approach that focuses on meaning production and “truth-claims” to explore the relationship between news media and drug policy. We begin by discussing mass incarceration, war on drugs, and institutional racism. Next, we review a sample of the current research from the fields of sociology and criminology on drug policy, race, and media discourse. We then focus on the most recent articulation of drugrelated policy and media discourse – the discourse surrounding marijuana use, including most recent trends in marijuana discourse. We conclude by noting the possible direction for drug policies and discussing the need for research addressing gaps in current understanding of drug-related discourse and the social construction of target populations.

Social Constructions of Children and Youth: Beyond Dependents and Deviants

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
MARY ELIZABETH COLLINS ◽  
MICHELLE MEAD
Keyword(s):  
Social Construction ◽  
Policy Design ◽  
Children And Youth ◽  
Social Constructions ◽  
Positive Outcomes ◽  
Design Strategies ◽  
Target Populations ◽  
The Social ◽  
Outcomes For Children ◽  
Scholarly Attention

Abstract Schneider and Ingram’s (1993) theory of social construction of target populations has received extensive scholarly attention. It has rarely been applied to populations of children and youth, however. In this article we: (1) describe the original framework; (2) apply each of Schneider and Ingram’s four categories to examples relevant to children and youth; (3) identify adjustments to the model to guide further understanding of young people’s policy treatment; and, (4) discuss how these observations might inform policies targeted toward children and youth. By providing a more focused analysis of this theory’s application to the social construction of children and youth, we aim to contribute to the scholarly understanding of policymaking and inform potential policy design strategies that may result in positive outcomes for children and youth.

Social Construction of Target Populations: Implications for Politics and Policy

1993 ◽  
Vol 87 (2) ◽  
pp. 334-347 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Schneider ◽  
Helen Ingram
Keyword(s):  
Social Construction ◽  
Policy Agenda ◽  
Social Constructions ◽  
Target Groups ◽  
Target Populations ◽  
Policy Choices ◽  
The Social ◽  
Selection Of

We argue that the social construction of target populations is an important, albeit overlooked, political phenomenon that should take its place in the study of public policy by political scientists. The theory contends that social constructions influence the policy agenda and the selection of policy tools, as well as the rationales that legitimate policy choices. Constructions become embedded in policy as messages that are absorbed by citizens and affect their orientations and participation. The theory is important because it helps explain why some groups are advantaged more than others independently of traditional notions of political power and how policy designs reinforce or alter such advantages. An understanding of social constructions of target populations augments conventional hypotheses about the dynamics of policy change, the determination of beneficiaries and losers, the reasons for differing levels and types of participation among target groups, and the role of policy in democracy.

Reproducible and Replicable: An Empirical Assessment of the Social Construction of Politically Relevant Target Groups

2018 ◽  
Vol 51 (4) ◽  
pp. 768-774 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca J. Kreitzer ◽  
Candis Watts Smith
Keyword(s):  
Social Construction ◽  
Policy Design ◽  
American Political Science Review ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Social Constructions ◽  
Target Groups ◽  
Empirical Assessment ◽  
Target Populations ◽  
The Social ◽  
American Political Science

ABSTRACTSchneider and Ingram introduced the pivotal theory of social construction of target populations in the American Political Science Review nearly 25 years ago. There, they developed four ideal type groups: advantaged, contenders, dependents, and deviants. They noted that there may be contention around the construction of the groups but implied an expectation of consensus. There has not been, however, a systematic categorization of politically salient target groups based on these categories, nor has there been an empirical assessment of whether or the extent to which consensus around the social constructions of salient target groups exists. We revisit this theory to offer a novel perspective and do so by leveraging advances in technology and methodological strategies. By crowdsourcing the task of evaluating the social construction of various target populations, we are able to assess underlying assumptions of theory as well as outline avenues for future research on policy design.

The Social Construction of Our Bodies

1992 ◽  
Vol 37 (11) ◽  
pp. 1186-1186
Author(s):  
Garth J. O. Fletcher
Keyword(s):  
Social Construction ◽  
The Social
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