Public Policy Issues Research Articles

Interfaith Engagement and the Public Square: A Self-Critical Review and Suggestions for the Way Forward (Keynote Address)

A personal and critical essay written by a Muslim religious leader and scholar about the changes they have experienced and witnessed in the ways interfaith dialogue intersects with the public square. The author draws upon twenty-five years of experience, highlighting specific examples affecting the Muslim community, mostly in the United States. The author argues that interfaith dialogue can create space for engagement on issues of public policy and common concern, but that no encounter is ever naïve, and since digital and social media have facilitated the spread of misinformation, such encounters are more complex than before. Further, research on the disproportionate attention negative displays of emotion attract puts minority groups, typically stereotyped as angry and irrational, in a difficult position to express themselves authentically as they try to defend their rights and dignity. Principled interfaith engagement can achieve effective policy results and provide vital moral support to a beleaguered faith community and may create a principled foundation for engagement on other issues. However, this is not always the case, and various parties might express disappointment, even betrayal when “the other side” does not show up for their cause. Nevertheless, continued engagement that allows politically misaligned interfaith partners to express their views according to terms they consider authentic helps avoid greater polarization that is corrosive to social cohesion. At the same time, conveners of interfaith dialogue should be attentive to the structures of power embedded in the programs they create to avoid reinforcing patterns of hierarchy and exclusion.

Nudge Design Strategies for Experiential Marketing and Retail Space Branding

Nudge theory, a field of economics, aims to gently induce desirable behavior in humans and has been primarily applied to personal finance and public policy issues. In this study, we extended nudge theory to the design field by inductively deriving specific nudge design strategies that can be applied to retail space branding. To this end, nudge design examples were collected, and from them, nudge design keywords were extracted. Then, these keywords were categorized according to the five experiential marketing modules: sense, feel, think, act, and relate. From the keywords, we derived 30 nudge design strategies for retail space branding. Finally, the applicability of these strategies was tested through case studies of well-known brand stores with links to existing literature. Space branding design is a comprehensive domain where environmental, graphic, and product design come together and where nudge design could be effectively applied. The results of this study might be used as a checklist in a retail project and serve as a communication tool between marketers and designers.

The impact of new prison construction on the likelihood of incarceration

AbstractPrison overcrowding is a major public policy issue with roughly 2.2 million individuals currently incarcerated in the United States. In the absence of reductions in the prison population, the only way to address overcrowding are the expansion of current facilities or the construction of new prisons. Previous research has demonstrated that factors unrelated to the law can affect the decisions made by prosecutors and judges. We investigate the effect of newly constructed prisons in Florida on the probability of defendants being sentenced to prison within 6 months of the prison receiving inmates. The results reveal that these defendants have a greater likelihood of being incarcerated in prison compared to similar defendants whose cases were resolved before the prison became operational. This indicates the potential for a regional‐level substitution between jail and prison incarceration.

‘Untangling the entangled knot’: a critical and genealogical examination of Multi-Academy Trusts’ (MATs) ideologies, power and governance in England

ABSTRACT The reduction in local control and oversight of schooling represented by the growth of Multi Academy Trusts (MATs) in England raises critical issues for public policy. These include the articulation and exercise of power in the governance of MATs, the future of democratic governance of local services and accountability. Applying Foucault’s genealogical framework, the paper analyses the antecedents of current governance arrangements and highlights and reinvigorates suppressed, delegitimised and belittled knowledges. The authors argue that the threads of representation, community engagement and local control in school governance are important components of democratic renewal. The paper examines the play of historical and contemporary factors which have fostered a discourse that enables the subjugation of agency, self-governance and autonomy of MAT constituent schools and their communities. This discourse has wider significance for the centralisation of decision making and control away from communities, and the erosion of the polity.

Climate policy at the Bank of England: the possibilities and limits of green central banking

ABSTRACT While climate change has been a public policy issue for decades, central banks have only recently considered it relevant to their objectives. Beginning in 2015, the Bank of England (BoE) was among the first movers to do so. This article illustrates how two institutional features were key in enabling this response. First, the macroprudential framework that developed in the wake of the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) has provided the key ideas that central bankers have used to understand climate change in relation to their objectives. Additionally, government support for BoE action on climate change was also essential in empowering the BoE by setting a transition pathway and providing political legitimacy. The result has been BoE policies that not only seek to limit climate-related risks but also actively shift credit toward greener enterprises. However, this article argues that this has not amounted to a green paradigm shift in the BoE's institutional role, but is better understood as a thermostatic mode of policy innovation. While the BoE's hierarchy of goals have not changed, the types of policy problems relevant to those goals has shifted substantially. Finally, this article offers reflections on the scope and durability of the BoE's approach to climate change in this context. This article contributes to the literature on central banking and climate change beyond the BoE by providing a framework for understanding the possibilities and limitations of current central bank approaches to climate change.

Public health nursing: Challenges and innovations for health literacy in rural area.

Health literacy is a critical component of public health nursing, particularly in rural areas where access to health services is severely limited. As it relates to quality of care, cost of care, safety of care, and appropriate decision-making in general public health, health literacy can also be seen as an important public policy issue. Several challenges that can be found in rural communities in terms of access to health literacy, such as limited access to healthcare services, limited resources, low literacy rate, cultural and language barriers, financial constraints, and digital divide. Based on these challenges, several innovations can be pursued such as community-based health education, health literacy training among healthcare professionals, digital health technology, partnerships with community-based organizations, health literacy radio programs, and community health ambassadors. This reflection highlights the challenges and innovations that nurses can do to overcome the problem of low-health literacy in rural communities. In the future, the development of community empowerment and technology will be needed to refine the progress made so that a gradual increase in health literacy in rural communities can be seen.

Targeting energy savings? Better on primary than final energy and less on intensity metrics

Energy efficiency is a critical issue in public policies, as it is the key to decoupling economic growth and energy use. These objectives are becoming even more relevant to addressing the energy crisis and the new geopolitical scenarios delivered by the Ukraine war. Although several papers have analyzed energy efficiency goals, this paper focuses on energy savings targets, which represent the main efficiency metric for the European Union. This paper fills a gap in literature by analyzing the economic and environmental impacts of attaining energy efficiency targets through an energy fiscal policy, simulated by a hybrid computable general equilibrium model with technological detail. Six scenarios are defined for energy savings in primary/final energy consumption of fossil-fueled/all energy products, using Portugal as a case study. Relevant insights for policy makers from the simulated scenarios include: (i) achieving energy saving targets by alternative means, i.e., directed at primary or final energy consumption, provide heterogeneous impacts on the efficiency of the energy system and GDP, and some unexpected and undesirable outcomes concerning environmental impacts; (ii) a relatively lower taxation of all energy products deliver larger and more distorting impacts on electricity generation than higher taxes on fossil fuels only (a counterintuitive result), (iii) policies aiming to reduce primary energy instead of final energy provide the best outcomes (further increases in the efficiency of the energy system with smoother economic impacts), thereby pointing against the European Energy Taxation directive principle that taxation should be levied on final products, regardless of inputs used in their production and (iv) and targets should not be set up based on energy intensity indicators. Hence, it is shown that the size of the trade-off between economic and environmental concerns depends on where (primary or final energy consumption) and what (fossil or all energy products) energy savings are targeted.

The Bible and Public Theology in African Christianity

The study examined the place of the Bible in the search for theological insights and perspectives for Public Theology in African Christianity. The paper argued that the acceptance of the application of the Bible to human experiences in African societies offer Africa Public theologians the opportunity to apply biblical and theological perspectives to cultural, social, economic, political, and public-policy issues. The study observed that the Bible has been used to promote social justice, advocate for human rights and confront corruption and other forms of oppression. African theologians have developed perspectives on these issues that draw on the biblical teachings of justice, compassion, and stewardship of the earth. The Bible has been a relevant tool for African Christians to engage with public issues, promote social justice, and advocate for the common good. The study concluded with the recommendation that African Christians must engage the social, political, and economic issues that affect their communities, and work for the liberation of all people from the forces that oppress them with Christian teachings and insights. Public Theology in African Christianity must be grounded in a deep commitment to the presence of God in the world, the transformation of society, the liberation of the oppressed, and the contextualization of the Christian faith to the African context. The gospel message has relevance for all aspects of life, including social, political, and economic issues. Theological insights and perspectives that must inform Public Theology in African Christianity include the incarnation, righteousness, social justice, human dignity, Christianity identity, contextualization, and the common good. Keywords: African Christianity, Public Theology, Public Witness, Christian

Sitting at the Head Table and Leading Change: AMDA’s 2023 Policy Initiatives

Sitting at the Head Table and Leading Change: AMDA’s 2023 Policy Initiatives

Three Discourses of Religious Freedom: How and Why Political Talk about Religious Freedom in Australia has Changed

Since 2015, religious freedom has become a heated and divisive political and public policy issue in Australia. While rarely defined or interrogated, ‘religious freedom’ does not exist as a value-neutral principle with a single meaning. Rather, its discursive constructions are varied and serve to promote certain interests at the expense of others. Offering a new perspective on the politics of religious freedom, this paper draws together four separate studies of the public discourse of religious freedom in Australia (spanning 35 years from 1984 to 2019) to chart how its framing has changed over time and to explore the implications of these changes. This analysis reveals three major discourses of religious freedom emerging over three phases: ‘religious diversity’; ‘balancing rights’; and ‘freedom of belief’. This paper demonstrates how, once used to promote a progressive social agenda, religious freedom has become weaponised by the Christian Right and culture warriors in their battle to entrench in law the ongoing acceptability of discrimination against LGBTIQ+ people.

Review of “Gendered Pluralism”

Are women united or divided in US politics? Is gender a “fault line” in Americans’ public opinion and policy attitudes? Sociologist Belinda Robnett and political scientist Katherine Tate explore these questions in Gendered Pluralism. Analyzing the 2012 Outlook on Life Survey dataset, the authors explore pluralism, intersectionality, and identity politics as relevant to the ways in which Americans respond to public policy issues. Investigating how socio-political and demographic factors, as well as gender, race, and sexuality, may influence public policy attitudes, the authors assert that gender is a consistent divider of opinions in US politics and yet, women’s attitudes still vary by their intersectional social locations and experiences. The book is organized to explore specific dimensions of gender, race, and sexuality and related factors that shape public opinion in each chapter. After establishing the theoretical framework and research problems in the first chapter, Robnett and Tate first explore gender as a fault line in US politics. In chapter 2, the authors examine potential gender and racial differences in the perceived attainability of the American Dream and how such perception may further vary by differing levels of feminist support, partisan affiliation, and political ideologies. Although they did not find meaningful gender differences in the American Dream outlook, political ideology and class were found to significantly shape this outlook. On the other hand, the second chapter explores the impact of marital status and outlook on American policy opinion and show contextual gender differences as well as a significant division among women. Though some policy agenda focusing on family and gender seem to bring women together regardless of their political orientation and marital status, the authors find that “married, white women belong to a different political tribe” (p.66).

Common Mental Health Problems for Students

The components of mental health include intellectual, personal and sociological well-being. It has an impact on our frame of mind, emotions, and working. Mental health can have an effect on daily life, communal connections, and physical wellness. Mental health is salient at every phase of life, from infancy, youth to adulthood. We’ll discuss the problems with mental health that college students encounter in this study. The results of my study indicate that public policy issues need to be addressed in order to enhance college students' mental health. Mental ailment that is untreated my research's conclusions suggest that public policy should be addressed in order to improve the mental health of college students. Untreated mental health issues have a negative effect on the local economy, safety, employment, poverty, and homelessness. Untreated illnesses among students result in academic failure, delinquency, and involvement in criminal activity. Therefore, failing to address mental health has negative effects on society as a whole. Despite all of this, there has been a woefully insufficient reaction to this problem in terms of money and political will. Only a small part of the money spent on other illnesses on mental health is allocated by the government and through development aid.

Quantitative Urban Models: From Theory to Data

Economic activity is highly unevenly distributed within cities, as reflected in the concentration of economic functions in specific locations, such as finance in the Square Mile in London. The extent to which this concentration reflects natural advantages versus agglomeration forces is central to a range of public policy issues, including the impact of local taxation and transport infrastructure improvements. This paper reviews recent quantitative urban models, which incorporate both differences in natural advantages and agglomeration forces, and can be taken directly to observed data on cities. We show that these models can be used to estimate the strength of agglomeration forces and evaluate the impact of transportation infrastructure improvements on welfare and the spatial distribution of economic activity.

ПУБЛІЧНА ПОЛІТИКА ОХОРОНИ ГРОМАДСЬКОГО ЗДОРОВ’Я УКРАЇНИ В УМОВАХ ЄВРОІНТЕГРАЦІЙНИХ ВИКЛИКІВ

The article substantiates the relevance of building a progressive model of public policy of public health protection in Ukraine based on the need to overcome, on the one hand, a large number of long-standing obstacles, and, on the other hand, the influence of the war, the consequences of which are unpredictable and have already led to a critical state industry. The analysis of the latest researches and publications confirmed that the issues of public policy of public health protection in our country are given high attention by the scientific community and various methods of their effective solution are proposed. Public health is a determining factor in building a stable and competitive economy that primarily focuses on the needs of the population. The public policy of public health protection should be considered in relation to the ability of the country’s institutions to form the appropriate legal, organizational, economic and social framework in which they function. A mechanism for implementing the public policy of public health protection of Ukraine in the conditions of European integration challenges has been developed, the elements of which include subjects, objects, principles, functions, tools, measures, European integration challenges and goals. The public policy of public health protection should be considered in relation to the ability of the country’s institutions to form the appropriate legal, organizational, economic and social framework in which they function. The presented mechanism makes it possible to establish the basic necessary elements according to which the implementation of the public policy of public health protection is able to solve a full set of tasks for the formation of a progressive health care system in Ukraine according to European models. The processes of meeting the needs of the population in the preservation, protection and strengthening of health and well-being are clearly a priority in such a mechanism.

Geography: Do we advocate enough for the discipline and profession in terms of public policy?

Geography: Do we advocate enough for the discipline and profession in terms of public policy?

Public Policy and Ethics in Marketing Research for Organizations

Companies conduct marketing research to generate customer insights. Marketing research involves public policy and ethical issues. The objective of the study is to analyze such issues. The methodology adopted is a conceptual analysis of the various public policy and ethical issues. The issues relate to intrusions on consumer privacy, consumer data security, and misuse of research findings. The discussions focus on technoethics involved in data collection in the digital age. Responsibilities of governments and companies for consumer privacy, measures to protect consumer privacy and to ensure technoethics, consumer data protection, and ensuring ethics for marketing research are discussed. The discussions will allow academicians and practicing managers to adopt initiatives and strategies which are effective. Policy makers and authorities may analyze the various aspects and implement rules and regulations which are effective in consumer privacy, consumer data security and protection, in preventing misuse of research findings, and in ensuring ethics in marketing research.

Return of the Whig: Reviewing Historiographies of the Meaning of “Secular” in the Australian Colonial Public Instruction Acts

The term “secular” in the Colonial Australian public instruction acts was always controversial. Recent policy debates seek to draw a connection between its original intent and removing religion from schools, notably Marion Maddox's Taking God to School (2014), and Catherine Byrne's “Free, Compulsory and (Not) Secular” (2013). The issue resurfaced recently in a NSW Teachers' Federation Research Paper (Waight, 2022), and in Gross and Rutland's Special Religious Education in Australia and Its Value to Contemporary Society (2021). I propose that while this is a valid public policy issue, any originalist argument actually relies upon a singular historiographical argument, namely a “Whig” historiography. However, across historians the meaning of “secular” has actually been evaluated through four different historiographies: a “Whig” progress narrative; economic materialism; critical theory; and a religious/nationalist approach. Maddox, Byrne and Waight's approaches can be characterised within a “Whig” approach to Australian education history, originally found in “The Melbourne School” of Austin and Gregory, and the textbooks of Barcan. Its revival presents a good opportunity to survey the topic of education historiography, assess the “Whig” argument, and to propose that religious/nationalist historiography provides a more accurate interpretation of the original intent of the term “secular.”

Political Modernization and Digital Democracy: The Internet Participation of Malaysia Domestic Citizens to “2021–2022 Malaysian Floods” Event in Public Policy Process of Flood Response

In the mid-century, Internet information technology began to flourish worldwide, and a dramatic revolution brought about the Internet information age. The Internet has changed the way of human political life. A staggering number of Internet users began to form a significant force to participate in and influence national politics and public policy. The Internet has transformed traditional public policy processes on a global scale. Citizen participation on the Internet has gained widespread attention in politics, public administration, and public policy issues. The staggering amount of politically relevant information posted by citizens on the Internet has begun to form a significant political force that involves and influences politics and government public policy decisions. This study discusses the Malaysian government’s response to the flood event, the well-known “2021–2022 Malaysian Floods,” to explore the current state of political modernization and digital democracy in Malaysia based on bottom-up participation mechanisms of citizens’ Internet involvement in public policy processes. This paper argues that public participation in our public policy through effective Internet will have a broader democratic base and will be closer to the goal of democratic and scientific decision-making.

Public Policy Issues in the Context of Public Sector Reforms: A Qualitative Storytelling of a Former Government Department in the Asia-Pacific Region

Predominantly public policy is a set of guidelines initiated by the government of a country to work in favour of mass people or the public. We showcase and represent public policy materials against the backdrop of being involved in the process of accountability, transparency, and efficient and effective administration and program delivery. In addition, the selected government department used private-sector management control technologies to deal with the public-sector reform initiatives. These elements are considered part of the modern approach to public administration also. The study may be useful to policymakers formulating new public sector policies. Moreover, the findings reported in this study would be useful to public sector managers in their daily decision-making process.

Penguatan Civic Skills melalui Pendidikan Kewarganegaraan dalam Menumbuhkan Partisipasi Mahasiswa sebagai Warga Negara

This study aims to describe how civic skills are strengthened through Citizenship Education in fostering student participation as citizens. This research is a mix method research with data collection by observation, interviews, and documentation, as well as distributing questionnaires. Participants in this study on qualitative data were lecturers and for quantitative data were 53 students who contracted Civics Learning courses in elementary schools in the Elementary School Teacher Education study program at Esa Unggul University. The results of this study indicate that lecturers provide strengthening of civics skills in Civics Learning courses in Elementary Schools through a project-based learning model, then open space at each meeting for students to be active in the learning process. The results of the analysis of quantitative data, strengthening civic skills through Citizenship Education in fostering student participation as citizens is successful. This can be seen from the survey with the results of Interacting with citizens of other countries to promote personal and shared interests with Agree totaling 91 points; Monitor public events and issues with Agree totaling 123 points; Deliberate and make decisions on public policy issues with Agreed totaling 108 points; Influencing policy decisions on public issues with Agree totaling 100 points; Carry out policy decisions on public issues with Agree totaling 113 points; Taking action to improve political and social life with Agree totals 97 points