Policy Agenda Research Articles

Strategies to promote patient-centeredness within the healthcare industry: A grey-based multicriteria decision making methods.

The international policy agenda has recently advocated for the development of patient-centeredness in healthcare service delivery. Consequently, various stakeholders in the healthcare systems have expressed a vital need for identifying strategies and tools that can enhance patient-centeredness. The objective of this paper was to prioritise and benchmark the strategies that can improve patient-centeredness in healthcare service delivery. We employed a multi-stage research scenario that consisted of two phases: a phase including of a scoping review to identify the current strategies to improve patient-centeredness (PC); And, a phase including of a multicriteria best-worst method to assign weights to PC principles, and a questionnaire administered to a sample of experts for benchmarking the strategies derived from the literature using the Grey Multi-Attributive Border Approximation Area Comparison (MABAC-G) method. The most important principle of patient-centeredness was deemed to be access to care, while telehealth tools and Electronic Health Information Systems were respectively suggested as the most efficacious platforms for promoting patient-centeredness. We recommend that administrators and policy makers in the healthcare industry prioritise the implementation and research of strategies such as telehealth tools and electronic health information systems to enhance access and patient-centeredness in the healthcare systems.

Pacifism, the Science of Peace, and the Constitution of War as a Governance Problem

Abstract Conflict prevention is a core item on the agenda of major international organizations and fora. In this article, I trace how war became a problem accessible to international governance. Adopting an object-centered approach to international relations (O-IR), I argue that war’s constitution as a problem of international governance unfolded in three interrelated processes. Firstly, pacifists and philanthropists designated war as a scientific object, thus giving rise to a “science of peace.” Secondly, scholars and pacifists compiled statistics on war, thus translating it across contexts and representing it as a global phenomenon. Statistics helped to make war accessible to advocacy and policymaking as an object of expertise. Thirdly, peace advocates problematized war as a governance object by representing it as a cost-benefit problem and a major cause in the reversal of economic development. By tracing the historical development of war as an epistemic object that can be investigated systematically, an object of expertise that can be measured and compared, and an object of governance that can be manipulated, this article bridges the strands of O-IR that have previously only focused on either knowledge and expertise or governance. Further, it adds to peace and conflict scholarship by providing an intellectual history of the prevention idea and its entanglement with modernism. Finally, it advances broader IR scholarship by offering an analysis of the role of scientific developments and nonstate activism in producing ideas and enabling policy agendas.

The promises and expectations of ILSAs regarding policymaking: lessons from Latin America

ABSTRACT Standardised International Large-Scale Assessments (ILSAs) have gained prominence in global and national educational discussions. ILSAs claim to offer valuable insights for improving education systems, but their impact on educational policy varies and has become a contested arena. This article analyses how these assessments fed educational policymaking in six Latin American countries based on a review of policy documents; the article advances three theses on how ILSAs are used by policymakers: First, there is a tokenistic usage of ILSAs; second, ILSAs must be considered more as political devices bolstering national reputation rather than studies in the academic sense; third, ILSAs can serve as leverage tools that can be mobilised for broader political ends. The study shows that the promises, designs and reporting of ILSAs are not necessarily aligned, that participation in ILSAs has become a symbolic gesture, and that ILSAs’ data are often cherry-picked to support pre-existing diagnoses and policy agendas.

Proclaiming the Unborn Child’s Humanity: A Feminist Rhetorical Analysis of the National Sanctity of Human Life Day Proclamations

The National Sanctity of Human Life Day (NSHL) was declared 22 times between 1984 and 2021. The proclamations were a strategy to strengthen electoral support for Republican presidents by validating the humanity of the unborn child. The presidents crafted a narrative of American exceptionalism supported by a beneficent Christian God, with the president serving as a moral leader. Collectively, the themes justified paternalistic authority over women’s reproductive autonomy. This feminist rhetorical analysis reveals the evolving power of the unborn child ideology from 1984 to the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022. The study demonstrates the rhetorical power of presidential ceremonial speech for building coalitions and advancing the president’s policy agenda.

Examining the nexus between governance and financial inclusion in the Nordic-Baltic region: Bank stability as a moderator

To attain sustainable development, a pertinent question that needs to be answered is whether good governance leads to financial inclusion (FI) and whether bank stability matters. This study examines how financial stability modulates the link between governance and FI in the Nordic-Baltic region between 2004 and 2021. Using a mixed effect model, we observed a positive causal relationship between governance and FI and bank stability modulate this causality. These findings are robust to alternative assumptions and model specifications. Interestingly, we found that good governance helps foster economic growth and social equality. The study further highlights the need for digital financial education to overcome the phobia of digital products as a priority policy agenda. Overall, this finding supports arguments in the literature that for FI to be sustainable, inequality should be low as income levels and well-being increase.

Water environment collaborative governance policy in the Yangtze River Delta

ABSTRACT Water environment collaborative governance is an important policy agenda during the Yangtze River Delta integration. Based on collaborative theory and policy value theory, this essay finds 144 water environment collaborative governance policies in the region from 2007 to 2022. It utilizes a policy collaborative model to discuss the water environment collaborative governance state at the regional and provincial levels in this region. Results show that 87.5% of water environment collaborative governance policies are enacted by local government in the region in this period, the main policy aims of which are water resource protection and wastewater pollution control. More policy attention will need to be paid to water environment restoration and off-office auditing of cadres. While administration policies and legal interventions are the main policy levers, economic policies and personal policies are relatively underused. Policy elements are significantly diversified at the provincial level in the region. In response to the findings above, this essay offers advice to improve water environment collaborative governance in the Yangtze River Delta region on four aspects: giving local governments full discretion in wastewater pollution treatment; giving full play of the water pollution control policies' value; adopting differentiated water pollution control policies; and strategies among the local government in the region, exerting policy stability.

Echoes of the “Azdarar” Newspaper in Kuwait Concerning the Activities of the Armenian National Committee on the Issue of Recognition of the Armenian Genocide (2014-2017)

Key words: Kuwait, Armenian Genocide, Armenian National Committee, Diaspora, weekly newspaper “Azdarar”, demand The Armenian National Committee stands out for its role and significance among the many Armenian lobbying organizations operating in the modern Diaspora. Promoting the process of international recognition and condemnation of the Armenian Genocide is the key activity of the latter. The Armenian National Committee is highly influential in the Armenian communities of the Diaspora. The activities of the Committee are actively covered on the pages of the newspaper “Azdarar” published in Kuwait. Since 1996, the socio-political weekly “Azdarar” has been published at the republican level. The newspaper covers the life of the local Armenian community, publishes news from Armenia and various Diaspora communities, conducts analysis and covers important international events. After the events in Yerevan in 1965 the process of recognition and condemnation of the Armenian Genocide resumed. It entered the modern stage after the adoption of the Declaration of Independence of the Republic of Armenia on August 23, 1990. Since 1998, the issue of international recognition of the Armenian Genocide has a permanent place on the foreign policy agenda of the Republic of Armenia. The weekly newspaper “Azdarar” covers the activities of the Armenian National Committee for the recognition and condemnation of the Armenian Genocide from the standpoint of national ideology. The newspaper does not consider the advancement of Armenian demands to be a monopoly of Diaspora Armenians and Armenian lobbying structures operating in the Diaspora, but considers it a process reflecting the unity and efforts of all Armenians.

Masculinidad y políticas públicas: la organización de una agenda en México

The main purpose of this communication is to identify, to describe the process of building a public policy agenda that involves men in the construction of equality with women, and to recognize the perception of those who participated in it. It conceived the process as an organization with its own dynamics. A descriptive research about ethnographic approach involved recovery of documentary information of the process, interviews with participants in the construction of the agenda and a workshop. Results are presented in a timeline involved papers to prepare work meetings; profiles of potential participants were identified, the work to be developed was outlined and the respective call for in-person and virtual meetings was issued. Participants in the work meetings discussed contents of the agenda and political impact, the requirements to continue the process and the formation of specialized working groups. Elements such as uncertainty, the breaking of agreements and their fixed, the (mis)knowledge of what public policy among others, intervened in the process. As a conclusion, the lessons that emerge from this process are noted.

Implementation of Child Friendly Village Regulations in Sumbawa Regency

This reseach aims to find out how the child-friendly village program is evaluated and what are the inhibiting factors that influence te implementation of the child-friendly village program that has been estabilished in Poto village. In this research itself qualitative methods are used, where data collection uses three strages, namely, observation, interviews, and documentation as reinforcement.The results obtained in this research are knowing the process of policy formulation stages which include problem formulation, policy agenda, slection of policy alternatives, and policy determination. And also fulfilling the indicator components of the public policy sytem.

Media Influence on Youth Health Awareness amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Comprehensive Study on the Role of Public Service Announcements and TV News

This study investigates the role of Public Service Announcements (PSAs) and News on TV in creating COVID-19-related health awareness among Pakistani youth. Guided by the agenda-setting theory, the research explores how electronic media coverage adopted media, public, and policy agenda stages in disseminating health precautionary measures during the pandemic outbreak. An online survey was conducted using a questionnaire tool of 32 items with Cronbach's alpha value (α = 0.922). One sample t-test, correlation, and frequency distribution were applied to compare the mean values and to observe the relation between independent and dependent variables of the selected sample of youth (N=436), living in Lahore including both males and females under the age of 18 to 32 years old. Results have shown that government-led PSAs significantly improve youth awareness and knowledge about COVID-19, combating misinformation. Moreover, findings support youth reliance on PSAs and a positive response to vaccination against COVID-19.

The EU’s twin transitions towards sustainability and digital leadership: a coherent or fragmented policy field?

ABSTRACT In order to achieve the goal of climate neutrality, while also enhancing Europe’s industrial competitiveness on the global stage, the acceleration of the twin – green and digital – transitions has been among the top priorities for the European Union (EU). Given the multiplicity of policy areas involved in these twin transitions as well as the nature of the EU as a multilevel organisation, coherence is the key requirement for the twin transitions to be successful. Drawing on the concept of coherence, this article explores whether the EU can be considered a coherent actor when pursuing the twin transitions. It understands coherence as a process to reduce contradictions across different policy domains rather than as a status where no contradictions exist. It also challenges previous views centred solely on coherence during policy implementation, and proposes a broader assessment that begins by framing different policy domains as mutually beneficial and aligned towards common goals. This perspective introduces two dimensions of coherence – conceptual and operational – along horizontal and vertical levels. By examining how policies are framed and interconnected across different levels of governance and policy agendas, this study reveals that while the link between the green and digital transitions and the need for coordination across different governance levels has been widely accepted, conceptual coherence varies across governance levels and policy areas. Furthermore, the study argues that operational coherence – putting ideas into practice – lags behind conceptual coherence, which highlights the challenges of implementing the twin transitions effectively.

Mobilisation of Literature: The Construction of Ideology in Soviet ‘Defence’ Magazines

At the turn of the 1930s, a cultural project of defence literature emerged in the USSR, implemented by the Literary Association of the Red Army and Navy (LOKAF) under the supervision of the Political Directorate of the Red Army. The circumstances in which the idea of defence literature emerged were closely related to the historical and political context of the era of the “Great Break”. The authors of defence literature were both professional and amateur writers from the literary circles of the Red Army and the Navy. In their texts, they interpreted and adapted the ideological attitudes of the authorities and offered what they considered to be “politically correct” models of behaviour. Critics of the LOKAF evaluated the ideological correctness of these texts and formulated programme guidelines for writers. The article deals with the works published in the pages of the Zalp and LOKAF magazines in 1930–1932 in order to reveal the connection of the chosen themes with the current domestic and foreign policy agenda, the writers’ reception of ideological clichés about the aggravation of internal and external contradictions, class struggle, wrecking, mastery of technology, etc., as well as the images of Red Army soldiers, party leaders, internal and external enemies created in the works.

Rural-urban transition and food security in India

As a growing proportion of world's population lives in cities and towns, food security is increasingly acquiring an urban character. The locus of food security research and policy agendas has correspondingly expanded from rural areas to include urban centres in recent years. However, the dominant discourse on urbanization-food security relationship appears to be shaped by perspectives from the Global North and large cities, and disregards urbanization-food security nexus in small towns of the Global South. This paper aims to correct this bias. With a focus on India where urbanization is increasingly concentrated in small, former rural regions, this paper looks at the food security implications of country's rural-urban transition and advances a conceptual framework to understand the food security impacts of peripheral urbanization.

Working with constructs of inclusion for understanding teachers’ literacy practices and their impact on student learning

ABSTRACT The paper explores teachers’ language literacy practices in underprivileged, inner-city schools in Athens, Greece, and their implications for student learning and educational inclusion. The current developments of global/European and national education policy agendas on literacy and inclusion inform the research questions of the study. Bernstein’s theory of pedagogic discourse frames our analysis on the reproduction of social inequalities through schooling and informs our discussion on the discursive means and the pedagogic practices for their interruption. Findings, based on interview data and classroom observations, indicate that global discourses on inclusion, (re)articulated in the disadvantaged school settings of the study, invest the notion of inclusion with three different meanings: a. inclusion as assimilation and absorption into the dominant culture and society; b. inclusion as therapy for students’ emotional ‘traumas’; and c. inclusion as recognition of difference. We argue that these constructs of inclusion shape teaching practices that either promote or undermine student learning and empowerment.

Contrasting approaches to very highcapacity network regulation and policy: a comparative analysis of France, Portugal, Spain and the UK (2008–2020)

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors that may have contributed to different levels of very high-capacity network (VHCN) coverage, with a particular focus on the role of regulation and State aid. Design/methodology/approach A comparative empirical study based on multiple case studies was conducted in France, Portugal, Spain and the UK. Findings Although France, Portugal and Spain initially adopted similar regulatory strategies for VHCN deployment, the outcomes differed significantly. The UK, with a more demanding regulation, achieved a residual coverage. This study highlights the importance of the regulatory approach to VHCN access in balancing private and public investment and emphasizes the importance of State aid in the policy agenda for nationwide VHCN deployment projects. Research limitations/implications Research on complex phenomena, such as the impact of regulation on investment or the effectiveness of State aid procedures, may focus on specific events to the detriment of others, which could bias the results. Practical implications The findings of this study provide insights for policymakers involved in State aid decisions and regulators by understanding the importance of timely State aid interventions, efficient governance and the impact of regulation on investment incentives. Originality/value This paper extends the literature on the impact of regulation on investment incentives and State aid as a tool to complement private investment for VHCN deployment through in-depth case studies.

Explaining the German lobbying register law and its reform: combining insights from the Multiple Streams Framework and Punctuated Equilibrium Theory

AbstractThis paper explains the adoption and reform of the German lobbying register law in 2021 and 2023 as a major policy change in German lobbying regulation. Using the Multiple Streams Framework and Punctuated Equilibrium Theory as theoretical lenses, we conduct a congruence analysis of 87 policy documents in a time period from 2017 to 2023. Empirical results show that the lobbying register law represents a quick solution to a different problem (a conflict of interest scandal) and explain the time it took the reform to re-emerge on the policy agenda due to shifted legislative priorities. In line with previous studies on lobbying regulation, we find that scandals need to be combined with other explanatory factors in order to elucidate the introduction and strengthening of transparency measures. These factors are on the micro-level and focus on how political action is channeled by key actors that make use of these scandals to increase pressure to act and generate further attention. With regard to our theoretical lenses, our analysis illustrates that both theories are needed to fully investigate the policy processes.

Comparative Analysis of Climate Change Policies: Pakistan VS. Global Approaches

Purpose: The current study compares global climate change policy to Pakistan's national climate policy in order to investigate global and national priorities in the context of carbon emission, air pollution, gender and smog under the adaptive management model. Methodology: The United Nations Climate Change Policy Papers and Pakistan's most current Climate Change Policy 2021, were analyzed in this work utilizing keyword search methods for contextualization in the qualitative data analysis program NVivo 11. Findings: The findings show that Pakistan's climate change strategy is highly similar to global climate change policy in terms of carbon emissions, a little less so in terms of gender, but not in terms of air pollution. It is concerning that smog, a serious problem in Pakistan, is not on the agenda of global climate change policy. Unique Contribution of theory, practice and policy: Through adaptive management, the research identifies specific gaps where national policies diverge from global priorities. For instance, the model helps to highlight the lack of emphasis on smog in global policies, a critical issue for Pakistan, thereby suggesting areas for improvement and alignment. The study suggests that the Pakistani government should make efforts to address this issue on a worldwide scale in order to solve the problem.

On a wing and a prayer: professional ethics and the prison library

PurposeIn response to instrumental cultural policy agendas in the United Kingdom, the paper explores the practice of collaborative cultural work in the criminal justice system through the lens of professional ethics in prison libraries. It seeks to balance narratives on the value of arts and culture in cross-government policy agendas with a nuanced consideration of the realities of such work in non-conventional organisational settings.Design/methodology/approach“Instrumental Values: Professional ethics in collaborative cultural work” was a two-year empirical study (2017–2019), including ethnographic fieldwork in three case study sites representing prison library services in England. Following a “communities of practice” conceptual framework, research methods included participant observation of day-to-day cultural work and specific events; successive research interviews with library and prison service staff and volunteers; and interviews with key collaborating organisations from extended professional networks.FindingsData from three prison library case studies show consistent ethical implications relating to the extent of collaborative complexity in the field and its impact on participants’ emotional resilience; navigation of the prison regime by cultural workers; consequences for emotional labour and care in the field; and the re-negotiation of ethical boundaries and practices.Originality/valueThe research makes an original contribution to debates on the instrumental value of arts and culture via its intimate focus on prison libraries as microcosms of situated, truly integrated cultural work, both from a physical, organisational perspective and in their representation of a cross-policy function for arts and culture.

Violent conflict and multinational enterprises: identifying key frontiers in international business policy research

Violent conflicts are events that involve the purposeful use of violence by state and/or non-state actor(s) to achieve political objectives, which result in disruptions to the institutional environment where actors such as civil society and multinational enterprises (MNEs) are situated. Examples of violent conflicts include civil and interstate wars and terrorist attacks. Violent conflicts typically have multiple, often devastating consequences that pose difficult policy challenges for governments and MNEs. This perspective offers an international business (IB) research and policy agenda to advance our understanding of the linkages between violent conflict and MNEs, focusing on three IB research and policy frontiers: the mechanisms through which MNEs are exposed to violent conflicts globally, MNE strategies and violent conflicts, and the interplay between MNEs and violent conflict environments. We also discuss appropriate datasets and research methods for studying MNEs and violent conflict.

Defining their real problems, getting public and policy attention: Global struggles of deprived communities for sustainable development

AbstractAgenda is the list of issues or problems that policymakers agree to consider. Agenda setting is a struggle between stakeholders to define these issues. Communities suffering from pollution, homelessness, unemployment, and other unsustainabilities have the best science and most legitimate interest to define these problems for policymakers. However, our knowledge about bottom‐up agenda setting is limited. This study is an original, first‐time investigation to explore and conceptualize how deprived communities engage in the competition to set policy agendas. The findings from analyzing secondary evidence indicate that deprived communities engage in agenda‐setting competition in a three‐step process of (i) defining their problems; (ii) seeking public attention to their problems; and (iii) demanding policy attention to their problems. Strategies that deprived communities use in these steps are identified and illustrated. The study produces a conceptual toolkit to research and map bottom‐up agenda‐setting. The toolkit might be further tested and refined, including in environmental studies. Bottom‐up agenda setting is fundamental to sustainable development by ensuring that framing of social and environmental problems comes from their sufferers so that policymakers rather provide solutions.