Policy Frames Research Articles

Attracting Gen Z workforce: the effects of organizational social media policy

ObjetivoTeniendo en cuenta la experiencia formativa única de la Generación Z con los medios sociales, este estudio aplica la teoría de la utilización de señales para investigar los efectos de la política de medios sociales como indicio organizativo para atraer a esta cohorte a las empresas de hostelería y turismo.Diseño/metodología/enfoqueSe realizó un experimento de 2x2 (marco de la política: promoción vs prevención) x (límite de la política: distinto vs permeable) con 243 personas de la Generación Z en busca de empleo en hostelería y turismo. Se aplicaron análisis ANCOVA para analizar los efectos del marco de política y el límite en el atractivo percibido de la organización y la intención de búsqueda, respectivamente.ResultadosEste estudio descubrió que cuando la política de una empresa promovía el uso de los medios sociales, los solicitantes de empleo de la Generación Z declaraban un mayor atractivo y una mayor intención de búsqueda en la condición de límite diferenciado. Sin embargo, cuando la política de medios sociales de una empresa hacía hincapié en un marco de prevención, los solicitantes de empleo de la Generación Z informaron de un nivel similar de atractivo percibido e intención de búsqueda, independientemente de las condiciones de límite de la política.Originalidad/valorEste estudio abordó las lagunas en la literatura debido a la investigación limitada sobre la fuerza laboral de la Generación Z y los efectos de las políticas de redes sociales en la atracción de talento. Basado en la teoría de utilización de señales, el estudio identificó las combinaciones de cláusulas de política que generaron impactos positivos en la contratación entre miembros de la Generación Z. El estudio proporcionó implicaciones teóricas y prácticas únicas para que los gerentes de hostelería y turismo utilicen las políticas de redes sociales como una herramienta novedosa y rentable para atraer talento de la Generación Z.

Application of 3P Theory in Analysis of Gender Conflict-Intergender and Intragender Conflict

The research paper deals with Intergender and Intragender conflict. These terms newly coined in this paper, a great contribution to modern Sociology. All forms of gender conflicts divided into two; First is conflict between two or more Identical genders, known as Intragender conflict and second is conflict between two opposite genders known as Intergender conflict. These conflicts analyzed with P-Factors (P1, P2, P3) of 3P Theory. The research paper also resolves various forms of conflict between the members of a family i.e intimate partners, siblings, parent and children etc. The rising issues of LGBTQ relations are analyzed in the context of 3P Theory. Different Gender conflict surveys conducted and data analyzed in scientific way. The theory is not only applicable to resolve gender based conflicts but also interpersonal and inter-communal/intergroup conflicts. The theory helps in framing policy to curb various types of conflict and discriminations in society. The theory also helps in curbing various forms of discrimination, such as colour, sex, caste, creed, religion and race prevalent in world.

Norwegian polyamorous families and their experiences of kindergarten: a narrative inquiry

ABSTRACT This article reports on a narrative inquiry (NI) of two Norwegian polyamorous families regarding their encounters with their children’s kindergartens. NI as a theory and method is employed, along with discourse theory, to understand the experiences of these polyfamilies in Norway. Norway has declared its institutions to be discrimination-free but that does not allow for the formalization of polyamory as a legitimate relationship. The analysis focuses on restorying three experiences of the polyamorous families: becoming polyfamilies, disclosing their relationship to the children, and encounters with the kindergartens. The discussion highlights the dichotomy between the families’ experiences when hiding and being open about their family arrangement; and the silent hegemony of monogamy underpinning a ray of policy documents framing kindergarten policy and practice (of collaborations with families).

Narratives and expert information in agenda‐setting: Experimental evidence on state legislator engagement with artificial intelligence policy

AbstractAre narratives as influential in gaining the attention of policymakers as expert information, including for complex, technical policy domains such as artificial intelligence (AI) policy? This pre‐registered study uses a field experiment to evaluate legislator responsiveness to policy entrepreneur outreach. In partnership with a leading AI think tank, we send more than 7300 U.S. state legislative offices emails about AI policy containing an influence strategy (providing a narrative, expert information, or the organization's background), along with a prominent issue frame about AI (emphasizing technological competition or ethical implications). To assess engagement, we measure link clicks to further resources and webinar registration and attendance. Although AI policy is a highly technical domain, we find that narratives are just as effective as expert information in engaging legislators. Compared to control, expert information and narratives led to 28 and 34 percent increases in policymaker engagement, respectively. Furthermore, higher legislature professionalism and lower state‐level prior AI experience are associated with greater engagement with both narratives and expert information. Finally, we find that policymakers are equally engaged by an ethical framing of AI policy as they are with an economic one. The findings advance efforts to bridge scholarship on policy narratives, policy entrepreneurship, and agenda‐setting.

What Factors Drive School Districts to Adopt Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK): Evidence from Wisconsin

ABSTRACT Research Findings: This study proposes and tests hypotheses regarding the factors in public early-childhood education (ECE) policy that may explain local universal pre-kindergarten (UPK) policies. By analyzing district-level longitudinal data from the Wisconsin State Department and United States (U.S.) Census over two decades, the study examines the contextual factors associated with policy adoption. Among the three frames of ECE policy – social welfare, education, and family services – this study finds that the education frame, which emphasizes the goal of public ECE in improving all students’ educational outcomes, is the primary motivation for UPK in Wisconsin. The social-welfare frame, which posits that public ECE supports poor families, also appears to be associated with Wisconsin UPK policies. Additionally, the results show that UPK was not introduced to provide more child care for working parents, indicating that the family-service frame does not explain UPK. Practice or Policy: Given the overlapping roles of public ECE policies, this study demonstrates that UPK has primarily been oriented toward educational objectives and provides insights for policymakers in deciding which policy to adopt based on local needs.

Sustainable Development Goals in BRICS and G7 countries: Increasing accomplishments through policy synergies in four dimensions

AbstractThe United Nation's 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) represent aspirations for human development that necessitate the epiphany of a universal yet varied set of ethical values, social equity, sustainability, and healthy lifestyle within a clean, safe environment. However, recent events such as Covid‐19 and the Ukraine–Russia Impasse have been a bane to achieving these goals. Consequently, there is the need to find innovative ways to increase accomplishments. Given that the SDGs are inherently interconnected and that achieving one is a suitable springboard for achieving others, we hypothesize the whole SDGs in four dimensions: (i) environmental, (ii) economic, (iii) human development, and (iv) energy sustainability to aid in cost effective implementation and comparative analysis between BRICS and G7 countries. Proxying SDGs 3 and 4 with human development, SDG 8 with economic growth, SDG 13 with environmental sustainability, and SDG 7 with energy sustainability, we use panel data from 2000 to 2020. We conducted a thorough empirical investigation and used sophisticated econometric approaches—Driscoll–Kraay for the principal analysis and fixed effect for robustness check. From the analysis, we conclude that the policy frame of UN‐SDG is inconsistent within the panel (BRICS and G7 nations), suggesting that these policy instruments need a uniform harmonization in the policy framework. In conclusion, a policy framework must be created in such a manner that, while having the ability to improve the environment, the pattern of economic growth is preserved, and human progress pursues its goals with priority access to sustainable energy.

Correctional officers and the use of force as an organizational behavior

AbstractDuring the past 30 years, bureaucratic managerialism has reshaped how prison staff maintain order. Policies and graduated disciplinary models have replaced coercive methods, reducing disciplinary use of force by prison staff against incarcerated people. Managerialism, however, disguises deep problems in the interpretation and enforcement of use‐of‐force policies. Drawing on 131 semistructured interviews with Canadian correctional officers (COs), I show how managers and prison staff interpret and negotiate policies to justify using force to maintain order. Although COs frame policies and management supervision as significant checks on their actions, they also suggest that inconsistencies in policy interpretation and implementation facilitate certain kinds of use‐of‐force decisions, which I define as “construction” and “outsourcing.” I conclude by discussing the broader organizational implications of these findings.

Capturing a News Frame – Comparing Machine-Learning Approaches to Frame Analysis with Different Degrees of Supervision

ABSTRACT The empirical identification of frames drawing on automated text analysis has been discussed intensely with regard to the validity of measurements. Adding to an evolving discussion on automated frame identification, we systematically contrast different machine-learning approaches with a manually coded gold standard to shed light on the implications of using one or the other: (1) topic modeling, (2) keyword-assisted topic modeling (keyATM), and (3) supervised machine learning as three popular and/or promising approaches. Manual coding is based on the Policy Frames codebook, providing an established base that allows future research to dovetail our contribution. Analysing a large dataset of 12 Austrian newspapers’ EU coverage over 11 years (2009–2019), we contribute to addressing the methodological challenges that have emerged for social scientists interested in employing automated tools for frame analysis. While results confirm the superiority of supervised machine-learning, the semi-supervised approach (keyATM) seems unfit for frame analysis, whereas the topic model covers the middle ground. Results are extensively discussed regarding their implications for the validity of approaches.

The racialisation of sexism: how race frames shape anti-street harassment policies in Britain and France

Femonationalism, that is, the use of women’s rights rhetorics to further racial stigmatisation and promote nationalism, has been of growing interest to social scientists on European contexts. While previous studies have provided insights on the racialisation of sexism in gender equality policymaking, there is still a limited understanding of how policy frames in particular national contexts can either exacerbate or mitigate femonationalism in the making of anti-gender-based violence policy. In particular, how do frames on race and racism impact the framing of anti-street harassment policies and, by extension, the ability to prevent femonationalism? The article explores this issue by comparing the cases of France and Britain through empirical data with policymakers and activists intervening in policymaking against street harassment in France and Britain. Findings suggest that, even though French state actors claim their colour-blindness allows them to avoid a racist framing of the problem, it actually enables it. This in turn favours a racialised framing of street harassment and leads to an inability to address the potential risk of racial targeting in the criminalisation of street harassment. Conversely, the acknowledgment of racism in Britain favours an intersectional framing of street harassment and leads to greater consideration of the risk of racial targeting. By analysing how race repertoires unfold in policy pre-adoption phases, the article therefore suggests that nationally embedded assumptions about race have a significant impact on the framing of anti-gender-based violence policy and, in turn, on femonationalism.

Evaluation of surgical site infections along with the study of antibiogram and drug-resistant isolates from exudate samples in a tertiary care hospital

Abstract Background: Infections of the skin and soft tissue caused by pyogenic bacteria, are a major cause of morbidity, prolonged hospital stay and post-surgical complications. Present study was designed to determine the rate of surgical site infection (SSI), burden of multi drug resistant (MDR) isolates in exudate samples and to study the antimicrobial resistance and susceptibility pattern among these isolates. Methods: One thousand five hundred and seven pus samples from pyogenic infections and SSI received over 1 year in a microbiology laboratory, which yielded aerobic growth, were identified by standard culture methods and biochemical reactions. Antibiotic susceptibility test and determination of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) and methicillin-resistant staphylococci [methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative Staphylococci (MRCoNS)] rates was done according to the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute guidelines. SSI rates of the hospital were determined. Results: Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella, Pseudomonas and methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative staphylococci were the most common organisms isolated from pyogenic lesions. SSI rate was 5.9%. Susceptibility of Gram-negative bacteria to imipenem was 88%, amikacin 86%, gentamicin 83% and piperacillin/tazobactam 80%. Susceptibility was least for cephalosporins 54%, ciprofloxacin 39% and ampicillin 28%. ESBL rate was 33% and MRSA was 38%. In SSI, ESBL and MRSA rates were 35% and 43%, respectively. Among Gram positives, susceptibility to linezolid was 100% and clindamycin 71% susceptible. It was least to ciprofloxacin 19% and co-trimoxazole 24.6%. Conclusions: Developing antibiogram helps in framing local antibiotic policy and adhering to this contributes to controlling drug-resistant strains and also aids in reducing SSI rates.

Comprehensive evaluation of passenger road transportation through dynamic network data envelopment analysis: A case study of state road transport undertakings in India

AbstractState road transport undertakings (STUs) in India are public utility services that link diverse terrains and remote and hilly areas throughout the country and play a vital role in enhancing public mobility. These organizations are motivated to work through a sense of social responsibility. For example, they operate in low‐revenue‐generating regions to serve the public. Therefore, they require regular performance monitoring and constant efforts toward course corrections. Existing literature on the performance evaluation of STUs ignores the internal structures of the passenger transportation process and treats the process as a “black‐box.” Consequently, it fails to identify the precise cause of inefficiencies, making course corrections in a multistage transportation process difficult. To close this research gap and comprehensively evaluate the performance of STUs, considering their internal structure and based on long‐term optimization, this study employs a slacks‐based dynamic network data envelopment analysis (DNDEA) approach to deconstruct India's publicly owned passenger road transportation process into operations and revenue divisions, subjected to a multiperiod performance evaluation from 2014–2015 to 2017–2018. Moreover, we utilize panel data regression to explore other influential factors not included in the DNDEA, explaining the efficiency variation across STUs. This study is the first to explore the internal structure of STUs in India and perform a comprehensive evaluation of STUs, considering their internal divisions and multiple‐period long‐term optimization. The DNDEA results highlight evidence of capital misallocation in India's public road transport sector. While operational inefficiency can be attributed to improper utilization of resources, price regulation is the major source of inefficiency in the revenue division. Fixed effects panel data regression revealed that STUs with higher bus utilization and passenger lead are more efficient. The contribution of this study lies in its innovative approach of using DNDEA to analyze India's passenger road transportation sector and its inner constructs, providing insights into the efficiency scores of STUs and their dynamic changes in one model. Managers and policymakers can use the findings of this study to revise and frame policies targeted at improving STU efficiency.

The Interplay Between Risk Framing, Attitude toward Policy, Negative Affect and Hard Policy Support

Abstract This study examines the impact of risk framing (national security versus climate change) on attitude toward policy, negative affect and individual support for hard policy. A between-subject, vignettebased experiment was conducted. Results show that both climate change and energy security policies receive above-average support and evoke moderate levels of negative affect. In addition, no statistically significant results were found between the two risk framing policies. Moreover, attitude towards policy predicts individual support for hard policy, whereas negative affect has no influence.

GENERAL INSURANCE BUSINESS TRENDS (PRE-LIBERALIZATION PERIOD)

The policy frame reveals that the General Insurance Corporation (GIC) in India during the pre-reform period was well-directed to achieve national planning and development objectives. Analyzing the performance of the GIC, including the progress of four subsidiaries, is essential to highlight achievements and business trends between 1973 and 1999-2000. The analysis should focus on trends in paid-up capital, gross premium, net premium, underwriting profits, net profit, and investment income. In general insurance contracts, insurers indemnify the insured for losses caused by specified risks, charging a remuneration called premium. Premiums are received for one year and are renewed only if the contract is renewed. The Insurance Act 1938 requires insurers to provide separate figures for businesses mobilized in and out of India, indicating the volume of business undertaken by organizations

Research on Integrated Resorts (IR) and the Tourism Strategy Choice of Singapore

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to trace the process by which Singapore considered and reached social consensus on the development of integrated resorts (IR), including casinos. Additionally, this study aims to derive policy implications as a systemic basis for future IR development in Japan. Design/Methodology/Approach – A meta-analysis was conducted to analyze the context and content of policy decisions in detail, focusing on the theoretical discussion of the characteristics of Singaporean IR, and the political and social decision-making process surrounding the introduction of the IR business. Findings – The Singaporean government demonstrated an inclusive policy decision-making process that convinced various stakeholders, especially civil society and the religious community, on the introduction of casinos. In addition, to minimize the social side effects of introducing casinos, the government actively provided safety measures, and pursued a strategy to lead investors to invest a large amount of money in Singapore’s tourism infrastructure along with license renewal negotiations. Research Implications – By analyzing the policy compliance process of citizens and the effective use of policy framing regarding politically and socially controversial IR business, this study helps to understand the policy decision-making process concerning IR. Furthermore, through the successful case of Singapore, this study can provide a framework that can be applied systematically for future IR business development in Japan.

Hydrogeochemical constraints on uranium contamination of groundwater for drinking water supplies and associated health risks

The groundwater quality of Punjab, India is of huge concern owing to the presence of various toxic contaminants that includes uranium and other trace elements. The focus of this study is to identify the hydrogeochemical processes responsible for uranium mobilization in groundwater and evaluation of groundwater quality in uranium contaminated zones for drinking, irrigation use along with associated health risks. The study was conducted using the water quality data obtained from 302 sampling locations covering the entire state of Punjab reported by Central Ground Water Board between 2019 and 2020. It was observed that around 50% of the samples were exceeding the drinking water acceptable limits for total alkalinity, magnesium, pH, and Total Dissolved Solids. Around 25% of the samples were above drinking water acceptable limit for uranium in groundwater. A comprehensive multiplicative water quality index (MED-WQI) well represented the consolidated perspective of all individual water quality parameters wherein 40 sampling locations in districts viz. Bathinda, Fazilka, Ferozepur, Jalandhar, Kapurthala, Ludhiana, Muktsar and Sangrur fall under heavily-polluted water quality class due to high levels of uranium, alkalinity, and hardness. The Piper plots and Gibbs diagram depicted that the majority of groundwater samples were characterized as Na+–HCO3−, Ca2+–Mg2+–HCO3− systems driven by rock-water interactions. Speciation analysis indicates that the dominant uranium species in groundwater of U-affected regions was primarily associated with calcium and alkalinity and exist in the form of CaUO2(CO3)32−, Ca2UO2(CO3)3(aq), UO2(CO3)34−, and UO2(OH)3−. Various irrigation indices depict that the groundwater in majority of the state, barring few districts in Malwa region, was suitable for irrigation. Further, a non-carcinogenic health risk assessment model showed association of high health risk with heavily-polluted water quality class. The results of this study would aid regulatory authorities in designing remedial strategies and frame policy actions toward groundwater quality improvement in the uranium-affected regions of Punjab.

Missed opportunities: the impact of internal compartmentalisation on EU diplomacy across the international regime complex on climate change

ABSTRACT International climate governance no longer takes place only in the UNFCCC but is spread across numerous fora that collectively form the international regime complex on climate change. For climate leaders like the EU, the regime complex creates opportunities for strategic activity in its diplomacy across the different fora. This article examines how internal compartmentalisation affected the EU’s diplomacy across the international regime complex on climate change in the negotiation of four climate agreements: the Paris Agreement (UNFCCC), CORSIA (ICAO), the Kigali Amendment (Montreal Protocol), and the Initial Strategy (IMO). It finds that internal compartmentalisation indeed hinders the EU’s pursuit of a comprehensive climate diplomacy, making the regime complex a missed opportunity for the EU. Various combinations of a lack of communication channels, different priorities and policy framings, and a lack of resources and expertise contributed to situations where the EU was limited in using the regime complex.

Hydropowering sustainability transformation: policy frames on river use and restoration in Finland

Hydropower, as a flexible energy source, has sparked renewed interest in the ongoing decarbonisation of the society. Simultaneously, a wider transformation of the socio-ecological system towards more sustainable practices of energy production is required. Our paper draws from the sustainable transformation theory and the concepts of transformability, hydro-social cycle, and aquatic regime to study a system of water governance and regulation in Finland. Our case study data consists of 16 semi-structured interviews and 207 news articles from Yle national broadcast company. We studied the policy frames to reveal how the water governance actors understand, view and make sense of future river use and restoration, and how they utilise the frames for strategic purposes. Results demonstrate that the future river use and restoration were framed by four modes of thinking: 1) hydropower as a ‘cultural trauma’, 2) restoring rivers and dam removal after hydropower construction and operation to improve ecological flows in rivers, 3) improving the social acceptance of hydropower and dam removal, and 4) improving the efficiency of the hydropower regime as a flexible source of power. Our paper shows that to enable pathways for socio-ecological-technical transformations of aquatic ecosystems further scientific scrutiny should be focused on reconciliation of the interest of river restoration, recreational uses of aquatic environments and the flexible energy function of hydropower in energy transition. Removal of migration barriers and small-scale hydropower plants and building fishways and bypasses are part of this transformation. Furthermore, the river regulation needed to give impoundment facilities the flexibility, causes changes in water levels which may be a potential source of conflict between riparian residents and hydropower operators. Therefore, more emphasis should be placed on water governance that recognises the local dynamics and interactions within the social-ecological systems.

Towards more locally aware resource governance? – commentary to Albrecht and colleagues

This text grew out as a commentary on the article “Hydropowering sustainability transformation: policy frames on river use and restoration in Finland” (Albrecht et al. 2023) during the manuscript review process. While the article itself is a timely contribution to expanding our understanding on how rivers are framed and related to in a national context where the history of coercive ‘modernization’ meets an urgent demand to decarbonize, the authors’ observations also invite discussion beyond the explicit scope of water governance. Considering the range of extractive and renewable resource projects that are expected to unfold across the country in response to the demands of the ‘green transition’, I make use of this text as an opportunity to discuss Albrecht and colleagues’ (2023, 58) conclusion that “more emphasis should be placed on […] governance that recognises the local dynamics and interactions within the social-ecological systems”. I take a focus on the inseparably political, affective and situated nature of all resource-related developments and debates, which all pose their unique challenges for translating the idea(l)s of locally aware environmental and resource governance frameworks into practice.

Monoglot Ideologies in Multilingual Ecologies: Case Study of Language-in-Education Policies in India and Indonesia

The creation of language policies is a socially embedded process that affects the socioeconomic well-being of those who live in a given language ecosystem. Unrealistic presumptions about a nation’s linguistic landscape on the part of its government run the risk of perpetuating an unequal social climate in which some demographic groups are given more possibilities for social mobility, while others are pushed into a marginalized position of powerlessness. In multilingual societies, the power structures that exist mirror the roles that various languages are given in social, educational, and other domains. The current study examines the ecology/practice of language in multilingual Indian and Indonesian contexts and strives to determine if it receives adequate reflection in the language policies (LPs) of both nations. To comprehend how multilingual social practice is managed and planned through official policy framing, it construes these situations as case studies. In social contexts where societal multilingualism is the norm, the current study takes a critically reflexive approach toward the formulation and application of policy. To determine whether there is a correlation between contentious LPs in multilingual situations and social justice, in terms of equal access to high-quality education, it links top-down government language management with local linguistic realities. Moreover, it draws its own conclusions regarding the implications of policy analysis for fair language management in multilingual contexts and teachers’ participation in policy implementation as part of their regular professional activities.

Policy responses to diversity in early childhood education and care: Setting the agenda and meeting the challenges

This article examines the contemporary Swedish policy responses to increased cultural and linguistic diversity in the field of early childhood education and care (ECEC). More specifically, it explores how national authorities and organizations initiate collaborations, use and produce policy knowledge and identify priorities and challenges. The analysis draws on a review of policy texts and in-depth interviews with high-level policy actors who act as an epistemic community. Using the concepts of representations and problematization, this study connects the generation of policy knowledge on diversity with the identification of solutions to address cultural and linguistic diversity. The findings suggest a consensus over the definitions of priorities for diversity policies in ECEC within this epistemic community. A core priority is emphasizing the importance of the Swedish language within a wider multilingual approach linked to increased participation in preschools, and to discourses of school readiness and societal integration. Yet, there is a tension between identifying policy priorities and structural challenges at different levels. Unequal conditions, residential segregation and lack of educated preschool staff present difficulties that require a more comprehensive approach than those taken by the official policy frames.