Policy Problems Research Articles

Mapping working practices as systems: An analytical model for visualising findings from an institutional ethnography

This paper presents a new methodological model that was developed whilst carrying out an Institutional Ethnography to explore school food working practices. The model brings together two complementary approaches; Institutional Ethnography and Systems Thinking, to offer a novel approach to the analysis and visualisation of ethnographic data as systems maps that show how power shapes practices. This novel contribution allows for the mapping of complex working practices to show interdependencies and flows, and addresses limitations in the applicability of Institutional Ethnography to policy research. This approach will be useful for researchers and practitioners who want to utilise findings from Institutional Ethnography to design effective interventions, change outcomes of working practices, or tackle policy problems.

Preventing Further Tragedies of the Commons in Warming: Insights from Global Climate Policy

Based on the theory of the tragedy of the commons and the background of global warming, this paper examines the emergence, development, and specific problems of current international climate policies at the political economy level. The aim is to provide the global community with sustainable policy recommendations to address the challenges of climate change effectively. The paper explores complex topics like resource distribution, carbon emissions, climate adaptation, and international cooperation using an interdisciplinary approach. The study underscores the crucial role of economic policies in guiding resource use to combat global warming. It also emphasizes the challenges posed by international cooperation, political will, and social acceptance. The paper further discusses measures like establishing standardized standards for resource extraction and highlights the importance of long-term planning among nations. In conclusion, even though the tragedy of the commons poses significant challenges in the context of climate change, these can be mitigated through specific economic measures.

Constructing the data economy: tracing expectations of value creation in policy documents

ABSTRACT Public sector data is increasingly seen as a key resource for value creation in the private sector across a wide range of countries. Situated within studies on technology policies, this paper investigates how the idea of data as a resource has become embedded in public policy through a case study on the Norwegian context. Which policy problem exist for which technological developments seem to provide the best solutions? As documents are an important site of governance, we trace the imaginary of value creation through public data by studying the main datafication policy documents in Norway. By making visible the self-referencing practiced in policy reports, we illustrate how datafication policies are based on fictional calculation-based anticipations. We show how the Norwegian government positions itself as a facilitator, rather than regulator of data markets. Our analysis captures the technological determinism driving public policy. In addition, we show how supranational actors and consultancy agencies play an important role in constructing the Nordic data imaginary. We argue that the act of producing policy papers is in itself an important action keeping the imaginary alive.

Конституционно-правовые основы и проблемы языковой политики Российской Федерации в отношении национальных меньшинств

The article examines the problems associated with the peculiarities and problems of the language policy of the Russian Federation in relation to national minorities. Currently, Russia's language policy is acquiring particular significance in connection with the military-political situation, as well as taking into account the fact that the “language issue” is again reaching the level of political confrontation. The purpose of this article is to understand language policy as a reflection of the fundamental rights of national minorities from the point of view of interaction between the state Russian language and the national languages of the peoples of Russia.

Manifesting symbolic representation through collaborative policymaking

AbstractCollaboration is a widely employed strategy for addressing “wicked” policy problems. While scholars have long recognized that the organizational composition of collaborative forums can have a dramatic impact on the efficacy and equity of associated forum outputs, little is known about whether such composition impacts the manner in which everyday citizens perceive forum processes and/or participating organizations. In this article, we bridge and extend concepts from the collaborative governance and representative bureaucracy literatures, arguing that when forums attract sufficient membership from organizations that citizens perceive as reflective of their own or their community's interests—what we refer to as “forum representation”—those citizens will have more positive perceptions toward all participating organizations. Conversely, failing to achieve sufficient representation can result in degraded perceptions. While there are theoretically multiple ways to increase forum representation, we focus on one potential pathway: the inclusion of civil society organizations in policy‐making processes. Empirically, we assess whether heightened representation of civil society groups within a specific collaborative policing forum impacts citizens' perceptions of the main participating agency—the police department—finding that greater knowledge of this highly representative forum results in positive spillover effects.

Lifting the curtain on the emergency department crisis: a multi-method reception study of Larry Saves the Canadian Healthcare System

BackgroundDespite growing evidence of the potential of arts-based modalities to translate knowledge and spark discussion on complex issues, applications to health policy are rare. This study explored the potential of a research-based theatrical video to increase public capacity and motivation to engage with the complex issues that make Emergency Department wait times such an intractable problem.MethodsLarry Saves the Canadian Healthcare System is a digital musical micro-series developed from extensive research examining system-level causes of Emergency crowding and the ineffectiveness of prevailing approaches. We released individual episodes and a revised full-length version on YouTube, using organic promotion strategies and paid advertising. We used YouTube Analytics to track views, engagement and viewer demographics, and content-analyzed viewer comments. We also conducted five university-based screenings; 92 students completed questionnaires, rating Larry on 16 descriptors using a 7-point Likert scale.ResultsFrom June 2022 through May 2023, Larry garnered over 100,000 views (76,752 of the full-length version, 35,535 of episodes), 1329 likes, 2780 shares, and 139 comments. Views and watch time were higher among women and positively associated with age. Among YouTube comments, the predominating themes were praise for the video and criticism of the healthcare system. Many commenters applauded the show’s accuracy, humor, and/or resonance with their experience; several shared healthcare horror stories. Students overwhelmingly agreed with all positive and disagreed with all negative descriptors, and nearly unanimously deemed the video informative, thought-provoking, and entertaining. Most also affirmed that it had increased their knowledge, interest, and confidence to participate in discussions about healthcare issues. Neither gender, primary language, nor employment in healthcare predicted ratings, but graduate students and those 25+ years old evaluated the video most positively.DiscussionThese findings highlight the promise of research-informed musical satire to inform and invigorate discourse on an urgent health policy problem. Larry has reached tens of thousands of viewers, garnered excellent feedback, and received high student ratings. Further research should directly assess educational and behavioural outcomes and explore what facilitative strategies could maximize this knowledge translation product’s potential to foster informed, impactful policy dialogue.

Problems of policy toward ethnic minorities in Abkhazia

Problems of policy toward ethnic minorities in Abkhazia

<div> Next in Line: Addressing the Constitutional & Policy Problems with the Current Presidential Line of Succession </div>

<div> Next in Line: Addressing the Constitutional & Policy Problems with the Current Presidential Line of Succession </div>

Research on the Implementation Problems of Urban Community Home-Based Elderly Service Policies—Taking Dalian City as an Example

Research on the Implementation Problems of Urban Community Home-Based Elderly Service Policies—Taking Dalian City as an Example

A WTO Compatible Climate Club that Solves the Free-Rider Problem in Global Climate Policy

A WTO Compatible Climate Club that Solves the Free-Rider Problem in Global Climate Policy

EX-POST ANALYSIS AS AN INTEGRAL PART OF THE LEGISLATIVE DECISION-MAKING PROCESS

The paper presents the theoretical arguments and practical benefits of developing a system of ex-post evaluation of regulatory impact by studying the actual effects of the decisions of legislative decision-making bodies. The individual issues under consideration involve: the analysis of general assumptions of the decision-making approach in legal studies and its application to the problems of a law-making policy; presentation of the stages of the legislative decision-making process, with a particular emphasis placed on the effects of such decisions; and discussion of the conditions of a contemporary law-making policy, from both the theoretical and practical points of view, based on a distinction of several dimensions of legislative decision-making (instrumental, axiological, power game, social conflict, discursive, social normative system, economic, and temporal). For each dimension, ex-post evaluation criteria are proposed.

Природа и цели экономических санкций

Introduction. The nature of economic sanctions is relevant for analysis due to the need for a proper approach to the sanctions policy, its goals and objectives, as well as the assessment of its efficiency. Purpose. The author aims at revealing the nature of economic sanctions by analyzing their key function. At the same time, the author focuses his attention on the evolution of this function in the development of world economic relations. Materials and Methods. The epistolary heritage of national and foreign scientists devoted to the problems of sanctions and sanctions policy was used as a theoretical basis of the study. The analysis of the works shows the interpretation of these categories in terms of their key function pursued in their implementation. The fundamental methodological basis of the study includes the historical and genetic method of analysis which identifies their properties and traces their evolution, as well as the typological method which organizes and classifies the existence modes of the analyzed phenomenon. Results. The author comes to the conclusion that the nature of sanctions and their content evolved with the world economy. Initially used as a tool to limit and undermine the economic potential of rivals, they are globally transformed into a way to minimize the costs of the world community on maintaining the existing political and economic order that ensures the efficient functioning of international trade. Conclusions. The analysis shows that international economic sanctions are a peaceful means that is used to prevent behavior that violates international law and creates threats to peace and security.

 A WTO Compatible Climate Club that Solves the Free-Rider Problem in Global Climate Policy

 A WTO Compatible Climate Club that Solves the Free-Rider Problem in Global Climate Policy

State family policy in the Russian Federation: socio-economic situation of families and trends in their life

The year 2024 has been declared by the head of state, President of Russia Vladimir Putin, the Year of the Family. As stated in the presidential decree, the decision was made in order to popularize state policy in the field of family protection and traditional values. It should be noted that in the XXI century in Russia, the Year of the Family was announced twice — in 2008 and in 2024. This indicates the special attention paid by the country’s leadership, political and State institutions and civil society institutions to this topic. In the Russian Federation, many government programs aimed at strengthening the institution of the family have been developed, created and implemented recently. And there are many reasons for this, including those that, unfortunately, are far from optimistic. Russia as a state and Russian society is faced with a number of social problems that threaten many of the established foundations, values, and the future of the country. As never before in the modern history of Russia, issues of social security are coming to the fore. Real threats loomed over the most important social institution — the family. In our state, the family is protected at the highest constitutional level. Article 38 of the basic law of our country establishes a direct norm — the protection of the family, motherhood and childhood by the State. At the government level, a whole system of indicators has been developed that are subject to constant monitoring in order to ensure the relevance of state policy in the social sphere and its continuous improvement. The article presents an analysis of the main problems of state family policy in Russia through the prism of the main socio-economic indicators. Official statistics data were used.

Philosophy of Interdisciplinarity

The article deals with the problem of the philosophy of interdisciplinarity, set forth in the work of the same name by J.K. Schmidt. The main goal the author sets for himself is to define the inner meaning of the concepts and goals of interdisciplinarity. In accordance with this, the tasks performed by the respective fields of work, divided into intrascientific and extrascientific. The first ones are related to fundamental research, rethinking the forms of scientific knowledge, methodologies, the relationship between man and nature. The latter, embedded in social reality, are related to analysis of the problems of technoscience, knowledge production and science policy. Prof. Schmidt considers two approaches to interdisciplinarity: instrumental or strategic and critical-reflexive or communicative. The first of them is presented as a limited tool for solving actual problems of interdisciplinarity due to its proximity to soluchionism and its predominant focus on organizational and managerial problems of science. The critical-reflexive approach is, on the contrary, associated with a fundamental rethinking of the concept of knowledge. Interdisciplinarity is characteristic of the field of scientific research, while transdisciplinarity and its particular forms – object- and problem-oriented approaches – are associated with solving problems of the real world. The author conducts a comprehensive analysis of the problem of interdisciplinarity, analyzing the historical roots of technoscientific issues, assesses the current state of science, and proposes a paradigmatic ProTA program related to the realization of the predictive potential of the critical-reflexive approach to interdisciplinarity.

Расчет последствий реализации новых решений и антикризисных мер в условиях продолжающейся мировой фрагментации

The article considers the possibility of achieving a number of target indicators specified in the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation. It also considers various scenarios for changing the negative demographic trend that has developed in Russia and priority areas for the further development of our country. Problems in the current monetary policy implemented by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation were identified. The conclusion presents the results of a stress test of the sustainability of the economic systems of key countries of the world and their ability to withstand large-scale sanctions from other states and international organizations.

ХАРАКТЕРИСТИКА ДЕРЖАВНОЇ ПОЛІТИКИ У СФЕРІ БІОЕНЕРГЕТИКИ: ЗАКОРДОННИЙ ДОСВІД ТА КРИТЕРІЇ ЕФЕКТИВНОСТІ ДЛЯ УКРАЇНИ

Background . Renewable energy is energy obtained from renewable or inexhaustible energy sources. Such sources include the energy of the sun and water flows, wind, tides, geothermal sources, and biofuels. State policy in bioenergy is unique for each country and is determined by the specifics of economic development and natural and climatic conditions. At the same time, similar approaches can be identified in supporting bioenergy development: increased tariffs for the sale of energy, subsidies, tax benefits, etc. Taking national characteristics into account is often a key to the successful functioning of the national energy system. Basically, the policy of the states consists of creating economic incentives and formulating target indicators for energy development and emission reduction. Research object. The research object was the instruments of state policies in the field of bioenergy based on the example of the European Union (EU), the USA, and China. Methods . The publication is based on the use of various methods. Thus, the research methodology was based on general scientific methods, such as abstract and logical – to define the essence of bioenergy, system analysis, synthesis and comparison method – to reveal the essence of state policy in the field of bioenergy in different countries. Special methods, namely the structural-functional approach, were used to present the main mechanisms of state policy in the field of bioenergy; the analytical method was used to identify the criteria for the effectiveness of state policy in the field of bioenergy. Results . The analysis of the issue of state policy in the field of bioenergy allowed the author to achieve the research goal and show the importance of state policy tools for the state to create a favorable environment for the effective functioning of bioenergy. Consideration of the current state of scientific development of the problem of state policy in the field of bioenergy, analysis of foreign experience in the formation and implementation of state policy in the field of bioenergy, and determination of criteria for the effectiveness of state policy in the field of bioenergy contributed to the achievement of the specified goal. The role of Ukraine in global energy security and politics was noted. The author presented the main mechanisms of state policy in bioenergy. Among the criteria for the effectiveness of state policy in bioenergy, valuable, economic, regulatory, innovative, and relative criteria were identified. Сonclusions . Thus, understanding the mechanisms of state policy in the field of bioenergy and the use of certain criteria for its assessment will allow for the improvement of the relevant policy in Ukraine.

Naval policy of the Russian Federation: national security issues

The relevance of the research topic is due to the need to comprehend the problems of naval policy in order to solve them within the framework of the implementation of the goals of strategic planning of maritime activities of the Russian Federation for the period up to 2030. The purpose of the study is a political analysis of the current problems of Russia’s naval policy, the solution of which is necessary to achieve the goals of strategic planning for the period up to 2030 in the field of maritime activities. The objectives of the study were: 1) political analysis of the latest documents of the state policy in the field of maritime activity of Russia in order to identify the most significant problems that require prompt resolution; 2) content analysis of certain provisions of the Strategy for the Development of Maritime Activities in the Russian Federation adopted until 2030; 3) analysis of the research directions of the naval policy of Russia by Russian scientists; 4) development of recommendations on possible solutions to problems of a political and legal nature that contribute to improving the effectiveness of further implementation of Russia’s naval policy for the strategic period up to 2030. The methodology of scientific research is based on the use of methods of political science and content analysis of strategic documents that determine the vector of development of modern Russian naval policy for the next decade. The research uses methods of political science and jurisprudence (in particular, legal analysis). The author substantiates the most pressing problems of Russia’s naval policy, the solution of which directly affects the results of strategic planning of maritime activities in the Russian Federation for the period up to 2030. The analysis of the positions of Russian scientists and practitioners on the problem of research is carried out. The study made it possible to formulate the necessary recommendations regarding the solution of the problems of incompleteness of international legal regulation of the maritime borders of Russia with certain neighboring states as the main problems of the implementation of modern naval policy of the Russian Federation.

Beginning of life and the moment of its criminal-law protection: problems of morality and criminal policy of Russian Federation

Beginning of life and the moment of its criminal-law protection: problems of morality and criminal policy of Russian Federation

School Climate, Teacher Characteristics, and School Discipline: Evidence From New York City

School discipline is a salient problem of educational policy and practice. Teachers play an important role in the production and disruption of racial inequities in school discipline, yet there remains a need to disentangle the relationship between teacher characteristics, their perceptions of school climate, and school discipline patterns. This study uses longitudinal data representing over one thousand public middle and high schools in New York City and linear regression methods to examine the relationship between teachers’ perceptions of school climate, teacher characteristics, and the rates of and disparities in suspensions. Overall, results indicate more positive teacher perceptions of school climate, higher years of teaching experience, and a greater share of Black teachers are independently associated with lower rates of office referrals and suspensions, overall and especially for Black and Latinx students. The study concludes by discussing implications for teacher education and on-the-job support as well as school leadership.