Policy Research Agenda Research Articles

Housing affordability of university graduates in Guangzhou

Housing affordability is an important policy and academic research agenda in almost all societies. This paper attempts to focus on a specific group of the population, namely recent university graduates, in order to understand how the macro economy, especially the labour market may impact housing affordability. By applying Residual Income Affordability model (RIA) supplemented by Housing Affordability Time (HAT) analysis, we find that housing affordability among young university graduates in Guangzhou is largely dependent on salary growth in the labour market. Labour market structure, especially income adjustment propensity, largely determines housing affordability in a market with constantly high housing demand such as Guangzhou. We find that housing affordability among young university graduates improves with work experience longevity and the corresponding salary increase. Hence, for the younger generation with a good educational background, initial government support in the housing market is more important than long term permanent housing subsidy. In addition, we also examine how graduates from different tiers of universities may differ in their housing affordability at various stages of their life trajectory, ceteris paribus. We find that graduates from higher-ranked universities tend to have higher housing affordability in the long run. This echoes our major conclusion that encouraging the labour market to reward employees with better educational background and more extensive professional experience will help alleviate housing affordability problems in the city. To this end, we provide a number of policy recommendations in both the housing market and other sectors, such as mortgage loans and the labour market to address housing affordability for the younger generation.

Making the Most of Platforms: A Policy Research Agenda

Digital platforms are proliferating in many countries and many sectors of the economy. Platforms create immense value, for their customers and also for their suppliers. Yet all too often they are seen only through the lens of the ‘disruption’ of incumbents, resulting in a narrow debate about whether platforms should be more heavily regulated. Yet the right questions are: what policy framework will ensure the immense benefits are encouraged and widely shared; what will help create new platforms, and sustain healthy competition and innovation; and how can unwelcome aspects of platform behaviour be avoided? This paper gives a broad overview of theory and evidence to date on digital platforms and aims to set out the issues that remain to be addressed by researchers, policymakers, and the platform businesses themselves. The distinctive economic characteristics of platforms, their global scope and their rapid evolution make for a rapidly-changing landscape in which traditional policy tools and business strategies do not apply, and there are many questions to be answered.

A New Agenda for Immigration and Citizenship Policy Research

Given the widespread interest in political solutions to the current problems associated with immigration, we need to have an accurate understanding of existing policies in a cross-national perspective. To explain the coming into being and effectiveness of these policies, researchers have recently started to quantify immigration and citizenship policies and built databases across time and a large number of countries. These indices are likely to reconnect political science research with a field from which it has long been disconnected in terms of theories and methodology—the sub-field of migration and citizenship research. This special issue brings together scholars from North America and Europe who have been at the forefront of index-building and have started to employ these indices in empirical research.

Evidence & Gap Maps: A tool for promoting evidence informed policy and strategic research agendas

A range of organizations are engaged in the production of evidence on the effects of health, social, and economic development programs on human welfare outcomes. However, evidence is often scattered around different databases, web sites, and the gray literature and is often presented in inaccessible formats. Lack of overview of the evidence in a specific field can be a barrier to the use of existing research and prevent efficient use of limited resources for new research. Evidence & Gap Maps (EGMs) aim to address these issues and complement existing synthesis and mapping approaches. EGMs are a new addition to the tools available to support evidence-informed policymaking. To provide an accessible resource for researchers, commissioners, and decision makers, EGMs provide thematic collections of evidence structured around a framework which schematically represents the types of interventions and outcomes of relevance to a particular sector. By mapping the existing evidence using this framework, EGMs provide a visual overview of what we know and do not know about the effects of different programs. They make existing evidence available, and by providing links to user-friendly summaries of relevant studies, EGMs can facilitate the use of existing evidence for decision making. They identify key “gaps” where little or no evidence from impact evaluations and systematic reviews is available and can be a valuable resource to inform a strategic approach to building the evidence base in a particular sector. The article will introduce readers to the concept and methods of EGMs and present a demonstration of the EGM tool using existing examples.

A Literature Review of Homelessness and Aging: Suggestions for a Policy and Practice-Relevant Research Agenda.

Homelessness among older people is a growing concern across Canada and is expected to rise with demographic change (Crane & Warnes, 2010; Culhane, Metraux, Byrne, Stino, & Bainbridge, 2013). Yet current knowledge, policies, and practices on homelessness largely focus on younger populations. Likewise, research and policies on aging typically overlook homelessness. Responses to homelessness among older people must address complex needs related to health, income security, and housing. Based on a comprehensive literature review, this article outlines the existing and needed research with regards to homelessness among older people. We clarify the intersections of aging and homelessness; review the relevant statistics, including estimated prevalence; discuss pathways and variations in experience; and identify gaps in knowledge. We conclude with a call for an inclusive research agenda that will help build policies and practices to reduce and ultimately to eliminate homelessness among older people in Canada.

A whitewashed curriculum? The construction of race in contemporary PE curriculum policy

ABSTRACTAnalyses of curricula in a range of countries show how they tend to reinforce, rather than challenge, popular theories of racism. To date, we know little about the contribution of physical education (PE) curriculum policy to the overall policy landscape. This paper examines the construction of race and racism in two national contexts (Norway and England) as a means of putting race and anti-racism on the PE policy research agenda. It adopts a critical whiteness perspective to analyse how whiteness, as a system of privilege, contributes to the racialisation of valued knowledge in PE and asks, who potentially benefits and/or is marginalised within the learning spaces available in the texts? The discourse analysis reveals that two discursive techniques of whiteness combine to privilege white, Eurocentric knowledge content. Unmarked white PE practices and students are constructed as universal, normative and contingent. As a result, non-white PE practices and students are positioned on the margins in contemporary policy texts. By revealing the racialisation processes evident in the texts, we aim to trouble the profession's taken-for-granted truths about race in PE as integral to working towards the development of an antiracist subject.

Enhancing Dissemination, Implementation, and Improvement Science in CTSAs through Regional Partnerships.

Challenges in healthcare policy and practice have stimulated interest in dissemination and implementation science. The Institute of Medicine Committee on the Clinical Translational Science Award (CTSA) program recommended expanding the CTSA program's investment and activity in this domain. Guidance is needed to facilitate successful growth of DII science infrastructure, activity and impacts. Several CTSAs in Southern California collaborated to identify and respond to local challenges and opportunities to expand dissemination, implementation and improvement research by strengthening capacity and relationships between DII researchers and community, health system, and population health partners. Planning and outreach by the Southern California CTSAs increased awareness and interest in DII research and generated recommendations for growth. Recommendations include: increasing strong partnerships with healthcare and population health systems to guide policy research agendas and collaborative DII science; promoting multi-sector partnerships that involve researchers and delivery systems throughout DII processes; bringing together multiple disciplines; and addressing national and international barriers as well as opportunities in DII science. CTSAs through regional collaboration can increase their contributions to improved community health via skill-building, partnership development and enhanced outreach to local healthcare and public health agencies and delivery systems.

Dengue disease outbreak definitions are implicitly variable

Infectious diseases rarely exhibit simple dynamics. Outbreaks (defined as excess cases beyond response capabilities) have the potential to cause a disproportionately high burden due to overwhelming health care systems. The recommendations of international policy guidelines and research agendas are based on a perceived standardised definition of an outbreak characterised by a prolonged, high-caseload, extra-seasonal surge. In this analysis we apply multiple candidate outbreak definitions to reported dengue case data from Brazil to test this assumption. The methods identify highly heterogeneous outbreak characteristics in terms of frequency, duration and case burden. All definitions identify outbreaks with characteristics that vary over time and space. Further, definitions differ in their timeliness of outbreak onset, and thus may be more or less suitable for early intervention. This raises concerns about the application of current outbreak guidelines for early warning/identification systems. It is clear that quantitatively defining the characteristics of an outbreak is an essential prerequisite for effective reactive response. More work is needed so that definitions of disease outbreaks can take into account the baseline capacities of treatment, surveillance and control. This is essential if outbreak guidelines are to be effective and generalisable across a range of epidemiologically different settings.

Where is the policy in health policy and systems research agenda?

Where is the policy in health policy and systems research agenda?

LIETUVOS RESPUBLIKOS VYRIAUSYBĖS VEIKLOS PRIORITETAI: KAIP ANALIZUOTI JŲ ĮGYVENDINIMO PROCESĄ IR REZULTATUS?

Implementation of government commitments is one of the most relevant issues of public policy studies. A gap between electoral pledges, government priorities and their practical execution brought disappointment in many democratic countries and attracted significant attention from public policy researchers. This article elaborates a theoretical framework and sets several hypotheses for analysing the process of implementing performance priorities of the Lithuanian government and achieving their results. It argues that public policy decisions can be best explained by the interaction of advocacy coalitions in different policy subsystems. This process is affected by various external factors and events, which are usually an important but not sufficient condition for realising policy commitments. Within policy subsystems, it is necessary to assess beliefs, resources, and behavioural strategies of advocacy coalitions, coordination among different competing coalitions, leadership of policy change, performance management and policy learning during the implementation process. Also, in order to understand the execution of political priorities, it is important to take into account such important factors as the level of policy ambition and political attention throughout implementation. Moreover, any assessment of Lithuanian policy implementation should address such country-specific issues as fragmentation in the Lithuanian party system and competition between two blocs of political parties, the influence of the EU and Russia on the public policy process, and reform constraints imposed by decisions of the Lithuanian Constitutional Court. This theoretical approach will be employed for explaining the implementation of six major performance priorities of the Lithuanian Government 15 led by Prime Minister A. Kubilius: (1) preparations to build the Visaginas nuclear power plant; (2) higher education reform; (3) civil service reform; (4) restructuring the network of personal health care organisations; (5) structural reform of the social sector, and (6) execution of the housing renovation programme. A public policy research agenda focused on the analysis of government commitments can be also applied to assessing how specific political priorities or other policy decisions are carried out in Lithuania and other democratic states, as well as to explaining successes and failures of their implementation process. Causal process tracing can be employed for the within-case and between-case analysis of policy studies. Theoretically developed and empirically rich policy studies following this research agenda would provide interesting insights on policy implementation to researchers, politicians, civil servants, various policy stakeholders, and even citizens.

Setting a health policy research agenda for controlling cancer burden in Korea.

PurposeThe aim of study was to provide suggestions for prioritizing research in effort to reduce cancer burden in Korea based on a comprehensive analysis of cancer burden and Delphi consensus among cancer experts. Materials and MethodsTwenty research plans covering 10 topics were selected based on an assessment of the literature, and e-mail surveys were analyzed using a two-round modified Delphi method. Thirty-four out of 79 experts were selected from four organizations to participate in round one, and 21 experts among them had completed round two. Each item had two questions; one regarding the agreement of the topic as a priority item to reduce cancer burden, and the other about the importance of the item on a nine-point scale. A consensus was defined to be an average lower coefficient of variation with less than 30% in importance. ResultsSeven plans that satisfied the three criteria were selected as priority research plans for reducing cancer burden. These plans are “research into advanced clinical guidelines for thyroid cancer given the current issue with over-diagnosis,” “research into smoking management plans through price and non-price cigarette policy initiatives,” “research into ways to measure the quality of cancer care,” “research on policy development to expand hospice care,” “research into the spread and management of Helicobacter pylori,” “research on palliative care in a clinical setting,” and “research into alternative mammography methods to increase the accuracy of breast cancer screenings.” ConclusionThe seven plans identified in this study should be prioritized to reduce the burden of cancer in Korea. We suggest that policy makers and administrators study and invest significant effort in these plans.

Managing Social Change and Social Policy in Greater China: Welfare Regimes in Transition?

Discussion of welfare regimes and welfare state ideal types continues to dominate comparative social policy analysis, but the focus of the debate has expanded considerably since the publication of Esping-Andersen's (1990) groundbreaking The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism. Shifts in this debate have been prompted by a mixture of theoretical and empirical concerns raised by comparative social policy scholars, but they have also resulted from a more general internationalisation of social policy research agendas within the academy too. In particular, there has been a strong desire to expand the scope of the debate to encompass nations and regions not included in Esping-Andersen's initial study of just eighteen high income OECD states.

Unfinished health systems and policy research agendas for ASEAN Economic Community

This Postgraduate Forum was originally a platform for postgraduate students in health systems and policy of Gadjah Mada University, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, United Nations University International Institute for Global Health and Naresuan University to meet annually to exchange their research studies to strengthen their capacities in involving health policies in their countries. In 2013, the forum is taking place at Naresuan University to set the agenda for the 2015 target of economic integration among member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The target is imminent, but the groundwork for the health systems and policy research of the AEC is limited. More collaborative works should be mapped to enhance good integration of economic policy with good health impacts especially for the vulnerable groups. More countries are welcome to join the forum for the most attainable health benefits of all members.

Priority questions to shape the marine and coastal policy research agenda in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom (UK) and European Union policy is rapidly developing to meet international targets for the sustainable use and protection of the marine environment. To inform this process, research needs to keep pace with these changes and research questions must be focused on providing robust scientific evidence. Thirty four priority research questions within six broad themes were identified by delegates who attended the 1st marine and coastal policy Forum, hosted by the Centre for Marine and Coastal Policy Research at Plymouth University in June 2011. The priority questions formed through this research are timely and reflect the pace and change of marine policy in the UK in response to international, European and national policy drivers. Within the data theme, the majority of questions seek to find improved procedures to manage and use data effectively. Questions related to governance focus on how existing policies should be implemented. The marine conservation questions focus entirely upon implementation and monitoring of existing policy. Questions related to ecosystem services focus on research to support the conceptual links between ecosystem services, ecosystem function, and marine management. Questions relating to marine citizenship are fundamental questions about the nature of societal engagement with the sea. Finally, the marine planning questions focus upon understanding the general approaches to be taken to marine planning rather than its detailed implementation. The questions that have emerged from this process vary in scale, approach and focus. They identify the interdisciplinary science that is currently needed to enable the UK to work towards delivering its European and international commitments to achieve the sustainable use and protection of the marine environment.

Shame and acute psychiatric inpatient care: healthcare professionals

This qualitative research study convened focus groups to learn about situations that might provoke shame in people receiving mental health services and mental health professionals alike. The focus groups convened for mental health professionals were made up of psychiatrists, social workers, occupational therapists and mental health nurses – six men and eight women in total. Age ranges spanned from early 20 to 55; all had different lengths of service and experience. Ten people with experience of using mental health services also volunteered to take part in the focus groups – five men and five women with an age range of 30–63 years. Varied clinical diagnoses included schizophrenia, bipolar affective disorder, depression and personality disorder. Internationally, there are concerns for the quality of treatment and care offered to people with mental health problems and requiring hospital admission. There is also evidence to suggest that healthcare professionals can experience stigma and shame because of the complexities of their work. Information gained from the focus groups suggests that a better understanding of difficulties encountered by people in need of mental health services is possible. The study also permitted glimpses of the problems and distress faced by mental healthcare professionals because of moral dilemmas and challenges concerned with the overall nature of their chosen work. Although moderate in scope, this research study might help inform health and social policy research agendas along with professional education and training programmes. An awareness of the complexities in relation to ways in which shame is aroused in individuals and groups of people could contribute to improving the quality of care provided to communities.

Framing literacy policy: power and policy drivers in primary schools

AbstractThis article is linked to the theme of the special issue through its focus on micropolitical analysis of the changing role of ‘policy drivers’, mediating national policy through interactions with primary school heads and teachers. The central arguments draw on case studies undertaken in two primary schools where changes related to literacy teaching were being enacted at a particular historical moment (in 2008–2009). Conceptual tools are drawn from the work of Goffman on frame analysis to examine how an increasingly diverse range of drivers, representing new forms of marketisation (Local Authority (LA) consultants; a regional director responsible for the travel of literacy policy; one ‘bought in’ from a private company) interacted with practitioners. Differences in the framing of policy between heads, teachers and policy drivers are identified and analysed as significant features of new kinds of ‘assemblages’ in public policy. Insights from the analysis are drawn on to propose a research agenda for policy research in the literacy field in a shifting political era in England (and the rest of the United Kingdom). This agenda incorporates critical perspectives, giving voice to practitioners, and building on international work, as well as work on policy drivers in other educational areas, and from other disciplines.

Open access policy implementation: first results compared

Open Access policy implementation is a tough job. Policy pioneers have faced considerable challenges in meeting their own aims and achieving recognized success. Professionals charged with implementing policy typically need several years to accomplish significant progress. This is a study of first results from a small but significant number of cases with an emphasis on variety and on defining a methodological standard. All cases have been reconstructed through documents and interviews. The most salient issues of policy implementation are investigated comparatively, namely a) the matching infrastructure that a policy requires; b) the issue of capturing content and scholarly compliance; c) how to provide access to the content and foster usage; d) and the benefits offered to authors.As the author is pivotal to any open access solution, this provides a comparative perspective for delineating a policy research agenda.

Going Global: The Transnationalization of Care

This article critically examines the contours of ‘care transnationalization’ as an ongoing social process and a field of enquiry. Care transnationalization scholarship combines structural understandings of global power relations with an emphasis on social interactions between defined actors in ways that keep sight of human agency, material welfare and wider social development. It has, however, tended to privilege particular forms, dynamics and sites of care transnationalization over others. The body of research on care labour migration, which is otherwise the most developed literature on care transnationalization to date, contains a number of biases and omissions in its coverage of border-spanning relations and their mediation across country contexts. At the same time, other significant forms of care transnationalization, such as those involving consumer-based care migration, corporate restructuring and the formation of care policy, have suffered from comparative neglect. Working towards an integrated agenda that addresses these diverse expressions of care transnationalization and how they ‘touch down’ in a range of sectoral, social and country contexts is of prime importance to policy research agendas directed at understanding the wider development impacts of processes of social and economic restructuring.

Bounding an emerging technology: Para-scientific media and the Drexler-Smalley debate about nanotechnology

‘Nanotechnology’ is often touted as a significant emerging technological field. However, determining what nanotechnology means, whose research counts as nanotechnology, and who gets to speak on behalf of nanotechnology is a highly political process involving constant negotiation with significant implications for funding, legislation, and citizen support. In this paper, we deconstruct a high-profile moment of controversy about nanotechnology’s possibilities: a debate between K. Eric Drexler and Richard Smalley published as a ‘point—counterpoint’ feature in 2003 in Chemical & Engineering News. Rather than treat the debate as a stand-alone episode of scientific controversy, we seek to understand the forces that enabled it to be seen as such an episode. We introduce the term ‘para-scientific’ media to make explicit how certain forms of publication intervene in the dissemination of technical knowledge as it travels beyond its supposed site of production. The existence of para-scientific media is predicated on intimate association with formalized channels of scientific publication, but they also seek to engage other cultures of expertise. Through this lens, we show that Drexler and Smalley were not only independent entrepreneurs enrolling Chemical & Engineering News as a site of boundary work; members of the para-scientific media actively enrolled Drexler and Smalley as part of a broader effort to simplify a complex set of uncertainties about nanotechnology’s potential into two polarized views. In this case study, we examine received accounts of the debate, describe the boundary work undertaken by Drexler and Smalley to shape the path of nanotechnology’s emergence, and unpack the boundary work of the para-scientific media to create polarizing controversy that attracted audiences and influenced policy and scientific research agendas. Members of the para-scientific media have been influential in bounding nanotechnology as a field-in-tension by structuring irreconcilable dichotomies out of an ambiguous set of uncertainties. We conclude with thoughts about the implications of this case study for studies of science communication, institutional entrepreneurship and the ethics of emerging technologies.

A new research agenda for educational leadership and policy

This paper identifies some new research issues and sketches out some new research questions for education policy and leadership researchers as a response to ongoing changes in the landscape of English education policy. Three interrelated issues are considered: leadership, values and interests, and ownership. It argues for the need to ask new research questions and also to look in different places for answers to these questions and suggests that researchers need to acquire new research skills and sensibilities, in particular forms of business and financial analysis.