Ethics, The Social Sciences, and Policy Analysis

Ethics, The Social Sciences, and Policy Analysis PDF Author: Daniel Callahan
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1468470159
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 394

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Book Description
The social sciences playa variety of multifaceted roles in the policymaking process. So varied are these roles, indeed, that it is futile to talk in the singular about the use of social science in policymaking, as if there were one constant relationship between two fixed and stable entities. Instead, to address this issue sensibly one must talk in the plural about uses of dif ferent modes of social scientific inquiry for different kinds of policies under various circumstances. In some cases, the influence of social scientific research is direct and tangible, and the connection between the find ings and the policy is easy to see. In other cases, perhaps most, its influence is indirect-one small piece in a larger mosaic of politics, bargaining, and compromise. Occasionally the findings of social scientific studies are explicitly drawn upon by policymakers in the formation, implementation, or evaluation of particular policies. More often, the categories and theoretical models of social science provide a general background orientation within which policymakers concep tualize problems and frame policy options. At times, the in fluence of social scientific work is cognitive and informational in nature; in other instances, policymakers use social science primarily for symbolic and political purposes in order to le gitimate preestablished goals and strategies. Nonetheless, amid this diversity and variety, troubling general questions persistently arise.

Ethics, The Social Sciences, and Policy Analysis

Ethics, The Social Sciences, and Policy Analysis PDF Author: Daniel Callahan
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1468470159
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 394

Get Book Here

Book Description
The social sciences playa variety of multifaceted roles in the policymaking process. So varied are these roles, indeed, that it is futile to talk in the singular about the use of social science in policymaking, as if there were one constant relationship between two fixed and stable entities. Instead, to address this issue sensibly one must talk in the plural about uses of dif ferent modes of social scientific inquiry for different kinds of policies under various circumstances. In some cases, the influence of social scientific research is direct and tangible, and the connection between the find ings and the policy is easy to see. In other cases, perhaps most, its influence is indirect-one small piece in a larger mosaic of politics, bargaining, and compromise. Occasionally the findings of social scientific studies are explicitly drawn upon by policymakers in the formation, implementation, or evaluation of particular policies. More often, the categories and theoretical models of social science provide a general background orientation within which policymakers concep tualize problems and frame policy options. At times, the in fluence of social scientific work is cognitive and informational in nature; in other instances, policymakers use social science primarily for symbolic and political purposes in order to le gitimate preestablished goals and strategies. Nonetheless, amid this diversity and variety, troubling general questions persistently arise.

Narrative Policy Analysis

Narrative Policy Analysis PDF Author: Emery Roe
Publisher: Duke University Press
ISBN: 9780822315131
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 220

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Book Description
Narrative Policy Analysis presents a powerful and original application of contemporary literary theory and policy analysis to many of today’s most urgent public policy issues. Emery Roe demonstrates across a wide array of case studies that structuralist and poststructuralist theories of narrative are exceptionally useful in evaluating difficult policy problems, understanding their implications, and in making effective policy recommendations. Assuming no prior knowledge of literary theory, Roe introduces the theoretical concepts and terminology from literary analysis through an examination of the budget crises of national governments. With a focus on several particularly intractable issues in the areas of the environment, science, and technology, he then develops the methodology of narrative policy analysis by showing how conflicting policy "stories" often tell a more policy-relevant meta-narrative. He shows the advantage of this approach to reading and analyzing stories by examining the ways in which the views of participants unfold and are told in representative case studies involving the California Medfly crisis, toxic irrigation in the San Joaquin Valley, global warming, animal rights, the controversy over the burial remains of Native Americans, and Third World development strategies. Presenting a bold innovation in the interdisciplinary methodology of the policy sciences, Narrative Policy Analysis brings the social sciences and humanities together to better address real-world problems of public policy—particularly those issues characterized by extreme uncertainty, complexity, and polarization—which, if not more effectively managed now, will plague us well into the next century.

A Rights-Based Approach to Social Policy Analysis

A Rights-Based Approach to Social Policy Analysis PDF Author: Shirley Gatenio Gabel
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319244124
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 107

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Book Description
This brief resource sets out a rights-based framework for policy analysis that allows social workers to enhance their long-term vision as well as their current practice. It introduces the emerging P.A.N.E. (Participation, Accountability, Non-discrimination, Equity) model for evaluating social policy, comparing it with the traditional needs-based charity model in terms of not only effectiveness and efficiency but also inclusion and justice. Recognized standards for human rights are used to identify values crucial to informing policy goals. Exercises, key documents, and an extended example illustrate both the processes of creating empowering social policy and its best and most meaningful outcomes. Included in the coverage: Rights-based and needs-based approaches to social policy analysis. Regional and international human rights instruments. Grounding social policies in legal and institutional frameworks. Conceptualizing social issues from a human rights frame. Measuring progress on the realization of human rights. Rights-based analysis of maternity, paternity, and parental leaves in the United States. For social workers and social work researchers, A Rights-Based Approach to Social Policy Analysis gives readers a modern platform for achieving the highest goals of the field. It also makes a worthwhile class text for social work programs. ​

Research Ethics for Students in the Social Sciences

Research Ethics for Students in the Social Sciences PDF Author: Jaap Bos
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030484157
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 294

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Book Description
This open access textbook offers a practical guide into research ethics for undergraduate students in the social sciences. A step-by-step approach of the most viable issues, in-depth discussions of case histories and a variety of didactical tools will aid the student to grasp the issues at hand and help him or her develop strategies to deal with them. This book addresses problems and questions that any bachelor student in the social sciences should be aware of, including plagiarism, data fabrication and other types of fraud, data augmentation, various forms of research bias, but also peer pressure, issues with confidentiality and questions regarding conflicts of interest. Cheating, ‘free riding’, and broader issues that relate to the place of the social sciences in society are also included. The book concludes with a step-by-step approach designed to coach a student through a research application process.

Basic Methods of Policy Analysis and Planning

Basic Methods of Policy Analysis and Planning PDF Author: Carl Patton
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317350006
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 481

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Book Description
Updated in its 3rd edition, Basic Methods of Policy Analysis and Planning presents quickly applied methods for analyzing and resolving planning and policy issues at state, regional, and urban levels. Divided into two parts, Methods which presents quick methods in nine chapters and is organized around the steps in the policy analysis process, and Cases which presents seven policy cases, ranging in degree of complexity, the text provides readers with the resources they need for effective policy planning and analysis. Quantitative and qualitative methods are systematically combined to address policy dilemmas and urban planning problems. Readers and analysts utilizing this text gain comprehensive skills and background needed to impact public policy.

Social Ethics

Social Ethics PDF Author: Thomas A. Mappes
Publisher: McGraw-Hill Humanities, Social Sciences & World Languages
ISBN: 9780072504378
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 533

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Book Description
Perfect for introductory ethics courses, this popular anthology encourages a critical examination of contemporary moral problems by presenting differing viewpoints on issues like the death penalty; euthanasia; hate speech and censorship; world hunger and global justice; and the environment. The readings, of which over 40% are new to this Sixth Edition, include relevant legal opinions, as well as selections from the work of some of the most respected contemporary writers and thinkers.

Ethics As Social Science

Ethics As Social Science PDF Author: Leland B. Yeager
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
ISBN: 1843761475
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 342

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Book Description
. . . this is a very ambitious book ranging over a great deal of territory and a great number of issues . . . the general perspectives offered are certainly engaging. Alan Hamlin, Journal of Economic Methodology . . . an illuminating book, informed by careful thought and wide-ranging scholarship. David Gordon, The Mises Review Economics claims to be a science of choice and its unintended consequences, but economists sneak moral judgments in through the back door. Ethics, on the other hand, often falters on the stilts of weak economic theories and assumptions. The result economics without ethics is often sterile, and ethics without economics is often incoherent. Severed from one another, each can be dangerously misleading, and each misses the opportunity to better understand the economic and moral complexity behind social cooperation. Ethics as Social Science helps reconcile the two disciplines, and represents years of seasoned, careful thinking on the topic. Using clear, straightforward language, Yeager argues that economists should be alert to their ethical positions, rather than preach tacitly behind the mask of social welfare analysis and the like. Calling for a comparative institutional analysis, Yeager himself advances an argument in favor of an indirect or rule utilitarianism, one that is sure to unleash debate among libertarians, classical liberals, and defenders of mainstream welfare economics, and among moral philosophers who follow the present state of economic theory. David L. Prychitko, Northern Michigan University, US With this important book, esteemed economist Leland B. Yeager grounds moral and political philosophy in the requirements of a well-functioning society, one whose members reap the gains from peaceful cooperation while pursuing their own diverse goals. This book explores the reasons an individual may have for helping to uphold such a society rather than seeking a free ride on the moral behavior of others. A work in the tradition of Hume, Smith, Mill, von Mises, Hayek and Hazlitt, it expounds a rules or indirect version of utilitarianism. It reviews criticisms of utilitarianism in detail, as well as alternative grounds of ethics including contractarianism, rights-based doctrines, and appeals to specific intuitions. Yeager brings the insights of economics to bear on a field usually dominated by philosophers and theologians. Ethics comes across as a subject amply open to the findings of economics and the other social and natural sciences. Economists, philosophers and other students and scholars of the social sciences will welcome this book. It will also appeal to any reader interested in exploring the ideas of ethics.

Social Welfare Policy Analysis and Choices

Social Welfare Policy Analysis and Choices PDF Author: Hobart A Burch
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136382437
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 381

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Book Description
Social Welfare Policy Analysis and Choices gives you a thorough introduction to social welfare policy analysis. The knowledge you’ll gain from its pages will enable you to understand and evaluate individual policy issues and choices by exploring the possible choices, the effects and implications of each alternative choice, and the factors that influence each choice. Social Welfare Policy Analysis and Choices provides frameworks for making basic social policy choices and applying them to specific instances. You’ll find its depth of insight into the larger framework in which social policy decisions are made--beliefs, values, and interests--and its historical perspective on current “new” issues unique and invaluable. The book’s approach is to develop a framework for looking at the underlying issues, ideologies, social and economic forces, culture, and institutionalized inequalities that are constant within this changing mass. Specifically, Social Welfare Policy Analysis and Choices provides frameworks for looking at beliefs about: human nature the nature of society ways of thinking values and the moral and ethical implications of those values roots of those values in religion, culture, historical traditions, myths, and rationalized self-interests The insight offered in Social Welfare Policy Analysis and Choices will allow you to determine your own positioning; understand for strategic purposes what direction opponents, potential allies, and others are coming from; and develop a priorities perspective to guide compromises when the optimum policy is not attainable.

Public Policy

Public Policy PDF Author: Jonathan Boston
Publisher: ANU E Press
ISBN: 1921666757
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 327

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Book Description
Ethics is a vigorously contested field. There are many competing moral frameworks, and different views about how normative considerations should inform the art and craft of governmental policy making. What is not in dispute, however, is that ethics matters. The ethical framework adopted by policy analysts and decision makers not only shapes how policy problems are defined, framed and analysed, but also influences which ethical principles and values are taken into account and their weighting. As a result, ethics can have a profound impact, both on the character of the policy process and the choices made by decision makers. PUBLIC POLICY: WHY ETHICS MATTERS brings together original contributions from leading scholars and practitioners with expertise in various academic disciplines, including economics, philosophy, physics, political science, public policy and theology. The volume addresses three main issues: fist, the ethical considerations that should inform the conduct of public officials and the task of policy analysis; second, the ethics of climate change; and third, ethics and economic policy. While the contributors have varying views on these important issues, they share a common conviction that the ethical dimensions of public policy need to be better understood and given proper attention in the policy-making process.

Just Results

Just Results PDF Author: Ralph D. Ellis
Publisher: Georgetown University Press
ISBN: 9780878406678
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 230

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Book Description
In Just Results, Ralph E. Ellis provides an authoritative solution to one of the major problems in the field of public policy. Until now, analysts and planners have had no practical or accurate means of incorporating qualitative social concerns into the traditional quantitative formulas used in policymaking. By introducing a justice factor--a quantitative measure for social values--Ellis opens the door for more balanced policy decisions. Using concrete, real-world examples, Ellis shows how policy analysts can better account for the use value--or practical measurable utility--of universally agreed-upon social benefits such as life, health, safety, and environmental preservation when making cost-benefit analyses. In this way, policymakers, and by extension, society as a whole, can avoid making unjust tradeoffs between important social values and comparatively frivolous economic benefits. Drawing on philosophical works on justice from Kant through John Rawls, this book is informed by a theoretical defense of distributive justice that emphasizes diminishing marginal utility, thus favoring the poor. Just Results is a stimulating and highly applicable book that will be of great interest to philosophers, political scientists, policy analysts and planners.