Incrementalism and Public Policy-Making

Incrementalism is a model of the policy process advanced by Charles Lindblom, who views rational decision-making as impossible for most issues due to a combination of disagreement over objectives and inadequate knowledge base. Policies are made instead through a pluralistic process of partisan mutual adjustment in which a multiplicity of participants focus on proposals differing only incrementally from the status quo. Significant policy change occurs, if at all, through a gradual accumulation of small changes, a process Lindblom calls seriality. For incrementalism to yield defensible policy outcomes, three conditions must be satisfied, all of which are far from automatic: 1) all, or at least most, social interests must be represented; 2) political resources must be balanced sufficiently among groups that no one actor or coalition dominates; and 3) political parties must be moderate and pragmatic, permitting a convergence to an ever-evolving political center. While Lindblom sees nonincremental policy departures as extremely rare, subsequent research suggests that major policy departures may occur in response to crises or mass public arousal, through the development of a rationalizing breakthrough after many years of experience with policy implementation, or through a process of punctuated equilibrium. While many scholars and policymakers have argued that policymaking can and should be more rational, or that nonincremental alternatives may at times be superior to incremental ones, implementing nonincremental policy departures poses special problems and often gives way to incrementalism in the administrative process as public attention and support for strong action wanes. Nonincremental policy departures are more likely to be both enduring and effective where long experience with an issue leads to consensus on values and an adequate knowledge base, giving rise to a rationalizing breakthrough.

The Effectiveness Of Self Instructional Module On Knowledge Regarding HIV Among Drivers (Preprint)

Tamil Selvi

BACKGROUND HIV infection is one of the most leading infections in the world. According to WHO HIV constitutes to be a major global public health issue, having claimed almost 33 million so far. There were an estimation of 38.0 million people living with the HIV at the end of 2019. As a result of concerted international efforts to respond to HIV , coverage of services has been steadily increasing. In 2019, 68% of adults and 53% of children living with HIV globally were receiving lifelong antiretroviral therapy (ART). There is no cure of HIV infections , however effective antiretroviral drugs can the control of virus and help onward transmission to other people. The knowledge regarding HIV infections in the public is a not much. The study focuses on the effectiveness of self instructional module on knowledge regarding the HIV among the drivers in Kancheepuram, Chennai. The objectives of the study was to assess the pre and post test of the self instructional module. For the study 60 samples were adopted by purposive sampling technique. The pre test was conducted by giving the structured questionnare then the module was given and then the post assessment was conducted. The study was conducted for 1 week. In the pre assessment 52(86.7%) were having inadequate knowledge and 8(13.3%) had moderately inadequate knowledge. In the post test 50(83.33%) had moderately adequate knowledge and 10(16.67%) has adequate knowledge. The effectivess of self instructional module was calculated by the paired t test (t=12.880) was found to be statistically highly significant at p

Impact of Day Care on the Child

Bettye M. Caldwell

In the world of day-care research, the status of our knowledge is sufficiently shaky that we must continue to keep an open mind about the service. The knowledge base is growing rapidly, but the conceptual structure that supports it is flimsy and insubstantial. Fortunately, current research efforts are improving this situation. Regardless of whether we like or dislike day care, it is, like the family, here to stay. That realization alone should strengthen our resolve not to compromise on the type of service we create. We have to continue to identify parameters of quality and become good matchmakers in terms of child care, family, and child characteristics. Through such efforts, a network of educare programs that will foster favorable development in children can become a national and global reality.

Assessment of the Level of Knowledge on Autism among the Mothers of Toddlers in Selected Village, Kanchipuram District, Tamil Nadu, India

M. Nandhini ◽ T. R. Manjula ◽ M. Maria Auxilli Jenifer

Background: Autism is a developmental disorder characterized by difficulties with social interaction and communication and by restricted and repetitive behavior. Mothers of toddlers should have knowledge on Autism to identify the child in earlier age and to treat the child. Objectives: The study aimed to assess the level of knowledge on autism among the mothers of toddlers. The objectives were to find out the level of knowledge on autism among the mothers and to find out the association between the level of knowledge on autism and selected demographic variables of the mothers of toddlers. Materials and Methods: A non-experimental, descriptive study was conducted. The sampling technique was snow ball sampling technique with the sample of 50 mothers of toddlers and questionnaires were formulated, a structured interview schedule was used to assess the level of knowledge on autism among the mothers of toddlers. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the collected data. The data collection procedure was done for period of 2 weeks. The study was initiated after obtaining prior permission from the concern authorities. Results: The findings of this study revealed that 44% of the mothers of toddlers had inadequate knowledge, 44% had moderately adequate knowledge and only 2% had adequate knowledge on autism. There was significant association between level of knowledge and demographic variables such as age, occupation and previous knowledge on Autism of mothers of toddlers.

A Study to Assess Effectiveness of Instructional Teaching Programme on Level of Knowledge and Practices of Prevention of Pneumonia among Mothers of under Five Children in Selected Villages, Kanchipuram District, Tamil Nadu, India

S. Subbulakshmi ◽ M. Dinesh Kumar ◽

Back ground: An experimental study was conducted to assess the effects of instructional teaching programme (ITP) on knowledge and practices of mothers regarding prevention of pneumonia in children, Pooncherry, Chengalpattu District, Tamil Nadu, India.Objectives of the study were to assess the effectiveness of ITP on prevention of pneumonia on level of knowledge and practices among mothers of under five children. Materials and Methods: Non probability purposive technique was adopted for this study. Samples who met inclusion criteria were participated in the study. Self-structured interview schedule for knowledge and structured rating scale for practices were used to collect the data. Results: The study results shows that in the pre test 15.13 % of the mothers had adequate knowledge, 24.34 % of the mothers were had moderately adequate knowledge and 60.53 % of the mothers had inadequate knowledge and and in post test 63.17% of mothers were had adequate knowledge, 28.94% of the mothers had moderately adequate knowledge and very few (8.55% ) mothers had inadequate knowledge. Pre test practices score shows that 63.82 % of the mothers had less desirable practice, 22.37% of the mothers had moderate desirable practices and 13.81% were had highly desirable practices whereas in the post test 63.82% of them had highly desirable practice, 23.03% of them had moderate desirable practices and 13.16% of them had less desirable practices. The mean pretest knowledge score was 5.45 ± 1.47 and the mean posttest knowledge score was 8.49 ± 0.71 and the t value was 15.17, it shows that statistically there was an improvement in the post test knowledge score. The mean pretest practice score was 22.38 ± 2.76, the mean posttest practice score was 43.64 ±1.97 and the t value was 13.35, it shows that statistically there was a significant improvement in the post test practice score. The instructional teaching programme on prevention of pneumonia was statistically effective in promoting the knowledge and desirable practices among mothers.

Critical discourse for critical policy: examining the discursive construction of the childcare policy "problem" in Canadian newspapers between 2008 and 2015

Brooke Richardson

This study provides insight into the wide and chronic gaps between childcare research and policy in Canada. More specifically, connections are made between how childcare policy was discussed in newspapers between 2008 and 2015, power relationships in society and policy outcomes. The theoretical ideas and methodological tools of political scientist Carol Bacchi and Norman Fairclough inform a what-is-the-problem-represented-to-be (WPR) and critical discourse analysis (CDA) respectively. The data was broken up into two periods: Period A (Jan 2008-Oct 2014) when childcare policy was peripheral on the federal policy agenda and Period B (Oct 2014-Nov 2015) when childcare policy re-emerged on the agenda. Data from both periods was analysed using WPR while only Period B data were analyzed using CDA. The findings reveal low levels of coverage of childcare policy during Period A, though coverage that did exist included a variety of problematizations. In Period B, when the volume of coverage of childcare coverage notably increased, the diversity of problematizations was much more limited and polarized. Childcare was most frequently represented as a private/family problem, a free market problem and/or a public problem – though the CDA revealed that the latter problematization was often superficially treated. The CDA revealed ideological tensions through a tendency of authors to dichotomize parental and non-parental care of children (care as a barrier/support to parenting). Gendered differences to reporting on childcare policy were also observed whereby male reporters asserted stronger modal claims than female authors, although female authors appear to have made a more concerted effort to contextualize their muted claims. Overall it is concluded that representation of childcare policy problems was limited to ideological ideals that perpetuate gendered, hegemonic power relations in society. It is suggested that this has contributed to a continuation of the status quo – with no significant shift in childcare policy at the federal level. A closer analysis of selected texts published in the year leading up to the 2015 election revealed that several text and discourse processes allowed dominant discourses not in the interests of those most affected by childcare (i.e., women, children and families) to remain largely unchallenged.

Impact of Structured Teaching Programme on Prevention of Malnutrition among Mothers in Kota, Experimental Study

Shailvina D. Masih ◽ C. C. Linson

The mother is the sole provider of primary care for her child for the first five years of his or her life. Her ability to provide treatment is primarily dictated by her knowledge and understanding of basic nutrition and health care. The numbers would improve dramatically if mothers were made more aware of infant feeding strategies and other health-care practices. Impact of STP on knowledge and prevention of malnutrition among mothers of children under the age of five in selected areas of Kota (C.G.). The convenient sampling technique and interview schedule was used in the study. The findings are about 58% of mothers of under-five children were less than 20 years of age, 65% of the mothers of under-five children belong to Hindu religion, 52% mothers of under-five children were taking mixed diet, 75% mothers were from the joint family, 62% of the mothers had a family income of 1000-3000 per month, 65% mothers took primary education, 92% mothers had one child in the family, 88% children were partially immunized, 30% mother got the knowledge from the mass media. In pre-test 5 (10%) of mothers had moderately adequate knowledge and 45 (90%) had inadequate knowledge regarding prevention of malnutrition among under five children. In the post-test 36 (78%) mothers had moderately adequate knowledge where as 12 (24%) had inadequate knowledge regarding prevention of malnutrition among under five children. This shows that there is significant increase in post test knowledge score of mothers. Hence, STP is proved to be significantly effective in improving the knowledge of mothers of under five children regarding prevention of protein energy malnutrition. Study concluded that H0 was rejected.

A knowledge and attitude of school teachers towards learning disabilities in Bishnupur district, Manipur: a cross sectional study

Anaswara S. Asok ◽ Pooja Akoijam ◽ Avantika Gupta ◽ Brogen Singh Akoijam

Background: Learning problems significantly interfere with academic activities that require reading, mathematical or writing skills. In India 10-14% of children have specific learning disability. The teacher with adequate knowledge of learning disabilities and skills or competencies can do better justice to the children than teacher with general pedagogy backgrounds. The study aimed to assess the teacher’s knowledge and attitude towards learning disabilities and to determine the association between knowledge and attitude with their background characteristics.Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted among 181 teachers of both government and private schools of Bishnupur. Data collected using self-administered questionnaires assessing the knowledge and attitude. Data entered in IBM SPSS 21. Data was expressed using descriptive statistics like frequencies and percentages. Chi-square test was used to check significance between proportions.Results: Data was collected from 181 teachers. Mean age of participants was 42.7±1 and 59.1% of them worked in govt. schools and 40.9% in private. 48.1% of them had adequate knowledge on learning disabilities. Majority (93.9%) had favourable attitude. Association between type of school the teachers taught and knowledge was found to be significant (p<0.05). There was no significant association between attitude with any of the socio-demographic variables.Conclusions: More than half of the teachers had inadequate knowledge on learning disabilities while majority of them had favourable attitude. Teachers belonging to govt. schools had better knowledge on learning disabilities.

Knowledge and Anxiety Level on Labour Process among Primigravida Mothers in a Selected Hospital, Kamrup (M), Guwahati, Assam: A Descriptive Study

Lalchungnungi . ◽ Rikynti Nongkynrih

Introduction: Many Indian women are unaware about the changes that occur in their body during pregnancy and labour, as a result many mothers suffer physiologically and psychologically, hence education is needed for mother especially to primigravida mothers. Aims and Objectives: The aim of the study is to assess the level of knowledge and level of anxiety on labour process among primigravida mothers who are attending antenatal OPD at a selected hospital. Methods and materials: A descriptive survey research design was used and purposive sampling technique was used for obtaining sample for the study. Study was undertaken on 100 sample primigravida mothers at Maternity and Child welfare Hospital of Guwahati, Assam. Results: The finding shows that majority i.e. 53% had inadequate knowledge, 44% had moderately adequate knowledge and only three (3%) had adequate knowledge on labour process ,majority of the respondents i.e 58% had moderate anxiety and 42% had severe anxiety.There was association between the knowledge level and selected demographic variables such as age ,education, trimester of pregnancy and any prenatal counselling given. Also with anxiety and selected demographic variables such as education, occupation and any types of prenatal counseling attend. There was moderate negative correlation (-0.310) between knowledge and anxiety scores on labour process among primi gravida mothers. Conclusion: This study shows that primigravida mothers had lack of knowledge and moderate anxiety on labour process. Therefore health personnel need to conduct the education programmes to improve the level of understanding as to reduce the level of anxiety on labour process. Key words: Primigravida, labour process, anxiety, delivery, childbirth, pregnancy.

Precarious Labor and the Contestation of Policymaking in Japan

Saori Shibata

This chapter examines the impact of Japan's precarious workers' movement on policymaking in Japan, highlighting three cases through which one can witness the effects of opposition mobilized by Japanese nonregular workers on policy outcomes. In each case, one witnesses political elites being forced to respond to successful mobilizations by precarious workers and organizations that have emerged to represent their interests. These mobilizations have served to attract public attention to the impact that neoliberal government policy has on precarious workers. When faced with criticism and opposition from the public, on each occasion governments were forced either to compromise on policy goals or proposals or to abolish or postpone policies to reduce criticism. While precarious workers were not always able to achieve all of their goals, collectively they have become an important actor that is able to gain concessions or raise significant obstacles to the implementation of neoliberal policy options so that their demands must be accommodated in some way.

Privacy

Frances Olsen

The distinction between private and public is both central to much legal and political thought and subject to serious challenge on philosophical, practical and political grounds by critics of the status quo. Privacy – the state of being withdrawn from the world, free from public attention, interference or intrusion – is a cherished social value that is being offered ever more protection. Increasingly, laws require people to respect the privacy of others: privacy is recognized as a fundamental right in international documents and national constitutions, and recent customs and social norms forbid intrusions that were once accepted. The concept of privacy is also widely abused: it has been used to justify private racial discrimination and state neglect of domestic violence, as well as social abdication of general economic welfare through laissez-faire policies and the so-called privatization of social services. Critique of the public–private distinction is an important part of many critical theories, especially feminism and critical legal theory. These critics object that the public–private distinction is exaggerated, manipulable or incoherent.

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