What's your problem? : making sense of social problems and the policy process / Stuart Connor.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Connor, Stuart.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Social policy.

Social problems.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (186 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Northwich : Critical Publishing, 2013.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This books is an essential introduction and guide for a critical engagement with social problems. In short, What's your (social) problem and what are you going to do about it?

Contents:

Cover; What's Your Problem?; Series; Title; Copyright; Contents; Meet the author; Acknowledgements; Introduction; So what is your problem?; The problem policy process; I'm no expert!; Policy praxis; The format of the book; Section 1 Reading Policy; 1 Making claims; This is a real problem; Foundationalism; Coherentism; Reliabilism; Pragmatism; Modest claims; Dispute and agreement; Who's responsible?; Natural causes; Individualist explanations; Social political and economic relations; Reasonable doubt; 2 Equivalence and difference; Making the difference; Shaping the world; Other categories

Them and usDrawing a distinction?; 3 Legitimate assumptions; What is legitimacy?; So what is rhetoric?; Revealing assumptions; The bases of legitimacy; Authorisation - because I say so; Moral evaluation - it's the right healthy, normal 'natural' thing to do; Rationalisation - because it is reasonable; Mythopoesis - the moral of the story is...; Are you convinced?; Behind the curtain; Section 2 Writing Policy; 4 The role of the policy analyst; What is policy analysis?; Policy analyst as scholar; Scholar - scientist; Scholar - interpretivist; Policy analyst as technician

Policy analyst as advocateA distinct role?; 5 What do you think?; Ethics; Consequentialist ethics; Deontological ethics; Virtue ethics; So which of these ethical approaches is ethical?; Liberty, security and equality; Liberty; Security; Equality; The value of values; The politics of ethics; 6 Making your case - framing; A context for communication; The way people see the world; In the frame; The struggle for meaning; Using frames; Framing the story; Information or propaganda?; Section 3 Performing Policy; 7 Policy process; Model making; Expert model; Deliberative model; Crisis model

Picking up the threads8 Power; First dimension of power - getting someone to do what they otherwise would not do; Second dimension of power - setting the agenda; Third dimension of power - shaping preferences; Fourth dimension of power - disruptive power; The pursuit of power; 9 Activities; Feeble-minded policies; The control of tobacco; The piqueteros; Conclusion; Conclusion; A view from nowhere?; Reflexive policy praxis; References; Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (ebrary, viewed November 8, 2013).

ISBN:

1-04-037555-3

1-04-037283-X

1-909330-51-5

1-909330-52-3

OCLC:

862050222