Suchergebnisse

AbstractSince anti‐poverty policy‐making in Belgium is embedded in a logic of user participation, social policy has shown interest in employing users with experience of poverty as experts in public policy units in order to implement and monitor anti‐poverty policies. In this article, we discuss this recent development as a relevant case for contemporary public service delivery in the European context. In the light of the ambiguous practices of user participation in Belgium, the enacted logic of involving service users in public service delivery is discussed, and potential risks and opportunities identified: do these individuals function as pawns or as pioneers? In search of opportunities for the implementation of anti‐poverty policies, we explore different ways in which public policy units can act upon the participation of employed service users in public service delivery. On the level of public service delivery, we argue that the participation of expert users risks their use as a mere blind, de‐responsibilizing those who work in public policy units in providing high‐quality services and being responsive to all service users including those living in poverty. On the level of these individual experts, we argue that the employed service users risk becoming pawns, acquiring a tragic‐optimistic outlook on life.We conclude that enabling service users to participate as pioneers requires the joint and mutual responsibility of the employed service users and those who work in public policy units for implementing and monitoring anti‐poverty strategies rather than exclusive responsibility assigned to individual service users.

Governments increasingly focus on extending working lives by raising public pension ages and in some cases by linking pension ages to changes in the life expectancy. This study offers novel insights into how employers perceive such reforms and their consequences for their organization. A survey among employers (N = 1,208) has been carried out in 2017 to examine their reactions to a recent pension reform in the Netherlands. Statistical analyses are performed to examine employers' support for the current policy of linking the public pension age to changes in average life expectancy, as well as the support for 2 alternative policies that are often considered in public policy debates: a flexible public pension age; and a lower public pension age for workers in physically demanding jobs. Results show that particularly employers in construction and industry are extremely concerned about the physical capability of employees to keep on working until the public pension age. These concerns are the driving forces behind the lack of support for linking public pension ages to changes in average life expectancy (22% support) and the overwhelming support for a lower public pension age for physically demanding jobs (82%). The introduction of a flexible pension age (78% support) is not firmly related to employers' concerns about capability or employability of older workers.

The article considers the phenomenon of science diplomacy as a new form of coop-eration between states to solve global problems in the Arctic. Currently the Arctic region is one of potential geopolitical platforms which the leading world powers focus their special attention on and develop national strategies of its exploration. In the new «Fundamentals of State Policy of the Russian Federation in the Arctic» the development of science and technology for the exploration of the region in the view of enhancing international cooperation is one of the main tasks in the field of Arctic development. According to the authors of the study, science diplomacy should become one of the main tools contributing to strengthening cooperation and reducing the conflict intensity in the region. Special attention has been paid to estimation of the extent of conflict and its dynamics in the region. The article is based on a quantitative study of the relationship between the use of scientific and diplomatic practices and conflict intensity in the Arctic. The methods used in the study are event analysis and content analysis, which made it possible to conduct covariance and correlation analysis of variables. As a result, the model of the relationship between science diplomacy and conflict intensity in the Arctic region was created. The authors came to the conclusion that the use of scientific and diplomatic practices in the Arctic contributes to reducing conflict intensity in the region, strengthening good-neighborly relations with the Arctic States and achieving the goals set in the updated framework of state policy in the Arctic.

The past and potential contributions of anthropology to public policy have been described andlor argued for by numerous writers in the past decade, but the primary application and concern have been at the national and international levels. The present paper continues this discussion, but focuses on state‐level policy in Alaska. The work of three Alaskan anthropologists is presented; they have made significant contributions to policy in the areas of law, Native Alaskan subsistence rights and fisheries management. Their work is evaluated in the context of a five‐step model for conducting policy analysis which begins with the assessment of policy‐making environments and ends with an evaluation of policy alternatives. The primary policy concerns of the anthropologists discussed involved the traditional research focus of anthropology, Native Alaskans; however, the tools they employ and background they bring to their work, the specific kinds of policy issues and problems confronted, are not as traditional. One of the anthropologists discussed is atlingit Indian completing doctoral studies at Harvard University, another is a lawyer‐anthropologist, and the third is highly trained in biological and economic theory as well as computer technology. It is argued that the "hyphenated" anthropologist, at least as exemplified in the cases discussed, is most readily equipped to make policy relevant contributions.

Part I -- Chapter 1: Introduction -- 2. History of disability services -- 3. What is the National Disability Insurance Scheme? -- 4. The NDIS and Philosophy -- 5. The NDIS today -- 6. The Future of the NDIS -- 7. NDIS and children (possible author Mhairi Cowden) -- 8. NDIS and Indigenous Australians -- 9. NDIS and the Aged Care system -- 10. NDIS and housing -- 11. NDIS and mental health services -- 12. the role of actuaries in the NDIS -- 13. NDIS and the not-for-profit service delivery sector and private providers -- 14. Lessons from implementation (possible authors Mhairi Cowden and Claire McCullagh) -- 15. Individual stories.

Public choice theory (PCT) has had a powerful influence on political science and, to a lesser extent, public administration. Based on the premise that public officials are rational maximizers of their own utility, PCT has a quite successful record of correctly predicting governmental decisions and policies. This success is puzzling in light of behavioral findings showing that officials do not necessarily seek to maximize their own utility. Drawing on recent advances in behavioral ethics, this article offers a new behavioral foundation for PCT's predictions by delineating the psychological processes that lead well‐intentioned people to violate moral and social norms. It reviews the relevant findings of behavioral ethics, analyzes their theoretical and policy implications for officials' decision making, and sets an agenda for future research.