Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Social policy research'

Using the UK Social Science Research Council (SSRC)lEconomic and Social Research Council (ESRC)l as a case study, this thesis tests the hypothesis that government funding of social science research has altered research directions. Academics often assume a causal link between government policy, ESRC-funded research and research directions but no adequate evidence has been presented to support this claim. As a senior ESRC figure puts it, 'Most of the people who say these things, even though they are social scientists, speak without looking at very simple .... evidence that's publicly available.' This research examines this evidence in detail and draws upon extensive interviews with ESRC figures. Various governments have viewed social science as either the equivalent of, or inferior to, natural science. The ESRC has been caught in the middle of this conceptual and ideological battle. An understanding of the history of social science in the UK Research Council system, and of the development of the disciplines of sociology and economics in particular, is crucial in revealing how the Left and Right have confronted the idea of a 'science of society' and the impact, if any, upon social science research via the ESRC. This thesis concludes that there is no evidence that government policy has deliberately been filtered through the ESRC in order to direct the social science research effort. There have, however, been indirect consequences of government funding social SCIence through the Research Council system. An ex-ESRC Secretary explains that governments do not understand what social science is so they support 'social science that makes sense to natural scientists', which is 'social science in the service of natural science and technology'. Through fear of budget cuts the ESRC never sought to correct this image and has more recently strategically promoted this brand of social science to its advantage. This has led to a picture of the ESRC as positivistic and directive but, as an ex-committee secretary says, this is 'more apparent than real'. A closer examination of the ESRC's relationships with government, its research priorities and the secretariat's dealings with academics reveals a very different day-to-day picture.

The purpose of the research presented here is to identify which factors school level practitioners consider in deciding whether to retain or promote a student and to ascertain their knowledge of and training in retention research. This research illuminates the process of determining which students are promoted and which are retained, and the results will generate a theory that school administrators may use to establish policies and guidelines to assist promotionâretention committees in better serving students below grade level.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2008.
The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on September 3, 2008) Includes bibliographical references.

There is increasing emphasis on the outcomes of research in terms of its impact on wider society. However in the social sciences the ways in which research is taken up and used, discussed, shared and applied in different policy, practice and wider settings is complex. This thesis set out to investigate the ways in which social research was used by various non-academic actors, and to explore what impact it had in order to develop methods for understanding and assessing impact. The research investigated what research impact is, how it occurs, and how it might be assessed. The research was in two phases: firstly, a case study of a research partnership between a research centre and a voluntary organisation; and, secondly, the development and seeking feedback on a framework to assess impact. The care study employed two main approaches: forward-tracking - from research to policy and/or practice - and backward tracking - from policy back to research. Both phases were conducted through a practitioner-research approach, bringing experience of working with the projects involved into the heart of the research model. The study found many ways the research from the partnership had been used in different sectors by different actors. Impacts from the research were harder to identify. In cases where there were clear impacts, the actors involved had adapted research to fit the context for research use in order to create impact. Research users continued to draw on the research for many years after publication, creating further impact as new policy or practice agendas arose. The framework used a 'pathways to impact' model to develop a theory-based approach to assessing impact and to create categories for data collection. The ways in which research might impact on policy and practice are many and cannot be easily predicted. Concepts from complexity theory, particularly a focus on relationships, an understanding of context and the concept of emergence have been useful in framing the picture of impact generated from this research. Any assessment of impact from social research needs to acknowledge that many actors are involved in the process of research being taken up and used, and impact cannot be achieved from the supply side alone. Partnership research, between an academic and voluntary sector organisation, facilitated the use and impact of the research in many ways. The thesis reconceptualises ideas about how research impacts on society, suggesting the concept of 'contribution' is more accurate and useful than attribution. It also adds to the body of empirical work on the processes of impact, and in particular of the role of research partnerships in increasing impact. It suggests that process-based approaches to assessing impact that acknowledge complexity may be fruitful in developing impact assessment methodology.

This research examines the different social costs that have a bearing on the form and content of regulatory intervention underpinning the Auto-Enrolment (AE) pensions’ regime and whether these are recognised within current UK legislation. AE requires employers to assess the workforce and, subject to qualifying criteria, enrol them into a pension and make contributions to the pension. Workers are also required to contribute to the pension although they can choose to leave the scheme, Since its introduction in 2012, more than 4.7 million workers in the UK have now been enrolled into a pension which they did not choose highlighting the impact of the regulatory intervention. The starting point for my research is to consider the history of pension legislation in the UK and the circumstances leading up to the introduction of AE. The next step is to consider whether this legislative intervention is paternalistic and, if so, whether justified. I then consider whether the implementing legislation functions as it was intended or whether there are any unintended consequences. Parliamentary debate at the inception of AE illustrates an intention to ensure that individuals save more for themselves for their own good. Behavioural economics was widely referred to as authority on the hypothesis that individuals do not make rational financial decisions for themselves, justifying legislative intervention to ensure that private pension saving is the default position for all workers in the UK. Paternalistic legislation can be difficult to justify where individual choice is overridden entirely and so the legislation allows for individuals to opt out – soft paternalism or nudge. There is an assumption that low opt-out rates indicate that individuals now agree that the pension saving is in their best interests, justifying the intervention. However, there has been a marked dearth of research into AE savers' actual perceptions of how the schemes work for them. My research has come to close this gap and also allows drawing up some normative conclusions regarding the proper framework for offering and regulating AE in the UK. In particular, participants were asked to discuss their own choices and actions within their workplace pension and understanding of pensions’ information. Employers and professional advisers were also interviewed to build a complete picture of the practical implementation of AE. In considering these findings my work considers whether there are negative or unintended consequences of the policy change and how these are dealt with.

This thesis examines the structure and flow of public funding between the public and private sectors in the South African health system and the consequences thereof for the achievement of equity. The conceptual framework used to undertake the analysis derives from Richard Titmuss’ core theoretical framework, the Social Division of Welfare. The application of the Social Division of Welfare applied to the South African health care context demonstrates how state resources end up benefitting the non-poor and, as a result, reproduce inequality. Those who access public institutions such as public health care are assumed to be ‘dependent’ on the state, whilst those who access private health facilities claim to be ‘independent’ of the state. However, this thesis shows that these assumptions are flawed. Access to the formal labour market, and subsequently the paying of taxes, authorises one to access state subsidies not available to those who do not. The application of the Social Division of Welfare shows that tax-paying private health care patients benefit considerably from state resources. This thesis argues that due to cost escalation in the private health sector, a consequence of the commodification of health care, these private health care ‘consumers’ as well as the private health industry in general are dependent upon state resources. This thesis analyses the role played by the profit motive present in the private health industry and the consequences for equity, quality, access and efficiency in health care provision

The purpose of the current content analysis was to identify response trends concerning social connections within the prison community in relation to participation in available programs and activities in 181 surveys completed by long-term inmates incarcerated at Louisiana State Penitentiary in 2003. As social connectivity has been linked to decreased levels of violence and rule infractions, and this group of inmates will likely be the responsibility of the state for the rest of their natural lives, it is important to investigate the connections that they share with other inmates. The current analysis addressed the following three questions: Are the number of programs that inmates participate in and their rating of connection to the prison community related? Which programs do the inmates at Louisiana State Penitentiary view as the most beneficial in aiding their connection to the prison community? What factors do inmates identify in their selected programs as valuable to forming and maintaining social connections within the prison community? In order to answer these questions, survey responses concerning inmate program participation, reasoning behind participation, and indications of connection within the prison community were input into a spreadsheet. The separated data was then subjected to content analysis. The program participation was compared to indicated level of prison connection. Written explanations of participation, in particular programming, were examined for similarities amongst all respondents. Results suggest a positive correlation between program participation and an increased sense of connection with the prison community, as well as concern for the well-being of others. Suggestions for future research include in-person data collection specifically designed to investigate inmate connections with the prison community and program participation, and an interview versus survey structure.

The main purpose of this thesis is to provide a history and political analysis of the organisation, policies, membership and leadership of the Social Credit party between 1953 and 1986. The introductory chapter describes the methodology and reviews the literature on third parties in general and Social Credit in particular. Chapter Two provides a prelude to the formation of the Social Credit Political League in 1953. It traces the movement's decline as an education and pressure group under the first Labour Government. Chapter Three examines the debate surrounding the decision t o engage in direct political action and describes the process by which the Political League was formed. Chapter Four considers the reasons for and the findings of the Royal Commission on Monetary, Banking and Credit Systems (1956) and accounts for the growing internal debate culminating in the removal of Mr Wilfrid Owen as Leader in 1959. In Chapter Five the impact on the party of Mr Vernon Cracknell's victory in Hobson in 1966 is considered, along with an assessment of his role in Parliament as the sole third party representative. The reasons for his defeat at the 1969 general election and replacement as Leader some six months later are investigated, and Chapter Six is devoted to the brief but stormy experiment with Mr John O'Brien as Leader, followed by his split from the League in 1972 and the formation of the New Democrat Party. The early Beetham years, including attempts to revise the party's monetary reform dogma, broaden the scope of its message, and to give it a more professional organisation are considered in Chapter Seven. I n Chapter Eight the reasons for and the internal consequences of the party's rapid rise in popularity from early 1978 and its decline after March 1981 are analysed. The chapter ends with an account of Mr Beetham's defeat as Leader in 1986. The thesis concludes that Social Credit's history as an electoral organisation has been conspicuously cyclical, that its progress has been regulated largely by the electoral performances of the two major parties and by the presence or absence of minor party competition, that its leadership has been distinctly oligarchic, and that Social Credit has not been one, but several different parties. Why has the party not been more successful? And why has it lasted so long? These questions are addressed in the final chapter.

In this interactive presentation attendees will learn about processes used to mobilize research into practical applications. Attendees will learn about the five processes used by the Military REACH team to accomplish this goal, which extends beyond the realms of military research (e.g., social science research). The Military REACH team will discuss how research is identified, evaluated, translated, archived, and distributed to families, helping professionals, and policy makers through various avenues. The goal of this presentation is to demonstrate a systematic approach for making research visible and available to those outside of higher education. Foundational to the process utilized is an emphasis on connecting research to intended audiences (families, helping professionals, and policy makers) in a manner that is inviting, easily understood, and meaningful for their everyday context. This emphasis is demonstrated in our processes through the importance placed on identifying and highlighting implications of the research for specific target audiences.

This research study examines the Flint water crisis to determine if Flint residents were the target of a degenerative policy. The study employs critical ethnography to explore the development and implementation of environmental water policy and investigate state-appointed legislator's decision to switch water sources in the city of Flint, Michigan, a predominantly low-income and minority community. In addition to using critical ethnography as a method, the study is interdisciplinary, integrating secondary data from news reports, governmental and nongovernmental documents, and budgets. The residents in Flint, Michigan water source was switched from Lake Huron (Detroit) a source used for more than 50 years to the Flint River. The water switch resulted in lead-contaminated water that poisoned more than 7,900 children and caused a widespread outbreak of Legionnaires' disease.

Congressional concern about homeless students resulted in the McKinney-Vento Act (MCKV) in 2001, which provides funds to local educational agencies (LEAs). MCKV is almost a decade old, yet no evaluations of its academic effectiveness have been reported. Using a systems theory framework, this study answered research questions (RQs) involving whether normally housed students in Grade 6 scored higher than homeless students in Grade 6 in reading (RQ 1) and math (RQ 2) on end-of-grade (EOG) test scores and whether homeless students in Grade 6 from LEAs that received MCKV funding scored better in reading (RQ 3) and math (RQ 4) on EOG test scores than those from LEAs that did not. Data from 2006 and 2007 were provided by the North Carolina (NC) Department of Public Instruction. About 20% of the state's LEAs received MCKV grants, which created a treatment group (funded LEAs) and a control group (nonfunded LEAs). Based on t tests, the normally housed students scored significantly higher on EOG reading and math tests. Using untreated control group designs with matched pretests (Grade 5 EOG test scores) and posttests (Grade 6 EOG test scores), 2 x 2 ANOVAs with repeated measures failed to reject the null hypotheses for RQs 3 and 4. This study did not support the hypotheses that MCKV grants improved the academic achievement of homeless students. MCKV provides valuable services, but in NC, it does not support training programs for teachers, counselors, and social workers on improving academic achievement. The positive social change implication of this study is that concerned educators can use these results to lobby legislators to fund training to improve academic performance of homeless students in order to help break the cycle of homelessness.

This dissertation argues that bullying is a fundamental response to bullies’ feelings of insecurity. Past research has found factors associated with bullying to include socioeconomic status and propensities towards violent behavior. Contextual factors posited here that produce the feelings of insecurity, which lead to bullying, include peer group dynamics, school climates, and teaching.

In relationship to peer groups, the theoretical framework of this dissertation draws primarily from the theories of Robert E. Crosnoe and Dorte M. Sondergaard. The assumption is that students are socially embedded in peer groups in which they struggle for social status (Crosnoe 2011) and in many cases experience the threat of social marginalization (Sondergaard 2012). Sondergaard, in particular, theorizes that the more insecure students feel about their social status in peer groups, the more likely they are to resort to bullying behavior.

All multivariate analyses in this dissertation are limited to white, black, and Latino boys. The resulting sample comprises N=6,491 student observations nested within 153 schools. The nested sampling structure requires multi-level modeling (MLM) for the calculation of unbiased estimates.

I find that individual-level student background characteristics are stronger predictors of bully identification than the school context, as measured by student body composition and teaching style factors. In addition, social status insecurity is a mediating factor for many of the student- and school-level predictors of bullying.

The dissertation distinguishes four types of schools, each of which is above or below average on two major dimensions. The first dimension is academic support (i.e., how caring and responsive teachers are), while the other is academic press (i.e., how strict and demanding they are).

I find that black male students are more likely to self-identify as bullies in schools that are below average on both academic support and academic press, compared to those that are above average on both. The pattern for Latino boys is different. For them, self-reported bullying is higher when the school rates high on academic support, but low on academic press.

I find no statistically significant role for teaching styles in predicting the amount of bully identification among white males.

Greece, like many other countries, has experienced great changes in food supply, consumption patterns and health outcomes. Famous for its Mediterranean diet, it has actually undergone a modem nutrition transition, and now has high rates of overweight and obesity and increased incidence of non-communicable nutrition-related diseases. This study begins with that reality and the current failure of food policy and nutrition-related initiatives to tackle problems. The study explores whether and how social marketing could remedy this policy deficit and contribute to changing Greek food behaviour. The thesis describes a contextual review of the state of nutritional health, the food system and food policy in Greece and outlines social marketing theory and experience. Two studies were conducted to answer the research questions. The first was a case study conducted on a sample of undergraduate students through nine focus groups with fifty-nine Greek undergraduate students from eight Athenian education institutes to explore the influencers of eating behaviour, the impact of current initiatives and the potential of social marketing. A second study of thirty-two key stakeholders in significant positions in the Greek food system explored through semi-structured interviews the reactions of education institutes, civil society, government and food supply chain representatives to the Greek food situation and the potential of social marketing. The fieldwork studies found that social marketing was not likely to be a panacea but has potential for Greece. The first study found that eating decisions are complex, based on individual as well as environmental factors. Both studies highlighted policy failings in government, while the second study specified the problematic structure of the public sector and a reluctance to confront existing food culture. Both studies found potential for social marketing to help change Greek food culture but its utility depends on factors beyond the realm of food policy alone. Political will, suitably qualified people and changes in the food system are all necessary. The thesis concludes that social marketing would be enhanced by an integrated food policy framework and from a broader understanding of behaviour change in general and of the dynamics of eating behaviour in particular. A new model of this integrated approach is proposed. Greek food policy would be enriched by the citizen-centric approach of social marketing but only if the full 5 Ps that will include "Policy" are applied as the policy element is too easily marginalised. The thesis proposes that food policy be integrated around three dimensions of action: food safety and hygiene, nutrition and environment.

The majority of dependent older people rely on informal care to meet their long-term care needs. The activity of care-giving can place informal carers at risk of experiencing financial poverty and welfare loss, including poor health, injuries and time poverty. This thesis argues that states should recognise and treat the informal care of older people as a social risk by providing informal carers and the older people they care for with adequate statutory protection against the risks which they face. A qualitative case study was conducted to analyse the extent to which care policies in England protect informal carers and the older people they care for against care-related risks. A policy simulation technique, the model care relationship matrix, was employed as a data collection and analysis tool. The matrices incorporated thirteen care relationship types and all of the care policy mechanisms in England, including cash benefits, care services, and employment-related support. Government documents and semi-structured interviews with practitioners and managers from a range of public sector and third sector agencies were used to determine the statutory support each care relationship would be entitled to receive. The way in which institutional structures, processes and actors within the policy environment can affect the level of statutory protection provided to care relationships was also analysed. The study’s findings reveal that the English state recognises but does not treat informal care as a social risk. The state’s treatment of informal care-givers and their care-related risks is inconsistent, unpredictable and inadequate. Some informal care-givers have access to inadequate levels of statutory protection, while the risks experienced by other groups of informal carers are left unprotected and privatised. Moreover the policy environment, itself, is revealed to produce risks due to being complex, fragmented, and adversarial in nature. Overall informal carers are found to occupy a marginalised and devalued position in the English care policy system.

Social-ecological systems research is interventionist by nature. As a subset of sustainability science, social-ecological systems research aims to generate knowledge and introduce concepts that will bring about transformation. Yet scientific concepts diverge in innumerable ways when they are put to work in the world. Why are concepts used in quite different ways to the intended purpose? Why do some appear to fail and others succeed? What do the answers to these questions tell us about the nature of science-society engagement, and what implications do they have for social-ecological systems research and sustainability science? This thesis addresses these questions from an interpretive perspective, focusing on the meanings that shape human actions. In particular, the thesis examines how meaning, interpretation and experience shape the enactment of four action-oriented sustainability concepts: adaptive management, biosphere reserves, biodiversity corridors and planetary boundaries/reconnecting to the biosphere. In so doing, the thesis provides in-depth empirical applications of three interpretive traditions – hermeneutic, discursive and dialogical – that together articulate a broadly interpretive approach to studying social-ecological complexity. In the hermeneutic tradition, Paper I presents a ‘rich narrative’ case study of a single practitioner tasked with enacting adaptive management in an Australian land management agency, and Paper II provides a qualitative multi-case study of learning among 177 participants in 11 UNESCO biosphere reserves. In the discursive tradition, Paper III uses Q-method to explore interpretations of ‘successful’ biodiversity corridors among 20 practitioners, scientists and community representatives in the Cape Floristic Region, South Africa. In the dialogical tradition, Paper IV reworks conventional understandings of knowledge-action relationships by using three concepts from contemporary practice theory – ‘actionable understanding,’ ‘ongoing business’ and the ‘eternally unfolding present’ – to explore the enactment of adaptive management in an Australian national park. Paper V explores ideas of human-environment connection in the concepts planetary boundaries and reconnecting to the biosphere, and develops an ‘embodied connection’ where human-environment relations emerge through interactivity between mind, body and environment over time. Overall, the thesis extends the frontiers of social-ecological systems research by highlighting the meanings that shape social-ecological complexity; by contributing theories and methods that treat social-ecological change as a relational and holistic process; and by providing entry points to address knowledge, politics and power. The thesis contributes to sustainability science more broadly by introducing novel understandings of knowledge-action relationships; by providing advice on how to make sustainability interventions more useful and effective; by introducing tools that can improve co-production and outcome assessment in the global research platform Future Earth; and by helping to generate robust forms of justification for transdisciplinary knowledge production. The interventionist, actionable nature of social-ecological systems research means that interpretive approaches are an essential complement to existing structural, institutional and behavioural perspectives. Interpretive research can help build a scientifically robust, normatively committed and critically reflexive sustainability science.

At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 2: Manuscript. Paper 4: Manuscript.

This study analyzes the connection between U.S. foreign policy and its mechanisms for either the resolution or protraction of conflict using the case of North Korea. This case is particularly ripe for resolution with regard to the United States’ recent “Pivot to Asia.” Moreover, now that North Korea is under the new leadership of the young, relatively unknown leader Kim Jong-un, this may be an essential the time to explore and implement alternative methods for ending this conflict. The purpose of this study is to enquire whether combining conflict analysis and resolution (CAR) tools and practices with alternative and dynamic soft foreign policy efforts might play a positive role in resolving this conflict. This study was conducted by analyzing current and historical documents on U.S. foreign policy, studying its desired or stated effects and comparing them to the known actual effects on the North Korean regime and its people. To help understand these effects, this study also sought the unique foreign policy perspectives, opinions, needs and desires of former North Korea refugees. The significance of this is in understanding and evaluating where CAR opportunities surface by promoting the participation of stakeholders as catalysts for change from the group of people directly affected by foreign policy: North Koreans themselves. The findings show that the U.S. foreign policy approach towards North Korea has not significantly evolved over the past 60 years. Moreover, even those North Koreans interviewed who steadfastly support a continued U.S. hard policy approach toward their former homeland conceded that positive change would also require alternative approaches that promote direct and indirect high quality contact. The findings also show even in a controlled interview environment, North Korean Refugees can change how they think, interact, and receive information, based on direct HQC and the positive repositioning of self and other. Many also had sustained contact with their loved ones still living in the North, and provide them with aid. Most North Koreans interviewed had received indirect and or direct information about the outside world when they had lived in North Korea including such things as listening to radio, watching movies or drama and receiving aid, which had a positive effect on them. While most North Koreans (still in the north) do not believe in religion, it can be an effective tool for change. The regime has continued for so long due to the structural violence and deprivation it has over society. Finally, local markets in North Korea play a key role in changing the lives of North Koreans and that North Korean diaspora can help change North Korea. The analysis provides innovative conflict resolution methods and offers potential tools and recommendations for a multi-dimensional foreign policy approach, which may affect and alter foreign policy discussions and decisions. This study, the results and recommendations are intended to be an initial step toward rethinking U.S. foreign policy for purposes of “provention.”

Since the early 1990s, religion and matters of faith and spirituality have become a focal point in numerous arenas beyond the individual and traditionally sacred. With President George W. Bush's White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives of 2001, the Charitable Choice provision of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act that preceded it in 1996, and the myriad of legal challenges that followed, matters of religion have become paramount in political discourse regarding social welfare. The viability of faith-based social service provision and the organizations providing the direct services have been the focus of speculation, debate, and a growing amount of research. Few studies, however, have explored the role of faith-based advocacy or lobbying organizations in shifting the social welfare climate, in proposing or opposing policy changes in the social welfare system, or in defining social welfare. Little is empirically known about the organizational dynamics of religious advocacy groups whose attempts at structural influence are, in part, affected by theological positions and religiously-informed values.Considering the dearth of research on such organizations, particularly those that operate on the state level, this study explored faith-based advocacy organizations that seek to influence social policy in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Within an interpretive paradigmatic and theoretical framework that allowed for the exploration of meaning associated with advocacy activities, the inquiry asked the following questions, How do faith-based organizations engage in legislative advocacy in the Commonwealth of Virginia? What meaning do the organizations assign to their advocacy activities? The inquiry's findings, congruent with interpretive research assumptions, are tentative in nature and suggest that while the focal organizations' advocacy activities appear similar to other interest groups, their religious mandates for action distinguish them from their secular counterparts. Interpretations of these mandates significantly influence the organizations' decision-making, their representation of multiple constituencies, and their definitions of success. Unlike previous studies that suggest these organizations distance themselves from insider politics, the religious advocates in the study suggest that fidelity to their mandate means actively participating in the political process while retaining their unique voice as representatives of God and religious traditions.

This thesis discusses the potential for private investment to fund ambitious renewable energy research and development to help mitigate climate change. I begin by discussing the threat of global warming and a brief history of renewable energy development in the United States. Next, I discuss existing avenues for private investment in renewable energy, potential methods of increasing corporate participation, and the belief that businesses must maximize only financial profits. Then I perform an in-depth case study of pension funds that have incorporated a social or environmental mission, existing environmentally focused mutual funds, and liquidated clean energy mutual funds. Finally, I compare the historical performance of the existing mutual funds to the liquidated to determine a profit threshold below which clean energy focused funds fail and discuss optimal investment strategies to foster bold renewable energy investment.

In England around 68,000 children are currently looked after by the state. Sixty two per cent of this population are admitted to care or accommodation in response to abuse and neglect. As the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child acknowledges, the state has a unique responsibility for these children and is expected to ensure their safety, wellbeing and development. Underpinned by a rights-based framework the publications in the thesis make an original contribution to social work research, policy and practice, in respect of looked after children nationally and internationally. Three cohering theoretical strands - the new sociology of childhood, attachment theory and focal theory, and different methodological lenses, (from participatory research with young people to cross-national analysis of administrative data), are employed to advance understanding of the balance of protective, provisional and participatory rights ( 3 Ps ) for these children and young people. The work focuses upon their life pathways at two key stages in the lifespan: early infancy and adolescence into adulthood. Consistent with the theoretical underpinnings of the research, the methodological approach employed in two of the four core studies sought to promote children s active participation in the research process, and to give them a voice . The participatory peer methodology adopted moved beyond involving care experienced young people in interviewing their peers, to training and engaging them in several major aspects of the research cycle, including analysis of the data and the design and write up of the findings, to produce accessible peer research reports for young people. At the national level the work undertaken demonstrates how a needs-based discourse, and orientation towards considering looked after children as objects of concern, can mean that young children s protective rights may be prioritised in policy and practice, at the expense of their provisional and participatory rights. Children s participation rights are also constrained due to assumptions about the (in)capacities of younger children to express their wishes and feelings. In this context parents rights tend to be prioritised at the expense of the rights of the child. Whereas parents rights may take precedence when children are young, in adolescence the rights of parents are more peripheral. Cross-national comparisons reveal variations in how young people s provisional, participatory and protective rights are balanced as young people negotiate the transition from care to adulthood in western societies, as well as different drivers for reform. Empirical research on recent policy developments in England also illuminates the tensions and dilemmas professionals can face as they attempt to protect and provide for young people, whilst recognising their evolving capabilities and their right to autonomy and active participation in decision making processes. Finally, the studies highlight that young people with the most complex care histories may be denied the right to decide for themselves if they want to remain in foster or residential care into early adulthood.

A significant number of Liberian ex-militants are unemployed and underemployed despite the job skills, formal education, and entrepreneurial training they received as participants in the Formal Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration (DDR) program that was established to reintegrate combatants into civilian society at the end of the two civil wars in Liberia in 2003. The purpose of this study was to examine the strengths and weaknesses of the vocational training offered by the DDR program. Informed by the theories of Human Capital, Peace Building, and Bronfrenbrenner, the research questions for this study assessed the benefits of the educational component of DDR. A phenomenological study design was employed with a purposeful sample of ex-militant participants that included 12 ex-militants and a focus group of 6-ex-militants drawn from the 12 who completed vocational training at the Monrovia Vocational Training Center in Monrovia (MVTC). All data were inductively coded and analyzed using a constant comparative method. Data analysis uncovered five textural themes: motivation for disarmament, hope to rebuild lives through vocational training, dissatisfaction with reintegration, perception of reintegration, and perception of future combat participation. Findings support human capital, peace building, and ecological systems theories in that ex-militants perceived the benefit of education in their transition to peacetime endeavor, but consider themselves only partially reintegrated since all consider themselves unemployed with no means to survive economically. This study is significant because it provides recommendations to policymakers on how such a program can improve the vocational training offered and provide follow-up life-skills counseling.

Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) are rapidly expanding in rural Illinois. This research explores the political power linkages between county boards and corporate entities in four Illinois counties. The hypothesis is that collusion and impropriety within county board politics and CAFO expansion in rural Illinois are attributed to stakeholder influence and power at the local county government level. My research revealed a connection between ownership of CAFOs, county board political power, and endorsement of expansion. Utilizing Walter Goldschmidt’s method of a controlled comparison, the research analyzes two CAFO inundated counties (Pike and Adams) with two less affected counties (LaSalle and Peoria).

Considering the political nature of the research, data collection was forced into engaging secondary text sources to study up, down, and sideways on local government officials. The documents analyzed were public information meeting transcripts, county board meeting transcripts, municipal meeting transcripts, plat maps, public websites, and Freedom of Information Act requests (FOIAs). FOIAs were obtained through government entities and other confidential sources. Citizens are distressed by the proliferation of CAFOs. Through interviews, participant observation, field notes, and archival work, the research indicates that people have knowledge that social stratification is much greater in counties with CAFO proliferation. Citizens that have CAFOs built in close proximity to their property are angered by the permitting system. Considering the amount of pollution and social degradation connected to rapid expansion from livestock farming in Illinois, this research on the linkages between corporate agribusiness and county board politics fills a gap previously overlooked by anthropologists.

Different kinds of cultural studies can be used in order to learn more about disability, social policies, attitudes and citizenship. The purpose of this study is to outline some aspects of disability and Swedish society during the 19th century. The ambition is to analyse the issue of the integration of the deaf-mutes and the blind. How did politicians and educators motivate the establishment of compulsory schooling? How was the issue of correction of the body treated? How did they deal with the situation on the labour market? What kind of compensation was contemporary society willing to support? Social policies in the past are likely to be described in terms of control, repression and barriers. This study looks at disability from a more anthropological view which implies the use of hermeneutics, seeking to identify the agent’s own understanding of a problem in order to learn more about how social categorisation and citizenship are integrated and how they change. The use of original sources, such as records from the Swedish parliament and conferences held by experts as well as periodicals, makes this kind of approach possible. This thesis argues that disability must be understood as something that is constantly in the arena of a more dialectical struggle where a number of visions and interests have melted together. In the course of state interventionism and growing social justice, citizenship and disability to a greater extent became a question of honour. Being granted certain rights meant that the individual had passed the test and was now sanctioned as disabled, one who deserved the right to rights. This transition promoted a growing group consciousness. A more dialectical approach perforates the border between social control and humanity since they were not always mutually exclusive.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD
Ocean Governance in South Africa has gained momentum over the last decade with the publication of the Green and White Papers on the National Environmental Management of the Ocean in 2012 and 2014, and the promulgation of the Marine Spatial Planning Act in 2019. Parallel to this South Africa developed and implemented the Operation Phakisa Ocean Economy Development Programme and declared a network of twenty Marine Protected Areas. The timing of this study over the last five years allowed the opportunity to undertake a detailed study of the Ocean Governance Policy Development and Implementation as the formulation of the policy and its early implementation unfolded. The Study is primarily based on interpretation of the Green and White Papers as the primary and directed ocean governance policies produced by the Government of South African and the National Department of Environmental Affairs. It places these most recent specific ocean environmental policies in the context of the many other environmental policies that exits in the country.

There is a strain of social criticism, dating back to the fifties and sixties, which alleged that New Zealand was about to become a society more clearly divided by lines related to "class". New Zealand was presented as a society in which a natural egalitarianism of social habits and attitudes had flourished. The critical voices of this earlier period feared that as New Zealand's economy evolved further, so would the degree of social demarcation within society. They expected that these changes would show up most rapidly, and with deeper effects, in the northernmost part of New Zealand, particularly in Auckland. There the postwar period's industrial development and population growth was greatest. In the suburbs of the north, middle class beliefs and life styles would develop. Suburban life, in areas of new housing containing those who most notably benefited from these changes, would provide mutual reinforcements for the evolution of a much more consciously middle class way of life. Many of the implications of this social criticism are explored in this thesis by means of a questionnaire professionally administered to a sample of 312 respondents in three Auckland electorates. East Coast Bays was chosen as an example of a burgeoning middle class suburb, Te Atatu as a newer area of working class settlement, and Birkenhead as a bridge between the two of them, socially and politically. The survey was administered shortly before the 1978 general election. A variety of facts about, and attitudes to, housing, employment, life styles, suburban locations and indistrialisation are explored. These are normally related back to the basic dependent variables of voting choice, electorate, the propensity to think in class terms, and subjective class identification. The overwhelming pressure of the evidence is that of continuity with the egalitarian past. The chief hypothesis tested is that "following on the most rapid processes of postwar industrialisation in New Zealand, new suburban contexts have evolved in Auckland in which the middle class beneficiaries of Auckland's growth are reinforced in attitudes that reject egalitarianism, accept differential rewards and life styles, and are associated with distinctive political and social attitudes". On the evidence presented in this study it must be rejected.

This dissertation analyses the relationship between social work and social policy in Europe from a comparative historical perspective. Central to this analysis is the dynamic interplay of forces which led to the consolidation of the European nation state as a welfare state, including the current crisis of the welfare consensus. The role of social work emerges as central to the project of national cultural integration, a perspective which frequently gets overlooked from a purely national perspective. Social works enmeshment with this nation state project is revealed in the current transformation of the welfare states in the light of neo-liberal principles and in the context of globalization. This perspective underlines the need for the development of intercultural communicative competences and in particular a consistent anti-racist approach in social work. At the same time the particular position in relation to social policy requires the development of research methods specific to the discipline in the light of its hermeneutic tasks.
Die Arbeit behandelt die Beziehung zwischen Sozialer Arbeit und Sozialpolitik in Europa aus vergleichender historischer Perspektive. Untersucht wird die Dynamik des Nationalstaats und seine Konsolidierung als Wohlfahrtsstaat bis zur gegenwärtigen Krise des Wohlfahrtskonsenses. Dabei gewinnt die Rolle der Sozialen Arbeit in der Aufgabe kultureller Integration besondere Bedeutung, da dies aus rein nationaler Sicht oft nicht zu erkennen ist. Ihre Verkoppelung mit dem Nationalstaat wird besonders deutlich in der gegenwärtigen Transformation durch neo-liberale Prinzipien im Kontext der Globalisierung. Hieraus ergeben sich neue Aufgaben für die Soziale Arbeit, insbesondere in Bezug auf die Entwicklung interkultureller kommunikativer Kompetenzen und eines konsistenten antirassistischen Ansatzes. Gleichzeitig erfordert die besondere sozialpolitische Position die Entwicklung disziplinspezifischer Forschungsansätze im Lichte der hermeneutischen Bedeutung der Sozialen Arbeit.

Today’s emerging patient centered health movement is focused not on a specific condition or demographic, but rather on shifting the balance of power and enabling access to information to drive decision-making in healthcare. This takes place through electronic health records as well as more generalized sources. The uptake of social media is contributing to an innovation in patient centered healthcare: information and support on a global scale is coming not only from the formal healthcare system, but also within online social networks. Today, through computer-mediated interactions, patients are not only seeking information, they are curating and sharing information. Subsequently, patients are also creating information, establishing a novel ecosystem of engagement that has the potential to disrupt the current healthcare system.

This dissertation explores an online health community, BCSM (which stands for “breast cancer social media”), established using Twitter, a largely public and searchable social media platform. Drawing primarily from social network theory, disruptive innovation, and ecological systems theory, this research identifies essential characteristics within the community that may inform future development and support for patient centered healthcare. To conduct this research, a blended approach of netnography – referring to the approach of ethnography applied to the study of online cultures and communities – and in-depth interviews with BCSM participants were employed.

Data collected via interviews and tweets using the hashtag #bcsm provide evidence of clinical support, emotional support, information sharing, and knowledge translation. Underpinning this activity is the opportunity to associate not only with peers, but also with individuals of varying roles (including patients, providers, advocates, researchers, and caregivers). As evidenced by the data collected, educational opportunities flow in both directions.

This work contributes to the larger corpus of health-related literature in the identification and naming of a significant community element that has seen little focused attention: cross-peer engagement, a term used to highlight the interaction amongst individuals of differing status, ability, or rank. This research also documents the formation of microspurs, defined as relationships that form as a result of community participation. These come in many forms and range from expanding a personal support network to participation in federal policy work. Findings suggest that the future of healthcare will not revolve around hospitals and bounded systems. Instead, patients will demand an expanded set of entry points for health information sharing, knowledge transfer, condition management, and general support.

This research project examines resources and services to prevent families and children from entering the child welfare system in a rural town in Southern California. There is constant struggle to get the adequate services, resources and trained staff in this rural area because it is isolated and it takes about two hours’ travel time to get to the metropolitan cities. The literature review discusses child welfare services challenges, strengths and social capital to support families and children as well as the child welfare system itself in rural areas. Constructivism is the appropriate framework for this research project, because the goal of this study will be based on an exchange of understanding and ideas; therefore, the nature of the study is subjective. The engagement stage was an important stage for the constructivist approach. The researcher analyzed transcripts from the interviews and group meetings using thematic analysis to examine participants’ concerns and their perceptions of the community’s resources. Further, the participants, guided by the researcher, worked together to develop a strategic action plan to address child abuse and neglect in this community. This project encouraged community leaders to discuss the community’s strengths and main concerns related to child abuse and neglect. Interestingly, these strengths and concerns often mirror one another. Participants’ perceptions and recommendation are about safety, connectedness, human services access and child welfare of the focused rural town.

The whereabouts of the unsheltered homeless population in Orange County, CA is determined by various push-pull factors. Access to services, methods and intensity of policing, and general tolerance by local residents or business owners all factor into where those experiencing homelessness will congregate. Public policy is related to these concepts as it is influenced by resident input and is the tool used to implement services and guide law enforcement. This thesis takes a closer look into factors specific to the rapid growth of homeless encampments at the Santa Ana Riverbed in Northern Orange County. The research tracks the growth of homeless encampments in the study area dating back to 2013 using geospatial techniques and analyzes the increase in numbers in relation to changes in local policies, such as anti-camping ordinances. Specifically, the research relied upon analysis of aerial imagery and data collected in the field. The study finds that disproportionate enforcement of anti-camping laws in the riverbed and adjacent cities created a hospitable area for homeless persons in the Santa Ana Riverbed. Finding a catalyst that explains the rapid growth of encampments in the last two years is less clear, but likely due to a variety of factors.

The Department of Defense, at the time of this study, had over 38 combat Forward Operating Bases (FOB) with both U.S. military and non-military personnel residing and engaged in the mission. Also in these FOBs, are local nationals of the countries, who are employed to perform certain duties in these FOBs after having had certain security and medical background checks. However, while on military mission in Afghanistan and other Middle Eastern countries between 2009 and 2011, this researcher, observed and detected more than once, local nationals (LNs), Afghans, with certain infectious skin conditions working in the DIFACs (dining facilities) at major FOBs, serving food to soldiers inside the base. These LNs reside outside the FOB facility and gain entrance into the FOB daily, passing through already set security parameters put in place by the Department of Defense (DoD). There are Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTP) to prevent or mitigate Person-borne Improvised Explosive Device (PBIED), Vehicle-borne Improvised Explosive Device (VBIED), and to also respond to, or recover from, Chemical, Biological, Radioactive, and Nuclear (CBRN) attacks on FOBs. Researcher is unaware of any TTP specific for HB-BA terrorist, capable of detecting, deterring or destroying a terrorist with bioagents breaching a combat post ECP; nor the training of soldiers of how to conduct a search on a bio-agent (BA) – or even what a bio-agent would look like if they found one. The purpose of this research was to determine whether there are current military counter bioterrorism measures in place to combat a human-borne with a bioagent (HB-BA) terrorist attempting to breach a combat FOB at the ECP, and how effective they are.

To accomplish this, a survey tool had to be developed and employed to determine the perceptions about the effectiveness of current ECP TTPs in detecting, deterring preventing, and mitigating a HBBA terrorist at the ECP, from military personnel. A survey tool (questionnaire) was developed, validated, and subjected to a reliability testing using Cronbach’s Alpha on a mix-method cross sectional survey, a pretest. Results showed a Cronbach’s Alpha of 0.82 and 0.89 for the survey’s two constructs. Also, 92.3% of respondents had recently been in combat deployment. All of them claimed that bioterrorism is very possible, but 61.5% believe it is either very possible or possible for a terrorist with a bioagent (BA) to successfully breach a FOB ECP. Only 3.8% felt that it would be impossible to breach the FOB ECP with a bioagent. Similarly, only 28% of respondents surveyed believe that current ECP TTPs are effective against a BA, 48% believe that current CBRN TTPs are either not effective, or somewhat effective, against BA at the ECP. In conclusion, the preliminary study, indicated that combat FOBs are vulnerable to breach by human-borne with BA terrorist at the ECP, as there exists no currently effective ECP TTP that could detect, deter or destroy a terrorist with a biological agent at a combat FOB ECP.

In New Zealand there is a marked scarcity of material on the workings of the indigenous news media. This thesis is intended to partially fill the large gap in New Zealand scholarship in this area. It provides a case study of the production of meaning by mainstream New Zealand news media organisations. Its purpose is to explicate the dominant messages in circulation from 1981 through 1983 regarding unemployment. The neutral face of the news discourse is shown to conceal the routinized signification practices of journalistic professionalism. These practices act to separate the normative from the deviant. They also serve the interests of society's established and legitimated institutions. This process was aided by the simplistic, as opposed to simplified, nature of news media presentations.

Las interacciones entre los agentes del sistema de innovación son una pieza clave para el fomento del intercambio de conocimiento, los procesos de aprendizaje y el proceso innovador. El análisis de las interacciones entre universidades y organismos públicos de investigación (ciencia) y los agentes del entorno social (sociedad) ha recibido una gran atención en la comunidad científica, entre otras razones, porque los resultados de estas interacciones pueden tener implicaciones en el diseño de las políticas de ciencia e innovación y en la gestión de la organización. En esta tesis se analizan las interacciones entre los investigadores del área de ciencias sociales y humanidades (CCSSHH) y los agentes sociales, dado que es un colectivo que ha sido escasamente estudiado desde esta perspectiva y presenta características específicas respecto a otros ámbitos científicos. Los tres estudios que componen la tesis abordan aspectos diferentes del tema objeto de estudio y se basan en datos empíricos obtenidos mediante encuestas y entrevistas realizadas en el Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC). El primer estudio pretende averiguar si la utilidad del conocimiento producido en las CCSSHH es menor que en las STEM (acrónimo inglés para ciencia, tecnología, ingeniería y matemáticas), tal como los enfoques de las políticas científicas al uso parecen presuponer al establecer medidas basadas en indicadores difíciles de aplicar a este colectivo (licencias de patentes, contratos de I+D con empresas, creación de spin off). El análisis empírico realizado muestra que los resultados de las investigaciones en CCSSHH no son menos útiles que los de las STEM porque, en ambos casos, hay agentes sociales interesados en ellos. Sin embargo, se aprecia que el tipo de mecanismo de colaboración varía entre áreas del conocimiento, al igual que el tipo de agente social con el cual los investigadores interactúan. Las empresas predominan entre los agentes sociales con los cuales colaboran los investigadores de las STEM mientras que los de CCSSHH colaboran con un grupo más variado de agentes sociales (i.e. administraciones, organizaciones no gubernamentales, etc.). El segundo estudio explora en qué medida los grupos de investigación del área de CCSSHH se relacionan con una variedad de agentes sociales mediante cauces no formalizados. Para ello, se realizan dos análisis complementarios (cuantitativo y cualitativo). Los resultados obtenidos ponen de manifiesto que la mayoría de las relaciones no se formalizan institucionalmente, lo cual significa que la institución no las identifica, registra o valora. Sin embargo, la participación en este tipo de colaboraciones informales, que no tienen necesariamente una contrapartida económica, resulta atractiva por su coste relativamente bajo (en términos económicos y de tiempo), por la ausencia de condiciones restrictivas (p. ej. derechos de propiedad, confidencialidad) y por la existencia de beneficios intangibles para el investigador. El tercer estudio analiza en qué medida los grupos de investigación de CCSSHH interactúan con su entorno mediante diferentes actividades de transferencia de conocimiento (TC) ¿consultoría, investigación contratada, investigación conjunta, actividades de formación e intercambio de personal¿ e identifica los determinantes de cada una de ellas. Los resultados indican que las actividades de TC más frecuentes son la consultoría y la investigación contratada, mientras que el intercambio de personal representa una actividad marginal entre las analizadas. El estudio de los factores que determinan la participación en estas actividades de TC muestra que considerar el potencial uso social de los resultados desde el principio aumenta la participación de los grupos de investigación en todas las actividades de TC analizadas. En conjunto, los tres estudios permiten concluir que la investigación en CCSSHH produce conocimiento y resultados que son de interés para la sociedad. Sin embargo, se diferencian de otras áreas científicas en los mecanismos de interacción predominantes y en la variedad de agentes sociales con los que interactúan. Estas conclusiones pueden tener utilidad práctica para el diseño de políticas destinadas a fomentar el amplio conjunto de interacciones identificadas, para la mejora de las prácticas de gestión y para tratar de evaluar las citadas interacciones mediante indicadores capaces de recoger el amplio espectro de mecanismos identificados en esta tesis.
Interactions among agents in the innovation system are critical for the promotion of knowledge exchange, learning processes and the innovation process. The analysis of interactions between universities or public research organisations (science) and social agents (society) has received great attention in the scientific community because, among other reasons, the results of these interactions can have implications for the design of science and innovation policies and organisation management. This thesis analyses the interactions between researchers in the social sciences and humanities (SSH) and social agents. The SSH community is a collective that has been little studied from this perspective and presents particular characteristics as compared to other scientific fields. The three studies included in the thesis address different aspects of the topic and are based on empirical data obtained through surveys and interviews conducted in the Spanish Council for Scientific Research (CSIC). The first study explores whether the knowledge produced by the SSH is less useful than that produced in STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), as science policy seems to presume when establishing measures based on indicators (patent licenses, R&D contracts with companies, creating spin off) that are difficult to apply to the SSH community. The empirical analysis shows that SSH research outputs are no less useful than those from STEM because, in both cases, there are social agents interested in them. However, the preferred type of collaborative mechanism varies across fields, as does the type of agent with whom researchers interact. Firms are the prevailing type of agent collaborating with STEM researchers whilst SSH researchers collaborate with a varied group of social agents (i.e. government, NGOs, etc.). The second study explores the extent to which SSH research groups engage with a variety of social agents through non¿formalized collaborations. To do this, two complementary analyses (quantitative and qualitative) are conducted. Results show that most of the collaborations are not institutionally formalized, which means that the research organisation does not identify, record or value them. However, engagement in these informal collaborations, that do not necessarily have an economic counterpart, are attractive due to the relatively low cost (in time and economic terms) of many such activities, the absence of restrictive conditions (e.g. IPR, confidentiality) and other intangible benefits accruing to the researcher. The third study examines the extent to which SSH research groups interact with social agents through different knowledge transfer (KT) activities ¿consultancy, contract research, joint research, training and personnel mobility¿ and identifies the determinants of each. Results show that the most frequent KT activities are consultancy and contract research, while personnel exchange is a marginal activity among those analysed. The study of the factors determining the engagement in these activities shows that consideration of the social uses of the research outputs from the beginning enhances research groups¿ engagement in all the knowledge transfer activities analysed. Overall, the three studies support the conclusion that SSH research produces knowledge and outputs that are of interest to society. However, differences from other scientific fields are found in terms of the prevalent type of interaction mechanisms used and the variety of social agents with whom interactions are established. These findings may have practical utility for the design of policies aimed at encouraging and enhancing the range of interactions, for improving managerial practices and for the assessment of these interactions through indicators able to capture the type of interactions identified in this thesis.
Olmos Peñuela, J. (2013). Science-Society interactions in the social sciences and humanities:empirical studies of the Spanish Council for Scientific Research [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/31653
TESIS
Premiado

Historically, child abuse and neglect (CAN) prevention efforts have focused on individuals and families, with disregard for the contexts and conditions that may underlie family challenges. There is increased recognition that efforts to support families and children must include focus on the societal level (Browne, 2014), yet few studies have examined how institutional processes influence community-based CAN prevention services. I utilized institutional ethnography to identify institutional factors that impact family well-being and CAN prevention work in Alabama. I relied on three primary forms of data: 1) focus group discussions; 2) interview discussions; and 3) analysis of key documents. Preliminary analysis indicates prevention work is diverse and occurs within a system of limited institutional and public support. I will discuss the specific institutional factors that influence child and abuse prevention work in Alabama and close with a discussion of how institutional ethnography can be used to strengthen family research and policy.

The concept of “Environmental authoritarian” becomes the focus of discussion in the academic field of environmental politics since it has limited observations. In the recent years, the severe air pollute issue is considered as a threat by both citizens and authorities in China. Along with the more stricter environmental protection laws being issued, even the measures of the factory closings and coal ban seems to become acceptable as the population  have suffered in the heavy smog for years. Does this led to the rise of “environmental authoritarian” in China?  Taking this as a heuristic point, I observe the positions of various stakeholders in the environmental governance as well as present the findings from research on the implementation and enforcement of air pollution controls measures in Jing-Jin-Ji region. I offer a critical examination of “environmental authoritarian”, especially the levels of public participation at the policy process. After to do the research, the key funding is that the concept of “Environmental authoritarian” is too simplified, it cannot cover the complex and detailed environmental governance at local empirical cases.

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Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Escola Politécnica de Saúde Joaquim Venâncio. Laboratório de Iniciação Científica na Educação Básica
Esta dissertação apresenta uma análise da trajetória dos jovens participantes do Programa de Vocação Científica/Programa de Desenvolvimento Local Integrado e Sustentável /Escola Politécnica de Saúde Joaquim Venâncio/Fundação Oswaldo Cruz desde 2003 a 2008. Foi realizada uma revisão da literatura sobre políticas públicas e juventude objetivando discutir a construção social e política dos programas voltados para esta população, bem como a identificação de marcos históricos e conceituais que orientam as políticas sociais da Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Como estratégia de pesquisa de campo foram realizadas entrevistas com gestores Fiocruz e com coordenadores de projetos e de programas institucionais voltados para a comunidade de Manguinhos, bem como, a realização de um grupo focal com egressos do PROVOC/DLIS com o objetivo de analisar as expectativas desses alunos ao ingressarem e ao final do programa, assim como, identificar o percurso institucional e pessoal do aluno e as possíveis repercussões sociais, familiares e profissionais dos jovens que participam do Programa. Conclui enfatizando posicionamentos e sugestões que contribuam para que novos caminhos possam ser pensados na questão da inserção de jovens de comunidades carentes em Programas de Vocação Científica mantidos por instituições de pesquisa.
This work presents an analysis of the trajectory of youth participants of Scientific Vocation Program - Integrated and Sustainable Local Development Programme of Joaquim Venancio Polytechnic Health School of Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (PROVOC DLIS / EPSJV / FIOCRUZ) program from 2003 to 2008. We performed a literature review on public policies and youth aimed to discuss the social and political construction of programs for this population, and the identification of historical and conceptual foundations that guide the social policies of FIOCRUZ. As a research strategy, interviews were conducted with managers of Fiocruz and with managers of projects and institutional programs aimed at the community of Manguinhos, as well as, conducting a focus group with alumnal of PROVOC / DLIS with the aim of analyzing the expectations of these students at entry and at the end of the program, as well as tracing institutional and student's personal and possible social, familiar and professionals repercussions of these who participate in the program. Concludes by emphasizing positioning and suggestions to help ensure that new ways can be thought on the issue of integration of young people from poor communities in Scientific Vocation Program maintained by research institutions.

With an increasing proportion of older people in the Australian population and increasing health and longevity, paid work after the age of 65 years may become an option or a necessity in the future. The focus of this research is on Australian women of the baby boom generation, their working futures, and the work-retirement decision. This is explored both from the viewpoint of women and from a social policy perspective. The research draws on Considine�s model of public policy, futures studies, and Beck�s concept of risk society. The research comprises three studies. Using focus group research, Study 1 explored the views of Australian women of the baby boom generation on work after the age of 65 years. Study 2 aimed to explore current thinking on the research topic in Australia and overseas. Computer-mediated communication involving an Internet website and four scenarios for the year 2020 were used for this study. Study 3 consists of the analysis of quantitative data from the Healthy Retirement Project, focusing on attitudes towards retirement, retirement plans, and the preferred and expected age of retirement. The importance of choice and a work � life balance emerged throughout the research. Women in high-status occupations were found to be more likely to be open to the option of continuing paid work beyond age 65 than women in low-status jobs. However, the women were equally likely to embrace future volunteering. The research findings suggest that policies for an ageing female workforce should be based on the values of inclusiveness, fairness, self-determination, and social justice, and address issues of workplace flexibility, equality in the workplace, recognition for unpaid community and caring work, opportunities for life-long learning, complexity and inequities of the superannuation system, and planning for retirement. Further, providing a guaranteed minimum income for all Australians should be explored as a viable alternative to the current social security system.