Policy Studies and Social Policy in Britain

1979 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 311-334
Author(s):  
Stuart S. Blume
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Social Policy ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Social Research ◽  
Policy Planning ◽  
Policy Studies ◽  
The Social ◽  
Policy Making Process ◽  
Recent Debate ◽  
The Relationship

ABSTRACTThe recent debate about the establishment of a ‘British Brookings’ involved a number of fundamental issues which were not brought out. In fact the idea that the British policy-making process should be made more ‘rational’ through the development of what are sometimes called policy studies is not new. It has roots in the Heyworth Report on social studies, which recommended greater use of social research in policy-making, and in the Fulton Report on the civil service, which argued for more policy-planning. These two approaches may now be seen as basically the same, and the problem as one of changing the relationship between social science and (social) policy. However, past analyses of this relationship attribute difficulties to quite different causes and hence yield a variety of prescriptions for reform. It is argued here that the policy studies which are needed must avoid the disciplinary fragmentation of the social sciences as well as that of the current administrative structure, that they must encompass research both for policy and on policy, and that they must seek their own conceptual structure, and in addition that certain organizational requirements follow from this.

Dimensions of Impact in the Social Sciences

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tina Haux
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Social Policy ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Impact Pathways ◽  
The Social ◽  
Policy Models ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Research And Policy

Academics are increasingly required to demonstrate their impact on the wider world. The aim of this book is to compare and contextualise the dimensions of impact within the social sciences. Unlike most other studies of the 2014 Research Excellence Framework impact case studies, this book includes case studies from three different sub-panels (Sociology, Social Policy and Social Work and Politics and International Relations), which in themselves capture several disciplines, and therefore allows for a comparison of how impact and academic identify are defined and presented. The impact case studies are placed in an analytical framework that identifies different types of impact and impact pathways and places them in the context of policy models. Finally, it provides a comparison across time based on interviews with Social Policy professors who are looking back over 40 years of being involved as well as analysing the relationship between research and policy-making. This long view highlights successes but also the serendipitous and superficial nature of impact across time.

Missionary Zeal and the Scholarly Stance: Policy and Commitment in Research on Old Age

1989 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 105-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gilbert Smith
Keyword(s):  
Theoretical Model ◽  
Social Policy ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Policy Process ◽  
Social Research ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Potential Contribution ◽  
Missionary Zeal ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Relationship

ABSTRACTThere is a danger that the ‘missionary zeal’ exhibited by some social gerontologists in the interests of those members of society who are older than others, may endanger the subject's ‘scholarly stance’ and the potential contribution to social policy of research on old age. This paper discusses four facets of the matter: (1) the anticipated values underpinning policies of state welfare (2) personal feelings and values in the business of research (3) values and the kind of data we value and (4) the question of whose side we are on. The paper concludes with a theoretical model of the relationship between the social policy process and the social research process as framework for understanding exactly how values about ageing impact both research about ageing and the relationship between that research and relevant social policies.

Public Opinion and the Demand for Social Welfare in Britain

1981 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 453-475 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Whiteley
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Social Policy ◽  
Social Welfare ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Policy Formation ◽  
Welfare Spending ◽  
The Social ◽  
Policy Making Process

ABSTRACTThis article discusses the role of public opinion in the social policy making process. It argues that existing accounts of social policy formation are inadequate in their treatment of public opinion, and inconsistent in their estimation of its importance. It then goes on to examine detailed examples of the role of public opinion in policy making; and finally tests two hypotheses concerning the sources of the demand for social welfare spending on the part of the British electorate.

scholarly journals Evidence, Ethics & Social Policy Dilemmas

1993 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven I. Miller ◽  
L. Arthur Safer
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Social Policy ◽  
Ethical Theory ◽  
Policy Formulation ◽  
Social Policies ◽  
The Social ◽  
Evidential Support ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Evidence Condition

Within the philosophy of the social sciences, the relationship between evidence, ethics, and social policy is in need of further analysis. The present paper is an attempt to argue that while important social policies can, and perhaps ought to be, grounded in ethical theory, they are seldom articulated in this fashion due to the ambiguity surrounding the "evidence condition." Using a consequentialist-utilitarian framework, and a case study of a policy dilemma, the authors analyze the difficulties associated with resolving policy-based dilemmas which must appeal to evidential support as a justification for an ethical stand. Implication for the relevance of ethics to social policy formulation are discussed in detail.

scholarly journals Juventud e investigaciones sociales en Cuba

2017 ◽  
pp. 241
Author(s):  
María Isabel Domínguez
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Social Policy ◽  
Social Integration ◽  
Social Research ◽  
Treatment Area ◽  
The Social ◽  
Concrete Problem ◽  
Generational Identity ◽  
Last Stage ◽  
The Impact

ResumenLos estudios sobre Juventud han constituido una de las áreas de tratamiento más sistemático y estructurado por parte de las Ciencias Sociales en Cuba. El siguiente artículo hará referencia al recorrido de dichos estudios por más de cuatro décadas y centrará la atención en el tratamiento de un problema concreto investigado en la última etapa: la integración social de la juventud en el país y el impacto de los resultados de esos estudios en los cambios en las políticas sociales dirigidas a este sector.Palabras clave: Juventud, Investigaciones Sociales, Integración Social, Política Social, Subjetividad, Identidad Generacional.AbstractThe studies about Youth have constituted one of the more systematic and structured treatment area for Social Sciences in Cuba. The present paper makes reference to the journey of these studies for more than four decades. Also it pays attention to the treatment of a concrete problem researched in the last stage: the youth’s social integration in the country and the impact of the results of those studies in the social policies to this sector and its transformations.Key words: Youth, Social Research, Social Integration, Social Policy, Subjectivity, Generational Identity.

scholarly journals Juventud e investigaciones sociales en Cuba

2017 ◽  
pp. 241
Author(s):  
María Isabel Domínguez
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Social Policy ◽  
Social Integration ◽  
Social Research ◽  
Treatment Area ◽  
The Social ◽  
Concrete Problem ◽  
Generational Identity ◽  
Last Stage ◽  
The Impact

ResumenLos estudios sobre Juventud han constituido una de las áreas de tratamiento más sistemático y estructurado por parte de las Ciencias Sociales en Cuba. El siguiente artículo hará referencia al recorrido de dichos estudios por más de cuatro décadas y centrará la atención en el tratamiento de un problema concreto investigado en la última etapa: la integración social de la juventud en el país y el impacto de los resultados de esos estudios en los cambios en las políticas sociales dirigidas a este sector.Palabras clave: Juventud, Investigaciones Sociales, Integración Social, Política Social, Subjetividad, Identidad Generacional.AbstractThe studies about Youth have constituted one of the more systematic and structured treatment area for Social Sciences in Cuba. The present paper makes reference to the journey of these studies for more than four decades. Also it pays attention to the treatment of a concrete problem researched in the last stage: the youth’s social integration in the country and the impact of the results of those studies in the social policies to this sector and its transformations.Key words: Youth, Social Research, Social Integration, Social Policy, Subjectivity, Generational Identity.

STAGES IN SOCIAL POLICY DEVELOPMENT

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 265-272
Author(s):  
Venelin Terziev ◽  
Preslava Dimitrova
Keyword(s):  
Social Policy ◽  
Working Conditions ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
National Society ◽  
Complex Approach ◽  
The Social ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship

The social policy of a country is a set of specific activities aimed at regulating the social relations between different in their social status subjects. This approach to clarifying social policy is also called functional and essentially addresses social policy as an activity to regulate the relationship of equality or inequality in society. It provides an opportunity to look for inequalities in the economic positions of individuals in relation to ownership, labor and working conditions, distribution of income and consumption, social security and health, to look for the sources of these inequalities and their social justification or undue application.The modern state takes on social functions that seek to regulate imbalances, to protect weak social positions and prevent the disintegration of the social system. It regulates the processes in society by harmonizing interests and opposing marginalization. Every modern country develops social activities that reflect the specifics of a particular society, correspond to its economic, political and cultural status. They are the result of political decisions aimed at directing and regulating the process of adaptation of the national society to the transformations of the market environment. Social policy is at the heart of the development and governance of each country. Despite the fact that too many factors and problems affect it, it largely determines the physical and mental state of the population as well as the relationships and interrelationships between people. On the other hand, social policy allows for a more global study and solving of vital social problems of civil society. On the basis of the programs and actions of political parties and state bodies, the guidelines for the development of society are outlined. Social policy should be seen as an activity to regulate the relationship of equality or inequality between different individuals and social groups in society. Its importance is determined by the possibility of establishing on the basis of the complex approach: the economic positions of the different social groups and individuals, by determining the differences between them in terms of income, consumption, working conditions, health, etc .; to explain the causes of inequality; to look for concrete and specific measures to overcome the emerging social disparities.

scholarly journals The Relevance of Inequality Research in Sociology for Inequality Reduction

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 237802312110201
Author(s):  
Thomas A. DiPrete ◽  
Brittany N. Fox-Williams
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Social Policy ◽  
Social Inequality ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Sociological Research ◽  
Life Chances ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Social ◽  
Large Scale Change ◽  
The Subject

Social inequality is a central topic of research in the social sciences. Decades of research have deepened our understanding of the characteristics and causes of social inequality. At the same time, social inequality has markedly increased during the past 40 years, and progress on reducing poverty and improving the life chances of Americans in the bottom half of the distribution has been frustratingly slow. How useful has sociological research been to the task of reducing inequality? The authors analyze the stance taken by sociological research on the subject of reducing inequality. They identify an imbalance in the literature between the discipline’s continual efforts to motivate the plausibility of large-scale change and its lesser efforts to identify feasible strategies of change either through social policy or by enhancing individual and local agency with the potential to cumulate into meaningful progress on inequality reduction.

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