Myths and the definition of policy problems

In this paper we argue that behind widely accepted problem definitions are myths, stories which draw on tradition and taken for granted knowledge. These myths, which may or may not be true in a factual sense, are important to the definition of problems because they link public issues to widely accepted ways of understanding the world and to shared moral evaluations of conditions, events, and possible solutions to problems. Such myths perform a double-edged function in a policy or planning process. On the one hand, they can provide creative inspiration for policies, a way of translating community values into action proposals, and a powerful means to communicate to a broad public and rally support. They can mediate social and economic change by allowing new policies to carry familiar meaning. On the other hand, a myth can conceal crucial contradictions and realities, legitimize policies that benefit the powerful, and support anachronistic perceptions of policy problems. These ideas are explored in case histories of two areas of urban policy. In one we trace the support for home ownership to a transformation of the Jeffersonian myth of the independent yeoman farmer as the ideal citizen. This use of myth made home ownership the cornerstone of US housing policies and helped suppress alternatives. Though debate over home ownership occurs in the context of housing policy, the tacit purpose is to maintain a myth which is central to our identity as a nation. In the second example, public officials and analysts engaged in an explicit myth-making process to garner support for public-private partnerships as a central tool in urban redevelopment. The myths, which drew on familiar themes, made socially beneficial cooperation seem easy to achieve and legitimized new political and institutional arrangements though it also concealed implementation difficulties. Though myths complicate the effort to use rational, systematic analysis, they are an inevitable part of policy making and planning processes. Planning professionals must openly confront myths and make creative, responsible, use of them rather than allow policies and plans to be subject to their unexamined influence.     

INDUSTRY-UNIVERSITY TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER IN MICROELECTRONICS

Federal, state and local governments have encouraged university-industry cooperation in recent years through a number of different policies and programs. Industry has increasingly been looking to universities for new ideas, closer collaboration and more timely access to research results. Various levels of government have become increasingly involved in joint funding with industry in new university-industry research centers and institutes. State and local governments spend considerable effort to attract high-technology industry, using university-industry collaborative programs as one incentive. Yet despite the theoretical and policy importance of this topic, it has received little systematic research attention.
This contribution reports the results of a National Science Foundation-funded study investigating technology transfer in microelectronics between Arizona State University located in the Phoenix metropolitan area and surrounding microelectronics firms. The results describe state and local initiatives influencing such technology transfer, how the initial technology transfer contact comes about, how research goals, topics and activities are decided upon, and how resources and funding support is secured. In addition satisfaction from, benefits and costs of, as well as attitudes bout technology transfer are reported.     

Transitions in relationship style from adolescence to young adulthood

Literature on friendships of adolescents and young adults suggests important gender and age-related differences. In a study of transitions in relationship style from middle adolescence (high school) to late adolescence (college), 300 students described their relationship with the person who was closest to them, either same or other sex. Four relationship styles were characteristic: integrated (high friendly and high intimate), intimate (high intimate and low friendly), friendly (high friendly and low intimate), and uninvolved (low intimate and low friendly). Women's more intimate styles of relating, as compared to men's more uninvolved styles, suggested that women developed earlier competence at intimate relating than did men. Viewed as particularly important were the college women's close friendships with those of the same gender, an experience uncharacteristic of adolescent men in high school and college. Results were discussed in terms of Erikson's stages of development and Sullivan's concept of the chum.Received Ph.D. in social psychology from the University of Colorado. Major interests are relationship style, intimacy development, and transitions to adulthood.     

Supreme Court, 12 November 1999, The United States of America v. Havenschap Delfzijl/Eemshaven,RvdW 1999, 172C,NIPR 2000, 40.

Netherlands International Law Review -     

Developmentally appropriate peace education curricula

Peace education has been offered to children for decades, but those curricula have been only minimally guided by children’s developmental stages and needs. In this article, the authors apply their research on children’s developmental understanding of peace along with peace education principles and Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory to present recommendations for educating children about peace at six developmental levels. Two sample lesson outlines dealing with communication skills and personal peace are provided, and implications for future research and practice in different contexts are discussed.     

Homeowner Behavior,Health Status,and Medicaid Payment Eligibility: Evidence from the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005

This paper analyzes the effect of a change in the status of housing equity as a protected asset for Medicaid long‐term care payment eligibility. A difference‐in‐difference‐in‐differences strategy is employed to estimate the effect of the policy on the housing equity holdings of potentially treated individuals. Using a panel of unmarried homeowners, the policy induced treated individuals who were likely to require long‐term care to hold less housing equity by values of $82,000 to $193,000 relative to control individuals. This equates to relative reductions of 12 to 29 percent for treated individuals after the policy change. Similar effects are not observed when considering health measures less predictive of long‐term care services and for a sample of married households who were unlikely affected by the policy. These estimates confirm the importance of the housing asset as a shelter for Medicaid eligibility.