REGULATORY POLICY DESIGN: COOPERATIVE VERSUS DETERRENT MANDATES

Abstract: Two forms of regulatory policy design—"cooperative" and "deterrent" designs—are considered in the context of intergovernmental regulation of floodplains. Both types of design entail efforts by higher-level governments to induce local-level regulatory efforts. However, the approaches differ in terms of their underlying philosophies and in the extent to which they address local regulatory commitment and capacity. The contrast between the United States and New South Wales policies, and changes over time in the New South Wales policy, illustrate key points about the two types of policy design. The broader significance of this discussion concerns lessons for intergovernmental regulatory policy design.     

Constitutional Amendment and Revision Revisited

State constitutional amendment and revision procedures differsubstantially from formal procedures for amending the US Constitution.Popular participation and frequent change in state constitutionscontribute to significant differences between state and nationalconstitutional politics. State constitutions are widely perceivedto be "political’ documents, whose amendment is not muchdifferent from ordinary legislative and electoral politics.The U.S. Constitution is regarded as relatively permanent and"above politics." Neither perception is wholly accurate. Differencesbetween state and national procedures and politics are at issuein the recent revival of state constitutions as sources of civilrights and liberties. An analysis of constitutional amendmentssuggests that use of the ballot proposition, which is uniqueto the states, tends to restrict civil rights somewhat in criminaljustice while somewhat expanding support for new rights in otherareas, including those not fully protected by the national government.     

Lost in Translation: A Multi‐Level Case Study of the Metamorphosis of Meanings and Action in Public Sector Organizational Innovation

This paper explores the early implementation of an organizational innovation in the UK National Health Service (NHS) – Treatment Centres (TCs) – designed to dramatically reduce waiting lists for elective care. The paper draws on case studies of 8 TCs (each at varying stages of their development) and aims to explore how meanings about TCs are created and evolve, and how these meanings impact upon the development of the organizational innovation. Research on organizational meanings needs to take greater account of the fact that modern organizations like the NHS are complex multi‐level phenomena, comprising layers of interlacing networks. To understand the pace, direction and impact of organizational innovation and change we need to study the interconnections between meanings across different organizational levels. The data presented in this paper show how the apparently simple, relatively unformed, concept of a TC framed by central government is translated and transmuted by subsequent layers in the health service administration, and by players in local health economies, and, ultimately, in the TCs themselves, picking up new rationales, meanings and significance as it goes along. The developmental histories of TCs reveal a range of significant re‐workings of macro policy with the result that there is considerable diversity and variation between local TC schemes. The picture is of important disconnections between meanings, that in many ways mirror Weick's (1976) ’loosely coupled systems’. The emergent meanings and the direction of micro‐level development of TCs appear more strongly determined by interactions within the local TC environment, notably between what we identify as groups of ’idealists’, ’pragmatists’, ’opportunists’ and ’sceptics’ than by the framing (Goffman 1974) provided by macro and meso organizational levels. While this illustrates the limitations of top down and policy‐driven attempts at change, and highlights the crucial importance of the front‐line local ’micro‐systems’ (Donaldson and Mohr 2000) in the overall scheme of implementing organizational innovations, the space or headroom provided by frames at the macro and meso levels can enable local change, albeit at variable speed and with uncertain outcomes.     

Lone motherhood past and present: The life stories of Finnish lone mothers

The aim of this study is to examine how Finnish lone mothers of two age cohorts construct their lone motherhood and also to show how the meanings ascribed to social phenomena are socially and historically embedded. Finland presents an interesting case for studying the links between the social and the individual because the country has experienced rapid social shifts since World War II. It is shown how specific social contexts to some degree set the parameters for how social phenomena are understood and interpreted, as shown by the differences in how two cohorts of life-story writers construct lone motherhood.     

(Un)veiling equity: a critical analysis of the insider and outsider roles of a Muslim female Shi’i educator in academy

This is a critical personal narrative of a Canadian Middle-Eastern Muslim female Shi’i educator’s experiences in a Western academy. The different cultural and religious backgrounds that shape a Muslim woman’s academic work and her understanding of social justice are described. Specifically, the author describes religio-historical figures and the counter-narratives of women of color in the author’s life responsible for shaping her appreciation of the importance of engaging in social justice and equity. The subjectivity in this work is manifested as an alignment with her religious beliefs and doctrine that draws from a counter-narrative (i.e. the Shi’i narrative of Karbala and, more broadly, the marginalized and dissenting ideological position of Shi’ is in relation to global Islam). Her upbringing with and introduction to Shi’i rituals, empower her understanding towards issues related to justice, equal rights, and loyalty. Throughout her narrative, the author utilizes the role of a researcher as an insider and outsider based on religious and feminist approaches. Three significant themes are noted: (a) the critical role of spirituality as a powerful catalyst and feminist for transformative change; (b) the role of reflexive skills and self-criticism as a means to balance religious and academic identities; and (c) the import role of ‘border-crossers’ in negotiating and connecting between religious and academic worlds. Insights about the experiences associated with minority Shi’i Muslim female graduate educators and the importance of being critically reflective when working towards social justice and equity are provided.