Policy Change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Policy Change - Essay Example Thus, this essay will argue that ideas affect policy change only indirectly, as paradigms frames and determinants of interest, such that its importance in understanding policy change is only secondary to other approaches. To better understand the importance of a study of ideas in policy change, it is first necessary to understand what ideas are. Ideas are shared beliefs held by individuals. However, a distinction must be made between two categories of shared beliefs, particularly "consensual beliefs" and "economic ideas", where although not mutually exclusive differ in their relation to policy. As Jacobsen explains, the difference lies between those of "means" to "ends", where consensual beliefs "shape the legitimate ends of economic activity"; economic ideas are the means to reach these ends. 3 Taking this definition of ideas, the importance of a study of ideas in policy change can be summarised in their roles as paradigms, roadmaps, or ideational frames. Comparing policy change to scientific revolutions, Hall (1989) places emphasis on the role of ideas through "policy paradigms", or "roadmaps" as Goldstein and Keohane (1993) calls them, where ideas guide policies by determining the "tracks" of policymaking and setting constraints in the policy process4. As Hall argues, policy paradigms, determine policy change in acting as "a framework that specifies the goals of policy and the kind of instruments that can be used to attain them", as well as the "nature of the problems they are meant to be addressing."5 Campbell's (1998) and Beland's (2005) ideational frames or programmes also echoes Hall's concept of paradigms, varying only in the manner that ideas are presented and implemented in the policy process. Within this strand of literature, the failures of policies to achieve economic goals are seen as the impetus for policymakers to search for alternative ideas that pave the way for new policy paradigms to be accepted. Hence, in times of uncertainty marked with "exogenous shocks, demographic changes [or] the perception of failed policy", new ideas emerge as either roadmaps or focal points that reduce uncertainty and provide alternatives.6 The policy shift during the first Thatcher government can therefore be explained as the result of a shift in policy paradigms; replacing Keynesian ideas with monetarist ideas (Hall, 1993). Looking at the first Thatcher government, it is evident that the policy shift coincided with an ideational shift from Keynesian to monetarist where Keynesian policies were perceived to have failed in resolving rising inflation (Walsh, 2000). In this respect,

Objective Toward Somali Immigrants In The Healthcare Setting Research Paper

Objective Toward Somali Immigrants In The Healthcare Setting - Research Paper Example These include prayer and fire-burning which entails applying a heated stick to the skin. According to Lewis, 1996, those immigrants exposed to modern medicine expect medication for every illness thus may be disappointed when nothing is prescribed. Additionally, they also put their trust in health professionals of the same sex and do not believe in preventive medicine. I believe that in as much as it aims to maintain their cultural heritage, the Somali should give up some of their beliefs and move into the modern day by embracing the technology of science and health. This opinion holds because some of the methods used by the Islam to treat their complications are crude and can end up affecting them even negatively. With their location in the U.S, they have accessibility to the modern methods of healthcare and this will even reduce the spread of certain diseases such as T.B. The Somali are more prone to this because in their culture it is customary for family and friends to eat with their hands from the same plate and drink from a shared cup, according to Putnam and Noor (1999). There are experiences with the Somalis who refuse to be treated for some treatments because of what they uphold in their culture. Somali hesitates to initiate TB treatment because they believe they must discontinue chewing ‘khat’ while undergoing treatment. However, United States Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) states that using the leafy narcotic may affect one’s ability to remember their medication. The family, community and the media enhance the beliefs in modern health by insisting on one seeking medication whenever they are unwell. The media has a key role of agenda-setting in the society and through this; they make their audience aware that adopting proper health practices is advisable. The church advises their members to visit health