The use of social science research to inform policy development: case studies from recent immigration policy

Abstract

This paper explores how social science research has informed recent immigration policy development in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Examples of research use, drawn from in-depth interviews with policy advisors and social science researchers working in the immigration area, are discussed using the stages model of policy development. Intersections between the stages and multiple-streams models of policy development, and Weiss's typologies of research use, are used to examine research use at various stages in the policy development process. The findings suggest that at any point in time there may be any number of policy development stages in action, with research exerting different types of influence, and being used in different ways, within each of these. A two-way conversation between researchers and policy-makers, building mutual understanding and enabling reciprocated influence over research and policy decisions, is shown as critical in bridging the research to policy gap.     

Understanding Research Misconduct: A Comparative Analysis of 120 Cases of Professional Wrongdoing

We analyzed 40 cases of falsification, fabrication, or plagiarism (FFP), comparing them to other types of wrongdoing in research (n = 40) and medicine (n = 40). Fifty-one variables were coded from an average of 29 news or investigative reports per case. Financial incentives, oversight failures, and seniority correlate significantly with more serious instances of FFP. However, most environmental variables were nearly absent from cases of FFP and none were more strongly present in cases of FFP than in other types of wrongdoing. Qualitative data suggest FFP involves thinking errors, poor coping with research pressures, and inadequate oversight. We offer recommendations for education, institutional investigations, policy, and further research.     

LINGERING NUANCES: GENDERED CAREER MOTIVATIONS AND ASPIRATIONS OF FIRST-YEAR LAW STUDENTS

This study examined students' career motivations and aspirations at the beginning of their legal education and after one semester in law school. Interviews with 29 law students within the first few weeks of their first semester revealed interesting differences in women's and men's long-term, but not short-term, career ambitions: notably women had lower expectations for their career trajectories than did men. Work and family concerns also played a role in women's perception of possible career paths and were defined by both women and men as potential barriers to their careers. Follow-up interviews with the same students after their first semester in law school also exposed the different experiences of the law students based mostly on their gender and grades. After one semester of law school and after first-year grades were received, the gendered reactions to their grades provided insight into women's and men's perceptions of viable career options.     

The Impact of Living in Co-ed Resident Halls on Risk-taking Among College Students

Abstract

Objective: Although previous research has suggested that college housing impacts student behavior and outcomes, recent research linking college housing to risk-taking has been limited. In this study, we investigate if patterns of risk behavior differ based on the type of college housing environment students reside in. Participants: This study utilizes 510 college students living in on-campus college housing. Methods: Students were recruited from 5 college sites across the United States. Participants responded to survey items online that measured current risk-taking behaviors such as binge drinking and sexual activity. Results: After controlling for an assortment of demographic and psychological variables, results indicated that students living in co-ed housing were more likely than students living in gender-specific housing to binge drink and consume alcohol, have more permissive sexual attitudes, and have more recent sexual partners. Conclusions: On-campus housing environments impact college student risk behaviors. Implications are discussed in light of the decline of in loco parentis on most college campuses.     

But Is It Good for Non‐Urban Women's Health? Regionalizing Maternity Care Services in British Columbia*

La Colombie‐Britannique, comme la plupart des autres provinces ou territoires canadiens, s'est orientée au cours de la dernière décennie vers une régionalisation de ses services de santé. Il en a résulté un glissement dans la planification et la prestation de services du centre vers la périphérie et un accent plus important mis sur la prise de décision locale. Cette étude explore les effets de la régionalisation sur la planification et la prestation de soins en maternitéà l'extérieur des grands centres urbains en Colombie‐Britannique. L'article fait la lumière sur la perception qu'ont les futures mères des répercussions de la régionalisation et établit des comparaisons avec les attentes des artisans de réformes à l'endroit du processus mené par le gouvernement. British Columbia, like most other Canadian provinces and territories, has in the last decade moved towards regionalization of health care services. This process has resulted in a shift in service delivery and planning from the core to the periphery, and a greater emphasis on local control and decision making. This study explores the impact of regionalization on the planning and delivery of maternity care services outside of large metropolitan areas of B.C. The paper sheds light on how birthing women perceive the impact of regionalization and compares this information to reform makers' expectations about the government‐led process.     

The Generality—Specificity Issue in Infants' Emotion Responses: A Comment on Bennett,Bendersky, and Lewis (2002)

Bennett, Bendersky, and Lewis (2002) highlighted a need for revision, or at least clarification, of aspects of differential emotions theory (DET) that relate to the development of facial expressions of discrete emotions. Their article reveals a need for a better theoretical integration of propositions about the emergence of discrete emotions, the generality and flexibility of emotion responding, and issue of specificity in event‐emotion relations. Bennett et al. tested and partly disconfirmed a hard version of an event‐emotion hypothesis that predicts a specific discrete emotion expression for a specific stimulus at a particular age (4 months). They noted that some statements of DET supported their hypothesis, whereas others did not. I clarify the relevant theoretical issues and formulate a soft hypothesis of event‐emotion relations. I suggest methodological changes that may prove necessary to verify or disconfirm hypotheses relating to infants' capacity to encode a specific discrete emotion expression at a given age.     

A stochastic model of organizational mortality: Review and reanalysis

An effort is made to integrate the research literatures of business policy and organizational sociology as they concern organizational mortality. The previous empirical studies of organizational mortality are reviewed and considered in light of current theoretical arguments. Three stochastic models are developed to test hypotheses concerning organizational mortality: the constant rate model, the Gompertz model, and Makeham's Law. The parameters of these models are estimated for 52 sets of data on organizational mortality. The findings show that Makeham's Law is the best-fitting model, although its estimation requires data with low levels of censoring. Substantively, the findings show strong support for Stinchombe's liability-of-newness hypothesis [A. L. Stinchcombe (1965), “Organizations and social structure,” in Handbook of Organizations (J. G. March, Ed.), pp. 153–193, Rand McNally, Chicago].