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| GT31P: Concepts
and Theories in Public Policy |
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| Lecturer: |
Eris Schoburgh (PhD) |
| Lecture Times: |
• Check Dept Timetable |
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| Office hours: |
• To be announced |
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| General Objectives |
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This course aims
to:
- introduce students to the policy-oriented scholarship
- develop students’ critical appreciation of
some competing approaches to public policy such as
rational choice theory, new institutionalism, policy
network and a range of normative theories, and
- provide students with an opportunity to determine
the role of ideas and arguments in the policy process.
Students will be expected to employ theoretical arguments
in their analysis of a selection of substantive policy
issues/problems relevant to the Caribbean and elsewhere. |
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| Assessment |
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The course is assessed on the basis of course work and examination. The first essay is due on Friday 14 th October 2005 the second essay must be submitted by Friday 18 th November 2005 . Essays should be typed or word-processed and should contain no more than 3000 words. A list of questions will be supplied by week 2 of the semester. The examination will be in December and will consist of a two hour unseen paper from which students must answer three questions from the choices given. The exam will be divided into three sections, each section covering one of the modules identified below. Students will be expected to answer one question from each section. |
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| Course Content |
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| Concepts and
Theories in Public Policy will be taught in three modules. |
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Module I examines
the nature and scope of the policy-oriented approach
through interrogation of rational choice; institutional
and policy network approaches to policy analysis |
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Module II is concerned
with recurrent themes of public policy analysis.
Particular attention is given to:
- Role and function of ideas and arguments
- Ethics and normative frameworks of policy analysis
- Policy failures/successes
- Risk and risk management
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Module III constitutes
the applied dimension of the course in which students
utilize theoretical concepts and models in analysis
of contemporary policy issues/problems. The following
topics will be covered.
• Use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in Government,
and its Impact on Public Policy |
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| Reading |
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| Readings for each
topic are divided into two sections. Core Reading denotes
reading which is an essential accompaniment to the Lectures
and Classes. Supplementary Reading denotes materials that
will assist better essay writing. You should undertake
such reading if you propose to specialise on any particular
topic and hope to answer an examination question on it.
You cannot cover all the material or the topics with equal
emphasis; the Supplementary Reading supports your choice
of emphasis. In planning your reading, a good rule of thumb
is to keep reading on a topic until you encounter substantial
repetition of themes and ideas.
Those students wishing to purchase the most important texts should also be aware
of the excellent service offered on the Internet by Amazon (http://www.amazon.comand http://www.amazon.co.uk). Barnes and Noble (http://www.bn.com) also provide
a good service which is often cheaper than that provided by Amazon. Students
are advised to ‘comparison shop’.
Nothing prevents you from using other sources, but you should take care to specify
such sources in your essays and in your examination writing. The following texts
have a value beyond their applicability to individual topics, and students may
wish to consider them for purchase:
- John, P. (1998) Analysing Public Policy. London , Pinter.
- Dunn, W. N. (1994) Public Policy Analysis: An Introduction Englewood Cliffs,
NJ, Prentice Hall.
- Parsons, W. (1995) Public Policy: An Introduction to the Theory and Practice
of Policy Analysis, Cheltenham , Edward Elgar.
- Sabbatier, P. (1999) Theories of the Policy Process, Boulder CO, Westview Press.
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| SEPTEMBER 2005 |
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