Problem Definitions and Policy Contradictions: John F. Kennedy and the "Space Race"

Usually, when governments appear to be pursuing contradictory or mutually exclusive goals, the response of the scholarly community has been to look for evidence of bureaucratic error, a lack of leadership, or some other type of administrative malfunction. This essay argues that the concept of problem (or issue) definition, which has been widely applied in the study of public policy, may in some cases also help explain the occurrence of this phenomenon as well. Using as an example a major (and, at the time, quite startling) policy "reversal" in President Kennedy's approach to the U.S. space program, the essay shows how the appearance of a "contradiction" within the administration may well have been the result of a disagreement over how U.S. space policy was to be defined.     

Feminism Spoken Here: Epistemologies for Interdisciplinary Development Research

Development studies is a field characterized by an unusual degree of interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research, and therefore is constantly subject both to pressures for the reproduction of disciplines as autonomous and self‐sufficient, and to an increasing steer from public funders of research for interdisciplinary work which is valued for its problem‐solving character and more apparent relevance, in an era greatly exercised by accountability. At a moment when the need to renew disciplinary interchange has intensified it is therefore instructive to consider the social relations which facilitate interdisciplinarity. This article does this through an argument that feminist cross‐disciplinary research shows how important shared values are to motivate and sustain these kinds of learning, and that an explicit focus on social justice as the core of development research can be the basis of such a renewal. If feminist interactions and solidarity provide the motivation, feminist epistemologies provide arguments for why socially engaged research is not ‘biased’, but stronger than research with narrower ideas of objectivity; why reflexivities and subjectivities are crucial to the conduct of research; and how these, and the convergence of concepts of individuals and persons favoured within different disciplines, might build the common ground required for greater disciplinary interchange.     

Gender,Race, and Rumours: Re-examining the 1943 Race Riots

Focusing on three riots of the World War II era – those of Beaumont (Texas), Detroit, and New York's Harlem – this essay examines the rumours that sparked these disturbances to uncover the gendered ideologies that underlie racial violence. In these rumour narratives, women appear as either rape victims or tortured mothers, while men appear as either depraved rapists or noble protectors. The deployment of these images helped forge a defensive collective identity that facilitated the outbreak of violence. Because racial and gender ideologies were intimately linked, the author argues, race riots must be analysed through the lens of gender in order to be fully understood.     

Editorial Introduction 39(4): The Fabric of 40,000 Years of Integrated and National Disciplinary Epistemologies

Roberts, D. F., N. Fujiki, and K. Torizuka, eds. Isolation, Migration and Health. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992. xii + 267 pp. including index. $69.95 paper.

Birdsell, Joseph B. Microevolutionary Patterns in Aboriginal Australia: Gradient Analysis of Clines. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993. xviii + 469 pp. including references and index. $125.00 cloth.     

Guide to Archaeostratigraphic Classification and Terminology: Definitions and Principles

Abstract

Recent developments in archaeological research have highlighted the need to build up a Guide to Archaeostratigraphic Classification and Terminology. Its preparation was undertaken by Workshop 2 (“Classification et Terminologie Archéostratigraphiques”) in the context of the International Geological Correlation Programme. The paper below is the first version of this Guide project; it is intended to propose some basic definitions and principles.     

Problem Definitions and Policy Agendas

Problem definition is a key part of the policy process. Policy problems can be defined in different ways, and different definitions often compete for the attention of policymakers and for privileged status on the governmental agenda. This article uses different problem definitions of public education in Boston, Massachusetts as a case study of how different definitions vie for acceptance. Problem definitions that received the most attention—weak governance, inadequate school programs, and limited finances—achieved agenda status due to their high visibility, strong political sponsorship, and availability of viable solutions.     

The Conceptual Basis of Counterurbanisation: Critique and Development

The concept of counterurbanisation has evoked criticisms. Some are technical, to do with terminology and analytical design. More serious criticisms stem from disquiet with the theoretical foundations. It is this issue that the present paper aims to address. We begin by discussing some problem areas related to techniques and concepts and lead on to an argument that the weakness in counterurban research arises from its preoccupation with population trends and with patterns rather than processes. The paper conclude that alternative approaches are needed which treat counterurbanisation as an element of regional restructuring rather than as an end in itself.     

Neo-Conservatism and Presidential Nomination Reforms: A Critique

The neo-conservatives fault the post-1968 reforms in presidential nominations because, they argue, increased participation opportunities have weakened political parties and produced unrepresentative candidates who are unable to govern. They favor changes that would enhance the influence of party regulars and professionals because it is asserted that such participation would strengthen parties and encourage the selection of more popular and better qualified nominees. We argue that the critique suffers from several weaknesses: a failure to consider other plausible explanations for the effects attributed to the reforms; the use of inadequate or misleading measures; and the misuse of historical examples. In addition, we find that a key concept in their critique–professionalism– is not clearly defined, and that the several plausible definitions suffer from a variety of logical and analytic shortcomings. Although many political scientists     

Hindus: A Superior Race

Abstract. In this contribution I want to first examine some aspects of the influence of Orientalism and Christianity on the construction of a notion of Hinduism which could serve as the basis for nationalism. Second, I want to explore two influential claims about the uniqueness and superiority of the Hindu religion and its practitioners. The first claim is that Hinduism is the religion of a superior race, namely the Aryan race. The second claim is that Hinduism is a religion which is spiritually superior to other religions. These two claims are never completely separate from each other, but are differently emphasised by different Hindu movements.     

Sur-i Israfil in Exile: Modern Definitions of Monarchy

After the bombardment of the Majlis in June of 1908, several Iranian constitutionalists were forced into exile—if not arrested and persecuted. An influential group of these constitutionalists continued the publication of the Persian paper Sur-i Israfil in exile, in Yverdon, Switzerland, explicitly opposing the monarch, Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar. This article examines the ways and means by which the exiled constitutionalists, in their writings, challenged the monarch and the previously indisputable office of monarchy, and how they proposed to re-define the institution of monarchy. Paradoxically, their marginal setting, writing from European exile, far away from the Iranian borders, did not preclude them from expressing views that were influential in shaping the modern political culture of Iran.     

The Igbo: Two New Views and a Critique

Mark P. Leone, ed. Contemporary Archaeology: A Guide to Theory and Contributions. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1972. xiv + 460 pp. Maps, figures, bibliography, and index. $15.00 (cloth), $8.95 (paper).     

Categories of Local Economic Development: An Empirical Analysis

In examining local economic development incentives, scholars have found it useful to employ typologies of development practices. Such typologies have been based on assumptions that techniques reflect functional categories, such as marketing and financial incentives, or can be organized by the nature of costs and benefits, or by the nature of incentive goals. While useful heuristic devices, little effort has been made to test these typologies empirically. This research note provides an empirically based typology of local economic development incentives, using data from 967 cities collected by the International City Management Association.