ERIC Number: ED057374
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1971-Sep
Pages: 25
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
The Politics of Analyzing Social Problems.
Ross, Robert; Staines, Graham L.
Two crucial processes are discussed: (1) that through which social problems become public issues; and (2) that through which conflicts between competing diagnoses of, and responses to, publicly recognized social problems are resolved. Regularities in these transformations are conceptualized as follows: groups differ in their definitions of social problems according to self-interest, ideology, and social values. For a social problem to become a public issue, a complex political process develops around the activities of the media, officialdom and private interest groups. Similarly, conflicts arise among official authorities, underdog partisans, privileged partisans, policy planners, etc. as to how to respond to the problem. Various strategies for handling the conflicts are seen as generating significant political outcomes for the parties concerned and for the policy process. In sum, the paper serves to point out a whole area of important political considerations in the analysis of social problems. (TL)
Publication Type: N/A
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: N/A
Sponsor: National Inst. of Mental Health (DHEW), Bethesda, MD.
Authoring Institution: Michigan Univ., Ann Arbor. Center for Research on Utilization of Scientific Knowledge.
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Note: Paper presented at American Psychological Association Convention, Washington, D. C., September 3-7, 1971