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Edited by
Bruce Campbell, Clim-Eat, Global Center on Adaptation, University of Copenhagen,Philip Thornton, Clim-Eat, International Livestock Research Institute,Ana Maria Loboguerrero, CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security and Bioversity International,Dhanush Dinesh, Clim-Eat,Andreea Nowak, Bioversity International
The agricultural research for development (AR4D) domain is becoming increasingly complex, and theory of change (ToC) approaches can provide critical guidance through the maze of transformation concerning engagement, partnership, and research. Most of the major benefits that accrue through the use of ToCs relate to internal learning within project teams. Finding the balance between applying a ToC that is both useful and time- and resource-smart is challenging and may need iteration to get right. Quantitative impact assessment methods must be blended with qualitative methods in ToC-based AR4D, so that evaluation becomes about both the process and numbers, while new methods require developing for blended evaluation. The evidence base concerning the efficiency, efficacy, and failings of ToC-based AR4D urgently requires further development and synthesis, and the lessons must be applied broadly.
In this chapter, I offer an original analytical framework for what I call recognition conflicts. I propose a definition and a typology that can help identify these conflicts beyond the specific geographical and temporal boundaries of my empirical cases. The second part of the chapter is intended as a methodological and conceptual framework to orient the reader throughout the remainder of the book. I provide a rationale for the country case selection, a description of methods used and my methodological approaches, and a brief discussion of key concepts and terminology.
This paper presents new data on the nature and consequences of the risks for retirees inherent in the Australian retirement income system. This system can be regarded as ‘financialised’ in that retirement savings are primarily managed by non-government financial institutions and, although the Age Pension remains as a safety net, responsibility for the provision and management of retirement incomes has increasingly shifted to individuals. In this article we report the results of a qualitative study of older mixed-sex couple households’ experiences of this system and discuss the implications for retirement incomes policy. We conclude that while the system of government-mandated employer superannuation contributions (the Superannuation Guarantee) is undoubtedly raising the living standard of many older Australians, the financialised nature of the retirement income system, as a whole, poses significant financial risks for many retirees.
The preface describes the research methodology and the writing process that led to this book. It begins by explaining how the author collected information from the relevant sources, verified its completeness and accuracy, and analysed it under a unified framework. It then turns to the issue of storytelling style and to the author’s decision to present his findings in the form of a fictionalized account. In so doing, the preface discusses the problem of verifiability of classified information, the issue of trust between the narrator and the audience, and the promises and pitfalls of literary writing when it comes to informing, reporting, or commenting on real life.
In the past two decades, democratically elected executives across the world have used their popularity to push for legislation that, over time, destroys systems of checks and balances, hinders free and fair elections, and undermines political rights and civil liberties. Using and abusing institutions and institutional reform, some executives have transformed their countries' democracies into competitive authoritarian regimes. Others, however, have failed to erode democracy. What explains these different outcomes? Resisting Backsliding answers this question. With a focus on the cases of Hugo Chávez in Venezuela and Alvaro Uribe in Colombia, the book shows that the strategies and goals of the opposition are key to understanding why some executives successfully erode democracy and others do not. By highlighting the role of the opposition, this book emphasizes the importance of agency for understanding democratic backsliding and shows that even weak oppositions can defeat strong potential autocrats.
In the past two decades, several democracies have slipped into democratic recession. Faced with economic or security crises, democratically elected executives in Latin America, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and Africa have used their popularity to push for legislation – particularly constitutional amendments – that, over time, destroys systems of checks and balances, hinders free and fair elections, and erodes political rights and civil liberties. Across the world, these heads of government have found ways to subvert democratic norms while simultaneously maintaining a democratic façade. Using and abusing elections and institutional reform, they are turning new and old democracies alike into competitive authoritarian regimes.
Chapter 5 – Heuristics and Positions: A Framework for Analysing Discourses of Humanisation – discusses what is necessary from a methodological perspective to analyse the appearance of the individual human being in global politics. To this end, the chapter develops an interpretative methodology and presents in more detail the abductive research logic and the method employed in the case studies. The book draws on positioning analysis and introduces it to the toolbox of IR scholars. The chapter also outlines the research design and its operationalisation for the case studies. The analytical framework allows overcoming methodological individualism by studying the appearance of the individual human being in global politics instead of studying individual human beings. In doing so, the individual human being is made analytically accessible for scholars of global politics.
COVID-19 has had a disproportionate and devastating impact on older adults. As health care resources suddenly shifted to emergency response planning, many health and community support services were cancelled, postponed, or shifted to virtual care. This rapid transformation of geriatric care resulted in an immediate need for practical guidance on decision making, planning and delivery of virtual care for older adults and caregivers. This article outlines the rapid co-design process that supported the development of a guidance document intended to support health and community support services providers. Data were collected through consultation sessions, surveys, and a rapid literature review, and analyzed using appropriate qualitative and quantitative methods. Although this work took place within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the resulting resources and lessons learned related to collective impact, co-design, population-based planning, and digital technologies can be applied more broadly.
Positive deviance is an asset-based improvement approach. At its core is the belief that solutions to problems already exist within communities, and that identifying, understanding, and sharing these solutions enables improvements at scale. Originating in the field of international public health in the 1960s, positive deviance is now, with some adaptations, seeing growing application in healthcare. We present examples of how positive deviance has been used to support healthcare improvement. We draw on an emerging view of safety, known as Safety II, to explain why positive deviance has drawn the interest of researchers and improvers alike. In doing so, we identify a set of fundamental values associated with the positive deviance approach and consider how far they align with current use. Throughout, we consider the untapped potential of the approach, reflect on its limitations, and offer insights into the possible challenges of using it in practice. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.
This chapter shows how the paternalist policy style impacts social policy implementation at the provincial level and below. The top-down approach in paternalist provinces produces relatively standardized social policy but reduces opportunities for officials to innovate and tailor policies to local conditions. Fiscal transfers from the center often foster corruption and dependency in these provinces. Thus, many paternalist provinces have experienced rising inequality despite targeted policies and transfers. While focusing on health policy in paternalist provinces, this chapter also discusses the impact of paternalism on education, poverty alleviation, and housing.
This chapter explicates how to apply heuristic Bayesian reasoning in qualitative case study research. Steps include defining a set of mutually exclusive hypotheses to compare, assessing prior odds, identifying evidence, evaluating likelihood ratios for the evidence, and updating via Bayes’ rule to obtain posterior odds for the hypotheses.
Mixed provinces exhibit elements of pragmatism in addition to elements of paternalism. They tend to be more politically open than paternalist provinces but more restrictive than their pragmatist counterparts. This combination produces a policy style in which provincial leaders take a top-down approach to policymaking and standardize new policies across the province yet tend to be relatively frugal in their social policy allocations both in relative and per capita spending. In some cases, mixed provinces are caught in the middle: they do not generate as much revenue as coastal provinces, but they are not poor enough to be eligible for certain fiscal transfers from the central government. As a result, the budget for social policy in these provinces is often among the smallest in the country. This chapter focuses on health policy in mixed provinces, while also discussing the impact of a mixed policy style on education, poverty alleviation, and housing.
This chapter explicates how to apply explicit Bayesian analysis in qualitative case study research, which involves quantifying probabilities and leveraging the mathematical apparatus of Bayesian probability theory. This approach allows us to more effectively communicate our judgments and make more systematic inferences from complex or ambiguous evidence.
This chapter shows how pragmatist provinces shape social policy provision through the devolution of responsibility to local government. Pragmatist provinces have followed Deng Xiaoping’s “do what works” approach to the policy process. Despite the risks within an authoritarian system, officials in pragmatist provinces are more likely to experiment and innovate. These provinces devolve more responsibility to their localities, which offers opportunities for local officials to learn new skills and develop capacity in new areas. However, as they are generally wealthier, pragmatist provinces receive fewer fiscal transfers from the center for social policy. Therefore, they sometimes drag their feet in implementing unfunded mandates that do not coincide with their provincial priorities. While focusing on health policy in pragmatist provinces, this chapter also discusses the impact of pragmatism on education, poverty alleviation, and housing.
Fairfield and Charman provide a modern, rigorous and intuitive methodology for case-study research to help social scientists and analysts make better inferences from qualitative evidence. The book develops concrete guidelines for conducting inference to best explanation given incomplete information; no previous exposure to Bayesian analysis or specialized mathematical skills are needed. Topics covered include constructing rival hypotheses that are neither too simple nor overly complex, assessing the inferential weight of evidence, counteracting cognitive biases, selecting cases, and iterating between theory development, data collection, and analysis. Extensive worked examples apply Bayesian guidelines, showcasing both exemplars of intuitive Bayesian reasoning and departures from Bayesian principles in published case studies drawn from process-tracing, comparative, and multimethod research. Beyond improving inference and analytic transparency, an overarching goal of this book is to revalue qualitative research and place it on more equal footing with respect to quantitative and experimental traditions by illustrating that Bayesianism provides a universally applicable inferential framework.
Due to uneven economic reforms, Chinese provinces have developed distinct approaches to governing that impact social policy priorities and policy implementation. Ratigan shows how coastal provinces tended to prioritize health and education, and developed a pragmatic policy style, which fostered innovation and professionalism in policy implementation. Meanwhile, inland provinces tended to prioritize targeted poverty alleviation and affordable housing, while taking a paternalist, top-down approach to implementation. This book provides a quantitative analysis of provincial social policy spending in the 2000s and qualitative case studies of provinces with divergent approaches to social policy. It highlights healthcare, but also draws on illustrative examples from poverty alleviation, education, and housing policy. By showing the importance of local actors in shaping social policy implementation, this book will appeal to scholars and advanced students of Chinese politics, comparative welfare studies, and comparative politics.
The changing geopolitical landscapes and increased migration flow across the world call for a fresh perspective on the sociocultural and economic integration of migrants in their new ‘homes’ and ‘communities’. In this qualitative process study, we provide insight into the identity work dynamics that underlie interfirm cooperation in the new business context. We see a sample of Bulgarian migrant entrepreneurs as knowledge boundary spanners who employ identity work tactics for the development of shared norms and values that facilitate knowledge exchange between their home culture and the UK host culture context. This study suggests that knowledge boundary spanning is enabled by a temporal identity work process, characterized by a series of inward and outward identity work tactics. The interplay between inward and outward identity work tactics occurs over phases of identifying identity differences, adopting identity cues, and finally, realizing hybrid identity. This article contributes to the identity work and migrant entrepreneurship literature by exploring the underlying mechanisms for realizing knowledge boundary spanning by migrant entrepreneurs.
This chapter examines the significance of attitudinal research in understanding the dynamics of language contact situations in multilingual societies from a cross-disciplinary perspective. This chapter provides practical guidance for the study of language attitudes and ideologies in multilingual communities by discussing issues relating to research planning and design (e.g. identifying which languages are to be explored, whose language attitudes are to be examined in the community), as well as data analysis and interpretation (e.g. quantitative data collected through questionnaires or matched-guise techniques, or qualitative data through interviews or ethnographies). Other important considerations for attitudinal research in multilingual communities are also covered (e.g. the mismatch between positive attitudes towards a language or languages and language use, or links between language policies and language attitudes in language revitalisation projects). The main points made in the chapter are illustrated by means of two case studies. The first relates to language attitudes in multilingual classrooms and the second focuses on language attitudes and ideologies amongst new speakers of minority languages with a focus on Galician in the Autonomous Community of Galicia in north-western Spain.
The opening chapter provides a brief outline of the conventional division of labor between qualitative and quantitative methods in the social sciences. It sketches the main standards that govern case study research. It then offers an overview of subsequent chapters, which challenge some of these distinctions or deepen our understanding of what makes qualitative case studies useful for both causal inference and policy practice.