Recent orders
Problem Definition and Agenda-Setting
Problem Definition and Agenda-Setting
Name:
Institutional Affiliation:
Policymaking is an integral part of the political process of any country. The government, through the legislature, is tasked with making policies based on the needs of the citizens and the country, and also based on the political agendas at play. Other bodies that contribute to the process of policymaking are lobby groups, nongovernmental organizations, religious groups, as well as other special groups. The first step towards making policy is the identification of a problem. Examples of problems or issues in the US today include healthcare, gun reforms, climate change, drug abuse, abortion rights, among many others. The process of identifying the relevant process is quite a challenging one, given hundreds of issues in society today. Problem definition and agenda setting are two crucial stages in policymaking, and they determine what policies will eventually be implemented.
Problem definition comes after the identification of a problem towards which a policy will be geared. For many, problem definition may seem to be quite an easy one. However, different groups of people define problems differently depending on factors such as political beliefs, religion, ethnicity, economic class, backgrounds, and many others. A person will define a problem mainly based on how it affects them. In policymaking, problem definition is a strategic step in the process of putting a particular issue in the spotlight (Barbehön & Lamping 2015). In defining a problem, the agent has to have some goals in mind. Examples of such goals are political leverage over their opponents, and getting the highest number of people on their side. Political elections are a perfect example of problem definition and the goals at play. One of the most heated debates is that surrounding the issue of illegal immigration, and different political parties define the problem differently depending on their target. Problem definition also entails crafting issues that are worth solving.
Agenda setting refers to the ability of a given entity to influence which problems and issues are on the public agenda (Birkland 2017). The media and politicians are some of the entities that determine which topics gain widespread attention. For an issue to gain agenda status, it must have widespread public support. The government, including the president has a significant role to play in agenda-setting. When an individual runs for office, they do so to gain the power to change or implement specific policies based on their interests and political beliefs. For example, the Obama administration set the healthcare agenda and proposed policy reforms in the Affordable Care Act, widely referred to as Obama Care. In the current political cycle, some of the items at the top of the agenda include gun control, healthcare, tax reforms, and student debt, among others. When putting an item on the agenda, the policymaker usually has a desired solution in mind, and they will lobby for their solution to get passed (Birkland 2017). Lobbyists and special interest groups are also part of the agenda-setting process.
Once problems have been identified, they have to be defined. Some of the factors that shape how a problem may be defined include ethnicity, economic status, class, religion, education, political interests, among others. Economic status applies in case of an issue like tax reforms. Most tax regimes in the world are progressive, meaning that taxation increases with income; however, in the United States, there is a lot of debate surrounding taxation. In the year 2017, President Trump introduced tax cuts that favored the corporations and the very wealthy. The definition of tax reforms will be influenced by the economic class to which a person belongs. A billionaire defines tax reforms differently from, say, a person who makes fifty thousand dollars per year. Ethnicity also matters, taking the example of police brutality that has mainly affected the African-American community. A Caucasian person will define police brutality differently from an African-American because they are affected differently by the issue.
One example of a problem that has been framed differently by different groups is the issue of illegal immigration. As the 2020 elections approach, politicians have been quite vocal in their policy plans known to the voters. The Republican and Democratic parties are the main rivals in the coming elections, and the two usually have opposing viewpoints. The Democratic Party aspirants define illegal immigration as a problem because of harsh and impractical immigration laws. According to the Democrats, the law is the root of the issue. Immigrants make a significant contribution to the country; hence, there should be provisions for illegal immigrants already in the country to gain legal status, as well as allow more immigrants into the country for the benefit of the country. The Republicans take an opposing view, defining illegal immigration as a major problem due to illegal immigrants taking up a lot of resources and burdening the country (Mangin & Zenou 2016). They propose radical steps such as mass deportation and stringent immigration laws to ease the burden of illegal immigration.
In conclusion, problem definition and agenda-setting are two essential steps in the process of policymaking. After a problem requiring a policy change has been identified, the agents then have the chance to define it based on their interests and target. They need to gain public support. Agenda-setting is the process by which the desired policy areas are highlighted to the public to garner attention. The government plays a significant role in setting the agenda based on its political views. When these two steps have been covered, the process can then move to the introduction of desired solutions, which are then voted upon by the legislature.
References
Barbehön, M., Münch, S., & Lamping, W. (2015). Problem definition and agenda-setting in critical perspective. In Handbook of Critical Policy Studies. Edward Elgar Publishing.Birkland, T. A. (2017). Agenda setting in public policy. In Handbook of public policy analysis (pp. 89-104). Routledge.Mangin, S., & Zenou, Y. (2016). Illegal migration and policy enforcement. Economics Letters, 148, 83-86.
The first and the second industrial revolution mainly involved technological revolution and it enhanced standardization
Final Exam
Student’s Name
University Information
Instructor
Due Date
Section A (Question 1)
The first and the second industrial revolution mainly involved technological revolution and it enhanced standardization. Therefore, through industrial revolution, the wealth and resource acquisition in the Western World increased. The industrial revolutions of the European society and its economy were altered by industrial revolution positively. The first industrial revolution was witnessed through evolution of technology. Technology brought about power machines. This enhanced creation of job opportunities amongst the people that improved their standards of living since they could earn income. These new machines also increased the speed of production of goods as it created opportunities for people to engage in transporting their raw materials to the companies where they could be processed (Ghislieri, Molino, & Cortese, 2018).
Also, there is the concept of urbanization that was brought about by technological advancement. People moved to towns seeking jobs in industries and they wanted to live near firms that provided them with jobs. It is through this process of urbanization that there was creation of towns and cities due to the development witnessed in the place. It changed the Western World from agricultural and rural state to urban industrial. Another significant revolution is the development of steam engines that provided cheap transportation of goods specially by waterways and it led to construction of canals that helped move resources from the producers to the factories. Railroad system is another invention that revolution that has changed the lives of people in Europe since they use this to transport their goods from the firms to the factories and ensure that the goods reach to the market at the required time (Ghislieri, Molino, & Cortese, 2018). Generally, technology introduced the concept of power machinery that has helped people simplify their work and raise their level of standards.
The organization of the society improved through industrial revolution. People who managed to work in the industries and earn enough money managed to live a lavish lifestyle and classes were created since wealth distribution is uneven. Political classes were formed to help the people in the different communities to have good management and leaders were elected to represent this people at the national level. During both 1st and 2nd industrial revolution, there were negative aspects of technology to the economy and the society at large (Rook, Salvatori, van Moyland, & Rosa, 2017). Revolution of industries was characterized by child labor. Growing industries wanted cheap labor and children were mainly available making them vulnerable to this problem that affected societies. Small children were mainly found at the large farms.
Industrial revolution was generally good to Europe and there was need to embrace to the change in technology that brought about development of power machines. As such, it also harmed Europe because there were no sanitation and many people involved came into direct contact with dirt and chemicals that made them fall sick. Most of those who worked in the industry were working more than 12 hours and they developed illness and fatigue at their workplace as explained by Rook, Salvatori, van Moyland, and Rosa (2017). Therefore, the good revolution of industries also had their unpleasant side of the story.
In social aspect of consideration, the emergence of industrial revolution led to unprecedented increase in the population growth. Most people were employed in textile industry and the industry dominated the economy as it created many jobs until when it was considered the first industry to use the modern methods of production methods. Again, the social consideration was characterized by the doubling of the urban population as compared to the rural areas and cities were over crowed. This came with its share of negative aspects and problems.
Section B (Comprehensive Essay)
Currently, Europe is considered to be in modern age and it is attributed by many factors and significant historical events that have changed the continent into what is considered relevant to the modern world (Blaydes & Paik, 2021). The key historical event is urbanization that has transformed the city into a nice place full of modern constructed cities and attractive buildings. It started when industries were established in various regions of Europe. Agricultural firms were dominant in the place. The many firms constructed for food production was characterized by the high demand for the jobs. The same workers who are working in these firms were characterized by demand of other goods they would use and therefore, there were emergence of other service providers, building manufacturers, and retailers who had to visit the place to meet the rising demand of the items utilized by the people working in the industries.
According to Blaydes and Paik (2021), technology have improved on the working environment of the industries. For instance, the manufacturing firms like factories are replaced by industry that are technological oriented. These hubs can attract people from different areas and therefore, making the area to grow through the process of urbanization. Urbanization near water bodies have also continued to gain momentum especially due to the development of industries. Initially, people resided near water bodies because they wanted food like fish. However, current urbanization near shows of water bodies is due to the need of getting water that can be used in firms to cool machines in industries. It is an explanation for the existence of about 75% of urban towns located in coastal areas (Fernández-Götz, 2018).
Another way of urbanization has changed the Europe continent into the current state is the fact that industrialization have caused economic expansion and demand for education especially for the public workers have increased immensely. People are looking for new technologies that they can use to enhance their production. It is only possible where the educated workforce is available. Therefore, many people seek education, whose demand is high and engage in increasing learning institutions. It attracts people from different parts of the world and therefore, causing urbanization.
It makes it normal where there is industrialization to also experience the process of urbanization. The process may take long depending on the time take for an area to undergo several phases of both social and economical reforms. Therefore, with the help of enhanced education, the social reforms, and government intervention, urbanization have changed Europe into modern era where things run as expected by the people with the current trends in technology (Fernández-Götz, 2018).
Nonetheless, despite the good things brought by urbanization, the modern era problems experienced within the towns can be attributed to the process of urbanization. For instance, the modern slums and growing of squatters in urban places can be attributed to urbanization. There is also huge influx of immigration from rural areas to these huge cities as people search for better lives. Due to high demand in cities, the prices of commodities have been exaggerated and thus, making life in town difficult. Therefore, urbanization is one of key historical process that have caused the modern era age of Europe and it has come along with both positive and negative aspects of life.
References
Blaydes, L., & Paik, C. (2021). Muslim trade and city growth before the nineteenth century: comparative urbanization in Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia. British Journal of Political Science, 51(2), 845-868.
Fernández-Götz, M. (2018). Urbanization in Iron Age Europe: trajectories, patterns, and social dynamics. Journal of Archaeological Research, 26(2), 117-162.
Ghislieri, C., Molino, M., & Cortese, C. G. (2018). Work and organizational psychology looks at the fourth industrial revolution: how to support workers and organizations?. Frontiers in psychology, 9, 2365.
Rook, D., Salvatori, A., van Moyland, J., & Rosa, P. (2017). Innovation Patterns: Upgrading Sectoral Classification for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Available at SSRN 2928335.
problem based learning
Name
Professor
Curse
Date
Problem based learning
Problem based learning is an angle of learning focusing mainly on the process of problem solving and acquiring of knowledge. The approach has also elements of inquiry when the learners are active in creating problems during the process of learning. Problem based learning has the following segments : identifying the problem at hand, determining the sources of information for solving the problem, collecting and analyzing the initial evidences, continuous assessment of the problem solving process, plan on how to classify the information and reflections on the efforts. In a problem based learning technique students come together and discuss complex and challenging problems collaboratively in order to come up with a workable solution. Problem based learning is where students engage knowledge from various disciplines with an aim of finding solutions to real life problems. The morale to solve the problem becomes the morale to learn.
Historically, problem based learning originated during a curriculum reform by the school of medical at Case Western university at around 1950. The medical and the health science departments continue to improve the practice of problem based learning. These were well articulated by the medical faculty of Mc Master University of Canada which used small groups and tutorial processes to discuss medical solutions. Having been tested in these institutions and found to be effective it becomes a relevant tool for success in the academic world.
The traditional education system that students go through starting from the kindergarten through to the higher institutions of learning, produce students who are bored with their education and do not really have a good grasp of the training they went through during their academic life. This is mainly because they are faced with very big volumes of information to memorize much of which seem irrelevant in a real life situation. Majority of the traditional learners often forget what they learn in class and the little that they can remember if often, irrelevant in the business world. The traditional learning system also does not prepare its students to have a team work spirit in their various destinations in life. These makes problem based learning very relevant in a modern academic world. Research in the field of education reveals that lectures do not lead to retention of knowledge even though both the students and the teachers put a lot of effort during the process. Most of the problems learned during the lectures are often forgotten and the natural problem solving abilities become impaired. Motivation levels in these classes are often also very low. The major advantage of problem based learning is that students genuinely enjoy the process. It is also challenging to the students as they have critics of their ideas and therefore are able to come up with fine tuned ideas to solve the problem.
There are three main phases of problem based learning these include; Teacher directed approach, Teacher-student shared inquiry and finally Student directed inquiry. Teacher directed approach or strategy is where the teacher designs instructions and structures of the lessons in a straightforward and predictable manner. The knowledge is usually centrally centered with the teacher or the instructor. The teacher has full control of the content and the skills to be learned, the instructor is always in control of the pace and the rhythm of the classes. This approach is also referred to as directed approach it has several importance and significances. To start with it allows the lecturer or tutor to deliver new skills to learners using a relatively short period of time. Teacher directed approach is highly academics focused, because the teacher has a prime purpose of setting the goals and outlines of lessons to the students. T he teacher develops a system where he is able to monitor the progress of the learners and give feedback to them regarding their performance.
This approach is also relevant because it is based on behavioraslistic learning guide line, such as ensuring student attention during the learning process, reinforcing accurate responses, providing correct answers to problems and practicing on how to give correct answers. The approach has the nature of increasing the contact hours with the instructor, or the amount of learning hours during which the students perform the tasks and achieve success at a very high rate. It is also argued that students learn a lot of the basic knowledge when they receive instructions directly from the teacher.
This approach calls on the teacher to capture students attention and reinforce accurate responses in their learning culture, provide a report on the student progress regarding the covered sessions in the classes and explore the possibilities of increasing the time spent by the students in learning the course content. The main objective of the model is to cultivate skills in the students and help them master relevant knowledge in the business world. It is believed that this approach is the best in teaching mathematical calculations and procedures, decoding and differentiating between facts and opinions. It is also very helpful in learning science facts and concepts, foreign language and vocabulary.
It also entails planning and implementation of the instructions formulated by the teacher, first the lecture has to decide on the content of the course and the grading system for the content of the course. The teacher will also have to determine what the student has to do in order to learn a technique to express what they have learned during the knowledge acquisition period.
Teacher directed approach is also a very efficient way of introducing students to a new topic. The teacher can use the opportunity provided with these approach to introduce a new learning area and link the new topic with the knowledge that the students already have. The lecturing time is also ideal for stimulating the student’s interest on the topic being discussed (Barell pg34 2006). Another importance is that the teachers are able to integrate knowledge from different sources or fields and deliver them to students. Students also have a chance of getting clarification from the teachers where they do not understand.
The student teacher share inquiry. Shared inquiry is a unique method of learning in which the students search for correct responses to the questions or problem raised by a text. The success or the failure of this method depends on the relationship between the leader who is often the teacher and the students. Teacher student shared inquiry the teachers do not play the role of imparting or providing information to the students or present their own opinion, but mainly provide guidance to the participants in order for them to reach their own conclusion. They do these by asking questions and following purposefully what the participants are doing.
Teacher student shared inquiry majorly promotes civil discourse. Using these approach the participants train themselves to give full consideration to the ideas of their colleges , they get to appreciate the importance of weighing the opposing merits of their colleges and modify their initial stands so that they can stand the test of evidence in the information at hand. They are also provided with a platform to gain a lot of experience from each other during the debates that go on during such process. The student communication level also improves greatly because they are able to handle complex ideas these expands their own thoughts. We are able to conclude safely that shared inquiry promotes thoughtful dialogue and open discussion making the participants able and confident and above all lifelong readers.
Student directed inquiry is described as drawing attention away from teacher presented knowledge to student learning through active involvement. Student directed inquiry enables students to actively involve themselves on fact finding mission which in turn enables them to fully understand the contents of the courses there are being thought. The students purpose to carry out investigations, conduct their own research, solve problems together and dig out evidences related to the topic of study. The students are responsible for planning the lessons, making decisions, posing questions and assembling the relevant materials for the study. All the aspects of these approach is student centered he is responsible for initiation of actions and setting of goals and designing relevant study schemes. Most importantly student directed inquiry promotes creation of knowledge through experimental learning which may also lead to inventions.
The major differences in this phase are evident in numerous ways. Generally student directed inquiry focuses on the ability of the student, to be able to identify their own academic needs. Once they gain this ability they can be able to initiate their own learning schedule. This type of learning model majorly emphasize on self management (Barell pg459 2006). This type of modern is also perceived to only be able to be practiced by gifted students although it is encouraged that all learners are in a position to use it effectively.
Problem based learning is an opportunity for students to develop a sense of responsibility for their studies. When this attitude is fully cultivated the students are able to develop very sophisticated cognitive skills. These includes having the ability to identify problems, being able to come up with an hypotheses, development mechanisms, creating an inquiry plan , grading the identified hypotheses according to the available evidence and most importantly dealing with uncertainty. The learners also need to work as a team in their groups, develop effective communication and take active roles during the discussions. This learning approach proves to use that the contact time between the students and the learners is vital for accumulation and creation of knowledge as a result they are able to have successful outcomes in their academic endeavors.
The major difference between teacher directed approach and self teacher shared inquiry is the way in which the group members interact with each other. In a shared inquiry students and the leader meet face to face and discuss things almost at the same level because no one provides the final decision on the subject matter. While in a teacher directed model the teacher is at a higher level of communication and therefore they take instructions from the leader who is the teacher. The two phases of problem base learning do not require a student to be gifted in order to perform as opposed to student inquiry phase which needs some degree of intelligence for starters.
The traditional education system has worked in such a way that it down plays the process of problem based learning especially the self directed inquiry segment. These are because majority of the students are less prone to being curious and asking questions as they move up the academic ladder. In a typical class, students learn not to ask a lot of questions instead they listen to the instructor and repeat what they already know and the expected answers. When closely examined, it has also been discovered that the process is frustrated mainly because a lot of students do not understand the meaning of self directed inquiry they rarely follow the correct procedure when carrying out the process therefore ending up with little information to solve the given problems.
Some of the outstanding benefits of problem solving inquiry are: there is retention of the gathered information these is because one is able to memorize the facts and information learnt during the studying or learning process. It is also trying to relay information to the educators that they should understand that they need to go beyond accumulation of information and move to another level of useful and applicable knowledge. This process is supported mainly by inquiry learning which a component of problem based learning approach is. It is argued that initially our economy depended on the natural resources available but that statement is on its way to being wrong because today the economy depend on a workforce that works smarter therefore makes life easier.
The education system today should cultivate a culture of a need- to- know that is student centered. In this way it is much easier to come across inventions and new ideas due to the searching spirit. This approach of learning reserves the traditional approach to learning therefore nothing is lost from our culture of education rather we have improved our version of learning and enriched our culture of learning with diversity. The new approach facilitates the acquisition of learning genes in our academic spirit which will in turn push our economy to prosperity after we acquire applicable knowledge in the economy system(Barell pg45 2006). Through this process we are able to encourage competence among the students who are undertaking various courses that help drive the economy.
Students may fail to shape up their study schedules. Problem solving approach may inhibit the spirit of teachers because teacher their interaction with the students is minimized as the students move towards self management system .This approach however challenge students to engage themselves actively in solving real life problems and on the other hand forms problem solving strategies at the same time information is accumulated. The students are placed in an active role unconsciously mainly due to the fact that data is a form of learning. What is unique about them is that both the student and the teacher are responsible for generating information as opposed to the tradition learning system
Work cited
Barell, John. Problem-based Learning: An Inquiry Approach. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, 2006. Print.