Exploring Policy Implications of Ethics of Care and Justice in Care Work and Human Services Organizations

Much attention has recently been focused on the efficacy of cross-sector collaboration within the field of human services in response to increasing rates of child maltreatment and subsequent foster care entries nationwide. Our research includes 200 hours of participant observation, in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 65 professionals broadly involved in the protection of vulnerable children and the support of their parents, and an analysis of 45 case files. It was carried out in a rural region of Kentucky between May 2015 and July 2017. We used established principles of analytic induction to analyze our data. In this study, we explore perceptions of power, authority, inequality, and bureaucratic constraints that emerge during organizational processes of interagency collaboration among multidisciplinary human service organizations situated within the child welfare system. We argue that ethics of care and, subsequently, care work are constrained by power dynamics, primarily embedded in bureaucratically structured human service organizations as well as in policy mandates that embody ethics of justice. We conclude that the tensions between bureaucratic constraints and professional workers’ desire to care for and serve clients often disrupt and undermine organizational missions and policy goals targeting child protection. We indicate the need to examine these structural dynamics at a policy level and provide recommendations with policy implications.

Regulatory Hostage-taking and Shaming

This chapter examines the myth behind the paucity of appeals against antitrust agencies in China. The primary reason holding businesses back from defying Chinese antitrust authorities is not necessarily the perceived low probability of success in a Chinese court but rather the high transaction costs associated with such an appeal. Chinese antitrust authorities possess wide discretion over enforcement and can proactively apply it to entire firms to settle the cases. Firms operating in China, whether foreign or domestic, are likely to continue to interact with these agencies and their host ministries in the future. Businesses therefore avoid taking an aggressive and adversarial approach for fear of future retribution. In addition, Chinese government agencies are adept at using media strategies during enforcement. In several high-profile cases, the antitrust bureau at the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) deftly mobilized public sentiments through the state media, strategically shaming to prevent defiance of their orders, and relentlessly suppressing experts from voicing opinions that might threaten the legitimacy of its measures. In so doing, the NDRC was able to overcome its capacity and bureaucratic constraints, thereby quickly cementing its reputation as an astute and forceful regulator.

Unethical governance: capacity legislation and the exclusion of people diagnosed with dementias from research

This paper considers the potential for the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) of England and Wales to incentivise the exclusion of people with dementia from research. The MCA is intended to standardise and safeguard the inclusion of people with cognitive impairments in research. This entails various procedural requirements, which in pressurised research contexts can lead researchers to exclude people with dementia as a means of simplifying bureaucratic constraints. I consider the risks of an ‘unethical ethics’, wherein procedural ethics indirectly causes the exclusion of people with dementia from research, undermining historic successes toward increased inclusivity. I suggest several solutions, including enhanced sensitivity to impairments and shifting the burden of proof from justifying inclusion to justifying exclusion. The paper responds to the ‘ethics creep’ tradition in procedural ethics, and critical appraisals of capacity legislation in dementia research. This approach recognises that institutional research ethics is itself a major ethical concern and can unwittingly beget unethical practices. Dementia researchers must be alert to such unethical ethics.

Encouraging and Discouraging Factors in the Decision to Become an Israeli Leader in Religious Schools: Implications for Reforming Bureaucratic Mandates of the Ministry of Education

This mixed methodology study explored the reasons that teachers in Israel are motivated to become school leaders, and the relative importance of the different discouraging factors that worked against such interest. A cross-national Israeli survey included 39 individual interviews, 2 focus groups of 25 teachers each, and a questionnaire completed by 149 teachers working in Jewish schools. Findings indicate a sense of mission and personal challenge motivated our sample. The most significant discouraging factor was the perceived inability to circumvent bureaucratic constraints imposed by the Ministry of Education. Implications and reform efforts for reducing bureaucratic constraints upon school leaders are discussed.

A Transcrição de Exames na Consulta de Medicina Geral e Familiar: Perspetiva Ética Sobre o Caso do Pedido de Tomografia Computorizada Maxilofacial para Realização de Implantes Dentários

In the Portuguese National Health Service, little attention has been paid to oral health care. The almost nonexistence of a dentistry network raises concern about accessibility to services, and justifies the need to call on a predominantly private provision of services. The coexistence between the public and private settings is not always easy, especially when services need to interact and actively collaborate in order to find answers to the patient’s problems. Dental implant procedures and the need to perform a previous maxillofacial computerized tomography to study the bone bed where osseointegrated dental implants are placed are a common situation. The current governmental regulation, blinded to the clinical context, may limit the accessibility to the tests. Based on this scenario, we discuss the possible options from an ethical point of view, framing the patient’s and the physician’s perspective and the relation between both.We conclude that the medical decision can’t be disregarded from the clinical evaluation, in the intimacy of the medical consultation. This is an ethical duty that overrules the administrative and bureaucratic constraints. A good management of this apparent dichotomy may enhance better health and greater empowerment for the patient.

Anti-money laundering regulation on the Brazilian art market

Anti-money laundering regulation on the art market, is it a friend or a foe? This research contributes new insights to test possible answers to this question through the analysis of Ordinance no. 396/2016/IPHAN, enacted in Brazil to establish compliance measures to be followed by art and antiquities dealers to control money laundering practices. A pyramidal regulatory model suggests a conjunction of self-regulatory measures, administrative sanctions and criminal penalties as useful instruments to mitigate these illicit practices. This study focuses on the administrative initiatives requiring art professionals to undertake anti-money laundering due diligence measures and it critically analyses the extent to which they may rearrange the relations between dealers and clients. The contributions of the regulatory framework are recognised in so far as it shows itself able to meet societal aspiration for a respectable art market through a shrewdly responsive intervention rather than just formal bureaucratic constraints.

‘Just another person in the room’: young people’s views on their participation in Child in Care Reviews

This article discusses a key meeting for children in care – the Child in Care Review – and examines the extent to which children and young people are able to participate and exert a level of control over their lives. The research, conducted in England, formed part of a wider exploration of the views and experiences of all those involved in such reviews, namely Independent Reviewing Officers (IROs), social workers, senior managers and – the focus of this article – the young people concerned. Most of the children interviewed said that they found their reviews frustrating and stressful, often attributing this to poor relationships with social workers and scepticism about the value of the review process. However, they recognised the workload pressures facing social workers and the bureaucratic constraints affecting the service they received. The article argues for the continuing importance of the IRO role, given the consistency it provides for children in care. It also shows that while it provides an opportunity for children’s participation in discussions about their future, the Child in Care Review is underperforming. The developing practice of children chairing their own reviews offers one way forward and the article calls for this to be developed and for other creative methods to be introduced to enable young people to play a meaningful part in meetings that affect them.

POLICY OPTIONS TO LOWER RICE PRICES IN INDONESIA

Di Indonesia, harga beras membuat 28 juta masyarakat pra-sejahtera menghabiskan nyaris separuh penghasilannya. Menanggapi hal ini, pemerintah menerapkan Harga Eceran Tertinggi (HET) dan menugaskan Badan Urusan Logistik (Bulog) untuk menstabilkan harga beras. Sebagai salah satu perwujudan tugasnya, Bulog ditunjuk menjadi importir tunggal beras. Kajian ini menganalisis efektiitas HET, kinerja Bulog sebagai importir beras, dan korelasi antara harga beras di Indonesia dan pasar internasional. Makalah ini mengusulkan opsi kebijakan untuk menurunkan harga beras dengan menggarisbawahi potensi perdagangan internasional. Makalah ini menggunakan Error Correction Model (ECM) dan hasil wawancara. Hasilnya: (1) HET menekan para pedagang eceran, sementara para tengkulak, pemilik penggilingan, dan pedagang grosir yang mengambil laba terbesar dari sistem distribusi beras dalam negeri; (2) Akibat kendala birokrasi, Bulog kerap mengimpor beras ketika harga internasional sudah telanjur meningkat; (3) Harga beras di Indonesia terdeviasi dan lebih mahal dibandingkan pasar internasional. Makalah ini merekomendasikan agar pemerintah mengkaji HET, memberikan kebebasan kepada Bulog untuk menentukan waktu maupun kuantitas beras yang perlu diimpornya dengan berdasarkan pada analisis pasar, dan membentuk forum konsultasi dengan sektor swasta yang memenuhi syarat. Hal ini akan menjaga harga beras senantiasa kompetitif baik bagi konsumen maupun pedagang eceran, serta akan membawa Indonesia lebih dekat dengan rantai nilai regional. In Indonesia, rice prices cost around 28 million poor nearly half of their income. In response, the government implements price ceiling (HET) and assigns National Logistics Agency (Bulog) to stabilize rice prices. As part of its duties, Bulog was appointed as the sole rice importer. This study analyzed the effectiveness of HET, Bulog’s performance as rice importer, and the correlation between rice prices in Indonesia and in international market. This paper explores policy options to lower rice prices by highlighting the potential of international trade. This study used Error Correction Models (ECM) and semi-structured interviews. The results: (1) HET pressures retailers, while middlemen, rice millers, and wholesalers benefit the most from domestic rice distribution; (2) Due to bureaucratic constraints, Bulog frequently imported rice when international prices were already rising; (3) Rice prices in Indonesia deviate away from and higher than the international market. This paper recommends the government to review HET, to give freedom to Bulog to determine the timing and quantity of rice importation based on its market analysis, and to organize consultative forums with qualified private sector. This will keep the prices competitive for both consumers and retailers and bring Indonesia closer to the regional value chain.