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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons™
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Articles 1 - 2 of 2
Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Social Theory & Its Relation To Social Problems: An Essay About Theory And Research With Social Justice In Mind, Richard K. Caputo
Social Theory & Its Relation To Social Problems: An Essay About Theory And Research With Social Justice In Mind, Richard K. Caputo
The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare
This essay examines the relationship between social theory and social problems, the truth-value of theories, and the importance of theorizing about the role of the state, i.e., national government, in the resolution of social problems and the achievement of social justice. The author argues that much contemporary social theory has lost its moorings in regard to amelioration ofsocial problems, that Popper's criterion offalsification is a requisitefor more meaningfully applied social theory, and that the state should be part of any social theory meant to address social problems. Moral and political philosophy is used to provide criteria to justify a positive …
Controlling The Levers Of Power: How Advocacy Organizations Affect The Regulation Writing Process, Richard Hoefer, Kristin Ferguson
Controlling The Levers Of Power: How Advocacy Organizations Affect The Regulation Writing Process, Richard Hoefer, Kristin Ferguson
The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare
The Federal regulation-writing process is vital to understanding how laws are translated into policy. This paper re-examines data on human services interest groups active in lobbying the executive branch to determine what factors influence their effectiveness. Building on findings from Hoefer (2000), structural equation modeling is used to re-analyze the original regression model of interest group effectiveness (IGE) on a sample of 127 Washington D.C.-based interest groups. Results indicate that some of the previous findings are not supported and an alternative model is proposed. A group's position, context and access to information and policymakers emerge as significant determinants of IGE. …