Paul Spicker

Ethical covert research

Covert research is research which is not declared to the research participants or subjects. This is often muddled with deception, and condemned as intrinsically unethical. The basis of that condemnation is a legitimate concern with the rights of research subjects. It is, however, over-generalized. Research subjects do have rights, but they are not the only people with rights. They may have some say about the use of information, but not all information is under their control. They are entitled to privacy, but not everything is private. Undeclared, undisclosed research in informal settings has to be accepted as a normal part of academic enquiry.

The idea of poverty

Part one: Understanding poverty: Defining poverty Poverty in different societies Understanding the figures Part two: Poverty as material need: Concepts of need Area deprivation Part three: Poverty as economic position: Economic resources Class Part four: Poverty and social relationships: Social exclusion Dependency Poverty and politics Part five: Poverty as a moral concept: The moral dimensions of poverty The moral condemnation of the poor Part six: Explanations for poverty: Why people are poor Why poor countries stay poor Part seven: Responses to poverty: Responding to poverty Policies for poverty.

Policy analysis for practice : applying social policy

The nature of policy analysis The policy process Strategic policy making Aims, values and goals Assessing the environment 1: qualitative interpretation Assessing the environment 2: quantitative interpretation Methods, contraints and resources Selecting methods: value for money Analysing implementation The evaluation of policy Policy analysis: developing a checklist.

“Leadership”: a perniciously vague concept

Purpose – Despite the vast amount of literature covering the concept of leadership, it remains contentious, under‐conceptualised and often uncritical. The purpose of this paper is to question the validity of the concept and dispute its application.Design/methodology/approach – The paper reviews what the idea of leadership means, how it relates to competing accounts of management in the public services, and what value it adds.Findings – There is no evident reason why the supposed roles, tasks, or qualities of “leadership” either need to be or should be concentrated in the person of a leader; the tasks involved in “leading” an organisation are not in fact the tasks of motivation, influence or direction of others which are at the core of the literature; and there is no reason to suppose that leadership is a primary influence on the behaviour of most organisations.Practical implications – In the context of the public services, there is no set of skills, behaviours or roles that could be applied across the pub...

Generalisation and phronesis: rethinking the methodology of social policy.

Social policy research often depends on the application of generalisations from social science. Questions like ‘what works?’ assume that general principles can be translated from specific examples into other contexts. Pawson and Tilley argue that effective policy research has to depend on the idea of a ‘generative mechanism’, or relationships of cause and effect. Explaining issues in terms of causes, however, is problematic. Social phenomena tend to be multifaceted, and even relatively simple phenomena are likely to be influenced by a range of different factors; causal analyses have to be developed by interpretation, and the analyses are frequently wrong. Causal explanations often claim to do more than they can deliver: even if there is a convincing causal explanation, it does not necessarily imply any prescription for policy. There are ways of generalising, however, that do not depend on causal analysis. Phronesis develops principles experientially, setting them against empirical evidence, and it does not need to consider underlying mechanisms to be effective. Phronesis provides the basis for a critique of technocratic approaches, a rationale for action and a focus for the development of alternative methods and approaches. A dependence on phronesis cannot avoid all of the pitfalls associated with generalisation, but it is more flexible, and less presumptuous, than a causal approach.

Poverty and depressed estates: A critique of Utopia on trial

Abstract Alice Colemans Utopia on Trial explains the incidence of social problems in council housing in terms of the design of the estates. This paper offers an alternative explanation. Many issues which appear to be problems of planning, design, maintenance or administration are directly attributable to the lack of resources of the tenants. Poor people are concentrated in specific locations through the process of urban development, the effect of social choices, and their own lack of power to find alternatives. Many problems with their housing, like inadequate heating or lack of maintenance, depend directly on what the tenants can afford. The incidence of poverty, and the problems which arise from it, add in turn to the undesirability of the estates. Colemans dismissal of the influence of poverty is based on an unsound method and an inadequate theoretical analysis. Her recommendations for policy are in consequence a diversion from the real needs and issues.

The Nature of a Public Service

Abstract Public services have been misunderstood. They are not simply services in the public sector, they are not necessarily there because of “market failure”, and they cannot be analysed by the same criteria as market-based provision. They have four defining characteristics. They exist for reasons of policy; they provide services to the public; they are redistributive; and they act as a trust. They consequently operate differently from production for profit, in their priorities, costs, capacity and outputs.

How social security works : an introduction to benefits in Britain

Part one: Introductory principles: What is social security? Social security and the welfare state Social security and society Part two: The development of the system: The origins of social security in the UK The politics of social security A unified system? Part three: Benefits: National Insurance Means tested benefits I: the basic minimum Means testing II: income supplements The provision of non-contributory benefits Discretionary benefits Universal benefits Claiming benefits Understanding complexity Part four: The principal contingencies: Pensioners Benefits for people with disabilities Incapacity Children and families Lone parents Unemployed people Benefits for the poor Part five: Issues in social security policy: The cost of social security Targeting Fraud and abuse Responding to poverty Social security and redistribution How social security in Britain compares to other countries.

The ethics of policy research.

Codes of ethics governing research in social science have tended to focus on the rights of participants in research. This focus is too narrow to be an effective guide for ethical policy research. Some typical problems concern the development of organisational research, research in the public domain, and conflicts between the rights of participants and others. Policy research needs to be guided by standards related to professional practice in policy, public accountability and general principles related to the promotion of welfare.

A population needs assessment profile for dementia.

The Tayside Profile for Dementia Planning is an instrument designed to obtain data for population needs assessment and planning. It provides a brief tool to collect a minimum dataset by non‐specialists. Third‐party informants—informal carers or involved professionals—are used as data sources. The key concept is the use of a descriptive profile rather than a summative score or categorization. The profile consists of a set of needs indicators, information on current service response and demographic and background data. Key levels of dependency are measured by time interval dependency. Validity, reliability, acceptability and usability are satisfactory, with the crucial exception that informal carers and professionals appear to perceive needs differently. Further research is needed to assess which type of informant provides the more useful data.