Opal Creek: The framing of a policy controversy.
详细信息
文摘
The denouement of conflict is essential in the process of crafting public policy. The settlement of clashes over who get what,who pays,and who benefits is a critical component of a process described as decision making in the public interest. However,in some cases,the process results in unresolved controversy rather than the formulation of public policy. This may result from too little time being allocated to problem setting because of a rush to find problem solutions. Conflict arises in public disputes due to a mixture of interests and values by multiple parties and the expression of divergent views about problems,their cause,and their significance. The disparate views are expressed through discourse and framing by core participants in the conflict and observers of the conflict. Because of different ways of "seeing" a problem it can be set in such a way that interests,positions,and solutions vary significantly between parties. As a result,conflict can escalate into intractable controversy. This research explores problem settings contained in policy documents related to an environmental controversy in Oregon. The study investigates how problems are set through textual discourse and framing. This involves a microanalysis of discourse using operationalizable dimensions of syntactical,script,thematic,and rhetorical structure Pan and Kosicki,1993) and a macroanalysis of text for the identification of discourse markers for frame types Lewicki,Gray,and Elliott,2003). Discourse and frame selections are validated through the use of text hermeneutics and the hermeneutic circle Ricoeur,1976). Conclusions are drawn that the application of the structural elements and discourse markers to policy documents can provide a consistent and coherent approach for identification of divergent,and potentially conflicting,problem settings. Thus,the approach could facilitate the explanation of policy issues by policy analysts and the resolution of policy conflicts by practitioners. The approach can also assist in the design of survey questions for additional research on policy conflicts.