RESUMEN
Policy change frameworks are commonly used to understand policy development processes. However, few studies have attempted to apply these frameworks to the recent popular fee-free policy education at the high school level in Sub-Saharan Africa. Investigating fee-free policy development through policy change frameworks can assist both in identifying the genesis of past policies, including who the important actors are, how issues are framed and problematised, and how specific solutions are designed, as well as how to interpret unfolding policies. In this article, we review three prominent policy change frameworks: Baumgartner and Jones' "punctuated equilibrium framework," Sabatier and Jenkins-Smith's "advocacy coalition framework," and Kingdon's "multiple streams framework." After reviewing the frameworks, we apply them to two fee-free policies in Ghana which are Progressive Free Senior High School and Free Senior High School policies to understand the drivers of fee-free policy change. From the socio-political background, three main concepts were derived from these policy change frameworks deducing from the basic assumptions of these theories. They are domestic politics, political and policy entrepreneurs, and socio-economic dynamics. The results show that fee-free policies are largely driven by domestic politics and political and policy entrepreneurs in political executive positions. Factors under socio-economic dynamics are only scope conditions that are not significant to trigger the adoption of a fee-free policy.
RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Human α-fucosidase (EC 3.2.1.51) is a hydrolase the importance of which has been increasing in the latest years. However, data about its plasma level in children with autoimmune disorders, particularly Sjögren's syndrome (SS), are lacking. In this study, the plasma activity of L-α-fucosidase-1 (α-L-FUCA-1) was assayed in hospitalized children and adults and its association with SS and other rheumatic disorders further evaluated. METHODS: In total 73 Hungarian hospitalized patients, 32 children (2.5-10 years) and 41 adults (32-68 years), were enrolled in the study and underwent plasma assay of α-L-FUCA1 activity. Linear regression, Durbin-Watson (DW), and Pearson tests were evaluated to investigate the relationship between α-L-FUCA-1 plasma levels and autoimmune manifestations. RESULTS: α-L-FUCA-1 correlated with SS both in children (2-sided t test, P = 0.0023) and in adults (2-sided t test, P = 0.00035). Linear regressions showed that in other rheumatic disorders, α-L-FUCA1 did not show any differential distribution related to the particular pathology (r = 0.2042, P = 0.1531, DW test = 2.2139 positive), while this trend was radically opposite for patients with SS (r = 0.1462, P = 0.0032, DW test = 1.3664, negative). CONCLUSIONS: Alterations in plasma level of α-L-FUCA-1 were significantly associated with SS. This preliminary result should encourage further research on α-L-FUCA-1 as a possible differential serological marker of SS.
