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Full-Text Articles in Political Science

The Obama Administration's Challenges After The 'War On Science': Reforming Staffing Practices And Protecting Scientific Integrity In The Executive Branch, Justin Vaughn, José Villalobos Nov 2009

The Obama Administration's Challenges After The 'War On Science': Reforming Staffing Practices And Protecting Scientific Integrity In The Executive Branch, Justin Vaughn, José Villalobos

José D. Villalobos

In this article, we examine the difficult leadership position President Barack Obama inherited as he took office with respect to science and technology policy making and implementation, particularly following the Bush administration and years of the so-called "war on science." We contend that the Obama administration's challenge is not only to take substantive policy action, but also to reform certain administrative practices, particularly in light of the previous administration's practice of the politics of strategic vacancies, a managerial technique that rearranges an agency's ideological inclinations not through the usual forms of active politicization (i.e., by filling the appointee ranks with …


Tobacco Use Policymaking And Administration In Bhutan, Michael S. Givel Oct 2009

Tobacco Use Policymaking And Administration In Bhutan, Michael S. Givel

Michael S. Givel

No abstract provided.


Review: The Limits Of Boundaries: Why City-Regions Cannot Be Self-Governing, By Andrew Sancton, Christopher D. Gore Aug 2009

Review: The Limits Of Boundaries: Why City-Regions Cannot Be Self-Governing, By Andrew Sancton, Christopher D. Gore

Christopher D Gore

No abstract provided.


Self-Interest, Symbolic Attitudes, And Support For Public Policy: A Multilevel Analysis, Richard Lau, Caroline Heldman Jul 2009

Self-Interest, Symbolic Attitudes, And Support For Public Policy: A Multilevel Analysis, Richard Lau, Caroline Heldman

Caroline Heldman

This paper examines the role of self-interest and symbolic attitudes as predictors of support for two domestic policy issues—guaranteed jobs and incomes and national health insurance—in the American National Election Survey (ANES) between 1972 and 2004. As was the case in 1976 when Sears, Lau, Tyler, and Allen (1980) first explored this topic, symbolic attitudes continue to be much more important predictors of policy attitudes than various indicators of self-interest over the 30 years we analyze. We explore this finding further to determine whether any individual/internal and external/contextual variables affect the magnitude of self-interest effects on policy support. Five possible …


The Mirror Effect, The Law Of Attraction, And "Points Of Attraction" That Can Nurture The Evolution Of Human Consciousness, Carroy U. Ferguson Jul 2009

The Mirror Effect, The Law Of Attraction, And "Points Of Attraction" That Can Nurture The Evolution Of Human Consciousness, Carroy U. Ferguson

Carroy U "Cuf" Ferguson, Ph.D.

This message has several purposes. First, I want to express my immense joy that Chip Baggett and I are serving as Co-Presidents of AHP since August 16, 2009. In my view, Chip and I are long-time friends, who have a transcendent connection and synergistic energies. My desire and intent is for our co-presidency to mirror the effect(s) of synergistic collaboration as a “point of attraction” that can assist in the evolution of human consciousness across often “perceived personal and societal boundaries” (e.g., race, culture, ethnicity, class, individual and collective belief systems, and dogma). More generally, however, this message is intended …


Archetypal Energies, The Emergence Of Obama As A Practical Idealist, And Global Transformation, Carroy U. Ferguson Feb 2009

Archetypal Energies, The Emergence Of Obama As A Practical Idealist, And Global Transformation, Carroy U. Ferguson

Carroy U "Cuf" Ferguson, Ph.D.

During this time of change, AHP and kindred spirits on the edge have important roles to play. We are the keepers and nurturers of a transformative and evolutionary Vision for Consciousness and a more humane world. At issue is what I will call the “psychic politics” for global transformation, nurtured by practical idealism and the Archetypal Energies. In other writings, I have described Archetypal Energies as Higher Vibrational Energies, operating deep within our individual and collective psyches, which have their own transcendent value, purpose, quality, and “voice”, unique to the individual. We experience them as “creative urges” to move us …


What Bush Did Right - On China, Zheng Wang Feb 2009

What Bush Did Right - On China, Zheng Wang

Zheng Wang

No abstract provided.


Media Framing And Policy Change After Columbine, Thomas Birkland, Regina Lawrence Dec 2008

Media Framing And Policy Change After Columbine, Thomas Birkland, Regina Lawrence

Thomas A Birkland

The 1999 Columbine school shooting incident in Colorado gained far more media attention across a broader range of issues than any school violence episode before or since. One might expect that Columbine would have had an influence on public opinion, public policy, and scholarship commensurate with the attention it gained. We find that the event did contribute in a limited but interesting way to scholarship on media framing. But the effect of Columbine on public opinion and the nature and substance of public policy was limited. Attention to school shootings peaked with Columbine, and the attention surrounding that event mostly …


Environmental Challenges And Opportunities: Local-Global Perspectives On Canadian Issues, Christopher Gore, Peter Stoett Dec 2008

Environmental Challenges And Opportunities: Local-Global Perspectives On Canadian Issues, Christopher Gore, Peter Stoett

Christopher D Gore

No abstract provided.


Local Government Responses To Climate Change: Our Last, Best Hope?, Christopher Gore, Pamela Robinson Dec 2008

Local Government Responses To Climate Change: Our Last, Best Hope?, Christopher Gore, Pamela Robinson

Christopher D Gore

No abstract provided.


Conservatism And American Political Development, Brian Glenn, Steve Teles Dec 2008

Conservatism And American Political Development, Brian Glenn, Steve Teles

Brian J. Glenn

No abstract provided.


Presidential Staffing And Public Opinion: How Public Opinion Influences Politicization, José Villalobos, Justin Vaughn Dec 2008

Presidential Staffing And Public Opinion: How Public Opinion Influences Politicization, José Villalobos, Justin Vaughn

José D. Villalobos

Scholars traditionally frame presidential efforts to politicize the federal bureaucracy as the result of divergence between the president's preferences and an agency's output. The authors argue that presidential concern with agency output is dynamic and is in part conditioned by the president's relationship with the public. To assess the relationship between politicization and public opinion, the authors use a data set that combines information on presidential efforts to politicize the Council of Economic Advisers from 1989 to 2004 with that of public attitudes concerning the president's handling of the economy. Their results indicate that public opinion does indeed bear a …


• Rapid Knowledge: ‘Bridging Research And Policy’ In International Development At The Overseas Development Institute, Diane L. Stone Dec 2008

• Rapid Knowledge: ‘Bridging Research And Policy’ In International Development At The Overseas Development Institute, Diane L. Stone

Diane L Stone

Numerous organizations advocate the need to ‘bridge research and policy’. Donors such as philanthropic foundations, national social science funding regimes and international organizations have sought to improve knowledge utilization. Similarly, research consumers such as NGOs and government departments complain of research irrelevance for policy purposes. The concern of this paper is with ‘evidence informed policy’ within the field of international development in which the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), a London based think tank, forms the case study. Think tanks are important brokers in processes of ‘bridging research and policy’. Most think tanks are driven by the need to influence immediate …


Public Responses To Health Disparities: How Group Cues Structure Support For Government Intervention, Elizabeth Rigby, Joe Soss, Bridget Booske, Angela Rohan, Stephanie Roberts Dec 2008

Public Responses To Health Disparities: How Group Cues Structure Support For Government Intervention, Elizabeth Rigby, Joe Soss, Bridget Booske, Angela Rohan, Stephanie Roberts

Elizabeth Rigby

OBJECTIVE. To examine whether public support for government intervention to address health disparities varies when disparities are framed in terms of different social groups. METHOD. A survey experiment was embedded in a public opinion poll of Wisconsin adults. Respondents were randomly assigned to answer questions about either racial, economic, or education disparities in health. Ordered logit regression analyses examine differences across experimental conditions in support for government intervention to address health disparities. RESULTSs. Health disparities between economic groups received the broadest support for government intervention, while racial disparities in health received the least support for government intervention. These differences were …


Federalism, Partisan Politics, And Shifting Support For State Flexibility: The Case Of The U.S. State Children’S Health Insurance Program, Colleen Grogan, Elizabeth Rigby Dec 2008

Federalism, Partisan Politics, And Shifting Support For State Flexibility: The Case Of The U.S. State Children’S Health Insurance Program, Colleen Grogan, Elizabeth Rigby

Elizabeth Rigby

No abstract provided.


The Managing Of The Presidency: Applying Theory-Driven Empirical Models To The Study Of White House Bureaucratic Performance, Justin S. Vaughn, José D. Villalobos Dec 2008

The Managing Of The Presidency: Applying Theory-Driven Empirical Models To The Study Of White House Bureaucratic Performance, Justin S. Vaughn, José D. Villalobos

José D. Villalobos

We argue that scholars of the presidency should begin to apply their rich descriptive understanding of White House organization and personnel to questions of causality. To help guide this effort, we offer a theory-driven empirical model that explains organizational performance. Importing theory from the public management literature, we show how scholars can use the Meier-O'Toole (MO) model to explain performance outcomes and dynamics for key political and policy functions within the institutional presidency. We introduce the MO model and discuss its potential impact on the field of presidency studies.


Obama’S Empty Cupboard: Contending With Administrative Vacancies And The Threat To Neutral Competence, Justin S. Vaughn, José D. Villalobos Dec 2008

Obama’S Empty Cupboard: Contending With Administrative Vacancies And The Threat To Neutral Competence, Justin S. Vaughn, José D. Villalobos

José D. Villalobos

In this essay, we focus on the public administration challenge concerning the rising number of politically motivated administrative vacancies resulting from George W. Bush's tenure in office with which President Barack Obama must now contend. We argue that the hyper-politicization of personnel decision-making during the presidency of George W. Bush left many parts of the federal bureaucracy understaffed, yet more densely populated by staffers chosen more for ideological and political congruence than administrative competence. For President Obama to achieve key aspects of his policy agenda, he must first attend to fixing these staffing problems and then to reforming the personnel …


Risiko- Und Verwundbarkeitsanalyse In Der Bundespolitik: Erfahrungen Und Perspektiven, Beat Habegger, Sergio Bonin Dec 2008

Risiko- Und Verwundbarkeitsanalyse In Der Bundespolitik: Erfahrungen Und Perspektiven, Beat Habegger, Sergio Bonin

Beat Habegger

No abstract provided.