American Indian political incorporation in the post-Indian Gaming Regulatory Act era

Despite the active and growing role American Indians play in the U.S. political system, the study of contemporary political relations between Indian nations and federal and state governments remains underdeveloped in the political science literature. The dearth of inquiry is most notable in examining the efforts American Indians and Indian nations undertake in an attempt to influence public policy. In this paper, we suggest that recent developments, including the passage of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) in 1988, have altered how American Indians participate in the political process. In order to study these recent changes, we suggest that it is appropriate to examine Indian nations’ use of interest group strategies in the political process. We demonstrate how such an approach adds to our understanding of Indian and non-Indian relations by discussing how Indian nations pursued interest group strategies and documenting how resources obtained through gaming have allowed them to expand this strategy.     

Conflicts of Interest in Academic Research: Policies,Processes, and Attitudes

Few studies have examined academic researchers' understandings of or attitudes toward conflict of interest policies even though these understandings and attitudes represent a crucial component of both compliance and educational efforts. This study reports the results of a large-scale, cross-sectional survey of research faculty at the nine campuses of the University of California regarding their understandings of and attitudes toward campus conflict of interest policies. We gathered information on their general assessments of investigators with financial ties to industry sponsors and reactions to the process of implementing conflict of interest policies at their respective campuses. We surveyed 1,971 faculty members from the nine-campus University of California system and had 779 responses (39% response rate). The sampled faculty were in the ten departments with the most number of financial disclosures at each campus. We utilized the WebSurveyor software to create a secure, online, 21-item survey. Our study reveals faculty with complex, sometimes contradictory, feelings about academic-industry relationships and highlights perceived gaps in policy and process. Most respondents were concerned about unlimited financial relationships, but a sizable number also viewed campus policies as irrelevant. Some expressed considerable anger over the process of policy implementation, rejecting the policies on the basis of professional and individual self-determination and moral integrity. Our study suggests the need for renewed efforts to encourage awareness of the relevance of conflict of interest policies for all faculty, new efforts to increase understanding of the situational nature of conflicts of interest, and a reexamination of the processes of policy implementation at the campus level.     

Conflicts of interest in academic research: policies, processes, and attitudes

Few studies have examined academic researchers' understandings or attitudes toward conflict of interest policies even though these understandings and attitudes represent a crucial component of both compliance and educational efforts. This study reports the results of a large-scale, cross-sectional survey of research faculty at the nine campuses of the University of California regarding their understandings of and attitudes toward campus conflict of interest policies. We gathered information on their general assessments of investigators with financial ties to industry sponsors and reactions to the process of implementing conflict of interest policies at their respective campuses. We surveyed 1,971 faculty members from the nine-campus University of California system and had 779 responses (39% response rate). The sampled faculty were in the ten departments with the most number of financial disclosures at each campus. We utilized the WebSurveyor software to create a secure, online, 21-item survey. Our study reveals faculty with complex, sometimes contradictory, feelings about academic-industry relationships and highlights perceived gaps in policy and process. Most respondents were concerned about unlimited financial relationships, but a sizable number also viewed campus policies as irrelevant. Some expressed considerable anger over the process of policy implementation, rejecting the policies on the basis of professional and individual self-determination and moral integrity. Our study suggests the need for renewed efforts to encourage awareness of the relevance of conflict of interest policies for all faculty, new efforts to increase understanding of the situational nature of conflicts of interest, and reexamination of the processes of policy implementation at the campus level.     

A New National Health Agenda: Providing the Public With Accurate Information

For decades the recommendations provided by federal agencies have been decidedly one-sided, focusing on the dangers of obesity and need for weight loss. Therefore the public has been presented with incomplete and inaccurate information, which has stagnated our understanding of health. The primary objective needed for a new national health agenda is for the government to provide the public with complete and accurate information about health, weight, and dieting. In order for federal agencies and congress to promote a new national health agenda that reflects a more accurate understanding of the research, the author recommends the following policy changes: (1) the recognition of the health threat imposed by the thinness pursuit and eating disorders, (2) the promotion of weight stability rather than weight loss, (3) ensuring that the conclusions of federal agencies are neutral rather than serving special interest groups, (4) the protection of the consumer from harmful diet programs and drugs, and (5) the providing of public education campaigns emphasizing physical and psychological health rather than efforts for advancing such a national health-centered agenda.     

Explaining individual level support for organ procurement policy

The demand for human organs for transplantation – both from live and deceased donors – has become a public health issue in the United States, as thousands of Americans die each year due to the lack of a needed transplant. The current policy basis for organ procurement is voluntarism as federal organ procurement policy, based on the 1984 National Organ Transplant Act (NOTA), prohibits the exchange of human organs for “valuable consideration.” While an increasing number of policy analysts, including some ethicists, have advocated for financial incentives to induce more donations, a variety of factors – such as the legislative status quo, ongoing ethical concerns, and uncertain public support – have resulted in little use of financial incentives. We argue that a better understanding of public opinion is an important prerequisite for any move toward the use of financial incentives. Consequently, we develop and test a model to explain individual level attitudes toward legalizing and regulating the sale of human organs for transplant. We find that political ideology, gender, age and geographic region are important predictors of support.     

Gray Peril or Loyal Support? The Effects of the Elderly on Educational Expenditures*

Objectives. Do large concentrations of elderly represent a “gray peril” to maintaining adequate educational expenditures? The gray peril hypothesis is based on an assumption of instrumental self‐interest in political behavior. In contrast, we argue that loyalty to community schools competes with economic self‐interest and that older citizens are heterogeneous in their preferences. Methods. We test these arguments and their implications for public school finance using a data set of more than 9,000 school districts. Results. The data show that longstanding older residents represent a source of support for educational expenditures while elderly migrants lower spending. Further, this divide among the elderly and their impact on policy outputs depends on how states finance local public education and on aspects of state and local tax policy. Conclusions. Elderly concentrations are a financial asset for a school district unless the senior community includes a large number of new arrivals. The design of tax policy can have enormous impact on the depth of political cleavages and their ultimate impact on public policy. The results are consistent with the idea that loyalty—an emotional bond between residents and their community's institutions—competes with and often trumps instrumental self interest.     

Kin Financial Support: Receipt and Provision Among Unmarried Mothers

ABSTRACT

Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N = 2,039), we investigate how social resources influence unmarried mothers' provision and receipt of financial support within their social networks and whether patterns of financial support vary by race and ethnicity. Multinomial regression results indicate that relative to neither giving nor receiving, more advantaged mothers have higher odds of providing others with financial help, yet less advantaged mothers do not have consistently higher odds of receiving help. Tests for interactions indicate that financial support may be less available for Blacks in need than for other groups. Our findings provide evidence that because of its unpredictable nature and unequal availability among disadvantaged groups, informal financial support cannot be expected to fill gaps in the public safety net.     

The Organization of Health Policy Functions in the German Federal Government

This article gives an account of the organizational history of the German federal ministry of health (and its predecessors) since the beginnings of public policy intervention in health care. In doing so it analyses the role of ministerial organization and examines the functional and political rationale underlying acts of reorganizing the tasks and resources of federal ministries. This analysis has two sides: the first concerns the expressive function of organizational form, as revealing something about the scope and perceived importance of the policy field, while the second interrogates the policy‐shaping role of organization and the political influence of the federal health ministry in health policy‐making. The article thus considers the organizational location of health issues in the central executive from the perspective of what it reveals about government goals and priorities. Then it examines possible policy implications. It looks at resources and the size of the ministry as a first attempt to learn something about the ministry's political weight. The question of policy implications draws our attention away from organization and resource allocation and back to a focus on policy‐making and policy outcomes. The final section therefore examines substantive policy implications that might have emanated from the organizational consolidation of the federal health ministry. It concludes that one such policy implication might be the erosion of the social insurance model as a regulatory idea in health‐care services and financing.     

Perceptions of power and the management of environmental conflict: Forest politics in British Columbia

Political actors' perceptions of the contexts in which they act influence their strategies and behavior. A key element of political contexts is the configuration of power with respect to a conflict. We interviewed 28 individuals involved in British Columbia forest politics to determine their perceptions of the configuration of power, the nature of their political behavior, their dispositions with respect to institutionalized conflict resolution processes, and their policy goals. Our analysis generated two sets of conclusions. First, the B.C. government's efforts to address forest conflict will be hindered by the inconsistency between the conflict management strategy they have chosen and the mental models of politics held by key political actors. Second, the subjective realities of political actors can be used to explain variation in political behavior.     

Aging and social welfare in transition: the case of the United States

In the United States at the end of the twentieth century, government policies regarding elderly people appear to be in transition. In part this reflects the traditional American ambivalence between radical individualism and collective assistance - especially in the form of tax-supported public welfare provided through government agencies - for those unable to earn or save for their own support. But in part this reflects new concerns about the growth of welfare "entitlements" for elderly people and the presumed "generational inequity" of public support for the aged at the expense of funds for children and young families. We review 1) the changing demography of the United States elderly population, 2) the complex and ambivalent history of welfare policy in the United States and 3) the evidence for tensions and conflicts between older and younger Americans in the context of politicized "generational inequity" debates, with special attention to changing government health care policies. We conclude that in American society, particularly in terms of federal assistance to the aged, there is considerable public support for current policy measures, and - contrary to the predictions of many - it is not likely that there will be dramatic policy changes in the near future.     

Neoliberalism and the reform of regulation policy in the Australian trucking sector: policy innovation or a repeat of known pitfalls?

This study explores the influences of neoliberalism on the design and operation of regulation policy in the Australian trucking sector. It examines the introduction of a programme of voluntary self-regulation and considers why despite known weaknesses, regulators persist with such policy reforms. The study draws on qualitative research involving representatives of policy and regulatory agencies as well as industry participants. The analysis examines the role of markets in directing truck operator interest towards public policy compliance objectives. This generates a diversity of responses from firms ranging from willing compliance to deceptive ritualism. The findings reveal how voluntary self-regulation appeals to some segments of industry and how in this case it also signals a shift in regulatory culture, facilitating a new and more engaging dialogue between industry and regulators around compliance and safety concerns. This study shows that advances in industry-regulator engagement help explain why neoliberal policy influences are often readily embraced by regulatory agencies. Here, we see how programmes of voluntary self-regulation present both symbolic and substantive value for key policy actors.     

Tobacco Farming and Public Health: Attitudes of the General Public and Farmers

The tobacco industry remains a formidable influence in thwarting tobacco control efforts, in part because industry leaders have raised policymaker and public concern about how tobacco control might negatively impact tobacco farmers. In this study, we interviewed a random, stratified sample of 528 tobacco farmers in the Southeast and 991 U.S. residents about issues related to tobacco farmers. We found that a majority of the U.S. public expressed the belief that U.S. taxpayers subsidized tobacco farmers. This belief, combined with the strong opposition to tobacco farmer subsidies (15 percent thought there should be subsidies), likely play a role in public attitudes toward tobacco farmers. At the same time, however, we found reasonably strong public support for efforts to help tobacco farmers transition to new enterprises, although the public underestimates tobacco farmer interest in diversification. For example, two of three Americans believe that the government should help farmers make a living other than growing tobacco and over half thought that taxpayers should help pay for such programs. These data illustrate potential common ground for elected officials to consider as they attempt to concomitantly address the needs of farmers and the interests of the public. Ultimately, if the interests of tobacco farmers can be made clearly to the general public, and vice versa, pro-health and pro-farmer policies might well become a reality     

Ten Steps to Developing a National Agenda to Address Financial Conflicts of Interest in Industry Sponsored Clinical Research

Financial liaisons between clinical researchers, research institutions, and industrial sponsors have gained momentum in recent years. In the process, it has been argued by many that trust in the research infrastructure is being eroded by the financial conflicts of interest that emerge from these arrangements. Yet, the financial resources of industry are needed to continue technology transfer from the bench to the bedside. Policy makers and government regulators are currently struggling to determine how to best manage financial conflicts of interest that emerge from these liaisons. Various organizations and governmental entities have proposed different strategies. This paper explores the limitations of existing measures and recommends that a unified national agenda is needed. We propose 10 steps to develop an agenda to address financial conflicts of interest in industry-sponsored clinical research.     

Ten steps to developing a national agenda to address financial conflicts of interest in industry sponsored clinical research

Financial liaisons between clinical researchers, research institutions, and industrial sponsors have gained momentum in recent years. In the process, it has been argued by many that trust in the research infrastructure is being eroded by the financial conflicts of interest that emerge from these arrangements. Yet, the financial resources of industry are needed to continue technology transfer from the bench to the bedside. Policy makers and government regulators are currently struggling to determine how to best manage financial conflicts of interest that emerge from these liaisons. Various organizations and government entities have proposed different strategies. This paper explores the limitations of existing measures and recommends that a unified national agenda is needed. We propose 10 steps to develop an agenda to address financial conflicts of interest in industry-sponsored clinical research.     

公共政策过程与行业协会的角色定位——中关村外商投资协会的案例研究

在高科技产业发展中 ,行业协会发挥着重要作用。中关村科技园区积极促进行业协会的发展。本文认为 ,行业协会的发展和作用的发挥 ,需要有公共政策的制定过程利益群体发挥作用的机制存在。否则 ,行业协会难以发挥令企业满意的功能。为此 ,本文提出几项政策建议。     

A CAUTIONARY NOTE ON ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMICS

Environmental questions have become a permanent feature of the political landscape in contemporary Australia and now play a significant role in election campaigns at both state and federal levels. Indeed, one of the most significant policy debates in the 1996 Federal election focussed on the environmental policy proposed by the Liberal/National Party coalition, which sought to fund a host of environmental programs from the proceeds of a part privatisation of Telstra. The trade-offs involved in this policy have generated substantial opposition to it and served to underline the prominence of environmental questions in Australian politics. Despite the importance of ‘the environment’ in popular thought, public debate is still typically characterised by ‘feel good’ policy announcements by politicians, sensationalist media reporting and deceptive claims by some environmental interest groups. Whilst progress has undoubtedly been made, the result has often been a plethora of inchoate and frequently conflicting policies. Not surprisingly this ‘muddle through’ approach has produced numerous instances of government intervention not only failing to meet its planned objectives but also generating unintended consequences.     

From protests to litigation to YouTube: A longitudinal case study of strategic lobby tactic choice for the Buffalo Field Campaign

Interest group scholars have long explored under what circumstances interest groups choose lobby tactics to influence policy. While most studies focus on well-funded national interest groups, this study uses a newly formed interest group, Buffalo Field Campaign (BFC), in order to qualitatively analyze changes in lobby tactic choice from its inception and empirically assess these changes with traditional measures of lobby choice. Additionally, this study employs an innovative methodology by proposing a new typology of lobby strategy and using the interest group's political narratives as the data source. Thus, the research questions addressed in this study are: (1) does the BFC evolve over a ten year period in terms of lobby typologies and if so, how?; (2) qualitatively, what are these lobby activities?; and (3) how does choice of lobby typology relate to age of the group, issue saliency, financial resources, and external political context? The results indicate that BFC has gone through three distinct lobbying stages since its inception from indirect-unconventional to direct-conventional to indirect-conventional. Significantly correlated with these stages are age, financial resources, and governing coalition; interestingly, there are no statistically significant associations between lobby tactic choice and issue salience or external political context measured in the number of bison deaths. The implications of the findings for the study of other interest groups are explored.     

宗教与美国公共政策

美国宪法实行＂政教＂分离原则,禁止教会干预国家政务,但事实上,宗教组织在美国政治体制中如同利益集团一样运作,以各种方式参与和影响公共政策的制定,以确保自己的宗教利益。鉴于美国宗教组织在教义信仰和组织结构上呈多元化,它们对公共政策的影响方式和程度也各自相异,主要取决于历史传统、教义信条、内部团结力量、外部反对力量、战略地位和时代精神等因素。     

Beyond Women,Children, and Families: Gender,Representation, and Public Funding for the Arts*

Objectives. Research on the impact of female legislators has found that in their voting records women in elective office tend to be more liberal and more supportive of issues of concern to women, children, and families than are men, differences that conform to gender stereotypes held by voters. This article examines another well‐established gender stereotype that is not linked to the traditional concerns of women as conventionally defined by scholars: that women in public office will be more supportive of the arts. Method. The 40 votes taken on arts legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives, 1983–2002, are examined using negative binomial regression in a model that includes district and personal characteristics. Results. Democratic Party membership and support, citizen ideology, urban residence, and gender are significant factors in explaining support for public funding for the arts. Female representatives are more likely than their male colleagues to support the arts, a finding that primarily reflects the greater support of Republican women for the arts in comparison with their male counterparts. Conclusion. This study suggests that substantive representation of women by female elected officials may extend to more policy issues than previous research has documented. Research on issues that are recognized as gendered (e.g., arts policy) but are not traditionally defined as women's issues is an area for further exploration.