Media,Politics and Climate Change: Towards a New Research Agenda

Climate change is one of the most pressing issues of our time, and the media have been demonstrated to play a key role in shaping public perceptions and policy agendas. Journalists are faced with multiple challenges in covering this complex field. This article provides an overview of existing research on the media framing of climate change, highlighting major research themes and assessing future potential research developments. It argues that analysis of the reporting of climate science must be placed in the wider context of the growing concentration and globalization of news media ownership, and an increasingly ‘promotional culture’, highlighted by the rapid rise of the public relations industry in recent years and claims‐makers who employ increasingly sophisticated media strategies. Future research will need to examine in‐depth the targeting of media by a range of actors, as well as unravel complex information flows across countries as media increasingly converge.     

Perceptions of suicide and their impact on policy,discourse and welfare

In recent years, there has been an increase in suicide rates throughout the Western world. However, psycho-social responses to the problem are limited, as is public awareness of suicide and its consequences. This article presents findings from a survey on public attitudes toward suicide in Israel. The survey was conducted among a representative sample, and examined the extent to which the problem is a public priority for developing interventions aimed at preventing and reducing the rates of suicide. The findings revealed that despite the prevalence of suicide in Israel, and even though many of the participants had been personally acquainted with the families of suicide victims, suicide still ranks low on the hierarchy of bereavement. The Israeli public is ignorant about suicide, and does not consider it a problem that calls for government intervention and accountability. The study highlights the need for social workers to play an active role as social agents in an attempt to change the social ‘bereavement pyramid’ perception and effect on government policy toward suicide.     

How Academic Research Shapes Labor and Social Policy

How academic research affects labor and social policy is viewed through a program evaluation framework that highlights the difficulties of determining the causal impact of such research on public policy. The effect is illustrated by examples. My conclusion is that academic research can have a modest to substantial impact on policy. Its impact is enhanced if it has a number of key characteristics: high quality; reputable researchers involved; synthesized and translated into a language understood by policy makers, the general public, and the media; credible champions who will broker and defend it, in the political process or in the public realm; timeliness; and, political acceptability.     

Testing a multiple time series methodology for evaluating natural resources policy: Application to aquatic preserve management

During the 1970s, the Florida Legislature developed a statewide system of 35 aquatic preserves with the intent that areas having exceptional biological, aesthetic, and scientific value be set aside forever as aquatic preserves or sanctuaries. Although aquatic preserves have drawn the attention of policy makers in Florida, little is known of the impact of public policy decisions on aquatic preserve quality. Multiple time series analyses are applied to government decision inputs (the number of dredge and fill permits issued) and environmental quality outputs (the number of water quality violations) to test the use of multiple time series methods on natural resources policy data.     

The shaping of Australia's immigration and refugee policy

Since 1945, the objectives of Australia's immigration policy have been based at one time or another on security, self‐sufficiency, labour market considerations, economic growth, homogeneity, population building and social and humanitarian considerations. The scale of immigration has been influenced by the level of unemployment, general economic conditions prevailing at the time, the political party in government, the lobbying power of prospective interest groups, public perception and receptiveness, and foreign policy considerations. Australia's refugee policy (including intake), which was only formalized in 1977, has been determined by the resettlement needs around the world, foreign policy considerations and domestic politics.     

Implications of behavioural economics for financial literacy and public policy

This paper summarizes and highlights different methodological approaches to behavioural economics in the context of the conventional economic wisdom and the implications of these different methodological approaches for financial literacy, related institutional change, and public policy. Conventional economics predicts no substantive improvement from improvements to financial literacy. The errors and biases approach to behavioural economics suggests limited improvements to decision making from financial education as errors and biases are largely hardwired in the brain. Government and expert intervention affecting individual choice behaviour is recommended. The evidence suggests that the bounded rationality approach to behavioural economics, with its focus on smart decision makers and the importance institutional and environment constraints on decision making, is the most promising lense through which to analyse financial decision making. From this perspective, financial decision making can be improved by providing decision makers with better quality information presented in a non-complex fashion, an institutional environment conducive to good decisions, an incentive structure that internalize externalities involved in financial decision making, and financial education that will facilitate making the best use of the information at hand within a specific decision-making environment.     

Changing Attitudes to Disabled People in the Scout Association in Britain (1908-62): a contribution to a history of disability

This paper suggests that an historical analysis of attitudes to disabled people is an important but neglected area of study. Attitudes to disabled people will change over time and policy makers within organisations and the general public will be influenced by a variety of social factors. Governmental policies and legislation may prove of minor influence or trigger unexpected change in organisational attitudes. An examination of policy in the disability section of the Scout Association and its approach to disabled scouts illustrates the complexity of influences on organisational policy over time. Documentary evidence suggests that the Association was promoting integration of disabled scouts into the wider organisation during the inter war period when national policies promoted segregation. However in 1959, when major segregative legislation was repealed, there was a change of policy to exclude a particular group of disabled people-that is people with learning difficulties-from full membership.     

Land use planning practice under the public land ownership policy in Tanzania

Land-use planning can be defined as a programme of state intervention in land use and environmental change to mediate conflicts of interests over how land should be used, developed, and coordinate individual activities which if left to proceed otherwise would lead to an environment for living that is characterised by negative externalities, inefficient use of land and services, inequity and unfair distribution of resources. The land-use programme is realised through a planning system, constituted by institutional arrangements, instruments and tools. Being one of the land policy tool by which the government intervenes in land-use change and development, land-use planning practice is, obviously, influenced by the content of the land policy as well as interests extant in a locality to include those of the planners and other land administrators. How does planning practice looks like under a public landownership policy? Through an empirical case of planning in practice, this paper provides an answer to this question.     

Crusading Journalism: Changing Public Attitudes and Policy-Making Agendas

This is the third in a series of studies on the agenda-settingeffects of news media investigations of social issues. Researchershad access to a local five-part television investigation ofrepeatedly brutal police officers before it was broadcast inthe February 1983 sweeps period. Using random-digit-dialingto select a sample of Chicago area viewers, researchers surveyed428 members of the general public on their attitudes towardvarious social issues, including the conduct of city policeofficers. We hypothesized that respondents exposed to the serieswould change their responses to questions about police brutality,which they did in statistically significant numbers. A similarsurvey of so-called elites, policy makers or persons with aprior interest in police behavior, also was undertaken beforeand repeated after the series was broadcast. Although no statisticallysignificant change in elite opinions of police behavior occurred,small but statistically significant changes in knowledge ofspecific police acts were recorded. Researchers discuss thefindings of study three and speculate about the different agenda-settingeffects of the three series.     

Harnessing civil society's knowledge for development policy: Potential and challenges for the Republic of Yemen

This exploratory case study investigated Yemeni civil society actors’ actual and potential contribution to policy‐making, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, in the sectors prioritized in Yemen's national development strategy. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted in Sana'a between January and July 2015 with policy‐makers, researchers from academic institutions and civil society organizations. More specifically, this article discusses the role that YPRIs play in the public policy landscape of Yemen; the challenges they face in their interaction with policy‐makers; the opportunities they represent for policy actors in Yemen; and the factors enabling and limiting their influence, communication, inclusiveness and capacity. The authors conclude by contextualizing their findings within the ongoing conflict and drawing lessons for post‐war policy‐making in Yemen.     

Population policy and development in Zambia: an evolutionary perspective

While there is no explicit and coherent statement of population policy in Zambia, it may be said that population policies are unknowingly embedded in various actions of government, which obscures their existence as a distinct set of policies. The reciprocal influence between development actions and demographic variables is evident. This paper attempts to identify population policies by extracting them from development actions. 2 conclusions can be drawn from the analysis: during the colonial days there was no centralized development planning and demographic variables were thus not seen in relation to development. Population was still not included as a component of development planning in the early years of independence. Recently, however, there has been increased awareness of the interaction of population and economic development. The 2nd National Development Plan (1972-76) incorporated important demographic variables (growth rate, future population size, estimates of current and future school and working-age populations) and recognized rapid growth and population pressures on social services as population problems. Specific policies to resolve these problems were not proposed. There is a need to specify the exact relationships between government action and demographic change. Policy makers should be aware of the effects of their development policies on demographic variables; this should help in predicting the desired direction and magnitude of population change.     

Linking government social media usage to public perceptions of government performance: an empirical study from China

Based on an online survey of 1042 Beijing residents, this study links the usage of government social media tools, including WeChat, microblogs, and apps, to public perceptions of the government’s performance. The results indicated that young people are more likely to use government microblogs. In contrast, an inverted U-shaped relationship was found between age and the utilization of government WeChat and apps. The findings also showed that people with high education, high economic status, and a local hukou were more likely to use all three government social media tools. In controlling for the demographic variables, the results showed that the most important predictor of the use of a government social media tool was the use of any other government social media tool. The general use of social media significantly influenced the use of government social media tools, whereas the direction of this influence depended on the homogeneity or heterogeneity of these behaviors. Moreover, the results revealed a linkage between government social media use and public perceptions of government performance. Functional use, especially information acquisition and participation, was a significant predictor of perceived government transparency, responsiveness, and citizen satisfaction, while the public service function significantly increased perceived government responsiveness.     

Genetically modified food in France: symbolic transformation and the policy paradigm shift

The priorities of French policy regarding genetically modified (GM) food shifted in the late 1990s from aggressive promotion to strict regulation based on precaution and separation of GM food. This paradigmatic policy change coincided with a rapid shift in the dominant meanings of GM food in larger French public discourses. Using data from media coverage, organizational documents, and in-depth interviews, the study examines the relationship between policy developments and GM food’s symbolic transformation. I argue that the interpretive dimension interacted with and co-evolved incrementally with formal policy developments, and that it cannot be understood as epiphenomenal to political processes, or as preceding and propelling a policy change. I identify three mechanisms of symbolic transformation: (1) multiplication of meanings; (2) association with other salient issues; and (3) coupling with national identity (boundary work). Conversely, this symbolic transformation influenced the terms of political debates and viable strategies, influencing policy developments. The study also demonstrates how certain longstanding elements of French political culture shaped, and were changed or reproduced through, these processes.     

Understanding men's health and illness: a gender-relations approach to policy, research, and practice

Men's health has emerged as an important public concern that may require new kinds of healthcare interventions and increased resources. Considerable uncertainty and confusion surround prevailing understandings of men's health, particularly those generated by media debate and public policy, and health research has often operated on oversimplified assumptions about men and masculinity. A more useful way of understanding men's health is to adopt a gender-relations approach. This means examining health concerns in the context of men's and women's interactions with each other, and their positions in the larger, multidimensional structure of gender relations. Such an approach raises the issue of differences among men, which is a key issue in recent research on masculinity and an important health issue. The gender-relations approach offers new ways of addressing practical issues of healthcare for men in college environments.     

我国政府应对网络新媒体意见领袖的方式变革及评析

随着微博等新媒体的发展,网络新媒体意见领袖在公共事件中的影响力不断加大,对青年群体的影响更加广泛、深刻,对政府的危机公关提出了更多挑战。我国政府在应对网络新媒体意见领袖方面,大致上先后经历了放任不管、积极参与和规范秩序三个阶段。以微博意见领袖为例对几种有代表性的政府应对方式的研究认为,政府在公共事件中应对意见领袖时,必须要求各级官员更新思想观念,确立有针对性的领导体系,建立微博舆情的分析机制、引导机制和管理机制,并完善相关法律法规。     

Networks in public policy: Nuclear energy in the Netherlands

The article analyses the network of interlocking directorates as a part of public policy analysis of nuclear energy policy in the Netherlands. This network represents an interorganizational communication structure on the policy decision level. An organization's position in this structure reflects its position in policy formulation and implementation. Semi-governmental bodies function as important mediators between central government and private actors, of which the engineering and electricity companies have been the most influential.     

Fingerprint-based background checks for personal care workers: Stakeholder views of policy criteria

Decision makers face difficult choices when tasked with identifying and implementing appropriate mechanisms for protecting the elderly and other vulnerable adults from abuse. A pilot project involving fingerprint-based criminal history background checks for personal care workers in Michigan has supplied an opportunity to examine one such mechanism. In conjunction with the pilot project, we have conducted a stakeholder analysis with the aim of informing decision makers about stakeholder perceptions of standard policy criteria like effectiveness, efficiency, and equity. We employed focus groups and a Web-based survey to collect data from stakeholders. While stakeholders generally see fingerprint-based background checks for personal care workers as potentially effective and as a net benefit, they also point to a variety of contingencies. They also recognize difficulties and constraints for government involvement. This preliminary analysis provides solid foundational information for decision makers and for more extensive benefit–cost analysis.     

Nonprofit's Use of Awards to Improve and Demonstrate Performance: Valuable Discipline or Burdensome Formalities?

Arrangements to certify that an organization's management systems meet standards of good practice are an increasingly prominent feature in the environment of public and private nonprofits. This paper reports an exploratory study of the issues that this phenomenon presents to managers and policy makers, drawing on the limited literature, and five case studies covering two different schemes. The main conclusions are that nonprofits can and do use these awards in very different ways, and hence the outcomes are diverse. These findings run counter both to the rational system assumptions on which such arrangements are based, and to the general thrust of institutional theory with its emphasis on isomorphism. Some implications for decision makers and future research are outlined.     

Game theory and global environmental policy

Economists interpret global environmental quality to be a pure public good. Each country should contribute to its provision. However, this is hard to achieve because each government is tempted to take a free ride on the other governments’ efforts. Not only has this dilemma been analysed with game theoretical methods but game theory has also been used to think about how to make amends. This paper reviews the game theoretical discussion on how international policy frameworks may be designed to improve the chances for international cooperation. It is also shown that the evaluation of alternative environmental policy instruments deviates from the standard environmental economics model if applied to the international arena. For the benefit of an interdisciplinary readership, the evolution of the debate on global environmental policy is related to the recent history of economic thought. This history is taken to be materialised in the writings of economics’ Nobel Prize laureates.     

The impact of a tailgating policy on students' drinking behavior and perceptions

In the fall of 2004, a midwestern public university changed its tailgating policy from one that did not allow alcohol consumption to one that did. OBJECTIVE, PARTICIPANTS, AND METHODS: The authors surveyed students before and after the policy change to measure consumption, problems, perceptions of peer consumption, and reported game attendance. RESULTS: Results showed no change in drinking quantities or prevalence of problems after the policy change; however, there was an increase in students' misperceptions, with students overestimating drinking quantities and the number of students who drank while tailgating. Last, students' predictions about their game attendance if alcohol was allowed were higher than their reported attendance after the policy change. CONCLUSIONS: Conclusions suggest that although drinking quantities may not be influenced by policies at tailgating events, misperceptions may be influenced. Administrators should note that the policy did not affect students' self-reported game attendance.