Advocacy coalitions,beliefs and climate change policy in the United States

The Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF) asserts that disagreement over policy core beliefs divides organizations into competing coalitions. We apply Discourse Network Analysis to 1,410 statements in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times and USA Today to investigate what kinds of beliefs contribute to coalition formation in the climate change policy debate in the news media in the United States. We find that the beliefs concerning the reality of anthropogenic climate change, the importance of ecology over economy and desirability of governmental regulation divide organizations into three advocacy coalitions: the economy, ecology and science coalitions. Policy preferences such as cap and trade do not; they find support across coalition lines. Based on these findings, we suggest that ACF theory could be clarified to better account for how beliefs concerning policy instruments contribute to coalition formation. In some policy domains, policy instruments are where opposing coalitions find agreement. In others, they are more divisive.     

Ideas in Exile: Refugees from Nazi Germany and the Failure to Transplant Historical Sociology into the United States

This paper examines the reasons for the variable incidence and differing forms of historical sociology in several different historical periods, with a focus on Germany and the USA. It examines the flows of social scientists between those two countries due to forced exile from Nazi Germany, the American military occupation after 1945, and the voluntary exchange of scholars. The article focuses on extrascientific determinants such as political support for historical scholarship and macrosocial crisis or stability, as well as determinants that are more proximate or internal to the scientific field, such as the ongoing struggle between different epistemologies and the ability of historical sociology to sequester itself into a protected subfield. Historical sociology was one of the two poles of German sociology before 1933, whereas historical sociology had only a handful of proponents in the USA at that time. After 1933, the majority of German historical sociologists went into exile, most of them to the USA. For reasons explored here, the historical orientation of these exiled intellectuals had little resonance in the USA until the 1970s. Rather than being epistemologically “domesticated” in the 1980s, as Calhoun (1996) argued, historical sociology established itself as a subfield that is large enough to produce an internal polarization between an autonomous pole that relates mainly to history and other external allies and a heteronomous pole that mimics the protocols that dominate the sociological discipline as a whole, including a neopositivist epistemology of “covering laws” and at attraction to rational choice theory and quantitative methods, or qualitative simulacra of multivariate statistical analysis. In Germany, historical sociology failed to survive the Nazi period. Several leading Weimar-era historical sociologists stayed in Germany after 1933 but were unable to reestablish their prominence either because of their Nazi collaboration or because their work was dismissed by a new generation trained during the Nazi period for presentist, policy-oriented, “American-style”, or else trained in the USA after the war. The handful of exiled historical sociologists who returned to Germany after 1945 were marginalized, stopped working historically, or moved into other disciplines like Political Science. The explanation of these trends has to be multicausal and conjunctural. The influx of historical sociologists to the USA from Germany was unable to produce a historicization of the discipline until 1970s, when positivist hegemony was challenged for other reasons. The crisis of Fordism undermined the social regularities that had made positivist “constant conjunctions” seem plausible and at the same time rendered historicist ontologies more plausible. The neo-Marxist historical sociology gave rise to a neo-institutionalist counter-trend, which was itself eventually countered by a culturalist and conjuncturalist turn (Adams et al. 2005). In Germany, however, the society-wide destabilization of Fordism did not lead to a historicization of sociology. The extinguishing of the Weimar-era historical school in sociology meant that only high theory and “American-style” empirical social research remained as vital options. As a result, the crisis of Fordism and the ensuing social discontinuities and complexities did not give rise to historical sociology but were felt mainly within theory (e.g., the “risk society” theory of Ulrich Beck).     

在美国花钱

圣诞节前商品大减价 美国的商家除了打出季节性处理商品外,还有节日性处理,而最受人瞩目的当数圣诞节前,这是个商品大消费的黄金季节.我曾在圣诞节前夕到过新奥尔良港,整座城市沉浸在节日的氛围中,街道两旁的窗前布置着鲜花和彩灯,街上彩旗飘飘,霓虹闪烁,人们欢歌笑语.     

Health in the United States.

On the whole, the American people consider themselves healthy and, according to the major health indicators, they are becoming healthier all the time. The expectation of life at birth is one and one-half times what it was at the beginning of the century. Many of the leading causes of death have experienced significant declines in rates in the last decade. Nevertheless, the minority populations frequently lag behind the white population with respect to health indicators. Prevention in the health field is being stressed through immunization programs and programs to influence individuals to change their habits. Nutrition is playing a larger role in public life; considerable publicity has been given to dietary goals for promotion of good health. The health service industry has grown rapidly. Health care has expanded and its costs have trebled since 1970. In the 1980s, interest will undoubtedly focus on minority populations and health, on how the economically disadvantaged may better be served, on the effects of an aging population on the health care system, and on how life-styles which undermine health care can be changed. The U.S. Surgeon General has established national health goals for the 1980s that will improve the nation's health if they are achieved.     

Paan and Gutka Use in the United States

Abstract

Smokeless tobacco and areca nut are popular with South Asians and South Asian immigrants, most commonly used as paan and gutka. Their regular use leads to oral cancer. The South Asian community in the U.S. is rapidly growing, where paan and gutka are readily available. The study was the first exploration of the migration of the paan and gutka habits, and their use in the U.S.

A 108-item questionnaire on paan and gutka usage and beliefs was administered to 138 first-generation Bangladeshi and Indian-Gujarati immigrant adults at community sites in the New York metropolitan area. Forty-five percent Indian-Gujaratis reported ever-regular paan use; of which 5% are current users. Thirty-one percent reported ever-regular gutka use; of which 77% are current users. Thirty-five percent Bangladeshis reported ever-regular paan use; of which 70% are current users. Nine percent reported ever-regular gutka use; of which 67% are current users. Bangladeshis are more likely to identify paan as causing oral cancer. Indian-Gujaratis are more likely to identify gutka as causing oral cancer.

Between the two communities, there were significant differences in paan and gutka usage, migration effects, and oral cancer risk perception. There is a need for comprehensive migration studies on the determinants of usage, and for community-specific interventions for these carcinogenic products.     

Adolescent suicide myths in the United States

In the United States, teen suicide rates tripled over several decades, but have declined slightly since the mid-1990s. Suicide, by its nature, is a complex problem. Many myths have developed about individuals who complete suicide, suicide risk factors, current prevention programs, and the treatment of at-risk youth. The purpose of this article is to address these myths, to separate fact from fiction, and offer recommendations for future suicide prevention programs. Myth #1: Suicide attempters and completers are similar Myth #2: Current prevention programs work. Myth #3: Teenagers have the highest suicide rate. Myth #4: Suicide is caused by family and social stress. Myth #5: Suicide is not inherited genetically. Myth #6: Teen suicide represents treatment failure. Psychiatric illnesses are often viewed differently from other medical problems. Research should precede any public health effort, so that suicide prevention programs can be designed, implemented, and evaluated appropriately. Too often suicide prevention programs do not use evidence-based research or practice methodologies. More funding is warranted to continue evidence-based studies. We propose that suicide be studied like any medical illness, and that future prevention efforts are evidence-based, with appropriate outcome measures.     

Archetypal Terrorist Events in the United States

This research presents a typology of terrorist events rather than the more common typologies of terrorist groups and ideologies. Archetypal analysis, a quantitative methodology to identify pure types, was used with data in START's Global Terrorism Database to identify archetypal attacks in the United States. A set of seven archetypal events was identified including abortion bombings, poisonings, Aryan hate, hostage-taking, fire/bomb for damage, assassination, and the catastrophic Big Bad. These archetypes may be useful for training and exercising for events with additional potential value for developing theory of terrorist events.     

中国与印度在美国的游说行动对比

中国与印度对美国国内政治的塑造方法很少被关注,并更少被比较。大多数分析家描写美国对这两个崛起中的国家的影响。但是,在国际关系领域中,这两个国家对美国国内决策的影响越来越突出。一种比较典型的影响通道来自于游说集团。虽然双方都经常通过这类的方式,但是他们的游说行动还保持差异。按照理性主义,一切行为的基本特征都是对自身利益最大化的精密计算。本文通过案例分析的归纳方法来探索中印采取的游说措施,并使用国别观察来区分双方游说的共同点与不同点。最后,文章要判断为什么印度在美国的游说行动往往比中国的游说行动有效。     

Women and Organized Racial Terrorism in the United States

Racial terrorism—violence perpetrated by organized groups against racial minorities in pursuit of white and Aryan supremacist agendas—has played a significant role in U.S. society and politics. Women have been important actors in much of this violence. This article examines women's involvement in racial terrorism from the immediate post-Civil War period to the present. Although organized racial violence by women has increased over time, this trend may not continue. The strategic directions and tactical choices of Aryan and white supremacist groups are likely to alter the extent and nature of women's involvement in racial terrorism in the future.     

Intercountry Adoption from Guatemala and the United States

Abstract

On October 6, 2000, President Clinton signed the Inter-country Adoption Act of 2000 (H.R. 2909), which represents the United States' implementation of the 1993 Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect on Intercountry Adoption (Joint Council on International Children's Services, 2000). The Ratification of this international treaty came about as increasing attention was brought to the need for greater oversight of Intercountry adopters both into and out of the United States. Over the past decade, the number of United States citizens adopting children from overseas has more than doubled. There are also an increasing number of children who are United States citizens that are being adopted by citizens of other countries. Both the United States and Guatemala have established policies of participation in Inter-country adoption as sending nations primarily to address the problem of how to best care for children permanently separated from their families of origin. However, further analysis indicated that there are problems that these policies indirectly address which are much more complex. The purpose of this paper is to describe and analyze these policies.     

Far-Right Lone Wolf Homicides in the United States

Little is known about the nature of far-right lone wolf terrorism and how this form of violence varies across different types of suspects. Relying on data from the Extremist Crime Database (ECDB), we comparatively examine characteristics of far-right homicides in the United States perpetrated by suspects with no evident affiliations with domestic terrorist organizations. Surprisingly, we found that this form of lone wolf terrorism has generally not increased during the past decade. We also found important differences, such as in suspects’ mental health, in statuses of homicide offenders who operate alone compared to those who associate or act with others.     

美国社会生活拾零

在美国买房子 屈指算来,来美国已有五个年了,手头也有了些积蓄,加上老婆、孩子都跟了过来,就着手买房子,作长久打算。看了好多新房子旧房子,要么对房子不满意,要么对所在社区不满意,要么嫌房价太贵,可看了半年,房价就涨了半年,而且没有一点停的迹象,最后不得已咬牙花了近30万美元,在一个比较满意的社区买了一栋已使用了20多年的Ranch(平房)。 老父从国内来看我们,见我们花了200多万元人民币买了这么一个一拳可以打个洞、一脚可以踹倒一面墙的旧房子,很是心疼。他知道我们小夫妻这两年虽存了一些钱,但添置这添置那,现在手头离30万还差得远。而且他还担心我们在美国人生地不     

The Question of Palestine and United States Behavior at the United Nations

This article examines United States behavior at the United Nations regarding the Question of Palestine, with focus on the US-Israel relationship and US voting pattern. What is found is an overwhelming voting coincidence between the US and Israel in the UN General Assembly or a US liberal use of the veto in the UN Security Council in support of Israel. The strong bond between both countries, brought about by common interests and practical US realities, has created an impasse on the Question of Palestine at the UN. All concerned must realize that membership in the UN necessitates upholding the UN Charter and moving beyond national idiosyncrasies and short-term advantages in order to achieve stability and peace with justice for all.     

东盟-美国加强伙伴关系

早在今年7月底,东盟与美国签署了<实施加强东盟-美国伙伴关系行动计划框架文件>.该框架文件是2005年11月东盟和美国发表的<关于加强东盟-美国伙伴关系联合声明>的后续行动计划,涵盖了2006年至2010年东盟和美国全面加强双边关系与合作的行动安排.     

Antiterrorism legislation in the United States: Problems and implications

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Jeffrey E. Garten, A Cold Peace: America, Japan, Germany and the Struggle for Supremacy. A Twentieth Century Fund Book. (New York: Times Books, 1992/1993). 276 pp.     

美国和中亚的地区主义

谋求建立地区永久合作机构的运动将受到几个层面因素的影响:第一,地区主义受到国家能力的限制.一般来说,弱国与弱国不会成为很好的伙伴.在地区层面上,人们普遍认为霸权能够产生坚固的合作,在其中占主导地位的国家寻求建立使其主导地位制度化的地区机构而其他地区国家则寻求避免不顺从的代价;而另外一些国家则可能选择抵抗,它们的反霸权行为将阻碍正式或非正式地区机构的发展.地区国家之间的经济互补也有助于促进合作,而缺少这种互补则可能减少追求合作并使之制度化的动力.另外,跨边界资源(如水资源)的共享也会导致合作或者竞争.跨国挑战的出现(如恐怖主义、毒品交易、移民、环境恶化等),也会使国家在无力单独解决这些问题的时候选择加强合作关系;另一方面,这样的挑战也将激起其他一些国家的敌对反应.在跨国层面上,共同的文化和价值也将促进合作.没有共同的文化或更有甚者--重要文化差异的存在也是阻碍合作的重要因素.     

Electoral Risk and Redistributive Politics in Mexico and the United States

What strategy does a rational party follow in allocating discretionary expenditure? This article conceives redistributive politics as an investment strategy where expenditure allocations respond to electoral risk. To show the effects of risk, it provides evidence from Pronasol in Mexico and an analysis of New Deal spending in the United States. The analysis finds that the federal administrations in both countries responded to systematic electoral risk. Spending diversification into risky voters was a rational response to chances of losing elections. The analysis hence connects electoral volatility with redistributive spending.