Organised interests in the media and policy congruence: The contingent impact of the status quo

While a multitude of studies have investigated the link between opinion and policy, we have little knowledge of how and when organised interests affect this linkage. We argue that the alignment of organised interests affects opinion–policy congruence by influencing the weight decision-makers attach to citizen preferences. Moreover, we propose that alignment between majorities of groups and the public matters the most when status quo bias must be overcome for the public to obtain its preferred policy. We test our theoretical claims drawing on a comprehensive media content analysis of 160 policy issues in Germany and Denmark. Our results present a more sceptical picture of the ability of groups to suppress the opinion–policy linkage than the one frequently presented in the academic literature and public debate. We find that the capacity of groups to affect whether policy is congruent with the majority of the public is restricted to situations where the public supports a change in the status quo. In these cases, policy is less likely to end up reflecting public opinion if the majority of interest groups do not support the public position. In cases where the public is supportive of the policy status quo, the position of interest groups does not affect the likelihood that policy will eventually reflect the preferred position of the public. Our findings expand existing knowledge of organised interests in the study of policy representation and have important implications for understanding democratic governance.     

Researching other people's rows: Current research into divorce conciliation

Conclusion This paper has been a review of some current issues in research to monitor conciliation and mediation in matrimonial disputes. We have argued that although the main faults of the Lord Chancellor's Department'sReport of the Inter-Departmental Committee on Conciliation have been well identified by critics, some of the criticisms are unnecessarily harsh and unfair. Second, we have pointed to the major weaknesses of research to date on conciliation. These are: (a) the absence of convincing controls to conciliated clients; (b) the lack of consumer research. We have suggested an aggressive research design to overcome the first of these problems and argued against theprima facie ethical objection to it. Finally, we have reviewed the issue of confidentiality of information in relation to research needs. We have suggested that a reluctance to betray confidences can not only be seen as part of a general adherence to the informed consent principle, but that, for us, it forms part of a general attitude to research that treats clients as responsible partners in the acquisition of knowledge and insight.With these three themes in mind we look forward to research into conciliation that is (a) more convincing than the Robinson report; (b) more adventurous in tackling the problems of legitimate inference of the cause/effect type; (c) sensitive to ethical issues without being unnecessarily timid.     

Fatal familial haemolytic anaemia

A 19-year-old man, mentally handicapped but physically well, died within 2 days of onset of an acute episode of gastrointestinal upset and "haematuria." Autopsy and microscopy suggested a haemolytic episode and family studies showed haemolytic anemia due to glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency, which was almost certainly present in the deceased.     

新时期中国共产党推动区域科学发展的思路创新和基本经验

改革开放以来,中国共产党在开辟中国特色社会主义道路进程中,开始了区域发展的重大战略转轨。经过30多年的艰辛探索,形成了统筹区域协调发展的思想及战略体系。从区域科学发展的角度重新审视新时期党对统筹区域协调发展问题的探索,我们可以获得新的有益启示和宝贵经验。