Listening in polarised controversies: a study of listening practices in the public sphere

Policy Sciences - Listening is an important feature of policy making and democratic politics. Yet in an era of increased polarisation the willingness and capacity of citizens to listen to each...     

Bridging the Gap – Non‐state Actors and the Challenges of Regulating New Technology

Designing a system of regulation that will deliver defined policy objectives is not easy. This is particularly so when regulating new technologies, where challenges relating to uncertainty and risk, resource asymmetry, and regulatory disconnection are especially significant. By adopting a pluralistic, decentred approach to regulation that utilizes a range of soft‐law regulatory techniques, non‐state actors can contribute in a variety of ways to these special challenges. However, using non‐state resources in this way (either formally or informally) is not a panacea. Public trust and confidence in the regulation of risk is crucial in ensuring the viability of the control framework. Yet, it is difficult to maintain, not least because regulatory pluralism often envisages state and industry cooperation. Nevertheless, the involvement of non‐state actors, including industry, is important if the regulatory framework is not to hamper technological development or expose the public to unacceptable risks.     

The role of community in facilitating service utilization

Guided by an integrated theory of parent participation, this study examines the role community characteristics play in influencing a parent's decision to use voluntary child abuse prevention programs. Multiple regression techniques were used to determine if different community characteristics, such as neighborhood distress and the community's ratio of caregivers to those in need of care, predict service utilization levels in a widely available home visiting program. Our findings suggest that certain community characteristics are significant predictors of the extent to which families utilize voluntary family supports over and above the proportion of variance explained by personal characteristics and program experiences. Contrary to our initial assumptions, however, new parents living in the most disorganized communities received more home visits than program participants living in more organized communities. The article concludes with recommendations on how community capacity building might be used to improve participant retention.     

Means-Tested Public Assistance Programs and Adolescent Political Socialization

In recent years, scholars have pointed to the politically demobilizing effects of means-tested assistance programs on recipients. In this study, we bridge the insights from policy feedback literature and adolescent political socialization research to examine how receiving means-tested programs shapes parent influence on adolescent political participation. We argue that there are differences in pathways to political participation through parent political socialization and youth internal efficacy beliefs for adolescents from households that do or do not receive means-tested assistance. Using data from a nationally representative sample of 536 Black, Latino, and White adolescents (50.8% female), we find that adolescents from means-tested assistance households report less parent political socialization and political participation. For all youth, parent political socialization predicts adolescent political participation. Internal political efficacy is a stronger predictor of political participation for youth from a non-means-tested assistance household than it is for youth from a household receiving means-tested assistance. These findings provide some evidence of differential paths to youth political participation via exposure to means-tested programs.     

Independence Under Fire: Extra-legal Pressures and Coalition Building in WTO Dispute Settlement

This study uses detailed quantitative analyses of the completehistory of rulings made by the Panels and the Appellate Bodyof the WTO Dispute Settlement Mechanism during its first tenyears of operation, to assess the robustness of theories regardingthe decision-making of these institutions. Regression analysesare used to test for correlation between the success of Complainantsin dispute settlement and a variety of factors, representingthe hypothesized capacity of states to influence Panels andthe Appellate Body through dimensions of political and economicpower, the impact of the relative practical capacities of statesin dispute settlement proceedings, and the formation of coalitionsof states in support of a particular Complainant or Respondent.The results of the regression analyses – that few significantcorrelations exist between the independent variables and thedispute outcomes – provide evidence that the judicialinstitutions of the Dispute Settlement Mechanism are independentfrom Member State influence. The one reliable correlation foundin these analyses demonstrates that a Complainant state doeshave substantial advantage in Panel proceedings if it has previouslyparticipated in more disputes than the Respondent.     

New Mexico’s experience with Indian casinos and crime

Gambling has been around forever. Yet we still know relatively little about the effect of gambling on the fabric of societies. Previous studies have attempted to explain the relationship between gambling and crime, but most have fallen short because the relationship is so complex and making the connection has been so difficult. In this paper we will examine the impact of Indian gaming on crime in the State of New Mexico. First, specific crime rates in New Mexico counties with tribal gaming are discussed. Second, comparisons of the rates of specific crimes are made between New Mexico counties with tribal gaming and those without. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the annual meeting of the Western Social Science Association, Reno, Nevada, April 18–21, 2001. Violet DeVore gathered much of the archival information while participating in the Kellogg Foundation American Indian Bridges Program at New Mexico State University. Drs. Russ Winn, of New Mexico State University, and Grant Stitt, of the University of Nevada-Reno, contributed immeasurably to this research with their helpful comments and suggestions. As always, any mistakes are those of the authors alone.