Causal inference and American political development: the case of the gag rule

Public Choice - We extend previous work on the role of politically motivated donors who contribute to candidates in an election with single dimension policy preferences. In a two-stage game wherein...     

Exploring Aggregate vs. Relative Public Trust in Administrative Agencies that Manage Spent Nuclear Fuel in the United States

Trust is a key component of democratic decision‐making and becomes even more salient in highly technical policy areas, where the public relies heavily on experts for decision making and on the information provided by federal agencies. Research to date has not examined whether the members of the public place different levels of trust in the various agencies that operate within the same policy subsystem, especially in a highly technical subsystem such as that of nuclear energy and waste management. This paper explores public trust in multiple agencies operating within the same subsystem, trust in each agency relative to aggregate trust across agencies that operate within the nuclear waste subsystem, and trust in alternative agencies that have been suggested as possible players in the decision‐making process. We find that trust accorded to different federal agencies within the nuclear waste subsystem varies. The variation in trust is systematically associated with multiple factors, including basic trust in government, perceptions about the risks and benefits of nuclear energy/waste management, party identification, and education. These findings have significant implications for research on public trust in specific government agencies, alternative policy entities, and for policy makers who want to design robust and successful policies and programs in highly technical policy domains.     

Violence and Sexual Coercion in High School Students' Dating Relationships

A review of the dating violence literature reveals a limited number of studies with high school students and few studies that investigate the contextual issues of violence, such as meaning, motivation, and consequences. The present study sought to investigate the extent of dating violence victimization in a New Zealand sample of senior high school students (aged 16 to 18 years) and the perceived reasons for the violence, emotional effects, disclosure of the violence, and relationship consequences. A questionnaire that contained both open-ended and forced-choice items pertaining to experiences of violence and its consequences was developed using material gathered from focus group discussions with high school students. Findings showed gender similarity in the extent of violence and a number of significant gender differences in the aftermath of violence, particularly in the area of sexual coercion. These findings are discussed in the context of future research and prevention of dating violence.