Political Communication in the UK: A Study of Pressure Group Behaviour

The main political parties' adoption of 'soundbites' and 'spin-doctors' has led UK political communication to become dominated by a 'promotional culture'. This article describes the historical development of this trend and the academic debate it has stimulated over the 'quality' of contemporary political communication. The article then argues that by exploring how pressure groups have adopted similar promotional techniques a valuable new dimension can be added to this debate, which focuses on the ability to gain access to media coverage. Finally, this point is illustrated with a case study of Liberty, a civil liberties pressure group.     

Civic Education,Political Discussion,and the Social Transmission of Democratic Knowledge and Values in a New Democracy: Kenya 2002

How does civic education affect the development of democratic political culture in new democracies? Using a unique three‐wave panel data set from Kenya spanning the transitional democratic election of 2002, we posit a two‐step process of the social transmission of democratic knowledge, norms, and values. Civic education first affected the knowledge, values, and participatory inclinations of individuals directly exposed to the Kenyan National Civic Education Programme (NCEP). These individuals became opinion leaders, communicating these new orientations to others within their social networks. Individuals who discussed others’ civic education experiences then showed significant growth in democratic knowledge and values, in many instances more than individuals with direct exposure to the program. We find further evidence of a “compensation effect,” such that the impact of civic education and post‐civic education discussion was greater among Kenyans with less education and with lower levels of social integration.     

Institutionalising the 'eternal return': textbooks and the study of British politics

Anthony Birch, The British System of Government
Ian Budge and David McKay (eds), The Developing British PoliticalSystem: the 1990s
Ian Budge, Ivor Crewe, David McKay and Ken Newton, The NewBritish Politics
Bill Coxall and Lynton Robins, Contemporary British Politics
John Dearlove and Peter Saunders, Introduction to British Politics
Patrick Dunleavy, Andrew Gamble, Ian Holliday and Gillian Peele (eds), Developments in British Politics 5
Bill Jones, Andrew Gray, Dennis Kavanagh, Michael Moran, Philip Nortonand Anthony Seldon, Politics UK
Dennis Kavanagh, British Politics: Continuities and Change
John Kingdom, Government and Politics in Britain: An Introduction
John P. Mackintosh, The Government and Politics of Britain
R. M. Punnett, British Government and Politics
Robert Pyper and Lyton Robins (eds), Governing the UK in the 1990s     

Sexual Activity,Pregnancy, and Deviance in a Representative Urban Sample of African American Girls

The primary goal of this paper is to investigate the interrelationship between sexual activity, pregnancy, and deviance among a cohort of urban African American adolescent girls and compare the risk factors that predict these behaviors. The data are drawn from the Rochester Youth Development Study (RYDS), a multiwave panel study designed to examine the causes and correlates of delinquent behavior and drug use in a representative urban sample. This study relies on data from the 196 African American girls in the panel. Results indicate that girls who engage in early sexual activity and those who become pregnant are more likely to be involved in substance use and status offenses than girls who are not sexually active and who do not become pregnant. Additionally, sexual behavior and pregnancy are both influenced by socioeconomic disadvantage, unlike the other kinds of deviance examined. However, the proximal predictors of early sexual activity and pregnancy differ, with the profile of sexually active girls being more similar to the profile of girls involved in substance use and status offenses.