The Electoral Consequences of Roll Call Voting: Health Care and the 2018 Election

Political Behavior - For years, Republicans in Congress promised to “repeal and replace” the Affordable Care Act. The results of the 2016 elections put them in position to take action...     

Perceptions of Injustice in the Chinese Countryside

Concepts associated with theories of relative deprivation and distributive injustice are used to examine beliefs about overprivilege and underprivilege in the Chinese countryside. The data consist of interviews conducted with a probability sample of villagers residing in four counties. Open-ended questions were used to ascertain the magnitude and nature of felt injustices. Local officials are widely seen as unfairly advantaged and common people as widely disadvantaged, results that depart from those observed in western studies. The presence of personal problems and contextual features influence beliefs about local injustice. Even after controlling for other powerful predictors, perceptions of injustice continue to have a positive impact on local political activity. These results are interpreted in terms of the spheres and standards of justice and the relationship between distributive and procedural justice.     

Targeting Underage Drinking and Driving in Juvenile and Domestic Relations Courts: The Reinforcing Alcohol Prevention (RAP) Program

Alcohol use is a concern among our nation's least experienced drivers, and underage drinking contributes to the overall burden of traffic injury and mortality. The goal of the Reinforcing Alcohol Prevention (RAP) Program was to develop a court‐based program targeting underage drinking and driving among teens. An advisory board created the program which included changes to the drivers' licensing ceremonies and traffic dockets conducted in Juvenile and Domestic Relations Courts. Additions included 5‐minute videos of individuals in alcohol‐related crashes and a crash‐photo display. Exit evaluations garnering impressions/opinions of the program indicated 84% of teenagers felt every teen should view the presentation and 96% would be less likely to drive after drinking. The RAP Program has been well‐received by judges and participants and could be easily implemented by other jurisdictions.