Is anyone listening? Mass and elite opinion cueing in the EU

The paper analyses the connections between elite and mass opinion in the European Union. It considers both the ways in which mass publics use heuristics supplied by political elites to form their EU opinions, and the ways in which political elites respond to the opinions of the mass publics they represent. The paper employs data from simultaneously-conducted elite and mass surveys carried out in sixteen European countries in 2007. The results show that masses and elites in Europe do appear to take cues from one another in forming their EU opinions. Political elites base their individual-level opinions on the average position taken by their respective (national) party supporters. Mass respondents base their opinions on the average position taken by elite members of the (national) party with which they identify.     

Towards a holistic theory of speaker credibility

ABSTRACT

Recognising that the credibility of speakers is important, especially within the political context, this article argues that an adequate conceptualisation of the construct of speaker credibility is needed and that such a conceptualisation should be premised on an acceptable ethical framework. The article then evaluates the often used ethical systems and, subsequently, proposes criteria for ethically acceptable persuasive communication, to which political communication belongs. The major theoretical perspectives within which speaker credibility has been conceptualised, labelled structuralist, functionalist and constructivist, are critically evaluated. A holistic theoretical view of speaker credibility is then proposed, in which speaker credibility is understood as a construct with a hierarchically ordered stock of universal and context-specific dimensions of relational, content-related competence, performance and moral qualities.     

The inconsequence of negative statehouse evaluations on ballot measures: Evidence from survey experiments

Existing scholarship about ballot measure voting and elite cuegivers suggests that the express endorsement of an unpopular legislature on a statewide ballot measure will depress voter support. Despite seven tests across two decades on both high- and low-profile measures, it did not. This null finding is in keeping with macro-level patterns of strong public support for the more than 4000 legislative referrals approved by voters in the past century. Consequently, we propose that the influence of an elite endorsement on voter behavior is more complicated than past research suggests. Specifically, in keeping with the seminal observation made by Hibbing and Theiss-Morse (1995) that American political cynicism is more a matter of distaste for certain political practices than for actual political institutions, we suspect that when voters are overwhelmed by policy proposals that are both unfamiliar and complex, they may find assurance in the imprimatur of their General Assembly.     

Party cues and incumbent assessments under multilevel governance

Politicians' party membership allows voters to overcome incomplete information issues. In this article, we maintain that such ‘party cues’ in multilevel governance structures also induce voters to incorporate their assessment of incumbents at one level of government into their assessment of incumbents at other levels of government. Moreover, we argue that these assessment ‘spillovers’ increase in magnitude with voters' level of political information. They become particularly prominent for voters with higher levels of political knowledge and interest as well as during election periods (when information is less costly and more readily available). Empirical analyses using survey data from Germany covering the period 1990 to 2018 corroborate our theoretical propositions.     

直接言词原则在审查刑事证言中的适用

直接言词原则作为一项基本的刑事诉讼原则 ,已被现代许多法治国家立法所采纳。我国《刑事诉讼法》虽未明确规定直接言词原则 ,但其有关立法已体现出直接言词原则的精神 ,可是其对证人参与刑事诉讼及证言的使用范畴规定得不甚明了 ,不能真正体现直接言词原则在刑事证人证言适用中的重要价值。分析直接言词原则的起源及其诉讼价值 ,针对我国的实际及国际发展趋势 ,我国应在立法上明确这一原则 ,并吸收一些可行性建议     

简析实用语言与写作语言

口头语言与书面语言有着各异的表意特点、使用规范、适用场合以及实用效果,而在书面语言的实际运用中,应用文写作与文学创作又有不尽相同的书面语使用要求.比较、廓清上述两组对比关系中的语言使用要求,有助于提高人们的语体辨析能力和语言运用能力.     

略论语境对英语词义理解的作用

习得词汇的方法很多，其中借助英语语言性语境和非语言性语境理解并把握词义，不失为一种行之有效的学习方法。     

试论言词证据的影响因素与审查认定

言词证据是诉讼证据的重要组成部分，每一宗刑事诉讼案件，都会涉及言词证据。合法取证，提高言词证据的质量是刑事斗争实践的迫切需要。但是，言词证据的形成过程会受到诸多因素的影响和制约，了解和掌握获取言词证据的过程及方法是侦查员必备的常识和基本技能。     

非法证据排除规则视野下的讯问策略

讯问的对象是犯罪嫌疑人、被告人。讯问获得的证据种类是犯罪嫌疑人、被告人的口供以及通过该口供获得的物证、书证。2010年确立的非法证据排除规则,要求公安机关在讯问犯罪嫌疑人、被告人时既要重视口供又不搞刑讯逼供,不搞口供至上;既要探求实体公正更要重视程序公正;既要注重办案的效率更要重视对犯罪嫌疑人正当权益的保护。为此,文章针对实践中出现的不规范讯问方法,探讨非法证据排除规则视野下公安办案讯问的一些方法,旨在使公安讯问犯罪嫌疑人、被告人时应从＂硬审讯法＂转变到＂软审讯法＂。这种＂软讯问法＂包括讯问中的语言策略和非语言策略。同时,为了保障这种讯问方法的实施,应当设立一定的监督机制。     

The moderating role of identification and campaign exposure in party cueing effects

In a democracy, citizens are expected to have political opinions. Previous research has shown that citizens, in part, form their opinions by following cues from political parties. Building on this literature, this article argues that these cueing effects are the result of individuals identifying with political parties, leading to parties as credible sources and alignment of attitudes to maintain in-group coherence (motivated reasoning). However, party cues can only be successful when individuals are actually exposed to these cues, which previous research has not explicitly studied. Using survey data (N = 20,893) collected from 21 EU member states, this study shows that cueing effects indeed depend on the strength of party identification and the degree of exposure. These results demonstrate the contingent nature of party cueing effects which are also changing as party loyalties decrease.