Suchergebnisse

Complaining is seen as a form of participation in administration. Although the literature recommends greater participation, we have little evidence about what sort of people are likely to complain and what the effect of their participation through complaining will be. The attitudes of people who had complained to the Nebraska ombudsman were compared with a sample of citizens who had not complained. The complainers were found to have a lower sense of political efficacy and were more cynical about government than the noncomplainers. The implications of complaining for public administrators are discussed.

Using a sample of 178 Mexican-Amer's from Nebraska, various aspects of their pol'al participation are examined. First, it was found that Mexican-Amer's participate in pol at a lower level than Anglos, but for the more passive kinds of participation, rates are not too diff. Second, 4 diff dimensions of pol'al participation were delineated, ranging from an active dimension that included participation in campaigns, pol'al meetings & demonstrations through the very passive activities of talking about pol with fam & friends. Finally, explanations were sought for diff's among Mexican-Amer's in levels of pol'al participation for each dimension. Att'al variables such as pol'al efficacy, competence & alienation were found to be more important than SES characteristics in predicting participation in each dimension. Further, characteristics specific to the Mexican Amer situation (English language facility, etc) contributed almost nothing to the explanation of variance in levels of participation on any dimension. AA.

Published also as thesis (Ph.D.) Columbia university, 1927. ; Mode of access: Internet.

The problem of response bias in survey res is addressed. Data from a survey of Mexican-Amer's in 2 Nebraska counties are analyzed to assess the influence of diff aspects of the interview situation on response consistency. 3 specific hyp's are tested: (1) Responses of Mexican-Amer's interviewed in English differ systematically from responses of Mexican-Amer's interviewed in Spanish. (2) Responses of Mexican-Amer's interviewed by Anglos differ systematically from responses of Mexican-Amer's interviewed by Mexican-Amer's, & by Anglos & Mexican-Amer's working together. (3) Responses of Mexican-Amer's born & raised in the US differ systematically from responses of Mexican-Amer's born & raised in Mexico. Initial diff's consistent with the hyp's, were found but disappeared when educ & age were controlled. Minor exceptions appeared to be accounted for by factors other than those examined here. Contrary to initial expectations, responses to both health & pol'al questions were unaffected by these independent variables. The findings re country of origin were more tentative; however, no signif diff's in response to any of the health questions were noted once educ & age were controlled, & only one pol'al question showed a diff when educ & age were controlled. 4 Tables. M. Maxfield.