Suchergebnisse

Introduction and overview / Adam Berinsky -- The practice of survey research : changes and challenges / D. Sunshine Hillygus -- Citizen competence and democratic governance / Martin Gilens -- Ideology and public opinion / Christopher Federico -- Affective polarization or hostility across the party divide : an overview / Shanto Iyengar -- Racial attitudes and American politics / Michael Tesler -- Race, ethnicity, and public opinion / Erica Czaja and Vladimir E. Medenica -- Categorical politics in action : gender and the 2016 presidential election / Nancy Burns, Donald Kinder and MollyReynolds -- Worldview politics / Marc Hetherington -- The emotional foundations of democratic citizenship / Ted Brader and Erin Cikanek -- No longer "beyond our scope" : the biological and non-conscious underpinnings of pblic opinion / FrankGonzalez, John Hibbing and Kevin Smith -- The "daily them" : hybridity, political polarization and presidential leadership in a digital media age / MattBaum and Danna Young -- How people learn about politics : navigating the information environment / Jennifer Jerit -- Campaigns and elections / John Sides and Jake Haselswerdt -- Ambivalence in American public opinion about immigration / Deborah Schildkraut -- Public opinion and public policy / Andrea Louise Campbell and Elizabeth Rigby -- Conclusion : assessing continuity and change / David Sears.

Addresses the issue of "quality" in public opinion research, arguing that conceptions of quality in public opinion are inextricably bound to broader conceptions of quality in democratic decision making, a complex process involving multiple phases & collective participants. Contradictions & ambiguities underlying conceptions of quality & traditional & newer methods for attaining quality in public opinion are discussed. 1 Table, 2 Figures, 86 References. Adapted from the source document.

The propriety of various public-opinion-driven analyses of democracy & the desirability of democratic alternatives are discussed in an introduction to this journal issue (see abstracts of related articles). Over the past 6 years, the election of Bill Clinton as US president, the 1994 Congressional elections, & a range of public opinion polls have made claims of a conservative or liberal shift in public ideology. It is argued here that opinion polls & election results may not represent broad shifts in ideological alignment, & a number of studies are cited highlighting the problems with contemporary democracy: mass ignorance regarding issues & political structures, the potential for voting based on demographic &/or personal perferences, & the influence of mass media campaigns. Although the elite strata that hold the majority of political power may be more politically informed, they are generally bound to unquestioned party ideologies which undermine transformative & informed democracy. However, the alternatives to modern democracy & centralized power are also dangerous: market-oriented politics are bound to recreate & possibly exacerbate the inequality of present power structures, & a return to a consensual form of community government is no longer possible. 11 References. T. Sevier

A review essay on books by (1) James A. Stimson, Public Opinion in America: Moods, Cycles, and Swings (Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1991); Benjamin Page & Robert Y. Shapiro, The Rational Public: Fifty Years of Trends in American Policy Preferences (Chicago, IL: U of Chicago Press, 1992); & (3) William G. Mayer, The Changing American Mind: How and Why American Public Opinion Changed between 1960 and 1988 (Ann Arbor: U of Michigan Press, 1992). Despite recent claims to the contrary, these three books claim that US public opinion (PO) is comprehensible, if not always rational & informed. Stimson draws on a broad range of PO polls conducted 1956-1989 to develop a measure of the general public mood, & concludes that a single public mood does not exist, & attitudes toward specific issues such as gun control, racism, & abortion may change independently of each other. Page & Shapiro examine PO between 1930 & 1990, & suggest that the public responds to new events & social conditions in a rational & consistent manner. Mayer focuses on a narrower time frame (1960-1988) & places a greater emphasis on explanations for shifts in PO. It is suggested that PO may be fairly stable, & that statistical shifts are the result of backlash against policy changes, rather than ideological transformations. Ways that elite perceptions of PO shape public policy are discussed. 8 References. Adapted from the source document.

Suggests that what is currently termed Cameroonian public opinion is in fact the final stage of a long historical, social and political process; retracing the use of this term in statements made by public figures back to its roots can help to put it into perspective. Outlines 3 stages in the emergence of Cameroonian public opinion - namely its reference points at the time of decolonisation, during the monolithic period and since the process of relative political liberalisation; the 3 stages continuously interact and are closely related to the successive structuring of Cameroon's political arenas. (Original abstract - amended)

Public opinion can be seen as an integral part of society and is represented by metaphors such as a chorus, voices from the gods, destiny, threatening peer pressure to enforce social norms, and so on. These metaphors and their relation to social organization are fruitful to consider in constructing theories of public opinion. (Abstract amended)