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Copyright of Policy Studies Journal is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Numerous institutions, such as the police, public schools, legislatures, and the courts face criticism for a lack of diversity and representation. According to various political theorists, the lack of representation of marginalized groups in public institutions worsens citizen attitudes. In response, some advocate for increasing passive representation within public institutions. However, different schools of thought exist about whether increasing representation of minorities is a zero‐sum game and worsens attitudes of historical majorities. We generate and test two hypotheses from these competing perspectives. We employ data from a national survey of students' attitudes toward the fairness of school discipline using measures that match the different mechanisms found in theory. We find evidence that passive representation for African Americans predicts perceptions of fairness and corresponds to improved, rather than worsened, attitudes for whites. This supports the arguments of Mosher, and others, that increasing the representation of groups enhances legitimacy among the polity as a whole and is not zero‐sum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, many African Americans held fairly negative attitudes about effective and speedy government response to the storm. We employ framing theory to examine the role of race in shaping attitudes following Katrina. We hypothesize that a dominant media frame of Black storm victims led African Americans to develop a stronger empathy with storm victims, and thus, more negative views about government response. We test this hypothesis using a unique national poll of adults conducted in September 2005 that over sampled African Americans. Our results support the hypothesis that race strongly shaped attitudes following the storm., Over 40 years of research clearly indicates that African Americans tend to have lower levels of political trust and confidence in governmental institutions than their White counterparts (Dawson, 1994; Engel, [...]

We examine the role of issue definition in disability policy change. Based on qualitative and quantitative evidence from media coverage and congressional hearings, we conclude that policy change was influenced [...]

Researchers using the morality politics framework have focused on aggregate-level analysis, largely ignoring the behavior of individuals within political institutions. My research fills this gap by examining legislative voting behavior [...]

The Public Policy Section is delighted to announce Theda Skocpol, the Victor S. Thomas Professor of Government and Sociology at Harvard University, as the recipient of the 2010 Excellence in [...]

Most states have adopted significant measures to reduce the incidence of driving under the influence (DUI) but a DUI death occurs about every 53 minutes; a significant portion of these accidents are the result of recidivist DUI drivers. A relatively new and novel way states can reduce DUI deaths from repeat offenders is to require offenders to install an interlock device on their vehicle, but not all states have adopted this measure. We explore whether the Policy Typology and Policy Diffusion Frameworks can help us understand the politics behind why some states have adopted interlock policies while others have not. Employing over-time data from the American states our results suggest that the adoption of interlock laws is best explained by internal factors to the state and the adoption of interlock laws by neighboring states. In addition, the adoption of interlock laws is a form of incremental policymaking-states with existing DUI laws are more likely to adopt interlock policies. We conclude that interlock policies diffuse in a manner similar to other regulatory policies and that interlock policies should be categorized as protective regulatory policies rather than social regulatory policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the role of issue definition on disability policy change in the United States. Influence of medical issues on policy change; Impact of media attention on congressional hearings; Passage of civil rights protection for persons with disabilities.