scholarly journals A Source Like Any Other? Field and Survey Experiment Evidence on How Interest Groups Shape Public Opinion

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Jungherr ◽  
Alexander Wuttke ◽  
Matthias Mader ◽  
Harald Schoen
Keyword(s):  
Interest Groups ◽  
Interest Group ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Group Communication ◽  
Survey Experiment ◽  
Moderating Effects ◽  
The Public ◽  
High Profile ◽  
Low Profile ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Interest groups increasingly communicate with the public, yet we know little about how effective they are in shaping opinions. Since interest groups differ from other public communicators, we propose a theory of interest group persuasion. Interest groups typically have a low public profile, and so most people are unlikely to have strong attitudes regarding them. Source-related predispositions, such as credibility assessments, are therefore less relevant in moderating effects of persuasive appeals by interest groups than those of high-profile communicators. We test this argument in multiple large-scale studies. A parallel survey and field experiment (N = 4,659) establishes the persuasive potential of low-profile interest groups in both controlled and realistic settings. An observational study (N = 700) shows that substantial portions of the public are unable to assess interest group credibility. A survey experiment (N = 8,245) demonstrates that credibility assessments moderate the impact of party but not interest group communication.

scholarly journals Helping Students FIG-ure It Out: A Large-Scale Study of Freshmen Interest Groups and Student Success

AERA Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 233285842110218
Author(s):  
Lovenoor Aulck ◽  
Joshua Malters ◽  
Casey Lee ◽  
Gianni Mancinelli ◽  
Min Sun ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Interest Groups ◽  
Minority Students ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Racial Minority ◽  
Social Aspects ◽  
Racial Minority Students ◽  
Freshman Seminars ◽  
Enrollment Rates ◽  
Survey Responses ◽  
The Impact

Freshman seminars are a ubiquitous offering in higher education, but they have not been evaluated using matched comparisons with data at scale. In this work, we use transcript data on over 76,000 students to examine the impact of first-year interest groups (FIGs) on student graduation and retention. We first apply propensity score matching on course-level data to account for selection bias. We find that graduation and re-enrollment rates for FIG students were higher than non-FIG students, an effect that was more pronounced for self-identified underrepresented racial minority students. We then employ topic modeling to analyze survey responses from over 12,500 FIG students to find that social aspects of FIGs were most beneficial to students. Interestingly, references to social aspects were not disproportionately present in the responses of self-identified underrepresented racial minority students.

Gender inequities in the online dissemination of scholars’ work

2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (39) ◽  
pp. e2102945118
Author(s):  
Orsolya Vásárhelyi ◽  
Igor Zakhlebin ◽  
Staša Milojević ◽  
Emőke-Ágnes Horvát
Keyword(s):  
Gender Gap ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Gender Disparities ◽  
Female Representation ◽  
Scientific Impact ◽  
The Public ◽  
Research Areas ◽  
Coauthorship Networks ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

Unbiased science dissemination has the potential to alleviate some of the known gender disparities in academia by exposing female scholars’ work to other scientists and the public. And yet, we lack comprehensive understanding of the relationship between gender and science dissemination online. Our large-scale analyses, encompassing half a million scholars, revealed that female scholars’ work is mentioned less frequently than male scholars’ work in all research areas. When exploring the characteristics associated with online success, we found that the impact of prior work, social capital, and gendered tie formation in coauthorship networks are linked with online success for men, but not for women—even in the areas with the highest female representation. These results suggest that while men’s scientific impact and collaboration networks are associated with higher visibility online, there are no universally identifiable facets associated with success for women. Our comprehensive empirical evidence indicates that the gender gap in online science dissemination is coupled with a lack of understanding the characteristics that are linked with female scholars’ success, which might hinder efforts to close the gender gap in visibility.

The public face of interest group lobbying on immigration: Who responds to and who ignores what they say

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
pp. 543-556
Author(s):  
Michael J Donnelly ◽  
Md Mujahedul Islam ◽  
Justin Savoie
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Interest Group ◽  
Immigration Policy ◽  
Survey Experiment ◽  
Demographic Groups ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Unions ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Group Environments

A main avenue for influencing public policy available to unions and business is public opinion campaigning. As groups with substantial credibility in the minds of the public, unions and employers have the potential to move immigration attitudes and, thereby, have a long-term indirect influence on immigration policy. The article asks, first, who is (not) convinced by arguments from business or labour leaders and second, what messages are most convincing. We present the results of a survey experiment in three very different immigration regimes and interest group environments (Canada, the UK and Germany). The results suggest that the net effects of public arguments are small, but vary widely across demographic groups.

How Do the Components of Procedural Justice and Driver Race Influence Encounter-Specific Perceptions of Police Legitimacy During Traffic Stops?

2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (8) ◽  
pp. 1200-1216 ◽  
Author(s):  
Starr J. Solomon
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Procedural Justice ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Treatment Quality ◽  
Police Legitimacy ◽  
Survey Experiment ◽  
Moderating Effects ◽  
The Public ◽  
Perceptions Of Police ◽  
Influence Perceptions

Procedural justice is often recognized as the key antecedent of police legitimacy. However, less is known about how the components of procedural justice, treatment and decision-making quality, influence perceptions of police legitimacy. This study utilizes a 2 × 2 × 2 survey experiment to explore the direct effects of the components of procedural justice, and the moderating effects of driver race, on perceptions of encounter-specific fairness and legitimacy. Results indicate that treatment quality is a more salient predictor of encounter-specific fairness and legitimacy than decision-making quality. In addition, simple effects analyses reveal that driver race moderates perceptions of encounter-specific fairness but not encounter-specific perceptions of legitimacy. The findings imply that police officers should emphasize respectful treatment during encounters with the public.

scholarly journals Europeanisation as a Factor of National Interest Group Political-Cultural Change

2014 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 287-305 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danica Fink-Hafner ◽  
Mitja Hafner-Fink ◽  
Meta Novak
Keyword(s):  
Political Culture ◽  
Interest Groups ◽  
Interest Group ◽  
Cultural Change ◽  
National Policy ◽  
National Interest ◽  
Domestic Policy ◽  
Panel Surveys ◽  
Policy Fields ◽  
The Impact

Based on a social constructivist framing, this article seeks to address the gap in the literature on the impact of Europeanisation on the national interest group political culture in general and in the post-communist context in particular. The impacts of Europeanisation on interest group domestic policy behaviour, in terms of national interest groups networking with their European counterparts, their contacts with EU-level decision makers, and their access to EU funds, are tested based on the panel surveys that were conducted in 1996 and 2012 of the most influential interest groups in eleven policy fields in Slovenia. Our key findings are that Europeanisation does support changes in the national interest group political culture in the direction of a more pro-active approach in influencing national policy processes. However, Europeanisation explains only a small portion of the variability among the domestic policy behaviour of interest groups.

Design of Microplastics Citizen Science Kit

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachael Hughson-Gill
Keyword(s):  
Data Collection ◽  
Citizen Science ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Freshwater Ecosystems ◽  
Freshwater Systems ◽  
The Public ◽  
Plastic Bags ◽  
The Impact

<p>Microplastics are an ever-increasing problem. Every river that was tested in a recent study found the presence of microplastics, with 80% of all plastic in the ocean coming from upstream. Despite this, there is little understanding into the abundance of plastic, its characteristics and the full impact that is it having on marine, freshwater ecosystems and wider ecological systems.</p><p> </p><p>Current fresh water monitoring does not consider the fluid dynamics of rivers, is difficult to use and is inaccessible to the wider public. My project will focus on creating a product that allows for the large-scale data collection of microplastic through citizen science. Allowing groups of people to analyse their local natural environment for the presence and abundance of microplastics within the water. This method of data collection could provide information on a scale that is not possible with traditional methods and would allow for the comparison between freshwater systems. This comparison is fundamental to begin to fill the knowledge gaps around the understanding of microplastics.</p><p> </p><p>Inaccessibility of monitoring to the public is not just through tools but also through the current communication of data with research rarely breaking into the public domain. Citizen science offers not just an improvement in understanding but also offers an opportunity for engagement with the public body. Increasing awareness of the impact of habits round plastic through the sharing of monitoring data can generate the much-needed change on both an individual and policy level to address the problem from the source. This method of change through public opinion can be seen to have an effect on freshwater systems through microbeads ban, plastic bags, plastic straws and industrial pollution regulation.</p><p> </p><p>Through the creation of this product a multidisciplinary approach that blends engineering and design practices is implemented. The wholistic approach to creation is something that is fundamental in the success of tools and therefore the success of the research that is implemented through them. A tool such as this whose function is within the public engagement of its use - increased awareness, as well as the outcome of its use - microplastics data, is required to have an engaging user experience as well as data integrity implemented through engineering design.</p><p> </p><p>This project offers an opportunity to show the importance of the design process within research tools to aid the research process and the positive impact that can come from it.</p>

New Empirical Evidence of the Role of Interest Groups in Influencing the Growth of Government

2000 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 83-100
Author(s):  
Gary A. Wagner ◽  
Russell S. Sobel
Keyword(s):  
Interest Groups ◽  
Political Action ◽  
Political Action Committees ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Status ◽  
Short Run ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Impact ◽  
New Evidence

Abstract We provide new evidence regarding the role of interest groups in influencing the size and growth of government spending. Using data on the change in individual legislators’ total voted and sponsored spending from the status quo, we explore this relationship in a manner closer to the public choice tradition. Examining the impact diat interest groups have on individual legislators’ preferences for new spending, we find that interest groups within a legislator’s district exhibit more influence on the short-run growth of the budget than do Political Action Committees.

How Priming Innocence Influences Public Opinion on Police Misconduct and False Convictions

2017 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 174-185 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathleen M. Donovan ◽  
Charles F. Klahm
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Use Of Force ◽  
Current Debate ◽  
Police Misconduct ◽  
Survey Experiment ◽  
Police Use Of Force ◽  
The Public ◽  
High Profile ◽  
Percentage Points ◽  
Nationally Representative

Issues of innocence have become more salient to the public in recent years, including the problem of police misconduct. However, citizens also tend to be supportive of the police, perceiving them as ethical, honest, and trustworthy. Using a survey experiment with a nationally representative sample, we explore the degree to which public opinion toward police misconduct is influenced by priming respondents on the issue of innocence. We find that reminding citizens of these issues increases their willingness to admit police misconduct that contributes to this problem by roughly 7 percentage points overall. Moreover, this effect is driven by conservatives and, to a lesser extent, moderates, presumably because liberals do not need priming. In contrast, the efficacy of the prime was not affected (i.e., moderated) by the race of the respondent. We place these results in the context of the current debate regarding police use of force as well as the ideological divide in rhetoric surrounding the recent string of high-profile police shootings.

scholarly journals Effectiveness of Large-Scale Social Restrictions (PSBB) toward the New Normal Era during COVID-19 Outbreak: a Mini Policy Review

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen Andriani, S.Si, Apt, M.Sc, Ph.D
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Preventive Measure ◽  
State Of Emergency ◽  
New Normal ◽  
Small Communities ◽  
The Public ◽  
Better Regulation ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. The government of Indonesia has not used lockdown or quarantine as an option to tackle the spread of Coronavirus, as the impact of lockdown on small communities in the informal sector that lives from daily income will be severe. Alternatively, the government is enforcing Large-Scale Social Restrictions (Pembatasan Sosial Berskala Besar or "PSBB") to respond to the state of emergency in public health. Starting in June 2020, the government has implemented transitional PSBB in some red zone areas, including the capital Jakarta and East Java province, despite the surge in case numbers. This paper aims to investigate the effectiveness of the PSBB policy applied in Indonesia during the COVID-19 outbreak and the readiness to embrace the new normal, between April and June 2020, based on rapid literature analysis in a search on Medline(-Pubmed), government speeches and reports, social and mass media platforms. Implementation of PSBB is a preventive measure to combat Coronavirus’ spread in some Indonesian areas. Indonesia should not be in a “new normal” situation. The transitional PSBB phase serves as an early chapter of a new normal that would apply only to strategic sectors with manageable risks combined with better regulation and compliance by the public. Abstrak. Pemerintah Indonesia tidak menggunakan lockdown atau karantina sebagai opsi untuk mengatasi penyebaran Coronavirus, karena dampak lockdown pada komunitas kecil di sektor informal yang hidup dari pendapatan harian akan memburuk. Pemerintah menegakkan Pembatasan Sosial Berskala Besar (PSBB) sebagai respons terhadap keadaan darurat dalam kesehatan masyarakat. Sejak bulan Juni 2020, pemerintah telah menerapkan transisi PSBB di beberapa daerah zona merah, termasuk di provinsi DKI Jakarta dan Jawa Timur, meskipun ada peningkatan jumlah kasus. Artikel ini bertujuan untuk menyelidiki efektivitas kebijakan PSBB yang diterapkan di Indonesia selama wabah COVID-19 dan kesiapan untuk memasuki Adaptasi Kebiasaan Baru (AKB), antara bulan April dan Juni 2020, berdasarkan analisis literatur cepat dalam pencarian Medline (-Pubmed), pidato dan laporan pemerintah, platform media sosial dan media massa. Implementasi PSBB adalah langkah pencegahan untuk memerangi penyebaran Coronavirus di beberapa wilayah Indonesia. Indonesia seharusnya tidak berada dalam situasi AKB. Fase PSBB transisi berfungsi sebagai bab awal dari AKB yang hanya akan berlaku pada sektor strategis dengan risiko yang dapat dikelola bersamaan dengan regulasi dan kepatuhan public yang lebih baik.

scholarly journals By Invitation Only: Controlling Interest Group Access to the Oval Office

2004 ◽  
Vol 25 ◽  
pp. 221-240 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Holyoke
Keyword(s):  
Interest Groups ◽  
Interest Group ◽  
Good Reason ◽  
White House ◽  
The Public ◽  
Senior Administration ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Ideological Congruence ◽  
Face Time ◽  
Interest Group Influence

Does the exchange model used to explain interest group influence with Congress and the bureaucracy hold leverage over patterns of lobbyist contact with the president? In this paper I argue that there is good reason to believe that it does not. Rather, I argue that the president and his immediate staff often keep interest groups at arm’s length. Instead of being able to acquire face time with senior administration staff to press their own cases, lobbyists are largely granted access only when they are needed to build support for the president’s policy agenda in Congress or with the public. Using data drawn in part from the 1996 filings of interest groups under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995, I analyze lobbyists’ contact with the White House to learn what types of circumstances appear to drive contact between interest groups and the president. The evidence suggests that the president-interest group connection is largely determined by the White House based on ideological congruence rather than a two-way flow of communication and influence.

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