Opinion polling and the measurement of Americans’ attitudes regarding education*

Abstract

The meaning, measurement, and implications of ‘public opinion’ have long been a source of debate. In this paper, we examine the extent to which the educational priorities of elites in the US reflect the educational priorities of the American public. To do so, we focus on one particular segment of the education policy-making elite – education poll creators. Through a content analysis of questions asked between 1969 and 2013 in the Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll of the Public’s Attitudes toward the Public Schools, we examine the salience of key educational issues over time. We compare these trends to the proportion of poll respondents who label those issues the ‘biggest problem’ facing schools, thereby approximating two different conceptions of public opinion regarding education. We find that the issues that receive the most coverage by pollsters do not typically match the issues that respondents claim to be the biggest problems in schools. In light of the important role that opinion polls may play in shaping discussion and debate over educational issues, we argue that further study of the construction of public opinion is warranted.     

Another visit to the theory of image restoration strategies

This investigation examined the effectiveness of quantitative (statistical) and qualitative (narrative) types of evidence in impacting initial attitude change and the persistence of that change. Vividness, expertise, trustworthiness, and retention were examined as potential mediating variables. Furthermore, this research tested a number of competing hypotheses such as the vividness hypothesis, the availability hypothesis, and the under‐utilization hypothesis. The findings indicate that both types of evidence were equally effective in changing attitudes. However, the attitude change elicited by qualitative evidence tended to be significantly more persistent over time. These data were inconsistent with the vividness and the under‐utilization hypotheses. In contrast, these data were consistent with the availability hypothesis. Recall was higher for those subjects exposed to qualitative evidence. Additionally, retention was found to moderate the effect of evidence on attitudes.     

Franklin D. Roosevelt,the holocaust,and modernity's rescue rhetorics

This essay provides a rhetorical analysis of the third FDR administration's handling of information on the Holocaust during World War II, and the memories that we have of those events. The author contends that a study of key rhetorical histories shows how President Roosevelt and his advisers had a great deal of information about Hitler's Final Solution, and that they were not as indifferent as we have made them out to be. Between 1940 and 1944, FDR's administrators decided to treat the winning of the war as the ultimate form of rescue, but the purveyors of today's rescue rhetorics contend that Roosevelt's supporters neglected to consider alternate plans for massive rescue missions or negotiations with the enemy.     

网络舆情的挑战与应对——以泉州市为例

网络舆情作为信息化与民主化发展的新兴舆论现象,对社会管理和意识形态产生极为深刻的影响,也带给执政党和政府全新的挑战和考验。针对福建泉州的网络舆情可能释放的负能量和政府监管不到位等问题,必须从领导、预警、研判、引导、法治、培训等方面探索构建完善的网络舆情应对机制,以有效地运用和管控网络舆情。     

论新媒体时代城市管理中的网络舆情监测与引导机制建构

加强对网络舆情的监测与引导,是新媒体时代促进城市管理转型升级的必然要求。应根据城市管理网络舆情的独有特点,在适应其形成演变规律和总结分析不同舆情应对模式效果的基础上,抓住时间节点和应对方式这两个关键点,统筹建设监测与引导机制。     

地方网络媒体的舆论现状与引导策略探析——以衡阳市为例

地方网络媒体在当前舆论格局中扮演着重要的角色,但其舆论引导现状并不容乐观.加强地方网络媒体的舆论引导必须掌握网络的特点,突出地域优势,拓宽地方信息源渠道,掌握舆论主动权,注重舆论引导策略的运用.     

Rhetorical theory as message reception: A cognitive response approach to rhetorical theory and criticism

Traditional rhetorical theory tends to adopt the rhetor's point of view, emphasizing invention of rhetorical messages, rather than the audience's reception and interpretation of messages. The audience is ordinarily conceptualized in humanistic rhetorical theory as a target, a source of expectations to guide the rhetor's invention, a means to accomplish the rhetor's ends, or even an obstacle. We argue that a more complete view of rhetoric should include the audience as a potentially active part of the process of persuasion. Accordingly, we propose to supplement our traditional theories of rhetoric by sketching a complementary view of rhetoric as the process of an auditor's processing and responding to messages. The inspiration for this conception, Petty and Cacioppo's Elaboration Likelihood Model, is sketched, and implications for rhetorical theory and criticism are discussed.     

图书馆发挥舆情监测分析功能的现状及对策

＂十二五＂时期,是我国深化改革开放、加快转变经济发展方式的攻坚时期。处于经济转轨、社会转型时期的中国,各级政府决策的科学性,显得十分重要。进入资讯时代,舆情对政府决策的影响进一步显现,这种影响表现为舆情成为政府了解民意、听取民声的重要渠道,但也可能因为舆情影响而扭曲决策,或因对舆情应对失当而损害政府公信力。因此,对舆情的及时掌握、科学分析和妥善处置,考验着各级政府及其领导干部的执政能力。本文着重研究图书馆在舆情监测分析中的服务现状,进一步就发挥其作用提出对策、措施。     

中国网络舆情研究文献计量分析

通过对1996~2010年公开发表在CNKI中国学术文献网络出版总库的9012篇网络舆情领域学术论文进行文献计量分析,可以了解近几年国内网络舆情的研究水平与发展方向。研究发现,网络舆情研究的关注度在不断加强,稳定、持续的研究者和研究机构正在形成,近几年该领域的研究成果多受益于各大基金项目的支持,但还需要更加深入和高质量的研究才能促使网络舆情研究的创新和发展。     

网络伪舆情的特征研究

网络舆情理论方面的研究已逐渐趋于成熟,但是与网络伪舆情相关的研究还不能满足实践的需要。围绕网络伪舆情展开了相关研究,首先介绍了网络伪舆情的基本概念和形成模式;然后,从不同的角度对网络伪舆情作了分类;进而详细分析了网络伪舆情的主要特征;最后,从政府、网络监控人员、网民三个方面提出了网络伪舆情的防范策略。