Independent Political Action Groups: New Life for the Fairness Doctrine

During the past decade, independent political action committees (PACs) have grown dramatically as an alternative source of funding for political candidates. Congress and many commentators have expressed fear over the potential political power of these independent expenditure groups, which are not accountable to political parties. In their Article Messrs. Ferris and Ballard argue that the political broadcasting laws, particularly the Fairness Doctrine, serve as essential barriers to PACs\u27 attempts to dominate the political process through unrestricted spending on political advertising. Although some critics have denounced the Fairness Doctrine, which requires broadcasters to provide balanced coverage of controversial issues, as outdated and unnecessary, Messrs. Ferris and Ballard argue that the doctrine may in-deed provide an effective means for balancing the public\u27s need for information, the broadcasters\u27 editorial freedom, and the PACs\u27 rights to free expression

Ozone and PM(2.5) Exposure and Acute Pulmonary Health Effects: A Study of Hikers in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park

To address the lack of research on the pulmonary health effects of ozone and fine particulate matter (≤ 2.5 μm in aerodynamic diameter; PM(2.5)) on individuals who recreate in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (USA) and to replicate a study performed at Mt. Washington, New Hampshire (USA), we conducted an observational study of adult (18–82 years of age) day hikers of the Charlies Bunion trail during 71 days of fall 2002 and summer 2003. Volunteer hikers performed pre- and posthike pulmonary function tests (spirometry), and we continuously monitored ambient O(3), PM(2.5), temperature, and relative humidity at the trailhead. Of the 817 hikers who participated, 354 (43%) met inclusion criteria (nonsmokers and no use of bronchodilators within 48 hr) and gave acceptable and reproducible spirometry. For these 354 hikers, we calculated the posthike percentage change in forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in 1 sec (FEV(1)), FVC/FEV(1), peak expiratory flow, and mean flow rate between 25 and 75% of the FVC and regressed each separately against pollutant (O(3) or PM(2.5)) concentration, adjusting for age, sex, hours hiked, smoking status (former vs. never), history of asthma or wheeze symptoms, hike load, reaching the summit, and mean daily temperature. O(3) and PM(2.5) concentrations measured during the study were below the current federal standards, and we found no significant associations of acute changes in pulmonary function with either pollutant. These findings are contrasted with those in the Mt. Washington study to examine the hypothesis that pulmonary health effects are associated with exposure to O(3) and PM(2.5) in healthy adults engaged in moderate exercise

Evaluation Research and Institutional Pressures: Challenges in Public-Nonprofit Contracting

This article examines the connection between program evaluation research and decision-making by public managers. Drawing on neo-institutional theory, a framework is presented for diagnosing the pressures and conditions that lead alternatively toward or away the rational use of evaluation research. Three cases of public-nonprofit contracting for the delivery of major programs are presented to clarify the way coercive, mimetic, and normative pressures interfere with a sound connection being made between research and implementation. The article concludes by considering how public managers can respond to the isomorphic pressures in their environment that make it hard to act on data relating to program performance.This publication is Hauser Center Working Paper No. 23. The Hauser Center Working Paper Series was launched during the summer of 2000. The Series enables the Hauser Center to share with a broad audience important works-in-progress written by Hauser Center scholars and researchers