Carol Traut

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Julita Vassileva

University of Saskatchewan

Pierpaolo Limone

Università degli Studi di Foggia

Veysel Demirer

Suleyman Demirel University

Ramesh Chander Sharma

Ambedkar University Delhi

Simon McIntyre

The University of New South Wales

Sahar Ahadi

Toronto Metropolitan University

Jako Olivier

Commonwealth of Learning

Andres Chiappe

Universidad de La Sabana

Brett　ブレット Milliner　ミリナー

Tamagawa University

Gabriel Zepeda Martínez

Universidad Autonoma de Nayarit -Mexico-

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Papers by Carol Traut

Hanging on or Fading Out?

Public Personnel Management, 2000

Job satisfaction remains an important issue for public managers, as they try to motivate workers ... more Job satisfaction remains an important issue for public managers, as they try to motivate workers in today's political environment. Many of the motivational efforts are centered around newer employees, while longer-term workers are automatically assumed to be committed to their jobs. In this study of a medium-size city fire department, employees were surveyed on five aspects of job satisfaction: satisfaction with the supervisor, satisfaction with agency relationships, satisfaction with job training, satisfaction with job content, and overall job satisfaction. The effects of job tenure on satisfaction were uniform across the five aspects. The newest employees were significantly more satisfied with their jobs than were longer-term employees, even when controlling for the organizational rank. For a successful workplace, employers must continue to invest in their longer-term employees even as they develop newer employees. In the 1990s, public sector employers are struggled to maintai...

Death Penalty Exemptions for Juveniles: An Event History Analysis of State Policy Adoption

Politics & Policy, 2003

We develop a model to explain state adoption of death penal@ exemptions forjuveniles under age 18... more We develop a model to explain state adoption of death penal@ exemptions forjuveniles under age 18. Employing event histoty analysis, we find that internal factors are the primary determinants ofjuvenile exemptions-More specifically, we find that citizen ideology and death penalty support, as measured by the number on death row, provide explanatory power. Regional and temporaI variables, on the other hand, appear to have little impact on state adoption of death penalty exemptions for those under age 18. Execution ofjuveniles, those who commit murders while they are younger than age 18, continues to be a controversial political issue. According to Amnesty International (2001), the United States is one ofonly five countries that authorizes the execution ofjuvenile offenders; the others are Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia. The American Bar Association opposes execution of juveniles under age 18 and has done so since 1983 (Steiker and Steiker 1998). The Texas cases of Gerald Mitchell, executed in October 2001, and Napoleon Beazley, executed in May 2002, have again brought the issue of the death penalty forjuveniles to national public attention. Mitchell was 17 at the time he committed the murder for which he was executed; he had a history of committing offenses as a juvenile. Beazley, however, was 17 and a high school class president with no prior criminal record when he committed the crime for which he was put to death (Axtman 200 1 ; Rice 2002; "Texas: Execution of a Killer" 2001; Yardley 200 la and 2001b). Because of these cases, Texas is once again a focal point for opposition to execution ofjuveniles and opposition to the death penalty generally. While, like Texas, a majority of death penalty states permit execution of those who were age 17 or even 16 at the time they committed capital crimes, 15 states have enacted statutory juvenile exemption provisions. The most recent state to do so is Indiana in 2002. Despite these events, in early 2003 the Supreme Court declined to Politics & Policy Volume 3 1 No.

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Citizen-Initiated Contacting: A Three City Test of SES and Need Theories

American Review of Politics, 1991

Two theories to explain contacting have been advanced: the SES theory which argues that people wi... more Two theories to explain contacting have been advanced: the SES theory which argues that people with higher socioeconomic status have the resources and skills to contact and the need-awareness theory which states that contacting is motivated by need, regardless of SES. Using data from a 1985 survey of citizens in three Florida cities, these two theories were tested. Two very distinct groups of contactors emerged. Social-referent contactors were those people motivated primarily by socioeconomic status. Awareness of government officials, participation in other types of political activity, and to a lesser extent need, as measured by evaluations of city services, were also connected with social-referent contacting. Particularized-referent contactors were those who contacted because of need and awareness, regardless of socioeconomic status. That the effects of city remained significant after controlling for the other variables indicates that environmental context plays a significant yet r...

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Issues and Outcomes in State Supreme Court Judicial Review Cases

Southeastern Political Review, 2008

This paper examines the types of laws challenged and overturned in the supreme courts of all 50 s... more This paper examines the types of laws challenged and overturned in the supreme courts of all 50 states from I981 through 1985. Major findings are that criminal statutes are challenged more frequently but overturned less ojien than other types of statues. Challenges to laws regulating economic activity account for just under a quarter of our cases and these laws are overturned over 20percent of the time. Private cases, which make up about 14 percent of the data set result in invalidation about afijih of the time. While there are fewer civil liberties and governmental cases, these cases result in laws being declared unconstitutional more frequently, over one-third of the time. More specijically, death penalty laws are overturned in less than three percent of the cases in which they are challenged On the other hand, cases involving statutes alleged to unconstitutionally discriminate and those regulating local government result in invalidation over h a y the time. State supreme courts are important policymakers because they are the final authorities on most questions of law that affect the lives ofcitizens (Hall and Brace 1992) It is state, not federal, policy that most often addresses issues of criminal and civil action, including economic activity, and state courts help shape that policy in various ways (Kagan et al. 1977). State supreme courts have also become more involved in an area once considered the exclusive domain of federal courts, civil liberties. More litigants have turned to these courts in hopes offavorable rulings in the wake ofthe United States Supreme Court's increasingly conservative stance on civil liberties Southeastern Political Review 0 Volume 28 0 No. 2 0 June 2000 ~~ 296 Southeastern Political Review Vol. 28 No. 2 (e.g., Emmert and Traut 1992; Williams 1997). The occasional willingness of state supreme courts to expand civil liberties beyond those at the federal level is known as the "new judicial federalism" (e.g. Tam 1997). Judicial review is the most politically significant way in which courts influence policy because they can either legitimate or thwart the collective will ofelected policy makers(Dah1 19S8).' Usingjudicial review to overturn statutes has been described as reflecting the degree to which policies adopted through the democratic processes are judicially negated (Canon 1982). Despite the significance ofjudicial review in state policy making, however, there is little research on the types of laws challenged and overturned in state supreme courts. The present study seeks to address this shortcoming. While several factors may influence judicial decisions, our focus is on the types of statutes challenged and overturned in all judicial review cases decided in the SO state supreme courts from 1981 through 1985. The data set used is the most recent comprehensive data set, i.e., one that contains all types ofcases from all states. Examining the types of statutes challenged in state supreme courts is significant because it reveals which areas of public policy remain the most unsettled or controversial. Perhaps more importantly, since courts must wait for cases to be brought to them, analysis ofthe issues raised in judicial review cases reveals the areas in which state supreme courts are given the most opportunity to engage in policymaking (Wells and Grossman 1966). Analysis of invalidation rates is even more important, of course, because it indicates both the extent ofjudicial activism and exactly which state policies are shaped most by these courts. Research on state supreme court policymaking has mushroomed in recent years. However, this research most often focuses on qualitative analyses of prominent state supreme court cases (e.g.

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State Supreme Courts, State Constitutions, and Judicial Policymaking

Justice Syst J, 1992

This study explores the constitutional bases for state supreme court decisions in over 2,800 judi... more This study explores the constitutional bases for state supreme court decisions in over 2,800 judicial review cases decided between 1981 and 1985. Major findings are that most decisions in judicial review cases are based on federal or on both state and federal grounds, but that when state supreme courts base their decisions solely on state grounds, laws are more often

The Information Gathering Practices of City Officials

American Review of Politics, 1992

The pressures on city officials warrant much more research into their evaluations of the sources ... more The pressures on city officials warrant much more research into their evaluations of the sources of information available to them. In more complex times, are they turning more to technical and professional informational supports? How does their reliance on such sources compare to their use of other sources such as the media and contacts with the public? Do mayors and city managers differ on such questions, as one might expect? Using a more elaborate set of questions about this topic than used in previous research, this survey of mayors and city managers in Florida asked them to rate the importance of the information sources they use in decision making. The results permitted comparisons of a public responsiveness model of information-use and a professional-technical model, which usually have been treated separately in previous research. Results indicate that the mayors and city managers showed marked similarities, with the vast majority concentrating on contacts with the public. Far ...

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Building and Sustaining Local and Regional Government Experts in the Face of Economic Downturns

Retaining public employees, especially techn ical experts, is difficult when tax revenues are dow... more Retaining public employees, especially techn ical experts, is difficult when tax revenues are down. This is particularly true for local and regional governments who lack the resources of national governments. These governments can retain employees by hiring well (getting and developing people committed to the geographic area, paying attention to working conditions, providing incentirves (such as public recognition) rather than just money, and recognizing personal life-family relationships.

China and the 1995 United Nations conference on women

Journal of Contemporary China, 1997

This study looks at the ways in which China's hosting of the 1995 United Nations Conference o... more This study looks at the ways in which China's hosting of the 1995 United Nations Conference on Women failed to improve China's international prestige. China made enormous commitments of resources to the meetings. However, China did not benefit because of its own internal policies, because of a series of political events that, in conjunction with media coverage, created a critical environment, and because of the deteriorating relationship between China and the US.

Student Decisions to Attend Public Two-Year Community Colleges

Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 2012

An Evaluation of County Life: A Survey of County Administrative Officials

American Review of Politics, 1995

County government increasingly has become the focus of research. Not only do counties continue th... more County government increasingly has become the focus of research. Not only do counties continue their roles as administrative arms of their states but they also are major service providers to their residents. This is especially true in less populated states. This study presents the views of elected county officials in a rural state on the quality of life in, and the major problems faced by, their counties. We find that how these officials view conditions in their counties is very much influenced by both the county population and the geographic location of the county. It is concluded that policymakers need to consider the varying needs of rural and urban populations as well as the variations within each rural and urban area.

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Learning Through Civic Service and Engagement

Disadvantage, Disaffection, and Race as Divergent Bases for Citizen Fiscal Policy Preferences

Journal of Politics, 1990

Recent years have seen increased attention to citizen preferences for taxation and spending for p... more

Citizen-Initiated ContactingA Multivariate Analysis

American Politics Research, 1993

One major way citizens interact with local government is through individual contacts with public ... more One major way citizens interact with local government is through individual contacts with public officials. Applying multivariate analysis to data from a 1985 study of three Florida cities, the authors find that need (defined as perceptions of government mis- or inaction) and awareness of whom to contact best explains contacting by people who clearly attach no larger social significance to

Expanding the Integrated Model of Judicial Decision Making: The California Justices Capital Punishment

Journal of Politics, 1998

... 1170 Carol Ann Traut and Craig F. Emmert ... Finally, the Bird court ruled that the felony-mu... more

ISSUES AND OUTCOMES IN STATE SUPREME COURT JUDICIAL REVIEW CASES

Southeastern Political Review, 2008

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Death Penalty Exemptions for Juveniles: An Event History Analysis of State Policy Adoption

Politics & Policy, 2003

We develop a model to explain state adoption of death penalty exemptions for juveniles under age ... more We develop a model to explain state adoption of death penalty exemptions for juveniles under age 18. Employing event history analysis, we find that internal factors are the primary determinants of juvenile exemptions. More specifically, we find that citizen ideology and death penalty support, as measured by the number on death row, provide explanatory power. Regional and temporal variables, on the other hand, appear to have little impact on state adoption of death penalty exemptions for those under age 18.

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State Supreme Courts, State Constitutions, and Judicial Policymaking

Justice System Journal, 1992

CONTACTING ON THE LOCAL AND EXTRALOCAL LEVELS: RESULTS FROM THE 1987 GENERAL SOCIAL SURVEY (NORC

Southeastern Political Review, 2008

The contacting of public oficials is a major form of political participation. Using data from the... more The contacting of public oficials is a major form of political participation. Using data from the 1987 NORC General Social Survey, this study expands the scope of contacting research by examining the determinants of contacting behavior at the state and national level as well as at the local level. Overall contacting at the local level is determined by SES, efficacy, awareness, and political ties. At the extralocal level, race, ideology (liberalism), and personal economic dissatisfaction are also significant factors. When contactors are divided into general-referent and particularized-referent contactors, we find that SES is an important determinant for general but not for particularized contacting.

The California Supreme Court and the Death Penalty

American Politics Research, 1994

Page 1. 41 THE CALIFORNIA SUPREME COURT AND THE DEATH PENALTY CRAIG F. EMMERT Texas Tech Universi... more

Hanging on or Fading Out?

Public Personnel Management, 2000