For decades sociologists, criminologists, political scientists and socio-legal scholars alike have focused on the symbolic and instrumental dimensions of law in examinations of the effects of social reform and policy implementation. Following in this tradition, we focus on the relationship between hate crime policy and hate crime reporting to…

Central to sociology is the assumption that virtually all forms of social action and public policies have unanticipated consequences for their actors and social systems. Sociologists seek to explore these unanticipated consequences and delineate how they will affect people, policies, and practices. This essay focuses on the unanticipated…

To focus national attention on early childhood issues, the National Governors' Association's Committee on Human Resources and Center for Policy Research and Analysis sponsored a conference, "Focus on the First Sixty Months." Through keynote addresses and panel presentations, information was shared on the needs of young children and state programs…

This study examines past and present public issue forums and their role in the United States political system. The first chapter describes traditional forms of the public forum such as town meetings, neighborhood societies, lyceums, university extension programs, and settlement house networks. Analyzed next are the content, organization, and…