PoUcy Studies Journal, 23:3

From the EditorsIn the third issue of the previous volume of the Policy Studies Journal, we

initiated tiie practice of publishing an issue tiiat did not contain the usual collection ofsymposium essays on a common policy theme. Hence, 22:3 contained a half-dozenexcellent individually-contributed articles, the text of tiie remarks made by Irving LouisHorowitz upon receiving the 12th annual Harold Lasswell Award of the Policy StudiesOrganization at the 1994 APSA meetings, three review essays, and one review of asingle book.

The present issue of PSJ continues the precedent established one year ago.We plan to have one issue that does not include a symposium regularly in each futurevolume of the Policy Studies Jourrtal. Our intent is that each of the three remainingquarterly issues would contain symposia.

Although we did not plan tiiat these kindred issues of PSJ would come at thesame point of volumes 22 and 23, this coincidence provides the occasion for us toreiterate and amplify the comments that were made in 22:3. The fundamental trade-offinvolved in planning any given issue involves allocating space among severalinterrelated aspects of public policy research: (a) symposia, consisting of roughly halfa dozen to ten or so articles providing a sustained discussion of a policy area orperspective; (b) individually-contributed articles that pass through a rigorous reviewprocess (see the information on PSJ review practices contained in theNotes/Information/Announcements section in this issue), and that usually are notablefor topical diversity amidst their excellence; (c) review essays of policy studies-relevantliterature, each of which may address one or several publications; and (d) infOTmationalmaterial that keeps the policy studies community up to date on key newsworthydevelopments.

This balance is particularly difficult to maintain within any given issue, giventhe extensive amount of time (often more than one year) that is required to move asymposium involving a multiplicity of authors from conceptualization to publication.Added to this extended time horizon is the obvious desire to maintain as close aspossible the usual production schedule of the quarterly issues of PSJ.

The effort and amount of time required to conceptualize a symposium theme,to line up authors, and to collect drafts of manuscripts and perform initial screeningprior to sending manuscripts to the PSJ co-editors are compounded by the time requiredfor us to locate highly qualified peer reviewers who are not involved in the symposium,to obtain their evaluations, to provide coordinated feedback to the symposium editor(s),to await the completion of revised manuscripts, and to process the collectedmanuscripts (not all of which may arrive together or on schedule).

The end result of this overlapping of drawn-out time frames is thatconsiderable advance planning and careful attention to symposium manuscripts at anearly stage can help to avoid extended delays in the production process and can ensuremore timely publication of planned symposia. This makes for happier joumal editors,much happier authors of the symposium essays, and a readership that is informed on amore timely basis.

The editors of the PoUcy Studies Jotirnal, as always, are open to potentialsymposia on any and all aspects of public policy. We do ask, in the interest of speedingalong the completion of a symposium, that those who are interested in submittingsymposia for our review take pains to ensure tiiat each separate essay that we and thepeer reviewers receive has been prepared at a level equivalent to that of anyindividually-contributed peer-reviewed article. Prospective symposium editors also

402

Desm/Shelley: From the Editors

need to verify that the entire set of manuscripts fits together into a cohesive whole.Marginally relevant or poorly-written components of a symposium detract from theoverall quality of the submitted product, and increase the risks that the entiresymposium may be rejected and that inordinate amounts of time and effort may berequired to revise all or some of the manuscripts that make it through the reviewprocess.

It is ideal for anyone who has an interest in possible symposia to contact thePSJ co-editors at the earliest opportunity—by phone, fax, email, "snail" mail, contactsat conferences, and in any other inventive ways. TTie sooi^r we know what you have inmind, the more quickly can we be helpful in expediting the completion of yoursymposium through its appearance in pinL

On another subject altogether, you should be aware that PSJ has beenapproached repeatedly about the possibility of having its entire contents placed OTI-UTO.We would be most interested in any comments, advice, wamings, or other informationthat you might wish to provide about electronic publishing.

In This Issue

The articles presented in this issue cover a diverse array of subject areas andmethodologies, refiecting in large measure the plurality of api»-oaches to the study ofpublic policy. Dvora Yanow examines the textual policy content reified in the form ofpublic buildings, which serve as literal policy settings. Alan Zundel explores whatcould be taken to be another dimension of contextual analysis—the rhetoric of theideologically-driven "ethical traditions" debate that has framed programs fosteringhomeownership for the poor. Yet another take on text and the importance of policycontext is provided by Marie Danziger's explicitly deconstructionist postmodemassessment of how the study of policy analysis is taught. Danziger argues for a moresophisticated, liberating form of policy analysis that provides a larger role for the masspublic, rather than for elites, in the process of policy deliberation.

A quite different approach is provided by Maureen Pirog-Good and JohnMikesell's study of lottery expenditures in Indiana. Emphasis is placed on theincreasingly regressive nature of lottery participation, and on tiie consequent need toexercise greater oversight of this increasingly pervasive aspect of revenue generation.

Scott Furlong provides an inside perspective on the process of "reinventinggovemment" within the Environmental Protection Agency. He generalizes theexperience of EPA to broader concems for the regulatory process and for publicmanagemenL

Katherine Naff evaluates the results of a survey of federal govemmentemployees' perceptions of discriminatory practices. Perhaps tiie key result from herandysis is that members of different minority groups within the govemment workfOTcehave distinct pattems of beliefs about the existence and the extent of discriminatoryp^ctices toward themselves as individuals and as members of their respective groups.

Douglas Lober's article assesses survey and observational correlates of theNIMBY (not-in-my-backyard) phenomenon as it emerged in opposition to decisionsabout siting a recycling center. A major finding is the importance of the perceivedfaimess of the decisionmaking process, in addition to perceived costs and distance fromthe proposed site. Clear differences emerge between oppositional attitudes andbehaviors.

Finally, Evan Ringquist, Jeffrey Lee, and R. Terry Ervin provide asophisticated multivariate time-series statistical evaluation of the effects of soil

403

Policy Studies Journal, 23:3

conservation practices on environmental quality. They find beneficial effects for airquality from implementation of the Conservation Reserve Program provided for in the1985 Farm Bill.

This issue concludes with a number of review essays and a single bookreview. The essay by John Rouse concludes that the institutionalization of govonmentpolicies will come about due more to maiicet-driven efficiency considerations than toegalitarian and moral impulses. Bradford Jones' essay addresses several aspects ofenvironmental policy relevant to the realities of global climate change. In his essay onnational health care reform in the United States, Keith Muller explores the origins ofcontemporary policy problems in this arena, discusses possible improvonents in healthmarkets, and outlines a potentially bleak future of a worsening crisis in health care.Mary Kihl addresses the integration of theory and practice in urban planning, with afocus on the guiding role of ethical considerations. Janie Steckenrider provides athorough overview of different perspectives on how to foster family welfare, rangingfrom an emphasis on individual responsibility to altematives of govemmental orsocietal action. Mike Matthes provides a provocative review of Robert J. Spitzer'sbook. The Politics of Gun Control, with emphasis on the advantages and limitations ofapplying tenets of intemational relations theory to the domestic argument OVOT gunownership.

Uday Desai Mack Shelley

404