Building on the pioneering work of anthropologist Mary Douglas and political scientist Aaron Wildavsky, this book develops and applies "grid-group" theory to show how political culture can be used to explain decisions about social policy and how, as an interpretive approach, this theory complements the now more dominant "rational choice" and "institutionalist" models.

In Part One, Lockhart elaborates on the basic ideas involved in grid-group theory, using examples to help illuminate how the theory can address areas of explanation left out of rational-choice and institutionalist...

This dictionary offers the only comprehensive collection of profiles of American political scientists, each of whom contributed significantly to the intellectual development of American political science from its beginnings in the late-19th century to the present. This second edition includes 22 new and 110 revised entries, reflecting new scholarship that emerged during the 1990s. Numerous experts helped the editors develop this consensus group of the 193 political scientists who have made the most important theoretical contributions over the years, with attention to varied approaches and...

Older Americans experience stages of aging with distinct priorities. For younger retirees, climate can be most important; for older retirees, quality of health care. Various states support these and other priorities to sharply different degrees. While many Americans know which states offer mild climates for outdoor recreation, they rarely know which states offer the best medical care to Medicare patients. This book tells them and suggests sequential moves to take advantage of states' varying strengths.