10: Public opinion, opinion research and political decision-making
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Hauptschule
Seminar
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in englischer SprachePublic opinion is a key term in theories of democracy because it connects the collective beliefs, moods and preferences of citizens, voters and media audiences with the actions and decisions of governing elites and elected officials. Public opinion is closely measured and monitored by professional opinion researchers and political pollsters. But what constitutes public opinion? How volatile and media-driven is it? What are professional tools and techniques of political opinion polling? How is public opinion constructed? What does it mean to frame public opinion? Which roles do the media play in the formation of public opinion? How is public opinion covered by the media? Who shapes public opinion? To what degree do political elites rely on the results of public opinion surveys and what is their impact on the strategies and practices of political decision making? These and other core questions will be dealt with and discussed intensely in the course of this seminar.
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Dr. MA Günther LENGAUER
Head of Research Department, MediaWatch Institute for Media Analysis GmbH, Innsbruck
| 1998 | M.A. (Magisterium), University of Innsbruck, Political Science |
| 2000-2001 | Freelance Research Assistant at the Center for Applied Political Research, Vienna |
| 2000-2002 | DOC-Fellow at the Austrian Academy of Science |
| 2001-2003 | Fulbright Fellow at the University of Illinois, Chicago |
| 2003 | Research Assistant of the Pew Internet & American Life Project |
| 2004 | Freelance Research Assistant at the Ludwig-Boltzmann-Institute for Applied Political Research |
| since 2004 | Head of Research Department, MediaWatch Institute for Media Analysis, Innsbruck |
| 2005 | Doctorate, University of Innsbruck, Political Science |
| since 2006 | Visiting Lecturer, Department of Political Science, University of Innsbruck |
| 2007 | Master of Arts in Communication, University of Illinois, Chicago |
| since 2007 | Project Member of European Research Project "Political Communication Cultures in Western Europe", University of Innsbruck |
Dr. Peter ULRAM
Head and Key Account Manager, Political Research, GfK Austria GmbH, Vienna; Assistant Professor for Political Science, University of Vienna
| 1971-1976 | Study of Political Science, University of Vienna (1976 Dr.Phil) |
| 1975-1976 | Postgraduate Study of Political Science, Institute for Advanced Studies Vienna (diploma) |
| 1977-1978 | Research grants for Bologna and Stockholm (first book 1978) |
| 1978-1983 | Responsible for Basic Research (ÖAAB-Bundesleitung) |
| 1990 | Habilitation, University of Vienna (Univ.-Doz.) |
| since 1983 | Fessel&Co., Fessel-GfK, GfK Austria |
| since 1989 | Head of Political Research Department |
Dr. Gianpietro MAZZOLENI
Professor, Department of Social and Political Studies, University of Milan
| Professor of Sociology of Communication and of Political Communication at the University of Milan. He is Post-Graduate Coordinator of the MSc Program in Public & Corporate Communication. | |
| 1969 | Received his BA in Sociology from St Anselm College, Manchester, N.H. |
| 1974 | Doctorate from the University of Rome-La Sapienza |
| 1988-2001 | Associate Professor, he has taught communication at the Universities of Salerno and Genoa |
| 2000 | Visiting Professor of Political Communication at the University of Innsbruck |
| 2006 | Visiting Professor at George Mason University, Fairfax, V.A. |
| 2007 | Visiting Professor at the University of South Australia, Adelaide |
| In the last twenty-five years he was also visiting scholar at the Annenberg School for Communication (Philadephia), the Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin, Sciences Po (Paris), the Institute of Political Sciences of the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, the Centre for Communication Research and Development of the University of Southern Queensland (Australia) | |
| He is co-founder and editor of the refereed journal Comunicazione Politica (www.com-pol.it), published by Franco Angeli (Milan). He serves also in the editorial boards of the European Journal of Communication (Sage) and of Political Communication (Taylor & Francis), and is editor of the book series in Political Communication of Hampton Press (www.hamptonpress.org). | |
| His main research interests are in the areas of mass communication, media policy and political communication. He has been member and coordinator of several international teams working on comparative research projects in the above areas. |
Dr. Fritz PLASSER
Dean, Faculty for Political Science and Sociology, University of Innsbruck
| 1976-1980 | Head of Political Research Unit at Dr. Fessel Institute in Vienna |
| 1980-1990 | Political Pollster and Strategic Consultant at the OeVP - Headquarter in Vienna |
| 1990-2005 | Director, Center of Applied Political Research in Vienna |
| since 1993 | Professor of Political Science at the University of Innsbruck |
| 2000-2001 | Fahrenkopf-Mannat Professor at the Graduate School of Political Management at George Washington University |
| 2004-2005 | Shorenstein Fellow at the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University in Cambridge, MA |
