While political scientists know much about roll call voting, we still have much to learn about the way perceptions of constituents, personal priorities, and other factors shape the way legislators prioritize their voting preferences. This research is qualitative and interpretive in nature, making use of elite interviews and supplemented with archival materials when possible. These data include six semi-structured interviews with members of the Illinois congressional delegation representing Southern Illinois. Service to constituents has continually been an indicator of how effective an elected official is within their home district, their decisions concerning who to listen to, and what they will allow to influence them also shape what is, arguably, the most important action they take on behalf of their constituents, i.e., vote on legislation. Despite different approaches to leading, the legislative needs of Southern Illinois are matters of great importance to the individuals interviewed in this research. The interviews also indicate that the passions outlined by the members of Congress are things that have a direct link to Southern Illinois.

This study aims to analyze how industrial design as a profession and discipline has been presented to the public in Turkey. The object of the study is constituted by the popular home style magazines which increased rapidly in number through the dynamics of the post-1980 period. These publications have been inspected in the scope of the research and their in constructing and shaping public awareness about design culture has been the focus of the study. The main theme of the thesis is focused on the analysis of Turkish social values which changed after the 1980s and on how the magazines handled the subject of design, and the qualities which they highlighted in the presentation of the products. In addition, the roles which were ascribed to design and to the designers in terms of the newly calibrated consumption values, have also been discussed. The socio-political and economic transformations of the post-1980 period constitute the contextual framework of the thesis.