Two years after its signing into law, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), commonly called the Affordable Care Act (ACA), underwent a constitutional challenge at the Supreme Court. The Court’s decision to uphold the power of Congress in enacting most of the provisions of the ACA was regarded as a highly salient decision that is thought to have affected the public perception of the law. The focus of this thesis is to determine whether the Supreme Court was able to frame arguments used for or against the ACA in relation to the decision. By organizing and analyzing open-ended responses gathered from a panel survey both before and after the 2012 decision, I sought to determine how arguments used in discussion about the law and institutions regarding it varied after the decision. Findings show that the argument types used to explain individuals’ policy perceptions remained relatively stable throughout the waves. The study presented here offers an in-depth, micro-level effects of a real Court decision on individuals. By focusing on within-subject language change in a tight window around the decision, this approach helps clarify thinking about the relationship between the Court and public opinion.

Inramade politiska frågor är något de flesta medborgare frekvent exponeras för när observerareller deltar i den offentliga diskursen. I Sverige är kärnkraftsfrågan en viktig politisk frågasom präglas av flera olika inramade narrativ. I denna studie undersökes hur fyra olika vanligtförekommande kärnkrafts-inramningar påverkar svenskars attityder till Sveriges nutida ochframtida användning av kärnenergi i energiförsörjningen. Detta genomfördes via ettsurveyexperiment (n=202). Inga påtagliga effekter från ram-exponering på attityder tillkärnkraft kunde observeras för någon ram. De flesta svenska medborgarna tycks ha ganskafasta övertygelser i kärnkrafts-frågan, och låter ej sina attityder förändras med lätthet.Vänster-högerideologi identifierades som en mycket avgörande faktor i hur svenskarna ställersig i denna politiska fråga, och mycket övertygande fenomen torde krävas för att dessa skallförändra inställningarna, åtminstone på kort sikt. / Framed political issues are something most citizens are frequently exposed to when observingor participating in the public discourse. In Sweden, the nuclear power issue is an importantpolitical issue that is characterized by several different framed narratives. This study examineshow four different commonly occurring nuclear power frames affect Swedes’ attitudes towardSweden’s current and future use of nuclear energy in its energy supply. This was investigatedvia a survey experiment (n=202). No significant effect from frame-exposure to attitudestoward nuclear energy could be observed for any frame. Most Swedish citizens seems to havefairly stable beliefs in this issue, and do not let their attitudes get influences with ease. Leftrightideology was identified a decisive factor in Swedes attitudes toward this issue, and avery convincing phenomena is required to change these attitudes, at least in the short term.

Building on the logic of issue selling, my dissertation explores the micro-processes of shareholder social activism through which shareholders interact with targeted firms and also addresses which micro-processes could affect the effectiveness and the success of shareholder social activism. To do this, my dissertation develops a theory with respect to the approaches of linguistically framing the contents of and of presenting shareholder social activism. Based on a qualitative (descriptive) analysis on 1,612 shareholder social proposals, my dissertation identifies six packaging strategies that are used by the proponents to linguistically frame the contents of their proposals and two selling strategies used by the proponents to present their proposals. Subsequently, a quantitative analysis demonstrates that the effectiveness of shareholder social proposals would be largely determined by the joint effects of opportunity framing, threat framing, coalition building, and repeated submitting and that other packaging strategies would have little unique contribution to the effectiveness and the success of shareholder social activism. I argue that my dissertation would make contributions to the understanding of shareholder social activism and also offer some theoretical considerations for future studies on issue selling, although my dissertation might not directly contribute to the body of work of issue selling. / Ph. D.

Historically, the federal government has been the institution responsible for setting the nation's drug policy. Since 1996, however, the federal government's authority and legitimacy in this issue area has increasingly been challenged through state ballot measures introduced via the initiative process. While only eight percent of ballot measures historically are approved by voters (Initiative and Referendum Institute 2004), half of the 28 state ballot measures on illegal drugs have been approved by voters over the past decade. The stated goal of those supporting legalization through ballot measures is to "build a political movement to end the war on drugs" (Nadelmann 2004). Nadelmann (2004) suggests that victories in the states show that the "nascent drug policy reform movement" can win in the "big leagues of American politics" and that the successful models presented through the ballot measures will increase "public confidence in the possibilities and virtue" of regulating the non-medical use of illicit drugs. To date there has been no detailed examination of the issue framing strategies in this venue; nor has there been an effort to link the problem definition and direct democracy literatures. This dissertation links the problem definition and direct democracy literatures, using drug policy as the vehicle and applying Stone's (2002) analytic framework of problem definition to make descriptive inferences about the issue framing devices employed in state ballot measures on illegal drugs. The research examines a range of materials related to the state ballot measures on illegal drugs including the language appearing on voter ballots; the full text of the ballot measures, including ballot titles and political preambles; and the voter information statements and their authors. In addition, the dissertation describes the elements of legalization proposed by the ballot measures that were approved by voters and examines three key legal challenges to Proposition 215, one of the first ballot measures on illegal drugs approved by voters in California in 1996, including two U.S. Supreme Court cases. / Ph. D.

On the 15th of March 2019, more than 1.6 million students have protested in 125 countries against the climate change effects, as part of the Fridays for Future movement. The manifestations represented the biggest day of global climate action ever taken, according to media outlets. At the core of this movement stands Greta Thunberg, a Swedish 16-year old climate activist and a Nobel Prize nominee, whose actions and speeches serve as inspiration for both students and adults.  With a focus on environmental communication and climate activism, this research aims to find how the teenager addressed climate change topics and how she succeeded in conveying her ideas to audiences. It discusses how the rhetoric was constructed within her speeches, and which of the argumentative elements gave Greta Thunberg the ability to convince the public. The study combines frame and rhetoric analysis with a focus on the text of the speeches that Greta Thunberg delivered in three major international events. The purpose is to observe and understand the nature of Greta Thunberg’s activism by analyzing how the high school student used the linguistic tools and tactics in her public speeches, and to explore a few theories within the text: the issue framing of the climate crisis; the argumentative and discursive techniques that helped her to gain media and public attention.  The thesis concludes that the evolution of Greta Thunberg’s climate activism, from ‘no attention’ to global reputation, is based on grassroots activism, particular personality features, and efficient use of rhetoric devices combined with moral purpose argumentation. / <p><strong>Acknowledgements</strong></p><p>I take the opportunity to thank my Master thesis supervisor professor Paola Sartoretto, from Stockholm University, for the valuable professional support that she offered. Additionally, I thank professor Mia Verhoeff Friman from Jönköping University, for her useful remarks and input during this 2-year Master’s Program.</p><p>Last but not least, I want to express my gratitude for all the encouragement I received in my efforts to attend this program and to address special thanks to my mother Otilia for her continuous guidance and love, for always believing in me, and for being my role model as a mother, woman, teacher, and respected professional.</p>

Distribution tables have become ubiquitous to the tax policy debates surrounding major legislative initiatives to change tax law at the federal level. The fairness of any proposed change to federal tax policy has become one of the most highlighted components of tax policy discussions. The presentation of tax data within distribution tables can hide or omit important information that is required in order to effectively evaluate the merits of any tax legislation. Many producers of distribution tables show only the information necessary to present their policy preferences in the best possible light. The different economic assumptions and presentations of data used by the various groups that release distribution tables have the inherent consequence of providing the public with numerous tables that are often used as political ammunition to influence and shape debate. The purpose of this research is to contribute to the tax policy research literature by exploring the limitations and biases inherent in specific designs of tax distribution tables and in specific methodological approaches to tax distribution analysis. This is done by means of a systematic examination of how different designs and methodologies provide an incomplete picture of a proposed change to federal tax policy. By comparing distribution tables as used by different groups to provide alternative perspectives of various tax proposals, the research shows how the use of tax distribution tables often provides misleading results about the impact of proposed tax legislation in order to influence and shape the issues surrounding a proposed change to federal tax policy. A method for evaluating tax distribution tables is proposed which highlights the deficiencies of design and methodology which characterize the present use of tax distribution tables. An index of questions is provided as part of this research project to serve as a new tool of policy analysis, an index termed the "Tax Distribution Table Scoring Index" (TDTSI). The TDTSI will assist in balancing the different perspectives presented via tax distribution tables by identifying the biases and limitations associated with different methodologies and presentations of data. / Ph. D.

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