Pennsylvania public schools: The fiscal landscape. A descriptive analysis 2008-2013

Perrin, Jason C The Pennsylvania State University ProQuest Dissert 2016 해외박사(DDOD)

소속기관이 구독 중이 아닌 경우 오후 4시부터 익일 오전 9시까지 원문보기가 가능합니다.

This research study examined public school district responses in Pennsylvania, through analysis of fiscal patterns, given decreased revenues and increased mandatory expenditures from 2008-2013. This descriptive quantitative study examined both revenues and expenditures for the aggregate group of Pennsylvania school districts and further explores fiscal patterns by average wealth through the use of deciles. The study was organized around the following four research questions: (1) How did school district revenues change? (2) How did school district expenditures change? (3) Did revenues and expenditure patterns vary by wealth? (4) What were the major legislative events in education and fiscal factors that occurred during this time period and how did they impact the fiscal pattern for revenues and expenditures?. The methodology used was primarily quantitative incorporating descriptive statistics specific to revenue and expenditure data from 2008-2013. Fiscal data was collected from the Pennsylvania Department of Education web site for all five hundred public school districts in the state. Secondary sources were also utilized to determine the impact of policy, legislative actions, and overall economic variables on fiscal elements specific to the public school finance landscape during the period of study. Analysis of key fiscal elements and secondary information was completed for all public school districts and further examined by average district wealth through decile information. This study found that between 2008-2013, fiscal responses and patterns changed due to revenue and expenditure variables for the aggregate group of Pennsylvania districts and differed for these districts based on average wealth. Key findings of this study included: (1) State policy decisions and legislative actions, specifically the reduction of state funding and lack of full restoration that coincided with the infusion and elimination of federal ARRA funding, had adverse effects on total school district revenues, especially 2011-12. (2) The recession of 2007-2009, along with limitations on local real estate tax increases imposed by Act 1 of 2006, restricted the ability for school districts to raise local revenue in order to counterbalance state revenue decreases, especially in 2011-12 when the Act 1 base index reached a five year low of 1.4%. (3) Increased benefit expenditures, due primarily to increased mandatory payments to PSERS, constrained the ability for school districts to meet overall obligations and forced challenging decisions, especially from 2011-13, when employer contribution rates increased from 5.54% to 12.36%. (4) State policy decisions and legislative actions, with regards to the interaction of state and federal revenues, adversely affected poorer districts to a greater degree than wealthy districts, counter to the intent of how those revenues were designed to be allocated. (5) The decrease of total revenue and increase of mandatory expenditures, specific to benefits, adversely affected poorer districts to a greater degree than wealthy districts, in the ability to meet rising costs associated with staff, more often forcing decisions fiscally necessary, but not educationally sound. (6) With mandatory expenditures projected to rise, as employer contribution rates to PSERS continues to rise, school districts will face further challenges in the future in an Act 1 environment, unless future policy and legislative actions provide relief in the form of increased state funding, equitable allocation and overall pension reform. Findings assert that long-range fiscal planning is paramount when addressing school district fiscal needs and that managing costs such as collective bargaining agreements and competing in a choice environment, given Charter School Costs, are important in managing the balance between revenues and expenditures. Future research aligned to further exploration of legislative impacts on school funding along with possible reform efforts specific to the state pension system and revenue generated through local real estate taxes will emerge in the coming years as key focus areas for understanding and practice.

Evaluation of instructional use of the ANGEL course management system at the Pennsylvania State University

Lin, Hung-Chang The Pennsylvania State University 2005 해외박사(DDOD)

소속기관이 구독 중이 아닌 경우 오후 4시부터 익일 오전 9시까지 원문보기가 가능합니다.

ANGEL (A New Global Environment for Learning) is a Web-based tool that enables faculty, instructors, and teaching assistants who have no knowledge of HTML to use the Web to enhance their courses. In fall 2001, ANGEL 2001 replaced CourseWeb, the previous course management system at the Pennsylvania State University (Penn State). Since then, the number of ANGEL users has increased significantly each semester. However, despite the many users involved in ANGEL, there have been few studies or evaluations of ANGEL's use in support of faculty members' teaching. To explore how Penn State faculty implement ANGEL in instruction, this study sought to ascertain whether there were relationships between the use of ANGEL features and each of the following three factors: (a) The rate of ANGEL course adoption in an academic unit, (b) the average number of ANGEL course sections implemented by a faculty member in an academic unit, and (c) the average ANGEL class size in an academic unit. The material in this thesis is derived mainly from the ANGEL course database, which is maintained by Information Technology Services (ITS) at Penn State. The database contains statistics from spring 2002 to spring 2004. As the purpose of the study was to examine the latest instructional use of ANGEL, the data from spring 2004 was chosen as the main analysis resource. Since certain instructional features, such as Syllabus, Calendar, Lessons, Quiz, Question, Folder, Drop box, Page, File, Message board, Message, Email, and Chat room provide the most insightful information on how faculty use ANGEL, this study's analytical focus was on the use of those features. The findings from the analysis of ANGEL feature use at Penn State indicate that the average university-wide ANGEL adoption rate in spring 2004 was 29%. The adoption rates for some campuses and colleges were lower than 10%; however, other campuses or colleges had an adoption rate higher than 40%. In terms of the rate of use of ANGEL features, the study results reveal that some features such as Syllabus, Lessons, Folder, and File had a use rate higher than 44%, while some features, such as Calendar, Message board, Message, Quiz, and Question, had a use rate lower than 15%. Also, Chat room was utilized at a lower rate by users. These results reveal that some important ANGEL features, such as Calendar, Quiz, Message board, and Chat room, were not often employed by users. (Abstract shortened by UMI.).

The use of collaboration, community involvement and vocational programming for youth with disabilities placed in six state-operated facilities for delinquents in Pennsylvania

Morrison, Marybeth The Pennsylvania State University 2004 해외박사(DDOD)

소속기관이 구독 중이 아닌 경우 오후 4시부터 익일 오전 9시까지 원문보기가 가능합니다.

Collaboration among stakeholders, community involvement, and access to vocational programming as part of education, are three components researchers indicate contribute to successful transition of adjudicated juveniles from placement to post-placement. The researcher analyzed these three components in six of thirteen state-operated juvenile placement facilities in Pennsylvania for youth with disabilities. This was a qualitative case study using, primarily, Yin's (1994) method of case study research. Interviews with key staff were conducted at five of the six sites and 296 student files were selected for review as part of the study. Students selected were: participating in career or vocational education, qualified for special education and had a transition component in their individualized education plan, released from the facility in 2000 or 2001. Five questions framed the data collection: (a) how and why do students with disabilities placed in state-operated facilities for delinquents in Pennsylvania participate in vocational or career education, (b) how and why do educators in state-operated facilities for delinquents in Pennsylvania collaborate with the staff from the students home school to deliver education or transition services, (c) how and why do members of community organizations such as religious institutions or civic organizations and members of community service providers such as the office of Vocational Rehabilitation or Mental Health and Mental Retardation collaborate with education personnel from state-operated facilities for delinquents in Pennsylvania on transition and educational programming, (d) how and why do personnel teaching in state-operated facilities for delinquents in Pennsylvania select the programming components they use in their facility for youth with disabilities who are in placement and, (e) how and why do parents, and their children who have disabilities and who are in placement, participate in the education and transition process in state-operated facilities for delinquents in Pennsylvania?. The researcher found that collaboration between stakeholders was problematic and community involvement was limited. However, vocational programming was extensive, was based on data from a variety of sources, and all students had access to participate. A systems approach using Bronfenbrenners ecological model (Bronfenbrenner, 1979) was used to analyze the results relating to collaboration, community involvement and vocational programming.

University autonomy in the Colombian public universities

Beltran, Yolima Ivonne The Pennsylvania State University 2003 해외박사(DDOD)

소속기관이 구독 중이 아닌 경우 오후 4시부터 익일 오전 9시까지 원문보기가 가능합니다.

In 1991 university autonomy was introduced in the Colombian higher education as a constitutional principle, which affected higher education. The changes were mandated with the 1992 Law # 30, whose implementation has caused tensions between the concepts of university autonomy based on self-regulation verses the control and vigilance from the government, and the notion of free trade of private universities and the economic dependence of public universities, an enormous growth of the Colombian higher educational system; a lack of efficient quality control mechanisms, and the politicization of the election process of university authorities. Some of these effects may be attributed to confusion in the interpretations of the autonomy concept, which generated the interest for the study. It was done under Neave's and Van Vught's (1994) conceptualization and Berdahl's (1990) conceptualization to analyze the relationship between the government and the higher education institutions regarding autonomy; and Levy's (1980) areas of autonomy to identify the repercussions of exercising autonomy at organizational level. The methodological approach involved a historical analysis focusing on the history of Colombian higher education with the purpose of revealing the evolution of educational policies, and the origins of university autonomy; and a multiple case study of two public universities located in the Andean region. The case studies involved members of superior councils of the two institutions, as well as a dean, professor, rector, ex-rector, student, and an administrative employee of each university. The results revealed that throughout history, the concept of university autonomy in the country has been a rhetorical issue, since it has been so far from the notions of democracy, participation, and intra-university power distribution, which characterized the claims of the <italic>Movimiento de Córdoba</italic>. The concept has been linked to the political parties in power and the policies of international funding agencies who impose their agenda on Colombia, which in turn has impacted the organizational level of the universities. During the last decade the government has oscillated between two opposite extremes for mechanisms of coordination without success, being the market and the rigorous control over public universities. As a consequence, the public universities have limited academic, administrative, and, financial autonomy.

Globalization, localization and the role of the state: A study of television liberalization in India (1990--2001)

Narayan, Sunetra Sen The Pennsylvania State University 2002 해외박사(DDOD)

소속기관이 구독 중이 아닌 경우 오후 4시부터 익일 오전 9시까지 원문보기가 가능합니다.

This research project explores the liberalization that has occurred in Indian television over the period 1990–2001. In India, this period has been marked by unprecedented change in television, both quantitatively and qualitatively. Since India gained her Independence in 1947, broadcasting was controlled by the state and used as a tool to assist in development. Things changed dramatically in the early 1990s with the entrance of transnational satellite broadcasters, which covered the sub-continent with their footprint. The growth of a domestic cable industry and the rise of indigenous private broadcasters were important developments that marked the latter half of the 1990s. The theoretical framework used to explore developments in this industry is derived from James Rosenau's model of relocation of authority and control towards global and local levels, away from the nation state. A body of literature on the state has also been examined with a view to understanding the response of the Indian state to massive changes occurring in the broadcast and cable industries in the last decade. The research methods adopted in this project are qualitative in essence. Although some simple quantitative indices are used to examine aspects of the broadcast industry such as advertising revenues and growth, the analysis largely rests on qualitative moorings. Accordingly, multiple research techniques are used here including archival research, textual analysis, content analysis and elite interviews. Contrary to a body of literature, which interprets flows of information between the developed and developing countries as resulting in cultural imperialism, this study emphasizes the importance of both global and local forces at work in the liberalization that has occurred in the Indian broadcasting scenario in the last decade. One of the findings of this study is that complex combinations of global and local dimensions have occurred in the field of Indian television. Thus there is support for Rosenau's thesis in the Indian broadcasting context. These developments have had their impact on the Indian state. This study concludes that the state has suffered a loss in authority and control in the realm of broadcasting over the period of the last decade. Economic indicators such as ownership and advertising revenues have primarily indicated this loss of control. However the state has shown resilience and is still a force to be reckoned with. It has not withered away and has acted in a manner to protect its turf and ensure its own survival. The resilience of the state is indicated by its actions with respect to regulation, policy formulation and policy implementation.

Multipartite states and Luttinger liquids of composite fermions

Ganesh Jaya, Sreejith The Pennsylvania State University 2012 해외박사(DDOD)

소속기관이 구독 중이 아닌 경우 오후 4시부터 익일 오전 9시까지 원문보기가 가능합니다.

Materials exhibiting exotic quantum phenomena at a macroscopic level are of great interest because of its intrinsic value to Physics, and also because of its potential applications in technology. Strongly correlated electronic systems form interesting examples of these. Exploring them calls for a good understanding of its physics, and development of new tools that are applicable to their analysis. Robustness of the fractional quantum Hall effect (FQHE) makes it an ideal stage to study strongly correlated electron systems. The complexity of the FQHE problem stems directly from the strong interactions between the constituent particles and not from the specific nature of the material it is implemented in. This work attempts to gain a theoretical description of some of the less understood aspects of FQHE. FQHE in the lowest Landau level is well understood using the theory of weakly interacting emergent particles called composite fermions. Composite fermions formed in the second Landau level however appear to be strongly interacting. Of particular interest is the FQHE at 2 + ½ filling fraction, where the many body ground state is believed to be described by a paired state of composite fermions, represented by the Pfaffian wavefunction. Based on predicted properties of its excitations, there has been proposals for implementing topological quantum computations in this system. However a good understanding of the nature of these excitations is still lacking. This thesis introduces a class of many body wavefunctions called "bipartite composite fermion states" that provide a unified description of all excitations of the paired state at 5/2. In the bipartite composite fermion (BCF) picture, constituent composite fermions split into two partitions which are correlated to each other. Within each partition, they fill the lowest composite fermion Landau level of its partition. Properties of the BCF state can now be related to the properties of the individual partitions, which are well understood in terms of the composite fermion theory. In particular, we show that the excitations of BCF states are obtained by creating excitations in the individual partitions. The paired state with odd number of composite fermions should have an unpaired composite fermion. The BCF model predicts that this unpaired composite fermion behaves as an exciton in the quasiparticle and quasihole are in separate partitions. We confirm this prediction numerically in finite size systems. Generalizations of bipartite composite fermion functions to other filling fractions especially 2 + 4/7 and 2 + ⅗ are also studied. Idea of bipartite composite fermions can be generalized to the case of more partitions. Specifically, we look at tripartite composite fermion states which are similar to the bipartite states, except that these have three correlated partitions instead of two. Tripartite states have a filling fraction of ν = ⅗, and its particle hole conjugate is a candidate wavefunction for describing the ν = 2 + ⅖ FQHE. Numerical comparisons of these "multipartite" composite fermion states with exact spectrum of finite systems show that these states give a very good description of the low energy spectra of the corresponding systems. Another interesting aspect of the FQH system is the realization of a chiral Luttinger liquid at the edge of an incompressible state. Effective field theory description of the system makes a non-trivial prediction that tunnelling exponents, which can be experimentally measured, are quantized. Starting from the composite fermion theory, we develop a microscopic model for the edge of the ν = ⅖ filling fraction. The ⅖ edge has composite fermions occupying lowest two composite fermion Landau levels each of which contributes to the edge excitations. The existence of two modes causes the edge spectrum to split into quasi-degenerate sectors of states with each sector representing a specific distribution of the composite fermions in the two levels. Calculations show that in the low energy limit, an electron tunnelling into the edge of the system enters as a composite fermion in one of the two composite fermion Landau levels, without moving any composite fermions between the two levels. This microscopic model is compared with an effective field theory description of the edge. With the assumption of a simplified edge dispersion relation, it is shown that the microscopic model is equivalent to the effective two boson model in the thermodynamic limit.

Factors related to adoption of Internet resources in instruction by faculty at the Pennsylvania State University

Chu, Yih-hsien The Pennsylvania State University 2002 해외박사(DDOD)

소속기관이 구독 중이 아닌 경우 오후 4시부터 익일 오전 9시까지 원문보기가 가능합니다.

This study's purpose was to identify the critical factors that influence the faculty to adopt Internet resources in instruction at the Pennsylvania State University (PSU). A Web-based questionnaire was developed by the researcher and used to collect data for this study. The final version of this questionnaire consisted of 65 questions within five sections: the faculty's current problems/needs, their perceptions of the characteristics of an online learning environment, their communication behaviors and prior experiences, their current use of Internet resources in teaching, and their characteristics. The population of the study was restricted to full-time faculty with teaching responsibilities at PSU. Invitation e-mails were sent to 3,698 faculty members, who were asked to answer the Web-based questionnaire. The return rate is 16.8% (612 out of 3,698) for valid returned questionnaires. The researcher used the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) Version 10.0 for Windows to analyze the data for the study. Binomial logistic regression, multinomial logistic regression, likelihood ratio test, and odds ratio were used to identify whether or not a critical factor influenced the faculty's adoption of Internet resources in instruction. The findings of this study are presented as the following. The researcher defined the active users as those faculty members who use more kinds of Internet resources in instruction and use them more frequently. This study found that faculty members with the following characteristics, experiences, and perceptions are more likely to be active users rather than inactive users: faculty aged 40–50 rather than those older than 50; faculty with prior Internet-related experience rather than those faculty lacking such experience; faculty who have been encouraged by students, colleagues, university/college administrators, department chairs, and professors-in-charge rather than those faculty who have never been encouraged; faculty who have consulted media resources to learn about using Internet resources in instruction rather than those faculty who have never consulted these media resources; faculty who agreed that the use of Internet resources in instruction is important rather than those faculty who disagreed; and faculty who agreed that the use of Internet resources is a good solution to their problems/needs rather than those faculty who disagreed.

A policy analysis of the first six years of Pennsylvania's Keystone Opportunity Zone program, 1998 to 2004: Enlightened economic development or corporate welfare?

Argall, David G The Pennsylvania State University 2006 해외박사(DDOD)

소속기관이 구독 중이 아닌 경우 오후 4시부터 익일 오전 9시까지 원문보기가 가능합니다.

In the last decade four states have adopted a new economic development strategy: the creation of geographic zones where employers can operate for up to 15 years while paying practically no taxes to either the state or the local governments. Pennsylvania has placed the largest number of acres into such tax-free zones and credits its Keystone Opportunity Zones (KOZs) with 20,136 retained jobs, 23,418 new jobs, and more than $5.2 billion in capital investment between 1999 and 2004. The study focuses upon the overall effectiveness of Pennsylvania's KOZ program. Its purpose is to provide a better understanding of the historical, political and economic contexts of this policy option by reviewing this question: Why is this program fatally flawed as charged by its critics or worthy of the accolades awarded by its political and business proponents? The study is based upon a two-phase explanatory multiple case study research design; the first phase includes 75 interviews focused on the statewide results of the program and the second reviews three local KOZs. The findings suggest this typology: Some of the tax-free zones were very successful, immediately attracting much-desired new jobs; many of the zones were successful in creating new jobs in the latter years of the program's six-year implementation; some of the zones remain vacant but prospective employers may locate there in the final years of the program; and the remaining zones are likely to remain barren of any jobs despite the program's incentives. To utilize the term which several of those interviewed first volunteered, the program's 193 subzones portray a "mixed bag" of results, similar to programs of this nature in other states. The findings also suggested several possible amendments to the program.

United atoms to superatoms and the isoelectronic principle

Peppernick, Samuel John The Pennsylvania State University 2009 해외박사(DDOD)

소속기관이 구독 중이 아닌 경우 오후 4시부터 익일 오전 9시까지 원문보기가 가능합니다.

The work described in this thesis pertains to the photoelectron spectroscopy of negatively charged atomic ions and their superatomic counterparts. The molecular ions studied in this work, TiO-, ZrO -, and WC- can be interpreted as superatomic manifestations of the respective isoelectronic elements appearing on the periodic table. The superposition principle, in the context of the unified atom picture from molecular orbital theory, allows for the assignment of molecular electronic transitions to be referenced to the atomic frame. This approach represents a novel method of determining the electronic state origins of transitions appearing in the photoelectron spectra of molecular anions by directly comparing the known spectroscopy for the isoelectronic element. In Chapter 3, a remarkable correspondence is presented between the separate PADs produced independently by TiO- and Ni- , suggesting the bound ionic state of the diatomic is mimicking that present in the negative atomic ion. Application of the beta-wave approach provides supporting evidence that the dominant photodetachment channel in TiO- arises from electron emission of the highest ocuupied 9sigma molecular orbital. This provides an immediate assignment of the ground electronic state of TiO- as the doublet 2Delta 3/2 configuration. Similarly, the ground electronic state of Ni - is 2D5/2 with 4s orbital ejection describing the ground state electron affinity transition. Obtained in Chapter 4 is an improved measurement of the electron affinity of ZrO-, determined to be 1.29(1) eV. This energy arises from the assigned anion to neutral ground state, 1Sigma + ← 2Sigma-, electronic transition. Further indentified are features assigned to the 2Delta 3/2 and 2Delta5/2 electronically excited states of the anion, with the 2Delta3/2 spin orbit component measured to lie ∼ 0.10 eV above the 2Sigma - ground state. The first measurement of the photoelectron binding energy spectrum of Pt-, at a fixed frequency photon energy of 2.33 eV is presented in Chapter 5. Intense signatures in the PAD were observed from the electron affinity transition, 3D3 ← 2D5/2. Other observed electronic transitions accessed the closely coupled first and second excited states, 1D2 and 3F4, of neutral Pt. Several weak intensity features were assigned to excitations stemming from the electronically excited states, 2D3/2 and 2S1/2, of metastable Pt- ions. Chapter 5 also presents the photoelectron image of the isoelectronic diatomic molecule, WC-, acquired at a photon energy of 2.33 eV (532 nm). Several electronic transitions originating from the 2Delta3/2 electronic ground state were observed, and the evaluated electron affinity, defined by the transition 2Delta 1 ← 2Delta3/2, was found to be in good agreement with a previous measurement. However, new assignments were made for transitions stemming from the fine structure 2Delta 5/2 component and higher energy 4Sigma- metastable electronic state of the anion. These spectroscopic designations were found to mirror those in the isoelectronic element, Pt- both in energetic term level ordering and total angular momentum symmetry of the occupied molecular orbitals. Discussed in Chapter 6 are the photoelectron imaging experiments conducted on small silicon cluster anions, Sin- (n = 2--7), acquired at a photon energy of 3.49 eV (355 nm). Electronic transitions arising from the anion ground states are assigned, and the evaluated vertical detachment energies are observed to agree well with previous measurements. The anisotropy beta parameters have also been determined for each unique feature appearing in the PADs at the photon energy employed. Presented in Chapter 7 are the results of a high-resolution time-of-flight mass spectrometric study on large silicon hydride cluster anions, Si nHx- (where n = 8--12, 0 ≤ x ≤ 25). The relative abundances of the majority isotopes constituting a precise mass were completely analyzed allowing quantitative assessments of the relative stability for a particular SinHx - cluster to be ascertained. The SinH x- clusters are observed to possess varying stabilities depending on the extent of hydrogenation and the number of silicon atoms constituting the cluster. These trends, and several others, are interpreted with the aid of available theoretical density functional calculations, suggesting geometrical distortions create energetic stabilizations by removing the degeneracy associated with partially filled electronic states. (Abstract shortened by UMI.).

Dynamic public opinion and policy responsiveness in the American states

Pacheco, Julianna The Pennsylvania State University 2010 해외박사(DDOD)

소속기관이 구독 중이 아닌 경우 오후 4시부터 익일 오전 9시까지 원문보기가 가능합니다.

When public opinion changes, how closely do policies follow? Central to democratic theory, the principle of popular sovereignty implies some degree of dynamic policy responsiveness: new policies should be enacted when mass opinion becomes supportive of that new policy. But, for a successful democracy, public opinion must also be attentive to what government does; citizens have to react to policy changes otherwise there is little incentive for elected officials to respond to public opinion. While dynamic models of policy responsiveness have been tested at the national level, much less is known about the American states. This is an important shortcoming, particularly in light of evidence that state public opinion is directly responsible for policy differences across the fifty states. Moreover, because states differ in their institutional and political contexts, testing models of dynamic responsiveness at the state level provides many opportunities to specify the conditions when policy responsiveness is higher or lower. I advance our knowledge about dynamic policy responsiveness at the sub-national level by measuring the longitudinal variation in state public opinion on different policy areas and linking these measures to various policy outputs at the state level. Specifically, I show that multilevel regression coupled with imputation and post-stratification can be used to measure public opinion over time when augmented by a small (e.g., three year) moving average. I use this approach to estimate yearly state public opinion on global attitudes (e.g., party identification and ideology) as well as specific attitudes (e.g., the death penalty, abortion, education spending, welfare spending, and smoking bans). I then use these measures to explore the dynamic properties of state public opinion and to test models of policy responsiveness at the sub-national level. In regard to the former, I find that the dynamic pattern of public opinion varies across issues. For instance, preferences towards the death penalty, welfare spending, and anti-smoking legislation are dynamic with heterogeneous trends, preferences towards education spending are dynamic with homogeneous trends, and abortion attitudes are fairly stable. Through various time series analyses, I find that state opinion plays a critical role in policy changes at the sub-national level for three issue areas: education, welfare, and anti-smoking legislation. Moreover, I provide additional evidence that the impact of public opinion on policy is causal. To give just one example, I estimate that if support for education spending increases by three percentage points, spending per classroom increases by over $500 immediately (assuming 25 students per classroom). State opinion also plays a large role in whether a state adopts a new policy, such as a smoking ban in restaurants. I also find that the causal relationship between public opinion and policy is a two-way street, although how opinion responds to policy changes depends on the issue. For education and welfare, policy changes exhibited a negative relationship on public opinion, albeit, only in the long term. On the other hand, attitudes towards anti-smoking legislation become more supportive as states enact additional restrictions. These analyses suggest that state opinion responds in rational and reasonable ways to policy changes. The broader impacts of the study are embodied in the original dataset that is publicly available, along with the details of the methodology used to generate and validate dynamic measures of state public opinion. The methods of estimation can be extended to measure other preferences at the state level over time, as well as other attitudes such as tolerance, trust, efficacy or confidence which may also exhibit over time change across states.