| A | B |
|---|
| Accountable | to be responsible for the consequences of one's actions and decisions. |
| Conservation | to keep safe, to preserve. It is often used in reference to the environment, such as conservation programs to protect forests and wildlife. |
| Constituent | a person who lives in the area or district that elects a government official. |
| Contribution | in politics, a contribution means money donated to a politician's campaign. The money must be donated "without strings" that is, without something specific promised in return. Giving money to an official on condition that the politician does something in return (such as vote a certain way in congress) is illegal. It would be considered a bribe. |
| Economic Development | efforts to bring businesses and jobs to an area. State and local leaders often create policies and plans to try and attract businesses to their state or locality. The leaders might promise to pay for improvenments to roads to the site of a new factory, for example. |
| Forum | a place where public issues can be discussed. |
| Global Economy | a term for the increasingly interconnected lines of business and trade around the world. For examples: cars, computers, and clothing may be designed in one country, manufactured in another, and sold yet in another. |
| Interest Groups | organizations created to press laws and policies their members favor. Example: The Virginia Nurses Association favors laws and policies that are good for nurses, hospital patients, and the medical profession. |
| Lobby/Lobbyist | a lobbyist is a person whose job is to contact elected officials and convince (or lobby) them to vote a particular way on proposed laws. Lobbyists are often employed by interest groups. |
| Media | the term for any and all forms of communication, especially those involved in news and entertainment. The category includes newspapers, TV newscasts, radio news reports, news magazines, Internet news sites, and more. |
| News Media | forms of communication that are mainly set up to report current events and other news items. The news media includes newspapers, TV newscast, radio news reports, news magazines, internet news sites, and more. |
| Public Agenda | the topics that are at the top of the public's concerns and have the attention of political leaders. Topics often get "on the public agenda" because of current events in the news. A big oil spill, for example, will be covered by news reporters, leading people and politicians to focus on the topic. A large demonstration by hundreds of citizens, or a speech by a well-known leader, can also place a topic on the public agenda. |
| Public Health | the well being of the population, especially regarding medical issues. Public health issues include reducing the spread of disease, getting funding for new hospitals, and similar topics. |
| Public Opinion | the views of large numbers of people on a particular issue. Public opinion can be measured with surveys, and the results are often used by political leaders when they decide how to vote on a particular issue or policy. |
| Public Policy | general goals set by political leaders that help shape specific laws on a topic. For example: officials may agree on a public policy goal of reducing gang activity in a city. That policy may be put into effect with a wide range of actions, such as tougher laws against gang activity, a new programs in schools to help young people avoid gangs. |
