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Advances In Research Using The C-Span Archives, Robert X. Browning Nov 2016

Advances In Research Using The C-Span Archives, Robert X. Browning

The Year in C-SPAN Archives Research

This book is a guide to the latest research using the C-SPAN Archives. In this book, nine authors present original work using the video archives to study presidential debates, public opinion and Congress, analysis of the Violence Against Women Act and the Great Lakes freshwater legislation, as well as President Clinton’s grand jury testimony. The C-SPAN Archives contain over 220,000 hours of first run digital video of the nation’s public affairs record. These and other essays serve as guides for scholars who want to explore the research potential of this robust public policy and communications resource.


Vaclav Havel, Jan Patocka: The Powerless And The Shaken, Daniel Brennan Oct 2016

Vaclav Havel, Jan Patocka: The Powerless And The Shaken, Daniel Brennan

Daniel Brennan

This article makes a case for considering Vaclav Havel's political theory of the nature of dissent as more politically grounded than that of his mentor fan Patoka. Against the criticism of Havel, which describes him as a less rigorous repeater of Patocka's ideas, this paper demonstrates how Havel appropriated Patocka's idea that the dissident is, similarly to a World War I trench soldier, fighting in a contemporary front in a demobilized war. However I argue that in Havel's thought, the understanding of dissent takes on a more practical and useful complexion than that of Patocka. This paper will explain and …


Educating A New Electorate Apr 2016

Educating A New Electorate

DePaul Magazine

The U.S. presidential election of 2016 been on the minds of DePaul students and faculty since at least the fall of 2015. Students, faculty and alumni in areas as diverse as real estate, public relations, political science and marketing have also been discussing state and local politics, spin and social media, pundits, debates and much more. Interviews with these various constituents illuminate the different approaches to learning about, working with, and changing the American political system. The impact of social media on the presidential election process is also explored.


The Behavioral Revolution In Contemporary Political Science: Narrative, Identity, Practice, Joshua R. Berkenpas Apr 2016

The Behavioral Revolution In Contemporary Political Science: Narrative, Identity, Practice, Joshua R. Berkenpas

Dissertations

The behavioral revolution of the 1950s and early 1960s is a foundational moment in the history of political science and is widely considered to be a time in when the discipline shed its traditional roots by embracing its identity as a modern social science. This dissertation examines reference works published between 1980 and 2012 in order to gauge the contemporary significance of the behavioral revolution. The behavioral revolution is discussed in many foundation narratives throughout reference works like dictionaries, encyclopedias, and handbooks. After sixty years, why does the behavioral revolution still figure centrally in the way political scientists remember their …


Overcoming Cultural Barriers In Thai Elections, Carly Madsen, Joel Selway Feb 2016

Overcoming Cultural Barriers In Thai Elections, Carly Madsen, Joel Selway

Journal of Undergraduate Research

As I finish my undergraduate education at Brigham Young University I am filled with gratitude for the many experiences I have been privileged to have. The climax of my studies in political science occurred this summer as I participated in a mentored research project in Thailand. This experience was particularly special for me, as I served as a missionary in Thailand just over a year ago. Being able to return to Thailand and be with people that I love, doing research on a topic of great interest to me, was the best part about my mentoring experience.


A Tall Tale: How Story Frames Can Shape U.S. Public Opinion, Matthew Young, Darren Hawkins Feb 2016

A Tall Tale: How Story Frames Can Shape U.S. Public Opinion, Matthew Young, Darren Hawkins

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Presently, U.S. foreign aid only represents about 1% of the total US budget, but according to the Kaiser Family Foundation the majority Americans believe foreign aid to be 28% of the national budget. If that were the case, foreign aid would be more expensive than Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, or all defense spending1. As of 2014, the U.S. Agency for International Development only used data heavy stories when communicating with the public. With such a large public misperception of aid a new method of communication must be found.


Elections, Ideology, And Turnover In The U.S. Federal Government, Alexander D. Bolton, John De Figueiredo, David E. Lewis Jan 2016

Elections, Ideology, And Turnover In The U.S. Federal Government, Alexander D. Bolton, John De Figueiredo, David E. Lewis

Faculty Scholarship

A defining feature of public sector employment is the regular change in elected leadership. Yet, we know little about how elections influence public sector careers. We describe how elections alter policy outputs and disrupt the influence of civil servants over agency decisions. These changes shape the career choices of employees motivated by policy, influence, and wages. Using new Office of Personnel Management data on the careers of millions of federal employees between 1988 and 2011, we evaluate how elections influence employee turnover decisions. We find that presidential elections increase departure rates of career senior employees, particularly in agencies with divergent …


The Grammar Of Politicization And Depoliticization : Arendt's Republicanism And The Translation Of Revolutionary Politics And Judgment Into Political Institutions, Daniel Kuchler Jan 2016

The Grammar Of Politicization And Depoliticization : Arendt's Republicanism And The Translation Of Revolutionary Politics And Judgment Into Political Institutions, Daniel Kuchler

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

For Arendt, political freedom is both a spontaneous rejection of rule and the foundation of institutions. In my dissertation, I argue that both aspects are linked together by her concept of political judgment. This reading of Arendt contrasts with a strand of political theory that seems to argue that public-participatory politics, as found in revolutions, cannot be translated into lasting institutions: Wolin and Rancière argue that any attempt at establishing institutions undermines the participatory character of politics. Habermas and Pettit on the other hand argue for establishing lasting institutions, but they do so at the expense of a rich concept …


Dynamic Politics : Necessity, Founding, And (Re)Founding In Machiavelli's Discourses On Livy, Vincent John Commisso Jan 2016

Dynamic Politics : Necessity, Founding, And (Re)Founding In Machiavelli's Discourses On Livy, Vincent John Commisso

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This dissertation is an attempt to recast the political thought of Niccolò Machiavelli in his Discourses on Livy in a far more radical light than it has been previously understood. Rather than trying to overcome fortune, I argue that Machiavelli was encouraging political actors to embrace it by embracing the force which fortune generates: necessity. Along with this orientation towards fortune and necessity, Machiavelli also was engaging in an additional subversive project: the systematic undermining of the conventional republican wisdom of his predecessors and his contemporaries. On a practical level, the necessity central to Machiavelli’s thought is that of “founding,” …


Ramerican Political Science Review (Vol. 1, 2016) Jan 2016

Ramerican Political Science Review (Vol. 1, 2016)

Ramerican Political Science Review

Letter from the Department of Political Science -- Web of Lies: The Impact of Misinformation Found on Social Media / Travis Brandon -- The Influence of Public Opinion in the Decisions of State Supreme Court Judges / Grace Wald -- What’s Ours Isn’t Yours: Measuring the Successes of the Radical Right Across Strong and Weak Welfare States / Lindsay April -- Fear, Confidence & Corporal Punishment: An Analysis of Potential Factors Impacting Death Penalty Support Among Americans / Danielle Austen -- Maximizing Worker Productivity Through Transportation, Presented at VCU’s 10th Annual Political Science Student Research Conference by Featured Outside Scholar: …


Pols: 450: Research In Biology, Psychology, And Politics—A Peer Review Of Teaching Project Benchmark Portfolio, Ingrid J. Haas Jan 2016

Pols: 450: Research In Biology, Psychology, And Politics—A Peer Review Of Teaching Project Benchmark Portfolio, Ingrid J. Haas

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

This benchmark course portfolio provides an overview of student learning in Research in Biology, Psychology, and Politics (Political Science 450). This is an upper-level undergraduate course focused on training students to conduct research in the interdisciplinary area of political psychology. Enrollment in the course is primarily advanced political science majors, or students from related majors (i.e., psychology) with an interest in politics. This course focuses on developing understanding of research methods and application of appropriate methods to small group research projects. In addition, the course helps to improve student confidence in ability to engage in the research process and understand …