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2014

Public opinion

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Supreme Court, New York County, Themed Restaurants, Inc. V. Zagat Survey Llc, Paula Gilbert Dec 2014

Supreme Court, New York County, Themed Restaurants, Inc. V. Zagat Survey Llc, Paula Gilbert

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.


Factors That Shape U.S. Public Opinion On Foreign Policy, Julianne O'Connor Dec 2014

Factors That Shape U.S. Public Opinion On Foreign Policy, Julianne O'Connor

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Measuring public opinion is an undertaking requiring precise methods and a clear vision, and even then results can be inconclusive. Yet, understanding how and why a democratic public thinks the way it does, and to what extent those thoughts influence policymakers, is essential to a democracy. This paper will use data from the American National Election Survey to discuss the relationship between level of support for the war on terror and level of perceived effectiveness. Values, political sophistication, knowledge, and self-efficacy can each be used to predict the level of support an individual has for the war on terror, and …


Influences On Student Attitudes About U.S. Involvement In Nation-Building, Tobin C. Beck Dec 2014

Influences On Student Attitudes About U.S. Involvement In Nation-Building, Tobin C. Beck

Department of Political Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

How do college students form opinions about a complex foreign policy issue such as U.S. involvement in nation-building? My study shows that in 2012, students identifying as conservative tended to support nation-building in proportion to their perception of the strength of their own and their parents' conservatism. The association between perception of conservatism and support for nation-building was statistically significant in 2012, although there was no statistically significant overall association between student political ideology and support for U.S. involvement in nation-building. However, a relationship between conservative student perception of ideology and support for nation-building was not detected in 2011 data. …


A Different Sort Of Justice: The Informal Courts Of Public Opinion In Antebellum South Carolina, Elizabeth Dale Nov 2014

A Different Sort Of Justice: The Informal Courts Of Public Opinion In Antebellum South Carolina, Elizabeth Dale

Elizabeth Dale

Studies of nineteenth century legal history assume that the antebellum South, and antebellum South Carolina in particular, had a legal culture shaped by honor culture and marked by the hierarchical assumptions and extralegal violence that honor culture engendered. In this article, I offer a modification of that well-established account. While I do not question the influence of honor on South Carolina's antebellum legal culture, I suggest that the state had a second, shame-based system of popular justice, in which women played a prominent role. As was the case with honor culture, this second form of extralegal justice, which I have …


Water Your Opinions: A Social Assessment Of The Lake Bloomington And Lake Evergreen Watersheds, Jessica Aceves, Michael Anstirman, Jordan Backstrom, Ryan Herbert, Courtney Johnson, Julia Neaves, Alicia O'Hare, Erika Perez, Emily Rego, Mark Spurgis Oct 2014

Water Your Opinions: A Social Assessment Of The Lake Bloomington And Lake Evergreen Watersheds, Jessica Aceves, Michael Anstirman, Jordan Backstrom, Ryan Herbert, Courtney Johnson, Julia Neaves, Alicia O'Hare, Erika Perez, Emily Rego, Mark Spurgis

Stevenson Center for Community and Economic Development—Student Research

The purpose of this report is to better understand the knowledge of and attitudes of residents towards water resources in the McLean County area. The assessment consisted of nine key informant interviews and two community focus groups with local residents who have a vested interest in and specific knowledge about these water resources. This is one part of a larger assessment in partnership with the McLean County Soil and Water Conservation District (MCSWCD). The results of this assessment will help to inform specific questions to be used in a residential household survey in spring 2015. The survey will be used …


Climate Change Survey Measures: Exploring Perceived Bias And Question Interpretation, Tarik Abdel-Monem, Lisa M. Pytlikzillig, Tonya K. Bernadt, Nicole Wall Oct 2014

Climate Change Survey Measures: Exploring Perceived Bias And Question Interpretation, Tarik Abdel-Monem, Lisa M. Pytlikzillig, Tonya K. Bernadt, Nicole Wall

Lisa PytlikZillig Publications

Climate change has become an important yet politically divisive topic in recent years. Further complicating the issue are assertions that climate change– related public opinion surveys used by social scientists are biased or otherwise problematic. We conducted a pilot study to explore questions concerning bias and interpretation of climate change surveys. Our study sample was composed of adult residents of Nebraska (n = 115). We augmented our survey findings with cognitive interviews of a subsample of respondents (n = 20). We assessed study participants’ attitudes about climate change, and perceptions of bias and interpretation of survey questions drawn from previously …


The Death Penalty’S “Finely Tuned Depravity Calibrators” Fairness Follies Of Fairness Phonies Fixated On Criminals Instead Of Crimes, Lester Jackson Oct 2014

The Death Penalty’S “Finely Tuned Depravity Calibrators” Fairness Follies Of Fairness Phonies Fixated On Criminals Instead Of Crimes, Lester Jackson

LESTER JACKSON

It has been loudly and repeatedly proclaimed by opponents that capital punishment is “unfair.” In their view, it is unfair because (1) only some murderers receive the ultimate sentence and (2) they are not the most deserving. Underlying this view is the remarkable assumption that fairness is subject to “fine tuning” and “moral accuracy.” It is argued here that this assumption is indefensible both in theory and in practice. As a theoretical matter, it is insupportable to suggest that matters of conscience, right and wrong, are subject to calibration or “accuracy.” Right and wrong are not determined in the same …


Elite Leadership Of Opinion And The Public Polarization: The Same Sex Marriage Debate In The United States, Patricia Victorio Sep 2014

Elite Leadership Of Opinion And The Public Polarization: The Same Sex Marriage Debate In The United States, Patricia Victorio

e-Research: A Journal of Undergraduate Work

The California Supreme Court made a landmark decision with the court case In re Marriage Cases (2008), legalizing same sex marriage within the state, and overturning the California Defense of Marriage Act (Proposition 22). With a swift decision the supreme court put the controversial issue of same sex marriage back in the media spot light. Outside of California, states such as Arizona also reopened the debate of same sex marriage. The Arizona legislature put this issue up for a vote in the Fall 2008 election. The Arizona ballot measure, Proposition 102, wanted to define marriage between one man and one …


Are Approval Ratings An Accurate Reflection Of Success? Effects Of Media Coverage On Public Opinion Of Colin Powell, Michaela Dalton Sep 2014

Are Approval Ratings An Accurate Reflection Of Success? Effects Of Media Coverage On Public Opinion Of Colin Powell, Michaela Dalton

e-Research: A Journal of Undergraduate Work

No abstract provided.


She Makes Me Ashamed To Be A Woman: The Genocide Conviction Of Pauline Nyiramasuhuko, 2011, Mark A. Drumbl Sep 2014

She Makes Me Ashamed To Be A Woman: The Genocide Conviction Of Pauline Nyiramasuhuko, 2011, Mark A. Drumbl

Mark A. Drumbl

In the nearly twenty years since 1994, the international community and the Rwandan government have pushed to hold individual perpetrators accountable for the genocide. Judicialization has occurred at multiple levels. Over ninety persons-those deemed most responsible-have been indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), an ad hoc institution established by the U.N. Security Council in November 1994. Approximately ten thousand individuals have been prosecuted in specialized chambers of national courts in Rwanda. According to the Rwandan government, nearly two million people have faced neo-traditional gacaca proceedings conducted by elected lay judges throughout the country. Gacaca proceedings concluded in …


2014 Ohio Election: Labor Day Akron Buckeye Poll, John C. Green Sep 2014

2014 Ohio Election: Labor Day Akron Buckeye Poll, John C. Green

Ray C. Bliss Institute of Applied Politics

This report describes the state of the 2014 Ohio election on Labor Day, the traditional beginning of the general election campaign. It also documents the underlying patterns in these results and provides a baseline for change as the campaign develops. Like all survey findings, this report is a snapshot of public opinion at one point in time.


Cross-Cutting Concerns: The Varying Effects Of Partisan Cues In The Context Of Social Networks, Benjamin King Smith Aug 2014

Cross-Cutting Concerns: The Varying Effects Of Partisan Cues In The Context Of Social Networks, Benjamin King Smith

Dissertations and Theses

The theory of motivated reasoning predicts that partisan cues in the media will affect political attitudes, by encouraging individuals to align their views with those of their party's elites. The effect has primarily been tested by looking at issues which have pre-established partisan positions (e.g. immigration reform, gay rights, etc.). This study looks at the effects of partisan cues in the media on attitudes toward a non-partisan issue, the NSA's collection of American's meta-data. Additionally, the study extends research on partisan cues by exploring the moderating role of an individual's political communication network and, specifically, exposure to cross-cutting political communication. …


Do Americans’ Perceptions Of The Prevalence Of Prejudice Impact Their Racial Policy Preferences? Investigating Meta-Stereotypes As A Potential Causal Mechanism, Alexandra Reckendorf Aug 2014

Do Americans’ Perceptions Of The Prevalence Of Prejudice Impact Their Racial Policy Preferences? Investigating Meta-Stereotypes As A Potential Causal Mechanism, Alexandra Reckendorf

Theses and Dissertations

Racial discrimination, though more subtle than in the past, is still an enduring presence in 21st century America. Whether looking at education, health care, the workforce, housing/lending practices, or the criminal justice system, studies routinely confirm that racial prejudice and discrimination persist despite claims of a “post-racial” America. Yet, despite the perseverance of racial prejudice and discrimination, policies correcting racial injustice remain contentious, either failing to receive the requisite support to pass reforms or receiving backlash from the public. This project explores meta-stereotypes in the Black and white communities, and highlights meta-stereotypes’ potential impact when determining why some individuals support …


How Much Do Groups Still Matter To Politics? An Examination Of Group Influences On Public Opinion, Lauren E. Smith Aug 2014

How Much Do Groups Still Matter To Politics? An Examination Of Group Influences On Public Opinion, Lauren E. Smith

Theses and Dissertations

Public opinion plays an important role in democracy. A system of government designed specifically to be by the people, for the people and of the people must by necessity listen to the opinions of the people. Accordingly, an important research agenda is determining conditions under which public opinion is listened to and translated into government responsiveness. Most of the public opinion literature answering this question focuses specifically on individual opinion. I argue that this is problematic because politics is ultimately carried out in terms of the collective. Further, I argue that collective opinion is often voiced through groups in society …


Public Perceptions Of The Midwest’S Pavements: Policies And Thresholds, David Kuemmel, Richard Robinson, Ronald Sonntag, Robert Griffin, James K. Giese Jul 2014

Public Perceptions Of The Midwest’S Pavements: Policies And Thresholds, David Kuemmel, Richard Robinson, Ronald Sonntag, Robert Griffin, James K. Giese

Robert Griffin

A 5-year, pooled fund study with the Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin departments of transportation assessed the public's perceptions of pavement improvement strategies and developed thresholds of satisfaction using the departments' physical indices, such as pavement ride and condition on rural, two-lane highways in the states. Approximately 3,600 drivers in the three states were involved in the three phases of the project, which included 18 focus groups, 400 statewide surveys in each state, and 2,300 targeted surveys across the three states. A multidisciplinary team from Marquette University and a mass media survey lab conducted the studies. A summary of focus group …


What Do Americans Think About Federal Tax Options To Support Public Transit, Highways, And Local Streets And Roads? Results From Year Five Of A National Survey, Mti Report 12-36, Asha Weinstein Agrawal, Hilary Nixon Jun 2014

What Do Americans Think About Federal Tax Options To Support Public Transit, Highways, And Local Streets And Roads? Results From Year Five Of A National Survey, Mti Report 12-36, Asha Weinstein Agrawal, Hilary Nixon

Mineta Transportation Institute

This report summarizes the results of year five of a national random-digit-dial public opinion poll asking 1,503 respondents if they would support various tax options for raising federal transportation revenues, with a special focus on understanding support for increasing revenues for public transit. Eleven specific tax options tested were variations on raising the federal gas tax rate, creating a new mileage tax, and creating a new federal sales tax. Other questions probed various perceptions related to public transit, including knowledge and opinions about federal taxes to support transit. In addition, the survey collected data on standard sociodemographic factors, travel behavior …


Élites Y Violencia Organizada En México, Andreas Schedler May 2014

Élites Y Violencia Organizada En México, Andreas Schedler

Andreas Schedler

La Encuesta Nacional de Violencia Organizada (ENVO Élites) fue levantada en otoño del 2013 en México entre seis sectores de élites: gobierno, políticos, academia, medios, empresarios y sociedad civil (N = 629). Indaga en las acciones y actitudes que adoptan las élites mexicanas hacia los actores principales de la violencia organizada criminal: los perpetradores, las víctimas, el Estado y la sociedad civil. El presente informe compara los resultados descriptivos principales entre los seis grupos de élite y entre ellos y la población general.


Media Portrayal And Public Opinion On The Supreme Court, Patrick Hall May 2014

Media Portrayal And Public Opinion On The Supreme Court, Patrick Hall

Honors College

Because the power of the Supreme Court rests on its acceptance as a legitimate institution by the people of the United States, understanding why people accept the Court is critical for maintaining the institution. This study explored the relationship between how media covers Supreme Court rulings and how public opinion of the Court changes afterward. A selection of cases, Griswold v. Connecticut, Roe v. Wade, Lawrence v. Texas, Hollingsworth v. Perry, and U.S. v. Windsor, articles from the New York Times, were analyzed to gauge whether the case and the Court were portrayed in either a political manner or in …


Maine Farmers' Perspectives: Barriers And Optimism To Providing Food To Feed Maine People, A Qualitative Study Using Focus Groups, Kelly Ann Ilseman May 2014

Maine Farmers' Perspectives: Barriers And Optimism To Providing Food To Feed Maine People, A Qualitative Study Using Focus Groups, Kelly Ann Ilseman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Maine has a history and tradition of agriculture in the state. Some growth in the number of farms in recent years has been due to youth entering agriculture, and in the development of small, diverse farms. There is also public interest in purchasing fresh, local foods. This study was done in conjunction with a University of Maine Cooperative Extension study that assessed Maine farmer’s views of the future of farming in Maine. The farmers (n=189) participated in one of twelve focus groups held across the state and represented a broad sector of Maine agriculture, including vegetable and fruit growers, beef …


Finding A Frame That Fits: Analyzing Rival Framing Of American Gun Control Policy In 2013, Alexander Booker Apr 2014

Finding A Frame That Fits: Analyzing Rival Framing Of American Gun Control Policy In 2013, Alexander Booker

Featured Research

This paper uses political framing theory to analyze the messages employed by different gun lobby groups during the early 2013 debate on gun control legislation proposed in the United States Congress. I asked two questions with my research. First, what type of political action frames did gun interest groups use in the debate over expanded background checks in the spring of 2013? Second, which frames affected public opinion regarding expanded background checks for gun purchases? I use a mixed-methods research approach to answer these questions. First, I conducted a content analysis of both pro- and anti-gun control messaging that came …


Ciudadanía Y Violencia Organizada En México, Andreas Schedler Apr 2014

Ciudadanía Y Violencia Organizada En México, Andreas Schedler

Andreas Schedler

La Encuesta Nacional de Violencia Organizada (ENVO) fue levantada en otoño del 2013 en México (N = 2,400). Indaga en las acciones y actitudes que adopta la ciudadanía mexicana hacia los actores principales de la violencia organizada criminal: los perpetradores, las víctimas, el Estado y la sociedad civil. El presente informe resume sus hallazgos descriptivos principales.


Finding A Frame That Fits: Analyzing And Comparing Rival Framing Of American Gun Control Policy In 2013, Alexander Booker Mar 2014

Finding A Frame That Fits: Analyzing And Comparing Rival Framing Of American Gun Control Policy In 2013, Alexander Booker

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

This paper uses and expands upon the theoretical framework of political framing theory to analyze the messages that came out of different gun lobby groups during the early 2013 debate on gun control legislation that was being discussed within the United States Congress. My research question is what are the elements of a political action frame for a piece of legislation that can lead to positive or negative public opinion of it? To conduct my research I use a mixed-methods research approach to analyze recent political framing in regards to American gun control policy. For the qualitative part of the …


Public Attitudes Toward Bike Lanes In New York City, Wil Fisher Mar 2014

Public Attitudes Toward Bike Lanes In New York City, Wil Fisher

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

As bicycles gradually become an established form of transportation in the United States, planners and policymakers need new evidence to determine how best to expand bicycle infrastructure. Using logistic regression analysis of 2012 public opinion data from New York City, this article explores the demographics behind support of bicycle lanes. Due to an absence of literature on public opinion of bike lanes, it examines a breadth of variables in order to provide a basis for future research, answering the question: What personal characteristics are important in one's support for bike lanes? This study also demonstrates the distinction between demographics of …


Individual And Country-Level Institutional Trust And Public Attitude To Welfare Expenditures In 24 Transitional Countries, Nazim Habibov Mar 2014

Individual And Country-Level Institutional Trust And Public Attitude To Welfare Expenditures In 24 Transitional Countries, Nazim Habibov

Social Work Publications

Does institutional trust on the individual and on the countrylevel influence public attitudes to state social welfare expenditures in transitional countries of Central and Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia? To answer this question, this study draws on a comparative survey conducted in 24 countries. Multilevel binomial logit regression was used to allow for the simultaneous inclusion of variables at the individual- and country-levels of analysis. Institutional trust is associated with positive attitudes to welfare expenditures on the individual level, but not on the country level. Women, older individuals, those who are less educated, and those of low-income are …


Public Opinion Towards Bicycle Lanes: The Case Of New York, Wil Fisher Mar 2014

Public Opinion Towards Bicycle Lanes: The Case Of New York, Wil Fisher

Featured Research

As bicycles gradually become an established form of transportation in the United States, planners and policymakers need new evidence to determine how best to expand bicycle infrastructure. Using logistic regression analysis of 2012 public opinion data from New York City, this article explores the demographics behind support of bicycle lanes. Due to an absence of literature on public opinion toward bike lanes, it examines a breadth of variables in order to provide a basis for future research, answering the question: What personal characteristics are important in one's support for bike lanes? This study also demonstrates the distinction between demographics of …


Conformist Opinion Shift As An Accommodation-Motivated Cognitive Experience In Strong And Weak Situations, Angela K. Y. Leung, Evelyn Wing-Mun Au, Chi-Yue Chiu Feb 2014

Conformist Opinion Shift As An Accommodation-Motivated Cognitive Experience In Strong And Weak Situations, Angela K. Y. Leung, Evelyn Wing-Mun Au, Chi-Yue Chiu

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The authors introduce accommodation motivation as an individual difference construct that predicts personal preference to display conformist opinion shift, or the tendency to align opinion of the self with that of the group. The authors hypothesize that the relationship between accommodation motivation and conformist opinion shift will be stronger when the situational press for conformity is weak. Having clarified the conceptual meaning of accommodation motivation, the authors present evidence from two experiments that accommodation-motivated individuals readily display conformist opinion shift in anticipation of discussing with disagreeing others when conformity demand is weak (vs. strong). The second experiment offers initial support …


Turkish Accession To The European Union: Shaped By Perception Or Reality?, Hannah Q. Young Jan 2014

Turkish Accession To The European Union: Shaped By Perception Or Reality?, Hannah Q. Young

Claremont-UC Undergraduate Research Conference on the European Union

Throughout the last fifty years, Turkish-EU relations have fluctuated between positive to completely suspended, though one factor has remained consistent: the European Union’s hesitation to grant Turkey full membership. While some EU member countries justify barring Turkey from their ranks for a multitude of institutional, economic, and security reasons, similar issues have been overlooked in the past when accepting the membership bids of countries such as Spain, Greece, Romania, and Bulgaria. Why has Turkey in particular faced such sustained opposition from EU citizens? Is this opposition based on misinformed perceptions or an actual “clash” of cultures between the EU and …


Supranational Organizations And Legitimacy: How The 2008 Global Economic Crisis Has Affected Public Opinion On Membership In The Eu, Briana Vargas-Gonzalez Jan 2014

Supranational Organizations And Legitimacy: How The 2008 Global Economic Crisis Has Affected Public Opinion On Membership In The Eu, Briana Vargas-Gonzalez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines public opinion towards membership in the EU, before and after the 2008 global economic crisis, in the newest member states to join the institution in 2004 (the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia) and 2007 (Bulgaria and Romania). Prior to the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1989, socialist economies and communism maintained a citizenry that never experienced unemployment and that did not have a political voice. Because free-market economic policies and democratic values are new to these countries, public opinion regarding membership in a supranational organization that promotes and fosters …


Public Opinion And The Abolition Or Retention Of The Death Penalty Why Is The United States Different?, Sara Sun Beale Jan 2014

Public Opinion And The Abolition Or Retention Of The Death Penalty Why Is The United States Different?, Sara Sun Beale

Faculty Scholarship

What explains the difference between the United States and the many other countries that have abolished capital punishment? Because the United States and many other nations that have abolished the death penalty are democracies, there seems to be an obvious answer: abolition or retention reflects the preferences of the electorate. According to this view, the U.S. electorate is simply more punitive, and the question becomes explaining the difference in national attitudes. There is some truth to this explanation. As I have argued elsewhere, the U.S. public generally does favor punitive criminal justice policies. But that cannot be the whole story. …


Individual And Country-Level Institutional Trust And Public Attitude To Welfare Expenditures In 24 Transitional Countries, Nazim Habibov Jan 2014

Individual And Country-Level Institutional Trust And Public Attitude To Welfare Expenditures In 24 Transitional Countries, Nazim Habibov

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Does institutional trust on the individual and on the country level influence public attitudes to state social welfare expenditures in transitional countries of Central and Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia? To answer this question, this study draws on a comparative survey conducted in 24 countries. Multilevel binomial logit regression was used to allow for the simultaneous inclusion of variables at the individual- and country-levels of analysis. Institutional trust is associated with positive attitudes to welfare expenditures on the individual level, but not on the country level. Women, older individuals, those who are less educated, and those of low-income …