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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Issue Publics Gone Wild Or The End Of Narrow Interests, Michael Calton Bowen
Issue Publics Gone Wild Or The End Of Narrow Interests, Michael Calton Bowen
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Issue public theory holds that individuals are more likely to base political judgments, such as the decision of who to vote for on election day, on issues that are particularly important to them. This subset of issues is presumed to be relatively small in quantity for most individuals, allowing them to specialize in information gathering and attention. There is reason to believe the nature of issue publics has significantly changed in recent years as a result of profound shifts in the information environment. Many of the traditional findings within the literature are reassessed using data primarily from the 2008 Presidential …
Women's Substantive Representation In Latin America, Mary A. Gillip
Women's Substantive Representation In Latin America, Mary A. Gillip
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The number of women in Latin American governments has significantly increased throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. However, women are still significantly poorer, less educated, and more prone to disease and death than their male counterparts. If women's representation is improving, why has their quality of life remained the same? Using quantitative methods and a sample of 18 Latin American countries over a time span of twenty years, this work evaluates the possible affects electoral, political party, and quota law institutions may have on the substantive representation of women. The findings support what is assumed in extant literature; the level …
Religious Politics: An Individual Level-Examination Of The Political Implications Of Faith In Brazil, Thatianne A. Moreira
Religious Politics: An Individual Level-Examination Of The Political Implications Of Faith In Brazil, Thatianne A. Moreira
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Although Brazil is, historically, a catholic country, the Catholic Church is losing its members to the Protestant churches, mainly Pentecostal ones. Between 1940-2010, the number of Protestants increased from 2.6% to 20.2%. On the other hand, between the same period, the number of Catholics decreased from 95% to 68.5%. One of the consequences of this shift in the religious marketplace has been its impact in the political realm; more specifically, in the number of political candidates that have identified themselves as evangélicos. The presence of evangélicos in power seems to be the most studied facet of the growth of Pentecostalism …
The Politics Of Atheism In The West, Daniel Ryan Blazo
The Politics Of Atheism In The West, Daniel Ryan Blazo
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Though the term "atheism" encompasses all persons without belief in god(s), more people claim unbelief in god(s) than describe themselves as "convinced atheists" in every society on earth. While the extant social science research on religion and secularism rigorously explores the nuances of the religion/nonreligion divide, the scholarship largely ignores the complexity of irreligion, or the rejection of all religious truth claims involving supernatural phenomena. In this dissertation, I argue that a cross-national, comparative analysis of nonbelievers and avoatheists provides an ideal opportunity to gain leverage into the poorly understood political dynamics of irreligion, particularly in the context of Western …
Tv Casualties: The Negative Impact Of Political Messages In Non-News Programs, Salvatore James Russo
Tv Casualties: The Negative Impact Of Political Messages In Non-News Programs, Salvatore James Russo
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Prior works in the social sciences have demonstrated the importance that television can have in shaping the views and outlooks of viewers. Studies have examined how it is that overtly political broadcasting, such as political commercials or ideological cable news channels, can impact viewers. However, precious little scholarship in the field of political science has been devoted to examining how non-news programming, the lion's share of what is shown on television, can shape and mold viewers' outlooks and opinions. Television programming is often built around conflict, presenting a distorted view of the world wherein certain "in-groups," mainly the assumed audience …