Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

American Exceptionalism, U.S. Foreign Policy, And The 2012 Presidential Campaign, Jason Edwards

Communication Studies Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

New York: An Analysis Of Current Changes In Party Support, Kerianne E. Kane

Senior Honors Projects

This paper is an analysis of the recent changes in party support throughout the state of New York. Based on research by James Gimpel and Jason Schuknecht in their 2004 book “Patchwork Nation,” the focus is on determining which specific factors have been contributing to the shifts in support for the two major parties in key regions of the state. In particular, migration and immigration as well as demographic changes within New York’s electorate are considered. More importantly, economic changes within the state and the effects they have had on party support are examined as well. My research is based …

Finding Historic Indiana Documents In An Online Environment: Civil War Era And Later 19th Century, Bert Chapman

Libraries Research Publications

This presentation provides information on digitally accessing historic Indiana State and U.S. Government documents from the latter half of the 19th century. Examples of these resources include the periodical Indiana Farmer, Indiana Civil War Governor Oliver Morton's telegraph books, the Official Records of the War of the Rebellion, Indiana Adjutant General Reports, and the Brevier Indiana Law Reports covering Indiana General Assembly proceedings. These collections have been digitized by various Indiana libraries including Purdue University, IUPUI, and Indiana University. Accessing these primary source materials will enable users to gain augmented understanding ot the economic, military, and political issues facing Indiana …

Split Definitive, Lawrence Baum, Neal Devins

Popular Media

For the first time in a century, the Supreme Court is divided solely by political party.

Phelps, Lilburn, 1870-1956 (Sc 699), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "additional files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 699. Papers of Lilburn Phelps, a lawyer and State Representative of Jamestown, Ky., which chiefly relate to his professions. They mainly include speeches and letters to the editor that he penned. See Scrapbook Collection for additional material.

Latino New Yorkers In The 2008 Presidential Election: The New Americans Exit Poll, Lorraine C. Minnite

Policy Documents

This report focuses on the political attitudes and vote choices of the city’s growing Latino population. An analysis of population flows in New York City since the 9/11 terrorist attacksprovides an important context forunderstanding shifts in turnout and the role immigration is playing in shaping the city’s electorate. These trends, in turn, bear on the continuing diversification of the city’s Latino population, and especially its Latino electorate. The New Americans Exit Poll opens a window onto the diversity of the New York City Latino electorate, and raises questions about the interplay of immigrant political incorporation and Latino identity.

Reconsidering Accountability For Environmental Inspectors: Trading 'Compliance By Computer' For Relationship Building, Michelle C. Pautz

Political Science Faculty Publications

Demands for government accountability extend into all the aspects of government service and the environmental realm is no different. Environmental inspectors — the front-line workers in environmental protection agencies — are among the many civil servants who face demands for accountability. Unfortunately, although accountability is desirable normatively speaking, in practice it is not so simple. Accountability for environmental inspectors frequently involves measures such as the number of inspections completed, the efficiency of data entry in agency databases, and the turnaround time on inspection reports. Such measures leave environmental inspectors, who ideally want — and practically need — to be in …

The Impact Of Prolonged Nomination Contests On Presidential Candidate Evaluations And General Election Vote Choice: The Case Of 2008, Jeff Dewitt, Richard N. Engstrom

Faculty and Research Publications

The fact that political parties hold competitive nomination contests that require voters to choose among multiple candidates leaves open the possibility that the contest itself could damage the prospects of an eventual nominee. In this study, we employ the American National Election Study panel survey data from the 2008 U.S. presidential election to assess the impact of the Democratic Party nomination process on candidate evaluations and general election vote preference. We find evidence that Barack Obama had greater difficulty uniting his party than his Republican counterpart due to the fact that Clinton voters were slow to coalesce around Obama. These …

Pop Culture, Politics, And America's Favorite Animated Family: Partisan Bias In The Simpsons?, Kenneth Michael White, Mirya Holman

Faculty and Research Publications

An essay is presented on the impact of the political content of the television program "The Simpsons" on the politics, pop culture and viewers in the U.S. It offers an overview of the creation of the show and explores the different aspects of the show, particularly the debate over its so-called partisan bias. It also discusses the criticism from Republicans including former President George H. W. Bush that the show favors the left.

The Impact Of Prolonged Nomination Contests On Presidential Candidate Evaluations And General Election Vote Choice: The Case Of 2008, Jeff R. Dewitt, Richard N. Engstrom

Faculty and Research Publications

The fact that political parties hold competitive nomination contests that require voters to choose among multiple candidates leaves open the possibility that the contest itself could damage the prospects of an eventual nominee. In this study, we employ the American National Election Study panel survey data from the 2008 U.S. presidential election to assess the impact of the Democratic Party nomination process on candidate evaluations and general election vote preference. We find evidence that Barack Obama had greater difficulty uniting his party than his Republican counterpart due to the fact that Clinton voters were slow to coalesce around Obama. These …

Review Of Red Power Rising: The National Indian Youth Council And The Origins Of Native Activism. By Bradley G. Shreve. Foreword By Shirley Hill Witt, Bruce E. Johansen

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences

While many histories of the "Red Power" movement trace its origins to the founding of the American Indian Movement in Minneapolis during 1968 and the occupation of Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay a year later, Bradley G. Shreve offers a compelling case that youth activism began during the 1950s, most notably in the Southwest. The Kiva Club (University of New Mexico), the Tribe of Many Feathers (Brigham Young University), and the Sequoyah Club of Oklahoma, among others, joined into the Regional Indian Youth Council in 1959 and the National Indian Youth Council in 1961. In contrast to AIM, which …

The Next Swing Region: Reapportionment And Redistricting In The Intermountain West, David F. Damore

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

During the first decade of the 21st century no region in the nation experienced the political and demographic changes that occurred in the Intermountain West region, including the states of Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. These states grew at unprecedented levels and are now demographically more diverse and increasingly urbanized. This presentation will explore the status of redistricting and reapportionment efforts, and the implications for state and national politics.

Onyekwuluje, Anne B. (Sc 2473), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 2473. Interviews conducted by Anne B. Onyekwuluje with seven individuals about the life and influence of Georgia Montgomery Davis Powers, the first woman elected to the Kentucky state Senate in 1963. They discuss their political relationships with Powers and her influence in politics and the Civil Rights movement.

The Return Of The Honeymoon: Television News Coverage Of New Presidents, 1981-2009, Stephen J. Farnsworth, S Robert Lichter

Political Science and International Affairs

Content analysis of network evening news coverage during the first year of the Barack Obama presidency revealed coverage that was far more positive in tone than comparable news reports from the first years of the Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush presidencies. Both domestic and international policy evaluations of the Obama presidency were more positive in tone than those of the last three presidents to take office during partisan transfers of power. The findings reveal a revival of the media honeymoon that scholars thought had disappeared during the modern era of a more combative press. An investigation of …

Presidents And The Rhetoric Of Recessions, Donna R. Hoffman, Alison D. Howard

Collected Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Are presidents reticent during recessions? Some research indicates that presidents make fewer major and minor speeches when economic conditions worsen (Ragsdale 1984; Eshbaugh-Soha 2010). We examine whether this holds true with major discretionary speeches utilizing recessions as the indicator of poor economic conditions. In addition, we also investigate the subject matter of major discretionary speeches given during both economic expansions and contractions. Presidents potentially have an incentive during a recession to focus the attention of the public away from economic concerns, where they have little command and control ability, to foreign policy, where they do have more power to act …

Humphreys, George Gary, B. 1949 (Fa 564), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 564. Interview conducted by George Gary Humphreys with Lexington attorney and political memorabilia collector Julius Edward Rather. Rather discusses 20th century politicians he knew and how he got involved in collecting political memorabilia.

Courageous Peace, Ann Abdoo

Citizens for Peace

Is peace a sign of courage or weakness? This essay addresses the issue. It was published in the Michigan Department of Peace Campaign, Political Action Guide 2009-2010.

The Political Action Guide is published by Citizens for Peace, a grassroots organization from Michigan's 11th Congressional District. The Guide inclues information on the Department of Peace Legislation, historical and current as well as information on ways to become politically active.

Within the Guide, there is also a directory of many Michigan organizations working for a more peaceful world and the websites of national organizations.

To acquire a current edition, contact Colleen …

Ike Was Right, Ann Abdoo

Citizens for Peace

This essay gives an overview of nuclear proliferation, and President Dwight (Ike) D. Eisenhower's warning about the military-industrial complex and his proposal for a more peaceful world. It was published in the Michigan Department of Peace Campaign, Political Action Guide 2011-2013.

The Political Action Guide is published by Citiens for Peace, a grassroots organization from Michigan's 11th Congressional District. The Guide includes information on the Department of Peace Legislation, historical and current as well as information on ways to become politically active.

Within the Guide, there is also a directory of many Michigan organizations working for a more peaceful …

State Bankruptcy From The Ground Up, David A. Skeel Jr.

All Faculty Scholarship

After a brief, high profile debate, proposals to create a new bankruptcy framework for states dropped from sight in Washington in early 2011. With the debate’s initial passions having cooled, at least for a time, we can now consider state bankruptcy, as well as other responses to states’ fiscal crisis, a bit more quietly and carefully. In this Article, I begin by briefly outlining a theoretical and practical case for state bankruptcy. Because I have developed these arguments in much more detail in companion work, I will keep the discussion comparatively brief. My particular concern here is, as the title …

Tosh, Ted Rockwell (Sc 2462), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid and full text of manuscript (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 2462. Compact disc with electronic copy of "Benjamin Helm Bristow," a biography of the Elkton, Kentucky native, state senator and U.S. Solicitor General by Ted Rockwell Tosh. The 494-page biography includes bibliography and index.

American Constitutional Law, Otis Stephens

College of Law Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Mcdaniel, Sue Lynn, B. 1959 (Sc 2461), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 2461. Interview conducted by Sue Lynn McDaniel with Julius Rather on 14 June 2011 at his office in Lexington, Kentucky. The interview topic was Rather's collection of political memorabilia which he began amassing in 1964 and the establishment of the Julius Rather Political Memorabilia Collection at Western Kentucky University.

Pace 9/11 Oral History Project, Maria T. Iacullo-Bird (Principal Investigator), Ellen Sowchek (Co-Principal Investigator), Jennifer Thomas (Co-Principal Investigator)

Cornerstone 2 Reports : Community Outreach and Empowerment Through Service Learning and Volunteerism

No abstract provided.

Kidd's "God Of Liberty: A Religious History Of The American Revolution"- Book Review, Mark Hall

Faculty Publications - Department of History and Politics

No abstract provided.

In The Eye Of The Beholder? Motivated Reasoning In Disputed Elections, Kyle C. Kopko, Sarah Mckinnon Bryner, Jeffrey Budziak, Christopher J. Devine, Steven P. Nawara

Political Science Faculty Publications

This study uses an experimental design to simulate the ballot counting process during a hand-recount after a disputed election. Applying psychological theories of motivated reasoning to the political process, we find that ballot counters’ party identification conditionally influences their ballot counting decisions. Party identification’s effect on motivated reasoning is greater when ballot counters are given ambiguous, versus specific, instructions for determining voter intent. This study’s findings have major implications for ballot counting procedures throughout the United States and for the use of motivated reasoning in the political science literature.

Magoffin, Beriah, 1815-1885 - Letters To (Sc 821), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Fidning aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 821. Facsimiles of two letters to Magoffin while he was governor of Kentucky. John E. Records, a Falmouth Democrat, writes of his reaction to the newly-founded Republican Party in his 31 March 1860 letter. Major General Leonidas Polk writes from Columbus 9 September 1861, telling of the occupation of this Mississippi River town by Confederate troops. Also, photocopies of census records.

Electoral College (Sc 2451), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 2451. Certification of George B. Hodge, James McKenzie, James M. Bigger, S. P. Love, R. S. Bevier, J. M. Atherton, Richard A. Jones, H. Cox, W. C. P. Breckinridge, Robert E. Little, A. L. Martin, and H. L. Stone, electors for Kentucky, as to the outcome of their votes for president and vice president of the United States, 1872. Includes notice of certification for 1880 bearing the signatures of the electors only.

The Rollercoaster Ride Of Redistricting, Thomas J. Shields

School of Professional and Continuing Studies Faculty Publications

At Kings Dominion they have rollercoaster rides called the Intimidator, the Dominator, the Grizzly and - my favorite - the Hurler. I think they should add one called the Redistricting Rollercoaster Ride, which would be equally as thrilling and nauseating. I hopped on this ride thinking I was to be a viable candidate in Senate District 8, a new district to include portions of Henrico and Chesterfield counties and part of the city of Richmond. I turned out to be a theoretical candidate for a theoretical district, as Senate District 8 was eliminated from the redistricting bill. I walk away, …

Prosecutorial Discretion: Do Selection Methods Matter?, Jennifer Valenti

Honors Scholar Theses

Prosecutors play a key role in the United States criminal justice system. They hold a significant amount of power through the use of discretion. While many attain the position of prosecutor by election, some attain the position through appointment. In this study, I examine prosecutorial discretion in terms of these different selection methods. I use a comparative case study between Hartford, Connecticut and Worcester, Massachusetts to determine if there are differences in how elected and appointed District Attorneys exercise their discretion.

The Politics Of Health Outcomes And Income Inequality: A Time Series Cross-Sectional Analysis Of County-Level Mortality Rates In The United States, Timothy H. Callaghan

Honors Scholar Theses

: Health inequalities are pervasive in the United States today. Despite social epidemiologists frequently citing political and economic factors for this variance, political science has largely ignored these issues. Given this gap in the literature and the importance of the issue, more research is clearly needed to better understand the political and economic causes and implications of these health disparities. This study analyzes the topic in depth, examining how income inequality, which is believed to be a key factor in explaining health inequalities, is related to mortality rates at the county level. Examining aggregate data from all US counties from …