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Full-Text Articles in Political Science

Edward A. Ross: Social Development And Social Control, Ernest M. Oleksy Dec 2017

Edward A. Ross: Social Development And Social Control, Ernest M. Oleksy

The Downtown Review

With a foundation in philosophy and history, core concepts of sociology and criminology that were initially posited over a century ago are still useful in understanding the workings of today's society. The contributions of Edward A. Ross have helped latter day researchers centralize their studies of polycentric topics by using social control as an omnipresent social fact. By comparing Ross's descriptions of 19th century society and the researcher's descriptions of 21st century society, a continuous understanding of a heavily pluralistic discipline comes to life.


The Nyc Board Of Education Mandates Pledging Allegiance [Poem], Kate Abell Nov 2017

The Nyc Board Of Education Mandates Pledging Allegiance [Poem], Kate Abell

Occasional Paper Series

Kate Abell shares a poem following September 11. It is a criticism of the requirement of pledging allegiance to the flag in school.


Empathy And Its Effect On Religious Opinion Regarding Homosexuality, Melissa Borah Oct 2017

Empathy And Its Effect On Religious Opinion Regarding Homosexuality, Melissa Borah

The Eastern Illinois University Political Science Review

This article examines shifts in opinion, and the reasoning behind these shifts, among Christian-identified Americans regarding their views of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals. After conducting interviews with several Christian-identified Americans, the author finds that when a family member or close friend “comes out” as LGBT, individuals are more likely to change their opinion of those who identify as LGBT, and their change in opinion is more likely to be dramatic. Moreover, the author finds that empathy is the most powerful factor that facilitates an individual’s change in opinion.


Jonestown, Paradise Lost: An Investigation Of Jim Jones And The People’S Temple, William Beltran Oct 2017

Jonestown, Paradise Lost: An Investigation Of Jim Jones And The People’S Temple, William Beltran

The Eastern Illinois University Political Science Review

The author offers a fascinating, historical look at the life and actions of Jim Jones and his followers. Taking cues from throughout the troubled life of Jones, the author presents us with the harrowing details of how people can be corrupted, and the insatiable drive for power by the corrupters. Adding to the narrative, the author utilizes what other scholars have said about the Jonestown phenomenon.


Child And Adolescent Commercial Sexual Exploitation In Mexico: The Exploiters And The State, Sonia M. Frias, Mariajosé Gómez-Zaldívar Oct 2017

Child And Adolescent Commercial Sexual Exploitation In Mexico: The Exploiters And The State, Sonia M. Frias, Mariajosé Gómez-Zaldívar

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

Commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) is a form of violence in which children, mainly girls and female adolescents, are reduced to sexual objects for rent. In this study, we argue that the concept of who is an exploiter must be broadened to include everyone who directly or indirectly benefits from CSEC. This paper is based on life stories of 10 female residents from a shelter, which we call Casa Libertad (a fictitious name) in Mexico City, for female victims of violence. Researchers also used semi-structured interviews with experts on CSEC to examine the exploiters' profiles. The research challenges the …


Toward A Buddhist Theory Of Conflict Transformation: From Simple Actor-Oriented Conflict To Complex Structural Conflict, Tatsushi Arai Oct 2017

Toward A Buddhist Theory Of Conflict Transformation: From Simple Actor-Oriented Conflict To Complex Structural Conflict, Tatsushi Arai

Peace and Conflict Studies

This paper presents a working theory of conflict transformation informed by Buddhist teachings. It argues that a Buddhist approach to conflict transformation consists of an integrated process of self-reflection on the roots and transformation of suffering (dukkha), on the one hand, and active relationship-building between parties, on the other. To overcome a deeply structural conflict in which parties are unaware of the very existence of the conflict-generating system in which they are embedded, however, Buddhist-inspired practice of conflict transformation requires building structural awareness, which is defined as educated consciousness capable of perceiving a complex web of cause and effect relationships …


How To Enhance Interdisciplinary Competence—Interdisciplinary Problem-Based Learning Versus Interdisciplinary Project-Based Learning, Mirjam Brassler, Jan Dettmers Jul 2017

How To Enhance Interdisciplinary Competence—Interdisciplinary Problem-Based Learning Versus Interdisciplinary Project-Based Learning, Mirjam Brassler, Jan Dettmers

Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning

Interdisciplinary competence is important in academia for both employability and sustainable development. However, to date, there are no specific interdisciplinary education models and, naturally, no empirical studies to assess them. Since problem-based learning (PBL) and project-based learning (PjBL) are learning approaches that emphasize students’ collaboration, both pedagogies seem suitable to enhance students’ interdisciplinary competence. Based on the principle of constructive alignment and four instructional principles on interdisciplinary learning, this paper proposes that students profit more from interdisciplinary PBL (iPBL) than interdisciplinary PjBL (iPjBL). A pre-post study was conducted with a sample of 95 students participating in iPBL and 183 students …


Appraising Positive Aspects Of Shared History Through Contact- A Preliminary Model Of Reconciliation Among Hindus And Muslims Of The Kashmir Valley, Sramana Majumdar Dr Apr 2017

Appraising Positive Aspects Of Shared History Through Contact- A Preliminary Model Of Reconciliation Among Hindus And Muslims Of The Kashmir Valley, Sramana Majumdar Dr

Peace and Conflict Studies

The long-standing political conflict in the Kashmir Valley has resulted in identity based polarization and subsequent displacement of communities. Reconciliation between Hindus (also known as Pandits) and Muslims is viewed as an important step in any sustainable effort towards conflict resolution and peacebuilding in the Valley. This paper begins by examining the much debated territorial and cultural concept of ‘Kashmiriyat’ and instead proposes an alternative lens that emphasizes on shared history as opposed to common identity. We approach reconciliation through a socio-psychological lens by examining the role of a shared cultural past and historical coexistence- or simply put as shared …


Twenty Reasons To Publish In Dignity, Donna M. Hughes Apr 2017

Twenty Reasons To Publish In Dignity, Donna M. Hughes

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

No abstract provided.


The Apocalyptic Imagination And The Fundamentalist Mindset, Charles B. Strozier Mar 2017

The Apocalyptic Imagination And The Fundamentalist Mindset, Charles B. Strozier

New England Journal of Public Policy

This article explores the psychological meanings of the apocalyptic imagination in what I call a fundamentalist mindset. That mindset has its own long history but is newly relevant in the nuclear age. We no longer need God to bring about ultimate destruction. There are many facets of the fundamentalist mindset (for example, its intense literalism), but the focus in the article is on two: its kairotic sense of time and its rampant paranoia. These two facets interact synergistically around violence that is experienced by those who revel in it as moral in a totalistic sense. Killing becomes healing. The evil …


Suicide Terrorism: Performance Violence As Public Plunge, Gregory Saathoff Mar 2017

Suicide Terrorism: Performance Violence As Public Plunge, Gregory Saathoff

New England Journal of Public Policy

This article explores the relationship between the social psychology of the individual and the final abyss of suicide terrorism. The boy on the high dive is a metaphor for the fearful pause before the leap. For a young child, the dive is exciting and dangerous: the fearful pause is somewhat analogous to thoughts and feelings before the terrorist’s catastrophically destructive contemplated homicidal/suicidal behavior. If we think about the leap itself, there may be a better analogy. Is there any corollary to a specific group of suicide completers? What can be learned from others who have contemplated and undertaken perhaps the …


Consequences Of Sexual Violence During Civil Conflicts For Post-Colonial Democratization, Kathleen Clark Jan 2017

Consequences Of Sexual Violence During Civil Conflicts For Post-Colonial Democratization, Kathleen Clark

Commonwealth Review of Political Science

Countries face large obstacles in the post-civil conflict period, including democratization. The nature of the warfare during the civil conflict may have important implications for the prospects for future democratization. Specifically, the experience of sexual violence during civil conflicts may hinder democratization. I argue that countries that experience prevalent sexual violence during civil conflicts have lower chances for post-conflict democratization than those without. This occurs through the psychological consequences of sexual violence on victims and communities. Sexual violence negatively impacts victims, but it can also have more widespread negative consequences for society. Communities of the victims may collectively respond to …


The Great Divide: The Political Implications Of Southern Regional Identification In Kentucky, Joel Turner Jan 2017

The Great Divide: The Political Implications Of Southern Regional Identification In Kentucky, Joel Turner

Commonwealth Review of Political Science

Kentucky occupies a unique place on the American political landscape. The Commonwealth has never been fully embraced as Southern by most observers, but at the same time it is not necessarily a Northern state. As the intersection of North and South in the United States, Kentucky presentes a unique opportunity to study the impact of regional identity on public opinion. Utilizing data from a 2014 survey of a random sample of Kentucky residents, we are able to demonstrate that Southern regional identification is fairly high in Kentucky, and that this identification has a significant influence on opinion regard politicians and …


The Phantom Segregationist: Kentucky's 1996 Desegregation Amendment And The Limits Of Direct Democracy, D. Stephen Voss Jan 2017

The Phantom Segregationist: Kentucky's 1996 Desegregation Amendment And The Limits Of Direct Democracy, D. Stephen Voss

Commonwealth Review of Political Science

Decades after Kentucky abolished de jure racial distinctions in education, the state legislature asked voters to strip segregationist language from their venerable constitution. Political elites were stunned when a third of the state's voters, and majorities in five countries, rejected the change. However, the prime culprit for Kentucky's 1996 constitutional amendment vote was not white racism, because African-American voters endorsed segregation at rates similar to whites. Rather, the Kentucky vote offers a particularly clear and particularly dramatic example of the limits of ballot-box policy making. It should alert scholars that highly publicized referenda in high-profile states - the focus of …


Holding School Leaders Accountable: Estimating The Effects Of Retrospective Evaluations Of Kentucky School District Superintendents, Martin Battle, James C. Clinger Jan 2017

Holding School Leaders Accountable: Estimating The Effects Of Retrospective Evaluations Of Kentucky School District Superintendents, Martin Battle, James C. Clinger

Commonwealth Review of Political Science

This research represents an attempt to apply the theory of retrospective voting to the issue of turnover among Kentucky school district superintendents. The analysis tests the hypothesis that poor school district performance should increase superintendent performance. The hypothesis is tested using accountability data compiled by the Kentucky Department of Education. The analysis reveals somewhat mixed support for the hypothesis. Different performance measures have different kinds of impact. Schools with students scoring high on math and writing were more likely to experience superintendent turnover than other school districts were. The index scores for science and social studies had a negative, statistically …


A Case Study On American Social Media Privacy: Facebook And Government Oversight, Sarah Fink Jan 2017

A Case Study On American Social Media Privacy: Facebook And Government Oversight, Sarah Fink

Commonwealth Review of Political Science

As we move further into the age of technology, there is no reason to expect the use of social media and the internet will decline. The government's inability to create a uniform technological landscape across offices and departments around the nation along with the shifting view of privacy in America has created openings for non-governmental companies, like Facebook, to collect the information freely given by citizens. This makes the privacy policies of social media companies civil rights and liberties issues for individual citizens as well as a national security concern. This paper argues that until the public, and policy makers, …


Red Dog, Blue Dog, Yellow Dog: How Democrats Can Use Strategic Communications To Attract Republican And Conservative Voters, B. Gammon Fain Jan 2017

Red Dog, Blue Dog, Yellow Dog: How Democrats Can Use Strategic Communications To Attract Republican And Conservative Voters, B. Gammon Fain

Commonwealth Review of Political Science

In recent election cycles, a rightward shift among white Southerners, and in some cases the loss of African-American supporters through racial redistricting, turned many long-held Democratic districts in the South red. Kentucky is an excellent example of this shift in voting behavior. Even though registered Democrats outnumber Republicans, the GOP controls the Governor's mansion, most other statewide elected offices, both chamber of the state legislature, and all but one of Kentucky's congressional seats. To win back those seats, Democrats in states like Kentucky will need to appeal to conservative voters. Unfortunately, little scholarly research directly addresses the practical question they …


The Paradox Of The Progressive Presidency: How The Democratization Of The Presidential Selection System Has Degraded The Office, Jeffrey T. Syck Jan 2017

The Paradox Of The Progressive Presidency: How The Democratization Of The Presidential Selection System Has Degraded The Office, Jeffrey T. Syck

Commonwealth Review of Political Science

Every U.S. president leaves a lasting mark on the institution, few more significantly than the small number who have impacted the way presidents are selected. This paper examines how the presidential selection system has evolved over time and the negative effects this evolution has produced. The Framers created a complicated selection process hoping the Electoral College would attract and elevate "men of first character." Although the system failed to operate as its architects intended as a result of the early and inevitable development of political parties, Martin Van Buren helped to adapt the selection system to the new environment in …


Resilient Communists: How Fidel Castro Survived The Soviet Collapse And Cuba's Uncertain Road To Democracy, Max J. Prowant Jan 2017

Resilient Communists: How Fidel Castro Survived The Soviet Collapse And Cuba's Uncertain Road To Democracy, Max J. Prowant

Commonwealth Review of Political Science

It is easy to conclude that Fidel Castro was nothing more than a pawn of the Soviet Union, and Cuba, a communist satellite throughout the Cold War. The island received an annual subsidy of four billion dollars from the U.S.S.R. and hosted Soviet troops; its economic dependence was so extensive that when the Soviet Union collapsed more than 25 years ago, Cuba experienced a GDP contraction of between 30 and 40 percent. Despite this, Cuba's communist regime survived, even as many formerly communist countries in Eastern Europe embraced new democratic constitutions. This project seeks to explain how--in spite of the …


Complete Issue - Volume 4, Number 1 (2017) Jan 2017

Complete Issue - Volume 4, Number 1 (2017)

Commonwealth Review of Political Science

Complete Issue


Happiness Index Methodology, Laura Musikanski, Scott Cloutier, Erica Bejarano, Davi Briggs, Julia Colbert, Gracie Strasser, Steven Russell Jan 2017

Happiness Index Methodology, Laura Musikanski, Scott Cloutier, Erica Bejarano, Davi Briggs, Julia Colbert, Gracie Strasser, Steven Russell

Journal of Sustainable Social Change

The Happiness Index is a comprehensive survey instrument that assesses happiness, well-being, and aspects of sustainability and resilience. The Happiness Alliance developed the Happiness Index to provide a survey instrument to community organizers, researchers, and others seeking to use a subjective well-being index and data. It is the only instrument of its kind freely available worldwide and translated into over ten languages. This instrument can be used to measure satisfaction with life and the conditions of life. It can also be used to define income inequality, trust in government, sense of community and other aspects of well-being within specific demographics …


Happiness In Communities: How Neighborhoods, Cities And States Use Subjective Well-Being Metrics, Laura Musikanski, Carl Polley, Scott Cloutier, Erica Berejnoi, Julia Colbert Jan 2017

Happiness In Communities: How Neighborhoods, Cities And States Use Subjective Well-Being Metrics, Laura Musikanski, Carl Polley, Scott Cloutier, Erica Berejnoi, Julia Colbert

Journal of Sustainable Social Change

This essay, the fourth and last of a series published by the Journal of Social Change, is intended as a tool for community organizers, local policy makers, researchers, students and others to incorporate subjective well-being indicators into their measurements and management of happiness and well-being in their communities, for policy purposes, for research and for other purposes. It provides case studies of community-based efforts in five different regions (São Paulo, Brazil; Bristol, United Kingdom; Melbourne, Australia; Creston, British Columbia, Canada; and Vermont, United States) that either developed their own subjective well-being index or used the Happiness Alliance’s survey instrument …