Digital Commons Network^™

Elite Networks, Political Belief Formation And Government Performance: An Agent-Based Approach To A General Political Economy Equilibrium, Christian H.C.A. Henning, Volker Saggau, Johannes Hedtrich

2010

This paper investigates the impact of the embeddedness of politicians in a local elite network on government performance in decentralized and centralized political systems. Formal political decision-making among a set of legislators is modeled via a mean voter decision rule derived from a modified non-cooperative legislative bargaining game of a Baron-Ferejohn type. Legislators’ policy preferences are derived endogenously from political support maximization based on legislators’ beliefs how a rural development policy translates into the welfare of the agrarian and non-agrarian population. Legislators are generally uncertain regarding the political technology, i.e. the welfare changes induced by a policy. Accordingly, legislators communicate …

Dynamic Models Of Mobilization In Political Networks, Navid Hassanpour

2010

The Eastern European color revolutions, and more recently the post-election unrest in Iran pose a pressing question: how can local organization networks facilitate large-scale collective action? The final result of a collective action is contingent upon two factors, the relational structure of the network of the individuals involved, and their mutual learning, imitation, and belief-updating dictated by the network structure. I propose a formalization of the Granovetter threshold model for participation in collective action in networks, which takes both the network structure and belief updating into account. In order to make verifiable predictions, I outline a graph theoretical model for …

Methodological Challenges In The Study Of Social Communication, Scott D. Mcclurg

Publications

This chapter examines how the questions and concepts used in social communications research affect data collection. It begins by offering conceptual definitions of two types of social environments – networks and contexts – that are used to define the boundaries of the field and to highlight its diversity. From this starting point, the implications of these definitions for three methodological issues are discussed: 1) choosing an environmental unit of analysis, 2) selecting cases of social environments for inclusion in a study, and 3) establishing causality. The organizing theme of this chapter is that social communications research is best served by …

Policy Implications Of Changes In Illinois Hog Production, Neil Probst

Research Papers

This paper analyzes the rapid changes of the hog industry in the state of Illinois, with a focus on the impact of increasing scale on local communities and environments. Theory on externalities, regional economics, and efficiencies is explored. A literature review looks at past studies on effects to local environments, health, land values, and economic vitality and explores potential solutions. A regression model is used to determine the impact of increased hog concentration on local Illinois employment rates to see if local economies are strengthened or weakened by large hog operations. Results show Illinois counties that had hog farm loss …

Informing A Transformative Multicultural Approach: Seeking A Content Form And A Medium For Illinois Indian Resources For Preservice Social Studies Teachers, Dan W. Hechenberger

Dissertations

The demographic imperative drives a fundamental tenet of multicultural education: We must more thoroughly acknowledge US diversity by incorporating authentic ethnic heritage in social studies. The purpose of this study was to investigate recommendations, from three levels of educators, on content form and medium for preservice social studies teachers in using resources for an ethnic minority relevant to the state of Illinois and US history, the Illinois Indians. I also explored how varied participant perspectives informed those recommendations and gave meaning to multicultural education via such content.

Research questions involved perceptions, attributes, and needs of preservice social studies teachers. Data …

International Activity In The College Of Liberal Arts, Alan Vaux

Presentations

No abstract provided.

Southern Alumni, Siu Alumni Association

SIU Alumni Magazine

No abstract provided.

Climate Change In The Changing Climate Of News Media: A Comparative Analysis Of Mainstream Media And Blog Coverage Of Climate Change In The United States And The People's Republic Of China, 2005-2008, Lei Xie

Dissertations

The social construction of climate change has been an enduring interest to media scholars. Extensive research has been done to explore how the mass media portrayed climate change and how the influence of their representations contributed to the social reality of climate change. However, most research focused on the news media in the United States and other developed countries and ignored China--the second largest greenhouse gases emitter in the world. This oversight has led to a sociological map of global climate change with the one of the biggest puzzle pieces missing. In addition, traditional news media were in the spotlight …

Population Level Conditions As Signals Of Entrepreneurial Opportunities: A Cognitve Synthesis Of The Entrepreneurial Traits And Population Rates Perspectives, Matthew S. Wood

Dissertations

The ecology based environmental perspective implicitly suggests that population level founding rates, dissolution rates, and density levels influence the likelihood that entrepreneurs will launch new ventures within a given population domain. The central idea is that population rates and densities may act as signals to entrepreneurs regarding the viability of a new venture within a given population. Interestingly, whether or not population level factors actually influence the new venture creation process remains an open question. As such, the central purpose of this research is to utilize a cognitive approach to better understand how population level conditions and the individual differences …

The Daily Egyptian, November 10, 2009, Daily Egyptian Staff

November 2009

No abstract provided.

“We Are Going To Rape You And Taste Tutsi Women”: Rape During The 1994 Rwandan Genocide, Christopher W. Mullins

Articles

Over the past decades, scholars have paid greater attention to sexual violence, in both theorization and empirical analysis. One area which has been largely ignored, however, is the sexual violence during times of armed conflict. This paper examines the nature and dynamics of sexual violence as it occurred during the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Drawing upon testimonies given to the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), descriptions of rapes--both singular and mass—were qualitatively analyzed. In general, three broad types of assaults were identified: opportunistic, assaults which seemed to be a product of the disorder inherent within the conflict; episodes of sexual …

The Daily Egyptian, October 12, 2009, Daily Egyptian Staff

October 2009

No abstract provided.

The Daily Egyptian, October 08, 2009, Daily Egyptian Staff

October 2009

No abstract provided.

The Daily Egyptian, October 07, 2009, Daily Egyptian Staff

October 2009

No abstract provided.

Island Hopping As A Mode Of Acculturation: The Experience Of German Sojourners In The American Southwest, Tatjana K. Rosev

Kaleidoscope: A Graduate Journal of Qualitative Communication Research

This study explores how members of a particular group of German sojourners—military and quasi-military personnel and their families—whose acculturative experience occurs largely within the closely-bounded confines of a military base, adjust to life in the American Southwest. I use a mixed-methods approach, including grounded theory, to interpret data produced by short questionnaires, in-depth interviews with eleven German participants, and my personal experience as a German sojourner.

A Bookstore-Café: An Exploration Of The Blurring Of The Public And Private Spheres, Erin Christie

Kaleidoscope: A Graduate Journal of Qualitative Communication Research

A bookstore-café, where work and non-work activities are conducted, is examined herein. As a result of the blurring of public and private spheres, it is argued that encounters in this bookstore and its café have an identifiable structure, complete with specific features, resulting in five distinct findings. Both gaze and the use of belongings to create boundaries of personal space are employed by patrons to manage anxiety caused by being in public view. Data was obtained from thirteen ethnographic participant-observations, two hours each in length, conducted over a two-month period. This project contributes to existing research by showing how, in …

“They’Re Supportive, But. . .”: Female Graduate Students And Their Parents’ Reactions To Graduate Education, Rosalie S. Aldrich

Kaleidoscope: A Graduate Journal of Qualitative Communication Research

In 2001, there were approximately 1.9 million graduate students in American universities, and a majority of them were women. Graduate students are under a considerable amount of stress and strain, and parents can be a source of social support for their children; however, little research has been done regarding graduate students and the support they receive from their parents. The purpose of this study was to explore parents’ reactions to their daughters’ choice to pursue a graduate degree. Data were collected through open-ended interviews with 18 female graduate students. Results indicated that parents’ reactions to their daughter going to graduate …

Networking The Parties: A Comparative Study Of Democratic And Republican Convention Delegates In 2008, Seth E. Masket, Michael T. Heaney, Joanne M. Miller, Dara Z. Strolovich

Working Papers

Parties‐as‐networks is an emerging approach to understanding American political parties as decentralized, nonhierarchical, fluid systems with porous boundaries of a wide array of actors. Parties‐asnetworks include interest groups, social movements, political consultants, and advocacy organizations, in additional to the usual suspects of elected officials, party officials, and citizen‐activists. This approach ameliorates several deficits of the traditional, tripartite view of parties in government, in elections, and as organizations. The authors apply the parties‐as‐networks approach using data from surveys of delegates at the 2008 Democratic and Republican national conventions. Analysis of delegates’ memberships in a wide variety of organizations demonstrates that Democrats …

The Response To Nuclear Proliferation, Annelies Z. Kamran

Working Papers

This paper uses the methods of social network analysis to discover the structural patterns of cooperation that arose in response to a global traditional security problem. It does this by mapping compulsory and institutional power relations (Barnett and Duvall 2005) among actors responding to the proliferation of nuclear weapons since the end of the Cold War. For the institutional power measure, I use treaty and international agreement membership; and for the compulsory power measure, I use contractual obligations for nuclear expertise, materials, and technology. By mapping the relationships at the system level of world politics, including individual states as well …

Gendered Social Movements: A Critical Comparison Of The Suffrage And Gay Marriage Movements, Michelle L. Kelsey

Kaleidoscope: A Graduate Journal of Qualitative Communication Research

The elections of 2008 saw the passage of several overwhelming and explicit condemnations of gay rights across the nation. Most damaging to the gay marriage movement was the successful passage of proposition 8 in California, the first time that the right to gay marriage was repealed. I argue that the continued modeling of the civil rights framework defers an analysis of the argumentative strategies of historically gendered movements such as the suffrage movement and is a disservice to the strategic potential of the marriage equality movement. The critical comparison made here between suffrage and marriage equality opens the potential for …

Resisting Anti-Intellectualism And Promoting Legal Literacy, Leonard J. Long

Southern Illinois University Law Journal

Professor Long urges everyone involved in legal education, including professors, lawyers, students, and judges, to ask just one question: Of what use is a law school education? Those involved with law school educations should strive to be intellectually curious and well-rounded in education, and not to maintain the narrow view of simply “training lawyers.” For the benefit of society, consumers of legal services, lawyers, and law firms, we must encourage the pursuit of legal literacy. Law students should be encouraged to explore American literature and traditions of Anglo-American law to facilitate their legal literacy and to become cultural elitists. Students …

The Daily Egyptian, September 28, 2009, Daily Egyptian Staff

September 2009

No abstract provided.

Causality In Political Networks, James H. Fowler, Michael T. Heaney, David W. Nickerson, John F. Padgett, Betsy Sinclair

Working Papers

As the study of political networks becomes more common in political science, greater attention to questions of causality is warranted. This essay explores competing visions of causality in political networks. Independent essays address issues of statistical model specification, identification of multi-step personal influence, measurement error, causality in historical perspective, and the insights of field experiments. These essays do not agree entirely on the nature of causality in political networks, though they commonly take seriously concerns regarding homophily, time- consistency, and the uniqueness of political network data. Serious consideration of these methodological issues promises to enhance the value-added of network analysis …

Geographic Research In Water Resources:A Vibrant Research Agenda For The Next 20 Years, William James Smith Jr.

Journal of Contemporary Water Research and Education

No abstract provided.

Southern Alumni, Siu Alumni Association

SIU Alumni Magazine

No abstract provided.

527 Committees And The Political Party Network, Seth E. Masket, Richard Skinner, David Dulio

Working Papers

We investigate the links between 527s and other political organizations through the employment histories of 527 staff. We find that 527s are highly central to modern political party networks and are in positions to facilitate coordination within a party and to employ key party personnel. Further, we find important differences between the networks charted out by the two major parties. The Republican Party, the majority party during the period under study, had a more hierarchical network than the Democratic Party did.

The Daily Egyptian, August 06, 2009, Daily Egyptian Staff

August 2009

No abstract provided.

National Aglaw Center Research Article, J.E.M. Ag Supply, Inc. V. Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc.: Its Meaning And Significance For The Agricultural Community, Michael T. Roberts

Southern Illinois University Law Journal

Biotechnology development in agriculture has raised challenging intellectual property issues. These issues are framed in the context of a three-prong plant patent statutory scheme, involving the Utility Patent Act, the Plant Variety Protection Act, and the Plant Patent Act. The agricultural community, which includes agricultural biotechnology companies, seed companies, and agricultural producers, has debated whether utility patents are excluded from the scope of the Utility Patent Act. Producers contended that Congress superceded the Utility Patent Act when it created the Plant Variety Protection Act and the Plant Patent Act and that sexually reproducing plants (seeds and seed grown plants) are …

All Politics Is (Not) Local: The Structure Of Lobbying In North Carolina, John C. Scott, Jeff Summerlin-Long

Working Papers

As North Carolina becomes more enmeshed in the national and global economy, the local political context might reflect more extra-local ties. Lobbying organizations in the state have significant ties to out-of-state firms, particularly those with offices in Washington, D.C. Examining the structure of lobbying relationships in one state, North Carolina, in terms of both lobbyist-to-client relations and inter-lobbyist relations such as through common clients, this paper assesses the level of relations between local and out-of-state firms. Using social network and standard statistical analysis as well as lobbying data from North Carolina, adjoining states, and federal lobbying data from the U.S. …

The Political Discussion Networks Of Immigrants And Native Born Voters, Casey A. Klofstad, Benjamin G. Bishin

Working Papers

Despite that fact that political discussion has become a more common topic of research in political science, and despite the fact that immigrants have begun to comprise a larger portion of the United States population, the content and effect of immigrant political discussion networks have not yet been examined. In this paper we examine whether engaging in political discussion is a means by which to encourage immigrants to participate in political activities. Our evidence shows that while immigrants are as likely as native born citizens to engage in political discussions, immigrants are less likely to share politically-relevant information during such …