Political Science Commons^™

The Unbearable Lightness Of Debating: Performance Ambiguity And Social Influence, Matthew B. Kugler, George R. Goethals

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

This chapter considers three sets of studies on how social influence affects perceptions of candidates' performances in presidential debates. The first set shows that perceptions are influenced markedly by the reactions of peers watching the debate at the same time or by televised audiences shown on broadcast debates. The second set shows that expectations created by news accounts prior to debates also have significant impact and that different kinds of news accounts affect different viewers in distinct ways. Individuals with a high need for cognition respond well to more complicated messages that advance some reason as to why an apparently …

Democracy In Practice: Lessons From New England, Madhawa Palihapitiya, Kevin Dye

Massachusetts Office of Public Collaboration Publications

Political decision-making by elites require some form of civilian participation to regain legitimacy. Increasingly groups of Citizens do not trust in political elites and are increasingly frustrated by their behavior. When faced with the problem of diversity, even established democracies face problems of managing diversity. In the global context differences of opinion, culture, religion etc has defined many of the New Wars (Kaldor 1999). In the United States many non-state and semi-governmental organizations have developed programs to increase public knowledge of the legislature and its decision-making processes. The ultimate purpose of this is to exercise some control over state power. …

Ua12/2/1 College Heights Herald, Vol. 83, No. 20, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

WKU campus newspaper reporting campus, athletic and Bowling Green, Kentucky news.

Ua12/2/1 College Heights Herald, Vol. 83, No. 19, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

WKU campus newspaper reporting campus, athletic and Bowling Green, Kentucky news

Ua12/2/1 College Heights Herald, Vol. 83, No. 16, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

WKU campus newspaper reporting campus, athletic and Bowling Green, Kentucky news.

Ua12/2/1 College Heights Herald, Vol. 83, No. 14, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

WKU campus newspaper reporting campus, athletic and Bowling Green, Kentucky news.

The Eu's "Sanctions Paradox", Portela, Clara

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The forthcoming Summit meeting between the European Union (EU) and Africa next December will be the first event of this kind in the past seven years. However, the row over the participation of Zimbabwe’s President, Robert Mugabe, is casting a shadow over the upcoming event: A number of African states have threatened to boycott the meeting if Zimbabwe's leader is not invited, while the British government has indicated that it will not attend the meeting if he does. At the root of this row is an “EU sanction”: a visa ban prohibiting the entry into EU territory to Zimbabwean high-rank …

Ua12/2/1 College Heights Herald, Vol. 83, No. 9, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

WKU campus newspaper reporting campus, athletic and Bowling Green, Kentucky news.

Ending The Cold War Is A Good Place To Start, Judith Blau

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Recently, I told my daughter that the U.S. media had hyped the Chinese toy recall. “Just more rehashing of Cold War rhetoric,” I said. My two-year old daughter rebuked me: “Come on, Mom! You read politics into everything!” Then, after a moment or two of silence, she said, “Oh yes, I see what you mean. The Chinese toys with toxic paints could have been made in sweatshops owned by U.S. multinationals” (proud mom—politically aware daughter).

Private Sector Influence In The International Telecommunication Union, Patricia K. Mccormick

Communication Faculty Research Publications

This paper aims to examine the influence of private corporations in the tripartite structure of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU): Telecommunications Standardization, Radiocommunication, and Telecommunications Development. The paper finds that, in the standardization sector, power has been effectively transferred from nation states to the private corporate sector since the approval process now enables standards to be approved by members of the study group that developed them, which is essentially the private sector. In the radiocommunication sector, the private sector continues to conduct much of the requisite technical work, but national governments are ultimately the decision makers and, further, it is …

The Electronic Ballot Box : Class, Age And Racial Bias On The Internet., Jason Gainous, Kevin M. Wagner

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

This research creates a theoretical framework for understanding the effect of Internet voting on the electorate. Based on standard Downsian rational choice voting theory, we claim that Internet voting lowers the cost of voting for certain voting demographics based upon race, age, and income.We further contend that this electoral advantage may crystallize the growing turnout disparity be-tween demographic groups. The theory is tested using Bayesian inferential methods with data from the Internet turnout in the 2000 Arizona Democratic Presidential Primary merged with demographic data obtained from the 2000 Census. Our findings lend support for the theory that the Internet provides …

Ir Theory And The Press In Democracies: The Relevance Of Realism Based On An Analysis Of The Coverage Of The Iraq War 2003 In The Faz And Nyt, Stephanie Dornschneider

Archived Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

"That Dog Don't Hunt": Persuasive Language And Imagery In An Nra Advertisement, James Whittle

Undergraduate Review

No abstract provided.

Venezuela In The Times Of Chavez: A Study On Media, Charisma, And Social Polarization, Jorge Capetillo-Ponce

Sociology Faculty Publication Series

My main objective in this study is to deepen the reader's understanding of Venezuela's ongoing socio-political conflict by focusing on the struggle for control over one of the key agents of mobilization and politicization in the country: the media outlets, and particularly television. My methodology strives to interweave the chronological record of events with analysis of the equally relevant theoretical, institutional, political, economic, and cultural components that helped to create those events. Central to my presentation is its analysis of the decline of Venezuela's two traditional parties and the emergence of a charismatic and populist form of leadership.

Attacking The Body Politic: The Terroristin In 1970s German Media, Clare Bielby

Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture

In a 1977 special feature on female terrorism, the German weekly newsmagazine, Der Spiegel, published a photograph of a woman with a bomb strapped to her front, masquerading as a pregnant woman. This image perfectly encapsulates the "paradoxical" quality of the female terrorist, who instead of giving life takes it. Furthermore, if, according to Tamar Mayer, women are represented in national and cultural narratives as "the nation's social and biological womb," the threatening quality of such representations for the body politic of the nation starts to become clear. As Mayer asserts "an attack on these [female] bodies becomes an …

Democracy Defended: Polibloggers And The Political Press In America, Erica Johnson

Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture

Since their creation less than a decade ago, blogs have metamorphosed from a relatively unknown activity into a recognized phenomenon. Political blogs have shown the potential to influence the functioning of American democracy. As the importance of blogs has grown, there has been heated discussion about whether or not to consider political blogs as a form of political journalism, an important aspect of American democracy. To resolve the debate, the author examines the two principal democratic responsibilities of the media: gatekeeper and government watchdog. The author selected two widely-read political blogs, Instapundit and Eschaton, and one influential newspaper, the …

History, Identity, And Security: Producing And Consuming Nationalism In China, William A. Callahan

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Chinese nationalism has ignited much debate among academics and the general public in both China and the West. Rather than search for the true core of Chinese nationalism, this essay will examine the curious custom of National Humiliation Day as an oblique entry into the politics of identity. The nation is not simply a question of people or territory, the author contends, but of time: the national time scripted by events such as National Humiliation Day. By comparing the differing practices of the holiday as it was celebrated in the early twentieth century and is observed in the early twenty-first …

The Social Nature Of Natural Resources - The Case Of Water, Jamie Linton

Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture

Of all things, water is among the most difficult to pin down. It is nevertheless characteristic of modernity that we ascribe to it an essence, on which basis particular kinds of human-water relations are made possible while others are denied. The ascription of an essential identity to water constitutes a social and political act by which it is both made known to people and made available for people. This paper explores the implications of ascribing to water an identity as "resource." Water was pronounced a resource in the United States early in the last century in the context of the …

Life And The Death Penalty: Passing Life Without Parole Legislation In Texas, Future Implications, And An Examination Of Texas’ Death Row, Adam Chase Parker

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

I Am What I Wear: The Use Of Dress In Constructing And Evaluating Sexual Identity, Jean Stevens

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

This thesis explores different disciplinary studies and discussions of dress, and more specifically, the use of dress in constructing a gendered identity and sexual identity. To conduct this research, I performed a literature review and referenced various social psychological, sociological, and/or feminist theoretical frameworks. I argue that dress cannot serve as any sort of innate or accurate indicator of sexual identity; rather, the meanings associated with dress are socially produced and vary across time and place. Evidence for this argument emerges only after a literature review, as one can recognize a common theme linking the literature, or perhaps a commonly …

Handling And Preventing Journalistic Fraud: Janet Cooke, Stephen Glass, Jayson Blair, Kenneth Munson

Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects

Fraud is a growing concern in the news business, especially in recent years where numerous journalism scandals rock its foundation. This paper examines the most prominent cases: Stephen Glass, the reporter for The New Republic newsmagazine who completely or partially fabricated 27 stories in the late ‘90s; Jayson Blair, the New York Times reporter who was found to have plagiarized or made up his supposedly on-thescene reporting in 2003; and Janet Cooke, who won a Pulitzer Prize in 1981 for her Washington Post story about a child heroin addict who, in actuality, did not exist. This paper will examine flaws …

Ua12/2/1 College Heights Herald, Vol. 81, No. 40 [44], Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

WKU campus newspaper reporting campus, athletic and Bowling Green, Kentucky news. Articles in this issue:

• Paul, Corey. Preacher, Students Clash – Donnie Morris
• Coulter, Amber. Regents to Vote on Fee
• Coulter, Amber. Rapid Change Coming for Western Leadership - John Petersen, Sherry Reid, Elmer Gray
• Harrell, Bobby. Singing Opera Is Music Professor’s ‘Quintessential Art’ – Robert Pope
• Paul, Corey. Death Investigation Continues – Allison Carter
• Sad Reminder – Allison Carter
• Maggert, Terry – PETA Not That Great
• Lucas, Brandon. Student Government Association is Useless
• Tetreault, Jeff. Immigrants Should Stay
• Miller, Stephen. Police Officers Should Slow Down
• Schmidt, Tara. Ryan Dillion’s …

Ua3/9/5 House & Senate Budget Subcommittees, Wku President's Office

WKU Administration Documents

Card of talking points used by WKU president Gary Ransdell while lobbying state legislators to increase WKU's budget.

Ua12/2/1 College Heights Herald, Vol. 81, No. 24, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

WKU campus newspaper reporting campus, athletic and Bowling Green, Kentucky news. Articles in this issue:

• Coulter, Amber. Budget Won’t Cover Costs
• Paul, Corey. Fires Destroy Local Houses - Arson
• Harrell, Bobby. J-term Enrollment Higher than University of Kentucky’s
• Bosken, Nina. Race Machine Brings Diversity to Downing University Center – Video Games
• Coulter, Amber. Study Finds Salary Equity
• Coulter, Amber. Donor Helps Scholarship Increase
• Governor Ernie Fletcher’s Folly
• Watt, Wes. Opinion Page is Everyone’s Page
• Casagrande, Michael. Note from the Editor
• McNamara, Andrew. Additions to Downing University Center Centralize Services
• Harrell, Bobby. Governor’s Comments Ignite Intelligent Design Debate
• Paul, Corey. Professors, …

Ua3/9/5 Legislative Priorities, Wku President's Office

WKU Administration Documents

Legislative priorities talking points card used by WKU president Gary Ransdell when meeting with state legislators in 2006.

Conceptualizing And Measuring White House Staff Influence On Presidential Rhetoric, Justin Vaughn, José Villalobos

Selected Works Temporary Series

Scholars have debated extensively the impact of presidential rhetoric on public opinion and congressional behavior, but have largely ignored the determinants of what the president actually says. This inattention is partly the result of the difficulty of acquiring systematic observations of presidential speech crafting. We devise a method of quantifying White House staff influence over the composition of rhetoric that captures the multistage negotiations between the president's speechwriters and his policy advisors and provides a framework for future studies on the determinants of presidential rhetoric. We employ our method to study influence over the writing of President George H. W. …

Conceptualizing And Measuring White House Staff Influence On Presidential Rhetoric, Justin Vaughn, José Villalobos

Departmental Papers (PS)

Scholars have debated extensively the impact of presidential rhetoric on public opinion and congressional behavior, but have largely ignored the determinants of what the president actually says. This inattention is partly the result of the difficulty of acquiring systematic observations of presidential speech crafting. We devise a method of quantifying White House staff influence over the composition of rhetoric that captures the multistage negotiations between the president's speechwriters and his policy advisors and provides a framework for future studies on the determinants of presidential rhetoric. We employ our method to study influence over the writing of President George H. W. …

New Strategies For An Old Medium: The Weekly Radio Addresses Of Reagan And Clinton, Lori Cox Han

Political Science Faculty Articles and Research

"While a rich literature exists on presidential communications (including the public/rhetorical presidency and the presidential/press relationship), only recently have presidential scholars begun to analyze weekly radio addresses as an important primary unit of analysis (Rowland and Jones 2002; Sigelman and Whissell 2002a, 2002b). This article analyzes how the use of radio has fit into the overall development of White House communication strategies during the television age, and takes an in-depth look at how Reagan and Clinton used weekly radio addresses to communicate with both the American public and the news media. Specifically, the issues considered here include the strategy development …

Cold War Games And Postwar Art, Claudia Mesch

Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture

During the Cold War both “superpowers” used games, particularly chess, in order to construct an ideology of complete conflict and irreconcilable division between East and West. This essay focuses on the broad cultural challenge to divisive Cold War zero-sum mentality issued by a number of artists—André Breton, Marcel Duchamp and Öyvind Fahlström, and Fluxus artists George Maciunas, George Brecht, Robert Watts, Takako Saito and Yoko Ono. These artists, in a second wave of game-focused art, returned to the concerns of surrealist art practice and to earlier cultural game theory. Even conceptual art production was impacted by the predetermined structure of …

The President Over The Public: The Plebiscitary Presidency At Center Stage, Lori Cox Han

Political Science Faculty Books and Book Chapters

"In this chapter, I will address the question of the usefulness of the public presidency in the current political environment (that is, can a president’s communication strategy make a difference in terms of what he achieves), as well as the constitutional danger, if any, posed by a president’s attempt at public leadership. Has the public presidency, and its focus on the public aspects of the office, thrown the constitutional balance of power between the three branches out of balance? Does the president really gain political power within the constitutional framework of our government if he is a skilled and effective …