American Politics Commons^™

Campus-Wide Electronic Survey Referendum: Announcement And Results

CACTUS--Citizens' Assembly for Critical Thinking About the United States

Campus-wide Electronic Survey Referendum: Announcement and Results

A Nonnegative Analysis Of Politics, Tim Chartier, Charles D. Wessell

Math Faculty Publications

The article investigates how linear algebra can recover mathematical information from the electronic messages using the Enron Email Sets in Pennsylvania. It states that a term-by-email matrix has been created to cluster algorithm, which allows one to mine through data and discover meaning. Moreover, nonnegative matrix factorization (NMF) enables one to interpret the resulting factorization in terms of the original problem.

Review Of Kansas Politics And Government: The Clash Of Political Cultures. By H. Edward Flentje And Joseph A. Aistrup., Burdett A. Loomis

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

Prior to the publication of Kansas Politics and Government, there was no essential book on Kansas politics, policy-making, and institutions. Now there is. It's as simple as that. Anyone who wants to understand the Sunflower State's politics should start here. Most prosaically, this is one more in the Nebraska Press's ambitious series of single-state studies. But Ed Flentje and Joe Aistrup (disclaimer: I write a column for Kansas papers in rotation with them and two other political scientists) have done more than cover the breadth of the state's politics. In their emphasis on political cultures, they provide an effective way …

Review Of The Leadership Of George Bush: An Insider's View Of The Forty-First President. By Roman Popadiuk, Caroline Heldman

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

The Leadership of George Bush is infused with a sentimentality exemplified by the book's opening statement describing the Bushes' emotional response to Bush 43's election to the presidency: "George Bush sat straight up, his back rigid but his chest heaving slightly as he sought to hold back tears. Barbara Bush sat quietly, unmovable, a glint of satisfaction and pride sparkling in her eyes." Despite the author's proximity and long-time affiliation, the book provides scant new information about Bush 41 's presidency, mostly because the author fails to connect it with larger literatures on presidential leadership and executive management. Instead, it …

Welfare Reform Policies And Their Effect On Poverty Rates Across The United States, Luke N. Welle

Political Science Theses and Capstones

We have all heard the arguments on the pros and cons of welfare reform, its effect on recipient’s lives, and its effectiveness in achieving its goals. In concluding whether or not it is effective in achieving its goals, the actual goals are broad and difficult to define. I consider the goal being reducing the number of citizens living in poverty. My research focuses specifically on how variations in the welfare system perform in reducing poverty rates across the United States. I investigate what governmental policies each state has in place and their effect on poverty. Those states, in which poverty …

Rebuilding After Hurricane Katrina: The Big Easy, And The Long Road Home., Jennifer S. Boucher

Political Science Theses and Capstones

The objective of this study is to analyze the influences of demographic patterns, planning politics and funding disbursement processes in rebuilding New Orleans, after Hurricane Katrina's storm surge engulfed several neighborhoods of Orleans Parish Louisiana, on August 29th 2005.Immediately following the storm surge, national opinion makers began debating the possibility of shrinking the footprint of New Orleans, as part of the rebuilding process. Although recovery efforts were begun almost immediately, at the five year anniversary of the cataclysmic natural disaster more than a hundred thousand of New Orleanians are still displaced. Utilizing regression analysis as a quantitative measure and qualitative …

Network Television’S Coverage Of The 2008 Presidential Election, Stephen J. Farnsworth, S Robert Lichter

Political Science & International Affairs Articles

Content analysis of network evening news coverage of the 2008 presidential election revealed a slight increase in the amount of coverage and a decline in the coverage of policy matters compared to 4 years earlier. Barack Obama received the most positive coverage recorded for any major party nominee on network television since the Center for Media and Public Affairs started analyzing election news content in 1988. The tonal gap between the Democratic and Republican nominees was also the largest recorded over the past six presidential elections. The one-sided coverage on ABC, CBS, and NBC was in sharp contrast to the …

Gender Stereotypes In The American Electoral Process, Samantha Stinedurf

Political Science Theses and Capstones

Gender stereotypes can increase the negative perception of female candidates during an election. This can decrease a female politician's chances of running for office and/or being elected to office. When these stereotypes are attached to female candidates, it can cause bias against them which then effects voting behavior among both men and women voters. Many of these stereotypes include looking at the typical personality traits as well as the perception of competency when dealing with social, economic and foreign policy issues. How do gender stereotypes present bias against women? Using data from the American National Election Study I assess the …

Economic Circumstances And Support For Universal Health Care, Daniel Cotter

Political Science Theses and Capstones

There have been many differing opinions over the new health care bill passed in 2010. My research is aimed at finding what factors play a role in forming an opinion on the new health care bill. Specifically looking at the economic and demographic circumstances of citizens of the United States and how it has affected their opinions on the health care bill. I use data gathered from the Pew Research Center and ran crosstabs on various different variables including opinions on the current economy, demographic characteristics, as well as opinions on the current health care plan. I anticipate finding that …

The Politics Of Subsidizing Sports: Legislative Voting For Three Minnesota Sports Venues, Dave Hitchcock

Political Science Theses and Capstones

Since 1998 the State of Minnesota has funded the building of the Xcel Energy Center, Target Field, and TCF Bank Stadium. The focus of this research is to locate voting trends within the Minnesota House of Representatives towards these venues. I recorded the votes of each member on the legislation approving these venues from the Minnesota Journal of the House and then constructed data sets for all three buildings. From this data, trends emerge potentially linking the voting tendencies of members based on party, gender, and geographical location of their district. Initial analysis supports a fairly strong relationship between district …

International Student Exchange Among Muslim Nations; Soft Power And Voting Alliances At The United Nations, Nambee Ragavan

Political Science Theses and Capstones

The main goal of this research is to analyze the impact of student exchange as a component of soft power in American foreign policy. Since September 11, 2001 there has been a significant increase in the number of Muslim international students enrolled in American institutions. In addition, there has been an increase in study abroad programs to predominantly Muslim countries by American students. I analyze the potential benefit to America’s foreign policy of accepting these international students and sending American students abroad. The measurement is whether or not the United States gets more support for measures it endorses in the …

The Politic 2011 Spring, The Politic, Inc.

The Politic

No abstract provided.

Conclusion: Strategy In A Murky World, Melvyn P. Leffler, Jeffrey W. Legro

Political Science Faculty Publications

Making national strategy is a byzantine business in the best of times. When dramatic events happen, when the international arena is complex and changing, when threats and opportunities are uncertain, leaders struggle to understand and react effectively. The fall of the Berlin Wall and the attacks of 9/11 opened vistas that were unfamiliar and complicated. How did U.S. leaders manage those transitions?

Price Ceilings And Rationing: The Base Ingredients Of The Black Market Food Industry In Nevada During World War Ii, Richard B. Keeton

Psi Sigma Siren

After the Empire of Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, Americans braced themselves for what would surely be a long, hard-fought war. In World War II, brave young United States soldiers made the ultimate sacrifice across the seas on both the European and Pacific fronts. However, the millions of citizens on domestic soil also made countless sacrifices in a national mobilization to support the war effort. People in Nevada and across the nation gave up everyday conveniences and seemingly ordinary items to show their support for the troops. Government agencies instituted tight rationing guidelines on a variety of consumer goods. Perhaps the …

Community Control: Civil Rights Resistance In The Mile High City, Summer Burke

Psi Sigma Siren

Black power in the late 1960s was once blamed for the fall of the civil rights movement. The more militant and abrasive black power approach was mistaken for the alternative civil rights movement, contradictory to the progressive approach of nonviolent marches in the South. However, recent scholarship contextualizing black power and the Black Panthers in particular, restructured this paradigm. This move toward a more inclusive approach to studying black resistance across the country steered The Movement out of the Memphis to Montgomery narrative, and instead provides a more textured understanding of black radicalism as a vital aspect of civil rights …

Parrish, Erin Kate, B. 1989 (Fa 558), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Folklife Archives Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text paper (click on "Additional Files" below) for Folklife Archives Project 558.  Includes interviews conducted by Erin Parrish with James Pennycuff, Shelby Ferrill and James Bray about campaiging for political office in Clinton County, Kentucky.  Also includes campaign ephemera from various informants.

The Perceptions Of Self And Others: Examining The Effect Identity Adoption Has On Immigrant Attitudes Toward Affirmative Action Policies In The United States, Tiffiany O. Howard

Political Science Faculty Research

While there exist several studies devoted to evaluating the political attitudes of US citizens, very little has been done to distinguish between the political attitudes of immigrants and citizens of the same racial or ethnic group. Using data from the Multi-City Study of Urban Inequality, 1992-94, this study evaluates the role identity adoption plays in highlighting the distinctions which exist between the political attitudes of immigrants and those of US citizens from the same racial/ethnic group. The results reveal that despite pronounced cultural distinctions between immigrants and US citizens, in many cases race and ethnicity are important unifiers on opinions …

Impact Of The Economic Downturn On Local Governments In South Carolina, William Tomes

Georgia Journal of Public Policy

Across the country local government revenues have decreased while operating costs such as fuel, materials, equipment, and health insurance costs have significantly increased. In addition to reduced revenues, interest earnings for city and county government investments are low. These factors combined have created a difficult financial arena in which local governments must operate. While economists are reporting signs of economic recovery, many city and county budgets are just now feeling the full brunt of the economic downturn that began in 2008. On a daily basis, news media nationwide report local governments addressing budget deficits by cutting services, eliminating positions, or …

Federal Earmarks In The State Of Georgia, Jeffrey Lazarus

Georgia Journal of Public Policy

Earmarks have been controversial ever since becoming a prominent part of the congressional spending process. Critics charge that earmarks fund projects with little or no economic value (for instance Ted Stevens’ “Bridge to Nowhere,”) but instead allow Congress members to direct government spending to campaign contributors (the charge leading to a federal investigation of the now-defunct lobbying firm PMA Group). On the other side of the controversy, congressional earmarks do fund a number of community improvements which are very valuable, at least locally. In Georgia, the fiscal 2010 appropriations bills included earmarks which allocated $450,000 to update College Park’s emergency …

(Review) Almost Madam President, Why Hillary Clinton “Won” In 2008, By Nichola D. Gutgold, And (Review) Hillary Clinton’S Race For The White House, Gender Politics And The Media On The Campaign Trail, By Regina G. Lawrence And Melody Rose, Maryanne Borrelli

Government and International Relations Faculty Publications

Almost Madam President: Why Hillary Clinton “Won” in 2008. By Nichola D. Gutgold. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books. 2009. 119 pp. $26.95.

Hillary Clinton's Race for the White House: Gender Politics and the Media on the Campaign Trail. By Regina G. Lawrence and Melody Rose. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers. 2010. 277 pp. $26.50.

The Vice Presidential Home State Advantage Reconsidered: Analyzing The Interactive Effect Of Home State Population And Political Experience, 1884-2008, Christopher J. Devine, Kyle C. Kopko

Political Science Faculty Publications

Previous research has found that presidential tickets perform particularly well in a vice presidential candidate's home state when that state is relatively low in population. In this article, we argue that selecting a vice presidential candidate from a small state is not sufficient to produce a large vice presidential home state advantage; rather, state population should matter only insofar as the vice presidential candidate has extensive experience within that state's political system. Analysis of presidential election returns from 1884 through 2008 demonstrates the statistically significant interactive effect of home state population and political experience on the size of the vice …

The Effect Of U.S. State Taxes On State Economic Prosperity, Casey Dainsberg

Political Science Theses and Capstones

Policy makers today are faced with trying to create solutions for economic troubles that become increasingly more complex and foreboding. Tax cuts and tax hikes are proposed and considered as possible solutions to various economic problems. However, the question still remains regarding which policies are most effective. The purpose of this research is to asses these competing claims. It seeks to find evidence that will shed light on one of these views. I have done this by accumulating tax and economic data from the fifty U.S. States between the years 2001-2009. Previous research has concluded that taxes do affect the …

Asian Americans And Politics: Voting Behavior And Political Involvement, Elizabeth Hoene

Political Science Theses and Capstones

Voting behavior and political involvement are two commonly studied topics among political scientists today, most commonly involving Caucasian, African, and Hispanic Americans. However, there have been relatively few studies done on Asian American and Asian immigrant voting behavior and their political involvement. What causes Asian Americans and Asian immigrants to vote the way they do? How involved are they in American politics and why? These are questions that I am aiming to answer through the studying of the Pilot National Asian American Political Survey 2000- 2001 from the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research. Socioeconomic factors such as income, …

I Will Survive, Robert Funk

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Academics do not often quote 70s disco tunes. At least not in print. But if there is one thing that has been striking about the events in Libya in recent weeks—and indeed looking back over decades—it is the sheer ability of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi to survive. He is, perhaps with Fidel Castro, the world’s greatest survivor. He has indeed learned how to carry on.

We Do Indeed Reap What We Sow, Walter Lotze

Human Rights & Human Welfare

When violence first broke out in Tunisia in January 2011, few observers would have predicted that waves of unrest would engulf North Africa and the Arab world. When demonstrations swiftly spread to Algeria, Sudan, Egypt, Yemen, Bahrain, and Jordan, observers hastened to place bets on which regime would be the next to fall. That Hosni Mubarak would be felled next came perhaps as no surprise; Egypt had for years been on a knife’s edge, liberalizing and modernizing society while closing all space for political and social participation. Most analysts then turned their attention to Sudan, Yemen, and Bahrain, predicting that …

Romney And Huntsman: Two Answers To The 'Mormon Question', Nathan B. Oman

Popular Media

No abstract provided.

"Eighteen Million Cracks": Gender's Role In The 2008 Presidential Campaign, Gregory S. Parks, Quinette M. Roberson

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

In light of the 2008 presidential campaign, Gregory S. Parks
and Jeffrey J. Rachlinski wrote an extensive analysis, titled A Better
Metric, likening the campaign to an interview process and hiring
decision for a high-ranking job. Though unpublished, their work
spawned a number of published articles, book chapters, and a book
on the role of unconscious race and gender bias in the evaluations of
President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, and Secretary
of State Hillary Clinton. In light of the analogy between voting and
hiring decisions, this article argues that questions about sexism and
gender bias along the campaign …

A Dangerous Professor Loses A Friendship, Michael C. Vocino

Technical Services Faculty Publications

A brief essay/short story based on the author's experience as a gay university professor and how creative teaching methods ended one of his vital friendships.

Averting War In Northeast Asia: A Proposal 東北アジアでの戦争勃発を防ぐ ––– 一提言, Mel Gurtov

Political Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

While the United States and South Korea consider whether or not to accept North Korea’s call for an “unconditional” return to the Six Party Talks (6PT) or China’s call for multilateral negotiations, Northeast Asia is sliding in the direction of deepening conflict that could lead to war. China-Japan relations, which had been warming since the departure of Koizumi Junichiro, and especially since the victory of the Democratic Party of Japan in 2009, are again in a deep freeze over disputed territory. One consequence is a reorientation of Japan’s defense strategy southward, in the direction of the Senkakus (Diaoyutai). Washington is …

The Giffords Shooting: Who’S The Fall Guy?, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

The author explores the concept of ‘the fall guy’ from a political philosophical perspective.