2008 Conference Program - Midwest Political Science Association

Thursday, April 3-8:00 am
Paper
Paper
Disc.
The Influence of Education on Immigration Attitudes in the
United States
Exaimines the impact of education on the attitudes of Latinos and
non-Latinos concerning immigration policy. The paper finds a
convergence in support for a liberalized immigration policy.
Jason E. Kehrberg, University of Kentucky
jkehrberg@uky.edu
Adam M. Butz, University of Kentucky
abutz@uky.edu
D. Stephen Voss, University of Kentucky
dsvoss@email.uky.edu
Social Desirability Bias in Support for a Black Presidential
Candidate
Using an on-line list experiment, we estimate measures of true
support for a black presidential candidate, and demonstrate variation
in social desirability reporting by demographic groups.
Jennifer A. Heerwig, New York University
ennif@nyu.edu
Brian J. McCabe, New York University
bjmcc@nyu.edu
Matthew S. Levendusky, University of Pennsylvania
mleven@sas.upenn.edu
26-3 CONTEXT AND TURNOUT: AMERICAN AND
COMPARATIVE RESEARCH
Room Salon 8 on the 3rd Floor, Thur at 8:00 am
Chair David Campbell, University of Notre Dame
dave_campbell@nd.edu
Paper Size and Political Participation: A Natural Experiment of
Jurisdictional Consolidation
This paper uses a novel research design to re-examine the causal
effect of jurisdiction size on political participation. Two waves of
municipal consolidation in Denmark, in 1970 and in 2005, provide
exogenous variation in jurisdiction size.
Soren Serritzlew, Aarhus University
soren@ps.au.dk
David Dreyer Lassen, University of Copenhagen
David.Dreyer.Lassen@econ.ku.dk
Paper Voter Turnout Over Time: Decreasing Trends and Possible
Influences
An examination of voter turnout rates over a 34 year period in 24
democratic countries. Rates are found to be decreasing. Statistical
analysis is used to search for impact of factors like electoral system
to search for causes of variance.
Justin Ryan Anderson, Miami University
anders23@muohio.edu
Paper Into the Provinces: Party Competition and Voter Participation
in Canadian Provincial Elections
Using constituency level data from Canadian provincial legislative
elections, the paper tests the relationship between party competition
and voter turnout. Controlling for other factors, multiparty measures
of competition are related to turnout.
Steven E. Galatas, Stephen F. Austin State University
galatasse@sfasu.edu
Paper A Natural Experiment: The Costs of Voting in a School Board
Election
This paper uses the consolidation of polling places in a school
district in New York for its 2006 school board elections to study
how the costs of voting affect voter turnout. It also surveys the
electorate and contrasts different distance measures.
John E. McNulty, Binghamton University
jmcnulty@binghamton.edu
Conor M. Dowling, Binghamton University
cdowling33@gmail.com
Molly Ariotti, Binghamton University
mollyshewrote@gmail.com
Disc.
David Campbell, University of Notre Dame
dave_campbell@nd.edu
27-1 U.S. COVERAGE OF IRAQ
Room Salon 3 on the 3rd Floor, Thur at 8:00 am
Chair Walter C. Soderlund, University of Windsor
akajake@uwindsor.ca
Paper Savior or Betrayer: The Petraeus Narrative and the Iraq War
Endgame
This study examines the frame contest over General Petraeus
and his 2007 congressional progress report as part of the larger
discursive struggle over the endgame narrative about the outcome
and meaning of the Iraq War.
Erika G. King, Grand Valley State University
kinge@gvsu.edu
Robert A. Wells, Thiel College
rwells@thiel.edu
Paper The Tone of American War News from Verdun to Baghdad
This paper compares the evaluative tone of New York Times war
reporting from World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the
Vietnam War, and the Iraq War to shed light on the relationship
between events, casualties, and the negativity of war news.
Scott L. Althaus, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
salthaus@uiuc.edu
Nathaniel Swigger, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
swigger@uiuc.edu
Christopher Tiwald, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
ctiwald2@uiuc.edu
Svitlana Chernykh, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
chernykh@uiuc.edu
David Hendry, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
hendry2@uiuc.edu
Sergio C. Wals, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
swalsap2@uiuc.edu
Paper Whose Views Made the News Media Coverage and the March
to War in Iraq
This paper examines whether media coverage in the months before
the 2003 invasion of Iraq favored the Bush Administration’s views
over others, whether news reports reflected or distorted elite debate,
and whether the media influenced public opinion.
Danny Hayes, Syracuse University
dwhayes@maxwell.syr.edu
Matthew Guardino, Syracuse University
mpguardi@maxwell.syr.edu
Paper Wars and Rumors of Wars: Indexing, Iraq and Iran What has
the Press Learned
After acknowledging that coverage of the run-up to the Iraq
invasion failed to question official narratives while burying
contradictory reports, has the elite media been more independent in
stories on potential U.S. military actions against Iran
Glenn W. Richardson Jr., Kutztown University of Pennsylvania
richards@kutztown.edu
Disc. Anthony Ross DiMaggio, University of Illinois, Chicago
adimag2@uic.edu
28-1 ORIGINS AND IMPLICATIONS OF THE GENDER
GAP
Room UEH 410 on the 4th Floor, Thur at 8:00 am
Chair Brian P. Frederick, Bridgewater State College
brian.frederick@bridgew.edu
Paper The Gender Gap, the Marriage Gap, and their Interaction
This paper will explore differences in voting behavior of males and
females, and those who are married and those who are not. Finally
this paper will discuss if/how marital status affects the gender gap in
voting.
Betty D. Ray, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
bettyray@uwm.edu
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