2006 Conference Program - Midwest Political Science Association

43-7 DECISION MAKING IN BUREAUCRACIES(Co-sponsored with Midwest PublicAdministration Caucus, see 56-3)RoomChairPaperPaperPaperPaperDisc.TBA, Sat 8:30 amLawrence S. Rothenberg, University of RochesterA Dynamic Model of NLRB Commissioner PreferencesEric D. Hurst, Georgia State UniversityDavid C. Nixon, Georgia State UniversityCole Taratoot, Georgia State UniversityOverview: I model the stability of NLRB Commissioners' idealpoints over time, using Markov Chain Monte Carlo methodsand a Bayesian model of ideal point estimation.The Role of Information Among Policy ElitesMark Perry, University of PittsburghOverview: Questions exist regarding the use of information inthe policy process. This study utilizes network text analysis todetermine what kinds of cognitive maps are evident in thewritten rationale of the FCC commissioners in broadcastownership policy.Assessing Specialization: The Role of Policy Domain andDecision-MakingStephen A. Sargent, Texas A&M UniversityOverview: This study will research whether there are observabledifferences between decision-makers with multi and singlepolicydomains. The results will contribute information to thebureaucracy literature on how specialization affects decisionmaking.Constructing Dynamic Measures of Bureaucratic Discretionin the StatesJunseok Kim, Gyeonggi Research InstituteOverview: 1. Introduction; 2. Literature review on bureaucraticdiscretion; 3. Examining empirical measures of bureaucraticdiscretion in previous studies; 4. Constructing the measures ofbureaucratic discretion; 5. Empirical Testings; 6. ConclusionAnthony Bertelli, University of Georgia44-8 RACE, LABOR, AND CITIZENSHIPRoomChairPaperPaperPaperPaperPaperDisc.TBA, Sat 8:30 amDorian T. Warren, University of ChicagoThe Construction of an Extra-Constitutional U.S. Citizen inPuerto Rico: A Reconsideration of the Jones Act of 1917Carlos Figueroa, New School for Social ResearchOverview: Paper reconsiders the extra-constitutional UScitizenship that took shape with the passage of the Jones Act(1917) and explores the Act in light of the larger historicalcontext of American immigration and nationality discourse inthe 1900-1920's.Making the Historical Legacies of American Racism VisiblePaul Frymer, University of California, Santa CruzMark Sawyer, University of California, Los AngelesOverview: TBARace, the Degeneration of the CIO, and the Shaping ofAmerican PoliticsMichael Goldfield, Wayne State UniversityOverview: Focuses on race, CIO, and American politics.Hotspots in a Cold War: The NAACP, Labor, and the Law-Politics DistinctionSophia Z. Lee, Yale UniversityOverview: "Hotspots" uses the NAACP's postwar constitutionallitigation in front of the National Labor Relations Board toquestion the boundary traditionally drawn between law andpolitics and to revise the narrative of postwar civil rights.The Racial Politics of New Deal Americanism: BlackSubordination in the UAWCharles Williams, The Ohio State UniversityOverview: Against current views of civic nationalism as awholly democratizing ideology, this paper explores how thediscourse both advanced formal racial equality and opposedmore radical challenges to racism in the context of New Dealpolitics and the UAW.Dorian T. Warren, University of Chicago44-103 MEET THE AUTHOR: RUTH O'BRIENRoomPanelistTBA, Sat 8:30 amEileen McDonagh, Northeastern UniversityRuth O'Brien, Graduate School, CUNYJudith Baer, Texas A&M UniversityBradley Macdonald, Colorado State UniversityGretchen Ritter, University of Texas, AustinOverview: This panel will discuss Ruth O'Brien's provocativenew book, Bodies in Revolt.46-6 NEW FINDINGS ON SOCIAL CAPITALRoomChairPaperPaperPaperPaperDisc.TBA, Sat 8:30 amAmy Widestrom, Syracuse UniversityDifferent Tiers of Social Lives in PoliticsHyun J. Yun, University of FloridaDavid Hedge, University of FloridaRenee J. Johnson, University of FloridaOverview: The study finds causations between the micro levelof individuals' social capital and the macro level of politics,correlations among different tiers of social capital, andcombined effects of social capital elements at the macropolitical life.Accidents, Claiming, and Regional SubculturesJackson Williams, AARP Public Policy InstituteOverview: Social capital theory is applied to state-levelvariations in safety and personal injury claiming. Data onmedical errors in hospitals, auto safety, and claim paymentsshow a pattern corresponding to Elazar’s regional politicalcultures.Voluntary Association Activity in Quebec and EnglishCanada: Assessing the Combined Effects of Language andRegionMonica Hwang, University of WaterlooRobert Andersen, McMaster UniversityEdward G. Grabb, University of Western OntarioOverview: This study shows that Quebecers have lower levelsof voluntary association membership than other Canadians,using 2000 national survey data. This is mainly true of FrenchspeakingQuebecers, not all Quebecers.Social Capital and Government Performance in AmericanCountiesJohn R. Tennert, Virginia Tech UniversityOverview: Focusing on county government in the United States,this study will evaluate a series of hypotheses testing therelationship between social capital (trust, optimism and civicengagement) and government performance.Amy Widestrom, Syracuse University47-9 RELIGION AND POLITICS IN AFRICARoomChairPaperPaperPaperDisc.TBA, Sat 8:30 amFrank P. Le Veness, St. John's UniversityPolitics and Faith: Why Religion Matters in Cote d'IvoireBut Not BurkinaJohn F. McCauley, University of California, Los AngelesOverview: Using original data, this study shows that individualsin Cote d'Ivoire are much more likely than their neighbors inBurkina Faso to identify themselves in religious terms. This isdue to the political salience of religion in Cote d'Ivoire.Under Politics and ReligionSantosh C. Saha, Mount Union CollegeOverview: "African Sense of National Identity and StateBuilding: Accommodation between Ethnicity and the State",challenging the conventional wisdom that suggests that theethnic conflict is intractactable.Democratization: African Female Political Behaviors inIslam and ChristianityVirginia P. Beard, Michigan State UniversityOverview: Are Islam and Christianity driving forces indemocratic orientations among African women? This paper asksif adherence to Islam or Christianity, within the context of otherfactors, helps to explain African women’s political behaviors.Michael D. McGinnis, Indiana University, Bloomington201