2006 Conference Program - Midwest Political Science Association

PaperPaperDisc.Equal Employment Opportunity: An Idea Whose Time HasComeMitzi Ramos, University of Illinois, ChicagoOverview: This work unites Charles Lindblom’s incrementalmodel and John Kingdon’s policymaking model in examiningthe emergence of Equal Employment Opportunity policy andthe multiple factors leading to the passage of Title VII of the1964 Civil Rights Act.Racism as Effective Public Policy EpistemologyAdrian J. Lottie, Eastern Michigan UniversityOverview: This paper examines racism as a source ofknowledge. It looks at the epistemological strengths of racismas historically exhibited and gleans lessons for future publicpolicies in a variety of arenas.Erin O'Brien, Kent State UniversityRegina Bratton, Rice University41-3 TRENDS IN EDUCATION POLICYRoomChairPaperPaperPaperPaperPaperDisc.TBA, Sun 8:30 amTerry S. Weiner, Union CollegeWhy States Support Charter SchoolsBryan T. Shelly, Wake Forest UniversityOverview: This paper examines which factors make states morelikely to adopt charter schools.Private Higher Education in the Persian Gulf: TheExperience of KuwaitChristian B. Hummel, College of Saint Benedict/Saint John'sUniversityGina E. Cinali, Gulf University of Science and TechnologyOverview: Building on four years of combined fieldwork in theGulf, this paper examines the emergence of private institutionsof higher education in the Persian Gulf with a particular focuson new "American-style" universities in Kuwait.Outcomes and Quality of Alternative Early EducationPoliciesDana K. Rickman, Georgia State UniversityGary T. Henry, Georgia State UniversityCraig S. Gordon, Gordon HoldingsOverview: The fragmentation of early education programs isutilized to compare the service quality and children’sdevelopmental outcomes of low income students enrolled in atargeted Head Start program and the state-run universal Pre-KProgram in Georgia.The UK Education System: Access to Children With SpecialEducational NeedsLisa Nitti, University College of LondonOverview: Representational democracy in the United Kingdomelects professional groups to enact special educational policies.The civic voluntarism model explains the existence ofparticipatory inequalties in parental groups. Recommendationsare provided.Teaching Evolution: State Institutions, Public Opinion, andScience CurriculumsMichael B. Berkman, Pennsylvania State UniversityEric Plutzer, Pennsylvania State UniversityNicholas Stark, Pennsylvania State UniversityOverview: We rate each state's biology curriculum based onhow closely it adheres to the most rigorous standards forteaching evolution and model differences across the states withan emphasis on state institutions and public policy.Jal D. Mehta, Harvard UniversityRachel A. Fulcher Dawson, Michigan State University43-1 COURTS AND BUREAUCRACY (Cosponsoredwith Judicial Politics, see 36-21)RoomChairPaperPaperPaperPaperDisc.TBA, Sun 8:30 amStefanie Lindquist, Vanderbilt UniversityA Tale of Two Values:The Conflict of Equity and Efficiencyin New York's Administrative Law Tribunal ProcessDanette Brickman, John Jay College of Criminal Justice,CUNYWarren Eller, Bush School of Government and Public ServiceOverview: This paper addresses the Administrative LawTribunal process in New York and focuses on the structuraldynamics of the system as they relate to systemic equity,overhead control and accountability.Congress’ Regulatory Control of Business: The Efficacy ofCivil Rights Litigation in Achieving Regulatory ComplianceSean Farhang, University of California, BerkeleyOverview: TBAAt-Will Employment in the Public Sector and StateAppellate Courts: Exploring the Nexus Between Law,Politics, and Public AdministrationStephen L. Nelson, University of UtahOverview: This project collects and reviews state appellatecourt opinions in at-will employment cases involving state andlocal governments. The most important feature of this data isnot the ultimate outcome or holding of the cases.Judicial Uncertainty and Antitrust ProsecutionQuan Li, Texas A&M UniversityOverview: This article develops a theory of judicial impact onbureaucratic prosecution and tests it with Antitrust Divisionlitigation data from 1950 to 1994.Stephanie Lindquist, Vanderbilt University46-1 EDUCATIONAL CULTURESRoomChairPaperPaperPaperPaperDisc.TBA, Sun 8:30 amDavid M. Dolence, Cuyahoga Community CollegeThe Local as the Site of the Other: The Role of Teachers inNegotiating Intersubjective MeaningShervin Malekzadeh, Georgetown UniversityOverview: Cultural dissonance is increasingly a local affair,making withdrawal from the site of encounter difficult. There isno choice but to find, or build, a way across the discursivedivide if state and society are to hold.Cultural Frames, Institutions, and Space in the SchoolReform MovementLuis C. Martos, Harvard UniversityOverview: In my prospectus, I suggest a theory and method tounderstand the effect of the 1988 and 1995 School Reform Actsin Chicago on how Local School Council members in fourdifferent neighborhoods understand education and politicalinvolvement.The Culture of Learning in the Context of GlobalizationBarbara A. Strassberg, Aurora UniversityOverview: The paper focuses on the transformations of theculture of learning in the context of processes of globalization,as well as the competition of various regions of the world forhegemony in the new emerging world-system.Children’s Bioethics: Participatory Citizenship and theRight to IdentityMaya Sabatello, University of Southern CaliforniaOverview: Focusing on traditional and modern biomedicalpractices, I explore the international bio-political discourse onthe child’s right to identity, in view of concepts such as socialagency, participatory citizenship and children’s rights.Tanner J. McFadden, University of Chicago258