2006 Conference Program - Midwest Political Science Association

Disc.cities, arguing that better measures of diversity are needed andeffects on different racial groups need to be analyzed separatelyBrian Reed, Millikin University24-7 MEDIA EFFECTS IN THE STATESRoomChairPaperPaperPaperDisc.TBA, Thur 3:45 pmSara M. Gubala, Michigan State UniversityTurning Purple? How Blue Candidates Deal with RedStates and Vice VersaBrian K. Arbour, University of Texas, AustinLaura Barberena, University of Texas, AustinErnest McGowen, University of Texas,AustinOverview: A paper examining the different images and rhetoricused by parties and candidates in electoral advertisements.Special attention given to issues owned by a particular party andany variability in message these or other factors produce.The Web of Candidates and Parties: Internet Functionalityin the 2004 ElectionDiana T. Cohen, University of FloridaOverview: This paper explores how state parties and Senatecandidates utilized the Web in electoral strategy during the 2004election, including what purposes the Internet served and whatWeb-based tools were found most effective.Majoritarian Media: Evidence from the American StatesMicah D. Weinberg, University of North Carolina, Chapel HillOverview: Using the American states as a test case, this studyestablishes the conditions under which we should expect themedia to improve the connection between public opinion andpublic policy and hence promote democratic policy outcomes.Philip D, Habel, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign24-301 POSTER SESSION: MASS MEDIA ANDPOLITICAL COMMUNICATIONPresenter New Literacy and Political CommunicationRoom TBA, Board 1, Thur 3:45 pmStephen C. Brooks, University of AkronOverview: This essay considers the study of the new use ofinformation (new literacy) to understand changes in politicalcommunication for the future. It also recommends how scholarscan use new literacy as a lens to study changing trends in ourfield.Presenter The Da Vinci Code Effect: Leo Strauss, the Neocons and theParanoid StyleRoom TBA, Board 2, Thur 3:45 pmNathan D. Abrams, University of AberdeenOverview: This paper will analyse the uses to which LeoStrauss and the neocons have been put since September 11,2001 in order to understand the workings of American politicalculture -- and the use and abuses of ideas along the wholepolitical spectrum.Presenter Obituaries as Sources of Political InformationRoom TBA, Board 3, Thur 3:45 pmShannon I. Smithey, Westminster CollegeOverview: 60 years worth of obituaries are analyzed to trackpolitical events as well as individuals' political interests andaffiliations.Presenter The Story in a Story: The Impact of Picture Sequences inNewspaper Articles on Candidate EvaluationRoom TBA, Board 4, Thur 3:45 pmJurgen Maier, Kaiserslautern University of TechnologyOverview: This experimental study used data from twouniversities in Germany and the United States and analyzes theimpact of different picture sequences on the evaluation ofpoliticians.Presenter Newspapers and the Provision of Political Source CuesRoomTBA, Board 5, Thur 3:45 pmDavid Schwieder, Susquehanna UniversityOverview: My paper supplements existing work on heuristicreasoning by examining the provision of heuristic source cues innewspaper stories on politics. I find that the "source cueenvironment" in newspapers facilitates successful source cuebased reasoningPresenter Television and Voter TurnoutRoom TBA, Board 6, Thur 3:45 pmMatthew A. Gentzkow, University of ChicagoOverview: I use variation across markets in the timing oftelevision's introduction to identify its impact on voter turnout.The estimated effect is significantly negative, accounting forbetween a quarter and a half of the decline in turnout since the1950s.25-3 EXPLAINING GENDER DIFFERENCES INPOLITICAL ENGAGEMENTRoomChairPaperPaperPaperPaperPaperDisc.TBA, Thur 3:45 pmSherry L. Martin, Cornell UniversityAre Girls Checking Out? Gender and Political SocializationinTransitioning DemocraciesSuzanne Soule, Center for Civic EducationJennifer Nairne, Center for Civic EducationOverview: Studies have shown that this gender gap appearsearly in the life cycle, as early as adolescence. I will use datafrom transitioning democracies to examine gender differencesamong adolescents' political attitudes, interest and engagement.Exploring the Dynamics of the Gender Gap in Efficacy andParticipationNadia Khatib, Stony Brook UniversityErin C. Cassese, Stony Brook UniversityOverview: In this study, we employ the 2000-2004 NES panelstudy to evaluate the determinants of both efficacy andparticipation, as well as the relationship between these criticalconstructs, and the consistency of these relationships acrossgender groups.Understanding Gender Differences in Political InterestDebra A. Horner, University of Michigan, Ann ArborOverview: This research explores the “gender gap” in politicalinterest by analyzing the differences in how men and womendefine political interest--from a taste for politics to a sense ofstake in outcomes.Gender Differences in Political Knowledge: DistinguishingCharacteristics-Based and Returns-Based DifferencesJay K. Dow, University of Missouri, ColumbiaKenneth Troske, University of KentuckyOverview: We use the Oaxaca decomposition methodology toassess whether gender based differences in political knowledgeprimarily result from differences in observable attributes ordifferences in returns for otherwise equivalent characteristics.Family Socialization, Gender Differences, and PoliticalInterest in ChinaRobert Harmel, Texas A&M UniversityWei Shan, Texas A&M UniversityOverview: Unlike most extant studies of gender differences onpolitical attitudes in China, which tend to seek explanation fromrespondents' own socioeconomic background and status, thisstudy posits and finds a significant role for family socialization.Elizabeth S. Smith, Furman UniversitySherry L. Martin, Cornell University25-102 LECTURE: TEACHING CASE STUDIESON WOMEN AND PUBLIC POLICY (Cosponsoredwith Teaching Political Science andMidwest Women's Caucus, see 48-104 and 49-107)Room TBA, Thur 3:45 pmLecturer Sally J. Kenney, University of MinnesotaOverview: A workshop designed to introduce participants to thecase study method, how to find cases and instructionalmaterials, and the Center on Women and Public Policy's casestudy program119