RWU Professor June Speakman Sworn into Rhode Island House of Representatives

Roger Williams University Professor of Political Science June Speakman was sworn in to the Rhode Island House of Representatives by Attorney General Peter F. Neronha on Wednesday, March 13

Who cares about polar regions? Results from a survey of U.S. public opinion

Abstract What do members of the general public know about polar regions, and how much do they care? Who knows or cares? This paper explores data from the General Social Survey (GSS), which in 2006 questioned a representative sample of more than 1800 U.S. adults about their knowledge and opinions concerning polar regions. The polar survey items were modeled on long-running GSS assessments of general science knowledge and opinions, recently summarized in the U.S. National Science Board\u27s report Science and Engineering Indicators 2008. Polar knowledge proves to be limited but certainly not absent among survey respondents. Polar knowledge, general science knowledge, and education - together with individual background characteristics (age, sex, income) - predict policy-relevant opinions. Political orientation filters the impacts of education, and also shows consistent, significant effects across all the polar opinion questions. These 2006 GSS polar results will provide a baseline for comparison when the questions are repeated on a 2010 survey, after the International Polar Year concludes

The constraining role of political culture in the deepening of new democracies: the case of Chile

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with Honors.This paper examines the role of political culture in the development of Chilean democracy as a case study for other third-wave democracies in the Latin American region. The prioritization of political stability during the years of democratic transition - seen as essential by the political elite to prevent the political polarization that led to the 1973 coup d’etat - resulted in limited social reform and the dissatisfaction of the average Chilean with his political parties. Differences in the political culture of the political elite and at the mass level resulted in a delegitimization of democracy for the average citizen. The Chilean case highlights a growing issue of representation in Latin America and a general loss of faith in the democratic project

Parameterized Algorithmics for Computational Social Choice: Nine Research Challenges

Computational Social Choice is an interdisciplinary research area involving Economics, Political Science, and Social Science on the one side, and Mathematics and Computer Science (including Artificial Intelligence and Multiagent Systems) on the other side. Typical computational problems studied in this field include the vulnerability of voting procedures against attacks, or preference aggregation in multi-agent systems. Parameterized Algorithmics is a subfield of Theoretical Computer Science seeking to exploit meaningful problem-specific parameters in order to identify tractable special cases of in general computationally hard problems. In this paper, we propose nine of our favorite research challenges concerning the parameterized complexity of problems appearing in this context

Two houses: legislative studies and the Atlantic divide

Legislative scholars have a history of stepping back occasionally to examine the development and state of the sub-discipline (Budge 1973; Gamm and Huber 2002; Loewenberg, Patterson, and Jewell 1985; Mezey 1993; Morris-Jones 1983; Pasquino 1973; Patterson 1989). Many of these existing reviews, although valuable, are predominantly of a qualitative and subjective nature and are, in most cases, now dated. This paper provides a bibliometrical analysis of the state of legislative studies in the United States and Europe by exploring the content of eight political science journals. I looked at six general political science journals, three originating in the United States and three in Europe, as well as the content of two legislative studies journals—the American-based Legislative Studies Quarterly and the British-based Journal of Legislative Studies

The Politics of Non-Recognition

Palgrave Studies in International Relations Series General Editors: Knud Erik Jørgensen, Department of Political Science, University of Aarhus, Denmark Audie Klotz, Department of Political Science, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public  ..

Are Biological Science Knowledge, Interests, and Science Identity Framed by Religious and Political Perspectives in the United States?

Science trust and views of science differ by political and religious orientations. In this study we examine whether political and religious perspectives are also associated with biological science knowledge, science interest, and general science identity. Results show that conservative Protestants have lower biological science knowledge than other religious groups on several specific topics. Party affiliation is associated with vaccine knowledge but not science interest and identity. Adjusting for demographic characteristics explains some political and religious group differences, but not all. We discuss implications regarding attention to potential political and religious framings of science topics in public education efforts

Science, scientists, and local weather: Understanding mass perceptions of global warming

Objective: To explore the effects of long-term climate trends and short-term weather fluctuations, evaluations of scientists and science, political predispositions, religious affiliation, the information environment, and demographic attributes on individuals’ views about whether global warming exists and, if so, whether it is a result of natural cycles or human activity. Methods: We use data from the 2009 Pew General Public Science Survey, along with data on long- and short-term patterns of temperature and precipitation in individuals’ home communities. Results: We find that long-term trends in summer temperatures influence perceptions of global warming. Individuals who reside in communities with long-term warming of summer temperatures that are coupled with long-term cooling of spring temperatures are significantly more likely to perceive that global warming exists and is due to human activity. We also find that Americans\u27 attitudes toward scientists and science, political dispositions, evangelical religious affiliation, education, and some demographic attributes all have discernible effects on their perceptions of anthropogenic (man-made) global warming. Conclusion: Individuals’ attitudes toward global warming are influenced by long-term temperature trends in their home communities, as well as a variety of attitudinal and demographic attributes

Political Science Collection Development Policy

The political science collection supports the teaching, learning, research, needs for political information, international exchanges and communications, and other related service activities of the entire university community. Its primary users are faculty, staff, and students of the Department of Political Science in the College of Arts and Sciences. Its essential focus is support for the undergraduate and graduate curricula for political science. The collection is supplemented through interlibrary loan services whenever special curriculum and research needs of political science faculty and students arise. Although the collection is not developed for the general public and community users, they may benefit from the collection for their information needs. The main focus of the collection are works classified in Library of Congress call numbers J (Political Science) and K (Law), however, curriculum and research needs of political science are substantially supported by works classified in philosophy, history, and other areas in social science