36 research outputs found
State Court Evasion of United Sates Supreme Court Mandates During the Last Decade of the Warren Court
The impact of presidential coattails on congressional races in the Midwest
Includes bibliographical references.This thesis is primarily concerned with the impact of presidential coattails on congressional election in twelve Midwestern states from 1952 through 1964. The main objective of this study was to discover where presidential coattails were operative and the reasons why. Aggregate data derived from official returns provided the necessary data for analysis. Findings in this study indicated the “pulling power” of the victories presidential candidate was strongest where his part locally was weakest. The presidential influence was also significant in marginal districts especially those already held by the winning party. Approximately half of the congressional seats switching parties between 1952 and 1961 occurred in these districts. Most districts followed the expected national trend, i.e., the congressional candidates of the victorious presidential candidate scored vote percentage gains in presidential years, but suffered percentage losses at midterm. Candidates most successful in districts not following the expected national trend were incumbent congressmen running for their second term. An analysis was also conducted to determine what variables seem to produce the strongest presidential coattail influence. Districts permitting easy straight ticket voting were more influenced by the presidential tide than those which made straight ticket voting more difficult. Findings suggested that the lower educated, non-whites, Catholics, blue collar urban residents living in rented homes comprised the model straight ticket voter most susceptible to presidential influence. Their impact on congressional elections, however, was definitely limited by their sporadic participation in politics and their concentration in predominately "safe" Democratic districts. Although this study indicated that increased nationalization of American politics may enhance the electoral foundation for party conhesion, it also noted a paradoxical trend of rising split ticket voting that may well undermine any semblance of a more responsible party system in the future.M.A. (Master of Arts
Cryptic habitat use of white sharks in kelp forest revealed by animal-borne video
Traditional forms of marine wildlife research are often restricted to coarse telemetry or surface-based observations, limiting information on fine-scale behaviours such as predator–prey events and interactions with habitat features. We use contemporary animal-attached cameras with motion sensing dataloggers, to reveal novel behaviours by white sharks, Carcharodon carcharias, within areas of kelp forest in South Africa. All white sharks tagged in this study spent time adjacent to kelp forests, with several moving throughout densely kelp-covered areas, navigating through channels and pushing directly through stipes and fronds. We found that activity and turning rates significantly increased within kelp forest. Over 28 h of video data revealed that white shark encounters with Cape fur seals, Arctocephalus pusillus pusillus, occurred exclusively within kelp forests, with seals displaying predator evasion behaviour during those encounters. Uniquely, we reveal the use of kelp forest habitat by white sharks, previously assumed inaccessible to these large predators.publishe