Narrow Representation? The Impact of Implicitly and Explicitly Racial Issues on Opinion and Representation

My dissertation combines knowledge from the opinion, racial and ethnic politics, and representation literatures to examine Black and Latino opinion and representation on racially salient issues. I theorize that representation of Blacks and Latinos is a narrow representation, much more in line with Black and Latino opinion on issues that are explicitly, rather than implicitly, racial. To test this theory, I build upon the literature by considering intersectional identity and multiple methods of representation. In Chapter 2, I examine two questions: when do income and racial group differences occur on racially salient issues, and if splits occur between respondents of higher and lower incomes according to the racialized nature of the issues, on which type of issues do government outputs respond better to either group? My approach extends Gilens\u27s (2012) method for imputing opinion by income to racial groups. I find income can be an important driver of opinion for not only whites but also Blacks and Latinos. Government outputs on racially salient issues, however, do not seem to follow either Gilens\u27s (2012) findings that high income opinion drives government, or Griffin and Newman\u27s (2008) findings that African Americans experience better government representation on racially salient issues. Rather, Blacks\u27 and Latinos\u27 desire for change does not seem to drive government outputs on implicitly racial issues, and whites\u27 desire for change does not seem to drive government outputs on explicitly racial issues. In Chapter 3, I move to consider descriptive representation and the effects of racially salient issues upon individual legislator responsiveness. Do African American and Latino legislators do a better job of representing low-income African Americans and low-income Latinos on two implicitly racial issues where their opinions are unique? I find that this is largely not the case, although Latino Republicans show some promise. In addition, a sponsorship analysis on both implicitly and explicitly racial issues shows that African American and Latino legislators are more active than other legislators in sponsoring legislation that supports low-income Black and Latino interests on immigration (an explicitly racial issue), but not different from other legislators in their sponsorship behavior for Iraq withdrawal (an implicitly racial issue). Moreover, chapter 3 reveals that large numbers of low-income Blacks and Latinos in districts have no bearing on the behavior of legislators in these analyses, including Black and Latino legislators. Finally, chapter 4 considers committee oversight, examining the influence of Black and Latino committee members, and of early 1990s redistricting, upon explicitly and implicitly racial oversight. Chapter 4 reveals a distinct difference after redistricting for implicitly racial issues, with the number of African American members heavily affecting such oversight after the 103rd Congress. This project builds understanding of racial disadvantage, and how it occurs in government

Mg II Absorption Systems in SDSS QSO Spectra

We present the results of a MgII absorption-line survey using QSO spectra from the SDSS EDR. Over 1,300 doublets with rest equivalent widths greater than 0.3\AA and redshifts $0.366 \le z \le 2.269$ were identified and measured. We find that the $\lambda2796$ rest equivalent width ($W_0^{\lambda2796}$) distribution is described very well by an exponential function $\partial N/\partial W_0^{\lambda2796} = \frac{N^*}{W^*} e^{-\frac{W_0}{W^*}}$, with $N^*=1.187\pm0.052$ and $W^*=0.702\pm0.017$\AA. Previously reported power law fits drastically over-predict the number of strong lines. Extrapolating our exponential fit under-predicts the number of $W_0 \le 0.3$\AA systems, indicating a transition in $dN/dW_0$ near $W_0 \simeq 0.3$\AA. A combination of two exponentials reproduces the observed distribution well, suggesting that MgII absorbers are the superposition of at least two physically distinct populations of absorbing clouds. We also derive a new redshift parameterization for the number density of $W_0^{\lambda2796} \ge 0.3$\AA lines: $N^*=1.001\pm0.132(1+z)^{0.226\pm0.170}$ and $W^*=0.443\pm0.032(1+z)^{0.634\pm 0.097}$\AA. We find that the distribution steepens with decreasing redshift, with $W^*$ decreasing from $0.80\pm0.04$\AA at $z=1.6$ to $0.59\pm0.02$\AA at $z=0.7$. The incidence of moderately strong MgII $\lambda2796$ lines does not show evidence for evolution with redshift. However, lines stronger than $\approx 2$\AA show a decrease relative to the no-evolution prediction with decreasing redshift for $z \lesssim 1$. The evolution is stronger for increasingly stronger lines. Since $W_0$ in saturated absorption lines is an indicator of the velocity spread of the absorbing clouds, we interpret this as an evolution in the kinematic properties of galaxies from moderate to low z.Comment: 50 pages, 26 figures, accepted for publication in Ap

Hierarchical Model for the Evolution of Cloud Complexes

The structure of cloud complexes appears to be well described by a "tree structure" representation when the image is partitioned into "clouds". In this representation, the parent-child relationships are assigned according to containment. Based on this picture, a hierarchical model for the evolution of Cloud Complexes, including star formation, is constructed, that follows the mass evolution of each sub-structure by computing its mass exchange (evaporation or condensation) with its parent and children, which depends on the radiation density at the interphase. For the set of parameters used as a reference model, the system produces IMFs with a maximum at too high mass (~2 M_sun) and the characteristic times for evolution seem too long. We show that these properties can be improved by adjusting model parameters. However, the emphasis here is to illustrate some general properties of this nonlinear model for the star formation process. Notwithstanding the simplifications involved, the model reveals an essential feature that will likely remain if additional physical processes are included. That is: the detailed behavior of the system is very sensitive to variations on the initial and external conditions, suggesting that a "universal" IMF is very unlikely. When an ensemble of IMFs corresponding to a variety of initial or external conditions is examined, the slope of the IMF at high masses shows variations comparable to the range derived from observational data. (Abridged)Comment: Latex, 29 pages, 13 figures, accepted for publication in Ap

Поняття громадського контролю за діяльністю суддів і система суб’єктів його здійснення

The author of the article substantiates the modern tendency of the formation, development and spread of an increasing number of levers and protectors from state’s abuse of power, change of the state’s essence and its purpose in the society. The public and various elements of its control and supervisory activity play a significant role in this. Theoretical aspects of the issue of public control in general or in the context of a certain sphere of state power functioning, in particular are studied. Considering this, the author offers own definition of the category of public control over judges (courts) in Ukraine. The system and the legal status of various public control subjects are briefly characterized, their classification is performed and the place of control over judges among other subjects is determined. It has been established that public control over judges (courts) in Ukraine is the system of statutory measures and procedures implemented by civil society subjects in relation to judges, candidates for judges positions, members of judicial administration and self-government agencies (candidates for these positions), courts as institutions in order to to ensure the conditions for the selection of professional and honest judges, the effective, impartial administration of justice and the objective informing the public about the current state of affairs in the judicial sphere. Summarizing the analysis of the system of public control subjects, their administrative powers and capabilities, the author has noted that their absolute majority, except the Public Integrity Council, is not endowed with real (or at least close to such) levers of influence on the processes in the judicial sector. Accordingly, the purpose of their functioning is reduced to a greater extent to the accumulation, analysis and dissemination of socially important information about courts and judges, to the formation of public resonance on the facts of their not fair practice, other cases of law or professional ethics’ violation.Обоснована современная тенденция становления, развития и распространения всё большего количества рычагов и предохранителей от злоупотребления государством властными полномочиями, изменение сущности государства и его назначения в обществе, значительную роль в чём играют общественность и различные элементы её контрольно-надзорной деятельности. Изучены теоретические аспекты вопроса общественного контроля вообще или в разрезе отдельной сферы функционирования государственной власти в частности, с учётом чего предложено авторское определение категории общественного контроля за судьями (судами) в Украине. Кратко охарактеризованы система и правовой статус различных субъектов общественного контроля, разработана их классификация, определено место среди других субъектов контроля за судьями.Обґрунтовано сучасну тенденцію становлення, розвитку та поширення дедалі більшої кількості важелів і запобіжників від зловживання державою владними повноваженнями, зміни сутності держави та її призначення в суспільстві, значну роль у чому відіграють громадськість та різні елементи її контрольно-наглядової діяльності. Вивчено теоретичні аспекти питання громадського контролю взагалі та в стосовно окремої сфери функціонування державної влади зокрема, з урахуванням чого запропоновано авторське визначення категорії громадського контролю за суддями (судами) в Україні. Стисло охарактеризовано систему та правовий статус різноманітних суб’єктів громадського контролю, розроблено їх класифікацію, визначено їх місце серед інших суб’єктів контролю за суддями