Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Robert Putnam’s well-received book Bowling Alone (2000) described an important social transformation that took place in the United States in the late twentieth century. Using a variety of indicators, Putnam documented a widespread disengagement from public and civic life among Americans, a trend that he attributed in large part to the growth of televised entertainment. The thesis of this study is that Putnam was correct about the disengagement of Americans, but that he overlooked a critical cause. Using data from a variety of sources, the analysis demonstrates a close connection between fear of crime and social disengagement, and shows that Americans’ retreat to the home followed large increases in official crime rates and public fear of crime in the United States. The ties to crime are also evident in the growth of gated communities, parental restrictions on children, the rise of the home security industry, and in numerous other ways. Although television clearly facilitated the social isolation of Americans, it appears that television came on the scene at just the time the public was prepared to adopt it.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: This paper answers the following question: Under what conditions are states more likely to repeal disfranchisement provisions pertaining to the voting rights of persons convicted of a felony? We also address two broader questions: (1) Do parties seek electoral gain by changing the electoral system and voting laws? And (2) do parties override the ideological preferences of constituents in order to advance their electoral agenda? The answer to both questions is 'yes'. We find that disfranchisement provisions are more likely to be repealed under a unified Democratic state government, but that states where electoral support for Democrats is generally weak are also more likely to repeal such provisions. We find no evidence that citizen ideology effects changes in voting rights. The implications of our analysis for students of parties and voting rights are clear: Rules are changed by those who stand to benefit, and parties matter at the state level.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: This paper offers a (partial) defense of negative advertising in presidential elections. This defense involves theoretical and normative arguments supported by a content analysis of presidential ads aired on television since 1960.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: Zero tolerance school discipline policies throughout the 1990s sought to re-establish order in schools rife with violence, weapons, and drugs. Also in the 1990s, disabled youth gained expanded rights to a guaranteed free public education. The conflicting logic between rationalization/centralization of organizational rules (zero tolerance) and expanded individual freedom (student rights) opened a new arena for legal contestation. We advance the concept of a “court climate” to understand the external pressures educational institutions face as they attempt to adopt rational rules for discipline. We analyze 1,976 state and federal appellate court cases involving student/school conflicts over school discipline. Results suggest that policy changes in the 1990s preceded an upsurge of school discipline lawsuits not seen since the early 1970s, perhaps due to increased uncertainty over appropriate school discipline. Subsequent multivariate analyses will establish how courts mediated the conflict between rationalization and rights and the implications for educational institutions and other organizations.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: There has been much speculation and debate concerning the frequency of political participation among African-American young adults today and how it has changed since the civil rights era. However, little is empirically known about this group’s level of political participation or the forces that influence their involvement. This study examines African-American young people’s levels of political involvement from 1960 to 1998. It relates large-scale social and economic changes to variations in political participation for a sample of African-American young adults taken from the American National Elections Studies Cumulative Data File, 1948-1998. Respondents were divided into two subsamples: the protest and hip-hop generation. Logistic regression analysis is employed to ascertain the relative strength of the effects of racial affinity and socioeconomic status on African-American young adult’s political activities, as well as the role of each in political change.
Comparisons between African-American young adults in the 1960s – 1970s with those in the 1980s – 1990s show a drop in political participation. This study shows that despite raising levels of social and economic status among African-American young adults the effect of social class on political involvement declined. Collectively, these findings suggest that a full understanding of change or the lack thereof in political participation among African-American young adults over the past 30 to 40 years needs to take into account changes in their objective circumstances, changes in their levels of psychological engagement, and changes in how each of these factors affect political involvement.