Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: In this paper, we examine whether the war propensity of reversed democracies – those autocratic regimes with previous experience as democracies – differs from the behavior of other authoritarian states. If the normative explanations for the democratic peace are accurate, then the conflict-inhibiting principles inherent to democracy ought to survive, at least to a certain extent, the transition to authoritarianism. If this is indeed the case, these norms should continue to exert a pacifying effect in interactions between democracies and reversed democracies. As such, our argument constitutes a test of an important and heretofore overlooked observable implication of normative explanations of the democratic peace. After reviewing the institutional and normative theories of the democratic peace, we develop our theory concerning reversed democracies and devise testable hypotheses from it. Then, examining the expected probabilities for war in dyads with at least one democracy and using the rare-effects logistic regression technique, we test our theory. The results, particularly in the post-World War II era, are supportive of the claim that prior democratic experience and residual democratic norms continue to lessen the war propensity of reversed democracies. To explore our primary causal claims further, we conclude with two brief case studies of reversed democracies in Weimar Germany and Imperial Japan.

Publication Type: Research Report
Abstract: Two teaching experiments were conducted in calculus classes in a large public university. Prior to the experiments, an initial conceptual framework was developed based on a mathematical decomposition of the Riemann sum definition of the definite integral in four layers: product, summation, limit, and function. Several of the layers also include sublayers that illustrate various ways of thinking about each layer. Analysis of the data from the teaching experiments guided modification of the framework to also reflect the cognitive development of students. Data shows that students successfully assimilated the integral structure into a previously constructed limit structure, via approximations. Their struggles were concentrated in areas where the Riemann sum structure departed from the limit structures students had previously encountered.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: In the wake of the divisive Democratic primary between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, many exit polls indicated that Clinton voters would either forego voting in the 2008 general election, or defect to the Republican nominee John McCain -- a potentially damaging trend for Obama's prospects of winning. In this paper, we look at support for Obama among different segments of the Democratic electorate, both in terms of voting and other participatory acts. Focusing on Ohio's Franklin County -- a county touted for its general representativeness of the American public (Hawkings and Nutting 2003) and featured in other prominent political science studies (Lacy 2001) -- we first examine individual-level turnout data and precinct-level results to ascertain whether these fears were realized. Next, to the extent that Clinton supporters were converted into Obama supporters, we examine the nature of this support. Utilizing an original geocoded dataset of participatory acts in Franklin County, we gauge the level of symbolic participation (e.g. yard signs, bumper stickers) in Obama and Clinton primary strong-holds, tracing both dynamic and spatial patterns in these participatory acts.

Publication Type: Symposium Paper
Abstract: This study was an initial investigation of educational outcomes for formerly incarcerated female adolescents. Participants were 102 previously incarcerated female juvenile offenders who had been released from a juvenile correctional facility for at least 6 months. Although youth’s educational characteristics suggested they were at great risk for academic failure, 37.2% had received a GED or high school diploma. Logistic regression analyses revealed significant effects of age, past academic achievement, special education experience, and perceptions of opportunity on academic attainment by late adolescence, all in expected directions. Implications for prevention and intervention are discussed.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: In this paper, we explore the effects of previous democratic experience on the conflict behavior of autocratic states. We find that these reversed democracies – autocratic states with prior periods of democratic governance – are less likely to go to war against democracies than other autocratic states. To explain this result, we develop a theoretical framework that integrates the institutional and normative legacies of previous governance, what we call the “footprint,” and the strength of the international democratic community. These two factors combine to constrain states’ conflict behavior, exerting a particularly strong effect on autocracies with previous democratic experience. The findings have important implications for the democratic peace literature, highlighting the need for better micro-level theory building to identify the causal mechanisms that produce the separate peace among democracies. Furthermore, our argument contributes to the emerging literature on the conflict behavior of autocratic states, providing an analytically useful means of distinguishing among different types of autocracies in order to better explain their varying behavior on the international scene.