scholarly journals The Study of Independent Voters

More Americans identify as Independent than as Republican or Democrat. Who are Independents and how do they impact American politics? This question does not have a clear-cut answer. On the one hand, American Independents are pursued by media and politicians for their (perceived) nonpartisan behavior and their ability to swing elections. On the other hand, Independents are ignored for their low political engagement and dismissed as “closet partisans.” As a result, many analyses of American voters either remove Independents entirely or combine leaners—those Independents who admit feeling closer toward one party or the other—with weak partisans. This puts Independents and the researchers who study them in a strange position as we attempt to understand the role of Independent voters in American politics. The debate about whether Independent leaners are truly independent or whether they are “closet partisans” dominates the literature, but a thorough review of the evidence reveals many interesting findings and generates many interesting research questions surrounding the motivations for an Independent identity and its consequences. We address the who, how, why, and where of Independent voters: Who Are Independents? discusses Measurement of Party Identity and Independence, Partisan Dealignment, and Demographics of Independent Voters; How Do Independents Behave? discusses Voting, Political Interest and Engagement, and Implicit Attitudes and Intergroup Bias; Why Identify As Independent? discusses intrapersonal and interpersonal motivations for identifying as Independent; and Where Do We Go From Here? suggests common practices for researchers to enhance the study of Independent voters.

2004 ◽  
Vol 18 ◽  
pp. 87-113
Author(s):  
Marta Ungermanová

This paper describes the syntactic properties of three types of locative complements in Czech that are compatible with verbs of movement. The distinction between these complements (each with its own interpretation) is made in the first place on the basis of several formal criteria (in particular, involving the rich Czech morphology), and, in addition, on semantic criteria. It is examined whether there exists sufficient correspondence between these criteria, and in particular, to what extent they can satisfactorily classify locative complements into essential and circumstantial ones. It is shown that there is no clear-cut distinction between these two categories of locative complements with Czech movement verbs. Furthermore, the syntactic role of the locative complements is shown to depend mainly on the verb, but also on other elements of the sentence. Finally, on the basis of several examples, it is argued that, on the one hand, the form of the complement does not predict its syntactic role and interpretation and, on the other hand, that two different forms can share the same syntactic role and interpretation.


Religions ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 406
Author(s):  
Antje Schnoor

The paper sheds light on the transatlantic theological discourse during the emergence of liberation theology. It conceptualizes this discourse as a transatlantic communication process reframing it as a transfer and translation of ideas and concepts. Starting from this perspective, I prove the assumption that the transatlantic theological discourse reflected a Latin American claim to academic equity and I show that European reactions to liberation theology implied answers to that claim. As the focus is on the relationship between Latin America and Europe, the article illustrates the significant role of relationships marked by different forms of dependency (economic, political, intellectual) in the development of liberation theology. Furthermore, the paper argues that for a deeper understanding, it is misleading to speak about Latin American theologians on the one hand and European theologians on the other hand, as if it was about clear-cut groups with homogenous motivations, positions, and goals. On the contrary, there were advocates and opponents of liberation theology on both sides of the Atlantic who moreover formed transatlantic alliances. The paper calls those theologians cultural brokers, since they communicated and mediated across the Atlantic.


2020 ◽  
pp. 93-122
Author(s):  
Sandra Halperin ◽  
Oliver Heath

This chapter deals with the first step of the research process: the formulation of a well-crafted research question. It explains why political research should begin with a research question and how a research question structures the research process. It discusses the difference between a topic or general question, on the one hand, and a focused research question, on the other. It also considers the question of where to find and how to formulate research questions, the various types of questions scholars ask, and the role of the ‘literature review’ as a source and rationale for research questions. Finally, it describes a tool called the ‘research vase’ that provides a visualization of the research process, along with different types of questions: descriptive, explanatory, predictive, prescriptive, and normative.


Author(s):  
Sandra Halperin ◽  
Oliver Heath

This chapter deals with the first step of the research process: the formulation of a well-crafted research question. It explains why political research should begin with a research question and how a research question structures the research process. It discusses the difference between a topic or general question, on the one hand, and a focused research question, on the other. It also considers the question of where to find and how to formulate research questions, the various types of questions scholars ask, and the role of the ‘literature review’ as a source and rationale for research questions. Finally, it describes a tool called the ‘research vase’ that provides a visualization of the research process, along with different types of questions: descriptive question, explanatory question, predictive question, prescriptive question and normative question.


2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
MIKI KANEDA

AbstractFocusing on a multimedia practice labelled ‘intermedia art’, this article shows how experimental musical practices complicate popular characterizations of the idea of politics in 1960s Japan that are polarized by their focus on extraordinary economic growth, on the one hand, and radical protest, on the other. Like their counterparts in art, experimental musicians and artists such as Shiomi Mieko, Kosugi Takehisa, and Yuasa Jōji took an interest in everyday sounds, spaces, and technologies as sites for artistic exploration. However, their musical approaches did not share the overtly political engagement with the scenes of protest playing out in the public sphere that played a central role in the visual arts. Through an investigation of the notion of ambiguity in the acoustics of intermedia, the article seeks to re-examine understandings about the role of sound in shifting perceptions about political participation.


2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 28-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
María Luisa Carrió Pastor ◽  
Miguel Ángel Candel Mora

This paper focuses on a functionalist analysis of the patterns followed when translating specific texts from English into Spanish. The original texts are written in English and, afterwards, translated to other languages. In this process, lexical variation may appear. The main objectives of this study are to determine whether English noun phrases have different lexical equivalents when translated into Spanish and whether this depends on the position of the head in the complex noun phrase. Other objectives of this paper are, on the one hand, to detect the role of the head and modifiers in English complex noun phrases when translated into the target language, and, on the other hand, to determine whether the specificity of nouns could be the cause of variation. The answer to these research questions will be useful for translators, communication specialists and scientists who use English and Spanish to communicate.


Author(s):  
Iryna Rusnak

The author of the article analyses the problem of the female emancipation in the little-known feuilleton “Amazonia: A Very Inept Story” (1924) by Mykola Chirsky. The author determines the genre affiliation of the work and examines its compositional structure. Three parts are distinguished in the architectonics of associative feuilleton: associative conception; deployment of a “small” topic; conclusion. The author of the article clarifies the role of intertextual elements and the method of constantly switching the tone from serious to comic to reveal the thematic direction of the work. Mykola Chirsky’s interest in the problem of female emancipation is corresponded to the general mood of the era. The subject of ridicule in provocative feuilleton is the woman’s radical metamorphoses, since repulsive manifestations of emancipation becomes commonplace. At the same time, the writer shows respect for the woman, appreciates her femininity, internal and external beauty, personality. He associates the positive in women with the functions of a faithful wife, a caring mother, and a skilled housewife. In feuilleton, the writer does not bypass the problem of the modern man role in a family, but analyses the value and moral and ethical guidelines of his character. The husband’s bad habits receive a caricatured interpretation in the strange behaviour of relatives. On the one hand, the writer does not perceive the extremes brought by female emancipation, and on the other, he mercilessly criticises the male “virtues” of contemporaries far from the standard. The artistic heritage of Mykola Chirsky remains little studied. The urgent task of modern literary studies is the introduction of Mykola Chirsky’s unknown works into the scientific circulation and their thorough scientific understanding.


Author(s):  
Ксения Ивановна Голубцова

Статья посвящена рассмотрению проблем профилактики преступлений оперативными подразделениями исправительных учреждений (далее - ИУ). Автор, раскрывая роль оперативных отделов ИУ в общей профилактике правонарушений, указывает на ее двоякость, поскольку, с одной стороны, рассматриваемые подразделения обладают значительным преимуществом перед другими службами учреждения в выявлении негативных факторов (негласный метод получения оперативно значимой информации), с другой стороны - далеко не все условия, которые способствуют совершению преступлений в ИУ, можно устранить оперативным путем. Изучение специальной литературы позволило выявить в деятельности начальников ИУ определенные проблемы, связанные с оценкой состояния оперативной обстановки в ИУ, сложившейся ситуации; с отсутствием прогноза развития криминогенной ситуации в ИУ, а также с профессиональной некомпетентностью руководителей, неумением объективно оценивать результаты деятельности структурных подразделений. Автор особое внимание уделяет анализу статистических данных о совершенных и предотвращенных преступлениях лицами, находящимися в местах лишения свободы. The article is devoted to the consideration of problems of crime prevention by operational units of correctional institutions (hereinafter referred to as IA). The author, revealing the role of the operational departments of the IA in the general prevention of offences, points to its twofold. On the one hand, the units under consideration have significant advantages over other services of the institution in identifying negative factors (these are tacit methods of obtaining promptly meaningful information). On the other hand, not all conditions conducive to the commission of crimes in IA can be eliminated by operational means: For example, shortcomings in the activities of other departments and services (security department, duty shift, etc.). The study of special literature has made it possible to identify problems in the activities of heads of correctional institutions in the sphere of implementation of solutions in case of lack of objective and complete information on the state of the operational situation in IA, the current situation, the results of the activities of structural subdivisions; No forecast of the development of the crime situation in IE; Professional incompetence of managers, inability to objectively assess the results of activities of structural subdivisions. The author pays particular attention to the analysis of statistics on crimes committed and prevented by persons in detention.


1998 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Oldroyd

This article examines the role that correspondence played in the accounting systems of Tudor merchants. Merchants relied heavily on letters as a means of controlling their businesses at a distance by making agents accountable. Written accountability, as well as information for business decisions, was encouraged by agency relationships in mercantile enterprises. The system could be undermined by the breakdown of communication through the negligence of a factor or the lack of involvement by the principal. The time delays between the sending and the receipt of letters, on the one hand, and the procurement and conveyance of goods, on the other, were additional problems.


Author(s):  
Zoltán Kövecses

The chapter reports on work concerned with the issue of how conceptual metaphor theory (CMT) functions as a link between culture and cognition. Three large areas are investigated to this effect. First, work on the interaction between conceptual metaphors, on the one hand, and folk and expert theories of emotion, on the other, is surveyed. Second, the issue of metaphorical universality and variation is addressed, together with that of the function of embodiment in metaphor. Third, a contextualist view of conceptual metaphors is proposed. The discussion of these issues leads to a new and integrated understanding of the role of metaphor and metonymy in creating cultural reality and that of metaphorical variation across and within cultures, as well as individuals.


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