Enhancing Civic Engagement: The Effect of Direct Democracy on Political Participation and Knowledge

2003 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline J. Tolbert ◽  
Ramona S. McNeal ◽  
Daniel A. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Civic Engagement ◽  
Political Participation ◽  
Progressive Era ◽  
Direct Democracy ◽  
Political Knowledge ◽  
Ballot Initiatives ◽  
Direct Role ◽  
Initiative Process ◽  
Election Studies ◽  
The Impact

What is the impact of direct democracy on citizens' political participation and knowledge? Progressive Era reformers and normative theorists have argued that institutional procedures allowing citizens a more direct role in government decision-making will increase civic engagement, broadly defined. Using American National Election Studies data for 1996, 1998, and 2000, we test this hypothesis. Our multivariate analysis suggests that exposure to ballot initiatives increases the probability of voting, stimulates campaign contributions to interest groups, and enhances political knowledge. However, we find that the impact of the initiative process on political participation and knowledge varies with electoral context.

The Impact of Online News Consumption on Young People's Political Participation

2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 16-31
Author(s):  
Hao Xiaoming ◽  
Wen Nainan ◽  
Cherian George
Keyword(s):  
Civic Engagement ◽  
New Media ◽  
Political Participation ◽  
Political Knowledge ◽  
Political Efficacy ◽  
Online News ◽  
Political Activities ◽  
Media Usage ◽  
News Consumption ◽  
The Impact

The informational usage of media has been identified as one of the most important factors that facilitate citizens' participation in political activities. This relationship becomes exceptionally intriguing in the 21st century, which is characterized by a growing popularity of new media, and concurrently, a decline of political and civic engagement in many societies, particularly among young people. Research findings about the link between new media usage and political participation have been inconclusive, and specific processes through which new media usage, especially the informational usage of such media, may affect political participation remain less than lucid. In this study, we propose a theoretical framework under which political knowledge and political efficacy are used to explain the possible connection between online news consumption and political participation. Through a survey of university students in Singapore, this study shows that the young people's consumption of online news is directly related to both online and offline political participation. At the same time, the consumption of online news is also indirectly related to online and offline political participation via political efficacy. Political knowledge, however, is found to be a mediating factor between online news consumption and online political participation but not offline political participation. This study not only allows us a more holistic view of the impact of online news on young people's political and civic engagement but also contributes to the existing literature on the relationship between news consumption and political participation by incorporating both online and offline political activities in the proposed theoretical model.

The Electoral Allure of Direct Democracy: The Effect of Initiative Salience on Voting, 1990-96

2005 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 168-181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert J. Lacey
Keyword(s):  
Voter Turnout ◽  
Significant Relationship ◽  
Direct Democracy ◽  
Presidential Elections ◽  
The Other ◽  
Ballot Initiatives ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Midterm Elections ◽  
Election Studies

Do salient ballot initiatives stimulate voting? Recent studies have shown that initiatives increase voter turnout, but some methodological concerns still linger. These studies have either relied solely on aggregate data to make inferences about individual-level behavior or used a flawed measure of initiative salience. Using individual-level data from the National Election Studies, I find that ballot question salience indeed stimulated voting in the midterm elections of 1990 and 1994. In an election with moderately salient ballot questions, a person's likelihood of voting can increase by as much as 30 percent in a midterm election. On the other hand, consistent with most prior research, I find no statistically significant relationship between ballot question salience and voting in presidential elections.

scholarly journals Simulating 2008: A Mock Presidential Election's Impact on Civic Engagement

2012 ◽  
Vol 45 (04) ◽  
pp. 743-747 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janna L. Deitz ◽  
Keith Boeckelman
Keyword(s):  
Experiential Learning ◽  
Civic Engagement ◽  
Science Curriculum ◽  
Political Knowledge ◽  
Learning Activity ◽  
Low Levels ◽  
One Year ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Positive Effect

AbstractYoung adults have particularly low levels of civic engagement. Incorporating experiential learning activities as part of the political science curriculum shows promise to reverse this trend. We analyze the impact of a mock presidential election simulation on the civic engagement of college-aged students. Exit surveys of student participants and a one-year follow-up survey confirm that this experiential learning activity had a positive effect on participants' levels of political knowledge, their interest in public life, and their attitudes about government in general.

Does NHK Make You Smarter (andSuper NewsMake You ‘Softer’)? An Examination of Japanese Political Knowledge and the Potential Influence of TV News

2014 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
CHRISTIAN COLLET ◽  
GENTO KATO
Keyword(s):  
Voter Turnout ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Political Knowledge ◽  
Political Awareness ◽  
News Program ◽  
Tv News ◽  
Unit Increase ◽  
Effects Of Media ◽  
Election Studies ◽  
The Impact

AbstractA fundamental component of liberal democracy – citizen knowledge – has only recently been examined in Japan; rarer still are assessments of the impact of media consumption on political awareness. In this paper, we utilize two recent sources – the Japanese Election Studies III (JESIII) and GLOPE2005 – to address two related questions: (1) what factors influence Japanese political knowledge? and (2) is the changing media environment in Japan having an influence on what citizens know about political affairs? With regard to the first question, we find, in line with previous studies in the US context, that knowledge is explained by education, gender, and politically impinged employment as base factors, with interest, efficacy, and civic duty playing a role as second-stage behavioral factors. Evidence of other traits presumed to distinguish the more informed Japanese – dissatisfaction with politics and community mobilization context (living in urban areas, districts with higher voter turnout, and having larger social networks – remains mixed. Regarding the second question, we find that the effects of media exposure on knowledge vary. Where the GLOPE2005 finds an influence of regular newspaper reading, the JESIII indicates that watching a TV news program ‘often’ also boosts knowledge. The JESIII results reveal further that,ceteris paribus, regular exposure to NHK contributes to higher levels of knowledge at a rate that is comparable to a one unit increase in educational attainment. Conversely, we find that softer news programs (e.g., Fuji TV'sSuper News) have a depressive effect that appears to decrease knowledge as exposure accumulates. The direction of the causal arrow is not entirely clear. At the same time, our findings lend credence to previous work that raises concerns about the ‘infotainization’ of Japanese (and US) news programming (e.g., Taniguchi, 2007; Prior, 2005). Rather than demystifying or democratizing Japanese politics, softer programs may simply be perpetuating extant gaps between elites and the public.

Direct Democracy in Education: How Ballot Initiatives Challenge Equal Opportunity and Risk Tyrannizing Underrepresented Students

2020 ◽  
pp. 001312452093145
Author(s):  
Amy N. Farley
Keyword(s):  
Education Policy ◽  
Direct Democracy ◽  
Equal Opportunity ◽  
State Level ◽  
The Body ◽  
People Of Color ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Ballot Initiatives ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Tyranny Of The Majority

States have increasingly used ballot initiatives to legislate education policy in recent years, although the consequences for educational equity and justice have been underexamined. This article investigates the extent to which ballot initiatives disproportionately affect traditionally minoritized students, with particular attention to two phenomena: tyranny of the majority and racial threat hypothesis. Results across models consistently find that minority-targeted education initiatives pass at significantly higher rates than those that do not target minoritized students, and they garner considerably more yes votes regardless of passage. For states with more people of color, this effect is magnified, suggesting the potential for tyranny of the majority may increase when there are greater proportions of people of color within a state. This research contributes to the body of literature regarding the impact of state-level policy on education and sheds light on the benefits and potentially negative consequences of the ballot initiative process as an education policy making tool, particularly for our nation’s most disadvantaged students.

scholarly journals An Analysis of ANES Items and Their Use in the Construction of Political Knowledge Scales

2013 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 407-429 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew T. Pietryka ◽  
Randall C. MacIntosh
Keyword(s):  
Latent Variable ◽  
Latent Trait ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Political Knowledge ◽  
Conditional Response ◽  
Item Functioning ◽  
Confirmatory Factor ◽  
Additive Measures ◽  
Election Studies ◽  
The Impact

Valid comparisons of group scores on additive measures such as political knowledge scales require that the conditional response probabilities for individuals on the observed items be invariant across groups after controlling for their overall level of the latent trait of interest. Using a multi-group confirmatory factor analysis of knowledge items drawn from American National Election Studies, we find that the scales used in recent research are not sufficiently invariant for valid comparisons across a host of theoretically important grouping variables. We demonstrate that it is possible to construct valid invariant scales using a subset of items and show the impact of invariance by comparing results from the valid and invalid scales. We provide an analysis of differential item functioning based on grouping variables commonly used in political science research to explore the utility of each item in the construction of valid knowledge scales. An application of the VTT suggests it is more appropriate to conceive of these items as effects of a latent variable rather than cause or formative indicators. These results suggest that models attempting to explain apparent knowledge gaps between subgroups have been unsuccessful because previously constructed scales were validated by fiat.

Heuristics, Heterogeneity and Green Choices Voting on California’s Proposition 23

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 755-774 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harold D. Clarke ◽  
Euel Elliott ◽  
Marianne C. Stewart
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Experimental Economics ◽  
Political Knowledge ◽  
Party Leader ◽  
Ballot Initiatives ◽  
Multivariate Models ◽  
Political Issues ◽  
Ballot Initiative ◽  
Candidate Image ◽  
The Impact

Ballot initiatives and referendums are increasingly popular methods for addressing important political issues. Studies of voting in these events has found that people rely on party leader and candidate image heuristics when deciding how to cast their ballots. Some analysts have argued that these effects are heterogeneous, being larger for people with lower levels of political knowledge. However, research in experimental economics and political psychology suggests that the impact of heuristics may be greater among more knowledgeable individuals. This paper investigates these rival hypotheses using survey data on voting in a ballot initiative to repeal California’s climate change legislation. Analyses using methods appropriate for studying interaction effects in nonlinear multivariate models demonstrate that candidate heuristics are stronger among more knowledgeable people.

scholarly journals Youth political (dis)engagement and the need for citizenship education: Encouraging young people’s civic and political participation through the curriculum

2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Isabel Pontes ◽  
Matt Henn ◽  
Mark D Griffiths
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Education ◽  
Young People ◽  
Civic Engagement ◽  
Political Participation ◽  
Citizenship Education ◽  
Political Engagement ◽  
General Election ◽  
The Past ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Impact

Over the past two decades, there has been a wide-ranging debate about the impact of citizenship education on young people’s political engagement and participation across Britain. Using data from a survey of 1025 young people aged 18 years at the time of the 2010 General Election, we examined the impact that studying for a formal qualification in General Certificate of Secondary Education in Citizenship Studies has on young people’s political and civic engagement. Drawing from the hypothesis that those young people who took the course would be more engaged than those who did not, results demonstrated that there are many differences between the two groups in terms of their political perspectives as well as their past and future patterns of political participation.

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