Voting Correctly

1997 ◽  
Vol 91 (3) ◽  
pp. 585-598 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard R. Lau ◽  
David P. Redlawsk
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Data ◽  
Political Science ◽  
Survey Data ◽  
Presidential Elections ◽  
Democratic Theory ◽  
Present Experimental Data ◽  
Correct Voting

The average voter falls far short of the prescriptions of classic democratic theory in terms of interest, knowledge, and participation in politics. We suggest a more realistic standard: Citizens fulfill their democratic duties if, most of the time, they vote “correctly.” Relying on an operationalization of correct voting based on fully informed interests, we present experimental data showing that, most of the time, people do indeed manage to vote correctly. We also show that voters' determinations of their correct vote choices can be predicted reasonably well with widely available survey data. We illustrate how this measure can be used to determine the proportion of the electorate voting correctly, which we calculate at about 75% for the five American presidential elections between 1972 and 1988. With a standard for correct vote decisions, political science can turn to exploring the factors that make it more likely that people will vote correctly.

Reassessing Relationships between Communication Forms and Political Knowledge in Political Campaigns from a Geospatial Perspective: The Case of Local TV News

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yung-I Liu
Keyword(s):  
Survey Data ◽  
Significant Role ◽  
Presidential Elections ◽  
Television News ◽  
Political Knowledge ◽  
Political Campaigns ◽  
Political Discussion ◽  
Tv News ◽  
Cable Television News ◽  
The U.S

<p><a>This study investigates the informing effects of communication in political campaigns from a geospatial perspective. The results from analyzing survey data collected during the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections in the U.S. generally suggest that the main forms of traditional </a>communication, i.e., print newspapers and network and cable television news—but with the exception of local TV news—play a significant role in informing citizens about political campaigns. Political discussion also plays a role in this regard. The implications of the respective roles of a number of news forms in a democracy are discussed.</p>

Exploration of the technocratic mentality among European civil servants

2021 ◽  
pp. 002085232199642
Author(s):  
Ringa Raudla ◽  
James W. Douglas ◽  
Zachary Mohr
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Performance ◽  
Political Science ◽  
Public Administration ◽  
Survey Data ◽  
Civil Servants ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Positive Interactions ◽  
Technical Knowledge ◽  
High Level ◽  
Proper Balance

Civil servants vary in the degree to which they hold technocratic attitudes. We explore whether bureaucrats’ exposure to politics and politicians is associated with the depoliticization dimension of the technocratic mentality. We use survey data of high-level executives in 19 European countries to explore factors that are associated with executives’ perceptions that removing issues and activities from the realms of politics leads to more farsighted policies. We find that respondents’ level of exposure to politics and politicians is indeed negatively associated with technocratic mentality. Bureaucrats have studied political science or public administration, work closer to politicians (in terms of type of organization), interact with them more frequently, and have more positive perceptions of these interactions tend to have lower levels of technocratic attitudes. Points for practitioners Beliefs affect behaviors and behaviors affect outcomes. Technocratic attitudes may limit the ability of civil servants to work effectively with politicians. We show that educational degrees that promote democratic values and exposure to politicians (particularly positive interactions) are associated with lower levels of technocratic attitudes. Given that a proper balance between political and technical knowledge can enhance organizational performance (Krause et al., 2006), these findings should be taken into account when staffing and structuring public organizations.

scholarly journals The Combination of Narrative News and VR Games: Comparison of Various Forms of News Games

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaohan Feng ◽  
Makoto Murakami
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Data ◽  
Virtual Environments ◽  
Survey Data ◽  
Research Method ◽  
Social Attention ◽  
Theoretical Derivation ◽  
Text Format ◽  
Amount Of Information ◽  
Considerable Research ◽  
Learning Platforms

The information explosion makes it easier to ignore information that requires social attention, and news games can make that information stand out. There is also considerable research that shows that people are more likely to remember narrative content. Virtual environments can also increase the amount of information a person can recall. If these elements are blended together, it may help people remember important information. This research aims to provide directional results for researchers interested in combining VR and narrative, enumerating the advantages and limitations of using text or non-text plot prompts in news games. It also provides hints for the use of virtual environments as learning platforms in news games. The research method is to first derive a theoretical derivation, then create a sample of news games, and then compare the experimental data of the sample to prove the theory. The research compares the survey data of a VR game that presents a story in non-text format (Group VR), a game that presents the story in non-text format (Group NVR), a VR game that presents the story in text (Group VRIT), and a game that presents the story in text (Group NVRIT) will be compared and analyzed. This paper describes the experiment. The results of the experiment show that among the four groups, the means that can make subjects remember the most information is a VR news game with a storyline. And there is a positive correlation between subjects' experience and confidence in recognizing memories, and empathy is positively correlated with the correctness of memories. In addition, the effects of "VR," "experience," and "presenting a story from text or video" on the percentage of correct answers differed depending on the type of question.

scholarly journals Combining of Narrative News and VR Games: Comparison of Various Forms of News Games

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (05) ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
Xiaohan Feng ◽  
Makoto Murakami
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Data ◽  
Virtual Environments ◽  
Survey Data ◽  
Research Method ◽  
Social Attention ◽  
Theoretical Derivation ◽  
Text Format ◽  
Amount Of Information ◽  
Considerable Research ◽  
Learning Platforms

The information explosion makes it easier to ignore information that requires social attention, and news games can make that information stand out. There is also considerable research that shows that people are more likely to remember narrative content. Virtual environments can also increase the amount of information a person can recall. If these elements are blended together, it may help people remember important information. This research aims to provide directional results for researchers interested in combining VR and narrative, enumerating the advantages and limitations of using text or non-text plot prompts in news games. It also provides hints for the use of virtual environments as learning platforms in news games. The research method is to first derive a theoretical derivation, then create a sample of news games, and then compare the experimental data of the sample to prove the theory. The research compares the survey data of a VR game that presents a story in non-text format (Group VR), a game that presents the story in non-text format (Group NVR), a VR game that presents the story in text (Group VRIT), and a game that presents the story in text (Group NVRIT) will be compared and analyzed. This paper describes the experiment. The results of the experiment show that among the four groups, the means that can make subjects remember the most information is a VR news game with a storyline. And there is a positive correlation between subjects' experience and confidence in recognizing memories, and empathy is positively correlated with the correctness of memories. In addition, the effects of "VR," "experience," and "presenting a story from text or video" on the percentage of correct answers differed depending on the type of question.

Campaigns, Competition, and Support for Political Compromise

2020 ◽  
pp. 103-126
Author(s):  
Jennifer Wolak
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Data ◽  
Survey Data ◽  
Policy Outcomes ◽  
Compromise Solutions ◽  
Campaign Ads ◽  
Political Compromise

Campaigns draw people into the partisan practice of politics, through close competition, campaign ads, and calls to take sides. Yet the conflicts of contentious campaigns may do little to encourage compromise, instead leading voters to call on their representatives to deliver on their campaign promises. This chapter shows rather than close the door to compromise, conflicts instead serve as a reminder that other people want different things than we do in politics, disrupting people’s tendencies to assume most others agree with them. Analysis of survey data shows that people who live in states marked by close partisan divides are more likely to prefer a president who is willing to consider compromise. Experimental data confirm that when people learn that other Americans want different policy outcomes, they become more willing to consider compromise solutions.

scholarly journals Legitimacy in Autocracies: Oxymoron or Essential Feature?

2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 652-665 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johannes Gerschewski
Keyword(s):  
Political Science ◽  
Democratic Theory ◽  
Essential Feature ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
Semantic Map ◽  
Elusive Concept

Legitimacy is a key concept in political science. It has deep normative roots in democratic theory and refers usually to righteous, just, fair, and therefore acceptable rule. However, non-democracies also try to create a following among their citizens. They also engage in justifying their rule through politicization, be it of religion, ethnicity, or ideologies ranging from left-wing communism to right-wing nationalism. Against this backdrop, I pose the question: does it make sense to use the concept of legitimacy for both types of regimes, democracies and autocracies alike? Or, do we overstretch the concept when transplanting it to the non-democratic realm? And, empirically, how can we assess to what degree a non-democracy is viewed as legitimate by its citizens? I aim therefore at defining what legitimacy and legitimation is in autocratic settings; drawing a semantic map of rival concepts like support, trust, and loyalty; and tackling concrete challenges in measuring this elusive concept.

The Concept of Manipulation: Its Relation to Democracy and Power

1981 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 163-181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan Ware
Keyword(s):  
Political Philosophy ◽  
Political Science ◽  
Democratic Theory ◽  
Political Life ◽  
Public Agencies ◽  
Central Importance ◽  
Control Family

The aim of this paper is to explicate the concept of manipulation, to show why it is of central importance in democratic theory, and to explain its relation to power. At first glance this might seem an unusual objective, since it remains one of the least studied of the concepts that are usually recognized as members of the power or control ‘family’. Yet allegations of the existence of manipulative practices, and demands for intervention by public agencies to prevent them, are commonplace in political life. Political science and political philosophy have contributed little to the understanding of how, for example, the following four claims about manipulation are to be evaluated.

Democracy for All: Conceptualizing and Measuring Egalitarian Democracy

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 595-612 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Sigman ◽  
Staffan I. Lindberg
Keyword(s):  
Political Participation ◽  
Political Science ◽  
Democratic Theory ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Political Regimes ◽  
Democratic Survival

Although equality figures prominently in many foundational theories of democracy, liberal and electoral conceptions of democracy have dominated empirical political science research on topics like political regimes, democratization and democratic survival. This paper develops the concept of egalitarian democracy as a regime that provides de facto protection of rights and freedoms equally across the population, distributes resources in a way that enables meaningful political participation for all citizens and fosters an environment in which all individuals and social groups can influence political and governing processes. Using new indicators from the Varieties of Democracy project, the paper develops and presents measures of these important concepts, demonstrates their relationship to existing measures, and illustrates their utility for advancing the study of democracy in ways that more fully embrace the richness of democratic theory.

Experimental Determination of the Static Equivalent Pressures of Detonative Explosions of Stoichiometric CH4/O2/N2-Mixtures and CH4/O2-Mixtures in Long Pipes

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hans-Peter Schildberg
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Data ◽  
Experimental Determination ◽  
Process Design ◽  
Pressure Vessel ◽  
Gas Mixture ◽  
Detonation Pressure ◽  
Recent Past ◽  
Static Loads ◽  
Present Experimental Data

In the recent past (PVP2013-97677, PVP2014-28197, PVP2015-45286) we had started to determine the static equivalent pressures pstat of the eight detonative pressure scenarios in long and short pipes for different detonable gas mixtures. The pstat-values are of vital importance for process design: by assigning static equivalent pressures to the highly dynamic detonative pressure peaks it is possible to apply the established pressure vessel guidelines, which can only cope with static loads, for the design of detonation pressure resistant pipes. One important finding was that the ratio R between pstat at the location where transition from deflagration to detonation occurs and pstat in the region of the stable detonation strongly depends on the reactivity of the gas mixture. In this paper we present experimental data showing the variation of R over the entire explosive range of Methane/O2/N2 mixtures. Qualitatively, the results should be representative for all other combustible/O2/N2-mixtures. Furthermore, recommendations for estimating pstat values of short pipe scenarios on basis of the long pipe scenarios are given.

scholarly journals What Are We Doing When We Are Doing Democratic Theory?

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 12-26
Author(s):  
Dannica Fleuß ◽  
Gary S. Schaal
Keyword(s):  
Political Philosophy ◽  
Political Science ◽  
Democratic Theory ◽  
Feedback Loops ◽  
Scholarly Activity ◽  
Dynamic Approach ◽  
The Core ◽  
The One ◽  
Induced Changes ◽  
Core Features

The article analyzes the (often implicit) understanding of democratic theory that is presupposed by scholars who engage in this practice and provides an answer to the question: “What are we doing when we are doing democratic theory?” We flesh out the core features of this scholarly activity by relating it to and differentiating it from assessments made from the perspective of political philosophy and political science. We argue that democratic theory aims at proposing institutional devices that are (a) problem-solving approaches and (b) embodiments of normative principles. This two-faced structure requires democratic theorists to engage in feedback loops with political philosophy on the one hand and empirical political science on the other. This implies that democratic theorists must adopt a dynamic approach: democratic theories must “fit” societal circumstances. In consequence, they must be adapted in case of fundamental societal transformations. We exemplify this dynamic character by referring to digitalization-induced changes in democratic societies and their implications for democratic theorists’ practice.

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