Traditional Cleavages or a New World: Does Online Social Networking Bridge the Political Participation Divide?

There is a growing literature that examines the effects of the Internet on political participation. We seek to contribute to this literature by exploring how online social networking may stimulate online political participation. Using survey data from the Pew Internet & American Life Project, we confirm a strong positive relationship and show that this effect is driven by the level of political exchange within networks. Further, we explore the potential for the Internet to dissipate traditional cleavages in participation that tend to mirror the inequalities in the availability and use of technology. The findings suggest that while many of the “have-nots” do engage in online networking at higher rates than their counterparts, they are less likely to be exposed to political exchanges within their networks. As a result, the effect of online networking on participation is more pronounced for the “haves.” We discuss the implications of these findings.     

Re-thinking Myanmar's political regime: military rule in Myanmar and implications for current reforms

The Myanmar military has long dominated national politics as well as the state apparatus since first coming into power in 1958. Despite a series of challenges to its rule, the military has been able to constantly re-invent itself while re-asserting its dominance over society. Cycles of popular protests and dissatisfaction with military rule have not led to regime change nor weakened the military as a unified institution. The latest incarnation of the nominally civilian government has introduced a series of liberalising reforms that have dramatically opened more socio-political space for opposition and non-state actors to participate in national politics. Despite the somewhat optimistic outlook of a more liberalised Myanmar in the future, the institutional design and historical legacy of the military's role in state-building have ensured that it has enough ‘reserve domains’ to maintain its prominent role within any foreseeable future governments in Myanmar. By tracing the historical development of the Myanmar military regime, this paper argues that current reforms were introduced as a strategy for the military to ensure its continued survival as the primary political actor in Myanmar.     

Ethno‐political activity and the psychology of terrorism

Abstract

Studies of terrorist psychology have typically focused either on single individuals or group dynamics within the organizations that these individuals have joined. Less attention has been paid to the background conditions which give rise to these individuals and organizations, even for environments in which generalization appears to be feasible. This paper focuses on one such environment. Its principal goal is to highlight the theoretical connections between a society's ethnic cleavages; the development of ethno‐political activity, especially organized violence and terrorism; and the implications of this activity for the functioning of institutions in “democratic” and “non‐democratic” societies. A related objective is the identification of policy responses to latent or manifest ethno‐political activity and an assessment of their potential efficacy. These points are illustrated by examining a small ethnic group, the South Moluccans in Holland, which would appear to have had little motivation to engage in violence or terrorism, but some of whose members nevertheless did.     

Fostering Student Engagement in Negotiation Role Plays

Student engagement occurs when students are significantly motivated to invest in their learning behaviorally, cognitively, and emotionally. Although research has shown that higher engagement leads to deeper learning, the importance of student engagement in role plays has been underestimated in negotiation pedagogy. More specifically, role plays that fail to provide authentic experiences or to capture students' interest may lead to suboptimal learning due to a lack of engagement. To help foster learning from role plays, we propose two frames of reference for improving their design: ecological validity and vested interest. Using these frameworks, we suggest strategies to create more authentic and interesting role plays and thus promote richer learning for students.     

Going Public as Political Strategy: The Bush Administration,an Echoing Press,and Passage of the Patriot Act

Research suggests that political elites excel at controlling political and media information environments, particularly in times of national crisis, such as the events and aftermath of September 11. This study examines the creation and passage of the Patriot Act, which was proposed by the Bush administration following the terrorist attacks and quickly passed with strong support by the U.S. Congress. We argue that (a) the public communications of the Bush administration, particularly those by George W. Bush and John Ashcroft, and (b) news coverage about the legislation were instrumental in this outcome. Public communications by Bush and Ashcroft and news coverage about the Act were content analyzed to identify the timing of the messages and the themes and perspectives emphasized, and congressional debates and activities were examined for insight into their relation with administration and press discourse. Findings suggest that Bush and Ashcroft's communications, in combination with a press that largely echoed the administration's messages, created an environment in which Congress faced significant pressure to pass the legislation with remarkable speed.     

Exploring FDR'S relationship with the press: A historical agenda‐setting study

This historical agenda‐setting study examined the extent to which Franklin Roosevelt's issue agenda, as expressed in his first seven State of the Union speeches, correlated with subsequent coverage in seven major newspapers and the degree to which newspaper coverage correlated with FDR's issue agenda. While past works have emphasized Roosevelt's ability to influence media coverage, this study suggests that Roosevelt reacted to previous coverage more than he influenced subsequent coverage. Past researchers contend that Roosevelt's strong support early in his first term deteriorated subsequently. By contrast, our study found stronger correlations between FDR's issue agenda and subsequent coverage later in his presidency. FDR reacted to, rather than influenced, coverage in newspapers he read and influenced coverage in newspapers he did not read. Roosevelt's issue agenda posted stronger correlations for the papers that supported him than those that opposed him. This study suggests, then, that historical conditions, amount of exposure to the newspaper, and political leanings of the newspaper are contingent conditions influencing the agenda‐setting process and should be considered in future agenda‐setting studies.     

Exposure to internet pornography and sexually aggressive behaviour: protective roles of social support among Korean adolescents

ABSTRACT

Adolescents’ exposure to internet pornography and its negative effects on healthy sexual development have been extensively investigated. However, little research has addressed the identification of protective factors that can buffer these negative effects. Based on the conceptualisation of a stress-buffering model of social support, this study empirically tested whether social support would provide a buffer against negative effects of internet pornography on sexually aggressive behaviours in adolescents. Results from an online survey of two-hundred-ten (210) Korean high school students revealed that social support from parents and friends performed buffering roles, and the buffering effect of friend support was the strongest. Based on these results, practical implications for healthy adolescent sexual development were discussed.     

An investigation into the enhancement of fingermarks in blood on fruit and vegetables

A number of studies have reported the successful enhancement of latent fingermarks on fruit and vegetables. A study was set up to identify the most effective technique for the enhancement of fingermarks in blood on various fruit and vegetables. The enhancement techniques targeted different components in blood and consisted of protein stains (e.g. acid black 1), peroxidase reagents (e.g. leuco crystal violet) and amino acid stains (e.g. ninhydrin). Different variables such as the ageing periods of the marks and a diminishing series were employed to assess the suitability and sensitivity of the enhancement techniques.Overall, the use of different protein stains appeared to be the most effective techniques for the enhancement of fingermarks in blood on fruit and vegetables. In addition, the aubergine and cucumber skins appeared to be the most responsive surface to the different chemical techniques during enhancement. On the contrary, little or no enhancement was achieved for fingermarks in blood on the nectarine fruit.