PTV gap: A new measure of party identification yielding monotonic partisan attitudes and supporting comparative analysis

Despite the cornerstone role of party identification for analyzing voting behavior in the United States, its measurement (in terms of the classic American National Electoral Studies – ANES – seven-point scale) is affected by a systematic problem of non-monotonicity, and it proved impossible to be directly applied outside the United States. We introduce a novel, complementary measurement approach aimed at addressing both problems. We test on US data (an expressly collected computer-assisted web interviewing survey dataset) a new, seven-point scale of partisanship constructed from PTV (propensity-to-vote) items, acting as projective devices for capturing partisan preferences, and routinely employed in multi-party systems. We show that a PTV-based (suitable for comparative analysis) seven-point scale of partisanship outperforms the classic ANES scale. Groups identified by the new scale show monotonic partisan attitudes, and the comparison of multivariate models of political attitudes testify significantly larger effects for the new scale, as well as an equal or higher predictive ability on a range of political attitudes.     

A problem-based approach to understanding public support for referendums

A prominent explanation of widespread popular support for referendums is dissatisfaction with the functioning of representative democracy. In this article, the aim is to gain a better understanding of how dissatisfaction affects support for referendums. Drawing on previous research, it is argued here that citizens follow a problem-based approach in their support for referendums, in that referendums are considered a suitable solution to address some specific problems in a political system but not all. Survey data from the 2012 European Social Survey (29 countries; N = 37,070) is used to show that citizens’ expectations towards and evaluations of representatives relate to support for referendums. In particular, dissatisfaction with the ability of governments to listen to their citizens is associated with higher support for referendums. In contrast, citizens dissatisfied with the government's ability to lead are less supportive of referendums. Furthermore, the relationship between dissatisfaction with governments’ ability to listen varies across countries depending on the level of experience with decision making via referendum. In countries where referendums are used more often, the expectation of referendums being able to solve the problem of unresponsive government is weaker. This study offers important insights into the different ways in which preferences and evaluations of representative practices relate to popular support for referendums.     

侗族大歌的符号学解读

根据符号学理论,音乐是一种特定社会以及文化的符号,音乐符号形式成为人类认知和参与社会活动的意向。侗族大歌作为音乐形式是一种原声态符号,在侗族的社会生活中有其独特的文化价值和社会功能。它不仅是音乐、语言和生态环境符号的结合体,也是侗族文化、历史、生态、社会规约、道德准则等的载体,是侗族社会不可缺少的具有社会凝聚力的民族符号。     

对民族地区英语教学的社会心理学分析

民族地区的英语教学一直是教育中的一个难题,教育工作者们为改进其教学方法做了不懈的努力,但都没能从深层上认识英语教学的难点。本文采借社会心理学的理论,对民族地区英语教学中的社会偏见、社会信念与判断、群体影响等进行了分析,为民族地区英语教学研究提供了一个新的视角。     

构建我国的电子政府

“构建电子政府”伴随信息社会的到来而越发迫切 ,——建立一个电子化的虚拟机关 ,从而打破传统行政机关的组织藩篱。中国电子政府的实现 ,并非简单地引入和应用现代信息技术 ,而要涉及诸多方面的变革。     

论《世界人权宣言》的思想基础和权利体系

《世界人权宣言》以自由和平等为其思想基础,构建了世界各国和人民努力实现的共同标准。它所设定的权利体系不仅包括公民权利和政治权利,而且还涉及到经济、社会和文化权利,为国际社会提供了一份详尽的人权保护清单,成为国际人权法的基本法律文书。     

陕甘宁边区乡村民众的防灾备荒措施研究

灾荒肆虐、灾害频繁曾是陕甘宁边区乡村社会的一大顽症，如何应对灾荒既是党和政府的重要职责，更是乡村民众必须面对的一个现实问题。陕甘宁边区的乡村民众有着系统而具体的防灾备荒措施，总结这些措施，既能再现当年救灾抗灾的生动画面，又能挖掘出其中的宝贵经验，为当前提供可资借鉴的经验。     

试论科学发展观的理论基础和实践基础

党的十六届三中全会确立的科学发展观,以马克思主义人的全面发展的基本观点为理论基础,以中国改革开放伟大实践为社会实践基础,是中国特色社会主义建设经验的总结,是中国共产党对现代化建设指导思想的重大发展,是全面建设小康社会的战略原则和理论指导。     

东南亚问题的重要教学参考书--《东盟读本》与《第二东盟读本》之介评

本文首先简要介绍了《东盟读本》与《第二东盟读本》的基本内容,接着对其出版背景、收录文献的内容与特色等进行比较与分析,最后推介这两本文集应当成为东盟和东南亚问题教学与研究的重要参考书。     

供应链管理思想在农村基础设施供给中的应用

农村基础设施是社会主义新农村建设的重要内容,而目前农村基础设施管理理念的缺乏严重影响了农村基础设施效用发挥。因此,我们有必要在这方面提高认识,树立新的基础设施管理理念,提高基础设施的利用效率。在当前的形势下把供应链管理思想应用于农村基础设施供给管理有其合理性和可行性。