The problem with which this investigation is concerned is the description and. analysis of President Harry S Truman's use of his Presidential prerogative in recalling the Republican Eightieth Congress into special session on July 26, 1948. The results of this investigation indicate that President Truman's call for a special session of the Eightieth Congress on July 26, 1948, was primarily a tactic in his campaign strategy for the election of that year. However, the full significance of the session can be understood only by taking into account the political environment of the postwar period and the executive-legislative relationships between President Truman and the Republican Eightieth Congress on domestic legislation. The special session was a microcosm of the political events of 1948 and the relationship between the President and the Eightieth Congress.

This thesis uses the discourse analysis methods developed by T. Van Dijk and J. P. Gee to examine public debate over the Faith-Based and Community Initiatives in 2001 as it arose in testimony before the U. S. House of Representatives and related news articles published in the New York Times and Washington Post. In analyzing the language used in the congressional hearings and news articles printed between January 2001 and December 2004, Van Dijk‘s categories and related questions were methodologically combined with Gee‘s approach to provide a framework and method for analyzing the underlying discourse. While debate participants expressed strong beliefs in complex social ideals, many see America‘s social problems as intractable in nature, where key decisions about distributions of funds are based on political considerations, as opposed to merit or need.

Elections are the engine that drives democracy. The central question of this dissertation relates to the speed of that engine: How long does it take for elections to reflect changing preferences in the electorate? The findings presented in this dissertation suggest that electoral change is the result of a gradual process of natural selection in which the political environment, rather than district service activity, is the key variable. Comparing elections data across different types of district environment, I find evidence that the environment affects levels of competition and electoral outcomes. Utilizing an event history statistical model to examine various risk factors for electoral defeat, I find that the political environment of the district is the most important factor influencing the risk of defeat even when controlling for district service behaviors. Over time, the district environment operates as a self-correcting mechanism, purging political misfits and replacing them with representatives who better reflect the ideology of the district. Electoral change typically results more from evolution than revolution – it may not occur quickly, and it may not occur in every district, but it does occur when and where it is needed.

Many studies have noted that the conflict between gender and party stereotypes may disadvantage Republican female candidates among some voters. On the other hand, gender and party attachment may also prove advantageous for Republican women in competitive races where moderate and independent voters play an important role. In this paper, the author examines how partisanship and race competitiveness impact how, and if, female candidates choose to emphasize their gendered identity, highlight women’s interests, and pursue a feminine trait strategy on their campaign websites. The author gives special attention to Republican female candidates running in competitive races, and argues that these candidates may have an extra incentive and ability to connect with voters by emphasizing gender. This study uses data collected through a content analysis of the campaign websites of 162 female candidates in the 2014 Congressional midterm election.

The following study is comprised of three essays, each examining a different manner by which race and party impact political participation. Through the analysis of both intra-party primary and inter-party general elections, I find that candidates are more likely to run, and voters are more likely to turn out, when the social groups they belong to comprise a larger portion of the electorate. While race often serves as the key social identity in determining rates of participation, these effects are contingent on partisan forces governing the broader electoral process.

Political scientists have long noted that congressional elections are often uncompetitive, often extremely so. Many scholars argue that the cause lies in the partisan redistricting of congressional districts, or “gerrymandering”. Other scholars emphasize polarization created by a fragmented news media, or the candidate choices made by a more ideological primary electorate. All these explanations identify the cause of party-safe elections in institutions of various kinds. This dissertation, by contrast, presents a structural explanation of uncompetitive elections. My theory is that population composition and patterns of migration are significant causes and predictors of election results in Florida. I test this theory empirically by comparing the predictions from four hypotheses against aggregate data, using the county as the unit of analysis. The first hypothesis is that Florida can be divided into clearly distinguishable, persistent partisan sections. This hypothesis is confirmed. The second hypothesis is that Florida voters have become increasingly partisan over time. This hypothesis is confirmed. The third hypothesis is that the degree of migration into a county predicts how that county will vote. This hypothesis finds some confirmation. The last hypothesis is that the degree of religiosity of a county predicts how that county will vote. This hypothesis is confirmed. By identifying the structural causes of party-safe elections, this study not only contributes to our understanding of elections in Florida, but also sheds light on the current polarization in American politics.

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In the U.S. Congress, the authorization-appropriation process is the formal model that establishes the separation between legislative and funding bills. Additionally, it determines the jurisdiction of the congressional committees that oversee those bills. However, a number of scholars have concluded that the authorization-appropriations dichotomy is substantially different in practice than the model suggests. Research in this area has shown that broad changes over the years have altered the roles of the authorization and appropriations committees. At different times, members of the appropriations committees have been regarded as guardians of the federal treasury, advocates of federal funds for their congressional district, or partisans in support of a political agenda (Adler, 2000). In addition to these roles, appropriators evidently have become more active in policymaking -- a role that traditionally has been the domain of the authorizing committees. To further explore the policymaking role of appropriators, this dissertation used a case study approach that traced appropriators' interactions with the executive branch, focusing on a federal agency and its links with the appropriations subcommittees that have oversight and funding jurisdiction over the agency's programs. Specifically, the study analyzed the relationship between the House and Senate Subcommittees on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (L/ HHS) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) during the period from 1989-2009. Through an examination of critical incidents and contextual elements, this dissertation examined whether the Subcommittees on L/HHS increasingly have become significant players in shaping AHRQ's policies and direction. In addition, the dissertation examined the impacts on AHRQ and possible reciprocal [Agency] influences on the Subcommittees. This research has the potential to build on existing works related to the dynamics of the authorization-appropriations process. Moreover, this research could provide a conceptual framework for analyzing the roles that the other congressional appropriations subcommittees play in relation to the executive branch agencies under their jurisdictions. / Ph. D.

過去台灣對於國會聯絡人的研究，多屬於國會聯絡人所發揮的功能及扮演的角色或是相關工作績效評估方面，缺乏針對國會聯絡人養成過程的討論，在我國的憲政體制所造成的權力分立下，為了使行政與立法間溝通聯繫順暢並降低互動過程中的衝突，行政機關的國會聯絡人扮演了關鍵性的角色，故在挑選國會聯絡人及對新進國會聯絡人養成訓練上，各機關皆相當重視，而師徒制運用於行政機關國會聯絡人養成上的現象相當普遍，值得從師徒制所產生的影響進行深入研究。 本研究是以深度訪談法為主，並輔以文獻分析法及參與觀察法的質性研究，透過立意抽樣方式，選擇8個行政機關共16位資淺、資深之國會聯絡人員為研究對象進行研究。 針對訪談內容、觀察現象並相關文獻歸納與分析研究的結果，本研究提出主要結論有三點，首先，從歸納訪談的結果來看，行政機關在新進的國會聯絡人組織養成過程中，透過資深同仁擔任師父角色的經驗傳授，徒弟有了遵循準則，且師父好的行為表現轉移徒弟身上，國會聯絡工作易上手，但是徒弟必須有積極進取的態度及不能一昧承襲缺點，食古不化，才能順利完成任務；其次，師徒在互相教導與學習過程中，因為滿足雙方的需求而效果良好，在工作上有好的績效表現，容易獲得升遷機會與好名聲，就算有一天互換角色後，也會傳承教導與學習的風氣，但若未達師徒間特質及能力要求，教導與學習效果降低，會對自己與組織造成負面影響；最後，在樂於知識分享的組織文化下，組織成員無法透過言語表達的默會知識得以透過「做中學」方式傳遞，共同為組織良好績效努力，組織也要避免成員有自利主義，若知識藏私不願意分享，將危害到整個組織。 / There are many studies on the issue of- “Congressional Liaison.”-Previous studies have focused on their function, liaison’s roles or performance, there are lacking of congressional liaison’s training and mentoring. Due to the separation of powers, legislature and executive are independent but strongly associated with each other. Thus, congressional liaison is a crucial bridge to maintain communication and tackle the conflicts between parliament and agencies. Governmental agencies requires establishing functioning congressional liaison’s mentor relationship, but how the knowledge and insight of congressional liaison works be trained and passing on within the agencies is an interesting question waiting to be answered . This study utilized in-depth interview, literature review and participant observation to do the research. By purposive sampling, author chose 16 junior and senior congressional liaisons from 8 executive agencies as interviewers. This study concludes following three observations. First, executive agencies tend to establish a mentorship for new members to get familiar with their job. Interviews show that if following the instructions and mentor’s standard, protégé is easier to be trained into a good liaison officer. Moreover, protégé will have more positive attitudes and be more flexible to accomplish the missions. Secondly, through mentoring protégés, mentors can perform better and are likely to get the reputation and promotion. When protégés become mentors, they are more liable to proceed with mentorship. On the contrary, if the mentors are not able to do the mentoring job well, not only the learning efficiency will be low, but the malfunctioning relationship have organizational consequences. However, during the process of coaching and learning, mentors and protégés can be beneficial from each other. Lastly, because of the knowledge sharing and organizational culture, members could implement the concept of “learn by doing” to deliver the tacit knowledge. Also, organization should avoid members from being too egoism, once they are unwilling to share or interchanging the experiences, it is might be harmful to the organizations.