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Previous studies of media bias generally do not consider intra-campaign shifts in the composition of the coverage, leaving unanswered the question of whether coverage is consistently balanced or merely appears so when all the ups and downs of the election are tallied up. Even this aggregate assessment of balance frequently reveals imbalance in coverage, but there are few studies that test for effects of media imbalance. A lack of comprehensive content analysis data makes substantive work in this area challenging and frequently dependent upon single-election studies or those that examine a single variable over multiple years. This project takes advantage of a highly detailed, project-generated content analysis of all NBC Nightly News broadcasts and New York Times articles during the general election period (from just prior to the national party conventions through Election Day) for four election years (1996, 2000, 2004, and 2008) to address the question of whether aggregate and intra-campaign imbalance exists along three axes: volume of coverage (total coverage of the campaign and candidates), share of coverage (percentage of coverage received by each candidate on a given day, not conflated with volume), and tone of coverage (average daily valence score of coverage, positive or negative). Share of coverage is not stable at any point of equilibrium, but swings back and forth, favoring one candidate then the other throughout the general election. Analysis of tone of coverage reveals a surprising correlation between the positive/negative coverage of the candidates, with tone of coverage of the candidates correlating to a statistically significant degree. With this data it is possible to test whether shifts in the composition of coverage cause shifts in electoral support as measured by trial heat polls. Analysis of the data shows a significant relationship between changes in share and tone of coverage and changes in levels of electoral support. The corollary question, "what attracts media attention?" shows that media outlets are attracted by conflict as determined by a qualitative and quantitative analysis of headlines and share of coverage, and a further test shows a significant correlation between media coverage of an issue and both candidates' mention of that issue in their remarks, though not between media coverage and a single-candidate mention of the issue. The end result is a more-comprehensive picture of political reporting, its effect on the electorate, and the ways in which candidates may attract attention than is currently available in the literature. The combination of a multi-election measure with a high degree of intra-campaign diagnostic sensitivity provides a useful benchmark for the further study of media coverage of campaigns, as well as more than sufficient justification for its substantive significance as an area of political study, by virtue of the observed relationship between coverage and levels of electoral support. / Political Science

E-government is the use of information technology, especially telecommunications, to enable and improve the efficiency with which government services and information are provided to its constituents. Internet voting is an emerging e-government initiative. It refers to the submission of votes securely and secretly over the Internet. In the United States some areas have already used Internet voting systems for local and state elections. Many researchers argue that one of the most important social impacts of Internet voting is the effect it could have on voter participation. Numerous studies have called for research on the impact of technology on voter turnout; however, existing literature has yet to develop a comprehensive model of the key factors that influence Internet voting adoption. In light of the gradual implementation of I-voting systems and the need for research on I-voting implications this study combines political science and information systems constructs to present an integrated model of Internet voter participation. The proposed model of Internet voting adoption posits that a combination of technical, political and demographic factors amalgamate to influence the adoption of I-voting services. The study was conducted by surveying 372 citizens ranging in age from 18-75. The findings indicate that an integrated model of I-voting adoption is superior to existing models that explore political science or technology adoption constructs in isolation. Implications of this study for research and practice are presented. / Ph. D.

Following the 2004 U.S. presidential election, articles from the Associated Press and major news organizations came to very different conclusions regarding the impact of young voters on the election outcome. While some media outlets framed the youth turnout as a success, others framed it as a failure. This experimental study (N=237) utilized a pre-test/post-test design to build upon research on framing theory and political information efficacy theory. Articles about youth voter turnout in the 2004 election served as the stimuli to test the effects of news frame valence and frame substance on college student respondents' levels of trust, cynicism, and political information efficacy. Results indicated that while valence and level of substance of a news article may affect political attitudes, changes between experimental groups were not significant. Cynicism was negatively correlated with political information efficacy and trust. Attitudinal measures accounted for a significant amount of variance in respondents' interest in the 2006 campaign as well as perceived importance of both political engagement and youth voter turnout in past and future campaigns. / Master of Arts

Among scholars in the field of state and local politics, the value of using the state and local levels of analysis cannot be overemphasized. Examining political trends at these levels often provides us with far more information about the United States than only looking at the national level. This is true particularly for subjects like elections, parties, and realignment. The research reported here adds to a body of literature that focuses on the state level when examining elections and party realignment. In this thesis I focus on the dynamics of elections in West Virginia. The main focus of this research is to see to what to extent West Virginia has experienced a realignment of its political party system. Due to regional differences within the state I anticipate that more change will occur farther north and east. The data used here to explore these differences are at the county and state legislative district levels and were gathered from the Secretary of State's office in West Virginia (on-line) and from the 1980 and 1990 U.S. census. Such measures as turnout, registration and election results at the federal and state levels will be used to indicate changes in partisan competition. / Master of Arts

The purpose of this study was to provide a comparison of Tennessee elected and appointed school superintendents on selected demographic and school system variables. A questionnaire, consisting of demographic characteristics related to the superintendent and Tennessee school systems, was developed and mailed to all Tennessee superintendents. A total of 137 of 141 superintendents responded, including 79 elected and 58 appointed. More than 96 percent in each category responded. The t-Test was utilized to determine if there were significant differences in the pupil/teacher ratios, professional salaries, and per pupil expenditures for Tennessee school systems with elected and appointed superintendents. The Mann-Whitney U-Test was used to analyze the differences in scores obtained by pupils from school systems where the superintendent was elected and those obtained by pupils from school systems where the superintendent was appointed for language and mathematics on the eighth grade Basic Skills Test and the ninth grade Proficiency Test. A Chi Square Test was used to analyze the differences in scores on the language and mathematics subtests of the Stanford Achievement Test for twelfth grade pupils who were enrolled in school systems with elected superintendents and twelfth grade pupils who were enrolled in school systems with appointed superintendents. Results for the remaining characteristics were listed in tables for comparison purposes. It was concluded that appointed superintendents had earned a higher degree, were slightly older, earned a higher salary, had more administrative experience prior to the superintendency, and had a higher preference for the appointment of the superintendent. The school systems with appointed superintendents had lower pupil/teacher ratios, fewer oversized classes, a higher per pupil expenditure, higher professional salaries, more schools accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, and recorded higher test scores. Pupils in school systems with appointed superintendents had significantly higher test scores on the language and mathematics sections of the Tennessee Proficiency Test, on the mathematics portion of the Basic Skills Test, and on the twelfth grade Stanford Test. / Ed. D.

Yes / This research examines the extent to which immigrant consumers' use of social networking sites affect their socialization and political engagement in the Netherlands. The study uses self-administered questionnaires to collect data from 514 Turkish-Dutch respondents of various ages, occupations, levels of education and locations in the Netherlands. The study finds that the propensity to share information, the intensity of use, and privacy concerns positively impact socialization on online social networking sites. In addition, a significant positive relationship between socialization and political involvement positively impacts voting intentions. The study also examines the interaction effects of enculturation and acculturation orientations on the relationship between socialization and political involvement. The study's findings point to a positive moderating role of acculturation in this relationship but a negative one for enculturation. The study is the first to investigate simultaneously the drivers of socialization on social networking sites in the context of immigrant consumers and the impact of their socialization on political involvement and voting intention. The research further contributes to the scholarly work by exploring the interaction effects of acculturation and enculturation orientation. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Yes / This study examines the extent to which acculturation and enculturation orientations affect online political participation, political involvement and voting intentions among a sample of Turkish-Dutch immigrants. The study uses data from Turkish-Dutch participants. Structural Equations Modelling (SEM) is employed for assessing the relationships in the conceptualized model. The findings show that enculturation and acculturation influence online participation and involvement, which in turn, are related to voting intentions. The study further examines the mediating role of political involvement and online political participation. Political involvement mediates the relationships between enculturation and acculturation and voting intentions. The results further indicate the effect of online participation on voting intentions is mediated by political involvement. The study findings provide insights into offline and online cultural and civic engagement tendencies among an important immigrant segment that policy makers should consider in the future.

A dissertação tem como objeto o abuso do direito de voto na assembleia geral de credores. A Lei de Recuperação e Falência pauta-se pela adoção de soluções consensuais entre o devedor em crise e seus credores. Para tanto, cabe aos credores aceitar ou não o plano de recuperação judicial proposto pelo devedor. Entretanto, embora a lei seja pródiga em declarações de princípios, é sucinta quanto à estruturação do procedimento deliberativo. Confia-se na regra majoritária, e não são estabelecidas garantias estruturais à higidez do procedimento. A adoção da regra majoritária, contudo, nem sempre proporciona soluções equânimes. O direito societário dá exemplos de que o direito de voto pode ser exercido como instrumento para a obtenção de benefícios particulares ou para infligir danos à coletividade ou aos seus membros. Esse tipo de comportamento abusivo deve ser reprimido pelo direito. A dissertação busca determinar, dessa forma, em que situações o exercício do direito de voto pelos credores na deliberação acerca do plano de recuperação judicial poderá ser considerado abusivo. O trabalho está estruturado em cinco capítulos. No primeiro, investiga-se a natureza da coletividade de credores, concluindo-se que constitui uma comunhão de interesses. Em decorrência do início do procedimento concursal, surgem entre os credores deveres recíprocos de lealdade. No segundo capítulo, o instituto do abuso do direito é analisado em sua evolução histórica, demonstrando que também o abuso do direito de voto pelo credor é proibido pelo ordenamento jurídico. Questiona-se, então, a quais limites está adstrito o credor no exercício do voto. Em excurso necessário, ressalta-se a necessidade de que, além de ser avaliado o abuso do direito do voto pelo credor, seja avaliada a legalidade do plano. No terceiro capítulo, são abordadas as hipóteses de impedimento de voto, que delimitam quais credores são legitimados ao voto; ademais, discutem-se a possibilidade de aplicação analógica de regras societárias de impedimento de voto à assembleia de credores e hipóteses polêmicas de impedimento de voto pouco abordadas pela doutrina. No capítulo quatro, cerne do trabalho, apresenta-se casuística do abuso do direito de voto, e discutem-se quais os critérios para sua aferição. No capítulo quinto, são analisadas as possíveis sanções ao abuso do direito de voto. / This study aims to analyse the abuse of voting rights within the creditors meeting. The Brazilian Insolvency Law Act fosters the adoption of consensual agreements between the debtor facing an economic crisis and his creditors. For achieving this end, creditors must deliberate about the judicial recuperation plan proposed by the debtor. The Act provides declarations of principles, but it has limited concern regarding the structure of the voting procedure. Furthermore, it contains the belief that the majority of the creditors will decide for the best result. There are practically no structural guarantees being provided for with regard to the procedure. However, the majority principle does not always yields adequate solutions. Corporate law offers many examples illustrating the misuse of voting rights, either to obtain personal benefits or to inflict damages on the collectivity. This kind of behavior is condemned by Law. This study establishes the situations in which the exercise of voting rights in the creditors meeting may be regarded as abusive. The study is divided into five chapters. In the first one, the nature of the collectivity of creditors is investigated, concluding that a community of interests emerges as a result of the begin of the insolvency procedure. Based on this community of interests, fidutiary duties upon the creditors arise. In the second chapter, the institute of the abuse of right is historically analysed, with the conclusion that the abuse of voting rights by the creditors is prohibited. The parameters for the proper use of voting rights are analised . In a necessary excursus, it is showed that the legality of the plan must be also analysed by the court. In the third chapter, cases of voting prohibition are discussed, and so is the possibility of analogically applying corporate law rules on voting prohibition. In addition, some polemical cases are presented. In the fourth chapter, core of this study, both cases of abuse of voting rights and criteria for measuring this abuse are discussed. In the fifth chapter, possible sanctions to the abuse of voting rights are described.

Alors que la démocratie électorale chilienne commence à se défaire lentement de l’héritage du régime de Portales, la modernisation des techniques et rituels de vote devient une question centrale. La réforme électorale de 1874 est ainsi désignée comme le point de départ de la démocratisation du vote. Cependant, l’ampleur des incertitudes qui s’ouvrent avec les modifications que cette réforme introduit nous obligent à remettre en question les rapports, très souvent présupposés, entre innovations technologiques et démocratisation. Afin d’examiner en détail cette problématique, notre thèse explore les transformations successives du cadre légal, des discours et des représentations iconographiques du vote, à partir de la démarche employée par la sociologie historique. La restitution des controverses, des débats et les différentes représentations de l’acte de vote contribuent à mieux nous faire comprendre les limites que la technologie du vote imposent à l‘expression d’une voix politique, dans une période où le système politique est en train de s’institutionnaliser et les métiers politiques en train de se professionnaliser. / While Chile’s electoral democracy slowly starts to forsake its Portalian stamp, the question about the reforms on vote’s rituals and techniques become crucial. Electoral Reform in 1874 is usually quoted as the first step of democratization rule. Nevertheless, the long list of doubts that opens up alongside with innovation, oblige us to question the relationship, typically presumed, between technological and democratic innovation. In order to examine this problematic issue, our thesis explores the successive transformation of the legal frame, the iconic discourse and the general representation of vote, through a historical-sociological point of view. The study of controversies in this field, the debate and the different representations of the act of vote, help us to deeply understand the limits impose by vote`s technologies to the expression of a political voice, in a time where political system are in process of becoming institutions and to become a politician evolves into a professionalization process.