BMI Alternative = BAI

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BMI Alternative BAI

• http//www.intmath.com/functions-and-graphs/bmi-ba
  i-comparison.php

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Ch 6

• Public Opinion
• And Political Action

(From a variety of non-Edwardian sources)
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Political Socialization

• The way people acquire their political values.
• Family members.
• School and peers.
• Media, especially television.
• Religion.
• Demographics race, ethnicity, gender, age, and
  region.
• Outside events.

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Shortcomings of Polling

• Must consider margin of error.
• May make errors in selecting the sample.
• Polls limit respondents options.
• People may not have enough information to
  answer.
• Measures of intensity may be imprecise.

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Effects of Public Opinion

• May influence the course of public policy.
• Some critics argue this weakens democracy.
• Creation of bandwagon and underdog effects.

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Figure 11.1- First-Year Student Ideology
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Back
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Figure 11.2- Religious Self-Identification
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Figure 11.3- Views on Hurricane Katrina
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Figure 11.4- The Gallup Poll
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Figure 11.5- Opinion on Gas Taxes
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Figure 11.6- Random Digit Dialing
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Figure 11.7- Daily Tracking Poll
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Figure 11.8- Public Opinion on Iraq
Back
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Table 11.1- Gender Differences
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Table 11.2- Political Knowledge
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AMERICAN POLITICAL CULTURETHEME AUNIQUE
AMERICAN QUALITIES

• TOCQUEVILLES
• DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA
• NO ARISTOCRACY
• WESTWARD MOVEMENT
• NATION OF SMALL
• INDEPENDENT FARMERS

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Alexis de Tocqueville TRAVEL IN THE U.S.IN
1832DEMOCRACYIN AMERICAPUBLISHED VOL
11835PUBLISHED VOL 21840
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IMPORTANT CULTURAL ELEMENTS

• LIBERTY
• EQUALITY
• DEMOCRACY
• CIVIC DUTY
• INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITY

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WHY DOES AMERICAN DEMOCRACY WORK ?

• CONSENSUS VIEW
• (LOUIS HARTZ)
• AMERICANS SHARE THE
• SAME BASIC VALUES
• CONFLICT VIEW
• (VERNON PARRINGTON)
• DIFFERENT MAJOR VIEWS
• (LIB. Vs CONS.)

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ECONOMIC BELIEFS

• SUPPORT OF FREE ENTERPRISE
• (CAPITALISM)
• WITH GOVT REGULATION
• (SOCIALISM)
• EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY

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WHATSHOULDDETERMINEWHO GETSINTO ACOLLEGE ?
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WHOSHOULDDETERMINEWHO GETSINTO ACOLLEGE ?
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WHO WILL YOU ACCEPT INTO . . .
BROWN UNIVERSITY
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WILMA ??

• 3.5 GPA
• 25 ACT SCORE
• 5 AP COURSES
• 10 HONOR COURSES
• 2 SPORTS (4 YEARS EACH)
• 5 CLUBS (3 FOR 4 YEARS, 2 FOR 3 YEARS)

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ADALAI ??

• 3.1 GPA
• 22 ACT SCORE
• 0 AP COURSES
• 2 HONOR COURSES
• 2 SPORTS (2 YEARS EACH)
• 5 CLUBS (5 FOR 4 YEARS)

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WILMA ADALAI

• 3.5 GPA 3.1
• 25 ACT SCORE 22
• 5 AP COURSES 0
• 10 HONOR COURSES 2
• 2 SPORTS 2
• 5 CLUBS 5

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WILMA ADALAI

• W / SCHOOL A / SCHOOL
• 3.5/3.8 GPA 3.1/1.5
• 25/29 ACT SCORE 22/12
• 5/15 AP COURSES 0/0
• 10/40 HONOR COURSES 2/2
• 2/12 SPORTS 2/3
• 5/35 CLUBS 5/5

No extra-curricular activities for 2
years (Levy Failed)
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TEXAS STATE SCHOLARSHIP PLAN(2005)

• TOP 10 OF CLASS
• FREE TUITION
• TO STATE SCHOOLS

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2008 3 BILLS TO CHANGE LAW

• UNFAIR TO STUDENTS
• IN GOOD SCHOOLS
• CHANGING SCHOOLS
• DURING SENIOR YEAR
• MORE INFORMATION
• THAN CLASS RANK NEEDED

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OGT INFO

• BEST INDICATOR
• OF DISTRICT SUCCESS
• 1- COMMUNITY INCOME
• 2- WITH COLLEGE DEGREES

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SOCIOLOGICAL FACTORS

• PURITAN HERITAGE
• FOLLOW LAWS, WORK HARD
• LACK OF CLASS CONSCIOUSNESS
• MOST SEEN AS MIDDLE CLASS

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THE CULTURE WAR

• ORTHODOX
• GODS MORALITY FIXED
• MOST IMPORTANT
• PROGRESSIVE
• GUIDELINES CHANGE
• ACCORDING TO SITUATION
• PERSONAL FREEDOM
• MOST IMPORTANT

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THE CREDIBILITY GAP

• MISTRUST OF GOVERNMENT
• INCREASING SINCE THE 1960S
• INTERNAL EFFICACY
• SAME SINCE THE 1950S
• EXTERNAL EFFICACY
• DECLINING SINCE THE 1960S

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TAKE OUT A PIECE OF PAPER WRITE THE NATION
THE MATCHING NUMBER
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Public Opinion and Political Action
Edwards, Wattenberg, and Lineberry Government in
America People, Politics, and Policy Fourteenth
Edition

• Chapter 6

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Introduction

• Public Opinion
• The distribution of the populations beliefs
  about politics and policy issues
• Demography
• The science of population changes
• Census
• A valuable tool for understanding population
  changes
• Required every 10 years by the Constitution

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The American People

• The Immigrant Society
• United States is a nation of immigrants.
• Three waves of immigration
• Northwestern Europeans (prior to late 19th
  Century)
• Southern and eastern Europeans (late 19th and
  early 20th centuries)
• Hispanics and Asians (late 20th century)

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The American People

• Melting Pot the mixing of cultures, ideas, and
  peoples that has changed the American nation
• Minority Majority the emergence of a
  non-Caucasian majority
• Political culture is an overall set of values
  widely shared within a society.
• Melting Pot or Tossed Salad

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A NATION OFIMMIGRANTS

• SHOULD WE BE A MELTING POT?
• OR A
• SALAD BOWL?

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The American People
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The American People

• The Regional Shift
• Population shift from east to west
• Reapportionment the process of reallocating
  seats in the House of Representatives every 10
  years on the basis of the results of the census

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The American People

• The Graying of America
• Fastest growing age group is over 65
• Potential drain on Social Security
• Pay as you go system
• In 1942, 42 workers per retiree
• In 2040, 2 workers per retiree

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How Americans Learn About Politics Political
Socialization

• Political Socialization
• the process through which and individual
  acquires their particular political
  orientation
• Orientation grows firmer with age
• The Process of Political Socialization
• The Family Political leanings of children often
  mirror their parents leanings

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How Americans Learn About Politics Political
Socialization
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How Americans Learn About Politics Political
Socialization

• The Process of Political Socialization
• The Mass Media
• Source of information as children age
• Generation gap is viewing television news
• School
• Used by government to socialize young into
  political culture
• Better-educated citizens are more likely to vote
  and are more knowledgeable about politics and
  policy.

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How American Learn About Politics Political
Socialization

• Political Learning Over a Lifetime
• Aging increases political participation and
  strength of party attachment.

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Measuring Public Opinion and Political Information

• How Polls Are Conducted
• Sample a small proportion of people who are
  chosen in a survey to be representative of the
  whole
• Random Sampling the key technique employed by
  sophisticated survey researchers which operates
  on the principle that everyone should have an
  equal probability of being selected for the
  sample
• Sampling Error the level of confidence in the
  findings of a public opinion poll

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Measuring Public Opinion and Political Information

• The Role of Polls in American Democracy
• Polls help politicians detect public preferences.
• Do polls make politicians followers ?
• Various studies
• Politicians do not track opinion to make policy
• Question wording may affect survey results

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Measuring Public Opinion and Political Information

• The Role of Polls in American Democracy
• Polls may distort election process
• Exit Polls
• used by the media to predict election day
  winners
• May discourage people from voting
• 2000 presidential election in Florida

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• Start Thursday

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Measuring Public Opinion and Political Information

• What Polls Reveal About Americans Political
  Information
• Americans dont know much about politics.
• Americans may know their basic beliefs
• but not how that affects policies of the
  government.
• The Decline of Trust in Government
• Since 1964, trust in government has declined.
• Trust in government went up after September 11.
• Then has declined.

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Measuring Public Opinion and Political Information
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What Americans Value Political Ideologies

• Political Ideology
• A coherent set of beliefs about politics, public
  policy, and public purpose
• Who Are the Liberals and Conservatives?
• Predominance of conservative over liberal
  thinking
• 38 conservative
• 24 liberal
• 38 moderate
• Gender gap women tend to be less conservative
  than men
• Ideological variation by religion too

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What Americans Value Political Ideologies
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What Americans Value Political Ideologies

• Do People Think in Ideological Terms?
• Ideologues
• think in ideological terms
• Group Benefits voters
• view politics through party or group label
• Nature of the Times view of politics based on
  whether times are good or bad
• No issue content
• vote routinely for party or personality

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How Americans Participate in Politics

• Political Participation all the activities used
  by citizens to influence the selection of
  political leaders or the policies they pursue
• Conventional Participation
• Voting in elections
• Working in campaigns or running for office
• Contacting elected officials

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How Americans Participate in Politics

• Protest as Participation
• Protest a form of political participation
  designed to achieve policy changes through
  dramatic and unconventional tactics
• Civil disobedience a form of political
  participation that reflects a conscious decision
  to break a law believed to be immoral and to
  suffer the consequences

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• Class and Participation

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Understanding Public Opinion and Political Action

• Public Attitudes Toward the Scope of Government
• Many people have no opinion about scope of
  government.
• Public opinion is inconsistent, which may lead to
  policy gridlock.
• Democracy, Public Opinion, and Political Action
• Americans select leaders, but do they do so
  wisely?
• If people know little about candidates issues,
  how can they?
• People vote more for performance than policy.

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Summary

• American society is ethnically diverse and
  changing.
• Knowing public opinion is important to a
  democracy, polling has costs and benefits.
• Americans know little about politics.
• Political participation is generally low.