As a contribution to the Teaching & Learning Symposium on Comparative Politics organized by APSA, this short article discusses the challenges in Introduction to Comparative Politics classes when comparative political behavior is examined. In the tradition of studying political participation, the discipline has witnessed the development of…

Despite recent and growing interest in using Twitter to examine human behavior and attitudes, there is still significant room for growth regarding the ability to leverage Twitter data for social science research. In particular, gleaning demographic information about Twitter users--a key component of much social science research--remains a…

Using data collected from graduates who attended four large public universities in 1976, 1986, or 1996, the authors investigate the relationship between studying economics and civic behaviors. They compare students who majored in economics, business, or other majors, and by the number of undergraduate economics courses completed. Coursework is…

A voting behavior model hypothesizing voting intention as an intervening variable which mediates the relationship between voter attitudes and voting behavior was examined in the framework of the general election in Israel. Voter attitudes were assessed via a new attitude scaling device. The model was tested primarily via discriminant analysis.…

Examines age-related changing levels of voting turnout across time at the individual level, using the University of Michigan Survey Research Center panel studies. Demonstrated that older people do not differ substantially from other age groups in the durability of their voting behavior across time. (JAC)

Confirms the general hypothesis that: persons with relatively undifferentiated political construct systems exhibit substantial collinearity between attitudinal and normative components of the Fishbein-Ajzen behavioral-inventions model. (NKA)

Concludes that newspaper endorsements have stronger effects than political party identification when available information about a candidate is minimal. (FL)

Two logic models are presented to explain voter turnout and voter choice for a referendum considering a millage increase to finance a new high school building. The models incorporate attitudinal, demographic, and economic variables. This approach suggests that interested parties (like school officials) can influence referendum outcomes. Includes…

Explores voting behavior of African Americans and whites in local school and tax referenda to determine whether racial conflict is still a primal factor in noncandidate elections. Results for voters in 5 counties in Florida (over 1,699,000 voters) reveal African-American underregistration and the continuing importance of racial cleavage. (SLD)

These volumes present the findings of four studies of behavioral patterns of delegates at the United Nations (UN). UN voting records, delegate questionnaires, and national, political, social, and geographic variables were analyzed. The first study, "Exploring Delegate Attitudes at the United Nations," reports delegates' reactions to…

Summarizes and reports on a large body of statistical evidence that suggests US voting patterns relate more to general attitudes and beliefs than to any substantive evaluation of policy positions. Studies reveal that voter preference often is determined by parental influence and party loyalty. Discusses possible reasons and implications. (MJP)