Compares the visual structuring of the 1976 and 1984 nationally televised presidential campaign debates, isolating changes in visual structuring that could interfere with the comprehension of verbal content, undermine the political purpose of the encounters, and promote unequal visual treatment of candidates. Reveals three changes in visual…

Reports on a voting project in an interdisciplinary humanities class to help students think carefully about the qualities and qualifications of political leaders. Describes how the students integrated research, reading, and writing skills to engage in campaigning and other election-related activities for political candidates whose characters they…

Examines the influence of five communication modalities on voters' perceptions of candidates. Finds that political talk-radio exerted the greatest influence on voters' perceptions of Bob Dole and considerable impact on perceptions of Steve Forbes. Finds also that prospective voters' conversations with other people, television news, and candidate…

Outlines the historical development of women's legal and political status in the United States, focusing on suffrage, the three "waves" of women's movements, and access to elected office. Discusses three impediments of electing women candidates to public office: (1) solidarity; (2) political culture; and (3) the impact of the single-member…

Investigates how 4 different information-processing goals, varying on the dimensions of effortful versus effortless and impression-driven versus non-impression-driven processing, and individual difference in political sophistication affect the depth at which undergraduate students process candidate information and their decision-making strategies.…

As a bright and ambitious youngster growing up poor in Southside Chicago, Deval L. Patrick won a scholarship to Milton Academy, a private Massachusetts boarding school, courtesy of the acclaimed "A Better Chance" initiative. Attending the prestigious and rigorous prep school altered the course of Patrick's life. He flourished at Milton…

This article presents an excerpt from the book "Reflections of Engagement." The book is a tribute to the thousands of individuals, who have participated in service learning programs, and a challenge to all individuals in making their communities a better place to live. This article presents the reflections of students and faculty on the…

There are numerous ways that the needs of infants and toddlers can be met through legislation and other policies considered by the Congress or the administration. The ZERO TO THREE Policy Center translates scientific research into language and tools that policymakers can use to develop more effective policies. This document outlines ways…

This paper provides an overview of the development of sponsors for primary and general election debates at the presidential level and considers the various sponsorship alternatives for future debates. From a historical perspective, the paper discusses the major role that the broadcasting industry played in the early presidential debates and…

Analysis of work rhetoric and economic vision in selected television ads from the 1984 presidential campaign showed that the ads of both Mondale and Reagan appropriated traditional "work ethic" appeals in presenting the candidates' economic visions, although each candidate emphasized different aspects of the American Dream. Mondale's…

To help determine why women are not more active political participants and to provide information necessary to design messages to persuade women to become more involved, a study examined factors that affect political involvement of Southern women. For a comparison between perceptual attitudes between politically active women and other groups of…

The 1988 campaign is over, and once again the issue of the networks' coverage of the presidential campaign has been raised. Critics have concluded that the coverage of the campaign was reduced to "sound bites," tightly controlled debates and slick television ads. Unfortunately, little attention was paid to the most important issue in the…

A study tested the relationships between emotion in political television commercials, viewer memory, and evaluations of those advertisements. Subjects were in two groups, one of 31 undergraduates and one of 30 adults from the local community. Subjects in the first group were shown 34 different political ads followed by 28 30-second advertisements.…

Noting that the Reagan Administration has slashed education aid 16 percent and that the next President will inherit a fiscal mess, Dukakis plans to become the nation's number-one advocate for educational opportunity, good teaching, and adult literacy. He sets forth numerous plans, including a national teachers corps, a college opportunity fund,…

Recognizes the Kennedy-Nixon debate (in which alleged viewer disagreement was unsupported) as the seminal element in support of the position that television may distort the substance of political communications. Argues that although visual cues undoubtedly have potential to influence the perception of candidates, the nature of that influence…