Casey LaFrance

Voter Rolloff in a Low-Information Context Evidence From Intermediate Appellate Court Elections

Hall notes that ballot rolloff in supreme court races is substantial but not random. Various institutional, election-specific, state, and district-level contextual forces lead rolloff to increase in some cases and decrease in others. However, it is not clear that Halls findings apply to lower-level judicial elections because of the low-information environment in which those elections occur. Analyzing rolloff in 755 intermediate appellate court (IAC) elections from 2000 to 2007, we, with a few deviations, replicate Halls study. The findings indicate that in many ways the variables that affect rolloff in supreme court elections are similar to those in IAC races although some differences do exist.

The County Sheriff in Films: A Portrait of Law Enforcement as a Symbol of Rural America

For years, there has existed a gap in academic research on county sheriffs in their role in rural law enforcement. However, the image of the county sheriff has been caricatured perennially on the silver screen, ie, in films. This study, rooted in cultivation theory, uses qualitative film analysis in an attempt to identify common themes and heuristics in media portrayals of the sheriff. After identifying these themes, we explore the implications of these portrayals for public perceptions of the sheriff as a professional law enforcement officer and as an elected official. We argue that the sheriff serves as a symbol of rural America — and conclude by discussing the implications of this phenomenon and how it might be ameliorated by more intense research focused on the sheriff.

The Influence of Career Stage on Police Officer Work Behavior

Career stage theory suggested that workers progress through career stages, each marked by unique work attitudes. Little evidence exists, however, about the influence career stages have on the work activities of criminal justice agents. Using a sample of 401 police officers from 23 individual police departments, the present study examined the influence of employee career stage on three measures of work productivity, and the constructs of expectancy motivation theory. The results revealed curvilinear declines in productivity with progression through the career stages. The predictive values of opportunity, ability, and instrumentality on work activities varied with career stage and type of work output. Only performance-reward expectancy retained predictive value across all career stages and outputs. The findings emphasize the importance of intrinsic and informal extrinsic rewards for the management of experienced criminal justice agents.

Reacquainting the Academic Bureaucracy of Social Science with Its Subjects

Abstract In this essay, we will first explain the common scholarly arguments and societal reforms that brought about bureaucratic specialization in both academia and the federal bureaucracy. Next, we will discuss criticisms of bureaucratic specialization. We will then explain flaws in David Ricci’s (1984) proposed solutions to this conundrum. We will conclude by offering four alternative remedies bent on reconnecting political scientists, government agents, and citizens to one another. The first remedy suggests broad acceptance of multiple research and methodological approaches to social science inquiry. The second solution asks social science scholars to forge reciprocal links with citizens. The third suggestion specifically argues that public administration, as one of the most practical of the social sciences, can serve as a lodestar for reconnecting citizens with academia. Finally, we explain the duty that citizens have to learn about social science and citizenship.