Rebecca E. Deen

A view from the top: Gender differences in legislative priorities among state legislative leaders

ABSTRACT Women are no longer token participants in the governing process in U.S. state legislatures. Rather, they comprise more than one fifth of the state legislative membership and have become a visible force in leadership, holding about fifteen percent of all leadership positions. Unfortunately, there has been no systematic effort to examine the differences between the issue priorities of men and women leaders. Given the growing number of women in leadership and the importance of leaders as agenda setters, this question warrants attention. Our results indicate that while women are a growing part of modern legislative leadership teams, they are less prominent in key leadership positions. Women leaders in our sample do have legislative agendas distinct from their male counterparts. Specifically, women leaders are more likely to report issues of traditional concern to women: health care, social services, womens family and childrens issues, and the environment as priorities. They are less likely than are men to emphasize taxes, budget matters, public safety, institutional regulation and matters of insurance or product liability as legislative priorities. Further, we find that differences between women and men leaders remain significant when controls for party, race, experience, type of leadership position and region are included in the model.

Friendship and Votes: The Impact of Interpersonal Ties on Legislative Decision Making

THOMAS HOBBES said, “To have friends is power: for they are strengths united” (Hobbes 1651, chapter 10). Put simply, friendship entails interpersonal ties or bonds that are characterized by affection or esteem. Networks of friends provide distinctive lines of communication, channel the exchange of information and influence, establish a basis for interpersonal commitments and loyalties, and provide the social capital needed for goal attainment. Social scientists have explored friendship networks and their consequences in a variety of social and political contexts, from the Irish village to the urban community, from patron-client relations to the Mafia, and from the U.S. Senate to the U.S. electorate (see, for instance, Baker 1980; Boissevain 1974; Fischer Friendship and Votes: The Impact of Interpersonal Ties on Legislative Decision Making

Online Discussions Across Three Universities: Student Participation and Pedagogy

From PowerPoint presentations to web-based quizzes to entire classes taught online, technological changes have had a strong influence on pedagogical practices. The initial research into the pedagogical effectiveness of these emerging technologies suggests there are many ways in which they might be useful ( Boschmann 1995 ; Hiltz 1994 ; Palloff and Pratt 2001 ). In this paper, we examine student participation on a structured online discussion group that spanned three universities and address two research questions: what explains student participation in online discussion groups and how effective are these groups as pedagogical tools? To address these topics, we draw upon our use of online discussions as a class assignment during the fall semester of 2000. First, we examine previous research and generate several expectations about student behavior and attitudes.

Getting to the Top: Factors Influencing the Selection of Women to Positions of Leadership in State Legislatures

IN THE PAST several election cycles, we have seen the role of women in politics become more prominent, both in elected office and at the ballot box. The impact of women in politics is seen in the candidates seeking office. Increasingly women are throwing their hats into the political ring; more important, they are winning. In the past two decades, the percentage of officeholders who are women has risen significantly. There are now 65 female members of Congress, constituting 12 percent of all members. In 1977 women were only 4 percent. Of all officials elected to statewide offices, women constitute 28 percent, up from one-tenth two decades ago (Center for the American Woman and Politics [CAWP] 1999). In 1969 only 9 percent of all state legislators were women. Women’s political strength has grown steadily, and now they are 22 percent of state legislators (CAWP 1999). Women are also affecting politics by how they cast their votes. According to CAWP, women have turned out to vote in presidential elections at higher proportions than men since 1980. In 1992, while George Bush’s support was almost equally distributed between genders, 45 percent of women supported Bill Clinton as compared with 41 percent of men. In 1996 the gender gap widened: a majority Getting to the Top: Factors Influencing the Selection of Women to Positions of Leadership in State Legislatures

Assessing Effectiveness of Veto Threats in the Bush Administration (1989-1993): Preliminary Evidence from Case Studies

Presidents have many tools in the policy-making process. One of the most powerful of these is vetoing legislation. Although presidents can veto legislation at will, the use of the veto is costly as it can be perceived as a sign of weakness. Veto threats may provide the president with a bargaining tool relying on the power of the veto without incurring its costs. This article provides a framework for understanding the use and effectiveness of veto threats. First, the present understanding of the use of veto threats is discussed, including the conditions under which they are most likely to occur and to be effective. Next, we provide a conceptualization of the context in which a veto threat is issued and the result of such a threat. Finally, using the Bush administration (1989-1993), we illustrate two possible results with case studies of civil rights and child care legislation.