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Essay on measures to increase voter turnout
Measures to increase voter turnout essay
Essay on measures to increase voter turnout
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Civic Engagement: Voting, TV, and Efficacy
Abstract
Well known is the fact that active participation in America has gone down. Voting, especially, has been affected. Literature and statistics on voting behavior have demonstrated these shocking results. But lack of voting is simply the beginning, several factors affect civic engagement among those are the negative perceptions of politics received through televised media. This study found that several factors of significance with respect to efficacy, amount of TV watching, politician trust, and differences in gender factors. Though Robert Putnam’s suggestion of too much television does hold true, other factors can be predictors as well.
Introduction
America was founded on the idea of democracy. As Piven and Cloward put it, “Americans generally take for granted that ours is the very model of democracy” (2000). There seems to be an evident breakdown in American politics, the electorate is voting less than they did in previous generations (Putnam 2000). I question whether this is the beginning of a massive breakdown in American politics or simply a flux in the activity of the people.
In sorting through much of the research on political opinions and voting very little is clear. Theorist and researchers differ on what is the major factor in the decline of voting in America. An influential idea provided by Robert Putnam was the increase in television watching and its effect on the American people. Others suggest that the growing economic inequality in American lives. But we are working with people who can be very surprising and strange as maybe the outcomes. I try to look at many factors that may indicate some reasons to what a portion of the population ...
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... the American
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Putnam, Robert D. (2000). Bowling Alone. New York: Touchstone, 252-253.
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"Miller light and bud light…either way you end up with a mighty weak beer!" This is how Jim Hightower (a Texan populist speaker) described the choices that the U.S. electorate had in the 2000 elections. This insinuates that there is a clear lack of distinction between the parties. Along with numerous others, this is one of the reasons why the turnout is so low in the U.S. elections. In trying to explain the low figures at the U.S. elections, analysts have called American voters apathetic to indifferent to downright lazy. I disagree that the 50% (in recent elections) of voters that fail to turnout to vote are lazy and that they have just reason not too. I will also show that the problem lies within the system itself in that the institutional arrangements, electoral and governmental, do not create an environment that is conducive to mass participation. I will address these main issues and several others that have an effect on voter participation. In doing so I will compare America to other established democracies.
This paper has given the reader a brief overview of homelessness in Australia, in particular, youth homelessness. Social research methods have also been explored, looking at the definition of qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods, and the purpose for each. It has been concluded that in order to examine young people’s experiences of homelessness, researchers should focus on qualitative methods of data collection.
Among the many ways Americans can participate in politics, voting is considered one of the most common and important ways for Americans to get involved. The outcome of any election, especially at the national level, determines who will be making and enforcing the laws that all Americans must abide by. With this in mind one might assume that all Americans are active voters, but studies show the voter turnout is actually astonishingly low. With this unsettling trend it is important to know what statistics say about voter turnout as was as the four major factors that influence participation: Socioeconomic status, education, political environment, and state electoral laws, in order to help boost turnout in future elections.
Postpartum depression is indeed a major psychological disorder that can affect the relationship between mother and baby. At this time, the cause of postpartum depression is unidentified, although several factors experienced during pregnancy can contribute to this disorder. Fluctuating hormone levels have been traditionally blamed for the onset of postpartum depression. Jennifer Marie Camp (2013), a registered nurse with a personal history of postpartum depression, states in the Intentional Journal of Childbirth Education that “current research demonstrates that PPD may be a compilation of numerous stressors encountered by the family, including biochemical, genetic, psychosocial factors and everyday life stress” (Camp, 2013, p. 1). A previous history of depression, depression during pregnancy, financial difficulties, a dif...
Adding this all up, I have concluded that the United States democracy is unhealthy, yet I still believe there is hope. If I had to give the current condition of democracy a letter grade, I would give it a C. I got this grade because even though the United States maintains many civil right and liberties, a strong number of interest groups, and diverse political parties, it just isn’t enough to carry the poor conditions of ideologies, voter turnout, education, economics, and media. Democracy is surly not thriving in America, but at this point, there is still hope.
The homeless youth is a term that is used to say how a large group of youth run away from home, unaccompanied youth, someone who has forced their child out of the house or leaves them behind somewhere, and also youth who are in foster care.
The political culture that defines American politics shows that despite this compromise, America is still very much a democratic society. The very history of the country, a major contributor to the evolution of its political culture, shows a legacy of democracy that reaches from the Declaration of Independence through over two hundred years to today’s society. The formation of the country as a reaction to the tyrannical rule of a monarchy marks the first unique feature of America’s democratic political culture. It was this reactionary mindset that greatly affected many of the decisions over how to set up the new governmental system. A fear of simply creating a new, but just as tyrannic... ...
Youth become homeless for a number of reasons, including: family violence and neglect, rejection due to sexual orientation or gender identity, the overwhelmed child welfare system and extreme poverty. These youth almost always have experienced unimaginable abuse and trauma, in their homes, their communities, and on the street. It is the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (RHYA)-funded services and programs that help to rectify the deep injustices that homeless youth experience on a daily basis.
At the same time, however, popular political activity other than voting declined. Judging by available evidence, state and national governments ...
According to Shelter, a leading housing charity in United Kingdom, the number of young homeless people in temporary accommodation will hit eight-year high this Christmas, the highest since 2007. (The Guardian, Hillary Osbourne 2016) Homelessness remains a big problem in Britain despite the union of Government departments to prevent anyone spending a second night without abode, funding and initiatives such as the new law recommended by Conservative Bob Blackman MP to make it mandatory for councils to support people threatened with homelessness much earlier. The term ‘homeless’ is often used to refer to people who are sleeping rough, however Daly (1996) expresses the view that a ‘liberal’ definition would be: ‘People are considered homeless
Despite the physical changes that a woman is to expect during her pregnancy, a major concern that requires attention is a period of expected feelings of depression that a woman may encounter known as baby blues. Although normal, and expected baby blues can lead into post partum depression that involves a myriad of emotions and mood swings. If not addressed postpartum depression can lead to a more severe form of baby blues known in the clinical world as postpartum non-psychotic depression that requires professional intervention. The therapeutic goal during this time is to prevent the new mother from committing suicide where she poses a danger to both herself and her newborn.
This paper will attempt to explain from an developmental and ecological framework the myriad of issues and obstacles effecting the health and development of those who experience homelessness in youth. Homelessness at such an early and integral stage in one’s life presents lasting consequences and we must work to better understand, prevent and reverse the effects of homelessness on children.
Roca, Catherine. "Depression During and After Pregnancy." April 2005. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Online. http://www.4woman.gov/faq/postpartum.htm. (17 Nov. 2005)
When examining the issues with homelessness and in particular youth homelessness one may use Empowerment Theory as well as Political Economy Theory to seek answers to definitive questions. Questions such as are homeless youth empowered? Do they have access to wealth? What about their access to information or their reputation in society? They are not in any decision making positions, they lack a high status, and policies that are created which can affect them rarely take their input into account as they are also unable to vote. They are often on their own with few connections that can help to change their situation. Both a city and a larger state system are struggling to identify with this population and in turn often do not provide the appropriate level of assistance. By social empowerment and understanding the dynamics of political economy theory one can help guide the city and state levels to address the issue of youth homelessness.
Such factors are their educational background, socioeconomic status, gender and other demographics. There will be a definite difference between a person who has an excellent academic background and a person who does not have such qualification. In the same way, socioeconomic status of a person also decides how well a person engages politically (Riedel and Sullivan, 2001). For instance, an individual who comes from a very lower class will not pay heed to political system of the country because his basic concern is to feed his children and family. His priorities will be different from a person who has all basic necessities. In the same way a middle aged person who has an adequate knowledge and experience regarding the political system of a country and a young person who is just an amateur will have significant differences of political attitudes and political efficacy. So attitudes and experiences also affect the political efficacy and ultimately the voting behaviors of the individuals (Sheerin and Celia Anne, 2007). Mass Media is one of the tools to build these attitudes and political