Examining American public opinion from the Johnson administration through the Reagan years, this book uncovers the true nature of American public opinion, showing that, in fact, the American public has not embraced a conservative ideology.

As evidenced in the 2008 elections and the transition to a new era of Democratic governance, one of the most important developments in American politics in recent years has been the resurgence of political parties. Democrats and Republicans represent different world views and policies, citizens recognise these differences, and many of them use party labels to make sense of the political world. Parties, Polarisation and Democracy in the United States describes and analyses the place of political parties in American politics today - both among elites and citizens at large. Many scholars and pundits denounce political polarisation; they view it as a symptom of a broken political system that provides unappealing choices for voters and that is frequently mired in deadlock. Baumer and Gold make a different argument - that party polarisation offers the kind of choice and accountability to voters that was not always present in earlier periods of American political history.

As evidenced in the 2008 elections and the transition to a new era of Democratic governance, one of the most important developments in American politics in recent years has been the resurgence of political parties. Democrats and Republicans represent different world views and policies, citizens recognize these differences, and many of them use party labels to make sense of the political world. In short, party resurgence rooted in party differences has become one of the central themes in contemporary American politics.Parties, Polarization and Democracy in the United States describes and analyzes the place of political parties in American politics today both among elites and citizens at large. It also examines the effects of party polarization. Many scholars and pundits denounce political polarization; they view it as a symptom of a broken political system that provides unappealing choices for voters and that is frequently mired in deadlock. Baumer and Gold make a different argument that party polarization offers the kind of choice and accountability to voters that was not always present in earlier periods of American political history. The book concludes with a discussion of the 2008 elections and a look toward the 2010 midterms, potentially a partisan watershed for Congress similar to 1994 and 2006. And in an analysis rarely found in works on American politics, Baumer and Gold examine partisan resurgence and polarization in the United States alongside the experiences of other Anglo-American countries. The book concludes with a discussion of the 2008 elections and a look toward the 2010 midterms, potentially another sea change steeped in the partisan divide."Features of this Text: ""

When Ronald Reagan was elected president, many political observers argued that the election of a conservative Republican signaled a fundamental change in the political preferences of Americans--that the electorate had tired of the old Democratic liberalism and had embraced the new conservative approach. A new era in American politics had begun. Howard Gold challenges this and other assumptions about the nature of the "conservative shift" as reflected by the political preferences of the American electorate. Examining American public opinion from the Johnson administration through the Reagan years, Gold uncovers the true nature of American public opinion, showing that, in fact, the American public has not embraced a conservative ideology. He goes on to evaluate the mechanisms of change in American politics and to discuss the implications of his findings for the future of electoral politics in America.

Statistics for Social Understanding: With Stata and SPSS introduces students to the way statistics is used in the social sciences--as a tool for advancing understanding of the social world. Written in an engaging and clear voice and based on the latest research on the teaching and learning of quantitative material, the text is geared to introductory students in the social sciences, including those with little quantitative background. It covers the conceptual aspects of statistics even when the mathematical details are minimized. Informed by research on teaching and learning in statistics, the book takes a universal design approach to accommodate diverse learning styles. With an early chapter on cross-tabulation, a focus on comparisons between groups throughout, and a unique chapter on causality, the text shows students the power of statistics for answering important real-world questions. By providing thorough coverage of social science statistical topics, a balanced approach to calculation, and step-by-step directions on how to use statistical software, authors Nancy Whittier, Tina Wildhagen, and Howard J. Gold give students the ability to analyze data and explore and answer exciting questions. To accommodate changing undergraduate courses, the text incorporates examples from both Stata and SPSS in every chapter and provides practice problems of every type as well as readily available datasets for classroom use, including the General Social Survey, American National Election Study, and more. Each chapter concludes with a chapter summary, a section on using Stata, a section on using SPSS, and practice problems.

Statistics for Social Understanding: With Stata and SPSS introduces students to the way statistics is used in the social sciences--as a tool for advancing understanding of the social world. Written in an engaging and clear voice and based on the latest research on the teaching and learning of quantitative material, the text is geared to introductory students in the social sciences, including those with little quantitative background. It covers the conceptual aspects of statistics even when the mathematical details are minimized. Informed by research on teaching and learning in statistics, the book takes a universal design approach to accommodate diverse learning styles. With an early chapter on cross-tabulation, a focus on comparisons between groups throughout, and a unique chapter on causality, the text shows students the power of statistics for answering important real-world questions. By providing thorough coverage of social science statistical topics, a balanced approach to calculation, and step-by-step directions on how to use statistical software, authors Nancy Whittier, Tina Wildhagen, and Howard J. Gold give students the ability to analyze data and explore and answer exciting questions. To accommodate changing undergraduate courses, the text incorporates examples from both Stata and SPSS in every chapter and provides practice problems of every type as well as readily available datasets for classroom use, including the General Social Survey, American National Election Study, and more. Each chapter concludes with a chapter summary, a section on using Stata, a section on using SPSS, and practice problems.