What do political scientists study

Generally, people speaking with a low voice are perceived as dominant and those speaking with a high voice are perceived as submissive.But scientists studying the voices of male political leaders in several countries say charismatic leaders use both extremes when speaking to large crowds, though they speak in low tones and stretch their voice less when speaking to other leaders, the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) reports.Similarly, a study of the speech patterns of business leaders found that Apple chief executive Tim Cook and the late Steve Jobs also had charismatic speech patterns.Rosario Signorello, an acoustic scientist at the University of California at Los Angeles, told the Wall Street Journal the findings of his research could help others be perceived as leaders. “It applies to politicians, to CEOs, to everyone who aspires to leadership status,” he said.Meanwhile, studies of speech patterns by 792 chief executives by Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business … [Read more...] about Is your voice persuasive? Scientists study charismatic speakers for clues

The rise of religious "nones" in the United States – people who do not officially associate with a specific religion – is being driven in part by the right-leaning politics of conservative Christians, a new study suggests. A study published in April in the journal Political Research Quarterly, focused on states with policies against gay marriage, and found a correlation with the number of people who do not identify with a specific religion. The study, co-written by University at Buffalo political scientist Jacob Neiheisel, found from 2006-10, the gap between the nones in gay marriage-ban states and those in states with no marriage ban had been cut in half, decreasing from 3.1 percent to 1.4 percent over that period — showing a greater percentage of people left the church in states where the religious right is most active. "Regardless of which measure of religious right activity in the states that we used, in states that saw contentious fights over same-sex marriage, … [Read more...] about Study: Religious Right States Pushing More to Agnosticism

POLITICS 05/29/2018 02:54 pm ET The original version of the proposal would have exempted rural white areas from work requirements. By Arthur Delaney Don’t call Mike Shirkey racist. He was just trying to help. The Republican state Senator in Michigan wanted people on Medicaid to work in order to keep their benefits, but not if they live in counties with high unemployment. He thought it was ridiculous that anyone would call his plan racist. “I only see one race ― that’s the human race,”  Shirkey said in an interview. “I can’t help… where people choose to live.” The geographical exemption he pitched just so happened to correlate with racial differences in Michigan, benefiting whiter rural counties but not struggling, predominantly black cities, which tend to be located in low-unemployment counties. Shirkey didn’t think that was unfair. “Don’t tell me that somebody living in the city of Detroit … [Read more...] about Michigan’s Medicaid Bill Is A Case Study In How America Makes Racist Policy

The Washington Post blasted President Donald Trump's response to storm-ravaged Puerto Rico after a new report estimated that at least 4,645 people died as a result of Hurricane Maria's impact on the island. "Remember President Trump's visit to the stricken island in the storm's aftermath, tossing out paper towels and telling Puerto Rican officials they should be 'very proud' that hundreds didn't die from Maria as in a 'real catastrophe like Katrina?'" the newspaper said in an editorial. "Think how many lives might have been saved if Puerto Rico's devastation had been handled with the seriousness and urgency it deserved. "Ask yourself whether Mr. Trump would have thought — or acted — differently if the American citizens who were affected had lived not in Puerto Rico but in Texas or Tennessee." The new report published in the New England Journal of Medicine by scientists from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and other institutions takes issue with the … [Read more...] about WashPost Rips Trump After Study Says Nearly 5K Died in Hurricane Maria

Christopher Ingraham, The Washington Post Published 2:56 pm PDT, Tuesday, July 10, 2018 White Americans' negative attitudes toward immigrants are driven overwhelmingly by racial prejudices, not "economic anxiety," according to a new working paper by political scientist Steven Miller of Clemson University. Immigration hard-liners, including President Donald Trump, often frame their arguments with ostensibly race-neutral appeals to public safety or economic interest. As Trump said in July 2015, Mexicans are "taking our jobs. They're taking our manufacturing jobs. They're taking our money. They're killing us." This has led many commentators to conclude that the attitudes driving Trump and his supporters on questions of immigration are primarily economic, rather than racial in nature. Political scientists have subsequently tested this theory, at least as it applies to Trump support overall, and found it lacking - over and over and over again. But Miller's paper is extremely … [Read more...] about Racial resentment is the biggest predictor of immigration attitudes, study finds