The authors examine the conditions under which democratic events, including elections, cabinet formations, and government dissolutions, affect asset... markets. Where these events have less predictable outcomes, market returns are depressed and volatility increases. In contrast, where market actors can forecast the result, returns do not exhibit any unusual behavior. Further, political expectations condition how markets respond to the political process. When news causes market actors to update their political beliefs, market actors reallocate their portfolios, and overall market behavior changes. To measure political information, Professors Bernhard and Leblang employ sophisticated models of the political process. They draw on a variety of models of market behavior, including the efficient markets hypothesis, capital asset pricing model, and arbitrage pricing theory, to trace the impact of political events on currency, stock, and bond markets. The analysis will appeal to academics, graduate students, and advanced undergraduates across political science, economics, and finance.

When the Supreme Court in 2003 struck down a Texas law prohibiting homosexual sodomy, it cited the right to privacy based on the guarantee of... "substantive due process" embodied by the Constitution. But did the court act undemocratically by overriding the rights of the majority of voters in Texas? Scholars often point to such cases as exposing a fundamental tension between the democratic principle of majority rule and the liberal concern to protect individual rights. Democratic Rights challenges this view by showing that, in fact, democracy demands many of these rights. Corey Brettschneider argues that ideal democracy is comprised of three core values--political autonomy, equality of interests, and reciprocity--with both procedural and substantive implications. These values entitle citizens not only to procedural rights of participation (e.g., electing representatives) but also to substantive rights that a "pure procedural" democracy might not protect. What are often seen as distinctly liberal substantive rights to privacy, property, and welfare can, then, be understood within what Brettschneider terms a "value theory of democracy." Drawing on the work of John Rawls and deliberative democrats such as Jürgen Habermas, he demonstrates that such rights are essential components of--rather than constraints on--an ideal democracy. Thus, while defenders of the democratic ideal rightly seek the power of all to participate, they should also demand the rights that are the substance of self-government.

Every once in a while, with the passage of time, a classic book takes on even greater relevance. The first edition of Democratic Schools was praised by... legions of education professionals for showing how to create schools and classrooms with democratic values in mind; it was hailed for its clear-eyed assessment of the important role schools continue to play in promoting democracy, its traditions, and its thinking. Now an expanded and updated edition of Democratic Schools arrives, increasingly relevant in a time of inequitable accountability-based reform, standardized assessments, and cookie-cutter curricula. Michael Apple and James Beane return to challenge reform movements such as No Child Left Behind by asserting that our schools have a vital and historic connection to the continued success of our democratic way of life.   Democratic Schools, Second Edition, shows in detail how educators can make a lasting difference by combining authentic, important lessons and a consistent, building- or system-wide focus on a critical and democratic education. Apple and Beane once more convene seven of America's most creative democratic educators for a powerful conversation about how to build an education that is worthy of our highest ideals.   The essays that made the first edition so potent are here in their entirety, each followed by brand-new retrospective insight from their writers, educators who have proven that teachers and administrators can bring the nation's most noble values to life every day. Contributors include: Michael W. Apple James A. Beane Bob Peterson Brian D. Schultz Barbara L. Brodhagen Larry Rosenstock Adria Steinberg Deborah Meier Paul Schwarz.   Grounded in a robust understanding of democracy, education, and the exigencies of our political and social systems, the second edition of Democratic Schools goes beyond updating and expanding the stories of the schools it originally chronicled. It adds new material - including a brand new chapter from Apple and Beane - that provides crucial lessons for creating and sustaining democratic schools, and that once again inspires teachers, administrators, and educational leaders to adopt ways of framing their mission that can create and sustain our democratic way of life - even in these difficult times.

Written in the aftermath of the American Civil War during the ferment of national Reconstruction, Walt Whitman’s Democratic Vistas... remains one of the most penetrating analyses of democracy ever written. Diagnosing democracy’s failures as well as laying out its vast possibilities, Whitman offers an unflinching assessment of the ongoing social experiment known as the United States. Now available for the first time in a facsimile of the original 1870–1871 edition, with an introduction and annotations by noted Whitman scholar Ed Folsom that illuminate the essay’s historical and cultural contexts, this searing analysis of American culture offers readers today the opportunity to argue with Whitman over the nature of democracy and the future of the nation.  Living in Washington, D.C., where Congress granted male African Americans the right to vote nearly five years before the fifteenth amendment extended that right across the nation, and working for the office charged with enforcing the new civil rights amendments to the Constitution, Whitman was at the volatile center of his nation’s massive attempt to reconstruct and redefine itself after the tumultuous years of civil war. In the enduring cultural document that Democratic Vistas has become, the great poet of democracy analyzes the role that literature plays in the development of a culture, the inevitable tensions between the “democratic individual” and the “democratic nationality,” and the corrosive effects of materialism on the democratic spirit.   His own conflicting racial biases notwithstanding, Whitman in Democratic Vistas offers his most eloquent and extended articulation of the beckoning American democratic future. At a time when the nation has elected a president whom Whitman could never have imagined, his controversial and provocative book is a timely reminder of those occasions when we experience the expansion of America’s democratic dream.

Democratization is the first textbook to focus on the "global wave of democratization" that has been occurring since around 1970. Bringing together... leading authors from diverse international backgrounds, it introduces students to the theoretical and practical dimensions of the subject in an authoritative, accessible, and systematic way. The book takes into account the international factors that affect politics at the level of the nation state, showing students the direction in which the discipline is moving. It is accompanied by an innovative companion website that provides numerous resources for students and instructors. Democratization covers several key themes including: * Theories of democratization and their relation to democratic theory * Critical prerequisites and driving social forces of democratic transition * Pivotal actors and institutions involved in democratization * Conditions for democratic survival, the consolidation of newly democratized countries, and the analysis of failed democratization * Demonstrations of how these factors have played a role in the different regions in which the global wave of democratization has transplaced authoritarian and communist systems * Possible futures of democratization worldwide

In 1989, observers of world politics became convinced that they were witnessing a new era: the global primacy of democracy. Governments committed to... building democracy had taken office in a range of apparently unconnected countries, including Spain, Argentina, the Philippines, Poland and South Korea. The collapse of the Soviet Union and the pro-democracy demonstrations in China led to the belief that liberal democracy was now the only legitimate political ideology. This book offers a comprehensive and theoretically-informed introduction to democratization. Drawing on examples from Europe, Africa, Latin America and Asia, it shows how global transformation made democratization possible and analyzes the processes of political change in key countries. However, democratization is a slow and painful business and many attempts have failed or stalled. This book shows how successful democratization requires not only a favorable international climate but also strong, dense and vibrant civil societies and a capable and flexible state.

Democratization and Research Methods is a coherent survey and critique of both democratization research and the methodology of comparative politics. The... two themes enhance each other: the democratization literature illustrates the advantages and disadvantages of various methodological approaches, and the critique of methods makes sense of the vast and bewildering democratization field. Michael Coppedge argues that each of the three main approaches in comparative politics - case studies and comparative histories, formal modeling, and large-sample statistical analysis - accomplishes one fundamental research goal relatively well: "thickness," integration, and generalization, respectively. Throughout the book, comprehensive surveys of democratization research demonstrate that each approach accomplishes one of these goals well but the other two poorly. Chapters cover conceptualization and measurement, case studies and comparative histories, formal models and theories, political culture and survey research, and quantitative testing. The final chapter summarizes the state of knowledge about democratization and lays out an agenda for multimethod research.

Innovation is rapidly becoming democratized. Users, aided by improvements in computer and communications technology, increasingly can develop their own... new products and services. These innovating users -- both individuals and firms -- often freely share their innovations with others, creating user-innovation communities and a rich intellectual commons. In Democratizing Innovation, Eric von Hippel looks closely at this emerging system of user-centered innovation. He explains why and when users find it profitable to develop new products and services for themselves, and why it often pays users to reveal their innovations freely for the use of all.The trend toward democratized innovation can be seen in software and information products -- most notably in the free and open-source software movement -- but also in physical products. Von Hippel's many examples of user innovation in action range from surgical equipment to surfboards to software security features. He shows that product and service development is concentrated among "lead users," who are ahead on marketplace trends and whose innovations are often commercially attractive.Von Hippel argues that manufacturers should redesign their innovation processes and that they should systematically seek out innovations developed by users. He points to businesses -- the custom semiconductor industry is one example -- that have learned to assist user-innovators by providing them with toolkits for developing new products. User innovation has a positive impact on social welfare, and von Hippel proposes that government policies, including R&D subsidies and tax credits, should be realigned to eliminate biases against it. The goal of a democratized user-centered innovation system, says von Hippel, is well worth striving for. An electronic version of this book is available under a Creative Commons license.

For decades Canadians have been led to believe that majority governments are the ideal outcome of our federal elections, allowing the winning party to... fully implement its vision and act decisively. But in this timely exploration of Canada's history and its current political landscape, Peter Russell argues that Canadians are better served by minority governments than by false majorities, the too-common scenario in which a party wins a commanding majority of seats with fewer than half the votes cast. Though minority government may not quite deserve a full three cheers, our multi-party reality and the evolution of Canadian democracy require that we come to terms with it, and perhaps even embrace it.

Demographic Methods and Concepts presents the methods most commonly needed to work with statistical materials on population at national, regional, and... local levels. Unlike other texts in the field, this book uses clear non-technical language throughout to make demographic techniques accessible to a diverse array of students, regardless of their background in mathematics. All the demographic techniques most relevant to the work of demographers, geographers, sociologists, and planners are covered. Demographic concepts and practical strategies important in the interpretation of population statistics are also included. The book is ideal for undergraduate courses in sociology, geography, economics, and statistics.Features·Provides techniques for analysis of population at regional, local, and national scales·Includes chapters on migration and applied demography·Integrates computer-based learning modules--the nature of demographic concepts and visual comparisons of demographic data--throughout the text·Employs spreadsheet exercises using demographic statistics at the end of every chapter to help students develop relevant skillsStudent CD-ROM--Packaged With Every Book·Fully integrated with the text, this CD-ROM contains Excel spreadsheet modules and applications facilitating demographic studies.Companion Websitehttp://www.oup.co.uk/best.textbooks/geography/rowland

This is a collection of 20 case studies prepared by a group of deomgraphers; professors of economics, sociology, population studies, business, and... marketing; and research analysts interested in understanding a world of chanding demographics. Because the study of demography is becoming increasingly important to a growing number of professionals and decisionmakers in business and government, these case studies were written to address how the science of demography is being applied to real-world problems. Written in nontechnical language and presented in a classroom-tested format, this easy to use guidebook covers applications of applied demography in government planning, long term corporate strategy, forecasting, human resource management, and marketing. The authors show how to tie financial, political, and legal analysis into a consideration of demographic data and trends.

Demographics has become a critical dimension of the work of many journalists, business professionals, and government analysts and managers. Yet those... who are not professional demographers often find locating and effectively using demographics difficult. Written by leading authorities, Demographics: A Guide provides a single-volume resource that is readily understandable by everyone. It describes and demonstrates how students and working professionals can obtain, use, and communicate demographic information effectively. Consisting of ten chapters organized into four sections on basic demographic concepts, definitions and methods, this book includes sources of demographic and economic data as well as explanations and examples of how to effectively and accurately use them.

In Demographic Vistas, David Marc shows how we can take television seriously within the humanist tradition while enjoying it on its own terms. To deal... with the barrage of messages from television's chaotic history, Marc adapts tools of theatrical and literary criticism to focus on key personalities and genres in ways that reward serious students and casual viewers alike.This updated edition includes a new foreword by Horace Newcomb and a new introduction by the author that discusses the ways in which the nature of television criticism has changed since the book's original publication in 1984. A new final chapter explores the paradox of the diminishing importance of over-the-air broadcasting during the period of television's greatest expansion, which has been brought about by complex technologies such as cable, videocassette recorders, and online services.

La dernière décennie « démographique » a été riche en faits nouveaux tout en prolongeant les tendances lourdes antérieures : poursuite du... vieillissement des populations, ralentissement de la croissance démographique mondiale, stabilisation de la population mondiale : terme de la dynamique du peuplement ou mythe de la croissance zéro ? Les démographes ont élaboré des outils et des méthodes qui permettent d'éclairer ces faits bruts et ces tendances. C'est l'objet de l'analyse démographique. Sommaire : La matière première des études sur la population; La caisse à outils du démographe; L'analyse des phénomènes démographiques - Mortalité, fécondité, migrations; Structure, mouvement et reproduction de la population; Le peuplement de la planète, faits et tendance.