All Play and No Work?

Well, it is the 5th week and we are halfway through the quarter. My students turned in the first draft of their second essay, a critique of textualism according to Justice Antonin Scalia. In case you are dying to know, textualism (in a nutshell) is the idea that...wait, you aren't dying to know, are you?

I had my discussion section this morning. I spent nearly the entire time talking about sentence structure and grammar. Students seem to think that longer sentences are better sentences, but this is not so. Many of them commit what I like to call "sentence sprawl" and "comma abuse." As they write, students like to just keep going with their thoughts and go on and on and on, because they get on a roll, and then they don't want to lose their train of thought, and they assume that they are being perfectly clear even though they are not, and then they just sprinkle commas throughout their super long sentence. As you can see, I have given you an example. From their essays, I pulled out some examples of sentence sprawl, comma abuse, and good comma use to make a handout for the students. Together we practiced "fixing" bad sentences.

I decided that today was the day to tell my students about my pet fish, Justice O'Connor. Below is a photo:

I got Justice O'Connor last December. My roommates and I decided to have a White Elephant Gift Exchange, and my gift was a betta fish. Well, I decided that I wanted to have my own fish, so I purchased a red betta fish. To pay homage to the first female Supreme Court Justice, I named my fish Justice O'Connor. At the gift exchange, my friend took home my gift and he named his fish John Roberts (after the current Chief Justice).

Sometimes TAs dread going to their discussion section too early because they don't want to have to make small talk with the students. Some may think that they will lose authority if they seem too much like a friend. Most are simply so incredibly socially awkward that small talk probably freaks them out. I, however, love getting set up for class and making small talk before my discussion sections. (And no, I don't have any authority problems.) Anyway, before section today, I told the students about trick-or-treating in the cold and (sometimes) snow in Minnesota. It was an unfathomable concept to them. Then I proceeded to tell them about Justice O'Connor and how he (it's a male betta fish) almost died last week. Hilarity ensued. I explained how I found Justice O'Connor fluttering about near the surface of the water. I was afraid that he was going to die because the bowl was only 2/3 full of water. I dumped more water into the bowl, along with some food. He was still fluttering about, sideways. I started to yell at Justice O'Connor, telling him not to die. It must have worked because Justice O'Connor is still alive. Anyway, I met some friends for dinner after JOC's near death experience and told them that I feared that a fish funeral was imminent. My students laughed at my story- a lot. They also suggested that I need to have more fish to name after Supreme Court Justices. I think one is enough.

Since it was Halloween today, I baked sugar cookies for my students. I also baked some cookies for Danielle (my roommate) to take to her chemistry lab. Tonight I realized that I had forgotten to bake for my Political Participation class that meets tomorrow afternoon. Since last winter quarter, I have gotten into the fairly consistent habit of picking one of my classes (in which I am a student) and baking for seminar each week. I enjoy baking, but I can't eat all the treats by myself! Tonight I made orange pumpkins and leaves with pink frosting. It looks strange, but pink is all I had left.

I have started a new knitting project. You see, Heidi and Katie have a super comfortable blue couch in their office. When I need a break, I like to go lay down and relax for a few minutes. It is heavenly, but the only thing that is missing is a pillow. So, I decided to knit them a pillow cushion. Also, notice the brand new bamboo knitting needles. I got them in this gigantic set of 17 pairs. They are quiet and super smooth. Best of all, they're not super slippery like the aluminum needles, so I don't have to worry about dropping stitches.

I have finished the scarf!

Still Breathing

Southern California by the numbers:

24: the number of fires
426, 236: the number of acres destroyed
1500: the number of homes burned down
9000: the number of firefighters on the scene

Still doing okay in California. Surprisingly, UCI has not canceled classes and attendance has been low. Many students have family and friends in the Los Angeles and San Diego area, some of whom have evacuated. The air quality is horrible, leading some students to stay inside and miss class so as to not aggravate their asthma-- doctor's orders. At the moment, one of my students does not even know if his family's home is still standing.

In my discussion section today, I told my students that Minnesota does not really have a disaster that is comparable to wildfires. I explained that evacuation does not occur during tornadoes and snowstorms. I told them that UCI not canceling classes reminds me of how the U of M never allowed snow days. Of course, I had to first explain the concept of snow days. Despite the current situation, we had a productive discussion section today. They have a rough draft due on Tuesday, so I helped them lay the groundwork to their essay.

The Eye of the Flames

If you have been following the news recently, you know that there are several fires in Southern California. Irvine is currently surrounded by flames. There are fires in Los Angeles and San Diego, and there is one on the outskirts of Irvine as well. Last night, my friend Heidi called to tell me that she could see the Irvine fire from her apartment. There was a thick cloud of smoke in the air, and sure enough, we could see a fire north of UCI. Apparently, these fires are person-made; they can start from something as small as a discarded cigarette. Put that together with the Santa Ana winds and an unusually dry year, and we end up with uncontrollable fires.

The governor has declared a state of emergency, and some schools have canceled classes. The air quality is pretty bad, and breathing the outside air is like breathing campfire smoke. My cousin Mallory called me to see if I was okay, and she told me that the San Marcos fire is very close to her place of employment. As a result, she will not be working for the next week or so. I talked to my dad today, and I told him that I would rather be in a snowstorm than this wildfire weather.

How Do You 'Do' Research?

Sometimes I cross paths with grad students from other departments and when I say that I am in the Political Science department, they inevitably ask me "How do you do research? It's a fair question and one that I have often wondered (and still wonder).

Research methods fall into two categories: qualitative and quantitative. Qualitative methods include interviews and case studies, while quantitative methods can include large scale survey research. I have not taken a research methods class yet, so I am not entirely familiar with these two methods. However, I do know that these research methods are the source of hostility and rivalries in many departments. You see, those who use quantitative methods think that their research method is more valid and superior than those who use qualitative methods and vice versa. Both research methods have their strengths and weaknesses, and they can be utilized to answer different research questions.

So, let me me explain how I "do" research. This past year, I have had experience with large scale survey research. I used the World Values Survey to look at trust in government, and I used the General Social Survey to look at abortion attitudes. This type of research is pretty self explanatory: yearly surveys are conducted both in the US and in various countries. The data sets are compiled and available for research use and statistical analysis using fancy stats programs.

I am currently collecting data for my first qualifying paper. It has been a tedious and frustrating experience, but I have made good progress this past week. Tentatively, I want to look at the factors that may influence abortion rates. However, most of the research centers on the barriers to abortion access, impact of laws, and the influence of demographics as a way to predict state abortion rates. Instead, I want to look at the availability of resources to accommodate motherhood. I want to know if states that invest in the welfare of children have lower abortion rates. To do this, I am collecting data on abortion rates, child care funding, Head Start funding, number of child care providers, and pre kindergarten funding. On top of this, I have also compiled data on the composition of the state legislatures. I also plan to collect data on prenatal care spending and health insurance. Did I mention that I am collecting this data for each state in the US? Sometimes this data is compiled by an organization, and then I only have to enter it in to an excel spreadsheet. For example, the Center for American Women in Politics had nicely compiled data on state legislatures. Other times, data is not so nicely compiled. For example, to find abortion rates, I had to go to each and every state department of health website.

This data collection has been frustrating, and at times I have wondered if I should just scrap the whole project in exchange for one where I can use existing data sets. There were days when I was spending hours in front of my computer and looking for material on the internet, only to come across many dead ends. However, I have been making progress, and KB and I are confident that I will have some interesting results. In the end, I think this will be a gratifying experience. I will keep you posted on my progress.

To Vote or Not to Vote? The Merits and Limits of Rational Choice Theory by Andre Blais

This week we read To Vote or Not to Vote? The Merits and Limits of Rational Choice Theory by Andre Blais for my Political Participation class. Basically, Blais is trying to figure out why we vote.

According to Anthony Downs, citizens engage in a "calculus of voting" model when deciding whether or not to vote. This model says that a citizen will decide to vote if the benefits of voting outweigh the costs. However, if the costs of voting outweigh the benefits, then the citizen will not vote. The expected benefits are those that the citizen would presumably gain if his/her desired candidate wins the election or just the benefits that the citizen gains by simply casting a vote. The costs of voting include the time it takes to register, go to the polls, and obtain information to be an informed voter. According to the rational choice model, citizens must also consider the probability that they will cast the deciding vote in an election. So when deciding to vote, a rational citizen considers the costs, benefits, and the probability that he/she will cast the deciding vote.

This is the paradox of voting: The probability that citizens will cast the deciding vote is extremely small, yet many people still vote. According to rational choice theory, rational actors would not vote. Many scholars have tinkered with the rational choice model and contributed their amendments to the theory. Blais starts with the notion that rational choice inadequately explains why people vote.

Blais explores where, when, and which people vote. Drawing on cross national data, Blais finds that voter turnout is linked to economic development, literacy, population, number of parties, and electoral system. Turnout in national elections is higher than in local elections, and turnout is higher when elections are close. Turnout increases as economic development and literacy increases. Blais also finds turnout to be higher in small, densely populated countries and in countries with proportional representation. He also finds that as the number of political parties in a country increases, voter turnout decreases. Blais moves on to explore voters themselves. He finds that voters do not overestimate their vote, and they do not think that they are casting a decisive vote. Instead, many talk about voting as a sense of duty. Blais finds that this sense of civic duty is stronger among women, as well as older and more religious persons. Finally, Blais finds that the costs of voting are considered to be minimal.

I enjoyed reading this book, but I had two problems with it. This is what we do as political scientists: We read the literature and then look for the flaws. All right, here goes. Blais looks at the number of political parties and their competitiveness to determine their impact on voter turnout. I would have liked it if he had looked at the scope of the parties. According to Blais, we should have a pretty high turnout rate since we have only two political parties. However, this is not the case, especially compared to other countries. Blais finds that turnout is lower when the number of parties increases because voters are overwhelmed with the number of choices, but in the US case the parties are so broad that we seem to lack choices.

My second problem with Blais concerns his methodology- how he went about conducting his research. When he looked at the costs of voting, he surveyed students and voters. This is problematic because we would assume that the costs of voting are going to be low for those who actually vote. Surveying students is also problematic because we know that income and education are linked to voting; hence, costs would also be minimal to this group. It would have been interesting to explore whether or not the costs of voting prevent some from casting a vote.

Week 1 Recap

The first week of a new quarter isn't usually eventful, but this past week was quite busy. For starters, I decided to rearrange my schedule. I was enrolled in a grad stats class, but I decided that my stats skills were too rusty to feel comfortable in the class. Instead, I will be taking an independent study with KB so that I can work on my first qualifier. I plan to take the undergrad stats sequence starting this winter. I am confident that this arrangement will be much better than my original schedule. Since I have to work on a qualifer anyway, I may as well get course credit for doing so.

On Wednesday, I taught my first discussion section for my Supreme Court class. I am one of 2 TAs for this class, and we have almost 50 students. Normally I have 3 sections each week, but since this class is small, I have only one. It is an upper division writing class, so the students will have to write and rewrite 3 essays throughout the quarter. The students will turn in an essay, and then we will give them feedback. They will do a rewrite and then we will give a grade for the final product.

I am looking forward to TAing this class this quarter. My section was very successful, and the students were eager to participate and discuss the course material. Most of the students in my section are aspiring lawyers. Their ambition is evident in how they contribute to the discussion. Since this is an upper division class, most of the students are 3rd and 4th year students. One of them asked me if I actually liked teaching this class, and I immediately took that as an indication that these students have had their fair share of bad and unenthusiastic TAs. I reassured the class that I was genuinely interested in the Supreme Court (come on, I have a red betta fish named Justice O'Connor) and committed to their success in the course. I enjoy teaching, and I know that this will be obvious to them as the quarter progresses.

As grad students, we have two responsibilities: researching and TAing. When we go on the job market, we will either take the teaching route or the researching route. If we take the teaching route, we will most likely end up teaching at a liberal arts college or a state school. If we take the researching route, we will most likely end up at a research university where we will have to "publish or perish." In this case, research and publications will be crucial to our survival. There is such an emphasis placed on furthering our research, and a good number of TAs skirt their responsibilities. I have known of TAs that don't actually teach discussion sections and instead use them as glorified office hours. I have known of TAs who openly admit that they will do only the bare minimum so that they can focus on their own research. I have known of TAs who actively pursue TA assignments without discussion sections. Consequently, I was not surprised when one of my students "tested" me to see how dedicated I would be to the class. It is too soon for me to know whether or not I will follow the teaching route or the researching route, so I am going to keep my options open.

During the latter part of the week, I attended a CSD reception and a department reception. I feel much more comfortable at these receptions now than a year ago since I know the professors and grad students. Conversations don't revolve around research interests and current projects, which get a little dry after a while. Inquiring about someone's research interests is an easy icebreaker, but it is intimidating because first years don't have works in progress. Ironically, now that I have works in progress, research interests are not the topic of conversation. This suits me just fine, as I enjoy talking to people about issues that are beyond our personal research.