Your Thoughts Matter

Polarization

The Supreme Court, public opinion and decision-making: Research roundup

Source: JournalistsResource.org

The decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court are seldom without controversy, and American history has seen fierce public debate over the Court’s proper role in the democracy. With lifetime tenure, justices are in principle immune from the vagaries of public opinion. But new issues inevitably come to the Court because of emerging trends in society, and evolving norms and values have always been part of these cases.

Republican and Democratic doctors treat patients differently

Source: JournalistsResource.org

The issue: Some of America’s most politically sensitive issues concern our health: abortion, stem cell research, firearm safety and contraception, for example. In many cases, Democrats and Republicans split on these questions down party lines. So do doctors, according to a new study, depending on their political affiliation. These biases may be influencing how doctors treat patients.

Does Facebook drive political polarization? Data science and research

Source: JournalistsResource.org

Questions about how social media platforms may drive users into “filter bubbles” — increasingly like-minded communities whose views are reinforced and become more extreme — have been swirling for several years now. As the debate has developed in popular discourse, scholars and data scientists have continued to make insights on what is often referred to in the academic literature as online “homophily,” or colloquially as the “birds of a feather flock together” phenomenon.

Messages that mobilize? Issue publics and the content of campaign advertising

Source: JournalistsResource.org

Issue-specific political advertisements are ubiquitous during elections, and they’re often assumed to be effective in increasing voter turnout. Such ads frequently target specific groups — what political scientists sometimes call “issue publics” — such as veterans, parents or senior citizens.