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Fatal Police Shootings in the United States Are Higher and Training Is More Limited Than Other Nations
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Fatal Police Shootings in the United States Are Higher and Training Is More Limited Than Other Nations

Police in the U.S. deal with more diverse, distressed and aggrieved populations and are involved in more incidents involving firearms, but they average only five months of classroom training—the briefest among 18 countries examined in a Rutgers study. According to the data, the rate of fatal police shootings in the United States in 2019 (3.1 per...

Interviewers Show Racial Bias When Reporting Survey Respondents’ Political Knowledge
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Interviewers Show Racial Bias When Reporting Survey Respondents’ Political Knowledge

Whether Black people’s political knowledge is accurately reported in survey research depends on the race and skin tone of the interviewer conducting the assessment, according to a new study co-authored by a Georgia State University researcher. The findings raise questions about how to ensure that political science research accurately captures the knowledge and attitudes of diverse...

Americans’ Civics Knowledge Drops on First Amendment and Branches of Government
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Americans’ Civics Knowledge Drops on First Amendment and Branches of Government

After two years of considerable improvement, Americans’ knowledge of some basic facts about their government has fallen to earlier levels, with less than half of those surveyed able to name the three branches of government for the 2022 Annenberg Constitution Day Civics Survey. The Annenberg Public Policy Center’s annual, nationally representative survey showed notable increases in...

Rep. Katie Porter’s University Housing Deal Draws Scrutiny
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Rep. Katie Porter’s University Housing Deal Draws Scrutiny

In Orange County, California, where the typical house sells for $1 million, Rep. Katie Porter’s four-bedroom, three-bath residence in a leafy subdivision on the University of California Irvine campus is a bargain. The progressive Democrat and law professor, who has lamented the cost of housing in her district, purchased it in 2011 for $523,000, a below-market price...

What Are the Seven Virtues of a Healthy Democracy?
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What Are the Seven Virtues of a Healthy Democracy?

People can become involved in politics in a number of ways. They can vote, volunteer in campaigns, or even run for office themselves. But when it comes to improving the state of the U.S. democracy, what can the average citizen do? Christopher Beem, managing director of the McCourtney Institute for Democracy at Penn State, attempted...

Book Examines Role of Racial Justice Work in Progressive Policy Changes
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Book Examines Role of Racial Justice Work in Progressive Policy Changes

By working together, economic and racial justice organizers in the last decade have brought about policy changes to address economic inequality, researchers report in a new book. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign urban planning professor Marc Doussard and his co-author, Portland State University urban studies and planning professor Greg Schrock, examine grassroots organizing efforts in six cities, including Chicago, in “Justice at Work:...

Belgian Researchers Explain Why People with Lower Economic Status Don’t Trust Politicians as Much
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Belgian Researchers Explain Why People with Lower Economic Status Don’t Trust Politicians as Much

The ‘anomie’ concept – that the society is disintegrating and losing moral standards – explains why people with low socio-economic status trust politics less than those with a higher one, concludes a new study published in the scientific journal Social Psychological Bulletin. The study was conducted by two Belgian researchers, Thierry Bornand (ULB and IWEPS) and Olivier Klein (ULB) in...

The Voting Rights Act Increased Racial Economic Equality That’s Now Diminishing
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The Voting Rights Act Increased Racial Economic Equality That’s Now Diminishing

As many state legislatures consider weakening voter protections and Congress debates new voting rights laws, recent research from the University of California San Diego’s Rady School of Management reveals that the 1965 Voting Rights Act contributed to improvements of the economic status of Blacks. Conversely, after the Supreme Court rendered the Voting Rights Act ineffective...