Newswise — For stories about the U.S. presidential election, the issues and the implications of a victory by either President Bush or Sen. John Kerry, consider the following sources from The Johns Hopkins University. Listed with each source is a brief description of his or her area of expertise or particular take on the election, followed by contact information.
I. POLITICS:
Growing Power of the PresidencyBenjamin Ginsberg, Ph.D. and Matthew Crenson, Ph.D.Professors Ginsberg and Crenson, who co-authored the book, "Downsizing Democracy," are currently writing another book that seeks to explain how the office of the president has gotten more powerful in recent decades, even in the face of several failed administrations. Part of the answer is the election campaigns have become personal, rather than party campaigns and those who successfully campaign for president are, to use Crenson's phrase, "pathologically ambitious."
Congress has traditionally gotten its power through popular support from the citizens, but with fewer and fewer people participating in the process, that institution is weakened. Crenson and Ginsberg are both professors of political science.
The Etiquette of Political Conversation P.M. Forni, Ph.D.As the election season enters its prime time, an everyday conversation has the potential to take an uncomfortable turn as co-workers, family and friends suddenly become political rivals. Even benign dinner dates and water cooler chit-chat could get ugly.
Johns Hopkins University professor and civility expert P.M. Forni offers suggestions for avoiding angry confrontations while voicing opinions in a way that is both forceful and respectful. Forni is the author of "Choosing Civility: The Twenty-five Rules of Considerate Conduct." Read Forni's tips online at http://www.jhu.edu/~civility/Tipspolit.pdfReporters may use these tips as direct quotes or edit them for length.
The Importance of Hispanic Voters.Adam SegalAdam J. Segal, director of the Hispanic Voter Project at Johns Hopkins, believes the political conventions will play an important role in how each party is perceived by Hispanic voters. With the huge concentration of media and the most public of platforms, Segal said, "If they do have the priority to reach out to Hispanic voters, this is the chance to demonstrate it."
Segal's research has tracked the growing amount of spending by Democrats and Republicans on Spanish-language television advertising, from the $3 million spent during the 2000 presidential race to the $16 million spent during the 2002 midterm elections to the $4 million spent so far in this year's race. "All indications point to record spending on Spanish ads in this year's presidential contest," says Segal.
Since establishing the Hispanic Voter Project http://www.jhu.edu/advanced/government/hvp Segal has received national media attention, including stories on CNN, and in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Miami Herald, Los Angeles Times, the Associated Press, and others. Segal has appeared on MSNBC, NBC Nightly News, CNN's "Inside Politics" , CNN en Espanol and Azteca America, among others.
Segal will be in Boston for the Democratic National Convention and available for interviews.
Weblogs and the InternetAlexis RiceAs the next phase of the campaign heats up, the use of web logs, or "blogs," along with the use of the Internet to raise funds, rally supporters and battle the opposition on message will continue to be important in determining who wins. For stories about blogs and the Internet in this campaign, consider Alexis Rice as a source.
Rice is a fellow in the Center for the Study of American Government at Johns Hopkins and creator of http://www.campaignsonline.org
Electronic Voting Machines: Can We Trust Their Results?Avi Rubin, Ph.D.Avi Rubin has conducted research on the new electronic voting machines that many states have purchased in an effort to avoid the "hanging chads" and other punch card ballot problems that created an uproar during the 2000 presidential election.
Rubin believes the new touchscreen machines pose problems of their own, because they are vulnerable to tampering and, in the absence of a paper trail, do not permit a meaningful recount in a contested race. Rubin has testified before government panels regarding his concerns. He also has studied security hazards posed by Internet voting proposals. Rubin is professor of computer science and technical director of the Information Security Institute at Johns Hopkins.
II. ISSUES:Marriage and family issuesAndrew Cherlin, Ph.D.Andrew Cherlin studies the sociology of the family and public policy, particularly in the area of marriage and divorce. He's available to comment on President Bush's support of a constitutional amendment on gay marriage, the evolution of marriage in America, marriage promotion legislation and other related issues as they arise. "It's not 'activist judges' who have redefined marriage," Cherlin says. "It's heterosexual America, which has changed the meaning of marriage from a focus on children to a focus on intimacy."
The High Cost of Health CareGerard Anderson, Ph.D.Providing health care coverage for the 44 million uninsured Americans is a prominent election issue. Gerard Anderson is a professor of health policy and management at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and an expert in health care financing. He is available to discuss issues related to health care for the uninsured, health care spending and prescription drug costs.
Anderson is the author of a new study that examines the cost of prescription drugs in the United States compared with other developed nations. In May 2004, Anderson and his colleagues authored a study that found that Americans pay significantly more for the health care they receive, yet they are not healthier than people in other developed nations.
Paying for Prescription DrugsThomas Oliver, M.D.Last December, President Bush signed the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003, which was intended to provide seniors with discounts on the cost of prescription drugs. Despite the new law, providing prescription drug coverage for Medicare recipients remains a hotly debated issue.
Thomas Oliver, an associate professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, recently studied the 38-year history of efforts to add a prescription drug benefit to Medicare. His research, published in June 2004, examines the circumstances that contributed to the current legislation. Oliver and his colleagues at the School of Public Health are available to discuss prescription drug benefits and issues related to health insurance for the uninsured and health care financing.
Homeland SecuritySheldon Greenberg, Ph.D. and Larry HarmelFor stories about homeland security, consider experts from the Johns Hopkins University Police Executive Leadership Program and the Mid-Atlantic Regional Community Policing Institute, housed at Johns Hopkins.
Sheldon Greenberg has worked with police agencies around the world, including Cyprus, Jordan, Hungary and Pakistan, and is an expert in a number of areas dealing with homeland security, including fear management, police leadership, inter-agency collaboration and law enforcement organization change dynamics. A former police officer, Greenberg is director of the Division of Public Safety Leadership in the School of Professional Studies in Business and Education at the Johns Hopkins University.
Larry Harmel is an expert in the security of the nation's transportation network infrastructure, including highways, bridges, tunnels, rail transportation, airports and seaports. He spearheaded at Johns Hopkins the first post-9/11national effort to bring transportation chiefs of police together to discuss securing the nation's transportation network. Harmel is director of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Community Policing Institute, housed at Johns Hopkins. He is former chief of police of the Maryland Transportation Authority.
Politics, the Presidency, U.S. Congress and Foreign Policy; War in Iraq; Homeland Security; Trade and Foreign Economic Policy; Electoral Trends in Western Democracies; National Security; Military Affairs; International Law; Terrorism; U.S.-European Relations; United Nations; Media Coverage of Presidential CampaignsThe Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS)For leading experts in the above fields and many others, consider the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, D.C. The faculty includes:Esther Brimmer, deputy director of the Center for Transatlantic Relations; Eliot A. Cohen, director of the Strategic Studies Program; Francis Fukuyama, Bernard L. Schwartz Professor of International Political Economy; Robert Guttman, senior fellow at the Center for Transatlantic Relations and editor of Transatlantic magazine; Daniel Hamilton, director of the Center for Transatlantic Relations;Fred Holborn, senior adjunct professor of American foreign policy; Thomas Keaney, SAIS Foreign Policy Institute executive director;Don Oberdorfer, SAIS journalist-in-residence; and Ruth Wedgwood, director of the International Law and Organization Program.
The Promise and Protection of Embryonic Stem Cell ResearchJohn D. Gearhart, Ph.D.John Gearhart is a leading researcher in the field of stem cell biology and his lab is working toward improved understanding of basic biological development, cellular potential, and the possibilities of cell-based therapies for diseases such as heart failure, diabetes, and birth defects of the bladder. His lab was the first to isolate a type of human pluripotent stem cells known as human embryonic germ cells, which are derived from fetuses, an accomplishment they reported in November 1998.
On August 9, 2001, President Bush announced his policy restricting federal funding to work with embryonic stem cell lines derived prior to the time of his announcement. Gearhart is a seasoned source for stories on science, ethics and policy surrounding research and potential therapies with embryonic stem cells and cells derived from them. Gearhart is co-director of the Stem Cell Biology Program of the Johns Hopkins Institute for Cell Engineering, and is the C. Michael Armstrong Professor of Medicine.
The Case for Basic ResearchSteve Desiderio, M.D., Ph.D., or Carol Greider, Ph.D.
The National Institutes of Health's budget has almost doubled, and members of Congress are clamoring for examples of what that budget expansion has garnered. But in the world of basic research, it can be a considerable time before answers to fundamental biological questions lead to advances that benefit patients.
Steve Desiderio, director of the Johns Hopkins Institute for Basic Biomedical Sciences, and Carol Greider, director of the department of molecular biology and genetics, can discuss the value of basic research, how it lays the foundation for future breakthroughs. Both can describe how the face of basic research is shifting from individual laboratories and departments to interdisciplinary teams and research programs.
The researchers agree that fundamental biological inquiry, not tied to any disease state, is still a critically important area of research that requires federal funding.
Education financing and higher education policy issuesEllen Frishberg, Ph.D.Ellen Frishberg, director of student financial services at Johns Hopkins, is well-versed on the latest issues facing students and their families as they apply for financial aid, as well as how the changing face of the White House could impact how families pay for college. She welcomes opportunities to work with the media.
III. IMPLICATIONSEconomic Outlook under a Bush or Kerry PresidencySteve Hanke, Ph.D.For stories about the fiscal and economic policies of Bush versus Kerry, consider Professor Steve Hanke, an economist and co-director of the Institute for Applied Economics and the Study of Business Enterprise at Johns Hopkins.
Hanke advises governments on currency and regulatory reform, privatization, public finance and capital market development . A senior economist for President Reagan's Council of Economic Advisors, Hanke has also served as an advisor to the governments of Yugoslavia, Indonesia, Lithuania, Argentina, Bulgaria and Montenegro, among others.
A columnist for Forbes magazine, Hanke has been interviewed and quoted extensively by media from around the world and is available to comment on the economic and fiscal ramifications of the election.
Federal Appointments and the Supreme CourtJoel Grossman, Ph.D.For stories about the Supreme Court and the continuing drama over appointments to the federal bench, consider talking with Joel Grossman, a constitutional law scholar and expert on the Supreme Court. Grossman will be able to put into perspective what effect a Bush or Kerry administration may have on the Supreme Court and the makeup of the federal judiciary, as well as provide background on the important trends and cases of the Supreme Court.
A professor of political science, Grossman has taught the subject for more than 40 years. He has been widely quoted and interviewed in local and national media on Supreme Court issues and cases.
No Child Left Behind and the ElectionEdward Pajak, Ph.D.and Rochelle (Shelly) Ingram, Ph.D.What impact has the No Child Left Behind law had on the public school systems in the United States and how might this affect the outcome of the presidential campaign? For stories about education policy and NCLB, consider these two experts
Edward Pajak is interim associate dean of the Graduate Division of Education in the School of Professional Studies in Business and Education. He says NCLB can work because it focuses on results, yet he is concerned about some supporters of NCLB, who he thinks may be trying to undermine confidence in public education rather than improve performance for all students.Pajak has published more than 40 articles in professional journals and has authored and co-edited four books, including, "The Central Office Supervisor of Curriculum and Instruction: Setting the Stage for Success."
Shelley Ingram is an associate professor and director of the Center for Urban Partnerships at Johns Hopkins. She has extensive experience in teaching and urban education and was formerly the assistant state superintendent for certification and accreditation for the Maryland State Department of Education. A former classroom teacher herself, she would be able to offer some insights on how the NCLB act is working.
Will the Democrats Demand Data?James McPartland, Ph.D.How will the education agenda change if Democrats take over the White House? Will there be more money for the No Child Left Behind Act? Will whole-school reforms, slated for budget cuts next year, be revived? Principal research scientist and director of the Center for Social Organization of Schools, James McPartland, has been studying education since the 1960s. He can offer his perspective on what a new administration/or the continuation of the present administration will mean for teachers, students, parents and the future of America.
Putting Data in the Driver's Seat Jeffrey Wayman, Ph.D.The Bush administration has put increased emphasis on implementing teaching and learning strategies that are proven by research to work. From early reading to after-school activities, schools are pressured to be data-driven and provide research bases for the methods they use, particularly when using federal dollars. Researcher Jeffrey Wayman has studied software that makes it easier for schools and school districts to analyze the data they have. There is also a user-friendly web site to help educators drive their data in a helpful direction.
Will the Outcome of the Presidential Election Effect Stem Cell Research?Allan Spradling, Ph.D.Allan Spradling, director of the Department of Embryology at the Carnegie Institution of Washington in Baltimore and adjunct professor of biology at Johns Hopkins, is actively engaged in stem cell research in the area of genetics, genomics, gene transfer and more.
He believes that the outcome of the presidential election will affect whether stem cell research in our country is pursued at what he calls "full scale," or at a more "restrained level." He also asserts that of equal importance is how the outcome of the election will affect the way stem cell research is perceived by the general public.
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