Karen Cyphers - page 10

Activists might be getting in way of their causes, according to a new report by Canadian researchers. Researchers from the Universities of Toronto and Waterloo found that peoples’ reluctance to associate with political or social activists lowers the likelihood of changing behaviors… even when people agree with the cause. The paper, titled “The ironic influence of activists: Negative stereotypes reduce social change influence” examined  the possibility that people resist adopting certain behaviors because of negative stereotypes of those who most…

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In an ongoing series on the Top Lobbying Firms in Florida, Sunshine State News has some pretty apt observations about the successes and strengths of firms, large and small. Unlike rankings made by other media outlets using raw compensation data, SSN attempts to even the playing field by dividing total firm compensation by the number of lobbyists on staff.  On one hand, this helps portray firm activity in a novel way; but on another, it unfairly distorts rankings toward leaner…

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Today on Context Florida, editor Peter Schorsch compels the Legislature to rescind lobbyist compensation reporting requirements, particularly in light of legislative hesitation to conduct audits. Steven Kurlander offers a sobering look at recent acts of violence that together suggest to him the “collective madness of an angry and depressed America.” Kurlander begins with the recent story of Miriam Carey and ends by posing what many fear: that these acts cannot just be “written off as the unhinged acts of a…

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The Tampa Bay Times’ PolitiFact project has earned a Pulitzer and plenty of accolades, but here is one that could not have been said before: its work actually deters outright falsehoods.  Political scientists Brendan Nyhan at Dartmouth and Jason Reifler at the University of Exeter conducted a field experiment to test whether state legislators mislead the public less when they are aware that fact-checkers are watching. Turns out, this is so. Nyhan and Reifler looked at a group of randomly selected…

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The first round of Senate Sweeps has started in TrendPo’s “Congressional Bracketology“.  this competition pits elected officials against each other in a test of social media prowess, NCAA bracket style. The first round evaluates each of the 64 on all aspects of their social media presence, including Facebook likes, comments, and shares; new followers on Twitter, retweets, and mentions; and YouTube views, likes, and subscribers. Facing off in Round 1 are Florida Senators Marco Rubio and Bill Nelson.  Rubio enters…

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Today on Context Florida, there’s Mark O’Brien, a “white guy of a certain age” who in being happy feels a bit “out of step with his peers”; and there’s Pierre Tristam who turns a sharp pen at the Medicare generation for what he considers their disproportionate role in Tea Party opposition to Obamacare. Then, Ed Moore shares his morning revelation that “spreading like kudzu is the sentiment ‘THROW THEM ALL OUT!’” but warns that while this feels good, assuming it…

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The 2013 Future of Florida Forum is quickly approaching, set for October 14th to 16th at Disney’s Contemporary Resort. Presented by the Florida Chamber Foundation, this conference brings leaders from across the state together to address topics of economic recovery and employment.  Beginning on Sunday, bring family to enjoy discounted tickets to Disney Parks and golf as a warm up to the days to follow.  Monday begins with meetings of the International Business Council and Florida Chamber Foundation Board of…

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