bet you didn't know this ...

... about election polling:

*In the 1990 Nicaraguan election, polling organizations refused to share information and polls were thought of as propaganda.
*The Canadian House of Commons has debated several bills to ban the publication of political poll results during political campaigns.
*Publishing poll results immediately before an election is illegal in Brazil and France.
*While it is not illegal in Germany, the polling organizations there voluntarily restrict polling immediately prior to elections.

research interest pique

Part of what I'm focusing on right now, as I look to August when I'll begin the Ph.D. coursework, is developing some areas of research interest that I can begin working on immediately into my classes.

Last night, I was driving home and listening to NPR, which is a generous font of ideas and information ... and began to think about the role of public opinion on American politics. And really, that's an ideal melding of my knowledge of the media, information studies, and politics.

Some questions to answer later:
* How did public opinion polling become such a big business and so prevalently used in American politics?
* Do other countries poll as much as we do?
* Do opinion polls really mean anything?
* If so, what?
* How does public opinion drive policy?
* And, the reverse, how does policy drive public opinion?

And so forth.

Welcome

I created this blog (the fourth blog I've started now) to talk about the Ph.D. journey ahead. Wheee.