David C W Parker
Biographic Data
| ID | 4122959 |
|---|---|
| NAME | David C W Parker |
| GIVEN NAMES | David C W |
| FAMILY NAME | Parker |
| SIGNATURE | PARKER D C W |
| AFFILIATIONS | Montana State University |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-3735-9378 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 19 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 130 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 19 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2006 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2023 |
| H-INDEX | 7 |
Do Constitutional Preferences Affect Citizens’ Representational Choices? Evidence from the Devolved UK
The creation of the Scottish Parliament provided Scottish citizens with an additional layer of politicians to represent them. But to whom do constituents turn when seeking help with a problem—councillors, MSPs or MPs? We assess how partisanship, national identity and shared competences affect public perceptions of the governing responsibilities of the UK Parliament, Scottish Parliament and local councils. We find that an individual’s national ide…
Looking after Constituency Interests: The Utilisation of MP Expenses and Early Day Motions to Craft Constituency Service Home Styles
Taking advantage of the new data available from the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, I examine whether members of the House of Commons can craft a reputation for constituency service with how they allocate their office allowances and the types of Early Day Motions (EDMs) they sponsor. Combining information on the costs of holding surgeries and the sponsorship of constituency service EDMs with the fourth wave of the 2015 British Elec…
Questioning scrutiny: The effect of Prime Minister’s Questions on citizen efficacy and trust in parliament
Alan Converya, Pavielle Hainesb, James Mitchella & David C. W. Parkerc* a School of Social and Political Science, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UKb Department of Political Science, Rollins College, Winter Park, FL, USAc Department of Political Science, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, USAAlan Convery is Senior Lecturer in Politics at the University of Edinburgh and Lead Editor of the British Journal of Politics and International Relat…
Poaching the personal vote: How shadowing behaviour shapes constituent impressions
There are well-documented tensions between regional and constituency members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs). Much of this friction stems from regional MSPs competing over constituency casework through shadowing. Although these so-called dual-mandate MSPs clearly see value in pursuing a personal vote, little is known about whether these efforts affect the perceptions of constituents. This article presents a survey of Scottish respondents to sho…
The logic of parliamentary action: Brexit, Early Day Motions, and bolstering the personal vote
More than 300 Members of Parliament (MPs) found themselves in an awkward position after the vote on Britain’s membership in the EU: They had taken a public stance on Brexit in opposition to their constituents. We investigate whether MPs attempted to bolster their personal vote in response and if this provided electoral protection. Using Early Day Motions (EDMs), we find that MPs supporting Leave in Remain constituencies sponsored more EDMs after …
Women and the weight of a pandemic: A survey of four Western US states early in the Coronavirus outbreak
In the initial months of the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States, people struggled to adjust to the new normal. The burden of managing changes to home and work life seemed to fall disproportionately to women due to the nature of women's employment and gendered societal pressures. We surveyed residents of four western states in the first months of the outbreak to compare the experiences of women and men during this time. We found that women wer…
Following Fenno: Learning from Senate Candidates in the Age of Social Media and Party Polarization
Students of American politics are indebted to Richard Fenno’s path-breaking work, Home Style , published four decades ago. But, given the book’s widespread acclaim, few have taken Fenno’s prescription to go back home with members of Congress to heart. In this essay, I echo Fenno’s call for scholars to become participant-observers of the political process while offering the modern “soaker and poker” a guide to the pitfalls and opportunities of pur…
Back from Holyrood: How mixed-member proportional representation and ballot structure shape the personal vote
Research on mixed-member legislatures demonstrates that members face different incentive structures when cultivating a personal vote. In this article, we examine how Scotland’s adoption of a mixed-member proportional system (MMP) and a change in ballot structure affect the legislative activities undertaken and emphasised by Members of Scottish Parliament (MSPs). Utilising a range of measures of legislative behaviour, we find that MSPs representin…
To Scrutinise and Protect: Question Time as a Window into Institutional and Electoral Incentives at Holyrood and Westminster
Question Time is subject to problems of collective action and coordination. Individual parliamentarians seeking to build a personal vote are not incentivised to participate, despite the fact that the collective party brand affecting re-election is at risk during these highly publicised weekly spectacles. We analyse questions asked at First Minister’s Question Time during the first four sessions of the Scottish Parliament to examine the factors pr…
Leaving on a Jet Plane: Polarization, Foreign Travel, and Comity in Congress
No political observer, politician, or political scientist doubts that party polarization has weakened the social fabric of Congress. Measuring that effect, however, is exceedingly difficult. In this article, we operationalize the congressional social fabric by examining the foreign travel behavior of members of Congress over time. We evaluate the social disintegration in Congress by examining if and whether changes in member travel can explain wh…
Battle for the Big Sky: Representation and the Politics of Place in the Race for the U.S. Senate
The proposed text presents a detailed case study of the US Senate race in Montana in 2012 and is intended for use as a supplement in courses on campaigns and elections, the US Congress, and American Government. This race is of particular interest because it was one of only a few competitive races in 2012 and because of the impact of Citizens United and so-called "dark money" on the campaign. Furthermore, the setting in Montana offers a view into …
Foreign Junkets or Learning to Legislate? Generational Changes in the International Travel Patterns of House Members, 1977–2012
In the aftermath of the polarization that has taken hold in Congress, some have pointed to the changing social connectedness of Congressional members as a possible cause, effect, or both. In this article, we take an initial look at this element of the story by analyzing one aspect of change over time in what are known as CODELs. We outline our data collection of these foreign trips taken by House members in two distinct periods and show how the u…
Rooting Out Waste, Fraud, and Abuse: The Politics of House Committee Investigations, 1947 to 2004
Scholars have long bemoaned congressional disinterest in oversight. We explain varied congressional attention to oversight by advancing the contingent oversight theory. We show how the structure of congressional committees, partisan majorities, and theories of delegation together explain when, why, and for how long Congress investigated executive branch malfeasance between 1947 and 2004. Divided government, partisan committees, and committees cha…
Our State’s Never Had Better Friends: Resource Allocation, Home Styles, and Dual Representation in the Senate
We demonstrate that senators use office allowances to create positive constituent service and policy expert impressions among voters, but the effects depend on the representational expectations of constituents and the nature of dual representation. Whether a senator shares the same party and represents a densely populated state in part determines the effectiveness of constituent service activities and efforts to establish policy expertise. The re…
Who Franks? Explaining the Allocation of Official Resources
All members of Congress utilize their official resources, even if the electoral effect is minimal. Congressional reforms in 1995 created the Members Representational Allowance, providing members with more flexibility in deploying their official resources. However, these reforms also created a zero-sum game where a dollar spent on travel is a dollar not available for sending mass mail or paying staff salaries. Using a newly created dataset, we arg…
Making a Good Impression: Resource Allocation, Home Styles, and Washington Work
Members of Congress engage in a variety of representational activities, but existing research suggests that the effect of these activities on reelection margins is mixed. Reframing the question, we examined whether or not constituents notice the home styles of members and members' efforts to communicate their activities through the allocation of official resources. Combining new data on members' office expenditures with data from the American Nat…
Divided We Quarrel: The Politics of Congressional Investigations, 1947–2004
Are congressional committee investigations into alleged executive‐branch wrongdoing more common during periods of divided government? We analyze original data tracking congressional committee investigations into alleged fraud, waste, and abuse by the executive branch between 1947 and 2004. Countering David Mayhew's (1991) empirical finding, we show that divided government generates more and more‐intensive congressional investigations, but this re…
Simulations and Role Playing (S&RP) I Track Summary
Undergraduates often have difficulty conceptualizing phenomena for which they have little experience, such as life in an Islamic state or the pressures of foreign policy decision making. The participants of the S&RP Track I explored multiple ways political science might address this challenge. While the exercises employed by participants differed, the desire to help students experientially learn key concepts and materials provided the central mot…
Linear Barriers of Northern Iran: The Great Wall of Gorgan and the Wall of Tammishe
Le grand mur de Gorgan, appele aussi mur d’Alexandre ou mur de Feroz, est une vaste structure defensive de pres de 200 km de long, entre la Mer caspienne et la chaine de l’Elbrouz. La date de sa construction est controversee, et elle varie selon les auteurs sur une plage chronologique allant de la conquete macedonienne a la conquete islamique. Le projet porte par l’universite d’Edimbourg, l’Iranian Cultural Heritage et l’organisation du tourisme …
Divided We Quarrel: The Politics of Congressional Investigations, 1947–2004
Are congressional committee investigations into alleged executive‐branch wrongdoing more common during periods of divided government? We analyze original data tracking congressional committee investigations into alleged fraud, waste, and abuse by the executive branch between 1947 and 2004. Countering David Mayhew's (1991) empirical finding, we show that divided government generates more and more‐intensive congressional investigations, but this re…
Making a Good Impression: Resource Allocation, Home Styles, and Washington Work
Members of Congress engage in a variety of representational activities, but existing research suggests that the effect of these activities on reelection margins is mixed. Reframing the question, we examined whether or not constituents notice the home styles of members and members' efforts to communicate their activities through the allocation of official resources. Combining new data on members' office expenditures with data from the American Nat…
Women and the weight of a pandemic: A survey of four Western US states early in the Coronavirus outbreak
In the initial months of the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States, people struggled to adjust to the new normal. The burden of managing changes to home and work life seemed to fall disproportionately to women due to the nature of women's employment and gendered societal pressures. We surveyed residents of four western states in the first months of the outbreak to compare the experiences of women and men during this time. We found that women wer…
Rooting Out Waste, Fraud, and Abuse: The Politics of House Committee Investigations, 1947 to 2004
Scholars have long bemoaned congressional disinterest in oversight. We explain varied congressional attention to oversight by advancing the contingent oversight theory. We show how the structure of congressional committees, partisan majorities, and theories of delegation together explain when, why, and for how long Congress investigated executive branch malfeasance between 1947 and 2004. Divided government, partisan committees, and committees cha…
Leaving on a Jet Plane: Polarization, Foreign Travel, and Comity in Congress
No political observer, politician, or political scientist doubts that party polarization has weakened the social fabric of Congress. Measuring that effect, however, is exceedingly difficult. In this article, we operationalize the congressional social fabric by examining the foreign travel behavior of members of Congress over time. We evaluate the social disintegration in Congress by examining if and whether changes in member travel can explain wh…
Linear Barriers of Northern Iran: The Great Wall of Gorgan and the Wall of Tammishe
Le grand mur de Gorgan, appele aussi mur d’Alexandre ou mur de Feroz, est une vaste structure defensive de pres de 200 km de long, entre la Mer caspienne et la chaine de l’Elbrouz. La date de sa construction est controversee, et elle varie selon les auteurs sur une plage chronologique allant de la conquete macedonienne a la conquete islamique. Le projet porte par l’universite d’Edimbourg, l’Iranian Cultural Heritage et l’organisation du tourisme …
Our State’s Never Had Better Friends: Resource Allocation, Home Styles, and Dual Representation in the Senate
We demonstrate that senators use office allowances to create positive constituent service and policy expert impressions among voters, but the effects depend on the representational expectations of constituents and the nature of dual representation. Whether a senator shares the same party and represents a densely populated state in part determines the effectiveness of constituent service activities and efforts to establish policy expertise. The re…
Looking after Constituency Interests: The Utilisation of MP Expenses and Early Day Motions to Craft Constituency Service Home Styles
Taking advantage of the new data available from the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, I examine whether members of the House of Commons can craft a reputation for constituency service with how they allocate their office allowances and the types of Early Day Motions (EDMs) they sponsor. Combining information on the costs of holding surgeries and the sponsorship of constituency service EDMs with the fourth wave of the 2015 British Elec…
Back from Holyrood: How mixed-member proportional representation and ballot structure shape the personal vote
Research on mixed-member legislatures demonstrates that members face different incentive structures when cultivating a personal vote. In this article, we examine how Scotland’s adoption of a mixed-member proportional system (MMP) and a change in ballot structure affect the legislative activities undertaken and emphasised by Members of Scottish Parliament (MSPs). Utilising a range of measures of legislative behaviour, we find that MSPs representin…
Who Franks? Explaining the Allocation of Official Resources
All members of Congress utilize their official resources, even if the electoral effect is minimal. Congressional reforms in 1995 created the Members Representational Allowance, providing members with more flexibility in deploying their official resources. However, these reforms also created a zero-sum game where a dollar spent on travel is a dollar not available for sending mass mail or paying staff salaries. Using a newly created dataset, we arg…
Questioning scrutiny: The effect of Prime Minister’s Questions on citizen efficacy and trust in parliament
Alan Converya, Pavielle Hainesb, James Mitchella & David C. W. Parkerc* a School of Social and Political Science, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UKb Department of Political Science, Rollins College, Winter Park, FL, USAc Department of Political Science, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, USAAlan Convery is Senior Lecturer in Politics at the University of Edinburgh and Lead Editor of the British Journal of Politics and International Relat…
Foreign Junkets or Learning to Legislate? Generational Changes in the International Travel Patterns of House Members, 1977–2012
In the aftermath of the polarization that has taken hold in Congress, some have pointed to the changing social connectedness of Congressional members as a possible cause, effect, or both. In this article, we take an initial look at this element of the story by analyzing one aspect of change over time in what are known as CODELs. We outline our data collection of these foreign trips taken by House members in two distinct periods and show how the u…
Following Fenno: Learning from Senate Candidates in the Age of Social Media and Party Polarization
Students of American politics are indebted to Richard Fenno’s path-breaking work, Home Style , published four decades ago. But, given the book’s widespread acclaim, few have taken Fenno’s prescription to go back home with members of Congress to heart. In this essay, I echo Fenno’s call for scholars to become participant-observers of the political process while offering the modern “soaker and poker” a guide to the pitfalls and opportunities of pur…
To Scrutinise and Protect: Question Time as a Window into Institutional and Electoral Incentives at Holyrood and Westminster
Question Time is subject to problems of collective action and coordination. Individual parliamentarians seeking to build a personal vote are not incentivised to participate, despite the fact that the collective party brand affecting re-election is at risk during these highly publicised weekly spectacles. We analyse questions asked at First Minister’s Question Time during the first four sessions of the Scottish Parliament to examine the factors pr…
Simulations and Role Playing (S&RP) I Track Summary
Undergraduates often have difficulty conceptualizing phenomena for which they have little experience, such as life in an Islamic state or the pressures of foreign policy decision making. The participants of the S&RP Track I explored multiple ways political science might address this challenge. While the exercises employed by participants differed, the desire to help students experientially learn key concepts and materials provided the central mot…
Linear Barriers of Northern Iran: The Great Wall of Gorgan and the Wall of Tammishe
Le grand mur de Gorgan, appele aussi mur d’Alexandre ou mur de Feroz, est une vaste structure defensive de pres de 200 km de long, entre la Mer caspienne et la chaine de l’Elbrouz. La date de sa construction est controversee, et elle varie selon les auteurs sur une plage chronologique allant de la conquete macedonienne a la conquete islamique. Le projet porte par l’universite d’Edimbourg, l’Iranian Cultural Heritage et l’organisation du tourisme …
Making a Good Impression: Resource Allocation, Home Styles, and Washington Work
Members of Congress engage in a variety of representational activities, but existing research suggests that the effect of these activities on reelection margins is mixed. Reframing the question, we examined whether or not constituents notice the home styles of members and members' efforts to communicate their activities through the allocation of official resources. Combining new data on members' office expenditures with data from the American Nat…
Divided We Quarrel: The Politics of Congressional Investigations, 1947–2004
Are congressional committee investigations into alleged executive‐branch wrongdoing more common during periods of divided government? We analyze original data tracking congressional committee investigations into alleged fraud, waste, and abuse by the executive branch between 1947 and 2004. Countering David Mayhew's (1991) empirical finding, we show that divided government generates more and more‐intensive congressional investigations, but this re…
Who Franks? Explaining the Allocation of Official Resources
All members of Congress utilize their official resources, even if the electoral effect is minimal. Congressional reforms in 1995 created the Members Representational Allowance, providing members with more flexibility in deploying their official resources. However, these reforms also created a zero-sum game where a dollar spent on travel is a dollar not available for sending mass mail or paying staff salaries. Using a newly created dataset, we arg…
Rooting Out Waste, Fraud, and Abuse: The Politics of House Committee Investigations, 1947 to 2004
Scholars have long bemoaned congressional disinterest in oversight. We explain varied congressional attention to oversight by advancing the contingent oversight theory. We show how the structure of congressional committees, partisan majorities, and theories of delegation together explain when, why, and for how long Congress investigated executive branch malfeasance between 1947 and 2004. Divided government, partisan committees, and committees cha…
Our State’s Never Had Better Friends: Resource Allocation, Home Styles, and Dual Representation in the Senate
We demonstrate that senators use office allowances to create positive constituent service and policy expert impressions among voters, but the effects depend on the representational expectations of constituents and the nature of dual representation. Whether a senator shares the same party and represents a densely populated state in part determines the effectiveness of constituent service activities and efforts to establish policy expertise. The re…
Foreign Junkets or Learning to Legislate? Generational Changes in the International Travel Patterns of House Members, 1977–2012
In the aftermath of the polarization that has taken hold in Congress, some have pointed to the changing social connectedness of Congressional members as a possible cause, effect, or both. In this article, we take an initial look at this element of the story by analyzing one aspect of change over time in what are known as CODELs. We outline our data collection of these foreign trips taken by House members in two distinct periods and show how the u…
Battle for the Big Sky: Representation and the Politics of Place in the Race for the U.S. Senate
The proposed text presents a detailed case study of the US Senate race in Montana in 2012 and is intended for use as a supplement in courses on campaigns and elections, the US Congress, and American Government. This race is of particular interest because it was one of only a few competitive races in 2012 and because of the impact of Citizens United and so-called "dark money" on the campaign. Furthermore, the setting in Montana offers a view into …
Leaving on a Jet Plane: Polarization, Foreign Travel, and Comity in Congress
No political observer, politician, or political scientist doubts that party polarization has weakened the social fabric of Congress. Measuring that effect, however, is exceedingly difficult. In this article, we operationalize the congressional social fabric by examining the foreign travel behavior of members of Congress over time. We evaluate the social disintegration in Congress by examining if and whether changes in member travel can explain wh…
Following Fenno: Learning from Senate Candidates in the Age of Social Media and Party Polarization
Students of American politics are indebted to Richard Fenno’s path-breaking work, Home Style , published four decades ago. But, given the book’s widespread acclaim, few have taken Fenno’s prescription to go back home with members of Congress to heart. In this essay, I echo Fenno’s call for scholars to become participant-observers of the political process while offering the modern “soaker and poker” a guide to the pitfalls and opportunities of pur…
Back from Holyrood: How mixed-member proportional representation and ballot structure shape the personal vote
Research on mixed-member legislatures demonstrates that members face different incentive structures when cultivating a personal vote. In this article, we examine how Scotland’s adoption of a mixed-member proportional system (MMP) and a change in ballot structure affect the legislative activities undertaken and emphasised by Members of Scottish Parliament (MSPs). Utilising a range of measures of legislative behaviour, we find that MSPs representin…
To Scrutinise and Protect: Question Time as a Window into Institutional and Electoral Incentives at Holyrood and Westminster
Question Time is subject to problems of collective action and coordination. Individual parliamentarians seeking to build a personal vote are not incentivised to participate, despite the fact that the collective party brand affecting re-election is at risk during these highly publicised weekly spectacles. We analyse questions asked at First Minister’s Question Time during the first four sessions of the Scottish Parliament to examine the factors pr…
Poaching the personal vote: How shadowing behaviour shapes constituent impressions
There are well-documented tensions between regional and constituency members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs). Much of this friction stems from regional MSPs competing over constituency casework through shadowing. Although these so-called dual-mandate MSPs clearly see value in pursuing a personal vote, little is known about whether these efforts affect the perceptions of constituents. This article presents a survey of Scottish respondents to sho…
The logic of parliamentary action: Brexit, Early Day Motions, and bolstering the personal vote
More than 300 Members of Parliament (MPs) found themselves in an awkward position after the vote on Britain’s membership in the EU: They had taken a public stance on Brexit in opposition to their constituents. We investigate whether MPs attempted to bolster their personal vote in response and if this provided electoral protection. Using Early Day Motions (EDMs), we find that MPs supporting Leave in Remain constituencies sponsored more EDMs after …
Women and the weight of a pandemic: A survey of four Western US states early in the Coronavirus outbreak
In the initial months of the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States, people struggled to adjust to the new normal. The burden of managing changes to home and work life seemed to fall disproportionately to women due to the nature of women's employment and gendered societal pressures. We surveyed residents of four western states in the first months of the outbreak to compare the experiences of women and men during this time. We found that women wer…
Looking after Constituency Interests: The Utilisation of MP Expenses and Early Day Motions to Craft Constituency Service Home Styles
Taking advantage of the new data available from the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, I examine whether members of the House of Commons can craft a reputation for constituency service with how they allocate their office allowances and the types of Early Day Motions (EDMs) they sponsor. Combining information on the costs of holding surgeries and the sponsorship of constituency service EDMs with the fourth wave of the 2015 British Elec…
Questioning scrutiny: The effect of Prime Minister’s Questions on citizen efficacy and trust in parliament
Alan Converya, Pavielle Hainesb, James Mitchella & David C. W. Parkerc* a School of Social and Political Science, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UKb Department of Political Science, Rollins College, Winter Park, FL, USAc Department of Political Science, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, USAAlan Convery is Senior Lecturer in Politics at the University of Edinburgh and Lead Editor of the British Journal of Politics and International Relat…
Do Constitutional Preferences Affect Citizens’ Representational Choices? Evidence from the Devolved UK
The creation of the Scottish Parliament provided Scottish citizens with an additional layer of politicians to represent them. But to whom do constituents turn when seeking help with a problem—councillors, MSPs or MPs? We assess how partisanship, national identity and shared competences affect public perceptions of the governing responsibilities of the UK Parliament, Scottish Parliament and local councils. We find that an individual’s national ide…
Political science (18 works) · Law (16 works) · Law (15 works) · Electoral Systems and Political Participation (13 works) · Politics (13 works) · Sociology (10 works) · Public Administration (9 works) · Public Administration (9 works) · Economics (8 works) · Psychology (7 works)