Dr. Jody Baumgartner has forthcoming articles on the effects of "The Daily Show" on young voters (in American Politics Research), vice presidential candidates (in White House Studies), and has recently finished a book on vice presidential candidates and vice presidents in the modern era. He is currently working on another book with Dr. Morris examining the role of humor in American politics, and an American government textbook with Dr. Morris and Dr. Francia.

Dr. David Conradt published another study of German elections, Precarious Victory: Schroeder and the German Elections 2002 (Berghahn Books). The eighth edition of his The German Polity was published by Longman. He is currently completing the fourth edition of Modern European Politics (Congressional Quarterly Press). In July, he participated in briefing the new American Ambassador to Germany, Mr. William Timken. Dr. Conradt also continued his work with the Advanced Placement program in political science and conducted workshops in NC and VA.

Dr. Peter Francia's book manuscript, The Future of Organized Labor in American Politics (Columbia University Press), was published in January 2006. He coauthored a study on voting equipment and technology in Social Science Computer Review and an article on the ideological polarization of campaign donors in Social Science Quarterly. In addition, he had book chapters published in the Interest Group Connection, 2nd edition (CQ Press) and the Guide to Political Campaigns in America (CQ Press). He also developed a new course last summer on social and protest movements in the United States.

Dr. Rick Kilroy visited Israel this past summer to study how that nation has responded to the threat of terrorism. He met with Israeli defense and security officials and visited security organizations. He also met with convicted terrorists being held in an Israeli prison. Dr. Kilroy utilized information gained from the visit in a case study on Israel he is using in SECS 1000 (Introduction to Securities Studies). He also presented a paper titled "Do Fences Make Good Neighbors? A Case Study on Israel's Response to Terrorism" at the International Security and Arms Control Conference in Denver, Colorado last October.

Dr. William Mangun along with Amy Blizzard published "Reciprocal Relationships of State and Local Agencies in Implementation of Public Shoreline Access: A Case Study of Four States." Dr. Mangun's recent research presentations include "Assessing Predator Control Alternatives for Piping Plover Populations in the North Carolina Outer Banks" (with K. K. Hamerle and J. C. Mangun) and "Wildlife Watchers in Illinois: Trip Characteristics and Site Preferences" (with I. T. Cumpston and J. C. Mangun), both at the 66th Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference, Grand Rapids, MI, Dec. 2005.

Dr. Bonnie Mani prepared a proposal for an experimental course, Politics and Music, which will be offered in Spring 2006. Dr. Mani continues research on women's career advancement in the civil service and elected and appointed officials in North Carolina cities and counties.

Steve Modlin presented a paper titled "The Ambiguity of County Commissioners in the Budgetary Process: Policy, Political, or Personal Motivations," at the Interantional Conference on Social Science Research December 4-6, 2005.

Dr. Jonathan Morris' recent publications include, "The Fox News Factor," in the Harvard International Journal of Press and Politics, "The Effects of Dramatized Political News on Public Opinion," in The American Review of Politics, and "Media Coverage of Congress in the 1990s," in Political Communication (with Rosalee Clawson). He also has an article forthcoming in the journal of American Politics Research titled, "The Daily Show Effect" (with Jody Baumgartner). His edited book, titled, "Laughing Matters: Humor and American Politics in the Media Age" (with Jody Baumgarter), is forthcoming in 2007 (Routledge).

Dr. Carmine Scavo published a chapter entitled "Citizen Participation and Direct Democracy through Computer Networking." He also presented two papers, one in Moscow and one in New Orleans. Dr. Scavo also presented the results of his three-year US State Department Russia partnership grant at the annual NASPAA conference. He also has had pieces accepted for publication by the Journal of Public Affairs Education, The Municipal Yearbook 2006, and the Encyclopedia of Digital Government. Along with Charles Prysby (UNC-Greensboro), Scavo developed the 2004 American National Election Studies SETUPS website (www.icpsr.umich.edu/setups) to educate university students on the methodology of voting behavior research. The SETUPS (Supplementary Empirical Teaching Unit in Political Science) has been published since 1972 as a monograph with an accompanying data set. The 2004 version is the first to be completely online and interactive.

Dr. Nancy Spalding submitted "The Growth of Fatalism in Nigeria: The Killing of Democratic Culture?" to African Studies Review. She is serving as faculty advisor to the College Republicans and is working with students to start a chapter of Young Americans for Freedom.

Dr. Bob Thompson , former director of Institutional Planning, Research, and Effectiveness, has returned to the department and is looking forward to being back in the classroom in the spring.

Dr. John Williams published papers on British-EU relations and on the refugee crisis in Kosovo. He also presented a paper applying formal modeling to the politics of international refugee assistance at the Annual Meeting of the Peace Science Society. Dr. Williams participated in the International Studies graduate program's external review and served on the NCPSA's Best Paper Award Committee (an award won, incidentally, by Drs. Morris and Baumgartner). He also chaired the thesis committees of two MAIS students who defended in 2005.