Students Poll Residents About Terrorism
Students in an upper-level political science class at USM are surveying over 600 randomly selected Portland residents about their attitudes toward terrorism and anti-terrorism policy. The telephone poll is a major component of the course, “Terrorism and the American Public,” taught by Lynn Kuzma, assistant professor of political science at USM. For Kuzma, the survey will supply data for her research on public attitudes about terrorism, especially fear of terrorism. And the students will learn how to systematically compile, execute and evaluate a public opinion survey. This is a real research tool the students are learning to use, Kuzma explains. “They learn how survey data are collected and used, and the end result will be a snapshot of the climate of public opinion in Portland and the level of support of government policy to combat terrorism.”
The students gather in the former Steego Building on USM’s Portland campus from 5:30 to 9 p.m. every weeknight to make the survey calls. When the polling concludes, they will analyze the data and present the findings in a final report. Their understanding of the process is bolstered by scholarly readings, including the books, “Terrorism: An Introduction” by Jonathan R. White (2002) and “Public Opinion: Measuring the American Mind” by Barbara Bardes and Robert Oldendick (2000).
Kuzma, who joined the USM faculty in 1998, directs USM’s International Studies
Program and specializes in international relations, especially
U.S. foreign policy and international organizations. She has
worked with students of all ages on understanding the United
Nations, in classroom and Internet settings, and directs the
Model U.N. program that brings high school students to the
USM campus each May to explore international negotiations.
She can be reached at 780-4347 or by email: kuzma@usm.maine.edu
Class information on the course on terrorism is available
on the Web at www.usm.maine.edu/~kuzma/terrorism.
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