CSLI Service Learning – Final Meeting, Fall 2012 Review the process Review the findings Analyze - Hypotheses

Review the process – 1 Evaluate the CSLI process – Review – what exactly did CSLI do? Generated questionnaire Oriented students in intro meeting – Reviewed questionnaire with students – Reviewed nature of surveys/sampling Trained students in telephone/marking instructions Conducted telephone interviews – Target at least 400 completions – Accomplished – 420 completions Post on CSLI Web site – still waiting approval Expect coverage in major media – pending

Review the process - 2 Questionnaire issues - questions - Did some questions give you more problems than others? Clarity Public constantly asked for restatement Vagueness of what is being asked – Did the respondents seem to think that the questions were generally interesting? – Did the respondents think that the survey was too long or short? – Other suggestions?

Review the process - 3 Public receptivity Were you surprised by how easy/hard it was to obtain a completion? Problems with phone numbers? Idle chatter from respondents? Bias among interviewers? Partial completions? Other suggestions

County: Right or Wrong Direction? Spring ‘99 to Spring ‘13

Right/Wrong Direction – Individual by County, State, Nation RightWrongUnsure/ Don’t know County State Nation Respondent LevelsDem.% “right”Rep.Dem- Rep. Unaffiliated County State Nation Respondent74722

Most Important Problem: Fall 2006 to Spring 2013 Economy continues drop as problem in March 2013

Economic Conditions: County vs. Maryland and USA

Cost of living indicators

Other economic indicators

Economic Conditions over the next 12 Months Spring 2013BetterSameWorseUnsure/N A Total Economic growth Unemployment Inflation Your personal financial situation

Retirement Planning/Age Age Group% Very important Age and over50 41 Overall62

County Executive: Top Priority Percent Citing Examples Non-policy Institutional improvements 20 “Change the way the county has been run,” “Clean house,” “Build citizen confidence in government,” “Pay more attention to details,” “Avoid scandal troubles,” “Deal with corruption,” “Ethics/ethical governance,” “Honesty and awareness of what is going on” Personal improvements 2 “Improving her experience,” “Get more familiar with the county,” “Increase visibility to the public” Efficiency Improvements 2 “Streamline government,” “Analyze the efficiency of county government” Policy Economy 15 “Jobs,” “Help small businesses,” “Jobs for young people and college students,” “Promoting businesses” Education 12 “Maintain school funding,” “Build more/better schools,” “Make schools secure,” “Help education” Budget 10 “Fiscal management,” “Get rid of excess spending,” “Control government expenditures,” “Stop inefficient spending” Taxes 10 “Get a handle on taxes,” “Lower taxes,” “Change the tax cap to raise taxes,” “Lower property taxes” Transportation 5 “Fix county roads,” “Deal with traffic congestion” Environment 3 “Clean up the Bay,” “Take care of natural resources,” “Deal with run-off” Service improvements 3 “Improve police and emergency services staffing,” “Increase teacher pay,” “Upgrade county technology,” “Improve services for the disabled” Growth 2 “Stop excess development,” “Overpopulation” Crime 2 “Lower crime,” “Better police protection,” “Improve public safety” Other policy improvements 7 “Gun control,” “Healthcare,” “Gas prices,” “More frequent trash pickup,” “Improve housing” General comments 2 “Think of the general welfare of the county,” “Move the county in a positive direction” Unsure 4 Total 99

Method of Emergency Communications: Favor, Works Best

State and Local Issues SupportOpposeUnsureNo answer Repealing the death penalty and replacing it with life without the possibility of parole Having those seeking to purchase a handgun pay a $100 fee at the time of purchase Having handgun purchasers be fingerprinted at the time of purchase Having handgun purchasers be required to complete a safety course prior to purchase Expanding wind energy financed by a monthly $1.50 fee on residential BGE customers Paying an annual fee of $85 to help pay for storm water management and Bay clean-up Providing curbside composting pickup Allowing county charter schools tap into the same construction funding for building facilities currently used by regular public schools Allowing counties to increase the sales tax on gasoline sales to improve roads

State and Local Issues: By Party Overall DemsRepsUnaffiliated Repealing the death penalty and replacing it with life without the possibility of parole Having those seeking to purchase a handgun pay a $100 fee at the time of purchase Having handgun purchasers be fingerprinted at the time of purchase Having handgun purchasers be required to complete a safety course prior to purchase Expanding wind energy financed by a monthly $1.50 fee on residential BGE customers Paying an annual fee of $85 to help pay for storm water management and Bay clean-up Providing curbside composting pickup Allowing county charter schools tap into the same construction funding for building facilities currently used by regular public schools Allowing counties to increase the sales tax on gasoline sales to improve roads

Presidential job approval Fall 2007 to Spring 2013

Presidential Job Approval by Party Registration Fall 2009 to Spring 2013

Obama’s Top Priority PriorityPercentage Spending6 Budget16 Taxes4 Debt/deficit6 Total32 Economy24 Jobs15 Total39 Bipartisanship/work with Congress7 End foreign wars4 Domestic policies – other7 Foreign policies - other3 Misc.8 Total100

Trust in Political Parties

Exercise: Develop Hypotheses 1.Identify a dependent variable – attitude, preference 2.Identify an independent variable – a social/demographic characteristic 3.Specify a likely relationship between the two based on a “theory” or hunch you have about people and attitudes