Electoral Politics Is Not Enough: Racial And Ethnic Minorities And Urban Politics (Suny Series in African American Studies; Suny Series in Urban Public Policy)

Examines how and why government leaders understand and respond to African Americans and Latinos in northeastern cities with strong political traditions. Focusing on four medium-sized northeastern cities with strong political traditions, Electoral Politics Is Not Enough analyzes conditions under which white leaders respond to and understand minority interests. Peter F. Burns argues that conventional explanations, including the size of the minority electorate, the socioeconomic status of the citizenry, and the percentage of minority elected officials do not account for variations in white leaders’ understanding of and receptiveness toward African American and Latino interests. Drawing upon interviews with more than 200 white and minority local leaders, and through analysis of local education and public safety policies, he finds that unconventional channels, namely neighborhood groups and community-based organizations, strongly influence the representation of minority interests.

Politics & Social Sciences

Burns, Peter F.

Social Sciences

State Univ of New York Pr

Examines how and why government leaders understand and respond to African Americans and Latinos in northeastern cities with strong political traditions. Focusing on four medium-sized northeastern cities with strong political traditions, Electoral Politics Is Not Enough analyzes conditions under which white leaders respond to and understand minority interests. Peter F. Burns argues that conventional explanations, including the size of the minority electorate, the socioeconomic status of the citizenry, and the percentage of minority elected officials do not account for variations in white leaders’ understanding of and receptiveness toward African American and Latino interests. Drawing upon interviews with more than 200 white and minority local leaders, and through analysis of local education and public safety policies, he finds that unconventional channels, namely neighborhood groups and community-based organizations, strongly influence the representation of minority interests. “…Electoral Politics Is Not Enough is a tour de force that should be read by scholars and practitioners alike who are interested in urban and/or minority politics … it sheds new light on the well-traveled ground of urban politics and provides innovative building blocks for advancing a deeper understanding of the complex relationships among race, place, and representation in America.” — Perspectives on Politics “The title of Peter Burns’s thoughtful and detailed study accurately signals his thesis. Blacks and Latinos increase city government responsiveness to their concerns primarily through ‘unconventional resources’—dominantly strong community organizations—rather than through electoral mobilization and representation.” — Political Science Quarterly “The great strength of this book is its thorough ground-level knowledge of the politics of these major New England cities. This book represents an impressive amount of field investigation and will almost certainly find a captivated audience among those who study minority and ethnic politics, as well as urban politics.” James G. Gimpel, coauthor of Cultivating Democracy: Civic Environments and Political Socialization in America “Much of what we know about African American and Latino politics is based on research in large American cities. This book is one of the few that speaks to minority politics within the context of medium-sized cities, and its comparative focus is especially commendable. Electoral Politics Is Not Enough adds to our understanding of minority representation and will be useful for those interested in urban politics, public policy, community organizing, and African American and Latino politics. It simply has no rival.” Marion Orr, author of Black Social Capital: The Politics of School Reform in Baltimore, 19861998

State University of New York Press

Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans in 2005, but in the subsequent ten years, the city has demonstrated both remarkable resilience and frustrating stagnation. In Reforming New Orleans, Peter F. Burns and Matthew O. Thomas chart the city’s recovery and assess how successfully officials at the local, state, and federal levels transformed the Big Easy in the wake of disaster. Focusing on reforms in four key sectors of urban governance―economic development, education, housing, and law enforcement―both before and after Katrina, they find lessons for cities hit by sudden shocks, such as natural disasters or large-scale financial crises.One of their key insights is that post-disaster recovery tends to limit local control. State and federal officials, national foundations, and local actors excluded by pre-Katrina politics used their resources and authority to displace entrenched local interests and implement a public agenda focused on institutional and governmental change. Burns and Thomas also make clear reform in New Orleans was already underway before Katrina hit, but that it had focused largely on upper- and middle-class residents, a trend that accelerated after the storm. The market-centered nature of the reforms have ensured that they largely benefited city and regional elites while not significantly aiding the city’s working-class and impoverished populations. Thus reform has come at a cost and that cost, in the long term, could undermine the political gains of the post-Katrina era.

Reforming New Orleans: The Contentious Politics of Change in the Big Easy

History

Thomas, Matthew O.

Americas

Cornell University Press

Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans in 2005, but in the subsequent ten years, the city has demonstrated both remarkable resilience and frustrating stagnation. In Reforming New Orleans, Peter F. Burns and Matthew O. Thomas chart the city’s recovery and assess how successfully officials at the local, state, and federal levels transformed the Big Easy in the wake of disaster. Focusing on reforms in four key sectors of urban governance―economic development, education, housing, and law enforcement―both before and after Katrina, they find lessons for cities hit by sudden shocks, such as natural disasters or large-scale financial crises.
One of their key insights is that post-disaster recovery tends to limit local control. State and federal officials, national foundations, and local actors excluded by pre-Katrina politics used their resources and authority to displace entrenched local interests and implement a public agenda focused on institutional and governmental change. Burns and Thomas also make clear reform in New Orleans was already underway before Katrina hit, but that it had focused largely on upper- and middle-class residents, a trend that accelerated after the storm. The market-centered nature of the reforms have ensured that they largely benefited city and regional elites while not significantly aiding the city’s working-class and impoverished populations. Thus reform has come at a cost and that cost, in the long term, could undermine the political gains of the post-Katrina era.

After the 2012 season, the UConn basketball program appeared to be on the decline. Several high-profile players departed early and the NCAA confirmed that it would ban the Huskies from the 2013 NCAA tournament. But Jim Calhoun—the man who built the program in the first place—still reigned in Storrs and vowed not to leave his team in disarray. Could Calhoun save UConn basketball? He has done it before. In twenty-five years at UConn, coach Jim Calhoun changed a team, a university, a state, and college basketball. Shock the World is a riveting season-by-season, game-by-game, and player-by-player biography of Jim Calhoun’s winning program. It paints a vivid portrait of college basketball in the last twenty-five years, and highlights the challenges Calhoun overcame to become the best program builder of all time and the greatest coach of his generation. Until March 2011 only four coaches had ever won the NCAA men’s basketball championship three times or more. That month, with the culmination of the famous “March Madness,” the University of Connecticut’s Jim Calhoun became the fifth. Calhoun’s Huskies show that spirit, fortitude, and perseverance are keys to winning in modern collegiate sports, just as they are the keys to overcoming challenges off the court. At the end of the 2010 season an NCAA investigation, penalties, and the small number of returning players threatened to end the Calhoun era. Despite these obstacles, Calhoun, point guard Kemba Walker, and a group of freshmen led UConn to a win at the Maui Invitational in November, and UConn became the first team to capture its conference tournament by winning five games in five days. They went on to a thrilling win in the championship, making this period in the Calhoun era one of great resilience, and an enduring monument to Husky pride.

Shock the World: UConn Basketball in the Calhoun Era

Northeastern University Press

Success in College: From C's in High School to A's in College

Success in College provides essential information and advice that students need to better learn more and receive higher grades. It offers strategies for test- and note-taking, studying, writing papers, and making class schedules. Peter F. Burns also gives an insider's perspective to the academic semester, in-class behavior, and how and when to approach professors. Perhaps most importantly, there is invaluable advice about the attitude and work ethic that are essential to the development of outstanding college students. Burns uses his own college experiences, as well as the experiences of other students and professors and research findings, to supplement the material given. The impact of Success in College will last a lifetime. High school seniors, college students, and parents will welcome this humorous and thought-provoking work.

Education & Teaching

Higher & Continuing Education

R&L Education

Success in College provides important information and advice that students need in order to learn more and receive higher grades.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Burns, Peter F.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Burns, Peter F.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Burns, Peter F.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Electoral Politics Is Not Enough: Racial And Ethnic Minorities And Urban Politics (Suny Series in African American Studies; Suny Series in Urban Public Policy)

Electoral Politics Is Not Enough: Racial And Ethnic Minorities And Urban Politics (Suny Series in African American Studies; Suny Series in Urban Public Policy)

Reforming New Orleans: The Contentious Politics of Change in the Big Easy

Reforming New Orleans: The Contentious Politics of Change in the Big Easy

Shock the World: UConn Basketball in the Calhoun Era

Success in College: From C's in High School to A's in College

Success in College: From C's in High School to A's in College