評論
打印
Narrator: Listen to a conversation between a student and a political science professor.
旁白：請聽一段學生與政治學教授的對話。
Student: I'm not sure if you know but I was elected to go to the student government this year.
學生：不知道您是否聽說，我今年被選入了學生會。
Teacher: Oh, congratulations! I was in student government myself as an undergraduate. It taught me a lot about the political process.
教授：哦，恭喜！我本科時也參加過學生會。這段經歷讓我對政治過程有了深刻理解。
In fact, the experience solved my problem of what to do with my life. It really cemented my interest in becoming a political scientist.
實際上，這段經歷解決了我的人生方向問題。它鞏固了我成為政治學家的興趣。
Student: Cool! Anyway, the reason I came by is we are getting ready to conduct a straw poll on campus, you know, hold an informal vote since the general election is just a couple of months away.
學生：真棒！其實我來找您是因為我們準備在校園進行稻草投票（非正式民意調查），畢竟大選還有兩個月就要到了。
We wanna get a feel for the students' body's political leanings, like who students are planning to vote for, which political party people identify with, that sorta thing.
我們想了解學生群體的政治傾向，比如同學們計劃投票給誰、認同哪個政黨之類的信息。
Teacher: Oh, sure. I helped students run the straw poll once years ago. Uh, it was a lot of work. Mostly because we used paper ballots, and stayed up all night counting them. But if you use computers...
教授：當然可以。多年前我曾協助學生組織過稻草投票。嗯，工作量很大，主要是因為我們使用紙質選票，通宵計票。但如果用電腦的話...
Student: Yeah, we are creating a website for it where students will be able to vote online. Em, we are looking for a faculty advisor to help, actually. I was hoping you might be interested.
學生：是的，我們正在創建投票網站讓學生在線參與。其實...我們正在尋找指導教授，希望您能考慮。
Teacher: Oh, I'm flattered, John. But my schedule is so jammed. I'm teaching two seminars, your intro-course, finishing up my research. But, what about Professor Clan? She is new in our department. Plus, she is a wiz with computers.
教授：哦，約翰，我很榮幸。但我的日程太滿了。我在帶兩個研討班、你的導論課，還要完成研究。但是克蘭教授呢？她是系里新來的，而且精通電腦技術。
Student: Ok, I will ask her.
學生：好的，我會聯系她。
Teacher: So, have you decided on the topic for your term paper yet?
教授：對了，你的學期論文選題確定了嗎？
Student: Not really.
學生：還沒。
Teacher: Why not write about your straw poll? Since the paper is not due till after the election, you could include your results. Maybe compare them with the real election results.
教授：何不以這次稻草投票為題？既然論文截止日在選舉后，你可以整合調查結果，甚至與實際選舉數據做對比。
Student: But would that be enough? I mean, just comparing numbers?
學生：但這樣夠深入嗎？只是數據對比的話？
Teacher: Well, no, you need to provide some analysis, too. But I was thinking, there is a couple of local ballot questions this year. You know, referenda, the voters can either support or not support?
教授：當然不夠，還需要分析。不過我在想，今年本地有幾個公投提案。就是需要選民支持或反對的議題。
Student: Right. There is one on whether to ban smoking in restaurants, and another one... I think it's whether to spend tax dollars for a new sports arena in the city.
學生：對，比如餐廳禁煙令提案，還有一個...應該是關于是否用稅收建設新體育館的提案。
Teacher: Ah, Ok. Here is an idea. In regular elections, the vast majority of voters ignore referenda. They vote for their favorite candidates but avoid ballot questions.
教授：好的，我有個建議。在常規選舉中，絕大多數選民會忽略公投提案。他們投票給心儀的候選人，卻跳過公投議題。
We believe it's because voters aren't familiar with the questions or don't understand them. But actively educating people on ballot questions right before they vote can improve referendum participation rates.
我們認為這是因為選民不熟悉或不理解提案內容。但如果在投票前對民眾進行科普，能有效提升公投參與率。
Student: In that case, maybe we could have our straw poll website provide information on the ballot questions, like how each proposal would affect students.
學生：這樣的話，或許我們的投票網站可以提供提案背景說明，比如每個提案對學生群體的影響。
Teacher: Exactly. And when you write your paper, you could compare the students' referendum voting rate to the general publics. And include you own analysis of the results. Plus, there is plenty of publish research on referendum voting behavior.
教授：正是如此。撰寫論文時，你可以對比學生與公眾的公投參與率，并加入自己的結果分析。此外，關于公投投票行為的已發表研究也很豐富。
Student: Thanks, Professor Miller. I have no idea this straw poll could actually help me in my course work.
學生：謝謝米勒教授！我沒想到這次民意調查還能幫助到我的課程學習。
