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The use of applied labs has long been an established practice in the natural sciences as a means of stressing application of theoretical principles and fostering disciplinary excitement. The social sciences have seen an advent of similar problem-based approaches, but have not adopted a lab-based model. Labs offer an opportunity to use class time for purposes of application without moving fully to a flipped classroom model. This article presents the use of labs in three undergraduate public administration classes: Introduction to Public Administration, Research Design and Data Collection, and Statistics and Data Analysis. The labs are collaborative and feature both peer and instructor support. They utilized an established problem-based strategy to demonstrate the real-life applicability of academic topics ( Kolb, 1984 ; Kramer and Schechter, 2011 ). Data collected from 10 sections of the courses before and after implementation show increased student satisfaction and greater self-reported learning, though the effect on academic performance is more moderated.

The teaching of research methods has been at the core of public administration education for almost 30 years. But since 1990, this journal has published only two articles on the teaching of research methods. Given the increasing emphasis on data driven decision-making, greater insight is needed into the best practices for teaching public administration research methods. This research note attempts to build on these previous articles to offer a new approach to the teaching of undergraduate research methods within a department of political science and public administration. The approach combines traditional approaches to experiential education with a focus on comparison among different methodological tools. Grounded in both learning theory and developmental psychology, the article outlines a research method assignment that encourages comparison and uses focus groups and pre-/post-tests of substantive knowledge to demonstrate learning. Implications and advice for teaching are provided.

A tremendous amount is known about individual civic and political participation. Those who participate are more educated, more affluent and easier to mobilize. Yet, the social value of participation lies not in its individual impact but in democratically meaningful units such as local governments. Little is known about why some communities display vibrant patterns of participation while others are characterized by disengagement. This paper furthers this understanding by examining what corporate, political and nonprofit leaders in 10 America's cities see as fostering their civic life. This study finds that institutional factors unite those cities with the highest levels of participation. These include a strong corporate presence, mechanisms for mobilization, a strong community identity, public spaces, good government and investment in youth. This serves as a basis for fostering pro‐civic policies. This is a practitioner‐oriented paper that while grounded in research is designed to foster policy solutions rather than prove casual mechanisms. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

When Texas State Troopers invaded the Yearning for Zion Ranch occupied by polygamist Mormon's in 2008, it was the third major raid in American history. Yet, fundamentalist Mormons represent a small and little understood element of the American religious landscape. Nonetheless their struggles in America represent the evolving conflicts between politics and private religious life. This study introduces the doctrine of plural marriage as understood by Fundamentalist Mormons and uses it as a case study to consider five aspects of the relationship between religions and politics in America. This includes a discussion of when government chooses to intervene in the practice of religious groups and the responses of those groups to government involvement, the impact of the federal system on religious actors, the dynamic justifications given for involvement and the constant tension between public concerns and private devotion.

ObjectiveThis study seeks to identify the political speech of President Obama to better understand the leadership techniques utilized.MethodsPolitical speech is coded using textual analysis and leadership frames are grouped into transactional and transforming categories.ResultsThe findings of this study suggest that President Obama does seek to use transformational leadership but that this transformational leadership is more often found in rational persuasion than inspirational appeals.ConclusionThe informal powers of the presidency do include the power to inspire but for President Obama this power secondary to appeals to reason.

Abstract
Proponents of social capital theory have long argued not only that it is in the best interest of civic life to build social capital but also that social capital is vital for the economic health of communities. This has been confirmed by recent research showing that social capital, especially in its bridging form, is positively associated with job creation at the metropolitan statistical area level. At the same time, social capital is often viewed as something either inherent or absent within a community. This article takes on that assumption by presenting a policy‐based approach to developing social capital. It provides two theoretical explanations for how social capital affects economic development and identifies four lessons for economic development practitioners to use to enhance social capital. These research‐based recommendations for economic development practitioners and policy makers seek to improve the social capital and, consequently, the economic development of their community.