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Political Science Professor Participated in Conference, Co-Authored Published Article

Posted on Friday, September 16, 2011

Dr. James Rhoads, Westminster College professor of political science, presented a paper and served on two panels at the annual meeting of the International Society for the Scientific Study of Subjectivity at the University of Birmingham, U.K.

Rhoads and Dr. Dani Thomas, professor of political science at Wartburg College (Iowa), presented "Exploring the ‘Inner Game' of Video Game Enthusiasts," a paper that used Q Methodology to investigate the subjective understandings of committed video enthusiasts.

Q Methodology was invented by Dr. William Stephenson to provide a systematic study of subjectivity.

Self-identified gamers at both schools sorted self-referent statements about the video gaming experience and the results were factor-analyzed.  Four factors emerged:
• The first saw video games as stress relief for college students
• The second were drawn to video games to satisfy deeper social and emotional needs
• The third, found only at Westminster, favored the competitive aspects of gaming
• The fourth, found only at Wartburg, saw video gaming almost as a "club": if you weren't on the inside, the phenomenon was difficult to understand

Rhoads also served with colleagues from five colleges and universities on the on "Panel of Experts: Q-List Goes Live," fielding audience questions about the methodology.

Rhoads and Thomas served as advisers on a masterclass panel for Ph.D. students in the early stages of their dissertations.  The students presented summaries of their research plans and Rhoads and Thomas commented on the individual approaches using Q Methodology.

Rhoads and Dr. Michael Aleprete, Westminster assistant professor of political science, recently published "U.S. Foreign Policy: Structure of Elite Opinion" in Operant Subjectivity: The International Journal of Q Methodology

The study examined the attitudes of a group of U.S. foreign policy experts toward America's role in a post-9/11 world and discovered three factors: the first revealed a divide among those who favored a rule-based internationalism and a realism view; the second endorsed an establishment view of U.S. foreign policy; and the third saw U.S. foreign policy in an isolationist/cosmopolitan dynamic.

Rhoads, who has been with Westminster since 1992, earned undergraduate and master's degrees and Ph.D. from Kent State University.

Aleprete, who joined the Westminster faculty in 2007, earned an undergraduate degree from Duquesne University and master's degree and Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh.

Contact Rhoads at (724) 946-7255 or email for additional information.

Dr. James Rhoads
Dr. Michael Aleprete