scholarly journals Decades of Party Distrust. Persistence through Reform in Italy

2021 ◽  
Vol 83 (2) ◽  
pp. 15-25
Author(s):  
Matthew E. Bergman ◽  
Gianluca Passarelli ◽  
Fabio Serricchio
Keyword(s):  
Electoral System ◽  
Party Affiliation ◽  
Political Dimension ◽  
Past Half Century ◽  
Party Elites ◽  
Systemic Nature ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Right ◽  
Election Studies ◽  
Current Governance

One common feature of the Italian political space over the past half century has been the presence of distrust in political parties and the presence of anti-system parties on both the left and the right. Discontent with existing elites and the political system has taken many forms, including referendums altering the electoral system. Both the character of the main parties and the rules by which they are elected have been reformed 4 times since the 1980s. However, as the elections of 2013 and 2018 and the referendum of 2016 demonstrate, Italians still have a high amount of resentment towards party elites and the operation of the system. Using data from Italian National Election Studies, this paper traces the development of this party resentment with a focus on three questions: 1) How has resentment towards party representiveness changed with the electoral and party reforms 2) Who was likely to hold this resentment 3) What was the party affiliation of those most resentful, or did they abstain? Results stress that socio-demographic differences had little effect on understanding the source of party resentment; distrust in parties correlates well with distrust in parliament and political administration. General social distrust did not translate into a distrust for parties. We conclude that discontent can be separated into a political dimension associated with current governance and one of a more systemic nature.

scholarly journals Attitudes Toward Presidential Candidates in the 2012 and 2016 American Elections: Cognitive Ability and Support for Trump

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 924-934 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoav Ganzach ◽  
Yaniv Hanoch ◽  
Becky L. Choma
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Ability ◽  
Verbal Ability ◽  
Party Affiliation ◽  
Or Education ◽  
Presidential Candidates ◽  
American Elections ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Election Studies ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Negative Predictor

Using data from the American National Election Studies, we investigated the relationship between cognitive ability and attitudes toward and actual voting for presidential candidates in the 2012 and 2016 U.S. presidential elections (i.e., Romney, Obama, Trump, and Clinton). Isolating this relationship from competing relationships, results showed that verbal ability was a significant negative predictor of support and voting for Trump (but not Romney) and a positive predictor of support and voting for Obama and Clinton. By comparing within and across the election years, our analyses revealed the nature of support for Trump, including that support for Trump was better predicted by lower verbal ability than education or income. In general, these results suggest that the 2016 U.S. presidential election had less to do with party affiliation, income, or education and more to do with basic cognitive ability.

The Multiple-Vortex Structure of the El Reno, Oklahoma, Tornado on 31 May 2013

2018 ◽  
Vol 146 (8) ◽  
pp. 2483-2502 ◽  
Author(s):  
Howard B. Bluestein ◽  
Kyle J. Thiem ◽  
Jeffrey C. Snyder ◽  
Jana B. Houser
Keyword(s):  
Doppler Radar ◽  
Radar Data ◽  
Rapid Scan ◽  
X Band ◽  
Close Range ◽  
Formation And Evolution ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Secondary Vortices ◽  
The Right ◽  
Gust Front

Abstract This study documents the formation and evolution of secondary vortices associated within a large, violent tornado in Oklahoma based on data from a close-range, mobile, polarimetric, rapid-scan, X-band Doppler radar. Secondary vortices were tracked relative to the parent circulation using data collected every 2 s. It was found that most long-lived vortices (those that could be tracked for ≥15 s) formed within the radius of maximum wind (RMW), mainly in the left-rear quadrant (with respect to parent tornado motion), passing around the center of the parent tornado and dissipating closer to the center in the right-forward and left-forward quadrants. Some secondary vortices persisted for at least 1 min. When a Burgers–Rott vortex is fit to the Doppler radar data, and the vortex is assumed to be axisymmetric, the secondary vortices propagated slowly against the mean azimuthal flow; if the vortex is not assumed to be axisymmetric as a result of a strong rear-flank gust front on one side of it, then the secondary vortices moved along approximately with the wind.

scholarly journals Electoral Incentives and the Allocation of Public Funds

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frederico Finan ◽  
Maurizio Mazzocco
Keyword(s):  
Electoral System ◽  
Policy Reforms ◽  
Public Funds ◽  
Term Limit ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Projects ◽  
Electoral Incentives ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The One ◽  
The Cost

Abstract Politicians allocate public resources in ways that maximize political gains, and potentially at the cost of lower welfare. In this paper, we quantify these welfare costs in the context of Brazil’s federal legislature, which grants its members a budget to fund public projects within their states. Using data from the state of Roraima, we estimate a model of politicians’ allocation decisions and find that 26.8% of the public funds allocated by legislators are distorted relative to a social planner’s allocation. We then use the model to simulate three potential policy reforms to the electoral system: the adoption of approval voting, imposing a one-term limit, and redistricting. We find that a one-term limit and redistricting are both effective at reducing distortions. The one-term limit policy, however, increases corruption, which makes it a welfare-reducing policy.

scholarly journals Botulinum toxin injection changes resting state cerebellar connectivity in cervical dystonia

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pavel Hok ◽  
Lenka Hvizdošová ◽  
Pavel Otruba ◽  
Michaela Kaiserová ◽  
Markéta Trnečková ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Functional Mri ◽  
Resting State ◽  
Cervical Dystonia ◽  
Botulinum Neurotoxin ◽  
Botulinum Toxin Injection ◽  
Clinical Severity ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Positive Correlations ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Right

AbstractIn cervical dystonia, functional MRI (fMRI) evidence indicates changes in several resting state networks, which revert in part following the botulinum neurotoxin A (BoNT) therapy. Recently, the involvement of the cerebellum in dystonia has gained attention. The aim of our study was to compare connectivity between cerebellar subdivisions and the rest of the brain before and after BoNT treatment. Seventeen patients with cervical dystonia indicated for treatment with BoNT were enrolled (14 female, aged 50.2 ± 8.5 years, range 38–63 years). Clinical and fMRI examinations were carried out before and 4 weeks after BoNT injection. Clinical severity was evaluated using TWSTRS. Functional MRI data were acquired on a 1.5 T scanner during 8 min rest. Seed-based functional connectivity analysis was performed using data extracted from atlas-defined cerebellar areas in both datasets. Clinical scores demonstrated satisfactory BoNT effect. After treatment, connectivity decreased between the vermis lobule VIIIa and the left dorsal mesial frontal cortex. Positive correlations between the connectivity differences and the clinical improvement were detected for the right lobule VI, right crus II, vermis VIIIb and the right lobule IX. Our data provide evidence for modulation of cerebello-cortical connectivity resulting from successful treatment by botulinum neurotoxin.

scholarly journals Moving a Mountain: The Extraordinary Trajectory of Same-Sex Marriage Approval in the United States

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 237802311772765 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. Rosenfeld
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
Gay Rights ◽  
General Social Survey ◽  
The United States ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Same Sex Marriage ◽  
Small Set ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Election Studies

Most public opinion attitudes in the United States are reasonably stable over time. Using data from the General Social Survey and the American National Election Studies, I quantify typical change rates across all attitudes. I quantify the extent to which change in same-sex marriage approval (and liberalization in attitudes toward gay rights in general) are among a small set of rapid changing outliers in surveyed public opinions. No measured public opinion attitude in the United States has changed more and more quickly than same-sex marriage. I use survey data from Newsweek to illustrate the rapid increase in the 1980s and 1990s in Americans who had friends or family who they knew to be gay or lesbian and demonstrate how contact with out-of-the-closet gays and lesbians was influential. I discuss several potential historical and social movement theory explanations for the rapid liberalization of attitudes toward gay rights in the United States, including the surprising influence of Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign.

scholarly journals The Career Length and Service of Female Policymakers in the US House of Representatives

2016 ◽  
Vol 53 (3) ◽  
pp. 437-460 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rodrigo Praino ◽  
Daniel Stockemer
Keyword(s):  
Gender Gap ◽  
House Of Representatives ◽  
Electoral System ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Careers ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Representation Of Women ◽  
Career Length ◽  
The Us ◽  
Using Data

Various studies have outlined the institutional (e.g. the existence of quota laws and the electoral system type of a country) and non-institutional factors (e.g. the political culture of a country) that account for variation in women’s representation, in general, and, in more detail, the low representation of women in the US Congress. However, no study has, so far, compared the Congressional career paths of men and women in order to understand whether this gender gap in representation stems from a difference in terms of the duration and importance of the careers of male and female policymakers. Using data on all US House elections between 1972 and 2012, we provide such an analysis, evaluating whether or not the political careers of women in the US House of Representatives are different from the political careers of their male counterparts. Our findings indicate that the congressional careers of men and women are alike and, if anything, women may even have a small edge over their male colleagues.

scholarly journals Are Artificial Intelligence (AI) And Machine Learning (ML) Having An Effective Role In Helping Humanity Address The New Coronavirus Pandemic?

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Machine Learning ◽  
Disease Outbreaks ◽  
Hospital Capacity ◽  
Data Engineering ◽  
Clinical Presentations ◽  
The Face ◽  
Effective Role ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Right

COVID-19 has become a pandemic affecting the most of countries in the world. One of the most difficult decisions doctors face during the Covid-19 epidemic is determining which patients will stay in hospital, and which are safe to recover at home. In the face of overcrowded hospital capacity and an entirely new disease with little data-based evidence for diagnosis and treatment, the old rules for determining which patients should be admitted have proven ineffective. But machine learning can help make the right decision early, save lives and lower healthcare costs. So, there is therefore an urgent and imperative need to collect data describing clinical presentations, risks, epidemiology and outcomes. On the other side, artificial intelligence(AI) and machine learning(ML) are considered a strong firewall against outbreaks of diseases and epidemics due to its ability to quickly detect, examine and diagnose these diseases and epidemics.AI is being used as a tool to support the fight against the epidemic that swept the entire world since the beginning of 2020.. This paper presents the potential for using data engineering, ML and AI to confront the Coronavirus, predict the evolution of disease outbreaks, and conduct research in order to develop a vaccine or effective treatment that protects humanity from these deadly diseases.

scholarly journals Neopatrimonialism and Party Clientelism

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teimuraz Kareli
Keyword(s):  
Social Groups ◽  
Electoral System ◽  
Party Systems ◽  
Political Systems ◽  
Dominant Party ◽  
The Government ◽  
Basic Features ◽  
The Right ◽  
Party Dominance ◽  
Ruling Party

The article deals with the features of formation of the party systems in the post-Soviet space. To understand the specific processes, the attention is focused on the inverse logic of the post-Soviet states, the basic features of which can be expressed by the concept of neopatrimonialism. In this context the functioning features of political parties, their principal tasks and the logic of creating the "power party" are described. The article examines the key criteria for the concept of the dominant party, such as its ability to consistently and steadily win the elections, the significant duration of its stay in power, as well as its personnel Control over the government. In the sociopolitical discourse the "power party" enjoys a privileged ideological position and has more opportunities compared to its competitors to appeal to voters. Along with that the party dominance reveals itself not only in its external manifestation (the stay in power), but also in the substantial one – the ability to exercise an effective political choice. The article analyzes the factors of sustainability of the "power party" systems: the historical merits of the "power party"; the ruling party’s ability to effectively take advantage of the electoral system; its strong relationships with the most affluent social groups and major corporations, as well as with the predominant ethnic or linguistic social groups; a privileged access of the ruling party to media resources. These factors are also effective in the polycentric political systems without any dominant party. However, under the dominant party systems they manifest themselves in a complex way, providing the ruling camp with a multi-layered protection due to a synergy effect. Particular attention is paid to the phenomenon of clientelism, widely used by the ruling party as a strategy of political mobilization. However, if discrimination arose by clientelism reaches the level that denies clients the right to choose, this is certainly not consistent with the rules of democracy.

scholarly journals A simulation-based approach to improve decoded neurofeedback performance

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ethan Oblak ◽  
James Sulzer ◽  
Jarrod Lewis-Peacock
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Processing Parameters ◽  
Orientation Tuning ◽  
Design Parameters ◽  
Visual Orientation ◽  
Brain Functions ◽  
Simulation Based ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Right

AbstractThe neural correlates of specific brain functions such as visual orientation tuning and individual finger movements can be revealed using multivoxel pattern analysis (MVPA) of fMRI data. Neurofeedback based on these distributed patterns of brain activity presents a unique ability for precise neuromodulation. Recent applications of this technique, known as decoded neurofeedback, have manipulated fear conditioning, visual perception, confidence judgements and facial preference. However, there has yet to be an empirical justification of the timing and data processing parameters of these experiments. Suboptimal parameter settings could impact the efficacy of neurofeedback learning and contribute to the ‘non-responder’ effect. The goal of this study was to investigate how design parameters of decoded neurofeedback experiments affect decoding accuracy and neurofeedback performance. Subjects participated in three fMRI sessions: two ‘finger localizer’ sessions to identify the fMRI patterns associated with each of the four fingers of the right hand, and one ‘finger finding’ neurofeedback session to assess neurofeedback performance. Using only the localizer data, we show that real-time decoding can be degraded by poor experiment timing or ROI selection. To set key parameters for the neurofeedback session, we used offline simulations of decoded neurofeedback using data from the localizer sessions to predict neurofeedback performance. We show that these predictions align with real neurofeedback performance at the group level and can also explain individual differences in neurofeedback success. Overall, this work demonstrates the usefulness of offline simulation to improve the success of real-time decoded neurofeedback experiments.

scholarly journals The Invisible Justice Problem

Daedalus ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 148 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lincoln Caplan
Keyword(s):  
Access To Justice ◽  
Free Enterprise ◽  
Legal Problem ◽  
National Politics ◽  
The Past ◽  
Past Generation ◽  
Past Half Century ◽  
The Right ◽  
Winner Take All ◽  
Past Half

Understanding is sparse about the lives of people who are poor and struggling economically and who need help in solving a legal problem and don't get it. Politics over the past half-century has made them largely invisible. In that period, attacks of the right on the provision of access to justice have rested on the triumph of laissez-faire views: the fresh embrace of markets and the free-enterprise system. The upshot has been the winner-take-all economy of the past generation, in which improved access to justice is largely a nonissue. For access to become a priority of a national movement, it needs champions in national politics, not just in the legal profession. It needs powerful champions who advocate for greatly increased and improved access to justice as a primary American commitment.

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