Why Geographically-Targeted Spending Under Closed-List Proportional Representation Favors Marginal Districts

Research on geographically-targeted spending under closed-list proportional representation (CLPR) is characterized by debate over whether ruling parties target core supporters or swing voters. We show that when CLPR is used in multiple districts and separate competitions are conducted in each, parties can reverse the formula through which votes are converted into seats to calculate how many additional votes they need to capture an additional seat. This enables parties to rank districts according to how close they are to winning an additional seat. We then show that under divisor-based formulae, parties will find they need fewer additional votes to capture another seat in districts where they captured fewer seats (‘marginal districts’). We posit that in these systems, ruling parties will steer geographically-targeted spending toward marginal PR districts and we present evidence of this from Japan.     

Explaining the effective number of parties: Beyond the standard model

This study casts new light on the conditions determining the effective number of parties in elections. The state-of-the-art mostly considers the interaction between the permissiveness of the electoral system and social heterogeneity, labelled the standard model. This study argues that we should move beyond the standard model and also consider voters’ short term ideological preferences as well as the diversity of issues on the party system agenda. Moreover, the effects of these variables are expected to be conditioned by electoral system permissiveness. The hypotheses are examined on the basis of a longitudinal dataset containing information on 696 elections that took place in 79 countries between 1945 and 2011. Importantly, the hypotheses could only be confirmed on institutionalized party systems.     

UNBUNDLING THE ETHICAL ISSUES OF PRO BONO ADVOCACY: ARTICULATING THE GOALS OF LIMITED‐SCOPE PRO BONO ADVOCACY FOR LIMITED LEGAL SERVICES PROGRAMS

This article seeks to articulate the practical goal of unbundled legal services for the pro bono family law sector as it applies to limited legal services programs (also known as brief advice clinics), through the use of a goal spectrum, derived from the theoretical goal of access to justice. This article briefly discusses the status of the Indiana Rules of Professional Conduct, as they pertain to the ethics of unbundling. This article then focuses extensively on some practical considerations within the ethical issues of both the scope of representation and attorney competence in order to articulate an appropriate goal for unbundled legal services. Finally, the article concludes that service providers in limited legal services programs should explicitly identify and then perform an essential, discrete service that the client needs to have performed in order to help the client meet his or her ultimate objectives. The service provider and the client could then gauge the success of the limited scope representation based on whether and how well the specific service has been provided.     

Newspaper Representation of the Debates in the 2007 Jamaican General Election Campaign

This article deconstructs the newspaper representations of three debates held in 2007 during the Jamaican General Election campaign. The theory of social representation is used in this article to explain political behaviour and outcomes. Representations are the images, words, symbols or phrases that are generated from people's dialogic interaction that signify meanings. Content analysis of relevant articles covering the electoral campaign in the main print media in Jamaica forms the empirical basis for study. The majority of representations of the three main debates were negative, revealing that political manifestos were largely ignored and policy funding was not addressed. Significant issues such as crime, education, health, garrison politics, corruption and unemployment were inadequately addressed, and the wider global context of these matters was ignored. The consensus was that the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) won two of the three debates, notably the leadership debate in which the Leader of the Opposition, Bruce Golding MP, performed more effectively than the then current Prime Minister, Portia Simpson‐Miller of the People's National Party (PNP). Social representation theory is used to assess the types of political meanings generated by media coverage during the General Election. It is suggested that the perceived success of the JLP candidates in the main debates was an important contribution to the party's overall electoral victory.     

THROUGH A DIFFERENT LENS: USING FILM TO TEACH FAMILY LAW

This article discusses the aspects of narrative and character development that make films a useful tool to supplement classroom legal education. Moreover, utilizing film is particularly effective for learning and exploring the dynamics of human relationships at the center of family law cases. When designing a film and family law course instructors should seek to promote creative thinking, cultural competence, student exploration of bias and assumptions and best practices for attorneys based on the examples provided in the film. Films make the learning process more fun, but still provide substantial opportunities to broaden students' concept of the impact of law on family members.     

“红砖厝”的建筑表征——解读中国闽台缘博物馆设计理念

中国闽台缘博物馆设计者选用＂红砖厝＂作为建筑表征,并将之融合到博物馆建筑的整体和局部设计的一系列构思当中。＂红砖厝＂作为两岸文化认同的核心,成为参观者在展陈中体验闽台文化一家亲的重要媒介。     

Check Out My Moves

Building on earlier assessments of visual representation in air and missile defenses, and on investigations of the role of representation and perception in warfare more generally, this article offers a semiotic analysis of the signifying practices and processes that are a necessary part of America's Ballistic Missile Defense systems. The argument is made that missile defense – a range of projects aimed at protecting the United States by intercepting enemy missiles in flight – provides a recurrent site of contestation of the image. To illustrate this, examples of the use and testing of missile defense technology to date are analysed from a broadly social semiotic perspective, with specific emphasis on the concepts of signs, codes and modality. Taking this approach indicates that, in the supposedly routine process of representing “threats” in a visual format, even the most sophisticated missile defense systems in use today still encounter severe difficulties, with potentially deadly consequences. This potential for misperception is itself an inherent part of the process of coding and decoding spatial data, represented in a visual format involved herein, which raises significant questions about the vision of nuclear security promised by ballistic missile defense.     

More women in the Tanzanian legislature: Do numbers matter?

This study examines the changes that followed the rise in the number of female parliamentarians in the Tanzanian legislature and the contextual factors undermining the potential power of the increased number of female MPs. As found in a number of other countries, with more women in parliament, women's interests, concerns and perspective have been better incorporated into parliamentary debates and policy-making in Tanzania. However, the increase in female parliamentary representation challenges the existence of the special-seat system that helped women reach a large minority. The effectiveness of female MPs in Tanzania will improve only with a stronger legislature and a sturdier opposition. If the special-seat system is to remain, a new selection mechanism that allows direct cross-party competition among special-seat candidates should be considered to bring better qualified women into parliament.     

District magnitude and the personal vote

In spite of widespread interest in the effects of electoral institutions, research has largely missed, or misspecified, the ‘theoretical link’ tying legislators' behaviour to the rules' formal properties. District magnitude, in particular, can operate through the number of candidates running under the same party label and the number of votes required to win (re)election. Using data from the PARTIREP cross-national legislator survey in 15 European democracies, the article demonstrates that district magnitude is a proxy of different processes in closed-list and open-list systems. The findings contribute to a better understanding of how the mechanical effects of electoral institutions translate into incentives on the part of legislators to cultivate a personal reputation.     

Pessimistic Optimist -On Schopenhauer＇s Pessimistic Philosophy

叔本华是西方非理性主义的代表，“生存意志”构成了他的哲学体系的核心主题，并由此成为他悲观主义哲学的基础，但深受康德二分哲学和佛教影响的叔本华还是试图寻找在“此世”中证悟并得到解脱的方法。世界在叔本华眼中是如此悲观的一副景象，却依然没有阻挡他找寻出路的理想，这样的态度本身是积极乐观、值得钦佩的。