Compulsory voting and the dynamics of partisan identification

Compulsory rules are known to have far‐reaching effects beyond boosting electoral participation rates. This article examines the relationship between compulsory voting and partisan attachments. A theory of attachment formation and strength is engaged that argues that compulsory voting boosts the likelihood that one will identify with a party and, in turn, the strength of party attachments among identifiers. The statistical model accounts for both the hierarchical structure of the data (individuals in elections) and the dual nature of the dependent variable (individuals report a strength of attachment only for the party with which they identify). Using data from the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems, it is demonstrated that compulsory voting does indeed increase both the incidence and the strength of partisanship.     

Cyberspace Effects on Civil Society. The Ultimate Game-Changer or Not?

ABSTRACT

The article studies the effects of the emergence of cyberspace, or digitization, on civil society, and develops an analytical framework to that effect. It is distinguished between four types of civil societies: apolitical, political, transnational, and uncivic. Each type of civil society is considered separately vis-à-vis cyberspace developments in order to understand what kind of civil society is enhanced by these developments and, conversely, what kind of civil society is constrained. This understanding helps inform how cyberspace has changed the more generic society-state relations. While one can identify many instrumental changes and developments in civil society practices, the article concludes that the emergence of cyberspace has not profoundly changed society in terms of the relative power of one type of civil society over another. Thus, its transformative power is rather limited in a more fundamental sense. The empirical focus of the article is on Norwegian civil society, representing a Western developed democratic state, but it is argued that while the empirical results may vary, the analytical framework can arguably be applied and tailored to any society.     

Towards a Model for International Collaboration and Partnerships in Teacher Education in Africa: Education for Sustainable Development in South Africa

ABSTRACT

Education for sustainable development allows all to acquire the skills, attitudes, knowledge and values essential for a sustainable future. This article argues that there is an urgent need to include sustainable development aspects in teaching and learning at all levels of education. Implementing Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) poses a new challenge for teachers and teacher educators. The role of international collaboration, partnerships and networking is increasingly becoming important in creating sustainable solutions towards green economies and programmes. The post-2015 global agenda for sustainable development should recognise the need for regional and international collaborations in forging lasting strategies for a sustainable future where education for all is relevant, reliable and accessible.

This article proposes a model for collaboration based on analyses conducted on a project on education for sustainable development programme involving key success factors for collaboration and focussing on the local and global stakeholders and their role in enhancing ESD among teachers. For this purpose, the four partner countries: South Africa, India, Mexico and India were examined to understand how ESD is implemented; how experiences are shared; and best practices incorporated into the programme. Local and global experts (ESD-Expert-net members) who developed an international core curriculum for teachers were involved. From the pilot, four country programmes, a conceptual model of seven levels of collaboration and partnerships for education for sustainable development to enhance teacher development among local and international partners was developed. This model is proposed to serve as a framework for education for sustainable development implementation in multinational collaborations and is discussed in relation to the post-2015 sustainable development perspective.     

论纪检监察机关办案方式的调整——以刑事诉讼法的最新修正为背景

2012年刑事诉讼法修正案将对纪检监察机关的调查取证活动和现有的办案模式产生一定的影响。为实现纪检监察程序与刑事诉讼程序的无缝对接,需要对纪检监察机关的调查取证方式和办案模式进行必要调整。在调查取证方面,应当提高调查取证程序的规范性,加强对被调查人基本权利的保障,保证所取证据在刑事诉讼中的证据能力,必要时还应对取证程序的合法性进行证明。在办案模式方面,应当与检察机关建立新型的合作分工关系,在证据收集及程序进行方面对检察机关予以协助,并参与相关的诉讼活动。     

Mapping foreign policy behavior: An assessment and evaluation of events structures

Employing events indices for cooperation and conflict from the COPDAB data set, the graphic structuring process established by Steven Brams, and several alternative methods of quantifying the resulting event digraphs, this paper examines the utility of the graphic structuring process in efforts at explanation and prediction. Arguing that if the graphic structure represents an underlying structural order in the foreign policy behavior of states, predictability should exist between the graphic portrayal and other behavioral structures around it. Despite face validity in the sociometric qualities of the digraph results, little predictive capability was uncovered. The paper explains the testing process, disc asses the test results, and proposes alternative uses for the structural mapping procedure.     

The Dynamics of Mass Killings: Testing Time-Series Models of One-Sided Violence in the Bosnian Civil War

Many observers contend that wartime civilian victimization is an instrument of political leaders to achieve a particular goal. This article examines whether retaliation for similar acts by the other side, the developments on the battlefield, or the behavior of international actors accounts for the ups and downs of this so-called one-sided violence. Using information from the Konstanz One-Sided Violence Event Dataset and other sources, we evaluate the empirical relevance of these complementary models statistically. Time series analyses of the weekly number of killed and harmed Muslims (Bosniacs) and Serbs during the Bosnian civil war support the military and the massacre logic. We show that the Serbian side decreased one-sided violence following a territorial conquest, but that its one-sided violence was not a reciprocal response to the Bosniac targeting of civilians. Conversely, the Bosniac side resorted to violence during times of increasing Serbian atrocities and when the fighting was particularly intense. The analysis reveals that most international interventions did not reduce the carnage, but that the Serbs responded to Russian moves.     

Facilitating Help Seeking Behavior and Referrals for Mental Health Difficulties in School Aged Boys and Girls: A School-Based Intervention

Although the need for early intervention for mental health difficulties is widely acknowledged, few studies have attempted to explicitly increase actual help seeking behavior for mental health difficulties. Students in intervention classrooms received two one-hour, in-class workshops on distress and help seeking and were compared to students in non-intervention classrooms in a 2-level hierarchical model. More frequent help seeking behavior and more mental health referrals were observed among students in the intervention group than among students in the comparison group. Effects were moderated by the level of distress experienced by students, but not by help seeking attitudes, and could not be accounted for by school staff referrals or website utilization. Results showed that help seeking behavior for mental health difficulties and mental health referrals can be increased with only a moderate investment in time, but that benefits of school-based intervention may be greatest among students with specific needs, such as high levels of distress.

Simulation for Theory Testing and Experimentation: An Example Using Routine Activity Theory and Street Robbery

Achieving a better understanding of the crime event in its spatio-temporal context is an important research area in criminology with major implications for improving policy and developing effective crime prevention strategies. However, significant barriers related to data and methods exist for conducting this type of research. The research requires micro-level data about individual behavior that is difficult to obtain and methods capable of modeling the dynamic, spatio-temporal interaction of offenders, victims, and potential guardians at the micro level. This paper presents simulation modeling as a method for addressing these challenges. Specifically, agent-based modeling, when integrated with geographic information systems, offers the ability to model individual behavior within a real environment. The method is demonstrated by operationalizing and testing routine activity theory as it applies to the crime of street robbery. Model results indicate strong support for the basic premise of routine activity theory; as time spent away from home increases, crime will increase. The strength of the method is in providing a research platform for translating theory into models that can be discussed, shared, tested and enhanced with the goal of building scientific knowledge.

Testing the Use of Pigs as Human Proxies in Decomposition Studies

Pigs are a common human analogue in taphonomic study, yet data comparing the trajectory of decomposition between the two groups are lacking. This study compared decomposition rate and gross tissue change in 17 pigs and 22 human remains placed in the Forensic Investigation Research Station in western Colorado between 2012 and 2015. Accumulated degree days (ADD) were used to assess the number of thermal units required to reach a given total body score (TBS) (1) which was used as the measure of decomposition. A comparison of slopes in linear mixed effects model indicated that decomposition rates significantly differed between human donors and pig remains χ²₍₁₎ = 5.662, p = 0.017. Neither the pig nor the human trajectory compared well to the TBS model. Thus, (i) pigs are not an adequate proxy for human decomposition studies, and (ii) in the semiarid environment of western Colorado, there is a need to develop a regional decomposition model.     

Representative Democracy and Fighting Domestic Terrorism

Does more representative government improve states' ability to fight domestic terrorism? In prior work, democracies are seen as more susceptible to terrorism because their respect for human rights prevents them from fully eliminating terrorist groups. However, such extrajudicial aggression could also alienate large portions of the population and create the ideal conditions for an insurgency. I argue that since terrorism is the lowest-capacity form of political violence, it is natural that states that do best at deterring political violence experience the most terrorism. While representative democracies should see terrorist groups initiate spells of attacks at a greater frequency, full political representation should also galvanize major political actors to unite and eliminate terrorist threats. I test this assertion through statistical models that treat the process of terrorist group initiation and its duration and intensity separately. Results not only show that less consolidated democracies and autocracies experience longer and more intense terrorist campaigns, but that, in support of the theory's mechanisms, groups are more likely to shift to terrorism from insurgency when their political base gains more political representation. The results call the division among research programs of various political violence types into question.