A comparative spatial analysis of majoritarian and proportional elections

This study estimates spatial representations of recent elections in Canada, France, The Netherlands and Israel. Its purpose is to test whether there exist systematic differences in the extent of spatial dispersion among parties and candidates in the majoritarian and proportional electoral systems. Canada and France are majoritarian systems, while The Netherlands and Israel are highly proportional. The study uses a measure of central tendency developed by Kollman; Kollman and Kollman and non-parametric statistical tests to compare the relative dispersion of parties and candidates across the maps. The analysis reveals that parties and candidates in the majoritarian systems are located significantly closer to the center of the distribution of voters than those in proportional systems. The estimated spatial maps also provide information useful for interpreting the bases of electoral politics in each country

The essential roles of metal ions in insect homeostasis and physiology

Metal ions play distinct roles in living organisms, including insects. Some, like sodium and potassium, are central players in osmoregulation and ‘blood and guts’ transport physiology, and have been implicated in cold adaptation. Calcium is a key player as a second messenger, and as a structural element. Other metals, particularly those with multiple redox states, can be cofactors in many metalloenzymes, but can contribute to toxic oxidative stress on the organism in excess. This short review selects some examples where classical knowledge has been supplemented with recent advances, in order to emphasize the importance of metals as essential nutrients for insect survival

Is Religion an Evolutionary Adaptation?

Religious people talk about things that cannot be seen, stories that cannot be verified, and beings and forces beyond the ordinary. Perhaps their gods are truly at work, or perhaps in human nature there is an impulse to proclaim religious knowledge. If so, it would have to have arisen by natural selection. It is hard to imagine how natural selection could have produced such an impulse. There is a debate among evolutionary scientists about whether or not there is any adaptive advantage to religion at all (Bulbulia 2004a; Atran and Norenzayan 2004). Some believe that it has no adaptive value itself and that it is just a hodge podge of of behaviors that have evolved because they are adaptive in other non-religious contexts. The agent-based simulation described in this article shows that a central unifying feature of religion, a belief in an unverifiable world, could have evolved along side of verifiable knowledge. The simulation makes use of an agent-based communication model with two types of information: verifiable information (real information) about a real world and unverifiable information (unreal information) about about an imaginary world. It examines the conditions necessary for the communication of unreal information to evolved along side the communication of real information. It offers support for the theory that religion is an adaptive complex and it disputes the theory that religion is a byproduct of unrelated adaptive processes.Religion, Myth, Deception, Empirical Reasoning, Rationality

Tie-points and fixed-points in N^*

A point x is a (bow) tie-point of a space X if X setminus {x} can be partitioned into (relatively) clopen sets each with x in its closure. Tie-points have appeared in the construction of non-trivial autohomeomorphisms of betaN setminus N and in the recent study of (precisely) 2-to-1 maps on betaN setminus N . In these cases the tie-points have been the unique fixed point of an involution on betaN setminus N. This paper is motivated by the search for 2-to-1 maps and obtaining tie-points of strikingly differing characteristics

Higher Education Loan Program (HELP): a quick guide

This guide provides an overview of higher education student loans that are provided through the Higher Education Loan Program (HELP). Introduction: Australia’s Higher Education Loan Program (HELP) provides loans to Commonwealth-supported tertiary students. The scheme allows students to defer the costs of tuition until their taxable income reaches a certain level at which repayments commence. HELP is regulated by provisions in the Higher Education Support Act 2003 and administered by the Department of Education. HELP debts and repayments are managed by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO)

History of Thought and Methodology in Pluralist Economics Education

The purpose of the paper is to develop the argument that history of thought and methodology should form part of the content of pluralist teaching in economics, where the aim of this teaching is to equip students to exercise their own judgement as economists. Discussion of the nature and scope of economics, with examples from history, helps students understand what is involved in considering a range of approaches and methods (rather than uncritically accepting one general approach, but without resorting to 'anything goes'). A way of teaching about the current crisis is used as an exemplar.