Computations of volumes in five candidates elections

We describe several analytical results obtained in five candidates social choice elections under the assumption of the Impartial Anonymous Culture. These include the Condorcet and Borda paradoxes, as well as the Condorcet efficiency of plurality, negative plurality and Borda voting, including their runoff versions. The computations are done by Normaliz. It finds precise probabilities as volumes of polytopes in dimension 119, using its recent implementation of the Lawrence algorithm

Software for Exact Integration of Polynomials over Polyhedra

We are interested in the fast computation of the exact value of integrals of polynomial functions over convex polyhedra. We present speed ups and extensions of the algorithms presented in previous work. We present the new software implementation and provide benchmark computations. The computation of integrals of polynomials over polyhedral regions has many applications; here we demonstrate our algorithmic tools solving a challenge from combinatorial voting theory.Comment: Major updat

The Probability of Casting a Decisive Vote: From IC to IAC trhough Ehrhart's Polynomials and Strong Mixing

The main purpose of this paper is to estimate the probability of casting a decisive vote for a class or random electorate models encompassing the celebrated IC and IAC models. The emphasis is on the impact of correlation across votes on the order of magnitude of this event. Our proof techniques use arguments from probability theory on one hand and the geometry of convex polytopes on the other hand

Viet Nam Generation, Volume 6, Number 3-4

Edited by Dan Duffy and Kali Tal. Contributing editors: Renny Christopher. David DeRose, Alan Farrell. Cynthia Fuchs, William M. King. Bill Shields, Tony Williams, and David Willson

1950-1951 Xavier University The College of Liberal Arts, Graduate Division Course Catalog

https://www.exhibit.xavier.edu/coursecatalog/1198/thumbnail.jp

Destroying Weapons of Coal, Air and Water: A Critical Evaluation of the American Policy of German Industrial Demilitarization 1945-1952

This dissertation analyses the American development and execution of the industrial demilitarization program in occupied Germany after World War II. Both Roosevelt and Truman administrations tackled the task of more or less permanently removing the basic German potential to produce armaments. A new understanding of industrial processes led policymakers to advocate the elimination of general or civilian manufacturing capacities for reasons of national security. This radical departure from the norms of previous peace settlements took the modern dual-use nature of industrial power into account. But the few contemporary analyses of demilitarization surprisingly disregard the importance of dual-use conceptions. Employing a strict division of civilian from military production that flies in the face of early 20th Century military theorists such as the advocates of strategic bombing, scholars have typically downplayed the problems experienced by the Foreign Economic Administration and Allied Control Council in even pinpointing the sources of military industrial power. It is therefore surprising that the historiography generally takes the success of the demilitarization operation for granted even though other historians have emphasized the relative growth of western German heavy industry after 1945. This examination questions the utility of military industrial control schemes owing to both the complexity and intertwined basis of the entire industrial structure. The paper employs a wide range of diplomatic and military records to critically examine the twisted course of conceptual development and the actual work of Lucius D. Clay’s military government. These records expose the significant constraints that hampered the project. Plans to remove an explosives manufacturing capacity for example failed because fertilizer output depended on many of the same facilities. Tampering with this sector threatened Washington with an humanitarian disaster owing to postwar conditions. Other constraints, such as the questionable benefits of transferring military industrial strength to potential adversaries or the belief generated by the Strategic Bombing Survey that the bombers had already done the job or most importantly the post-1945 American argument for swift German civilian economic rehabilitation to drive European reconstruction, manifested themselves. These constraints ameliorated the original policy direction represented by the Morgenthau Plan and J.C.S. 1067. Successive definitional alterations quickly led Washington to reject any serious attempts at destroying industrial capacities -- as witnessed in the examination of the fate of the Alkett-Berlin tank plant. Assessments of German military power after the Cold War breach in 1947 by the Joint Chiefs of Staff exposed real dual-use potential. Rather than building an epoch of peace, the industrial demilitarization conundrum helped drive the United States and Soviet Union further apart as both jostled for an improved power position in Germany. Seen in this way, the survival of German military industrial capacities contributed to the process split the world in two and ended with the emergence of the Bundeswehr by 1955

Collective Decisions on Conditional Topics - An Empirical Study of the Impact of Nonseparable Preferences

Analytical politics investigates collective decision-making in political systems. Such voting behavior in groups takes place in parliaments, committees or the board of local football clubs. It is a frequent object of study for theoretical as well as empirical analysis. Previous contributions have demonstrated well the stabilizing effect of procedural rules, such as agenda-setting or multi-chamber systems, for collective decisions. These rules are applied in many institutions, such as the European Parliament or the German Bundestag. Their main purpose is to ensure reliable policy. Previous work continually used the restrictive assumption of separable preferences. This assumption implies that different aspects of a question do not influence each other. The limited validity of this hypothesis is apparent even in everyday situations. For example, the enjoyment of a delicious meal depends on the combination of food and drink. When choosing between fish and venison for dinner you also have to consider the question of which sort of wine to have with the meal; white with fish, and red with venison. This form of interdependence also occurs in legislation. For example, the savings determined in the Greek budget influence the preferences of the German public for financial assistance to Greece. The assumption of separable preferences is therefore in the critical focus of theoretical research. This literature discusses the impacts of and solutions to nonseparable preferences in detail. The analysis suggests an increased complexity for every decision-making process affected by nonseparable preferences. This complexity leads to difficulties in the operationalization of nonseparable preferences and is one of the reasons that there are too few empirical examinations. In addition, the stabilizing properties of institutional arrangements identified under the assumption of separable preferences are in question. The goal of this study is to close this gap between theory and empiricism. I investigate nonseparable preferences by conducting a laboratory experiment, which allows comprehensive environmental control. This facilitates the operationalization of nonseparable preferences. First, I prove the relevance of nonseparable preferences for analytical research on social interaction. The experiment is therefore completed by empirical case studies. Next, I investigate the effects of nonseparable preferences on collective and individual decision-making in the laboratory. Finally, I assess my contribution with respect to current research in social science and discuss possibilities to more accurately model of human behavior. The dissertation is structured as follows. I start in chapter 1 with the presentation of my research question and design. In chapter 2 the concept of nonseparable preferences is further clarified by means of exemplary case studies. It also discusses the theoretical foundations of nonseparable preferences. My hypotheses are specified along common concepts used in the literature. Based on empirical data the relevance of nonseparable preferences for political science research is demonstrated in chapter 3. Next, chapter 4 presents the design of the laboratory experiment. The effects of nonseparable preferences on collective decision-making are examined in chapter 5. Subsequently, determinants for the motivation function of individuals are scrutinized in chapter 6. In chapter 7 I report the results of the post-experiment survey. All findings are evaluated in chapter 8, where I focus on detailing their usefulness to future research on human behavior. Finally, chapter 9 summarizes the study and lists possibilities to further expand research in this area