The effects of deviate internal representations in the optimal model of the human operator

Some of the issues and equations involved in predicting closed-loop man machine performance for situations in which the human operators' knowledge of the system and/or environment are imperfect are presented and discussed. Several examples to demonstrate some of the effects to be expected when such is the case are then given

The Mississippi Side-Step : March and Cake Walk

https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mmb-ps/2502/thumbnail.jp

Functional specification of the Performance Measurement (PM) module

The design of the Performance Measurement Module is described with emphasis on what the PM Module would do, and what it would look like to the user. The PM Module as described could take several man-years to develop. An evolutionary approach to the implementation of the PM Module is presented which would provide an operational baseline PM Module within a few months

Two Sisters From The Same Old Home

https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mmb-vp/6479/thumbnail.jp

Papa, Mama, Kiss And Be Friends

https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mmb-vp/4553/thumbnail.jp

When does open government shut? Predicting government responses to citizen information requests

Methods for the analysis of “big data” on citizen-government interactions are necessary for theoretical assessments of bureaucratic responsiveness. Such big data methods also stand to benefit practitioners' abilities to monitor and improve these emerging transparency mechanisms. We consider supervised latent Dirichlet allocation (sLDA) as a potential method for these purposes. To this end, we use sLDA to examine the Mexican government's (non)responsiveness to all public information requests filed with the federal Mexican government during the 2003–2015 period, and to identify the request topics most associated with (non)responsiveness. Substantively, our comparisons of the topics that are most highly predictive of responsiveness and nonresponsivess indicate that political sensitivity plays a large and important role in shaping official behavior in this arena. We thus conclude that sLDA provides unique advantages for, and insights into, the analysis of (i) textual records of citizen–government interactions and (ii) bureaucratic (non)responsiveness to these interactions

What information do citizens want? Evidence from one million information requests in Mexico

While scholars have emphasized the importance of information for accountability, little research has addressed the demand for government information by real citizens. We study the totality of information requests filed with Mexican federal government agencies from 2003 to 2015, over 1 million requests in all. We use unsupervised methods to categorize requests, revealing the diversity of topics including environment, security, budgets, and government procurement and employees. While many topics have clear public accountability-seeking purposes, others are focused on more private, micro-political goals. Analysis over time and across states reveals linkage between information demand and issues of public interest such as environmental impacts and criminal violence. Our results demonstrate that, given functioning access-to-information institutions, citizens in a transitional democracy really do demand information relevant to public accountability

The diversity of repression: measuring state repressive repertoires with events data

Tactical repertoires of mobilization and repression play an essential role in understanding dynamics of political violence, yet existing quantitative approaches focus primarily on intensities or counts of repressive actions. We focus instead on the diversity of repression, and demonstrate a novel method of measuring repertoires of state repression using event data. We show that more repressive states are likely to employ more diverse repertoires of repression, rather than specializing narrowly in particularly coercive tactics. We demonstrate that, globally, repertoires of state repression are growing less diverse over time. Finally, in the Online appendix, we model repertoires of repression across countries and over time, finding evidence of broader repertoires during protest and civil war, but narrower under democratic regimes and international human rights treaties

The Mississippi Side-Step / music by Leo. E. Berliner; words by Leo. E. Berliner

Cover: drawing of well-dressed African American couples dancing; description reads characteristic march and cake walk (in simplified rag-time); Publisher: Leo. E. Berliner and Co. (New York)https://egrove.olemiss.edu/sharris_a/1050/thumbnail.jp