The American Religious Landscape and the 2004 Presidential Vote: Increased Polarization

Presents findings from a post-election survey conducted in November and December 2004. Explores the polarization between different religions, as well as within the major religious traditions

A strong web presence can equalize the playing field for long shot candidates in Presidential party nominations

While few would doubt that the Internet is now an important component in any election, especially the presidential, what effects does a candidates’ web presence have on their electoral chances, and is this something that they are able to influence? Using data from the 2008 presidential nominations, Dino P. Christenson, Corwin D. Smidt and Costas Panagopoulos investigate how candidate’s web presence differs from traditional indicators of campaign performance and if it can help them to gain greater financial and electoral support. They find that campaign frontrunners have a limited ability to control their web presence, but that outsider candidates can have more success. They also show that candidates with a greater web presence see greater successes in fundraising

A Two-Step Theory and Test of Democratic Waves *

Abstract Scholars, observing clustering in transitions to democracy, argue that democratization diffuses across borders as citizens in autocracies demand the same reforms they witness in neighboring states. We disagree. The present paper asserts that the diffusion of democracy literature rests on weak theoretical foundations and does not properly test for diffusion. We advance an alternative two-step argument to explain clustering of democratization: (1) economic shocks, which are clustered spatially and temporally, induce the breakdown of authoritarian regimes; then (2) democratic diffusion, in turn, influences whether a fallen dictatorship will be replaced by a democracy or a new autocracy. Diffusion, despite playing an important role, is insufficient to explain the clustering of transitions, notably because it cannot account for the timing of the waves. Using data on 125 autocracies from 1875 to 2004, we show that economic crises trigger authoritarian breakdowns, while diffusion determines whether the new regime is democratic or authoritarian. * Thanks t

Site-specific seeding using multi-sensor and data fusion techniques : a review

Site-specific seeding (SSS) is a precision agricultural (PA) practice aiming at optimizing seeding rate and depth, depending on the within field variability in soil fertility and yield potential. Unlike other site-specific applications, SSS was not adopted sufficiently by farmers due to some technological and practical challenges that need to be overcome. Success of site-specific application strongly depends on the accuracy of measurement of key parameters in the system, modeling and delineation of management zone maps, accurate recommendations and finally the right choice of variable rate (VR) technologies and their integrations. The current study reviews available principles and technologies for both map-based and senor-based SSS. It covers the background of crop and soil quality indicators (SQI), various soil and crop sensor technologies and recommendation approaches of map-based and sensor-based SSS applications. It also discusses the potential of socio-economic benefits of SSS against uniform seeding. The current review proposes prospective future technology synthesis for implementation of SSS in practice. A multi-sensor data fusion system, integrating proper sensor combinations, is suggested as an essential approach for putting SSS into practice

Replication Files for: The Consequences of Elite Party Politics for American Macropartisanship

Data and command codes to reproduce the results and figures in the main article and the supplemental appendix

Replication Data for: Polarization and the Decline of the American Floating Voter

The observed rate of Americans voting for a different party across successive presidential elections has never been lower. This trend is largely explained by the clarity of party differences reducing indecision and ambivalence and increasing reliability in presidential voting. American National Election Studies (ANES) Times Series data show that recent independent and less engaged voters perceive candidate differences as clearly as partisan and engaged voters of past elections and with declining rates of ambivalence, being undecided, and floating. Analysis of ANES inter-election panel studies shows the decline in switching is present among non-voters too, as pure independents are as reliable in their party support as strong partisans of prior eras. These findings show parties benefit from the behavioral response of all Americans to polarization. By providing an ideological anchor to candidate evaluations, polarization produces a reliable base of party support that is less responsive to short-term forces