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E-voting in Brazil - the risks to democracy
Literature has shown that countries with strong democratic traditions, such as the United States and Canada, are not yet using electronic voting systems intensively, due to the concern for and emphasis on security. It has revealed that there is no such thing as an error-free computer system, let alone an electronic voting system, and that existing technology does not offer the conditions necessary for a reliable, accurate and secure electronic voting system. In this context, then, what are the risks of e-voting to democracy? In what ways, if at all, can more fragile, less mature democracies be buttressed with e-voting systems? As a key component of e-democracy, it seems that e-voting technologies are to become more secure and increasingly reliable in the near future and will indeed be adopted in many countries. In what ways, if at all, will the introduction of such systems increase voter confidence in the political system, promote citizen engagement in political life, and nurture the evolution of democracy? If both e-voting and edemocracy are emerging based on popular demand - that is, as a demand-driven alternative to current processes, then there is no doubt that they are likely to enhance and improve the efficiency of traditional democracy. However, if e-voting technology is being introduced based on a supply-driven fashion - the technology exists therefore it should and must be implemented - then the implications for democracy should be considered. Brazil's introduction of e-voting offers a cautionary tale of supply-driven technological implication. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how the introduction of e-voting in Brazil is highly risky to democracy due to the lack of emphasis on security and the lack of a sociallyinformed and socially driven approach to technological innovation. The Brazilian example illustrates the democratic implications of a market-driven approach. The lack of a technology strategy designed to promote and extend democratic principles is not surprising given the closed door, market-based negotiations that led to the adoption of e-voting in Brazil. The promise, and indeed, the imperative of a democratic, voter-centered approach as an alternative for the development of an electronic voting system, is explored in the paper
Large time behavior for vortex evolution in the half-plane
In this article we study the long-time behavior of incompressible ideal flow
in a half plane from the point of view of vortex scattering. Our main result is
that certain asymptotic states for half-plane vortex dynamics decompose
naturally into a nonlinear superposition of soliton-like states. Our approach
is to combine techniques developed in the study of vortex confinement with weak
convergence tools in order to study the asymptotic behavior of a self-similar
rescaling of a solution of the incompressible 2D Euler equations on a half
plane with compactly supported, nonnegative initial vorticity.Comment: 30 pages, no figure
Quantum Properties of a Which-Way Detector
We explore quantum properties of a which-way detector using three versions of
an idealized two slit arrangements. Firstly we derive complementarity relations
for the detector; secondly we show how the "experiment" may be altered in such
a way that using single position measurement on the screen we can obtain
quantum erasure. Finally we show how to construct a superposition of "wave" and
"particle" components
Generalized partition functions and interpolating statistics
We show that the assumption of quasiperiodic boundary conditions (those that
interpolate continuously periodic and antiperiodic conditions) in order to
compute partition functions of relativistic particles in 2+1 space-time can be
related with anyonic physics. In particular, in the low temperature limit, our
result leads to the well known second virial coefficient for anyons. Besides,
we also obtain the high temperature limit as well as the full temperature
dependence of this coefficient.Comment: 12 pages, Latex, updated and enlarged versio
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