Electoral fraud or violence: the effect of observers on party manipulation strategies

This article reports on the effects of domestic election observers on electoral fraud and violence. Using an experimental research design and polling station data on fraud and violence during Ghana's 2012 elections, it shows that observers reduced fraud and violence at the polling stations which they monitored. It is argued that local electoral competition shapes party activists' response to observers. As expected, in single-party dominant areas, parties used their local political networks to relocate fraud to polling stations without an election observer, and, in contrast, party activists relocated violence to stations without observers in competitive areas - a response that requires less local organizational capacity. This highlights how local party organization and electoral incentives can shape the manipulative electoral strategies employed by parties in democratic elections

Mode transition of plasma expansion for laser induced breakdown in Air

High-speed shadowgraph visualization experiments conducted using a 10 J pulse transversely excited atmospheric (TEA) CO2 laser in ambient air provided a state transition from overdriven to Chapman–Jouguet in the laser-supported detonation regime. At the state transition, the propagation velocity of the laser-supported detonation wave and the threshold laser intensity were 10 km/s and 1011 W/m2, respectively. State transition information, such as the photoionization caused by plasma UV radiation, of the avalanche ionization ahead of the ionization wave front can be elucidated from examination of the source seed electrons

Characteristics of Inpatient Hypertension Cases and Factors Associated with Admission Outcomes in Ashanti Region, Ghana: An Analytic Cross-Sectional Study

Background. Hypertension remains a cause of morbidity and mortality in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. It has been featured in the top ten causes of OPD attendance, admissions, and deaths since 2012. We investigated the sociodemographic characteristics and spatial distribution of inpatient hypertensives and factors associated with their admission outcomes. Methods. A 2014 line list of 1715 inpatient HPT cases aged ≥25 years was used for the cross-sectional analytic study. Accounting for clustering, all analyses were performed using the “svy” command in Stata. Frequencies, Chi-square test, and logistic regression analysis were used in the analysis. Arc view Geographic Information System (ArcGIS) was used to map the density of cases by place of residence and reporting hospital. Results. Mean age of cases was 58 (S.D 0.0068). Females constituted 67.6% of the cases. Age, gender, and NHIS status were significantly associated with admission outcomes. Cases were clustered in the regional capital and bordering districts. However, low case densities were recorded in the latter. Conclusion. Increasing NHIS access can potentially impact positively on hypertension admission outcomes. Health educational campaigns targeting men are recommended to address hypertension-related issues

Assessing water-related risk factors for Buruli ulcer: a case-control study in Ghana.

To assess water-related risk factors of Buruli ulcer, a case-control study of 102 patients (51 cases and 51 controls) was undertaken by matching age group, sex, and bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) vaccination history in Ghana. The factors used here for matching have previously been implicated as factors of Buruli ulcer, an emerging infectious disease. This is the first study to delineate a set of previously suspected, water-related risk factors, in a case-control study matching for age group, sex, and BCG vaccination status. The results of both bivariate and multivariate analyses presented a significantly high odds ratio (OR) only for swimming in rivers on a habitual basis (OR = 18.00, P < 0.01) among the major water-related risk factors. Use of water from rivers and ponds for drinking, cooking, bathing, and washing purposes were not significant risk factors. Our data suggest that swimming, or activities on riverbanks associated with it, is a risk factor

Protecting the Polls : The Effect of Observers on Election Fraud 1. Working paper

Abstract Do domestic election observers deter electoral fraud? And under what conditions do political parties respond to the presence of observers to negate their impact? We address these questions by studying observers&apos; effects on two markers of fraud -overvoting (more votes cast than registered voters) and unnaturally high levels of turnout -during Ghana&apos;s 2012 presidential elections. Our randomized saturation experimental design allows us to estimate observers&apos; causal effects and to identify how political parties strategically respond to observers. We show that observers significantly reduce overvoting and suspicious turnout at polling stations to which they are deployed. We also find that political parties successfully relocate fraud from observed to unobserved stations in their historical strongholds, where they enjoy social penetration and political competition is low, whereas they are not able to do so in politically competitive constituencies. The findings have implications for understanding political party behavior and the effects of governance interventions