Electoral bias and policy choice: theory and evidence

This paper develops a new approach to study how electoral bias in favor of one party due to the pattern of districting affects policy choice. We tie a commonly used measure of districting bias to the theory of party competition and show how this affects policy choice in theory. The utility of the approach is illustrated using data on local government in the U.K. The results suggest that reducing electoral bias leads parties to moderate their policies.

Electoral bias and policy choice: theory and evidence

This paper develops an approach to studying how bias in favor of one party due to the pattern of electoral districting affects policy choice. We tie a commonly used measure of electoral bias to the theory of party competition and show how this affects party strategy in theory. The usefulness of the approach is illustrated using data on local government in England. The results suggest that reducing electoral bias leads parties to moderate their policies.

A Numerical Investigation of Unsteady Bubbly Cavitating Nozzle Flows

The effects of unsteady bubble dynamics on cavitating flow through a converging-diverging nozzle are investigated numerically. A continuum model that couples the Rayleigh-Plesset equation with the continuity and momentum equations is used to formulate unsteady, quasi-one-dimensional partial differential equations. These equations are solved numerically using a Lagrangian finite volume method. Special formulations are used at the boundary cells to allow Eulerian boundary conditions to be specified. Flow regimes studied include those where steady state solutions exist, and those where steady state solutions diverge at the so-called flashing instability. These latter flows consist of unsteady bubbly shock waves travelling downstream in the diverging section of the nozzle. The computations show reasonable agreement with an experiment that measures the spatial variation of pressure, velocity and void fraction for steady shockfree flows, and good agreement with an experiment that measures the shock position and throat pressure for flows with bubbly shocks

Motivators of Educational Success: Perceptions of Grade 12 Aboriginal Students

The purpose of this paper is to identify motivators that support educational success, as perceived by Aboriginal high school students enrolled in two urban Saskatchewan schools. Twelve semi-structured individual interviews revealed that students were motivated by a hospitable school culture, relevant learning opportunities, and positive personal influences outside the realm of the school (e.g., family role models and Elder influence). Utilizing an Aboriginal worldview lens, student motivation stemmed from experiencing four quadrants of learning—awareness (physical), knowledge (mental), continuous improvement (emotional), and perseverance (spiritual). An implication is that educators need to incorporate features of Aboriginal pedagogy when teaching.Keywords: motivational learning, Aboriginal high school students, Aboriginal worldvie

Exploring the Concepts of Traditional Inuit Leadership and Effective School Leadership in Nunavut (Canada)

The purpose of this paper is to document how educators living in Nunavut communities describe traditional Inuit leadership and effective school leadership. The data for this qualitative study were 24 semi-structured interviews, involving 14 teachers, vice-principals, and principals from Nunavut. Findings revealed that traditional Inuit leadership was about promoting the personal leadership skills, interests, and/or abilities of each community member, and it often involved Elders who fostered the linguistic, social, cultural, and spiritual wellness of students and school staff. Participants depicted an effective school leader to be someone who promoted teamwork. Also, participants indicated that effective school leaders were community and people-focused. The findings of this study align the Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (IQ) principles, which incorporate important features of the Inuit worldview

Ephemeral detection of Bonamia exitiosa (Haplosporida) in adult and larval European flat oysters Ostrea edulis in the Solent, United Kingdo

The haplosporidian parasite Bonamia exitiosa was detected using PCR in four adult and six larval brood samples of the European flat oyster Ostrea edulis from the Solent, UK. This represents the second reported detection of this parasite along the south coast of England. Adult oysters were collected and preserved from seabed populations or restoration broodstock cages between 2015 and 2018. The larvae within brooding adults sampled during 2017 and 2018 were also preserved. Molecular analysis of all samples was performed in 2019. The DNA of B. exitiosa was confirmed to be present within the gill tissue of one oyster within the Portsmouth wild fishery seabed population (n = 48), sampled in November 2015; the congeneric parasite Bonamia ostreae was not detected in this individual. This is the earliest record of B. exitiosa in the Solent. Concurrent presence of both B. ostreae and B. exitiosa, determined by DNA presence, was confirmed in the gill and heart tissue of three mature individuals from broodstock cages sampled in October 2017 (n = 99), two from a location on the River Hamble and one from the Camber Dock in Portsmouth Harbour. B. exitiosa was not detected in the November 2018 broodstock populations. A total of six larval broods were positive for B. exitiosa, with five also positive for B. ostreae. None of the brooding adults were positive for B. exitiosa suggesting that horizontal transmission from the surrounding environment to the brooding larvae is occurring. Further sampling of broodstock populations conducted by the Fish Health Inspectorate at the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science in June 2019 did not detect infection of O. edulis by B. exitiosa. These findings together suggest that the pathogen has not currently established in the area