‘People are running, but where are they heading?’ Disentangling the sources of electoral volatility

Electoral volatility as measured by the Pedersen index is probably one of the most popular indicators in political science, but its interpretation is far from clear. Volatility is produced by a mix of party-switching, differential turnout and generational replacement. However, there is virtually no empirical research on which, if any, of the main mechanisms leading to volatility tends to have the strongest net impact on election results. Furthermore, the presence of generational replacement and its relative impact on election results have received little attention in studies of volatility. This article develops several theoretical expectations concerning the strength that each of the three components of volatility is expected to exert on the latter. Subsequently, it estimates the net impact of each component on the results of 73 elections in six West European democracies using survey data. According to these estimates, party-switching produced 75 per cent of the total amount of volatility, with differential turnout and generational replacement producing 17 and 8 per cent, respectively. Although the effect of these components may work against each other at times, on average only 11 per cent of volatility was cancelled out this way. Findings provide, for the first time, a map of the components of volatility in established democracies and set the ground for further research on the topic

Prueba de habilidades prácticas.

Prueba de habilidades prácticas.Los escenarios propuestos para la prueba de habilidades muestran las diferentes configuraciones donde se evidencia el código utilizado para lograr completar dichos escenarios, paso a paso se detalla y se cumple con lo solicitado en las actividades, este es el producto del esfuerzo de la adquisición de conocimiento obtenido durante el curso del diplomadoThe scenarios proposed for the skills test show the different configurations where the code used to complete these scenarios is evidenced, step by step it is detailed and complied with what is requested in the activities, this is the product of the knowledge acquisition effort obtained during the course of the diploma

Complex dynamics in simple systems with seasonal parameter oscillations

We study systems with periodically oscillating parameters that can give way to complex periodic or non periodic orbits. Performing the long time limit, we can define ergodic averages such as Lyapunov exponents, where a negative maximal Lyapunov exponent corresponds to a stable periodic orbit. By this, extremely complicated periodic orbits composed of contracting and expanding phases appear in a natural way. Employing the technique of $\epsilon$-uncertain points, we find that values of the control parameters supporting such periodic motion are densely embedded in a set of values for which the motion is chaotic. When a tiny amount of noise is coupled to the system, dynamics with positive and with negative non-trivial Lyapunov exponents are indistinguishable. We discuss two physical systems, an oscillatory flow inside a duct and a dripping faucet with variable water supply, where such a mechanism seems to be responsible for a complicated alternation of laminar and turbulent phases.Comment: New version with major change

Why Does Alejandro Know More about Politics than Catalina? Explaining the Latin American Gender Gap in Political Knowledge

This article tests contextual and individual-level explanations of the gender gap in political knowledge in Latin American countries. It suggests that this gap is impacted by political and economic settings through two interrelated mechanisms: gender accessibility (that is, the extent of available opportunities for women to influence the political agenda) and gender-bias signaling (that is, the extent to which women play important roles in the public sphere). Analyzing data from the 2008 Americas Barometer survey, this study shows that the gender gap in political knowledge is smaller among highly educated citizens, in rural areas (where both men and women know little about politics) and in bigger cities (where women’s levels of political knowledge are higher). More importantly, the magnitude of the gap varies greatly across countries. Gender differences in income, party system institutionalization and the representation of women in national parliaments are all found to play a particularly important role in explaining the magnitude of the gender gap in political knowledge across Latin America

Sirtuins, Metabolism, and Cancer

More than a decade ago, sirtuins were discovered as a highly conserved family of NAD+-dependent enzymes that extend lifespan in lower organisms. In mammals, sirtuins are key regulators of stress responses and metabolism, influencing a range of diseases, including diabetes, neurodegeneration, and cancer. In recent years, new functions of sirtuins have been characterized, uncovering the underlying mechanisms of their multifaceted role in metabolism. Here, we specifically review recent progress on the role of sirtuins in DNA repair and energy metabolism, further discussing the implication of sirtuins in the biology of cancer

Nonreactive solute transport in soil columns: classical and fractional-calculus modeling

Vertical nonreactive solute transport data collected in three laboratory soil columns (made out of sediment samples from the Pampean aquifer located southeast of the Buenos Aires province) are contrasted with the explicit solutions of two model 1D linear PDEs: the classical advection–dispersion equation (ADE), and a fractional advection–dispersion equation (FADE) which has proven to be a useful modeling tool for highly inhomogeneous media exhibiting nontrivial scaling laws. Whereas two of the samples turn out to be quite homogeneous (thus requiring a fractional-derivative order γ → 2), the third one is best described by a FADE with fractional-derivative order γ = 1.68. This example illustrates the FADE’s ability to reveal self-similar geometric structures inside the sample.Fil: Benavente, Micaela Andrea. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Matemática; ArgentinaFil: Deza, Roberto Raul. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Física; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Físicas de Mar del Plata. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Cs.exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Investigaciones Físicas de Mar del Plata; ArgentinaFil: Grondona, Sebastian. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Geología de Costas y del Cuaternario. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas. Instituto de Geología de Costas y del Cuaternario; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Mascioli, S.. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Geología de Costas y del Cuaternario. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas. Instituto de Geología de Costas y del Cuaternario; ArgentinaFil: Martinez, Daniel Emilio. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Geología de Costas y del Cuaternario. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas. Instituto de Geología de Costas y del Cuaternario; Argentin

Pagos electrónicos: El débito directo

Los instrumentos de pago electrónico ganan cada vez mayor preferencia en todo el mundo. Sin embargo, en nuestro país aún falta implementar la compensación electrónica de los débitos directos. El artículo analiza este tema, sus antecedentes, el marco legal y las ventajas para la economía.