Five Guidelines for Partition Analysis with Applications to Lecture Hall-type Theorems

Five simple guidelines are proposed to compute the generating function for the nonnegative integer solutions of a system of linear inequalities. In contrast to other approaches, the emphasis is on deriving recurrences. We show how to use the guidelines strategically to solve some nontrivial enumeration problems in the theory of partitions and compositions. This includes a strikingly different approach to lecture hall-type theorems, with new $q$-series identities arising in the process. For completeness, we prove that the guidelines suffice to find the generating function for any system of homogeneous linear inequalities with integer coefficients. The guidelines can be viewed as a simplification of MacMahon's partition analysis with ideas from matrix techiniques, Elliott reduction, and ``adding a slice''

How party systems in Central and Eastern Europe affect government formation

Coalition governments are the norm in most European countries, but how do the dynamics of coalition negotiations differ between Western European states and those in Central and Eastern Europe? Drawing on a recent study, Lee Savage illustrates that some common features of Central and Eastern European party systems, such as greater electoral volatility, can lead to coalition formation processes that are distinct from those in Western Europe

A product of their bargaining environment: Explaining government duration in Central and Eastern Europe

Since the transition to democracy in the early 1990s, more than 60 percent of governments in Central and Eastern Europe have terminated prematurely. This article seeks to understand why some governments in the region survive longer than others. I argue that the nature of party system development in the region has facilitated the emergence of a polarized pattern of party competition. As the party system structures the government bargaining process, it is contended that indicators of bargaining environment complexity are essential to understanding why some governments are more durable than others. The Cox proportional hazards model is used to estimate the effect of bargaining environment variables. The results show that ideological diversity of the bargaining environment and the length of the coalition formation process are both significant indicators of government duration in Central and Eastern Europe even after controlling for economic performance, majority status and the regime divide

Scaling Behavior of Granular Particles in a Vibrating Box

Using numerical and analytic methods, we study the behavior of granular particles contained in a vibrating box. We measure, by molecular dynamics (MD) simulation, several quantities which characterize the system. These quantities--the density and the granular temperature fields, and the vertical expansion--obey scaling in the variable $x = Af$. Here, $A$ and $f$ are the amplitude and the frequency of the vibration. The behavior of these quantities is qualitatively different for small and large values of $x$. We also study the system using Navier-Stokes type equations developed by Haff. We develop a boundary condition for moving boundaries, and solve for the density and the temperature fields of the steady state in the quasi-incompressible limit, where the average separation between the particles is much smaller than the average diameter of the particles. The fields obtained from Haff's equations show the same scaling as those from the simulations. The origin of the scaling can be easily understood. The behavior of the fields from the theory is consistent with the simulation data for small $x$, but they deviate significantly for large $x$. We argue that the deviation is due to the breakdown of the quasi-incompressibility condition for large $x$.Comment: LaTeX, 26 pages, 9 figures available upon reques

Negativity bias: the impact of framing of immigration on welfare state support in Germany, Sweden and the UK

How does the framing of immigration influence support for the welfare state? Drawing on research from psychology, specifically the notion of negativity bias and the sequencing of negative and positive information, this article argues that negative immigration frames undermine welfare support, while positive frames have little or no effect. Individuals take less notice of positive frames, and the effect of such frames is further undermined by the previous exposure to negative frames, which tend to stick longer in people's minds. The findings, based on survey experiments on over 9,000 individuals in Germany, Sweden and the UK, show that negative framing of immigration has a strong and pervasive effect on support for welfare. The article also finds some evidence that this effect is further amplified for people who hold anti-immigrant and anti-welfare attitudes or feel economically insecure. The effect of positive framing is considerably weaker and does not strengthen welfare support in any of the three countries