The Curious Case of Formal Theory in Political Science: How Did It Emerge as a Discipline, Why Its Existence Is a Sign of a Failure, and Why the Science of Politics Is Not Possible Without It?

American political science has evolved a subfield which is commonly referred to as formal theory. Political scientists identify themselves as specializing in formal theory, departments advertise faculty positions in formal theory and put together formal theory subfields that offer undergraduate and graduate curricula. The roots of the field can be traced to Thomas Hobbes. Hobbes’ message, however, seems to have been utterly ignored by the social science. William Riker’s second launch of “Hobbesian advice”, in 1950’s and 60’s, proved more successful and put the field of formal theory on the map of political science. Yet, the very existence of the formal theory field can be seen as the failure of both Hobbes and Riker. There seems to be a continuing need for teaching social scientists why they should construct a proper science and how they should do it. This paper is an attempt to meet this need. I believe that the future science of politics will have to follow in the footsteps of Hobbes and Riker. And so will other social sciences. My point in the paper is not new; the way I make it, is

Tax penalties in SME tax compliance

Small business tax compliance requires special attention. On the one hand small businesses are often incapable of rigorously fulfilling their tax obligations, more vulnerable to external risks and tempted to exploit opportunities to be non-compliant. On the other hand, unlike larger businesses, they are usually sole proprietors or owner-operated businesses, hence highly responsive to personal, social, cognitive and emotional factors. These attributes pave the way to a better use of measures designed to influence their behavior and choices. This paper discusses the role and effectiveness of tax penalties in enhancing tax compliance in small businesses. It argues that tax penalties, although indispensable for tax enforcement, may not be a first-choice tool in ensuring tax compliance. Too punitive a tax regime is an important barrier to business formalization and increasing severity of tax penalties does not produce the intended results. To be effective, tax penalties should deter and motivate taxpayers rather than exert repressive measures against them

Improving Blood Pressure Control Among Hispanic Patient Population by Enhancing Providers\u27 Attention to Culturally Competent Solutions Aimed at Increasing Self-Care and Treatment Adherence At and Post Hospital Discharge: A Quality Improvement Project

Background and Review of Literature: Hypertension is a primary, preventable risk factor for coronary heart disease, heart failure, and stroke. However, despite advances in preventive care and treatment modalities related to blood pressure control, the prevalence of hypertension in the United States remains at an undesirable level and disproportionately affects Hispanic patients. Purpose: The purpose of this quality improvement (QI) project was to determine if a culturally sensitive, multifaceted intervention focused on promotion of hypertension awareness and self- management strategies increases treatment compliance and blood pressure control among Limited English Proficiency (LEP) Hispanics. Design/Methods: The DNP project included a QI protocol with an education evaluation design aimed at improving blood pressure control and hypertension self-management in the LEP Hispanic patient population. Implementation Procedures: The DNP student lead a QI team to identify hypertensive LEP Latinos upon admission to an inpatient medical surgical unit. LEP Hispanic patients received language concordant education related to hypertension and self-management including home blood pressure monitoring paired with post discharge health coaching. Access to outpatient follow up care was ascertained to facilitate treatment continuum. Results/Interpretation: Ninety percent of participants (n=18) reported timely primary care follow up. Forty percent (n=8) attended the three month follow up and demonstrated 74% increase in medication adherence scores and 43% improvement in knowledge related to hypertension and self-management. Seven participants in the follow up group met target blood pressure goal and majority (n=6) verbalized interest in future health coaching opportunities. Implications: The multifactorial QI measure resulted in improved blood pressure control and engagement and in self-care and among LEP Latinos

Massachusetts Complete Streets Program: An Exploratory Spatial and Social Equity Analysis

The effects of transportation planning on equity are often overlooked or not prioritized, sometimes resulting in an inequitable distribution of infrastructure investment with disparities in access. This paper examines the characteristics and distribution of approved Complete Streets projects across Massachusetts using social and spatial methods to analyze trends across socioeconomic demographic data. The methods applied include buffering techniques in GIS software to analyze population data within a half-mile radius of approved projects from 2016-2019. The half-mile measure of proximity is used as a proxy for access, in which descriptive statistics and regression models examine in detail

Integrating subjective recovery and stigma resistance in individuals with schizophrenia: a narrative review and theoretical integration

Stigmatised attitudes are known to be associated with negative outcomes in schizophrenia, yet there is little focus on the role of stigma in the recovery process. Attempts to develop interventions to reduce self-stigma in schizophrenia have not been found effective. This paper presents a theoretical integration based on a narrative review of the literature. PsycINFO, Medline and Embase databases were searched up to the 11th December 2023. Studies were included if they were: i) empirical studies using qualitative, quantitative or mixed methods studies investigating mental health stigma; ii) included participants based in the United Kingdom, fluent in English, between the ages of 16 and 70, meeting criteria for a schizophrenia spectrum diagnosis. Fourteen studies were included. In Part 1, we propose a novel theoretical model derived from a synthesis of service-user perspectives on the relationship between stigma and schizophrenia. Stigmatised attitudes were commonly perceived to be caused by a lack of education and further exacerbated by disinformation primarily through the media and cultural communities. Stigma led to negative self-perceptions, negative emotional responses, social isolation and increased symptom severity, ultimately acting as a barrier to recovery. In Part 2, we identify several factors that ameliorate the impact of stigma and promote clinical and subjective recovery among service-users: education, empowerment, self-efficacy, self-acceptance, hope and social support. We argue that the notion of stigma resistance may be helpful in developing new interventions aimed at promoting recovery in individuals with schizophrenia. Wider implications are discussed and recommendations for future research and practice are explored.</p

The Deerfield Street Initiative (Greenfield, MA)

The goal of the Master of Regional Planning Studio is to develop a student’s techniques for collecting, analyzing, and synthesizing spatial and non-spatial data and then presenting that collective data in a manner (i.e., report, video, presentation, and charettes) that is understandable to academics, professionals, and the public. Planning Studio allows students to integrate knowledge from coursework and research, and apply such knowledge to resolving representative planning problems. At UMASS Amherst, these problems are found in neighborhood, rural, urban, and/or regional settings. For the fall 2018 Planning Studio, the Town of Greenfieldtasked the Masters of Regional Planning Studio to prepare a vision plan that focuses on improving Greenfield’sRoute 5 Southern/Deerfield Street Corridor. Greenfield’s Deerfield Street neighborhood serves as the southern gateway to the Downtown. This area has been in transition for several years as the City has invested in housing and infrastructure along this stretch. The key projects have been upgrade of sidewalks, creation of a small riverside park, renovation of distressed housing. Recently, the neighborhood has seen investment in new housing. The Arbors (constructed in 2007) is an upscale assisted housing residence thatalso has low-income housing units. The Green River Commons (2018) consists of eight newhigh performance (energy) modest-sized condominiums with units as fourlow-income housing. In addition, there are several multifamily homes have been or are scheduledfor rehabilitation under the City\u27s Housing Rehab Program

Summary of the DREAM8 Parameter Estimation Challenge: Toward Parameter Identification for Whole-Cell Models

Whole-cell models that explicitly represent all cellular components at the molecular level have the potential to predict phenotype from genotype. However, even for simple bacteria, whole-cell models will contain thousands of parameters, many of which are poorly characterized or unknown. New algorithms are needed to estimate these parameters and enable researchers to build increasingly comprehensive models. We organized the Dialogue for Reverse Engineering Assessments and Methods (DREAM) 8 Whole-Cell Parameter Estimation Challenge to develop new parameter estimation algorithms for whole-cell models. We asked participants to identify a subset of parameters of a whole-cell model given the model’s structure and in silico “experimental” data. Here we describe the challenge, the best performing methods, and new insights into the identifiability of whole-cell models. We also describe several valuable lessons we learned toward improving future challenges. Going forward, we believe that collaborative efforts supported by inexpensive cloud computing have the potential to solve whole-cell model parameter estimation

Sankcioniranje malih i srednjih poduzeća za neispunjavanje poreznih obveza

Problematika ispunjavanja poreznih obveza malih poduzeća zahtijeva posebnu pozornost. S jedne strane, mala su poduzeća osjetljivija na vanjske rizike, često nisu sposobna striktno poštivati i ispunjavati svoje porezne obveze te nastoje iskoristiti prilike da ih uopće ne ispune. S druge strane, za razliku od velikih, kada se govori o malim poduzećima obično se radi o poduzećima s jednim vlasnikom (eng. sole proprietor) ili poduzećima kojima upravljaju sami vlasnici (eng. owner-operated businesses), zbog čega su u velikoj mjeri osjetljiva na osobne, socijalne, kognitivne i emocionalne čimbenike. Ova obilježja utiru put ka kvalitetnoj uporabi mjera namijenih utjecaju na njihovo ponašanje i izbore. U radu se govori o ulozi i učinkovitosti poreznih sankcija (kazni) u cilju povećanja stupnja ispunjavanja poreznih obveza u malim poduzećima. Tvrdi se da, unatoč nužnosti njihova postojanja u provođenju poreznih zakona, porezne sankcije, kao instrument osiguranja ispunjavanja porezne obveze, ne bi trebale predstavljati prvi izbor. Prestrog porezni režim koji je previše orijentiran na sankcije značajna je prepreka tzv. formalizaciji poslovanja poduzeća (eng. business formalization) , a sve strože i veće porezne sankcije ne daju željene rezultate. Kako bi bile učinkovite, porezne bi sankcije umjesto represivnosti obveznike trebale odvratiti od nepoštivanja poreznih obveza i potaknuti ih na njihovo ispunjavanje

Some Problems With Judging Rationality

The gap between game-theoretic predictions and actual choices people make in, for instance, gaming experiments has been over-interpreted as evidence against rationality of players. I consider a version of the ultimatum game and examine its equilibria under different assumptions about players’ preferences. Using standard notions of rationality I show that the discrepancy between the “normative” and the “descriptive” cannot be established by a simple comparison of what is predicted by the equilibrium choices and the actual choices people make