The executive toolbox:building legislative support in a multiparty presidential regime

How do presidents win legislative support under conditions of extreme multipartism?Comparative presidential research has offered two parallel answers, one relying on distributivepolitics and the other claiming that legislative success is a function of coalition formation. Wemerge these insights in an integrated approach to executive-legislative relations, also addingcontextual factors related to dynamism and bargaining conditions. We find that the twopresidential “tools” – pork and coalition goods – are substitutable resources, with porkfunctioning as a fine-tuning instrument that interacts reciprocally with legislative support. Porkexpenditures also depend upon a president’s bargaining leverage and the distribution oflegislative seats.

Scaling Symmetries of Scatterers of Classical Zero-Point Radiation

Classical radiation equilibrium (the blackbody problem) is investigated by the use of an analogy. Scaling symmetries are noted for systems of classical charged particles moving in circular orbits in central potentials V(r)=-k/r^n when the particles are held in uniform circular motion against radiative collapse by a circularly polarized incident plane wave. Only in the case of a Coulomb potential n=1 with fixed charge e is there a unique scale-invariant spectrum of radiation versus frequency (analogous to zero-point radiation) obtained from the stable scattering arrangement. These results suggest that non-electromagnetic potentials are not appropriate for discussions of classical radiation equilibrium.Comment: 13 page

Cultura política, capital social e percepções sobre corrupção: uma investigação quantitativa em nível mundial

Nos anos 1990, teóricos do capital social passaram a estabelecer uma conexão direta entre cultura política e desempenho de instituições governamentais. Se tal relação causal existe, então deve ser possível identificar fatores culturais associados à corrupção. Neste artigo testamos essa hipótese em nível mundial. Usando métodos quantitativos, desenvolvemos uma série de modelos multivariados que visam medir o efeito de fatores culturais - tais como tradição religiosa, confiança interpessoal e obediência às leis - sobre o nível de corrupção em vários países, usando a avaliação reputacional da organização não-governamental Transparência Internacional como a variável dependente. O artigo mostra que o nível de corrupção em um determinado país é essencialmente uma função do tipo de regime político e do nível de desenvolvimento econômico. Entretanto, algumas características culturais agregam poder explicativo aos modelos, contextualizando as interpretações macroeconômicas e macropolíticas da corrupção. Abstract In the 1990's, theorists of social capital were led to establishing a direct connection between political culture and the performance of governmental institutions. If such a causal relationship does in fact exist, then it should be possible to identify the cultural factors that are associated with corruption. In this article we test this hypothesis at a world level. Using quantitative methods, we develop a series of multi-variate models meant to measure the effect of cultural factors - such as religious tradition, interpersonal confidence and law abidance - on levels of corruption in several countries, using non-governmental organizations' reputational evaluation of "International Transparency" as a dependent variable. This article shows that the level of corruption in a particular country is essentially an attribute of the type of political regime and level of economic development. However, certain cultural characteristics lend explanatory power to these models, thus contextualizing macroeconomic and macropolitical interpretations of corruption. Résumé Dans les années 1990, des théoriciens du capital social commencèrent à établir des liens directs entre culture politique et performance des instituitions gouvernementales. Si tel lien causal existe, il est donc possible d'identifier les facteurs culturels associés à la corruption. Dans cet article, nous vérifions cette hypothèse à l'échelle mondiale. En nous servant des méthodes quantitatives, nous développons des modèles multivariés visant à mésurer l'effet de facteurs culturels - tels que la tradition religieuse, la confiance interpersonnelle et l'obéissance aux lois - sur le niveau de corruption dans plusieurs pays. A cet effet nous utilisons l'évaluation de la renommée de l'organisation non-gouvernementale Transparence Internationale en variable dépendante. L'article montre que le niveau de corruption dans un pays existe notamment en fonction du type de système politique et du niveau de développement économique. Néanmoins, certaines caractéristiques culturelles permettent aux modèles de mieux expliquer le phénomène lorsqu'elles créent un contexte aux interprétations macro-économiques et macropolitiques de la corruption

Cultura política, capital social e percepções sobre corrupção: uma investigação quantitativa em nível mundial

Nos anos 1990, teóricos do capital social passaram a estabelecer uma conexão direta entre cultura política e desempenho de instituições governamentais. Se tal relação causal existe, então deve ser possível identificar fatores culturais associados à corrupção. Neste artigo testamos essa hipótese em nível mundial. Usando métodos quantitativos, desenvolvemos uma série de modelos multivariados que visam medir o efeito de fatores culturais - tais como tradição religiosa, confiança interpessoal e obediência às leis - sobre o nível de corrupção em vários países, usando a avaliação reputacional da organização não-governamental Transparência Internacional como a variável dependente. O artigo mostra que o nível de corrupção em um determinado país é essencialmente uma função do tipo de regime político e do nível de desenvolvimento econômico. Entretanto, algumas características culturais agregam poder explicativo aos modelos, contextualizando as interpretações macroeconômicas e macropolíticas da corrupção. Abstract In the 1990's, theorists of social capital were led to establishing a direct connection between political culture and the performance of governmental institutions. If such a causal relationship does in fact exist, then it should be possible to identify the cultural factors that are associated with corruption. In this article we test this hypothesis at a world level. Using quantitative methods, we develop a series of multi-variate models meant to measure the effect of cultural factors - such as religious tradition, interpersonal confidence and law abidance - on levels of corruption in several countries, using non-governmental organizations' reputational evaluation of "International Transparency" as a dependent variable. This article shows that the level of corruption in a particular country is essentially an attribute of the type of political regime and level of economic development. However, certain cultural characteristics lend explanatory power to these models, thus contextualizing macroeconomic and macropolitical interpretations of corruption. Résumé Dans les années 1990, des théoriciens du capital social commencèrent à établir des liens directs entre culture politique et performance des instituitions gouvernementales. Si tel lien causal existe, il est donc possible d'identifier les facteurs culturels associés à la corruption. Dans cet article, nous vérifions cette hypothèse à l'échelle mondiale. En nous servant des méthodes quantitatives, nous développons des modèles multivariés visant à mésurer l'effet de facteurs culturels - tels que la tradition religieuse, la confiance interpersonnelle et l'obéissance aux lois - sur le niveau de corruption dans plusieurs pays. A cet effet nous utilisons l'évaluation de la renommée de l'organisation non-gouvernementale Transparence Internationale en variable dépendante. L'article montre que le niveau de corruption dans un pays existe notamment en fonction du type de système politique et du niveau de développement économique. Néanmoins, certaines caractéristiques culturelles permettent aux modèles de mieux expliquer le phénomène lorsqu'elles créent un contexte aux interprétations macro-économiques et macropolitiques de la corruption

Developmental changes in the organization of functional connections between the basal ganglia and cerebral cortex

The basal ganglia (BG) comprise a set of subcortical nuclei with sensorimotor, cognitive, and limbic subdivisions, indicative of functional organization. BG dysfunction in several developmental disorders suggests the importance of the healthy maturation of these structures. However, few studies have investigated the development of BG functional organization. Using resting-state functional connectivity MRI (rs-fcMRI), we compared human child and adult functional connectivity of the BG with rs-fcMRI-defined cortical systems. Because children move more than adults, customized preprocessing, including volume censoring, was used to minimize motion-induced rsfcMRI artifact. Our results demonstrated functional organization in the adult BG consistent with subdivisions previously identified in anatomical tracing studies. Group comparisons revealed a developmental shift in bilateral posterior putamen/pallidum clusters from preferential connectivity with the somatomotor “face” system in childhood to preferential connectivity with control/attention systems (frontoparietal, ventral attention) in adulthood. This shift was due to a decline in the functional connectivity of these clusters with the somatomotor face system over development, and no change with control/attention systems. Applying multivariate pattern analysis, we were able to reliably classify individuals as children or adults based on BG–cortical system functional connectivity. Interrogation of the features driving this classification revealed, in addition to the somatomotor face system, contributions by the orbitofrontal, auditory, and somatomotor hand systems. These results demonstrate that BG–cortical functional connectivity evolves over development, and may lend insight into developmental disorders that involve BG dysfunction, particularly those involving motor systems (e.g., Tourette syndrome)

Developmental Changes in the Organization of Functional Connections between the Basal Ganglia and Cerebral Cortex

The basal ganglia (BG) comprise a set of subcortical nuclei with sensorimotor, cognitive, and limbic subdivisions, indicative of functional organization. BG dysfunction in several developmental disorders suggests the importance of the healthy maturation of these structures. However, few studies have investigated the development of BG functional organization. Using resting-state functional connectivity MRI (rs-fcMRI), we compared human child and adult functional connectivity of the BG with rs-fcMRI-defined cortical systems. Because children move more than adults, customized preprocessing, including volume censoring, was used to minimize motion-induced rsfcMRI artifact. Our results demonstrated functional organization in the adult BG consistent with subdivisions previously identified in anatomical tracing studies. Group comparisons revealed a developmental shift in bilateral posterior putamen/pallidum clusters from preferential connectivity with the somatomotor “face” system in childhood to preferential connectivity with control/attention systems (frontoparietal, ventral attention) in adulthood. This shift was due to a decline in the functional connectivity of these clusters with the somatomotor face system over development, and no change with control/attention systems. Applying multivariate pattern analysis, we were able to reliably classify individuals as children or adults based on BG–cortical system functional connectivity. Interrogation of the features driving this classification revealed, in addition to the somatomotor face system, contributions by the orbitofrontal, auditory, and somatomotor hand systems. These results demonstrate that BG–cortical functional connectivity evolves over development, and may lend insight into developmental disorders that involve BG dysfunction, particularly those involving motor systems (e.g., Tourette syndrome)

Conductance quantization suppression in the quantum Hall regime

Conductance quantization is the hallmark of non-interacting confined systems. The authors show that the quantization in graphene nanoconstrictions with low edge disorder is suppressed in the quantum Hall regime. This is explained by the addition of new conductance channels due to electrostatic screening

Interaction between allelic variations in vitamin D receptor and retinoid X receptor genes on metabolic traits

BACKGROUND: Low vitamin D status has been shown to be a risk factor for several metabolic traits such as obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The biological actions of 1, 25-dihydroxyvitamin D, are mediated through the vitamin D receptor (VDR), which heterodimerizes with retinoid X receptor, gamma (RXRG). Hence, we examined the potential interactions between the tagging polymorphisms in the VDR (22 tag SNPs) and RXRG (23 tag SNPs) genes on metabolic outcomes such as body mass index, waist circumference, waist-hip ratio (WHR), high- and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterols, serum triglycerides, systolic and diastolic blood pressures and glycated haemoglobin in the 1958 British Birth Cohort (1958BC, up to n = 5,231). We used Multifactor- dimensionality reduction (MDR) program as a non-parametric test to examine for potential interactions between the VDR and RXRG gene polymorphisms in the 1958BC. We used the data from Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966 (NFBC66, up to n = 5,316) and Twins UK (up to n = 3,943) to replicate our initial findings from 1958BC. RESULTS: After Bonferroni correction, the joint-likelihood ratio test suggested interactions on serum triglycerides (4 SNP - SNP pairs), LDL cholesterol (2 SNP - SNP pairs) and WHR (1 SNP - SNP pair) in the 1958BC. MDR permutation model testing analysis showed one two-way and one three-way interaction to be statistically significant on serum triglycerides in the 1958BC. In meta-analysis of results from two replication cohorts (NFBC66 and Twins UK, total n = 8,183), none of the interactions remained after correction for multiple testing (Pinteraction >0.17). CONCLUSIONS: Our results did not provide strong evidence for interactions between allelic variations in VDR and RXRG genes on metabolic outcomes; however, further replication studies on large samples are needed to confirm our findings

Derivation of the Blackbody Radiation Spectrum from a Natural Maximum-Entropy Principle Involving Casimir Energies and Zero-Point Radiation

By numerical calculation, the Planck spectrum with zero-point radiation is shown to satisfy a natural maximum-entropy principle whereas alternative choices of spectra do not. Specifically, if we consider a set of conducting-walled boxes, each with a partition placed at a different location in the box, so that across the collection of boxes the partitions are uniformly spaced across the volume, then the Planck spectrum correspond to that spectrum of random radiation (having constant energy kT per normal mode at low frequencies and zero-point energy (1/2)hw per normal mode at high frequencies) which gives maximum uniformity across the collection of boxes for the radiation energy per box. The analysis involves Casimir energies and zero-point radiation which do not usually appear in thermodynamic analyses. For simplicity, the analysis is presented for waves in one space dimension.Comment: 11 page