Vertical Proximity Effects in the California Recall Election

The 2003 California recall election provides a unique opportunity to assess the impact of variations in ballot design and voting methods on the voting accuracy of citizens. Analysis of the results of the California Recall election demonstrates that candidates who were vertically adjacent to the top three vote getters received “extra” votes in the recall election – a vertical proximity effect. Combined, these ‘neighbor’ candidates received approximately 4 votes per thousand votes the top candidate received. The pattern is consistent across the candidates neighboring Schwarzenegger, Bustamante, and McClintock, and is noticeably higher for punch cards than for optical scan or touch screen voting technologies

The complexity of the California recall election

The October 7, 2003 California Recall Election strained California’s direct democracy. In recent California politics there has not been a statewide election conducted on such short notice; county election officials were informed on July 24 that the election would be held on October 7. Nor has California recently seen a ballot with so many candidates running for a single statewide office (see Mueller 1970). Under easy ballot access requirements, Secretary of State Kevin Shelley certified 135 candidates for the official ballot on August 13^1. In the recall, voters cast votes on (1) whether to recall Governor Davis from office, and (2) his possible successor. These two voting decisions were made independent by the federal district court’s decision on July 29. The court’s decision invalidated a state law requiring a vote on the recall question in order for a vote on the successor election to be counted (Partnoy et al. 2003). The abbreviated election calendar also led to many improvisations, including a dramatically reduced number of precinct poll sites throughout the state and the unprecedented ability of military personnel, their dependents, and civilians living overseas to return their absentee ballots by fax. These problems produced litigation and speculation that substantial problems would mar the election and throw the outcome of both the recall and a possible successor’s election into doubt. In the end, the litigation failed to stall the recall election, and the large final vote margins on both the recall question and the successor ballot seemingly overwhelmed Election Day problems. In this paper, we concentrate on some of the problems produced by the complexity of the recall election, but we do not attempt an exhaustive presentation of these problems. We focus on polling place problems on election day, the problems associated with translating the complicated recall election ballot into six languages, how the long ballot influenced voter behavior, and voter difficulties with the ballot measured with survey data. We conclude with a short discussion of the possible impact of these problems on the recall election

Frontal Plane Knee Alignment: A Call for Standardized Measurement

Evaluations of knee alignment are useful in the diagnosis of arthritic conditions affecting the knee joint, serving also as a guide for conservative management and surgical planning. They are also fundamental to various aspects of musculo-skeletal research. Recently, there has been great interest in frontal plane alignment measures related to the pathogenesis of knee osteoarthritis (OA). Several approaches have been proposed over the years to describe and measure alignment, but the differences between them have made it difficult to compare or correlate the results of independent studies. Toward a standard approach to the measurement and reporting of alignment data that may be equally applicable to clinicians and researchers, we discuss a system of measurements based on geometric analysis of the femur, tibia, and knee joint surfaces. We also discuss a standardized methodology for measurement and computation of these parameters

Effect of vote by mail balloting on voter turnout and policy outcomes in U.S. elections

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Political Science, 2008.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 81-84).The goal of this dissertation is to aid our understanding of how electoral institutions in the United States affect political participation and, in turn, shape policy outcomes. I investigate this relationship by analyzing the all-mail balloting method known as Vote By Mail. Using a data set of 3310 cases representing elections in 7 states, I show that the use of Vote By Mail produces an overall effect of a 10 percentage point increase in turnout across all types of elections. This finding is consistent with past research, which states that the increase in turnout occurs because Vote By Mail, similar to other "ease of voting" reforms, reduces the cost of voting. As an alternative hypothesis, I propose that the turnout increase from Vote By Mail is a more nuanced effect, moderated by the salience of a given election. I then organize these elections into low salience and high salience categories, and demonstrate that the turnout effect is more nuanced than previously thought. The implementation of Vote By Mail produces turnout effects that increase in magnitude as the salience of the election decreases, with a range from 3.4 percentage points increase in the high salience category of presidential general elections to an increase in turnout of 15 percentage points in the low salience category of local special elections. I then examine whether an increase in voter turnout results in an shift of the electorate's policy preferences. Comparing the outcomes of school bond measures in Vote By Mail elections with traditional elections, I show there is no statistically significant difference in the likelihood of passage of school bond measures. Furthermore, there is no statistically significant difference in percentage of "Yes" votes received on these measures. This analysis demonstrates that the increased turnout resulting from the use of Vote By Mail elections does not produce a shift in the policy preferences of the median voter.by Sarah Marie Sled.Ph.D

Wanted dead or alive? The tradeoff between in-vivo versus ex-vivo MR brain imaging in the mouse

High-resolution MRI of the mouse brain is gaining prominence in estimating changes in neuroanatomy over time to understand both normal developmental as well as disease processes and mechanisms. These types of experiments, where a change in time is to be captured as accurately as possible using imaging, face multiple experimental design choices. Chief amongst these choices is whether to image ex-vivo, where superior resolution and contrast are available, or in-vivo, where resolution and contrast are lower but the animal can be followed longitudinally. Here we explore this tradeoff by first estimating the sources of variability in anatomical mouse MRI and then, using statistical simulations, provide power analyses of these experiment design choices

Concussion Return to Play Protocols Effect on Athletes\u27 Reporting of Symptoms

When an athlete suffers a concussion, the standard return to play (RTP) guidelines are that they must sit out a minimum of a week as they go through a slow progression of exertional and neurocognitive tests once they are asymptomatic. This is a great improvement to concussion treatment in the past where athletes were often dangerously returned. However, because of this “blanket” 7-day minimum return policy, we believe the current RTP guidelines are potentially leading athletes to hide their symptoms more so they do not have to sit out. Fifty-three athletes were surveyed from soccer, basketball, lacrosse, and football teams from 3 universities in Southwest Ohio (ages 18-22, 34=male, 19=female). The survey contained questions about their demographics, concussion symptom knowledge, concussion history, potential reporting of concussions, and opinion on their university’s return to play policy. The results showed that 40% of athletes would be willing to hide their symptoms of a mild concussion and 21% believe that their university’s return to play policy affects this decision. While the results do not completely confirm our hypothesis, we still believe that the numbers we received in our study are enough to warrant a consideration of the current “blanket statement” return to play policy in favor of a very similar but more individualized version

Home Program of Hip Abductor Exercises: Effect on Knee Joint Loading, Strength, Function and Pain in Persons with Knee Osteoarthritis

Background Hip abductor muscle weakness may result in impaired frontal-plane pelvic control during gait, leading to greater medial compartment loading in people with knee osteoarthritis (OA). Objective This study investigated the effect of an 8-week home strengthening program for the hip abductor muscles on knee joint loading (measured by the external knee adduction moment during gait), strength (force-generating capacity), and function and pain in individuals with medial knee OA. Design The study design was a nonequivalent, pretest-posttest, control group design. Setting Testing was conducted in a motor performance laboratory. Patients An a priori sample size calculation was performed. Forty participants with knee OA were matched for age and sex with a control group of participants without knee OA. Intervention Participants with knee OA completed a home hip abductor strengthening program. Measurements Three-dimensional gait analysis was performed to obtain peak knee adduction moments in the first 50% of the stance phase. Isokinetic concentric strength of the hip abductor muscles was measured using an isokinetic dynamometer. The Five-Times-Sit-to-Stand Test was used to evaluate functional performance. Knee pain was assessed with the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index questionnaire. Results Following the intervention, the OA group demonstrated significant improvement in hip abductor strength, but not in the knee adduction moment. Functional performance on the sit-to-stand test improved in the OA group compared with the control group. The OA group reported decreased knee pain after the intervention. Limitations Gait strategies that may have affected the knee adduction moment, including lateral trunk lean, were not evaluated in this study. Conclusions Hip abductor strengthening did not reduce knee joint loading but did improve function and reduce pain in a group with medial knee OA

Magnetization transfer in lamellar liquid crystals

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/109294/1/mrm25034.pd