Noncompliance and the limits of coercion: the problematic enforcement of unpopular laws

Die Studie untersucht die Beziehung zwischen Gewalt und Gesetzesbefolgung im politischen System. Dabei geht es um sogenannte 'unbeliebte' (unpopular) Gesetze und um die Tatsache, daß ein jedes politisches System gelegentlich an die Grenzen seiner Fähigkeit gerät, in der Bevölkerung unpopuläre Gesetze mit Gewalt durchzusetzen. Mit Hilfe eines mathematischen Modells soll hier die Dynamik und Logik im Verhältnis zwischen 'coercion' und 'noncompliance' innerhalb eines politischen Systems dargestellt werden. Folgende Fragenkomplexe werden angesprochen: Welche dynamischen Konsequenzen folgen aus der Rechtmäßigkeit des Systems und seiner von ihm institutionalisierten Mittel zur Gewaltausübung? Welche Konsequenzen ergeben sich aus der kurzfristigen Gewaltanwendung bei Nichtbefolgung von Gesetzen? Wie wird die Nichtbefolgung eliminiert bzw. kontrolliert, und wann ist das politische System überfordert? Nach Ansicht des Autors erweisen sich kurzfristige aggressive Reaktionen des Systems auf die Nichtbefolgung von Gesetzen als wenig wirkungsvoll, sondern verstärken lediglich die Anfälligkeit des politischen Systems für die allgemeine Nichtbefolgung von Gesetzen. (ML1)'This paper constructs a mathematical representation of the dynamic logic tying together coercion and noncompliance within political systems. Several concepts are central to the effort: system legitimacy, the long-term institutionalized investment of the political system in coercive resources, the vulnerability of political systems to mass noncompliance, and the short-term response of the political system to noncompliance. The analysis addresses a number of issues. What are the dynamic consequences of system legitimacy and of the political system's institutionalized investment in coercive resources? What are the consequences of its short-term coercive response to noncompliance? Under what circumstances will noncompliance be eliminated? Under what circumstances will it be controlled? Under what circumstances will political systems become overwhelmed by noncompliance? A central argument of this paper is that aggressive short-term responses to noncompliance are likely to be ineffective in controlling noncompliance, and they are likely to aggravate the vulnerability of political systems to mass noncompliance.' (author's abstract

Disagreeing About Disagreement: How Conflict in Social Networks Affects Political Behavior

At the center of debates on deliberative democracy is the issue of how much real deliberation citizens experience on a regular basis in their core social networks. These “disagreements about disagreement” come in a variety of forms, with scholars advocating significantly different empirical approaches (e.g., Huckfeldt, Johnson, and Sprague 2004; Mutz 2006), and coming to significantly different substantive conclusions. In this paper, we tackle these discrepancies through methodological advances and an investigation into the effects that conceptual differences have on key findings relating interpersonal political disagreement to political attitudes and behaviors Drawing on the 2008 ANES panel study, we explore the consequences of making different assumptions about the definition and measurement of disagreement, ultimately speaking to the on-going debate over whether a deliberative society can also be a participatory one (Mutz 2006)

Conversion of Nonexempt Assets to Exempt Assets Prior to Bankruptcy--A Question of Fraud

En este estudio se identificó la inflamación gingival (IG) en dos grupos (experimental y control) antes de la administración, y, 15 y 30 días después del uso continuo de un enjuague bucal elaborado con menta y romero. Los sujetos, entre 17 y 30 años de edad, que participaron en el experimento fueron seleccionados en el consultorio Odontológico Sonri- Salud, distrito de Puente Piedra; previa evaluación gingivo-periodontal y verificación que reunían las características exigidas para integrar el grupo experimental y control. El diseño experimental, permitió comparar en el grupo experimental y en los dos grupos los resultados obtenidos en diferentes momentos. El enjuague experimental fue preparado en el laboratorio de la facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica, Universidad Alas Peruanas, la inflamación gingival se determinó utilizando el Índice Gingival de Loe y Silness. Los resultados indicaron disminución de los valores del índice gingival en el grupo experimental a los 15 y 30 días de uso del enjuague elaborado con menta, romero con relación al grupo control. La significación de los valores fue avalada por pruebas estadísticas permitiendo concluir que, en el contexto de esta investigación, la menta y el romero utilizado en la composición del enjuague bucal experimental disminuye la inflamación gingival

Politics, Influence, and the Small Scale Organization of Political Communication Networks

This paper addresses the factors that give rise to both heterogeneous and homogeneous opinion distributions within political communication networks. We argue that the factors sustaining homogeneity and heterogeneity are not entirely symmetrical – heterogeneity is not necessarily explained by treating it as the flip side of homogeneity. Two primary questions guide the effort. If influence within a dyad depends on the distribution of opinions beyond the dyad, is dyadic influence contingent on the construction of the network within which the dyad is located? In particular, how does the micro-structure of the larger network affect the persuasiveness of communication within the dyad? We pursue an analysis based on agent based models of the communication process. The analysis points toward the importance of particular forms of small scale organization in preserving homogeneous opinion distributions. Homogeneity is more likely when network density is particularly high – when direct connections are more frequent among more agents. Correspondingly, when we observe homogeneity within communication networks in the natural world, the organization and reach of small scale social organization is likely to be key

Using Oral and Intranasal Dosage Forms of Ketamine for Managing Treatment-Resistant Depression: A Review of the Literature

A lack of effective treatment for patients with treatment-resistant depression (TRD) has led to the evaluation of ketamine, an N-methyl- D-aspartate receptor antagonist. Despite the demonstrated short-term benefits of using intravenous (IV) ketamine, side effects and the difficulty in administering ketamine outside the health-care setting has raised interest in alternative dosage forms. Research articles evaluating oral or intranasal (IN) ketamine were retrieved from the PubMed database. Patients who received oral or IN ketamine experienced a similar reduction in depressive symptoms within 24 hours of treatment and fewer side effects compared to patients who received IV ketamine. Novel administration forms of ketamine provide an opportunity for patients with TRD to achieve remission with fewer adverse side effects. Future studies should continue to evaluate these administration strategies in the hope of promoting ketamine’s use outside health-care settings and for longer time periods

Social networks and citizen election forecasting: the more friends the better

Most citizens correctly forecast which party will win a given election, and such forecasts usually have a higher level of accuracy than voter intention polls. How do citizens do it? We argue that social networks are a big part of the answer: much of what we know as citizens comes from our interactions with others. Previous research has considered only indirect characteristics of social networks when analyzing why citizens are good forecasters. We use a unique German survey and consider direct measures of social networks in order to explore their role in election forecasting. We find that three network characteristics – size, political composition, and frequency of political discussion – are among the most important variables when predicting the accuracy of citizens’ election forecasts

Opinion formation and the resilience of diversity

This project explores agent-based models of the formation of individual opinions and collective judgments. The goal is to understand the effect of political communication on opinion formation and collective decision making

The Diffusion of Politically Expert Opinion Within and Among Groups

This paper employs a small group experiment to study the process of political influence within social networks. Each experimental session involves seven individuals, where privately obtained information is costly but communication within the group is free. Hence, individuals form prior judgments regarding candidates based on public and private information before updating their priors through a process of social communication. In general, individuals select expert informants with political preferences similar to their own, and we consider the dynamic implications for individual and group preferences. In particular, we address the diffusion of information based on a DeGroot model which provides a dynamic formulation of the influence process. We are particularly interested in the implications that arise due to varying levels of information among participants for (1) the construction of communication networks, (2) the relative influence of better informed individuals; (3) relative levels of reliance on priors and communicated messages; (4) the consequences of memory decay for the influence of experts; and (5) the diffusion of information and patterns of persuasion