A Multimodal evaluation of Malala Yousafzai's speech at Harvard University

XIX Jornades de Foment de la Investigació de la Facultat de Ciències Humanes i Socials (Any 2014)Through language speakers express thoughts, experiences, feelings, values and attitudes. Nevertheless, language is not only verbal communication, as multiple devices are included in interaction in order to make something coherent. Thus, people inform others about feelings through a combination of verbal and non-verbal interactions. Language is not made up exclusively of words, phrases and sentences but also of images as it is the main resource for conveying meaning. Non-verbal behaviour covers all forms of non-spoken human conduct possessing the capacity to construct communicative messages. Hence, the nature of the connection between speech and gestures has become a popular topic to study among researchers in the field of linguistics among others. This paper presents a multimodal evaluation of an academic speech performed at Sanders Theater, Harvard University, September 27th, 2013, by Malala Yousafzai, the Nobel Peace Prize winner 2014. Even though the speech is a monologue, the speaker achieves interaction and engagement with the audience by means of using both verbal expressions and nonlinguistic resources throughout her presentation. This study exhibits an evaluation of how non-linguistic resources such as paralanguage and kinetics are used as complementary tools in spoken discourse

Persistence of antibodies in blood and body fluids in decaying fox carcasses, as exemplified by antibodies against Microsporum canis

To assist in evaluating serological test results from dead animals, 10 silver foxes (Vulpes vulpes) and 10 blue foxes (Alopex lagopus), 6 of each species previously vaccinated against and all challenged with Microsporum canis, were blood sampled and euthanased. Fox carcasses were stored at +10°C, and autopsy was performed on Days 0, 2, 4, 7, and 11 post mortem during which samples from blood and/or body fluid from the thoracic cavity were collected. Antibodies against M. canis were measured in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) as absorbance values (optical density; OD). To assess the degradation of antibodies, the ratio between post mortem and ante mortem absorbance was calculated. The mean absorbance from samples collected during autopsy was generally lower than from samples from live animals. In blood samples, this difference increased significantly with time (P = 0.04), while in body fluid samples the difference decreased (not significant; P = 0.18). We suggest that a positive serological result from testing blood or body fluid of a dead animal may be regarded as valuable, although specific prevalences obtained by screening populations based on this type of material may represent an under-estimation of the true antibody prevalence. Negative serological test results based on material from carcasses may be less conclusive, taken into account the general degradation processes in decaying carcasses, also involving immunoglobulin proteins

<i>Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae </i>- A Primary Cause of Severe Pneumonia Epizootics in the Norwegian Muskox (<i>Ovibos moschatus</i>) Population

The Norwegian muskox (Ovibos moschatus) population lives on the high mountain plateau of Dovre and originates from animals introduced from Greenland. In the late summers of 2006 and 2012, severe outbreaks of pneumonia with mortality rates of 25-30% occurred. During the 2012 epidemic high quality samples from culled sick animals were obtained for microbiological and pathological examinations. High throughput sequencing (pyrosequencing) of pneumonic lung tissue revealed high concentrations of Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae in all six animals examined by this method and Pasteurella multocida subsp. multocida in four animals, whereas no virus sequences could be identified. Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae and P. multocida multocida were also isolated by culture. Using real time PCR on lung swabs, M. ovipneumoniae was detected in all of the 19 pneumonic lungs examined. Gross pathological examination revealed heavy consolidations primarily in the cranial parts of the lungs and it also identified one case of otitis media. Histologically, lung lesions were characterized as acute to subacute mixed exudative and moderately proliferative bronchoalveolar pneumonia. Immunohistochemical (IHC) examination revealed high load of M. ovipneumoniae antigens within lung lesions, with particularly intensive staining in the neutrophils. Similar IHC finding were observed in archived lung tissue blocks from animals examined during the 2006 epidemic. An M. ovipneumoniae specific ELISA was applied on bio-banked muskox sera from stray muskoxen killed in the period 2004-2013 and sick muskoxen culled, as well as sera from wild reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus) on Dovre and muskoxen from Greenland. Serology and mycoplasma culturing was also carried out on sheep that had been on pasture in the muskox area during the outbreak in 2012. Our findings indicated separate introductions of M. ovipneumoniae infection in 2006 and 2012 from infected co-grazing sheep. Salt licks shared by the two species were a possible route of transmitting infection

Importance of Fluid-Structure Interaction on Dropped Lifeboats - A parametric study used to explore the importance of hydroelasticity on complex low rigidity structures using decision factors

Experimental methods have previously been used in the design of lifeboats; this approach is both time-consuming and expensive. The experimental approach is suitable to find the loads and accelerations on an existing design; however, it is not very useful for the development of a new design. In order to continue the innovation and development of lifeboat design there has been a shift towards the application of numerical tools. Today, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), Finite Element Analysis (FEA), model and full-scale experiments are used in research, investigation and development of lifeboats. The use of CFD and FEA is increasing and there has been demonstrated a general good agreement between numerical results and full-scale tests. However, the elastic deformations on the hull during impact are normally ignored and the validity of this simplification is questioned since large deformations have been observed. A possible solution to this problem is to perform Fluid-Structure Interaction (FSI) analysis, where CFD and FEA are coupled. Today, the most common procedure is to use the pressure from the CFD analysis as boundary conditions for the FEA analysis. With this approach the deformations during impact are ignored. A more robust, but expensive, solution is to perform a two-way interaction analysis where information is exchanged between the CFD-domain and FEM-domain during the analysis. In this way the deformation during impact is addressed. For lifeboats, this method is most applicable during slamming or more specifically when hydroelasticity occurs. Hydroelasticity is a phenomenon which is propagated in the structure as fast vibrations, which will alter the dynamic loading and boundary condition on the structure. The overall purpose of this thesis is to explore the importance of fluid-structure interaction, or hydroelasticity, on lifeboats. Specifically, the goal is to explore when it is important to account for hydroelasticity for complex low rigidity structures using decision factors. By exploring decision factors, one can more easily understand if it is necessary to account for hydroelasticity in numerical simulations. The main body of work has been divided into two main tasks: 1) A verification study and 2) a parametric study of different impact velocities, deadrise angles and material properties, in order to explore the importance of hydroelasticity using decision factors. A brief introduction to the theory behind CFD and FEA is presented along with fluid-structure interaction and different coupling algorithms. Hydroelasticity is described and multiple decision factors are presented. In this thesis, Star-CCM+, developed by CD-Adapco, is used in the CFD calculation while Abaqus, developed by Simula, is used in the FEA calculations. A co-simulation engine developed by Simula couples the two softwares together in order to exchange information. Star-CCM+ transfers the pressure and wall shear stress to Abaqus while Abaqus transfers the nodal displacements to Star-CCM+. In order to verify that these two softwares were able to recreate a hydroelastic event, a verification study of a full-scale test was performed. A full 3D FEA model and a full-scale test report were supplied by the manufacturer. A 3 meter free-fall drop test of a conventional lifeboat was performed, where the acceleration on multiple places on the boat was measured. The model was reduced to 2D and altered with respect to geometric stiffness using springs and additional mass. Convergence studies for both FEA and CFD were performed. The mass was tuned in such a way that the maximum acceleration in 2D would be equal to the maximum acceleration in 3D, this is necessary due to the pressure distribution in 3D. The acceleration from the co-simulation was compared to the acceleration at the same location in the full-scale test. The results are in good agreement with the test results and they yield approximately the same maximum acceleration and oscillation period even though the mass have been tuned. From the spectrum of the pressure time series we can observe that a hydroelastic event was recreated as we can observe several distinctive peaks. We can also see from the pressure time series the pressure oscillations which are associated with hydroelasticity. The results are considered satisfactory and it is believed that the method can be trusted. A total of 120 simulations were performed with a range of six different deadrise angles, five impact velocities and four different material properties in the parametric study. In addition, 16 models with the verification study model are simulated where only the impact velocity is altered. The maximum strain in a node in a platefield was evaluated. The results demonstrates a clear trend that was consistent with previously published articles. As the deadrise angles decreases, the impact velocity increases, and the stiffness decreases, the importance of hydroelasticity will increase. The decision factor R_B defined in Bereznitski2001 predicts that the response should be hydroelastic, while the factor R_F defined in Faltinsen1999 predicts that the response should almost be quasi-static. The quasi-static strains is found using Euler-Bernoulli beam theory. According to the results, all the simulations are dominated by hydroelasticity; hence $R_B$ is the best suited decision factor for this problem. It is also observed that the when the importance of hydroelasticity increases, the maximum strain in the plate decreases in relationship to the quasi-static strain. Error sources are discussed and it was discovered that the simulations are unstable, due to the fact that a repetition study yields a different maximum strain, while the profile of the strain time history is very similar. The uncertainty of the results was studied and it was discovered that the uncertainty for the mean of the nine simulations are 10.8 \% within 95 \% confidence interval. The main reasons are assumed to be the interaction with the eigenmode introduced by the springs, the presence of bifurcation points, and the capabilities of the implicit dynamic solver in Abaqus. Although instabilities and an uncertainty are observed, the results are regarded as representative and the model is able to describe hydroelastic events. This conclusion is supported by \cite{Faltinsen2005} as he observed some variance for the strain when an experiment was performed with a given impact velocity. The influence on the point of flow separation is investigated by applying different viscous models. It is concluded that the point of flow separation is not affected by different viscous models as the flow follows the hull and only separates at the edge. The effect from different viscous regimes cannot be clearly observed on the translation, velocity or acceleration of the hull. This can be explained due to the fact that the pressure time history is fairly similar and only small differences in the magnitude of the pressure exist, this is not significant as it is the impulse of the slamming load which is important for the response. It is concluded that the difference from a laminar flow to a turbulence model is negligible. Further work is also discussed

English as an Lx: Multilingualism, transfer and interactions with background profile

This thesis investigates multilingualism and effects of background profile in young Norwegian learners of English. A study is reported which takes a large-scale individual differences approach. 580 participants in years 6-8 of primary and lower secondary school took part. 383 participants used Norwegian as their only home language (NO users), and 197 used other additional home languages (OA users). Using a questionnaire designed for the study, participants reported on their knowledge and usage of languages, as well as attitudes to languages and language learning. Participants further completed a novel morphosyntactic test which used error spotting and sentence completion to test five key aspects of English morphosyntax; subject-verb agreement, aspect, word order, use of prepositions and definiteness marking. Results show that OA users know more languages and use them to a greater extent in daily situations than NO users. Their attitudes to their individual languages, particularly to their home languages are more positive than those of NO users. Principal components analyses revealed differences between the two groups. NO users consider language skills as important for academic and professional purposes, whereas OA users emphasise the social and societal purposes of language and show more interest in language learning. Error rates for error spotting and sentence completion were generally high, and similar for both groups. The self-rated English proficiency of NO users significantly predicted performance for both task types but did not for OA users. Significant effects of open-mindedness were observed in both groups such that greater open mindedness predicted better performance in language tasks. Morphosyntactic transfer was investigated in three subgroups of participants, L1 speakers of Norwegian, Arabic and Slavic and Baltic languages, respectively. Divergent patterns of errors traceable to L1 structure were observed in each group in the sentence completion task. Overall, the findings of this thesis show that differences between NO and OA can be observed in degree of multilingualism and OA users’ higher degree of personal experience with the benefits. Differences on a metalinguistic level can be seen in NO users’ more accurate self-ratings of their own ability. Command of English morphosyntax was also influenced by L1 background in the sense that although error rate did not vary considerably between groups, the frequency of error types did. The results have several implications for language teaching. As participants generally expressed high motivation for learning, the study shows the importance of understanding and using learners’ L1 backgrounds in language teaching and learning in order to increase metalinguistic awareness and understanding of linguistic structure.publishedVersio

Strategic Pathways to Business Performance - An empirical study of Norwegian exporting SMEs

Trade liberalization and increased openness between markets expose emerging market opportunities and impose increasingly tougher competition on firms participating in cross-border trade. A growing number of resource-constrained small and medium-sized enterprises are selling their goods and services in international markets, and have thus evolved into a significant constituent of the world economy. Hence, firm internationalization necessitates complex strategic processes bearing relatively high operational risk, and the successful employment of exporting strategies is becoming progressively important. Exporting and innovation are widely recognized as two major sources of growth and profitability, and this thesis presents these performance-seeking strategies as vital strategic instruments of above-normal business outcomes. In particular, the following features are investigated; (1) which strategic elements are associated with exporting and innovation capabilities; (2) how is financial performance affected by the use of performance-seeking strategies. A quantitative research strategy was applied to address the proposed relationships investigating a data sample consisting of 190 Norwegian exporting small and medium-sized enterprises from multiple industry sectors. The thesis attempts to empirically test and estimate the performance profiles of internationalized companies by employing multi-group structural equation modeling. The study finds that attempts to improve innovation and exporting capabilities should be accompanied by an international orientation. Additionally, an organizational climate for initiative and commitment is essential in developing successful innovation capabilities, while management team diversity complements the adoption and implementation of successful exporting activities. The results also reveal that successful exporting is positively related to firm performance. However, the obtained findings challenge the validity of internal innovation capabilities as predictors of firm performance. The present study provides significant implications for practitioners and theorist, and the practical and theoretical implications contribute to the knowledge of how strategic risk imposed by exporting activities should be managed in a small and highly specialized economy. Finally, the research illuminates essential determinants of firm performance, and suggests directions for future research in the field of international business and strategy

Advancing Proton Therapy for Paediatric Cancer: The Role of Linear Energy Transfer in Predicting and Mitigating Brainstem Toxicity

Protonbehandling er eit førsteval innan strålebehandling av barn med kreft sidan ein kan spara friskt vev i større grad enn med konvensjonell strålebehandling med foton. Det rår likevel bekymring rundt den relative biologiske effektiviteten (RBE) til proton samanlikna med foton. Det har lenge vore konsensus om å klinisk nytta ein proton-RBE på 1.1 som er ein konservativ faktor brukt for å sikra tumorkontroll. Denne verdien reflekterer derimot ikkje variasjonar i proton RBE, som er avhengig av blant anna lineær energioverføring (LET), eit mål på den mikroskopiske energiavsetjinga til protonstråling. I tillegg er det ikkje tatt i betraktning kjende samanhengar mellom proton RBE og strålesensitiviteten til vev og fysisk fraksjonsdose. Konsekvensen kan vere underestimering av risiko for stråleskadar i normalvev og potensielt auka risiko for toksisitet. Hjernestammenekrose er ein alvorleg biverknad som kan oppstå etter strålebehandling av svulstar i sentralnervesystemet (CNS-tumorar) hjå barn og ein har vore bekymra for om det kan førekomme fleire tilfelle av hjernestammenekrose etter protonbehandling samanlikna med fotonbehandling. Hjernestammenekrose kan potensielt delvis skuldast auka proton RBE i hjernestammen, som var bakgrunn for Artikkel I i denne avhandlinga. Det vart utforma ei matcha kasus-kontrollstudie av 36 barn med CNS-svulstar (1:3, kasus-kontroll forhold) der kasus fekk hjernestammenekrose etter protonbehandling. For desse pasientane var LET i hjernestammen, spesielt i høgdosevolum, og dermed òg variabel RBE-vekta dose noko høgare i kasus samanlikna med kontrollane. Modellar for normalvevskomplikasjonar (NTCP) baserer seg på å gje eit risikoestimat for toksisitet ut i frå både dose og kliniske faktorar. I Artikkel II vert resultata frå analysen av 28 ependymompasientar i Artikkel I nytta til å utvikla ein NTCP-modell for hjernestammenekrose med risikoestimat basert på LET i høgdosevolum av hjernestammen. Modellane baserte risiko for hjernestammenekrose på insidens frå litteraturen og predikerte korrekt hjernestammenekrosestatus hjå eit fleirtal av pasientane i treningssettet. I Artikkel III vart modellane nytta på sju eksterne CNS-tumorpasientar som tidlegare hadde fått protonbehandling. Modellane gav <10% risiko for hjernestammenekrose for dei fleste pasientane. LET-optimering vart òg nytta for å minske LET i høgdosevoluma i hjernestammen og gav doseplanar med redusert risiko for hjernestammenekrose samanlikna med dei leverte planane. I Artikkel IV vart dei nekrotiske voluma i hjernestammen til tolv CNS tumorpasientar teikna inn på MR-bilete. Deretter vart blanda-effektmodellering nytta for å utforska korrelasjon mellom nekrose, dose- og LET-fordelingar i lik 1:3 kasus-kontroll struktur som beskrive i Artikkel I. Ein tydeleg korrelasjon mellom dose og nekrose vart funne og det var òg eit signifikant samspel mellom dose og LET som forårsaka korrelasjon mellom auka LET og nekrose i høgdosevolum. Det var samstundes store forskjellar mellom dei individuelle kasus-kontroll gruppene. Protonbogebehandling (PAT) er ein framveksande metode for å nytta intensitetsmodulert protonbehandling (IMPT) som er den mest moderne leveringsteknikken av protonbehandling. Med PAT vert dosen levert i bogar i staden for statiske strålefelt som er standard i dagens protonbehandling. Den siste studien som er beskrive i Artikkel V utforska LET-optimering og PAT for å redusera RBE-vekta dose i risikoorgan (OAR) og auka RBE-vekta dose i målvolum for 13 pasientar diagnostisert med parameningeal rhabdomyosarkom. PAT og standard IMPT vart samanlikna både med og utan LET-optimering og resulterte i liknande dosedekkje til målvolum og samanliknbare OAR dosar. Med LET-optimering vart det oppnådd auka LET i målvolum og lågare LET i enkelte OAR utsett for høg dose, utan at det førte til signifikant endring i dekkje til målvolum eller høgare OAR dosar. I denne avhandlinga har ein mogleg samanheng mellom auka LET og risiko for hjernestammenekrose vorte beskrive. Vidare har potensialet til LET-optimering og PAT for å endra LET-fordelingar vorte demonstrert. Denne avhandlinga viser dermed eit behov for fokus på LET i klinisk praksis og at klinisk implementering av LET-reduksjonsteknikkar er mogleg og potensielt kan redusera risiko for biverknadar ved protonbehandling.Proton therapy is an appealing treatment option for paediatric cancer patients due to increased normal tissue sparing relative to conventional radiotherapy. However, concerns remain regarding the relative biological effectiveness (RBE) of protons compared to photons. Clinically, the proton RBE is assumed to be 1.1 which effectively ensures tumour control, but this disregards evidence of the proton RBE varying with factors such as linear energy transfer, e.g. the microscopic energy deposition of proton radiation, the radiosensitivity of the irradiated tissue, and physical dose deposition. As a consequence, there is concern of elevated RBE values in critical organs and subsequently increased risk of radiation-induced side-effects or toxicity. Brainstem necrosis is a severe toxicity following radiotherapy of paediatric brain and central nervous system (CNS) tumours and there has been concerns of increased rates of brainstem necrosis following proton therapy compared to photon therapy. Brainstem necrosis may partially result from increased RBE of protons in the brainstem which forms the rationale for Paper I of this thesis. Investigation of 36 paediatric CNS tumour patients in a matched case-control design (1:3, case-control ratio) revealed slightly increased brainstem LET in cases compared to controls, particularly in high dose volumes, and consequently slightly higher variable RBE-weighted dose. Normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) modelling is a means of including both dose and clinical factors associated with a given toxicity to yield a risk estimate. In Paper II, the results from 28 ependymoma patients included in Paper I were used to fit an NTCP model for brainstem necrosis associated with brainstem LET at high dose volumes. The models expressed relative risk of brainstem necrosis associated with incidence rates from the literature and showed adequate performance for the patients in the training cohort. In Paper III, the models were applied in seven brain and CNS tumour patients unrelated to the training cohort where they gave risk estimates well under 10% for most patients. Additionally, LET optimisation was utilised where treatment plans specifically aiming to lower LET in the high dose volume of the brainstem were made and gave slightly lower risk estimates compared to the delivered plans. In Paper IV, the necrotic volumes of twelve CNS tumours were defined from MR images and mixed effect modelling was used to investigate association between necrosis, dose and LET distributions in the same 1:3 case-control structure as described in Paper I. A clear association between dose and necrosis for the full case-control cohort was found and there was also a significant interaction term between dose and LET causing association between increased LET and necrosis at high dose volumes. However, there were considerable differences between case-control groups. Proton Arc Therapy (PAT) is an emerging utilisation of intensity modulated proton therapy (IMPT). While the current standard of proton therapy is to deliver dose with discrete beams, PAT describes the use of continuous arcs for dose delivery instead. The final study outlined in Paper V explored LET optimisation and PAT to reduce RBE-weighted dose in organs at risk (OAR) and to increase RBE-weighted dose in the target for 13 parameningeal rhabdomyosarcoma patients. PAT and standard IMPT were compared both with and without LET optimisation and showed comparable target coverage and OAR dose. LET optimisation achieved increased target LET and decreased LET in certain OARs subjected to high dose, without significantly compromising target coverage or increasing OAR doses. In this thesis potential association between risk of brainstem necrosis and increased LET has been described. Additionally, the ability of LET optimisation and PAT to alter LET distributions has been demonstrated. This thesis has therefore both demonstrated a need for increased focus on LET in clinical practice and that clinical implementation of LET mitigation techniques is possible and could reduce the risk of toxicity following proton therapy.Doktorgradsavhandlin

Design and Optimization of a Miniature Autonomous Drilling Rig - Contribution to the Drillbotics Competition 2018

Drillbotics is an international drilling competition hosted by DSATS for the fourth consecutive year, arranged to accelerate advancement in drilling automation. NTNU was one of nine universities that based on a design report got accepted to the 2018 finals. This report will portray NTNU's Phase II contribution to the competition, including design calculations, technical considerations and key findings, as well as describing the competition day. A report was made for Phase I of the competition which serves as a foundation to the work done in this release. The changes introduced in Phase I are implemented on the rig and described here, in addition to several new ideas. The miniature rig has been improved through four different design focuses: safety, performance & reliability, simplicity and digitalization. By adding an acrylic plexiglass to surround the drill pipe and pump shaft, drilling HSE has been improved. A semi-closed system was implemented on the rig's circulation system, removing water from the rig floor, and separating it further from the electronics. Through designing a non-aggressive bit, the miniature rig was able to drill with increased weight at lower torque, shielding the drill pipe from twist-off while increasing ROP. Stiffness of the rig was improved by the addition of structural support to the rig framework as well as a cylindrical load cell. Together with a new ball screw, this resulted in reduced drilling vibrations while improving control responsiveness. A low-wear bearing was implemented to reduce damage on the drill pipe, while a universal coupling was added below the top drive to absorb vibrations stemming from misalignment. The rig design has been simplified. With a newly designed downhole sensor card solution, four components were removed from the stabilizer in the BHA while maintaining hydraulic integrity. An automatic balancing unit sub has been proposed and tested, however proved to be under-dimensioned and failed during testing. A shorter stabilizer design was incorporated, reducing BHA weight and the pipe's tendency to twist-off, by reducing the difference in torsional inertia between drill pipe and BHA. A framework for digitalization has been established. This includes fit-for-purpose software in a transition from MATLAB SimuLink to NI LabVIEW, and data lake-access of automatic well reporting. An improved GUI design was implemented, improving QoL for the driller. Additional sensors are added, including downhole accelerometer and gyroscope, and a topside ultra-sonic intelligent sensor unit, for formation boundary analysis. The control system may now run two different scripts: a competition script designated to performance in the Drillbotics competition, and a full autonomous script. The autonomous script can detect and estimating drilled formation from a selection of different rock and optimize drilling accordingly. The Drillbotics 2018 competition day was held on June 4th. The NTNU rig was successfully able to drill through the entirety of the competition rock, with total drilling time of 195 seconds. The competition rock included a variety of formations of different hardness, and a detrimental 45 degrees inclination. The rig proved its ability by drilling without any dysfunctions, showcasing smooth layer transition through integrator reset and ability to handle over-torqueing. Utilizing a best-fit compromise PID tuning allowed the rig to handle both soft sandstone as well as a hard section of flatstone

A Comparison of Traditional and Non-Traditional Women\u27s Preferences for Family Oriented Vs. Career Oriented Men

One hundred sixty two female university students were divided into two groups according to their level of traditionality as measured by the Attitude Toward Women Scale. They were shown a photograph of a moderate to high attractive male along with a short description identifying the male as having either a high-career/low-family orientation, or a low-career/high-family orientation, and asked to report their degree of preference for this target. Analysis found significant main effects for traditionality of the subjects, career/family orientation of the targets, and an interaction of traditionality of the subjects and attractiveness of the targets. Further analysis indicated the presence of a fourth factor involving class or status of the target. More traditional women tended to rate more attractive targets more positively, regardless of target orientation. Less traditional women indicated clear preferences according to target orientation, without regard to target attractiveness

Does direct democracy mean more equal democracy? A study of government responsiveness in advanced democracies

As it constitutes a main feature of contemporary democracy, government responsiveness has provided the basis for large a body of literature, usually finding that public policy tends to reflect the preferences of citizens. However, more recent research has found representational bias in that policies tend to be considerably more responsive to the preferences of the rich than to those of the poor, meaning that the democratic principle of political equality is violated. This has highlighted the need to further examine what the factors and causal mechanisms behind such differential responsiveness are. Since they decide how political preferences are translated into policy, institutional structures are expected to affect the extent to which public preferences are represented and to whose preferences policies are responsive to. Direct democratic institutions have raised attention in this respect because they may incentivise citizens to engage more in politics and the possibility of popular referendums may force representatives to consider potential vetoes from the population. On the other hand, direct democracy may also enhance representational inequalities because the rich are better positioned to take advantage of such institutions. To investigate whether direct democracy affects representational inequalities based on income, I construct an original dataset where I link ISSP survey data with corresponding public spending data. The dataset covers 26 advanced democracies over 5 time points in the period 1985-2016 and is analysed using time-series cross-sectional methods. In line with previous research, I find that governments tend to be responsive to the preferences of citizens, but that this responsiveness is tilted towards the preferences of the rich. Furthermore, I find that direct democracy has no significant impact on general responsiveness or inequality in terms of representation.MasteroppgaveSAMPOL350MASV-SAP