Studying Electoral Clientelism Recent Advances and Persistent Puzzles

Streaming video requires RealPlayer to view.The University Archives has determined that this item is of continuing value to OSU's history.Susan Stokes is John S. Saden Professor of Political Science at Yale University. She is also Director of the Yale Program on Democracy and Chair of the Department of Political Science. Her research interests include democratic theory and how democracy functions in developing societies, with a focus on Latin America. She teaches courses on Latin American politics and development, political parties and democracy, and clientelism, patronage, and vote buying. Stokes is co-author of Democracy and the Culture of Skepticism: Political Trust in Argentina and Mexico (Russell Sage Foundation, 2006). Her book, Mandates and Democracy: Neoliberalism by Surprise in Latin America (Cambridge, 2001), received prizes from the APSA Comparative Democratization section and from the Society for Comparative Research. Her other recent publications include "Perverse Accountability" in the American Political Science Review and "Endogenous Democratization" with Carles Boix in World Politics. Stokes's research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, the American Philosophical Society, and the Russell Sage Foundation. Stokes received her Ph.D. in Political Science from Stanford University in 1988.Ohio State University. Mershon Center for International Security StudiesEvent webpage, streaming video, event photo

Water quality dynamics of Lake James in the Catawba River Basin of North Carolina

Lake James is the uppermost hydropower reservoir in the Catawba River drainage in North Carolina. The Lake James Assessment (LJA) was a descriptive study initiated between Clemson University and Duke Energy Corporation to explore the physical, chemical and biological dynamics of this oligotrophic reservoir from spring 1997 through fall 1999 (Schindler 1997). The goals of this study were to ascertain the primary drivers for the chemical dynamics of Lake James, to assess the quantities of constituents entering and leaving the reservoir, where these chemicals were incorporated within the reservoir basins, and to evaluate the efficacy of the LJA chemical budget model (LJA-CB) against traditional calculations for measures of reservoir loading and yield. I hypothesized that meteorology and lithology would be the dominant factors regulating the chemical dynamics of Lake James (Gibbs 1979, 1992). I also hypothesized that assimilation of chemical constituents within Lake James would adhere to the heuristic model of longitudinal segmentation of reservoirs of Thornton et al. (1981). I further hypothesized that the LJA-CB model based on average daily flows and monthly chemical concentrations would be more reflective of the variability in constituent loading and yield for Lake James than the traditional methods generated using average annual flows and average annual chemical concentrations (Olem and Flock 1990). The LJA water balance (LJA-WB) and LJA-CB models were developed in the STELLA modeling environment to quantify the hydrological and chemical dynamics of Lake James. Results of the energy budget (LJA-EB) and LJA-WB generated during the period of study indicated significant water losses (approaching 20% of the total volume) from the reservoir each year with 7% attributed to evaporation and 13% to unmonitored losses. Post facto analysis of turbine losses conducted by Knight (2003) indicated losses of 1.56 m3/s (55 ft3/s) through the turbines in the Bridgewater Hydroelectric Facility (BHF), a value twice what was estimated at the time of our study (Knight 2003). The LJA-CB was developed around the LJA-WB in STELLA as a Graphical User Interface (GUI) based modified Vollenweider (1969)/Chapra (1975 and 1979) style empirical mass balance model for an incompletely-mixed laterally-segmented reservoir with an embayment. Thornton et al. (1981) developed a heuristic model of longitudinal segmentation of reservoirs which stresses the importance of linear distance in the processing of watershed inputs into the reservoir (Thornton et al. 1981, Thornton 1990, Kennedy and Walker 1990). The LJA-CB allows for determination of lateral zones of constituent assimilation and assumes hydrology is the driving variable for the system. By summing the daily loading over a year, an annual loading estimate for each segment of the lake was calculated that was volume weighted and was used to make inferences about the spatial distribution of chemicals within the lake. I ascertained that most of the constituent loading into the Lake James basin is derived from the Catawba River watershed (most notably the North Fork Catawba sub-watershed) and that most of the inflowing material is retained by the reservoir. I further discerned that relatively limited numbers of high flow events are responsible for providing the bulk of materials assimilated within the lake basins. I confirmed that the headwaters and upper transition zones of the Lake James reservoir have greater rates of sedimentation of most constituents relative to the lower transition and lacustrine zones and validates the model proposed by Thornton et al. (1981) and later work on spatial sedimentation of constituents and subsequent ecosystem production by Kennedy et al. (1982). However, the lacustrine station for the Linville basin is the receiving embayment for both basins and reflects the greater loading being brought in from the Catawba Basin. I employed traditional loading calculations (Olem and Flock 1990) using monthly chemical concentrations and average daily discharge which were averaged for each year to provide a conservative estimate of loading and yield from the Lake James watershed. By comparing the LJA-CB with traditional loading and yield calculations I found that the traditional methods, in general, tended to be adequate for hydrologically driven constituents; however, biologically and redox regulated constituents do not appear to be sufficiently represented using traditional calculations of loading and yield

An Empirical Charge Transfer Potential with Correct Dissociation Limits

The empirical valence bond (EVB) method [J. Chem. Phys. 52, 1262 (1970)] has always embodied charge transfer processes. The mechanism of that behavior is examined here and recast for use as a new empirical potential energy surface for large-scale simulations. A two-state model is explored. The main features of the model are: (1) Explicit decomposition of the total system electron density is invoked; (2) The charge is defined through the density decomposition into constituent contributions; (3) The charge transfer behavior is controlled through the resonance energy matrix elements which cannot be ignored; and (4) A reference-state approach, similar in spirit to the EVB method, is used to define the resonance state energy contributions in terms of "knowable" quantities. With equal validity, the new potential energy can be expressed as a nonthermal ensemble average with a nonlinear but analytical charge dependence in the occupation number. Dissociation to neutral species for a gas-phase process is preserved. A variant of constrained search density functional theory is advocated as the preferred way to define an energy for a given charge.Comment: Submitted to J. Chem. Phys. 11/12/03. 14 pages, 8 figure

Efficacy of personalized cognitive counseling in men of color who have sex with men: secondary data analysis from a controlled intervention trial.

In a previous report, we demonstrated the efficacy of a cognitively based counseling intervention compared to standard counseling at reducing episodes of unprotected anal intercourse (UAI) among men who have sex with men (MSM) seeking HIV testing. Given the limited number of efficacious prevention interventions for MSM of color (MOC) available, we analyzed the data stratified into MOC and whites. The sample included 196 white MSM and 109 MOC (23 African Americans, 36 Latinos, 22 Asians, eight Alaskan Natives/Native Americans/Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, and 20 of mixed or other unspecified race). Among MOC in the intervention group, the mean number of episodes of UAI declined from 5.1 to 1.6 at six months and was stable at 12 months (1.8). Among the MOC receiving standard counseling, the mean number of UAI episodes was 4.2 at baseline, 3.9 at six months and 2.1 at 12 months. There was a significant treatment effect overall (relative risk 0.59, 95% confidence interval 0.35-0.998). These results suggest that the intervention is effective in MOC

Income inequality and the erosion of democracy in the twenty-first century

Among the most pressing problems societies face today are economic inequality and the erosion of democratic norms and institutions. In fact the two problems—inequality and democratic erosion—are linked. In a large cross-national statistical study of risk factors for democratic erosion, we establish that economic inequality is one of the strongest predictors of where and when democracy erodes. Even wealthy and longstanding democracies are vulnerable if they are highly unequal (though national wealth might provide some resiliency). The association between inequality and risk of democratic backsliding is robust, and holds under different measures and structures of both income inequality and wealth inequality. The association is unlikely to be a case of reverse causation. For concerned citizens seeking to understand why so many democracies are eroding and how to stop this process, our study indicates that policies for ameliorating inequality are a promising path forward

Reply to Fiscella: Why study erosion now? And why these risk factors?

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Hourly Employees’ PercepƟons about Farm to School Program Barriers and Keys to Success: Differences by State and Number of Meals Served

Farm to school (FTS) programs are growing in popularity among school districts and provide opportuniƟes for school nutriƟon programs to source ingredients locally. Hourly employees working with FTS programs prepare, promote, and serve local produce to students daily. However, liƩle research has focused on their percepƟons of FTS programs. A quesƟonnaire was used to assess barriers and keys to success when implemenƟng and maintaining FTS programs from perspecƟves of hourly, non‐management school foodservice employees. An examinaƟon of survey responses suggests differences exist between barriers and keys to success by geographic locaƟon and school nutriƟon program parƟcipaƟon rates

Partidos políticos y democracia

Un argumento central en la teoría de la democracia es que esta induce a los gobiernos a ser responsables frente a las preferencias de los ciudadanos. Los partidos políticos organizan la política en cada democracia moderna, y algunos observadores sostienen que son los partidos los que inducen a las democracias a ser responsables. Sin embargo, para otros, los partidos dan voz a las posturas extremas y reducen la responsabilidad de los gobiernos para con la ciudadanía. El debate sobre los partidos y la democracia asume una importancia renovada en la medida que nuevas democracias en todo el mundo enfrentan problemas de representación y gobernabilidad. En este ensayo trato de mostrar que nuestra visión del impacto de los partidos sobre la responsabilidad democrática depende de lo que los partidos sean - sus objetivos y su organización. Repaso teorías en pugna de los partidos políticos, bosquejo sus implicaciones contrastables empíricamente y destaco los hallazgos empíricos que pueden ayudar a elegir entre estas teorías. También reveo los debates sobre los orígenes de los partidos, sobre los determinantes del tamaño de los sistemas de partidos y sus características, y sobre la competencia de partidos

Variations in achievement of evidence-based, high-impact quality indicators in general practice: an observational study

Background: There are widely recognised variations in the delivery and outcomes of healthcare but an incomplete understanding of their causes. There is a growing interest in using routinely collected ‘big data’ in the evaluation of healthcare. We developed a set of evidence-based ‘high impact’ quality indicators (QIs) for primary care and examined variations in achievement of these indicators using routinely collected data in the United Kingdom (UK). Methods: Cross-sectional analysis of routinely collected, electronic primary care data from a sample of general practices in West Yorkshire, UK (n = 89). The QIs covered aspects of care (including processes and intermediate clinical outcomes) in relation to diabetes, hypertension, atrial fibrillation, myocardial infarction, chronic kidney disease (CKD) and ‘risky’ prescribing combinations. Regression models explored the impact of practice and patient characteristics. Clustering within practice was accounted for by including a random intercept for practice. Results: Median practice achievement of the QIs ranged from 43.2% (diabetes control) to 72.2% (blood pressure control in CKD). Considerable between-practice variation existed for all indicators: the difference between the highest and lowest performing practices was 26.3 percentage points for risky prescribing and 100 percentage points for anticoagulation in atrial fibrillation. Odds ratios associated with the random effects for practices emphasised this; there was a greater than ten-fold difference in the likelihood of achieving the hypertension indicator between the lowest and highest performing practices. Patient characteristics, in particular age, gender and comorbidity, were consistently but modestly associated with indicator achievement. Statistically significant practice characteristics were identified less frequently in adjusted models. Conclusions: Despite various policy and improvement initiatives, there are enduring inappropriate variations in the delivery of evidence-based care. Much of this variation is not explained by routinely collected patient or practice variables, and is likely to be attributable to differences in clinical and organisational behaviour

Brokers, voters and clientelism

The book is about distributive politics. The received theories usually predict that parties and governmentswill spend scarce resources on responsive voters. And these responsive voters will be fence-sitters, people who might otherwise not turn out or vote for the party responsible for the distribution but who could be swayed by a favor or a program. Yet over and over again, the evidence seemed to tell us that not fence-sitters but firm party loyalists were the primary beneficiaries of the distributive game. Because we believed in the received theories, we discarded them only reluctantly. Like good Kuhnians, a few anomalies did not shift our paradigm. But eventually the weight of the anomalies was too much. Constructing an alternative theory was only one of the tasks we faced. Our new theory suggested new questions and new observational implications. Many parties can be decomposed into leaders and low-level operatives or brokers. If brokers play the distributive game by different rules than do their leaders, allocations of resources should come out differently when brokers are in control and when leaders are in control. (They do.) If brokers are imperfect agents of party leaders, antimachine reform movements, when they break out, may be driven as much by party leaders as by non-partisan reformers. (In several countries, they have been.) And if brokers are imperfect agents, it should be the case that they impose agency losses on parties and parties should devise elaborate techniques to monitor the brokers and minimize these losses. (We offer evidence that both are true.)Fil: Nazareno, Marcelo. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Filosofía y Humanidades. Escuela de Historia; Argentina.Fil: Nazareno, Marcelo. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Sociales; Argentina.Fil: Brusco, Valeria. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Sociales; Argentina.Ciencia Polític