The Dynamics of Voting Behaviour in the Post-2004 European Parliament

The European Parliament offers a unique setting for studying the behaviour of elected representatives and the way they interpret their mandate. In contrast to national legislatures, where legislators face domestic geographical and partisan pressures, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) must balance both national and supranational loyalties. While existing studies on MEPs’ parliamentary behaviour provide useful insight into the voting dynamics in the European Parliament, few scholars address the heterogeneity of the post-2004 parliaments, and how it shapes the approach of contemporary MEPs to representation in the European Parliament. This dissertation uses the changes in the European Parliament’s institutional make-up that occurred over the last decade to explore MEPs’ voting behaviour in the Sixth and Seventh Parliaments. In particular, I focus on how the diversity among MEPs and the variety of voting procedures used in the European Parliament affect MEPs’ voting behaviour. Combining post-2004 MEPs’ individual-level roll call voting data and original MEP survey data, I explore the following questions: (i) How likely are post-2004 MEPs to vote with their European Parliament party group, national delegation, and national party delegation? (ii) How do individual- and contextual-level characteristics shape the voting behaviour of MEPs? (iii) How is MEPs’ approach to parliamentary representation influenced by the choice of voting procedure? The findings indicate that national parties remain post-2004 MEPs’ primary principal, and that MEPs continue to hold their secondary loyalty to their supranational party group. I also find that diversity among MEPs shapes how they approach parliamentary representation; individual- and contextual-level characteristics, such as MEPs’ role perception and the degrees of ideological diversity within the parliamentary sub-groups, provide incentives for MEPs to alter their voting behaviour. Finally, a noteworthy voting procedure effect is visible within MEPs’ self-perceived approach to parliamentary representation. The findings suggest that a univocal interpretation of the European mandate may be misplaced given that significant systematic differences exist, both across MEPs and voting procedures, in post-2004 voting dynamics

When parties engage voters on the ground, they intensify public interest in elections and improve turnout

Local campaigns play a key role in Britain in mobilising the electorate. Here, Siim Trumm and Laura Sudulich compare the effects of different campaign activities on voter turnout at general and devolved elections. They find positive mobilisation effects for money spent on the distribution of unsolicited material and paid staffers

What does it take to get elected in a post-communist democracy? Explaining the success and failure of parliamentary candidates in Estonia

The literature on post-communist democracies has traditionally suggested that organisational strength is considerably less important for electoral success than extensive media-based campaigns. Recent studies on party-level electoral dynamics, however, indicate that this might not be the case any longer. Building on these insights, this study goes beyond the party-level analyses of electoral success and failure by focusing on the electoral fortunes of individual candidates in a post-communist democracy. Using original data from the 2011 Estonian Candidate Survey, this paper looks at the comparative impact of candidates’ campaign spending and the strength of their local party organisation, alongside other potentially relevant characteristics, on their likelihood of getting elected and vote share. The findings suggest that candidates’ electoral performance in Estonia is still first and foremost shaped by their own campaign spending. In addition, I find evidence that candidates fare better if they have prior local-level and national-level political experience, conduct more personalised campaigns, and are positioned higher up on their party’s district-level list

Parliamentary salaries are frequently a source of party funding, but what are the implications for democracy?

In nearly all modern democracies, parliamentarians by now receive a full-time salary in order to attract qualified candidates and representatives from all corners of the society. These payments are, in principle, not intended to constitute an additional source of party income. Yet, Nicole Bolleyer and Siim Trumm have shown that in many democracies they are exactly that. The regular collection of a fixed salary share from parliamentarians is not just a widespread practice, but for many parties also a lucrative one

A TRLFS study on the complexation of Cm(III) and Eu(III) with 4-t-butyl-6,6´-bis-(5,6-diethyl-1,2,4-tiazin-3-yl)-2,2´-bipyridine in a water / 2-propanol mixture

The complexation of Cm(III) and Eu(III) with 4-t-butyl-6,6´-bis-(5,6-diethyl-1,2,4-tiazin-3-yl)-2,2´-bipyridine(t-Bu-C2-BTBP) in water / 2-propanol solution is studies.JRC.E-Institute for Transuranium Elements (Karlsruhe

Representation in Wales: an empirical analysis of the policy divisions between voters and candidates

Politics in Wales is often portrayed as being relatively consensual when compared with the rest of the United Kingdom and enjoying healthy levels of trust between voters and elites. Recent events like the decision of Welsh voters to reject the European Union membership against the advice of most of its political establishment, however, are calling to question this perception. Using 2016 Welsh Candidate Study and 2016 Welsh Election Study data, this paper evaluates the extent of policy divisions between voters and candidates in Wales. I find that candidates hold more liberal policy positions and are less likely to think of immigration as the most important policy priority. In addition, they tend to favour a different approach to parliamentary representation, deeming it more acceptable for Assembly Members to discard the views of their voters in favour of their own views or those of their party

Influence of respiratory motion management technique on radiation pneumonitis risk with robotic stereotactic body radiation therapy.

Purpose/objectivesFor lung stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT), real-time tumor tracking (RTT) allows for less radiation to normal lung compared to the internal target volume (ITV) method of respiratory motion management. To quantify the advantage of RTT, we examined the difference in radiation pneumonitis risk between these two techniques using a normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) model.Materials/method20 lung SBRT treatment plans using RTT were replanned with the ITV method using respiratory motion information from a 4D-CT image acquired at the original simulation. Risk of symptomatic radiation pneumonitis was calculated for both plans using a previously derived NTCP model. Features available before treatment planning that identified significant increase in NTCP with ITV versus RTT plans were identified.ResultsPrescription dose to the planning target volume (PTV) ranged from 22 to 60 Gy in 1-5 fractions. The median tumor diameter was 3.5 cm (range 2.1-5.5 cm) with a median volume of 14.5 mL (range 3.6-59.9 mL). The median increase in PTV volume from RTT to ITV plans was 17.1 mL (range 3.5-72.4 mL), and the median increase in PTV/lung volume ratio was 0.46% (range 0.13-1.98%). Mean lung dose and percentage dose-volumes were significantly higher in ITV plans at all levels tested. The median NTCP was 5.1% for RTT plans and 8.9% for ITV plans, with a median difference of 1.9% (range 0.4-25.5%, pairwise P < 0.001). Increases in NTCP between plans were best predicted by increases in PTV volume and PTV/lung volume ratio.ConclusionsThe use of RTT decreased the risk of radiation pneumonitis in all plans. However, for most patients the risk reduction was minimal. Differences in plan PTV volume and PTV/lung volume ratio may identify patients who would benefit from RTT technique before completing treatment planning

Addressing Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) in the School Setting

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are traumas such as abuse, neglect, or household dysfunction which occurred between the ages of birth to eighteen years old (Felitti et al., 1998). Adverse childhood experiences have been analyzed in the past few decades in relation to stress, trauma, and development. Children can begin to fall behind in school as well as in life stages due to high levels of ACEs within their lives. This paper contains information about the impact ACEs can have on a person’s health, development, and well-being. For students within a school, ACEs can be inhibiting them to focus on school, struggle socially, and develop unhealthy habits. Trauma-informed care has been recently added to school systems with positive influences for students, staff, and families

The best of both worlds? Evaluating the campaign behaviour of dual candidates

The conventional wisdom of electoral politics suggests that parliamentary candidates who run for office under candidate-centred mechanisms tend to conduct more intense and personalised campaigns than those who run under party-centred ones. But what about the campaigns put in place by candidates who simultaneously run under both systems? Using original data from the 2016 Welsh Candidate Study, this article shows that dual candidates’ campaign behaviour is distinct from that of their constituency and regional list counterparts. Their campaign effort tends to be more intense as well as complex than that put in place by candidates who stand in one tier only. In addition, the findings show that dual candidates’ campaign messages tend to be more personalised than those of regional list candidates, but less personalised than those of constituency candidates. These results indicate that the electoral campaigns put in place by dual candidates combine elements of campaigning under candidate-centred and party-centred electoral systems

Different visions of representation among voters and candidates in Wales

Whose opinions should Assembly Members prioritise when carrying out their duties in the Welsh Assembly? Here, Siim Trumm (University of Nottingham) compares the views of voters and candidates on how AMs should vote when confronted with competing pressures. He finds that candidates are more likely to think that it is acceptable for AMs to discard the views of their voters in favour of their own views or those of their party than voters