Informative voting and condorcet jury theorems with a continuum of types

We consider a model of information aggregation in which there are two possible states of the world and agents receive private signals from the set of probability measures over the binary state space – the unit interval. For a reasonably general set of signal densities, a unique symmetric Bayesian Nash equilibrium in responsive strategies exists and voting is informative in this equilibrium. Asymptotic analysis shows that society makes the correct decision almost surely as population size grows. In contrast to findings of Feddersen and Pesendorfer (1998) in the finite signal space case and Duggan and Martinelli (1999) in an alternative model in which the signal space is a continuum, this result holds for unanimity rule. The key to the efficiency of unanimity rule is that there are perfectly informative (or at least nearly perfectly informative) signals. A corollary to the asymptotic efficiency result is that for all rules the collective performs better than a single agent's dictatorship for large but finite populations. This need not be true for arbitrary population sizes. Received: 10 May 1999/Accepted: 25 September 2000     

Symmetry extensions of “neutrality” I: Advantage to the condorcet loser

This is the first of three papers introducing a theory for positional voting methods that determines all possible election rankings and relationships that ever could occur with a profile over all possible subsets of candidates for any specified choices of positional voting methods. As such, these results extend to all positional voting systems what was previously possible only for the Borda Count and the plurality voting systems. In this first part certain mathematical symmetries based on neutrality are used 1) to generalize the basic properties that cause the desired features of the Borda Count and 2) to describe classes of positional voting methods with new types of election relationships among the election outcomes. Some of these relationships generalize the well-known results about the positioning of a Condorcet winner/loser within a Borda ranking, but now it is possible for the Condorcet loser, rather than the winner, to have the advantage to win certain positional elections. Included among the results are axiomatic characterizations of many positional voting methods.This research was supported in part by NSF Grant IRI-9103180.     

An exploration of kaupapa Maori research,its principles,processes and applications

This article discusses whether the focus group method can be employed with troubled groups and for the discussion of high‐involvement topics. It analyses focus groups' discourse of high‐involvement topics, such as ‘the body’, ‘relationships’, and ‘sexuality’, conducted with female adolescents aged 15–20 years at a detention home. Contrary to the traditional belief that the focus group method is designed for low‐involvement topics and mainstream groups, our analyses of the discursive devices employed suggest that the method can indeed be used for high‐involvement topics. We also argue that other methods would not have given us ‘deeper’ insights and that the focus group method can be seen as a less intrusive method to be used in this setting.     

The medieval river trade network of Russia revisited

Medieval trade and communication along the rivers of Russia are considered as a social network. Two measures are presented. An intermediate node occurrence rate (Shimbel's stress index) provides a measure of centrality. The short-path distances to all other places are summed to provide a system-effort measure of accessibility. Both measures show Moscow to have been most central and accessible with aggregate least effort.     

The benefit and sacrifice principles of taxation: A synthesis

The implications of equal sacrifice taxation have only been pursued in a very narrow context. This note applies this principle to the problem of levying taxes to provide public goods. Its purpose is to determine how taxes used to finance public goods must be structured in order to benefit each agent equally. This tax structure may be viewed as a benchmark against which to compare tax regimes with redistributive intent. Equality of taxation, therefore, as a maxim of politics, means equality of sacrifice.  . . This standard, like other standards of perfection, cannot be completely realized; but the first object in every practical discussion should be to know what perfection is.  J. S. Mill Received: 10 April 1997/Accepted: 16 November 1998     

The dream: Mechanisms and clinical applications

The clinician's use of client dream reports to promote self-discovery and foster a therapeutic alliance is examined in the context of borderline personality psychodynamics. The mechanisms and operations central to understanding dream processes are explained, using both Freudian and information processing models. This paper's thesis is that the effective, differential use of dream material hinges on the assessment of the client's ego functioning in the object relations sphere and relative to level of cognitive development.     

The clinical social worker and current psychiatric drugs: Some introductory principles

This paper persents some common social work clinical and case management issues with respect to psychiatric drug treatment. The roles of the psychiatrist and the social worker are distinguished. Three types of negative treatment drug effect are described-physical, psychological, and social-with case examples. Techniques to prevent or reduce negative drug effects are presented. The paper emphasizes the need for greater social work professional attention being paid to drug therapy.     

The Three Fallacies: Evaluating Three Problematic Trends in Clinical Practice

In an era of condensed treatment and managed care, three trends are gaining prevalence in some graduate training programs and in some circles of the practicing community, limiting clinicians from utilizing the therapeutic techniques needed to help a client achieve long-standing intrapsychic change, a precondition for maintaining therapeutic gains post treatment. The first trend, the equation of empathy with sympathy, hinders the therapeutic dyad from truly understanding a client’s internal experience and implicitly conveys the message that anxiety-provoking material is less welcome in the consulting room. The second trend, prizing cognition over affect, results in a primary focus on secondary thought process, discounting the affective experience that unconsciously steers behavior and thought. This trend is, in large part, due to the widespread dissemination of cognitive-behavioral therapy efficacy research and the belief by some individuals that psychodynamic forms of treatment lack empirical support. The last and most problematic trend, the rigid utilization of treatment manuals, tends to result in a reductionistic approach to treatment, limiting psychotherapy to a set of techniques while also overlooking salient aspects of treatment that can predict positive outcomes. Treatment manuals oversimplify the process of therapy; as a result, the therapeutic dyad is less likely to uncover and discover the multiple origins of one’s suffering, contributory factors that are not always readily available to conscious awareness. This paper discusses each trend and the therapeutic implications that result.     

The social bordering of lifestyle sports: inclusive principles,exclusive reality

Lifestyle sports are created and maintained through global youth cultural representations disseminated by many current media channels. Lifestyle sports attract young people due to their images of sociality, joyful creativity, speed and excitement, urban exoticism and their subcultural distinction from mainstream sports. This distinction is maintained with claims of social and cultural openness. Through a case analysis conducted for a research project we asked: How open are lifestyle sports communities and to whom? Who can take part in the subcultural world of lifestyle sports? What kinds of structural or personal attributes connected with individuals restrict certain young people's participation in this world? The research material consists of qualitative and quantitative data collected among skateboarding, longboarding, parkour and roller derby practitioners in Finland. Seeking answers brings researchers to the classical sociological background variables and their intersections: gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability and socioeconomic status. In lifestyle sports, these categorisations are linked with physical skills as subcultural symbolic capital, which is central in the exclusive and inclusive practices in lifestyle sports communities. Despite the inclusive principles that lifestyle sports practitioners emphasise, the ideal lifestyle sport practitioner seems to be represented by hegemonic masculinity, muscular strength and agility symbolising sporting abilities.     

Facilitating organisational change: Some sociocybernetic principles

Abstract

Innovations in the use of Information and Communications Technologies (ICT), give rise to organisational change as a more or less intended concomitant. At the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom, ICT is being deployed in a number of innovative ways to support the delivery of education and training and associated business processes. Part of my role, as a learning technology specialist, is to act as a facilitator of organisational change. In this paper, I give an account of my work. For guidance, I draw on the action learning, action research and organisational change literatures. I also explicitly draw on sociocybernetics to provide key concepts and principles. I set out my understanding of these key concepts and principles and illustrate their relevance and application using my Defence Academy and some other experiences as case studies.     

Community-building principles: implications for professional development

This article reviews a Think Tank meeting among child welfare practitioners at the 2003 Building Communities for 21st-Century Child Welfare Symposium. The Child Welfare League of America's focus on community building is recognition of the vital importance of promoting and fostering collaboration with community members to enhance the well-being of children, families, and communities. The Think Tank participants responded to four questions concerning the knowledge, policies, and strategies that are needed for the development of strategies for community building and child welfare. This article highlights several of the findings of the preconference, which addressed the challenges and opportunities inherent in community-building practices and discusses the key principles that emerged from the Think Tank. The article emphasizes implications for professional education and cites selected examples of innovative community-building initiatives with families.     

The understanding of internal control principles by pastors

Although the concept of internal control is as relevant to churches as it is to profit‐seeking organizations, many authors have indicated that churches typically have weak systems of internal control. Pastors usually serve in the position of chief professional officer of their churches, and the implementation and maintenance of an adequate system of internal control is ultimately the responsibility of management. This study is a preliminary effort to determine whether pastors understand general principles of internal control and are able to recognize strengths and weaknesses in systems of internal control. The results show that pastors have a reasonable ability to recognize strengths and weaknesses in internal control systems in churches.     

Child protection: Principles and applications

The protection of children worldwide requires a framework and criteria agreed upon by the international community. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the World Summit for Children have gone some way in setting out agreed minimum standards for children's survival, health and education and the minimum protection required by children against abuse, exploitation and neglect in war, at work or in the home. These principles need to be applied at a national as well as an international level. The current situation in Asian countries is presented and discussed.