Inspired by analyses of majoritarian systems, students of consensual polities have analyzed strategic voting due to barriers to party success, namely, district magnitude and threshold. Given the prevalence of coalition governments in proportional systems, we analyze a type of strategic voting seldom studied: how expected coalition composition affects voter choice. We identify Duvergerian behavior by voters targeted at the coalition formation stage. We contend that when voters perceive their preferred party as unlikely to participate in the coalition, they often desert it and instead support the lesser of evils among those they perceive as viable coalition partners. We demonstrate our argument using data on coalition expectations from the 2006 Israeli elections. We find an appreciable albeit differential effect of coalition expectations on voter choice. Importantly, results hold controlling for ideological and coalition preferences. Lastly, we explore a broad cross‐national comparison, showing that there is less, not more, proximity voting where coalitions are prevalent.
Although elections in Latin America are often characterized by very high levels of blank and spoiled ballots, there has been little if any systematic research into the phenomenon. Previous research from Europe, the U.S., and Australia has usually seen invalid voting as deriving from socio-demographic factors (literacy, education, wealth), institutional factors (electoral system and ballot structure), and political factors (alienation and protest). We operationalize these models for Latin America, using a cross-sectional time series data set including 80 legislative elections held in 18 democracies between 1980 and 2000. Socioeconomic variables such as urbanization and income inequality are associated with levels of invalid voting, while institutional variables such as compulsory voting, electoral disproportionality, and the combination of high district magnitude and a personalized voting system tend to increase blank and spoiled ballots. Moreover, regime-level factors such as political violence and the level and direction of democratic change also shape the rates of invalid voting. [Copyright 2006 Elsevier Ltd.]
Persson and Tabellini (2003) show that presidential regimes and majoritarian election systems have important effects on fiscal policy, government effectiveness and productivity. Here, their dataset is extended in a number of ways: the number of countries included is increased from 85 to up to 116, and more recent data for both government effectiveness and productivity are used. In replicating and extending their analyses, we find that the effect of presidential regimes on all three groups of economic variables vanishes almost entirely. With regard to electoral systems, the original results are largely confirmed: majoritarian (as opposed to proportional) electoral systems lead to lower government expenditure, lower levels of rent seeking but also lower output per worker. The institutional details such as the proportion of candidates that are not elected via party lists and the district magnitude have proved to be of particular importance. The question whether societies can improve their lot by choosing specific constitutional rules remains open.
The Republic of South Africa has introduced transformation processes through relevant legislative and statutory frameworks to ensure that the country is administered in a non-sexist manner. The aspect of gender equality is a vital element in the South African Constitution that now links the government's manifesto to the objectives of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Under this imprint, South African municipal governance is constantly looking for new approaches for solving socio-economic issues such as combating poverty and enhancing sustainable development. Gender equality, pro-poor growth strategies and the MDG goal 1 are important focus areas in the discourse on extreme poverty reduction. The aim of this article is to explore the links between gender equality, pro-poor growth strategies and MDG goal 1. The case study of a specific municipality (Sedibeng District Municipality [SDM]) is explored, providing a detailed analysis of its gender equality measures and pro-poor strategies. In order to rationalize the status quo, a questionnaire was distributed to residents of SDM and interviews were conducted with personnel of SDM. Based on these findings, the article offers relevant recommendations for improvement. The relationship between gender and poverty is a complex topic that is now being debated more urgently than ever before. We know that poverty is linked to gender but this article aims to explore and rationalize these links. Given the magnitude of poverty challenges, the article concludes with proposing a municipal assessment tool to identify the gaps in municipal capabilities for implementing gender-based pro-poor strategies at institutional level. DOI:10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n21p327
The population of Ethiopia is still growing by 2.6% per annum mainly due to high fertility of 4.8 children per woman. Though increasing in the current decade, only about a quarter of married women used family planning methods in 2011. Though early childhood mortality diminished in recent years, this decline was not statistically significant in infant mortality. Levels and extent of reductions in the three components of population change and their relationships varied across different regions and by urban-rural setting in the country. Previous studies elsewhere showed relationship between population dynamics and health. Studies also revealed that intervention in one component of population change affects another component. A body of literature on insurance and replacement fertility response of childhood mortality were documented in least developing countries. Moreover, selection, disruption, adaptation, environmental theories had also documented the relationship between migration with fertility and under-five mortality. Migration might select people with different fertility behavior and childhood mortality experience compared to those without such behavior. If those with less number of children migrate, the fertility and child mortality of non-migrants in the place of origin would be inflated compared to those of the migrants. Among the latter group, the disruption due to migration might contribute to reduction in fertility or increase in early childhood mortality. Besides, the group might adapt the fertility behavior of the population in the area of destination. In this regard, this thesis aimed at measuring levels of and assessing relationships between fertility, contraception, under-five mortality and migration in the designated area of the study. It also tried to identify main proximate and distal factors of each of these components of population change in the context of the recently introduced village-based health extension program, reproductive health strategy and population policy in the densely populated Butajira District of South Central Ethiopia. Methods The study was hosted by the Butajira Demographic Surveillance System which is located about 135 kms from Addis Ababa in the southern direction. Qualitative and quantitative methods were employed in this study. The quantitative research used two data sources. The longitudinal surveillance database up to the end of 2008 was extracted to recruit study women of reproductive age for the cross-sectional study which aimed at measuring levels and identifying determinants of fertility, contraception and the unmet need of family planning. The database was also used to have a detailed insight into early childhood mortality and out-migration in the district. Standard data collection instruments of the INDEPTH-Network and Measure DHS were contextually adapted for the longitudinal database and the cross-sectional survey respectively. A priori focus group discussions were held to incorporate the community's terminologies and opinions. A total of 11,133 women of reproductive age were recruited from the surveillance database and 9,996 of them responded positively. Especially trained and experienced field staff collected the data. There was rigorous supervision. Data sources were managed by softwares having internal consistency checking mechanisms. Cleaning was done at desk. Serious anomalies were taken back to the field for reconciliation, while others were rectified by imputing values from logical flows in the questionnaire. Frequency distributions, cross-tabulations and graphical presentations were done. Event history analysis was used to calculate person time of exposure, incidence and prevalence rates using longitudinal data. Odds ratio along with the 95% confidence interval in binary logistic regression was used to determine association between covariates and the binary outcome of interest. In the case of fertility, Bongaart's model to measure the inhibition effects of proximate determinants and the incidence rate ratio in Poisson regression along with the 95% confidence interval was used to measure the association between fertility and covariates. Poisson regression was also used to measure associations of background characteristics with out-migration and under-five mortality. Assumptions of all the statistical models used in this study were checked. Results The total fertility rate of 5.3 children per woman was high and comparable to the rest of Ethiopia with rural-urban disparity (Highland, TFR=5.7, Lowland, TFR=6.6 and Urban, TFR=3.3). Postpartum infecundability due to breastfeeding (Ci=0.68) significantly deducted fertility from its biological maximum. The contribution of contraception (Cc-u=0.57, Cc-e=0.43) and nonmarriage (Cm-u=0.53, Cm-e=0.41) was important among urbanites and educated women. Abortion contributed a significant role to reduce fertility among school youth (Ca=0.76). The fertility incidence rate ratio was 1.38: 95% CI (1.27, 1.49) times higher among those married before their 15 birthday, 1.24: 95% CI (1.10, 1.39) times higher among uneducated, 1.95: 95% CI (1.84, 2.06) times higher among those families with large size, 1.67: 95% CI (1.59, 1.76) times higher with child death experience and 1.06: 95% CI (1.01, 1.13) times higher among women living in food-secured households compared to their counterparts. Against other findings, fertility was 1.09: 95% CI (1.04, 1.15) significantly higher among women with no child sex preference. Besides, migration status of women did not seem to predict their fertility levels (1.02: 95% CI (0.97, 1.07)). The contraceptive prevalence rate of 25.4%: 95% CI (24.2, 26.5) in Butajira District was comparable though unmet need of 52.4%: 95% CI (51.1, 53.7) was very high compared to national and regional estimates. Full stock out and absence of methods' mix, religion, complaints related to providers and methods, assumption of having proper diet, and optimum workload when using family planning methods were barriers of contraceptive use mentioned by study women in the area. The odds of contraception was 2.3: 95% CI (1.66, 3.18) times higher among urbanites, 1.99: 95% CI (1.38, 2.88) times higher among those completed secondary level of education and 1.5: 95% CI (1.12, 2.01) times higher among women whose partners completed secondary plus level of education, 1.3: 95% CI (1.13, 1.5) times higher among women with no experience of child death, 2.21: (1.8, 2.7) times higher among couples who discussed on contraception and 2.59: 95% CI (2.11, 3.17) times higher among women whose partners' support family planning use compared to their counterparts. Under-five mortality level of 29 per 1000: 95% CI (27.4, 31.8) in the District recorded over the 22 years of surveillance was low. The difference between infant mortality of 86.6 per 1000: 95% CI (77.4, 96.9) and child mortality of 19.2 per 1000: 95% CI (17.4, 21.3) was higher. Compared to their counterparts, the study also showed 0.85: 95% CI (0.79, 0.80) times lower under-five mortality among female children, 1.14: 95% CI (1.03, 1.25) times higher under five mortality among Muslim and 15.24: 95% CI (13.75, 16.89) times higher among minority Christian families, 1.31: 95% CI (1.04, 1.66) and 2.02: 95% CI (1.58, 2.59) times higher among rural highlanders and rural lowlanders respectively, 1.54: (1.43, 1.67) times higher among families owning oxen, and 1.92: 95% CI (1.66, 2.22) times higher among families owning houses and 2.4: 95% CI (1.89, 2.06) times higher among those living in rented houses and 2.13: 95% CI (1.79, 2.53) times higher in children living in houses roofed with thatched grass, and 1.46: 95% CI (1.26, 1.69) times higher among those living in the neighborhoods located 5-9 kilometers away from Butajira zonal hospital. The study also revealed high out-migration of 3.97 per 100 person years (3.93, 4.01) in the district. The risk of out-migration was 0.94: 95% CI (0.92, 0.96) times lower among females, 1.9: 95% CI (1.85, 1.96), 1.77: 95% CI (1.71, 1.82), 1.55: 95% CI (1.49, 1.62), 1.23: 95% CI (1.17, 1.29) or 2.82: 95% CI (2.66, 2.98), 1.29: 95% CI (1.26, 1.32), 4.71: 95% CI (4.56, 4.87), 1.18: 95% CI (1.15, 1.22), 1.58: 95% CI (1.52, 1.64) and 2.11: 95% (2.04, 2.18) times higher among teenagers, the youth, unmarried, primary school completes or above, Orthodox and minority Christians, urbanites, and those living in rented houses and owned by others compared to their respective counterparts. Some relationship between the three components of population change was also observed. There was statistically significant association between early childhood mortality and fertility (6.07: 95% CI (5.36, 6.87)). However, the association between fertility and migration status was not statistically significant (1.05: 95% CI (0.92, 1.19)). Neither was the association between underfive mortality and migration statistically significant (1.04: 95% CI (0.92, 1.19)). Conclusions and Recommendations Fertility was still high in the study community with high rural urban disparity. The most effective proximate determinant to deduct fertility from its biological maximum level was non-marriage due to disruption of marriage through migration of one of the partners. The contribution of contraception and non-marriage was also important among urbanites and educated women. Postpartum infecundability also significantly reduced fertility from its biological maximum in rural areas and among uneducated women. Abortion had also played an important role in reducing fertility among in-school youth. Delayed marriage, higher education, smaller family size, absence of child death in the family, and living in food-secured households were also significantly associated with small number of children. Besides, fertility was significantly higher among women with no child sex preference. However, migration status of women was not statistically significant. The contraceptive prevalence rate in Butajira District was still low, though unmet need was very high. Barrier to contraception in the area included, stock out and absence of preferred family planning methods, religion, complaints related to providers and methods, assumption of having proper diet, and optimum workload when using family planning methods. Significant predictors of contraception in the district included urban residence, women's and their partners' educational status, child death experience, couple's discussion on contraception, and partners' support. The magnitude of overall early childhood mortality levels in the district recorded over the 22 years of surveillance, though low compared to the national and regional level was still high. Infant mortality was higher than child mortality in the district. Under-five mortality was significantly higher among male children, families confessing Muslim and non-Orthodox Christian denominations, rural residents, families owning oxen, those having their own houses, families living in rent-free houses, households living in houses with roofs of thatched grass, and families living in neighborhoods located between 5-9 kilometers from the zonal hospital as compared with their counterparts. A high incidence of out-migration was observed in the district with higher level among males, teenagers, the youth, primary and secondary education or above completes, those not in marital unions, Christians, urbanites, and families in rented and owed houses compared to those in owned ones. This study had also showed statistically significant association between early childhood mortality and fertility. The association between fertility and migration was not statistically significant. Neither was the case between early childhood mortality and migration in the study area. We recommend that the ills of fast population growth and its consequences should be intensively informed to the public. Women must be encouraged to sustain the practice of extended breastfeeding. Efforts should also be exerted to increase contraceptive use in rural communities. Besides, in-school youth should be aware of post-abortion complications and youth friendly family planning methods to reduce fertility, maternal mortality and childhood mortality in the community. Longer years of women's education should be scaled up. Health systems in Butajira District and the capacity of staff should be strengthened. The Government should avail family planning methods with appropriate method mix and increase competence of providers on managing temporary side effects. More rigorous child and maternal health education should be channeled through village-based health extension workers. Household hygiene, antenatal care, immunization and facility based delivery in the district should be scaled up. More efforts should also be exerted to improve the quality of residential houses. An insurance scheme to care for the elderly should be put in place to bring about change in the behavior of families towards small family size. We suggest that local authorities need to facilitate local employment and housing opportunities for retaining young and educated people in their own areas, to safeguard the future well-being of the entire population
The population of Ethiopia is still growing by 2.6% per annum mainly due to high fertility of 4.8 children per woman. Though increasing in the current decade, only about a quarter of married women used family planning methods in 2011. Though early childhood mortality diminished in recent years, this decline was not statistically significant in infant mortality. Levels and extent of reductions in the three components of population change and their relationships varied across different regions and by urban-rural setting in the country. Previous studies elsewhere showed relationship between population dynamics and health. Studies also revealed that intervention in one component of population change affects another component. A body of literature on insurance and replacement fertility response of childhood mortality were documented in least developing countries. Moreover, selection, disruption, adaptation, environmental theories had also documented the relationship between migration with fertility and under-five mortality. Migration might select people with different fertility behavior and childhood mortality experience compared to those without such behavior. If those with less number of children migrate, the fertility and child mortality of non-migrants in the place of origin would be inflated compared to those of the migrants. Among the latter group, the disruption due to migration might contribute to reduction in fertility or increase in early childhood mortality. Besides, the group might adapt the fertility behavior of the population in the area of destination. In this regard, this thesis aimed at measuring levels of and assessing relationships between fertility, contraception, under-five mortality and migration in the designated area of the study. It also tried to identify main proximate and distal factors of each of these components of population change in the context of the recently introduced village-based health extension program, reproductive health strategy and population policy in the densely populated Butajira District of South Central Ethiopia. Methods The study was hosted by the Butajira Demographic Surveillance System which is located about 135 kms from Addis Ababa in the southern direction. Qualitative and quantitative methods were employed in this study. The quantitative research used two data sources. The longitudinal surveillance database up to the end of 2008 was extracted to recruit study women of reproductive age for the cross-sectional study which aimed at measuring levels and identifying determinants of fertility, contraception and the unmet need of family planning. The database was also used to have a detailed insight into early childhood mortality and out-migration in the district. Standard data collection instruments of the INDEPTH-Network and Measure DHS were contextually adapted for the longitudinal database and the cross-sectional survey respectively. A priori focus group discussions were held to incorporate the community's terminologies and opinions. A total of 11,133 women of reproductive age were recruited from the surveillance database and 9,996 of them responded positively. Especially trained and experienced field staff collected the data. There was rigorous supervision. Data sources were managed by softwares having internal consistency checking mechanisms. Cleaning was done at desk. Serious anomalies were taken back to the field for reconciliation, while others were rectified by imputing values from logical flows in the questionnaire. Frequency distributions, cross-tabulations and graphical presentations were done. Event history analysis was used to calculate person time of exposure, incidence and prevalence rates using longitudinal data. Odds ratio along with the 95% confidence interval in binary logistic regression was used to determine association between covariates and the binary outcome of interest. In the case of fertility, Bongaart's model to measure the inhibition effects of proximate determinants and the incidence rate ratio in Poisson regression along with the 95% confidence interval was used to measure the association between fertility and covariates. Poisson regression was also used to measure associations of background characteristics with out-migration and under-five mortality. Assumptions of all the statistical models used in this study were checked. Results The total fertility rate of 5.3 children per woman was high and comparable to the rest of Ethiopia with rural-urban disparity (Highland, TFR=5.7, Lowland, TFR=6.6 and Urban, TFR=3.3). Postpartum infecundability due to breastfeeding (Ci=0.68) significantly deducted fertility from its biological maximum. The contribution of contraception (Cc-u=0.57, Cc-e=0.43) and nonmarriage (Cm-u=0.53, Cm-e=0.41) was important among urbanites and educated women. Abortion contributed a significant role to reduce fertility among school youth (Ca=0.76). The fertility incidence rate ratio was 1.38: 95% CI (1.27, 1.49) times higher among those married before their 15 birthday, 1.24: 95% CI (1.10, 1.39) times higher among uneducated, 1.95: 95% CI (1.84, 2.06) times higher among those families with large size, 1.67: 95% CI (1.59, 1.76) times higher with child death experience and 1.06: 95% CI (1.01, 1.13) times higher among women living in food-secured households compared to their counterparts. Against other findings, fertility was 1.09: 95% CI (1.04, 1.15) significantly higher among women with no child sex preference. Besides, migration status of women did not seem to predict their fertility levels (1.02: 95% CI (0.97, 1.07)). The contraceptive prevalence rate of 25.4%: 95% CI (24.2, 26.5) in Butajira District was comparable though unmet need of 52.4%: 95% CI (51.1, 53.7) was very high compared to national and regional estimates. Full stock out and absence of methods' mix, religion, complaints related to providers and methods, assumption of having proper diet, and optimum workload when using family planning methods were barriers of contraceptive use mentioned by study women in the area. The odds of contraception was 2.3: 95% CI (1.66, 3.18) times higher among urbanites, 1.99: 95% CI (1.38, 2.88) times higher among those completed secondary level of education and 1.5: 95% CI (1.12, 2.01) times higher among women whose partners completed secondary plus level of education, 1.3: 95% CI (1.13, 1.5) times higher among women with no experience of child death, 2.21: (1.8, 2.7) times higher among couples who discussed on contraception and 2.59: 95% CI (2.11, 3.17) times higher among women whose partners' support family planning use compared to their counterparts. Under-five mortality level of 29 per 1000: 95% CI (27.4, 31.8) in the District recorded over the 22 years of surveillance was low. The difference between infant mortality of 86.6 per 1000: 95% CI (77.4, 96.9) and child mortality of 19.2 per 1000: 95% CI (17.4, 21.3) was higher. Compared to their counterparts, the study also showed 0.85: 95% CI (0.79, 0.80) times lower under-five mortality among female children, 1.14: 95% CI (1.03, 1.25) times higher under five mortality among Muslim and 15.24: 95% CI (13.75, 16.89) times higher among minority Christian families, 1.31: 95% CI (1.04, 1.66) and 2.02: 95% CI (1.58, 2.59) times higher among rural highlanders and rural lowlanders respectively, 1.54: (1.43, 1.67) times higher among families owning oxen, and 1.92: 95% CI (1.66, 2.22) times higher among families owning houses and 2.4: 95% CI (1.89, 2.06) times higher among those living in rented houses and 2.13: 95% CI (1.79, 2.53) times higher in children living in houses roofed with thatched grass, and 1.46: 95% CI (1.26, 1.69) times higher among those living in the neighborhoods located 5-9 kilometers away from Butajira zonal hospital. The study also revealed high out-migration of 3.97 per 100 person years (3.93, 4.01) in the district. The risk of out-migration was 0.94: 95% CI (0.92, 0.96) times lower among females, 1.9: 95% CI (1.85, 1.96), 1.77: 95% CI (1.71, 1.82), 1.55: 95% CI (1.49, 1.62), 1.23: 95% CI (1.17, 1.29) or 2.82: 95% CI (2.66, 2.98), 1.29: 95% CI (1.26, 1.32), 4.71: 95% CI (4.56, 4.87), 1.18: 95% CI (1.15, 1.22), 1.58: 95% CI (1.52, 1.64) and 2.11: 95% (2.04, 2.18) times higher among teenagers, the youth, unmarried, primary school completes or above, Orthodox and minority Christians, urbanites, and those living in rented houses and owned by others compared to their respective counterparts. Some relationship between the three components of population change was also observed. There was statistically significant association between early childhood mortality and fertility (6.07: 95% CI (5.36, 6.87)). However, the association between fertility and migration status was not statistically significant (1.05: 95% CI (0.92, 1.19)). Neither was the association between underfive mortality and migration statistically significant (1.04: 95% CI (0.92, 1.19)). Conclusions and Recommendations Fertility was still high in the study community with high rural urban disparity. The most effective proximate determinant to deduct fertility from its biological maximum level was non-marriage due to disruption of marriage through migration of one of the partners. The contribution of contraception and non-marriage was also important among urbanites and educated women. Postpartum infecundability also significantly reduced fertility from its biological maximum in rural areas and among uneducated women. Abortion had also played an important role in reducing fertility among in-school youth. Delayed marriage, higher education, smaller family size, absence of child death in the family, and living in food-secured households were also significantly associated with small number of children. Besides, fertility was significantly higher among women with no child sex preference. However, migration status of women was not statistically significant. The contraceptive prevalence rate in Butajira District was still low, though unmet need was very high. Barrier to contraception in the area included, stock out and absence of preferred family planning methods, religion, complaints related to providers and methods, assumption of having proper diet, and optimum workload when using family planning methods. Significant predictors of contraception in the district included urban residence, women's and their partners' educational status, child death experience, couple's discussion on contraception, and partners' support. The magnitude of overall early childhood mortality levels in the district recorded over the 22 years of surveillance, though low compared to the national and regional level was still high. Infant mortality was higher than child mortality in the district. Under-five mortality was significantly higher among male children, families confessing Muslim and non-Orthodox Christian denominations, rural residents, families owning oxen, those having their own houses, families living in rent-free houses, households living in houses with roofs of thatched grass, and families living in neighborhoods located between 5-9 kilometers from the zonal hospital as compared with their counterparts. A high incidence of out-migration was observed in the district with higher level among males, teenagers, the youth, primary and secondary education or above completes, those not in marital unions, Christians, urbanites, and families in rented and owed houses compared to those in owned ones. This study had also showed statistically significant association between early childhood mortality and fertility. The association between fertility and migration was not statistically significant. Neither was the case between early childhood mortality and migration in the study area. We recommend that the ills of fast population growth and its consequences should be intensively informed to the public. Women must be encouraged to sustain the practice of extended breastfeeding. Efforts should also be exerted to increase contraceptive use in rural communities. Besides, in-school youth should be aware of post-abortion complications and youth friendly family planning methods to reduce fertility, maternal mortality and childhood mortality in the community. Longer years of women's education should be scaled up. Health systems in Butajira District and the capacity of staff should be strengthened. The Government should avail family planning methods with appropriate method mix and increase competence of providers on managing temporary side effects. More rigorous child and maternal health education should be channeled through village-based health extension workers. Household hygiene, antenatal care, immunization and facility based delivery in the district should be scaled up. More efforts should also be exerted to improve the quality of residential houses. An insurance scheme to care for the elderly should be put in place to bring about change in the behavior of families towards small family size. We suggest that local authorities need to facilitate local employment and housing opportunities for retaining young and educated people in their own areas, to safeguard the future well-being of the entire population
PhD scholar's research findings. ; In India, Tamil Nadu is one of the states most vulnerable to drought impacting agriculture and allied activities. This study attempts to develop a new composite drought vulnerability index (CDVI) comprising both crop and dairy indicators for 30 districts of Tamil Nadu, India. The computation of index was based on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) approach using exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity. Initially, indicators were normalized to make sure that all the indicators are comparable and weights were assigned to each indicator based on principal component analysis. Then, the districts were classified as high, moderate and less vulnerable on the basis of magnitude of the index. Coimbatore has the highest exposure to drought vulnerability (0.58) and the lowest was in Krishnagiri (0.35). In case of sensitivity, the highest was in Kancheepuram (0.69), while the lowest was in Tiruppur (0.26). The highest adaptive capacity was observed in Nagapattinam (0.52) and the lowest was in Tiruppur (0.24). None of the districts had higher adaptive capacity than sensitivity and exposure, combinedly. Overall, CDVI was highest in Kanchipuram (0.88), lowest in Erode (0.45) and moderate in Thanjavur (0.73). District level vulnerability mapping showed that twelve districts were categorized as highly vulnerable to drought; eight districts as moderately vulnerable; and ten districts as less vulnerable. Most of the districts in north eastern and southern agro-climatic zones; a few districts in Cauvery delta and western zones of Tamil Nadu had come under high vulnerable category, while a majority of the districts in north western, western and high rainfall zones were less vulnerable. To mitigate drought vulnerability, government should focus and aid in developing regional level adaptation strategies such as water conserving techniques/farm pond and appropriate policy measures to safeguard the livelihood from agriculture and dairying. Also, special attention may be given to local people's understandings about drought including traditional practices to cope-up vulnerability. ; Not Available
Proportional electoral systems tend to be more beneficial for women's descriptive representation than majority systems. However, within proportional systems the gender equality of election outcomes differs, highlighting the importance of studying the actual use of electoral provisions in proportional representation (PR) systems. Therefore, we investigate the determinants of voting for female candidates in Belgium's local elections. This case is particularly interesting given the equal number of men and women on the candidate lists due to quota regulations, the possibility to cast multiple preference votes (lowering competition), and the high visibility of these local elections and its candidates. At the individual level, we find that women are more likely than men to vote for several women, yet same-sex voting is more common among men. Politically sophisticated respondents vote more often for candidates of both sexes. Against our expectations, a left-wing orientation does not increase the likelihood of voting for women. At the electoral district level, a larger supply of women at the top list position increases the chance to vote for this top woman, but there is no spillover effect to women lower on the list. District magnitude affects the number of preference votes but, against expectations, not the likelihood of voting for women.
Mathematics is part of the basic requirements for entrance into the different stages of higher educational system. It is the bedrock of all science and technologically-based subjects. Yet, it remains a challenging subject to students at the secondary school level. Hence, the purpose of this study was to investigate the correlational study of self-concept and study habit on mathematics anxiety among secondary school students in Oyo North Senatorial District, Nigeria. Descriptive research design of ex-post-facto type was used in the study. 186 respondents were selected from four Local Government areas in Oyo North, Nigeria. The respondents were measured with relevant standardized scale (instruments) and the data obtained were analyzed using the Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC) and Multiple regression statistical analysis. Three research Questions were raised and answered in the study. Findings revealed that Mathematics anxiety correlated with gender (r = .137; p<.05); self-concept (r = .817; p<.05) and study habit (r = .901; p<.05). Moreover, the independent variables when pulled together have significant contribution to students' Mathematics anxiety (R (adjusted) =.938 & R2 (adjusted) =.877) and each of the independent variables made a significant contribution to the prediction of students' Mathematics anxiety. In term of magnitude of contribution, study habit made the most significant contribution (Beta= .176; t= .963; P<0.05) to the prediction follow by self-concept (Beta= .115; t= 1.391; p<0.05). It was recommended that counselling interventions addressing mathematics anxiety should be provided for students regularly in order to reduce incidence of mathematics anxiety amongst them.
Estimates of party ideological positions in Western Democracies yield useful party-level information, but generally lack the ability to provide an insight into the intraparty politics of party elites. In this article, we generate comparable measures of latent individual policy positions from elite survey data that enable analysis of elite-level party ideology and heterogeneity. This approach has some advantages over both expert surveys and approaches based on behavioral data, such as roll-call voting, and is directly relevant to the study of party cohesion. We generate a measure of elite positions for several mostly European countries using a common space scaling approach and demonstrate its validity as a measure of party ideology. We then apply these data to examine sources of party elite heterogeneity, focusing on the role of intraparty competition in electoral systems, nomination rules, and party goals. We find that policy-seeking parties and centralized party nomination rules are associated with less party heterogeneity. While intraparty competition has no effect, such contexts appear to condition the effect of district magnitude.
In this article, we explore how electoral systems influence attitudes and behavior of elected representatives. Focusing on constituency representation, we consider how variation in electoral systems may shape forms of political representation. An analysis of written parliamentary questions (PQs) is an important instrument to look at the role of parliamentarians even where, as in the European Parliament, political parties enforce discipline in roll-call voting. This kind of investigation offers the opportunity to partially resolve empirical and theoretical problems related to other methods of research. Unlike voting and speeches, PQs face fewer constrains from party leaders. This article analyses the constituency focus of members of European Parliament from France and Italy. These countries differ with regard to two main dimensions of electoral systems: ballot structure and district magnitude. The study is conducted through a content analysis of 5343 written PQs during the sixth term (2004–09). The results suggest that, despite the lack of strong electoral connection, electoral institutions shape the legislative behavior of the Italian and French parliamentarians providing incentives to cultivate personal reputation and constituency-orientation.
Carey & Shugart (1995) offer a four component composite index of "incentives to cultivate a personal vote." We argue that this index, while tapping important aspects of electoral system choice, is best regarded as encompassing two distinct dimensions: degree of party-centeredness of the electoral system, on the one hand, & incentives for "parochial" behavior on the part of legislators, on the other. Also, while we have no problem with the three indicators used by Carey & Shugart to measure party-centeredness; to measure parochial incentives we prefer to use a new measure, E (Grofman, 1999a) of the size of a legislator's electoral constituency, rather than using district magnitude, m, as a proxy for a the size of a legislator's geographic constituency, as Carey & Shugart do. In the conclusion to the paper we argue that the degree of similarity between any two electoral systems will depend upon the research question at issue, & that the expected degree of proportionality of election results is only one of the many political consequences of electoral laws to which we ought to be paying attention. 1 Table, 12 References. [Copyright 2005 Elsevier Ltd.]
Methodological problems associated with selection bias and interaction effects have hindered the accumulation of systematic knowledge about the factors that explain cross-national variation in the success of extreme right parties. The author uses a statistical analysis that takes account of these problems to examine the effect of electoral institutions, unemployment, and immigration on the support for these parties. The data set used in this analysis is new and spans 19 countries and 165 national elections. There are four substantive conclusions. The first is that it is important to distinguish between neofascist and populist parties on the extreme right because their fortunes depend on different factors. The second is that populist parties do better in countries where the district magnitude is larger and more seats are allocated in upper tiers. The third is that although immigration has a positive effect on populist parties irrespective of the unemployment level, unemployment only matters when immigration is high. Finally, there is evidence that the permissiveness of the electoral system mediates the effect of immigration on populist parties.
Thesis (Ph.D. (Development Administration))--National Institute of Development Administration, 2017 ; The magnitude of how health policy implementation performance is taking route at the national level is a very important issue as far as world population levels in relation to future workforces are concerned. These require properly implementation of health policy by the respective governments. However, it is noteworthy that not all countries have the same factors affecting health policy implementation. This study concerns the examination of the situation of primary health care at the sub-district level in Bangladesh. Hence, the specific purpose of the study was to assess the factors affecting health policy implementation performance in primary health care in Bangladesh. An integrated conceptual framework and models were developed based on a review of the literature. The primary data were collected from the total population of 421 Upazilla Health Complexes (UHC) using a survey questionnaire mainly through postal and email survey and the respondents were the Upazila Health and Family Planning Officers (UH&FPOs). Hierarchical multiple regression analysis as a tool of the quantitative methods was used. The results revealed that four out of seven explanatory variables were statistically significant and had a unique contribution for the relationships with health policy implementation performance ordering as per the strength: implementer's disposition (ID); clarity of goals and objectives (COGAO); management dynamics (MD) and coordination (COORD). The three other explanatory variables resources (equipment, human resources, infrastructure, REHI), adequate budget and financial autonomy (ABFA) and micro level support from local stakeholders (MLSLS) were found positive but not statistically significant. Hence, the study revealed that implementer's disposition (ID), clarity of goals and objectives (COGAO), management dynamics (MD), and coordination (COORD) were the most determining factors in terms of influencing health ...
