Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Political Science, 2010. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 153-171). / This dissertation analyzes the effects of Congressional redistricting in the United States using the Brookes Method, developed by R.H. Brookes, a New Zealand political scientist. The Brookes Method disaggregates electoral bias into five separate components. My analysis shows that the party winning control of the House benefits from the most prevalent component of bias but that Democrats persistently benefit from the next most prevalent component. This means that Republicans can never win the House as effectively as Democrats can. The Brookes Method also informs electoral bias pertaining to racial gerrymandering. Using the Brookes Method to evaluate three states with a history of using extremes in race-based redistricting (Georgia, Louisiana, and North Carolina), my analysis reveals that these states have disaffected Democrats in redistricting more sharply than has the country as a whole. Using the Brookes Method to evaluate the small number of states using independent commissions to carry out Congressional redistricting, I find that electoral bias in these states is different from that found in states with legislative redistricting, and surprisingly, is often higher in commission states. This suggests that commissions are in some cases not truly independent and/or are merely fomenting a different kind of partisanship. I propose a new formulation (the Hill Ratio) of a familiar compactness standard, the area-perimeter measure. Thousands of House districts across time are analyzed under the measure and trends in compactness are noted. My analysis finds that districts in the U.S. have gotten considerably less compact since the early 20th century, while districts in Canada are still more compact than U.S. districts were even in the 1920s. Some of the states noted for their noncompact districts in the 2000s also had the least compact districts in the early 20th century. Finally, compactness is used as a factor in voter knowledge. My analysis finds that voters in non-compact districts are less likely to possess basic knowledge about their representatives and districts than voters in compact districts, while knowledge about statewide and national officeholders and party control is largely unaffected by the compactness of the congressional district. This is true when analyzed both at the aggregate and the individual level. These two measures of districting are harmonious with proportional representation ideals. The Brookes Method is an explicit comparison of majoritarian seat outputs with a proportional ideal. Compactness, in the words of Polsby & Popper, "tends to inhibit gerrymandering. By inhibiting gerrymandering, in turn, one abets proportional representation ... by empirical tendency." / by Tony L. Hill. / Ph.D.

Thesis (S.M. and S.B.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Political Science, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 51). / This study examines the statistical correlations between metrics of ethnic fractionalization and categories of violence in Sub-Saharan Africa from 1970 to 1995. By examining these correlations both prior to and after controlling for income, the study is able to determine whether or not various types of conflict are linked to patterns of ethnic grouping. The study uses newer, more refined measures to evaluate the correlations between specific categories of violence and specific measures of ethnic fractionalization. Using simple and multivariate linear regressions, the study examines each of the correlations between a total of twenty-two sub-metrics of four categories of violence, per capita income and metrics of ethnic fractionalization on three tiers. This allows the study to gauge the impacts (both separately and in interaction) of dichotomous top-tier cleavages in deeply divided societies, general ethnic fractionalization and nested ethnic sub-grouping. The study finds that the majority of the categories of violence used are not correlated with ethnic fractionalization, neither prior to nor after controlling for income. / (cont.) However, successful coups are highly correlated with the presence and distribution of the dichotomous top-tier cleavages in deeply divided societies, with the frequency of these successful coups increasing linearly as the divide approaches a 50/50 split. The frequency of riots is robustly correlated with general ethnic fractionalization, but that ethnic fractionalization has much less predictive power for this correlation. An implication of these findings for future research is that using these refined definitions allows for a fuller understanding of the behavior being examined: all categories of conflict are not uniformly correlated with all measures of ethnic fractionalization, and vice versa. Hypotheses regarding these correlations must thus enter into detail, both about the claims being made and the groups for which they are made. Additionally, the findings show that income's correlation with conflict and ethnic fractionalization is more complex than has been indicated in much of political science literature, and that further research on the topic is merited. / S.M.and S.B.

Thesis. 1975. Ph.D.--Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Political Science. / Vita. / Bibliography: leaves 379-389. / by Richard L. Kugler. / Ph.D.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Political Science, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 205-217). / This thesis studies how government in the US gathers and uses information effectively, and the role of federal advisory committees therein. All governments that serve the public interest encounter conflicting needs - on the one hand to gather information to solve important problems, and on the other hand to resist particularistic pressures of special interests both within and outside of government. Many governments choose to reconcile these demands in different ways - through balance of power, direct oversight, and procedural controls, for example - but these control mechanisms are costly. The use of such control mechanisms impacts both the effectiveness of advisory committees as information gathering tools, and how advisory committees are used. The body of the thesis consists of three papers. The first summarizes the available literature on information transmission and influence in complex environments, especially as they relate to delegation of authority. It categorizes the various bodies of theory and identifies the key lines of difference across these theories. The second paper tests hypotheses about meeting closure, government capture, and committee authorization to ascertain which branches of government are most vulnerable to inappropriate influence. Results weakly predict that committees formed cooperatively by Congress and agencies are most vulnerable to special interests. The third paper uses survey data to test how process controls impact the effectiveness of committees, / (cont.) and concludes that although openness does impair committee effectiveness somewhat, balanced membership strongly enhances effectiveness. To explain this apparent contradiction, it notes how balance requirements and other procedural controls enhance a committee's credibility, and reduce the likelihood that important information is dismissed as 'Cheap Talk'. / by Kevin Dean Karty. / Ph.D.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Political Science. Thesis. 1971. Ph.D. / Vita. / Bibliography: leaves 232-238. / Ph.D.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Political Science, 1993. / Includes bibliographical references (v. 2, leaves 303-311). / by Christopher J. Savos. / Ph.D.

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Political Science, 2013. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 72-77). / How have changes in the elite discussion of reproductive health narratives affected the debate on abortion and influenced state legislation and popular opinion? Using analysis of broadcast transcripts from CNN and FOX News, I examine the arguments articulated by politicians, activists, and members of the media on issues concerning reproductive health. I argue that, beginning in 1996, conservatives used the venue provided by broadcast media to seize on changes to the political climate and frame debate to their advantage. Continually, conservatives forced liberals into reactionary positions through discussion of "partial-birth abortion," expansion of narratives, and-most recently-misinformation. By dictating the terms of the discussion, conservatives lessened the impact of liberal narratives and saw gains in state legislation and public opinion as a result. / by Mark Jenssen. / S.M.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Political Science, 1984. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND DEWEY. / Bibliography: leaves 339-355. / by Elizabeth Rachel Leeds. / Ph.D.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Political Science, 1986. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND DEWEY / Bibliography: v.2, leaves 410-427. / by Frances Hagopian. / Ph.D.

Thesis: S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Political Science, February 2014. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references. / Japan's labor markets are clearly segmented between regular and irregular workers. Regular workers enjoy employment stability, good wages and promotion, and access to good pensions and health plans. Irregular workers-contract, dispatch and part time workers-can be fired easily, are paid less, and don't have access to fringe benefits. In Japan irregular work contracts have been progressively liberalized since the 1980s, and the share of irregular employment over the same time period has more than doubled to over one third of all workers. However, there are important cases of re-regulation. How can we account for Japan's specific policy path in regard to irregular work contracts? A good explanation ought to shed light on the politics of similar labor market phenomena across the affluent democracies. In this project I argue the policy process by which labor policies are decided substantially impacts whether or not irregular work contracts are liberalized or re-regulated. When labor unions and employer associations bargain over policy in consensus-based deliberative councils housed in the labor ministry the resultant policies are very unlikely to be favorable to irregular workers, though they are likely to be favorable to regular workers. This is the way most policies were decided until the 1990s. In contrast, when labor policies are processed through parliamentary politics the content of policy is shaped by electoral competition between the parties of the right and left. Irregular work contracts receive favorable policies only when there is an electorally credible party of the left. When there is not a credible leftist party both regular and irregular work contracts are liberalized. Political competition rather than formal inclusion of labor representatives most often results in favorable policies for irregular workers. / by Nathan Cisneros. / S.M.