bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Modern Spirit of Asia
Authors: van der Veer Peter
Published: November 2017

This book challenges the notion that modernity in China and India are derivative imitations of the West, arguing that these societies have transformed their ancient traditions in unique and distinctive ways. The book begins with nineteenth-century imperial history, exploring how Western concepts of spirituality, secularity, religion, and magic were used to translate the traditions of India and China. The book traces how modern Western notions of religion and magic were incorporated into the respective nation-building projects of Chinese and Indian nationalist intellectuals, yet how modernity in China and India is by no means uniform. While religion is a centerpiece of Indian nationalism, it is viewed in China as an obstacle to progress that must be marginalized and controlled. The book moves deftly from Kandinsky's understanding of spirituality in art to Indian yoga and Chinese qi gong, from modern theories of secularism to histories of Christian conversion, from Orientalist constructions of religion to Chinese campaigns against magic and superstition, and from Muslim Kashmir to Muslim Xinjiang.
The Spiritual Body
Authors: van der Veer Peter
Published: November 2017

This chapter considers how, in the current phase of globalization, there is a fast spread of forms of evangelical and charismatic Christianity as well as pietistic Islam. While much attention is given to the rise of these so-called fundamentalist forms of world religion, the globalization of Asian forms of spirituality has escaped analytical scrutiny. One reason for this is the false assumption that the spiritual is not political. Eastern spirituality is often perceived to transcend secular reality as well as the problems of institutionalized religion. The chapter points to a few Indian and Chinese instances of spirituality that are clearly political. In most places in the world one can follow courses in yoga and qi gong. These forms of Indian and Chinese spirituality have gone global, but they are still connected to national identities.
From Utility to Happiness
Authors: Saint-Paul Gilles
Published: November 2017

This chapter suggests using some direct measure of individual well-being, such as happiness, as the basis of a theory of individual welfare. The recent literature on behavioral economics includes a growing research on its determinants. In general, proponents of this approach claim that they are measuring the relevant utility, that is, the flow of an individual's well-being, in a direct way. Some authors see a superiority over revealed preferences even independently of the psychological phenomena discussed in the preceding chapter, in that revealed preferences measure well-being only if the assumption of a rational utility-maximizing individual is correct, whereas measures of happiness would, by definition, directly measure utility. However, measures of self-reported happiness can be problematic. The answers can reflect what people think they are supposed to say, rather than their true feelings. These expectations can vary across people, cultures, and economic circumstances. As such, this can generate all sorts of biases.
Post-Utilitarianism: Searching for a Collective Soul in the Behavioral Era
Authors: Saint-Paul Gilles
Published: November 2017

This chapter presents the post-utilitarian paradigm, which is defined as the attempt to reconstruct social preferences when individuals have behavioral issues. It highlights four possibilities, each of which is a potential solution to the problem of defining an objective for public policy in a world without well-defined preferences. First, one may want to reinterpret behavioral biases so as to make them compatible with the standard framework by interpreting them as rational phenomena or as a subjective form of an externality. A second approach considers each individual as made up of multiple selves and then simply aggregates the utility of all incarnations in society. A third possibility is to give up on aggregating utility and consider as legitimate only policies that improve the welfare of all incarnations, that is, Pareto-improving policies. Finally, a fourth possibility is to redefine the social welfare function as the total flow of happiness in society, irrespective of any notion of individual choice.
Markets in a Paternalistic World
Authors: Saint-Paul Gilles
Published: November 2017

This chapter explores how post-utilitarianism attempts to regulate individual actions and interactions with others affect the more impersonal and large-scale interactions that take place in markets. Paternalistic governments can intervene in markets by imposing price restrictions on transactions. Such restrictions “work” because prices are a statistical signal that may be used by the government to infer the likelihood that a mistake has been made as well as the size of that mistake. By regulating prices, the government is thus screening transactions in such a way that those that go through are, on average, less plagued by mistakes. Such interventions again run counter to the liberal view that people should be responsible for their own choices, but they are welfare-improving from a utilitarian viewpoint.
Introduction
Authors: Varese Federico
Published: November 2017

This introductory chapter provides an overview of the book's key themes. The book examines mafias' ability to transplant in new and distant territories. Conventional wisdom suggests that organized crime migrates easily due to the spread of globalization and population migration, and criminal multinational corporations are increasingly unattached to a specific territory. According to Louise Shelley, the director of the Transnational Crime Institute in Washington, DC, “international organized crime has globalized its activities for the same reasons as legitimate multinational corporations.” Many authors argue that the notions of territorial entrenchment and control are becoming obsolete for a “Global Crime Inc.” that “transcends the sovereignty that organizes the modern state system.” The “transnational organized crime consensus” is influential among policymakers.
Lessons from the Past: Sicilian Mafiosi in New York City and Rosario, circa 1880–1940
Authors: Varese Federico
Published: November 2017

From the mid-nineteenth century, many Sicilians, including members of the mafia, were on the move. After sketching the contours of the mafia in Sicily in the nineteenth century, this chapter outlines the parallel history of Italian migration and mafia activities in New York City and Rosario, Argentina, and offers an analytic account of the diverging outcomes. Only in the North American city did a mafia that resembled the Sicilian one emerge. The Prohibition provided an enormous boost to both the personnel and power of Italian organized crime. The risk of punishment was low, the gains to be made were enormous, and there was no social stigma attached to this trade.
The Future of the Mafias? Foreign Triads in China
Authors: Varese Federico
Published: November 2017

This chapter explores the movement of Hong Kong and Taiwanese triads to mainland China. It argues that the members and bosses of foreign triads are present on the mainland, but have not yet emerged as a viable mafia supplying private protection. As in the case of Bardonecchia and Rome, mafiosi did not decide to migrate out of their own free will. Their presence in the new territory is the unintended consequence of police action in their country of origin. Once they found themselves on the mainland, they quickly realized that the new China offered many opportunities to invest some of their gangs' funds, but they have so far failed to establish themselves as viable protectors for legal entrepreneurs.
Mafia Origins, Transplantation, and the Paradoxes of Democracy
Authors: Varese Federico
Published: November 2017

This chapter outlines a general perspective of mafia emergence and transplantation, and offers some considerations on the relation between democracy and mafias. Recent studies have shown that mafias emerge in societies that are undergoing a sudden and late transition to the market economy, lack a legal structure that reliably protects property rights or settles business disputes, and have a supply of people trained in violence who become unemployed at this specific juncture. However, not all mafias have developed during times of market transition. Mafias may well emerge within functioning market economies, and for reasons other than to ensure the protection of property rights. The best way to fight the presence of a mafia is to drain the demand for its services. It is not enough to reform the public administration or liberalize markets, or let booms go unchecked. Liberalization should be accompanied by effective measures aimed at preventing the formation of cartels in local markets and easing the effect of liberalization on the local workforce to avoid social tension.
Floral Design and Function
Authors: Willmer Pat
Published: November 2017

This chapter examines flower design features related to sexual function in pollination. Flowers show remarkable variations in shape, size, and appearance, and are known for their tendency to mass together as inflorescences. In this case the overall floral display is determined by the combined appearance of a cluster of small flowers into one seemingly whole structure, which may in practice be the unit that is perceived, both by humans and by flower visitors, as the functional flower. The chapter first considers the essential flower morphology before discussing the perianth, the androecium (the male functional organs of a flower), and the gynoecium (the female organ system). It then describes flower and inflorescence features, particular floral shapes, floral size and size range, and floral sex and floral design. Finally, it provides an overview of the essentials of floral design in relation to cross-pollination.
Rewards and Costs: The Environmental Economics of Pollination
Authors: Willmer Pat
Published: November 2017

This chapter examines the environmental economics of pollination, with particular emphasis on the costs that may be incurred and that have to be offset against the rewards gathered. Pollination is usually regarded as a mutualism, of benefit to both partners, each of which gains in fitness. In such a relationship, both should be trying to maximize their survival and ultimately their reproductive success, which will require balancing their costs against the rewards and hence assessing the net benefits gained. Disentangling the economic aspects of the interaction for each participant has become a major area of study in pollination ecology. The chapter first considers the conflicting requirements of a plant and its pollinators before discussing the costs incurred by the plant and the costs incurred by a flower-visiting animal. It also explores the effects of the environment on flower-pollinator interactions as economic transactions.
Generalist Flowers and Generalist Visitors
Authors: Willmer Pat
Published: November 2017

This chapter focuses on generalist flowers and generalist visitors. There are regular flower visitors that spend some part of most of their adult lives feeding in flowers, and they can be seen as a generalist flower visitor cohort, constituting a predictable part of the visitor spectrum of some kinds of flowers. These regular visitors include a range of beetles, and some social and solitary wasps, together with a few more unusual taxa. Inevitably they generate extremely varied visitation patterns. The chapter examines the shared characteristics of visitors and the flowers that they frequent: these include beetles, wasps, ants, and thrips. The chapter considers other insects such as cockroaches, grasshoppers, and bugs.
Pollination by Flies
Authors: Willmer Pat
Published: November 2017

This chapter focuses on pollination by flies, a very diverse group of insects of the order Diptera. Many types of fly have the ability to regurgitate saliva onto potential foodstuffs, making the material more liquid and manageable, and some use “bubbling” behavior to speed evaporation of excessively dilute fluids. Many groups have a strong preference for sugary fluids, and therefore commonly take some nectar as part of their adult diet; others feed on pollen. The chapter first provides an overview of the fly’s feeding apparatus as well as its sensory and behavioral capacities before discussing generalist flowers that are favored by a multitude of flies. It then considers specialist flower types that attract nectar-feeding flies, hoverfly flower types, and carrion-fly flower types. It concludes with an analysis of some other specialist cases of fly pollination of flowers.
Pollination by Nonflying Vertebrates and Other Oddities
Authors: Willmer Pat
Published: November 2017

This chapter considers pollination by nonflying vertebrates and other oddities. It begins with a discussion of ectotherm vertebrates visiting flowers; these include fish, amphibians, and reptiles. Fish are not recorded as flower visitors, but they are at least occasionally facilitators of the pollination process for shoreline pond plants, where they prey on animals that compete with or reduce pollinator populations. The chapter proceeds with an analysis of pollination by nonflying mammals such as marsupials, rodents, monkeys, and lemurs as well as flowers that they regularly visit, including ground-level (geoflorous) flowers and arboreal flowers. Finally, it examines pollination by unusual invertebrates ranging from snails and woodlice to land crabs and millipedes.
Flower Visitors as Cheats and the Plants’ Responses
Authors: Willmer Pat
Published: November 2017

This chapter describes some of the kinds of cheating committed by flower visitors and what plants can do to avoid the costs of being cheated. While both plants and visitors have many ways of cheating, the diversity and deviousness of cheating by the plants seem to be substantially greater than the surreptitious stealing and ambushing that goes on in the animals. This is not surprising when considered in terms of the so-called life-dinner principle, and what each participant has at stake. The chapter begins with a discussion of how animals cheat by means of floral theft and thus get rewards without effecting pollination, including nectar theft, pollen theft, and florivory. It then examines three main options for defending plants against theft: physical barriers, chemical deterrents, and bribes. It also explains the overall effects of theft on flowers and concludes with an analysis of floral exploitation by hitchhikers and ambush predators.
Pollination in Different Habitats
Authors: Willmer Pat
Published: November 2017

This chapter examines pollination that occurs in different kinds of ecosystems and habitats, along with the implications for plant–pollinator interactions. It begins with a discussion of pollination in deserts and semiarid systems, taking into account habitat characteristics, flora and pollinating fauna, problems with triggering and timing of flowering, problems of highly dispersed flowers, increased reproductive allocation in plants, and issues of energetics, heat overload, and water balance for desert plants and animals. The chapter proceeds by considering pollination in Mediterranean ecosystems, humid tropics, and at high latitude and high altitude. Finally, it describes pollination on islands such as the Galapagos Islands, New Zealand, Hawaii, Madagascar, and Faroe Islands.
Cones of Hermitian matrices and trigonometric polynomials
Authors: Bakonyi Mihály , Woerdeman Hugo J.
Published: November 2017

This chapter studies cones in the real Hilbert spaces of Hermitian matrices and real valued trigonometric polynomials. Based on an approach using such cones and their duals, it establishes various extension results for positive semidefinite matrices and nonnegative trigonometric polynomials. In addition, it shows the connection with semidefinite programming and includes some numerical experiments. The discussions cover cones and their basic properties, cones of Hermitian matrices, cones of trigonometric polynomials, determinant and entropy maximization, and semidefinite programming. Exercises and notes are provided at the end of the chapter.
Multivariable moments and sums of Hermitian squares
Authors: Bakonyi Mihály , Woerdeman Hugo J.
Published: November 2017

This chapter shows how five closely related problems become vastly different when one considers the multivariable case. In a similar way, various natural sums of Hermitian squares problems that one may consider in the multivariable case all come down to the classical factorization problem in one variable as discussed in Section 1.1. The discussions cover positive Carathéodory interpolation on the polydisk; inverses of multivariable Toeplitz matrices and Christoel–Darboux formulas; two-variable moment problem for Bernstein–Szeg ő measures; Fejéer–Riesz factorization and sums of Hermitian squares; completion problems for positive semidefinite functions on amenable groups; moment problems on free groups, noncommutative factorization; two-variable Hamburger moment problem; and Bochner's theorem and an application to autoregressive stochastic processes. Exercises and notes are provided at the end of the chapter.
Contractive analogs
Authors: Bakonyi Mihály , Woerdeman Hugo J.
Published: November 2017

This chapter deals with contractive completions of partial operator matrices. Since the norm of a submatrix is always less or equal to the norm of the matrix itself, every partial matrix which admits a contractive completion has to be partially contractive (or a partial contraction), that is, all its fully specified submatrices are contractions. The discussions cover contractive operator-matrix completions; linearly constrained completion problems; the operator-valued Nehari and Carathéodory problems; Nehari's problem in two variables; Nehari and Carathéodory problems for functions on compact groups; the Nevanlinna–Pick problem; the operator Corona problem; joint operator/Hilbert–Schmidt norm control extensions; an L1 extension problem for polynomials; superoptimal completions and approximations of analytic functions; and model matching. Exercises and notes are provided at the end of the chapter.
Spatiotemporal Data Analysis
Authors: Eshel Gidon
Published: November 2017

A severe thunderstorm morphs into a tornado that cuts a swath of destruction through Oklahoma. How do we study the storm’s mutation into a deadly twister? Avian flu cases are reported in China. How do we characterize the spread of the flu, potentially preventing an epidemic? The way to answer important questions like these is to analyze the spatial and temporal characteristics—origin, rates, and frequencies—of these phenomena. This book introduces advanced undergraduate students, graduate students, and researchers to the statistical and algebraic methods used to analyze spatiotemporal data in a range of fields, including climate science, geophysics, ecology, astrophysics, and medicine. The book begins with a concise yet detailed primer on linear algebra, providing readers with the mathematical foundations needed for data analysis. It then fully explains the theory and methods for analyzing spatiotemporal data, guiding readers from the basics to the most advanced applications. This self-contained, practical guide to the analysis of multidimensional data sets features a wealth of real-world examples as well as sample homework exercises and suggested exams.
Notation and Basic Operations
Authors: Eshel Gidon
Published: November 2017

This chapter introduces some of the basic players of the algebraic drama about to unfold, and the uniform notations used in this book. While Chapter 3 is a more formal introduction to linear algebra, this introductory chapter presents some of the most basic elements, and permitted manipulations and operations, of linear algebra. It covers the following scalar variables, stochastic processes and variables, matrix variables, fields, vector variables, vector transpose, vector addition, linear independence, inner product of two vectors, projection, orthogonality, the norm of a vector, unit vector, matrix variables, matrix addition, transpose of a matrix, special matrices, matrix product, and matrix outer product.
Introduction to Eigenanalysis
Authors: Eshel Gidon
Published: November 2017

Eigenanalysis and its numerous offsprings form the suite of algebraic operations most important and relevant to data analysis, as well as to dynamical systems, modeling, numerical analysis, and related key branches of applied mathematics. This chapter introduces and places in a broader context the algebraic operation of eigen-decomposition. To have eigen-decomposition, a matrix must be square. Yet data matrices are very rarely square. The direct relevance of eigen-decomposition to data analysis is therefore limited. Indirectly, however, generalized eigenanalysis is enormously important to studying data matrices. Because of the centrality of generalized eigenanalysis to data matrices, and because those generalizations build, algebraically and logically, on eigenanalysis itself, it makes sense to discuss eigenanalysis at some length.
Autocorrelation
Authors: Eshel Gidon
Published: November 2017

This chapter discusses theoretical autocovariance, autocorrelation functions of autoregressive models of orders 1 and 2, and autocorrelation function-derived timescale. The autocorrelation function of a scalar time series is a prime tool for estimating the characteristic timescale separating successive independent realizations in the time series. Any process other than completely random noise has some serial correlations. Even variables as volatile and nondeterministic as measures of stock market performance, when valuated close enough, are unlikely to vary appreciably. Thus, a time series of the index at 1-second intervals likely contains significant redundancy; it can be almost as representative and contain almost as much information if degraded to valuation intervals of T > 1 second. Identifying an acceptable characteristic timescale T separating successive independent realization in the time series that balances the need to retain maximum information while minimizing storage and transmission burdens is a key role of the autocorrelation function.
Adaptive Diversification Due to Cooperative Interactions
Authors: Doebeli Michael
Published: November 2017

This chapter focuses on adaptive diversification due to cooperative interactions. If predation has received less attention than competition as a cause for the origin and maintenance of diversity, mutualistic interactions have fared even worse. There is quite a substantial theoretical literature on the ecology of mutualistic interactions, but only a few studies have investigated mutualism as a potential driver of diversification. There is of course a rather huge literature on the evolution of intraspecific cooperation, and many of these models implicitly address the problem of coexistence between cheaters and cooperators, and hence the maintenance of diversity. However, the origin of diversity in cooperative contributions has only recently been investigated. Most models of cooperation assume that cooperators make a costly contribution to a public good, which is then distributed among certain members of the population.
Before Pearl Harbor: Taking the Measure of a “Marginal” Man
Authors: Briones Matthew M.
Published: November 2017

This chapter discusses how Kikuchi's diary and papers provide substantive evidence of interracial alliances and conflicts at a time when the theory and practice of democracy itself were rigorously being tested and redefined. During the first stage of this period, or the early years of the internment (1942–1943), Japanese Americans experienced an extreme form of prejudice, oppression, and segregation, while fellow minorities initially feared for their own welfare, understandably hewing to shibboleths of unqualified patriotism. Eventually, though, the absurd arbitrariness of the evacuation compelled other American minorities to consider their own possible futures. In the second stage—the resettlement of Japanese Americans, circa 1943–1945—growing populations of job-seeking minorities struggled over and negotiated the restricted urban spaces they were now forced to share with recently freed Japanese.
“A Multitude of Complexes”: Finding Common Ground with Louis Adamic
Authors: Briones Matthew M.
Published: November 2017

This chapter talks about how Kikuchi suspected that his belief in his alienable rights as a citizen would be severely challenged. A year earlier, Congress had passed the Alien Registration Act, requiring the registration and fingerprinting of all aliens over the age of fourteen. The law had passed in large part due to unsubstantiated rumors of fifth column activity and espionage on the part of enemy aliens, especially German Americans. At the same time, the Department of Justice and the FBI were compiling a short list of dangerous or subversive aliens—German, Italian, and Japanese—who were to be arrested as soon as war broke out with their particular countries. The chapter shows how Kikuchi viewed the situation through a racial lens—citing Hitler's anti-Jewish pogroms—whereas he had been preoccupied with class after his migratory work in the San Joaquin Valley.
“Participating and Observing”: Dorothy Swaine Thomas, W. I. Thomas, and JERS
Authors: Briones Matthew M.
Published: November 2017

This chapter explores the lengthy, honest, and mutually respectful nature of the correspondence between Kikuchi and Dorothy Swaine Thomas, especially during the period of 1942 to 1945, when Kikuchi officially kept his personal diary for the Japanese American Evacuation and Resettlement Study (JERS), which Thomas led. Thomas had initially asked Kikuchi to keep a diary in the hope that she would gain greater insight into the “normal” workings of camp life and the readjustment processes of an individual resettler after camp. The chapter considers the significance of understanding how African Americans intersected with and viewed their Asian neighbors and coworkers. The chain reaction of internment and postwar resettlement filled cities with intermixing and competing Blacks and Japanese (and other Asians), and Kikuchi provided a running commentary.
The Tanforan and Gila Diaries: Becoming Nikkei
Authors: Briones Matthew M.
Published: November 2017

This chapter illustrates how Kikuchi had decided to rejoin his family during the initial phase of the internment. Kikuchi infused the connection to his family with the greatest significance: as an index of his Americanism, a sign of his loyalty to the nation. Kikuchi's intertwining of his two aspirational families is striking-filiopietism translated into patriotism or, to use his term, Americanism. When the Kikuchis left the Tanforan horse stalls behind at the beginning of September 1942, they were also leaving behind a more cosmopolitan group of evacuees, all of whom had lived in the Bay Area. The Gila River Relocation Center, on the other hand, housed a cross-section of diverse groups of Japanese descent from the West Coast: rural and urban, older Issei bachelors and Nisei families, Kibei, Hawai'ian Nisei, worldly Angelenos, Berkeley academics, and San Joaquin Valley farmers, among many others.
From “Jap Crow” to “Jim and Jane Crow”: Black and Blue (and Yellow) in Chicago and the Bay Area
Authors: Briones Matthew M.
Published: November 2017

This chapter examines how the resettlement of West Coast Japanese Americans in the Midwest and Northeast after internment irrevocably transformed the population of Japanese Chicagoans. As both Allan Austin and Gary Okihiro have demonstrated, many young Nisei managed to leave the camps earlier than expected by filing education waivers. They matriculated predominantly at midwestern and East Coast schools, and some of their campmates were recruited for Japanese-language immersion at the Military Intelligence Service Language School, based at Camp Savage, Minnesota. Yet residual delinquency among Nisei bachelors and the lack of children's playgrounds still made the North Side area less than appealing to Nisei families; hence, another critical mass of Japanese Americans congregated on the South Side.
Consciousness of FBI Ghostreading Fills a Deep and Characteristic Vein of African American Literature
Authors: Maxwell William J.
Published: November 2017

This part argues that Afro-modernist literature “pre-responded” to FBI inspection, internalizing the likelihood of Bureau ghostreading and publicizing its implications with growing bluntness and embellishment over the years from 1919 to 1972 and beyond. Thus, the fifth and last of the book's five theses, and the one that finally involves closer encounters with black poems, stories, essays, and novels than with their silhouettes in FBI files: Consciousness of FBI ghostreading fills a deep and characteristic vein of African American literature. Section 1 examines decisive responses to FBI surveillance in both the early journalism and the foundational poetry of the Harlem movement. Section 2 charts the FBI's migrant status in Afro-modernism from the mid-1930s through the early Cold War. Section 3 focuses on the expatriate trio of Richard Wright, William Gardner Smith, and Chester Himes, and their interlocking fictions of Paris noir in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Section 4 widens its focus, owing to the profusion of black Bureau writing in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The final section sketches African American literature's less heated skirmish with the FBI after Hoover's death—a skirmish now led by black women including Ai, Audre Lorde, Danzy Senna, and Gloria Naylor.
Mutualistic Networks in Time and Space
Authors: Bascompte Jordi , Jordano Pedro
Published: November 2017

This chapter reviews the combination of empirical and theoretical work describing the dynamics of mutualistic networks in time and space. It also addresses what components of these networks are time and space invariant. On a daily basis, network assembly is intermediate between preferential and random attachment. In a year-to-year scale, there is a very high turnover in species and interactions across years, and yet the global structure of the network is quite constant. Across space, theoretical models predict that plantanimal interactions increase spatial heterogeneity. The spatial and temporal dimensions are also interesting from a more methodological point of view to assess the effect of sampling effort. Interaction accumulation curves are the equivalent of species accumulation curves used in biodiversity monitoring and can be used to assess the role of sampling effort. But important natural history details explain a fraction of the nonobserved links. Therefore, treating missing interactions as the expected unique result of sampling bias would miss important components of the ecological and (co)evolutionary basis of mutualistic networks.
Labor Emigration and Rights Abroad
Authors: Ruhs Martin
Published: November 2017

This chapter examines how high-income countries' restrictions of labor immigration and migrant rights affect the interests of migrants and their countries of origin, and how migrants and sending countries have engaged with these restrictions in practice. Labor immigration policies are “made” in receiving countries, but they have important consequences for migrants and their countries of origin. The chapter first provides an overview of the interrelationships between labor emigration, rights, and human development before discussing how migrant workers and their countries of origin respond to the trade-off between openness and rights in practice. Given that the human development of people is multidimensional and includes more considerations than just access to legal rights, it is not surprising to see migrant workers making “sacrifices” in some dimensions of development in exchange for advancing others.
Introduction to Probability and Random Variables
Authors: Vidyasagar M.
Published: November 2017

This chapter provides an introduction to probability and random variables. Probability theory is an attempt to formalize the notion of uncertainty in the outcome of an experiment. For instance, suppose an urn contains four balls, colored red, blue, white, and green respectively. Suppose we dip our hand in the urn and pull out one of the balls “at random.” What is the likelihood that the ball we pull out will be red? The chapter first defines a random variable and probability before discussing the function of a random variable and expected value. It then considers total variation distance, joint and marginal probability distributions, independence and conditional probability distributions, Bayes' rule, and maximum likelihood estimates. Finally, it describes random variables assuming infinitely many values, focusing on Markov and Chebycheff inequalities, Hoeffding's inequality, Monte Carlo simulation, and Cramér's theorem.
Nonnegative Matrices
Authors: Vidyasagar M.
Published: November 2017

This chapter deals with nonnegative matrices, which are relevant in the study of Markov processes because the state transition matrix of such a process is a special kind of nonnegative matrix, known as a stochastic matrix. However, it turns out that practically all of the useful properties of a stochastic matrix also hold for the more general class of nonnegative matrices. Hence it is desirable to present the theory in the more general setting, and then specialize to Markov processes. The chapter first considers the canonical form for nonnegative matrices, including irreducible matrices and periodic irreducible matrices, before discussing the Perron–Frobenius theorem for primitive matrices and for irreducible matrices.
Blast Theory
Authors: Vidyasagar M.
Published: November 2017

This chapter deals with BLAST theory. BLAST (Basic Local Alignment Search Tool) is a widely used statistical method for finding similarities between sequences of symbols from finite alphabets. While the theory is completely general, the most widely used applications are to comparing sequences of nucleotides and sequences of amino acids. The fundamental objective of BLAST theory is to align sequences as well as possible, and then make a determination as to the level of statistical significance of the alignment. Thus one computes a “maximal segmental score” of the alignment between the two sequences, and tests to see whether the maximal segmental score could have been obtained purely as a matter of chance. The chapter presents the main results of BLAST theory, focusing on the moment generating function and application of the results. It also presents the proofs of the main results.
Income, Age, and Happiness in America
Authors: Firebaugh Glenn , Tach Laura
Published: November 2017

Between 1972 and 2006, general happiness levels among American adults remained quite steady, though a minor drop can be detected. This chapter tries to account for this stability, given the growth in real family incomes and standards of living that occurred during the era. Several factors—better health, being married, greater education, and higher income—made people happier at any given point in time. However, assessments of well-being in societies like the contemporary United States reflect not only absolute levels of living but also comparisons of one's income to that typical in a reference group of peers. The analysis finds higher happiness among adults whose family incomes are higher than average for their age group at the time, implying that happiness rises only when income increases more rapidly than average.
Southern Political Development in Comparative Perspective
Authors: Mickey Robert
Published: November 2017

This book examines the democratization of authoritarian enclaves in America's Deep South during the period 1944–1972. Through a comparative historical analysis of the experiences of Georgia, Mississippi, and South Carolina, it shows how the cohesion of elites and party–state capacity contributed to differences in modes of democratization across the Deep South. It suggests that the advancement of Republicans was in part a consequence and a cause of these democratization processes. This introductory chapter discusses some of the alternative perspectives on postwar southern political culture, along with the role of the political economy and black insurgency in southern political development. It also describes the phenomenon of authoritarian enclaves and offers some intuitions about how they might be democratized, focusing on subnational authoritarianism and subnational democratization. Finally, it provides an overview of the book's research design and summarizes the findings to come.
The Founding and Maintenance of Southern Enclaves, 1890–1940
Authors: Mickey Robert
Published: November 2017

This chapter focuses on the founding and maintenance of southern authoritarian enclaves during the period 1890–1940. It interprets the post-1890s South as a set of stable enclaves of authoritarian rule, in contrast to the common view that it was a region of “herrenvolk” democracy—democracy for whites but not for blacks. The chapter first provides an overview of the birth of southern enclaves, tracing the history of the South before the Civil War to Reconstruction and enclave foundings. It then considers the project of southern “democracy,” black politics under enclave rule, and the South's democratization between 1944 and 1972. It also examines interventions that posed challenges to all southern enclaves, including the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education, President Harry S. Truman and the National Democratic Party's embrace of racial equality, and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Introduction
Authors: Lee Ruben
Published: November 2017

This introductory chapter begins with a discussion of the nature of governance. It then sets out the book's purpose, namely to analyze how market infrastructure institutions are governed and how they should be governed. The central thesis presented here is that there is no single global answer either to the question of how market infrastructure institutions are governed, or to the question of how market infrastructure institutions should be governed. Instead, the answers to these questions are specific to the contexts in which they are raised. This argument contradicts the notion promoted in many other analyses of financial markets, that standardization, harmonization, and the creation of an international consensus are critical. A key aim of the book is to provide insight into the governance of market infrastructure institutions for a wide range of situations globally. Much of the analysis is therefore presented in an abstract and general way so as to be useful across different types of institutions, jurisdictions, and contexts. An overview of the subsequent chapters is also presented.
Market Power
Authors: Lee Ruben
Published: November 2017

A critical determinant of whether exchanges, central counterparties, and central securities depositories should be considered infrastructure institutions is whether they have market power. This chapter explores whether they do, specifically in the provision of trading, clearing, central register, and settlement services. It examines four general issues and provides some broad comments on the nature of market power. It discusses the key factors that lead towards consolidation of market power in each industry sector, and those that tend to promote competition and reduce market power. It then presents brief comments on the industry structure in practice in each of the three sectors. Finally, a range of generic propositions about the industry structure in each of the three sectors are articulated.
Introduction
Authors: Neumann Franz , Marcuse Herbert , Kircheimer Otto , Geuss Raymond
Published: November 2017

This introduction discusses the Frankfurt School's contribution to the United States' World War II effort. In particular, it examines the role played by three German scholars and prominent members of the Frankfurt School: Franz Neumann, Herbert Marcuse, and Otto Kirchheimer. As political analysts at the Research and Analysis Branch of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the first American intelligence agency, Neumann, Marcuse, and Kirchheimer prepared intelligence reports on Nazi Germany. The chapter considers how, by adapting Critical Theory to the American cultural and bureaucratic machine, the Frankfurt group was rapidly able to impose their own “intellectual guidance” on the Central European Section, a Research and Analysis Branch subdivision charged with analyzing and studying Nazi Germany (as well as Austria and the other Central European countries).
Possible Political Changes in Nazi Germany in the Near Future
Authors: Marcuse Herbert
Published: November 2017

This chapter considers the possibility that there would be political changes in Nazi Germany in the near future. The report states that it was not certain that the German ruling groups had come to realize that World War II was militarily lost. If military measures did not offer an escape from certain military defeat, the only hope of Germany was in the field of politics. The chapter continues that it may not be an exaggeration to maintain that the political aspects of the war will henceforth lead to overshadow military operations, which would lead inexorably to the ultimate destruction of the German military machine. The problem is therefore what political activities the German government would pursue in order to avoid utter political and military defeat. The chapter examines the possible appointment of a triumvirate—composed of Wilhelm Keitel, Karl Doenitz and Hermann Göring—as a first step toward future political changes in Nazi Germany.
The Significance of Prussian Militarism for Nazi Imperialism: Potential Tensions in United Nations Psychological Warfare
Authors: Marcuse Herbert , Gilbert Felix
Published: November 2017

This chapter discusses the significance of Prussian militarism for Nazi imperialism, arguing that the destruction of Prussian militarism was a crucial problem for the United Nations' psychological warfare against Nazi Germany. The term “Prussian militarism” referred to a definite social and political complex in German society. This complex contained roughly geographical, economic, social, and ideological elements. The chapter first provides an overview of Prussia under German imperialism, under the Weimar Republic, and under Nazi regime before discussing the position of Prussian militarists in the Union of German Officers in Moscow.
The Attempt on Hitler’s Life and its Consequences
Authors: Neumann Franz
Published: November 2017

This chapter examines the political implications of the latest attempt on Adolf Hitler's life in relation to German morale at the time of the report. It first considers some of the principles for the evaluation of German morale: for example, the ruling group in Nazi Germany was made up of four segments: Nazi Party hierarchy, Armed Forces leadership, industrial and financial leaders, and high civil servants. In addition, in the course of World War II, the political power of the industrial leadership and of the civil servants had diminished to such a degree that they could assert themselves only by attempting to influence either Party or Army. The chapter proceeds by linking the timing of the attempt on Hitler's life to the impending transfer of the Home Army to Heinrich Himmler. It also analyzes the political character of the group behind the conspiracy to kill Hitler before concluding with a discussion of the political consequences of the failed assassination attempt.
The German Communist Party
Authors: Marcuse Herbert
Published: November 2017

This chapter focuses on the Communist Party of Germany. Prior to 1933, the German Communist Party was an important force in the German political system and one of the three largest political parties. The report states that since its dissolution in 1933 by the Nazis, the party has continued to exist, both inside and outside Germany. At present, the German Communist Party is the only pre-1933 party which has formulated a systematic program and developed tactics to exploit the conditions which it anticipates will exist in Germany. The chapter considers the historical position of the German Communist Party in German politics, its present strength, and the plans by which it hopes to become a political force in post-war Germany. It also discusses the impact of the Free German movement on both the current policy and the future of the party. Finally, it reflects on the possible future role of the Communist Party in Germany.
The Social Democratic Party of Germany
Authors: Marcuse Herbert
Published: November 2017

This chapter focuses on the Social Democratic Party (Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands or SPD) of Germany. The report states that among the German political parties that may be revived after the destruction of the Nazi regime, the SPD is likely to play an important role. Dating from the earliest years of the German empire, the SPD has maintained a tradition as the strongest, and prior to 1917 the only, labor party in Germany. Nazi Germany has not succeeded in destroying the allegiance of much of the old social democratic membership. The chapter first provides a background on the origin, composition, and strength of the SPD before discussing its policies, including political policy, economic policy, and foreign policy. It then considers the exiled leadership of the SPD, along with developments in the party since the occupation of Germany. It also assesses the SPD's prospects in the postwar period.
General Principles of Administration and Civil Service in Germany
Authors: Kircheimer Otto
Published: November 2017

This chapter discusses the general principles of government administration and Civil Service in Germany. It begins with an overview of the administrative problems facing military government as well as the characteristics of the present-day administration. In particular, it considers the two features of the German administrative organization: the emergence of the Ministerial Council for the Defense of the Reich as supreme governmental authority, and the cropping up of numerous special commissioners, who are appointed whenever regular agencies fail or new urgent tasks arise. The chapter proceeds by assessing the fate of the German central agencies, the German Civil Service, and the problem of Civil Service replacements. It concludes with recommendations regarding the policy towards German agencies.
The Problem of Inflation in Germany
Authors: Neumann Franz
Published: November 2017

This chapter examines the problem of inflation in Germany. In 1914 the German government based its war finance program on the assumption that World War I would be short. No additional taxation was introduced. Loans were considered sufficient to cover the total war expenses. The government obtained the necessary cash by discounting treasury notes with the Reichsbank which, in turn, sold these notes to banks and large business firms. Every six months loans were floated to redeem the treasury notes. The chapter begins with a discussion of Germany's war financing during the period 1914–1924, focusing on the post-war budget deficit and reestablishment of free prices, depreciation of the mark, and stabilization of the currency. It then considers Nazi Germany's finances during the period 1933–1943, along with the inflation problem after the defeat of Germany in World War II.