Asymmetric Distribution Of Power Research Articles

The influence relation for ternary voting games

Although simple games are very useful in modeling decision-making bodies, they allow each voter only two choices: to support or oppose a measure. This restriction ignores that voters often can abstain from voting, which is effectively different from the other two options. Following the approach of Felsenthal and Machover (1997), for modeling voting with abstentions, we will look at the extension of the influence relation for simple games to the Ternary Voting Game given in Tchantcho et al. (2008). That paper showed that the influence relation is ordinally equivalent to the classical Banzhaf and Shapley–Shubik indices in a class of games called weakly equitable. In this paper, we will show that this result does hold true for all Ternary Voting Games. Also we will show that adding a third voting option allows for asymmetric distribution of power that cannot be achieved by any simple game.

Effect of Residual Resist on Performance of Single-Mode 1 × 4 Optical Splitter in Photosensitive Polymer

Polymer residues are generally left in the Y-junctions of the conventional splitters. Besides increased insertion loss, the Y-junction residue results in asymmetric distribution of power at device outputs. An analysis of the device performance in the presence of junction residue is presented and a design to overcome the non-uniformities in output power distribution brought about by the presence of the residue is proposed.

An institutional evaluation of sustainable forest management in Flanders

The aim of this paper is to evaluate the existing Flemish institutional framework of sustainable forest management (SFM). The evaluation was performed using criteria and indicators that were based on the four-dimensional structure (discourse, rules, power and actors) of the policy arrangement approach. The data collection and analysis were done using a single representative case. The conclusions of the evaluation are mixed. The introduction of sustainable forest management is hampered by different perspectives on SFM and a fragmented network of many different owners with a clear asymmetrical distribution of trust and power. It is, however, enabled by the way that the most powerful and trusted actors in the network – the forest group and the forest service – have the same perspective on SFM perspective as the government. We expect that SFM can be achieved in the near future, although it remains a vulnerable situation.

Trusting Trust in the Context of Higher Education: The Potential Limits of the Trust Concept

There is a convincing body of empirical evidence supporting the benefits of trust. A number of recent publications have paid a great deal of attention to possible negative consequences of the trusting process, but there has been little interdisciplinary focus on the potentially unconstructive aspects of the trusting process between learners and teaching authorities. The authors argue here that unmonitored student trust in a teacher's expertise in the context of higher education might sabotage the use and development of higher cognitive skills (for example, the ability for critical thinking), and that the direct consequence of this is a further amplification of the existing asymmetrical distribution of power which exists between students and teaching stuff. In the first part of the article, the authors briefly review the literature on trust and specifically focus on contributions emphasizing its potentially negative consequences. In the second part, the authors present arguments which support the idea that excessive trust limits students' abilities to think critically. The limitations of the present analysis are discussed and areas of potential future research on this topic are outlined. The article concludes by stating that there are sufficient grounds to pursue this idea further in terms of theoretical and empirical research.

Ensaio sobre violência simbólica nas organizações

O objetivo deste ensaio teórico é compreender a manifestação simbólica da violência que, de forma sutil e quase imperceptível, perpassa as relações advindas da dinâmica organizacional. Para tanto, nos apropriamos da perspectiva desenvolvida pelo sociólogo francês Pierre Bourdieu, cuja praxeologia se apóia numa dialética entre estruturas sociais (campo) e estruturas mentais (habitus) que operam na (re)produção de posições naturalizadas (doxa) e na sua interiorização (violência simbólica) pelos membros da organização, em particular pelas minorias historicamente oprimidas pela distribuição assimétrica de poder neste espaço de relações, em que a dominação se manifesta através do poder simbólico, perpetuando barreiras simbólicas que, muitas vezes, impedem a aceitação desses grupos como atores efetivos da organização.

POWER ASYMMETRY IN COSMIC MICROWAVE BACKGROUND FLUCTUATIONS FROM FULL SKY TO SUB-DEGREE SCALES: IS THE UNIVERSE ISOTROPIC?

ABSTRACT We repeat and extend the analysis of Eriksen et al. and Hansen et al., testing the isotropy of the cosmic microwave background fluctuations. We find that the hemispherical power asymmetry previously reported for the largest scales ℓ = 2–40 extends to much smaller scales. In fact, for the full multipole range ℓ = 2–600, significantly more power is found in the hemisphere centered at (θ = 107° ± 10°, ϕ = 226° ± 10°) in galactic co-latitude and longitude than in the opposite hemisphere, consistent with the previously detected direction of asymmetry for ℓ = 2–40. We adopt a model selection test where the direction and amplitude of asymmetry, as well as the multipole range, are free parameters. A model with an asymmetric distribution of power for ℓ = 2–600 is found to be preferred over the isotropic model at the 0.4% significance level, taking into account the additional parameters required to describe it. A similar direction of asymmetry is found independently in all six subranges of 100 multipoles between ℓ = 2–600. None of our 9800 isotropic simulated maps show a similarly consistent direction of asymmetry over such a large multipole range. No known systematic effects or foregrounds are found to be able to explain the asymmetry.

Measuring Asymmetrical Power Distribution in Supply Chain Networks: What Is the Appropriate Method?

The research topic of asymmetrical power relationships has been receiving increasingly more attention lately. However, only a few scientific works have studied power in the context of supply chain networks. Consisting of collaborative interactions among numerous firms, such networks possess a focal actor represented by a well-branded company. The other network actors are dependent on the focal company because of long-lasting explicit or implicit contracts. Hence, asymmetrical power relationships are observable. On one side, such asymmetry can lead to opportunism by the other network actors and can hinder the development of effective supply chain relationships. On the other side, power can be used by the focal actor as an effective tool in coordinating and promoting harmonious relationships, resolving conflicts, and, therefore, enhancing performance of the whole network and its individual members. In this context the aim of our work is to identify how capable existing power measurement efforts are of producing complete and objective measures. Considering the fact that power is a complex construct, fulfillment of our aim should provide an understanding of how strongly it is conceptualized and empirically tested. Thus, we review the literature on power measurement efforts undertaken in political, sociological, management, and marketing studies.

Network analyses to catch rural complexity

Abstract This paper introduces a network analysis aimed at analysing the local actors’ degree of participation in performing rural development. Recent rural development policies designed an integrated model of development which promotes strong participation and relationships among local actors. This so-called ‘bottom-up’ approach hands over to local actors the responsibility for planning their own development: Local Action Groups, working within the European Community LEADER initiative are delegated to plan local development. The design of these plans is strongly affected by the asymmetric distribution of power among potentially involved organisations. In our opinion network analyses are particularly suitable for examining the quality of ties in rural areas and the degree of participation of all actors in building rural development strategies.

Documenting the development of social capital in a community Safety Promotion Network: It's not what you know but who you know

The Mackay Whitsunday Safe Communities (MWSC) was established in February 2000 in response to high rates of injury observed in the region. A key objective was to consolidate and better coordinate a network of community groups already working in community safety promotion. This study used Social Network Analysis (SNA) to document and analyse the social resources, or social capital, mobilised by the network. Using a snowballing methodology, the chain of relationships that constitute MWSC and its Support Network (SN) was elucidated and quantified. Since it was launched in February 2000, MWSC and its SN almost doubled its bonding social capital, while bridging social capital increased 160% and linking social capital increased 280%. Relationships were not evenly distributed. Forty-four per cent of relationships were maintained by six actors who also maintained 60% of the network's brokerage potential. SNA proved a powerful tool for describing and analysing relationships within the MWSC and its SN. It provided diagrammatic representation of the social structure and quantified important aspects of its structure and function. It highlighted the asymmetric distribution of relationships, resources and power that had a profound impact on how the network functioned.

Constraints on the conversion to sustainable production: the case of the Dutch potato chain

AbstractThe question of how to make agriculture more sustainable is a timely topic. This paper examines the Dutch potato supply chain in the context of its surrounding network. Based on the chain network approach it identifies constraints on conversion to organic potato production from a business administration and a public administration perspective. Two obvious constraints are the demand for ecologically produced products and the problem of cultivating potatoes. However, the potential for conversion is also affected by the way the market and the supply chain are structured, by the coordination of activities, efficiency‐driven actors, relations and interdependencies between actors and by the asymmetrical distribution of power. Furthermore, conversion is constrained by the limited influence of network parties such as NGOs and current government policies. Based on the analysis, the paper questions whether the ecological approach (organic farming) will be more effective than strengthening a more generic approach stimulating the sustainability of the sector. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

Asymmetrical Power Distribution in Retail Channels and Cooperative Franchisors

Typical contracts assign both coercive and non-coercive means of power to the principal's side, providing the agent with a comparably small range of countervailing anti-power. Initially agents are therefore vulnerable to opportunistic principal behavior and will rationally anticipate this threat upon signing a contract. In this paper we analyze various forms of power and explain their asymmetrical allocation in the franchising industry. We demonstrate how franchisors restore those shifts in power that seem to disorder the desired balance by performing contractual, financial and organizational adjustments. The nature of these measures suggests that franchisors should cooperate with agents despite their freedom to behave opportunistically. According to empirical data, the better a franchisor is able to credibly alleviate a franchisee's fear of being exploited by principal opportunism, the stronger the growth generated in the entire franchise system that embraces both the company-owned and the franchise arms.

Testing the cosmological principle of isotropy: local power-spectrum estimates of theWMAPdata

We apply the Gabor transform methodology proposed by Hansen et al. to the WMAP data in order to test the statistical properties of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) fluctuation field and specifically to evaluate the fundamental assumption of cosmological isotropy. In particular, we apply the transform with several apodization scales, thus allowing the determination of the positional dependence of the angular power spectrum with either high spatial localization or high angular resolution (i.e. narrow bins in multipole space). Practically, this implies that we estimate the angular power spectrum locally in discs of various sizes positioned in different directions: small discs allow the greatest sensitivity to positional dependence, whereas larger discs allow greater sensitivity to variations over different angular scales. In addition, we determine whether the spatial position of a few outliers in the angular power spectrum could suggest the presence of residual foregrounds or systematic effects. For multipoles close to the first peak, the most deviant local estimates from the best-fitting WMAP model are associated with a few particular areas close to the Galactic plane. Such deviations also include the ‘dent’ in the spectrum just shortward of the first peak which was remarked upon by the WMAP team. Estimating the angular power spectrum excluding these areas gives a slightly higher first Doppler peak amplitude. Finally, we probe the isotropy of the largest angular scales by estimating the power spectrum on hemispheres and reconfirm strong indications of a north–south asymmetry previously reported by other authors. Indeed, there is a remarkable lack of power in a region associated with the North ecliptic Pole. With the greater fidelity in ℓ-space allowed by this larger sky coverage, we find tentative evidence for residual foregrounds in the range ℓ= 2–4, which could be associated with the low measured quadrupole amplitudes and other anomalies on these angular scales (e.g. planarity and alignment). However, over the range ℓ= 5–40 the observed asymmetry is much harder to explain in terms of residual foregrounds and known systematic effects. By reorienting the coordinate axes, we partition the sky into different hemispheres and search for the reference frame which maximizes the asymmetric distribution of power. The North Pole for this coordinate frame is found to intersect the sphere at (80°, 57°) in Galactic colatitude and longitude over almost the entire multipole range ℓ= 5–40. Furthermore, the strong negative outlier at ℓ= 21 and the strong positive outlier at ℓ= 39, as determined from the global power spectrum by the WMAP team, are found to be associated with the Northern and Southern hemispheres, respectively (in this frame of maximum asymmetry). Thus, these two outliers follow the general tendency of the multipoles ℓ= 5–40 to be of systematically lower amplitude in the north and higher in the south. Such asymmetric distributions of power on the sky provide a serious test for the cosmological principle of isotropy.

Cosmological parameters and theWMAPdata revisited

Several recent papers have made claims about the detection of an asymmetric distribution of large-scale power in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropy as measured by the WMAP satellite. In this paper, we investigate how the estimates of particular cosmological parameters vary when inferred from power spectra computed separately on the Northern and Southern hemispheres in three frames of reference: the galactic, the ecliptic and the specific frame of reference that maximizes the asymmetry between the power spectra from the corresponding hemispheres. The study is intended to quantify the consistency of the observed spectral variations in the context of the inflationary scenario inspired models with which the data are commonly compared. We focus on the three specific parameters to which the analysis is most sensitive (spectral index n, amplitude of fluctuations A and optical depth) and find interesting variations in their estimates as determined from different hemispheres. Only multipoles in the ranges l = 2- 60, 200- 240 and 520- 560 (the latter two around the first two peaks) are included in the analysis. Polarization information could not be used since the appropriate sky maps are not publicly available. Furthermore, we fix Omega(Lambda) = 0.74, Omega(cdm) h(2) = 0.11 and Omega(total) = 1 atthese best-fitting values obtained by the WMAP team, and use a Gaussian prior centred at Omega(b)h(2) = 0.022 with sigma = 0.001 for the baryon fraction. No significant changes to the conclusions were found when these parameters were varied. When using a Gaussian prior on the spectral index n centred at n = 1 with a flat prior on the optical depth, the preferred value for the optical depth (derived in the reference frame of maximum asymmetry) in the Northern hemisphere is tau = 0 with upper limit tau < 0.08, whereas in the Southern hemisphere we find = 0.24(-0.07)(+0.06) (68 per cent confidence level). The latter result is inconsistent with = 0 at the 2sigma level. The estimated optical depth of tau = 0.17 on the (nearly) full sky found by the WMAP collaboration, and confirmed independently here, could thus in large part originate in structure associated with the Southern hemisphere. Furthermore, putting a prior on,we find values of the spectral index that are inconsistent between the two hemispheres. The exact values depend on the prior on. Our conclusions remain unaltered even when, on the basis of putative residual foreground contamination, the multipole range l = 2- 7 is excluded from the analysis. While our results should not be considered more than suggestive, the significance of the parameter differences in the two hemispheres being typically of order 2sigma ,if they are confirmed with the higher-sensitivity WMAP 2-yr data, then it may be necessary to question the assumption of cosmological isotropy and the conceptual framework within which studies of CMB anisotropy are made.

Insights from the introduction of a supply chain co‐ordinator

Many chain co‐ordinating initiatives fail due to a lack of trust in and resistance against supply chain co‐ordinators, unequally distributed benefits, opposing requirements of involved parties and asymmetric distribution of power. The goal of this paper is to provide insight into factors influencing the successful implementation of a supply chain co‐ordinator. For this purpose, the Electronic Service Center (ESC), a successful, pan‐European chain co‐ordinator based in The Netherlands, is studied. The ESC acts as a central and neutral supply chain co‐ordinator and aims at co‐ordinating the flow of information between customers, logistics carriers, warehouses, forwarders and suppliers. This paper provides a general overview of the roles of supply chain co‐ordinators and provides a short review of factors responsible for failure. It investigates the ESC, describes the supply chain and the various roles of the supply chain co‐ordinator, and discusses the various trade‐offs made by the organisations involved in the supply chain. In the last section conclusions are drawn and recommendations given for future research.

Analysis of interaction and learning in instrumental teaching

The object of the study was to describe and analyse instrumental teaching and learning, and increase our knowledge about how different patterns of interaction affect students' opportunities to learn. Data consisted of 5 hours of videotaped and transcribed guitar and brass teaching sessions. In order to elucidate the complex phenomenon of instrumental teaching, the study combines compatible theories for application on different theoretical levels of the empirical study. The results of the analysis show that teachers did not play much during the lessons. Teachers and students addressed music as sight-reading exercises. Music was broken down into separate notes or chords as read from the sheet. Interaction during the lessons had a strong asymmetric distribution of power. The asymmetric interaction had negative consequences for the students' opportunities to learn. The actions of the teachers and student were not primarily interpreted as results of individual choices, but as routine actions, evolved throughout the history of the institution.

Structural Conditions and the Propensity for Regional Integration

This paper proposes a theory for regional integration based on structural conditions. By applying power transition theory, we are able to account for and anticipate not only the tendency for pairs of countries to participate in integration, but the likely intensity of such integration as well. We find that integration is most likely when there is an asymmetric distribution of power between countries and when they are jointly satisfied after a power transition has occurred. These results hold even after controlling for level of development and trade flows. We test this theory on all politically relevant dyads between 1950 and 1996 using a novel method to measure the level of regional integration. We illustrate the empirical findings through simulations that track the developments leading to Europe's Economic and Monetary Union (EMU).

'We won't let them keep us quiet ...' Gendered strategies in the negotiation of power--implications for pupils' health and school health promotion

The aim of this qualitative study was to analyse gendered strategies among pupils in the negotiation of power at school, and to discuss possible implications for health. Twenty-seven single-sex focus group interviews were conducted with pupils from equal opportunity projects The interviews were analysed using grounded theory. The girls used 'alliance building' and 'resistance: in order to increase their power, while 'responsibility taking' and 'withdrawal' could mean maintained subordination. The boys used mastering techniques (various types of abuse, claiming to be the norm, acting-out behaviour, blaming the girls, choosing boys only) in self-interest to maintain their dominance. The girls' active and democratic actions far increased power could be of significant importance for their health. The boys' health would benefit if they gave up striving for power over others School health promotion needs to address the asymmetric and gendered distribution of power between pupils, as well as to challenge the existing gender regime at an institutional level.

Revealing the process and outcome of hostage negotiations: The utility of structural analysis

Hostage-taking is a means by which non-state actors engage governments in political discourse. The abduction of states' citizens will continue as new nations emerge onto the world stage seeking independence. These state—non-state encounters warrant study within a negotiation framework that acknowledges an asymmetric distribution of power as well as the secrecy that shrouds such crises. Structural analysis embraces power as a determinant of both process and outcome. The approach also relies on such factors as the physical setting of the crisis and the channel of communication used by the participants. The availability of information related to these structural components allows negotiation theorists to circumvent the methodological barriers imposed by the secrecy that surrounds hostage crises.

The Problem of Peaceful Territorial Change

This article deals with the process of change in the international status quo of territories, and how such changes may be brought about “peacefully,” by means other than war. The main question I address is: Under what conditions and circumstances will alterations in the status quo of territories take place without warfare or other unilateral coercive means? In order to answer the above question, this study identifies three background conditions that facilitate peaceful territorial change: an asymmetrical distribution of power between the parties involved in the process; a similar type of political regime of the members of the dyad; and a convergence of norms and rules of international law and morality sustained by the parties with reference to the disputed territory. In addition, it is important to understand the variables that make the process of peaceful territorial change likely to occur. This process will be affected by the different interests of the parties in a given territory, their degree of cooperation and reciprocity, and their strategies of bargaining and negotiation.

Ethical implications of business format franchising

Franchising in the business format sector accounted for approximately 35 percent of retail sales in the U.S. in 1991. Consequently, the franchising industry has a clear ethical responsibility to the public. At the same time, there exists an ethical obligation of the two major factors in the industry — the franchisor and the franchise — toward each other. Because the franchise agreement, which is the basis of the relationship, is originated by the franchisor, an asymmetrical distribution of power often exists, resulting in opportunistic behavior by the franchisor. In other cases, questionable or unethical practices by franchisees likewise result in conflict. This paper examines some of the basic areas of the franchise relationship which result in conflict, and discusses the situation analysis in business format franchising, which shows promise for reduction of conflict and unethical behavior for the future.