Extreme Polarization Research Articles

Systemic Burkholderia cepacia complex in a patient with ACLF associated to extreme polarization of the intestinal microbiota toward the phylum Proteobacteria

Burkholderia cepacia (Bcc) bloodstream infection, without bacterial peritonitis, has not been reported in cirrhosis. We report the case of a 51-year-old male inpatient with alcohol-associated cirrhosis complicated on admission, who was unresponsive to treatment and died 48 hours later. Thirty minutes before the patient’s death, stool and blood samples were taken. Albeit cultures were negative, Sanger and metagenomic sequencing of 16S-rRNA and ITS2 genes from samples revealed systemic infection dominated by Bcc, however other Proteobacteria were also identified. Interestingly, we observed that gut microbiota polarized toward Proteobacteria/Gammaproteobacteria/Enterobacteriaceae/Escherichia/Shigella, which suggests bacterial translocation as a source of systemic infection. Regarding Bcc, it is resistant to several antibiotics, hence timely and accurate molecular tests might help to improve clinical outcomes.

Amino Acid- and Dipeptide Amphiphile-Based Supramolecular Eutectogels: Soft Materials for Drug Entrapment–Release and Wastewater Treatment

Supramolecular gels prepared in solvents of extreme polarities have received widespread importance across scientific disciplines. In this regard, soft materials based on deep eutectic solvents (DESs) have been receiving notable attention owing to their low toxicity, low volatility, and ability to solubilize hydrophobic drugs and natural products. A DES is a mixture of two or more compounds having a melting point lower than that of the individual components. Reports on supramolecular eutectogels derived from small molecules are very few and serendipitous. Therefore, designing a low-molecular-weight eutectogelator (LMWEG) remains challenging and demands comprehensive structure–property correlation. To this end, we have developed amino acid- and dipeptide amphiphile-based LMWEGs that immobilized choline chloride/phenylacetic acid-based DES with a minimum gelation concentration (MGC) of 0.5–10.0%, w/v. Variation of amino acids, protecting groups at the N-terminal, and hydrophobic chain length of the gelator delineated the crucial influence of the hydropathy index of amino acids and thereby the hydrophilic–lipophilic balance in eutectogelation. Replacement of the aromatic moiety in the gelator and/or in the DES with an aliphatic one ascertained the optimal necessity of aromaticity for efficient eutectogelation. Eutectogels were thermoreversible and showed considerable thermal stability (Tgel ∼ 50–70 °C). Spectroscopic and microscopic studies confirmed the fiber-like morphology of the eutectogels and the participation of hydrogen bonding in eutectogelation. Newly derived eutectogels exhibited considerably good mechanical strength (γc ∼ 7.5–16.5%) and interesting injectable as well as thixotropic properties. The ability to adsorb cationic and anionic dyes by the eutectogels ensured their potential in wastewater treatment. Importantly, these supramolecular eutectogels can be used in drug delivery owing to their ability to entrap the hydrophobic drug curcumin and subsequently its pH-dependent sustained release.

Democratic Backsliding: Comparative Reflections on the American Experience

Abstract Democratic backsliding, or the debilitation of democracy by those elected to protect it, looms large in the current debate about the global crisis of democracy, including Sara Wallace Goodman's Citizenship in Hard Times: How Ordinary People Respond to Democratic Threat. In keeping with the prevailing view of backsliding as a political phenomenon rooted in extreme partisanship and polarization, Goodman is concerned with strengthening the citizenry's commitment to democratic norms and practices—in other words, boosting democratic citizenship. Placing the roots of backsliding in the political system itself, this essay argues for pushing the debate about backsliding beyond citizen solutions and toward institutional remedies, especially accountability against those who harm democracy and modernizing the democratic infrastructure.

The drivers of online polarization: Fitting models to data

Users online tend to join polarized groups of like-minded peers around shared narratives, forming echo chambers. The echo chamber effect and opinion polarization may be driven by several factors including human biases in information consumption and personalized recommendations produced by feed algorithms. Until now, studies have mainly used opinion dynamic models to explore the mechanisms behind the emergence of polarization and echo chambers. The objective was to determine the key factors contributing to these phenomena and identify their interplay. However, the validation of model predictions with empirical data still displays two main drawbacks: lack of systematicity and qualitative analysis. In our work, we bridge this gap by providing a method to numerically compare the opinion distributions obtained from simulations with those measured on social media. To validate this procedure, we develop an opinion dynamic model that takes into account the interplay between human and algorithmic factors. We subject our model to empirical testing with data from diverse social media platforms and benchmark it against two state-of-the-art models. To further enhance our understanding of social media platforms, we provide a synthetic description of their characteristics in terms of the model's parameter space. This representation has the potential to facilitate the refinement of feed algorithms, thus mitigating the detrimental effects of extreme polarization on online discourse.

정직한 중개인(honest broker)으로서 과학 자문

Politics or policy-making(administration) system tends to transfer decision-making functions to science in modern societies with increasing uncertain complexity. This tendency confines scientific discussion in extreme polarisation, which is tightly coupled to political win-lose. As science is more tightly coupled to politics and policy, the degree of freedom for each system is lowered, narrowing the room where policy alternatives are discussed and compromised. Under this analysis, the research proposes the honest broker model as an appropriate role model for scientific advisors in a modern society where uncertainty and value conflicts are growing. Scientific advisors do not prepare a single policy answer but rather present a variety of feasible scenarios and multiple policy alternatives within the scope of uncertainty. For scientific advisory to function as an honest intermediary, certain normative principles such as accountability separation between policy-making and scientific advisory system, transparency, diversity and openness should be established first. Finally, this paper attempts to apply the theoretical discussions to an institutional reformation of the current National Clinical Committee for Infectious Diseases. In this regard, the most urgent issue in the future is to institutionalize the science advice process. Such institutional settings enhance the influence of scientific advisory on policy while preventing the situation in which scientists are accused of political or legal responsibility for policy failure.

Factors Contributing to Extreme Polarization of the Society in South Africa

Purpose: The study sought to analyze the factors contributing to extreme polarization of the society in South Africa
 Methodology: The study adopted a desktop methodology. Desk research refers to secondary data or that which can be collected without fieldwork. Desk research is basically involved in collecting data from existing resources hence it is often considered a low cost technique as compared to field research, as the main cost is involved in executive’s time, telephone charges and directories. Thus, the study relied on already published studies, reports and statistics. This secondary data was easily accessed through the online journals and library.
 Findings: The results show that polarization is strongly path dependent and sensitive to stochastic variation. Second, polarization depends strongly on the initial distribution of opinions in the population. In the absence of extremists, polarization may be mitigated. Noisy communication can drive a population toward more extreme opinions and even cause acute polarization. Finally, the apparent reduction in polarization under increased cultural complexity arises via a particular property of the polarization measurement, under which a population containing a wider diversity of extreme views is deemed less polarized.
 Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: The social comparison theory and Robert Tallisie theory may be used to anchor future studies in the political sector. The study results will also benefit other stakeholders such as the policy makers as well as researchers and scholars from different parts of the world. The top management of politics in the country will also use the study findings to improve the society and ensure high and stable performance in all their activities and programs. The study recommends that the adoption of effective social protection development policies in the society will help to improve efficiency in their major operations and activities. This work has implications for understanding the population dynamics of beliefs opinions and polarization as well as broader implications for the analysis of agent-based models of social phenomena.

Group polarization?: an analysis of Parler data in the wake of the capitol riot

PurposeThis paper tests the degree to which Sunstein's law of group polarization predicts the increase or decrease in polarization among individuals in an out-group during a polarizing event. The authors use the discourse on Parler surrounding the events of January 6th as a case study.Design/methodology/approachThe study includes an overall sentiment analysis, a statistical analysis of emotions, along with eight other feelings, including anger, anticipation, disgust, fear, joy, sadness, surprise and trust. Specifically, the authors measure the differences in feelings related language used in posts as they pertain to Donald Trump and the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement vs. Trump's Vice President Mike Pence both before and after January 6, 2021. The authors use this empirical analysis to show whether polarization in the Parler community increased or decreased after January 6th.FindingsThe authors find evidence that there is more complexity to polarization than Sunstein's theory would predict. The authors would expect a very polarized outed group to become more polarized relative to the general public after a central event; however, the authors see two extremes emerging within the Parler community (both strongly positive and strongly negative feelings toward Trump). The authors do not see unanimous consent across the Parler platform as Sunstein's theory would suggest; the out-group is becoming more polarized relative to the rest of the population. Instead, the authors observe a wide mix in reactions. The results of this study demonstrate that there is dissent even among the Parler echo chamber. For many themes surrounding the January 6th riots, Parler users express strong disagreement with each other and a lack of unity in their feelings for former President Trump.Research limitations/implicationsThe results suggest further research into polarization of outed groups and the policy implications of their polarization changes over time.Practical implicationsIncreases in group polarization are often a motivator for public policy and are further becoming a major focus for research. Brookings' authors Stephanie Forrest and Joshua Daymude point to polarization as a substantial threat to American society, claiming “reducing extreme polarization is key to stabilizing democracy” (2022). Researchers Diana Epstein and John D. Graham demonstrate that polarized politics has impacted the “substance of rulemaking, judicial decisions, and legislation” along with “complicating long-term policy changes” (2007). The authors study how entrepreneurs have responded to this increase in polarization and its implications for public policy.Social implicationsNot only does group polarization impact all types of groups, from the social to the economic, but also it has “particular implications for insulated ‘outgroups’” (Sunstein, 1999, p. 21). Groups that are excluded by either coercion or choice from dialog with other groups become even more polarized and extreme (Sunstein, 1999; Turner et al., 1989).Originality/valueThe authors have engaged in an empirical analysis that no other paper has addressed. This paper summarized the Parler sample data set and analyzed various themes associated with the events of January 6th, namely President Trump and MAGA themes and Vice President Pence. The analysis demonstrated a dramatic increase in negative sentiment and emotion related to Vice President Mike Pence after January 6th as well as mixed support for President Trump and an increase in disgust before and after the Capitol riot.

Psychanalyse et thérapies cognitives-comportementales en France : l’improbable rencontre (1971–2011)

ObjectivesThe opposition between psychoanalysis and cognitive-behavioral therapies seems to have become irreducibly entrenched in people's minds, to the point of appearing and functioning today as a commonplace. The present article shows that French practitioners from both sides have, in the past, tried to overcome their antagonisms by working together within the very first French association dedicated to the study of behavioral therapies. While shedding light on a little-known chapter in the history of French psychiatry and of eclecticism in psychotherapy, this investigation encourages us to think afresh about the issues at stake in the contemporary divergences between psychoanalysts and practitioners of behavioral and cognitive therapies. MethodThe method used is that of the social and cultural history of science. Our study was based on the publications of the main actors in this dialogue, the archives of the Association Française de Thérapie Comportementale et Cognitive, and a series of interviews with several major figures in the history of French behaviorism. ResultsThe psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Daniel Widlöcher was the main architect of this “unlikely encounter.” As a founding member and later president of the Association Française de Thérapie Comportementale (AFTC), Professor Widlöcher worked to compare the methods, indications, and opportunities of these two therapeutic approaches; published about his findings; and contributed to the creation of a training institute within the AFTC. DiscussionBy appropriating cognitive methods at the turn of the 1990s, the second generation of therapists evolving within the AFTC made a greater effort to distance themselves from the psychoanalytical paradigm than their predecessors. The publication of the INSERM report on the effectiveness of psychotherapy (2004), followed by the Livre noir de la psychanalyse (2005), definitively undermined the efforts made in the past to combine the two approaches. ConclusionLong before the extreme polarization of the mid-2000s, practitioners of psychoanalysis and behavioral therapies worked to overcome their differences in order to find common ground for the implementation of cotherapies. The crux of the discord between psychoanalysts and behavioral therapy practitioners goes beyond mere theoretical and practical issues and debates. The article concludes that this controversy is undeniably linked to questions of power within academic bodies, recognition or social visibility, as well as to economic issues.

“A Threat to the Childhood”: Civil War in the Pyrenees in the Coverage of Soviet Periodicals for Children

In 1936–1939, the Spanish Civil War was a hot topic used for military-patriotic upbringing and political socialization of children. This article shows has the events in Spain were portrayed in periodicals for preschoolers and primary schoolchildren, including texts and visualizations. While the official perspective of the Spanish events in the USSR was dictated by the Party, children’s optics was tuned using its own means and methods, customized to the psychology of this age group. The article discloses the goals of exploiting this topic in the Soviet child-targeting discourse, reveals the most common plotlines, pinpoints the specific emotion-inciting tricks. In propaganda work with children, the extreme polarization of good and evil was used, embodied in two political forces — fascists and republicans. The theme was adapted for children through the extensive use of peer images, central among which were child heroes and child martyrs. The image of the Spanish child-hero corresponded to the Soviet concept of a child walking in the forefront of society. At the same time, attention was focused on the difficulties experienced by the children of Spain, who experienced a “threat to childhood”, which fed the ideologeme of “happy Soviet childhood”, the exclusivity of Soviet children. The participation of powerful artistic forces in the information campaign resulted in the construction of a sublimely romantic image of Spain and the Spaniards with an aura of inflexibility and fortitude, corresponding to the ideal of a Soviet person. There was a feeling of connection between the Soviet and Spanish loci of heroism and people of heroic professions, among which pilots and border guards came to the fore. The figures selected to create the pantheon of Civil War heroes and the ways to fit the images of Franco and Stalin into the context are demonstrated.

Effect of solvents of extreme polarities on the antioxidative and cytotoxic profiles of single and combined tropical spices

Objective: To assess the possible augmented phytochemical constituents, antioxidant and cytotoxicity activities of hexane and hydroethanol extracts of five combined tropical spices. Methods: Powdered samples from five dried tropical spices [Zingiber officinale Rosc., Xylopia aethiopica (Dun.) A. Rich, Piper guineense Schum & Thonn, Myristica fragrans Houtt. and Allium sativum L.] were separately and in combination extracted with hexane (HX) and hydroethanol (50:50) (HE). Both extracts of the single spices (Ssp) and mixed spices (Mxsp) were evaluated for total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC) and estimation of antioxidant activities through 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2-Azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6)-sulphonic acid (ABTS), hydroxyl radical (HR) scavenging and reducing power (RP) assays as well as metal chelating (MC) capability. The tetrazolium-based colorimetric cellular (MTT) assay was utilized to assess their possible cytotoxic effect on Vero cells. Results: The study revealed that the HX (75.28 ± 10.07 mggallic acid equivalent/mL) and HE (19.00±3.21 mg quercetin equivalent/g) extracts of Mxsp had the highest TPC and TFC respectively when compared with corresponding extracts of Ssp. The antioxidant efficacy revealed that the HE extract of Mxsp depicted the highest DPPH (median inhibitory concentration (IC50): 0.09 ± 0.03 mg/mL), ABTS (IC50: 0.21 ± 0.03 mg/mL) and HR (IC50: 0.63 ± 0.92 mg/mL) scavenging activities respectively. The best MC effect and potent RP activity were observed in the HX extracts of ginger (IC50: 0.11 ± 0.03 mg/mL) and Mxsp (2.85 ± 0.11 mg/mL) respectively. The MTT assay revealed that Ssp and Mxsp were not cytotoxic to Vero cells with median lethal concentration (LC50) values ranging from 0.13-0.48 mg/mL. Conclusion: This study suggests that Mxsp contains more phytochemical compounds and exhibits better antioxidant activity than Ssp. Moreover, both extracts of Ssp and Mxsp may be considered safe for consumption at specified concentrations.

Polarization Analysis of Gene Sequence Structures: Mapping of Extreme Local Polarization States

A method for visualization and identification of nucleotide sequences is proposed based on the synthesis of phase screens displaying the structure of the analyzed sequences and reconstruction of binary maps of the extreme values of the local Stokes vector components in the diffraction zone. This diffraction zone is formed due to reading out the phase screen by a coherent collimated beam with two orthogonally polarized (x–y) components. With different phase delays of the x–y components of the readout beam introduced by the phase screen elements, this causes a variety of local polarization states in the diffraction zone. The discrimination level for the local component of the Stokes vector chosen for the binary mapping is established near the extreme value for this component. Computer verification of the proposed method using nucleotide sequences for various strains of the model African swine fewer (ASF) virus as the test objects shows its high efficiency in the detection of differences between two compared sequences corresponding to the same type of infectious agent. Analysis of the model data for the strains under study made it possible to establish a power-law character of correlation coefficients of the synthesized binary distributions of extreme local polarization states depending on the discrimination threshold detuning from the maximum value of the Stokes vector component used for the mapping .

Institutional Capacities, Partisan Divisions, and Federal Tensions in U.S. Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic struck during a period of extreme polarization in American politics. Unsurprisingly, responses to it quickly became politicized despite increasingly clear findings from scientific and public health communities about the most effective approaches for limiting its spread. We ask how the politicization affected pandemic response at the state level. We document and explain several kinds of state-level actions, beginning with 2020 variations in collecting and publishing COVID-related data and early mitigation strategies. We find that state capacity explains the former and partisanship the latter. We show that divisions within the Republican Party also meaningfully affected state responses. Inter- and intraparty divisions—rather than geography or severity of COVID—in fact continue to influence state policy following the inauguration of President Joe Biden, the availability of vaccines, and the rise of the Delta variant. These findings document that U.S. federalism often created obstacles to effective governmental responses.

Identifying the Spatiotemporal Differences and Driving Forces of Residents’ Consumption at the Provincial Level in the Context of the Digital Economy

The digital economy has become a new form of the economy. Based on data from the China Year Book from 2012 to 2020, this paper characterizes China’s spatial differences in regional consumption expenditure in the context of the digital economy. We utilize the GIS spatial analysis technique, ESDA, Geodetector, and other spatial econometric tools to reveal the spatiotemporal evolution patterns and driving mechanism of residents’ consumption development in the context of the digital economy for 31 provinces in China and propose differentiated policy suggestions for residents’ consumption development against the background of the digital economy in China, creating a reference for decision making on residents’ consumption in China. The findings show that, first, provincial residents’ consumption expenditures appear to decrease on a gradient from eastern to central and western China, showing extreme polarization and spatial aggregation. Second, the power of the seven driving factors of residents’ consumption varies widely across time; the driving factors representing the digital economy can reduce the regional differences in residents’ consumption. On the other hand, non-digital economic factors increase the spatial difference. Third, two digital economic factors play the most important roles in the interaction effect in most years.

Overpotential decomposition enabled decoupling of complex kinetic processes in battery electrodes

Identifying overpotential components of electrochemical systems enables quantitative analysis of polarization contributions of kinetic processes under practical operating conditions. However, the inherently coupled kinetic processes lead to an enormous challenge in measuring individual overpotentials, particularly in composite electrodes of lithium-ion batteries. Herein, the full decomposition of electrode overpotential is realized by the collaboration of single-layer structured particle electrode (SLPE) constructions and time-resolved potential measurements, explicitly revealing the evolution of kinetic processes. Perfect prediction of the discharging profiles is achieved via potential measurements on SLPEs, even in extreme polarization conditions. By decoupling overpotentials in different electrode/cell structures and material systems, the dominant limiting processes of battery rate performance are uncovered, based on which the optimization of electrochemical kinetics can be conducted. Our study not only shades light on decoupling complex kinetics in electrochemical systems, but also provides vitally significant guidance for the rational design of high-performance batteries.

Opinion amplification causes extreme polarization in social networks

Extreme polarization of opinions fuels many of the problems facing our societies today, from issues on human rights to the environment. Social media provides the vehicle for these opinions and enables the spread of ideas faster than ever before. Previous computational models have suggested that significant external events can induce extreme polarization. We introduce the Social Opinion Amplification Model (SOAM) to investigate an alternative hypothesis: that opinion amplification can result in extreme polarization. SOAM models effects such as sensationalism, hype, or “fake news” as people express amplified versions of their actual opinions, motivated by the desire to gain a greater following. We show for the first time that this simple idea results in extreme polarization, especially when the degree of amplification is small. We further show that such extreme polarization can be prevented by two methods: preventing individuals from amplifying more than five times, or through consistent dissemination of balanced opinions to the population. It is natural to try and have the loudest voice in a crowd when we seek attention; this work suggests that instead of shouting to be heard and generating an uproar, it is better for all if we speak with moderation.

COLONIAL LEGACIES IN INDONESIA'S URBANIZATION AND URBAN HOUSING: Past, Present, and Future

Since the 1980s, Indonesia has experienced rapid urbanization, and it has become one of the countries with the exponential growth of urban population. Densified urban population is worsening environmental issues such as particulate air pollution, water pollution, and waste disposal. Environmental injustice of poverty and the extreme polarization of rich and poor are increasing in Indonesia’s urban societies. Ecological crisis due to climate change in the Anthropocene is closely associated with the nature and culture binary that disconnects human-world relationships. As Indonesia had been colonized by the Dutch for 350 years and occupied by Imperial Japan during World War II, the built environment has become the embodiment of colonial legacies that bequeaths the dichotomy of nature and culture through urban spaces and housings. By engaging with my lived experiences in Jakarta – the capital of Indonesia – and the historical references of Indonesia’s development of the built environment and urban housing, I will discuss the nature and culture binary as the colonial legacies in Indonesia’s built environment. I argue that the formation of colonial whiteness grounded on the nature and culture binary has evolved to transmit and preserve colonial legacies by a new medium of industrial capitalism. The emergence of gate communities, luxury housings and skyscrapers, and the maintenance of room layouts from the colonial period are the specific features of the corporeal manifestations of everlasting colonialism in Indonesia’s built environment. In response to Indonesia’s urbanization in the Anthropocene, I suggest Timothy J. Gorringe’s theology of grace to call for the need for a contextualized theology of grace for Indonesia that could transform and reimagine the built environment in light of the immanence and transcendence of God.

Dendrite-free Zn anodes enabled by a hierarchical zincophilic TiO2 layer for rechargeable aqueous zinc-ion batteries

Aqueous zinc ion batteries (ZIBs) have received significant attention owing to their low cost, high energy density, good safety, and environmental friendliness. However, the unavoidable growth of dendrites during uneven stripping/plating of Zn and extreme polarization hinders the practical application of zinc ion batteries. Herein, we report a dendrite-free ZIB anode via mesoporous zincophilic TiO2 nanoparticle to construct a hierarchical nanostructured layer and to chemically accommodate the formation of Zn dendrite. This hierarchical zincophilic TiO2 layer on the Zn surface (hmTO-Zn) plays a crucial role in contributing to reduce dendrite growth and significantly improves the electrochemical performance of ZIBs. Ultralong cycle life and high rate performance are demonstrated in hmTO-Zn|Zn(CF3SO3)2|V2O5 rechargeable aqueous ZIBs. A battery with an hmTO-Zn electrode delivers excellent capacity (102 mAh/g) at a high current density (5000 mA g−1) after ultralong life (5000 cycles) with almost 100 % coulombic efficiency compared to a battery with a bare zinc anode (44 mAh/g after 5000 cycles). These results give a novel approach necessary to improve ZIBs further to make it a worthy and safe energy device in field of large scale energy storage solutions.

Can Independents Save Democracy in an Era of Polarization?: Evidence from Korea

It is evident from the literature that political polarization has played a role in facilitating voter participation. While high participation in a representative democracy is beneficial, it becomes dangerous when this results from intense polarization. This is because polarization has a greater potential to undermine the principles of democratic pluralism. With data from the 21st Korean general assembly, I find that independent voters consider political issues to be important cues for participation even under extreme polarization. Short-term issues such as the government response to COVID-19 that have largely been the concern of independent voters, have had a significant effect on voter participation, and the evaluation of party nominations has also had an impact on turnout among independents. These findings show that Korean democracy has not been completely buried under the influence of polarization and that the political process of representative democracy in Korea is still operating normally thanks to the existence of independent voters.

After All Is Said and Done: On Fluid Solidarity and Survival

After All Is Said and Done: On Fluid Solidarity and Survival

Information loss and bias in likert survey responses.

Likert response surveys are widely applied in marketing, public opinion polls, epidemiological and economic disciplines. Theoretically, Likert mapping from real-world beliefs could lose significant amounts of information, as they are discrete categorical metrics. Similarly, the subjective nature of Likert-scale data capture, through questionnaires, holds the potential to inject researcher biases into the statistical analysis. Arguments and counterexamples are provided to show how this loss and bias can potentially be substantial under extreme polarization or strong beliefs held by the surveyed population, and where the survey instruments are poorly controlled. These theoretical possibilities were tested using a large survey with 14 Likert-scaled questions presented to 125,387 respondents in 442 distinct behavioral-demographic groups. Despite the potential for bias and information loss, the empirical analysis found strong support for an assumption of minimal information loss under Normal beliefs in Likert scaled surveys. Evidence from this study found that the Normal assumption is a very good fit to the majority of actual responses, the only variance from Normal being slightly platykurtic (kurtosis ~ 2) which is likely due to censoring of beliefs after the lower and upper extremes of the Likert mapping. The discussion and conclusions argue that further revisions to survey protocols can assure that information loss and bias in Likert-scaled data are minimal.