Number Of Seats Research Articles

National Medical Commission’s new rule on capping the number of undergraduate medical seats in high performing States: pragmatic or quixotic?

The article analyses the recent amendment by the National Medical Commission (NMC) in India, capping the number of undergraduate medical seats in high-performing states, which has sparked a debate. With a healthcare system catering to the diverse needs of 1.4 billion people, regional disparities in healthcare personnel distribution have emerged, especially among doctors. The advantages of the amendment include a focused approach on lagging states and the potential distribution of doctors to improve overall health indices. However, concerns arise over infringement of the autonomy of state governments, potential hindrance to high-performing states, and the impact on doctors' postgraduate choices. This commentary explores the complex factors influencing doctor distribution, including state policies, infrastructure and migration patterns. While emphasising the need for equitable healthcare access, and it also stresses the need for a balanced approach to address the challenges in doctor distribution to ensure both state and national healthcare needs are met effectively.

Addressing ‘difficulty in dining’ among older adults: optimizing community senior dining halls from external and internal built environments

Many developed and developing countries, including China, are facing the challenges of the aging population. One such challenge is the difficulty for some older adults to access nutritious hot meals to maintain their health and well-being. Community-based senior dining halls (CSDHs) providing low-cost meals for older adults are a widespread model across China and neighboring countries, which aim to cater to the dining needs of older adults within local communities. However, most CSDHs face financial difficulties due to low dining volume. Hence, understanding how built environment characteristics are associated with the dining volume can potentially increase the dining volume and financial sustainability of CSDHs in the long run. This study analyzed the association between the dining volume and both the external and internal built environment of 50 CSDHs in Guangzhou, China. By using multiple linear regression models with three different buffer sizes (400 m, 600 m, and 800 m), we found that 1) among the external built environment characteristics, floor area ratio (FAR) and distance to the nearest subway station are negatively linked to the dining volume; 2) among the internal built environment characteristics, floor level is negatively associated with dining volume, whereas availability of dine-in seating and water dispenser, and number of seats are positively associated with it. Hence, a well-designed external and internal built environment of CSDHs may increase dining volume, enhance social interaction among older adults, and support community-based senior care.

Airline Price prediction using ExtraTrees Regressor

Airlines employ dynamic pricing strategies, which are based on demand estimation models, to set ticket prices. Airlines often set the price of their seats based on the necessary demand because they can only sell a certain number of seats on each journey. Airlines typically raise travel costs during times of strong demand, which slows down the rate at which seats are filled. When demand declines and seats become unsold, airlines typically lower their ticket prices to draw in new passengers. It will be more beneficial to sell those seats for more than the cost of service per passenger because unsold seats result in a loss of revenue. In order to forecast airline ticket prices, the primary objective of this study was to determine the factors influencing airline ticket costs and look into the relationships between them. Consequently, a model is created to predict the cost of plane tickets, allowing consumers to make better-informed decisions regarding their purchases. The cost of airline tickets in India is then predicted by this study using Four different machine learning algorithms: Extra Trees Regressor, XG Boost Regressor, Random Forest, and Decision Tree. Furthermore, hyperparameter optimization is done to obtain the most accurate and ideal prediction results. The Extrat Trees regressor yielded the greatest results, with the lowest RMSE of about 1807.59 and the highest accuracy of nearly 88%.

Voting equilibria and public funding of political parties

AbstractDirect public funding to political parties exists in most OECD countries and its allocation is executed on the basis of two principles: (i) proportional to the votes (or alternatively the number of seats), and (ii) equal distribution. We consider a situation in which there are two scenarios and two policies, where the optimal policy for each scenario is different. We study which policy is implemented when public political funding is introduced and voters are uncertain about the realized scenario. First, when the goal is to implement the optimal policy, we find that direct public funding to political parties is necessary if voters are more likely to be right than wrong about the scenario. Second, we characterize all equilibria based on voters’ beliefs, the amount of money proportionally allocated, and the parties’ preferences over the pairs scenario-policy and being in office.

Second-hand car price prediction based on multiple linear regression and random forest

The second-hand car market is a hot topic. Buying a second-hand car has advantages in price and many other aspects. Therefore, it is important to establish a good price prediction model. This paper will explore the factors that affect the price of second-hand cars. After analyzing and learning many kinds of literature, this paper establishes a multiple linear regression model and a random forest model and makes a comparative analysis of the model effect. The sum of the square error and R-square value of the random forest are better than the multiple linear regression model. Among the factors affecting the price of second-hand cars, the year of production has the greatest impact on the price, which shows that the age of the year is an important factor in determining the price of second-hand cars. The next most important factor is the number of kilometers traveled, followed by fuel type and transmission type-finally, engine displacement, number of transfers and number of seats. The random forest model established in this paper has better application value to price prediction.

The Journey of Women Reservation Bill as 108th Amendment Bill In Rajya Sabha

The Women Reservation Bill seeks to reserve one third of the total number of seats in Lok Sabha, state legislative assemblies and Delhi legislative assembly for women. It means that the Bill will increase women representation by bringing at least one third women in the legislatures. Women Reservation Bill will not only be helpful in increasing the number of women representatives in the decision making but it will also help to improve their lower status and position in the society. Therefore, the Bill was introduced many times since 1996. But never got the approval of the lower house. In 2008 it was introduced in Rajya Sabha, a permanent house. Though passed by Rajya Sabha in 2010, it never got the approval of lower house till 2023. Main reason for not supporting it seems that all political parties had their own political interests that is why they took so long to make it a legislation by amending the Constitution. It got the approval of both the houses of Parliament in September 2023. In this paper an attempt is made to discuss the behavior of political parties supporting and opposing the Bill at the time it was introduced in Rajya Sabha in 2008.

Analisis Dampak Sistem Presidential Threshold dalam Pemilihan Presiden dan Wakil Presiden di Indonesia Terhadap Inklusivitas Politik dan Representasi Demokratis

Article 222 of Law Number 17 of 2017 concerning Presidential and Vice Presidential Elections states that "Candidate pairs are proposed by political parties or combinations of political parties participating in the election who meet the requirements to obtain seats of at least 20% of the total number of seats in the DPR or obtain 25% of the valid national votes in election of members of the DPR. With these regulations there are inconsistencies, on the one hand this country adheres to democracy, but on the other hand there are restrictions on the rights of citizens who wish to run for president and/or vice president. Research on the presidential threshold system is important to understand its impact on the political system and democracy in Indonesia. So that we can understand how this system influences community political participation, the diversity of presidential and vice presidential candidates, and the representation of community interests. The method used is normative legal research. These provisions reduce political inclusivity by limiting the variety of options for voters and restricting access for various groups of society. And influence democratic representation by suppressing votes for minority candidates or those representing special interests.

Pakistan's Coming Crisis

Abstract: Pakistan's 2024 elections delivered a shocking surprise. Imran Khan's PTI won the largest number of seats amid heavy state repression. With this result, well-worn political patterns—whereby military favor virtually guaranteed a party's electoral success—were upended. This essay argues that Pakistan's 2024 election is not a "black swan" event but instead signals a coming crisis of governability that grows out of three structural changes: the rise of an aspirational middle class, the erosion of traditional authority patterns, and an intensifying economic and climate crisis. Consequently, a historic loss of military legitimacy is unlikely to abate in years ahead.

Are Firms Gerrymandered?

We provide the first evidence that firms, not just voters, are gerrymandered. We compare allocations of firms in enacted redistricting plans to counterfactual distributions constructed using simulation methods. We find that firms are over-allocated to districts held by the mapmakers’ party when partisans control the redistricting process; maps drawn by courts and independent commissions allocate firms more proportionately. Our results hold when we account for the gerrymandering of seats: fixing the number of seats the mapmakers’ party wins, they obtain more firms than expected in their districts. Our research reveals that partisan mapmakers target more than just voters, shedding new light on the link between corporate and political power in the United States and opening new pathways for studying how mapmakers actually draw district boundaries.

Modelling elderly users’ perceived level of satisfaction with bus transit service: A case study of Patna city

Participating in activities can significantly enhance the life satisfaction of older adults, aged 60 and above. Limited access to transportation can have several negative effects on older adults. The present-day public transit system primarily serves young and middle-aged individuals, which results in a lack of comfort and safety for the elderly. This study aims to model elderly users’ perceived level of satisfaction with bus transit service using the ordered probit model. The study area for our research is the city of Patna, which is the capital of Bihar, India. An extensive perception survey of 416 elderly users populates the database for the present study. According to model estimation results, increasing the number of seats reserved for the elderly and improving the condition of bus stops will increase the perceived level of satisfaction and will lead to attract more elderly passengers to bus transit service. Marginal effects were calculated to evaluate the impact of each independent variable on the perceived level of satisfaction. The overall prediction success rate is 60%. The result of the study will be helpful in better understanding the elderly users’ perception of bus transit service and accordingly will be helpful in planning and management of the bus transit service to meet the expectations of the elderly.

The House of Representatives Needs to Expand

In 1929, the United States limited the number of congressional districts for the House of Representatives to 435 seats through the Permanent Apportionment Act. At the time, the average number of people within a congressional district stood at around 280,000 persons. In the 2020 census, this number has risen to 761,000 people per district. As a result, the voting power of citizens has been diminished. Representatives also face issues including logistical challenges in providing aid and information to constituents due to large populations. Importantly, the 435-seat limit dilutes the voting power of the electorate by reducing representation in states that have disproportionately large populations. This article argues that the 435 limit enacted by the 1929 Permanent Apportionment Act and the current method of apportioning districts to each state conflicts with precedent set by the Supreme Court from the cases Reynolds v. Sims, 377 U.S. 533 (1964) and Wesberry v. Sanders, 376 U.S. 1 (1964). The 1929 Permanent Apportionment Act also violates the Fourteenth Amendment right to equal protection of residents who live in states with slow growth rates. This article will advocate for Congress to repeal the 1929 Permanent Apportionment Act and return to the practice of expanding the number of House seats every ten years, as well as lowering the size of each congressional district. 

Ranked set sampling imputation methods in presence of correlated measurement errors

Very little attention has been paid by the authors for providing improved imputation methods under correlated measurement errors (CMEs) using various sampling designs. This article addresses several power ratio imputation methods and the resulting estimators under ranked set sampling (RSS) when CMEs are present. The mean square error (MSE) is developed to assess how well the suggested estimators work under CMEs. The effectiveness of the proposed imputation methods and corresponding resultant estimators is assessed by a comprehensive simulation utilizing an artificially generated population. Further, an application of the proposed imputation methods is also provided using real data from Sweden’s municipalities consisting of the total number of seats in 1982 in municipal council taken as study variable and the number of conservative seats in 1982 in municipal council taken as auxiliary variable. The CMEs might arise due to common surveyor biases if the same surveyor collects information on both the “total number of seats in municipal council” and “the number of conservative seats in that municipal council”. The simulation and real data results show that the proposed power ratio imputation methods outperform the mean, conventional ratio, and product imputation methods.

On the planning of zone-based electric on-demand minibus

An on-demand transportation system can enhance traffic efficiency through its flexible services. In this study, we introduce a planning problem for an on-demand electric minibus service within urban areas. We are considering a zone-based operation, meaning that the on-demand minibus is restricted to picking up or dropping off passengers within a single zone for each trip, and the minibus does not stop in other zones. For this zonal electric minibus system, we plan the service level for each zone, the construction of dedicated charging piles in each zone, and the optimal size of the bus fleet. To model the planning problem, we propose a mixed-integer nonlinear second-order cone program. Additionally, we introduce an adaptive discretization algorithm to expedite the problem-solving process. Our numerical tests illustrate the planning for the on-demand minibus system in Manhattan. Furthermore, these tests underscore the benefits of the proposed on-demand minibus system. The most important findings of this study are: (i) the proposed mode replaces more trips with cars, thus reducing the traffic flow and alleviating traffic congestion; (ii) the service zone division, the setting of the fare, and the number of seats in minibus play an essential role in the revenue of the on-demand minibus system; (iii) considering endogenous zone selecting, number of dedicated charging piles, and mode choice in each zone is essential to the planning of the on-demand minibus system.

Blind booking: The effects on passengers' purchase decision, airlines’ profitability, and tourist destinations

Blind booking consists of selling cheap surprise trips with a set of possible destinations, but without revealing the real destination until the payment is made. In this paper, we develop an economic model to analyse the social and private optimality of this pricing strategy in the airline industry. We perceive opaque products as a pricing strategy managed directly by airlines (without intermediaries) and simultaneously applied with other pricing strategies. Blind booking allows airlines to sell all their seats while maximising revenues and charging different prices in two parallel and independent markets: the transparent and the opaque market. Considering consumers’ risk attitude, airlines must optimally choose the number of seats of each destination to be sold in each market in order to maximise their profits and create an attractive blind product. Our findings suggest that, in general, selling tickets in both markets is optimal for airlines. We show that, even when it is not optimal, it may enhance social welfare. Thus, policymakers, especially those of low-demanded destinations, should encourage airlines to introduce blind tickets. In these destinations, blind tickets imply an additional source of demand, attracting new customers and generating positive economic impacts.

ACNM's Commentary on the Midwifery Workforce in the US.

The American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM) represents certified nurse-midwives (CNMs) and certified midwives (CMs) who are graduate-prepared advanced practice providers. They attend educational programs accredited by the American Commission for Midwifery Education (ACME) and are certified by the American Midwifery Certification Board (AMCB). Their scope of practice as defined by ACNM includes primary care, reproductive services beginning with menarche through menopause, gender-affirming services, contraception, abortion, prenatal, birth, postpartum, and care of the newborn. CNMs/CMs attend 10.9% of US births, but other high-income countries have the reverse proportion of midwives to obstetricians. The CNM/CM workforce is growing, but retirements and attrition slow the growth. Research demonstrates good outcomes from care provided by midwives, and ACNM's primary goal is to expand the midwifery workforce and increase consumer access to midwifery care to mitigate the persistent rise in maternal mortality and morbidity. Barriers to workforce expansion include restricted practice at the state level, inability to expand the number of seats in education programs due to lack of clinical preceptors, and a lack of diversity in the workforce. Strategies to address these barriers may allow the workforce to grow, increasing access to high-quality, equitable sexual and reproductive care for people in the United States.

Public Transport Accessibility Policy for Disabled Batam City in the Concept of Sustainable Transportation

This study evaluates sustainable transportation development in Batam City, focusing on the accessibility of public transportation for persons with disabilities as a sustainability indicator. Utilizing qualitative research methods, primary data were collected through interviews, complemented by secondary data from various sources such as Department of Transportation reports, Batam City Government documents, and online media. Data analysis employed triangulation, supported by Vosviewer Tools for processing secondary data. Findings reveal inadequate transportation accessibility services for people with disabilities in Batam City. Effectiveness, efficiency, adequacy, and equality for this demographic remain suboptimal, indicating a lack of sustainable and inclusive approaches. Regional regulations concerning disabilities are not fully implemented, and there's a lack of management strategies for transportation or Transport Demand Management tailored to assist people with disabilities. The Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system's ineffectiveness hampers transportation connectivity, exacerbating access challenges. Essential disability facilities like ramps and bell signals are unevenly provided, while the limited number of special seats creates difficulties in prioritizing pregnant women and the elderly. Consequently, the current serviceability access falls short of meeting the standard needs of people with disabilities, as envisioned in Sustainable Transportation frameworks.

Manipulation-Robust Selection of Citizens’ Assemblies

Among the recent work on designing algorithms for selecting citizens' assembly participants, one key property of these algorithms has not yet been studied: their manipulability. Strategic manipulation is a concern because these algorithms must satisfy representation constraints according to volunteers' self-reported features; misreporting these features could thereby increase a volunteer's chance of being selected, decrease someone else's chance, and/or increase the expected number of seats given to their group. Strikingly, we show that Leximin — an algorithm that is widely used for its fairness — is highly manipulable in this way. We then introduce a new class of selection algorithms that use Lp norms as objective functions. We show that the manipulability of the Lp-based algorithm decreases in O(1/n^(1-1/p)) as the number of volunteers n grows, approaching the optimal rate of O(1/n) as p approaches infinity. These theoretical results are confirmed via experiments in eight real-world datasets.

Comparing the Election Systems for Overseas Constituency Representatives in Multiple Countries

Although electoral systems are a traditional focus in political science, limited research exists on the characteristics of overseas constituency representation. This study aims to quantitatively elucidate these characteristics through a comparative analysis of the election systems in eight countries. This study analyzes overseas constituency representative systems while focusing on key factors such as the number of eligible voters, seats, voter turnout, and representativeness (value of a single vote). Voter turnout in overseas districts varies significantly among these countries. Notably, Croatia and Romania exhibit exceptionally high voter turnouts in overseas districts. Common characteristics in high-turnout countries include a higher representativeness in overseas districts than the home country and a small proportion of overseas voters in the total electorate. This dynamic incentivizes overseas voters to participate in elections to reflect their minority opinions in national politics. Furthermore, it potentially leads to a higher voter turnout in overseas districts than in the home country.

EVALUATION OF AIRPORT RAIL SERVICES BASED ON MINIMUM SERVICE STANDARDS (SPM)

One of the factors the Yogyakarta government built Yogyakarta International Airport was because the capacity of the Adisutjipto airport was only able to accommodate 1.2 million passengers but in reality the number of passengers could reach five times the capacity. Due to the very busy flight schedule and inadequate airport capacity, since 2020 the average flight has been diverted to Yogyakarta International Airport (YIA) "quoted from the official Adisutjipto airport website". The location of the airport which is far from the city center has had an impact on the development of mass transportation modes of the Railroad as a direct connector between the airport and Yogyakarta city center. The YIA Airport Train Station will begin operating in October 2021. In this relatively new period, it is necessary to evaluate the service facilities on the Airport Railroad and at the YIA Airport Station. The purpose of this research is to prove to what extent services both on the train and at the YIA airport station have met minimum service standards and to produce new innovations on the effectiveness of train scheduling related to the level of passenger satisfaction. The government itself has Minimum Service Standards for the Transport of People by Train which are listed in the Regulation of the Minister of Transportation of the Republic of Indonesia, Number PM 63 of 2019 concerning Minimum Service Standards for the Transport of People by Train, at Stations and on Trips. The regulation has 6 types of services, namely: Safety, Security, Reliability/Organization, Convenience, Convenience, and Equality. To find out whether the 6 types of services meet service standards, an evaluation can be carried out using qualitative methods with data collection techniques by direct observation in the field and through questionnaires, so that it is known that the implementation of minimum service standards at the Airport Railway and at YIA Airport Station . The stages required in conducting this research include: preparation, problem identification, data collection method by collecting primary data, namely through direct observation and online questionnaire distribution, both of which are analyzed descriptively, data evaluation, discussion, as well as conclusions and suggestions. The results obtained from this study are that there are still several service facilities that are inappropriate or not available in the station such as toilets, prayer rooms, no smoking prohibited signs, no seats available for persons with disabilities and so on, and the contents of the first aid kit are not found on the train , the temperature inside the train is not suitable, not all passengers can sit especially when the train is crowded and so on. Through the results of these observations to ensure the level of service, questionnaires were distributed and analyzed. Broadly speaking, the questionnaire shows that passengers expect the availability of toilets and prayer rooms at the station, the number of seats in the waiting room needs to be increased, the temperature in the room is considered, and the addition of the train departure schedule should be adjusted to the arrival and departure of the plane so that passengers do not wait too long.
 Keywords: Minimum Service Standards (SPM), Stations, Airport Railroad.

The cost of proportional representations in electoral system design

We present an impossibility result concerning the design of dual vote electoral systems that meet three key conditions: proportional party representation, proportional local representation, and local accountability. By identifying the necessary number of compensatory seats to meet these three conditions in dual vote systems, we show that the number is not bounded in general; thus, it can be very costly to achieve the three conditions. When a cap is applied to the total seats, combined with a district-decentralization, semi-compensatory dual vote systems that distribute the limited compensatory seats to enhance proportionality become vulnerable to strategic manipulations. Specifically, when political parties seek to maximize their legislative representation, they might employ the strategy of creating ‘decoy’ party lists.