Roll Calls Research Articles

Roll call votes in the committees of the European Parliament: A new dataset

This forum article presents a new dataset on roll call votes in the committees of the European Parliament in the 2014 to 2019 legislative term. Data on roll call votes in the plenary has greatly informed research on the functioning of the European Parliament, broader legislative politics and European Union decision-making. Responding to transparency concerns about legislative decisions increasingly taken at committee level, a change of the European Parliament's Rules of Procedure introduced mandatory roll calls in committees from 2014. The article explains the context of the rule change, the data collection effort, and the data as such. A discussion of conflict across committees, party group cohesion and participation in roll call votes illustrates potential applications of the data.

Polarized social media networks: a novel approach to quantify the polarization level of individual users

ABSTRACT This paper presents a novel methodology to quantify users’ polarization within social media networks, focusing on network structure instead of content. We model polarized networks as directed graphs, collecting users’ follower/following connections data, and propose a simple algorithm to compute a Connectivity Score for each node in sub-graphs associated with identified contrary groups of the polarized network. Our method has several advantages: it relies solely on users’ follower/following connections data, which is objective, often public and easy to obtain. Also, this input data is usually memory-efficient, unlike the input data of content-based methods which may require a whole corpus. The algorithm's performance is assessed through application to Twitter's 116th Congressmembers network, comparing against a content analysis method: Sentiment score (using VADER), and two political behavior-based methods: Ideology score (based on co-sponsorship frequency) and Roll Call score (based on bill-voting similarity). The results demonstrate that: (1) users’ choice of connections on the social media can represent polarization behavior; (2) a meaningful correlation between Connectivity Scores and Ideology or Roll Call Scores shows that the political behavior of users is reflected in their social media connections; (3) Democrats’ Twitter following behavior and their bill-voting and bill co-sponsorship behavior (represented by Roll Call and Ideology) are all significantly more correlated than that of Republicans. We believe applying our algorithm in conjunction with other methods is a valuable contribution resulting in more comprehensive analysis of the social media polarization space.

Electoral reform and fragmented polarization: New evidence from Taiwan legislative roll calls

AbstractThis paper investigates how legislators respond to an electoral reform by adjusting their positions with respect to co‐partisans and rivals. Using cross‐sectional legislative roll calls over 20 years, we study how the dynamics of blue‐green confrontation are influenced by Taiwan's electoral reform from Single Non‐Transferable Votes (the SNTV) to Single‐Member Districts (SMD). Contrary to existing literature, our empirical evidence shows that the reform significantly fragmented legislator positions within their party and in relation to members from opposing parties, leading to an increase in contentious legislation and higher levels of both inter‐ and intra‐party distance. In the years following the reform, the political confrontation between the Kuomintang and the Democratic Progressive Party gradually diminished, eventually returning to levels seen before the reform. Moreover, our analysis reveals that the 2008 reform had heterogeneous effects on different parties, with each party displaying varying levels of resilience in response. This finding contributes to electoral system literature, providing policy implications for democratic countries contemplating electoral reforms.

An Automated Approach for Classroom Attendance Using OpenCV

Abstract: The "AI Attendance: Automated Attendance Monitoring System" employs artificial intelligence and facial recognition to revolutionize attendance tracking, replacing inefficient methods like roll calls and ID cards. This system eliminates manual record-keeping, reducing administrative burdens while ensuring accurate real-time identification of individuals' attendance. Technologies such as Flask Framework, OpenCV, and Pandas Library are utilized to develop a user- friendly web interface for face registration and attendance marking.With Pickle for serialization, registered faces persist seamlessly, enhancing efficiency and accuracy in attendance monitoring across various sectors

Real Time Snap Attendence

Abstract: Traditional attendance methods, such as manual roll calls and sign-in sheets, are often time-consuming, prone to errors, and ineffective in preventing proxy attendance. Face recognition technology offers a promising solution to these challenges by providing an accurate and efficient way to mark attendance. This paper presents Snap Attendance, a facial recognition-based attendance management system that utilizes deep learning algorithms to identify and verify student identities. Snap Attendance streamlines the attendance process, reduces administrative burden, and enhances attendance accuracy.

“Restoration” and representation: Legislative consequences of Black disfranchisement in the American South, 1879–1916

AbstractThe elimination of Black voting in the U.S. South after Reconstruction is the most significant instance of democratic backsliding in American history. I use newly collected state legislative roll call data from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, consisting of more than 19,400 unique roll calls, to explore Black disfranchisement's consequences for legislative representation. Using ideal point estimates in a panel design, I demonstrate that disfranchisement is associated with substantial changes in roll call voting. In states where competition between Democrats and Republicans structured roll call voting, disfranchisement precipitated shifts away from more‐Republican roll call records. In states already dominated by Democrats before disfranchisement, disfranchisement often led to relative shifts toward the agrarian, reform wing of the Democratic Party. These results demonstrate the centrality of Black disfranchisement for the creation of the Solid South and the significant impact of Black suffrage on southern politics in the years following Reconstruction.

Senate Countermajoritarianism

This article is the first comprehensive treatment of countermajoritarian roll call outcomes in the U.S. Senate, 1789–2022. Divergences from majoritarian principles are rooted in part in malapportionment and equal representation by state. Roll calls where a majority of the chamber votes one way while the other side represents most of the U.S. population are frequent across Senate history, depending on the proportion of the population covered by the majority party and the degree of conflict in the agenda. Other departures from majoritarian principles derive from the presence of supermajority requirements within the chamber. Such decision thresholds likewise are prevalent across Senate history, with significant increases since the 1970s. Although the two sources of countermajoritarian potential tend to be mutually reinforcing, under certain conditions they work against one another. The partisan impact varies over time, but in the modern chamber, Republicans have benefited more from Senate countermajoritarianism than have Democrats.

European radical left foreign policy after the invasion of Ukraine: shifts in assertiveness towards Russia

ABSTRACT The 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine has prompted a closer examination of parties’ attitudes towards the Putin regime. While research has examined the connections of the EU's far-right with Russia, less attention has been given to the stances of Radical Left Parties (RLPs). We close this gap by analysing Roll Call Votes (RCVs) in the European Parliament. Our findings indicate that RLPs displayed the lowest levels of assertiveness towards Russia before 2022, being even less assertive than other Eurosceptic groups. RLPs significantly increased their assertiveness after the invasion, bringing them closer to the EP mainstream. However, some divergence in assertiveness towards Russia existed within the RLPs before 2022 and remains relevant after the invasion, with the Traditional/Communist parties standing closer to Russia than radical New Left/Democratic Socialist parties.

Application and Optimization of WIFI Positioning algorithm in College Classroom Roll Call: A Positioning Strategy based on Mathematical Optimization

Abstract In this paper, the WIFI localization algorithm based on the signal intensity feature matching is studied and combined with the mathematical optimization strategy. By constructing accurate mathematical models, the algorithm can process signal intensity data more accurately and reduce the influence of environmental factors on the localization results. This positioning strategy based on mathematical optimization not only improves the positioning accuracy, but also improves the stability and practicability of the system, and provides an innovative technical means for the classroom roll call system in universities, which has important practical value and promotion prospects.

Recorded votes as attention booster: How opposition parties use roll calls and nonrecorded votes for position taking in the German Bundestag, 2017–21

The article investigates roll‐call request and its effects on opposition‐voting behavior. It argues that parties use roll‐call votes (RCVs) as a position‐taking instrument to boost public attention for issues they care about. This argument implies that RCVs are requested strategically but opposition behavior should not differ systematically between recorded and nonrecorded votes. Studying all voting activities of the 19th German Bundestag (2017–21), the analysis shows that RCVs are more likely on high‐salience issues, more important motion types, and to some extent opposition motions. Voting conforms to the position‐taking model as opposition parties are less likely to vote with the government on their own motions and more important motion types. However, opposition behavior does not differ systematically between recorded and nonrecorded votes suggesting that parties act consistently across all votes. Thus, RCVs provide valid measures for studying interparty competition in parliament despite their selective sampling properties.

Front porch roll calls: an innovative approach to community-oriented policing in Saginaw, MI

PurposeThis study aims to evaluate a promising community-oriented policing strategy called “front porch roll call” (FPRC), which involves conducting roll calls in public forums.Design/methodology/approachA mixed methods approach was used by drawing on survey data, field observations and qualitative interviews to describe how FPRCs were implemented in Saginaw, MI from 2019 to 2022, and how they can be successfully implemented to operate in accordance with the theoretical foundations of community-oriented policing.FindingsSurvey data from FPRC attendees reported improvements in their perceptions of police legitimacy, trust in the police and procedural fairness—each of which are vital pathways to developing collaborative crime prevention initiatives in community-oriented policing. Qualitative interviews and field observations provided unique insights into areas of improvement and ways to enhance sustainability for future use.Originality/valueCommunity-oriented policing offers a philosophical approach to addressing crime problems through the formation of localized, collaborative solutions that come from police-community partnerships. A key implementation challenge is that such programs can fail to align their initiatives with the theoretical principles of community policing. FPRCs offer an innovative solution that operates closely with the spirit of community-oriented policing. Data from a mixed-methods evaluation provide further insights into their challenges with implementation and ways to improve upon them.

Enhanced Attendance Monitoring: Utilizing QR Code for Online Attendance with Laravel Framework and SMS Notification

This paper presents an attendance monitoring system that utilizes QR codes for online tracking. Developed on the Laravel framework, the system offers an efficient and user-friendly solution for attendance management. By scanning QR codes, students can easily check-in, eliminating manual roll calls. The system also includes SMS notifications for prompt attendance status updates. Thorough testing ensures system functionality and security. Overall, this system represents a significant advancement in attendance tracking, enhancing efficiency and communication for students, instructors, and administrators

Face Recognition-Based Attendance System for Education Institute

Facial recognition technology is a crucial aspect of human identification, making it an ideal solution for attendance monitoring in educational institutions.[2] Traditional methods of attendance taking, such as roll calls and sign-in sheets, have proven to be time-consuming and inefficient. Consequently, there is a pressing need to enhance and upgrade the current attendance system to be more user-friendly and effective. This project aims to develop a face recognition-based attendance monitoring system that overcomes the limitations of the existing system. The current system suffers from ambiguity, leading to inaccuracies and inefficiencies in attendance tracking. Furthermore, it faces challenges in enforcing attendance regulations. By utilizing face recognition technology, which leverages the unique and difficult-to-duplicate characteristics of the human face, this project aims to address these issues. The system scans the faces of newly admitted students, capturing sample images (up to 100 samples per student), which are stored for training the model to ensure accurate predictions. During attendance sessions, the student's face is compared against the stored images to verify their identity. Once identified, the system automatically records the attendance by saving the necessary information, including the attendance status, in an Excel sheet. At the end of each day, the attendance information for all individuals is compiled into an Excel sheet and emailed to the respective faculty. This paper provides insights into the functionality and implementation of this project in educational institutes, showcasing its potential to revolutionize the attendance management system

«ХРОМАЯ СУДЬБА» БРАТЬЕВ СТРУГАЦКИХ И «ДВЕ СУДЬБЫ» ВЫСОЦКОГО

The article deals with textual and thematic roll calls of Strugatsky’s novel “Lame Fate” and Vysotsky’s song “Two Destinies”. For the first time, the motif offate is considered in relation to the works of the Strugatsky brothers. A comparison of the “crooked” and “difficult” fate of Vysotsky and the “lame” fate of the Strugatskys, line-by-line commentary of the first stanza of the poem in relation to the novel.

Integrating mobile learning and SPOC‐based flipped classroom to teach a course in water supply and drainage science and engineering

AbstractTo promote the combination of mobile learning (m‐learning) in new courses contexts and improve students' learning outcomes, an integrated method of m‐learning and small private online course (SPOC)‐based flipped classroom was proposed and used for teaching the “hydrology” course at Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology (XAUAT). The offering of the new methodology was composed of preclass (knowledge acquisition), in‐class (knowledge internalization), and after‐class (knowledge application) stages, and the WeChat applet Mu classroom with m‐learning technology was adopted in the in‐class stage. To improve the teacher–student interactions and communication, several interactive activities were designed based on Mu classroom, including random roll calls, open questions, objective questions, discussion, and extended discussion. After using the integrated method, the average score of each final exam was improved significantly (p < .05), and the failed (<60) percentage was decreased significantly (p = .002 < .01). Positive correlation between the scores of in‐class quizzes and discussion and final exam were obtained (R2 = .530, p < .001), indicating that students' outcomes were greatly affected by mobile learning. Moreover, positive feedback from students' questionnaires confirmed that the integrated approach was effective and could motivate students' learning interests and knowledge understanding.

Psychological health and wellbeing of primary healthcare workers during COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia: a longitudinal qualitative study

BackgroundPrimary healthcare workers (PHCWs) are at the frontline of dealing with viral pandemics. They may experience significant psychological stresses, which have hitherto not been examined in depth. We aimed to explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the psychological health and wellbeing of frontline PHCWs in Malaysia.MethodWe purposively recruited PHCWs with diverse backgrounds in Klang Valley, Malaysia. Using longitudinal qualitative methods, we conducted two sequential semi-structured telephone interviews, 3 to 4 weeks apart, to capture different stages of the pandemic. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed thematically.ResultTwenty-one PHCWs participated yielding a total of forty-two interviews. Themes clustered around stressors associated with work, home, and leisure activities, emotional changes, and modifying factors. In the first interviews, COVID-19 had just started in Malaysia. Participants expressed fear about the actual and perceived personal risk of COVID-19 infection. Most were worried about transmitting COVID-19 to their family members. Some felt stigmatized because of this perceived risk of infection. By the second interviews, participants felt safer, but instead focused on the need to keep other people safe. Participants’ emotions were influenced by their perceived risk of contracting COVID-19 infection. Internal factors such as religion enabled them to manage their concerns and develop personal coping strategies. Support from family members, colleagues, and employers promoted wellbeing during the pandemic. Training sessions, daily roll calls, and psychological support services were important in maintaining their psychological health and wellbeing. Many participants were hopeful and believed normalcy would return by the end of 2020.ConclusionPHCW’s psychological health and wellbeing evolved throughout the early stages of the pandemic and were influenced by their perceived risk of contracting the disease and personal belief structures. Clear updates on the disease and strategies for keeping safe at work and socially are essential to maintaining PHCWs’ psychological health and wellbeing.

Мотивы произведений Флобера и Мопассана в прозе Исаака Бабеля

The article examines some motifs of G. Flaubert and G. de Maupassant in the stories of I. Babel of the 1920s and 1930s. Stylistic and genre comparisons of Babel’s works with the works of French writers were noticed by critics in the first half of the 1920s. Similarities with Maupassant in the structure of the novella, with Flaubert — in the structure of the phrase were noted. Maupassant’s novella and Babel’s novella have a lot in common, first of all, brevity, saturation, paradoxicity. However, there is a significant difference: Maupassant almost never narrates in the first person, Babel, on the contrary, in the vast majority of his stories speaks on his own behalf, while most often the narrator is the actor. At the same time, the similarity of the narrative manner of Maupassant and Babel is noted. V. Shklovsky, appreciating Babel’s stories highly, insists on their similarity to Flaubert’s historical novel Salambo. But in this case, it is hardly possible to talk about direct borrowings or allusions, rather, we can talk about random coincidences and not quite obvious roll calls in the depiction of cruelty and death during the war, about some pomp and solemnity of individual descriptions in Babel’s stories from Red Cavalry or in Odessa stories, similar to the descriptions in Salambo. This article identifies allusions to the works of Maupassant in the short stories Quaker (1920), My first Goose (1924) and allusions to the works of Flaubert and Maupassant in the story Guy de Maupassant (1932).

In Case You Haven't Heard…

A decade ago, after the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre when mass shootings gripped the nation, the mental health community staunchly fought against any notion that people with mental illness are more likely than others to commit gun violence. Instead, the community said — with plentiful research to back it up — that people with mental illness are more likely to be victims of gun violence. Well, how a little money can change reality. Now, as Congress wraps up gun legislation focused on increasing federal funding for mental illness — funding that is needed — that argument has gone by the wayside. The groups that will benefit from the money support the idea that yes, people with mental illness are more likely to commit gun violence. More money for treatment, good. More stigma for people with mental illness, not good. People with substance use disorders already know they can't easily buy guns. And by the way, easily buying guns is also not good. For more, see the excellent report in last month's Roll Call. https://rollcall.com/2022/06/15/15gunsmental/

Poor Man's Fortune: White Working-Class Conservatism in American Metal Mining, 1850–1950

Poor Man's Fortune examines the white working-class men who labored in the lead and zinc mines along the boundaries of Missouri, Kansas, and Oklahoma from the mid-nineteenth to the mid-twentieth centuries. Because these miners opposed social-democratic labor unions and politics in the period leading up to the New Deal, they have not typically received attention from labor historians. They stood apart from the idea of a class-based solidarity, particularly as practiced by the Western Federation of Miners and the Congress of Industrial Organizations, often doing so with what Jarod Roll calls “a powerful animus” (p. 1). They worked as strikebreakers, objected to government attempts to impose health and safety regulations despite the dangers of lung disease, and resisted government encouragement to organize for better pay and working conditions. Over the past few decades, new labor historians have focused on how men and women collectively struggled to improve their working conditions through unions and social movements, and how they challenged their employers, the state, and capitalism. This approach to the study of labor was best exemplified by David Montgomery, who argued that workers in America “developed ‘an ideology of mutualism’” that embraced collective action as critical to their organizing success and to their ability to transcend differences of race, ethnicity, and gender (p. 3). Roll's intervention into this historiography is as significant as it is richly detailed, thoughtfully argued, and a joy to read.

Non-Separable Preferences in the Statistical Analysis of Roll Call Votes

AbstractConventional multidimensional statistical models of roll call votes assume that legislators’ preferences are additively separable over dimensions. In this article, we introduce an item response model of roll call votes that allows for non-separability over latent dimensions. Conceptually, non-separability matters if outcomes over dimensions are related rather than independent in legislators’ decisions. Monte Carlo simulations highlight that separable item response models of roll call votes capture non-separability via correlated ideal points and higher salience of a primary dimension. We apply our model to the U.S. Senate and the European Parliament. In both settings, we find that legislators’ preferences over two basic dimensions are non-separable. These results have general implications for our understanding of legislative decision-making, as well as for empirical descriptions of preferences in legislatures.