This book describes what the authors identify as an emerging political crisis in U.S. politics: the possible winning of the presidency by a candidate with far fewer votes than his or her opponent. David W. Abbott and James P. Levine stress both the irrationality and peculiar nature of the current electoral system, emphasizing recent and current political developments. On the basis of their computer analysis of past elections and modern political realities, the authors predict that within twenty years it is very likely that the United States will produce a wrong winner. In explaining how this phenomenon could occur, Abbott and Levine introduce the concept of the wasted vote; winning lopsided majorities in states is worth no more than winning states by one vote, due to the antiquated winner-take-all principle. The book gives a brief historical overview of the electoral college and the structure of the existing electoral system. In addition to a detailed discussion of the wrong winner problem, the authors also explain that if no candidate gets a majority of votes in the electoral college because of the presence of a third party candidate, the House of Representatives must choose the president under an odd set of ground rules. This creates the potential for all kinds of nefarious political shenanigans. The authors conclude that the only satisfactory solution to the electoral system's shortcomings is the total abolition of the electoral college and a shift to direct election of the president by the people. Wrong Winner will be an excellent supplementary text in American Government, Parties, Voting, and Public Choice courses. It will also be of interest to political professionals, journalists, and political scientists.
This book describes what the authors identify as an emerging political crisis in U.S. politics: the possible winning of the presidency by a candidate with far fewer votes than his or her opponent. David W. Abbott and James P. Levine stress both the irrationality and peculiar nature of the current electoral system, emphasizing recent and current political developments. On the basis of their computer analysis of past elections and modern political realities, the authors predict that within twenty years it is very likely that the United States will produce a wrong winner. In explaining how this phenomenon could occur, Abbott and Levine introduce the concept of the wasted vote; winning lopsided majorities in states is worth no more than winning states by one vote, due to the antiquated winner-take-all principle. The book gives a brief historical overview of the electoral college and the structure of the existing electoral system. In addition to a detailed discussion of the wrong winner problem, the authors also explain that if no candidate gets a majority of votes in the electoral college because of the presence of a third party candidate, the House of Representatives must choose the president under an odd set of ground rules. This creates the potential for all kinds of nefarious political shenanigans. The authors conclude that the only satisfactory solution to the electoral system's shortcomings is the total abolition of the electoral college and a shift to direct election of the president by the people. Wrong Winner will be an excellent supplementary text in American Government, Parties, Voting, and Public Choice courses. It will also be of interest to political professionals, journalists, and political scientists.
A unique interdisciplinary approach to inorganic materialsdesign Textbooks intended for the training of chemists in the inorganicmaterials field often omit many relevant topics. With itsinterdisciplinary approach, this book fills that gap by presentingconcepts from chemistry, physics, materials science, metallurgy,and ceramics in a unified treatment targeted towards the chemistryaudience. Semiconductors, metal alloys and intermetallics, as wellas ceramic substances are covered. Accordingly, the book shouldalso be useful to students and working professionals in a varietyof other disciplines. This book discusses a number of topics that are pertinent to thedesign of new inorganic materials but are typically not covered instandard solid-state chemistry books. The authors start with anintroduction to structure at the mesoscopic level and progress tosmaller-length scales. Next, detailed consideration is given toboth phenomenological and atomistic-level descriptions of transportproperties, the metal-nonmetal transition, magnetic and dielectricproperties, optical properties, and mechanical properties. Finally,the authors present introductions to phase equilibria, synthesis,and nanomaterials. Other features include: * Worked examples demonstrating concepts unfamiliar to thechemist * Extensive references to related literature, leading readers tomore in-depth coverage of particular topics * Biographies introducing the reader to great contributors to thefield of inorganic materials science in the twentieth century With their interdisciplinary approach, the authors have set thegroundwork for communication and understanding among professionalsin varied disciplines who are involved with inorganic materialsengineering. Armed with this publication, students and researchersin inorganic and physical chemistry, physics, materials science,and engineering will be better equipped to face today's complexdesign challenges. This textbook is appropriate for senior-levelundergraduate and graduate course work.
The 2004 presidential election was one of the closest in American history, but at the same time the Republicans made significant gains in Congress. The authors explore the reasons for the Bush success & discuss the prospects for long-term Republican dominance.
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