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| Science Index | |||
| Science Talks | Local | Royal Canadian Institute for the Advancement of Science (3pm, Sundays) | |
| Science Meetup (7pm, 3rd Monday) | |||
| UofT Natural Philosophers (7:30pm, 2nd Tuesday, bhs(at)look.ca) | |||
| Astronomy Talks & Tours | UofT Public Astronomy Talks & Tours (8pm/9pm, 1st Thursday) | ||
| UofT Physics and Astronomy Student Union Seminars | |||
| Café Scientifique, World Wide Words, New Scientist | |||
| Science News | Science Daily | ||
| CBC Science & Health | |||
| Voting Systems Index | ||||||||
| Single Winner Systems | Majoritarian or Plurality / Majority methods (single vote) | First-Past-The-Post, aka FPTP, Plurality, Winner-take-all, plurality voting, relative majority, Single-Member District Plurality, SMDP | ||||||
| Runoff voting (majority) | ||||||||
| Block voting, aka Plurality-at-large, including Partial block voting & Preferential block voting. | ||||||||
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Single-Winner-STV, aka Alternative Vote, Instant Runoff Voting, IRV, Ranked Choice Voting, RCV, Hare System, Preference Vote, Preferential Voting.
It is the most widely advocated electoral reform in the US.
Single winner STV is used to elect the Australian House of Representatives, the lower houses of most of Australia's state parliaments, the President of Ireland, the Fijian House of Representatives, and the Parliament of Nauru. |
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| Approval methods (multiple votes) | Approval voting (single round count), Borda count (single round count), Bucklin voting (approval runoff), Range voting (aka 'Ratings'), Coombs' method (disapproval runoff) | |||||||
| Pairwise methods (single vote per pair), Condorcet methods | Ranked Pairs (RP), and variants such as Maximize Affirmed Majorities (MAM, a Condorset method) and Maximum Majority Voting (MMV), Cloneproof Schwartz Sequential Dropping (CSSD, a Condorset method), Copeland's method | |||||||
| Multiple Winner Systems (Proportional Representation) | Mixed Systems | Additional Member System (AMS). Some representatives are elected from geographic constituencies and others are elected under proportional representation from party lists. The constituency representatives are generally elected under the first-past-the-post voting system. The party list representatives are elected by a second vote, where the electors vote for a political party, not directly for an individual. This party vote determines the number of representatives the party has in the assembly. The particular individuals selected come from lists drawn up by the political parties before the election, at a national or regional level. Two separate elections using different systems, where the results in one election do have an impact on the results of the other. Small parties will generally win more seats under MMP than SUP. See FVC's 'Hybrid Model'. | Parallel voting (Supplementary Member, SUP). May or may not be considered a variant of AMS. Two separate elections using different systems, where the results in one election have little or no impact on the results of the other. The party list seats are allocated proportionally, and any constituency seats the party may have won are additional. Parallel Voting is the more common variation among voting systems of the world. Under SM, a proportion of seats in the legislature are filled by FPP, with single member constituencies. The remainder are filled from party lists, with parties needing to have polled 5 per cent of the vote in order to achieve representation, as under the Additional Member System (AMS). Unlike AMS, however, where party lists are used to achieve an overall proportional result in the legislature, under SM, proportionality is confined only to the list seats. Therefore, a party that secured say 5 per cent of the vote will have only 5 per cent of the list seats, and not 5 per cent of all the seats in the legislature. The proportion of constituency seats compared to AMS seats is often but need not be 50:50. Used in: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cameroon, Croatia, Georgia, Guatemala, Guinea, Japan, South Korea, Lithuania, Mexico, Niger, Russia, Senegal, Seychelles, Somalia, Taiwan (ROC) - constitutional amendment pending to begin this system in 2007, Tunisia. | |||||
| Mixed-Member Proportional (aka MMP, Top-Up, 'Hybrid'). The aim is for the party's total number of representatives, including constituency representatives, to be proportional to its percentage of the party vote. The voter makes two votes: one for a constituency representative and one for a party. In a lesser-used variant, which is used by some of the several States of Germany, both votes are combined into one, so that voting for a representative automatically means also voting for his party. In each constituency, the representative is chosen using first-past-the-post (that is, the candidate with the most votes, by plurality, wins). On the district or national level (i.e. above the constituency level), the total number of seats in the assembly are allocated to parties proportionally to the number of votes the party received in the party portion of the ballot. Subtracted from each party's allocation is the number of constituency seats that party won. The number of seats remaining allocated to that party are filled using the party's list. If a candidate is on the party list, but wins a constituency seat, they do not receive two seats; they are instead crossed off the party list and replaced with the next candidate down. Used in: Germany; Bundestag (Federal lower house); New Zealand, where the system is known only as MMP (Mixed Member Proportional), not as AMS; House of Representatives (unicameral Parliament); United Kingdom; London Assembly; Scottish Parliament; Welsh Assembly; It would be used for the proposed Regional Assemblies in England. AMS is also used in Bolivia, Italy, Lesotho, Mexico and Venezuela. | ||||||||
| Party-List Proportional | Highest Averages methods | D'Hondt method. Favors large parties. Used in Austria, Finland, Israel, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain. | ||||||
| Sainte-Laguë method. (aka Webster's method, divisor method with standard rounding). Favors parties. Used in New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Latvia and Bremen. See FVC's 'Hybrid Model'. | ||||||||
| Largest Remainder methods | Droop Quota method slightly favors popular parties. | |||||||
| Hare Quota method slightly favors smaller parties. | ||||||||
| Proportional Non-Party-List | Semiproportional | Proportional Approval Voting (PAV) | Each voter can vote for as many or as few candidates as the voter chooses. Theoretical; not currently used. | |||||
| Cumulative Voting (aka Accumulation Voting, Weighted Voting) |
A voter facing multiple choices is given X number of points.
The voter can then assign his points to one or more of the choices,
thus enabling one to weigh one's vote if desired.
Unlike preference voting where the numbers represent ranks of choices or candidates in some order (i.e. they are ordinal numbers), in cumulative votes the numbers represent quantities (i.e. they are cardinal numbers). Tactical voting is the rational response to this system. The strategy of voters should be to balance how strong their preferences for individual candidates are against how close those candidates will be to the critical number of votes needed for election. It is used heavily in corporate governance, where it is mandated by many U.S. states, and it was used to elect the Illinois House of Representatives from 1870 until 1980. Its was used in England in the late 19th century to elect school boards. |
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| Single Non-Transferable Vote (SNTV). |
Each voter casts one vote for one candidate in a multi-candidate race for multiple legislative seats.
Those candidates receiving the most votes win office.
Thus, in a four seat constituency, the four candidates receiving the largest numbers of votes individually would win office.
Used in Jordan, Rep of China/Taiwan, Puerto Rico, Vanuatu. |
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| Proportional | Single Transferable Vote (aka STV, PR-STV, 'Proportional Representation through the Single Transferable Vote', 'Hare-Clark' system, 'Multi-Member Ridings') | Voting: Voters rank candidates in their order of preference. In multi-member ridings voters are able to rank independents, and candidates of the same party as well as from different parties. | ||||||
| A certain number of votes are required to win a seat in a specific riding depending on its size. Once that threshold is reached the "surplus" votes of the winner are transferred to other candidates based on the voters' other choices. | ||||||||
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There is a broad range of representation.
It is a complex system, where voters choose candidates, rather than parties.
Both party candidates & independents get a meaningful opportunity to get elected.
This method is endorsed by the CTF.
Used in all elections in the Republic of Ireland and Malta; to elect the Australian senate and the City Council in Cambridge, Massachusetts; Tasmania. STV was used for provincial elections in the province of Alberta, Canada from 1926 to 1955. See FVC's ''Multi-Member Ridings Model'. |
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| Languages Index | Proposed Language Super-Families | Ural-Altaic, Proto-Pontic, & Super-Families that would include Indo-European ( Nostratic, Eurasiatic, Nostratian, Nostratic, Proto-World ) | Indo-European | Illyrian languages (extinct), Albanian (and extinct cousins), Anatolian languages (extinct language of the Hittites), Tocharian languages (extinct tongues of Tocharians) | ||||
| Greek, Armenian | ||||||||
| Baltic languages | Old Prussian & Curonian (extinct) | |||||||
| Latvian & Lithuanian | ||||||||
| Indo-Iranian languages | Indo-Aryan languages | |||||||
| Iranian languages | ||||||||
| Slavic languages | South Slavic | Western subgroup | Slovenian and Serbo-Croatian, languages spoken in Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro, and adjacent regions | |||||
| Eastern subgroup | Bulgarian in Bulgaria and adjacent areas, and Macedonian in Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria, Greece and Albania | |||||||
| West Slavic | Czech (in the Czech Republic), Slovak (in Slovakia), Upper and Lower Sorbian (in Germany), Lekhitic ( Polish and related dialects, Kashubian, Polabian, Obodrits ) | |||||||
| East Slavic | Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian | |||||||
| Celtic languages | Continental | one dialect of Breton (the only living Celtic continental language), Celtiberian (extinct), Galatian (extinct), Noric (extinct), Gaulish (extinct), Lepontic (extinct) | ||||||
| Insular | Q-Celtic | Goidelic ( including Irish Gaelic, Scots Gaelic, and Manx) | ||||||
| P-Celtic | Brythonic ( including Welsh, Breton, Cornish, Cumbric and possibly Pictish) | |||||||
| Germanic languages | North Germanic (descending from Old Norse) | West (Insular) Scandinavian | Icelandic, Faroese, Norn (extinct), Norwegian Nynorsk (disputed, strong continental Danish influence) | |||||
| East (Continental) Scandinavian | Danish (including Norwegian (Norwegian Bokmål)), Swedish | |||||||
| East Germanic (descending from Gothic) | Crimean Gothic (extinct in the 1800s), Vandalic (extinct), Lombardic (extinct), Burgundian (extinct) | |||||||
| West Germanic | High German | German | Middle German | East Middle German including Standard German or Hochdeutsch, Luxembourgeois, West Middle German (including Pennsylvania German (spoken by the Amish and other groups in southeastern Pennsylvania)) | ||||
| Upper German | Swiss German & Austrian, Alemán Coloneiro (spoken in Venezuela), Hutterite German (aka "Tirolean") | |||||||
| Yiddish (with a significant influx of vocabulary from Hebrew and traditionally written in the Hebrew alphabet) | ||||||||
| Low German | Low Franconian, Low Saxon | |||||||
| Frisian | ||||||||
| Anglic (descending from Anglo-Saxon, or Old English) | Angloromany (with a significant influx of Romany vocabulary) | |||||||
| Cayman Islands English (not creole) | ||||||||
| Modern Scots | ||||||||
| English (with a significant influx of French vocabulary) | Middle English (extinct) | |||||||
| Modern English & its dialects | American English, Australian English, British English, Canadian English, Caribbean English, Hiberno-English, Indian English, Jamaican English, Liberian English, Newfoundland English, New Zealand English, Pakistani English, South African English, Singapore English (sometimes called Singlish), Malaysian English (sometimes called Manglish) | |||||||
| Italic languages | Oscan & Umbrian (extinct) | |||||||
| Latin | Vulgar Latin's descendants, the Romance languages |
Northern African (extinct),
Franco-provençal, Rhaetian variants (Friulian, Ladin, Romansh), Corsican, Sardinian, Dalmatian (extinct), Romanian (also named Moldovan in Moldova), Sicilian, Occitan or langue d'oc |
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| Langue d'oïl dialects | Valon, Picard, Cajun French | |||||||
| Francien (Modern French) & its dialects | Parisian French, Belgian French, Québécois French, Acadian French, Swiss French, Cajun French, Marseillais French | |||||||
| Italian & its dialects | Piemontese, Ligurian (Liguria Italy & Monaco), Lombard, Venetian, Emilio-Romagnolo, Napoletano-Calabrese | |||||||
| Iberian languages | Portuguese, Leonese (Asturian, Mirandese), Spanish, Aragonese, Catalan | |||||||
| Ural-Altaic | Uralic Languages | Hungarian, Finnish, Estonian | ||||||
| Altaic Languages | Turkic languages, Mongolian, Tungusic languages (or Manchu-Tungus), Japanese (isolate?), Korean (isolate?), Ainu (isolate?) | |||||||
| Afro-Asiatic Languages | Berber Languages | Eastern Berber languages, Guanche, Northern Berber languages, Tamasheq languages, Zenaga | ||||||
| Chadic languages | ||||||||
| Egyptian languages | ancient Egyptian language, and its descendant Coptic | |||||||
| Semitic Languages | Eastern Semitic | Akkadian (extinct), Eblaite (extinct) | ||||||
| Central Semitic | North & West Central Languages | Canaanite Languages | Hebrew, Amorite (extinct), Moabite (extinct), El Amarna (extinct), Poenician (extinct), Punic (extinct) | |||||
| Aramaic | Syriac | |||||||
| Ugaritic (extinct) | ||||||||
| South Central (Arabic) Languages | Arabic, Maltese | |||||||
| South Semitic | Western (South Semitic) | Ethiopic Languages | North | Tigrinya, Tigre, Ge'ez (extinct) | ||||
| South | Transverse ( Amharic, Argobba, Harari, East Gurage languages ), Outer ( Soddo, Goggot, Muher, West Gurage languages ) | |||||||
| Old South Arabian (extinct) | ||||||||
| Eastern (South Semitic) | Soqotri, Mehri, Jibbali, Harusi, Bathari, Hobyot | |||||||
| Cushitic languages | Oromo, Somali, Afar | |||||||
| Beja languages | ||||||||
| Omotic languages | Walaita, Northwest Ometo, Southeast Ometo, C'ara, Gimira-Yem (Janjero)-Kefoid, Dizoid, Aroid, Mao | |||||||
| Elamo-Dravidian Languages | Dravidian Languages ( Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Tulu, Toda, Kota, Koraga, Badaga, Kurumba, Irula; Telugu, Gondi, Kolami, Naiki, Parji, Gadaba, Koya, Konda, Manda, Pengo, Kui, Kuvi; Brahui; Kurukh, Malto ), Elamite (extinct) | |||||||
| Sino-Tibetan Languages | Chinese Languages ( Mandarin, Wu, Hakka/Kejia, Min, Yue, Xiang , Gan, Hui, Jin, Pinghua ), Tibetan Languages, Burmese | |||||||
| Isolate Languages | Basque, Burushaski, Etruscan, Gilyak, Iberic, Ket, Japanese (Altaic?), Korean (Altaic?), Ainu (Altaic?) | |||||||
| Creole languages, Pidgins, and Trade languages | Spanish Creole, Kreyol Lwiziyen, Chinook Jargon, Haitian creole, Hawai'ian Pidgin/Creole, Kreyol, kiSwahili (Swahili), Tok Pisin, Papiamentu, Kriol, Pitcairnese | |||||||
| Sign languages | Contemporary Local Sign Languages | American Sign Language (ASL), Auslan (used in Australia), British Sign Language (BSL), Dutch Sign Language (NGT), French Sign Language (LSF), German Sign Language "Deutsche Gebärdensprache" (DGS), German-Swiss Sign Language "Deutschschweizer Gebärdensprache" (DSGS), Irish Sign Language (ISL), Nicaraguan Sign Language (LSN), Taiwanese Sign Language (TSL) | ||||||
| Contemporary Pan-National Sign Languages | International Sign | |||||||
| Purpose-Specific Sign Languages | Baby Sign (for children in the US), Gestuno (a constructed language), Makaton (for children and adults with learning disabilities in Britain) | |||||||
| Archaic Sign Languages | Martha's Vineyard Sign Language | |||||||
| Other Natural Languages of Special Interest | Endangered languages | Sorbs Lusatia, Belorussian, Yiddish, Ainu (Northern Japan, 15 speakers), Aramaic (Lebanon, Kurdistan), Chukchi (Siberia), Eyak (Alaska, 1 speaker), Istro-romanian (Istria Croatia, 500 speakers), Livonian (Estonia, 35 speakers), Manchu (Manchu China), Saami languages (Scandinavia, fewer than 100 speakers), Udmurt (various parts of Russia) | ||||||
| Extinct languages (by country) | United States ( Alsea, Atakapa, Barbareño, Biloxi, Mutsun (California) ); Canada ( Beothuk ); Peru ( Abshira Aguano Andoa Atsahuca Aushiri ); Brazil ( Acroá Arára, Mato Grasso Arua ); Colombia ( Andaqui Anserma Arma Barbacoas ); Venezuela ( Baniva ); Egypt ( Egyptian ); Tanzania ( Aasáx ); Nigeria ( Ajawa Auyokawa Basa-Gumna ); Guinea ( Baga Kaloum Baga Sobané ); South Africa ( Seroa Xam ); Sudan ( Baygo Berti Birked ); Former Soviet Union ( Chagatai ); Indonesia ( Biylel Kawi Sar ); India ( Ahom Aka-Bea Aka-Bo Aka-Cari Aka-Jeru Aka-Kede Aka-Kol Aka-Kora Akar-Bale ); Iran ( Avestan ); Iraq ( Sumerian (Mesopotamia) ); Israel ( Babylonian Talmudic Aramaic Bijil Neo-Aramaic ); Turkey Ubykh, Tevfik Esenç, Turkey (October 1992) (but efforts to revive it are underway) ); Australia ( Aghu Tharnggalu Agwamin Awabakal Banggarla Bayali Tasmanian (late 1800s) ); Philippines ( Agta, Dicamay Ayta, Tayabas ); Papua New Guinea ( Aribwatsa Bina ); Taiwan ( Basay ); Italy ( Camunic, Dalmatian (Italy, Croatia), Etruscan, Faliscan, Latin (Rome and the Roman Empire, probably most famous dead language, but still used for technical terms), Oscan, Umbrian ); Romania Dacian, Romania, Moldova ); England ( Cornish (Cornwall), Manx, (1974, but is being revived as a second language) ); Spain ( Gothic, Iberia/Iberic ); Germany ( Prussian Province of Prussia ) | |||||||
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