International Markets

It's going to be bumpy economic ride according to Greg Mankiw, economist at Harvard. Of course, if you have money to invest, maybe a good place is Africa these days? Check out this Empowerment Lab project. Wondering how big the proposed bailout would be? Check here for an interesting chart.

So how do you think these economic events are going to affect those in college today? Any ideas?

Class Notes -- Chapter 7 (What is Power?)

Here are the notes for today's class.

Summary Statistics for Exam 1

The results are in for the first exam in PSC204, and here are some brief summary statistics:

Total Number of Exams: 150
Mean score: 68.1
Range: 28 to 96 (question #44 was omitted because of an error)

UPDATE: Access your test score here, and here is a copy of the test questions.

Full details of student distribution:

grade | Freq. %age Cum.
------------+-----------------------------------
28 | 1 0.67 0.67
33 | 1 0.67 1.33
36 | 1 0.67 2.00
39 | 1 0.67 2.67
42 | 1 0.67 3.33
44 | 1 0.67 4.00
46 | 1 0.67 4.67
47 | 1 0.67 5.33
48 | 2 1.33 6.67
49 | 1 0.67 7.33
50 | 2 1.33 8.67
52 | 1 0.67 9.33
54 | 3 2.00 11.33
55 | 3 2.00 13.33
56 | 3 2.00 15.33
57 | 4 2.67 18.00
58 | 4 2.67 20.67
59 | 4 2.67 23.33
60 | 7 4.67 28.00
61 | 3 2.00 30.00
62 | 3 2.00 32.00
63 | 9 6.00 38.00
64 | 3 2.00 40.00
65 | 3 2.00 42.00
66 | 3 2.00 44.00
67 | 4 2.67 46.67
68 | 6 4.00 50.67
69 | 7 4.67 55.33
70 | 4 2.67 58.00
71 | 5 3.33 61.33
72 | 4 2.67 64.00
73 | 1 0.67 64.67
74 | 2 1.33 66.00
75 | 5 3.33 69.33
76 | 5 3.33 72.67
77 | 6 4.00 76.67
78 | 2 1.33 78.00
79 | 4 2.67 80.67
80 | 2 1.33 82.00
81 | 4 2.67 84.67
82 | 4 2.67 87.33
83 | 6 4.00 91.33
84 | 1 0.67 92.00
85 | 1 0.67 92.67
86 | 2 1.33 94.00
88 | 1 0.67 94.67
89 | 1 0.67 95.33
91 | 3 2.00 97.33
92 | 1 0.67 98.00
95 | 2 1.33 99.33
96 | 1 0.67 100.00
------------+-----------------------------------
Total | 150 100.00

More on the troop surge

Here is a link to some interesting research on the troop surge in Iraq. Take special note of the assumptions they're making regarding their data.

And for those who enjoy a bit of an historical perspective on things... here are some old Marlboro ads. Smoke up, Mom!

Class Notes -- Chapter 6 (Domestic Politics)

Here are the notes for today's class.

Voter Turnout by Age

Interesting graph of who votes is here. Could the low voter turnout be because all the youngsters were using their Blackberrys? 35% of respondents would give up their spouse rather than their PDA. More:

• 87% of those interviewed admit that they bring their PDA or smartphone to the bedroom at night.
• 84% check their email right before nodding off.
• 80% check their email as soon as they wake up.
• 62% claim they actually love their PDA or smartphone

Website supporting the Principles... Textbook

Here is a website that has quizzes, study guides, etc..., that support the Principles textbook by Bueno de Mesquita. It seems like a good resource for study before the test.

UPDATE: I've put two copies of the textbook and two copies of the workbook on reserve at Gorgas Library. They're available for full day checkout, so make sure to beat the rush and review them now if you need to do so.