Find a Political Network by James Cook

Vega

2015-11-04 01:28:01 UTC

http://www.state.me.us/ethics/

I found a source of campaign finance reports filed by candidates, party committees, political action committees, ballot question committees, and lobbyist disclosure reports. This is at the state level (on the maine.gov website), meetings are held in Augusta (although results are statewide), and the site is appointed by members of the legislative and executive branches. Information is given as two-mode network which cross references the candidates with election, party, jurisdiction, office, district, financing, status and election year information.

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Great example, Vega! This is definitely two-mode network data, I agree. The key is, as you put it, the "cross references," which are connections between individuals and affiliations (with party, district, status and so forth). Financing may be providing some one-mode data as well (financier -> financed).

- Prof. Cook

Auriga

2015-11-04 14:34:49 UTC

Ok this one was TOUGH for me to wrap my head around! I went to the state government website to find information on the Joint Standing Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs. (I am going to be a teacher after all) The web page provided tons of data. Including; names, political party and district /area represented. When you access each individual member of the committee you are also provided with endless personal information as well as lists of sponsored and cosponsored bills, legislatures they have served in and other committees they serve on. The data obtained would be used or compiled in a two mode network to determine ties etc. between legislators in an endless number of ways depending on what you are attempting to "track"

You can access this information at :

http://legislature.maine.gov/house/jt_com/edu.htm

After completing this part of the assignment I visited

http://.openmepolitics.com

and gained the same information in a much more readable format. They even provide the specific data for the sponsorship and co-sponsorship ties for this committee but for whatever reason it is all jumbled and TONS more detailed data for each committee member!

I hope I am on the right track with this? Have a great week everyone!

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There IS an error on those committee pages, it seems. Those pictures will have to be fixed. But yes, the committees of the Maine State Legislature are one source of political network data!

- Best, Prof. Cook

Carina

2015-11-04 18:30:32 UTC

http://legislature.maine.gov/legis/ofpr/total_state_budget/history/index.htm

I found a list of data that contains budget information and funding for the state of Maine. I would suggest this to be two mode information and that the level this is at is the state level. It includes information from the states general fund and the highway fund as well as federal funds and our total expenditures. It also covers this all the way back until the year 2000 and provides graphs along side the data provided. I was also able to look into how our budget money is allocated and for what is it allocated for in the state of Maine.

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Hmmm... this certainly is political data, but I'm not so sure I agree with you that this is 2-mode NETWORK data. The page to which you link contains information on dollar amounts by year. There are no groups, no memberships, no affiliations here! Feel free to argue back -- I may not understand what you're getting at here.

- Prof. Cook

Kitalpha

2015-11-06 00:02:31 UTC

https://www.fpds.gov/fpdsng_cms/index.php/en/reports

I started at this website and found an offsite analysis of hurricane sandy and the different departments vs how much each department spent during sandy. This is an example of a two mode network because each factor is unrelated. This level is at the legislative level.

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I feel the same about this data as I do about Carina's below, Kitalpha. How is this NETWORK data, even 2-mode? In 2-mode network data, there would have to be individuals affiliated with groups, or with properties of some kind. Does that happen here? I don't think so -- if so, show me how!

- Prof. Cook

2015-11-06 20:01:37 UTC

Lyra

https://inventory.data.gov/dataset/032e19b4-5a90-41dc-83ff-6e4cd234f565/resource/38625c3d-5388-4c16-a30f-d105432553a4

I was searching for something regarding education and I came across "This file contains directory information for every institution in the 2013 IPEDS universe. Includes name, address, city, state and zip code. Identifies institutions as currently active." Which according to the website http://www.data.gov/education/highlights

gives information that is used to help identify scholarships, financial aid, attendance, graduation records and so much more. I'm pretty sure in the very least is a two node network, but honestly, I'm not sure I fully understanding this weeks lessons, yet.

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If this is two-mode (not "two node") information, then what one-mode relations would you obtain from it? That's the test. Tell me about it!

-- Prof. Cook

Staying close to home:

2015-11-06 21:06:50 UTC

http://www.westbrookmaine.com/city-departments-boards-commissions/city-boards-committees

Here I found lots of information of the city of Westbrook. I feel it is 2-mode, all of the city boards and committees are listed here including when each members of those boards and committees including term end dates and the ward they belong to. Addenda and other notes are also available to review. Meeting dates and times are listed as well.

Cassiopeia

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YES! Good job. People x Meeting = 2-mode NETWORK data, because it describes how people affiliate with groups (committees, boards and meetings).

- Prof. Cook

Landrum- Griffin Act of 1959

sarah_lemieux — 2015-11-07 16:00:22 UTC

Under this act all labor unions in the United States are required to file financial disclosures each year with t he Department of Labor. Those reports are available here.

http://www.dol.gov/olms/regs/compliance/rrlo/lmrda.htm

Some of the information you can access here are the number of members a union has, the amount of money it took in and put back out within the last 12 months, as well as what that money was spent on. This site is a wealth of knowledge for researchers looking to know the health of unions in the United states today, as well as how they have changed over time since the reporting started.

I myself have used this site in the past to discover the average salary of union employees in the state. I was the chief negotiator

for my staff unions contract and collected the information to prepare for our bargaining sessions. It was quite useful.

These would be two mode I believe.

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(Pssst... be sure to add your pseudonym so I can give you credit.)

What are the two modes here that makes this not just POLITICAL DATA but POLITICAL NETWORK DATA? Tell me what they are!

Best,

Prof. Cook

French Revolution

2015-11-08 00:25:23 UTC

http://alphahistory.com/frenchrevolution/legislative-assembly/

The decision of the French Republic was in the hands of the Legislative Assembly. France’s transition from absolutist monarchy to constitutional government depended from the different parties: The Assembly contained 745 deputies.

Jacobin Club (republicans)

Feuillants (constitutional monarchists) and political moderates.

The political network of the French Revolution is two mode because the two dominant parties were themselves related to different ties.

Hydra

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Hydra, this information takes you HALFWAY there: belonging to different political groups would constitute 2-mode network relations. But the web page to which you link does not contain any of the actual 2-mode data. It is only a dictionary entry. Where would one find the data on who belonged to which group?

- Prof. Cook

Phoenix

2015-11-08 16:00:43 UTC

I found the list of council members for the town of Oakland. The chairman is listed, as well as the rest of the members that are part of the team. If you click on the person's name, it shows a brief overview about them, as well as other teams that they are part of. For example, Don Borman is on the council board in Oakland, but is also treasurer of the Waterville Rotary Area, secretary of the McGrath Pond Salmon Lake Association, treasurer of the Kennebec Valley Community College Foundation Board, and a Board member of the Pine Tree Society. Because each person on the board is on other boards as well, just like Don, I think that this would be a two-mode network.

http://www.oaklandmaine.us/index.asp?SEC=4408EA2E-4749-4D3D-A3C3-924AFD713E53&Type=B_BASIC

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Very efficiently and ably done, Phoenix!

- Prof. Cook

Libra

2015-11-08 19:17:44 UTC

I hope that I am understanding this padlet correctly. I looked up the Board of Directors for the Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce. I believe that this list is a 2-mode network as they are all members of the board and they are also all owners of local Bar Harbor businesses. http://www.barharborinfo.com/Membership/Board-of-Directors.aspx

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Good example. So, if we believe what sociologists say about people joining groups together, the Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce serves a very important network function of tying various businesses together socially!

- Prof. Cook

Pegasus

21stCenturySkills — 2015-11-08 20:27:10 UTC

I chose to work in the executive branch on the state level of government and use Governor Lepage's cabinet. This is a two mode network as each member is associated with a certain department as well as the cabinet. I found this information on the maine.gov website.

http://www.maine.gov/governor/lepage/administration/cabinet.shtml

Atares

messinapro — 2015-11-08 20:46:47 UTC

The 150 members of the Texas house represent a 2 mode network - Membership of these nodes in the event. The members are the nodes and the event is the Texas House. Going further, there are 54 varying groups under House committees. It is reasonable to these are subgroups within the Texas house. Each group contains a smaller network of individuals connected by yet another event. Specifically, within the Agriculture and livestock committee there are 7 members. Moreover, we could expect that the members in this specific committee are more closely related that those who are not in the group because they do not share this event. If some committee members are part of more than one committee they might be considered more important in creating a more connected or dense network.

1. http://www.house.state.tx.us/

2.http://www.house.state.tx.us/committees/

3.http://www.house.state.tx.us/committees/committee/?committee=020

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Good examples here. Texas is a big state and what you describe is a big political network, tied together by membership in the overall legislature, in particular committees, and in joint actions (like cosponsorship and voting).

-- Prof. Cook

Serpens

2015-11-08 22:47:39 UTC

I chose to check out the Bangor City Council. On the website it shows photos of each member and a link to their personal and political background along with other information about them. There are 9 members on the council. There are 10 different committees the counselors sit on. Each member sits on at least 2 different committees.

For example; Joe Baldacci is the chair of the Infrastructure Committee and also serves on the Government Operations and Business and Economic Development committees.

I believe this is a two mode network because each council member is also on multiple committees. These committees do not always meet at the same time, but most of the council members are at every meeting (if that makes sense). My fingers are crossed that I understood this padlet!!

http://www.bangormaine.gov/content/1538/1751/default.aspx

Aquila

2015-11-08 23:28:58 UTC

I wanted to review the Canadian Health care system. This is a 2 node network & the level is at the Federal Department. The purpose of Health Canada is to monitor and promote healthy lifestyles and make sure health services are available to Canadians. The 2 modes are depending what information you are looking to obtain when compiling a matrix. Health Canada to the general population or Health Canada to Health Care institutions that it works with to make sure services are available. Of course the Heath Canada to health institutions would contain more helpful information as all of the Canadians are included. http:http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ahc-asc/activit/about-apropos/index-eng.php

Sagitta

brandy_radke1 — 2015-11-09 00:49:58 UTC

This would be 2 mode information for Boulder City Chamber of Commerce Board of directors. This is at the local government level. It says business but more than half are just where they work or the other place they are involved in.

http://www.bouldercitychamberofcommerce.com/board-of-directors.html

Virgo

michael_steeves — 2015-11-09 02:22:42 UTC

I have selected my local town of Paris 's Selectmen Board. This is a 5 person board that are a 1 tier system. The town manager takes part in the monthly meeting every month and has a big say in what happens in the town. Although she does not have a vote, she seems to be able to dictate a lot of what happens in the town. The main reason I have chosen them is because of the big budget issue the town is having right now with the mil rate.

http://www.parismaine.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Updated-Agenda-and-Background-Info-10-13-15.pdf

Scorpio

2015-11-09 02:24:06 UTC

This link is to the Tribal Council page of the Penobscot Nation's website. It briefly explains the election system and gives a list of the current council members. On the right hand side of the page are links to specific departments within the Tribe, which include contact information, news, and forms. This website shows two-mode information because, with enough digging, you can find connections between the council members and the various departments; however, if you look at the page itself as its own entity, i would say that is one-mode information because the evident data is simply the list of people in one particular network: the council.

https://www.penobscotnation.org/departments/tribal-council

Columbus

2015-11-09 03:44:43 UTC

Portland City Council is concerned with things like public transportation, energy, housing, community development, and public safety. The website gives brief bios on the city council members, as well as details the committees and provides minutes and agendas for each. The locations, times, and days the meetings occur are listed. Under the tab "Community Voice" internet users have the option of submitting ideas under different initiatives to be reviewed by the appropriate committees.

I would say that is a two mode network because the members are involved in at least one committee. There are individuals who do not belong to the Portland City Council that are members of the committees. Entirely separate from them are staff coordinators. A level 2 ego network would be used to show all a committee's members with a city council member as the ego.

http://www.portlandmaine.gov/132/City-Council