IAP Independent Activities Period
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IAP 2012 Activities by Sponsor

Political Science

Cyber International Relations: Emergent Realities of Conflict and Cooperation
Nazli Choucri, Robert Reardon
Tue Jan 17, Wed Jan 18, Tue Jan 24, Wed Jan 25, 09am-05:00pm, 56-162

No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
Participants welcome at individual sessions (series)

This class explores the interaction between the development and growth of cyber space and international politics. Questions of theory and policy will both be addressed. The class is organized around the following core questions: How well can existing theories of international relations help us understand the political implications of cyberspace? How might cyberspace change traditional understandings of international politics? How might cyberspace affect security, identity, development, political freedom, social organization, and the distribution of global power? Does it represent a brave new world, or is it simply another over-hyped technological innovation? Over the course of the class, a series of interdisciplinary experts will offer their takes on these questions, present cutting-edge developments in the study of cyberspace and cyberpolitics, and engage participants in critical discussion. Falling at the nexus of the technical and the political, the class seeks to take advantage of MIT's unique strengths.
Web: http://web.mit.edu/ecir/home.html
Contact: Robert Reardon, reardon@MIT.EDU

Final MIT Washington Summer Internship Program Information Session
Charles Stewart, Tobie Weiner
Tue Jan 24, 05-06:00pm, 4-149

No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
Repeating event. Participants welcome at any session

Come to an information session and find out about the MIT Washington Summer Internship Program. The program was founded in 1995 to give selected MIT undergraduates the opportunity to explore science and engineering policymaking at the national level, through study and practical experience. The interns have worked in the offices of government agencies, the private sector, and advocacy groups. Complementing the summer internships are a trip to Washington, DC, during spring break and a 12-unit HASS subject designed to give students an introduction to policymaking. All sessions are the same; come to any one.
Web: http://web.mit.edu/summerwash/
Contact: Tobie Weiner, E53-484, x3-3649, iguanatw@mit.edu

How Baseball, Poker and Fermat Teach Us The Best Way to Elect the President
Alan Natapoff
Wed Jan 18, 04-05:30pm, 32-124

No enrollment limit, no advance sign up
Single session event

There is a movement afoot to elect the president by simple majority vote (SMV) —without an amendment—through an (unconstitutional, Article I.10.3) compact among states. Eight states have signed it. If it seems harmless, it is not: it would destroy all individual voting power over the presidency: SMV cannot provide significant individual voting power in any realistic presidential election. We will introduce the calculation of voting power and examine its consequences for election design. We will discuss the close analogy of voting rules to those of large-statistics sports. Last, we will discuss the statistical lessons offered by the history of presidential elections and examine the simple system that can cure the ills of the Electoral College without destroying its unappreciated strengths.
Web: http://natapoff@mit.edu
Contact: Alan Natapoff, 37-219, x3-7757, natapoff@space.mit.edu


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Last update: 7 Sept. 2011