* * * * *
The Institute is named after Jean-Charles de Borda, and hence the well-known voting procedure, the Borda Count BC; but Jean-Charles actually invented what is now called the Modified Borda Count, MBC - the difference is subtle:
In a vote on n options, the voter may cast m preferences; and, of course, m < n.
In a BC, points are awarded to (1st, 2nd ... last) preferences cast according to the rule (n, n-1 ... 1) {or (n-1, n-2 ... 0)} whereas,
in an MBC, points are awarded to (1st, 2nd ... last) preferences cast according to the rule (m, m-1 ... 1).
The difference can be huge, especially when the topic is controversial: the BC benefits those who cast only a 1st preference; the MBC encourages the consensual, those who submit not only a 1st preference but also their 2nd (and subsequent) compromise option(s). And if (nearly) every voter states their compromise option(s), an MBC can identify the collective compromise.
_/-_/-_/-_/-_/-_/-_/-_/-
DECISION-MAKER
Inclusive voting app
https://debordavote.com
THE APP TO BEAT ALL APPS, APPSOLUTELY!
(The latest in a long-line of electronic voting for decision-making; our first was in 1991.)
_/-_/-_/-_/-_/-_/-_/-_/-
FINANCES
The Institute was estabished in 1997 with a cash grant of £3,000 from the Joseph Rowntree Charitabe Trust, and has received the occasional sum from Northern Ireland's Community Relations Council and others. Today it relies on voluntary donations and the voluntary work of its board, while most running expenses are paid by the director.
_/-_/-_/-_/-_/-_/-_/-_/-
A BLOG
"De Borda abroad." From Belfast to Beijing and beyond... and back. Starting in Vienna with the Sept 2017 TEDx talk, I give lectures in Belgrade, Sarajevo, Istanbul, Tbilisi, Yerevan, Tehran, Beijing, Tianjin, Xuzhou, Hong Kong and Taiwan... but not in Pyongyang. Then back via Mongolia (where I had been an election observer in June 2017) and Moscow (where I'd worked in the '80s).
I have my little fold-up Brompton with me - surely the best way of exploring any new city! So I prefer to go by train, boat or bus, and then cycle wherever in each new venue; and all with just one plastic water bottle... or that was the intention!
In Sept 2019, I set off again, to promote the book of the journey. After the ninth book launch in Taipei University, I went to stay with friends in a little village in Gansu for the Chinese New Year. The rat. Then came the virus, lockdown... and I was stuck.
_/-_/-_/-_/-_/-_/-_/-_/-
|
The Hospital for Incurable Protestants The Mémoire of a Collapsed Catholic This is the story of a pacifist in a conflict zone, in Northern Ireland and the Balkans. Only in e-format, but only £5.15. Available from Amazon. |
The director alongside the statue of Jean-Charles de Borda, capitaine et savant, in l’École Navale in Brest, 24.9.2010. Photo by Gwenaelle Bichelot.
Here's the YouTube, the PowerPoint, and the text of the speech (more or less).
Wednesday, July 17, 2013 Democratic Rights: Decision-Making by Law Makers and Law Enforcers, was published in BLR Vol 4 No 2 2013. It's open access on http://www.scirp.org/journal/blr/
(See also 2014-13/11.)
Wednesday, July 3, 2013 Adversarial voting procedures, as in Egypt's constitutional referendum, have not helped the revolution. This letter was published in The Guardian on 3.7.2013.
Thursday, June 27, 2013 Some voting systems are adversarial and Orwellian; and some of these lead to war: majority voting in Bosnia, first-past-the-post in Kenya, etc.. Other voting systems are win-win, and the above article has just been published in Peace Economics, Peace Science and Public Policy. See:
http://www.degruyter.com/view/j/peps.ahead-of-print/peps-2013-0010/peps-2013-0010.xml?format=INT
Friday, June 14, 2013 This article, Consensus Voting, has just been published in the Quaker journal, The Friend, Vol. 171 No 24.
Wednesday, May 29, 2013 At their Belfast conference plenary panel, on 30.5.2013, the de Borda Institute presented this paper and power-point presentation.
Monday, May 20, 2013 Our first submission was this on 31.12.2012, and Here's our second; it's all about QBS.
(See also 2014-1.)
Wednesday, March 13, 2013 We seek to replace d'Hondt by an 'ethno-colour blind' matrix vote. Here's our submission. If you open this document, you will find our contribution on page 13.
(See also 2014-3.)
Saturday, March 2, 2013 Roy Garland wrote this article in the Irish News on 1.3.2013.
Saturday, February 23, 2013 In 1435, it was suggested that the cardinals should use a Borda Count. Alas, they still use majority voting. Hence this edited letter in the Irish News of 21st Feb.
(See also 2012-11.)
Friday, December 14, 2012 "...a thought-provoking guide to what democracy actually means and how best it can be achieved." Review, Books Ireland, Oct 2012.
(See also 2012-4/3.)
