We introduce a penalized maximum likelihood approach for ranking all NCAA Division 1-A college football teams. The model does not consider margin of victory and is based solely on win/loss data. Despite the simplicity, the model leads to rankings which exhibit greater agreement with expert opinion (i.e. AP and Coaches polls) than the models historically and currently used by the Bowl Championsh...

On-line review systems have been proved to be sensitive to fraud and have shown some shortcomings due to their reliance on using numerical ratings as reviews. For that reason, and supported by recent work on the field, we aim to address the problem of fraud in this type of systems, by designing a mechanism based on pairwise comparisons – encapsulated as opinion polls – coupled with an incentive...

In the studies reported here, we conducted longitudinal analyses of preelection polling data to test whether an Ebola outbreak predicted voting intentions preceding the 2014 U.S. federal elections. Analyses were conducted on nationwide polls pertaining to 435 House of Representatives elections and on state-specific polls pertaining to 34 Senate elections. Analyses compared voting intentions bef...

Public deliberation is an approach policy-makers can use to tackle public policy problems that require the consideration of both values and evidence. However, there is much uncertainty about why and when to choose it rather than more familiar approaches, such as public opinion polls or expert panels. With guidance on the why and when of public deliberation, policy-makers can use it appropriatel...

OBJECTIVE To review the results of opinion polls on community attitudes to in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) and other aspects of assisted reproductive technology over a 20-year period. DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS Fourteen Australia-wide interview surveys that included questions relating to IVF were carried out between July 1981 and November 2001 as part of regular Morgan polls of community a...