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29-465: Countries delimit electoral districts in different ways. Sometimes these are drawn based on traditional boundaries, sometimes based on the physical characteristics of the region and, often, the lines are drawn based on the social, political and cultural contexts of the area. This may need to be done in any form of electoral system even though it is primarily done for plurality or majority electoral system. These processes of boundary delimitation can have

58-580: A supermajority ) is a number of votes above a specified percentage (e.g. two-thirds); a relative majority (also a plurality ) is the number of votes obtained that is greater than any other option. Henry Watson Fowler suggested that the American terms plurality and majority offer single-word alternatives for the corresponding two-word terms in British English, relative majority and absolute majority , and that in British English majority

87-402: A "fascinating, formidable book". Winston Churchill directed his officials to read it. The success of the book was such that the publishers had to reprint it three times in the first year of publication, and there were twelve further reprints before a second edition was finally commissioned in the 1960s. On the death of its original editor in 1922, Fowler helped complete the first edition of

116-524: A familiarity with certain books—such as the works of Shakespeare or books considered "juvenile"—then proceeds to recommend that the savouring of these books should be "no tossing off of ardent spirits, but the connoisseur's deliberate rolling in the mouth of some old vintage". In "Outdoor London", published a year later in the short-lived Anglo-Saxon Review , Fowler describes the sights and sounds of his new home, praising its plants, its Cockney inhabitants, and its magical night scenes. In 1903, he moved to

145-470: A mastership at Sedbergh School in 1882. There he taught Latin, Greek and English, starting with the first form, but soon switching to the sixth form . He was a respected but uninspiring teacher, earning the nickname "Joey Stinker" owing to his propensity for tobacco smoking. Several of the Fowler brothers were reunited at Sedbergh. Charles Fowler taught temporarily at the school during the illness of one of

174-399: A plurality of votes but not a majority. In some votes, the winning candidate or proposition may need only a plurality, depending on the rules of the organization holding the vote. In international institutional law, a simple majority (also a plurality ) is the highest number of votes cast (disregarding abstentions) among alternatives. However, in many jurisdictions, a simple majority is

203-409: A stronger requirement than plurality (yet weaker than absolute majority ) in that more votes than half cast, excluding abstentions, are required. An absolute majority (also a majority ) is a number of votes "greater than the number of votes that possibly can be obtained at the same time for any other solution", when voting for multiple alternatives at a time. A qualified majority (also

232-498: A variety of legal justifications. Often, because of the powerful effects this process can have on constituencies , the legal framework for delimitation is specified in the constitution of a country. The Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) recommends the following pieces of information be included in this legal framework: Delimitation is regularly used in the United States and Commonwealth countries. This

261-749: Is called redistricting or redistribution respectively. In these countries non-partisan commissions may draw new district boundaries based on the distribution of population according to a census . A number of international organizations including the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe , the European Commission for Democracy Through Law (the Venice Commission ), the Commonwealth Secretariat , and

290-553: Is sometimes understood to mean "receiving the most votes" and can therefore be confused with plurality . Henry Watson Fowler Henry Watson Fowler (10 March 1858 – 26 December 1933) was an English schoolmaster , lexicographer and commentator on the usage of the English language. He is notable for both A Dictionary of Modern English Usage and his work on the Concise Oxford Dictionary , and

319-535: The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary , under the editorship of C.T. Onions . In 1929 Fowler republished Si mihi—! under his own name as If Wishes were Horses , and another volume of old journalistic articles under the title Some Comparative Values. On 26 December 1933, Fowler died at his home, "Sunnyside", Hinton St George, England, aged 75. Currently, The King's English and Modern English Usage remain in print. The latter

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348-643: The BEF . After his brother's death, Henry Fowler and his wife moved to Hinton St George in Somerset, where he worked on the Pocket Oxford Dictionary and Modern English Usage , which he dedicated to his brother. A Dictionary of Modern English Usage , published in 1926, considered by many to be the definitive style guide to the English language, "made the name of Fowler a household word in all English-speaking countries". The Times described it as

377-713: The Electoral Institute of Southern Africa (EISA) have established standards which their members are encouraged to prescribe to. Among these standards the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) lists the most common as being Impartiality, Equality, Representativeness, Non-Discrimination and Transparency. As part of its report, European Commission for Democracy Through Law: Code of Good Practice in Electoral Matters, Guidelines and Explanatory Reports adopted October 2002 ,

406-423: The Venice Commission proposed the following guidelines: In the publication Good Commonwealth Electoral Practices: A Working Document, June 1997, the Commonwealth Secretariat identifies the following practices as necessary for proper delimitation: In her study sponsored by the International Foundation for Electoral Systems , Dr. Lisa Handley recommends the following considerations: Also, she suggests that

435-481: The Alps. These included Ralph St John Ainslie, a music teacher and caricaturist; E. P. Lemarchand, whose sister eventually married Arthur Fowler; Bernard Tower, who went on to become headmaster at Lancing ; and George Coulton , who was to write the first biography of Henry Fowler. Despite being the son of a clergyman, Fowler had been an atheist for quite some time, though he rarely spoke of his beliefs in public. He had

464-623: The Fowler brothers a single-volume abridgement of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), which was published as the Concise Oxford Dictionary in 1911. The Concise Oxford has remained in print ever since, being regularly revised. The next commission for the brothers was a much smaller, pocket-sized abridgement of the OED at the same time they were working on Modern English Usage ; work on both began in 1911, with Henry Fowler concentrating on Modern English Usage and Francis on

493-464: The chance of becoming a housemaster at Sedbergh on three occasions. The third offer was accompanied by a long discussion with the headmaster, Henry Hart, about the religious requirements for the post, which included preparing the boys for confirmation in the Church of England . This was against Fowler's principles, and when it became clear that no compromise on this matter was possible, he resigned. In

522-444: The house masters. Arthur Fowler had transferred from Rugby to Sedbergh for his last eighteen months at school and later became a master there. Samuel, the troublesome youngest brother, was sent to Sedbergh, probably to be taken care of by Henry and Arthur, but he stayed only a year before leaving the school, and of him nothing further is known. Henry Fowler made several lifelong friends at Sedbergh, who often accompanied him on holiday to

551-561: The island of Guernsey , where he worked with his brother Francis George Fowler . Their first joint project was a translation of the works of Lucian of Samosata . The translation, described by The Times as of "remarkable quality", was taken up by the Oxford University Press and published in four volumes in 1905. Their next work was The King's English (1906), a book meant to encourage writers to be stylistically simple and direct and not to misuse words. This book "took

580-470: The pocket dictionary. Neither work was complete at the start of World War I . In 1914, Fowler and his younger brother volunteered for service in the British army. To gain acceptance, the 56-year-old Henry lied about his age. Both he and Francis were invalided out of the army in 1916 and resumed work on Modern English Usage . In 1918, Francis died aged 47 of tuberculosis , contracted during service with

609-607: The process should: Plurality (voting) A plurality vote (in North American English ) or relative majority (in British English ) describes the circumstance when a party , candidate , or proposition polls more votes than any other but does not receive more than half of all votes cast. For example, if from 100 votes that were cast, 45 were for candidate A , 30 were for candidate B and 25 were for candidate C , then candidate A received

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638-638: The rest of his life: a daily morning run followed by a swim in the nearest body of water. He left Oxford in 1881, but was not awarded a degree until 1886, because he failed to pass his Divinity examination. Trusting in the judgment of the Balliol College master that he had "a natural aptitude for the profession of Schoolmaster", Fowler took up a temporary teaching position at Fettes College in Edinburgh. After spending two terms there, he moved south again to Yorkshire (present-day Cumbria ) to begin

667-402: The summer of 1899 Fowler moved to a house at 14 Paultons Square, Chelsea , London (where there is now a blue plaque in his honour), and sought work as a freelance writer and journalist, surviving on his meagre writer's earnings and a small inheritance from his father. In his first published article, "Books We Think We Have Read" (1900), he first discusses the habit among Englishmen of pretending

696-545: The works on which they had collaborated and edited additional works. Fowler was born on 10 March 1858 in Tonbridge , Kent. His parents, the Rev. Robert Fowler and his wife Caroline, née Watson, were originally from Devon . Robert Fowler was a Cambridge graduate, clergyman and schoolmaster. At the time of Henry's birth he was teaching mathematics at Tonbridge School , but the family soon moved to nearby Tunbridge Wells . Henry

725-400: The world by storm". Fowler collected some of his journalistic articles into volumes and published them pseudonymously, including More Popular Fallacies (1904) by "Quillet", and Si mihi —! (1907) by "Egomet". In 1908, on his fiftieth birthday, he married Jessie Marian Wills (1862–1930). It was an exceptionally happy, but childless, marriage. The Oxford University Press commissioned from

754-462: Was described by The Times as "a lexicographical genius". After an Oxford education, Fowler was a schoolmaster until his middle age and then worked in London as a freelance writer and journalist, but was not very successful. In partnership with his brother Francis , beginning in 1906, he began publishing seminal grammar, style and lexicography books. After his brother's death in 1918, he completed

783-471: Was greatly inspired by one of his classics teachers, Robert Whitelaw, with whom he kept up a correspondence later in life. In 1877 Fowler began attending Balliol College , Oxford . He did not excel at Oxford as he had at Rugby, earning only second-class honours in both Moderations and Literae Humaniores . Although he participated little in Oxford sport, he did begin a practice that he was to continue for

812-670: Was the eldest child of eight, and his father's early death in 1879 left him to assume a leading role in caring for his younger brothers and sister (Charles, Alexander, [Edward] Seymour, Edith, Arthur, Francis and [Herbert] Samuel). Henry Fowler spent some time at a boarding school in Germany before enrolling at Rugby School in 1871. He concentrated on Latin and Greek , winning a school prize for his translation into Greek verse of part of Percy Bysshe Shelley 's play Prometheus Unbound . He also took part in drama and debating and in his final year served as head of his house, School House. He

841-500: Was updated by Sir Ernest Gowers for the second edition (1965) and largely rewritten by Robert Burchfield for the third (1996). A Pocket edition ( ISBN   0-19-860947-7 ) edited by Robert Allen, based on Burchfield's edition, is available online to subscribers of the Oxford Reference On-line Premium collection. A biography of Fowler was published in 2001 called The Warden of English. The author

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