The Vector Library

• Do Pictures Bias Polls? 2012 (*New*)
  Every polltaker knows the influence of changes in the wording of survey questions. But opinion researchers have not drawn attention to the influence of photos and illustrations in surveys. Pictures persuade.
• How the Left enables the Right's anti-tax agenda 2012
  One of the Right wing's greatest achievements has been the demonization of taxes. The Right's anti-tax language is devastating – "job-killing taxes," for example. The Right's success in framing taxes as a "burden" or tax "load" that requires "tax relief" stifles debate about which taxes are effective and which are not. The labour economist Hugh Mackenzie has appealed for "an adult conversation" about taxes. Good luck with that.
• Modify that policy to win 2012
  In less than a generation Canadians have gone from foes to fans of marijuana. Pot reformers have repositioned marijuana. Repositioning worked for beer and marijuana, but how about the values and causes in the hearts of Canada's Left? With the energized Right targeting the whole progressive agenda, repositioning is urgent.
• Dissing the union advantage 2011
  For many years unions in America, and Canada, too, have bragged about the union advantage, the higher pay and better benefits union members enjoy compared with non-union employees in comparable jobs. What the unions said and what the public heard are not the same, however.
• Windows on the Future: Scenarios in Market Research
  The forecasting technique called scenarios opens our eyes to possibilities, organizes the unpredictable, and converts uncertainty from a liability to an asset. In this do-it-yourself kit of corporate renovation, you do not ask whether something will happen but what you would do if it did happen.
• Memo to NDPers: Don't drop “New” - discard “Party”(2009)
  In a test conducted August 6-9 by Harris/Decima, the name Democratic Party cost the NDP support. A new name is an opportunity to get non-NDP voters to reconsider the party without the risk of losing the party’s current supporters.
• About those lost jobs: How to talk about the economy now (2009)
  Words matter. When jobs are “lost” or prices “rise” no one’s responsible or accountable. Jobs aren't like your gloves or umbrella - you don't lose them on the bus or forget them at the restaurant.
• Debunking Election Myths (2006)
  Several myths gained popularity during Canada's recent federal election. But the polls tell the real story.
• Do Canadians Support the Troops? (2006)
  Just where does the country stand on Canada’s military mission in Afghanistan?
  The latest polls show signs of buyer’s remorse as people who once bought into the war change their mind.
• How to Unionize Wal-Mart (2005)
  Polls identify new strategies and hooks that unions could use to organize workplaces such as giant retailers.
• How the Gays Won (2004)
  Gay rights campaigners know advertising's hidden secret. You don't need it. Word of mouth - free advertising in other words - matters more. If union members came out the way gays did, they would win equivalent advances.
• The Cynical Canadian (2004)
  Canadians are cynics because they believe some of the country’s biggest professions and institutions are rife with liars. The point is that without a strategy to disarm cynics, change can’t happen.
• Why are the Poor Still with Us? (2004)
  People on the political left try to turn the public’s attention to poverty by citing the official Statistics Canada figure – 20%. The polls show there’s a better way.
• Can we have Some Privacy?(2004)
  Privacy is arguably the most abused human right. People assert they have the right to be left alone, yet opinion research shows Canadians would readily trade away privacy for a feeling of security.
• Why Iraqis will pay for 9/11 (2003)
  Public opinion is the most powerful force in the world. Even as American bombs drop awesome might on Iraq, it’s American public opinion that concedes George Bush’s authority to pursue the war.