Letters regarding election of trustees

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Valence and spatial explanations for voting in the 2013 Australian election

This paper examines the 2013 Australian federal election to test two competing models of vote choice: spatial politics and valence issues. Using data from the 2013 Australian Election Study, the analysis finds that spatial politics (measured by party identification and self-placement on the left-right spectrum) and valence issues both have significant effects on vote choice. However, spatial measures are more important than valence issues in explaining vote choice, in contrast with recent studies from Britain, Canada and the United States. Explanations for these differences are speculative, but may relate to Australia’s stable party and electoral system, including compulsory voting and the frequency of elections. The consequently high information burden faced by Australian voters may lead to a greater reliance on spatial heuristics than is found elsewhere.

Documenting the inevitable: Voting behaviour at the 2013 Australian election

This chapter uses data from the 2013 Australian Election Study (AES), conducted by Clive Bean, Ian McAllister, Juliet Pietsch and Rachel Gibson (Bean et al. 2014) to investigate political attitudes and voting behaviour in the election. The study was funded by the Australian Research Council and involved a national survey of political attitudes and behaviour using a self-completion questionnaire mailed to respondents on the day before the 7 September election. The sample was a systematic random sample of enrolled voters throughout Australia, drawn by the Australian Electoral Commission. Respondents were given the option of returning the completed questionnaire by reply-paid mail or completing the survey online. Non-respondents were sent several follow-up mailings and the final sample size was 3955, representing a response rate of 34 per cent. The data were weighted to reflect population parameters for gender, age, state and vote.

Större frihet - bättre lokalt anpassad service? : Förvaltningsreformer och kommunernas service för utvecklingsstörda 1994-2000

In the beginning of the 1990s the legislation regarding the municipalities and the system of central government transfers were reformed in Finland. This resulted in a move from detailed governmental control to increased municipal autonomy. The purpose of this decentralization was to enable the municipalities to better adapt their administration and service supply to local needs. The aim of this study was to explore the effects of the increased municipal autonomy on the organization of services for people with intellectual disabilities. Did the increased autonomy cause the municipalities to alter their service supply and production and did the services become more adapted to local needs? The data consists of statistical information on service use and production, and also of background data such as demographics, economics and political elections on 452 municipalities in Finland from the years 1994 and 2000. The methods used are cluster analysis, discriminant analysis and factor analysis. The municipalities could be grouped in two categories: those which offered mainly one kind of residential services and others which had more varied mixes of services. The use of institutional care had decreased and municipalities which used institutional care as their primary form of service were mostly very small municipalities in 2000. The situation had changed from 1994, when institutional care was the primary service for municipalities of all sizes. Also the service production had become more differentiated and the municipalities had started using more varied ways of production. More municipalities had started producing their own services and private production had increased as well. Furthermore, the increase in local autonomy had opened up possibilities for local politics to influence both the service selection and methods of production. The most significant motive for changes in the service structure was high unemployment and an increasing share of elderly people in the population, particularly in sparsely populated areas. Municipalities with a low level of resources had made more changes in their service organization while those with more resources had been able to carry on as before. Key words: service structure, service for people with intellectual disabilities, municipalities, contingency theory, New Public Management

Tasa-arvo ja muutoksen rajat : Sukupuolten tasa-arvo poliittisena ongelmana Ranskan parité- ja Suomen kiintiökeskusteluissa

The study looks at the debates on gender equality in political decision-making in Finland and France in the 1990s and 2000s by analysing the argumentation for parité and quotas and the ways in which gender equality was constructed as a political problem. The focus of the study is on the parliamentary debates on the amendment of the electoral law in France in 2000 and the introduction of quota regulations into the Act on Equality in Finland in 1994 - 1995. The debates ended in the adoption of quota regulations in the electoral lists (France) and in the executive and preparatory bodies at the national and the local level (Finland). Apart from the analysis of the parliamentary debates, the study explores the political processes preceding the adoption of legislation as well as the debates on quotas and parity in Finnish and French societies in the 1980s and 1990s. The debates on gender equality are analysed as the sites of struggle and change with regard to the normative boundaries of gender equality, as well as of politics and citizenship. The cross-cultural perspective gives room to explore the ways in which gender equality and change can be imagined in different national contexts, and which kinds of discursive resources are available for the politicization of gender equality. Specific attention is paid to the discursive frames and agenda settings in the debates and how these set the limits of the imaginable and the possible in the promotion of gender equality. In both Finland and France, the promotion of equality was constructed as a national project, in which the main beneficiary was the society or the nation as a whole. In France, gender equality was an inherent part of the promotion of French democracy; in Finland, gender equality was regarded as a means to bring the expertise of both women and men to the benefit of the whole society. Furthermore, in both countries the promotion of gender equality was based on the harmonious cooperation of women and men and the temporal dimension of "nearly achieved" gender equality. In this kind of a context, gender equality served as a means towards the wider national ends, and there was little room to discuss the aspects of power and agency with regard to gender equality. However, the internationalisation of equality politics, as well as the conflicting interpretations of gender equality in the national political arenas, calls into question the existence of clearly defined and immutable boundaries of "Finnish" and "French" gender equality. At the same time, the rules of the game in politics, including the meaning of French republicanism and Finnish "expert oriented" politics were contested. In this way, the new equality legislation and the preceding political processes played a part in the transformation of the limits of gender equality, politics and citizenship.

Generations and turnout : The generational effect in electoral participation in Finland

The relationship between age and turnout has been curve-linear as electoral participation first increases with age, remains relatively stable throughout middle-age and then gradually declines as certain physical infirmities set in (see e.g. Milbrath 1965). Alongside this life-cycle effect in voting, recent pooled cross-sectional analyses (see e.g. Blais et al. 2004; Lyons and Alexander 2000) have shown that there is also a generational effect, referring to lasting differences in turnout between various age groups. This study firstly examines the extent to which the generational effect applies in the Finnish context. Secondly, it investigates the factors accounting for that effect. The first article, based on individual-level register data from the parliamentary elections of 1999, shows that turnout differences between the different age groups would be even larger if there were no differences in social class and education. The second article examines simultaneously the effects of age, generation and period in the Finnish parliamentary elections of 1975-2003 based on pooled data from Finnish voter barometers (N = 8,634). The results show that there is a clear life cycle, generational and period effect. The third article examines the role of political socialisation in accounting for generational differences in electoral participation. Political socialisation is defined as the learning process in which an individual adopts various values, political attitudes, and patterns of actions from his or her environment. The multivariate analysis, based on the Finnish national election study 2003 (N=1,270), indicated that if there were no differences in socialisation between the youngest and the older generations, the difference in turnout would be much larger than if only sex and socioeconomic factors are controlled for. The fourth article examines other possible factors related to generational effect in voting. The results mainly apply to the Finnish parliamentary elections of 2003 in which we have data available. The results show that the sense of duty by far accounts for the generational effect in voting. Political interest, political knowledge and non-parliamentary participation also narrowed the differences in electoral participation between the youngest and the second youngest generations. The implication of the findings is that the lower turnout among the current youth is not a passing phenomenon that will diminish with age. Considering voting a civic duty and understanding the meaning of collective action are both associated with the process of political socialisation which therefore has an important role concerning the generational effect in turnout.

Popper or Kuhn: Truth and the progress of science

The questions of whether science pursues truth as correspondence to reality and whether science in fact progresses towards attaining a truthful understanding of physical reality are fundamental and contested in the philosophy of science. On one side of the debate stands Popper, who argues that science is objective, necessarily assumes a correspondence theory of truth, and inevitably progresses toward truth as physical theories develop, gaining a more truthful understanding of reality through progressively more sophisticated empirical analysis. Conversely Kuhn, influenced by postmodern philosophy, argues that ultimate truth cannot be attained since no objective metaphysical reality exists and it cannot be known, and consequently the notion of scientific objectivity and "progress" is a myth, marred by philosophical and ideological value judgments. Ultimately, Kuhn reduces so-called scientific progress through the adoption of successive paradigms to leaps of "faith". This paper seeks a reconciliation of the two extremes, arguing that Popper is correct in the sense that science assumes a correspondence theory of truth and may progress toward truth as physical theories develop, while simultaneously acknowledging with Kuhn that science is not purely objective and free of value judgments. The notion of faith is also critical, for it was the acknowledgement of God's existence as the creator and instituter of observable natural laws which allowed the development of science and the scientific method in the first place. Therefore, accepting and synthesising the contentions that science is to some extent founded on faith, assumes and progresses toward truth, and is subject to value judgments is necessary for the progress of science.

In pursuit of becoming a senior coach: The learning culture for Australian Football League coaches

- Background and Purpose Given the turbulent and highly contested environment in which professional coaches work, a prime concern to coach developers is how coaches learn their craft. Understanding the learning and development of senior coaches (SCs) and assistant coaches (ACs) in the Australian Football League (AFL – the peak organisation for Australian Rules Football) is important to better develop the next generation of performance coaches. Hence the focus of this research was to examine the learning of SC and AC in the AFL. Fundamental to this research was an understanding that the AFL and each club within the league be regarded as learning organisations and workplaces with their own learning cultures where learning takes place. The purpose of this paper was to examine the learning culture for AFL coaches. - Method Five SCs, 6 ACs, and 5 administrators (4 of whom were former coaches) at 11 of the 16 AFL clubs were recruited for the research project. First, demographic data were collected for each participant (e.g. age, playing and coaching experience, development and coach development activities). Second, all participants were involved in one semi-structured interview of between 45 and 90 minutes duration. An interpretative (hierarchical content) analysis of the interview data was conducted to identify key emergent themes. - Results Learning was central to AFL coaches becoming a SC. Nevertheless, coaches reported a sense of isolation and a lack of support in developing their craft within their particular learning culture. These coaches developed a unique dynamic social network (DSN) that involved episodic contact with a number of respected confidantes often from diverse fields (used here in the Bourdieuian sense) in developing their coaching craft. Although there were some opportunities in their workplace, much of their learning was unmediated by others, underscoring the importance of their agentic engagement in limited workplace affordances. - Conclusion The variety of people accessed for the purposes of learning (often beyond the immediate workplace) and the long time taken to establish networks of supporters meant that a new way of describing the social networks of AFL coaches was needed; DSN. However, despite the acknowledged utility of learning from others, all coaches reported some sense of isolation in their learning. The sense of isolation brought about by professional volatility in high-performance Australian Football offers an alternative view on Hodkinson, Biesta and James' attempt in overcoming dualisms in learning.

Understanding who cares: Creating the evidence to address the long-standing policy problem of staff shortages in early childhood education and care

Evidence-based policy is a means of ensuring that policy is informed by more than ideology or expedience. However, what constitutes robust evidence is highly contested. In this paper, we argue policy must draw on quantitative and qualitative data. We do this in relation to a long entrenched problem in Australian early childhood education and care (ECEC) workforce policy. A critical shortage of qualified staff threatens the attainment of broader child and family policy objectives linked to the provision of ECEC and has not been successfully addressed by initiatives to date. We establish some of the limitations of existing quantitative data sets and consider the potential of qualitative studies to inform ECEC workforce policy. The adoption of both quantitative and qualitative methods is needed to illuminate the complex nature of the work undertaken by early childhood educators, as well as the environmental factors that sustain job satisfaction in a demanding and poorly understood working environment.

Domestic violence on #qanda: The “Man” question in live Twitter discussion on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Q&A

Domestic violence is currently undergoing a period of heightened visibility in Australia. This article uses social media to analyze public discussions about this violence with respect to a specific theoretical frame, which Adrian Howe has called the “Man” question: where and how are men visible or invisible in narratives about their violence against women? The article presents a qualitative study of the Twitter conversation surrounding a special episode of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's television program Q&A, themed around family violence, which aired in February 2015. We found that the place of men in this conversation was contested. Some tweets privileged men's voices and concerns, as did the organization and production of the program. However, feminist voices were also highly visible via presenting facts, legitimating survivor voices, and recuperating anti-feminist memes to challenge hegemonic patriarchal discourses on men's violence against women. La violence conjugale connait actuellement une visibilité accrue en Australie. Les auteures du présent article utilisent les réseaux sociaux pour analyser les débats publics sur cette violence selon un cadre théorique précis, qu'Adrian Howe a appelé la question de « l'homme » : où et comment les hommes sont-ils visibles ou invisibles dans les récits de leur violence envers les femmes? L'article présente une étude qualitative d'une conversation sur Twitter au sujet d'un épisode axé sur la famille diffusé en février 2015 dans le cadre de l'émission Q & A, à la télévision nationale d'Australie. Nous avons remarqué que dans cette conversation la place des hommes était remise en question. Certains tweets privilégiaient les voix et les craintes des hommes, comme l'ont fait les organisateurs et les producteurs de l'émission. Cependant, il y avait une forte présence de voix féministes dans la présentation des faits, légitimant le point de vue des survivantes et relevant des éléments culturels antiféministes afin de défier les discours hégémoniques et patriarcaux sur la violence des hommes envers les femmes.

Diverse bodies-space politics: Towards a critique of social (in)justice of built environment

Writing has long played an important role in the progression of architecture and the built environment. Histories of architecture are written, manifestoes that form the basis for a designer’s work are written and most importantly, the built environment advances itself through the act of critical writing. Not unlike the visual arts, literature and poetry, the tradition of written criticism has been crucial to the progression of architecture and its allied professions (Franz 2003). This article contributes to architecture and the built environment through the act of a written essay that critiques the problem of bodily diversity to architecture. In particular, the article explores the implications of body-space politics and abstracted body thinking on diverse bodies and their spatial justice. Using Soja’s Spatial Justice theory (2008), we seek to point out the underlying conceptions and power differentials assigned to different bodies spatially and how this leads to spatial injustices and contested spaces. The article also critically analyses the historical emergence of ‘the standardised body’ in architecture and its application in design theory and practice , and looks at how bodies often found on the outside of architecture highlight how such thinking creates in justices. Different theories are drawn on to help point to how design through the use of the upright, forward facing, male bod willingly and unwillingly denies access to resources and spatialities of everyday life. We also suggest ways to re-conceptualise the body in design practice and teaching.

Sukupolvien ongelma : Tutkielmia sukupolven käsitteestä, sukupolvitietoisuudesta ja suurista ikäluokista

The aims of the thesis are (1) to present a systematic evaluation of generation and its relevance as a sociological concept, (2) to reflect on how generational consciousness, i.e. generation as an object of collective identification that has social significance, can emerge and take shape, (3) to analyze empirically the generational experiences and consciousness of one specific generation, namely Finnish baby boomers (b. 1945 1950). The thesis contributes to the discussion on the social (as distinct from its genealogical) meaning of the concept of generation, launched by Karl Mannheim s classic Das Problem der Generationen (1928), in which the central idea is that a certain group of people is bonded together by a shared experience and that this bonding can result in a distinct self-consciousness. The thesis is comprised of six original articles and an extensive summarizing chapter. In the empirical articles, the baby boomers are studied on the basis of nationally representative survey data (N = 2628) and narrative life-story interviews (N = 38). In the article that discusses the connection of generations and social movements, the analysis is based on the member survey of Attac Finland (N = 1096). Three main themes were clarified in the thesis. (1) In the social sense the concept of generation is a modern, problematic, and ultimately a political concept. It served the interests of the intellectuals who developed the concept in the early 20th century and provided them, as an alternative to the concept of social class, a new way of think about social change and progress. The concept of generation is always coupled with the concept of Zeitgeist or some other controversial way of defining what is essential, i.e. what creates generations, in a given culture. Thus generation is, as a product of definition and classification struggles, a contested concept. The concept also clearly implies elitist connotations; the idea of some kind of vanguard (the elite) that represents an entire generation by proclaiming itself as its spokesman automatically creates a counterpart, namely the others in the peer group who are thought to be represented (the masses). (2) Generational consciousness cannot emerge as a result of any kind of automatic process or endogenously; it must be made. There has to be somebody who represents the generation in order for that generation to exist in people s minds and as an object of identification; generational experiences and their meanings must be articulated. Hence, social generations are, in a fundamental manner, discursively constructed. The articulations of generational experiences (speeches, writings, manifests, labels etc.) can be called as the discursive dimension of social generations, and through this notion, how public discourse shapes people s generational consciousness can be seen. Another important element in the process is collective memory, as generational consciousness often takes form only retrospectively. (3) Finnish baby boomers are not a united or homogeneous generation but are divided into many smaller sections with specific generational experiences and consciousnesses. The content of the generational consciousness of the baby boomers is heavily politically charged. A salient dividing line inside the age group is formed by individual attitudes towards so-called 1960s radicalism. Identification with the 1960s generation functions today as a positive self-definition of a certain small leftist elite group, and the values and characteristics usually connected with the idea of the 1960s generation do not represent the whole age group. On the contrary, among some of the members of the baby boomers, the generational identification is still directed by the experience of how traditional values were disgraced in the 1960s. As objects of identification, the neutral term baby boomers and the charged 1960s generation are totally different things, and therefore they should not be used as synonyms. Although the significance of the group of the 1960s generation is often overestimated, they are however special with respect to generational consciousness because they have presented themselves as the voice of the entire generation. Their generational interpretations have spread through the media with the help of certain iconic images of the generation insomuch that 1960s radicalism has become an indirect generational experience for other parts of the baby boom cohort as well.

Gender, Politics and Democratisation in Cameroon

Gender perceptions, religious belief systems, and political thought have excluded women from politics, for ages, around the world. Combining feminist and modernisation theorists in my theoretical framework, I examine the trends in patriarchal Europe and I highlight the gender-sensitive model of the Nordic countries. Retracing local gender patterns from precolonial to postcolonial eras in sub-Saharan Africa, I explore the links between perceptions, needs, resources, education and women's political participation in Cameroon. Democratisation is supposed to open up political participation, to grant equal opportunities to all adults. One ironic feature of the liberalisation process in Cameroon has been the decrease of women in parliamentarian representation (14% in 1988, 6% in 1992, 5% in 1997 and 10% in 2002). What social, cultural and institutional mechanisms produced this paradoxical outcome, the exclusion of half the population? The gender complementarity of the indigenous context has been lost to male prevalence privileged by education, church, law, employment, economy and politics in the public sphere; most women are marginalised in the private sphere. Nation building and development have failed; ethnicism and individualism are growing. Some hope lies in the growing civil society. From two surveys and 21 focus groups across Cameroon, in 2000 and 2002, some significant results of the processed empirical data reveal low electoral registration (34.5% women and 65.9% men), contrasted by the willingness to run for municipal elections (33.3 % women and 45.2% men). The co-existence of customary and statutory laws, the corrupt political system and fraudulent practices, contribute to the marginalisation of women and men who are interested in politics. A large majority of female respondents consider female politicians more trustworthy and capable than their male counterparts; they even foresee the appointment of a female Prime Minister. The Nordic countries have institutionalised gender equality in their legislation, policies and practices. France has improved women's political inclusion with the parity laws; Rwanda is another model of women's representation, thanks to its post-conflict constitution. From my analysis, Cameroonian institutions, men and more so women, may learn and borrow from these experiences, in order to design and implement a sustainable and gender-balanced democracy. Keywords: democratisation, politics, gender equality, feminism, citizenship, Cameroon, Nordic countries, Finland, France, United Kingdom, quotas, societal social psychology.

Kansallisen konsensuskulttuurin jäljillä : Globalisaatioajan Suomi Helsingin Sanomissa

The dissertation analyzes Finnish consensual culture in public discussion and journalism in Helsingin Sanomat (HS). The consensual Finnish political culture has evolved and persisted over a long period of time and it has been affected by historical circumstances as well as the dynamics of political and journalistic structures and actors. A historical chronology is drawn in the study regarding the nature and development of consensus culture in 20th century Finland. This political culture is traced by looking at public discussion on globalization at the turn of the millennium. Globalization as a concept has been contested and various societal actors have given different meanings to it. This research looks at how the globalization discussion in HS during the years 1992-2004 constructs consensus. Helsingin Sanomat (and its predecessor Päivälehti) has been an important actor in Finnish journalism and the public sphere almost since its founding 120 years ago. The history of the paper is tightly connected to Finland s general political history and history of the public sphere. Moreover, the paper s connections to the societal elite have always been close. The central question in this research was to see how the globalization discussion in HS evolved in relation to consensus as well as legitimate controversies. As a result it is stated that the globalization question has clearly divided the Finnish societal actors. The most powerful societal elites (government, most civil servants, corporate sector) had a profile of being pro globalization. They communicated their globalization strategy as a national, unified way of thinking. Other elites which have been losing their influence (the president, labor union, part of members of parliament), as well as civil society actors tried to bring forward conflicting views in relation to globalization. The paper did give some room to these elements, but on the other hand it also tried to keep up the consensual discussion culture especially in the editorial section. In line with its traditions Helsingin Sanomat strived to create national unity. At the same time it did not give adequate attention to the changes brought about by globalization to the positions and roles of various elites and civil society actors. In this discussion HS seemed more like a medium of the state than as a critical and independent actor. Journalism has an important role in upholding and also reviving the Finnish political culture and public discussion. From this point of view it is problematic if the area of so called legitimate controversy in broad societal questions like globalization becomes very limited. As the Finnish elites are small and there is no considerable competition between them, journalism should actively bring up controversial issues. This task becomes complicated, however, if the elite circles are closed up and no initiatives come from their ranks. Political decision making as well as democracy can suffer, if issues are not brought to the public agenda.

Rot bilong mipela

In my master's thesis I explore the political significance of logging in Papua New Guinea (PNG). In commercial logging the post-colonial state of PNG, its local communities, transnational companies and non-governmental organizations come interestingly together. The central research questions are what forms of political awareness and mobilization does commercial logging bring up in the small scale communities and how – if at all – does logging change the relationship between these communities and the state of PNG. The thesis is based on three months of ethnographic fieldwork conducted in 2007 in a village located in the East New Britain province of PNG. The village, inhabited mainly by the Mengen people, was an interesting case, because logging operations had been conducted in the area with the permission of the people, while on the other hand some villagers had formed a conservation association of their own. Parliamentary elections were also held in PNG during the time of my fieldwork. During my stay in the village I took part in the village life and conducted interviews. In addition to this, much of my material is based on informal discussions with people. On my way to and from the village I also interviewed several Papua New Guinean NGO-workers in the national and provincial capitals. In my thesis I show that environmental conservation in the village is part of a larger attempt to protect local autonomy, culture and the environment, i.e. it is a ”localistic” movement. Locals supporting conservation, as well as those supporting logging, take actively part in national parliamentary as well as local level politics. In my thesis I have attempted to unpack the notion of ”local” by examining internal power relations of the community and describing various lines of thought and opinions that base on local cultural values. Along with this, commercial logging seems also to elicit the role of the state in two-fold way in East New Britain. On the one hand, the government seeks to use logging roads built by logging companies as the basis of its own national infrastructure, even though the company roads are often of manifestably poor quality and short-lived. On the other hand, problems caused by logging, such as land disputes, create a need among local communities for the state and its services. Central themes in my thesis are the local values invested in the environment, as well as the ways in which the locals produce their environment both conceptually as well as physically. As subsistence farmers the locals depend economically on the condition of their environment. However, the value of the environment goes beyond economical questions. For example, the environment holds proof of the history of the community. Conversely, also the state and companies attempt to conceptualize, modify and administer the environment. This is done through processes such as mapping and road building, both crucial political questions in East New Britain. Here the anthropological discussion about space and place, as well as political geography are central. The diverse ways of conceptualizing the environment, as well as logging, cause often disputes about the ownership of land areas. Because of this I discuss local ways of holding the land communally, as well as PNG's land legislation and ways of dispute management. Land tenure and disputes are political questions that the locals have to deal with and in some cases these questions also create a need for the judiciary system of the state. The disputes affect also political activity, which I discuss at some length in my thesis as well. Interestingly, the locals, regardless of their political views and affiliations, establish transnational connections ranging from NGOs to government departments and multinational companies.