A Dynamic Model of Political Change Among Party Activists

In this article, we develop a dynamic model of aggregate attitudinal change among party activists in order to better understand the process by which new issues/cleavages divide major political parties. We build on existing research by developing a model of change that incorporates both conversion among continuing activists and the replacement of previous activists with newcomers who hold different views. We first explore such change among activists of the two major parties in the United States on the abortion issue. We then consider a number of alternative specifications of the model in order to generalize our findings. We conclude that conversion among continuing activists contributes in a substantial way to aggregate change among party activists by influencing the level of change, accelerating the change process, and sustaining change over time.     

Promoting Public Service Integrity: A Case for Responsible Accountability

We discuss below difference between the concepts of accountability and responsibility, in the context of government administration. We argue that New Zealand's public sector reforms, in particular, have depended on an essentially mechanistic as distinct from an organic interpretation of public organisations. A mechanistic approach focuses disproportionately on notions of organisational accountability at the expense of responsibility, and as a consequence may prove counterproductive over the longer term in maintaining high standards of ethical probity. A concept of responsible accountability needs to be developed further as a means of countering this possibility. We speculate on whether the emphasis on contractualism has enhanced or undermined an integrity-based as opposed to a compliance-based ethics regime, and the possible implications of this for the maintenance of ethical standards.     

C. Reviews and notes: bibliographies and works of reference

THE CONCISE ENCYCLOPÆDIA OF ISLAM. By CYRIL GLASSÉ. London, Stacey International, 1989. 472pp. Ills., maps, plans. £30.00

THE NEAR EAST NATIONAL UNION LIST. Volume 1. Compiled by DOROTHY STEHLE, under the direction of GEORGE N. ATIYEH. Washington, Library of Congress, 1988. ix, 867pp. USS 47.00.

MUDEJARES: REPERTORIO BIBLIOGRAFICO. Compiled by PAZ FERNANDEZ. (Cuadernos de la Biblioteca Islámica ‘Félix María Pareja’, 18.) Madrid, Instituto Hispano‐Árabe de Cultura, 1988. iii, 42pp.

INFORMATIONS BIBLIOGRAPHIQUES. I'LAMAT BIBLIYUGHRAFIYYA. 3 et 4–1986; 1 et 2–1987. Tunis, Bibliothèque Nationale, Service des Dépots et des Publications/Dar al‐Kutub al‐Wataniyya, Maslahat al‐Ida’ wa‐1‐Nashr, 1987. 45 + 23; 49 + 46pp.

L'ÉCONOMIE DES PAYS ARABES: PRÉSENTATION THÉMATIQUE DES TRAVAUX DE LA PÉRIODE 1979–1984. By CHANTAL BERNARD. (Cahiers du C.R.E.S.M., 20.) Paris, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 1988. 156pp. FF 90.‐.

SYRIA. Compiled by IAN J. SECCOMBE. (World Bibliographical Series, 73.) Oxford, Clio Press, 1987. xxxii + 341pp. £45.00.

MALTA. Compiled by J.R. THACKRAH. (World Bibliographical Series, 64.) Oxford, Clio Press, 1985. xviii, 153pp. Map. £23.50.

BIBLJOGRAFIJA NAZZJONALI TA’ MALTA. MALTA NATIONAL BIBLIOGRAPHY, 1983–1987. Valletta, National Library of Malta, 1984–1988. 5 volumes. 41; 60; 59; 64; 76pp. Each LM 1.50 or US $9.00 (incl. air mail postage).

MELITENSIA: BOOKS IN PRINT 1985. Valletta, Sapienzas, 1985. 55pp.

ARABIC LANGUAGE TEACHING IN THE UNITED KINGDOM: 1988 DIRECTORY. Compiled by DIONISIUS A. AGIUS. [Leeds,] Folia Scholastica, 1988. 36pp. £2.50.

QUR'ANS OF THE MAMLUKS. By DAVID JAMES. London, Alexandria Press in association with Thames and Hudson, 1988. 270pp. 170 illustrations (80 in colour). 1 map. £35.00.

CALLIGRAPHIE ISLAMIQUE, TEXTES SACRES ET PROFANES. ISLAMIC CALLIGRAPHY, SACRED AND SECULAR WRITINGS. By DAVID JAMES & others. Geneva, Musée d'Art et d'Histoire and Treasures of Islam, 1988. 200pp. Colour illus.

KAYF NU'ALLIM AL‐KHATT AL‐'ARABI. By MA'RUF ZURAYQ. Damascus, Dar al‐Fikr, 1407/1987 (2nd edition, reprinted from the 1985 edition). 150pp. 51 illustrations. US$ 2.50.

IMAGES OF WOMEN: THE PORTRAYAL OF WOMEN IN PHOTOGRAPHY OF THE MIDDLE EAST 1860–1950. By SARAH GRAHAM‐BROWN. London, Quartet, 1988. 288pp., 216 b/w ills. £22.50.     

Ministerial Consultants and Privatisation: Australian Federal Government 1985–88

The “turn to the market” by the Hawke Government (1983–91) began with the floating of the dollar and the de‐regulation of the banks, and later involved the privatisation of government assets. Though presented as a coherent re‐thinking of Labor ideology, an examination of the events leading to privatisation reveals an episodic process that was not inevitable. The genesis of the economic statement of May 1987, which first delineated “asset sales” and signalled later privatisations, shows that individuals could act as “policy entrepreneurs” and bring unexpected solutions to re‐defined problems. Important was David Block, one of a unique cadre of policy advisers – the “ministerial consultants” established in 1984 by the Labor government as part of its plan to control the public service, and all but abolished by John Howard in 1996. Though Block was not a typical consultant, his case shows how market‐oriented ideas entered government through new channels at that time, and how a political “reform” had consequences in the economy that were unintended by the early reformers. Ministerial consultants have received little attention hitherto but their case illuminates some of the dramatic policy shifts of the government and shows that a discourse (in this case about “administrative reform”) was reformulated to overturn old values about the role of government in the economy.     

Putting Politics First: The Impact of Politics on American Religious and Secular Orientations

Nearly all research on the political impact of Americans’ religious and secular orientations assumes that such orientations are exogenous to politics. Using multiwave panel and experimental data, we find that religious and secular orientations are endogenous to political orientations. In other words, religion and secularism are a consequence as well as a cause of politics. In showing this, we make three major contributions. First, we conceptualize and measure secular orientations in a new way—not just as the absence of religion, but also as an affirmative secular identity and positive commitment to secular principles. Second, our panel and experimental data allow for the most definitive test to date of whether political orientations exert a causal effect on religious and secular orientations. Third, we isolate the conditions under which politics affects religious–secular perspectives, thus identifying the mechanism that underlies political orientations.     

The Rise of Uber and Regulating the Disruptive Innovator

The ride‐hailing company Uber has achieved extremely rapid global expansion by means of outmanoeuvring governments, regulators and competitors. The rise of the company has been based on a deliberate strategy of acting as a market disruptive innovator through a user friendly technology and making use of the ‘sharing economy’. These attributes are not unique, but are distinctively augmented by a relentless expansionary ambition and an ability to maintain the capacity to innovate. Uber has generated great political controversy, but the challenge for governments and regulators is to embrace the benefits of the disruptive innovator, while adopting an approach that takes into account the full range of impacts. For Uber, the challenge is to maintain its expansionary style as a disruptive innovator, while also redefining on its terms the political and public debate. The case study of London provides important insights into the dynamics of these processes.     

Pretrial publicity,judicial remedies,and jury bias

Although past research has established pretrial publicity's potential to bias juror judgment, there has been less attention given to the effectiveness of judicial remedies for combatting such biases. The present study examined the effectiveness of three remedies (judicial instructions, deliberation, and continuance) in combatting the negative impact of different types of pretrial publicity. Two different types of pretrial publicity were examined: (a) factual publicity (which contained incriminating information about the defendant) and (b) emotional publicity (which contained no explicitly incriminating information, but did contain information likely to arouse negative emotions). Neither instructions nor deliberation reduced the impact of either form of publicity; in fact, deliberation strengthened publicity biases. Both social decision scheme analysis and a content analysis of deliberation suggested that prejudicial publicity increases the persuasiveness and/or lessens the persuasibility of advocates of conviction relative to advocates of acquittal. Acontinuance of several days between exposure to the publicity and viewing the trial served as an effective remedy for the factual publicity, but not for the emotional publicity. The article concludes by discussing the potential roles of affect and memory in juror judgment and evaluating the available remedies for pretrial publicity.