Regulating Australia's lobbyists: coming full circle to promote democracy?

• This paper initially examines the history and evolution of lobbying regulations in Australia at both the federal and state levels. This examination is conducted in a comparative context, setting the codes of conduct in place in various Australian jurisdictions against each other, as well as against the lobbying regulations in place in other countries around the world. Based upon this approach, the regulations in each Australian jurisdiction are classified according to their characteristics, providing insights into their commonalities and differences. Thereafter, we examine the attitudes of Australian politicians, administrators and lobbyists, at both the federal and state levels, towards the regulations they have to abide by.

Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Social determinants and risk factors for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in South Asian migrant populations in Europe

In Europe, policies, strategies and interventions to address the growing burden of non-communicable diseases have generally neglected to take into consideration the impact of migration on health outcomes of increasingly multicultural and diverse societies. Research has shown that migrants of South Asian origin living in Europe are more at risk of acquiring non-communicable diseases than their counterparts in their country of origin or than the host European population. Using the example of migrants of South Asian origin, this paper highlights the migration-related social determinants of health and risk factors for non-communicable diseases. This paper calls for a more integrated, multi-sectoral approach to promote migrant-friendly health and social services to address non-communicable diseases in South Asia and Europe.     

Modèles de citoyenneté et mobilisation politique des migrants en Suisse: Le rôle des cantons

La littérature récente sur la mobilisation politique des migrants a mis en évidence l'impact des modèles de citoyenneté nationaux sur celle‐ci comme structure des opportunités politiques spécifique au champ de l'immigration et des relations ethniques. Cette approche contient néanmoins des limites, particulièrement pour le cas de la Suisse caractérisée par le fédéralisme d'exécution dans le domaine de la naturalisation et de l'intégration des migrants. Ainsi, la marge de man?uvre laissée aux cantons en la matière permet de construire une typologie de modèles de citoyenneté cantonaux inspirée de la typologie nationale. L'hypothèse est que les modèles de citoyenneté cantonaux influencent la mobilisation des migrants sur le plan local en Suisse, non seulement au niveau de la participation mais également au niveau thèmes abordés. Une analyse des revendications politiques des migrants dans les cantons suisses nous permet de vérifier cette hypothèse. En effet, nous montrons que la participation et les thèmes abordés diffèrent selon les pratiques cantonales en matière de naturalisation et d'intégration des migrants.     

Hungry minds: Investigating the food insecurity of minority community college students

Research on food insecurity has investigated urban environments at the neighborhood and city level but neglected the importance of college institutions. Community colleges, which serve a larger population of low‐income, food insecure, and minority students than 4‐year institutions, have been especially neglected. In this mixed methods study, we examined how 50 low‐income minority students in an urban community college access food on campus and how the features of their college foodscape shape their food insecurity. We also investigated how students' ability to access food on campus shaped their perceptions of the college institution and their academic endeavors. Our survey findings reveal high levels of food insecurity among our participants. Students' written narratives demonstrate their desire for more appealing and affordable food on campus and reveal their distrust of the college institution. Furthermore, students connect their food insecurity to their ability to concentrate on academic tasks. Thus, the accessibility of food on campus appears to affect students' perceptions of their community college institution and has implications for their emotional and academic development. Our work suggests that both researchers and college institutions must examine the inadvertent signals that institutions send to food insecure students through their food policies.     

Young British Partisan Attitudes to Negative Election Campaign Advertising: A Tri-Party Perspective

This article presents an empirical investigation of young partisan first-time voter attitudes toward the use of negative attack advertising in a British general election. Partisanship, particularly in relation to negative advertising and third-party effects, is significantly under-researched, yet it advances understanding of youth electoral interaction. Our study confirms that young British partisans are not passive recipients of information, but are actively involved in information processing, interpretation, and counter arguing. Our findings also highlight a third-party effect among young partisans in their evaluation of the attack advertising. Overall our young partisans broadly reject image-attack election ads, which raises a “health warning” on its use in future election campaigning. The findings of this study are of significant interest to election campaign strategists in their planning for future elections and to political researchers striving to advance understanding within the field of political marketing.