From the Gallery to the Parliament: Journalists in the House of Representatives and Senate, 1901–2007

In this article we examine the extent of career cross‐over from journalism to politics in Australia using biographical data on the pre‐parliamentary careers of federal politicians since 1901. We find that while journalists continue to be over‐represented in Australia's national Parliament, there is evidence of a decline in the number making the career switch to politics. We argue that one explanation for this is the growing professionalisation of both vocations, and of journalism especially. Journalism education inculcates in graduates a strong sense of the media's Fourth Estate role, contributing to a professional identity that militates against taking up a political career. We also find that in recent decades, in spite of a small number of celebrated cases of journalists joining the ranks of the ALP, prior careers in journalism have been more prevalent among Coalition MPs. We argue that this reflects an ALP pre‐selection system that has become less accommodating of all pre‐parliamentary occupations other than trade union official and political staffer.     

Asymmetric bargaining between Myanmar and China in the Myitsone Dam controversy: social opposition akin to David's stone against Goliath

The Myitsone Dam suspension is an asymmetric negotiation between Naypyitaw and Beijing. The bilateral agreement of the hydropower project was concluded in 2009. However, Myanmar's civil society started to oppose the dam when political opportunities expanded in 2011. The quasi-civilian government in Myanmar was caught in an ‘audience cost dilemma': either to disappoint domestic constituents by fulfilling international obligations, or to compensate the Chinese dam developer for breaching the contract. In September 2011, Myanmar President Thein Sein declared the suspension of the dam throughout his tenure. Unexpectedly, China's state-owned dam company did not sue Naypyidaw. Moreover, Beijing even engaged with societal actors in Myanmar to seek their support for the project. How could Naypyitaw defy Beijing in this Myitsone Dam case? Drawing from 35 interviews with anti-dam campaigners and other stakeholders, as well as secondary data, this article argues that the rise of civil society successfully conditioned Naypyitaw's diplomatic options in the controversy. The change of Beijing's diplomatic strategy confirms that domestic constraint in Myanmar is not rhetorical. The Myitsone Dam case is an example that shows bilateral agreement without domestic endorsement can become China's business risk. Presumably, the dispute has wider implications for other Chinese overseas projects outside Myanmar.     

The territoriality of personalization: New avenues for decentralized personalization in multi-level Western Europe

In light of the increasing scholarly attention to the concept of decentralized personalization, this paper argues that the territoriality (the level of government to which an MP belongs) of an MP would also lead to variations in that MP’s incentive to personalize their campaigns. Using data from the PARTIREP Comparative MP survey, this paper tests the role of the territoriality of an MP in their incentive to personalize their campaigns across nine multi-level countries in Western Europe. Although the level of personalization of campaigns does differ according to territoriality, the underlying explanatory variables do not behave uniformly across territoriality. This paper thus draws attention to the rarely explored role of territory, and the complications it may bring to the explanation of the personalization of politics.     

Video Advance Directives: A Turning Point for Advance Decision-Making? A Consideration of Their Roles and Implications for Law and Practice

Questions regarding making and implementing care preferences through advance directives have become increasingly significant as the greying population grows with rising numbers of people experiencing incapacity. Currently, there is no consensus in the format for making advance directives. Recent developments highlighted the use of recording technology as an option to counter the challenges of written forms. Services offering video and audio recording available for online and offline storage are emerging in the United States. These services presumably strengthen a person’s expression of care preferences for healthcare providers in making treatment decisions compared to written advance directives. This article examines the role video advance directives play in advance decision-making and their legal and practical implications to the existing framework. An appreciation of the legal challenges presented by this development facilitates an understanding of their use in contemporary advance directives and enables appropriate recommendations for implementing safeguards in their use.

     

博弈视角下农地流转与农民利益保障机制探析

农地流转制度在巩固存量利益的同时,也带来了可观的增量利益,各个利益主体为分配新增利益势必会展开激烈的竞争和角逐.运用博弈论系统分析利益主体之间的博弈关系,透视现实制度实行中其他利益主体对农民利益的侵害.在策略选择上从宏观、中观和微观角度着力构建三位一体利益保障机制,矫正农地流转利益博弈中的力量失衡状态,促使农民的存量利益能够得到对价支付,确保农民能够公平参与增量利益的分配.     

Does border enforcement deter unauthorized immigration? The case of Mexican migration to the United States of America

This paper asks whether the migration decisions of unauthorized Mexican immigrants to the USA have been influenced by stronger US border enforcement efforts since 1993 that have sharply increased the physical risk and financial cost of illegal immigration. These measures were supposed to have decreased the probability of successful entry, thereby lowering the expected benefits of migration. We carried out a logistic regression analysis of data from a recent survey of 603 returned migrants and potential first‐time migrants in rural Mexico. Our findings indicate that tougher border controls have had remarkably little influence on the propensity to migrate illegally to the USA. Political restrictions on immigration are far outweighed by economic and family‐related incentives to migrate. An alternative, labor‐market approach to immigration control with higher probability of effectiveness is outlined.     

Does Australia Still Need State Governments?— An Exchange

These two perspectives on the need for state governments were presented to the RIPAA National Conference on 30 November 1995, Brisbane.