Uncounted Votes: Informal Voting in the House of Representatives as a Marker of Political Exclusion in Australia

This article examines the implications of high levels of informal (or invalid) voting in Australian national elections using a social exclusion framework. The rate of the informal vote is an indicator of social and political exclusion with particular groups of Australians experiencing inordinate electoral disadvantage. Poorer voters, voters from non‐English speaking backgrounds and those with low education levels are especially disadvantaged by factors peculiar to the Australian voting experience. We begin by exploring the character and pattern of informal voting and then canvass the technical and socio‐economic factors which explain it. We conclude by considering proposed options for reducing informality, some of which are: the abandonment of compulsory voting, major structural change to the voting system as well as ballot re‐design, electoral education and community information initiatives.     

Self-Injurious Thoughts and Behaviors Among Youth in an Underserved Area of the Southern United States: Exploring the Moderating Roles of Gender,Racial/Ethnic Background,and School-Level

Despite the clinical relevance of self-injurious thoughts and behaviors (SITB) among youth, little is known about the subset of youth most at-risk for SITB. This study examined the moderating roles of gender, racial/ethnic background, and school-level (and their interactions) on rates of SITB within a large (N = 2638, 52.2% female), ethnically-diverse sample of middle- and high-school youth in a relatively poor and underserved area of the Southern United States. Extending extant research in this area, findings indicated a significant interaction between gender and race for self-injurious behaviors, with African–American boys reporting higher rates than all other groups. Findings also indicated significant interactions between school-level and both gender and race for self-injurious thoughts. Whereas comparable levels of self-injurious thoughts were reported across middle- and high-schools for girls and African–American youth, the frequency of these thoughts was higher among both boys and White students in high-school (vs. middle-school). Results highlight the need for further research on SITB among diverse youth in underserved areas.     

Local Government Risk Financing and Risk Control Pools: Understanding Their Forms, Functions, and Purposes

One of the most significant public risk management developments of the past 15 years has been the creation of local government risk control and risk financing pools. Today it is estimated that over 200 pools provide services for up to 20,000 local governments. This article is an introductory discussion of pooling and includes information drawn from the first nationwide survey of pools, and gives suggestions for future research.     

Book reviews

Charles S. Sampson (ed.), Foreign Relations of the United States, 1961-1963, Vol.VI, Kennedy-Krushchev Exchanges (Washington: GPO, 1996).

Gillian Staerck and Michael Kandiah (eds), PROfiles 1964 on CD-ROM: Set I Prime Minister's and Cabinet Documents (£300 + VAT; ISBN 0-11-526478-7); Set 2, Documents on External Affairs (£350 + VAT; ISBN 0-11-526487-6); Set 3, Cabinet Committees and Defence Documents (£300 + VAT; ISBN 0-11-526488-4); Set 4, Comprehensive Index and Library CD-ROM (£200 + VAT; ISBN 0-11-526489-2). Discount for purchase of all four sets: £900 + VAT. Published by HMSO Electronic Publishing Sales, HMSO Publications Centre, 51 Nine Elms Lane, P0 Box 276, London 5W8 5DT (Tel. David Blake or Andrew Evans on UK - 171-873-8236; Fax. UK - 171-873-8203). The US and Canadian agent is UNIPUB, 4611-F Assembly Drive, Lanham, MD 20706- 4391 (Tel. Toll Free 800-274-4888; Fax 800-865-3450).

Michael Shea, To Lie Abroad - Diplomacy Revisited (Sinclair Stevenson, 1996), 260 pp., £17.99 hb.

Michael Dockrill and Brian McKercher (eds.), Diplomacy and World Power: Studies in British Foreign Policy, 1890-1950 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 1 996); xix+2714 pp. ISBN 0-921-46243-6.

David H. Dunn (ed.), Diplomacy at the Highest Level: The Evolution of International Summitry (London/New York: Macmillan, St. Martin's Press, 1996), 279 pp. £45, ISBN (UK) 0-333-64441-9, (USA) 0-312-16273-1.

David Dutton, Anthony Eden: A Life and Reputation (London: Arnold, 1997) xiv + 576 pp., £25 (hb); ISBN 0-340-56168-8.

James G. Hershberg, James B. Conant: Harvard to Hiroshima and the Making of the Nuclear Age (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1993), 948 pp.

Saki Dockrill, Eisenhower's New-Look National Security Policy, 1953-61 (London: Macmillan, 1996). xvi + 400pp., £40.

Alan James, Britain and the Congo Crisis, 1960-63 (London: Macmillan, 1996), xxi + 219pp. £42.50; ISBN 0-333-61860-2.

Robert S. McNamara, In Retrospect: The Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam (New York: Random House, 1995), xviii + 414pp., ISBN 0-8129-2523-8.     

Systematic Procedures for Operational Code Analysis: Measuring and Modeling Jimmy Carter's Operational Code

In this article we introduce a new scoring system for doing operational code analysis and test its reliability and validity by measuring and modeling President Jimmy Carter's operational code. Using speeches from the public record, we construct indices for the elements of the operational code construct. Based upon the valences and scaled intensities of verbs uttered in the speeches, President Jimmy Carter's views of the political universe and approaches to political action in different issue areas are identified and compared. The results of the analysis provide reasonable support for the face, construct, and content validity of the operational code indices. We find that Carter's view of the political universe and approach to political action were consistent across issue areas during the first three years of his term as president. Following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan President Carter's support for human rights remained steadfast. Statistically significant shifts occurred in his views of the Soviet Union and others in the political universe and in his approach to political action regarding the conduct of U.S.-Soviet relations and other issues.     

PUBLIC SECTOR PAY: JUSTICE WITHOUT INFLATION

This is the text of the second annual Redcliffe-Maud Memorial Lecture, organized by the RIPA and sponsored by PA Consulting Group, given in June 1985.