Pursuing partnership: World Vision and the ideology of development - a case study

This paper examines the role of ideology in underpinning the operations of major development movements. As a confessional NGO, World Vision (WV) presents a useful case study; and this article examines the influence on this NGO of the interaction between ideology and wider development trends. It is argued that from roots in a specific cultural expression of Christianity-which enabled a highly focused and homogeneous ethos-WV's ideology has been transformed by growth and diversification into a fusion of mainstream Christianity and the pursuit of the concept of partnership; a process which underlines the role of development and geo-political forces constantly to challenge NGOs' self-image and strategic directions.     

Coping with stress through the microcosms of home and family among arctic whalers and explorers

The essay examines an aspect of family life that has been ignored by many researchers: the role of representations of family and home for men whose work requires prolonged periods of separation and distance. Content analysis of diaries and correspondence (primarily written during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries) shows that Arctic explorers and whalers engaged in activities reminiscent of those popular at home. We hypothesize that such activities may have helped the men to bear with an environment characterized by danger, discomfort, uncertainty, remoteness, isolation, and lack of privacy. Constructing these microcosms also engaged the crews' creativity and energy in relieving long stretches of unfilled time, and may have prepared them for a smoother re-integration upon their return home. The diaries and letters also expressed the voyagers' longings for their family and their developing of surrogate emotional ties with their ships and shipmates.     

End of an Era? Anti‐Americanism in the Australian Labor Party

Anti‐Americanism, sometimes called the “last acceptable prejudice”, is a common phenomenon in the modern era. This paper explores the ebb and flow of anti‐Americanism in the Australian Labor Party in the post‐Second World War period and argues that while at times it was reasonable or proportionate, at others such criticism became unreasonable, disproportionate and therefore prejudicial. When this occurs the Australia‐US alliance can become strained, the Australian electorate tends to become sceptical of the ALP's credentials on national security and the party's electoral prospects also tend to suffer. Nevertheless, following the brief leadership of the stridently anti‐American Mark Latham, such sentiment in the ALP has been widely discredited and is unlikely to emerge again in its prejudicial form for some time, marking the end of an era.