Counter-geographies: The campaign against rationalisation of agricultural research stations in New South Wales, Australia

This paper discusses an example of community action mounted in a rural region of New South Wales, Australia, in response to proposals by the State Government to rationalise agricultural research stations operated by the Department of Primary Industries. Informed by a Foucaultian understanding of power and the concept of governmentality, neoliberalism is theorised as being the broad governmental context in which rationalisation proposals were put forward. Recent literature drawing on this theoretical perspective has emphasised that neoliberalism is enacted through a relationship of power, and is not monolithic or inevitable. Neoliberalism is always negotiated by those seeking to govern and those who are the object of such governmental actions. This paper analyses how plans to rationalise publicly funded agricultural research stations were opposed by those seeking to keep research facilities open in the case study area. The paper discusses the methods and scope of community action and, drawing on interviews, identifies a series of discourses articulated by campaigners. Non-local actors were depicted as uncaring and insensitive. In contrast, campaigners discussed the emergence of a ‘city-country divide’ in domestic politics; the need for specialist agricultural knowledge given the region's unique geographical location; and local impacts of an economic, social and emotional nature. Central were discourses of maintaining community, tradition, and continuity in unique local places defined by their climate, biophysical environment and economy. These were ‘counter-geographies’ that sought (successfully, it would transpire) to disrupt the state's imagined geography of a homogenous and flexible administrative space in which research services could be relocated wherever most efficient. Important too were embodied resistances to the way rural industries and people were subjected. Campaigners refused to accept preferred codes of neoliberal behaviour (particularly mobility and rationality) and instead demanded respect for their careers, families and communities. Important considerations are suggested for further research on impacts and negotiations of neoliberalism. This study particularly highlights the successes—as well as contradictions and limitations—of arguments that construct rural places as socialised, unique and unfairly treated (by governments), in opposition to metropolitan dominance and ‘placeless’ neoliberalism.     

Effects of neuroticism,extraversion, circadian type and age on reported driver stress

Studies have examined effects of various personality variables, including extraversion and neuroticism, as well as age, on driver stress. However, the effect of the morningness-eveningness dimension (circadian type) on reported driver stress among commuters has not been investigated. This study aimed to assess the influence of circadian type as well as extraversion, neuroticism and age on driver stress. Participants were 101 Australian university administrative staff who completed the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised, the Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire, and also morning and evening driving diaries as a state measure of driver stress each weekday for one week. Two standard multiple regressions assessed whether neuroticism, extraversion, circadian type and age predicted reported driver stress for morning and evening drives. Neuroticism, circadian type, and age predicted reported driver stress in the mornings but age mainly predicted driver stress in the evenings. A repeated measures ANOVA isolated differences between circadian types for weekday mornings and evenings. Reported driver stress differed for day of week and time of day according to circadian type. The three-way interaction suggested that driver stress is influenced by circadian type and that factors influence driver stress differentially between mornings and evenings. Circadian type appears to influence when driver stress affects individuals.     

Orphanhood and Completion of Compulsory School Education Among Young People in South Africa: Findings From a National Representative Survey

We examined the association of orphanhood and completion of compulsory school education among young people in South Africa. In South Africa, school attendance is compulsory through grade 9, which should be completed before age 16. However, family and social factors such as orphanhood and poverty can hinder educational attainment. Participants were 10,452 16–24‐year‐olds who completed a South African national representative household survey. Overall, 23% had not completed compulsory school levels. In univariate analyses, school completion was lower among those who had experienced orphanhood during school‐age years, males, and those who reported household poverty. In multivariate analyses controlling for household poverty, females who had experienced maternal or paternal orphanhood were less likely to have completed school; orphanhood was not independently associated with males' school completion. Findings highlight the need for evidence‐informed policies to address the education and social welfare needs of orphans and vulnerable youth, particularly females, in South Africa.     

The Devil is in the Detail: Clinicians,Academics and Researchers Resolving the Problems of Clinical Research

The difficulties associated with conducting valid family therapy research within a clinical practice discourage many potential researchers. This article will describe collaboration between a group of academics, researchers and clinicians who decided to explore the process and efficacy of systemic family therapy conducted within a working private practice. The specific questions we are addressing are, whether the requests clients bring to their first session of therapy can be reliably classified by practitioners, whether these requests change over time, and whether the nature of the request is associated with therapist and client ratings of therapeutic outcome. Additional questions about the form and nature of the therapeutic alliance as experienced by both client and practitioner are also being explored. This paper will map the passage of the work from inception to its current state where over 140 clients are active participants. In doing so attention will be paid to the obstacles encountered: practical, financial and ethical, and the solutions devised to address these.     

Modeling collecting behavior: The role of set completion

Collecting is a complex behavior that has been studied from a variety of different perspectives. Art objects, stamps, coins, and other established collectibles markets, have been shown over the years to provide some degree of return to the collector in the economics literature. Wonderment over the success of certain collectibles such as Swatch watches and Beanie Babies has received much attention in the popular press. But how does one rationally explain the collecting of matchbook covers, Cracker Jacks toys, belt buckles, salt cellars, Aunt Jemima, etc.? Collecting in the absence of financial gain has received little attention in the economics literature. In the social psychology literature, many individuals are understood to have a natural desire to collect things for various reasons. Financial gain is only one of those reasons. Set completion is another. The reasons for collecting are not always mutually exclusive. For example, a complete set may be worth more in the secondary market, if one exists, than the sum of the individual pieces. This reflects the value of the rarest pieces and the opportunity costs of obtaining them. The model presented in this study explains how set completion motivates collecting behavior, which sheds light on collecting for both financial and nonfinancial reasons. The model accommodates both collectors and noncollectors and illustrates how consumption behavior may vary accordingly. Insight into how manufacturers of collectibles can use this behavior for commercial exploitation is explored.     

Politiques publiques et parcours de fin de vie: reconfigurations,dynamiques paradoxales et art combinatoire

Du fait de l'allongement de l'espérance de vie, de très nombreuses personnes vivent désormais un grand âge, c'est-à-dire une longue période de l'existence au cours de laquelle ils se confrontent à leur finitude. Ce nouveau temps de l'existence questionne la conception traditionnelle d'un cycle de vie ternaire, et la définition de la fin de la vie. Autour de cette dernière étape du parcours de vie, se révèlent les ambiguïtés de la culture des problèmes de la vieillesse et se noue une controverse concernant la désinstitutionalisation et la déstandardisation des parcours de vie. A partir des données issues de travaux empiriques cet article analyse les formes originales d'action publique qui s'esquissent à l’échelle des territoires et renouvellent les cadres normatifs institutionnels de gestion de la grande vieillesse. Il met au jour la dialectique qui s'engage entre une forme de production centrifuge et institutionnalisée des politiques publiques, initiée par l'Etat et un processus centripète dans lequel la diversité et la dispersion des acteurs participent de dynamiques coopératives vs concurrentielles.

Les éléments empiriques mobilisés dans cet article sont issus d'une recherche menée dans le cadre des conventions d’études conclues pour les années 2010 (projet n4) et 2011 (projet n 4) entre l'IRES au service des organisations représentatives des travailleurs et la CGT.