Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: The 'New Labour' Party came into office in 1997 committed to 'modernise', among other institutions, UK local government. A 'flagship' policy in its modernisation agenda was to replace the traditional committee system with, for the first time in the UK, executive-based local government, headed preferably by directly elected executive mayors. The first section of this paper outlines the origins of this mayoral policy, its legislative embodiment in the Local Government Act 2000, and its implementation. It outlines the three executive models that constituted the restricted choice available to most local authorities and the consultations that councils were required to undertake, including the statutory referendums required prior to the introduction of a directly elected mayor. It concludes with the recent election of the first eight of these English mayors and the political embarrassment that several of the elections produced for the Government. The second main section of the paper reviews these events with reference to the main programme theme of APSA 2002: the contribution (or lack of it) of political science research to policy development. Its conclusion is that two obvious opportunities for lesson-drawing - learning from experience in other countries, including the US, and learning through experimentation and the piloting of different executive models in selected UK authorities - were largely ignored, and that this resistance to lesson-drawing has been at least one of the major reasons for the low and generally negative impact of the Government's mayoral policy to date. As for the rhetorical question in the sub-title, there was a moment when it looked possible that the chance injection of a 'Giuliani factor' following the events of 9/11 might stimulate public interest and acceptance of the idea of elected mayors … but it didn't!

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: The medical treatment of intersexed infants as it has become the standard practice since the late 1950s raises many legal questions. The informed consent required for any medical treatment cannot be given by the patients themselves (infants) but is given by those who have custody. Yet the custodians (usually the parents) may have an interest in the treatment that is not in accord with the best interest of the child, since western societies do not regard a sex that is not either male or female, and hence the parents may all too easily give their consent to a sex assignment through surgery.
The paper explores which human rights of intersexed persons (minors and adults) are at stake when they are pressed to either male or female albeit their body speaks a different language.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Expanding on Tocqueville and Bellah et al.’s habits of the heart this paper argues that Wallace’s four basic habits of oral communication developed in the McCarthy era can be applied to improving media coverage of post-9/11 elections for young voters. Although Wallace was writing about an ethic of oral communication, his habits not only can be adapted for media but also are especially appropriate in a post-9/11 period that could be compared to the McCarthy era.
The paper’s first section focuses on changes in political communication in 2004 and which media young voters use. Although voting results for 2004 election show an increase in turnout, traditionally young voters vote at lower rates than other cohorts and should not be ignored by politicians nor media. Thus, understanding how political communication changed in 2004 is important to understanding that traditional media may need to adapt as youth utilize more fragmented media. The second section examines youth involvement in the 2004 election in relationship to the need to improve social capital. Putnam suggested that 9/11 was a galvanizing crisis that could improve civic health. However, young voters’ civic health or sense of community may not have improved. Traditional media is not adapting to young voters’ media usage. Finally, the third section analyzes Wallace’s four basic habits and gives suggestions for use in media coverage that would be beneficial to younger voters.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: This paper explains the volatility accompanying the pacifying power of economic interdependence in Taiwan-China relations. Viewing from Taiwan's domestic politics, I argue an explanatory factor is how consolidated the Taiwanese leader's power was.