MANDATING AS A POLICY ISSUE – THE DEFINITIONAL PROBLEM*

Mandating of state policies by agencies of the federal government and of local government policies by both state and federal agencies has emerged in recent years as an important policy issue. This conceptualization of mandating behavior offers a typology based upon (1) substantive aspects of the mandate; (2) the method by which a mandate is imposed; and (3) the mode of application. Problems associated with different types of mandates suggest multidimensional effects of intergovernmental relations on state and local policy formulation and Implementation.     

The legitimisation of clicktivism

Is clicking ‘Like’ on Facebook a legitimate form of political participation? Is changing your profile picture or sharing an online article politically meaningful? It is undeniable that such actions can be politically-themed, but whether they amount to what we term ‘political participation’ remains contentious. This article explores the legitimacy of clicktivism as a political act, arguing that legitimacy be understood as multifaceted. To this end, the paper develops a series of lenses by which to explore the theoretical boundaries of these emerging actions. These are: the adherence of the action to tradition avenues; the acceptance of the action, and belief in that action; and, the intentionality of the action, and the context in which it is situated.     

Terms in place and time: A case study from the Anthropological Index Online*

An analysis of terms, and keywords that have appeared over the last 50 years in the Anthropological Index (now AIO) challenges anthropology's purported universal coverage of regions and topics. Anthropological article production published in specialized periodicals leaves many areas uncovered, some topics marginalized, or absent. The article takes the presence or absence of keywords in articles in anthropological literature from all world regions to ask what may have generated these gaps. We argue that keyword use can reveal the role that geographical positioning, languages spoken, and national histories may have had in anthropological production. Shamanism and cognate concepts such as animism and spirit possession are taken to guide an analysis of the anthropological production in different languages through the use of keywords that appear in the coverage of AIO. The research demonstrates how far keywords use is shaped by contingent adjustments to predicaments and theoretical concerns with complex historical roots.     

A Lapse in Historical Memory: Guy Weadick and the Calgary Stampede

Guy Weadick was the American founder of the Calgary Stampede in 1912. By 1930, due to Weadick's vision and promotional genius, the Calgary Exhibition and Stampede (two events having merged by then) was internationally recognized as the premier event of its type in the world. Then, with dramatic suddenness, Weadick was fired in 1932. This article suggests that the mutual bitterness and resentment that accompanied this termination resulted in “a lapse of historical memory” and to Weadick's relative under-recognition by the organization for which he did so much.