Strategies of Policy Advocacy Organizations and Their Theoretical Affinities: Evidence from Q‐Methodology

Policy advocacy is an increasingly important function for many nonprofit organizations, yet their advocacy activities have largely escaped theoretical grounding. The literature on nonprofits has described how they engage in policy advocacy, without linking them to theories of policy change. The policy studies literature, on the other hand, has explained how various forms of influence result in policy change, but has largely ignored organizational perspectives on those processes. These two literatures remain largely disconnected. Drawing upon interviews with a purposive sample of policy advocacy directors at 31 nonprofit organizations, this study applies Q‐methodology to identify and describe six distinct policy advocacy strategies employed by the organizations, and their resonant theoretical views of policy processes. These findings suggest strategic approaches for nonprofits seeking to influence policy processes. They also enhance the academic literature on policy processes by adding the advocates’ views and expectations. Implications for further research are also identified.     

A Genetic Approach to Detecting Clusters in Point Data Sets

Spatial analysis techniques are widely used throughout geography. However, as the size of geographic data sets increases exponentially, limitations to the traditional methods of spatial analysis become apparent. To overcome some of these limitations, many algorithms for exploratory spatial analysis have been developed. This article presents both a new cluster detection method based on a genetic algorithm, and Programs for Cluster Detection, a toolkit application containing the new method as well as implementations of three established methods: Openshaw's Geographical Analysis Machine (GAM), case point-centered searching (proposed by Besag and Newell), and randomized GAM (proposed by Fotheringham and Zhan). We compare the effectiveness of cluster detection and the runtime performance of these four methods and Kulldorf's spatial scan statistic on a synthetic point data set simulating incidence of a rare disease among a spatially variable background population. The proposed method has faster average running times than the other methods and significantly reduces overreporting of the underlying clusters, thus reducing the user's postprocessing burden. Therefore, the proposed method improves upon previous methods for automated cluster detection. The results of our method are also compared with those of Map Explorer (MAPEX), a previous attempt to develop a genetic algorithm for cluster detection. The results of these comparisons indicate that our method overcomes many of the problems faced by MAPEX, thus, we believe, establishing that genetic algorithms can indeed offer a viable approach to cluster detection.     

Reviews

Ohne Zusammenfassung

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Reviews

     

Is international affairs too ‘hard’ for women? Explaining the missing women in Australia's international affairs

Women are demonstrably under-represented at senior levels in Australia's international affairs. Empirical evidence shows a continuing gender imbalance in leadership positions, including in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Department of Defence and academia. Two explanations commonly offered are that women are less motivated or lack interest in ‘hard’ international relations. These explanations are found to be unconvincing, given studies showing similar levels of ambition and interest at recruitment. Four alternative explanations are offered to account for the scarcity of female leaders in Australia's international affairs: the legacy of direct discrimination, continued indirect discrimination, inadequate support for women who balance work and family responsibilities, and socially constructed gender norms. Instead of the subject matter of international relations being too ‘hard’, or inherently masculine, it appears that it is the combined impact of these factors that has made it ‘hard’, or difficult, for women to progress to senior levels. In order to show how these barriers can be overcome, three case studies are presented of women who have achieved senior positions: Professor Emeritus Helen Hughes, Her Excellency Ms Penny Wensley and Professor Hilary Charlesworth. These examples suggest strategies that women can use to further their careers and measures that can be implemented in workplaces to improve the representation of senior women in Australia's international affairs.     

Diversity and diplomacy

ABSTRACT

Diplomats are the face of their country abroad. One way that a country can represent and benefit from its diversity is through the diversity of its diplomatic representatives. Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has made a sustained effort to increase the diversity of its workforce and has improved the representation of some groups: for example, the increased number of women in senior positions in recent decades. A case study of DFAT’s Indigenous Recruitment and Career Development Strategy (2007–2015) identifies the following key factors needed for such efforts to succeed: sustained effort, high-level support, availability of peer support and a willingness to adapt programs over time. While there are challenges in implementing a diversity strategy, such as resource constraints and the broader organisational culture, the Indigenous Recruitment and Career Development Strategy provides a positive model of how to increase diversity among a country’s diplomats.     

Anthropology and statistics?

van Vark, G. N. and W. W. Howells, eds. Multivariate Statistical Methods in Physical Anthropology. Dordrecht, Holland: Reidel, 1984. x 4‐ 433 pp. including illustrations, references, and subject index. $61.00 cloth.

De Meur, Gisele, ed. New Trends in Mathematical Anthropology. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1986. xx + 315 pp. including illustrations and references. $39.95 cloth.