How unstable? Volatility and the genuinely new parties in Eastern Europe

Measuring of party system stability in Eastern Europe during the first decade of democratic elections presents problems. The traditional quantitative measure - volatility - does not distinguish between the dynamics among incumbent parties and the rise of genuinely new ones. I propose a new additional measure - success of genuinely new parties - and compare it to volatility. The subsequent performance of initially successful genuinely new parties is analysed. While volatility has been remarkably high in East European countries, the genuinely new parties have, in general, not been very successful. Instability of party systems in the region stems rather from the inner dynamics of incumbent actors than from the rise of new contenders

Poetry as a Creative Practice to Enhance Engagement and Learning in Conservation Science

Creativity is crucial to the capacity to do science well, to communicate it in compelling ways, and to enhance learning. Creativity can be both practiced and enhanced to strengthen conservation science professionals’ efforts to address global environmental challenges. We explore how poetry is one creative approach that can further conservation scientists’ engagement and learning. We draw on evidence from peer-reviewed literature to illustrate benefits of integrating science and poetry, and to ground our argument for the growth of a science-poetry community to help conservation scientists develop skills in creative practices as a component of professional development. We present examples from literature as well as two short poetry exercises for scientists to draw on when considering writing poetry, or deciding on forms of poetry to include, in their practice. Opportunity exists to grow science–poetry projects to further our understanding of what such initiatives can offer

Kroniek 2004. Overzicht van de partijpolitieke gebeurtenissen van het jaar 2004

Evenals 2003 leek 2004 een relatief kalm jaar. De rust was echter enigszins bedrieglijk. De verkiezingen voor het Europees Parlement in juni lieten opnieuw zien dat latent onbehagen mogelijkheden bood voor nieuwe partijen. Vervolgens gaf de moord op de filmmaker T. van Gogh door een moslim-extremist op 2 november aanleiding tot grote onrust en intensieve discussies over de problemen van een multiculturele samenleving. Het onbehagen uitte zich onder meer in steun voor G. Wilders, die zich in september had afgescheiden van de Tweede-Kamerfractie van de VVD en aankondigde een eigen beweging op te willen bouwen. Daaraan wordt in deze Kroniek ook enige aandacht besteed. De Kroniek beschrijft de partijpolitieke gebeurtenissen, dat wil zeggen de ontwikkelingen binnen de in de Eerste en Tweede Kamer vertegenwoordigde partijen, voor zover die zich althans buiten het parlement afspeelden. Handelingen van bewindslieden en volksvertegenwoordigers worden immers elders al gedocumenteerd.