The Forgotten Side of Partisanship: Negative Party Identification in Four Anglo-American Democracies

Early studies of electoral behavior proposed that party identification could be negative as well as positive. Over time, though, the concept became mostly understood as a positive construct. The few studies that took negative identification into account tended to portray it as a marginal factor that went “hand-in-hand” with positive preferences. Recent scholarship in psychology reaffirms, however, that negative evaluations are not simply the bipolar opposite of positive ones. This article considers negative party identification from this standpoint, and evaluates its impact in recent national elections in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States. Our findings highlight the autonomous power of negative partisanship. They indicate as well that ideology has an influence on both positive and negative partisan identification

Introduction: Rethinking democratization and election observation

This book brings together studies on the broad theme of elections and democratization in Africa since roughly 1989. It is based on a seminar held in The Netherlands in February 1997, and includes chapters on both electoral processes, especially the role of foreign observers therein, and the historical and sociocultural backgrounds or contexts of democratization, elections and political legitimacy. Part 1 deals with elections and election observation in Africa in general (contributions by O. van Cranenburgh, S. Ellis, I. van Kessel, B. de Gaay Fortman). Part 2 consists of country studies (M. Doornbos on Uganda, D. Foeken en T. Dietz on Kenya, J. Abbink on Ethiopia, R. van Dijk on Malawi, R. Buijtenhuijs on Chad, and M.-F. Lange on Mali). Part 3 includes a chapter that reflects the discussions held at the seminar between observers, academics and policymakers in the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs (W. van Binsbergen en J. Abbink); a review of Dutch policies on election observation in Africa during the period 1992-1997 (O. van Cranenburgh); and a discussion of the 1997 general elections in Kenya, where a new approach of election observation was introduced (M. Rutten)ASC – Publicaties niet-programma gebonde

Secret worlds, democratization and election observation in Malawi

ASC – Publicaties niet-programma gebonde

The Career Goals of Female Science Students in Canada

There are relatively few women in the Canadian scientific community and most of the available research explains this fact in terms of girls' low enrolment in high school science programmes. The research presented here suggests that the substantial seepage of women from science at a later decision-point also contributes to the lack of women in the science professions. The career goals of a matched sample of male and female senior science undergraduates at nine Canadian universities (N = 204) are examined. The data show (1) that there are substantial gender discrepancies in the defection rates and career aspirations of male and female science undergraduates; (2) that fathers occupation emerges as a relevant background variable distinguishing female science students from their male counterparts; and (3) academic performance affects the defection rate of women from science-the top performers are more likely than average performers to defect from science. These findings are related to cross-national data and strategies for further research are suggested.Il y a relativement peu de femmes au sein de la communauté scientifique du Canada et la plupart des recherches qui ont étéfaites à ce sujet montrent que ceci résulte de la faible proportion de jeunes fdles inscrites dans les programmes de sciences des écoles secondaires. Notre recherche nous permet de penser que nous perdons un grand nombre de nos effectifs féminins beaucoup plus tard, et que ce facteur vient encore renforcer le manque flagrant de femmes exerçant une profession scientifique. Nous étudions ici les objectifsprofessonnels d'un échan- tillon équivalent de jeunes gens et de jeunes filles en dernière année de sciences dans neuf universités canadiennnes (N = 204). Les données recueillies montrent 1) qu'il y a une grande différence dans le taux d'abandon des hommes et des femmes, et aussi dans leurs aspirations professionnelles; 2) que la profession du père semble être un facteur déterminant, et qui distingue les étudiantes des étudiants; et 3) que les résultats qu'une femme obtient influent sur sa décision d'abandonner les sciences: en ejfect, les femmes qui obtiennent les meilleurs résultats abandonnent plus souvent que celles qui obtiennent des résultats moyens. Nous comparons ensuite ces conclusions aux autres données disponibles partout au pays et nous suggérons un plan d'étude qui permettra de pousser plus loin nos recherches