Teaching Public Affairs – The Cinderella Subject of Journalism Courses

Public Affairs: Even the name of the serious part of Journalism courses is problematic. For years this absolutely essential, but often maligned, part of so many university Journalism courses, has been taught by ‘a guy from Politics’ and hated, or at best endured, by its students. But it doesn’t have to be that way. The plan was to revitalise a university’s ‘Public Affairs’ module. The aim was simple – to help students learn about politics by getting them interested in it. The result: confident, motivated students who went on to study more Politics at university – and a rise in the associated professional qualification (National Council for Training Journalists) Essential Public Affairs exam pass rate from 35% to 80%. This paper will explore the strategies undertaken by the teaching team with regard to the ways in which they engaged the students, and the delivery of the module as a whole. As it is a ‘must pass’ component for the professional qualification, the engagement levels were seen as key. Finding that important ‘hook’ for each of the components of the compulsory syllabus was phenomenally important. It was the success in doing so that resulted in the improved pass rates

Scottish Parliament election preview: from four party politics to further consolidation in the South of Scotland?

The Scottish Parliament elections are upon us, with the SNP expected to consolidate their current dominance over Labour and the Conservatives. Here, Alistair Clark looks at the contest in the South Scotland region, an area which has had a recent history of four party politics but may be seeing its political profile shift

Conservative election expenses: the problem with attacking electoral regulators

No charges will be made against Conservative candidates who allegedly broke electoral law during the 2015 campaign. The first reaction of some of those involved was to feel vindicated, their second was to attack the regulators. Alistair Clark explains the importance of electoral law, and writes that, with trust in politics being already weak, politicians should be supporting the regime, whatever its flaws may be

It was right to delay England’s local elections, but we must consider the wider impact of Covid-19 on electoral administration

Local and mayoral elections across England have been delayed from May 2020 to May 2021. Postponing them was necessary, writes Alistair Clark, but we must also look at the longer-term impact of Covid-19 on administering elections in the UK and globally to maintain democratic accountability under difficult circumstances

Mapping and analysis of research and KE funding sources for operational research in the UK

This project came about in 2013 after a discussion with the Chair of the Education and Research Committee of the Operational Research Society (ORS) about obtaining a clearer idea of the range and characteristics of sources of funding for research in OR. There are well-known funders such as EPSRC and the European Commission about which it would be useful to collate experiences and perceptions, but more helpful would be to identify and learn about less-known sources of funding. The resulting analysis and insights may help members of the OR academic community to more successfully apply for research funds, and thus fulfil ORS’s strategic charitable aim of advancing knowledge and education through fostering OR

The UK’s electoral infrastructure is functional due to the efforts of many individuals, but it cannot be taken for granted

Alistair Clark and Toby S. James argue that many people overlook the exhaustive efforts that poll workers put into elections. A new study on their experiences suggest that the 2015 general election was well-run, but some citizens were turned away from the polling station presumably because they were not registered to vote

Parties, mandates and multilevel politics : Subnational variation in British general election manifestos

Earlier versions were presented at the ECPR Joint Sessions Workshop on ‘How and Why of Party Manifestos in New and Established Democracies’, University of St. Gallen, April 2011, and at PSA and EPOP Conferences in 2011. We are grateful to all participants for their feedback, and particularly Bob Harmel and Lars Svasand for their comments and leading this project. We are also grateful to Dai Moon for discussions around Welsh manifestos and highlighting some otherwise unavailable literature. The usual disclaimers naturally apply. Alistair Clark gratefully acknowledges the financial support of a British Academy Overseas Conference Grant, Award Number OC100383 for travel to the 2011 ECPR Joint Sessions. The final definitive version of this paper has been published in Party Politics by SAGE Publications Ltd and is available on the journal website at: http://ppq.sagepub.com/ All Rights Reserved © Alistair Clark and Lynn Bennie.Peer reviewedPostprin

Not what they want but what they need: Teaching politics to journalism students

The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.There is an issue around getting students engaged in subject matter about which they may have little interest. Often, such subject matter is essential to their studies. The module Essential Public Affairs is such a concern for students of Journalism. It is essential for their professional qualification. This article explores a pilot project which developed ways to get students more engaged with the subject material. The consequences of such engagement could be seen in the assessment results and the future study choices of those students in the pilot