New Releases by Ian McAllister

A burgeoning literature studies compulsory voting and its effects on turnout, but we know very little about how compulsory voting works in practice. In this Element, the authors fill this gap by providing an in-depth discussion of compulsory voting rules and their enforcement in Australia, Belgium, and Brazil. By analysing comparable public opinion data from these three countries, they shed light on citizens'' attitudes toward compulsory voting. The Element examines citizens'' perceptions, their knowledge of the system, and whether they support it. The authors connect this with information on citizens'' reported turnout and vote choice to assess who is affected by mandatory voting and why. The work clarifies that there is no single system of compulsory voting. Each country has its own set of rules, and most voters are unaware of how they are enforced.

This book examines the impact of Australian public opinion towards defence and foreign policy from the mid-twentieth century to the present day. For most of this period, the public showed little interest in defence and security policy and possessed limited knowledge about the strategic options available. The principal post-war exception to this pattern is, of course, the Vietnam War, when political divisions over Australia’s support for the U.S.-led action eventually resulted in the withdrawal of troops in 1972. The period since 2001 has seen a fundamental change both in the public’s views of defence and foreign affairs, and in how these issues are debated by political elites. This has come about as a result of major changes in the strategic environment such as a heightened public awareness of terrorism, party political divisions over Australia’s military commitment to the 2003-11 Iraq War and the increasing overlap of economic and trade considerations with defence and foreign policies, which has increased the public’s interest in these issues. Combining the expertise of one of Australia''s foremost scholars of public opinion with that of an expert of international relations, particularly as pertains to Australia in Asia, this book will be a critical read for those wishing to understand Australia''s alliance with the U.S., interactions with Asia and China, and the distinctive challenges posed to Australia by its geographic position.

Every spring the Great Bear Rainforest becomes a nursery to some of the most adorable baby animals out there. Award-winning nature photographer Ian McAllister has photographed the cutest of the cute to teach the little ones in your life about some of the little ones found in this temperate rainforest on British Columbia''s Pacific coast. Orca calves, wolf cubs, seal pups and herring eggs (arguably not traditionally cute but still interesting!) feature in this vibrant exploration of one of the most beautiful great outdoors on offer in this big wild world.

Every spring the Great Bear Rainforest becomes a nursery to some of the most adorable baby animals out there. Award-winning nature photographer Ian McAllister has photographed the cutest of the cute to teach the little ones in your life about some of the little ones found in this temperate rainforest on British Columbia''s Pacific coast. Orca calves, wolf cubs, seal pups and herring eggs (arguably not traditionally cute but still interesting!) feature in this vibrant exploration of one of the most beautiful great outdoors on offer in this big wild world.

When storms roar and orcas are on the prowl, it''s the seal gardens of the Great Bear Sea that provide safety and shelter. Ian McAllister''s glorious photographs reveal the beauty and mystery of this rarely seen place of refuge for sea lions, otters, a variety of seals and other sea mammals. This is the third title in the My Great Bear Rainforest series.

This nonfiction picture book is part of the My Great Bear Rainforest series. Stunning photographs follow a pod of orcas as they roam the waters of the Great Bear Sea, hunting for their next meal.

There are so many things for bear cubs to learn about in the Great Bear Rainforest.

"The story is really told by the big, bright pictures--which glow with the rhythms and beauties of this remote habitat...Enthralling fare for budding naturalists." --Kirkus Reviews The Great Bear Rainforest is a majestic place full of tall trees, huge bears and endless schools of salmon. Award-winning photographer and author Ian McAllister''s luminous photographs illustrate the story of a lone wolf who swims to one of the small islands that dot the rainforest''s coast. The island provides him with everything he needs--deer, salmon, fresh water--everything, that is, but a mate. When a female wolf arrives on the island''s rocky shores, she and he start a family and introduce their pups to the island''s bounty. Wolf Island is part of the My Great Bear Rainforest series, which includes The Seal Garden, A Bear''s Life and A Whale''s World.

Employee engagement is one of the most researched topics in the field of industrial and organizational psychology, mainly because it has been shown to be linked to many positive individual and organizational outcomes. Although past research has consistently shown that job and personal resources are related to employee engagement, little attention has been paid to understand the underlying mechanisms of such relationships. The present study hypothesized that psychological empowerment would be a mediator between job and personal resources (i.e. supervisor support, opportunities for growth, and core self-evaluations) and employee engagement. Using survey response data from 165 employees throughout several industries, results showed that psychological empowerment mediated the relationship between core self-evaluations and employee engagement. Furthermore, the psychological empowerment dimension of meaning mediated the relationship between all of these resources and employee engagement. These results suggest that meaning is an important mechanism leading employees with these resources to become engaged in their work. These results suggest that organizations should place employees in roles that align with their personal set of beliefs and values, and further research should be conducted on potential positive work outcomes of meaning.

After three decades of violence, Northern Ireland has experienced unprecedented peace. This book, now available in paperback, examines the impact of the 1998 Agreement which halted the violence on those most affected by it – the Northern Irish people themselves. Using public opinion surveys conducted over a period of half a century, this book covers changes in public opinion across all areas of society and politics, including elections, education, community relations and national identity. The surveys show that despite peace, Protestants and Catholics remain as deeply divided as ever. The vast majority marry co-religionists, attend religious schools and have few friends across the religious divide. The results have implications not just for peacemaking in Northern Ireland, but for other societies emerging from conflict. The main lesson of peacemaking in Northern Ireland is that political reform has to be accompanied by social change across the society as a whole. Peace after conflict needs social as well as political change.

• “To be credible partners overseas, universities must be credible partners for the well-being of the peoples of their own regions.” • “Canadian universities have enjoyed long and productive histories of both regional and international cooperation. Many were nurtured through early relationships with longer standing European and US institutions. Especially since Canada became a serious aid donor in the early 1970s, Canadian universities, in their turn, began to share experiences and resources overseas. Initially this was with institutions in less prosperous nations; then, particularly since the fall of the Berlin Wall, it was also with partners in the transition economies of Eastern Europe. Most recently it has been with China and a resurgent India.” • “Often a university’s regional and international linkages began with individual faculty or student commitments. Some then evolved into projects (frequently four or five year contractual arrangements), supported by aid agencies. A few such projects later expanded into more open-ended network arrangements – bridging disciplines, sectors, institutions and sometimes even continents.” • “The more complex some of these partnerships have become, the more challenging have been the ethical, academic, and financial implications for the Canadian institutions themselves, not to mention their counterparts. Long term, more visionary and more strategic approaches have become critical. More entrepreneurial administrative structures and much heightened sensitivities to human rights, cross-cultural, gender and inter-disciplinary issues have been essential.” • “What, it must ruthlessly be asked, are the visions for post-secondary education for 2020 (not to mention 2050) that are empowering the more progressive of today’s institutions? How are they helping shape present regional and international development partnerships?”

On the evidence of national surveys conducted between 2000 and 2006, there is a declining sense of European self-identity in the three Slavic post-Soviet republics of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. Attitudes towards the European Union and the possibility of membership are broadly supportive, but with a substantial proportion who find it difficult to express a view, and substantial proportions are poorly informed in comparison with the general public in EU member or prospective member countries. Those who are better informed are more likely to favor EU membership and vice versa. Generally, socioeconomic characteristics (except for age and region) are relatively poor predictors of support for EU membership as compared with attitudinal variables. But Europeanness should not be seen as a given, and much will depend on whether EU member countries emphasize what is common to east and west or establish new dividing lines in place of those of the cold war.

The Great Bear Rainforest is the fabled region that stretches up the rugged Pacific coast from the top of Vancouver Island to southern Alaska. A longtime resident of the area, award-winning photographer and conservationist Ian McAllister takes us on a deeply personal journey from the headwaters of the Great Bear Rainforest''s unexplored river valleys down to where the ocean meets the rainforest and finally to the hidden depths of the offshore world. Along the way, we meet the spectacular wildlife that inhabits the Great Bear Rainforest. In a not-so unusual day, McAllister quietly observes twenty seven bears fishing for salmon, three of which are the famed pure white spirit bear. McAllister introduces us to the First Nations people who have lived there for millennia and have become his close friends and allies, and to the scientists conducting groundbreaking research and racing against time to protect the rainforest from massive energy projects. Rich with full-color photographs of the wolves, whales, and other creatures who make the rainforest their home, Great Bear Wild is a stunning celebration of this legendary area.

Recent work from the U.S. has demonstrated positive effects of internet use on individuals'' levels of sociability which have in turn been linked to the development of democratic behaviors and norms. This paper extends this research by examining the links between internet use, social capital and political engagement in Australia, using data from the 2007 Australian Election Study (AES) which directly replicated questions asked in a 2005 U.S. study (Kittilson and Dalton, 2008). We first measure levels of online interpersonal contacting among Australians, dividing these into bridging and bonding associations and then assess how far such behavior links to democratic engagement in terms of promoting attitudes supportive of democratic institutions and political participation. Our findings show that online social capital and particularly the bonding version is positively associated with levels of political efficacy and active engagement. We conclude that the Australian case provides further support for the argument that the internet offers an important new platform for social group activity that in turn may be helping to foster and sustain democratic norms and activities.

After three decades of violence, Northern Ireland has experienced unprecedented peace. This book examines the impact of the 1998 Agreement which halted the violence on those most affected by it – the Northern Ireland people themselves. Using public opinion surveys conducted over half a century, this book covers changes in public opinion across all areas of society and politics, including elections, education, community relations and national identity. The surveys show that despite peace, Protestants and Catholics remain as deeply divided as ever. The vast majority marry co-religionists, attend religious schools and have few friends across the religious divide. The results have implications not just for peace-making in Northern Ireland, but for other societies emerging from conflict. The main lesson of peace-making in Northern Ireland is that political reform has to be accompanied by social change across the society as a whole. Peace after conflict needs social as well as political change.

Political Parties and Democratic Linkage examines how political parties ensure the functioning of the democratic process in contemporary societies. Based on unprecedented cross-national data, the authors find that the process of party government is still alive and well in most contemporary democracies.

"The images and an earlier version of the text ... originally appeared in The last wild wolves, published in 2007 by Greystone Books"--Title page verso.

The late twentieth century saw more changes in political attitudes and behaviour in Australia than at any other time since federation. There have been major changes in the way that election campaigns are conducted, with an increasing reliance on the electronic media and a trend towards the personalisation of politics. Voters attitudes towards political institutions have changed, with decreasing confidence in politics and politicians and changed level of cynicism. And political participation has declined, with reduced levels of pain and election involvement. What does all this mean for Australian democracy? Do these trends suggest a long term realignment of the party system, with new parties emerging that appeal different groups of voters? Are our political institutions sufficiently flexible to respond to these new demands? And how does Australia compare with the other established democracies? Book jacket.

Through text and photographs describes the lives of wolf packs living on the coast of British Columbia.

The Australian Electoral System provides the first-ever comprehensive study of the design of Australian electoral systems. It focuses on the two electoral systems, both ''preferential'', that are most closely associated with Australia: namely the alternative vote and the single transferable vote. The book covers four main themes. First, it traces the origins of Australia''s electoral systems, explaining how and why Australia ended up with such a relatively unique arrangement. Second, it explores the range of variation in the detail of how the various schemes operate - variations which can have significant behavioural and electoral consequences. Third, it uses aggregate and survey data to systematically analyse the consequences of electoral system design. Fourth, it examines voter reaction to these systems, both in Australia and also cross-nationally.