scholarly journals The Effects of Female Leadership on Women's Voice in Political Debate

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jack Blumenau
Keyword(s):  
Female Leadership ◽  
Women In Politics ◽  
House Of Commons ◽  
Female Leaders ◽  
Political Debate ◽  
Difference In Differences ◽  
Parliamentary Debates ◽  
Women's Voice ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Over Time

AbstractDo female leaders amplify the voices of other women in politics? The author addresses this question by examining parliamentary debates in the UK House of Commons. In the context of a difference-in-differences design that exploits over-time variation in the gender of cabinet ministers, the article demonstrates that female ministers substantially increase the participation of other female MPs in relevant debates, compared to when the minister is male. It also uses a measure of debate influence, based on the degree to which words used by one legislator are adopted by other members, to show that female ministers also increase the influence of female backbenchers. To explore the mechanisms behind these results, the author introduces a new metric of ministerial responsiveness and shows that female ministers are significantly more responsive than their male counterparts to the speeches of female backbenchers.

5. The Significance of Rituals in Parliament

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma Crewe ◽  
Paul Evans
Keyword(s):  
House Of Commons ◽  
Parliamentary Debates ◽  
Political World ◽  
Members Of Parliament ◽  
House Of Lords ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Power Hierarchy ◽  
The Way

This chapter examines the significance of rituals in the UK Parliament, focusing on the centrality of rules in such rituals, how parliamentary debates are ritualized, and how ceremonies order relationships between different groups in our political world. It first explains the purpose of parliamentary rituals and how they are regulated, showing that the value attached to the way Parliament ritualizes its interaction is strongly contested between Members of Parliament (MPs) and by outside commentators. In particular, it considers Standing Orders, rules made by either the House of Commons or the House of Lords to set out the way certain aspects of House procedures operate. The chapter also discusses how rituals result in conflict and conciliation and as markers of power, hierarchy, and identity in Parliament.

scholarly journals Can political rhetoric ever be “too persuasive”?

Jezikoslovlje ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 285-303
Author(s):  
Andreas Musolff
Keyword(s):  
Public Perception ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Political Rhetoric ◽  
Political Debate ◽  
Pragmatic Development ◽  
The Public ◽  
Political Commitments ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Over Time ◽  
The Eu

Can the use of linguistic devices to achieve persuasion, such as metaphor, irony and hyperbole, ever be “too persuasive”, i.e., overshoot its rhetorical aim? More specifically, can the combination of such devices be “too much of a good thing” in that it commits speakers (and approving hearers) to actions that they were not part of their persuasion intentions? This paper investigates the semantic and pragmatic development of the Brexit-related applications of the metaphorical proverb, You cannot have your cake and eat it, during 2016–2019 in British public discourse. At the start of that period, the proverb’s reversal into the assertion “We can have our cake and eat it!” by the then Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and other “Brexiteers” became a highly prominent endorsement of Brexit and its supposed benefits for the UK; it even temporarily set the agenda for the public perception of UK–EU negotiations. Over time it became an object of hyperbolic praise as well as derision and recently seems to have lost much of its persuasive force. The paper argues that the proverb’s new reversed application by Johnson was initially successful in reviving its metaphorical meaning and framing it in a hyperbolic rhetorical context but that it also pushed Brexit proponents to an “all-or-nothing” outcome of the conflict narrative, both vis-à-vis the EU and within the British political debate. Thus, rhetorical success can lead to argumentative (and political) commitments that may have been not foreseen by the speaker and may run counter to their persuasive interests.

The United Kingdom

2021 ◽  
pp. 775-800
Author(s):  
Jack Blumenau ◽  
Roberta Damiani
Keyword(s):  
Institutional Setting ◽  
House Of Commons ◽  
Leadership Positions ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Parliamentary Debate ◽  
The Commons ◽  
The Government ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Over Time

We describe the institutional setting of parliamentary debate in the UK House of Commons and assess the determinants of participation in Commons’ debates using data on more than two million speeches from 1979 to 2019. We show that the main determinant of participation in parliamentary debate in the UK is whether an MP holds an institutionally powerful position in either the government or opposition parties. In addition, we describe two patterns in the evolution of debate behavior in the Commons over time. First, although MPs in government and opposition leadership positions give more speeches than backbench MPs in all periods that we study, the speechmaking “bonus” these actors enjoy has decreased over time. Second, MPs have increasingly employed constituency-oriented language in their parliamentary speeches over the past forty years, a finding we link to theoretical accounts of legislative competition in personal-vote-seeking electoral systems.

Twenty Years after: Statute of Limitations and the Asymmetric Burdens of Justice in Northern Ireland and Post-war Germany

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
C K Martin Chung
Keyword(s):  
Northern Ireland ◽  
House Of Commons ◽  
Parliamentary Debates ◽  
The Troubles ◽  
The Past ◽  
Balanced Approach ◽  
Post War ◽  
The Uk ◽  
British State ◽  
Reconciliation Process

Abstract In 2018, that is 20 years after the conclusion of the Belfast Agreement ending the 30-year conflict in Northern Ireland known as the ‘Troubles’, the UK Government started a consultation on dealing with its legacy. The House of Commons Defence Committee proposes the enactment of a statute of limitations to shield veterans from further investigations into Troubles-related crimes. It would represent a ‘balanced’ approach to justice, as some paramilitary combatants had also received de facto amnesty through various schemes. This article argues that given the involvement of the British state in the historical conflict, a ‘balanced’ approach to dealing with the past is inadequate. Drawing on parallel parliamentary debates in Germany that began around 1965, that is also 20 years after the end of conflict, the article makes the case that an asymmetric approach is both promising and necessary for the reconciliation process to move forward.

When Do Family Ties Matter? The Duration of Female Suffrage and Women’s Path to High Political Office

2018 ◽  
Vol 71 (3) ◽  
pp. 695-709 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Baturo ◽  
Julia Gray
Keyword(s):  
Women Leaders ◽  
Female Leadership ◽  
Empirical Modeling ◽  
Women In Politics ◽  
Female Leaders ◽  
Political Leaders ◽  
Family Ties ◽  
Political Office ◽  
Heads Of State ◽  
Female President

While the percentage of female heads of state in the world has increased to around 10 percent in the 2010s, a female president or prime minister still remains an exception. Recent scholarship has proposed a number of explanations behind this phenomenon, but there exist important gaps. The contribution of this paper is threefold. First, we use new and comprehensive data to undertake a systematic examination of the differences in the personal, education, and career backgrounds between female and male effective political leaders from 1960 to 2010. We find that female leaders are as qualified as men. Second, because the phenomenon of female leadership is still a rare occurrence, we argue that this fact must be accounted for in empirical modeling. Third, we show that many female leaders tend to acquire the necessary resources, support, and name recognition through political dynasties. To that end, women leaders need to rely on family ties more than men do. However, the importance of such connections attenuates when female suffrage has been in place for longer, and citizens are more open to women in politics.

UK Fiscal Squeezes over a Century

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Hood ◽  
Rozana Himaz
Keyword(s):  
Data Sources ◽  
Fiscal Consolidation ◽  
Financial Outcomes ◽  
Financial Conditions ◽  
Deficit Reduction ◽  
Before And After ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Changes Over Time ◽  
Spending Cuts ◽  
Over Time

This chapter draws on historical statistics reporting financial outcomes for spending, taxation, debt, and deficit for the UK over a century to (a) identify quantitatively and compare the main fiscal squeeze episodes (i.e. major revenue increases, spending cuts, or both) in terms of type (soft squeezes and hard squeezes, spending squeezes, and revenue squeezes), depth, and length; (b) compare these periods of austerity against measures of fiscal consolidation in terms of deficit reduction; and (c) identify economic and financial conditions before and after the various squeezes. It explores the extent to which the identification of squeeze episodes and their classification is sensitive to which thresholds are set and what data sources are used. The chapter identifies major changes over time that emerge from this analysis over the changing depth and types of squeeze.

scholarly journals Topological and Morphological Controls on Morphodynamics of Salt Marsh Interiors

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 311
Author(s):  
Ben R. Evans ◽  
Iris Möller ◽  
Tom Spencer
Keyword(s):  
Salt Marsh ◽  
Salt Marshes ◽  
East Coast ◽  
Marsh Surface ◽  
Coastal Environments ◽  
Coastal System ◽  
Morphological Segmentation ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Over Time

Salt marshes are important coastal environments and provide multiple benefits to society. They are considered to be declining in extent globally, including on the UK east coast. The dynamics and characteristics of interior parts of salt marsh systems are spatially variable and can fundamentally affect biotic distributions and the way in which the landscape delivers ecosystem services. It is therefore important to understand, and be able to predict, how these landscape configurations may evolve over time and where the greatest dynamism will occur. This study estimates morphodynamic changes in salt marsh areas for a regional domain over a multi-decadal timescale. We demonstrate at a landscape scale that relationships exist between the topology and morphology of a salt marsh and changes in its condition over time. We present an inherently scalable satellite-derived measure of change in marsh platform integrity that allows the monitoring of changes in marsh condition. We then demonstrate that easily derived geospatial and morphometric parameters can be used to determine the probability of marsh degradation. We draw comparisons with previous work conducted on the east coast of the USA, finding differences in marsh responses according to their position within the wider coastal system between the two regions, but relatively consistent in relation to the within-marsh situation. We describe the sub-pixel-scale marsh morphometry using a morphological segmentation algorithm applied to 25 cm-resolution maps of vegetated marsh surface. We also find strong relationships between morphometric indices and change in marsh platform integrity which allow for the inference of past dynamism but also suggest that current morphology may be predictive of future change. We thus provide insight into the factors governing marsh degradation that will assist the anticipation of adverse changes to the attributes and functions of these critical coastal environments and inform ongoing ecogeomorphic modelling developments.

scholarly journals The Impact of B Corp Certification on Growth

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (13) ◽  
pp. 7191
Author(s):  
Valerie Paelman ◽  
Philippe Van Cauwenberge ◽  
Heidi Vander Bauwhede
Keyword(s):  
Regression Analysis ◽  
Propensity Score ◽  
Panel Regression ◽  
Medium Term ◽  
Difference In Differences ◽  
Dual Purpose ◽  
Full Effect ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Positive Effect ◽  
Over Time

We empirically test whether B Corp certification affects the short- and medium-term growth rates of sustainable enterprises. These businesses are growing in popularity and prevalence but, due to their hybrid nature, often suffer from external credibility issues and competing internal logics. Because of the rigorous and time-involving audit procedure, B Corp certification potentially sends a credible signal about the sustainable nature of the enterprise to its stakeholders. In addition, the B Corp label could help to straighten out internal tensions and align the company towards its dual purpose. Hence, B Corp certification could contribute to company success. We observe 129 firms that were certified between 2013 and 2018 over a period between six years prior and five years post-certification. Using propensity score matching, we identify 129 non-certified matching companies. On this sample, we conduct a difference-in-differences panel regression analysis to investigate the effect of certification. Our dataset allows us to study how the effects of B Corp certification evolve over time, which was previously untested. Our study documents a positive effect of B Corp certification on turnover growth and also that this effect increases with the time since certification, implying that certification requires some time for its full effect to become apparent.

scholarly journals Playing to the Gallery: Emotive Rhetoric in Parliaments

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
MORITZ OSNABRÜGGE ◽  
SARA B. HOBOLT ◽  
TONI RODON
Keyword(s):  
Political Representation ◽  
Word Embedding ◽  
House Of Commons ◽  
General Audience ◽  
Domain Specific ◽  
High Profile ◽  
Affective Norms ◽  
The Uk

Research has shown that emotions matter in politics, but we know less about when and why politicians use emotive rhetoric in the legislative arena. This article argues that emotive rhetoric is one of the tools politicians can use strategically to appeal to voters. Consequently, we expect that legislators are more likely to use emotive rhetoric in debates that have a large general audience. Our analysis covers two million parliamentary speeches held in the UK House of Commons and the Irish Parliament. We use a dictionary-based method to measure emotive rhetoric, combining the Affective Norms for English Words dictionary with word-embedding techniques to create a domain-specific dictionary. We show that emotive rhetoric is more pronounced in high-profile legislative debates, such as Prime Minister’s Questions. These findings contribute to the study of legislative speech and political representation by suggesting that emotive rhetoric is used by legislators to appeal directly to voters.

scholarly journals Resource and waste quantification scenarios for wind turbine decommissioning in the United Kingdom

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kiran Tota-Maharaj ◽  
Alexander McMahon
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Waste Management ◽  
Wind Turbine ◽  
End Of Life ◽  
Wind Turbines ◽  
Rapid Rise ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Management Procedures ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Over Time

AbstractWind power produces more electricity than any other form of renewable energy in the United Kingdom (UK) and plays a key role in decarbonisation of the grid. Although wind energy is seen as a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels, there are still several environmental impacts associated with all stages of the lifecycle of a wind farm. This study determined the material composition for wind turbines for various sizes and designs and the prevalence of such turbines over time, to accurately quantify waste generation following wind turbine decommissioning in the UK. The end of life stage is becoming increasingly important as a rapid rise in installation rates suggests an equally rapid rise in decommissioning rates can be expected as wind turbines reach the end of their 20–25-year operational lifetime. Waste data analytics were applied in this study for the UK in 5-year intervals, stemming from 2000 to 2039. Current practices for end of life waste management procedures have been analysed to create baseline scenarios. These scenarios have been used to explore potential waste management mitigation options for various materials and components such as reuse, remanufacture, recycling, and heat recovery from incineration. Six scenarios were then developed based on these waste management options, which have demonstrated the significant environmental benefits of such practices through quantification of waste reduction and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions savings. For the 2015–2019 time period, over 35 kilotonnes of waste are expected to be generated annually. Overall waste is expected to increase over time to more than 1200 kilotonnes annually by 2039. Concrete is expected to account for the majority of waste associated with wind turbine decommissioning initially due to foundations for onshore turbines accounting for approximately 80% of their total weight. By 2035–2039, steel waste is expected to account for almost 50% of overall waste due to the emergence of offshore turbines, the foundations of which are predominantly made of steel.

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