‘Gamekeeper Turned Poacher’: Frank Chapple, Anti-Communism, and Soviet Human Rights Violations1

The inclusion of the British trade union leader Frank Chapple on the panel of the 1985 Sakharov hearings, an event designed to hold the Soviet authorities to account for their violation of human rights, raises questions about the workings of the broader network of activists highlighting Soviet abuses. This article assesses Chapple’s support for human rights in the Soviet Union, arguing that because of his historic membership of the Communist Party and subsequent anti-communist leadership of the Electrical Trades Union (ETU) in Britain, his support for victims of Soviet persecution was multifaceted in the Cold War context.

Understanding leader evaluations in European Parliament elections

Leader evaluations are a crucial aspect in representative democracy. We analyse the patterns, antecedents and consequences of European Union leader evaluations against the backdrop of the 2019 European Parliament elections in ten countries. The article shows, firstly, that leader evaluations are unidimensional, both among voters with low and high knowledge as well as partisans and non-partisans. Secondly, among the antecedents of leader evaluations, European Union trust and performance evaluations are positively associated with leader evaluations, while European identity hardly plays a role compared to other factors. Lastly, the positive effect of leader evaluations on vote choice is conditional upon the individual leader and their party affiliation. Our results have important implications for expectations towards and evaluations of European Union leadership in the long term.

Eco-martyrdom: Positive elements of self-sacrifice

This theoretical article briefly explores the historical and modern concept of martyrdom and how it has taken on its current negative connotation due to suicide bombings after 9/11. The paper will review the literature on this more heavily studied form of martyrdom and then distinguish it from the less well-known area of “positive self-sacrifice.” The article asserts that this positive form is exemplified by the behavior of eco-martyrs: people who have given their life to protect the environment from further devastation. The paper will include the case of slain trade union leader and environmental activist Chico Mendes. Chico is an exemplar of the positive self-sacrifice seen in many eco-martyrs. Positive self-sacrifice is defined as prosocial and altruistic actions exhibited by a person who is so fused with their community’s survival that they focus on nothing but the well-being of the community (counterfinality). Since their community’s struggle is tied to an environmental conflict, they abide by an ecological self (humans are not superior to other beings) and over time display evidence of self-actualization and self-transcendence. Eco-martyrs are typically assassinated by the powerful organizations that they have been resisting.

The Bottom-Up Development Model as a GovernanceInstrument for the Rural Areas. The Cases of Four Local Action Groups (LAGs) in the United Kingdom and in Italy

The present research which originates from the author’s PhD dissertation awarded at the School of Politics of the University of Newcastle upon Tyne in 2019, explores the comparative evolution of rural development policies and Local Action Groups (LAGs) in the United Kingdom (Argyll and the Islands LAG—Scotland and Coast, Wolds, Wetlands and Waterways LAG—England) and in Italy (Delta 2000 LAG—Emilia-Romagna Region and Capo Santa Maria di Leuca LAG—Puglia Region) in a multi-level governance framework. LAGs and in particular their public–private local partnerships have become common practice in the governance of rural areas. This governance operates within the European Union LEADER approach as a tool designed to generate the development of rural areas at local level. In order to establish the implications of the LAG practices, the following main objectives for this research have been established: (1) to explore the utility of EU strategies for rural development; (2) to explain how LAGs structure, institutional arrangements and working are positioned in the layers of MLG framework; (3) to carry out a comparative evaluation of the LAGs working in the different nations and their subnational contexts. Some significant findings from the case studies are summarized in relation to these themes: the key characteristics and the outcomes associated with the LAG working mechanisms and what do we draw about the emergence, operation and performance of local partnerships. The core argument of the research is that the partnership approach has given the rural development actors a governance platform to help increase beneficial interactions and economic activity in each of these LAGs, but it is the bottom-up leadership of key local actors, seizing opportunities provided by the EU funding, which have been the most important factors for the LAG successes.

Clements Kadalie, the trade unionist, and prophet Shepherd Bushiri

The gold rush in South Africa required many workers, both skilled and unskilled, to work on the surface and underground in the recently discovered gold deposits on the Witwatersrand. Mining companies ventured to lure such labour across South(ern) Africa. As such, in the past century, trade union leadership and religious leadership in South Africa shared similar objectives. Clements Kadalie is one of those workers who reached South Africa to offer cheap labour and ended as a union leader. The post 1994 South African democratic dispensation attracted many people to pursue better economic opportunities. Shepherd Bushiri is one of them. This article engages in some theological reflections on these two leaders and their influence among the poor and destitute in South Africa, and by employing case study analysis.

Elementos Folkcomunicacionais no Discurso do ex-Presidente Lula: Um Registro Histórico do Brasil Ovacionado nas Páginas de The Economist

O presente estudo visa a discutir um registro histórico do Brasil, com base em um olhar elogioso e mesmo eufórico, a seu respeito no jornal britânico The Economist durante o segundo mandato do ex-Presidente Lula. O veículo é considerado por economistas e especialistas do mercado financeiro de todo o mundo como a bíblia do liberalismo mundial; com essa “marca” The Economist vai do pânico com a iminente vitória do ex-líder sindical em 2002 ao entusiasmo com a postura do ex-Chefe de Estado da maior potência econômica latino-americana em menos de uma década! Este paper, com alicerce teórico envolto pela análise de discurso e por importantes aspectos folkcomunicacionais, faz um retorno a um passado histórico recente, no entanto, extremamente distante da realidade brasileira atual, na qual a crise permeia diversos setores e a linguagem folk, leve, pacífica deu lugar ao discurso do “negacionismo” face a demandas sociais de ordem emergencial, como é o caso da fome, do emprego, da saúde pública. Por fim, o que foi “marolinha” na economia do Governo Lula, se transformando em elogios e exemplo para todo o planeta, parece hoje um longínquo registro histórico. É o referido registro que ora se apresenta, envolvendo o discurso como o eixo central da imagem folk de um ex-presidente brasileiro que trouxe elogios e euforia ao seu país. Brasil; Folkcomunicação; Lula; The Economist. The present study aims to discuss a historical record of Brazil, based on a complimentary and even euphoric look, about it in the British newspaper The Economist during the second term of former President Lula. The vehicle is regarded by economists and financial market experts from around the world as the bible of world liberalism; with this "brand" The Economist goes from panic with the imminent victory of the former union leader in 2002 to enthusiasm for the former Head of State of Latin America's greatest economic power house in less than a decade! This paper, with theoretical foundation surrounded by discourse analysis and important folkcommunicational aspects, makes a return to a recent historical past, however, extremely distant from the current Brazilian reality, in which the crisis permeates various sectors and the folk language, light, peaceful gave way to the discourse of "denialism" in the face of social demands of emergency order, as is the case of hunger , employment, public health. Finally, what was "marolinha" in the economy of the Lula Government, turning into praise and example for the whole planet, today seems a distant historical record. It is the aforementioned record that now presents itself, involving the speech as the central axis of the folk image of a former Brazilian president who brought praise and euphoria to his country. Brazil; Folkcommunication; Lula; The Economist. El presente estudio pretende discutir un registro histórico de Brasil, basado en una mirada complementaria e incluso eufórica, al respecto en el diario británico The Economist durante el segundo mandato del expresidente Lula. El vehículo es considerado por economistas y expertos en mercados financieros de todo el mundo como la biblia del liberalismo mundial; con esta "marca" The Economist pasa del rey del pánico con la inminente victoria del ex líder sindical en 2002 al entusiasmo por la antigua casa de poder económico del ex Jefe de Estado de América Latina en menos de una década. Este trabajo, con fundamento teórico rodeado de análisis del discurso y aspectos folclóricos importantes, hace un retorno a un pasado histórico reciente, sin embargo, extremadamente distante de la realidad brasileña actual, en la que la crisis impregna diversos sectores y el lenguaje popular, ligero, pacífico dio paso al discurso del "negacionismo" frente a las demandas sociales del orden de emergencia, como es el caso del hambre , empleo, salud pública. Finalmente, lo que fue "marolinha" en la economía del Gobierno de Lula, convirtiéndose en elogios y ejemplo para todo el planeta, hoy parece un registro histórico lejano. Es el mencionado registro que ahora se presenta, que involucra el discurso como eje central de la imagen popular de un ex presidente brasileño que trajo elogios y euforia a su país. Brasil; Folkcomunicación; Lula; The Economist.

Union Leaders' language during conflict: Does gender matter?

We analyze the language used by two consecutive British Columbia Teachers’ Federation (BCTF) presidents, Susan Lambert and Jim Iker, during two collective bargaining sessions that pitted the BCTF against the British Columbia (BC) government and the British Columbia Public School Employers’ Association (BCPSEA). Our study analyzes how gender language differences if they indeed exist, are manifested during critical moments that require strong leadership. Language is a critical resource for leaders, who use it to define issues, assign motives and inspire action, and portray themselves as people of power and consequence. Both women and men can employ a variety of linguistic strategies and the linguistic decisions that male and female leaders make provide a window onto if and how gender may be manifested by those in power and how they use language to present themselves as effective leaders. In this paper, we explore whether and how gender influences the linguistic choices of a male and female union leader during times of conflict.

The Influence of Collective Agency on the Culture of Employee Learning:

This study investigated the influence of collective agency on the culture of employee learning among administrative assistants at a comprehensive South African university. Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews with 15 participants; the senior human resource training and development coordinator and a trade union leader. The study found that there is positive intentionality in the official domain of employee learning at the institution, resulting from the need for agents to collectively re-contextualise the knowledge constituting the employee learning curriculum. Similarly, there was evidence of the positive influence of collect- -ive agency in the administrative assistants’ responses to institutional employee learning initiatives. However, some tensions were noted between senior management’s and administrative assistants’ exercise of collective agency in the practice of employee learning. This hampered alignment between the institution’s strategic intentions and the administrative assistants’ collective employee learning goals. Based on these findings, it is recommended that efforts can be made to promote congruence between management’s exercise of collective agency in the official re-contextualisation of the employee learning curriculum and the administrative assist- -tants’ collective responses to employee learning practices. Key words: employee learning, administrative assistants, collective agency