Denise Meredyth

Gambling accessibility: a scale to measure gambler preferences

Geographic closeness of gambling venues is not the only aspect of accessibility likely to affect gambling frequency. Perceived accessibility of gambling venues may include other features such as convenience (e.g., opening hours) or “atmosphere”. The aim of the current study was to develop a multidimensional measure of gamblers’ perceptions of accessibility, and present evidence for its reliability and validity. We surveyed 303 gamblers with 43 items developed to measure different dimensions of accessibility. Factor analysis of the items produced a two factor solution. The first, Social Accessibility related to the level at which gambling venues were enjoyed because they were social places, provided varying entertainment options and had a pleasant atmosphere. The second factor, Accessible Retreat related to the degree to which venues were enjoyed because they were geographically and temporally available and provided a familiar and anonymous retreat with few interruptions or distractions. Both factors, developed as reliable subscales of the new Gambling Access Scale, demonstrated construct validity through their correlations with other gambling-related measures. Social Accessibility was moderately related to gambling frequency and amount spent, but not to problem gambling, while, as hypothesised, Accessible Retreat was associated with stronger urges to gamble and gambling problems.

Neighbourhood renewal and government by community: The Atherton Gardens network

This article reviews the expectations associated with wired community schemes – efforts to bridge the digital divide and promote social cohesion within neighbourhood renewal programmes. Such initiatives exemplify the strengths and limits of neo‐liberal modes of government through community. They use community consultation and participation within a managerial technology that persuades people to be self‐governing and adapt their aspirations, interests and conduct to accord with the ends of government – in this case, to accord with the aims of neighbourhood renewal programmes. Yet are wired community initiatives best assessed in terms of their capacity to promote community participation and social cohesion? These questions are explored through a central case study: the Reach for the Clouds project based in Atherton Gardens, a high‐rise public housing estate in Melbourne, Australia. Initial research suggests that the educational implications of the project will be more significant than its capacity to build community.

Popular Sovereignty and Civic Education

This article addresses some of the problems inherent in attempts to understand citizenship education through the concept of popular sovereignty and the formation of self-governing citizens. It does so via a historical investigation of the processes responsible for the separation of sovereignty and government and sovereignty and moral truth in the early modern state. It is argued that in losing sight of the importance of these separations for the formation of liberal pluralist states, current philosophical liberalism risks turning the school system into an instrument of moral coercion, jeopardizing its role as an instrument of social governance.

Invoking citizenship: education, competence and social rights

This article explores the effectiveness of appeals to ‘active citizenship’ as an answer to the ‘neoliberal’ political vocabulary of consumer choice and market freedom. It does so through a case study on recent reforms to post-compulsory education in Australia. A common response to education and social welfare policy is to expect government to accord with ideals of citizenship such as self-determination, participation and equality. However, the case study suggests that the governmental rationalities of modern mass-education systems are irreducible to these abstractions. Reference to the social rights of citizens is embedded in the rationales of social and education policy. Nevertheless, this should not be construed as the recognition or misrecognition of an absolute ideal or principle. Instead, the negotiation of social rights can be seen as the product of the mass school systems own capacity to apply common norms to a population and to use these norms in maintaining the settlements negotiated within expa...