NEW POLITICS? THE MABO DEBATE AND PUBLIC OPINION NATIVE TITLE IN AUSTRALIA

The Australian High Court's decision on the Mabo case, allowingnative title to Aboriginal Australians, became the major politicalissue during the second half of 1993. The Labor party's championingof this issue is suggestive of a fundamental change in Australianpolitics as predicted by ‘new politics’ theoristssuch as Ronald Inglehart. This paper examines the formationof opinions on the Mabo with particular reference to new politics.Several theoretical approaches to the formation of attitudesto political issues are examined. These comprise the new politics,political partisanship, nonattitudes, rational choice, asttitudinalpredispositions, and group socialization approaches. Littlesupport was found for the standard postmaterialist/materialistcleavage, although aspects of the new politics thesis were supportedas were aspects of the other approaches. In the light of thesefindings we outline a model of public opinion incorporatingelements of each approach.     

Lifelong Learning and the 'Breadwinner Ideology': Addressing the problems of lack of participation by adult,working-class males in higher education on Merseyside

This paper considers the cultural and economic positions of working-class men in the specific context of Merseyside, their attitudes towards education (taking into account, amongst other things their assumed 'breadwinner' role and its pertinence within the prevalent regional context of 'living off one's wits') and the effects on their levels of participation in higher education. Drawing upon recent research into mature students in British universities, the paper suggests that universities themselves need to change if they are to offer an image and environment that will appeal to the adult working class, and in particular the adult workingclass male (who on paper have the most to benefit from lifelong learning) and, significantly, the universities must reassess their 'community' role, and begin to think of themselves in terms of their 'local' remit.