Brenton Prosser
Biographic Data
| ID | 337317 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Brenton Prosser |
| GIVEN NAMES | Brenton |
| FAMILY NAME | Prosser |
| SIGNATURE | PROSSER B |
| AFFILIATIONS | Australian National University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-8058-2973 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 17 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 65 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 17 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2008 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
The Disconnection of Advocacy and Analysis in Public Administration: A Critique of Robust Governance
A strength of public administration as a discipline is that it is concerned with both the analysis and advocacy. It explores the working of public institutions and wider systems of governance but also proposes reform mechanisms to improve their functioning. But these combined tasks are often conducted as if they were in separate worlds, to the detriment of the advocacy role. This failing, in turn, leads the advocacy arm of public administration r…
Policy fatalism: When the public thinks nothing can be done
The article establishes the concept of policy fatalism, defined as the view that some societal issues are so intractable that no policy measures can be effectively taken to resolve them. It does so by distinguishing it from other well-known concepts and demarcating policy fatalism as a concept in contrast with a focus on personal fatalism applied in other studies. The concept finds empirical support through representative surveys in Britain and A…
Pedagogy and deliberative democracy: Insights from recent experiments in the United Kingdom
A growing body of research suggests the existence of a disconnection between citizens, politicians and representative politics in advanced industrial democracies. This has led to a literature on the emergence of post-democratic or post-representative politics that connects to a parallel seam of scholarship on the capacity of deliberative democratic innovations to ‘close the gap’. This latter body of work has delivered major insights in terms of d…
A recipe for impact? Exploring knowledge requirements in the UK Parliament and beyond
In the context of ongoing debates around academic engagements with policymakers, this article discusses how academics can successfully engage with the often overlooked institution of Parliament. We argue that the UK Parliament is not a homogeneous organisation but has differing knowledge requirements for different parliamentary sites. While there are common barriers that need to be overcome by researchers, there is no universal recipe that will e…
Citizen participation and changing governance: Cases of devolution in England
The current process of devolving powers within England constitutes a significant change of governance arrangements. This process of devolution has been widely criticised for including insufficient consultation. This paper assesses whether that criticism is fair. Modifying Archon Fung’s framework for the analysis of public participation mechanisms, we begin by considering whether the depth of public engagement has been limited. Then, by comparing …
Devolution, Evolution, Revolution … Democracy? What's Really Happening to English Local Governance
The Cities and Local Government Devolution Bill 2015–2016[ HL ] was introduced into the House of Lords as Bill No. 1 in the 2015–2016 parliamentary session. The Bill forms a critical element of the government's high‐profile policy of devolving powers and responsibilities to local areas within England. The transition from first‐generation ‘city deals’ to second‐generation ‘devolution deals’ within five years provides a sense of the pace and develo…
Minority government and marginal members: New issues for political and policy legitimacy in Australia
A steady decline in major party support in Commonwealth nations has resulted in changing parliamentary compositions, including the growing prevalence of minority government. Such situations pose new questions for notions of government legitimacy within Westminster systems. For instance, is negotiation with cross-benchers an example of government illegitimacy? What is the legitimate role of non-ministerial members when the composition of parliamen…
Lobbying and minority government in Australia: The concept of the marginal member
Within Westminster-based majority parliaments, the presence of minority government runs contrary to the conventional wisdom. Over the last 40 years, however, there has been a steady voting trend away from major parties in many of these parliaments. The complex composition of the Australian Senate after July 2014 reinforces that non-ministerial marginal members continue to be a vital part of the political landscape. This article introduces the con…
Living on the edge: Rethinking poverty, class and schooling, by J. Smyth and T. Wrigley
Additional informationNotes on contributorsBrenton ProsserBrenton Prosser was senior adviser to Senator Nick Xenophon during the period that the Senator shared the ‘balance-of-power’ in the Commonwealth Parliament of Australia. He was also formerly a doctoral student of John Smyth
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in Australia: Perspectives from the sociology of deviance
Over the last twenty years, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has become one of the most diagnosed childhood disorders in the western world. Research within the disciplines of psychiatry and criminology has increasingly identified a link between ADHD, delinquency and crime. So far, consideration of ADHD from sociological perspectives has been limited, while it has been virtually ignored as a diagnosis with social impact and a popula…
Changes in professional human care work: The case of Nurse Practitioners in Australia
Recently, the Australian Government has provided significant support for the expansion of Nurse Practitioner services in the community. As a result, the emerging role and ongoing retention of these professionals is an area for policy investigation. However, there is also a broader significance in the Nurse Practitioner role for which sociological perspectives can provide insight. Sociologists identify two key characteristics of late-modernism as …
Affect and the lifeworld: Conceptualising Surviving and Thriving in the Human Service Professions
The advent of post-industrialism in western societies saw social theorists pay greater attention to the blurring of traditional work and life conceptual categories and the growing role of service professions. Further, much of the theorisation around the human service professions has focussed on occupational stress and professional burnout. This focus on the challenges to worker health has limited considerations of how human service professionals …
New integrity issues for independents and minority governments
There is always a need for new measures of public accountability and integrity, not so much because current systems are lacking, but because new challenges constantly arise. One such challenge is emerging as parliamentary systems within Westminster-influenced jurisdictions are becoming more accustomed to minority parties and/or independents playing a significant role in government. This is particularly potent in the current Australian context whe…
Thriving, not just surviving, in emotionally demanding fields of practice: Thriving, not just surviving
Research within the disciplines of Social Work and Education has for sometime acknowledged the tragedy, trauma, conflict and misery that can be experienced by workers in their associated professions. More recently, there has been an aligned interest in the role of passion, emotion and energy in sustaining these professionals through such experiences. This paper contributes to the growing literature in this area by reporting on a study conducted w…
Revolution or backlash? The mediatisation of education policy in Australia
Recent scholarship has identified the emergence of a new modality of policy work: the mediatisation of policy. This paper provides an Australian case study which reports on the tactics of an Australian Federal Minister of Education and a media commentator who both engaged in public pedagogical work for the purpose of spinning education policy. In particular, we argue that this example of the mediatisation of education policy has worked to stifle …
Seeing red: Poetry and metaphor as responses to representational challenges in critical narrative research
Research with young people who ‘do not fit the mould’ requires innovative and unconventional methods, but what are the implications of such methods for scholarly representation? This paper reports on the development of such a method with students diagnosed Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and offers one view of the borderland spaces and tensions between critical theory and narrative inquiry. In particular, the paper defines the methodolog…
Beyond ADHD: A consideration of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and pedagogy in Australian schools
A psycho-medical discourse that explains behavioural dysfunction through neurological deficit has dominated debate about attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, if only medical questions are asked, only medical answers will be found, resulting in more or less drug treatment. When behavioural dysfunction results in impairment within home, school and work settings, it is also important to include educational and sociological consi…
Citizen participation and changing governance: Cases of devolution in England
The current process of devolving powers within England constitutes a significant change of governance arrangements. This process of devolution has been widely criticised for including insufficient consultation. This paper assesses whether that criticism is fair. Modifying Archon Fung’s framework for the analysis of public participation mechanisms, we begin by considering whether the depth of public engagement has been limited. Then, by comparing …
A recipe for impact? Exploring knowledge requirements in the UK Parliament and beyond
In the context of ongoing debates around academic engagements with policymakers, this article discusses how academics can successfully engage with the often overlooked institution of Parliament. We argue that the UK Parliament is not a homogeneous organisation but has differing knowledge requirements for different parliamentary sites. While there are common barriers that need to be overcome by researchers, there is no universal recipe that will e…
Revolution or backlash? The mediatisation of education policy in Australia
Recent scholarship has identified the emergence of a new modality of policy work: the mediatisation of policy. This paper provides an Australian case study which reports on the tactics of an Australian Federal Minister of Education and a media commentator who both engaged in public pedagogical work for the purpose of spinning education policy. In particular, we argue that this example of the mediatisation of education policy has worked to stifle …
Thriving, not just surviving, in emotionally demanding fields of practice: Thriving, not just surviving
Research within the disciplines of Social Work and Education has for sometime acknowledged the tragedy, trauma, conflict and misery that can be experienced by workers in their associated professions. More recently, there has been an aligned interest in the role of passion, emotion and energy in sustaining these professionals through such experiences. This paper contributes to the growing literature in this area by reporting on a study conducted w…
Pedagogy and deliberative democracy: Insights from recent experiments in the United Kingdom
A growing body of research suggests the existence of a disconnection between citizens, politicians and representative politics in advanced industrial democracies. This has led to a literature on the emergence of post-democratic or post-representative politics that connects to a parallel seam of scholarship on the capacity of deliberative democratic innovations to ‘close the gap’. This latter body of work has delivered major insights in terms of d…
Beyond ADHD: A consideration of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and pedagogy in Australian schools
A psycho-medical discourse that explains behavioural dysfunction through neurological deficit has dominated debate about attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, if only medical questions are asked, only medical answers will be found, resulting in more or less drug treatment. When behavioural dysfunction results in impairment within home, school and work settings, it is also important to include educational and sociological consi…
Minority government and marginal members: New issues for political and policy legitimacy in Australia
A steady decline in major party support in Commonwealth nations has resulted in changing parliamentary compositions, including the growing prevalence of minority government. Such situations pose new questions for notions of government legitimacy within Westminster systems. For instance, is negotiation with cross-benchers an example of government illegitimacy? What is the legitimate role of non-ministerial members when the composition of parliamen…
Changes in professional human care work: The case of Nurse Practitioners in Australia
Recently, the Australian Government has provided significant support for the expansion of Nurse Practitioner services in the community. As a result, the emerging role and ongoing retention of these professionals is an area for policy investigation. However, there is also a broader significance in the Nurse Practitioner role for which sociological perspectives can provide insight. Sociologists identify two key characteristics of late-modernism as …
New integrity issues for independents and minority governments
There is always a need for new measures of public accountability and integrity, not so much because current systems are lacking, but because new challenges constantly arise. One such challenge is emerging as parliamentary systems within Westminster-influenced jurisdictions are becoming more accustomed to minority parties and/or independents playing a significant role in government. This is particularly potent in the current Australian context whe…
Seeing red: Poetry and metaphor as responses to representational challenges in critical narrative research
Research with young people who ‘do not fit the mould’ requires innovative and unconventional methods, but what are the implications of such methods for scholarly representation? This paper reports on the development of such a method with students diagnosed Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and offers one view of the borderland spaces and tensions between critical theory and narrative inquiry. In particular, the paper defines the methodolog…
Beyond ADHD: A consideration of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and pedagogy in Australian schools
A psycho-medical discourse that explains behavioural dysfunction through neurological deficit has dominated debate about attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, if only medical questions are asked, only medical answers will be found, resulting in more or less drug treatment. When behavioural dysfunction results in impairment within home, school and work settings, it is also important to include educational and sociological consi…
Revolution or backlash? The mediatisation of education policy in Australia
Recent scholarship has identified the emergence of a new modality of policy work: the mediatisation of policy. This paper provides an Australian case study which reports on the tactics of an Australian Federal Minister of Education and a media commentator who both engaged in public pedagogical work for the purpose of spinning education policy. In particular, we argue that this example of the mediatisation of education policy has worked to stifle …
Seeing red: Poetry and metaphor as responses to representational challenges in critical narrative research
Research with young people who ‘do not fit the mould’ requires innovative and unconventional methods, but what are the implications of such methods for scholarly representation? This paper reports on the development of such a method with students diagnosed Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and offers one view of the borderland spaces and tensions between critical theory and narrative inquiry. In particular, the paper defines the methodolog…
Thriving, not just surviving, in emotionally demanding fields of practice: Thriving, not just surviving
Research within the disciplines of Social Work and Education has for sometime acknowledged the tragedy, trauma, conflict and misery that can be experienced by workers in their associated professions. More recently, there has been an aligned interest in the role of passion, emotion and energy in sustaining these professionals through such experiences. This paper contributes to the growing literature in this area by reporting on a study conducted w…
New integrity issues for independents and minority governments
There is always a need for new measures of public accountability and integrity, not so much because current systems are lacking, but because new challenges constantly arise. One such challenge is emerging as parliamentary systems within Westminster-influenced jurisdictions are becoming more accustomed to minority parties and/or independents playing a significant role in government. This is particularly potent in the current Australian context whe…
Changes in professional human care work: The case of Nurse Practitioners in Australia
Recently, the Australian Government has provided significant support for the expansion of Nurse Practitioner services in the community. As a result, the emerging role and ongoing retention of these professionals is an area for policy investigation. However, there is also a broader significance in the Nurse Practitioner role for which sociological perspectives can provide insight. Sociologists identify two key characteristics of late-modernism as …
Affect and the lifeworld: Conceptualising Surviving and Thriving in the Human Service Professions
The advent of post-industrialism in western societies saw social theorists pay greater attention to the blurring of traditional work and life conceptual categories and the growing role of service professions. Further, much of the theorisation around the human service professions has focussed on occupational stress and professional burnout. This focus on the challenges to worker health has limited considerations of how human service professionals …
Living on the edge: Rethinking poverty, class and schooling, by J. Smyth and T. Wrigley
Additional informationNotes on contributorsBrenton ProsserBrenton Prosser was senior adviser to Senator Nick Xenophon during the period that the Senator shared the ‘balance-of-power’ in the Commonwealth Parliament of Australia. He was also formerly a doctoral student of John Smyth
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in Australia: Perspectives from the sociology of deviance
Over the last twenty years, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has become one of the most diagnosed childhood disorders in the western world. Research within the disciplines of psychiatry and criminology has increasingly identified a link between ADHD, delinquency and crime. So far, consideration of ADHD from sociological perspectives has been limited, while it has been virtually ignored as a diagnosis with social impact and a popula…
Minority government and marginal members: New issues for political and policy legitimacy in Australia
A steady decline in major party support in Commonwealth nations has resulted in changing parliamentary compositions, including the growing prevalence of minority government. Such situations pose new questions for notions of government legitimacy within Westminster systems. For instance, is negotiation with cross-benchers an example of government illegitimacy? What is the legitimate role of non-ministerial members when the composition of parliamen…
Lobbying and minority government in Australia: The concept of the marginal member
Within Westminster-based majority parliaments, the presence of minority government runs contrary to the conventional wisdom. Over the last 40 years, however, there has been a steady voting trend away from major parties in many of these parliaments. The complex composition of the Australian Senate after July 2014 reinforces that non-ministerial marginal members continue to be a vital part of the political landscape. This article introduces the con…
Devolution, Evolution, Revolution … Democracy? What's Really Happening to English Local Governance
The Cities and Local Government Devolution Bill 2015–2016[ HL ] was introduced into the House of Lords as Bill No. 1 in the 2015–2016 parliamentary session. The Bill forms a critical element of the government's high‐profile policy of devolving powers and responsibilities to local areas within England. The transition from first‐generation ‘city deals’ to second‐generation ‘devolution deals’ within five years provides a sense of the pace and develo…
A recipe for impact? Exploring knowledge requirements in the UK Parliament and beyond
In the context of ongoing debates around academic engagements with policymakers, this article discusses how academics can successfully engage with the often overlooked institution of Parliament. We argue that the UK Parliament is not a homogeneous organisation but has differing knowledge requirements for different parliamentary sites. While there are common barriers that need to be overcome by researchers, there is no universal recipe that will e…
Citizen participation and changing governance: Cases of devolution in England
The current process of devolving powers within England constitutes a significant change of governance arrangements. This process of devolution has been widely criticised for including insufficient consultation. This paper assesses whether that criticism is fair. Modifying Archon Fung’s framework for the analysis of public participation mechanisms, we begin by considering whether the depth of public engagement has been limited. Then, by comparing …
Pedagogy and deliberative democracy: Insights from recent experiments in the United Kingdom
A growing body of research suggests the existence of a disconnection between citizens, politicians and representative politics in advanced industrial democracies. This has led to a literature on the emergence of post-democratic or post-representative politics that connects to a parallel seam of scholarship on the capacity of deliberative democratic innovations to ‘close the gap’. This latter body of work has delivered major insights in terms of d…
The Disconnection of Advocacy and Analysis in Public Administration: A Critique of Robust Governance
A strength of public administration as a discipline is that it is concerned with both the analysis and advocacy. It explores the working of public institutions and wider systems of governance but also proposes reform mechanisms to improve their functioning. But these combined tasks are often conducted as if they were in separate worlds, to the detriment of the advocacy role. This failing, in turn, leads the advocacy arm of public administration r…
Policy fatalism: When the public thinks nothing can be done
The article establishes the concept of policy fatalism, defined as the view that some societal issues are so intractable that no policy measures can be effectively taken to resolve them. It does so by distinguishing it from other well-known concepts and demarcating policy fatalism as a concept in contrast with a focus on personal fatalism applied in other studies. The concept finds empirical support through representative surveys in Britain and A…
Political science (12 works) · Law (10 works) · Politics (10 works) · Sociology (10 works) · Law (8 works) · Public Administration (8 works) · Public Administration (7 works) · Public relations (5 works) · Democracy (4 works) · Economics (4 works)