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Attribution Analysis: a Critique of the Policy Paradigm with a Case Study of the Northern Territory Emergency Response

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Attribution Analysis: a Critique of the Policy Paradigm with a Case Study of the Northern Territory Emergency Response Attribution Analysis: A Critique of the Policy Paradigm with a Case Study of the Northern Territory Emergency Response Wendy Adeline Aitken Combined Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Commerce Bachelor of Arts, Honours Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Tasmania September 2013 Declaration of Originality This thesis contains no material which has been accepted for a degree or diploma by the University or any other institution, except by way of background information and duly acknowledged in the thesis, and to the best of my knowledge and belief no material previously published or written by another person except where due acknowledgement is made in the text of the thesis, nor does the thesis contain any material that infringes copyright. Signed: ________________________ __ Date: __ /_ _/ 2013 (Wendy Adeline Aitken) This thesis may be made available for loan and limited copying and communication in accordance with the Copyright Act 1968. Signed: ________________________ __ Date: __ /_ _/ 2013 (Wendy Adeline Aitken) Abstract There have been many critiques of rational public policy processes but none have been able to counter the power of the dominant hegemony that employs them. This thesis shifts the ground of the discussion. Not in an attempt to win the contest in a fight for the dominance of ideas, but to question that very ‘contest’ itself. By challenging the problem solving model’s claim to rationality, the validity of the problem-focus in public policy is undermined. A critical analysis of attribution theory, from the discipline of social psychology, proves fruitful in this endeavour. It reveals the problem solving model as a product of patriarchy, and that patriarchy is actually an unconscious, irrational process of the masculinist frame. Transformative community development offers some simple principles to counteract and resolve the negative exacerbation cycles of patriarchy. Thus, several disciplines are employed to reconceptualise the policy paradigm and construct an analytical model: attribution analysis. This framework is then employed to analyse the discourse of the powerful. The efficacy of attribution analysis is demonstrated with a case study in Australian Indigenous policy. The Northern Territory Emergency Response re-established openly paternalistic policy in Indigenous communities in 2007. An examination of the decision – and the (lack of) process used to reach it – shows that it failed to meet even its own normative policy models. This could be explained as a failure to employ such models effectively. However, the application of attribution analysis provides an alternative explanation. It demonstrates the masculinist frame creates exacerbation cycles that maintain and reinforce the ‘problem’. It is time for a shift in the dominant paradigm. Acknowledgments Many people contributed to the completion of this thesis. To my sons Adam, Jed, Sascha and Ben, I acknowledge the time and attention spent on this endeavour that could have been lavished on you. Thank you all for understanding. To my partner Chris Wareham, thank you for the love, understanding and support that made this possible. To my supervisor Dr Tony McCall, of the School of Government, University of Tasmania, thanks for your faith in my ability, your wisdom, forbearance and your deft guidance. To Dr Mitchell Rolls, of the School of Humanities, Aboriginal Studies Program, University of Tasmania, thanks for your support, advice and mentorship. Thanks to the members of the Writer’s Mentoring Group for their encouragement and sound advice. To Professor Maggie Walter, University of Tasmania – mentor and friend – thanks for sage advice and support. I would also like to acknowledge the friendship and support of my colleagues, past and present, in the Aboriginal Studies Program and the Riawunna Centre for Aboriginal Education, at the University of Tasmania. Table of Contents Introduction ........................................................................................................................................ 1 The Theory: Attribution analysis ........................................................................................... 7 The Case Study: The Northern Territory Emergency Response .......................................... 11 Chapter Outline ................................................................................................................... 14 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................... 18 Part I: Attribution analysis .................................................................................................................... 19 Community Development ................................................................................................................. 20 Background of Community Development ........................................................................... 21 How the Professional Problem Manifests ........................................................................... 28 Transformative Development Models ................................................................................ 32 The Australian Indigenous Context ..................................................................................... 46 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................... 51 The Policy Paradigm in Australia ....................................................................................................... 54 Policy Frameworks .............................................................................................................. 55 The Australian Policy Cycle .................................................................................................. 57 Critique of the Policy Cycle and the Revival of Rationalism ................................................ 71 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................... 74 Critique of the Policy Paradigm ......................................................................................................... 76 Stone – The Policy Paradox ................................................................................................. 77 Equity................................................................................................................................... 79 Narrative Analysis................................................................................................................ 84 Causation ............................................................................................................................. 86 Policy Solutions ................................................................................................................... 90 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................... 94 Attribution Theory ............................................................................................................................. 96 Classic Attribution Theories ................................................................................................ 98 Judgements of Self ............................................................................................................ 101 Judgements of Others ....................................................................................................... 104 Group-serving Bias ............................................................................................................ 106 Attribution Theory and Community Development ........................................................... 111 Attribution Theory and the Policy Paradox ....................................................................... 112 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 119 Beyond the Rationality Project ....................................................................................................... 120 Critique of Cognitive Social Psychology ............................................................................ 121 Re-conceiving the Female Attributional Style ................................................................... 140 Self-serving Bias and the Rationality Project .................................................................... 142 Attribution analysis – Community Development .............................................................. 147 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 151 Part II: The Case Study ........................................................................................................................ 154 Background to Indigenous Policy .................................................................................................... 155 The Policy Context ............................................................................................................. 155 Indigenous Policy in the Northern Territory ..................................................................... 161 i Recent Indigenous Policy Trends in Australia: Self Determination ................................... 170 Prelude – Little Children are Sacred .................................................................................
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