Contemporary Readings in Law and Social Justice

Bioeconomy and Third Industrial Revolution in the Age of Synthetic Life

This paper discusses a scientific publication on the creation of new synthetic life by researchers at the Craig Venter Institute in May 2010 within the context of biocapitalism and the 'third industrial revolution'. It also reviews and analyzes the debate over the creation of synthetic life examining the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues.

Differences Regarding Parental Attitudes Concerning the Spoiling of Children

The main objective of this paper is to explore and describe the complex nature of adult child-parent ties, the role of parents' knowledge in supporting children's development, and social constraints hindering HIV treatment and care. In the present paper, I focus on effects in shaping childhood skill formation, perceptions regarding the parental behaviors toward children, child-centered parenting frames, and knowledge about parenting and child development.

Empathy As a Source of Attitude Change

Our findings have considerable implications for understanding the cognitive-affective neuroscience of empathy, the constructs of general empathy and ethnocultural empathy, and the importance of reenactive empathy. These findings highlight the importance of examining the formation of attitudes towards violence, the neurocognitive mechanisms subserving empathy, and the effect of racial discrimination on career behavior. These findings are consistent with a number of prior observations.

Equality, so Badly Misunderstood

What annoys our dogmatic egalitarians is not that wealth isn't being redistributed, it is that it's not being redistributed in what they consider the right way - which is to say, their way. [...] why is their way a better way? Because "they imagine they are superior to the rest of us" (74).

Existential Identity, Ontological Insecurity and Mental Well-Being in the Workplace

This paper sets out to investigate the potential impact that organizational policies and practices may have on existential identity. In particular, the intention is to introduce the concept of ontological insecurity as a means to explore the possible links between working life, existential identity and mental health problems. It is argued that many procedures adopted by organizations, including organizational development, surveillance and monitoring, along with pressure towards emotional labo...

Fundamental Values of Political Discourse in a Democratic Society

In the present paper, I focus on the establishment of constitutional democracies, the problem of political legitimacy within the context of moral conflict, the operational principles of modern democracy, the legitimacy of deliberative democracy, the institutional forms of democracy, and the democratization of established power structures. The argument of this paper has several parts, and I expect a few of the claims I make to be controversial. The paper aims to analyze and discuss the strengt...

Identity, Security and Privacy in the Information Society

This paper aims to analyze and discuss the public articulation of connections on social networks, the logic of social practices, the dynamic nature of identity and privacy, the creation and dissemination of media, and the architecture of information flow. Our paper starts with a review of relevant literature on today's pervasive pressures on privacy, the social dynamics of privacy, privacy and identity as dynamic concepts, the collapsing of contexts in broadcast media, and the development of ...

On Stereotypes, Media and Redressing Gendered Social Inequality

'Combating gender stereotypes: The role of education and the media' was one of the two central themes of a ministerial conference of the Council of Europe (24-25 May 2010, Baku, Azerbaijan). The conference aims to develop cross-European policy directed at gender equality. This talk suggests that any efforts in the field of policy need to take into account that stereotypes are more open and ambiguous than often surmised. Policy development may therefore benefit from longtitudinal cross-cultura...

Other Models for Labor-Management Dispute Resolution: The Wisconsin Experiment

Twenty-two years ago leaders from the Wisconsin Department of Labor Relations and leaders from the Wisconsin State Employees Union, AFSCME Council 24, saw a need to create better ways to more efficientiy handle their large backlog of routine grievances. Thus they mutually crafted and adopted special arbitration procedures that they have used ever since. When the parties created these customized procedures they obviously believed that doing so would be mutually advantageous. Now, given the pas...

Psychoanalytic Aspects of Ethnic Identity

Our study supports other analyses which suggest the psychological and physiological processes associated with the experience of racism and oppression, the cumulative impact of the psychological stress and strain of racism, the way racial categories and boundaries are constructed and policed, and the pathology of interracial relationships. Thus, the overall results provide strong evidence for the irrational mental processes that uphold social and political structures, the impacts of long-term ...

Reconceiving Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons (Idps) As Transitional Justice Actors

This paper constitutes a plea to the academic and practitioner community to conduct research in an emerging area.1 Current discussions about transitional justice in a post-conflict state tend to ignore the issue of who is included in and excluded from transitional justice decisions, including forcibly displaced persons. There is no existing study of refugees or IDPs and their relation to transitional justice. I argue for research which could lead to both innovative programs in refugee and IDP...

Taxation: The Ethics of Its Avoidance or Dodging

The paper argues given that taxation is a form of extortion, it is ethically justified to resist it in a variety of ways (all the while keeping due process in mind). Prominent objections are considered and rejected; an alternative to funding legal services is suggested.

The Adoption of User-Generated Content Initiatives in Mainstream News Organizations: Collaborative News Publishing Experiments and the Role of the Individual in the News Dissemination Process

We shall focus here on the transnational flow of political information and ideas, the mass-mediated public sphere, and the industrial infrastructure of media production and distribution. The objective of this paper is to emphasize the importance of new structures of television production and distribution, the openness of the new media, and the new social tools and services.

The Interaction Between Psychosocial and Career Development

I decided in the early stages of the research that I would try to let the data direct theoretical exploration, and this paper is one outcome of this process (particular attention is given to reviewing recent empirical evidence on the topic). The purpose of this article is to describe the findings from this review and to discuss implications and future directions for practice-related research with the impact and success of career-development functions, the extent to which people perceive thems...

The Mechanics of Immigrant Ethnic Identity Construction

Our paper starts with a review of relevant literature on the economic dimensions of immigrant conflict, the negative consequences of social isolation and ethnic segregation, the dynamics of ethnic capital, the economic dimension of the ethnic enclave, the spatial relationship between the ethnic economy and the ethnic community, and patterns of racial and ethnic denigration and exclusion. In this paper I integrate the literature on the relationship between ethnic identity and employment in the...

The Neoliberal Challenge: What Is Neoliberalism?

The term 'neoliberalism' has since around 1980 become a quite widely used exhortation in some political and academic debates. Prolific employment of a term does not signify, however, that it is clearly defined. In this article it is suggested that while the concept itself has become an imprecise buzzword in much of the literature, it might still be given a more precise definition. If this is done, then the term could become a useful analytical device in order to describe some recent trends in...

The Social Psychology of Work: Career Development of Professional Women

This paper provides a literature review on the gap between rhetoric and reality in equal opportunities for women in organizations, the relationship between stereotypical images of Black women and individual's perceptions, the advancement of professional women into senior and leadership positions, and gender differences in psychological climate perceptions. The results of the current study converge with prior research on the advancement of women in business faculty identity development and tra...

Theorizing Terrorism: Terrorism As Moral Action: A Scoping Study

We report on the findings of a scoping study. Our remit was to establish whether a theory of moral action and crime causation - specifically, Situational Action Theory - could provide a framework for understanding the causes of acts of terrorism, organising current knowledge, and outlining a systematic research agenda. This study is the first step towards realising such a program. While much scholarship on the causes of terrorist acts has accumulated, the field still lacks overarching theoret...

Young People, Ethics, and the New Digital Media

The new digital media are a frontier that is rich with opportunities and risks, particularly for young people. Through digital technologies, young people are participating in a range of activities, including social networking, blogging, vlogging, gaming, instant messaging, downloading music and other content, uploading and sharing their own creations, and collaborating with others in various ways. In late 2006, our research team at Harvard Project Zero launched a three-year project funded by ...