Symbolic racism in candidate evaluation: An experiment

The authors explored the symbolic racism construct to determine whether discrimination in the evaluation of political candidates can be attributed to a combination of traditional values and antiblack affect as suggested by Sears. Using an experimental design where candidate race was manipulated in three conditions, they found that differential racial attributions do operate in the evaluation of political candidates. Contrary to expectations, however, no antiblack affect was found to be at work in the evaluation of the black candidate. Findings are discussed in the framework of contemporary assumptions of research on racial reasoning.     

Globalisation,liberal theory and the spatiality of governance in Sub‐Saharan Africa

The debate over development and democracy is a highly charged one, because the two concepts are open to such divergent interpretation. In recent years, while academics were discovering globalisation, the major international financial institutions have been championing a particular version of the democracy‐development debate centred upon the notion of governance. They contend that democratisation and institutional reforms must occur before or alongside economic development. This article argues that their vision of governance is highly normative and simplifies reality for ideological purposes. This revolves around a particular reading of liberal political economy which sees political institutions as neutral arbiters and civil society as a space of freedom for plural voices. These formulations are implicitly spatial since they see political space as divided neatly into the international, national and local and thereby ignore the multiple power flows between these sites. The article concludes by trying to reformulate some of these concerns around the idea of the developmental state and progressive democracy.     

The Effects of Media Violence on Anxiety in Late Adolescence

Exposure to media violence is related to anxiety in youth, but the causality of the effect has not been established. This experimental study examined the effects of media violence on anxiety, blood pressure, and heart rate in late adolescents. We also examined whether these responses varied by previous exposure to media and real-life violence. College students (N = 209; M age = 18.74; 75 % female; 50 % Caucasian, 34 % African American, 9 % Asian, 3 % Hispanic, and 3 % other racial minorities) were randomized to view either violent or nonviolent high-action movie clips. Participants reported on their anxiety before and after watching the clips, as well as their previous exposure to violence. Measures of blood pressure and heart rate were taken at baseline and during movie viewing. Participants watching violent movie clips showed a greater anxiety increase than those watching nonviolent clips. Both groups experienced increased blood pressure and reduced heart rate during movie watching compared to baseline. Prior exposure to media violence was associated with diminished heart rate response. Additionally, students previously exposed to high levels of real-life violence showed lower blood pressure increases when watching violent clips compared to nonviolent clips. Thus, relatively brief exposure to violent movie clips increased anxiety among late adolescents. Prior exposure to media and real-life violence were associated with lower physiological reactivity to high-action and violent movies, respectively, possibly indicating desensitization. Future studies should investigate long-term anxiety and physiological consequences of regular exposure to media violence in adolescence.     

高水平民办大学人才强校策略

高水平民办大学建设是深化国家教育综合改革的重要战略部署,人才强校是高水平民办大学建设的突破口.通过分析民办大学人才危机与高水平建设的人才需求,提出人才强校是高水平民办大学建设的理性抉择,并深入探讨了实施对策,即打通人才引进渠道,创设优质的环境条件,提供可持续发展保障.     

Institutions and Poverty

This study utilises eight alternative measures of institutions and the instrumental variable method to examine the impacts of institutions on poverty. The estimates show that an economy with a robust system to control corruption, an effective government, and a stable political system will create the conditions to promote economic growth, minimise income distribution conflicts, and reduce poverty. Corruption, ineffective governments, and political instability will not only hurt income levels through market inefficiencies, but also escalate poverty incidence via increased income inequality. The results also imply that the quality of the regulatory system, rule of law, voice and accountability, and expropriation risk are inversely related to poverty but their effect on poverty is via average income rather than income distribution.