Intergroup Contact and Beliefs about Homosexuality in Adolescence

This study examines the relationship between intergroup contact and adolescents’ attitudes regarding homosexuality and the treatment of lesbian and gay (LG) peers. Fourteen- through 18-year-olds (n = 1,069, 59.7% females) completed self-report attitude and judgment questionnaires about the acceptability of homosexuality, levels of comfort around LG peers, and the acceptability of excluding or teasing an LG peer. The results suggest that having an LG friend is related to more positive attitudes toward homosexuals/homosexuality and less tolerance toward the unfair treatment of LG peers. The findings lend further support to intergroup contact theory and provide evidence that the intimacy of contact is related to prejudice reduction, and offer general support that age is related to prejudicial attitudes, but less so to prejudicial behaviors.     

Power Politics and the Rule of Law: Shakespeare's First Historical Tetralogy and Law's 'Foundations'

Legal scholars’ interest in Shakespeare has often focusedon conventional legal rules and procedures, such as those ofThe Merchant of Venice or Measure for Measure. Those plays certainlyreveal systemic injustice, but within stable, prosperous societies,which enjoy a generally well-functioning legal order. In contrast,Shakespeare's first historical tetralogy explores the conditionsfor the very possibility of a legal system, in terms not unlikethose described by Hobbes a half-century later. The first tetralogy'sdeeply collapsed, quasi-anarchic society lacks any functioninglegal regime. Its power politics are not, as in many of Shakespeare'sother plays, merely latent, lurking beneath the patina of anotherwise functioning legal order. They pervade all of society.Dissenting from a long critical tradition, this article suggeststhat the figure of Henry VI does not merely represent antiquatedmedievalism or inept rule. Through Henry's constant recourseto legal process, arbitration and anti-militarism, the firsttetralogy goes beyond questions about how to establish a functioninglegal order. It examines the possibility, and meaning, of ajust one.     

Mapping the consumption of government communication: a qualitative study in Germany

Successful communication between citizens and government is critical for the effective implementation of governance. Although government communication is highly relevant to society, few governments fully exploit the potential benefits of the direct communication instruments at their disposal. To establish foundations for encouraging various forms of government communication, this article starts by examining its reception among German focus groups and thus offering general implications for successful, citizen‐sensitive government communication. The results suggest the need for better articulation of interests in government communication, such that they appear more egalitarian, closer to the citizen, and online—that is, successful government communication demands considerable proximity to citizens, interactive feedback channels, and systematic participation by citizens in political processes. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Adolescent Risk of Dating Violence and Electronic Dating Abuse: A Latent Class Analysis

Journal of Youth and Adolescence - Electronic forms of dating violence among youth are common yet little is known about how these forms of violence overlap with the commonly studied domains of...