Political Orientation and Ideological Inconsistencies: (Dis)comfort with Value Tradeoffs

People are often inconsistent in the way they apply their values to their political beliefs (e.g., citing the value of life in opposing capital punishment while simultaneously supporting abortion rights). How do people confront such inconsistencies? Liberals were more likely to say that issues that could draw on several competing values were complex issues that required value tradeoffs, whereas conservatives were more likely to deny the comparability of the issues. We argue that this difference is rooted in the distinct ways that liberals and conservatives represent political issues. Additional evidence suggested that conservatives’ higher need for closure leads them to represent issues in terms of salient, accessible values. Although this may lead conservatives’ attitudes to be more situationally malleable under some circumstances, such shifts do serve to protect an absolutist approach to one’s moral values and help conservatives to deny the comparability of potentially inconsistent positions.     

Verzicht auf Räumungsexekution bei Einhaltung einer Ratenvereinbarung

Denkunm?gliche Gesetzesanwendung, wenn die Einhaltung einer schon bestehenden vertraglichen Verpflichtung zur Zahlung des Mietzinses (die blo? als eine Bedingung für den R?umungsverzicht in den R?umungsvergleich aufgenommen wurde) einer gebührenpflichtigen Zahlungsverpflichtung der beklagten Partei gleichgesetzt wird. Die "nur beil?ufig" erfolgte Erw?hnung dieser Verpflichtung im Gerichtsvergleich ist ohne gerichtsgebührenrechtliche Relevanz.     

Self-Awareness (svasaṃvitti) and Related Doctrines of Buddhists Following Dignāga: Philosophical Characterizations of Some of the Main Issues

Journal of Indian Philosophy - Framed as a consideration of the other contributions to the present volume of the Journal of Indian Philosophy, this essay attempts to scout and characterize several...     

Re-Semiotizing the South African Democratic Project: The African Renaissance

This article reviews the relationship between the semiotic implications of the emerging concept of the African Renaissance, and the historical trajectory of semiotic studies in South Africa. Linked with the residual ideological territories occupied under the rubrics of ‘semiotics’ and/or ‘semiology’ are the ways these discourses have been re-articulated or re-presented within the politics of the post-apartheid era. As a concept of the ‘post’, therefore, the semiotic implications of a projective strategy like the African Renaissance require more than the mindless dyadism of linguistic semiology. The article sketches the outline of the case for a radical appropriation of the semiotics embedded in C.S. Peirce's pragmatism as a way of constituting the reality of ‘Renaissance’ concepts in terms of a Task. The place of semiotics within the broader philosophical and analytical programme is illustrated by means of a table that links semiotics, pragmatism, and radical theory. The table indicates how the issues discussed in this article can be seen to fall under a schema that foregrounds Peirce's realization that aesthetic and ethical concepts are prior to those based purely on logic. As such, therefore, the article suggests that topics in social or cultural semiotics are more readily amenable to semiotic interpretation and analysis under a pragmatic rather than a linguistic methodological regime.     

Emphasis Framing and the Role of Perceived Knowledge: A Survey Experiment

The relationship between emphasis framing and public opinion has received considerable attention in political science, psychology, and mass communication studies. However, what moderating role perceived knowledge plays in influencing emphasis framing remains unsettled. We explore this relationship using a survey‐experiment embedded within a large‐N, nationally representative survey that allows us to test two specific hypotheses. First, we empirically test whether an emphasis frame influences policy support. Second, we test the moderating effect of perceived knowledge. We test the emphasis framing effects of the name given to a “hot‐button” political issue, while controlling for other survey treatments. Furthermore, we evaluate the degree to which perceived knowledge of the issue moderates the relationship between the emphasis frame and support for hydraulic fracturing. We find support both for the role emphasis framing plays and for perceived knowledge as a moderator.     

The Soviet Union,the Middle East,and the evolving world energy situation

Surveying and summarizing the basic issues confronting Soviet decisionmakers in the next ten years as reflected in energy and international political terms, this analysis treats the capacity and constraints mediating Soviet influence in the resolution of the future world energy balance. A scenario highlighting a “Soviet-Preferred Future World” is developed that focuses on three classes of likely energy outcomes: (1) a gradual erosion of the Western commercial position in Middle East oil, (2) repeated shortages in oil-consumer states leading to a diversion of attention away from international matters and increased preoccupation with “domestic” energy woes, and (3) a deterioration of the terms of trade for energy importers vis à vis Soviet and noncommunist trading partners. The discussion concludes with an assessment of several of the key choices confronting the major oil-importing nations and requiring resolution.     

Ultraviolet illumination as an adjunctive aid in dental inspection

Tooth-colored resin fillings have become increasingly popular as restorative materials. Their presence in the dentition presents a challenge to the clinician and the forensic odontologist, as detection of the fillings can be difficult both visually and radiographically. As they necessarily form part of the unique dentition of an individual, recognition of the resins is important for forensic identification. Alternative light sources have been used with success in various fields of forensic science. In recent years small LED flashlights emitting at specific wavelengths in the ultraviolet light (UV) range have been developed. Their low cost, small size, and ready availability makes their use practical in both forensic dental inspection and clinical settings. UV inspection is of interest because enamel, dentin and dental materials all have differing fluorescent properties when illuminated by UV light. It was one goal of this research to quantitatively assess the fluorescence properties of modern restorative resins in order to predict their behavior during inspection using UV illumination. The second goal was to demonstrate practical use of UV in dental inspection with examples of how different materials fluoresce. Quantitative measurements were obtained for optical emission wavelength and intensity for 15 modern resins using a spectrophotometer. Results indicated that resin brands fluoresce at different wavelengths and with varying intensities. Practical use and comparison of the flashlights revealed that the most useful excitation wavelengths for resin detection were in the UVA range (365 and 380 nm). Porcelain restorations and composite resin fillings exhibited different responses to these two wavelengths and thus use of both is recommended for forensic dental inspection.