Cross-Cultural Preferences for Distributive Justice Principles: Resource Type and Uncertainty Management

Drawing on social resource theory, we investigated the evaluation of distributive justice principles in relation to material benefits (monetary rewards in working life) and symbolic benefits (praise at university) in a cross-cultural study. We predicted that the equity principle would be perceived as more just for distributing culturally valued resources, whereas the equality principle would be perceived as more just for resources that are less valued within culture. Moreover, applying uncertainty management theory, we predicted that cross-cultural fairness evaluations would be more pronounced for individuals with higher (vs. lower) uncertainty avoidance or lower (vs. higher) uncertainty tolerance. Data of 608 Canadian and German students were collected in a two-wave survey. As expected, when allocating material benefits Canadians found the equity principle to be more just than did Germans, whereas Germans perceived the equality principle as more just than did Canadians. When allocating symbolic benefits, by contrast, Canadians perceived equality as more just than did Germans, though unexpectedly culture did not influence evaluations of the equity principle. Finally, consistent with uncertainty management theory, some of the cultural differences in the evaluation of distributive principles were more pronounced among people with higher uncertainty avoidance and lower uncertainty tolerance. Implications for cross-cultural research on distributive justice are discussed.     

Controlled Restructuring in Finland?

Surveying the economic legislation and policies of the new Blue - Red coalition government in Finland in six separate fields - competition policies, industrial relations, income policies, the financial system, taxation and the public sector - the question is asked whether the different measures can be seen as parts of an overall strategy to change the Finnish mode of regulation. Is it possible that we are witnessing the development of a two-tiered form of corporatism, combining a more traditional social corporatism on the macro-level and a new liberal corporatism on an intermediate level of production and innovation?     

Advances in Forensic Assessment and Treatment: An Overview and Introduction to the Special Issue

Law and Human Behavior -     

Do elections lead to informed public decisions?

Democracies delegate substantial decision power to politicians. We analyse a model in which the electorate wants an office-motivated incumbent to design, examine and implement public policies. We show that voters can always encourage politicians to design projects. However, they cannot always induce politicians to examine projects. In fact, politicians who would examine policies without elections, say because of a concern about the public interest, may shy away from policy examination with elections.     

Can Personality Traits Predict Depression during the COVID-19 Pandemic?

Social Justice Research - The emotional costs of the COVID-19 pandemic have raised concerns among clinicians and scholars. The goal of the current study was to test whether or not neuroticism,...     

Weakening of Dismissal Protection or Strengthening of Employment Policy in France?

The contrat première embauche (CPE—first hiringcontract) and the contract nouvelles embauches (CNE—contractfor new hiring), ie two new types of contract for permanentor open-ended employment, were introduced in France in 2005.Both contain specific provisions on dismissal protection andtrial periods which amount to the abrogation of the ordinarystatutory protection against dismissal. In the aftermath, Francewas hit by a wave of protests, especially on the part of theyounger generation, since the CPE legislation above all concernedthis group. Consequently, the CPE was revoked in 2006. The CNE,however, remains in force and the otherwise relevant dismissalprotection rules do not apply to it for a period of two years. The CNE is not only an additional model for the many forms ofemployment contract. It provides a new type of labour contractand is aimed at combating unemployment and achieving permanentemployment. This paper examines how the new types of employment contractaffect traditional dismissal protection law. In particular,recent court decisions concerning the CNE legislation are presentedin detail.     

American declinism and the impact of petro-socialism

Irrespective of self-inflicted setbacks, the United States is and will be the ‘indispensable nation’ for the foreseeable future – not merely as the world's largest market, military power and source of technological innovation but also as trendsetter. Doubtless, the United States has fallen back during the G.W. Bush presidency – preoccupied with events in Iraq and an economic slowdown and financial crisis that are now reflected in waning neo-conservative influence. In this policy vacuum, Chávez of Venezuela is building a regional coalition critical of the ‘Washington consensus’ and traditional US hegemony, and he is backed by abundant oil supplies. Petro-socialism needs examination. Meanwhile Barack Obama speaks of change, implying a more consensual foreign policy of rebuilding alliances and opening doors long closed.     

Ausnahme von einer Baumschutzsatzung gegen Ersatzpflanzung oder Ersatzzahlung

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Is right coronary artery hypoplasia and sudden death an underdiagnosed association?

Determining whether hypoplasia of a coronary artery has caused or contributed to death is often complicated by an absence of histologic evidence of myocardial ischemia in the area of the heart supplied by the affected artery and also by the lack of data for assessing coronary artery size at autopsy. A 45-year-old woman is reported who collapsed and died and who was found at autopsy to have a dominant, small-caliber, right coronary artery, with acute and chronic ischemic changes in the posterior interventricular septum supplied by the diminutive vessel. This case provides evidence that small-caliber coronary arteries may be associated with a lethal outcome. Given the difficulties that may occur in determining whether there is a causal link between small coronary artery caliber and death, it is possible that this may be an underdiagnosed cause of sudden cardiac death, rather than a coincidental finding of minimal significance.