The Chimera of Sustainable Labour–Management Partnership

The paper advances a threefold theoretical contribution using a system, society and dominance (SSD) effects framework to show how and why sustainable management–labour workplace partnerships are a chimera. First, managers (employers) find it increasingly difficult to keep workplace bargains with employees (unions) owing to increasingly neoliberal ‘system’ effects associated with capitalism as a globalized accumulation model. Second, workplace mutuality will be rare because of ‘societal’ level effects under voluntarism. Third, ‘dominance’ effects arising from the power of dominant economies and their multinational corporations can inhibit workplace mutuality. Drawing on empirical case study data from Ireland, the future prognosis of management–labour collaboration under neoliberal work regimes is discussed.     

AUSTRALIAN ATTITUDES TO UNEMPLOYMENT AND UNEMPLOYED PEOPLE

Social security policy towards unemployed people in Australia has become increasingly conditional on their demonstrating ever greater job search effort. The evidence from attitudinal survey data on whether this policy shift accords with public opinion is ambiguous. Although, by international standards, Australians take a relatively hard line on the responsibilities of unemployed people lo actively seek work, there is little information about views on the detail of activity testing. While a majority oppose greater public expenditure on unemployment, they still see an important role, for government in addressing unemployment and supporting unemployed people.     

Criticizing the Critic: Comments on Jahoda's (2012) Critique of Discursive Social Psychology

Jahoda (2012) criticizes discursive social psychology (DSP) on several different grounds; specifically, he argues that DSP has opaque methodological procedures, is of questionable scientific merit, involves over‐interpretation of its data, and implicitly claims its findings to be universal rather than contextually specific. We challenge these criticisms by arguing that observational studies of the kind typical within DSP research have a perfectly valid place within a scientific social psychology, that the interpretations made by DSP researchers should be seen in the context of a temporally extended research process in which they are subject to criticism and potential replication, and that Jahoda is himself guilty of over‐interpretation by inferring claims of universality when such an inference is not warranted by the data (i.e. the qualitative content of the sample of research papers considered by Jahoda).     

Tolerance of Homosexuality in 88 Countries: Education,Political Freedom,and Liberalism

Researchers have repeatedly found a positive correlation between education and tolerance. However, they may be victims of an unrepresentative sample containing only rich Western liberal democracies, where political agendas have a liberalizing effect on curricula. In this paper, we specify the relationship between education and liberal attitudes by analyzing data on educational attainment and tolerance of homosexuality (one dimension of liberalism) drawn from a heterogeneous sample of 88 countries over the period 1981–2014. We argue that nonliberal political agendas in some countries undermine the supposed universality of the positive relationship between educational attainment and tolerance of homosexuality. In relatively free countries, education is indeed associated with greater tolerance. However, in relatively unfree countries, education has no effect on tolerance and in some cases encourages intolerance. Specifically, our analysis demonstrates that education is associated with tolerance of homosexuality only when regimes energetically promote liberal‐democratic values. The larger theoretical point is that the agendas of political regimes shape civic values partly via education systems. Especially in an era when democracy is at risk in many countries, it is important to recognize that education is not always a benign force.     

The Influence of Value Orientations,Personal Beliefs,and Knowledge about Resource Extraction on Local Leaders' Positions on Shale Development

Unconventional shale oil and gas production plays a prominent role in boosting economic growth and stimulating wealth creation in many communities. However, because of potential social and environmental drawbacks, including a lack of affordable housing and groundwater contamination from drilling, unconventional shale development is highly contentious in many areas and has resulted in many community conflicts. Hydraulic fracturing, which is a specific technology utilized in unconventional shale development, has proved especially contentious because of concerns about its long‐term environmental consequences. Given the fast pace of shale development, coupled with the controversy that surrounds it, we seek to understand what factors affect a local government official's stance on shale development and hydraulic fracturing. To do this we draw from value‐belief‐norms theory while additionally examining knowledge and community‐level factors that can influence an official's position. In this study, we survey 308 local government officials across six shale plays in the United States to examine local officials' positions on shale development and hydraulic fracturing. We find that the more positively officials perceive the consequences of shale development, the less likely they are to support banning hydraulic fracturing. Additionally, we find that networks to other shale communities are positively associated with favoring a ban. Further, leaders with a bachelor's degree or higher are more likely to favor a ban than those with lower than a bachelor's degree.