Ethnic preferences and perceptions among Asian and White British middle school children

Asian and White middle school children were shown photographs of unknown Afro-Caribbean, Asian, and White individuals of approximately the same age as themselves, and asked which one wax most like them, which one they would prefer to be, which ones they would prefer to engage in various activities with, and finally, to allocate positive and negative traits to the three groups or to nobody. A similar majority of both Asian and While children selected an own-race photograph as being most like them, but only about a half selected the own-race photograph as the one they would most like to he. For sharing activities, children showed a strong own-tender preference, followed by an own-race preference. White children stated a greater preference for sharing activities with White children, then with Afro-Caribbean children, and least with Asian children. Asian children preferred Asian and White children the most, Afro-Caribbean the least. On a stereotypes test, similar trends were obtained; White children evaluated While children highest and Asian lowest; Asian children tended to evaluate Asian children highest but to a nonsignificant extent. The relative proportion of Asian/White children in school appeared to have little systematic influence on the results, thus arguing against the contact hypothesis of prejudice reduction in its simple form.     

法律解释学的主观主义批评与哲学解释学的回应

认为哲学解释学把法律解释学引向主观主义陷阱并严重破坏了法律的确定性,这个批评是从制度之维和认识论之维展开的。制度之维的批评从中国司法制度不够完善反推法律解释学决不能借鉴带有主观主义色彩的哲学解释学;认识论之维的批评主张哲学解释学所说的事情本身不足以区分合理与不合理的前见,因而不能使法律认识有效地避开主观主义陷阱。然而,哲学解释学的经典文献《真理与方法》的相关内容证明了事情表现构成了前见合理与否的判准和法律认识的“证实”标准,从而对主观主义的批评构成了有力的回应。据此,法律解释学未来的发展方向应是一门以哲学解释学的本体论为基地的、隶属于法律认识论的法律解释学,而不是返回到以传统认识论为基础的法律解释方法学。     

文史研究方法的若干思考

随着人类对本体论的认识愈益深入,作为求知可靠基础的理性已受到严重的质疑。而以归纳推理为核心的中国文史研究的传统范式,该如何克服固有的缺陷和寻求新的拓展,以及怎样避免滑入不易觉察的陷阱,就成为一个值得费心思量的问题。     

Reducing attitudes of prejudice and discrimination through literature: a quasi-experiment on the upper key-stage 2 students of the British schools in Karachi,Pakistan

This study aims to explore the efficacy of literature relating to Anne Frank to reduce children’s attitudes of prejudice and discrimination with respect to specific dimensions, including ethnicity and race, religion and gender. A quasi-experiment was employed with pre-post control design. The sample consisted of 100 students of the upper key-stage 2 (UKS2) level, recruited from the two British schools in Karachi. These schools represented an Experimental Group (EG) and a matched Comparison Group (CG). A research instrument titled ‘Muggles world of differences’ (MWD) was developed and validated. It was administered on CG and EG, both before and after intervention. The intervention plan ‘Reading of Young Anne’s Literature’ (ROYAL) was developed based on selected readings from Anne Frank related literature (AFL). Intervention was provided to EG, while CG studied similar concepts using a more standard method. Results of the pretest revealed a high level of prejudice and discrimination in both the EG and CG, with no significant difference (p > 0.05) in the overall scores, as well as in the specific content domains. However, the post-test of the two groups revealed that the students in the EG had outperformed their CG counterparts in overall MWD scores, as well as in specific content domains. The difference was found to be significant (p < 0.05) with the large effect size (r = ?0.63). Results support the efficacy of teaching Anne Frank related literature in reducing attitudes of prejudice and discrimination.     

从霍桑对齐灵渥斯的偏见看其宗教观

《红字》的读者深受霍桑对三位主角截然不同的描写影响,认为齐灵渥斯是罪恶最深厚的罪人,而他的诸多正常人的权利及人性需求却一直得不到理解和支持。由于霍桑矛盾而狭隘的宗教观,以及他对该人物存在一定的偏见,从而形成了笔下丑恶的魔鬼:齐灵渥斯。     

Narratives from the neighbourhood: The discursive construction of integration problems in talkback radio1

This paper examines how speakers deploy narrative devices in talking about Sudanese refugees. Particularly, we show how narrative constructions form an important basis for the advancement of accounts about integration problems into the local polity. We analyse talkback ‘phone‐in’ calls to a local Adelaide radio station that provide callers an opportunity to give accounts of events and social phenomena that concern them in their local settings. Analysis shows that speakers regularly deployed narrative constructions, first‐hand ‘witnessing’ devices that functioned to legitimate accounts as veridical versions of events, and contrast devices to explicate the moral and behavioural aberrance of Sudanese refugees. The analysis illustrates how these discursive devices function rhetorically in interaction, in ways that differentiate Sudanese refugees as problematic. Through this analysis, we contend that narrative devices precipitate and bolster socio‐political policies that have serious, negative consequences for Sudanese refugees.     

Is ethnic prejudice declining in Britain? Change in social distance attitudes among ethnic majority and minority Britons

Most literature on racial prejudice deals with the racial attitudes of the ethnic majority and ethnic minorities separately. This paper breaks this tradition. We examine the social distance attitudes of white and non‐white British residents to test if these attitudes follow the same trends over time, whether they are driven by the same social processes and whether they are inter‐related. We have three main findings. Firstly, social distance from other ethnic groups has declined over time for both white and ethnic minority Britons. For the white majority there are both period and cohort elements to this decline. Secondly, we see some evidence that social distance between the majority and minority groups is reciprocal. Specifically, minorities who experience rejection by the white British feel a greater sense of distance from them. Thirdly, we find that all groups share the perception of the same ethnic hierarchy. We see evidence of particularly widespread hostility towards Muslim Britons from all ethnic groups suggesting that Muslims are singled out for negative attention from many British residents of all other backgrounds, including a large number who do not express hostility to other groups.     

On Old-Fashioned Versus Modern Homonegativity Distinction: Evidence From Poland

Psychological research on prejudice against homosexuals distinguishes between old-fashioned (traditional) and modern (contemporary) homonegativity, which differ with regard to their content, correlates, and consequences. The current research offers evidence for the validity of old-fashioned versus modern homonegativity distinction in the post-communist, East European context. In Studies 1 and 2 (Ns = 295 and 327, respectively) the Polish adaptations of the non-gendered and gendered Homonegativity Scale (Morrison, Parriag, & Morrison, 1999) and the Modern Homonegativity Scale (Morrison & Morrison, 2003) were developed. Furthermore, divergent (discriminant) validity of traditional and contemporary anti-homosexual prejudice was demonstrated. Old-fashioned and modern homonegativity exhibited differential relationships with social distance and support for same-sex couples’ relational rights.     

Strengthening Purity: Moral Purity as a Mediator of Direct and Extended Cross-Group Friendships on Sexual Prejudice

The present research investigated whether enhanced perceptions of moral purity drive the effects of intergroup cross-group friendships on the intentions to interact with homosexuals. High-school students (N = 639) reported their direct and extended cross-group friendships with homosexuals as well as their beliefs regarding the moral character of the sexual minority. Participants further reported their desire to interact with homosexuals in the future. Results showed that both face-to-face encounters and extended contact with homosexuals increased their perceived moral purity, which in turn fostered more positive behavioral intentions. Results further revealed the specific role of moral purity in this sense, as differential perceptions along other moral domains (autonomy and community) had no mediation effects on behavioral tendencies toward homosexuals. The importance of these findings for improving intergroup relations is discussed, together with the importance of integrating research on intergroup contact and morality.     

论前见

传统解释学主张克服前见以达到对文本的绝对把握,哲学解释学把前见看作理解的本体论处境,是理解得以可能的本体论条件,前见是无法超越的。这两种观点都有片面性。人首先属于历史,同时历史又是属于人的历史。在本体论意义上,一切理解都是从前见出发的理解,是无法超越的;在方法论意义上,一切理解又都是不断超越前见的理解,前见又都是可以并且应该被超越的。对前见本身应当保持自觉的解释学意识,我们应该认识到理解的相对性与绝对性、多样性与统一性,以及理解的可能性、局限性、派生性等等。前见决定了理解的相对性,同时又决定了理解的绝对性,理解是相对性与绝对性的辩证统一。