The concept of “political correctness” (PC) does not have a clear and simple definition on which there is even a majority, let alone universal, consensus. Nevertheless, during the…
Abstract
The concept of “political correctness” (PC) does not have a clear and simple definition on which there is even a majority, let alone universal, consensus. Nevertheless, during the last decade, and especially in North America, a series of events and positions have emerged to which the term PC is at least partially applicable. I shall begin by alluding to North American PC in institutions of higher education and in scientific organizations, which I have discussed elsewhere in more detail. I suggest that North American PC has crossed the Atlantic and elaborate upon this suggestion by discussing the recent dismissal of a tenured member of the teaching staff by Edinburgh University, and relating this case to the Du¨hring dismissal.
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The UK government’s attempt to “prevent” terrorism and extremism in the university sector is rightly seen as an intolerant threat to academic freedom. However, this development…
Abstract
The UK government’s attempt to “prevent” terrorism and extremism in the university sector is rightly seen as an intolerant threat to academic freedom. However, this development has not come from a “right wing” authoritarian impulse, but rather, replicates many of the discussions already taking place in universities about the need to protect “vulnerable” students from offensive and dangerous ideas. Historically, the threat to academic freedom came from outside the university, from pressures exerted from governments, from religious institutions who oversaw a particular institution or from the demands of business. Alternatively it has been seen as something that is a particular problem in non-Western countries that do not have democracy. While some of these problems and pressures remain, there is a more dangerous threat to academic freedom that comes from within universities, a triumvirate of a relativistic academic culture, a new body of identity-based student activists and a therapeutically oriented university management, all three of which have helped to construct universities as safe spaces for the newly conceptualized “vulnerable student.” With reference to the idea of vulnerability, this chapter attempts to chart and explain these modern developments.
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Drawing on Shakespeare, and in particular Hamlet's psychological crisis, this paper examines the relationship between emotions and meaning, a key theme in artistic work since…
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Drawing on Shakespeare, and in particular Hamlet's psychological crisis, this paper examines the relationship between emotions and meaning, a key theme in artistic work since Aristotle but, it is argued, largely ignored in psychology and the social sciences. Now, however, against a background of international terrorism, lessons are being learned from literature's insights.
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Ciara Staunton and Sean Hammond
The Guilty Knowledge Test (GKT) is a psychophysiological questioning technique that can be used as part of a polygraph examination which purports to assess whether suspects…
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The Guilty Knowledge Test (GKT) is a psychophysiological questioning technique that can be used as part of a polygraph examination which purports to assess whether suspects conceal “guilty knowledge” by measuring their physiological responses while responding to a series of multiple choice questions. The present study sets out to consider a number of key issues in relation to the GKT paradigm. Specifically, the following questions were considered: Does response mode matter? Does motivation influence outcome? Are combined physiological measures better than single ones? Does gender have an effect on physiological responsivity during a polygraph examination? Results demonstrated real variations between the physiological measures used. Gender differences were also observed in polygraph response patterns. These findings are discussed in relation to the validity of the Guilty Knowledge Test.
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Christopher Raymond and Paul R. Ward
This chapter explores theory and local context of socially constructed pandemic fears during COVID-19; how material and non-material fear objects are construed, interpreted and…
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This chapter explores theory and local context of socially constructed pandemic fears during COVID-19; how material and non-material fear objects are construed, interpreted and understood by communities, and how fears disrupt social norms and influence pandemic behavioural responses. We aimed to understand the lived experiences of pandemic-induced fears in socioculturally diverse communities in eastern Indonesia in the context of onto-epistemological disjunctures between biomedically derived public health interventions, local world views and causal-remedial explanations for the crisis. Ethnographic research conducted among several communities in East Nusa Tenggara province in Indonesia provided the data and analyses presented in this chapter, delineating the extent to which fear played a decisive role in both internal, felt experience and social relations. Results illustrate how fear emotions are constructed and acted upon during times of crisis, arising from misinformation, rumour, socioreligious influence, long-standing tradition and community understandings of modernity, power and biomedicine. The chapter outlines several sociological theories on fear and emotion and interrogates a post-pandemic future.
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Russell Foote and Eglantina Hysa
In this chapter, the authors present several current issues that are representative of chinks’ in the armor of university administration today. This study brings into attention…
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In this chapter, the authors present several current issues that are representative of chinks’ in the armor of university administration today. This study brings into attention the importance of philosophy, society, development and education that serve to strengthen the operational–development nexus in higher education institutions. The objectives are (i) to draw the attention of administrators to these “chinks” in the armor of university operations; (ii) to indicate how their resolution can strengthen the operations–development nexus; and (iii) to encourage continuous reflection on the background of better understandings of a philosophy of management, society, development and education.