Democratic Legitimacy and the Politics of Rights : A comparative analysis of the conceptual relationship between democracy and rights in contemporary political theories

Democratic Legitimacy and the Politics of Rights is a research in normative political theory, based on comparative analysis of contemporary democratic theories, classified roughly as conventional liberal, deliberative democratic and radical democratic. Its focus is on the conceptual relationship between alternative sources of democratic legitimacy: democratic inclusion and liberal rights. The relationship between rights and democracy is studied through the following questions: are rights to be seen as external constraints to democracy or as objects of democratic decision making processes? Are individual rights threatened by public participation in politics; do constitutionally protected rights limit the inclusiveness of democratic processes? Are liberal values such as individuality, autonomy and liberty; and democratic values such as equality, inclusion and popular sovereignty mutually conflictual or supportive? Analyzing feminist critique of liberal discourse, the dissertation also raises the question about Enlightenment ideals in current political debates: are the universal norms of liberal democracy inherently dependent on the rationalist grand narratives of modernity and incompatible with the ideal of diversity? Part I of the thesis introduces the sources of democratic legitimacy as presented in the alternative democratic models. Part II analyses how the relationship between rights and democracy is theorized in them. Part III contains arguments by feminists and radical democrats against the tenets of universalist liberal democratic models and responds to that critique by partly endorsing, partly rejecting it. The central argument promoted in the thesis is that while the deconstruction of modern rationalism indicates that rights are political constructions as opposed to externally given moral constraints to politics, this insight does not delegitimize the politics of universal rights as an inherent part of democratic institutions. The research indicates that democracy and universal individual rights are mutually interdependent rather than oppositional; and that democracy is more dependent on an unconditional protection of universal individual rights when it is conceived as inclusive, participatory and plural; as opposed to robust majoritarian rule. The central concepts are: liberalism, democracy, legitimacy, deliberation, inclusion, equality, diversity, conflict, public sphere, rights, individualism, universalism and contextuality. The authors discussed are e.g. John Rawls, Jürgen Habermas, Seyla Benhabib, Iris Young, Chantal Mouffe and Stephen Holmes. The research focuses on contemporary political theory, but the more classical work of John S. Mill, Benjamin Constant, Isaiah Berlin and Hannah Arendt is also included.

A psychosocial analysis of parent's decisions for limiting their young child's screen time: An examination of attitudes, social norms and roles, and control perceptions

- Objectives Preschool-aged children spend substantial amounts of time engaged in screen-based activities. As parents have considerable control over their child's health behaviours during the younger years, it is important to understand those influences that guide parents' decisions about their child's screen time behaviours. - Design A prospective design with two waves of data collection, 1 week apart, was adopted. - Methods Parents (n = 207) completed a Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB)-based questionnaire, with the addition of parental role construction (i.e., parents' expectations and beliefs of responsibility for their child's behaviour) and past behaviour. A number of underlying beliefs identified in a prior pilot study were also assessed. - Results The model explained 77% (with past behaviour accounting for 5%) of the variance in intention and 50% (with past behaviour accounting for 3%) of the variance in parental decisions to limit child screen time. Attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control, parental role construction, and past behaviour predicted intentions, and intentions and past behaviour predicted follow-up behaviour. Underlying screen time beliefs (e.g., increased parental distress, pressure from friends, inconvenience) were also identified as guiding parents' decisions. - Conclusion Results support the TPB and highlight the importance of beliefs for understanding parental decisions for children's screen time behaviours, as well as the addition of parental role construction. This formative research provides necessary depth of understanding of sedentary lifestyle behaviours in young children which can be adopted in future interventions to test the efficacy of the TPB mechanisms in changing parental behaviour for their child's health.

What should I think; How should I feel? : The balancing of personal experiences and social norms in the outgroup attitude formation of youth

The present study focused on the associations between the personal experiences of intergroup contact, perceived social norms and the outgroup attitudes of Finnish majority and Russian-speaking minority youth living in Finland. The theoretical background of the study was derived from Allport s (1954) theory of intergroup contact (i.e., the contact hypothesis), social psychological research on normative influences on outgroup attitudes (e.g., Rutland, 2004; Stangor and Leary, 2006) and developmental psychological research on the formation of explicit (deliberate) and implicit (automatically activated) outgroup attitudes in adolescence (e.g., Barrett, 2007; Killen, McGlothlin and Henning, 2008). The main objective of the study was to shed light on the role of perceived social norms in the formation of outgroup attitudes among adolescents. First, the study showed that perceived normative pressure to hold positive attitudes towards immigrants regulated the relationship between the explicit and implicit expression of outgroup attitudes among majority youth. Second, perceived social norms concerning outgroup attitudes (i.e., the perceived outgroup attitudes of parents and peers) affected the relationship between intergroup contact and explicit outgroup attitudes depending on gender and group status. Positive social norms seem to be especially important for majority boys, who need both pleasant contact experiences and normative support to develop outgroup attitudes that are as positive as girls attitudes. The role of social norms is accentuated also among minority youth, who, contrary to majority youth with their more powerful and independent status position, need to reflect upon their attitudes and experiences of negative intergroup encounters in relation to the experiences and attitudes of their ingroup members. Third, the results are indicative of the independent effects of social norms and intergroup anxiety on outgroup attitudes: the effect of perceived social norms on the outgroup attitudes of youth seems to be at least as strong as the effect of intergroup anxiety. Finally, it was shown that youth evaluate intergroup contact from the viewpoint of their ingroup and society as a whole, not just based on their own experiences. In conclusion, the outgroup attitudes of youth are formed in a close relationship with their social environment. On the basis of this study, the importance of perceived social norms for research on intergroup contact effects among youth cannot be overlooked. Positive normative influences have the potential to break the strong link between rare and/or negative personal contact experiences and negative outgroup attitudes, and norms also influence the relationship between implicit and explicit attitude expression.

Conflits de norms de justice distributive dans les fusions entre égaux Le cas de BioM.rieux-Pierre Fabre

Les strictes fusions entre égaux constituent un phénomène très rare. Pourtant, de nombreux dirigeants communiquent sur l’aspect égalitaire des fusions et acquisitions qu’ils conçoivent. Dans cet article, les auteurs expliquent pourquoi les dirigeants <> leurs F&A en <> ; montrent en quoi le postulat égalitaire initial accroît la probabilité de conflits entre deux normes de justice distributive pourtant compl.mentaires : l’égalité et l’équité ; et illustrent leurs propos avec un cas spectaculaire : la fusion égalitaire, puis la separation des entreprises BioMérieux et Pierre Fabre. Paradoxalement, la simple formulation en termes égalitaire des F&A favorise la diffusion de sentiments d’injustice distributive, qui nuit in fine à la performance de l’opération.

Looking-Glass Reflections : Norms in translating Lewis Carroll

This thesis in the field of translation studies focusses on the role of norms in the work of a literary translator. Norms are seen as guidelines for the translator; they also reflect the way the target audience either accepts or rejects the translation. Thus they are of an intersubjective nature. The theoretical background of the study is based on the views on norms of Andrew Chesterman and Gideon Toury. The writer makes use of her own editing and publishing experience, as well as her experience in translating Lewis Carroll, considering these in respect to theoretical views of norms and vice versa. The aim is also to bring to light some of the tacit knowledge related to translating, editing and publishing in Finland. The study has three angles. First, the writer introduces the norms of Finnish literary translation as gathered from her own working experience. The sources from which these norms arise and which affect them are briefly described. Six central translation norms emerge; they are described and exemplified through cases of Carroll translation. Secondly, a small-scale questionnaire study is presented. This was carried out in order to sound the normative views of other translators and to limit the role of subjectivity. The views of the informants largely support the set of norms presented by the writer, although the norms of quotability and harmony between translation and illustration do not arise. Instead, the answers give rise to a seventh, ethical norm, which is labelled the norm of integrity. Thirdly, there is a brief presentation of Lewis Carroll, his Alice books and their translation history in Finland. The retranslation hypothesis and the motives of retranslation are considered in the light of the work of Outi Paloposki and Kaisa Koskinen. The final part of the thesis plunges into actual translation work. It includes one and a half chapters of Through the Looking-Glass (Alicen seikkailut peilintakamaassa) as translated into Finnish by the writer. The translation commentary first discusses a number of recurring and general translation points; the running commentary then analyses 77 individual translation solutions and their justifications. The writer uses introspection as a way of reflecting on her own translation process, its decisive points and the role of norms therein. Keywords: Translation studies, Carroll, norms

Growing pseudo-eigenmodes and positive logarithmic norms in rotating shear flows

Rotating shear flows, when angular momentum increases and angular velocity decreases as functions of radiation coordinate, are hydrodynamically stable under linear perturbation. The Keplerian flow is an example of such a system, which appears in an astrophysical context. Although decaying eigenmodes exhibit large transient energy growth of perturbation which could govern nonlinearity in the system, the feedback of inherent instability to generate turbulence seems questionable. We show that such systems exhibiting growing pseudo-eigenmodes easily reach an upper bound of growth rate in terms of the logarithmic norm of the involved non-normal operators, thus exhibiting feedback of inherent instability. This supports the existence of turbulence of hydrodynamic origin in the Keplerian accretion disc in astrophysics. Hence, this answers the question of the mismatch between the linear theory and experimental/observed data and helps in resolving the outstanding question of the origin of turbulence therein.

Conjugacy invariant pseudo-norms, representability and RNA secondary structures

To a reasonable approximation, a secondary structures of RNA is determined by Watson-Crick pairing without pseudo-knots in such a way as to minimise the number of unpaired bases: We show that this minimal number is determined by the maximal conjugacy-invariant pseudo-norm on the free group on two generators subject to bounds on the generators. This allows us to construct lower bounds on the minimal number of unpaired bases by constructing conjugacy invariant pseudo-norms. We show that one such construction, based on isometric actions on metric spaces, gives a sharp lower bound. A major goal here is to formulate a purely mathematical question, based on considering orthogonal representations, which we believe is of some interest independent of its biological roots.

L-infinity norms of holomorphic modular forms in the case of compact quotient

We prove a sub-convex estimate for the sup-norm of L-2-normalized holomorphic modular forms of weight k on the upper half plane, with respect to the unit group of a quaternion division algebra over Q. More precisely we show that when the L-2 norm of an eigenfunction f is one, parallel to f parallel to(infinity) <<(epsilon) k(1/2-1/33+epsilon) for any epsilon > 0 and for all k sufficiently large.

Liberalismo, neutralidad estatal y perfeccionismo : Rawls y su crítica

Resumen: Este artículo expone ciertos ejes del debate contemporáneo en torno al liberalismo político y la neutralidad estatal para intentar una recapitulación crítica que permita arrojar luz sobre la posibilidad de una posición que concilie el respeto a la pluralidad contemporánea y a ciertos principios constitucionales con la no abdicación del rol que la política debe tener en el fomento de la “vida buena” (lo que en la tradición de la filosofía política anglosajona se ha designado como “perfeccionismo”). El artículo explora, al menos preliminarmente, sobre qué premisas se asentaría dicha conciliación, a través del análisis de la justificación del “perfeccionismo” y del tratamiento del tema del paternalismo estatal, la coerción y el fomento. Se analizan las ideas de Rawls así como las de algunos de sus críticos, en especial de Sandel y – sobre todo– de Raz, dado que es un autor que abre las puertas a la posibilidad de un liberalismo “perfeccionista”, fiel a los principios del liberalismo político clásico, pero que abandona la exigencia de “neutralidad” ante distintas concepciones del bien.

Prosocial norms and degree heterogeneity in social networks

We provide empirical evidence to support the claims that social diversity promotes prosocial behavior. We elicit a real-life social network and its members’ adherence to a social norm, namely inequity aversion. The data reveal a positive relationship between subjects’ prosociality and several measures of centrality. This result is in line with the theoretical literature that relates the evolution of social norms to the structure of social interactions and argues that central individuals are crucial for the emergence of prosocial behavior.

As razões do direito: um estudo da razão pública a partir do modelo liberal-igualitário de John Rawls

Em 1993, John Rawls, notável filósofo e professor da distinta Harvard University, publicou seu Political Liberalism, um livro em que pela primeira vez sintetiza sistematicamente o conceito de razão pública, uma ideia chave de sua teoria da justiça como equidade (justice as fairness). Segundo Rawls, a razão pública consiste fundamentalmente no modo e conteúdo adequados ao debate e à fundamentação de escolhas essenciais de justiça no espaço público de uma democracia constitucional. Nesse sentido, Rawls advoga que o único meio razoável de justificação da coerção estatal reside no reconhecimento e/ou obtenção de consensos (overlapping consensus) em relação às escolhas essenciais de uma sociedade democrática, o que só é possível se atores públicos e privados se despojarem de suas respectivas doutrinas filosóficas ou morais abrangentes ao debater e decidir tais questões essenciais de justiça. A presente dissertação tem por objetivo analisar a proposta de razão pública de Rawls, dentro do contexto de sua teoria da justiça como equidade, propondo-se a verificar se o pensamento rawlsiano procede no contexto jurídico-filosófico da pós-modernidade e se a sua teoria pode ser concretamente aplicada aos ordenamentos jurídicos contemporâneos, em especial no que tange ao conteúdo e pleno exercício da liberdade religiosa pelos cidadãos de um estado constitucional democrático.

Compreendendo a utopia realizável: uma defesa do ideal de justiça distributiva da teoria de John Rawls

O trabalho tem por objetivo articular uma defesa da teoria de justiça distributiva de John Rawls, considerando-se, para tal, as mudanças que o autor efetuou em sua teoria de justiça como equidade. Assim, a pesquisa tomará como base não somente o critério de justiça distributiva que se consolidou em Uma Teoria de Justiça, através do princípio da diferença, mas também avaliará de que forma este ideal continua presente nos textos posteriores do autor: O Liberalismo Político e O Direito dos Povos. Para tal, o estudo retomará as críticas cosmopolitas à proposta de internacionalização da teoria de justiça como equidade e, à luz destas, apresentará uma defesa do projeto de Rawls, evidenciando elementos do mesmo que estão alinhados ao projeto de justiça distributiva e sugerindo que sua proposta teórica é coerente com as premissas de Uma Teoria de Justiça, apesar de o princípio da diferença não estar presente entre os princípios fundamentais que devem ser estabelecidos entre os povos. Logo, trata-se também de uma proposta interpretativa que se vincula à compreensão (minoritária) de que as mudanças teóricas efetuadas por Rawls em sua teoria não a tornaram incompatível com seu projeto originário estabelecido em Uma Teoria de Justiça.

The Rawls-Tawney theorem and the digital divide in postindustrial society.

The digital divide continues to challenge political and academic circles worldwide. A range of policy solutions is briefly evaluated, from laissez-faire on the right to “arithmetic” egalitarianism on the left. The article recasts the digital divide as a problem for the social distribution of presumptively important information (e.g., electoral data, news, science) within postindustrial society. Endorsing in general terms the left-liberal approach of differential or “geometric” egalitarianism, it seeks to invest this with greater precision, and therefore utility, by means of a possibly original synthesis of the ideas of John Rawls and R. H. Tawney. It is argued that, once certain categories of information are accorded the status of “primary goods,” their distribution must then comply with principles of justice as articulated by those major 20th century exponents of ethical social democracy. The resultant Rawls-Tawney theorem, if valid, might augment the portfolio of options for interventionist information policy in the 21st century

The Toronto Word Pool: Norms for imagery, concreteness, orthographic variables, and grammatical usage for 1,080 words

Imagery and concreteness norms and percentage noun usage were obtained on the 1,080 verbal items from the Toronto Word Pool. Imagery was defined as the rated ease with which a word aroused a mental image, and concreteness was defined in relation to level of abstraction. The degree to which a word was functionally a noun was estimated in a sentence generation task. The mean and standard deviation of the imagery and concreteness ratings for each item are reported together with letter and printed frequency counts for the words and indications of sex differences in the ratings. Additional data in the norms include a grammatical function code derived from dictionary definitions, a percent noun judgment, indexes of statistical approximation to English, and an orthographic neighbor ratio. Validity estimates for the imagery and concreteness ratings are derived from comparisons with scale values drawn from the Paivio, Yuille, and Madigan (1968) noun pool and the Toglia and Battig (1978) norms. © 1982 Psychonomic Society, Inc.