Using Factorial Surveys and Stated Choice Experiments to Investigate Discriminatory Attitudes and Preferences

Empirical research on discriminatory attitudes and behaviour grapples with the social undesirability of its object. In many studies using regular survey methods, estimates are biased, and the social context of discrimination is not taken into account. Several methods have been developed, especially to deal with the first problem. In this regard, the estimation of the ‘true value’ of discriminatory attitudes is at the centre of interest. However, methodological contributions focusing on the social context of attitude communication and discriminatory behaviour, as well as the correlation between both, are rare. We present two experimental methods which address those issues: factorial surveys and stated choice experiments. In a first study, the usefulness of factorial surveys is demonstrated with data on German anti-Semitism (N=279). We show that the rate of approval with anti-Semitic statements increases if (a) respondents are told that the majority of fellows agree with such statements, (b) the term “Jews” is replaced by the term “Israelis”, and (c) reference to the Holocaust is made. Apart from the main effects of these experimental factors, significant interaction effects regarding the political attitudes and social status of respondents are observed. In a second study, a stated choice experiment on the purchase of olive oil and tomatoes was conducted in Germany (N=440). We find that respondents prefer Italian and Dutch products (control treatment) compared to Israeli and Palestinian ones (discrimination treatments). There are no significant differences between preferences for a so called ‘Peace product’ (which is produced jointly by Israelis and Palestinians) and products from Italy as well as the Netherlands. Yet, taking discriminatory attitudes (anti-Semitic and anti-Arabic attitudes) into account, a strong correlation between those attitudes and stated behaviour (purchase of Israeli, Palestinian and jointly produced products) can be found. This adds support to the hypothesis that discriminatory attitudes hold behavioural consequences.

On the etymology of the term ševâ

by C. Levias

The guide for the perplexed

by Moses Maimonides ; translated from the original Arabic text by M. Friedländer

Aristeas the Tourist

"Herodotus the Tourist" was the title given by James Redfield to his inquiry into Herodotus's ethnological system (Classical Philology, 80.2, 1985: 97-118). Redfield's insights, together with François Hartog's monograph The mirror of Herodotus (University of California Press, 1988), definitively modified our interpretation of Herodotus's Histories. In the present paper, I analyse the so-called Letter of Aristeas from a narratological perspective, suggesting that the anonymous author of the Letter deliberately constructed his main character ("Aristeas") as a Herodotus-like figure, who visits Judea and Jerusalem as yet another "tourist". In so-doing, the author's pseudo-ethnographic text produces a specific Jewish self-definition and identity in the Hellenistic period, mirroring both Greek representations of the Jews as a people of philosophers, and a Jewish interpretation of the ideal bios philosophikos, best typified through the Jewish compliance with the Mosaic legislation.

Arabische Sprüchwörter oder die Sitten und Gebräuche der neueren Aegyptier : erklärt aus den zu Kairo umlaufenden Sprüchwörtern

übersetzt und erläutert von Johann Ludwig Burckhardt ; herausgegeben im Auftrage der Gesellschaft zur Beförderung der Entdeckung des Inneren von Africa von William Ouseley, Deutsch mit einigen Anmerkungen und Registern von H.G. Kirmß

Translation and cultural adaptation of the Stigma-Devaluation scale for use among family caregivers of mentally ill relatives in Jordan

Background/significance. Mental illness stigma is a matter of great concern to family caregivers. Few research studies have been conducted in the Arab World on family caregivers' perception of stigma associated with caring for a mentally ill relative. Review of the literature on measurement of the concept of stigma related to caring for a mentally ill relative yielded no instrument appropriate for use in a Jordanian sample. Reliable and valid instruments to measure stigma perception among family caregivers are needed for research and practice, particularly in Arabic speaking populations. ^ Purpose. The purposes of this study were: (1) translate the Stigma-Devaluation scale (SDS) into Arabic, modifying it to accurately reflect the cultural parameters specific to Jordan, and (2) test the reliability, the content and construct validity of the Arabic version of the SDS for use among a sample of family members of mentally ill relatives in Jordan. ^ Design. Methodologic, cross-sectional. ^ Methods. The SDS was translated into Arabic language, modified and culturally adapted to the Jordanian culture by a translation model which incorporates a cultural adaptation process. The Arabic SDS was evaluated in a sample of 164 family caregivers in the outpatient mental health clinic in Irbid-Jordan. Cronbach's alpha estimation of internal consistency was used to assess the reliability of the SDS. Construct validity was determined by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Measurements of content validity and reading level of the Arabic SDS were included. ^ Findings. Content Validity Index was determined to be 1.0. Reading level of the Arabic SDS was considered at a 6th grade or lower Cronbach's alpha coefficient of the modified Arabic SDS total scale was .87. Initial results of CFA did not fully support the proposed factor structures of the SDS or its subscales. After modifications, the indices indicated that the modified model of each subscale had satisfactory fit. ^ Conclusion. This study provided psychometric evidence that the modified Arabic SDS translated and culturally adapted instrument, is valid and conceptually consistent with the content of the original English SDS in measuring stigma perception among families of mentally ill relatives in Jordan. ^

Feminism, gender equity and sexual/reproductive health in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region

Sexual/reproductive/health and rights are crucial public health concerns that have been specifically integrated into the Millennium Development Goals to be accomplished by 2015. These issues are related to several health outcomes, including HIV/AIDS and gender-based violence (GBV) among women. The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region comprises Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), West Bank and Gaza (WBG), and Yemen. This region is primarily Arabic speaking (except for Israel and Iran), and primarily Muslim (except for Israel). Some traditional and cultural views and practices in this region engender gender inequalities, which manifest themselves in the economic, political and social spheres. HIV and gender-based violence in the region may be interlinked with gender inequalities which breed justification for partner violence and honour killings, and increase the chance that HIV will transform into an epidemic in the region if not addressed. A feminist framework, focused on economic, political and social empowerment for women would be useful to consider applying to sexual/reproductive health in the region.^

Alberto Magno y la revisión de la teoría hilemórfica de Aristóteles

La doctrina hilemórfica de la materia como pura potencia y la forma como acto parece no satisfacer al dominico Alberto Magno, pues le resulta insuficiente para explicar los procesos naturales. Por esto, redefine los principios metafísicos fundamentales del aristotelismo, y asimismo expone nuevos principios constitutivos de la realidad, bajo inspiración de la filosofía neoplatónica y del pensamiento árabe. Así, Alberto sostiene que la materia prima debe ser entendida como una suerte de realidad actualizada, compuesta por diversas formas incoadas previamente al advenimiento de la forma sustancial. La incohatio formae, según el dominico, dispone a la materia a recibir cierta forma en vez de otra en la futura generación, lo cual justifica la regularidad de todo proceso natural. La materia primera, entonces, no participa meramente como sustrato del cambio sustancial y no puede ser definida como una realidad completamente simple. Por sí misma, posee un esse materiae y constituye una entidad substancial, la materia posee un ser independiente de la forma, al igual que la forma es independiente de la materia. En los tratados de la Physica y Metaphysica, Alberto Magno desarrolla una doctrina propia, aunque claramente influenciada por la cosmología y metafísica averroísta.

Los objetos escénicos y su funcionalidad en Caballeros de Aristófanes

Nos proponemos estudiar, a partir de un análisis filológico-literario, la comedia Caballeros de Aristófanes, que se puso en escena y obtuvo el primer premio en las Leneas del año 424 a. C. La composición de esta obra es consecuencia directa de los acontecimientos ocurridos en Pilos durante el séptimo año de la Guerra del Peloponeso y resulta una sátira de carácter político en la cual constantemente se ataca a Cleón y se exponen abiertamente los vicios de la administración en Atenas. El objetivo de esta investigación es detectar e indagar los objetos presentes en el universo ficcional para dilucidar la funcionalidad de los mismos en relación con las distintas partes de la obra. Nos centraremos en aquellos que aparecen mencionados en el texto dramático atendiendo a los distintos sentidos que asumen a lo largo de la obra porque los consideramos elementos propulsores del desarrollo de la trama, caracterizadores de personajes, generadores de malos entendidos y poseedores de sentido simbólico

Descripción de colecciones de manuscritos : Una propuesta articulada desde la bibliotecología y la archivística

Los documentos manuscritos constituyen fuentes de información primaria, tanto para estudios históricos como para estudios literarios del área de la filología y la crítica genética. La descripción y difusión de este patrimonio constituye una prioridad para las bibliotecas que son depositarias del mismo, dado el creciente interés observado por este tipo de documentos. En pos de contribuir a este objetivo, se brinda un panorama de la normativa vigente aplicable a la descripción de manuscritos. Se enfatizan los beneficios de la descripción normalizada y del empleo de esquemas de metadatos específicos para la difusión de este tipo de material en Internet y se propone su integración a las prácticas bibliotecológicas corrientes

Traducción de poesía: forma, repetición y fantasma en el estudio comparado de traducciones de Emily Dickinson (Silvina Ocampo, Amelia Rosselli)

Este trabajo se inscribe en el proyecto de fundación de una Escuela de Traducción Poética, en la que nos proponemos pensar y practicar nuevos criterios específicos para traducir poesía. Las premisas teóricas de Walter Benjamin y Giorgio Agamben nos sirven para pensar nuestra tarea como una Nueva Filología. Será fundamental en ella el estudio interdisciplinario en el que confluyen filosofía, historia, psicoanálisis, estética y teoría literaria. Una filología absorta en la facticidad y la devoción mágica por los particulares, por el detalle, que Agamben destaca como fundamentales en Benjamin.

La huella cervantista americana de la escuela filológica española

La escuela filológica española dejó un importante legado en la forma¬ción de los estudios hispanoamericanos. La impronta de los primeros discípulos pidalianos, la creación de institutos y la concreción de numerosos artículos y ediciones de la obra cervantina fueron momen¬tos clave del desarrollo de dichos estudios en América.