Attributing and denying humanness to others

We review a programme of research on the attribution of humanness to people, and the ways in which lesser humanness is attributed to some compared to others. We first present evidence that humanness has two distinct senses, one representing properties that are unique to our species, and the other—human nature—those properties that are essential or fundamental to the human category. An integrative model of dehumanisation is then laid out, in which distinct forms of dehumanisation correspond to the denial of the two senses of humanness, and the likening of people to particular kinds of nonhuman entities (animals and machines). Studies demonstrating that human nature attributes are ascribed more to the self than to others are reviewed, along with evidence of the phenomenon’s cognitive and motivational basis. Research also indicates that both kinds of humanness are commonly denied to social groups, both explicitly and implicitly, and that they may cast a new light on the study of stereotype content. Our approach to the study of dehumanisation complements the tradition of research on infrahumanisation, and indicates new directions for exploring the importance of humanness as a dimension of social perception.

Psychological essentialism, implicit theories, and intergroup relations

Research on implicit person theories shows that beliefs about the malleability of human attributes have important implications for social cognition, interpersonal behavior, and intergroup relations. We argue that these implications can be understood within the framework of psychological essentialism, which extends work on implicit theories in promising directions. We review evidence that immutability beliefs covary with a broader set of essentialist beliefs, and that these essentialist beliefs are associated with stereotyping and prejudice. We then present recent studies indicating that associations between implicit person theories and stereotyping may be explained in terms of essentialist beliefs, implying a significant role for these beliefs in the psychology of group perception. Finally, we propose ways in which research and theory on essentialist beliefs might clarify and advance research on implicit person theories.

Children, violence, and social exclusion: Negotiation of everyday insecurity in a Colombian barrio

Discourses on in/security are often concerned with structures and meta-narratives of the state and other institutions; however, such attention misses the complexities of the everyday consequences of insecurity. In Colombia’s protracted conflict, children are disproportionately affected yet rarely consulted, rendering it difficult to account for their experiences in meaningful ways. This article draws on fieldwork conducted with conflict-affected children in an informal barrio community on the periphery of Colombia’s capital, Bogotá, to explore how children articulate experiences of insecurity. It examines how stereotypes of violence and delinquency reinforce insecurity; how multiple violences impact young people’s lives; and how children themselves conceive of responses to these negative experiences. These discussions are underpinned by a feminist commitment of attention to the margins and engage with those for whom insecurity is a daily phenomenon. The effects of deeply embedded insecurity, violence, and fear for young people in Colombia require a more nuanced theoretical engagement with notions of insecurity, as well as the complexities of connections and dissonances within everyday life.

A behavioural economics inquiry into inequality in education: Three empirical essays

This thesis investigates behavioural processes for inequality in education and solutions to mitigate such effects, applying conceptual and methodological insights from behavioural and experimental economics. It explores relative age differences in economic preferences of young individuals, the influence of stereotypes and positive discrimination on performance, and evaluates a program that offers strong encouragement for educational achievement of indigenous high school students.

Social networking sites and participatory reluctance: A case study of Gaydar, user resistance and interface rejection

This article conceptualises ‘participatory reluctance’ as a particular orientation to social media that problematises binarised notions of connection and disconnection in social networking sites. It qualitatively examines how the concept has functioned within gay men’s social networking service, Gaydar, among 18- to 28-year-old users of the site in Brisbane, Australia. Participatory reluctance is shown to be a central aspect of the culture of this space, fostered among the studied demographic by the convergence of the growing global push for marriage equality and increasing normalisation of the kinds of gay male identities commonly adopted among this group, with three key factors rooted primarily in Gaydar’s design: (1) young users’ perceptions of the site as a space for procuring casual sex; (2) their perceptions of the imagined user as embodying existing stereotypes of gay masculinity, and; (3) a lack of genuine alternatives in terms of niche digital spaces for gay men’s social networking.

Mapinduzi Daima – Revolution Forever : Using the 1964 Revolution in Nationalistic Political Discourses in Zanzibar

This Master's thesis examines two opposite nationalistic discourses on the revolution of Zanzibar. Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM), the party in power since the 1964 revolution defends its revolutionary and "African" heritage in the current multi-party system. New nationalists, including among others the main opposition party Civic United Front (CUF), question both the 1964 revolution and the post-revolution period and blame CCM for empty promises, corruption and ethnic discrimination. This study analyzes the role of a significant historical event in the creation of nationalistic ideology and national identity. The 1964 revolution forms the nucleus of various debates related to the history of Zanzibar: slavery, colonialism, racial discrimination and political violence. Representations of these Social constructivist principles form the basis of this study, and central concepts in the theoretical framework are nationalism, national identity, ethnicity and race. I use critical discourse analysis as my research method, lean on the work by Teun A. van Dijk and Norman Fairclough as the most significant researchers in this field. I examine particularly the ways in which linguistic methods, such as stereotypes and metaphors are used to form in- and out-groups ("us" vs. "others"). My material, both in Swahili and English, was collected mainly in Tanzania in the fall of 2007 and from online sources in the spring of 2009. It includes publications by the Zanzibari government between the years of 1964-2000 (12), official speeches for the Revolution Day or the Union Day (12), articles from Tanzanian newspapers from the 1990s until the year of 2009 (15), memoirs and political pamphlets (10), blog posts and opinion pieces from four different websites (8), and interviews or personal communication in Zanzibar, Dar es Salaam and Uppsala (8). Nationalistic rhetoric often creates enemy images by using binary good-bad oppositions. Both discourses in this study build identities on the basis of "otherness" and exclusion, with the intent of emphasizing the particularity of the own group and excluding "evilness" outside the own reference group. These opposite views on the 1964 revolution as the main axis of the history of Zanzibar build different portraits of the nation and Zanzibari-ness (Uzanzibari). CCM still relies on the pre-revolutionary enemy images of Arabs as selfish rulers and cruel slave traders. For CCM, Zanzibar is primarily an "African" nation and a part of Tanzania which is threatened by "Arabs", the outsiders. In contrast, the new nationalists stress the long history of Zanzibar as multi-racial, cosmopolitan and formerly independent country which has its own, separate culture and identity from mainland Tanzanians. Heshima, honour/respect, one of the basic values of Swahili culture, occupies a central role in both discourses: the main party emphasizes that the revolution returned "heshima" to the Zanzibari Africans after centuries of humiliation, whereas the new nationalists claim that ever since the revolution all "non-Africans" have been humiliated and lost their "heshima". According to the new nationalists, true Zanzibari values which include tolerance and harmony between different "races" were lost when the "foreign" revolutionaries arrived from the mainland. Consequently, they see the 1964 revolution as Tanganyikan colonialism which began with the help of Western countries, and maintain that this "colonialism" still continues in the violent multi-party elections.

Vikuroivia vilkaisuja : Ruumis, sukupuoli, seksuaalisuus ja visuaalisen kulttuurin tutkimus

The PhD dissertation "Bucking Glances: On Body, Gender, Sexuality and Visual Culture Research" consists of theoretical introduction and five articles published between 2002-2005. The articles analyze the position of visual representations in the processes of knowledge production on acceptable genders, bodies, and sexualities in contemporary Wes¬tern societies. The research material is heterogeneous, consisting of representations of contemporary art, advertisements, and fashion images. The ideological starting point of the PhD dissertation is the politics of the gaze and the methods used to expose this are the concepts of oppositional gaze, close reading, and resisting reading. The study situates visual representations in dialogue with the concepts of the grotesque and androgyny, as well as with queer-theory and theories of the gaze. The research challenges normative meanings of visual representations and opens up space for more non-conventional readings attached to femininity and masculinity. The visual material is read as troubling the prevailing heteronormative gender system. The dissertation also indicates how visual culture research utilizing the approach of queer theory can be fruitful in opposing and re-visioning changes in the repressive gender system. The article "A Heroic Male and A Beautiful Woman. Teemu Mäki, Orlan and the Ambivalence of the Grotesque Body" problematizes the concept of heroic masculinity through the analysis of the Finnish artist Teemu Mäki's masochistic performance The Good Friday (1989). It also analyzes cosmetic surgery, undertaken by the French artist Orlan, as a cultural tool in constructing and visualizing the contemporary, com¬mercial ideals of female beauty. The article "Boys Will Be Girls Will Be Boys Will Be Girls. The Ambivalence of Androgyny in Calvin Klein' Advertisements" is a close reading of the Calvin Klein perfume advertisement One (1998) in reference to the concept of androgyny. The critical point of the article is that androgynous male bodies allow the extension of the categorical boundaries of masculinity and homosexuality, whereas representations of androgynous women feed into the prevailing stereotypes of femininity, namely the fear of fat. The article "See-through Closet: Female Androgyny in the 1990s Fashion Images, New Woman and Lesbian Chic" analyzes the late 1990s fashion advertisements through the concept of female androgyny. The article argues that the figures of the masculine female androgynes in the late 1990s fashion magazines do not problematize the dichotomous gender binary. The women do not pass as men but produce a variation of heterosexual desirability. At the same time, the representations open up space for lesbian gazing and desiring. The article "Why are there no lesbian advertisements?" addresses the issue of femme gaze and desire in relation to heterosexual fashion advertisements from the British edition of the mainstream fashion magazine Vogue. The article considers possibilities for resistant femme visibility, identification, and desire. The article "Woman, Food, Home. Pirjetta Brander's and Heidi Romo's Works as Bucking Representations of Femininity" analyses the production and queering of heteronormative femininity and family through the analysis of art works. The article discusses how the term queer has been translated into Finnish. The article also introduces a new translation for the term queer: the noun vikuuri, i.e. faulty form and the verb vikuroida, i.e. to buck. In Finnish, the term vikuuri is the vernacular or broken form of the term figure, i.e. figuuri. Vikuuri represents all forms situated outside the norm and the normative.

The regional differences between countries in traffic safety: A cross-cultural study and Turkish Case

Road traffic accidents are a large problem everywhere in the world. However, regional differences in traffic safety between countries are considerable. For example, traffic safety records are much worse in Southern Europe and the Middle East than in Northern and Western Europe. Despite the large regional differences in traffic safety, factors contributing to different accident risk figures in different countries and regions have remained largely unstudied. The general aim of this study was to investigate regional differences in traffic safety between Southern European/Middle Eastern (i.e., Greece, Iran, Turkey) and Northern/Western European (i.e., Finland, Great Britain, The Netherlands) countries and to identify factors related to these differences. We conducted seven sub-studies in which I applied a traffic culture framework, including a multi-level approach, to traffic safety. We used aggregated level data (national statistics), surveys among drivers, and data on traffic accidents and fatalities in the analyses. In the first study, we investigated the influence of macro level factors (i.e., economic, societal, and cultural) on traffic safety across countries. The results showed that a high GNP per capita and conservatism correlated with a low number of traffic fatalities, whereas a high degree of uncertainty avoidance, neuroticism, and egalitarianism correlated with a high number of traffic fatalities. In the second, third, and fourth studies, we examined whether the conceptualisation of road user characteristics (i.e., driver behaviour and performance) varied across traffic cultures and how these factors determined overall safety, and the differences between countries in traffic safety. The results showed that the factorial agreement for driver behaviour (i.e., aggressive driving) and performance (i.e., safety skills) was unsatisfactory in Greece, Iran, and Turkey, where the lack of social tolerance and interpersonal aggressive violations seem to be important characteristics of driving. In addition, we found that driver behaviour (i.e., aggressive violations and errors) mediated the relationship between culture/country and accidents. Besides, drivers from "dangerous" Southern European countries and Iran scored higher on aggressive violations and errors than did drivers from "safe" Northern European countries. However, "speeding" appeared to be a "pan-cultural" problem in traffic. Similarly, aggressive driving seems largely depend on road users' interactions and drivers' interpretation (i.e., cognitive biases) of the behaviour of others in every country involved in the study. Moreover, in all countries, a risky general driving style was mostly related to being young and male. The results of the fifth and sixth studies showed that among young Turkish drivers, gender stereotypes (i.e., masculinity and femininity) greatly influence driver behaviour and performance. Feminine drivers were safety-oriented whereas masculine drivers were skill-oriented and risky drivers. Since everyday driving tasks involve not only erroneous (i.e., risky or dangerous driving) or correct performance (i.e., normal habitual driving), but also "positive" driver behaviours, we developed a reliable scale for measuring "positive" driver behaviours among Turkish drivers in the seventh study. Consequently, I revised Reason's model [Reason, J. T., 1990. Human error. Cambridge University Press: New York] of aberrant driver behaviour to represent a general driving style, including all possible intentional behaviours in traffic while evaluating the differences between countries in traffic safety. The results emphasise the importance of economic, societal and cultural factors, general driving style and skills, which are related to exposure, cognitive biases as well as age, sex, and gender, in differences between countries in traffic safety.

Book Review "Selling sex: a hidden history of prostitution", R. Frances, UNSW Press, Sydney, 2007

In the opening pages of Selling Sex we are introduced to 'Joy', a statue of a young female sex worker which stood in East Sydney for eighteen months during 1995- 1997. Following complaints by local residents, the statue was removed from public view and returned to its owner. Evidently, Joy was considered a reminder of the community's 'bad old days', when it was better known for prostitution than restaurants. In a nation in which almost every sizable community has proudly erected monuments to military men, the removal of Joy reveals much about labour and gender relations in Australia. For Frances, the removal of Joy is symbolic, our historical treatment of sex workers having parallels with our treatment of the convicts. This work sets out to give these women (male prostitutes do not figure in this history) a voice and break with the stereotypes of 'abandoned whores' or 'sad victims'. It also sets out to place the sex industry in the broader national and international context in which it has historically operated...

Lähi-itä - mielikuvat, media ja konflikti : Tutkimuskohteena opettajaopiskelijat

This study examines Finnish student teachers' images of The Middle East conflict and its parties and medias' influence on these images. The research problems are 1) how student teachers understand the Middle East as a geographical and a cultural area 2) what kind of conceptions they have of the Middle East conflict and its parties; Israelis, Palestinians and Arabs and societies and religions closely connected to them and 3) how the media has influenced on these conceptions. Theoretical background of this study concerns with different mental images, their construction and meaning, stereotypes, intercultural competence, media and its influence as well as media literacy. The methods used in this study were survey and theme interview. Also headlines of the news were analysed. The survey was directed at student teachers of the University of Helsinki (n = 75). Six of them were interviewed. The survey was conducted in February and interviews were made in the turn of May and June 2003. The headlines analysed dealt with the Middle East conflict in the newspaper "Helsingin Sanomat" in January, April and July 2003. Main results: Images of the Middle East area differed largely from respondent to another. Student teachers didn't know much about the Middle East conflict. Stereotypes occurred in the conceptions connected to the parties of the conflict. Stereotypes appeared especially in the negative conceptions of islam and muslims and one-sided conceptions of Arabs. The influence of the conflict was noticeable in conceptions related to Israelis, Israel and Palestinians. Palestinians were sympathized. Attitudes towards Israelis, Palestinians and Arabs were negative to some extend and their societies were not valued very equal, open or modern. On the basis of the research, student teachers' intercultural competence was not good enough. Media had influence on the conceptions. Also skills in critical use of media varied largely. Some trusted strongly in the objectivity of a picture and the news. It can be argued, on the grounds of the results, that teacher education should concentrate more on themes of intercultural competence and media literacy. These two are interrelated and are both needed in understanding and conceptualising the world.

Women's progression to leadership: A project-based organisational perspective

This is a qualitative study of female underrepresentation in leadership roles in project-based organisations in Australia, specifically the construction and property development industries. Using a gender lens, the underlying structural and cultural barriers to women's advancement to leadership in those organisations was studied and, in particular, what challenges they face in their career advancement and what attempts they make to resolve those challenges. The findings show that the unique characteristics of project-based organisations, with their perpetual masculine work practices, embedded masculine logic, gender-based bias and masculine organisational culture, all maintain the pattern of underrepresentation of women.

Is stereotype threat a useful construct for organizational psychology research and practice?

Stereotypes about different groups persist in organizations. Employees from such groups may experience stereotype threat, or the concern that they are being judged on the basis of demeaning stereotypes about groups to which they belong. The goal of this focal article is to discuss whether stereotype threat is a useful construct for organizational psychology research and practice. To this end, we focus on consequences other than acute performance deficits in laboratory settings. In particular, we examine studies that highlight the effects of stereotype threat on intrapersonal outcomes (e.g., job attitudes), interpersonal outcomes (e.g., negotiation), and on the relationship between employees and their organization. The research reviewed suggests that stereotype threat is a potentially important phenomenon in organizations, but it also highlights the paucity of research in an organizational context. We provide suggestions for future research directions as well as for the prevention and amelioration of stereotype threat in the workplace.

A lifespan perspective on creativity and innovation at work

In this review, we address the relationship of aging with creativity and innovation at work. Organizing our review around the triad of person, environment, and behavior, we first discuss relevant theories and empirical findings from the creativity/innovation and aging literatures, and then review meta-analytical and primary studies on the aging-creativity/innovation relationship. In contrast to prevalent age stereotypes, we show that the empirical literature does not support direct, zero-order relationships, but that more complex (moderated, indirect, and curvilinear) relationships are highly plausible. We illustrate this point with a discussion of research on aging and scientific creativity. Finally, we outline opportunities for future research, both methodological and conceptual.

Ma Ma Ma Mad

Ma Ma Ma Mad is an autobiographical work, written and performed by Singaporean-Australian theatre maker Merlynn Tong. This production, presented at the Brisbane Powerhouse in December 2015, was a multi-genre work incorporating aspects of Butoh, physical theatre, cabaret and contemporary monologue. More than an experiment in mixed performative forms, however, this particular production was also an exercise in inter-cultural collaboration as well as gender in (and of) performance. Heavily influenced by the creator's experiences growing up in urban Southeast Asia, the director's specialisation in contemporary Australian theatre and experience telling uniquely Australian stories worked to manipulate the form in an endeavour to succinctly speak to local audiences, without pandering to entrenched stereotypes or diluting the underlying Chinese-Singaporean themes. The success of this production was also somewhat of a personal challenge for the creatives, after being told by some of Brisbane's most influential theatre venues and festivals that they would rather not support the work because a) it was a one woman show, and b) it was a one woman show about an Asian woman; and therefore would not sell well. One very influential local producer even said that he already had a one-woman show about an Asian person programmed, so he couldn't possibly program another. Operating in such a biased and out-of-touch artistic environment was seen as an easy challenge for the artists involved, which resulted in a highly successful and critically acclaimed sell-out run of Ma Ma Ma Mad, followed by offers to tour the work nationally and internationally. As such, this production also stands as a practical example of the ingrained and patriarchal structures of the Australian arts scene, and how art can work to break down the very barriers that it has helped to construct through a lack of vision and diversity amongst its leaders.

Keho: Omaa sukupuolta koskevan tiedon ja ymmärryksen muotoutumisen perusta transsukupuolisilla

Body: The foundation for the formation of the knowledge and conception of gender identity among the transgendered The purpose of this study is to increase the understanding of the experiential formation of the knowledge and conception of one's gender and the foundation of that experience. This study is based on qualitative method and phenomenological approach. The research material consists: Herculine Barbin's Herculine Barbin, Christine Jorgensen's Christine Jorgensen. A Personal Autobiography Kate Bornstein's Gender Outlaw and Deirdre McCloskey's Crossing. A Memoir. The theoretical frame of reference for the study is Michel Henry's phenomenology of the body. The most important relations regarding the formation of the knowledge and conception of gender identity at which the sensing of the body is directed are human being's own subjective, organic and objective bodily form and other people and representatives of institutions. The concept of resistance reveals that gender division and the stereotypes and accountability related to it have dual character in culture. As a resistance they contain the potential for triggering the reflections about one's own gender. As an instrument they may function as means of exercising power and, as such, of monitoring gender normality. According to the research material the sources for the knowledge and conception of gender identity among the transgendered are literature, medical articles and books, internet, clerical and medical professionals, friends and relatives, and the peer group, that is, other transgendered. The transgendered are not only users of gender knowledge, but many of them are also active producers and contributors of gender knowledge and especially of knowledge about transgenderness. The problem is that this knowledge is unevenly distributed in society. The users of gender knowledge are mainly the transgendered, researchers of different disciplines specialized in gender issues, and medical and healthcare professionals specialized in gender adjustments. Therefore not everyone has the sufficient knowledge to support one's own or someone other's life as a gendered being in a society and ability to achieve gender autonomy. The quality of this knowledge is also rather narrow from the gender multiplicity point of view. The feeling of strangeness and the resulting experience of enstrangement have, like stereotypes, dual character in culture. They may be the reason for people's social disadvantage or exclusion, but the experiences may just as well be a resource for people's gender maturity and culture. As a cultural resource in gender issue this would mean innovativity in creating, upholding and changing cultural gender division, stereotypes and accounting customs. A transgendered may then become a liminal that aspires to change the limits related to resistances in society. Transgenderness is not only a medical issue but, first and foremost, an issue bearing upon human situation as a whole, or, in other words, related to the art of life. The subject of gender adjustment treatments is not only gender itself but the art of life as a gendered being. Transgenderness would then require multi-discipline co-operation.