Why Originalism Won’t Die - Common Mistakes in Competing Theories of Judicial Interpretation

In the debate over proper judicial interpretation of the law, the doctrine of Originalism has been subjected to numerous seemingly fatal criticisms. Despite the exposure of flaws that would normally bury a theory, however, Originalism continues to attract tremendous support, seeming to many to be the most sensible theory on offer. This Article examines its resilient appeal (with a particular focus on Scalia’s Textualism). By surveying and identifying the fundamental weaknesses of three of the leading alternatives to Originalism (Popular Will theory, Dworkin’s value theory, and Judicial Minimalism), the Article demonstrates that the heart of Originalism’s appeal rests in its promise of objectivity. The Article also establishes, however, that Originalism suffers from a misguided conception of what objectivity is. All camps in this debate, in fact, suffer from serious misunderstandings of the nature of objectivity

The moderating role of political affiliation in the link between flooding experience and preparedness to reduce energy use.

The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.Research suggests that highlighting links between local weather events and climate change can help promote climate change engagement. Yet, the evidence for the relationship between weather experiences and climate change attitudes has been mixed. Here we argue that obtaining an accurate assessment of the contribution of weather experiences to climate change engagement necessitates explicit evaluation of factors such as values and identities that influence the way weather experiences are interpreted and integrated into climate change attitudes. We re-analysed data from a prior study in which reported flood experience was found to be indirectly linked to preparedness to reduce energy use among UK residents. Overall, flood experience was positively linked with perceived vulnerability and negatively linked with uncertainty about climate change, but the purported indirect relationship between flood experience and preparedness to reduce energy use was observed among left and not right-leaning voters. We concluded that assessing interactions between extreme weather experiences and political affiliation lends valuable nuance to evaluation of the effects of such experiences on climate change perceptions and attitudes. Highlighting links between climate change and flooding may have varying levels of influence on climate change engagement depending on individuals’ political affiliation

Organizational Images And Member Identification

We develop a model to explain how images of one's work organization shape the strength of his or her identification with the organization. We focus on two key organizational images: one based on what a member believes is distinctive, central, and enduring about his or her organization and one based on a member's beliefs about what outsiders think about the organization. According to the model, members assess the attractiveness of these images by how well the image preserves the continuity of their self-concept, provides distinctiveness, and enhances self-esteem. The model leads to a number of propositions about how organizational identification affects members' patterns of social interaction.Managemen

Interpreting foreign policy: National, comparative and regional studies

This Special Issue advances an interpretive research programme into Foreign Policy Analysis and International Relations by showcasing new work on the study of foreign policy and regional cooperation. This introductory article explains the rationale and contents of the Special Issue in three parts. The opening part explains how the contributions complement the broader study of ideas in Foreign Policy Analysis and International Relations through a critique of methodological positivism in the social sciences. The second part elaborates the theoretical framework used to cohere the collection, which centres on the study of ‘situated agents’ who, when confronted with policy dilemmas, draw on inherited traditions to inform their foreign policy practices. This is accompanied by a methods case study centring on David Cameron’s European Union referendum strategy, which is used to illustrate the practical ways in which one can conduct interpretivist research into foreign policy. In conclusion, we spell out how the contributors conducted their work to advance the interpretivist research programme