The Acceptability of War and Support for Defense Spending: Evidence from Fourteen Democracies, 2004–2013

We study the factors that influence citizen support for defense spending in fourteen democracies over the period 2004–2013. We pose two research questions. First, what factors influence citizen support for war and military force? We refer to this as the acceptability of war. Second, in addition to the acceptability of war, what other factors affect support for defense spending? Our principal finding is that citizen acceptance of war and support for defense spending are most influenced by basic beliefs and values. Gender also has a strong negative influence on attitudes toward war and thus indirectly lowers support for defense spending among women. Attitudes toward war and defense spending are also sometimes influenced by short-term threats and by alliance considerations, but the effects are not as substantively meaningful. We conclude with a summary of the results and a discussion of the implications for theory and policy

Levitated Duct Fan (LDF) Aircraft Auxiliary Generator

This generator concept includes a novel stator and rotor architecture made from composite material with blades attached to the outer rotating shell of a ducted fan drum rotor, a non-contact support system between the stator and rotor using magnetic fields to provide levitation, and an integrated electromagnetic generation system. The magnetic suspension between the rotor and the stator suspends and supports the rotor within the stator housing using permanent magnets attached to the outer circumference of the drum rotor and passive levitation coils in the stator shell. The magnets are arranged in a Halbach array configuration

Experimental evidence of a fractal dissipative regime in high-T_c superconductors

We report on our experimental evidence of a substantial geometrical ingredient characterizing the problem of incipient dissipation in high-T_c superconductors(HTS): high-resolution studies of differential resistance-current characteristics in absence of magnetic field enabled us to identify and quantify the fractal dissipative regime inside which the actual current-carrying medium is an object of fractal geometry. The discovery of a fractal regime proves the reality and consistency of critical-phenomena scenario as a model for dissipation in inhomogeneous and disordered HTS, gives the experimentally-based value of the relevant finite-size scaling exponent and offers some interesting new guidelines to the problem of pairing mechanisms in HTS.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, RevTex; Accepted for publication in Physical Review B; (figures enlarged

Comparison of attitudes to media representation of mental illness between journalists and mental health professionals in Russia with German-speaking countries of Switzerland, Germany, and Austria

Background: The media are an important source of information on mental health. They are often implicit in reinforcing negative stereotypes of people with mental health problems. There are no studies in German-speaking countries or Russia on media attitudes to mental health and mental health professionals’ (MHP) attitudes to the media. Aims: This study explored journalists and MHPs attitudes to mental health media reporting in the German speaking countries of Switzerland, Germany, and Austria and in Russia. Methods: A cross-sectional online internet survey, of ten Likert scale statements to ascertain perceptions of stigma, role, and training needs following the STROBE guidance was conducted among journalists and MHPs via their professional organizations. A non-discriminatory exponential snowballing technique leading to non-probability sampling was used. Descriptive statistics, Kruskal-Wallis, and a post hoc Dunn’s multiple comparisons test using Bonferroni adjustment were used to analyze data. Results: A total of 106 German-speaking and 78 Russian journalists, 109 German-speaking, and 82 Russian MHPs fully answered the survey. Journalists felt the media were more balanced about mental health than MHPs, and MHPs were wary of engagement with the media. Small minorities of journalists had engaged with mental health training, similarly few MHPs had engaged with media training, but both groups were interested in doing so in the future. Significant differences between German and Russian speaking respondents were found on a range of issues (e.g. stigmatization, image about psychotherapy, the media/MHPs, and their own role in engaging with the media/MHPs). Russians were more likely to know specialized (media/mental health awareness) training compared to German-speaking MHPs and journalists. Conclusion: There are potential opportunities to engage journalists and MHPs in training about each other’s worlds and reducing stigma toward mental illness through engaging MHPs with the media. </jats:sec

Gender Difference or Parallel Publics? The Dynamics of Defense Spending Opinions in the United States, 1965-2007

Gender is now recognized as an important dividing line in American political life, and scholars have accumulated evidence that national security issues are an important reason for gender differences in policy preferences. We therefore expect that the dynamics of support for defense spending among men and women will differ. In contrast, several scholars have shown that population subgroups exhibit a ‘‘parallel’’ dynamic in which the evolution of their preferences over time is very similar, despite differences in the average level of support. Unfortunately, there is little time series evidence on gendered reactions to policy, including defense spending, that would allow one to arbitrate between these competing perspectives. In this research note, we assemble a time series of support for defense spending among men and women and model the determinants of that support for the period 1967–2007. We find that women are on average less supportive of defense spending than are men. However, we also find that the over time variation of support for defense spending among men and women is very similar—each is conditioned principally by the past year’s change in defense spending and occasionally by war casualties and a trade-off between defense and civilian spending

With or without force? : European public opinion on democracy promotion

A Large part of the education provided at colleges and universities of today requires for thestudent to be more independent in their studies. This demands that the physical space,where the students choose to study, is designed in a way that can encourage and supportlearning. It seems as though that many of the learning spaces of today don’t always meetthe students’ needs. The university library at the University of Umeå is currently planningto design new learning spaces for the students. The aim of this study is to examine how thephysical learning space can be designed to engage and encourage the students in theirlearning process. Based on literature describing learning spaces we have initially identified three mainareas to examine- Learning, Information Technology and Learning space design. Theseareas are all important features in the design of new learning spaces. With informationdrawn from that literature we conducted an empirical study at the library of the Universityof Umeå. The empirical study was carried out through observations and focus groupinterviews. To give us more insight about the students’ thoughts about the learning spacewe also compared our findings with a survey conducted by the library personnel in 2008and 2010. The result of our study shows that there are some areas to be improved in theexisting learning space. The students are working more collaboratively which requiresmore group areas. Our study also shows that flexibility, more student interaction and asocial and engaging environment are all important features in the design of new learningspaces

R2P from Below: Does the British Public View Humanitarian Interventions as Ethical and Effective?

One of the major barriers to the implementation of the Responsibility to Protect principle is the lack of a political will. Public attitudes towards intervention will have a crucial impact on elite willingness to prevent mass atrocities, yet we have little understanding of the factors that influence those attitudes. This article provides the first examination of UK public perceptions about the moral justifiability and effectiveness of humanitarian interventions. The article shows that decisions about justifiability and effectiveness are very different. Attitudes towards justification were more easily explained suggesting that judgements about effectiveness are more contextual and less easily accounted for by individuals’ background characteristics and attitudes. Experiences with both Iraq and Afghanistan have contaminated public perceptions of both the ethics and effectiveness of humanitarian interventions. Although the public is broadly supportive about the justifiability of humanitarian interventions they are extremely sceptical about the likelihood that those interventions will be successful

Globalisation from Above? Corporate Social Responsibility, the Workers' Party and the Origins of the World Social Forum

In its assessment of the origins and early development of the World Social Forum this article challenges traditional understandings of the Forum as representing ‘globalisation from below’. By tracing the intricate relations among elements of business, civil society, and the Workers’ Party in the first years of the Forum, this article reveals the major role played by a corporate movement stemming from the Brazilian democratisation process in the 1980s, and how this combined with the transformed agenda of the Workers’ Party as it gained higher political offices to constrain the Forum’s activities from the outset. In so doing, this article challenges not only widespread conceptions of the Forum as a counter‐hegemonic alternative but also current critiques concerning its subsequent limitations. Furthermore, it reveals how traditional understandings of the World Social Forum and of global civil society are underpinned by flawed assumptions which typecast political activities in the global ‘South’

PERAN ORANG TUA DALAM MEMBINA NILAI KARAKTER ANAK DI KECAMATAN SIMPANG TIGA ACEH BESAR

ABSTRAKRahmayanti KS, Sri. 2016. Peran Orang Tua Dalam Membina Nilai Karakter Anak di Kecamatan Simpang Tiga Kabupaten Aceh Besar. Skripsi, Jurusan Pendidikan Kesejahteraan Keluarga, Fakultas Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan, Universitas Syiah Kuala. Pembimbing:(1)Dr. Anizar Ahmad, M.Pd., (2). Dra. Fitriana, M.SI.Kata Kunci: Nilai Karakter Anak, Peran Orang TuaPeran orang tua adalah partisipasi atau kesadaran jiwa orang tua untuk memperdulikan anaknya, terutama dalam hal memberikan dan memenuhi kebutuhan hidup anaknya baik dari segi sosial maupun material. Penelitian ini untuk mengetahui usaha orang tua dalam membina nilai karakter anak di Kecamatan Simpang Tiga Kabupaten Aceh Besar. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk (1) mengetahui usaha yang dilakukan orang tua dalam membina nilai karakter anak dan (2) mengetahui sistem pengawasan yang diterapkan oleh orang tua terhadap anak. Metode yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah metode deskriptif kuantitatif. Data penelitian ini bersumber dari orang tua yang memiliki anak usia 4 sampai 10 tahun berjumlah 28 keluarga, pengumpulan data menggunakan kuisioner. Pengolahan data penelitian ini menggunakan rumus persentase. Simpulan penelitian ini berpengaruh pada usaha orang tua dalam membina nilai karakter anak, walau sebagian kecil yang mengetahui nilai-nilai karakter, tetapi sebagian besar sudah berusaha menanamkan nilai karakter tersebut. Lebih dari setengah responden menanamkan nilai religius kepada anak dengan tujuan agar anak mempunyai akhlak yang mulia kedepannya. Sedangkan yang berperan dalam membina nilai karakter anak adalah suami dan istri. Sistem pengawasan yang diterapkan orang tua berpengaruh terhadap pembentukkan nilai karakter anak. Seluruh anak termasuk kedalam katagori anak yang mudah bersahabat. Penanaman nilai karakter pada anak di mulai pada awal masa kanak-kanak ketika berumur 2-6 tahun. Responden juga menerapkan perilaku disiplin kepada anak karena usia awal kanak-kanak merupakan usia yang masih rentan, dan akan meniru semua yang dikerjakan oleh orang tuanya. Saran untuk orang tua agar dapat mendidik anaknya dengan baik, tidak mengedepankan emosi, dapat meluangkan waktu, adanya komunikasi yang dibina orang tua dengan anak, dan jangan bersikap apatis terhadap apa yang dikerjakan sianak