Privatisation and Economism: An Investigation Amongst ‘Producers’ in Two Privatised Public Utilities in Britain

1993 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 707-730 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theo Nichols ◽  
Julia O'Connell Davidson
Keyword(s):  
Working Conditions ◽  
Political Attitudes ◽  
Public Utilities ◽  
New Right ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Debate ◽  
Working Lives ◽  
Worker Motivation ◽  
The Impact

Both academic and political debate about the effects of privatisation upon employees in privatised companies has taken place in something of an empirical vacuum. In particular, there is a lack of systematic enquiries into the major privatised utilities. Despite the lack of evidence, a number of claims have been advanced, both about the impact of privatisation upon the political attitudes of employees, and about its effects on working conditions, worker motivation and behaviour. This paper presents the results of a survey of 442 employees in two privatised public utilities. It is divided into two parts, looking first at the more general social and political attitudes of these employees, then presenting their views on the impact of privatisation on the company they work for, and on their working lives. The findings reported here lend little support either to new right claims about privatisation's transformative powers or to the view that ‘for most people … privatisation will make very little difference at all’ (Saunders and Harris, 1990).

1918–1920

2021 ◽  
pp. 137-150
Author(s):  
Daniel-Joseph MacArthur-Seal
Keyword(s):  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Debate ◽  
The Caucasus ◽  
Nationalist Movement ◽  
The Future ◽  
National Movements ◽  
Southern Russia ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The City

The sub-chapter traces major military and political developments in the eastern Mediterranean in 1918–1920, beginning with the arrival of British and Allied forces in Istanbul. It sketches out the political debate over the future of the city and wider Ottoman Empire through the series of Allied diplomatic meetings that set out the terms of what would become the Treaty of Sèvres. The chapter also summarises developments in Anatolia following the Greek occupation of Izmir in May 1919, the reaction to which crystalized the emerging nationalist movement in Anatolia, and in southern Russia and the Caucasus, where Bolshevik and White Russian forces competed for control with non-Russian national movements. Finally, it outlines the political debate over the future of Egypt and the impact of the revolution of 1919, one of a growing number of anti-colonial uprisings which Britain was forced to contend with in the period.

scholarly journals All precarious? Institutional change and turning points in labour market trajectories in Spain

2017 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 408-422 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martí López Andreu
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Labour Market ◽  
Working Conditions ◽  
Career Paths ◽  
Social Inequalities ◽  
Employment Protection ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Working Lives ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Work And Employment

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the effects of changes in employment regulation in Spain on individual labour market trajectories. It is well known that the Spanish labour market has been strongly hit by the 2007 recession. Furthermore, after 2010 and in the benchmark of “austerity”, several reforms were implemented to further flexibilise employment regulation. At the same time, public sector budgets suffered severe cutbacks, that impacted working conditions and prospects of public sector workers. These reforms were implemented by different governments and substantially changed previous existing patterns of employment. This paper explains how these reforms have reinforced previous existing trends towards greater flexibility and weaker employment protection and how they lead to a shift in the position of work in society. Design/methodology/approach The emerging patterns that these changes provoked are illustrated thorough data from narrative biographies of workers affected by a job loss or a downgrading of working conditions. The workers of the sample had relatively stable positions and careers and were affected by changes that substantially modified their paths. Findings The paper shows how reforms have expanded work and employment insecurities and have broken career paths. It demonstrates how the reforms have weakened the position of work and organised labour in society and how, when institutional supports are jeopardised, the capacity to plan and act is harassed by the traditional social inequalities. Originality/value The paper enhances the knowledge about the impact of institutional changes by analysing their effects in individual working lives by means of narrative biographies.

scholarly journals Individual Deep Fake Recognition Skills are Affected by Viewers’ Political Orientation, Agreement with Content and Device Used

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan Sütterlin ◽  
Torvald F. Ask ◽  
Sophia Mägerle ◽  
Sandra Glöckler ◽  
Leandra Wolf ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Processing ◽  
Political Attitudes ◽  
Social Engineering ◽  
Political Orientation ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
The Political ◽  
Message Content ◽  
Processing Styles ◽  
Close Relationship ◽  
The Impact

AI-generated “deep fakes” are becoming increasingly professional and can be expected to become an essential tool for cybercriminals conducting targeted and tailored social engineering attacks, as well as for others aiming for influencing public opinion in a more general sense. While the technological arms race is resulting in increasingly efficient forensic detection tools, these are unlikely to be in place and applied by common users on an everyday basis any time soon, especially if social engineering attacks are camouflaged as unsuspicious conversations. To date, most cybercriminals do not yet have the necessary resources, competencies or the required raw material featuring the target to produce perfect impersonifications. To raise awareness and efficiently train individuals in recognizing the most widespread deep fakes, the understanding of what may cause individual differences in the ability to recognize them can be central. Previous research suggested a close relationship between political attitudes and top-down perceptual and subsequent cognitive processing styles. In this study, we aimed to investigate the impact of political attitudes and agreement with the political message content on the individual’s deep fake recognition skills.In this study, 163 adults (72 females = 44.2%) judged a series of video clips with politicians’ statements across the political spectrum regarding their authenticity and their agreement with the message that was transported. Half of the presented videos were fabricated via lip-sync technology. In addition to the particular agreement to each statement made, more global political attitudes towards social and economic topics were assessed via the Social and Economic Conservatism Scale (SECS).Data analysis revealed robust negative associations between participants’ general and in particular social conservatism and their ability to recognize fabricated videos. This effect was pronounced where there was a specific agreement with the message content. Deep fakes watched on mobile phones and tablets were considerably less likely to be recognized as such compared to when watched on stationary computers.To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to investigate and establish the association between political attitudes and interindividual differences in deep fake recognition. The study further supports very recently published research suggesting relationships between conservatism and perceived credibility of conspiracy theories and fake news in general. Implications for further research on psychological mechanisms underlying this effect are discussed.

scholarly journals France and The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages: Dilemma without Solution

2015 ◽  
pp. 118-125
Author(s):  
E. V. Ermakova
Keyword(s):  
National Identity ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Political ◽  
Current Debate ◽  
Minority Languages ◽  
Political Debate ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
Regional Or Minority Languages ◽  
Regional Languages ◽  
The Impact

There are more than seven thousand of unique languages nowadays, that reflect the uniqueness of the living conditions, the worldview and cultural traditions of different peoples. According to UNESCO, 75 languages in Europe and Asia Minor and about 115 languages in the United States over the past five centuries have been lost. The regional or minority languages are part of the national heritage and play leading role in the process of national identity as bearers and guarantors of national culture and national identity, that is why the value of regional languages is constantly increasing. However, the danger of the growth of nationalism and separatism makes politicians wary of measures to protect the national languages. The article deals with the political debate in France around the ratification of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, adopted by the Council of Europe on 25 June 1992, which purpose was to protect the historical regional languages of the EU, some of which are in danger of eventual extinction.. The author provides analysis of the historical preconditions of the current debate as well as of the stance taken by the French leadership on this issue. The study is based on a set of scientific methods and approaches - the principle of scientific objectivity and system of historical research. The main methods are problematic and historical-comparative analysis, classification and comparison of the political and historical concepts. Modern France de jure firmly follows linguistic traditions laid down by previous regimes, as defined in its constitution as the principles of the indivisibility of the Republic and the unity of the French people. According to Article 2 of the Constitution of the Fifth Republic, French language is the only official. However, in addition to the French 75 languages are being spoken all over the Overseas Departments and Territories of France, including 24 languages of the indigenous population of the European part of France, and the languages of immigrants. Despite the fact that the ratification of the Charter serve certain political figures, the Conseil d'Etat, the highest judicial authority in administrative cases, and later the Constitutional Council refused to ratify the Charter, due to the fact that the provisions of the Charter are contrary to the Constitution. The question of amending the Constitution of France is facing fierce debate and remains unresolved for nearly a decade. The political problem is the impact of the application of the Charter, by the fact that at all times promoting one language at the expense of others become a catalyst for powerful and very dangerous social and political processes.

Political Attitudes on the Dutch Electronic Patient Record

2016 ◽  
pp. 1207-1221
Author(s):  
Evert Mouw
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Electronic Patient Record ◽  
Political Attitudes ◽  
Patient Record ◽  
The Political ◽  
Patient Records ◽  
Electronic Patient Records ◽  
Political Debate ◽  
Opt Out ◽  
The Law

In the Netherlands, the introduction of a nationwide electronic patient record (EPR) infrastructure was rejected in 2011 after a heated political debate. Such debate is influenced by the political attitudes of politicians and voters, such as their trust in governments. The objective is to explore the relation between political attitudes of individuals and the priority they give to health privacy. The method is from a new survey that was developed; the Health Privacy and Political Attitudes Survey. The survey is as compatible as possible with a few well-known surveys. With 218 respondents enough data was collected for a first explorative study. Little correlations were found between political attitudes and the individual's priorisation of health privacy or their trust in a nationwide EPR. In general, most respondents valued their health privacy highly and trust in a nationwide EPR was low, irrespective of their political affiliation or their political attitudes. One exception were respondents with authoritarian attitudes. Such individuals had, on average, more trust in (government regulated) electronic records. More trust in the law correlates with less fear for problems with the EPR. Interestingly, higher educated and older respondents have, on average, the same level of trust in the EPR as others but are more apt to act when they distrust the system (opt-out). In general, political attitudes and one's trust in electronic patient records (EPRs) are not strongly related, but individuals who score high on authoritarian attitudes and trust in the law are more likely to also trust EPRs. Still, nearly everybody places a high value on health privacy, so EPR providers should be careful in this regard.

Religion's Impact on the Divergent Political Attitudes of Evangelical Protestants in the United States and Brazil

2013 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 483-511 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erin S. McAdams ◽  
Justin Earl Lance
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Political Attitudes ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Environment ◽  
Economic Issues ◽  
Political Views ◽  
Evangelical Protestants ◽  
Moral Conservatism ◽  
The Impact

AbstractIn the United States, Evangelical Protestants' political attitudes have been attributed to their conservative theological beliefs. As this religion's membership has increased around the world, other Evangelicals would logically be expected to demonstrate a similar conservatism in their political views. And yet, this anticipated result does not hold. In Brazil, for example, Evangelicals maintain moderate-to-liberal attitudes on several issues. To address this anomaly, this article relies on the Pew Forum's Multi-Country Religion Survey to examine the impact of religion on Evangelicals' ideology as well as attitudes on moral and economic issues in the United States and Brazil. While doctrinal orthodoxy predicts Evangelicals' moral conservatism, neither religious component examined significantly predicts Brazilian Evangelicals' ideology or economic attitudes. Significant differences in Brazilian and American attitudes on these dimensions in general suggest that the political environment plays a much larger role in whether — and how — religion influences these political attitudes.

scholarly journals Working conditions for Catholic teachers in the archdiocese of Glasgow in the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century

2020 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-84
Author(s):  
Stephen J. McKinney
Keyword(s):  
Working Conditions ◽  
Catholic Schools ◽  
State Funding ◽  
The Political ◽  
Late Nineteenth Century ◽  
Important Research ◽  
Major Focus ◽  
Denominational Identity ◽  
Full State ◽  
The Impact

The Education (Scotland) Act, 1918, was a key point in the process towards full state funding for Catholic schools in Scotland. There has been important research on the political and ecclesial negotiations that led to the Act and into the conditions of the Act that preserved the denominational identity of the Catholic schools. This article examines the working conditions of Catholic teachers leading up to the Act and focuses on several themes, primarily in relation to the Archdiocese of Glasgow: school accommodation, the roll, and class sizes; the impact of disease, sickness and death; the working conditions for pupil-teachers; and, the major focus of the article, the remuneration for Catholic teachers.

scholarly journals The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Working Lives and Retirement Timing of Older Nurses in Ireland

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (19) ◽  
pp. 10060
Author(s):  
Áine Ní Léime ◽  
Margaret O’Neill
Keyword(s):  
Working Conditions ◽  
Global Financial Crisis ◽  
Public Hospitals ◽  
Working Lives ◽  
Retirement Timing ◽  
Travel Restrictions ◽  
Management Roles ◽  
The Global Financial Crisis ◽  
Older Citizens ◽  
The Impact

COVID-19 profoundly affected Irish citizens. The effects have been especially pronounced for nurses in front-line, clinical and management roles. This article discusses the national and employer policy context relevant to nurses in Ireland. There have been staff and bed shortages in public hospitals since austerity policies were introduced following the global financial crisis. Government measures responding to the pandemic include initial ‘cocooning’ of older citizens, travel restrictions, changed working conditions and restricted availability of childcare. This article draws on interviews with 25 older nurses in 2021, sixteen women and nine men, aged 49 or over in Ireland. It explores older nurses’ experiences of COVID-19 and asks what are the implications for their working conditions and retirement timing intentions. A gendered political economy of ageing approach and thematic analysis reveals that while some nurses responded positively to the pandemic, some experienced adverse health impacts, stress and exhaustion; some reported a fear of contracting COVID-19 and of infecting their families; several women nurses decided to retire earlier due to COVID-19. The implications of the findings for employer and government policy and for research are discussed.

scholarly journals New Right-Wing Populism: Tendencies and Prospects on the Example of Some European States (Italy, France, Germany, Austria)

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 458-474 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maxim I. Sigachev ◽  
Ernest S. Sleptsov ◽  
Eduard V. Fadeev
Keyword(s):  
Media Coverage ◽  
New Right ◽  
The Political ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Political Crises ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Impact

The article reveals the relationship between the political crises that affected the European Union from 2015 to 2020, and the growing sympathy of voters for populist-Eurosceptic parties. Particular attention is paid to the political situation in Austria, where in 2017-2019. The government included right-wing populists, as well as the results of the European Parliament elections in May 2019, which testify to the strengthening of the position of a new populism, especially the right-wing one, represented by the Eurosceptics group Identity and Democracy. The purpose of the article is to analyze the current state of the right-wing populist parties and to describe the current patterns of their development in terms of political prospects and the impact on the internal politics of the EU member states. The following research questions are formulated: 1. Has the influence of right-wing populist parties intensified or waned during the migration crisis? 2. Do right-wing populists constitute a coherent pan-European political force? 3. What is the specificity of Italian, Austrian and German right-wing populists?. To answer these questions, a quantitative (first of all, thematic literature and publications in the media) and quantitative analysis (dynamics of relevant statistical information was evaluated). As a result of the study, the authors come to the following conclusions: 1. The entry of the Austrian right-wing populists (APS) into a coalition with S. Kurtz in 2017-2019. - This is part of the regular fluctuations in the balance of power between the three political camps inside Austria, and not a sharp turnaround in established political models (right turn). 2. The German right-wing populists, on the contrary, despite local and really sudden successes (AdG), are in systemic isolation. 3. In Italy, right-wing populists have made significant progress, but the prospects for their unity with other European new right-wingers remain controversial. 4. With some caution, it can be stated that the period 2017-2019, was successful for right-wing populists. The recognition of the right-wing populist parties, their media coverage and presence in government has increased markedly. The perception of the importance of migration themes and cultural identity has increased in comparison with the first half of the 2010s. Moreover, in 2020. this trend is beginning to decline, the themes of culture and migration are gradually giving way to topics of safety, health and the environment.

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