scholarly journals The political psychology of extremism; “naturalness” of the phenomenon in the Western Balkans

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
pp. 250-267 ◽  
Author(s):  
Faruk Hadžić
Keyword(s):  
Western Balkans ◽  
Cognitive Closure ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Balkans ◽  
Tribal Identity ◽  
Human Needs ◽  
Personal Significance ◽  
Need For Cognitive Closure ◽  
Legal Constraints ◽  
The Individual

In a symbolic sense, this region may be burdened with a kind of negative ontology that is very difficult to change. Extremist ideologies are, in fact, just a continuation of the war by other means. They have entered education, and beginning to metastasize and affect the entire social tissue, becoming "naturalness", supported by different mythopoetic narratives of a particular nation. In an environment where politics is extreme, many avoid concerns the very nature of extremism and the process of radicalization within the discourse of „peacetime“ extremism. Extremism stems from finding two basic human needs: the need for cognitive closure and personal significance. Subordination of the individual to the national community, i.e., the leader, is a psychological form of political behavior marked by an obsessive preoccupation with the decline of the community; sacrificing the process of compensatory, the cult of unification while abandoning democratic freedoms with redemptive violence and, regardless of moral and legal constraints, seeks to achieve ethnoreligious threatening collectivity (tribal identity). Extremism uses the properties of consciousness: ethnicity, religiousness, and thinking in absolute categories (in a destructive aspect to add naturalness to its ideas) to justify activities with a sacred or „patriotic“ will. Although the violent potential of nationalism in the Balkans should be overlooked by no means, the inflammatory rhetoric is just a method used by political elites to manipulate the public.

scholarly journals Interaction of guidance types and the Need for Cognitive Closure in wiki-based learning

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sven Heimbuch ◽  
Daniel Bodemer
Keyword(s):  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Cognitive Closure ◽  
Need For Cognitive Closure ◽  
Learning Success ◽  
Collaboration Script ◽  
Visual Markers ◽  
Experimental Laboratory ◽  
Contradictory Evidence ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Additional Support

One purpose of wikis is the collaborative generation of content. During creation processes, controversies between authors emerge that they discuss on the article's talk page. Research suggests that controversies based on opposing points of view and contradictory evidence can be fruitful to trigger individual elaboration processes. However, previous research also showed that many wikis are not necessarily suited to identify relevant discussion contents and thus users need additional support as guidance. In an experimental laboratory study (N = 181) on wiki talk pages, we investigated two guidance measures in conjunction with the need for cognitive closure: (1) visual markers to highlight controversy status (implicit guidance) and (2) a collaboration script that directs users towards discussions (explicit guidance). Effects on wiki processes and learning outcomes were analysed. The results show that both guidance types can affect user behaviours, but in interaction with the individual Need for Cognitive Closure there were no meaningful effects. With respect to learning outcomes, we found an anticipated pattern for the interaction of the Need for Cognitive Closure with both guidance principles. The data provides support for differences in the learning success depending on the provided guidance type and the individual Need for Cognitive Closure.

When and Why Do Liberals and Conservatives Think Alike?

2018 ◽  
Vol 49 (6) ◽  
pp. 360-368 ◽  
Author(s):  
Conrad Baldner ◽  
Antonio Pierro ◽  
Marina Chernikova ◽  
Arie W. Kruglanski
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Moral Foundations ◽  
Moral Foundations Theory ◽  
Cognitive Closure ◽  
Political Issues ◽  
Need For Cognitive Closure ◽  
Political Orientations ◽  
Epistemic Goals ◽  
The Individual

Abstract. Research on moral foundations theory has found that liberals typically favor the individualizing foundations (i.e., concern for the individual) but typically oppose the binding foundations (i.e., concern for the group). We propose that need for cognitive closure (NFC) can explain when liberals will favor the binding foundations. In two studies, we found that liberals in Italy and the United States were more likely to endorse the binding foundations when they had high NFC. Overall, these results suggest that researchers should strive to understand the interaction between individuals’ epistemic goals and their political orientations in order to accurately predict how they will perceive political issues.

scholarly journals The social, political and economic changes in the Western Balkans: Managing diversity

SEEU Review ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 107-126
Author(s):  
Ylber Sela ◽  
Bekim Maksuti
Keyword(s):  
Eastern Bloc ◽  
Nation State ◽  
Social Changes ◽  
Western Balkans ◽  
Economic Changes ◽  
New Era ◽  
The Balkans ◽  
Balkan Region ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Cold War

Abstract This paper gives a retrospective of the events in the Balkans in the last 20 years. Hence, it indicates the problems, the progress and the challenges in terms of respecting and promoting diversity. The Western Balkans has always been a very interesting region with many challenges during different historical periods. If we take into consideration all the differences and diversities in this region, then this shouldn’t strike us as surprising. During history the Balkan region has always been a crossroads of many events, conflicts, changes and destructive occurrences. In order to understand the connection between ethnic and the religious diversity, as well as the future of the Western Balkan countries in terms of Euro-Atlantic integration, we need to provide some information about the political, economic and social changes in these countries during the past, especially in the last two decades. To get a better understanding of all the processes and events we need to take a look at the 90s of the last century. This period was one of the most important turning points in international relations. By the end of the Cold War there were two blocks within the societies – The Western (capitalist) and the Eastern (communist), and an agreement for the Balkans to be a balance between these two blocks. This fact was important for the promotion of the concept of the nation-state, which refers generally to both of the blocks. However, changes such as the dissolution and breakdown of the USSR and Yugoslavia, as well as the official Eastern bloc fiasco, brought an increase in the individual identity of the citizens living in these countries. This was the beginning of a new era to be characterized by conflicts, wars, refugees, humanitarian crises, a large number of casualties and injured people, because of the idea that the emerging countries, especially from the Balkan region, should be nation-state countries, i.e. composed of a nation thereby ignoring the ethnic and religious differences or the unrecognized diversity of the citizens of different ethnic groups living in these countries. The establishment of the Euro-Atlantic integration concept as a key national and state priority of almost every country in this region led to the understanding of differences as an asset, and not as an obstacle for the faster integration to the EU and NATO. This fact undoubtedly contributed to the establishment of the criteria for membership, and in particular to the promotion of the rights and freedoms of minorities as most important for the integration process.

scholarly journals Regional security community in the Western Balkans: A cross-comparative analysis

2013 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 7-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Cruise ◽  
Suzette Grillot
Keyword(s):  
Regional Security ◽  
Institution Building ◽  
Western Balkans ◽  
Security Community ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Past ◽  
Elite Level ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Early Phases ◽  
Level Government

Many have observed the early phases of regional security community development in the Western Balkans over the past decade. Much of this research has focuses on elite-level, government to government and government to International Organization cooperation. Yet, for security community to become a reality, it must also develop at the public-level. In the Western Balkans, it remains to be seen just how deep this new sense of community reaches. Based on fieldwork and surveys conducted in 2007 and 2008, a crucial moment for the region, we argue that public-level security community is inconsistent and in some areas is all together lacking. It is our position that programs advanced in the Western Balkans must concentrate not just on elite institution building, but also on community building within and between the individual countries of the region.

scholarly journals Overlooked Heritage: Interiors in Slovakia

2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 30-37
Author(s):  
Michal C. Hronský ◽  
Dušan Kočlík ◽  
Katarína Morávková
Keyword(s):  
Interior Design ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Personal Contact ◽  
Interior Space ◽  
The Public ◽  
Human Needs ◽  
Interior Spaces ◽  
International Style ◽  
Current State ◽  
The Individual

Abstract The creation of interior spaces is the main cognitive characteristic of architectural creation. Architecture creates a basic spatial framework for the interior. Interior design is a complex type of architectural activity that forms both the space (basically the interior) and the individual elements of the interior space. The professional interior design of architects or designers intentionally creates an environment specifically intended for human life. It is where people are in the most personal contact with the environment surrounding them. Just as an artificially created environment has a strong influence on a person’s life and feelings, it has also been proven that it works the other way round as well, i.e. that human needs and demands are a decisive factor in creating space for a person. The case studies demonstrate the development of the interior design in the second half of the 20th century, its current state and level of care given to these works. Architecture from this period has often lost its struggle for survival. As regards the style, these are works in international style, late modern and postmodern, and the local element makes them a unique and attractive testimony to the era. Despite the natural properties of interiors which seldom survive as long as the architecture itself, some contemporary statements about the interior design of the period under review have been preserved. The research focused on the public interiors of both well-known and less-known buildings by Slovak architects from various parts of Slovakia. The research calls attention to the fact that architects worked here even then and their works were of certain quality.

scholarly journals Prevention of Perpetrating the Criminal Offense of Theft-Theoretical and Practical Aspects

SEEU Review ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 48-68
Author(s):  
Fat Mustafa ◽  
Ismail Zejneli
Keyword(s):  
Real Estate ◽  
Public Interest ◽  
Economic Value ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Criminal Offense ◽  
The Public ◽  
Human Needs ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Individual

Abstract The aim of this paper is to analyze the factors that influence the occurrence of the criminal offense of theft as well as the roles of all parties involved in its preventive activities. Ownership creates rights and obligations, and it should serve the well-being of the individual and the community. No one can be deprived of, nor limited from property and the rights deriving from it, except when it comes to the public interest determined by law. Belongings can be movable and real estate. The subject of the criminal offense of theft can be only related to movable items that have economic value and serve to human needs and not in cases when they are abandoned. In the process of preventive fight against crime, it is of great importance to define explicitly and concretely the roles, the tasks, and the goals of certain subjects of preventive activities.

The Story of Staro Sajmište Concentration Camp, Produced/Producing Europe

2012 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Despina Syrri
Keyword(s):  
Public Discourse ◽  
Second World War ◽  
Media Representations ◽  
Concentration Camp ◽  
Western Balkans ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Balkans ◽  
Spatial Reconstruction ◽  
Accession Process ◽  
Second World

This article aims at considering the story of the Belgrade Staro Sajmište Second World War concentration camp, as it unfolded since October 2007. At that point, it captured national and international headlines, as a range of actors rallied to ban the private use of this memory place for a concert by a British pop group. The article concentrates on patterns of construction of memory(ies), space and transfers of knowledge as well as power as the Staro Sajmište story is ‘uncovered’ to the public in mainstream mass media. The focus of inquiry extends beyond the official realm of memory to media representations as central aspects of contemporary manifestations of collective memory. The article intends to explore the construction of narratives, public discourse and identities that directly impact democratic practice and citizenship in the wake of the radical social and political change that Serbia has experienced in the recent past and during the Western Balkans European Union accession process. It demonstrates that the multiple (hi)stories and fractured mnemonic genealogies of Staro Sajmište produce, and are themselves produced by, the narrative of European participation and integration, in an interplay between different discursive layers, such as the national narrative, the international and European narrative and the local Jewish narrative, as well as practices of spatial reconstruction and consumerism. The article is informed by understandings of the Balkans as a space that is inside and outside Europe in many senses, traversed by flows of people, funding and ideas/imaginaries of Europe and European-ness, concretised in specific projects and the relations that constitute them.

scholarly journals MOTIVATION OF CIVIL SERVANTS FROM ARCHETYPICAL APPROACH PERSPECTIVE: THEORY AND PROBLEM ISSUES

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (14) ◽  
pp. 356-366
Author(s):  
Viktoria Mykolaivna Shchegortsova
Keyword(s):  
Public Administration ◽  
Civil Servants ◽  
Public Servants ◽  
The Public ◽  
Human Needs ◽  
Perspective Theory ◽  
Wage Rates ◽  
Complex Relationships ◽  
The Stability ◽  
The Individual

The theoretical bases of motivation of civil servants are considered in the article. The description of the basic motivational theories is presented. Substantive theories of motivation (A. Maslow, K. Alderfer, D. McCleland, F. Hertzberg) are based on the analysis of the motivational sphere of a person, on the direct relationship between satisfaction/dissatisfaction of human needs and motivation. In the procedural theories of motivation (V. Vroom, J. Adams, E. Lock, Porter-Lawler theory), the process of motivation is studied and attention is focused on the influence of external factors on the motivation of a person. On the basis of a review of the achievements of the scientific foundations of motivation, recommendations were made to the heads of the public administration authorities on the implementation of the motivation function. Generalized the main problems of labor motivation, typical for staff, regardless of the form of ownership of the organization. The following problems and obstacles in personnel motivation are identified: the complexity of research and determination of the motives of the individual, the problem of fairness in evaluating the performance of management and staff, dissatisfaction with hygiene factors, complex relationships in the team, inadequate expectations on the part of the employee, many innovations and changes in organization of work, monotony of activity, incompatibility of the worker’s qualification with the level of work, constant changes, stressful situations can cause apathy to slave father. Based on the results of the expert survey, the main problems of labor motivation in public administration bodies were identified. The system of motivating public servants has a number of shortcomings: dissatisfaction with the size of material security, the existence of state-wide interdepartmental and regional differences in the wage rates of civil servants, injustice with individual bonuses. The motivation of public servants is based on the opportunities for career growth, increasing competence, the prestige of working in government bodies, the stability of employment, job satisfaction, the amount of annual leave, good pensions and the opportunity to be involved in significant cases for society.

scholarly journals Interaction of guidance types and the Need for Cognitive Closure in wiki-based learning

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sven Heimbuch ◽  
Daniel Bodemer
Keyword(s):  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Cognitive Closure ◽  
Need For Cognitive Closure ◽  
Learning Success ◽  
Collaboration Script ◽  
Visual Markers ◽  
Experimental Laboratory ◽  
Contradictory Evidence ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Additional Support

One purpose of wikis is the collaborative generation of content. During creation processes, controversies between authors emerge that they discuss on the article's talk page. Research suggests that controversies based on opposing points of view and contradictory evidence can be fruitful to trigger individual elaboration processes. However, previous research also showed that many wikis are not necessarily suited to identify relevant discussion contents and thus users need additional support as guidance. In an experimental laboratory study N = 181 on wiki talk pages, we investigated two guidance measures in conjunction with the need for cognitive closure: (1) visual markers to highlight controversy status (implicit guidance) and (2) a collaboration script that directs users towards discussions (explicit guidance). Effects on wiki processes and learning outcomes were analysed. The results show that both guidance types can affect user behaviours, but in interaction with the individual Need for Cognitive Closure there were no meaningful effects. With respect to learning outcomes, we found an anticipated pattern for the interaction of the Need for Cognitive Closure with both guidance principles. The data provides support for differences in the learning success depending on the provided guidance type and the individual Need for Cognitive Closure.

scholarly journals Interaction of guidance types and the Need for Cognitive Closure in wiki-based learning

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sven Heimbuch ◽  
Daniel Bodemer
Keyword(s):  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Cognitive Closure ◽  
Need For Cognitive Closure ◽  
Learning Success ◽  
Collaboration Script ◽  
Visual Markers ◽  
Experimental Laboratory ◽  
Contradictory Evidence ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Additional Support

One purpose of wikis is the collaborative generation of content. During creation processes, controversies between authors emerge that they discuss on the article's talk page. Research suggests that controversies based on opposing points of view and contradictory evidence can be fruitful to trigger individual elaboration processes. However, previous research also showed that many wikis are not necessarily suited to identify relevant discussion contents and thus users need additional support as guidance. In an experimental laboratory study (N = 181) on wiki talk pages, we investigated two guidance measures in conjunction with the need for cognitive closure: (1) visual markers to highlight controversy status (implicit guidance) and (2) a collaboration script that directs users towards discussions (explicit guidance). Effects on wiki processes and learning outcomes were analysed. The results show that both guidance types can affect user behaviours, but in interaction with the individual Need for Cognitive Closure there were no meaningful effects. With respect to learning outcomes, we found an anticipated pattern for the interaction of the Need for Cognitive Closure with both guidance principles. The data provides support for differences in the learning success depending on the provided guidance type and the individual Need for Cognitive Closure.

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