A theoretical analysis on a peace culture model in the workplace

This study aims to develop a theoretical approach to define the culture of peace and its dimensions in the workplace based on De-Rivera’s peace culture dimensions at the international level. This study offers an organizational model in the workplace and it needs empirical tests in further studies. This paper is an attempt to develop a theoretical framework for peace culture in the workplace. Peace culture will be analyzed in four underlying dimensions: liberal development, violent inequality, state use of violent means, and nurturance. This study transfers De Rivera’s peace culture dimensions into the organizational level, and it is assumed that peace culture in the workplace could be a remedy for a harmonious and peaceful workplace. Peace culture in the workplace is also expected to be a beneficial factor to employees’ behavior, job performances, and organizational commitment as well as work outcomes. In a conclusion, it is expected that this study fills the gap in the literature and will have a leading role for further studies

Pontryagin maximum principle for state constrained optimal sampled-data control problems on time scales

In this paper we consider optimal sampled-data control problems on time scales with inequality state constraints. A Pontryagin maximum principle is established, extending to the state constrained case existing results in the time scale literature. The proof is based on the Ekeland variational principle and on the concept of implicit spike variations adapted to the time scale setting. The main result is then applied to continuous-time min-max optimal sampled-data control problems and a maximal velocity minimization problem for the harmonic oscillator with sampled-data control is numerically solved for illustration.

How State Responses to Economic Crisis Shape Income Inequality and Financial Well-Being

This study examines how state government responses to economic crisis, in the form of unexpected changes in state fiscal policy, influence income inequality. State governments are vital actors in times of fiscal stress as nearly every state must make difficult policy decisions related to taxes and spending to address budget deficits, both of which are policies that shape the income gap. Focusing on periods of fiscal stress is important for the study of state inequality as those with fewer resources are the most likely to experience the consequences of their state’s fiscal response during these times. Using time-series cross-sectional data, this research demonstrates that income inequality increases when states respond to economic crisis by relying on unexpected spending cuts. These effects tend to persist even after initial economic downturns. In addition, one individual-level implication of the aggregate relationship between state policy responses and inequality—that people will be worse off financially when their states emphasize budget cuts in response to economic decline—is assessed using several post–Great Recession surveys. The findings have implications for the future of inequality in the United States and provide potential paths for state fiscal reform.

The Value and Partisanship Basis of Left-Right Placement after the Financial Crisis

The concept of ideology has been related to economic inequality, state intervention in the economy, party identification, moral values and, more recently, to post-materialist values. It is also argued that the general public has a perception of this concept similar to that of the elites. This article analyses the left-right continuum at the elite and mass levels in five countries, before and after the recent severe financial crisis. It investigates: i) the relative weight of values vs partisanship as the basis of left-right self-placement; ii) whether political elites and citizens share the same factors underpinning ideology; and iii) whether there have been any changes in these factors as a consequence of the 2007-2008 financial crisis. The study is a quantitative analysis making use of survey data. Findings indicate that both elites and masses concentrated in moderate positions both before and after the crisis; citizens do not follow elites when explaining left-right self-placement; and the financial crisis has led elites to move toward the right and the public toward the left. Before the crisis citizens used to base their position on the scale on partisanship more than on values. After the crisis, values surpassed partisanship. Elite placements were mainly based on values.

Women’s Legal and Constitutional Rights

The right to vote, equal protection under the law, and the right of privacy are the primary constitutional provisions that are pertinent to women as women. Formal recognition of these rights has failed to achieve full equality for women in the United States, however. The critical social and institutional analyses provided by political scientists can explain the failure of women’s rights to be realized. Adjudication of rights can be found in Supreme Court doctrine, but political scientists routinely look beyond the courts to consider that rights are political in their making, their operation, and their reception. Formal constitutional provisions were the product of social movements and political organization. The social hierarchies that impeded coalitions likewise inflected those victories with ongoing inequality between women, as well as inequality between men and women. Once achieved, those rights were shaped by ongoing legal mobilization, either to expand or to limit their reach. Even where the legal system legitimately sought to protect women’s rights, inadvertent institutional arrangements and practices have served to reproduce conditions of inequality. State-building and policy, then, are important in understanding the lived experience of rights. Finally, rights alone are unlikely to be honored if women lack the standing to be considered as legitimate exercisers of those rights. For that reason, scholars refer to rights in terms of citizenship, in which rights are protected and the polity recognizes the rights-holder as worthy of the claim.