“There is a crucial need for competent social scientists”…

Received 20 December 2016. Accepted 17 March 2017. Published online 15 April 2017.We decided to conduct our journal’s first interview with Ronald F. Inglehart – Lowenstein Professor of Political Science at the University of Michigan (USA), Academic Supervisor of the Laboratory for Comparative Social Research at National Research University Higher School of Economics (Russia) and Founding President of the World Values Survey Association. We asked him about challenges to contemporary social sciences and trends in their development. Professor Inglehart is interviewed by Olga Iakimova, the executive editor of CS&P

Evolutionary Modernization Theory: Why People’s Motivations are Changing

Received 4 June 2017. Accepted 24 August 2017. Published online 29 September 2017.A society’s culture is shaped by the extent to which its people grow up feeling that survival is secure or insecure. This article presents a revised version of modernization theory – Evolutionary Modernization theory – which argues that economic and physical insecurity are conducive to xenophobia, strong in-group solidarity, authoritarian politics and rigid adherence to their group’s traditional cultural norms – and conversely that secure conditions lead to greater tolerance of outgroups, openness to new ideas and more egalitarian social norms. Earlier versions of this theory have been presented in publications by Inglehart, Norris, Welzel, Abramson, Baker and others (Inglehart & Baker, 2000; Inglehart & Norris, 2004; Inglehart & Welzel, 2005; Welzel, 2013), and a forthcoming book (Inglehart, 2018) tests this theory more extensively, analyzing survey data gathered from 1970 to 2014 in over 100 countries containing more than 90 percent of the world’s population

Parents' dental anxiety and oral health literacy: effects on parents' and children's oral health‐related experiences

Objective To explore a) the relationship between parents'/guardians' dental anxiety and oral health literacy and b) those between these variables and background and oral health‐related characteristics. Methods Survey data were collected from 187 parents/guardians (81% female; average age 37 years). Dental anxiety was measured with the Dental Anxiety Scale – Revised ( DAS ‐ R ) and oral health literacy with the Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Dentistry ( REALD ‐30). Children's dental charts were reviewed to collect information about their dental treatment. Results DAS ‐ R and REALD ‐30 scores were correlated ( r  = −0.22; P  = 0.003). A multivariate regression model with DAS ‐ R score as the dependent variable showed that the DAS ‐ R score has a significant multivariate association with REALD ‐30, oral health, income, and presence of fillings. Conclusions Dental anxiety and oral health literacy are related. However, DAS score has a significant multivariate association with the four variables REALD ‐30 score, oral health, income, and presence of fillings. These findings show that among socioeconomically disadvantaged patients, the contributors to poor oral health are interrelated and multidetermined and include poor oral health literacy and dental anxiety. The public health message is that in order to improve the overall oral health of socioeconomically disadvantaged patients, public health stakeholders need to consider how to communicate with these patients effectively and how to reduce dental anxiety. Gaining a better understanding of how to communicate with parents a) at an appropriate literacy level and b) in a way that it reduces dental anxiety is therefore crucial.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/108635/1/jphd12046.pd

Social identity and environmental concern: the importance of contextual effects

This study draws on social identity theory to explain differences in individual support for environmental protection, a conative component of environmental concern. It argues that an individual’s identification with higher social units—community, nation, and world—strengthens its in-group solidarity and empathy and, in consequence, its readiness to protect the environment benefitting the in-group’s welfare. The study hypothesizes that country-level manifestations of social identity (1) lift individuals’ support for environmental protection above the level that their own social identity suggests (elevator effect), and (2) reinforce the effect of individuals’ social identity on their support for environmental protection (amplifier effect). Using a sample of over 30,000 individuals located in 38 countries around the world, the study finds strong evidence for the two contextual effects. The findings indicate that social identity plays an important role not just as an individual attribute but also as a central component of culture in fostering environmental concern

Corporate Culture and Its Connection with External and Internal Public Relations

The main aim of this article is to present the influence of corporate culture on company's stakeholders. This paper signalises the tendency in corporate communication with its internal and external publics. It is focused on two issues: corporate social responsibility and employer branding. Those two categories are consequences of corporate culture model.Głównym celem artykułu jest zaprezentowanie wpływu jaki wywiera charakter kultury korporacyjnej na związanych z przedsiębiorstwem interesariuszy (stakeholders). W artykule zasygnalizowane zostały główne tendencje wyznaczające charakter komunikacji między organizacją a jej wewnętrznym i zewnętrznym otoczeniem. Tekst koncentruje się na dwóch kwestiach: społecznej odpowiedzialności przedsiębiorstwa (corporate social responsibilty) i budowanie wizerunku pracodawcy (employer branding), które zaprezentowane zostały jako efekty określonego modelu kultury organizacyjnej

The (Non-)Effect of Unemployment Benefits:Variations in the effect of unemployment on life-satisfaction between EU countries

A negative effect of unemployment on subjective well-being has been demonstrated in many studies casting substantial doubt about assumptions of decisions of individuals to choose unemployment voluntarily as the utility-maximising option. These studies have been extended to take into account national-level context factors which have been shown to moderate the relationship between unemployment and life-satisfaction. So far most studies focussed mainly on economic indicators, although demographic and cultural differences between countries also affect how unemployment is perceived. An important variable that is not included in the majority of proper multilevel studies is the extent of unemployment benefits. Traditional micro-economic approaches argue that more extensive provisions should reduce the cost of unemployment and therefore reduce the motivation to regain employment—reflected in a reduction of the negative impact of unemployment. This study investigates this claim by using European Values Study data from all European Union countries and Norway as well as harmonised macroeconomic statistics from Eurostat. It finds that the effect of unemployment on life-satisfaction is indeed moderated by economic and demographic national-level factors, but not by unemployment benefits. To what extent unemployment reduces life-satisfaction varies greatly between countries, but appears to not be influenced by the extent of state unemployment provisions

Good question, nice answer, but why without happiness?

In their book "How much is enough?" Robert and Edward Skidelsky observe that philosophers and societies have always been critical about greed and insatiability. The pursuit of money and possessions was always subordinated to higher ideals, which were associated with views on ‘the good life’. This subordination led to standards about appropriateness and enoughness. This morality is gone. Dominant economic thinking accepts greed and insatiability as guiding principles. The needs of people are supposed to be unlimited and economic growth is supposed to create more well-being automatically. The Skidelskys reject this theory. They believe this theory has led to a rat-race in rich countries with adverse effects. They present an interesting proposal: let us make a list of things that are necessary for the good life, and together also sufficient. They think of features like health, safety, harmony with nature and leisure. Their list is acceptable, but such lists are always somewhat arbitrary and can easily lead to paternalism. Such dangers are smaller if subjective happiness is added. It is, however, fascinating and reassuring that the specific proposals of the Skidelskys contribute to more individual freedom. A basic income in particular creates more freedom to stay out of the rat-race, or to participate less intensively

Environmental consciousness in the Netherlands

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