Ethnic diversity and extremist attitudes in soccer teams: A multi-level investigation

It has been argued that sports contexts may be suitable venues for reducing intercultural hostility, including its more extreme forms, yet empirical evidence remains scarce. The present study investigated the main and interactive influence of two sets of factors on support for violent extremism: (a) ethnic diversity of teams, that is, the heterogeneity of the team members’ ethnic origins, and (b) team members’ intercultural perceptions, including perceived social capital, contact experiences and diversity ideologies within the team. Individual-level data from 257 players nested within 36 German soccer teams were combined with assessments of the ethnic diversity of each team based on a genealogical database. Multi-level analyses were conducted. Some evidence suggested that higher ethnic diversity within a team and frequent inter-ethnic contact between its players were associated with more extremism. However, cross-level moderation analyses showed that ethnic diversity was associated with less support for violent extremist groups when inter-ethnic contact quality was high. Perceptions of colorblind team ideologies that focus on minimizing/ignoring differences between groups were associated with lower threat perceptions and extremism. While social capital generally played little of a role, one social capital indicator, norms of behavior, was unexpectedly associated with higher threat perceptions. Overall, the present findings suggest that increasing ethnic diversity in sports teams may in itself not reduce extremist attitudes and sometimes may even backfire. Rather, how intercultural relations are managed within these contexts seems decisive. Prioritizing venues for positive contact experiences between soccer players of different backgrounds seems essential.     

Communicative Dynamics of Police-Civilian Encounters: South African and American Interethnic Data

Research in the American West, China, and Taiwan has shown that officers’ communication accommodative practices (and attributed trust in them) can be more potent predictors of satisfaction with the police than are the sociodemographic characteristics of those judging. With Black and White respondents, this study continues this line of work in Louisiana and South Africa and tests a new model about the relationships among perceived officer accommodation, trust in the police, and reported voluntary compliance from civilians. In addition to an array of differences that emerged between nations and ethnicities, officer accommodativeness indirectly predicted civilian compliance through trust. The hypothesized model was partially supported and culturally-sensitive.     

Revisiting the contact hypothesis: Effects of different modes of computer-mediated communication on intergroup relationships

This study applies the contact hypothesis to computer-mediated communication (CMC) and examines whether intergroup computer-mediated contact can facilitate relationships between conflicting groups. The effectiveness of different CMC modes, text-based and video-based, in improving interpersonal and intergroup attitudes was compared. The results from an experiment indicated that video-based CMC exerted greater influence in improving participants’ attitudes towards a targeted outgroup member when compared to text-based CMC. However, text-based CMC produced a stronger effect than video-based CMC in improving one’s attitudes towards the outgroup as a whole.     

汉维语中介语研究

第二语言教学离不开中介语理论的指导。维族人和汉族人在长期的交往和互相学习中形成了独具特点的中介语。找出汉维中介语各自的不同特点,可以使维汉民族的交流更加通畅,也能给我们的第二语言学习增加预见性,避免语言偏误的出现,使学生更快地掌握目的语。     

对话与和谐——基督教与中国文化会通之契入点初探

当下,对话已经成为人们处理各种问题的一种方法。在众多对话中,宗教与文化对话尤为重要。基督教自进入中国以来便开始了与中国文化相互接触、交流、碰撞和融合的漫长历史过程。在这种对话中,找寻异质文化的会通契入点,以达到社会和谐与文化共融,并进而推进和谐世界的构建。     

柴油机凸轮－挺柱磨损分析与摩擦副匹配试验研究

凸轮与挺柱是发动机中最容易产生早期磨损的一对摩擦副,设计不当产生磨损会严重影响发动机的可靠性。通过改进凸轮型线,增大最小曲率半径以及减小弹簧刚度来降低接触应力;同时对凸轮—挺柱二者的形状结构、空间位置、材料、硬度进行了匹配优化分析。对改进后的结果设计了合理的试验方案,进行了详细的试验验证。     

When Talking Differences Makes Us Closer: Communicative Dynamics of Group Salience in Intergroup Contact

Group salience, although a key variable in generalizing contact effects toward the target out-group, often negatively affects the quality of intergroup contact. Countering this pessimistic view, we investigated whether or not communicatively-induced group salience could yield positive contact effects by inducing prosocial intergroup emotions and by increasing relational closeness with the out-group interactant in the context of cross-group friendships. A survey conducted with MTurk participants (N = 331) revealed that communicating group-related topics within intergroup friendships increased prosocial intergroup emotions, which was further predictive of relational closeness and intergroup prejudice. However, relational closeness showed no evidence of mediating the effect of prosocial emotions on intergroup prejudice. The results contribute to intergroup scholarship in expanding the discussion of the influence of communicative dimensions of salience on intergroup relations.     

Application of gap element to nonlinear mechanics analysis of drillstring

This paper presents a nonlinear finite element method to resolve the problem of the nonlinear contact between the drillstring and hole wall by using a Multi-directional Contact Gap Element (MOGE) contacting at appropriate positions in each beam element. The method was successfully applied to the Daqing Oil Field GP1 well. It was shown that the drillstring’s contact resistance at any well depth could be obtained by calculations and that as the error in the calculation of the hole top load is below 10%, the calculation result can provide theoretical basis for the design and operation of drillstrings. Project (95-108-04-02) supported by The Ninth-Five-Years Important Science and Technology Plan of China     

Developing agency through peacebuilding in the midst of intractable conflict: The case of Israel and Palestine

This paper discusses the presence of ‘peacebuilding islands’ within civil society as potential agents of transformation in the midst of intractable conflict. Focusing on the particular case of the Israeli‐Palestinian conflict, the argument stems from a deconstruction of the legacy of national myopia perpetuated through social and political institutions and the capacity of individuals to impact them. Inspired by feminist organisations and the personal experience of feminist peace activists in Israel and Palestine, the author discusses the intersection of a variety of peacebuilding and educational initiatives as paramount to the building of a culture of peace in the region. The study embraces strategies that challenge the structural, socio‐cultural and inter‐personal status quo as part of a multi‐layered effort at transforming conflict in the Middle East.