Search Results (72)

The ongoing Palestinian conflict, particularly the escalation in Gaza since October 2023, has raised pressing concerns regarding human rights and international justice. This study explores how university students in northern Spain perceive the situation in Palestine, analyzing their levels of knowledge, emotional responses, and critical positioning. Using a mixed-method approach based on an online questionnaire and the Grid Elaboration Method, data were gathered from 147 students enrolled in education-related programs. The findings reveal three core themes in students’ representations of the conflict: resistance as a form of national identity, humanitarian suffering of civilians, and structural injustice perpetuated by global power dynamics. Gender and academic background influenced discursive emphasis, with Social Education students showing more politicized perspectives and women focusing more on Palestinian dignity and resistance. These insights underscore the potential of higher education to foster critical thinking, empathy, and engagement with international conflicts, and highlight the role of universities in cultivating a culture of peace and human rights. Full article

This article investigates the intricate interplay between ressentiment—as social emotion—social love, and solidarity in democratic societies, focusing on the urban environment as the primary stage where these processes materialize. Far from being a marginal emotion, ressentiment is deeply intertwined with democratic life, arising from the gap between proclaimed values and lived conditions. It represents an affective reaction to the perceived betrayal of the promise of equality inscribed in democratic ideals. The discussion explores how perceptions of injustice can fracture trust and intensify divisions, but also how they, under certain conditions, can be redirected toward political engagement and common action. The city, characterized by density, diversity, and the continuous negotiation of difference, can serve as a privileged arena for this transformation. Urban space does not merely reflect inequalities; it actively shapes social processes and provides the infrastructure through which collective sentiments are articulated. In this context, “social love” is conceptualized not as a sentimental aspiration, but as a relational force capable of redirecting the moral indignation of ressentiment, far from strategies of grievance politics toward constructive forms of social and political belonging. Cities can function as laboratories of solidarity where grievances are reframed into collective projects that strengthen social cohesion. Mitigating the destructive potential of ressentiment requires addressing its structural roots through inclusive urban policies and dialogical spaces. An approach grounded in social love can counter fragmentation, mobilizing emotions in the service of substantive equality. In this perspective, the city can become a space and a laboratory for change, where resentment can be channeled as a generative force capable of sustaining widespread forms of social love and a sense of the common good. Full article

Metaphilosophy is often understood as an inquiry into the nature, goals, and methods of philosophy and is sometimes construed as an epistemology of philosophy. Moral questions concerning philosophical practice, however, are no less important and constitute a distinctive field that may be called ‘moral philosophy of philosophy’ or ‘moral metaphilosophy’. This article maps the field by identifying, addressing, and classifying various forms of moral transgressions in, against, and through philosophy. Hermeneutical rational injustices include the devaluation, discrediting, misrepresentation, and non-objective critique within philosophical discourse. Violations within academic philosophical practice encompass such phenomena as intellectual theft; gatekeeping; academic cliques; scholarly neglect; discrimination and favoritism; prestige bias, excellence bias, and other forms of bias oriented toward perceived institutional, professional, evaluative, or symbolic “topness”; unfair peer review; problematic evaluation criteria and rankings; abuses of power; unjust distributions of resources; and the inversion of virtues into vices. External injustices and transgressions concern the public discrediting of philosophy, violence against philosophers, the problematic relation between philosophy and politics, and the impact of extra-academic vices on philosophy. Bringing these issues to light, thereby underscoring the importance of moral metaphilosophy, can help protect philosophers from various forms of harm inflicted by themselves, colleagues, institutions, and other actors across academic and non-academic contexts, thereby rendering philosophical practice fairer and more worthwhile. Full article

Recent research by Yucel and colleagues suggests that children perceive equality-based fairness violations (resources being distributed unequally) as less serious than prototypical moral harms, but that making the harmful consequences of unfairness salient shifts these judgments toward the moral domain. We examined whether merit-based fairness violations (someone receiving less than they earned) would similarly shift judgments toward the moral domain by making the injustice more salient. Replicating prior work, 4-year-old children (N = 62) rated prototypical moral violations as significantly more severe than equality-based fairness violations, which were rated as similar in severity to conventional violations. Contrary to predictions, merit-based fairness violations also showed this pattern: They were judged as less severe than prototypical moral violations and similarly severe as both equality-based fairness violations and conventional violations. Children also did not consistently group either type of fairness violation with moral or conventional violations. These findings contribute to a growing body of evidence that children’s (and adults’) perceptions of fairness—whether equality-based or merit-based—are more nuanced than previously thought and that unfairness may not spontaneously be treated like other, more prototypical moral norm violations. Full article

The emotional responses to bullying victimization are central to its impact on subsequent psychological consequences, but the role of specific emotions is insufficiently defined within a comprehensive framework. In order to enhance the understanding of the emotional experiences of bullying victims, the present review examines the role of self-conscious emotions (i.e., humiliation, shame, and guilt), the role of basic emotions (i.e., anger and fear), and various psychological consequences (e.g., anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation). A non-systematic, narrative approach was employed to synthesize the findings, with a total of 343 articles included in the review. Self-conscious emotions appear to be central to bullying victimization, with humiliation being particularly pivotal due to its link to internalized self-devaluation, perceived injustice, and attribution of cruelty to the perpetrator. In turn, anger and fear seem to constitute crucial basic emotions in response to bullying dynamics. Although anger may escalate aggression, it may also facilitate positive confrontational behaviors when properly channeled, whereas fear may contribute to avoidance and increased victimization if sustained. Adverse psychological consequences such as anxiety, depression, stress, low self-esteem, and suicidal ideation are prevalent among victims of bullying, potentially exacerbated in vulnerable groups. Future research should further explore the role of emotions in the context of bullying victimization, examining their impact on both mental health outcomes and behavioral patterns over time. Exploring how different emotional responses interact and influence each other within bullying dynamics could provide insights into effective intervention strategies, and a more comprehensive understanding of the sociocultural factors influencing emotional responses to bullying might help in customizing prevention and support measures across diverse contexts. Full article

This study investigates tax evasion and the informal economy in Greece through an integrated research design that combines bibliometric analysis with large-scale survey data to examine both the structure of scholarly discourse and public perceptions of economic non-compliance. The analysis integrates a bibliometric analysis of the academic literature with survey data from 1074 respondents, enabling patterns of scholarly attention to be assessed alongside public evaluations of institutional performance and economic behavior. The bibliometric findings indicate that academic research is organized around Greece and the tax system as central reference points, while governance-related themes such as transparency and public policy occupy comparatively peripheral positions within the thematic landscape, suggesting a field structured predominantly around country-specific institutional analysis. The survey results reveal a broadly comparable configuration, with political institutions, corruption, and tax evasion identified among the most salient national problems. Respondents differentiate among distinct forms of economic non-compliance and attribute tax evasion primarily to systemic factors, including high taxation, perceived injustice, ineffective revenue management, and corruption, rather than to individual moral failings. Overall, tax evasion in Greece is thus evaluated predominantly in institutional and governance-related terms. Future research could extend this approach through longitudinal bibliometric mapping, multivariate survey modelling, and sectoral or regional comparative analyses. Full article

Feminist identification has become an increasingly salient yet contested collective identity in contemporary societies marked by political polarization. This study examines how affective, perceptual, and ideological dimensions are associated with feminist identification in Spain, using data from a nationally representative sample of adults (N = 4005). Structural equation modeling was used to estimate the relationships between sympathy for progressive social movements, perceived gender discrimination, political ideology (understood as left–right political alignment), and feminist identification, with gender-stratified models estimated separately for women and men. Results indicate that affective alignment with progressive social movements and recognition of gender discrimination are consistently associated with feminist identification in both gender-stratified models. Political ideology shows a more limited pattern, emerging as significantly associated with feminist identification in the model estimated for women but not in the model estimated for men. Overall, the findings suggest that feminist identification in polarized contexts is anchored primarily in affective resonance and perceived injustice, while ideological positioning operates more conditionally, highlighting distinct relational configurations across the gender-stratified models in relation to feminist identification. Full article

Through systematic literature synthesis (2000–2024) integrating Foucault’s disciplinary power theory, Nissenbaum’s contextual integrity framework, and job design theory, this paper develops the Autonomy-Surveillance Conceptual Framework to explain differential psychological impacts of digital workplace surveillance. The embrace of remote work has increased surveillance practices among organizations as an increased need to ensure employee productivity in remote settings appears, along with a drive to ensure data security and streamline workflows. Many employees perceive such practices as a breach of privacy, signifying employer distrust. The framework predicts that surveillance creates varying degrees of contextual integrity violation based on job autonomy: high-autonomy knowledge workers experience severe violations through trust erosion, procedural injustice, and temporal autonomy loss, while low-autonomy workers evaluate surveillance primarily through fairness criteria. This paper addresses a critical gap in existing research, which has focused on low-autonomy roles. By examining which roles are most impacted by digital surveillance, this paper seeks to highlight transparency and autonomy-sensitive policies to maximize the associated benefits of digital surveillance, while calling attention to employee well-being, trust, and organizational performance. Full article

Background/Objectives: This qualitative study examines strengths and strains faced by professionals working with young carers throughout the United Kingdom (UK) in the context of society’s youngest carers; young carers in early childhood (YCEC) (0–8 years). Methods: The Power Threat Meaning Framework (PTMF) was utilised to map key findings of three focus groups. This conceptual lens offers a narrative-based understanding of ways in which power operates in society. Increasingly applied to explore experiences of individuals, communities, and groups, the PTMF proposes that concepts of distress are founded in broader contexts of injustice and social inequalities. Twenty-four participants were recruited from throughout the UK via the Carers Trust Young Carers Alliance. Results: Findings highlight the strength of legal, ideological, and economic power shaping societal beliefs and policy concerning YCEC. This informs constructs of perceived social norms regarding who young carers are most likely to be, and where they may be found. This power threatens the health and well-being of YCEC, impacting the ability of professionals to provide optimal support. Inappropriate policy formed from these assumptions disempowers those providing services to young carers at the frontline of service delivery. Professionals and adults with living experience of caring in their early childhoods reflect upon silent tensions that exist within society, suggesting that YCEC remain the ‘elephant in the room’. Conclusions: We make recommendations to review the efficacy of statutory mandates concerning the needs assessment of young carers in England, and to align policy concerning early childhood and young carers to embed young carers’ rights consistently, starting in early childhood. Full article

LGBTQ+ persons and related issues remain barely visible in German academia, reflecting limited acceptance as well as heteronormative and discriminatory structures. This invisibility negatively affects career trajectories, well-being, and protection from discrimination of LGBTQ+ academics, while also hindering research on LGBTQ+-related social issues, injustices and forms of disadvantage. In addition, LGBTQ+ students lack important role models. To examine this exploratory finding more systematically, this project was carried out in collaboration with the Magnus Hirschfeld Federal Foundation, collecting written responses from 26 German academic institutions to a set of open-ended questions delivered by email on the visibility of LGBTQ+ persons. The responses were analysed using qualitative content analysis. Our findings show that most institutions perceive the visibility of LGBTQ+ academics as low and recognise a need for new networking opportunities. Germany thus provides a valuable example of the dynamics of LGBTQ+ inclusion in continental Europe, where diversity has historically played a less prominent role than in US and UK contexts, and where cross-national comparisons suggest significant variation in levels of inclusivity. Full article

Although perceived posttraumatic growth (PPTG) has been examined in a wide variety of potentially traumatic and/or adverse events, very few studies have examined PPTG in response to experienced discrimination. Further, there is a strong need to better understand the factors that contribute to psychological outcomes following discrimination. The purpose of the current study was to examine correlates and predictors of unique variance in both positive (PPTG) and negative [perceived posttraumatic depreciation (PPTD)] trauma-related outcomes in response to discrimination experienced. A sample of 323 undergraduates from the United States (ages 18–58) who have experienced discrimination completed an online survey. The majority of participants indicated experiencing racial discrimination (51%), followed by gender discrimination (17%), and religious discrimination (10%). The results revealed that event centrality, perceived injustice, core beliefs, and resilience were all significantly associated with both PPTG and PPTD. In multiple regression models, core beliefs and resilience were unique predictors of both PPTG and PPTD. Specifically, core beliefs positively predicted PPTG and PPTD, and resilience positively predicted PPTG and negatively predicted PPTD. We conclude that experienced discrimination can powerfully alter one’s core beliefs, leaving the individual both more vulnerable to psychological depreciation, but also grants an opportunity for potential growth. We believe these findings can help clinicians better understand how to help individuals struggling with experienced discrimination. Full article

Why do individuals, when facing institutional injustice, direct their anger toward peers rather than powerful actors? The existing literature typically explains displaced aggression through emotional arousal or power asymmetries. However, we argue that interpretive meaning within specific institutional contexts plays a more decisive role in shaping aggressive behavior. Drawing on a triadic framework of structural stimulus, narrative interpretation, and behavioral response, we conducted a scenario-based survey of 1109 Chinese university students across five institutions. The results show that perceived institutional inequality significantly increases displaced aggression (β = 0.388, p < 0.001), but not upward aggression (β = 0.091, p = 0.061). Two mediating mechanisms, perceived cost of aggression and inequality justification, account for 15.3% and 12.4% of the total effect, respectively. Moreover, pro-authoritarian attitude significantly amplifies the effect of perceived inequality on displaced aggression (interaction β = 0.224, p < 0.001). In addition, we find a counterfactual result that females show 0.248 units more displaced aggression than males under perceived inequality. These findings highlight how individuals internalize inequality as meaningful and actionable, even in constrained political settings. This study contributes a narrative-based theoretical framework for understanding misdirected aggression under institutional inequality. Full article

Environmental sustainability in tourism and hospitality has emerged as a critical focus of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, aligning with global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and national priorities such as environmental stewardship, human health, and future economic diversification. This study examines how perceived leader favoritism influences non-green behavior among hospitality employees, exploring malicious envy as a mediator and perceived organizational injustice as a moderator. A cross-sectional survey was administered to 412 employees across five major hotels in Riyadh. Measures included validated scales for perceived leader favoritism, malicious envy, non-green behavior, and organizational justice. Structural equation modeling tested hypothesized relationships and moderation effects. Perceived leader favoritism was positively associated with non-green behavior (β = 0.39, p < 0.001) and malicious envy (β = 0.58, p < 0.001). Malicious envy mediated the favoritism–behavior link (indirect effect β = 0.17, p < 0.01). High perceptions of organizational injustice strengthened these effects, exacerbating environmentally harmful behaviors. Interpretation: The findings reveal that unfair leadership practices undermine corporate sustainability efforts by provoking negative emotions and unethical environmental actions. Managerial interventions to enhance fairness and mitigate envy are imperative for achieving SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) and SDG 13 (Climate Action), supporting Saudi Arabia’s goals in environmental sustainability, basic needs fulfillment, and future economies. Implementing justice-centered leadership programs can foster healthier organizational climates, promoting both employee well-being and ecological resilience. Full article

This study aims to understand how religious affective content in the digital realm influences epistemic authority, social imaginaries, and religious beliefs among young adults (individuals between 18 and 35) with a university education and who identify as Christian, Hindu, or Muslim in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Data indicate the growing role of digital platforms as epistemic sources for religious maintenance, while families, private sacred-text teachings, religious leaders, and the community continue to serve as primary sources. Cultural capital, such as higher education and social skills, does not necessarily make respondents psychologically or emotionally resilient to be able and effectively deal with moral distrust and hate speech on social media. In daily life individuals feel cross-pressured between their religious attitudes, and secular educational institutions and government agencies who promote liberal values while perceiving religion as a threat, despite not consistently adhering to those liberal values themselves. Hence, this experienced injustice in the city, enhanced by the negative framing of religion in digital media, may influence the social judgement of individuals and the processes of alienation, polarization and radicalization. Full article

Sexual minorities in Nigeria face systemic discrimination that extends into tertiary institutions, where silence and institutional neglect perpetuate stigma and abuse. This institutional inaction reinforces a culture of impunity and highlights the urgent need to understand the mechanisms through which institutional structures and cultures contribute to the well-being or harm of this vulnerable student population. This qualitative study employed a narrative phenomenological approach to explore the perceptions of policy makers and peer supporters about sexual harassment among sexual minority students in a higher education institution in Nigeria. A purposive sampling technique was used to recruit seven institutional decision-makers on student affairs, and four peer supporters for sexual minority individuals in the institution for in-depth interviews. The analysis revealed a profound disconnect. While the university perceives no problem due to a lack of formal reports, the lived experiences of students point to a cycle of harassment, vulnerability, and institutional betrayal exacerbated by the university’s neglect. The findings expose a cycle where the institution’s chosen method of “seeing” through formal complaints perpetuates epistemic injustice, validating the need for mandatory structural reforms over incremental sensitization to genuinely ensure safety and dignity for all students. Full article