Freedom Of Action Research Articles

Are We More Reactive to Persuasive Health Messages When They Appear in Our Customized Interfaces? The Role of Sense of Identity and Sense of Control

ABSTRACT Online users today are provided with a variety of customization tools to build their own information environment. A growing number of public health messages reach their target audiences via these digital venues. Given the deeply personal and individualized nature of customized environments, do online users show lesser reactance to persuasive health messages? Or, are they more likely to show reactance because they feel intruded upon? We conducted a 2 (Customization: present vs. absent) × 2 (Message threat: high vs. low) experiment (N = 145) to find out. Data showed that interface customization increases the sense of control and sense of identity among users. Sense of control is positively associated with threat to freedom of action, causing more affective reactance. In contrast, a sense of identity is negatively associated with anger toward the persuasive message. Theoretical and practical implications for online health campaigns are discussed.

Manipulating uncertainty: cybersecurity politics in Egypt

AbstractCybersecurity, defined as the prevention and mitigation of malicious interference with digital devices and networks, is a key area of contest for digitalized politics, especially in uncertain and turbulent situations. Nowhere is this more starkly illustrated than in states such as Egypt, where the period since the January 2011 revolution has seen several changes of government and the subsequent consolidation of executive power, increasingly strict limits on free speech, and extensive violence by Islamist groups against the state and civilian targets and by the state against protesters and dissidents. How, then, are cybersecurity policies, practices, and technologies deployed and contested in uncertain political environments? The article argues that cybersecurity provides a way for the Egyptian government and opposition activists to “manipulate uncertainty” to their advantage. Each side uses cybersecurity policies, practices, and technologies to restrict their adversary’s scope for action, seeking to make the other more predictable while retaining or increasing their own freedom of action. In addition to providing extensive empirical data on cybersecurity developments in Egypt, the article makes two theoretical contributions. First, it shows how political struggles between state and opposition movements assimilate the influential language and content of cybersecurity, generating distinct cybersecurity politics. Second, it highlights the role of uncertainty as a driver—among others—of cycles of innovation and response in contentious politics, including those that center on cybersecurity.

The Shrinking Resource Base of Pastoralism: Saami Reindeer Husbandry in a Climate of Change

The productive performance of large ungulates in extensive pastoral grazing systems is modulated simultaneously by the effects of climate change and human intervention independent of climate change. The latter includes the expansion of private, civil and military activity and infrastructure and the erosion of land rights. We used Saami reindeer husbandry in Norway as a model in which to examine trends in, and to compare the influence of, both effects on a pastoral grazing system. Downscaled projections of mean annual temperature over the principal winter pasture area (Finnmarksvidda) closely matched empirical observations across 34 years to 2018. The area, therefore, is not only warming but seems likely to continue to do so. Warming notwithstanding, 50-year (1969–2018) records of local weather (temperature, precipitation and characteristics of the snowpack) demonstrate considerable annual and decadal variation which also seems likely to continue and alternately to amplify and to counter net warming. Warming, moreover, has both positive and negative effects on ecosystem services that influence reindeer. The effects of climate change on reindeer pastoralism are evidently neither temporally nor spatially uniform, nor indeed is the role of climate change as a driver of change in pastoralism even clear. The effects of human intervention on the system, by contrast, are clear and largely negative. Gradual liberalization of grazing rights from the 18thCentury has been countered by extensive loss of reindeer pasture. Access to ~50% of traditional winter pasture was lost in the 19thCentury owing to the closure of international borders to the passage of herders and their reindeer. Subsequent to this the area of undisturbed pasture within Norway has decreased by 71%. Loss of pasture due to piecemeal development of infrastructure and to administrative encroachment that erodes herders' freedom of action on the land that remains to them, are the principal threats to reindeer husbandry in Norway today. These tangible effects far exceed the putative effects of current climate change on the system. The situation confronting Saami reindeer pastoralism is not unique: loss of pasture and administrative, economic, legal and social constraints bedevil extensive pastoral grazing systems across the globe.

Happy employees as a basis for health management

The paper deals with one of the most pressing problems in the field of management, the problem of employee satisfaction with working conditions. The value orientation of modern Russian society has changed significantly, partly under the influence of the axiological dominants of foreign economies, and partly due to the processes of reforms in the Russian society. At the forefront were such categories as success, efficiency, flexibility, stress resistance. However, all these trends do not always have a positive effect on the physical and mental health of employees. The experience of foreign colleagues dealing with occupational physiology can be taken into account in Russian conditions. More and more attention is paid to the problem of preventing premature employee burnout, to the study of the main motivational mechanisms that contribute to improving the quality of work. The study aims to analyze the objective and subjective factors of assessing employee performance in terms of quantitative and qualitative indicators. At the same time, the authors set the following goals: the systematization of the results of the employee survey; identification of the main problems in the workplace; development of mechanisms and methods for maintaining the motivation and health of employees; and, finally, the formation of an optimal image of a modern manager, focused on improving performance indicators and at the same time maintaining a good psychological climate in enterprises (such as government agencies, educational institutions, private companies or small businesses). It is concluded that a happy employee with a certain freedom of action, deserving the confidence of their superiors, is ready to fulfill the assigned tasks even in the face of loss of wages. Internal balance acquires the highest value for a modern employable person, and this must be taken into account when forming the road map for enterprises.

Factors of integration of education system in effective sustainable development strategy

From the very first day of his birth until his death, man is under the watchful eye of society. Economic or industrial relations form the basis of society and social life. But, according to most sociologists and philosophers of the XX-XXI centuries, for thousands of years there were other, not less important laws and relationships that impeccably «guide» human actions – these are moral values. Thus, economics, morality and politics are so closely intertwined in modern post-industrial society that it is simply impossible to separate them from each other. After all, today «man as a person» and «man as a citizen» define two main directions of progress of human existence: the direction of development of the «inner world» of man the formation of new moral and psychological principles of existence; the direction of development of the «external world» of man – the formation of new economic, political and socio-psychological principles of existence. But a person’s freedom of action in a post-industrial society does not absolve himself of responsibility to society. Responsibility itself keeps a person from uncontrolled intentions.

Experience of the international courts in the area of gathering evidence

The international judicial process, which emerged only about a century ago, could not be constructed by a model different from the judicial processes within the states. However, the legal framework for such process is created upon the generally accepted principles and norms of international law by the sovereign states and expresses their common will. With proliferation of the international courts in the end of the XX century emerged the pressing issue of uniformity of the judicial process, particularly the norms that regulate selection and assessment of evidence that affect court rulings. The article also explores the questions associated with witness testimony. Attention is given to the aspects of distribution of burden of proof, as well as methods, forms, and standards of proving that exist within the international judicial process. Research is conducted on the documents regulating the work of the branches of international justice and the established case law. A claim is made that international courts function within the certain framework that is defined in their constitutive acts. The analysis carried out in the article reveals insufficient development of corresponding regulation. The author concludes that a judicial body in these conditions has freedom of action that is currently clearly evident in the work of the International Court of Justice and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.

ІДЕЯ ДЕРЖАВНОЇ ВЛАДИ У ТЕОРІЯХ ФУНДАТОРІВ ДИСКУРСУ КЛАСИЧНОГО ЛІБЕРАЛІЗМУ

The purpose of the article is to identify the specifics of the coverage of state power issues in the basic theories of the classical liberalism founders (J. Locke, Ch.-L. de Montesquieu, A. Smith and others). Methods. In methodological terms, the article focuses on the use of research in various areas of political and ideological knowledge. The set of general and special methods of political science became the methodological basis of the article, which provided a comprehensive approach to the problem of identifying the specifics of coverage of state power in the basic theories of the classical liberalism founders. The methodological approach used to analyze the state power idea in the basic theories of the classical liberalism discourse founders, was the internalist version of the historical approach (St. Toulmin). Results. It is stated that the issue of natural human rights (to life, liberty and property) became the basis of the classical liberalism discourse: the equality of all people from birth was postulated, the inalienability of natural rights was substantiated (no one can deprive people of these rights or dispose of them). In the conceptions of the classical liberalism discourse founders, the emphasis was mainly on the idea of the importance of the state power, on the idea of the need for the existence of such an institution as the state. The existence of the state was justified by the need to protect and preserve natural human rights. However, the state is called to protect the privacy and freedom of action (within the law), it was also considered that the scope and sphere of its activities should be restricted by setting limits on the spread of state power (the credo of non-interference «laissez faire»). The establishment of such boundaries presupposes the contractual nature of the relationship between state power and the individual, which excludes all forms of paternalism.

A questão ética e religiosa na ordem do discurso freireano

n this paper, of a bibliographic nature, the way Paulo Freire used “ethics” as the founding principle of his reflections, problematizations and arguments on the insertion of religious social work in the heart of Latin American social relations is analyzed. The following works were examined under the lens of the Archaeological Discourse Analysis, based on Foucault (2000): Cultural action for freedom, 1981 Brazilian edition; Education: the practice of freedom, 1967 Brazilian edition; Pedagogy of the oppressed, 1987 Brazilian edition; Extension or communication?, 1983 Brazilian edition; and Os cristãos e a libertação dos oprimidos, 1978 edition. It is highlighted that Paulo Freire’s understanding of ethical and religious issues does not only hold a specific way of being, as ethics works as a parameter for critical analysis of different social and historical manifestations on the religious issue and its relationship with the people. It is concluded that the meaning of the notion and the use of the signifier “ethics” as a principle of criticality is recurrent in the argument, in the positioning and in the Freirean discursive order.

Kants Rechtslehre zwischen ethischer Überhöhung und positivistischer Verflachung

This essay deals with Kant’s Doctrine of Right, but in a rather unusual way by being at the same time a review of a book on that doctrine. It was, indeed, that book which brought me, by trying to review it, to reformulate my own view on the issue To sum up the main mistakes of the author of that book: he takes the Doctrine of Right as a direct application of the doctrine of freedom, as developed in the Analytic of the Critique of Practical Reason, to external acting of humans. That leads him on a crooked path to the thesis that provisional right is not „real“ right in the state of nature, but a conceptual assumption, which can be only thought of. With his idea that real right can only exist in a civil state, the author ends up in a position of legal positivism. The essay tries to expose the decisive steps which made the author go astray so that he eventually failed to grasp Kant’s Metaphysics of Morals altogether. Accordingly, apart from the mentioned mistakes, some connected problem areas, which are completely muddled up in the book, will be subjected to a closer investigation: freedom of the will versus freedom of action; free will versus general will; freedom in the doctrine of right versus freedom in ethics; validity of right versus effectiveness of right. Towards the end, some pages are dedicated to a critical statement on the author’s thesis that Kant’s Doctrine of Right is absolutely unsuited as basis for any claim to distributive justice.

Iran And Yemen; Study the Reflection of The Islamic Revolution of Iran On Yemen And Its Results

The Islamic Revolution of Iran took place in 1789. Undoubtedly, this revolution had repercussions on its peripheral and semi-peripheral countries, and one of the semi-peripheral countries of Iran that were affected by the revolution was Yemen. Yemen changed with the beginning of the Arab Spring and protest movements were formed in it, the content of which was very close to the foundations of the Islamic Revolution of Iran. These protests led to the revolution and eventually to the victory of the Houthi movement in Yemen and the Ansar Allah movement. But what are the consequences of this event in Yemen in Yemen and the Islamic Republic of Iran? The purpose of this study is to check the results of the export of the Iranian revolution in Yemen. The research findings show that the Islamic Revolution of Iran was exported to Yemen and a very close relationship was established between Yemen and the Islamic Republic. The Yemeni revolution has had very positive results for the regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran, like the addition of Yemen to the axis of resistance, resistance to Saudi Islam, etc., but to the results that happened to Yemen itself, we can become independent. Yemen touched on freedom of action in deciding and choosing its destiny. Yemen is embroiled in a bloody war that is still going on, and the living and economic situation of the people in Yemen is worse than before. The method of the present study is qualitative and based on the analytical description.

SOCIAL-CULTURAL DETERMINANTS OF PERSONAL DIGNITY DEVELOPMENT THROUGH THE PRISM OF THE POST-COLONIAL AND POST-TOTALITARIAN UKRAINIAN NARRATIVE

The author focused her research on dignity determinants and their links with the social-cultural environment on the example of Ukrainian society. For this purpose, an analysis of the cultural and historical imperial and totalitarian background of the Ukrainian past has been conducted. The research used the following methods: theoretical-analytical, structural-systemic, historical-comparative. The author has specified and outlined that dignity is an integral formation, based on the intersection of three axiological spheres: personal, professional and social values. The article outlines the impact of artificially created cultural regimes on people’s dignity and the determinants of the higher and lower order of formed dignity in the context of Ukrainian realities. The former include external factors – postcolonial and post-totalitarian Ukrainian society – and internal factors – life-purpose orientation, values, and spirituality. Determinants of the lower order are represented by the behavioural, verbal and emotional spheres of a personality. A particular focus has been placed on the close connection between human freedom and the issue of human dignity. Emphasis has been given to one of the key values attacked by the empire or totalitarian regime, namely freedom in almost all its manifestations: an individual’s freedom of thought, freedom of action, freedom of creative development, free expression and development of the culture of the enslaved people. The current consequences for this phenomenon in the Ukrainian society are: lowered ability of many people to accept responsibility as a key concept of freedom and to avoid simple answers to complex and multidimensional challenges, that is, non-desire to consider complex phenomena from different points of view and to search for multilevel solutions. The author has examined the influence of the socio-cultural environment on an individual’s dignity development. The list of the following socio-cultural factors is presented: social factors, as politics in its various aspects, ideology, social environment, interpersonal interactions; cultural factors, a language, mentality, spiritual and emotional experiences, broadly defined: the culture of free thinking and creative realization, the culture of meaningful cooperation, civility, culture in its artistic aspect, and so on.

Preventing conflicts of i nterest: the policy of giving and accepting gifts in the civil service

The article raises the issue of conflict of interest and its prevention. The first threat of a conflict of interest in general is a violation of the balance between the personal interests of civil servants and the public interest. And the second risk is that a conflict of interest reduces the level of public trust and confidence in the loyalty and impartiality of public officials. This article analyzes and studies the real form of conflict of interest in Kazakhstan, namely two gift policy options. In particular, the zero gift policy and the limited gift ban policy are the subject of this research. On the one hand, the gift policy may completely prohibit accepting the gifts in order to prevent conflicts of interest. This zero gift policy implies that there is a ban for any gifts, regardless of the price. The establishment of a zero gift policy affects the level of confidence in the government, since citizens know that no factors affect the performance of a civil servant’s work. However, this will significantly restrict the freedom of action of civil servants. On the other hand, the gift policy can determine the rules for accepting the gifts both at workplace and after the work hours. If a gift is permissible, then there is a question of establishing an acceptable price. This means adopting a policy of limited prohibition on gifts and such a policy promotes the development of civil servants' consciousness. As a result, the author suggests a more favorable policy for Kazakhstan.

Anticompetitive Effects in EU Competition Law

AbstractThis article examines the meaning and scope of the notion of anticompetitive effects in EU competition law. It does so by bringing together several strands of the case law (and this across all provisions, namely Articles 101 and 102 TFEU and merger control). The analysis is structured around a framework that considers the main variables that shape the notion in practice: the time variable (actual or potential effects); the dimensions of competition and the counterfactual; the meaning of effects and the probability threshold (plausibility, likelihood, certainty). The exercise shows that it is possible to discern a concrete meaning to the notion of anticompetitive effects. Some central questions, including the role and operation of the counterfactual and the threshold of effects, have already been answered by the Court of Justice. In particular, it has long been clear that anticompetitive effects amount to more than a mere competitive disadvantage and/or a limitation of a firm’s freedom of action. The impact on equally efficient firms’ ability and/or incentive to compete would need to be established. At the same time, some open questions and some potential areas of friction (relating, inter alia, to stakeholders’ tendency to conflate appreciability and effects) remain. These are also discussed.

Sea Control: Feasible, Acceptable, Suitable, or Simply Imperative

As the United States faces a rise in credible antiaccess/area-denial (A2/AD) threats, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) started developing counteraccess denial strategies early in the twenty-first century. Access denial strategies are not a new defensive strategy; what makes access denial challenging on the modern battlefield is the dramatic improvement and proliferation of weapons capable of denying access to or freedom of action within an operational area. Through a historical review of Japanese naval battles during the early twentieth century, a framework to model possible future contests for control of the maritime domain is possible. Control of the maritime domain is the prerequisite for assured access and sets the condition for successful Joint operations. In this article, recommendations for achieving success in this new operating environment are offered, including investing in low-cost technology that extends ranges of A2/AD capabilities.

The Rise of Indigenous (Pluri-)Nationalism: The Case of the Sámi People

Indigenous peoples have found the nationalist language of peoples’ inherent right to self-determination helpful in articulating their political demands. Gerald Taiaiake Alfred’s model of indigenous nationalism explains the emergence of this form of indigenous self-assertion as a reaction to settler-colonial incursions. However, it cannot account for the timing of its recent successes in unsettling the status quo of indigenous–settler-state relations. This article addresses this limitation by incorporating Michael Keating’s concept of post-sovereignty, which highlights the supranational plane constraining states’ freedom of action, while providing indigenous peoples with laws and norms above state level to appeal to. Additionally, Keating’s concept of plurinationalism is drawn upon to capture the emerging reconfiguration of indigenous–settler-state relations. This combined conceptual framework is used to illuminate the Sámi people’s relations to the Nordic states as expressive of emergent indigenous nationalism, formed in reaction to settler-colonialism and enabled by international norms, laws and global indigenous peoples’ networks.

Exercising Freedom

Göze Saner’s ‘Exercising Freedom: An Arendtian clown training utopia’ proposes a performance pedagogy that consists in exercises of/for freedom. Steering clear of approaches to training that claim to free a performer’s body or voice, Saner instead offers a close reading of political philosopher Hannah Arendt’s theatrical understanding of freedom and political action (particularly ‘Action’ in The Human Condition and “What is Freedom?” in Between Past and Future) to extract the skills and qualities required of an actor to publicly perform an action that is ‘wholly unexpected and unforeseen’ (Arendt 1960: 43), make a new beginning, reveal who they are as well as the cracks in systems that appear unchangeable and bring about the experience of freedom, not only for themselves, but also, and more importantly, for the witnesses. How does one train to perform the event of freedom in the Arendtian sense? Following the image of Greta Thunberg on her first school strike, the article investigates how a personal action can resonate historically and incite collective activism. Given the unique relationship between a single performer and multiple spectators, the solo genre resonates with Arendt’s description of freedom; however, it also raises specific challenges—particularly with respect to the neoliberalist celebration of a different kind of individual freedom and its influence on solo performance as a paradigm. Touching briefly upon solo documentary performance and solo autobiographical performance, the article arrives at clowning, as a solo form of training, acting and relating. Analysing Avner Eisenberg’s clown pedagogy as well as Alison Hodge’s core training, viewed here as clown training insofar as the ensemble becomes a space for solo emergence, the article formulates a training utopia that exercises—that is, rehearses, practises, educates, keeps working—an Arendtian freedom in action and thereby extends an invitation for all to be a Greta Thunberg.

The Legal Status of Pay-for-Delay Agreements in EU Competition Law: Generics (Paroxetine)

This case note presents the ruling of the Court of Justice in Generics (Paroxetine) and considers its implications for Articles 101 and 102 TFEU. It is submitted, first, that the approach to the assessment of pay-for-delay agreements enshrined in the judgment can effectively minimise the risk of Type I and Type II errors. Second, the Court does not depart from the long-standing principle whereby EU law does not question the existence of intellectual property rights, but only their exercise. The judgment, together with Budapest Bank, has important implications for the assessment of restrictions by object under Article 101(1) TFEU. Generics (Paroxetine) confirms that the evaluation of the object of an agreement is a case-by-case, context-specific inquiry. In addition, it notes that the pro-competitive aspects of an agreement may, as factors pertaining to the relevant economic and legal context, be considered as part of the said evaluation. In the same vein (and as confirmed in Budapest Bank), the conditions of competition that would have prevailed absent the practice may also play a role. As far as Article 102 TFEU is concerned, finally, the judgment confirms that anticompetitive effects within the meaning of that provision only exist where a practice has an impact that goes beyond the limitation of the freedom of action of individual undertakings. In this sense, it seems necessary to consider the cumulative effects of individual agreements by reference to the market as a whole. This approach is consistent with Post Danmark II and Intel, both of which signalled the importance of the coverage of the practice.

הייתה או לא הייתה – האם תתכן הלכה שמעניקה ליועץ המשפטי לממשלה מונופול על הייצוג <br> Is There a Binding Precedent Regarding the Israeli AG's Monopoly on Representation?

תקציר בעברית: בשלושים השנים האחרונות התפתחה בקרב משפטנים רבים התזה כביכול חוות דעתם של היועמשים מחייבות את הממשלה בתחומי הייעוץ והייצוג. הקשיים שנובעים מעמדה זאת הובילו לשורה של עימותים בין הממשלה למערך הייעוץ המשפטי בכמה הזדמנויות בהם עמדו שרי הממשלה על סמכותם לקדם הצעות חוק ומדיניות בניגוד לעמדת היועמש, וביקשו להסדיר מחדש את יחסי הממשלה ויועציה המשפטיים. מאמר זה מבקש בראש ובראשונה להציג את המגמות החדשות בפסיקת שופטי בית המשפט העליון לאור המחלוקת בשאלת המצב המשפטי המחייב. בנוסף אני מבקש לעמוד על הקשיים החוקתיים שבעיצוב מוסד היועמש כבעל זכות וטו באמצעות בחלק הראשון של המאמר אציג את התזה המקובלת, לפיה נהנה היועץ ממונופול על הייצוג ואת המגמה החדשה המסתמנת בבגץ. החלק השני של המאמר יעסוק בדרכים לזיהוי הלכה שיפוטית מחייבת תוך בחינת ההלכה בדבר קיומו של מונופול על הייצוג. בחלקו השלישי של המאמר, אטען כי בין כך ובין כך אין זה ראוי לקבוע בחקיקה שיפוטית הסדר עקרוני בדבר סמכות היועץ המשפטי לממשלה ולכן הדרך הנכונה להסדרת סמכויות היועמש בתחום הייצוג בבגץ היא באמצעות הליך חקיקה ראשית ולא באמצעות חקיקה שיפוטית. זאת מחמת עיקרון הפרדת הרשויות והאופן שבו מופעל כלל ההסדרים הראשוניים בשיטת המשפט הישראלית ומחשש לפגיעה באמון הציבור. לפני סיום אדון ואדחה בקצרה מספר טענות נגד בדבר ההשפעות השליליות הצפויות כתוצאה מביטול הפרקטיקה המעניקה ליועץ המשפטי מונופול על הייצוג בבגץ תוך ניסיון לעמוד על ההשלכות הצפויות של מהלך. English Abstract: This article focuses on the question of the independence of the Israeli Attorney General and the limits of its authority as the State's legal representative during proceedings in the High Court of Justice. First, I will present the current paradigm, according to which the AG has a monopoly on representation in such litigation proceedings. I will further describe the recent changes in this paradigm according to new opinions in the Supreme Court's recent case law. Then I would like to focus on the shaky legal basis upon which the monopoly of representation rests in the first place. Despite the far-reaching effects on the government's freedom of action, it appears that the AG monopoly on representation is based on legal errors and noton the law. I will then discuss the point of disagreement among the judges in the light of the criteria set out in the ruling for identifying a binding legal precedent. Finally, I will argue that in any case, giving the AG the power to enforce his legal position on the government is not appropriate for judicial legislation; it is contrary to the principle of separation of powers. The courts are not the appropriate arena for establishing such a significant normative arrangement

The use of human biospecimens for research.

This discussion presents many of the ethical, legal, and financial issues that underlie the contemporary regulatory framework for research with human biospecimens. Some considerations, such as claims of donor control over their biospecimens, could potentially constrain researchers' freedom of action. We first consider concepts underlying consent to donate biospecimens for research. A requirement to obtain consent for donation of a biospecimen could conceptually be based upon the autonomy of the donor, or on property rights of the donor, or a combination of both concepts. If these concepts affect how consent is implemented, it could have significant downstream consequences for research and researchers. We present elements of the revision of the common rule that affect the use of human biospecimens including the current consent regulations based on transparency and autonomy, and the distinction between consent for, and ownership of, biospecimens. One of the major judicial opinions that denied property rights for biospecimens is described together with some implications for the research community of attributing ownership of biospecimens to their donors. We then consider transactional aspects of biospecimen donation. Considering biospecimens as a negotiable commodity presents both constraints and opportunities for donors and researchers. Compensation for biospecimens can be negotiated under contract law. Allowing donor control of the secondary research use of deidentified biospecimens could have an inhibiting effect on research. If donors possessed such control, even deidentification would not necessarily eliminate their ability to influence future research. Accordingly, new models of biospecimen donation are appearing in which the researchcommunity will have a substantial interest.

End-of-Dinner Food Offering: A Three-Way Contrastive Study

Abstract This paper presents a three-way contrastive study of the structure of the end-of-dinner food offering event – hosts asking guests to eat more food when the latter have indicated that they have finished eating – across three population groups: Chinese residents of the City of Xi’an as of 1995 (as reported in Chen, 1996), American residents of Southern California as of 2019, and Chinese residents of Xi’an as of 2019. It is found that, in 2019, Americans living in Southern California only infrequently offer their guests more food at the end of a dinner, while the Chinese residents of Xi’an (the Xi’an Chinese) offer their guests food much less often than in 1995, although still more frequently than their American counterparts. The difference observed between the Chinese and American groups is attributed to the different notions of politeness that are held in the two cultures: the Xi’an Chinese still maintain elements of hospitality and warmth as key notions of politeness, in a similar way to Libyan Arabic speakers, as discovered by Grainger, Mansor and Mills (2015), while the offering behaviour of Southern Californians is motivated by the respect they hold for another person’s freedom of action. The noticeable change in the way food is offered at the end of a Chinese dinner between 1995 and 2019 – which can be seen to be a process of ‘deritualisation’ (Kádár, 2013) – is due to the influence of Western cultures. The significance of our work thus goes beyond the understanding of both food offering in Chinese and Chinese politeness: it adds to the scant literature on the structure of the offering event across cultures and places Chinese politeness in the context of other languages; it brings insights from language contact into the field of pragmatics, a decades-long research paradigm; and it demonstrates the value of diachronic contrastive pragmatics, a direction that will no doubt aid the advancement of contrastive pragmatics in particular and, as a consequence, pragmatics in general.