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Abstract

Details

Individualism, Holism and the Central Dilemma of Sociological Theory
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78769-038-7

Article
Publication date: 9 April 2018

Yu-Ching Kuo and Sheng-Ju Chan

The science policy has been at the core business of contemporary nations, and determining how to establish a constructive contract between the wider society and the…

Abstract

Purpose

The science policy has been at the core business of contemporary nations, and determining how to establish a constructive contract between the wider society and the science/academia community has become a continuous challenge and major task. The purpose of this paper is to draw on Bush’s (1945) classical works and other scholarly stances in an attempt to reveal how research funding discourses and practices in Taiwanese universities have taken shape and been implemented.

Design/methodology/approach

Against this broader context, the authors examine the main elements of official documents and significant statistical evidence from recent years.

Findings

In summary, basic research investment has comparatively underperformed while the business sector has contributed relatively higher expenditures to the university sector at the international level. A strong state-led approach has been identified as the key characteristics of research funding policy for industrial development/economic growth or social problem solving. Although not making an effort to “save the nation,” the state has been dominant in steering the direction of priority areas and issues for university research in order to achieve better international competitiveness and, in turn, nation building.

Research limitations/implications

The authors examine the impact of the interplay between science’s social contract with society and rhetorical devices on the institutionalization of the university research funding policy framework in Taiwan. The exploration of this interplay leads the authors to elaborate tensions between the government, industry, universities, and research communities in Taiwan. As in other contexts, the race between social accountability and academic autonomy has evolved to be a significant element of these tensions in Taiwan. For better reflecting the public needs or social demands, a greater autonomy for the science community is desirable and favorable for long-term development.

Originality/value

The science policy is a rarely addressed but critical issue for the past two decades. Along with the increasing demand on value for money publicly funded research, societal accountability, and the international competition caused by league tables and cutting-edge technology innovation, this paper draws on classical and current mainstream discourses of science’s contract with society by investigating into Taiwanese research funding in the higher education sector. All findings are highly original for theoretical and practical implications.

Details

Asian Education and Development Studies, vol. 7 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2046-3162

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 26 February 2016

Kay Mathiesen

To discuss the problem of cultural imperialism as it relates to human rights and to provide a framework for applying human rights to Library and Information Services (LIS) so as…

Abstract

Purpose

To discuss the problem of cultural imperialism as it relates to human rights and to provide a framework for applying human rights to Library and Information Services (LIS) so as to respect diverse worldviews.

Methodology/approach

The chapter is theoretical in nature but also draws out important practical implications. The problem is described and addressed using the approach of philosophical ethics emphasizing moral pluralism. Political and moral theories are compared and lessons drawn from them for LIS practice.

Findings

Drawing on the work of philosopher Jacques Maritain (1949) as well as contemporary human rights theory, an understanding of human rights as pluralistic and evolving practical principles is developed. Using Maritain’s conception of human rights as a set of common principles of action, guidelines for applying human rights in ways that avoid cultural imperialism are provided.

Social implications

The findings of this chapter should assist LIS professionals in understanding the relationship between human rights and cultural diversity. In addition, it gives professionals a framework for understanding and applying human rights in a ways that respects cultural diversity.

Originality/value

This chapter develops an original approach to applying human rights in a way that respects cultural diversity.

Details

Perspectives on Libraries as Institutions of Human Rights and Social Justice
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78635-057-2

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 23 May 2019

John Garger, Paul H. Jacques, Brian W. Gastle and Christine M. Connolly

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that common method variance, specifically single-source bias, threatens the validity of a university-created student assessment of…

2395

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that common method variance, specifically single-source bias, threatens the validity of a university-created student assessment of instructor instrument, suggesting that decisions made from these assessments are inherently flawed or skewed. Single-source bias leads to generalizations about assessments that might influence the ability of raters to separate multiple behaviors of an instructor.

Design/methodology/approach

Exploratory factor analysis, nested confirmatory factor analysis and within-and-between analysis are used to assess a university-developed, proprietary student assessment of instructor instrument to determine whether a hypothesized factor structure is identifiable. The instrument was developed over a three-year period by a university-mandated committee.

Findings

Findings suggest that common method variance, specifically single-source bias, resulted in the inability to identify hypothesized constructs statistically. Additional information is needed to identify valid instruments and an effective collection method for assessment.

Practical implications

Institutions are not guaranteed valid or useful instruments even if they invest significant time and resources to produce one. Without accurate instrumentation, there is insufficient information to assess constructs for teaching excellence. More valid measurement criteria can result from using multiple methods, altering collection times and educating students to distinguish multiple traits and behaviors of individual instructors more accurately.

Originality/value

This paper documents the three-year development of a university-wide student assessment of instructor instrument and carries development through to examining the psychometric properties and appropriateness of using this instrument to evaluate instructors.

Details

Higher Education Evaluation and Development, vol. 13 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2514-5789

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 July 2010

John Jacques, Sarah‐Jane Spencer and Paul Gilluley

Medium secure units were designed to treat patients for up to three years, but some patients spend longer in acute medium secure settings which in general do not have a 'longer…

Abstract

Medium secure units were designed to treat patients for up to three years, but some patients spend longer in acute medium secure settings which in general do not have a 'longer term focus'. The aim of this investigation was to assess and describe the needs of these patients. A survey questionnaire was designed and sent to responsible clinicians who had patients admitted at least five years previously to the Three Bridges Medium Secure Unit (males) in West London. Carer ratings using the Camberwell Assessment of Need: forensic version (CAN‐FOR) were completed by the primary nurse for each patient, complementing the survey questionnaire. Of 122 medium secure male patients 25 (21%) had been admitted at least five years before. We found high levels of co‐morbidity and treatment resistance. The CAN‐FOR revealed two groups, one with chronic challenging behaviour, treatment‐resistant mental illness and need for a high level of support, and another more able group not needing as much support but with a dependency on the hospital. It is considered here whether certain groups would benefit from a different approach or setting.

Details

The British Journal of Forensic Practice, vol. 12 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-6646

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 15 March 2019

Jason E. Charalambides

The purpose of this paper is to expose a classical Vitruvian archetype and subject it to the logic of deconstruction. The process engages two opposing camps and mindsets, and…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to expose a classical Vitruvian archetype and subject it to the logic of deconstruction. The process engages two opposing camps and mindsets, and, through analysis, reaches a point that allows the reader to make assessments on how the archetype fulfills the perceived objectives of its time and how it can be assessed through a more contemporary methodology.

Design/methodology/approach

This study employs two methodologies in the analysis of an architectural model that became a reference point in the evolution of Western Architecture. A traditional approach similar to Ruskin’s Victorian-style analysis and criticism builds the study’s foundations. That is followed by the method of deconstructivism, challenging the traditional thought, resurfacing of the duality of every attribute assigned to the initial datum. Initially, the study brings to the proscenium the nature of this classical order as a sui generis archetype, defining the engendered properties that describe it. That is followed by an inverse process as applied by the twentieth-century deconstructivist movement.

Findings

The paper finds the dichotomy of perception of a classical archetype based upon the methods applied.

Practical implications

Recognition of a dichotomy of perception of a classical architectural archetype becomes overture toward a number of well-defined archetypes based on what could be considered Cartesian non-complex architectural archetypes.

Originality/value

This paper offers a Gestalt-based reflection on the nature of the Doric order.

Details

Archnet-IJAR: International Journal of Architectural Research, vol. 13 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2631-6862

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 July 2017

Kevin Grecksch and Jessica Holzhausen

This paper aims to show how property rights predominantly shape discussions about the governance of natural resources and thereby neglect questions of (collective) identities and…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to show how property rights predominantly shape discussions about the governance of natural resources and thereby neglect questions of (collective) identities and alternative solutions to govern natural resources. The purpose is to introduce narratives as an alternative approach to the discussion about the governance of natural resources.

Design/methodology/approach

Guided by the question of how we acquire property and what that tells us about our understanding of to whom natural resources belong to, the paper reviews the history of property rights by looking into property theories starting from Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Adam Smith, Immanuel Kant and Pierre-Joseph Proudhon. It then takes a closer look at The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) study and the Nagoya Protocol with regard to property rights. Second, the paper introduces the concept of narratives surrounding property rights in the past and present.

Findings

Property rights are a social concept dominant in the industrialised world. This has strong implications when looking at the way indigenous people look at natural resources. Mostly, property rights are unknown to them or alternative concepts exist. Yet, documents such as the Nagoya Protocol or the TEEB study presuppose an understanding of property rights originating in European property concepts. A narrative approach to property rights introduces new ideas and looks beyond legislation and policies at the stories people tell about property and natural resources, at property stereotypes and identities and what this might entail for future natural resource governance.

Originality/value

The paper fulfils a need to find alternative approaches to govern natural resources against the background of global environmental challenges.

Details

International Journal of Law in the Built Environment, vol. 9 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1756-1450

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 October 1997

Gerard F. Rutan

Christian Democracy as an ideology and as a political movement has been ascendant in Western European states for half a century, forming the governing party or a major part of the…

1388

Abstract

Christian Democracy as an ideology and as a political movement has been ascendant in Western European states for half a century, forming the governing party or a major part of the governing coalition of parties in many of them over numerous decades up to the present. Yet the study of Christian Democracy, its general ideology and general programmatic elements across Western Europe, has been singularly lacking. Centrist establishment parties and economic programmes seem not to have the same appeal to academic investigators as the more exciting and ideologically demarcated ones. Also the future seems bleak for some Christian Democratic parties in Western Europe. The focuses are on the general ideology of the movement and the shared programmatic commonalities among the parties. Advances a consideration of the future for CD parties in the short term and the problems confronting Christian Democracy in the future. Also assesses the role and prospects for Christian Democracy in the European Union, particularly as they relate to the European People’s Party (EPP) in the European Parliament.

Details

International Journal of Social Economics, vol. 24 no. 10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0306-8293

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 22 November 2016

Raymond Aaron Younis

Theoretical reconstruction for the sake of deeper and clearer understanding of an important theme in classical philosophy (aporia/euporia)

Abstract

Purpose

Theoretical reconstruction for the sake of deeper and clearer understanding of an important theme in classical philosophy (aporia/euporia)

Methodology/approach

Logical critique (and reconstruction); aporetic and euporetic logic.

Findings

Using key texts by Plato and Aristotle on aporia and euporia, I attempt to show that Derrida’s, and more broadly deconstructive, readings are problematic and require careful and critical reconsideration.

Research limitations

A full account of aporia in the work of Derrida is beyond the scope of the paper – so too is a full account of aporia and euporia in the works of Plato and Aristotle.

Practical implications

The paper has important implications in terms of our reading and interpretation of important classical texts such as Aristotle’s Metaphysics.

Originality/value

The paper builds on important research by philosophers like Matthews and on the nature and role of aporia in classical philosophy, just as it extends the author’s own critique of deconstructive appropriations of aporia. It argues for the importance of reconstructing our understanding of aporetic and euporetic thinking in order to see it more clearly especially in its classical forms, contexts and frameworks.

Details

Reconstructing Social Theory, History and Practice
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78635-469-3

Keywords

Abstract

Details

Social Sciences: A Dying Fire
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80117-041-3

1 – 10 of over 1000