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Article
Publication date: 1 December 2001

Sun Hyung Park

Criticisms of naturalistic coherentism are suggested that are not raised by its critics in the literature. The rejection of traditional foundationalism does not necessarily entail…

Abstract

Criticisms of naturalistic coherentism are suggested that are not raised by its critics in the literature. The rejection of traditional foundationalism does not necessarily entail the acceptance of coherentism. Coherentism can be seen as another version of foundationalism. Most interestingly, Evers and Lakomski’s stance on “strong vs weak” naturalism seems to be vague. Then, in closing, it is suggested that a recent theory in epistemology termed “foundherentism” might provide some avenues for the further development of naturalistic coherentism, such as by emphasising empirical input in coherentism and adopting a weak version of naturalism.

Details

Journal of Educational Administration, vol. 39 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-8234

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 December 2023

Marziyeh Faghiholislam, Hamidreza Azemati, Hadi Keshmiri and Somayeh Pourbagher

The most common reaction to an acute physical illness is anxiety, which may be followed by depression. In patients with chronic diseases, the prevalence of anxiety disorders and…

Abstract

Purpose

The most common reaction to an acute physical illness is anxiety, which may be followed by depression. In patients with chronic diseases, the prevalence of anxiety disorders and depression is almost twice as high as in other diseases. This study aims to extract prominent components in the design of treatment spaces on reducing hospitalized patients’ depression from both experts and patients/users’ point of views. A final model is also presented based on the findings.

Design/methodology/approach

This research used an exploratory mixed method. The effective components were extracted through the administration of two Likert-scale researcher-made questionnaires in two phases. Q factor analysis was conducted to reach the components. A total of 205 patients were admitted to Namazi Hospital in Shiraz, and 20 architecture and psychology experts participated in the survey. Final modeling of the data was done through path analysis.

Findings

Six factors were found to be effective by experts in reducing depression in therapeutic spaces: nature-oriented space, targeted social space, diverse space, visual comfort, logical process and safe space. On the part of patients, seven components were deemed to be effective: visual perception, naturalism, functionalism, physical security, logical process, psychological safety and diversity. Also, four main cycles were extracted from the final model with the direct effect of diversity and the other five cycles were mediated by naturalism.

Research limitations/implications

A total of 15 interviews with architects and psychologists, who were available at the time of the study, were conducted in January 2018. The only general question during interviews was “In your opinion, what factors are effective in reducing the level of depression of patients in the design of treatment spaces?” This may have limited the range of factors that could be surveyed in the study. After collecting the effective factors from the aforementioned expert’s points of view, the questionnaire of experts was designed (Appendix). The expert questionnaires were distributed and edited in two stages in January 2019 among 20 architect experts who were available at the time of the study. The one-year interval between designing and administering the questionnaires occurred because of the limitations posed by the COVID-19 pandemic situation. However, the interval did not pose methodological obstacles for the study.

Originality/value

Evidence-based investigation of the effectiveness of proper design components of therapeutic spaces in reducing the symptoms of patients with chronic secondary depression has received little attention in the literature. Using a “conceptual model,” the present study brought the issue into its focus so as to find effective components in the design of treatment spaces that can alleviate depression symptoms in chronically hospitalized patients.

Details

Facilities , vol. 42 no. 1/2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-2772

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 March 1992

John Conway O'Brien

A collection of essays by a social economist seeking to balanceeconomics as a science of means with the values deemed necessary toman′s finding the good life and society enduring…

1141

Abstract

A collection of essays by a social economist seeking to balance economics as a science of means with the values deemed necessary to man′s finding the good life and society enduring as a civilized instrumentality. Looks for authority to great men of the past and to today′s moral philosopher: man is an ethical animal. The 13 essays are: 1. Evolutionary Economics: The End of It All? which challenges the view that Darwinism destroyed belief in a universe of purpose and design; 2. Schmoller′s Political Economy: Its Psychic, Moral and Legal Foundations, which centres on the belief that time‐honoured ethical values prevail in an economy formed by ties of common sentiment, ideas, customs and laws; 3. Adam Smith by Gustav von Schmoller – Schmoller rejects Smith′s natural law and sees him as simply spreading the message of Calvinism; 4. Pierre‐Joseph Proudhon, Socialist – Karl Marx, Communist: A Comparison; 5. Marxism and the Instauration of Man, which raises the question for Marx: is the flowering of the new man in Communist society the ultimate end to the dialectical movement of history?; 6. Ethical Progress and Economic Growth in Western Civilization; 7. Ethical Principles in American Society: An Appraisal; 8. The Ugent Need for a Consensus on Moral Values, which focuses on the real dangers inherent in there being no consensus on moral values; 9. Human Resources and the Good Society – man is not to be treated as an economic resource; man′s moral and material wellbeing is the goal; 10. The Social Economist on the Modern Dilemma: Ethical Dwarfs and Nuclear Giants, which argues that it is imperative to distinguish good from evil and to act accordingly: existentialism, situation ethics and evolutionary ethics savour of nihilism; 11. Ethical Principles: The Economist′s Quandary, which is the difficulty of balancing the claims of disinterested science and of the urge to better the human condition; 12. The Role of Government in the Advancement of Cultural Values, which discusses censorship and the funding of art against the background of the US Helms Amendment; 13. Man at the Crossroads draws earlier themes together; the author makes the case for rejecting determinism and the “operant conditioning” of the Skinner school in favour of the moral progress of autonomous man through adherence to traditional ethical values.

Details

International Journal of Social Economics, vol. 19 no. 3/4/5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0306-8293

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 April 1984

Roger Stuart

Learning is a natural human activity. The more trainers seek to contrive learning processes the more problems are created. The author argues for the removal of the mystification…

Abstract

Learning is a natural human activity. The more trainers seek to contrive learning processes the more problems are created. The author argues for the removal of the mystification and jargon and for the re‐creation of the individual's instinctive and natural abilities to learn/help others to learn.

Details

Industrial and Commercial Training, vol. 16 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0019-7858

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 April 1981

John Conway O'Brien

The main purpose of this contribution lies in the attempt to show that the future of western civilisation has been placed in jeopardy as a result of the declining influence of the…

Abstract

The main purpose of this contribution lies in the attempt to show that the future of western civilisation has been placed in jeopardy as a result of the declining influence of the Christian ethic, a system of transcendental values, and the increased acceptance of moral relativism due to the zeal and diligence of the proponents of secular humanism, naturalism, pragmatism and utilitarianism.

Details

International Journal of Social Economics, vol. 8 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0306-8293

Article
Publication date: 13 November 2017

Tom Scholte

The purpose of this paper is to explicate the ways in which the practice of the dramatic arts has evolved to facilitate second-order observation of social systems and can be used…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explicate the ways in which the practice of the dramatic arts has evolved to facilitate second-order observation of social systems and can be used to “pragmatize” systems thinking for a wider audience.

Design/methodology/approach

Survey of selected dramatic theory and practice from the nineteenth century to the present framed within the cyber-systemic theories of Niklas Luhmann, Werner Ulrich and Oswaldo Garcia de la Cerda and Maria Saavedra Ulloa.

Findings

Beginning with Naturalism in the late nineteenth century, theatrical practitioners have increasingly revealed the structure of social systems through their work, largely without any explicit adoption or deployment of systems theory. Current methods of theatrical presentation are highly compatible with cyber-systemic heuristics and could be used to make this body of theory known to a wider public.

Research limitations/implications

Work involving the direct application of systems theory to theatrical practice is still in its very early stages.

Practical implications

Despite the lack of direct influence by systems theory, Western theatrical practice has evolved in such a way as to facilitate increased opportunities for second-order observation of, and subsequent intervention in, the structure of social systems. The deliberate cultivation and integration of systems theory could allow theatre to become a significant tool for the explication of systems theory to the general public in a highly practical manner.

Social implications

As a communal and, in certain forms, interactive endeavour, a systems-oriented theatrical practice can provide an inclusive public space for the critique of social systems as they are currently structured and for the modelling of alternative structures.

Originality/value

Theorizing selected moments of theatre history as the development of platforms for second-order observation is a unique analytical approach. The applications suggested in this paper may lead to novel approaches to the development of systems literacy across society.

Details

Kybernetes, vol. 46 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0368-492X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 October 2001

Gabriele Lakomski and Colin W. Evers

Considers Willower’s theory of inquiry and his stance on science and epistemology which is derived from Dewey’s pragmatist philosophy. Argues that Willower’s naturalism, following…

2184

Abstract

Considers Willower’s theory of inquiry and his stance on science and epistemology which is derived from Dewey’s pragmatist philosophy. Argues that Willower’s naturalism, following Dewey’s understanding, remains incomplete because Dewey did not have at his disposal the required causal neurobiological detail of human learning and cognition. Such detail has recently become available, and Dewey’s biological metaphors are now being cashed out in relation to the causal mechanisms of inquiry, with interesting consequences for Willower’s theory of inquiry. Concludes the article by exploring the notion of reflective inquiry in relation to human cognition, research methodology and organizational cognition.

Details

Journal of Educational Administration, vol. 39 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-8234

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 May 2009

Christopher M. Branson

The purpose of this paper is to provide a coherent, comprehensive and complete philosophical framework that can not only validate but also guide the implementation of the…

941

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide a coherent, comprehensive and complete philosophical framework that can not only validate but also guide the implementation of the organisational development strategies proposed in Presence: Exploring Profound Change in People, Organizations and Society.

Design/methodology/approach

First, the paper situates the processes presented in the text within the overall context of current organisational development theory. Then, since no current widely supported philosophical framework can provide validation and support to the fundamental assumptions inherent within the text's proposals, a new philosophical framework is described. Finally, the unique insights gained from this new philosophical framework are used to offer prerequisite considerations for employing the processes proposed here.

Findings

Unless explicit and individualised attention is directed to helping each employee first develop deeply self‐reflective processes, the organisational insights and practices, as presented in the work cited above, cannot be attained.

Practical implications

Through applying the theoretical insights gained from the particular philosophical framework presented herein, the paper provides very clear and specific guidelines for the professional development of employees so that they can act according to the precepts presented in the work cited above.

Originality/value

The paper provides a unique perspective on the key understandings presented in the work cited above. It also provides practical ways for successfully engendering these within an organisation's culture.

Details

Leadership & Organization Development Journal, vol. 30 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7739

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 February 1990

Helen Sungaila

An emerging synthesis between natural and social sciences isdiscussed and the new science of “chaos” which originates inchemical researches is introduced. Educational systems are…

Abstract

An emerging synthesis between natural and social sciences is discussed and the new science of “chaos” which originates in chemical researches is introduced. Educational systems are seen to be dissipative structures allowing analysis of them in “chaotic” terms. Such structures have a self‐organising dynamic which produces “second order” changes to a new regime. This has long been associated with analysis of leadership. The creative input of a single individual, though small, may lead to far‐reaching effects if guided by vision.

Details

Journal of Educational Administration, vol. 28 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-8234

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 April 1994

Jeanette C. Smith

Ancient and universal, fantasy was most likely the first mainstream literature rather than the naturalism later recognized as mainstream. Every generation of every culture tells…

Abstract

Ancient and universal, fantasy was most likely the first mainstream literature rather than the naturalism later recognized as mainstream. Every generation of every culture tells and retells tales based on psychological archetypes, the elements of fantasy. For instance, the Celtic tale “Leir and His Daughters” has been reworked and updated by authors ranging from Shakespeare to Diana Paxson (The Serpent's Tooth, Morrow, 1991). One of the old English/Scottish ballads collected by Francis James Child in the late 19th century (Child ballad No. 37) has recently reappeared as the novel Thomas the Rhymer by Ellen Kushner (Morrow, 1991). Similarly, retellings of the Arthurian legend are legion, from Geoffrey of Monmouth to Malory to Tennyson to such modern writers as T.H. White, Mary Stewart, Marion Zimmer Bradley (The Mists of Avalon, Knopf, 1982), and Guy Gavriel Kay (The Wandering Fire and The Darkest Road, Collins, 1986).

Details

Collection Building, vol. 13 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0160-4953

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