Social sciences and values

The Uses of a Good Theory

by Steve Bearman

Co-authored with Faye Crosby

How does one diminish discrimination? Many members of SPSSI, including the present authors, have tried to reduce... more How does one diminish discrimination? Many members of SPSSI, including the present authors, have tried to reduce discrimination through the application of good theories. We outline three theoretical approaches that Crosby, like many other psychologists, has taken as she has struggled with discrimination. Sometimes missing in Crosby's approach, and often missing in the approach of others, is a frank avowal of values. We argue that the attempt to divorce science from values renders theories less effective than they need be and even allows unexamined values to contaminate good research.

Distributed Language: cognition beyond the brain

by Stephen J. Cowley

This short paper was a presentation at the Annual International Forum in the Humanities Conference on Interdisciplinarity in Cognitive Science Research, State University for the Humanities, Moscow (March 2012).

As Cognitive Science develops a view of agency, we are learning much about human cognition. First, as living things,... more As Cognitive Science develops a view of agency, we are learning much about human cognition. First, as living things, we depend on active embodiment. Since, this is incompatible with reduction to information processing, we are bound to ask what cognition is –and what it is to be a person. On a ‘4E’ view, agency is embodied, embedded, enacted and extended. This applies, moreover, to living beings as diverse as earthworms, beavers, wolves and humans. To understand human agency, I therefore argue for a more radical view. Pursuing this, it is stressed that, while situated, language is also non-local: our voices always echo those of others. While grounded in first-order activity, language also enacts second-order practices. It is its symbiotic nature that makes homo sapiens ecologically special. Once acknowledged, this opens up a distributed perspective on language and cognition. By means of clarification, I offer thick description of a interactional moment where language links the brain with the world beyond the body. At this instant, the words actually spoken are background: the verbal aspect of speech acts as a Zeitgeber for bodily coupling that directly realizes human values. Finally, I place the distributed view of linguistic cognition against themes in Russian psycholinguistic tradition.

Cognitive dynamics: language as values realizing activity

by Stephen J. Cowley

These are proofs that appeared as:
Cowley, S.J. (2012). Cognitive dynamics: language as values realizing activity. In A. Kravchenko (ed). Cognitive Dynamics and Linguistic Interactions, pp. 15-46. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Press.

To challenge cognitivism it is important emphasise how human bodies function. Like other organisms, we evolved to act... more To challenge cognitivism it is important emphasise how human bodies function. Like other organisms, we evolved to act and perceive in changing environments. In spite of the fact that this can be described as representing aspects of the world, there is no reason to think that people use what are representations for the brain (Steiner 2010). The central nervous system deals in the body-world relations that sustain flexible, adaptive behaviour. Bodies use measurable physical events or cognitive dynamics to control how they coordinate with the world. Humans extend this general capacity by cooperating in cultural settings.

Biology thus becomes enmeshed with history and, in looking at language too, this must be traced to minded behaviour. It follows that language -and teaching languages -must be explicated with respect to how encounters with the world are experienced as meaningful (Gibson 1979). Far from being subjective or abstract, cognitive dynamics function as public opportunities and threats. Social activity realizes values that motivate inhibition, thinking and communication (Gibson 1950; Hodges & Geyer 2006; Hodges 2007). In language, successes and failures arise as we mesh wordings with experience of items that serve in a (partly) shared social world. Using this perspective, I turn to pedagogical design and signs of writing to consider how applied linguistics can be enriched by viewing language as values realizing activity. The main concern of applied linguists becomes, not learning, but SLA or 'skilled linguistic action'.

Constituição, Utopia e Utopismo - O Exemplo da Constituição Cidadã Brasileira

by Paulo Ferreira da Cunha

in "Revista Jurídica Cesumar – Mestrado",  vol. 9, n.º 1, 2009, pp. 35-55.

Sumário: A Questão Conceitual. 1.1 Constituintes, Mito e Utopia; 2 O Género Literário Constituição; 3 Utopia e... more Sumário: A Questão Conceitual. 1.1 Constituintes, Mito e Utopia; 2 O Género Literário Constituição; 3 Utopia e Constituição; 4 Categorias; 4.1 Os grandes paradigmas ou épocas (tempos) do Direito; 4.2 As grandes formas de pensamento crítico; 5 O Lugar e o Papel da Constituição; 6 Utopia e Utopismo na Constituição Cidadã brasileira; 6.1 Os Valores e o Preâmbulo; 6.2 Alguns traços de utopismo constitucional; 7 O Paradigma da Cláusula Geral e o Paradigma Detalhista; 8 Conclusão. De novo os Conceitos e as Coisas: utopia e utopismo; Referências.

Les valeurs de l'Europe: entre l'idéal, le discours et la réalité / European Values: Between Ideal, Speech-making, and Reality

by Stella Ghervas

Published in "Rethinking Democracy", Kiev (Ukraine), February 2012
Article in Russian, Ukrainian, and French.

La démocratie est un projet idéal qui a joué un rôle clef dans les évolutions des deux derniers siècles, en se... more La démocratie est un projet idéal qui a joué un rôle clef dans les évolutions des deux derniers siècles, en se matérialisant de façon imparfaite dans une variété de constructions politiques. L'Union européenne ne fait pas exception, en présentant un discours dont la démocratie est certes une valeur essentielle, mais qui est néanmoins différent de celui des États-nations à cause de l'emphase qu'il met sur des valeurs dites "européennes" (diversité, tolérance, liberté de mouvement des personnes et des biens, etc.).

Or ce discours ne dit pas tout sur les idéaux philosophiques qui ont mené à la construction européenne, ni sur les compromis quotidiens voire les contradictions de la politique communautaire. Dans une perspective historique, cette contribution illustrera l'évolution de ces trois "niveaux" des valeurs, du XIXe siècle à nos jours. Leur opposition dialectique, toujours en mouvement, fournit un éclairage sur la "crise identitaire" que vit l'Europe élargie d'aujourd'hui.

An Examination of the Humane Values Education Program on a Group of Science High School Students

by Halil Eksi

Bülent DİLMAÇ; Adnan KULAKSIZOĞLU, Halil EKŞİ
Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice
7 (3) • September 2007 • 1241-1261

The purpose of this study is to find out whether the humane values education program
has produced any changes on... more The purpose of this study is to find out whether the humane values education program
has produced any changes on the students’ level of humane values. The research
was conducted with the first-and second-grade students in Konya Meram Science
High School in the 2006-2007 academic year. Thirty students participated in
the study. Half of the participants were assigned to the experimental group and the
other half to the control group. The research period spans April & May. Having prepared
the education program and the scale, the experimental and control groups were
formed objectively. The experimental group, consisting of 15 students, was provided
with the Humane Values Education Program lasting 14 sessions. Two sessions
were held in a week. Statistical methods were used to balance the control and
experimental group. The control group didn’t receive any program. Findings of the
research can be summarized as follows: Between the pre-test and post-test of the experimental
group, a significant difference can be seen in favor of the post- test. There
is no such a difference for the control group. According to the post-test results of
the control and experimental group, there are meaningful differences in favor of the
experimental group in the sub-dimensions of responsibility, friendship, amiability,
respect, honesty, and tolerance. Thus, these results show the effectiveness of the
program presented. The sub-dimensions of the Humane Values Education Program
given above show that this study is effective with regard to affective, cognitive, and
behavioral outcomes. Suggestions are made in the light of the findings and it has been
concluded that the program is effective in the development of secondary education
students’ value acquisition.

2009: O wybranych wartościach w aspekcie działalności dydaktycznej i naukowej

by Marek Nowosad

About chosen values in the aspect of the didactic and scientific activity (in Polish) [in:] Geography and values (Geografia i wartości), editors Janicki G., Łanczont M., Wyd. UMCS, Lublin 143-155.

motto:
„Zadaniem uniwersytetu jest także uczyć, ale w gruncie
rzeczy jest on po to, żeby człowiek, który do... more motto:
„Zadaniem uniwersytetu jest także uczyć, ale w gruncie
rzeczy jest on po to, żeby człowiek, który do niego
przychodzi, który ma swój własny rozum już co nieco rozwinięty i pewien zasób doświadczenia życiowego, nauczył się myśleć sam”.
Jan Paweł II do profesorów i studentów KUL
Częstochowa, 6 czerwca 1979 r.

Some quoted authors (in alphabetic order): Covey, Dalajlama, de Mello, Dostatni, Eichelberger, Evatt, Glasser, Jahn, Jäger, Kępiński, McDermott, Neill, Niwiński, O’Connor, Robbins, Ruiz, Sedlak, Seymour, Sisson, Tischner, Vallés, Waters, Wojtyła (John Paul II).

Social values in consumer psychology

by Guang-Xin Xie

The new myth: the social value of the QALY

by Rachel Baker

Tamas Keller - Hungary on the World Values map

by TARKI Social Research Institute

Review of sociology 20(1): 27–51.
This essay is the English translation of my paper published originally in the periodical Társadalmi Riport, 2010 [Social Report, 2010] edited by Tamás Kolosi and István György Tóth. The analysis was prepared as part of the TÁRKI research programme ”Social/cultural conditions of economic growth”. Besides others, the research programme included the empirical survey ”The normative framework of the market economy”, and the registration in Hungarian of the international series of surveys ”World Value Survey (WVS)”

In this study, the author locates close to 50 societies of the world along the value axis defined by Inglehart. In this study, the author locates close to 50 societies of the world along the value axis defined by Inglehart.

Innovating User Value: The Interrelations of Business Model Innovation, Design (Thinking) and the Production of Meaning – A Status-quo of the Current State of Research

by Jan Schmiedgen

Masters Thesis - 2011

We live in a hyper-competitive world, where whole industries either shift towards services or become obsolete due to... more We live in a hyper-competitive world, where whole industries either shift towards services or become obsolete due to new market entrants, technologies or even social practices. A world, where permanent interactions with customers, fast time-to-market, and the ability to innovate »right« (e.g. the right thing or value) are the key to corporate success. On that score the business sphere isn't getting tired of emphasizing the need for strategic innovation (which means »creating superior customer value«, business model innovations or even the disruption and creation of new markets).

This paper uncovers some of the often overlooked links of design (design thinking, design- driven innovation and service design) to strategic innovation through the lens of »customer value«. It will do so by ...

1) Disenchanting the big corporate rhetoric on above claims by showing that prevailing and too one-sided understandings of strategy and innovation, rather reinforce than escape old industry paradigms.

2) Examining designs still undervalued contributions to strategy-making by approaching business challenges with a user/value-centric and radical service logic.

3) Showing that every dimension of strategic innovation culminates in the concept of perceived user value and meaning, which gets reviewed in detail (dimensions, forms, proper- ties), especially with regards to constructing value propositions.

4) Arguing that the current service design and business model innovation discourses cannot be negotiated separately, as they may be good methodological complements.

So when speaking about the innovation of value for the customer, the paper argues, the above stated and seemingly separated fields intersect. Therefore their most apparent systemic connections and the facilitation of value creation by design are outlined and discussed.

The Moral Deficit of Financial Institutions and the Credit Crisis: The Moral Debt Perspective

by Marco Guidi

draft

The massive moral deficit of the financial institution and its elite agents has instigated and perpetuated the current... more The massive moral deficit of the financial institution and its elite agents has instigated and perpetuated the current credit crisis. That is, the credit crisis has been fuelled by the financial institution and its elite agents’ biased pursuit for their self-serving excessive private gain to the detriment of society through opportunistic casino decisions. The massive externalities imposed onto society from such decisions are due the financial institution’s unwillingness to internalize the full consequences of these decisions. Thus, the financial institution and its elite agents unjustly redistribute ‘costly tail risks’ to society whilst they pocket the ‘profitable tail risks’. They do this by exploiting Too-Big-To-Fail, quantitative easing, capital requirement system, and ‘fraudulent’ ideology for excessive self-serving private gain. In other words, the financial institution and its elite agents intentionally violate their fiduciary (explicit) and moral (implicit) obligations to best serve the broad interests of society, thereby increasing their moral deficit.

Shifting values and meanings of heritage: From cultural appropriation to tourism interpretation and back

by Noel B. Salazar

Salazar, Noel B. 2012. Shifting values and meanings of heritage: From cultural appropriation to tourism interpretation and back. In S. M. Lyon & C. E. Wells (Eds.), Global tourism: Cultural heritage and economic encounters (pp. 21-41). Lanham: Altamira.

This chapter explores how translocal processes of heritage policymaking and management influence its values and... more This chapter explores how translocal processes of heritage policymaking and management influence its values and meanings—both in times of stability and of turmoil—but also how “foreign” elements are incorporated and strategically (mis)used by local service providers in the heritage products told and sold to tourists. The case study from Central Java, Indonesia, provides unique insights because the current socioeconomic conditions have intensified existing conflicts over heritage appropriation and interpretation on local, national, regional, and global levels (cf. Salazar 2010b). An in-depth analysis of the empirical findings leads to a broader reflection on the dynamic interplay between the externally imaged (represented) and locally imagined value and meaning of world heritage in Indonesia and beyond. The ethnographic data illustrate that the significance of heritage—be it natural or cultural, tangible or intangible—is characterized by ever-changing pluriversality. However, before delving into the crux of the matter, it is essential to sketch the wider context.

Changing Roles - Opinions on Gender Roles

by TARKI Social Research Institute

Title of the Hungarian original: Szerepváltozások. Jelentés a nők és férfiak helyzetéről 2005
© TÁRKI, 2005
© Ifjúsági, Családügyi, Szociális és Esélyegyenlőségi Minisztérium, 2005

This book was published in English language with the support of the UNIFEM (United Nations Development Fund for Women, Central and Eastern Europe Regional Office, Bratislava).

English translation:
Anna Babarczy (papers 6-12)
Tibor Radványi (Introduction, papers 1-5, Bibliography)
Ildikó Nagy (Register of Researchers)

Language Editor: Clive Liddiard-Maár
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.
© TÁRKI Social Research Institute, 2006
© Ildikó Nagy, 2006
© Marietta Pongrácz, 2006
© István György Tóth, 2006
ISBN 963 7869 39 5
Cover Design: Péter Maczó
Typography: András Nyíri

This paper analysis analyses the social role of men and women. Investigating the social and demographic reasons, the... more This paper analysis analyses the social role of men and women. Investigating the social and demographic reasons, the author claims, that the dual burden of women is not expected to decrease, but rather is likely to grow. On the one hand, in ageing European societies, the ratio between active workers and dependants can be improved only by increasing the economic activity of women. Furthermore, the relative decrease in the proportion of older generations and the long-term sustainability of pensions funding can only be safeguarded by having more births and better fertility indicators.

Investigation of social values at Anogeia local community. A quantitative and qualitative research.

by Napoleon Papageorgiou

ABSTRACT

A key objective of this research was the study of social values on the local community of Anogeia... more ABSTRACT

A key objective of this research was the study of social values on the local community of Anogeia with the Mixed Methods Research. The social values that were studied in the local community of Anogeia are referred to the materialistic – post-materialistic classification (Inglehart 1977). According to this, the values related to economic and physical security are defined as materialistic and the values associated with aesthetics and self-realization are defined as post-materialistic. This approach regards to developed modern societies and is tested by quantitative scales of measurement on those classified values. The Sequential Explanatory Design, one of the specific models used in Mixed Methods Research, was selected to be used for the empirical investigation. Under this model was first conducted a large quantitative study that measured the social values with an official measurement scale. After the collection of 320 questionnaires, the statistical analysis of the research hypotheses and the illustration of the basic results, a smaller scale qualitative study applied by monitoring a Focus Group. Its organisation and content was designed under the central results of the quantitative study and the research hypotheses and was aimed to enrich the data for deeper explanation and analysis of the statistical results. This procedure revealed conclusions that regard upon a criticism on the classification of social elements and that the shaping of value systems is influenced by the social context and by multiple social components.

Key words: Mixed Methods, quantitative, qualitative, values, local communities

Европейские ценности: между идеалом, выступлением и реальностью (European Values: Between Ideal, Speech-making, and Reality)

by Stella Ghervas

Article in Russian, Ukrainian, and French.

La démocratie est un projet idéal qui a joué un rôle clef dans les évolutions des deux derniers siècles, en se... more La démocratie est un projet idéal qui a joué un rôle clef dans les évolutions des deux derniers siècles, en se matérialisant de façon imparfaite dans une variété de constructions politiques. L'Union européenne ne fait pas exception, en présentant un discours dont la démocratie est certes une valeur essentielle, mais qui est néanmoins différent de celui des États-nations à cause de l'emphase qu'il met sur des valeurs dites "européennes" (diversité, tolérance, liberté de mouvement des personnes et des biens, etc.).

Or ce discours ne dit pas tout sur les idéaux philosophiques qui ont mené à la construction européenne, ni sur les compromis quotidiens voire les contradictions de la politique communautaire. Dans une perspective historique, cette contribution illustrera l'évolution de ces trois "niveaux" des valeurs, du XIXe siècle à nos jours. Leur opposition dialectique, toujours en mouvement, fournit un éclairage sur la "crise identitaire" que vit l'Europe élargie d'aujourd'hui.

ROMSLIG. MODIG. SUNN. Rapport nr. 23, 2010 Universitetet i Stavanger

by Kristel Skorge

Norwegian public sector organizations experience a considerable reform-pressure. Politicians from all parties as well... more Norwegian public sector organizations experience a considerable reform-pressure. Politicians from all parties as well as communities and users demand that organizations become more innovative, better organized, more efficient and deliver higher levels of service. The reform-pressure is felt in all organizations in the public sector, but not least in Norway’s 430 municipalities. Approximately 15% of the Norwegian work-force is employed in one of these municipalities. These vary in size, still they share some of the same challenges. These challenges are connected to increasing the organizations’ efficiency, but also to manage and increase the organizations’ reputation and legitimacy.
But how do you work to make your organization more efficient or increase it’s reputation and standing in the eyes of the organizational stakeholders? Some strategies address the need for new organizational designs, increased cooperation and merging of one or more municipalities. Other strategies are aimed at increasing the level of innovation and entrepreneurship in the production of services. Yet a third set of strategies are aimed at building more robust and better organizational cultures, identity and image.
In the past ten years it has become increasingly popular for public sector organizations to develop what we may call a ‘core-ideology’ or organizational values. This is often accompanied by a Big Hairy Goal – a vision that is supposed to function as a guiding star for the people working in the organization. Often the values and the vision are also meant to function as a means to promote the organization or to create a positive image. The basis for this is theory and management-literature that stresses the importance of visions, values and a core-ideology in order to build successful or ‘learning’ organizations. However, increasingly we find voices in the research-community that are more critical to this approach and do not necessarily see a direct link between the development and implementation of visions and core-values and strengthened organizational culture and efficiency.
In this dissertation I study one particular municipality, Sandnes, and how the organization has worked to develop a vision and core-values. I analyze how the vision and core-values are used in the organization and what effects it may have had. The question I have tried to answer is:
In what ways have the development and implementation of a vision and core-values strengthened the organizational culture of the Municipality of Sandnes?
I chose a qualitative approach to answer this question. This entailed gathering data from relevant studies made by the municipality itself and others, as well as conducting 9 individual research interviews with top-management, heads of unit and ordinary employees in the municipality.
In the study I found that there are clear indications that the management-system of the organization is strengthened. Leaders seem to feel more united and focused. They also report that they experience an increase in efficiency, especially in relation to strategic processes and decision-making. However, the ordinary employees seem less affected by the vision and the core-values. Although all of the employees in my study feel that the vision and values reflect well the organizations identity, they use it far less actively in their daily work and when relating to colleagues, users and stakeholders. This is a finding that points in the direction that changing organizational culture is a complex matter and that there might be limits to how organizational culture can be changed on the basis of the development and implementation of visions and core-values. It also supports the view that organizational culture may be far less integrated and more fragmented than some managers and researchers seem to believe.

Ideals and values in Jean Froissart's Chroniques

by Kristel Skorge

Moral Politicking: Public attitudes toward gay marriage in an election context.

by Amy Becker

Becker, A.B., & Scheufele, D.A. (2009). Moral politicking: Public attitudes toward gay marriage in an election context. The International Journal of Press/Politics, 14(2), 186-211.

Does Science Provide Us with the Methodological Key to Wisdom?

by Nicholas Maxwell

Science provides us with the methodological key to wisdom.  This idea goes back to the 18th century French... more Science provides us with the methodological key to wisdom.  This idea goes back to the 18th century French Enlightenment.  Unfortunately, in developing the idea, the philosophes of the Enlightenment made three fundamental blunders: they failed to characterize the progress-achieving methods of science properly, they failed to generalize these methods properly, and they failed to develop social inquiry as social methodology having, as its basic task, to get progress-achieving methods, generalized from science, into social life so that humanity might make progress towards an enlightened world.  Instead, the philosophes developed social inquiry as social science.  This botched version of the Enlightenment idea was further developed throughout the 19th century, and built into academia in the early 20th century with the creation of university departments of social science.  As a result, academia today seeks knowledge but does not devote reason to the task of helping humanity make progress towards a better, wiser world.  Our current and impending global crises are the outcome.  We urgently need to bring about a revolution in universities throughout the world so that the blunders of the Enlightenment are corrected, and universities take up their proper task of helping humanity make progress towards a wiser world.