Central Proposition Research Articles

Drowning Out Dissent: The Thai Military’s Quest to Fabricate Popular Support on Twitter

Why and how do autocracies discursively conduct digital astroturfing against their populations? As these regimes increasingly co-opt social media to manipulate online political discourse, the current political disinformation literature continues to privilege a Cold War paradigm, focusing on countries that dominate Western foreign policy priorities and concerns. Its normative underpinnings overshadow other understudied cases that have also been weaponizing social media to manipulate domestic online discourses. Concurrently, findings from ethnographic interviews and big data approaches remain theoretically disconnected from the long-held logics of regime stabilization. I argue that regime digital astroturfing follows offline events that spark online discourses with collective action potential. In countering these discourses, regime-linked digital astroturfers exploit social media affordances to discursively cheerlead the regime and devalue regime challengers to create a semblance of popular support for the former. I adopt a mixed-methods approach informed by Contextual Text Coding to examine 14,430 tweets linked to the Royal Thai Army in February 2020 to subject my central propositions to empirical scrutiny. My findings demonstrated that astroturfing efforts on Twitter throughout this period, which discursively cheerleaded the military/autocratic regime of General Prayut Chan-o-cha and devalued their pro-democratic opposition with negative frames, were spurred by a mass shooting incident in the city of Korat that exposed the ruling elites to widespread online backlash. This contribution deepens case-specific knowledge about an understudied case in the literature and also strengthens our understanding about the adaptations of authoritarian legitimation strategies in the digital era and the militarization of social media communication.

Irritating the secular: on Peter Berger and Charles Taylor’s theological projects

ABSTRACT The literature that discusses the secularization paradigm is extensive. However, we still know little about revisionist accounts of secularization theory utilized as a proxy for theological projects. Through close reading, I zoom in on two prominent scholars of religious studies and beyond, Peter L. Berger and Charles Taylor, who represent stellar examples of the religiously grounded critique of the secularization paradigm. Berger and Taylor attempted to reconcile contemporary social theory and theology by injecting constitutive theological notions into their alternative constructions of the secular and religious to re-claim the relevance of Christianity in the present. My central proposition is that the gist of their empirical and normative rebuttal of secularization hinges not on sociological or genealogical explanations but on theologically anchored claims. The conceptual comparison of Berger and Taylor’s revisionist works, well-established in the canon of religious studies, reveals parallel strategies and three mutually intertwined theological assertions set to fracture the secularization paradigm: two-tiered ontology, the notion of personhood, and reconceptualization of religion.

Denominal -ed Adjectives and Their Adjectival Status in English Morphology

In the study of English denominal adjectives, scholarly attention has predominantly centred on those with Latinate suffixes (e.g., -al, -ary, and -ic/-ical), which are well-known as relational adjectives (RAdjs) and are extensively scrutinised in the existing literature. Conversely, those with English native suffixes (e.g., -en, -ern, -y, and -ed) have not undergone thorough examination to date. In the present study, I delve specifically into denominal adjectives with the suffix -ed (-ed Adjs), such as bearded, long-tailed, and shirt-sleeved. I present a novel basic picture of these adjectives, setting forth the following two central propositions: (i) -ed Adjs are a type of RAdj and (ii) undergo conversion to qualitative adjectives (QAdjs) (e.g., bearded man vs. bearded rock) akin to the better-known Latinate RAdjs (e.g., grammatical error vs. grammatical sentence). The analysis is conducted by examining suffixal etymology (i.e., Latinate or Germanic), suffixal properties (i.e., all-purpose or dedicated), and the driving factor for QAdj-forming conversion (i.e., the modal attribute true). These propositions and analyses collectively enrich our comprehensive understanding of the semantic and morphosyntactic properties of -ed Adjs within the realm of English morphology.

A Future Agenda for Research on In‐Service Theological Training in Thailand and Beyond

AbstractContextualization has featured prominently in missiological research for decades, often alongside concepts such as syncretism and hybridity. Being typically conceived as attempts to transpose and communicate the gospel in words and ways that make sense to people in their local cultural settings, contextualization has been theorized extensively in missiological scholarship. Notwithstanding this longstanding scholarly interest, a dearth of research recognizes in‐service training as a valid expression of contextualization praxis. This article addresses this knowledge gap. Set in the contemporary church context in Thailand, the article explores questions, issues, and trends of current theological training practice, considering future opportunities for indigenous leadership formation. The analysis converges around the central proposition that in‐service training is an under‐recognized strategy for leadership development in Thailand and beyond. Conceptualizing opportunities for future research, the review charts pertinent perspectives and prospects for in‐service training. This article embodies a timely research agenda aimed at sidestepping undue reliance on Western‐dominated hermeneutics while at the same time advocating for indigenous theological training approaches in countries of the majority world.

Comparative view of Sandel's Distributive Justice Theory

In Western political thought, distributive justice has always been an important issue. Utilitarianism, liberalism and communitarianism represent three different views of distributive justice, but they try to solve the same problem, the inequality of income and wealth. Utilitarianism aims at welfare maximization, liberalism takes respect for freedom as its starting point, and communitarianism, represented by Sandel and MacIntyre, advocates Aristotle's deserved theory with the aim of promoting virtue and taking unity as the banner against inequality. This paper takes Sandel's Liberalism and the Limits of Justice as the core of the study, captures the central proposition of distributive justice from the standpoint of communitarianism, introduces the Marxist distributive justice principles of Marx and Cohen, and compares and interprets the characteristics of Sandel's communitarian distributive justice theory from a perspective different from utilitarianism and liberalism. Finally, based on the principles of Marxist view of justice, this paper briefly expounds the theoretical value, limitation and practical possibility of Sandel's distributive justice theory and communitarian view.

Anna Doyle Wheeler: Gender Equality and the Need for a Cooperative Economic System

In the early nineteenth century, the utilitarian feminist Anna Doyle Wheeler generated still relevant analysis of the political economy of gender. The feminist literature credits Wheeler and her coauthor William Thompson as the first to appreciate that reproductive labor, however exploited, plays a central role in capitalism. Wheeler convincingly argues why piecemeal reform within capitalism cannot generate equality. The answer: a cooperative economy. This article formalizes two central propositions attributed to Anna Doyle Wheeler: (i) high levels of social welfare require gender equality; and (ii) gender equality requires a cooperative economic system. Conditional on interdependence and perceptions of happiness, there is a fundamental coherence underlying the first proposition. This study explicates the reasoning for the second proposition using Wheeler’s insights into social psychology and her understanding of cooperative institutions. Identifying and constructing decentralized, self-governing, and commonly owned institutions that embody Wheeler’s broad principles remains a challenge. HIGHLIGHTS Feminist philosopher Anna Doyle Wheeler argued gender equality requires cooperation. Meaningful gender equality demands a social psychology of enlarged self-interest. Cooperative institutions of common property must be decentralized and self-governed.

How Questioning Functions in Co-construction

This microanalysis study extends our understanding of how questioning works in a face-to-face dialogue. It does so, first, by testing the central proposition of McGee's (1999) co-constructive model of questions on a body of experimental data. It does so, secondly, by demonstrating how the questions and formulations (paraphrases and summaries) of an interviewer are skillfully interwoven in co-constructive sequences designed to invite the interviewee to construct ever more detailed understandings around a topic introduced by the interviewer in an opening and overarching question to the sequence. The implications for social constructionism and doing therapy are discussed.

“Staying with the Trouble” in Ontopolitical Research on Drugs

Trouble seems to be characteristic of contemporary politics and life. From the environment to the pandemic, crises of political credibility around the world, conflict on social media and the drama of so-called “cancel culture”, avoiding or settling trouble seems more unimaginable than ever. Yet, as the theme of this conference makes clear, trouble is not always negative, especially when posed in verb form. To trouble preconceptions, orthodoxies or alienating norms can be productive, exciting and transformative. This is as much the case in research as in any other area of life. Troubling our founding assumptions, our research questions, our theories and methods is the way we move forward, even if it is not always easy or immediately rewarding. In this keynote presentation I will reflect on my own engagements with forms of scholarly trouble, drawing on the work of Donna Haraway in her book Staying with the trouble (2018) to identify key ways in which we as researchers may “embrace trouble” in useful and productive ways. Thinking through some central propositions articulated by Haraway in her engagement with other scholars, such as the importance of storytelling, the value of grieving, and the uses of response-ability, I will offer a range of examples drawn from my own work in critical drug studies and ontopolitical research to highlight the promises and pitfalls of trouble. In doing so, I aim to acknowledge the opportunities I have enjoyed over the years to be part of the innovative and courageous field of critical drug studies, of which the Contemporary Drug Problems conference is also an important part.

Where you stand depends on where you sit: inconsistencies in Taiwan legislators' positions on importing US meat

Abstract This study examines the political dynamics that shape legislators' policy positions on importing US meat into Taiwan during the past decade, focusing on the cases of US beef in 2012 and US pork in 2021. The trade policy surrounding this issue has become politically contentious, involving conflicting national interests and constituency preferences. Legislators face a dilemma, torn between prioritizing the interests of their constituents and aligning with their party's interests. The central argument posits that legislators affiliated with the ruling party are more inclined to advocate for or adjust their stances to support the removal of import bans on American meat, while those associated with the opposition party tend to exhibit a greater reluctance to endorse such a stance. Factors such as the legislators' constituent's interests, district vs party-list affiliations, the urban–rural divide, or education level do not consistently explain legislators' positions on the US meat trade policy. To examine these arguments, this study employs a mixed-method approach, incorporating quantitative analysis and two case studies of individual legislators. The findings of this study offer empirical support for the central proposition.

The Role of Aversive Appearance-Related Comparisons and Self-Discrepancy in Depression and Well-Being From a Longitudinal General Comparative-Processing Perspective

Research indicates that aversive appearance-related comparisons (i.e., perceived as threatening one’s own motives) are associated with depressive symptoms. However, central elements underlying the comparison process are poorly understood. Drawing on central propositions of comparison theory, we hypothesized that an increased aversive comparison frequency instigates high levels of perceived comparison discrepancy to the standard, resulting in an intensified negative affective impact. Consequently, this heightened affective impact is expected to elicit more depressive symptoms and lower psychological well-being. We additionally expected that these pathways are moderated by dispositional self-discrepancies. In a two-wave longitudinal study, participants with elevated depressive symptoms (N = 500) responded to measures of self-discrepancy, depressive symptoms, psychological well-being, and the Comparison Standards Scale for Appearance. The latter assesses aversive social, temporal, counterfactual, and criteria-based comparisons regarding their frequency, perceived discrepancy to the standard, and engendered affective impact. The affective impact after engaging in aversive appearance-related comparisons (partially) accounted for the relation between comparison discrepancy and subsequent depressive symptoms and psychological well-being. Perceived discrepancy to the aversive comparison standards was not a key variable in this process. Dispositional self-discrepancy emerged as moderator on different pathways. Clinical implications are discussed in light of central theoretical accounts from a general comparative-processing perspective.

Implications of Municipal Boundary Determination on Social Integration of Diverse Communities in South Africa

This article scrutinises social integration from a local government perspective. It argues that the determinations and re-determinations of municipal areas compromise the inclusion and social boundaries that communities set for themselves. This article seeks to prove this claim through a comparative look at two case studies, namely, the Collins Chabane and the JB Marks local municipalities. Whereas the former resulted from the merger of two rural areas that belonged to separate municipal areas, viz Malamulele and Vuwani, the latter came to exist following an amalgamation of the then relatively more urban local municipalities of Tlokwe and Ventersdorp. Empirical evidence shows that the determination of municipal boundaries has disrupted communities’ social settings and their sense of belonging to their municipal area. It has become clear that there are still people who feel excluded from socio-economic development in their local areas. Primarily, the central proposition of this article is that municipal boundaries should consider the interests of groups of individuals who share cultural, ethnic or social ties within close proximity of each other. Keywords: Municipal demarcation, Municipal boundary determination, Re-determination, Social reintegration, Diverse communities

Radical Territoriality and Temporality: Dilli Chalo and Roadway Occupations in India

The politics of infrastructure lies at the influx of a range of interconnected, yet chasm-riddled 
 disciplinary silos. Thus, infrastructures take time to conceive, build, maintain and update. As such, infrastructures become long-standing relics in the built environment and witness socio-political, climatic and temporal change while remaining relatively frozen in their morphology. There is merit in considering how infrastructures of the future might learn from unprecedented occupation and civilian alteration - events that exceed the single-use capacities of network infrastructures - to become more informed and representative of past, current and future politics. In particular, there is merit in analysing recent shifts in contemporary politics that incited global instances of occupational dissent and civil mobilization by employing tactics and strategies to meet unforeseen needs. 
 Two urgent, contemporary examples of these infrastructural adjustments were the Dilli Chalo protests in North India in 2020-2021 and the pedestrian exodus of migrant workers at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. Within the scope of these events, this essay seeks to explain some region-specific and contemporary revelations that can be drawn from the ways in which the protestors and occupants of these infrastructural artifacts informed creative street-centric dissent within the finite set of modelled scenarios as programmed and designed by architects and designers 
 This essay is bolstered by a central proposition: there are many instances where, in the South Asian context, the street has historically encapsulated demonstrative emerging political hegemonies, where the negotiation of existing infrastructures to support multiple functions - both spatial and social - was central to future political dialogue. The civil redesign of existing infrastructures in these contemporary scenarios came to alter the local, street-level exercise of autonomy. Both revolutions, the migrant exodus and the farmers’ protests, though differentiated by their initial reactions and causes, ultimately demonstrated the Indian public’s right to the city.

Third Generation Zainichi Korean Hip Hop Music: Investigation of the Diverse Focus on Representation of Heritage Embodied by Young Zainichi Rappers

This research project centers on the discussion about the question of how the Third generation Zainichi Korean rappers internalize, reproduce and represent their Korean ethnic heritage through the form of Hip Hop. Three Zainichi rappers, including Chanmina, Kohh, and Moment Joon, are carefully selected for the case study with the expectation that they each embody a distinctive focus on their self-identity construction. The central proposition of this paper is to highlight the cruciality of approaching the ontological construction of young Zainichi Koreans concerning individual choices and then to regard the formation and representation of individual identities as an ongoing process rather than a fixed, monolithic entity.

Testing stability of self-control over time among South Korean Youth using semi-parametric group-based modeling

Gottfredson and Hirschi argued the self-control theory in A General Theory of Crime (1990). Since then, many studies have examined the central proposition of low self-control as the cause of criminal behavior with cross-sectional data. However, few research studies have tested other stability propositions that low self-control is stable across the life-course and that once it is established at age 8 to 10, it remains relatively stable regardless of life changes. The purpose of this study was to examine stability postulate of the self-control theory. The current study used six-wave panel data of the Korean Children & Youth Panel Survey (KCYPS), which measured self-control of elementary school students at one year each of time points. The test of relative stability hypothesis comprises four analyses of data: correlations, individual change scores, SGM (Semi-parametric Group-based Modeling), and Multinomial Logistic Regression. Results revealed that the hypothesis of self-control stability was not strongly supported by the longitudinal data. Based on prior empirical research and this study’s finding, more research is needed to determine the stability of self-control.

Concerning the Epistemology of Design: The Role of the Eco-Cognitive Model of Abduction in Pragmatism

Design has usually been linked to art and applied in scenarios related to everyday life. Even when design has, on occasion, made its way into the world of academia, it has always been closely linked to art and scenarios related everyday life. At last, however, the idea of design has reached the field of epistemology: an area within the very heart of philosophy that has always focused, in theory, on the foundations of knowledge. Consequently, design is being studied from different approaches interested in the foundation of knowledge, theoretical and practical. This is one of the reasons why abduction and pragmatism have been considered relevant from a design perspective. This paper first shows the main features of abduction and pragmatism, describes their evolution and considers their mutual implications. Second, the epistemology of design is analysed considering its most relevant characteristics. Third, the connection between abduction and, on the one hand, pragmatism and, on the other, design epistemology is addressed. Finally, the role of abductive inference in grounding a real epistemology for design theory from the naturalised cognitive perspective of abduction is outlined. The central proposition is that this approach is essential as a methodological innovation, as it allows us to analyse both the inquiry process and the design process as interdependent when dealing with practical problems of a social and cultural nature. This approach allows us to analyse how human actions determine changes in the theoretical framework from which we make our inquiry. In short, the world is an open-ended project that humans design through our daily inquiry.

Aversive well-being comparisons in dysphoria and the role of brooding rumination.

Individuals frequently engage in comparisons on how they are doing relative to different standards. According to the general comparative-processing model, comparisons can be perceived as aversive (appraised as threatening the motives of the comparer) or appetitive (appraised as consonant with, or positively challenging the motives). Research indicates that aversive comparisons are associated with depression. We hypothesize that aversive comparisons play a significant role in the relationship between brooding rumination and depression. Drawing on central propositions of control theory that discrepancies instigate rumination, we investigated the mediating role of brooding rumination in this relationship. Reflecting the different directionality, we also examined whether well-being comparisons mediate the relationship between brooding rumination and depression. Dysphoric participants (N=500) were administered measures of depression and brooding rumination, and the Comparison Standards Scale for Well-being. The latter assesses aversive social, temporal, counterfactual, and criteria-based comparisons regarding their (a) frequency, (b) perceived discrepancy to the standard, and (c) engendered affective valence. The relationship between the frequency of aversive comparisons with depression was partially accounted for by comparison discrepancy and engendered affective valence and brooding rumination. The relationship between rumination and depression was partially mediated by sequential comparison processes. Longitudinal research needs to unravel the underlying directionality of the relationship between depression, brooding, and comparison. Relevant clinical implications of well-being comparison are discussed.

The potential influence of prior work experience on unfair dismissal arbitration decisions related to employee misconduct: an exploratory study of decision styles

This article reports on an exploratory aspect of a larger study that examines unfair dismissal arbitration decisions relating to misconduct derived dismissals made by Australia's federal industrial tribunal. The central proposition explored is that an association occurs between the arbitrator's work history and their decision to overturn a dismissal. The arbitrators' previous occupations were classified based on their alignment with unitarist (employer harmony) and pluralist (worker interests) frameworks, or the ‘blended’ place in between. Subsequent logistic regression modelling allowed us to identify three types of arbitral decision styles: systems‐driven, evidence‐based and restorative‐voice. These decision styles offer our readership a descriptive framework that consolidates statistically significant decision factors. Australian media reports and professional forums scrutinise the appointment of members to its national industrial tribunal and the decisions that they make. The decision styles presented here can inform organisational stakeholders, including workers, HR managers, supervisors, unions and industry bodies who need to apply and/or respond to misconduct‐driven dismissal processes or formulate relevant policies, processes and systems such as codes of conduct or performance management.

Trinity: Mysterianism and the Problem of Meaninglessness

The problem of the Trinity is often framed as a paradox between some propositions central to the doctrine of the Trinity that seem to be logically in tension with each other. However, a problem of Paradox presupposes that we have a sufficient understanding of the meanings of the propositions (otherwise we wouldn’t even have any appearance of conflict between these meanings). My claim in this paper is that the main problem of the Trinity is more radical than a problem of Paradox: it’s rather a problem of Meaninglessness, in the sense that the difficult challenge is to grasp a meaning for the central propositions of the doctrine (not to render logically compatible some meanings clearly grasped). I show how we can respond to the problem of Meaninglessness and how, once we have solved it, there is no need to try and dissolve the appearance of contradiction which constitutes the problem of Paradox. As far as the problem of Paradox goes, the solution adopted here is therefore a form of Mysterianism.

DO RELIGIOUS JEWS HAVE FAITH IN THE PRINCIPLES OF JUDAISM

Sam Lebens’ The Principles of Judaism is an extraordinary book in its rigor and richness. It is a sophisticated examination of three central propositions, which Lebens maintains, are the fundamental doctrines that “can make sense of continued commitment to an Orthodox Jewish lifestyle

Habitual aversive and appetitive well-being comparisons in dysphoria: Introducing the Comparison Standards Scale for well-being

BackgroundPeople are constantly preoccupied with how they are doing compared to different standards. This preoccupation influences judgments of well-being, including depression. However, research on well-being comparisons is scarce, also due to a lack of a measure of multi-standard comparisons. MethodsOur research goals were twofold. First, we validated the Comparison Standards Scale for well-being (CSS-W). Second, by drawing on central propositions of the general comparative-processing model, we examined the association of habitual well-being comparisons, their perceived discrepancies with the standard, and engendered affect with depressive symptoms and psychological well-being in dysphoric participants (N = 500). The CSS-W assesses habitual social, temporal, counterfactual, and criteria-based upward and downward comparisons regarding their a) frequency, b) perceived discrepancy, and c) engendered affect. ResultsThe findings confirmed the theoretically expected two-factor solution representing aversive (mostly upward) and appetitive (mostly downward) comparisons. Comparison frequency, discrepancy, and engendered affect were associated with depression and well-being. Yet, aversive comparisons displayed higher associations with the outcomes than appetitive comparisons. In particular, frequency of appetitive comparisons was not significantly correlated to depression. In line with our central theory-driven hypothesis, the relationship between frequency of aversive comparisons with depression was partially mediated by serial effects of comparison discrepancy and affect, whereas the relationship with well-being was fully mediated by comparison discrepancy and affect. LimitationsThe cross-sectional design of the study does not allow for conclusions of causal relations between the measured variables. ConclusionsThe presented framework proves useful in examining significant comparison processes in well-being and depression.