Conceptual Arguments Research Articles

UMA LEITURA DA EVOLUÇÃO DO CONCEITO DE CARTOGRAFIA OCORRIDA ENTRE 1960 E 2000

From the 1940s to 2000, reflecting on the conceptual transformations in the field and their relationship with technological advancements. Initially, the UN provided the definition of Cartography, but from 1965 onwards, the ICA assumed this responsibility. Over the span of 40 years, these definitions evolved considerably. In 1992, Fraser Taylor, as the president of the ICA, introduced a significant update by incorporating the term "geoinformation" into the definition. This modification broadened the scope of Cartography to include other forms of spatial representation. However, in the late 1990s, there was a regression when the ICA simplified the definition of Cartography, restricting it to the study of maps. This dynamic illustrates that the evolution of scientific debates does not always follow a linear trajectory, often oscillating between advancements and regressions. Consequently, it is concluded that ongoing conceptual debates around the definition of Cartography are essential to keep pace with emerging technological and theoretical innovations in the field. Keywords: Epistemology. International Cartographic Association. History of Cartography.

Eco-Tech Odyssey: The Political Craftsmanship of a Green Technostate in the United Arab Emirates (UAE)

The United Nations’s annual climate conference in Dubai in late 2023 provided the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with an opportunity to market their interpretation of a technology- and innovation-focused approach to addressing the climate crisis. Simultaneously, this perspective also helps ensure the future and prosperity of the oil state. This article illustrates that the behavior of the technostate is problematic because it has the potential to expedite environmental damage and endorse a carbon-intensive business as usual. A significant concern lies in the fact that the techno-utopian mode with a green makeover reinforces the autocratic nature of the state, as well as its promotion to the outside world. By using ethnographic methods, this article depicts the UAE’s ecological (super-)modernization model as an inherently political process, as it discloses facets of authority, dominance, legitimacy, and power hierarchy. Ultimately, this article emphasizes the importance of practices and techniques in the conceptual debate, challenging the prevailing focus on a simplified regime-type dichotomy in the discourse on sustainability transformation.

Legitimation strategies in emerging ecosystems: The case of advanced air mobility in Hamburg

This study provides insights into the legitimation process of emerging ecosystems and strengthens the conceptual link between entrepreneurial ecosystems and economic geography. It examines existing theoretical frameworks on legitimation strategies in emerging entrepreneurial ecosystems by inquiring into advanced air mobility (AAM), an area in which innovation faces exceptionally high legitimation challenges. The initial integration of drones for logistics and air taxis for passenger transport is surrounded by ambiguous future visions that range from high expectations to concerns about developing a mobility form that is neither sustainable nor socially acceptable and affordable. Empirically, this article offers an analytical understanding of the collective legitimation strategies within the emerging AAM ecosystem in Hamburg, Germany. For this, we used multiple qualitative methods and data sources: (1) a contextualizing network analysis, (2) semi-structured interviews with 22 representatives of tech and policy development, and (3) participatory observation from applied research projects. Based on the empirical material, we find that the current conceptual debate underestimates the public sector's role in ecosystem emergence and legitimation. As AAM depends on fundamental regulatory change, authorities and state-owned companies in the aviation sector have a decisive influence on the emergence of the ecosystem. Furthermore, our findings highlight how global discourses shape local practices and expectations. By combining cross-sectoral knowledge, entrepreneurs and policymakers aim to identify feasible use cases for their place-specific context. Nevertheless, the lack of a collective identity within the ecosystem, which comes largely from the uncertainties of AAM, poses numerous challenges for ecosystem participants addressing their liability of newness.

Data as a Contested Commodity

Abstract Data are undoubtedly a contested commodity. On the one hand, data commodification is largely under way including through the operation of law. This is notably visible with the new EU data policy (Data Strategy notably followed by the Data Act, the Data Governance Act) that aims to establish data markets in keeping with European values. On the other hand, this phenomenon is heavily contested based on a wide range of different arguments, which have not been subjected to a systematic clustering. Data commodification is often understood simplistically as a binary and monolithic phenomenon whereby data would be either ‘commodified’ or not. This leads to misunderstandings of this phenomenon and of the ways in which it manifests. For example, many conceptual misunderstandings surround the relationship between ‘data access’ or ‘data sharing’ and data commodification and markets. This paper clarifies the phenomenon of data commodification, by approaching it as a spectrum with degrees following M. J. Radin (Contested Commodities, 1996). Following Radin, the paper clusters the different data governance arguments – or even paradigms – found in the literature along a data commodification spectrum. A specific attention is paid to the importance of market discourses in commodification dynamics, especially on the law. The paper offers a novel systematic synthesis of the data governance normative arguments, including data commons, data trusts, data sharing, data intermediation, against the background of the data commodification phenomenon. This synthesis brings conceptual clarity and allows to bring together different strands of the data literature (especially welfare economics, law and economics, commons, critical data studies, infrastructure studies) comprehensively, while they have until now remained siloed. Data governance normative arguments would greatly benefit from taking into account (conceptual and/or normative) arguments found in other strands of the literature. The paper can also be used to evaluate how data governance arguments or legislations relate to data commodification and take into account the specificities of data, thus enabling for more systematic analysis. The paper finds that data is actually a very contested commodity: The very conceptualization of data as a commodity is ontologically contestable. The framework in which situations are conceptualized – whether as data market ones or not – can indeed play a powerful but often invisible discursive role on commodification dynamics. Finally, the very identification and regulation of ‘data’ alone necessarily brings about certain commodification affordances.

Strong phenomenal intentionality theory and unconscious phenomenality

ABSTRACT The paper argues that a coherent strong Phenomenal Intentionality Theory (sPIT) needs to adopt the concept of unconscious phenomenality. sPIT is based on the thesis that phenomenal properties constitute intentional episodes. But if “constitutive” means that without these phenomenal properties, intentional episodes break down, then this poses a serious problem for so-called unconscious intentional occurrent episodes. The dilemma is that sPIT either preserves unconscious intentional states, but then must reject constitutiveness, or conversely, sPIT accepts constitutiveness but must acknowledge unconscious phenomenality. It is argued that the second option – i.e. accepting unconscious phenomenality – offers an interesting way to preserve sPIT. This counterintuitive solution is labeled a “dual model” here. Accepting the dual model not only as a conceptual possibility but as a factual case – supported by conceptual and empirical arguments – could be a plausible proposal for solving the dilemma.

Purging Disloyal Courts in Democratic Transitions and Judicial Preferences

ABSTRACT∞ In this article, I examine court-purging in democratic transitions through the lens of judicial preferences. Specifically, I address the debate on how court-purging during a democratic transition affects the likelihood of future court-purging. I argue that the prevailing assumption is one of static, sincere judicial preferences. In contrast, I explicitly recognize the role of dynamic judicial preferences and incentives. This recognition suggests that transitional court-purging could be minimal and cautious, while the broader judicial context may eventually achieve the same policy outcomes. The dynamic perspective is crucial for understanding past court-purging strategies and for informing the conceptual debate about the rule of law in transitional justice.

Conceptual debates in the study of canine & feline vaccine hesitancy: A response to Haeder 2023

Conceptual debates in the study of canine & feline vaccine hesitancy: A response to Haeder 2023

Can-and should-automaticity be self-reported using a single item? A secondary analysis of 16 datasets.

Understanding the influence of habit on health behaviour, or the formation or disruption of health habits over time, requires reliable and valid measures of automaticity. The most used measure, the Self-Report Behavioural Automaticity Index (SRBAI; derived from the Self-Report Habit Index [SRHI]), comprises four items, which may be impractical in some research contexts. Responding to demand from fellow researchers, this study sought to identify whether and which single items from the SRBAI adequately detect hypothesised effects of automaticity, via secondary analysis of 16 datasets, incorporating 16,838 participants and seven different behaviours. We assessed construct validity through correlations between each item and the full SRBAI (and where possible, the SRHI) and predictive validity by examining correlations with behaviour. All four single-item measures independently met construct and predictive validity criteria. We recognise compelling conceptual and methodological arguments regarding why people should not attempt to assess automaticity via a single, self-report item. However, where circumstances require brief measures, three SRBAI items each offer a credible and practical one-item measure that can substitute for the SRBAI or SRHI. We recommend one item in particular-'Behaviour X is something I do automatically'-because it tended to most closely replicate the effects of the four-item SRBAI.

Type-R physicalism

ABSTRACT In this paper, I argue for an often-neglected solution to the conceivability argument: the reconciliatory response. Its advocates state that, even if zombies are metaphysically possible, it does not follow that all versions of physicalism are false. To make the reconciliatory response, we must construct a theory that counts as a version of physicalism (because it makes higher-level facts count as physical) but also allows for the metaphysical possibility of zombies. Call any physicalist theory that can make the reconciliatory response type-R physicalism. In this paper, I discuss one version of type-R physicalism: stochastic ground physicalism (SGP). First, I argue that type-R physicalism, construed as SGP, offers physicalists an attractive rationalist package that no other version of physicalism can provide. Second, I address two concerns that have been underexplored in the literature. First, the charge that SGP is incoherent because it fails to provide metaphysical explanations. Second, the charge that type-R physicalism is not a genuine form of physicalism because the supervenience of the phenomenal on the physical is a necessary condition for any formulation of physicalism. I argue that both concerns are ill-founded.

Freedom of speech on campus

Abstract What should be the rules governing campus speech in a liberal democratic society? On one side are those arguing for maximal protections for campus speech analogous to the First Amendment in the United States. On the other are those promoting stricter regulation of speech through formal and informal speech codes. This paper aims to carve a new path in the conversation. Both sides agree that the mission of the university is the discovery and dissemination of knowledge and that achieving this mission requires tolerant and open-minded students, faculty, and administrators. However, neither side has explicitly connected its advocacy for specific speech policies with these shared goals. Our paper advances the conversation by proposing a series of empirically testable mechanisms for connecting speech policies to the desired outcomes. We also argue that focusing on these mechanisms opens the way towards new and more tractable conceptual and normative debates.

Switzerland’s intricate differentiated integration with the European Union: bringing governance (back) in

For three decades Switzerland has been pursuing an approach of sectoral bilateralism, resulting in an intricate pattern of external differentiated integration with the European Union (EU). This article examines the form of this evolving relationship, its drivers and consequences and argues in favour of ‘bringing governance (back) in’ to the analysis. First, it shows that the current bilateral agreements vary widely not only with regard to substance, but also with regard to governance, yet the conceptual debate has predominantly focused on differentiation by time, space and/or matter. Second, for both the EU and Switzerland the drivers have been material interests stemming from their interdependence as well as (mainly constraining) ideational factors linked to (self-)governance. Third, the ‘throughput’ dimension in terms of the governance processes and the ‘wriggle room’ they offer has largely been neglected in the Swiss narrative which mainly emphasises sovereignty and self-governance.

Strategy for striking the omnichannel balance in Retail 4.0

PurposeThe rise of Industry 4.0 led to digitally-enabled evolutionary and radical changes in all branches of the retail industry, resulting in the emergence of the distinct term “Retail 4.0”. Within this paradigm, particular emphasis is placed on forming a balanced system of omnichannel sales and customer service, allowing reaching a synergistic effect in the face of constant changes, turbulence and uncertainty in the business environment. The main objective of this study is to offer and justify a practical strategy for optimal utilization of sales channels and customer service provision within the Retail 4.0 paradigm.Design/methodology/approachThe conceptual argument of the study is based on the review of the literature and illustrative case studiesFindingsThe decision-making model proposed in this study provides a roadmap for retailers. It underscores the need for a data-driven approach, where decisions are informed by real-time analytics and customer insights. This model also advocates for a flexible yet structured approach to managing various sales channels, ensuring that each channel complements and enhances the other.Originality/valueThe study offers and justifies an original five-stage process model for forming a balanced system of omnichannel sales and customer service.

여성의 몸에 대한 여성주의적 이해와 그 교육적 의미

This study aims to demonstrate that the female body is not an object to be overcome or negated but a constructive agent of social change based on philosophical and feminist discussions about the female body and to present the results of this discussion as an educational-theoretical basis for the formation of female subjectivity. To this end, this study systematically applied the methods of conceptual analysis and argument to philosophical and feminist discussions. This study is organized as follows. Section 2 reviews the meaning-giving function of experience of perception and the medial function of the body based on Merleau-Ponty’s theory of perception. Experience of perception, which individually reveals the meaning of self and object, is presented as the authority for the unity of mind and body and the integration of subject and object. Section 3 discusses from the perspective of social constructionism that femininity is not innately attributed to the female body but is constructed socioculturally. The distinctive way of experience and perception provided by the female body is presented as the starting point for the formation of individual identity and subjectivity. Section 4 attempts an educational criticism of the modern form of the oppression of women based on philosophical and feminist discussions about the female body. Expression based on the body and development of sensibility and sentiment are presented as educational measures to form female subjectivity from the perspective of self-formation (Bildung).

(Re-)Vitalizing the Concept of Organization: Inspirations From Recent Social Theory

In this essay, we introduce recent debates on both concepts of organization and organization’s future. Since Max Weber’s ideas gained acceptance, there has been a strong link between social theory (rationalized modernity) and a concept of organization (bureaucracy) in organization theory as well as organizational sociology. Today, organizational scholarship challenges, but at the same time defends, this classical link. We argue that both positions can be substantiated empirically. This situation motivates a debate on updating and revitalizing the link between organizational concepts and social theories that we aim to put forward with this special issue of Critical Sociology. We discuss the assembled contributions in relation to this fundamental conceptual debate of organization research and conclude that the richness of social theories can still serve as an inspiration to explain recent organizational phenomena.

Changing Trends of Marriage: Emerging Complication, Paradoxical Thinking and Social Transformation

Marriage is one of the most ancient, indispensable, significant and universal social institution in all societies and cultures which has constructed since the beginning of human civilization. Marriage is a universal social phenomenon and it is a permanent bond between husband and wife which is intended to fulfill the economic, social, cultural, biological and emotional goals. Similarly, marriage establishes a new family which supports in giving facilities for the reproduction and upbringing of children. In changing context, individual freedom is greater matter rather than marital burden and partner’s ambiguity. In this modern era, there are various marriage allied complications, contradictions and changing trends. Sociological observations of marriage have brought out multifaceted marriage systems and its challenging transformations. Similarly, the change in gender relationship and independence between men and women has resulted in a considerable rise in the instability of marriage and its implication in the society. In this circumstance, this paper tries to analyze the conceptual and rational debates of orthodox and customary established marriage, marriage practice and its social, cultural, biological and emotional implications. Likewise, this study provides an analysis of contradictory thinking and declining trends of marriage in this contemporary society.

Rethinking entrepreneurship and management education for engineering students: The appropriateness of design thinking

The study argues that the educational needs of engineering students for entrepreneurship and managerial education are specific and evolving over time toward a set of skills and knowledge needed in digital and dynamic world. Existing research largely ignored the distinct and evolving nature of these educational needs and their implications for entrepreneurship and managerial education of engineering students. Using design thinking and teaching model literature, we proposed teaching model framework and derived propositions from conceptual arguments to address these educational needs effectively. The proposed conceptual teaching model framework elaborates on the incorporation of cognitive acts of design in various aspects at ontological, didactical, and contextual levels. The framework views education as a process of co-construction, centered on students, where the role of the teacher is similar to that of a coach. Students work in teams and practice the cognitive acts of design that lead to the development of interpersonal, entrepreneurial, and managerial skills. For this purpose, open-ended questioning, real-life customer problems, design thinking methodology, and lean methodology are proposed as effective content and pedagogies to promote the entrepreneurial behaviors required in the current industrial scenario.

Back to the future: the persistent problems of hybrid war

Abstract What has happened to the spectre of Russian hybrid warfare that once haunted strategists, policy-makers and scholars? Many of the characteristics of Russia's 2014 invasion of Crimea have been absent in Moscow's current war, prompting some to wonder whether Russia has moved beyond ‘hybrid warfare’ as it wages a brutal conventional war in Ukraine. Scholars and practitioners should not pack up their hybrid war handbooks just yet, however. The need to limit conflict escalation between nuclear-armed adversaries suggests that non-military asymmetric tools of will increasingly define great power competition in the twenty-first century. Most urgently, scholars must bring some order to the conceptual debate over what is and is not hybrid war. In this policy paper, we propose a classification scheme that can be applied irrespective of the type of conflict, one that illuminates the wide range of political, social, economic and military weapons states may use in future conflicts. This approach not only allows us to move beyond endless debates over which tactics belong in the definition of hybrid war, but it also allows us to describe changes over time in how countries wage multi-domain wars. By describing the ‘hybridity’ of all conflict along three continuous axes of scale, militarization and centralization, scholars and policy-makers alike can avoid dangerous blind spots that are likely to arise when we try to categorize conflicts into discrete typological bins.

Brilliant care: a conceptual argument for scholarship of the extraordinary

ABSTRACT Critiques of healthcare often focus on negative experiences to address gaps, issues, and problems. While important, this often obscures care that exceeds expectation – that is, brilliant care. This article centres brilliant care by considering the questions that might be asked to surface it, and what might happen when brilliant care is centred. Specifically, a conceptual understanding of brilliant care is extended within health sociology. In doing so, the article draws on Mol’s research on the logic of care, Fredrickson’s broaden-and-build theory, and Hochschild’s notion of emotion work. Through an application of this conceptual framework to secondary data – namely, reported stories of healthcare experiences from the series ‘What’s right in health care’ – the article demonstrates how the framework surfaces and illuminates aspects of brilliance and its emergence. The article concludes by considering the implications this has on how we make sense of healthcare and the positive, social, and relational aspects that might be surfaced in current and future practices.

Identity categories and colonial legacies in the British urban space

ABSTRACT This article advances conceptual debates regarding identity and marginalisation in valuable ways and informs methodological improvements for representation within data collection systems. It discusses findings from a study exploring the inclusion – and exclusion – of identity categories within official data collection exercises. A theme that emerged from the research was how intricacies present within the lived experiences of ethno-linguistic groups can be ignored through the application of broad – and more politically visible – identity categories, such as Muslim. Furthermore, some participants felt that identity categories were discouraged based on colonial legacies and British government priorities for diplomatic relations. One such identity category discussed here is Kashmiri, which despite an ongoing campaign for official recognition, remained absent from the list of ethnic categories used for quantifying populations in the United Kingdom. Furthermore, within the research findings, Somalis and Pashtuns were also highlighted as groups, who despite being recognised as distinct communities within the urban space and thus acknowledged categories of practice in daily interactions within neighbourhoods in the UK, remain ‘unofficial’.

The Offense-Defense Balance in Cyberspace

The study of cyber strategy and its implications for international security has become increasingly crucial, necessitating an examination of the unique challenges posed by the dynamic and stealthy nature of the cyber domain. This paper addresses whether offensive or defensive strategies prevail in cyberspace, especially in light of evolving technological landscapes and debates over cyber threats. By applying offense-defense theory from international relations, the research explores the nuanced relationship between offensive and defensive operations in cyberspace. Despite prevalent views favoring offense dominance, recent skepticism questions the severity of cyber threats and suggests a possible overemphasis on offensive operations. This paper systematically examines the core concepts, findings, and operational variables of offense-defense theory, providing clarity to the conceptual debates surrounding cyber conflict. Recognizing the unique characteristics of the cyber domain, it urges a careful consideration of biases that may distort judgments about offense dominance. The evolving nature of cyberspace and its potential for redesign introduces caution and underscores the need for a nuanced understanding of the offense-defense balance. The preliminary assessment concludes that the question of whether offense or defense "dominates" in cyberspace is overly simplistic. Given the intricate interactions of cyber capabilities, other coercive means available to states, and the dynamic evolution of cyber technology, this question can only be answered within specific contextual and chronological boundaries. Within such conditions, the state of the offense-defense balance is crucial to tactical and operational decision-making. At the strategic policymaking level, the more coherent question is how cyber technologies are shifting the balance of advantages between offense and defense in the overall military posture of states. In essence, this paper provides valuable insights into the ongoing discourse on cyber strategy, theoretical frameworks, and nuanced analyses to inform policy and strategic decision-making in the face of evolving cyber threats.