Conceptual Puzzles Research Articles

Culture, Craft, & Coherence: The Unexpected Vitality of Montessori Teacher Training

This essay examines the how’s why’s and what for’s of Montessori teacher training. Treating the Montessori system as an illuminating case of alternative teacher preparation, three concepts common to the lexicon of teacher education - culture, craft, and coherence - are explored in detail. Drawing both from both mainstream teacher education research and ethnographic studies of Montessori teacher training, the essay probes several conceptual puzzles aimed toward reconsidering key ideas related to the development of cultural and technical expertise.

Weighing up the EC Environmental Liability Directive

In spite of a lengthy gestation period, the Environmental Liability Directive left conceptual puzzles that have caused difficulties of transposition by Member States and of application by authorities, operators, third parties and insurance companies. This is largely due to the fact that the Directive ventures into highly sophisticated national legal and doctrinal traditions. Its history and terminology are re-examined in order to explain some of the difficulties. Both the added value and the drawbacks of the Directive are considered. Problems of transposing the Directive within the national legal systems of a number of selected Member States are considered, as well as the principles of direct effect in cases of insufficient transposition. It is concluded that although the Directive should have been improved, it does have merits in that it obliges Member States to develop their often rather haphazard national laws in this area into a more comprehensive and coherent system of obligations and powers coping with environmental damage.

Reframing Mexican Migration as a Multi-Ethnic Process

The Mexican migrant population in the US increasingly reflects the ethnic diversity of Mexican society. To recognize Mexican migration as a multi-ethnic process raises broader conceptual puzzles about race, ethnicity, and national identity. This essay draws from recent empirical research and participant-observation to explore implications of the indigenous Mexican migrant experience for understanding collective identity formation, including the social construction of community membership, regional and pan-ethnic identities, territory, and transnational communities.

Entanglement under restricted operations: Analogy to mixed-state entanglement

We show that the classification of bipartite pure entangled states when local quantum operations are restricted yields a structure that is analogous in many respects to that of mixed-state entanglement. Specifically, we develop this analogy by restricting operations through local superselection rules, and show that such exotic phenomena as bound entanglement and activation arise using pure states in this setting. This analogy aids in resolving several conceptual puzzles in the study of entanglement under restricted operations. In particular, we demonstrate that several types of quantum optical states that possess confusing entanglement properties are analogous to bound entangled states. Also, the classification of pure-state entanglement under restricted operations can be much simpler than for mixed-state entanglement. For instance, in the case of local Abelian superselection rules all questions concerning distillability can be resolved.

MIXED-STATE ENTANGLEMENT IN THE LIGHT OF PURE-STATE ENTANGLEMENT CONSTRAINED BY SUPERSELECTION RULES

We show that the classification of bi-partite pure entangled states when local quantum operations are restricted, e.g., constrained by local superselection rules, yields a structure that is analogous in many respects to that of mixed-state entanglement, including such exotic phenomena as bound entanglement and activation. This analogy aids in resolving several conceptual puzzles in the study of entanglement under restricted operations. Specifically, we demonstrate that several types of quantum optical states that possess confusing entanglement properties are analogous to bound entangled states. Also, the classification of pure-state entanglement under restricted operations can be much simpler than for mixed state entanglement. For instance, in the case of local Abelian superselection rules all questions concerning distillability can be resolved.

Holographic protection of chronology in universes of the Gödel type

We analyze the structure of supersymmetric Godel-like cosmological solutions of string theory. Just as the original four-dimensional Godel universe, these solutions represent rotating, topologically trivial cosmologies with a homogeneous metric and closed timelike curves. First we focus on "phenomenological" aspects of holography, and identify the preferred holographic screens associated with inertial comoving observers in Godel universes. We find that holography can serve as a chronology protection agency: The closed timelike curves are either hidden behind the holographic screen, or broken by it into causal pieces. In fact, holography in Godel universes has many features in common with de Sitter space, suggesting that Godel universes could represent a supersymmetric laboratory for addressing the conceptual puzzles of de Sitter holography. Then we initiate the investigation of "microscopic" aspects of holography of Godel universes in string theory. We show that Godel universes are T-dual to pp-waves, and use this fact to generate new Godel-like solutions of string and M-theory by T-dualizing known supersymmetric pp-wave solutions.

PUZZLES IN SEARCH OF RESEARCHERS: PROCESSES, IDENTITIES, AND SITUATIONS

The theme of this keynote address is conceptual puzzles raised by empirical research on conflict management and resolution. Three types of puzzles are highlighted: those that deal with processes, identities, and situations. The process puzzles include some counter‐intuitive implications of negotiating strategies and interaction process dynamics. The identity puzzles include the ways in which identity is negotiated, perceptions of ingroups and outgroups, and the connection between loyalty to groups and collective action. The situation puzzles address attribution issues, the distinction between passive actors and active agents, and the role of history. An attempt is then made to juxtapose the puzzles toward a larger conception of a field that emphasizes change in the phenomena we analyze in research and shape through practice. A number of these ideas are found also in the research of previous IACM lifetime award recipients, with whom connections are made.

Theorising the rainbow? The puzzle of the public-private divide

Two influential approaches to conceptualising the relationship between public and private law have suggested that the distinction between them should be abandoned. The first, as exemplified by Oliver, suggests that the distinction should be abandoned in favour of fusion based on the notion of commonality. The second, as exemplified by Teubner, rejects fusion, arguing for the replacement of the distinction with a concept capturing the multi-dimensional complexity of law in multiple social contexts: `polycontexturality'. This article focuses primarily on exploring conceptual puzzles presented by Oliver's `commonality thesis', and argues for a reconceptualisation of the relationship between public and private law as multi-layered. Monolithic and rigidly binary concepts alike should be replaced by a complex set of relationships – a position broadly supportive of Teubner's. However, it is argued that the relationships between public and private law are to be seen as existing on a spectrum, or even on an overarching meta-spectrum, in which the existence of distinctive `archetypal conceptual paradigms' influence as `meta-spectrum extremities'. This presents a limited caveat to Teubner's thesis. I suggest that explicit theoretical attention to both the implications of polycontexturality and the existence of the archetypal conceptual paradigms as meta-spectrum extremities might avoid occluding important distinctions and nuances within a fusion that tends illegitimately to subsume private law within a public law paradigm. Such an analysis, I argue, could enhance the coherence of the law in complex, multi-dimensional cases at the troubled borderline between public and private law.

German Unification and the Union of Europe: The Domestic Politics of Integration Policy. By Jeffrey Anderson. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999. 240p. $59.95 cloth, $21.95 paper.

German unification presents conceptual puzzles of which comparativists dream. Has this monumental change, which boils down to full German sovereignty, growth of German power, and the emergence of new domestic political interests, altered Germany's relationship to Europe? Is Germany withdrawing from or dominating European institutions? Does the new Germany still tread its well-worn postwar path of the model “European”? The questions are important for our understanding of the sources of policy change and continuity as well as the process of regional integration in general and the course of European integration in particular. In which issue areas has Germany's postunification policy broken with the past? Is the break caused by changes in domestic politics or the increase in the power of a unified and fully sovereign Germany? Have policy changes impeded or enhanced the speed and character of European unification? Are important continuities evident? If both policy continuity and change are present, why the variation? These are the questions Jeffrey Anderson tackles in this timely and important volume.

Tolerance as a Virtue in Spinoza's Ethics

There is widespread agreement that tolerance is a mainstay of modern liberalism. There is less agreement about what justifies it. As a starting point I want to offer the definition of toleration as "the refusal, where one has the power to do so, to prohibit or seriously interfere with conduct that one finds objectionable." 2 If we include the expression of ideas through speech or other media as part of "conduct" then this will serve us adequately. It captures the central tension between disapproving some conduct and yet allowing it to continue that we find in the etymology of the word itself, which comes from the Latin tolerare, which means to bear or endure. This tension, however, produces a variety of conceptual puzzles and difficulties that bear on the justification and maintenance of the practice itself. Some of the problems are meta-ethical and arise from questions about the status of normativity itself. For example, one common justification of tolerance is based on skepticism about the good. If there is no objective idea of the good then enforcement of some subjective concept of it would be unjustified. There are a variety of problems with this view but one bears directly on toleration itself. If we transform disapproval of others into indifference then toleration seems to have lost its meaning. Another set of problems arises if we accept some concept of the good as the basis for disapproval. One central problem of this kind, the so-called "paradox of toleration," can be stated as follows: "[N]ormally we count toleration as a [End Page 535] virtue in individuals and a duty in societies. However, where toleration is based on moral disapproval it implies that the thing tolerated is wrong and ought not to exist. The question which then arises is why. . . it should be thought good to tolerate." 3 In what follows I want to examine some of the arguments of a thinker who is often cited by historians of liberalism as an important advocate of toleration in the early modern period but whose arguments are now only infrequently discussed. His arguments are still valuable because they address both meta-ethical questions about the status of normative judgments and the justification of tolerance itself.

"Out There": The Ecology of Addiction in Drug Abuse Treatment Discourse

A growing trend in social research concerning illicit drug use has entailed suspending regard for conventional questions such as the etiology of drug problems and the outcomes achieved by assorted interventions in favor of focusing analytic attention on how drug problems are socially constructed in and through human praxis. In this paper, I use a constructionist approach to demonstrate and explain endogenous accounts of what I am calling the ecology of addiction in drug abuse treatment discourse. These accounts posit a space “out there” marked by its degradation, dirtiness, solitude, and savagery which commonly tempts those who must live there to also behave amorally, licentiously, and/or savagely. I explain these accounts by showing their fundamental utility in light of specific conceptual puzzles that participants in drug abuse treatment discourse must inevitably solve. Namely, speaking in terms of this ecology of addiction provides participants with a compelling narrative means for reconciling the following two claims: 1) they are chronically prone to enslavement by their addictions, and 2) their addictions can be controlled through ongoing participation in a communal project of mutual help.

Real self-deception.

Self-deception is made unnecessarily puzzling by the assumption that it is an intrapersonal analog of ordinary interpersonal deception. In paradigmatic cases, interpersonal deception is intentional and involves some time at which the deceiver disbelieves what the deceived believes. The assumption that self-deception is intentional and that the self-deceiver believes that some proposition is true while also believing that it is false produces interesting conceptual puzzles, but it also produces a fundamentally mistaken view of the dynamics of self-deception. This target article challenges the assumption and presents an alternative view of the nature and etiology of self-deception. Drawing upon empirical studies of cognitive biases, it resolves familiar "paradoxes" about the dynamics of self-deception and the condition of being self-deceived. Conceptually sufficient conditions for self-deception are offered and putative empirical demonstrations of a kind of self-deception in which a subject believes that a proposition is true while also believing that it is false are criticized. Self-deception is neither irresolvably paradoxical nor mysterious, and it is explicable without the assistance of mental exotica. The key to understanding its dynamics is a proper appreciation of our capacity for acquiring and retaining motivationally biased beliefs.

Critical Review: Paul Teller'sInterpretive Introduction to Quantum Field Theory

Paul Teller's (1995) new book, “An Interpretive Introduction to Quantum Field Theory”, is a pioneering work. To the best of our knowledge it is the first book by a philosopher devoted not only to explaining what quantum field theory (QFT) is, but to clarifying the conceptual issues and puzzles to which the theory gives rise (though Auyung 1995 treats some different issues in QFT). As such it is an important book, which we hope will greatly stimulate work in the area as other philosophers and physicists react to it.

Shifting Vantage and Conceptual Puzzles in Understanding Public Organization Networks1

Practitioners and students of public organizations experience and observe network phenomena at a quickening pace in a wide variety of policy domains. These phenomena appear to be sufficiently complex to raise questions about the adequacy of conceptual formulations of organizational and management relations rooted mainly in organization centric assumptions adequate as a basis for the understanding of this evolution. This article explores the implications of viewing public organizational networks (PONs) from three vantages of conceptual observation, and discusses variations in conceptual salience, theoretical interests, and insights regarding innovation as these vantages change. A short discussion of the challenges of networks and innovation to the attainment of public trust and confidence and institutional constancy concludes the article.

INVIGORATING WORLD SYSTEM THEORY as CRITICAL THEORY: Exploring Philosophical Foundations and Postpositivist Contributions

World system theory comprises two distinct lines of inquiry: macro-social studies of historical world-systems and ideological critique. World system theorists often shun ideological critique, but for two reasons I argue it must be foremost. First, without explicit attention to its philosophical foundations, world system theory rests upon several unexamined, uncomplementary, liberal premises. These premises pose conceptual puzzles. World system theorists frequently cast such puzzles as methodological, empirical, or theoretical problems, rather than as symptoms of ideological confusions requiring critique. Second, through explicit critique, theorists may transform implicit philosophical foundations into explicit ontological and epistemological groundings. Such groundings will enable world system theorists to better realize their critical, emancipatory goals and to resolve theoretical puzzles. One such puzzle -- the conceptual distinction between politics and economics -- recurs often, arising in the debates on the relation(s) between the state system and capitalism and thwarting efforts to demonstrate the unity of the world system. I suggest that world system theorists engage in explicit ideological critique to lay equally explicit ideologicalfoundations for their histories. I suggest a critical, conceptually historicist, "constructivist" approach that builds upon postpositivist critiques and introduces constitutive principles. I illustrate the virtue of this approach by demonstrating the unity of the modern world system.

A Social Cognitive Conception of Social Structure

An adequate account of contemporary social structure must account for both the stabilities and the dynamics of social life. Because social structures are negotiated and redefined through individual action and interaction, models that facilitate connections between micro and macro levels of analysis are necessary in turn for a comprehensive account of social stability and change. Sociological social psychological theories such as social exchange and symbolic interaction address the interactive aspects of social behavior. The social cognition perspective, however, is uniquely qualified to address how social structure is represented, sustained, and transformed by the cognitive systems of human actors. Social cognitive conceptions of social structure are delineated through a selective discussion of social cognition and sociological models that implicate cognition. The relationships between cognition, agency, and structure are illustrated through analysis offour conceptual puzzles in order to reveal the analytic contribution of social cognition to understanding social structure. An adequate account of contemporary social structure must meet at least two criteria: 1) it must account not only for the stabilities of social life but also for the fluidities and the dynamics of its production, reproduction, and transformations; and 2) it must incorporate both the macro and the micro foundations of action. These agendas are related. Social structure constrains individuals through both preexisting institutions and the situated constraints imposed by other actors. Social structures also are continually negotiated and redefined through individual action and interaction. The individual and society are mutually constitutive. As Melucci (1989:46) argues, society's capacity to

Spatial puzzles: A guide for researchers.

AbstractSpatial puzzles consist of objects or pieces that must be fitted into a specified configuration. The puzzles are often complex and offer some unique opportunities for examining spatial skills. These puzzles have not been used to advantage by psychologists because most researchers are not aware of the rich variety that exist and the extensive literature on them. The present article attempts to provide a guide to the most common puzzles and some of the literature on them.Man has never shown so much imagination as in the variety of games he has invented. (G. W. Leibnitz, as quoted by Odier, 1975a, p. 12)In 1926, Henry Ernest Dudeney, an English puzzle expert, made an interesting observation: People are fascinated with puzzles and, when this curiosity is coupled with modern communications media, it periodically produces puzzle crazes that sweep society. To prove his point, Dudeney described some puzzles popular since medieval times and documented a series of crazes beginning with tangrams and wire - puzzles in the early 1800's, progressing to Sam Loyd's 14 - 15 puzzle in the 1880's (see also Hordern, 1986), and continuing to cross - words in the 1920's.Events since 1926 support Dudeney's claim. Jigsaw puzzles were a popular fad in the 1950's while Piet Hein's Soma Cube (Hein, 1969) and Instant Insanity captured the public's imagination briefly in the late 1960's. These and all other crazes pale in comparison to the popularity of Rubik's Cube (see Hofstadter, 1982; Hordern, 1986) which was probably the greatest puzzle craze of all time. Since 1980, video games have become popular but most video games are not puzzles in the truest sense. Most video games involve a great deal of dexterity but entail no aspects of problem - solving (Loftus & Loftus, 1983); however, there are two exceptions and both have spawned puzzle crazes. In the early 1980's, college students and computer buffs spent hours playing ROGUE (or HACK), a three - dimensional maze exploration game. That fad has passed but today's students seem equally enthralled with TETRIS, a Russian game using interlocking pieces (Pajitnov, 1988).All the puzzles described by Dudeney, and all the puzzles mentioned above, are spatial puzzles, that is, puzzles that consist of pieces or objects that must be manipulated into a specific spatial configuration. Perhaps an important corollary to Dudeney's thesis is that,while people are fascinated with puzzles, they are especially fascinated with spatial puzzles.Despite the popularity of spatial puzzles, psychologists know relatively little about the processes involved in solving them. There has been a considerable amount of research on problem - solving (e.g., Newell & Simon, 1972; Hayes, 1989; Wickelgren, 1976) but most of the research has focussed on conceptual puzzles, that is, problems that can be represented symbolically with little or no reference to spatial parameters. This lack of interest in spatial puzzles may be due to several factors. For example, with psychometrics, mechanical skills have been linked to less desirable blue - collar occupations such as bomb - fuse assembler (Cronbach, 1960, p. 280). Another reason is that the cognitive renaissance during the 1960's was motivated in part by the inability to account for language within a Behaviourist framework so that much of the subsequent research has focussed on language - related problems, such as verbal memory, rather than non - verbal processes. The most likely reason that spatial puzzles have been ignored, however, is that most psychologists simply don't know anything about them.Using Puzzles for Research and Teaching: A Rich EnvironmentSpatial puzzles offer a rich environment for exploring problem - solving and spatial abilities in that many puzzles have a large assortment of problems of different and known degrees of complexity with variations that allow the assessment of transfer across different dimensions. …

History and Methodology of Econometrics

Introduction: Neil de Marchi. Part 1 Conceptual puzzles before Cowles: autonomy, John Aldrich a re-analysis of confluence analysis, David Hendry some contributions of US agricultural economists and their close associates to statistics and econometrics, 1917-33, Karl Fox. Part 2 Structural econometrics: formalization of identification theory, Duo Qin the fall of OLS in structural estimation, Roy Epstein LSE and the British approach to time series econometrics, Christopher Gilbert. Part 3 Applied studies: the early history of the consumption function, Jim Thomas early empirical findings on the consumption function, stylized facts or fiction - a restrospective view, Aris Spanos Phillips' approximate regression, Nancy Wulwick econometrics and the theory of economic policy - the Tinbergen-Theil, contributions 40 years on, Andrew Hughes Hallett. Part 4 Critical histories: the probabilistic counter-revolution, or how stochastic concepts came to neoclassical economic theory, Philip Mirowski realism and instrumentalism in the development of econometrics, Tony Lawson.

Wanted Dead or Alive: Two Attempts to Solve Schrödinger’s Paradox

In a discussion of Schroedinger’s views on quantum theory John Bell says that Schroedinger did not see how “to account for particle tracks in track chambers…and more generally for the definiteness, the particularity, of experience, as compared with the indefiniteness, the waviness, of the wave function. It is the problem he had had with his cat. He thought it could not be both dead and alive. But the wave function showed no such commitment, superposing the possibilities. Either the wave function as given by the Schroedinger equation is not everything or it is not right” (Bell 1987). At a recent conference Bell sermonized against the employment of “for all practical purpose” reasoning- he called it FAP reasoning-to solve this problem (Bell 1989). He argued that we should not be satisfied with any alleged solution which works “for all practical purposes” only while leaving conceptual puzzles unresolved.

Shattuck lecture--allocating scarce medical resources and the availability of organ transplantation. Some moral presuppositions.

The Problem Some: controversies have a staying power because they spring from unavoidable moral and conceptual puzzles. The debates concerning transplantation are a good example. To begin with, the...