Dialectical Framework Research Articles

The Octopus and the Other: Capitalocene Contradictions in the Symbolic Order

This article exercises a Lacanian psychoanalytic intervention into ecocriticism through examining the contradictions of the Capitalocene within Frank Norris’s 1901 novel, The Octopus. Drawing upon Jason Moore’s dialectical framework in the Anthropocene or Capitalocene? Nature, History and the Crisis of Capitalism (2016) and Philip R. Polefrone’s “The Stock Ticker in the Garden: Frank Norris, American Literary Naturalism, and Capitalocene Aesthetics” (2020), this article examines the contradictory naturalization of capitalism in nature within the novel’s depiction of the wheat and railroad industries in California through the ideology of the Capitalocene. This article then analyzes the novel’s pairing of Angéle’s sexual assault with the industrial assault of the land. Read through a psychoanalytic framework, the assaults in the novel together illuminate how the search for the other in the novel effectively obscures the psychoanalytic understanding that “there is no big Other,” or the understanding that the Capitalist symbolic order is inherently contradictory.

Student Engagement and Language Learning: What, Why, and How?

Student Engagement and Language Learning: What, Why, and How?

Conditional Abstract Dialectical Frameworks

Abstract dialectical frameworks (in short, ADFs) are a unifying model of formal argumentation, where argumentative relations between arguments are represented by assigning acceptance conditions to atomic arguments. This idea is generalized by letting acceptance conditions being assigned to complex formulas, resulting in conditional abstract dialectical frameworks (in short, cADFs). We define the semantics of cADFs in terms of a non-truth-functional four-valued logic, and study the semantics in-depth, by showing existence results and proving that all semantics are generalizations of the corresponding semantics for ADFs.

East Asian Mothers’ attitudes towards their children’s education in England: dialectics of East Asian and English education

ABSTRACT This study explores how middle-class migrant East Asian mothers approach their children’s education in England, where educational culture is perceived to be considerably different from East Asia. Based on dichotomous perceptions about East Asian and English education cultures, dialectical perspectives were used to analyse the life history interview data, particularly four dialectical frameworks developed by [Baxter, L.A. (1990). Dialectical contradictions in relationship development. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 7, 69–88. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265407590071004]: selection, separation, neutralization, and reframing. In order to release tensions arising from the two-perceived different educational systems these mothers used different dialectical strategies. The paper argues that East Asian mothers’ behaviour towards their children’s education cannot be categorized using a uniform cultural framework and a diasporic space provides multiple possibilities for exercising divergent approaches for them.

Far away from Pārsa: Empire, Borders, and Ideology in Achaemenid Bactria

Recently, a corpus of primary sources related to the Northeastern fringes of the Achaemenid Empire (courtly-style seals bearing narrative depictions of warfare between representatives of the King and Central Asians) has been used to support the hypothesis that, at least from Xerxes’ reign, the people of the eastern satrapies provided a constant threat to the Empire in these crucial regions and, consequently, to its stability. Given its implications (e. g., in the light of evidence like the ADAB documents, from which a different picture emerges), such a statement deserves closer scrutiny. After having summarized the main arguments supporting it, the paper problematizes it, while arguing for a dialectical framework as the theoretical paradigm better suited to understand the relationships between Achaemenid power and the people(s) living at its Central Asian borderlands.

Advanced algorithms for abstract dialectical frameworks based on complexity analysis of subclasses and SAT solving

Abstract dialectical frameworks (ADFs) constitute one of the most powerful formalisms in abstract argumentation. Their high computational complexity poses, however, certain challenges when designing efficient systems. In this paper, we tackle this issue by (i) analyzing the complexity of ADFs under structural restrictions, (ii) presenting novel algorithms which make use of these insights, and (iii) implementing these algorithms via (multiple) calls to SAT solvers. An empirical evaluation of the resulting implementation on ADF benchmarks generated from ICCMA competitions shows that our solver is able to outperform state-of-the-art ADF systems.

Dialectic vs Phenomenological Readings of Fanon: on the Question of Inferiority Complexes

One of the strongest critiques against Fanon’s work centers on the idea that Fanon leaves black subjects caught in slavish regard of whites. Such a depiction of the black subject does not explain Fanon’s own life and his ability to escape slavish regard of whites and become a formative intellectual. Such slavish regard of whites, in other words, the idea of an inferiority complex has been challenged by notable current black philosophers, including Lucius Outlaw. In autobiographical references within Fanon and Outlaw’s work, the two scholars share similar childhood experiences but draw very different conclusions on the development of an inferiority complex. I argue that this estrangement in slavish regard of whites occurs when reading Fanon’s work only through a dialectic framework. A phenomenological reading of Fanon’s work illuminates the ambiguous possibilities of experience. In a phenomenological reading of experience, admitting inferiority complexes does not necessarily debilitate and trap subjects in perpetuity.

Social inequalities for student leaders and professional organizations: Florence Nightingale's political legacy.

to analyze the nursing systems of understanding and social inequalities from the perspective of student leaders and representatives of nursing professional organizations. qualitative research supported by the theoretical framework of Marxist dialectics. Threerepresentatives of professional organizations and five student leaders participated in the study. Datawere obtained from individual interviews and submitted to Critical Discourse Analysis. thediscourses are marked by commitment, relational identification and characterize the position of obligation and necessity of nursing in acting with the individuals in situations of inequality, indicating accountability as a social practice. Among the competencies necessary for nursing in confronting social inequalities, political competence is central and is associated with health advocacy. we conclude that acting on social inequalities is part of the historical construction of nursing. Here, we emphasized the historical importance of Florence Nightingale and her legacy for political action and leadership in nursing.

“You Didn’t Cause Racism, and You Have to Solve it Anyways”: Antiracist Adaptations to Dialectical Behavior Therapy for White Therapists

There are currently no published studies that investigate or discuss the cultural responsiveness of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) to the needs of Black/African-American clients. In addition, no published scholarly works offer guidance to therapists on how to practice antiracism within the context of delivering evidence-based treatment. Methods for developing a culturally responsive antiracist treatment are discussed within a dialectical framework and from the perspective of critical race psychology. We propose that an antiracist adaptation to DBT is needed to correct for context minimization errors in the DBT model that create an invisibility of racism. Recommendations are made for an additional DBT Therapist Agreement that encourages labeling and targeting therapist treatment-interfering racist behavior. An additional Therapist Consultation Agreement is also proposed to guide therapist antiracist advocacy and functional validation for Black/African-American clients. The DBT technology is used in conjunction with other multicultural theoretical models to recommend strategies for developing White DBT therapists’ antiracist competencies. Future directions for developing critical race psychological research are discussed.

Theorising violence in mobility: A case of Nepali women migrant workers

In this article, I examine violence as constitutive of mobility for the feminine diasporic subject through an examination of women migrant workers from Nepal. I frame this project with two distinct theoretical approaches to understanding violence. First, I draw upon Catharine MacKinnon's provocative question ‘Are women human?’ to elucidate points of disjuncture between individual women migrants and state policy that dehumanises them. Second, I address some of the gaps in MacKinnon's work by turning to Judith Butler's theory of violence as primarily embodied in the corporeal subject. Drawing on 30 in-depth interviews with returned women migrant workers, I examine three moments in the migration process that demonstrate how violence operates ubiquitously in and through circuits of mobility. I conclude that by putting Butler's and Mackinnon's approaches to violence in dialogue and examining the Nepali case through a dialectic framework, intriguing possibilities for approaching migration and its problematics are revealed.

Towards an Eco-decolonial Museology: A critical realist analysis of the crises of South African museums

South African museums face multivalent, simultaneous crises. The MELD dialectical framework of critical realist philosophy can be used to explore potential for a deep reimagining of museum theory and practice that may generate a new, relational mode better able than persistent dualist modes to respond to complex, emergent crises. This has been conceived by the author (Jeffery, 2021) as an ecological-decolonial, or eco-decolonial, mode of museology, and is further developed in the present analysis.
 At 1M, the MELD analysis surfaces the implicit neoliberal ontology of South African museum work and the emergent paradox of ‘emancipatory neoliberalism’. This paradox is generative of a number of constraints on practice and agency, including commodification of heritage, a restrictive form of official memory, and quantitative management practice. These limit potential for museums to respond to complex crises that require relational capabilities. 
 2E explores the potential negation of these constraints. To disrupt the principle of collection as the grounding ontological activity of museum practice may disrupt the implicit neoliberal ontology. This may contribute to emergent, sophisticated socialecological trends in museum practice, both in South Africa and internationally.
 At 3L, a dialectical view on the concept of cultural landscape offers a relational frame for an eco-decolonial museum practice that may better respond to the crises faced by museums. The practical implications of the eco-decolonial approach are considered at 4D.
 Keywords: museum practice, critical realism, ontology, eco-decolonial, collection, cultural landscape

Resistance as a Cultural Universal of Human Psyche: a Dialectical View.

In its overall intent, the paper aims to instantiate the Valsinerian (2018) proposal of resistance as a fundamental process of human psyche. It attempts to use the concept of resistance to challenge the dualistic axiomatic basis of traditional psychology and argues for the benefits of dialectical metatheory in which theory of resistance is grounded. As a fundamental attribute of human functioning, resistance arises out of the tension of contradictions between opposites within the same whole. To grasp its nature and operation, the dialectical metatheory is needed rather than a dualistic metatheory which is endemic in traditional Psychology. The paper contrasts the two metatheories with each other and outlines the basic premises of dialectical metatheory. It also further elaborates the theory of resistance by addressing the three significant questions about the nature of resistance: Is resistance present in all encounters between persons and between persons and culture? Is resistance limited to negation or is it generative? Is resistance central to making development possible and bringing about transformational change? Through the application of dialectical framework in conceptualizing individual and collective relations, the dualistic thinking in cultural psychology about individualism and collectivism as mutually exclusive categories is questioned. Also, it opens out the space for finding the hidden transcripts of resistance in collectivist culture.

On the correspondence between abstract dialectical frameworks and nonmonotonic conditional logics

The exact relationship between formal argumentation and nonmonotonic logics is a research topic that keeps on eluding researchers despite recent intensified efforts. We contribute to a deeper understanding of this relation by investigating characterizations of abstract dialectical frameworks in conditional logics for nonmonotonic reasoning. We first show that in general, there is a gap between argumentation and conditional semantics when applying several intuitive translations, but then prove that this gap can be closed when focusing on specific classes of translations.

The War of Words

The War of Words

On the Decomposition of Abstract Dialectical Frameworks and the Complexity of Naive-based Semantics

Abstract dialectical frameworks (ADFs) are a recently introduced powerful generalization of Dung’s popular abstract argumentation frameworks (AFs). Inspired by similar work for AFs, we introduce a decomposition scheme for ADFs, which proceeds along the ADF’s strongly connected components. We find that, for several semantics, the decompositionbased version coincides with the original semantics, whereas for others, it gives rise to a new semantics. These new semantics allow us to deal with pertinent problems such as odd-length negative cycles in a more general setting, that for instance also encompasses logic programs. We perform an exhaustive analysis of the computational complexity of these new, so-called naive-based semantics. The results are quite interesting, for some of them involve little-known classes of the so-called Boolean hierarchy (another hierarchy in between classes of the polynomial hierarchy). Furthermore, in credulous and sceptical entailment, the complexity can be different depending on whether we check for truth or falsity of a specific statement.

INVOLVEMENT OF MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS IN THE INVESTIGATIVE PROCEDURES DURING THE DETECTION OF CERTAIN TYPES OF CRIMES

The aim: To clarify the importance of the need to involve medical professionals, as experts, in the conduction of the investigative actions during the pre-trial investigation of certain types of crimes. Materials and methods: This research is based on the general laws and categories of the Cognition theory and on the framework of materialistic dialectics; it uses a comprehensive approach to the study of the problems under consideration, applies systematic, statistical, historical, legal and comparative legal methods. Conclusions: The need to use specialized medical knowledge depends not on a certain type of crime, but on the specific circumstances of the committed criminal offense. Based on theoretical and practical frameworks, the reasonable practical significance of using specialized medical knowledge during a pre-trial investigation expands and deepens the possibilities of procedural evidence, contributes to the rapid and complete crime disclosure, exposing the wrongdoers and making the right decisions in criminal proceedings.

Towards a theoretical understanding of the selfie: A descriptive review

AbstractOver the past 2 decades or so, the triple digital revolution—social network, Internet, and mobile phone—has increased the use and popularity of the “selfie.” Within social sciences, the phenomenon of the selfie has been examined as a new culture that shapes human self‐presentation, social relationships, and social consumptions. This article provides an overview of the most common theoretical approaches that have been used by researchers to understand the phenomenon of the selfie. In particular, the article focuses on the use of the following frameworks: dramaturgic lens, sociosemiotic approach, and dialectical framework. In addition to these approaches, this article also introduces some preliminary ideas relating to the possibility of exploring the selfie through the lens of mediatization theory. This is based on the argument that the selfie phenomenon operates within media logic as it offers symbolic resources, discursive strategies, communicative messages, and performance tactics that shape and transform the presentation of self, social interaction, and social order.

Hong Kong Chinese university students’ conceptions of teacher care: a dialectical framework of care

ABSTRACT This paper addresses Hong Kong Chinese undergraduate students’ conceptions of teacher care informed by their experiences of teacher-student relationships within university context. Utilising the concept of teacher care from Nodding’s (1984) ethics of care from a Confucian-Vygotskian perspective, this research considers emergent themes of teacher care from the narrative accounts of final-year students majoring in management and bilingual studies. Results indicate that teacher care is perceived as a deepening of trust, mutuality, responsiveness, and reciprocity between students and teachers, and an enrichment of caring scope, embodied in the conceptualisation of ‘Pedagogical Care’ to ‘Holistic Care’ and then onto ‘Sustainable Care’. A dialectical framework of teacher care within Hong Kong higher education context is proposed, based on the psycho-social make-up of students and socio-cultural context of learning. This study exposes the importance of teacher care in students’ learning as influenced by relational dynamics, and proposes the adoption of caring pedagogy in universities.

A discussion game for the grounded semantics of abstract dialectical frameworks

Abstract dialectical frameworks (ADFs) have been introduced as formalism for the modeling and evaluating argumentation. However, the role of discussion in evaluating of arguments in ADFs has not been clarified well so far. We focus on the grounded semantics of ADFs and provide the grounded discussion game. We show that an argument is acceptable (deniable) in the grounded interpretation of an ADF without any redundant links if and only if the proponent of a claim has a winning strategy in the grounded discussion game.

Dialéctica: método y sujeto

Rubén Dri es uno de los pensadores excepcionales de nuestro tiempo y uno de los más rigurosos conocedores de la obra de Hegel. En el marco de la concepción de la dialéctica hegeliana y de su influencia en el pensamiento de Marx que presenta Dri, el artículo se enfoca en dos aspectos centrales para el pensamiento político contemporáneo: la cuestión del método y el problema del sujeto. El tratamiento de estas cuestiones aporta al debate sobre el lugar de la dialéctica en la teoría crítica y contribuye a establecer bases para indagar sobre estos aspectos en clave contemporánea.