General Theoretical Perspective Research Articles

Current trends in nineteenth- and twentieth-century Spanish urban history

It is now several years since José Luis Oyón presented an overview of recent trends in Spanish urban history, and this article seeks to communicate a sense of developments in the field since the mid-1990s, dealing with publications covering the nineteenth and twentieth centuries: ‘contemporary’ rather than ‘modern’ history, in Spanish terminology. The question of what constitutes ‘urban history’ in Spain remains problematic, in the absence of a ‘Dyos phenomenon’, a distinctive urban history teaching enterprise and a sustained and successful dedicated journal. Four annual issues of Historia Urbana, a ‘review of the history of ideas and of urban transformations’, appeared in the mid-1990s, but the final one dates from 1997, and most of the articles presented general theoretical perspectives or articles based on research in countries other than Spain. As Beascoechea and Novo have recently remarked, it seemed in the early 1990s that urban history (or, as they put it, ‘the history of the city’) was becoming established as a recognized discipline in Spain, but subsequent developments have failed to match the expectations that were aroused. Their themed urban history issue of Historia Contemporánea, produced in 2002, is aimed at regaining the lost momentum. Meanwhile, librarians still do not respond to ‘historia urbana’ as a category, seeking to redefine it as ‘urbanismo’, a narrower concept focused on town planning and urban design.

Globalisation, Regionalism and Labour Interests in the New International Political Economy

This article has two main objectives. First, it provides a critical appraisal of the theoretical accounts of globalisation/regionalisation provided by the left structuralist or ‘hyperglobalist’ approach and the new constitutionalist version of the neo-Gramscian approach. It is argued that both approaches have been essentially negative in their evaluation of the role and position of organised labour in the changing IPE. Such pessimism is particularly marked (perhaps not surprisingly) in the left structuralist approach, but nevertheless (and more surprisingly) still pervades the new constitutionalism. I argue that in both cases pessimism is to a significant degree misplaced and I seek to show the various points at which, in my view, each approach has gone wrong. Generally speaking, however, I would suggest that the problems highlighted have rather less to do with the general theoretical perspectives deployed (for both left structuralism and neo-Gramscian analysis have a great deal to offer the study of IPE) than with the specific treatments of these approaches critiqued here. Briefly stated, these treatments suffer from a common failure to conceptualise changing world orders in terms of the dialectic of structure and agency. Second, the article focuses on a more empirical analysis of (mainly British) labour movement agency within the context of European integration since the mid 1980s, concentrating particularly, although not exclusively, on trade union responses to and understandings of economic and monetary union (EMU). This is designed partly as a corrective to the new constitutionalists’ emphasis on elite agency. I argue that the evidence indicates a significant galvanisation of labour agency at the European Union (EU) level. This needs to be understood partly in terms of a (negative/defensive) response to economic globalisation but also as a positive engagement with the globalisation/regionalism, structure/agency dialectic which reveals broader and more positive trade union purposes and objectives grounded in what Robert Cox has called ‘critical theory’ and directed at forms of social transformation.4 This engagement has, in turn, been partly facilitated by the EU’s own determination of the structure/agency dialectic evident in the changing and politically contested (as opposed to elite-determined) governance structures of the EU. I argue that the starting theoretical assumptions of European labour movement agency are positive in their assertion of feasible alternatives to neoliberal economic governance at the EU level. This corresponds to the more optimistic version of neo-Gramscianism that has informed the work of Alain Lipietz

Psychoanalysis: Clinical and Theoretical.

Psychoanalysis: Clinical and Theoretical.

L'effet de Faux Consensus : une revue empirique et théorique

Summary : The false Consensus Effect : An empirical and theoretical review. Individuals conceive their attitudes with regard to objects or persons as relatively common and ordinary. This well-known phenomenon is stable, general and produces for judgements a False Consensus effect. This paper is a review ofthe False Consensus literature and reports the underlying mechanisms of this phenomenom. Four general theoretical perspectives are examined : (a) logical information processing (attributive hypothesis), (b) selective exposure and cognitive availability (cognitive hypotheses), (c) salience and focus of attention (selective information treatment hypotheses), and (d) motivational processes. Within the context of this work we report the social properties of consensus judgment and stress that these judgments depend on the social conditions in which they takes place (social regulation hypothesis of judgment). More precisely, the aim of this review is to show that the social consensus perception and its underlying mechanisms, depend on individuals personal histories that are connected to social context in which they are involved. Key words : false consensus effect, social judgment, social regulation of judgment.

Ferdinand Tönnies on crime and society: an unexplored contribution to criminological sociology

I offer a discussion of the criminological sociology of Ferdinand Tönnies (1855-1936). While Tönnies is generally well known for his theory of Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft, his elaborate contributions to the sociological study of crime have been almost entirely neglected in the history of sociology. Situated within Tönnies’ general theoretical perspective, I present the central themes of Tönnies’ study of crime and discuss its conceptual and methodological characteristics as a distinct approach in criminological sociology. I additionally center on the importance of Tönnies’ criminological work for the reception and status of his sociological theory. I argue that the neglect of Tönnies’ crime studies has led to overlooking Tönnies’ aspiration to integrate sociological theory and empirical inquiry, which has contributed to misconstrue his unique conception of social order.

Indicators for sustainable agriculture - a theoretical framework for classifying and assessing indicators

Indicators can be used for identifying, simplifying and quantifying agri-environmental aspects of sustainability. They offer us a way to proceed from the theoretical definition of sustainability to more practically oriented approaches. This study examines agricultural systems with a view to identifying the points and levels at which the sustainability of these systems can be assessed. The agri-environmental indicators are presented within the Pressure-State-Response (PSR) framework. Although suitable for ecological indicators, this framework is not highly relevant for economic and social indicators, which were thus studied from a more general theoretical perspective. As the concept of sustainability includes a number of different value-laden definitions, the setting of indicators should be seen as an ongoing re-evaluation rather than a technical process of measuring certain parameters. The need to refine the assessment methods was recognised in several subthemes of agricultural sustainability. A major shortcoming was found to be the lack of tools for evaluating qualitative phenomena such as landscapes and animal welfare. Likewise, in economics and the social sciences, much needs to be done to promote understanding of the interactions between these disciplines and environmental processes. Moreover, the basic framework of the assessments requires further examination, for instance, when interpreting the indicator results, when dealing with uncertainty and when seeking to identify cause-effect chains, even though these questions are no longer purely matters of indicator methodology.;

Research in Religion and Mass Political Behavior in the United States

This article attempts to assess the extent of "scientific progress" in the study of religion and political behavior in the United States. Using three models of scientific enterprise, I find that the empirical study of religion and politics has been quite successful in an inductive, cumulative sense and has been moderately successful in providing interpretive, verstehen explanations as well. In general, research in religion and politics has not produced much in the way of "covering laws," "paradigms," or "research programs," in which religious variables are central theoretical concepts. Rather, explanations using religious phenomena are typically special cases of more general theoretical perspectives. I suggest that the last characterization does not reflect intellectual failure on the part of researchers; rather, the phenomena of religious politics appears essentially decentralized, and our best theories of religious behavior help account for the lack of parsimonious explanations in this area.

Sociological Rational Choice Theory

Although rational choice theory has made considerable advances in other social sciences, its progress in sociology has been limited. Some sociologists' reservations about rational choice arise from a misunderstanding of the theory. The first part of this essay therefore introduces rational choice as a general theoretical perspective, or family of theories, which explains social outcomes by constructing models of individual action and social context. “Thin” models of individual action are mute about actors' motivations, while “thick” models specify them ex ante. Other sociologists' reservations, however, stem from doubts about the empirical adequacy of rational choice explanations. To this end, the bulk of the essay reviews a sample of recent studies that provide empirical support for particular rational choice explanations in a broad spectrum of substantive areas in sociology. Particular attention is paid to studies on the family, gender, and religion, for these subareas often are considered least amenable to understanding in terms of rational choice logic.

Discursive Will Formation and the Question of Legitimacy in European Politics

This article addresses the question of legitimacy, both in a general theoretical perspective and more specifically in relation to policy making in the European Union. It is argued that Jürgen Habermas' recent theories of discursive will formation provide a useful frame work for understanding the current problems of legitimacy in European policy making. The main proposition is the central connection between communication and legitimacy, and it is argued that improving the communicative character of policy making should be a central aspect of the democratization efforts in Western Europe.

Reconnecting the individual and the social in health psychology

Abstract Much social psychological research has sought to distinguish itself from more ‘individualistic’ approaches to human cognition and personality. Much of this debate fails to take account of the interactions between social and intrapsychic processes which, it is argued, are vital to the formulation of unifying theoretical principles and to practical applications in the field of health psychology. A general theoretical perspective is outlined, based on notions of connectionist systems operating at both the individual and interpersonal level. A special feature is the assumption that we depend on communication with and from other people to attribute reality to our interpretations of events. The benefits of this perspective for health psychology are then illustrated in the contexts of attitude-behaviour relations, appraisals of risk and uncertainty, person-situation interactions, and group processes and social influence.

Ontogenetic differences in variability on simple measures of learning: Theoretical and practical implications

Data from a variety of sources, including a number of tasks and dependent measures, suggests that a systematic inverse relationship exists between age and the amount of variability observed on simple measures of learning. Implications for general theoretical perspectives concerning ontogenetic differences in stimulus and response selection, acquired knowledge or experience, and general speed of information processing are discussed. It is argued that such a regularity offers possibilities for both methodological and theoretical explorations.

Introduction: Pragmatist Aesthetics and Popular Culture

Popular art is central to the aesthetics of contemporary culture, but has not received the sympathetic scrutiny it deserves from philosophers of art, a scrutiny which hopefully would combine general theoretical perspectives with close analysis of concrete cultural content. Among the philosophies which seem most promising for such a project is pragmatism. For pragmatism insists on bringing philosophy down from the realm of transcendental speculation on eternal (and institutionally professionalized) problems so that it be focused more practically on actual problems of social life and practice, including scientific and artistic practice. And the role of popular art in our postmodern media culture surely constitutes such a live issue. Moreover, since popular art is recognized as emphasizing functionality over pure form, pragmatism's accent on the practical should make it a congenial philosophical perspective. Finally, popular art would seem to profit from pragmatism's pluralistic and democratic spirit coupled with its valorization of consensual community. But despite such affinities, popular art has not yet profited from the attention of pragmatist philosophy. John Dewey, the father of pragmatist aesthetics, provided some inspiring remarks toward the legitimation of popular art in his classic Art as Experience, but he never considered such art in a serious or detailed fashion. Richard Rorty, in recommending that we live our lives as works of art, might be seen

Practical issues in temporal difference learning

This paper examines whether temporal difference methods for training connectionist networks, such as Sutton's TD(λ) algorithm, can be successfully applied to complex real-world problems. A number of important practical issues are identified and discussed from a general theoretical perspective. These practical issues are then examined in the context of a case study in which TD(λ) is applied to learning the game of backgammon from the outcome of self-play. This is apparently the first application of this algorithm to a complex non-trivial task. It is found that, with zero knowledge built in, the network is able to learn from scratch to play the entire game at a fairly strong intermediate level of performance, which is clearly better than conventional commercial programs, and which in fact surpasses comparable networks trained on a massive human expert data set. This indicates that TD learning may work better in practice than one would expect based on current theory, and it suggests that further analysis of TD methods, as well as applications in other complex domains, may be worth investigating.

Artificial intelligence and human cognition: a theoretical intercomparison of two realms of intellect

From the Publisher: Wagman examines the emulation of human cognition by artificial intelligence systems. Human thought and computer thought are compared in their distinctiveness and commonality. The book provides detailed examples of artificial intelligence programs (such as the FERMI System and KEKADA program) accomplishing highly intellectual tasks. This, together with his coverage of general theoretical perspectives on the nature of cognition makes this volume both a valuable sourcebook and stimulus for students and professionals in cognitive science, psychology, philosophy, and artificial intelligence courses.

Building Better English Language Programs: Perspectives on Evaluation in ESL

N This refreshing collection of articles edited by Martha C. Pennington should interest and be of use to evaluators, program administrators, and other ESL professionals. The book is a welcome addition to my bookshelf, and is highly recommended for several reasons. First, it is the first ESL evaluation book. While there are many other works that touch on evaluation areas with reference to ESL programs, this book brings together twelve articles on different topics directly related to evaluation. Second, the book addresses specific aspects of administrative concern which are common to ESL professionals at all levels. The articles in the book include extensive appendices, which provide models for instrumentation and sources of information which can be adapted and used immediately. Finally, this volume sets an example for future collections of articles on ESL program evaluation. The book provides general theoretical perspectives from authors concerned with evaluation models, and the more specific, practical perspectives of authors concerned with the various areas of ESL programs and services. It is divided into four parts, each of which has three articles. The first part is devoted to approaches to evaluation in ESL programs. The first article presents a traditional approach to program evaluation in which sources of information, the role of the administration, and decision making are of primary importance. The second article describes the self-study approach using procedures suggested by two professional organizations, TESOL and NAFSA. The third suggests that comparison with groups outside the program may provide a valuable perspective on the program's success. In the second part, articles address aspects of the program curriculum. The first suggests that curriculum design should be conceived of as an ongoing process and that excellence in the program is very much dependent on that process. The second describes the development of a participatory placement procedure which incorporates an unstructured, student-controlled oral placement interview, a writing sample, and a series of short C-test passages. The third article of this section discusses the cultural

Social Change and Crime Rates: An Evaluation of Alternative Theoretical Approaches

Two general theoretical perspectives, criminal opportunity and social disorganization, have been widely used to explain the level of crime in cities and temporal changes in their crime rates. Using a pooled cross-sectional and time-series design of 584 U.S. cities for the years 1960, 1970, and 1980, the present study evaluates the empirical adequacy of these theories. The cross-sectional findings were far more supportive of social disorganization theories than criminal opportunity theories. However, neither perspective was able to consistently explain changes in crime rates over time. Ethnic heterogeneity, household size, and the rate of crowding in households were the strongest predictors of the level and changes in official rates of homicide, robbery, and burglary. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for future research. Explanations for rising crime rates in the U.S. have taken various forms. Traditional theories of criminality (e.g., anomie, differential association, conflict, social bonding) identify the level of social integration, cultural conflict, economic inequality, and breakdown in social control as major correlates of crime. During the last decade, several opportunity-based theories (routine activities, lifestyle/exposure and rational choice models) have emerged as rival explanations for changing crime rates. Essentially, these criminal opportunity theories

Developing a Theoretical Perspective and Methods about Interior Space and Society

This paper documents three investigations of the connections among human values, behavior, and space in residential settings. In Stage I, a feminist theoretical perspective and the method of content analysis were joined in an examination of house plans to determine links between women's changing roles and noticeable changes in house plans. In Stage II, a more general sociological theoretical perspective of gender was combined with three–dimensional scale models and interviewing to examine more directly the interaction of personal values, behavior, and spatial preferences. Because the findings of Stage II provided research hypotheses but failed fully to explain the reciprocal interaction between people and space, the theoretical perspective and method were refined for a more detailed Stage III study. In that stage theoretical perspectives and research methods were merged for exploring social and spatial issues in domestic space. The aim of this paper is to explain the cyclical process of imaging, presenting, testing, and refining necessary for the formulation of theory and corresponding methods.

Diglossia within a general theoretical perspective: Charles Ferguson’s concept 30 years later

Diglossia within a general theoretical perspective: Charles Ferguson’s concept 30 years later

The Sociobiology of Ethnocentrism: Evolutionary Dimensions of Xenophobia, Discrimination, Racism, and Nationalism.

Part I: Review. Ethnocentrism and in-group/out-group differentiation: a review and interpretation of the literature, J.M.G. van der Dennen Part II: General theoretical perspectives. Sociobiological explanations and the evolution of ethnocentrism, R.I.M. Dunbar Inclusive fitness and the self system - the roles of human nature and sociocultural processes in intergroup discrimination, I. Vine Ethnocentrism in human social behaviour - some biosociological considerations, P. Meyer in-group/out-group relations and the issue of group selection, Umberto Melotti Inclusive fitness and ethnocentrism, I. Silverman Part III: Empirical studies. Genetic similarity as a mediator of interpersonal relationships, R.H.J. Russell A study in the evolution of ethnocentrism, C.J. Irwin The evocative significance of kin terms in patriotic speech, G.R. Johnson, S.H. Ratwik and T.J. Sawyer Part IV: The relevance for politics. Group identification and political socialization, W. Tonnesmann Biological bases of social prejudices, H. Flohr Sociobiology and race relations V. Reynolds Man's limited sympathy as a consequence of his evolution in small kin groups, B.W. Ike Part V: An historical perspective. The biological bases of ethnocentrism, racism and nationalism in national socialism, G.J. Stein

Ten years of research on the false-consensus effect: An empirical and theoretical review.

Ten years of research on the false-consensus effect (Ross, Greene, & House, 1977) and related biases in social perception (e.g., assumed similarity and overestimation of consensus) are examined in the light of four general theoretical perspectives: (a) selective exposure and cognitive availability,