Logic Of Action Research Articles

Decisiveness as a logic of political action

Decisiveness as a logic of political action

The Logic of Collective Action for Rural Warehouse Condominiums

Background: Given several bottlenecks in Brazil in distribution logistics, mainly in transport and warehouse activities, some new forms of collective action have appeared. The Condominiums of Rural Warehouses was conceived of to overcome these bottlenecks and provide better income and competitiveness to small producers in agribusiness. This article aims to analyse aspects of collective action with the focus of Rural Condominiums in the context of Brazilian agribusiness. Methods: We conducted exploratory, descriptive and qualitative research under the Theory of Logic of Collective Action lens for this purpose. Besides conducting a literature review, we conducted a semi-structured interview with the managers of the Rural Warehouse Condominiums. We analysed the data through a Categorial Content Analysis. Results: The main results show an approximation of the rural model of the Condominiums of Rural Warehouses with the Theory of Logic of Collective Action, mainly for small producers. Conclusions: We highlight the feasibility of the warehouse structure collectively, as it strengthens and provides greater efficiency to rural business and producers, inserts and integrates the industry into a competitive market environment, provides economic and social benefits, leads to cost reduction, and increased profit. The economic, social and logistical determinants show the product’s commercialisation, logistical gains, and the producers’ association regarding the development and growth of rural collective action. This paper can be helpful for practitioners and researchers interested in this field.

Mexico City, Montevideo, and São Paulo: Collective Action by Delivery Platform Workers in Three Different Scenarios

Abstract Latin American labor markets are remarked on for their structural heterogeneity, which, over the years, has been the result of a growing labor surplus. Thus, the digital labor platforms in delivery services that have emerged are breaking into a complex labor landscape, imposing new challenges. We intend to describe what forms the workers’ collective actions take and how these collective actions and their forms are linked with the labor institutions’ settings. We use three case studies with a comparative perspective of both national labor institutions and the history of collective action, particularly in the urban labor context. We collected secondary information from news media and academic bibliographies and primary information through interviews with collectives’ representatives. Our results show how the logic of digital platforms challenges collective action, and how the history of labor institutions might contribute to the rise of new forms of organization.

How do state authorities act under existential uncertainty? Hypotheses on the social logic of political decision-making processes during the Coronavirus pandemic

After a critical examination of the rational model of politics, this article discusses an alternative explanatory model in order to better understand and explain state response patterns and decision-making processes for containing the Coronavirus pandemic in its various phases from a sociological perspective. In doing so, I draw on central considerations of political sociology and organisational studies in order to reconstruct the social logic of the (non-)action of state authorities with special regard to the case examples of Germany and Austria (action under radical uncertainty, expert delegation, isomorphism of state action, path dependency of decisions, promissory legitimacy, collective morality of the “anxiety community” as a social driver of pandemic management). The article concludes with some general considerations on the vaccination exit strategy as well as on the problem of strategic ignorance and the logic of performative-symbolic action by state decision-makers.

ArcelorMittal, Zenica: the logic of collective action

This article explores a recent successful threat of industrial action at the ArcelorMittal steel plant at Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Building in interviews with trade unions leaders, the author locates the campaign against the background of the economic, political and social situation in the country as well as the difficulties these impose on effective trade union organisation which, with certain exceptions, exists at a low level particularly in the private sector. Other aspects also make trade unions unattractive, not least to young people. Consequently, examples of industrial action which are successful are not only are of practical assistance in raising the wages of the workers involved, they also provide powerful examples of the continuing logic of collective action and, thus, a strong motivation to seek out trade union membership. Furthermore, in a country beset by the political problems that Bosnia and Herzegovina has, examples of strike action - of workers simply getting on with their everyday normal lives - also act to reassert what is most important by documenting citizens in their lives as workers not as ethnicities.

IVAN KRYPIAKEVYCH IN SCIENCE, POLITICS, DAILY LIFE

Analyzed scientific and public activities, everyday life, and lifestyle of the famous historian, Academician of the USSR Academy of Sciences Ivan Krypiakevych, who in Soviet times headed an important socio-humanitarian institution – the Institute of Social Sciences of the USSR Academy of Sciences whose researchers studied history and culture, ethnolinguistic processes in the western region. Summarized the main achievements of the scientist on the history of the princely and Cossack era, and the military history of Ukraine. The study shows the family environment of the scientist – the work and interests of his wife and children, local history trips of the scientist to the Carpathians, around Lviv, Zhovkva, and Rohatyn. The scientist was interested in classical music and folklore, the natural environment of Lviv parks. His collaboration with photographers, bookplate collectors, and public figures in the field of research and preservation of historical, cultural and natural monuments of his native land is shown. Was revealed the friendly atmosphere created by the director of the Institute of Social Sciences of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR in the team, where satirical evenings and creative meetings with Lviv writers were organized. The head of the institution was focused on forming in the Institute a sense of friendly creative family, an atmosphere of friendliness, respect for the employee regardless of rank and position, and implementing the work of the team not by coercive methods, but by the logic of actions. The Lviv historian always had his position on fundamental issues and consistently defended it, was faithful to his professional vocation, and tried to do good for science, the people, and his family. The authors of the article summarized the scientific studies and memoirs of Ivan Krypiakevych’s contemporaries – historians Oleksandr Dombrovskyi, Mykola Andrusiak, Omelian Prytsak, Yaroslav Dashkevych, Yaroslav Isaievych, Feodosii Steblii, Oleh Kupchynskyi, Ivan Butych, Mykola Kovalskyi, Orest Matsiuk, philologists – Roman Kirchiv, Mariia Valio, Lev Poliuga, Uliana Yedlinska, Lidia Kots-Hryhorchuk, Dmytro Hrynchyshyn, Bohdana Krysa, etс.

Action Logic , Realistie Dilemma and Relief Strategies of Improving the Governance Ability of Sports Services for the Aged in China

Action Logic , Realistie Dilemma and Relief Strategies of Improving the Governance Ability of Sports Services for the Aged in China

Inclusive Practices of Multicultural Environment: Ways to Achieve A Dialogue

The practices of multicultural interaction of the 21st century are quite rich and intense. The issue of adaptation in relation to foreign­speaking children (children of migrants from C.I.S.) becomes acute. The key problem for the teacher, parent and child is the readiness for dialogue, which is based on the acceptance of the other and the stranger in accordance with the principles of tolerant and respectful attitude of people to each other. The object of this article is a multicultural educational environment. To describe the ways of interaction of subjects within it, the concept of “cultural inclusion” is introduced. The authors propose the logic of educational actions in working with foreign­speaking children in conditions of psychological, social and socio­cultural adaptation.

The Psychosocial Dimension of Power: An Emotional Analysis of the Discourse on Globalization of the Davos Elite

This work focused on the psychosocial dynamics underlying the political and cultural action of the global elite, through a pilot study of the image of globalization of the World Economic Forum (WEF) addressed to identify possible strategies for developing those dynamics in a more democratic and socio-economically fair way in order to strengthen the global civil coexistence. The study was conducted on a corpus of texts composed of interviews, articles and speeches of the member of World Economic Forum’s board of trustees focused on the issue of globalization, according to the methodology of Emotional Text Analysis. The results show the centrality of specific patterns of relational and organizational models, based on the tendency to possess the other, the need for power as dominant social motivation and a self-referential, mythical conception of supranational financial institutions which let them to operate without real commission, nor evaluation of efficacy, from their beneficiaries. On the basis of this scenario, two ways of development were identified: the valorization of the other as a resource for the reciprocal development and the passage from a compliance based logic of action to a commonly agreed goals and products based one.

Strengthening union democracy through connective and collective action logics

Strengthening union democracy through connective and collective action logics

CSR COMMITMENT AND ACTION LOGICS OF SME MANAGERS: FINDINGS FROM A TUNISIAN STUDY

Purpose: Bymobilizing the sociological approach of action logic, this research aims to understand the articulation between the various dimensions of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and the conditions for the emergence of an overallcommitment towards stakeholders in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in an emerging country: Tunisia. Design/methodology: A qualitative study was carried out through multiple case studies of Tunisian SMEs. Findings: The research findings tend to reveal that an overall CSR commitment requires an interaction between individual and contextual dimensions. However, predispositions coming from the individual manager dimension would play the role of a catalyst for a proactive CSR approach. As for the SMEs transition from weak to global commitment, this would primarily stem from contextual dimensions. In addition, each of the hedonistic, entrepreneurial or managerial action logic could be conducive to this type of commitment. Research Limitations:The number of explored cases could constitute a limitation of this work as it does not allow a statistical generalization of the results based on the criterion of frequency. Originality: Few of the CSR studies focused on a multi-dimensional commitment in SMEs In this research we aim to avoid an over-representation of the manager, and approach his action logics most conducive to a multi-stakeholder approach to CSR.

Architectonics of the "Dance of The Seven Veils "From Richard Strauss's Opera "Salome" Through the Prism of Historical Reconstruction

The phenomenon of the popularity of R. Strauss's opera "Salome" is explained through the prism of a new paradigm of performing arts, which is due to the rethinking of works of the modern era in the context of postmodern aesthetics. A comprehensive intersectional integrated analysis of musicological, iconographic, culturological, theological, social, psychological and physiological components of the work has been carried out. The methodology of key aspects of the research is determined: features of musical drama — genre-stylistic; content of ancient entertainments —historical and stylistic reconstruction; creation of psychological portraits of characters — system analysis; the concept of dance in opera is an interpretive method. The libretto of the opera is compared with O. Wilde's drama highlighting differences in the image of the main character: in the drama — two "Salome lines", in the libretto — three with the addition of "Dance of the Seven Veils" as an important scene in the conflict, personifying the story of the tragic love of a young princess. The peculiarities of the musical drama of the dance scene in the opera are studied, two opposing points of view on its role and place in the score of the work, the thoughts of the composer R. Strauss on this subject are outlined. The nature of dance entertainment at the courts of ancient rulers, the specifics of the performance of dances "Almeh" and "Ghawazi", which could serve as a prototype of the "Dance of the Seven Veils" performed by princess Salome is described in the article. The stylistics of the "Almeh" dances included a demonstration of highly artistic eroticism, and the "Ghawazi" dances a Bacchic seduction. In the dance scene, it is possible to combine these opposite patterns in the context to solve the musical drama of the work. The psychological and physiological features of Salome's age are analyzed, her characteristic features are explained, which could elucidate the logic of the young princess's actions. Psychological portraits of Salome, Jochanaan, Herodes and Herodias have been made, which directly or indirectly influence the specifics of the interpretation of the dance scene. The key aspects of the architectonics of the specified scene, the content of its parts, the correspondence of the nature of the dance performance to their content are determined, which determines the scientific novelty of the research. The results of the research are compared with modern incarnations of the dance scene in the opera, their partial correspondence is revealed in four out of five parts of dance drama, except for the development of the action. In the latter, there is a loss of tempo due to the mismatch between the gradual growth and decline of the musical drama of the dance scene with its choreographic embodiment. The necessity of using the concept of different branches of knowledge to establish a holistic picture of events in this scene is proved. Prospects for research of the chosen issues through the prism of the latest achievements in the field of musical theater, the attraction of modern interpretations to neo-syncretism are predicted.

SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE CHALLENGES AND ADVANTAGES IN RURAL PROPERTIES

The aim of this article was to analyze the perception of Brazilian family farmers on the topic of sustainability in small rural properties. The central issue is how to keep people in the rural environment, stimulating the rational use of natural resources and causing the least possible environmental impact with their production practices without discussing sustainability issues. The problem lies in the sustainability of small rural properties that use family labor, in which the production process, in general, is artisanal and the production scale is small. The theoretical framework contemplates the theme based on the foundations of the new rurality, productive diversification, pluriactivity and multifunctionality. The results indicate that family farmers on small rural properties do not consider the adoption of production practices that rationally use natural resources and/or that cause the least possible environmental impact. The action logic is capitalist, guided by practices that generate enough income to keep family members, reproduced from the practices observed in large rural producers. The theoretical definition of rural sustainability is dissociated from the practice carried out in small rural properties, which are mainly justified by the absence of family labor and the low profitability of productive activities that include productive diversification and the scale of production.

Regime cycles and political change in African autocracies

ABSTRACTThis article applies a regime cycle framework to understand patterns of change and continuity in African competitive autocracies. We observe that regime change in African autocracies is rarely the result of actions carried out by rebels, opposition leaders or popular masses substantially altering the structure of power. Instead, they are more frequently carried out by senior regime cadres, resulting in controlled reshuffles of power. We argue that such regime shifts are best explained through a cyclical logic of elite collective action consisting of accommodation and consolidation, and ultimately leading to fragmentation and crisis. These dynamics indicate the stage of leader-elite relationships at a given time, and suggest when regimes may likely expand, contract, purge and fracture. We argue that, by acknowledging in which stage of the cycle a regime and its senior elites are dominant, we can gauge the likelihood as well as the potential success of a regime change. Our framework is finally applied to understand recent regime shifts in competitive autocracies across Africa.

Taking Back Civic Space: Nonviolent Protests and Pushbacks against Autocratic Restrictions in Thailand

Abstract The year of 2020 witnessed the eruption of Thailand’s largest and longest-lasting mass demonstrations since the 2014 military putsch. Despite threats of crackdown, protesters leveraged a host of innovative nonviolent actions to reclaim political space that the regime had previously squeezed. This article sheds light on key mechanisms that underpin nonviolent actions’ ability to push back against a trend of shrinking space. We argue that the logic of nonviolent action, tactical and digital creativity, and counteracting repression operates in tandem. First, specific forms of nonviolent action carved out space for popular protest and increased public participation in it despite regime hindrances. Second, particularly tactical and digital creativity sustained this mass participation by reversing some effects of repression. Third, nonviolent responses to this repression encouraged further anti-regime mobilization. We conclude our analysis with some caveats. The Thai case shows that keeping regained space can be difficult.

Rivalry as a social relationship: conceptualizing the micro-foundations of competition

ABSTRACT Recent sociological conceptualizations of competition emphasize its discursive or institutional aspects, such as rankings. Although macro- and meso-sociological takes on competition are more or less well established, micro-sociological approaches are less so. What does it mean to be in competition from the perspective of everyday social relationships and interactions? A possible answer is provided by the concept of rivalry. In this paper, I examine the evolution of the concept of rivalry and its development in the sociological tradition in the early to mid-twentieth century, especially in the work of Georg Simmel, Leopold von Wiese, Karl Mannheim, but also, later, Erving Goffman. I argue that a micro-sociological focus on rivalrous social relationships and interactions is able to address at least some of the issues concerning a micro-sociology of competition. Grounded in an examination of this tradition, I discuss how rivalry relates to sociological notions such as social knowledge, action, worth, and evaluation. I distinguish two intersecting logics of competition, namely, the logic of action and the logic of observation. I argue that a typology of rivalries cutting across various domains of social life can be worked out according to this intersection. A micro-sociology of rivalries can make a genuine contribution to the sociological investigation of competition.

Infinitary action logic with exponentiation

We introduce infinitary action logic with exponentiation—that is, the multiplicative-additive Lambek calculus extended with Kleene star and with a family of subexponential modalities, which allow some of the structural rules (contraction, weakening, permutation). The logic is presented in the form of an infinitary sequent calculus. We prove cut elimination and, in the case where at least one subexponential allows non-local contraction, establish exact complexity boundaries in two senses. First, we show that the derivability problem for this logic is Π11-complete. Second, we show that the closure ordinal of its derivability operator is ω1CK. In the case where no subexponential allows contraction, we show that complexity is the same as for infinitary action logic itself. Namely, the derivability problem in this case is Π10-complete and the closure ordinal is not greater than ωω.

The new EU counter-terrorism Agenda: preemptive security through the anticipation of terrorist events

ABSTRACT This article argues that the new EU Counter-Terrorism Agenda is based on logics of anticipatory action. Three types of anticipatory action that are central to the development of EU counter-terrorism are identified: preparedness, precaution and preemption. We argue that while the original EU Counter-Terrorism Strategy contained a mixture of these three forms of anticipatory action, the new Counter-Terrorism Agenda places a renewed emphasis on preemptive measures with preparedness given less prominence. The reinforcing of preemptive security practice is most vividly reflected in the CT Agenda's new Anticipate workstream, which emphasises the utility of preemptive computer-based technologies, including Artificial Intelligence and algorithms, as key dimensions of the response to terrorism. The article identifies challenges of transparency and effectiveness that arise when applying computer-based technologies to counter-terrorism, highlighting the importance of regulatory oversight if the EU's commitment to the development of security policies that respect fundamental rights is to be guaranteed.

Why Climate? The Drivers of the European Union’s Climate Governance in its Post-Soviet East European Neighbors

ABSTRACT The European Union (EU) has positioned itself as a global climate leader. The EU’s engagement with external climate governance is most visible in the six post-Soviet states of Eastern Europe. This article asks what drives the EU’s engagement with climate governance in the region. To answer this question, I distinguish between three logics of external climate action: self-interest, functional, and civilizing. By analyzing climate cooperation between the EU and the six states, I demonstrate that a combination of all three logics explains the EU’s engagement in external climate governance, but that the functional logic is slightly more prominent than the other two.

Navigating the Perilous Waters of Partisan Scholarship: Participatory Action Research (PAR) with the European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF)

Participatory action research (PAR) has been offered up as a methodological orientation for public sociology. The challenges of PAR at the local level have been well documented. In contrast, PAR with the labour movement, in particular international meta-organisations such as global trade union federations, has received short shrift. We demonstrate how partisan scholars working with the labour movement can engage with both the different logics of collective action and the different levels of worker representation in pursuit of (political) emancipation. To illustrate how PAR can be ‘scaled up’ from the local to the global, we reflect on our participation with the European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF). This revealed three particular perils of PAR – personal, purpose and political – that partisan scholars must navigate in order to foster action and emancipation by research. While PAR is an affirming process for our research partners, it is not a panacea for their problems.