Neutral Instrument Research Articles

Methodological breaching experiments: Steps toward theorizing the qualitative interview

The qualitative research interview is arguably the most widespread method of inquiry across the human and social sciences today. In spite of its popularity, there is a significant lack of theoretical reflection concerning this qualitative method of inquiry. On the background of other scholars’ recent experiences with interviewing in different cultural settings, this article begins to develop a theoretical account of qualitative interviewing. First, intercultural interviews are considered as methodological breaching experiments that enable us to better understand the intricacies of a practice that is otherwise taken for granted. Next, I argue that this should lead to a denaturalization of the interview. Qualitative interviewing must be considered not simply as a neutral instrument, capable of representing a “natural” human relationship, but rather as a social practice with a history that provides a specific context for human interaction and knowledge production. Some significant elements of this context are finally spelled out.

The Role of the Armed Forces in Security Policy. Control over the Army

Civilian management and democratic control over the army do not only consist in establishing organs and mechanisms of control and optimising their activity. It is significant to determine and respect the role of the armed forces in the society, which would allow making the army a politically neutral instrument of legally functioning forces as well as appropriate organisational structures with strictly defined protection measures allocated to carry out the undertakings of the state and the nation. The position and function of the army in society should be based on the fact that it reflects the features of the society it comes from. In order to facilitate the effective progression of the process, the following aspects should be taken into account: in what manner the army reacts to the decisions and actions of civilian society; whether there are intermediary bodies between these spheres; to what extent the armed forces represent the interests of the society; and whether a soldier-citizen exists or if the two notions should be treated separately

The Politics of Indigenous Participation Through “Free Prior Informed Consent”: Reflections from the Bolivian Case

Summary This article explores the challenges of ethnic-based participation and its potential for creating inclusive and effective forms of decision-making for marginalized social groups. Empirically, it examines a recent attempt to establish more participative forms of resource and development governance for indigenous communities in Bolivia through Free Prior and Informed Consent/Consultation (FPIC). Rooted in international human rights law, FPIC aims at achieving more effective bottom-up participation by establishing an obligation to consult – or obtain the consent of – indigenous peoples before large development projects and legal reforms that would affect them can proceed. Interest in FPIC initiatives has been growing for reasons that range from efforts to build more equitable management of natural resources to attempts to introduce more effective local-scale practices of participation and active citizenship. We argue that the idea of prior consultation and FPIC itself are not neutral instruments; they will not automatically lead to better or more democratic governance and a more equal society. The way in which FPIC is currently being implemented and framed in Bolivia is in tension with broader ideas of representation and legitimacy, inclusiveness, and management of public and common goods because there is no real clarity as to who is entitled to participation, why they do, and whether they are doing so as a corrective to exclusion, a promotion of citizenship, or as a mechanism for redistribution. As we show here, FPIC implementation can have unintended consequences and consultation can sometimes embed existing social, cultural, and economic tensions. The paper offers some broader reflections on participatory governance and collective rights especially in relation to the tensions between inclusive participation and exclusive rights or – put differently – the challenges for building cultures of participation and inclusion in complex and ethnic diverse democracies.

Drones y el orden legal internacional. Tecnología, estrategia y largas cadenas de acción

Este articulo propone que la creciente utilizacion de sistemas aereos no tripulados y la rutinizacion de sus operaciones en guerras asimetricas representan parte de un cambio evolutivo en el ordenamiento espacial de la politica global. Utilizando un marco heuristico basado en la teoria del actor-red, se argumenta que las practicas de observacion panoptica y ataques aereos selectivos, carentes aun de justificacion legal, contribuyen a una reterritorializacion de los conflictos asimetricos. En virtud de un nuevo regimen normativo espacial, se construye una condicion legal de inmadurez estatal que facilita el establecimiento de una zona de soberania condicionada, sometida a la vigilancia aerea transnacional. Al mismo tiempo, este proceso no es resultado predeterminado de la nueva tecnologia, ni efecto deliberado de decisiones politicas para las que los drones son solo instrumentos neutros. Antes que ello, la tecnologia militar y las decisiones politicas forman parte importante de una larga cadena de accion que se ha desarrollado en las circunstancias especificas de intervenciones militares mas recientes.

Aggregate consumption and debt accumulation: an empirical examination of US household behaviour

The outbreak of the financial crisis in 2008 witnessed a significant contraction in US consumption spending, as households began deleveraging following a period marked by historically high levels of household borrowing. These events call into question the canonical life-cycle theory of consumption, with its benign view of debt as a neutral instrument of optimal intertemporal expenditure smoothing. This paper draws attention to an alternative, post-Keynesian account of consumption spending in which current income, household borrowing and household indebtedness all affect current consumption. Central to the analysis is an empirical investigation of US consumption spending since the 1950s. The results of this inquiry cast doubt on the life-cycle hypothesis, but are congruent with the alternative, post-Keynesian account of consumption.

The policy implications of the different interpretations of the cost-effectiveness of renewable electricity support

The cost-effectiveness of support for renewable electricity is a main criterion to assess the success of policy instruments, together with effectiveness. The costs of support are also a source of significant concern for governments all over the world. However, significant confusion exists in the literature on the cost-effectiveness of public support for renewable electricity. While some authors define the concept of cost-effectiveness as that which complies with the equimarginality principle, many others, including documents from relevant organisations (European Commission, International Energy Agency, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) define it as “the lowest costs of support”, generally equating it with the minimisation of consumer costs. The aim of this paper is to clarify the differences between both approaches and their policy implications regarding the choice of instruments and design elements. It is shown that they partly overlap and that their policy implications clearly differ, leading to very different policy prescriptions. While the former favours technology neutral instruments and design elements, the “minimisation of consumer costs” approach favours instruments and design elements which adjust support levels to the costs of the technologies.

An Ethnographic Inquiry on Internet Cafés within the Context of Turkish Youth Culture

Contemporary studies have become interested in determining transformative effects of information and communication technologies on youngsters’ social and cultural identity developments. Internet cafA©s are techno-social spaces where people access to digital media and interact with global cultural flows. Such interactions are profound because they fundamentally challenge diverse locality and traditional values. In this paper, we reports the findings of ethnographic research study as a part graduate thesis project about Internet cafA©s in Turkey. Our purpose was to find out how Internet cafA©s are being used by Turkish youth and how these sites affect their social, cultural, and educational experiences. We conducted intensive observations in three Internet cafA©s and semi-structured interviews with four college students. The results show that Internet cafA©s are being used mostly by male youngsters mostly for entertainment and communication purposes. Internet cafA© usage are closely related to the emergence of techno-consumerist youth culture or lifestyle. This suggests that technology is more than a simple and neutral instrument that constitutes complex social and cultural dimensions which may involve profound alterations for people lives.

Humans as Social Being and Part of Nature

Humans are, as Cassirer has demonstrated, an animal symbolicum that interprets the world by means of signs. Since the second half of the 20 th century the relation of cultures is influenced strongly by modern technology: On the one hand, nearly every culture is longing for modern technology to achieve a more comfortable life; and, on the other, modern technology changes the way of life deeply. At first sight technology seems to be a neutral instrument, a mere tool that is compatible with every way of life and does not interfere into religious and ethical orientation. But it is definitely an expression of cultural values; it produces completely new wishes and hopes and undermines inevitably traditional forms of life – a process, which implies great dangers and opportunities. First, humans must reflect on their way of life consciously and decide autonomously between alternatives; secondly the growing social standard leads to the destruction of nature which is the basis of human life. Though living in different cultures, humans have the ethical obligation to preserve nature – for their own and nature‟s sake.

A Multidimensional Model for Analyzing Democratic Development in Central and Eastern Europe

Various indices and ratings describing democratic processes in countries around the world have been developed by international organizations (such as Freedom House) and analytical centers (such as the one affiliated with the journal Economist). The main drawback of such ratings is that they only provide a linear ordering of countries by averaging a multitude of criteria. Such approach does not make it obvious which particular problems exist in which countries and thus does not help comparing democratic processes in different countries. In this paper, we propose a multidimensional model for ratings based on the mathematical discipline of formal concept analysis, which deals, in particular, with automated taxonomy construction from object–attribute data. In our case, every node of a taxonomy would group countries similar in certain aspects, while at the same time providing a description of these aspects. The aim is not to question the existing ratings, but rather to provide a neutral instrument for uncovering the structure of the data underlying these ratings. The proposed representation is much more informative than linear ratings, since it shows the commonalities and differences in the democratic development of various countries. In addition, it provides a solid ground for discussing, comparing, and criticizing ratings. It can also help formulate theoretical hypotheses on the evolution of democracy, thereby advancing scientific discovery. We illustrate the proposed representation with the case study of countries in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.

The task of taking care of children: methodological perspectives and empirical implications

AbstractMethods are not neutral instruments but construct the phenomena under investigation and convey meaning about what is important. This paper explores a methodological framework to investigate parental care for children. As part of the results, the following characteristics of how parents take care of their children are presented: continuous responsibility; predictable routines that are adjusted to the child; and interpretations and negotiations about developmental goals. The argument is that methodological approaches that analyse larger temporal units of contextualized practices as presented by the participants themselves open up for more context‐sensitive knowledge about the task of taking care of children. Thus, the understanding of the process of development is widened and specified in a way that may be useful for fields of practice where developmental psychology is ‘at work’.

Short term stability of verbal memory impairment in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease measured using the International Shopping List Test

There is a need for culture neutral neuropsychological instruments. The International Shopping List Test (ISLT) is sensitive to memory impairment in Alzheimer's disease (AD) in different cultural groups, although its sensitivity to mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and ability to be given repeatedly at short retest intervals is unknown. Performance on the ISLT was compared between groups of healthy adults, MCI, and AD from the Australian Imaging Biomarkers and Lifestyle study of ageing. Subjects were assessed four times in three months. In each group, the ISLT performance measures had high test–retest reliability, and group means remained stable over time. There was no difference between groups on within-subject variability. These data suggest that in English-speaking samples, the ISLT is sensitive to MCI and can be given repeatedly in order to assess change in memory.

Rossetti's Obsessionby Ramon Saizarbitoria: On the seduction of minority literary fields

InRossettiren obsesioa(Rossetti's Obsession), a short and explicitly meta-literary novel published in 2000, Ramon Saizarbitoria presents a Basque writer wrestling a formidable lover: the Spanish readership. The question that Eugenia, the woman from Madrid, constantly asks the writer, “¿Qué os pasa a los vascos?” (“What's wrong with you Basques?”), encapsulates the ambiguity of the relationship which unites these two indisputably allegorical characters. The difficult interaction between the powerful Spanish literary field and the emerging Basque literary field, doomed to coexist and moved by reciprocal feelings of fascination and irritation, becomes the novel's subject matter. Is translation — and its corollary, an access to a larger literary market — a pure and neutral instrument of liberation for the writer who expresses himself in a minority language, or could it become, in certain circumstances, a threat to his autonomy?

Moralizing technology: understanding and designing the morality of things

permeates nearly every aspect of our daily lives. Cars enable us to travel long distances, mobile phones help us to communicate, and medical devices make it possible to detect and cure diseases. But these aids to existence are not simply neutral instruments: they give shape to what we do and how we experience the world. And because technology plays such an active role in shaping our daily actions and decisions, it is crucial, Peter-Paul Verbeek argues, that we consider the moral dimension of technology. Moralizing Technology offers exactly that: an in-depth study of the ethical dilemmas and moral issues surrounding the interaction of humans and technology. Drawing from Heidegger and Foucault, as well as from philosophers of technology such as Don Ihde and Bruno Latour, Peter-Paul Verbeek locates morality not just in the human users of technology but in the interaction between us and our machines. Verbeek cites concrete examples, including some from his own life, and compellingly argues for the morality of things. Rich and multifaceted, and sure to be controversial, Moralizing Technology will force us all to consider the virtue of new inventions and to rethink the rightness of the products we use every day.

Aggregate Consumption and Debt Accumulation: An Empirical Examination of US Household Behavior

The outbreak of the financial crisis in 2008 witnessed a marked contraction in US consumption spending that had hitherto been boosted by historically high levels of household debt-financing. These events question the validity of conventional models of consumption based on the life-cycle hypothesis, with its benign view of debt as a neutral instrument of optimal intertemporal expenditure smoothing. This paper develops an alternative account of consumption spending based on the Keynesian relative income hypothesis, which claims that current income, its distribution, household borrowing, and household indebtedness all affect current consumption. The paper then provides an empirical investigation of US consumption spending since the 1960s. The results of this inquiry are not compatible with the life-cycle hypothesis, but are congruent with our alternative Keynesian theory of consumption based on the relative income hypothesis.

Decarbonizing the European Power Sector: Policy Approaches in the Light of Current Trends and Long Term Trajectories

ASSESSMENT European climate policy is gradually shifting towards a long-term perspec- tive. The electricity sector has a crucial role to play in the long-term decar- bonization of the EU economy. It makes up a significant share of EU emis- sions and can contribute to the reduction of emissions in other sectors, particularly buildings and transport. The EU 2008 Climate and Energy Package (CEP) took a significant step towards a low-carbon future, initi- ating a very ambitious program of renewables expansion and strengthen- ing the ETS. However, the omissions and internal inconsistencies of the CEP are becoming more and more evident. This relates in particular to the absence of long-term, comprehensive signals for decarbonization and the imbalance between the ETS, energy efficiency and renewables objectives. This risks delaying and distorting investment in low-carbon infrastructure and ideas, raising the ultimate cost of climate policy. In view of the inertias within the electricity sector, it is imperative for the EU to set a long-term signal for the decarbonization of the sector by set- ting 2030 objectives for the ETS and complementary policies. The EU’s decarbonization strategy needs to be robust against future uncertainties; strengthening a technology neutral instrument like the ETS can provide a key part of a comprehensive signal to develop the full range of decarbon- ization options. The instrument imbalance also needs to be addressed. Demand side policies should be the point of departure for supply side interventions: ETS caps should be set so as to achieve carbon scarcity after energy efficiency and RES objectives have been taken into account. A short-term adjustment of scarcity in the ETS may create some incen- tives for low-carbon investment. However, it would not address the funda- mental concern, namely the lack of policy information regarding the post 2020 environment in which these investment will amortize.

Debating the desirability of new biomedical technologies: lessons from the introduction of breast cancer screening in the Netherlands.

Health technology assessment (HTA) was developed in the 1970s and 1980s to facilitate decision making on the desirability of new biomedical technologies. Since then, many of the standard tools and methods of HTA have been criticized for their implicit normativity. At the same time research into the character of technology in practice has motivated philosophers, sociologists and anthropologists to criticize the traditional view of technology as a neutral instrument designed to perform a specific function. Such research suggests that the tools and methods of more traditional forms of HTA are often inspired by an ‘instrumentalist’ conception of technology that does not fit the way technology actually works. This paper explores this hypothesis for a specific case: the assessments and deliberations leading to the introduction of breast cancer screening in the Netherlands. After reconstructing this history of HTA ‘in the making’ the stepwise model of HTA that emerged during the process is discussed. This model was rooted indeed in an instrumentalist conception of technology. However, a more detailed reconstruction of several episodes from this history reveals how the actors already experienced the inadequacy of some of the instrumentalist presuppositions. The historical case thus shows how an instrumentalist conception of technology may result in implicit normative effects. The paper concludes that an instrumentalist view of technology is not a good starting point for HTA and briefly suggests how the fit between HTA methods and the actual character of technology in practice might be improved.

Beyond informed choice: prenatal risk assessment, decision-making and trust

In 2004, prenatal risk assessment (PRA) was implemented as a routine offer in Denmark, in order to give all pregnant women an informed choice about whether to undergo prenatal testing. PRA is a non-invasive intervention performed in the first trimester of pregnancy and measures the risk of a fetus having Down's syndrome or other chromosomal disorders. The risk figure provides the basis for action, i.e. the decision about whether or not to undergo invasive fetal testing via the maternal route (amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling), which, however, involves the risk of inducing a miscarriage. On the basis of ethnographic fieldwork in an ultrasound clinic in Denmark and interviews with pregnant women and their partners, this paper investigates how ideals such as autonomy and non-directiveness are practised in processes of decision-making. We view such ideals as forming social practice rather than neutral instruments to reach a certain goal. Focusing on one couple's trajectory through the clinical practices of PRA and the process through which a decision is reached, we call into question the assumption that more choice and more objective information is a source of empowerment and control. We make evident how decisions are made through a complicated process of meaning-making, which emerges through the relationship between professionals, the clinical setting and the social life of the couples. In the face of complex risk knowledge, PRA users are reluctant to make choices and seek to re-install authority in the health professionals. However, when assumptions about autonomy and self-determination are inscribed into the social practice of PRA, authority is transferred to the couple undergoing PRA and a new configuration of responsibility evolves between the couple and their relationship to the fetus. It is argued that PRA performs a form of government that works not through compulsion or persuasion but through choice. An ethic of a shared responsibility for PRA and its outcome between pregnant women and health professionals would be more in agreement with how decisions are actually made.

New and Improved?: A Case Study of Nonprofit Policy Governance

This study examines the adoption of policy governance, a business-oriented governance model, by a women's human service nonprofit organization: a process that many of the volunteer directors blame for the organization's financial decline. One of several business-like models that are becoming increasingly popular in the nonprofit sector, policy governance, is part of the totalizing ideology of the market with its own language, logic, set of rules, and moral claims. The management literature conceptualizes such business-like models narrowly, as rational and neutral instruments, which can only improve organizational effectiveness. Though there is no empirical evidence substantiating the model's effectiveness over traditional governance methods, when the model fails, users are encouraged by the management culture to blame faulty execution. Analysis of the model's implementation shows that while the volunteers embraced its ideology, spoke its language, and upheld its ceremonial requirements, they resisted ad...

Breeding one's own sub-prime crisis: The labour market effects on financial system stability

Crisis may spread through economy via the propagating mechanisms of the labour market – households becoming delinquent due to an initial unemployment shock may be unable to continue servicing obligations versus the financial system. With large debts – e.g. mortgages – such defaults pose a threat to financial system stability. In this paper we use the Polish household budget surveys to simulate the impact of changes in the labour market status of household members on the ability of the household to service its mortgage payments. The simulation results are subsequently aggregated to facilitate a macro-level interpretation of the findings. We simulate various scenarios of labour market deterioration. Finally, we also introduce a policy instrument into the simulations providing, in a fiscally neutral manner, additional stability to the financial system. Based on robustness checks, the findings seem to be reliable. The results suggest that even with shares of debtors among consumers as low as in Poland, the propagation mechanism may indeed result in a considerable threat, while the fiscally neutral instrument is effective and well-suited to be addressed in providing additional stability to the financial system.

Strategic costs and preferences revelation in the allocation of resources for health care

This article examines the resources allocation process in the internal market for health care in an environment characterised by asymmetry of information. We analyse the strategic behaviour of the provider and show how, by misreporting its cost function and reservation utility, it might shift the allocation of resources away from the purchaser's objectives. Although the fundamental importance of equity, efficiency and risk aversion considerations which have been the traditional focus of the literature on allocation of resources should not be denied, this paper shows that contracts and internal markets are not neutral instruments and more research should be devoted to studying their effects.