Objectivist Approach Research Articles

A Reading in “Tradition and the Individual Talent”

The first seeds of New Criticism as an objectivist approach to literature emerged in the 1920s at Vanderbilt University as a result of literary debates about methods and methodologies of reading, led by theorists and critics such as Allen Tate, John Crowe Ransom, Cleanth Brooks, Robert Penn Warren, and others. Their discussions resulted in the publication of The Fugitive (1922); one of the main founding writings of New Criticism. They were widely influenced by each other as well as other theorists, among which was T.S. Eliot who noticeably shaped the movement’s literary theory, namely through his theory of “depersonalization” of art which stresses the idea of “métier of poetry” and thus the study of art as art, independently from historical background, external social conditions, biographical details, temperament of the author, as well as its psychological and moral effects on readership. This article scrutinizes T.S. Eliot’s “Tradition and the Individual Talent’s contribution to the New Criticism debate on close reading; a theory that emphasizes generating meaning through explaining the text’s implications and establishing connections between its internal verbal and figurative components.

The substantive representation of men: Intersectionality, masculinities, and men's interests

AbstractMen's numerical over‐representation in politics leads to complacency regarding their substantive representation. Yet the men in politics are not descriptively representative of most men and are drawn disproportionately from the most socially privileged groups. Building on theories of representation, intersectionality and masculinities, I argue that men have gendered representational needs that are not adequately met. Power structures among men leave many men marginalized and/or subordinated, and disincentivize the privileged men in power from defending disadvantaged men's interests. Masculinist cultures within politics inhibit discussion of male vulnerability and further undermine the substantive representation of men. I make the case for why we should study men's substantive representation and then show how we could do so. I propose a groundbreaking research agenda for identifying and measuring men's diverse representational needs, recognizing how these are shaped by gender and its intersection with other identities. Combining insights from objectivist, constructivist and intersectional approaches, I develop a framework for measuring the substantive representation of men that explores who represents men, which ideology informs their claims, which men are included and excluded and whether the goals of representation are to transform or uphold the status quo. I offer several illuminations of policies where different men have distinct gendered needs, and offer an extended example using educational outcomes in the United Kingdom to illustrate how privileged men are not effective representatives of disadvantaged men. This article builds the normative case and offers the theoretical tools for addressing an important gap in the study of representation.

Becoming a Vehicle of Knowledge Creation: How Autopoiesis Changed My Practice

Autoethnographic narratives are ways of normalising and giving meaning to the human experience, allowing the reader to resonate with what is relevant and important in the writer’s experience, while generating new insights and knowledge we would not otherwise access. Using my doctoral journey of striking moments and the shifts created in me, in this paper, I argue that human experiences must be valued as equal to diagnostic and objectivist approaches in the pursuit of knowledge. By juxtaposing my autoethnographic narrative with the Theory of Autopoiesis, acting as both a framework of analysis and metaphor, I offer my emotional process as a political representation, a questioning of power paradigms and a source of knowledge and support to other researchers. The rendering of my journey, from working in and believing in organisations governed by a business logic and rational economic theory, to daring to challenge such discursive powers, shows what is possible through conscious noticing, embracing, and transformation. I argue that by combining scientific theories with analytical autoethnography, we can bridge sciences and communities of practice, and open doors for the application of autoethnography in new professional domains, thereby significantly contributing to an adjustment of research practices and to what counts as knowledge.

Which circularity for urban design and planning? A compass to navigate circular economy research knowledge and methods

ABSTRACT The circular economy (CE) has taken hold among urban development plans and programmes, yet research on the application of the concept in urban design and planning is still in its infancy. This paper provides a systematic review of the literature related to CE, urban planning, and design. It investigates how the literature is clustered by subject area as well as the epistemological positioning and methodological approach of different research clusters. Results suggest that objectivist and conceptual approaches are most widespread, although practical and constructivist approaches are emerging. Planners and designers are being called upon to lead more integrative research.

Different Approaches to Sunni-Shi‘I Exegetical Differences

Exploring how Qur’ān exegetes deal with differences helps reveal different ways Muslims approach their internal diversity. This study examines the approaches of three modern exegetes incorporating both Sunni and Shi‘i literature in their works, i.e. al-Ṭabāṭabā’ī (1904-1981), Hamka (1908-1981), and Quraish Shihab (1944-), to addressing exegetical differences around Ahl al-Bayt mentioned in sūrat al-Aḥzab verse 33. Taking the inspiration of conflict resolution strategies to notice the three scholars’ concern for Sunnism and Shi’ism, this study finds that they demonstrate different levels of concern: al-Ṭabāṭabā’ī is ‘fully competing’, Hamka is ‘partially avoiding’, and Shihab is ‘partially compromising’. Their different interpretive strategies can explain this difference: al-Ṭabāṭabā’ī employs an objectivist approach of ‘interpretation of the Qur’ān in light of the Qur’ān itself’, Hamka focuses on a lucid style of Qur’ān interpretation accessible to a broader audience, and Shihab prefers a multi-subjective approach. This study implies that there is still a lack of tafsīr having equally serious concern for both Sunni and Shi‘a.

Dislocation, Exploration, Invigoration: Exploring the Cross-cultural Intersection of Art and Friendship

ABSTRACT If love can blind, are there are also scenarios in which relationality invokes clarity of knowledge and closeness of hearing? In this collaborative piece, Bardi artist and weaver Juanita Mulholland and researcher Sarah Bacaller explore the intersection between friendship and Australian Indigenous art forms. They reflect on the development and ethos of Juanita’s artistic practice, as it pertains to her sense of Indigenous identity and selfhood, including in the context of dislocation and loss. The dialogue is prefaced by reflections on recent criticism by Fisher [2012. The Art/Ethnography Binary: Post-Colonial Tensions Within the Field of Australian Aboriginal Art. Cultural Sociology, 6 (2), 251–270] on the ethnography–art binary in approaches to interpreting Australian Indigenous art in its diverse and varied forms. By exploring the dangers inherent in both objectivist (‘ethographic’) and subjectivist (art ‘on its own terms’) approaches, and building on the work of Biddle and Stefanoff [2015. What is Same but Different and why Does it Matter? Cultural Studies Review, 21 (1), 97–120], the authors explore how ethical relationality and connection can lead to a fuller understanding and appreciation of artworks and their artists, especially in relation to non-Indigenous engagement with Australian Indigenous artistry.

African Perspective of the Ukrainian Crisis: Assessments and Actions from China

The article is devoted to the assessment by the PRC analytical community of the impact of the Ukrainian crisis on the development of African countries, China-Africa relations and relations between Beijing and Western countries. The overall official position of the Chinese authorities regarding the crisis was detailed in a document distributed at the end of February 2023 entitled “China’s position on the political settlement of the Ukrainian crisis.” The publications of Chinese scientists and analysts concerning the African perspective of the problem, which were published mainly before the advent of the Government paper, dealt almost exclusively with aspects of the influence of the Special Military Operation on the intensification of the food crisis, the disruption of global value chains and the debt problem. They dealt with a fairly wide range of technical issues, but in the overwhelming majority they did not reveal the deep foundations and initial prerequisites for the problems that had arisen. At the same time they closely resonated with Western objectivist approaches to these issues.

Towards axiological maturity – the implementation and fulfilment of values by academic youth from Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Ukraine

The outlining of the values appreciated by academic youth and their perception of the possibilities of implementing and fulfilling them was based on the international comparative research conducted in 2019–2021 in the PolishCzech-Slovak-Ukrainian borderland. In the pedagogical analysis undertaken in the study of this subject matter, some theoretical and methodological conceptualizations were applied, which referred to: (1) Ronald F. Inglehart’s concept of changes of values, (2) the objectivistic approach to values and axiological maturity according to Adam Węgrzecki and (3) comparative analysis in international studies. Comparing the declarations of student groups in the investigated environments reveals significant differences in all value assessments, except for the implementation of moral values and a respectable life. The analysis and interpretation of the collected empirical material also indicate that the image of university students’ axiological preferences is characterized – in the context of Inglehart’s theory – mainly by secular-rational authority and post-materialism aimed at achieving a particular quality of life.

The Fire “Once Kindled on Moriah”: Wojtyła and Newman on the Conditions for the Proposal of Christ

The Fire “Once Kindled on Moriah”: Wojtyła and Newman on the Conditions for the Proposal of Christ1 Stephen Morgan (bio) The turn to the subject makes demands upon the transmission of the Christian faith that prior, largely objectivist approaches do not meet. In the personalism encountered in the work of John Henry Newman (1801–1890) and Karol Wojtyła (1920–2005) a balance between objective truth and personal experience can be found, which answers present need. This article considers two short texts from these eminent thinkers that indicate their views of this balance; each man would work out and develop more fully these views in later works. In particular, this article identifies within these shorter works a basis for the church’s foundational task of evangelization. First, this article will briefly consider the effects of the subjective turn in Western thought to the task of proposing Jesus Christ in the present age, before suggesting that some of the difficulties this turn has presented can be resolved by looking at the work of John Henry Newman and Karol Wojtyła/Pope John Paul II. It will consider two shorter works, one by each theologian: first, John Henry Newman’s fifth Oxford University Sermon, “Personal Influence, the Means of Propagating the Faith,”2 and, secondly, Karol Wojytła’s final published essay before his election to the papacy as Pope John Paul II, “Subjectivity and the Irreducible in Man.”3 The limitations of dealing with these two works—and their suitability to [End Page 23] stand as representative of the more developed treatment given by both men as to the question in other works—will be addressed before moving on to a detailed consideration of approach proposed by each theologian in turn. Finally, in concluding remarks, this article will consider the extent to which what each proposes may be seen as complimentary to the perspectives of the other. I. MORIAH, CATHOLIC FAITH, AND THE TURN TO THE SUBJECT The biblical notion of Mount Moriah is one on which both Newman and Wojtyła reflected. The Old Testament text makes mention of Mount Moriah in two places: the location where Abraham is commanded to go to sacrifice Isaac (Gen. 22:2) and as the site where Solomon constructed his Temple (2 Chron. 3:1). Modern biblical scholars disagree not only about the location, but even about the etymology of the name.4 What is not in doubt, however, is the symbolic meaning attached to the use of the name by John Henry Newman in his fifth University Sermon.5 Newman, clearly referencing the account in Genesis, sees Mount Moriah as the location of the first act of faith in the history of salvation. That is, as the place where Abraham, having been prepared to sacrifice Isaac and having kindled a fire to complete that offering, is provided by God with the ram caught in the thicket of thorns as the sacrificial victim in place of Isaac. It is this ram that becomes the sacrifice that ratifies the Covenant of Abraham’s faith, and it is this faith—faith in the living God—that Newman sees as the object of propagation, for which he posits personal influence as the appropriate means of its transmission. It should be noted that the significance of Moriah clearly occurred to Wojtyła, who treats it in poetic form (though no less theologically nor convincingly), in his Roman Trip-tych: Meditations.6 In a powerful series of short sections of the poem, entitled “III. A Hill in the Land of Moriah,” he contemplated the significance of the episode in Genesis, ending the third sub-section, “A conversation between a father and son in the land of Moriah,” with the recognition that Abraham’s act of faith in that place anticipates and prophesies its own consummation in the Paschal Mystery: [End Page 24] Henceforth the hill in the land of Moriah will be expectation— for on its heights the mystery will find fulfillment.7 In the ages when Christianity flourished largely within the context of what came to be called Christendom, where the vast majority of the faithful were baptized as infants and brought up in societies...

Inclusive advertising through the soundtrack: Insights from people with tinnitus

ABSTRACT This study explores the question of inclusive advertising soundtracks for people with tinnitus, a group that until now has been largely ignored by the marketing industry. The research applies a methodology based on Qualitative Data Analysis (QDA) and combines grounded theory and the focus group model as a data collection technique. The study took an objectivist approach for the first stages of data coding, and a constructivist approach to develop the theory, in an effort to tell a story about people with tinnitus and their relationship with today’s audiovisual advertising. A comparison of the contributions of three focus groups of tinnitus sufferers reveals a specific pattern that may provide clues for the creation of inclusive ads that will be tolerable to this target. The participants agree that they need clear and simple sound that poses fewer interpretation problems for the brain, and that advertising messages can be made more receptive and persuasive for them by improving the audio, through high-quality equalization. As a strategy to facilitate understanding of the advertising message, tinnitus sufferers suggest that ads should make what is heard visible, establishing the diegetic relationship between image and sound.

Maurice Hauriou’s Living Institutes: The Discovery of Sociolaw

The paper analyzes the so-called institutional theory of the state and law, a significant role in the development of which was played by the French jurist and philosopher of law M. Hauriou. Legal institutionalism as a trend in a legal science is as fundamental as normativism or sociologism. C. Schmitt, who paid great attention to M. Hauriou’s research on public law problems, defined the direction of his French contemporary’s thought as a third way between normative and decisionist solutions to scientific and legal problems: if a normativist thinks with impersonal norms, then a decisionist sees only a personal solution that implements the law of a properly understood political situation. Thus, institutional legal thinking is deployed in structural supra-personal institutions and forms.The main provisions of the institutional theory were used in the further development of European jurisprudence. Institutions are considered as corporate, organic and instrumental formations that consolidate and fix the processes of legal formation. In this case, the state itself acquires the qualities of an institution. The problem of institutionalization is inextricably linked with the problems of state sovereignty, forms of implementation of political power, and the construction of legal systems. M. Hauriou argues with various subjectivist concepts of the state and law, insisting on the priority of an objectivist approach to the problem of state power. His approach was supported by a number of prominent jurists, whose views are considered in this paper in comparison with the basic postulates of the theory of M. Hauriou. It was this scholar, along with another outstanding jurist L. Duguit, who formed the origins of the theory of the so-called sociolaw that has become so relevant in our time.

Difficult dialogues about death: applying risk orders theory to analyse chaplains’ provision of end-of-life care

Understandings of risk permeate end-of-life (EOL) care contexts. In addition to the risk of bodily death, patients, family and healthcare providers face spiritual and communication risks during EOL care. The Western biomedical healthcare model is an objectivist, curative framework focusing on fixing the body; this cultural notion limits communication regarding physical illness. Existing work argues that Americans’ reticence to discuss EOL can be considered a public health issue, due to high financial and relational costs, lack of education about treatment options, and avoidance of EOL discussions until decisions must be made during health crises. The current study applied risk orders theory in analysing chaplains’ experiences of EOL care in the US, where medical practice is dominated by biomedical health models. Risk orders theory is used to examine risk discourses from a social constructionist perspective in response to dominant objectivist approaches to risk. The current study expands conceptions of third-order risks through exploration of the chaplaincy profession. Analysis of chaplain qualitative interviews and focus groups, totalling 48 participants across the US, suggest chaplains possess the potential to reframe cultural discourses about death and reinvigorate cultural imagination surrounding EOL care.

Contemporary French and Francophone Narratology

Contemporary French and Francophone Narratology

Philosophical Underpinnings of Disaster Risk Reduction Research: The Case for Social Constructivism

In response to the growing interdisciplinarity of disaster research, this paper explores the philosophical underpinnings of disaster research to a) elucidate the methodological choices that disaster researchers make b) reflect on how these different choices and philosophical approaches consider disaster risk, and c) provide arguments infavor of the application of social constructivism for improving the results of disaster research. It investigates the epistemological and ontological underpinnings of social constructivism and objectivism and reflects on how they are applied in disaster research through a review of the literature. For ease and to avoid repetitive duplication of the references, the endnote reference manager was used in this study, with all references employed in this study managed using the endnote library. APA 6th reference style is followed to manage and harmonized the bibliographic section. Its findings indicate that the objectivist approaches that dominated the field until the 1980s emphasized the role of science and technology in reducing disaster risk focused on the physical and natural elements of different disasters, and therefore lack certain applicability. As a counter, this paper argues that a discursive, social constructivist approach that considers disasters as socially framed, rooted, and constructed may provide more fruitful applications of disaster research.

Счастье как междисциплинарный конструкт: варианты социологической концептуализации и операционализации

The project seeks to clarify the conceptual and operational definitions of happiness to be referred to in empirical sociological studies, and to systematize methodological approaches to the sociological analysis of happiness, outlining the cognitive potential and limitations of these approaches. Conceptually, the project indicates that the achievements to date can be grouped into two conventional areas of further studies: the objectivistic econometric approach (happiness indices based on social and economic indices) and the subjectivistic social and psychological approach (self-assessments in terms of happiness derived from public surveys). In terms of methods, the authors of the project organized the indicators and methods used in the empirical study of happiness, allowing the use of diverse survey tools in the observational studies aimed at identifying commonplace perception of happiness and adequately “measuring” its level.

Subjective satisfaction and objective electricity poverty reduction in Vietnam, 2008–2018

PurposeThe authors estimate the reduction of electricity poverty in Vietnam. The essential argument is that human development is about subjective feeling as much as technology and income.Design/methodology/approachThe authors use a self-reported satisfaction indicator as complementary to objective indicators based on national household surveys from 2008 to 2018.FindingsIn 2010, the fraction of households with access to electricity was over 96%. However, over 24% declared their electricity use did not meet their needs. Since 2014, the satisfaction rate is around 97%, even if 25% of the households used less than 50 kWh/month. Today there is electricity for all in Vietnam, but electricity bills weigh more and more in the budget of households.Practical implicationsThe subjective energy poverty measure allows better international statistics: unlike poverty or needs-based criteria, self-assessed satisfaction of needs compares across income levels and climates.Social implicationsInequalities in electricity use among Vietnamese households decreased during the 2008–2018 period, but are not greater than inequalities in income, contrary to the findings of Son and Yoon (2020).Originality/valueEngineering and econometric objectivist approaches dominate the literature on sustainability monitoring. Out of 232 sustainable development goal (SDG) indicators, only two are subjective. Yet the findings show that subjective indicators tell a different part of the story. Access is not grid building, but the meaningful provision of electricity to satisfy the needs.

Онтология и методология исследования культурной травмы в социально-философском дискурсе

The article describes the essence of the moderate constructivist approach to the study of cultural trauma, its difference from the traditional objectivist approach. The onto-gnoseological foundations of the study of the phenomenon of cultural trauma, characteristic of the «strong program» of cultural sociology, are considered. Instead of analyzing social conditions and situations, cultural sociology examines the semiotic codes that underlie the construction of cultural trauma.

Вина как одно из оснований запрета (приостановления) деятельности по российскому гражданскому праву

The article considers the essence of the category of guilt as one of the grounds for prohibiting (suspending) activities under Russian civil law. The article analyzes the shortcomings ofthe legal definition of guilt stipulated in article 401 of the civil code of the Russian Federation due to the mixing of objectivist and subjectivist concepts. Based on the analysis of the judicial practice of the application of Article 1065 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, a conclusion was made about the unsatisfactory state of law enforcement in establishing guilt in a person’s behavior. Monuments of Roman law are studied for the purpose of revealing the category of guilt. A brief overview of approaches to the concept of guilt in the civil legislation of a number of foreign countries and in the Model rules of European Private Law is given. The positions of the Supreme Court of Austria and the countries of the Anglo-Saxon legal family are given on this issue. The article briefly covers the integral theory developed By E. A. Kramer for the objective assessment of individuals ‘ discretion in conducting any activity that may entail adverse consequences for third parties. In connection with the special functions and purpose of the Institute of responsibility in private law and institute for the prevention of harm, the conclusion is defended that it is unacceptable to directly borrow the category of guilt from criminal law to civil law. The article substantiates the need to apply the objectivist concept of guilt in civil law as a deviation from the standard of behavior of an ordinary reasonable participant in the turnover, taking into account individual characteristics of a person. Taking into account the provisions of the current civil legislation on liability, a conclusion was made about the possibility of applying a simplified scheme of forms and types of guilt, including when deciding on the establishment of an injunction. The question of the ratio of guilt, considered from the point of view of the objectivist approach, and wrongfulness is touched upon.

THE PHENOMENON OF OBVIOUSNESS AND UNCERTAINTY OF AN OBJECTIVE APPROACH TO UNDERSTANDING THE CORPUS DELICTI THROUGH THE PRISM OF THE VIEWS OF SCIENTISTS OF THE LATE 19TH - EARLY 21ST CENTURIES

Today, it seems possible to state the presence of dualism within the general doctrine of the corpus delicti. In contrast to the «normative», the representatives of the objectivist approach consider the corpus delicti, along with the crime, as a real phenomenon. Namely, only a system of elements and signs embodied in objective reality can form the composition of a specific crime committed. The presented understanding makes it possible to determine the corpus delicti as the only basis for criminal liability, as well as to build the correlation between the crime and the corpus delicti as one-order categories. However, a detailed study and critical analysis of the works of scientists, representatives of this approach, allow us to point out a number of problems that indicate its theoretical incompleteness, and as a consequence, requiring study and improvement. As a result, the author of the article presents the key points in the evolution of scientific thought about the formation and development of an objectivist approach to understanding the corpus delicti from the end of the 19th to the beginning of the 21st century, allowing you to get a holistic view of its phenomenon, including both obvious and contradictory aspects. Subject of research: norms of the current criminal legislation, which are based on the category of corpus delicti, published scientific works (article, monographs) and educational materials devoted to the general doctrine of the corpus delicti. Purpose: the formation in the science of criminal law of a system understanding of the phenomenon of an objective approach to understanding the corpus delicti, its main provisions and controversial aspects, aimed at overcoming the existing and achieving a unified understanding of the corpus delicti. Conclusion: Since, within the framework of the objectivist approach, the corpus delicti, the elements and features that form its structure, are considered as real phenomena, it becomes possible to structure a specific crime, as well as to establish the basis of criminal liability. However, a number of provisions do not allow to recognize this vision of the corpus delicti as devoid of contradictions.

Program assessment in innovation ecosystems

The objective of this study is to analyze how different typologies and evaluation approaches relate to assessment requirements of a program inserted in an innovation ecosystem. Methodology involved interviews with 21 stakeholders and a documentary survey. Although the nature of the program suggests greater alignment with developmental evaluation and a subjectivist approach, the results also imply assessment demands based on the objectivist approach. Conclusions highlight the relevance of stakeholders’ demand for defining evaluation guidelines, and indicate that programs inserted in collaborative networks receive a diversity of demands that require multiple typologies and approaches.