Paradigmatic Concept Research Articles

Deconstructing research: paradigms lost

In recent decades, proponents of naturalistic and/or critical modes of inquiry advocating the use of ethnographic techniques for the narrative‐based study of phenomena within pedagogical contexts have challenged the central methodological paradigm of educational research: that is, the tendency among its practitioners to adhere to quantitative forms of analysis. The innovativeness of ‘qualitative methodologies’ has succeeded in calling for a reevaluation of traditional solutions to educational research problems within the dominant paradigm. The concept of paradigm was introduced as a gesture to illuminate the historicity of science as loosely configured sets of ever changing assumptions with respect to our understandings of the world. What it did was to account for the proliferation of emergent patterns of knowledge production and disciplinary agendas that serve to convene actual research praxis in the sciences. But it also entrenched a certain incommensurability of intents and purposes, not to mention epistemological and methodological constraints that created disciplinary divisions. The engendering logic of such a paradigmatic conception of research sets up divisions according to a methodological basis for confirming knowledge claims as the products of a science. Post‐structuralism, as a theoretical movement framed after the work of Jacques Derrida, transformed the discourse of the debate over the paradigmatic nature of educational research science. It enabled a displacement of the almost undisputed primacy of quantitative methodologies by qualitative forms of analysis. The implications of arguments for and against qualitative inquiry as a valid and reliable means for conducting pedagogical research will be addressed in relation to the work of Derrida through a discussion of: (1) epistemological questions about the nature of ontology; (2) theoretical questions concerning the knowledge of sense perception; and (3) methodological questions regarding the scientific truth‐effect of procedure.

Women in Weimar fashion: discourses and displays in German culture, 1918-1933

In the Weimar Republic, fashion was not only manipulated by the various mass media - film, magazines, advertising, photography, and popular literature - but also emerged as a powerful medium for women's self-expression. Female writers and journalists, including Helen Grund, Irmgard Keun, Vicki Baum, Elsa Maria Bug, and numerous others engaged in a challenging, self-reflective commentary on current styles. By regularly publishing on these topics in the illustrated press and popular literature, they transformed traditional genres and carved out significant public space for themselves. This book re-evaluates paradigmatic concepts of German modernism such as the 'flâneur,' the 'Feuilleton,' and 'Neue Sachlichkeit' in the light of primary material unearthed in archival research: fashion vignettes, essays, short stories, travelogues, novels, films, documentaries, newsreels, and photographs. Unlike other studies of Weimar culture that have ignored the crucial role of fashion, the book proposes a new genealogy of women's modernity by focusing on the discourse and practice of Weimar fashion, in which the women were transformed from objects of male voyeurism into subjects with complex, ambivalent, and constantly shifting experiences of metropolitan modernity. Mila Ganeva is Associate Professor of German at Miami University, Oxford, Ohio.

Book Review: Die Neunte Stadt: Wilde Grenzen und Städteregion Ruhr 2030

In this book, Davy outlines a theoretical model termed ‘the ninth city’, which facilitates regional governance and strategic spatial planning rooted in respect for difference, the exploitation of space potentials, and flexibility. The model contextualizes and generalizes experiences and ideas developed during an 18-month-long collaborative project involving local government representatives from Germany’s rust belt cities along the rivers Emscher and Ruhr, as well as academics from the University of Dortmund. This practice-based project titled ‘City Region Ruhr 2030’ pursued a twofold goal: 1) fostering cooperation amongst municipalities; and 2) developing an overall paradigmatic concept or image (Leitbild) that would guide the future development of the densely urbanized region formed by the eight independent cities of Duisburg, Oberhausen, Essen, Gelsenkirchen, Muhlheim-upon-Ruhr, Herne, Bochum and Dortmund (see IRPUD, n.d.). Davy applies three theoretical lenses to examine the implications of borders and boundaries, cooperation dynamics, and selfdetermination, on the outcome of the project.

Dvds, video games, and the cinema of interactions

The “cinema of interactions” in the title of my paper alludes to Tom Gunning’s paradigmatic conception of early cinema as a “cinema of attractions.” Borrowing from the idea that electronic textuality marks what has been called the late age of print, I argue that the history of cinema up to the present moment can be seen as an extension of early cinema. In describing the current cinematic moment in this fashion, I do not mean to suggest that film will disappear in the face of video games and other digital media, but rather that it will continue increasingly to be engaged with the social, technological, and aesthetic forms and practices of digital media. This engagement will not be marked (as many digital enthusiasts contend) by the emergence of a distinctively new digital medium (and the concomitant abandonment of the technologically outmoded medium of celluloid film), but rather by the emergence of multiply networked, distributed forms of cinematic production and exhibition. Indeed I am convinced that in this sense we already find ourselves with a digital cinema—not as a distinctively new medium but as a hybrid network of media forms and practices.

Living with enterprise in an enterprise economy: Freelance and contract workers in the media

Changes in organizational structures, logics and employment practices in the media industries – critically the outsourcing of labour, whereby employees become freelance workers – supply an ideal context in which to explore the extent to which, and the ways in which, ideological and structural pressures encourage workers to accept the logic and imperatives of enterprise. An important and influential body of literature identifies the ‘enterprising self ’ as a central paradigmatic concept underpinning the rationale of new, alternative, work forms and relationships. And enterprising forms or logics of organization, or of organizational employment practices and relationships are closely associated with management pressures on workers (contract freelance workers or permanent employees) to accept enterprise as a major element of their self-identities.This study of media workers contributes to the debate about the ‘enterprising self ’. Many writers have noted that workers in the enterprise economy are exposed to systemic efforts to see themselves in terms of enterprise. But relatively little work has explored how workers respond to these efforts.The findings of this study reveal the various ways in which freelance workers make sense of enterprise and how they understand themselves, and their employment experiences in terms of enterprise.

Higher-Order Vagueness and the Vagueness of 'Vague'

1New York NY 10027, USA

L’évaluation écoépidémiologique du «risque leishmanien» au Sahara atlantique marocain. Intérêt heuristique de la relation «Phlébotomes-bioclimats»

The authors present the results of a survey carried out on leishmaniasis risk factors in the littoral zone of the Moroccan western Sahara. The paradigmatic concept of the greater importance of the vector than the reservoir suggests that the spatial, qualitative and quantitative distribution of sandflies are the risk markers for leishmaniasis. The analysis reported here was based on a series of sandfly samples made with sticky paper traps set in transects. Sampling was done with 2,604 traps at 36 stations during the period of maximum sand fly activity. The traps were distributed in two series, one strictly coastal and the other slightly diverging for some kilometers towards the interior. Over 1,043 km, 27 rural and 9 urban localities were sampled. Among the latter were Tan-Tan, Tarfaya, Layoun, Boujdour and Dakhla. Only 12 sandflies were caught among which a single specimen of the genus Phlebotomus. This scorcity of vector species coincides with the absence of leishmaniasis in the area studied. Twenty two dogs examined serologically by IFAT were negative and no parasites were demonstrable in 10 Psammomys obesus from around the airport at Tan-Tan. This is explained by the local climate along the Atlantic coast -a constant breeze from the NW/NE sector causing important modifications in the Saharan region : heavy clouds accompanied by an abundance of occult precipitation : and low summer temperatures. Of these factors, the violent and humid winds and the low summer temperatures are the most unfavourable for sandflies. As long as there are no changes in the climate, the risk of leishmaniasis can be expected to remain low in the coastal band. Moreover the buffering effect of the oceanic mass should ensure that this zone remains protected from the expected global warming which, in the coming decades, is likely to affect the periarid region of the continental Maghreb where P. papatasi, the common vector of Leishmania major, is widely distributed with the exception of the littoral zone.

Luther's Am Neujahrstage: Style as Argument

Abstract: While accounts of Renaissance rhetoric have recently begun to consider the work of Martin Luther, understanding of Luther's preaching strategies depends on detailed scrutiny of his sermons. A careful investigation of the language of a Luther sermon, in consideration of the rhetorical intent and context in which the work was developed, reveals a speaker striving to engage an audience. As a critical concept more pervasive than traditional notions of elocutio,the paradigmatic concept of "style" offered here draws from Burke and Perelman/Olbrechts-Tyteca to show how rhetorical devices ("figures") advance the argument and how the audience is intended to apprehend the meaning and action ("form") of the discourse. Coherent analysis of contextual, thematic, and structural features of Luther's sermon text shows style a primary rather than derivative feature of rhetorical criticism.

Soapware: the fit between software and advertising

What if software packages carried advertising messages? What if off-the-shelf software packages were paid for by commercial concerns seeking the attention of prospective audiences rather than their pocketbooks? Do we know how to price the use of software? Can advertising help software? Is software fit for advertising? The title suggested here for the possibility of funding some software through advertising is ‘Soapware’. Both the provocative nature and the double-edged connotation of the title warrant discussion. But the Soapware suggestion is also a vehicle for the introduction of some broader issues. Three theoretical statements are proposed: (1) Large portions of the software market are in transition to mass production, transforming the nature of the market. (2) The phenomenon of software theft is detrimental to all users. Software theft is damaging to the public at large, as well as to producers of stolen code. In this sense, software has become a ‘public good’, and software theft has created a ‘Tragedy of Commons’. (3) Contemporary economic trends in the software market impose a product orientation on off-the-shelf software, contradicting the traditional, paradigmatic conception of software as process. The Soapware proposal may offer a way out of all three predicaments. Findings from a pilot study of the feasibility of advertising support for software production are discussed, especially the potential damage to user satisfaction, and potential gains. The experiment reported, based on 150 users of a commercial package, indicates high recall rates, no loss in user satisfaction, and several innovative ways of using software for advertising. The experimental findings indicate some interesting characteristics of software as an expressive medium. Lastly, some broader ethical, economic, and theoretical implications of the Soapware possibility are raised.

Human action and its place in theories of aging

Beginning from the premise that a primary task of a science is to be true to the character of its subject matter, this article argues the study of aging in the human sciences has not paid sufficient attention to the distinct features of human aging. Specifically, the role of intentional human action (involving purposefulness and selfhood) in producing age-related phenomena has largely been ignored. Paradigmatic concepts of psychology (development), sociology (socialization), and economics (choice) are analyzed with reference to the study of aging. These concepts focus on organism, environment, and behavior, and deflect attention from the task of analyzing the role of intentionality in relation to aging. This circumstance can be viewed as a special instance of the more general modem literary practice of rendering the subject silent, passive, and “objective, ” as reflected in Barthes' concept of “white writing. ” Some possibilities for developing alternative conceptual approaches for the study of aging are briefly discussed.

Concepts of organizational culture and presumed links to efficiency

This paper provides a critical survey of some common conceptualizations of organizational culture: culture as a building block in organizational design, as the outcome of symbolic management, as a diagnostic instrument and as a paradigmatic concept. A number of well-known proponents for various views on organizational culture are critically examined, especially concerning assumptions and hypotheses on the relationship between organizational culture and various performance-related outcomes. It is argued that many writers exaggerate the central role played by corporate culture as an independent variable affecting organizational efficiency. Part of the problem is establishing the linkages between culture and other organizational phenomena and outcomes is concerned with difficulties in separating culture from non-culture. Efforts to establish outcomes of corporate culture often become unclear, speculative or tautological. The paper concludes that even though it is understandable that scholars for technical and pragmatic reasons emphasize culture as a key to organizational performance and then ‘narrow down’ culture to a variable or factor, this reductionistic view on culture is unfruitful. A broader view, conceptualizing culture as a metaphor for organization appears much more promising.

Change and controversy of paradigms in the neurophysiology of motor control

A review is given of the theoretical trends in modern neurophysiology of motor control. Three periods are distinguished to which paradigmatic basic concepts, in the sense of Th. Kuhn, can be assigned. The main exponents of these concepts, their ideological background and their critics are briefly presented. Detailed consideration is given to the present controversial discussions on the basic understanding of the psycho-mental processes in the brain. Here, the old struggle between dualists and monists has awakened to new life. Recently, science itself has discovered fundamental limitations to the epistemological capacities of the human mind, which indicate a "metatheoretical ambiguity" of natural occurrences. This allows for several different (but provisional) interpretations even of human thought and action, which, however, remain ultimately unresolved.

Die paradigmatiese konsep in die vergelykende politiek

Abstract This article deals with some aspects of the paradigmatic concept in comparative politics. The first section attempts to demonstrate the logical and structural consistency of relatively well known conceptual schemes. The second section deals with the paradigmatic concept as a norm for social‐scientific theory assessment. The overarching frame of reference is the metatheoretical juncture in the discipline.