Practical Research Articles

The Value of Experience-Centered Design to Responsible Software Design and Engineering

Abstract In this conceptual article, we review experience-centered approaches to the design of personal digital interactive technologies, with a view to exploring how these approaches might be of value in understanding the experience-in-use and the responsible design of today's highly networked, data-rich, and ubiquitous software technologies. Experience-centered design research leans heavily on pragmatist philosophy for its conceptual underpinnings, particularly John Dewey's accounts of aesthetic experience and of inquiry. After reviewing this body of work, we argue that these foundations could be usefully extended to also include Dewey's approach to ethics as an empirical, situated act of moral imagination. In addition, we look to other researchers for perspectives that complement and extend Deweyan experiential pragmatics. In particular, we look to the ways in which Susan Leigh Star's account of socio-technical infrastructures and dialogical approaches to human relations together can provide important insights into the experience-in-use of today's digital infrastructure and can critically highlight issues of boundaries and privacy. We also offer pragmatic and methodological concepts that may be of value to the field of responsible software design and engineering.

관광경험 연구의 ‘신체성’ 탐구를 위한 현상학의 가능성

This paper aims to review the contributions and issues of phenomenological research that have so far emerged in tourism research and to explore what opportunities and potentials phenomenology as a philosophical and theoretical framework could provide to tourism experience research. Particularly when describing the travel experience projected and constructed through the embodiment of people with disabilities, the body-centered philosophy illustrated in Merleau-Ponty's <Phénomenologie de la Perception> is an epistemological paradigm with a more subjective perspective. Findings revealed that, as opposed to studies that formed discourse and were devoted to European phenomenological philosophy or epistemology, the majority of phenomenological studies in tourism literature use phenomenological methods that newly appeared in combination with American pragmatism. In order to develop the theory and discourse of the tourism experience and ensure proper application of the methodology, it is necessary to understand the philosophical and theoretical underpinnings of phenomenology. The phenomenology and theory of Merleau-Ponty could be a useful substitute for describing and approaching the body and subjectivity of people with disabilities who view life and travel from a different angle. Despite the limitations of the alternatives discussed in this study, it is anticipated that a wide range of in-depth discourses and issues will emerge as a theoretical framework for investigating the significance of the physicality of women with disabilities in the travel experience and how it will be reflected in the ensuing research.

THE FUNCTIONING OF THE IDEOLOGEM “POST-SOVIET SPACE” IN RUSSIAN POLITICAL AND MILITARY-POLITICAL MEDIA TEXTS: NOSTALGIA AND PRAGMATICS

The purpose of the article is to study the peculiarities of the functioning of the ideologem “post-Soviet space” in the materials of political journalism. The article contributes to the development of scientific understanding of the practice of using propaganda terms in journalistic texts, which is an urgent problem of modern philology, which actively studies the penetration of aspects of propaganda into publications on foreign policy. The theoretical basis for the study was the work of Russian philologists on the mediatization of political events, the functioning of ideologues in media texts. The article analyzes the peculiarities of the ideologization of the term “post-Soviet space,” defines and characterizes the specific features of the functioning of this ideologem in the texts of Russian print and online publications devoted to political issues. The empirical basis of the study was more than 100 publications of Russian socio-political media. Factors affecting the functioning of the ideologem are highlighted: political, military, economic, socio-cultural. The abstracts of the article are illustrated by examples from publications. Based on the analysis, conclusions were made about the goals that journalists pursue by integrating the ideologue of the “post-Soviet space” into their political materials. The results obtained prove the influence on the transformation of the ideologem of various factors: political, economic, military, ethno-national and others. One of the important results is the consideration by the authors of the article of the mediatization process as introducing events of a political and military-political nature into the information agenda of society, a family, specifically taken by a person who are not directly related to such reality. The authors come to conclusions about the “nostalgic” and pragmatic nature of the ideologem “post-Soviet space,” depending on the purposes of the texts in which it is used by journalists.

Valuation and emotion according to John Dewey

Abstract The role of morals, ethics and values in economics is a much-discussed topic. The purpose of this article is to review the pragmatist philosopher John Dewey’s contribution to this debate. He particularly points out the importance of emotion. Indeed, emotion has remained a blind spot in the author’s thinking on values, given the extent to which the debate on rationality and value has taken precedence. We begin by showing the contiguity of the notions of valuation and emotion in the author’s thinking. We then discuss the role of emotion in the conduct of moral inquiry by situating his thinking in relation to emotivism, before more specifically addressing the role of emotion in Dewey’s thinking. Finally, we discuss how Dewey’s thinking can contribute to the debate on values and valuation in economics.

Towards a pragmatist economic geography

Following Jamie Peck’s remit for this initial set of Exchanges section contributions to present forward-positive approaches to economic geography, I offer American philosophical pragmatism, and more specifically, the neo-pragmatism of the American philosopher, Richard Rorty (1931–2007). Rather than providing a complete architectonic philosophy, pragmatism presents a set of ideas about ideas. Within the context of economic geography, I explore within this short paper three neo-pragmatist ideas: a reconceptualization of knowledge and truth; experimentation and creativity; and pluralism and conversation.

How social norms and values shape household healthcare expenditures and resource allocation: Insights from India

We present a novel perspective on thinking about and studying healthcare spending in contexts where few health-related financial risk protection mechanisms exist and where out-of-pocket spending by households is the norm. Drawing on interviews conducted across 20 villages in two states of India, we illustrate and problematize how a complex interplay of social norms and cultural factors underpin spending decisions within households in such contexts. While our analysis draws on the fieldwork at large, we present our findings through selected narratives - stories of patients suffering from chronic breathlessness. We engage with and reveal the various ways in which social norms dynamically drive this household economy, and shape resource allocation-related decisions. We conclude that in health system contexts where out-of-pocket spending by households is the norm, it is essential to recognise the pragmatic and calculative nature of intra-household allocation of resources, and how it involves bargaining and negotiations at the intersection of social norms, economic class, caste, gender, age, and productive status. And at the same time, how all of this occurs within the economy of the family, and how it plays out differently for different members of a family is also important to recognise. Such recognition can not only help one better appreciate how this household level economy may sometimes maintain and perpetuate entrenched hierarchies and gender inequities, crucially, it can help target health related social protection policies and strategies and make them more responsive to the needs of the most vulnerable in the society and within households.

Capabilities required of the conventional project delivery (CPD) approach in producing quality design documentation: the Ghanaian construction industry perspective

Purpose The conventional project delivery (CPD) approach has been reported in the literature as the most widely used project delivery method in the construction industry globally compared to other delivery methods. However, researchers and practitioners have argued that the approach, specifically during the production of design documentation under the CPD, lacks certain capabilities that ensure quality and enhance project delivery. Therefore, this study aims to use the Ghanaian construction industry to identify the capabilities required of the CPD in practice, particularly during the production of design documentation. Design/methodology/approach The study design follows a pragmatist philosophy and uses mixed methods based on a deductive approach. Data collection involved a questionnaire survey, followed by semi-structured interviews. Quantitative data analysis used descriptive and inferential statistics, whereas qualitative data analysis used content analysis with the assistance of IBM SPSS and QSR Nvivo 12 Pro. Findings Findings indicate that there should be incentives for producing good design documentation quality; mandatory coordination of design documentation; improving collaboration among designers; and allowing contractors to make input during the design stage. Practical implications The results indicate the need for the identified capabilities to be introduced in the CPD approach to improve design documentation quality. Originality/value This study offers a significant insight into the specific capabilities that are required of the CPD approach in practice particularly, in the production of design documentation

Pragmatistische Kritik der Postdemokratie

Abstract Post-democracy has become an important contribution to the discourse on democratic theory. On the one hand, this article appreciates the impulses opened up by the diagnosis of post-democracy. On the other hand, it criticizes some problematic presuppositions. Especially the thesis of post-democracy seems to imply an ideal of democracy that is oriented toward a certain type of democracy, without critically discussing it. The tradition of philosophical pragmatism is drawn upon to show how an alternative critical diagnosis of democracy might look. The pragmatist tradition, it is argued, avoids the problems of the diagnosis of post-democracy outlined and develops a normatively grounded concept of democracy. The normative aim of democracy consists in focusing on the experience of vulnerability in the face of violence and suffering. Thus, democracy should be conceptualised as a reflexive practice that asks how to deal with these experiences of vulnerability.

Emotional Exchange on Team Performance in Non-Governmental Agricultural Organizations in Kenya

This study sought to establish the influence of emotional exchange on team performance in non-governmental agricultural organizations in Kenya. The study adopted convergent mixed method research design which integrates quantitative and qualitative data and pragmatism philosophy. The target population was NGOs operating in the agricultural sector in Kenya whose list was obtained from NGO Coordination Board. Data was collected using questionnaire as the main tool with interview guide used to triangulate the results from employees in the sector. Results revealed that emotional exchnage in terms of gratitude, empathy, respect, and assertive accounts for 29.2% of team performance in Agricultural NGOs. Emotional exchange has a statisitcally signficant influence on team performance (t = 9.294, p<0.05) which implies that emotional exchange in terms of in gratitude, respect, empathy and assertion towards employees significantly impacts on team performance in the NGOs. As a result, the null hypothesis hypotheses was rejected and inferred that emotional exchange has a statistically significant influence on team performance in non-governmental agricultural organizations. It was thus inferred that emotional exchange (bring in the components of emotional exchange) has a significant influence on team performance in the sector. In lieu of this, it is recommended that the NGOs need to enhance stable emotions that create an environment that fosters productivity, while unstable emotions cause resource-draining effect that weakens employees' ability to remain engaged and innovative (should capture the constructs appropriately.

SELF-ACTUALIZATION AND SELF-REALIZATION AS EDUCATIONAL PRIORITIES OF THE NEW UKRAINIAN SCHOOL

The article analyzes the content of the terms self-actualization and self-realization in the context of the goalsetting process of the New Ukrainian School. It is shown that the identification of the terms self-actualization and selfrealization, which is often carried out in scientific works and directive documents, is methodologically unjustified and harmful to the practice of educational reforms. The prerequisites for a scientifically based delimitation of the content of both terms are defined. The main approaches to distinguishing the concepts of self-actualization and self-realization in scientific literature are summarized. It is appropriate to include the interpretation of the concepts of self-actualization and self-realization as a component of each other, demarcation as cognitive and activity phenomena, separation based on the dichotomy of ideal and real, and the use of philosophical categories of content and form. The methodological and practical expediency of using the concepts of human potential and the human factor to substantiate the specificity of the concepts of self-actualization and self-realization is shown. It is concluded that self-actualization reproduces the ancestral (spiritual) essence of a person in his individual being, therefore it contains a humanistic and sociocentric ideal in the form of guidelines for self-development, actualizing the future through the deployment of a person’s self-development potential. Within the process of self-actualization, the attitude to constant self-improvement necessary for modern education is provided as a search for oneself, coordination of one’s own competencies, values, meaningful life priorities with the needs of society and universal human values. Self-actualization within the priorities of the New Ukrainian School should be considered as the main goal, which ensures the self-development of the individual and is an integral goal of educational activity. In turn, self-realization reflects the pragmatic-competent dimension of educational activity, orients education and a person to the development of one’s own skills, knowledge, talents and their use in real life to ensure success and self-affirmation in the personal and professional sphere. Within the process of self-realization, the formation of a personality is also carried out, but mainly of a pragmatic nature - as the realization of one’s own plans and desires regarding the profession, social status, and individual achievements. Therefore, the global strategy of the New Ukrainian School should be oriented towards subordinating the goals of self-realization to more general tasks of self-actualization.

The Benefit of the Doubt: Rethinking critique in/of scientific knowledge

The relation between critique and scientific knowledge has become a perilous conundrum. The precarity of this relation is conspicuous in recent ‘post-truth’ dynamics but also in the field of Science and Technology Studies, where established critical approaches to scientific knowledge have been subjected to devastating (self-)criticism. This article explores an aspect of critique often left unnoticed, namely that of doubt, asking whether it might provide a pathway for rethinking scientific reasoning and critical thinking. Drawing on ethnographic studies of a university-wide initiative to promote the integration of research and teaching, the article considers how students and researchers tackle doubt in teaching that involves scientific inquiry and research. Contemplating what has been termed the positivity of doubt in American pragmatism, and its recent developments in French pragmatism, the paper considers the implications of the role of doubt in scientific inquiry for how we might approach the cultivation of critique in and of scientific knowledge today.

Abstract P346: Patient Characteristics Related To Medication Adherence In A Nationwide Pragmatic Trial Comparing Thiazide-type Diuretics

Background: Antihypertensive treatment (AHT) is crucial for preventing major adverse cardiovascular events and other negative health outcomes, but poor adherence remains a challenge. We assessed the associations between patient characteristics and adherence to two thiazide-type diuretics in a large sample of hypertensive patients from the Diuretic Comparison Project (DCP), a nationwide randomized pragmatic trial conducted in the Veterans Affairs Healthcare System. Methods: Study data, collected electronically during routine clinical care, were used to determine adherence to chlorthalidone and hydrochlorothiazide. Participants were classified as adherent (70.3%; 9,501 of 13,523) or non-adherent (29.7%; 4,022 of 13,523) based on a medication possession ratio threshold of 80%, irrespective of randomized drug assignment. Logistic regression was used to measure the associations. Results: Non-adherent participants were more likely to be older, Black, not married, residing in urban areas, current smokers, and had a higher level of baseline systolic blood pressure (Table 1). History of cardiovascular disease and diabetes were associated with lower adherence. However, participants with higher BMI and those who received more antihypertensive drugs showed better adherence than those with lower levels. Conclusion: These findings contribute to the identification of several patient characteristics as predictors of lower medication adherence. DCP’s pragmatic nature allowed for real-world data capture and may be useful to inform clinicians of patient groups who may not adhere to their medication and who might benefit from targeted interventions.

Realism for Realistic People: A New Pragmatic Philosophy of Science, by Hasok Chang

Realism for Realistic People: A New Pragmatic Philosophy of Science, by Hasok Chang

Student-Workers’ Perception towards Distance Education in Ghana

Ghana’s distance education program is significantly flooded with varied perceptions. The constant variations in perceptions could stem from rapid physical and social changes within the education sector. The purpose of this study was to discover student-workers views about distance education in contemporary times. Informed by the pragmatism philosophy, the study employed the explanatory mixed methods to gather data from randomly selected student-workers and study center coordinators in the University of Cape Coast, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and University of Ghana. The study found that student-workers still preferred distance education over the regular program in spite of its steady challenges. The perceived main reason for opting for distance education was their desire to obtain higher education while doing other necessary activities. The sex of student-workers played a significant role in their desire to obtain higher education in UCC but the same could not be said in KNUST and UG. The study concluded that younger student-workers pursuing distance education in UG desired higher education more than the elderly but this relationship was non-existing in UCC and KNUST. It was revealed, in all institutions, that single student-workers desired higher education more than the married. Generally, the socio-demographic characteristics of distance education student-workers in Ghana have changed significantly over the years. The study recommended that university authorities in collaboration with the management of distance education should make the conscious effort to sensitize males, elderly and married workers, to enroll onto the distance education programs to bridge social disparities in distance education.

MOH SJAFEI'S TAXONOMY: BRAIN, HEART, AND HAND LEARNING

This article aims to find the threads of Moh Sjafei’s educational concept, including the taxonomy of learning and its educational philosophy. The term learning taxonomy itself has been more popularly used by Bloom since 1956. However, far from that, in practice and the concept has been introduced by Moh Sjafei through the Kayutanam INS since 1926. The research method used is a qualitative research method with a type of literature study. This study found that there are three dimensions of Moh Sjafei’s taxonomy of learning, namely the dimensions of the brain, heart, and hands. The dimensions of the brain have several levels, starting from insight, habits, innovation, and production. Meanwhile, the heart dimension covers art, religion, and society. Whereas, the hand dimension covers the learning of skills that can liberate students' souls. These three parts must be balanced and applied in the learning process. Meanwhile, educational philosophy as the basis of Sjafei's taxonomic concept is the philosophy of pragmatism. The conclusion of this article is Sjafei's taxonomy with the dimensions of the brain, heart, and hands, as well as the philosophy of pragmatism as the key concepts of his educational thinking.

Questions as Dialogue Games. The Pragmatic Dimensions of “Authentic” Questions

AbstractQuestions, and more specifically authentic questions, are at the core of dialogue-based learning and teaching. However, what is a question, and how can it be authentic? This paper addresses this problem by analyzing the distinct dimensions of questions, showing how their pragmatic nature is interwoven with the syntactic and semantic one, and how it can be grasped only by considering their dialogical functions. Questions are maintained to be proposals of different dialogue games (or types), pursuing specific interactional purposes, and potentially contributing to learning processes in different ways. By understanding how questions shape different dialogues it is possible to ask more suitable questions to the questioner’s goals. In this framework, the dichotomy between authentic and inauthentic questions becomes a strategic choice between different types of dialogical possibilities.

How to Turn Politics Around: Things, the Earth, Ecology

In this article, I give a personal view of Bruno Latour’s work on the politics of ecology going back to his work during the early 2000s on the politics of things. Based on my exchanges with Latour over the years, from the time that I became his student in the late 1990s, I show how he developed his understanding of the politics of ecology through a critical engagement with early twentieth-century theories of a “politics of things,” notably the one developed by the pragmatist philosopher John Dewey. I propose that Latour, who was greatly inspired by Dewey’s book The Public and Its Problems, through his more recent work on climate change demonstrated that the ecological crisis poses a profound challenge to the pragmatist vision of material politics. This challenge led Latour to undertake a radical reconstruction of the very idea of ecological politics and envision what he calls a politics of the earth. In a second section of this essay, I articulate a related but different possibility for the reconstruction of ecological politics, one that I believe Latour saw clearly, but did not pursue. If we are to succeed in turning politics around ecology, we will need to engage much more deeply with feminist understandings of politics, which affirm materiality, embodiment, and connectedness as unavoidable political realities. This in turn enables us to appreciate the wider relevance for understanding the ecological crisis of the feminist critique of the bifurcation of politics, which Carole Pateman identifies as the underlying schema of modern democracy. I argue that it remains one of the main blocks on our ability to reenvision politics in ecological terms today. Part reflection, part criticism, and part homage, this article then argues that we should look for orientation in feminist politics of ecology, if we want to take further the work of Latour and many others for a politics of the earth.

Speaking Pragmatically: Religious Discourse and Counseling Discourse in the Lives and Work of Counselors

Grounded theory analysis of data obtained in 10 interviews with Roman Catholic Christian professional counselors identified six themes. Three themes were common to all interviews: the value and beauty of faith; autonomy and obedience; and healing, renewal, and the call. Three other themes, appearing in topics of both religion and counseling within individual interviews, were the integrated whole, relational concerns, and the meshing of theories. Results established that participants’ faith and religious practices influenced their counseling careers and clinical choices, and vice versa. Pragmatic philosophy, foundational to grounded theory, parallels existential/humanistic thought in insisting on the importance of the human agent, such as the counselor, in meaning and decision making. It thus provides a critical framework for considering the significance of the findings for the counseling profession.

Only Words Apart? Talking About “The World” in Pragmatist Philosophy of Religion

Abstract In his well-known critique of conceptual relativism, Donald Davidson declared that we are not worlds but “only words apart.” His interpretive principle of charity asserts that the transcendental condition of disagreement is agreement. Pragmatist philosophers of religion have relied upon the principle of charity to argue against a framework theory of religion. They use the notion of a scale of observationality to illustrate where broad-scale agreement lies and place disagreement (and specifically convictional difference qualifying as “religious”) at the higher reaches, considering it interpretively parasitic. In this article, I problematize the ontological premises of construing difference in this way (specifically insofar as they betray traces of positivism) and the uses of ethnography to substantiate it. I draw on the work of contemporary anthropologists who identify with the so-called ontological turn in ethnography to help think differently about difference—about what it means to be “only words apart.”

Impact of Geotechnical Barrier Modelled in the Vicinity of a Building Structures Located in Mining Area

The paper presents a new geotechnical solution indicating a possibility of effective building structures protection. The presented solutions enable minimization of negative effects of underground mining operations. Results of numerical modelling have been presented for an example of design of preventive ditches reducing the influence of mining operations on the ground surface. To minimize the mining damage or to reduce its reach it is reasonable to look for technical solutions, which would enable effective protection of building structures. So far authors concentrated primarily on the development of building structure protection methods to minimize the damage caused by the underground mining. The application of geotechnical methods, which could protect building structures against the mining damage, was not considered so far in scientific papers. It should be noticed that relatively few publications are directly related to those issues and there are no practical examples of effective geotechnical protection. This paper presents a geotechnical solution indicating a possibility of effective protection of building structures. The presented solutions enable minimization of negative effects of underground mining operations. Results of numerical modelling have been presented for an example of design of preventive ditches reducing the influence of mining operations on the ground surface. The calculations were carried out in the Abaqus software, based on the finite element method.