Pragmatic Constructivism Research Articles

Vitality structures in ‘addictive’ game design

For decades, research on technology use and mental health has been based on the assumption that identifiable structures of ‘design’ are psychologically relevant for their users. This has been central especially for the nosological emergence of ‘behavioural addictions’, which currently include two formal diagnoses on technology use: problems related to playing gambling games (gambling disorder) and videogames (gaming disorder). Alas, the research on identifying ‘addictive’ design structures has suffered from major construct validity issues. To make progress over those issues, I draw from the history of ‘vitality affects’ in psychiatry and introduce vitality structures as a design-phenomenological framework that can help researchers conceptualise psychologically relevant ‘bonds’ between entities of game design and corresponding player phenomenology. Vitality structures are not natural kinds to be discovered but pragmatic constructs to be used—and useful as long as they communicate what is both identifiable and empirically prevalent. As a demonstration of practice, I propose working conceptualisations of three vitality structures, which surface in videogames played by gaming treatment-seekers. Systematic research programs for identifying relevant vitality structures can lead to construct-valid and replicable design effects.

Constructing and co-authoring controller’s practice through cloud technologies: the case of IKEA Italy

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore how the controller’s practice is constructed through the use of cloud technologies. Thus, the authors explore the possibilities that cloud technologies offer and how, through these technologies, actors can co-author a process that leads them to relate themselves to the world. Design/methodology/approach The authors adopt pragmatic constructivism to investigate the construction of the controller’s practice through cloud technologies. Drilling down to a single case study, they chose two IKEA stores in Italy to ascertain, through interviews, how the controller’s practice has changed since switching to a cloud-based information management platform. Findings This case evidence sheds light on how cloud technologies help to construct the controller’s practice. Managers' interactions are now partly governed and partly supported by information in the cloud. Workers can collect and share data, promoting knowledge production at a range of organisational levels. Originality/value This paper contributes to studies on the hybrid nature of management control practice. The authors underline how using cloud technologies helps to construct controller’s practice. More specifically, using cloud technologies allows the controller to orchestrate a co-authoring process through which managers integrate facts, possibilities, values and communication to form a functioning construct causality. Overall, the result is better support for decision-making.

Experimental study of the mechanical and optical properties of glass-polyester fiber composite based on response surface methodology

Due to the intricate amalgamation of various components, composite materials boast mechanical properties that surpass those of their constituents. Among these composite materials, glass fiber-reinforced polyester composites emerge as prominent contenders, finding extensive utility, especially in agricultural greenhouse construction. These structures garner significant acclaim for their exceptional ability to withstand adverse weather conditions, ensure prolonged durability, and transmit light efficiently, thus creating optimal growing conditions. Consequently, they have become the favored choice among farmers seeking dependable and sustainable environments for cultivation. Within the scope of this study, we employ Response Surface Methodology (RSM) as a comprehensive tool to delve deeply into the mechanical and optical characteristics inherent in such composite materials. Our investigation is meticulously tailored to unravel the intricate interplay among crucial factors such as fiber content, length, and plate thickness, elucidating their direct impacts on mechanical properties like stress and elasticity modulus. Our rigorous examination reveals that the pinnacle of mechanical performance is attained within a specific range: fiber content ranging from 20% to 40%, fiber lengths spanning 35 to 45 mm, and plate thicknesses measuring between 0.6 to 3 mm. Furthermore, our meticulous analysis of transmittance measurements uncovers an intriguing correlation: thinner thicknesses and lower fiber content correspond with heightened light transmission across the visible spectrum. Conversely, elevating the fiber content or thickness enhances mechanical robustness but concurrently diminishes light transmittance. Thus, achieving a harmonious equilibrium among these attributes becomes imperative for the pragmatic construction of agricultural greenhouses. Additionally, we venture into incorporating ultraviolet (UV) plastic films to augment the optical prowess of these composites, further elevating their efficacy in greenhouse applications. By embarking on this comprehensive investigation, our overarching objective is to propel sustainable farming practices forward by furnishing a nuanced understanding of the multifaceted factors that shape the performance of glass fiber-polyester composites in agricultural greenhouse applications.

Performance measurement for a better future

Performance measurement has become increasingly crucial, encompassing both organizational and personal spheres. It assesses how effectively tasks are carried out and is pivotal in determining the value derived from these activities. Tradition-al approaches to performance measurement, rooted in representational realism or social constructivism, present limitations in ensuring trustworthiness. This paper proposes pragmatic constructivism (PC) as an alternative paradigm to enhance the reliability of performance measurement. PC posits that organizational practices are constructed by humans through cognitive processes and offers an epistemolog-ical framework for developing effective measurement systems and a foundation for intentional and valuable outcomes. The paper discusses the shortcomings of traditional paradigms, outlines the principles of PC, and demonstrates its applica-tion in evaluating the three existing measurement frameworks of financial accounting, the Balanced Scorecard, and sustainability framework of Global Report-ing Initiative (GRI).

On global learning: pragmatic constructivism, international practice and the challenge of global governance

On global learning: pragmatic constructivism, international practice and the challenge of global governance

Vitality structures in 'addictive' game design.

For decades, research on technology use and mental health has been based on the assumption that identifiable structures of 'design' are psychologically relevant for their users. This has been central especially for the nosological emergence of 'behavioural addictions', which currently include two formal diagnoses on technology use: problems related to playing gambling games (gambling disorder) and videogames (gaming disorder). Alas, the research on identifying 'addictive' design structures has suffered from major construct validity issues. To make progress over those issues, I draw from the history of 'vitality affects' in psychiatry and introduce vitality structures as a design-phenomenological framework that can help researchers conceptualise psychologically relevant 'bonds' between entities of game design and corresponding player phenomenology. Vitality structures are not natural kinds to be discovered but pragmatic constructs to be used-and useful as long as they communicate what is both identifiable and empirically prevalent. As a demonstration of practice, I propose working conceptualisations of three vitality structures, which surface in videogames played by gaming treatment-seekers. Systematic research programs for identifying relevant vitality structures can lead to construct-valid and replicable design effects.

On-Air, Off-Balance: Detecting and Examining Media Biases in Filipino Sportscasting

With sports gaining global acclaim and recognition, media outlets have extensively covered a myriad of sporting events with a particular emphasis on international tournaments. In the digital age, media is crucial for disseminating news and shaping audience perspectives especially in sportscasting where local sportscasters tend to show affection and allegiance to their home nation by providing more airtime and positive commentaries to athletes representing their country. Such an approach shortchanges the viewers’ right to unbiased and diverse perspectives. Hence, it is imperative for media outlets, particularly during live sports broadcasts, to adeptly navigate and manage biases, given the significant impact of nationalistic positioning on sports media. In this study, the researchers analyzed the language employed by sportscasters in the local media coverage of the games of the Philippines Men’s Basketball Team, also known as Gilas Pilipinas, during the FIBA World Cup 2023. Following a mixed-method approach, the study sought to understand how sportscasters detect and manage media biases through corpus analysis. The investigation involved identifying prevalent forms of media biases within the study corpus, focusing on lexico-semantic, discourse, and pragmatic constructions that serve as indicators of these biases. The study findings indicated that all the analyzed sports broadcasts contained evident manifestations of media biases. Moreover, it was revealed that Filipino sportscasters exhibited a range of media biases favoring Gilas Pilipinas, and that the media biases in their utterances were affected by the phenomenon of nationalistic positioning that raises concerns about fairness and impartiality. Consequently, the frequency of these biased expressions in sportscasters' utterances was found to be contingent upon the specific context, varying with the situation. Furthermore, these biases can be identified through specific linguistic cues and features. This paper underscores the importance of fostering a more equitable sportscasting environment while simultaneously fortifying language and media education initiatives.

Learning from initial reviews of multilingual graphics illustrating dementia caregiving

Abstract This study traces the initial processes in creating and assessing ‘comics,’ or graphic materials of various sorts, which illustrate situations in dementia caregiving. Dementia care materials intended for paid caregivers need to accommodate three related work situations (home care aides, residential care aides and nursing assistants), and be comprehensible for low-literacy and second-language caregivers. Their creation draws on pragmatic constructs underlying an emphasis on reading oneself into the materials and on interpersonal interaction between caregiver and recipient. While our focus here is on English, we also illustrate our work with Filipino, Latin American Spanish, and Taiwanese Mandarin.

Conflicting Identities in Canadian Immigrant Prose

The paper presents a portrait of immigrant identity on the example of two Polish Canadian writers. Aga Maksimowska’s novel, Giant introduces a protagonist who builds her national and personal identity over a dramatic experience of forced emigration, where Canadianness was at first a pragmatic construct, and not a conscious choice. As a result, the girl struggles with her concept of identity. In the case of Eva Stachniak’s Necessary Lies, one of the factors which leads to the protagonist’s internal conflict is guilt. When in 1981 the martial law was introduced in Poland, the narrator was already in Montreal, freshly in love with a man, who was not her husband. The motif of double guilt (marital betrayal, and that against her motherland) is a frame of Stachniak’s novel. The paper is an attempt to show young immigrant prose from the perspective of multicultural experience, which adds another formative background to the idea of identity understood as a choice or creation rather than an inherited legacy.

We’re only in it for the money? Developing sustainable literacy through management accounting curriculum

ABSTRACT This article addresses how and why introductory management accounting courses could contribute to sustainable literacy. Drawing on pragmatic constructivism we develop a course design. We base our discussions on teaching experience from two Business Schools. The proposed course design discusses sustainability around five common themes; (i) fundamental concepts, (ii) what are ‘net income’ and ‘value creation’, (iii) product costing and short-term decision-making, (iv) capital budgeting decisions, and (v) performance measurement. We demonstrate that it is possible to introduce sustainability and how it also allows for a better understanding of management accounting as such. Fundamentally, it is illustrated that critical thinking can be integrated at an introductory level in a management accounting course. As such, this study helps develop students’ sustainable literacy. By allowing sustainability to be a natural part of the standard subjects, the article claims that the subject area contributes to the future demands on management accountants as well.

Complementing family firm and managerial views of doing business through management accounting tools

Contributions to the family firm literature have given attention to different challenges that family firms have to face in their life cycle when organisational complexity increases and managerial processes are required. This paper investigates how management accounting (MA) tools enable family and managerial views of doing business to complement each other during the professionalisation process. In particular, the paper discusses a longitudinal case study on a family firm’s professionalisation, when an external advisor introduced financial ratio analysis and contribution margin reports. The case evidence shows that MA tools, by facilitating communication amongst family firm members and the external advisor, favours the complementing between family firm and managerial views of doing business during the professionalisation process. When simultaneously trusting family firm and managerial views of doing business, family firm members had the chance to interpret business facts differently, discovering new business opportunities. The paper contributes to the family business literature examining the professionalisation process through the pragmatic constructivist (PC) perspective that analyses the main traits of family firm and managerial views of doing business, stressing the relevance of values in interpreting business facts and in identifying factual possibilities. On this issue, the PC perspective is useful in understanding the role of MA tools as a communication basis for enabling the complementing of different views of doing business during the professionalisation process.

A Pragmatic Analysis of Presupposition Triggers in Coronavirus News Headlines

Since news headlines are design to grab the reader's attention, specific language variants are used to meet the two objectives of the news headlines writing process: conciseness and informativeness. While the second criteria necessitate a reversion to pragmatics, the first can be satisfied with a few grammatical variations. Presupposition a pragmatic construct that is used to the news producers' advantage since it enables readers and listeners to easily grasp headlines and assess their value. To understand how presupposition affects news interpretations, this study looks into and evaluates the presupposition triggers found in news headlines. To that goal, coronavirus-related news articles are chosen for analysis. Sixty-six headlines are picked, including 29 from Fox News and 37 from BBC News. The findings show that lexical presupposition triggers show significant occurrences in both Fox news and BBC news. Due to the nature of the stories covered, iterative verbs are used often.

University research by the numbers: Epistemic methods of using digitized performance measures and their implications for research practices

AbstractThis paper explores the way by which universities create meaning of digitized performance measures on research quality and their effects on university scholars’ actions. Drawing on pragmatic constructivism, we scrutinize the epistemic methods by which the digitized performance measures of research quality are handled and used in the governance of research activities in two disciplinary fields in two university settings (Denmark and Italy) and their implications for constructing scholarly research practices. The analysis elucidates exemplars of two epistemic methods of building meaning of and using digitized performance measures: one reflective and interactive, and one authoritative and mechanical. The latter constrains the researchers’ scholarly reasoning and communication and, hence, infringes upon the scholarly fundamentals of university practices. The paper concludes that if the issues of misconceptions of research quality related to the transitions from analog to digital language are neglected, the digital transformation results in dysfunctional human and social practices.

Sustainability reporting as a social construct: the systematic literature review within socio-political view

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of socio-political interactions in determining the topos of sustainability reporting (SR) practice. For this purpose, this study harnesses pragmatic constructivism perspective to identify facts, possibilities, values and communication of SR practice.Design/methodology/approachThis study adopts a systematic literature review approach using a sample of 167 articles from 54 academic journals.FindingsThe results of this study indicate that companies in their SR are driven by self-interest, treating disclosure as a mean in itself and neglecting its role in sustainability transition. In the light of the results, this study proposes three main avenues for further research: the interplay of institutional, organizational and individual factors as drivers for transparency; approaches to improve the quality of SR; and (3) sustainability impact of SR.Originality/valueThe past decade has seen a proliferation of literature on the practice of SR. One of the most influential streams in studies on SR has been grounded in socio-political theories with legitimacy, stakeholder and institutional theories on the front. Nevertheless, there is still no systematic and comprehensive overview of this rich literature. This study offers a comprehensive framework which conceptualizes SR as a social construct defined by the interplay between various, often conflicting institutional demands.

New product development (NPD) project portfolio management: What is the role of learning?

Project portfolio management is a strategic weapon. Despite, the abundant amount of literature on research and development (R&D) project evaluation and selection, earlier research does not exploit the potential of learning even if it may generate significant opportunities. The aim of this paper is to deepen the knowledge on how a learning process could favor the selection and management of projects to include in the portfolio, considering the relevance of strategic orientation. Grounded on learning the concept of pragmatic constructivism (PC), this paper presents a qualitative and interpretative approach conducted in a single case study. The selected company is a multinational, operating in the semiconductor industry. Data were collected by combining different sources such as semi-structured interviews, direct observation, meeting participation and use of archival sources. The results show that the role played by previous learning can provide very useful information for division managers in the company to pick up the best project to include in the portfolio, which meet business strategic priorities. The results provide some practical implications in supporting the decision-making process of division managers on how to choose the best project portfolio, meaning to pick up the right projects to increase the performance of the project portfolio as well as company performance.

Price decisions, values, and cost management:

This paper suggests the paradigm of pragmatic constructivism as a novel and fruitful way for researchers to explore pricing approaches in practice. To do so, the paper leverages pragmatic constructivism’s concept of reality integration to discuss four classical pricing approaches. These approaches are: i) the economist approach; ii) the cost-plus pricing approach; iii) the competition-based pricing approach; and iv) the customer-based pricing approach. Our findings suggest that pricing literature within the fields of economics, marketing and strategy often is not able to to sufficiently take the complex reality of practice into account. Specifically, we argue that the literature takes too reductionistic approaches to the pricing phenomenon. This paper agrees with the marketing- and strategy-based pricing literature’s critique of the assumptions of the neoclassical theory of the firm. However, in contrast to this literature, we argue that the cost-plus and competition-based pricing approaches are still highly relevant. Based on our findings, we suggest that the practice-paradigm of pragmatic constructivism may be a fruitful departure point for future research to develop a richer and broader understanding of pricing in practice that potentially could lead to more advanced pricing conceptualisations.

Some thoughts on research design for pragmatic constructivism and language games

Some thoughts on research design for pragmatic constructivism and language games

Pragmatic engagement with the wicked tourism problem of climate change through ‘soft’ transformative governance

This paper investigates the potential of transformative governance to address the wicked tourism problem of climate change. Drawing on a pragmatic constructivist approach that synthesises related concepts such as crisis, tourisystem, “dragons of inaction”, adaptive cycles and “panarchy”, we contend that progress toward lower-carbon tourism is currently impeded by mutually reinforcing poverty and rigidity traps which perpetuate gaps between pro-environmental attitudes and actual behaviour. Poverty traps occur when insufficient creativity is injected into the threatened system, while rigidity traps describe conservation of maladaptive system structures that reject creativity. Tourism responses to COVID-19 further demonstrate the intractability of these traps. “Soft” transformative governance, proposed as a realistic path for escaping the traps and improving system resilience, entails accelerated accrual of micro-transformations through paradigm nudge, or “transformation by stealth”. Facilitative strategies include constructive manipulation of stakeholder values, and adaptive mobilisation of citizenship rights and responsibilities.

From Constellations to Discursive Concepts; or: The Historical Pragmatic Construction of Meaning in Early Modern English1

From Constellations to Discursive Concepts; or: The Historical Pragmatic Construction of Meaning in Early Modern English¹

Autopraxeography: a method to step back from vulnerability

PurposeStudies on vulnerability in the workplace, although relevant, are rare because it is difficult to access. This article aims to focus on the benefits of using autopraxeography to study and step back from vulnerability at work.Design/methodology/approachAutopraxeography uses researchers' experience to build knowledge.FindingsAutopraxeography provides a better understanding of vulnerability and the opportunity to step back from the difficulties experienced. Instead of ignoring experiences related to vulnerability, this method makes it possible to transform them into new avenues of knowledge. Moreover, it enables researchers to step back from experiences of vulnerability, thus making them feel more secure.Originality/valueThe main differences from other self-studies stem from the epistemological paradigm in which this method is anchored: pragmatic constructivism. The most important difference is the production of generic knowledge in three recursive steps: writing in a naïve way, developing the epistemic work and building generic knowledge.