Praxeological Perspective Research Articles

A praxeological review of concept-sequence and series: Comparing Malaysia and Indonesia textbooks

Malaysia, through its curriculum, has implemented mathematics textbooks as the main source. However, not all concepts can be offered to a country. This research aims to analyse the comparison between Indonesian and Malaysian textbooks from a praxeological perspective . The data used is only on the topic of sequences and series. This qualitative research adopts a hermeneutic phenomenological approach, serving as an alternative method. In the context of the Indonesian version of didactic design, this study represents research conducted during the prospective stage of the entire research series. The results of the research show that in the praxis block, there are similarities in the presentation of Indonesian and Malaysian textbooks in introducing the topic of sequences and series. The difference is that in Indonesian mathematics textbooks there are 2 themes, while in Malaysia there is only 1 theme. The design in Malaysian textbooks is more in-depth and comprehensive, and the learning trajectory is arranged more systematically so that Malaysian textbooks allow for no gaps between the types of T used. The use of Malaysian textbooks has the potential to build complete knowledge, so the potential for students to have difficulties will be smaller.

Editorial

The editorial introduces the second issue of the comparative yearbook POEMA. It deals with praxeological approaches within literary studies and their potential for genre theory. The aim of this issue is to encourage the use of such approaches, to give them a broader praxeological perspective and to explore their potential for poetry theory. In this sense, the majority of the collected contributions can be read as model studies, each of which explores and sheds light on different practices typical of poetry and works towards the project of a praxeography of poetry.

Is the Concept of Bildung Still Relevant? Rethinking Bildung From a Praxeological Perspective

Education is a term that plays a central role in the self-image of modern societies, but it is also one that generates many different associations. The article aims to specify education as a scientific term without negating its complexity and dynamics. In order to underline this multifaceted topic, the term Bildung will be used and examined. The discussion takes as its starting point the assumptions that Bildung is a social phenomenon as well as a process related to the individual, and that both aspects must be linked. This challenge is approached from a praxeological perspective. With reference to practice theory, the article first articulates three basic, interrelated elements of practice. These are then interpreted in terms of educational theory, with the goal of developing a praxeological concept of Bildung. An important conclusion here is that Bildung as practice is relational, pluripotent and generative, and that the emancipatory value of Bildung lies in transgressing the limits of practice. From a habitus-theoretical point of view, it is made clear that this is likely when practice is contradictory and when previous practical rationalities cease to be used. Following these reflections on a praxeological concept of Bildung, the article closes with perspectives on praxeological educational research.

Coaching parkour: the instructed concerted actions of negotiating expectancies

ABSTRACT This paper offers an ethnomethodological (EM) account of parkour coaching based on an eight-month participant observation conducted by the researcher in a parkour gym in Madrid (Spain). It addresses from a praxeological perspective the emotional dimension of parkour coaching: the tension balance between confidence and fear, expressed in the negotiation of expectancies upon athletes’ performances on each occasion. To do so, it provides a detailed EM analysis of the endogenous production of negotiating expectancies among members (coach and athletes) during parkour sessions. The coaching ethnomethods for negotiating expectancies constitute a social orderliness on each occasion. The negotiation of expectancies can lead to positive or negative breaching moments which demands the execution of some repair work to maintain the social orderliness of the parkour class. Such dynamic negotiation constitutes a key feature of the process along which parkour proficiency is achieved.

Dialogical networking as a journalistic practice: The case of Czech television news production

As a journalistic work routine, ‘dialogical networking’ typically consists in approaching relevant ‘stakeholders’ and later presenting their ‘voices’ in media products, often in a dialogical manner (e.g., as claims and counterclaims). The aim of this paper is to describe the practices of journalistic dialogical networking and elucidate, from a praxeological perspective, how they are embedded in other journalistic practices, e.g., sourcing or writing, and how they reflect technical as well as semiotic conventions, constraints and affordances of situated journalistic work. It is argued that dialogical networking is a members’ phenomenon and is treated as such by both the journalists and the ‘stakeholders’. The paper is based on ethnographic research at Czech Television, the public service media outlet in Czechia. The study suggests that practices of news production are based on typifications of news reports in terms of communicative genres and genre repertoires. Dialogical networking represents an operationalisation of a particular piece of genre-related knowledge with an inherent bias towards dialogism. Accordingly, journalists report on actual social interactions, but also initiate dialogues by mediating exchanges among stakeholders, acting as go-betweens. Sometimes they merely juxtapose the ‘voices’ of the stakeholders, implying dialogical engagements among them, or ‘dialogise’ a press release, as the analysis here shows. The orientation to relevant dialogical networks is also an integral part of news story planning.

Doing and saying content: a comparative analysis of the practical knowledge in PE lessons

ABSTRACT Background: Content of physical education, such as games, fitness or dance as well as their adequate didactical (re-)presentation for learning purposes are central topics of discussion in sports pedagogy. The concrete processes that constitute the content of PE lessons in situ tend to remain unconsidered in the discussion. Thus, there is a particular lack of detailed studies that can describe how the content is socially constructed and what becomes the content of a PE lesson [Amade-Escot, C., and M. O'Sullivan. 2007. ‘Research on Content in Physical Education: Theoretical Perspectives and Current Debates.’ Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy 12 (3): 185–203]. Purpose: The paper presents initial findings on the practical constitution of content during PE lessons from a praxeological perspective. Method: We examined videotaped lessons in PE from elementary school. The focus here is on the comparison of two lessons in which mainly one game is played (Zombieball and Burnball). For the reconstruction of the doings and sayings and the practical knowledge we use the documentary method. As a sequence analysis, it is designed to identify practical knowledge in the form of collectively shared orientation frameworks of social practice [Bohnsack, R. 2014. ‘Documentary Method.’ In SAGE Handbook of Analyzing Qualitative Data, edited by Uwe Flick, 217–233. London: SAGE]. Findings: Both the two lessons researched and the games played are constituted by several practices: anticipating, announcing, and preparing a game; playing and accompanying a game; ending and debriefing a game. In this similar doings and sayings, we find case-specific differences in the orientation frameworks of constituting and maintaining PE lessons. With flowification of PE lessons, we describe a central and collectively shared orientation towards getting and keeping the game Zombieball going in a way of hurrying through the lesson (case A). With personification of PE lessons, we describe the collective orientation towards getting and keeping the game Burnball going in such a way that all students can play along. In particular, this means that one specific student must be integrated into the game above all others (case B). Discussion: By flowification and personification, we have discovered two orientation frameworks that are visible in all phases of PE lessons, but these are especially important in the phase of play. We speak of a – fication because both orientation frameworks become the centre of educational attributions of meaning and they produce specific lesson content. The analyses indicate that, at first glance, similar practices open up different spaces of meaning with regard to the content dimension. The basis for this is different practical knowledge. The ‘real’ content, which practically provides learning opportunities to students, is simultaneously produced and modified by more or less shared knowledge which is experienced and incorporated along the respective history of the common PE.

Psycho-educational approaches regarding the organization of educational activities in the context of nonformal education

From the theoretical and praxeological perspective, non-formal education represents an important dimension of permanent education and an integral part of lifelong learning. This article analyzes the concept and characteristics of non-formal education and presents the psycho-pedagogical approaches related to the organization of educational activities in the context of non-formal education. The pedagogical approaches of non-formal education refer to the system of theories represented by the theory of cooperative learning, the humanistic theory of personality and the learner-centered approach of education, which provide theoretical directions for the efficient organization of extracurricular and extra-scholar activities. Non-formal education is also based on psychological theories such as behaviorist theory, constructivist theory, socio-cognitive theory approached in an integralist and postmodern vision.

Group Work during Inquiry-Based Learning in Biology Teacher Education: A Praxeological Perspective on the Task of (Collaborative) Protocol Generation

Writing protocols is a central activity in the natural sciences, but is also a part of science education. In the context of inquiry-based learning, keeping records is considered beneficial for the comprehension of scientific reasoning and the associated problem-solving process. Previous studies have focused particularly on the evaluation of learner-generated protocols and their potential for learning. The process of protocol writing, especially in the context of inquiry-based group work, as it is usually implemented in practice, has hardly been researched so far. In this video-based study, we use the documentary method, a reconstructive analysis method, in order to investigate how student groups implement joint protocol generation in an experimental inquiry-based setting and which action-guiding orientations emerge in the process. In all groups, action-guiding orientations to “task completion” and using the “protocol as means to provide structure and security” were found. Moreover, we have found differing orientations which can be titled “protocol as a flagship” and “protocol used in a pragmatic manner”. Overall, the protocol seems more to serve as a guide and an assurance in the experimentation process rather than as a tool for improving scientific thinking and problem solving.

Socio-Technical Dialogue and Linguistic Interaction. Intelligent Personal Assistants (IPA) in the Private Home

Abstract The article addresses the phenomenon of voice-controlled assistance systems, or more precisely: smart speakers with voice user interfaces, as they have been finding their way into private households for some time. The public discourse revolves, among other things, around the question of the extent to which the socio-technical exchange with such systems differs from social interaction or increasingly approaches it, and, related to this, whether individual users must adapt to machines or vice versa. At the same time, empirical research shows that socio-technical dialogues and social interaction are often not two separate worlds, but components of a complex practice in which prima facie ontologically different participants are involved. These circumstances make it possible to reconstruct the characteristics of both socio-technical dialogue and the social interaction which is situated around it as linguistically mediated performances from a praxeological perspective. In this context, systematic transitions between socio-technical dialogue and a “meta-interaction space” play an important role, as do various forms of “sequential” processes and their mediation with each other. This article approaches these phenomena based on empirical data from an ongoing research project, notably audio-visual recordings of situations of the initial installation/commissioning of IPA in two- and multi-person households, audio recordings of situations of everyday use, log data of socio-technical dialogue which the systems make available to the users through the corresponding smartphone app.

Precarious membership through the lens of ecological responsibilisation

ABSTRACT From its very beginning in 2018, the Fridays for Future movement has been known for youth-led climate activism. This article examines the young activists’ activities in Germany between 2019 and 2021. 13 problem-centred interviews were conducted with activists aged between 14 and 23, along with approximately 50 h of participant observation on strikes and meetings of local FFF groups. Based on this data, this article focuses on the young activists’ perceptions, demands and practices with regard to individual responsibility taken on via an ecological lifestyle. Taking an ethnographic, praxeological perspective, interaction situations are discussed to examine how the young activists are made responsible for ecological transformation on an individual level, and how this relates to legitimate participation in the movement. The results comprise three types of practices: the embodiment of individual responsibility, coherence checks and the maintaining of ambivalence. Overall, the study finds that the climate activists create and are confronted with certain normative demands concerning their lifestyle. This phenomenon is expressed as a paradoxical ambivalence between dissociation from and affirmation of those demands. The analysis thus enables insights into movement-related lifestyle practices and uncovers contradictions resulting from the individualisation of responsibility that have received little attention so far.

Toward a Culture-Analytical and Praxeological Perspective on Decision-Making

This article outlines a culture-analytical alternative in, and to, decision science. In contrast to the predominant individualistic and mentalistic conceptions of decision making an empirical and praxeological perspective is proposed. Beginning with empirical processes and situated practices of decision-making, this perspective aims to decenter the decision-making subject. The author revisits Harold Garfinkel’s analyses of actual decision-making behavior amongst jurors in court proceedings and Ludwig Wittgenstein’s reflections on rule-following to develop this critical perspective on decision-making necessities in contemporary culture and everyday life.

JUROR JURISDICTION AS A FORM OF PARTICIPATION OF THE SOCIAL FACTOR IN CRIMINAL PROCESS (PART II)

The article is devoted to the problems of juror jurisdiction in criminal matters. The second part of the study discusses assize courts throughout history in French criminal process. The analysis covers also the reception process of the institution of assize courts in the historical development of criminal procedural law. The problems of juror jurisdiction are also presented in the context of Polish traditions of justice. The study discusses advantages and disadvantages of juror jurisdiction and attempts to answer the question if the juror jurisdiction model should be considered a correct – from praxeological and axiological perspective – form of participation of the social factor in criminal process.

Learning from the ambiance throughout Urban Renewal

Developed within the context of public space studies, the proposition applies the concept of ambiance to urban micro-space as an alternate approach to urban studies, providing a contrasting perspective to other urban disciplinary methods. Ambiance is understood here as the emerging feature of the relationship between the uses of space and the (physical and sensory) built space as it becomes meaningful when used, inhabited and built by individuals. Introducing the concept of ambiance as used by authors such as Augoyard (2010) and Thibaud (2004), allows us to avoid the problem of comparing spaces that are different in form and scale, as it focuses on the relationship between constructed/sensory space and social use. A study of three sectors of the inner district of Santiago-Chile, which where renewed in three different moments of urban public policies, is proposed to illustrate this approach. The middle-class neighborhoods and their inhabitants are studied in a praxeological perspective, thus, the proposition aims to discern how space shapes its use and in return how use and practice redefine, shape and re-appropriate space.

Obstetric expertise in the Austrian periphery: Ludwig Kleinwächter’s private practice in Czernowitz, Bukovina (1884–1906)

ABSTRACT After several failed attempts to remain in Austrian academia, the Bohemian gynaecologist Ludwig Kleinwächter (1839–1906) moved to Bukovina and opened a private practice in the capital Czernowitz in 1884. In the easternmost province of the Austrian Empire he quickly established himself as a specialist. In applying a praxeological perspective, this paper aims not only to determine the reasons for his immediate success, but also to identify why he attracted an almost exclusively Jewish clientele. Drawing on his published case histories and archival sources, the paper investigates Kleinwächter’s role in the small Bukovinian obstetrical market in the late nineteenth century. By focusing on birth-related emergency calls and domiciliary visits across and beyond Bukovina, it will explore the availability of obstetric provision in this peripheral region of the Austrian Empire. The case study thereby contributes a novel perspective to the social and medical history of this Eastern European region.

Enlightened Heterogeneity: Religious Education Facing the Challenges of Educational Inequity

Does religious education contribute to injustice? At the least, religious education operates in a socio-political context shaped by inequality. Educational inequity is a phenomenon that affects society and schools. It is thus a matter for religious pedagogy, which is concerned with the equal dignity of all in their freedom, in the light of the theology of the image of God. Religious education has to take place normatively in the light of freedom towards freedom. This paper aims to show that in religious education, demands for educational equity have dramatically increased in the face of growing heterogeneity. The struggle for identity and justice in the intersectionality of various aspects points to the complexity of the challenges. However, it is evident that religious education cannot override social conditions. Moreover, from a praxeological perspective, religious education contributes to educational inequity and hegemonic orders of difference through mechanisms such as essentialization and othering, and thus runs the risk of becoming aporetic. The concept of Enlightened Heterogeneity developed here counteracts this, correlating identity and justice intersectionally while self-reflexively reflecting on one’s own practices.

Austrian Economics and Entrepreneurship

This symposium includes four papers that investigate entrepreneurship from an Austrian perspective. Bylund and Klein focus on praxeology while the other papers are focused on opportunity discovery and creation (Koppl and Minniti’s paper), effectuation (Bylund and Gupta’s paper), and entrepreneurial action and public policy (Lucas’s paper), grounding that presenter symposium in the field of entrepreneurship. Praxeology and Design: Building Rationalist Foundations for Design Science Presenter: Per L. Bylund; Oklahoma State U. Presenter: Peter G. Klein; Baylor U. Entrepreneurs Discover What Evolution Creates Presenter: Roger Koppl; Syracuse U. Presenter: Maria Minniti; Syracuse U. Effectuation and The Logic of Action: A Critical Assessment from a Praxeological Perspective Presenter: Per L. Bylund; Oklahoma State U. Presenter: Vishal K. Gupta; U. of Alabama Entrepreneurial Action, Public Policy, and Grand Challenges: A Political Economy Perspective Presenter: David Lucas; Syracuse U.

Doing Bahnhofsmission. Methodische Überlegungen zur empirischen Erforschung einer diakonischen Praxis

Abstract An empirical study of the current practice of ›Bahnhofsmission‹ requires a research strategy that succeeds in taking the diversity of individual places and activities seriously. The ethnographic approach seeks out people in the execution of their practices and accompanies them over a longer period of time. The praxeological research perspective understands practice as a sensual human activity that is characterised by materiality, corporeality and temporality. This approach succeeds in depicting ›doing Bahnhofsmission‹ as a concatenation of diverse social practices.

Analyzing a teacher’s learning through cross-cultural collaboration: a praxeological perspective of mathematical knowledge for teaching

Teacher collaborative learning is key in teacher professional development. Yet, how teachers learn in cross-cultural professional development settings remains largely unexplored. This paper examines the case of a Chinese mathematics teacher who learned through addressing various challenges when teaching in an English school in a China-UK exchange program. A praxeological perspective was used to analyze the data, including lesson plans, classroom observation notes, and post-lesson meetings. Results showed that collaboration and adaptation helped the teacher address the obstacles generated by cultural differences. The analysis revealed the difficulties the teacher encountered and how the mathematical and didactic praxeologies implemented evolved and helped overcome these challenges, broadening her mathematics knowledge for teaching. Finally, the implications of the case study on teacher collaborative learning in cross-cultural settings are discussed.

Connecting people, Trade and Orders of Knowledge: Mediality and Intermediality of Early Modern Auction Catalogues

Auction catalogues are considered a key source in different fields of historical research and are exploited both by traditional scholarship as well as more recent, digital, big data approaches regarding the information supplied on the offered objects (books, art works, or other trade goods). By focusing on auction catalogues as objects, their properties and uses, this contribution seeks to unveil its potential for scholarship on trade, the history of knowledge and, in the case of interleaved copies, early modern note taking practices, in their links to interaction. Indeed, it argues, auction catalogues played a pivotal, productive role, as they facilitated social interaction und advanced knowledge. Moving beyond a data harvesting approach, it opens up a new praxeological perspective on auction catalogues.

Ginástica para todos

Objetivo: Este estudo tem como objetivo refletir sobre a prática da Ginástica para Todos (GPT) a partir da teoria da Praxiologia Motriz, teoria desenvolvida pelo francês Pierre Parlebas. Metodologia: Caracterizado como um estudo teórico, este ensaio é construído a partir da análise da Lógica Interna da prática, com ênfase em seu caráter sociomotriz, e as possíveis aproximações entre a GPT e o subdomínio denominado Situações Motrizes Expressivas (SME). Resultados e discussão: A análise das características fundantes da GPT, considerando sua prática não-competitiva, mostra a ausência de códigos gestuais, e a possibilidade de uma prática gímnica sociomotriz com a emergência de múltiplas lógicas internas. Conclusão: Numa perspectiva praxiológica, as fronteiras pouco demarcadas da GPT distanciam essa prática do esporte e a aproximam às SME, reforçando seu caráter comunicativo e a relevância das relações cooperativas para a sua prática.