Reflective Attitude Research Articles

Scham und Schuld

This essay tries to elaborate an accurate description of shame and guilt from the agent’s point of view by focusing on typical cases of such experiences. In a first step, we approach the peculiarity of a phenomenological investigation by introducing three methodical directions. All of them are formulated in a negative mode, i.e., in terms of prohibition, namely: the instruction not to adhere to a naïve notion of phenomenon, not to project reflective attitudes into the prereflectively given, and not to go beyond the relevant situation of experience. Following these methodological considerations, we discuss the familiar characteristics of shame and guilt. According to a wide-spread view, we are faced with self-related feelings that are, more or less overwhelmingly, encountered as troublesome. These feelings either, in case of guilt, trigger special types of social interaction (avowal and reparation) or, in case of shame, entail isolation, an intensified self-perception and introspective embarrassment. Whether and to what extent this current picture can be sustained, will be discussed on phenomenological grounds. We take it that the social features of shame and guilt result from their inherent self-relatedness. Thereto, we try to answer, among others, the following questions: Do feelings of shame and guilt, apart from their social functions, represent characteristic modes of self-awareness? How are they correlated with specific modes of time-consciousness? Can a phenomenological description contribute to our understanding of the moral impact of shame and guilt?

Um dispositivo de interacção virtual de suporte à reflexão na formação inicial de professores

This paper analyses a virtual supervision setting, based on a discussion forum, at the pedagogical practicum of a preservice mathematics teacher education program. The aims of this forum were to reflect about emerging problems of professional practice, problematization of such practice and exchange of experiences. The study follows a qualitative and interpretative methodology, based on case studies of student teachers and constitutes an investigation of the authors about their professional practice. The results show that the two young teacher candidates regard the practicum mainly as a learning moment and that show from the very beginning a more reflective attitude engage in quite productive discussions at the forum. The other teacher candidate, who was not much involved in the practicum, had little participation in this component of the teacher education setting. The working rules of this virtual setting and the role of the educational supervisor in establishing a culture of reflection and discussion deserve future attention.

Language, thinking and action: towards a semio-constructivist approach in physical education

Background: Research about sport pedagogy has recently emerged as a significant interest in student reflective practice within the PE teaching/learning system. This learning process is considered as a type of knowledge of co-construction in action. This epistemological assumption postulates that the ‘knowledge-in-action’ is the result of an active meaning attribution, and serves as a basis for developing a reflective attitude. In order to understand how the student, when faced with a problem-solving setting, interprets and makes pertinent-for-him/her decisions, the researcher focused on language production as an action. If learning is supposed to create a significant network of available action strategies, the challenge is to enter within this student's world while avoiding thinking like him/her. In opposition to information theory, semiotics considers the learner as an ‘event interpretant’ and the action production as a ‘closed text’. A semio-constructivist approach is based upon recent outcomes extracts from conversational pragmatics, argumentative rhetoric, and reception aesthetics as new tools for analyzing the produced discourses ‘about’ action and ‘as’ action. There are three theories referenced: (1) ‘Speech Acts’ (Austin); (2) ‘Open opera’ (Eco); and (3) ‘Expectation horizons’ (Jauss and Iser). Purpose: This paper studies the co-construction of knowledge-in-action from the language sciences' theoretical frameworks. The purpose is to understand the way he/she interprets his/her reality through excerpts from previous research. Data excerpts: Examples are extracted from verbal exchanges between fifth grade students in a collective ball game, after a game play collected during research. Findings: Between language, thinking and acting, plurimodal interactions make it possible to formalize action strategies in a relevant manner. Conclusions: These issues for language inquiry open up promising perspectives in the understanding of the student learning process as an active meaning co-construction. New perspectives for giving the student a status of ‘knowledge author–actor’ are explored in relation to pedagogical issues.

Vård som berör — en studie av våldsamma möten inom psykiatrisk vård

Several studies indicate that threat and violence is present in health care settings, has problematic effects on nurses and other care providers and has increased over the last decade. The aim of the study reported here was to synthesize the results from three selected studies describing violent encounters within psychiatric care as experienced by carers and patients. The research is guided by a phenomenological and lifeworld theoretical approach.The analysis and synthesis of meaning are aimed at openness and meaning sensitivity through a reflective attitude characterised by the intent to bridle the process of understanding. The result may be conceptualized under the heading «caring touch» which imply encounters were carers are able to touch their patients at the same time as being touched, speaking both literally and figuratively. This caring touch takes place in a «naked» caring, and it is through «naked» caring and caring touch that carers are able to reach the patients and to give undisguised invitati...

African Philosophy and Development: A Contemporary Perspective.

In the documentation of the historical development of the world, Africa has been tacitly ignored. To majority of Western historians, sociologists, anthropologists, and scholars, Africa has no history, no philosophy and as such, the Africans do not posses the cognitive power to engage in the rigorous exercise of philosophizing. This falsehood, which is made more complex and compounded by some westernized African scholars, has relegated Africa to the backdoor of world development and history. However, a reflective look at the history of world development certainly reveals Africa as the cradle of world civilization and development. This becomes more glaring and foundational when we view development, not only from the classical conceptual framework of economics, but from the organistic standpoint of multi-dimensional concept which comprises the physical, the spiritual, the political, the ethical, socio-political, scientific and technological. In all these facets of development, Africa and the Africans have made tremendous contributions. Africans, through their reflective attitudes to society, environment and nature have helped to add value to changes, improvement and innovations of African societies and the world at large. This is viewed from the perspective that, philosophy is a reflective activity, which is prevalent in every society. In this paper therefore, we are going to see how African reflective activities (philosophy) have been used or applied in adding value to our society (development). In doing this, this paper will attempt to establish a foundation for its existence and how it has furthered development in various facets of human's life or existence. SOPHIA: An African Journal of Philosophy Vol. 9 (1) 2006: pp. 85-90

Lifeworld‐based reflection and learning: a contribution to the reflective practice in nursing and nursing education

This article illustrates the significance of reflection in nursing and nursing education. In this context reflection is often used as a method that has its roots in Schön’s theory of developing knowledge in action through reflection. This approach to reflection is investigated by using the lifeworld theory. Three aspects are used to comprehend the meaning of reflection; the natural attitude, the reflective attitude and the open‐minded attitude. These lead us to an understanding that reflection may never be objectified or reduced to a separate process. The article thus strongly refutes the idea that reflection has a technological function in relation to the learning of nursing and caring science knowledge. Describing reflection merely as an educational method or tool is, on this understanding, considered insufficient. A lifeworld perspective allows a new and deeper understanding of the role of reflection in nursing students’ learning processes and also in students’ abilities to integrate caring science theory with caring practice. This new understanding may have considerable implications for changes in nursing education.

Mapping practitioner perceptions of ‘It’s research based’: scientific discourse, speech acts and the use and abuse of research

Our goal is to deconstruct the text formed by practitioners’ narratives about the use of the claim ‘It’s research based’ to understand both how this claim is used and received by practitioners and how it may impact on teachers’ attitudes. We map a range of differences in these narratives about what is ‘real’ (research versus practice), patterns (‘rhetorical turns’) in how the claim is received and how the claim is valued. We question the power position of scientific discourse, explore the use of speech acts to either wield power or resist it and speculate about the results in terms of the use and abuse of research itself. We find that practitioners vary according to whether they: (a) adopt a scientized response reflecting uncritical acceptance of the claim; (b) maintain an attitude of sceptical and critical reflection, but tentatively adopt research based on the claim; (c) resist and even defy the claim, reflecting a hypercritical response that ignores research altogether and insists on their own practice as the locus of the ‘real’.

Multi-criteria decision aids for sustainable water management

This article evaluates three multi-criteria decision aid (MCDA)methods—Regime, Novel Approach to Imprecise Assessment and Decision Environments (Naiade) and Strategic Advisor (Strad)—from a process facilitation perspective. This research shows that Strad has many advantages over the other tools regarding knowledge management, pluralism, functionality, transparency and participation. Concluding recommendations are as follows. (1) Agree explicit aims with stakeholder participation and if the aims change during the process, this is to be communicated. (2) Match methodology with the aims of the process since it is not always necessary to base the ranking on complex mathematical calculations. (3) Participatory processes should be conducted with care as they are resource consuming. Select cases thoughtfully and design them with a reflective attitude. The systematic structure of going through one criterion at a time is perceived as more important than software aggregation of multiple criteria at the end. It was further concluded that MCDAs have to be transparent and software must be flexible with an understandable user interface.

European Identity and Populism

Identity as a theoretical concept in social sciences has evolved from a status of derivative importance into an essential and autonomous notion performing at present an important role that explains some processes of the contemporary world. According to Renata Dopierała, generally identity can be defined as a reflective attitude of an individual to himself, created by the necessity of self-characteristic building a system of ideas, opinions, convictions, etc., that corresponds with the given social context. However, the answer to the question: What is identity?, is not so obvious as some can expect. The relationship between identity, interests, preferences, and loyalty is also not so clear. Shortly speaking, identity can be also perceived as a self-conception rooted in the society, our attitude and relation to others. Its integral parts are two main components: individual and social.

Sobre o projeto político pedagógico: a flexibilização curricular

Este artigo apresenta questões curriculares do curso de graduação em Biblioteconomia da Universidade Federal da Paraíba. O objetivo é analisar elementos que subsidiem a proposta de flexibilização curricular para o referido curso. Do ponto de vista metodológico, a pesquisa respalda-se em uma abordagem qualitativa, utilizando documentos legais (Leis, Pareceres, Editais e Resoluções) e documentos institucionais (materiais produzidos pela academia na área pedagógica voltada para discussões referentes ao PPP, currículo e flexibilização curricular e seus enlaces teóricos). Como proposta, verifica-se na flexibilização curricular uma ação estratégica na tentativa de garantir o diálogo permanente entre cursos de formação e mercado de trabalho, favorecendo, assim, a conexão com a realidade social na qual o aluno egresso será inserido. Além disso, a flexibilização curricular amplia o direito de escolha dos alunos, possibilita uma maior participação dos colegiados dos cursos e produz reflexão nos docentes quanto ao atendimento das necessidades internas dos próprios cursos de formação.

The first Asian Lesbian Film and Video Festival in Taipei celebrates a new form of social activism

The first Asian Lesbian Film and Video Festival, held in Taipei in August 2005, brought forth media art, social activism and cultural exchange on one occasion. It provided a rare opportunity to showcase the experience of Asian lesbians, which is vastly different from the experience of those in Western countries. While there were great similarities in their love experiences among the 36 Asian lesbian shorts selected, they also reflected the differences among the Asian countries in terms of local development of tongzhi culture and community as well as the visibility of tongzhis. Among the Chinese communities, Taiwan was seen to be at the forefront of the development of tongzhi culture, Mainland China was new to the movement, and Hong Kong was somewhere in‐between. Japanese and Korean videos took a critical and reflective attitude towards social regulations and mainstream thoughts, although witty and farcical at times. While the Filipinos show a more tolerant attitude to the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBT) community, the major oppressive forces on lesbians were poverty, gender inequality and sexual violence. Only one Israeli documentary was shown at the film festival, which focused on lesbians living in the Jewish Orthodox traditions. The film won international acclaim and attracted much public attention to the issue. Films and videos were found to be an effective means to transcend language barriers and cultural differences for a true cross‐cultural exchange among Asian lesbians. During the few days of festival, a ‘queer nation’, not defined by nationalities or languages, but by the pursuit of love expressions, was constructed around The Taipei House.

Which future urban scenarios can we construct?

PurposeTo discuss and analyze models of urban design practice based on the examination of an accessibility project developed in Florianópolis, a medium‐sized capital city in the South of Brazil.Design/methodology/approachThe paper describes a design process of a new problem – how to improve access to public urban spaces for excluded groups, such as visually impaired citizens – and examines its development, successes and failures and the relationships between its participants. A reflective analysis is done in order to reach a relational comprehension of the economic, social and political factors involved.FindingsCritical examination of the project revealed three important aspects. The first is that at all stages it is fundamental to create channels of communication that give a voice to users. The second is that technical knowledge is not neutral, and incorporating multiple views can bring innovative technical solutions and also the external support that is necessary to solve complex problems. Third, the fragility of public institutions and the weakening of state services caused by neo‐liberal policies is a key determinant for the success of urban design processes.Originality/valueThe analytical effort needed to extend the boundaries beyond our own actions as architects (in a conflicting urban design project), demonstrated the importance of producing knowledge based on a reflective attitude towards practice.

“Before The Face of God One Must Not Go With Empty Hands”

While structure and bare content of prophetic consciousness may be made accessible by an attitude of pure reflection, in which concern for their truth and validity is suspended, sheer force of what is disclosed in such reflection quietly corrodes hardness of self-detachment. magic of process seems to be stronger than an asceticism of intellect.... In course of listening to their words one cannot long retain security of a prudent, impartial observer. Abraham Joshua Heschel, Prophets (xvii) Let justice well up like water, Righteousness like an unfailing stream. (Amos 5:24)1 And they shall beat their swords into plow-shares And their spears into pruning hooks Nation shall not take up Sword against nation; They shall never again know war. (Isaiah 2:4) Here I am; send me (Isaiah 6:8) Emmanuel Levinas' 1934 essay on Philosophy of warned us of precisely what others were unable to see, much less admit: Hitlerism was not simply an accident of evil, acts of a sick man.2 Rather, its underlying logic permeates a type of thinking that puts into jeopardy, the very humanity of (Levinas, 199Ob, 71). In this essay, Levinas reveals two poles of thinking that provide context for tension between immanence and transcendence both as traditionally understood. In 1990, fifty-six years after essay first appeared in French, an English translation of essay was published in Critical Inquiry. In a prefatory note, written expressly for translation and republication of essay, Levinas asks: Does subject arrive at human condition prior to assuming for other man in act of that raises him up to this height? prefatory note appears anachronistic because of his references to election and responsibility to other man, themes that emerge only later in his writings.3 This early essay tackles dual problems of classical transcendence and immanence.4 How then could this essay be about ethics, a term not only absent in this early work, but also not mentioned until 1961 in Totality and Infinity?5 claim that this prefatory note is anachronistic assumes that Levinas' interest in transcendence and immanence is simply philosophical-the result of a conceptual problem or puzzle in history of philosophy that he needed to address. Further, this concern with transcendence might also suggest that Levinas' interest in ethics was not a primary concern; rather, it was a secondary concern, result of seeing ethical relation as solution to problem of immanence and transcendence. Is relationship between Levinas' early work and his later work simply relationship between posing of a philosophical question and finding its answer? In contrast to view sketched above, this essay argues that Levinas' philosophical work follows a continuity of thought from his early concerns in 1930s expressed in his essay on Hitlerism to his final works in 1970s and 80s. My claim is that although we can mark changes in his use of vocabulary and emphasis he places on different themes, his concern for and interest in ethics, religion, and social justice not only underlie all of his work, but motivate it. This paper proceeds as follows. I first examine Levinas' essay, Philosophical Reflections on Hitlerism, in order to track initial framing of philosophical concern regarding problematic relationship between immanence and transcendence. I then turn briefly to Levinas' 1946/47 lecture course, published as Time and and his essay The Trace of Other in order to suggest that Levinas' conception of time as relationship to is his solution to problem of finding a middle way between immanence and transcendence. Finally, I turn to notion of prophetic in Judaism and Levinas' employment of prophetic, especially in his later work, in order to suggest that his concern for ethics and social justice permeates his work from its beginning in 1930s until his death in 1995. …

Beyond populist punitiveness?

Much of the survey data on public knowledge and attitudes to sentencing and punishment gathered over recent years have suggested that the public in western jurisdictions support harsher punishment and have diminishing confidence in the criminal courts. The results of research on the same issues using focus groups, deliberative polls or other methods which provide more information or allow respondents to discuss their views with others, appear to suggest that these punitive attitudes become more moderate as well as more complex and contradictory. Recent research in Scotland has produced similar results. What do these results mean? Are the public punitive or not?The argument presented here is that punitive attitudes exist alongside more rational and more reflective attitudes. Part of the explanation for this is that attitudes are, at least in part, an artefact of the methodology used to discover them. This does not mean that they are not real and substantial, but rather that public opinion is much more nuanced and contradictory than it appears from survey research. This interpretation raises different challenges for political leadership and policy making.

Formação inicial de professores: Trajetória de um projeto de inserção social

Nesta pesquisa narrativa, focalizamos um projeto de Educação Ambiental, tendo em vista a formação de professores reflexivos sobre a própria prática, desde a formação inicial. O trabalho teve duração de dois semestres e culminou com a prática docente dos universitários em escolas de ensino fundamental na periferia de Belém, Pará, Brasil. Por meio de relatos escritos, buscamos identificar quais elementos formativos foram percebidos e valorizados pelos estudantes universitários nessa trajetória e os significados a eles atribuídos. Foram construídas quatro categorias de análise: significado da parceria com o sujeito mais experiente; sentimentos experimentados pelos sujeitos; significados atribuídos à experiência vivida; e avanços e dificuldades. A análise permitiu-nos identificar a vivência/construção de uma nova/outra cultura de formação; enfrentamento de problemas inerentes ao início da carreira docente; produção de saberes profissionais; e atitudes reflexivas.

Illness in Context and Families as Teachers: A Year-Long Project for Medical Students

The authors describe a program for second-year students in Tel Aviv University's six-year medical school. The program's aim is to teach students the importance of context and interactions in patient care by exposing them to a real patient-family-doctor interaction using narrative-based methods to encourage reflective learning. Each student meets five times a year with a volunteer family, one of whose members suffers from a chronic disease. The program endorses a "patients as teachers" approach, as families are considered to be teachers for the students and not as objects of investigation and assessment. The students receive supervision in small groups, to enhance learning and reflection. To appraise the extent to which students had obtained the required knowledge, skills, and attitudes, the authors extracted reflections regarding the learning experience from students' essays. Major themes identified were becoming "family sensitive," building and improving communication skills, questioning intrusiveness, adopting a nonpatronizing and nonjudgmental attitude, developing reflective skills, creating a future professional model, and experiencing and appreciating continuity of care. The authors argue that learning to listen to patients' narratives, developing a reflective attitude, and being sensitive to patient-family-doctor interactions are of value to all doctors, and therefore programs similar to theirs should be established as part of general medical school education and not just in the context of family medicine.

Zum Problem des Verhältnisses von ausdrückenden Akten zu auszudrückenden Akten in der VI. Logischen Untersuchung: Intentionalität des Fühlens

In this paper I shall attempt to point out the dynamic and composite nature of the meaning fulfilment in Husserl’s Sixth Logical Investigation with particular regard to the reflective attitude that seems to be involved in expressive acts. The bearing of meaning implicitly points to a recognition of the acts of expression in their specific character and disposition, in order to find their proper expressive form. Although in the Sixth Investigation it remains uncertain whether this reflexive achievement represents a character of the expressive acts themselves, Husserl’s attempts to provide a revision of the text indicate a more complicated, not solely dualistic, relationship. I suggest here that the specific intentionality of feeling plays an important role in mediating between meaning-intention and meaning fulfilment.

Ontogénesis de la experiencia estética. La actitud contemplativa y las artes temporales en la infancia

ResumenEs probable que las primeras experiencias estéticas infantiles no tengan un soporte representacional sino que se conformen con elementos de las denominadas artes temporales: la música y la danza. En el texto se muestra cómo la creación de un diseño del movimiento es asequible para un niño de 22 meses y se intenta tramar la historia evolutiva que lo torna posible. Una trama en la que la actitud contemplativa, los afectos de la vitalidad y el interés desinteresado hacia los objetos se enlazan con las experiencias de intersubjetividad y la musicalidad que caracterizan a las interacciones tempranas. Se señalan, en un primer momento, las diferencias entre la labor infantil con las artes temporales—a la que se denomina elaboración—y el desarrollo del juego funcional, que da lugar al clásico juego de ficción, para luego proponer la hipótesis de que la elaboración podría formar parte del proceso de construcción del símbolo lúdico infantil.

Cognição, emoção e reflexão na sala de aula: por uma abordagem sistêmica do ensino/aprendizagem de inglês

Este artigo propõe articular a Biologia do Conhecer de Humberto Maturana (1998) à pesquisa narrativa de Jean Clandinin e Michael Connelly (2000), de modo a propor uma abordagem sistêmica para a pesquisa sobre o ensino e a aprendizagem de inglês e superar a dicotomia teoria-prática que domina comumente a reflexão no campo. Para tanto, apresento o estudo de uma narrativa em contexto de sala de aula de inglês que irá lançar luzes sobre a natureza histórica das relações operacionais entre emoção e cognição. Defendo que as emoções e a história de vida da participante da pesquisa especificam suas ações na sala de aula. Argumento que a construção de narrativas propicia a emergência de uma atitude reflexiva que possibilita transformações nas emoções e ações na conduta de sala de aula. Com isso, pretendo contribuir para a expansão de nossos horizontes reflexivos sobre a inter-relação entre linguagem, cognição e emoção, fundamental para nossa compreensão da sala de aula.

Reflective learning with drama in nursing education – a Swedish attempt to overcome the theory praxis gap

It is obvious that the gap between theory and praxis in nursing education affects the students' ability to develop understanding and professional knowledge that stems both from theory and practice. Appropriate didactic methods are thus needed in nursing education. In a project we developed and practised a didactic model with the intention of encouraging a reflective attitude within the student, considering caring science in theory as well as in praxis. The didactic model, based on educational drama, was implemented during three terms of the nursing education programme. In this paper we present the educational model and its theoretical foundation. We also present the preliminary outcomes of the project.