Structuralist Perspective Research Articles

Strategic Alliance Networks and Innovation: A Deterministic and Voluntaristic View Combined

Over the past decades we have witnessed a tremendous growth in the number of strategic technology alliances and a growing importance of interfirm collaboration in the high-tech sectors. The literature on these topics has grown accordingly. In this respect, our paper serves two aims. One is to provide an overview of the consensus on key issues in this vast body of literature. Second is to identify some major gaps in this literature that may inform future research. In serving these aims, we first discuss the dominant structuralist perspective that stresses the role of embeddedness, but which also reflects a deterministic stance as if firms are subject to an exogenous structure. In contrast, we also explore a more voluntaristic view of how firms may possibly shape their network in view of achieving their strategic aims. This view also seems better able to capture change and network dynamics, an issue that has been largely ignored by the structuralist view.

Questions terminologiques et questions de méthode : autour de Giorgio Cencetti, Emanuele Casamassima et Albert Derolez

The theoretical principles and terminology developed by leading palaeographers in the latter half of the twentieth century risk falling into oblivion before their full potential has been realised. Essential contributions have been made by two Italian scholars, Giorgio Cencetti and Emanuele Casamassima, whose outlooks, though historically related, are in the end divergent. Cencetti developed a truly historical concept of writing, which he stated in theoretical terms and went on to illustrate thoroughly, embracing the whole field of Latin scripts in a fluid and dynamic vision, sensitive to the human and technical factors liable to explain its evolution. From a distinctly more abstract, structuralist perspective, Casamassima developed a sophisticated theoretical apparatus that is useful for highlighting the underlying logic of writing as a system. Another approach, with essentially catalographic aims, seeks to organise the history of scripts into a general scheme based on a coherent typology and nomenclature. The system, advocated fifty years ago by Gerard Lieftinck for Gothic scripts, was recently expanded and perfected by Albert Derolez, in a book that ought to renew, rather than close, the debate on the relationship between terminology and methods.

Czym jest „pojęcie" we współczesnym językoznawstwie?

In the article the Author poses a question concerning the understanding of the term "concept" (syn. "notion") in linguistics - its status as a subject of a semantic description ("concept" in relation to "meaning") and as an element of metalanguage. She confronts the earlier structuralist perspective originating from logic with more recent ones used in psychology and cognitive linguistics, in which the meaning of linguistic units is equated directly with a notion as a mental conceptualisation and in fact as a conceptualisation process. The most important novum in the cognitive understanding of a "concept" as a subject of linguistic description is, according to the Author, the renunciation of the classical perspective (a conceptual category as "a set of features reserved for a class of items") and demystification - especially with reference to popular categories - its ostensibly objective static nature. A notion is treated as an area of knowledge organised (profiled) in a special manner at the background of the whole network of cognitive relations, that is embracing also elements of emotions, valuation, perspective and interaction of conceptualisers. Creating notions and encoding them in language thus requires other methods of representing the meaning of linguistic units than those well-grounded in linguistics under the influence of logical semantics - so that the descriptions refer not only to the designatum but also to the cognising entity.

Entre signo e significante: a esquizofrenia incipiente segundo Conrad

Ao tratar da pesquisa empreendida por J. Conrad sobre a esquizofrenia incipiente, esse artigo demonstra a atualidade desse estudo: destaca-se a abordagem estrutural do desencadeamento psicótico ali inaugurada antes mesmo de Lacan estender a perspectiva estruturalista à fenomenologia da clínica. Enfatiza-se a estratégia utilizada por Conrad, que propõe pensar o desencadeamento psicótico nos termos da estrutura formal da percepção delirante. Demonstra-se em que sentido a perspectiva de Conrad resgata a inteligibilidade do fenômeno psicótico, opondo-se à estratégia da fenomenologia compreensiva fundada por Jaspers, a qual relegava ao plano somático da causalidade física os fenômenos mentais destituídos de compreensão.

Nature and the Chapel Vaults at Ingolstadt: Structuralist and Other Perspectives

The spectacular western chapels in the Church of Our Lady at Ingolstadt exemplify the techniques used to empower the Gothic in the sixteenth century. The branch work and floral shapes in the vaults partake of the general vogue for vegetal imagery about 1500. A structuralist perspective can be applied to such organic carvings, which usually accompany nonrepresentational architectural forms. Together, they comprise a binary system in which each element is defined through its opposition to the other. The profuse vegetal imagery and technically daring double-layer vaults represent the cutting edge of Gothic design in the early sixteenth century.

Moises Kaufman: The Copulation of Form and Content

Moisés Kaufman:The Copulation of Form and Content Rich Brown (bio) Theory and practice should fuck, and their children should be the plays. The result should be the plays. —Moisés Kaufman Moisés Kaufman's explorations over the past ten years have led to his Tectonic Theater Project's current mission to produce innovative works that explore theatrical language and forms and to foster, through their art, a dialogue with their audiences on social, political, and human issues. Tectonic's creation of new work centers around the "copulation of form and content" (11 Nov. 2002). Kaufman explains: I think the most important thing for Tectonic is this binary focus that we have. Whenever we do a play, we have two interests in mind: form and content. This is something that happens not only in our theoretical meanderings but in our work. Whenever we're in rehearsal, we deal with both of those issues and pose questions about both. We do exercises that explore subject matter, and we do exercises that explore form. [. . .] The way we think about it in Tectonic is that we want form and content to copulate. We want the offspring of that copulation to be the play. We think about it in binary because we like to devote time to each one individually. And that is a theoretical as well as a pragmatic way of working. (11 Nov. 2002) To foster this copulation, Kaufman has developed a technique for creating theatre called Moment Work. In Tectonic workshops in which new work is formed, each artist who signs on for a project becomes what Kaufman calls a "performance writer," meaning she uses all the tools of the stage to generate individual theatrical Moments. Similar to homework assignments, the Moments are individually formulated outside of the workshop, and then presented to the other ensemble members; this is when collaboration begins. Kaufman defines Moment Work in the introduction to The Laramie Project as, "A method to create and analyze theatre from a structuralist (or Tectonic) perspective. . . . A Moment does not mean a change of locale or an entrance or exit of actors or characters. It is simply a unit of theatrical time that is then juxtaposed with other units to convey meaning" (xiv). A Moment can be as simple as a single gesture or breath or as complex as an entire scene complete with multiple characters, scenic pieces, lights, props, and sound. Most importantly, Moment Work is a tool for collaboratively discovering new theatrical forms while using all the languages of the theatre in equal interplay. In this article I investigate the particular devising methods used by Kaufman and Tectonic, and through tracing Kaufman's key influences, examine the origins of his "Tectonic techniques" for creating new work. [End Page 51] Tectonic Theater Project was founded in November 1991 by Kaufman and Managing Director Jeffrey LaHoste as a laboratory in which structural and theoretical questions of the theatre could be posed—"Tectonic" means "relating to the art and science of structure." The company's main objective is to "explore new theatrical vocabularies and theatrical languages that use the full potential of the stage" (Tectonic Theater Project home page). Today, Tectonic begins each new project by conducting workshops—exploring existing texts or investigating new works through rigorous experimentation and collaboration over months, even years. Kaufman believes the rehearsal space is a place for collaborative questioning and exploration that may or may not lead to the creation of a new piece. He states,"This is what we do in rehearsal. We learn as we go. We get into a room, pose some questions, and we ask the theatre to help us discuss it" (9 Dec. 2002). This way of working is directly connected to Kaufman's first artistic home with the Thespis Theatre Company in his native Venezuela, where he acted under the direction of Fernando Ivosky, whose influence on Kaufman cannot be overstated. Ivosky was influenced by the same ground-breaking artists Kaufman had seen and admired as a teenager at the International Theatre Festival in Caracas. At this yearly festival, he witnessed Jerzy Grotowski's Laboratory Theatre's Acropolis, Peter Brook's company's Ubu Roi, and Tadeusz...

From risk to psychosocial resilience: conceptual models and avenues for family intervention

This paper aims to compare the structuralist and phenomenological approaches to psychosocial risk and propose an integration of those two perspectives. The first section defines the concepts of risk, vulnerability, protection, and resilience from a structuralist perspective. The second section describes the concepts of experience of vulnerability and experience of resilience from a phenomenological perspective. The last section proposes a comprehensive model of intervention for at-risk families.

Gender and job attitudes: a re‐examination and extension

Job attitudes, such as work commitment and job satisfaction, have attracted academic and practitioner attention for a number of reasons. Previous research indicates that such attitudes have important organizational consequences, such as turnover, effort expenditure, and productivity. Earlier findings indicate that men and women have different attitudes towards their jobs. In this study, using a sample of 228 employees, the effects of gender on job attitudes was investigated. The results suggest support for the job model or structuralist perspective; that is, women and men have similar job attitudes once we control for work‐related and other variables.

Powhatan Lords of Life and Death: Command and Consent in Seventeenth-Century Virginia

A richly textured portrait of the famous Native leader Powhatan and his realm emerges in this revisionist study. For decades the English colonists at and around Jamestown lived in the shadow of a powerful confederation of Native American communities led by Powhatan. That realm encompassed the Tidewater area of Virginia from the James River to the Potomac River. For many years Powhatan skillfully staved off threats from other Native peoples and from European colonists. Despite the prominence of Powhatan during the early colonial years, our knowledge of him and life in his realm is filtered nearly completely through the eyewitness accounts of Europeans. In Powhatan Lords of Life and Death, an incisive structuralist perspective and an impressive synthesis and reinterpretation of available records by anthropologist Margaret Holmes Williamson provides a more complex and culturally appropriate view of the realm of Powhatan during the crucial early decades of the seventeenth century. Alternative conceptions of power and cosmology are set forth that force reconsideration of important components of Powhatan society, including the basis of leadership, the relationship between political leaders and religious specialists, the role of ritual, and the resonance of Powhatan cosmological beliefs with those of other southeastern Native peoples. Powhatan Lords of Life and Death revisits a pivotal figure in American history and enables us to appreciate more fully Powhatan and the fascinating world he helped to create.

Savoir et économie dans l’œuvre de Molière by Richard Sörman (review)

198 Reviews imperii and translatio studii, its connection with the centralizing tendencies of the Valois monarchy and with the Plei'ade's anxious overtures to Henri II. This new edition, moreover, is supplemented by dossiers critiques which include the major contributions to the literary quarrel surrounding the manifesto, not just Aneau's Quintilhoratian, but also the offeringsof Sebillet and Guillaume Des Autelz, together with Du Bellay's own preface to the second edition of the Olive. The whole of Speroni's Dialogo delle lingue is also included, together with Gruget's French translation, allowing the reader to see how Du Bellay adapted his most important contemporary source (although a better balance might have been achieved by a more selective presentation of just those parts of the Dialogo which Du Bellay imitated). Monferran's edition undoubtedly provides us with the most up-to-date and complete version of Du Bellay's seminal work, in all its richness and complexity. University of Aberdeen David Hartley Savoir et economie dans I'oeuvre de Moliere. By Richard Sorman. (Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis, Studia Romanica Upsaliensia, 62) Uppsala: Uppsala University Library. 2001. 196 pp. ISBN 91-554-4978-6. Richard Sorman's learned volume studies the psychology of Moliere's characters from a structuralist perspective. He argues that they feel they lack 'completeness' (completude) and attempt to rectifythis by seeking a form of absolute knowledge. The search is inevitably fruitless. Argan and Jourdain believe blindly in the reality of such knowledge and base their lives on this belief to the extent of jeopardizing their freedom and sanity. Agnes symbolizes for Arnolphe the illusory possibility of knowing everything about her. Alceste and Philaminte feel that they have actually achieved perfect 'completeness' and Don Juan allegedly triumphs in provoking the intervention of an entity representing ultimate knowledge. What these egocentric characters lack, argues Sorman, is an appreciation that society depends on reciprocating mechanisms (economies) such as generosity, commitment, honouring debts, and awareness of the qualities of others. This study, accessibly presented, contains stimulating analyses of the characters' tendency to shun uncertainty, their claims to be unique, the relationship between bluestocking and pere-obstacle, the hopelessness of striving consciously to acquire refinement , and the ambiguous nature of expertise. The author announces the structuralist perspective at the start and repeatedly stresses that this is a 'reading' of Moliere, rather than an analysis of how the plays work in the theatre. So he cannot be accused of misleading the reader over his approach. But one sometimes feels that the plays are adapted to fitthe theory, rather than the reverse. If Jourdain's pathetic respect forexperts tells us much about his social inferiority,Argan's relationship with doctors owes much to the tradition ofthe comic pedant, which Sorman barely mentions. Moreover, the author's claim that Hous les savants sont pour Moliere des imposteurs' (p. 37, em? phasis added) is simply not true. Many of his doctors are comic precisely because they genuinely believe in the efficacyof their art, and the tutors hired by Jourdain all seem competent in their field. Also, the idea of Don Juan triumphing by provoking the intervention ofthe 'savoir absolu' ('Dom Juan reussit la ou tous les autres echouent' (p. 116)) seems particularly odd: the intervention of the Statue self-evidently brings about the defeat of Don Juan and is anyway an indispensable part of the myth, not something invented by Moliere. In addition, the work contains, forthis reader at least, too many references to authorities such as Rey-Flaud, Lacan, and Levi-Strauss, many of which lead into rambling philosophical digressions telling us more about Sorman's intellectual interests than about Moliere. A thought-provoking work based on an MLRy 98.1, 2003 199 impressive array of erudition, but likely to be of more interest to the specialist in psychoanalytical and structural criticism than to the general student of Moliere. University of Leeds David Shaw Pour une histoire critique de la philosophie: choix d'articles philosophiques du 'Dictionnaire historique et critique'. By Pierre Bayle. Ed. by Jean-Michel Gros with the collaboration of Jacques Chomarat. (Vie des Huguenots, ed. by Antony McKenna, 16) Paris: Champion. 2001. 824 pp. 160 SwF; 760 F; ?115.86. ISBN 2...

Economic stagnation in Weimar Germany: a structuralist perspective

Mexico and Argentina in the 1990s as well as Weimar Germany in the 1920s implemented similar exchange-rate-based stabilization programs which were successful in stopping inflation, but failed to generate the domestic savings and investment rates necessary for a sustainable growth path. It is argued that in both cases substantial foreign capital inflows were attracted by a stable nominal exchange rate and high interest rates, which alleviated the distributional struggle driving high inflation. However, this incentive structure caused a profit squeeze in the tradable goods sector due to an appreciating real exchange rate precipitating the ultimate collapse of the programs.

Teaching mathematics in/for new times: A poststructuralist analysis of the productive quality of the pedagogic process

Mathematics educators and researchers generally recognise the importance of students' active involvement in learning processes; this active engagement is positively thought of in relation to the development of understanding and the construction of mathematical knowledge. However, it is often not well understood, nor perhaps even considered, how engagement in these learning processes also produces the learner and his/her feelings of competence and confidence in/with mathematics. In this paper I undertake, from a post structuralist perspective, a meta-analysis of two short episodes from a paper by Manouchehri and Goodman (2000). I use these interactions to explore (a) how mathematical knowledge and identities are produced in teaching/learning interactions in the classroom and (b) the wider practical implications of this productive power ofprocess for mathematics education and research. Through analyses such as these it may be possible to breathe new life and purpose into mathematics education in the twenty-first century; not by negating what has come before, but in moving on to explore the exciting possibilities that present themselves when taken-for-granted assumptions of a rational, freely choosing ‘proficient’ (NCTM, 2000) humanist subject are interrupted and revised.

The Languages of Edison's Light (review)

In 1995, Henry Krips, J. E. McGuire, and Trevor Melia attributed the recent "burgeoning interest in the rhetoric of science" to the fact that "the rhetorical perspective brings insights to the study of science not captured by history, sociology, philosophy, [End Page 175] anthropology . . . that is, rhetoric can occupy a 'clearing' that is obscured in these other approaches to science studies"(viii). Charles Bazerman demonstrates much of the clarity rhetorical understanding adds to the study of science in The Languages of Edison's Light. In this insightful text,Bazerman explores the ways in which Edison and his colleagues spoke the languages of America's social matrix, "giving electric light and power meaning and values and incorporating it into our existing cultural systems" (2). Operating from a structuralist perspective, Bazerman's analysis provides insight into the rhetorical workings of Edison's emergent technology and forwards timely conceptions of the text and critical practice of particular interest to rhetoricians. However, this approach also impedes textual consistency and limits the account from reaching the full clarity a rhetorical perspective provides for science and technology.

A note on the theory of demand-led growth

this paper presents a demand-led growth model where an exogenous investment function drives capital accumulation through a Bernoulli differential equation. In such framework investment generates savings through changes in capacity utilization and/or income distribution, making economic growth totally demand-led. Taking a Structuralist perspective, the model is purposefully made to be consistent with different Keynesian closures for the investment function, as well as with different assumptions about savings’ adjustment to investment.

The need to redefine the practice of health promotion in the United Kingdom

It is argued that since the late 1970s the practice of health promotion within the UK has become, at least in part, bound up with the ideological bias of Conservative political thinking. The shift in political thought that occurred with the advent of Thatcherism, a shift characterised by individualism as opposed to collectivism and consensus politics of earlier decades, has heralded a belief in the paramount importance of the responsibility of the individual for maintaining a healthy lifestyle. This strategy fails to consider the social, cultural, and economic context within which individuals find themselves over which little or no control can be exercised. A politicisation of the concept of health promotion has thus taken place which has placed the emphasis on the over-riding responsibility of the individual for his or her health. Such a selective approach to health is inefficient. It is further argued that a purely structuralist perspective, one that negates the influence of the individual, is equally inefficient. If the new Labour administration is to promote the population’s health to any more effective manner it must be recognised that while the individual does have a distinct role to play in his or her own health, that individual must also be considered within his or her social, cultural and economic context. An holistic approach to promoting the health of the population must be multi-factorial acknowledging the influence of social, cultural, economic and medical factors, as well as the role of the individual.

Developmental Approaches to Artistic Giftedness

Two studies done from constructivist perspectives were considered for their complementarity in understanding the development of gifted young artists. Study 1 used Case's (1992) neo-Piagetian theory as a framework and investigated the developmental progression in ability to represent spatial relations in children aged 4,6,8, and I0 years. Children identified as gifted demonstrated some advancement in their use of perspective but were distinguished primarily by their elaborate and novel representations of space. An age-related progression in acquisition of ability to render perspective supports a general factor in development, whereas abilities unique to the artistic domain support the relevance of including domain-specific characteristics in developmental models of giftedness. Study 2 was done primarily from a structuralist perspective but also incorporated a postformal perspective on the problem-finding and problem-solving behaviors of young artists aged I3 to 18 years. There was support for age-related domain-general aspects of thought with discipline-specific skills in making multiple comparisons in proportional relations and coordinating multiple perspectives. This finding may be an extension of young children's intrastage elaboration of the spatial structures available to them.

Pensions, Households, and Local Labor Markets: The Shaping of Old-Age Economic Activity in 1910

Empirical findings of extensive, turn-of-the-20th-Century, old-age withdrawal from work in the United States cannot be reconciled with structural-functional theories which assume that males worked in early-industrializing economies until too impaired to do otherwise. More recently, two market demand-centered perspectives, a new structuralist perspective and a cultural (age-discrimination) perspective, have been used to explain old-age work withdrawal in this period. I expand the new structural model to include supply factors and the old-age household economy. I use linked national micro-data and county-level census data to examine the labor force participation of men (age 60 and over) in 1910 and find mixed support for the new structuralist model. Old-age withdrawal was systematically influenced by local labor market structures, but not always in the expected theoretical direction. The household economy, racial differences, and access to national (Civil War) pensions were also strongly associated with old-age activity and withdrawal.

Perspectives on Innovation in Organizations

This paper maps out the literature on innovation in organizations in terms of three theoretical perspectives. These are referred to as the individualist perspective, the structuralist perspective, and the interactive process perspective. The perspectives provide the reader with a framework both for organizing this voluminous literature, and for understanding the key theoretical and methodological differences that are evident within this field.

Truth and Goodness: Does the Sociology of Inequality Promote Social Betterment?

The historical development of sociology is outlined, from (1) close ties with social reform in the early 20th century, to (2) the divorce of sociology from social reform in the 1930s through the 1960s, when the “pure science” model dominated, to (3) the domination of the “unmasking inequality” model since the 1970s. I argue for a “reducing inequality” model. A content analysis of articles on inequality in three leading journals shows a shift in the 1970s to a structuralist perspective linked to unmasking inequality. But research that unmasks inequality still ignores social reform because career advancement depends on following the pure science model. Case studies of 12 sociologists illustrate strategies for combining research with social betterment.

Economic recession and disenchantment with Europe

Recent disenchantment with European integration has been associated with the economic recession, in particular the difficulties in ratifying the Maastricht Treaty and the weakening of the ERM. Cyclical perspectives see integration as driven forward by economic necessities and the present difficulties as temporary; structural perspectives identify recent changes in the political and the economic context as creating political obstacles to the resumption of integration. The structuralist perspective is seen as providing a more plausible account of the present state of the European Union. Evidence on the strength of popular support for European integration and the variations between member states is assessed. It is argued that the limited progress towards the creation of either a European economy or European polity creates serious problems for both the neo‐liberal and social democratic programmes for deeper integration.