Theoretical Positions Research Articles

Corporate Purpose Swings as a Social, Atheoretical Process: Will the Pendulum Break?

This article argues that conceptualising corporate purpose as a normative question which can be examined in isolation from its socio-historical context is inappropriate and ultimately futile. Corporate purpose is examined here as historically determined, a social fact, independently from whichever theoretical position might prevail in scholarly debates. Interestingly, corporate law doctrine pertinent to corporate purpose has remained mostly static but fairly open-ended. This has allowed purpose itself to oscillate between shareholder primacy and the balancing of stakeholder interests rather seamlessly as a socio-historical phenomenon. However, the article finds that, where it is used by private business organisation, corporate law has a limited capacity to accommodate purpose oscillations. Those are limited to merely one-dimensional movements representing corporate income distribution choices considered as socially legitimate each time. Using concepts such as Polanyi's 'double-movement' and Gramsci's 'passive revolution', the article argues that, for as long as social dynamics focused on wealth distribution, private corporate purpose had little difficulty in absorbing social critique and in finding a legitimacy basis for the private business corporation. However, more recently, critique has been shifting away from merely distributional trepidations and towards other non-economic concerns caused by economic growth per se. These concerns add new dimensions for corporate purpose oscillations, which cannot be accommodated irrespective of how open-ended corporate law doctrine on purpose might be. The article concludes with an analysis of what this might entail for corporate law as a socially legitimate structure for private business.

Understanding ethnic inequities associated with tobacco use in Aotearoa New Zealand: a quantitative analysis.

Despite the inclusion of both individual interventions and population-based measures in the Aotearoa New Zealand (Aotearoa NZ) Tobacco Control Programme, the gap between Māori, Pacific peoples and European/Asian/Other (EAO) populations in tobacco use has not decreased significantly. Tobacco control interventions that focus on individual behaviour change have produced little impact towards reducing tobacco smoking inequities for Māori and Pacific peoples in Aotearoa NZ. Using data from the New Zealand Health Survey (NZHS), this research investigates the impact of the wider determinants of health and individual-level factors on inequities in tobacco use between Māori, Pacific peoples and EAO. A conceptual framework was developed to support the theoretical positioning of this research and to inform data categorization, framing, discourse, analyses and interpretation. We conducted hierarchical regression to examine the effect of factors from each domain on ethnic inequities in tobacco use. We found that socioeconomic factors accounted for a significant amount of the disparity in adults currently smoking between Māori and Pacific peoples and EAO. Our results suggest that socioeconomic factors may be a more effective target of intervention than individual behaviours for reducing tobacco-related inequities. Addressing the broader determinants of health through comprehensive cross-agency cooperation to reduce ethnic inequities in tobacco use in Aotearoa NZ is likely to be more effective than individual behaviour change approaches.

Творчество и религиозность как проблема философии русской культуры

This review presents an analysis of the fundamental work “Creativity and religiosity in Russian culture. Philosophical Research” was written by the Russian philosopher and cultural scientist O.A. Zhukova who has been fruitfully researching the history of Russian culture and national thought for many years. The new book is the third part of a trilogy devoted to discussing the line of succession in Russian cultural and intellectual history, which is characterized by a religious understanding of creativity. The author formulates important theoretical positions, as well as methodological approaches to the study in philosophy of Russian culture and history. The large scale work is highlighted by the original interpretation of the plots considered in it. In the book, O.A. Zhukova develops the thesis about the ideal-centering of Russian culture, she offers a philosophical-culturological model of the historical dynamics of Russian culture. The basis of this model is the creative experience of a personality.

Gender parity and Indigenous regulatory systems in Oaxaca, Mexico: a review of the state of the art

This article aims to analyze the state of the art on gender parity and Indigenous Regulatory Systems (IRS) in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico, to identify relevant lines of research. The problem that motivated this approach lies in the inequalities, violence, and injustices suffered by Indigenous women as municipal councilors, even though the constitutional principle of gender parity protects their political and electoral rights. Despite legislative advances in parity, systemic obstacles prevent the substantive achievement of the principle of gender parity in the indigenous municipalities of Oaxaca. This is a qualitative study, through documentary and discourse analysis, identifying theoretical and empirical positions and research results. Around 50 sources were reviewed to identify coincidences and differences, organizing the information into three sections: the path toward parity democracy, the concept of parity, and interculturality. The studies reviewed show that the main problems in the implementation of the principle of parity are related to gender stereotypes, the low institutional capacity of the State to implement parity, patriarchal resistance, and political violence. Most studies focus on the political party regime and do not analyze indigenous contexts. Therefore, it is convenient to analyze parity in the regime of the indigenous normative systems in Oaxaca, Mexico.

“Interrogating ‘Chinese imperialism’: Multi-polarity, inter-imperialist rivalry, and the New Cold War with China”

This article serves as an introduction to the special issue “China and the Global South: Interrogating Imperialist Ambitions.” It begins the issue by laying out the major theoretical positions developed in recent years regarding so-called “Chinese imperialism” and highlights the framing effects of the US-propagated New Cold War with China on how nations in the Global South interact with both China and the US. Finally, it briefly introduces the five articles that make up the special issue.

Robots as addressable non-persons: an analysis of categorial work at the boundaries of the social world.

Prompted by the material turn in the social sciences and the development of novel interaction technologies, lively debates in social theory have arisen regarding the agency of non-human entities. While these debates primarily involve exchanging theoretical arguments against the background of different theoretical positions, ethnomethodological membership categorization analysis (MCA) provides an empirical approach to questions of non-human agency. The article discusses the debate on non-human agency, demonstrates how MCA can be used to investigate categorial work at the boundaries of the social, and presents the example of an encounter between two museum visitors and a humanoid robot to show how the robot is categorized in a specific way as an 'addressable non-person.' In this way, it becomes clear that social-theoretical debates and empirically oriented MCA can mutually inspire each other and how the 'basic categorization apparatus' addresses new alterities.

Interior Bowers

I know a rural bedroom with a paper representing a trellis and Noisette roses climbing over it; the carpet is shades of green without any pattern, and has only a narrow border of Noisette roses; the bouquets, powdered on the chintzs, match, and outside the window a spreading bush of the same dear old-fashioned rose blooms three parts of the year. That is a bower indeed, as well as a bedroom (Barker, 1878, p. 11). In Bedroom and Boudoir (1878) Lady Barker describes a number of bedrooms and boudoirs furnished with ornamental linings derived from the natural landscape. As the most private, internal and intimate interior spaces in the Victorian home, such spaces are likened to bowers - clearings in the forest, retreats or nests. Surrounded by surfaces composed of vegetal patterns and colours, the boudoir shows signs of reclaiming vestiges of the outside, not as the manicured garden or the cultivated landscape, but as foreign wilderness. Barker’s remarks critique the notion of the interior as tectonically distinct from the exterior. In contrast, the room is shown to be derivative of the exterior through its use of ornament, furnishings and linings. This paper examines the relationship between boudoir and bower as established by Lady Barker. It then traces the physical description through theoretical positions of the time on the relation of ornament and nature, in order to position the boudoir as an interior space of decorative and tactile envelopment.

Inner Modulation Controlled Process for Suppression of Chatter Vibration in Double Inserts Turning

A novel cutting manner is presented to control regenerative chatter vibration in double inserts cutting, in which the forward and the backward inserts cut workpiece simultaneously with phase difference in the modulation of finished surface. In double inserts cutting, the forward insert is clamped above the backward insert. Both the inserts are positioned symmetrically with a height offset with respect to the workpiece rotation center. The forward insert mainly removes the material; while the backward insert cuts a part of the inner modulation to lose the regular excitation. The exciting force is also reduced with the cutting thickness of the forward insert after a workpiece revolution. Because the theoretical position offset of the inserts in the feed direction is small, the side cutting edges of inserts are aligned in the same position. The process parameters are determined by estimating the removal volume of the backward insert with the phase shift. The range of the cutting speed and the height offset are given by the frequency of the chatter vibration, which is nearly the same as the natural frequency of the workpiece in single degree of freedom. The proposed cutting manner is validated using comparison between the single insert and double inserts cuttings.

Особенности применения принципа добросовестности в российском гражданском праве

This article is devoted to the consideration of the meaning and role of the good faith principle in Russian civil law. The good faith principle is one of the well-known and widely used principles in civil law of Russia. In the text, the positions of scientists and law enforcement practice using the good faith principle are considered, the approaches developed by domestic and foreign legal doctrine in relation to it are analyzed, the legal essence of the good faith principle is examined, and a theoretical and practical analysis of this legal concept is carried out. A small comparative legal analysis on this issue is also carried out. The author's contribution to legal research on the good faith principle in law is the systematization of the theoretical positions of legal experts on this topic, and in the course of it, the positions of scientists from different countries are explored. This study uses such scientific methods as analysis and synthesis, formal legal and comparative legal method. Based on the results of the study, conclusions are drawn regarding the essence and purpose of good faith as a civil law principle, a legal concept and the corresponding evaluation category. Also, a number of recommendations for law enforcement are given.

Where in the brain is creativity? The fallacy of a creativity faculty in the brain.

The neuroscience of creativity is built on a tacit and near universal assumption that is false. Paradoxically, this is not contentious; once made explicit, the assumption is readily conceded as false. Psychology regards creativity as made up of many complex, multifaceted, and varied cognitive and emotional processes deployed across many different domains. But we instead think of, and treat, creativity as if it were a single, separate, cohesive, and discrete thing-as in, Einstein had it. In a straightforward extension of this fallacy, cognitive neuroscientists have looked for uniquely creative cognition that (1) is distinct from all other kinds of cognition and (2) has a proprietary neural substrate. In other words, a standalone and monolithic creativity faculty in the brain that manages only creativity and all creativity. First, this paper brings into sharp focus the nature and ubiquity of this fallacy. It then outlines the alternative theoretical position that is (1) based on fundamental neural principles and (2) predicated on taking seriously the concept of creativity as complex and diverse. Like morality or secretiveness, it holds that creativity does not exist as its own, specialized entity in the brain. Instead, its neurocognitive mechanisms are distributed, embedded, and varied; that is, creativity is everywhere and multiply realizable.

Evaluation of novel pyridoxal isonicotinoyl hydrazone (PIH) derivatives as potential anti‐tuberculosis agents: An in silico investigation

AbstractThis investigation employed computational methodologies to assess the therapeutic potential of derivatives (1–16) of pyridoxal isonicotinoyl hydrazone (PIH) as potential treatments for tuberculosis. Various computational techniques, including molecular dynamics simulation, molecular docking, density functional theory, and global chemical descriptors, were employed to analyze the interactions between the ligands and target proteins. Docking results indicated that ligands 6, 7, 8, and rifampin exhibited binding affinities of −8.4, −7.4, −9.2, and − 7.2 kcal mol−1, respectively, against mycobacterium tuberculosis enoyl acyl carrier protein reductase (INHA), with ligand 8 demonstrating superior inhibition. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were utilized to assess the stability of protein‐ligand interactions. Remarkably, the Root Mean Square Deviation (RMSD) of the INHA‐ligand 8 complex remained minimal, with peak values at .40, .56, .37, and .50 nm at temperatures of 300, 305, 310, and 320 K, respectively. This suggests superior stability compared to the reference drug rifampin and INHA complex, which exhibited an RMSD range of .2 to .8 nm at 300 K. Furthermore, analysis using Frontier Molecular Orbital (FMO) revealed that the Egap value of ligand 8 (4.407 eV) is lower than all the reference drugs except rifampin. This comprehensive theoretical analysis positions ligand 8 as a promising candidate for anti‐tuberculosis drug development, underscoring the need for further exploration through in vitro and in vivo studies.

Vitalist Marxism: Georges Canguilhem and the Resistance of Life

Following Hannah Arendt’s insights into the affinities between Marxism and the philosophy of life, this article reconstructs a theoretical position that we propose to call ‘vitalist Marxism’. This position conceives of life not only as an essential foundation of the production process, but also as a critical resource for resistance to the capitalist logic of exploitation. We highlight the role Georges Canguilhem (1904–95) played in developing this position, in particular by depicting tools and machines as ‘organs of life’. Drawing on Canguilhem’s early writings as well as unpublished manuscripts, we show that this ‘organological’ understanding of technology was rooted in the increasingly anti-fascist reception of Marx in France during the 1930s. Against the background of today’s protests against climate destruction, racism, and anti-feminist violence, all of which invoke the defense of basic living conditions, we argue that the critical position of vitalist Marxism acquires remarkable topicality.

Facial Painting and 3D Stereophotogrammetric Analysis of Facial Dynamics: A Reliable Anatomical Educational Method.

(1) Background: Accurate knowledge of the dynamic anatomy of facial muscles is crucial for the use of functional and aesthetic botulinum toxin injections. We studied the reliability and relevance of facial painting as a pedagogic tool for the dynamic anatomy of facial muscles. (2) Methods: Different facial expressions were performed by a female model after a professional makeup artist applied makeup to the various facial muscles on her left hemiface. A 3D photograph was taken at the beginning and end of each movement using the VECTRA H2 Imaging System device. Cutaneous movements were visualized using displacement vectors. The correlation between the theoretical and dynamic positions of the makeup-muscle was assessed by two facial anatomy experts, thanks to a correlation scale. (3) Results: The overall average score for the 11 analyzed muscles or muscle groups was 3.36 out of 4, indicating a "strong" to "very strong" estimated correlation. There was a moderate agreement between Evaluator 1 and Evaluator 2 (ICC: 0.64; 95%CI: [0.244; 0.852]; p-value: 0.005). (4) Conclusions: The educational model with facial makeup provides an indirect but nonetheless precise and reliable representation of all facial muscles on the skin's surface. It is presented as a reliable and reproducible method, which exhibits great potential as a teaching tool.

Images of a Statist Ethic in “Western” and Chinese IR Theory: Locating (and Deciphering) the “Moral Realism” of the Tsinghua Approach

Abstract In this article, we identify—and interrogate—one thematic thread that is intricately woven through prominent positions within classical realism, normative international relations (IR) theory, and what Zhang Feng (2012) has called Chinese IR’s “Tsinghua approach.” This thread is the often-controversial notion of a statist ethic for international politics or an ethical perspective that grants priority to one’s state, fellow citizens, and the national interest. Positions within each of these theoretical traditions—what we label “egoistic realism” and “responsible realism” within the classical realist tradition, “communitarian realism” and “impartialist statism” within normative IR theory, and what others have described as “moral realism” within the Tsinghua approach—share a commitment to an ethical approach variously defined in terms of the protection of, and preference for, one’s state and compatriots. We take this rich collection of positions, and the points of comparison that it affords, as an opportunity to better understand the possibilities and limits of a statist ethic for international politics. Specifically, we endeavour to illustrate four points: (1) that a morality defined in terms of the priority of the state, one’s fellow citizens, and the national interest is neither impossible nor a contradiction in terms; (2) that such a perspective can constitute a sophisticated theoretical position; (3) that it can be conceived in radically different ways, including with respect to the source of value to which it appeals and who it deems to matter; and (4) that these differences have profound practical consequences. In terms of contributing to a conversation between Western and Chinese IR theory, this analysis helps us not only to explore how the “moral realism” of the Tsinghua approach relates to positions within classical realism and normative IR theory but also to evaluate the practical implications of its points of theoretical convergence and divergence.

Spot position scheme on a quadrant detector for a spaceborne laser communication system

The paper proposes a spot positioning method based on a four-quadrant detector for the limited computing power and memory of spaceborne laser communication, in which the adaptive interpolation segmentation (AIS) algorithm is used to fit the theoretical position curve. The algorithm uses linear operations though the fitting process and the simulated result indicates that it has higher positioning accuracy in the center area of the quadrant detector. A spot receiving and positioning system was built for experimentation and the final location of the spot was calculated. The positioning error is analyzed to evaluate the performance of the whole system. It is shown that the positioning accuracy is highest in the stable communication area of the system. In result, the scheme achieves high accuracy with simple operations, which is more suitable for spaceborne laser communication systems to release more performance for communication.

ЕМОЦІЙНА КУЛЬТУРА ВЧИТЕЛЯ: ДЕФІНІТИВНИЙ АНАЛІЗ І ФЕНОМЕНОЛОГІЯ ЯВИЩА В КОНТЕКСТІ НАДЗВИЧАЙНИХ СИТУАЦІЙ

The article presents an analysis of theoretical positions of scientists and definitive approaches to the essence and content of the concept of «emotional culture of a teacher», clarified the specifics of its interpretation in various branches of science, revealed the phenomenology of this phenomenon in the context of emergency situations, focused attention on the importance of a teacher's emotional culture in ensuring harmonization of the educational process in the complex conditions of today. The analysis of scientific sources showed a significant interest in the phenomenon of «emotional culture» of domestic and foreign philosophers, psychologists, and teachers. The development of emotional culture as a professionally important quality of teachers is considered by domestic and foreign scientists to be one of the most urgent tasks of pedagogical and psychological support of professional training. It was concluded that the level of development of the teacher's emotional culture will depend on the emotional development and success of students in emergency situations. The problems of emotional culture research indicate that it belongs to a wide range of discussed issues, which are based on the study of emotions, the emotional sphere, and the emotional development of the individual. It was established that the meaning of the concept of «emotional culture of a teacher» covers the range from self-regulation of mental states to the spiritual culture of a teacher's personality. Definitive analysis of the concept proved that it is an integrative quality of personality. The analysis of the source base on the researched problem made it possible to clarify the meaning of the concept of «emotional culture of the future teacher in emergency situations» as an integral personal characteristic that has a complex structure, integrating the developed emotional sphere of the teacher, the value attitude to the emotional life of the schoolboy and his inner world, cognitive complex, activitypractical complex. The analysis of scientific publications showed that there are very few studies of the problem of educating the teacher's emotional culture in emergency situations. The definition of the mechanisms of the development of the emotional culture of future teachers in the complex conditions of today remains debatable.

Reviewing workplace innovation as a plea for a practical approach

AbstractWorkplace innovation (WPI) approaches share the ‘advancement’ of work as a commonality, that is, the notion of good jobs and its relation with good business performance. How WPI approaches contribute to the advancement of work is discussed in this ‘narrative review’ of the WPI literature, which intends to provide direction to future study and implementation of advanced work. A human‐centric theoretical position is chosen with regard to WPI, good work and well‐performing organisations. The heart of the review is investigating the roots of WPI and its historical development along the lines of four different research streams: sociology and organisation research, safety science and organisation research, economic strategy and human resources research, and psychology and behavioural research. These streams are evaluated from their contribution to advanced work, ‘good jobs’. In this review of WPI as a plea for a practical approach, we conclude how the streams connect to the conceptualisation of WPI and human‐centricity, discuss the implications for practice and some limitations, and make recommendations for future research.

The relationship of human rights and freedoms in the context of justice

The problem of interrelation and interdependence of various human and civil rights and freedoms in the light of the concept of social justice is investigated. The problem of a fair measure of human and civil rights and freedoms is considered, it is argued that a fair measure of rights and freedoms in any sphere of human activity should initially proceed from the idea of natural human rights to life, freedom and property, but this measure should be conditioned by the concrete historical realities of a given society. The author considers social justice as a measure of freedom. In the course of researching issues related to the problem of human rights and freedoms, the author proceeds from the theoretical position that all economic, political and spiritual rights and freedoms are interrelated and mutually conditioned. The author explores the problem of human rights and freedoms and social justice using the principle of development, an axiological approach and a criterion of practice. The author explores various aspects of freedom from the point of view of the concept of social justice, in the context of the relationship between freedom and responsibility, rights and duties. The problem of various human rights and freedoms is studied by the author in the context of their interrelation and interdependence. It is argued that the basis of political and spiritual freedom is, first of all, economic freedom, but at the same time the value of spiritual and political rights and freedoms in themselves is emphasized. The author interprets the problem of human rights and freedoms and social justice as tools in reflecting the realities of the modern world and tries to identify ideas in them that can be used in modern society to solve existing problems in it. The problem requires further investigation.

Towards Decolonial Praxes in Critical Peace Education for Sustainable Futures

This paper examines decolonial praxes in critical peace education using philosophical framework of African Conversational School. In the process, it examines: Conversational School of African Philosophy, critical peace education for sustainable futures, the importance of decolonial praxes, conceptual framework for critical peace education for sustainable future, Nigerian educational system and education policies of Federal Republic of Nigeria (FRN), Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and African Union (AU). The paper theorizes that decolonial praxes in critical peace education should be pursued with a combination of local and global cultures (glocalization) for sustainable futures since both cultures have positive contributions to human life. Therefore, the conclusion and suggestions of this paper are partly based on this theoretical position. Introduction of decolonial critical peace education as a separate subject and as objectives in other subjects is the main suggestion and conclusion made.

Theoretical and conceptual foundations of research on religious Conservatism as a social structure in the works of Karl Mannheim and Talcott Parsons

The article is devoted to the study of the theoretical and methodological foundations of the research field of religious conservatism. By itself, religious conservatism as a phenomenon of public life and social structure, since its inception, has had a great influence not only on the religious sphere of society, but also on the political and even economic spheres. The modern research field of religious conservatism is quite diverse, there are a large number of different directions and schools in it, but most of them borrow their methodological foundations from a certain number of classical works on sociology, formed within the framework of mainstream sociological secularism. In this regard, secularism attitudes continue to be reproduced quite often in modern sociological science. The purpose of this work is to examine the early, fundamental theoretical and methodological positions created in classical sociological works on the topic of religious conservatism as a social structure and social phenomenon. To achieve the goal, it was necessary to solve the following tasks: 1) To characterize the works of the early stage of the study of religious conservatism in sociology; 2) To identify and characterize the theories of society in which the main works were created; 3) To define the concept of religious conservatism as a social phenomenon or social structure; 4) Describe the impact of these concepts on further sociological discussion. The research materials were theoretical studies by foreign authors devoted to the conceptualization of the theme of religious conservatism. The research methodology is based on secondary analysis. The results revealed the main patterns of the theoretical foundations of religious conservatism in the works of the classics of sociology.