Theoretical Traditions Research Articles

Comparative Criminology of Modern View

An overview of the recently revived discipline of comparative criminology is the aim of this chapter. It starts by going over the background and context of comparative criminology then moves on to describe the modern comparative viewpoint. The chapter outlines the typical methods for doing comparative criminological research after outlining several frequently advanced goals for the field, such as theory development and testing and policy review and critique. The primary theoretical traditions of comparative criminology are first reviewed, with a focus on structural theories rooted in culture, social bonds, and the distribution of economic resources, as well as metanarratives like modernization, civilization, opportunity, and world system theories. Next, the chapter addresses methodological issues by summarizing some of the more popular dependent variables that comparative criminologists have studied and noting how these variables have been operationalized in the literature. It then examines the three methodological approaches metalevel, parallel, and case studies that are most frequently used in the field. Data regarding crime and justice worldwide are now more available than ever because of the expansion of international "transparency" and the World Wide Web's information-dissemination capabilities. The three most prevalent forms of data on international crime and justice officials, victimization, and self-report data are covered in this chapter along with the risks to each type's validity and dependability. Interested readers are directed to current sources of information pertinent to commonly used explanatory concepts. The chapter concludes by noting that although globalization and worries about transnational crime have contributed to the growth of comparative criminology as a field of study, the discipline is still in its infancy because systematic comparative work in criminology was largely neglected during the 20th century. Renaissance, in theory, is needed to support growth in this promising field of study so that theory drives research rather than just additional data.

Virtual Laboratories in STEM Higher Education: A Scoping Review

Synthetic learning environments like virtual laboratories are increasingly used in pedagogical practice across the landscape of higher education, in both professional and non-professional study programs. Virtual laboratories are simulations of experiments or other hands-on activities that allow students to explore scientific concepts and principles in a virtual environment. These simulations can be used to supplement or replace traditional laboratory experiences on campus, providing students with a flexible and convenient way to learn and engage with the laboratory as a context for work. The conceptual and theoretical foundations of these simulations, however, are still poorly understood. This study provides a scoping review of the literature on how virtual laboratories are conceptualized in STEM higher education, and the ideas, principles and presuppositions that inform and sustain research on virtual laboratories in STEM. By searching through databases (n = 7) for peer-reviewed journal articles published in English between 2012 and 2023, focusing on the use of virtual laboratories in STEM higher education, a selection of articles (n = 23) was identified as relevant for the study aim and subjected to thematic analysis and narrative synthesis. The results add to our knowledge from previous systematic reviews of studies on virtual laboratories in STEM higher education, particularly by identifying common characteristics between various definitions of virtual laboratories. Moreover, the review identifies three theoretical traditions influencing work on virtual laboratories for STEM in higher education. While this highlights a field of research committed to evidence-informed pedagogy and instructional effectiveness, it also points to a lack of descriptive, qualitative research that systematically investigates everyday instructional practices with virtual laboratories in STEM-education in naturalistic contexts. Further studies on what happens in such settings would be valuable for informing future theorizing about virtual laboratories in STEM.

The Interactional Zoo: Lessons for Sociology from Erving Goffman’s Engagement with Animal Ethology

Erving Goffman is one of sociology’s most influential thinkers. Scholars debate the extent to which he worked in competing theoretical traditions (e.g., interactionist or structuralist), yet few acknowledge his intellectual indebtedness to animal ethology. This article traces how naturalistic studies of paralinguistic animal communication influenced Goffman’s corpus and specifies the ideas he built on from that field, especially territoriality and ritualized display. Goffman’s comparative approach to animal and human interaction reveals the shortcomings of sociologists’ lingua-centric approach to interaction; elevates animals to social actors, capable of metacommunication, reading others’ intentions, and adjusting their behavior accordingly; and humbles humans, who he finds enacting rituals of civility for the same reason animals engage in ritualized display: to manage threats and facilitate bonding. Goffman’s thesis on the similarities between animal and human social behavior compels sociology to consider animal studies, and his use of ethology helps reconcile his interactionist and Durkheimian tendencies.

Understanding supply-side climate policies: towards an interdisciplinary framework

Once marginal in climate governance, supply-side policies which seek to restrict the production of climate warming fossil fuels are now gaining greater prominence. From national level bans and phase out policies to divestment campaigns and the creation of ‘climate clubs’ such as the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance, an increasing number of such policies are being adopted by governments, cities and financial actors around the world. But why would states voluntarily relinquish potentially profitable reserves of fossil fuels? How can we account for the rise of supply-side policies, the form they take and the sites in which they are being adopted? What conditions and contexts are most conducive to the adoption and sustainability of ‘first mover’ bans and phase out policies? This paper seeks to build an interdisciplinary account fusing insights from diverse theoretical traditions from international political economy, political science, sociology and the literature on socio-technical transitions in order to capture the interaction of political, economic and socio-cultural drivers in national and international settings which can provide the basis of a more integrated and multi-dimensional understanding of supply-side policies. Such an account, we suggest, helps to understand the origins and evolution of supply-side policies and, more critically, the conditions which might enable the expansion of supply-side climate policies to new sites.

The Longue Durée of International Environmental Norm Change: Global Environmental Politics Meets the English School of International Relations

Abstract The purpose of this article is to introduce English School (ES) theory to the study of global environmental politics (GEP). The ES is an established theoretical tradition in the discipline of international relations (IR) but is not widely known, let alone used, in GEP. My aim is to overcome this state of neglect and suggest ways in which ES theory can enrich the study of international environmental affairs. I argue that ES theory makes at least two major contributions to the study of global environmental politics: first, it helps counterbalance the presentist focus in GEP scholarship, shifting our attention toward long-term historical patterns of normative change, and second, by distinguishing between different levels of international change, it opens up an analytical focus on environmentalism as a part of the international normative structure. In doing so, ES theory directs our attention to the interaction and mutual shaping between environmentalism and other fundamental norms of international society.

The metamotivation approach: Insights into the regulation of motivation and beyond

AbstractResearchers across theoretical traditions have long recognized the need for people to monitor and modulate certain aspects of their subjective experiences (such as their thoughts and feelings) in response to situational challenges that interfere with the attainment of important goals. Comparatively less attention has been devoted to understanding the beliefs and mechanisms necessary to regulate motivational states—i.e., metamotivation, even though motivational states are often integral to people's subjective experiences of events. As particular types of motivational states are more adaptive in some contexts than in others, flexibly instantiating the right motivational state at the right time may be key to achieving one's goals. The current paper reviews the principles of the metamotivational approach to studying motivation regulation and briefly reviews supporting research. In addition, we highlight metamotivation research conducted in the context of self‐affirmation theory to demonstrate the generative potential of this approach for researching phenomena that have traditionally been treated as separate from self‐regulation. We conclude by discussing some of the novel questions that the metamotivational approach has prompted, both in and outside of the self‐regulatory domain.

Time and change: A meta‐analysis of temporal decisions in longitudinal studies

SummaryLongitudinal research has grown in popularity in the field of management and organizations. However, the literature has neglected to consider the important ways in which researchers' temporal decisions can influence observed change in longitudinal studies. Researchers must make a set of temporal decisions to capture change, such as the temporal precision of the hypothesized form of change, the selection of a sample that is expected to exhibit the change, the choice of variables to be measured repeatedly, the frequency of measurements, and the time interval between measurements. However, these decisions typically are based on “educated guesses,” which makes their effects on the observed change unclear. In this paper, we develop a conceptual framework to explain how temporal decisions influence observed change and validate it by meta‐analyzing longitudinal studies (k = 268). Specifically, we found that observed change is affected by hypotheses (i.e., temporal precision), the sample (i.e., presence of a change trigger), variables (i.e., variable type and rating source), and measurement occasions (i.e., frequency and time interval). These findings offer insights into the importance of making informed temporal decisions. The implications of our findings are broad and applicable across research streams and theoretical traditions.

Are politicians democratic realists?

AbstractPolitical scientists have long debated whether citizens meet the expectations of a ‘folk theory’ of democratic representation, in which voters correctly reward and punish politicians for their actions, make choices primarily on the basis of policy preferences and orient their decisions to the future rather than the past. But how do elected politicians themselves theorize voting behaviour? In this paper, we report results from an original survey of more than 2000 elected local politicians in Canada and the United States which allows us to characterize politicians' own democratic theories. We uncover substantial variation in politicians' theories of democracy, and we find examples of a number of well‐known theoretical traditions (democratic realism, partisan retrospection, folk theory) among politicians themselves. We also show that politicians' theoretical perspectives are related to how they undertake representation when in office. We conclude with an outline of a comparative research agenda on the causes and consequences of politicians' democratic theories.

AI-Based Facial Emotion Recognition Solutions for Education: A Study of Teacher-User and Other Categories

Existing information on artificial intelligence (AI)-based facial emotion recognition (FER) is not easily comprehensible by those outside the field of computer science, requiring crossdisciplinary effort to determine a categorisation framework that facilitates exploration of the impact this technology has on users. Most proponents classify FER in terms of methodology, implementation and analysis; relatively few by its application in education; and none by its users. This paper is concerned primarily with users of FER for education, particularly teachers. It proposes a three-part classification of these teachers, by orientation, condition, and preference, based on theoretical traditions in educational psychology and philosophy, as well as on teacher surveys. It also compiles and organises the types of FER found in or inferred from the literature into technology and applications categories, as a prerequisite for structuring the proposed teacher-user category. This work has implications for the understanding of the relationship between teachers and FER among its proponents and critics, as well as for education practitioners.

An Exploratory Analysis Examining the Relationship Between Protective and Risk Factors of Bullying and Hate Crime Victimization Within Schools

ABSTRACT Over the years, scholars have argued that there are similarities and differences between bullying and hate crimes within Americas’ schools. However, no known study has tested the claims that bullying and hate-related victimization are more similar (or different) and whether they share similar protective and/or risk factors. Utilizing the 2019 NCVS School Crime Supplement, the present study draws on several theoretical traditions to examine the protective and risk factors associated with bullying and hate-related victimization in schools. Skewed logistic regression models find that while there are some similarities between the protective and risk factors among bullying and hate-related victimization, there are also some noticeable and distinct differences. The findings fill important theoretical and empirical gaps in the bullying and hate crime literature. Further, the findings offer important policy implications as it relates to detection and prevention of bullying and hate-related victimization within schools.

Comparative Aanalysis of National Security Strategies of Armenia in the Context of Political Realism, Liberalism, and Marxism

The article examines the characteristic features of Armenian national security strategies, actively conducting research of an interdisciplinary nature with extensive use of systems analysis. Issues of stability of the political system of Armenia in the interests of national security are considered not only from the point of view of the general theory of systems, but also using the methodological principles of synergetics. An independent section of research was the study of regional conflicts in the post-Soviet space and their impact on the state of national security of Armenia. In this context, traditional international relations theory offers tools for analyzing the previous actions of states within a broader framework and deciding on further actions. The present article seeks to provide simple textual comparisons and analyses of the Republic of Armenia’s National Security Strategies of 2007 and 2020. Those elements within the Strategies which have remained, changed, or been added will then be made the subject of contextual analyses with the theoretical traditions of liberalism, realism, and Marxism to draw out the Republic of Armenia’s major priorities and assess the capability of its approaches to meeting the foreign policy problems that exist. Each theory of international relations will emphasize those positions in the National Security Strategies that most accurately reflect Armenia’s past and current positions, and evaluate them in accordance with global and regional standards.

Patient and public involvement (PPI) in health care: A systematic mapping review of systematic reviews

Introduction: While patient and public involvement (PPI) is increasingly required by policymakers and funding agencies, the vast amount of literature on this topic makes it difficult for stakeholders who are at the beginning of their journey to find guidance on conceptual frameworks, successful methods, and good examples for PPI in contexts/settings similar to their own. Although there are various conceptual frameworks available, especially for PPI in research [1], little is known about which conceptual frameworks are successfully being implemented in health care practice. Recently, [2] highlighted different theoretical traditions and the need to further develop theory-driven approaches to guide the process of involvement in more strategic ways. 
 Objectives: The overarching goal of this mapping review is to identify systematic reviews on PPI in health care practice worldwide to: 
 
 further examine the different conceptualizations of PPI in health care used in the literature (i.e., definitions, models, frameworks);
 provide an overview of the methods used to promote and implement PPI in health care;
 provide an overview of contextual factors such as:
 
 - the settings in which PPI is implemented in health care; 
 - the demographic characteristics of the patients and the publics involved;
 - the desired, achieved and reported outcomes of PPI; and 
 - the outcomes used to measure the effectiveness of PPI. 
 Method and preliminary results: Methodologically, a mapping review design was chosen to give an overview of findings, identify research gaps in the field and to provide the audience with intuitive and accessible visualisations. This review is co-designed and carried out in partnership with a patient (JB), who is also an active volunteer, representative and chair of a patient organization. 
 In December 2021, the study was registered on the Open Science Forum (https://osf.io/9b5j3) and an initial search on PubMed, Cinahl and PsycInfo resulted in 3763 articles after deduplication. Titles and abstracts were screened independently by 2 reviewers (VC, JB) and 95 articles were selected for full-text review. 35 articles were included in the study for detailed data extraction (VC, IB, JB). The themes covered in the articles range from PPI in the education and skills training of health care staff, PPI in design, development and evaluation of health care services and products, quality improvement, patient safety, infectious disease control, crisis management, mental health and health promotion. While data extraction has been completed, data synthesis is still ongoing at the time of abstract submission. An updated search is planned for December 2022. With this mapping review of systematic reviews, we hope to provide an overview of the field and some guidance to those wanting to involve patients, caregivers and the public in their upcoming projects. 
 References
 [1] Greenhalgh T, et al. Frameworks for supporting patient and public involvement in research: Systematic review and co-design pilot. Health Expectations 2019;22(4):785-801. DOI: 10.1111/hex.12888. 
 [2] Ocloo J, et al. Exploring the theory, barriers and enablers for patient and public involvement across health, social care and patient safety: a systematic review of reviews. Health Research Policy and Systems 2021;19(1):8. DOI: 10.1186/s12961-020-00644-3.

Reconfiguring the strategic/non-strategic binary in im/politeness research

Abstract In this article, I explore the potential of the strategic/non-strategic distinction to link im/politeness with recent developments in pragmatics more generally. My point of departure is the claim that the binary between strategic/non-strategic politeness, as drawn in previous research starting with the distinction between discernment and volition, leaves a blind-spot when it comes to established ways of achieving politeness that do not rely on recognition of the speaker’s intention, yet go beyond a pre-defined repertoire of forms. To shed light on this blind spot, I recruit the notions of first-order (S1) and higher-order (S2) polite speakers from Rational Speech Act models, which distinguish between different types of speakers depending on the degree to which they reason not just about their own goals but also about what the hearer thinks of them. However, contrary to the standard RSA model, I propose to think of such reflexive reasoning as a matter of degree, which can be used to explain a continuum of uses from strategic to non-strategic politeness. This move highlights points of contact between theoretical traditions that have developed independently and helps to reinstate im/politeness as a driver of pragmatics research broadly conceived.

From the factory model to the classroom-workshop: Learning from practice in the fields of health and education

ABSTRACT In this article, we engage in a dialogue about structural competencies based on the proposal of the classroom-workshop, aimed at educational and work environments in the fields of health and education. Our starting point is the notion that practical experiences do not merely represent a collection of specialised technical knowledge, as they are part of the complexity of the social game. Drawing from the theoretical frameworks of Pierce, Gadamer, Freire, and others, the proposal of the classroom-workshop recovers the power of collective praxis. Learning from and with others becomes central in the social game in order to collectively appropriate knowledge by making the autonomy of learning as horizontal as possible. By centering the relational world of learning and working, the classroom-workshop recovers the circular structure of understanding that enables a reflective appropriation of the territory – understood as the social space where life takes place – while de-instrumentalizing the reading of theoretical traditions and resignifiying the practice of writing. It establishes connections, links, and anchors that enable a dialogue between theory and practice, so often dissociated and fragmented.

Decentring critical theory with the help of critical theory: Ecocide and the challenge of anthropocentricism

Our present situation of anthropogenic ecological disaster calls on Western philosophy in general, and Frankfurt School critical theory in particular, to reconsider some long-standing, entrenched assumptions concerning what it means to be a human agent and to relate to other agents. In my article, I take up the challenge in dialogue with the idea of critical theory articulated by Max Horkheimer in the 1930s. My overall concern is to contribute to on-going efforts to decentre Frankfurt School critical theory in multiple dimensions. With the help of Horkheimer, I seek to show that this theoretical tradition has itself an important contribution to make to the endeavour. In Section 1, I argue that the methodology he advocates for critique of society offers a view of the relationship between the human mind and reality, as well as of humans with other humans, that avoids dogmatic rigidity and is hospitable towards mutual learning through engagement with other philosophical and cultural traditions. In Section 2, I consider the more specific challenge of anthropocentrism, suggesting the need for a more differentiated account of this. While critical theory is unavoidably anthropocentric in certain respects, it could avoid more pernicious forms of anthropocentrism that establish epistemic and ethical hierarchies between humans and other-than-human entities and that conceive of ethical validity as a purely human construction, with no independence of human needs and concerns.

An ontological turn in the sociology of personal life: Tracing facet methodology’s connective ontology

The sociology of personal life (SPL) has been largely untouched by sociology’s ontological turn. A few scholars have attempted to retrofit SPL and new-materialist ideas, but these limited attempts have overlooked the potential for SPL to furnish its own definitive ontological contributions in dialogue with the wider turn. In response, I offer an SPL-centred ontology: the ‘connective ontology’ of facet methodology. Introduced in 2011, facet methodology was originally supported by ‘connective ontology’, briefly outlined in a preliminary text, but as facet methodology has gained popularity, connective ontology has not been explicitly discussed. I argue that, while never mentioned outright, Jennifer Mason’s 2018 Affinities is about connective ontology and therefore offers an extensive, albeit tantalisingly implicit, ontological thesis, which I attempt to develop. In my interpretation, the world is made up of fluctuating layerings of vitally animated connection units. This connective ontology resonates with contemporary new-materialist sensibilities, but is from and of SPL. It also speaks to broader theoretical traditions, offering provocations for ontologically-minded, live, post-humanist, vitalist and biosocial sociologies, especially regarding longstanding critiques of apoliticism.

Towards a science of ‘land grabbing’

In the past two decades, large-scale land transactions (LSLTs), commonly known as land grabs or large-scale land acquisitions, have been pursued by agricultural investors and host-country governments in Lower- and Middle-Income Countries (LMIC) to boost crop yield. Existing knowledge on LSLTs is highly diverse, generated by scholars taking a wide range of perspectives and frameworks. However, the global patterns of LSLT-related research and their potential shortcomings remain under-investigated. In this paper, we analyze 370 peer-reviewed papers on LSLTs to advance this field of knowledge towards a science of ‘land grabbing’. Our findings reveal that 1) research on LSLTs displays geographical imbalances; 2) global statistics do not fully capture the complexity of LSLTs on the ground; 3) different disciplinary interests and theoretical traditions result in different use of terms in referring to LSLTs and divergent impressions of their social consequences; and 4) the environmental consequences of LSLTs are under-studied relatively. We suggest that a better understanding of LSLTs could result from greater engagement with each discipline’s strength and epistemic frameworks.

A political economy of youth policy in Mexico

ABSTRACT This article discusses the recent adoption of a large-scale youth programme in Mexico. Political economy approaches offer a critical account of the institutional arrangements that have resulted in the emergence of specific educational, labour and, more recently, youth policies in the Latin American region. Studies of youth policies are still developing and are a multidisciplinary field. This article draws on various theoretical traditions from various fields, constituting a novel approach to studying these policies. This article combines empirical evidence drawn from interviews with policy stakeholders with the analysis of key policy documents. It employs a Cultural Political Economy (CPE) approach to explain the Mexican government’s adoption of the youth programme Jóvenes Construyendo el Futuro’ (JCF) in 2018, which provides paid on-the-job training to 2.3 million young people aged 18–29. The JCF’s adoption resulted from the rising to power of a left-wing political coalition presenting an anti-neoliberal alternative based on explicit notions of social justice and inclusion with a national development plan reminiscent of an inward-oriented development paradigm aimed at strengthening the internal market, reminiscent of recent ‘neo-developmentalist’ projects in the region. JCF represents a notorious case study of the political economy of youth policy in Mexico.

Reflecting on student reflections in physical education practice: moving beyond a theory-and-practice divide

ABSTRACT Background Although the theory/practice dualism seems difficult to deal with in physical education (PE) practice, this paper posits that there are ways in which teachers can enable students to develop holistic competencies that encapsulate elements of both theoretical and practical knowledge. We therefore seek to rethink the relationship between theory and practice in PE practice and present ways in which PE teachers can connect these forms of knowledge with their students. We do so by looking at one of the historically most favoured means of bridging theory and practice: reflection. Purpose The purpose of this paper is to contribute with knowledge about student reflection in PE practice. First, we discuss the concept of reflection to clarify how student reflection might be understood in the embodied and situated context of PE practice. Then, we reconceptualise reflection in a way that might enable teachers to bridge the gap between theory and practice in new and hopefully fruitful ways with their students. Theory and methods We draw on various theoretical traditions on reflection to present a reconceptualisation of reflection that encapsulates the practical, situated and embodied nature of PE. Theoretical discussion We present the following four key ideas pertaining to reflection that together create a framework for conceptualising student reflection in the PE context: 1) Why reflection is important: a matter of intelligent practice; 2) Students must learn to reflect – in relation to what?; 3) What should students reflect on?; and 4) The how questions: creating conditions for reflections through indeterminate situations. Drawing on these four key ideas, we present an example of how our theoretical discussions can form the following three intertwined principles for a pedagogy of student reflection in PE practice for PE teachers moving beyond a theory-and-practice divide in PE: 1) a pedagogy of becoming through reflection; 2) a pedagogy of reflecting on the plurality of embodied and situated meaning; and 3) a reflective pedagogy of enquiry and discovery. Conclusion Throughout this paper, we argue that students need to learn to reflect, we suggested how reflection could be facilitated and we proposed that the why(s), what(s) and how(s) should be the objects of student reflection in PE. It is necessary to highlight that our suggestions for a pedagogy of student reflection are not complete nor definite but could serve as points of departure for future discussions of student reflection in PE.

QuantQueer: Renovating Quantitative Methods through Queer and Critical Theoretical Traditions

Quantitative methods have a long historical entanglement with oppressive ideologies, including eugenics, white supremacism, and anti-LGBTQ+ ideology. Increasingly, scholars have made attempts at rectifying quantitative methods by bringing them into conversation with critical theoretical frameworks. One such example is QuantCrit, which attempts to engage quantitative methods through Critical Race Theory. The present paper attempts to extend that vital work by engaging queer theory in quantitative methods. Several key ideas are proposed for quantitative methodologists and educational researchers to think with queer theory in quantitative research. Each idea is explored with an eye toward queer theoretical frameworks while continuously engaging QuantCrit. Finally, implications for producers and users of research are offered.