Home About us Contact
|
Home About us Contact | ||
|
|
||
Methodological Questions (methodological + question)
Selected AbstractsMethodological Questions about the Ontology of MusicJOURNAL OF AESTHETICS AND ART CRITICISM, Issue 4 2009ROBERT STECKER First page of article [source] Invited reaction: Outsourcing relationships between firms and their training providers: The role of trustHUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT QUARTERLY, Issue 1 2005Michael P. Leimbach Outsourcing in the training and development industry has been steadily increasing and shows no indication of slowing (Surgue & Kim, 2004). Gainey and Klaas's study shines light on the role of interfirm trust in effective outsourcing relationships. This reaction addresses a methodological question of the effect of the rating target on the results, but focuses on possible extensions of this research. Specific extensions include a deeper examination of factors contributing to Self Interested and Socially Oriented Trust, differentiating types of outsourcing relationships, and examining the perception of both the buyers and providers of outsourcing services. [source] SUBJECTIVITY AS A NON-TEXTUAL STANDARD OF INTERPRETATION IN THE HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHICAL PSYCHOLOGYHISTORY AND THEORY, Issue 1 2010JARI KAUKUA ABSTRACT Contemporary caution against anachronism in intellectual history, and the currently momentous theoretical emphasis on subjectivity in the philosophy of mind, are two prevailing conditions that set puzzling constraints for studies in the history of philosophical psychology. The former urges against assuming ideas, motives, and concepts that are alien to the historical intellectual setting under study, and combined with the latter suggests caution in relying on our intuitions regarding subjectivity due to the historically contingent characterizations it has attained in contemporary philosophy of mind. In the face of these conditions, our paper raises a question of what we call non-textual (as opposed to contextual) standards of interpretation of historical texts, and proceeds to explore subjectivity as such a standard. Non-textual standards are defined as (heuristic) postulations of features of the world or our experience of it that we must suppose to be immune to historical variation in order to understand a historical text. Although the postulation of such standards is often so obvious that the fact of our doing so is not noticed at all, we argue that the problems in certain special cases, such as that of subjectivity, force us to pay attention to the methodological questions involved. Taking into account both recent methodological discussion and the problems inherent in two de facto denials of the relevance of subjectivity for historical theories, we argue that there are good grounds for the adoption of subjectivity as a nontextual standard for historical work in philosophical psychology. [source] An alternative approach to conceptualizing interviews in HRD researchHUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT QUARTERLY, Issue 2 2007Jia Wang Qualitative researchers in human resource development (HRD) frequently use in-depth interviews as a research method. Yet reports from qualitative studies in HRD commonly pay little or no analytical attention to the co-construction of interview data. That is, reports of qualitative research projects often treat interviews as a transparent method of data collection, with the contents of answers to interview questions as data that mirror people's views and experiences of a "world out there." In this article, we demonstrate how an ethnomethodological approach to the reanalysis of interview data drawn from a qualitative study in HRD treats the research interview as a socially situated setting in which narrative data are co-constructed by speakers. From this perspective, it is possible to see how speakers produce unstable category descriptions and morally laden portrayals in order to support their claims. We argue that this type of analysis is useful for three reasons: (1) it provides a way to investigate instances in which interview accounts may prove analytically problematic; (2) it makes evident how interview data are produced by illuminating the conversational resources used by both researcher and participant to co-construct descriptions; and (3) it provides a new analytical approach for HRD researchers, who have until now relied primarily on thematic representations of findings derived from inductive analyses of interview data. By using this approach to analyze or reanalyze interview data, researchers may gain further insight into the research topic and the interaction that produced the interview data in a particular socially situated setting. This approach reveals the practical reasoning, identities, and moral assumptions demonstrated in talk by speakers. Such analysis, we argue, assists in HRD theory building in that it contributes to complex interpretations of data that respond to new and different questions, including methodological questions. [source] Idolatry and the Polemics of World-Formation from Philo to AugustineJOURNAL OF RELIGIOUS HISTORY, Issue 2 2004Isaac Miller This article examines the association of idolatry with erroneous ideas about the natural world in the writings of late antique Jewish and Christian authors. It follows two polemical genres. The first is the hexaemeral commentaries composed by Philo of Alexandria, Basil of Caesarea and Augustine, which positioned the hexaemeron against the background of natural philosophy and used various critiques of idolatry to revise or refute pagan natural philosophy. The second genre is that of heresiology initiated by Irenaeus of Lyon and adapted by Augustine to refute Gnostic and Manichaean cosmological myths and disregard for the creation account in Genesis. The article analyses a variety of ways in which the prohibitions against idolatry figured in methodological questions about how to conceptualize the natural world, how to locate the sources of conceptual error, and how to distinguish those errors from truth. [source] Psychological Research on Homelessness in Western Europe: A Review from 1970 to 2001JOURNAL OF SOCIAL ISSUES, Issue 3 2007Pierre Philippot The rapidly growing, but still small, research literature on homelessness in Europe has often been provided by non-academics, using qualitative methods, and has been published in sources that are not widely available. This article summarizes definitions employed, observed prevalence, the socio-demographic characteristics, and the physical and mental health status of the homeless in Western Europe. Research pertaining to the causes of homelessness and the societal response to the problem are also reviewed, and the ethical and methodological questions raised by European researchers are debated. A critical analysis of the largely descriptive European research is provided, and some noteworthy exceptions are described. We also discuss a number of promising theoretical models, including those that focus on learned helplessness, social strain, and social stress. [source] Consensus statement on the loco-regional treatment of appendiceal mucinous neoplasms with peritoneal dissemination (pseudomyxoma peritonei),JOURNAL OF SURGICAL ONCOLOGY, Issue 4 2008Brendan Moran MD Abstract Pseudomyxoma peritonei (PMP) is a rare condition mostly originating from low malignant potential mucinous tumours of the appendix. Although this disease process is minimally invasive and rarely causes haematogenous or lymphatic metastases, expectation of long-term survival are limited with no prospect of cure. Recently, the combined approach of cytoreductive surgery (CRS) and perioperative loco-regional chemotherapy (PLC) has been proposed as the standard of treatment for the disease. The present paper summarizes the available literature data and the main features of the comprehensive loco-regional treatment of PMP. The controversial issues concerning the indications and technical methodology in PMP management were discussed through a web-based voting system by internationally known experts. Results were presented for further evaluation during a dedicated session of "The Fifth International Workshop on Peritoneal Surface Malignancy (Milan, Italy, December 4,6, 2006)". The experts agreed that multiple prospective trials support a benefit of the procedure in terms of improved survival, as compared with historical controls. Concerning the main controversial methodological questions, there was an high grade of consistency among the experts and agreement with the findings of the literature. J. Surg. Oncol. 2008;98:277,282. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Research paradigms in medical education researchMEDICAL EDUCATION, Issue 4 2010Suzanne Bunniss Medical Education 2010: 44: 358,366 Context, The growing popularity of less familiar methodologies in medical education research, and the use of related data collection methods, has made it timely to revisit some basic assumptions regarding knowledge and evidence. Methods, This paper outlines four major research paradigms and examines the methodological questions that underpin the development of knowledge through medical education research. Discussion, This paper explores the rationale behind different research designs, and shows how the underlying research philosophy of a study can directly influence what is captured and reported. It also explores the interpretivist perspective in some depth to show how less familiar paradigm perspectives can provide useful insights to the complex questions generated by modern healthcare practice. Conclusions, This paper concludes that the quality of research is defined by the integrity and transparency of the research philosophy and methods, rather than the superiority of any one paradigm. By demonstrating that different methodological approaches deliberately include and exclude different types of data, this paper highlights how competing knowledge philosophies have practical implications for the findings of a study. [source] "Roll Back Malaria, Roll in Development"?POPULATION AND DEVELOPMENT REVIEW, Issue 1 2009Reassessing the Economic Burden of Malaria Recent efforts to mobilize support for malaria control have highlighted the economic burden of malaria and the value of malaria control for generating economic development. These claims have a long history. Beginning in the early twentieth century, they became the primary justification for malaria-control programs in the American South and in other parts of the globe, including British India. Economists conducted none of these studies. Following World War II and the development of new anti-malarial drugs and pesticides, including DDT, malaria control and eradication were increasingly presented as instruments for eliminating economic underdevelopment. By the 1960s, however, economists and demographers began to raise serious substantive and methodological questions about the basis of these claims. Of particular concern was the role of rapid population growth, resulting in part from the decline of malaria mortality, in undermining the short-term economic gains achieved through malaria control. Despite these concerns, malaria continues to be presented as an economic problem in the work of Jeffrey Sachs and others, justifying massive investments in malaria control. The methodological basis of these claims is examined. The paper concludes that while malaria takes a dreadful toll in human lives and causes significant economic losses for individuals, families, and some industries, the evidence linking malaria control to national economic growth remains unconvincing. In addition, the evidence suggests that there are potential costs to justifying malaria-eradication campaigns on macroeconomic grounds. [source] Tales from the archive: methodological and ethical issues in historical geography researchAREA, Issue 3 2010Francesca P L Moore This paper is an exploration of methodological and ethical issues in historical geography research. Drawing on the experience of researching the historical geographies of abortion in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Lancashire, the paper discusses some of the ethical and methodological questions that historical research on sensitive topics raises. This paper investigates the politics of the archive and the forms of censorship researchers may encounter. It also explores the possibility of a conflict of interest between researcher and participant, including the dilemmas researchers face when research participants are dead, but remain important figures in the community. Moreover, the paper argues that the recent burgeoning interest in family and local history makes questions of method and ethics far more urgent for the geographer. In conclusion, the paper calls for more dialogue within geography about researching sensitive subjects, and also between geography and other disciplines. [source] | |||||||||||||