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Critical Discussion (critical + discussion)
Selected AbstractsConceptual Equivocation and Epistemic RelevanceDIALECTICA, Issue 2 2009Mikkel Gerken Much debate has surrounded "switching" scenarios in which a subject's reasoning is said to exhibit the fallacy of equivocation (Burge 1988; Boghossian 1992, 1994). Peter Ludlow has argued that such scenarios are "epistemically prevalent" and, therefore, epistemically relevant alternatives (Ludlow 1995a). Since a distinctive feature of the cases in question is that the subject blamelessly engages in conceptual equivocation, we may label them ,equivocational switching cases'. Ludlow's influential argument occurs in a discussion about compatibilism with regards to anti-individualism (or content externalism) and self-knowledge. However, the issue has wide-reaching consequences for many areas of epistemology. Arguably, the claim that equivocational switching cases are epistemically relevant may bear on the epistemology of inference, testimony, memory, group rationality and belief revision. Ludlow's argument proceeds from a now well-known "down to Earth" switching-case of a subject, Biff, who travels between the US and the UK. I argue that Ludlow's case-based argument fails to support the general claim that conceptual equivocational switching cases are prevalent and epistemically relevant. Thus, the discussion addresses the basis of some poorly understood issues regarding the epistemological consequences of anti-individualism. Simultaneously, the discussion is broadened from the narrow focus on self-knowledge. Finally, the critical discussion serves as the basis for some general reflections on epistemic relevance and the epistemic risks associated with conceptual equivocation. Specifically, I suggest that philosophy is an area where the risk of conceptual equivocation is extraordinarily high. [source] New insights on attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder pharmacogenomicsDRUG DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH, Issue 3 2004Luis Augusto Rohde Abstract Although there is an impressive literature documenting both a strong participation of genetics in the etiology of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and a high rate of response to stimulants and atomoxetine, surprisingly few studies on the pharmacogenomics of ADHD were conducted. This review aims to present a critical discussion of findings from recent investigations on this emerging new area of research. We performed a systematic computer review of the literature on ADHD pharmacogenomics. In addition, we contacted some research centers involved in research on ADHD genetics, asking for any kind of nonpublished data relevant for the topic of this revision. This review strategy identified only seven papers presenting nonduplicated research findings on ADHD pharmacogenomics. Contact with other investigators resulted in five more studies presented in medical meetings or still nonpublished. The majority of investigations are on dopaminergic genes, especially on polymorphisms at the dopamine transporter gene (DAT1). Although there were some instigating preliminary results suggesting the association between the homozygosity for the 10-repeat allele at DAT1 gene and response to methylphenidate, recent studies were not able to replicate these previous findings. Very few investigations addressed the role of nondopaminergic genes, or gene-to-gene interactions in ADHD pharmacogenomics. Pharmacogenomic studies of ADHD are in their infancy. We presented a discussion on the limitations and possible future directions of the research in the field. Drug Dev. Res. 62:172,179, 2004. © 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Space, culture and economy,a question of practiceGEOGRAFISKA ANNALER SERIES B: HUMAN GEOGRAPHY, Issue 1 2001Kirsten Simonsen This article addresses the current debate within geography and other circles studying urban and regional development of the relationship between culture and economy. It revolves around two arguments. First, that the relationship should be seen not only as a question of epochal change, of de-differentiation and culturalisation of the economy; it should be considered as an analytical rather than a historical question. Second, it is argued that a theoretical articulation may be gainfully employed starting from the level of social ontology-particularly an ontology of practice. These arguments are developed starting from a critical discussion of two dominant bodies of thought about the relationship, following which, a demonstration of the inseparability of practice and meaning is used to conduct a theoretical re-articulation of culture and economy. Finally, the spatiality of the culture economy relation is considered, displacing the emphasis from connectivity in bounded regions towards joint involvement in the production of space on different scales. [source] Cultural Districts, Property Rights and Sustainable Economic GrowthINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF URBAN AND REGIONAL RESEARCH, Issue 1 2002Walter Santagata The purpose of this article is to analyse the economic properties as well as the institutions governing the start-up and evolution of cultural districts. The first part of the article reviews the relationships between culture, viewed as an idiosyncratic good, and the theory of industrial districts. The second part comprises a critical discussion of four models of cultural districts: the industrial cultural district (mainly based on positive externalities, localized culture and traditions in ,arts and crafts'); the institutional cultural district (chiefly relying on the assignment of property rights); the museums cultural district (based on network externalities and the search for optimal size); and the metropolitan cultural district (based on communication technologies, performing arts and electronic trade). The assignment of intellectual property rights to local idiosyncratic cultural goods seems to be the most significant way to differentiate among cultural districts. The final section discusses a possible convergence of all district models towards the institutional district, based on the creation of a system of property rights as a means to protect localized production. Cet article tente d'analyser les propriétés économiques et les institutions qui régissent la création et l'évolution de districts culturels. La première partie étudie les relations entre la culture , vue comme un bien idiosyncrasique , et la théorie des districts industriels. La deuxième partie est un débat critique sur quatre modèles de districts culturels: le district culturel industriel (basé essentiellement sur des externalités positives, des cultures et traditions artisanales locales), le district culturel institutionnel (s'appuyant principalement sur l'attribution de droits de propriété), le district culturel des musées (fondé sur des effets d'entraînement en réseau et la recherche d'une taille optimale), et le district culturel métropolitain (basé sur les technologies de communication, des représentations artistiques et le commerce électronique). L'attribution de droits de propriété intellectuelle sur des biens culturels idiosyncrasiques locaux semble être la meilleure manière de différencier les districts culturels. La dernière partie de l'article examine une convergence possible de tous les modèles de district vers le district institutionnel, en s'appuyant sur la création d'un système de droits de propriété comme moyen de protection d'une production locale. [source] The use of simulation and post-simulation interview to examine the knowledge involved in community nursing assessment practiceJOURNAL OF ADVANCED NURSING, Issue 5 2000Alison Bryans PhD MSc BA DipHV RGN RNT The use of simulation and post-simulation interview to examine the knowledge involved in community nursing assessment practice This paper describes the development of an innovative research approach which used the complementary methods of simulation and post-simulation interview to examine the knowledge-base involved in community nursing assessment practice in the United Kingdom. The study commenced in 1994 and the main phase of data-gathering took place over a 3-week period in 1995. Having outlined the study's aim, context and theoretical background, this paper focuses on the two main methods of data-gathering used. Detailed description of the simulation method and the post-simulation interview and the rationales for their use are followed by critical discussion which identifies their particular strengths and weaknesses. Threats to validity are also considered. It is argued that the combined use of a simulated assessment and a post-simulation structured interview has great potential as a means of exploring the knowledge involved in community nursing assessment practice. [source] VARIETY OF METHODOLOGICAL APPROACH IN ECONOMICSJOURNAL OF ECONOMIC SURVEYS, Issue 3 2007Sheila C. Dow Abstract It has been argued by some that the distinction between orthodox economics and heterodox economics does not fit the growing variety in economic theory, unified by a common methodological approach. On the other hand, it remains a central characteristic of heterodox economics that it does not share this methodological approach, but rather represents a range of alternative methodological approaches. The paper explores the evidence, and arguments, for variety in economics at different levels, and a range of issues which arise. This requires in turn a discussion of the meaning of variety in economics at the different levels of reality, methodology, method and theory. It is concluded that there is scope for more, rather than less, variety in economic methodologies, as well as within methodologies. Further, if variety is not to take the form of ,anything goes', then critical discussion by economists of different approaches to economics, and of variety itself, is required. [source] The Returns to Education: MacroeconomicsJOURNAL OF ECONOMIC SURVEYS, Issue 2 2003Barbara Sianesi We offer an extensive summary and a critical discussion of the empirical literature on the impact of human capital on macro-economic performance, with a particular focus on UK policy. We also highlight methodological issues and make recommendations for future research priorities. Taking the studies as a whole, the evidence that human capital increases productivity is compelling, though still largely divided on whether the stock of education affects the long-run level or growth rate of GDP. A one-year increase in average education is found to raise the level of output per capita by between three and six percent according to augmented neo-classical specifications, while leading to an over one percentage point faster growth according to estimates from the new-growth theories. Still, over the short-run planning horizon (four years) the empirical estimates of the change in GDP are of similar orders of magnitude in the two approaches. The impact of increases at different levels of education appear to depend on the level of a country's development, with tertiary education being the most important for growth in OECD countries. Education is found to yield additional indirect benefits to growth. More preliminary evidence seems to indicate that type, quality and efficiency of education matter for growth too. [source] Development economics at a crossroads?JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, Issue 7 2006Introduction to a policy arena Abstract This introduction reviews some of the issues and controversies within development economics over the last half century. Particular attention is given to the status of development economics as a sub-discipline of economics and to the relationship between theoretical and empirical contributions. There is a focus on the controversies which exist within the economics profession over some very important theoretical and empirical issues relating to the analysis of the economies of developing countries and their interaction with the international economy. A critical discussion of the proposition that ,development economics' is actually little more than ,the economics of developing countries' raises the questions of the nature of development economics and whether it is at a ,crossroads'. The introduction concludes with brief overviews of the five articles which follow and some reflections on the future of development economics. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Interferon-, therapy: Evaluation of routes of administration and delivery systemsJOURNAL OF PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCES, Issue 1 2002Husam M. Younes Abstract Although different routes and delivery systems have been used to deliver interferon-, (IFN-,) for the treatment of a variety of viral and neoplastic diseases, little has been reported regarding the most efficient and least toxic routes and drug delivery modes required to achieve these goals. To have a greater understanding of the best strategies to use to administer this cytokine in an efficient, stable, and safe manner, this review details aspects of IFN-, concerning its mechanism of action, physical properties, and pharmacokinetics. One important conclusion that is drawn from this analysis is that a consistent, local concentration of IFN-, is necessary to achieve an optimal therapeutic response. A critical discussion covering the advantages and limitations of the currently used methodologies to deliver IFN-, in such a fashion is presented. © 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc. and the American Pharmaceutical Association J Pharm Sci 91:2,17, 2002 [source] Evaluating the Audit ExplosionLAW & POLICY, Issue 3 2003Michael Power This paper reviews the claim that there has been an audit explosion in recent years and seeks to refine the argument in terms of its institutional and behavioral effects and its underlying causes and consequences. A framework for greater comparative sensitivity is suggested, both in cross-national and cross-sectoral terms, which focuses on variation in the knowledge base, formal organization, and operational dimensions of auditing. Finally, a preliminary framework for evaluating the design of auditing practices is developed that could inform a post-Enron critical discussion of the problems and the potential for auditing in the future. [source] Protecting the vulnerable: legality, harm and theftLEGAL STUDIES, Issue 3 2003Alan L Bogg The law of theft, as understood in Gomez and Hinks, has been the occasion of almost unanimous academic condemnation and of robust dissenting opinions in the House of Lords. While much of the critical discussion is sophisticated and challenging, it is important that the baby is not to be expelled with the bathwater. We suggest that one argument in favour of the current position is that it offers distinct protection to some of the more vulnerable members of society. This advantage ought nevertheless to be sacrificed if it can be purchased only at the cost of violating the rule of law and the harm principle. But our examination of these ideas reveals that the price need not be paid. The rule of law contains not one idea, but a plurality of ideas, many of which support the current position. As for the harm principle, it is notable that Hinks does not castigate harmless behaviour; rather it attacks the wrong of exploitation. This raises many difficult issues, but we argue that unless such exploitative behaviour is explicitly addressed in Legislation, reforming the current ,broad' understanding of the law in favour of a ,reductive' account assimilating theft to non-voluntary transfers would be a retrograde step. In principle the new concern for protecting the vulnerable from exploitation is welcome. [source] Localised knowledge spillovers vs. innovative milieux: Knowledge "tacitness" reconsideredPAPERS IN REGIONAL SCIENCE, Issue 3 2001Stefano Breschi Innovative milieux; regional systems; nkowledge spillovers; externalities; industrial districts Abstract. This article provides a critical discussion of the recent econometric literature on "localised knowledge spillovers" and the related notion of tacit knowledge. The basic claim of the article is that the increasing, and more or less automatic reliance of industrial geographers upon such econometric evidence and theoretical concepts to support their work on industrial districts, hi-tech agglomerations and, more broadly, local innovation systems is not well placed and risks to generate conceptual confusion and to distort research agendas. Following some recent advances in the economics of knowledge, the article also suggests that more research efforts should instead be devoted to exploring how knowledge is actually transmitted, among whom, at what distance, and on the basis of which codebooks. [source] Five Arguments for Deliberative DemocracyPOLITICAL STUDIES, Issue 5 2000Maeve Cooke Five arguments in favour of deliberative democracy are considered. These focus on its educative power, on its community-generating power, on the fairness of the procedure of public deliberation, on the epistemic quality of its outcomes and on the congruence of the deliberative democratic ideal ,with whom we are'. The first four arguments are shown to be inadequate. The fifth argument, it is claimed, not only provides the most convincing defence of deliberative democracy but can also be used to decide rationally between competing interpretations of the deliberative ideal. By way of illustration, the essay concludes with a critical discussion of the rival versions proposed by Rawls and Habermas. [source] ANALYSIS, ABSTRACTION PRINCIPLES, AND SLINGSHOT ARGUMENTSRATIO, Issue 1 2006James Levine Frege's views regarding analysis and synomymy have long been the subject of critical discussion. Some commentators, led by Dummett, have argued that Frege was committed to the view that each thought admits of a unique ultimate analysis. However, this interpretation is in apparent conflict with Frege's criterion of synonymy, according to which two sentence express the same thought if one cannot understand them without regarding them as having the same truth,value. In a recent article in this journal, Drai attempts to reconcile Frege's criterion of synonymy with unique ultimate analysis by holding that, for Frege, if two sentences satisfy the criterion without being intensionally isomorphic, at most one of them is a privileged representation of the thought expressed. I argue that this proposal fails, because it conflicts not only with Frege's views of abstraction principles but also with slingshot arguments (including one presented by Drai herself) that accurately reflect Frege's commitment to the view that sentences alike in truth,value have the same Bedeutung. While Drai helpfully connects Frege's views of abstraction principles with such slingshot arguments, this connection cannot become fully clear until we recognise that Frege rejects unique ultimate analysis. [source] IN DEFENCE OF PRIORITY REVIEW VOUCHERSBIOETHICS, Issue 7 2009JORN SONDERHOLM ABSTRACT Infectious and parasitic diseases cause enormous health problems in the developing world whereas they leave the developed one relatively unscathed. Research and development (R&D) of drugs for diseases that mainly affect people in developing countries is limited. The problem that relatively few drugs are available for diseases that cause an enormous burden of disease in the developing world is called the ,availability problem'. In recent years, the availability problem has received quite a bit of attention. A number of proposals have been fielded as to how this problem might be minimized. Wild-card patent extensions, advance market commitments, cash prizes and the Health Impact Fund are prominent examples of such proposals. These proposals can be thought of as pull-mechanisms for R&D of drugs for neglected diseases. What has been coined a ,priority review voucher' is another pull-mechanism. This paper is a critical discussion of this pull-mechanism. First, the original priority review voucher scheme, as proposed by Ridley et al. (2006), is described. A number of objections to this scheme are thereafter presented. A few amendments to the original scheme are then suggested, and it is argued that with these amendments in place, the priority review voucher scheme constitutes an attractive way of stimulating R&D of drugs for neglected diseases. [source] Beyond Being Marginal: Gender and International Relations in BritainBRITISH JOURNAL OF POLITICS & INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, Issue 2 2007Judith Squires In this introduction, we situate ,gender and international relations in Britain'. We discuss our understandings of gender, I/international R/relations and GIR. In the second section we discuss the relationship of feminist to gendered IR, arguing that while intimately related, they are nonetheless not synonymous. We turn in the third section to a critical discussion of feminist IR's tendency to see itself as marginal to mainstream IR, a move that contributes to the marginalisation it laments. In the fourth section we compare the development of GIR with gender in Politics, which has been less concerned from the outset with issues of marginality. In the final section we argue that GIR has come into its own, introducing the articles in this issue as instances of self-assured gendered analyses of ,things international'. [source] Brecht's Pastiche History Play: Renaissance Drama and Modernist Theatre in Leben Eduards Des Zweiten Von EnglandGERMAN LIFE AND LETTERS, Issue 4 2003Bruce Gaston This article examines Brecht's Leben Eduards des Zweiten von England from the historical perspective of its first performances in 1924, paying particular attention to the status of Renaissance drama in Germany and the emerging Modernist movement. This approach runs counter to previous critical discussions which have been implicitly or explicitly comparative. The emphasis on Marlowe has led to a neglect of the many parallels in Eduard II. with works by Shakespeare, works that Brecht, like most educated Germans, would have known. An examination of attitudes to English Renaissance drama during the period leads to the conclusion that Eduard II. is not a criticism of its model, since minimal knowledge of Edward II meant that most of the audience were not in a position to compare the two plays. Rather, the play is a pastiche, a spurious Renaissance history play that emphasised the aspects of Renaissance drama that corresponded to the Modernist aesthetic paradigm, and that also reflected Brecht's own interests and preoccupations. In Eduard II. a Modernist reinterpretation of Renaissance theatre was put up in opposition to the orthodox view of Shakespeare, and thus embodied a challenge to the dominant theatrical tradition which had claimed Shakespeare as its own. [source] The self, the psyche and the world: a phenomenological interpretationTHE JOURNAL OF ANALYTICAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 5 2009Roger Brooke Abstract:, This paper takes as its starting point Jung's definition of the self as the totality of the psyche. However, because the term psyche remains conceptually unclear the concept of the self as totality, origin and goal, even centre, remains vague. With reference to Heidegger's analysis of human being as,Dasein, as well as Jung's writings, it is argued that Jung's concept of psyche is not a synonym for mind but is the world in which we live psychologically. An understanding of the psyche as existentially situated requires us to rethink some features of the self. For instance, the self as origin is thus not a pre-existential integrate of pure potentiality but the original gathering of existence in which, and out of which, personal identity is constituted. The ego emerges out of the self as the development and ownership of aspects of an existence that is already situated and gathered. Relations between the ego and the self are about what is known, or admitted, and its relation with what is already being lived within the gathering that is existence. The self as psyche, origin, and centre are discussed, as well as the meaning of interiority. Epistemological assumptions of object relations theory are critically discussed. The paper also includes critical discussions of recent papers on the self. Translations of Abstract Cet article prend pour point de départ la définition par Jung du soi comme totalité de la psyché. Cependant, du fait du manque de clarté conceptuelle du terme « psyché», le concept de soi comme totalité, origine et but, voire comme centre, demeure vague. En référence à l'analyse de Heidegger de l'être humain comme,Dasein,ainsi qu'aux écrits de Jung, j'émets l'hypothèse que le concept de psyché n'est pas synonyme d'esprit pour Jung, mais du monde dans lequel nous vivons psychologiquement. Une compréhension existentielle de la psyché suppose que nous repensions certaines des caractéristiques du soi. Ainsi par exemple, le soi comme origine n'est pas un amalgame pré-existentiel de potentialités pures mais il est formé par l'existence dans laquelle et à partir de laquelle se constitue l'identité personnelle. Le moi émerge du soi comme le développement et l'appropriation d'aspects d'une existence déjà posée et assimilée. Les relations moi-soi portent sur du connu ou de l'admis, en lien avec ce qui se vit au sein de cet agrégat qu'est l'existence. Les notions de transformation, d'intégration et d'intériorité sont examinées. L'article comporte des discussions critiques d'articles récents sur le soi. Dieser Aufsatz geht von Jungs Definition des Selbst als Totalität des Seelischen aus. Da jedoch der Terminus Seele konzeptuell unklar bleibt, bleibt auch das Konzept des Selbst als Totalität, Ursprung und Ziel, ausgleichendes Zentrum vage. Mit Bezug auf Heideggers Analyse des Menschlichen als,Dasein,wie auch auf Jungs Schriften wird argumentiert, daß Jungs Entwurf des Seelischen kein Synonym für Geist darstellt, sondern die Welt, in der wir psychologisch leben, meint. Ein Verständnis der Seele als existentielle Situation verlangt von uns ein Neubedenken einiger Eigenschaften des Selbst. Zum Beispiel bedeutet das Selbst als Ursprung nicht ein vorexistentielles Vorhandensein reiner Potentialität, sondern die originäre Erfassung des Existierenden in dem und aus dem heraus sich persönliche Identität bildet. Das Ego entspringt aus dem Selbst als Entwicklungsprodukt und Träger von Aspekten einer Existenz, die schon vorfindlich und erfaßt ist. Beziehungen zwischen dem Ego und dem Selbst beinhalten Gewußtes oder Zugelassenes und dessen Relation zu demjenigen, was schon gelebt wird in dem Angehäuften was die Existenz darstellt. Transformation, Integration und Innerlichkeit werden diskutiert. Der Text beinhaltet kritische Würdigungen neuerer Veröffentlichungen über das Selbst. Questo scritto inizia con la definizione junghiana del sé come totalità della psiche. Tuttavia, poiché il termine psiche è concettualmente non chiaro, il concetto del sé come totalità, origine e meta, persino centro, resta vago. Riferendomi all'analisi di Heidegger dell'essere umano come ,Dasein' e anche agli scritti junghiani, sostengo che il concetto junghiano di psiche non è un sinonimo do mente, ma è il mondo in cui noi viviamo psicologicamente. Intendere la psiche come situata esistenzialmente richiede di ripensare alcuni aspetti del sé. Ad esempio, il sé come origine non è una integrazione pre-esistente di pure potenzialità, ma è l'insieme originario dell'esistenza nel quale, e fuori dal quale si costruisce l'identità personale. L'Io emerge dal sé come sviluppo e possesso di aspetti di una esistenza che è già situata e raccolta. Le relazioni tra l'io e il sè. Riguardano ciò che è conosciuto, o possibile, e la sua relazione con ciò che è già vivente all'interno dell'insieme di ciò che è esistente. Vengono discusse le trasformazioni, le integrazioni e l'interiorità. Questo scritto include anche discussioni critiche di recenti lavori sul sé. Este trabajo toma como punto de partida la definición de Jung del Ser (Self) como la totalidad de la psique. Sin embargo, porque el término psique queda conceptualmente poco claro el concepto del Self como totalidad, el origen y objetivo, aún central, queda vago. Con referencia al análisis del Ser Humano de Heidegger como Dasein, se discute el concepto de Jung de psique como no sinónimo de mente en los escritos de Jung sino como el mundo en el cual vivimos psicológicamente. Una comprensión de la psique como existencialmente ubicada nos requiere de volver a pensar algunas características del Self. Por ejemplo el Self como origen no es un pre-existente constituido de pura potencialidad sino la conjunción original de la existencia en la cual, y fuera de la cual, está constituida la identidad personal. El ego surge fuera del Self como el desarrollo y propiedad de aspectos de una existencia situada y conjugada. Las relaciones entre el ego y el Self están acerca de lo que es conocido, o es admitido, y su relación con lo que ya se ha vivido dentro de la conjugación que es la existencia. Se reflexiona sobre la transformación, la integración, y interioridad. El trabajo incluye discusiones críticas de escritos recientes sobre el Self. 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