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Introductory Essay (introductory + essay)
Selected AbstractsBeautiful and not So Beautiful Minds: An Introductory Essay on Economic Theory and the Supply of OilOPEC ENERGY REVIEW, Issue 1 2004Ferdinand E. Banks Both the teaching and the studying of energy economics have been severely disadvantaged by the emphasis placed on the Hotelling theory of resource exhaustion. For example, in the study of oil and gas economics, this unrealistic construction is fundamentally irrelevant, because it does not consider fixed investment, nor the (real) options associated with such things as starting or interrupting production. In addition, both economics students and teachers have failed to recognize the crucial importance of the reserves-to production ratio, as well as the research of M. King Hubbert. Among other things, this oversight has led to an irrational optimism, where expectations of the future availability of oil are concerned. To be more specific, the probability that the oil pessimists are correct is large enough to justify the attachment of a sizable discount factor to any claim of future oil abundance. [source] How Lutherans Read the Bible: A North American and Global ConversationDIALOG, Issue 1 2006By Dennis T. Olson Abstract:, Recent debates and conflicts over the interpretation of the Bible among Lutherans both in the U.S. and in other parts of the world impel us to consider our history in a Lutheran tradition, our present challenges, and an agenda for future directions. This introductory essay briefly introduces some of the distinctive Lutheran emphases in the use of Scripture, provides an overview of the other essays in this issue of Dialog which are largely focused on the North American context, and then offers a sample of what two Lutheran scholars in places other than the U.S. are thinking about their experiences as Lutherans using the Bible in places like Malaysia and Argentina. [source] Co-evolutionary Dynamics Within and Between Firms: From Evolution to Co-evolutionJOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES, Issue 8 2003Henk W. Volberda abstract The extensive selection,adaptation literature spans diverse theoretical perspectives, but is inconclusive on the role of managerial intentionality in organizational adaptation. Indeed this voluminous literature has more to say about selection and sources and causes of structural inertia than about self-renewing organizations that might counteract such inertia. In this introductory essay, we identify four co-evolutionary generative mechanisms (engines) , naïve selection, managed selection, hierarchical renewal and holistic renewal , which illustrate the extensive range of evolutionary paths that can take place in a population of organizations. In particular, the managed selection engine provides the foundations of the underlying principles of co-evolving self-renewing organizations: managing internal rates of change, optimizing self-organization, and balancing concurrent exploration and exploitation. However, it is altogether clear that empirical co-evolution research represents the next frontier for empirically resolving the adaptation selection debate. The essay concludes with a discussion of requirements for co-evolutionary empirical research and introduces the empirical papers in this Special Research Symposium. [source] Focus Introduction: Taking the Measure of Jonathan Edwards for Contemporary Religious EthicsJOURNAL OF RELIGIOUS ETHICS, Issue 2 2003Stephen A. Wilson and The Journal of Religious Ethics marks the tercentenary of Edwards's birth with the following collection of essays. In keeping with the overall mission of the journal, this tribute takes the form of historical and constructive reflection, in which diverse perspectives on Edwards's work and diverse forms of engagement with it supplement and correct one another. Our hope is that these essays will serve both to generate interest in Edwards's work among those who are unfamiliar with him, and to advance the discussion of central issues in theological and religious ethics. In this introductory essay, we will offer some reflections on Edwards's general significance for contemporary ethics, followed by a closer examination of his main texts and a brief summary of the essays collected here. [source] Philosophy After Hiroshima: From Power Politics to the Ethics of Nonviolence and Co-ResponsibilityAMERICAN JOURNAL OF ECONOMICS AND SOCIOLOGY, Issue 1 2009Article first published online: 18 FEB 200, Edward Demenchonok Philosophers from many different countries came to Hiroshima, Japan, in the summer of 2007 to discuss the problems of war and peace on the occasion of the Seventh World Congress of the International Society for Universal Dialogue (ISUD). The theme was After Hiroshima: Collective Memory, Philosophical Reflection and World Peace. The essays included in this volume were originally presented at that conference and reflect some of the aspects of these discussions. In the first three parts of this introductory essay, I will address ideas conveyed by discussions during the Hiroshima conference regarding an open history, as well as various aspects of violence-prone globalization and its challenges to ethics and to peace. Then, within this context, the fourth part of this introduction will provide a brief review of some of the main themes arising out of the conference and elaborated in the essays of the volume. [source] Desistance-Focused Criminal Justice Policy Research: Introduction to a Special Issue on Desistance from Crime and Public PolicyTHE HOWARD JOURNAL OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE, Issue 4 2004Stephen Farrall Only recently, however, have researchers started to forge links between studies of desistance from crime and ,What Works' in offender management policy (see especially, Maruna and Immarigeon 2004). This ,coming together' of research into why people stop offending and the (re-)emergence of concerns with effective practice is, like many partnerships, partly the result of good timing, partly the result of fortune, and not without its tensions and struggles. The purpose of this introductory essay, and indeed of this special issue, is to explore these tensions in greater depth than has been possible in previous work. [source] Making knowledge: explorations of the indissoluble relation between minds, bodies, and environmentTHE JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL ANTHROPOLOGICAL INSTITUTE, Issue 2010Trevor H.J. Marchand There is growing recognition among social and natural scientists that nature or nurture should not be studied in isolation, for their interdependence is not trivial, but vital. The aim of this volume is to progress anthropology's thinking about human knowledge by exploring the interdependence of nurture with nature; and more specifically the interdependence of minds, bodies, and environments. This introductory essay begins with an overview of the (often conflicting) positions that dominated the ,anthropology of knowledge' in the closing decades of the last century before proceeding to a discussion of recent convergences between cognitivists, phenomenologists, and practice theorists in their ,thinking about knowing'. In the following section I use my own studies with craftspeople to reflect on apprenticeship as both a mode of learning and a field method, since the majority of authors included in this volume also took up apprenticeships of one form or another. Next, the idea that ,cognition is individual' is firmly established, but it is equally conceded that ,making knowledge' is a process entailing interaction between interlocutors and practitioners with their total environment. Before concluding with a summary of the scope and contents of the volume, I briefly present a theory of ,shared production' in knowledge-making that draws upon recent literature in cognitive linguistics and neuroscience. Making knowledge, after all, is an ongoing process shared between people and with the world. Résumé Les chercheurs en sciences sociales et naturelles sont de plus en plus nombreux à reconnaître qu'il ne faut pas étudier séparément l'inné et l'acquis car leur interdépendance, loin d'être négligeable, est vitale. Le présent volume a pour but de faire progresser la réflexion anthropologique sur les connaissances humaines en explorant les interdépendances entre inné et acquis, et plus précisément l'interdépendance des esprits, des corps et des environnements. À titre d'introduction, le présent essai commence par une vue d'ensemble des prises de position (souvent conflictuelles) qui ont dominé« l'anthropologie de la connaissance » pendant les dernières décennies du XXe siècle, avant d'aborder les récentes convergences entre cognitivistes, phénoménologues et théoriciens de la pratique, dans leur « réflexion sur la connaissance ». Dans la section suivante, l'auteur s'appuie sur ses propres études des artisans pour réfléchir sur l'apprentissage, à la fois comme mode d'apprentissage et comme méthode de terrain, puisque la plupart des auteurs intervenant dans ce volume ont aussi entrepris l'une ou l'autre forme d'apprentissage. L'idée que « la cognition est individuelle » est ensuite solidement établie, mais il est également concédé que la « fabrication de connaissances » est un processus impliquant une interaction entre les interlocuteurs et praticiens et leur environnement global. Avant de conclure par un résumé de la portée et la teneur de ce volume, je présenterai rapidement une théorie de la « production partagée » de connaissances qui s'inspire de récentes publications en linguistique cognitive et en neurosciences. En définitive, la fabrication de connaissances est un processus continu, partagéentre les gens et avec le monde. [source] Department of Health Research Overviews , Past, Present and Future: An evaluation of the dissemination of the Blue Book, Child Protection: Messages from ResearchCHILD & FAMILY SOCIAL WORK, Issue 3 2000Weyts Since 1985 the Department of Health has been providing child care research overviews as a means of bringing together the findings of its funded research programmes. With each successive publication a pattern of design and dissemination has emerged. This is illustrated by Child Protection: Messages from Research ( Department of Health 1995), an overview of 20 studies of child protection. It included an introductory essay, summaries of each project and a set of ,True for Us' exercises. Publication was followed by national seminars and widespread distribution of free copies. Given the substantial investment, it seems timely to assess the impact of the dissemination process in terms of reaching and affecting practice. The survey sought to assess awareness, use and opinions of the report from social services, education and health professionals. It consisted of questionnaires administered by post and telephone calls to a representative sample of 600 professionals working in child protection, 292 of whom replied. The results demonstrate that the book is very well known among most professionals working in child welfare, particularly in social services, and is perceived to have affected the practice of over half of the respondents. The study supports the structure adopted for the report but suggests further benefits in employing a variety of dissemination strategies for different professional groups. Finally, the paper discusses the relationship between overviews and evidence-based services. [source] | |||||||||||||