This study explores the practical implications of the paradox of moral education, focusing on how Swedish social study teachers (civics, geography, history, and religious education) navigate conflicting responsibilities to convey values and facilitate critical thinking when addressing controversial issues in their classrooms. Through qualitative interviews and observations, teachers were found to often lead by example, maintaining neutrality and presenting diverse perspectives. This approach appears to foster students towards embracing liberal values, promoting independent decision-making and personal responsibility, but (...) it may come at the cost of critically evaluating these very ideals, norms, and values. The absence of official guidelines in the Swedish school system underscores the significance of understanding how teachers balance these conflicting responsibilities in their pedagogical practices. The study sheds light on the practical strategies employed by teachers, contributing valuable insights to a discourse traditionally centred on theoretical solutions to the paradox of moral education. (shrink)

Many competing ideas exist around teaching ‘standard’ high school social studies subjects such as history, government, geography, and economics. The purpose of this paper is to explore the potential of social studies teaching and learning as a moral activity. I first propose that current high school curriculum standards in the United States often fail in focusing on the kinds of sustained discourse and ideas necessary for students to develop an awareness and commitment to justice in a pluralistic (...) society. I then make the argument that understanding social studies as an inherently moral activity creates a space for transformative and meaningful learning to occur. Lastly, I contend that public schools are inextricably linked to understanding and creating elements of a just society and as such, hold equal potential to both support and severely hinder its development. (shrink)

This study examines what Social Studies teachers can learn from Gay-Straight Alliances (GSA) in terms of the content that club members examine and the queer pedagogical approaches they employ. Findings reveal how educators can borrow students’ queer teaching and learning practices, and integrate their insights within Social Studies classrooms to disrupt (hetero/cis)normativity. Data derived from semi-structured interviews with five Canadian high school GSA members were analyzed using the queer theoretical and pedagogical insights of Britzman (1995. Educational Theory, (...) 45(2), 151–165 ; 1998. Lost subjects, contested objects: towards a psychoanalytic inquiry of learning. New York, NY: State University of New York Press), Sedgwick (1990/2008. Epistemology of the closet. Berkeley and Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press.), and Shlasko (2005 Equity & Excellence in Education, 38(2), 123–134). Three prominent themes emerged: (1) GSAs’ queer educative role compensated for a void in LGBTQ curricular content. Although LGBTQ-inclusive content was evident within some Social Studies, English, and French classes participants called for their teachers to integrate more content that disrupts homophobia and transphobia; (2) the personal characteristics of GSA members provide insight into how Social Studies educators can mirror students’ drive to learn about and challenge preconceived and (hetero/cis)normative assumptions/beliefs; and (3) GSA's queer educational approaches differed from the (hetero/cis)normative teaching and learning practices of their educators. GSA members engaged in student-led dialogue, and spearheaded queer initiatives and events to contest anti-LGBTQ attitudes at their schools. It is argued that when educators follow the lead of GSA members they may enhance their approach to and engagement with LGBTQ topics, and expand the queer pedagogical potential of the Social Studies. (shrink)

Introduction. Starting from R. Merton’s pioneer works, social studies of science have been a major part of Western intellectual and scientific life. The total number of periodicals on the subject, that is over 20, illustrates the point best. Meanwhile Russian social studies of science are far less intensive. Moreover Western studies of social constructivist type still haven’t received sufficient coverage in Russian scientific literature. Our article is an attempt to somewhat reverse the situation. The aim of the (...) article is to analyze social constructivism evolution in the English speaking countries starting from Berger and Luckmann’s seminal work “The Social Construction of Reality” in 1966; to classify social constructivist versions of science together with their most prominent traits. Methods. When considering the problem, the author uses Y. Hacking’s schematic definition of social construction, P. Kitcher’s scheme of “socio-historical cluster” and M. Baghramian’s “objectivist conception of science”. Scientific novelty of the research. The analysis provides reasons for social constructivism popularity during the “science wars”; specifies social ontology and epistemic status of scientific knowledge in moderate versions of social constructivism; specifies some discourse peculiarities of radical versions of social constructivism (the consequence of somewhat unusual reception of continental tradition) and its view of the science. Results. The basic results are: a) certain convergence of ontological positions in analytic and moderate versions of social constructivist type, b) controversial issues of social (historical) approach to scientific explanation and c) controversial issues of postmodern rhetoric in radical versions. Conclusions. Social studies of science play an important role in science and society, the critical comments towards social constructivist versions notwithstanding. (shrink)

Despite the many contributions of nonhuman animals in history, nonhuman animal representations are seldom crafted with care and accuracy in curricular texts. Because of the anthropocentric vantage point of textbook creation, the nonhuman animal is often portrayed as an object, but as our relationship with the nonhuman world continues to deteriorate, we need now more than ever to consider the agency and subjectivity of nonhuman entities across time and space. In this article, I will use critical contextual analysis as a (...) research method to examine the representation of the horse in a commonly used textbook in middle and high schools in the United States titled World History: Patterns of Interaction to raise larger questions about how to engage with nonhuman animal presence in history with students. Using critical animal studies as a theoretical framework to illuminate the data, the findings reveal that the horse is depicted as agentless and is shown merely as a means for human animals to expand empire and perpetuate social norms. The exploration identifies a gap in the social studies scholarship that neglects the historical contributions of nonhuman animals in curriculum. This article will argue that juxtaposing anthropocentric curricular texts such as the one under investigation with narratives that illuminate nonhuman animal subjectivity is essential for building a more empathetic world and for cultivating a more inclusive historical narrative. (shrink)

ABSTRACT There is growing interest in epistemic injustice and its connection to education. However, the relation between social studies and epistemic injustice has not yet been adequately explored and this topic has been given insufficient attention by social studies educators. But it is regarded as an important resource for students who are socially disadvantaged to render their experiences intelligible. However, due to its unique status, it has also been an effective tool for those who are in power and (...) want to maintain social inequalities. For that reason, social studies is the subject most likely to give rise to epistemic injustice in the classroom. In this paper, we address this issue that is currently coming to the fore in social studies. We argue that cultivating moral sensitivity plays a substantive role in overcoming epistemic injustice and this cultivation comes with shaping student’s schemas by integrating the interpretive resources into social studies. (shrink)

This contribution explores the connection between health and subjectivity. Up until recently a marginally discussed topic in health theories, recent critical research in health psychology introduces notions of subjectivity to theories of health. These notions can be linked to phenomenology, embodied subjectivity, and psychosocial theories that have moved away from a partial, internal understanding of subjectivity. These recent theories tend to define subjectivity as a coherence of concrete, embodied and situated subjectivity that extends capabilities and activities towards a world of (...) social relations. The article at hand shows that embodied and situated subjectivity is a basic function of health that sustains the qualities of human life. To comprehend health as a subjective practice in human lives, we need an understanding of people’s subjective participation in their everyday social lives. Hence, I will argue for the concept of conduct of life as an important concept for health psychology. The concept of conduct of life enables an analysis of how people conduct their activities and of their access to life possibilities, within social settings and societal power systems. The concept can be used to analyse the connection between subjectivity and health in the cultural and social relations by which people actually live. (shrink)

The aim of this study is to obtain information about the awareness of social studies teacher candidates about the refugee problem in Turkey. In this regard, a group of teacher candidates are asked their opinion on the subject of refugees in Turkey and as to how they perceive the problem. Interview method is used in the study for data collection. The obtained data is subjected to content analysis via Nvivo 8 software package. As a result of the (...) study, it is observed that the participants residing in provinces with high refugee population have a more negative attitude towards refugees, whereas the ones in areas with no refugee population have a more positive attitude towards them. It is also observed that, in general, teacher candidates do not pay any special effort to acquire information about the subject. (shrink)

It is common practice for social studies in the elementary school day to be integrated into other subject areas, especially language arts. Also common in an elementary school day are unstructured spaces such as snack time or recess. In this paper, we present findings from a larger study on social studies integration within various subject areas to explore how two teachers (first and fifth grade) integrated social studies into unstructured spaces. These teachers integrated social studies (...) concepts and experiences into morning work, community building, snack time, and after-lunch reading to varying degrees. This study provides an inroad for conversation among researchers, teacher educators, and practicing teachers about the ideals and reality of elementary social studies with the hope of deepening students’ experiences. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Art in Social Studies: Exploring the World and Ourselves with RembrandtIftikhar Ahmad (bio)IntroductionRembrandt’s art lends itself as a fertile resource for teaching and learning social studies. His art not only captures the social studies themes relevant to the Dutch Golden Age, but it also offers a description of human relations transcending temporal and spatial frontiers. Rembrandt is an imaginative storyteller with a keen insight for minute (...) details. His narrative of the culture, society, economy, geography, and contemporary events of seventeenth-century Dutch life is as vivid and perceptive as a historian’s eloquent text. How people lived in community, how the city of Amsterdam functioned, how important religion was to people, how diverse and cosmopolitan the culture was, how interdependent the world was in the seventeenth century, and what the social and civic ideals of the Dutch people were during the Golden Age—Rembrandt’s paintings, etchings, and drawings neatly organize these and other social studies themes into visual messages. More importantly, our appreciation and interpretation of Rembrandt’s work helps us learn about not just Dutch society and culture of four hundred years ago but also about ourselves. The passion, emotions, conflicts, and inspirations of his subjects are essentially human and eternal, arousing empathy in every generation and cross-section of society. In this article I look at Rembrandt’s art for the purpose of teaching and learning social studies in our contemporary interdependent world—a world that is chronologically and geographically distant from the Dutch Golden Age but in many respects shares its enduring values, norms, ideals, pursuits, challenges, and possibilities. To do so, I employ a conceptual lens—the curriculum thematic strands of the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS)—to examine Rembrandt’s art in order to explore life and make meaning of the story that is being told about the human condition, and to seek out its relevance to ourselves and [End Page 19] our world in the early twenty-first century. Although Rembrandt’s oeuvre is extensive, including the diverse genres of self-portraits, group portraits, drawings, etchings, landscapes, and religious themes, for our limited purpose I have selected only those works that, in my judgment, correspond with the following seven of the ten thematic curriculum strands of the NCSS:CultureTime, Continuity, and ChangePeople, Places, and EnvironmentIndividual Development and IdentityProduction, Distribution, and ConsumptionGlobal ConnectionsCivic Ideals and PracticesThese thematic curriculum strands are derived from the foundational disciplines of the social sciences and humanities such as anthropology, history, geography, sociology, political science, psychology, economics, philosophy, and law, but they are conceptually interrelated.1 For example, culture is a core concept in anthropology but it is also relevant to Time, Continuity, and Change, which is the main concept in the history discipline. Similarly, culture is relevant to the theme of People, Places, and Environment, which is the central focus of geography. More importantly, since social studies is about human experiences, there is a general consensus among the social studies educators that classroom teachers should draw content knowledge not just from the social sciences as mentioned here but from wide sources “to construct curricular experiences enabling students to actively relate new knowledge to existing understanding.”2 That is to say all fields of knowledge that are related to human civilization and that help in developing students’ skills in reflective thinking, decision making, and problem solving are relevant to social studies education. Those fields also include art. Rembrandt’s art is especially relevant because his themes are universal and the social, political, and economic contexts in which he created his work—globalization, individualism, and free enterprise—are more or less similar to our age.It needs to be mentioned that by looking at Rembrandt’s art from the social studies perspective it is not my intention to strip his work of its aesthetic scope and value. On the contrary, by looking at Rembrandt in the social studies classroom I seek to humanize social studies education itself. That [End Page 20] is to say I wish to step back from the conventional view of social studies to feel free from the bonds of traditionalism and discover, describe, analyze... (shrink)

Based on a national social studies survey that included over 10,000 respondents from 44 states, this study examined the emphasis on diversity of religious view (EDRV) in public school P-12 social s...

Since the advent of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, classrooms in the U.S. have experienced a steady decline in the amount of time teachers spend on social studies, with the elementary grades suffering the highest level of decline. There is currently a need to understand how teachers perceive the problem of insufficient social studies instruction time and gain their perceptions of curriculum integration as a solution. The purpose of the qualitative case study was to (...) explore how 14 elementary social studies teachers in Grades 3 to 5 integrate social studies throughout the curriculum. In addition, another aim was to evaluate the outcomes of employing an integrated social studies curriculum on teaching civic competence to students. This qualitative case study included interviews and focus group discussions; data were then analyzed using a thematic analysis. It was discovered that teachers believed that by increasing instructional time for social studies, students’ understanding of the subject and its concepts should also increase; however, the key disadvantage was the need to have adequate time and planning to integrate the subject. The interviewed teachers shared that the best method of integration is by incorporating social studies concepts in classroom projects and activities. From the results, it is then recommended for the integrated curriculum theory to be strongly considered by the key educational decisions makers in the country. The results can help the schools determine how to best increase social studies instructional time, improve quality of social studies education, and the positive effects of instilling civic competence among their students. (shrink)

This study examines how one student teaching seminar employed collective critical observation and reflection of an experienced high school social studies teacher's pedagogy using a multimedia representation of teaching. Pre-service teachers watched this teacher implement two full class lessons and reflections on teaching about freedom of speech. This study's pre-service social studies teachers exhibited a developing ability, through collective observation, to critically reflect on their individual methodological and philosophical goals, social studies teaching and learning, and (...) professional and curricular visions in relation to their student teaching experiences and future practice. The study's findings offer implications for how pre-service social studies teachers critically reflect on their practice, while also developing knowledge of learners, subject matter, and teaching social studies. (shrink)

This study investigated the beliefs that formed teachers’ intentions to integrate STEM content into their social studies instruction. Participants were 60 elementary, middle, and high school in-service teachers who attended a summer history workshop on Abraham Lincoln. Data were collected by qualitative and quantitative instruments. Beliefs about likely outcomes of integrating STEM, and beliefs about persons who would approve, or disapprove, of STEM integration were elicited from teachers, and content analyzed. The resulting outcome and normative beliefs were used (...) as stems for items in the quantitative instrument. Quantitative data were analyzed primarily by correlation and multiple regression. This study found that attitude toward the behavior, integrating STEM, was formed by 15 outcome beliefs, subjective norm was formed by five normative beliefs, and that attitude and norm predicted behavioral intention. The theory we used enabled us to calculate the numerical contribution of each of the beliefs that were important in forming teachers’ intentions. The results have implications for theory, research, and practice in social studies education. In the realm of practice, these implications are for the initial preparation of, and the subsequent professional development of social studies teachers, both at the elementary and secondary levels. (shrink)

The recently rising field of Critical Data Studies is still facing fundamental questions. Among these is the enigma of digital subjectivation. Who are the subjects of Big Data? A field where this question is particularly pressing is finance. Since the 1990s traders have been steadily integrated into computerized data assemblages, which calls for an ontology that eliminates the distinction between human sovereign subjects and non-human instrumental objects. The latter subjectivize traders in pre-conscious ways, because human consciousness runs too (...) slow to follow the volatility of the market. In response to this conundrum Social Studies of Finance has drawn on Actor-Network Theory to interpret financial markets as technically constructed networks of human and non-human actors. I argue that in order to develop an explicitly critical data study it might be advantageous to refer to Maurizio Lazzarato’s theory of machinic subjugation instead. Although both accounts describe financial digital subjectivation similarly, Lazzarato has the advantage of coupling his description to a clear critique of and resistance to finance. (shrink)

This Q methodological study explored the ways preservice and in-service social studies teachers engaged with a collection of social media posts about the Black Lives Matter movement. The study asked participants to share their reactions to the posts as well as how they would determine which posts they might present to their students in the classroom. The analysis of the Q sorts identified three subject positions available to these social studies teachers—labeled the Context Provider, the (...) Data Debater, and the Critical Confronter. Notably, each of these subject positions was underscored by a prevalent discourse of teachers working as a Guide on the Side. These findings suggest that social studies teachers’ pedagogical imaginings of engaging students with social media content and in the analysis of current social and political movements for justice are significantly informed by dominant discourses of teacher “neutrality.”. (shrink)

The tenuous state of elementary social studies has been explained by scholars who cite lack of time and curriculum resources devoted to social studies; teachers’ emphasis on tested subjects; and instruction that distorts, trivializes, or omits social studies content. Integrating social studies with other core subjects has been positioned as a viable approach to address some of these challenges, but not all teachers have a healthy understanding of integration as an avenue for robust (...) class='Hi'>social studies instruction. This qualitative study explores 14 elementary teachers’ stances to social studies as a core content area—with particular emphasis on content integration—in public schools. By investigating ways in which practicing teachers talk about social studies in their classrooms, this paper adds to the growing body of scholarship documenting the peripheral status of social studies in early grades. Findings offer theoretical implications for interpreting how and why social studies continues to be marginalized in early grades by focusing on participants’ healthy and unhealthy understandings of content integration. (shrink)

In _The Excessive Subject: A New Theory of Social Change_, Molly Anne Rothenberg uncovers an innovative theory of social change implicit in the writings of radical social theorists, such as Pierre Bourdieu, Michel de Certeau, Judith Butler, Ernesto Laclau, and Slavoj?i?ek. Through case studies of these writers' work, Rothenberg illuminates how this new theory calls into question currently accepted views of social practices, subject formation, democratic interaction, hegemony, political solidarity, revolutionary acts, and the ethics of alterity. (...) Finding a common dissatisfaction with the dominant paradigms of social structures in the authors she discusses, Rothenberg goes on to show that each of these thinkers makes use of Lacan's investigations of the causality of subjectivity in an effort to find an alternative paradigm. Labeling this paradigm 'extimate causality', Rothenberg demonstrates how it produces a nondeterminacy, so that every subject bears some excess; paradoxically, this excess is what structures the social field itself. Whilst other theories of social change, subject formation, and political alliance invariably conceive of the elimination of this excess as necessary to their projects, the theory of extimate causality makes clear that it is ineradicable. To imagine otherwise is to be held hostage to a politics of fantasy. As she examines the importance as well as the limitations of theories that put extimate causality to work, Rothenberg reveals how the excess of the subject promises a new theory of social change. By bringing these prominent thinkers together for the first time in one volume, this landmark text will be sure to ignite debate among scholars in the field, as well as being an indispensable tool for students. (shrink)

In _The Excessive Subject: A New Theory of Social Change_, Molly Anne Rothenberg uncovers an innovative theory of social change implicit in the writings of radical social theorists, such as Pierre Bourdieu, Michel de Certeau, Judith Butler, Ernesto Laclau, and Slavoj?i?ek. Through case studies of these writers' work, Rothenberg illuminates how this new theory calls into question currently accepted views of social practices, subject formation, democratic interaction, hegemony, political solidarity, revolutionary acts, and the ethics of alterity. (...) Finding a common dissatisfaction with the dominant paradigms of social structures in the authors she discusses, Rothenberg goes on to show that each of these thinkers makes use of Lacan's investigations of the causality of subjectivity in an effort to find an alternative paradigm. Labeling this paradigm 'extimate causality', Rothenberg demonstrates how it produces a nondeterminacy, so that every subject bears some excess; paradoxically, this excess is what structures the social field itself. Whilst other theories of social change, subject formation, and political alliance invariably conceive of the elimination of this excess as necessary to their projects, the theory of extimate causality makes clear that it is ineradicable. To imagine otherwise is to be held hostage to a politics of fantasy. As she examines the importance as well as the limitations of theories that put extimate causality to work, Rothenberg reveals how the excess of the subject promises a new theory of social change. By bringing these prominent thinkers together for the first time in one volume, this landmark text will be sure to ignite debate among scholars in the field, as well as being an indispensable tool for students. (shrink)

The revised edition of Subject to Ourselves, a lively and provocative book that was a leader on its topic in England, uses psychoanalytic theory as the basis for a fresh reassessment of the nature of modernity and postmodernism. Analyzing changing experiences of selfhood, desire, interpersonal relations, culture and globalization, the author develops a novel account of postmodernity that supplants current understandings of "fragmented selves." Subject to Ourselves includes a diverse set of case studies, including the power of fantasy in military (...) violence and war, the debate over sexual seduction in psychoanalysis, and the cultural uses of media and new information technologies. The book will be essential reading for students and professionals of social and political theory, psychoanalytic studies, psychology and cultural studies, as well as those with an interest in the modernity/postmodernity debate. Praise for the First Edition: 'This book not only fills an important gap in the literature, for it summarises a debate that is scattered across a decade of rather difficult texts, but also offers a resolution that is sensible and grounded in the best current thinking. It will be widely read by graduate students, faculty, and professionals in the humanities and social sciences.' Choice 'This is an informative and enjoyable book, which will be of use to students and academics...It is accessibly written and provides useful summaries of the different theories and debates in cultural and psychoanalytic theory. Recommended.' Radical Philosophy. (shrink)

Although inquiry-based instruction has been a centerpiece of progressive visions of social studies education almost since its inception as a school subject a century ago, teachers often struggle to conceptualize it in ways that make true inquiry possible for their students. In this essay I suggest that social educators strengthen their connection with John Dewey’s pragmatic epistemology as the foundation of inquiry-based teaching in social studies, arguing in support of an approach that holds the promise of advancing (...) goals associated with meaningful democratic citizenship education. (shrink)

In this wide-ranging study of subjectivity and intersubjectivity, Roger Frie develops a critical account of recent conceptions of the subject in philosophy and pdychoanalytic theory. Using a line of analysis strongly grounded in the European tradition, Frie examines the complex relationship between the theories of subjectivity, intersubjectivity, language and love in the work of a diverse body of philosophers and psychoanalyists. He provides lucid interpretations of the work of Sartre, Binswanger, Lacan, Habermas, Heidegger, Freud and others. Because it integrates (...) perspectives from continental philosophy, analytical philosophy, and psychoanalytic theory, this book will appeal to a wide audience in the areas of philosophy, history of philosophy, psychoanalysis, and social theory. (shrink)

The study of the subjectivity and the subject appears today as a disputed field by different perspectives. In this article, we expose a framework to understand the subjectivity in a cultural historical approach and we propose theoretical, methodological and axiological issues for the study of subjectivity. We discuss the place of discourse in the study of social subjectivity through structuralism’s positions and proposals of social constructionism. Finally, we defend that the Critical Discourse Analysis proposed by (...) Norman Fairclough as a solid theoretical-methodological perspective for the study of the complex links between subjectivity, discourse and social reality. We propose that this approach, based on categories such as discursive practice, social practice hegemony, discursive order, intertextuality and discursive shift, can address the theoretical, methodological and axiological challenges regarding the study of subjectivity. El estudio de la subjetividad y del sujeto aparece en la actualidad como un campo en disputa por distintas corrientes y posiciones. Las propuestas para el estudio del campo de la subjetividad variarán de acuerdo a las concepciones teóricas y supuestos que sobre ella se tengan. En el presente artículo se plantean una serie de desafíos teóricos, metodológicos y axiológicos necesarios de afrontar para el estudio de la subjetividad. Asimismo, se discute el lugar del discurso en el estudio de la subjetividad social, debatiendo con las posiciones estructuralistas y con las propuestas del construccionismo social. Por otra parte, se expone una forma de comprender la subjetividad desde el enfoque histórico cultural y, en consistencia con lo anterior, se plantea una perspectiva teórica-metodológica pertinente para abordar las complejas relaciones entre subjetividad, discurso y realidad social: el Análisis Crítico del Discurso propuesto por Norman Fairclough. Proponemos que este enfoque, a partir de categorías como práctica discursiva, práctica social, hegemonía, orden discursivo, intertextualidad y cambio discursivo, permite abordar los desafíos teóricos, metodológicos y axiológicos antes planteados respecto del estudio de la subjetividad. (shrink)

Purpose. The study is dedicated to the analysis of structuralist and poststructuralist concepts of the Other (Others) as the basis for the formation of social subjectivity and the subject's identity. Theoretical basis. The authors proceed from the assumption that the conceptualization of the Other of traditional philosophical structuralism with his absolutization of the "process without a subject" imposes from the outside, sometimes unacceptable and alien to the subject identity. Scientific novelty. The authors prove the need for further research (...) into multivariate concepts of the Other, which testify to a fairly complex process of subjectivation in the present, which takes place on an uncontrolled, unconscious level. Conclusions. The authors identified directions for further study of the problem of transformation and incorporation of concepts of the Other into modern social structures, which significantly modify the content and role of collective identity in the process of subjectivation of individuals, which becomes a promising topic for future research. (shrink)

This is the first article in a two-part series describing subject and family perspectives from the central thalamic deep brain stimulation for the treatment of traumatic brain injury using the Medtronic PC + S first-in-human invasive neurological device trial to achieve cognitive restoration in moderate to severe traumatic brain injury, with subjects who were deemed capable of providing voluntary informed consent. In this article, we report on interviews conducted prior to surgery wherein we asked participants about their experiences recovering (...) from brain injury and their perspectives on study enrollment and participation. We asked how risks and benefits were weighed, what their expectations and fears were, and how decisions were reached about trial participation. We found that informed consent and enrollment decisions are fraught. Subjects and families were often split, with subjects more focused on putative benefits and families concerned about incremental risk. Both subjects and families viewed brain injury as disruptive to personal identity and relationships. As decisions were made about study enrollment, families struggled with recognizing the re-emergent agency of subjects and ceding decision-making authority to subjects who had previously been dependent upon them for protection and guidance. Subjects and family members reported a hope for the relief of cognitive disabilities, improved quality of life, normalization of interpersonal interactions, and a return to work or school as reasons for study participation, along with altruism and a desire to advance science. Despite these aspirations, both subjects and families appreciated the risks of the intervention and did not suffer from a therapeutic misconception. A second essay to be published in the next issue of Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics—Clinical Neuroethics will describe interviews conducted after surgery, the effects of cognitive restoration for subjects, families, and challenges presented to the social structures they will call upon to support them through recovery. This subsequent article will be available online prior to its formal publication in October 2023. (shrink)

The social responsibility field in the organizations has become recently a subject scholars have debated. Despite of the huge discussion regarding to this concept, there is no consensus. Still, there is a confusion related to “social actions,” this way reducing the social responsibility scope as a philanthropic activity. This reductionism is inadequate, distorting the essence of what is supposed to be a socially responsible conduct. The present proposal intends to evaluate enterprises in the Corporate Social Responsibility (...) – CSR. This research will investigate confessional universities in Brazil, which are organizations in higher education that have a relationship with a specific church(s) or religion and are ordinarily dependent upon that religion, through sponsorship and/or board oversight. These universities are skilled in financial reporting, but they have no good process for evaluating and reporting on the programs, activities, and outcomes that relate more directly to their educational and service missions. This paper shows the Brazilian universities scenario on CSR, describes the Hopkins and Wood’s framework followed by an evaluation of a small group of universities through a survey. From the outcomes, the framework may be reformulated, finally displaying the elements to future research and its implications. (shrink)

ObjectivesIndividuals with irregular physical activity participation are defined as fluctuators. This study aimed to comprehend how fluctuators’ perceived barriers and motivators in their subjective theories are exhibited and cognitively represented in relation to their everyday PA practices and lapses.MethodsThe design of “Research Program Subjective Theories” was used to explore and present fluctuators’ cognition concerning PA participation. Thirty fluctuators were invited to a semi-structured interview. By inductive and deductive coding, fluctuators’ verbal data were converted into word categories for extracting commonalities (...) and comparing differences. By retaining the remaining word categories of high frequency and exploring the interrelationships among the remained word categories using statistical analyses, a superstructure including fluctuators’ main PA motivators, barriers, and behavioral outcomes was compiled.ResultsFluctuators face common motivators as barriers, such as lack of time, lack of willpower, lack of social support, and physical reasons. Fluctuators’ subjective theories primarily differed in motivational configurations. The physically motivated fluctuators were more linked with low PA level, while the mixed motivated fluctuators were more likely associated with moderate PA level. The exemplars of the three typical fluctuators were also demonstrated to reveal their real experiences and situations in the daily life context.ConclusionDue to the fact that fluctuation research is still in its infancy, this study represents a significant opportunity to promote knowledge growth in this area. Future studies are recommended to convert findings of the present study into interventions that benefit fluctuators in overcoming perceived barriers and enhancing motivations to eventually participate in regular PA. (shrink)

Historizing Subjectivity in Childhood Studies.

As identity and authenticity discourses increasingly saturate everyday life, so too have these concepts spread across the humanities and social sciences literatures. Many scholars may be interested in identity and authenticity, but lack knowledge of paradigmatic or disciplinary approaches to these concepts. This volume offers readers insight into social constructionist approaches to identity and authenticity. It focuses on the processes of identification and authentication, rather than on subjective experiences of selfhood. There are no attempts to settle what authentic (...) identities are. On the contrary, contributors demonstrate that neither identities nor their authenticity have a single or fixed meaning. Chapters provide exemplars of contemporary research on identity and authenticity, with significant diversity among them in terms of the identities, cultural milieu, geographic settings, disciplinary traditions, and methodological approaches considered. Contributors introduce readers to a number of established and emerging identity groups from sites around the world, from yogis and punks to fire dancers and social media influencers. Their conceptual work stretches from the micro-analytic to the ethno-national as authors employ a variety of qualitative methods including ethnographic fieldwork, interviewing, and the collection and analysis of naturally-occurring interactions. Several of the chapters look directly at identification and authentication, while others focus on the social and cultural backdrops that structure these practices-what unites them is the adoption of social constructionist sensibilities. This book will appeal to anyone interested in understanding identity and authenticity. (shrink)

Social security is an important part of the national security system from the perspective of the overall security concept, and social security is an important influencing factor of social security. Using the CFPS2018 data, this study uses the critical weight method to measure residents’ individual security and uses path analysis to empirically study the impact of endowment insurance and medical insurance on residents’ security in urban and rural areas. The results show that the depth of (...) endowment insurance has a significant positive impact on the sense of security of urban residents. The depth of meniscal insurance has no impact on the sense of security of urban residents. The depth of endowment insurance and medical insurance has a significant positive impact on the sense of security of rural residents. The depth of endowment insurance has a significant positive impact on the sense of security of urban residents. The influence of full sense is greater than that in rural areas, and the influence of meniscal insurance coverage depth on residents’ sense of security in rural areas is greater than that in urban areas. Therefore, the impact of social security on residents’ sense of security is heterogeneous between urban and rural areas. We should allocate the limited social security investment to urban and rural areas in a reasonable and balanced way to promote the overall sense of security of social residents. Integrate and improve the social security system and promote regional and group equity. Change the concept of government management, build a communication platform between the government and the people, and improve residents’ subjective sense of security. We should continue to expand the coverage of the system, promote the coverage of basic social security projects, and improve the ability of urban and rural residents to cope with risks. (shrink)

Holiness in the Christian tradition has often been understood in a way that devalues embodiment and practical engagement with the world of one's time. The latter understanding, for example, led to Marx's critique and repudiation of Christianity. Both interpretations of holiness can be understood as mistaken efforts to express the dynamism for authenticity in contextualised human subjectivity. Vatican 2 opposed both views by addressing itself to all people of good will, declaring that everyone was called to holiness, and that authentic (...) Christian identity involved solidarity with the world of one's time, especially those who are poor. Vatican 2, therefore, provided an authoritative faith foundation for holiness expressed through social commitment and for viewing social commitment on the part of people of good will in whatever state of life as a form of holiness. This vision was also the conviction of leading spirituality writers of the period, like Thomas Merton, and inspired liberation theologians and the Latin American Catholic bishops at their conference in Medellín a few years after the Council. The argument of this article is that the emergence and development of a non-dualist Christian spirituality is grounded methodologically in the correct appropriation of the common innate dynamism for authenticity in concrete human persons and lived spiritual experiences consistent with and capable of enhancing this dynamism. (shrink)

In this paper I argue that many of the core phenomenological insights, including the emphasis on direct perception, are a necessary but not sufficient condition for an adequate account of inter-subjectivity today. I take it that an adequate account of inter-subjectivity must involve substantial interaction with empirical studies, notwithstanding the putative methodological differences between phenomenological description and scientific explanation. As such, I will need to explicate what kind of phenomenology survives, and indeed, thrives, in a milieu that necessitates engagement with (...) the relevant sciences, albeit not necessarily deference to them. -/- There will be two central aims to this paper: 1. to defend the centrality and vitality of phenomenological treatments of inter-subjectivity via a consideration of some remarks in Sartre - which I do think possess a non-trivial unity amongst the various interlocutors - and the manner in which they in fact serve to provide the basis for a better explanation of an array of empirical data than existing inferentialist or mindreading accounts of social cognition (notably Theory Theory, Simulation Theory, and hybrid versions); 2. to offer the methodological resources for renewing phenomenology in a manner that acknowledges ostensibly non-phenomenological moments in theory production - which involve explanation, inference to the best explanation, etc. - but does not abandon phenomenology for all that, allowing it to be simply absorbed into empirical explanation or other forms of philosophical analysis without remainder. (shrink)

Our paper reports and discusses issues relating to subjective wellbeing in selected countries in ASEAN (The Association of Southeast Asian Nations), a regional organization that coordinates and promotes the economic, social and cultural interests of member countries in Southeast Asia. Comparisons will be made across the five founding members of ASEAN, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand using data from the 2004, 2006 and 2007 AsiaBarometer Surveys. The indicators of subjective wellbeing used are perceptions of happiness, enjoyment, and (...) achievement. We also examined the impact of selected demographic and non-demographic variables on these indicators. (shrink)

What is the nature of the social sciences? What kinds of knowledge can they—and should they—hope to create? Are objective viewpoints possible and can universal laws be discovered? Questions like these have been asked with increasing urgency in recent years, as some philosophers and researchers have perceived a "crisis" in the social sciences. Metatheory in Social Science offers many provocative arguments and analyses of basic conceptual frameworks for the study of human behavior. These are offered primarily (...) by practicing researchers and are related to problems in disciplines as diverse as sociology, psychology, psychiatry, anthropology, and philosophy of science. While various points of view are expressed in these nineteen essays, they have in common several themes, including the comparison of social and natural science, the role of knowledge in meeting the demands of society and its pressing problems, and the nature and role of subjectivity in science. Some authors hold that subjectivity cannot be studied scientifically; others argue that it can and must be if progress in knowledge is to be made. The essays demonstrate the philosophical pluralism they discuss and give a wide range of alternative positions on the future of the social and behavioral sciences in a postpositivist intellectual world. (shrink)

When firms face crisis, the instant and open channels of social media communication create a double-edged sword. While corporations can more quickly communicate with stakeholders, any missteps will have drastic and nearly immediate repercussions. What are the relationships among social media, subjective norms, attitudes, and intentions during corporate crisis? We explore this phenomenon via a study of a crisis faced by Lowe’s, an international home improvement store, and how current and potential customers reacted. By utilizing a structural (...) equations model to examine an integrated model of multiple constructs, we find that Facebook usage is associated with behavioral intent, perceptions of ethicality, and attitudes toward the organization. Counter intuitively, we find that an increase in participant Facebook usage is negatively related to felt subjective norms. Our findings indicate that beyond the traditional relationships examined by the Theory of Reasoned Action (e.g., norms, attitudes, and behavioral intent), that social media and subjective norms have a strong relationship with general attitudes and ethical attitudes toward an organization. (shrink)

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the respondents’ evaluation of the pervasiveness of fake news through various SM platforms in Kuwait. The authors also examined the respondents’ attitudes toward most fake news on SM. A total of 1,539 Kuwaitis were selected. Design/methodology/approach The questionnaire was the major tool for this study. The respondents, from whom demographic information was obtained, were asked about which SM platforms most frequently spread fake news, their attitudes toward the subjects (...) most frequently involved in spreading fake news, their degree of use of the six SM platforms and interest in various subjects, and the attitudes toward the negative nature of SM news. SPSS was used for the data analysis. Findings The results showed that WhatsApp was the most likely to be used to disseminate fake news; Twitter and Instagram ranked second. The younger subjects were affected more by text and voice clips than the older ones. Originality/value The study, hopefully, produces new knowledge on the subject of fake news in social media, especially in the Arab world, since there are few studies conducted in the region. The study showed that WhatsApp was the SM tool most likely to be responsible for disseminating fake news in Kuwait, which may shed light on the usage of this application to be a news tool, rather than merely an interpersonal communication medium. (shrink)

The education level and social participation of contemporary Chinese women have reached their historical peak; work is fast becoming the dominant theme of their lives. However, influenced by traditional attitudes, women are still expected to undertake the main family care tasks, thus, facing dual constraints of family and work, which seriously affect their life happiness. Based on the theory of subjective well-being and feminist geography, this study used the questionnaire survey and in-depth interview results of professional females in (...) Dalian High-tech Industrial Zone as basic data to explore the life satisfaction and emotional cognition in intra- and extra-household life of professional females.). The following results were obtained: Most professional females reported higher life satisfaction in intra- rather than extra-household life, and it varied with individual attributes, reflecting the internal differences among them. The positive emotions of professional females came from the company of family and friends in intra-household life, and satisfaction with the working environment and treatment in extra-household life. The negative emotions came from the pressure of “marriage,” “birth,” and other traditional concepts in intra-household life. In extra-household life, it came from the health problems caused by working stress, interpersonal problems and gender inequality in the workplace, and the anxiety of age and future career development. Therefore, this study committed to revealing the living status and subjective feelings of contemporary professional females in China, hoping to improve women’s life quality and enhance their life happiness from a theoretical and realistic perspective. (shrink)

My comments on Jacqueline Taylor's rich and interesting study1 will focus on a theme which I found particularly thought provoking: the discussion of Hume's treatment of pride. I think the topic of pride is central to the book's structure—closely integrated with the recurring consideration of what is distinctive in Hume's approach to the social significance of the passions.I am going to come at this theme indirectly—through consideration of the differences between Hume and Spinoza on the nature and significance of (...) pride. Taylor shows that Hume has made it possible for pride to be considered as a positive trait, perhaps even as a virtue. Spinoza's attitude to pride in the Ethics is, in contrast, quite negative. The... (shrink)

The purpose of this book is to give a coherent account of the different perspectives on science and technology that are normally studied under various disciplinary heads such as philosophy of science, sociology of science and science policy. It is intended for students embarking on courses in these subjects and assumes no special knowledge of any science. It is written in a direct and simple style, and technical language is introduced very sparingly. As various perspectives are sketched out in (...) this book, the reader moves towards a consistent conception of contemporary science as a rapidly changing social institution that has already grown out of its traditional forms and plays a central role in society at large. It will appeal to students in a wide range of scientific disciplines and complement well Professor Ziman's earlier books. (shrink)

Modeling is a relatively new topic in biblical and related subjects—it was first introduced in the 1970s—and it is controversial because the application of social-scientific models raises the difficult question of the cultural gap between the present societies, where the models are usually developed, and the ancient cultural context to which the models are applied.Because biblical and related studies may not belong to the most familiar scholarly fields of the readers of this journal, I first sketch an overall (...) picture of the development of the discipline and its main methods (Section 2). The subsequent sections summarize the arguments presented for and against modeling in biblical studies (Section 3), and discuss .. (shrink)

Reflecting Subjects offers a bold and original reading of Book 2 of the Treatise, and presents a problem that has been little explored by Hume scholarship. Jacqueline Taylor's book argues that we can reconstruct what she calls a "social theory" out of Book 2 of the Treatise. Based on a detailed account of the passions that constitute social selves, the social theory of the Treatise offers, according to Taylor, rich and fine-grained explanations of the causes of (...) difference and inequality among human beings, based on understanding the characters of individuals, their social statuses, and their differences in power. However—and this is one of the central problems that Reflecting Subjects seeks to tackle—in Book 3 of... (shrink)

Several recent studies have found that when the other’s gain is greater, even subjects’ reward may seem like a loss and lead to a negative experience. These studies indicate the complexity of reward evaluation in the context of social comparison. The satisfaction rating of reward outcome not only depends on objective social comparison but also on subjective evaluation. However, less is known about the neural time course of subjective evaluation. Therefore, we employed a 2 × 2 within- (...) class='Hi'>subjects factorial design, in which we manipulated the reward distribution for the subjects. Electroencephalography responses were recorded, while two subjects concurrently but independently performed a simple dot-estimation task that entailed monetary rewards. Behavioral results showed that the subjects were more satisfied with the advantageous distribution, regardless of upward or downward comparison. The analysis of event-related potentials revealed that disadvantageous distribution elicited a larger P2 than advantageous distribution, and this effect was not modulated by comparison direction. In contrast, the late positive potential showed an effect of comparison direction independent of subjective evaluation. The data suggest that subjective evaluation acts upon the early stage of reward processing and manifests in the P2 component, whereas social comparison plays a role in the later appraisal process. (shrink)

Self-esteem and social support in the occupational stress-subjective health relationship among medical professionals The starting point for the presented study was the concept by House who construed social support as buffering the impact of work-related stress on health. Self-esteem was taken under consideration as the other potential stress buffer. It was hypothesized that both social support and self-esteem would have a salutogenic effect, since they attenuate the experience of occupational stress and reduce health problems associated with (...) the experienced job stress. Participants in the study were 361 medical professionals representing various specialties. They were examined using the Subjective Job Evaluation Questionnaire by Dudek et al., the Mood and Health State Questionnaire by Rząsa, the Self-Esteem Scale by M. Rosenberg and Significant Other Scale by Power et al. The higher was the respondents' occupational stress, the poorer was their subjective physical health. Such components of occupational stress as responsibility, psychological strain due to job complexity, lack of rewards at work, and a sense of threat were found to be most important in this respect. These four components of occupational stress were interrelated and constituted a feedback loop. The study confirmed a salutogenic role of self-esteem, contributing to subjective health improvement. Satisfaction with social support had also a positive role, since it reduced the amount of experienced job stress, thus exerting a health-promoting effect. There was a direct negative feedback loop between self-esteem and somatic health problems. Irrespective of that, satisfaction with social support was found to interact with perceived occupational stress in a negative feedback loop. However, neither of these two factors, i.e. self-esteem and social support, had an effect of buffering the impact of occupational stress on health. This suggests that the initial model proposed by House as well as the present author's earlier research findings obtained from a smaller sample should be revised. (shrink)

Rumour has been part of collective human life for centuries. Communities deal with anxiety and make sense of the unknowable by mixing apprehensions with what is already known to them. With modernity, and in line with studies on a range of social phenomena, there have been efforts to develop a science on rumour. Most of these studies deal with rumour at the propositional level, such that the rumouring or rumour-rebutting subject invariably belongs to one of the two sides of (...) the ‘true–false’ divide. Similar categories are followed in the study of rumour in social media, where the nodes in a rumour chain are, however, less hierarchical, and where images are increasingly used for persuasion. This paper, following a value-oriented approach, argues that the science on rumour has objectivized the problem, and has suggested instrumental solutions like enhancing the digital literacy of social media users. Whereas a value position should ideally attempt to efface the dilemma of the rumouring/rumour-rebutting subject, and locate rumours within the larger socio-political and historical context of a society. (shrink)

Recently, social Q&A communities have grown increasingly popular, serving as a primary platform for people to learn and share information. Nonetheless, fewer knowledge producers in these communities are significant than knowledge consumers. Thus, promoting users’ participation in knowledge sharing is a challenge for managers of social Q&A communities. Even though many scholars have studied factors influencing willingness to share knowledge, they tend to start with one theory and ignore the impact of several factors on behaviors. Thus, this manuscript (...) presents a multi-factor model based on three dimensions of technology, cognition, and security to explore the effects of the six factors of perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness, perceived behavioral control and subjective norms, perceived security, and perceived privacy in terms of the three knowledge sharing methods of browsing including like and favorite, publishing and replying, and to compare users’ willingness to use the three knowledge sharing methods. A total of 482 questionnaires were collected online, and the hypotheses were tested and analyzed using structural equation modeling. According to the results, the factors affecting different sharing methods are not the same. Perceived behavioral control and perceived security can have a significant influence on their willingness to browse, users’ willingness to publish and reply to posts is significantly influenced by their perception of behavioral control and subjective norms, while perceived usefulness also affects their willingness to respond, it can be seen that cognition is the most important factor affecting users’ knowledge sharing among the three dimensions. In addition, users’ willingness to browse is significantly greater than their willingness to reply, and their willingness to post is the lowest. (shrink)

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz presents the idea of monads, as non-communicative, self-actuating system of beings that are windowless, closed, eternal, deterministic and individualistic. For him, the whole universe and its constituents are monads and that includes humans. In fact, any ‘body’, such as the ‘body’ of an animal or man has, according to Leibniz, one dominant monad which controls the others within it. This dominant monad, he often refers to as the soul. If Leibniz’s conception of monads is accepted, it merely (...) establishes human subjectivity, idiosyncrasies, biases, prejudices and individual points of view as the norm. How then do we ensure inter-subjectivity and the kind of social interaction requisite for the achievement of social order, since Leibniz’s system forecloses the possibility of interaction and communication among monads? In this essay, we argue that just as Leibniz’s monads synchronize only through the Supreme Monad (Monas Monadum), humans as social monads should also interact through a matrix of ideals like truth, honesty, sincerity, integrity, altruism, impartiality, compassion and trust. Since social order is actualised only within the context of linked social structures, relations and values, these utopian ideals would form the fulcrum through which humans relate and the very foundation that would anchor a viable social order. Our aim here is to establish a relationship between Leibniz’s metaphysics and the physical domains of life by showing that metaphysical constructs can impinge on human social relations and wellbeing. The study employed the qualitative method of research through critical analysis of texts, library and archival materials. (shrink)