Constructivism

In philosophy, there is an as yet unresolved discussion on whether there are different kinds of kinds and what those kinds are. In particular, there is a distinction between indifferent kinds, which are unaffected by observation and representation, and interactive kinds, which respond to being studied in ways that alter the very kinds under study. This is in essence a discussion on ontologies and, I argue, more precisely about ontological levels. The discussion of kinds of kinds can be resolved by using a semiotic approach to ontological levels, building on the key semiotic concept of representation. There are three, and only three, levels of semiosis: non-or proto-semiotic processes without representation, such as physical or causal processes; semiotic processes with representation, such as the processes of life and cognition; and second-order semiotic processes with representation of representation, such as self-awareness and self-reflexive communication. This leads to the distinction between not two, but three kinds of kinds: indifferent, adaptive and reflexive kinds, of which the last two hitherto have not been clearly distinguished.

As hundreds of so-called "psychotherapies" have been foisted onto the public, all claiming to treat "mental illness," newer understandings of how the human brain actually works and the processes which drive the formations of mentation that we refer to as "the mind," demand a reassessment of what exactly we are referring to by the term "mental illness" and what kinds of intervention would be feasible in both the prevention of and recovery from cognitive and behavioral disorder. A fundamental process in the formation of an individual's mentation is the associations of experience. These associations not only account for constructive behavior, but can also lead to deleterious or negative behavior, suggesting that some associations are negative and therefore the negative behavior can be remolded through contrasting positive associations; however, to understand what this really means and how it works, we must start at the beginning and define what exactly is this negative behavior that we refer to by the term "mental illness." One of the most important axioms of life so simply but profoundly phrased by Oscar Wilde, is that "the truth is rarely pure and NEVER simple" (emphasis mine). Nothing can ever be explained by simple sound bites – oversimplification is just another word for misrepresentation – so to understand, we must truly engage the subject, and to engage the subject, we must first and foremost clearly define what it is that we are seeking to understand. In this case, it demands that we understand what exactly is mental illness.

This paper argues that a social constructivist account of the Cuban-US relations offers compelling insights to understand the nature of the conflict. The aim is to seek answers, not about how things are but how the USA and Cuba have represented each other as each other’s enemy in an on-going process of shared knowledge over time.

Kastrup's attempt to undermine the dichotomy between mind and matter is interesting but it leaves much to be desired. In particular, it suffers from the following three difficulties. First, it is predicated on a misguided working definition of dichotomy. Second, it conflates the concept of matter with the putative denotation of that concept. Lastly, it effectively presupposes the refutation of materialism, making it pointless to argue (as he does) that materialism is epistemically more costly than idealism.

Le Royaume ambitionne d’être reconnu comme une puissance africaine émergente dans son identité comme dans son espace de projection. Afin de satisfaire ces ambitions, l’appareil diplomatique se développe et se modernise, tandis qu’une identité de rôle singulière émerge autour de la notion de « juste milieu ». Cette étude présente, sur le plan empirique, les conditions de l’élaboration et de la conduite de cette politique africaine, et analyse, sur le plan théorique, l’évolution de l’identité de rôle marocaine à l'échelle internationale.

"Ginzburg severely criticised the idea of building in this new society being the same as in the old one, and to elaborate on this socialist architecture he formedThe OSA Group. The OSA Group generated progressive theoretic and practical work to make transitory socialist-aimed projects. Soon after establishing OSA Ginzburg declared that the “modus operandi of an architect, from one who traditionally had a craftsmanlike relation to his client ” had to change to a new type of specialist who would be a sociologist, politician and a technician. He then began to admit members from related fields into the group making OSA’s programmatic orientation rather different from that of the other Constructivist formations. In practical terms OSA was meant to cultivate the idea of a ‘social condenser’ and to implement a radical approach particularly in social housing schemes. These were the first moves to-wards creating the Narkomfin building."

Despite a growing interest in the role of emotions in world politics the relationship between emotion and securitization remains unclear.  The article argues persistent, if sporadic, references to fear and emotion in securitization studies represent ‘slips’ from an explicit ontology centred between the constitutive power of language and authority.  This slippage leaves securitization theory incoherent and narrows its empirical scope by excluding the emotional dispositions audiences rely upon to judge threat images.  This article offers a reconstruction of securitization theory where emotion, specifically collective fears, serve as the basis of an audience’s judgement for the practice of securitization.  Yet rather than simply accepting that fear facilitates securitizing moves the article draws on appraisal theory from psychology to demonstrates how collective fear appraisals are often fragile cultural constructs.  Limited by the symbolic resources of the local security imaginary and how agents contest these resources, the generation of collective fear appraisals is often constrained and with it the practice of securitization.  An empirical discussion of threat images in US foreign policy is used to explore these constraints.  The conclusion suggests the tendency for securitizing moves to be interpreted as comic underscores the precariousness of social practices seeking to elicit particular collective emotions.

The book examines the relationship between national identity and foreign policy discourses on Russia in Germany, Poland and Finland in the years 2005–2015. The case studies focus on the Nord Stream pipeline controversy, the 2008 Russian-Georgian war, the post-electoral protests in Russian cities in 2011–2012 and the Ukraine crisis. The book argues that divergent foreign policy narratives of Russia are rooted in different national identity constructions. Most significantly, the Ukraine crisis and the Nord Stream controversy have exposed how deep-rooted and different perceptions of the Russian Other in EU member states are still influential and lead to conflicting national agendas for foreign policy towards Russia.

The pending narrative is an important macrostructure of persuasive speech. With it, the speaker not only describes the world and its social phenomena, but also lays a foundation for transforming the world to conform with the objective imposed in the narrative. The rhetorical force of the pending narrative comes from its sudden interruption: as soon as the motivation for an action has been created and as soon as identities have been established for the actors involved in the action, the story is interrupted, brought to a halt. This article outlines the basic mechanisms of the pending narrative and illustrates them using one alcohol policy editorial and two introductory chapters from scientific texts: Erik Allartd's The Structure of Society and Social Pressure and C. Wright Mills' The Sociological Imagination.

El aprendizaje colaborativo en línea traza una perspectiva constructivista para estudiantes que activamente se interesan en el intercambio de ideas, negociación de opiniones y la creación de recursos para el conocimiento, los cuales se comparten en forma libre y abierta. Esta metodología es invaluable en convenios transnacionales entre universidades donde los docentes, estudiantes y programas se benefician desde perspectivas variadas. Este estudio, acerca de una colaboración educativa e investigativa con una universidad estadounidense y una centroamericana, involucra a docentes en la revisión de programas curriculares y en la enseñanza compartida al igual que a estudiantes en la construcción de conocimiento de manera colaborativa. Los cuestionarios y entrevistas con los 52 participantes de este proyecto, por más de dos semestres, revelan altos valores significativos por el refinamiento de las estrategias de aprendizaje y la adopción de un modelo colaborativo para la construcción de ...

This work presents a discussion around the differences between the qualitative and quantitative approaches of investigation, which does not try to revive the old dispute on the greater validity of a method in despite of the other. Rather the utility of both methods, applied to different areas from the knowledge is emphasized. Some epistemologist elements are emphasized that distance both glances and the convergence that would exist between the qualitative investigation and the constructivism, settles down. In the same way the pertinent of this approach in relation to the models of the social representations and their great adaptability to the investigation of this type of phenomena is analyzed. This exposition finalizes describing some questions that maintain their use and invite us to follow this reflection.

This essay offers a strategic reinterpretation of Kant’s philosophy of mathematics
in his Critique of Pure Reason via a broad, empirically based reconception of Kant’s
conception of drawing. It begins with a general overview of Kant’s philosophy of
mathematics, observing how he differentiates mathematics in the Critique from both
the dynamical and the philosophical. Second, it examines how a recent wave of critical analyses of Kant’s constructivism takes up these issues, largely inspired by Hintikka’s unorthodox conception of Kantian intuition. Third, it offers further analyses of three Kantian concepts vitally linked to that of drawing. It concludes with an etymologically based exploration of the seven clusters of meanings of the word "drawing" to gesture toward new possibilities for interpreting a Kantian philosophy of mathematics.

This article presents a paper-based Tangible User Interface (TUI) that facilitates the production of complex queries on a Cultural Heritage (CH) repository. The system helps to easily make use of the data elements and Boolean logic that describe the collections. This research presents a design methodology divided into two main phases: A User Experience (UX) and User Centred Design (UCD) where potential users’ behaviours are analysed, followed by the development and evaluation of the TUI prototype.
The TUI uses off the shelf electronics and a paper-based set of tokens to engage the user with the system, thus facilitating the exploration with CH collections through querying.

This paper investigates, on the basis of work by Jean Baudrillard and David Harvey, what we can define as neo-liberal global culture. Harvey's ideas on time-space compression and management of such within production systems are in the paper combined with Baudrillards thoughts on the symbolic culture and consumerism. The paper concludes that the neo-liberal global culture is a of constructing cultural demand and controlling class determined production.

This book falls within the limits of academic research, certified by the order of the Romanian Ministry of Education, no. 5766 / December 15, 2021. The book represents the author's doctoral thesis modified according to the format and requirements of a book. It went through the academic process of double peer review and was recommended for publication.

Constructivism in practice is a challenging endeavor that invites teachers and students to engage in problems that elicit uncertainty. This article investigates the relationship between preferences for constructivist approaches and other classroom behaviors that influence the development of future teachers. The theoretical premise for this relationship is that preferences for constructivist activities are associated with other behaviors that are characterized as social risks. Preservice teachers who are ‘risk averse’ may engage in behaviors that perpetuate their conservatism, leaving them ill prepared for current developments in educational reform. In addition to proposing this unique theoretical question, evidence is presented showing that social risk aversion is behaviorally pervasive, influenc- ing preservice teachers’ willingness to participate in classroom discussions, their behavior in a socially competitive game and their natural preference for inquiry-based mathematics problems. Given this pervasiveness, teachers who are ‘shy’ of contemporary educational reform may unknow- ingly socially insulate themselves against it. Support strategies are suggested along with appropriate directions for future research and reflection by teacher educators.

This article focuses on the emergence of postmodern and critical anthropology in the late twentieth century approaches which strongly affected main epistemological assumptions. Here attention is paid to dismissal of ahistoric structuralism, essentialism and universalist positivism and to the move towards much more historical awareness concerned with conditions of production of anthropological knowledge. Critical re-readings of anthropological body of knowledge done by postmodern and critical anthropologists (e. g. Clifford, Rabinow, Marcus) reflect political, discursive and rhetorical aspects of anthropological representations. The main insights of French poststructuralist (Foucault, Derrida, Bourdieu) were adopted and led to discoursive and dialogical paradigm inside this movement. Advancement of critical reflections has resulted into many contemporary approaches in the field of social constructivism, politics of identity, globalisation and transnationalism.

Endereço: http://pepsic.bvsalud.org/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1806-58212005000200004

Nos últimos anos assistimos a uma proliferação do termo construtivismo em disciplinas como Psicologia, Educação, Sociologia e Filosofia da Mente. No entanto, se tomamos este conceito em seu sentido estrito, como a posição que defende o papel ativo do sujeito na sua relação com o objeto do conhecimento e construção de suas representações da realidade, vemos que diversas posições auto-denominadas construtivistas assumem teses que contrariam o espírito original desta tradição filosófica. Este artigo faz uma breve investigação das mais influentes utilizações contemporâneas do termo, pelas correntes do Construtivismo Piagetiano, Construcionismo Social, Construtivismo Radical e Construtivismo Social. Conclui que estas três últimas correntes não são estrito senso construtivistas, porque dissolvem o sujeito epistêmico. Além disso, demonstra que Construtivismo não implica em idealismo, e que o Racionalismo Crítico e o Construtivismo Piagetiano são os legítimos representantes de uma tradição construtivista que, aderindo ao realismo, se mantém no campo da Ciência Moderna. © Ciências & Cognição 2005; Vol. 05: 36-49.

Palavras-chave: epistemologia; construtivismo; construtivismo social; construtivismo radical; racionalismo crítico.

This paper insists that a psychological theory should be reflexive, i.e. it should be able to account for itself and its development if it is to be taken seriously as a valid contribution to the discipline. Bannister was a member of a panel of discussants on a BBC television programme during the 1970s in which he challenged the featured speaker, B. F. Skinner. He asked Skinner if he could account for the development of his theory of operant conditioning in terms of schedules of reinforcement. Not surprisingly, Skinner was bemused and unable to give a satisfactory account.

Ao longo de quase um século de desenvolvimento das Relações Internacionais, alunos e acadêmicos deparam-se com uma variedade de campos teóricos, métodos e temas de pesquisa. Este artigo resume a evolução histórica da disciplina, aponta os principais métodos utilizados e identifica debates contemporâneos, buscando auxiliar estudantes recém-ingressos no curso.

This paper studies the concept of moral equivalence as a form of comparative evaluation that involves two distinct types of argument that depend upon a specific point of comparison. I particularly focus upon the moral equivalence of beliefs and how the determination of the equivalence of beliefs involves factual considerations. I then use this discussion to explore claims concerning false equivalence before ending with a consideration of the implications of moral equivalence as regards the role of truth in political deliberation.

El presente es un reporte del diseño, estandarización y aplicación de un instrumento de medición de habilidades cognitivas, sociales y tecnológicas en niños de 4°, 5° y 6° de primaria. La evaluación de estas habilidades es de suma importancia ya que en general no están reflejadas en la evaluación de desempeño académico tradicional, pero son fundamentales para el éxito personal y profesional en el siglo XXI. El estudio tiene un corte cuasi experimental con grupo de control, el tratamiento aplicado es el uso libre de la computadora XO. Los sujetos de investigación están contextualizados en una comunidad rural y en el ambiente urbano marginado de una ciudad del Norte de México. La técnica de recolección de datos es el auto reporte con base en escalas de medición de las habilidades de: investigación científica, tecnológica, razonamiento y pensamiento crítico, pensamiento creativo, aprendizaje independiente y desarrollo humano y crecimiento personal. El presente es un reporte de la elabo...

The unprecedented growth of Web 2.0 has affected learning and has made the growth of learning networks possible. Learning networks are shaped by communities to help their members acquire knowledge in specific areas and are the most notable feature of Learning 2.0, the new learning era that focuses on individual learning needs. The evolution of learning forces traditional Learning Management Systems (LMS) to incorporate more Web 2.0 features and slowly transform to Personal Learning Environments (PLEs). A Personal Learning Environment is a loosely structured collection of tools with strong social networking characteristics, which gives users the ability to create, maintain, and redistribute their own learning content. This paper is a field study of the most well-known and established LMSs and their support for specific features within several categories of tools of Web 2.0. The incorporation of Web 2.0 features within those LMSs differentiates them regarding their ability and potential to be used as PLEs.

One of the foreign policies that can best describe the relationship between two states would be the Huawei Ban. Considering the major impact that this ban might bring to the global economy, it is necessary to discuss the reasons behind the imposed regulation. Thus, this paper will discuss why the Huawei Ban was imposed by US through the lenses of constructivist. Three main points discussed would be the social process that refers to the international norm which urged the US to impose the ban, the role of language through arguing and bargaining to construct the danger of Huawei, and also the cross-level analysis used to view this issue. It can be understood that through the perspective of constructivism, international norms as well as discourse played an important role in the birth of Huawei Ban by the US.

Fenomena hubungan internasional semakin lama semakin mendekat ke persoalan sehari-hari penduduk di berbagai belahan dunia, termasuk Indonesia. Cara kita menjalani kehidupan sehari-hari sangat jelas dipengaruhi oleh kejadian-kejadian di arena internasional. Keberhasilan kita untuk memenuhi kebutuhan fisik, seperti pangan, sangat ditentukan oleh fenomena internasional. Upaya kita untuk menjadi pintar, juga sangat terkendala oleh banyak hal yang terjadi di luar wilayah kita. Itu berarti bahwa kita mesti belajar untuk memahami apa yang sebenarnya terjadi di luar sana. Kita mesti belajar mendiskripsikan apa yang terjadi. Mencoba mengerti mengapa itu terjadi dan bagaimana mengatasi dampaknya terhadap kehidupan kita. Karena itulah saya menyambut dengan gembira penerbitan karya-karya seperti yang terhimpun dalam buku ini: Refleksi Teori Hubungan Internasional: dari Tradisional ke Kontemporer. Buku yang tidak hanya menyajikan analisis ilmiah, tetapi juga menyajikan perspektif nilai mengenai apa yang mesti dilakukan sehingga kehidupan di arena internasional itu bisa relevan dan bermanfaat bagi upaya manusia menyelesaikan masalah keseharian mereka.

Prof. Dr. Mohtar Mas’oed

El presente ensayo constituye un intento de relación de tres cuerpos teóricos: el constructivismo radical; la biología de la cognición y la teoría pragmática del lenguaje. El propósito es describir el cómo podría darse la adquisición y/o emergencia de los deísticos de tiempo y espacio, que constituyen los componenetes léxicos básicos de la noción de realidad.  Con este fin se establecen complementariedades y afinidades teóricas que orientan el análisis epistemológico y de la psicología del lenguaje.

This (preprint) chapter argues that the 'thick' constructivism to which many prominent Feminist Security Studies authors currently subscribe is incapable of providing this sub-field of International Relations with adequate philosophical grounding. This is the case, it claims, because the textualist framework that results from this form of constructivism is unable to provide a basis and rationale for the kind of integrative, interdisciplinary research that is required to do justice to the events/ phenomena with which Feminist Security Studies is concerned. In contrast, the chapter contends that critical realist philosophy-especially its emergentist/stratified ontology and power-/ mechanism-based understanding of causality-does pave the way for such research. Moreover, it stresses that the heterodox and synthetic/preservative nature of this philosophical approach allows it to avoid the persistent theory/praxis inconsistencies which plague constructivist work.

An essay from the MA module in International Relations at Kingston University:

This essay aims to examine UNAMIR’s failure, the lack of international response and
essentially the failure of international cooperation in preventing the genocide. It will do so
with the perspective of the two International Relations (IR) theories Neoliberalism and
Constructivism, looking at how the theories view successful and unsuccessful international
cooperation. The theories differ in their perspectives on how international cooperation can be
utilized, what role institutions (like the UN) plays in utilizing, and what factors that impacts the
ability for countries to cooperate, as well as their epistemological and ontological views on
how interest, identity, norms, and rules are created between states and within institutions
(Kurki & Wright, 2013, p. 27). However, despite the theories being separated in having micro
and a macro perspective on peacekeeping, they can also be argued to compliment each
other (Checkel, 1998, p. 342).
The essay will focus on the theoretical implications of the different perspectives on the
UNAMIR peacekeeping mission in Rwanda with the following research question:
How does Neoliberalism and Constructivism differ and compliment each other in providing a
perspective on the case of the lack of international response in the UNAMIR peacekeeping
mission during the Rwandan genocide?

Umwelt, Technik & Risiko – damit verbinden wir eine Symptomatik, die für die Moderne von bestandskritischer Bedeutung ist. Soweit herrscht Einigkeit. Kontrovers sind hingegen Diagnose und Therapie. Ist die industriegesellschaftliche Risikoproblematik auf die In- und Extensivierung der Inanspruchnahme der Natur zurückzuführen? Oder herrschen kulturelle Veränderungen in der Wahrnehmung von Unsicherheiten vor? Diesen Fragen folgend werden Probleme der Forschung, der Gesellschaftstheorie und des Risikomanagements erörtert.

The present document shapes the joint work of five professionals of the education pertaining to different Mexican institutions from higher education, focused in the design and validation of a project of educational innovation based on the evidence, which must like intention facilitate the learning on Mathematics through innovating strategies that generate significant learning, as well as the understanding and the use of the mathematical knowledge in higher education students. This research was accomplished through a qualitative methodology, of exploratory-descriptive type to analyze the impact in the education of the Mathematics that had the use of a learning object supported by technological resources. The obtained results were satisfactory because through the application of the learning object the roll was identified that play the technical and pedagogical elements in the learning of the students and was obtained a collaborative work in the classroom for the construction, understa...