Towards an epistemological theory of historical consciousness

This paper presents a theoretical analysis of the concept of historical consciousness. It argues that a focus on the epistemological problems of the concept can be a way of constructing a theory of the concept that both incorporates the diverse perspectives that exist in research about the concept and specifies how a historical consciousness can be developed in an individual.

Food security measurement in cultural pluralism : missing the point or conceptual misunderstanding?

Objective : Food Security has become a global concern, yet its measurement has varied considerably across disciplines and countries. We examined the current discrepancies in the definitions of food security and propose a framework for understanding and measuring food security.

Methods : This conceptual review draws from a range of works published in Medline and the gray literature to advance the understanding of food security concepts. We begin by examining the historical background of food security and then move on to examine its various definitions and interpret food through cultural lenses in terms of food access and utilization. We finish by examining various measurements and indicators of food security and reviewing implications for public health.

Results : We argue that the reliance on coping strategies as surrogate measurements of food insecurity without taking into account the social, cultural, and political contexts in which they occur is misleading, and viewing food insecurity solely from a food access or availability perspective, without taking into account food utilization and asset creation as pillars of food security, paints an incomplete picture. Although this review does not claim to provide solutions to the discrepancies in the conceptual definition of food security, it attempts to highlights areas of concern and provide a way forward.

Conclusion : When coping strategies are used as an indicator of food insecurity, they need to be culturally relevant and focus tested, and together with objective measurements of nutritional outcomes, would allow policy makers to make evidence-based decisions to inform social and nutrition policies.

Radical epistemological skepticism about justified belief

"Radical epistemological skepticism" designates the philosophical position that all our beliefs, and knowledge based upon them, are groundless. Skeptics claims have been recorded throughout history and, despite their threat to the security of human knowledge, they endure. The thesis hypothesises that skepticism is a consequence of our development of symbolic capability.

Does ERA spell the end to the era of IS methodological pluralism?

Methodological pluralism has been slowly developing in Information Systems. However, this development is fragile and only interpretivism has made any inroads into the major journals. Further, the form of interpretivism that has made inroads is informed by grounded theory and we suggest largely based on CAQDAS. We argue that the new Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) initiative and other pressures to publish will stymie this budding but fragile methodological and research pluralism. The pressure to publish and the list of ranked journals will lead to greater conformity in methodology and in research areas and we conclude that pluralism will be under threat. We suggest some ways that journals and conference organisers may respond, to increase or maintain pluralism and how we will research pluralism further.

Local governance and the challenge of religious pluralism in liberal democracies : an Australian perspective

Multiculturalism has gradually retreated as a meaningful concept for Australian identity and has, instead, been replaced by principles of equal citizenship and a commitment to the core values of Australian national identity. This paper firstly locates these shifts in broader theoretical debates underpinning democratic governance and equal citizenship. Secondly, and given that local government is a key constituent of Australia's democratic system, the paper seeks to explore the attitudes of local government representatives towards multicultural services and cultural citizenship in contemporary Australia. The empirical findings of this study show that a minority of local government representatives hold a negative outlook on cultural diversity and multicultural policies. The paper argues that it is important to ensure opportunities for intercultural understanding at the local level are optimised as a way of enhancing full and equal citizenship for all and thus creating greater possibilities for successful integration among religious and cultural minorities

Bourdieu and educational research: thinking tools, relational thinking, beyond epistemological innocence

The main aim of this chapter is to provide an introduction to the theoretical work of Pierre Bourdieu, and to outline different ways in which Bourdieu’s work is influential and has been engaged with in education research and to suggest implicitly the usefulness of this work for educational researchers. In order to do this, we draw on a range of Bourdieu’s own writing published singly or with colleagues, emphasising in particular his engagements with education. Part of our treatment also deals with his wider writing that has subsequently been influential for education researchers, and in particular Bourdieu’s anthropological writing and account of practice (Bourdieu 1977, 1990), his approach to social class and cultural issues, his account of the judgement of taste and distinctions (Bourdieu, 1984), and his later politically focused writing (Bourdieu, 1989/1996, 2003, 2004c, 2005a).

NGOs, pluralism and advisory services—Timor Leste

Purpose: 

Towards understanding epistemological assumptions of history teacher educators: my experience with phenomenological enquiry

This paper draws upon the methodological aspect of my thesis project completed in June 2007. At the center of the research problem was the question: How do history teacher educators (HTEs) in Bahir Dar University comprehend the sources and nature of historical knowledge? Phenomenological approach to research was employed in an attempt to explicate invariant structures of their epistemic assumptions of history as a school subject. Accordingly, with six purposefully selected educators as research participants, in the two-month time field work, in- depth interview and essay questions for personal text were used to gather qualitative data. Then, the data were analyzed thematically using an adapted six-phase model and interpretive themes emerged as findings of the study. And it was learnt that the educators have a very muddled conception and unquestioned assumptions on the nature and sources of historical knowledge. With this, also phenomenological enquiry, with difficulties and rewards of its own, was found to be an appropriate strategy to understand personal meaning and beliefs of the educator with regard to disciplinary knowledge of history. The paper, therefore, describes the way I employed phenomenological research approach to understand the case, and presents my personal experience of it as a beginner education researcher.

Legal pluralism and progressive constitutionalism: An introduction to the South African challenge for post-national governace

The aim of this article is to contribute to the current academic debate on pluralistmechanisms of post-national governance as a particular type of ‘stateless law’. Moreprecisely, this article is conceived as an introduction to aid further research on the shape(and extent) that post-national governance may eventually assume (and reach) in SouthAfrica. Attention is, therefore, paid to legal pluralism as a key factor of pluralist settings ofpost-national government. An overview of the essence and features of post-nationalgovernance is provided, and a brief comparison is made between hard hierarchical andsoft-networked forms of governance. In pursuing the suggested roadmap, reference is madeto the current European landscape on post-national governance, which is ontologicallyinevitable in discussing the essence, structure, aims, challenges and limitations ofpost-national governance. Moreover, the necessity of adopting a comparative modusinvestigandi is due to the circumstance that although South Africa and the EuropeanUnion (EU) share important elements (e.g., legal pluralism, financial instability andfuture common challenges), South Africa has an extremely progressive constitution — aresult that the EU has been unable to achieve formally. Thus, while explaining whySouth Africa may represent fertile ground for such an architecture of governance, this articlediscusses why the South African Constitution may be a ‘value add’ that may help post-national governance avoid the difficulties thus far encountered on the Europeancontinent.

O papel da psicologia social frente ao poder e ao controle da destrutividade

Esta dissertação é um estudo teórico que pretende apontar para a relevância da psicologia social frente a humanidade, para tanto os temas da destrutividade e do poder foram escolhidos. Assim, após um diagnóstico da situação global, tendo como centro os armamentos, a anomia e a alienação social, discorre-se em favor de uma engenharia social. Para atingir tal meta são necessários alguns procedimentos: primeiro, a análise do papel da ciência, donde são colimados três aspectos: existencial, social e epistemológico; segundo, uma fundamentação axiológica, uma revisão do status científico da psicologia, e um estudo sobre polarização de atitudes em psicólogos, assunto considerado de vital importância para o amadurecimento e grau de confiabilidade desta disciplina; terceiro, indica-se algumas estratégias (contribuições) oriundas da psicologia social, capaz de auxiliar na formação desse planejamento social. Finalmente, são três as conclusões principais: a engenharia social é de máxima importância, devendo atuar de forma incisiva na educação intercultural; a psicologia da ciência tem um papel relevante diante do plurarismo teórico e, assim como é insustentável a vida no planeta caso persista o clima de destrutividade, também é insustentável um empreendimento social, da envergadura do que aqui se propõe, sem a assistência multidisciplinar.