Towards a model for the analysis and description of mathematical knowledge and understanding

Mathematics education literature has called for an abandonment of ontological and epistemological ideologies that have often divided theory-based practice. Instead, a consilience of theories has been sought which would leverage the strengths of each learning theory and so positively impact upon contemporary educational practice. This research activity is based upon Popper’s notion of three knowledge worlds which differentiates the knowledge shared in a community from the personal knowledge of the individual, and Bereiter’s characterisation of understanding as the individual’s relationship to tool-like knowledge. Using these notions, a re-conceptualisation of knowledge and understanding and a subsequent re-consideration of learning theories are proposed as a way to address the challenge set by literature. Referred to as the alternative theoretical framework, the proposed theory accounts for the scaffolded transformation of each individual’s unique understanding, whilst acknowledging the existence of a body of domain knowledge shared amongst participants in a scientific community of practice. The alternative theoretical framework is embodied within an operational model that is accompanied by a visual nomenclature with which to describe consensually developed shared knowledge and personal understanding. This research activity has sought to iteratively evaluate this proposed theory through the practical application of the operational model and visual nomenclature to the domain of early-number counting, addition and subtraction. This domain of mathematical knowledge has been comprehensively analysed and described. Through this process, the viability of the proposed theory as a tool with which to discuss and thus improve the knowledge and understanding with the domain of mathematics has been validated. Putting of the proposed theory into practice has lead to the theory’s refinement and the subsequent achievement of a solid theoretical base for the future development of educational tools to support teaching and learning practice, including computer-mediated learning environments. Such future activity, using the proposed theory, will advance contemporary mathematics educational practice by bringing together the strengths of cognitivist, constructivist and post-constructivist learning theories.

Mapping journalism cultures across nations : a comparative study of 18 countries

This article reports key findings from a comparative survey of the role perceptions, epistemological orientations and ethical views of 1800 journalists from 18 countries. The results show that detachment, non-involvement, providing political information and monitoring the government are considered essential journalistic functions around the globe. Impartiality, the reliability and factualness of information, as well as adherence to universal ethical principles are also valued worldwide, though their perceived importance varies across countries. Various aspects of interventionism, objectivism and the importance of separating facts from opinion, on the other hand, seem to play out differently around the globe. Western journalists are generally less supportive of any active promotion of particular values, ideas and social change, and they adhere more to universal principles in their ethical decisions. Journalists from non-western contexts, on the other hand, tend to be more interventionist in their role perceptions and more flexible in their ethical views.

Mikä on ihme ja mitä ihmeistä voidaan tietää? : Keskustelu ihmeistä uusimmassa englanninkielisessä uskonnonfilosofiassa

What is a miracle and what can we know about miracles? A discussion of miracles in anglophone philosophy of religion literature since the late 1960s. The aim of this study is to systematically describe and philosophically examine the anglophone discussion on the subject of miracles since the latter half of the 1960s. The study focuses on two salient questions: firstly, what I will term the conceptual-ontological question of the extent to which we can understand miracles and, secondly, the epistemological question of what we can know about miracles. My main purpose in this study is to examine the various viewpoints that have been submitted in relation to these questions, how they have been argued and on what presuppositions these arguments have been based. In conducting the study, the most salient dimension of the various discussions was found to relate to epistemological questions. In this regard, there was a notable confrontation between those scholars who accept miracles and those who are sceptical of them. On the conceptual-ontological side I recognised several different ways of expressing the concept of miracle . I systematised the discussion by demonstrating the philosophical boundaries between these various opinions. The first and main boundary was related to ontological knowledge. On one side of this boundary I placed the views which were based on realism and objectivism. The proponents of this view assumed that miraculousness is a real property of a miraculous event regardless of how we can perceive it. On the other side I put the views which tried to define miraculousness in terms of subjectivity, contextuality and epistemicity. Another essential boundary which shed light on the conceptual-ontological discussion was drawn in relation to two main views of nature. The realistic-particularistic view regards nature as a certain part of reality. The adherents of this presupposition postulate a supernatural sphere alongside nature. Alternatively, the nominalist-universalist view understands nature without this kind of division. Nature is understood as the entire and infinite universe; the whole of reality. Other, less important boundaries which shed light on the conceptual-ontological discussion were noted in relation to views regarding the laws of nature, for example. I recognised that the most important differences between the epistemological approaches were in the different views of justification, rationality, truth and science. The epistemological discussion was divided into two sides, distinguished by their differing assumptions in relation to the need for evidence. Adherents of the first (and noticeably smaller) group did not see any epistemological need to reach a universal and common opinion about miracles. I discovered that these kinds of views, which I called non-objectivist, had subjectivist and so-called collectivist views of justification and a contextualist view of rationality. The second (and larger) group was mainly interested in discerning the grounds upon which to establish an objective and conclusive common view in relation to the epistemology of miracles. I called this kind of discussion an objectivist discussion and this kind of approach an evidentialist approach. Most of the evidentialists tried to defend miracles and the others attempted to offer evidence against miracles. Amongst both sides, there were many different variations according to emphasis and assumption over how they saw the possibilities to prove their own view. The common characteristic in all forms of evidentialism was a commitment to an objectivist notion of rationality and a universalistic notion of justification. Most evidentialists put their confidence in science in one way or another. Only a couple of philosophers represented the most moderate version of evidentialism; they tried to remove themselves from the apparent controversy and contextualised the different opinions in order to make some critical comments on them. I called this kind of approach a contextualising form of evidentialism. In the final part of the epistemological chapter, I examined the discussion about the evidential value of miracles, but nothing substantially new was discovered concerning the epistemological views of the authors.

Reflexiones sobre el método moral en persona humana

Siguiendo a Gaudium et spes (51.3), la declaración Persona humana reafirma que la bondad moral de las conductas sexuales depende de “criterios objetivos tomados de la naturaleza de la persona y de sus actos” (PH 5.4). Esto no es expresión de un objetivismo naturalista, sino que surge del respeto de la “verdadera dignidad humana” y del sentido de su sexualidad. Estas afirmaciones deben ser comprendidas en el marco de la ética de la virtud, según la cual la razón práctica descubre naturalmente los bienes humanos y debidos, los fines virtuosos, en las inclinaciones naturales. A partir de ello es posible afirmar la existencia de conductas que contradicen dichas finalidades por su mismo objeto, aunque ello no exime de la necesidad de considerar los contextos a partir de los cuales las mismas se definen en su genus moris. Aplicando estos principios al ámbito de la sexualidad, se debe afirmar que el recto ejercicio de la misma tiene una referencia intrínseca y necesaria al matrimonio, aunque al mismo tiempo es preciso reconocer un cierto grado de tensión entre el orden de la castidad y el orden jurídico positivo. Estas consideraciones muestran que, precisamente por coherencia con la doctrina de la virtud y de los absolutos morales, es preciso que la teología moral evite la tentación del deductivismo, y se comprometa en un trabajo de refinamiento de las tipologías con mayor atención a los casos concretos. De este modo, podrá responder más adecuadamente al desafío de un contexto social en constante evolución. Con este artículo, el autor aporta precisiones para expresar mejor lo expuesto en dos artículos anteriores: “¿Relaciones prematrimoniales en «situaciones-límite »?”, Teología 83 (2004), y “El teleologismo después de la Veritatis Splendor”, Moralia 97 (2003).

Hacia una economía holográfica. Una revisión de la ciencia económica a partir de la ontoepistemología oriental

363 p.

Multiple visions or multiple aversions? Consumer representation, consultation and participation in maternity issues

This paper reviews the Commonwealth government's policy of 'purposeful reporting to consumers'. I argue that the notion of consumer participation is underdeveloped. Consumers' needs will not be fully met by confining consumer representation at the administrative level; that is, in assuming that consumer advocates may speak for other consumers of health care services. The partnership objective at the heart of 'purposeful reporting' may be addressed fully only when practitioners and providers recognise the reciprocal expertise of the consumer in defining their own health priorities. This would require a new model of knowledge, of ethics and of the clinical encounter. The problem is not one of information deficit but of contrasting views of knowledge.

Os empoderados da agricultura familiar: capital social nos territórios do seridó e do sertão do Apodi/RN

The study of social practices aims to overcome the theoretical dichotomies that insist on separating the individual from the social structures and vice versa. In this sense, the debate between objectivism and subjectivism in the construction of social reality still has occupied much time and reflection of various scholars of the humanities. Pierre Bourdieu has extensive work that seeks to advance in relation to the theoretical framework of traditional sociological explanations. Bourdieu`s approach regarding social practices is considered by some researchers as a synthesis of classical theories and by others as an attempt of complexify contemporary studies on the significance of social life. This thesis sharesthis effort to understand the social practices of agents, aiming to analyze the strategies of social and political leaders of family farming in the territories of Seridó and Apodi in Rio Grande do Norte, and it has as reference the theoretical and methodological concepts of habitus, field and capital, in Bourdieu. Therefore, we studied the trajectories of social leaders, here called agents as family farming in the two locations in Rio Grande do Norte. As techniques and procedures of the study, we resortedto semi-structured interviews, observations, participation in events and other researches. In conclusion, this thesis gives an account of the construction of two different relational fields for the activities of agents of family farming in the territories of Seridó and Apodi. Although the relational fields in the territories have been structured under the same prevailing institutions, which are: church, union and political party, the social practice of agents shows itself from social position and political variety. Even with the similarities and differences identified and analyzed in different fields of construction, the social relations of the agents in the territories result in the construction of gated communities, the social capital that is the substrate which the agents called empowered .

O expressionismo de Erwartung diante do problema do fetichismo musical

O monodrama Erwartung, de Arnold Schoenberg, foi caracterizado por um lado como síntese do expressionismo e, por outro, como uma composição não definível por meio de categorias formais. Esta convergência entre expressão e negação da forma, apontada por Carl Dahlhaus, é o ponto de partida deste texto, cujo objetivo é sustentar, mais do que uma simples convergência, uma relação determinada entre expressão e negação da forma, ou da convenção. Isto é realizado em três momentos: primeiro, desenvolve-se o conceito adorniano de fetichismo musical; segundo, aborda-se a relação entre a expressão e a convenção à luz do problema do fetichismo musical, o que permite aproximar noções como a negação da convenção, a negação romântica do objetivismo musical em prol da expressão subjetiva e a recusa de materiais fetichizados; em terceiro lugar, aborda-se Erwartung, mostrando como o problema da convenção, do objetivismo e do fetichismo não deixam de aparecer em uma peça que leva às últimas consequências a radicalização da expressão pela negação da convenção.

A força das coisas: etapas do desenvolvimento histórico - notas de pesquisa

Este texto veio a constituir, modificado, o primeiro capítulo de nossa tese de mestrado - A Fênix tropical: nota crítica sobre o dualismo e a teoria da dependência, Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas, Universidade de São Paulo. Trata dos seguintes temas: I - A filosofia da história, o marxismo e a objetividade; II - O pensamento social brasileiro: as teorias do/sobre o desenvolvimento e o marxismo apologético: 1.º Werner Baer: a objetividade conservadora contra as paixões reformistas; 2.º Carlos Lessa: Industrialização como decisão; 3.º ISEB: objetividade reformista contra paixões socialistas; 4.º Maturidade política contra aventuras socialistas; III - Os pressupostos comuns.

Mundo da vida e intersubjetividade linguística à luz da teoria evolutiva de Habermas

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Disposiciones espaciales y valorización del capital. El caso de Nordelta

Asistimos a la ampliación de "...una lógica estrictamente capitalista en el desarrollo metropolitano, otorgando a la plusvalía urbana el rango de criterio urbanístico básico" (de Mattos, 2002:1). El gobierno del Estado se reemplaza por la gobernancia y el sector privado revaloriza su rol como constructor y decisor, el Estado se repliega y el capital encuentra nuevos nichos para valorizarse. La redefinición normativa y la gestión privada alteran la propiedad constitutiva de la ciudad como valor de uso complejo (Topalov, 1979). El capital aprende a valorizarse adquiriendo un control parcial sobre derechos, servicios y bienes públicos, y produciendo elementos urbanos que antes le resultaban irreproducibles. Así, la planificación de la ciudad y la comercialización de un nuevo estilo de vida para los sectores privilegiados deviene en una nueva forma de valorización del capital. ¿Pueden los agentes inmobiliarios por sí solos crear mundos de la vida (Habermas, 1987), en su doble concepción de espacios de sociabilidad y horizonte de apreciación, y asegurarse consumidores? El megaemprendimiento toma cuerpo en los estilos de vida de sus habitantes; una metamorfosis sufrida en sus disposiciones y competencias espaciales reorganiza el sentido de sus prácticas y representaciones territoriales. Los habitus (Bourdieu, 1997) se conforman junto a la nueva espacialidad como estructura estructurada por emprendimientos como Nordelta y como estructura estructurante de los nuevos objetos urbanos. Es decir, los habitus no resultan de la impresión mecánica de las estructuras sociales capitalistas sino que se constituyen en un complejo proceso irreducible a las dicotomías entre objetivismo-subjetivismo, acción-estructura, etc. Las disposiciones y competencias espaciales pueden pensarse como la articulación del par dialéctico que presenta Santos (1996) al referirse al espacio geográfico como un conjunto de sistemas de objetos y sistemas de acciones, considerados como el contexto único en el que se realiza la historia.

Discusiones en torno a las relaciones entre literatura y cine en la escritura experimental de Antonio Di Benedetto

Este trabajo se inscribe en la discusión en torno a la relación existente entre la cinematografía y la llamada "literatura experimental" de Antonio Di Benedetto. Se parte de la consideración del cine como manifestación artística central en la escena de los años 50, es decir, como un fenómeno cultural de amplio alcance cuyas proyecciones se pueden advertir en la literatura de mediados de siglo. Esta apreciación, por un lado, explica ciertos aspectos de las dos corrientes literarias con las que el escritor de Mendoza ha sido relacionado: el objetivismo francés y el behaviorismo de la novela norteamericana de entreguerras; por el otro, ilumina muchas características formales y temáticas de sus textos

Disposiciones espaciales y valorización del capital. El caso de Nordelta

Asistimos a la ampliación de "...una lógica estrictamente capitalista en el desarrollo metropolitano, otorgando a la plusvalía urbana el rango de criterio urbanístico básico" (de Mattos, 2002:1). El gobierno del Estado se reemplaza por la gobernancia y el sector privado revaloriza su rol como constructor y decisor, el Estado se repliega y el capital encuentra nuevos nichos para valorizarse. La redefinición normativa y la gestión privada alteran la propiedad constitutiva de la ciudad como valor de uso complejo (Topalov, 1979). El capital aprende a valorizarse adquiriendo un control parcial sobre derechos, servicios y bienes públicos, y produciendo elementos urbanos que antes le resultaban irreproducibles. Así, la planificación de la ciudad y la comercialización de un nuevo estilo de vida para los sectores privilegiados deviene en una nueva forma de valorización del capital. ¿Pueden los agentes inmobiliarios por sí solos crear mundos de la vida (Habermas, 1987), en su doble concepción de espacios de sociabilidad y horizonte de apreciación, y asegurarse consumidores? El megaemprendimiento toma cuerpo en los estilos de vida de sus habitantes; una metamorfosis sufrida en sus disposiciones y competencias espaciales reorganiza el sentido de sus prácticas y representaciones territoriales. Los habitus (Bourdieu, 1997) se conforman junto a la nueva espacialidad como estructura estructurada por emprendimientos como Nordelta y como estructura estructurante de los nuevos objetos urbanos. Es decir, los habitus no resultan de la impresión mecánica de las estructuras sociales capitalistas sino que se constituyen en un complejo proceso irreducible a las dicotomías entre objetivismo-subjetivismo, acción-estructura, etc. Las disposiciones y competencias espaciales pueden pensarse como la articulación del par dialéctico que presenta Santos (1996) al referirse al espacio geográfico como un conjunto de sistemas de objetos y sistemas de acciones, considerados como el contexto único en el que se realiza la historia.

Discusiones en torno a las relaciones entre literatura y cine en la escritura experimental de Antonio Di Benedetto

Este trabajo se inscribe en la discusión en torno a la relación existente entre la cinematografía y la llamada "literatura experimental" de Antonio Di Benedetto. Se parte de la consideración del cine como manifestación artística central en la escena de los años 50, es decir, como un fenómeno cultural de amplio alcance cuyas proyecciones se pueden advertir en la literatura de mediados de siglo. Esta apreciación, por un lado, explica ciertos aspectos de las dos corrientes literarias con las que el escritor de Mendoza ha sido relacionado: el objetivismo francés y el behaviorismo de la novela norteamericana de entreguerras; por el otro, ilumina muchas características formales y temáticas de sus textos