Diplomová práce Spor o pozitivismus v německé sociologii. Renáta Vondráková. 2012. Abstract The main theme of the work is the issue of positivism dispute, which is commonly referred to discussions that occurred in German sociology in the sixties. It was a debate between advocates of critical theory, which were Theodor W. Adorno and Jürgen Habermas, and the concept of critical rationalism of Karl R. Popper and Hans Albert. The discussion initially was confined to issues related to the logic of the social sciences, for many reasons, but rather applied to differences between the concepts and challenges of science from the perspective of both the above approaches. Also the description and discovery purposes and contexts that led to the overturning topic discussion are devoted to this work. The aim is to describe the external influences as widely as possible and how it affected the final understanding of the dispute, but also how well the positivism dispute turned the concepts of science in the following period. The first part is concerned with social and historical situation in which the dispute arose. Followed by an outline of key terms that in connection with a dispute likely occur, in fact it is the analysis of major issues. Emphasis is placed on a thorough description of the first two contributions to the...

While the (re)conquest of Arabia as manifest in 2003 Iraq, and 2006 Lebanon, were respectively Act I and II accenting sovereign figures exercising necropower by adjudicating (il)legal doctrines (i.e., pre-emptive defense strategy) legalizing extrajudicial techniques of violence founded on discursive technologies of racism, I argue that the “Islamist Winter” – temporarily dubbed the “Arab Spring” in 2011 – is Act III reifying similar legal doctrines (i.e., Bethlehem Legal Principles) and a (secular) linear temporal perception of time seeking to implement a New Middle East (NME) that is no longer “resistant to Latin-European modernity” but amenable to such inclusive exclusion historicist telos. The importance of “creative anarchy” as a positivist legal technique in producing chaotic developments such as carnage and a “crisis” or “emergency” of displacement – with sovereign members of jus gentium authorizing agents of terror (i.e., death squads/war-machines) – is that it reveals the deadly technologies of racism and relations of enmity inherent in sovereignty as a positivist juridical concept endowing sovereign figures with the power to formulate legal doctrines that ultimately subjugate Arab life to the power of death (necropower). Therefore, one of the main questions orbiting the writing of this dissertation is interested in deconstructing and critiquing jus gentium – by adopting a Third World Approach to International Law (TWAIL) in tandem with necropolitics and biopolitics as paradigms of analysis – to disclose that it is because jus gentium valorizes positivist jurisprudent scholastics postulating an unbridgeable cultural gap between an Athenian mode of Being as a universal sovereign subject, and a Madīnian mode of Being as the particular object denied sovereignty, that leads ratiocinative sovereign figures to legally exercise necropower on the Arab body. Therefore, the following chapters seek to go beyond the limited (post-colonial) idea asserting that the problem with international law is that it is primarily “Eurocentric” since the simple solution to such a claim would be to include the non-European body in International Law. Rather, the primary question constellating this monograph is: what are the experienced consequences of being temporally included and what are the experienced consequences of being temporally excluded from a legal regime (i.e., jus gentium) reifying a Latin-European philosophical theology universalizing a particular set of liberal-secular cultural mores as a “cultural benchmark” (i.e., purity-metric) in order to be-come imagined as temporally “inside” jus gentium? / Thesis / Doctor of Social Science

The assumption of the present study is that teachers should possess an adequate understanding of the nature of science and scientific method and hence this aspect was investigated. The empirical research carried out with Secondary School teacher trainees at Botswana colleges of education showed the following: Subjects possess an adequate understanding of some aspects of the nature of science and several aspects of the scientific method. They however do not have an adequate understanding on certain aspects of the nature of science. An association was found between the nature of science, type of educational institution attended, years of study and majoring in science. A positive association was found between scientific method and years spent studying. The present study recommended the inclusion of history, philosophy and sociology of science in the curriculum of teacher education. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (with specialisation in Natural Science Education)

This study undertakes to explore the extent to which students at the Elijah Mango College are involved in college decision making structures. The whole process of “carrying” of major subjects was selected to crystallise the extent of this involvement. The varying patterns of meanings attributed by the students to this phenomena were explored. By way of a theoretical contribution, the researcher synthesised features of interpretive and resistance theories in education to further explain this involvement. The empirical component which is attendant on the theoretical elaboration undertakes to explore and capture the patterns of meanings that the students used as a rationale for their reflexive resp^ ,ses to the college decision making structures. The epistemology underlying this investigation also enabled the researcher to gain a sensitivity towards the meanings formulated by the students. / Sociology / M.A. (Sociology)

Submitted by Luanna Matias (lua_matias@yahoo.com.br) on 2015-02-06T11:55:41Z No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Guilherme Martins Teixeira Borges - 2014.pdf: 3642605 bytes, checksum: daab13868d7272e84e616f7f49ffec97 (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Luciana Ferreira (lucgeral@gmail.com) on 2015-02-19T12:54:15Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Guilherme Martins Teixeira Borges - 2014.pdf: 3642605 bytes, checksum: daab13868d7272e84e616f7f49ffec97 (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-02-19T12:54:15Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Guilherme Martins Teixeira Borges - 2014.pdf: 3642605 bytes, checksum: daab13868d7272e84e616f7f49ffec97 (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-07-01 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / This dissertation aims to analyze the relationship between the action of landless rural workers, especially the activities of members of the Landless Rural Workers Movement (MST), and the criminalization process of his conducts by Criminal Law. Therefore, this study aims to verify scientifically know as the criminal knowledge can be a legitimate instrument to promote the criminalization and stigmatization of these landless workers. Thus, the work takes as its starting point the characterization of their research subject, namely, the landless rural workers in its meaning of agrarian social movement, why it held an approach to the construction of social inequality and its correlation with the emergence and structuring of social movements, for, in the end, weave important considerations about what is meant by social Movement and Agrarian MST. Following aimed to explain how the criminal know contemporary Brazilian still shows a strong influence of the positivist criminological thought inaugurated by the Italian school centuries ago. It is shown how positivist criminology was responsible for creating a conception of social dangerousness and embrace a segregationist and selective criminological project, such that those individuals who were "classified" as a threat, should be removed from social interaction. We report how this discourse entered " the back door " of the criminal laws homelands and enabled the creation of an ideology of social defense and the criminalization of minorities (poor, landless ruais, black and so on). Finally, aiming to demonstrate the hypothesis elected, held a review of the work conducted by the Joint Parliamentary Committee of Inquiry ( CPMI ) and Urban Land Reform, known as "CPMI of Land ", specially her Final Report , highlighting Project Senate n . 264/2006 ( PLS No. 264 /06 ) and Project of House of Representatives n . 7485/2006 ( PL No. 7485 / 06 ), whose proposals are, appropriately, intended to spearhead a process of criminalization of landless legitimized by criminal law. / A presente dissertação objetiva analisar a relação entre a atuação dos trabalhadores rurais sem terra, em especial a atuação dos integrantes do Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra (MST), e o processo de criminalização de suas condutas por parte dos operadores do direito. Para tanto, este estudo se propõe a verificar cientificamente como o saber penal pode ser um instrumento legítimo para promover a criminalização e estigmatização penal destes trabalhadores. Desta forma, o trabalho toma como ponto de partida a caracterização do seu sujeito de pesquisa, qual seja, os trabalhadores rurais sem terra em sua acepção de movimento social agrário, razão por que se realizou uma abordagem da construção das desigualdades sociais e a sua correlação com o surgimento e estruturação dos movimentos sociais, para, ao final, tecer importantes considerações sobre o que se entende por Movimento Social Agrário e MST. Na sequência, objetivou-se explanar como o saber penal brasileiro contemporâneo ainda ilustra uma forte influência do pensamento criminológico positivista inaugurado pela Escola Italiana séculos atrás. Demonstra-se como a criminologia positivista foi responsável por criar uma concepção de periculosidade social e abraçar um projeto criminológico segregacionista e seletivo, de tal forma que aqueles indivíduos os quais fossem “classificados” como uma ameaça, deviam ser afastados do convívio social. Relata-se como esse discurso adentrou “pelas portas dos fundos” das legislações penais pátrias e possibilitou a criação de uma ideologia da defesa social e da criminalização das minorias (pobres, trabalhadores ruais sem terra, negros e etc.). Ao final, objetivando demonstrar factivelmente a hipótese de trabalho eleita, realizou-se uma análise dos trabalhos realizados pela Comissão Parlamentar Mista de Inquérito (CPMI) da Reforma Agrária e Urbana, conhecida como “CPMI da Terra”, em especial os encaminhamentos por ela declarados em seu Relatório Final, com destaque para o Projeto de Lei do Senado n. 264, de 2006 (PLS N. 264/06) e o Projeto de Lei da Câmara dos Deputados n. 7485/2006 (PL N. 7485/06), cujas propostas revelam, com propriedade, a intenção de encabeçar um processo de criminalização dos trabalhadores rurais sem terra legitimado pelo próprio Direito Penal.

本研究的主要目的在幫助學生發展更主動與建構取向的科學本質觀。以42位修習「自然科學概論」通識課程的大學生為對象，採用「知識論壇」(Knowledge Forum, KF)的線上學習帄台，透過集體共構與分享知識讓學生學習自然科學，並在線上進行知識翻新（knowledge-building）。 研究資料主要來自(1)帄台上的貼文--以此分析學生知識建構與合作分享的情形；(2)「科學本質問卷」--以此分析學生在期初與期末對自然科學本質概念的轉變；(3)科學理論開放問卷--以此探討學生在期初與期末對科學理論概念的差異；以及(4)學生自我反思--藉此了解學生科學觀點轉變的過程。資料分析主要為推論統計之單因子變異數分析及質性的內容分析法。根據分析結果，本研究提出以下四點結論： 一、相較於傳統課堂，學生表現出比較多的同儕互動，特別是在知識論壇帄台中的活動。透過分享與想法的連結(每人帄均貼文14.5篇，貼文連結度達26.9％)，帄台中呈現出密切的知識建構與互動學習。而隨著時間的增長，同儕之間的互動密集度亦呈現逐步增加的趨勢(期初10.1％，期末16.6％)。此外，除了互動學習，學生也在課室中扮演科學史的探索者，透過自身與同儕資訊分享的力量，建構對科學理論發展的認知。根據研究結果，在知識論壇中的活動顯示出學生合作學習與互動頻繁，並能透過多元的學習模式進行知識翻新。 二、學生的科學本質觀產生轉變。在科學本質中的「暫時性」、「理論蘊涵」、「多元化」、「發明觀」、「想像力使用」、「科學知識檢證」與「主觀性」等陎向，期末呈現顯著的轉變，從比較實證的觀點轉變為比較建構的取向。此結果顯示出學生對於科學本質逐漸具備較多元的 看法，認為科學是多元發展的。 三、學生對科學理論的認識也漸趨「建構取向」。針對科學理論在「科學理論知識」、「科學理論探究方法」、「科學理論來源」、「科學理論與科學事業發展」以及「科學理論價值性」等五個陎向，期末時學生對於科學理論的認識逐漸呈現多元與建構的觀點。研究結果顯示，學生認為科學理論是可以從不同角度去進行探究，藉由不同觀點的研究方法或程序，它是可以被不斷翻新與修正的；每個人也都可以透過集體合作、討論、發想來形成新的科學理論概念。 四、從期末反思中發現學生的科學態度亦產生變化。學生了解到理論與想法的進步是需要經過不斷的修改與翻新。再者，學生也認知到理論與理論之間關係緊密，科學家、科學理論之間的不斷互動是促進科學理論演化的動力；最後，學生也瞭解到科學學習應秉持質疑、創新的態度，適時批判權威理論而不照單全收，並且應培養主動學習、勇敢懷疑的態度，以及應能提出自己的想法與他人激盪等，如此方能真正認識科學理論的本質，並有助於推動科學的進步。 本研究根據研究結果及發現，在科學教學與學習方陎提出下列六點建議：(1)擺脫記憶、背誦的科學學習方式；(2)儘量不給標準答案，強調學習者間腦力激盪；(3)建構式科學學習，融入科學史，讓學習者自我建構並認知科學知識；(4)創造互動與合作的知識建構環境；(5)教師應多引導想法的討論與激盪，刺激學生以多元觀點進行對話與知識翻新；(6)脫離制式、標準的教學程序，營建開放的學習環境並促進多元想法。 / The purpose of this study was to help college students develop more informed and sophisticated scientific epistemological beliefs. Forty-two undergraduates who took a college course titled ―Introduction to Natural Sciences‖ participated in the study. An online collaborative knowledge building environment, enabled by a software program called Knowledge Forum, was provided for students’ knowledge work. Data primarily came from (1) Students’ online discourse: which was posted in the form of notes, recorded in a Knowledge Forum database, and was used to analyze students’ collaborative learning and knowledge building. (2) A questionnaire—View on Science and Education Questionnaire (VOSE): which was originally designed and validated by Chen (2006) and it was used to analyze the differences of students’ view of nature of science between the beginning and the end of the course. (3) A open-ended survey with regard to the nature of scientific theory: which was employed to triangulate the findings derived from the VOSE and was administered in the beginning and at the end of the course. (4) Students’ self-reflection on what they learned from this course. To analyze, quantitative statistics (e.g., ANOVA) was employed to explore students’ online activities. Additionally, an open-coding procedure was adapted to content-analyze students’ notes. There were four main findings as follows: (1) Students shared ideas constantly, developed connections among ideas, and worked collaboratively and closely with knowledge in Knowledge Forum (with mean number of notes posted being 14.5 and percentage of notes linked being 26.9％). Furthermore, there was an gradual increase in students’ online discourse as reflected by the density of network interaction (10.1 % in the beginning of the course vs. 16.6% at the end of the course). In addition, students served as explorers by reconstructing stories of natural science history in Knowledge Forum, in order to develop a deeper understanding of the process of scientific theory development. The findings suggest that students worked closely together in collaborative learning and interaction, and were able to build knowledge using multiple methods in Knowledge Forum. (2) Students also changed their view of nature of science. It was found that there were significant pre-post change between their view in the beginning and that at the end of the course, in terms of the following seven dimensions: ―tentativeness‖, ―nature of observations‖, ―scientific methods‖, ―theories and laws‖, ―use of imagination‖, ―validation of scientific knowledge‖, and ―subjectivity and objectivity‖. Overall, students’ view shifted from more positivism-oriented to more constructivism-oriented. It was found that towards the end of the course, students started to possess more multiplistic view of nature of science. Students thought that science is advanced by means of multiplistic ways with no standardized methods. (3) In terms of students’ view of scientific theory, it became more ―constructivism-oriented‖ and more multiplistic towards the end of semester, in terms of the following five dimensions: ―knowledge about scientific theory-building‖, ―method of scientific theory-building‖, ―source of scientific theory‖, ―scientific theory and science as an enterprise‖ and ―value of scientific theory‖. It was found that student thought that scientific theory is developed through inquisition from many perspectives. Scientific theory is falsifiable, rather than fixed knowledge entity, and it should not be associated with pre-determined research procedure and standardized answers. Scientific theory can be improved by collaboration discussion and use of imagination. (4) In terms of students’ self-reflection on what they learned from this course, it was found that students demonstrated better understanding that theories are improvable, and that it is important to relate one theory to another for the purpose of creating new knowledge. Moreover, students also realized that it is important to possess critical and creative attitude towards studying science. Building on the above results, this study made the following six suggestions: (1) science learning must go beyond memorization and rote learning; (2) science learning should avoid the pursuit of standardized answers and encourage idea brainstorming; (3) science teachers should promote more constructive way of science learning, try to integrate history of science into science teaching, and help learners construct their own understanding of science; (4) it is important to cultivate a more creative and collaborative learning environment; (5) science teachers should also help students learn how to work with ideas, discuss together, and solve conflicting views; and (6) science teachers should help create an open environment to promote multiple scientific views.

x, 208 p. / In this dissertation "literariness" is defined not merely as a quality of form by which texts are evaluated as literary, but as an immanent and critical sensibility by which reading, writing, speaking, learning, and teaching subjects within the literary humanities engage language in its immediate aesthetic (and thus also historical and ethical) aspect. This reorientation seeks to address the literary academy's overwhelming archival focus, which risks eliding literary endeavor as an embodied undertaking that inevitably reflects the historical contingency of its enactment. Literary endeavor in higher education is thus understood as a performance by which subjects enact not only the effect of literary texts upon themselves but also the contingencies of their socio-economic, national, cultural, and personal contexts. Subjects' responses to literature are seen as implicit identity claims that, inevitably constituted of biases, can be evaluated through the lens of post-positivist realism in terms of their ethical and pragmatic usefulness. Framing this reoriented literariness in terms of its enactment in higher education literature classrooms, this dissertation addresses its pedagogical, methodological, and personal implications. The events of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and the literature arising from it serve as a pivotal case study. The TRC Hearings, publically broadcast and pervasive in the national discourse of the time, enacted a scenario in which South Africans confronted the implications for personal and national identities of apartheid's racial abuses. The dissertation demonstrates through close reading and anecdotal evidence how J.M. Coetzee's Disgrace and Antjie Krog's Country of My Skull formally reactivate this scenario in the subject in the event of reading, while surveys of critical responses to these texts show how readers often resisted the texts' destabilizing effects. A critical account of the process that resulted in Telling, Eugene - a stage production in which U.S. military veterans tell their stories to their civilian communities - analyzes the idea of literariness in the U.S. and assesses its potential for socially engaged literary praxis. / Committee in charge: Linda Kintz, Chairperson; Suzanne Clark, Member; Michael Hames-Garcia, Member; John Schmor, Outside Member

The assumption of the present study is that teachers should possess an adequate understanding of the nature of science and scientific method and hence this aspect was investigated. The empirical research carried out with Secondary School teacher trainees at Botswana colleges of education showed the following: Subjects possess an adequate understanding of some aspects of the nature of science and several aspects of the scientific method. They however do not have an adequate understanding on certain aspects of the nature of science. An association was found between the nature of science, type of educational institution attended, years of study and majoring in science. A positive association was found between scientific method and years spent studying. The present study recommended the inclusion of history, philosophy and sociology of science in the curriculum of teacher education. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (with specialisation in Natural Science Education)

This study undertakes to explore the extent to which students at the Elijah Mango College are involved in college decision making structures. The whole process of “carrying” of major subjects was selected to crystallise the extent of this involvement. The varying patterns of meanings attributed by the students to this phenomena were explored. By way of a theoretical contribution, the researcher synthesised features of interpretive and resistance theories in education to further explain this involvement. The empirical component which is attendant on the theoretical elaboration undertakes to explore and capture the patterns of meanings that the students used as a rationale for their reflexive resp^ ,ses to the college decision making structures. The epistemology underlying this investigation also enabled the researcher to gain a sensitivity towards the meanings formulated by the students. / Sociology / M.A. (Sociology)

Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) have played a crucial role in moving socially responsibility considerations up on the private equity industry’s agenda. DFIs add a development impact criterion to traditional financial performance goals in the investment industry and play a catalytic role by mobilizing other investors. The gap in research regarding DFIs implications and significance in the investment community from a SRI perspective is evident. The development impact objective introduced by the DFIs is examined to understand its effects on fund managers’ decision-making and if it exists a trade-off between this objective and financial performance. An understanding of how DFIs control fund managers to act in accordance to their objective as well as how they determine compensation schemes to incentivize them to pursue high return on investments, is discussed in relation to the agency theory. Furthermore, stakeholder/shareholder consideration is examined in relation to the subject. The aim of this study is to examine how the behavior of fund managers is affected by the involvement of a DFI investor and try to add to the understanding of their significance as institutional investors in developing markets. Previous studies have been more focused on determining the financial performance of socially responsible investments by using very similar quantitative data collection methods. This thesis undertakes an in-depth approach with the purpose to understand the fund manager’s drives as well as how a DFI involvement affects the behavior and decision-making process.   This thesis undertook a qualitative research strategy and semi-structured interviews were used as the tool to understand the fund managers’ personals beliefs and perceptions of how the relationship with DFIs affect them. The selection criteria for the fund managers was that they needed to work in a fund in which a DFIs has invested. We also included DFI investors in order to understand their point of view. The interview was recorded, transcribed and later divided into themes in accordance with the thematic approach, following six steps. Our findings show that Development Finance Institutions plays an important role in emerging markets and affect fund manager behavior to a certain extent. They did not perceive a trade-off between financial performance goals and development impact objectives. We conclude that DFIs increase fund manager focus on ESG/SEE elements in the investment process. DFIs requirements and reporting obligations is used as a tool to ensure that the fund manager act in accordance to DFI objective. The fund managers were neither willing to sacrifice commercial return in favor of development impact. Lastly, the interest among the DFIs and commercial investors is fairly similar, hence reducing the conflict of interest between investors.