published_or_final_version / Psychology / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Metaethical constructivism approaches metaethical questions from the perspective of the nature of normativity; and it approaches questions about the nature of normativity from the perspective of agency. According to constructivism, normativity originates in the agent. The agent gives herself laws, and these laws are normative because the agent has given them to herself. Placing the agent as the source of normativity enables constructivism to answer metaphysical and epistemological questions about morality with ease. It also allows it to account for the relation between moral judgements and action. But placing the agent as the source of normativity raises two questions. First, if the laws that the agent issues to herself are normative because she issues them to herself, what are the standards of correctness of those laws? Second, if the agent is her own source of normativity, how can she accommodate the normative status of others? In this thesis I explore whether constructivism can answer those questions. In Chapter 1 I argue that the constructivist account of normativity is rich enough to answer the first question. From Chapter 2 onwards I argue that constructivism cannot answer the second question. I argue that its account of normativity requires that the agent does not accommodate the normative status of others.

The study was prompted by the lack of existing research with regard to what people locally think and believe about dreams. The study aimed to uncover, explore, and describe current, local dream related beliefs, discourses, and practices (in the Vaal-Triangle area of South-Africa), using a postmodern, social constructivist, as well as a generally sociological approach. In support of this aim, a literature review of various religious, cultural, and psychological dream related discourses was executed. Semi-structured, qualitative interviews were conducted with twenty respondents who were purposively selected from the administrative database of a Vaal-Triangle University on the basis of culture and gender. The interviews were recorded and the edited transcriptions thus derived served as basis for a thematic qualitative analysis of the respondents' dream related beliefs and practices. The findings were also examined with regard to cultural and gender related patterns, as well as in relation to existing dream discourses. Findings included that dreams were accorded differing degrees of importance by the respondents, that dreams were believed to originate both from internal factors such as an individual's mental and emotional state and neurological processes, as well as from external factors such as daily events and experiences, deceased relatives, and God. Furthermore, dreams were believed to serve several different functions such as mental processing, releasing pent-up emotions, expressing fears or desires, predicting the future, or providing warnings and solutions to problems. Dreams also often served as basis for decisions and actions, most often in order to avoid a negative outcome, or actualize a positive scenario shown by a dream. Several types of unusual dream experiences were reported, including precognitive dreams, dreams that provided contact with a deceased relative or ancestor, spiritual experiences in dreams, as well as sleep paralysis. The most significant sociological findings included that dreams often influence the nature and content of social interaction between individuals, frequently serving as a source of humour and entertainment; that the mother often serves as the "keeper" of knowledge about dreams, and that local dream discourses and practices might in part be transmitted matrilineally. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Sociology))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2005

This study addresses methodological critiques of ethnicity research in organisations by combining intersectionality and identity work frameworks. Additionally, it extends intersectionality beyond its traditional focus on multiple disadvantage and demonstrates contextual sensitivity to ethnicity. Taking an individual constructivist stance, I examined ethnicity and its intersection with gender and seniority through an identity work lens. The research question was: How do senior black, Asian and minority ethnic women and men make meaning of episodes that raise the salience of their intersecting identities at work? The study investigated how 24 senior black, Asian and minority ethnic (BME) women and men constructed an understanding of their multiple-identified selves in response to affirming, contradictory or ambiguous identity-heightening work experiences. Respondents kept journals about episodes that raised the salience of their intersecting identities. Then, in interviews, they described the sense they made of the episodes and their responses to them. Following a template-based analysis of 101 accounts, a typology emerged of Accommodating, Refuting, Reconciling, Affirming and Exploratory identity work modes, describing senior BME individuals’ identity construction in response to identity-heightening episodes. I introduce ‘intersectional identity work’ to illustrate how individual (e.g. cognitive effort to reconcile a paradox), relational (e.g. a sense of responsibility and affinity for subordinate minority colleagues) and contextual (e.g. visibility resulting from demographic distribution in one’s immediate environment) factors influence intersecting senior, ethnic and gender constructions at work. Integrating intersectional and identity work perspectives to examine ethnicity demonstrates the dynamic interplay of multiple identity dimensions during meaning-making, the range of modes adopted and the intensity of effort expended by senior BME women and men during personal meaning-making. This approach makes a methodological contribution to ethnicity and intersectionality research. It also makes an empirical contribution to UK ethnicity and identity work research through the suggestive model of identity work modes and rich insight into senior BME individuals’ experiences at the juxtaposition of disadvantage and privilege.

The international detention regime has been placed under a considerable amount of strain in the context of the war on terror. Political elites in both the USA and UK have significantly challenged accepted standards of appropriateness regarding detention, even though these states are traditionally strongly associated with the promotion of human rights internationally. Such defections and contestations present researchers with an intriguing process to understand, as these practices, by definition, challenge our settled assumptions about the post Cold-war international order. This thesis examines one element of this puzzle, assessing how the normative constraints associated with the international detention regime were negotiated by the Blair government and Bush administration so as to allow for contestation and apparent defection in 2001-2006. Generally, the IR literature on norms has focused on their constraining power, considering simple dichotomies of compliance and defection, often drawing on pre-defined interests to explain behaviour. Whilst constructivists have recognised the constitutive nature of norms, they lack a persuasive account of the micro-foundational processes of norm influence which prevents them from engaging with the contestation of seemingly embedded international normative standards. In order to address this problem I draw from the social identity approach in social psychology, where scholars focus on the multiplicity of social identities and the interactive processes of norm influence and contestation at a micro-foundational level. I demonstrate that by firmly embedding individuals in the broader social identities context and focusing on the management strategies employed by political elites we can better understand the nature of normative constraint in these cases, and whether or not an enabling framework for such counter-normative practices was established. This thesis aims to bridge some of the gap that exists between research that focuses on international norms and that which concentrates on state leaders, demonstrating the importance of the broader interactive processes of contestation, generally missing from current constructivist accounts of international norms.

‘Essentialism’ and ‘constructivism’ are two epistemological perspectives that have been used in the philosophical analysis of mystical experience. ‘Essentialism’ attempts to establish mystical experience as a distinct category of experience, cutting across cultural boundaries. ‘Constructivism’ attempts to establish mystical experience as unique to its various cultural contexts. The two viewpoints are variously held in opposition. ‘Constructivism’ often appears as something of an assumed perspective and is rarely, if ever, defended (in any depth) by the individuals whose views it apparently represents. Recent ‘essentialist’ thinkers (‘non-constructivists’) have taken issue with this tendency to assume ‘what is to be proved’, and have reasoned in attempts to establish ‘constructivisim’ as inappropriate to certain experiences that appear to be found recurring in reports of mystical experiences across cultures. However, those analyses have been concerned to recommend their own (‘essentialist’ / ‘non-constructivist’) position and have, therefore, operated with a certain amount of bias, despite elements of commendable intent. Indeed it is in virtue of these commendable elements i.e. by exploring the epistemological assumptions of authors who attempt to make mystical experience culture specific, that ‘essentialists’ posit and provide justification for the classification of ‘constructivism’ as a distinct philosophical approach to the data of enquiry. ‘Constructivists’ (so-called), on the other hand, tend to emphasise the importance and role of context in their discussions, and in some cases reject the classification of their views as particularly ‘constructivist’. The thesis examines the reasonable defensibility of ‘nonconstructed’ mystical experience from three perspectives: ‘essentialist’, ‘constructivist’ and ‘contextualist’ – outlining considerations for anyone approaching the material via each, and addressing the relevant issues of diversity at tension between these recognisable philosophical viewpoints.

This thesis examines the legacy and consequences of Constructivism in art, from the early days of the Russian avant-garde to recent times and today. The Introduction explains how the concept of faktura, first theorised around 1912 by David Burliuk and others, came to designate the material qualities rather than the subject-matter of art. Chapter 1: Towards A Constructive Ideal, traces the progress of faktura in the reliefs of V.Tatlin from 1913. The ancestry of faktura in the Eastern icon tradition is emphasised, where a close relation between sight and touch already suggested a new type of encounter between the viewer and the object of art. The chapter further examines the importance of faktura to Suprematism, and examines A.Rodchenko’s appeal to line as a rational element of construction and as a weapon against ‘composition’ in art. Chapter 2: Time and the Viewer presents evidence of the importance to artists in the period 1940-70 of the real-time encounter between viewer and the art-object, first in American and British ‘Constructionism’, and then in the Minimal art of Judd, Morris and others. The chapter ends with a discussion of temporality in relation to abstract paintings of Rothko and de Kooning. Chapter 3: Irregular Curves: Science and ‘The Organic’ reprises the minority Constructivism of Mikhail Matyushin and Pyotr Miturich that claimed organic structures were superior to technicist ones. Evidence is presented that the rectilinear grid was always subject to challenge, initially in the art of Emma Kunz, Jean Arp and other pre-war modernists but latterly among those for whom ‘field’ and ‘curvature’ became relevant formats after 1945. Particularly with the development of computing from the 1970s, new geometries based on iteration and scale-invariancy assumed major relevance to constructed art. Chapter 4: Constructivism Now presents evidence of the application of Constructivist principles in recent art, initially in Dan Flavin’s ‘monuments’ to Tatlin and others and subsequently in so-called Neo-Geo and Op art of the 1970s and 1980s. From that period on, albeit often in a register of irony and ‘serious play’, faktura in a Constructivist sense continued, and continues today, to define the relation between viewer and object of art.

This research investigated how constructivist approaches are conceptualized and implemented in “gallery tour and studio workshop” programs at three art museums, and the relationship that exists between the gallery and studio learning. To address these questions, I examined how administrators from each museum designed programs and supported educators, how educators facilitated teaching, and how students responded to the gallery and studio learning. I employed a basic qualitative multi-case study. This method suited my research—an investigation of three cases (three iterations of a program at each museum)—because I aimed to understand the uniqueness of each case while examining a range of similar and contrasting cases. Data collection methods included observations of program sessions, interviews with museum administrators and museum educators, casual conversations with participating students, photos of students’ artworks, and museum documents. The cases offer examples of educators’ teaching approaches, which reflect—or do not reflect—constructivist tenets, as well as factors that influence the connection—or lack of connection—across gallery and studio learning. Specifically, the findings indicate that a smaller students-educator ratio and knowing students’ information in advance helped ensure a conducive learning environment. Another relevant factor was the educators’ facilitation of dialogue. Students became more involved in interpreting artworks when educators were most responsive to their ideas, and less involved when educators asked leading or less open-ended questions. Program themes, reflections on the tour prior to the studio session, and motivating questions for studio activities helped ensure connections between gallery and studio. Additionally, exploratory studio activities and small group discussions in the studio helped students make unique choices within their art projects, whereas step-by-step demonstrations led to prescriptive artworks. Further, students’ responses reflected the sequencing of the program: ways of discussing artworks travelled from the galleries to the studio, and student artworks referenced visual elements from artworks displayed in the galleries. While the findings of this research are not generalizable, they provide insight into methods and approaches that might be adopted by museum administrators, museum educators, and art educators who aim to provide school students meaningful and well-connected museum “gallery tour and studio workshop” educational programs.

[pt] O objetivo principal deste trabalho de pesquisa é entender o uso de textos visuais na sala de aula e seu impacto na aprendizagem. A pesquisa enfoca o uso de textos visuais para facilitar a aplicação de uma perspectiva pedagógica que objetive a sócio-construção do conhecimento, o sócio-interacionismo, seguindo a concepção de Bakhtin (2000), Freire (1979), Mercer (1994) e Vygotsky (1994). Com essa base teórica, a pesquisa aplica a gramática do desenho visual (Kress e van Leeuwen, 1996) em um ambiente de sala de aula, ao examinar as interpretações feitas pelos próprios aprendizes em relação às imagens utilizadas pela professora, para que se observa de que forma as observações dos aprendizes evocam as categorias na gramática do desenho visual e, portanto, trazer luz sobre o conhecimento desses aprendizes de como ler imagens. Discute-se as implicações de uma abordagem pedagógica que objetiva construir o letramento visual no ambiente de ensino da língua inglesa. / [en] The main purpose of this study is to understand the use of visual texts in the classroom and their impact on learning. The research focuses on how the use of visual texts can facilitate the application of a construction of meanings and the socio- interactional perspective on teaching/learning, according to Bakhtin (2000), Freire (1979), Mercer (1994) and Vygotsky (1994). With this theoretical framework, the study applies the grammar of visual design (Kress & Van Leeuwen, 1996) to a classroom setting by examining the learners’ interpretations of the images used by the teacher, to observe to what extent their observations evoke the categories in the grammar of visual design and thus indicate knowledge of how to read images. The study discusses the implications of an approach to teaching and learning that aims at building visual literacy in the setting of English language teaching.

Yuen Ka-ming. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 86-93). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / ABSTRACT Page --- p.i / TABLE OF CONTENTS --- p.iii / LIST OF TABLES --- p.vi / LIST OF FIGURES --- p.vii / LIST OF EXAMPLES --- p.viii / Chapter I. --- INTRODUCTION --- p.1 / Chapter II. --- REVIEW OF LITERATURE --- p.4 / The Theory of Constructivism --- p.4 / From the Teacher-centered to Constructivism --- p.4 / Constructivist Teaching --- p.8 / Constructivist Views of Learning --- p.13 / Exogenous Constructivism --- p.13 / Endogenous Constructivism --- p.14 / Dialectical Constructivism --- p.15 / Theoretical Assumptions --- p.17 / The Research Evidence --- p.17 / Previous Studies --- p.18 / Limitations of Previous Research --- p.22 / Summary --- p.24 / Chapter III. --- METHODOLOGY --- p.25 / Case Profile --- p.25 / Data Collection --- p.27 / Participant Observation --- p.27 / Interviews --- p.28 / Documents --- p.30 / Data Analysis --- p.30 / Classroom Processes --- p.31 / Comparing Student Learning --- p.31 / Participants' Feedback on the Constructivist Teaching --- p.32 / Chapter IV. --- RESULTS --- p.33 / The Classroom Processes --- p.33 / The Classroom Process of the Constructivist Teaching --- p.37 / The Classroom Process of the Teacher-centered Teaching --- p.42 / Comparing Student Learning --- p.44 / Changes in Participants' Knowledge --- p.45 / Type 1: No Relevant Knowledge Gained (nil/similar) --- p.45 / Type 2: Relevant Knowledge Gained without Prior Knowledge --- p.51 / Type 3: Relevant Knowledge Constructed and Integrated into Prior Knowledge --- p.54 / Similarity and Difference between the Two Teaching Approaches --- p.60 / The Learning Outcomes --- p.61 / Outside-class Learning --- p.61 / Recalling --- p.64 / Critiquing and Generating --- p.68 / Similarity and Difference between the Two Teaching Approaches --- p.72 / Participants' Feedback on the Constructivist Teaching --- p.73 / The Negative Side --- p.73 / The Positive Side --- p.78 / Summary --- p.79 / Chapter V. --- DISCUSSION --- p.81 / The Strengths of Constructivist Teaching --- p.81 / Limitations of Constructivist Teaching --- p.82 / Conclusion and Recommendations --- p.84 / REFERENCES --- p.86 / APPENDICES / Chapter A --- Pre and Post Class Interview Questions --- p.94 / Chapter B --- A Sample Interview Guide for the Pre-class Interviews --- p.95 / Chapter C --- A Sample Interview Guide for the Post-class Interviews --- p.96 / Chapter D --- The Interview Guide for the Final Interview --- p.97