One dimensional man
About: This article is published in Philosophical Books.The article was published on 1965-05-01. It has received 2842 citations till now.
Citations
More filters
TL;DR: This paper reviewed the journal's inaugural issue and ancillary literature to assess its likely contribution and found that the literature lacks a sufficient appreciation of the social and historical context of AIS developments and thus compromises the new journal's ability to achieve its espoused aims.
Abstract: Computer based accounting information systems (AIS) have been a major force behind the current wave of corporate downsizing and reengineering (Deloitte & Touche LLP, 1996). While greater economy and competitiveness is typically associated with these changes, conventional AIS literature usually eschews a counter‐hypothesis: that this new technology may also degrade both the quality and quantity of work, and therefore people’s working lives. The advent of Accounting, Management, and Information Technologies in 1991, with an espoused aim of “critically analyzing the relationships among our information systems designs, the qualities of our social and economic life, and our practices of management and control” (Boland and O’Leary, 1991, p. 2) presents a major opportunity to redress this deficiency. This paper reviews the journal’s inaugural issue and ancillary literature to assess its likely contribution. This literature is found to lack a sufficient appreciation of the social and historical context of AIS developments and thus compromises the new journal’s ability to achieve its espoused aims. The paper calls for a better understanding of the upheavals currently under way in the accounting workplace and ways in which AIS technology (and ethnographers) may compound these instabilities. A different kind of ethnographic research is called for: one capable of recognizing the dysfunctionalities of AIS‐induced downsizing and restructuring, and more politically and socially self‐aware of AIS agency in social and technological change.
40 citations
TL;DR: In his book Psychotherapy East and West, Alan Watts (1961) described Samsara, the Eastern concept of life lived in a vicious cycle of endlessly repetitive attempts to solve false and unreal problems.
Abstract: In his book Psychotherapy East and West, Alan Watts (1961) described Samsara, the Eastern concept of life lived in a vicious cycle of endlessly repetitive attempts to solve false and unreal problems. Much of what happens in counseling \"research\" qualifies as Samsara. Most published research is quite simply a waste—a waste of valuable time and resources. The simple fact is that most studies, as they are conceptualized, designed, executed and analyzed, make no difference to counseling theory and practice. Published research, of course, makes other differences to investigators (e.g., personal recognition and attention), but it seldom qualifies as \"disciplined inquiry\" (Cronbach and Suppes, in press). As they are typically done, research studies represent a routinized, \"convenience-oriented\" operation (Borgatta, 1960). Calling such work research, even if it is published, does not qualify it as significant and worthy.
40 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors suggest that adopting a critical theory perspective has the potential to empower educators to re-examine their roles, beliefs and assumptions, and ultimately help to reform teaching practice in online environments to the benefit of both educators and their learners.
Abstract: While many educators in higher education are using technologies in their teaching, their use of technology is generally restricted to meeting purposes of convenience and efficiency. Rarely are the affordances of technology being exploited by educators in higher education in order to develop teaching strategies that truly engage students, and help students develop self-regulation and the ability to work collaboratively – both of which are important capacities in the information age. It is therefore desirable to encourage educators to make some changes to their online teaching practices. Achieving change in teaching practice is a challenging process. The authors suggest that adopting a critical theory perspective has the potential to empower educators to re-examine their roles, beliefs and assumptions, and ultimately help to reform teaching practice in online environments to the benefit of both educators and their learners. Thus, the authors seek to encourage educators to re-consider their philosophy of online teaching from the perspective of critical theory.
40 citations
01 Jan 2018
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present the case for a need to approach ideas and practices related to scaling more critically than is commonly done, and discuss concerns as well as opportunities for developing a practice of responsible scaling of innovations.
Abstract: The term scaling (up) has become increasingly popular over the past three decades in the context of development initiatives and related investment proposals. Such scaling (up) generally relates to innovations, which include (new) technologies, practices (and habits), policies (and wider institutions), and projects. The approach of scaling innovations is often presented as the instrument par excellence for addressing grand challenges in/for society, to the extent that it may be regarded as a core development paradigm or even ideology. This thesis presents the case for a need to approach ideas and practices related to scaling more critically than is commonly done. This includes a need to consider related complexities and potentially negative implications from a more holistic perspective. The thesis discusses concerns as well as opportunities for developing a practice of responsible scaling of innovations.
40 citations
07 Dec 2018
TL;DR: In this article, a unified analytical framework, or a general theory, of ideological thought content is proposed, which is based on the VDP-triad, a set of three basic kinds of thought: values (V), descriptions (D) and prescriptions (P).
Abstract: This article is Part Two of a longer essay with the aim to propose a unified analytical framework, or a general theory, of ideological thought content. As we saw in Part One (in Statsvetenskaplig Tidskrift 2018:2) I suggest that all social and political communication and language consists of three basic kinds of thought: values (V), descriptions (D) and prescriptions (P). These are connected in quasi-logical sequences of practical reasoning. On these grounds I propose the theoretical model of the VDP-triad. I also present an attached analytical scheme for contentoriented idea-analysis, involving two basic levels of ideological thought, the fundamental level (of philosophical principles, world-views or human nature) and the operative level (of practical analyses of the situation and practical suggestions for action). My general method is presented as that of reconstructive theoretical synthesis, drawing on earlier theories and concepts of the ideational phenomenon in society. Part One consists of Chapter One ‘Bringing ideas back in’ (Sections 1–7) and Chapter Two, ‘Encircling the proposed general theory’ (Sections 8–14).
39 citations
References
More filters
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined accounts of travelers in terms of Erving Goffman's front versus back distinction and found that tourists try to enter back regions of the places they visit because these regions are associated with intimacy of relations and authenticity of experiences.
Abstract: The problem of false consciousness and its relationship to the social structure of tourist establishments is analyzed. Accounts of travelers are examined in terms of Erving Goffman's front versus back distinction. It is found that tourists try to enter back regions of the places they visit because these regions are associated with intimacy of relations and authenticity of experiences. It is also found that tourist settings are arrenged to produce the impression that a back region has been entered even when this is not the case. In tourist settings, between the front and the back there is a series of special spaces designed to accommodate tourists and to support their beliefs in the authenticity of their experiences. Goffman's front-back dichotomy is shown to be ideal poles of a continuum, or a variable.
2,627 citations
Book•
01 Jan 1995
TL;DR: Casey as discussed by the authors explored the effects of contemporary practices of work on the self and found that changes currently occuring in the world of work are part of the vast social and cultural changes that are challenging the meta trends of modern industrialism.
Abstract: Despite recent interest in the effects of restructuring and redesigning the work place, the link between individual identity and structural change has usually been asserted rather than demonstrated. Through an extensive review of data from field work in a multi-national corporation Catherine Casey changes this. She knows that changes currently occuring in the world of work are part of the vast social and cultural changes that are challenging the meta trends of modern industrialism. These events affect what people do everyday, and they are altering relations among ourselves and with the physical world. This valuable book is not only a critical analysis of the transformations occurring in the world of work, but an exploration of the effects of contemporary practices of work on the self.
540 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors interpret critical urban theory with reference to four mutually interconnected elements: its theoretical character; its reflexivity; its critique of instrumental reason; and its emphasis on the disjuncture between the actual and the possible.
Abstract: What is critical urban theory? While this phrase is often used in a descriptive sense, to characterize the tradition of post‐1968 leftist or radical urban studies, I argue that it also has determinate social–theoretical content. To this end, building on the work of several Frankfurt School social philosophers, this paper interprets critical theory with reference to four, mutually interconnected elements—its theoretical character; its reflexivity; its critique of instrumental reason; and its emphasis on the disjuncture between the actual and the possible. On this basis, a brief concluding section considers the status of urban questions within critical social theory. In the early 21st century, I argue, each of the four key elements within critical social theory requires sustained engagement with contemporary patterns of capitalist urbanization. Under conditions of increasingly generalized, worldwide urbanization, the project of critical social theory and that of critical urban theory have been intertwined a...
356 citations
TL;DR: The authors provide an overview of the key images of identity in organizations found in the research literature, including self-doubters, strugglers, surfers, storytellers, strategists, stencils and soldiers.
Abstract: This article provides an overview of the key images of identity in organizations found in the research literature. Image refers to the overall idea or conceptualization, capturing how researchers relate to — and shape — a phenomenon. Seven images are suggested: self-doubters, strugglers, surfers, storytellers, strategists, stencils and soldiers. These refer to how the individual is metaphorically understood in terms of identity, that is, how the researcher (research text) captures the individual producing a sense of self. The article aims to facilitate orientation — or encourage productive confusion — within the field, encourage reflexivity and sharpen analytic choices through awareness of options for how to conceptualize self-identity constructions.
289 citations