Showing papers on "Viewpoints published in 2000"

To Vote or Not to Vote: The Merits and Limits of Rational Choice Theory

Abstract: What makes people vote? In addressing this simple question, Andre Blais examines the factors that increase or decrease turnout at the aggregate, cross-national level and considers what affects people's decision to vote or abstain. In doing so, Blais assesses the merits and limitations of the rational choice model in explaining voter behaviour. The past few decades have witnessed a rise in the popularity of the rational choice model in accounting for voter turnout, and more recently a groundswell of outspoken opposition to rational choice theory. Blais brings together the opposing theories and literatures, and offers tests of these different viewpoints. Using new data sets from many countries, Blais concludes that while rational choice is an important tool - even when it doesn't work - its empirical contribution to understanding why people vote is quite limited.

The Lost Cause of Homework Reform.

Abstract: Over the course of the twentieth century, sparks flew regularly whenever professionals, politicians, and parents addressed the topic of homework in the schools. Passions were many, and extreme positions were customary. At different points in time, radically different viewpoints prevailed. In the discourse about homework, the tendency was to portray it as either all good or all bad-savior or destroyer of schools, children, and families.

Virtual reviewers for collaborative exploration of movie reviews

Abstract: We propose a collaborative exploration system that helps users to explore recommendations from various viewpoints. Given ratings and reviews on movies from reviewers, the system provides “virtual reviewers” that represent particular viewpoints. Each virtual reviewer navigates the user by recommending and characterizing both movies and reviewers according to its viewpoint. We have developed a browsing method with virtual reviewers and visual interfaces.

Faculty as Part of the Advising Equation: An Inquiry into Faculty Viewpoints on Advising

Abstract: This study examines faculty advisor perspectives on faculty-student advising interactions. A survey questionnaire and two focus groups tapped faculty concerns about a variety of advising issues tha...

Understanding the Research‐to‐Practice Gap: A National Study of Researchers' and Practitioners' Perspectives

Abstract: A study examining the perspectives of practitioners and researchers on higher education literature and research reveals noticeably different viewpoints as well as some significant areas of agreement.

Teaching Expertise is at the Core of ITS Research

Abstract: To design efficient, flexible and user-adaptable learning environments, we need to embed a great deal of knowledge into them. This paper emphasises the teacher’s knowledge, which encompasses all the expertise of the teacher or of the trainer. Thus it is broader than that which is usually called tutoring knowledge. We start with a description of several facets of teaching expertise and of various implementations that have been described in the ITS literature. Then we describe in more detail some prototypes that were built by our research team during the past ten years. We focus on the benefits of having practitioners on the design teams in order to provide us with their teaching expertise. We provide a framework for organising this knowledge into categories based on different viewpoints. Using this framework, we discuss the acquisition and modelling problem; in our view commonly shared ontologies in the domain have not yet been fully developed. Finally, we propose architectures suitable for reflecting teacher’s knowledge, moving from the traditional, but old “four modules model” to more up to date proposals such as agent models and environments open to teachers. Our conclusion is that much has been accomplished, but the context is rapidly changing, especially in terms of communication and co-operation. Thus major research initiatives need to be undertaken to face these new challenges. Our task becomes LARGER, not SMALLER.

The organizational relationship between marketing and public relations: exploring paradigmatic viewpoints

Abstract: The paper outlines the various theoretical perspectives on the relationship between marketing and public relations in organizations. It is shown that conceptualizations of this organizational relationship between marketing and public relations can be traced back to basic paradigmatic viewpoints on social reality: individualism versus structuralism. The purpose of this paper is to provide a template explicating these various perspectives, and in particular the paradigmatic presuppositions underlying the choice for each of these perspectives as a source for further research.

Directing with the Viewpoints.

Abstract: Since Anne Bogart began to develop the Viewpoints in the Experimental Theatre Wing of New York University (ETW) twenty years ago, her approach has become a training tool, a staging tool, an “everything” tool, adopted and adjusted by theatre artists around the world. The Viewpoints, a technique used to focus actors’ awareness on different elements of performance (tempo, duration, gesture, spatial relationship), no longer remain exclusively among the avant-garde; rather, in the last decade, a generation of mainstream directors has begun to incorporate Viewpoints training and practice into the rehearsal process. Some have studied with Bogart; some have studied with her students; some have studied with Viewpoints creator Mary Overlie; and some have only attended a workshop.

Viewpoints : a guide to conflict resolution and decision making for adolescents

Abstract: Viewpoints: A Guide to Conflict Resolution and Decision Making for Adolescents is about understanding yourself, others and their points of view; confronting common problems; and solving them effectively. Problems within one's control can be solved and the manual can be of assistance in this process if used on one's own or in small groups. Lessons include: Thinking About Our Problems, Is There a Problem? Why Is There a Conflict? and What Do I Want?

Translating knowledge into good practice.

Abstract: Nurses should value knowledge gained by experience, and pass on such knowledge to new colleagues. Collaboration between nurses and academics is a beneficial method of sharing clinical and academic viewpoints. Reflective groups and journal clubs can help to develop evidence-based practice. Implementing knowledge in practice is a challenge and can be very rewarding for practitioners, as well as improving patient care.

Electronic work monitoring: an ethical model

Abstract: This paper describes the activity of electronic work-monitoring, the use of information technology to record the activities of workers as a background task to normal activities. The viewpoint of the activity from the employer side, as a productivity tool, and the view from the employee perspective, as a possible invasion of privacy, are compared. A quadrant model is described which combines these two conflicting viewpoints, and details how the model may be used to describe and if possible resolve potential conflicts of interest between employees and employers.

Establishing a relational field that fosters learning processes : Some tentative propositions derived from trainee experiences

Abstract: In this article, we look at the recent introduction of more relational-oriented learning principles and how they translate into practice by documenting the experiences of both trainees and instructors. It became clear that actors held different opinions and viewpoints on learning objectives and process ingredients for achieving these objectives. This divergence in opinions resulted in an “impoverished” learning trajectory. We suggest that remedying this situation implies introducing reflexivity regarding learning processes or, stated otherwise, addressing “meta-cognitions” that participants inevitably bring to the process as they affect the way in which people engage in the relational field that encompasses the learning trajectory. Despite some recent arguments in favour of a distinction between cognitive and meta-cognitive mediation, we argue for a similar approach with respect to both types of mediation. We end this article by suggesting that designing learning trajectories with this dual concern in min...

Public Policy and the Internet: Privacy, Taxes, and Contract

Abstract: This book presents the initial findings that framed early discussions on Internet public policy and outlines proposals that should guide policymaking in the future. In addition, Cronin, McLure, and Radin's viewpoints show that the future of e-commerce has as much to do with how policy issues are resolved as with how technological challenges are overcome.

Viewpoints: Democratic Renewal in Local Government—A False Dream!

Abstract: There is a great deal of ambivalence in the New Labour approach to local government. While much is made of ‘developing local vision’ and empowering local people by involving them in citizens’ juries, focus groups and other methods of local consultation, many citizens are now cynical about the Government’s willingness to be influenced by the advice from local groups if it conflicts in any way with national policy. As a result, they show little interest in being involved, leaving local advisory bodies in the hands of the same group of people. Unfortunately, this type of activity often attracts individuals who enjoy making inputs but are not too concerned about the delivery of outputs. While the Government’s proposal to establish a role for an elected mayor has received moderate support, the concept of ‘executive-led’ councils appears to be less popular. My local newspaper has been swamped with correspondence for some weeks, almost all against the idea. This does not surprise me: the ‘increased efficiency’ argument is less potent than the belief that the decision-makers are being removed one step further away from those affected by the decisions, i.e. your local councillor it appears will have lost whatever power to influence policy he or she previously possessed. In considering the importance placed by local people on accessibility to their local representatives, it is worth looking at the example of the parish council. In general these work well because parish councillors are very accessible and they can do something about the sort of problems referred to them by local people. In the same way, local amenity groups work well because they are close to their members and often lobby effectively on local environmental matters. Local representatives should observe the following rules:

1.4.1 A Development Guide of Robust System Architecture

Abstract: The term Systems Architecting (SA) is widely used in systems engineering area, but the explicit meaning of the term varies considerably from person to person, depending on his expertise and viewpoints. In this paper, we surveyed the range of variations in definitions and presented the summary. Additionally, the definition of robust systems architecting is suggested along with the associated systems architecture guides that can be followed during architecture development. These guides are written from the viewpoints of art side, requirement specification, system view, principle, tool and environment.

Understanding and researches on concept of technological innovation

Abstract: Based on the innovation theory by J.A.Suhumpeter, more and more people in the field of the economic theory and management have begun to make researches on technological innovations and have kept enriching the theory. The academic field from abroad and organizations concerned have given more definitions on the concept of technological innovations, most of which hold similar or same viewpoints. However, there still exist some different viewpoints. It is an important premise and basis of making researches on technological innovations to start from the reality of China's conditions and its economic constructions, to reflect deeply the connotation and denotation of the technological innovation concept to make the definitions accurate, practical and with a wide range.

Viewpoints: Public Management 2010

Abstract: This issue of the journal attempts the somewhat hazardous task of looking into the future, with a series of articles on where the public services might find themselves in 2010. The Editors received an enthusiastic response to an invitation last year to submit articles on this topic, and we are most grateful to everyone who offered material; there is unfortunately space to publish only a selection of the best. A discussion of the future for public management over the next ten years might logically start from the expectations which politicians and the public will have of our public services, including expectations which may be conveyed implicitly rather than as part of a declared programme. Expectations can be grouped under three broad headings: meeting the needs which we as citizens feel ourselves to have; meeting the needs which experts, in effect, tell us that we should have; and fulfilling those wider ambitions that either citizens or experts may express but also command a sufficient consensus for them to be a target for action by public agencies. As examples of these three types of expectations, one could cite under the first heading the provision of services to the elderly, the maintenance of adequate levels of public health under the second, and various forms of assistance to less developed countries under the third. Politicians, the media and, not least, education in its various forms help to shape what these expectations are; although there is, of course, no obvious way of discerning the precise directions in which they might evolve. One thing seems clear however, and that is despite the poor image of public services, expectations of what they should deliver will continue to rise, probably in both standard and in volume. There are a number of reasons for believing this. Most obviously, current social trends point clearly towards it. The population is continuing to age, in the sense that more people are living longer than ever before. There are consequent demands not just on the providers of social and medical services but less directly also, for example on public transport operators and housing authorities to provide ‘accessible’ facilities. Family life is becoming more fragmented, leading to higher proportions of single-person households and lone parents. Again, the repercussions are felt in terms of housing provision, as well as in child-care services and the like. Or a different kind of example might be the demands of international competitiveness, which place a premium on the nation having a workforce which is better educated and continually updated in terms of professional skill. The almost universal belief in response to these trends seems to be that public services must play the major, if not an exclusive, role in catering to them.

Organizational Cognitive Complexity: Determinants and Consequences.

Abstract: Marketing strategy formation is a complex process. Strategic decision-making involves participation by multiple organizational members with diverse and sometimes conflicting viewpoints. Beyond the cognitive capacity o f individual decision-makers, marketing strategy develops through an emergent process that engages the collective efforts and interpretive capabilities o f various representatives o f the organization. This study examines the relationships among organizational context, processes, and outcomes. Specifically, organizations are examined as cognitive units stimulated by perceived environmental turbulence, team functional diversity, and an open-minded culture. These factors enhance cognitive complexity, which is the organization's capacity to perceive its environment in a multidimensional way. With greater cognitive complexity, the organization increases its ability to differentiate and integrate various issues during the decision-making process, resulting in more novel and timely strategic marketing action.

Where to Start? Introducing Standardized Nursing Languages in Educational Settings

Abstract: Viewpoint provides a forum for scholarly discussion about the theoretical, philosophical, and practical issues related to nursing language and classification systems. The sometimes controversial views are intended to stimulate readers' comments and perspectives. We welcome brief, informal responses to published viewpoints. If you have a viewpoint you want to submit, or if you want to discuss it beforehand, contact the column editor: judithwilkins@att.net; 913.631.1089.

Viewpoints and Comments: Transgressing Boundaries: Postmodernism and Cultural Criticism

Abstract: A move is on in universities around the world to transform Cultural Studies into a new critical theory that might help to reconstruct public life. Particularly in the Thatcherite era, it was a major academic development when its postmodernist theorist endeavored to give it an important status as an established project. It is felt that this is now over and time has come to return to the old critical values and a more materialist insistence on the text's historical situation. But many still feel that cultural studies is relevant to the study of popular culture, though academics in English Departments trace it back to revolutionary theories of the 18th and 19th centuries leading to the introduction of the Cambridge tripos, as argued by Fred Inglis in his recent book Cultural Studies. Though its foundations were laid in Cambridge in the 20s, it was only 40 years later that it really become an important area of study under the stewardship of Richard Hoggart, Stuart Hall, Raymond Williams and E. P. Thompson. More recently, Althusser, Derrida and Foucault entered the discipline. The working of culture, politics and society should interest people in many disciplines especially if cultural studies is contextualised within western Marxism, feminism and postmodernism. This interdisciplinary project has an enthusiastic following in both American and British universities, and now somewhat in Indian universities, and is sure to leave its mark for years to come. Ben Agger, for instance, maintains that there are the 'multiple values' of cultural studies, and argues for a version of it that fits a certain intellectual and political agenda. Unlike what has happened to poststructuralism, Agger tries to go beyond just a vacuum methodology for reading cultural text so as to develop a more politically conscientious approach to culture and addresses the emergent split in cultural studies between a methodologically academised cultural studies programme and a more politicised, dehegemonising version.

Viewpoints: Editorial: The Public Manager in 2010

Abstract: Such a civil service required a modernization of policy-making, service delivery and people management. Later in 1999, Sir Michael was one of the convenors of the working groups set up by Sir Richard Wilson, Head of the Home Civil Service, to provide a new vision for the civil service, greater diversity in recruitment, and better ways of managing performance. The product of these groups was integrated in December 1999 as a Report to the Prime Minister from Sir Richard Wilson. It is a document of its times. Committing itself to six ‘key themes’ (leadership, business planning, performance management, diversity, openness, and a better deal for staff), it oozes ‘business-speak’ (set in bold type) and action plans. Between these two reports were several months which demonstrated the confused climate of function and expectation for the public service. The White Paper, Modernizing Government (Cm 4310), extolled the need for a culture of ‘improvement, innovation and collaborative purpose’ in which public servants would be encouraged rather than denigrated. Yet, with the ink barely dry, the Prime Minister had told a meeting of venture capitalists ‘You try getting change in the public sector; I bear the scars on my back after two years in government’ and Ministers had threatened teachers for resisting performance-related reward systems and doctors for doubting walk-in clinics and the development of health telephone helplines. The generic complaint was the lack of attention to the Government’s need to ‘deliver, deliver, and deliver’. However, some Ministers were careful not to lose sight of the public service contribution to society during the 20th century. The Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, acknowledged to the Local Government Association in Harrogate that it was: