Complex systems are pervasive in the world around us. Making sense of a complex system should require that a person construct a network of concepts and principles about some domain that represents key (often dynamic) phenomena and their interrelationships. This raises the question of how expert understanding of complex systems differs from novice understanding. In this study we examined individuals' representations of an aquatic system from the perspective of structural (elements of a system), behavioral (mechanisms), and functional aspects of a (...) system. Structure–Behavior–Function (SBF) theory was used as a framework for analysis. The study included participants from middle school children to preservice teachers to aquarium experts. Individual interviews were conducted to elicit participants' mental models of aquaria. Their verbal responses and pictorial representations were analyzed using an SBF‐based coding scheme. The results indicated that representations ranged from focusing on structures with minimal understanding of behaviors and functions to representations that included behaviors and functions. Novices' representations focused on perceptually available, static components of the system, whereas experts integrated structural, functional, and behavioral elements. This study suggests that the SBF framework can be one useful formalism for understanding complex systems. (shrink)

Computer-supported collaborative learning has a history of being interdisciplinary from its conception. Its beginnings have included computer scientists, psychologists, cognitive scientists, and educational researchers. These collaborations have been fruitful but have also posed challenges. This article builds on the authors’ extensive review of the CSCL literature to examine the nature of interdisciplinary collaboration in CSCL research as well as an interdisciplinary CSCL workshop. Using a corpus of more than 700 CSCL articles, we reported an updated analysis for the theories and (...) methods used in CSCL research. In addition, bibliometric analyses examined journals that publish CSCL research and are cited by CSCL research. CSCL research is published in journals that are aligned with interdisciplinary research with large contributions from educational research followed by technology related fields and social sciences. The contributions from domain knowledge journals are relatively weak. These analyses revealed disciplinary influences and uptakes of CSCL research and how they might differ across CSCL research clusters. Lastly, we provide a case example of a CSCL workshop to further demonstrate the interdisciplinary nature of the field. Through these analyses we aim to characterize the benefits and challenges of interdisciplinary collaboration in CSCL research. Interdisciplinarity has helped CSCL research to adopt multiple theories and methods to understand CSCL. While cultivating diversity, we also need to be mindful that research outcomes are exchanged and appropriated actively across participating disciplines so that our understanding of CSCL rises above individual disciplines. (shrink)

Like most good educational interventions, problem-based learning (PBL) did not grow out of theory, but out of a practical problem. Medical students were bored, dropping out, and unable to apply what they had learned in lectures to their practical experiences a couple of years later. Neurologist Howard S. Barrows reversed the sequence, presenting students with patient problems to solve in small groups and requiring them to seek relevant knowledge in an effort to solve those problems. Out of his work, PBL (...) was born.The book is divided into four sections, each containing contributions by leaders in the field. Chapters in the first section focus on the structure of PBL and the critical elements of the approach. Articulating the underlying problems to be addressed, the role of facilitators, and the process to be followed in achieving a successful PBL intervention are all discussed. The second section explores how PBL has been adapted to function in areas outside medicine, from climate science to teacher education, while the third section explores how the methodology has been combined with other approaches to teaching and learning, such as learning by design and project-based learning. The fourth section assesses the impact of PBL techniques on improving both research and teaching. An epilogue speculates about the future of PBL, synthesizing contributions from the previous chapters and suggesting key themes for further exploration. (shrink)

Republicanism and Political Theory is the first book to offer a comprehensive and critical survey of republican political theory. Critically assesses its historical credentials, conceptual coherence, and normative proposals Brings together original contributions from leading international scholars in an interactive way Provides the reader with valuable insight into new debates taking place in republican political theory.

The first comprehensive analysis of the philosophical issues raised by the hijab controversy in France, this book also conducts a dialogue between contemporary Anglo-American and French political theory and defends a progressive republican solution to so-called multicultural conflicts in contemporary societies. It critically assesses the official republican philosophy of laïcité which purported to justify the 2004 ban on religious signs in schools. Laïcité is shown to encompass a comprehensive theory of republican citizenship, centered on three ideals: equality (secular neutrality of (...) the public sphere), liberty (individual autonomy and emancipation) and fraternity (civic loyalty to the community of citizens). Challenging official interpretations of laïcité, the book then puts forward a critical republicanism which does not support the hijab ban, yet upholds a revised interpretation of three central republican commitments: secularism, non-domination and civic solidarity. Thus, it articulates a version of secularism which squarely addresses the problem of status quo bias - the fact that Western societies are historically not neutral towards all religions. It also defends a vision of female emancipation which rejects the coercive paternalism inherent in the regulation of religious dress, yet does not leave individuals unaided in the face of religious and secular, patriarchal and ethnocentric domination. Finally, the book outlines a theory of immigrant integration which places the burden of civic integration on basic socio-political institutions, rather than on citizens themselves. Critical republicanism proposes an entirely new approach to the management of religious and cultural pluralism, centred on the pursuit of the progressive ideal of non-domination in existing, non-ideal societies. (shrink)

Introduction -- Cosmopolitanism -- Collective self-defense -- Subsistence wars -- Humanitarian intervention -- Commodified wars -- Asymmetrical wars -- Conclusion.

This collection of articles illustrates the intimacy between science and literature, pleasure and sense, excess and moderation that Jean Ceard sought to understand and that he instilled in those who collaborated or studied with him.

A modern critique of modernity -- Popular sovereignty and the general will -- Political legitimacy and applied politics -- Morality and education -- Metaphysics and religion -- Economic philosophy -- War and peace -- After Rousseau.

La reflexion sur l'experience politique est au coeur de L'Esprit des lois. a l'instar de nombreux auteurs du XVIIIe siecle, Montesquieu s'interroge sur la perennite des Republiques animees par la vertu. L'essor de l'economie, dans les grands etats europeens, nuit a l'expression des vertus et - corrompt les moeurs pures -. Or en l'absence de devouement civique, les etats peuvent-ils fonder le lien social et garantir la liberte politique? La vertu patriotique, passion dominante des cites antiques, peut-elle devenir caduque sans (...) prejudice pour l'homme moderne? En revenant sur l'inscription de Montesquieu dans la tradition du liberalisme politique, cette etude explore les voies plurielles tracees par Montesquieu face au - mal politique - incarne dans le despotisme. Elle invite a approfondir la reflexion consacree au concept de societe civile.". (shrink)

Cette anthologie critique vise à établir une archéologie de la théorie de limage contemporaine, en particulier dans son versant germanophone, celui de la 'science de l'image' ou Bildwissenschaft. Pour des raisons diverses (obstacle de la langue, hermétisme des débats, dispersion des positions), cette discipline reste encore peu connue dans la sphère francophone. Pourtant, le développement exponentiel de la théorie de l'image depuis les années 1990 appelle une nouvelle cartographie des études visuelles ainsi qu'une redéfinition philosophique de l'image et de l'expérience (...) qui en découle."--Page 4 of cover. (shrink)

Malgré son ambition, la philosophie politique n'est jamais parvenue à prouver qu'il est rationnel (bon, avantageux pour l'individu autant que pour la collectivité) d'être juste. Ce livre entend évoquer les " personnages conceptuels " ou les " figures " théâtrales mises en scène par les philosophes eux-mêmes afin de mettre à l'épreuve leur théorie de la justice : de tels personnages viennent contredire le discours rationnel du philosophe, et souvent l'accuser d'idéalisme. Cette thèse philosophique s'accompagne d'une thèse sur le présent (...) : la théorie politique contemporaine dominante tend depuis les années 1970 à réduire la figure du " mal " politique, en l'assimilant, sous couvert de théorie du choix rationnel, au " passager clandestin ", qui ne contribue pas à la coopération sociale à la mesure de ce qu'il profite. Or un tel choix est pour le moins contestable, dans la mesure où il laisse dans l'ombre des figures plus " extrêmes " du mal politique : le nazi, le criminel de guerre, le terroriste. A cet égard, la philosophie politique moderne, quoique décidément rationaliste, a mieux cerné le risque que fait courir à la philosophie elle-même l'" Insensé " ou le " raisonneur violent ". Face au risque d'irénisme encouru par la théorie politique, sociale et morale contemporaine, dont le monde semble parfois peuplé de " zombies raisonnables ", il nous faut restituer le rôle de l'expérience tragique au coeur de la philosophie politique. (shrink)

International law and conventional morality grant that states may stand ready to defend their borders with lethal force. But what grounds the permission to kill for the sake of political sovereignty and territorial integrity? In this book leading theorists address this vexed issue, and set the terms of future debate over national defence.

If $G$ is a group with a supersimple theory having a finite $SU$-rank, then the subgroup of $G$ generated by all of its normal nilpotent subgroups is definable and nilpotent. This answers a question asked by Elwes, Jaligot, Macpherson and Ryten. If $H$ is any group with a supersimple theory, then the subgroup of $H$ generated by all of its normal soluble subgroups is definable and soluble.

Comment écrit-on l'histoire des sciences et des techniques? Ce livre présente les réponses que plusieurs générations successives ont apportées à ce problème essentiel des sciences humaines contemporaines. A partir du domaine extrêmement controversé de la biologie et de la paléontologie évolutionnistes, il étudie les débats épistémologiques et idéologiques entre historiens, philosophes, scientifiques et journalistes, qui développent des thèses souvent opposées à partir de l'étude de la dynamique culturelle. Peut-on parler de «précurseur» dans l'histoire des idées? Quel est le rôle du (...) milieu social dans la genèse des hypothèses scientifiques? L'idéologie imprègne-t-elle forcément toute théorie biologique? Doit-on rester neutre pour analyser objectivement un texte, un fait ou un procédé scientifique? Faut-il partir des connaissances actuelles pour comprendre les théories du passé? Quelle est la portée des révolutions dans l'histoire des sciences de la vie et de la Terre? Autant de thèmes revus aussi à la lumière du nouveau paradigme unificateur des sciences sociales: le modèle sélectif multipolaire. Pages de début Introduction Première partie. Les historiens de l'évolutionnisme Une histoire institutionnelle Les écoles philosophiques Jean Rostand et l'histoire scientifique modernisée Jacques Roger et la méthode historique Denis Buican et l'épistémologie évolutionniste Conclusion de la première partie Deuxième partie. Les questions de méthode La diversification des sources Internalisme contre externalisme Continuité et discontinuité L'objectivité en question L'historien et l'actualité scientifique Conclusion de la deuxième partie Troisième partie. Les sujets explorés Les « précurseurs » de l'évolutionnisme des lumières : mythe ou réalité? Cuvier : modèle ou anti-modèle scientifique? Le rôle de Lamarck dans la révolution transformiste Le néolamarckisme et l'affaire Lyssenko Le néodarwinisme et la sociobiologie sont-ils réductibles? Conclusion Une brève histoire de l'évolutionnisme en France Construction de l'arbre généalogique des idées aux xixe et xxe siècles Construction de l'arbre généalogique des idées auXVIIIe siècle Bibliographie Index Pages de fin. (shrink)

Should governments give special rights to ethnic and cultural minorities? Should rich countries open their borders to economic immigrants or transfer resources to poor countries? When framing and implementing economic and environmental policies, should current generations take into account the interests of future generations? If our political community committed a wrong against another group a hundred years ago, do we owe reparations to current members of that group? These are just some of the pressing questions which are fully explored in (...) this accessible new analysis of justice in the contemporary world. They force us to reconsider the extent of our obligations to our fellow citizens, future generations and foreigners. Justice in a Changing World introduces the moral debates around issues such as immigration, national self-determination, cultural rights and reparations, as well as resource transfers from one generation to the next and from rich to poor countries, through the lenses of liberalism, communitarianism and libertarianism. In so doing, it helps to unravel the complexity of key ethical dilemmas facing us today. The book will be a valuable resource for students of political theory, and will appeal to anyone wishing to reflect on their deepest values and commitments by putting them to the test of practical politics. (shrink)

This book presents a philosophical analysis of the rising interest in the notion of 'noise'. The term 'noise' no longer pertains only to aesthetic judgement, for instance of acoustic or visual 'noise', but also to domains as varied as communication theory, physics and biology. This book investigates if there can be a coherent understanding of 'noise' that is effectively shared among the natural-and human sciences, technology and the arts, revealing 'noise' to be a properly philosophical problem. Drawing the philosophical consequences (...) of `noise' for the theory of knowledge, a philosophical revaluation of C. Shannon and W. Weaver's theory of 'information entropy' here serves as a basis upon which to problematize the common idea that 'noise' can be reduced to notions of error, disorder or disorganization. The wider consequences of this analysis relate the technological and scientific aspect of 'noise' with its cultural and psycho-social aspects. The heart of Malaspina's argument is the contestation of the ground upon which we judge and distinguish noise from information, finally exploring its emancipatory potential. (shrink)

Articles on the ideologies of religion; includes some articles on caste, and women in the context of Tamil society.