bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Technique for Objective Analysis of Qualitative Evaluation Data
Authors: Walberg Herbert J. , Lu Daoxin , Niemiec Richard P. , Walberg Herbert J.
Published: March 2007

Analysis of qualitative—usually verbal—information from interview transcripts, field notes, and other sources has required huge amounts of labor. Some critics, moreover, maintain that such analysis is less than reliable, objective and tabula rasa. A new computer program, however, allows precisely repeatable analysis without a priori frameworks and without tedious and subjective categorizing of passages. The program finds repetitive association of words or ideas that characterize the verbal research corpus which evaluators may display and interpret. This article explains the Walberg program and illustrates its use in an evaluation of a collaborative botanic education project sponsored by the National Science Foundation.
The Effects of Supervisory Styles on Patrol Officer Behavior
Authors: Engel Robin Shepard
Published: March 2007

Do patrol sergeants' supervisory styles influence patrol officer behavior? This question is addressed by examining data collected for the Project on Policing Neighborhoods, a systematic observational study of patrol officers and first-line supervisors in two metropolitan police departments in 1996 and 1997. Using four distinct supervisory styles created through factor analysis of attitudinal constructs identified in the management and policing literatures, the influence of different supervisory styles over patrol officer behaviors—arrest, use of force, and issuing citations—is assessed. Findings show that at least one supervisory style has a significant influence over the likelihood that officers will use force against suspects. Furthermore, the presence of a supervisor (regardless of supervisory style) significantly increases the likelihood that officers will arrest. Implications for policy and future research are explored.
A Comparison of Hemodynamic Changes during the Transition from Mechanical Ventilation to T-Piece, Pressure Support, and Continuous Positive Airway Pressure in Canines
Authors: Frazier Susan K. , Stone Kathleen S. , Schertel Eric R. , Moser Debra K. , Pratt Jerry W.
Published: March 2007

The immediate transition from positive pressure mechanical ventilation to spontaneous ventilation may generate significant cardiopulmonary hemodynamic alterations based on the mode of weaning selected, particularly in individuals with preexisting cardiac dysfunction. The purpose of this study was to compare hemodynamic responses associated with the initial transition to 3 modes of ventilator weaning (spontaneous ventilation/T-piece, pressure support [PS], and continuous positive airway pressure [CPAP]). Right ventricular hemodynamic responses were evaluated with a thermodilution pulmonary artery catheter; while left ventricular hemodynamic responses were measured by a transducer-tipped Millar catheter and conductance catheter. Two groups of canines were studied. Group 1: normal biventricular function (n = 10) and group 2: propranolol-induced biventricular failure (n = 10). Dependent variables were measured at baseline on controlled mechanical ventilation (MV) and following the initial transition to each of 3 randomized spontaneous ventilatory conditions: T-piece, PS 5 cmH2O, and CPAP 5 cmH2O. Both groups significantly increased cardiac output in response to T-piece. Right ventricular stroke work was also significantly increased with T-piece and CPAP in both groups of subjects. Left ventricular response depended on baseline ventricular function. Baseline ventricular function influenced hemodynamic response to the immediate transition from mechanical to spontaneous ventilation. There were also differential hemodynamic responses based on the ventilatory mode. Consideration of baseline cardiac function may be an important factor in the selection of an appropriate mode of spontaneous ventilation following controlled MV.
Methotrexate Causes Apoptosis in Postmitotic Endothelial Cells
Authors: Merkle Carrie J. , Moore Ida M. (Ki) , Penton Beau S. , Torres Bonny J. , Cueny Renee K. , Schaeffer Richard C. , Montgomery David W.
Published: March 2007

Methotrexate (MTX) is a commonly used chemotherapy agent for a variety of cancers. However, therapeutic levels are associated with numerous untoward effects such as central nervous system damage in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The purpose of this study was to determine if MTX caused injury to endothelial cells using cultured bovine pulmonary artery endothelial cells as a model. Light microscopy showed gaps between cells and reduced numbers of endothelial cells after exposure to MTX (10 M), a range consistent with therapeutic drug levels. Proliferation and viability of subconfluent and confluent MTX-treated endothelial cells were measured by colorimetric (MTS) assay. There was a significant decline in cell numbers in MTX-treated subconfluent (growing) cells cultured after 4 days of MTX exposure compared to controls, as expected. However, there was also an unexpected decline in cell numbers in MTX-treated postmitotic endothelial cells after 1, 3, and 4 days of drug exposure. This suggested that MTX induced endothelial cell death. Fluorescent ApoAlert™ Enhanced Annexin-V binding demonstrated apoptosis in endothelial cells after 1 day of MTX exposure. Apoptosis was confirmed by a DNA fragment assay. This is apparently the first report of MTX-induced apoptosis of postmitotic, cultured endothelial cells. The findings suggest that apoptosis may be one mechanism of MTX-induced injury to endothelial cells.
From Ecologyto Base Pairs: Nursing and Genetic Science
Authors: Williams Janet K. , Tripp-Reimer Toni
Published: March 2007

With the mapping of the human genome has come the opportunity for nursing research to explore topics of concern to the maintenance, restoration, and attainment of genetic-related health. Initially, nursing research on genetic topics originated primarily from physical anthropology and froma clinical, diseasefocused perspective. Nursing research subsequently focused on psychosocial aspects of genetic conditions for individuals and their family members. As findings emerge from current human genome discovery, new programs of genetic nursing research are originating froma biobehavioral interface, ranging fromthe investigations of the influence of specific molecular changes on gene function to social/ethical issues of human health and disease. These initiatives reflect nursing’s response to discoveries of gene mutations related to phenotypic expression in both clinical and community-based populations. Genetic research programs are needed that integrate or adapt theoretical and methodological advances in epidemiology, family systems, anthropology, and ethics with those from nursing. Research programs must address not only populations with a specific disease but also communitybased genetic health care issues. As genetic health care practice evolves, so will opportunities for research by nurses who can apply genetic concepts and interventions to improve the health of the public. This article presents an analysis of the evolution of genetic nursing research and challenges for the future.
Heterotopology and Geography
Authors: Bonazzi Alessandra
Published: March 2007

Topology is the search for the places in history. It is the possibility to suspend time. Here, starting from Edward Soja and Michel Foucault, it legitimates the returning to the very beginning of the modern age-there, where we can perceive that original and premodern heterotopia concretely ordered by a mirror and a panel. This heterotopia reflects and inverts a space ordered by analogies, a space that is not still fixed by the mortifying tabular logic proper of the modern age. Or else a space whose main working might be similar to the postmodern wrapping. This heterotopia—the specular projection by Filippo Brunelleschi—reflects the subjection in which the space submits whoever looks towards it. The aim is to understand the premodern origins of that mechanism through which postmodern geographers could redraw their maps.
Is it Possible to be a Constructionist Consultant?
Authors: Czarniawska Barbara
Published: March 2007

This article explores difficulties of employing a constructionist stance when confronted with the institutionalized expectations of managers. The difficulty reveals itself to be grounded in a contrast between the logic of representation, conventionally used in contacts between researchers and managers, and the logic of practice, which is the medium of everyday organizational life and the focus of constructionist interest. The final discussion raises the question of whether the two kinds of logic can be reconciled with the logic of theory and the contract between managerial practice and managerial theory rewritten along new lines.
Planning to Develop Managers
Authors: Cunningham Ian
Published: March 2007

Ian Cunningham's paper is based on the conference study group theme of 'The future of Management Education'. He develops his ideas on an approach to planning which he believes necessary if management development is to progress in directions suited to the current turbulence of its context.
Management Development: An African Focus
Authors: Jones Merrick
Published: March 2007

Data from a recent study of managerial thinking in Malawi are examined in terms of their implications for the training and development of Malawian managers. Against the wider African background, some of the issues involved in the transfer of Western management concepts and practices to developing countries are discus sed in relation to management development.
Teaching Marketing at a Distance
Authors: Kinsey Joanna
Published: March 2007

In October 1983 Strathclyde University launched an MBA degree course by Distance Learning. This paper considers the subsequent progress of marketing, one of the six foundation classes. Although any teaching by distance learning may prove more problematic than conventional full-time courses, the discipline of marketing initially appears to pose additional difficulties. Firstly, there are numerous conceptions of marketing. Secondly, it has been argued that marketing cannot be taught (on or off campus), only learned through practice. Drawing on empirical evidence, this paper suggests that both of the above difficulties can be satisfactorily overcome, and minimised further by distance learning using students' practical experience of the real world and high motivation. Bearing in mind the extremely large proportion of UK managers with no formal qualifications, the future prospect for teaching marketing at a distance at postgraduate level seems bright.
Management Development and Doctoral Research
Authors: Gill John , Golding David , Angluin David
Published: March 2007

This paper examines the relevance of doctoral research to one part of the management development process, and to the nature of management action in general. The paper suggests that many of the features associated with the research process are being lost to potential management develop ment programmes through lack of perceived relevant routes. A proposal for a new award of Doctor of Business Administration, recently considered by the Council of National Academic Awards, has focused attention upon the potential doctoral research offers for improved and extended manage ment development programmes. The decision not to proceed with a new award on the reasonable grounds that proliferation of awards is not an appropriate response has underlined the real problem of a lack of aware ness of the contribution PhD research can make to Management Develop ment, which this paper addresses.
The Implications of Cognition and Learning Styles for Management Education
Authors: Carland Joann C. , Carland James W. , Ensley Michael D. , Stewart H. Wayne
Published: March 2007

This paper explores the literature of cognitive typologies, temperaments and learning styles, and presents the implications which they have for instruction in schools of business. The paper concludes with specific suggestions for building on the strengths and correcting the weaknesses of the various learning styles. Instructional strategies for management education, which the authors have successfully employed, are presented and explained.
Russian Managers as Learners
Authors: Holden Nigel J. , Cooper Cary
Published: March 2007

In the drive to develop training courses for Russian managers, very little attention has been directed towards the crucial question of the characteristics of Russian managers as learners and receivers of western management knowledge. This article examines current theories and assumptions of management learning and applies these to direct experiences of imparting market-economy skills to Russian construction managers. Various constraints on how these managers preconceive and accept western management knowledge are highlighted with some use of Russian-language sources. It is argued that these theories and assumptions have only limited relevance to Russian managers at this stage in their development, and concluded that the overriding challenge to western educators is to change Russian managers' attitudes and misconceptions of management as an essential prerequisite.
Business School Strategies for the Single European Market
Authors: Railmond Paul , Halliburton Christopher
Published: March 2007

Throughout Europe business schools are redesigning their strategies to cope with the rapidly developing Single European Market. As the SEM evolves as a distinct entity, so does the notion of a European manager and a European management distinct from the American model, and even more distinct from the several Asian models. Business schools are having to discover how to prepare managers for Europe; how the schools will compete in the changing market; how they will transform themselves in order to compete effectively in future; what resources, capabilities, and knowledge they will have to develop. This article uses the authors' combined experience of working in European management education in the UK, France, Germany and Spain to analyse the different strategies being pursued by business schools, and to identify some of the key issues and problem areas involved in transforming a business school from being a local or national school to being a real European competitor.
Learning the Plot
Authors: Downing Stephen J.
Published: March 2007

This article argues that major organizational change precipitates social drama: a period of emotional and interpretative conflict. Stakeholders resolve it by sharing stories about unfolding events and more implicitly by identifying the plot. The plot is the dramatic logic of the drama, a template for future action. The plot gives actors a sense of how things will turn out in the end. Plots are rooted in feelings. Four plots and four storylines are identified as key processes through which actors frame organizational change. Plots and storylines enable and constrain the expression of emotion and help constitute action. When actors combine progressive or regressive plots and storylines, emotional momentum may develop. Emotional momentum underpins stakeholders' experiences of being on a positive or negative emotional roll. Actions taken during such rolls may have self-fulfilling characteristics. The influence of plots on senior managers' goals and stakeholders' learning, power and self-expression is explored in the article.
Becoming an Expert in Not Knowing
Authors: Raab Naomi
Published: March 2007

This article begins with a story which alerts us to the terrible anxiety experienced by both clients and consultant (students and lecturer) when forced to stay in the present and face their own unknowingness. Traditional models of teaching operate without acknowledging the extent of this anxiety and offer little insight into the ways in which teachers unconsciously collude with their students in their attempt to escape from it.

Reframing the teacher role as consultant is one way of confronting and working with that anxiety productively and differently. It means developing a different type of expertise, an expertise in not knowing and helping the student to stay with it.

Taking on the consultant role in this way, rather than conforming to the expectations of the system which craves consultant or teacher as `expert', is one way of not taking part in this collusion against learning. Mobilizing the consultant role enables one to see and stay in contact with the reality of the work that must be done. This article presents strategies for harnessing anxiety productively such that it can be contained and a space made for real learning.
Managerial and Educational Perceptions of the Future in Changing Societies
Authors: Naudé Pete , Hipkin Ian B.
Published: March 2007

This study presents the findings of a survey of managers, educators and professionals from five countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). These respondents rated the current importance of some 40 factors which affected business operations in the CIS, and indicated how much control could be exercised over these factors. Respondents were also asked to rate the importance of the same factors 5 years hence and to assess the control which could be exercised over them in 5 years time. Political, economic and financial issues facing managers in the CIS as well as the domestic and international environment were currently deemed the most important factors, although relatively little control could be exercised over these. The situation envisaged for 5 years hence revealed a marked increase in the importance of educational and management factors, and the extent to which these could be controlled. The article suggests possible causes for this variation in opinion, and discusses the implications of the findings for management education.
Considering ‘New Formulas’ for a ‘Renewed University’: The Mexican Experience
Authors: Ibarra-Colado Eduardo
Published: March 2007

In this paper, I analyse the impact of recent university transformations with specific consideration to the Mexican experience, and examine the ‘new formulas’ of the renewed university. I focus on some of the new regulation technologies in operation as part of modernization processes, highlighting their long-term effects on the recreation of the social roles and profiles of the institutions, and on the reinvention of the identities of their subjects. At the end, I further reflect on some visible consequences of these processes.
Reengineering History: Social Resonances and Business Process Reengineering
Authors: Grint Keith
Published: March 2007

Reengineering has rapidly become the business buzzword of the early 1990s. This examination of the reengineering phenomenon sets out to consider the extent to which it is a new model for organizational change and offers some suggestions as to why it appears to have become so popular. It disputes some claims to novelty and internal coherence and argues that explanations for reengineering's popularity might be sought through an externalist rather than an internalist account. That is, that its popularity might best be explained not by considering the uniqueness or 'inherent' rationality of the ideas involved, an 'internalist' account, but rather through the ways in which the purveyors of reengineering manage, in and through their accounts, to construct a series of sympathetic 'resonances' or compatibilities, an 'externalist' account. These are construed to exist between their ideas and popular opinion, or zeitgeist, and also between the novelty of the ideas and the cultural antecedents.
Man/aging Subjectivity, Silencing Diversity: Organizational Imagery in the Airline Industry. The Case of British Airways
Authors: Mills Albert J.
Published: March 2007

This paper examines the role of corporate image-making in the everyday life of organizations and its contribution to the mundane reproduction of discrimination. With British Airways as an example, it is argued that images found in corporate materials reflect the organization's construction of `male' and `female', `white' and `non-white', in distinct ways. Further, these images have profound consequences for the ways in which employees visualize themselves, their colleagues and their subordinates. This paper also shows how organizational images can restrict diversity by identifying certain organizational roles and positions with specific demographic characteristics. It is suggested that: (a) these various images have sanctioned and encouraged certain types of `male'/'female', `white'/'non-white' behavior, and implicitly prohibited others; and (b) these images can be linked to the exclusion of women and people of colour from positions of power, authority and prestige within the airline industry.
Rhetoric and Myth in Management Fashion
Authors: Kieser Alfred
Published: March 2007

A count of publications over a period of time indicates that management concepts come and go like fashions. After a discussion of theories of fashion in aesthetic and technical objects, it is argued that rhetoric, an aesthetic form, is the main fabric of management fashions and that therefore theories of fashion in aesthetic forms are generally applicable to explanations of management fashions. The rise and fall of management fashions, especially fashions in organizational design, will be analysed using a concept of an arena of management fashion. The most important players in this arena are authors of management books, publishers, management seminar organizers and professors of business schools, who in different ways contribute to the attractiveness of the arena and, thereby, to the speed with which the fashion spreads. The best accelerator of a management fashion is a management bestseller which applies a specific rhetoric.

Management fashions and the principles propagated by them prove useful in restructuring projects within organizations. They simplify the process of initiation and conceptualization as well as the coordination between parallel restructuring sub-projects; they are useful tools in political manoeuvres during the implementation process and they help in making the organization appear rational after the completion of the restructuring process.

The article concludes with a discussion of the implications of management fashions for the relationship between theory and practice.
Citizenship or Vassalage? Organizational Membership in the Age of Unreason
Authors: Hancock Philip G.
Published: March 2007

In his article `Organizations and Citizenship' (1997), Martin Parker observes that what he terms `new style management' has placed, high on its agenda, the fostering of a subjectively embedded, `normative commonality' within the work organization. From this observation he develops an argument which, drawing upon the conceptual resources of classical political theory, seeks to equate such developments with the possibility of a renewed project of workplace democracy. This article argues that not only has Parker misappropriated these concepts, but that his `reading' of contemporary developments within the domain of management discourse and practice, misinterprets the trajectory organizational life is likely to take under their influence. Drawing upon Minc's `New Middle Ages' thesis (1993), I argue that, rather than the outcome being a radical democratic utopia, premised upon rational argumentation, responsibility and autonomy, what we are witnessing is the emergence of an essentially anti-modernist project. One which seeks to colonize the potentiality for subjective rational autonomy, through the propagation of a mystical and symbolic dependency upon the personified organizational lifeworld.
`Outing' Organizational Analysts: Some Reflections Upon Parker's Tantrum
Authors: Willmott Hugh
Published: March 2007

Parker (1995a) asks a fundamental question begged by the postmodern suspicion of modernist metanarratives: `Critique in the Name of What?' His discussion of this issue, in which a self-consciously ethical commitment is advocated, is used in this paper as a springboard for further reflection upon the possibility of making the articulation and pursuit of ethico-political concerns central to the production of knowledge about organizing and organizations. Parker favours a humanist orientation, which respondents to his paper persuasively criticize for its voluntarism and subjectivism. In contrast, I commend a post-humanist (not anti-humanist) approach which suggests a way of retaining Parker's ethico-politico commitment without falling foul of the problems identified by his critics.
Management and Organization Studies as Science?
Authors: Wilimoft Hugh
Published: March 2007

This paper addresses the status of knowledge in the field of management and organization studies. It commends Habermas's theory of knowledge-constitutive interests as a way of enhancing the self-understanding of this field. Challenging the idea of science as the generator of value-free knowledge, Habermas associates the production of scientific knowledge with three types of cognitive interest: in prediction and control, in mutual understanding, and in emancipation. Habermas's theory of cognitive interests is critically reviewed before demonstrating its relevance for management and organization studies in general. The argument is also illustrated by more detailed reference to the subfield of operational research. It is argued that Habermas's understanding of knowledge production has considerable value in problematizing the claims, and appreciating the emancipatory potential, of sciences guided by each of the three cognitive interests. There remains, however, the question of how the insights of critical scientific analysis can be translated into emancipatory praxis. The discussion of critical social science incorporates some reflections on this issue.
Pluralism and Incommensurability in Strategic Management and Organization Theory: A Problem in Search of a Solution
Authors: Scherer Andreas Georg
Published: March 2007

Research in management has become more and more differentiated and complex. In organization theory and strategic management one can find different approaches, concepts, and theories, which are not only diverse, but often give contradictory advice. Therefore, it has become difficult for both the researcher and the practitioner to find appropriate answers to theoretical and practical problems. This is especially true in a situation of incommensurability where no objective frame of reference to evalute competing perspectives exists. Although in organization theory this problem has been discussed for over 20 years, no acceptable solution has been found. Instead, as recent paradigm discussions have shown, the differences have become even greater. The purpose of this special issue is to review the current state of the pluralism discussion in organization theory and to find new ways to handle the problems of pluralism, diversity, and incommensurability. In this paper I will give an introduction to the special issue. I will explain the concept of incommensurability and will review the paradigm discussion in strategic management and organization theory. In the second part of the paper I will give an overview of the contributions to this special issue.
Managing Experts and Competing through Innovation: An Activity Theoretical Analysis
Authors: Blackler Frank , Crump Norman , McDonald Seonaidh
Published: March 2007

An activity theoretical analysis is presented of an organization that is operating in a rapidly changing sector and whose competitiveness depends significantly upon the design skills of its engineers. The company designs high-technology make-to-order products. Like other organizations that compete through knowledge and innovation, the prosperity of this company depends upon its organizational learning, that is, upon the effectiveness with which it can mobilize, apply and develop its distinctive knowledge base as circumstances change. In the difficult context that the company faces, the speed with which projects can move from the initial concept phase through design to production has to become especially important. The paper outlines a general strategy that was developed as the company sought to control this process and traces the consequences for design practices. An activity theoretical approach is used to model the changes that were attempted and the outcomes which emerged and to introduce a discussion of possible future options. The approach (i) emphasizes the relevance of a historical perspective on organizational change, (ii) features the changing nature of expertise in contemporary manufacturing and (iii) discusses the potential significance for collective learning of tensions and incoherencies within a work system.
The Discipline of the Democratic Peace:
Authors: WILLIAMS MICHAEL C.
Published: March 2007

The theory that democratic states do not go to war with one another depends upon the claim that such states can recognize each other as democracies and act pacifically in accordance with this recognition. This article argues that analyses of the democratic peace and security communities can benefit from a fuller and more critical engagement with the thinking of Immanuel Kant. Kantian liberalism involves subtle yet powerful processes of identity construction, and the processes of mutual recognition with which these identities are intertwined play essential constitutive and disciplining roles in the development of political relations. These processes of recognition are not merely sociological puzzles, but rather overtly political practices that both entail and enable the exercise of considerable power. The social construction of democratic security communities builds upon these liberal structures of identity and discipline, a situation demonstrated in the case of NATO.
`Leader' and `Entrepreneur' in International Negotiations:
Authors: MALNES RAINO
Published: March 2007

Governments, organizations and individuals who do something out of the ordinary to influence the course and outcome of international negotiations, are sometimes called leaders or entrepreneurs. This article discusses the meanings of the two concepts. The first part defines `entrepreneur' and `leader' in general terms, by reference to how the concepts traditionally have been used. The second part asks how leadership can be exercised in negotiations among states. It places this type of activity alongside other, more ordinary policies in a typology of negotiation behaviour. Finally, the article takes a critical look at important contributions to the growing literature on international leadership, arguing that they fail to draw a clear line between the activity of a leader and that of an agent who engages in ordinary bargaining.
Domestic Responses to International Pressure:
Authors: HAWKINS DARREN G.
Published: March 2007

International pressures on authoritarian regimes to respect human rights are increasingly common yet their impact is relatively unknown and hotly debated. Recent studies suggest that international pressures can have a limited yet important effect when they strengthen and reinforce favorable domestic processes. I identify three domestic conditions conducive to a limited impact — low costs of easing repression; responsive regime factions; and relatively strong societal human rights norms. In a case study of Chile from 1973 to 1980, I find that extensive international pressures and a soft-line faction combined to alter the political strategy of the authoritarian regime in ways not foreseen or intended by international actors. The research suggests that scholars should more carefully consider the normative dimensions of international pressures and their role in undermining the legitimacy of domestic regimes.
Responsibility in the International System:
Authors: LANG ANTHONY F.
Published: March 2007

This article explores the norm of state responsibility by asking two research questions — (1) How do states become the responsible agents rather than people in International Relations? (2) What are the consequences of holding states responsible? States become responsible because of the structure of the international system and the power of the dominant states in that system. This hypothesis is explained by demonstrating how international law and foreign policy require state agents that can be held responsible for their actions, but do not depend on specification of free will within the state for holding it responsible. This hypothesis is counterintuitive to the assumption that responsibility derives from free will. The consequence of a state being held responsible is that individual agency is undermined, leading to violations of civil and political rights. This hypothesis is explained by the effects of war, reparations and lack of support for political dissent in a responsible state agent. The argument is supported by a case study of US foreign policy toward Iraq. The conclusion is that state responsibility is not a viable moral construct in the late 20th century. While blame and responsibility will continue to play a role in International Relations, we must realize that the decision to blame is a political one, reflecting political relationships and levels of power.
British and Danish European Policies in the 1990s:
Authors: LARSEN HENRIK
Published: March 2007

The aim of this article is to compare the respective domestic backgrounds for British and Danish policies towards Europe and to examine how these have shaped the European policies of the two countries in the 1990s. The article aims to cast light on the role of states' understanding of European integration through empirical application of a theoretical approach, discourse analysis. The main argument is that the patterns of understanding of `Europe' show important linguistic similarities in that the base of the dominant discourse is instrumental and the primary political conflict is between sub-discourses of this instrumental discourse. In the 1990s, the difference between the two countries is in relation to which salient social and political actors adhere to what sub-discourses on Europe. The article argues that the differences between the two countries' European policy lines are shaped by the different understandings of the state/nation. The different understandings of the state/nation have influenced the content and procedures of policy. British policy in general, and in the 1990s in particular, has been dominated by a neoliberal understanding of the state, and Danish policy by more welfare thinking.
What Are the Duties of a Cultural Theory of Duties?
Authors: Campos Gilberto PÈrez
Published: March 2007

Moghaddam, Slocum, Finkel, Mor and HarrÈ’s (2000) article suggests an interesting and important topic for cultural psychology: duties. Behind this topic, another, more basic issue appears: the requirements that must be fulfilled by a cultural theory of duties (or any other topic). This implicit issue is the focus of the comment. Reading between the lines, we find some questions that seem to lie at the core of present-day efforts to develop a cultural psychology: (a) the kind of links with other social sciences that can support our own conceptual construction; (b) the need for an explicit conception of society and culture as part of our theorizing; and (c) the effort to locate our contributions as part of ongoing common concerns within our scientific field. Consequences of not complying with these duties are shown.
Boesch’s Symbolic Action Theory in Interaction
Authors: Simāo LÌvia Mathias
Published: March 2007

Some remarks are presented reflecting recent implications of Boesch’s symbolic action theory for the development of studies concerned with the relationship between verbal interaction and knowledge construction. In doing so, attempts are made to improve the interlocution of Boesch’s account with other significant semiotic-constructivist propositions.
Body, Mind and Culture: The Dialogical Nature of Mediated Action
Authors: Hermans Hubert J.M. , Kempen Harry J.G.
Published: March 2007

Elaborating on Wertsch's central argument, our thesis is two-fold: (a) mediated action is dialogical; (b) dialogue as a basic feature of the human condition far exceeds the boundaries of verbal conversation. In discussing the difference between logical and dialogical relationships, Bakhtin's 'ventriloquation' is defined as a collective voice. Emphasis is given to the role of the body in pseudo-and pre-hnguistic dialogues. Finally, the central argument is rephrased in terms of Leontiev's three forms of history: evolutional, societal and individual.
The Confessions of a Methodological Individualist
Authors: Shweder Richard A.
Published: March 2007

Wertsch's 'mediated action' approach is complemented with a version of 'methodological individualism' (the preference/ constraint approach) which allows researchers to avoid the exclusive separation of mind and culture and to concentrate on specific forms of their mutuality. This version of 'methodological individualism' focuses attention on an active mental agent who makes culture and mind meet in the context of social practice.
Cultural Perceptions: Exploiting the Unexpected of the Other
Authors: xu Shi
Published: March 2007

Studies of perception seem to have been dominated by scientific theory for disciplinary purposes. The present work proceeds from the standpoint that people's discourse of perception deserves attention in its own right and examines constructions of perception with special reference to their situated sociocultural meaning. The investigation focuses on descriptions of unexpected perceptual experience about the Chinese in present-day Dutch travel literature and, from a rhetorical perspective which views discourse as both constructive of reality and active upon it, attempts to make transparent the sociocultural purposes to which such perceptual representations are put. Methodologically, since the meaning of (perceptual) discourse is cued through verbal and situational context, the present analysis premises its interpretation upon the ways that the perceived reality is formulated, accounted for and culturally understood. It is shown that perceptual representations of unexpected cultural experiences can be contextually managed to show distance from, unworthiness of, contempt for, disbelief in or transcendence over the cultural Other. In conclusion it is suggested that discursive perception of culture be conceptualized as culture-making practice and that people's perceptual discourse be conceptualized as individuals' resources for social ends.
Ways of Parenting and Cultural Identity
Authors: McNaughton Stuart
Published: March 2007

The presence of different ways of carrying out a socialization activity in families in a particular cultural group raises questions about how ways of acting and cultural identity are represented in studies of cultural practices. It is argued that variability in activities is an inherent property of parenting and cultural identity. This is because the ways of knowing and the ways of acting which constitute a culture are constructed both at a collective and at a personal level. These two levels of culture provide frames of reference for parents' actions which establish boundaries and guidelines for variability. Parenting contributes to the collective culture because it is a form of tacit expertise which entails the construction and modification of ideas about and ways of acting. Studies of early reading and writing activities are used to show the properties of boundaries and the sources of variable ways of parenting in a cultural group. The idea of personal and collective cultures provides a means of examining how frames of reference form, shift and create channels for parenting. Reference to the cultural identity of an individual ideally requires an analysis of how individual constructions (and their variations) are situated within the collective frame.
How Culture Transforms Mind: A Process of Internalization
Authors: Toomela Aaro
Published: March 2007

In this article a new definition of internalization is proposed, according to which internalization is a process whereby two different mechanisms of information processing, non-verbal ('sensory') thinking and conventional language, that have been differentiated from the 'natural' processes in the course of development become united within a new mental structure. The result of internalization is the development of semiotically mediated, 'cultural' mental operations. Components of the definition, the concept of a structure, of dynamicity (development), of natural and cultural processes, and of semiotic mediation are discussed in relation to one another. The result allows the conceptualization of what makes human environments specific so that only that environment is sufficient for the development of human mind; and what makes human children specific so that only they take advantage of what the human environment affords in a manner not attainable by other animal species.
Bartlett and Socially Ordered Consciousness: A Discursive Perspective. Comments on Rosa (1996)
Authors: Middleton David , Crook Charles
Published: March 2007

In commenting on Alberto Rosa's paper-'Bartlett's Psycho-anthropological Project' (1996) we examine the analytic use of intellectual histories in defining disciplinary issues and discuss Bartlett's use of cultural issues in his presentation of himself in autobiography as a psychologist; we examine continuities of interest in sociocultural issues in Bartlett's work and identify the discursive analysis of remembering as illustrating Bartlett's intellectual legacy to a culturally projected study of psychological functioning.
The Story of a Cultural Psychologist: Autobiographical Observations
Authors: Boesch Ernst E.
Published: March 2007

The following autobiographical essay traces three topics: firstly, the particular individual circumstances which led to me becoming a cultural psychologist under the difficult conditions of postwar Germany; secondly, the main culture-psychological research work we carried out at the University of the Saarland; and thirdly, the theoretical rationale on which this work was based.
The Impact of Party Financial Support on the Electoral Success of US House Candidates
Authors: Medvic Stephen K.
Published: March 2007

A long-standing assumption among congressional election scholars is that traditional forms of party financial assistance to candidates - that is, coordinated expenditures and direct contributions - have little or no influence on the electoral performance of those candidates. Yet that assumption has never been tested directly. This paper attempts to determine whether or not candidates benefit from the financial support of their parties. It establishes a baseline for future studies of party financial activity by examining data from the 1990 and 1992 congressional election cycles. The results provide qualified evidence that party support can increase a candidate's share of the vote. Specifically, those candidates who face systematic electoral hurdles are likely to benefit from traditional forms of party assistance.
The Role of Political Parties in Portuguese Democratic Consolidation
Authors: Lobo Marina Costa
Published: March 2007

In this research note, I analyse the evolution of the Portuguese party system from a position of relative polarization to today's majoritarian system. Using indicators for net volatility and degree of fragmentation in the party system, I discuss three factors in this evolution: the importance of the appearance of a new party, the PRD; the decline of small parties, in part due to their failure to innovate; and the dynamics of presidential elections. I show that political parties were at the centre of the stabilization of the party system, and thus the consolidation of democracy. These developments were also conditioned by the semipresidential nature of the regime. Successive presidential elections have encouraged parties in the same bloc to join forces, albeit inconsistently. Future research on this topic should take into account the interplay between the Portuguese party system and the dynamics of presidential elections.
Past and Present in Transitional Voting
Authors: Bielasiak Jack , Blunck David
Published: March 2007

We test three sets of influences linking pre- and post-transition Poland: organizational affiliations, issue positions and economic assessments each corresponds to a different tradition in the voting behavior literature. We look at how each factor impacts on the formation of a competitive party system, employing individual voting data in a multinomial logit model using expected probabilities and factor change interpretation techniques. The findings reveal that the former organizational affiliation of both Communist Party and Solidarity members affects post-transition behavior, even while controlling for issue, economic and social variables. As for issue and economic voting, different policy issues and economic assessments affect post-communist and post-Solidarity party voters, establishing a distinct saliency for the post-communist and post-Solidarity camps, as well as for the political parties in each camp. The analysis shows that the past, whether in terms of organization, issue or economic evaluation, affects the electoral choices of voters during the post-communist transition.
Red Phoenix?
Authors: Ishiyama John T.
Published: March 2007

This paper focuses on providing an explanation for the behavior of a party in post-Soviet Russian politics which has been largely ignored - the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF). It concentrates on the political behavior of the CPRF from 1991 to mid-1995 by making reference to western theories of party development and behavior. In particular it focuses on the effects of both the features of the political environment facing the party and the party's internal organizational characteristics on the proximal and distal behavior of the CPRF. The `proximal' analysis deals with the nomination choices the CPRF made in the December 1993 State Duma election to the single-member electoral districts, which are compared to those of two other opposition parties participating in the election: the Agrarian Party (AP) and the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). The `distal' analysis then focuses on post-election developments, especially on how the results of the election affected the behavior of the CPRF regarding the government and other political parties.
Party and Free Votes in Canada
Authors: Overby L. Marvin , Tatalovich Raymond , Studlar Donley T.
Published: March 2007

This study extends the analysis of parliamentary free voting by examining a non-British example: Canadian MPs' voting behavior on Bill C-43, which attempted to establish a federal abortion law. As in most previous studies, we find that partisanship was by far the best predictor of voting behavior. Unlike previous research, however, we analyze free votes at every stage of the legislative process and find different voting dynamics at different stages. In general, Canadian MPs felt at greater liberty to vote as their consciences dictated when their votes mattered least. On the key roll calls leading to final disposition, however, when voting was most visible and outcomes most important, Canadian MPs re-coalesced around their parties.
Democracy within - and without - Parties
Authors: Scarrow Susan E.
Published: March 2007

This article briefly reviews discussions about relations between unmediated decision-making procedures and political parties. Late-19th-century debates about institutional reform established the idea that direct democracy undermines parties' power. A century later, proponents of direct democracy and intra-party democracy still promote them in these terms. However, prior research indicates that neither direct democracy nor intra-party democracy automatically weaken the importance of parties, though both the availability and use of unmediated procedures often affect patterns of political competition.