scholarly journals In Between Factual Truth and Social Construction

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 149-184
Author(s):  
Sandra Cvikić

The aim of this paper is to provide an insight into how knowledge about dr. Franjo Tuđman was internationally created, namely the international context in which scientists and experts have produced factual truths about Croatia’s First President’s leadership, his role and accountability in the events that have marked the violent disintegration of former Yugoslavia, Croatia’s war of defense, and democratic transition. Developed discourse of the international scholarship about Yugoslav wars of disintegration and Croatia’s painful democratic transition is analyzed to determine how and in what way Dr. Franjo Tuđman is represented in selected publications available to the author of this paper. International scholarly production under the review is rather multidisciplinary with a variety of approaches, methodologies and theories providing rich data which in this case is studied juxtaposed to dominant transitional justice discourse framework. Such qualitative sociological research tries to deconstruct international scholarly context in which factual truths about dr. Franjo Tuđman were socially constructed by scholars and experts. Even though not always framed under the umbrella of transitional justice scholarship, developed discourse is Even though not always framed under the umbrella of transitional justice scholarship, developed discourse is nonetheless analyzed through critical lenses of social constructivism and approached in post-modernist sociological manner.

Synthese ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenni Rytilä

AbstractThe core idea of social constructivism in mathematics is that mathematical entities are social constructs that exist in virtue of social practices, similar to more familiar social entities like institutions and money. Julian C. Cole has presented an institutional version of social constructivism about mathematics based on John Searle’s theory of the construction of the social reality. In this paper, I consider what merits social constructivism has and examine how well Cole’s institutional account meets the challenge of accounting for the characteristic features of mathematics, especially objectivity and applicability. I propose that in general social constructivism shows promise as an ontology of mathematics, because the view can agree with mathematical practice and it offers a way of understanding how mathematical entities can be real without conflicting with a scientific picture of reality. However, I argue that Cole’s specific theory does not provide an adequate social constructivist account of mathematics. His institutional account fails to sufficiently explain the objectivity and applicability of mathematics, because the explanations are weakened and limited by the three-level theoretical model underlying Cole’s account of the construction of mathematical reality and by the use of the Searlean institutional framework. The shortcomings of Cole’s theory give reason to suspect that the Searlean framework is not an optimal way to defend the view that mathematical reality is socially constructed.


Author(s):  
Ellen M. Whitehead ◽  
Allan Farrell ◽  
Jenifer L. Bratter

ABSTRACT The racial composition of couples is a salient indicator of race’s impact on mate selection, but how well do those in intimate partnerships know the racial identities of their partners? While prior research has revealed that an individual’s race may be perceived differently than how they identify, most of what is known comes from brief interactions, with less information on established relationships. This study examines whether discrepancies in the reports of a person’s race or ethnicity can be identified even within intimate relationships, as well as which relational, social, and attitudinal factors are predictive of divergent or concordant reports. We draw on the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (n=3467), a U.S.-based dataset that uniquely provides both the father’s self-reported race and Hispanic origin and the mother’s report of the father’s race and ethnicity. We compare reports of the father’s race/Hispanic origin from both parents to assess the extent of mismatch, and we distinguish between whether mothers view the father’s race as similar to or different from her own. We find roughly 14% of mothers provide a race and Hispanic origin that is inconsistent with the father’s report, with a large share reflecting differences in the self-identified and perceived race of fathers who are reported as Hispanic. Among mismatched reports, mothers are more likely to report a race/ethnicity for the father that matches her own, depressing the number reporting interracial unions. Perceptions of racial homogamy are especially likely when mothers view racial sameness as important to marriage. Further, mismatches are more common in the midst of weak relational ties (i.e. non-marital relationships) and are less common when both parents are college-educated. These findings reveal that intimate unions are a site where race is socially constructed and provide insight into how norms of endogamy manifest within formed relationships.


2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 319-356
Author(s):  
Rachel Xian

Abstract Political psychology and social constructivism exist in an “ideational alliance” against realism; however, both have overlooked behavioral conditioning, the basis of animal learning. Through six stages situated in international negotiation behaviors, the theory of Conditioning Constructs shows how behavioral conditioning can take parties from specific to diffuse reciprocity, rationalist to constructivist cooperation, and crisis to durable peace. In stages 1, 2 and 3, parties use negotiated agreements to exit prisoner’s dilemmas, continuously reinforce cooperation during agreement implementation, and satiate to rewards as initial implementation finalizes. In stages 4, 5 and 6, parties receive fresh rewards with new negotiations, undergo intermittent reinforcement with periodic agreements thereafter, and finally attribute cooperative behavior to actor constructs. Conditioning Constructs demonstrates that agency is possible in socially constructed structures through willful participation in conditioning through negotiation; and that, while Anatol Rapoport’s tit-for-tat strategy is suited to initial cooperation, intermittent reinforcement better preserves late-stage cooperation.


2021 ◽  
Vol 74 (4) ◽  
pp. 308-317
Author(s):  
Christian Breternitz

The article outlines the significance of Prussian military music of the 19th and early 20th centuries in an international context. It focuses on deliveries of musical instruments and sheet music by the Berlin company C. W. Moritz to Central and South America around 1900. The delivery lists of 1897/98 for the Colombian military bands show that they were equipped according to the Prussian model, which goes back to the ideas of Wilhelm Wieprecht. He reformed and standardised the Prussian military music system between the 1830s and 1860s, thus creating the basis for its success. The sheet music enclosed with the musical instruments gives an insight into the popular musical taste of the period around 1900, which was increasingly introduced to Central and South America. Future research will ask what impact such imports of music and musical instruments had on the development of music in Central and South America. (Vorlage)


2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-27
Author(s):  
Brendan Ciarán Browne

The growing interest in ‘During Conflict Justice’ (DCJ) in areas experiencing ongoing, sustained violent ‘conflict’ has further demonstrated the confluence between transitional justice and liberal peacebuilding approaches. Nowhere so is this more evident than in the case of Palestine-Israel where an ongoing process of Israeli settler-colonialism in historic Palestine continues, with the further spotlighting of ‘justice’ issues that are longstanding and unresolved. This article critiques the application of TJ/DCJ in Palestine-Israel and calls for a radicalisation of its application so as to ensure a platforming of conversation around decolonisation. It does so by critiquing the impact of discourse, specifically the framing of the ‘conflict’ and focuses on the nefarious role of a liberal peace building agenda in Palestine-Israel, a process that has embedded a deeply unjust and inequitable status quo. An insight into several ‘top-down’ and ‘bottom-up’ strategies of TJ/DCJ in Palestine-Israel is provided, with the conclusion reached that; any TJ/DCJ praxis that does not platform meaningful conversation around decolonisation in the region will ultimately amount to the individualisation of ‘justice’ whilst failing to address root causes.


2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-62
Author(s):  
Sarah McLennan-Dillabough

Evaluative processes play a central role in our social world. These processes are especially salient in the work of bouncing, the work carried out by security staff at establishments licensed to serve alcohol. Bouncers have the power to admit or deny patrons who seek admittance to bars and nightclubs. Although the continual evaluation of patrons’ statuses (including their social status, race, and age) is common in this line of work, little sociological research has focused on these processes. Using interviews and participant observations, this article provides a grounded theory study that aims to expand the sociological knowledge about evaluative processes in the work of bouncing. This article argues that bouncers rely on socially constructed stereotypes in their evaluations of patron attitude and dress, associating certain attitudes and dress with violent behaviour. Bouncers’ reliance on status characteristic stereotypes systematically excludes classes and races of patrons who are perceived to have characteristics associated with violence.


2001 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-110
Author(s):  
Michael Behnam ◽  
Dirk Ulrich Gilbert

This empirical survey is based on a questionnaire which was distributed to 6,000 medium-sized German companies with international activities. The analyses included responses from a total of 533 enterprises. The areas examined include the importance of globalization, the motives for and the obstacles to globalization, the strategic planning of internationalization, the forms of internationalization adopted, the internationalization of a range of business functions and, finally, the geographical regions targeted by medium-sized German companies in their drive for internationalization. The study offers an up-to-date view of the current situation of medium-sized German companies operating within an international context, and insight into their attitudes towards internationalization.


Author(s):  
Yllka Azemi ◽  
Wilson Ozuem

The consequences of social media applications are experienced at every level in an organizational context, but they are arguably most extensively experienced in developing effective marketing communication strategies. Drawing on constructivist perspectives, recognizing the socially constructed realities embedded within this evolving techno-cultural construct, the current chapter suggests that understanding social media must begin not in the technological domain, but in the way in which users negotiate meanings between and amongst themselves in the Internet ecosystem. This could potentially help marketers to develop effective marketing communications programmes. Understanding the co-evolution of social media connectivity and sociality in the context of the emerging culture provides deeper insight into how SMEs, particularly in transition economies, could adapt to and contextualize values of openness and connectedness offered by this technological tapestry. Certain conditions in which the deployment of cultural transformation is likely to succeed are identified, and a future empirical research agenda is suggested.


Author(s):  
Christine Agius

This chapter examines the impact of social constructivism on Security Studies as well as its critique of the assumed orthodoxy of rationalist approaches to security and the international system. In particular, it considers the manner that social constructivists address the question of how security and security threats are ‘socially constructed’. The chapter first provides an overview of definitions and key concepts relating to constructivism, such as its emphasis on the importance of ideas, identity, and interaction, along with its alternative approach to thinking about security. It then explores Alexander Wendt’s three cultures of anarchy and compares conventional constructivism with critical constructivism. Finally, it analyses rationalist and poststructuralist critiques of constructivism.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document