Critical Constructivism, Postphenomenology and the Politics of Technology

2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Feenberg ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Collective Action ◽  
Technological Design ◽  
The Public ◽  
Politics Of Technology ◽  
Critical Constructivism ◽  
Social Account

Critical constructivism adds a dimension of collective action to postphenomenology. This paper explains the intervention of collective subjects into technological design. That intervention presupposes communication between lay and expert actors which is made possible by the dependence of technical disciplines on the lifeworld. Understanding the public processes of intervention requires a notion of multiple types of rationality and a social account of technological design.

scholarly journals Climate Change Inaction and Optimism

Philosophies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 61
Author(s):  
Philip J. Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Economic Growth ◽  
Collective Action ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Collective Action Problem ◽  
The Public ◽  
Policy Context ◽  
Positive Action ◽  
Ideological Fantasy

The problem of climate change inaction is sometimes said to be ‘wicked’, or essentially insoluble, and it has also been seen as a collective action problem, which is correct but inconsequential. In the absence of progress, much is made of various frailties of the public, hence the need for an optimistic tone in public discourse to overcome fatalism and encourage positive action. This argument is immaterial without meaningful action in the first place, and to favour what amounts to the suppression of truth over intellectual openness is in any case disreputable. ‘Optimism’ is also vexed in this context, often having been opposed to the sombre mood of environmentalists by advocates of economic growth. The greater mental impediments are ideological fantasy, which is blind to the contradictions in public discourse, and the misapprehension that if optimism is appropriate in one social or policy context it must be appropriate in others. Optimism, far from spurring climate change action, fosters inaction.

scholarly journals Restorative Design for Heritage Requalification: Selected Roman Works

2021 ◽  
pp. 227-244
Author(s):  
Luciano Cupelloni
Keyword(s):  
Human Resources ◽  
Public Space ◽  
Experimental Research ◽  
Common Good ◽  
Urban Systems ◽  
Technological Design ◽  
Transformative Power ◽  
The Public ◽  
New Perspective

AbstractThe theme is the urban re-qualification, applied in particular to the architectural heritage and the public space. The goal is the ongoing challenge of outlining a new perspective aimed at “common good” and sustainability. The instrument chosen is the “environmental technological design,” understood as a cultural, scientific, and social position, that is, as a position on the role of architecture. The contribution reiterates the urgency of restoring the transformative power of the design mission to the project, too often reduced to a set of technical compilation procedures. In the best cases, a position that is lost in the complication of procedures, in the extension of time, in the waste of economic and human resources. A crisis of the project as “anticipation” of progressive scenarios, precisely in the most acute, ever more serious phase, of the urgency of the reorganization of urban systems, with a view to environmental, social and economic sustainability. Not a recent urgency, today only brought to light, dramatically, by the reality of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Among the solutions, the design experimental research, well beyond the objective of flexibility, up to the notion of “functional indifference,” understood not as shapeless neutrality, but as the maximum functionality of spatial, architectural and urban quality.

Collective conflict in the public sector in France

2002 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 688-700
Author(s):  
Marie-Armelle Souriac
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Collective Action ◽  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
Legal Regulation ◽  
Public Enterprises ◽  
Roles And Responsibilities ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Right

The right to strike has been recognised in France, even as a right guaranteed by the Constitution, since 1946. Strikes in the public sector are subject to specific legal regulation, including requirements for minimum notice periods and, in some circumstances, minimum service requirements. This contribution examines these special legal features of public-sector strikes. It is necessary to clarify the respective roles and responsibilities of the management of public enterprises (or administrative authorities) and the government. The article also considers alternative (and new) forms of collective action and agreements. In the future there may well be even greater scope for the regulation of strikes to be covered by collective bargaining.

Accounting for gaming in the time of plague: COVID-19 in Macau

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Noronha ◽  
Jieqi Guan ◽  
Sandy Hou In Sio
Keyword(s):  
Critical Event ◽  
Gaming Industry ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Account ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose While the COVID-19 virus has been spreading worldwide, some studies have related the pandemic with various aspects of accounting and therefore emphasized the importance of accounting research in understanding the impact of COVID-19 on society as a whole. Recent studies have looked into such an impact on various industries such as retail and agriculture. The current study aims at applying a sociological framework, sociology of worth (SOW), to the gaming industry in Macau, the largest operator of state-allowed gambling and entertainment in China, which will allow for its development during the COVID-19 pandemic to be charted. Design/methodology/approach The study uses the theory of SOW as a framework and collects data from various sources, such as the government, gaming operators and the public, to create timelines and SOW frameworks to analyze the impact of the virus on the gaming industry and the society as a whole. Findings Detailed content analysis and the creation of different SOW matrices determined that the notion of a “lonely economy” during a time of a critical event may be ameliorated in the long term through compromises of the different worlds and actors of the SOW. Practical implications Though largely theory-based, this study offers a thorough account of the COVID-19 incident for both the government and the gaming industry to reflect on and to consider new ways to fight against degrowth caused by disasters or crises. Social implications The SOW framework divides society into different worlds of different worths. The current study shows how the worths of the different worlds are congruent during normal periods, and how cracks appear between them when a sudden crisis, such as COVID-19, occurs. The article serves as a social account of how these cracks are formed and how could they be resolved through compromise and reconstruction. Originality/value This study is a first attempt to apply SOW to a controversial industry (gaming) while the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are ongoing. It offers a significant contribution to the social accounting literature through its consideration of the combination of unprecedented factors in a well-timed study that pays close attention to analyses and theoretical elaboration.

Responsible Citizens, Irresponsible States

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Avia Pasternak
Keyword(s):  
Collective Action ◽  
State Level ◽  
Political Influence ◽  
State Policies ◽  
The State ◽  
Punitive Damages ◽  
The Public ◽  
International Crimes ◽  
Full Sense ◽  
Corporate Liabilities

International and domestic laws commonly hold states responsible for their wrongdoings. States pay compensation for their unjust wars, and reparations for their historical wrongdoings. Some argue that states should incur punitive damages for their international crimes. But there is a troubling aspect to these practices. States are corporate agents, composed of flesh and blood citizens. When the state uses the public purse to finance its corporate liabilities, the burden falls on these citizens, even if they protested against the state’s policies, did not know about them, or entirely lacked channels of political influence. How can this “distributive effect” of state-level responsibly be justified? The book develops an answer to this question, which revolves around citizens’ participation in their state. It argues that citizenship can be a type of massive collective action, where citizens willingly orient themselves around the authority of their state, and where state policies are the product of this collective action. While most ordinary citizens are not to blame for their participation in their state, they nevertheless ought to accept a share of the remedial obligations that flow from their state’s wrongful policies. However, the distributive effect cannot be justified in all states. Specifically, in (some) nondemocratic states most citizens are not participating in their state in the full sense, and should not pay for their state’s wrongdoings. This finding calls then for a revision of the way we hold states responsible in both the domestic and international levels.

Nudity, feminists, and Chinese online censorship: A case study on the anti-domestic violence campaign on SinaWeibo

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 274-293
Author(s):  
Ling Han ◽  
Chengpang Lee
Keyword(s):  
Domestic Violence ◽  
Collective Action ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
Action Potential ◽  
Potential Theory ◽  
Feminist Movement ◽  
The Public ◽  
Theoretical Perspectives ◽  
Discussion Threads

Chinese feminist activists are actively participating in the Chinese online public sphere. In this study, we examine a case – the Anti-Domestic Violence with Nude Photos Campaign (裸照反家暴活动) – and the response of Chinese online censorship to this campaign. Campaign activists used nude photos to mobilize the public’s support. According to the existing theoretical perspectives such as the collective action potential theory, this kind of online campaign with pornographic elements and the potential to mobilize people is very likely to be censored. Counter to this expectation, we found that not all of the original photos were removed. Our finding suggests that the interactive manner in which activists responded to the public on SinaWeibo’s discussion threads matters in terms of the degree of censorship. This study complements the existing studies on the Chinese online censorship system, echoes scholars’ call for studies on censorship from a more interactive angle, and furthers our understanding of the Chinese feminist movement.

Collective Action and Political Change: Public and Semipublic Strategies of Brazilian Rural Movements (1990s–2017)

2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (5) ◽  
pp. 113-130
Author(s):  
Priscila Delgado de Carvalho
Keyword(s):  
Collective Action ◽  
Social Movement ◽  
Regime Change ◽  
Political Change ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Government

A study of the Brazilian Movimento dos Pequenos Agricultores during recent moments of regime change suggests two main strategies for understanding the impacts of political change on social movement action: assessing the degree of political proximity between activists and the government and the presence or absence of institutional venues for interaction and looking beyond the public expressions of contention to consider semipublic action. When there is political proximity the public activities of movements tend to be less contentious, and when there are institutional venues for interaction protests will be routinized rather than disruptive. When proximity is lacking activists are likely to perform disruptive protests and to give priority to disputing meanings within society and within their own constituencies. Um estudo do Movimento dos Pequenos Agricultores do Brasil durante momentos recentes de mudança de regime sugere duas estratégias principais para entender os impactos das mudanças políticas na ação do movimento social: avaliar o grau de proximidade política entre ativistas e o governo e a presença ou ausência de espaços institucionais para interação e olhar além das expressões públicas de discórdia para considerar a ação semipública. Quando há proximidade política, as atividades públicas dos movimentos tendem a ser menos contenciosas e, quando existem canais institucionais para interação, tende-se a rotinas de protestos pouco disruptivos. Quando falta proximidade, é provável que os ativistas dêem prioridade a protestos disruptivos e a disputas de significados na sociedade e dentro de seus próprios quadros.

Polarized and Demobilized

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dana El Kurd
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Data ◽  
Collective Action ◽  
Arab World ◽  
Historical Analysis ◽  
Palestinian Authority ◽  
The Public ◽  
Oslo Accords ◽  
Multi Method Approach ◽  
Method Approach ◽  
Israeli Occupation

After the 1994 Oslo Accords, Palestinians were hopeful that an end to the Israeli occupation was within reach, and that a state would be theirs by 1999. With this promise, international powers became increasingly involved in Palestinian politics, and many shadows of statehood arose in the territories. Today, however, no state has emerged, and the occupation has become more entrenched. Concurrently, the Palestinian Authority has become increasingly authoritarian, and Palestinians ever more polarised and demobilised. Palestine is not unique in this: international involvement, and its disruptive effects, have been a constant across the contemporary Arab world. This book argues that internationally backed authoritarianism has an effect on society itself, not just on regime-level dynamics. It explains how the Oslo paradigm has demobilised Palestinians in a way that direct Israeli occupation, for many years, failed to do. Using a multi-method approach including interviews, historical analysis, and cutting-edge experimental data, Dana El Kurd reveals how international involvement has insulated Palestinian elites from the public, and strengthened their ability to engage in authoritarian practices. In turn, those practices have had profound effects on society, including crippling levels of polarisation and a weakened capacity for collective action.

scholarly journals To Follow or Not to Follow: Social Norms and Civic Duty during a Pandemic

2020 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
pp. 273-278
Author(s):  
Laura French Bourgeois ◽  
Allison Harell ◽  
Laura B. Stephenson
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Collective Action ◽  
Social Norms ◽  
Hand Washing ◽  
Elected Officials ◽  
Medical Systems ◽  
Civic Duty ◽  
The Public ◽  
Health Measures ◽  
Physical Isolation

The outbreak of COVID-19 has put substantial pressure on individuals to adapt and change their behaviours. As the hope of a vaccine remains at least a year away, everyone is urged to take action to slow the spread of the virus. Thus, “flattening the curve” has become vital in preventing medical systems from being overrun, and it relies on massive collective action by citizens to follow specific public health measures such as physical distancing, hand washing, and physical isolation for vulnerable individuals. Despite the recommendations, the public has often been confronted with the reality that some individuals are not respecting them, including elected officials (Aguilar, 2020).

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