A conceptual treadmill: the need for ‘middle ground’ in clinical decision making theory in nursing

This paper explores the two predominant theoretical approaches to the process of nurse decision making prevalent within the nursing research literature: systematic-positivistic approaches as exemplifed by information processing theory, and the intuitive-humanistic approach of Patricia Benner. The two approaches' strengths and weaknesses are explored and as a result a third theoretical stance is proffered: the idea of a cognitive continuum. According to this approach the systematic and intuitive theoretical camps occupy polar positions at either end of a continuum as opposed to separate theoretical planes. The methodological and professional benefits of adopting such a stance are also briefly outlined

The Process of Thinking by Prospective Teachers of Mathematics in Making Arguments

This study aimed to describe the process of thinking by prospective teachers of mathematics in making arguments. It was a qualitative research involving the mathematics students of STKIP PGRI Jombang as the subject of the study. Test and task-based semi structural interview were conducted for data collection. The result showed that 163 of 260 mathematics students argued using inductive and deductive warrants. The process of thinking by the prospective teachers of mathematics in making arguments had begun since they constructed their very first idea by figuring out some objects to make a conclusion. However, they also found a rebuttal from that conclusion, though they did not further describe what such rebuttal was. Therefore, they decided to construct the second ideas in order to verify the first ones through some pieces of definition

A formal analysis of the notion of preference between deductive arguments

In the last two decades, justification logic has addressed the problem of including justifications into the field of epistemic logic. Nevertheless, there is something that has not received enough attention yet: how epistemic agents might prefer certain justifications to others, in order to have better pieces of evidence to support a particular belief. In this work, we study the notion of preference between a particular kind of justifications: deductive arguments. For doing so, we have built a logic using tools from epistemic logic, justification logic and logics for belief dependence. According to our solution, the preferences of an epistemic agent between different deductive arguments can be reduced to other notions

Inquiry activities in a classroom: extra-logical processes of illumination vs logical process of deductive and inductive reasoning. A case study

The paper presents results of the research, which was focused on studying students’ inquiry work from a psychological point of view. Inquiry activities of students in a classroom were analysed through the evaluation of the character of these activities within learning process with respect to mathematician’s research practice. A process of learning mathematical discovery was considered in detail as a part of inquiry activities of students in a classroom

On the methodology of management research

Epistemology, methodology or philosophy of science, i.e., the foundations and validity of knowledge, have never been very popular subjects as applied to management research. Lately, though, the need for better theories and the methodological discussion underlying the creation of such theories appears to be receiving more attention. In this paper, I will review some basic underlying issues in the area by taking a look at to some of the classical authors. I will first analyze Hayek's view of methodological problems in economics and then apply his analysis to the development of management theory. Then, I'll elaborate on Elster's distinction between causal, functional and intentional explanations. Naïve methodological attitudes will be discussed in this context. I will use agency theory as an example of what should and should not be done. Finally, I'll examine the falsification criterion in management theory and discuss the role of mathematics in the development of theory.epistemology; philosophy of science; methodology; management theory; foundations of management;

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Mathematical Knowledge, the Analytic Method, and Naturalism

This chapter tries to answer the following question: How should we conceive of the method of mathematics, if we take a naturalist stance? The problem arises since mathematical knowledge is regarded as the paradigm of certain knowledge, because mathematics is based on the axiomatic method. Moreover, natural science is deeply mathematized, and science is crucial for any naturalist perspective. But mathematics seems to provide a counterexample both to methodological and ontological naturalism. To face this problem, some authors tried to naturalize mathematics by relying on evolutionism. But several difficulties arise when we try to do this. This chapter suggests that, in order to naturalize mathematics, it is better to take the method of mathematics to be the analytic method, rather than the axiomatic method, and thus conceive of mathematical knowledge as plausible knowledge

Deontic logic as a study of conditions of rationality in norm-related activities

The program put forward in von Wright's last works defines deontic logic as ``a study of conditions which must be satisfied in rational norm-giving activity'' and thus introduces the perspective of logical pragmatics. In this paper a formal explication for von Wright's program is proposed within the framework of set-theoretic approach and extended to a two-sets model which allows for the separate treatment of obligation-norms and permission norms. The three translation functions connecting the language of deontic logic with the language of the extended set-theoretical approach are introduced, and used in proving the correspondence between the deontic theorems, on one side, and the perfection properties of the norm-set and the ``counter-set'', on the other side. In this way the possibility of reinterpretation of standard deontic logic as the theory of perfection properties that ought to be achieved in norm-giving activity has been formally proved. The extended set-theoretic approach is applied to the problem of rationality of principles of completion of normative systems. The paper concludes with a plaidoyer for logical pragmatics turn envisaged in the late phase of Von Wright's work in deontic logic

Thinking Twice about Virtue and Vice: Philosophical Situationism and the Vicious Minds Hypothesis

This paper provides an empirical defense of credit theories of knowing against Mark Alfano’s challenges to them based on his theses of inferential cognitive situationism and of epistemic situationism. In order to support the claim that credit theories can treat many cases of cognitive success through heuristic cognitive strategies as credit-conferring, the paper develops the compatibility between virtue epistemologies qua credit theories, and dual-process theories in cognitive psychology. It also a response to Lauren Olin and John Doris’ “vicious minds” thesis, and their “tradeoff problem” for virtue theories. A genuine convergence between virtue epistemology and dual-process theory is called for, while acknowledging that this effort may demand new and more empirically well-informed projects on both sides of the division between Conservative virtue epistemology (including the credit theory of knowing) and Autonomous virtue epistemology (including projects for providing guidance to epistemic agents)

HeteroGenius: A Framework for Hybrid Analysis of Heterogeneous Software Specifications

Nowadays, software artifacts are ubiquitous in our lives being an essential part of home appliances, cars, cell phones, and even in more critical activities like aeronautics and health sciences. In this context software failures may produce enormous losses, either economical or, in the worst case, in human lives. Software analysis is an area in software engineering concerned with the application of diverse techniques in order to prove the absence of errors in software pieces. In many cases different analysis techniques are applied by following specific methodological combinations that ensure better results. These interactions between tools are usually carried out at the user level and it is not supported by the tools. In this work we present HeteroGenius, a framework conceived to develop tools that allow users to perform hybrid analysis of heterogeneous software specifications. HeteroGenius was designed prioritising the possibility of adding new specification languages and analysis tools and enabling a synergic relation of the techniques under a graphical interface satisfying several well-known usability enhancement criteria. As a case-study we implemented the functionality of Dynamite on top of HeteroGenius.Comment: In Proceedings LAFM 2013, arXiv:1401.056