Critical realism: a philosophical framework for the study of gender and mental health

This paper explores gender and mental health with particular reference to the emerging philosophical field of critical realism. This philosophy suggests a shared ontology and epistemology for the natural and social sciences. Until recently, most of the debate surrounding gender and mental health has been guided either implicitly or explicitly within a positivist or constructivist philosophy. With this in mind, key areas of critical realism are explored in relation to gender and mental health, and contrasted with the positions of positivism and constructivism. It is argued that critical realism offers an alternative philosophical framework for the exploration of gender issues within mental health care

Critical Realism sebagai Alternatif Landasan Filosofis di Penelitian Sistem Informasi

Tulisan ini dibuat untuk memperkenalkan landasan filosofis critical realism atau yang pada sebuah artikel di Indonesia disebut sebagai realisme kritis di akademisi dan praktisi sistem informasi Indonesia. Critical realism diajukan oleh beberapa peneliti terdahulu sebagai metode alternative untuk membantu perkembangan keilmuan di bidang sistem informasi. Banyak akademisi terdahulu yang mengkritik ketidakmampuan keilmuan sistem informasi menyumbangkan teori. Pada tulisan ini dibahas landasan critical realism dan bagaimana critical realism dapat membantu perkembangan teori. Selanjutnya, juga diberikan contoh penelitian di bidang sistem informasi yang menggunakan critical realism. AbstractThis essay was made to introduce critical realism as a philosophical foundation in information systems research. The expected audience for this writing is Indonesian information systems academia and practitioners. Information systems researchers suggest that critical realism affords the potential to establish alternative approach to theorising in information systems. There have been several articles made by senior scholars criticising the state of theorising in information systems. In this essay, we described the basic information about critical realism and how critical realism may help to theorising in information systems. We also showed an example of recent critical realism research in information systems and listed additional recent papers using CR

Realism Convincingly Interprets Security Issues: Take Climate Change as an Example

The development of international security theory can be divided into two stages: traditional security studies and non-traditional security studies. Traditional security studies are represented by realism. After the cold war, new research theories emerged that shifted the object of study from the state to the non-state. Critical security studies was one of them. Since the modern era, critical security studies has been seen as a critique of traditional security theories, especially realism. However, this paper argues that the realist focus on the balance of power and interests in international relations remains the more compelling explanation of security. Using climate change as a case study, this paper demonstrates the theoretical value of realism

A paradigmatic map of professional education research

This article maps out research in professional education with reference to a threefold typology of paradigms i.e. the positivist, interpretivist and critical paradigms. The rationale for such an endeavour is fourfold. First, it directs attention to the neglected territory of methodology which is essential for researcher reflexivity. Second, it shows that most research in social work education has been situated within the positivist or interpretivist paradigms, and the relative dearth of studies in the critical paradigm raises important questions about anti-oppressive practice in research. Third, a comparison of studies in different spheres of professional education indicates that research into social work education has often not been as rich or robust as research into medicine or teaching, and this deserves further reflection. Finally, there is a practical rationale – although this exercise casts doubt upon our current capacity to develop evidence-based educational reforms, it should also signpost fruitful avenues for future research

Examining the Interplay between Decision-making and Big Data Analytics in driving Decision Value: A Critical Realist Case

To improve organisational performance, much attention has been paid to the value that BDA can produce beyond data-driven decision-making. However, there has been less emphasis on decision value (DV) arising from BDA. To compound this, definitions of DV remain fragmented across different views from social, to technical and economic. We aim to develop an empirically grounded theoretical model characterising how BDA is used in organisations to realize DV and to provide a mechanism-based causal explanation of how DV arises from the interplay between BDA (technical subsystem) and decisionmaking(social subsystem) using a real-world environment. As a result, we propose using retroductive reasoning through Critical Realism (CR) as the overarching philosophy, and Grounded Theory Methodology (GTM) techniques to collect and analyse data. Potential contributions from this research will include the development of a mechanism-based theory explaining how DV arises from the interplay between BDA and decision-making

Epistemiese waardes in die rasionaliteitsmodel van Wentzel van Huyssteen

In his dialogue with the current state of the debate on philosophy of debate, Wentzel van Huyssteen develops what he calls a postfoundationalist model of rationality as opposed to the discredited foundationalist model and the, for him equally unacceptable, antifoundationalist model of rationality. In this article it is argued that the two basic epistemic values of Van Huyssteen's model, viz. the pursuit of intelligibility and the concept of critical realism, tie in with his opposition to foundationalism and antifoundationalism. He uses the concept of intelligibility to distance himself from a foundationalist approach, and then he utilizes the concept of critical realism to safeguard himself from antifoundationalism. The factor which ties these two values together is the notion of progress in science. In this article it is argued that Van Huyssteen’s model does not really succeed in transcending the foundationalism-antifoundationalism tension with a radically new alternative, the main reason for this being that a pragmatic idea of progress in science cannot succeed in integrally connecting the epistemic values of intelligibility and realism

Book review: realist criminology by Roger Matthews

Roger Matthews’ Realist Criminology offers a timely, provocative and essential call to arms for scholars of many disciplines who seek to understand crime, to inform crime prevention policy, and to develop fairer criminal justice practices, writes Helen Brown Coverdale

Book Review: Legal Realism at Yale, 1927-1960

Laura Kalman\u27s monograph, originally a dissertation, is nevertheless a fresh and rather engaging study of a finished chapter in intellectual history—the legal realist movement. It flourished in the 1930s, revived in another form after World War II, and then faded away around 1960, when Kalman ends her work. By that time, legal realism had left an indistinct legacy that was widely shared. It was always a rather shapeless growth, even in its prime. Kalman proposes to give the movement some coherence by concentrating on its manifestations at the Yale Law School. Yet, after an introductory chapter in which she locates realism in the broader setting of functionalism as a way of doing history and other social sciences, the second chapter is about Harvard Law School; much of the third chapter is about curricular changes at Columbia and Yale. Late in the day, Yale occupies all of the fourth and fifth chapters; but the sixth and last again turns to Harvard

Reason, causation and compatibility with the phenomena

'Reason, Causation and Compatibility with the Phenomena' strives to give answers to the philosophical problem of the interplay between realism, explanation and experience. This book is a compilation of essays that recollect significant conceptions of rival terms such as determinism and freedom, reason and appearance, power and knowledge. This title discusses the progress made in epistemology and natural philosophy, especially the steps that led from the ancient theory of atomism to the modern quantum theory, and from mathematization to analytic philosophy. Moreover, it provides possible gateways from modern deadlocks of theory either through approaches to consciousness or through historical critique of intellectual authorities. This work will be of interest to those either researching or studying in colleges and universities, especially in the departments of philosophy, history of science, philosophy of science, philosophy of physics and quantum mechanics, history of ideas and culture. Greek and Latin Literature students and instructors may also find this book to be both a fascinating and valuable point of reference