AGAINST MECHANISM: METHODOLOGY FOR AN EVOLUTIONARY ECONOMICS

When the first economics departments were proposed at Cambridge and Oxford, the proponents thought acceptance would be improved if economics could be seen as incorporating the methods of physics. The enterprise was premised on the existence of economic laws that describe invariant relationships between events. These event regularities, like gravity, were not affected by human action. Humans could adapt and use them, but not change them. Thus the metaphor of "mechanism" seemed appropriate and became embedded in economists' language. It is common to use the term market mechanism to link prices and commodities. This suggests the economy is like turning a crank attached to a set of gears where there is a fixed relationship between the crank's motion and the last gear's motion. The gears have no ideas of their own, they don't get mad; there is no cognitive element between events and action.Institutional and Behavioral Economics,

Teacher Perspectives on Co-teaching in a Content Classroom with English Language Support

This study explores co-teachers’ valuations on four aspects of best-practice, which were administrative support, planning time and preparation, training for co-teachers, and the co-teacher relationship. It uses correlative analysis to compare these valuations and coteachers’ perceived feelings of effectiveness as individuals and as partnerships. Data was gathered through a survey of both ESL and mainstream teachers via a university listserv. The results showed administrative support was perceived as the least important of four aspects of co-teaching best-practice, but correlative analysis showed a strong link between perceived effectiveness of administrator support for co-teaching and teachers’ feelings of effectiveness as both individual co-teachers and in co-teaching partnerships

Exploring the Designer-Constructor Teamwork Interface to improve Collaboration: A review of current literature

The construction industry has been criticised over several decades for functioning and producing output with low levels of productivity when compared to other manufacturing-based industries. One possible solution to improve productivity is the adoption of collaborative working practices by project teams, particularly designers and constructors during the design phase. Arguments in support of the need to manage the design process effectively during a construction project are well documented. Issues such as providing the client with a sustainable, affordable, quality design that adds value to their business needs, requires attention. Managing the interpersonal interface between designers and constructors during the design phase is a vital requirement of design management practice. Design management is a discipline that requires a thorough understanding of the nature and culture of the different professionals to improve the social behaviours and performance of teams, which in turn may improve project outcomes and thus industrial productivity. The current study, which is part of an ongoing project, presents the position of the design management literature focused on the interpersonal behaviour between designers and constructors. Following a strategically focused review of the extant literature, current themes relevant to Teamwork Quality (TWQ), specific to the designer-constructor interface, are presented. The findings confirm the presence of 14 articles that explore collaborative teamwork behaviour between designers and constructors and that survey methods dominate publications in this area. Few studies capture the power of space and place by observing ‘live' industry practice, particularly from a longitudinal perspective. Recommendations include the identification of research themes worthy of future exploration that may assist in teamwork performance concerning productivity. An increase in the use of alternative methodological approaches such as ethnographic and action research is also justified and discussed

A Station-Based Southern Annular Mode Index from 1884 to 2005

Atmospheric pressure observations from the Southern Hemisphere are used to estimate monthly and annually averaged indexes of the southern annular mode (SAM) back to 1884. This analysis groups all relevant observations in the following four regions: one for Antarctica and three in the subtropical zone. Continuous surface pressure observations are available at a number of locations in the subtropical regions since the end of the nineteenth century. However, year-round observations in the subpolar region near the Antarctic continent began only during the 1940-60 period. The shorter Antarctic records seriously compromise the length of a traditionally estimated SAM index. To improve the situation "proxy'' estimates of Antarctic sea level pressure anomalies are provided based on the concept of atmospheric mass conservation poleward of 208S. This allows deriving a longer SAM index back to 1884. Several aspects of the new record, its statistical properties, seasonal trends, and the regional pressure anomaly correlations, are presented

Reading violence: representation and ethics

ABSTRACT The textual representation of an instance of violence involves three principle considerations: a notion of representation, a conception of violence, and an inter-relationship between ethical and aesthetic evaluations. By investigating these considerations within the context of postmodern thought, a more sensitive perception of textual representations of violence becomes possible. Any representation, prior to being read and interpreted, has no predetermined meaning, and therefore no inherent value. It is only through a process of reading that verifiability, the principles of appraisal and personal cognition become actualised. As any text is necessarily iterable – subject to infinite (re)interpretation within an infinite number of future contexts – any interpretation is determined by the intersection of the iterable text and the historically situated reader. Violence, which is defined as an act of direct or indirect intentional harm against a person’s body or mind or property, may be experienced either as an event, or as a representation of an event. In instances of the representation of violence, the ethical perspective of the reader is influenced to a large extent by expectations of the text’s verifiability, the linguistic register of the text, and the inter-subjective ethical framework at the moment of reading the text. The aesthetic evaluation of the narrative, which is closely associated with its linguistic features, is also closely related to this ethical perspective. However, normative systems of ethics are often inadequate in the face of the plurality of meaning and possibilities inherent in representations of violence, and therefore a postmodern conception of ethical thought seems most appropriate. Textual instances of violence therefore have the potential for representing a multiplicity of experiences and ethical responses, without necessarily having to rely upon problematic normative obligations of systemisation or duty. A recognition of postmodern ethical ambiguity, combined with a flexibility of moral outlook, allows the reader to develop a more nuanced approach to the ethical predicaments suggested by the representation of violence

The representation and aestheticisation of violence

An act of violence, be it personal or institution is an event that would distress most witnesses. Yet the representation of violent acts in fictional forms as literature, drama and film often aestheticises that violence, with the result that it is possible to experience it without such distress. However, despite various conjectures being offered, no single and universal theory is possible. An aesthetic response to a representation of violence is influenced to a large extent by the degree of aestheticisation produced by the author and/or director. In addition, the aestheticisation of violence is dependent upon, and an inevitable consequence of, the representation of the violent. This dissertation is an endeavour to explore the issues that the paradox makes evident, to critique various hypotheses that have been offered as a solution, and to speculate upon a more comprehensive theory ofthe representation and aestheticisation of violenceEnglish StudiesM.A. (English

Effects of Videotape Playback on Causal Attribution in Distressed Couples

A videotape playback treatment was investigated in the present study with regard to its effects on acceptance of responsibility for conflict in distressed couples. Three major hypotheses were tested. The first hypothesis that subjects given videotape playback of their pretherapy sessions would show a significant increase in self-attribution was supported.The second hypothesis that subjects who received videotape playback of their pretherapy sessions would show a significant increase in the frequency of self-attributional statements was also supported. Results of the present study did not support the final hypothesis that following a significant increase in self-attribution. It was concluded that videotape playback may provide an effective means of facilitating acceptance of responsibility for conflict in distressed couples. The implication for practitioners is that videotape playback could accelerate the marital therapy process through facilitation of the acceptance of responsibility