Towards a pragmatic approach: a critical examination of two assumptions of indigenization discourse

The current discourse of indigenization has been dominated by a normative approach that puts culture and social work values at the centre of discussions of social work's transference ‘from the West to the rest’. Taking a social constructionist perspective, this article argues that we need to critically examine some underlying assumptions of this normative approach, which may have led to misunderstandings of indigenization. The pragmatic approach, which I suggest as an alternative, views indigenization as a process in which various actors with various cultural lenses select the components of Western social work that can be integrated with, or replace, existing local social care practices. The purpose of this integration and replacement is to better serve the needs of the receiving society and its people.     

日本“古学”与“国学”的各自分工及学理关联

"古学"与"国学",是日本近世两大重要的思想流派.各自的集大成者荻生徂徕和本居宣长,取向上有差异,话语上有分别,但学脉上有关联,观点上有承袭.在将实用主义和民族主义同时植入自己学说体系内,并为它们营造可以连续生长的文化环境乃至政治环境的问题上,两者间并无龃龉,且成为日本近世思想链条上前后衔续、难以分断的两大逻辑连环.     

A (Pragmatic) Defense of (Some) Science

In this commentary, a response to MacKendrick (2017), I examine the dilemma that recent science activism poses for sociologists of science. How can we maintain their critical integrity while condemning the anti‐science actions of the Trump administration? I propose that sociologists of science engage in two exercises to marshal a qualified defense of science. First, we should unpack what we might mean by the “science” we wish to defend. Then, we should begin to articulate grounds for defending that science commensurate with the urgency of the moment. I draw inspiration from American pragmatist philosophy to develop one such defense.     

重视科学方法、行动和效用的杜威实用主义

杜威是美国实用主义的代表人物。他在批判传统哲学的基础上建立起他的实用主义学说。这一学说主张哲学应立足社会，面向现实，研究日常生活的各个方面。社威实用主义的主要含义有三：一是强调科学方法对研究日常生活的重要性；二是重视行动和变化，拒斥绝对论；三是重视以效用原则为基础的实用主义真理观。     

New neighbours in a time of change: local pragmatics and the perception of asylum centres in rural Denmark

Asylum centres in rural areas are an increasingly common mode of managing asylum seekers in Denmark. These centres’ arrival occurs in a context of protracted rural crisis, as demographic and economic changes reshape local communities. Yet research on these processes remains scarce, issues concerning asylum and the rural being seldom conceived together. At the same time, majority population attitudes towards refugees are often depicted through the opposed poles of xenophobia and humanitarianism. Based on ethnographic research, this article examines the meanings and consequences of asylum centres for rural Danish communities. Drawing on anthropological theory on the mutuality of social life we argue that asylum centres become embedded in pre-existing relations within local communities and between them and the centralising Danish welfare state. Local communities sometimes were initially sceptical about asylum centres, but they generally developed a collective, pragmatic approach towards them in contrast to the divided, ideological cast of national debates on asylum. By shifting focus from the national to the local, from the urban to the rural, and from the migrants to the neighbouring communities, a less polarising and more everyday mode of relating to the arrival of asylum seekers becomes visible.     

经世致用:语言研究的价值转向与批判话语分析

本文从实用转向的发端形式与功能的抉取,实用转向的散射边缘语言学家对语言的关注和话语研究的滥觞,实用转向的依归批评语言学的萌发与批判话语分析的勃兴等方面,分析现代语言研究呈现出一种经世致用的价值取向。而批判话语分析的勃兴正是语言研究实用转向的必然产物,也是人们需求语言研究要以人为本、真正服务于社会服务于人的表现。     

Essentialism and the social

In this paper I show that two senses are often assigned to essences in frameworks that award them a significant ontological status. There is both a defining sense and a more concrete‐explanatory sense. Once this distinction is recognized, competing forms of essentialism can be differentiated and their implications more easily explored. As an example of work where the defining and the concrete‐explanatory senses of essence are tied closely together I consider the essentialism outlined by Rom Harré as part of his analysis of the practices of natural scientists. As an illustration of a position where the two senses are de‐coupled and priority given to the defining sense I examine the essentialism Charles Peirce develops in his mature account of natural classes. I show that arguments concerning the scope of essentialism and its relevance for the study of social phenomena depend heavily on the sense of essence prioritized. The focus on these two senses of essence facilitates a better understanding of the forms of essentialism defended by Harré and Peirce and helps identify the challenges contemporary realists face as they seek to defend an essentialism that applies to the social.     

Russian public diplomacy in the 21st century: Structure,means and message

Many studies have focussed upon Western countries, such as the United States and members of the European Union, and how they engage with foreign publics. There is also an increasing amount of attention being paid to non-Western countries. The debate on soft power, for instance, shows that the concept is perceived and applied in a manner that differs from Nye's vision. This present article seeks to examine and analyse how and why the Russian state engages foreign publics with different communicational means and methods. Relations and approaches are much more pragmatic in the current situation, ideology seems to have been discarded. The current foreign policy concept gives context to positioning Russia, which not only gives Russia a certain role, but one that is set in relation to other international actors. Although, not all countries are treated the same, a different approach based upon a different set of assumptions produces a different understanding as to what programmes and means are needed. This produces a difference in approach between Western countries and those countries on the territory of the Former Soviet Union.     

Market Segmentation in Scientific Publications: Research Patterns in American vs European Management Journals1

Ideal science should conform to certain criteria or goals, among them the goals of universalism and commonality. Realization of these goals may be limited, however, through the dividing up of researchers in terms of geographical borders. In this study the general hypothesis is tested that there is a segmentation of the society of management researchers into a North American (US) and a European (E) segment, a segmentation which is furthered by differences in incentive schemes and in paradigms. Four leading management journals from North America and from Europe, respectively, and the 242 articles they contained published in 1993 were selected to represent the different geographical segments. The results provide: support for the existence of two such segments; support for differences in incentive schemes influencing the articles; support for their being paradigm differences between the two segments; and support for a paradigm effect being stronger in US-journals than in E-journals, US-authors are more willing, however, to conform to the E-paradigm than vice versa. We argue for methodological pragmatism in order to reduce the presumed counter-productive effects of paradigmatic rigidity.     

试论法律实用主义审判

＂法律实用主义审判＂是一种注重实践和经验的审判路径,它追求法律的科学化。这在一定程度上弥补了实证主义审判对概念形式过度依赖的缺陷。当前,我国正处于社会的转型期,面对不断涌现的疑难案件实证主义审判模式自身的诟病暴露无遗,这也造成了我国的法治建设迷雾重重。因此,借鉴域外的审判经验,适时地把＂法律实用主义审判＂模式引入到我国的司法实践中是一种有益的尝试。