Suchergebnisse

"Long- and Short-term Memory Structure in Political Decision Making" published on by Oxford University Press.

"Associative Memory and Political Decision Making" published on by Oxford University Press.

"Hindsight Bias in Political Decision Making" published on by Oxford University Press.

Uses an ethnohistorical approach to explore the sociopolitical organization & cultural model of war among the Western Apache in the US during the 19th century & the earlier colonial period. It is maintained that warfare was an important part of both the political economy & Apache ideology. Narratives of members of the culture are drawn on to illustrate how an Apache's way of remembering war typically differs from that of Anglo American observers. The focus is on how images of the enemy were construed; how the use of violence against other groups was legitimized; & the goals/results of external violence. It is shown that Apache warfare was a complex, multicausal, multifunctional, changing social fact that was both a strategy for pursuing material benefits & a ritual practice charged with religious meaning. Suggestions are made for future research intended to analytically reconstruct Western Apache warfare in order to deconstruct the nefarious image of a particularly violent, bloodthirsty Apache culture. Numerous excerpts from Apache narratives are included. 22 References. J. Lindroth

Nach einer Klärung von Grundannahmen der Expertiseforschung, insbesondere in Abgrenzung und Ergänzung zur Begabungsforschung, werden drei Ebenen unterschieden, auf denen Expertiseentwicklung beschrieben werden kann: Individuelle Mikroprozesse, individuelle Makroprozesse und Veränderung der Position in Netzwerken. Darauf aufbauend wird ein Modell der Handlungskompetenz vorgestellt, dem zufolge Experten anderen Personen in viererlei Hinsicht überlegen sind, nämlich bezüglich kognitiver Strukturen (Gedächtnis und Wissen), kognitiver Prozesse (Problemlösen und Entscheiden), Routinen sowie des sozialen Kontextes (Communities of Experts). Es wird aufgezeigt, dass es eine wichtige Konsequenz dieses Modells bezüglich der Förderung von Handlungskompetenz ist, dass individuelle und organisationale Faktoren dabei zusammenspielen müssen, zur theoriegeleiteten Reflexion professioneller Praxis anzuregen. (DIPF/Orig.).;;;First basic assumptions of research on expertise are addressed, in particular in its relation to research on giftedness. It is then argued that three levels should be distinguished on which development of expertise can be described: individual micro processes, individual macro processes, and change of an individual's position within (professional) networks. Accordingly, a model of action competence is presented which differentiates experts' superiority into four components: superiority in cognitive structures (memory, knowledge), superiority in cognitive processes (problem-solving, decision-making), superiority in routines, and superiority in social context (communities of experts). An important consequence is derived from this model with respect to instructional use. Fostering the acquisition of action competence requires the interplay of individual and organisational factors in order to promote theory-driven reflection of professional practice. (DIPF/Orig.).

Uses elite-mass diffusion models to examine conceptions of European integration among ordinary citizens, local elites, & public intellectuals in Germany, Great Britain, & Spain. Information was obtained from interviews conducted with 160 individuals divided equally among ordinary citizens & local elites in Weststadt & Oststadt Germany; Quijoton & Catadell Spain; Engleton England; & Scotsburg Scotland. In spite of considerable overlapping, cognitive frames related to European integration were found to contain distinct elements in each of the three countries. An analysis of the interviews showed that visions of integration are significantly affected by national self-perceptions & historical memory. Dominant themes in each country are described. A content analysis of 680 articles published in the quality press of the three countries between 1946 & 1997 indicated that intellectuals have successfully conveyed their views about European integration to the public. Although the findings suggest international differences simply echo differences in the attitudes of elites in each country, consideration must be given to the role of broader cultural preoccupations in shaping attitudes toward integration. 2 Tables. J. Lindroth

Uses elite-mass diffusion models to examine conceptions of European integration among ordinary citizens, local elites, & public intellectuals in Germany, Great Britain, & Spain. Information was obtained from interviews conducted with 160 individuals divided equally among ordinary citizens & local elites in Weststadt & Oststadt Germany; Quijoton & Catadell Spain; Engleton England; & Scotsburg Scotland. In spite of considerable overlapping, cognitive frames related to European integration were found to contain distinct elements in each of the three countries. An analysis of the interviews showed that visions of integration are significantly affected by national self-perceptions & historical memory. Dominant themes in each country are described. A content analysis of 680 articles published in the quality press of the three countries between 1946 & 1997 indicated that intellectuals have successfully conveyed their views about European integration to the public. Although the findings suggest international differences simply echo differences in the attitudes of elites in each country, consideration must be given to the role of broader cultural preoccupations in shaping attitudes toward integration. 2 Tables. J. Lindroth

"The emergence of order in systems with many actors or agents is an interesting problem for sociology as well as for computer science. Both disciplines can contribute equally to its examination. In this article sociology provides a solution for 'situation of double contingency'
referring to Niklas Luhmann's theory of autopoietical systems. This is a coordination problem in social systems. First of all computer science can contribute techniques from the field of simulation. With these techniques it is possible to examine current as well as non–existing or no longer existing environments. Observations of the latter make it possible to draw further conclusions on the importance of the currently existing environment. At last computer science can utilise this knowledge about social processes especially in the domain of multi–agent systems.
Starting the from sociological theory of the dyadic 'situation of double contingency' as mentioned above, our main focus is on large actor populations and their capability to produce order depending on different actors' constellations. Based on the theory for dyadic actor constellations we present our model of the actor. We do not want the actors to identify
one another, so we do not need to modify this model if we scale up population size next and introduce constellations. Thereby we take regular, random and small–world constellations into account. After describing our measures of order we study emergence of order in different constellations for varying population sizes. By means of simulation experiments we show
that systems with small–worlds exhibit highest order on large populations which gently decreases on increasing population sizes." (author's abstract)

"Subjektivität hat Konjunktur. Die traditionell strukturtheoretisch orientierte Arbeits- und Industriesoziologie entdeckt das autonome, zumindest aber widerständige Subjekt und fragt sich, wie dessen Eigensinnigkeit innerhalb der gesellschaftlichen Strukturen zu verorten ist, die es doch eigentlich prägen. Gleichzeitig beobachtet sie die Betriebe dabei, wie sie Subjektivierung als Steuerungsmechanismus einsetzen und das, was bislang als störend galt, erfolgreich als Ressource nutzen: die individuellen Eigenschaften und Bedürfnisse ihrer MitarbeiterInnen. Die soziologische Theorie steht vor ähnlichen Problemen. Überraschenderweise lässt sich das strikt modelltheoretisch arbeitende Rationalprogramm davon irritieren, dass Menschen keine rationalen Akteure sind. Dies macht der Theoriebildung einerseits Ärger: Der Mensch verfügt weder über die kognitiven Kompetenzen rationaler Akteure noch über deren eindeutige Präferenzstruktur, Gefühle arbeiten auf ihre eigene Rechnung, Gesten und Routinen sind ins Körpergedächtnis eingegangen - all dies erschwert die rationale Entscheidungsfindung. Andererseits hat diese Ausstattung aber auch Vorteile: Begrenzte Rationalität löst bestimmte Probleme erheblich besser, satisficing fungiert als hilfreiche Stoppregel bei der Alternativenabwahl, Gefühle ermöglichen Selbstbindungen - all dies hilft dabei, soziale Abstimmungsprobleme zu lösen. Werden rationale Akteure auf ein menschliches Maß zurückgestutzt, kooperieren sie öfter, als es die Theorie erlaubt. Wie die Arbeits- und Industriesoziologie weiß auch die Sozialtheorie, dass man diese Kapazitäten zu Steuerungszwecken nutzen kann. Offensichtlich haben diese beiden getrennt geführten Diskurse ein ähnliches Problem: Sie haben die 'innere Natur der Gesellschaft' und ihre Bedeutung als Restriktion und Ressource sozialen Handelns entdeckt, stellen aber fest, dass das beobachtete Phänomen nicht so recht in ihre Theorieprogramme passt. In diesem Vortrag wird dafür plädiert, Sozialtheorie und Subjektivierung modelltheoretisch zu verknüpfen. Im Ergebnis wird von der Fiktion eines ungeteilten Akteurs Abstand genommen und ein Modell vorgeschlagen, das davon ausgeht, dass der Akteur sich selbst zum Subjekt macht, indem er versucht, die internen Abstimmungsprobleme zu bearbeiten, die aus der Konfrontation rationaler Interessenverfolgung und 'innerer Natur' entstehen." (Autorenreferat)