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This paper presents Constructed Past Theory, an epistemological theory about how we come to know things that happened or existed in the past. The theory is expounded both in text and in a formal model comprising UML class diagrams. The ideas presented here have been developed in a half century of experience as a practitioner in the management of information and automated systems in the US government and as a researcher in several collaborations, notably the four international and multidisciplinary InterPARES projects. This work is part of a broader initiative, providing a conceptual framework for reformulating the concepts and theories of archival science in order to enable a new discipline whose assertions are empirically and, wherever possible, quantitatively testable. The new discipline, called archival engineering, is intended to provide an appropriate, coherent foundation for the development of systems and applications for managing, preserving and providing access to digital information, development which is necessitated by the exponential growth and explosive diversification of data recorded in digital form and the use of digital data in an ever increasing variety of domains. Both the text and model are an initial exposition of the theory that both requires and invites further development.

Morris Janowitz has been a major contributor to sociological theory and research over the last live decades. The range of his empirical work and the logic of his theory–based on philosophical pragmatism and opposed to "grand" formulations– obscure the magnitude of his contribution to social theory, despite his pervasive influence on research in particular subfields. This paper provides a brief overview of the logic and substance of Janowitz's contribution to macrosociology which is focused on his concepts of institutional analysis, social control, and institution building. The use of these concepts is illustrated substantively in the light of current trends in the development of advanced industrial society.

Although the English tradition of analytical economics was established at least as long ago as the publication of David Ricardo's Principles in 1817, doubt has never ceased to exist concerning the fruitfulness of abstract and deductive methods in economics. Indeed, although the significant advances made since Ricardo's day were the products of men following closely the theoretical tradition, this doubt has increased rather than lessened. While the established methods weathered the attacks of the historical school during the latter part of the nineteenth century, they were severely shaken by the fundamental questionings of Thorstein Veblen. No one has emerged in our day as a true inheritor of the Veblenian mantle, but the institutionalist school of economics, which acknowledges him as its source of inspiration, is undeniably a very serious critic of orthodox economic theorizing.This paper stems in part from the most recent controversy on the methods and conclusions of economic theory. It attempts to meet the sense of dissatisfaction with which I read the arguments of both attackers and defenders. Perhaps also the fact that during the past few years I have frequently been asked embarrassing questions by students may have something to do with my interest in this problem. I am surely not the only person who has had to contend with the remark that "it looks all right in theory but how does it work out in fact?" For some time now I have been either a consumer or a purveyor of economic theory and I feel motivated to demonstrate (at least to myself) that the activity constitutes productive labour. If that has given this paper the character of rationalization, I hope that it will not be one that cannot be put to good professional service.

Practical judgment & planning -- Emotional intelligence in planning judgment -- Integrating the planning field, movement and discipline -- Anticipating complex spatial change -- Planning imagination : utopia, scenario & plan -- Crafting plans -- Evaluating plans -- How planning theory informs planning practice -- Planning spatial community in a complex society -- Ethical planning judgment.

Normative theory in international relations, as it is discussed at present in the framework of the cosmopolitan/communitarian debate, is in a condition of stasis. Cosmopolitan and communitarian positions are generally assumed to be irreconcilable, with no means available for reaching conclusions on ethical questions in world politics. This book pursues three lines of inquiry. First, it aims to examine the nature and the extent of the impasse within this debate. Second, it re-evaluates whether the cosmopolitan/communitarian dichotomy offers a complete picture of the most pressing issues at stake within normative international relations theory. The book suggests that a more refined focus on epistemology and questions of foundationalism and antifoundationalism is necessary. Third, it constructs an argument for a normative approach to international ethics which draws from the tradition of American pragmatism and is sensitive to the wider picture of concerns raised in the course of the book

The Washington State SAR Planning Unit (SSPU) was activated in 2018 to provide advanced search planning resources to regional incident commands during extended or complex search missions. The SSPU operates under the auspices of the Washington State Emergency Management Division, and comprises experienced SAR volunteers with specialized training in search management and planning. In addition to providing search planning strategies and technical mapping, one of the primary objectives of the SSPU is to apply modern search theory to challenging search incidents. Our application of search theory can be parsed into three related planning tasks: (1) Characterizing initial search regions and segments; (2) Assessing search effectiveness; and (3) Prioritizing search assignments for subsequent operational periods. A major challenge faced in achieving these objectives is that the SSPU can be requested by any of the 39 counties in Washington State, all with different search planning approaches, different search data collection practices, and different experience with the principles of modern search theory. For this reason, the SSPU has developed a pragmatic approach to applied search theory that can be characterized in one phrase: "When objective data are available, use it according to search theory best practices; when only subjective input is available, at least be systematic". KEY WORDS: Search theory, search planning.

Pragmatic sociology is often read as a reaction to and an alternative to Bourdieu's 'critical sociology'. This article, in contrast, offers an assessment of pragmatic sociology in terms of its contribution to the theory of culture in general and its affinities with repertoire theory in particular. Whereas the tendency has been to conceive of repertoires as largely unstructured entities, pragmatic sociology has demonstrated a systematic interest in their internal contents and structure, which it has even expanded through its more recent turn to historical and macro comparative analysis. In the process, however, pragmatic sociology has also been leaning towards a form of cultural sociology that actually challenges some major aspects of repertoire theory–thus also bringing into relief the dilemmas facing any attempt at further elaboration of what is now a growing strand of cultural theory.

Information from Theory towards Science, the professor Stefan Vlăduţescu's book from University of Craiova, is a confirmation of high intelligence level and propensity of author's cognition. From various semiotic materials (words, images, gestures, drawings, etc.), following certain principles, under different procedures (operations, actions, movements, maneuvers, mechanisms, strategies) using means (languages​​, codes, subcodes) and specific tools (knowledge, concepts, categories) adapted aim between earth (with autocorrection by feedback) and firmament (as anticipation by feed-forward) rises an imposing edifice, a cognitive construction: this is information. It has systemic and procedural character and is organized on four coordinates: metric, semantic, structural and pragmatic.