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Recent advances in game theory and experimental social science provide insights for the study of corruption and abuse of power in local politics. We survey the evidence from theoretical and experimental research and illustrate findings and problems with two examples from a survey among local politicians and officials in Sweden. The most simplified theoretical models, such as the prisoner's dilemma, fail to capture the distinction between group loyal behavior at different levels. There are several grey zones between pro-social behavior and corruption. These grey zones can be considered corruption danger zones. While Sweden is typically seen as a non-corrupt society, there are several situations where local politicians and officials must make choices in these corruption danger zones. Both formal institutions and informal norms influence these choices, and the views among politicians can vary substantially regarding what behavior is considered acceptable. Communication, openness and public debate can help the fight against corruption. Adapted from the source document.

The aim is to offer an overview in queer theory designed for political scientists. First of all queer theory is placed in a context of feminist studies, gay and lesbian studies, the discursive turn in social science, postmodern approaches to identity, postcolonial theory and Foucault's ideas of power. Then I highlight the political theorist Shane Phelan and her considerations in citizenship. Taking a critical stance against the Modern use of binaries, Phelan argues that acknowledgement of strangeness/strangers should be given priority in ethical aspects of citizenship. In the third section I refer to Butler's theories about gender performativity and the heterosexual matrix, Sedgwick's approach to the concept of homosexuality as well as Rubin's theory about sexual hierarchies. Finally queer theory is neither antifeminist nor profeminist. Yet this theory may support feminist goals. Adapted from the source document.

Discusses the problematic integration concept that in certain occasions mean equality, in others forced assimilation. A research is presented that will look at the concept of integration and whether the contact or the conflict theory is more applicable to the interactions between natives and immigrants in the Swedish society. The study will be conducted by surveys and interviews. L. Pitkaniemi

The theory of social choice has recently benefited much from advances within the power index approach in game theory. One may start from the classical Wicksell framework of a unanimity regime & proceed to state the advantages of deviations from his model. A case can be stated for quantitative voting using some majority voting scheme, as it empowers the choice participants, also providing for blocking power. The power distinctions generated from the power index framework may be applied to the institutional evolution of the Council of Ministers with the EC or EU. It allows one to state in a concise manner the comparative advantages & disadvantages of alternative regimes for the European Community or Union. Tables, Figures, Appendixes, References. Adapted from the source document.

Holmberg, an anarchist & syndicalist, has indicated his beliefs in his writings. He has clearly come under the influence of Duhring, whose mark appears in many of his works. Like Duhring, he places a positive philosophy of the world at the base of his system, & is therefore opposed to econ socialism. His anarchistic position is also derived from the Swedish theoretician, Quiding, for whom the history of society is characterized by a fight for right. Finally, the last elements of Holmberg's beliefs is borrowed from the French syndicalists who, at first glance, seem to stress action, while Holmberg's socialism is pure theory. Toward the end of his life, the Swedish anarchist characterized his views by labeling himself a humanist & defining precisely the meaning of this designation. While Holmberg has not had an extensive influence, he occupies a unique position in the history of Swedish pol'al thought. Tr by J. A. Broussard from IPSA.

Albert O. Hirschman has observed a specific pattern of reactions against any attempt to change society. According to Hirschman, the rhetoric of reaction is limited to three alternatives -- perversity, futility, or jeopardy -- that will be the unintended & unavoidable effects of attempts to make changes in society. Therefore, say the so-called reactionaries, changes should not be realized. The objective of this study is to test the validity of the theory of Albert O. Hirschman. This is made by a case study of the media reaction of the call of the Attac movement for a currency transaction tax, the so-called Tobin tax. The study comprises an argument analysis of the editorial pages of five Swedish newspapers during the first three months of 2001, selected to represent main political & geographical dimensions: Aftonbladet, Dala-Demokraten, Dagens Nyheter, Svenska Dagbladet, & Vasterbottens-Kuriren. The result of the study is that all of the arguments are against the Tobin tax & that most of them follow the pattern of perversity, futility, or jeopardy. Arguments that do not follow either of these patterns are irrelevant or marginal. The study gives no support to questioning the reaction theory of Albert O. Hirschman. 3 Tables, 3 Figures, 2 Appendixes, 105 References. Adapted from the source document.

The thesis of this article is that logic/science does not exclude but requires knowledge of rhetoric. Rhetoric is not merely a technique for persuasion but, more importantly, a science of how we structure our knowledge through language. Logic & science are nothing but instruments that natural language constructs to handle observable factual circumstances, something that became possible with the invention of the alphabet & written language. A positivistic, reductive science is suitable only by research on given facts. Alongside the knowledge of facts, we must also handle the knowledge of action, which is impossible to do only with the positivistic methods of conventional social science. Drawing on his personal experiences of municipal politics & communal planning the author suggests that rhetorical conceptions & methods of research can play a big role in community planning research & in sciences of man, which necessarily brings facts & actions together. The article refers to a rhetorical based theory called 'human-scientific theory of action.' While science helps us to know (knowledge of causes), rhetoric helps us to understand (knowledge of intentions & meanings). 40 References. Adapted from the source document.

This article raises the issue of 'industrial relations' in the public sector, ie, how employer-employee relations are conceptualized in liberal democratic political theory. The historical & theoretical legacy of this conceptual apparatus can help explain why the welfare workers (employed in publicly financed health care, social service, education, elderly care, & day care for children) are hardly mentioned in the liberal democratic scheme. The liberal democratic state traditionally focuses on political subjects as if they all were citizens/cohabitants (in the civil society), when in fact roughly 20% of the Swedish electorate at the same time are citizens/co-workers (in the local welfare state). The issue of rights & duties in direct & indirect relations between the local state & the citizenry is therefore heavily biased in favor of the citizen-as-cohabitant/consumer. If both these roles of the citizenry were adequately handled in political theory, this would possibly cast a new light on New Public Management as well as the current Swedish focus on freedom of choice ('exit rights') for welfare consumers. It is argued that there is nothing inherent in liberal democratic political theory that could block the application of the idea of a neutral & benevolent state to the citizen-as-coworker. A coherent application of the Marshallian scheme of civil, political, & social rights therefore means the inclusion of social rights to citizens-as-co-workers. 55 References. Adapted from the source document.

Bo Rothman replies to Jens Stillhoff Sorensen's review of his book, "Social traps & the problem of Trust." He wants to further analyze three points raised by Sorensen: the view of cultural explanation in social sciences, the question about the theory of knowledge, & finally, if a researcher can strategically choose independent variables. Rothman is skeptical about the so-called cultural causes of lack of social trust. He also denies considering institutions as independent of the historical & cultural context. Besides, he considers himself not a positivist, but a "scientific realist." Finally he advocates for choosing those social variables that can be influenced with a purpose in mind. References. A. Barral

Along with the technics that allows archaeology to adopt a precise knowledge about the composition of the materiality, also exists a critical thought that claims for take into account experience, perception and creativity. In the latter, we find Art-Archaeology approach. With this at background emerged the idea of the presence and the ontology of the 'dot' in archaeology, identified in the ongoing process of the attendance of a meeting at Kyoto, in the excavation of a simulated site, in the survey of an unidentified site and in a short research about Prehistoric tattoo. This idea, in its explicit simplicity, is part of a creative thought situated in the roots of the archaeological practice. In this paper I reflect about this through an artistic photo-essay that is at the same time an artistic and theoretical exercise, with the intention to identify the existence of the 'dot' in different dimensions of archaeology, and to make theory making art.

Theoretically, gender research deals with two discourses, sameness/difference and power. I argue against male critics who flatly deny that there can be a power relation between the sexes or critizise it as a holistic concept without much connection with reality. Within gender research, I criticize the postmodernistist thought that all apparent realities are social constructs. In queer theory the identities of individuals as men and women are purely social constructs to be dissolved. In that way one can avoid the power question altogether: no political groups exist, only individuals. A political theory dealing with the relationship between the sexes has yet to be developed. Formal equality is a first step, the difficult question is how to deal with power, the preferential interpretation of the dominant group of what is important and valuable in society. The division in a public and a private sphere is inadequately dealing with family as an institution. Are women in countries where the state is minimal, where they marry very young and have thirteen children, "free"? Adapted from the source document.

Faced with the COVID-19 pandemic, the education system moved to virtual mode, causing teachers to change methodologies, strategies, and teaching resources in order to be used for teaching-learning processes. The impediment of entering to Chemistry laboratories motivated the use of simulators and virtual laboratories as resources linked to learning. Present study determines the efficacy of these resources, the research is quantitative with a correlational level and a quasiexperimental design with post-test. The applied method was the heuristic and assumes Ausubel's theory of significant learning. The study population comprises 188 students enrolled during the period November 2020- April 2021 in the career of Pedagogy of Experimental Sciences, Chemistry and Biology. The sampling technique was intentional non-probabilistic and corresponds to the second, third and fifth semester students of the subjects of General Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry and Chemical Physics respectively. At the end of the investigation, it was determined that the PhET simulator and the virtual laboratories: Crocodile Chemistry605 and Yenka allowed feedback and motivation in each guided virtual experimental activity; not existing a significant difference in the academic performance of the students, who in their majority reached the learning results.

It is epistemologically motivated to describe the human sciences as divided into one objectivistic (nature/body) & one intersubjectivistic (society) part. The problem is to bridge these parts, & evolutionary theory is chosen as a possible instrument. As a preparation it is necessary to find the relevant epistemological & ontological categories. Two epistemological (objectivism & intersubjectivism) & three ontological (levels of aggregation, position of actors & plans of reality) dimensions are discussed together with some fundamental methodological problems. Another important part of the task is to elucidate societal change in relation to different types of societal patterns (from laws to similarities & differences). 8 Figures, 104 References. Adapted from the source document.

Comparative research emphasize Social Democratic parties as leading political forces when universal welfare states are reformed in accordance with market-oriented principles. Considering the traditional portrayal of universal welfare states as an institutional feature of Nordic political economics, which tends to favor the Social Democrats in the political power struggle, this is a highly surprising conclusion. In contrast to the conventional wisdom, that Social Democratic market reforms are caused by economic constraints, this article postulate reforms to be conducted for political & strategic purposes. The theoretical argument goes like this: Social Democrat governments decide upon reforms when the parry-elite perceive policy problems as potential threats to the legitimacy of the universal welfare state. Hence, market-oriented reforms are expected to re-invigorate the legitimacy of the universal welfare institutions. For political institutions to be efficient power resources they are requited to be deemed legitimate by a democratic constituency. Otherwise they can work counterproductive in the ongoing power-struggle. The theory is tested empirically in a structured comparison of Swedish & Danish school policy in the 1990s, & is confirmed with some slight modifications. References. Adapted from the source document.

Power is the key concept within political science. The majority of political scientists argue that power should be defined in behavioral terms as a relation of coercion between human agents. The traditional view confines power to human behavior & directly observable actions & reactions. Drawing on modern sociological, structuration theory, it is possible to generate a concept of structural power that goes beyond the behavioral perspective. Power is coercion, but the concept of power also refers to agents' structural capabilities. In a fundamental sense the concept of structural power directs attention to the unequal resource agents derive from their structural positions within the societal system. Moreover, structural power is intimately linked to other key notions, such as anticipated reactions & enduring relations of control. Finally, the structuralist perspective on power is highly illuminating of permanent barriers to full democratization in modern society. Unequal resources & social inequality represent major obstacles to the realization of the principles of political equality. 3 Figures, 1 Skema, 31 References. Adapted from the source document.