Second-Guessing Scientists and Engineers: Post Hoc Criticism and the Reform of Practice in Green Chemistry and Engineering

The article examines and extends work bringing together engineering ethics and Science and Technology Studies, which had built upon Diane Vaughan’s analysis of the Challenger shuttle accident as a test case. Reconsidering the use of her term “normalization of deviance,” the article argues for a middle path between moralizing against and excusing away engineering practices contributing to engineering disaster. To explore an illustrative pedagogical case and to suggest avenues for constructive research developing this middle path, it examines the emergence of green chemistry and green engineering. Green chemistry began when Paul Anastas and John Warner developed a set of new rules for chemical synthesis that sought to learn from missed opportunities to avoid environmental damage in the twentieth century, an approach that was soon extended to engineering as well. Examination of tacit assumptions about historical counterfactuals in recent, interdisciplinary discussions of green chemistry illuminate competing views about the field’s prospects. An integrated perspective is sought, addressing how both technical practice within chemistry and engineering and the influence of a wider “social movement” can play a role in remedying environmental problems.     

Dominance of persistence over adaptation in forward masking

Persistence of excitation and neural adaptation are competing theories proposed to explain the mechanisms underlying psychophysical forward masking. Previous research has been directed towards finding models that accurately describe the phenomenon but cannot account for the underlying explanation. The current study was designed to determine which theory best accounts for results obtained from behavioral gap duration adjustment tasks. Thirteen adults adjusted the gap within asymmetrical noise markers to be subjectively equal to the gap within equal-intensity-noise markers. The duration of the perceived gap between the asymmetrical markers is expected to vary depending on which theory dominates perception. The persistence of excitation mechanism would lead to longer duration gaps when the second noise marker is lower in intensity than the preceding. Neural adaptation would result in matched gaps that are shorter in duration when the second noise marker was lower in level. The outcome of our data analysis is consistent with the persistence of excitation as a dominant mechanism in forward masking.     

Revisiting the Cultural Dope

This essay focuses on the ??cultural dope,?? an ironic reference in Harold Garfinkel??s Studies in Ethnomethodology to the rule-following actor in conventional sociological theories. In the nearly half-century since the publication of that book, the ??cultural dope?? has been incorporated into numerous criticisms of ??models of man?? in the human sciences. Garfinkel??s account appeals to many writers because it seems to present an alternative picture of the actor: an individual who is self-aware, reflective, and skilled in the conduct of daily affairs. A problem with such a generalized picture of the actor is that it may seem to encourage uncritical acceptance of whatever ??the public?? (or a broad segment of the public) happens to believe or support. This paper revisits Garfinkel??s account of the cultural dope, and contrasts ??conservative?? and ??radical?? readings of what Garfinkel does with that figure. The ??conservative?? reading leaves the edifice of a social-structural model largely intact, and provides an alternative, more complex, picture of individual action than that of a cultural dope. The ??radical?? reading places relevant social structures in a dependent relation to the contingencies of action, and thus destabilizes the very theoretical edifice that sets up the problem of how to integrate individual actions with stable social structures. In line with the ??radical?? reading, this paper suggests that Garfinkel creates serious difficulty for any generalized ??model of man,?? regardless of whether it portrays the individual as active or passive, well-informed or ignorant, or reflexive or not.     

A structural model of the relationships among stress, coping, benefit-finding and quality of life in persons diagnosed with colorectal cancer

This study has used the structural equation modelling to examine the role of benefit-finding (BF) in the context of the stress and coping model. In the study, 1276 individuals diagnosed with colorectal cancer completed a written questionnaire and telephone interview at around 4.5 months (on average) and 12 months post-diagnosis. Analyses revealed that the final model fit the data, where stress, coping and BF accounted for 63% of the variance in Time 1 quality of life (QOL). Threat appraisal, coping resources, avoidant coping and BF directly impacted on Time 1 QOL, while threat appraisal, social support and approach coping directly impacted on BF. Approach coping and BF had differential relationships with stress, coping resources and outcomes, indicating that BF may not be a meaning-based coping strategy, as proposed by Folkman [Folkman, S. (1997). Positive psychological states and coping with severe stress. Social Science and Medicine, 45, 1207–1221]. Theoretical and clinical implications are discussed.     

The ideal self at play: the appeal of video games that let you be all you can be

Video games constitute a popular form of entertainment that allows millions of people to adopt virtual identities. In our research, we explored the idea that the appeal of games is due in part to their ability to provide players with novel experiences that let them "try on" ideal aspects of their selves that might not find expression in everyday life. We found that video games were most intrinsically motivating and had the greatest influence on emotions when players' experiences of themselves during play were congruent with players' conceptions of their ideal selves. Additionally, we found that high levels of immersion in gaming environments, as well as large discrepancies between players' actual-self and ideal-self characteristics, magnified the link between intrinsic motivation and the experience of ideal-self characteristics during play.     

Knowledge creation in consumer research: Multiple routes,multiple criteria

The modal scientific approach in consumer research is to deduce hypotheses from existing theory about relationships between theoretic constructs, test those relationships experimentally, and then show “process” evidence via moderation and mediation. This approach has its advantages, but other styles of research also have much to offer. We distinguish among alternative research styles in terms of their philosophical orientation (theory-driven vs. phenomenon-driven) and their intended contribution (understanding a substantive phenomenon vs. building or expanding theory). Our basic premise is that authors who deviate from the dominant paradigm are hindered by reviewers who apply an unvarying set of evaluative criteria. We discuss the merits of different styles of research and suggest appropriate evaluative criteria for each.     

Does Conversation Need Shared Language? Davidson and Gadamer on Communicative Understanding

In a rare discussion of Gadamer's work, Davidson takes issue with Gadamer's claim that successful communication requires that interlocutors share a common language. While he is right to see a difference between his own views and Gadamer's on this point, Davidson appears to have misunderstood what motivates Gadamer's position, conflating it with that of his more familiar conventionalist interlocutors. This paper articulates Gadamer's view of the role of language in communicative understanding as an alternative to both Davidson's and that of the conventionalist writers Davidson critiques. It is argued, first, that Gadamer employs a conception of what individuates a language, and thus of what it means for two speakers to “share” a language, that Davidson never considers. By emphasizing the role of “application” in the historical development of languages, Gadamer develops a view in which languages are distinguished not by their particular semantic or syntactic rules, but by subtle differences between the concepts they express. Second, it is argued that the instances of “asymmetrical” communication—communication between interlocutors who have different sets of concepts at their disposal—that motivate Gadamer's position pose a challenge to Davidson's account of interpretative charity.