Science, Values and the Human Dimensions

The presented paper substantiates the principle that values are an immanent component of science and any rational cognitive activity. This principle belongs to the European cultural tradition starting from the book of Genesis of the Old Testament, the values of certainty in the antique Greek philosophy and Francis Bacon's coincidence of knowledge and power. Values in science form complicated structures inconnection with different types of knowledge including “the knowledge that”, empirical evidence, various types of generalizations or rules, methods, directions, algorithms, “the knowledge how”, “the knowledge why” or other types of knowledge. Since the assignments of different types of values are the products of a decision-making, it is useful to distinguish many types of decision-making, especially semantic decision-making, information decision-making and decision-making with distinctly pragmatic dimensions. The values assignable to scientific activities and their results also include their social recognition, respect and prestige granted to knowledge and bearers of knowledge by society and social groups or communities. Knowledge generation and the rational and justified application of the achieved and acceptable impacts are also connected with decision-making procedures, values and criteria of social acceptance. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The Value of Knowledge/Rationality or the Knowledge/Rationality of Value?: Implications for Education

This paper reviews and augments important work in philosophy of education on intrinsic aims for education, of knowledge, of knowledge of values, and of rationality. A contemporary conception of knowledge as ``rationality's `data-base' is proposed and an in-depth section on the intrinsic value of rationality is incorporated.     

Are Nativists a Different Kind of Democrat? Democratic Values and “Outsiders” in Japan

This paper combines three elements: a discussion of democratic values and the status of outsiders in Japanese political culture, the development of new measures to examine sensitive issues of nativism and foreigner perception in Japan, and an empirical exploration of the relationship between democratic values and antipathy toward outsiders. Two forms of democratic orientation were investigated in a sample of about 1,000 university students in Japan: a defensive version, which adheres to the formalistic requirements of democracy but is exclusionary and illiberal, and a universalist version that is liberal and tolerant. A defensive orientation is associated with greater chauvinism, a greater sense of threat emanating from foreigners, and a heightened anxiety about economic competition. A universalist orientation is associated with low perceived threat and low chauvinism, a lack of fear of economic competition, and a positive view of the cultural contributions of outsiders. Nativism may indeed be compatible with democratic values, but only with the defensive, exclusionary form. In short, the defensive form is democracy for xenophobes. Such an orientation is not unique to Japan, but is likely to be found in developing democracies as well as in advanced democracies that feel threatened.     

The Institute on Human Values in Medicine: Its Role and Influence in the Conception and Evolution of Bioethics

For ten years, 1971–1981, the Institute onHuman Values in Medicine (IHVM) played a keyrole in the development of Bioethics as afield. We have written this history andanalysis to bring to new generations ofBioethicists information about the developmentof their field within both the humanitiesdisciplines and the health professions. Thepioneers in medical humanities and ethics cametogether with medical professionals in thedecade of the 1960s. By the 1980s Bioethics wasa fully recognized discipline. We show the rolethat IHVM programs played in defining thefield, training faculty and helping schools todevelop programs. We review the beginnings ofthe IHVM in the crucible of social andtechnological change that led to theestablishment of the IHVM's parentorganization, the Society for Health and HumanValues. We then turn to the IHVM programsthrough which Faculty members receivedfellowships to explore new crossovers betweenthe humanities and the health professions. Wehave not only described the Fellows Program asit existed in 1973–1980, but have completed asurvey of the fellows a quarter of a centuryafter they held their fellowships. We describeother IHVM programs designed to facilitate theinitiation and development of new humanitiesprograms, to explore conceptual issues betweenmedicine and five humanities fields, to conductissue driven or educational method conferencesand to advance humanities programs intograduate education through the Directors ofMedical Education.     

Uncovering the links between brand choice and personal values among young British and Spanish girls

This paper presents empirical research which demonstrates how snacks brands can satisfy certain personal values for female 11–12 year‐old British and Spanish consumers. The qualitative research design uses a means‐end approach, based on a laddering technique, to uncover the links between brand choice and personal values. After reviewing the means‐end model and other relevant theory, the research methodology and design are presented in detail. The findings reveal significant scope for positioning snacks brands using the values of well being and fun and enjoyment (UK and Spain), while the value of friendship and belonging emerges as an extra dimension for the British respondents. Copyright © 2001 Henry Stewart Publications.     

Can We Really Have It All? The Attainment of Work and Family Values

We discuss the role values and value attainment play in the complex and dynamic process of balancing work and family demands. We contend that an individual experiences conflict between work and family demands because of value incongruence between that individual and a pivotal family member (i.e., lack of value similarity) or because of the incongruent values between that individual and the organization (i.e., lack of value congruence). We further argue that work-family conflict leads to job and life dissatisfaction for individuals because this conflict frustrates the attainment of important work and family values. We develop and propose a conceptual model, capturing both work and family values as they relate to work-family conflict, value attainment, and outcomes.     

范式转换与道德生活史的研究

伦理学就是一种生活观。伦理思想史的研究需要范式的转换,即由思想史转向道德生活史,研究社会变迁视野中的道德变迁,研究具体历史条件下的社会伦理关系,研究民众层面的日常道德生活。     

Navajo Morals and Myths,Ethics and Ethicists

Over a century ago a Western observer recognized an effective morality among Navajo Indians in the American Southwest, yet could not locate its expression, except in mythology recounting contradictory behaviors. Through the 1900s scholars delineated contours of Navajo moral values, myths, and taxonomies upon which moral traditions were based, and situations in which Navajos have engaged in ethical decision‐making. Recently individual Navajos have manifested their role as ethical agents, not merely as recipients of moral lore. A contemporary Navajo storyteller, Sunny Dooley, enunciates narrative ethical judgments, grounded in traditional Navajo mythology and its religious milieu, as she addresses the present conditions of her people. Thus she probes the contradictions that are inherent to life. Her stories testify to the insoluble conflicts within the human condition, ultimate and immediate conundrums that must be faced, even though they surely will not be resolved.     

Effects of self-correction on the spelling performance of junior high students with learning disabilities

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of Self-Correction and Traditional spelling on the acquisition, maintenance, and generalization of spelling words with five junior high school students with learning disabilities. During Traditional spelling students received a weekly list of 20 unknown words. Daily 20-minute assignments with these words varied among writing them, arranging them in alphabetical order, dividing the words into syllables, and using a dictionary to locate word meaning. Students were tested on the 20 words at the end of the week. During Self-Correction, students received 20 words on a 5-column sheet of paper. Columns were arranged so that stimulus words could be hidden by folding the paper back, and later exposed after the teacher dictated and the student wrote the words. Students used proofreading marks to self-correct. Sessions lasted 20 minutes, and weekly, delayed, and generalized assessments were conducted. Results indicated that for all five students the Self-Correction procedure was more effective for word acquisition than Traditional spelling. Also, for four of the five students, maintenance of words was higher under Self-Correction. Generalization occurred for three students. Finally, measures of social validity indicated that the students preferred Self-Correction over Traditional spelling, although two teachers in regular classrooms did not notice significant changes in the overall spelling performance for the students. Implications for the classroom practitioner are discussed.