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Cohabitation in Semi-Presidential Countries
Issue:
Volume 3, Issue 2, April 2014
Pages:
31-43
Received:
17 February 2014
Published:
20 March 2014
DOI:
10.11648/j.ss.20140302.11
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Abstract: This paper aims to discuss various forms of cohabitation in semi-presidentialism through the constitutional stipulations and intra-executive relationships between the president and the prime minister. By examining the cases of emerging semi-presidential countries, this paper suggests that “cohabitation” not be considered as the necessary outcome of a president-parliamentary divided government. The yielding or competing relations between the president and the prime minister may be variables that complicate semi-presidential types. Thus, concerning both the normative and practical aspects, this paper will analyze the intra- executive interaction in order to explore the executive-legislative stability within semi-presidentialism.
Abstract: This paper aims to discuss various forms of cohabitation in semi-presidentialism through the constitutional stipulations and intra-executive relationships between the president and the prime minister. By examining the cases of emerging semi-presidential countries, this paper suggests that “cohabitation” not be considered as the necessary outcome of...
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Comparing Japan and Singapore in some Aspects of English
Issue:
Volume 3, Issue 2, April 2014
Pages:
44-52
Received:
26 February 2014
Published:
20 March 2014
DOI:
10.11648/j.ss.20140302.12
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Abstract: Many have heard about the declining and aging Japanese population but fewer are aware of its implications on immigration. According to UN estimates, immigration has to be at 650,000 per year to counteract the negative effects. This means that most of the Japanese will be living and working alongside foreigners in the near future. English language education in Japan has not been very successful. Although the communicative approach was introduced in the 1980s, schools still use the grammar translation method and most Japanese do not have the communicative skills necessary for interacting with foreigners. Government rhetoric has also been hesitant in encouraging the learning of English. The Japanese language or national identity is often emphasised when English is promoted. The government sees English as a threat to Japanese and Japanese identity. This paper uses the case study of the Singaporean Chinese to reassure the Japanese that unlike in the Singaporean case, risks of a language and values shift due to English are relatively low.
Abstract: Many have heard about the declining and aging Japanese population but fewer are aware of its implications on immigration. According to UN estimates, immigration has to be at 650,000 per year to counteract the negative effects. This means that most of the Japanese will be living and working alongside foreigners in the near future. English language e...
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Symbolic Interactionism and Ethnomethodology as Methods of Valuation of Subjectivities in Social Research
Wellington Amâncio da silva,
Elilia Camargo Rodrigues
Issue:
Volume 3, Issue 2, April 2014
Pages:
53-58
Received:
31 March 2014
Accepted:
16 April 2014
Published:
30 April 2014
DOI:
10.11648/j.ss.20140302.13
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Abstract: This article discusses the relevance of qualitative and participatory methodologies in education, bearing in mind the principles etnopedagógicos in the construction of social research in the educational field. In circumstances of investigation the interactivity and participation are mediators in that process because it contributes to the identification and representation of subjectivation of the subjects researchers in insertions and engagement with the object of research. The identity is discussed as action and interaction of actors and IBM research. These theoretical, methodological components pertinent to symbolic interactionism and ethnomethodology, prioritize the subjectivity, the interaction and participation of the subjects in the polls from a micro vision to reach a understanding macro, proposed by etnométodos within the social research in contemporary times. Bibliographic search result, intends to consider the contemporary speech driven breaking traditional paradigms that force the neutrality as added value to the production of knowledge.
Abstract: This article discusses the relevance of qualitative and participatory methodologies in education, bearing in mind the principles etnopedagógicos in the construction of social research in the educational field. In circumstances of investigation the interactivity and participation are mediators in that process because it contributes to the identifica...
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Sociology of Science and the Turn to Social Constructivism
Ivan Mihailov Chompalov,
Lubomir Savov Popov
Issue:
Volume 3, Issue 2, April 2014
Pages:
59-66
Received:
17 February 2014
Accepted:
28 April 2014
Published:
10 May 2014
DOI:
10.11648/j.ss.20140302.14
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Abstract: Knowledge about and reflection on the epistemological developments in sociology of science is an important step towards a critical analysis of the discipline, its present, and its future. The assessment of theoretical and empirical trends within the discipline has a number of beneficial consequences. Thus, spurring a discussion about the relative merits of new trends might contribute to the clarification of the epistemological positions, the methodologies used, and the communicativeness of the arguments that are made. We believe that it is important to periodically initiate discussions on the paradigmatic developments in a particular field of study. Such discussions will increase methodological awareness and reflection and will further the methodological expertise of the scholarly community. Recently, a salient turn from positivist to constructivist approaches has come to dominate the field of sociology of science. We have contextualized the development of social constructivism in sociology of science through a brief historicist foray. This approach allows us to inform the reader about the advent of social constructivism in this domain and to present in a nutshell its claims of contributions, as well as to mention the criticisms levied against it. We have extended our contextualization even further by relating these new developments to the history of humanistic paradigms and the study of cultural phenomena like the world of ideas, knowledge, and science. Our intent has been to provide a platform for reflecting over these developments and to create a system of reference points for orientation in the realm of sociology of science thought. We hope that this article will contribute to the emergent discussion on constructivism in general, on constructivism in sociology of science, as well as on the positioning of constructivist agendas across disciplines. We believe that the present discussion will increase the methodological awareness of practicing scholars and will make them reflect on their own methodological affiliations, preferences, and biases. It is our deep conviction that in such a way we can contribute to the advancement of an epistemologically sophisticated scholarly community that navigates with ease the murky waters of methodological decision-making.
Abstract: Knowledge about and reflection on the epistemological developments in sociology of science is an important step towards a critical analysis of the discipline, its present, and its future. The assessment of theoretical and empirical trends within the discipline has a number of beneficial consequences. Thus, spurring a discussion about the relative...
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