Search

What role does our knowledge about the ideal society play in guiding policymaking in the real world? One intuitive answer is to approximate. Namely, we have a duty to approximate the ideal within the relevant constraints of feasibility. However, political philosophers seem to have what might be called 'approximatophobia'. Many philosophers, including idealists such as David Estlund, warn against approximation. Their criticism is chiefly motivated by 'the problem of second best', which points out that your second-best option may not be closest to your best option. This paper aims to dispel 'approximatophobia'. The difficulty posed by the problem of second best is often overstated. More positively, I present a novel defence of approximation, arguing that approximation of an ideal can be a reasonably reliable default strategy of action guidance in the real world. Difficulties that may afflict the project of approximation can be mitigated by sophistication of the project of approximation. After showing that critics of approximation overstep their mark in issuing the strong or moderate warning against approximation, I propose an account of sophisticated approximation. It seeks a series of reforms that make existing social institutions closer to the ideal based on careful selection of frame of analysis. Three virtuous correlations are identified as indicators for successful project of approximation, linking descriptive similarity to desirability, feasibility and knowledge of the ideal. I also explain a two-staged strategy of sophisticating the way you approximate the ideal, with an expected positive feedback effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

João Pedro Sa, known as Sa João, developed the audiovisual project Sem Capa on the Xvideos platform to present themes associated with sexual relations between men, homosexuality, and bodies in a space with no limitations on viewing. Anchored in the methodological proposal of the indicative paradigm, we aim to understand how life experiences are configured in the affirmation of a place that makes it possible to teach viewers of Sem Capa. Thus, we present conceptual references about extimacy, biographical space, and surveillance in order to tension them to Sem Capa. As a result, especially, Sa João is central in the configuration of the sexuality device triggered by the project, launching himself as a biographical reference for gay men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eva Erman and Niklas Möller have recently presented a trenchant critique of my argument that ideal normative theories are uninformative for certain practical purposes. Their critique is largely correct. In this article, I develop the ideas behind my earlier argument in a way that circumvents their critique and explains more clearly why ideal theory is uninformative for certain purposes while leaving open the possibility that it might be informative for other purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most ethnographers have little use for models and other formal abstractions, yet even a staunch empiricist such as Franz Boas could appreciate the "aesthetic" advantages of idealization and simplification. These advantages have been largely ignored in recent decades, as anthropologists have come to favor ever more intricate and encompassing accounts. The resulting "ethnographic involution," I suggest, has steadily diminished anthropology as a source of usable, socially shared knowledge. Much the same problem, interestingly, was confronted long ago by Max Weber, who developed the method of "ideal types" precisely as a way to grasp, represent, and investigate the complexity of historical reality. Weber converged in this regard with his contemporary at Halle, the neo-Kantian philosopher Hans Vaihinger (1852–1933). Since the late twentieth century, Vaihinger's "fictionalism" has attracted renewed interest within philosophy and beyond. Yet his notion of "as-if" reasoning—a via media , I would argue, between particularism and positivism—remains virtually unknown within anthropology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There has been an uptick in attention paid to institutional questions in ideal theory. The fundamental question concerns whether the ideal social world would include a state. The answer turns on how one models the ideal social world. I identify three parameters of such a model and show that there is no a priori answer to the aforementioned question. It depends, in part, on whether there exist political disputes—or "friction"—between the agents in the model. What generates this friction? Pace a series of recent arguments that suggest the generation of political friction comes from the presence of injustice, I argue that it is actually political diversity or pluralism that produces the types of disagreements relevant to the justification of the state. Injustice is merely one potential source of disagreement and only generates "friction" when there are also just agents in the model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay shows the influence of Max Weber on Frank Knight's interest in combining economic theory and comparative economic history. In the interwar period -when the teaching of economics had a pluralistic character-Knight opposed institutionalism and defended the scientific status of neoclassical theory, but his readings of Weber Knight led him to regard equilibrium and perfect competition as "ideal types," constructs useful for theorizing but never observed in reality. They help to identify the central elements, but the study of how they change is not the object of theory. One must then turn to history, in which changes do not resemble equilibria. In the postwar period a new scientific standard appeared, which redefined the discipline and relegated Knight's work to the non-scientific realm of "social philosophy". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some anthropologists have developed "processual" approaches to classification, arguing that we should turn our attention from reified categories to processes of categorization. A focus on how gamblers in Luang Prabang, Laos, use the categories "gambling for beer" and "gambling for money" makes clear that an adequate processual approach must disentangle two kinds of typification: one generic, one specific. People in Luang Prabang are drawn to categories of gambling as tools for both painting the world abstractly (generics) and putting action under a description (specifics). Distinguishing these two kinds of typification resolves the apparent tension between "ideal types" and messy "practice," and it redirects the study of human classification toward understanding how people mobilize categories for diverse moral ends. [moral economy, gifts, commodities, ideal types, typification, reflexivity, processualization, Luang Prabang, Laos] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In remembrance of the centennial of Max Weber's death, the following article is structured around three main sections. The first part starts with his main methodological assumptions and ideas on the sociology as science, which is followed by Weber's reasoning on the modernization of western society as a final result of the social development and affirmation of rational action in the key relations of social life. The last section concludes with an analysis of the public bureaucracy and the effectiveness of democratic government within a mass society, as well as Weber's distinction between science, politics and ethics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present work seeks to investigate, from the use of the methodological instrument of the Ideal Types (Weber, 1969), a characterization of the so-called Social Design. The study is consolidated from a sociological approach, through the comparison of two products, two designers and two ways of conceiving this type of design. With the purpose of being founded as an emerging concept, the work begins by conceptualizing Social Design - what does it mean, what does it imply -, from the variables and sub-categories that develops the understanding of the conceptual differences that each case supports. The conclusion shows that behind the design promoted from this framework, in one of the cases there is a Predatory Design whose aims are merely speculative and whose effects are antagonistic to the postulates that the other one supports, the social approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, parents told their story about their children; their children's preschool and preschool class; their children's educational transitions; and their own cooperation with staff. The views of parents (N=27) were collected by way of life story interviews. The bioecological model for human development was adopted as a theoretical, conceptual and analytical frame. A qualitative bioecological content analysis and a quantitative content analysis were performed. More than half of the children were described as typical in terms of development, while a few were described as being gifted and talented by their parents, and about a third had special educational needs. More preschools than preschool classes were considered to be high in quality, and more preschoolhome collaboration than preschool class-home collaboration was felt to be high in quality. The following ideal type approaches of the parents emerged: (1) involved and concerned parents; (2) involved but unconcerned parents; and (3) uninvolved and unconcerned parents. The number of involved and concerned parents increased from preschool to preschool class. This study has relevance for preschool and preschool class teachers, special educators, policy-makers and researchers in inclusive and special education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper lays the groundwork for new models of work and relations of production that reflect changes in the division of labor and occupational structure of a postindustrial economy. It demonstrates how new ideal-typical occupations can be constructed, drawing on a set of ethnographies to propose an empirically grounded model of technicians' work. The paper focuses on two questions: What do technicians do and what do they know? The answers constitute a first cut at the ideal type, technician. The paper then turns to evidence of the difficulties that arise when organizations employ technicians but fail to appreciate the nature of their work. It closes by showing how a contextually derived model of technicians' work enables us to evaluate why some recent trends in organizing are congruent with an increasingly technical workforce, why others may be misguided, and why organizations are likely to face challenges that organizational theorists have but vaguely anticipated. The paper shows that the emergence of technicians' work may signify a shift to a more horizontal division of substantive expertise that undermines the logic of vertical organizing on which most organizational theory and practice still rests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In assessing the range and penetration of recent organizational scholarship, Stern and Barley give too much attention and weight to work that appears in the core organizational journals and not enough to work reported in broader social science journals, in journals devoted to specialized arenas such as education and medical care, and to the book literature. A survey of this broader domain suggests that organizational researchers continue to honor Weber's legacy and to explore the impact of societies on organizations and of organizational structures and processes on the functioning of societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We argue that the initial three-part mandate for organization theory contained study of (1) internal organization structure and process; (2) relations between organizations and environmental actors; and (3) the impact of organizations on the broad social systems in which they were embedded. Though the influence of organizations in society has increased over time, the social system component of the field's mandate has faded from the research agenda. This paper proposes that the diminution of this social systems perspective occurred because the increasing complexity of social relations made determination of an appropriate unit of analysis more difficult. In addition, the business school environment in which organization research was accomplished discouraged examination of broad social questions, promoted a particular approach to science, and created specific career incentives. Recapturing a research interest in organizations' effects on society requires recognizing organizational impacts on social issues and accepting a broader range of methodologies. Ideas require greater opportunity for development, and quantity of publications deserves less emphasis. Journals that risk publishing the unconventional paper and providing incentives for tackling larger questions might reestablish the breadth of focus with which organizational theory was initially concerned. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Weber discussed four types of social action and legitimacy, but only three types of authority. This paper develops the concept of value-rational authority and constructs an ideal type organization based on it. Protestant churches are compared to autonomous professional organizations in order to show that the segmented structure of both reflect a compromise between organizational adaptation and commitment to ideology. Professional organizations are viewed as value-rational organizations rather than deviant forms of bureaucracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study attempts to link the formal structure of bureaucratic organizations to decision-making processes, and in particular to centralization or decentralization of authority. Interview data were obtained from 254 city, county, and state departments of finance. These data show that, controlling for an organization's size, decision-making authority is more highly centralized as the number of subunits in an organization increases; but as the number of levels of supervision grows, there is greater decentralization and at the same time proliferation of rules that specify criteria to guide decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The organizational variables of complexity, centralization, formalization, stratification, adaptiveness, production, efficiency, and job satisfaction are defined. These variables are interrelated in seven basic propositions as suggested by the theoretical writings of Weber, Barnard, and Thompson. Then the seven propositions are used to derive twenty-one corollaries and to define two ideal types of organizational systems. A limits proposition is suggested. The axiomatic theory, consisting of twenty-nine hypotheses, is tested against a number of research studies and receives considerable support. It appears useful in analyzing a number of organizational problems, including organizational change, centralization versus decentralization, and morale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social investment in Europe has primarily been measured by studying expenditure data from specific categories of social policy. This article argues that we need a more nuanced way of studying the presence of social investment, and develops a tool for measuring the ideational content of social investment in policy regulations. By operationalising three key policy dimensions of social investment; time, distribution and policy coherence, varying approaches of social investment are discerned, landing in the development of three ideal types: a strict social investment, a targeted social investment and a reactive social investment. To demonstrate its application, the social investment ideal-types are applied to cases of policies for unemployed youth in different European countries. The operationalisation and ideal types presented in this article provide a structure and nuance to the understanding and measuring of social investment, aiding in the further debate on its pros, cons and presence in European social policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses on the contribution of non-ideality in the society. It cites on the Ideal Theory that focuses on constructing the best account of what justly should be done by whom and for whom. The article also discusses on the author's true story entitled "Philosophy and the Redistribution of Bone Marrow".

The article discusses the political philosophy of Plato that can be characterized as a quest for justice, citing the analysis of ideal ruler, best government and proper education of citizens. It cites on Plato's philosophy the ideal state describe as class systems, the leadership roles and the governmental structure. The article also discusses on the aim of the article of an international relations (IR) theory of the philosopher.

The relationships of regional integration, land tenure and land use have all received substantial previous attention. Nonetheless, existing theoretical frameworks tend to presume ideal types of land tenure in understanding the impacts of regional integration on change in institutions and land use. We therefore evaluate the evolutionary theory of land rights (ETLR) for the case of Madre de Dios, Peru. This is a useful case since tenure for agricultural lands is private individual as the ETLR theorizes, but other characteristics, such as the presence of forest extractivism, depart from the assumptions of the ETLR. We pursue a multi-step analysis of key relationships of the ETLR, focusing particularly on the linkages between highway paving as an indicator of regional integration, titling as a measure of tenure formality, multiple indicators of land market engagement, and land uses with diverse ramifications for ecological sustainability. Findings for the different steps partially support the ETLR for the case of Madre de Dios. Disconfirmation however sometimes occurs due to geographic accidents rather than due to truly contrasting findings. We conclude by discussing the need to identify characteristics of empirical cases that do and do not fit the expectations of theories in order to better evaluate the applicability of theory for analysis and policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this article is to analyze the historical narration in the terms of idealizational theory of science. The author presents hitherto formulated concepts of narration in idealizational approach to science and proposes its own extensions: supplementation of the idealizational concept of narration by persuasive and axiological components. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the distinctive features of modeling and idealization in scenario planning. Scenarios are analytical narratives or complex causal stories about the distant future which are constructed in future studies and strategic management (business studies). They are different from conventional scientific predictions that are expected to be true or most probable, because scenario planning focuses on the uncertain and open aspects of the future which are the sources of threats and opportunities for stakeholders. Scenarios also differ from science fiction and social utopias, because scenario planners accept more stringent restrictions on creative imagination. Scenarios are inductive models grounded in the discursive multi-model idealizations, because they are created in group discussions with the participation of the experts and stakeholders, who alternate "brainstormings" and critical discussions, and do not expect to generate the best model but to learn from the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper I propose a methodological interpretation of John Rawls' theory of justice. According to this proposal Rawls' theory can be better understood if we view it in terms of the method of idealization and concretization proposed by Leszek Nowak. My aim is to interpret Rawlsian original position, i.e. situation of choice of the principles of justice, as idealizational model of social situation construed on the basic of a limited number of idealizing and realistic assumptions. I present a discussion of some methodological and theoretical consequences of this theory building method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The basic purpose of this paper is to present a reconstruction, criticism and reinterpretation of one of the constructional methods used by Leszek Nowak in building negativistic unitarian metaphysics. Nowak's statement, that the basic method used by him is the method of idealization and concretization is unsustainable for the following reasons: postulated by Nowak structure of metaphysical doctrines fails to comply with the procedure of concretization on the grounds of the unitarian metaphysics, the sequence of models is in several cases arbitrary, the order of the notions introduced to the conception is to a certain extent arbitrary, and the method used does not lead to decreasing of the degree of the speculativeness of the system. In this article I propose to consider the above-mentioned method as a method of abstraction and disabstraction, and to characterize the different way of understanding the method of idealization and concretization. As a result of these procedures the content of 'Being and Thought' is regarded as the speculative first model of the negativistic metaphysics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The early work of Noam Chomsky has been described by Leszek Nowak as the "idealization turn in linguistics" (Nowak 1971; 1976; 2000). Nowak claims that only after Chomsky has linguistics become a mature science. Prior to Chomsky, structuralist distributivism had focussed mainly on linguistic data gathering and on the properties of particular languages. Along with the introduction of the concept of linguistic competence, Noam Chomsky set forth idealized models to linguistics. This paper further develops Nowak's analysis on Chomsky's work, proposing a description of the structure of idealization in Chomsky's Generativist Theory. The paper reconstructs - in terms of the Idealizational Theory of Science - the essential structures underlying Chomsky's theory. I also put forward the claim that the hierarchy of factors described by Chomsky determines the process of concretization in the Generativist Theory. This hierarchy also shapes current research methods in generative linguistics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this article is to explicate the basic types of comparative analysis used in historical-comparative sociology, within the conceptual framework of the idealizational theory of science (its), and to determine the usefulness and place of the comparative method in the structure of the idealizational theory. In the second section some classifications of comparative analysis are presented. An analysis of comparative methods used in States and Social Revolutions and what methodological discussion it stimulated is outlined in the third section. Section 4 presents the key tenets of the idealizational theory of science. Section 5 explicates the basic types of comparative analysis within the conceptual framework of the theory and defines the place of that method in the idealizational theory. In the final section, I consider the status of historical- comparative sociology in light of the view of the development of science provided by the idealizational theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present paper is to deal, within a structuralist perspective, with the problem of the nature and types of idealization in positive economics. Even though the topic of idealization in normative economics is very important, and some results presented here might become also useful in dealing with such topic, a proper treatment of the same would require more space than provided here. The most complete discussion of idealization from a structuralist perspective is due to De Donato (2011), but this work is concerned mainly with idealization in physics. Are the claims made about idealization in physics valid mutatis mutandis in economics? This is one of the leading questions of the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the issue of a reduction relationship between theories of action within the conceptual framework of the idealizational theory of science. The analysis of the relation between the concept of a rational act and the concept of a habitualrational action leads to the conclusion that not all necessary conditions for the occurrence of a reduction relationship are fulfilled in the discussed case. Although the two theories are conceptually compatible, they differ with respect to their hierarchization of essential factors, so there is essentiality disagreement between them. In the light of the idealizational theory of science, for a reduction relationship to occur between two theories, essentiality agreement between them is required. That conclusion becomes, in turn, the starting point for a critical analysis of essentiality agreement between theories as a necessary condition for a reduction in the field of humanities. The article ends with a postulate of weakening that condition with respect to theories formulated in the social sciences and the humanities, due to the methodological specificity of this domain of knowledge, for example, the qualitative and less precise language and the fundamental difficulty of conducting repeated experiments with particular factors, which influence the studied phenomenon, being effectively isolated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article aims to reconstruct the idealization procedure understood as a deformational means of concept modeling in the theory proposed by Max Weber. The ideal type represents the basic form of the deformational transformation. Deformational modelling refers to a strategy of conscious and deliberate distortion of an object of empirical reality in varied and consequently contrafactual ways. The method essentially seeks to account for a concept by highlighting significant characteristics of the empirical content of investigated socioeconomic phenomena at the expense of their actual exemplification. The ideal type is a deformed means of representing a selected real-life phenomenon or object, oriented towards the fulfilment of specific cognitive goals while taking into account all methodological conditions involved in the process of its construction. By reference to Leszek Nowak's typology of deformational procedures, it is possible to characterize the Weberian ideal-type method as representing an example of quantitative deformation (positive potentialization). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerous philosophers allege that the “general theory of second best” poses a challenge to the Target View, which asserts that real-world reform efforts should aim to establish arrangements that conform to the constitutive features of ideally just states of affairs. I demonstrate two claims that are relevant in this context. First, I show that the theory of second best fails to present a compelling challenge to the Target View in general. But, second, the theory of second best requires ideal theorists to undertake certain kinds of causal and comparative analyses that are typically thought to lie outside the remit of conventional ideal theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The propensity of anthropology to highlight the homogeneity of the groups it studied, related to the "primitivist" and "peasantist" contexts associated with the emergence of the discipline, can be referred to as "culturalism". Such a scientific ideology underestimates the contradictions and diversities deployed within any social group studied by anthropologists, as well as the discrepancy between the rules of the social game and the actors' real practices. Nevertheless, various anthropologists have long expressed an interest in both the internal inconsistencies of social orders and the non-compliant practices. Some examples are given of these considerations for differences, from Malinowski or the Manchester school to legal pluralism or the anthropology of organizations. The European anthropology of development, extended to-day into an anthropology of public actions and public policies, is undoubtedly the sub-discipline that has developed the most an empirically grounded approach of gaps and discrepancies, alongside a dialogue with sociology and political science. It has put the richness of ethnographic investigation and qualitative research to the service of investigating the implementation gaps of public policies and the behavioural gaps of public agents. This opens the way for a reconsideration of Max Weber's ideal-type as a methodological gap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Max Weber’s theoretical constitution of sociological ideal types is examined, and a number of key elements and characteristics of such types are identified. Additionally, several common misconceptions with respect to Weber’s sociological types are clarified, including the erroneous assumption that his sociological ideal types were formulated on an ad hoc basis, as well as the common complaint that these types are overly abstract and more suited to classification than explanation. By combining Weber’s methodological discussions of the ideal type with examples taken from his substantive studies, Weber’s sociological ideal types are shown to have been constructed as integrated components of theoretical schemes which, when applied to an empirical context, provide comprehensive explanations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to examine the notion of social mechanisms by comparison with the notions of evolutionary and physical mechanisms. It is argued that social mechanisms are based on trends, and not lawlike regularities, so that social mechanisms are different from mechanisms in the natural sciences. Taking as an example of social causation the abolition of the slave trade, this paper argues that social mechanisms should be incorporated in Weber's wider notion of adequate causation in order to achieve their explanatory purpose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this rejoinder we appreciate Ben Rosamond and Alex Warleigh-Lack’s addition to our typology of dialogues, yet restate our main reasons to remain sceptical about the outcome of a dialogue between European Studies and New Regionalism. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The objective of this study is to identify and describe the existing ideals regarding marriage or long-term coupling in Europe during the first decade of the twenty-first century and to measure their prevalence in the population. To obtain this broad picture we have developed a typology of marriages based on data from the 2008–2010 European Values Study and inspired by Louis Roussel's models. Two criteria have been used to classify evaluative opinions on marriage and construct the ideal types: the nature and function of the bond between partners. The first criterion, the nature of the relationship, differentiates those who favour an Alliance model (42.2% of Europeans), a Fusion model (38.1%) and an Association model (19.5%). In turn, within each ideal type, marriage can be conceived as being necessary or contingent. Combining both criterion results in a typology of six ideal types representing a broad spectrum; at the extremes we find the apparently outdated Institutional marriage supported by 27.8% of the population and an emerging ideal known as the Pure-relationship, supported by 8.4% of Europeans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Weber's concepts of the ideal type and Verstehen are perhaps the most often discussed and debated but least understood of all his methodological formulations. This is in part a consequence of the complexity regarding the historical and intellectual matrix in which he developed his conceptual thought, and in part the relationship of the ideal type and Verstehen to other central aspects both of his methodology and theoretical works. The full scope of Weber's effort, and the relevance of this to contemporary sociological and historical investigations, can be found in his orientation to positivism and its role vis-a-vis the social sciences. A return by social scientists to mathematical modeling (which is not necessarily the province of the natural sciences) may, ironically, provide the foundation for returning back to a reconsideration of Weber's methodological thought, while repositioning the role of the ideal type and positivism in sociological investigations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this research is to clarify the impact of fashion images produced by the media on the imaginary and on social representations, and to analyse the relationships between these two entities. This work therefore focuses on two specific theories and concepts: the "social imaginary" and "social representations". In more specific terms, our aim is to show how fashion images in women's magazines form part of an established social imaginary, generate social representations that give structure to this imaginary, and create fantasies and utopias including the so-called "ideal woman". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to build a case against strategic equifinality. This is accomplished by employing hybrid ideal types approach and testing the effect of these strategic types on firm performance among service firms in the context of a developing country. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected via a self-administered survey. The final sample of this study encompassed 169 ideal type hybrid companies operating in the tourism industry in Mugla, Turkey. Findings – The research findings indicate that prospectors and hybrid prospector-analyzer (PA) orientations outperform defenders based on several financial and non-financial performance measures. However, all other strategic orientations show identical performance. Research limitations/implications – The research findings imply that adopting a hybrid strategy is a viable option. In addition, SMEs in developing countries should exercise some caution when deciding to adopt a defender strategy. Originality/value – This study uses hybrid ideal types for service firms in a dynamic business environment in a developing country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Kuhn described science as an internally driven venture, structured by paradigms. [•] Kuhn could not clearly explicate scientific progress across paradigms. [•] A distinction between pure and applied science underlies Kuhn’s inability. [•] The pure vs. applied distinction is historically traced from 1850 to 1950. [•] Giving up the pure vs. applied distinction provides an account of scientific progress. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A recent thread of debate in social policy research has been the 'discovery' of welfare services. Previous comparative studies in this field have been largely erratic and have led to different results. This ambiguity is mainly due to flaws inherent in the data sets. In order to overcome these problems, this article uses an alternative approach of operationalizing welfare services. Employment patterns in the welfare sector provide a holistic picture of welfare services regarding quantity, kind, and organization. Cluster analysis leads to a four-cluster structure that bears high resemblance to the conventional welfare regime typology by Esping-Andersen and its subsequent advancements. These findings are set in the context of the welfare regimes literature in order to enhance our understanding of the functioning of welfare regimes. The study suggests that the ideological orientation of the welfare state is a good starting point for a holistic framework of welfare regimes combining the transfer and the service component. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article proposes an ideal type of the neoliberal self as the preferred form of life in the economic, political and cultural circumstances of present-day developed and developing capitalism. The neoliberal self combines the idealised subject(s) of classical and neoclassical economics – featuring entrepreneurship and consumer sovereignty – with the contemporary discourse of 'the taxpayer', who is sceptical of redistributive justice, and a 'cool' posture that derives symbolically – and ironically – from cultures of disaffection and, indeed, opposition. In effect, the transition from organised capitalism to neoliberal hegemony over the recent period has brought about a corresponding transformation in subjectivity. As an idea type, the neoliberal self cannot be found concretely in a 'pure' form, not even rep-resented by leading celebrity figures. The emergent characteristics of the ideal type, though not set out formally here, accentuate various aspects of personal con-duct and mundane existence for illustrative and analytical purposes. Leading celebrities, most notably high-tech entrepreneurs, for instance, operate in the popular imagination as models of achievement for the aspiring young. They are seldom emulated in real life, however, even unrealistically so. Still, their famed lifestyles and heavily publicised opinions provide guidelines to appropriate conduct in a ruthlessly competitive and unequal world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This commentary on Wu Zongjie’s article ‘Interpretation, autonomy and transformation: Chinese pedagogic discourse in a cross-cultural perspective’ begins by suggesting the usefulness of Wu’s polar opposite depiction of Confucian and modern pedagogy as ideal types for comparative exploration. It goes on to suggest that the term ‘modern pedagogy’ may need to be de-constructed, along the distinctive lines of rationalist and pragmatist epistemologies of modernity and the ways in which they have affected the development of a modern pedagogy over China’s 20th-century. Then, the life stories of three influential Chinese educators of different periods are drawn upon to identify echoes of the Confucian ideal type in their remarkable educational legacy, suggesting the continued dynamism of a Confucian pedagogy that persists under the surface of the modern epistemologies that have shaped the terminology of modern education in China. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The present study explores and compares Jaspers’ methodology of psychopathology with Weber’s methodology of sociology. In his works, Weber incorporated the arguments of many other researchers into his own methodology. Jaspers respected Weber as a mentor and presented arguments that were very similar to Weber’s. Both Weber and Jaspers began from empathic understanding, but at the same time aimed for a rational and ideal-typical conceptualization. In addition, their methodologies were similar with respect to their detailed terminology. Such similarities cannot be seen with any other scholars. This suggests that Weber may have played an integral role as a mediator between his contemporary scholars and Jaspers. Thus, Weber may have had the most significant influence on Jaspers. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

An essay is presented on ethical decision making. It looks at the dilemma of right versus right in ethics, which the authors argue differs from moral dilemmas of right versus wrong. Topics include competing methods for ethical decision making among conflicting values, the challenges of ethics in public administration, an ideal-type model for governance, and the generic elements that compose an ideal-type model.

Copyright of Migraciones is the property of Universidad Pontificia Comillas, Instituto Universitario de Estudios sobre Migraciones and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article presents the characteristics of the mode of bureaucratic administration by argumenting the features of the classic bureaucracy described by the German sociologist Max Weber, who constructs an ideal type of bureaucracy by bringing together the abstract form of various administrative powers manifested throughout the historical evolution. Other elements of bureaucracy are also mentioned , particularly the negative consequences and criticisms of bureaucracy, as outlined in concrete, eventually distinct elements of the new administrative management which opens a new paradigm that stresses results that emphasize the satisfaction of the citizen consumer, consumer, of public services , the balanced relationship between charged sites and outputs. The new orientation is due to the unprecedented changes in people's lives and organizations under the impact of information age, globalization and, generally, of the progress in all areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Weber’s notion of ideal-types has most frequently been rejected as incoherent or overly abstract. This article maintains that it insightfully addresses explanatory issues in social science by encompassing the agents’ subjective understanding and the need for theorists to comprehend, explain, and evaluate it. As such, ideal-types are not versions of established models in natural science or economics. Further keys are seeing ideal-types as blending interpretive understanding and causal explanation but not thereby causal generalizations, and rational appraisals as consistent with value pluralism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]