Jie W Weiss and David J Weiss
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195322989
- eISBN:
- 9780199869206
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195322989.003.0024
- Subject:
- Psychology, Cognitive Psychology
This chapter discusses a method for measuring the diagnostic usefulness of the information from a radiologic examination (excretory urography). The log likelihood ratio (LLR) method requires ...
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This chapter discusses a method for measuring the diagnostic usefulness of the information from a radiologic examination (excretory urography). The log likelihood ratio (LLR) method requires collection of referring physicians' diagnoses prior to and after urography, and their certainty in relation to receipt of the radiologic information. Physicians in daily practice are able to provide diagnoses and assign a percentage number to their certainty. The LLR method permits measurement of the diagnostic usefulness of both normal and abnormal urogram results. Retrospective chart review does not provide the same LLR results as those obtained from the prospective study.Less
This chapter discusses a method for measuring the diagnostic usefulness of the information from a radiologic examination (excretory urography). The log likelihood ratio (LLR) method requires collection of referring physicians' diagnoses prior to and after urography, and their certainty in relation to receipt of the radiologic information. Physicians in daily practice are able to provide diagnoses and assign a percentage number to their certainty. The LLR method permits measurement of the diagnostic usefulness of both normal and abnormal urogram results. Retrospective chart review does not provide the same LLR results as those obtained from the prospective study.
Robert Rosenthal
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195385540
- eISBN:
- 9780199869824
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195385540.003.0032
- Subject:
- Psychology, Social Psychology
Theoretical integration, applications in other areas (e.g., teachers’ expectations and their students’ performance), and procedures for dealing with experimenter expectancy effects within this ...
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Theoretical integration, applications in other areas (e.g., teachers’ expectations and their students’ performance), and procedures for dealing with experimenter expectancy effects within this conceptual framework, including the sampling of experimenters, blind and minimized contact between experimenters and subjects, expectancy control groups, and so on.Less
Theoretical integration, applications in other areas (e.g., teachers’ expectations and their students’ performance), and procedures for dealing with experimenter expectancy effects within this conceptual framework, including the sampling of experimenters, blind and minimized contact between experimenters and subjects, expectancy control groups, and so on.
David B. Resnik
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195375893
- eISBN:
- 9780199866632
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195375893.003.0002
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
This chapter develops an account of the nature of science. It argues that science is useful (and valuable) because it is generally reliable and because it aspires to the goal of objectivity; it also ...
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This chapter develops an account of the nature of science. It argues that science is useful (and valuable) because it is generally reliable and because it aspires to the goal of objectivity; it also explains why science is generally reliable and why it is important for scientists to strive for objectivity. The chapter discusses some limitations on scientific objectivity and describes science's epistemological and ethical methods. Science's methods hold the key to the value of science because methodology promotes reliability and objectivity. One implication of this view is that social, political, economic, or other circumstances that interfere with the practice and methods of science can undermine the usefulness of science.Less
This chapter develops an account of the nature of science. It argues that science is useful (and valuable) because it is generally reliable and because it aspires to the goal of objectivity; it also explains why science is generally reliable and why it is important for scientists to strive for objectivity. The chapter discusses some limitations on scientific objectivity and describes science's epistemological and ethical methods. Science's methods hold the key to the value of science because methodology promotes reliability and objectivity. One implication of this view is that social, political, economic, or other circumstances that interfere with the practice and methods of science can undermine the usefulness of science.
Wolfgang Ballwieser
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- January 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780199260621
- eISBN:
- 9780191601668
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199260621.003.0003
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Financial Economics
After a general introduction (Section 1), Section 2 discusses the objectives of financial reporting with respect to information. It explains the concept of decision usefulness by looking first at the ...
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After a general introduction (Section 1), Section 2 discusses the objectives of financial reporting with respect to information. It explains the concept of decision usefulness by looking first at the individual decision-model, and then at the measurement of economic wealth or income using financial statements. Section 3 briefly examines some of the attempts that have been made to test decision usefulness empirically, and gives an overview of some of the results. Section 3 is the conclusion.Less
After a general introduction (Section 1), Section 2 discusses the objectives of financial reporting with respect to information. It explains the concept of decision usefulness by looking first at the individual decision-model, and then at the measurement of economic wealth or income using financial statements. Section 3 briefly examines some of the attempts that have been made to test decision usefulness empirically, and gives an overview of some of the results. Section 3 is the conclusion.
Andrew Stewart Skinner
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198233343
- eISBN:
- 9780191678974
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198233343.003.0008
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Economic History
Although Adam Smith's model, in its post-physiocratic form, has several distinct elements, the feature on which he continued to place most emphasis was the division of labour, which is implied in the ...
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Although Adam Smith's model, in its post-physiocratic form, has several distinct elements, the feature on which he continued to place most emphasis was the division of labour, which is implied in the existence of distinct sectors or types of productive activity. However, Smith also emphasized the fact that there was specialization by types of employment, and even within each employment. He pointed out that the division of labour (by process) helped to explain the relatively high labour productivity in modern times. As regards the rate of exchange, Smith isolated two relevant factors: the usefulness of the good to be acquired, and the ‘cost’ incurred in creating the commodity to be given up. The first of the relevant relationships is obviously that existing between ‘usefulness’ and value. It will be apparent from the previous argument that Smith regarded rent, wages, and profit as the types of return payable to the three ‘great constituent orders’ of society and as the price paid for the use of the factors of production.Less
Although Adam Smith's model, in its post-physiocratic form, has several distinct elements, the feature on which he continued to place most emphasis was the division of labour, which is implied in the existence of distinct sectors or types of productive activity. However, Smith also emphasized the fact that there was specialization by types of employment, and even within each employment. He pointed out that the division of labour (by process) helped to explain the relatively high labour productivity in modern times. As regards the rate of exchange, Smith isolated two relevant factors: the usefulness of the good to be acquired, and the ‘cost’ incurred in creating the commodity to be given up. The first of the relevant relationships is obviously that existing between ‘usefulness’ and value. It will be apparent from the previous argument that Smith regarded rent, wages, and profit as the types of return payable to the three ‘great constituent orders’ of society and as the price paid for the use of the factors of production.
Carol Tannahill
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199569298
- eISBN:
- 9780191594427
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199569298.003.0015
- Subject:
- Public Health and Epidemiology, Public Health
One criterion against which to measure the success of an evaluation is whether it is of use. This chapter focuses on the usefulness of findings for policy-makers. It starts by looking briefly at the ...
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One criterion against which to measure the success of an evaluation is whether it is of use. This chapter focuses on the usefulness of findings for policy-makers. It starts by looking briefly at the concept of evidence-based policy-making and then reviews some of the ways in which policy might be influenced by research ideas and findings, illustrating these processes with an example from Scotland.Less
One criterion against which to measure the success of an evaluation is whether it is of use. This chapter focuses on the usefulness of findings for policy-makers. It starts by looking briefly at the concept of evidence-based policy-making and then reviews some of the ways in which policy might be influenced by research ideas and findings, illustrating these processes with an example from Scotland.
John Kemm, Jayne Parry, and Stephen Palmer
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780198526292
- eISBN:
- 9780191723889
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198526292.003.0018
- Subject:
- Public Health and Epidemiology, Public Health, Epidemiology
The development of health impact assessment (HIA) in Wales has taken place within a context of significant constitutional change and a new approach to policy making. This has provided opportunities ...
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The development of health impact assessment (HIA) in Wales has taken place within a context of significant constitutional change and a new approach to policy making. This has provided opportunities to explore the usefulness of HIA and to identify the practical issues around its application. This chapter describes the Welsh Assembly Government's work to develop the use of HIA. It highlights issues that are relevant to its use in policy making by government and by other organizations both nationally and locally.Less
The development of health impact assessment (HIA) in Wales has taken place within a context of significant constitutional change and a new approach to policy making. This has provided opportunities to explore the usefulness of HIA and to identify the practical issues around its application. This chapter describes the Welsh Assembly Government's work to develop the use of HIA. It highlights issues that are relevant to its use in policy making by government and by other organizations both nationally and locally.
Julian Wuerth
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- September 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199587629
- eISBN:
- 9780191760907
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199587629.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, History of Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind
This book presents a new interpretation of Kant’s theories of mind, action, and ethics. As the author of a Copernican turn in philosophy, Kant places the mind at the centre of his philosophy, and yet ...
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This book presents a new interpretation of Kant’s theories of mind, action, and ethics. As the author of a Copernican turn in philosophy, Kant places the mind at the centre of his philosophy, and yet his theory of the mind remains an enigma. The book begins with a revolutionary new interpretation of this theory of mind. This new interpretation considers a far wider range of Kant’s recorded thought from across his philosophical corpus than previous interpretations, and advances in tandem with an interpretation of the foundations of Kant’s transcendental idealism and his metaphysics of substance. Against traditional empiricist approaches, the book demonstrates that Kant argues that we are conscious of our own noumenal substantiality and simplicity. But against rational psychologists, Kant draws on the teachings of his transcendental idealism to strip the conclusions of our noumenal substantiality and simplicity of their ‘usefulness’. In the Paralogisms and elsewhere, Kant thus argues that we are not licensed to conclude our substantiality and simplicity in a sense that entails our permanence, our incorruptibility, or our immortality.Less
This book presents a new interpretation of Kant’s theories of mind, action, and ethics. As the author of a Copernican turn in philosophy, Kant places the mind at the centre of his philosophy, and yet his theory of the mind remains an enigma. The book begins with a revolutionary new interpretation of this theory of mind. This new interpretation considers a far wider range of Kant’s recorded thought from across his philosophical corpus than previous interpretations, and advances in tandem with an interpretation of the foundations of Kant’s transcendental idealism and his metaphysics of substance. Against traditional empiricist approaches, the book demonstrates that Kant argues that we are conscious of our own noumenal substantiality and simplicity. But against rational psychologists, Kant draws on the teachings of his transcendental idealism to strip the conclusions of our noumenal substantiality and simplicity of their ‘usefulness’. In the Paralogisms and elsewhere, Kant thus argues that we are not licensed to conclude our substantiality and simplicity in a sense that entails our permanence, our incorruptibility, or our immortality.
Sarah Chaney
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780719097690
- eISBN:
- 9781526104465
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9780719097690.003.0013
- Subject:
- History, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
This chapter explores the value placed on occupation as a measure of individual worth at the turn of the twentieth century. Within the asylum, providing residents with daily tasks was designed to ...
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This chapter explores the value placed on occupation as a measure of individual worth at the turn of the twentieth century. Within the asylum, providing residents with daily tasks was designed to counter introspection, while aiding the economic functioning of the institution with free labour. Yet this model also aimed to create ‘useful members of society’. This chapter argues that we can only understand Victorian and Edwardian models of work-based therapy in relation to workmen’s compensation and the threat of so-called malingering and outside the asylum.Less
This chapter explores the value placed on occupation as a measure of individual worth at the turn of the twentieth century. Within the asylum, providing residents with daily tasks was designed to counter introspection, while aiding the economic functioning of the institution with free labour. Yet this model also aimed to create ‘useful members of society’. This chapter argues that we can only understand Victorian and Edwardian models of work-based therapy in relation to workmen’s compensation and the threat of so-called malingering and outside the asylum.
Eric Arbiter
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- September 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780190919610
- eISBN:
- 9780197554722
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190919610.003.0005
- Subject:
- Music, Performing Practice/Studies
Balancing learned information with proving or disproving its usefulness for ourselves.
Balancing learned information with proving or disproving its usefulness for ourselves.
Lawrence Cohen
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520083967
- eISBN:
- 9780520925328
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520083967.003.0008
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Medical Anthropology
This chapter examines the views of Nagwa residents, weakness as a structure, Muslims and other saints, the sound of dying, and the position of repose. Weakness is central to local experience and ...
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This chapter examines the views of Nagwa residents, weakness as a structure, Muslims and other saints, the sound of dying, and the position of repose. Weakness is central to local experience and ideology in Nagwa. The figure of the decrepit old man played by Ramji is as central to Nagwa ideology as it is to Brahmanical and Buddhist thought. In Ramji's depiction, the old man's weakness symbolizes both the perversion and ultimate failure of elite desire, its object here the young woman. In the histories of the families discussed here, two transitions marked shifts in the perception of the old person's voice and weakness: the loss of authority and the loss of usefulness.Less
This chapter examines the views of Nagwa residents, weakness as a structure, Muslims and other saints, the sound of dying, and the position of repose. Weakness is central to local experience and ideology in Nagwa. The figure of the decrepit old man played by Ramji is as central to Nagwa ideology as it is to Brahmanical and Buddhist thought. In Ramji's depiction, the old man's weakness symbolizes both the perversion and ultimate failure of elite desire, its object here the young woman. In the histories of the families discussed here, two transitions marked shifts in the perception of the old person's voice and weakness: the loss of authority and the loss of usefulness.
Anna Boncompagni
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780197266168
- eISBN:
- 9780191865237
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197266168.003.0003
- Subject:
- Philosophy, General
This chapter examines some remarks Ludwig Wittgenstein expressed on pragmatism in manuscripts and lectures during the first half of the 1930s. These remarks focus principally on the Jamesian ...
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This chapter examines some remarks Ludwig Wittgenstein expressed on pragmatism in manuscripts and lectures during the first half of the 1930s. These remarks focus principally on the Jamesian conception of truth, according to which, roughly, a belief or a proposition is true if it is useful. Wittgenstein acknowledges that this conception is able to capture some characters of ordinary language, but at the same time, he criticizes some aspects of it, and his criticism strongly resembles Frank Ramsey’s attitude towards the same topics. In this sense, it is argued that Ramsey had a role both for Wittgenstein approaching pragmatism, and for the partly negative attitude with which he came to judge it. Yet, the two thinkers’ general perspectives diverge when it comes to the place of theory in philosophical activity.Less
This chapter examines some remarks Ludwig Wittgenstein expressed on pragmatism in manuscripts and lectures during the first half of the 1930s. These remarks focus principally on the Jamesian conception of truth, according to which, roughly, a belief or a proposition is true if it is useful. Wittgenstein acknowledges that this conception is able to capture some characters of ordinary language, but at the same time, he criticizes some aspects of it, and his criticism strongly resembles Frank Ramsey’s attitude towards the same topics. In this sense, it is argued that Ramsey had a role both for Wittgenstein approaching pragmatism, and for the partly negative attitude with which he came to judge it. Yet, the two thinkers’ general perspectives diverge when it comes to the place of theory in philosophical activity.
Mitchell Silver
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- March 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780823226818
- eISBN:
- 9780823236565
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Fordham University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5422/fso/9780823226818.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
This chapter examines the theologians' credible God's candidacy for belief by the standard of usefulness. It introduces a baseline God of the theologians, the God that ...
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This chapter examines the theologians' credible God's candidacy for belief by the standard of usefulness. It introduces a baseline God of the theologians, the God that will be tested for utility. In addition to the theologians' God and its variants, the chapter also provides a conception of a “traditional” God. When appraising the theologians' God's utility, the utility of the traditional God is a key standard to bring to bear. The chapter claims that as the creator of morality, God has failed to satisfy the scrupulous for thousands of years. The price of making God the creator of morality is that God stops being morally good. The old God was in a better logical position to be the teacher of morality than she was to be the creator of morality.Less
This chapter examines the theologians' credible God's candidacy for belief by the standard of usefulness. It introduces a baseline God of the theologians, the God that will be tested for utility. In addition to the theologians' God and its variants, the chapter also provides a conception of a “traditional” God. When appraising the theologians' God's utility, the utility of the traditional God is a key standard to bring to bear. The chapter claims that as the creator of morality, God has failed to satisfy the scrupulous for thousands of years. The price of making God the creator of morality is that God stops being morally good. The old God was in a better logical position to be the teacher of morality than she was to be the creator of morality.
Andrew Steane
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- July 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780198824589
- eISBN:
- 9780191863370
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198824589.003.0015
- Subject:
- Physics, History of Physics
This continues the theme opened up by the previous chapter, by showing how religious experience operates and how it informs human life. This includes the experience of mercy invoked by music, for ...
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This continues the theme opened up by the previous chapter, by showing how religious experience operates and how it informs human life. This includes the experience of mercy invoked by music, for example, and the notion that we are fundamentally called into a loving relationship, and given a role to play. This is not about providing further components to scientific explanations, but it does encourage us to do science.Less
This continues the theme opened up by the previous chapter, by showing how religious experience operates and how it informs human life. This includes the experience of mercy invoked by music, for example, and the notion that we are fundamentally called into a loving relationship, and given a role to play. This is not about providing further components to scientific explanations, but it does encourage us to do science.
Jonathan D. Nelson
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199216093
- eISBN:
- 9780191695971
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199216093.003.0007
- Subject:
- Psychology, Cognitive Psychology
This chapter considers the crucial question of the usefulness of data, with respect to a set of hypotheses under consideration. Some data are clearly irrelevant to the hypotheses of concern; some ...
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This chapter considers the crucial question of the usefulness of data, with respect to a set of hypotheses under consideration. Some data are clearly irrelevant to the hypotheses of concern; some decisively favour one hypothesis or another. But, in general, data modifies the probability of the hypotheses, but to a modest degree. Only with a measure of the usefulness of data is it possible to formulate a theory of which experiments should be carried out, or which observations should be made. It provides a thorough analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of a range of measures of evidential usefulness, drawn from a variety of fields of cognitive science.Less
This chapter considers the crucial question of the usefulness of data, with respect to a set of hypotheses under consideration. Some data are clearly irrelevant to the hypotheses of concern; some decisively favour one hypothesis or another. But, in general, data modifies the probability of the hypotheses, but to a modest degree. Only with a measure of the usefulness of data is it possible to formulate a theory of which experiments should be carried out, or which observations should be made. It provides a thorough analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of a range of measures of evidential usefulness, drawn from a variety of fields of cognitive science.
Jann Pasler
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520257405
- eISBN:
- 9780520943872
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520257405.003.0002
- Subject:
- Music, Theory, Analysis, Composition
This chapter is concerned with the concept of usefulness. It tries to determine why this concept is still deeply meaningful in France, and examines the “useful” in music. It studies the tensions that ...
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This chapter is concerned with the concept of usefulness. It tries to determine why this concept is still deeply meaningful in France, and examines the “useful” in music. It studies the tensions that exist between the beautiful and the useful, along with the factors that kept the notion of utility viable, especially in the arts. Finally, the chapter discusses the concept of public utility and its power, and shows how music can be considered as a public utility.Less
This chapter is concerned with the concept of usefulness. It tries to determine why this concept is still deeply meaningful in France, and examines the “useful” in music. It studies the tensions that exist between the beautiful and the useful, along with the factors that kept the notion of utility viable, especially in the arts. Finally, the chapter discusses the concept of public utility and its power, and shows how music can be considered as a public utility.
Sruti Bala
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- January 2019
- ISBN:
- 9781526100771
- eISBN:
- 9781526138927
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9781526100771.003.0003
- Subject:
- Art, Visual Culture
Chapter II addresses the relationship between participatory art and the concept of ‘impact’. It investigates the assumptions around impact, as well as the methodological challenges of thinking the ...
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Chapter II addresses the relationship between participatory art and the concept of ‘impact’. It investigates the assumptions around impact, as well as the methodological challenges of thinking the impact of a work of art. Using the 2012 Spanish language production Afuera: lesbianas en escena (Outside: Lesbians on Stage) by the theatre collective Teatro Siluetas from Guatemala and El Salvador as a point of departure, the chapter reflects on the assessment of impact in relation to the question of participation. It critically engages with the field of evidence-led impact studies in the arts. It situates the debate on the usefulness or non-utility of participatory art in relation to social science scholarship pertaining to the ascendancy of ‘participation’ in the context of international development. It suggests that it is worthwhile extending the kinds of activities considered as relevant to a participatory aesthetic, to thus not only analyse performances as distinct works, but to place them in a longer-term aesthetic continuum with workshops, rehearsals, after-talks, meetings with the artists, and other para-theatrical events. The chapter grapples with the question of how to discuss impact in relation to participatory art without it being mortgaged into a matter of quantifiable impact alone.Less
Chapter II addresses the relationship between participatory art and the concept of ‘impact’. It investigates the assumptions around impact, as well as the methodological challenges of thinking the impact of a work of art. Using the 2012 Spanish language production Afuera: lesbianas en escena (Outside: Lesbians on Stage) by the theatre collective Teatro Siluetas from Guatemala and El Salvador as a point of departure, the chapter reflects on the assessment of impact in relation to the question of participation. It critically engages with the field of evidence-led impact studies in the arts. It situates the debate on the usefulness or non-utility of participatory art in relation to social science scholarship pertaining to the ascendancy of ‘participation’ in the context of international development. It suggests that it is worthwhile extending the kinds of activities considered as relevant to a participatory aesthetic, to thus not only analyse performances as distinct works, but to place them in a longer-term aesthetic continuum with workshops, rehearsals, after-talks, meetings with the artists, and other para-theatrical events. The chapter grapples with the question of how to discuss impact in relation to participatory art without it being mortgaged into a matter of quantifiable impact alone.
David Ellis
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9781846318894
- eISBN:
- 9781846318023
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Liverpool University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5949/liverpool/9781846318894.003.0016
- Subject:
- Literature, Criticism/Theory
This is a description of Ellis's experiences as a teacher of literature at Kent and the way that changes in university organisation (devolved budgets, larger numbers), and in society as a whole (the ...
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This is a description of Ellis's experiences as a teacher of literature at Kent and the way that changes in university organisation (devolved budgets, larger numbers), and in society as a whole (the decline of literary culture), made Leavisian principles difficult to maintain. Yet if literary criticism was not at the heart of the subject, what was± Hard also to maintain was belief in the general social usefulness of reading great books, although one had to believe that it was a rewarding and enrichening experience for individuals in order to carry on teaching at all. The danger for the Leavisite was in thinking of the literary past in the same spirit as members of the society for the preservation of old buildings when, as T. S. Eliot had pointed out, it was always subtly changing in response to the most important new writing in the present.Less
This is a description of Ellis's experiences as a teacher of literature at Kent and the way that changes in university organisation (devolved budgets, larger numbers), and in society as a whole (the decline of literary culture), made Leavisian principles difficult to maintain. Yet if literary criticism was not at the heart of the subject, what was± Hard also to maintain was belief in the general social usefulness of reading great books, although one had to believe that it was a rewarding and enrichening experience for individuals in order to carry on teaching at all. The danger for the Leavisite was in thinking of the literary past in the same spirit as members of the society for the preservation of old buildings when, as T. S. Eliot had pointed out, it was always subtly changing in response to the most important new writing in the present.
Bruce N. Waller
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- August 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780262016599
- eISBN:
- 9780262298940
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262016599.003.0008
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
This chapter discusses how advocates of moral responsibility usually resort to practical usefulness when arguing for or investigating about moral responsibility. This dependence on practical ...
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This chapter discusses how advocates of moral responsibility usually resort to practical usefulness when arguing for or investigating about moral responsibility. This dependence on practical usefulness entails a system of moral responsibility that is maintained simply because it works. J. J. C. Smart offers the clearest account of this pragmatic justification of moral responsibility and the concept of reward and punishment. According to him, the system of reward and punishment does not work very well, but it works, and it is better than nothing. However, this chapter aims to demonstrate that this system is often more harmful than beneficial, it blocks better policies and deeper understanding, and—its benefits and detriments aside—it is fundamentally unfair.Less
This chapter discusses how advocates of moral responsibility usually resort to practical usefulness when arguing for or investigating about moral responsibility. This dependence on practical usefulness entails a system of moral responsibility that is maintained simply because it works. J. J. C. Smart offers the clearest account of this pragmatic justification of moral responsibility and the concept of reward and punishment. According to him, the system of reward and punishment does not work very well, but it works, and it is better than nothing. However, this chapter aims to demonstrate that this system is often more harmful than beneficial, it blocks better policies and deeper understanding, and—its benefits and detriments aside—it is fundamentally unfair.
Sarah Houghton-Walker
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- November 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780198719472
- eISBN:
- 9780191788581
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198719472.003.0004
- Subject:
- Literature, 19th-century Literature and Romanticism, 19th-century and Victorian Literature
Chapter 3 begins the author-centred section of the book by examining William Cowper’s description of a group of gypsies in The Task (1783). It argues that Cowper’s lines reflect a burst of critical ...
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Chapter 3 begins the author-centred section of the book by examining William Cowper’s description of a group of gypsies in The Task (1783). It argues that Cowper’s lines reflect a burst of critical interest in gypsies which followed the repeal of the Egyptians Act in the same year, which can be encountered in journals Cowper read, and which is itself a major factor in the way in which gypsies begin to be represented in the Romantic period. It concludes that in Cowper’s vocabulary, and in the anxieties about wandering, idleness, usefulness, and sublimity his lines suggest, we can see the germ of many of the features in which this book as a whole is interested.Less
Chapter 3 begins the author-centred section of the book by examining William Cowper’s description of a group of gypsies in The Task (1783). It argues that Cowper’s lines reflect a burst of critical interest in gypsies which followed the repeal of the Egyptians Act in the same year, which can be encountered in journals Cowper read, and which is itself a major factor in the way in which gypsies begin to be represented in the Romantic period. It concludes that in Cowper’s vocabulary, and in the anxieties about wandering, idleness, usefulness, and sublimity his lines suggest, we can see the germ of many of the features in which this book as a whole is interested.