The theme of this special issue is the epistemological conditions and significant features for doing research in religious education in the Nordic region. Historical and institutional conditions make up an important part of the background for understanding. The articles in this issue which are introduced here try to grasp and explore the conditions for scholarly knowledge production concerning the teaching of religion in the states in question: Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark.

The article deals with forms of knowledge and types of research interests in scholarly work on Religious Education at the primary and lower secondary levels in Denmark throughout the heyday of the welfare state from the 1960s and up until the 2000s, when the welfare state model not least with regard to education was in transition. The point of departure is the work and oeuvre of K.E. Bugge, for many years – and remaining until now – the last professor of (...) Religious Education in Denmark, namely at the Royal Danish School of Education which reorganized as Danish University of Education in 2000. The article situates his doctoral dissertation "The school for life. Studies concerning the pedagogical ideas of N. F. S. Grundtvig" in its institutional context and compares the forms of knowledge it produced with three PhD dissertations defended during the 2000s and thus in a changed institutional field. Drawing on the conceptual understanding of the field of educational sciences deriving from Hofstetter and Schneuwly, the article analyzes ways of doing research in and related to Religious Education and the scholarly disciplines involved. Focus will be on the relation between the academic disciplines studying religion and the educational sciences in their many disciplinary forms and on the relation between the field of sciences and the field of educational practice. (shrink)

This article discusses how the relationship between the perceiving and the perceived can be outlined in a current philosophical and neuroscientifical understanding. The ambition is to highlight the potential relations between two processes; consciousness and interpretation particularly regarding the experience of art as invoking an immediate feeling. The article takes a philosophical standpoint inspired by Edmund Husserl’s epistemological discussions regarding intentionality and tries to combine it with art as invoking a feeling. In other words, the article tries to answer how (...) art can invoke an immediate feeling within us if we maintain the philosophical understanding of ourselves as the perceiving entity. (shrink)

The purpose of this article is to discuss the relationship between learning, epistemology and intersubjectivity in the context of problem-based learning and project-oriented work at a university level. It aims to show how the collaboration of students in a group over a longer period of time can put emphasis on the knowledge - practice discussion, and thereby on some of the values required to progress in science as a field and to develop knowledge. This article focuses on how to describe (...) the dialectical interplay between the individual’s learning and the groups’ learning process, in the development of a project in a field. This process of a dialectical interplay is a matter of cognition and development of the self, and the development of competencies and knowledge. Learning is a process based on the involvement of the self, engaging in the interaction with a problem and with others. The process of learning during problem-based activities are described as a development of knowledge about something while simultaneously developing reflexivity and skill in order to understand oneself as a learning entity. To understand this learning and development of knowledge we need a perspective on how to understand the human being and the consciousness – that learning always is about the individual and therefor requires an understanding of the ontology of the human being. This entails that we must discuss how we can understand the process of interaction of knowledge, and how to handle the process of understanding, and the contradictions that appear in learning contexts. The grounds for the development of an intersubjectivity, which is required in the engagement of interaction, seems therefore as an important part of learning. The article will look upon those questions and themes from a broad phenomenological and dialectical perspective. (shrink)

Logic has sometimes been seen as an alternative to metaphysics and to speculation. In this paper it is argued that a different story should be told when it comes to temporal logic and tense-logic in particular. A. N. Prior’s first formulation of tense logic was mainly established in order to qualify the discussion of certain metaphysical and conceptual problems. Although temporal logic has now been developed in various abstract and rather technical ways, it may still serve as a great help (...) for anyone who wants to clarify the discussion of important existential questions like the nature of time, determinism, future contingency or freedom of choice. (shrink)

At a time when technological advances are transforming cultures and supporting new automated military operations, action films engage the senses and, in doing so, allow viewers to embody combat roles. This book argues that through film the viewer adapts to an ecology of fear, one that reflects global panic at the near-constant threat of conflict and violence. Often overwhelming in its audiovisual assault, action cinema attempts to overpower our bodies with its own through force and intensity. In this book, Steen (...) Ledet Christiansen identifies five aspects central to how action films produce such physical movements and responses through vectors, droning, kinetics, telesomatics and volatility and in so doing unveils new modes of perception that acclimatise us for warfare. Drawing on theories from film-philosophy and a consideration of the aesthetics and phenomenology of war, this is an innovative study of the evolving action movie and its role in the targeted address of battle. Chapters investigate new modes of cinematic experience through in-depth case studies of Iron Man, Avatar and the Jason Bourne trilogy, through to The Hurt Locker and Mad Max: Fury Road. (shrink)

Symposium abstract, authored by organizers: Christina Osbeck & Mette Buchardt Presenters: Mette Buchardt, Oddrun Marie Hovde Bråten, Christina Osbeck, Geir Skeie, Martin Ubani Respondent: Bernd Krupka Chair:Karin Sporre Related to the conference subtheme: Borders between research methods General subject didactics in the Nordic countries has developed in relation to teacher education and the need to bring questions about teaching and learning closer to specific subject-content areas. The discussions started at slightly different times in the different countries, for instance in the (...) 1970s in Norway and in the 1980s in Sweden. However, at that time religious education was already an academic field in the faculties of theology in many of the Nordic countries, namely as religionspedagogik[k]. Since then the development of RE and its current position have been rather different in the separate countries, but also the conditions within the same country have varied largely. This symposium explore and discuss the conditions for scholarly based knowledge production about and in relation to the subject didactics of RE in different national contexts in the Nordic sphere.Aim and main questions:The aim of this symposium is to examine different conditions for knowledge re/production concerning Religious Education in the Nordic countries and discuss how disciplines work as frames for ongoing developments of knowledge, primarily research contributions. There are several academic disciplines related to RE, and an interesting question is of course how these scholarly communities influence RE. What consequences does it have for the contribution of knowledge – e.g. for research questions asked, examined and answered – if the study is done in history of religion, comparative religion, sociology of religion, theology, pedagogy of religion in a faculty of theology, sociology, communication studies, or psychology or in the educational sciences, and thus in e.g. sociology, history, psychology or philosophy of education? What does it mean for the discussion of quality in the field and the direction of the development that the research area is that varied? And how does that affect the applied didactics of religion? Osbeck, C., & Lied, S. 2012. RE research in Hamar and Karlstad in a subject didactical and international context. Religionsdidaktisk arbeid pågår! Religionsdidaktikk i Hamar og Karlstad. Vallset: Oplandske Bokforlag. Kroksmark, T. 1989. Didaktiska strövtåg. Didaktiska idéer från Comenius till fenomenografisk didaktik. Goteborg: Daidalos.Ongstad, S. 2006. Fag i endring. Om didaktisering av kunskap. I S. Ongstad. Fag og fagdidaktikk i lærerutdanning. Kunnskap i grenseland. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget. Form and task for the presentations: The presenters are asked to use their own dissertation in relation to one or two additional work from the country, where the presenter is institutionalized, preferably in a way where the dissertations discussed are from different periods of time. Alternativelty handbooks of RE-didactics/pedagogy of religion can be examined. The presentation will draw on examples from Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden and sheet light the questions stated above from this basis. Time frame: 1h45minutes Opening + 13 minutes to each of the five presenters + 13 minutes response on all papers together from Berndt Krupka Final answers from presenters and discussion. (shrink)

This paper examines how the role of sketching in design process has been disseminated previously through a review of prior perspectives into the field. We identify that the studies of design sketching has been dominated by two perspectives: studies into what is known as ‘visual thinking’, which examines the designers reflective conversation with the sketch, and a second perspective on sketching as way of ‘visual communication’ with others in the design process. We raise the question of whether it is reasonable (...) to combine the two different roles of sketching to form a more intertwined relationship - seeing the two as sides of the same coin. Based on the terminology of Olofsson & Sjöflen four functions are identified as being representative for the different roles sketching can take in the design process: investigative, explorative, communicative, and persuasive. We appropriate these categories into a tension field, reflecting how the role of the same sketch may change over the course of time in the design project, based upon the type of knowledge required to gain from the sketch at a given time. (shrink)

Addenda til Experimental improvisation practise and notation.

The Italian philosopher Giambattista Vico developed a theoretical framework for the study of human sciences that exerted a strong influence on psychology and other human sciences. He backed the unity of the knowledge about human mind and culture, including history, linguistics, philosophy, philology, epistemology, psychology, and for the first time proposed a method for their study that he ambitiously called ‘new science’. The article presents an overview of Vico’s thought and discusses some of the main axioms of his theoretical system. (...) His critique of Cartesianism as the alternative epistemology he outlined is put forward as a thoughtful tool for reflection on contemporary psychological science. This retrospective look at Vico’s idea would finally provide useful insights for a programmatic view on cultural psychology. (shrink)

In the article an approach to aesthetics is suggested with the focus on the education of the designer rather than on the outcome of the design. Design is taken to be an interpretative intervention into a social context which requires a sensibility for the context. The forming of this sensibility is the goal of an aesthetic education. Through discussions of different approaches to aesthetics like Grant Kester’s dialogical aesthetics and Kant’s critique of the faculty of judgement, it is emphasized how (...) sensibility as the key focus of aesthetics rather than art and beauty makes the ability to manoeuvre in the social context a central issue of aesthetics. Here, is the argument, is the link to an aesthetic education understood as an education of our senses through cultural products which is also a link to a perspective that appears to be absent in present debates on aesthetics in relation to design. Taking up this approach to aesthetics, is the argument, is to suggest a more profitable view on aesthetics in relation to design and an educational aspects of the designers competences. (shrink)

We understand software innovation as concerned with introducing innovation into the development of _software intensive systems_, i.e. systems in which software development and/or integration are dominant considerations. Innovation is key in almost any strategy for competitiveness in existing markets, for creating new markets, or for curbing rising public expenses, and software intensive systems are core elements in most such strategies. Software innovation therefore is vital for about every sector of the economy. Changes in software technologies over the last decades have (...) opened up for experimentation, learning, and flexibility in ongoing software projects, but how can this change be used to facilitate software innovation? How can a team systematically identify and pursue opportunities to create added value in ongoing projects? In this paper, we describe Deweyan pragmatism as the philosophical foundation for _Essence _– a software innovation methodology – where unknown options and needs emerge as part of the development process itself. The foundation is illustrated via a simple example. (shrink)

In understanding economics and the organisation of economics, the questions are what constituteeconomics and the thinking behind economics today? In short what is the field of economics? And in what ways can we connect to and understand this field of study? Of course, the answer to this depends upon the perspective chosen, in which one sees and thinks of economics from a particular philosophical and even political position and perspective. If one takes the perspective on economics from a qualitative paradigm (...) that draws upon the tradition from Kant, Husserl, Simmel, Mead, Schutz, Blumer, then it can be stated that economics cannot only be understood as something that appears in nature. On the contrary, economics must be understood as “something” which results from human behaviour, interaction and groups in human activities and the thinking involved and embedded in those activities. Therefore in analyzing economics it is significant to note that economics belongs to and is being constructed by people due to their everyday lives. What appears as central in those statements, from a qualitative perspective, is that the essences of economics have to be discussed in relation to the mind and thinking related to an understanding of individual and group societal activities. Economics is to be understood as constructed and maintained through everyday human interactions and exchanges, whereby people are creating the meanings of situations with objectives of what are believed as important in the understanding of economics activities, actions and results. Those meanings and definitions of economics are being produced and exchanged in order to become a new comprehensive framework that influences, co-produces, limits and creates contradictions in everyday economic life. This additional qualitative focus [1] outlines the importance of understanding how human cognitions produce meaning of objects, definitions, activities and actions which provides the framework for the field of economics. The epistemological perspective for this is that the objects are not only within themselves.No, instead the objects are as they presents themselves to people, and thereby the meanings we are constructing and attaching to them. The paper will therefore discuss some of the scientific complexities in three areas: mind and thinking; understanding economics as a social activity and construction, and the interplay between economic activities and economic theoretical work. (shrink)

This book presents exciting new knowledge in an easy and straightforward manner. The theory of evolution is put in a surprising perspective, which explains the meaning of life from a biological point of view. Examples from biology and from everyday life are used to give an account for how all living beings are genetically coded to have offspring that makes disorder and mess in the world. The meaning of life is chaos. In the second half of the book it is (...) shown that this basic premise of all biology also applies to humans and, among other things, is the reason why we are so keen on powershopping: It is in our DNA. In a larger perspective the history of mankind demonstrates that for humans as well as for other living beings, the meaning of life is chaos. Our future depends on whether we accept this biological condition for our lives and adjust to it. This book should be compulsory reading for everyone interested in evolution, human history, philosophy and religion, our future or the meaning of life. In short, it is a must for everyone. (shrink)

I wish to introduce interpretation into the debate on ambiance/atmosphere. Atmosphere is about becoming aware of sensorial and bodily components of our perception. These components cause a multiplicity of sensorial impressions and we respond to them differently according to our different backgrounds. When we share an atmosphere or ambiance we do it through sensorial elements, but what we share and how we do it relate to an interpretation of these sensorial elements – which in return affect the interpretation.

What does morality have to do with psychology in a value-neutral, postmodern world? According to a provocative new book, everything. Taking exception with current ideas in the mainstream as straying from the discipline’s ethical foundations, Psychology as a Moral Science argues that psychological phenomena are inherently moral, and that psychology, as prescriptive and interventive practice, reflects specific moral principles. The book cites normative moral standards, as far back as Aristotle, that give human thoughts, feelings, and actions meaning, and posits psychology (...) as one of the critical methods of organizing normative values in society; at the same time it carefully notes the discipline’s history of being sidetracked by overemphasis on theoretical constructs and physical causes—what the author terms “the psychologizing of morality.” This synthesis of ideas brings an essential unity to what can sometimes appear as a fragmented area of inquiry at odds with itself. The book’s “interpretive-pragmatic approach”: • Revisits core psychological concepts as supporting normative value systems. • Traces how psychology has shaped society’s view of morality • Confronts the “naturalistic fallacy” in contemporary psychology. • Explains why moral science need not be separated from social science. • Addresses challenges and critiques to the author’s work from both formalist and relativist theories of morality. With its bold call to reason, Psychology as a Moral Science contains enough controversial ideas to spark great interest among researchers and scholars in psychology and the philosophy of science. (shrink)

The paper has an overall theoretical and philosophical view on the actual topic: the architecture of Jørn Utzon, whereas Utzon himself often has stated that theories and hermeneutic approaches does not interest him at all. It is the aim of this paper to inscribe Jørn Utzon in a theoretical tradition where nature and the real is in the core of everything and furthermore to throw a light on the paradoxical non-modern and non-Cartesian aspect of the architectural practice of Jørn Utzon.

Art and technology has, as the German philosopher Martin Heidegger points out, the same etymological root. A thorough investigation of the relationship between art and technology will show how this same root has manifested itself in different times and spaces bringing results of the most variegated kind. This discussion, of general character, constitutes the initial part of this paper. Then it briefly looks into the final terms of the papertitle and try to relate to the diffuse and discussed technological innovation. (...) Both aspects – art and technology and technological innovation – will be dealt with from a historical/hermeneutic and social constructivist point of view, as the paper moves from a general principal level to a more specific, exemplary level, where three different art technologies are presented as possible propulsars in technological innovation. (shrink)

Addenda til Experimental improvisation practise and notation.

This paper introduces and discusses the concept of turning points from the ontological, epistemological, and methodological perspectives, applying it to the de-internationalization phenomenon to exemplify its deployment. As a concept that adds to the variance and complexity of the international business and management field, the turning point is seen as a valuable unit of analysis within the research field. It is expected that this paper will encourage a dynamic scholarly conversation about the concept of turning point and how it can (...) aid international business researchers in the development of a generalizable international business and management theory. (shrink)

Recent papers by prominent scholars in science and technology studies have crystallized a fundamental disagreement about the scope and purpose of intervention in actor-network theory or what we here choose to bracket as empirical philosophy. While the precept of agnostic description is taken as a given, the desired eff ects of such descriptions are highly debated: Is the goal to interfere with the singularity of the real through the enactment of multiple and possibly conflicting ontologies? Or is it to craft (...) new and comprehensive common worlds supported by notions of due process and parliamentary procedure? In this paper we think about this disagreement as a question of research strategy in order to assess its implications for research tactics. A key point here is to challenge the impermeability of such a division and show how the strategic dispute, if to be taken seriously, invariably spills over to swamp the level of tactics. To illustrate this point, we draw upon materials from our recent doctoral research projects and to facilitate the discussion we make two deliberate caricatures: Firstly, we operate with a simplifi ed history of actor-network theory in which a strategy of epistemological critique has been replaced by two contending agendas for ontological intervention. Secondly, we address these two contending agendas as distinct options which map on to the positions of our two main interlocutors. In doing so, it becomes possible to compare their respective tactical implications as we work through two examples of what might constitute an empiricist intervention. (shrink)

In order to mitigate hazards and losses due to earthquakes, seismic design methodologies have been developed and implemented in design practice in many regions since the early twentieth century, often in the form of codes and standards. Most of these methodologies are based on a force-balance approach, in which structures are designed to resist a prescribed level of seismic force specified as a fraction of gravity. These methodologies have contributed to the acceptable seismic performance of port structures, particularly when the (...) earthquake motions are more or less within the prescribed design level. Earthquake disasters, however, have continued to occur. These disasters are caused either by strong earthquake motions, often in the near field of seismic source areas, or by moderate earthquake motions in the regions where the damage due to ground failures has not been anticipated or considered in the seismic design. (shrink)

Analysing the intense controversy between Hayek and Sraffa in 1932, this article throws light on whether their arguments were logically consistent and which philosophy of science axioms concerning knowledge, society and human beings their arguments were based upon. The purpose is to use the controversy as an example for clarifying the elemental preconditions of the economic science in order to validly reach the core of the economic theories and thus throw light on their historical and ideological conditions, range and validity (...) of the knowledge produced. As an analytical tool the article makes use of Lakatos’ thoughts on research programmes and formal logic. (shrink)

Speaking of ‘experience’ in terms of identity raises the question about the nature of experience. What does the word ‘experience’ really mean? What is the core meaning of experience? It may sound simple but considering the question more deeply exposes that the question can be answered in many different ways. The word ‘Identity’ is from Latin, and the meaning is ‘the same as’. So speaking of the ‘Identity of Experience’ means to consider and investigate different areas of ‘the-same-as’. This paper (...) puts focus on experience with regard to what is called ‘the core-self’. The core-self is the creative and spontaneous part of the self, which means that a person will obtain his main energy here. So investigating experience in the light of the core-self means to figure out what kind of experience is useful for the core-self. Furthermore, experience supporting the core-self also has a certain overlap with experience supporting a person’s individual and social affiliation such as class, life stage, personality and learning style. But, an experience underpinning a person’s social class, for example, will not necessarily contribute to the core-self. On the contrary, belonging to a certain social class can be very oppressing for a person’s creativity. The paper will therefore give some concrete examples of how the core-self and the identity of experience fit together in different areas. On the theoretical background of Self Psychology developed by Heinz Kohut, R.D Laing, D. W. Winnicott and the Analytic Psychology by C. G. Jung, the paper will give examples from very different areas such as learning style, personality and life span development, and life philosophy. The practical consequences for social work, pedagogy and teaching will be discussed. (shrink)

A consistent risk-based design philosophy for vertical breakwaters is proposed. The design philosophy consists of a two-step approach. The first step is the definition of the main function of the breakwater, which leads to a definition of failure. The second step is the choice of the acceptable safety level. This may be done on the basis of comparison to existing codes, or by applying economic optimisation. Both methods are introduced in the paper.

Problem and Project Based Learning (PBL) has been used as an educational philosophy and methodology in the construction of a student centered and contextualized learning environment. PBL is also regarded as an effective method in producing engineering graduates who can not only meet the needs of professional competences but are also prepared for new challenges in the globalized and technological context. However, can PBL be a solution to the challenge of a general lack of university students studying engineering and technology (...) in many countries? Gender and Diversity in a Problem and Project Based Learning Environment presents an ethnographical study on the learning experiences of engineering students in the PBL environment in Denmark, and it attempts to question the issue of diversity in engineering education via the exploration of which ways the PBL environment is friendly to diverse groups of learners such as women. (shrink)