Podwaliny [Foundations], the poem written by Leopold Staff right after the war and carrying traces of a profound trauma, takes advantage of the motifs drawn from the biblical parable of good and bad construction practices (Gospel According to St Matthew, 7:24–27). In her interpretation of the poem, the author analyses the way(s) in which the biblical paradigm has been transformed, and the consequences of this procedure. Use is made of the opinions of the scholars who have reconstructed the primary function of parabolic stories, having identified in them the original forms of thinking which preceded the evolvement of abstract concepts encoding qualities.
The text deals with the counterfactual thinking of preschool children. The theoretical justification for the research can be found in the nativist concepts of Alan Leslie and Alison Gopnik, which assumes that even very young children have a natural ability to accept the strangest creations of the imagination and to connect them together into one amazing whole. During the research, recognizing children’s metaphorical meanings required me to act as an interpretively involved observer-as-participant. In doing so, educational interventions enabled me to be situated within the observed phenomena, in close relationship with the children being studied. The observation, meanwhile, embraced the spontaneous activities of the children engaged in symbolic playing and the effect of these activities (mainly artistic concretizations). The liberation of counterfactual thinking in preschoolers being induced with literary texts. The collected material has allowed me to draw conclusions applicable to educational practice.
Small earth dams are most valuable in arid and semi-arid areas where they are used for both domestic and agricultural purposes. These dams however, continue to fail. The causes of such failures are interconnected in the sense that one can trigger the other. Most research into earth dams nevertheless, uses reductionist approaches. Such approaches do not consider the complex interactions between these modes and/or causes. This research used fuzzy cognitive mapping to identify the prominent modes and causes of small earth dam failure in Swaziland and to capture their interactions. A sample of seven earth dam construction experts was purposively selected from five institutions for individual interviews. An individual map was developed from each interview. An aggregated map was thereafter developed by combining seven individual maps. The results indicated that overtopping, piping and sliding were the common modes of earth dam failure. Overtopping was mainly due to siltation whilst animal barrows and tree roots were largely responsible for piping. Sliding was mostly associated construction defects and sudden drawdown. It was concluded that most of the failures were linked to poor management of catchments and that of the dams. It is recommended that future designs and management should increase the level of community participation in order to limit some of the causes associated with land use practices.
This paper discusses particular traits of historical thinking, including the role of the historian’s mentality in the perception of history.
The goal of the article is to propose a different approach to – and therefore a new concept of – the history of thinking. Reflecting on the history of philosophy, it suggests a broader understanding of the latter. Yet traditional studies in the history of philosophy are not to be rejected; they need to be reformed, and such a reform could be performed basing on the experiences of the discipline of historiography. Thus conceived, the history of thinking could open us to a different future.
In the extensive polemic with the book Haunting History: For a Deconstructive Approach to the Past by Ethan Kleinberg, the reviewer comments on the innovative potential of deconstruction as it enables the conception of various scenarios of the future. Kleinberg’s reflections on the ontology (or hauntology) of the past are located within the current discussion about “the ontological turn.” The reviewer compares Kleinberg’s take on a deconstructive approach to the past with similar considerations presented by Sande Cohen in the US as well as by Keith Jenkins, Alun Munslow and, more recently, Berber Bevernage in Europe.
This contribution aims at presenting the arguments produced by Arabic grammarians in the discussion on the ẓarf. By providing different viewpoints, the paper addresses various aspects of the issue, focusing in particular on its definition(s) and features, as well as its collocation within the overall Arabic grammatical system.
The article analyses the issue of the potential development of theoretical thinking in young children. The context for this discussion is found in the cultural and historical development theory of L.S. Vygotsky which constitutes the basis for assumptions regarding the thinking about development and education of children. It highlights the elementary education stage as a very important area of designing „developmental teaching” as understood by Vygotsky. The article emphasizes the role of an adult who builds the scaffolding for the child’s thinking and acting, and establishes the conditions and teaching environment necessary for the performance of a cognitive process directed at the development of theoretical thinking. In the author’s opinion building the foundation for theoretical thinking will be possible when teachers set „the right developmental and educational tasks” for a child who is constructing knowledge.
The aim of the article is to determine the main factors responsible for development of Podkarpackie Voivodeship in the last 15 years and to answer the question whether they were suffi ciently strong impulse to divert the region from its development model. The main method used for identifying the factors that determine the development of the region was individual, in-depth interviews with the main actors on the regional scene, supported by desk research analysis (of the voivodeship’s strategic and operational documents) and statistical data analysis (Central Statistical Office and Eurostat). The research highlights the importance of the immobile and intangible development factors – a high quality of strategic thinking of local and especially regional authorities and consistent implementation of development policies, a high level of social capital, extensive networks and the ability to co-operate – which have helped to eliminate the limitations resulting from the weakness of other factors.