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From [ Marc Abrams (2003.05.12.0939) ]
It’s almost become a cliché for me. It’s amazing how much new material is added to a book every time it is re-read.
Casting nets is no exception. With Chap’s 6, 13, and 14 being of special interest for me in this particular reading.
In Chap. 6, what I hear Phil talking about is the problem people have with attaching “values” to words. he suggests multidimensional scaling techniques for this purpose. This I believe, is a useful thing to do. There are other techniques, but this is certainly a good one. I believe Argyris addresses a different aspect of the same problem. That is, the actual meaning we give to words, or I should say the words and phrases we use to express our thoughts and ideas. These are not the same aspects of “using” words. The latter assumes common understanding and the only question is how much or little of it is there. The former addresses the issue of how far apart or close are we in interpretation and perception. Each of these is meaningful and important, and depending on the issues one is facing, one might be a more important question then the other to answer.
In Chap. 13 & 14 Phil talks about one of the 4 pathways Argyris’ research took, which Argyris calls Action Research. That is the practitioner/researcher relationship and ways on how collaboration between the two might be and could be useful to both. I agree with Phil assessment 100% and believe his two Chap’s are essential reading for any practitioner/researcher interested in collaborating in the social sciences.
Marc
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