Arguments In Debate Research Articles

Parrhesia as Journalism: Learning from the Truth- and Justice-seeking Women Journalists of twentieth Century Turkey

ABSTRACT Despite ongoing endeavours to decolonize and de-westernize journalism studies, the current literature offers very few clues about the history of women’s journalistic practices and struggles in Third World/Global South contexts. The objective of this article is to help to fill this gap by focusing on the lived experiences and struggles of key Turkish-speaking women journalists who worked in private and public sector media outlets in Turkey in the period 1920–1980. Drawing on these women’s self-narratives and biographical accounts, as well as arguments in debates on parrhesia and emancipatory journalism in dialogue with Third World/Global South feminist epistemologies, we explore the ways in which journalism has been a site of life-time resistance and struggle for women seeking justice and truth on behalf of the oppressed. Their conceptualization of journalistic identity as truth- and justice-seekers in an unfree media environment, and their determination to speak the truth to challenge intersecting forces of domination cannot be captured in the binary of “media freedom” and “media development” paradigms. Nonetheless, their struggle to dismantle oppressive reality by way of distinctive, courageous, justice-seeking and truthful communication can be educative at a time when the relationship between journalism and truth is increasingly being undermined.

A systematic study of Smart Water technology in improving the reservoir recovery performance

Smart Water flooding, as an emerged technique in improving reservoir performance, demands systematic research. Determining the effective range of water ionic concentration has erupted the argumentative debates. Along with this, there is still a requirement to identify the in-situ wettability change and optimum water concentration. This research navigates to improve water chemistry knowledge using a systematic scheme of experimental and simulation approaches by the contribution of monovalent (Na+) and divalent (Ca2+) ions. To do this, one-factor-at-a-time (OFAT) and design of experiments (DOE) methods were employed to conduct contact angle and interfacial tension (IFT) measurements. Then, water force displacement tests and reservoir simulations were run to ascertain the in-situ changes and optimum brine concentration considering relative permeability, fractional flow, and ultimate oil recovery curves. In conclusion, two new analytical/empirical models were generated to predict contact angle and IFT based on brine concentration. The effective range of brine concentration was found to be 1000 to 15,000 ppm NaCl and 15,000 to 20,000 ppm CaCl2 in sandstone and 1000 to 10,000 ppm of both brines in carbonate. The IFT results showed the same range of concentration in sandstone, but irregular range in carbonate. In addition, according to water force displacement tests and simulation outcomes, the optimal value of Smart Water flooding was measured to be 8000 ppm NaCl-20,000 ppm CaCl2 brine concentration, resulting in about 4% increase in ultimate oil recovery. This study offers practical findings that advance water flooding technology understanding.

Concealing Colonial Comparability: British Exceptionalism, Imperial Violence, and the Dynamiting of Cave Refuges in Southern Africa, 1879–1897

ABSTRACT The 1845 Dahra Massacre, in which French troops killed hundreds of Algerians by ‘smoking out’ their cave refuges, instantly became (and remains) an emblematic case of colonial violence. In Britain, this atrocity came to stand for everything British colonialism supposedly was not, and thus buttressed the claim to British exceptionalism as having a supposedly ‘better’, less violent colonialism. And yet, such attacks on caves had featured regularly in nineteenth-century British warfare in southern Africa, smoke being supplemented by dynamite from the 1870s onwards, cumulating in the little-known but extensive cave dynamitings in MaShonaland 1896-1897. This article reconstructs that long history, describing not only how practitioners accepted the dynamitings largely unquestioned, but also asking how at the time the British claim to exceptionalism was sustained despite the more than apparent resemblances to foreign cases. Apologists of empire did not cover up the violence but rather defended it; what they chose to remain silent on were the foreign analogies – concealed comparability was key to successfully sustaining British exceptionalism. Given the continued influence of exceptionalist arguments in public debate and historiography, this article finally makes a case to more forcefully place histories of British colonial violence next to those of other empires in an explicitly transimperial framework.

A Pragmatic Analysis of Fallacies in English Religious Argumentative Discourse

Fallacies are common errors in an argument and they undermine the logic of that argument. They obstruct the process of argumentation since they do not contribute to the resolution in difference in opinion. The current study investigates fallacies in four religious argumentative debates between Muslims and atheists. It adopts Toulmin et al (1984) as a model for analysis. Results show that both debating parties, Muslims and atheists commit fallacies but the latter exceeds the former quantitatively and qualitatively. The most common fallacies in Muslims’ arguments are straw man argument, poisoning the well and attacking the person whereas the straw man argument, argument from ignorance, hasty generalization and appeal to compassion are the most committed ones by atheists.

IMPLEMENTASI BATHSUL MASA’IL DALAM MENINGKATKAN KEMAMPUAN SANTRI MENJAWAB BERBAGAI PERMASALAHAN DI MASYARAKAT

ABSTRACT 
 This study aims to determine the implementation of bathsul masa'il in PP. Arbai Qohhar Jambangan Ngawi and the ability of students to answer various problems in society through bathsul masa'il. This study uses a type of field research (field research) which is descriptive qualitative. The data sources in this study are divided into two, namely primary data (main data) and secondary data. Sources of data are determined by direct appointment of informants who can provide valid and accurate information regarding the topic being researched. While the data collection method or research instrument using observation, interviews and documentation. The data analysis used in this research is data reduction, data presentation, and conclusion drawing/verification. the results of the study show that: (1) Bathsul masa'il can be interpreted as a discussion of several problems that refer to the problem of fiqh. Actually, bathsul masa'il is not much different from deliberation or discussion, it's just that in bathsul masa'il there are people who have different roles and tasks that are not in deliberation or discussion activities, such as moderators, sails, drafting teams, and mushohih. (2) Bathsul masa'il activities in PP. Arbai Qohhar Jambangan Paron Ngawi is a routine activity once a month, to be precise every Sunday night at the beginning of the month. This activity was carried out in the foyer of the cottage mosque. (3) The process of bathsul masa'il activities in PP. Arbai Qohhar is going well. The implementation of this bathsul masa'il goes through various stages, namely: opening, tashowwur problems, delivery of answers, categories of answers, argumentative debates, enlightenment of references, formulation of answers, and ratification. The students of Pondok Arbai Qohhar proved to be able to answer problems through bathsul masa'il.
 Key Words: Bathsul masa'il, the ability of students, community challenges

Science popularization from the perspective of the theory of communicative action

This theoretical article proposes using Jürgen Habermas's theory of communicative action (TCA) as a normative instruction for texts intended for science popularization (SP). We used TCA approaches, such as the validity claims that should characterize argumentative debate and the interactive processes with ‘lifeworld’ components (culture, person and society), to create a theoretical relationship between Habermas's theory and SP practices. We propose that the TCA aligns with the objectives of a dialogic communication about science with the non-specialist public and can contribute to perspectives that emphasize dialogue about science in society. We conclude that the premises of communicative action can guide SP policies.

Ideological Manipulation in Twitter Communication: A Critical Stylistic Analysis of Donald Trump's Tweets

Donald Trump’s use of Twitter as a modality to defame opponents, antagonize media outlets and even glorify violence is an enduring legacy for political campaigns, presidential rhetoric and argumentative debates. This nontraditional use of social media as a political communication tool has invited Twitter’s fact-checking editorial decisions, alienated some of Trump’s supporters and attracted worldwide criticism. Using purposive sampling, the present paper employs the ten textual-conceptual functions of critical stylistics to analyze a dataset of Trump’s tweets on domestic and international political issues published between 2011 and 2020 and assembled from the monitor corpus Trump Twitter Archive. The critical stylistic analysis aims at uncovering Trump’s ideological outlook by identifying the extra layer of meaning in which the ideological evaluation is structured and exposing the way in which the resources of language are strategically deployed to influence and ideologically manipulate Trump’s followers’ experience of reality. Analysis reveals a network of lexical, syntactic, semantic and pragmatic choices underlying Trump’s seemingly simple rhetoric. It signposts his ideological evaluation and constructs a world for his followers to desire, believe or fear. The study extends the application of critical stylistics to microblogging channels, with implications both for the linguistic make-up of political communication in Web 2.0 contexts and for the explanatory power of critical stylistics..

Introducing Programming Language Metrics

We introduce possibly the first approximation of programming language metrics that represent a spectrum over 70 unique and carefully gathered dimensions by which any two programming languages can be compared. Based on those metrics, one can evaluate her own `best' language, and to demonstrate how complex feelings such as “simplicity” and “easy to use”, often found as arguments in language debates and advertisements, can be decomposed into clear and measurable pieces. We put the collection as a completely separate open-source file (here as an appendix) so that everyone can participate in eliciting new and interesting dimensions used in programming languages research, development, and use. Metrics can find their use to compare languages, define requirements, create rankings, give tips for language designers, and simply provide a bird’s-eye view on existing languages features found in the wild.

MODERN CRITICISMS TO NATURAL THEOLOGY AND SWINBURNE’S PROBABILISTIC APPROACH

In this article I expound some of the main criticisms by David Hume and Immanuel Kant against the legitimacy of natural theology, the philosophical activity of presenting arguments for or against the existence of God. The aim is not to contribute to the scholarship in history of philosophy, but as a starting point for describing the main lines of Richard Swinburne’s approach to natural theology in terms of inductive probabilistic arguments. His proposal has been part of a current philosophical movement of re-establishing the argumentative debate on the existence and nature of God, an area that has been growing in quantity and quality since the 1970’s.

“It's not as simple as something like sugar”: values and conflict in the UK meat tax debate

PurposeThis paper qualitatively explores arguments in the UK meat tax debate, including how they align with values from specific political ideologies and perspectives on sustainable food security.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conducted a scoping media analysis of articles published over 1 year in six leading UK newspapers, followed by semi-structured interviews with ten key stakeholders in late 2019. The authors identified categories of arguments, distilled the core conflicts and analysed how arguments reflected different ideas about human nature, the role of the state and solutions to food system challenges.FindingsArguments were categorised into five major topics: climate change and environment; human health; effects on animals; fairness; and acceptability of government intervention. Pro-meat tax arguments often aligned with modern liberal ideology, and sometimes echoed demand restraint or food system transformation perspectives on sustainable food security. Arguments against meat taxes were more likely to align with the efficiency perspective or classical liberal ideology.Originality/valueTo the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the first interpretive analyses of this controversial suggested policy. Despite having similarities with other debates around taxation – particularly taxes on sugar sweetened beverages – the meat tax debate contains unique complexities due to the prominence of environmental arguments, and differing values pertaining to animal welfare and rights. This study highlights the need for policy research exploring values, in addition to quantitative evidence.

A Church ‘without stain or wrinkle’: The Reception and Application of Donatist Arguments in Debates Over Priestly Purity

This article examines the reception and application of arguments developed during the Donatist controversy in later debates over clerical celibacy, marriage and continence in the medieval and early modern church. It explores the collision of inspiration and institution in this context, arguing that the debates over sacerdotal celibacy in the medieval Latin church and Reformation controversy over clerical marriage and continence both appropriated and polemicized the history of Donatism. The way in which the spectre and lexicon of Donatism permeated the law and practice of the medieval and early modern church, particularly when it came to the discipline of clerical celibacy, is a prime example of the process of imbrication by which the history of heresy and the history of the church were constructed. As such, it exemplifies the ways in which forms of religious inspiration that manifested as dissent, such as Donatism, became embedded in the histories and self-fashioning of the institutional church.

Evaluation of the mediterranean diet cost in Extremadura: adherence and relationship with available income

Abstract Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: Public grant(s) – National budget only. Main funding source(s): Carlos III Health Institute - Spain Background Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death in developed countries. In this context, the Mediterranean diet (MD) is widely recognized as cardioprotective, although its implementation cost has been little studied and rarely employed as an argument for debate. Although previous Spanish studies have corroborated a higher monetary cost associated with increased adherence to the MD, there exist large disparities among studies, and none of them has related the cost of MD to available income, which is highly relevant for assessing the degree of affordability by families. Purpose The aim of this study is twofold. First, to estimate the cost and degree of adherence of the MD in a population of Extremadura. Second, to provide evidence on the cost of the MD in relation to available incomes. Methods A population study including 2.833 subjects between 25 and 79 years old (54% women), randomly selected from Don Benito-Villanueva de la Serena (Badajoz, Spain). Diet questionnaire contained 175 food items and 7 items related to alcoholic beverages. Consumption frequencies were translated in terms of grams or millilitres. Price for each item was obtained using price supermarket comparators from the same geographical area. Total monthly cost was obtained using monthly quantities consumed and the price of each category. Final cost was related to Panagiotakos adherence degree and to available income. Data of available income was obtained from the Income Tax Statistics by municipality. Results Median monthly cost was EUR 203.63 (IQR 154.04-265.37): 216.91 for men and 191.22 for women. Median monthly cost per age cohort showed an inverted U-shape, with a maximum in the 45-54 years-old cohort (EUR 212.1; IQR 155.47-274.63) and a minimum for the 75-79 years-old cohort (EUR 179; IQR 130.21-224.99). Median monthly cost was very similar for primary, secondary and higher educational levels (208.18, 206.57 and 205.70, respectively), but 14% lower for those without primary studies. MD cost was lower in rural compared with urban areas (188 versus 223 euros, respectively) The percentage of population showing a high MD adherence was 59% whereas the percentage with a low adherence was 12%. The cost associated with a high MD adherence was EUR 228.38. The average cost represents 14% of the available income, ranging from 10.5% for the group with low MD adherence, to 15.72% for the group with a high adherence. Conclusions Higher adherence to the MD can reach almost 20% of the available income. This can lead to low-income families opting for cheaper, energy-dense, and consequently, less healthy dietary patterns. Emphasis should be placed on education strategies to recreate the MD at an affordable price or to introduce changes to consumer taxes (VAT) that favor DM pattern.

Impact of Aging on Liver Cells and Liver Disease: Focus on the Biliary and Vascular Compartments.

The aging process is represented by the time‐dependent decay in physiologic functions of living beings. Major interest has been focused in recent years on the determinants of this progressive condition due to its correlative relationship with the onset of diseases. Several hallmark features have been observed in aging, such as genetic alterations, mitochondrial impairment, and telomere shortening. At the cellular level, a senescent phenotype has been identified in response to aging that is characterized by a flat appearance, proliferative arrest, and production of specific molecules. The net effect of these cells in the course of diseases is an argument of debate. In fact, while the onset of a senescent phenotype may prevent tumor spreading, these cells appear to support pathological processes in some conditions. Several studies are now focused on clarifying the specific molecular pathways of aging/senescence in different cells, tissues, or organs. Biliary and vascular components, within the liver, have emerged as important determinants of some form of liver disease. In this review we summarize the most recent achievements on aging/senescence, focusing on the biliary and vascular liver system. Conclusion: Several findings, in both preclinical animal models and on human liver specimens, converge in supporting the presence of specific aging hallmarks in the diseases involving these hepatic compartments.

Law and Politics: Study of the Presidential Threshold in the 2019 General Election of Indonesia

This study is intended to indicate that Indonesia's electoral system always experiences rapid dynamics in policy development. This study uses empirical normative legal research or a legal research method that uses a set of regulation relating to general elections and the rules of making positive law as reference of norms. Empirical research is also used to observe the results of human behavior in the form of physical archives. The methods are combined with the historical approach: an approach that is carried out by analyzing the debate arguments that occurred in the special committee meeting (Panitia Khusus) of the Election Draft Bill. The result of this research is the decision of the presidential threshold of 20% in the holding of presidential elections of 2019 contains the orthodox legal substance. This is because politically the law of its formation (Law No. 7 of 2017) is full of practical political interests of the ruling parties. Parties consisting of 6 factions gave a dominant opinion which leaned towards the 25% -30% threshold suggested by the government, while the other 4 factions do not agree with the high nomination threshold, because the concept of election must provide free space for each party to nominate their respective presidential candidates. The government had its own agenda to continue and extend the existing incumbent president and prevent the possibility for others. Therefore, in order to protect the agenda, high nomination threshold was proposed. Through content analyses of the regulation it can be stated that the high threshold has logical consequences for holding elections which create an insubstantial election environment and make the political climate in Indonesia unbalanced.

A review of sustainable business models among Italian fashion business ventures

Sustainability has become the mainstream argument in public debates and its principles are increasingly incorporated at the basis of any business planning. Since the 2000’s, the private sector has sporadically developed mitigation and compensation approaches to address social and environmental externalities. Those practices, identified as Corporate Social Responsibility, needed radical improvements as the challenge of sustainability is calling for further efforts of the private sectors. The fashion industry, one of the most impacting on the planet, seems to have acknowledged the challenge by adopting innovative business models that provides positive impacts on society and the environment. Sustainability principles are taken as strategic drivers to improve their “value proposition” and to raise their “brand awareness”. The spreading of sustainable business models in the fashion industry is an increasing trend, especially among start-ups and innovative ventures. As emerging businesses, it appears necessary to provide a better understanding of main trends among the diversity of sustainable business models. Grounded on real business cases across the Italian fashion industry, the aim of this research is to investigate how the design of innovative business models enables the creation of eco-friendly products, and at the same time, how the latter are perceived as added value by their customers, thus opening new market opportunities.

What works in the Socratic debate? An analysis of verbal behaviour interaction during cognitive restructuring.

Cognitive restructuring is one of the most complex application procedures in psychotherapy. It is widely used by psychologists from different orientations. However, the guidelines on how to apply it do not usually have empirical evidence and there is a lack of knowledge about the mechanisms of change that explain it. The analysis of verbalizations that therapists emit during the Socratic method could help to better understand the functioning and strategies of effective debates. In this study, specific verbal interaction sequences were analysed using observational methodology. The sample consisted of 113 Socratic questioning fragments belonging to 18 clinical cases, treated by behavioural therapists. Among other findings, it was found that using questioning together with certain previous verbalizations directed the client's response more effectively and those successful debates were characterized by using the aversive component in a frequent and contingent way. This study shows the most effective way to establish such an interaction in the Socratic method (following a style closer to Ellis's argumentative debate), which entails relevant practical applications in therapy.

A narrative review of early surgery versus conventional treatment for infective endocarditis: do we have an answer?

The most appropriate strategy and timing for surgery in infective endocarditis (IE) remains an argument of debate. Despite some authors promote the adoption of an early surgical approach (within 48 hours) to limit mortality and complications, no robust randomized trials are available on this argument and the evidence on this subject remain at the “expert opinion” level. Additionally, the different messages promulgated by the American and European guidelines contributed to fuel confusion regarding the relative priority of the surgical over medical therapy in IE. The European Society of Cardiology (ESC) guidelines individuates three level of urgency: emergency surgery, to be performed within 24 hours; urgent surgery, recommended within a few days; elective surgery to be performed after 1–2 weeks of antibiotic therapy. Urgent surgery is recommended for most cases of IE. In the American Heart Association (AHA)’s guidelines define early surgery as “during the initial hospitalization and before completion of a full course of antibiotics.” Some of the available evidences showed that are no proven benefits in delaying surgery if a definite diagnosis of IE has been established. However, this argument is controversial across the literature and several factors including the center specific experience can play a role in decision-making. In this review the latest evidences on IE clinical and surgical characteristics along with the current studies on the adoption of an early surgical approach are analyzed to clarify whether enough evidence is available to inform an update of the guidelines.

Ψυχολογία, φύλο και ταυτότητα: Αντινομίες, διασταυρώσεις και προκλήσεις

The aim of this commentary on the papers that contribute to this special issue is to highlight the main points of convergence between them and to identify the position they take on some key argumentative debates on gender identity, within psychology. It is argued that an approach both to gender identity and to its psychological study as situated in the social context, the need to take into account intersectionality, and resistance to feminization constitute points of convergence between the studies.

The direct argument is a prima facie threat to compatibilism

In the early 1980’s van Inwagen presented the Direct Argument for the incompatibility of determinism with moral responsibility. In the course of the ensuing debate, Fischer, McKenna and Loewenstein have replied, each in their own way, that versions of the Direct Argument do not pose even a prima facie threat to compatibilism. Their grounds were that versions of the Direct Argument all use (some version of) the “Transfer NR” inference rule in a dialectically problematic way. I rebut these replies here. By so doing, I hope to set the Direct Argument debate on a more fruitful path.

Investigating the Applicability of Molecular Dynamics Simulation for Estimating the Wettability of Sandstone Hydrocarbon Formations.

One of the techniques to increase oil recovery from hydrocarbon reservoirs is the injection of low salinity water. It is shown that the injection of low salinity water changes the wettability of the rock. However, there are argumentative debates concerning low salinity water effect on changing the wettability of the oil/brine/rock system in the oil reservoirs. In this regard, molecular dynamics simulation (MDS) as a tool to simulate the phenomena at the molecular level has been used for more than a decade. In this study, the Zisman plot (presented by KRUSS Company) was simulated through MDS, and then, contact angle experiments for n-decane interactions on the Bentheimer substrate in the presence of different concentrations of sodium ions were conducted. MDS was then used to simulate experiments and understand the wettability trend based on free-energy calculations. Hereafter, a new model was developed in this study to correlate free energies with contact angles. The developed model predicted the experimental results with high accuracy (R2 ∼ 0.98). A direct relation was observed between free energy and water contact angle. In contrast, an inverse relation was noticed between the ion concentration and the contact angle such that an increase in the ion concentration resulted in a decrease in the contact angle and vice versa. In other terms, increasing brine ionic concentrations in the presence of n-decane is linked to a decrease in free energies and an increase in the wetting state of a sandstone. The comparison between the developed model’s predicted contact angles and experimental observations showed a maximum deviation of 14.32%, which is in satisfactory agreement to conclude that MDS can be used as a valuable and economical tool to understand the wettability alteration process.