Change Science Research Articles

How Phenograms and Cladograms Became Molecular Phylogenetic Trees

Tree diagrams are the prevailing form of visualization in biological classification and phylogenetics. Already during the time of the so-called Systematist Wars from the mid-1960s until the 1980s most journal articles and textbooks published by systematists contained tree diagrams. Although this episode of systematics is well studied by historians and philosophers of biology, most analyses prioritize scientific theories over practices and tend to emphasize conflicting theoretical assumptions. In this article, I offer an alternative perspective by viewing the conflict through the lens of representational practices with a case study on tree diagrams that were used by numerical taxonomists (phenograms) and cladists (cladograms). I argue that the current state of molecular phylogenetics should not be interpreted as the result of a competition of views within systematics. Instead, molecular phylogenetics arose independently of systematics and elements of cladistics and phenetics were integrated into the framework of molecular phylogenetics, facilitated by the compatibility of phenetic and cladistic practices with the quantitative approach of molecular phylogenetics. My study suggests that this episode of scientific change is more complex than common narratives of battles and winners or conflicts and compromises. Today, cladograms are still used and interpreted as specific types of molecular phylogenetic trees. While phenograms and cladograms represented different forms of knowledge during the time of the Systematist Wars, today they are both used to represent evolutionary relationships. This indicates that diagrams are versatile elements of scientific practice that can change their meaning, depending on the context of use within theoretical frameworks.

Theory vs. experiment: The rise of the dynamic view of proteins

Over the past century, the scientific conception of the protein has evolved significantly. This paper focuses on the most recent stage of this evolution, namely, the origin of the dynamic view of proteins and the challenge it posed to the static view of classical molecular biology. Philosophers and scientists have offered two hypotheses to explain the origin of the dynamic view and its slow reception by structural biologists. Some have argued that the shift from the static to the dynamic view was a Kuhnian revolution, driven by the accumulation of dynamic anomalies, while others have argued that the shift was caused by new empirical findings made possible by technological advances. I analyze this scientific episode and ultimately reject both of these empiricist accounts. I argue that focusing primarily on technological advances and empirical discoveries overlooks the important role of theory in driving this scientific change. I show how the application of general thermodynamic principles to proteins gave rise to the dynamic view, and a commitment to these principles then led early adopters to seek out the empirical examples of protein dynamics, which would eventually convince their peers. My analysis of this historical case shows that empiricist accounts of modern scientific progress—at least those that aim to explain developments in the molecular life sciences—need to be tempered in order to capture the interplay between theory and experiment.

A neo-positivist theory of scientific change

Abstract Historians of science appear to agree on two things. There is a shortage of large-scale histories of science, and positivism is best avoided. In fact, we have many big-picture histories of science. The problem is not the lack of such histories but the lack of agreement between them. They differ with respect to chronology, geography, narrative structure, favoured disciplines, recent revisionism and epistemology. To make the most of these differences, I resurrect an idea from nineteenth-century positivism, namely that science evolves by the migration of methods from one matter to another. This is an old form of materialism that complements more recent materialisms. The neo-positivist approach may be illustrated by matters as varied as stars, crystals and the Pacific Ocean. If we revive positivism as an intellectual project, we might also revive the social goal of positivism, which was to use the history of science to make the world more rational. A present-day version of this project is to use the history of science to defend the humanities as a rational enterprise.

Crises and the history of science: a materialist rehabilitation

Abstract Over the past four decades, historians of science have come to discard crisis as a guiding heuristic in ‘big-picture’ narratives of scientific change. In this article, we argue that it can be rehabilitated without reintroducing the conceptual drawbacks of earlier historiographies. We suggest that analysing material crises as distinct episodes of knowledge-in-the-making focuses attention on the mangling of science and social order. We distinguish material crises from Kuhnian intellectual crises; the analysis of material crises begins with the interactive dynamics of actor practices and performances, emergent within concrete social orders, rather than from technical breakdowns within isolable theoretical paradigms. Drawing on Reinhart Koselleck's account of crisis, we characterize such events as patterned shifts in the tempo of actor behaviours, which are brought about by real-time processes of realization. In addition to the familiar, contemporary cases of climate change and COVID-19, we sketch out how three historical crises transformed knowledge production in disparate ways: the Ming–Qing transition in late imperial China, crises of labour precarity in seventeenth-century Istanbul and the 1960 Sharpeville massacre in South Africa.

The model of joint integrative and organisational activity of the pedagogical department and a university resource and methodological centre

Relevance. The relevance of the study is conditioned by the fact that the general logic of building a university management model in accordance with the long-term practice of various institutions is based on the conditions of a market economy, civil society, and democratic and political systems. It defines an integrative way of thinking about the cultural and social functions of universities. Purpose. The purpose of the study is to consider a model of joint integrative and organisational activity of the pedagogical department and the resource and methodological centre of the university. Methodology. The study utilized institutional, process, and scenario approaches to examine the joint activities of the pedagogical department and university resource-methodological center. Results. The model of joint integrative and organizational activity of the pedagogical department and the university resource-methodological center aims to improve teaching quality, support scientific development, and disseminate pedagogical knowledge. This model emphasizes strategic management, interdisciplinary research, and cooperation with both academic and socio-economic partners. It promotes the integration of faculty staff, provides opportunities for student development, and enhances the competitiveness of graduates in the labor market. Conclusions. The joint model of the pedagogical department and university resource center fosters a competitive, adaptable institution responsive to societal and scientific changes. This approach underscores education's role in social development and advocates for increased collaboration to improve academic quality and community integration. Keywords: universities; higher education; strategies; concepts, integration

UNPACKING THE INVISIBLE MAN: READING THROUGH THE ANALYTIC OF INVISIBILITY, MONEY AND ROMANTICISM

This paper examines the enduring imaginative appeal of The Invisible Man by Herbert George Wells, hereinafter referred to as H.G. Wells, through the trope of invisibility and money. In doing so, the paper also analyses the novel's thematic concerns that reflects England's transition amidst economic, social, and scientific changes. Further, it shall also elaborate on the intertwined conflict between Romantic ideals and urbanization in showcasing, the scientific hubris and the parochial attitudes of society, in exploring themes of literal, social, and psychological invisibility. Conclusively, it reads Wells' novella as a cautionary tale signalling the dangers of unchecked ambition and underscores the need for ethical responsibility through the contrasting characters of Griffin and Dr. Kemp who highlight the potential for both harm and good in scientific endeavours.

Riffing on Feyerabend: Direct Observation, Paraconsistentist Logic, and a Research Immanent Account of the Rationaliy of Science

Feyerabend’s work, particularly his early papers contain important insights into the nature of science and scientific progress. I discuss his insights into the limits of empiricist foundationalism and positivism. I explain how the work of a number of philosophers has borne out Feyerabend’s claims in startling and interesting ways. Nevertheless, I criticise Feyerabend’s move from his attack on universal method to relativism. I point out that Feyerabend never confronted a well-developed research immanent view of the rationality of scientific change, which shows the limitations of the arguments in Against Method.

Il CIRSE e la tradizione degli studi storico-educativi in Italia. Tendenze storiografiche tra presente e futuro

This article aims at presenting the origins and the evolution of the disciplinary field of history of pedagogy in Italy. It is a process to which the Centro Italiano per la Ricerca Storico-Educativa (CIRSE), founded in 1980, contributed and which continues to this day. After an introduction describing the scientific changes occurred in the two decades preceding the foundation of CIRSE – similar in some ways to what happened in France – this paper consists of four parts describing the definition process of the study of history of pedagogy initiated in the cultural context of the 1968 revolution; the methodological and epistemological renewal established on the basis of the scientific activities carried out by CIRSE; the different legislation steps that led to the development of an independent field history of pedagogy at university level; finally, the current potential of CIRSE in the promotion of networks and scientific collaboration among Italian universities.

Basic Logical and Empirical Principles of the Concept of Heterogeneity

Abstract Catherine David introduced the concept of heterogeneity during a seminar for teachers. This problematic situation forces teachers to organize a unified course for students mastering the target language at different levels. Taking into account the specific needs of students and their behavior, referred to as learning strategy or style, the concept of heterogeneity finds empirical justifications, which consider it an inevitable element of didactics. The conclusions of this concept are derived from scientific changes at the beginning of the 21st century. In the very specific interpretative logic of the Copenhagen orthodox school, adopted by Christian Puren’s epistemology, the concept of heterogeneity becomes inextricably linked with the concepts of complementarity and complexity. Catherine David proposes to take up this challenge of teaching a heterogeneous class by introducing a differentiated pedagogy, which is presented in the final part of the article.

Entirely Different Kinds of Beast: The Ontological Challenge to Knowledge Integration in Ethnobiology

Anthropologists of the ontological turn claim that certain entities, processes, and relations are in principle inaccessible to outsiders of specific communities. Philosophers of ethnobiology see a challenge to the integration of scientific and ethnoscientific knowledge of nature in this claim. They propose to negotiate integration within a framework of overlapping ontologies. I explicate the methodology of the ontological turn and claim that it offers a better understanding of knowledge integration than does the philosophers’ framework. Based on two case studies, I argue for a revised notion of knowledge integration that takes scientific change and mutual influence between communities into account.

Thomas S. Kuhn: key to a better understanding of the extended evolutionary synthesis.

In recent years, some scholars have explicitly questioned the desirability or utility of applying the classical and "old-fashioned" theories of scientific change by the likes of Karl Popper and Thomas S. Kuhn to the question of the precise nature and significance of the extended evolutionary synthesis (EES). Supposedly, these twentieth-century philosophers are completely irrelevant for a better understanding of this new theoretical framework for the study of evolution. Here, it will be argued that the EES can be fruitfully interpreted in terms of, as yet, insufficiently considered or even overlooked elements from Kuhn's theory. First, in his original, historical philosophy of science, Kuhn not only distinguished between small and big scientific revolutions, he also pointed out that paradigms can be extended and reformulated. In contrast with what its name suggests, the mainstream EES can be interpreted as a Kuhnian reformulation of modern evolutionary theory. Second, it has, as yet, also been overlooked that the EES can be interpreted in terms of Kuhn's later, tentative evolutionary philosophy of science. With the EES, an old dichotomy in evolutionary biology is maybe being formalized and institutionalized.

Theory Choice as Niche Construction: The Feedback Loop between Scientific Theories and Epistemic Values

Abstract We focus on a neglected aspect of scientific theory choice: how the selection of theories affects epistemic values. Building on Kuhn, we provide a general characterization of the feedback-loop dynamic between theories and values in theory choice as analogous to the relationship between organisms and the environment in niche construction. We argue that understanding theory choice as niche construction can explain how certain values acquire more weight and a specific application over time, and how resistance to scientific change can, therefore, arise. We illustrate our picture by looking at the Mendelian–biometrician controversy.

The Evolutionary Approach of Stephen Toulmin and Revision of Modern Rationality in the Philosophy of Science

Many philosophers of the 20th century guided their efforts into development of explanatory models to describe scientific change, and also tried to offer their methodologies as normative theories for scientific research. As a result, several different approaches emerged, some of which put greater emphasis on the theoretical content of science, others on the historical facts that accompanied these theoretical changes or caused them. Consequently, positions of philosophers differed on the issues of rationality, its continuity or gaps both in temporal and cultural-civilizational terms. One of those, who tried to work out a “middle” way and combine the advantages of the “relativistic” and “dogmatic” poles, was the British thinker Stephen Toulmin (1922–2009), whose famous books are “The Application of Argumentation” and “Human Understanding”. This article analyzes the main ideas and arguments of the author’s evolutionary model (most fully and densely presented in the second work), demonstrates the legitimacy of application of the evolutionary metaphor from biology to the field of history of science, the productive aspects of such approach, and the key points of critical remarks by other researchers. An attempt was made to find out why S. Toulmin abandoned the development of the project of his research program and further shifted his intellectual discoveries into issues of the genesis and revision of modern rationality. Based on this, the article summarizes those aspects of the criticism of the philosopher’s ideas, which could lead to a “negative selection” of his proposals, while similar like the works of other authors found more recognition and generated more active public discussions and further research. Moreover, it has been demonstrated that the philosopher’s contribution to the development of methodologies, in particular Karl Popper’s and Imre Lakatos’ was rather non-linear and largely underestimated in the philosophical literature for a long time.

Engineering Graduates' Skill Acquisition and Employers Skill Need as applied to Science Education in Ethiopia

Demand for relevant skills and competences have increased with changing science and technology, globalization, and the intensity and complexity of the business environment across the world. This study investigated levels of engineering graduate skill acquisition and employers' skill needs as applied to science education. Using a mixed-methods approach, the study employed both primary and secondary sources of data. The study involved 275 participants recruited using simple random and purposive sampling techniques. Data were analyzed using the mean, standard deviation, and one-way ANOVA. The study found a wider mismatch between levels of higher education supply and labor market needs for indicators of academic, technical, interpersonal, and generic skills. While higher education moderately equipped engineering graduates with the majority of indicators of these skill sets, labor market needs for the same skills remain high. The mismatches between the demand and supply of skills have several implications, it compromises firms' productivity, result in market losses, hamper economic growth, competitiveness, and innovative capacity at the macro-economic level, decrease quality human capital by discouraging investment in education and training, and challenge graduates in finding jobs suitable for their field of study. These require universities and employers to conduct real labor market skills' needs assessments before designing training curriculum; shifting curriculum delivery from theory-focused to practical-oriented modes of teaching and ensuring learners' acquisition of skills demanded by employers; and establishing strong and sustainable linkages between industries and training institutes. It is also good if future research focuses on skills employees acquire at work through experience and factors attributed to mismatches between higher education skill supply and employers' skill needs.

Küresel İklim Değişikliği ve Çevresel Değişimlerin Etkisi Altında Arazi Değişim Biliminin Ortaya Çıkışı: Kurak ve Yarı Kurak Ekosistemlerde Arazi Değişimi

Arazi kullanım faaliyetlerinin sürdürülebilir bir insan-çevre ekosistemine zarar verip vermediği sorusu bütünleşik insan-çevre sistemleri hakkındaki en temel sorulardan biridir. Bu nedenle, beşerî ve çevre bilimciler, Uzaktan Algılama ve Coğrafi Bilgi Sistemleri yöntemlerini kullanarak insan-çevre sistemlerinin ortak bir payda olan mekânsal temelde entegrasyonunu araştırmaktadırlar. Bu kapsamda 1960'lardan itibaren, farklı türden mekânsal sorunları çözmek için çeşitli yöntemler ve araçlar geliştirilmektedir. Bunun sonucunda ‘Arazi Değişim Bilimi’ kavramı, 21. yüzyılda arazi dinamiklerini çevresel değişimler ve küresel iklim değişikliği ile ilişkili olarak inceleyen disiplinlerarası bir bilim dalı olarak ortaya çıkmıştır. Öte yandan, Anadolu Yarımadası çoğunlukla kurak ve yarı kurak iklim özelliğine sahip olmasına ve arazi kullanım dinamiklerinden yoğun bir şekilde etkilenmesine rağmen, Arazi Değişim Bilimi kavramının literatürde yer almadığı görülmüştür. Bu çalışma, Arazi Değişim Bilimi alanında yapılmış olan güncel araştırmaları inceleyerek sentezlemiş ve bu alandaki bir açığı kapatmaya yardımcı olmuştur.

تحسين جودة القصص الإلكترونية المستخدمة في مناهج رياض الأطفال

The scientific change that the current era is witnessing in the field of informatics and informational development and the implications of that progress in all branches of knowledge imposed new variables that affected all aspects of life, and changed many of its patterns and methods to which society must respond. The future requires people with multiple abilities and skills to be able to communicate with others and interact with the changes of the times through advanced modern technical means until it reaches e-learning, which has become an urgent necessity through which the future is predicted. E-learning aims to provide multiple and disparate sources of information that provide opportunities for comparison, discussion, analysis, and evaluation using electronic media in linking and interacting with the educational system while providing the opportunity for learners to interact instantly electronically with each other on one hand, and between them and the teacher on the other hand through modern technological resources/media. The problem with the research is that the institutions that produce the electronic stories for the kindergarten stage do not adhere to the standards necessary to produce these stories for the kindergarten stage. Therefore, the importance of the research stands out in developing a proposed model for the design and production standards of the electronic story for the kindergarten stage.

Paradigm shift in traditional Mongolian medicine in the 18th century

As Thomas Kuhn stated in his book "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions", revolution is an example of advanced science made by a successful paradigm shift from one to another. At that time, Kuhn's idea was a revolution in itself, becoming the primary method for scientific change. It became a basis for science paradigm policy shift and since, has been a model for gradual reform. Identifying and incorporating this model into the countries' scientific policy and reform is extremely important. The applicability of the used model can be judged by the outcomes resulting in the paradigm shift. By the way, not every scientific progress results in revolution. However, we would like to note that a laggard period with weak mental development is ended by an intellectual outburst. In other words, although in the 17th century, Mongols accepted Tibetan medicine within the framework of the "Four Medical Tantras" with recognition and common scientific mind, later in the 18th century, they thought beyond the box of the "Four Medical Tantras" and created the opportunity to develop a new paradigm. This shift made a valuable contribution to the establishment of, in a broader sense, Mongolian medicine and, in a narrow sense, traditional Mongolian medicine.

Do Kuhnians have to be anti-realists? Towards a realist reconception of Kuhn’s historiography

It is quite unequivocal that Kuhn was committed to (some version of) naturalism; that he defended, especially in his later work, the autonomy of scientific rationality; and that he rejected the correspondence theory of truth, i.e., the traditional realistic conception of the world’s mind-independence. In this paper, I argue that these three philosophical perspectives form an uneasy triangle, for while it is possible to coherently defend each of them separately or two of them combined, holding all three leads to incoherence. Hence, the only option is to reject one of them in a way that is both compatible with Kuhnian historiography and philosophically fruitful. My purpose in this paper is not exegetical. My ambition is to sketch a coherent philosophical framework which does justice to Kuhn’s historiographical model for scientific change and avoids the philosophical costs of relativism and anti-naturalism. In particular, I argue in favor of the following interconnected positions: (1) Given the role of anomalies in Kuhn’s historiographical model, the latter satisfies the two fundamental conditions for acknowledging the mind-independence of the world: the ‘irreducibility condition’ and the ‘objectivity condition’, (2) Kuhn’s rejection of the notion of an ‘Archimedean platform’ does not entail that the truth-value of beliefs doesn’t play a role in the explanation of their change, (3) Adopting scientific realism is the only way to defend the autonomy of scientific rationality within a naturalistic philosophical framework. However, adopting realism leads to a liberal rather than an eliminative version of naturalism.

On the Existence of a Preserved Ontology Posited by a High-Dimensional Bohmian Interpretation

AbstractIt has been argued that in the context of Bohm’s approach to quantum mechanics, the postulation of a three-dimensional ontology (as opposed to a high-dimensional one) is presumed to be the only interpretation that may reliably support object-oriented realism by virtue of the fact that this ontology is approximately preserved through scientific change, at least in the classical–quantum transition. Based on an interpretative analysis of the Bohmian formulation, I shall critically evaluate the tenability of this argument. In so doing, I shall argue that this formulation admits the postulation of an alternative ontology that is properly defined in a high-dimensional space, and is approximately preserved among this transition. As a result, both the three-dimensional and the high-dimensional worldviews shall form the basis of an equally reliable endorsement of object-oriented realism in the context of the Bohmian framework. I shall conclude that this argument becomes a problem of metaphysical underdetermination between a three and a high-dimensional Bohmian interpretation.

An Exploration of the Relationships Between Cognitive Style, Psychological Safety, and the Paradigm-Relatedness of Design Solutions in Engineering Design Teams in Education

Abstract Thomas Kuhn revolutionized how we think of scientific discovery and innovation when he identified that scientific change can occur on a continuum from incremental developments to drastic change in the form of a paradigm shift. In engineering design, both types of scientific change are critical when exploring the solution space. This study investigates this gap under a psychological safety lens through an empirical study with 64 engineering design student teams over the course of a 4- and 8-week design project. Specifically, we sought to identify the role of cognitive style using KAI scores, derived from Kirton’s Adaption-Innovation (A-I) theory, on the paradigm-relatedness of ideas generated by individuals and teams. Our results identify that cognitive style may not have a direct relationship to the paradigm of ideas an individual generates, or a team selects and develops. Similarly, both individual perceptions and team psychological safety do not predict the paradigm of ideas generated or selected in a team. The results instead identify that the availability of ideas in each paradigm is the primary driver for teams selecting a higher ratio of these ideas during concept screening. These results highlight that cognitive style at the individual and team levels may not be of paramount importance for developing paradigm-challenging ideas, and that teams should instead turn their focus to developing strategies to generate more ideas within the paradigm that fits best with the desired goals of the design tasks.