Common Sense Research Articles

LA PERSONERÍA JURÍDICA: ¿UN TRÁMITE DONDE SE VISLUMBRAN CATEGORÍAS AHISTÓRICAS? UN ANÁLISIS DESDE LA ANTROPOLOGÍA SOCIAL

In Argentina, there are still certain views on indigenous peoples that have their origins in essentialist arguments built since the formation of the nation state in the 19th century. These are supported by the media, common sense and public policies that directly affect these groups. This paper invites us to question such notions. To do so, we will review the main historical facts and policies that have affected the indigenous populations in Argentina. In order to think about the analytical categories that are still in force about the indigenous populations of the country, at present and in relation to a specific case, the application for legal status in Argentina will be analyzed. This is a procedure to obtain state recognition as an indigenous community, which is usually necessary in order to be able to make different requests. For this purpose, the experience of collaborative work with the Mapuche Kalfulafken community of Carhué, province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, which applied for its legal status in 2019 and which took more than three years to be approved, will be taken up again. The approach of this research was carried out from the perspective of social anthropology and ethnography.

Governing Inter‐Organizational Collaboration through Purpose Work and Purpose Borrowing: How Social Enterprises' Normative Aspirations Influence Business Partners' Practices

AbstractSocial enterprises may boost their impact by convincing collaborating businesses to contribute to their purposes. However, such enterprises typically lack the leverage to influence mainstream businesses. We investigate to what extent their abundant social resources might enable them to remedy this weakness to some extent. Taking a practice‐based perspective, we conduct an ethnographic case study of a social enterprise's collaborative relationships. We discover a collaboration process grounded in social purpose: If a social enterprise's underlying normative aspiration is to put ‘purpose before profit’ and it practices ‘purpose work’, its partners may conversely engage in ‘purpose borrowing’, which involves actions espousing the social enterprise's purpose even if they go against business common sense. We advance research on hybrid organizations by explaining how social enterprises can exert a significant degree of influence on their business partners thanks to their inherent social resources, which are more diverse and powerful than assumed so far. Furthermore, we contribute to inter‐organizational collaboration research by identifying a new mode of relational governance founded on social purpose that goes beyond the established modes based on legitimacy, trust, and reciprocity.

Obstacles to the Full Realization and Adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Artificial Intelligence (AI) holds transformative potential across various sectors, yet its journey to full realization and widespread adoption is impeded by several significant obstacles. These challenges span technical, ethical, societal, research and development, implementation, and regulatory domains, necessitating a comprehensive and multi-faceted approach to address them.Technical Challenges: AI systems require vast amounts of high-quality, labeled data, which is often unavailable or of poor quality. AI models also struggle to generalize beyond specific tasks, and their opaque decision-making processes hinder trust. Scaling AI to handle large datasets and interactions, while ensuring robustness and security against adversarial attacks, poses major technical hurdles.Ethical and Societal Challenges: AI can perpetuate and amplify biases, leading to unfair outcomes and privacy issues. AI-driven automation risks job displacement, necessitating measures for worker support and retraining. The rapid development of AI outstrips regulatory bodies' abilities to create appropriate frameworks, complicating responsible deployment.Research and Development Challenges: AI struggles to integrate information from different modalities and lacks human-like common sense and reasoning. Improving AI's learning efficiency to reduce its dependence on vast data is a significant research focus.Implementation Challenges: Integrating AI into legacy systems, addressing the talent shortage, and managing the high costs of AI development and deployment are substantial barriers.Ethical and Regulatory Uncertainty: The absence of universally accepted ethical guidelines and varying regulatory landscapes create uncertainty and potential misuse.Addressing these multifaceted obstacles requires a concerted effort from researchers, developers, policymakers, and society to create robust, fair, and transparent AI systems, unlocking AI's full potential and societal benefits.

Para pensar América Latina, de lo general a lo localizado

The main objective of this essay has been to formulate a provocation that introduces the relevance and the need to question the way of thinking from Latin America, especially in the face of the urgency of developing localized ways of responding to or questioning the fundamental questions that affect the very existence of the region. The academic essay methodology has been followed for its development and structuring of the text and discussion of results. In this way, three parts are proposed that organize the reflection of the text, namely: 1. Why think from a Latin American philosophy? 2. Thinking from moments of crisis. 3. Why think from a Latin American philosophy? Among the conclusions and results, among other aspects, the need to think from the concern for the particular situation and the occupation to reflect from a regional vision, questioning the evident absences in traditional systems of thought, while thinking in a reflective way is a political act because it manages to imagine and propose changes in social relations. The reluctance to accept subalternity and domination as an ethical and methodological imperative is proposed, while at the same time undertaking South-South dialogues with other former colonies, peripheries and indigenous knowledge. Finally, it is urged to avoid falling into common criticisms in the style of a “critical common sense”, or convenient criticism of the “normal” state of things.

Female Educational Empowerment: Case Study from the Collective Life Stories of the Children's Stage in Rural Communities

Objective: Understand the meaning that a group of adult women gives to personal experiences in the process of educational empowerment, when studying a degree within their living conditions, to identify the driving and inhibiting factors that emerge from their collective life stories focused on the stage of childhood in rural communities. Theoretical Framework: This topic presents the main concepts and theories that support the research, among which the following stand out: factors of female empowerment, personal dimension, dimension of close relationships, collective dimension, theories of female empowerment. Method: The research was carried out from the qualitative paradigm under the approach of life stories, within biographical-narrative studies. It was carried out with women from San Antonio Acahualco, a town in the Municipality of Zinacantepec, State of Mexico. To select the participants, a type of convenience sampling was used, selecting the most accessible cases and due to the proximity of the subjects to the researchers. Seven women whose ages ranged between 32 and 40 years collaborated. To select the informants, the following inclusion criteria were considered: being a woman, having finished high school, living in the town of San Antonio Acahualco, being enrolled in the Women Building the Future program and being available to be interviewed in various occasions. Furthermore, to protect the anonymity of the participants, established keys for qualitative research were used: S (Subject); F (Feminine); 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 (assigned number). To collect the information, two fundamental techniques were used, the in-depth interview and natural semantic networks. As part of the in-depth interview, the interview script and the stimulus word were generated with the consequent activities to follow in the case of the natural semantic network. A letter of informed consent was also signed by the participating women, and, regarding the interviews and natural semantic network, they were carried out in an appropriate place and with full respect for the privacy of the informants. Results and Discussion: Driving and inhibiting factors of female empowerment were identified, highlighting among the former happiness, affection, study and play, among the latter insecurity, economic and educational problems. In this context, there is a need to investigate proposals to transform adverse situations from the family, socioeconomic and school conditions in which the women lived. The limitation to the childhood stage to collect information from life stories must be recognized, so it is suggested to build the proposals based on the analysis of other life paths. Research Implications: Research like this favors the commitment of women's studies institutes and social management observatories, to generate well-founded proposals for cultural changes and improvements to rural environments. It involves the efforts of those who promote a balanced image of women and promote strategies aimed at eliminating sexism and gender stereotypes. Originality/Value: Research based on life stories is of great theoretical-practical value, since in them the dialectical relationship is discovered, the daily negotiation between aspiration and possibility, between utopia and reality, between creation and acceptance; without forgetting that its information comes from everyday life, common sense, the explanations and reconstructions that as an individual make to live and survive daily. It is an original way of becoming interested in understanding the social phenomenon, from the actor's point of view. In addition, it considers the emotional meaning of the things, situations, experiences and relationships that affect people. Investigating from this vision is relevant to investigate the human factor of women, considering the internal source of empowerment to also incorporate its community scope.

Social work and common sense; A critical examination

Social work and common sense; A critical examination

Exploring Chemistry Confusions and Misconceptions in Nepalese Secondary Education

This study investigates the confusions and misconceptions in chemistry of ninth and tenth graders in Nepal. The primary objectives were to identify misconceptions in various areas of chemistry, determine their sources, and understand teachers' perceptions of these misconceptions. A concurrent mixed-method research design was employed, utilizing questionnaires and interviews for data collection. A random sample of 120 students from Grades 9 and 10 participated in the study. The findings revealed significant misconceptions in areas such as chemical reactions and stability, chemical equations, acids, bases and salts, and the periodic table. The main sources of these misconceptions were identified as common sense, textbooks, and teachers. The study highlights the importance of addressing these misconceptions to improve chemistry education. It provides valuable insights for future research, aiding in the planning and development of theoretical and conceptual frameworks to better understand and mitigate misconceptions in chemistry education.

THE ROLE OF EXPERT SYSTEMS WITHIN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Expert systems (ES) arose as a significant practical result in the application and development of artificial intelligence methods - a set of scientific disciplines that study methods for solving problems of an intellectual (creative) nature using a computer. From the beginning of its development, the field of artificial intelligence has considered several very complex problems, which, along with others, are still the subject of research: automatic theorem proofs, machine translation, image recognition, planning, game algorithms, strategies, etc. In modern understanding, an expert system is a set of programs that perform the functions of an expert when solving problems from a certain subject area. Expert systems advise, conduct analysis, provide consultations, and diagnose. The practical use of expert systems in enterprises contributes to work efficiency and improved qualifications of specialists. When creating expert systems, several difficulties arise. This is primarily because the customer cannot always accurately formulate his requirements for the system being developed. It is also possible that difficulties of a purely psychological nature may arise when creating a knowledge base of a system, an expert may hinder the transfer of his knowledge, fearing that he will subsequently be replaced by a “machine”. But these fears are not justified, since expert systems are incapable of learning, they do not have common sense or intuition. Currently, expert systems are being developed that implement the idea of self-learning. Advantages of an ES over a human expert. Knowledge-based systems have certain advantages over human experts: they have no prejudices, they don't rush to conclusions, these systems work systematically, looking at all the details, often choosing the best alternative from all possible ones,the knowledge base can be very, very large, once entered the machine, the knowledge is stored forever, a person has a limited knowledge base, and if data is not used for a long time, then it is forgotten and lost forever. Knowledge-based systems are resistant to “interference.” The expert uses collateral knowledge and is easily influenced by external factors that are not directly related to the problem being solved. ES that are not burdened with knowledge from other areas is, by their nature, less susceptible to “noise.” Over time, knowledge-based systems may be viewed by users as a type of replication - a new way of recording and disseminating knowledge. Like other types of computer programs, they cannot replace a person in solving problems but rather resemble tools that enable him to solve problems faster and more efficiently. These systems do not replace a specialist but are a tool in his hands. The modern idea of expert systems is given in the article. Their differences from traditional software products are shown, and advantages and disadvantages are considered. A conclusion is drawn about the perspectives of development. Keywords: information technology, expert systems, knowledge base, knowledge processing algorithm.

Amphibolism of Legal Discourse, or the Art of Word Mastery in Professional Legal Activity

Introduction: the paper discusses the problems and prospects of the study of legal discourse in procedural law. On the one hand, the lack of unity and unambiguity in the definition of legal discourse makes it possible to characterize the situation as amphibolic. On the other hand, there is an awareness that everything new is just well-forgotten old. The development of the problem of language and law began as early as ancient Greek philosophers and lawyers of Ancient Rome, who for the first time drew attention to the fact that the words of the law were not identical with its “power and authority” (vin ac potestatem). Therefore, it would be at least doubtful to talk about the relevance of the problem from a position of novelty today. The art of using the word in professional activity has always been of concern to the legal community. Therefore, the paper attempts to show continuity in the study of the issue and the possibility of enriching developments in this direction, taking into account modern achievements. In this regard, the purpose of the study is to generalize the positions available in various branches of knowledge regarding what is included in the content of legal discourse, as well as to identify the functions and properties of this multidimensional concept. Methods: in the course of the research, the dialectical and general scientific methods of cognition were used – observation, description, and theoretical understanding of the material, systematic interpretation. Among the specific scientific methods of studying the subject of scientific research were the formal legal and generalization methods. Results: it is advisable to abandon the complication of the definition of legal discourse by eliminating the accumulation of various components in its content, devoid of practical content. “Do not multiply entities unnecessarily” – this is how Occam’s principle sounds. The definition of legal discourse through words in law most clearly and fully characterizes the essence of this phenomenon. Conclusions: legal discourse is the art of using the word in the professional activity of a lawyer, human common sense.

Deep emotion recognition in textual conversations: a survey

Emotion Recognition in Conversations (ERC) is a key step towards successful human–machine interaction. While the field has seen tremendous advancement in the last few years, new applications and implementation scenarios present novel challenges and opportunities. These range from leveraging the conversational context, speaker, and emotion dynamics modelling, to interpreting common sense expressions, informal language, and sarcasm, addressing challenges of real-time ERC, recognizing emotion causes, different taxonomies across datasets, multilingual ERC, and interpretability. This survey starts by introducing ERC, elaborating on the challenges and opportunities of this task. It proceeds with a description of the emotion taxonomies and a variety of ERC benchmark datasets employing such taxonomies. This is followed by descriptions comparing the most prominent works in ERC with explanations of the neural architectures employed. Then, it provides advisable ERC practices towards better frameworks, elaborating on methods to deal with subjectivity in annotations and modelling and methods to deal with the typically unbalanced ERC datasets. Finally, it presents systematic review tables comparing several works regarding the methods used and their performance. Benchmarking these works highlights resorting to pre-trained Transformer Language Models to extract utterance representations, using Gated and Graph Neural Networks to model the interactions between these utterances, and leveraging Generative Large Language Models to tackle ERC within a generative framework. This survey emphasizes the advantage of leveraging techniques to address unbalanced data, the exploration of mixed emotions, and the benefits of incorporating annotation subjectivity in the learning phase.

Towards biocultural realism: Connecting conservation with historical ecology and common sense. A European perspective.

In this perspective, we present and discuss four major causes of the worldwide nature conservation failure: 1) ideologies based on nature-culture dualism, 2) the bias prioritising forests in conservation, 3) the illusory objectiveness of selected biological indicators, and 4) the mismanagement of rural agricultural landscapes. All of these relate to ignorance of historical ecology and neglect of the role past plays in shaping landscapes and fostering biodiversity. These led to a false anthropology focussed on the broader human economy (including agriculture) as the absolute culprit of biodiversity loss. It is believed, therefore, that biodiversity preservation depends on conservation policies and actions providing protection against human activities, such as farming. In this way, nature conservation has been detached from the rich experiences of long and fruitful coexistence of people with other elements of nature. The bio-cultural legacy includes biodiversity-rich rural landscapes, whose habitats are often either neglected or wrongly interpreted as "remnants of natural ecosystems". Consequently, conservation efforts are frequently ineffective or worse still, counter-effective. In the face of policies favouring subsidised intensive agribusiness at the cost of destroying smallholder family farming, even expensive conservation projects are usually nothing more than a "fig leaf" to cover failure. We advocate re-focussing of conservation planning to put more emphasis on landscapes' historical ecology responsible for their bio-cultural diversity. It implies the need for new principles in policies necessary to secure the economic and cultural sovereignty of local socio-ecological systems responsible for the world's bio-cultural diversity.

The Divine Game Versus the Demonic Game

In Difference and Repetition1 Deleuze sets out to critique the regime of representation and common sense by developing a new conception of difference and repetition in which difference and repetition become liberated from the coherence and continuity of a self or I.2 Difference in itself means that difference has become independent not only from representation, but also from an enduring or coherent self. Difference in itself and repetition in itself are the becoming different and the repetition of a fractured or dissolved self, which Deleuze relates to both a larval subject3 and to a simulacrum.4 In Difference and Repetition Deleuze defines both the concepts of larval subject and simulacrum through the multiplicities and differential relations of the realm of the virtual.5 However, they are not the same. A simulacrum defines a condition in which an entity has become transformed into pure appearance in which nothing appears. A simulacrum is no longer an entity, but only the illusion of an entity.6 This is distinct from the larval subject because the larval subject is an embryonic entity, an entity in the process of formation.7 Through an analysis of the conceptual relation and distinction between larval subject and simulacrum in the first part of the essay, I will reinterpret Deleuze as a philosopher of indifference and the impossibility of repetition, which is a critique on the common idea that Deleuze’s Difference and Repetition is a philosophy of pure difference and pure repetition. Also, I will argue that Deleuze did not just develop a transcendental empiricism (a metaphysics of process), but a philosophy of the universal in itself (which is the collapse of metaphysics). The universal in itself emerges when experience collapses and when the self-determination of entities has become impossible.

Multimodal Sensemaking and Sensegiving Processes of Discursive Threat Appraisal in Environmental Crisis Communication

ABSTRACTThis study investigates how multimodal sensemaking and sensegiving processes of discursive threat appraisal are employed by global movements in their environmental crisis communication when disclosing how corporate commitments are failing to reduce the global plastic pollution. The theoretical framework includes perspectives on global sticky crises, threat appraisal, framing, crisis sensemaking and sensegiving, and multimodal discourse. Empirically, a series of brand audits reports of #breakfreefromplastic global movement are systematically examined. The analytical focus transcends the usual monomodal approach and is directed towards the multimodal interplay that builds strategic discourses through images and texts. Findings details, on the one hand, the multimodal discursive sensemaking processes of content enrichment and appeal bolstering as well as their outcomes related to the building of common sense, new sense, and non‐sense; on the other hand, they clarify how prognostic, diagnostic, and motivational framing tasks are accomplished in environmental crisis sensegiving by the global movement. This study provides insights useful to corporations when reevaluating their own crisis sensemaking and sensegiving in corporate communications and, ultimately, contribute to changing risky corporate behaviour toward more effective and ethical environmental crisis prevention and communication.

The neoliberal coloniality of EMI in Hong Kong higher education: insights from online stancetaking

Abstract While the implementation of English-medium instruction (EMI) in many elite universities is established as common sense, it is fraught with challenges and contradictions. In post-colonial multilingual contexts such as Hong Kong, we argue that EMI is sustained by neoliberal coloniality, whereby its status as an enduring legacy of the hegemonic colonial order is maintained by contemporary neoliberal imperatives. From a stancetaking perspective we examine how members of the public take up stances on EMI on an online forum, in response to an initial thread openly criticising its use on a social work programme at a Hong Kong university. Our analysis of 480 posts shows a range of stances with regard to three recurrent themes, namely practicality, flexibility and fairness. The findings indicate that EMI attracted strong affective rejection from some due to perceived impracticality and inflexibility in its implementation, as well as issues of inclusion in relation to students’ different linguistic repertoires. Conversely, they also reveal deeply entrenched ideologies supporting the use of EMI, most notably for its purported practicality and promised benefits. We conclude by reflecting on the value of stancetaking in understanding ideology and the specific ideological and practical implications of EMI in Hong Kong.

Schütz on self-alienation and homecoming in a warring world

Alfred Schütz, who joined the Austrian army at 17 years old as a lieutenant in 1917, faced traumatic experiences during the First World War that deeply influenced his later intellectual pursuits. This article examines how Schütz’s wartime and postwar experiences shaped his intellectual and political contribution to sociology. The trauma Schütz faced during and after the war profoundly influenced his views on the ethical competence and integrative capacities of common sense, particularly in his applied theory essays of the 1940s. Highlighting the modern crisis of alienation, Schütz’s works such as “The Stranger” and “The Homecomer” reflect his commitment to understanding and overcoming the estrangement and confusion that arise from social and spatial displacement and the ideology of irreconcilable alienness. Rather than treat what is missing from the biographical archive as an irretrievable loss or absence, the article reads parts of Schütz’s later writings for traces they bear of his unrepresented wartime and postwar experiences, and argues that his applied theory essays partly serve as a delayed response to his youthful traumas. Ultimately, Schütz’s insights into foreignness offer profound reflections on the interplay between historical events, personal experiences, and social theory.

The Problematic of Divination and Witchcraft Vis-à-vis Certitude and Skepticism in African Philosophy

Generally, trending deliberations on divination and witchcraft cut across several domains in African Philosophy. Conceptually, however, it remains a jigsaw puzzle and problematic vis-à-vis certitude and skepticism in relation to truth claims. The reality of these concepts in traditional African societies is perennial; with tendencies in certain quarters being to dismiss charges connected to them as disprovable allegations, neither improving nor changing common beliefs and adherence to them. Circumstantially, isolated instances apropos divination and witchcraft go beyond metaphysical realms, elucidating tangible and intangible effects of this craft and attacks; despite the fact that it is wrapped in mystery. Notwithstanding, some proof of its existence can be ascertained; yet, the overriding challenge of certitude and sceptical rudiments remain an epistemological problem. Obviously, in citing instances or dimensions of divination and witchcraft in African societies, with some real and pernicious traceable effects on the physical faculties of victims and observers, this paper explores the philosophical import; taxing possible amelioration of tenets of belief and truth warranting certainty while evading skepticism. As a supernatural source of knowledge, divination and witchcraft are inseparable epistemological apprehensions. Implicitly, African epistemology as founded on defined basic tenets, endorsed concepts like knowledge; truth, validity, and rationality are inevitable. Hence, the problematic of divination and witchcraft is pertinent vis-a-vis certitude and Skepticism; it is challenging by embracing varied forms of knowledge: perceptual knowledge, common sense knowledge, advanced age knowledge, inferential knowledge, mystical knowledge, oral tradition, and holistic knowledge. This paper consents to an extent with some truth and belief claims of these practices; but raise objections apropos certitude and scepticism in epistemological spheres of influence, engaging some systematic scientific fine-tuning.

I am in Charge, But Not Always in Control: A Qualitative Exploration of Female's Beliefs and Knowledge About Their Pelvic Pain.

Beliefs and knowledge about pain can influence how an individual approaches pain management. At present, there have been no investigations into the beliefs and knowledge that females hold about their pelvic pain; therefore, pain intervention approaches may not be targeted at current patient understandings. Exploring beliefs and knowledge may help inform and subsequently improve pain intervention outcomes for pelvic pain by allowing more tailored content to be delivered. This study aimed to identify beliefs and knowledge that females hold about their pelvic pain. Semistructured interviews (n = 12) were conducted. Based on the common sense model, interview questions investigated participants' beliefs and knowledge related to the identity (diagnostic labels), cause, consequence, control, and timeline of their pelvic pain. Transcribed interviews were analyzed using an Interpretive Description Framework. Participants reported holding biopsychosocial understandings of pain; however, many described their own pain experience in a way that was more aligned with the biomedical model of pain, suggesting incongruence in pain understanding. Participants valued their ability to take charge of their pain management, highlighting bodily autonomy and being proactive in pain management approaches. This approach to management did not provide total control over participants' pelvic pain. Pelvic pain was perceived as disruptive of life, both at present and into the future, with the predictability of pain varying over time. This study provides insight into the perspectives of females with pelvic pain. Recommendations for clinicians are provided with a focus on delivering targeted education and equipping patients with helpful representations of their pain.

In defense of obscure academic writing

There has been a backlash against academic writing in the humanities that can be found in popular culture at least since the 1990s. By considering a selection of arguments from critics of academic writing in the humanities, I then defend a certain kind of ‘obscurity’ or ‘difficulty’ in scholarly prose by developing a concise genealogy of obscure academic writing. This paper develops the notion that an ‘uncommon sense’ should be situated against ‘common sense’ to unveil an assumed ‘world’ or ‘reality’ alongside the structural formations of that which is considered ‘useful’ language. Often, complicated academic language grapples with the intrinsic complexity that is hidden behind ‘simple’ ideas.

Precedent, Fairness, and Common Sense Dictate that Padilla v. Kentucky Should Apply Retroactively

Precedent, Fairness, and Common Sense Dictate that Padilla v. Kentucky Should Apply Retroactively

Quantum Fundamentalism and Theological Liberty

Quantum mechanics (QM) is astonishingly successful as a theoretical framework, underpinning countless scientific areas and providing the impetus behind entire technologies. Many scientists suspect that physical reality is fundamentally quantum in nature, even if we perceive little of this in our everyday human experience. This is the viewpoint of “quantum fundamentalism.” Yet, the conceptual implications of QM defy common sense, to such an extent that popular culture largely perceives of QM as a source of counterintuitive weirdness. At the same time, bestselling self-help manuals portray QM as a source of hidden healing power within, while spiritual readings invoke QM as a bridge to the divine, or as a source of theological analogies. Scientists often denounce these mystical approaches as “quantum quackery,” but I examine their serious side. I argue that, for quantum fundamentalism to function as a worldview, it should inform a sense of human purpose, something for which theological analysis is well equipped.