Critical Science Research Articles

On the origin of Dagestani shamhals and Gazikumukh Shamkhalate (the 12th to 16th centuries)

The article discusses the problem of Dagestani shamkhalate and the term "shamkhal", which is debatable in Dagestani historical science, based on the analysis of sources and special historical literature. According to the authors, the Arabic version of the origin of the first Dagestani Shamkhals is untenable and beneath scientific criticism. The first rulers with the title "shaukhal" who appeared in Dagestan at the early 12th century, belonged to Turkic peoples who led ghazi groups (those who contended for the faith) and spread Islam in Upland Dagestan. The Turkic dynasty existed until the early 14th century only to be overthrown by the combined forces of the Golden Horde, Kajtaks and the Avar Khanate. The Golden Horde established their own ruler (Tatar-Shamkhal) from among the Chingissids, whose descendants ruled this state formation until the second half of the 19th century. The authors come to the conclusion that those were the Kumyks who supported the Tatar-Shamkhals unlike the rest warlike highland population who disliked them; and they finally migrated to live among the Kumyks when, in the second half of the 16th century, they faced deterioration. The Kumyks, being the basis, the core of Shamkhalism, after the withdrawal from Gazikumukh possession, prevented the final disintegration of the Shamkhalate and continued the traditions of medieval statehood

The identification method of 6-7 year-old-children’s «duovector» giftedness in the art-creativity process

The paper deals with one of the aspects of early identification of giftedness: the establishment of the relationship between its types. The authors see a solution of the problem in the development and validation of the methodology based on the integrated modern scientific knowledge psychological, pedagogical and art criticism, in the field of contemporary art. This technique is expected to meet the conditions of efficiency and accessibility in the application of teachers working with children. Clarifications have been made to the basic concept of giftedness for the paper. The authors propose a term describing the interrelated manifestation of two types of giftedness duovector talent. The method is aimed at finding hidden signs of duovector giftedness: musical mathematics, in the field of fine art and sports, musical and linguistic. The basis of this approach is the idea of the dependence of the frequency and brightness of giftedness manifestations on the conditions, the most important of which is the aesthetic environment enriched with multi-modal material for creativity. At the same time, it is advisable to involve children in accessible and aesthetically valuable works of modern art, in the search for new knowledge in the same ways that adult authors of the XXI century use. Modeling directly perceived creative techniques and forms, the child masters the world, structures it non-linearly, on the principle of creating a rhizome. As a catalyst of creative activity, a set of tasks-subtests adapted to the age peculiarities of children is offered. The procedure of the experiment in a specially organized educational environment (an art workshop) is characterized. Plunging into the atmosphere of fruitful disorder, the child will act freely and directly, engaged in creativity as a game, creates an art product that has value as a marker of his talent. The content of creative tasks is presented, according to the results of work on which the diagnostic card is filled, in turn, which is the basis for the conclusions about the presence of the childs duovector talent. At this stage of the study, the authors have prepared a method for validation by comparing it with tests and subtests of other methods. The materials of the paper logically continue the research in the field of finding reference points for the development of individual educational routes of students, preparing them for lifelong learning.

Criticism in Pedagogical Research – Six Bad Practices (Discussion Article)/ Krytyka w badaniach pedagogicznych – sześć niedobrych praktyk (Artykuł dyskusyjny)

The author’s intention is to briefly describe some of the selected “bad practices”, the attitudes (behaviour) of critics and reviewers of pedagogical works, and pinpoint the positive model of critical and supportive criticism on the basis of this diagnosis. The author intends to describe six “bad practices” commonly found, as he believes, in various recurrent and evaluative procedures in the education of educating: 1) ignorance and humiliation: taking an assessment (review) when there is no sufficient material competence; 2) asymmetry – disorder of the proportion between the perceived defects and the advantages: in-depth analysis of deficiencies and shortcomings of the work, but positive conclusions; 3) theoretical and methodological fixation: lack of openness to other theoretical and research methods; 4) recitative conformism: lack of assertiveness and submission to authority, sometimes illusory; 5) bias and recurrence mistakes; 6) narcissism – criticism as an opportunity to show off. Descriptions of these “practices” will also include questions to the author and other reviewers-critics, and will relate to habits and favourite patterns of behaviour in this important area of scientific activity. In the end, the author will try to identify some important features of the model of format and support criticism: (a) not intrusive; b) constructive, c) accurate (adequate), d) symmetrical (balanced), e) creative (revealing). To outline this model, the author will use the postulates resulting from the concept created by contemporary researchers of scientific criticism, mainly in psychology.

Nature, Nation, Science and Gender

The article explores the equation among nature, nation and gender in the nationalist context. Developing the argument that both nature and nation were feminised and deified as mother and mother goddess in the nationalist context, the article deploys feminist perspectives to critically examine this on a fourth-axis science. By looking at the relationship of the scientist, J. C. Bose, to these categories, the article hopes to unravel the complex relationship of the Indian scientist to nation, nature, gender and science. It is argued that due to being a ‘Sakta’, Bose had a symbiotic relationship to nature, and consequently to science, thereby presenting an ‘alternative’ to Western modes of relating to science and nature. The article submits that this alternative was cast in patriarchal constructions of both science and nature and views the associations of mother with nation and nature within larger feminist critiques of science. The article submits that while these sleeping metaphors set an alternative paradigm to the Western modes of relating to nature through science, they reproduced patriarchal constructions of the same. The article is an effort at grafting feminist perspectives on (a) science and (b) nationalism with postcolonial perspectives on science and modernity.

Experiences and expertise of codependency: Repetition, claim-coupling, and enthusiasm.

Arenas where experts interact with publics are useful platforms for communication and interaction between actors in the field of public health: researchers, practitioners, clinicians, patients, and laypersons. Such coalitions are central to the analysis of knowledge coproduction. This study investigates an initiative for assembling expert and other significant knowledge which seeks to create better interventions and solutions to addiction-related problems, in this case codependency. But what and whose knowledge is communicated, and how? The study explores how processes of repetition, claim-coupling, and enthusiasm produce a community based on three boundary beliefs: (1) victimized codependent children failed by an impaired society; (2) the power of daring and sharing; and (3) the (brain) disease model as the scientific representative and explanation for (co)dependence. These processes have legitimized future hopes in certain suffering actors, certain lived and professional expertise and also excluded social scientific critique, existing interventions, and alternative accounts.

Ciências sociais e representações: estudo dos fenômenos representativos e processos sociais, do local ao global

Resumo O objetivo deste artigo é examinar a contribuição que uma abordagem desenvolvida na psicologia social - o estudo das representações sociais - pode trazer às ciências sociais. Como ponto de partida, a reflexão se apoia na constatação do novo interesse desenvolvido nas ciências sociais pelas relações entre o saber ordinário e o saber erudito, a inscrição social dos processos cognitivos, a importância da noção de “comum”, as necessidades de reconfigurar as relações entre disciplinas e considerar a complexidade dos fenômenos abordados. Um exame do tratamento da noção de representação social e/ou coletiva na história das ciências sociais - notadamente na antropologia, na história e na sociologia - recai sobre as reconhecidas propriedades dos fenômenos representativos e sobre seus papéis na vida social. Os eixos de problematização de seu estudo são apresentados em um quadro que resume o espaço de pesquisa que os concerne. Depois de discutir as críticas científicas e políticas dirigidas ao “representacionalismo”, um esquema que coloca fenômenos representativos na interseção de três esferas de pertencimento - subjetiva, intersubjetiva e trans-subjetiva - e permite mostrar a pertinência do estudo das representações sociais em um espaço globalizado. Essa pertinência é ilustrada pelo exemplo de trabalhos relativos aos efeitos dos vetores da globalização sobre identidades sociais locais, e pelas posições adotadas pelos pesquisadores latino-americanos em face da importação de modelos emprestados dos círculos dominantes do Primeiro Mundo.

Prophets and Profits of Racial Science

In this response to Terence Keel and John Hartigan’s debate over the social construction of race, I aim to push the discussion beyond the terrain of epistemology and ideology to examine the contested value of racial science in a broader political economy. I build upon Keel’s concern that even science motivated by progressive aims may reproduce racist thinking and Hartigan’s proposition that a critique of racial science cannot rest on the beliefs and intentions of scientists. In examining the value of racial-ethnic classifications in pharmacogenomics and precision medicine, I propose that analysts should attend to the relationship between prophets of racial science (those who produce forecasts about inherent group differences) and profits of racial science (the material-semiotic benefits of such forecasts). Throughout, I draw upon the idiom of speculation—as a narrative, predictive, and financial practice—to explain how the fiction of race is made factual, again and again.

Genopolitics: The dormant niche in political science curriculum in South African universities

South African higher education institutions have been grappling with the challenges of transformation and decolonisation as a result of the 2015–2016 student protests calling into focus issue of access (both formal and epistemological), belonging, social justice, transformation and others. One of the key sites for this struggle for transformation has been curriculum and the notion of relevance in responding to the development of social reality. Political Science as a discipline has increasingly been confronted with an ‘existential crisis’ with scholars in the field asking critical questions on whether the discipline has reached a point of irrelevance to social reality. Three key critiques of political science as a discipline are discussed in this article – firstly, the critique that political science is obsessed with what has been termed ‘methodological fetishism’ in being unable to embrace new knowledge. Secondly, that political science tends to construct universal theories and concepts that assume global homogeneity and de-emphasise the importance of context and locality in knowledge, knowledge production and its experiences. Thirdly, and the central point of this article, the social disconnection between political science as a field and its [in]ability to make a socio-economic contribution to society. This article suggests that genopolitics allows us to critically reflect on and respond to the above notions of relevance in political science by looking at the role of genes played in political behaviour and genetic dispositions to see and analyses how people, communities and societies behave in the ways that illuminate our understanding of social reality.

Science Education in India and Feminist Critiques of Science

The ‘liberal’ feminist perspective on science problematises the presence of fewer women than men in science and believes that increasing their number would qualify as social change. On the other hand, ‘radical’ critics of modern science argue that science has been deeply involved in the creation, strengthening and subversion of gender inequalities. The liberal strand is much more amenable to direct interventions and aligns well with current educational reforms. But the fundamental questions about science and science education that are raised by the radical strand not just evade agreement, but they also do not lead easily to direct educational implications. In this article, I show that an engagement with these perspectives offers us a chance to reflect on our society, on the place of science in it, and on the role of science education in mediating between science and society. This reflection further encourages us to rethink and reorganise science and science education so that they are more mindful of the gender and other kinds of power dynamics in our society.

Crítica científica de "Investigação criminal genética – banco de perfis genéticos, fornecimento compulsório de amostra biológica e prazo de armazenamento de dados" - Apontamentos sobre a inconstitucionalidade da Lei 12.654/2012

Esta crítica científica partiu do que foi proposto pelo artigo "Investigação criminal genética – banco de perfis genéticos, fornecimento compulsório de amostra biológica e prazo de armazenamento de dados", na busca de oferecer evidências doutrinárias e empíricas que permitissem ampliar o diálogo acadêmico sobre a implantação do Banco Nacional de Perfis Genético (BNPG). Para tanto, realizou-se pesquisa exploratória e qualitativa, desenvolvida a partir de documentação da doutrina, trabalhos empíricos, julgados e normas relacionadas ao banco brasileiro e congêneres estrangeiros. É possível reconhecer a possibilidade do uso de referenciais diversos do apresentado pelo artigo em comento e, assim, o alcance de conclusões contrárias no que se refere, especialmente à ofensa ao princípio nemo tenetur se detegere na aplicação da Lei 12.654/2012. Além disso, limitações importantes quando à relação entre a redução de taxas de crime e o incremento dos bancos de perfis genéticos precisam ser enfatizadas.

Critique of Science as Critique of Society: Literary Figurations of Techno-scientific Fetishism (Introduction).

Critique of Science as Critique of Society: Literary Figurations of Techno-scientific Fetishism (Introduction).

The Piano Duet in the System of Piano Ensemble: Genre-Typological Aspects

The Piano Duet in the System of Piano Ensemble: Genre-Typological Aspects

Feminist digital geographies

At a moment when disciplinary attentions are turning to the digital as a subject and object of geographic inquiry, we consider enduring contours and new directions in feminist digital geographies scholarship. We revisit the centrality of feminist critiques of Science to critical digital geographies and their predecessors, identifying axes of scholarly engagement that have emerged from feminist theory and praxis. Simultaneously, we acknowledge the resounding whiteness and heteronormativity of these theoretical origins. In the second half of the article, we trace new horizons of contemporary digital geographies scholarship that engage queer and critical race theory, postcolonial feminism, and black and queer code studies. These theoretical moves give voice to longstanding silences and are indispensable to a political and ethical digital geographic scholarship and praxis, as well as to re-making our technologies and ourselves as digital subjects.

First Peter’s Identity Theology and the Community of Faith: a test-case in how social scientific criticism can assist with theological ethics via biblical theology

Evangelicals recognise that exegesis must ultimately lead towards ethics, or practical Christian living. Unfortunately, too often the roadmap for that process has been neglected, and the link between the two becomes disjointed. This article discusses SSC, biblical theology, and ethics in 1 Peter, but attempts to contribute to the discussion by showing how the three interrelate, in that the identity theology of 1 Peter represents a reaction to the social-religious circumstances of its audience. This reaction, in turn, naturally allows the author to transition into ethics for the Christian. By being aware of this interrelation (with biblical theology as the ‘hinge’ between SSC and ethics), the modern Christian can properly apply 1 Peter’s theology to their own circumstances and avoid potential abuses.

Coleridge as Philosopher of Missions

AbstractColeridge directed hisAids to Reflection(1825, 1831) to young men preparing for Christian vocations, missionaries in particular, and planned, but did not write, a seventh supplementary essay, which may be reconstructed from Coleridge's œuvres, to correct what he thought was inadequate preparation. Missionaries are educators whose preparation must include scientific biblical criticism: Christianity evolves with culture generally. Anthropography is required in order to foster inter-cultural exchange, including insight into a tradition's metaphors. Missionaries engage in proselytism, insists Coleridge, in the strictly limited sense of conversion through the exemplary conduct of the missionary as a fully realized human being.

Leo Strauss, Political Science, and the Trouble with a “Great Books” Approach to the Study of Politics

Abstract I argue that Leo Strauss’s critique of political science has been deeply misunderstood. Moreover, once the true nature of Strauss’s critique is clarified, I argue that he does not provide a viable alternative to contemporary political science. Instead, his philosophy has mostly justified a “great books” approach to the study of politics, which has contributed to the self-isolation of political theory from the rest of political science. Political theorists should seek new ways forward that more substantively engage the concerns of the mainstream of the discipline.

Theatre, Science, and the Popular: Two Contemporary Examples From Scandinavia

This article explores relations between theatre, science, and the popular, which have largely been overlooked by Nordic theatre studies. The aim here is to introduce and understand the variety of ways theatre may communicate science to the public, the point of departure informed by the historical development of the relations between the three concepts and Edmund Husserl’s phenomenological critique of modern science. The two analytical examples are Swedish Charlotte Engelkes’ and Peder Bjurman’s Svarta hål – en kvantfysisk vaudeville (2014) and Danish Hotel Pro Forma’s adult per­formance for children Kosmos+ En Big Bang forestilling om universets vidundre (2014).History of science reveals complex combinations of science and the popular in theatri­cal events that raises the question if the audience’s understanding of the scientific sub­ject matter itself always was – or has to be – the purpose of the popular science perfor­mance, or if it rather was – and is – about spurring interest by inspiring sentiments of wonder and reflection on science’s impact on life and outlooks. Newer conceptual devel­opments also suggest that it is not always the case that theatre is a tool for sci­ence popularisation, as a specific genre science theatre, but that scientific information and concepts are artistically interpreted by theatre, and not always in ways affirmative of the science. This later variant is called science-in-theatre. The two genres are demon­strated through the analyses of Svarta hål and Kosmos+, the claim being that the first was an ambiguous exposition of science, i.e. science-in-theatre, whereas the second established an artistically visionary affirmation, as regular science theatre.

Engaging in the Publication Process Improves Perceptions of Scientific Communication, Critique, and Career Skills Among Graduate Students.

Reading and critiquing primary scientific literature is an important skill for graduate students, as reviewing literature is critical to advancing science. Prior research indicates that graduate students lack understanding of effective communication as well as basic experimental design, but also that graduate students are capable of growth in their experimental design abilities when given proper opportunities. The Journal of Emerging Investigators (JEI) provides graduate students with the opportunity to review and edit original research papers submitted by middle and high school student-authors. The purpose of this project was to determine whether participation in the primary literature process through JEI effectively aids in developing graduate students’ perceived abilities in the domains of communication, scientific critique, and career preparation. A 12-question survey was distributed using SurveyMonkey to 215 JEI reviewers and editors. Editors, whose role involves the synthesis of feedback from multiple reviewers and interaction with papers in their earliest stages, perceived that they benefited more than did reviewers in every domain assessed by the survey. Perceived impact on critiquing skills was only rated more highly by reviewers than by editors once the graduate students in question had reviewed 10 or more papers. The results of this research suggest that graduate students should participate early and often in the reading and reviewing of primary literature; furthermore, the study of flawed science writing can help to improve experimental design, critique, and science communication skills.

Reply to the comment of Anan et al. on "Palynological, palaeoenvironmental and sequence stratigraphical analyses of a Turonian-Coniacian sequence, Beni Suef Basin, Eastern Desert, Egypt: Implication of Pediastrum rhythmic signature by Tahoun et al. (2017) Marine and Petroleum Geology 88 (871–887)"

Abstract Herein, we reply to the allegations made by Anan et al. (2018) who claimed that the rhythmic signature of Pediastrum originally recorded and interpreted for the first time by (Tahoun et al., 2017), is a simulation of the work of El Atfy et al. (2017). This is not possible because we submitted our manuscript (which comes from an earlier version previously submitted to JMPG) almost simultaneously with the online publication of El Atfy et al. (2017); therefore, we had no chance to incorporate their work. Anan et al. (2018) raised such claims, because we provided scientific criticism to El Atfy et al. (2017) and did not follow their work blindly. Moreover, our work has different aims and approaches with respect to those used by El Atfy et al. (2017). Our main idea was to study and explain how the vertical cyclic signature of Pediastrum is connected to sea level cyclicity and to use this vertical stratigraphic signature in paleoenvironmental and sequence stratigraphic interpretation. This aim was not tackled before by Brenac and Richards (2001) and El Atfy et al. (2017). Moreover, our work was based on palynological, geophysical and lithologic data, not on mineralogical data as made by El Atfy et al., 2017). In our paper (Tahoun et al. (2017) we decided to discuss the work of El Atfy et al. (2017) because they tried to relate Pediastrum to regressive sequence systems. We found their work has several scientific mistakes that would raise much scientific controversy and lead to unsubstantiated conclusions. In our opinion, El Atfy et al. (2017) did not use reliable data and failed to provide proper scientific evidence to their conclusion. Following El Atfy et al. (2017), Anan et al. (2018) related an alleged acme of Pediastrum to regressive systems tracts, without providing any quantitative evidence of the acme and/or making a sequence stratigraphic analysis of their studied sections. Not surprisingly, the failure of Anan et al. (2018) to provide any quantitative data to support their alleged acme reinforces our argument that their study was not based on genuine data. Moreover, Anan et al. (2018) tried to flatten the conclusion made by Tahoun et al. (2017) by underestimating its sounding Pediastrum rhythmic signature-based results. Anan et al. (Op. cit.) also tried to bend the clear fact that our ideas differ from that of El Atfy et al. (2017) to look as it was their own, which is not true. Therefore, we encourage the palynologists community to read critically the work of Tahoun et al. (2017) and the work defended by Anan et al. (2018) and their allegations to confidently scrutinize the aims, data quality, and approaches presented therein to come up with an independent judgment. A detailed reply to allegations and comments of Anan et al. (Op. cit.) are handled in the forthcoming sections.

The roles of the analogy with natural selection in B.F. Skinner’s philosophy

Beginning in the 1950s, B.F. Skinner made increasing reference to an analogy between operant conditioning and natural selection. This analogy is the basis of an argument that, in contrast to Skinner’s other critiques of cognitive science, is neither epistemological nor pragmatic. Instead, it is based on the claim that ontogenetic adaptation is due to a special mode of causation he called “selection by consequences.” He argued that this mode of causation conflicts with explanations that attribute action to an autonomous agent with reasons for acting. This argument dismisses ordinary explanations of action, and has implications not only for cognitive science but also for morals. Skinner cited the latter implications to counter objections to the application of behavior analysis to the reform of society and its institutions.Skinner’s critique, however, rests upon empirical assumptions that have been criticized by other behavior analysts. Although for Skinner the major role of the analogy was to propose an empirical thesis, it also can play a metaphysical role—namely, to demonstrate the possibility of ontogenetic adaptation without reference to agents who have reasons for acting. These two roles, empirical and metaphysical, are the mirror image of the empirical and metaphysical roles of the computer analogy for cognitive science. That analogy also can be (and has been) interpreted as an empirical thesis. Its empirical implications, however, have been difficult to confirm. It also, however, has played a metaphysical role—namely, to demonstrate the possibility that a physical process could perform logical operations on states having propositional content. Neither analogy provides a well-confirmed, general answer to the question of how to explain the process of ontogenetic adaptation. But together they show there are two metaphysically coherent, but conflicting, answers to this question. Depending upon one’s epistemology, the analogy with natural selection may provide a useful point of departure for a strategy of research. Such a pragmatic grounding for a research strategy does not, however, provide sufficient reason to abandon for purposes of ethics the concept of persons as autonomous agents.