Divergent Ideas Research Articles

THE STRUGGLE TO ANTICIPATE THE FUTURE Political uses, technological approaches and moral debates on climate change

This paper explores major academic debates that address why, as our scientific understanding of climate change increases, controversies about its causes and responses multiply. To this end, this research presents a discussion of the literature on the political, technological, and social conditions that generate divergent ideas on climate change. This article is divided into three sections. First, it is argued that climate knowledge tends to be contextualized to local concerns. Second, inherent technical limitations of climate models limit a direct translation between global climate science and local policies. Third, greater knowledge could not resolve controversies on climate change since values are inevitably part of understanding and elaborating solutions. Due to the high complexity of climate change, the intellectual fragmentation of its study, and the multiplication of contradictory information, it is crucial to present a broad overview of current academic contributions to strengthen public debate and informed decision-making.

Reappraise and be mindful! The key role of cognitive reappraisal and mindfulness in the association between openness to experience and divergent thinking

ABSTRACT The present research aims to delve into the association between openness to experience and divergent thinking (DT), addressing the mediating role of emotion regulation strategies, such as cognitive reappraisal, emotion suppression and mindfulness. The study was carried out with 111 young adults who filled in the Big Five Questionnaire, the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire and the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale. Participants also performed at the Alternative Uses Task. Results showed that cognitive reappraisal mediated the association between openness to experience and all measures of DT (fluency, flexibility and originality). In addition, mindfulness mediated the interplay between openness to experience and DT only when fluency and flexibility were the dependent variables. No significant results were found using emotion suppression as the mediator. These findings yield theoretical and practical implications about the role of emotional strategies in pursuing the ability to generate divergent ideas. Limitations and future research directions are discussed.

Characterizing Features of Creative Writing in Older Adults.

How does creative expression change across the life span? Although creativity is generally preserved well into adulthood, certain cognitive functions, such as episodic detail and ideational fluency, have been shown to decline with age. The present study employs computational linguistic analyses to investigate the salient features of creative writing in older adults. We collected short stories from a sample of 50 older adults (age 65≤) which were subsequently rated for creativity by an independent set of participants. Mixed-effects linear regression models were used to describe semantic diversity and perceptual details as predictors of creativity. Semantic diversity reflects the extent to which a narrative connects divergent ideas and is closely associated with creativity. Perceptual details, characterized by sensorial descriptions, have been previously associated with creative writing and may serve to transport readers to alternative times and places. Additionally, we compare these measures to a previously collected sample of stories from younger adults. Results indicate that the presence of perceptual details and semantic diversity were significant positive predictors of creativity (p < .05). Moreover, we find that stories written by older adults contain fewer perceptual details compared with stories written by younger adults. These results advance our understanding of age-related changes in creativity and highlight the potential role of episodic simulation in writing creative short stories.

Why Reinvent the Wheel? Materializing multiplicity to resist reification in alternative organizations

Often we unconsciously take for granted that there is not really an alternative to how we currently organize society – we tend to reify existing social order, misperceiving the way things are now as the way things must be. Such reification constrains our agency by discouraging the thought that we could do better. Alternative organizations undermine this reification by manifesting the real possibility of organizing differently. Such dereification is valuable in itself insofar as it lifts constraints on agency, facilitating intentional choice regarding the social systems we (re)produce. A case study of this dereification is offered by the Réseau Alimentaire Local (RAL), a network of French ‘solidarity groceries’ unified by the pursuit of more just and sustainable alternatives to the dominant model. Groups within the RAL develop their own software to manage these novel alternatives. We were struck, however, by some groups’ efforts to reify their own solutions, disparaging other approaches as mere attempts to ‘reinvent the wheel’. The case thus raised a tricky question: can alternative organizations dereify existing social order without at the same time reifying their proposal, thereby reimposing constraints on agency? Our exploration through the RAL case grounds two contributions. First, conceptualizing reification in terms of materializing abstract ideas, we demonstrate how any given organizational configuration contributes to the materialization of multiple ideas simultaneously. We identify two forms of such multiplicity: vertical multiplicity, where nested relational networks materialize coherent ideas that differ only in their degree of specificity; and horizontal multiplicity, where intersecting relational networks materialize divergent ideas of the same degree of specificity. We argue that failure to recognize this multiplicity accounts for a great deal of materiality’s reifying capacity, while its recognition can facilitate new ways of approaching the dereification challenge. Our second contribution is therefore a strategy for resisting reification: materializing multiplicity.

Rereading the Wages for Housework Campaign: Feminist Degrowth Reflections on Social Reproduction, Commons, and a Care Income

Abstract This paper explores how debates on wages for housework in the 1970s contribute to current discourses on redefining, redistributing, and revaluing care. More specifically, this paper asks: How does a rereading of the international Wages for Housework (WfH) campaign contribute to feminist degrowth debates on commoning care and a care income? In trying to answer this question, I revisit original literature and interpretations of WfH and show that, as a Marxist feminist political perspective, the aim of the campaign ventured beyond the monetization of care. Subsequently, I elaborate on the now divergent ideas of Selma James and Silvia Federici, two of the campaign's main founders, of how to re-actualize the transformative aim of the campaign. Their two proposals, namely, a care income and reproductive commons, are introduced, brought into conversation with each other, and critically discussed against the background of Nancy Fraser's distinction between affirmative and transformative strategies of transformation. Exploring the fertile tension between a care income and commoning care, I draw preliminary conclusions on what feminist degrowth can learn from WfH regarding a social-ecological transformation to a more socially just and ecologically sound economic system.

Application of cyberspace security in video games industry

While video games are becoming an increasingly popular worldwide industry, there is a growing number of cheaters who exploit the flaws and weaknesses of games to gain advantages or earn money. This initiates a conflict between the 'black hat' and 'white hat' players. This article provides a comprehensive classification of cheats and anti-cheats in video games, accompanied by vivid illustrative scenarios. In terms of cheat classification, there are two main categories: Generic cheats, and those of special relevance to online games. Each sub-category will be accompanied by examples or explanations of the current situations. In the section on anti-cheating measures, a table will be provided to illustrate general methods to counter common cheats. This section also includes some novel and creative anti-cheat methods that utilize different technologies to address the issues. This paper also discusses the investigation of applying artificial intelligence (AI) to combat malfeasance by some researchers. Finally, the conclusion provides a general summary of the current anti-cheat situation and presents some divergent ideas for addressing cheating.

The Development of Caring Open-mindedness is at the Heart of True Critical Thinking in Philosophy for Children

When critical thinking occurs in a collective context such as a Philosophy for Children workshop, it cannot be considered simply as an intellectual exercise, insofar as it depends on social interactions in the philosophical dialogue. This is why, in line with the works of Matthew Lipman, critical thinking should be taught and practiced as an exercise based on the development of caring thinking among children. Furthermore, open-mindedness, defined as the ability of the child to welcome intellectually and ethically divergent ideas, may constitute the very fundamental precondition for critical thinking as it permits the meticulous, analytic and authentic discovery of the idea.

Filistinli Arapların Sultan II. Abdülhamid Döneminde ve Sonrasında Yahudi Siyonistlere Yönelik Tutumları

With the end of the Ottoman Empire in Bayt al-Maqdis a new page in history was being turned, ending centuries of peace in the Holy Land. This study concentrates on Palestinian Arabs and their attitudes towards Jewish Zionist settlement and their land purchase activities in Palestine, particularly under the British occupation. There are two divergent ideas concerning Palestinian and Jewish Zionists relations. While some scholars claim that Arab Muslims were passive and submissive towards Jewish Zionists and they did not put forward reactionary attitude towards Jewish Zionists and they even further state that those Arabs sold their lands to them willingly and earned huge sums of profit and hence they were contented with Zionist settlement. However, contrary to this claim evidence shows Arab Palestinians helped and supported the Ottomans against Jewish Zionism in restricting Zionist settlement and land purchase activities in Palestine. In this respect, this study argues that Palestinian Arab Muslims from the outset foresaw expansionist Zionists and put forward their resistance in different means. They clearly did their best to stop the Zionist influx and thus altered the attitude of the British Mandate. Therefore, throughout the study it can be clearly seen that even after the end of the Ottoman rule in the region, Palestinian Arabs tried their best to preserve their presence and status in Palestine against the British and Jewish Zionists.

EXPERIENCES OF SOUTH AFRICAN ACADEMICS MOVING FROM CONTACT TO EMERGENCY REMOTE TEACHING: LESSONS FOR THE FUTURE

The Covid-19 pandemic disrupted the academic programme of most higher education institutions. To counter this disruption, universities moved from contact to emergency remote teaching. To understand the process of this move, the study explored the experiences of academic staff at a South African university with a transition from contact to emergency remote teaching and the lessons that were learnt for the future. The study was underpinned by Online Collaborative Learning theory (Harasim 2012). A qualitative exploratory case study was conducted to answer the research questions. We generated data from eight academic staff members using focus group discussion and analysed it using an inductive thematic framework. From the analysis, the participants held divergent ideas on digital equity and access to technology, creating online interactive content and teaching modalities, proficiency with the technology and training, limitations with the Learning Management System (LMS) Moodle. The findings indicate the need to prepare academic staff and students for emergency remote teaching before a disruption occurs. The COVID-19 pandemic taught the university that was the research site several lessons about technology-enhanced learning, including the importance of flexibility, technology, student engagement, access and equity, and collaboration. Universities have learned that online learning can be effective but requires careful planning, investment, and ongoing evaluation to ensure success. Importantly, the findings acknowledge that the success of online teaching during the pandemic was influenced by a wide range of factors, including technological infrastructure, pedagogical approach, faculty training and support, student readiness, and the culture of innovation within the community and university.

Theoretical conceptions for a holistic, transdisciplinary approach to contemporary landscape

In recent years the concept of landscape has undergone rapid expansion. This expansion, however, has not been accompanied by a parallel development in the definition of theoretical and methodological principles, nor has it achieved sufficient consensus for its application in scientific and/or administrative fields. The range of divergent ideas that currently persist and coexist around the concept of landscape, and which are biased towards disciplinary specificities, have given rise not only to terminological imprecision, but also to a lack of standardisation of study, evaluation, management and planning methodologies. This article aims to provide an overview of the different acceptations that have been developed in relation to the concept of landscape from the second half of the 20th century to the present day, with a view towards contributing to the conceptual and disciplinary plurality that exists regarding landscape as an entity. This study, however, also attempts to transcend this analysis by advancing towards the definition of a conceptual framework on which to redefine the concept of landscape by considering the multiplicity of dimensions that may be attributable to this concept and advocating a holistic, transdisciplinary, open, integrative approach to these dimensions.

“How Do You Know Who You Are?”: Marjorie Prime on Envisioning Humanity Through the Faculty of AI-Powered Memory as Reconstructive Tissue

In reference to the theme of the issue devoted to literary extremities, Jordan Harrison’s play Marjorie Prime raises thought-provoking questions about the potential benefits and drawbacks of advanced AI technology by exploring the nature of memory, identity, and mortality, as well as the ethical implications of creating artificial intelligence that can mimic human behavior and emotions. This article argues that the play positions its AI character—a computerized hologram of Marjorie’s late husband Walter—at the intersection of two divergent perspectives on memory reactivation enhanced by AI-powered technology. While, on the one hand, the humanoid is seen as a potent tool which helps to reduce the cognitive impairment caused by dementia, on the other hand, there is a concern that technological interventions may trigger episodic memory change, testifying to the plastic, and thus reconstructive, character of this foundational human faculty. The article seeks to negotiate the interplay of benefits and dangers of technology-assisted memory reactivation by exploring two divergent ideas represented by Marjorie’s daughter Tess and her son-in-law Jon regarding what would comfort their mother, and, ultimately, their differing ways of comforting each other and themselves individually as the carers of an elderly person. In analyzing how creative and destructive forces exhibited by AI-powered digital tools cross-inhabit the declining memory inflicted by dementia, the article unpacks both the vast potential and the limits of technology while attempting to answer uncomfortable questions about the essence of human existence posed by aging and dementia.

MEASURING HIGHER-ORDER THINKING SKILLS IN SCIENCE AMONG PRIMARY SCHOOL STUDENTS USING ITEM RESPONSE THEORY

MEASURING HIGHER-ORDER THINKING SKILLS IN SCIENCE AMONG PRIMARY SCHOOL STUDENTS USING ITEM RESPONSE THEORY

A politeness-theoretic approach to mitigated disagreements in online radio medical consultations

Abstract In medical settings, disagreement between doctors and patients frequently occurs, and it is considered a potential trigger to elicit conflicts. Hence, the point of departure for this study is the widely accepted view that these kinds of “face-threatening” and “dispreferred” acts need to be modified. Thus, this study sheds light on analyzing doctor-patient’s discourse in 25 episodes of online radio medical consultation, reporting on Chinese doctors’ mitigated disagreement forms and offering a novel perspective on how Chinese doctors use these mitigated disagreements to turn divergent ideas into alignment with patients in online radio medical consultation. The findings in this study provide preliminary empirical support for the idea that mitigated disagreements can be seen as a sign of relational work and may not destroy but rather strengthen doctor-patient’s relations.

Logic modelling as hermeneutic praxis: Bringing knowledge systems into view during comprehensive primary health care planning for homelessness in Australia.

Logic modelling is used widely in health promotion planning for complex health and social problems. It is often undertaken collaboratively with stakeholders across sectors that hold and enact different institutional approaches. We use hermeneutic philosophy to explore how knowledge is 'lived' by - and unfolds differently for - cross-sectoral stakeholders during comprehensive primary healthcare service planning. An Organisational Action Research partnership was established with a non-government organisation designing comprehensive primary health care for individuals experiencing homelessness in Adelaide, Australia. Grey literature, stakeholder input, academic feedback, a targeted literature review and evidence synthesis were integrated in iterative cycles to inform and refine the logic model. Diverse knowledge systems are active when cross-sectoral stakeholders collaborate on logic models for comprehensive primary health care planning. Considering logic modelling as a hermeneutic praxis helps to foreground and explore these differences. In our case, divergent ideas emerged in how health/wellbeing and trust were conceptualised; language had different meanings across sectors; and the outcomes and data sought were nuanced for various collaborators. We explicate these methodological insights and also contribute our evidence-informed, collaboratively-derived model for design of a comprehensive primary health care service with populations experiencing homelessness. We outline the value of considering cross-sectoral logic modelling as hermeneutic praxis. Engaging with points of difference in cross-sectoral knowledge systems can strengthen logic modelling processes, partnerships and potential outcomes for complex and comprehensive primary health care services.

Gesturing in plain sight: dialogical enactments of sustainable futures as being and doing in the world

Addressing the critical question posed by Gudrun Jonsdottir and Anne Kristine Byhring who are asking what place for a common future in the science classroom, this paper focuses on and expands on the construct of dialogical space. Not simply as an abstract concept to describe the presence of divergent ideas or the exchange of idioms, but a space filled with metaphors and material artefacts that exist in the world. On this basis, science education takes seriously the affordances of sensorial perception in space, as physical and material doings, arising from and deeply concerned with the lived experiences of people. By making visible the material relations that give life to human experience, and by giving life to different imaginations, science education can thus become profoundly dialogical: turning away from the expectation of sameness, it houses in itself the invitation of taking authorship and to give form, that being a narrative, a personal journey, or a different way of looking at the world. This is what I call gesturing in plain sight, a science education that critically engages with material artefacts and their relations; one that inhabits the realm of the symbolic and the experiential, and one that speaks to sustainable futures in general, repurposing and reconceiving the work of science education in particular.

Novel organisms and the ethics of conservation: Divergent views on gene drives reflect divergent ideas about humans and nature

What concepts of nature, humans, and their relationships underpin the debate about gene drives for conservation? To provide some answers to this question, the eradication of invasive rodents on islands is used as an example. While current debates mostly weigh the potential benefits for conservation against the potential ecological risks, it is worthwhile to move beyond such a risk-benefit perspective. Ethical issues that are more specific to conservation are: the significance of “natural”, the normative goals of conservation, and the ideal of living in harmony with nature.

“It’s like a double-edged sword”: Mentor Perspectives on Ethics and Responsibility in a Learning Analytics–Supported Virtual Mentoring Program

Data-driven learning analytics (LA) exploits artificial intelligence, data-mining, and emerging technologies, rapidly expanding the collection and uses of learner data. Considerations of potential harm and ethical implications have not kept pace, raising concerns about ethical and privacy issues (Holstein &amp; Doroudi, 2019; Prinsloo &amp; Slade, 2018). This empirical study contributes to a growing critical conversation on fairness, equity, and responsibility of LA lending mentor voices in the context of an online mentorship program through which undergraduate students mentored secondary school students. Specifically, this study responds to a phenomenon shared by four mentors who recounted hiding from mentees that they had seen their LA data. Interviews reveal the convergent and divergent ideas of mentors regarding LA in terms of 1) affordances and constraints, 2) scope and boundaries, 3) ethical tensions and dilemmas, 4) paradoxical demands, and 5) what constitutes fairness, equity, and responsibility. The analysis integrates mentor voices with Slade and Prinsloo’s (2013) principles for an ethical framework for LA, Hacking’s (1982, 1986) dynamic nominalism, and Levinas’s (1989) ethics of responsibility. Design recommendations derived from mentor insights are extended in a discussion of ethical relationality, troubling learners as data-subjects, and considering the possibilities of the agency, transparency, and choice in LA system design.

Effect of a Microalgae Facade on Design Behaviors: A Pilot Study with Architecture Students

The influence of nature on occupant well-being and performance has been proved in office, hospital, and educational settings. There is evidence that plants and green colors affect creative and psychological responses. The microalgae facade in the study integrated spirulina, blue-green microalgae, which were cultivated using natural daylight and room air. While a good body of research explores nature’s impact on people, research on microalgae systems has not been linked to creative performance. This pilot study, therefore, focused on how the microalgae facade influences occupant mood and creativity. Forty architecture students were randomly assigned to the control and experimental rooms. The control group was surveyed in a room with a traditional window, whereas the experimental group was surveyed in a room with a biochromic window. Research design for the two conditions remained the same under IEQ-controlled environments except for the inclusion of the microalgae facade. Forty architecture students completed two creativity tasks—alternative use test (AUT) and remote association test (RAT)—and brainstorming for sustainable design in control and experimental settings. Our preliminary findings indicate that the microalgae facade did not affect divergent ideas and convergent thinking during tasks, but participants in the microalgae façade developed more design solutions that included greenery than students in the control space. This research is a preliminary investigation into the human impact of a microalgae façade and represents a new focus for scientific research. More work is needed to better grasp to what extent implementing a microalgae façade will impact human behavior in space.

Science governs the future of the mesopelagic zone

The potential of the mesopelagic zone (200–1000 m depth) to provide natural resources and ecosystem services is of increasing interest to a broad range of societal stakeholders. As this interest grows, divergent ideas about its current and future role in supporting human life are being expressed in scientific and public discourse. We use automated content analysis to identify 13 key topics about the mesopelagic zone from 2226 scientific abstracts and 4066 tweets. Two dominant ideas emerge: (1) the exploitation of fish resources and (2) the role of the mesopelagic zone as a carbon sink. We find that, in the absence of significant mesopelagic zone policy, science plays a de facto governing role by shaping how the ecosystem is known to the public and policymakers alike. These results indicate the need and potential for new knowledge and governance arrangements that can broaden the range of meanings and knowledge needed to anticipate future uses of deeply uncertain ecosystems and resources.

Analysis of Non-Amyloidogenic Mutations in APP Supports Loss of Function Hypothesis of Alzheimer's Disease.

Proteolytic processing of amyloid precursor protein (APP) plays a critical role in pathogenesis of Azheimer's disease (AD). Sequential cleavage of APP by β- and γ-secretases leads to generation of Aβ40 (non-amyloidogenic) and Aβ42 (amyloidogenic) peptides. Presenilin-1 (PS1) or presenilin-2 (PS2) act as catalytic subunits of γ-secretase. Multiple familial AD (FAD) mutations in APP, PS1, or PS2 affect APP proteolysis by γ-secretase and influence levels of generated Aβ40 and Aβ42 peptides. The predominant idea in the field is the "amyloid hypothesis" that states that the resulting increase in Aβ42:Aβ40 ratio leads to "toxic gain of function" due to the accumulation of toxic Aβ42 plaques and oligomers. An alternative hypothesis based on analysis of PS1 conditional knockout mice is that "loss of function" of γ-secretase plays an important role in AD pathogenesis. In the present paper, we propose a mechanistic hypothesis that may potentially reconcile these divergent ideas and observations. We propose that the presence of soluble Aβ peptides in endosomal lumen (and secreted to the extracellular space) is essential for synaptic and neuronal function. Based on structural modeling of Aβ peptides, we concluded that Aβ42 peptides and Aβ40 peptides containing non-amyloidogenic FAD mutations in APP have increased the energy of association with the membranes, resulting in reduced levels of soluble Aβ in endosomal compartments. Analysis of PS1-FAD mutations also revealed that all of these mutations lead to significant reduction in both total levels of Aβ produced and in the Aβ40/Aβ42 ratio, suggesting that the concentration of soluble Aβ in the endosomal compartments is reduced as a result of these mutations. We further reasoned that similar changes in Aβ production may also occur as a result of age-related accumulation of cholesterol and lipid oxidation products in postsynaptic spines. Our analysis more easily reconciled with the "loss of γ-secretase function" hypothesis than with the "toxic gain of Aβ42 function" idea. These results may also explain why inhibitors of β- and γ- secretase failed in clinical trials, as these compounds are also expected to significantly reduce soluble Aβ levels in the endosomal compartments.