Traditional Ethos Research Articles

CRAFTING NEW MEANING: INNOVATION AND EXPLORATION OF MATERIALS AMONG GUJARAT’S APPLIQUÉ CRAFT CLUSTERS

In Indian context, textile material and techniques of clothing has evolved throughout ages, contributing to the reflection of human identity and cultural values. Concurrently, owing to the dynamic nature of the materials and changing market demand, some of the traditional craftsmanship have significantly redefined textile material’s interconnectedness with human society. In due process, the craftsmen have incorporated innovative design strategies to survive within a competitive market, where material and humans have engaged in non-verbal communication to generate meaningful representations of both within the given socioeconomic structure. The craft cluster of Chauhan family in Gujarat is one such instance, who have introduced significant transformation to the traditional practice of appliqué to sustain and evolve within the changing market demand. This study explores contemporary challenges faced by this industry, along with the artisans involved, to evaluate the design solutions, strategic survival mechanism, and product evolution of the same, while preserving traditional ethos.

Etos i wizerunek przedsiębiorcy/CEO: Polska i Portugalia

Purpose – The aim of the study is to systematize knowledge on the ethos and image of the businessman/CEO in Poland and Portugal as a result of political and socio‑economic changes in both countries, as well as to identify differences and similarities conditioned by history and culture. Research method – The method used in this study is comparative and follows a diachronic analysis, using secondary sources and critical analysis of the literature. Due to the specificity of the research issues being developed, the work is descriptive. Results – The research presents the complex and historically and culturally dependent ethos and image of the businessman in both countries; more frequent Polish research, on representative samples, a qualitative study in Portugal many years ago and a few smaller ones, as well as the lack of research in recent years, indicate the need for new research. The negative image of the businessman from the past in both countries seems to be weakening, but it has not become positive, but rather ambivalent. The traditional ethos of a responsible and caring businessman seems to still hold in both cultures. Polish businessmen are better educated than Portuguese, which is historically conditioned, but the education of Portuguese seems to be increasing recently. Businessmen in both countries have mostly professional experience prior to starting their own business. Businessmen are generally satisfied with life, family and their work, have a stable family life, and attribute their success to personal qualities; they see excessive state participation in the economy and statism. Originality / value / implications / recommendations – The study presents a comprehensive comparative analysis of the development of the ethos and image of a businessman in Poland and Portugal from the second half of the 20th century. This is the first comparative study on the businessman ethos and image in these countries. The study indicates gaps and new directions for potentially interesting research.

Abstract PR015: Developing adaptive therapy to suppress the evolution of treatment resistance in high-grade serous ovarian cancer

Abstract Survival in high grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) is impacted by the emergence of resistance to platinum chemotherapy. The traditional ethos of killing the greatest number of cancer cells with the maximum tolerated dose of chemotherapy may be flawed in evolutionary terms, facilitating the growth of resistant subclones. Adaptive therapy is a new model of cancer treatment that exploits the competitive interactions between subclones. Its aim is to maintain a stable tumor burden by keeping a sufficient population of sensitive cells which suppress the proliferation of the ‘less fit’ resistant cells. Our lab has generated unique panels of carboplatin- and cisplatin-resistant OVCAR4 and COV318 HGSOC cell lines to model acquired resistance to chemotherapy. We have demonstrated competition between platinum-sensitive and resistant cells in vitro in a resource-poor environment. The competitive effect was removed on administration of chemotherapy but restored upon re-growth of the sensitive cell population. Flow cytometry for annexin V revealed that resistant cells undergo more apoptosis when cultured with sensitive cells, which increased in proportion to the size of the sensitive population. Competitive growth was also demonstrated in vivo in subcutaneous and intraperitoneal co-culture murine models. Importantly, carboplatin adaptive therapy significantly extended tumor control compared to standard treatment (60mg/kg carboplatin every 4 days for 3 doses) in a subcutaneous co-culture model, maintaining a stable tumor volume for up to 6 months. A challenge in bringing adaptive therapy to the clinical setting is quantifying the relative proportions of therapy-sensitive and resistant disease to guide the personalized scheduling of treatment. In HGSOC, chemotherapy resistance is correlated with a higher burden of copy number aberrations (CNAs). Our novel method “liquidCNA” quantifies the relative proportion of chemotherapy-resistant disease using low pass whole genome sequencing and CNAs as clonal markers. The method was verified using samples of sensitive and resistant HGSOC cells of varying tumor purity and subclonal ratio (proportion of resistant cells), and subsequently applied to longitudinal human samples collected from 18 patients, using the copy number profile from a diagnostic biopsy as a baseline for sensitive disease. We have demonstrated competition between chemo-sensitive and resistant cells both in vitro and in vivo. We have shown that adaptive therapy controls tumor burden for longer than standard therapy in a murine HGSOC model. Our novel method liquidCNA can be applied to liquid biopsies to monitor the relative drug-sensitive/resistant composition of tumors and could potentially be used to guide personalized treatment scheduling in future adaptive therapy clinical trials. Based on this research, we have developed the UK’s first clinical trial of adaptive therapy (ACTOv: Adaptive ChemoTherapy for Ovarian cancer), which will commence recruitment in Q2 2022. Citation Format: Helen Hockings, Michelle Lockley, Trevor Graham, Eszter Lakatos, Weini Huang. Developing adaptive therapy to suppress the evolution of treatment resistance in high-grade serous ovarian cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on the Evolutionary Dynamics in Carcinogenesis and Response to Therapy; 2022 Mar 14-17. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(10 Suppl):Abstract nr PR015.

The Development of Islāmic Culture and Civilization in Kashmīr and the Contribution of Muslim Ṣūfīs during the Medieval Times

Kashmīr has a long unique structure and identity due to its geographical beauty, natural resources, and traditional spiritual ethos since antiquity. In ancient times, although most Kashmīris were followers of Buddhism and Hinduism, in addition to these traditional religions, there was also an influential group ascetic mystics called Rishis in Kashmīr. They devoted their entire lives to abstinence (Nafs Kashi) and various spiritual struggles in order to control their desires of carnal self (Mujāhida’s). From the beginning of medieval times which is known as the golden age of Islāmic civilization and culture, the message of Islām spread rapidly throughout the world. In this regard, the group of Ṣūfīs played vital role in the whole Islāmic world. In Kashmīr, as in the rest of the subcontinent, Ṣūfīs made significant contributions to the propagation of Islām. The present article will examine the historical events of the medieval times, which are considered a milestone in the spread of Islām and the promotion of Islāmic civilization in Kashmīr. Moreover, the works of those Ṣūfī masters will be reviewed who have sacrificed a lot and done commendable works on the history of Kashmīr.

Honor in the land of inconsistency.On ethical reflections of Józef Tischner, Adam Michnik, and Leszek Kołakowski

Honor is one of the values permanently inscribed in the traditional ethos of the Polish culture. In the past centuries, it was a feature distinguishing only one social class – the nobility. However, as a result of cultural changes, the concept of honor was democratized, thus entering the universal system of values, shaping the entire social structure. The above notwithstanding, the understanding of this concept had not become homogenized in the process. Even today, one can still observe the concurrence of different styles of thinking about honor, manifest in a variety of coexisting patterns of honorable behavior and particular attitudes to honor, whose respective uniqueness depends on socio-cultural contexts. It is, therefore, possible to speak of the honor of peasants or Highlanders, or of the honor of an oppositionist or an intellectual, and it stands to reason that in each case the sense of the concept will prove to be slightly different. In this text, the author presents the results of an analysis of the ways in which honor is understood by Józef Tischner and Leszek Kołakowski – two Polish thinkers who played important roles in the intellectual life of Poland in the second half of the twentieth century. These considerations are further complemented by a reflection on one of the leading activists of the democratic opposition in the final years of the Polish People’s Republic, an influential writer, journalist, editor, author of Z dziejów honoru w Polsce. Wypisy więzienne [From the History of Honor in Poland. Prison Notes] and numerous other books – Adam Michnik. An insight into his views on honor, and the reflection on the stance he adopted, combined with the analysis of Tischner’s position, allows the author to reconstruct Leszek Kołakowski’s ideal of honor, whose currency transgresses time.

Glue, the Trainspotting novels and transition from working-class solidarity to neoliberal entrepreneurship

This article discusses some of Irvine Welsh’s novels considering the period of transition from industrial to post-industrial society. We focus on the effects of this shift on fictional characters who originate from the working classes in Edinburgh, as represented in Welsh’s Glue (2001) and the Trainspotting Novels. As such works cover the period from the early 1970’s to the late 2010’s, Welsh evidences the move from the traditional working-class ethos, typified by Union solidarity, to the neoliberal culture of entrepreneurship and its related negative aspects. We propose to discuss how Welsh depicts neoliberal practices either rendering workers redundant for the new circumstances or creating new ways to exploit labour.

Examining the contribution of community participation in water resource production and management: perspectives from developing countries

As a result of climate change and rapid urbanization, attention increasingly turns to the management of water resources. Proper management of water resources has become a core concern for development practitioners and national governments, especially in the developing world. Accordingly, Community Participation (CP) has been touted as a viable model for managing water in resource scarce regions. This paper synthesizes literature written both from practice-focused and critical-academic perspectives by (1) examining the historical roots of CP theory and (2) reviewing its contribution in water resource production and management. By focusing on these two areas, the paper engages with the issue of water management in this century of climate change, while tracing the theoretical and historical roots of CP. Furthermore, by providing a comprehensive assessment of community participation and its contribution in water resource production, the paper lays the ground for a more in-depth analysis of CP as a central development strategy. Overall, the findings demonstrate CP as a development theory that was well grounded in the African traditional ethos. Using participatory mechanisms communities have managed to deliver development dividends such as maintenance of watersheds and other environmental preservation activities. On the western front, the role of CP has been well established on the principle of democratic governance. In a similar vein, from the Asian perspective, the concept of participatory development is reflected in the legendary work of Mahatma Gandhi. In the domain of water service, the review demonstrates that CP is the panacea of good governance and development. It leads to promoting and protecting the hygiene quality of potable water, enhances sustainability of water supply systems, and leads to the establishment of well-designed/well-constructed water service facilities. We conclude by suggesting that; (a) managers of community water supplies schemes together with their development partners should support CP as the most viable policy for improving water service delivery in this era of climate change and rapid urbanization and (b) we note that while no doubt remain on the prowess of CP theory as a tool for success in the water service sector, more specific case studies based on comparative evaluation are still needed to synthesize context-specific evidence.

Dr. Excellent: The Systemic and Personal Conditions for Being an Academic Star in Communication Studies

Pursuing excellence is a legitimate ambition of many scholars worldwide. However, between wishful thinking and real facts lies a great leap that can only be bridged using a myriad of resources. We label these the excellence repertoire. Based on 25 interviews with successful communication scholars, we show the key role of accumulating social, economic, and institutional capital in shaping the excellence repertoire. The study argues that the fetishization of productivity might jeopardize the traditional ethos of science, in a context where research excellence may be disconnected from the quality of education.

‘A world without Down’s syndrome’ – an evaluation of foetal diagnosis in light of the ethos of medicine

This article is an ethical evaluation of two familiar views in the debate on foetal diagnosis; one being the mainstream view in medical texts emphasizing early detection of foetuses with Down´s syndrome so they may be aborted, and the other coming from Down´s syndrome activists claiming that such screening is never acceptable. The core question asked is: What ethical weaknesses in modern medical practice does this discussion reveal? I argue that the marketization of noninvasive prenatal testing (NIPT) and the mainstream discussion in the health sector on its application shows two trends undermining the traditional ethos of medicine. Firstly, that doctors are, in their work, concentrating on diseases as isolated entities, whereas the patient and her life remains in the shadow. Secondly, the emphasis has been on the scientific foundation of medicine where the clinical evaluation of these scientific facts has not received due attention. Points of interest This article is about how we can evaluate ethically two different views on tests done on foetuses. It describes how some medical texts talk about tests done on foetuses to see if they have Down’s syndrome; and secondly, how some people with Down´s syndrome and their families talk about such tests. The medical view is criticized for failing to understand the importance of the lives of people with Down´s syndrome and for not taking their views of the value of their lives seriously. The medical texts focus on diseases instead of patients. Thus they tend to ignore the life and value of the person having the disease. The medical view is mainly about science and facts. It ignores the question of whether and how these facts matter for the patient. People with Down´s syndrome and their families have criticized this medical approach. Their criticism is very important.

Organisational culture of higher education institutions in the process of implementing changes – case study

ABSTRACT The article aimed at typology of the type and profile of the current and desired organisational culture in the selected universities in Poland, indication of the factors shaping it, indication of action motivators and success criteria according to the academia’s viewpoint. This is part of the results of more extensive research. The research tool used was the OCAI Questionnaire by Cameron K.S., Quinn R.E., as well as typology of organisational culture by Deal T.E., and Kennedy P. The study was conducted among the academic staff of the economic and social faculties and the university authorities in five academic centres. The conducted study has clearly exhibited that universities are following in the steps of the American model towards the culture of market and hierarchy. The management style of the organisation and human resources is also aimed at the market, which involves accountability, reporting and bureaucracy. This type of culture is not accepted by all the academia and the pace of change is short term. The departure from the traditional academic ethos has already taken place.

Ethicalisation of higher education reform: The strategic integration of academic discourse on scholarly ethos

The article presents the results of an analysis of the academic dispute about the scholarly ethos, conducted at the time of intense higher education reforms in Poland. Previous analyses of the academic debate on the change of the traditional university towards its entrepreneurial organization emphasize the polarization, that is, the criticism or affirmation of neoliberal reforms. The presented research proves that this discourse loses its dichotomous power when it focuses on ethical issues. The analysis shows the ‘polyvalence’ and ‘strategic integration’ of discourse in the Foucauldian sense of the terms. Firstly, the issue of the traditional scholarly ethos is clearly present both among the opponents and supporters of the current changes in higher education. Secondly, both critical and affirmative discourses refer to the traditional ethos, i.e. they do not attempt to develop any new ethopoiesis, which may be surprising especially in the case of the latter. Instead, they use a ‘peculiar reversal’, pointing to factors located outside the university and yet affecting academic standards. Thirdly, individual attributes of the traditional ethos are taken over by neoliberal discourse, which modifies them and adjusts them to its own purposes. The term ‘ethicalization’ of higher education reform describes ethical problematizations of the contemporary university transformation.

Low pass whole genome sequencing can be used to calculate the relative proportion of chemotherapy resistant disease in high grade serous ovarian cancer

Abstract Background Survival in high grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) is impacted by the emergence of resistance to platinum chemotherapy. The traditional ethos of killing the greatest number of cancer cells with the maximum tolerated dose of chemotherapy may be flawed in evolutionary terms, facilitating the growth of resistant subclones and accelerating decreased treatment efficacy. Adaptive therapy is a new model of cancer treatment that exploits the competitive interactions between drug-sensitive and resistant subclones. The aim is to maintain a stable tumour burden by keeping a sufficient population of sensitive cells which suppress the proliferation of the ‘less fit’ resistant cells. A challenge in bringing adaptive therapy to the clinical setting is quantifying the relative proportions of sensitive and resistant disease to guide the personalised scheduling of treatment. In HGSOC, chemotherapy resistance is not associated with any common, measurable point mutations, but is correlated with a higher burden of copy number aberrations. We have utilised this to develop a method of quantifying the relative proportion of chemotherapy resistant disease. Methods An in silico dilution series was created using known copy number profiles of paired sensitive and resistant HGSOC OVCAR4 cells. Low pass whole genome sequencing (1×) was performed on cell mixtures of known ratios and bioinformatician-blinded ratios, combined with varied amounts of ‘normal’ DNA extracted from donor leucocytes. Results Our proof of principle experiment verified the method of quantifying copy number aberrations as a biomarker of the resistant population. The technique is now being applied to circulating tumour DNA isolated from serial plasma samples collected from 10 HGSOC patients, using the copy number profile from a diagnostic biopsy as a baseline for sensitive disease. Conclusions We have developed a method to monitor the relative drug-sensitive/resistant composition of tumours that can be applied to liquid biopsies. This will enable real-time serial tracking of tumour composition allowing for tumour heterogeneity, and guide personalised treatment scheduling in adaptive therapy. Legal entity responsible for the study The authors. Funding Cancer Research UK. Disclosure All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.

Heroic memory and contemporary war

AbstractInter-State wars seem to have come to an end in the late 1990s; ever since, the global reality of collective violence has come down to the chaos of contemporary civil wars and terrorist attacks. In this article, it will be argued that in today's civil wars, as well as in terrorist violence, the traditional warrior ethos is fading, giving way to types of violence governed by a new psychological and social paradigm. In other words, it is assumed that the very set of values that has universally determined the male gender role and the frame of hegemonic masculinity since time immemorial has also informed the waging of war according to a “heroic regime of violence”, and this phenomenon has made war a desirable option for countless generations of young men. On the other hand, the global changes entailed by modernity seem to have undermined this warrior ethos, giving way to a “post-heroic regime” in which extermination-oriented violence, rather than combat-oriented violence, is fostered. In this article, the author will scrutinize the founding psychological and social determinants that have so far upheld the cultural construct of the heroic model, in order to illuminate the ominous consequences of the deculturation of war in today's chaotic conflicts. In such contexts, the men who are fighting1 suffer from a loss of meaning and the impossibility of gaining dignity and social recognition in an ecosystem of humiliation and ubiquitous violence that has little to do with the expectations of pride and dignity conveyed by the past ideals of heroism associated with a certain vision of masculinity. The article will also discuss ways and means of getting the message of international humanitarian law through to men on the front lines caught up in such circumstances.

Computer Human Interaction: A Blessing or Curse for Ghanaian Youth?

Information and Communication Technology ICT and Traditional African Religion TAR (Voodoo/Vodou) promote the integration of socio-cultural, political and economic system of the people in Africa. However, the youth, (Sakawa Boys) merge technology with religion to commit internet fraud. Sakawa is the use of evil occult powers to commit internet fraud by possessing the mind of the foreign cyber target. These Sakawa boys manipulate vodou powers by performing certain frightening rituals for spiritual empowerment before logging into the internet. This has brought different changes to the socio-cultural and ideological bases of Ghanaians. This study reviewed literature on the causal factors, their modus operandi and the consequences of technology human interaction in Ghana. The Internet and Vodou rituals are found to be the major driving force for Sakawa boys to practice their trade. The consequences of the activities of these boys included infertility, mental illness, sickness or death for the perpetrators and the victims of their ritual sacrifices. Based on traditional ethos, this has transformed the preferences and social values of the youth in Ghana.

Is Science Epistemically Autonomous?

In this overview of recent works in philosophy of science, the discussions of the nature of scientific rationalism and epistemic normativity of science are presented as taking place between the two extremes: the radical anarchism of social constructivism that claims that science has no epistemic normativity of its own and complete isolationism, according to which the rationalist norms of science are totally immune to any influence of non-scientific context. The author explores the arguments of the conception of social empiricism, according to which irrationality in the actions of individual scientists as well as in their motivation need not entail irrationality of science as a social enterprise because the factor of consensus plays a role in forming the picture of the world that ends up being accepted by the scientific community. The feminist attack on the traditional ethos of scientist is discussed. It is shown that feminist criticism revealed the hidden biases in what seemed to be a bias-free scientific worldview. However, some counterarguments against egalitarian principles of organization of science are also mentioned. Rudner’s hypothesis according to which the comparison of different pieces of evidence on the scale of credibility is always ethically biased is discussed and its influence on the contemporary philosophy of science is explored. Finally, the author presents some recent arguments that suggest that contextual influence on science can be legitimate and illegitimate.

Etos chłopski i ludzie pracy. Nauczyciele z awansu społecznego o pracy w badaniach nad pamięcią Polski Ludowej 2009-2012

This article is an attempt to find elements of the traditional peasant ethos in narrations of teachers from Łodź. The teachers came from poor peasant families. They got their education thanks to own effort and help of the socialist state. In their relationship to the performed work it is possible to find certain elements of the traditional ethos of the Polish peasant. These element are: diligence, resourcefulness, convincing the performance of work about the need by every man. For them their work is a form of a service for the society.

The Erosion of UK Higher Education: “Are Students Our Consumers?”

Given the rapid growth of the higher education sector in UK and the challenges it has faced in the past two decades, the government recognizes that a more concise, economical, and efficient management system for higher education should be established. This system requires all relevant institutions to locate students at the core of higher education services and treat them as consumers of higher education. The government has repeatedly stressed that students spend money to receive education and they must feel that they gain “value for money.” Students are involved in drawing up curriculum standards, quality assessment, and preparation of the syllabus. Such “student-centered” working philosophy, which is characterized by comprehensiveness, specialization and standardization, is deeply embedded in teaching, research, management, and student affairs. The current mainstream of world higher education development is market-based and student-centered. On one hand, the students’ willingness to consume and their actions determine the direction of higher education development. On the other hand, “students as consumers” are slowly eroding the traditional ethos of the higher education system. Module marks become a kind of good that can be bargained for, and the essence of education is slowly changing.

Poor theory and the art of plastic pollution in Nigeria: relational aesthetics, human ecology, and “good housekeeping”

ABSTRACTThe art of plastic pollution from Nigeria marks more than an environmental consciousness. It also marks an ecological consciousness based on contemporary plastic-waste artists’ commitment to advocating the recovery of traditions of repurposing materials and of skilled craft work. These contemporary artists are proposing that Nigeria negotiate its own modern identity by recuperating creative traditions of object making that combine the values of utility and of artistry in the practice of craft. The emphasis on plastic specifically as an artistic medium highlights the clash of what eco-artist Bright Eke calls a “bottled life” – entrapped, wasteful, unhealthy, ego-centric – with a traditional ethos of interconnectedness and eco-consciousness. Drawing together data from personal interviews, filmed documentaries, and museum talks, this essay argues that the current generation of artists is using salvaged plastic as a primary medium to rethink Nigerian ecology in terms of “good housekeeping” – a specifically Nigerian oikos.

Rhetorical Touch: Disability, Identification, Haptics by Shannon Walters

Rhetorical Touch: Disability, Identification, Haptics by Shannon Walters

Becoming good in Africa: A critical appraisal of Stanley Hauerwas’ ecclesial ethic in the sub-Saharan context

The present article examines the appropriateness of Stanley Hauerwas’ ecclesial ethic for the sub-Saharan African churches. Thus, it consists in a Christian ethical assessment of the metaethical foundational categories of his ecclesial ethic. In brief, his proposal is eclectic and pluri-disciplinarily applicable to the churches of various denominations. It reflects the marks of the Aristotelian ethical tradition endorsed by Thomas Aquinas and recovered by several communitarian philosophers. It also includes some discernible ecclesio-centric and postliberal theological accents. The promising insights of this proposal include: (1) the necessity to ordain the church’s worship, polity and its entire way of life to the spiritual and moral formation of church members; (2) the stress on Christian virtuous life, identity formation, witness and non-conformism in social ethics. However, essentially designed against the background of a Western, liberal, autonomous and individualist self, Hauerwas’ ecclesial ethic is not a definitive answer for the holistic, normative and communalist moral self, characteristic of the traditional African ethos and influencing a large majority in Africa. Moreover, it stresses the purity of the church in a way that restricts cooperation between Christians and nonChristians for socio-economic justice and the common good.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: Therefore, Hauerwas’ virtue, narrative, community and social ethics provide some valuable insights for moral formation in African churches as it explores the interplay between ecclesiology, Christian ethics, practical theology and philosophical ethics. For sure, other relevant resources should come from African spirituality, developmental psychology and sociology of religion.