Foundational Questions Research Articles

Co-opting “Danger” in Specialized Media for the Police

Widespread protests for racial justice during the summer of 2020 raised foundational questions about the role of the police in U.S. society. In this article, the authors analyze an underexplored body of media representations that perform ideological work in this context. The authors examine specialized media targeting a law enforcement audience, asking how news articles published on the Web site Police1 represented the police profession and the protests for racial justice over a two-year period. The authors map major themes using topic modeling and qualitative content analysis. They find that the articles represent police work as dangerous and heroic and as simultaneously professional, legitimate, and accountable to broader legal and political systems. In addition, articles disproportionately represent the dangers experienced by police officers relative to the dangers caused by policing. Co-opting the concept of danger may reinforce the warrior mentality of police occupational culture, while precluding recognition of the patterned and racialized harms of policing.

911 Usage by Boston Public Schools: A Researcher–Practitioner Partnership

Abstract To reduce police presence in schools, School Resource Officer programmes are being eliminated across the USA. However, police also become involved in schools through other routes—namely, in response to school calls to 911. This type of police involvement has generally been overlooked in prior studies of school use of police services. In addition, prior research has primarily relied on interview and survey data of school administrators. We describe a researcher–practitioner partnership created to address the limitations of this prior research and to answer foundational questions from one urban school district—Boston Public Schools (BPS)—about police involvement in schools through calls to 911. First, we discuss ongoing collaborative work conducted among the Boston Police Department (BPD), BPS, and academic partners. Next, we provide an example of how this partnership can address pressing questions identified by BPS by providing the results of an analysis of 911 calls. In particular, we examine the ways in which elementary versus secondary schools in the BPS system differ in their patterns of 911 usage across schools when requesting assistance from the BPD. This work provides an example of how researcher–practitioner partnerships can inform policy and practice in schools, and guide decision-making about school-based police services.

Naturalism and the Question of Ontology

Abstract What is the so-called “question of ontology?” Is the question of ontology genuinely a question about “categories” (Lowe 2006), “structure” (Sider 2011), “existence” (Thomasson 2015), or rather “reality” (Fine 2009)? In this article, I defend the neo-Sellarsian approach to the question of ontology, a novel, naturalistic approach according to which the foundational question of ontology is about “understanding the manifest and the scientific images of the world, and their multiple relationships.” First, I argue for the thesis of Impure Eliminativism, a form of constructive pluralism about the question of ontology by which the substantivity of questions of ontology which are not the neo-Sellarsian one is to be built upon certain relations with the neo-Sellarsian question of ontology. Second, I argue for the categorial plasticity of the two images and their relations in connection with the hypothesis of Weak Epistemic Factualism. Third, and lastly, I argue for a person-based ontology framed in terms of the crucial notions of “fact” and “understanding” in response to the eliminativist categorizations of the two images and their relationships proposed by substantialism and structuralism.

Questions We Share

Abstract For my Victorian literature course of autumn 2022, I set myself a goal of not privileging either the secularisation thesis or a potential sacramentalisation thesis, but of helping students see that serious writers almost always address the same set of foundational questions—even as, given their individuality and context, they respond to them differently, as we all do. In the Reformed Christian tradition, such foundational questions are understood to inform all academic inquiry, making all teaching and research neither religiously neutral nor radically relative. Within this context, I consider with my students the question ‘what foundational questions does the religious impulse at the heart of humankind ask?’ through a renewed reading of Genesis 1–3.

LINGUODIDACTIC BASIS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF STUDENTS ' CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS THROUGH VIDEO MATERIALS

The article deals with the question of the linguodidactic foundations of the development of critical thinking skills of students using video materials.

Borders within Borders: Superkilen as the Site of Assimilation

Cultural assimilation of “Muslim” immigrants in Europe poses a foundational question to political philosophy: is assimilation a prerequisite for socio-economic integration? What is often interpreted as the symptom of failed integration is the proliferation of ethnic enclaves in European metropolises. Non-white immigrants who experience discrimination and marginalization withdraw into isolated zones, creating internal borders within cities. These spaces are susceptible to a host of social problems and often become a fertile ground for radicalization. The State turns to design techniques to break open these ghettoized zones. This paper analyzes an urban renewal project that was conceived to address marginality in one such neighborhood in Copenhagen. Despite the façade of inclusivity and democratic participation, the design creates a parody of Muslim cultures by remixing culturally-significant symbols. In representing immigrants’ cultures as “Other,” the ideology of design mirrors the exclusionary preferences of the politics of the border.

The bladder contractility and bladder outlet obstruction indices in adult women. Results of a global Delphi consensus study.

This Delphi study was planned to examine global expert consensus with regard to utility, accuracy, and categorization of the bladder contractility index (BCI), bladder outlet obstruction index (BOOI), and the related evidence. This manuscript deals with adult women and follows a previous manuscript reporting on adult men. Twenty-nine experts were invited to answer the two-round survey including three foundation questions and 12 survey questions. Consensus was defined as ≥75% agreement. The ordinal scale (0-10) in round 1 was classified into "strongly agree," "agree," "neutral," "disagree," and "strongly disagree" for the final round. A systematic search for evidence was conducted for therapeutic studies that have examined outcome stratified by the indices in women. Eighteen experts participated in the survey with 100% completion. Consensus was noted with regard to 2 of 12 questions, both in the negative. The experts had a consensus that BOOI was neither accurate nor useful and a similar negative trend was noted with regard to BCI. However, there was support, short of consensus, for the utility on an index of bladder contractility and bladder outflow obstruction. Systematic search yielded eight publications pertaining to stress urinary incontinence (n = 6), pelvic organ prolapse (n = 1), and intra-sphincteric botulinum toxin (n = 1). Experts had significant concerns with regard to the use of the male BCI and BOOI in adult women despite a general recognition of the need for numerical indices of contractility and obstruction. Systematic search showed a striking lack of evidence in this regard.

Encoding the law of State responsibility with courage and resolve: James Crawford and the 2001 Articles on State Responsibility

The breadth of James Crawford’s work as an academic and practitioner of international law is astonishing: from boundary delimitation to foundational sources questions to the complexities of annulment in investment arbitration, little seemed beyond his grasp or interest. From the 1990s onwards, State responsibility became a focus of his work, guiding the International Law Commission (ILC) through a swift second reading of the Articles on Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts (Articles). The eventual text, adopted in 2001 and annexed to United Nations General Assembly resolution 56/83, while reflecting a collective ILC effort, bears his imprint. This contribution takes three observations by Crawford as prompts for a discussion of both his role in their crafting and of the Articles’ place in contemporary international law. First, the Articles have ‘encoded the way we think about [State] responsibility’. Second, this encoding exercise marked ‘a step in the direction of profitable generalization’. Finally, the fact that this exercise resulted in a formally non-binding text has permitted ‘the Articles as part of the fabric of general international law to be consolidated and refined’ in the day-to-day interpretation and application of international law. The article concludes with brief remarks on their future status.

‘New Forces’: How Classroom Textbooks Are Redefining Journalism

Educators increasingly need to teach journalism within everchanging digital newsrooms. This study conducts a rare analysis of popular, United States–focused textbooks to answer a foundational question: What is journalism? Drawing on concepts of journalism’s social function, this analysis finds the university textbooks are providing more upbeat messages, but significantly different definitions. General textbooks often emphasize a dominant, print-oriented watchdog role, while specialized books mostly accentuate journalists’ neighborly, multimedia approach to reporting everyday life. This study points to the value of providing pluralist journalism approaches that show varied views of journalists’ moral authority in reporting for diverse audiences.

Functionally and structurally distinct fusiform face area(s) in over 1000 participants

The fusiform face area (FFA) is a widely studied region causally involved in face perception. Even though cognitive neuroscientists have been studying the FFA for over two decades, answers to foundational questions regarding the function, architecture, and connectivity of the FFA from a large (N>1000) group of participants are still lacking. To fill this gap in knowledge, we quantified these multimodal features of fusiform face-selective regions in 1053 participants in the Human Connectome Project. After manually defining over 4,000 fusiform face-selective regions, we report five main findings. First, 68.76% of hemispheres have two cortically separate regions (pFus-faces/FFA-1 and mFus-faces/FFA-2). Second, in 26.69% of hemispheres, pFus-faces/FFA-1 and mFus-faces/FFA-2 are spatially contiguous, yet are distinct based on functional, architectural, and connectivity metrics. Third, pFus-faces/FFA-1 is more face-selective than mFus-faces/FFA-2, and the two regions have distinct functional connectivity fingerprints. Fourth, pFus-faces/FFA-1 is cortically thinner and more heavily myelinated than mFus-faces/FFA-2. Fifth, face-selective patterns and functional connectivity fingerprints of each region are more similar in monozygotic than dizygotic twins and more so than architectural gradients. As we share our areal definitions with the field, future studies can explore how structural and functional features of these regions will inform theories regarding how visual categories are represented in the brain.

The Other Mechanisms by Which the Rht Genes Improve the Harvest Index of Wheat.

Uncovering the mechanism that underlies the relationship between crop height and grain yield would potentially inform the strategies for improving wheat with optimal height. The aim of the research reported here was to identify the attributes able to produce wheat yield increases in Rht genotypes without further straw-shortening. Attention was given to examination in a controlled environment the question of the mechanistic foundation that determined the relationship between wheat height and yield in lines (Rht-B1b, Rht-D1b, Rht-B1c, Rht-D1c) compared to wild types in Mercia background. In addition to height reduction, this research revealed three other mechanisms by which the Rht genes may also improve the Harvest Index (HI) of wheat: (i) low Specific Leaf Area (SLA), (ii) increased Mean Residence Time (MRT) of Nitrogen (N), and (iii) increased grain number on spike.

The bladder contractility and bladder outlet obstruction indices in adult men:Results of a global Delphi consensus study.

This Delphi study was planned to examine global expert consensus with regard to utility, accuracy, and categorization of Bladder Contractility Index (BCI) and Bladder Outlet Obstruction Index (BOOI) and the related evidence. Twenty-eight experts were invited to answer the two-round survey including three foundation questions and 15 survey questions. Consensus was defined as ≥75% agreement. The ordinal scale (0-10) in round 1 was classified into "strongly agree,""agree,""neutral,""disagree," and "strongly disagree" for the final round. A systematic search for evidence was conducted for therapeutic studies that have examined outcome stratified by the indices in men. Nineteen experts participated in the survey with 100% completion. Consensus was noted with regard to 6 of 19 questions. Experts strongly agreed with utility of quantifying bladder contractility and bladder outflow obstruction with near unanimity regarding the latter. There was consensus that BCI and BOOI were accurate, that BCI was clinically useful, and for defining severe bladder outflow obstruction as BOOI > 80. Systematic search yielded 69 publications (BCI 45; BOOI 50). Most studies examined the indices as a continuous variable or by standard cutoffs (BCI 100, 150; BOOI 20, 40). There is general agreement among experts on need for indices to quantify bladder contractility and bladder outflow obstruction as well as with regard to accuracy and utility of BCI and BOOI indices. Few studies have examined the discriminant power of existing cutoffs or explored new ones. This is an extraordinary knowledge gap in the field of urology.

On the question of the philosophical foundations of the geoecotones theory: synergetics, anthropocentrism, geosystem paradigm


 
 
 In this article, the problem of the philosophical foundations of the geographic theory of geoecotone is considered. As such, the authors propose the traditions of neopla- tonic philosophy, based on the ontological teaching of Empedocles, the modern philosoph- ical teachings of the actor-network theory of B. Latour and object-oriented ontology. The noospheric power of a person is realized in globalization processes through the expansion of various social and economic institutions, primarily the global ones, which cause corresponding changes in the activities of institutions at lower system levels, and those, accord- ingly, already have a direct impact on their environment. The borderline character of the geoecotone is historically enhanced as the anthropogenic impact on the geographic shell as a whole and its individual elements intensifies. Geoecotones are formed as a special type of geosystems, which are complex systems characterized by a contradictory unity of internal heterogeneity and functional connectivity. The action of the anthropogenic factor is so broad that almost any fragment of modern geospace can be classified to geoecotones in the state of bifurcation and uncertainty. The direct result of the development of mankind was the formation of multilevel ecological and economic systems. It has been determined that the spatial formation of such systems is directly related to the geoecotonization of the geographic shell. The authors analyze the approaches to the philosophical substantiation of the study of the culture and socioge- netic functions of the geoecotone. The formation of geoecotones is an objective process leading to the transformation of geographical knowledge itself. The logical-dialectical comparison of the processes of geoecotonization leads to the idea of their isomorphism with the processes of the development of geographical science, characterized by the universalization and complication of the category-conceptual apparatus.
 
 

The value method in literary studies (on the interpretation of N.A. Nekrasov's work in the axiological aspect)

Nekrasov's work presents a certain problem for studying from the point of view of the value system expressed in it. Despite the fact that quite a large number of works were devoted to this problem in Soviet times, it does not seem to be solved. The most productive approach to solving the question of the ethical foundations of Nekrasov's poetry seems to be the reconstruction of the understanding of the connection between aesthetics and ethics, characteristic of the socio-philosophical thought of his time. Throughout the 1830s and 1850s, the Russian liberal intelligentsia turned to German classical philosophy in search of answers to the question of the place of art in the world. From the philosophy of Kant, who sharply divided ethics and aesthetics and denied the possibility of art's direct impact on the world and society, she moved on to Schelling's "system of transcendental idealism". Not satisfied with the potential "immoralism" of this system, Russian liberal thought accepted Hegel's philosophy, on the one hand, recognizing the need for the philosopher to "accept" reality, on the other – reserving the artist the right to criticize this reality as not corresponding to his "concept". In the 1850s, the thinkers of the circle of Chernyshevsky and Dobrolyubov made additions based on Feuerbach's philosophy, but in fact it remains unchanged. These concepts allow us to truly understand Nekrasov's axiology, to truly approach his specific "poetry of reality", combining the pursuit of aesthetic perfection, philosophical acceptance of the world in its entirety and sharp criticism of modern society.

What Can Mainstream Entrepreneurship Learn from Transnational Entrepreneurs?

Transnationalism in entrepreneurship has predominantly been examined in the context of transnational individuals functioning as multi-resource arbitrageurs between their home and host countries. In this systematic review, we unpack the ways in which transnational entrepreneurs leverage a variety of resources to discover, enact, evaluate, and exploit opportunities across borders, shedding light on both foundational research questions and burgeoning research conversations in the field of entrepreneurship. We review and synthesise the theoretical perspectives, methodologies, and contexts reflected in the past decade of research since the concept of transnational entrepreneurship was introduced. As research on transnational entrepreneurship has emerged in multiple adjacent fields such as strategy, international business, economics, and sociology, we adopt a context-sensitive lens to make sense of these multiple, yet largely fragmented insights, with the goal of expanding the focus of inquiry and propelling the discourse of transnational entrepreneurship beyond niche subfields, to advance entrepreneurship research more broadly.

Meaning in time: on temporal externalism and Kripkenstein’s skeptical challenge

The main question of metasemantics, or foundational semantics, is why an expression token has the meaning (semantic value) that it in fact has. In his reading of Ludwig Wittgenstein’s later work, Saul Kripke presented a skeptical challenge that threatened to make the foundational question unanswerable. My first contention in this paper is that the skeptical challenge indeed poses an insoluble paradox, but only for a certain kind of metasemantic theory, against which the challenge effectively works as a reductio ad absurdum argument. My second contention is that as a result of rejecting the theory which entails a paradoxical outcome, we will see that the foundational question essentially involves a temporal dimension. After arguing that the skeptical challenge gives us a strong reason to adopt a historical view of meaning, I shall further argue against certain authors who claim that meanings not only have histories but futures as well, or that the meaning of a word may change retroactively in time as a consequence of counterfactual change in its future use. The major aim of the paper is thus to bring together the arguably interrelated debates about the skeptical challenge and temporal externalism in philosophy of language.

The Book of Acts as Story: A Narrative-Critical Study by David R. Bauer

Reviewed by: The Book of Acts as Story: A Narrative-Critical Study by David R. Bauer Christine H. Aarflot david r. bauer, The Book of Acts as Story: A Narrative-Critical Study (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2021). Pp. xii + 284. Paper $32.99. In The Book of Acts as Story, David R. Bauer offers a narrative-critical reading of the Acts of the Apostles. In chap. 1, B. explores some of the foundational questions related to treating Acts as story and, in chap. 2, discusses central aspects of narrative criticism and their uses in reading Acts. Chapter 3 proposes a literary structure for reading Acts, and chaps. 4–7 offer a narrative-critical reading of Acts based on the literary structure and understanding of the plot presented in the previous two chapters. In chap. 1, B. discusses the relationship between Acts and the Gospel of Luke and raises the question of genre. He concludes, and rightly so in my opinion, that Acts "has its own message to convey, but on the other hand cannot be fully or even adequately understood without reference to the Gospel" (p. 7). B. brings this insight to his reading of Acts in chaps. 4–7. In terms of genre, B. follows the larger consensus of scholarship on Acts and treats the book as ancient historiography. Chapter 2 introduces narrative criticism as B.'s method for reading Acts, spending time particularly on the plot of Acts. This he considers to be made up of the way the events of the narrative are organized to form a story, and the conflicts the story revolves around (p. 15). Accordingly, B. does not follow contemporary literary research; he concentrates more on plot as the story's effect on the readers and their encounter with the questions raised by the story. Hence, I was left with the question, What would the plot have looked like according to B. if the questions Acts raises through its narrative had been in focus? In chap. 3, B. looks at the literary structure of Acts as reflected by the programmatic statement by Jesus in Acts 1:8: the movement of witness from Jerusalem to Samaria to the end of the earth. B. also discusses the roles of the ascended Jesus and the Holy Spirit in guiding and empowering the apostles' witness, the repetition of important events and themes, summary statements, and role of the speeches. In chaps. 4–7, B. takes us through Acts read as story. He pays due attention to the importance of Acts' beginning for the development of the rest of the story (chap. 4: Acts 1:1–26), spends some time with the apostles in Jerusalem (chap. 5: Acts 2:1–8:1a), traces the witness through Judea and Samaria to Antioch (chap. 6: Acts 8:1b–12:25), and finally follows Paul on his travels, through his arrest and on his way to trial in Rome (chap. 7: Acts 13:1–28:31). Throughout, B. remains true to his narrative-critical aim and espouses a clear understanding of how the different events are connected to bring forth Acts' witness to Christ. To read Acts as a story is a rewarding venture, but it is not without its dangers. In chap. 2, B. presents one of the central issues of Acts as a conflict "between the Church and [End Page 494] its Jewish opponents" (p. 23; cf. p. 18). It is certainly true that the apostles face opposition from Jews throughout Acts and that they often appear as an antagonistic character group. However, both historical and literary elements remind us that it is not unproblematic to distinguish between "the Church" and "the Jews" in this way. Because B.'s target audience consists of undergraduates, seminary students, pastors, and laypersons (p. 3), the history of anti-Semitism in the church warrants a particular reminder that Jesus's apostles were Jews. To be fair, B. does use the term "Jewish Christians" at times and therefore shows awareness of this, but this nuance is missing in his treatment of the plot. Moreover, on literary grounds, presenting "the Jews" as an antagonistic character group risks downplaying the fact that the apostles throughout their speeches...

Technologies of Visibility

Technologies of Visibility

Бизнес-тренинг как философско-антропологический феномен

The article raises the question of the anthropological foundations of the practical effect of the use of business training in the modern business community. The directions of the training impact on various aspects and personality traits are analyzed in relation to the most commonly used classification of values formed in business trainings that determine the formation of the mission of business organizations.

Human (but not animal) motion can be recognized at first sight – After treatment for congenital blindness

The long-standing nativist vs. empiricist debate asks a foundational question in epistemology – does our knowledge arise through experience or is it available innately? Studies that probe the sensitivity of newborns and patients recovering from congenital blindness are central in informing this dialogue.One of the most robust sensitivities our visual system possesses is to ‘biological motion’ – the movement patterns of humans and other vertebrates. Various biological motion perception skills (such as distinguishing between movement of human and non-human animals, or between upright and inverted human movement) become evident within the first months of life. The mechanisms of acquiring these capabilities, and specifically the contribution of visual experience to their development, are still under debate.We had the opportunity to directly examine the role of visual experience in biological motion perception, by testing what level of sensitivity is present immediately upon onset of sight following years of congenital visual deprivation. Two congenitally blind patients who underwent sight-restorative cataract-removal surgery late in life (at the ages of 7 and 20 years) were tested before and after sight restoration. The patients were shown displays of walking humans, pigeons, and cats, and asked to describe what they saw.Visual recognition of movement patterns emerged immediately upon eye-opening following surgery, when the patients spontaneously began to identify human, but not animal, biological motion. This recognition ability was evident contemporaneously for upright and inverted human displays.These findings suggest that visual recognition of human motion patterns may not critically depend on visual experience, as it was evident upon first exposure to un-obstructed sight in patients with very limited prior visual exposure, and furthermore, was not limited to the typical (upright) orientation of humans in real-life settings.