Powerful Ideas Research Articles

“Ordering the Wild”: How Adaptive Management Is Used to Maintain Nature Like a Postcard

In this paper we examine and critique adaptive management (AM) practices for protected areas (PAs), in pursuit of practices that can account for more-than-human relations. Engaging with empirical research from Australian PAs, we reflect on the formation of PAs as “exceptional places” where Nature is implicitly/explicitly to be controlled. We find that AM practices harness the spatial and temporal characteristics of the PAs to deliberatively construct a static and timeless scene, creating a particular vision of Nature. This metaphoric vision is captured “like a postcard.” It reinforces and justifies static protectionism as Nature conservation, arraigning a series of material objects that are meant to assist with maintaining that image: that “reality.” Using sentipensar as an exemplar, we explore and highlight relational and everchanging human-nonhuman engagements to contest the ontological dimensions of a static Nature and ideas of control and power associated with the binaries of Nature and culture.

Ihde meets Papert: combining postphenomenology and constructionism for a future agenda of philosophy of education in the era of digital technologies

ABSTRACT The paper proposes a framework for thinking about digital technologies, including AI, in education. The framework combines Don Ihde’s postphenomenology and Seymour Papert’s constructionism. The former is rooted in the philosophy of technology, the latter – in education and technology. The intersections between the two theories have been mentioned but not explored. There are biographical affinities between the two thinkers, and their ground-breaking works were published in adjacent years – Ihde’s Technics and Praxis in 1979 and Papert’s Mindstorms: Children, Computers, and Powerful Ideas in 1980. The intersection between the two theories is examined through a review of constructionism through the prism of the Ihde’s four postphenomenological relations showing how each relation matches a major constructionist thread: for embodiment relations, personalization fits; for hermeneutic relations – computational thinking; for alterity relations – microworld; and for background relations – democratization. The paper shows how the two theories contribute to each other and enrich the analysis.

From Thin to Thick

This article argues that contemporary research practices in artificial intelligence will produce AI technologies incompatible with human flourishing, social complexity, or vibrant politics. Adopting James Scott's anarchist squint, it instead proposes a vision of AI that embraces local vernaculars, the multiplicity of objectives, the responsibilities that come with producing persons, and the potential of instigating rather than circumventing political contestation. To clarify the stakes, it draws on the key evolutionary idea of niche construction, contrasting the thin, universalizing, top‐down construction characteristic of contemporary AI with thick, local, and contested co‐construction. It also introduces the idea of semantic power, showing how AI's ability to impose objective functions on the world shapes our very categories of meaning. Finally, it calls for a new social science of possible worlds, outlining strategies for rigorous exploration of the imaginal world where unrealized but possible social arrangements reside.

Embracing the mystery: David Hume's playful religion of wonder

AbstractIn this article I show how David Hume's works provide the ingredients for a conception of religiosity understood as a feeling of wonder concerning nature or existence, accompanied by a playful attitude regarding the imaginative shapes that can be given to this emotion. Hume serves as an inspiration rather than an object of study: I respect the spirit and values of his work, while going beyond his own explicit points. My reading accounts for Hume's aversion to traditional religions (‘superstition’), and for his acknowledgement of the universal attraction of the idea of invisible intelligent power and his own fascination with it. I argue first that superstition is a natural reaction to existential uncertainty. Second, I argue that uncertainty fuels activity, creativity and morality, and thus may be left untended. Though it always involves a measure of pain, too, human happiness is found in challenge and activity. Traditional monotheist religions respond to this need by generating experiences of wonder, thus, however, stimulating passive devotion and dogmatism. Opposing this, the suggestion of Hume's works is to respect the mystery of nature rather than shrouding it in unfounded convictions. The fictional character Philo illustrates how the longing for an answer by is itself can already be a profoundly religious feeling. Hume's descriptions of ancient polytheism and Philo show how this can be accompanied by a playful, imaginative interaction with the world.

The Transnationalism of Democracy and Power Multiplicity in Indonesia: A Critical Perspective

This article explores the concepts of power and democracy within the context of transnationalism, with a specific focus on Indonesia. It traces the foundational ideas of power from classical political thought to contemporary notions, bridging an understanding that reflects the complexity and multiplicity of power in a transnational world. The author emphasizes the importance of recognizing power multiplicity as a new way to perceive power, given the current historical structure that has produced various actors, transformed institutions, and deconstructed political arenas from traditional models to contemporary ones. The transnational historical structure not only creates new arenas for power but also shapes new methods of power production. These innovations have profound implications for political life and the current face of democracy in Indonesia, reflecting a transition from old paradigms to modern interpretations. The research offers a critical perspective on how transnational influences interact with domestic structure to redefine democracy and power dynamic in a rapidly globalizing world.

UUD 1945 Sebagai Konstitusi Normatif (Pembatasan Masa Jabatan Presiden dan Wakil Presiden)

This paper will identify (or diagnose) the problem of extending the term of office of the president and vice president in the normative constitutional concept. To overcome this problem, this article argues that we need to be a nation that is more obedient to the constitution, which restrictively stipulates that the President and Vice President only hold office for five years and can be re-elected for one more term. Based on these provisions, it should be noted that the constitution of the Constitution is a normative constitution which then gave birth to teachings or ideas of limited power in casu restrictions on the powers of the president and/or vice president. 
 Keywords: Constitutionalism, Term of Office.

POWER AND RESISTANCE IN TONI MORRISON'S SULA AND PARADISE: A FOUCAULDIAN STUDY

<p>Michel Foucault's notions of power and resistance are evocative as one attempt to explain the hitherto unexplained meaning of women's subjugation and resistance as represented in the patriarchal society in Toni Morrison's <em>Sula</em> and <em>Paradise</em>. The patriarchal agents in these novels enforce white beauty standards, dictate women's roles and behaviors, emphasize marriage and motherhood, and use sexual exploitation to control women. Research has shown that both novels have received widespread critical attention, exploring themes including the politics of maternal violence, counter-memory, biopower, internal racism, and colonialism. However, a comparative study of <em>Sula</em> and <em>Paradise</em> through Foucault's concepts of disciplinary power and constant surveillance may reveal the subtle ways power operates in patriarchal societies, and by analyzing the female characters' resistance strategies, the study may uncover how women challenge and resist patriarchal norms. Employing the textual analysis method and Foucault's ideas of power and resistance, this research aims to determine how the women of Morrison's <em>Sula</em> and <em>Paradise</em> suffer oppression due to patriarchal disciplinary power and constant surveillance in their community, which ultimately triggers their resistance.</p><p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/soc/0026/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

Restoring Reason and Tolerance at America’s Universities

ABSTRACT In Retaking College Hill: The Adults Are Back, Walter Donway takes us on a tour of a university that has been consumed by low standards and cancel culture. The dean is attempting to protect the university’s standards but is being opposed at every turn, and there is a plot to fi re him. A small group of his supporters try to help him. They face opposition of multiple types, including violence, each step of the way and must skillfully manage the situation. This is a novel of ideas—showing us how philosophy got the university into this mess, and how clear thinking and powerful ideas—such as those of Ayn Rand—can help reverse the trend.

التداولية في نهج البردة لأحمد شوقي

Pragmatics, as a discipline within linguistics, represents the most comprehensive branch of text science. It revolves around the study of linguistic communication and delves into the intricate relationships between sentences, contexts, and conditions across various languages. Consequently, pragmatics explores language as a rhetorical, communicative, and social phenomenon, while also focusing on the analysis of verbal aspects, known as pragmatism. The primary focus of pragmatics lies in understanding the interplay between a text and its context. This entails examining the internal structure of the text and its connection to communicative elements, specifically the Autonomus Syntax, which is vital for its intelligibility. In this regard, the present study investigates the key deliberative mechanisms present in the poem "Nahj Al-Burda," such as context, background knowledge, and the verbal verb theory. The findings of this research indicate that Shauqi's poem heavily draws inspiration from Imam Busiri's "Burda" poem, and numerous intertextualities share similar characteristics without any contradictions. Despite these similarities, Shauqi's literary style emerges as distinct and novel when compared to Busiri's poem. Shauqi's poem exhibits a profound message, a fresh style, genuine expression of reality, and a skillful portrayal of meaning and significance. Moreover, it captivates with its powerful ideas, leaving a lasting impact without losing its potency.
 Keywords: Pragmatics, linguistics, intelligibility, ahmad shauqi, intertextualities.

Dilemmas and Design Principles in Planning for Justice-Oriented Community-Based Mathematical Modeling Lessons

This article details the development of design principles to support teachers in planning for a Community-Based Mathematical Modeling task with a focus on social justice in the elementary grades. By reflecting on the dilemmas we encountered in the design and enactment of the tasks, we developed five design principles that allowed us to address issues of social justice as well as attend to powerful mathematical ideas to bring awareness and take action around a local problem. Through our article, we hope to share with mathematics teacher educators design principles to help plan for tasks with pre- and in-service teachers that prioritize connecting mathematics to social issues and empower both teachers and students to take action to make a positive impact in the community.

What happens when a country bleeds soft power? Conceptualising ‘Negative Watch’: towards an epistemology for negative and adversarial place branding

This article contends that the classic public diplomacy model prioritising scholarly research on maximising soft power in the eyes of foreign publics needs to be extended. It proposes a new concept, Negative Watch, which dyadically complements Nye’s in (Ann Am Acad Polit Soc Sci 616: 94–109, 2008) idea of soft power. By extending the epistemology surrounding negative place branding, this paper seeks to expand the debates around it. Where soft power is about accruing power via credibility, Negative Watch maps its loss, approaching it from a communicative dimension. Using a case study approach, the article presents the concept as a model with two key components (1) An index comprising a typology of unfavourable narratives connoting negative affect towards nation brands; (2) a heuristic model outlining a spectrum of outcomes precipitated by reputational decline. The index can be used as a self-assessment tool by a nation to track its reputational erosion, so that it may take measures before it progresses too far down the spectrum of consequences. It can also facilitate systemic assessment of external actors, including allies as well as adversaries, to facilitate strategic decision making within the realm of international relations and public diplomacy.

Paper Circuits vs. Breadboards: Materializing Learners’ Powerful Ideas Around Circuitry and Layout Design

This exploratory study compares how young people (ages 15–16) learn circuitry concepts and layout design principles important to electrical engineering using one of two educational circuitry toolkits: paper circuits and traditional solderless breadboards. Paper-based prototyping kits are representative of a trend that incorporates new materials and approaches to integrating arts into traditional STEM disciplines. Extending prior research on how non-traditional toolkits enhance learning of electrical engineering outcomes, including basic circuitry concepts (i.e., current flow, polarity, and connections), this study examines the material affordances and design choices of the kits that contribute to youth’s understanding of more advanced circuitry layout design principles, including space allocation, placement of electronic components, and routing. Results indicate that paper circuits better afford the learning of layout design principles for printed circuit boards (PCBs) with large effect sizes. This study illuminates how the materials of educational toolkits uniquely solicit body- and material-syntonic patterns of activity, and thus differentially engage learners’ powerful ideas around circuitry and design principles. This investigation encourages careful consideration of the material affordances of some toolkits over others for learning purposes.

Consensus under strain: policy ideas and decline of Finnish public innovation funding in the 2010s

Over the last three decades, the literature on innovation policy and ideas has expanded. Yet the ideas deployed by governments and elected politicians in day-to-day budgetary discourses have mostly escaped research attention. Against this background, this article provides an extensive empirical case study on the policy ideas (policy solutions and related problem definitions) invoked in the Finnish government and parliamentary discourses over budget allocations to the Finnish innovation funding and governance agency in the 2010s. The article argues that the interplay of three policy ideas motivated the Finnish governments and members of parliament to decrease public innovation funding in the 2010s. It is suggested that policymakers’ interpretations of macroeconomic developments, institutions and industrial change shaped the salience and feasibility of these ideas. The Finnish case illustrates that during prolonged economic crises austerity and business subsidies are particularly powerful policy ideas.

‘Neurodivergent literacies’: exploring autistic adults' ‘ruling passions’ and embracing neurodiversity through classroom literacies

AbstractThe concept of neurodiversity has fuelled a social justice movement advocating for the rights of those whose lives diverge from a socially‐constructed default. However, deficit understandings of disability persist in educational settings and neurodivergent people continue to face disadvantage and discrimination in organisations constructed on normative understandings of the world. Although New Literacy Studies is concerned with ideas of power, dominance and worth, there is a notable lack of work that connects NLS with issues of neurodiversity. In this paper, I introduce the term ‘neurodivergent literacies’ to propose a field of study that links the ideological model of literacy with the neurodiversity paradigm. From this starting point, I outline a project that examined literacies around what are often referred to as the ‘special interests’ of autistic people. Presenting data from interviews with 13 neurodivergent adults, related to school experiences and the literacies they engage with around their self‐defined ‘ruling passions’, I make recommendations for literacies practitioners, arguing that schools need to do more to take account of difference and disability. By describing how ‘neurodivergent literacies’ can help teachers harness their own critical literacy skills to challenge deficit models of difference in the classroom, this paper illuminates how an understanding of neurodiversity is essential for anyone teaching and researching literacies with a commitment to social justice.

Passages

Seymour Papert's Mindstorms: Children, Computers, and Powerful Ideas is many things, though most strikingly, seen in the right light, a tragedy: it showed a world on the cusp of a revolution in how we learn and how we live, brought about by the computer. That world did not, so far as I can tell, come to be, though the reasons it did not come to be are not entirely clear. Perhaps the failure was overdetermined; a case where, as Robert Irwin says in The Arabian Nightmare, the tragedy "was determined and more than determined. There are always more causes than events." I prefer not to think about it, really.

Coalition Maintenance during Democratization: Comparative Insights from Tunisia and Yemen

Abstract In light of the oft-cited benefits of power sharing, this paper compares two cases of coalition governments that emerged from domestically initiated transition processes in the Arab world: the Tunisian Troika (2011–2014) and the Yemeni Coalition Government (1993–1994). While the former facilitated Tunisia’s democratization, the latter’s disintegration contributed to the 1994 war and Yemen’s authoritarian backsliding. It asks why coalition cooperation endured in Tunisia but not in Yemen, exploring intra-elite relations, the power dynamics at play, as well as elites’ motivations in launching and maintaining cooperation. The paper reveals that both coalitions’ internal functioning was hampered by adverse power configurations and ideological differences. In Yemen, intra-elite relations were further impaired by mutual distrust. Crucially, a history of sustained partnership along with normative commitment to the idea of power sharing, existent in Tunisia and not in Yemen, explains why cooperation within the Troika remained solid amid unfavorable circumstances.

The Life and Legacy of Danijela Kulezic-Wilson

The Life and Legacy of Danijela Kulezic-Wilson

Immanuel Kant's idea of people's power

Immanuel Kant's idea of people's power

КАТЕГОРІЯ «СИЛИ»: ІСТОРИКО-ФІЛОСОФСЬКИЙ АСПЕКТ ЯК ПРОЛЕГОМЕНИ ДО ІДЕЇ БАЛАНСУ

The article attempts to trace the roots of what idea of power means from Aristotle to Locke and to Kant. This is the first part that considers idea of power in light of physical and mental poles (borrower from process philosophy). The aim of the article i

Half a century of evolutionary games: a synthesis of theory, application and future directions.

Half a century of evolutionary games: a synthesis of theory, application and future directions.