Conceptual Issues Research Articles

Reinforming memes: a literature review of the status of memetic information

PurposeOur purpose is to reconnect memetics to information, a persistent and unclear association. Information can contribute across a span of memetic research. Its obscurity restricts conversations about “information flow,” the connections between “form” and “content,” as well as many other topics. As information is involved in cultural activity, its clarification could focus memetic theories and applications.Design/methodology/approachOur design captures theoretical nuance in memetics by considering a long standing conceptual issue in memetics: information. A systematic review of memetics is provided by making use of the term information across literature. We additionally provide a citation analysis and close readings of what “information” means within the corpus.FindingsOur initial corpus is narrowed to 128 pivotal memetic publications. From these publications, we provide a citation analysis of memetic studies. Theoretical directions of memetics in the informational context are outlined and developed. We outline two main discussion spaces, survey theoretical interests and describe where and when information is important to memetic discussion. We also find that there are continuities in goals which connect Dawkins’s meme with internet meme studies.Originality/valueTo our knowledge, this is the broadest, most inclusive review of memetics conducted, making use of a unique approach to studying information-oriented discourse across a corpus. In doing so, we provide information researchers areas in which they might contribute theoretical clarity in diverse memetic approaches. Additionally, we borrow the notion of “conceptual troublemakers” to contribute a corpus collection strategy which might be valuable for future literature reviews with conceptual difficulties arising from interdisciplinary study.

Unravelling the functional and phylogenetic dimensions of novel ecosystem assemblages.

Human activities are causing taxonomic rearrangements across ecosystems that often result in the emergence of novel communities (assemblies with no historical representative). It is commonly assumed that these changes in the taxonomic makeup of ecosystems also inevitably lead to changes in other aspects of biodiversity, namely functional and phylogenetic diversity. However, this assumption is not always valid, as the changes in functional and phylogenetic composition resulting from taxonomic shifts depend on the level of redundancy in the evaluated community. Therefore, we need improved theoretical frameworks to predict when we can expect coordinated or decoupled responses among these three facets of biodiversity. To advance this understanding, we discuss the conceptual and methodological issues that complicate establishing a link between taxonomic rearrangements driven by human activities and the associated functional and phylogenetic changes. Here, we show that is crucial to consider the expected changes in functional and phylogenetic composition as communities are reshaped owing to human drivers of biodiversity loss to forecast the impacts of novel assemblages on ecosystem functions and the services they provide to humanity. This article is part of the theme issue 'Ecological novelty and planetary stewardship: biodiversity dynamics in a transforming biosphere'.

Novel Phenomena of the Hartle–Hawking Wave Function

We find a novel phenomenon in the solution to the Wheeler–DeWitt equation by solving numerically the equation assuming O(4)-symmetry and imposing the Hartle–Hawking wave function as a boundary condition. In the slow-roll limit, as expected, the numerical solution gives the most dominant steepest-descent that describes the probability distribution for the initial condition of a universe. The probability is consistent with the Euclidean computations, and the overall shape of the wave function is compatible with analytical approximations, although there exist novel differences in the detailed probability computation. Our approach gives an alternative point of view for the no-boundary wave function from the wave function point of view. Possible interpretations and conceptual issues of this wave function are discussed.

The Ethics of (Generative) AI

Abstract The clamor for AI-based applications involving generative models for text and images has fueled wild speculation about the risks and opportunities for society and humanity at large. The potential “existential” threat as a precursor to artificial general intelligence has provoked wide-ranging debates in the public, politics, and the corporate world involving technologists and ethicists from a range of academic disciplines. This thinkpiece proposes a metaperspective to reflect critically and constructively upon the current state of the field of AI ethics, arguing that scholars working in the domain of ethics should focalize conceptual, substantive, and procedural issues as integral elements of an ethical assessment of given technologies and their applications. It suggests that the ethics of generative AI is conceptually still underexplored and overly propagating technological fixes to problems of all kinds (technosolutionism). Procedurally, it needs to be clarified who can, who ought to, and who ultimately will be considered and heard as an expert on AI ethics, a question of relevance for the trust in, and reliance on, AI.

Ecumenical critical theory, pluralism and developmental trends

Critical social theory is a late product of the Enlightenment, though pushed beyond its original intentions. It then developed mainly with Marxism, but since the beginning other strands have been important, such as anarchism, feminism, anti-colonialism, anti-racism and environmentalism. The immanent critique of modernity must be seen indeed as ecumenical. In its plurality, it must have however at its core the realisation of equal freedom and full solidarity that remains an unfulfilled promise and offers a criterion of demarcation for critical theory. The diagnosis of the times for critical approaches also depended on identifying long-term developments, especially within Marxism, but this seems to have been almost entirely forgotten. I will argue that it is both possible and necessary to resume this strategy. Finally, I ask how we connect these conceptual issues to praxis. The article concludes with a more substantive discussion of political modernity.

Kant’s analysis of the soul: correlation with the body, and the problem of existence

The article highlights the conceptual issues related to Kant’s analysis of the soul, a concept of utmost importance for the metaphysics and psychology of German academic philosophy (Schulphilosophie) of the Enlightenment was significantly dependent on the developed and systematically presented philosophical and scientific ideas and concepts of Christian Wolff. Kantian philosophy, its themes, and conceptual language were formed in the crucible of Wolfean discourse, and from the early 1770s in the struggle against it, which led to the emergence of a new, critical philosophy – transcendental idealism, in which the problem of the soul, consciousness, and self-awareness became fundamental. It is this issue that was thoroughly covered in the «Critique of Pure Reason» and other works that were published later, after the first Critique. The article draws attention to Kant’s Lectures, which, on the one hand, demonstrate his critical attitude towards the so-called Wolfians, their metaphysics, and psychology, and, on the other hand, the lecture materials illustrate Kant's new conceptual position, and, what is important, develop, supplement and clarify it. The sources of Kant’s lectures are highlighted, taking into account the fact that we have at our disposal lecture notes, the authors of which are either unknown or, if known, their authorship is still somewhat doubtful, since they are notes that different people have rewritten. The article analyses lecture notes on psychology, the authors of which are more or less well-known, and experts recognize these notes as quite valid. The conceptual content of these lectures allows us to look at Kant’s understanding of the problem of the soul in a somewhat broader context compared to the «Critique of Pure Reason», where this problem is analyzed in connection with the paralogisms of reason and the transcendental deduction of categories. In his lectures on psychology, Kant draws attention to the problem of the interaction of the soul with the human body, the «location of the soul», linking it not so much to the organs of the human body (for example, the head) as to the location of a person as a bodily being in the world makes all acts of consciousness, self-awareness, and sense perception possible. Kant emphasizes the basic importance of such a spatial location of a person for the soul, as something that belongs to a person with a certain integrity, and not a separate organ, to act properly, to perform its cognitive functions. The article analyses the problem of existence, which is important for critical philosophy, its various modalities, and predication, with a special emphasis on the problem of the existence of metaphysical objects - the soul, God, and the world as a whole.

Quality Appraisal in Systematic Literature Reviews of Studies Eliciting Health State Utility Values: Conceptual Considerations.

The increasing number of studies that generate health state utility values (HSUVs) and the impact of HSUVs on cost-utility analyses make a robust tailored quality appraisal (QA) tool for systematic reviews of these studies necessary. This study aimed to address conceptual issues regarding QA in systematic reviews of studies eliciting HSUVs by establishing a consensus on the definitions, dimensions and scope of a QA tool specific to this context. A modified Delphi method was used in this study. An international multidisciplinary panel of seven experts was purposively assembled. The experts engaged in two anonymous online survey rounds. After each round, the experts received structured and controlled feedback on the previous phase. Controlled feedback allowed the experts to re-evaluate and adjust their positions based on collective insights. Following these surveys, a virtual face-to-face meeting was held to resolve outstanding issues. Consensus was defined a priori at all stages of the modified Delphi process. The response rates to the first-round and second-round questionnaires and the virtual consensus meeting were 100%, 86% and 71%, respectively. The entire process culminated in a consensus on the definitions of scientific quality, QA, the three QA dimensions-reporting,relevance and methodologicalquality-and the scope of a QA tool specific to studies that elicit HSUVs. Achieving this consensus marks a pivotal step towards developing a QA tool specific to systematic reviews of studies eliciting HSUVs. Future research will build on this foundation, identify QA items, signalling questions and response options, and develop a QA tool specific to studies eliciting HSUVs.

Exploring health and disease concepts in healthcare practice: an empirical philosophy of medicine study

In line with recent proposals for experimental philosophy and philosophy of science in practice, we propose that the philosophy of medicine could benefit from incorporating empirical research, just as bioethics has. In this paper, we therefore take first steps towards the development of an empirical philosophy of medicine, that includes investigating practical and moral dimensions. This qualitative study gives insight into the views and experiences of a group of various medical professionals and patient representatives regarding the conceptualization of health and disease concepts in practice and the possible problems that surround them. This includes clinical, epistemological, and ethical issues. We have conducted qualitative interviews with a broad range of participants (n = 17), working in various health-related disciplines, fields and organizations. From the interviews, we highlight several different practical functions of definitions of health and disease. Furthermore, we discuss 5 types of problematic situations that emerged from the interviews and analyze the underlying conceptual issues. By providing theoretical frameworks and conceptual tools, and by suggesting conceptual changes or adaptations, philosophers might be able to help solve some of these problems. This empirical-philosophical study contributes to a more pragmatic way of understanding the relevance of conceptualizing health and disease by connecting the participants’ views and experiences to the theoretical debate. Going back and forth between theory and practice will likely result in a more complex but hopefully also better and more fruitful understanding of health and disease concepts.

Digital Transformation of Tax Law Principles

Objective: to search for conceptual issues, features and prospects of development of tax law principles and tax obligation institute in the context of modern digitalization trends.Methods: the study is based on a set of general legal (analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction) and special-legal (formal-legal, comparativelegal) methods of cognition.Results: the main features of tax law principles characterizing their digital development were defined, namely: the expansion of the list of such principles and the changes in their content, predominantly at the level of institutional principles of taxation. A conclusion is made that in the digital era the tax law principles retain their theoretical significance as the most important category of the relevant science. The author states that the digital transformation of the institutional principle of tax fulfillment independence takes place mainly in the following directions: firstly, the range of taxpayers is expanded, in respect of which the duty to calculate tax can be imposed on a tax authority; secondly, the mechanism of the tax obligation execution is changed, among other things, by increasing the tax obligations of state authorities and credit organizations.Scientific novelty: the paper assesses the approaches used in the scientific literature and normative-legal framework related to transformation of the taxation principles due to the intensive use of information and communication technologies in tax relations. The author also analyzed the digital transformation of the principles of tax obligation as one of the main tax-legal institutions.Practical significance: is due to the lagging pace of tax legislation development in the Russian Federation compared to the objective processes of creation and application of new information and communication technologies in tax relations and adjacent spheres. The main provisions and conclusions of the study can be used as a basis to improve the tax legislation, as they develop knowledge about new tax law institutions – professional income tax, tax monitoring, single tax payment, and automated simplified taxation system.

Familism attitudes, behaviors, and adjustment during adolescence

AbstractIn the past two decades in the United States, research has surged on familism, a multidimensional construct encompassing attitudes and behaviors related to strong attachment, identification, and obligation to the family. In this article, we define familism and argue that it is a crucial way for adolescents to contribute to their social world and achieve a sense of role fulfillment. We also present examples from key studies highlighting the advantages and potential challenges of familism for adolescent adjustment. Lastly, we discuss conceptual and methodological issues to advance the study of familism.

Economic Globalization's Polycrisis

Abstract In this article, I suggest that economic globalization is experiencing a particularly serious kind of crisis: a “polycrisis.” Use of this term has proliferated recently but with many meanings. I propose that it be defined as a cluster of distinct crises that interact in ways that they and/or their effects tend to reinforce each other. This core definition enables the identification of distinct types of polycrises that capture multiple uses of the term to date. These types vary according to the spatiality, temporality, and level of generality of each polycrisis as well as the traits of its constituent crises. The analytical utility of the term, when defined in this way, is to encourage scholars to analyze interconnections between different kinds of crises across various issue areas and to reject monocausal analyses of crisis clusters they study. Applying this understanding of the concept to the study of economic globalization, I focus on five constituent crises that are contributing to its current polycrisis. This application of the term highlights yet another type of polycrisis, illustrating the importance of the conceptual issues raised above. The article concludes with some cautions about efforts to predict economic globalization's future and about ways in which polycrisis discourse may serve political projects.

The Group & Organization Management 2024 Special Conceptual Issue: Applying New Perspectives to Advance our Understanding of Traditional Organizational Relationships

The Group & Organization Management 2024 Special Conceptual Issue: Applying New Perspectives to Advance our Understanding of Traditional Organizational Relationships

Methods used to conceptualize dimensions of health equity impacts of public health interventions in systematic reviews

ObjectivesOur aims were to, first, identify and summarize the use of methods, frameworks, and tools as a conceptual basis for investigating dimensions of equity impacts of public health interventions in systematic reviews including an equity focus. These include PROGRESS-Plus, which identifies key sociodemographic characteristics that determine health outcomes. Second, we aimed to document challenges and opportunities encountered in the application of such methods, as reported in systematic reviews. Study Design and SettingWe conducted a methodological study, comprising an overview of systematic reviews with a focus on, or that aimed to assess, the equity impacts of public health interventions. We used electronic searches of the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, the Database of Promoting Health Effectiveness Reviews (DoPHER), and the Finding Accessible Inequalities Research in Public Health Database, supplemented with automated searches of the OpenAlex dataset. An active learning algorithm was used to prioritize title-abstract records for manual screening against eligibility criteria. We extracted and analyzed a core dataset from a purposively selected sample of reviews, to summarize key characteristics and approaches to conceptualizing investigations of equity. ResultsWe assessed 322 full-text reports for eligibility, from which we included 120 reports of systematic reviews. PROGRESS-Plus was the only formalized framework used to conceptualize dimensions of equity impacts. Most reviews were able to apply their intended methods to at least some degree. Where intended methods were unable to be applied fully, this was usually because primary research studies did not report the necessary information. A general rationale for focusing on equity impacts was often included, but few reviews explicitly justified their focus on (or exclusion of) specific dimensions. In addition to practical challenges such as data not being available, authors highlighted significant measurement and conceptual issues with applying these methods which may impair the ability to investigate and interpret differential impacts within and between studies. These issues included investigating constructs that lack standardized operationalization and measurement, and the complex nature of differential impacts, with dimensions that may interact with one another, as well as with particular temporal, personal, social or geographic contexts. ConclusionPROGRESS-Plus is the predominant framework used in systematic reviews to conceptualize differential impacts of public health interventions by dimensions of equity. It appears sufficiently broad to encompass dimensions of equity examined in most investigations of this kind. However, PROGRESS-Plus does not necessarily ensure or guide critical thinking about more complex pathways, including interactions between dimensions of equity, and with wider contextual factors, and important practical, measurement and conceptual challenges remain. The findings from investigations of equity impacts in systematic reviews could be made more useful through more explicitly rationalized and considered approaches to the design, conduct and reporting of both primary research and the reviews themselves.

Using collaborative autoethnography to investigate mentoring relationships for novice engineering education researchers

Abstract Background The National Science Foundation Research Initiation in Engineering Formation (RIEF) program aims to increase research capacity in the field by providing funding for technical engineering faculty to learn to conduct engineering education research through mentorship by an experienced social science researcher. We use collaborative autoethnography to study the tripartite RIEF mentoring relationship between Julie, an experienced engineering education researcher, and two novice education researchers who have backgrounds in biomedical engineering—Paul, a biomedical engineering faculty member and major professor to the second novice, Deepthi, a graduate student. We ground our work in the cognitive apprenticeship model and Eby and colleagues’ mentoring model. Results Using data from written reflections and interviews, we explored the role of instrumental and psychosocial supports in our mentoring relationship. In particular, we noted how elements of cognitive apprenticeship such as scaffolding and gradual fading of instrumental supports helped Paul and Deepthi learn qualitative research skills that differed drastically from their biomedical engineering research expertise. We initially conceptualized our tripartite relationship as one where Julie mentored Paul and Paul subsequently mentored Deepthi. Ultimately, we realized that this model was unrealistic because Paul did not yet possess the social science research expertise to mentor another novice. As a result, we changed our model so that Julie mentored both Paul and Deepthi directly. While our mentoring relationship was overall very positive, it has included many moments of miscommunication and misunderstanding. We draw on Lent and Lopez’s idea of relation-inferred self-efficacy to explain some of these missed opportunities for communication and understanding. Conclusions This paper contributes to the literature on engineering education capacity building by studying mentoring as a mechanism to support technically trained researchers in learning to conduct engineering education research. Our initial mentoring model failed to take into account how challenging it is for mentees to make the paradigm shift from technical engineering to social science research and how that would affect Paul’s ability to mentor Deepthi. Our experiences have implications for expanding research capacity because they raise practical and conceptual issues for experienced and novice engineering education researchers to consider as they form mentoring relationships.

Процессуальные особенности рассмотрения гражданских дел, вытекающих из правоотношений в области генетических данных

The rapid development of innovations opens up great opportunities in all areas. The area related to the study, processing, and use of genetic data is no exception. Substantive law in this area is developing rapidly. The international framework has been in effect for 20 years, however, national legal orders in their own way regulate both conceptual issues and various aspects of the protection of violated rights. In domestic legislation, there are problems with understanding the term “genetic data”, and, accordingly, with the possibilities and areas of both the exercise of one’s rights and the protection of aspects of abuse of rights. This article discusses the concept of data, genetic data, analyzes the relevant legislation and trends in its development. The categories of cases arising from legal relations related to genetic data, the features of the subject composition of such cases, the courts considering the relevant cases, the need to take interim measures in a number of cases are singled out. Attention is drawn to the emergence of new aspects in the consideration and resolution of cases in connection with changes in legislation, in particular the functioning of the GIS “National Genetic Information Base”.

Towards Foreign Direct Investment for Development in the Host State? Revisiting Charter Cities

Abstract The phenomenon of population growth, scramble for employment, congestion in cities coupled with underdevelopment has been a cause for concern over the years. Many solutions, such as aid and conclusion of international investment agreements with a view to attract foreign direct investment, have been explored and tried with no real changes. In recent years, there is a strong movement on charter cities, championed by the former World Bank Chief Economist, Paul Romer. Romer’s grand charter city would be developed on a vacant land, offered by the host State, for free, to the developer of the city. The city adopts a constitutive act, spelling out basic rights of the residents and the responsibilities of the city government but then imports functional rules from a developed country/countries being guarantor(s), and the latter ensure(s) enforcement of these rules. This paper explores charter cities as a panacea to poverty and underdevelopment in Africa and it lays bare the problematic conceptual issues on charter cities. Thus, it finds that charter cities could be another vehicle facilitating scramble for land in Africa as seen in Madagascar where the idea was explored. In addition, a need for uninhabited land threatens relocations and removals, which have often been forceful and impacts on the socio-economic conditions of communities as witnessed in Lesotho when the highlands water project, serving South Africa with water, began construction. Relocations are not only economically debilitating; they are highly emotive to many Africans based on the past experiences. Further, substituting the host state’s control with that of developed nation/s (sponsor/guarantor) can only be regarded as neo-liberal colonialism. Another problem is in relation to freedom to reside in the city, thereby extending free residency to everyone from anywhere in world, compromising sovereignty for the host and not solving employment crisis. While charter cities can solve poverty and underdevelopment in Africa, these conceptual problems need to be addressed; otherwise, we are facing neoliberal land dispossessions.

Interpretation issues with "genomic vulnerability" arise from conceptual issues in local adaptation and maladaptation.

As climate change causes the environment to shift away from the local optimum that populations have adapted to, fitness declines are predicted to occur. Recently, methods known as genomic offsets (GOs) have become a popular tool to predict population responses to climate change from landscape genomic data. Populations with a high GO have been interpreted to have a high "genomic vulnerability" to climate change. GOs are often implicitly interpreted as a fitness offset, or a change in fitness of an individual or population in a new environment compared to a reference. However, there are several different types of fitness offset that can be calculated, and the appropriate choice depends on the management goals. This study uses hypothetical and empirical data to explore situations in which different types of fitness offsets may or may not be correlated with each other or with a GO. The examples reveal that even when GOs predict fitness offsets in a common garden experiment, this does not necessarily validate their ability to predict fitness offsets to environmental change. Conceptual examples are also used to show how a large GO can arise under a positive fitness offset, and thus cannot be interpreted as a population vulnerability. These issues can be resolved with robust validation experiments that can evaluate which fitness offsets are correlated with GOs.

Exploring Efficacy

The rising global divorce rate is reshaping the landscape of family dispute resolution, moving away from the adversarial or litigation system toward an alternative dispute resolution known as mediation. This global trend is also observed in Indonesia where the Supreme Court has mandated the use of mediation in civil cases. "Everybody wins, nobody loses" as the primary slogan of mediation emphasizes a win-win outcome for all parties involved, avoiding any losers. However, assessing its efficacy in handling divorce cases in Indonesia becomes crucial. This is mainly because the settlement rate has been discovered to be low in Indonesia since the mandatory implementation of court-annexed mediation for almost two decades compared to other countries such as Australia and the United States. In both countries, settlement is not only based on agreements but also on the process that satisfies the parties. Therefore, this study aims to examine the conceptual issues underlying the low effectiveness of divorce mediation by questioning agreements as a measure of divorce mediation effectiveness. This study uses the sociolegal framework to critique the Supreme Court Regulation 1/2016 regarding Mediation in court and its dynamics in divorce cases. Moreover, courtroom study is applied to observe the mediation process. The results showed that the success of mediation revolves around the number of agreements reached by the parties and the process did not focus on the characteristics of divorce cases, thereby considered not suitable for all cases. Furthermore, the court-annexed mediation regulation creates ambiguity between the use of marital mediation to reconcile the parties and divorce mediation to proceed post-divorce agreement or both.

A behaviorista geográfia aktualitása, a kognitív térképezés változó fókuszai

This study aims to reveal the change in the research focus of studies related to cognitive mapping from the 1920s to the present day. Another objective of the study is to develop a theoretical framework related to cognitive spatial formation, which builds on secondary literature analysis and the focus areas of mental mapping. It does this in order to designate the structural framework of subsequent subject-specific, primarily EU-related cognitive spatial perception studies. The present investigation is based exclusively on secondary sources, the main aspect of which is the evaluation of behaviorist geography and the emergence of cognitive mapping in international and Hungarian research. In the selection of the literature, an important aspect was the exploration of the focus of research (conceptual and methodological issues) related to subjective spatial perception and its change over time. At the same time, it was important to investigate the role of cognitive mapping in social sciences, with a particular focus on social geography.

Modelling the connection between teaching, research and learning

ABSTRACT This study presents the Terele-model (TEaching, REsearch, LEarning) – an easy-to-use model that distinguishes different levels of connection between teaching, research and learning. To do this the study uses Johari windows to show clearly and intuitively the five different levels of action and interaction between the teacher and the student. At the first level, the teacher passes on facts, and at the fifth level, the teacher and the student conduct research together. To avoid confusion and conceptual issues of the earlier research, I widen the scope of my literature review and trace the idea of the connection between research and teaching back to Antiquity, during which it is known to have originated. According to this view – which is still alive in some contemporary studies – the connection between research and teaching is mediated through learning. Understanding leaning and research in terms of their similarity opens up a way of seeing the clear parallelism between research and teaching. The aim of using the Terele-model is not so much to enhance the connection between teaching and research as to give the teacher a tool for designing the right kinds of connections to research depending on the learning goals.