Plurality Of Perspectives Research Articles

Agricultural innovations for sustainability? Diverse pathways and plural perspectives on rice seeds in Odisha, India

AbstractWe focus on alternative innovation pathways for addressing agricultural sustainability challenges in Odisha, India. The first pathway that we term as industrial, is focused on breeding new seed varieties in modern laboratories and test fields, ostensibly for climate resilience. It is driven by public scientific institutions and private corporations. The second pathway that we call agroecological, is grounded in saving and sharing of diverse local varieties, largely by Indigenous (Adivasi) smallholders and their allies in civil society. Using the pathways’ descriptions as bases, we present perspectives of different professional groups who appraise how effectively each pathway addresses a range of sustainability issues. While all participants appraise the agroecological pathway to be clearly better performing for addressing agricultural biodiversity and cultural uses of rice, appraisals for issues of the economy, seed accessibility, stress tolerance, and nutrition diverged from each other. An overall picture in support of one pathway did not emerge. Embracing such ambiguities and uncertainties associated with appraisals, we argue for balancing political support between diverse pathways. Greater support for structurally marginalised agroecological pathways may be crucial to meet sustainability goals. This support can include the restitution of lands and other socio-ecological resources for marginalised pathways as well as guaranteeing autonomy of Adivasi (Indigenous) communities among whom the pathways thrive.

On the Ranchería with Keebet von Benda-Beckmann: legal pluralism, the Wiwa People, el Cercado, and socio-spatial relations in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta

In 2006, the Colombian Institute for Rural Development (INCODER) initiated construction of the El Cercado dam on the Ranchería River, neglecting proper consultation with Indigenous Peoples along the river who mobilized to protect their livelihoods, cultural practices, self-determination, and the sacred lands within the government-recognized “Black Line.” Recently, Law 2415 granted the Ranchería River status as a subject of rights, establishing a Commission of Guardians comprising government and local representatives, signaling a shift toward cooperative stewardship among the region’s diverse communities and stakeholders. This paper offers a novel reading focused on the Wiwa People, as existing literature primarily addresses the Wayúu People’s experiences. Furthermore, most studies frame the normative context surrounding the Ranchería through a “weak” pluralist perspective of the Colombian legal system, often neglecting analytical complexities beyond a state-centered approach. To counter these limitations, we utilize the conceptual framework of Keebet von Benda-Beckmann, whose insights on relational social theory, law’s spatiotemporal dimensions, and water rights enable a more complex yet accurate account of how actors in this context deal with the law and variously articulate it. We argue that von Benda-Beckmann’s approach helps to unravel the challenges posed by hyperregulation while clarifying how strategic mobilization functions within this environment. By adopting this framework alongside a “thick” understanding of the local context, we aim to provide a more sensitive analysis of the evolving legal landscape, shedding light on the struggles over natural resources in Colombia and potentially offering insights for similar conflicts elsewhere.

An integrative paradigm for building causal knowledge

AbstractA core aspiration of the ecological sciences is to determine how systems work, which implies the challenge of developing a causal understanding. Causal inference has long been approached from a statistical perspective, which can be limited and restrictive for a variety of reasons. Ecologists and other natural scientists have historically pursued mechanistic knowledge as an alternative approach to causal understanding, though without explicit reference to the requirements of causal statistics. In this paper, I describe the premises of an expanded paradigm for causal studies, the Integrative Causal Investigation Paradigm, that subsumes causal statistics and mechanistic investigation into a multi‐evidence approach. This paradigm is distinct from the one articulated by causal statistics in that it (1) focuses its attention on the long‐term goal of building causal knowledge across multiple studies and (2) recognizes the essential role of mechanistic investigations in establishing a causal understanding. The Integrative Paradigm, consequentially, proposes that there are multiple methodological routes to building causal knowledge and thus represents a pluralistic perspective. This paper begins by describing the crux of the problem faced by causal statistics. To understand this problem, it should be recognized that the word causal has multiple meanings and a variety of evidential standards. An expanded vocabulary is developed so as to reduce ambiguities and clarify critical issues. I further show by example that there is an important ingredient typically omitted from consideration in causal statistics, which is the known information related to the mechanisms underlying relationships being evaluated. To address this issue, I describe a procedure, Causal Knowledge Analysis, that involves an evaluation and compilation of existing evidence indicative of causal content and the features of mechanisms. Causal Knowledge Analysis is applied to three example situations to illustrate the process and its potential for contributing to the development of causal knowledge. The implications of adopting the proposed paradigm and associated procedures are discussed and include the potential for advancing ecology, the potential for clarifying causal methodology, and the potential for contributing to predictive forecasting.

Integrated reporting and its pluralistic perspective: promoting public value and accountability in public sector accounting?

IMPACT Public sector accounting needs a pluralistic perspective for fostering a broader public value and interactions with citizens and other stakeholders. In this article, the authors suggest that integrated reporting (IR) is a useful accounting practice for promoting a pluralistic perspective into public sector accounting to nurture public value and accountability—even though there are still lessons to learn. Public sector organizations need to stimulate engagement with stakeholders making disclosures more relevant; develop a more holistic appreciation for value creation focusing on efficacy and outcomes for society; and promote integrated thinking across internal stakeholders to avoid a superficial adoption of IR.

A Study on Reflections of Prophetic Sīrah Discourse in Pluralistic Society: A Contextual Analysis

This research explores the evolving debates on Prophetic Sīrah discourse within pluralistic societies, addressing the critical need for a comprehensive understanding among Muslims. Recognizing the fragmented nature of previous works, which often focus on isolated aspects of the Sīrah, this study aims to provide an integrated analysis relevant to contemporary multicultural settings. Employing a qualitative, library-based methodology, the research utilizes primary sources such as the Qur'an, Hadīth collections, and classical Sīrah texts, alongside modern commentaries. Through thematic and contextual analyses, key concepts like interfaith relations, social justice, and ethical conduct are identified and examined. Critical discourse analysis (CDA) is applied to understand how Sīrah discourse is constructed and communicated across different contexts. The study reveals significant gaps in the current understanding and application of the Prophetic Sīrah, particularly regarding its relevance for Muslim minorities in pluralistic societies. It emphasizes the importance of defining key terminologies and developing an interpretive framework that aligns with the minority context. The findings underscore the urgent need to reframe the Prophetic Sīrah from a pluralistic perspective to foster peaceful coexistence and mutual respect. The study concludes by attempting to bridge the gap between traditional Islamic teachings and modern pluralistic principles, encouraging a more inclusive and peaceful community.

A Pluralistic Perspective on the Evolution of Technology: The History of the Electric Guitar

A Pluralistic Perspective on the Evolution of Technology: The History of the Electric Guitar

Diversity-in-Unity: Art Criticism in Conversation

Abstract What is it for art-critical conversation to be productively and appropriately responsive to a work of fine art? Broadly, contemporary work on the nature and purpose of aesthetic discourse tends to prioritize one of two poles: the need for agreement in judgement and/or sensibility, and the flourishing of individuality through aesthetic response. I propose that these alternatives each express the legacy of Kantian and Schillerian thought, respectively. Furthermore, I argue that a favourable approach is available if we look to Friedrich Hölderlin’s way of characterizing the kind of communication that can occur between friends. This is a framework that binds together a plurality of perspectives and voices with what it is for one’s individuality to flourish in and through aesthetic response. Drawing on Hölderlin’s thought, I submit Diversity-in-Unity as a norm on art-critical conversation. In art criticism, individual perspectives need to be reciprocally shaped in new and surprising ways.

Historiographical Models for the Study of Anne Conway’s Principia

Abstract In this article I analyze the different historiographical models that have contributed to the ‘interpretative heritage’ of Anne Conway. I argue that, due to the current state of scholarship on the history of women philosophers, the main mission of this scholarship is to increase the interpretative heritage of their works in general and of Anne Conway in particular. For this purpose, it is necessary to apply a pluralistic perspective regarding models. A pluralist perspective would argue that there are different historiographical models that apply to the study of the text and that each model, even the failed ones, increases the interpretative heritage. In this sense, I identify six main models used in the study of Conway’s Principia and propose that the sixth, the contextual/eclectic model, is more fundamental for the study of Anne Conway because it assists us in laying the foundations for other more restricted or specialized models.

A holistic and pluralistic perspective for justice through tourism: a regenerative approach

Justice is integral in transformative tourism approaches that call for a complete restructuring of the travel and tourism sector worldwide. While justice through alternative tourism models promotes responsible, sustainable transitions in the tourism sector, these models are frequently informed by a perceived binary between the social and the environmental and long-held patterns of West-centric thought and West versus ‘the rest’ power dynamics, found both in tourism theory and practice and within justice frameworks. In this article, we explore the potential of the regenerative development paradigm to bridge these divides and adopt a pluriversal lens to devise a more just practice of tourism. The holistic, transformative tenets and pluralistic perspective of regenerative development and tourism are used to build a novel framework for justice. The framework’s capacity to analyse, unlock and catalyse place regeneration in different knowledge systems and restore just relationships has been leveraged in two rural areas in Colombia and Ecuador. Collecting data through mixed qualitative methods that combine reflexive ethnography with in situ and online interviews, we identified actions taken to address local inequalities and challenges while fostering pathways to the systemic transformation of residents’ livelihoods. These place-specific actions inspired by ancestral traditions have revitalised the areas’ ecosystems, including local human communities and the latter’s tourism activities. The discussion of results examines the potential of pluriversal regenerative development and tourism principles grounded in diverse knowledge and ethics frames to guide actions for systemic social and environmental justice.

Collective Capabilities for Organizational Democracy: The Case of Mutual Social Enterprises

AbstractDemocratic forms of enterprise and economic governance are needed to help address urgent societal challenges where hierarchical decision‐making and governance approaches are clearly failing. There is insufficient understanding, however, of the capabilities needed by enterprises to implement and sustain organizational democracy in pressurized operational contexts. We focus on the role of collective capabilities, which arise from interactions between individuals to create collaboration and collective benefits. Interview evidence from 12 mutual social enterprises – organizations that trade with a social purpose – is used to explore the learning processes that underpin the generation of collective capabilities for organizational democracy. The analysis leads us to a theoretical model of collective capabilities development that responds to three fundamental areas of challenge: (i) Adaptive design of governance structures and processes, to balance ‘bottom‐up’ democracy with ‘top‐down’ stewardship control; (ii) Embedding, extending and revitalizing democracy, by supporting the voice, capabilities and confidence of workers and users to participate in collaborative governance; and (iii) Fostering deliberative learning, to navigate tensions and conflict between plural perspectives and achieve collective aims. In concluding, we reflect on some institutional and cultural barriers to organizational democracy and the case for more concerted policy action to realize its potential as a crucial component of economic democracy.

Kardeş Türküler as ‘art action’: The multiple cultural heritages of Anatolia

Abstract This article focuses on Kardeş Türküler, a band that reflects the multiple cultural heritages of Anatolia in its concerts and albums. Kardeş Türküler has taken a unique stance in choosing to express itself from a culturally pluralistic perspective rather than following a single language or identity. Referring to Kardeş Türküler as ‘art action’, and utilising the non-reductive methods of John Street that focus on the two-way interaction between music and politics, I conducted in-depth interviews in 2017, 2020 and 2021 with the core members and the former coach of the group regarding its intellectual roots and internal modus operandi. There are three main reasons for Kardeş Türküler's deep engagement with music as protest: being against the cultural–artistic policies of the Republican period; the political meaning of making multilingual music in Turkiye; and Kardeş Türküler's engagement with post-neoliberal street protests such as the Gezi Park movement.

Romantic love and the first-person plural perspective

ABSTRACT On the assumption that romantic partners tend to act from a first-person plural perspective, how should the love that binds them be understood? This paper approaches this question by focusing on romantic practical integration, understood as the tendency of romantic partners to integrate their practical perspectives in such a way that allows them to have ‘reasons-for-us’: reasons for action that apply to them as a group, in a collective and non-distributive sense (Westlund 2009). After dispelling some reservations about the connection between romantic love and the first-person plural perspective, I argue that the resources offered by one leading account of love, due to Bennett Helm, fall short of accounting for romantic practical integration. Building on Stephen Darwall’s account of romantic love as a ‘second-personal attitude of the heart’, I develop an alternative proposal. The proposed view foregrounds the relational and non-deontic normative character of romantic love, by conceptualizing it as an addressing attitude that intrinsically seeks – but doesn’t demand – reciprocation. On this view, the attitude of romantic love co-involves the addressee of the attitude as a (potential or actual) member of a narratively unified interpersonal community, in light of which putative reasons-for-us may be taken on board or rejected.

How social-ecological systems resilience unfolds from distinct worldviews

Resilience is a critically important factor to consider for sustainably managing natural resources and social-ecological systems (SESs). Each social system will, collectively, have its own goals for how resources are perceived and the principles that underpin their resilience, and, multiple actors, individually, will approach the question with different perspectives. Here, we represent these plural perspectives in terms of worldviews, using the typologies from cultural theory. We combined the underpinning resilience principles from a previously built SES model to assess the extent to which these worldviews influence the results. Resilience was measured using a prototype Dynamic Resilience Index (DRI) validated in a previous publication. The results show the resilience of our SESs will behave in three different ways depending on each worldview used. Free markets (individualists) start the simulation period with a higher resilience. Strong governance (hierarchy) will take a higher position around 2025 and maintain the best value to the end of the simulation in 2100. The precautionary principle (egalitarians) starts with the lowest values for the DRI but ends closer to the strong governance, and it is the only worldview that increased its resilience throughout the simulation. Each worldview couples better to a particular management approach, and the SES behavior responds accordingly. The relevance for the governance of the SES is great as each worldview brings flawed contributions to resilience and wellbeing. Our research also shows that a possible negotiated solution between these worldviews would locate resilience inside the “solution space,” which is graphically determined and discussed. Adopting each worldview is then discussed in terms of contributions and problems they imply to the system's resilience.

Human intelligence and artificial intelligence and the challenges of biases in ai algorithms

This article acknowledges the profound transformations that Artificial Intelligence imposes on society. A descriptive-exploratory study aims to discuss algorithmic biases and understand their impacts on society. The article starts from the understanding of human intelligence and learning from a pluralistic perspective, based on the analysis of literary works and scientific articles. This approach provides a context in which AI and machine learning can be conceived from an innovation perspective for the common good. The critical analysis emphasizes the need for ethical approaches in the development of these systems. The topics discussed highlight the importance of a multidimensional approach in mitigating algorithmic biases. From data selection to audits and accountability, diversity of perspectives, both in datasets and development teams, is crucial. The implementation of continuous training and human supervision reflects a continuous commitment to transparency and fairness in artificial intelligence. These integrated strategies are essential for the ethical, transparent, and equitable development of AI. This holistic approach, involving diverse skills and people, continuous training, and vigilant oversight, is vital to ensure the ethical use of AI for the collective well-being.

Addressing Democracy and Its Threats in Education: Exploring a Pluralist Perspective in Light of Finnish Social Studies Textbooks

AbstractDemocracy is increasingly being challenged, by disengagement and by anti-pluralist movements (Levitsky and Ziblatt in How Democracies Die: What History Reveals About Our Future, Viking, New York, 2018; Wikforss in Därför demokrati. Om kunskapen och folkstyret [Because of this, democracy. On knowledge and people’s rule] Fri Tanke, 2021; Svolik et al. in J Democr 34(1):5–20, 2023). This article draws upon a theoretical discussion about democracy, pluralism, and threats to democracy. Departing from Dewey, Laclau, Mouffe, Young and Allen, we address democracy as an ideology that centers around pluralism, or an ever-increasing inclusion of voices from the margins as its goal. We argue that perceiving democracy pedagogically as a pluralistic ideology would support students’ democratic citizenship and equip them for a world where threats to democracy are being reported. Employing a case study on Finnish social studies textbooks, we analyze how democracy as well as threats to democracy are discursively portrayed. Our study shows that the textbooks present democracy as predominantly institutional and static. We also find that while disengagement is portrayed as a problem for democracy, anti-pluralist movements are generally not referred to as a threat. Additionally, we examine a discourse in the textbooks that connects freedom of speech with democracy in a way that favors a multitude of opinions, even antidemocratic ones, over creating space for marginalized voices. Drawing on the theoretical discussion and the results of the analysis, we argue that a focus on pluralism as the core of democracy makes the opposition between restricting hate speech and advocating for democracy redundant.

I, You, and We: Beyond Individualism and Collectivism

ABSTRACT The contemporary debate on collective intentionality in analytic philosophy has lasted several decades, but questions concerning the nature of ‘we’ and the relation between the individual and the community are obviously far older. We can find a particularly rich discussion in early phenomenology. Indeed, while starting out with an interest in the individual mind, phenomenologists began their exploration of dyadic forms of interpersonal relations shortly before the start of World War I and were already deeply engaged in extensive analyses of collective forms of intentionality a few years later. A distinctive feature of the phenomenological contribution was its exploration of the relation between the first- and second-person singular and the first-person plural perspectives. How are I, you, and we intertwined? The aim of this paper is to present some core insights from this early debate.

Bioethics-CSR Divide

Bioethics-CSR Divide

Unpacking firm political dependence: how administrative hierarchical distance affects corporate environmental information disclosure

This article explores the diverse response strategies concerning environmental information disclosure (EID) among firms affiliated to different political hierarchies. Drawing on resource dependence theory (RDT), we hypothesize a U-shaped relationship between a firm’s administration hierarchical distance (AHD) and its EID. The relationship is also contingent on the scope of dependence, as reflected in two resource-based components: (i) firms with or without political connections, and (ii) varying levels of corporate innovation capability. Using data from Chinese listed companies in polluting industries, we document that firms with medium AHD have the weakest EID, while firms with shorter or longer AHD exhibit higher EID to maintain institutional or gain competitive resource, respectively. This pattern is stronger for non-politically connected and low-innovation firms. Our research not only enriches RDT on corporate political strategies by unpacking firm political dependency, but also contributes to the emerging work on the pluralistic perspective on government.

Ford Focus

In this article, I return to the broader constitutional perspectives that the Ford judgment temporarily pushed aside. Examining the notwithstanding clause’s early academic reception, pre-Ford judicial treatment, and the arguments the Supreme Court considered and left unattended in Ford reveals the deep currents of constitutional argument and thought that have always characterized the notwithstanding clause. Excavating the plural perspectives that formed the background of the Ford litigation about the constitutional law of section 33 reveals the tangled weave of constitutional law and politics and the inchoate theories surrounding the clause’s meaning that defined the notwithstanding clause from the outset. Section 33 has always inspired multiple, sometimes conflicting, aspirations, accusations, and ideas about its function in Canada’s constitutional arrangements. Appreciating and navigating the balance points among these diverse constitutional perspectives helps to illuminate the full context of the notwithstanding clause in a way that should matter in generating a constitutional law of section 33 attentive to its distinctive place in Canada’s constitutional arrangements.

Silent Processes in Higher Education: Examining Ableism Through an Ability‐Critical Lens

Universities are regarded as critical institutions that shape society, which on the one hand have a great influence on (successful) social processes, but on the other, are traditionally very privileged and exclusive places of education. Despite various demands to open up to plural perspectives, they are still strongly characterized by powerful, meritocratic, and discriminatory structures, cultures, and orders. (Social) inclusion efforts are always linked to the need to analyze processes of exclusion. This article therefore examines the question: Which ableist practices and culture of silence are revealed in the context of higher education and how can these be linked to the findings of postcolonial studies on the topic of silence? On the one hand, established perspectives (lecturers and students), but above all the perspectives of marginalized and unheard (groups of) people (lecturers with (learning) disabilities) are involved. The results from two group discussions (N = 9) with perspectives from these three different positions are presented to work out implicit and explicit processes of silence. The (power) theoretical reference is the concept of ableism, which is linked with (postcolonial) perspectives on the ideas of “silence” according to Brunner (2017a). This article emphasizes that, in addition to formal access restrictions to university education, there are also implicit barriers oriented towards non‐transparent ableist expectations of ability, which in turn (re‐)produce processes of silence. The case study concerns one German university and shows that formal access to higher education is only one aspect of reducing ableism; above all, it is the creation of transparent structures with regard to set ability expectations, critical‐reflective spaces, and a culture of “unlearning” biographically characterized ableist notions of normality. This article therefore focuses on the connection between ableist experiences and the findings of postcolonial discourses of silencing.