Renewed Questions Research Articles

Expertise, policy advice, and policy advisory systems in an open, participatory, and populist era: New challenges to research and practice

AbstractThis article examines the themes of policy advice, expertise, and policy advisory systems. It argues that persistent challenges and more emergent trends involving their intersection can be effectively understood through the lenses of instrumentality, authority, and adaptability. In the wake of renewed questions about the continued viability of longstanding public administration advisory arrangements, these themes help locate new pressures on those arrangement such as those linked to technological developments, shifting conceptions of expertise, and growing recognition of the challenges of managing systems of advice. These themes help facilitate continued engagement with persistent challenges linked to adequate policy capacity, the role of the public service advice, and question of rigour, legitimacy, and the democratic contexts of policy advising.Points for practitioners Technological innovations and turbulent governance arrangements have renewed debates around technocracy, democratic control and participation, the role of evidence, and normative and ethical considerations inherent in the generation and use of policy advice. Policy capacity remains important for well‐functioning policy advisory systems. It has itself become multifaceted reflecting not only important differences in types of expertise and policy advice, but also concerns around its management and deployment in varying governance contexts. The competencies required for policy workers inside and outside of government should reflect changes in the role of expertise and evolving systems of policy advice.

Conflating race and ancestry: Tracing decision points about population descriptors over the precision medicine research life course

Responding to calls for human genomics to shift away from the use of race, genomic investigators are coalescing around the possibility of using genetic ancestry. This shift has renewed questions about the use of social and genetic concepts of difference in precision medicine research (PMR). Drawing from qualitative data on five PMR projects, we illustrate negotiations within and between research teams as genomic investigators deliberate on the relevance of race and genetic ancestry for different analyses and contexts. We highlight how concepts of both social and genetic difference are embedded within and travel through research practices, and identify multiple points across the research life course at which conceptual slippage and conflation between race and genetic ancestry occur. We argue that moving beyond race will require PMR investigators to confront the entrenched ways in which race is built into research practices and biomedical infrastructures.

THE DURABILITY OF RELIGION IN THE SECULAR AGE: RELIGIONIZATION IN INDONESIA

The global intensification of religionization has raised renewed questions about the validity of the secularization thesis. Research supporting the secularization thesis suggested an alternative perspective, emphasizing the correlation between security levels and religious adherence. It posits that as security levels rise, the reliance on religion diminishes, whereas in contexts of low security, the need for religion intensifies. An examination of the trajectories and dynamics of secularization in Indonesia reveals that among the Muslim middle class, secularization has alleviated feelings of insecurity arising from socio-political crises. Such observations suggest that historical trajectories of religionization are intricately linked to these socio-political dynamics. Furthermore, initiatives by the government and political organizations that endorse religion as a preferred choice expedite this transition towards religionization. This study uses process tracing by dividing the historical process into three periods and comparing them analytically to explain the causal mechanism among modernization, secularization, and religionization.

African Christianity and healing: Implications for pastoral care

The rapid rise of Christianity in the developing world, and specifically in Africa, has asked renewed questions about pastoral theology and pastoral care. The African worldview, as a possible explanation for the increase in Christianity, is one of the most cited reasons for this growth. Pentecostalism and the Charismatic movement are referred to as ‘new’ Christianity. The new Christianity is influenced by the practices and characteristics of the African worldview. Wholistic healing derives from the African worldview perspective that reduces the dichotomy between spiritual and science, or spirit and body. This approach to healing, differs from the Western worldview that approaches healing from a biomedical perspective. The disparity in worldviews and subsequent different approaches to healing, are assessed against the backdrop of the implications for pastoral theology and pastoral care.Contribution: The African worldview and ‘new’ Christianity contribute by engaging critically with the separation of the two worldviews, the narrow use of experience within the dialogical movement of theory and praxis, and the key concepts of pastoral theology such as illness and suffering, reconciliation, shepherding, and pastoring.

Comparative legal analysis of the experience of Ukraine and Hungary in the context of component systems of institutional ensuring the external functions of the states

The comparative legal analysis of the experience of different states, in this case of Ukraine and Hungary, has even greater interest and novelty in the scientific field due to its lack of research, which makes this article an even greater contribution to science. Examining the sector, we can note the peculiarities of the modern state, which find their embodiment in the modification of the functions of the state. The development of theories of functions gives us the opportunity to forecast a specific situation related to the transformation of the state or its individual institutions, the implementation of state policy. The question of the system of institutional support of external functions, as well as the question of power sources, renewal, and activity of external functions, is always a relevant issue for the scientific sphere, due to constant changes. A full-scale war in Ukraine causes huge human, economic and cultural losses. Life was divided into «before the war» and «in the war». All this pushes Ukraine to the starting point of reference, where after the end of this agony-propaganda «military operation» there will be a period of great reconstruction and punishment of the guilty within the framework of international law. The purpose of each state, its directions of functioning, success, neglect, and limits of implementation can be vividly considered today under the prism of its external functions. The issue of state functions remains one of the key issues in the theory and practice of state formation. They play an important role in the implementation of state policy, because without influencing this or that phenomenon of social relations, the state is unable to solve the tasks set before it and achieve the set goals. Comprehensive implementation of state policy is a guarantee of a peaceful and safe existence and further development of the entire society. This scientific article highlights several structural parts of the external function: Essence and social purpose; Areas of state activity; The main direction of the influence of the state and its final goal (object); The method, form, and principle of implementation of the external functions of the state and the relationship of practical activities with the goal (toward which the functions are directed). However, this part of the article analyzes the first two components - the essence and social purpose and directions of state activity.

Consult Your Heart

In this article, I explore the authority of the heart (qalb) as a potential locus for the individual moral knowledge and normativity in Islamic ethics. To do so, I discuss the two ḥadīths that ostensibly suggest one’s “self” as a source of moral judgment. These ḥadīths raise renewed questions about the sources of moral judgment, the nature of moral judgment and the ethical capacity of the “self” (conscience)—“consult your heart and consult your self …”; “righteousness is good conduct, and sin is that which rankles in your chest and which you would hate for other people to look upon.” There are rich debates in the Islamic tradition on the place and authority of the bāṭin (inward) in generating moral knowledge, which correspond to contemporary discourses in Western ethics on the place of conscience in the moral formation of the individual. In this article, I argue that although Islamic legal tradition as a discipline has focused on qualified external actions of individuals and the ijtihād (independent legal reasoning) of mujtahids (jurists), it did not ignore the authority of the bāṭin for moral assessment and the ijtihād of common individuals. I propose that the inward dimension has always occupied an important space within the interdisciplinary field of Islamic ethics but has been overshadowed by the overarching theological disputes between the Muʿtazilīs and Ashʿarīs over the sources of knowledge. The article starts by exploring the relevant aḥādīth (reports) and their interpretation in ḥadīth commentaries, followed by an analysis of discussions in the fields of Islamic jurisprudence and Sufism.

Women, religion, and digital counter-publics: introduction

ABSTRACT Even after decades of critical scholarship on religion and the Internet, a rapidly changing field and a febrile global political climate demand renewed questions about the relationships between online spaces and gender-related activism. This is particularly the case, in the post-#MeToo era, in relation to women and religion. While digital activism both promotes and challenges gender inequalities, reflecting prejudices apparent in the offline world, women and men continue to create and adapt online spaces that question received wisdom about their roles in religious traditions. We argue that using Nancy Fraser’s concept of the ‘subaltern counter-public’, adapted by Marc Lamont-Hill as the ‘digital counter-public’, allows us to explore the extent to which digital spaces enable traditional religious authority structures to be challenged in ways that might not be possible in the offline environment. The aim of this Special Issue Section is to provide four detailed case study examples, drawn from Sikhism, Wicca, Hinduism, and Buddhism, across varied geographical and political contexts, in order to examine how women have engaged the digital to create spaces that challenge mainstream narratives about their religious attainment and belonging, raising key questions for the ongoing study of religion online.

The Contemporary Philosophy of Science: An Eternal Return

The article explores the contemporary philosophy of science in the context of the idea of eternal return. The problematization of the intellectual field “after postpositivism” runs through the renewed questions “what?”, “how?”, “who?” and “for what?” of scientific research. This questioning is a search for bearings in the historical space and time that determines “after what?” or “back to whom?” the thinking about science unfolds. Such a reflexive appeal to the origins leads to the ideas of the philosophy of science of the first half of the twentieth century. It is then that the main differences within the research of science were formed: between sociological and methodological approaches, between philosophy and disciplines that study science, between the goals of forming a worldview and managing science. The philosophy of science “after postpositivism” expresses itself in the controversial interpretation of the subject matter and method of the study of science, in the division of labor between disciplines and approaches that lose the possibility of constructive interaction and reach the point of “science wars”. In conclusion, it is argued that philosophy as the "hard core” of scientific research, a historical appeal to the origins of scientific activity and the interpretation of the scientific revolution as a renewal of tradition can make such modernity valuable for return.

Consult Your Heart

In this article, I explore the authority of the heart (qalb) as a potential locus for the individual moral knowledge and normativity in Islamic ethics. To do so, I discuss the two ḥadīths that ostensibly suggest one’s “self” as a source of moral judgment. These ḥadīths raise renewed questions about the sources of moral judgment, the nature of moral judgement and the ethical capacity of the “self” (conscience) –– “consult your heart and consult your self …”; “righteousness is good conduct, and sin is that which rankles in your chest and which you would hate for other people to look upon.”
 There are rich debates in the Islamic tradition on the place and authority of the bāṭin (inward) in generating moral knowledge, which correspond to contemporary discourses in Western ethics on the place of conscience in the moral formation of the individual. In this article, I argue that although Islamic legal tradition as a discipline has focused on qualified external actions of individuals and the ijtihād (independent legal reasoning) of mujtahids (jurists), it did not ignore the authority of the bāṭin for moral assessment and the ijtihād of common individuals. I propose that the inward dimension has always occupied an important space within the interdisciplinary field of Islamic ethics; but has been overshadowed by the overarching theological disputes between the Muʿtazilīs and Ashʿarīs over the sources of knowledge. 
 The article starts by exploring the relevant aḥādith (reports) and their interpretation in ḥadīth commentaries, followed by an analysis of discussions in the fields of Islamic jurisprudence and Sufism.
 Key words: akhlāq (ethics), ḥadīth, scriptural ethics, moral conscience, heart, self, moral judgemt, al-bāṭin, consult your heart, inspiration (ilhām), ratio legis, Sufīsm.

Molecular dynamic simulation analysis of SARS-CoV-2 spike mutations and evaluation of ACE2 from pets and wild animals for infection risk

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an ongoing global health emergency that has caused tremendous stress and loss of life worldwide. The viral spike glycoprotein is a critical molecule mediating transmission of SARS-CoV-2 by interacting with human ACE2. However, through the course of the pandemics, there has not been a thorough analysis of the spike protein mutations, and on how these mutants influence the transmission of SARS-CoV-2. Besides, cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection among pets and wild animals have been reported, so the susceptibility of these animals requires great attention to investigate, as they may also link to the renewed question of a possible intermediate host for SARS-CoV-2 before it was transmitted to humans. With over 226,000 SARS-CoV-2 sequences obtained, we found 1573 missense mutations in the spike gene, and 226 of them were within the receptor-binding domain (RBD) region that directly interacts with human ACE2. Modeling the interactions between SARS-CoV-2 spike mutants and ACE2 molecules showed that most of the 74 missense mutations in the RBD region of the interaction interface had little impact on spike binding to ACE2, whereas several within the spike RBD increased the binding affinity toward human ACE2 thus making the virus likely more contagious. On the other hand, modeling the interactions between animal ACE2 molecules and SARS-CoV-2 spike revealed that many pets and wild animals’ ACE2 had a variable binding ability. Particularly, ACE2 of bamboo rat had stronger binding to SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, whereas that of mole, vole, Mus pahari, palm civet, and pangolin had a weaker binding compared to human ACE2. Our results provide structural insights into the impact on interactions of the SARS-CoV-2 spike mutants to human ACE2, and shed light on SARS-CoV-2 transmission in pets and wild animals, and possible clues to the intermediate host(s) for SARS-CoV-2.

Distributed responsibility in human–machine interactions

Artificial agents have become increasingly prevalent in human social life. In light of the diversity of new human–machine interactions, we face renewed questions about the distribution of moral responsibility. Besides positions denying the mere possibility of attributing moral responsibility to artificial systems, recent approaches discuss the circumstances under which artificial agents may qualify as moral agents. This paper revisits the discussion of how responsibility might be distributed between artificial agents and human interaction partners (including producers of artificial agents) and raises the question of whether attributions of responsibility should remain entirely on the human side. While acknowledging a crucial difference between living human beings and artificial systems culminating in an asymmetric feature of human–machine interactions, this paper investigates the extent to which artificial agents may reasonably be attributed a share of moral responsibility. To elaborate on criteria that can justify a distribution of responsibility in certain human–machine interactions, the role of types of criteria (interaction-related criteria and criteria that can be deferred from socially constructed responsibility relationships) is examined. Thereby, the focus will lay on the evaluation of potential criteria referring to the fact that artificial agents surpass in some aspects the capacities of humans. This is contrasted with socially constructed responsibility relationships that do not take these criteria into account. In summary, situations are examined in which it seems plausible that moral responsibility can be distributed between artificial and human agents.

First-Principles Simulations of Biological Molecules Subjected to Ionizing Radiation.

Ionizing rays cause damage to genomes, proteins, and signaling pathways that normally regulate cell activity, with harmful consequences such as accelerated aging, tumors, and cancers but also with beneficial effects in the context of radiotherapies. While the great pace of research in the twentieth century led to the identification of the molecular mechanisms for chemical lesions on the building blocks of biomacromolecules, the last two decades have brought renewed questions, for example, regarding the formation of clustered damage or the rich chemistry involving the secondary electrons produced by radiolysis. Radiation chemistry is now meeting attosecond science, providing extraordinary opportunities to unravel the very first stages of biological matter radiolysis. This review provides an overview of the recent progress made in this direction, focusing mainly on the atto- to femto- to picosecond timescales. We review promising applications of time-dependent density functional theory in this context.

There is an official shortage of pharmacists: what now?

The inclusion of pharmacists on the Home Office’s shortage occupation list (SOL) in March 2021 has prompted renewed questions about the future of the workforce. Adding a sector to this list indicates that there are not enough skilled resident workers to fill all of the roles needed in the UK, and makes it easier for staff from abroad to […]

Campaign letter for RPS elections 2021: Jay Badenhorst on workforce anonymous

I note with interest that the inclusion of pharmacists on the Home Office’s shortage occupation list (SOL) in March 2021 has prompted renewed questions about the future of the workforce. This topic was explored in an article by The Pharmaceutical Journal (9 April 2021). I am sure that many will realise that adding pharmacists to […]

CONCEPT OF TECHNICAL CONDITION MANAGEMENT OF FIXED ASSETS OF ELEVATORS FACILITIES IN THE CITIES OF UKRAINE

The concept of management the technical condition of fixed assets of the elevators facilities are considered. This concept summarizes the technical and economic measures for reliability and provides the ability to make decisions for improve the level of efficiency at all stages of their life cycle. According to the normative values of separate elements technical resources of fixed assets allocate separate groups which are subject to replacement in 10, 15 and 20 years. This allows to systematize the periodicity of technical impacts and optimize decisions on the further use of elevators facilities fixed assets before reaching the normative 25 years. That is to solve questions of expediency further use: repairing with prolongation of operation period, full modernization, renewal or utilization. The target function are considered in the article. This target function include costs of maintenance and scheduled and unscheduled repairs. According to the target function, the total cost of maintenance and repair of elevator fixed assets should be within the established minimum-expediency costs while ensuring the appropriate quality and available or practically possible resources. The decision of questions of renewal, prolongation of operation period by repairs or modernization of fixed assets conducted with account available volumes of financing, a level of a technical condition and service life. Modernization of elevator facilities fixed assets is the perspective way to bring the elevator’s industry from the crisis. During modernization of elevators the costs are reduced by 25-30% as opposed to replacement a new elevator. The economic, social and technical factors, wich needed for modernization the elevator facilities fixed assets are systematized. Deciding on the need to modernization the elevator fixed assets in the work is recommended to take into account two criterias of expediency. The first criteria of expediency of modernization is determined by the purpose of improvement quality rendering of services at the initiative of owners of elevators, consumers of services, etc. The second criteria of economic feasibility of modernization shows the difference in the cost of providing services to home tenats of basic and modernized fixed assets. The calculations shown that during the modernization of the base elevator, unlike the buying of a new one, it is possible to achieve in the cities of Ukraine an annual economic effect of more than 200 thousand UAH.

Universidades públicas de la Región Metropolitana: algunas líneas estratégicas de acción para garantizar la inclusión en el contexto de la Pandemia Covid-19.

En el presente artículo nos proponemos compartir algunas reflexiones preliminares sobre estrategias institucionales inclusivas desplegadas por universidades públicas de la Región Metropolitana con la finalidad de garantizar la continuidad académica de las trayectorias estudiantiles, en el marco de la coyuntura de la no presencialidad en las instituciones y de virtualización de la enseñanza y el aprendizaje debido a la emergencia planteada por la pandemia COVID-19. Para la construcción de los datos, desarrollamos una estrategia metodológica cualitativa en la que se han realizado entrevistas a autoridades, estudiantes, relevamiento de datos estadísticos, consultas de informes, disposiciones y resoluciones administrativas, entre otras fuentes. La indagación de parte de las experiencias institucionales que se encuentran atravesando la Universidad Nacional Arturo Jauretche (UNAJ), Universidad Nacional de Lanús (UNLA), Universidad Nacional de La Plata (UNLP) y Universidad Nacional de San Martín (UNSAM) habilita nuevos y renovados interrogantes que es preciso indagar desde el punto de vista analítico y en el marco de la fuerte interpelación que produjo el referido e inédito contexto. Las líneas estratégicas de acción identificadas refieren a un dinamismo sostenido y actualizado de la agenda de inclusión universitaria al interior de las citadas universidades públicas y, a su vez, reconocen los límites de un proceso de democratización que, en el ámbito universitario, por definición, resulta un proceso siempre inacabado y un desafío que recién comienza a develarse (Chiroleu, 2016).

The Right to Not Catch Up—Transitioning European Territorial Cohesion towards Spatial Justice for Sustainability

Recent EU environmental and spatial policies notably strive towards the development paradigm of green growth and economic competitiveness. However, operationalizing spatial policies through growth-driven GDP logics promotes an unequal race towards narrowly defined developmental ‘success’, while perpetuating social, economic and environmental inequalities. Meanwhile, the EU’s territorial cohesion approach has remained a conceptual ‘black box’, its apparent inadequacy for notably mitigating territorial disparities leading to renewed questions about territorial policy’s relevance, delivery and evaluation. In this paper, we add to calls for redesigning territorial cohesion by proposing a turn towards spatial justice for territorial sustainability. Pointing out the need to refocus on regional capabilities and alternative development trajectories, we argue that the ‘right to not catch up’ enables a more locally meaningful and globally sustainable development. Drawing from regional statistics, policy analyses and an empirical case study of three European Territorial Cooperation programs in the heterogeneous Austrian-Czech-Slovak-Hungarian border region, we illustrate how current EU spatial policy approaches evolve in regional practice and why current policy aims fall short for sustainable transformations. Through interrogating development discourses and their alternatives, we contribute to emerging new perspectives on sustainable territorial development at the European as well as at regional levels.

Modern piano duet: a retrospective analysis of performing arts

The subject of this research is the evolution of the art of piano duets since the middle of the XX century to the present day. Leaning on the retrospective analysis of ensemble uniqueness, an attempt is made to determine the key trends in artistic activity of piano duets of that time. The goal of this work consists in the analysis of the types of professional duet ensembles and their peculiarities, substantiated by the mobile form of concerts; study of the relevant questions of renewal of the repertoire; classification of piano duets by “performing specialization”: educational and theatricalized or "eccentric"’ as well as outlining the development prospects of duet performing arts. Research methodology is based on the comparative, logical, and retrospective methods. The retrospective method allowed defining the criteria for ensemble specialization of piano duets in accordance with the duet or duo principle, as well as the variety of educational duets based on the repertoire preferences. The scientific novelty lies in the fact that retrospective analysis applicable to modern duet performance, on the one hand revealed a tendency towards preserving and augmenting best traditions in performing culture of the piano due, while on the other – towards seeking of new, creative in their idea forms of ensemble art. For the first time the source of the new repertoire, which includes original compositions for four-handed ensemble, is presented by annotated catalogue of the American scholar K. McGraw (revised 2016 edition). The conclusion is made that tremendous potential of the genre (the ability to multi-level dialogue, theatrical expressiveness of visual image of the ensemble, and its special telegenic skills) contributes to the successful development of piano duet in music industry. Expanding the boundaries of the traditional concert space, members of the ensemble appose to the aesthetics of show or performance, which testifies to the experimental nature of piano duets in the first decades of the XXI century. As the development prospects, the author outlines the pursuit of new ways for popularization of the genre, research work on broadening the existing duet repertoire, and as well as potential creation of the Internet platform for centralizing the global repertoire of piano ensembles.

Organizing the sensory: Ear-work, panauralism and sonic agency on a forensic psychiatric unit

How are relations of care and security between hospital staff and patients organized through sound? This article argues that a shifting distinction between meaningful sound and noise is fundamental to the lived experience of immersion in an organizational acoustic environment. Based around a qualitative study of listening practices and ‘ear-work’ at a medium-secure forensic psychiatric hospital, using interview and photo-production methods, the article positions the organizing of the sensory as central to formal organization. Analysis of empirical material demonstrates how the refinement of key listening practices is critical to the ways in which staff and patients orient to the hospital setting. It also details how the design process for the unit has undermined the capacity to manage and control through sound, or ‘panauralism’, rendering it as a reversible and contested struggle to make sense of the acoustic environment, and describes the attempts by patients to create alternative acoustic spaces and exercise ‘sonic agency’. We contend that ‘acoustic organizational research’ offers an experience-near means of mapping organizational space and power relations and invites a renewed questioning of the role of the sensory as form of organizing in itself.

STRATEGIC RENEWAL OF BUSINESS MODELS IN THE LANGUAGE SCHOOLS SEGMENT

The paper presents the results of the third stage of the research on business models of enterprises in the language schools segment. It has an inferential-postulatory character. Results from the two previous stages were used: the first stage of the research on the assessment of the impact of the surrounding elements on selected components of a business model according to the canvas template, and the second stage of the research on the so-called activity packages. In the third stage, the packages, which have a great potential to reduce the gap were selected. Reducing the gap is referred to the renewal of the business model and its importance is connected to the relation between the business model and the strategy of an enterprise. Against this background, the postulates referred to using the concept of lean canvas and the theory of tasks to be performed for the clients. The attention was also paid to connecting the issue of the gap to the known and structured in management question of the strategic renewal of an enterprise. Two further research directions on business models of language schools segment of the case study type and referring to the assessment of the proposition by the same enterprises participating in the research (96 from Lower Silesian Voivodship) have been outlined.