Critical Essay: Wicked problems in the Age of Uncertainty

We are, apparently, living in unprecedented times, an Age of Uncertainty, when wicked problems whirl all around as we struggle to cope with Covid-19, environmental catastrophe and the right-wing populism that threatens to unravel all kinds of international agreements. In this personal reflection, 15 years after I wrote an article on wicked problems and the social construction of leadership, I take a look back, and forward, to see whether there ever was an Age of Certainty when only tame problems temporarily troubled us, or whether our understanding of the world is itself a social construction, open to dispute and thus we have always lived in uncertain times. In the process of this evaluation, I consider whether collaborative leadership, often associated with wicked problems, is as ubiquitous and effective as some proponents make out, and if it isn’t, what this says about our ability to address such problems.

Islamic Democracy and Popular Sovereignty: A Critical Essay on Andrew March’s The Caliphate of Man

In this review of Andrew March’s book, The Caliphate of Man, I shall focus on one central concept and one central claim to be found in the book: the concept of Islamic democracy, and the claim that al-Ghannūshī’s vision of popular sovereignty “reflects a genuine intellectual revolution in modern Islamic thought.” I suggest that the concept of Islamic democracy is logically possible only on the assumption of a purely procedural, value-neutral conception of democracy, and that the vision of the umma [the demos, populus] to be found in al-Ghannūshī is not such as to make the notion of popular sovereignty desirable by modern standards. I will suggest further that liberal Islamist thinkers stand to offer a superior view of Islamic democracy, one toward which al-Ghannūshī himself seems to be moving in his post-Revolutionary political practice.

Testing the Limits of Science

Madeleine Pape’s critical essay puts the issue of gender eligibility regulations in Olympic sports in historical perspective and examines the scientific debates around gender verification pointing to its formation and continued grounding in the racialized colonial gaze. A historical review of the field of athletics illuminates the deeply subjective nature of the production of scientific knowledge and its application in the verification of gender. Further, discriminatory role of sport governing bodies in perpetuating masculinist and racialized ideologies in insisting on scrutiny in the participation of women, inspection of their ‘unfeminine’ bodies, to invasive gender tests of ‘suspicious’ cases, continues unabated, especially of the global South.

Crises and disruptions: Educational reflections, (re)imaginings, and (re)vitalization

COVID-19 has illuminated and exacerbated inequities, yet, as a crisis, it is not exceptional in its effect on education. We start this critical essay by situating the crisis in its historical, economic, and political contexts, illustrating how crisis and violence intersect as structural conditions of late modernity, capitalism, and their education systems. Situating the current crisis contextually lays the foundation to analyse how it has been interpreted through three sets of policy imaginaries, characterised by the notions of learning loss and building back better and by solutions primarily based on techno-education. These concepts reflect and are reflective of the international aid and development paradigm during the pandemic. Building on this analysis, we present, in the final section, an alternative radical vision that calls on a sociology of possibilities and pedagogies of hope that we see to be central to a new people-centred education imaginary to disrupt current inequalities and provide a new way of doing rather than a return to a business-as-usual approach in and through education.

Utilización eficaz de las tecnologías de información y comunicación en procesos sancionatorios y responsabilidad fiscal

The objective of the article was to discuss the relationship between information technologies in the face of the sanctioning processes and fiscal responsibility, which occurred in the territorial tax control bodies, spaces and which more resources are required in technology with specific purpose for this purpose, taking advantage of the moment of the validity of Legislative Act 04 of 2019 in Colombia. Methodologically, the documentary research design near the critical essay was used. To illustrate the arguments and views of the research team, it shows situations in which the administrative process of sanctioning and fiscal responsibility could be improved, emphasizing the hypothesis that the use of information technologies allows the strengthening of the fundamental right of due process of those investigated. It is concluded that, when technological tools are extended to the institutionalist of the Colombian State, it is possible to have a better approach with citizenship, which generates a positive expectation in meeting their needs, being the essence of the Social State of Law to build at all times a democracy of results that transcends procedural formalities and expands social justice.

A Teaching Innovation Project on Writing Critical Essays in a History of Psychology Course

Background Since its integration into the European Higher Education Area, the Spanish educational system has evolved, introducing innovations into university teaching methodologies. This new approach entails the development of capacities, competencies, and skills that enable students to develop their critical thinking. Objective This work aims to present an innovation project conducted in a History of Psychology course, part of the Degree in Psychology in the Spanish university system. Method The current study was launched to evaluate the effectiveness of the Teaching Innovation Project, which itself arose from the need for students to improve their critical essay writing skills, incorporating such evidence-based methodologies as explicit instructions, online platforms, collaborative peer work, and rubrics. Results A comparison of outcomes among three cohorts showed a marked improvement in student performance on critical essays and final exam scores after implementing new methodologies. Conclusion It is possible to improve students’ critical essay writing skills in the context of the History of Psychology through the intentional implementation of evidence-based practices, changing the pedagogical focus from teacher-centered to student-centered. Teaching implications Psychology instructors who teach courses with writing skill development as a course goal could consider incorporating elements of the Teaching Innovation Project program.

Strengths and Weaknesses of Semi-Structured Interviews in Qualitative Research: A Critical Essay

A semi-structured interview (SSI) is one of the essential tools in conduction qualitative research. This essay draws upon the pros and cons of applying semi-structured interviews (SSI) in the qualitative research method. Moreover, the challenges of SSI during the coronavirus pandemic are critically discussed to provide plausible recommendations.

The Junction Collection: A site-specific public fashion project as a (conceptual) magazine editorial

In the summer of 2018, the author was selected for the Junction Art Residency (JAR) programme, and for three months, he was integrated into the daily life of the Haines Junction village, a rural town in the Kluane region, Yukon. Like the rest of the Yukon, the Haines Junction village includes a sizable community of First Nation residents. To gain a practical understanding on how aboriginal principles and values shape life in Yukon, the author created a series of garments and accessories informed by the nature, histories and peoples of the Kluane region. This critical essay contextualizes the project and discusses the implications of using a magazine editorial as an alternative vehicle to disseminate it. With the direct participation of a diversity of Haines Junction’s residents, the author explored Yukon’s social and cultural complexities by means of integrating fashion design and public art methodologies. Titled The Junction Collection, the site-specific public fashion project incorporated locally available fabrics, traditionally harvested furs and upcycled materials. Throughout the design process, he consulted with indigenous makers, elders and knowledge keepers. Upon completing the series of garments, the author executed a photo shoot featuring Haines Junction’s residents wearing the outfits against the natural setting of the Kluane wilderness. Those images are the central content for the long-format magazine editorial presented and examined here. The critical essay argues that, as a visual narrative, this magazine editorial makes the project more accessible to the general public while effectively translating The Junction Collection’s theme of incorporating indigenous knowledge with contemporary aesthetics.