Counter-fun, scholarly legitimacy, and environmental engagement – or why academics should code games

First Monday ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marina Khan ◽  
Liam Magee ◽  
Andrea Pollio ◽  
Juan Francisco Salazar
Keyword(s):  
Game Design ◽  
Environmental Science ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Secondary Effects ◽  
Environmental Engagement ◽  
Traditional Research ◽  
Gateway Cities ◽  
Collaborative Game ◽  
The One ◽  
Policy And Science

Acknowledged as urgent and complex, the communication of environmental science is at once an outcome and a subject of academic research. In this article, we detail the results of workshops with young residents of five “Antarctic gateway cities” (Hobart, Christchurch, Punta Arenas, Ushuaia, and Cape Town) who helped design and evaluate an online game that sought to communicate complex intersections of climate policy and science. We focus here on secondary effects of the workshops and game. On the one hand, outputs such as digital games respond to renewed desires for and from researchers to reach beyond scholarly sanctuaries and engage with real-world issues and communities in ways that question barriers of expertise and institutional entitlement. On the other, such dissolutions expose gaps in competency that can unnerve both researchers and participants, interrogating the expediency of collaborative game design and evaluation, and posing questions about the broader role and scope of “non-traditional” research outputs. Elaborating on Pérez Latorre’s notion of “counter-fun”, we chart our efforts to engage youth audiences in Antarctic cities through workshops, social media and anonymous statistics derived from gameplay. We conclude that game design and evaluation, as methods that bind and orient researchers and participants toward common objects of interest, can yield surprising channels of speculation and dialogue that align neither with conventional research nor the planned engagement of non-traditional outputs.

Researching (with) Major Food Retailers

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 33-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Evans
Keyword(s):  
Food Systems ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Major Food ◽  
Food Retailers ◽  
Food Retailer ◽  
The One ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Opening Up

This paper considers the relationship between social science and the food industry, and it suggests that collaboration can be intellectually productive and morally rewarding. It explores the middle ground that exists between paid consultancy models of collaboration on the one hand and a principled stance of nonengagement on the other. Drawing on recent experiences of researching with a major food retailer in the UK, I discuss the ways in which collaborating with retailers can open up opportunities for accessing data that might not otherwise be available to social scientists. Additionally, I put forward the argument that researchers with an interest in the sustainability—ecological or otherwise—of food systems, especially those of a critical persuasion, ought to be empirically engaging with food businesses. I suggest that this is important in terms of generating better understandings of the objectionable arrangements that they seek to critique, and in terms of opening up conduits through which to affect positive changes. Cutting across these points is the claim that while resistance to commercial engagement might be misguided, it is nevertheless important to acknowledge the power-geometries of collaboration and to find ways of leveling and/or leveraging them. To conclude, I suggest that universities have an important institutional role to play in defining the terms of engagement as well as maintaining the boundaries between scholarship and consultancy—a line that can otherwise become quite fuzzy when the worlds of commerce and academic research collide.

SAYYID ABUL AÑLÓ MAWDÕDÔ’S VIEWS ON IJTIHÓD AND THEIR RELEVANCE TO THE CONTEMPORARY MUSLIM SOCIETY

2010 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 121
Author(s):  
Munawar Haque
Keyword(s):  
Legal System ◽  
Islamic Law ◽  
Legal Aspect ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Spiritual Leadership ◽  
Legislative Process ◽  
Islamic Revival ◽  
Muslim Society ◽  
The One ◽  
Political Economic

Abstract  The purpose of this article is to explore the views of Sayyid Abul AÑlÉ MawdËdÊ[1] on ijtihÉd.[2] It intends to trace the origins of MawdËdÊ’s ideas within the social, cultural and political context of his time, especially the increasing influence of modernity in the Muslim world.  The study will show that MawdËdÊ’s understanding of ijtihÉd and its scope demonstrates originality.  For MawdËdÊ, ijtihÉd is the concept, the process, as well as the mechanism by which the SharÊÑah,[3] as elaborated in the Qur’Én and the Sunnah[4] is to be interpreted, developed and kept alive in line with the intellectual, political, economic, legal, technological and moral development of society.  The notion of ijtihÉd adopted by MawdËdÊ transcends the confines of Fiqh[5] (jurisprudence) and tends therefore to unleash the dormant faculties of the Muslim mind to excel in all segments of life.   [1] Sayyid Abul AÑlÉ MawdËdÊ was born on September 25, 1903 in Awrangabad, a town in the present Maharashtra state of India in a deeply religious family.  His ancestry on the paternal side is traced back to the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him).  The family had a long-standing tradition of spiritual leadership, for a number of MawdËdÊ’s ancestors were outstanding leaders of ØËfÊ Orders.  One of the luminaries among them, the one from whom he derives his family name, was KhawÉjah QuÏb al-DÊn MawdËd (d. 527 AH), a renowned leader of the ChishtÊ ØËfÊ Order. MawdËdÊ died on September 22, 1979. See Khurshid Ahmad and Zafar Ishaq Ansari, “MawlÉnÉ Sayyid Abul AÑlÉ MawdËdÊ: An Introduction to His Vision of Islam and Islamic Revival,”, in Khurshd Ahmad and Zafar Ishaq Ansari (eds.) Islamic Perspectives: Studies in Honour of MawlÉnÉ Sayyid Abul A’lÉ MawdËdÊ,  (Leicester: The Islamic Foundation,1979), 360. [2]  In Islamic legal thought, ijtihÉd is understood as the effort of the jurist to derive the law on an issue by expending all the available means of interpretation at his disposal and by taking into account all the legal proofs related to the issue.  However, its scope is not confined only to legal aspect of Muslim society.  MawdËdÊ’s concept of ijtihÉd is defined as the legislative process that makes the legal system of Islam dynamic and makes its development and evolution in the changing circumstances possible.  This results from a particular type of academic research and intellectual effort, which in the terminology of Islam is called ijtihÉd.  The purpose and object of ijtihÉd is not to replace the Divine law by man made law.  Its real object is to properly understand the Supreme law and to impart dynamism to the legal system of Islam by keeping it in conformity with the fundamental guidance of the SharÊÑah and abreast of the ever-changing conditions of the world.  See Sayyid Abul AÑlÉ MawdËdÊ, The Islamic Law and Constitution, translated and edited by Khurshid Ahmad, (Lahore: Islamic Publications Ltd, 1983), 76.[3] SharÊÑah refers to the sum total of Islamic laws and guidance, which were revealed to the Prophet MuÍammad (peace be upon him), and which are recorded in the Qur’Én as well as deducible from the Prophet’s divinely guided lifestyle (called the Sunnah). See Muhammad ShalabÊ, al-Madkhal fÊ at-TaÑ’rÊf  b alil-Fiqh al-IslÉmÊ, (Beirut: n.p., 1968),.28.[4]Sunnah is the way of life of the Prophet (peace be upon him), consisting of his sayings, actions and silent approvals. It is also used to mean a recommended deed as opposed to FarÌ or WÉjib, a compulsory one.[5]  Originally Fiqh referred to deliberations related to one’s reasoned opinion, ra’y.  Later the expression Fiqh evolved to mean jurisprudence covering every aspect of Islam.  It is also applied to denote understanding, comprehension, and profound knowledge. For an excellent exposition on the meaning of Fiqh, see Imran Ahsan Khan Nyazee, Theories of Islamic law: The methodology of ijtihÉd, (Delhi: Adam Publishers & Distributors, 1996), 20-22.

Area Studies and Desire: Towards a Genealogy

1997 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 52-65
Author(s):  
Hye-Joon Yoon
Keyword(s):  
Chinese Culture ◽  
Geographical Area ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Past Century ◽  
Area Studies ◽  
Western Area ◽  
The World ◽  
38Th Parallel ◽  
The One

Area studies, as a newly fashionable field of academic research, needs to recognize its less likely precedents if it is going to secure for itself a fresh start. The question of “desire” is relevant here because it indicates the less value-free aspects in its genealogy. As shown in Emma Bovary's embellished representation of Paris at her provincial home, an understanding of an area often reflects the particular needs and desires of the one who understands that area. Such restricted and restricting views of an area repeats itself outside the world of literary fictions, as is shown by the example of Guizot's picture of Europe in which his own country is given a privileged place as the very center of Western civilization itself. An instructive case showing the thin line between the projected desire of one who strives to know a geographical area and the scientific purity of the labor itself is further offered by Napoleon Bonaparte's heavy reliance on Orientalist scholarship in his invasion of Egypt. Moving further east from Egypt to China, we witness the denigrating remarks on China made by the great German thinkers of the past century, Hegel and Weber. Although their characterization of Chinese culture could find echoes in unbiased empirical research, they reveal all the same the trace of Europeans' desire to affirm their superiority over the supposedly inferior and false civilization of the East. Similarly, the Americans who divided the Korean peninsular at the 38th Parallel, with unquestioning confidence in their knowledge of the area and in the justice of their action, rightfully deserve their place in the tradition of Western area studies of serving the needs to dominate, control and exploit an objectified overseas territory. He assumed that words had kept their meaning, that desires still pointed in a single direction, and that ideas retained their logic; and he ignored the fact that the world of speech and desires has known invasions, struggles, plundering, disguises, ploys. From these elements, however, genealogy retrieves an indispensable restraint: it must record the singularity of events outside of any monotonous finality; it must seek them in the most unpromising places, in what we tend to feel is without history—in sentiments, love, conscience, instincts; it must be sensitive to their recurrence, not in order to trace the gradual curve of their evolution, but to isolate the different scenes where they engaged in different roles. — Michel Foucault, “Nietzsche, Genealogy, History” (Foucault 139–40).

scholarly journals Micro-Fenomenología de la Subjetividad del Psicoterapeuta Sistémico

2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 115-130
Author(s):  
Ángela Hernández CORDOBA ◽  
Miguel Ángel Villamil PINEDA
Keyword(s):  
Systemic Therapy ◽  
Therapeutic Process ◽  
The Other ◽  
Phenomenological Method ◽  
Relational Context ◽  
Emotion Experience ◽  
Traditional Research ◽  
First Impression ◽  
Third Person ◽  
The One

Systemic psychological therapy takes place in a relational context, where the subjectivities of the consultants and the therapists interact. Traditional research has focused more on the characteristics of the consultants than on the subjectivity of the therapist. Hence, "third person" perspectives have been privileged. The few studies that investigate the subjectivity of the therapist resort to introspective, interpretive and prescriptive methodologies. How to access the subjectivity of the therapist from different perspectives than those offered by "third person" observation and "first person" introspection? The purpose of the article is to explore, through the micro-phenomenological method, how the subjectivity of the therapist is shown in the first impression of a consultant. To do this, interviews were conducted with six therapists. The results show that en-active emotionality appears as an invariant of the therapist's subjectivity; and that this invariant operates as an "intelligent motivation", which enters "into action" in the course of the intersubjective relationship itself and permanently monitors and guides the therapeutic process. The results allow us to consider, on the one hand, that traditional research has undervalued the importance of en-active emotions in the therapeutic process; and, on the other, that the qualitative improvement of therapy implies not only recognizing this invariant, but also cultivating it. Palavras-chave : Subjectivity; Systemic therapy; Micro-phenomenology; En-active emotion; Experience.

scholarly journals O desempenho da investigação em gestão em Portugal: Algumas causas e consequências

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 ◽  
pp. 103
Author(s):  
Margarida M. Pinheiro
Keyword(s):  
Research Performance ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Scientific Research ◽  
National Agency ◽  
Academic Promotion ◽  
Research Production ◽  
Education Data ◽  
Literature Reviews ◽  
Academic Recognition ◽  
The One

Motivated by literature reviews of quality assurance systems, scientific research, academic recognition and academic activity, the aim of this paper is to identify the causes and consequences of research performance in management that occurs in Portuguese universities. This empirical analysis involved data collection from curricular files compulsorily submitted to the national Agency for Assessment and Accreditation of Higher Education. Data refers to the one and only national census for quality accreditation. Logistic regression, cluster analysis and optimal scaling were used. On the one hand, the study seems to confirm what is already known from the literature: those who do scientific research tend to achieve a greater academic promotion, because they reach higher professional categories or higher academic levels, and even more stable tenure-track contracts. On the other hand, the study reveals that the teaching load does not seem to influence academic research. Furthermore, it appears that age, gender, internationalization, professional experience and endogamy do not contribute to scientific research production.

scholarly journals The Future of the European University: Liberal Democracy or Authoritarian Capitalism?

2009 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharon Rider
Keyword(s):  
Liberal Democracy ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Necessary Condition ◽  
Free Enterprise ◽  
Goods And Services ◽  
Research And Teaching ◽  
The One ◽  
Autonomous Agency ◽  
The University ◽  
University Science

This paper examines the prevalent notion that that the production of knowledge, academic research and teaching can and ought to be audited and assessed in the same manner as the production of other goods and services. The emphasis on similarities between industry and the academy leads to a neglect of fundamental differences in their aims and, as a consequence, a tendency to evaluate scientific research in terms of patents and product development and colleges and universities in terms of the labour market. The article examines the idea of the free academy, on the one hand, and compares and contrasts it to the idea of free enterprise, on the other. It is argued that the view of the university as a supplier of specific solutions for pre-determined, non-scientific needs (a workforce with skills currently in demand, innovations for commercial partners, justifications for political decisions, etc) undermines the public legitimacy of university science and weakens the fabric of scientific training and practice. The article proposes that the university’s main purpose must be to provide a recognized neutral, autonomous agency of rigorous, disinterested investigation and scientific education, which constitutes a necessary condition for an enlightened liberal democracy: an informed, capable and critical citizenry.

Determinants of economic growth in Iraq: a standard study for the period (1970-2016)

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 176-187
Author(s):  
Hayder Talib Mousa ◽  
Karim Salem Hussein
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Development Economic ◽  
Main Concern ◽  
Economic Policies ◽  
General Phenomenon ◽  
Economic Growth And Development ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The One ◽  
Determinants Of Economic Growth

The subject of economic growth and development has taken a great space of importance in recent decades, level in terms of economic theory, scientific and academic research or the level of international institutions, and the level of countries and their economic orientations. Economic growth as a general phenomenon is a means of achieving various purposes. Growth rate or at least improve it by introducing all the conditions imposed by economic development. Economic growth remains the main concern of the various systems on the one hand and individuals on the other. It is at the top of the objectives of economic policies as it represents the material conclusion of economic and non-economic efforts in society

Players’ Experience in a Sport Geocaching Game

2014 ◽  
pp. 127-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pirita Ihamäki ◽  
Mika Luimula
Keyword(s):  
Game Design ◽  
Design Research ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Internet Survey ◽  
Complex Environments ◽  
Outdoor Sports ◽  
Adventure Game ◽  
Player Experiences ◽  
Prevalent Form

Geocaching is a multiplayer outdoor sports game. There is a lack of extensive research on this game, and there is a need for more academic research on this game and its application to other contexts worldwide. There are about 5 million people participating in the geocaching game in 220 different countries worldwide. The geocaching game is interesting because the players create it. The players’ role in game design increases its value in human-centred design research. Digital games are a prevalent form of entertainment in which the purpose of the design is to engage the players. This case study was carried out with 52 Finnish geocachers as an Internet survey. The purpose of this conceptual analysis is to investigate how the geocaching sports game might inform game design by looking at player experiences, devices, and techniques that support problem solving within complex environments. Specifically, this analysis presents a brief overview of the geocaching sports game, its role in popular adventure game design, and an analysis of the underlying players’ experiences and enjoyment as a structure to be used in game design.

scholarly journals From cartonera publishing practices to trans-formal methods for qualitative research

2020 ◽  
pp. 146879412091451
Author(s):  
Lucy Bell ◽  
Alex Flynn ◽  
Patrick O’Hare
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Collaborative Work ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Community Relations ◽  
Participatory Action ◽  
Aesthetic Practice ◽  
Activist Anthropology ◽  
The One

Interdisciplinarity, multidisciplinarity and counter-disciplinarity are the hallmark of cultural studies and qualitative research, as scholars over the past three decades have discussed through extensive self-reflexive inquiry into their own unstable and ever-shifting methods (Denzin and Lincoln, 2018; Dicks et al., 2006: 78; Grossberg, 2010). Building on the interdisciplinary thought of Jacques Rancière and Caroline Levine on the one hand and traditions of participatory action research and activist anthropology on the other, we bring the methods conversation forward by shifting the focus from disciplines to forms and by making a case for aesthetic practice as qualitative research process. In this paper, the question of methods is approached through the action-based Cartonera Publishing Project with editoriales cartoneras in Latin America – community publishers who make low-cost books out of materials recovered from the street in the attempt to democratise and decolonise literary/artistic production – and specifically through our process-oriented, collaborative work with four cartonera publishers in Brazil and Mexico. Guided by the multiple forms of cartonera knowledge production, which are rooted not in academic research but rather in aesthetic practice and community relations, we offer an innovative ‘trans-formal’ methodological framework, which opens up new pathways for practitioners and researchers to work, think and act across social, cultural and aesthetic forms.

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