Together alone: a group-based polarization measurement

The growing polarization of our societies and economies has been extensively studied in various disciplines and is subject to public controversy. Yet, measuring polarization is hampered by the discrepancy between how polarization is conceptualized and measured. For instance, the notion of group, especially groups that are identified based on similarities between individuals, is key to conceptualizing polarization but is usually neglected when measuring polarization. To address the issue, this paper presents a new polarization measurement based on a grouping method called “Equal Size Binary Grouping” (ESBG) for both uni- and multi-dimensional discrete data, which satisfies a range of desired properties. Inspired by techniques of clustering, ESBG divides the population into two groups of equal sizes based on similarities between individuals, while overcoming certain theoretical and practical problems afflicting other grouping methods, such as discontinuity and contradiction of reasoning. Our new polarization measurement and the grouping method are illustrated by applying them to a two-dimensional synthetic data set. By means of a so-called “squeezing-and-moving” framework, we show that our measurement is closely related to bipolarization and could help stimulate further empirical research.

Non-GM Genome Editing Approaches in Crops

CRISPR/Cas-based genome editing technologies have the potential to fast-track large-scale crop breeding programs. However, the rigid cell wall limits the delivery of CRISPR/Cas components into plant cells, decreasing genome editing efficiency. Established methods, such as Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated or biolistic transformation have been used to integrate genetic cassettes containing CRISPR components into the plant genome. Although efficient, these methods pose several problems, including 1) The transformation process requires laborious and time-consuming tissue culture and regeneration steps; 2) many crop species and elite varieties are recalcitrant to transformation; 3) The segregation of transgenes in vegetatively propagated or highly heterozygous crops, such as pineapple, is either difficult or impossible; and 4) The production of a genetically modified first generation can lead to public controversy and onerous government regulations. The development of transgene-free genome editing technologies can address many problems associated with transgenic-based approaches. Transgene-free genome editing have been achieved through the delivery of preassembled CRISPR/Cas ribonucleoproteins, although its application is limited. The use of viral vectors for delivery of CRISPR/Cas components has recently emerged as a powerful alternative but it requires further exploration. In this review, we discuss the different strategies, principles, applications, and future directions of transgene-free genome editing methods.

Englishization of Dutch higher education

The Netherlands is one of the countries where the Englishization of higher education is most evident. The percentage of bachelor’s and master’s programmes at Dutch universities through the medium of English is among the highest in Europe. This chapter addresses the concern and public controversy generated by the preponderance of English. It illustrates how language policy encapsulates the changes in Dutch universities and the impacts these have on stakeholders and compares these with a study of students’ perceptions of EMI. The analysis contends that Englishization can only be understood in the light of the impact of neoliberalism on academia, highlighting the incongruity between the critical voices in the public controversy and the discourse of university administrators.

The COVID-19 pandemic: a health crisis managed, or a panic response with disastrous future consequences

In one year the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) spread rapidly across the globe affecting all societies and most age groups. It has taken not only a toll of human lives (approaching 220 million people infected with 4, 4.5 million reported deaths at time of writing), but has also decimated every economy, as countries struggle to control infection rates from airborne infection and personal contact, by introducing draconian lockdown and social distancing measures. The consequence of this has been to bring great suffering, well beyond the medical effect of the disease. A parallel pandemic has resulted in a deluge of information emanating from both scientific as well as international news media including social media platforms. Fact and fiction, reality and perception, lies and truth, have become entangled; the only realistic solution, both medically as well as politically, is concerted global vaccination to reduce further infection and introduce universal immunity. With several vaccines recently approved and being administered to general populations, a solution seems to be charted. Yet public controversy rages due to widespread apprehension regarding necessity, immediate risks and long-term safety of what is perceived as a ‘fast-tracked’ medication. While some concerns may be justified, much is also due to misconception and misunderstanding. This review highlights some of the issues concerning the handling of the COVID-19 crisis by governments worldwide, the medical and scientific communities and both the international and social media and how this may have laid the foundations for a far greater medical, social and economic burden in the coming years. We present comparative data to challenge the current conceptions of this disease in the more general context of human health, to provide a perspective that seems to have been lost in the general panic. Our aim is to re-align thinking about more rational approaches to the handling a disease which is unlikely to disappear from our spectrum of afflictions even after the magnifying glass has been removed from it.

ANCIENT RITUALS AND THEIR PLACE IN THE MODERN WORLD: CULTURE, MASCULINITY AND THE KILLING OF BULLS – PART ONE

Each year in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, a ceremony is held by the Zulu people in honour of the “first fruits”. A certain part of what is known as the Ukweshwama ceremony involves the ritual killing of a bull by young Zulu warriors with their bare hands. The ritual is opposed by certain animal rights campaigners, who believe it is cruel to the animal which is sacrificed. A highly polarized debate has arisen between those opposed to any form of cruelty to animals on the one hand, and those seeking to defend ancient cultural practices on the other. The purpose of this article is to explore whether or not ancient rituals such as the ritual bull-killing at theUkweshwama ceremony have a place in the modern world, and to interrogate the implications of the dispute which has arisen for the development of South Africa’s constitutional democracy. The article is in two parts. Part One provides a brief synopsis of the importance of cattle within traditional Zulu culture and traces the public controversy surrounding the bull-killing ritual in KwaZulu-Natal. It also examines the legal arguments put before court on the issue, and discusses the origins in antiquity of certain of the main myths and rituals concerning bulls and bullkilling. Part Two compares and contrasts the respective controversies surroundingthe Ukweshwama bull-killing ritual on the one hand, and Spanish bullfighting on the other. It also examines the wide range of positions adopted by philosophers and legal scholars vis-a-vis difficult questions of animal rights and cruelty to animals. The twosides of the argument are weighed up and tentative conclusions reached.

ANCIENT RITUALS AND THEIR PLACE IN THE MODERN WORLD: CULTURE, MASCULINITY AND THE KILLING OF BULLS – PART TWO

Each year in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, a ceremony is held by the Zulu people in honour of the “first fruits”. A certain part of what is known as the Ukweshwama ceremony involves the ritual killing of a bull by young Zulu warriors with their bare hands. The ritual is opposed by certain animal rights campaigners, who believe it is cruel to the animal which is sacrificed. A highly polarized debate has arisen between those opposed to any form of cruelty to animals on the one hand, and those seeking to defend ancient cultural practices on the other. The purpose of this article is to explore whether or not ancient rituals such as the ritual bull-killing at theUkweshwama ceremony have a place in the modern world, and to interrogate the implications of the dispute which has arisen for the development of South Africa’s constitutional democracy. The article is in two parts. Part One provides a brief synopsis of the importance of cattle within traditional Zulu culture and traces the public controversy surrounding the bull-killing ritual in KwaZulu-Natal. It also examines the legal arguments put before court on the issue, and discusses the origins in antiquity of certain of the main myths and rituals concerning bulls and bullkilling. Part Two compares and contrasts the respective controversies surroundingthe Ukweshwama bull-killing ritual on the one hand, and Spanish bullfighting on the other. It also examines the wide range of positions adopted by philosophers and legal scholars vis-a-vis difficult questions of animal rights and cruelty to animals. The two sides of the argument are weighed up and tentative conclusions are reached.

CULTURAL IDENTITY, TRADITION, AND THE RITUAL KILLING OF BULLS – A NOTE ON A RECENT DECISION OF THE FRENCH CONSTITUTIONAL COUNCIL ON THE LEGALITY OF BULLFIGHTING

In a recent two-part article in this journal, the authors of this note analysed the controversy surrounding the ritual bull-killing which takes place during the Ukweshwama “first fruits” ceremony held each year in northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. While much of the Ukweshwama ceremony is uncontroversial, the ritual killing of a bull by young Zulu warriors with their bare hands attracted strong opposition from certain animal-rights groups, which resulted in legal action and public controversy. The authors attempted to disentangle the different legal, historical, political and philosophical strands which combined to make up a complex story about the place of ancient rituals in the modern world, particularly those involving animal sacrifice. They also attempted to situate the controversy around the Ukweshwama bull-killing ritual within a contemporary global context, by comparing and contrasting the Zulu bull-killing ceremony on the one hand, and Spanish bullfighting on the other. The purpose of the present note is to report on recent developments in what is a global debate on the place of ancient rituals which involve the ritual killing of animals, within modern constitutional democracies. In particular, this note will examine and discuss the outcome of a recent legal challenge brought before the Constitutional Council of the Republic of France by certain animal-welfare groups in that country. The challenge was directed at bringing an end to a legal exception which operates in certain parts of the country – that is, those with an uninterrupted local tradition of bullfighting – excluding bullfighting from the provisions of animal-welfare legislation. The legal, political and cultural issues which arise as a result of this legal challenge are of relevance to those in South Africa who are concerned, one way or the other, about the future of the annual Ukweshwama bull-killing ritual in KwaZulu-Natal. Like it or not, although the bull-killing rituals which take place in the South of France and in KwaZulu-Natal South Africa are very different, the similarities between the rituals and their impact on broader society (legally, politically and culturally), are such that they cannot be ignored. The authors make a similar point in relation to the links between Spanish bullfighting and the Ukweshwama bull-killing ritual.

Media debates over the renaming of the cityscape

This contribution presents two case studies: Poznań in Poland and New Delhi in India, focusing on the media coverage surrounding the re-naming of one street in each location. We apply a uniform method – the Discourse Historical Approach – to analyse newspaper articles, below-the-line comments and Internet forum discussions. As symbolic marking of the territory can be recruited for a political agenda going beyond memory politics, this article not only investigates the public controversy surrounding the (re-)naming of the cityscape, but also addresses the questions of how these debates link inter-discursively with other issues in contemporary politics, such as the independence of the judiciary in Poland and social justice in India.

The great transformer: Examining the role of large language models in the political economy of AI

In recent years, AI research has become more and more computationally demanding. In natural language processing (NLP), this tendency is reflected in the emergence of large language models (LLMs) like GPT-3. These powerful neural network-based models can be used for a range of NLP tasks and their language generation capacities have become so sophisticated that it can be very difficult to distinguish their outputs from human language. LLMs have raised concerns over their demonstrable biases, heavy environmental footprints, and future social ramifications. In December 2020, critical research on LLMs led Google to fire Timnit Gebru, co-lead of the company’s AI Ethics team, which sparked a major public controversy around LLMs and the growing corporate influence over AI research. This article explores the role LLMs play in the political economy of AI as infrastructural components for AI research and development. Retracing the technical developments that have led to the emergence of LLMs, we point out how they are intertwined with the business model of big tech companies and further shift power relations in their favour. This becomes visible through the Transformer, which is the underlying architecture of most LLMs today and started the race for ever bigger models when it was introduced by Google in 2017. Using the example of GPT-3, we shed light on recent corporate efforts to commodify LLMs through paid API access and exclusive licensing, raising questions around monopolization and dependency in a field that is increasingly divided by access to large-scale computing power.