Cross-disciplinary, collaborative and student-led: developing a change process for diversifying reading lists

Increasingly across many UK higher education institutions staff and students are questioning and challenging systemic inequalities that affect racially minoritised groups in their learning and sense of belonging within the curriculum. Students are calling for inclusion of diverse sources of knowledge and perspectives, especially from scholars of colour and from the Global South, to enrich what is currently perceived to be a Eurocentric canon. One way to promote more culturally aligned pedagogy is through diversifying reading lists. This article presents findings from two pilot studies that explored the reading lists in one department in social sciences and one in the humanities at the University of Kent, UK. Applying critical race theory as a guiding framework, the first part of the article examines the ways in which a diverse curriculum must include the voices of the marginalised. It then describes the methods: a desk-based review of the reading lists, interviews with academics to inform the work, disseminate the findings, instigate further action and identify future needs, and student focus groups. Crucially, the project resulted from the collaboration between students and staff, and across departments and disciplines. We found that reading lists in both departments overwhelmingly comprised items by White male authors. Students and staff both reflected on the importance of not only curriculum diversification but also barriers to diversification and decolonisation. The article discusses the impact of this project, which has led to a Diversity Mark process, and the Diversity Mark Toolkit, which can be used in any discipline when putting together reading lists to create a more culturally competent curriculum. It concludes by considering other systemic changes needed, with particular attention to changes needed in library services and collections.

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.

Mycelium-Based Composites in Art, Architecture, and Interior Design: A Review

Mycelium-based composites (MBCs) have attracted growing attention due to their role in the development of eco-design methods. We concurrently analysed scientific publications, patent documents, and results of our own feasibility studies to identify the current design issues and technologies used. A literature inquiry in scientific and patent databases (WoS, Scopus, The Lens, Google Patents) pointed to 92 scientific publications and 212 patent documents. As a part of our own technological experiments, we have created several prototype products used in architectural interior design. Following the synthesis, these sources of knowledge can be concluded: 1. MBCs are inexpensive in production, ecological, and offer a high artistic value. Their weaknesses are insufficient load capacity, unfavourable water affinity, and unknown reliability. 2. The scientific literature shows that the material parameters of MBCs can be adjusted to certain needs, but there are almost infinite combinations: properties of the input biomaterials, characteristics of the fungi species, and possible parameters during the growth and subsequent processing of the MBCs. 3. The patent documents show the need for development: an effective method to increase the density and the search for technologies to obtain a more homogeneous internal structure of the composite material. 4. Our own experiments with the production of various everyday objects indicate that some disadvantages of MBCs can be considered advantages. Such an unexpected advantage is the interesting surface texture resulting from the natural inhomogeneity of the internal structure of MBCs, which can be controlled to some extent.

Whistleblowing in Health Care Organizations: A Comprehensive Literature Review

Purpose: To receive the answers to the following research problems: (1) How is the interest of researchers in whistleblowing in health care organizations developing? (2) How do researchers define whistleblowing in health care? (3) What are the main problems (limitations) of whistleblowing in health care organizations? (4) What factors affect whistleblowing in health care organizations? Design/methodology/approach: The method of systematic literature review based on the PRISMA model was used. To identify the factors affecting whistleblowing, McKinsey’s 7S framework was used. Findings: The researchers from the UK definitely dominate, and the papers from Central European countries seem to be invisible. The vast majority of works came from the 2010s. Whistleblowing serves the good and safety of the patient; however, there are staff concerns about the consequences they may face. ‘Style’, ‘staff’ and ‘shared values’ seem to be the most crucial for whistleblowing, and these are factors considered ‘soft’. Research limitations: The access to databases managed by the home University. In future studies, there is a need to take into account other databases, including additional sources of knowledge, like books and grey literature. Originality/implications: Identifying the state and place of research worldwide on whistleblowing in health care, and a proposal of the whistleblowing verification matrix. New definitions of whistleblowing and whistleblowers were proposed. The above may be considered theoretical contribution to science.

Does art therapy need a theory? Considerations on terminology, models and paradigms of art therapy

The author discusses Polish publications on the theoretical foundations of art therapy published in Poland in chronological order and confronts them with the world literature of Art Therapy. One of theproblems discussed in this paper is plagiarism in the Polish literature on Art Therapy, which is an obstacle on the way to Art Therapy achieving the status of science. The article covers such issues as sources of knowledge about Art Therapies, terminology, types, models and paradigms of Arts therapy. The aim of this article is to draw attention to the need for a critical approach to the available and disseminated sources of knowledge about the theory.

Dyfuzja wiedzy technicznej w państwach autorytarnych — casus Białorusi

The paper refers to the problem of knowledge diffusion and innovative activity of entities operating within the structures of authoritarian states. It is extremely important because it points to a specific paradox. On the one hand, authoritarian states try to participate in the global technology race; on the other, their strategy is based on the fundamental assumptions of authoritarianism, which automatically eliminates their chance of success in the area. Closure to external influences, monopolization of the economy, shaping the habits of imitative task performance, subordination to the superior interests of the state, and suppressing competition-based entrepreneurship reduce the innovative potential of authoritarian countries. This has a real impact on their low ranking in this area. The paper focuses on two aspects; firstly, its purpose is to determine to what extent Belarusian active innovative entities use the previously available technical knowledge in the solutions they have developed. Secondly, the article aims at identifying the scope and type of cooperation undertaken in the course of the innovation process they implement. In order to pursue the objectives, qualitative and quantitative research was carried out on the technical invention documentation, using the method of analysing the so-called patent citations. The conclusions of the research indicate that although the dynamics of the developing modern technology impose abandoning the traditional approach towards an ever wider opening of the inventive process to external sources, Belarus’ innovation policy forces innovators to focus primarily on internal sources of knowledge and their own, strongly individualized resources.

Universities’ Scientific and Technological Transformation in China: Its Efficiency and Influencing Factors in the Yangtze River Economic Belt

Universities are important sources of knowledge and key members of the regional innovation system. The key problem in Chinese universities is the low efficiency of the scientific and technological (S&T) transformation, which limits the promotion of regional innovation and economic development. This article proposes the three-stage efficiency analytical framework, which regards it as a complex and interactive process. Avoiding the problem of considering the input and output of university S&T transformation as a “black box” and neglecting the links among different transformation stages. The super efficiency network SBM model is applied to the heterogeneous region of the Yangtze River Economic Belt. Empirical research proves that university S&T transformation has not been effectively improved and the scientific resources invested in universities have not been efficiently utilized in recent years. Generally, Despite the correlation between regional economy and transformation efficiency, the exclusive increase in resources is not enough. Regional openness and the quality of research talents are key factors for the application of technological innovation and technology marketization. Universities should not only pursue the number of research outputs but pay more attention to high-quality knowledge production to overcome difficulties in research achievements transformation.

A Social Network Analysis of Collaborative Rangelands Governance: the case of Borana rangelands, Southern Ethiopia

Effective natural resources governance plays crucial roles in enhancing the resilience of the Socio-ecological systems (SES) in the face of prevailing environmental changes. It is recognized that the ability to adaptively respond to complex environmental change and manage SES resilience resides in the actors' networks. Network forms of governance facilitate both horizontal and vertical interconnection of actors, bring different perspectives and sources of knowledge, develop shared values and develop innovative solutions to the wicked rangeland problems. However, the structural pattern of the actors’ collaborative linkages highly influences how actors actually behave and, hence, impact the deliverance of effective governance. In view of this, by analyzing social networks (SNA), this study aims to identify the structural gaps that result in misfit in the Borana rangelands. As evident from the low level of network density obtained from quantitative SNA, there are very few horizontal and vertical interactions and linkages among actors in the Borana rangelands governance system which considerably blocks flows of knowledge, experiences and other resources indicating inability of the governance system in facilitating the solidification of shared values and joint action. The study further reveals that rangelands governance system in Borana is hampered by absence of adequate network heterogeneity and closure which in turn blocks the building of collaborative visioning and an efficient use of available resources to address complex problem. Thus, this study suggests that policy environment that can create conditions for more collaboration, strength of actors ties, development of trust and social capital and enabling the design of effective collective efforts should be put in place.

Technology Development Recommendations of Artificial Intelligence used in Library

The library is a place to read books with various collections so that readers can get various sources of knowledge. But in this technological era, people want things that are more practical. With the presence of Artificial intelligence, it can be applied and integrated into the library system. A common problem when readers come to the library is to look for literature according to their choice, both in terms of the name, image, type, and form of the literature. Artificial intelligence can help in searching literature based on recommendations and ratings, so readers don't have to bother looking for the desired literature one by one from the available bookshelves. This certainly makes it easier for readers to search for literature, especially those who are confused about where to look. The recommendation system used is the recommendation method, where the method is a method that combines Filtering and Ranking. This research is intended so that readers who are in the library can easily and quickly search for their literature.