The "Tau" of Science - How to Measure, Study, and Integrate Quantitative and Qualitative Knowledge

Scientists' ability to integrate diverse forms of evidence and evaluate how well they can explain and predict phenomena, in other words, $\textit{to know how much they know}$, struggles to keep pace with technological innovation. Central to the challenge of extracting knowledge from data is the need to develop a metric of knowledge itself. A candidate metric of knowledge, $K$, was recently proposed by the author. This essay further advances and integrates that proposal, by developing a methodology to measure its key variable, symbolized with the Greek letter $\tau$ ("tau"). It will be shown how a $\tau$ can represent the description of any phenomenon, any theory to explain it, and any methodology to study it, allowing the knowledge about that phenomenon to be measured with $K$.To illustrate potential applications, the essay calculates $\tau$ and $K$ values of: logical syllogisms and proofs, mathematical calculations, empirical quantitative knowledge, statistical model selection problems, including how to correct for "forking paths" and "P-hacking" biases, randomised controlled experiments, reproducibility and replicability, qualitative analyses via process tracing, and mixed quantitative and qualitative evidence.Whilst preliminary in many respects, these results suggest that $K$ theory offers a meaningful understanding of knowledge, which makes testable metascientific predictions, and which may be used to analyse and integrate qualitative and quantitative evidence to tackle complex problems.

Biobased Innovation as a Fashion and Textile Design Must: A European Perspective

Fashion industry investments drive the choice for textile solutions characterized by radical experimentation and a firm commitment to sustainability. In the last five years, textile innovations have been strongly related to biobased textile solutions evolving to become effectively feasible and strategic. The produced qualitative knowledge implementations consider new production patterns, innovative technical and digital know-how, and new consumption scenarios. The directions the industry is tracing may provide new opportunities for future textile development in the circular biobased economy. This paper presents a map of current European practices. It discusses the possible passage through a holistic paradigm that goes beyond the boundaries of the old productive systems to accompany the sector towards a new sustainable and transversal state. It also presents three selected best practices that return the actual context in which the phenomenon occurs. A model is presented to demonstrate how these circular processes of biobased materials production enable more process innovations which are developed through implementing the process itself: companies’ search for rethinking and implementing the traditional practices or designing new ones (as determined by the doctoral research of one of the authors).

Embodied Experiential Learning

This paper presents a craft in experiential teaching and an experiment in embodied learning for peacebuilders and change-makers. The theories, practices and experiments are part of the postgraduate course in Peace of Mind. The intention is to invite the reader to see experiential learning and awareness-based practices as a tool that enables a possibility to evolve our humanness. Interdisciplinary abstract methodologies from Indigenous and phenomenological philosophies support the argument that granular and qualitative knowledge emerges through the embodiment of human expression. It addresses the concept of fragmentation of the self, the importance to pause to give voice to knowledge that words cannot convey. Through the arts, the paper shows non-linear forms of communication with visual experiments. The purpose of this collaborative work is in the craft, in the process, and beyond the authorship.

Quantifying biochemical reaction rates from static population variability within complex networks

Quantifying biochemical reaction rates within complex cellular processes remains a key challenge of systems biology even as high-throughput single-cell data have become available to characterize snapshots of population variability. That is because complex systems with stochastic and non-linear interactions are difficult to analyze when not all components can be observed simultaneously and systems cannot be followed over time. Instead of using descriptive statistical models, we show that incompletely specified mechanistic models can be used to translate qualitative knowledge of interactions into reaction rate functions from covariability data between pairs of components. This promises to turn a globally intractable problem into a sequence of solvable inference problems to quantify complex interaction networks from incomplete snapshots of their stochastic fluctuations.

Consensual Qualitative Analysis of Self-Criticizing Using the Two-Chair Technique

Level of self-criticism has a significant impact on people’s psychopathology because severe self-criticism activates the sympathetic nervous system, and that further stimulates the physiological and psychological stress response which lead to impairment of mental health and wellbeing (Singer & Klimecki, 2014). Therefore, self-criticism is widely studied, but authors use mainly quantitative approaches which allow generalisation of knowledge but do not allow in-depth insights into the phenomenon. Hence our research aim was to identify the kinds of statements individuals utter when self-criticizing using the two-chair dialogue technique which enable to expose inward dialogues people lead with their self-critical parts. Out of 80 participants, the 20 most expressive participants were selected for the analysis: 15 women and 5 men (M = 27.7; SD 7.60). The data were analysed using Consensual Qualitative Research (CQR; Hill et al., 1997) with three members of a core team and one auditor. We identified three domains of self-criticism – Emotional (mainly inadequacy, fear, contempt, and disgust), Behavioural (mainly hurting and neglecting others, stating one’s shortcomings and motivating oneself), and Cognitive (primarily generalized judgements about one’s negative traits and reactions, perceived judgements by others or based on comparisons with others, and judgements relating to criticized situations and the effects of these). Expanding on the qualitative knowledge in the area of self-criticism would make for better planning and the provision of better treatment for highly self-critical people by mental health professionals.

Redundancy-selection trade-off in phenotype-structured populations

Realistic fitness landscapes generally display a redundancy-fitness trade-off: highly fit trait configurations are inevitably rare, while less fit trait configurations are expected to be more redundant. The resulting sub-optimal patterns in the fitness distribution are typically described by means of effective formulations. However, the extent to which effective formulations are compatible with explicitly redundant landscapes is yet to be understood, as well as the consequences of a potential miss-match. Here we investigate the effects of such trade-off on the evolution of phenotype-structured populations, characterised by continuous quantitative traits. We consider a typical replication-mutation dynamics, and we model redundancy by means of two dimensional landscapes displaying both selective and neutral traits. We show that asymmetries of the landscapes will generate neutral contributions to the marginalised fitness-level description, that cannot be described by effective formulations, nor disentangled by the full trait distribution. Rather, they appear as effective sources, whose magnitude depends on the geometry of the landscape. Our results highlight new important aspects on the nature of sub-optimality. We discuss practical implications for rapidly mutant populations such as pathogens and cancer cells, where the qualitative knowledge of their trait and fitness distributions can drive disease management and intervention policies.

The Use of Sustained Restorative Dialogue to Address Sexual Harm at University: Examining agency in sexual harm discourse and evaluating a restorative model for prevention

<p>The ubiquity of sexual assault and harassment has been illuminated on a global scale in the wake of #MeToo and other like movements, foregrounding the need for strategies that aim to combat and reduce sexually harmful behaviour. As in other areas of society, there is a critical need for innovative and proactive processes that look to address the issue on universities campuses, where sexual harm is rife. While many policies and programmes have been designed to respond to sexual misconduct in the campus setting, cultivating forums for honest and respectful communication may be a more effective way to address harm and the culture that gives rise to it. </p> <p>This study investigates a Sustained Restorative Dialogue, a proactive initiative that uses restorative circle practice to better understand the issue of sexual harm in the community, and identify practical steps that aim to reduce it. I undertake a linguistic analysis of language use within the dialogue practice, contextualised by qualitative knowledge gained from participant-observation, to investigate what takes place in restorative dialogue and what it is able to achieve. Specifically, I use syntactic and semantic analysis of discourse to evaluate how individuals engage with the process, and how this goes on to shape their actions and beliefs after the dialogue has taken place. In order to illuminate how participants express their individual and shared experiences, I adopt the concept of agency as an analytic focus. </p> <p>The analysis in this study is in two parts. The first involves an examination of the linguistic strategies that participants use to claim, ratify, negotiate, and deflect agency, which sheds light on how agentive positions are encoded and enacted within sexual harm discourse, and the wider social issues and structural constraints that such positions are connected to. This focus on agency is also able to demonstrate the layered and collaborative way in which meaning is co-constructed in restorative practices, and how structured, intentional dialogue can foster resistant, pro-social discourse and collective agentive expression. </p> <p>The second stage is an evaluation of the outcomes of the restorative practice, through further analysis of discourse from within the dialogue sessions and post hoc interviews with participants. The analysis shows a number of positive outcomes are associated with participation in the process, such as an increased proclivity to communicate about sexual harm, an enhanced awareness and understanding of the issue, and a great deal of personal benefit for those members of the group who had directly experienced harm. </p> <p>This research indicates that Sustained Restorative Dialogue can and should be implemented in campus communities as part of an effective sexual violence prevention strategy. This is of particular relevance to students entering university, where there is considerable potential for dialogue around sexual harm to build on and help provide a practical, agentive platform for sex and consent education. </p>

The Use of Sustained Restorative Dialogue to Address Sexual Harm at University: Examining agency in sexual harm discourse and evaluating a restorative model for prevention

<p>The ubiquity of sexual assault and harassment has been illuminated on a global scale in the wake of #MeToo and other like movements, foregrounding the need for strategies that aim to combat and reduce sexually harmful behaviour. As in other areas of society, there is a critical need for innovative and proactive processes that look to address the issue on universities campuses, where sexual harm is rife. While many policies and programmes have been designed to respond to sexual misconduct in the campus setting, cultivating forums for honest and respectful communication may be a more effective way to address harm and the culture that gives rise to it. </p> <p>This study investigates a Sustained Restorative Dialogue, a proactive initiative that uses restorative circle practice to better understand the issue of sexual harm in the community, and identify practical steps that aim to reduce it. I undertake a linguistic analysis of language use within the dialogue practice, contextualised by qualitative knowledge gained from participant-observation, to investigate what takes place in restorative dialogue and what it is able to achieve. Specifically, I use syntactic and semantic analysis of discourse to evaluate how individuals engage with the process, and how this goes on to shape their actions and beliefs after the dialogue has taken place. In order to illuminate how participants express their individual and shared experiences, I adopt the concept of agency as an analytic focus. </p> <p>The analysis in this study is in two parts. The first involves an examination of the linguistic strategies that participants use to claim, ratify, negotiate, and deflect agency, which sheds light on how agentive positions are encoded and enacted within sexual harm discourse, and the wider social issues and structural constraints that such positions are connected to. This focus on agency is also able to demonstrate the layered and collaborative way in which meaning is co-constructed in restorative practices, and how structured, intentional dialogue can foster resistant, pro-social discourse and collective agentive expression. </p> <p>The second stage is an evaluation of the outcomes of the restorative practice, through further analysis of discourse from within the dialogue sessions and post hoc interviews with participants. The analysis shows a number of positive outcomes are associated with participation in the process, such as an increased proclivity to communicate about sexual harm, an enhanced awareness and understanding of the issue, and a great deal of personal benefit for those members of the group who had directly experienced harm. </p> <p>This research indicates that Sustained Restorative Dialogue can and should be implemented in campus communities as part of an effective sexual violence prevention strategy. This is of particular relevance to students entering university, where there is considerable potential for dialogue around sexual harm to build on and help provide a practical, agentive platform for sex and consent education. </p>

The Use of Sustained Restorative Dialogue to Address Sexual Harm at University: Examining agency in sexual harm discourse and evaluating a restorative model for prevention

<p>The ubiquity of sexual assault and harassment has been illuminated on a global scale in the wake of #MeToo and other like movements, foregrounding the need for strategies that aim to combat and reduce sexually harmful behaviour. As in other areas of society, there is a critical need for innovative and proactive processes that look to address the issue on universities campuses, where sexual harm is rife. While many policies and programmes have been designed to respond to sexual misconduct in the campus setting, cultivating forums for honest and respectful communication may be a more effective way to address harm and the culture that gives rise to it. </p> <p>This study investigates a Sustained Restorative Dialogue, a proactive initiative that uses restorative circle practice to better understand the issue of sexual harm in the community, and identify practical steps that aim to reduce it. I undertake a linguistic analysis of language use within the dialogue practice, contextualised by qualitative knowledge gained from participant-observation, to investigate what takes place in restorative dialogue and what it is able to achieve. Specifically, I use syntactic and semantic analysis of discourse to evaluate how individuals engage with the process, and how this goes on to shape their actions and beliefs after the dialogue has taken place. In order to illuminate how participants express their individual and shared experiences, I adopt the concept of agency as an analytic focus. </p> <p>The analysis in this study is in two parts. The first involves an examination of the linguistic strategies that participants use to claim, ratify, negotiate, and deflect agency, which sheds light on how agentive positions are encoded and enacted within sexual harm discourse, and the wider social issues and structural constraints that such positions are connected to. This focus on agency is also able to demonstrate the layered and collaborative way in which meaning is co-constructed in restorative practices, and how structured, intentional dialogue can foster resistant, pro-social discourse and collective agentive expression. </p> <p>The second stage is an evaluation of the outcomes of the restorative practice, through further analysis of discourse from within the dialogue sessions and post hoc interviews with participants. The analysis shows a number of positive outcomes are associated with participation in the process, such as an increased proclivity to communicate about sexual harm, an enhanced awareness and understanding of the issue, and a great deal of personal benefit for those members of the group who had directly experienced harm. </p> <p>This research indicates that Sustained Restorative Dialogue can and should be implemented in campus communities as part of an effective sexual violence prevention strategy. This is of particular relevance to students entering university, where there is considerable potential for dialogue around sexual harm to build on and help provide a practical, agentive platform for sex and consent education. </p>