Critical Feminista Dimensions to Informal Writing Groups for Women of Color Pursuing Doctoral Degrees

The anti-colonial struggle against literary assimilation and the claim to our linguistic space in validating our own stories as W°C, first generation college students, first generation college graduates, and caregivers to dependents, elders, and extended family members requires an activist spirit. [...]someone posted that they would be hosting a virtual writing group on Saturday mornings. A few text messages, utilization of social capital to invite non-M°CA members and a few electronic RSVPs later, we had commitments from the four of us. Being genuine and vulnerable through convivencia allowed us to place extreme care and attention on building social relationships while tearing down the conventional power structure often found in groups.

Is Distance Education Fun? The Implications of Undergraduates' Epistemological Beliefs for Improving Their Engagement and Satisfaction with Online Learning

The epistemological beliefs of students are an important area for higher education research. This paper firstly reports on a research review concerning the impact of epistemological beliefs on academic outcomes. This review indicates that students' epistemological beliefs are an influence on their engagement with learning and academic success, and that educators should consider them in developing learning experiences. This issue became particularly pertinent in the context of a global pandemic that necessitated an international trend in moving to online distance education, where student disengagement is more likely to occur. However, research into distance education students' epistemological beliefs emerged as an under-researched field. Consequently, an empirical questionnaire study was conducted with data collected from 550 distance education students. A principal component analysis indicated that particular epistemological beliefs were significantly associated with students' enjoyment of studying online. Their beliefs regarding the role of fun in online learning materials and activities are discussed, and the usefulness of considering fun and epistemological beliefs as factors within distance learning in higher education is highlighted. [Note: The page range (213-232) shown on the PDF is incorrect. The correct page range is 213-231.]

Lifting the ‘knee on the neck' through virtual collaboration within creative and therapeutic art methodologies

Police brutality towards Black people and People of Colour (POC) has been a thorn for centuries in South Africa and the world. The advent of COVID-19 escalated this struggle to unimaginable heights, illuminating, amongst other things, the epistemological and ontological limitations underpinning modernity (Mokuku 2021). Nevertheless, the killing of George Floyd moved masses across the globe to reflect critically on the injustices that Black people endure. Equally, social media shone a spotlight to mobilize consciousness amidst the pandemic restrictions. Moved by the mood of the time, we (a group of primarily arts practitioners and thinkers) organized virtual ‘intergenerational and intercontinental dialogues' to explore how the dialogic approaches informed by the principles of applied theatre may catalyse drama therapy approaches. Through conversations that we named ‘epistemological injustice', we made discoveries that included noticing how the biases we all carry may serve as enablers or constraints in embracing therapeutic encounters across disciplines. This article shares insights from the ‘#Talks' and generates reflective material for creative arts therapies and applied theatre methodologies. © 2023 Intellect Ltd Article. English language.

Epidemiology and an epistemic evaluation of the management of COVID-19 in Nigeria

The aim of this chapter is to propose a plausible paradigm for the management of pandemics, using Nigeria in the wake of COVID-19, as a case study. Given the daily geometric increase, since the first index case, in the spread of the coronavirus in Nigeria regardless of the lockdown measures in many states of the federation, the Nigerian government seems to be at a loss on how best to stem its tide. In this chapter, we locate the problem of the inability of the Nigerian government to reasonably restrain the daily spread of the coronavirus in the epistemic transaction about the activities of the government in the management of the pandemic. Therefore, we employ the analytic and evaluative method to critically interrogate the information transfer in the management of COVID-19 in Nigeria. We conclude that if we are to appropriately manage pandemics in the country, we need a commitment to the truth of the situation at hand, be unified in our efforts, and be transparent in the transfer of information about the pandemic. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023. All rights reserved.

Doing your own research and other impossible acts of epistemic superheroism

The COVID-19 pandemic has been accompanied by an "infodemic” of misinformation and conspiracy theory. This article points to three explanatory factors: the challenge of forming accurate beliefs when overwhelmed with information, an implausibly individualistic conception of epistemic virtue, and an adversarial information environment that suborns epistemic dependence. Normally we cope with the problems of informational excess by relying on other people, including sociotechnical systems that mediate testimony and evidence. But when we attempt to engage in epistemic "superheroics” - withholding trust from others and trying to figure it all out for ourselves – these can malfunction in ways that make us vulnerable to forming irrational beliefs. Some epistemic systems are prone to coalescing audiences around false conspiracy theories. This analysis affords a new perspective on philosophical efforts to understand conspiracy theories and other epistemic projects prone to collective irrationality.

A puzzle of epistemic paternalism

Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020, conspiracy theories, misinformation, and fake news about the virus have abounded, drastically affecting global health measures to oppose it. In response, different strategies have been proposed to combat such Covid-19 collective irrationalities. One suggested approach has been that of epistemic paternalism – non-consultative interference in agents' inquiries for their epistemic improvement. While extant literature on epistemic paternalism has mainly discussed whether it is (ever) justified, in this paper, I primarily focus on the potential implementation of widespread epistemically paternalistic policies (such as no-platforming and censorship) and its consequences. I argue that pursuing epistemic paternalism to combat Covid-19 collective irrationalities leads to a hitherto unnoticed puzzle for proponents of epistemic paternalism. Central to the puzzle is the idea those (governments, corporations, social media giants) who actually can (i.e., have the requisite power to) enact widespread epistemically paternalistic policies seem the institutions who are least suited to having such informational control over the populace. Thus, epistemic paternalism appears a sword without a hilt;while it may prove an effective strategy in tackling Covid-19 collective irrationalities, we do not have any way to use it without incurring serious risks.

Instructional Usability and Learner-User eXperience Assessment in a Virtual Reality Educational Milieu: A Deductive Tech-Instructionality Model from EdTech

Educational Technology (EdTech) lacks a foundational, formal, scientific, epistemic theory. Therefore, it lacks native constructs/variables and an epistemological object of study for scientifically deploying its work. This study determines the existence (ontology) of the theorized constructs Instructional Usability (UsI) and Learner-User eXperience (LUX) and defines their characterization (epistemology). Both constructs were modeled and instrumented. Furthermore, a Tech-Instructionality Model (TIM) was theorized and developed in this paper, both analytically and empirically. The model integrates UsI and LUX as two pairs of constructs linked with two EdTech epistemological objects of study, the instructional interface and the instructional interaction in two assessment modalities, testing mode (user-learner view) and inspection mode (expert/designer view). Two instruments were developed and validated in this study for testing mode, the Instructional Usability Scale (SUsI) and the Learner-User eXperience Questionnaire (QLUX). Both instruments were tested in a non-immersive virtual reality educational milieu during the academic lockdown of the Covid19 pandemic. The results show that both SUsI and QLUX consistently measured UsI and LUX, thus, providing a valid assessment for tech-instructionality and a foundation for constructing a scientific theory of EdTech. © 2023 IEEE.

Subjunctive Geographies: The Contribution of Institutionalised Geography in the German-Speaking Countries to COVID-19 Research

In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic a wide range of problems had to be solved in an appropriate way because far-reaching political decisions, such as the opening or closing of schools, shops or tourist facilities were based on the desired solutions. The problems addressed included on the one hand medical issues concerning the optimal treatment of infected persons and on the other hand questions related to the spatiotemporal diffusion of infection processes. Although the latter suggested that geographers were predestined to provide excellent solutions, the development that could be observed in the German-speaking countries was disillusioning. Apart from virologists and epidemiologists, scientists from a variety of fields, such as, transportation science, economics or mathematics developed trend-setting recommendations for authorities and politicians, but no geographers at all. A closer look at the temporal development reveals that this situation was the same during the entire period, from the first occurrence of the coronavirus disease up to now - researchers from different sciences were doingrelevant research, whereas geographers were exhausted in thinking about what kind of research should be done. A description of the status quo is followed by the attempt to identify reasons for the irrelevance of institutionalised geographic research in the German-speaking countries, which has become apparent in the course of the coronavirus pandemic. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022.

Epistemic Humility, Wisdom, and Cognitive Neuroscience

[...]rates of depression and anxiety have remained lower for older adults compared with younger adults (File & Marlay, 2021), perhaps demonstrating adaptability and the ability to draw on past experiences to survive current challenges. [...]the consideration of alternate therapies has the potential to enhance the process of wise decision-making. Mary "Molly" Camp Mary "Molly" Camp is a Geriatric Psychiatrist and Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. Metonymy in medical student reflective writing (Teaching and Learning in Medicine, 2020), and Current educational practices for major neurocognitive disorders in psychiatry: A scoping review (Academic Psychiatry, 2021).

The politics of Chinese immigrants' double unbelonging and deglobalization

This study theorizes the politics of belonging, drawing on the case of Chinese immigrants. In the heyday of globalization, Chinese immigrants used to enjoy a high degree of transnational mobility and multiple belongings. Now, in the wake of China–West geopolitical contestations and during the time of COVID-19, many Chinese immigrants are experiencing double unbelonging due to marginalization in both the host society and China. By analyzing double unbelonging, this study makes three theoretical contributions. First, it expands the conventional cultural–humanistic framework of belonging to incorporate political analysis. Second, it discusses why and how to replace the positivist approach to belonging as exemplified by acculturation theory with a social constructionist approach to the politics of belonging. Finally, the study theorizes unbelonging—its epistemological advantage, its dialectical relation with belonging, its production by the nation-state and media, and how polarizing geopolitics produce double unbelonging.

Reimagining University-Community Engagement

This article is based on a keynote address to the second Higher Education Conference in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and the environmental and inequality crises confronting South Africa and the world. After an examination of the societal context of universities, the article discusses critical issues in relation to university-community engagement. It attempts to address these issues by firstly providing an overview of the long-standing debates in our country concerning the academy's responsibilities and accountability to various constituencies beyond the universities gates and the imperative to rethink scholarship to engage communities meaningfully. Secondly, it will provide an appreciation of the overarching political economy of higher education and the corporatisation of universities before drawing conclusions about the processes that impede or allow the university to be responsive to community engagement. The article will provide a few historical and contemporaneous examples of the work of university-based researchers with various communities. The research of those who have an orientation toward working class communities and aim to democratise knowledge production will be highlighted. It will be argued that the latter's "praxis epistemology" (Amini 2017) assists us in reimagining university-community relations.

Introduction: Narratives of Belonging-The Interrelation between Ontological-Epistemological Observations and Narrative Methodology

In a recent editorial, the Lancet reported that one of the consequences of pandemics is the detrimental impact "on the mental health of affected populations," and the current COVID-19 one is no different. Since its out-break at the end of 2019, "depressed mood, anxiety, impaired memory, and insomnia" are constant companions of people around the world. Many even experience "stress, burnout, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder." Amongst its concerns, the Lancet notes the rising "misuse of substances" as a consequence of these mental health problems.1 One of the reasons for this global mental health crisis is the way the pandemic affects peoples' practices of community building and rituals of belonging. Having to wear masks, being required to keep at least 1.5 meters apart, not being able to meet (vulnerable) friends and family members, and even more drastic measures like weeklong lockdowns fundamentally disrupted everyday lives and reduced opportunities to socialize. What is normally taken for granted is being challenged. Around the world, these measures have been met by increasing demonstrations, often based on conspiracy theories and against commonsense precautions for preventing a potentially lethal disease. This conflict between reasonable precaution and emotional stress and pressure suggests disruptions of common narratives of belonging.

The Effect Of Online Argumentation And Reflective Thinking-Based Science Teaching On Sixth Graders' Cognitive Abilities

The effect of online argumentation and reflective thinking-based science teaching on sixth-grade students' epistemic cognition, metacognition, and logical thinking was explored in this study. The research was carried out in the 2020-2021 academic year when all teaching was online due to Covid-19. Students in the study sample were mostly from middle-class families. Students were divided into two groups for one semester;one received online argumentation and reflective thinking-based science teaching (experimental group) whereas the other received only online science teaching (control group). The exploratory factor analyses yielded two factors for epistemic cognition and metacognition questionnaires whereas the logical thinking test was found to be unidimensional. According to the results, experimental group students scored higher than control group students in post-test regulation of cognition and logical thinking. In addition, the experimental group developed knowledge of cognition, regulation of cognition, and logical thinking during the intervention. Although the experimental group scored higher than the control group on the set of post-test epistemic cognition factors, this significance did not appear amongst individual factors. As for the implications of this study, elements of distance learning that may have contributed to the development of students' cognitive abilities were discussed.

the disease of expertise

The Disease of Expertise, is a poem composed by poet, playwright, musician and researcherTawona Sitholé. Within the poem,Sitholé challenges the contemporary constructs of modernity, knowledge, and knowledge production in the scope of globalized economies. Utilizing Covid-19 and the corresponding global pandemic as a backdrop into the inquiry of knowledge, and economic development Sitholé incorporates his own lived experience and local knowledge to highlight contemporary issues relating to globalization, structural inequities, and questions of knowledge within the Global South.

Student experiences with authentic research in a remote, introductory course-based undergraduate research experience in physics

[This paper is part of the Focused Collection on Instructional labs: Improving traditions and new directions.] Participation in undergraduate research experiences (UREs) has been identified as an important way of increasing undergraduate retention, interest, and identity within the sciences. Course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) have been shown to have similar outcomes to UREs but can reach a larger number of students at one time and are accessible to any student simply through enrollment in a course. One key component of a CURE is that students must participate in authentic scientific discovery in which they answer a question where the answer is initially unknown to both students and the scientific community. Here, we present student experiences with authentic research in a large, introductory physics CURE conducted remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic. We use student responses to a closed ended survey question, as well as written responses to an open-ended end-of-course assignment to investigate what aspects of real research students felt that they participated in and the extent to which students felt that they participated in authentic research. Most students in the course felt like they engaged in real-world research during the course and a large number of students highlighted their experience with authentic research when asked to describe their experience in the course more broadly. We discuss which elements of the course may have contributed to the students' experiences of authentic research.

The Breathwork of Ar-Rahman: An Islamic Ethic of Reproductive Care

Je propose une éthique intersectionnelle et islamique des soins reproductifs, mettant en lumiere les besoins non satisfaits en matiere de soins, et illustrant les blessures épistémiques, morales et ontologiques subies par les musulmanes enceintes, ayant accouché ou étant en post-partum dans un contexte de pandémie mondiale. Ma théorisation féministe s'inscrit dans les récits islamiques de la maternité. Je propose un « vocabulaire moral » qui défend le droit islamique des musulmans â bénéficier d'un soutien en matiere de soins, et qui s'efforce de lutter contre la violence de la séparation maternelle. L'un des themes centraux abordé est la création de liens de parenté, un certain type de soins, par lequel nous nous soutenons les uns les autres dans nos relations, et assumons la responsabilité de la prise de soins et de la satisfaction des besoins de chacun. Dans un sens islamique, la parenté est une sorte de travail, qui consiste â sentir comment nos corps s'adaptent et se déplacent ensemble dans les lieux que nous occupons ensemble. C'est une façon de créer de l'espace pour nos rassemblements, d'accueillir, de loger au sein de nos relations ceux qui ont été brisés par la violence coloniale, hétéro-patriarcale et discriminatoire â l'égard des personnes en situation de handicap. Je soutiens que les soins qui dépassent le cadre des établissements de santé et de la médicalisation offrent un cadre sÛr pour les musulmanes accouchant dans le cadre d'une pandémie. Ces réseaux de soins incluent Allah en tant que doula, des accoucheuses radicales, les (grand-)meres, les territoires et les eaux, les tantes et les amis, ainsi que les ancetres qui veillent sur nous au nom du Créateur lorsque nous portons la vie. Ce type de foyer est une maniere de mobiliser le savoir islamique pour protéger la sécurité ontologique des musulmans et leur droit â posséder leur musulmanité, â penser, critiquer et juger leurs expériences de soins reproductifs de maniere islamique.Alternate abstract:I offer an intersectional and Islamic ethic of reproductive care that makes visible the unmet care needs of and attends to the epistemic, moral and ontological injuries experienced by Muslim pregnant, birthing and postpartum people in a global pandemic. My feminist-theorizing is enveloped within Islamic stories of maternity. I offer a moral vocabulary of care which advocates for the Islamic right of Muslims to supported caregiving and labours against the violence of maternal separation. A central theme is kin-making, a type of caring labour, by which we house one another in our relations and accept responsibility for one another's care and access needs. In an Islamic sense, kin-making is a kind of access-work, of sensing how our bodies fit and move together in the spaces we hold together. It is a way of making space in our gatherings, of homing, of housing within our relations those who have been dislocated by settler-colonial, heteropatriarchal and ableist violence. I argue that what paves safe passage for Muslims birthing in a pandemic are constellations of care that go beyond the scope of health-care settings and medicalized care. Such webs of care include Allah as doula, radical birthworkers, (grand)mothers, lands and waters, aunties and friends and the ancestors that watch over us in Creator's name as we bear life. Such home-making is a way of mobilizing Islamic knowledge to protect the ontological security of Muslims and their right to possess their Muslimness, to think, critique and judge their experiences of reproductive care islamically.

'Not as single spies': A review of European Social Anthropology 2020

This review article surveys all of the articles published in the major Anglophone European social anthropology journals in 2020. Taking a perspective from Joel Robbins' theorising of 'the anthropology of the good' as a critique of the primacy of 'dark anthropology', it highlights the rich range of ethnography and analysis recently produced. Focusing on the continuing interest in ontology, environment, relations and the problems inherent in anthropological comparison, the review article identifies how-during the crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic-the discipline has continued to respond with vigour and resilience. An ongoing resurgence of the anthropology of religion is noted, as is the emergence of powerful emic exploration of such global phenomena as care, debt and corporate capitalism. The review article concludes with a reflection on the ideological and epistemological challenges social anthropology continues to face, both in the academy and more widely. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved) Abstract (French) Cet article passe en revue tous les articles publies dans les principales revues europeennes anglo-phones d'anthropologie sociale en 2020. S'inspirant de la theorie de Joel Robbins sur 'l'anthro- pologie du bien' comme critique de la primaute de 'l'anthropologie sombre', il met en evidence la richesse des ethnographies et des analyses produites recemment. En se concentrant sur l'interet continu pour l'ontologie, l'environnement, les relations et les problemes inherents a la comparai- son anthropologique, l'article identifie comment -pendant la crise de la pandemie COVID 19-la discipline a continue a repondre avec vigueur et resilience. On note une resurgence continue de l'anthropologie de la religion, ainsi que l'emergence d'une exploration emique puissante de phenomenes mondiaux tels que les soins, la dette et le capitalisme d'entreprise. L'article de syn- these se termine par une reflexion sur les defis ideologiques et epistemologiques auxquels l'an- thropologie sociale continue d'etre confrontee, tant au sein du milieu universitaire que dans un cadre plus large. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Examining trans qualities of life and knowledge

As the social and policy landscape in the United States continues to shift, more and more trans individuals are gaining access to institutional spaces (such as healthcare systems and academia) as not only service users (i.e., patients, students) but also providers, instructors, and researchers. While trans health and health care experiences continue to be understudied, there is a heightened focus on issues of social justice and health equity. It is within this shifting context that I have been conducting my dissertation scholarship, entitled "Examining Trans Qualities of Life & Knowledge." As an alternative to the standard single dissertation study, I will be completing this dissertation as three substantive papers. Ultimately, the goal of this dissertation is to distill and make clear those sentiments within trans communities about the additional considerations and understandings that trans researchers conducting trans work can offer. The first paper suggests that scholars conducting trans-specific work who are trans themselves are uniquely situated as epistemic peers to one another and community members. The impact of trans-led research and epistemic peerhood is illustrated and applied in the second and third papers. The second is a study (N=27) of in-depth interviews examining trans patient preferences regarding collection of gender-related information in healthcare spaces and during medical procedures. The third paper is a survey (N=449) exploring experiences and quality-of-life of trans adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. By leveraging trans epistemological insights throughout the research process, study results and implications can be culturally attuned and affirming. Findings across the three papers are synthesized and implications related to knowledge making, the importance of multiple trans standpoints, and cautions against performativity are discussed alongside recommendations for practice and research. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Environmental education in Portuguese Speaking Nations: a survey of current practices and priorities

Since the Community of Portuguese Speaking Nations (CPLP) was created in 1996, environmental education (EE) has gained recognition for enhancing multilateral cooperation on environmental protection and sustainability promotion. Conducted online in 2020 in all member states during the COVID-19 pandemic, this second Environmental Education Survey of CPLP explores the conditions and approaches of EE within the overall setting of the 2030 UN Agenda, taking the concepts of Canaparo's geo-epistemology and Öhman and Östman's selective traditions as the underlying framework of analysis. The survey received 196 valid responses from EE Experts and Promoters who hold positions in various institutional backgrounds. Addressing the current state of EE in all nine countries, a picture emerges of significant and ecologically prudent human intervention based on fact-based, normative, and pluralist EE approaches. Most encouraging is the overall finding that EE is vibrant, relevant for sustainable transformation, young people focussed, and in good heart.