University of Windsor, Ontario: Open Journal Systems
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Decolonizing Knowledge in Post-Independence West Bengal, India
No full textWhile the erstwhile colonial countries seem to have been realizing the importance of decolonizing the policies, curricula and administrative structures particularly of higher education at home, ex-colonized countries discover that colonialism – particularly as the ‘centre’ of knowledge - outlives the exit of colonial rulers, takes long time to go and has an afterlife that is much more protracted than what the early knowledge leaders and educational planners would have thought. Notwithstanding the apparent universality, there are indeed significant differences in the very agenda of the erstwhile colonized countries and the former colonies. While decolonization is considered as a universal project cutting across the otherwise commonplace binary between “us” and “them”, the colonizers and the colonized, neither of these entities is a single, seamless whole permanently caught as it were in a form of knowledge colonialism. In this paper, I focus mainly on the evolving agendas of decolonization in the Indian state of West Bengal reflected in the Bengali writings since Independence as an illustration of how decolonization takes on diverse forms in diverse spaces and even in the same space at different times.
Considering the Nature of Science Content Knowledge and Pedagogical Content Knowledge in Canadian Science Education Programs: An Environmental Scan
No full textEllen Watson holds a PhD in Secondary Education from the University of Alberta. She is an assistant professor in the Department of Curriculum of Pedagogy at the Brandon University Faculty of Education where she teaches science teacher education courses, general education courses, and graduate courses in curriculum. Her research interests include science teacher education, science teacher epistemic beliefs, development of epistemic beliefs, and physics education. Ellen is currently serving as the past president of the Science Education Research Group, a special interest group of the Canadian Society for the Study of Education.
Website: https://people.brandonu.ca/watsone/ 
Double-Barrelled, Double Target: The Firearms Protocol Between Arms Control and Crime Prevention
No full textThe article examines the history, development, and current relevance of the United Nations Firearms Protocol as the first legally binding global instrument addressing the illicit manufacturing of and trafficking in firearms. Bridging arms control and crime prevention, it establishes international standards for marking, record-keeping, and international transfers to enhance firearms traceability and combat illicit trade. As such, it is pivotal to address access of criminals and terrorists to illicit firearms and, at the same time, is a cornerstone in the international arms control architecture, complemented by instruments like the Programme of Action on Small Arms, the Arms Trade Treaty and the Global Framework on Conventional Ammunition. While these instruments are often discussed in isolation, the article explores opportunities for synergy between them and highlights how human rights considerations and responsible business practices may impact the implementation of the Protocol in the future
On the Virtue-theoretic Approach to Argument Appraisal
No full textAbstract: Two criticisms of the virtue-theoretic approach to argument appraisal are as follows. First, it is inadequate as argument cogency is conceptually independent of the characteristics of arguers (Bowell and Kingsbury 2013). Second, it is unmotivated since the viability of virtue argumentation theory (VAT) doesn’t require a virtue-theoretic approach to argument appraisal. This deflates the first criticism as an evaluation of VAT (Gascon 2016, Paglieri 2015). I consider each and explain why it is misguided highlighting the connection between the general concept of good argument and associated criteria of goodness, and the connection between good arguments and good arguing.
Résumé: L’approche fondée sur la théorie de la vertu pour l’évaluation des arguments fait l’objet de deux critiques. Premièrement, elle est inadéquate, car la force de l’argument est conceptuellement indépendante des caractéristiques des argumentateurs (Bowell et Kingsbury 2013). Deuxièmement, elle est dénuée de motivation, car la viabilité de la théorie de l’argumentation fondée sur la vertu (AFV) ne nécessite pas une approche fondée sur la théorie de la vertu pour l’évaluation des arguments. Cela dévalorise la première critique en tant qu’évaluation de la AFV (Gascon 2016, Paglieri 2015). J’examine chacune de ces critiques et j’explique pourquoi elles sont erronées en soulignant le lien entre le concept général de bon argument et les critères de bonté qui lui sont associés, et le lien entre les bons arguments et la bonne argumentation.
How do Explanations Justify? An Extended Scheme for Inference to the Best (Causal) Explanation
No full textAbstract: The paper presents an extended scheme for the inference to the best explanation (IBE). The scheme precisely treats the epistemic modifiers (“hypothetically,” “plausibly,” “presumably”) of the inference, acknowledges its contrastive nature, clarifies the logical support between premises and conclusions (linked, convergent, and serial support), and introduces additional premises essential for inferring justified conclusions (especially those related to causal explanations and more demanding standards of proof). Overall, it advances the existing schemes for IBE in argumentation theory and treats IBE as a par excellence argumentative, rather than explanatory, form of reasoning.
Résumé: L’article présente en détail un schéma pour l’inférence vers la meilleure explication (IME). Le schéma traite précisément les modificateurs épistémiques (« hypothétiquement », « plausiblement », « vraisemblablement ») de l’inférence, reconnaît sa nature qui fait contraste, clarifie l’appui logique entre les prémisses et les conclusions (l’appui lié, convergent et sériel) et introduit des prémisses supplémentaires essentielles pour inférer des conclusions justifiées (en particulier celles liées aux explications causales et aux normes de preuve plus exigeantes). Dans l’ensemble, l’article fait progresser les schémas existants pour l’IME dans la théorie de l’argumentation et traite l’IME comme une forme de raisonnement argumentatif par excellence, plutôt qu’explicatif.
Arguing About Arguing with Arguments: Replies to my Critics
No full textAbstract: I am most grateful to the editors of Informal Logic for their willingness to publish my absurdly long paper (Siegel 2023a) in its entirety, and for organizing the four commentaries published along with it. I am grateful as well to Bart Garssen, Andrew Aberdein, Paula Olmos and Christoph Lumer for their insightful and challenging discussions. In what follows I respond to their criticisms and suggestions in the order in which they appear in the journal.
Résumé: Je suis très reconnaissant aux éditeurs d’Informal Logic pour leur volonté de publier mon article absurdement long (Siegel 2023a) dans son intégralité et pour avoir organisé les quatre commentaires publiés avec lui. Je suis également reconnaissant à Bart Garssen, Andrew Aberdein, Paula Olmos et Christoph Lumer pour leurs discussions perspicaces et stimulantes. Dans ce qui suit, je réponds à leurs critiques et suggestions dans l’ordre dans lequel elles apparaissent dans la revue
An Investigation of the Potential Microaggression of International Student\u27s Experiences on a Canadian University Campus
No full textWith an increasing number of international students coming to Canada, the retention of these students has become a significant topic of concern. The persistence and success of international students are largely influenced by their sense of belonging, which is associated with multiple factors, including discrimination and microaggression. This study was designed to explore international students’ experiences with microaggressions and to share student-led recommendations to assist faculty and the university at large. The study applied a qualitative research method that interviewed 14 international students. Four key themes emerged from the findings: microaggression experiences, the influence of microaggression on the sense of belonging, coping with microaggression, and suggestions to minimize microaggression. These findings from the study highlight the intersectionality of microaggression experienced by international students at university campuses. By implementing the recommendations provided by the study, including addressing cultural bias, prioritizing students\u27 well-being over profit, revising and reviewing policies, including diversity in staff and faculty, and implementing comprehensive equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI), promote open communications, enforce accountability and consequences universities can work towards creating a more inclusive, supportive, and equitable environment for all students, staff, and faculty members
The Complexities and Promise of Standing Beside Indigenous Literacy Scholars: A Language Curriculum Analysis
No full textLiteracy is an essential component of any elementary-school classroom. To address shifting understandings of literacy and how to teach it, Alberta has developed a new language-arts curriculum. This curriculum, however, was developed in a context where schools have a long history of not serving Indigenous children well, including not meeting their needs through literacy programs (Hare, 2011). Alberta Education, through the English Language Arts and Literature (ELAL) curriculum, claims to better address those needs. The purpose of this research is to examine how the ELAL curriculum and its implementation aligns with the field of language and literacy, and in particular, Indigenous literacy scholarship, namely Peltier’s (2016/2017) Wholistic Anishinaabe Pedagogy and Reese’s (2018) Critical Indigenous Literacy. Data included both an analysis of the curriculum and semi-structured interviews with literacy instructors/scholars and in-service teachers. There were several key findings: English only processes, sparce attention to feelings throughout the curriculum, an absence of critical literacy, and inappropriate text selection. This paper is significant, as it shows the complexities and promise of being a non-Indigenous literacy scholar, thinking deeply about places of resonance and tension in literacy in ways that Indigenous scholars are already writing about
Structural Ambiguity: Typologising Joint Investigation Teams
No full textThis article explores the conceptual nature of joint investigation teams (JITs). Initially lauded for their flexibility and efficiency, JITs have evolved into an indispensable part of the judicial cooperation landscape, not only among EU Member States but also with third countries. However, the inherent flexibility of JITs has led to a diverse array of cooperation and coordination types, challenging conventional understandings of the instrument, and prompting the need for a nuanced examination. This article provides such an examination by mapping the fundamental characteristics of JITs across their lifecycle phases and proposing three typologies based on the entities involved, team structure, and duration. The article challenges the notion of JITs as uniform entities and sets the stage for further exploration of their operational and normative dimensions
The Preservation of Bodily Integrity: ACT UP as Patient’s Rights Advocacy
No full textThe AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power, ACT UP, mounted a multi-dimensional campaign to effectively mitigate the AIDS crisis in the United States in the late 1980s. ACT UP New York emerged in 1987 when activists recognized the dire need to deal with the tragedies of the disease. While ACT UP applied pressure on the governmental institutions responsible for the insufficient response to the AIDS epidemic, their struggle is unique because the core of their mission required that they, predominantly laypeople, become experts in the science of the disease. As a group intended to act from the perspective of people who were living with HIV/AIDS (many of whom actually were), they challenged the existing structure of patients’ rights. As people living with HIV/AIDS, they had to become their own best advocates and take patient agency into their own hands. ACT UP activists understood that the two factors worsening the crisis were homophobia within heterosexist America and the reality that the virus was under-researched and subject to misinformation. By thematically separating their work into three distinct paths–– battling cultural narratives and stigma about AIDS, educating the most vulnerable communities, and challenging the medical and scientific establishment––it becomes evident their activism logically culminated in shifting patient agency and autonomy. Such activism proved necessary to successfully end the AIDS crisis. This body of work sheds light on the tension between the group’s identity and its goals. It also situates the group’s activism within the broader framework of LGBTQ+ history and patient rights