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Academic Ethos, Pathos, and Logos RESEARCH ETHOS Academic Ethos, Pathos, and Logos RESEARCH ETHOS Nagib Callaos and Bekis Sánchez Simon Bolivar University and The International Institute of Informatics and Systemics (IIIS, www.iiis.org) ABSTRACT accepted by academics themselves.”2 This includes scientific communication. An increasing number of Elsewhere (N. Callaos and B. Callaos, 2014)1 we have articles and books have been published lately regarding shown the conceptual necessity and the pragmatic the importance of persuasiveness in scientific importance of including Ethos, Pathos, and Logos in any communications and on the Rhetoric of Science.3 But, the systemic methodology for Information Systems focus has been, up to the present, on academic writing. Development (including software-based systems) and for Our academic and professional experience show that the design and implementation of informing processes. persuasiveness is, or should be, implicitly or explicitly, This is the first article of a planned series in which we an essential characteristic in all academic activities: will try to apply what has been shown and concluded in research, education, and consulting or problem solving, the mentioned article to the specific case of Academic and not just in academic writing. Experience-based Informing or Academic Information Systems. Research reflections show that a more comprehensive and systemic activities include informing processes, which should approach is required for enhancing the effectiveness of address the respective Ethos. Our purpose in this article is Academic Informing in its societal and civic contexts. A to address one of the issues involved in this aspect. With main purpose of the articles series, mentioned above, is to this article we are trying to make a step forward examine and reflect on a more comprehensive approach according to the recommendations we included in the to Academic Informing for a higher effectiveness of these conclusions of the referred article (N. Callaos and B. activities. This will be attempted from a pragmatic- Callaos, 2014). To do so, we will briefly abridge previous teleological perspective, i.e. oriented by the ends of work, provide some facts via real life examples, give few Academic Informing and by the potential means that opinions and ask many questions. Few of these questions might be used to achieve these ends. We will focus in will be rhetorical one while most of them are oriented to applying classical means which have effectively been generate reflections in the respective issue and potentially applied in the past but they are not being applied (at least some research, intellectual enquiry, or practice based not explicitly) in the last few decades to support position papers. academic informing. Consequently, we will examine the relationships between academic activities and persuasive processes or methodologies, focusing mostly on GENERAL CONTEXT Academic Ethos, Pathos, and Logos, as fundamental and necessary characteristics of more persuasive academic It is evident that effective communication is a necessary informing and, hence, more effective academic activities. condition for Academic Informing. This effectiveness has been basically related to academic writing, pedagogical innovations, and educational technologies, mostly in the SPECIFIC CONTEXT context of disciplinary logic and rigor. Persuasiveness in academic writing has been admitted for a long time as A main source of the mentioned series of articles, and of necessary condition for effective academic this first one, will be our about 45 years of academic and communication and informing. That academic writing is, professional activities. This will be a main input to or should be, persuasive is not news. Ken Hyland affirms applying a mostly Reflexive Methodology,4 regarding the that “It dates back at least as far Aristotle and it is widely issue described above. Part of this practice-based 2 Italics added 1 This article is based on previous articles and on 3 See for example Alan G. Gross, 1996, 2006, and H. W. practice-based reflections as well as on Action-Research Simon (Ed.), 1990. and Action-Learning in the context Methodological 4 See for, example, M. Alvesson and K. Sköldberg, 2001, Action-Design. 2009; and K. Etherington, 2004. reflections and conclusions was the article mentioned machines, but they also need to have the skills for above which mostly represent a product of our effective communication with human beings (the users) professional experience in the context of Information for adequately eliciting the respective requirements, Systems and Informing Processes analysis, design, and designing an adequate system, training the users for an implementation. effective use of the system, and maintaining the system In the mentioned article, we basically applied what especially when new requirements emerge as a Donald Schön (1983) proposed, in “The “Reflective consequence of the dynamics, uncertainties, and changes Practitioner” in the context of our professional Practice. in which the organizations are always immersed in. This Now we will try to apply it in the context of our means that the system analyst/synthesist needs to academic activities. Our aim in this paper is to make a communicate with both computers via artificial short presentation of the main reflections and conclusions languages and the users via natural languages. He/She we have had during our academic practice in research- also need to make adequate translation between both oriented informing activities (including peer review, languages. Otherwise, there will be a high probability of conferences organization, journal editing, research failure no matter how good he/she is as computer or administration, etc.). Educations and consulting will be software engineer or computer scientist. Skills in natural addressed in following articles, and mentioned in this languages and effective communication are what the article when they have relationships with the main topic Medieval Trivium is about. This is why we included a here. detailed exploration regarding this issue in our detailed work regarding a “Systemic Systems Methodology” (N. Callaos, 1995) which might contain local systematic parts INTELLECTUAL AND PRAGMATIC but it is a systemic one as a hole. IMPORTANCE OF ACADEMIC ETHOS, PATHOS, AND LOGOS As a communicational process, academic informing effectiveness depends, at least, on the adequacy of the In this section we will address the intellectual and communicational means used; which, in turn, depends on pragmatic importance of Academic Ethos, Pathos, and the comprehensiveness of the possible/feasible means, as Logos. Next articles will go in more details regarding this well as on the potential synergies and emergent properties issue. Let us her provide a very brief discussion on this that might be generated in their simultaneous design and issue which objective is to provide Intellectual and implementation. In order the increase the probability of Pragmatic context for following sections. being comprehensive, it might be advisable to explore the product of many years of reflection regarding the essence We have been for a long time explicitly and frequently of human communication and the means suggested as emphasizing in our classes, to our students and necessary for its effectiveness. Our experience shows us colleagues, in both Higher Education and Industrial that the classical means are far from being obsoletes, contexts, that the very well known Medieval Trivium is though they require being adapted to the present not being adequately applied Higher Education5, or not objectives of academic informing as well as to the new applied at all in some Higher Education organizations. communicational technologies, tools, and methodologies. We noticed this educational gap while teaching Information Systems (to students in Computer Beside comprehensiveness, a systemic approach would Engineering) and practicing in the area of Information require an adequate contextualization of what is being Systems Engineering, for about 35 years simultaneously examined. Since Academic Informing is an essential part in both cases. We have discussed at length (including of academic activities, it should be examined from the conferences presentations and publications6) during these perspective of its general context of academic activities 35 years that Computing and Software Engineering are which include academic thinking, academic behaving, necessary conditions for the development of computing- academic caring, academic valuing, etc. besides academic based information systems, tailored to the specific needs informing. Consequently, we will be referring mostly to and requirements of a specific organization or sub- academic activities and in some specific situations to organization. But, they certainly are not sufficient academic informing and to the relationships that exist, or conditions for the professional effectiveness in should exist, between academic informing and other developing this kind of information systems. Computer or academic activities. software engineers need to adequately communicate with 5 See, for example, Callaos N. and Callaos B., 2014, pp. NINE AREAS THAT SHOULD BE ADDRESSED 21-25; and N. Callaos, 1995, pp. 527-534 for the case of Systems Engineering and Computing Engineering. With regard to a comprehensive study, we suggest that 6 In Callaos and Callaos, 2014, we integrated and the traditional triad of Ethos (character, integrity, resumed what we presented in many conferences, written credibility),
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