Coercion,contract and the limits of the market

It is a widely accepted principle of economics that if two or more adults voluntarily agree to a contract or an exchange that has no negative fall-out on others, then the government should not stop such a contract. This is often called the ‘principle of free contract’ (PFC). There is a body of writing in economics which upholds the PFC. Yet this ubiquitous principle is ill-defined and full of ambiguities. For instance, since it refers to voluntary choice, its proper use presumes an understanding of what is ‘voluntary’ and, therefore, also, of what is coercive. What is ironic is that, while philosophers and legal scholars have debated and analyzed these concepts and the validity of the principle of free contract, there is very little discussion of these in economics, even though so much of economics is founded on this principle. This has caused a lot of policy confusion. The aim of this paper is to construct general rules for when we may violate the PFC. The argument is constructed within the Paretian framework. Hence, the violation of the PFC is not justified by appeal to deontological ethics or non-welfarist criteria. This is not an easy task since the principle of free contract is often viewed as a rule that is a derivative of the Pareto principle.     

Beyond “Consent”: David Mamet's Oleanna and a Hostile Environment for Souls

ABSTRACT

Sexual harassment, unlike rape, is a project of leisurely objectification that depends, for its erotic charge, on the perversion of consent. Unlike rape, where consent is vanquished, or erotic mutuality, where it is ratified, the pleasure of sexual harassment is that “consent” is coerced, that is, it is “consent” under duress. Under these conditions, which slowly dismantle the personhood of the victim, the issue becomes one of reality testing. “Just say no” is not an option when the question at hand is “What just happened?”     

Constructing a Focal Formulation and Hypothesis in Family Therapy

This paper is an account of the use of a focal formulation as part of a method of brief focal family therapy. The history of the focal approach is outlined and the concept of focal hypothesis examined. The theoretical basis of the approach is discussed by considering the way meaning in a family is expressed. Two forms of meaning are described: surface action, which is the current content of interaction, and depth structure, which is its context and is based in subjective history. A case example is provided to illustrate the application of the concepts, therapeutic implications, and the basis of outcome evaluation.     

Interrogating the Relationship between Remigration and Sustainable Return

Assisted voluntary return is a central component of many countries managed migration policies. Within these programmes achieving a sustainable return is a common policy goal, which is often measured through remigration. In this paper, it is argued that remigration is not a valid indicator to measure sustainable return. A new definition and approach to defining and measuring sustainable return is presented based on a multidimensional return and reintegration index, which is tested with a sample of 118 returnees in six countries. Due to small sample size a chi‐square test is used to examine the correlation between the return and reintegration index and remigration intentions. The results demonstrate the relationship between having a concrete remigration plan and the return and reintegration index is insignificant. This relationship between remigration and sustainable return is further interrogated throughout the paper.     

Dialectic of information? A response to Taylor

This paper is a response to Paul Taylor's review article of the book Critique of Information. The book's main thesis is that critique in the information age must be immanent critique. Taylor reproaches this for neglecting the necessity of a transcendental for critique. The response accepts this criticism. However, it rejects Taylor's aporetic notion of critique. Instead, a dialectical notion of critique is proposed. Like all dialectics this informational dialectic is one of materiality and idea. The major difference in the information age, however, is that there is a tendency for the material and the ideal to fuse in information itself. Thus the critique of information, it is argued, is a sort of immanent dialectic. This notion of critique is illustrated with reference to media art and metadata. Throughout there is an engagement with Taylor of the political implications of such critique.     

Preaching to the converted: conversion language and the constitution of the TV evangelical community

A paradox is noted in the presentation of conversion in TV evangelism; this is that although the necessity of being converted is a common theme it is clear that the evangelists are aware that their audience is already converted. An attempt is made to resolve the paradox by showing how TV evangelists use conversion language as rhetoric to legitimate their role and the rationality of the organisation which they represent. It is further shown how this legitimation is itself made possible through another use of conversion language which creates a sense of moral community embracing evangelists, organisation and audience as copartners in the shared project of conversion. Finally, it is shown how the presentation of TV evangelism as the central ritual of a moral community generates a further conversion rhetoric which depicts the community as both exclusive of and yet open to non-members; a contradiction which is resolved through the establishment of distinctive roles within the community related to the activity of winning converts.     

STRATEGIC DISCLOSURE OF MEANINGFUL INFORMATION TO RIVAL

I study a model of strategic disclosure of a private signal to a rival in the presence of a payoff externality. In the model, two agents forecast the unknown true state of a future period. Specifically, the quality of the signal is also private information. Hence, which quality of signal is revealed for which incentive is the main question of interest. I show that, even when disclosure is costly, the revealing equilibrium, where an agent voluntarily reveals his signal, can exist and it should be a monotone equilibrium. Asymmetry between the penalty for an incorrect forecast and the reward for a correct forecast is a necessary condition for the existence of this revealing equilibrium. If the penalty is larger than the reward, the unique revealing equilibrium is a separating equilibrium, where only the low quality signal is disclosed in order to induce the rival's imitation. On the other hand, if the reward is much larger than the penalty, the unique revealing equilibrium is a pooling equilibrium, where the signal is always revealed in order to induce the rival's deviation. If the reward is not much larger than the penalty, no revealing equilibrium is robust to a costly disclosure. (JEL D81, D82)     

Comparison of two human-machine-interfaces for cooperative maneuver-based driving

In the project "Conduct-by-Wire" which is founded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) cooperative maneuver based driving is examined. In this paper two different input devices (gesture recognition and tactile touch display) are compared in a simulator study with 29 participants. It shows that the major advantage of the gesture recognition is that there is no need for the driver to take his gaze off the road. In contrast, the number of gazes at the tactile touch display is significantly higher. The major advantage of the tactile touch display is that no input errors occurred during the test drives. Conversely, the gesture recognition was significantly worse. Nevertheless, further work is needed to decide which input device is the best.     

External Financing of Social Protection: Opportunities and Risks

Social transfers have reached the policy agenda of low‐income countries in Africa, where affordability is a key concern and aid dependence is high. In terms of magnitude, aid could make a substantial difference in relaxing the affordability constraint. This article addresses issues that arise as external financing is contemplated. Cash on delivery (COD) aid is discussed as an alternative aid contract when the political ownership is strong. The potential for external financing where political ownership is weak is also discussed, and the limitations of aid under such circumstances are recognised.     

Social network research and human subjects protection: Towards more effective infectious disease control

The issue of human subject protection in relation to social network research on the spread and control of human pathogens is considered. As this area derives most of its concepts and methods from social network analysis more generally, the present discussion has wider relevance. One problem is that some Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) have assumed that if a participant (who gave informed consent) is to be asked to name network associates these too — automatically — would be human subjects from whom informed consent also must be obtained. Invariably, if this occurs proposed research — whatever its funding and potential contributions might be — is blocked. A conservative approach is taken here. The Common Rule is assumed to provide relevant guidance, the responsibility of IRBs is to make decisions based on the Common Rule, and in consequence the burden is on those proposing social network research to design — and defend — their planned work with this in mind. At the same time, it is argued that it is important not to stifle beneficial research by adding to one inherently conservative review process (of grant proposals) another (of IRBs) so that work is prevented simply because it is research at the frontiers rather than ‘safe’ research.     

THE ROLE OF THE MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONAL IN CONTESTED CUSTODY:

Two different roles for mental health professionals in contested custody cases are presented. The first, the evaluator of competence model, is the more traditional one; its underpinnings are individually-oriented concepts: the clinician is a diagnostician and evaluator, making a recommendation to the court, and the family's input in the decision-making is minimal. The second role, a facilitator of change, comes out of family therapy theory; its focus is on helping the family to change and resolve their issues so that custody can be decided fairly: it is evaluative only secondarily, that is, if the family is unable to resolve the dilemma themselves. When working with contested custody cases, which are really unresolved family problems, the second approach is more promising.     

A necessary and sufficient condition for stable matching rules to be strategy-proof

We study one-to-one matching problems and analyze conditions on preference domains that admit the existence of stable and strategy-proof rules. In this context, when a preference domain is unrestricted, it is known that no stable rule is strategy-proof. We introduce the notion of the no-detour condition, and show that under this condition, there is a stable and group strategy-proof rule. In addition, we show that when the men’s preference domain is unrestricted, the no-detour condition is also a necessary condition for the existence of stable and strategy-proof rules. As a result, under the assumption that the men’s preference domain is unrestricted, the following three statements are equivalent: (i) a preference domain satisfies the no-detour condition, (ii) there is a stable and group strategy-proof rule, (iii) there is a stable and strategy-proof rule.     

A mathematical model of Athenian democracy

It is shown that the representative capacity of democratic institutions selected by lot (=lottery), as it has been practiced in Athens in 594–322BC, is quite high. For this purpose, People’s Assembly, Council of 500, Committee of 50 with its President, juries, and magistrates are evaluated with indicators of popularity, universality, and goodness. The popularity is a spatial characteristic of representativeness, the average percentage of the population whose opinion is represented on a number of questions. The universality is a temporal aspect of representativeness, the frequency of cases (percentage of questions) when the opinion of a majority is represented. The goodness is the specific representativeness, that is, the average group-represented- to-majority ratio. In particular, it is shown that the size of Athenian representative bodies selected by lot was adequate to guarantee their high representativeness. The background idea is the same as in Gallup polls of public opinion and in quality control based on limited random samples.     

Understanding the Russian Health Crisis: a Sociological Perspective

This essay applies a sociological perspective to the health crisis in Russia by delving increasingly deeper into the layers of causes. The major characteristic of this crisis is the decline in life expectancy among men and the relative stagnation of longevity among women. The primary cause is increased cardiovascular disease and alcohol-related poisoning and accidents. However, in order to determine the ultimate cause, it is necessary to examine secondary level factors to explain what is responsible for the rise in heart disease and alcohol-based afflictions. Several secondary factors were considered, including infectious disease, poor medical care, environmental pollution, policy, and stress, but the strongest evidence supported negative health lifestyles. The next step is find what is causing a lifestyle harmful to male health in particular and while stress is likely important – the best tertiary level cause is the deeply embedded working-class style of heavy drinking that is normative in Russia.     

The Australian Disability Rights Movement Lives

The Australian Disability Rights Movement is surviving despite funding threats to advocacy programmes. The integral relationship of advocacy funding to the Australian Disability Rights Movement is outlined. A brief history of the Australian Disability Rights' Movement is given, and whether this is a new social movement, or not, is discussed. The role of Women With Disabilities Australia is outlined.     

The Influence of Social Media on the Enterprise Marketing

The starting point of social media derives from social networking, which is the most popular way to communication is E-mail. The essence of the Internet is the connection of computers. The E-mail address of the remote mail transfer problem, yet it is also a widespread Internet application, and it is also the starting point of social networking. BBS is another one big step, theoretically achieves to publish information to the group and all the people can take part in it.     

Purpose and method for the evaluation of interpersonal process in health and social care

This article is concerned with the evaluation of the process of interaction between professionals and clients in health and social care. The literature is reviewed to identify examples of this kind of process evaluation and the reported studies are analysed with regard to the purposes of the evaluations and the methods employed. A novel categorisation of purpose is proposed which identifies five main purposes: confirmatory when the process is being checked to assess compliance with stated plans and intentions; causal when the intention is to link aspects of the process with outcomes; experimental when the process is being manipulated to compare outcomes for experimental and control groups; stakeholder perspectives when the process is being evaluated from the standpoint of stakeholders; formative/summative feedback when the process is being described to provide feedback to providers; and finally, exploratory when an under-researched or poorly understood process is being investigated to identify its main features. Methods for evaluating interpersonal process are described and the implications of this kind of evaluation are discussed.     

高职工学结合人才培养模式下“热炉法则”在教学质量监控与评价中的应用

高职院校人才培养,质量是核心,评价是手段,监控是保障。在工学结合人才培养模式下,把"热炉法则"应用到高职教学质量监控与评价工作中,有利于高职院校提高办学质量。文章旨在通过对这一问题的探讨,为高职院校教学管理提供一些参考。     

上海推进新市镇建设研究

上海要立足于长期发展,将新市镇培育成产业集聚的新高地、功能集成的新平台、要素集约的新载体,建成布局合理、产业发展、功能完善、生态宜居、特色明显、层次分明的与上海现代化国际大都市相协调、相匹配的新型城镇;要将一批人口数量多、产业基础好、发展潜力大、区位条件优、带动能力强的新市镇,建成人均地区增加值、人均财政收入达到全市平均水平以上的现代化新型中等城市;将一批发展潜力弱、生态环境好的新市镇建成功能完善、生态宜居型新市镇。为此,上海要加大综合改革力度,激发近郊型、门户型、特殊型新市镇的发展活力,创新一般型、新城组团型新市镇建设的体制机制,完善盘活存量土地资源的配套政策。     

Translating deconstruction

Abstract

This paper argues that insofar as the ‘translation’ of deconstruction in America has become a discourse on the sacred, it mis‐recognizes what Derrida calls the trace, and identifies it as the radical outside to thought, or as ‘God’. The ‘trace’ on Derrida's account is indeed unknowable, but it is not the radical outside of thought. Rather, it is a disruptive force that is internal to thought. Reconstructive analyses investigate (among other things) the way that thought is breached, and necessarily so, by what thought cannot think. This breach, this unsignifiable opening, is intolerable to philosophical undertakings because philosophy must totalize; this is what philosophy does. Following Walter Benjamin, I argue that translation is possible, precisely because of this breach. Thus, just because this breach or opening is intolerable to thought or to philosophy does not prevent it from happening. On Jacques Derrida's analysis, this opening has a name: it is deconstruction. To this extent, those variants of ‘deconstruction in America’ which misrecognize the trace as God, miss the very political force of deconstruction in the first place, which is to say, a philosophical undertaking which thematizes the intolerability of refusing what philosophy does and must do.

The breach in thought (or language) is precisely what Walter Benjamin suggests is untranslatable. It cannot be communicated by any sign. Notwithstanding the great difference between Benjamin and Hegel's political commitments, comparing Benjamin's work on the untranslatability of language's ‘languageness’ to Hegel's semiological theory (which requires that we forget’ this very uncommunicableness at the heart of language) is instructive. It establishes that both thinkers argue that the practice of language should be the practice of learning each word as though it were a proper name. Each argues in their own way that the practice of language should erase the trace. It is precisely this erasure — the identification of the trace as radically exterior to thought ‐ that covers over what is at stake, not simply philosophically, in an investigation into the breach of language, but what is at stake politically. What is at stake politically is what Derrida calls the ‘risk of absolute surprise’ which is nothing less than the risk of a political philosophy with no guarantee.