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?”     

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.     

PERSONAL AUTHORITY IN FAMILY EXPERIENCE VIA TERMINATION OF THE INTERGENERATIONAL HIERARCHICAL BOUNDARY: PART III—PERSONAL AUTHORITY DEFINED, AND THE POWER OF PLAY IN THE CHANGE PROCESS

Present transgenerational family therapy theory is analyzed, and it is suggested that individuation is on a continuum with fusion-triangulation (family systems theory), that relational ethics are on a continuum with invisible loyalties (contextual family therapy), and that there is in fact but one continuum, so that these terms are well-nigh interchangeable. Individuation-relational ethics is presented in a (Hegelian) dialectic with intimacy; and personal authority in family experience is offered as the synthesizing construct in this dialectic. The change process in transgenerational family therapy is briefly noted. It is suggested that playfulness, including paradox and absurdity, is an effective intervention into the intense emotionality of inter generational work. A framework for and sequence of playful interventions are described.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

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)     

ABUSE AND VIOLENCE: THE DARK SIDE OF THE FAMILY AN INTRODUCTION

This is a very upsetting topic we are taking on here. It is a dangerous topic. It is polarizing. It is very, very important.     

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.     

Seclusion. The nursing challenge.

The research to date shows that there is not much data to guide nursing decisions about the use of seclusion. The justification for its use is not always as clear as one might hope. Although many patients are secluded for violence against themselves or others, there are others who have not been violent who are secluded. There may be justification for secluding violent patients, but, as indicated earlier, it may reinforce the behavior it is designed to stop. There probably is no justification for secluding patients who make loud noises, refuse to take medication, or refuse to participate in activities. In addition, it is disconcerting that a large percentage of patients are secluded for "escalating agitation," that is, they have not acted violently against themselves or others. What is problematic is that staff are undoubtedly predicting violent behaviors in these patients--predictions that might be erroneous. Thus, there is ample room for injustice to occur. The potential for injustice is even greater if certain patients are singled out for seclusion or if patients are secluded longer than they or the staff think that they need to be, as is indicated in some of the studies to date. Moreover, if unit variables are associated with seclusion activity, this too, may be indicative of decision making at certain times of the day or by certain staff members that may not be in the best interest of the patient. What seems fairly clear is that secluding a patient is a distressing event for staff and is viewed extremely negatively by some patients and as a reward by others.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Racism without Races: Reflections on Racialization and Racial Projects

‘The metaphor of race is a dangerous weapon whether it is used for asserting white supremacy or for making demands on behalf of the disadvantaged groups...Treating caste as a form of race is politically mischievous; what is worse, it is scientifically nonsensical’. Andre Beteille (2004: 52) ‘…what is in fact “scientifically nonsensical” is Professor Beteille’s misunderstanding of “race”. What is mischievous is his insistence that India’s system of ascribed system of social inequality should be exempted from the provisions of a UN Convention whose sole purpose is the extension of human rights to include freedom from all forms of discrimination and intolerance – and to which India, along with most other nations, has committed itself” Gerald Berreman (cited in Thorat and Umakant 2004: xxv ) ‘The possibility that the current Indian Hindu-Muslim or upper versus lower-caste conflict may be, in a significant sense, a variant of a modern problem of “ethnicity” or “race” is seldom entertained…”racism” is thought of as something the white people do to us. What Indians do to one another are variously described as “communalism”, “regionalism” and “casteism” but never “racism”’. Dipesh Chakrabarty (1994: 145)     

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.     

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.     

GOVERNMENT CONSUMPTION AND GROWTH

Using a simple stochastic growth model that nests both exogenous and endogenous growth, this paper shows that the growth rate should be mean stationary if growth is exogenous and difference stationary if growth is endogenous and any variable affecting investment is difference stationary. Permanent changes in the share of output devoted to government consumption should permanently affect the growth rate if and only if, growth is endogenous. I test these implications and find no evidence that growth is endogenous. Furthermore, even if growth is endogenous, the evidence indicates that its degree of endogeneity is likely to be small.     

Altruistic behavior and habit formation

This article examines whether altruistic behavior is habit forming. The basic premise is that if engaging in altruistic behavior when young is a good predictor of such behavior in adulthood, then this is consistent with the notion that altruistic behavior is habit forming. Using U.S. data, we examine donations of both money and time and find that engaging in charitable behavior when young is a strong predictor of adult altruistic behavior, with all other things equal. A major issue in the interpretation of this result is that the correlation between youthful and adult altruistic behavior may be due to some third variable that affects both. Although it is impossible to rule out such a possibility, we are able to control for family influences that likely could affect lifetime attitudes toward altruism.