Common Norm Research Articles

The Fritzl case: the literature as a tool for exploring the monstrous

The article analyzes two novels that, through fiction, try to explore a crime story, the Fritzl case: Elisabeth by Paolo Sortino and Claustria by Regis Jauffret. The aim of the article is to show how the fictional narrative structure can help to reflect on actions that go far beyond the common norm. Through the “counterpart theory” of David Lewis, the article shows how these fictions create alternative worlds to the current one, adapting the factual data to their own narrative needs. From these “similar” worlds, but not “identical” to ours, the reader can draw a judgment not on the case itself, which remains inaccessible in its monstrosity, but on the relationship that everyone establishes with human action. The exceptional case, then, becomes a point from which to look at the possibilities of the human being in general, in order to develop a greater awareness of his own means. From all these considerations it turns out that literature, instead of using these distressing events only to shock or attract attention, becomes a privileged tool for the individual’s ethical maturation.

A note on irreducible quadrilaterals of II1 factors

Given any quadruple [Formula: see text] of [Formula: see text]-factors with finite index, the notions of interior and exterior angles between [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] were introduced in [An angle between intermediate subfactors and its rigidity, Trans. Amer. Math. Soc. 371(8) (2019) 5973–5991]. We determine the possible values of these angles in terms of the cardinalities of the Weyl groups of the intermediate subfactors when [Formula: see text] is an irreducible quadrilateral and the subfactors [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] are both regular. For an arbitrary irreducible quadruple, an attempt is made to determine the values of angles by deriving expressions for the angles in terms of the common norm of two naturally arising auxiliary operators and the indices of the intermediate subfactors of the quadruple. Finally, certain bounds on angles between [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] are obtained when [Formula: see text] is regular, which enforce some restrictions on the index of [Formula: see text] in terms of that of [Formula: see text].

“An AI doesn’t need a gender“ (but it’s still assigned one): paradigm shift of the artificially created woman in film

ABSTRACT The artificially created woman has been a recurring trope in narratives since ancient times. Its filmic representation has traditionally been polarized between the submissive “angel in the house” figure of the servant wife, and that of the dangerous evil doll who uses her charms to harm men. In both cases, these characters have always shared a set of features: they were created by and dependent on men, hypersexualized, commodified, powerless and, with honourable exceptions, played secondary and expendable roles. Following the most common norm for any female character, these creatures also had to be completely tamed, or else put to an end. However, the turn of the decade has shown significant transgressions of past stigmas to the point that, I argue, a shift in the paradigm can now be identified. The Machine (2013), Her (2013), Autómata (2014) and Ex Machina (2015) are used here to exemplify this narrative change. The sample also serves to explore issues related to gender construction, human identity itself and the ways in which its merging with technology forces us to question and redefine our own ontology.

Managing Youth Unemployment in Developing Economies: An Analysis of Post-Graduate Students’ Learning Preferences in Kenya

It is a common norm to describe education as being fundamental to employment and growth in developing economies. While the highest rate of return is believed to be most experienced in those economies with both skilled and unskilled labour, the greatest responsibility lies with the highly qualified in education as they are most significant in policy formulation. Despite this, youth unemployment has remained a challenge in the 21st century that most developing countries like Kenya struggle with. This paper entails a study undertaken to explore the management of youth unemployment in Kenya, with a focus on learning preferences of postgraduate students. The study employed a descriptive survey design using the cross-sectional approach to data collection. The population of the study comprised 397 post-graduate students at Africa International University from which a sample size of 199 post-graduate Diploma, Masters’ level and Doctoral students were obtained. Questionnaire guide was used for data collection of information on the age and learning preferences of the students. Data analysis was done by descriptive and inferential statistics using regression techniques and presented in tables. A modified version of the Grasha-Riechmann Student Learning Style Scales (GRSLSS) was the learning style inventory that was used to measure student learning preferences. The findings revealed that the majority 161(95.3%) of post-graduate students were youth and preferred participant, both independent and dependent as well as collaborative learning. The question however is, why has underemployment continued to affect many young Kenyans even with the developing system of education? How can students’ learning preferences be a driver to curbing the menace of unemployment?

How to draft ‘good’ minutes of monetary policy decisions

AbstractThe minutes of monetary policy decisions at central banks vary substantially. A common norm does not exist. To ensure accountability and guide policy expectations, the minutes should satisfy some basic requirements. In search of criteria for ‘good’ minutes, it is relevant to look at how supreme courts write their decisions. Four criteria for ‘good’ minutes are proposed. The minutes of six central banks are assessed against the proposed criteria. In spite of the substantial variation in format, their minutes largely satisfy the criteria. The central banks' minutes seem to reflect their individual communication histories. The central banks could learn from each other, but also from the supreme courts, especially in terms of how they organise the writing of the minority view.

Die Stiltheorie und ihre Grundlagen

The author presents an outline of a complete, yet un nished, theory of style. The outline can make the foundation of a stylistic research program. A full scienti c theory possesses a structure within which one can distinguish three levels: 1) philosophical (ontological assumptions as well as epis- temological-axiological ones); 2) theoretical-methodological (a set of highly abstract notions and theorems which conceptualize and structure the fragment of reality that is described and explained); 3) empirical (a set of notions and descriptive-observational theorems, stating something directly about the examined fragment). By making reference to philosophical ontology the author accepts – on the ground of linguistic ontology – an assumption of four ways, ones which are mutually connected and constitute a one- ness: 1) concrete linguistic actions and their textual products; 2) language system; 3) individual consciousness of language, and 4) collective awareness of language. Beginning with the idea of style as a humanistic structure of text, one can respectively speak about the following: 1) the style of a concrete text; 2) the comprehensive style (precisely speaking about stylistic models in the common norm); 3) individual styles as components of the language consciousness of individuals; 4) collective styles as components of language awareness of given communities. Developing theories of style on the theoretical-methodological level requires considering the rela- tion between language-text-style and the world, man, society, as well as mind and culture. These relations impinge on the vision of style-related phenomena considered on the empirical level. The rich accomplishments of stylistics can be united thanks to the integrative power of a complete theory and the increasingly stronger integrative-holistic trend in the development of science, which is complementary towards the analytical-reductive tendency.

Lowest Common Denominator Norm Institutionalization: The Anti-coup Norm at the United Nations

After the end of the Cold War, states and international organizations increasingly adopted a new “anti-coup norm.” However, this norm has evolved unevenly and has never been universally embraced or consistently enforced. In this article, I examine the uneven evolution of the anti-coup norm by tracing its fate within the United Nations system. I show how member states have sought to retain discretion in how they respond to individual coup cases and how, in response, UN officials within the Secretariat sought to pursue norm institutionalization by changing the UN's internal rules and procedures for dealing with coup countries. In doing so, they pursued “lowest common denominator” norm institutionalizsation, which involves seeking to achieve the highest level of institutionalization possible even if it means aiming for a lower level of progress than norm promoters would ideally like.

Debate as an Interactive Teaching Method in Training of Judges

The article highlights the role of the reform of judicial education, which should contain not only knowledge of material and procedural law, but should help judges understand the social context of the cases they are hearing, foresee the consequences of their decisions for both – the individual and the society as a whole. The author notes that the replacement of traditional academic teaching methods in the form of lectures on modern interactive teaching methods, among which the debate takes place, promotes the phronetic understanding of law, its understanding as a living interpersonal communication, an integrated social system based on mutual communication between the participants of such communication. In such a process, the legal text becomes a matter that lives in communicating between people; it is able to acquire the same infinite number of varieties, as there are thoughts, emotional experiences and worldviews. In the author’s opinion, the narrativity of the debate as an interactive method in training of judges is a part of practical experience, which, on the one hand, encompasses knowledge, skills and instructions, but on the other hand, it is discursive and intersubjective – it requires a constant communication between the teacher and the audience, characterized by the willingness to hear others and change oneself, to improve one’s qualification and professional level. Debates which are aimed at clarifying the content and developing a common position, opinion, assessment or norm, in turn, form experiential forms of communication that allow during the learning to develop collective decisions, the commitment of which is perceived by each participant meaningfully and voluntarily. Keywords: debate; interactive teaching methods; judge education; communication; experience.

Right on Post-trial Access to Investigational Treatment

The article explores the modern condition of the legal regulation of post-trial access to investigational treatment. The author has determined main arguments concerning the necessity of foreseeing such a right and the problematic issues that arise in case of its implementation. On the one hand, a subject can legitimately expect that s/he will continue to have access to beneficial treatment after the end of trial, for example, if it alleviates the symptoms of a chronic illness, depriving a trial subject from the beneficial post-trial access would defeat the basic principle of medical ethics. At the same time, this provision may have a large financial burden on the sponsor of the trial; it is difficult to control the occurrence of serious adverse reactions; providing post-trial access only to the subjects of the trial and denying others create disparity among patients.The particular attention is paid to international standards and experience of foreign countries in this field. The legal and regulatory acts of Ukraine do not have any provisions on post-trial access to investigational treatment. The main international ethical guidelines, such as Declaration of Helsinki, CIOMS/WHO Guidelines, contain such a right, but they have different formulations and volumes that only intensify professional discussions. The most common norm is as follows: «a responsibility of sponsor to supply details of the plan for treatment or care of subjects once their participation in the trial has ended», which, in contradistinction to the Ukrainian legislation, is not connected with the causing damage to the subject. The author also has researched a unique case of Brazil, where the post-trial drug access program must make the medication available and free of charge to the subjects of the research in the cases of concluding the trial or after the patients’ participation in the study.On this base, the author offered to provide in the legislation of Ukraine requirements to inform in advance subjects about the presence or absence of post-trial access and to evaluate these provisions by ethics committees before and at the end of all trials in order to determine its real need in each individual case. The scope of the right on post-trial access to investigational treatment must be reasonably weighed in order to avoid, on the one hand, becoming an excessive stimulus for the subjects, and, on the other hand, not leading to a situation where on such regulation conducting of clinical trials in the country will no longer be appropriate.

Questioning Treaty Interpretation as the Legitimizing Foundation of the Internal Relocation Principle under Refugee and Human Rights Treaties

The internal relocation principle (IRP) – also known as internal relocation/protection/flight alternative (IRA/IPA/IFA) – permits the refusal of protection status, such as refugee status, to aliens who can find adequate protection by relocating to an alternative area in the country of origin. As a creation of State practice since the late 1970s, it has become an well-established norm under the Convention relating to the Statue of Refugees (1951 Convention) and started to be considered under the European Convention on Human Rights, International Covenant on Civil and Political Right, and Convention against Torture. While the legality of IRP is being established as fait accompli under refugee and human rights treaties, the legitimizing foundation of IRP is still unclear. The dominant position seems to base IRP’s legitimacy on a narrative of treaty interpretation, perceiving Article 1(A)(2) of the 1951 Convention as the exclusive textual home of IRP. This article questions treaty interpretation as IRP’s legitimizing foundation in two respects: first, the formation of IRP under the 1951 Convention did not qualify as authentic interpretation of Article 1(A)(2); and second, the character of IRP as a common and permissive norm under refugee and human rights treaties calls for a unitary legitimizing foundation that goes beyond the particularity of treaty texts. After rejecting treaty interpretation as IRP’s legitimizing foundation, Louis Henkin’s theory of “constitutional international law” is proposed as a possible alternative to legitimize IRP under refugee and human rights treaties, which provides not only a new method to determine the applicability of IRP but also a principled approach to its interpretation under different treaty regimes.

The Interpretive Function of the CJEU and the Interrelationship of EU and National Levels of Consumer Protection

Abstract This paper analyses the ways in which the Unfair Contract Terms and Unfair Commercial Practices Directives try to steer a path between imposing a common European standard and allowing national variation. The open wording of the norms and safeguard clauses in both directives allows room for their flexible application. The differentiated role between the Court of Justice, as the interpreter of European law, and the national courts, as the party that applies it, provides a release valve to prevent any direct clashes and allows a subtle way for national perspectives to be reflected. The analysis finds that, irrespective of the underlying level of harmonisation, and with the backing of the European legislator’s intention of ensuring a high level of consumer protection, the CJEU is gradually painting the average European consumer with more realistic features. Here, the case law of the CJEU fulfils a bridging function between the labelling requirements in the Foodstuff Regulation, the transparency requirements in the Unfair Contract Terms Directive and the informed decision requirements in the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive. In these three domains the CJEU recognises that the level of customer attention may be suboptimal, even in the presence of comprehensive and correct information. The CJEU’s approach contributes to more convergence in consumer protection throughout the EU. Yet, in terms of legitimacy, it must be noted that in all cases the CJEU has maintained a clear distinction between interpretation and application. The particular constitutional legal order in which the CJEU operates only allows for a process whereby the contours of a more coherent European consumer protection policy are gradually revealed. In the absence of sufficient legislative guidance at the European and national levels, national courts may be increasingly informed by the case law of the CJEU in an effort to establish clearly desirable common expectations. Those who believe that, in practice, uniformity can be achieved overnight by simply adopting a common maximum norm appear over-optimistic.

Tight bound for deciding convergence of consensus systems

We analyze the asymptotic convergence of all infinite products of matrices taken in a given finite set by looking only at finite or periodic products. It is known that when the matrices of the set have a common nonincreasing polyhedral norm, all infinite products converge to zero if and only if all infinite periodic products with period smaller than a certain value converge to zero. Moreover, bounds on that value are available (Lagarias and Wang, 1995).We provide a stronger bound that holds for both polyhedral norms and polyhedral seminorms. In the latter case, the matrix products do not necessarily converge to zero, but all trajectories of the associated system converge to a common invariant subspace. We prove that our bound is tight for all seminorms.Our work is motivated by problems in consensus systems, where the matrices are stochastic (nonnegative with rows summing to one), and hence always share a same common nonincreasing polyhedral seminorm. In that case, we also improve existing results.

A Geometric Approach to Covariance Matrix Estimation and its Applications to Radar Problems

A new class of disturbance covariance matrix estimators for radar signal processing applications is introduced following a geometric paradigm. Each estimator is associated with a given unitary invariant norm and performs the sample covariance matrix projection into a specific set of structured covariance matrices. Regardless of the considered norm, an efficient solution technique to handle the resulting constrained optimization problem is developed. Specifically, it is shown that the new family of distribution-free estimators shares a shrinkagetype form; besides, the eigenvalues estimate just requires the solution of a one-dimensional convex problem whose objective function depends on the considered unitary norm. For the two most common norm instances, i.e., Frobenius and spectral, very efficient algorithms are developed to solve the aforementioned one-dimensional optimization leading to almost closed form covariance estimates. At the analysis stage, the performance of the new estimators is assessed in terms of achievable Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio (SINR) both for a spatial and a Doppler processing assuming different data statistical characterizations. The results show that interesting SINR improvements with respect to some counterparts available in the open literature can be achieved especially in training starved regimes.

From fear and guilt: negative perceptions of Ashley Madison users

ABSTRACTA common cultural norm in committed relationships is that of sexual exclusiveness. When this norm is violated, those involved are often perceived negatively. Recently, a website facilitating extradyadic relationships, AshleyMadison.com (AM), was hacked, and the personal information of the members was illegally disseminated. As a result of the large amount of accompanying media coverage, AM users have been negatively perceived and even openly mocked. The current study explored potential predictors for the negative perceptions (i.e. demonisation) of AM users using a large online sample. In a predominantly exploratory study, myriad variables were examined from both outside (e.g. just world belief) and inside the psychosexual (e.g. sociosexuality) literature. The findings indicate that the predictors of jealousy and sexual guilt both positively predict demonisation of AM users, above and beyond the other individual difference variables.

Liberty and Responsibility

AbstractAlthough China adopted in 1948 the Universal Declaration of Human Rights largely inspired by her delegate Zhang Pengchun (1892–1957), individual liberty remains a key issue in cultural dialogues between China and Europe. However, culture is an ongoing process with no territorial boundaries, affecting every human being differently. European freedom is becoming increasingly restricted the more it focuses on meeting social and environmental needs. More broadly, the concept of responsibility that expresses solidarity between humans, belongs to all cultures and could provide the common norm of a global ethic.

Culturally competent clinical ethics: Case study response: Response to case study: A family requests that their grandmother, who does not speak English, is not informed of her terminal diagnosis

The case study: a family requests that their grandmother, who does not speak English, is not informed of her terminal diagnosis focusses mostly on the issues of autonomy of patient and truth telling but fails to highlight the most ethically salient feature of the case; the clinician did not talk to the patient. The case study notes that the patient spoke a dialect of Cantonese and felt that translation services might not have been readily available. This is unacceptable practice given the easy availability of professional telephone interpreters. In addition, it rendered the rest of the discussion academic as without a professional interpreter the clinician had no idea exactly what the family member who was interpreting was saying to their grandmother. This is an excellent case to discuss the ethics of the care of culturally and linguistically diverse people and the importance of interpreter use in patients with limited English proficiency. This case is also a good illustration of a limitation of Clinical Ethics Committees. A common norm is that there is no patient involvement in the deliberations of the committee. Without any patient involvement, it is very difficult to understand the patient’s position (well illustrated in this case) and impossible to engage in dialogue to find an agreed management plan.

PREFERENCE OF SHOPPING ON ONLINE VS OFFLINE IN BANGLADESH

INTRODUCTION:E-Commerce is becoming a prominent feature of future sales channels. The characteristics of the global emarket creates unique opportunity for companies to reach more efficiently to existing and potential customers by replacing traditional retail stores with web based businesses (Limayem, Khalifa and Frini ., 2000).There are two patterns of E-Commerce. One is Business to Business (B2B) and another is business to consumer (B2C). In this study we concentrate on Business to consumer form of E-Commerce.E-commerce is one of those sectors that needs more attention if we are to be a part of global village(Laisuzzaman, Imran, Nahid, Amin & Alim ., 2010).Online transaction would increase the Gross Domestic Product growth and thus, help Bangladesh accomplish the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The internet has gone through revolutionary changes, and in developing countries, e-commerce has become a common norm of doing business (Dey, Nabi, Anwer ., 2009). Bangladesh cannot stay behind from this phenomena.Consumers' preference mainly goes for simple transaction process and also a convenient delivery of products. By considering this, E-commerce is can be mentioned as a platform that allows buyers to buy products from a distant place without having physical presence and makes the transaction process simple and convenient (Tariq , Jafar & Arif, 2014). There are many retailers who are now using online retailing to attract their target customers. In this competitive context, the way consumers decide to use a particular shopping channel, particularly the internet, is important to understand from a managerial standpoint. Since consumers do not concentrate their shopping activities within one particular shopping channel, it is imperative for the marketer to find out the forces driving consumers' choice, which is essential for retailing strategies (Chiang & Dholakia, 2003).Easier access to computers, the modernization of countries around the world and an increased utilization of smartphones has given people the opportunity to use the internet more frequently and with more convenience. However, internet penetration often pertains to the current state of development regarding communications networks. According to the Globaleconomy.com, there were approximately 632 million total internet users in China and 269 million total internet users in the United States (figure 02, data accessed on April 2016). However, broadband internet usage is not equally present in many developing countries and due to inadequate infrastructure; developing online markets now rely heavily on mobile connectivity.Social networking is one of the most popular online activities and Facebook is the most popular online social network based on active usage. As of the second quarter of 2015, there are a total of roughly 1.5 billion monthly active Facebook users, accounting for almost half of internet users worldwide (www.statista.com). Connecting with family and friends, expressing opinions, entertainment and online shopping are amongst the most popular reasons for internet usage. The most active online users were Millennials aged from18 to 32 years with an average of 7.43 hours online every day(source: globaleconomy.com, the World Bank).OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY:This paper attempts to identify the most influential factors that create barriers for customers to migrate to online shopping rather than offline in the context of Bangladesh.LITERATURE REVIEW:The trend of the consumers regarding the Internet use and buying products online is increasing day by day. Because of the use of tablets and smartphone in Europe, online retail transactions in 2014 increased by 130.8% and 121.6% accordingly and in 2015 the growth in use is expected to be 83.6% and 92.8% respectively. In USA, online sales in 2014 were estimated to be $306.85 bn (Centre of Retail Research Limited, 2015)The competition in e-commerce industry is getting very intense. …

Aligning end-to-end seafood supply through a series of markets

This study considers the alignment of commodity-like goods in seafood networks by analysing the exchange economy embedded in a set of sequentially interdependent markets. A case study in seafood production is analysed from an end-to-end perspective in the flow of seafood from Norway to Japan to investigate how practitioners describe trading and the terminology used on trading embedded across the complete supply network. Four subcases that focus on how goods are traded are studied. Two subcases consider raw material supply, aquaculture-supplied salmon and wild-caught pelagic fish. The third subcase concerns the export of frozen mackerel to Japan, and the final subcase concerns seafood trading at a regional wholesale market in Japan. Analysis is based on the view that in supply an exchange (management) economy is distinct from a production (value-creation) economy, and these economies are interdependent. The fundamental importance of sequential interdependencies in seafood production is demonstrated. The four subcases are first analysed individually, applying relational contracting theory to understand patterns of exchange leading to transfer of title at markets. Developed relationships and trust, but also an acceptance of partner switching, characterizes exchange in all four market-related subcases. An understanding of how these loosely coupled markets may be viewed as aligned is developed. Markets emerge as nodes in the supply network with complex patterns of exchange facilitated by well-developed business relationships where a common norm is acceptance of disloyalty not impeding trust. These norms of exchange facilitate agile seafood distribution.

The Effect of Social Capital on Creativity of Employees a Case Study: Productive Firms of Electrical Household Appliances in the North of Iran

The general objective of this research is the study of the effect of social capital on creativity of employees of productive firms of electrical household appliances in the north of Iran. The statistical sample of this survey consists of (115) individual of three productive electrical household appliances firms in the north which were selected using convenient sampling method For collecting the data of the survey questionnaire is used. In this research for studying of the hypothesis test, the Partial least squares and (Smart-Pls) is used. The results of the research shows that the dimensions of social capital (network and common norm, trust, mutual cooperation, social cohesion, empathy and participation, and social identity has positive and significant effect on creativity of employees.

Prosocial norms in the classroom: The role of self-regulation in following norms of giving

Children who are prosocial in elementary school tend to have higher academic achievement and experience greater acceptance by their peers in adolescence. Despite this positive influence on educational outcomes, it is still unclear why some children are more prosocial than others in school. The current study investigates a possible link between following a prosocial norm and self-regulation. We tested 433 children between 6 and 13 years of age in two variations of the Dictator Game. Children were asked what they should or would give in the game and then played an actual DG. We show that most children hold a common norm for sharing resources, but that some children fail to follow that norm in the actual game. The gap between norm and behavior was correlated with self-regulation skills on a parent-report individual differences measure. Specifically, we show that two components of self-regulation, attention and inhibition, predict children's ability to follow the stated norm for giving. These results suggest that some children are poorer at holding the norm in mind and following through on enacting it. We discuss the implications of these results for education and programs that promote social and emotional learning (SEL).