Points Of Friction Research Articles

Videoconferencing, New Public Management, and Organizational Reform in the Judiciary

Videoconference technology allows interactions between citizens and their governments to be managed without systematic co‐presence. It is a relatively discrete innovation, which has been introduced into bureaucracies all over the world, but still remains underanalyzed and as a consequence, underestimated in terms of its impact. This article analyzes the introduction and institutionalization of remote hearings in French courtrooms to shed light on the emergence of videoconferencing technology as a new way of organizing trials, changing the format by which justice is carried out. The article reviews the existing literature, outlines the theoretical framework and methodology, and then presents the results, primarily concerning the history of the introduction of videoconferencing in French jurisdictions. Four main points of discussion emerge: the way in which videoconferencing is designed and the reasons put forward to justify its suitability in the judicial sector; its relationship with the efficiency programs underway in the justice system as part of wider New Public Management reform; the tensions and friction points between a pragmatic approach to innovation and the traditional judicial approach; and finally the case of personal appearance as an example of adjustments operated on judiciary standards by the introduction of videoconferencing. We close by considering videoconferencing as an instrument of public action, that is, a technological tool that has progressively realized a public policy objective, in this case reducing the need to escort detained personnel.

A crise na hermenêutica constitucional e o novo código de processo civil

Diante das teses substancialista e procedimentalista e seus diversos pontos de fricção quanto a interpretação, propõe este trabalho que a perspectiva de solução se enquadra na perfeita fundamentação vinculando o julgador ao caso e, neste ponto, o novo código de processo civil aparentemente trouxe a lume uma fórmula adequada a ser aplicada pelo Tribunal Constitucional brasileiro.

A New Printing Revolution? 3D Printing as an Agent of Socio-Political Change

There is a growing interest in 3D printers because of the technical and economic implications they could have. The objective of this paper is to take the analysis further by asking to what extent they could also have a range of socio-political effects, as a consequence of their impact on the material practices of production and consumption. The first part of this contribution re-examines the promises associated with this technology and highlights its prospects for restoring individual and collective capabilities (I). Secondly, the ways in which these machines could destabilize the industrial bases of contemporary societies, and therefore the economic order, are analyzed, along with the political implications of such a shift (II). Finally, the latent constraints and the points of friction that these technological developments may encounter and that might affect future trajectories are clarified (III).

How traditional banks are innovating the basics to provide customers with an Uber-like mobile banking experience

The mobile space is evolving rapidly as banks in the developed world are taking a ‘mobile-first’ approach to digital development. The need to take a mobile-first approach is driven by a handful of factors, one of which is that the mobile device is increasingly being used as a channel to consume goods and services. From buying a flight ticket to booking a household cleaner, there is an app for almost everything. These apps are changing customers' expectations as they expect a seamless experience, minimal points of friction and value from engaging with the app. Time and time again, Uber-like organisations are cited as the apps that have and will change the app-based economy, and banks are using the success of this app as guidance for developing great mobile banking experiences. As banks look to Uber-like organisations to improve the experience, it is tempting to roll out new, untested experiences in an attempt to ‘revolutionise’ the mobile banking space. However, this paper will demonstrate that banks should instead focus on fixing the basics and create an Uber-like experience within core banking functionality. Although it is worth noting that the distinction between mobile and internet is blurring, and some argue that one can use internet banking through mobile devices, we believe there are clear benefits to investing in apps. First, looking at distribution, customers will look for a brand in various ways and whether a bank decides to serve these customers around HTML, web and others. It is important to ensure customers can find the solution in their respective app store, search engine and the public website. The second is the development of native technology. HTML, hybrid technologies and native code have improved significantly over the last couple of years and each has its respective advantages and disadvantages which means today there is no such a thing as one solution fits all. Notwithstanding some potential disadvantages such as increased cost (build for iOS, Android and Windows Phone), we wanted to highlight the fact that native code allows for certain additional layers of security on the device (eg device registration) that are not yet fully possible in HTML and hybrid.

Maintaining the connection between test and context: A language test for university admission

This paper reflects on a review of an existing English language examination for admission to an English-medium university in a non-English-dominant context. Studying how well an established test sits in its present context may highlight environmental changes causing gaps and points of friction. Such an evaluation therefore provides a baseline understanding from which to move forward. From the 1960s to 1980s, experts developed an examination for applicants to the American University of Beirut that was similar to the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) of that time. The AUB English Entrance Examination has remained relatively unchanged since then. Concern about its effectiveness prompted a recent review, providing an opportunity to study consequences of employing a test not fully adapted to its current use. The review found differences in what is/was viewed as appropriate test format and content, and in definitions of language proficiency. It also noted unwarranted assumptions made about comparability of results from different tests. Current language practices at the university, in the region and in the globalized workplace where graduates subsequently seek employment are different from those assumed when the test was first developed. This indicates the need for test revision and, for example, the potential benefit of developing an institutional language policy.

Global Antitrust Trends in the Context of Refusal to License Iprs

This research paper contributes to the analysis of the interaction between intellectual property law and competition law, particularly on the issue of refusal to license intellectual property rights, which is one of the most prominent friction points of the two policy areas. Two leading IP systems, with mature antitrust laws, the United States of America and the European Union, have adopted different approaches to balance IPR and competition laws. Both jurisdictions have adopted the Essential Facility Doctrine, but are defining the doctrine in different ways. In the European Union, refusal to license is treated more harshly than in the US. Apart from these two jurisdictions, the current trend in developing countries is to avoid competition law regulations. This paper analyzes the general directions and effects of competition law regulations on developing countries, and provides a review of the legal remedies generally adopted to address the unlawful refusal to license IPR.

Socio-Cultural Intelligence and National Security

Abstract: This article reviews, assesses, and makes recommendations relating to provision and use of intelligence in support of national security policy. It details responses to gaps in intelligence during 2000s, and reinforces importance of intelligence in addressing challenges in emerging operational environment. ********** The March 2005 report of Commission on Intelligence Capabilities of United States Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction (The WMD Commission) concluded that America's inability to discern crucial aspects of Iraq's weapons program stemmed from failures to understand the context of Iraq's overall political, social, cultural, and economic situation. (1) In other words, the Intelligence Community did not sufficiently understand political dynamics of Saddam Hussein's Iraq. (2) Given state of affairs with US policy towards Russia, China, Iran, Iraq, Syria, and other current and potential points of friction one wonders if we have improved our ability to understand such political, social, and cultural dynamics. The implications for failing to sustain and improve intelligence capabilities are manifold. The failure to understand true nature of Iraqi deception about weapons of mass destruction reinforced biases and misperception, ultimately leading to invasion of Iraq in 2003. The deliberate heightening of Sunni-Shia tensions in Iraq during mid-2000s by Sunni extremists who wanted a sectarian war created conditions for rise of Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL). Many analysts missed social, economic, and political antecedents to Arab Spring, including relationship between increasing dissatisfaction with government corruption, rising food prices and unemployment, increased religiosity, and emergence of new, organized factions willing to demonstrate against government. It appears analysts also failed to recognize Russia possessed both intentions and capabilities to wage a pseudo-war in Ukraine, and that China would increase its expansionism in South China Sea and escalate its cyber attacks on United States. Throughout 2000s, strategists, planners, and policymakers seeking same socio-political context identified in WMD Commission Report lamented a paucity of capabilities to understand what has been termed socio-cultural intelligence, an area of intelligence collection, analysis, and reporting that atrophied in 1980s and 1990s. (3) As former National Security Advisor Steven Hadley recently observed, whether it's Bosnia, Afghanistan, Iraq, or 2011 Arab Awakening, we are starting from scratch and after kinetic phase against ISIS, there's going to have to be some work done. How are we going to do that? (4) Indeed, post-Cold War intelligence programs undervalued social science disciplines as emphasis was placed on technical collection and reporting disciplines. While 1990s witnessed an increase in open, unclassified resources available to help policymakers understand foreign cultures, movements, and peoples, they were not considered as part of baseline data collected and analyzed for defense, development, and diplomacy missions. Policymakers did not have access to best assessments, data, or experts available to inform intelligence analysis, estimates, or policy formulation. The United States has a long history of collecting and using demographic, cultural, and identity-related information in support of national security policy. But record is mixed. When there is a national security crisis or war, intelligence efforts are funded, social scientists are mobilized, and policymakers have access to key insights into foreign populations. Lacking imperative for such support or direct intervention by senior leaders, however, funding for sociocultural intelligence activities atrophy. …

Journal Rankings, Collaborative Research and Publication Strategies: Evidence from China

The primary focus of our paper is on the potential for in-house journal ranking lists to create friction between international collaborating researchers due to differences in how particular journals are rated on different lists. Using a questionnaire distributed to Chinese accounting researchers, we identify a number of potential friction points between Chinese and UK researchers. We find that almost all of our Chinese respondents use their own school's in-house ranking list as the primary or exclusive reference point for assessing journal quality, and 73% of respondents acknowledge that this has caused problems when working with scholars from other universities because of differences in how their institutions rank journals.

The profile of gender equality issue attention in Western Europe

AbstractThis article investigates the factors that drive governments to pay attention to gender equality issues and place them upon executive agendas. In line with studies of the dynamics of issue attention, which demonstrate the importance of investigating variability in the attention policy makers give to issue demands across policy domains, this article argues that policy issues related to gender equality are multidimensional and patterns in executive attention vary across the different types of gender issues. Multidimensionality of gender equality issues reflects different dynamics in agenda‐setting as different issues invoke contrasting constellations of political representation, institutional friction and veto points. To investigate this variation, this article proposes a twofold distinction between class‐based and status‐based gender equality issues and assesses the validity of three sets of explanations for when gender issues succeed in reaching executive agendas: women in politics, party ideology and economic performance. Drawing on governmental attention datasets from the Comparative Agendas Project, a systematic comparative quantitative analysis of the determinants of gender equality issue attention in five Western European countries is conducted. The main findings confirm that the mechanisms through which different types of gender equality issues gain executive attention differ according to the kind of the gender equality demand. Costly class‐based gender equality issues are more likely to receive executive attention when the economy is performing well, when there is a strong presence of Social Democrats and when there is a high proportion of female MPs. In contrast, economic performance, party politics and women's parliamentary presence do not seem to exert any impact on status‐based issues. Instead, critical actors in the government seem to be the strongest driver for attention over this second type of gender equality issue. This study contributes a gendered dimension to the policy agendas scholarship, adding theoretical and empirical depth to the understanding of how non‐core issues secure their place on full governmental agendas. By focusing on how to secure governmental attention for gender equality issues, the article makes a major contribution to understanding the initial genesis of gender equality policies.

Food sovereignty as decolonization: some contributions from Indigenous movements to food system and development politics

The popularity of ‘food sovereignty’ to cover a range of positions, interventions, and struggles within the food system is testament, above all, to the term’s adaptability. Food sovereignty is centrally, though not exclusively, about groups of people making their own decisions about the food system—it is a way of talking about a theoretically-informed food systems practice. Since people are different, we should expect decisions about food sovereignty to be different in different contexts, albeit consonant with a core set of principles (including women’s rights, a shared opposition to genetically modified crops, and a demand for agriculture to be removed from current international trade agreements). In this paper we look at the analytical points of friction in applying ideas of food sovereignty within the context of Indigenous struggles in North America. This, we argue, helps to clarify one of the central themes in food sovereignty: that it is a continuation of anti-colonial struggles, even in post-colonial contexts. Such an examination has dividends both for scholars of food sovereignty and for those of Indigenous politics: by helping to problematize notions of food sovereignty and postcoloniality, but also by posing pointed questions around gender for Indigenous struggles.

Representation of sharp rifts and faults mechanics in modeling ice shelf flow dynamics: Application to Brunt/Stancomb‐Wills Ice Shelf, Antarctica

AbstractIce shelves play a major role in buttressing ice sheet flow into the ocean, hence the importance of accurate numerical modeling of their stress regime. Commonly used ice flow models assume a continuous medium and are therefore complicated by the presence of rupture features (crevasses, rifts, and faults) that significantly affect the overall flow patterns. Here we apply contact mechanics and penalty methods to develop a new ice shelf flow model that captures the impact of rifts and faults on the rheology and stress distribution of ice shelves. The model achieves a best fit solution to satellite observations of ice shelf velocities to infer the following: (1) a spatial distribution of contact and friction points along detected faults and rifts, (2) a more realistic spatial pattern of ice shelf rheology, and (3) a better representation of the stress balance in the immediate vicinity of faults and rifts. Thus, applying the model to the Brunt/Stancomb‐Wills Ice Shelf, Antarctica, we quantify the state of friction inside faults and the opening rates of rifts and obtain an ice shelf rheology that remains relatively constant everywhere else on the ice shelf. We further demonstrate that better stress representation has widespread application in examining aspects affecting ice shelf structure and dynamics including the extent of ice mélange in rifts and the change in fracture configurations. All are major applications for better insight into the important question of ice shelf stability.

Crows on the Cradles: Palestinian Mothers at a Frontline Vortex Reflections on the Psychology of Occupation

AbstractPalestinian mothers living in the friction points in East Jerusalem and the West Bank provide critical windows into the traumas that challenge families ensnarled in the vortex of ongoing political violence and living under occupation. Our paper, using interviews of Palestinian mothers, is a view of the abnormal – the violence that infects childhood and parenting, the fight of some mothers for a “real normal”, and the induction into the “new normal”, in which the night‐time incursions, the mapping of communities, the detention of their adolescent sons, the solitary confinements of some, are “accepted” as a rite of passage. Managing terror and its anticipation exhausts and corrodes family functioning and community life. Mothers become inducted into a traumatic vortex, as they struggle to contain the anguish, multiple losses, and the outrage over the dispossession of longings and claims. Our own inescapable countransference, a simultaneous compulsion to understand coupled with an aversion to engage, provided vital information about the stench of violence that permeates these mothers' lives and the terror of losing not only children but one's mind, as well. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Alicia Ouellette: Bioethics and disability: toward a disability-conscious bioethics

Alicia Ouellette’s Bioethics and Disability: Toward a Disability-Conscious Bioethics is the result of her ‘‘ten-year journey toward disability consciousness’’ (p. 5). By saying so, Ouellette suggests a bioethics ‘‘mindful of and knowledgeable about the fact of disability in bioethical cases’’ (p. 316). Thus, a common struggle should be overcome: bioethics versus the disability rights community. The book begins with an introduction to (and a brief history of) Bioethics on the one side and the disability rights community on the other. Ouellette then explains that she is firmly convinced that, despite the differences and points of friction between the two groups, the disability perspective should be included in debates concerning bioethical issues. In other words, it is possible for bioethicists and disability experts to work together. Ouellette describes herself as a ‘‘firm believer in the case-study method for nuanced understanding of legal doctrine and policy’’ (p. 6), and for that reason, she uses case studies throughout the book to address issues that may arise in different stages during the life cycle. Each of these chapters is structured in four parts: one (or more) exemplary case studies followed by discussions—one from a bioethics point of view, and another from the disability community point of view, and a conclusion called ‘‘observations.’’ Firstly, it is worthwhile to underline the ability of the author to choose particular cases (from the famous Terry Schiavo to less known ones) while being aware of the possible biases this may introduce and so avoiding getting trapped. Secondly, it is important to focus on the ‘‘Observations’’ section, which are at the core of Ouellette’s work—

Downspout politics, upstream conflict: formalizing rainwater harvesting in the United States

This article examines the formalization of rainwater harvesting (RWH) and the implications of new policy trends for water governance. Analysis of 96 RWH policies across the United States indicates three trends: (1) the ‘codification’ of water through administrative rather than public law; (2) the institutionalization of RWH through market-based tools; and (3) the rise of policies at different spatial scales, resulting in greater institutional complexity, new bureaucratic actors, and potential points of friction. Drawing on the cases of Colorado and Texas, the article argues that states with diverse legal traditions of water enable more successful regulatory environments for downspout alternatives.

Non-smooth Dynamics Modeling of Passive Walking Duck Robot

An unpowered wadding duck robot based on the non-smooth dynamics with friction and impact effects is designed. The duck robot can walk stably and periodically along the slope down through the contact state transformation of detaching, sliding and sticking without any external drives and controls. It is very difficult to accurately determine the instantaneous contact state between feet and slope because there are multiple points of friction and collisions in the robot. The dynamic model of the robot system is proposed and its movements are studied by three-dimensional simulation and principle prototype experiment. Simulation and experimental results show that the movement of duck robot in one cycle can be divided into nine processes. The changes of the initial position and posture do not alter the stable movement behavior of the robot. The dynamics characteristics of the robot are investigated and the time history of the dynamic parameters simulations show an obvious cyclical variation, which verifies the robot is able to achieve cyclical, stable passive mobile and the dynamics model is reasonable.

Crise de plume et souveraineté du pinceau. Écrire la peinture de Diderot à Proust by Nicolas Valazza (review)

Reviewed by: Crise de plume et souveraineté du pinceau. Écrire la peinture de Diderot à Proust by Nicolas Valazza William J. Berg Valazza, Nicolas. Crise de plume et souveraineté du pinceau. Écrire la peinture de Diderot à Proust. Paris: Classiques Garnier, 2013. Études romantiques et dix-neuviémistes 35. Pp. 357. isbn: 978-2-8124-0863-2 This far-reaching and thought-provoking study focuses on art criticism to elucidate developments in both painting and writing in nineteenth-century France. Valazza’s primary contention is that various literary trends are inextricably bound to a certain [End Page 147] sovereignty achieved by painting—as it frees itself from the constraints of ut pictura poesis—a status admired and questioned by a long line of critics who then sought a similar effect in their own literary endeavors. This initial contention is accompanied by a series of secondary points common to many of the writers: emphasizing color and light rather than line; seeing the incarnation of flesh as the ultimate test of the painter’s craft; finding great art capable of evoking other senses; experiencing frustration at the inadequacy of verbal language to express the uniqueness of modern painting; incorporating into literature not only visual effects but also painters, paintings and theories of art. Rather than focus on analogies between literature and painting, however, as do most recent interdisciplinary studies, Valazza concentrates on the lines of tension and points of friction and fracture between them. Despite such common points, major differences emerge as Valazza’s study makes its way across the nineteenth century, extending beyond art criticism to a variety of literary genres. After a short introduction initiated by an excellent analysis of Manet’s portrait of Zola, the first chapter concentrates on the Salons of Diderot, the first writer to be dumbstruck by the sublime power of Chardin’s still lives and the enviable though enigmatic effect of self-containment achieved by painting. Valazza then enters the nineteenth century via Balzac’s short story, Le chef d’œuvre inconnu, in which the painters Porbus and Poussin fail to understand their master Frenhofer’s final masterpiece, though intuiting the presence of an actual being on the canvas beneath the wall of paint on the surface. Whereas the scene is telling in terms of the sovereignty of modern art, Valazza recognizes that extending it to Balzac’s writing is problematic. Despite Baudelaire’s admiration for Delacroix, Valazza convincingly contends that the real “painter of modern life” is the poet, who alone can seize the eternal in the transitory, the spiritual in the visual. The Goncourt brothers were, like Diderot, struck by the imminence attained by Chardin’s still lives as well as by modern landscape art through the “materiality” of color, which they then sought to achieve in their own “écriture artiste.” In his excellent analysis of a passage from Manette Salomon in which the model poses before a mirror, Valazza finds a striking emblem of both painting and literature. In Zola’s L’œuvre, where the painter Claude Lantier hangs himself in front of his “masterpiece,” Valazza aptly identifies a sovereignty of art as in Balzac’s tale, but again, given Zola’s productivity, has trouble extending it to a “crisis” in writing (in my view the term “mise en question” might have worked better). More exemplary is the case of Huysmans, whose fascination for Gustave Moreau led him to reject Naturalism and Modernism in pursuit of a stand-alone universe, first in Symbolism, then in Christianity. It is, however, in Proust’s À la recherche du temps perdu that Valazza’s argument becomes the most compelling, in part because so many of the previous painters and writers discussed in the book are incorporated into the monumental novel. Among the highlights of this superb chapter are discussions of Vermeer, Chardin, the Goncourts and the fictional painter Elstir, all of whom teach the [End Page 148] narrator the value of esthetic experience. He also learns the danger of fragmentation and the potential for transcendence of the metaphor which, synthesizes disparate elements over Time, thus achieving literature’s own sovereignty. Valazza reasons with depth and clarity and writes with confidence and conviction; his book is a must read...

Two tales of privacy in online social networks

Privacy is one of the friction points that emerge when communications are mediated in online social networks (OSNs). Different communities of computer science researchers have framed the OSN privacy problem as one of surveillance, institutional privacy, or social privacy. In tackling these problems, researchers have also treated them as if they were independent. In this article, the authors argue that the different privacy problems are entangled and that OSN privacy research would benefit from a more holistic approach.

Children of two logics: A way into Canadian constitutional culture

Through an analysis of the Canadian case, this article explores the tension between the universal and the particular in modern constitutional imagination, arguing that the points of friction between these two “logics” of constitutionalism are invaluable entry points into understanding the defining features of various constitutional cultures. The article argues that to understand Canadian constitutional culture, both at the structural level and also in the finer strokes surrounding given issues, one must appreciate that Canadians are the children of two constitutional logics: that of the local, the particular, and harmonious relations between diverse communities achieved through political compromise, and that of the universal, the metaphysical, and of a faith in the reason of legal principle. Examining issues of religious and cultural difference, judicial review, and indigenous rights, the article uses Canadian constitutionalism to illustrate that the points at which the march of the logic of universal reason meets resistance in the particular are key junctures for understanding a country’s constitutional culture.

Synthesis of New Mechatronic Systems by Inverse Algorithm

nverse method algorithm for invention of mechatronic systems in vibrotechnics is used for robotic systems motion control synthesis. The main difference between this method and simple analysis method is that before synthesis of a real system optimal control task for abstract initial subsystem is solved. After calculations the optimal control law is found that allows to synthesise series of structural schemes for real systems on a basis of initial subsystem. It is shown that optimal control action corresponds to the case of boundary values of area limits. For realizing optimal control actions in general case a system of one degree of freedom needs feedback system with two adapters: one for measure displacement and second for measure velocity. It is shown that simple case exists of the control with only one adapter when motion changes directions. It means that control action is like negative dry friction and switch points are along zero velocity line.

Hard Data Help, a Little Bit

Economics Performance appraisals are generally not high on anyone's list of likes and are often points of friction between employers and employees. One educational program in the United States, Race to the Top, has encouraged the use of student outcomes—in the form of scores on standardized tests