Independent Party Research Articles

MANAGING INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH BETWEEN ACADEMICS, INDUSTRIES, AND POLICY MAKERS IN UNDERSTANDING THE EFFECTS OF BIOFOULING IN SHIP HULL TURBULENT BOUNDARY LAYERS

This report documents a large scale joint research project with the aim of improving the efficiency of ship operations and management by providing a methodology and technology that can quantify the emission and fuel usage penalty due to bio-fouling on ship hull. This can be obtained through better understanding of turbulent boundary layer flows over rough surfaces that cause skin friction drag. Here six different institutions from four countries (Australia, Denmark, Indonesia, and UK) that consist of universities, a passenger ship company, a manufacturer of anti-fouling coatings, and the Indonesian Classification Society are formed. They represent three fields, namely: academic, industrial, and an independent party that supports policy makers. Each of them has different objectives and interests that are interconnected. The research collaboration uses an in-situ laser-based measurement technique of the water flow over the hull of an operating ship combined with under-water image-based surface scanning techniques. The shipboard experiments are accompanied by detailed laboratory experiments to provide further validation. This paper will discuss the importance and challenges of managing such collaboration and the significance of satisfying individual objectives from each three fields in order to achieve the overarching aim.

A Longitudinal, Geographical, and Descriptive Analysis of Political Contributions of Plastic Surgeons.

BackgroundPolitical contributions from healthcare providers are essential to shaping healthcare policy and allow physicians to expand their influence on a national level. Political Action Committees in particular provide a useful avenue for unifying contributions for the interest of a specific community. This study examined the geographical distribution, temporal pattern, and overall nature of the political contributions made by plastic surgeons.MethodsThe Federal Election Commission was analyzed for political contributions made by plastic surgeons from 2003 to 2021 using the search terms “plastic surgeon,” “microsurgeon,” and “craniofacial” as well as physician contributions to PlastyPAC. Contributions were categorized based on political parties (Democratic, Republican, and independent parties), and further analyzed based on state distribution and year of contribution. Spatial distribution data were then visualized using heatmaps for each state.ResultsThe total sum of contributions between 2003 and 2021 from plastic surgeons was $5,306,605, with $1,737,178.51 for the Republican party, $962,773.26 for the Democratic party, and $2,604,149.86 for independent parties. Political funding of PlastyPAC consisted of 47.3% of the overall political contributions. There was no significant trend through the years in the overall contribution amount. The states with the most political contributions were California, New York, Florida, and Texas.ConclusionsThe temporal stagnation of total political contributions and decline in recent PlastyPAC funding from plastic surgeons support an increased political awareness for new plastic surgeons.Level of evidence VThis journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266.

Victim’s Participation in Adversary Procedure of the Russian Federation’s Criminal Procedure Code and Lessons for Vietnam

Abstract Some countries that mainly follow the inquisitorial system, such as Russia, France, and Vietnam, tend to absorb some features of the adversarial system. Using the Russian Federation as an example, this article raises questions including: How will the acquisition of adversarial elements affect the position, role, rights and obligations of the victim? Is the victim an independent party to participate in the adversary procedure? Do the adversarial activities of the victim and the other subjects exist at the pre-trial stages? In Vietnam, with the limitation of the victim to participate actively in the adversary procedure, it will be difficult for the victim to protect his or her legitimate rights and interests in the criminal proceedings. He/ she participates in the proceedings passively with the same role as witnesses. This article explores the role and position of the victim in the adversary procedure of the Russian Federation. While analyzing the rights and obligations of the victim in the adversary procedure, we found that the victim in the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation is eligible to participate in the adversary procedure as an independent party. The article discusses the significance of this study and proposes approaches to improve the victim’s participation in adversary procedure in Vietnam’s criminal justice system.

Die Illusion vom Frieden: Die Zweite Internationale wider den Krieg, 1889–1919

Die Illusion vom Frieden: Die Zweite Internationale wider den Krieg, 1889–1919

NGO-state relations in the monitoring of illegal forest logging and wildlife trafficking in Central Africa

Independent forest monitoring (IFM) by Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) emerged in the late 1990s as a forest governance mechanism in response to rising forest crime in Asia and Central Africa. IFM is the use of an independent third party that, by agreement or not with state authorities, provides an assessment of legal compliance, and observation of and guidance on official forest law enforcement systems. The success of IFM by NGOs is therefore, inextricably linked to the nature of the relationship with state authorities yet this relationship has neither been explored nor understood. There is scant empirical research on this mechanism globally. This paper addresses these gaps through participatory observation, documentary analysis and interviews with leaders of five NGOs at the forefront of forest and wildlife monitoring in Central Africa. Using Najam (2000) 4-C framework, we find complex and fluid relationships ranging from cooperation, complementarity, confrontation and instrumentalization. Complementarity and confrontation emerge as the most important relationship types while cooperation is the least prevalent relationship. In response to challenges in the relationships, NGOs use a repertoire of strategies and tactics to influence the state in pursuit of their goals. Unfortunately, significant dependence on a limited stream of intermittent external donor funding and lack of clearly articulated influence and advocacy strategies, limit the potential contribution of IFM to the fight against forest and wildlife crime in Central Africa. The implications for IFM organisations, national governments and donor agencies are discussed.

獨立當事者參加訴訟의 構造와 審判에 관한 試論

In order to identify fundamental misunderstandings or errors in the three-sided litigation theory on the structure of the independent party intervention litigation and to seek my alternative perspective (interpretation), I overviewed precedents and theories regarding that structure and the issue of the rules of judgment (application mutatis mutandis of the Article 67 of the Civil Procedure Act), and examined the legislative history of the independent party intervention system and the existing theories on the structure of that litigation, and examined the various legal principles accumulated by the three-sided litigation theory, on the issue of the application mutatis mutandis of the Article 67 to that litigation. And then, reviewed and criticized the analytical problems caused by the three-sided litigation theory and presented an interpretation opinion based on the main intervention litigation merger theory. According to this research, the three-sided litigation theory grasps the structure of the independent party intervention litigation as a single litigation among plaintiff, defendant and intervenor, and establishes a circular relationship in which the defendant and the intervenor are assumed as the indispensable co-litigants in the relation to the plaintiff, the plaintiff and the intervenor are assumed as the indispensable co-litigants in the relation to the defendant, and the plaintiff and the defendant are assumed as the indispensable co-litigants in the relation to the intervenor. In that point, the issue of the application of the Article 67 (1) of the Civil Procedure Act regarding the litigation acts of the indispensable co-litigants and paragraph (2) regarding the litigation act of the counter party is not properly explained, and various and irrational opinions are created. However, if we adopt the main intervention litigation merger theory, the plaintiff and the defendant, who are co-defendants in the litigation brought by the independent party intervenor, have the benefit of the united decision for the claims made by the intervenor as the reason for intervention. Therefore, by agenda them as indispensable co-litigation, The Article 67 (1) may be applied to their litigation acts, and Paragraph (2) may be applied to the intervenor’s litigation act, and the Article 67 does not apply mutatis mutandis to the litigation acts between the plaintiff and the defendant, which is the subject of independent party intervention. However, by pointing out that such an interpretation theory may also be contrary to the provisions of the Civil Procedure Act on the independent party intervention, I concluded this study as an experimentative argument, promising further research.

인공지능에 기반한 중재의 가능성에 관한 소고

This article begins with the question of whether artificial intelligence(AI) can play the role of a judge in civil dispute resolution. Despite the remarkable performance of artificial intelligence, according to previous studies, legal analysis of artificial intelligence is still in its infancy, and it is questionable whether artificial intelligence will replace humans in complex civil trials that require judgment on factual and legal issues. However, it is expected that the use of artificial intelligence will be more useful than side effects in mediation procedures, one of the alternative dispute resolution(ADR). In addition, there are many positive views on the use of artificial intelligence in online dispute resolution(ODR). Then, what about arbitration? The composition of this article is as follows. First, the possibility of artificial intelligence arbitration is reviewed from a technical point of view. As for what artificial intelligence applications can be applied to arbitration, we look at artificial intelligence applications to assist arbitrators and artificial intelligence applications that can replace arbitrators. Second, in light of the characteristics of arbitration, the possibility of artificial intelligence arbitration is reviewed. As a characteristic of arbitration, the impartiality or independence of the arbitrator, arbitration as a dispute resolution procedure, and an arbitral award rendered by the arbitrator are examined. Third, the possibility of artificial intelligence-based arbitration in international arbitration is reviewed, focusing on the interpretation of the New York Convention and the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration. In particular, we examine the possibility of recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards of artificial intelligence. In conclusion, in light of the purpose and functional characteristics of arbitration, arbitration refers to a dispute resolution procedure presided over by an independent and impartial third party that makes a final and binding decision, which can be carried out by an artificial intelligence application based on supervised learning without necessarily putting in people. However, so far, there is no artificial intelligence application that can make arbitration decisions entirely without human intervention. Nevertheless, considering the pace of technological development, artificial intelligence that makes autonomous decisions is expected to emerge at some point in the future and play the role of arbitration. Since arbitrators and arbitration procedures can be freely selected due to the procedural nature of respecting the autonomy of the parties, artificial intelligence-based arbitration is likely to be selected if the quality of arbitration by artificial intelligence arbitrators is not inferior to that by humans.

Boris Johnson to the Rescue? How the Conservatives Won the Radical-Right Vote in the 2019 General Election

How can centre–right parties in majoritarian systems adapt to threats from the radical right? Using a long-term inter-election panel study, we identify a remarkably stable constituency of support for Britain’s recent radical-right parties – the UK Independence Party and the Brexit Party. We show also how these same voters defected from the Conservatives across elections. In response, the government used a combination of the election of a new leader, Boris Johnson, and a hardline position on Brexit to reincorporate these voters into its support base, helping to lead to a large Conservative majority in 2019. Cross-party evaluations of Johnson were even more important in influencing this success than the issue of Brexit itself. Effective centre–right adaption to radical-right challenges is not simply about strategic issue positioning, it can also derive from centre–right leaders with populist appeal.

Potential Contenders for the Leadership in Robotic Surgery.

Purpose: To summarize the scientific published literature on new robotic surgical platforms with potential use in the urological field, reviewing their evolution from presentation until the present day. Our goal is to describe the current characteristics and possible prospects for these platforms. Materials and Methods: A nonsystematic search of the PubMed, Cochrane library's Central, EMBASE, MEDLINE, and Scopus databases was conducted to identify scientific literature about new robotic platforms other than the Da Vinci® system, reviewing their evolution from inception until December 2020. Only English language publications were included. The following keywords were used: "new robotic platforms," "Revo-I robot," "Versius robot," and "Senhance robot." All relevant English-language original studies were analyzed by one author (R.F.) and summarized after discussion with an independent third party (E.M., S.Y., S.P., and M.A.). Results: Since 1995, Intuitive Surgical, Inc., with the Da Vinci surgical system, is the leading company in the robotic surgical market. However, Revo-I®, Versius®, and Senhance® are the other three platforms that recently appeared on the market with available articles published in peer-reviewed journals. Among these three new surgical systems, the Senhance robot has the most substantial scientific proof of its capacity to perform minimally invasive urological surgery and as such, it might become a contender of the Da Vinci robot. Conclusions: The Da Vinci surgical platform has allowed the diffusion of robotic surgery worldwide and showed the different advantages of this type of technique. However, its use has some drawbacks, especially its price. New robotic platforms characterized by unique features are under development. Of note, they might be less expensive compared with the Da Vinci robotic system. We found that these new platforms are still at the beginning of their technical and scientific validation. However, the Senhance robot is in a more advanced stage, with clinical studies supporting its full implementation.

Can informal environmental regulation promote industrial structure upgrading? Evidence from China

ABSTRACT Using Chinese provincial data from 2000 to 2016, this paper investigates the effect of informal environmental regulation (IER) on industrial structure upgrading. We find that IER in the form of environmental media coverage acts as an external binding force and spurs the upgrading of industrial structure through increasing the dual pressure of local government supervision and public opinion. A mechanism test shows that IER can boost regional innovation, thereby promoting the upgrading of industrial structure. Moreover, the positive association between IER and industrial structure upgrading is more prominent in regions with stronger environmental law enforcement and higher public environmental awareness. We also document that IER has a significant informational spatial-diffusion effect and has characteristics of a double-threshold effect. Overall, our results highlight that it is necessary to establish a system for disclosing environmental information and to improve the mechanism whereby independent third parties such as the media participate in environmental governance.

David Cameron’s catastrophic miscalculation : The EU Referendum, Brexit and the UK’s ‘culture war’

The United Kingdom had never been an enthusiastic member of the European Union, with membership mostly based on pragmatism rather than principle, and assumptions about the economic advantages to be accrued, rather than any commitment to political union or supranational governance. However, this lukewarm commitment to UK membership of the EU cooled between 2010 and 2016, both reflected and reinforced by internal developments inside the Conservative Party under David Cameron’s leadership, the electoral threat posed to the Conservatives by the increasing popularity of Nigel Farage’s United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP), and a growing perception in many towns and communities that had been ‘left behind’ due to de-industrialisation, Globalisation, and an apparently out-of-touch London-centric liberal elite. These feelings of anxiety and anomie were further fueled by the austerity program imposed by Cameron’s coalition government, which exacerbated the economic and social problems of many citizens and communities in already impoverished parts of Britain.

Mental health and well-being of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australia during COVID-19.

In May 2020, an independent working party was convened to determine the mental health and well‐being needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australia, in response to COVID‐19. Thirty Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders and allies worked together in a two‐month virtual collaboration process. Here, we provide the working party's five key recommendations and highlight the evidence supporting these proposals. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander self‐determination and governance must be prioritised to manage the COVID‐19 recovery in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. To mitigate long‐term social and economic impacts of COVID‐19 to Australian society, the historical underinvestment in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples must be reconciled. Equitable, needs‐based funding is required to support strengths‐based, place‐based initiatives that address the determinants of health. This includes workforce and infrastructure development and effective evaluation. There is a clear, informed pathway to health and healing for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples being enacted by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leadership and community organisations; it remains to be seen how these recommendations will be implemented.

Social Darwinism, the British Labour Party, and the First World War

ABSTRACT This article investigates whether the doctrine of social Darwinism had any bearing on the Labour Party’s decision to support Britain’s participation in the First World War. Many socialist intellectuals were wedded to social Darwinist conceptions of the world. The Independent Labour Party (ILP) published a number of tracts on the interrelationship between Darwinism or science and politics. The article looks for evidence of biological thinking in the Labour Party and the ILP prior to the First World War. It finds only small traces, vastly outweighed by environmental remedies to problems that were regarded as biological by social Darwinists. The labour movement also stood for pacifism as a signature policy. Yet when the war erupted, there was a sudden shift among Labour MPs towards supporting belligerent action. Did social Darwinism finally begin affecting them? Since there was only a slight connection between the doctrine and a few MPs, the article concludes that it was hardly an influence. Pragmatic reasons such as rallying to one’s own nation, supporting working-class communities and resisting atrocities predominated. Social Darwinism was in fact more likely to be utilized by neutralists who argued that Germany was more “civilized” than Russia and therefore deserved to win the war.

Analysis of healthcare claims received at an audit unit of a clinical hospital

The resolution of claims at healthcare institutions is an important issue for administrators. To analyze the causes of healthcare-related claims in a private, clinical health center. All claims processed at the audit unit of a clinical hospital between 2016 and 2019 were analyzed. In the study period, 602 complaints were recorded, representing a rate of one claim for every 1,000 services provided. The two main causes of complaints were sub-standard interaction with the doctor such as communication or lack of empathy, corresponding to 21% of cases, and complaints related to care costs, quotes, and insurance coverage (21%). The highest number of complaints originated in emergency care, but the highest rate by number of healthcare services provided occurred in hospitalization in the Mental Health and the Adult Critical Care units. Roughly, 75% of the complaints were settled with a phone call to the patient, which allowed to explain what happened and to apologize accordingly. In 21% of the cases, one or more meetings were held with the patient, a family member, or his/her legal representative to settle an agreement. In 3.5% of cases a mediation process through an independent third party was required. Only 1% of the claims resulted in a legal action. The importance of cultivating an adequate physician-patient relationship for the prevention of complaints and eventual litigations associated with the provision of healthcare services, is emphasized. Quality control policies and processes within healthcare organizations should be strengthened.

Constructing the Ideology of the Right-Wing Radical Party in Modern United Kingdom: The Case of the United Kingdom Independence Party

This article examines the update of ideological foundations of the largest right-wing radical party in Britain (and in the whole of Europe) - the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP). The subject of the research is the partys programmatic text, Manifesto for Brexit and Beyond, a document that is not limited to the discussion of Brexit alone. This document appeared at the end of 2019 and, despite the frequent change of leadership in the party during 2020, remained the ideological foundation of the organization after Brexit. The aim of the article is to analyze how the ideological base of the right-wing British radical party was formed in the socio-political realities of the initial period after the states exit from the European Union. The paper presents a discursive analysis of the main ideological document of one of UKIP, as well as identifies the ideological positions of British right-wing radicals at the present stage. Since the research is mainly practice-oriented, the main results are presented the data obtained through discourse analysis using to the method of R. Wodak. The data testify the changes that have been taking place in the discourse of the extreme right in Britain in recent years, as well as the prospects for its evolution in the coming years after Brexit. Studying UKIPs discourse, the author concludes that it forms depending on the political, social and cultural conditions that prevail in modern British society, as well as on the general European context. The article also shows how a modern right-wing radical party constructs its discourse using the most painful issues for the society within the framework of political struggle.

Political Reactionism as Affective Practice: UKIP Supporters and Non-Voters in Pre-Brexit England

United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) supporters and non-voters in England participate respectively in forms of engaged and disengaged anti-political activity, but the role of individual, group-based, and collective emotions is still unclear. Drawing upon recent analyses of the complex emotional dynamics (e.g., <em>ressentiment</em>) underpinning the growth of right-wing populist political movements and support for parties such as UKIP, this analysis explores the affective features of reactionary political stances. The framework of affective practices is used to show how resentful affects are created, facilitated, and transformed in sharing or suppressing populist political views and practices; that is, populism is evident not only in the prevalence and influence of illiberal and anti-elite discourses but also should be explored as it is embodied and enacted in “past focused” and “change resistant” everyday actions and in relation to opportunities that “sediment” affect-laden political positions and identities. Reflexive thematic analysis of data from qualitative interviews with UKIP voters and non-voters (who both supported leaving the EU) in 2015 after the UK election but before the EU referendum vote showed that many participants: 1) shared “condensed” complaints about politics and enacted resentment towards politicians who did not listen to them, 2) oriented towards shameful and purportedly shameless racism about migrants, and 3) appeared to struggle with shame and humiliation attributed to the EU in a complex combination of transvaluation of the UK and freedom of movement, a nostalgic need for restoration of national pride, and endorsement of leaving the EU as a form of “change backwards.”

The Childhood Obesity Data Initiative: A Case Study in Implementing Clinical-Community Infrastructure Enhancements to Support Health Services Research and Public Health.

We describe a participatory framework that enhanced and implemented innovative changes to an existing distributed health data network (DHDN) infrastructure to support linkage across sectors and systems. Our processes and lessons learned provide a potential framework for other multidisciplinary infrastructure development projects that engage in a participatory decision-making process. The Childhood Obesity Data Initiative (CODI) provides a potential framework for local and national stakeholders with public health, clinical, health services research, community intervention, and information technology expertise to collaboratively develop a DHDN infrastructure that enhances data capacity for patient-centered outcomes research and public health surveillance. CODI utilizes a participatory approach to guide decision making among clinical and community partners. CODI's multidisciplinary group of public health and clinical scientists and information technology experts collectively defined key components of CODI's infrastructure and selected and enhanced existing tools and data models. We conducted a pilot implementation with 3 health care systems and 2 community partners in the greater Denver Metro Area during 2018-2020. We developed an evaluation plan based primarily on the Good Evaluation Practice in Health Informatics guideline. An independent third party implemented the evaluation plan for the CODI development phase by conducting interviews to identify lessons learned from the participatory decision-making processes. We demonstrate the feasibility of rapid innovation based upon an iterative and collaborative process and existing infrastructure. Collaborative engagement of stakeholders early and iteratively was critical to ensure a common understanding of the research and project objectives, current state of technological capacity, intended use, and the desired future state of CODI architecture. Integration of community partners' data with clinical data may require the use of a trusted third party's infrastructure. Lessons learned from our process may help others develop or improve similar DHDNs.

Dutch municipal elections 1998-2018: what explains the electoral success of local parties?

ABSTRACT Using data for Dutch municipal elections between 1998 and 2018, this paper finds two dominant trends: more political fragmentation and increasing electoral success of independent local parties. The relative size of local parties in the council rises from 25% in 1998 to 37% in 2018 and the relative share of their aldermen from 21% to 32%. When understanding the increasing share of local parties, the number of inhabitants, regional diversity, the share of elderly people and the election year dummies are important explanations. Looking at the changes after large decentralisations, also indications for a welfare hypothesis were found, if fixed effects are included. Following an empirical approach for AfD in local elections in German state of Lower Saxony, the impact of the anti-establishment Freedom Party on contesting local parties was analysed and this influence turned out to be small. This also gives an indication that Dutch local parties are becoming more established.

Afterword: language, affect and everyday citizenship

In 2014, Nigel Farage, the former leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP), a party that was pivotal in campaigning for Britain leaving the European Union, told a story about feeling ‘awkward’ wh...

Secure Channel for Sharing Datasets by using Privacy-Preserving Integration Method

In privacy-enhancing technology, it has been inevitably challenging to strike a maintain balance between privacy, efficiency and usability (utility). We propose a highly practical and efficient approach for privacy-preserving integration and sharing of datasets among a group of participants. At the heart of our solution is a new interactive protocol, Secure Channel. Through Secure Channel, each participant is able to randomize their datasets via an independent and untrusted third party, such that the resulting dataset can be merged with other randomized datasets contributed by other participants group in a privacy-preserving manner. Our process does not require any public or key sharing between participants in order to integrate different datasets. This, in turn, leads to a user can understand and use easily and scalable solution. Moreover, the accuracy of a randomized dataset which are returned by the third party can be securely verified by the other participant of group. We further demonstrate Secure Channel’s general utilities, using it to construct a structure preserving data integration protocol. This is mainly useful for, good quality integration of network traffic data.