Normative Aspects Research Articles

Boundary experts: Science and politics in measuring the Sustainable Development Goals

AbstractThe Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) purport to cleanly separate politics and technical matters, embodied by the political negotiation of goals and targets, and the technical creation of an indicator framework. This article analyses how this boundary between science and politics is managed in practice. The statisticians tasked with selecting indicators through the Inter‐agency and Expert Group on Sustainable Development Goal Indicators (IAEG‐SDGs) are seconded to a global process from national statistical offices. Boundary management requires acceptance of certain normative and political aspects of creating an indicator framework, such as claims to national relevance. Others, like overt national intervention, are however considered impermissible. Each statistician must manage their role as a boundary expert that experience irresolvable tensions due to representing specific countries while being mandated to propound scientific practices and norms. Building on this empirical inquiry, the article sketches out a new normative ideal for knowledge pluralism in the measurement of sustainable development. It argues that indicator processes would benefit from more pluralistic indicator bodies than the IAEG‐SDGs. Including diversified knowledge and perspectives from civil society and international organisations would explicate already existing political contestation. It would also contribute to capturing more of the complexities of sustainable development in future monitoring frameworks through consideration of a broader selection of methodologies.

Exclusion by design: a case study of an Indian urban housing subsidy scheme

Abstract The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban)—Housing for All mission (PMAY-U), a flagship mission of the Government of India, aims to address the need for affordable housing in urban areas through five different schemes. One of these schemes is a housing subsidy scheme, the Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme (CLSS), which has significantly contributed to the success of PMAY-U. However, the design of the CLSS scheme favors households considered creditworthy, with stable and secure income streams. This article examines the gap between the policy design and practice of the CLSS scheme to explore how biases get embedded into the policy, resulting in the exclusion of economically vulnerable households. Schneider and Ingram’s Social Construction of Target Population (SCTP) framework is used to identify the target groups involved in the CLSS policy chain. These target groups and policymakers were interviewed to understand their interpretations of the concept of affordable housing. Using a relational lens, these interpretations are compared to know how the meanings of affordable housing get represented within CLSS policy documents. The analysis presents two key insights. First, the power and interests of the target groups predict their representation in policy design and policymaking. Second, privatized implementation design of the subsidy scheme embeds negative selectivism creating exclusionary tendencies in the CLSS design. Lastly, given the shrinking of the welfare state across the globe, this study raises the critical question of “who benefits and who loses?” while challenging the normative aspects of the policy goal of affordable housing.

Introduction to the special issue ‘The phenomenology of joint action’

The contributions collected in this special issue explore the phenomenology of joint action from a broad range of different disciplinary and methodological angles, including philosophical investigation (both in the analytic and the phenomenological tradition), computational modeling, experimental study, game theory, and developmental psychology. They also vastly expand the range of discussed cases beyond the standard examples of house-painting and sauce-cooking, addressing, for example, collective musical improvisations, dancing, work at the Diversity and Equity office of a university, and historical examples of collective violence such as the revolutionary Terror in France and the Nazis. In our introduction to this special issue, we group the contributions into three thematic areas – 1) the phenomenological fine-structure of joint action, 2) underlying mechanisms for joint action and 3) phenomenal preconditions for joint action. The first theme is discussed under a number of issues – a) components of the phenomenology of joint action, b) the I and the we in joint action, c) the effect of group size, structure and nature on the phenomenology of joint action and d) how do phenomenal relate to normative aspects of joint action?

The Alcohol and Polysubstance Behaviors of Mandated College Students Prior to Collegiate Sporting Events: An Assessment of Pregaming

Background: Despite a litany of education and prevention efforts seeking to curtail alcohol and other drug (AOD) use behaviors of United States (U.S.) college students, AOD use remains pervasive among the American college student population. Socio-cultural reinforcement of AOD behaviors, such as pregaming (PG), are often considered normative aspects of the collegiate experience, potentially introducing, and/or exacerbating, AOD use among U.S. college students. Objective: Due to the unique relationship PG has with the U.S. college experience and sports culture, this study explored the relationship between PG prior to a live sporting event and frequency of alcohol use, and the likelihood of persons who pregame also engaging in polysubstance use (>1 substance during drinking/use event). Methods: This study was conducted with college students (n = 816) attending a large public university in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) who violated campus alcohol use policies. Results: Beyond the influence of important demographic covariates, PG (p < .001) was significantly associated with a greater frequency of alcohol use. Moreover, students who participated in PG festivities were nearly 2.5 times more likely to participate in polysubstance use. Discussion: PG prior to live collegiate sporting events has clear public health and policy implications. Future efforts should institute and enforce risk-management policies on college campuses and employ event-specific alcohol and polysubstance use prevention and intervention strategies.

The Principle of Divinity in Islamic Communication Perspective

This research aims to highlight a core element in an Islamic Communication principle as the Basic Principle, namely the Principle of Divinity, which originated by Zainal Arifin (2021). He intends to signify the existence of the value of God as its principle. He also notes that God is the Basic Principle of Islamic Communication, the core element referring to the spiritual dimension. It is exciting to discuss because during this time, generally, Islamic Communication scholars or experts only stress the normative aspects as ethics without alluding to the spiritual size. They dominantly discuss the ethical to do as Moslems in daily communication with others. One of which is Hamid Mowlana (1996 and 2007), in a previous period highlighting tauhid as the principle, but still, the substance does not describe the spiritual dimension of the Creator. Accordingly, this qualitative research was designed by the library method analyzing some kinds of literature or references to reinforce the view that the basic divinity principle is the Principle of Islamic Communication. Among them is the literature from Zainal Arifin's thoughts, where he clearly explains that the Basic Principles of Islamic Communication are based on the Principles of God. Then the foundations of the Principles of God give birth to reflections in the Muslim community's daily lives. As a result, this research shows that the Divine Principle, where Allah as The Creator, is an absolute element that must exist in every sequence of existing communication elements. This is proven by several sayings of Moslems in their lives reflecting such conditions as the analysis of this study.

Transitions to Second Birth and Birth Intervals in France and Spain: Time Squeeze or Social Norms?

As first births are increasingly postponed across Europe, a strong two-child family norm persists. Past research has examined educational differentials in progressions to second birth, testing various hypotheses but overlooking normative aspects. Comparing fertility surveys from France and Spain, we explore whether late first-time mothers, who have fewer reproductive biological years left to conceive, accelerate the transition to a subsequent child (time squeeze effect). We also consider a normative dimension, i.e., whether women have their first child earlier or later than others in their educational and cohort groups. In both countries, among first-time mothers between 25 and 34 years of age, highly-educated women transitioned to second birth more frequently than less-educated women did. Within the same age group, highly-educated women in Spain had a second child more quickly after the firstborn than their less educated counterparts did, while there is no such difference in France. These results hold after controlling for cohort effects, but are only partly explained by a time squeeze effect. Different normative ages at first birth by education and birth cohort explain the educational gap in the likelihood of transitioning to second birth, but not the birth intervals in Spain. In sum, our analysis demonstrates a persistent educational gap in second births in this country that cannot be reduced to biological or normative effects. This suggests that a broad range of economic constraints play a role, such as unfavourable individual economic conditions and lower levels of institutional support for parenthood.

LA GLOBALIZZAZIONE DELLA DISEGUAGLIANZA. ASPETTI TEORICI, EMPIRICI E DI &lt;em&gt;POLICY&lt;/em&gt;

Since the beginning of the 90’s inequality, once again, become one of the central issues of the economic debate from different perspectives: theoretical, applied and of policy. Not only increased the attention toward the inequality within countries, but also toward the global one, that is the inequality between countries and between citizens of the world as they belong to a single community. The effects of globalization on inequality are still very controversial. According to some authors international integration has produced not only instability and recurring crises, but also a growing inequality within and between countries. For other authors, instead, inequality and poverty decreased with the globalization. This paper will analyze the issue of global inequality mainly from an empirical standpoint. First of all, however, it will be discussed some issues related to the definition of the phenomenon with reference to the theoretical as well to the normative aspects. The empirical analysis will be undertaken by distinguishing the weight of the inequality between countries from that within countries on global inequality. Changes of synthetic indexes will be calculated, but also the differences in income’s distribution in each country will be analyzed. This kind of analysis, innovative with respect to the traditional ones, will allow to observe how the differences in the income’s distribution of industrialized and of developing countries can justify phenomena of the global economy such as, for example, migratory flows.

Institutional and Normative Aspects in the Preservation of Cultural Heritage

Normative aspects in the preservation of cultural heritage imply a complex understanding and approach, insofar as this is a systemic process in which different cultural institutions acting with relevant competence and the normative framework have a role. It consists of international legal acts, such as the UNESCO Conventions, EU law - the regulations and directives and the internal law that is in accordance with them. The report covers a review of case studies related to the preservation of tangible cultural heritage: cases of dissonant cultural heritage; the case with the restitution of cultural values; cases of deregistration of tangible cultural values from the register and the philosophy of the law; legal issues in dealing with cultural property; problems of ownership of movable cultural property; the relationship of copyright and related rights to cultural heritage.

Public Accountant's Responsibility for Violations of Financial Statements of PT Asuransi Jiwa Adisarana Wanaartaha

This study aims to analyze the responsibility of public accountants in presenting financial reports for the 2014-2019 financial year of PT Asuransi Jiwa Adisarana Waanaartha. The research method used is normative legal research, which focuses on the analysis of legal documents, regulations and guidelines relating to the responsibilities of public accountants. This study examines the responsibilities of public accountants related to the presentation of financial statements of life insurance companies. In the context of PT Asuransi Jiwa Adisarana Wanaartha, public accountants have a responsibility to ensure that the financial statements presented comply with applicable accounting standards and accurately represent the company's financial position. The results of the study show that public accountants have an obligation to carry out professional and independent audit work. They must follow applicable accounting guidelines and standards, such as Financial Accounting Standards (SAK) and Public Accountant Professional Standards (SPAP). This research also highlights the importance of transparency and accountability in the presentation of financial reports. This assists stakeholders, including investors, governments, and the general public, in making informed, data-based decisions. In conclusion, this study emphasizes the importance of the responsibility of public accountants in presenting the financial statements for the 2014-2019 financial year of PT Asuransi Jiwa Adisarana Wanaartaha accurately, transparently, and in accordance with applicable accounting standards. This research contributes to understanding legal and normative aspects related to the duties and responsibilities of public accountants in the context of the life insurance industry.

Strength of Constitutional Court Decisions in Judicial Review of the 1945 Constitution in Indonesia

This research discusses the strength of the Constitutional Court's decision regarding judicial review in Indonesia. The Constitutional Court is an institution of judicial power tasked with exercising the authority of judicial review born from the 3rd Amendment to the 1945 Constitution. In this study, the philosophical and normative foundations that form the basis for the strength of the Constitutional Court's decision to conduct judicial review will be discussed. The method used is normative juridical, using secondary materials such as laws, decisions of the Constitutional Court, and related legal literature. This study's results confirm that the Constitutional Court's decision to conduct a judicial review has a powerful dimension of power. This power can be viewed from several angles, both philosophical and normative. In the philosophical aspect, the strength of the Constitutional Court's decision lies in the principles of popular sovereignty and constitutional supremacy. While in the normative aspect, the strength of the Constitutional Court's decision is based on the provisions of laws and regulations governing the authority and procedures of the Constitutional Court in conducting judicial reviews.

"Normative and Law Enforcement Aspects of Customs Debt Reasons (On Example of Albania)"

"The research aims to conduct a complex analysis of the legal acts and statements in the regulation of customs debt in the Albania Republic legislation. During the research, the following methods were used: the legal analysis, structural, systemic, and functional methods of juristic generalization as well as the comparative method. The research presents a comparative analysis of normative legislations on the reasons for customs debt in the Customs Codex of Albania Republic (CAR) of 1999 and the Customs Codex of Albania Republic (CCAR) of 2014. Especial attention was devoted to the judicial practice analysis of the Higher Court of Albania Republic addressing the customs debts. The most frequent cause of this sphere is related to the causes of customs debt, the relation of the administrative and judicial order of the case investigation on the customs debt as well as reasons for the customs debt and its calculation. The research stated that administrative orders of implementation concerning the Albania customs workers also have several issues. Due to the immense number of issues, caused by the definitions and enforcement of Albanian customs law during the court case review related to the customs debt, the authors suggest developing a respective law enforcement norm on the level of practice generalization of the Higher Court of Albania Republic and formed separate recommendations on its content, which determines the practical value of the research."

Optimal interventional treatment for liver cancer: HAIC, TACE or iTACE?

Primary liver cancer is a common and lethal malignancy in China. Transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) is globally recognized as the preferred treatment modality for the non-surgical resection of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), while transcatheter arterial infusion (TAI) is another effective interventional treatment for HCC. In recent years, hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy (HAIC) has gained increasing attention as an application-regulated modality for TAI. Owing to the current debate in the medical community regarding the use of HAIC and TACE for the treatment of HCC, the application of both approaches should be considered at a higher level, with a broader perspective and a more normative aspect. Accordingly, we aimed to define the rational combination of liver cancer TAI/HAIC with TACE as infusion transcatheter chemoembolization (iTACE), which suggests that the two interventions are not superior but lead to a mutually beneficial situation. In this review, we sought to discuss the development, specification, application, challenge and innovation, debate, and union of TAI/HAIC and TACE, and the clinical application and latest research on iTACE. We aimed to introduce new concepts of iTACE and expect new breakthroughs in the treatment of liver cancer owing to the combined use of the two major interventional tools.

The 10 Elements of Agroecology interconnected: Making them operational in FAO’s work on agroecology

Since 2014, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has played a leading role in facilitating agroecology discussions and dialogues among many different regions and stakeholders. FAO’s engagement with agroecology as one promising way of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) was confirmed in 2018 with the launch of the Scaling Up Agroecology Initiative. FAO’s function is of a dual but interconnected nature: that of normative operational work. This is reflected in FAO’s work on agroecology, which combines the normative and operational aspects to create synergies through their linkages, thus creating a policy bridge for transformation. Undergirding this work is the framework of the 10 Elements of Agroecology, which was approved by FAO Governing Bodies in November 2019 and has been expanded to include its use in visual narratives to describe plausible theories of change to facilitate food systems transformation. The 10 Elements serve as the foundation for the normative and operational aspects of the Scaling Up Agroecology Initiative (SUAI), which include various tools, knowledge pieces, projects, policy initiatives, and sharing platforms. Nowhere is this foundation of the 10 Elements clearer than in the Tool for Agroecology Performance Evaluation (TAPE), a tool for assessing the multidimensional performance of agroecology. TAPE relies upon the 10 Elements to characterize the level of agroecological transition of production systems in agriculture at scale and in time. Upon this snapshot of transition, criteria of quantitative performance are assessed. Recent utilization of TAPE across the globe has strongly shown how TAPE can help actors make data-driven decisions to elicit transformational change at all levels of the territory, when it is linked to the other aspects of the SUAI underpinned by the 10 Elements, thus effectively bridging policy and praxis.

Crisis Communication at the Local Level – A Case Study of Novi Pazar

Crisis communication is an absolutely vital part of crisis management and emergency response, with a great impact on the success of operational efforts to prevent unwanted events, that is, if these events do happen, their harmful consequences are reduced as much as possible. In this sense, this area must be regulated both normatively and functionally, and this subject is given great attention in developed and successful countries. When it comes to the Republic of Serbia, the establishment of the necessary normative and functional assumptions for successful crisis communication is still in its initial phase of development. This paper analyzes the normative and functional aspects of crisis communication in the town of Novi Pazar based on the available sources of data and documents, as well as a survey of relevant actors. The authors conclude that although significant efforts have been made in launching a crisis communication system at the local level, nonetheless, there are certain oversights, weaknesses, and shortcomings in this area, i.e. significant room for improvement of crisis communication of the city headquarter for emergency situations and competent organizational units within the city offices.

Digital authoritarianism and social censorship in the context of the pandemic COVID-19

Censorship, which each of us experiences today, arose in the historical context in which the type of market economy developed characteristic of the Western world since the Renaissance. Thus, censorship may have certain normative aspects and may be accompanied by prohibitions. Such a distinction is applicable to all phenomena present in a society. An example can undoubtedly be the language norms imposed during the pandemic situation by the authorities and not only, which we all know. Therefore, from a social and cultural point of view, information censorship is primarily interested in what is at the content level of the reported facts, as being an image of the existing society and culture. The aim of the paper is to distinguish the specificity of social censorship in different countries, through the lens of censorship culture, against the background of digital authoritarianism in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

‘Natural’ islands in UNCLOS: reframing artificial islands in the context of climate change, inhabitance, and human mobility

ABSTRACT As the effects of climate change become apparent in line with IPCC projections, the normative aspects of international affairs are being increasingly challenged. The context of rising sea levels, coastal inundation, and salinization in low-lying atoll States points to an unprecedented scenario that beckons revisitations into ‘what is natural in international affairs’ and ‘what turns it into being natural’. Under UNCLOS and a common understanding in international affairs, a State is primarily defined by natural territory. Oppenheim claimed that ‘a State without (natural) territory is not possible’. In contrast, Gottmann’s instructive approach urges a transition from viewing geographical spaces in a vacuum to understanding the relationship they share with human existence. The article explores the potential of artificial islands such as Hulhumalé in the Maldives as a climate adaptation and human resettlement strategy and their long-term legal identity in international affairs. The article aims to answer two questions: first, what is the role of human inhabitation in the characterisation of geographical spaces as ‘natural’ in international affairs? and, second, why and how do the definitions around artificial islands need to be revisited amidst contemporary conditions of climate change to offset the normative costs being borne by low-lying atoll States?

KANT AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF PURE REASON: AN ANALOGY WITH A CHEMICAL EXPERIMENT

This paper defends a constructive interpretation of the Critique of Pure Reason, which is built in analogy with an experimental construction that Kant believes to characteristic of chemistry. I also argue for a way to reconcile the methodological perspective of the constructivist method with that of transcendental reflection. I therefore provide a constructive explanation for what Kant describes as being pure reason and the argument of the transcendental deduction. I propose to frame the different perspectives in such a way that the experimental construction is the ratio cognoscendi of pure reason, while pure reason is the ratio essendi of the experimental construction. O’Neill (1989, 2015) is one of the most important scholars that have argued for a constructivist reading of the Critique of pure reason (CPR). In this paper I develop and explore new aspects of this line of interpretation. One of the main criticisms raised against constructivist readings of Kant’s philosophy is an alleged commitment to subjectivism or voluntarism (cf. Kleingeld & Willaschek 2019). This concern led some scholars to rename their position as constitutivist instead (Korsgaard 2009; Sensen 2013, 2017; Formosa 2011). Constitutivism, is intended to be a sort of constructivism capable of avoiding voluntarism. However, it becomes difficult, sometimes, to differentiate between the constitutivist and foundationalist positions, which are based on transcendental reflection and imply a sort of realist perspective on reason. The same preoccupation applies to the constructivist interpretation of the CPR. In order to deal with this issue, the following questions must be addressed: how can constructivism justify the necessity and universality of transcendental principles of pure reason without compromising the normative and procedural aspects of the construction? How to reconcile arguments based on the analysis of representations and faculties with a constructivist procedure? Or even, how may transcendental reflection, as a view of the possibility of a priori cognition, be rendered compatible with a constructive procedure? This paper is divided into three sections, followed by brief final remarks. The first section outlines the main characteristics of constructivism and relates them to Kant’s positions about the nature of philosophy and its method. The second part argues for a type of experimental constructivism that might serve as a guiding analogy to understand the method underlying the CPR. Thirdly, I will show how the transcendental subject and pure reason are derived from this experimental construction. The conclusion briefly points out some advantages of this position.

Spectrums of Relocation: A typological framework for understanding risk-based relocation through space, time and power

This paper reviews and classifies forms of environmental relocation, including retreat, migration, and resettlement, which are increasingly being considered and promoted as mechanisms for adapting to environmental risks. Current research and practice in relocation planning lacks a typological framework for assessing the many modes and norms of risk-based movement. Classical and critical location models help theorize how populations have come to be settled in differentially risky places in the first place, and are helpful for categorizing relocation situations and evaluating the relocation planning strategies. Written from the perspective of environmental design and planning disciplines, our typological framework emphasizes relocation as spatial processes shaped by environmental risk, and the article thus focuses on relocation, retreat, and resettlement processes. A systematic review of current research on relocation and resettlement identified six descriptive spectrums of relocation attributes: agency, planning, grouping, speed, distance, and temporality. We discuss the normative aspects of those spectra, and relate them to the location and relocation literatures. We then combine these attributes to construct a typology of relocation processes through the lenses of space, time, and power. By considering normative as well as descriptive aspects of relocation, we show how the typology can help address the equity of relocation. The resulting framework provides an analytical and planning tool that is practical and flexible. It can be used to assess and compare relocation projects that have already occurred as well as to evaluate strategies for relocation planning.

State policy in the sphere of environmental protection: the regulatory aspect

The purpose of the article is to analyze the normative and legal aspect of public policy in the field of environmental protection and generalize the relevant legislative basis. Research results. The understanding of the concept of “sphere of the environment” and the content of its legal regulation are generalized. It is substantiated that under the European integration, adaptation of international experience to domestic legal realities, as well as harmonization of national and international legislation the development of the latest forms and methods of environmental protection is an urgent issue. Practical meaning. It is noted that there is a critical need to develop new and improve existing legal acts, taking into account modern trends, since the war unleashed by Russia on the territory of Ukraine causes critical damage to the environment and ecology of Ukraine, and accordingly, such actions must be properly qualified. Value/originality. The perspective of further research is the need to analyze the methods of protection in the field of environmental protection, which are defined as effective tools for the protection of nature from harmful effects. Informative and complementary to research is the question of using international experience in improving the relevant national mechanism.

Evaluation of the role of Islamic lifestyle in communication skills of Muslim couples

Lifestyle refers to a set of personal and group behaviours related to normative and semantic aspects of social life. Any coherent set of behavioural patterns derived from religious teachings that exist in life can be considered a religious lifestyle. Considering that the dominant religion in Jordan is Islam, the present study focused on the Islamic lifestyle. In addition, given that the correct relationship between couples has been compared to life-giving blood in marriage, and since the quality of marital role plays a determining role, the existence of communication skills in any of the couples can generate satisfaction and compatibility, whereas lack of awareness of these skills could cause misunderstandings and tension. Therefore, the current study aims to study the role of the Islamic lifestyle in communication skills of 250 Muslim couples of Jordan (Amman, Zarqa and Irbid) in 2022. Data were collected using questionnaires during four months, and the validity and reliability was confirmed. In addition, data analysis was performed in Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and Linear Structural Relations (LISREL) using mean tests and structural equation modelling. According to the results, Islamic lifestyle had a positive, significant effect on the improvement of communication skills in Muslim couples in Jordan (P-value: 0.76; T-value: 7.92). Therefore, it is recommended that more attention should be paid to this issue by families, researchers and cultural authorities in the country.Contribution: Our findings revealed that Islamic lifestyle improved communication skills in Muslim couples, which demands special attention. By adhering to the Islamic lifestyle, couples can influence each other’s knowledge, emotions, education and growth, and try to have a realistic understanding of each other’s desires, needs, living environment and perceptions that each has in life issues. Furthermore, they can organise their role in the common life in appropriate ways to prevent problems and solve them in the event of problems.