Social Consensus Research Articles

News Media Exposure and Community Consensus on Terrorism in a Developing Country: First and Second Level Agenda-Setting Effects

This study investigates how increased news media use corresponds to an increasing consensus among different subgroups in society regarding social issues (first level of agenda-setting) and consensus on the attributes of the terrorism issue (second level of agenda-setting). With its cross-sectional design, the study, includes a content analysis of three leading newspapers and three television channels, coupled with a systematic random sample survey of the audience. Results indicated that news media use and consensus-building studies regarding an agenda of important issues confronting the community were not replicated within the Pakistani public. In contrast, the pattern of increased news media use and consensus on the attributes of the terrorism issue was strongly replicated in Pakistan. The findings further showed that news media reduced differences among divergent demographic subgroups and contributed to how these groups think about and understand issues. It was concluded that news media, by emphasising certain aspects of terrorism, contributed to the development of social consensus among diversified segments of a population concerning to their opinion about different aspects of terrorism. Thus, the media must be free of political and ideological pressures to act as a pluralistic platform to form an informed public opinion.

An Analysis of Turing’s Criterion for ‘Thinking’

In this paper I argue that Turing proposed a new approach to the concept of thinking, based on his claim that intelligence is an ‘emotional concept’; and that the response-dependence interpretation of Turing’s ‘criterion for “thinking”’ is a better fit with his writings than orthodox interpretations. The aim of this paper is to clarify the response-dependence interpretation, by addressing such questions as: What did Turing mean by the expression ‘emotional’? Is Turing’s criterion subjective? Are ‘emotional’ judgements decided by social consensus? Turing’s take on these issues impacts current philosophical debates on response-dependent concepts and on the nature of artificial intelligence.

Allocation Efficiency Measurement and Spatio-Temporal Differences Analysis of Digital Infrastructure: The Case of China’s Shandong Province

After Shandong Province started the construction about digital infrastructure, the construction of digital infrastructure reached social consensus, promoting digital development of the province. However, it inevitably exposed problems such as non-targeted policies and uneven development levels. This study uses the non-expectation super-efficiency SBM model and kernel density estimation method to compare the digital infrastructure allocation efficiency of 16 prefecture-level cities in Shandong Province and analyzes the spatial and temporal differences. Results show that the overall level of digital infrastructure allocation efficiency in Shandong Province shows a steady and policy-stimulated growth, but no high-value aggregation area has been formed and regional synergistic development remains to be strengthened. Recommendations are provided on four aspects: increased government expenditure, policy heterogeneity, attention to low-level construction areas, and promotion of regional synergistic development to improve the construction of digital infrastructure in Shandong and sustain its strong digital thrust.

Trust-Consensus Multiplex Networks by Combining Trust Social Network Analysis and Consensus Evolution Methods in Group Decision-Making

Social network group decision-making (SNGDM) develops rapidly because of the popularity of online connections among experts. The current SNGDM studies mainly focus on the influence of trust on the evolution of consensus opinions through a complex process. Some situations are ignored in the existing research when trust may negatively affect the decision-making process and trust relationships may be developed or interrupted during consensus negotiation processes. To overcome such limitations, we propose a consensus model based on the trust-consensus multiplex network by combing trust social network analysis and consensus evolution networks (CENs). We design an interaction mechanism between trust and consensus based on the dynamic experts’ influence which is computed by the multiplex PageRank centrality measure, especially focusing on the negative impact of trust on consensus. Besides, we compute consensus levels based on the density and intensity of CENs to determine when should the negotiation end. The proposed model can not only consider the mutual influence between trust and consensus in SNGDM, but also detect and analyze the negative influence of trust on consensus. An example examines the effectiveness of the proposed model and a comparative analysis shows its flexibility for studying the complex consensus situation of SNGDM.

What sort of workplace democracy can democratic management achieve in China?

AbstractThe year 2022 marks the 10th anniversary of the adoption of democratic management (DM) provisions in China. DM, once predominant in state‐owned enterprises, has now been extended to all enterprises. Democratising workplaces in China represents institutional experimentation. Both DM‐related research and practice thus require updating. Ten years on, a social consensus on DM's orientation and legitimacy remains elusive. Can expanding DM inspire industrial democracy or strengthen Party control over market‐oriented workplaces? Or is DM merely window dressing as previous studies suggest? This article aims to uncover the type of workplace democracy that DM can achieve in China. A triangle of DM is established and integrated with institutional theory as an analytical framework to explore the causes and characteristics of DM in six case companies.

Strategies for the symbiotic development of renewable power and nuclear power under the ‘Renewable Energy 3020’ policy in South Korea: Part II. Technical solutions for expanding renewable power generation

In recent years, the Korean government has recently implemented the ‘Renewable Energy 3020’ policy to substantially expand renewable energy without the inclusion of nuclear and coal-fired power plants. This study analyzes the changing conditions of the national power system on the assumption that ‘Renewable Energy 3020’ policy achieves the goal of the expansion of renewable energy generation to 20% by 2030. Korean government needs to consider the effects of technological innovation, changes in market, and the possibility of social consensus deduction. The Wien Automatic System Planning (WASP) model was used to verify the implementation of the long-term power development plan within specified constraints. The extension methodology of renewable power equipment was verified using the WASP model, which provides the basis for the application of scientific logic and suggestion to drive the national energy transition policy efficiently. Currently, technological and economic uncertainties related to nuclear and renewable power generation need to be investigated. Thereafter, energy transition needs to be examined to promote an alternative energy policy considering the technological innovation and the social consensus. The national energy transition policy will likely succeed, if based on the accurate technical planning and evaluation of the symbiotic strategies for nuclear and renewable power generation.

Covid-19 in Brazil: Political controversies over social isolation measures to control the pandemic. A science vs. antiscience dispute?

The Covid-19 pandemic has narrowed the relationship between scientists and leaders around the world, with challenging decisions shared by both areas. Social isolation measures in Brazil as a way to control Sars-CoV-2 cases were involved in an intense political debate. Our aim in this article is to establish whether this dispute can be perceived as a science vs. antiscience controversy. In order to do so, we used criteria based on the Social Studies of Science and Technology (STS), which understands science fact as co-produced by social legitimation and influential actors, and Collins & Pinch approach to define an antiscientific discourse. By searches in the press and Twitter, from the first case of Sars-CoV-2 in Brazil — 25 February 2020 — until the 26th of April, we found three important political actors in the social isolation debate: 1) João Doria, governor of São Paulo; 2) Henrique Mandetta, ministry of Health; 3) Jair Bolsonaro, president of Brazil. Although there were different approaches in relation to science, with actor (1) dialoguing with an elite scientific community, actor (2) avoiding the debate initially, and referring to a more insulated science with selective debates; and actor (3) having a science-related populism approach, the investigation concluded that social isolation measures debate in Brazil were not polarized as a science vs. antiscience debate. Science and its symbolic authority were used by all actors to legitimate their positions, and, for this reason, we believe it would be very difficult for the general public to analyze whether these actors were using good quality evidence to support their positions. Further studies can invest in the analysis of social consensus production beyond scientific claims.
 Keywords: Covid-19; dissent and disputes; social isolation, quarantine, antiscience, science controversy

A Torque-Compensated Fault-Tolerant Control Method for Electric Vehicle Traction Motor with Short-Circuit Fault

The development of traditional vehicles which consume fossil carbon-based fuels is constrained by environmental pollution and the energy crisis, and it has become a social consensus to develop electric vehicles with new energy resources and low emissions. The drive system of electric vehicles should be able to reliably operate over a long period. When a short-circuit fault occurs in the driving motor, the current in the winding will increase sharply and threaten driving safety. This paper proposed a short-circuit fault-tolerant control strategy for a dual three-phase permanent magnet synchronous traction motor (DT-PMSTM) which can resolve the problem of short-circuit faults. The current in non-short-circuit fault windings has been reconstructed to offset the interference of the short-circuit current and output a stable torque. Based on the principle of constant composited magnetic motive force (MMF), the dimension-reduced orthogonal transformation matrix was derived. The compensation currents were designed according to the interference effect of the short-circuit current to the normal MMF of the motor. Consequently, the lost torque component caused by the lack of the short-circuit winding was compensated, and the torque pulsation was also reduced. The performance of the topologies with neutral point-isolated mode and neutral point-connected mode were both investigated and compared. The validity of the proposed short-circuit fault-tolerant control strategy was proved by the simulation results.

Are we ready for the revision of the 14-day rule? Implications from Chinese legislations guiding human embryo and embryoid research.

The ISSCR recently released new guidelines that relaxed the 14-day rule taking away the tough barrier, and this has rekindled relevant ethical controversies and posed a fresh set of challenges to each nation's legislations and policies directly or indirectly. To understand its broad implications and the variation and impact of China's relevant national policies, we reviewed and evaluated Chinese laws, administrative regulations, departmental rules, and normative documents on fundamental and preclinical research involving human embryos from 1985 to 2022 in this paper. We have historically examined whether these regulations, including a 14-day rule, had restrictions on human embryo research, and whether and how these policies affected human embryo and embryoid research in China. We also discussed and assessed the backdrop in which China has endeavored to handle such as the need for expanding debates among justice practice, academia, and the public, and the shifting external environment influenced by fast-developing science and technology and people's culture and religions. In general, Chinese society commonly opposes giving embryos or fetuses the legal status of humans, presumably due to the Chinese public not seeming to have any strong religious beliefs regarding the embryo. On this basis, they do not strongly oppose the potential expansion of the 14-day rule. After the guidelines to strengthen governance over ethics in science, and technology were released by the Chinese government in 2022, Chinese policymakers have incorporated bioethics into the national strategic goals using a "People-Centered" approach to develop and promote an ecological civilization. Specifically, China follows the "precautionary principle" based on ethical priority as it believes that if scientific research carries any potential technological and moral risks on which no social ethical consensus has been attained, there would be a need to impose oversight for prevention and precaution. At the same time, China has adopted a hybrid legislative model of legislation and ethical regulations with criminal, civil and administrative sanctions and a 14-day limit specified within its national hESCs guidelines. This would certainly be a useful example for other countries to use when considering the possibility of developing a comprehensive, credible and sustainable regulatory framework.

Two-Fold Personalized Feedback Mechanism for Social Network Consensus by Uninorm Interval Trust Propagation.

A two-fold personalized feedback mechanism is established for consensus reaching in social network group decision-making (SN-GDM). It consists of two stages: 1) generating the trusted recommendation advice for individuals and 2) producing a a personalized adoption coefficient for reducing unnecessary adjustment costs. A uninorm interval-valued trust propagation operator is developed to obtain an indirect trust relationship, which is used to generate personalized recommendation advice based on the principle of "a recommendation being more acceptable the higher the level of trust it derives from." An optimization model is built to minimize the total adjustment cost of reaching consensus by determining the personalized feedback adoption coefficient based on individuals' consensus levels. Consequently, the proposed two-fold personalized feedback mechanism achieves a balance between group consensus and individual personality. An example to demonstrate how the proposed two-fold personalized feedback mechanism works is included, which is also used to show its rationality by comparing it with the traditional feedback mechanism in group decision making (GDM).

데이터 보안의 함의(含意)와 입법방향에 관한 소고

In this article, data security is considered almost identical to cybers ecurity. The development of information and communication technolo gy contributed to the transition to an information society. However, t he protection of information security, privacy, and freedom of inform ation in cyberspace has become an important role for the nation. However, Korea does not have a legal system that governs data se curity in cyberspace yet. Therefore, it is impossible to systematically carry out risk management tasks for cyberspace. Against this backgr ound, the need to legislate the data security law is being raised. In this article, the author analyzed the implications of data securit y. And the data security laws of major countries were analyzed and compared with that of Korea. Through this process, implications we re drawn. The result is as follows. Firstly, an integrated data security law that encompasses the public and private sectors should be enact ed. Secondly, the data security law should include special provisions on the processing of personal information. Thirdly, cooperation with the international community should be strengthened. Fourthly, comm unication should be strengthened in the legislative process to reach a social consensus. In addition, the subject of political disputes in the legislative proc ess should be avoided. And the basic values of the constitution must be protected.

Languages of Minority Ethnic Groups of Southern Siberia: Status-Discursive Representation in the Socio-Cultural Context

The paper presents a comprehensive analysis of the status-discursive representation of the indigenous languages on the example of the Republics of Southern Siberia with the involvement of empirical sociolinguistic and psycholinguistic material. The presence of zones of social consensus in the conditions of the trilingual communicative space of the republics, which is organized according to a single model “two state languages (Russian and titular) + language/languages of the respective indigenous ethnic groups”, is revealed. They are due to the common legal support of indigenous nations and their languages in the international and Russian official discourse, as well as the positive perception of minority ethnic groups in associative portrayal by speakers of the respective republican state languages. The prospects for minimizing the exclusion zones of contacting peoples refer to the inclusion of measures of more active support of the indigenous idioms in the relevant legal acts of the republican level. Certain zones of problematizing of socio-cultural mutual understanding in the Altai Republic are associated with a higher level of adherence of the Chelkans to their native idiom compared to loyalty to the second state language of their republic (Altai), which may be due to the actualization of their need for a correlation of ethnic and linguistic status, which is absent among Shors and Tuvan Todzhans.

The Problem of Liberal Equality in Contemporary Political Thought Michael Sandel as A Model

Building a liberal democratic society has many dimensions, and one of these dimensions is equality, as a philosophical principle, or formal equality as a legal and political principle. Equally, and from a liberal perspective thought; the importance of equality in these societies will be achieved by reducing inequality in conditions, without prejudice to basic freedoms. Equality as a principle emerged through the long debate in western political history, especially in the context of liberal equality. There have been different trends and views in how to achieve equality in liberal societies and apply it to the level of governance practice, self-development and ability level. Thus, this led Michael Sandel to become one of the liberal thinkers, and embark on a study that includes a broad discussion between social liberalism against differences and the dangers these differences pose to social cohesion and political consensus, and between the libertarian tendency against expanding the circle of equality, and the dangers it poses to the freedom of the individual, and liberalism based on individual values and rights, and communitarianism based on group values and rights. Therefore, the different ideas, trends and views within liberal thought on equality are considered as different theories and perceptions about building a just society in political, social, and economic terms.

Housing financialisation a la Griega

Housing financialization identifies logics, policies and actors that treat homes as assets. However, as the institutional framework and social consensus on housing provision varies widely, the process is path-depended on local contingencies that reflect specific socio-economic and political contexts. Driving attention to relevant dynamics recently developed in the city of Athens, this research scrutinises the local specificities and financial accounting idiosyncrasies that make the case of housing financialization. The paper explores how homeownership, as constructed in this society without the mediation of credit financing, is challenged by debt obligations. It further considers the institutional framework that opposed, until recently, housing repossessions to explore the link between indebtedness, book values of Non– Performing Loan provisions and the timing of securitisation. It concludes by tendering the case of housing “sale and lease-back” financialization where homeowners transform into tenants of own homes to safeguard the book values of credit institutions at the verge of default. Housing financialization a la Griega, then constitutes a paradigm of a continuous temporal re-engineering that normalises and leads to a pacified form of housing appropriation, subordinating housing needs and power relations to financial imperatives.

다시 살펴보는 수술실 CCTV*

In response to a series of highly unethical incidents in operating rooms in South Korea, a social consensus has emerged on the need for surveillance of medical operations. This consensus has in turn motivated lawmakers to amend the Medical Service Act to require hospitals and medical clinics to install CCTV cameras in their operating rooms. While the rationale for this legislation is clear, there are also concerns that the law infringes on certain rights and freedoms of medical practitioners, including the right to privacy, the freedom of job performance, and the right to self-determination. This article argues for the need to find a proper balance between patient safety on the one hand and the rights and freedoms of medical practitioners on the other. Additionally, it is argued that the proposed law is in need of greater elaboration to reduce the possibility of unfair harms caused by video leaks and that patient safety cannot be fully protecting without addressing certain structural problems in South Korea.

Pragmatism, Logic, and Law

Pragmatism, Logic, and Law

P5.15: Build-up on School Education Program to Nurture the Value of Sharing and Deceased Organ Donation for Youth in Korea

Introduction: In order to form a social consensus on deceased organ donation, it is necessary not only to promote through events, but also to nurture the value of sharing and understand deceased organ donation by school education. Methods: Vitallink, an NGO established by medical professionals, has built network with school teachers since 2015 and developed a guidebook and built four-hour class program. The guidebook called ‘The Seed of Hope, the Fruit of Sharing’ is composed of 14 chapters, the first part of which deals with the value of sharing and the latter part consists of understanding of deceased organ donation. In 2019, Vitallink collaborated with teachers to conduct the ‘Sharing & Life-sharing’ classes based on the guidebook and did a brief survey (5 questions) after class in one high-school. During the covid-19, school education had been converted to online, so the education was revised accordingly to four-hour class ‘Respect for Life’, which was composed of loving myself, empathizing and coexisting with others, and practicing sharing. Teachers who developed this program conducted pilot classes in elementary and middle schools. In February 2022, we held the zoom symposium on the four-hour class program for teachers, and then conducted a 7-item questionnaire. Results: A total of 120 high-school students participated in ‘Sharing & Life-sharing’ classes and 115 students responded the 5-question survey. Only 41 percent students replied they have heard of deceased organ donation to some extent and 69 percent of students answered that they felt need of this education. In February 2022, twenty-five teachers participated in the zoom symposium and sixteen completed the 7-item survey. Most of the participants (87.5%) said that this four-hour of ‘Respect for Life’ class at school were necessary for their students and 81% of teachers said they would be willing to conduct this program at school. Conclusions: We have experienced positive changes in our lives while developing this Sharing & Life Sharing education program. If this program is established in schools, the culture of deceased organ donation is expected to change positively with time and be put into practice.

공공주택 공급 관련 법제에 관한 연구

Public housing refers to housing that is built, purchased, or leased and supplied by a public housing business entity under the Special Act on Public Housing with financial support from the State or local governments or the Housing and Urban Fund. Public housing can be broadly divided into public rental housing and public sale housing. Public rental housing is divided into eight types: permanent rental housing, national rental housing, happy housing, and etc.. In addition, so-called public-private self-owned housing was introduced in 2021. Korea's public rental housing system has changed according to the policy regimes of governments on public rental housing, and with these changes, new types of public rental housing have been introduced and the supply of certain types of public rental housing has increased or decreased. And there were also changes in the name and legal basis of public rental housing. The integrated public rental housing type was introduced in 2020 to unify the various types of public rental housing and simplify the occupancy qualifications. Follow-up measures are needed for the establishment of the integrated public rental housing type. Meanwhile, there are doubts about the effectiveness of so-called public-private self-owned housing, such as accumulated equity housing unit for sale and profit-sharing housing unit for sale, introduced in 2021. And until now, public housing was supplied by the State and LH Corporation, but now there is an opinion that the social housing supplied by local governments and social economy entities should be revitalized. However, due to the nature of social housing, social economy entities will experience financial difficulties just like LH Corporation, and these difficulties will eventually be resolved only with the support of the State or local governments. However, such support for social economic entities would be a burden to the State or local governments, and therefore, social consensus on such support should be preceded. In addition, social conflicts are occurring due to the supply of public housing, and social mix policies are being attempted to solve this problem, but another type of social conflict is occurring as a result. Ultimately, social conflicts caused by public housing can only be resolved when there is a social consensus on the overall public housing policy.

An Approach to Justifying Normative Arguments in Sustainability Science, with Insights from the Philosophy of Science and Social Theory

In this paper, I put forward an argument that sustainability science can make objectively grounded normative claims about what courses of action society should pursue in order to achieve sustainability. From a survey of the philosophy of science, social theory and sustainability science literature, I put forward an approach to justifying these normative arguments. This approach builds on the insight that social theories are value-laden and that dominant and pervasive social practices find their justification in some social theory. The approach: (i) focuses on the analysis of concrete cases; (ii) paying attention to the social practices that produce environmental problems and the theories that support those practices; (iii) examines alternative theories, and (iv) justifies a normative position by identifying the most comprehensive theoretical understanding of the particular case. Although the approach focuses on the analysis of particular cases it does not rely on value relativism. Furthermore, while the focus is on the role of science in producing normative arguments about society’s trajectory, it maintains space for the inclusion of the values of the public in environmental decision-making. However, while this approach aims to provide a rational basis to normative positions, it does not presume that this will lead to social consensus on these issues.

Research on Countermeasures for the High Quality Development of Green Logistics in China under the "Double Carbon" Target

Carbon emission reduction and green logistics have received widespread attention from all walks of life in recent years, and the introduction of the "double carbon" target has made it urgent and imperative to achieve high-quality development of green logistics. This paper, based on the existing research results and the current situation of green logistics development, takes the shortcomings of China's green logistics development under the "double carbon" target as the starting point, conducts an in-depth analysis from three levels: awareness, policies and regulations and professional talents, and puts forward feasible suggestions and improvement countermeasures to realize the high-quality development of China's green logistics, specifically These include: cultivating social consensus on the development of green logistics, improving the green logistics policy and regulation system, and strengthening theoretical research and talent training on green logistics. It is of great practical significance to effectively promote the green development and "double carbon" goal of the whole Chinese society.