Subjective Value Judgments Research Articles

Economic Growth and Government Size in Developed Countries: Dose the Imperfection of Econometrics Turn Economics into an Agnostic Science?

Faced with the imperfection of econometrics in terms of potential endogeneity bias, there are generally three options in research methodology for empirical test in economics. The most scientific option should be based on a comparison of all possible analysis methods and a choice of the optimal model based on objective criterion rather than subjective value judgment. This paper illustrates these three options by testing a Neoclassical growth model with the institutional effect of government size based on panel data of OECD countries from 1960 to 2013. The author does not argue that empirical finding of this paper is conclusive but argues that the estimation result obtained from Difference GMM estimator developed by Arellano and Bond (1991) is more reliable than those from the estimators of Within-group Fixed Effect (WG), Chamberlain’s π-matrix or Ordinary Least Square (OLS) as it can remove more endogeneity than the latter three methods. Despite differences in dataset, model specification and estimation methodology, the finding of a negative growth effect of government size for developed economies in this paper is generally consistent with other recent empirical growth studies since 2000, however, this paper gives much higher magnitudes of estimates for growth elasticity of government size than previous studies, possibly because Difference GMM estimator removes more endogeneity than other estimators.

Assessment vs. appraisal of ethical aspects of health technology assessment: can the distinction be upheld?

An essential component of health technology assessment (HTA) is the assessment of ethical aspects. In some healthcare contexts, tasks are strictly relegated to different expert groups: the HTA-agencies are limited to assessment of the technology and other actors within the health care sector are responsible for appraisal and recommendations. Ethical aspects of health technologies are considered with reference to values or norms in such a way that may be prescriptive, or offer guidance as to how to act or relate to the issue in question. Given this internal prescriptivity, the distinction between assessment and appraisal seems difficult to uphold, unless the scrutiny stops short of a full ethical analysis of the technology. In the present article we analyse the distinction between assessment and appraisal, using as an example ethical aspects of implementation of GPS-bracelets for people with dementia. It is concluded that for HTA-agencies with a strictly delineated assessment role, the question of how to deal with the internal prescriptivity of ethics may be confusing. A full ethical analysis might result in a definite conclusion as to whether the technology in question is ethically acceptable or not, thereby limiting choices for decision-makers, who are required to uphold certain ethical values and norms. At the same time, depending on the exact nature of such a conclusion, different action strategies can be supported. A positive appraisal within HTA could result in a decision on mandatory implementation, or funding of the technology, thereby making it available to patients, or decisions to allow and even encourage the use of the technology (even if someone else will have to fund it). A neutral appraisal, giving no definite answer as to whether implementation is recommended or not, could result in a laissez-faire attitude towards the technology. A negative appraisal could result in a decision to discourage or even prohibit implementation. This paper presents an overview of the implications of different outcomes of the ethical analysis on appraisal of the technology. It is considered important to uphold the distinction between assessment and appraisal, primarily to avoid the influence of preconceived values and political interests on the assessment. Hence, as long as it is not based on the subjective value judgments of the HTA-agency (or its representative), such an appraising conclusion would not seem to conflict with the rationale for the separation of these tasks. Moreover, it should be noted that if HTA agencies abstain from including full ethical analyses because of the risk of issuing an appraisal, they may fail to provide the best possible basis for decision-makers. Hence, we argue that as long as the ethical analysis and its conclusions are presented transparently, disclosing how well-founded the conclusions are and/or whether there are alternative conclusions, the HTA-agencies should not avoid taking the ethical analysis as close as possible to a definite conclusion.

How to deal with climate change

Climate change is a complex and contentious public issue, but the risk-management options available to us are straightforward and have well-characterized strengths and weaknesses.

Goran Sluiter, Hakan Friman, Suzannah Linton, Sergey Vasiliev and Salvatore Zappala (eds), International Criminal Procedure: Principles and Rules

Studies of international criminal law are sometimes criticized because they are written by academics, not practitioners; a critique often made of procedural works, where it is perceived that a ‘practical’ view is needed.1 While it is undeniable that few areas of legal practice, whether at the domestic or international level, are so permeated by academic thought as international criminal law, it is perhaps questionable to prefer ‘the practitioner’ over ‘the academic’ in this field.2 According to a traditional stereotype, homo academicus is caricatured as the ‘supreme classifier among classifiers’, liable to become trapped in the net of her own classifications,3 or lost in the intoxication of absolutist thinking.4 By way of contrast, there stands ‘the practical lawyer’, a hard nosed advocate, familiar with the nuance and complexity of court room argument; well placed to provide the real picture of criminal procedure.5 The problem with applying this sort of view to the realm of international criminal procedure, is not only that the stereotypes may be illusory, or at least overly simplistic, but that in order to understand procedure in this realm, it may not be sufficient to listen only to the practitioner’s viewpoint. In the English courts, Archbold and Blackstone’s have attained a semi biblical status precisely because they offer a reliable statement of the law, with little in the way of normative assessment.6 However, the nature of international criminal justice is such that, at every turn, novel procedural questions arise, some of which require straight forward pragmatism (hence Archbold also succeeds at the international level), but many of which involve normative considerations. The statutory interpretation of ‘personal interests’ under Article 68(3) of the Rome Statute, for instance, may arise as a procedural matter, but it undeniably engages a subjective value judgment, as well as deeper questions about the goals of international criminal justice. Arguably, these are issues best addressed by a distanced academic perspective, supplemented by practical experience from the tribunal floor.

Christ For Us Today – Promeity in the Christologies of Bonhoeffer and Kierkegaard

AbstractIn 1944, Bonhoeffer famously asked ‘Who is Christ really, for us today?’ This question is ambiguous: ‘Christ for us’ points to an objective claim concerning the personal identity of Christ, while ‘for us today’ signals the need for ever new subjective value judgements and contextual appropriations. Does emphasis upon the promeity of Christ, like that found in the work of Bonhoeffer, volatilize the identity of Christ? Examination of the theme of promeity in the work of Bonhoeffer himself, as well as that of Kierkegaard, demonstrates that in the hands of both these Lutheran theologians promeity is acknowledged to be intrinsic to the fides quae creditur. The subjective appropriation and contextual character of Christology then proves to be a function of a prior and more decisive reality, namely the very identity of God in Christ for us.

North Korean Literature and ‘Theoretical Problems of Literary Studies’: Tatiana Gabrousseko’s Soldiers on the Cultural Front

Tatiana Gabroussenko’s Soldiers on the Cultural Front is the second book in English after 16 years to deal with North Korean literature. Written as a literary history with a strong focus on biography and policy, the study explains that Soviet Stalinist socialist realism was successfully implanted in North Korea from 1945 to 1960. Soldiers on the Cultural Front, however, neglects the ‘theoretical problems of literary studies.’ The consequence is that subjective value-judgments, extra-literary specialization determinism, and naive induction intrude upon the subject matter, reconfirming that North Korean literary studies in English is still not a well-developed or theoretically self-aware field.

Perceptions of Environmental Health Risks and Care Seeking Behaviors of Vulnerable Urban Households in the Tamale Metropolitan Area

The link between the urban environment and health has long been recognized. In spite of this, the environmental contribution to ill-health continues to increase in many cities of the developing world. The threat of environmental-related diseases is often exacerbated by increasing poverty and social inequities thus making many urban dwellers vulnerable, especially low-income households. Little is however known of how these environmental threats to human life are perceived by these vulnerable groups. It is in this context that this study was undertaken to assess peoples' perceptions of environmental risks and their priorities regarding health care, through focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews. The findings indicate that risks have many dimensions and mean far more to vulnerable households than the possible health effects. Moreover, each way of perceiving risk embodies its own set of subjective value judgments based on experiences. Decisions to seek health care are influenced by a combination of cultural perceptions about disease causality and knowledge of curative efficacy with modern health care generally considered a last resort. The paper concludes that health risks cannot be seen in isolation from physical, social, cultural and economic forces, all of which are related to life in general. It calls for risk prevention measures to be planned within a socio-cultural context, and the inclusion of socio-cultural beliefs in designing community health programmes. Ghana Journal of Development Studies Vol. 4 (21) 2007: pp. 75-89

L.I.F.E. and D.E.A.T.H

In this short, rhetorical article, I offer a thought experiment that seeks to make an analogy between 'life' and 'disease'. This article was written whilst under the influence of Nietzsche, and I hope that readers will not mistake the polemical style and the occasional nod towards humour for flippancy. This is a serious subject, and this article attempts to ask, inexplicitly, a serious question. If we do suspend our subjective value judgements about life, and strip away what might be considered the 'dogma' of value in life, what effect might this have on our feelings towards voluntary euthanasia, and what can our reaction to that thought experiment tell us?

Analyzing the Population Retaining Ability and the Ability to Economically Provide for a Population in the Micro Region of Püspökladány

According to the data of population density, 98% of Hungary’s territory has rural features. Gaining EU supports, in order to focus on developing the most underdeveloped communities, and in order to decrease – not to increase – the differences between communities, the establishment of priorities and determination of the rank of rural communities based on their development potential is necessary. The claim of measurability arises because of comparison and classification. A possibility or a target area of measuring is analysing population retaining and income producing capability of rural areas.To gain adequate, many-sided information about the development potentials of a given community, micro- or macro region, complex condition survey, as well as secondary information completed with empirical data and subjective value judgment is essential. The aim in every case is to gain experience of the present condition via determining the direction of change.In this study, I deal with the clarification of the definition of population retaining ability and the ability to economically provide for a population and introduce the most important results of the inquiry with questionnaires completed in the frame of an empirical survey.

A Precautionary Tale

Sustainable management of dwindling resources is perhaps the biggest challenge facing the human species. Successfully addressing this challenge requires holistic perspective: a nebulous connection across disparate realms of science, economics and sociopolitics. Here, I examine some important historical philosophical ideas in our understanding of science. I relate these ideas to how science is generally perceived today. And I question how our view of science is applied through modern policy incorporating a variant of the 'precautionary principle', a notion that essentially attempts to articulate a cautious approach to management in our rapidly changing world. I conclude that deeper, philosophical thought would be much welcome: both for clearer purpose within science itself and in order to move forward more strategically in applied areas, such as sustainable management of our planet. In the world today, it is becoming increasingly clear that finding a sustainable solution to our resource crisis is the key to our long-term survival as a species. Topics such as biodiversity loss, land degradation, environmental restoration and, most notably of late, global warming, are fuelled by ongoing debate. They have become scrutinised and thrust onto the world stage. Public opinion of these issues is much welcome, even if criticised as being largely whipped by media frenzy rather than rational deliberation. It plays crucial part in democratic process on the path toward policy change and a more sustainable future for us all. And yet finding solutions to sustainability issues remains humanity's greatest challenge: it requires a broad perspective, spanning the realms of science, economics and policy. In rewriting policy, Science must grapple head-on with the Law; an often unhappy union. Also, we must strive towards a fusion between, on the one hand, the goal of an objective, methodical interpretation of our world, and on the other hand, our subjective value judgements of how changes to the environment may impact upon our lives. In our search for these sustainable solutions, we continue the struggle to be precautionary in our approach to environmental management. In the 1992 Earth Summit at Rio, representatives of 100 countries united to forge a blueprint for global sustainable development in the 21 st Century. A key document emerging from these meetings became known as Principle 15 or 'The Precautionary Principle'. Here is a bite size chunk of it:

Applying distance-to-target weighing methodology to evaluate the environmental performance of bio-based energy, fuels, and materials

The enhanced use of biomass for the production of energy, fuels, and materials is one of the key strategies towards sustainable production and consumption. Various life cycle assessment (LCA) studies demonstrate the great potential of bio-based products to reduce both the consumption of non-renewable energy resources and greenhouse gas emissions. However, the production of biomass requires agricultural land and is often associated with adverse environmental effects such as eutrophication of surface and ground water. Decision making in favor of or against bio-based and conventional fossil product alternatives therefore often requires weighing of environmental impacts. In this article, we apply distance-to-target weighing methodology to aggregate LCA results obtained in four different environmental impact categories (i.e., non-renewable energy consumption, global warming potential, eutrophication potential, and acidification potential) to one environmental index. We include 45 bio- and fossil-based product pairs in our analysis, which we conduct for Germany. The resulting environmental indices for all product pairs analyzed range from −19.7 to +0.2 with negative values indicating overall environmental benefits of bio-based products. Except for three options of packaging materials made from wheat and cornstarch, all bio-based products (including energy, fuels, and materials) score better than their fossil counterparts. Comparing the median values for the three options of biomass utilization reveals that bio-energy (−1.2) and bio-materials (−1.0) offer significantly higher environmental benefits than bio-fuels (−0.3). The results of this study reflect, however, subjective value judgments due to the weighing methodology applied. Given the uncertainties and controversies associated not only with distance-to-target methodologies in particular but also with weighing approaches in general, the authors strongly recommend using weighing for decision finding only as a supplementary tool separately from standardized LCA methodology.

Don't Screw the Crew: Exploring the Rules of Engagement in Organizational Romance

Thirty years ago sociological research began to discover what workplace romance might mean for the participants. Since then management research has tended to adopt a functionalist approach, using survey methods, or third‐party approaches to ask about company policy and negative consequences of workplace romance, warning of the dangers and consequences of romance and offering solutions for managers on how to deal with this potential problem. Drawing on the sexuality of organization and critical literature, and adopting a position of constructivist structuralism with a qualitative research method, this research looks at how the concept of workplace romance is defined and negotiated within a public‐house setting. It examines the ‘rules of engagement’, the personal experiences and views of both managers and workers, as well as first‐hand stories of workplace romance. Romance was conceptualized as ‘natural’ and something that could not be legislated for, where unwritten rules were defined but often ignored. However, the ‘rules of engagement’ emerged as favouring particular groups depending on gender, position in the hierarchy and sexual identity. Subjective value judgements are made, often resting on gendered assumptions of male and female behaviour.

Intergroup conflict and intergroup effectiveness in organizations: Theory and scale development

Many see the absence of conflict between groups as indicative of effective intergroup relations. Others consider its management a suitable effectiveness criterion. In this article we demarcate a different approach and propose that these views are deficient in describing effective intergroup relations. The article theorizes alternative criteria of intergroup effectiveness rooted in team representatives' subjective value judgements and assesses the psychometric characteristics of a short measure based on these criteria. Results on empirical validity suggest the measure to be a potential alternative outcome of organizational conflict. Implications for both the study of intergroup relations and conflict theory are discussed.

Adherence to advance directives in critical care decision making: vignette study

Objective To explore health professionals' decision making in a critical care scenario when there is an advance directive.Design Qualitative study.Setting Scotland.Participants Interviewees (n = 12) comprising general practitioners, hospital specialists,...

The Contaminated Audience: Researching Amateur Theatre in Wales before 1939

As concepts of nationhood and national identity become increasingly slippery, so the theatre historian attempting to recover neglected histories submerged within the dominant discourse of the nation state needs to be wary of imposing an ideologically pre-determined reading on the surviving evidence of performance practice and audience response. It is also important to acknowledge that theatre practice which represents the majority experience of national audiences does not necessarily conform to the subjective value judgements of the critic-historians who have tended to produce a limited, highly selective historical record. In attempting to re/write the history of twentieth-century British theatre Claire Cochrane has researched the hitherto neglected area of amateur theatre which was a widespread phenomenon across the component nations. Focusing in this article on the cultural importance of amateur theatre in Welsh communities before the Second World War, she explores the religious, socio-political, and topographical roots of its rapid expansion, and the complex national identities played out in the collaboration between actors and audience. Claire Cochrane lectures in drama and performance studies at University College Worcester. Her most recent book is Birmingham Rep: a City's Theatre, 1962–2002 (Sir Barry Jackson Trust, 2003). She is currently working on a history of twentieth-century British theatre practice for Cambridge University Press.

The accuracy and effectiveness of routine population screening with mammography, prostate-specific antigen, and prenatal ultrasound: a review of published scientific evidence.

To review published data regarding the accuracy and effectiveness of three screening tests: mammography, prostate-specific antigen (PSA), and prenatal ultrasound. Published evidence regarding the accuracy and effectiveness of the three tests was collected by computerized literature search and supplemented by manual review of relevant bibliographies. Screening mammograms lower breast cancer mortality by about 20%. Most data come from women aged 50-64 years; women aged 40-49 years may also benefit, but the absolute risk reduction is lower. Up to 1,500 to 2,500 women must undergo screening to prevent one death from breast cancer. Mammograms miss approximately 12% to 37% of cancers, generate false-positive results, and cause anxiety while abnormal results are evaluated. PSA screening can detect 80% to 85% of prostate cancers but has a high false-positive rate. There is little direct evidence that early detection reduces morbidity or mortality. Indirect evidence includes a trend toward earlier stage tumors and steadily declining mortality rates in geographic areas where PSA screening has become common. Potential harms include the morbidity associated with evaluating abnormal results, and complications from treatment (e.g., impotence, incontinence). The overall balance of benefits and harms remains uncertain in the absence of better evidence. Prenatal ultrasound may reduce perinatal mortality, primarily through elective abortions for congenital anomalies, but does not appear to lower live birth rates. Although ultrasound has no proven effect on neonatal morbidity, it provides more accurate estimates of gestational age that prevent unnecessary inductions for post-term pregnancy. Screening detects multiple gestations, congenital anomalies, and intrauterine growth retardation, but direct health benefits from having this knowledge are unproved. Ultrasound has both positive and negative psychological effects on parents. The scans do not appear to harm childhood development. Even for the most established screening tests, the appropriateness of routine testing depends on subjective value judgments about the quality of supporting evidence and about the trade-offs between benefits and harms. Individuals, clinicians, policy makers, and governments must weigh the evidence in light of these values and the constraints imposed by available resources.

Estimating Grazing Index Values for Plants from Arid Regions

The Ecological Index Method impacted directly on the estimation of grazing capacities in the Karoo, an arid region in South Africa. Due to inherent deficiencies in the ecological index method, index values formed a disjunct series, 10, 7, 4, and 1 and the fact that different value systems were employed to score plant species, necessitated that index values of species commonly encountered during botanical surveys be subjectively adjusted by means of a species by species comparison, forming a continuous series of index values. These index values were still subjective value judgements of the agronomic value of the Karoo plant species. The author felt that a method should be developed to objectively estimate grazing index values from certain plant variables, i.e. size, animal available dry matter production, and chemical properties of the species. The use of these properties would describe the agronomic value of the plant species, which would lead to agronomically sound current grazing capacities being estimated. The following 2 models were proposed to deal with the karoo subshrubs and the grasses of the karoo separately. Grazing index value for the karoo subshrubs = ((canopy spread cover + available forage + TDN + [K divided by (Ca + Mg)]) divided by ether extract) divided by 100, and grazing index value for the grasses = ((canopy spread cover + available forage + TDN + [K divided by (Ca + Mg)]) x ether extract) divided by 100. DOI:10.2458/azu_jrm_v53i5_du_toit

Risk assessment and risk management implications of hormesis.

International and US radiation protection standards are based upon risk assessment and risk management processes. The assessment of radiation risk is derived from the linear no-threshold (LNT) model. Risk management is based on more subjective value judgements. If the radiation dose-response was found to be hormetic, considerable quantitative data would be needed before current radiation protection standards would change. There would be added complexity, and consideration might have to be given to the additive effects of an individual's exposures to medical radiation and other potential carcinogens.

Estimating grazing index values for plants from arid regions

The Ecological Index Method impacted directly on the estimation of grazing capacities in the Karoo, an arid region in South Africa. Due to inherent deficiencies in the ecological index method, index values formed a disjunct series, 10, 7, 4, and 1 and the fact that different value systems were employed to score plant species, necessitated that index values of species commonly encountered during botanical surveys be subjectively adjusted by means of a species by species comparison, forming a continuous series of index values. These index values were still subjective value judgements of the agronomic value of the Karoo plant species. The author felt that a method should be developed to objectively estimate grazing index values from certain plant variables, i.e. size, animal available dry matter production, and chemical properties of the species. The use of these properties would describe the agronomic value of the plant species, which would lead to agronomically sound current grazing capacities being estimated. The following 2 models were proposed to deal with the karoo subshrubs and the grasses of the karoo separately. Grazing index value for the karoo subshrubs = ((canopy spread cover + available forage + TDN + [K divided by (Ca + Mg)]) divided by ether extract) divided by 100, and grazing index value for the grasses = ((canopy spread cover + available forage + TDN + [K divided by (Ca + Mg)]) x ether extract) divided by 100.

Risk assessment and risk management implications of hormesis.

International and US radiation protection standards are based upon risk assessment and risk management processes. The assessment of radiation risk is derived from the linear no-threshold (LNT) model. Risk management is based on more subjective value judgements. If the radiation dose-response was found to be hormetic, considerable quantitative data would be needed before current radiation protection standards would change. There would be added complexity, and consideration might have to be given to the additive effects of an individual's exposures to medical radiation and other potential carcinogens.