Substantive Questions Research Articles

The Swinging Pendulum of the Game Nations Play in International Relations: A Duplicity Diplomacy

Purpose: This paper endeavours to critically interrogate the concept of "duplicity diplomacy," positing it as an essential framework for understanding the oscillating strategies employed by states amidst the complexities of contemporary international relations. The aim is to unveil the inherent contradictions and strategic necessities that underlie this phenomenon, particularly in the context of an increasingly multipolar global landscape. Materials and Methods: The research employs a qualitative methodology that integrates a multi-faceted analysis of empirical case studies involving significant geopolitical players. This approach encompasses semi-structured interviews with seasoned diplomats to capture experiential insights, a comprehensive content analysis of diplomatic communications to identify patterns and nuances in language and intent, as well as systematic reviews of contemporaneous media portrayals to contextualize public perceptions. By triangulating these methods, the study aims to enrich the understanding of duplicity in statecraft. Findings: The findings indicate that duplicity diplomacy transcends a mere catalogue of deceit, emerging as a strategic necessity reflective of the intricate complexities and contradictions that characterize our current multipolar world. Empirical illustrations reveal how states frequently oscillate between cooperative rhetoric and competitive actions, engaging in ostensible displays of loyalty while simultaneously pursuing self-interested goals through subterfuge. Notably, instances of strategic alliances undermined by covert operations serve to illustrate the double-edged nature of duplicity, where short-term gains often precipitate long-term repercussions that undermine international trust and stability. Implications to Theory, Practice and Policy: The analysis raises substantial questions regarding the ethical frameworks governing diplomatic practice in the context of growing global interdependence. It posits that as the stakes of international interactions escalate, the propensity for duplicity in state behaviour is likely to intensify, necessitating a critical re-evaluation of both scholarly and practical approaches to diplomacy. This discourse invites policymakers and scholars alike to consider how established norms around transparency and accountability can be reconciled with the inherent contradictions of statecraft.

Fair processes for financing universal health coverage?

Although the fair financing report, 'Open and Inclusive: Fair Processes for Financing Universal Health Coverage', has many sage things to say about democratic deliberative processes, its title belies its content: the report does not offer any assessment of processes for financing universal health coverage. What it does instead is scrutinise processes for deciding how to finance universal health coverage without any linkage to substantive questions concerning financing, and, moreover, the discussion is not narrowly focused on fairness.

Underlying Policy Considerations for Assigning the Applicable Substantive Law in International Commercial Arbitration

In international commercial arbitration, when the parties do not choose any law to govern the substance of their disputes, arbitrators are responsible for doing so. The inherent flexibility of the arbitrator’s discretion makes this task critical, as their decision can significantly impact the outcome of the arbitration. This article aims, to examine relevant policies that underlie an arbitrator’s choice of the applicable substantive law in the absence of the parties’ choice. It employs a comprehensive blend of secondary research and analytical methodologies, to identify and evaluate the nature of these policies, highlighting their possible extremes and, or irreconcilable elements. This article highlights the distinction between the direct and indirect methods used to assign the applicable substantive law and questions the practical application of these methods by arbitrators. It also explores relevant policies from three perspectives – a transnational perspective, a party perspective and a jurisprudential perspective. The findings suggest that specific, policy considerations influence the arbitrator’s decision-making process, regardless of the method employed to assign the applicable substantive. By understanding and assessing these policy considerations, arbitrators can make informed decisions when assigning the applicable substantive law in international commercial arbitration.

Value sensitive design and the artificial placenta

Artificial placenta technologies (also termed ‘artificial wombs’) for use in place of conventional neonatal intensive care are increasingly closer to first-in-human use. There is growing ethical interest in partial ectogestation...

Analyzing Ballot Order Effects When Voters Rank Candidates

Abstract How does candidate order on the ballot affect voting behavior when voters rank candidates? I extend the analysis of ballot order effects to electoral systems with ordinal ballots, where voters rank candidates, including ranked-choice voting (RCV). First, I discuss two types of ballot order effects, including “position effects”—voters vote for specific candidates because of their ballot positions—and “pattern ranking”—voters rank candidates geometrically given their grid-style ballots. Next, I discuss experimental designs for identifying and estimating these effects based on ballot order randomization. Moreover, I illustrate the proposed methods by using survey and natural experiments based on mayoral and congressional RCV elections in 2022. I find that while voters seem less susceptible to specific ballot positions, ballot design can still impact voters’ ranking behavior via pattern ranking. This work has several implications for ballot design, survey research, and ranking data analysis. First, it shows that pattern ranking may affect electoral outcomes in RCV and other systems even when ballot order is fully randomized. Consequently, it may be worth considering an alternative solution to ballot order effects, which does not solely depend on randomization or rotation. Second, similar effects may impact any survey research using ranking questions. Future research must investigate the statistical consequences of pattern ranking for survey research. Finally, ranking data allow researchers to study diverse quantities of interest while targeting many different substantive questions. However, this flexibility also implies that analyzing ranking data can be prone to arbitrary analysis.

A Note on the Use of Race and Color in Jewish Social Scientific Research

This note takes as its point of departure the tensions and discrimination against individuals and groups that persist in the United States on the grounds of race and color. It is unfortunately likely that there is a long road ahead before racial and color-based prejudice, abuse, inequality, and indignity are no longer normative in the US. Growing incorporation of Jews in US society and culture brought about the adoption in Jewish social research of concepts and categories routinely used in the classification and analysis of the general population. I take issue with the uncritical use of categories such as race or color in Jewish social scientific research. The study of population diversity is essential for both cognitive and policymaking purposes. However, I maintain that some frequently used classification criteria, along with evident conceptual weaknesses, are plagued by a conscious or unconscious racist component. The use of race and color categories—no matter how well-meaning—is not congruent with a fair and thoughtful approach to social research in general, and to Jewish social research in particular. Instead, it looks like naïve and poorly understood, intentionally offensive or irrelevant concepts are increasingly applied in the definition and study of Jewish minorities. This raises substantial questions regarding the contributions of certain analysis to the resilience of racism in America.

Evolution in coeliac disease diagnosis and management.

The traditional gut-centric view of coeliac disease is evolving as immune and genetic insights underscore the central importance of a systemic, T cell immune response to gluten in disease pathogenesis. As the field increasingly recognize the limitations of small intestinal histology as the diagnostic standard, data supporting the accuracy of an immune (serologic) diagnosis of coeliac disease - well demonstrated in children - are growing for adults. Novel biomarkers such as interleukin-2 that identify the gluten-specific T cell demonstrate high sensitivity and specificity for coeliac disease and offer the potential for a diagnostic approach that avoids the need for gluten challenge. Asymptomatic disease and manifestations outside the gut pose considerable challenges for diagnosis using a case-finding strategy and enthusiasm for population screening is growing. The gluten-free diet remains a highly restrictive treatment and there is a paucity of controlled data to inform a safe gluten intake threshold. Ongoing symptoms and enteropathy are common and require systematic evaluation. Slowly-responsive disease is prevalent in the older patient diagnosed with coeliac disease, and super-sensitivity to gluten is an emerging concept that may explain many cases of nonresponsive disease. While there is great interest in developing novel therapies for coeliac disease, no drug has yet been registered. Efficacy studies are generally assessing drugs in patients with treated coeliac disease who undergo gluten challenge or in patients with nonresponsive disease; however, substantial questions remain around specific endpoints relevant for patients, clinicians and regulatory agencies and optimal trial design. Novel immune tools are providing informative readouts for clinical trials and are now shaping their design.

On Semirealism, Realism More Generally, and Underlying Epistemic Stances

The commentators in this Special Issue on ‘Epistemology, ontology, and scientific realism’ raise substantial questions about, and objections to, central aspects of my own thinking about semirealism (a proposal for how best to formulate scientific realism), as well as the larger philosophical context in which debates about scientific realism unfold. This larger context concerns the nature of realism more generally and the epistemic stances that underlie our considered opinions of what the sciences are telling us about the ontology of the world. In this paper, I consider my critics’ remarks, and endeavor to lay their criticisms to rest.

The role of the physician associate in the United Kingdom

Physician associates (PAs) were introduced in the United Kingdom to address staffing shortages and fill service gaps, aiming to unburden doctors. Notably, in the backdrop of recent high-profile cases involving professional negligence and misconduct by PAs, the government has outlined a plan to expand the PA workforce and broaden their scope of practice. This commentary critically assesses the role, training, and regulation of PAs, juxtaposing the UK's approach with the US model. Concerns regarding disparities in training between PAs and doctors, potential impact on patient care quality, and lessons from the US experience raise substantial questions. Recommendations are provided to align with patient safety, professional standards, and the unique demands of the National Health Service (NHS). Despite the government's efforts to expand the PA workforce and its scope, uncertainties persist regarding their contribution to patient care and the implications for medical profesionals.

Best Practices for Measuring Skin Color in Surveys

Surveys that assess skin color support evidence building about colorism and related systemic inequalities that affect health and wellbeing. Methodologists have increasing choices for such assessments, including a growing array of digital images for rating scales and increasingly cost-effective handheld mechanical devices based on color science. Guidance is needed for choosing among these growing options. We used data from a diverse sample of 102 college students to produce new empirical evidence and practical guidance about various options. We compared three handheld devices that ranged in price, considering variations in their reliabilities and how their results differed by where on the body and with what device settings readings were taken. We also offered evidence regarding how reliably interviewers and participants could choose from a large array of color swatches offering variation in skin undertone (redness, yellowness) in addition to skin shade (lightness-to-darkness). Overall, the results were promising, demonstrating that modern handheld devices and rating scales could be feasibly and reliably used. For instance, results demonstrated that just one or two device readings were needed at any given location, and, the device readings and rating scale scores similarly captured the relative darkness of skin. In other cases, recommendations were less certain. For instance, skin undertones of redness and yellowness were more sensitive to device choices and body locations. We encourage future studies that pursue why such variability exists and for which substantive questions it matters most.

The High-Energy X-ray Probe (HEX-P): the circum-nuclear environment of growing supermassive black holes

Ever since the discovery of the first active galactic nuclei (AGN), substantial observational and theoretical effort has been invested into understanding how massive black holes have evolved across cosmic time. Circum-nuclear obscuration is now established as a crucial component, with almost every AGN observed known to display signatures of some level of obscuration in their X-ray spectra. However, despite more than six decades of effort, substantial open questions remain: how does the accretion power impact the structure of the circum-nuclear obscurer? What are the dynamical properties of the obscurer? Can dense circum-nuclear obscuration exist around intrinsically weak AGN? How many intermediate mass black holes occupy the centers of dwarf galaxies? In this paper, we showcase a number of next-generation prospects attainable with the High-Energy X-ray Probe (HEX-P1) to contribute toward solving these questions in the 2030s. The uniquely broad (0.2–80 keV) and strictly simultaneous X-ray passband of HEX-P makes it ideally suited for studying the temporal co-evolution between the central engine and circum-nuclear obscurer. Improved sensitivities and reduced background will enable the development of spectroscopic models complemented by current and future multi-wavelength observations. We show that the angular resolution of HEX-P both below and above 10 keV will enable the discovery and confirmation of accreting massive black holes at both low accretion power and low black hole masses even when concealed by thick obscuration. In combination with other next-generation observations of the dusty hearts of nearby galaxies, HEX-P will be pivotal in paving the way toward a complete picture of black hole growth and galaxy co-evolution.

The Complex Latent Structure of Attenuated Psychotic Symptoms: Hierarchical and Bifactor Models of SIPS Symptoms Replicated in Two Large Samples at Clinical High Risk for Psychosis.

The Structured Interview for Psychosis-Risk Syndromes (SIPS) and other assessments of psychosis risk define clinical high risk for psychosis (CHR) by the presence of attenuated psychotic symptoms. Despite extensive research on attenuated psychotic symptoms, substantial questions remain about their internal psychometric structure and relationships to comorbid non-psychotic symptoms. Hierarchical and bifactor models were developed for the SIPS in a large CHR sample (NAPLS-3, N = 787) and confirmed through preregistered replication in an independent sample (NAPLS-2, N = 1043). Criterion validity was tested through relationships with CHR status, comorbid symptoms/diagnoses, functional impairment, demographics, neurocognition, and conversion to psychotic disorders. Most variance in SIPS items (75%-77%) was attributable to a general factor. Hierarchical and bifactor models included a general factor and five specific/lower-order factors (positive symptoms, eccentricity, avolition, lack of emotion, and deteriorated thought process). CHR participants were elevated on the general factor and the positive symptoms factor. The general factor was associated with depressive symptoms; functional impairment; and mood, anxiety, and schizotypal personality diagnoses. The general factor was the best predictor of psychotic disorders (d ≥ 0.50). Positive symptoms and eccentricity had specific effects on conversion outcomes. The deteriorated thought process was least meaningful/replicable. Attenuated psychotic symptoms, measured by the SIPS, have a complex hierarchical structure with a strong general factor. The general factor relates to internalizing symptoms and functional impairment, emphasizing the roles of general psychopathological distress/impairment in psychosis risk. Shared symptom variance complicates the interpretation of raw symptom scores. Broad transdiagnostic assessment is warranted to model psychosis risk accurately.

The Global Institutional Governance of AI: A Four-Dimensional Perspective

Abstract The present debate about the governance of artificial intelligence (AI) is dominated by a narrative of a “global race toward the regulation of AI.” Such a narrative bears serious dangers and should be rephrased as the “race toward the global regulation of AI” to adequately address the cross-cutting, cross-boundary, and cross-cultural nature of these technologies. If the debate about the future regulation of AI is to efficiently address the serious dangers and potentially existential risks related to AI, then it should be tied to other global governance issues, such as those summarized by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). For this endeavor to be successful, the substantive questions of regulation must be combined with efforts to reform the present international system with a view to establishing a more efficient and coherent global institutional framework. It is important to be mindful of past obstacles in the reform of existing international organizations and to avoid the need for another global cataclysm to trigger institutional reform; thus, the article follows the idea that cognitive change leads to the transformation of international organizations. As both a technology aimed to replicate the human mind and an example of an important linguistic trend of a rise in essentially oxymoronic concepts, AI is deemed to provide the right point of departure to ponder future modes of human cognition – modes that reflect Einstein’s description of a world as a “four-dimensional space – time continuum,” – which may help to imagine the contours of a future global institutional framework.

The common factor of executive functions measures nothing but speed of information uptake

There is an ongoing debate about the unity and diversity of executive functions and their relationship with other cognitive abilities such as processing speed, working memory capacity, and intelligence. Specifically, the initially proposed unity and diversity of executive functions is challenged by discussions about (1) the factorial structure of executive functions and (2) unfavorable psychometric properties of measures of executive functions. The present study addressed two methodological limitations of previous work that may explain conflicting results: The inconsistent use of (a) accuracy-based vs. reaction time-based indicators and (b) average performance vs. difference scores. In a sample of 148 participants who completed a battery of executive function tasks, we tried to replicate the three-factor model of the three commonly distinguished executive functions shifting, updating, and inhibition by adopting data-analytical choices of previous work. After addressing the identified methodological limitations using drift–diffusion modeling, we only found one common factor of executive functions that was fully accounted for by individual differences in the speed of information uptake. No variance specific to executive functions remained. Our results suggest that individual differences common to all executive function tasks measure nothing more than individual differences in the speed of information uptake. We therefore suggest refraining from using typical executive function tasks to study substantial research questions, as these tasks are not valid for measuring individual differences in executive functions.

Environmental and Social Sustainability: A Consumer Cultural Identity Perspective in the Global-Local Marketplace

With the 2023 The Sustainable Development Goals Report confirming that the world is far from reaching the established sustainability goals for 2030, we focus this commentary on environmental and social sustainability from the perspective of consumer cultural identity and branding within a global-local marketplace. Our attention is on the firm (multinational and local) and its brand (global or local) as a viable business entity with economic sustainability, that is also engaged with environmental sustainability and social sustainability. We offer substantive questions to guide research around the complexities of corporate sustainability, global and local company/brand actions, and consumer cultural identity.

The Ethics of Artificial Intelligence in Creative Arts: A Comprehensive Review

The incorporation of artificial intelligence into the creative arts has introduced a fresh epoch of artistic manifestation and ingenuity while also giving rise to substantial ethical questions. This review article examines the complex ethical consequences of artificial intelligence's involvement in creative domains such as music, the visual arts, and literature. The article seeks to offer a thorough comprehension of the challenges and possibilities brought about by artificial intelligence in the arts by analysing the points where technology, creativity, and ethics converge. The initial segment discusses the notion of authorship and originality in art created by artificial intelligence. The text explores the challenges to conventional concepts of creative ownership that arise when artworks are produced by computers instead of humans. The final portion delves into the effects of artificial intelligence functioning as a collaborator in the creative process. This review emphasizes the importance of taking a balanced approach to artificial intelligence in the creative arts by considering perspectives from technology, law, philosophy, and art. In order to ensure that artificial intelligence complements rather than decreases human creativity, it is necessary to have continuous discourse and establish ethical rules to navigate the changing terrain.

Perception of Natural Cosmetics Among Central European Consumers

Abstract This paper aims to analyse consumers’ perceptions and attitudes towards natural cosmetic products from three Central European countries. In this study, we employed quantitative surveys on samples of 230 Czech, 175 Slovak, and 325 Polish respondents. Based on the obtained data, we investigate whether and how the respondents’ country impacts how they formulate their statements regarding the features of natural cosmetics. For each country separately, we study the dependencies of respondents’ opinions and statements on their sociodemographic profile. The results of the research show statistically significant differences in the respondents’ answers to all substantive questions depending on their country of origin. Four findings are worth highlighting: first, respondents from all three countries prefer natural cosmetics over conventional ones mainly for health and environmental reasons. Second, the frequency of buying natural cosmetics is influenced by some sociodemographic factors, although this varies in all three countries. Third, respondents who buy natural cosmetics more often are also more likely to indicate them as products of higher quality than conventional cosmetics. Lastly, the declared composition of the product is the prevailing decision criterion for consumers when selecting natural cosmetic products.

Corporate governance at Pinterest: time for more changes?

Research methodology Data for the case came from public sources, including legal proceedings, court filings, company press releases and Securities and Exchange Commission filings. Case overview/synopsis In June 2020, former Pinterest employees made public charges of gender and racial discrimination. Despite changes implemented by the company, several Pinterest shareholders filed derivative lawsuits charging the company with breach of fiduciary duty, waste of corporate assets, abuse of control and violating federal securities laws. The case provides an overview of the company’s management, board and stock structures, as well as information on the shareholders who sued the company and their concerns. The case raises substantial questions about management’s and board member’s responsibilities in corporate governance, illustrates how stock structures can be used to impede governance and suggests ways to evaluate activist shareholders. Complexity academic level This case is appropriate for graduate, advanced undergraduate or executive education courses in strategy, corporate governance or strategic human resources that discuss corporate governance, fiduciary responsibilities, designing workplace culture or management responses to shareholders. Instructors can apply two sets of theories and frameworks to this case: theories of corporate governance and Hirschman’s (1970) exit, voice or loyalty framework in the context of shareholder activism.

Disagreement & classification in comparative cognitive science

AbstractComparative cognitive science often involves asking questions like ‘Do nonhumans have C?’ where C is a capacity we take humans to have. These questions frequently generate unproductive disagreements, in which one party affirms and the other denies that nonhumans have the relevant capacity on the basis of the same evidence. I argue that these questions can be productively understood as questions about natural kinds: do nonhuman capacities fall into the same natural kinds as our own? Understanding such questions in this way has several advantages: it preserves the intuition that these are substantive empirical questions worth asking; it helps us to understand why they so frequently give rise to disagreements of the kind described; and it provides clues about how to diagnose and resolve them.

“Physical Time within Human Time” and “Bridging the Neuroscience and Physics of Time”

Abstract The commentary discusses whether AI devices can have an experience of time as passing. The papers commented on suggest the answer is “Yes”. However, I claim that the metaphysical view of time this answer presupposes, namely, eternalism, or the block universe, is untenable, and that a sound understanding of time must acknowledge time’s normative significance. This raises new and substantial questions regarding the possibility of representing time, and of equipping devices with “gadgets” that would facilitate as-of flow experiences for them. More generally, the commentary critically evaluates the role science may have in the context of philosophical debates.