Substantive Issues Research Articles

The Ethics of (Generative) AI

Abstract The clamor for AI-based applications involving generative models for text and images has fueled wild speculation about the risks and opportunities for society and humanity at large. The potential “existential” threat as a precursor to artificial general intelligence has provoked wide-ranging debates in the public, politics, and the corporate world involving technologists and ethicists from a range of academic disciplines. This thinkpiece proposes a metaperspective to reflect critically and constructively upon the current state of the field of AI ethics, arguing that scholars working in the domain of ethics should focalize conceptual, substantive, and procedural issues as integral elements of an ethical assessment of given technologies and their applications. It suggests that the ethics of generative AI is conceptually still underexplored and overly propagating technological fixes to problems of all kinds (technosolutionism). Procedurally, it needs to be clarified who can, who ought to, and who ultimately will be considered and heard as an expert on AI ethics, a question of relevance for the trust in, and reliance on, AI.

From regional to global and back again? A future agenda for regional evolution and (de)globalised production networks in regional studies

ABSTRACT This paper builds common grounds for a future research agenda in the regional studies of evolutionary economic geography and global production networks. I put forward two ‘troubling themes’ of (geo)politics and heightened risks as the most disruptive forces in today’s increasingly fragmented global economy and argue for their significance in regional studies throughout the post-pandemic 2020s. Massive global change through the reconfiguration of and strategic (de/re)coupling with global production networks will engender new path formation in regional transformation. In this analytical move from the global ‘back again’ to the regional, there are common questions on epistemology (causal explanations) and substantive issues (network/regional resilience, institutions/the state, inequalities/uneven development and new forms of regional policies) for both communities of researchers.

Comparative Legislative Research as Gerhard Loewenberg Saw It

Abstract This article attempts to capture the fundamental conclusions of Gerhard Loewenberg’s comparative legislative research. As an early leader in the field, Loewenberg focused on comparative legislative research in his scholarship throughout this career, producing a significant body of work on the topic. This article may be viewed as a tribute but carries a great deal of relevance for legislative studies. It highlights enduring questions not only about research in the field of legislative studies as Loewenberg saw them, but also his preoccupation with unlocking the puzzles surrounding the core substantive issues of legislative concern. A careful analysis of Loewenberg’s research shows key advances as well as notable shortcomings of comparative legislative studies over the last several decades.

Can’t Fix This? Innovation, Social Change, and Solutionism in Design Thinking

Design thinking is commonly presented as a solution-oriented approach to innovation. It aims to solve so-called “wicked problems,” with various textbooks and toolkits promising to equip their readers with the skills needed to do so. By rendering design thinking as a magic bullet for problem-solving towards innovation and social change, some of its proponents fall back on a solutionist position. This is despite a growing body of research highlighting critical approaches to design thinking. Drawing on, and adding to, such literature, this article examines how innovation and social change are concretely conceptualised in design thinking guides. Using a cultural media studies approach, the article first contrasts design thinking literature with critical design research, emphasizing the notion of (technological) solutionism. It then zooms in on a purposively selected case: a design thinking textbook aimed at tertiary students. Based on an interpretative analysis of this example, it discusses what understandings of innovation and social change are encouraged in the envisioned design thinking. In linking the reviewed literature and observations from the case study, the analysis highlights two main arguments: First, complex interrelations between innovation and social change are causally simplified in outlining design thinking, thereby fostering techno-fix approaches and mindsets: Readers are encouraged to not merely select but in fact construct solvable “problems,” in turn avoiding confrontations with substantive issues that cannot be fixed through the envisioned design thinking. Second, innovation is conflated with corporate activities and normative questions of innovation, (in-)equality, privilege, and social change are neglected, in turn suggesting a misleading symbiosis between economic and societal interests.

The book (literary criticism) for the sixth grade of the Preparatory School critical Study

يندرج هذا البحث ضمن الدراسات التي تعنى بتقويم مناهج اللغة العربية المقررة في المدارس العراقية وتحليلها، وقد تناول الباحث كتاب (النقد الادبي) للصف السادس الاعدادي/ الفرع الادبي، محللا وناقدا ومسلطا الضوء على المنهجية المتبعة في تأليف الكتاب، وعلى طريقة توزيع المادة العلمية، والأفكار التي تضمنتها، وأسلوب عرضها وتبويبها، والمستوى اللغوي، فضلا عن الجوانب الفنية التي تتعلق بإخراج الكتاب وطباعته.
 وقد توصل الباحث الى أنَّ الكتاب يُغطِّي الأهداف التربوية التي أُلِّف من اجلها، ولكنه مع ذلك لم يخلُ من الهنات والاشكاليات المنهجية التي ارتبطت بتوزيع مادته العلمية، والأسلوب المتبع في عرضها، وافتقارها الى التوازن والدقة في بعض الحالات. أما من جهة السلامة اللغوية والاسلوبية، فقد ظهر للباحث أنَّ الكتاب شابته أغلاط كثيرة متنوعة، لغوية، وأسلوبية، وطباعية، واملائية، في حين كان من المفترض أنْ يخلو منها تماما، أو-على اقل تقدير-أنْ تكون قليلة ومعدودة، ولا سيما حين يكون الامر مرتبطا بتدريس اللغة العربية.

Analysis of Sino US Economic Development Based on the Russia-Ukraine Conflict

Since the Russia-Ukraine conflict escalated in 2022, signs of peace have not yet emerged. The economic recovery in the post epidemic era has become complicated due to the emergence of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. As the two most important economies in the world today, studying the economic trends of China and the United States can reveal the development trends of the world economy. This article mainly uses a series of data from the World Bank on the economy of China and the United States to analyze the economic changes in the two countries, and identifies some substantive issues through comparison and provides opinions. Research has found that China is more affected by economic shocks compared to the United States, which is similar to the situation in the vast majority of countries in the world. The research in this article roughly analyzes the forms of the two countries and provides some guidance for future economic construction.

Naming and Describing Disability in Law and Medicine.

This article explores the effects of naming and describing disability in law and medicine. Instead of focusing on substantive issues like medical treatment or legal rights, it will address questions which arise in relation to the use of language itself. When a label which is attached to a disability is associated with a negative meaning, this can have a profound effect on the individual concerned and can create stigma. Overly negative descriptions of disabilities can be misleading, not only for the individual, but also more broadly in society, if there are inaccurate perceptions about disability in the social context. This article will examine some relevant examples of terminology, where these issues arise. It will also suggest that the role of medicine and the law in naming and describing disability is particularly important because in these areas there is, perhaps more than anywhere else, a recognized source of authority for the choice of terminology. Labels and descriptions used in the medical and legal contexts can not only perpetuate existing stigmatization of disabled people, but can also contribute to creating stigma at its source, given that the words used in these contexts can constitute an exercise of power.

Towards a More Reliable ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) Assessment Framework: Lessons from the PRI Initiative

In recent years, green investments and ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) principles have gradually become the focus of the industry's attention. However, the future of ESG still has some uncertainties, and the diversity of ESG data and metrics has led to challenges in comparing ESG performance across companies, making it complex to determine the relevance and substantive ESG issues related to financial performance. This paper explores the evolution and challenges of ESG investments and proposes principles for ESG rating agencies to follow, originating from the PRI (Principles for Responsible Investment). This study recommends that rating agencies adopt a comprehensive assessment approach, considering a company's environmental, social, and governance performance and engaging with companies to obtain more comprehensive and reliable data. Additionally, rating agencies should maintain transparency, disclosing precise methods and data sources to enhance the credibility of ESG ratings. Most importantly, rating agencies must continuously improve their rating methodologies to reflect changes in the market and ESG practices, encouraging other rating agencies to adopt more consistent ESG assessment methods for a more sustainable investment practice and sustainable development in the financial industry.

The influence of Olympic triumph: exploring societal and political outcomes through sports stakeholder views

The purpose of this study was to qualitatively assess and describe the societal and political outcomes of elite sporting success from the stakeholders’ perspective. In order to address the research questions and investigate a substantive issue, a grounded theory approach was employed. Using theoretical sampling, we identified participants who could contribute to the development of concepts or the filling of knowledge gaps. The theoretical sampling process involved four steps. The open-ended responses were analysed using NVivo software. A number of novel factors that can affect the political and societal outcomes of Olympic success have been identified in this study, including environmental issues, human rights, integration, accessibility, anti-discrimination, and anti-racism. This research has contributed to our understanding of the Olympic Games’ success and can be used to inform future planning and decision-making.

The Role of the Corporate Penalty System on Environmental Regulation

Criminal acts Indonesia's environmental law has numerous issues and has long been regulated in Indonesia. However, the question is whether the Corporate Penalty System on Environmental Regulation can implement this policy. This research aims to analyze the role of the corporate penalty system in environmental regulation. This is normative legal research with secondary data from primary, secondary, and tertiary legal materials. The research results show, first, that the Corporate Penalty System on Environmental Regulation has overlapping regulations and the need for more clarity regarding corporate punishment, substantive issues, and law enforcement. The Indonesian government must focus on this to achieve an integrated corporate punishment system. In environmental regulations, the overlapping provisions of administrative and criminal law contribute to the unjust nature of the corporate punishment system. Therefore, it tends to vary from one location to the next. Second, the threat of punishment is not proportional to the heinousness of the act. Third, the absence of harmonization with prior legal arrangements resulted in disparate sentences. The best way to enforce environmental crimes committed by corporations is to have adequate regulations to work from; encouraging harsher penalties for social and economic losses will be detrimental to environmental justice; and implementing an integrated system of corporate punishment requires a variety of measures, such as enacting new regulations and focusing on ecological criminal law enforcement.

Historic and recent trends of cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms and environmental conditions in Clear Lake, California: A 70-year perspective

Clear Lake is a large, natural lake in northern California, USA, with many beneficial uses but also substantive environmental issues. The lake has a long history of water quality problems including mercury contamination, pesticide usage, invasive species, and high rates of primary production. In recent years, an increase in cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (cyanoHABs) has been documented in the lake, adding to the environmental issues faced by aquatic species present in the lake and the local community. Extensive observations of various physical, chemical, and biological parameters in Clear Lake began in the mid-1900s. The most pertinent of these data sets and findings have been reviewed and analyzed with the intent of improving our understanding of the causes and drivers of cyanoHABs, toxin production, and identifying data gaps. Several parameters including average annual water temperature have remained relatively constant over the past 70 years, although the seasonally averaged water temperatures have shifted in a manner that may now favor cyanobacterial dominance. Clear Lake has also witnessed recent changes in several environmental variables such as total phosphorus concentrations that might contribute to blooms. An analysis of lake conditions prior to and following the enactment of a total maximum daily load (TMDL) for phosphorus in 2007 indicates little measurable influence on total phosphorus concentrations in Clear Lake. The present trajectory of lake chemistry suggests that additional research and management efforts will be needed to address the recurrence of cyanoHABs in the future. Future lake management strategies should include consideration of the role of internal nutrient loads to lessen cyanoHABs. Furthermore, a better understanding of cyanobacterial community interactions and top-down effects on bloom formation within the lake can help guide future cyanoHAB management strategies.

“BEFIT and HOT: FASTER and SAFE!” EU Law or Slogan for Slimming Pills?

In this article, the author summarizes and comments on the latest published and announced proposals for directives in the field of direct taxation. In addition, he addresses potential substantive issues inherent in these proposed directives and comments on the drafting process and EU law trends in general.

Oversight on Revision of US CDC Opioid Guidelines: A Process Pre- Destined to Fail

In December 2019, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced their intention to review and revise their 2016 Guideline on Prescription of Opioids to Adults. As part of this revision, CDC solicited nominations for an advisory “Opioid Workgroup” to report to the Board of Scientific Counselors of the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. This paper offers a critical review of concerns identified in the final Workgroup report of July 2021, as contrasted against the revised and expanded guidelines published 16 months later in November 2022. The author finds that although the Workgroup was tasked to identify substantive issues, its input to the CDC was largely marginalized or ignored in the revised guidelines. The workgroup also failed to reach consensus on central issues of methodology, which should disqualify the CDC guidelines as a de factor standard of clinical practice. Arguably, the CDC should be removed from all further participation in development of public policy for the treatment of severe pain.

Policy agenda trade‐offs for sustainability: The compositional change of attention about energy in legislative hearings

AbstractThe evaluation of relative changes in policy agenda composition using dynamic compositional models can offer a useful way to lead future studies of policy agenda trade‐offs for sustainability. As a specific empirical case, this study examines changes in the annual composition of legislative attention in the United States congressional hearings on energy as a substantive issue domain. Using the description texts of hearings, this article assesses the compositional energy topic changes of conventional agendas, other general agendas, and unconventional agendas, including environmental and social agendas. By focusing on how economic contextual shocks, along with political factors, shape the energy agenda attention mix, this study discovers that conventional agendas related to energy topics in U.S. congressional hearings are relatively less likely to be discussed when economic conditions are adverse under Democratic legislature controls. It illustrates example conditions under which policy agenda subtopics for sustainability are more likely to be pursued at the expense of which subtopics.Related ArticlesHeidbreder, Brianne. 2012. “Agenda Setting in the States: How Politics and Policy Needs Shape Gubernatorial Agendas.” Politics & Policy 40(2): 296–319. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1747‐1346.2012.00345.x.Morini, Marco, and Marco Cilento. 2020. “New Parties, Fractionalization, and the Increasing Duration of Government Formation Processes in the EU Member States.” Politics & Policy 48(6): 1202–32. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12381.Steger, Wayne P. 2008. “The President's Legislative Program: An Issue of Sincere versus Strategic Behavior.” Politics & Policy 33(2): 312–29. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1747‐1346.2005.tb00645.x.

Benign and Radical Africanization in International Investment Law and Investor-State Dispute Settlement in Africa

Abstract The current Africanization approaches mask some nuances present in current reform efforts of international investment law (IIL) and investor-State dispute settlement (ISDS) in Africa. I adopt the categorization of international law scholarship in Africa developed elsewhere into two trends: contributionist (weak) and critical (strong) scholarship. For reforms in African IIL and ISDS, I relabel this trends benign Africanization representing the contributionist (weak) strand and radical Africanization representing the critical (strong) strand. I argue that African states must focus on wider economic justice engendered in the radical Africanization approach. I propose three lines of action that will implement radical Africanization: first African States, in their reforms, must focus on both extra and intra-African investment; second, the reforms must engage deeply seated substantive issues in addition to the current procedural reforms; and finally, African States must have a real reckoning and engagement with the imperial history of IIL generally and ISDS specifically.

On Politically-Driven Language Discrimination in Post-Soviet Space (from the Example of Occupied Abkhazia)

The aim of this paper is to reflect the policy of the government of Georgia towards creating higher education opportunities for the youth residing in Abkhazia and outline the supporting measures taken by the Georgian side that contribute to Abkhazian youth’s integration into the mainstream of academia locally and worldwide. Accordingly, as the background of the issue, we start with a brief description of the language ideology in the occupied area and then move to a discussion of the factors which demonstrate the opportunities that ensure and simplify access to higher quality education in Georgia as well as abroad for the targeted group. There are two substantive issues: first, Russian language ideology imposition on Abkhaz youth and, second, the benefits of acquiring a degree in Georgia. We argue that the collapse of the Soviet Union and Georgia’s recent pro-Western politics have paved the road to new possibilities for cultivating a linguistically diverse, multiethnic, and tolerant society throughout Georgia. Young people living in both the occupied region and Georgia represent the generation that should cohabitate and find a common path of understanding and peace in order to build a common better future.

Demystifying China’s trade secrets law in action: a statistical analysis

This article attempts to conduct a detailed empirical study on trade secrets litigation in China. In a nutshell, using 33 coding criteria, this article studied 2810 judicial documents published between 2013 and 2021 related to trade secrets litigation. Of the 2810 documents, 745 concerned substantive trade secret issues, with 885 trade secret claims addressed by Chinese courts. The article mainly aims to fill two research gaps in the current literature. First, it is unclear whether, during the past two decades, China indeed provided inadequate trade secrets protection in practice because of its ‘defective’ statutes, as alleged by the US government. Empirical evidence is needed to test whether the previous US criticisms conformed with the working situation of China’s trade secrets litigation. Second, the enforcement level of trade secrets law in books in China remains a myth. The argument that China has adopted a strict trade secret law in books similar to the US has little practical value if China did not enforce the trade secrets law in practice. Empirical evidence is required to demystify the enforcement situation of trade secrets law. This article, thus, fills these two gaps by presenting empirical findings on trade secrets litigation from 2013 to 2021 in China.

The evaluation of men introduced in midwifery in the United Kingdom: A gender perspective

AbstractTo explore the role of pilot tests in developing gender policies, this study investigates their use of policy‐making for the introduction of male midwives in the United Kingdom. A literature review was performed, and data that contradicted the statements of researchers studying male midwives or male midwives who had participated in the pilots were excluded. Any uncertainties were clarified through consultation with nursing and midwifery associations. The United Kingdom's Midwives Act 1902 initially restricted midwifery to women. However, the Sex Discrimination Act 1973 debates led to the consideration of introducing male midwives. While professional associations resisted, public bodies supported it, on the condition that it guaranteed women's right to select the gender of their attendant midwives. The government decided to conduct pilots to assess the acceptability of male midwives and the financial implications of having chaperones with male midwives. Despite pressure from the European Commission, the decision to permit male midwives across the United Kingdom, made in 1984, was withheld until the results of the pilots were available. However, substantive gender equality issues, such as the working conditions for male midwives, remain largely unexplored. To ensure gender inclusivity in midwifery, scientific pilot tests focusing on both formative and substantive equality are recommended.

Impartiality or Individualization? Imprisoned Women’s Discourses of (In)Justice

Using in-depth interviews with forty women in one California prison, the research addresses incarcerated women’s perceptions of justice regarding their experiences with the criminal justice system, particularly concerning the internal prison grievance system. This article focuses on interview subjects’ perceptions of (in)justice regarding problems relevant to the grievance processes. The most prominent discourses of justice revolved around procedural and substantive justice issues in seemingly contradictory ways. These discourses emerged from three main areas of discussion: everyday prison operations and interactions; the design and operation of grievance procedures; and dehumanizing prison processes and policies and sexual assaults and abuse. The article highlights the seemingly contradictory nature of the justice ideals put forth, discusses the contextual nature of these perceptions and, reflecting on justice and legal theory, offers some conclusions and recommendations, addressing the Prison Litigation Reform Act.

Uwalnianie przestrzeni publicznej od symboli komunizmu — zakres obowiązków wojewodów (w świetle najnowszego orzecznictwa Naczelnego Sądu Administracyjnego)

The analysis of the so-called Decommunization Act’s application, after several years of its being in force, points to a significant legal problem. The recent decisions of the Supreme Administrative Court further expose said problem. The issue can be encompassed in the following question: what is, ultimately, the scope of voivodes’ duties with regard to investigating the facts of decommunization proceedings, especially in view of the opinions drawn up by the Institute of National Remembrance (Instytut Pamięci Narodowej, IPN) for the purposes of these proceedings? The answer to this question depends largely on the weight given to these opinions. In particular, if the voivodes are not bound by the IPN’s decisions, one may argue that they should be required to investigate the factual background on the issues on which the IPN had already fi led an opinion. Consequently, voivodes should make historical and legal decisions against the analyzed factual background independently.Analyses included in the current study suggest that, considering the recent decisions of the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland (which have a significant impact on the legal practice), voivodes are not bound by the IPN’s opinions. There is a strong emphasis on the view that the IPN’s opinions should each time be treated as part of evidence subject to verification, constituting grounds for proceedings pursuant to the provisions on the Decommunization Act. Therefore, in each case, verifying those opinions should be the obligation of the voivode. At the conceptual level, there was a condition that voivodes’ verifications of opinions should not interfere in substantive issues and should only examine methodological issues. At the practical level, however, there are cases in which verifying the IPN’s opinions beyond the methodological scope is allowed. The findings indicated above are considered in the context of the author’s belief that:
 — the analysis of the text of the Decommunization Act must lead to the conclusion that the legislator decided on the binding force of the IPN’s opinions, especially with regards to voivodes;
 — considering the legal status of the IPN, the scope of its tasks and competences, and the scope of tasks, capacity and competences of voivodes — as well as the specific nature of activities and proceedings based on the Decommunization Act — the opinions of the IPN cannot be treated as a regular part of evidence, requiring verification by the voivodes; from a systemic perspective, they should be treated as statements of knowledge by a competent state institution cooperating with the voivodes in activities and proceedings related to the Decommunization Act.