Ultimate Authority Research Articles

The Ethics of Financial Incentivization for Health Research Participation Among Sex Workers in a Canadian Context

Research incentivization with sex workers is common, yet limited guidance exists for ethical incentives practice. We undertook a critical qualitative inquiry into how researchers (n = 17), community services staff (n = 17), and sex workers participating in research (n = 53) perceive incentives in a Canadian context. We employed an interpretive thematic approach informed by critical perspectives of relational autonomy for analysis. Four themes illustrate how (un)ethical use of incentives is situated in transactional micro-economies among groups experiencing severe marginalization: i) transactional research economy, ii) incentive type: assumptions and effects, iii) incentive amount: too much too little?, and iv) resistance, trauma, and research-related harm. Paternalistic assumptions about capacities of sex workers to act in their own best interests conflicted with participants' rights and abilities for self-determination; with researchers maintaining ultimate decision-making authority. Power differentials create conditions of harm. Safe, equitable approaches concerning research incentive use must redress relations of power that perpetuate oppression.

Moral Assessments and Legal Categories

In this chapter, I examine the discussion around the rational and moral basis for legal categories in postclassical Imāmī Twelver Shīʿī legal theory. The debate was pushed forward by the Akhbārī movement in the 17th century CE; they proposed a novel position concerning the rational basis for the law in which reason can determine certain moral aspects of an action (e.g., a good action can be recognised by reason, and its performance attracts praise), but not legal elements (e.g., that the performance of a good action deserves a reward beyond praise). This leaves, for them, the Lawgiver (that is, God) to connect the moral aspects of an act with its legal consequences (that is punishment for a morally bad action and reward for a morally good action); that causal connection cannot be made by reason alone. Based on these findings, I conclude that Akhbārī moral theory, often read along literalist lines, showcases an adherence to the Muʿtazilī-derived framework common to the Imāmī Twelver Shīʿī theology and law generally, whilst also reserving ultimate legal authority to God.

Speaking of Kings and Popes under the Shadow of Henry VIII’s Treason Act: Bale’s King Johan

The years following Henry VIII’s divorce from Katherine of Aragon saw many changes in legislation that affected his subjects’ positions in the realm, as well as their relationship with the divine. As Supreme Head of the Church of England, Henry had taken the ultimate authority over matters spiritual, and the 1534 Treason Act secured his subjects’ compliance to the new policies by turning acting or speaking against the king, his queen, or heirs, into a capital offence. During these years, Thomas Cromwell and Thomas Cranmer were given the task to further the reformist cause, and for this they employed, among others, the polemical dramatist John Bale. However, when Bale and his ‘ffelowes’ performed a play called <em>King Johan</em> at Cranmer’s house in 1538, King Henry was already returning to a more religiously conservative position. Furthermore, the 1538 arrests and executions of both traditionalists and evangelicals, and the publication of the king’s excommunication which brought a putative threat of invasion, contributed to an atmosphere of paranoia. Yet <em>King Johan</em> is outspoken about matters of reform, and, even more dangerously, presumes to advise the king on how a monarch should rule. This paper examines the ways in which Bale refused to compromise the strength of his political argument, whilst at the same time carefully avoided crossing the boundary to treason.

The value of official equality: structuring the execution of democratic law

ABSTRACT The executive branch is often conceptualised as a hierarchy in which one official has ultimate authority to carry out the law. In American public law, this is referred to as the ‘unitary’ theory of the executive. That theory is often defended on democratic grounds. However, there are countervailing democratic reasons to give several officials equal authority to implement the law. First, such a condition of ‘official equality’ can remedy the imperfect information about citizens’ judgments any one official holds. Second, official equality respects the plurality of norms that a democratic legal system tends to generate. Third, it gives private persons reason to structure their own relationships on equal terms in ways that support the social foundations of democracy. Fourth, it exhibits the democratic virtues of legislative processes when the implementation of law requires action that is legislative in nature. These reasons together constitute the value of official equality. The value of official equality ought to impact the structures and practices of executive offices within the democratic state.

LACK OF TRANSPARENCY AND FREEDOM OF INFORMATION IN PAKISTAN: AN ANALYSIS OF GOVERNMENT’S FUNCTIONING AND REALISTIC POLICY OPTIONS FOR REFORM

Pakistan is in grave need of transparency and freedom of information. The public expects policymakers to design policies and device measures to give them the right to look into the public records and track corruption. However, transparency and freedom of information are not much debatable topics in Pakistan. The objective of this study is to highlight the importance of a transparent political process and bring into light the loopholes existing in Pakistan. When it comes to the public's rights, they are only aware of five fundamental living rights: food, education, clothing, shelter, and the right to live. The majority of Pakistani Public have no idea of right to education as they consider it a secondary need. Transparency and freedom of information are imperative for any country to reduce corruption and ensure good governance. When the authorized parties know that they are being tracked and observed by the public (which is the ultimate authority to elect any government), their level of efficiency and honesty in performance becomes high. This research aims to highlight the importance of transparency and analyze the reasons that hinder Pakistan's fair and transparent political process. This research accentuates the issue and finds out some solutions and ordinances passed in the near past as it is imperative to shed light on creating awareness among the masses for the better future of Pakistan. Keywords: Government, Institutions, Public, Good Governance, Information, Transparency, Political Parties, Secrecy

Book Reviews

Book Reviews

Digital Democracy: Big Technology and the Regulation of Politics

The legal regulation of politics has, at its core, the aim of preserving three fundamental democratic values: liberty, equality and deliberative political participation. Yet, the reference point for examining these values is rooted in 19th and 20th century practices: where political campaigning and mobilisation follow terrestrial principles of organisation and regulation is undertaken by the state. Using the most recent empirical evidence drawn from political science on the changing nature of political participation and organisation, this article analyses the challenges of regulating digital politics. It argues that while the major focus of current interventions centres on political disinformation, this obscures more fundamental regulatory concerns such as capturing the diversity of new modes of participation and reconceptualising equality. While a model of co-regulation holds promise by institutionalising communities and individuals within technology companies’ policy decision-making processes, firms’ ultimate authority to define and control their user base presents challenges for effective participation.

The EPO Guidelines They Are a-Changin’

The EPO Guidelines They Are a-Changin’

A ‘transversal’ dialogue with Wentzel van Huyssteen’s theological approach

In this essay, I compared notes with Wentzel van Huyssteen, one of the most prominent theologians in the science–religion discussion. I followed the topics dealt with in a casual interview with Frits Gaum, in which Van Huyssteen responded to set questions: on his academic journey, God, the Bible, creation and evolution, human uniqueness, original sin, eternal life, Jesus and the relation between faith and research. Whilst there was considerable consensus between us in most respects, I would change the focus from an ‘apologetic’ agenda (science and theology were describing the same world from equally valid vantage points using comparable rationalities) to a ‘missionary’ agenda (making the Christian faith more accessible to scientists by following the approach of ‘experiential realism’). Science confined its operations to different aspects of the reality that was accessible to human observation, explanation and manipulation, whilst theology concentrated on our relation to the transcendent Source and Destiny of all of reality. To make sense to a scientist, theology must shun unsupported postulates and speculations and confront the scientist with the basic alternative of claiming to be the ultimate authority over the immanent world (presuming to be the owner, master and beneficiary of reality) and being derived from, and responsible to, the ultimate Source and Destiny of reality. The confusion between immanent transcendence (aspects of immanent reality that were not accessible to our observation, explanation and manipulation) and transcendent immanence (immanent reality as a whole was open towards a higher Source and Destiny) bedeviled the interface between science and faith. Science challenged theology to provide experiential evidence; theology challenged science to be responsible to ultimate authority.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: Both Wentzel van Huyssteen and I have worked consistently on an interdisciplinary basis. However, whilst Wentzel focused strongly on the natural sciences, I spent most of my time on the relation between the Christian faith and the human sciences (economics, ecology, cultural anthropology, politics, etc.) and concentrated on the natural sciences only after my retirement. In my essay, I highlighted the difference between trying to demonstrate the comparability and compatibility between theology and science on the one hand and highlighting the challenge that science posed to faith and faith posed to science on the other hand.

Attitudes towards involving children in decision-making surrounding lung transplantation.

Medical care has shifted from a paternalistic model towards one centered around patient autonomy and shared decision-making (SDM), yet the role of the pediatric patient in decision-making is unclear. Studies suggest that many children with chronic disease are capable of making medical decisions at a young age, yet no standardized approaches have been developed for involving children in these decisions. This is a single-center survey study investigating the attitudes of pediatric pulmonologists towards involvement of children in decisions regarding lung transplantation, utilizing a hypothetical case scenario with systematic manipulation of age and maturity level. We evaluated physician belief regarding ultimate decision-making authority, reconciliation of parent-child discordance, and utility of ethics and psychiatry consultation services. The majority of pediatric pulmonologists at this center believe decision-making authority rests with the parents. The effects of age and maturity are unclear. In instances of parent-child disagreement, physicians are more likely to try to convince parents to defer to the child if the child is both older and more mature. Physicians are divided on the utility of ethics and psychiatry consultations. Involvement of children with cystic fibrosis in SDM is broadly supported but inconsistently implemented. Despite evidence that children with chronic disease may have decisional capacity at a young age, the majority of physicians still grant decisional authority to parents. There are numerous barriers to involving children in decisions, including legal considerations. The role of age and maturity level in influencing these decisions appears small and warrants further investigation.

An Integrated Architecture for Maintaining Security in Cloud Computing Based on Blockchain

Due to its wide accessibility, cloud services are susceptible to attacks. Data manipulation is a serious threat to data integrity which can occur in cloud computing – a relatively new offering under the umbrella of cloud services. Data can be tampered with, and malicious actors could use this to their advantage. Cloud computing clients in various application domains want to be assured that their data is accurate and trustworthy. On another spectrum, blockchain is a tamper-proof digital ledger that can be used alongside cloud technology to provide a tamper-proof cloud computing environment. This paper proposes a scheme that combines cloud computing with blockchain that assures data integrity for all homomorphic encryption schemes. To overcome the cloud service provider’s (CSP) ultimate authority over the data, the proposed scheme relies on the Byzantine Fault Tolerance consensus to build a distributed network of processing CSPs based on the client requirements. After certain computations performed by all CSPs, they produce a master hash value for their database. To ensure immutable data is produced, master hash values are preserved in Bitcoin or Ethereum blockchain networks. The master hash values can be obtained by tracking the block header address for verification purposes. A theoretical analysis of the overhead costs associated with creating master hash values for each of the cryptocurrencies is presented. We found that Ethereum leads to lower client financial costs and better online performance than Bitcoin. We also specify the data security requirements the proposed scheme provides, the ground-level implementation, and future work. The proposed verification scheme is based on public cryptocurrency as a back-end service and does not require additional setup actions by the client other than a wallet for the chosen cryptocurrency.

Narrative and Strategy in Sovereign Debt

This essay argues that issues of sovereign state debt repayment and collection—too often assumed to be free of the contingency and elasticity of narrative—are deeply shaped by historically grounded discourses of sovereignty that delineate boundaries between the public and private arenas. Conventional understandings of international finance fail to address the complexities of who should repay sovereign state debt and whose assets should be collected in the event of nonpayment. For answers to these inquiries, the narrative of debt needs to be understood as embedded within narratives of sovereignty, which construct and shape who holds ultimate authority within a given territory.

University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences.

University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences.

The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine.

The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine.

Between Prophecy and Apocalypse: Buber, Benjamin, and Socialist Eschatology

Martin Buber’s political thought has enjoyed renewed attention lately, particularly his concept of “theopolitics,” a type of political practice that recognizes God as the ultimate political authority. In Buber’s biblical exegesis, theopolitics is a condition of everyday life in premonarchical Israel, but following the installation of the monarchy, it becomes a specialized activity of prophets, consisting chiefly in divinely commanded intercession against state actions. Buber suggests that a version of this prophetic activity is manifest in present-day socialist cooperatives, especially the kibbutzim. Indeed, for Buber, these cooperatives can be seen as laying the groundwork for messianic redemption. This essay probes some potentially troubling implications of Buber’s theopolitical framework, taking objections raised in Walter Benjamin’s correspondence as an entry point. A central concern for Benjamin is Buber’s nationalist articulation of Jewish identity, which appears all the more problematic when considered in tandem with the teleological view of history evident in Buber’s framework.

Translaboration in a film context

Abstract This study explores the notion of translaboration in the context of audiovisual translation using Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket (1987) as a case study. Specifically, it explores the dynamics of translaboration in the Italian version of Kubrick’s film by drawing on archival methods and sources to examine the material traces left by the translation process. The study aims to unveil the translaborative dimension that characterized Kubrick’s approach to film translation, pointing to the specificity of a collaborative interaction in which one participant holds ultimate authority. Findings gleaned from translation-related material in the Stanley Kubrick Archive (University of the Arts, London) are combined with insights from working documents found among the personal papers of Riccardo Aragno, who translated Kubrick’s last five films into Italian for both dubbing and subtitling. Archival documents show that Kubrick was involved in collaborative work with his translators, sometimes adopting an interventionist approach.

Alchemical Cities, Apocalyptic Cities: The City as an Exponent of Magical Realism and Ideology in Angela Carter’s Novels

Abstract Reality in Angela Carter’s magical realist novels is depicted through the deployment of numerous picturesque details that correspond to the readers’ experiential reality, differentiating such a world from non-realist forms. Though the magical realist fictional world is akin to the one outside of the fictional reality, the mode’s strategy still differs from that of traditional realism due to the absence of a purely mimetic role. Initially serving to establish what Roland Barthes termed l’effet de reel (the effect of reality), the city in Carter’s novels is indeed constructed according to the principles of magical realism and creates plausible links between textual and extratextual realities. Further inclusion of magical, uncanny elements into such a world, in one respect, leads to the creation of excentric spaces that promote the position of the marginalized Other and allow alternative outlooks on life to gain prominence. A hybrid reality that is the ultimate result of the coexistence of the normal and the uncanny leads to the subversion of what Carter saw as patriarchal stereotypes, primarily due to the fact that it problematizes and ultimately negates their very foundation. In other words, if we cannot agree on the criteria for what is real, how can we trust the ultimate authority of any other criteria? The city in Carter’s novels thus acts as a suitable literary venue for revealing the author’s ideological position.

State of Exception: The Birthplace of Kafka’s Narrative Authority

Across the postimperial East Central Europe, whose geopolitical space was reconfigured on the model of West European nation-states, unprocessed human residues proliferated as the collateral effects of politically guided national homogenizations. These positional outsiders, who were prevented from becoming legible within the newly established political spaces, take center stage in Kafka’s narratives, not only in the form of their characters but also their narrators and ultimate authority. They passionately attach themselves to the zones of indistinction, which the modern societies’ “egalitarian discrimination” has doomed them to, thus trying to turn their enforced dispossession into a chosen self-dispossession. I argue that Kafka’s narratives owe their elusive ultimate authority precisely to this persistent translation of the political state of exception of his agencies into their literary state of exemption. They are at constant pains to transfigure the imposed state of exception through its peculiar fictional adoption, but Kafka’s ultimate narrative authority nevertheless takes care to keep an edge over their efforts. It is precisely this never-ending gradation of subversive mimicry in Kafka’s works that his postcolonial successor J. M. Coetzee most admired.

The House of Lords and Religious Toleration in Scotland: James Greenshields's Appeal, 1709–11

This article examines how the House of Lords, as the ultimate appellate authority of the new kingdom of Great Britain, formed after the union of 1707, provided a degree of religious toleration for Scotland's episcopalian minority when they supported James Greenshields's appeal on 1 March 1711. Greenshields was a Scottish episcopalian minister who appealed to the Lords in February 1710 after he was imprisoned by the Edinburgh magistrates for using the English Book of Common Prayer to conduct a service for a private episcopalian congregation. The Lords’ decision confirmed that no law in Scotland proscribed the Prayer Book liturgy and provided a degree of legal recognition to the episcopalians who used it. This article examines the arguments that Greenshields and his supporters used to advance his appeal. In doing so, it sheds new light on the relationship between Scotland's established church, the nation's episcopalian minority and the new British state.

A Rebuttal to 'Delegation at the Founding'

In their recent article “Delegation at the Founding,” Julian Mortenson and Nicholas Bagley take aim at modern originalists who argue on historical grounds for reviving the long-dormant Nondelegation Doctrine—the constitutional principle that Congress may not delegate authority so broad as to be “legislative” in nature. Mortenson and Bagley reject such originalist arguments, asserting that, in fact, the Nondelegation Doctrine has no basis in the Constitution as originally understood. On the contrary, the two authors claim, “the Constitution at the Founding contained no ... prohibition on delegations of legislative power” so long as “the legislature [did] not irrevocably transfer ... its ultimate authority,” and that any “rulemaking pursuant to statutory authorization,” no matter how broad the authorization, “was an exercise of executive Power.” As one of the less illustrious targets of Mortenson and Bagley’s critique (and of several other recent articles taking similar positions), I beg to differ on both points. In a prior article, Nondelegation, 12 NYU J.L. & Liberty 718 (2019), I argued that, as a matter of original meaning, the Nondelegation Doctrine has a firm constitutional foundation; congressional “grants of rulemaking power … very often constitute delegations of legislative authority, and such delegations violate the Constitution.” Despite one hundred ten pages of their best efforts, Mortenson and Bagley fail to call these conclusions into doubt; if anything, their recent paper should leave readers even more convinced of the Nondelegation Doctrine’s constitutional bona fides. Here, I explain why—and in the process, respond to other recent scholarship that has similarly questioned the historical case for nondelegation.