Validity Claims Research Articles

Refining and expanding accountability policy for English learners to support Lau implementation: A critical policy analysis

ABSTRACT Title I accountability requirements under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) represent the present-day instantiation of Lau, which requires schools to provide a program for English learners (ELs) that supports their meaningful engagement and to provide transparent information about EL program quality. This study uses critical policy analysis to explore whether ESSA accomplishes what it intends. Employing a parallel mixed methods design, we first analyze longitudinal data from two states to examine whether their approaches to assessing EL students’ academic performance and progress support valid claims about EL achievement. Then, we analyze focus group and interview data from educators, advocates, and families in states to understand how they assess the quality of a school’s EL program. Taken together, our findings highlight the need for the incorporation of multiple perspectives into the design of state accountability systems and for the development of robust data systems that facilitate the sharing of accurate and nuanced information related to EL student outcomes and opportunities.

Rhetorical entrapment in international negotiations: A new pathway and mechanisms

Rhetorical entrapment plays a key – but often overlooked – role in the theory and practice of international relations. In this article, we develop a new pathway and mechanisms of rhetorical entrapment. Our key argument is that current literature has focused too much on normative forms of rhetorical entrapment. Although insightful, this misses empirical forms of rhetorical entrapment. Drawing on Habermasian theory, we suggest that normative and empirical validity claims give rise to alternate pathways and mechanisms of rhetorical entrapment: the normative pathway encapsulates framing, identity and legitimacy; whereas the empirical pathway is mediated by information, reputation and trust. To explore this theoretical argument, we engage in a plausibility probe of international investment agreement negotiations. Drawing upon in-depth interviews with various state negotiators, we find that empirical rhetorical entrapment is pervasive. We document this pathway and mechanisms. We conclude by developing the broader causal and normative implications of our argument.

Determining the Genetic Markers of Schizophrenia using Molecular Diagnosis

Schizophrenia poses a considerable disease burden, notwithstanding its relatively low incidence rate. The escalation in population size and mean age has led to a substantial rise in the incidence of illness linked to schizophrenia, particularly in countries with moderate levels of prosperity. Therefore, it is necessary to find a way to detect and recognize the illness as fast as possible to stop the consequences from occurring and stop symptoms from appearing before they even start. Within this study’s scope, fifteen distinct primers were selected randomly to determine whether or not they could recognize schizophrenia. To accomplish this, a Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNA-polymerase chain reaction (RAPD-PCR) was conducted utilizing DNA samples obtained from individuals afflicted with the condition and those in good health. The outcomes of the gel electrophoresis and subsequent analysis revealed that solely three primers including C12, E02 and E03 exhibited monomorphic characteristics. However, it was observed that 80% of the primers, precisely eleven out of fifteen, exhibited polymorphism. The results indicated that among the 15 primers tested, the primer labeled as H01 failed to generate any detectable bands. Subsequent examination of the polymorphic primers revealed that the primer efficiency varied between 0 and 0.0755, while the discrimination power ranged from 0 to 20 percent. The study observed variations in the frequency of disease occurrence between patients and healthy individuals. H05 primer utilization yielded three distinct polymorphic bands exhibiting diverse lengths. The band exhibiting the greatest length measured 1190 bp, whereas the other two bands had 480 and 430 bp lengths respectively. The two polymorphic bands exhibited 100% prevalence in the patient population while being completely absent in the healthy control group. Based on the available data, it appears that utilizing this primer to identify schizophrenia is a valid and valuable claim. Overall, DNA-based diagnostics may overlook a number of difficulties as laboratories have the ability to extract DNA from various sources easily. In this scenario, molecular and genetic techniques may be crucial for diagnosing some diseases.

Review on the Implementation of the Consumer Act of the Philippines: Insights to Its Plausible Future

As a developing Southeast Asian nation, the Philippines have experienced economic growth, leading to challenges in ensuring consumer protection. This study reviewed the level of implementation of Consumer Act of the Philippines (Act) and explored insights to its plausible future. This used both quantitative and qualitative components. This was conducted in Capiz. For the survey, respondents comprised of consumers buying in Roxas City supermarkets and grocery stores selling basic commodities. For Focus Group Discussion (FGD), business owner representative, Department of Trade and Industry implementers, and consumer organization members participated. For the challenges encountered in Act’s implementation, respondents believed that the law protects their rights, but they lacked awareness of how to enforce it with perceived weaknesses on Act’s effectiveness in enforcing penalties. For the level of implementation, respondents believed that the Act effectively ensured the quality and safety of consumer products in the market, reduced deceptive, unfair, and conscionable sales acts or practices, provided efficient resolution for valid warranty claims, protected against misleading or deceptive packaging techniques, holds businesses accountable for product and service imperfection, prevents misleading advertisements and fraudulent sales promotion practices, regulates service and repair enterprises, and ensures effective consumer complaints handling. Consumers perceived that Act's provision on penalties was inadequate, ineffective in addressing broader issues, inadequately implements provision on warranties, labeling, and fair packaging, no provision on claims for damages, with gaps in addressing issues on sales promotion, service, and consumer complaints handling. Participants highlighted the need to promote consumer education, clearer guidelines on acceptable sales practices, and areas for improvement in online marketplaces, consumer awareness, and enhanced enforcement capabilities. Overall, strengthened consumer advocacy, enforcement training, and education, provision of harsher penalties, collaboration with other stakeholders, enhanced screening measures on online shopping platforms, and streamlined online dispute resolutions.

Kant and the other of necessity - contingency

Kant’s critical philosophy is, as is well known, based on the question of the possibility of synthetic judgments a priori. This goes hand in hand with the validity claims of judgments in cognition, morality, law, aesthetics and other philosophical areas that can be shown to be necessary. The degree of necessity differs depending on the context. Central to Kant’s epistemology is the objectively necessary validity of causal judgments, which he grounded anew and in distinction to the subjectively necessary judgments that he attributed to David Hume’s causal theory. Necessity, a priori validity of pure or, for the most part, non-pure synthetic judgements a priori in the context of experience are inconceivable without their other, empiricism and contingency. Contingency plays a less marginal role in Kant’s epistemology in the Critique of Pure Reason, than it might seem at first glance. Contingency is of obvious importance in Kant’s teleology, which he elaborates in the second part of the Critique of the Power of Judgement. Nature is characterized by infinite variety and an infinite number of empirical laws, and therefore contingency is predominant for human cognition. With the (apparent) antinomy of teleological judgement, the reciprocal relationship between (necessary) causal mechanism and finality as teleological expediency Kant shows that the two principles are indispensable for knowledge and observation of nature, even if they each have their own tasks.

Validity, Verifiability, and Confirmability: A Critique of Multiphase Packed Bed Modeling

The pseudocontinuum models of reactions in packed beds are complicated, and an assessment of the reliability of the predictability of their numerical solution is difficult. The predictability reliability depends on validity and verifiability, whereas the numerical solutions of models of reactions in packed beds cannot be validated or verified. Scientific acceptability cannot commence by metaphysics alone, and the truth of the speculative justifications of the results of the numerical models without robust empirical confirmation is a matter of chance occurrence. Adherence to the principles of noncontradiction and mathematical consistency seems to be the minimal criterion if a pseudocontinuum model is to demonstrate a degree of reliability in prediction, simulation, and design. This article is an exposition of the verifiability, validity, and confirmability characteristics of multiphase multidimensional models of reactions in packed beds. It addresses the difficulties of validation and the complexities of construction of models of reactions in packed beds by modeling kinetic data directly to show that often the claims of validity, verifiability, or confirmability of the results of multidimensional or even one-dimensional models of chemical reactions in packed beds, in spite of robust statistical tools, should be viewed with some degree of skepticism.

Caputo’s Postmodern Understanding of Religion

The most important characteristic of the age in which we live is the prominence of pluralistic and local understandings. In modern thought, the importance of reaching universal, objective, and precise knowledge is known. In postmodern thought, on the other hand, almost the opposite situation is put forward, and religion finds its place among pluralistic and local understandings. Religion no longer has valid, inclusive, and generalizable claims for everyone. In the postmodern age, religion is referred to as something between things. John Caputo, who has a very important place in contemporary thought, develops his thoughts from a postmodern framework. However, Caputo develops a hermeneutic approach to avoid falling into relativism. In doing so, he is under the influence of Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, and Derrida. In particular, he develops an “event” theology based on Derrida’s concept of “religion without religion”. Combining this idea with hermeneutics, Caputo believes that life is always interpreted differently but that life still has a religious aspect. From this point of view, he puts forward an understanding of “weak theology”. Caputo’s “weak” theology rethinks various theological tropes and themes through a lens that significantly reshapes our understanding of the role and purpose of theology. In this paper, we address the concepts of weak theology and religion without religion and critically examine how religion and theology are situated within postmodern thought.

Adapting Habermas’ construct of communicative rationality into a framework for analyzing students’ statistical literacy

This study argues that the works of philosopher Jürgen Habermas can provide useful directions for mathematics education research on statistical literacy. Recent studies on the critical demands posed by statistical information in media highlight the importance of the communicative component of statistical literacy, which involves students’ ability to react to statistical information. By adapting Habermas’ construct of communicative rationality into a framework for statistical literacy, a novel analytical tool is presented that can provide theoretical insights as well as in-depth empirical insights into students’ communication about statistical information. Central to the framework are the four validity claims of comprehensibility, truth, truthfulness, and rightness which interlocutors need to address to engage in statistical communication. The empirical usefulness of the framework is shown by presenting the results of a study that examined Grade 5 students’ responses to fictional arguments about the decline of Arctic sea ice. The Habermas-based framework not only reveals that complex evaluations of statistical arguments can take place even in Grade 5 but also shows that students’ evaluations vary greatly. Empirical results include a content-specific differentiation of validity claims through inductively identified sub-categories as well as a description of differences in the students’ uses of validity claims.

The Communicability of Pleasure and the Pleasure of Communication: the ‘Obligation’ of Aesthetic Feeling in the Critique of the Power of Judgment

Kant makes a puzzling claim in the Critique of the Power of Judgment concerning the connection between the feeling of pleasure occasioned by the appreciation of an object as beautiful and the universal communicability of this aesthetic feeling: on the one hand, he claims that this feeling is due to the free play of the faculties of imagination and understanding, and on the other hand, that it has its ground in the very communicability of this pleasure. The central argument of the present study is that it is possible to clarify the relation between the feeling of pleasure occasioned by the reflective judging of an object and the universal communicability Kant attributes to such a judging by grasping the demand for a ‘universality without concept’ claimed by a pure judgment of taste in terms of what appears to be a problematic relationship of grounding between the shareability of pure aesthetic feeling and the reflective activity of the mind. I will claim that this relationship can be rendered clearer by an explication of the ‘share’ of disinterestedness, purposiveness, and subjective universal validity claims in pure judgments of taste and brought together in the notion of a common sense (sensus communis). What thereby comes into view is an original orientation in the world that is presupposed by explicitly theoretical and practical judgments.

Tindakan Komunikatif Jurgen Habermas dan Implikasinya terhadap Podcast di Indonesia

The discourse on public communication is a crucial discussion. In today's digital era, platforms that provide digital content need to be reexamined. One digital content that is a reference for the public is Podcast. In its development, the emergence of Podcasts continues to have great significance for people's lives. The variety of information presented often has the potential to create information distortion in digital media. From this phenomenon, Jurgen Habermas' communicative action is a practical methodology that can provide valid, emancipatory and rational information. Community agreement in communicating is the most important thing in Habermas' communicative actions. However, by going through several logical conditions. The aim of this research is to answer the issue of potential information distortion and analyze the implications of Jurgen Habermas's concept of communicative action for Podcasts in Indonesia. This research uses a literature review method, so the sources used are scientific literature. The research results show that Jurgen Habermas' communicative actions can be a methodological basis for presenting valid and rational information. Information presented to the public can be accounted for, because it has passed the requirements determined by Jurgen Habermas. So, in implementing it, Podcasts must comply with validity claims, carry out argumentative communication, and make communicative action the fundamental basis for creating Podcast content.

Talking existential risk into being: a Habermasian critical discourse perspective to AI hype

AbstractRecent developments in Artificial Intelligence (AI) have resulted in a hype around both opportunities and risks of these technologies. In this discussion, one argument in particular has gained increasing visibility and influence in various forums and positions of power, ranging from public to private sector organisations. It suggests that Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) that surpasses human intelligence is possible, if not inevitable, and which can—if not controlled—lead to human extinction (Existential Threat Argument, ETA). Using Jürgen Habermas’s theory of communicative action and the validity claims of truth, truthfulness and rightness therein, we inspect the validity of this argument and its following ethical and societal implications. Our analysis shows that the ETA is problematic in terms of scientific validity, truthfulness, as well as normative validity. This risks directing AI development towards a strategic game driven by economic interests of the few rather than ethical AI that is good for all.

Article: Intra-EU BITs and Achmea: On a Collision Course With Strasbourg?

The lecture discussed whether an European Union (‘EU’) Member State’s national court’s refusal to recognize and/or enforce a valid claim in the form of a final intra-EU arbitration award on the basis of the Court of Justice of the EU’s (CJEU’s) decision in Slowakische Republik v. Achmea BV and its progeny may infringe the right to the peaceful enjoyment of possessions, guaranteed by Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 of the European Convention Human Rights (ECHR). It sets out the legal analysis that the European Court of Human Rights might apply in assessing that issue, and the interaction between EU Member States’ obligations under the ECHR, EU law and the Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between states and Nationals of Other States.

Spectrophotometric resolution for quantitative analysis of aspirin and rivaroxaban combination therapy in biological fluids using simple and eco-friendly procedure

Patients diagnosed with symptomatic peripheral artery disease (PAD) in the lower extremities have a higher likelihood of suffering from major vascular events. Recently, FDA has approved the combination therapy of aspirin (ASP) and rivaroxaban (ROX) to reduce acute limb ischemia and other comorbidities in (PAD) patients. Zero order and ratio absorption spectra were employed in three simple and accurate spectrophotometric techniques (dual wavelength (DW), ratio difference (RD) and derivative ratio (1DD) for concurrent detection and quantification of ASP and ROX in their pure forms, lab synthetic mixtures and in biological fluid. Our approach involves careful parameter optimization, including solvent selection, sample volumes, and instrumental settings, to reduce the analysis environmental impact. The acquired recovery percentages of accuracy were within 98–102% for pure active pharmaceutical ingredients and 90–110% for pharmaceutical formulations and biological determinations. A comprehensive assessment was done to compare the three methods regarding their ease of use, linearity, sensitivity, conditions, and limitations. The specificity of the proposed methods was evaluated by analyzing the lab synthetic mixtures. The suggested spectrophotometric methods were validated in compliance with ICH guidelines to confirm the validity claims. Also, statistical analysis was done to compare the outcomes obtained from the suggested methods with those obtained from the official ones and they agreed with null hypothesis regarding accuracy and precision. Furthermore, a comprehensive assessment of the environmental sustainability of the developed method was carried out using the Analytical Greenness Calculator, AGREE algorithm. The selected drugs can be efficiently, safely and economically analyzed by the suggested methods in pharmaceutical and biological matrices with no pretreatment or preliminary separation steps and thereby increasing their greenness level.

The Bilingual Is Not Two Monolinguals of Same Age: Normative Testing Implications for Multilinguals.

A fundamental concept in psychological and intelligence testing involves the assumption of comparability in which performance on a test is compared to a normative standard derived from prior testing on individuals who are comparable to the examinee. When evaluating cognitive abilities, the primary variable used for establishing comparability and, in turn, validity is age, given that intellectual abilities develop largely as a function of general physical growth and neuromaturation. When an individual has been raised only in the language of the test, language development is effectively controlled by age. For example, when measuring vocabulary, a 12-year-old will be compared only to other 12-year-olds, all of whom have been learning the language of the test for approximately 12 years-hence, they remain comparable. The same cannot be said when measuring the same or other abilities in a 12-year-old who has been raised only in a different language or raised partly with a different language and partly with the language of the test. In such cases, a 12-year-old may have been learning the language of the test at some point shortly after birth, or they might have just begun learning the language a week ago. Their respective development in the language of the test thus varies considerably, and it can no longer be assumed that they are comparable in this respect to others simply because they are of the same age. Psychologists noted early on that language differences could affect test performance, but it was viewed mostly as an issue regarding basic comprehension. Early efforts were made to address this issue, which typically involved simplification of the instructions or reliance on mostly nonverbal methods of administration and measurement. Other procedures that followed included working around language via test modifications or alterations (e.g., use of an interpreter), testing in the dominant language, or use of tests translated into other languages. None of these approaches, however, have succeeded in establishing validity and fairness in the testing of multilinguals, primarily because they fail to recognize that language difference is not the same as language development, much like cultural difference is not the same as acquisition of acculturative knowledge. Current research demonstrates that the test performance of multilinguals is moderated primarily by the amount of exposure to and development in the language of the test. Moreover, language development, specifically receptive vocabulary, accounts for more variance in test performance than age or any other variable. There is further evidence that when the influence of differential language development is examined and controlled, historical attributions to race-based performance disappear. Advances in fairness in the testing of multilinguals rest on true peer comparisons that control for differences in language development within and among multilinguals. The BESA and the Ortiz PVAT are the only two examples where norms have been created that control for both age and degree of development in the language(s) of the test. Together, they provide a blueprint for future tests and test construction wherein the creation of true peer norms is possible and, when done correctly, exhibits significant influence in equalizing test performance across diverse groups, irrespective of racial/ethnic background or language development. Current research demonstrates convincingly that with deliberate and careful attention to differences that exist, not only between monolinguals and multilinguals of the same age but also among multilinguals themselves, tests can be developed to support claims of validity and fairness for use with individuals who were in fact not raised exclusively in the language or the culture of the test.

Do pressure-sensitive institutional investors moderate CSR decisions towards value creation of Indian firms?

Purpose Research on the significance of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and value creation is nascent as compared to CSR and financial performance. The concept of value is also evolving because of changing business environments, globalization and the expanded idea of CSR. Nowadays, managers expect a more quick, pragmatic approach to satisfy valid stakeholder claims while simultaneously creating competitive advantage through reputation and investor value. The paper aims to examine the impact of CSR on the market and sustainable value creation through CSR expenditure in India and the moderating role of pressure-sensitive institutional investors (PSII). Design/methodology/approach The study used panel data regression methodology on a sample of 1,845 non-financial Indian firms from 2015 to 2021. Findings CSR creates market and sustainable value for non-financial Indian firms in line with stakeholder theory. The authors find a positive moderating role of governance represented by PSII on CSR and market value creation but not on sustainable value. Research limitations/implications The study is based on secondary data. CSR, despite being a regulatory obligation, provided long-term benefits that increased their sustainable growth rate. The results highlight the importance given by financial markets to CSR activities. Other types of institutional investors can also be examined in future research. CSR can be embedded in the core operations of the firm, which can help in fostering a culture of sustainability and responsible business practices that benefit firms and society as a whole. Tax incentives can be provided to firms investing in CSR. Practical implications CSR provides long-term benefits to the firm, which enhances the goodwill and integrity of the firm in the market. The results reveal that besides capital market investors, firms are subject to the scrutiny of consumers, communities and the government as expectations rise and information spreads faster, which can have repercussions. CSR helps in meeting such expectations and the perceived value of the firms. Managers and chief executive officers (CEOs) can pay attention to the type of institutional investors like PSII, which can be formed as a part of the firm’s CSR strategy. Social implications The positive impact of CSR on sustainable value expresses a long-term management orientation based on the improvement of stakeholder relations and the associated environmental impacts referring to cohesion and consensus, market opportunities and strengthened reputation and image. A sustainable company involves a conscious and continuing effort in the equilibrium between contrasting stakeholders’ expectations in an attempt to optimize value creation. Tax exemption can be provided for CSR activities. Originality/value The authors contribute to the scant literature on CSR and value creation, especially sustainable value, as most of the prior studies are not empirical on sustainable value in the Indian context. Managers and CEOs can pay attention to the types of institutional investors like PSII, which can be formed as a part of the firm’s strategy.

The Role of Social Networks to Counteract Stigmatization Toward Gay and Bisexual Men Regarding Monkeypox

Research on the effects of social media has evidenced their influence on public opinion concerning health issues. However, there are scarce analyses that pay attention to this influence when health advice generalizes certain groups’ sexual practices. This generalization occurred with monkeypox, men who have sex with men, after two World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommendations launched in 2022. Therefore, this is the issue that will be deeply explored in the article. Drawing on the methodological strategy of social media analytics (SMA), 2313 tweets have been reviewed focused on people’s reactions in front of WHO’s statements of July 2022 about monkeypox and men who have sex with men behaviours. Findings illustrate that there is positioning against the generalizations caused due to WHO’s statement creating a public discourse against the stigma of homosexual and bisexual men. This positioning is directly linked with people’s claims to follow the evidence and valid claims on public health issues. Using social networks for claiming the use of rigorous data and evidence may contribute to a significant change in public opinion and health organizations.

Before reflexivity comes preflexivity

Before reflexivity comes preflexivity

Discursive Constructions of Communicative Rationality in Kenyan Presidential Election Petitions of 2022 at the Supreme Court of Kenya

How communicative rationality is constructed and shared among interlocutors in a court in the seeking of justice, given the background of distrust in the Kenyan Presidential Election context, gave attention to this study. The study investigated the construction of communicative rationality in the courtyard. The study assessed the types of illocutionary forces and their discursive legal practices and determined how interlocutors redeem the illocutionary logic in the courtyard. A documentary review of the written judgment of Ruto against Odinga in the presidential election of 2022 was used as the data collection method. The analytical frameworks involved Austin's (1962b) Speech Act theory and Searle and Vanderveken's (1985) illocutionary commitments. The findings showed that petitioners chose illocutionary forces to downgrade respondents' claims. The discursive nature of their legal practices was characterized by a lack of fairness, transparency, and integrity of IEBC and its Chairperson. Respondents used illocutionary forces, including denials, for face protection and repair. Their discursive legal practices were characterized by compliance, transparency, and accountability to win the Court's decision. Petitioners and respondents used much propositional content, modes of achievement, and preparatory conditions to construct their validity claims. In achieving justice, the group of Judges must consider interlocutors' presentations of credible statements of truth and acceptable normative statements of legal practices. A group of Judges needs to take precautions against the interlocutors' tricks and manipulation of the Constitution for effective decision-making.

Contesting Religious Truth

Abstract Christian theologians were involved in anti-Jewish arguments almost since the ‘parting of the ways’ of the two religions. In late antiquity and the early middle ages, anti-Jewish arguments were based almost exclusively on Biblical quotations, which were adduced as evidence meant to substantiate the Christian interpretation of scripture. It was only in the scholastic period that new forms of evidence were included in the traditional argument Adversus Iudaeos, which were derived from the recourse to reason. The Jewish figures presented by Christian authors within their writings are constructed entirely according to Christian assumptions and prejudices; only rarely do we get any real Jewish voices representing points of view close to any kind of Jewish reality. This only changed when growing numbers of Jews converted to Christianity in the high middle ages; Jewish converts drew the attention of Christian authorities to rabbinic literature. At first, the Talmud was targeted as a sinister text allegedly undermining theological truth, but later it was appropriated by Christian propagandists, who tried to base their anti-Jewish arguments on the post-biblical canon of Rabbinic Judaism. The article analyses the gradual expansion of anti-Jewish evidence; in particular, it highlights turning points when anti-Jewish strategies tried to include new methods and media to substantiate the credibility of Christian claims to monopolise religious truth. The Jewish side reacted against such attempts by reinterpreting and rewriting the history of anti-Christian Jewish arguments, notably on the occasion of the Paris Talmud trial. The redirection of Christian-Jewish arguments in the high middle ages provides ample evidence for the study of contesting truths, the substantiation and subversion of validity claims, as well as the rewriting of history in order to further political aims.

Turkey’s proactive contestation of EU sanctions against Russia: European normative order vs. geopolitical realities

ABSTRACT This article offers a critical discussion of third-country access to normative contestation within the European normative order. It empirically examines the external contestation of the EU’s recent sanctions policy directed towards Russia by Turkey, a candidate state, and elaborates on the context in which Turkey contested and renegotiated the normative validity of the EU’s sanction policy. The study empirically suggests that Turkey, while behaviourally practising non-compliance, accessed the European normative order and negotiated the normativity of its non-alignment. In the making of this proactive contestation, the normativity of the country’s positions and the invalidity of the sanctions policy have been widely negotiated in domestic politics by the political elites. Eventually, Turkey, against the EU’s expectations from a candidate state, turned the normative monologue on the sanctions into a multilogue of legitimate normative differences on the validity claims of a united action.