scholarly journals Infected by Bias: Behavioral Science and the Legal Response to COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Vol 47 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 205-248
Author(s):  
Doron Teichman ◽  
Kristen Underhill
Keyword(s):  
Loss Aversion ◽  
Behavioral Science ◽  
Comprehensive Analysis ◽  
Cultural Cognition ◽  
The Public ◽  
Psychological Phenomena ◽  
Legal Response ◽  
Descriptive Level ◽  
Laws And Regulations ◽  
The Way

This Article presents the first comprehensive analysis of the contribution of behavioral science to the legal response to the COVID-19 pandemic. At the descriptive level, the Article shows how different psychological phenomena such as loss aversion and cultural cognition influenced the way policymakers and the public perceived the pandemic, and how such phenomena affected the design of laws and regulations responding to COVID-19. At the normative level, the Article compares nudges (i.e., choice-preserving, behaviorally informed tools that encourage people to behave as desired) and mandates (i.e., obligations backed by sanctions that dictate to people how they must behave). The Article argues that mandates rather than nudges should serve in most cases as the primary legal tool used to regulate behavior during a pandemic. Nonetheless, this Article highlights ways in which nudges can complement mandates.

Heritage

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Omar Shaikh ◽  
Stefano Bonino
Keyword(s):  
Facial Expressions ◽  
South Asian ◽  
Online Video ◽  
The South ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
The Public ◽  
Video Footage ◽  
Community Heritage ◽  
Personal Accounts ◽  
The Way

The Colourful Heritage Project (CHP) is the first community heritage focused charitable initiative in Scotland aiming to preserve and to celebrate the contributions of early South Asian and Muslim migrants to Scotland. It has successfully collated a considerable number of oral stories to create an online video archive, providing first-hand accounts of the personal journeys and emotions of the arrival of the earliest generation of these migrants in Scotland and highlighting the inspiring lessons that can be learnt from them. The CHP’s aims are first to capture these stories, second to celebrate the community’s achievements, and third to inspire present and future South Asian, Muslim and Scottish generations. It is a community-led charitable project that has been actively documenting a collection of inspirational stories and personal accounts, uniquely told by the protagonists themselves, describing at first hand their stories and adventures. These range all the way from the time of partition itself to resettling in Pakistan, and then to their final accounts of arriving in Scotland. The video footage enables the public to see their facial expressions, feel their emotions and hear their voices, creating poignant memories of these great men and women, and helping to gain a better understanding of the South Asian and Muslim community’s earliest days in Scotland.

The End of History Museums: What's Plan B??

2008 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 9-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cary Carson
Keyword(s):  
Historic Sites ◽  
The Public ◽  
End Of History ◽  
House Museums ◽  
The Past ◽  
History Museums ◽  
Plan B ◽  
The End Of History ◽  
The Way

Abstract Are historic sites and house museums destined to go the way of Oldsmobiles and floppy disks?? Visitation has trended downwards for thirty years. Theories abound, but no one really knows why. To launch a discussion of the problem in the pages of The Public Historian, Cary Carson cautions against the pessimistic view that the past is simply passéé. Instead he offers a ““Plan B”” that takes account of the new way that learners today organize information to make history meaningful.

Rewritten or Reused? Originality, Intertextuality, and Reuse in the Writings of a Buddhist Visionary in Contemporary Tibet

2017 ◽  
Vol 33 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 203-231
Author(s):  
Antonio Terrone
Keyword(s):  
Public Domain ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Way

The study of Buddhist texts can inform us of the way scriptures were composed, as well as illuminate the reasons behind their production. This study examines the phenomenon of borrowing and reusing portions of texts without attributing them to their ‘legitimate authors’ within the Buddhist world of contemporary Tibet. It shows that not only is such a practice not at all infrequent and is often socially accepted, but that it is used in this case as a platform to advance specific claims and promote an explicit agenda. Therefore, rather than considering these as instances of plagiarism, this essay looks at the practice of copying and borrowing as an exercise in intertextuality, intended as the faithful retransmission of ancient truths, and as an indication of the public domain of texts in Tibet.

An Analysis of Attitudes—Dynamics and Effects

1974 ◽  
Vol 68 (3) ◽  
pp. 108-118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beatrice A. Wright
Keyword(s):  
Interpersonal Relationships ◽  
Strong Influence ◽  
Cognitive Factors ◽  
Blind People ◽  
Special Significance ◽  
The Public ◽  
Emotional Factors ◽  
Blind Persons ◽  
The Way

Several cognitive factors are singled out because of their strong influence on the way in which the abilities of blind people are perceived, namely: the spread phenomenon, position of the observer, expectation discrepancy, restricting environmental opportunities in accord with expectations, attribution to person versus environment. In the affective area, negative emotional factors (pity, fear, uneasiness, guilt) and positive emotional factors (genuine sympathy, respect, appreciation, warm interpersonal relationships) are discussed. Ambivalence (the presence of both positive and negative components) is seen as contributing to the variability of behavior toward blind people. Finally, guidelines for the improvement of attitudes and environmental opportunities are outlined. Of special significance for the education of the public is the approach based on the coping framework as opposed to the succumbing framework. Integrating blind persons with sighted persons into as many activities as possible is supported. The vigorous engagement and leadership in programs for the blind by blind people working collaboratively with sighted people are also stressed.

scholarly journals How Reflective and Critical Norm-Usage Paves the Way to the Public Power of Judgement

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 175-188
Author(s):  
Karolina M. Cern
Keyword(s):  
Legal Reasoning ◽  
Public Power ◽  
The Public ◽  
Democratic Polity ◽  
Power Needs ◽  
The Way

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that Neil MacCormick’s conception of norm-usage makes it necessary to address the concept of the public power of judgement as the key concept for understanding the democratic legitimization of current law. Therefore, firstly I analyse MacCormick’s conception of norm-usage, secondly I demonstrate that it leads to the idea of the institutionalisation of judgemental–interpretative practice, and thirdly, I show that the latter paves the way to the public power of judgement. Finally, I argue that this power needs to be elaborated in terms of competencies which are broader than legal skills and legal reasoning, and, further, that these competencies condition the use of both legal skills and reasoning. Importantly, MacCormick’s contribution to understanding the public power of judgement—when further developed—may indicate the profound role of comprehending the proper significance of law in a democratic polity and its relationship to the citizenry.

Musical Culture To-day: A Sociological Note

Tempo ◽  
1944 ◽  
pp. 104-107
Author(s):  
W. H. Mellers
Keyword(s):  
New Technique ◽  
Musical Culture ◽  
The Public ◽  
Look Back ◽  
Good Music ◽  
Adequate Provision ◽  
Post War ◽  
The Way

We are often told that there is to-day a promising efflorescence of musical culture in this country; that the public for ‘good’ music is growing rapidly; and that more adequate provision must be made for music in the post-war reconstructed world. Substantially I believe all this is true; but it does also seem to me that much potential cultural vitality may be wasted if these conclusions are accepted too easily, without enquiry into the premisses on which they are based. What do we mean by musical culture? What do we expect music to give us? The mere quantity of music played tells us nothing; we want to know what kind of relation the noise has to the society that produces it, we want to know what bearing it has on the way people live. If we look back a moment to consider some of the things that music has meant to people living before us, we shall soon see that our problems are peculiarly difficult, and that we may well need a virtually new technique to deal with them. A refusal to see our educational problems against the background of history will lead to confusion and incompetence in musical culture as in everything else.

Mental Health Ontologies

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janna Hastings
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
The Public ◽  
Holistic Understanding ◽  
Public Health Challenges ◽  
Health Related ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Way

Mental health presents one of the defining public health challenges of our time. Proponents of different conceptions of what mental illness is wage war for the hearts and minds of patients, practitioners, policy-makers, and the public. Debate and fragmentation around the nature of the entities that feature in the mental health domain divide resources and reduce progress. The way mental health is publicly discussed in the media has tangible effects, in terms of stigma, access to healthcare and resources, and private expectations of recovery. This book explores in detail the sorts of statements that are made about mental health in the media and public reporting of scientific research, grounding them in the wider context of the theoretical frameworks, assumptions and metaphors that they draw from. The author shows how a holistic understanding of the way that different aspects of mental illness are interrelated can be developed from evidence-based interpretation of the latest research findings. She offers some ideas about corrective, integrative approaches to discussing mental health-related matters publicly that may reduce the opposition between conceptualisations while still aiming to reduce stigma, shame and blame. In particular, she emphasises that discourse in the media needs to be anchored to an overview of all the research results across the field and argues that this could be achieved using new technological infrastructures. The author provides an integrative account of what mental health is, together with an improved understanding of the factors driving the persistence of oppositional accounts in the public discourse. The book will be of benefit to researchers, practitioners and students in the domain of mental health.

La incidencia de la Ley del Procedimiento Administrativo Común de las Administraciones Públicas sobre la potestad normativa local

2017 ◽  
pp. 87-141
Author(s):  
Lucía CASADO CASADO
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Primary Objective ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The Public ◽  
Administrative Procedure ◽  
Legislative Initiative ◽  
The Law ◽  
Regulatory Evaluation ◽  
Regulatory Powers ◽  
Laws And Regulations

LABURPENA: Ekonomiako Lankidetza eta Garapenerako Erakundeak eta Europar Batasunak bultzatutako erregulazioa hobetzeko politika gero eta gehiago garatu da Espainian eta 2015ean bultzada esanguratsua jaso du, urriaren 1eko 39/2015 Legea, Herri Administrazioen Administrazio Prozedura Erkideari buruzkoa, onartuta. Lege horrek titulu berria dakar —VI.a— legegintza-ekinbidea eta erregelamenduak eta bestelako xedapenak emateko ahalmena arautzeko. Bertan, legegintza-ekinbidea eta lege mailako arauak egiteko ahala erabiltzeari, erregelamenduak egiteko ahala erabiltzeari, erregulazio onaren printzipioei, araudiaren ebaluazioari, arauen publizitateari, arauen plangintzari eta herritarrek lege mailako arauak eta erregelamenduak egiteko prozeduran parte hartzeari buruzko xedapen batzuk jasotzen dira. Lan horrek arlo horretan 39/2015 Legeak sartutako berritasunak aztertzen ditu, tokiko ikuspegitik, haren xedapenak administrazio publiko guztiei eta, beraz, toki-administrazioei ere, aplikatzen baitzaizkie. Helburu nagusia Legeak tokiko arauak egiteko ahalean daukan eragina aztertzea eta, ondorioz, arlo horretan tokiko eremuan sartzen diren berritasun nagusiak zehaztea da, haren aplikazioak ekar ditzakeen erronka, arazo eta zalantza batzuk ikusteko eta balizko irtenbideak emateko. RESUMEN: La política de mejora de la regulación, impulsada por la Organización para la Cooperación y el Desarrollo Económico y por la Unión Europea, se ha desarrollado en España de forma reciente y ha recibido un impulso significativo en 2015, con la aprobación de la Ley 39/2015, de 1 de octubre, del procedimiento administrativo común de las administraciones públicas. Esta Ley incluye un nuevo Título —el VI—, destinado a regular la iniciativa legislativa y la potestad para dictar reglamentos y otras disposiciones. En él se recogen algunas previsiones sobre el ejercicio de la iniciativa legislativa y la potestad para dictar normas con rango de ley, el ejercicio de la potestad reglamentaria, los principios de buena regulación, la evaluación normativa, la publicidad de las normas, la planificación normativa y la participación de los ciudadanos en el procedimiento de elaboración de normas con rango de ley y reglamentos. Este trabajo se centra en el análisis de las novedades incorporadas en esta materia por la citada Ley 39/2015 desde una perspectiva local, dada la aplicación de sus previsiones a todas las administraciones públicas y, por consiguiente, también a las administraciones locales. El objetivo primordial es analizar la incidencia de esta Ley sobre la potestad normativa local y, en consecuencia, determinar las principales novedades que se incorporan en esta materia en el ámbito local, con el fin de apuntar algunos retos, problemas e incertidumbres que su aplicación puede suscitar y aportar posibles soluciones. ABSTRACT: Policies to improve regulation promoted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the European Union have recently been applied in Spain and in 2015 received a significant boost with the passing of Law 39/2015, of 1 October, on common administrative procedure for the public administrations. This Law includes a new Section (VI) which regulates legislative initiative and the power to create regulations and other provisions. The law contains provisions regarding the execution of legislative initiative and the power to create regulations with the force of laws, the exercising of regulatory power, the principles of good regulation, regulatory evaluation, regulatory publicity, regulatory planning and the participation of citizens in the process of creating legislation with the force of laws and regulations. The present study analyses the changes made to local regulatory powers by the aforementioned Law 39/2015, given that its provisions are applicable to all public administrations and, therefore, also to the local administrations. The primary objective is to analyse the effect of this Law on local regulatory powers and, therefore, to determine the principle new changes that have been made to local regulatory powers, with the aim of identifying the challenges, problems and uncertainties that may arise through the application of the Law and to propose possible solutions.

A Restricted Gaze: The Ornament of the Main Caliphal Palace of Samarra

2015 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 155-195 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew D. Saba
Keyword(s):  
Restricted Access ◽  
The Public ◽  
Partial Reconstruction ◽  
Architectural Ornament ◽  
The Way

This essay examines the architectural ornament of Samarra’s Main Caliphal Palace, also known as the Dar al-Khilafa, in light of the context in which it was seen. First, it offers a partial reconstruction of the architectural ornament in one section of the palace, its Audience Hall Complex, based on unpublished documentation from the archive of Ernst Herzfeld, who excavated the site in 1912–13. In the second part, Herzfeld’s findings are interpreted in light of the function of the space as the locus of official audiences at the Abbasid Court. The analysis suggests that in certain portions of Samarra’s Main Caliphal Palace ornament was carefully planned in conjunction with its architectural frame and can even be seen to further the ideological aims of the palace’s patrons. By encouraging the viewer to glance but remaining partly to completely hidden from sight from most palace guests, the decorations of the Audience Hall Complex reinforce the sense of hierarchy and restricted access that informed the way Abbasid caliphs were presented to the public.


scholarly journals A Survey and Analysis on the Sense of Nuclear Safety & Security for the Public: A Chinese Perspective

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 2495 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ye Yan ◽  
Fanghua Lu
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Safety ◽  
Assessment System ◽  
Intermediate Level ◽  
Three Dimension ◽  
The Public ◽  
Related Information ◽  
Sense Of Security ◽  
The Government ◽  
Security Affairs ◽  
The Way

With the new round of global nuclear issues, the populace’s emotion has been tensed and discomposure has been trigged off. To accurately understand the sense of nuclear safety & security for the Chinese public and ensure that the government makes reasonable decisions regarding nuclear issues, a special questionnaire and evaluation has been carried out. With the use of the principles for sociology of security, the methods of questionnaires and SPSS, a three-dimension assessment system, which consists of knowledge and experience, internal, and external trust, and the way of perception, was constructed. This research shows that the state of Chinese populace’s sense of nuclear safety & security is generally as follows: their knowledge of nuclear safety & security and personal experience are still on a low to intermediate level; In terms of trust, it shows that the populace has lack of adequate trust in nuclear safety & security of neighboring countries or regions, as well as Chinese government’s countermeasures; in the way of perception of nuclear safety & security, the populace has few options of related information sources and though the sources are less reliable. Also, the size of the audience of nuclear safety & security is far short of what is desired. Finally, the comprehensive assessment holds that the current overall sense of security for the Chinese populace is on a low to intermediate level (40.71%). This paper points out that China should strengthen the popularization of the security of nuclear science to enhance public security confidence, also, further, more detailed and specific safeguarding measures regarding nuclear safety & security should be made to promote the development of nuclear safety & security affairs.

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