Technological Agency in the Co-Constitution of Legal Expertise and the US Drone Program

2013 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 811-831 ◽  
Author(s):  
ANNA LEANDER
Keyword(s):  
Legal Status ◽  
Pierre Bourdieu ◽  
Bruno Latour ◽  
Targeted Killing ◽  
Sociological Approach ◽  
The Us ◽  
Legal Expertise ◽  
Do So

AbstractOn 30 September 2011, the US citizen Anwar al-Awlaki was killed in Yemen in what has become the most controversial incident of US ‘targeted killing’, or, as its critics would prefer, of the US practice of ‘extrajudicial executions’. This controversy over wording expresses a profound disagreement over the legal status of the US drone program. Target killing suggests that the drone program may be legally regulated. Extrajudicial execution suggests that it falls outside the realm of legality. This article does not seek to settle which terminology is the most appropriate. Instead it analyses the legal expertise struggling to do so and its implications. More specifically, it focuses on the processes through which drones constitute the legal expertise that constitutes the drone program as one of targeted killings and of extrajudicial executions; that is, on a process of co-constitution. Drawing theoretical inspiration from and combining new materialist approaches (especially as articulated by Bruno Latour) with the sociological approach of Pierre Bourdieu, the article shows that drones have ‘agency’ in the ‘field’ of legal expertise pertaining to the drone program. Drones are redrawing the boundaries of legal expertise both by making associations to new forms of expertise and by generating technological expert roles. They are also renegotiating what is valuable to expertise. Drones are making both transparency and secrecy core to expertise. However, and contrary to what is often claimed, this agency does not inescapably lead to the normalization of targeted killings. The article therefore concludes that acknowledging the agency of drones is important for understanding how legal expertise is formed but especially for underscoring the continued potential for controversy and politics.

scholarly journals Construção, usos sociais e busca de legitimidade das tecnologias da geoinformação do INPE | Construction, social uses and legitimation of geioinformational technologies at INPE

2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paulo Augusto Sobral Escada ◽  
Guilherme Reis Pereira
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Production ◽  
Sociology Of Knowledge ◽  
Pierre Bourdieu ◽  
Scientific Field ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Bruno Latour ◽  
Sociological Approach ◽  
De Se ◽  
Social Uses ◽  
Independent Model

Resumo Este artigo analisa a experiência de um grupo de cientistas e especialistas do Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE) que buscou consolidar e legitimar, ao longo de duas décadas, um modo próprio de produção de conhecimento científico e tecnológico. Mudanças de paradigma da Política de C&T, nos anos 1990, retiraram o apoio governamental de seus desenvolvimentos, obrigando-os a mudar suas ações estratégicas para que permitisse manter e preservar o modelo endógeno e autônomo de produção do conhecimento. O artigo trabalha com a perspectiva de Pierre Bourdieu (2001), aplicada ao campo científico, e a noção de “translação” de Bruno Latour (2000). A abordagem sociológica contempla e naturaliza os jogos de interesses e disputas no interior do campo científico, bem como destaca o processo de legitimação científica e social do conhecimento. O artigo tem como objetivo principal oferecer uma contribuição aos processos de discussão do modelo das políticas de CTI, principalmente na definição dos conhecimentos a serem produzidos e absorvidos pelo processo de desenvolvimento econômico e social do país. O artigo destaca a necessidade de se ampliar e aprofundar mecanismos democráticos, adotando maior inclusão e transparência nas disputas do campo científico e das políticas de C&T, condições básicas para alcançar um consenso geral que permita emergir um desenvolvimento desejado e planejado por boa parte da sociedade.Palavras-chave Sociologia do Conhecimento, produção de conhecimento, legitimação, democracia e desenvolvimentoAbstract This article analyzes the experience of a group of scientists and specialists from the National Institute of Space Research (INPE) who aimed to consolidate and legitimize, throughout two decades, its own way of producing scientific and technological knowledge. Changes of paradigm in Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Politics, during the 90s, removed governmental support from its developments, compelling scientists to change their strategic actions in order to preserve their endogenous and independent model of knowledge production. The article uses Pierre Bourdieu´s (2001) perspective applied to scientific field and the notion of “translation” from Bruno Latour`s (2000) point of view. The sociological approach contemplates and naturalizes interest games and disputes in the scientific field, as well as emphasizes the scientific and social legitimating process of knowledge. The main objective of this article is to offer a contribution to STI politics model discussion processes, mainly those that define the knowledge produced and absorbed by the Brazilian economic and social development process. The article highlights the necessity of extending and deepening democratic mechanisms, adopting more inclusiveness and transparency into the scientific field and STI politics, basic conditions to reach a general consensus so that a desired and planned development by the majority of society may emerge.Keywords sociology of knowledge, knowledge production, legitimation, democracy and development

Alcohol Consumption and Risk of Uterine Fibroids

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 247-258 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hajra Takala ◽  
Qiwei Yang ◽  
Ahmed M. Abd El Razek ◽  
Mohamed Ali ◽  
Ayman Al-Hendy
Keyword(s):  
Alcohol Consumption ◽  
Animal Studies ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Legal Status ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Uterine Fibroids ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Working Adults ◽  
The Us ◽  
Alcohol Related Problems

Lifestyle factors, such as alcohol intake, have placed a substantial burden on public health. Alcohol consumption is increasing globally due to several factors including easy accessibility of this addictive substance besides its legal status and social acceptability. In the US, alcohol is the third leading preventable cause of death (after tobacco, poor diet and physical inactivity) with an estimated 88,000 people dying from alcohol-related causes annually, representing 1 in 10 deaths among working adults. Furthermore, the economic burden of excess drinking costs the US around $249 billion ($191.1 billion related to binge drinking). Although men likely drink more than women do, women are at much higher risk for alcohol-related problems. Alcohol use is also considered to be one of the most common non-communicable diseases, which affects reproductive health. This review article summarizes the current knowledge about alcohol-related pathogenesis of uterine fibroids (UFs) and highlights the molecular mechanisms that contribute to the development of UFs in response to alcohol consumption. Additionally, the effect of alcohol on the levels of various factors that are involved in UFs pathogenesis, such as steroid hormones, growth factors and cytokines, are summarized in this review. Animal studies of deleterious alcohol effect and future directions are discussed as well.

Prohibition, Legalization, and Political Consumerism

2018 ◽  
pp. 740-769 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth A. Bennett
Keyword(s):  
Social Movements ◽  
Legal Status ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Drug Control ◽  
Psychoactive Substance ◽  
Political Consumerism ◽  
Control Laws ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Us

Cannabis (marijuana) is the most commonly consumed, universally produced, and frequently trafficked psychoactive substance prohibited under international drug control laws. Yet, several countries have recently moved toward legalization. In these places, the legal status of cannabis is complex, especially because illegal markets persist. This chapter explores the ways in which a sector’s legal status interacts with political consumerism. The analysis draws on a case study of political consumerism in the US and Canadian cannabis markets over the past two decades as both countries moved toward legalization. It finds that the goals, tactics, and leadership of political consumerism activities changed as the sector’s legal status shifted. Thus prohibition, semilegalization, and new legality may present special challenges to political consumerism, such as silencing producers, confusing consumers, deterring social movements, and discouraging discourse about ethical issues. The chapter concludes that political consumerism and legal status may have deep import for one another.

scholarly journals Representing, commemorating, and memorizing terrorist attacks: Discussing the US and French experiences

2021 ◽  
pp. 263300242110244
Author(s):  
Alice M. Greenwald ◽  
Clifford Chanin ◽  
Henry Rousso ◽  
Michel Wieviorka ◽  
Mohamed-Ali Adraoui
Keyword(s):  
Historical Context ◽  
The United States ◽  
Terrorist Attacks ◽  
The Political ◽  
Modes Of Operation ◽  
The Us ◽  
Places Of Memory ◽  
Similarities And Differences ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Do So

How do societies and states represent the historical, moral, and political weight of the terrorist attacks they have had to face? Having suffered in recent years from numerous terrorist attacks on their soil originating from jihadist movements, and often led by actors who were also their own citizens, France and the United States have set up—or seek to do so—places of memory whose functions, conditions of creation, modes of operation, and nature of the messages sent may vary. Three of the main protagonists and initiators of two museum-memorial projects linked to terrorist attacks have agreed to deliver their visions of the role and of the political, social, and historical context in which these projects have emerged. Allowing to observe similarities and differences between the American and French approach, this interview sheds light on the place of memory and feeling in societies struck by tragic events and seeking to cure their ills through memory and commemoration.

scholarly journals Not a Country or a Stereotype: Latina LDS Experiences of Ethnic Homogenization and Racial Tokenism in the American West

Religions ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 333
Author(s):  
Brittany Romanello
Keyword(s):  
Legal Status ◽  
Latter Day Saints ◽  
Immigrant Incorporation ◽  
White Family ◽  
1.5 Generation ◽  
Cultural Heterogeneity ◽  
The Us ◽  
Lds Church ◽  
Progressive Policy ◽  
The Church

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS), also called Mormonism, has experienced rapid changes in its US demographics due to an influx of Latinx membership. The most recent growth in the US church body has been within Spanish-speaking congregations, and many of these congregant members are first or 1.5-generation immigrant Latinas. Using ethnographic data from 27 interviews with immigrant members living in Utah, Nevada, and California, LDS Latinas reported that while US Anglo members did seem to appreciate certain aspects of their cultural customs or practices, they also reported frequently experiencing ethnic homogenization or racial tokenization within US Church spaces and with White family members. Our findings indicate that the contemporary LDS church, despite some progressive policy implementations within its doctrinal parameters, still struggles in its ever-globalizing state to prioritize exposing White US members to the cultural heterogeneity of non-White, global LDS identities and perspectives. Latina LDS experiences and their religious adjacency to Whiteness provide a useful lens by which researchers can better understand the ways in which ethnic identity, gender, legal status, and language create both opportunities and challenges for immigrant incorporation and inclusion within US religious spaces and add to the existing body of scholarship on migration and religion.

Assessment of the Implementation of AUC Dosing and Monitoring Practices With Vancomycin at Hospitals Across the United States

2021 ◽  
pp. 089719002110123
Author(s):  
Nicole Bradley ◽  
Yuman Lee ◽  
Muaz Sadeia
Keyword(s):  
The United States ◽  
Descriptive Statistics ◽  
Therapeutic Drug ◽  
User Friendliness ◽  
Electronic Survey ◽  
The Us ◽  
Institutional Adoption ◽  
American Society ◽  
Trough Levels ◽  
Do So

Introduction: The latest vancomycin therapeutic drug monitoring guidelines for serious MRSA infections have made a pivotal change in dosing, switching from targeting trough levels to AUC dosing. Because of these new recommendations, antimicrobial stewardship programs across the country are tasked with implementing AUC based dosing. Objectives: To assess plans for institutional adoption of vancomycin AUC dosing programs and perceptions of currently used programs in hospitals across the US. Methods: An electronic survey was distributed to members of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy IDprn Listserv and American Society of Health-System Pharmacists between May and June 2020 to assess current institutional vancomycin dosing. Institutional program use and multiple software user parameters were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results: Two hundred two pharmacists responded to the survey with the majority practicing in institutions with 251-500 beds. Most respondents have yet to implement AUC dosing (142/202, 70.3%) with many of them planning to do so in the next year (81/142, 57.0%). Of those that already implemented AUC dosing programs, purchased Bayesian software (23/60, 38.3%) and homemade software (21/60, 35.0%) were the 2 methods most frequently utilized. Purchased Bayesian software users were more likely to recommend their software to other institutions and ranked user friendliness higher compared to non-purchased software. Conclusion: Most respondents have not made the switch to vancomycin AUC dosing, but there is a growing interest with many institutions looking to adopt a program within the next year.

scholarly journals Norm transformation and the institutionalization of targeted killing in the US

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 723-747 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Frankel Pratt
Keyword(s):  
Use Of Force ◽  
Central Intelligence Agency ◽  
Network Synthesis ◽  
Relational Sociology ◽  
Targeted Killing ◽  
Intelligence Agency ◽  
Means And Ends ◽  
The Us ◽  
Norm Change

This article explains the emergence and institutionalization of the US’s targeted killing practices as a case of norm transformation. I argue that international and domestic US prohibitions on assassination have not disappeared, but have changed as a result of practitioner-led changes in the conventions, technologies, and bureaucratic structures governing the use of force in counterterrorism activities. After discussing the limits of alternative explanations, and drawing inspiration from practice theory, pragmatist social theory, and relational sociology, I posit three causal mechanisms as responsible for the transformation: convention reorientation, which was the redefinition of targeted killing to distinguish it from assassination; technological revision, which was the development and use of unmanned aerial vehicles (“drones”) to bypass normative and strategic concerns over precision; and network synthesis, which was the support of the Bush administration and especially of the Obama administration, overruling dissenters from within the Central Intelligence Agency (who were often very highly placed). I trace the processes by which these mechanisms operated and interacted in simultaneous and mutually reinforcing ways from the start of the millennium until now. Finally, I discuss some of the ways in which this contributes to institutional analysis and the study of norm change more generally, and, in particular, how it considers the role of technology and the reciprocity of means and ends.

Hitler's Antarctic base: the myth and the reality

Polar Record ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colin Summerhayes ◽  
Peter Beeching
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Nuclear Weapons ◽  
Background Knowledge ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Lack Of Information ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
The Us ◽  
Us Navy ◽  
Dronning Maud Land ◽  
Do So

In January-February 1939, a secret German expedition visited Dronning (or Queen) Maud Land, Antarctica, apparently with the intention inter alia of establishing a base there. Between 1943 and 1945 the British launched a secret wartime Antarctic operation, code-named Tabarin. Men from the Special Air Services Regiment (SAS), Britain's covert forces for operating behind the lines, appeared to be involved. In July and August 1945, after the German surrender, two U-boats arrived in Argentina. Had they been to Antarctica to land Nazi treasure or officials? In the southern summer of 1946–1947, the US Navy appeared to ‘invade’ Antarctica using a large force. The operation, code-named Highjump, was classified confidential. In 1958, three nuclear weapons were exploded in the region, as part of another classified US operation, code-named Argus. Given the initial lack of information about these various activities, it is not, perhaps, surprising that some people would connect them to produce a pattern in which governments would be accused of suppressing information about ‘what really happened’, and would use these pieces of information to construct a myth of a large German base existing in Antarctica and of allied efforts to destroy it. Using background knowledge of Antarctica and information concerning these activities that has been published since the early 1940s, it is demonstrated: that the two U-Boats could not have reached Antarctica; that there was no secret wartime German base in Dronning Maud Land; that SAS troops did not attack the alleged German base; that the SAS men in the region at the time had civilian jobs; that Operation Highjump was designed to train the US Navy for a possible war with the Soviet Union in the Arctic, and not to attack an alleged German base in Antarctica; and that Operation Argus took place over the ocean more than 2000 km north of Dronning Maud Land. Activities that were classified have subsequently been declassified and it is no longer difficult to separate fact from fancy, despite the fact that many find it attractive not to do so.

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