Contractual Reconstructions

Author(s):  
Albert Weale

In the twilight of utilitarianism contract theorist sought to respond to the problems that utilitarianism had thrown up. How successful were they? Our review of contract theory has shown that it is not possible to base a contract theory on a utility theory of rationality, even though some have claimed that such a theory states the essential elements of rational behaviour. The axioms of utility theory are controversial in themselves, and do not give an account of prudence. To have an account of prudence, we need to turn to the deliberative account of rationality, and the idea of intelligibility. The practical syllogism will only take us so far, however, and will not deal with cases where interests conflict. There is no need to make a sharp distinction between contract theories in which there is a plurality of agents, without a veil of ignorance, and a single agent behind a veil of ignorance. The singular veil of ignorance construction can be regarded as a more abstract thought experiment in situation of moral perplexity. Similarly, the distinction between mutual advantage theories, which involve essential reference to a baseline of non-cooperation, and baseline independent theories is not clear, since much depends on the character of the baseline. The problem of obligation remains unresolved, but its lack of resolution underlines a conclusion of Hart to the effect that coercion is an essential element of a large-scale society.

Author(s):  
Albert Weale

Modern contract theories differ from one another along one principal dimension, namely the account of practical rationality that they employ. One class of theories draws upon modern expected utility theory; a second conceives of rationality in terms of deliberative reasoning. The purpose of this chapter is to offer an exposition of these two approaches. Modern utility theory is built upon the idea of imposing consistency conditions on the choices that agents make over alternatives. Utility is understood as a numerical representation of a consistent rank-ordering by individuals over alternatives. Utility theory been applied to studies of the interactions of individuals defined as rational in the required sense, in the form of game theory. Two types of game have been of particular interest to social contract theorist: positive sum bargaining games and the prisoner’s dilemma. By contrast with utility theory, there is no orthodox theory of deliberative rationality. However, there are some important formulations that shape the deliberative form of contract theory. One is the idea of the practical syllogism. Another is the distinction between agent-relative and agent-neutral reasons. A third is the distinction between internal and external reasons. Both utility theory and deliberative theory should be thought to be normative. The principle of universalizability offers a distinctive conception of practical rationality that contrasts with contract theory.


Electronics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (14) ◽  
pp. 1670
Author(s):  
Waheeb Abu-Ulbeh ◽  
Maryam Altalhi ◽  
Laith Abualigah ◽  
Abdulwahab Ali Almazroi ◽  
Putra Sumari ◽  
...  

Cyberstalking is a growing anti-social problem being transformed on a large scale and in various forms. Cyberstalking detection has become increasingly popular in recent years and has technically been investigated by many researchers. However, cyberstalking victimization, an essential part of cyberstalking, has empirically received less attention from the paper community. This paper attempts to address this gap and develop a model to understand and estimate the prevalence of cyberstalking victimization. The model of this paper is produced using routine activities and lifestyle exposure theories and includes eight hypotheses. The data of this paper is collected from the 757 respondents in Jordanian universities. This review paper utilizes a quantitative approach and uses structural equation modeling for data analysis. The results revealed a modest prevalence range is more dependent on the cyberstalking type. The results also indicated that proximity to motivated offenders, suitable targets, and digital guardians significantly influences cyberstalking victimization. The outcome from moderation hypothesis testing demonstrated that age and residence have a significant effect on cyberstalking victimization. The proposed model is an essential element for assessing cyberstalking victimization among societies, which provides a valuable understanding of the prevalence of cyberstalking victimization. This can assist the researchers and practitioners for future research in the context of cyberstalking victimization.


2021 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 194-202
Author(s):  
Funda Demir ◽  
Meral Yildirim Ozen ◽  
Emek Moroydor Derun

Abstract In this study, essential (Ca, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Na, P, Zn), and non-essential (Al, Ni, Pb) element contents of the drinking and baby water samples which are sold in the local market and tap water samples in Istanbul were examined. It was determined that elements of Cr, Cu, Fe, P, Zn, Al, and Ni were below detection limits in all water samples. Among the non-essential elements analyzed in water samples, Pb was the only detected element. At the same time, the percentages that meet the daily element requirements of infants were also calculated. As a result of the evaluations made, there is no significant difference in infant nutrition between baby waters and other drinking waters in terms of the element content.


2013 ◽  
Vol 94 (12) ◽  
pp. 2819-2827 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rona Wilson ◽  
Karen Dobie ◽  
Nora Hunter ◽  
Cristina Casalone ◽  
Thierry Baron ◽  
...  

The transmission of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) to humans, leading to variant Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease has demonstrated that cattle transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) can pose a risk to human health. Until recently, TSE disease in cattle was thought to be caused by a single agent strain, BSE, also known as classical BSE, or BSE-C. However, due to the initiation of a large-scale surveillance programme throughout Europe, two atypical BSE strains, bovine amyloidotic spongiform encephalopathy (BASE, also named BSE-L) and BSE-H have since been discovered. To model the risk to human health, we previously inoculated these two forms of atypical BSE (BASE and BSE-H) into gene-targeted transgenic (Tg) mice expressing the human prion protein (PrP) (HuTg) but were unable to detect any signs of TSE pathology in these mice. However, despite the absence of TSE pathology, upon subpassage of some BASE-challenged HuTg mice, a TSE was observed in recipient gene-targeted bovine PrP Tg (Bov6) mice but not in HuTg mice. Disease transmission from apparently healthy individuals indicates the presence of subclinical BASE infection in mice expressing human PrP that cannot be identified by current diagnostic methods. However, due to the lack of transmission to HuTg mice on subpassage, the efficiency of mouse-to-mouse transmission of BASE appears to be low when mice express human rather than bovine PrP.


Author(s):  
Alicia L. Jurek ◽  
Matthew C. Matusiak ◽  
Randa Embry Matusiak

Purpose The current research explores the structural elaboration of municipal American police organizations, specifically, the structural complexity of police organizations and its relationship to time. The purpose of this paper is to describe and test essential elements of the structural elaboration hypothesis. Design/methodology/approach The authors explore the structural elaboration hypothesis utilizing a sample of 219 large police departments across the USA. Data are drawn from multiple waves of the Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics survey and are analyzed using tobit and OLS regression techniques. Findings While there is some evidence that police departments are becoming more elaborate, little evidence for the structural elaboration hypothesis as a function of time is found. Originality/value This project is the first to specifically explore the structural elaboration hypothesis across multiple time points. Additionally, results highlight structural trends across a panel of large American police organizations and provide potential explanations for changes. Suggestions for large-scale policing data collection are also provided.


Author(s):  
Tapatee Sahoo ◽  
Babushri Srinivas Kedukodi ◽  
Kar Ping Shum ◽  
Harikrishnan Panackal ◽  
Syam Prasad Kuncham

We introduce the concept of essentiality in a lattice [Formula: see text] with respect to an element [Formula: see text]. We define notions such as [Formula: see text]-essential, [Formula: see text]-uniform elements and obtain some of their properties. Examples of lattices are given wherein essentiality can be retained with respect to an arbitrary element (specifically, there are elements in [Formula: see text] which are [Formula: see text]-essential but not essential). We prove Goldie analogue results in terms of [Formula: see text]-uniform elements and [Formula: see text]-∨-independent sets. Furthermore, we define a graph with respect to [Formula: see text]-essential element in a lattice and study its properties.


Author(s):  
Denise M. Bressler

Society's serious problems require creative thinkers. Developing an effective workforce relies on cultivating our children's creativity. Unfortunately, we are suffering a creativity crisis, particularly with young children. Since 1990, early elementary students have suffered the largest decrease in creative thinking capacity. Rather than learning through play, young children are taught by rote and tested extensively. Play is indispensable for early learners; without play, students are missing an essential element of early learning that stimulates creative thinking. To promote play, elementary teachers should be trained in maker-centered teaching, a playful approach to learning that embodies the essential elements of STEM education. To truly integrate maker-centered learning, there is a critical need for effective maker-centered professional development. Maker-centered teaching provides playful learning where young children can experience STEM and learn to think more creatively. With maker-centered teaching, we can make the next generation of innovators.


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