scholarly journals Catala: a programming language for the law

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (ICFP) ◽  
pp. 1-29
Author(s):  
Denis Merigoux ◽  
Nicolas Chataing ◽  
Jonathan Protzenko
Keyword(s):  
Programming Language ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
Software Ecosystem ◽  
The Us ◽  
Statutory Law ◽  
Federal Income Tax ◽  
French Family ◽  
The Law ◽  
Family Benefits

Law at large underpins modern society, codifying and governing many aspects of citizens' daily lives. Oftentimes, law is subject to interpretation, debate and challenges throughout various courts and jurisdictions. But in some other areas, law leaves little room for interpretation, and essentially aims to rigorously describe a computation, a decision procedure or, simply said, an algorithm. Unfortunately, prose remains a woefully inadequate tool for the job. The lack of formalism leaves room for ambiguities; the structure of legal statutes, with many paragraphs and sub-sections spread across multiple pages, makes it hard to compute the intended outcome of the algorithm underlying a given text; and, as with any other piece of poorly-specified critical software, the use of informal, natural language leaves corner cases unaddressed. We introduce Catala, a new programming language that we specifically designed to allow a straightforward and systematic translation of statutory law into an executable implementation. Notably, Catala makes it natural and easy to express the general case / exceptions logic that permeates statutory law. Catala aims to bring together lawyers and programmers through a shared medium, which together they can understand, edit and evolve, bridging a gap that too often results in dramatically incorrect implementations of the law. We have implemented a compiler for Catala, and have proven the correctness of its core compilation steps using the F* proof assistant. We evaluate Catala on several legal texts that are algorithms in disguise, notably section 121 of the US federal income tax and the byzantine French family benefits; in doing so, we uncover a bug in the official implementation of the French benefits. We observe as a consequence of the formalization process that using Catala enables rich interactions between lawyers and programmers, leading to a greater understanding of the original legislative intent, while producing a correct-by-construction executable specification reusable by the greater software ecosystem. Doing so, Catala increases trust in legal institutions, and mitigates the risk of societal damage due to incorrect implementations of the law.

A University Education

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Willetts
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
University Education ◽  
Modern World ◽  
Controversial Issues ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The University ◽  
First Time ◽  
The Relationship

Universities have a crucial role in the modern world. In England, entrance to universities is by nation-wide competition which means English universities have an exceptional influence on schools--a striking theme of the book. This important book first investigates the university as an institution and then tracks the individual on their journey to and through university. In A University Education, David Willetts presents a compelling case for the ongoing importance of the university, both as one of the great institutions of modern society and as a transformational experience for the individual. The book also makes illuminating comparisons with higher education in other countries, especially the US and Germany. Drawing on his experience as UK Minister for Universities and Science from 2010 to 2014, the author offers a powerful account of the value of higher education and the case for more expansion. He covers controversial issues in which he was involved from access for disadvantaged students to the introduction of L9,000 fees. The final section addresses some of the big questions for the future, such as the the relationship between universities and business, especially in promoting innovation.. He argues that the two great contemporary trends of globalisation and technological innovation will both change the university significantly. This is an authoritative account of English universities setting them for the first time in their new legal and regulatory framework.

Religion and Religiosity in the US

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Detlef Pollack ◽  
Gergely Rosta
Keyword(s):  
Social Inequality ◽  
Empirical Analysis ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
Religion And Politics ◽  
Economic Conditions ◽  
Religious Practices ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Empirical Analysis

Although the countries of Western Europe are very similar to the US in terms of their social, political, and economic conditions, they differ greatly when it comes to religion. Chapter 10 discusses how these differences can be explained. The empirical analysis shows that, besides the considerable differences in the level of religiosity between the US and Western Europe, there are also surprising similarities in the weakening church ties and religious practices. The findings demonstrate that it is in many respects not Europe but America that is the exception. This relates among other things to the level of social inequality, which is unusually high for a modern society, the strong tendencies towards functional dedifferentiation, such as between religion and politics, and the traditionalism of the culturally accepted system of values.

Designing Requirement of Spring and MR Damper for New Type Baby Car Seat

2015 ◽  
Vol 741 ◽  
pp. 28-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chang Hyun Cho ◽  
Seung Bok Choi
Keyword(s):  
Mr Damper ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
Magnetorheological Damper ◽  
Car Seat ◽  
Car Safety ◽  
New Type ◽  
Design Requirements ◽  
The Law ◽  
Car Accident ◽  
Safety Seat

In modern society, a plenty of car accident is occurred and a lot of people get injury every day. For this reason, the importance of car safety has been increased and car safety has been extensively studied. Especially in many countries, the law about using baby safety seat is legislated to protect babies and children from accident. Thus, recently numerous products for baby safety have been developed. In this paper, a new type baby car seat is proposed to protect babies and children from frontal accident. In order to achieve this goal, design requirements of spring and MR(Magnetorheological) Damper which are main elements for a new type baby car seat are investigated.

Colonial Plunder and the Failure of Restitution in Postwar Korea

2017 ◽  
Vol 52 (3) ◽  
pp. 607-624
Author(s):  
Christine Kim
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
National Interests ◽  
Cultural Patrimony ◽  
Cultural Hierarchy ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Artistic Achievement ◽  
The Government ◽  
Academic Resources

This article evaluates the US ‘Monuments Men’ operations in Korea, focusing on wartime and postwar efforts undertaken by the government of the USA to preserve and restore artwork seized by Japan. The Asian initiative, conceived a year after the European model was established, likewise drew upon cultural, intellectual, and academic resources. Yet fundamental differences in personnel, perceptions of Korean cultural backwardness, prevailing imperialist attitudes, and Cold War sensibilities rendered a very different kind of project. Ultimately the ‘Monuments Men’ succeeded primarily in preserving the cultural patrimony of Japan, but it failed to recover any plundered objects from Korea, or the rest of Asia for that matter. Focusing on the US deliberations regarding repatriation of Korean looted art, this article lays bare both the US preoccupation with maintaining the national interests of its newest ally, and exposes an understanding of East Asian cultural hierarchy that privileged Japan’s artistic achievement and modern society above all.

The Federal Income Tax: A Guide to the Law

1949 ◽  
Vol 47 (5) ◽  
pp. 736
Author(s):  
Joyce Stanley ◽  
Richard Kilcullen
Keyword(s):  
Income Tax ◽  
Federal Income Tax ◽  
The Law

scholarly journals Exploring Attitudes About the Legality of Self-Managed Abortion in the US: Results from a Nationally Representative Survey

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Raifman ◽  
M. Antonia Biggs ◽  
Lauren Ralph ◽  
Katherine Ehrenreich ◽  
Daniel Grossman
Keyword(s):  
Multinomial Logistic Regression ◽  
Public Attitudes ◽  
The United States ◽  
Public Affairs ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Reproductive Age ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Law ◽  
Nationally Representative

Abstract Introduction Twenty-four states have at least one law in place that could be used to prosecute people for self-managed abortion (SMA), or the termination of a pregnancy outside of the formal healthcare system. We investigated factors associated with public attitudes about SMA legality and legal access to abortion more generally. Methods In August 2017, we surveyed a nationally representative sample of English- and Spanish-speaking women ages 18–49 years in the United States (US) using Ipsos Public Affairs’ KnowledgePanel. Unadjusted and adjusted multinomial logistic regression estimates identify characteristics associated with believing that SMA should not be against the law, compared to should be against the law, with weighting to account for sampling into the panel. Results Overall, 76% (95% CI: 74.3%-77.1%) and 59% (95% CI: 57.3%-60.4%) of participants (n = 7,022, completion rate 50%) reported that abortion and SMA, respectively, should not be against the law; 1% and 19% were unsure. Among those living in a state with at least one law that could be used to prosecute an individual for SMA, the majority (55%, 95% CI: 52.7%-57.9%) believed SMA should not be against the law. Factors associated with believing SMA should not be against the law, compared to should be against the law, included prior abortion experience and higher levels of education and income. Conclusion Most reproductive age women in the US believe that SMA should not be criminalized. There is more uncertainty about SMA legality than about the legality of abortion more generally. Policy Implications US laws that criminalize SMA are not supported by the majority of the people living in their jurisdictions.

Culture and the popular: Introduction to essays in memory of Brian Rigby

2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 293-299
Author(s):  
Michael Kelly
Keyword(s):  
Popular Culture ◽  
Cultural Studies ◽  
Cultural History ◽  
Rapid Expansion ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
The Us ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
The Uk ◽  
French Cultural Studies

This article introduces the special number of French Cultural Studies commemorating the role of Brian Rigby as the journal’s first Managing Editor. It situates his contribution in the emergence of cultural history and French cultural studies during the rapid expansion of higher education from the 1960s in France, the UK, the US and other countries. It suggests that these new areas of study saw cultural activities in a broader social context and opened the way to a wider understanding of culture, in which popular culture played an increasingly important part. It argues that the study of popular culture can illuminate some of the most mundane experiences of everyday life, and some of the most challenging. It can also help to understand the rapidly changing cultural environment in which our daily lives are now conducted.

scholarly journals The Detainee, the Prisoner, and the Refugee: The Dynamics of Violent Subject Production

2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 516-539 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kati Nieminen
Keyword(s):  
Refugee Camps ◽  
Detention Center ◽  
Guantanamo Bay ◽  
Supermax Prisons ◽  
The Us ◽  
Production Techniques ◽  
The Law

This article takes violence in the law seriously, scrutinizing three sites engaged in violent subject production and resistance: the Guantanamo Bay detention center, supermax prisons in the US, and European refugee camps. The concepts of martyring and torturing serve help to untangle the dynamics of the law’s violence. The violent subject production techniques used in these sites are discussed as torture practices that aim to reproduce the dominant subjectivity. As the law has often proved unable to fully address the situation of the detainee, the prisoner, and the refugee, hunger striking as martyring is discussed as a way to deconstruct hegemonic subjectivity and to force the law to face its own violence.

scholarly journals Controversial advertising of medicines. A comparison between Poland and the United States

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (5) ◽  
pp. 67-79
Author(s):  
Marta Makowska
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Prescription Drugs ◽  
The United States ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Direct To Consumer ◽  
Law And Ethics ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Law ◽  
Direct To Consumer Advertising

For many years, the subject of aggressive marketing campaigns conducted by pharmaceutical companies has been raised in Poland. Drug ads are everywhere, on television, the radio, magazines and on the Internet. Therefore, it is extremely important is to ensure both their legal and ethical dimension. This article will present the differences between direct-to-consumer advertising of medicines in Poland and in the US. The dissimilarities result mainly from differences in legislation. In Poland, the law is much stricter than in the US. For example, in the United States companies are allowed to advertise prescription drugs directly to patients. In the whole of the European Union, and thus in Poland, it is strictly prohibited. The article will also present other regulations existing in Poland and in the United States and it will compare them. It will offer examples of violations of the law and ethics in the advertising of medicine in both countries. Lastly, it will briefly outline the negative consequences of unacceptable pharmaceutical marketing.

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