Just an artifact? The concordance between peer review and bibliometrics in economics and statistics in the Italian research assessment exercise

During the Italian research assessment exercise (2004–2010), the governmental agency (ANVUR) in charge of its realization performed an experiment on the concordance between peer review and bibliometrics at an individual article level. The computed concordances were at most weak for science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The only exception was the moderate concordance found for the area of economics and statistics. In this paper, the disclosed raw data of the experiment are used to shed light on the anomalous results obtained for economics and statistics. In particular, the data permit to document that the protocol of the experiment adopted for economics and statistics was different from the one used in the other areas. Indeed, in economics and statistics a same group of scholars developed the bibliometric ranking of journals for evaluating articles, managed peer reviews and formed the consensus groups for deciding the final scores of articles after having received the referee’s reports. This paper shows that the highest level of concordance in economics and statistics was an artifact mainly due to the role played by consensus groups in boosting the agreement between bibliometrics and peer review. Peer Review https://publons.com/publon/10.1162/qss_a_00172

A Data Protection Regime

This chapter is focused on the need for and the likely problems to be encountered as we pursue a regulatory response, especially through the traditional framework for thinking about privacy and data protection. This regulatory framework is characterized through a consideration of an evolving tradition beginning with the contributions that were made by Samuel Warren and Louis Brandeis in 1890. Other perspectives, including those of Edward Bloustein, which suggested the importance of dignity and other intangible injuries are explored. Links between privacy interests and interests in intellectual property emerged within legislative and regulatory concerns being raised about rights to information. Of particular importance are struggles over information rights as they apply to individuals and rights claimed by corporate actors, including those rights being claimed by corporate pursuit of First Amendment, or speech, rights. Distinctions are also drawn in this chapter between rights sought as defenses against actions taken by corporate actors versus those of governmental actors, given the fact that the First Amendment as a constraint applies only to agencies of government. A variety of specific cases and continuing struggles within the legal and regulatory environment are described, and due note is taken of the increasing influence of a neoliberal framing of a “marketplace solution” as the appropriate solution for conflicts over informational rights. The chapter concludes with a discussion of “Fair Information Practices” as a strategy for assigning oversight responsibility for informational regulation to a government agency. While there was expression of hope and desire for a governmental agency focused solely on privacy-related concerns, the creation of such an agency in the United States was not forthcoming.

24. Criminal justice institutions

This chapter explores the criminal justice institutions. In practice, the criminal justice system contains five distinct institutions that are responsible for delivering justice: the police, the Crown Prosecution Service (known as the CPS), the courts, probation providers, and prisons. Although they are all part of one overall system, each has different aims, roles, and challenges. Theoretically, the fact that these bodies are all accountable to the separation of powers concept should bring some unity in that it gives Parliament, the independent judiciary, and central government opportunities to shape the system to align with their version of justice. The government can exert considerable influence through the work of the Ministry of Justice or MoJ. The MoJ is currently the most important governmental agency in the criminal justice system, but the larger and more powerful Home Office is also involved to an extent, mainly with the police.

The BRI Is What Small States Make of It: Evaluating Kuwait's Engagement with China's Belt and Road Initiative

Kuwait's expanding engagement with China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) sheds light on its strategies to meet its socioeconomic needs and navigate the Gulf's adversarial politics. The BRI presents a good case study of how the Kuwaiti leadership evaluates the benefits of and dilemmas created by asymmetric structural relationships. This article thus explores how governmental agency in strategically managing massive financial assets complicates our understanding of the vulnerability of so-called small states.

Principles and Policies for Recycling Decisions and Risk Management

Swedish recycling businesses argue that the Non-Toxic Environmental target gets too much weight and that resource efficiency gets too little focus, which results in decreased recycling. The purpose of this paper is to highlight different factors that recycling of waste decisions should consider, as well as contributing to a constructive discussion of the overall principles and policies for recycling. How recycling works in practice is explored based on nine interviews with stakeholders from the governmental agency level to recycling businesses. Theory with regards to ethics, risk, decision-making, governmental policy and laws is summarised. Finally, the discrepancy and connection between practice and theory is analysed. If recycling of waste is seen as a decision problem, the choice is between to recycle (in different ways) or not to recycle (i.e., energy recovery and/or landfill). Based on risk and decision theory, all relevant goals should be considered. This requires a broader problem framing when goals are in conflict. All parties agree that recycled and virgin material should be treated equally. From a higher policy perspective, it should then be demonstrated that any use of material (recycled and/or virgin) minimize environmental impact and promotes long-term sustainability.

Overview of Environmental Jurisprudence within Environmental Ethics

Environmental Jurisprudence’s highest achievement is its codification of a change in ethics, and a legal recognition that both individual and governmental agency responsibility extend to the natural world. This article provides an overview of Environmental Jurisprudence as it relates to environmental ethics. It examines both the foundation of Environmental Jurisprudence as well as the concept of human rights. The article also critically discusses international environmental law from the perspective of human rights. This research concludes by arguing that despite the attempt made in the international regime for adding eco-centric values in environmental law, environmental jurisprudence to date has continued with anthropocentric ideas with all concerns for safeguarding the means of human survival.

PERAN KEJAKSAAN DALAM TAHAP PENUNTUTAN TERHADAP ANAK YANG MELAKUKAN TINDAK PIDANA” (Studi Kasus Kejaksaaan Negeri Gorontalo)

Public attorney is a governmental agency performing a state power of prosecution and its duties and responsibilities are regulated by Article 30 of Act No. 16 of 2004 about Attorney of Indonesian Republic. In this matter, a child who committed a crime, although qualitatively and quantitatively he or she might commit law breaking just like an adult, but he or she would not be handled like an adult. Attorney as an authoritative agency in prosecution is expected to make indictment that can give repent effect to the defendant and in the same time, it fulfill his or her rights. Problem statements of the research is to know what is profile of ordinance regulating position and role of public attorney in prosecution stage to a child who had committed a crime. Results of the research indicated that synchronous correlation between act and its application in Public Attorney of Gorontalo Regency. The Public Attorney performed its role according to the act

Students’ Comprehension of Design Collaborations with External Organizations

This pilot study examines how design students comprehend collaborations with external organizations— the roles and involvement of different actors in a design process. The study looks at two undergraduate courses where a total of 33 design students collaborate with a municipality and governmental agency. Data focuses on the students' terminology in regard to the external organizations and is collected through questionnaires, voice recording, workshops and written assignments. The data analysis is both quantitative and qualitative, focusing on the word frequency and semantics of the terminology. The results show that the students were not used to working closely to external organizations. This is reflected in the prevalent use of the term “client” instead of “collaborative partner”. Not working closely with organizations nor users is reflected in the students’ inabilities to handle the complexities that emerge when working with multiple stakeholder and users. At the end of the paper, suggestions are made of ways to develop students’ comprehension of ways to involve external organizations and users in the design process.

Regulating interactive ‘creativity for the bad’: camgirls, video games and fake news

Interactive entertainment poses particular regulatory challenges. More specifically, the democratization of technology and creativity has meant that there is no capacity for a governmental agency to effectively regulate the spread, and enjoyment, of allegedly problematic expressions. This article will explore this by contrasting the regulation of non-interactive entertainment (including Dada art and punk music) with more recent forms of (at times) transgressive expression (amateur pornography, video games and fake news). The analysis will be carried out in terms of the different motivations of the range of parties involved in the process (including creators, distributors, consumers and the broader public) and of the different conceptions of the consumer that are implicit in different modes of regulation. The complexity of the interactions means that there is no single regulatory solution; the historical exploration of the issue, nonetheless, suggests that interactivity may be no worse for society than the earlier forms of expression that were, at the time, deemed to be a threat to its moral fabric.

Social, Psychological, and Evolutionary Perspectives on Adoption

Adoption is the process in which adults usually permanently, but also temporarily, care for a child that is not their biological child. Adoption differs from foster care because the latter involves shorter-term placements of a child who is a formal ward of a state or governmental agency. Adoption thus represents an interesting divergence from typical biological families because the primary evolutionary reason biological families are hypothesized to cooperate with and invest in each other is that they share genes with each other. However, adoption of genetically unrelated children is also quite prevalent across cultures. This suggests that there may be other motivations and benefits for adoptive parents, unrelated to directly propagating one’s genes, that are contributing to the prevalence of this behavior. Therefore, this article reviews related sociological, psychological, and evolutionary literature in order to provide a broad understanding of adoption.