Participation of the foreign public in the site selection procedure: prerequisites and the question of informal participation

Public participation in the German site selection procedure is not only novel compared to previous sectoral legal regulations, but also significantly more complex. In addition to the usual participation in commenting procedures and discussion meetings (Section 7 of the German Repository Site Selection Act, Standortauswahlgesetz, StandAG), there are new formats for formal participation, such as regional conferences (Section 10 para. 2 sentence 2 StandAG). Informal participation (see Section 5 (3) StandAG) is also planned. In view of the numerous countries neighbouring Germany, the article concentrates on the question of the extent to which the non-German public is also to be involved in this process. The legal regulations are open to interpretation, and their requirements with regard to the non-German public are also largely unresolved in the literature. However, clarification is needed since these are mandatory formats and the German Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear Waste Management (Bundesamt für die Sicherheit der nuklearen Entsorgung, BASE) is responsible for ensuring compliance with these formats; moreover, complaints can be filed for non-compliance with the mandatory requirements. With regard to participation in commenting procedures and discussion meetings, the relationship between Section 7 StandAG and the requirements for cross-border participation in Sections 54 ff., 61 f. UVPG need to be clarified. This is due to the fact that Section 7 StandAG makes no provision for any restriction on the “public” to be involved, whereas under the German Environmental Impacts Assessment Act (Gesetz über die Umweltverträglichkeitsprüfung, UVPG), participation is in part made dependent on “being affected”. The solution here is to seek that all people (in the world) are allowed in principle to participate. However, the facilitations specifically provided for only in the UVPG (e.g. translations) can be limited to certain states (or languages). For the regional conferences, provision is explicitly made in Section 10 para. 2 sentence 2 StandAG for the participation of the non-German public (“shall be given equal consideration”): If the siting region is in a border area, non-German citizens are to participate in the plenary meeting and are given equal consideration to those of the German regional authorities (bordering the siting region). However, the regional section, the concrete administrative entity, is not defined. Here, according to the researchers, the criterion of equivalence can be taken into account by selecting a geographical section that corresponds in its maximum extent to the largest German territorial community that borders on the siting region. The law also does not specify any further prerequisites for the appointment of the deputizing body and its important tasks. Here again, the requirement of “equal consideration” can be taken into account. The procedural rules must at least allow for the eligibility of non-German citizens for election (if necessary by means of proportional representation). Also of great relevance is the inclusion of non-German citizens in informal forms of participation. Complementary forms of participation are planned in order to further develop “the procedure of public participation”. The principles of public participation do not differentiate between the German and non-German citizens to be involved. Moreover, if the legislature establishes the obligation to involve the non-German public in the case of siting regions in a border area, this must, according to the researchers, also apply to the complementary, informal forms: the principle of equivalence produces a “ripple effect” here. Otherwise, a “gap” in information and participation could arise in a siting region in a border area: “complementarily” integrated citizens, political decision-makers and environmental associations on the German side, as well as their non-German counterparts on the other side, that do not have the same degree of information and integration. The contents of the presentation were developed as part of the research project “Herausforderungen und Erfolgsfaktoren bei grenzüberschreitender Öffentlichkeitsbeteiligung im Standortauswahlverfahren – HErüber” (challenges and success factors in cross-border public participation in the site selection procedure) on behalf of the BASE.

Intraoperative Neuromonitoring During Resection of Gliomas Involving Eloquent Areas

In the case of resection of gliomas involving eloquent areas, equal consideration should be given to maintain maximal extent of resection (EOR) and neurological protection, for which the intraoperative neuromonitoring (IONM) proves an effective and admirable approach. IONM techniques applied in clinical practice currently consist of somatosensory evoked potential (SSEP), direct electrical stimulation (DES), motor evoked potential (MEP), electromyography (EMG), and electrocorticography (ECoG). The combined use of DES and ECoG has been adopted widely. With the development of technology, more effective IONM tactics and programs would be proposed. The ultimate goal would be strengthening the localization of eloquent areas and epilepsy foci, reducing the incidence of postoperative dysfunction and epilepsy improving the life quality of patients.

David DeGrazia on Animal Rights: A Critical Analysis

The article aims to critically discuss the theory of animal rights developed by American social philosopher David DeGrazia. It consists of two parts. The first one describes the main elements of DeGrazia’s approach, namely his views on animal minds, the principle of equal consideration, the idea of unequal moral status, the concept of border persons, and practical remarks concerning improving the treatment of animals by humans. The second part presents remarks about the points where DeGrazia’s proposals should be supplemented and corrected so as to make them more convincing and widely accepted. The conclusion of the essay is the proposal of a cultural revolution for the benefit of animals, which should be initiated by famous people, like actresses, actors, sportswomen and sportsmen, because of their influential position in contemporary societies.

Friends and Citizens in Plato’s Crito

I propose a revisionary reading of Plato’s Crito focusing on the dramatic rendering of the friendship between Crito and Socrates, which I argue affords a model for political participation in a social contract. Their friendship models how citizens can come to be conventionally related to one another, and how they should treat one another internal to that relationship. This approach is apt for contemporary democratic theory, perhaps more so than standard interpretations of the political theory traditionally mined from the text, rather than drama, of the Crito. My account moves beyond questions of civility in deliberative democratic politics and deepens an account of how and why we ought to regard those with whom we disagree, but to whom we have nonetheless quasi-voluntarily bound ourselves within the same project of democracy. Friendship also addresses regard for those who have not previously received equal consideration within a putatively democratic social contract.

Professional Learning Communities Assessment - Revised: A Measure of Schools as Learning Organisations

Recent years showed a much stronger appeal for transforming schools, among other organisations, into learning organisations. More than two decades into the coining of the term learning organisations, researchers are still in pursuit of proper tools for measuring the construct. The present investigation aims to evaluate the appropriateness of Professional Learning Communities Assessment – Revised (PLCA-R) for assessing schools as learning organisations. Data gathered from 224 elementary teachers were analysed using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) to validate the dimensionality of the selected tool in an organisational context. The results provided reasonable model fit and validity for the hypothesised six-factor model indicating that PLCA-R is a suitable tool for assessing schools as learning organisations. The findings imply that all the dimensions of PLCs have to be given equal consideration when implementing PLCs in the context of learning organisations.

Relational Egalitarianism

For relational egalitarians, equality is about how individuals relate to one another: equality requires that individuals regard and treat each other as equals. Different relational egalitarians have fleshed out this idea in different ways and use of the umbrella term “relational equality” should not detract from the differences between relational egalitarian views on offer. One question about relational equality is whether its requirements apply to individuals, institutions, or both. Some relational egalitarians focus primarily on what it means for individuals, or co-citizens, to relate to one another as equals, highlighting, for example, the problematic nature of status hierarchies and stigmatization of certain groups, or the need to give equal consideration to everyone’s interests. Such accounts sometimes also emphasize the importance of certain self-regarding attitudes, especially self-respect, as a component or requirement of relational equality. For other relational egalitarians, relational equality applies—primarily or additionally—to how institutions, especially states, relate to individuals. Institutional requirements can arise instrumentally (which institutions are best suited to produce egalitarian relations among individuals?) or because the demands of relational equality apply to institutions directly. A second crucial distinction, cutting across the first, is whether relational equality is taken to issue requirements about our treatment of others, our attitudes toward them, the attitudes expressed toward them, or a combination of these. Specifying where relational equality applies is important, not least because egalitarian treatment, egalitarian attitudes, and expression of egalitarian attitudes need not run together. Relational egalitarians have offered different views as to why relational equality matters in the first place. Relational equality may be valuable instrumentally (i.e., it promotes values such as self-respect); or because it has non-instrumental, impersonal value (i.e., the world is better if relationships are egalitarian); or because it expresses a deontic requirement about how individuals must treat each other. Relational egalitarians initially developed their views in response to distributive accounts of equality (such as luck egalitarianism), which assume that equality requires the equal distribution of a metric such as welfare. While relational egalitarians reject that assumption, they emphasize that distributions matter for equality for several reasons, for example when they interfere with egalitarian relationships, or when they are caused by relational inequality. Relational egalitarians have explored the real-world implications of their views, often opposing markets in favor of state provision of social services such as education or healthcare. Questions about the scope of relational equality are particularly crucial when it comes to determining its requirements: while relational egalitarians typically focus on requirements arising within political communities, it is not clear that relational equality can or should be limited by state boundaries; some relational egalitarians have begun to explore the possibility of a global relational egalitarianism. Similarly, tying requirements of relational equality to reciprocity may limit the theory to individuals with specific cognitive capacities. One striking aspect of the literature is the pluralism to which relational egalitarians are committed, for example when it comes to the reasons why relational equality is valuable, or the criteria used to identify when relational equality obtains. This does not make relational equality incoherent, but it creates the possibility of conflicting requirements.

David DeGrazia o prawach zwierząt – analiza krytyczna

The article aims to critically discuss the theory of animal rights developed by American social philosopher David DeGrazia. It consists of two parts. The first one describes the main elements of DeGrazia’s approach, namely his views on animal minds, the principle of equal consideration, the idea of unequal moral status, the concept of border persons, and practical remarks concerning improving the treatment of animals by humans. The second part presents remarks about the points where DeGrazia’s proposals should be supplemented and corrected so as to make them more convincing and widely accepted. The conclusion of the essay is the proposal of a cultural revolution for the benefit of animals, which should be initiated by famous people, like actresses, actors, sportswomen and sportsmen, because of their influential position in contemporary societies.

The Speciesism Debate: Intuition, Method, and Empirical Advances

This article identifies empirical, conceptual and normative avenues to advance the speciesism debate. First, I highlight the application of Evolutionary Debunking Arguments (EDAs) as one such avenue: especially where (anti-)speciesist positions heavily rely on appeals to moral intuition, and EDAs have potential to move the debate forward. Second, an avenue for conceptual progress is the delineation of speciesism from other views in its vicinity, specifically from the view that biological differences between species are sometimes morally relevant (‘species-relativism’). Third, if we adopt Singer’s definition of speciesism, then a limitation of the current debate is that it is not obvious whether the core ethical principle that underlies anti-speciesist positions—the Principle of Equal Consideration of Interests—is widely applicable. Arguably, the interests of animals are often too dissimilar to establish what equal consideration amounts to. I underscore the need for integrating philosophical and empirical research, to come to terms with the extent to which the interests of members of different species are alike, and with the question of whether any dissimilarities might be morally relevant.

Misadventures of Sentience: Animals and the Basis of Equality

This paper aims to put in question the all-purposes function that sentience has come to play in animal ethics. In particular, I criticize the idea that sentience can provide a sound basis of equality, as has been recently proposed by Alasdair Cochrane. Sentience seems to eschew the standard problems of egalitarian accounts that are based on range properties. By analysing the nature of range properties, I will show that sentience cannot provide such a solution because it is constructed as a sui generis range property. After criticizing the approaches seeking to ground animals’ equal status, I turn to Singer’s principle of equal consideration of interests. Despite its seeming non-controversiality, I argue that it cannot do without referring to the moral status of a being in order to determine the weight of a being’s interests. Moreover, it outlines a weak egalitarian basis because it relies on the presumption of equality of interests in virtue of our lack of knowledge of the weight of individuals’ interests. I conclude in a more positive tone by arguing that, irrespective of the troubles of range property egalitarianism, animal ethics can rely on other normative resources to defend the cause of animals.

Kumudha; a Traditional Mother in Parasakti and Others in a Plastic Box by Ambai

The main concern of the paper is to study the significance of women in family life. It explores the importance of women in the short story Parsakti and Others in a Plastic Box which is published in the collection, In a Forest a Deer written by C.S.Lakshmi. The story is discussed from a feminist perspective. Most of Ambai’s works reveal the lives of traditional women their feelings, love, courage, will- power, search for identity, selfrespect, equality and so on. This paper aims to explore the life of a traditional woman who has lost her husband, and is always caring for her daughter along with while carrying her own life. She’s interested in cooking and helping her neighbours, politics, playing veena and singing songs with a lot of easel. She is a frim establisher spirituality of her self-identity and hence wants to write her own biography. This paper defends the ideology of Amabi who affirms that women need equal consideration more from the family than from the society. The paper is significant in a way that it helps the readers to understand empirically the social constructivist and cultural glorification of womanhood in Parasakti and Others in a Plastic Box. The paper further stresses on the difference in understanding the very meaning of the word ‘Freedom’ between the two generations. It delineates how the younger generation calling out for their own freedom unconsciously hinder the freedom of the older generation people without understanding their values, sentiments and attachments. This article views these aspects through the medium of feminism and voices the inner-selves of fictional women out loud