University of Windsor, Ontario: Open Journal Systems
Not a member yet
3084 research outputs found
Sort by
Prosecuting Corruption Crimes before an International Court: Whither Immunity Rules?
No full textThis article argues that an international anti-corruption court has to respect the functional and personal immunity of officials of states that are not a party to it. If an exception applies to immunity before international courts that prosecute international crimes, this exception does not extend to a court that would prosecute transnational crimes. Since personal immunity rules stand in the way of prosecution of (certain, high-level) kleptocrats in foreign national courts, these rules will also hamper the exercise of jurisdiction by an international court. The article further takes issue with the oftheard proposition that corruption is a purely private act that escapes the reach of the functional immunity rule, concluding that functional immunity considerations require closer study in the context of the plans to prosecute corruption crimes at the international level
Séquençage des mouvements critiques pour la pratique de l\u27argumentation éthique : Munāẓara et l\u27interdépendance de la procédure et de l\u27agent
No full textThe aim of this paper is to highlight an interdependence between procedural and agential norms that undermines their neat separation when appraising argumentation. Drawing on the munāẓara tradition, we carve a space for sequencing in argumentation scholarship. Focusing on the antagonist’s sequencing of critical moves, we identify each sequence’s corresponding values of argumentation: coalescence, reliability, and efficacy. These values arise through the mediation of virtues and simultaneously underpin procedural as well as agential norms. Consequently, an ambiguity between procedure and agent becomes apparent. This ambiguity hints at the potential for a virtue theory of argumentation that draws on procedural norms.L\u27objectif de cet article est de mettre en évidence une interdépendance entre les normes procédurales et agentielles qui mine leur séparation nette lors de l\u27évaluation de l\u27argumentation. En nous appuyant sur la tradition munāẓara, nous créons un espace pour le séquençage dans les publications sur l\u27argumentation. En nous concentrant sur l\u27enchaînement des mouvements critiques de l\u27antagoniste, nous identifions la valeur d\u27argumentation correspondante de chaque séquence : coalescence, fiabilité et efficacité. Ces valeurs naissent par la médiation des vertus et sous-tendent simultanément les normes procédurales et agentielles. Par conséquent, une ambiguïté entre la procédure et l\u27agent devient apparente. Cette ambiguïté suggère le développement d\u27une théorie de la vertu de l\u27argumentation qui s\u27appuie sur les normes procédurales
Book Review: The Practice and Problems of Transnational Counter-Terrorism by Fiona De Londras
No full textBook review
Failing to Learn: Design Thinking and the Development of a Failure-Positive Mindset in the University Classroom
No full textMeaningful and impactful learning experiences are rife with failure. And yet, students struggle with framing, tolerating and attributing failure in a positive manner within the post secondary learning context. This paper explores whether using design thinking as a pedagogical approach might help students learn to tolerate, reframe and attribute failure in a more productive way. Findings from this comparative study of 600 undergraduate business students enrolled in a common first year marketing class reveal the ways in which design thinking-based learning approaches might be used to re-orient student’s conceptions of failure as a part of their creative problem-solving skill development process. Students were surveyed to learn more about how they perceived the concept of failure within their learning, to whom they attributed failures within their learning, and how well they tolerated failure as a part of their learning experience. Results from the nearly 400 responses to the online survey suggest that integrating design thinking focused approaches to learning into the post secondary classroom has a positive impact on the development of a student’s self-reported failure tolerance and may change the way that failure is attributed and framed in students’ descriptions of their individual learning. I find that design thinking-based learning might be used as an effective pedagogical approach in classes where the development of a failure-positive mindset is considered an essential competency or learning objective, and I offer practical recommendations for educators seeking to develop a failure-positive mindset within their learning communities
Planning Law and Accessibility: Third Party Permit Appeals by Persons with Disabilities
No full textA physical obstacle, such as a step at the entrance of a building, is the product of the interplay of regulations that govern what and we build. The human rights complaint process can provide a remedy to people with disabilities when they are excluded from public spaces. But there are limits to what can be accomplished by way of a human rights complaint. Human rights commissions and tribunals are not competent to mediate or adjudicate complaints about accessibility before construction commences, because any alleged discrimination is only hypothetical. But just because human rights law is limited in this way should not mean that people with disabilities must wait to encounter inaccessibility before they can influence what and how we build. Planning law legislation in Canada mandates public consultation and it also gives members of the public the right to contest planning decisions by way of an appeal. For people with disabilities, this would mean challenging development and building permits that have already been issued if the proposed development is not accessible. After a municipality issues a development permit, most jurisdictions in Canada allow for an appeal by a third party. There are also some jurisdictions that also allow for this type of appeal after the municipality issues a building permit. If successful in an appeal, members of the public who are opposed to a project, or some of its aspects, may block construction altogether or require modifications. These appeal processes could offer an opportunity for people with disabilities to have a direct impact on how we construct the built environment. An appeal at the permit stage is a promising complement to a human rights complaint, because it is prospective rather than retroactive.Les obstacles physiques, comme les marches à l’entrée d’un immeuble, découlent de l’interaction des règlements qui régissent ce que l’on construit. Le processus de plainte en matière de droits de la personne peut offrir un recours aux personnes handicapées lorsqu’elles sont exclues des espaces publics. Cependant, ce processus n’est pas une panacée à tous les problèmes. Les commissions et tribunaux des droits de la personne ne sont pas compétents pour agir comme médiateurs ou arbitres à l’égard de plaintes sur l’accessibilité déposées avant le début des travaux de construction, car toute discrimination alléguée n’est qu’hypothétique. Cependant, cela ne signifie pas pour autant que les personnes handicapées doivent attendre que le problème d’accessibilité se pose avant de pouvoir exercer une influence sur ce que nous bâtissons et sur le mode de construction que nous choisissons. Les lois canadiennes en matière d’urbanisme et d’aménagement du territoire imposent la consultation publique et permettent aux membres du public de contester les décisions prises dans ce domaine en interjetant appel. Dans le cas des personnes handicapées, elles pourraient contester les permis de construction et d’aménagement qui ont déjà été délivrés, si le projet proposé n’est pas accessible. La plupart des provinces et territoires canadiens permettent à de tierces parties d’interjeter appel une fois que la municipalité a délivré un permis d’aménagement. Certains d’entre eux permettent également ce type d’appel après la délivrance d’un permis de construction. S’ils ont gain de cause en appel, les membres du public qui s’opposent à un projet ou à certains de ses aspects peuvent carrément empêcher la construction ou exiger des modifications. Ces processus d’appel pourraient permettre aux personnes handicapées d’exercer une influence directe sur la façon dont nous aménageons l’environnement bâti. En raison de sa nature prospective plutôt que rétroactive, l’appel à l’étape du permis représente un complément prometteur de la plainte en matière de droits de la personne
Coastal Zone Mapping of the Great Lakes: A Machine Learning Approach
No full textCoastal systems on the Laurentian Great Lakes are affected by meter scale water level fluctuations that can occur over hourly to decadal time scales which can cause erosion and damage to infrastructure. Changes in water levels, ice coverage, and storm activity have been projected under various climate change scenarios and will likely alter historic coastal processes across the region. Monitoring changes in the descriptive morphometrics of coastal systems, such as coastal bluffs and shorelines, over time can offer insight into how these systems might respond to projected climate scenarios. With increasing access to geospatial data through open- source aerial and satellite imagery, an improved observational record will enhance our understanding of the spatiotemporal scales and environmental and anthropogenic controls on coastal dynamics of the Great Lakes. To take full advantage of these large data sets, this study utilizes a machine learning (ML) approach to automate the identification of coastal features, such as the shoreline indicated by the wet/dry boundary, vegetation, and coastal bluffs. Random Trees (RT) classifier models were trained using manual classifications of satellite imagery of the northwestern shore of Lake Erie. Results demonstrate that coastal features can be sufficiently identified using independent ML models, indicating the potential for an effective tool to map coastlines across large spatial scales. Over time, a similar methodology can be used to monitor coastal system dynamics to inform coastal managers and policy makers on the response of the Great Lakes coastal systems to climate change
African Indigenous Knowledge Systems: Experts at the Intersect of Environmental Sustainability and Legal Precedent
No full textClimate change and the direct threat thereof weighs a dual burden; scientifically, on thedisciplines at the front line of the issue and politically, on the global governance systemwith matters of sovereignty, regulation, and compliance. The former is typicallycategorized as the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)disciplines, while the latter is principally recognized as the following instructions: theUnited Nations (UN), the African Union (AU), the European Union (EU), and the WorldTrade Organisation (WTO). This research paper challenges to characterization of expertsand in turn exposes the systemic lack of consultation with key leaders for more policyinformed,sustainable decision-making regarding climate change. Who is considered anexpert? What do they look like? What credentials do they hold? Where do they comefrom? These are the critical questions concerning today’s gap in the approach to climatechange gathered from empirical data on the scientific community and from internationaldebate on the topic. This paper critiques the paradoxical nature of Western Eurocentricscientific knowledge systems as they impose standardized “solutions” across the worldwithout the consideration of the rest of the world. The global consensus amongst theactively publishing community of scientists is that 97% of the climate crisis is humancaused(National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 2023). Typically, these scientistsare comprised of a majority white male demographic who wear white lab coats and areoften distanced from the on-ground situation. Addressing such systemic limitations andexclusionary practices creates the research question of “how have humans interacted withthe environment prior to and independent from Western Eurocentric scientific knowledgesystems?
Constraint Poetry on Disability and Disability as Constraint
No full textThis project elevates constraint poetry – a genre with restrictions like metre, as opposed to free verse – as a vessel for sharing disabled experiences. This area of research is especially important for advancing representations of the disabled, a stereotyped and underrepresented demographic. Sharing a constraint poem that I wrote about my multiple sclerosis (MS), the relevance of constraint poetry for disability studies manifests in the writing constraint mirroring the occasionally invisible, yet restricting, nature of MS. This poem catalyzed my research into applying constraint poetry to disability studies, forming the basis of the dissertation that I plan to write in my upcoming master’s in creative writing. Current scholarship in the field includes applying constrained writing to prisoners and the enslaved but lacks inclusion of those with disabilities. My future plans include drawing upon perspectives of disabled people and medical professionals to depict the spectrum of constraint produced by disability, as well as creating new constraints that can better express specific symptoms. This dissertation would be a collection of my constraint poetry on different disabilities and would be the first of its kind. 
LADy: A System for Latent Aspect Detection via Back-translation Augmentation
No full textAspects are the features or properties of products and services about which a customer expresses opinions and sentiments. Aspect detection helps business owners identify demands and shortcomings to improve customer experience. In informal settings, like social media platforms, aspects tend to be latent (implicit) because of word limits and the expectation of context awareness henceforth. Existing methods fall short of accurate aspect detection in such scenarios. To bridge the gap, we propose data augmentation via natural language back-translation to extract latent occurrences of aspects using machine learning techniques. Specifically, we presume that back-translation can reveal latent aspects by uncovering social knowledge between languages, generating context-sensitive synonymous aspects, and clarify semantic contexts of terms and sentences. Through our experiments on well-known aspect detection methods across SemEval benchmark datasets of reviews, we demonstrate that review augmentation via back-translation yields a steady performance boost in baselines in all datasets. We further contribute LADy, a benchmark library under CC-BY-NC-SA-4.0 license at https://anonymous.4open.science/r/LADy/ to support the reproducibility of our research