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The Algorithmic Divide in China and An Emerging Comparative Research Agenda
No full textWith the arrival of big data analytics, machine learning, and AI, governments at both the national and subnational levels have been eager to deploy automated decision-making (ADM) systems to detect and recognize patterns, predict and shape preferences, and ultimately streamline and improve governance. One topic that has been underexplored in ADM literature is the gap between those who have access to, or proficiency in, algorithmically enhanced or AI-driven technological products and services and those who do not. This proverbial gap resembles the digital divide, on which scholars in communication studies and other disciplines have conducted extensive research for the past three decades.Recognizing that past scholarship on the digital divide can provide helpful insights into research on the algorithmic divide, this chapter begins by identifying the similarities and differences between these two inequitable gaps. The chapter then discusses the importance of studying the algorithmic divide in China and how this study can build on, illuminate, and create synergy with China-related academic and policy research in other areas. To highlight the potential comparative insights provided by studying the algorithmic divide, this chapter concludes by examining three sets of policy responses that commentators have proposed in legal and policy literature to bridge this divide. It further contextualizes these responses in relation to local conditions in China
Challenges and prospects of reclaimed water reuse in Spanish agriculture
No full textA comprehensive analysis of reclaimed water in Spanish agriculture indicates that these practices are predominately concentrated in coastal areas, with moderate expansion into inland regions. Despite some progress, several barriers persist across political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal dimensions. The most influential barriers include salinity, emerging contaminants, weak institutional coordination and slow administrative procedures. Overcoming these obstacles calls for stronger regulatory frameworks, greater collaboration among government agencies and stakeholders, improved treatment technologies, and more effective management practices. Together, these efforts can pave the way for wider adoption of wastewater reclamation and reuse projects in Spain
Liquid Power: Myths, Realities, and Policy Responses to Wall Street\u27s Takeover of Water Markets
No full textIn Don Quixote, there is a moment when all the knightly novels are thrown into the fire for their fantastical depictions of chivalry. Yet one book is spared: Tirant lo Blanc. It is saved because, unlike the others, it portrays knights who die in their beds-offering a more realistic depiction of medieval battles. Similarly, Liquid Asset stands out as the book that should be preserved from the extensive body of scholarship on water markets. Many works in this field are influenced by ideological biases that shape their analyses. In contrast, Buzz Thompson\u27s books provides the nuance and balance often lacking in others.
Liquid Asset brings together key arguments from Professor Thompson\u27s extensive scholarly work, weaving them into a cohesive and compelling narrative. While his contributions are too numerous to list in full, several stand out. First, the importance of institutional analysis, as explored in Institutional Perspectives on Water Policy and Markets. Second, the critical role of the private sector in protecting our resources and advancing societal goals, as examined in The Continuing Innovation of Citizen Enforcement. Third, the necessity of innovation in progressing toward sustainability, as discussed in The Path to Water Innovation. And fourth, the multifaceted nature of water as both an asset and a public good, as discussed in Water as a Public Commodity.
Liquid Asset delivers a clear and urgent message: addressing today\u27s water challenges-and those to come-requires an all-hands-on- deck approach. This includes both the visible hand of government and the invisible hand of the private sector. The latter often not welcomed with open arms. However, successful collaboration demands adjustments to the water regulatory framework-both to accommodate and to place necessary limits on private sector involvement. I deliberately use the term private sector rather than market, as Adam Smith\u27s adage uses, because conflating all forms of private engagement in water under the singular concept of market is a mistake. Selling water rights, purchasing a public water utility, developing innovative water purification technologies, and conserving wetlands each require distinct analytical frameworks. Grouping them together risks alienating those who view markets as incompatible with water\u27s inherently public nature-leading to the wholesale rejection of private sector participation.
The book is rich in data and comparative examples, offering infinite avenues for discussion. One particularly important issue it raises is the risk, or lack of it, of speculation in the robust model of water markets that it advocates
The Role of Proactive Management Based Regulation in Assisting Lawyers and Promoting Public Protection
No full textIncreasingly, jurisdictions around the world are exploring and implementing proactive, management-based regulation (PMBR) as an alternative to traditional regulatory approaches that discipline attorneys after misconduct occurs. This essay examines the proof and potential of PMBR to empower lawyers and enhance public protection, while transforming the relationship between regulators and practicing lawyers. The essay is based on the Distinguished Lecture the author delivered at the Joseph G. Miller and William C. Becker Center for Professional Responsibility at the University of Akron School of Law
The Role of the Preamble: Evidence from the Constitutional Convention and the Ratification Debates
No full textThis Article explores the role of the Preamble in constitutional interpretation by looking at how it was perceived at the founding. It does this in three ways. First, it explores how preambles were used in eighteenth-century America. At the time, preambles were almost universally understood to be key to interpreting the laws and constitutions they preceded. This shared understanding forms the backdrop against which the Preamble was received by the founding generation. Second, it looks at the records of the Constitutional Convention for evidence of what role the drafters expected the Preamble to serve. Unfortunately, the records of the Convention shed little light on the drafting of the Preamble or its intended role. Finally, it looks at the public reception of the Constitution after it was published. In the period between the release of its text in September 1787 and the end of the ratification debates in early 1790, the Constitution was debated in letters, pamphlets, newspapers, and at the various state conventions. These public debates shed light on how the founding generation viewed the Preamble. It was virtually universally recognized during the ratification debates that the Preamble listed the goals of the new government. There was also discussion of the role of the Preamble in constitutional interpretation. There were two main camps within that debate. Most Federalists and Anti-Federalists took the position that the Preamble was a direct grant of power and that Congress had the legislative authority to achieve the goals listed in the Preamble. The minority position was that the Preamble would be treated like the preambles of other laws. This camp expected the Constitution to be interpreted to achieve the goals listed in the Preamble but did not consider it a direct grant of power