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Johann Benjamin Erhard's critical account of state legitimacy
No full textThere are many ways to conceptualize state legitimacy, one approach being through the lens of human rights. While thinking of state legitimacy in terms of human rights gained prominence after the Second World War, Johann Benjamin Erhard had already compiled a list of human rights in his 1795 moral justification of revolution, positing that a state's legitimacy in exercising coercion hinges on its ability to secure these rights. In this chapter, I shall argue that Erhard's human rights account is novel in two significant respects. First, from a historical viewpoint, I argue that by placing humanity at the forefront of his philosophy, Erhard–alongside other revolutionary Kantians–presented a novel approach to state legitimacy that was notably unconventional before the 1790s. Second, from a systematic point of view, I shall show that Erhard's innovative use of the Kantian distinction between humanity-grounding duties “in themselves” and “in relation to an end” paves the way for a “critical” usage of human rights to identify existing oppressive structures. Highlighting this aspect will support a recently made suggestion to consider him a “proto-critical theorist.
Generative AI may create a socioeconomic tipping point through labour displacement
No full textWork is fundamental to societal prosperity and mental health, providing financial security, a sense of identity and purpose, and social integration. Job insecurity, underemployment and unemployment are well-documented risk factors for mental health issues and suicide. The emergence of generative artificial intelligence (AI) has catalysed debate on job displacement and its corollary impacts on individual and social wellbeing. Some argue that many new jobs and industries will emerge to offset the displacement, while others foresee a widespread decoupling of economic productivity from human input threatening jobs on an unprecedented scale. This study explores the conditions under which both may be true and examines the potential for a self-reinforcing cycle of recessionary pressures that would necessitate sustained government intervention to maintain job security and economic stability. A system dynamics model was developed to undertake ex ante analysis of the effect of AI-capital deepening on labour underutilisation and demand in the economy using Australian data as a case study. Results indicate that even a moderate increase in the AI-capital-to-labour ratio could increase labour underutilisation to double its current level, decrease per capita disposable income by 26% (95% interval, 20.6–31.8%), and decrease the consumption index by 21% (95% interval, 13.6–28.3%) by mid-2050. To prevent a reduction in per capita disposable income due to the estimated increase in underutilization, at least a 10.8-fold increase in the new job creation rate would be necessary. Results demonstrate the feasibility of an AI-capital-to-labour ratio threshold beyond which even high rates of new job creation cannot prevent declines in consumption. The precise threshold will vary across economies, emphasizing the urgent need for empirical research tailored to specific contexts. This study underscores the need for cross-sectoral government measures to ensure a smooth transition to an AI-dominated economy to safeguard the Mental Wealth of nations
Stabilising understanding
No full textWe present an account of how idealised models provide scientific understanding that is based on the notion of stability: a model provides understanding of a target behaviour when both the model and the target’s perfect model are in a class of models over which that behaviour is stable. The class is characterised in terms of what we call the model’s noetic core, which contains the features that are indispensable to both the model’s and the target’s behaviour. The account is factivist because it insists that models must get those aspects of the target that it aims to understand right, but it disagrees with extant factivist accounts about how models achieve this
Virtuous outcomes of instrumental intentions? The case of Uruguay’s 1996 constitutional reform
No full textIn December 1996 a national referendum approved a constitutional reform that introduced substantial changes to Uruguay's electoral system. We argue that this reform was proposed by Uruguay's establishment parties to prevent the rise to power of the left-wing Frente Amplio in the 1999 elections. While successful in this instrumental goal, the policy introduced a series of changes that, paradoxically, would pave the way for a long period of Frente Amplio rule after 2004. It also facilitated the coalition formation process within the centre-right block in the last decade. In the pursuit of a short-term electoral victory, proponent parties created an institutional setting that would support Uruguay's relative political success in the first quarter of the XXI century. We argue that this reform is an example of instrumental mismatch: the private goals of the reformers were orthogonal to the reforms stated goals. We argue that this mismatch need not be an obstacle for a reform's ultimate success
Emotional road-side advertisements and driving speed: the moderating effect of reckless and careless driving
No full textResearch on reducing dangerous driving behavior is essential. However, few studies have addressed the relationship between road safety advertisements and reckless and careless driving. Consequently, we focused on the impact of emotion-based road safety advertising on drivers’ speed and whether they drove reckless and careless. A secondary goal was to explore whether highly arousing advertisements can reduce speeding and driving careless and reckless over the long-term. A sub-scale from the Multidimensional Driving Style Inventory was used to measure reckless and careless driving. Data were collected from 101 university students (mean age = 22.88, SD = 2.69, range 18–36 years; 57 men, 44 women). Driving behavior was recorded by a driving simulator. Regression analyses showed that highly arousing driving advertisements can reduce drivers’ risky driving behavior over the long term. In addition, after three days, highly arousing negative road safety advertisements were the most effective at slowing drivers who had a reckless and careless driving style compared to the other three advertisement types. The short-term analyses illustrated the same pattern. The findings suggest that advertising should be designed to target distinct driving styles to increase its effectiveness. This study extends the findings about the relationship between road safety advertisements and driving style. Additionally, this study revealed the pertinence of systematic research on emotion-based road safety advertisements using a dimensional model
Maoism's window into Africa: China's interest in post-independence Algeria
No full textEarly Sino-Algerian relations provide unique insights into China’s Mao-era foreign policy beyond regional geopolitics and peripheral security concerns. The diplomatic relationship traces its origins to the 1954–1962 Algerian War of Independence, during which the People’s Republic of China (PRC) established official contact with and military and financial support for the Algerian independentists. Until 1965, China invested heavily in its relationship with the nascent North African country, whose allegiance became a sought-after prize amid concerns over American imperialism and growing competition with the Soviet Union. This article demonstrates that China’s interest in Algeria during the early 1960s was driven by the PRC’s quest to position itself as the ideological leader of the Third World in an international strategy that sought to undermine the bloc of US-led imperial powers. Algeria was a conduit through which China supported anti-colonial uprisings throughout Africa while simultaneously advocating a radical Maoist doctrine in the context of the Sino-Soviet split. Files from the archives from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, previously declassified and now reclassified, underscore the dual strategic and ideological nature of Chinese foreign policy vis-à-vis Algeria. Algerian government sources and French colonial records highlight the agency that Algeria exercised during this period, astutely leveraging rivalries among China, the Soviet Union, and the Western bloc to maximize material and political gains
The impact and legacy of COVID-19 on community-based multidisciplinary teams organising integrated health and social care for older people with long-term conditions: findings from the evaluation of the integrated care and support Pioneers
No full textObjectives: The COVID-19 pandemic severely disrupted health and social care (HSC) services in many countries, including England. At the same time, it forced systems to respond innovatively to radically changed circumstances and challenges. This study identifies the impacts and emerging legacy of the pandemic for community-based multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) supporting older people with multiple long-term conditions living in their own homes. Methods: Thirty-eight strategic, operational, and frontline staff involved with MDTs in seven areas in England were interviewed between July 2020 and August 2021, as part of a wider evaluation of the Integrated Care and Support Pioneers programme. Interview transcripts were analysed thematically. Results: Interviewees described an initial period of pandemic disruption characterised by uncertainty, shifting of priorities and resources within the HSC system towards emergency care, and redeployment of staff away from MDTs. These circumstances required the development of new ways of working with MDT patients/clients and with one another. Remote, mostly virtual, MDT working between professionals was seen by most as a positive adaptation, though some felt that in-person meetings were better for the development of working relationships. Others raised concerns about access to, and quality of, care provided to vulnerable patients remotely, or in person but with a delay. At the local system level, the crisis response lowered barriers to collaboration between organisations, blurred professional roles, increased flexibility in the use of resources, and engendered a stronger sense of local cohesion among a wide range of staff in HSC. Most respondents wished to retain these attributes of the local system permanently. Conclusions: The pandemic’s legacy seemed to accelerate innovations in health and care provision and increased cohesion and closer working relationships. Remote ways of working were perceived to have improved the efficiency of MDT meetings and facilitated involvement of professionals external to MDTs. The implications for patient/client care were more complex. We suggest that the potential impact on inequalities of remote access to, and provision of, care for people served by MDTs will need to be considered if these changes are to be maintained. The resilience of MDTs and the HSC system may be improved by upskilling staff and creating a more flexible workforce capable of working across organisations during future crises
Reporting guideline for chatbot health advice studies: the CHART statement
No full textBackground: The Chatbot Assessment Reporting Tool (CHART) is a reporting guideline developed to provide reporting recommendations for studies evaluating the performance of generative artificial intelligence (AI)-driven chatbots when summarizing clinical evidence and providing health advice, referred to as Chatbot Health Advice (CHA) studies. Methods: CHART was developed in several phases after performing a comprehensive systematic review to identify variation in the conduct, reporting, and methodology in CHA studies. Findings from the review were used to develop a draft checklist that was revised through an international, multidisciplinary modified asynchronous Delphi consensus process of 531 stakeholders, three synchronous panel consensus meetings of 48 stakeholders, and subsequent pilot testing of the checklist. Results: CHART includes 12 items and 39 subitems to promote transparent and comprehensive reporting of CHA studies. These include Title (subitem 1a), Abstract/Summary (subitem 1b), Background (subitems 2ab), Model Identifiers (subitems 3ab), Model Details (subitems 4abc), Prompt Engineering (subitems 5ab), Query Strategy (subitems 6abcd), Performance Evaluation (subitems 7ab), Sample Size (subitem 8), Data Analysis (subitem 9a), Results (subitems 10abc), Discussion (subitems 11abc), Disclosures (subitem 12a), Funding (subitem 12b), Ethics (subitem 12c), Protocol (subitem 12d), and Data Availability (subitem 12e). Conclusion: The CHART checklist and corresponding methodological diagram were designed to support key stakeholders including clinicians, researchers, editors, peer reviewers, and readers in reporting, understanding, and interpreting the findings of CHA studies
Northern NGO-centrism in localisation processes: reproducing power inequities in the aid field
No full textThis paper examines the process of discussing and designing actions to tackle power inequities by Northern and Southern NGOs. Drawing on 53 interviews with Northern and Southern NGOs, and NNGO networks, we argue that current localisation processes produce a form of cultural capital leveraged by competing Northern NGOs rooted in signalling solidarity with SNGOs and/or communities to donors through rhetorical and symbolic practices, reinforcing their access to and authority over social and economic capital as intermediaries. For Southern NGOs, leveraging their cultural capital, rooted in community affiliation, local knowledge and astuteness, places too great a demand on the scarce economic resources necessary for organisational survival. This study thus finds it improbable that current Northern-led localisation processes will go beyond extending the shelf life of power inequities. To disrupt these dynamics, we propose reorienting localisation towards the investigation and facilitation of locally-led competition for authority