A comprehensive comparison of automated FAIRness Evaluation Tools

The FAIR Guiding Principles (Findable, Accessible, Interop- erable, and Reusable) have been widely endorsed by the scientific community, funding agencies, and policymakers. However, the FAIR principles leave ample room for different implementations, and several groups have worked towards manual, semi-automatic, and automatic approaches to evaluate the FAIRness of digital objects. This study compares and con- trasts three automated FAIRness evaluation tools namely F-UJI, the FAIR Evaluator, and FAIR Checker. We examine three aspects: 1) tool characteristics, 2) the evaluation metrics, and 3) metrics tests for three public datasets. We find significant differences in the evaluation results for tested resources, along with differences in the design, implementation, and documentation of the evaluation metrics and platforms. While auto- mated tools do test a wide breadth of technical expectations of the FAIR principles, we put forward specific recommendations for their improved utility, transparency, and interpretability

Legal Challenges of AI Supported Legal Services: Bridging Principles and Markets

In light of the persisting regulatory gaps in the field of artificial intelligence-driven legal services, this study questions which are the legal tools that are relevant to govern the current expansion of the correspondent market in a way that is consistent with ethical declarations. We move from the acknowledgment that machine learning models are being increasingly applied to textual data contained in legal materials for the prediction of outcomes regarding the legal position of citizens, in terms, for example, of discovery review, contract analytics and legal research. In this respect, the analysis gives account of ongoing transformations in the market of AI-supported legal services, with the aim of rooting in the market reality the relevant regulatory framework. In our understanding, the analysis related to the risks connected to the employment of AI-driven legal decision-making tools delivered by the market triggers the question whether the applicable ethical-legal framework provides sufficient tools for addressing the current developments in the market of AI-assisted legal services or whether additional sector-specific solutions need to be introduced. The analysis identifies a gap it intends to fill between the blooming market reality and the ethical and legal perspectives. The uncertainties stemming from a vague ethical and legal framework must be overcome so as to better operationalise and protect fundamental ethical values and fundamental rights in the market of artificial intelligence-driven legal services. Against this backdrop, the study demonstrates how possible solutions against ethics/market mismatches are provided by the legal system, which can work as a bridge vehiculating into the market practice of AI-based legal decision-making tools declared ethical principles, while preventing eventual chilling effects on the market. It thus shows how these need to be adequately matched and integrated with legal design requirements to maximise the resulting positive synergies within the market and thus avoid risks of ethical dilution. In this respect, a layered regulatory regime is proposed for artificial intelligence-driven legal services, of both public and private destination. This framework is meant to operationalise general ethical values and fundamental legal liberties within the more specific regulatory framework given by the European data protection, the Open Data, the European competition framework and the European Commission’s newly proposed rules for artificial intelligence

The Rhetorical Construction of Performance Appraisal: Argument and Persuasion in the Talk of Appraisees and Appraisers

In view of the potential for controversy associated with performance appraisal (PA), the study considers it as the object of controversy worthy of rhetorical attention. However, being the object of controversy, which attracts rhetoric, PA becomes a less significant focus for the thesis. Instead, the argumentative and persuasive dimensions of rhetoric in the talk of appraisees and appraisers regarding the PA practiced in their banks becomes the primary subject of the research, particularly with regard to understanding how they construct the reality of their PA. Accordingly, the rhetorical framework of the study is drawn from the ideas of Aristotle (1991) and the contemporary authors, Billig (1987; 1991; 1996) and Potter (1996). The study contributes towards understanding the importance of rhetoric in an organisational context characterised by the controversy or the potential for controversy. For example, the evidence of the presence of the argumentative and persuasive dimensions of rhetoric in the talk of appraisees and appraisers throughout the analysis represents rhetoric not only as an important aspect of PA, but also demonstrates it as a valuable persuasive skill used by them. Respectively, this contributes towards building a theory of PA from the perspective of rhetoric. Hence, as a practical implication of the study, rhetoric should be regarded as an important skill to be mastered by appraisees and appraisers. Moreover, the application of the rhetorical framework for the analysis contributes towards testing the theory, which constitutes the rhetorical framework, on the talk of appraisees and appraisers. Similarly, the rhetorical framework used in the study provides an important methodological contribution and implication for future studies For example, it may be used in the future studies which are based on organisational practices characterised by the controversy or potential for controversy. Another important contribution of the study involves the ‘argumentative context’ and ‘justification process’ as the analysis demonstrates how people anticipate the arguments of absent audiences, and use rhetorical devices to justify their own arguments, regarding a potentially controversial matter. In this regard, an interesting phenomenon observed in the analysis is the code-switching of the appraisees and appraisers, from English to Urdu, when they discussed the sensitive or taboo subjects, which suggests their preference for their native language for the potency in their expressions

Influence of Relational Experience on Customer Satisfaction Among Mobile Phone Users in Selected Public Universities in Kenya

The study focused on the influence of relational experience on customer satisfaction.The study was guided by the social exchange theory which focused on the fundamental principle that humans in social situations choose behaviors that maximize their likelihood of meeting self-interests in those situations.  Descriptive and explanatory research designs were utilized in this study and the following networks were sampled; Safaricom, Airtel,Orange  and , yuMobile A questionnaire was used to collect data from sample size of 250 respondents who were sampled from the staff of public universities in the Western region which included Moi, Masinde Muliro, Maseno, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, University of Eldoret and Kisii University. Data collected was analyzed by use of descriptive and inferential statistics.Multiple regressions were used to establish the effect between customer relationship management practices, customer satisfaction and customer Retention. The results revealed that Customer relational experience had significant effect on Customer retention. Further,Customer relational experience had significant effect on Customer satisfaction.  Also it was established that, Customer satisfaction was significant in predicting customer retention. The study recommends that service providers should put more emphasis on Customer Relationship Management Practices since they influence customer satisfaction and hence customer retention. Keywords: Relational Experience, customer, customer satisfaction, retention DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/13-20-11 Publication date:October 31st 2021

|Investor-state arbitration and African states: a proposal for a Pan-African investment court

This thesis proposed for the reform of Africa’s Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) landscape through the establishment of a Pan-African Investment Court (PAIC) as a mechanism for the resolution of Investor-State Disputes. This proposal is influenced by the findings of my investigation on the functioning of Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) through the deployment of Investor-State Arbitration to resolve Investor-State Disputes between African states and foreign investors. This research is motivated by the criticisms of the Arbitration mechanism by a broad spectrum of constituencies within international investment law. These criticisms are primarily anchored on the legitimacy crises of ISDS, a dissatisfactory notion that denounces the deployment of the private mechanism and privity of contract ingrained investment arbitration framework to resolve publicly-inclined investor-state disputes. Ancillary to this critical holy grail are further dissatisfactions on the practical functionality of investment arbitration in aspects of high volume of cases against developing states, lack of diversity in the appointment of arbitrators and curtailment of sovereignty of host states through the intrusion of provisions of International Investment Agreements on legitimate internal decision-making powers. Consequently, this thesis investigated the practical functioning of ISDS in African states. After the study of the experiences of Egypt, South Africa and Tanzania; it was found that the legitimacy crises of ISDS also impacts on African states, and does not support their socio-economic and sustainable developmental aspirations. As a remedy, I proposed for a reform to an Investment Court System (ICS) through the establishment of a Pan-African Investment Court (PAIC). An evaluation of this recommendation was conducted that evidenced potential challenges that may mitigate its feasibility, thus leading to the advancement of two secondary reform alternatives vis the reform and retention of the current investor-state arbitration framework and engagement in innovative treaty-making practices by African states. To the best of my knowledge, this thesis has not been previously submitted in any higher institution or published by another person. The contents of this thesis are my ideas. Where the materials of others were used, due acknowledgement and reference was provided. Acknowledgement

Law in police culture: a study on how interaction with legal institutions shapes the occupational culture of Brazil’s military polices

This master’s thesis aims to explore, by means of an empirical study, the ways in which contact with law, legal institutions and legal actors acts as a molding factor for police culture in the context of Brazil’s Military Polices. In doing this, it hopes to contribute both to general socio-legal debates on policing and to the specific discussions surrounding Brazil’s security forces’ difficulties in complying with rule of law standards. Taking academic critiques on classic conceptualizations of police culture as inspiration, I used concepts drawn from Pierre Bourdieu’s and Erving Goffman’s sociological theories to develop a theoretical framework considered fit for a contextualized analysis. The methodology was qualitative, combining five semi-structured interviews with observation of six video-conferenced criminal trials in which officers testified as witnesses. My analysis suggests that contact with the legal field structurally conditions the development of Brazil’s police culture, although not always in the ways intended by law. Influence happens by means of officer’s participation in juridical disputes, their concern with sanctions and their need of legal resources to navigate work routines in a better manner. Additionally, I argue that law is an important symbolic figure in the construction of the officers’ occupational selves, and that contact with legal institutions engenders particular strategies of self-presentation, aimed at safeguarding both appearances and internal ideas about the profession. Further research is suggested to deepen the explanation of this complex set of relations

Broadening health technology assessment:To support setting boundaries to the basic benefit package

The content of the basic benefit package is restricted by evaluating the costs and benefits of healthcare interventions. Decision-making frameworks based on health technology assessment (HTA) have been developed to support this process. This thesis aims to optimize decision-making frameworks by examining broadening the scope of HTA, and extending the use of HTA

Broadening health technology assessment:To support setting boundaries to the basic benefit package

The content of the basic benefit package is restricted by evaluating the costs and benefits of healthcare interventions. Decision-making frameworks based on health technology assessment (HTA) have been developed to support this process. This thesis aims to optimize decision-making frameworks by examining broadening the scope of HTA, and extending the use of HTA