A Pluridisciplinary Treatise of the Fractal Complexity in John Mukum Mbaku’s Corruption in Africa: Causes, Consequences and Cleanups

While my extensive search yielded about 20,500 mentions, seven scholarly citations, and three scholarly book reviews of John Mukum Mbaku’s Corruption in Africa: Causes, Consequences and Cleanups (2007), no systematic analysis has been done on the text, even though such potential exists. This is a serious gap in the literature on Africa’s international affairs and development studies because the book is one of the major works, if not the most comprehensive work, on a topic that has significant implications for the continent’s international relations and development. This paper is an attempt to fill this gap. Specifically, I employ the mathematical concept of Fractal Dimension and Complexity Theory to explore the idea of the spectrum progressing from more orderly to less orderly or to pure disorder which reflect the major postulates on corruption in Africa. This called for the utilization of the Pluridisciplinary approach that helped me to mix linguistics and mathematical approaches—more precisely, Linguistic Presupposition and Fractal Methodology. The results generated after the MATLAB computer runs suggest that the combination of negative and positive feedback loops, which form the basis of several African knowledge systems, also form a key mechanism of general self-organizing systems in Corruption in Africa: Causes, Consequences and Cleanups

Responsible design : a conceptual look at interdependent design–use dynamics

This article investigates the conceptual foundations of technological innovation and development projects that aim to bring ethical and social issues into the design stage. Focusing on the ethics and social impact of technological innovation and development has been somewhat of a trend lately, for instance in ELSA research and in such initiatives as the Dutch Responsible Innovation programme. I argue that in order to succeed in doing social responsible and ethical sound design, a proper understanding of the relation between technology and society is required. I propose to move away from an externalist framework, in which technology and society are depicted as being defined independently, towards an interdependent framework, where technology and society are regarded to be mutually defining. This move is necessary in order for such innovation projects not to reinforce outdated concepts about technology, which in the longer run will prove counterproductive to the actual aims of the projects themselves

Human control over automation: EU Policy and AI Ethics

In this article I problematize the use of algorithmic decision-making (ADM) applications to automate legal decision-making processes from the perspective of the European Union (EU) policy on trustworthy artificial intelligence (AI). Lately, the use of ADM systems across various fields, ranging from public to private, from criminal justice to credit scoring, has given rise to concerns about the negative consequences that data-driven technologies have in reinforcing and reinterpreting existing societal biases. This development has led to growing demand for ethical AI, often perceived to require human control over automation. By engaging in discussions of human-computer interaction and in post-structural policy analysis, I examine EU policy proposals to address the problematizations of AI through human oversight. I argue that the relevant policy documents do not reflect the results of earlier research which have undeniably demonstrated the shortcomings of human control over automation, which in turn leads to the reproduction of the harmful dichotomy of human versus machine in EU policy. Despite its shortcomings, the emphasis on human oversight reflects broader fears surrounding loss of control, framed as ethical concerns around digital technologies. Critical examination of these fears reveals an inherent connection between human agency and the legitimacy of legal decision-making that socio-legal scholarship needs to address.Peer reviewe

Why is it so difficult to integrate ethics in Health Technology Assessment (HTA)? The epistemological viewpoint

Ethics has been identified as a key element in Health Technology Assessment (HTA) since its conception. However, ethical issues are still not frequently addressed explicitly in HTA. Several valuable reasons have been identified. The basis of the article is the claim that ethics is often not part of HTA for “epistemological reasons”. Hence, the main aim of the contribution is to explore in more details and emphasize them by using the fact/value dichotomy. Our conclusion is that current HTA configuration is dominantly based on the comparison among objective and empirically testable “facts”, whilst ethics is not empirically testable. In this sense, there is a sort of “epistemological gap”, which can explain why it is so difficult to integrate ethics in HTA. We suggest that the epistemological differences among the various domains of HTA are addressed more explicitly

Implementing leadership decisions

In this chapter it is demonstrated that the way in which leaders implement a decision largely depends on the nature of it, that is, whether it is strategic or not. Leaders must be as open as possible and not withhold information from the persons involved in the process. Therefore, they should distribute as much relevant information as possible to meeting participants before a meeting. At the same time, they must be able to steer the process. It is not unusual for there to be a separation between the formulation and implementation of a strategic decision. Often, it is the top leadership that formulates the decision problem and the middle managers that implement its solution. For this reason, it is relatively common that the top leadership signals that the implementation has been successful as soon as the middle managers begin to report positive results. This can sometimes happen even though most of the implementation is incomplete. However, there are also cases where the top leaders rule out certain implementation processes as failures when in fact they prove later on to be successful. A common problem in organizations is that leaders often inherit the task of implementing decisions that past leaders have made. In order to succeed with an implementation, leaders must understand the importance of the process. They must communicate their vision clearly, evaluate and monitor continuously, and allow interested parties to participate actively in the process. They should also understand that what at first may look like a failure, at a later stage may prove to be a succes

Beyond the Prediction Paradigm: Challenges for AI in the Struggle Against Organized Crime

In the future, audiological rehabilitation of adults with hearing loss will be more available, personalized and thorough due to the possibilities offered by the internet. By using the internet as a platform it is also possible to perform the process of rehabilitation in a cost-effective way. With tailored online rehabilitation programs containing topics such as communication strategies, hearing tactics and how to handle hearing aids it might be possible to foster behavioral changes that will positively affect hearing aid users. Four studies were carried out in this thesis. The first study investigated internet usage among adults with hearing loss. In the second study the administration format, online vs. paper- and pencil, of four standardized questionnaires was evaluated. Finally two randomized controlled trials were performed evaluating the efficacy of online rehabilitation programs including professional guidance by an audiologist. The programs lasted over five weeks and were designed for experienced adult hearing-aid users. The effects of the online programs were compared with the effects of a control group. It can be concluded that the use of computers and the internet overall is at least at the same level for people with hearing loss as for the general age-matched population in Sweden. Furthermore, for three of the four included questionnaires, the participants’ scores remained the same across formats. It is however recommended that the administration format remain consistent across assessment points. Finally, results from the two concluding intervention studies provide preliminary evidence that the internet can be used to deliver education and rehabilitation to experienced hearing aid users who report residual hearing problems and that their problems are reduced by the intervention; however the content and design of the online rehabilitation program requires further investigation

Teaching about religions in the public sphere: European policy initiatives and the interpretive approach

This paper charts a policy shift within international and European inter-governmental institutions towards advocating the study of religions (or the study of religions and beliefs) in European publicly funded schools. The events of September 11, 2001 in the USA acted as a "wake up call" in relation to recognising the legitimacy and importance of the study of religions in public education. For example, policy recommendations from the Council of Europe and guiding principles for the study of religions and beliefs from the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe have been developed and are under consideration by member or participating states of both bodies. In translating policy into practice, appropriate pedagogies need to be adopted or developed. The paper uses the example of the interpretive approach to indicate how issues of representation, interpretation and reflexivity might be addressed in studying religious diversity within contemporary societies in ways which both avoid stereotyping and engage students' interest