1,210 research outputs found
A co-original approach towards law-making in the internet age
There is an increasing interest in incorporating significant citizen participation into the law-making process by developing the use of the internet in the public sphere. However, no well-accepted e-participation model has prevailed. This article points out that, to be successful, we need critical reflection of legal theory and we also need further institutional construction based on the theoretical reflection.
Contemporary dominant legal theories demonstrate too strong an internal legal point of view to empower the informal, social normative development on the internet. Regardless of whether we see the law as a body of rules or principles, the social aspect is always part of people’s background and attracts little attention. In this article, it is advocated that the procedural legal paradigm advanced by Jürgen Habermas represents an important breakthrough in this regard.
Further, Habermas’s co-originality thesis reveals a neglected internal relationship between public autonomy and private autonomy. I believe the co-originality theory provides the essential basis on which a connecting infrastructure between the legal and the social could be developed. In terms of the development of the internet to include the public sphere, co-originality can also help us direct the emphasis on the formation of public opinion away from the national legislative level towards the local level; that is, the network of governance.1
This article is divided into two sections. The focus of Part One is to reconstruct the co-originality thesis (section 2, 3). This paper uses the application of discourse in the adjudication theory of Habermas as an example. It argues that Habermas would be more coherent, in terms of his insistence on real communication in his discourse theory, if he allowed his judges to initiate improved interaction with the society. This change is essential if the internal connection between public autonomy and private autonomy in the sense of court adjudication is to be truly enabled.
In order to demonstrate such improved co-original relationships, the empowering character of the state-made law is instrumental in initiating the mobilization of legal intermediaries, both individual and institutional. A mutually enhanced relationship is thus formed; between the formal, official organization and its governance counterpart aided by its associated ‘local’ public sphere. Referring to Susan Sturm, the Harris v Forklift Systems Inc. (1930) decision of the Supreme Court of the United States in the field of sexual harassment is used as an example.
Using only one institutional example to illustrate how the co-originality thesis can be improved is not sufficient to rebuild the thesis but this is as much as can be achieved in this article.
In Part Two, the paper examines, still at the institutional level, how Sturm develops an overlooked sense of impartiality, especially in the derivation of social norms; i.e. multi-partiality instead of neutral detachment (section 4). These two ideas should be combined as the criterion for impartiality to evaluate the legitimacy of the joint decision-making processes of both the formal official organization and ‘local’ public sphere.
Sturm’s emphasis on the deployment of intermediaries, both institutional and individual, can also enlighten the discourse theory. Intermediaries are essential for connecting the disassociated social networks, especially when a breakdown of communication occurs due to a lack of data, information, knowledge, or disparity of value orientation, all of which can affect social networks. If intermediaries are used, further communication will not be blocked as a result of the lack of critical data, information, knowledge or misunderstandings due to disparity of value orientation or other causes.
The institutional impact of the newly constructed co-originality thesis is also discussed in Part Two. Landwehr’s work on institutional design and assessment for deliberative interaction is first discussed. This article concludes with an indication of how the ‘local’ public sphere, through e-rulemaking or online dispute resolution, for example, can be constructed in light of the discussion of this article
Explosive Nucleosynthesis in Near-Chandrasekhar Mass White Dwarf Models for Type Ia Supernovae: Dependence on Model Parameters
We present two-dimensional hydrodynamics simulations of near-Chandrasekhar
mass white dwarf (WD) models for Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) using the
turbulent deflagration model with deflagration-detonation transition (DDT). We
perform a parameter survey for 41 models to study the effects of the initial
central density (i.e., WD mass), metallicity, flame shape, DDT criteria, and
turbulent flame formula for a much wider parameter space than earlier studies.
The final isotopic abundances of C to Tc in these simulations are
obtained by post-process nucleosynthesis calculations. The survey includes SNe
Ia models with the central density from g cm to g cm (WD masses of 1.30 - 1.38 ), metallicity from
0 to 5 , C/O mass ratio from 0.3 - 1.0 and ignition kernels
including centered and off-centered ignition kernels. We present the yield
tables of stable isotopes from C to Zn as well as the major
radioactive isotopes for 33 models. Observational abundances of Mn,
Fe, Fe and Ni obtained from the solar composition,
well-observed SNe Ia and SN Ia remnants are used to constrain the explosion
models and the supernova progenitor. The connection between the pure turbulent
deflagration model and the subluminous SNe Iax is discussed. We find that
dependencies of the nucleosynthesis yields on the metallicity and the central
density (WD mass) are large. To fit these observational abundances and also for
the application of galactic chemical evolution modeling, these dependencies on
the metallicity and WD mass should be taken into account.Comment: 53 pages, 43 figures. Accepted for publication in Astrophysical
Journal. Tables and figures updated to be consistent with other works. Also
table magnified for better visio
Currency attack/defense with two-sided private information
A currency attack fails on its own when the speculator suffers from her financial problem. This paper extends the existing models and argues that the monetary authority?s willingness to peg and the speculator?s cost of attack are private information. Our model thus accounts for the duration of currency attack/defense, and more importantly, allows for failed attack. We employ an asymmetric war of attrition and gauge the time when the speculator stops attacking, or when the monetary authority de-pegs. Comparative static results throw light on the interest rate policy amidst the Exchange Rate Mechanism Crisis and the Asian Currency CrisisAsymmetric war of attrition; Credibility of policymakers; Failed speculative attack; Persistent effect; Two-sided private information
A new geometric approach to problems in birational geometry
A classical set of birational invariants of a variety are its spaces of
pluricanonical forms and some of their canonically defined subspaces. Each of
these vector spaces admits a typical metric structure which is also
birationally invariant. These vector spaces so metrized will be referred to as
the pseudonormed spaces of the original varieties. A fundamental question is
the following: given two mildly singular projective varieties with some of the
first variety's pseudonormed spaces being isometric to the corresponding ones
of the second variety's, can one construct a birational map between them which
induces these isometries? In this work a positive answer to this question is
given for varieties of general type. This can be thought of as a theorem of
Torelli type for birational equivalence.Comment: 13 pages, to appear in PNA
Pulsational Pair-instability Supernovae. I. Pre-collapse Evolution and Pulsational Mass Ejection
We calculate the evolution of massive stars, which undergo pulsational
pair-instability (PPI) when the O-rich core is formed. The evolution from the
main-sequence through the onset of PPI is calculated for stars with the initial
masses of and metallicities of
. Because of mass loss, is necessary for stars
to form He cores massive enough (i.e., mass ) to undergo PPI. The
hydrodynamical phase of evolution from PPI through the beginning of Fe core
collapse is calculated for the He cores with masses of and
. During PPI, electron-positron pair production causes a rapid
contraction of the O-rich core which triggers explosive O-burning and a
pulsation of the core. We study the mass dependence of the pulsation dynamics,
thermodynamics, and nucleosynthesis. The pulsations are stronger for more
massive He cores and result in such a large amount of mass ejection such as for He cores. These He cores eventually
undergo Fe-core collapse. The He core undergoes complete
disruption and becomes a pair-instability supernova. The H-free circumstellar
matter ejected around these He cores is massive enough for to explain the
observed light curve of Type I (H-free) superluminous supernovae with
circumstellar interaction. We also note that the mass ejection sets the maximum
mass of black holes (BHs) to be , which is consistent with
the masses of BHs recently detected by VIRGO and aLIGO.Comment: 33 pages, 57 figures, submitted at 29 January 2019, revised at 16
October 2019, accepted at 20 October 2019; published 11 December 2019.
References and metadata update
Bluetooth Security Protocol Analysis and Improvements
Since its creation, Bluetooth has transformed itself from a cable replacement technology to a wireless technology that connects people and machines. Bluetooth has been widely adapted on mobile phones and PDAs. Many other vendors in other industries are integrating Bluetooth into their products. Although vendors are adapting to the technology, Bluetooth hasn’t been a big hit among users. Security remains a major concern. Poor implementation of the Bluetooth architecture on mobile devices leads to some high profiled Bluetooth hacks. Weak security protocol designs expose the Bluetooth system to some devastating protocol attacks. This paper first explores four Bluetooth protocol-level attacks in order to get deeper insights into the weakness of the Bluetooth security design. It then proposes enhancements to defense against those attacks. Performance comparison will be given based on the implementation of those enhancements on a software based Bluetooth simulator
A New Versatile Code for Gamma-Ray Monte-Carlo Radiative Transfer
Ongoing MeV telescopes such as INTEGRAL/SPI and Fermi/GBM, and proposed
telescopes including the recently accepted COSI and the e-ASTROGAM and AMEGO
missions, provide another window in understanding transients. Their signals
contain information about the stellar explosion mechanisms and their
corresponding nucleosynthesis of short-lived radioactive isotopes. This raises
the need of a radiative transfer code which may efficiently explore different
types of astrophysical -ray sources and their dependence on model
parameters and input physics. In view of this, we present our new Monte-Carlo
Radiative Transfer code in Python. The code synthesizes the -ray
spectra and light curves suitable for modeling supernova ejecta, including C+O
novae, O+Ne novae, Type Ia and core-collapse supernovae. We test the code
extensively for reproducing results consistent with analytic models. We also
compare our results with similar models in the literature and discuss how our
code depends on selected input physics and setting.Comment: 15 pages, 25 figures, published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal
Astronomical Society, submitted at 08 May 2022, accepted at 14 Feb 2023,
published at 20 Feb 202
School improvement through a university school partnership: a case study in a Hong Kong primary school
This thesis explores the impact of a school improvement model based on a university- school partnership in a Hong Kong primary school by studying the reactions of the professional staff to the reform initiative and the conditions for its success. Data were collected from multiple sources, including questionnaires, interviews and documents, but the descriptive interview remained the major source of data in the analysis of the results. Results indicated that: (a) the quantitative analysis showed a modest but consistent improvement in professional development in the teachers; (b) all the change agents contributed to school improvement; each agent was part of a complex dynamic, interwoven with the others, under the constraints of the school culture; (c) teachers’ capacity in designing and implementing teaching and learning activities was enhanced; (d) good teaching and learning programmes with appropriate implementation strategies had the greatest impact in changing the previous teaching paradigms and techniques; (e) partnership projects should be built on mutual trust and confidence, with a good mix of academic advice and practitioners' experience. The implications of the findings for improving primary schools and educational policy in Hong Kong are discussed. Directions for further research are also discussed. It is concluded that school improvement projects should pay more attention to the underlying principles of professional development, since those are crucial to their impact in schools
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