Constitutional Listening

This article explores a particular methodology of comparative constitutional analysis that it calls constitutional listening. Derived from the interpretive principle of charity, constitutional listening involves interpreting constitutional discourse of other polities in their best light. This includes not simply polities whose constitutional structures and values resemble our own, but perhaps even more importantly, polities and constitutional systems whose values and structures seem alien to us. The value of this methodology, it is argued, lies in its ability to expand our understanding of the diversity of experiences that have gone into the human project of constitutionalism, and in the diversity of human possibilities that the project provokes. The utility of this methodology will be demonstrated by applying it to the debate surrounding the drafting of the Property Law in the People\u27s Republic of China ca. 2006–2007

Constitutional Listening

This article explores a particular methodology of comparative constitutional analysis that it calls constitutional listening. Derived from the interpretive principle of charity, constitutional listening involves interpreting constitutional discourse of other polities in their best light. This includes not simply polities whose constitutional structures and values resemble our own, but perhaps even more importantly, polities and constitutional systems whose values and structures seem alien to us. The value of this methodology, it is argued, lies in its ability to expand our understanding of the diversity of experiences that have gone into the human project of constitutionalism, and in the diversity of human possibilities that the project provokes. The utility of this methodology will be demonstrated by applying it to the debate surrounding the drafting of the Property Law in the People\u27s Republic of China ca. 2006–2007

On the limits of constitutional liberalism: in search of a constitutional reflexivity

Analyses of comparative constitutional law are frequently framed by a particular vision of constitutionalism that we call the 'structural-liberal' vision. This vision sees the purpose of constitutional as being one of limiting state power - its ‘liberal’ component - which is done through the construction of a particular set of institutional architectures - such as judicial constitutional review, judicial protection and enforcement of fundamental rights, separation of powers, rule of law, etc. - its 'structural component.' In this paper, we argue that such analyses are incomplete. The structural-liberal vision is but one of a number of ways of conceptualizing constitutionalism. It is the product of a particular time and place, and reflects the particular concerns and experiences of that time and place. Conversely, there are other kinds of important constitutional concerns and experiences that the structural liberal-vision renders invisible. These include processes of constitutional emergence and evolution, and symbiotic relationships between constitutionalism and other aspects of the regulatory environment (such as the economic structure of the state). In order to be complete, analyses of comparative constitutional law need to be more attentive to the distinctive concerns and experiences of the subjects of their attention. This involves allowing the subject system to speak for itself within the context of the larger, human discussion of constitutionalism - an analytic methodology that we call constitutional reflexivity

Introduction

Martin Loughlin’s Foundations of Public Law offers a radical reworking of public law scholarship, converting it into an interdisciplinary enquiry into the political character of the state. Bringing public law into conceptual and discursive interplay with political theory, political sociology and state theory, Foundations explores the core legal-political relation as it evolves with the evolution of the modern state. The project raises a number of questions that are critically interrogated in this special issue. Does Foundations neglect the emancipatory and normative potential of public law? Does it fully capture the material forces at work in conditioning the evolution of the state and its law? Does public law, at least in its administrative branches, depend upon a foundation at all? And, at its most basic, is an enquiry into the foundations of public law misguided in light of the plurality of its forms

Preliminary Solar Sail Design and Fabrication Assessment: Spinning Sail Blade, Square Sail Sheet

Blade design aspects most affecting producibility and means of measurement and control of length, scallop, fullness and straightness requirements and tolerances were extensively considered. Alternate designs of the panel seams and edge reinforcing members are believed to offer advantages of seam integrity, producibility, reliability, cost and weight. Approaches to and requirements for highly specialized metalizing methods, processes and equipment were studied and identified. Alternate methods of sail blade fabrication and related special machinery, tooling, fixtures and trade offs were examined. A preferred and recommended approach is also described. Quality control plans, inspection procedures, flow charts and special test equipment associated with the preferred manufacturing method were analyzed and are discussed

Feasibility of Electrified Propulsion for Ultra-Efficient Commercial Aircraft Final Report

MIT, Aurora Flight Sciences, and USC have collaborated to assess the feasibility of electric, hybridelectric, and turbo-electric propulsion for ultra-efficient commercial transportation. The work has drawn on the team expertise in disciplines related to aircraft design, propulsion-airframe integration, electric machines and systems, engineering system design, and optimization. A parametric trade space analysis has been carried out to assess vehicle performance across a range of transport missions and propulsion architectures to establish how electrified propulsion systems scale. An optimization approach to vehicle conceptual design modeling was taken to enable rapid multidisciplinary design space exploration and sensitivity analysis. The results of the analysis indicate vehicle aero-propulsive integration benefits enabled by electrification are required to offset the increased weight and loss associated with the electric system and achieve enhanced performance; the report describes the conceptual configurations than can offer such enhancements. The main contribution of the present work is the definition of electric vehicle design attributes for potential efficiency improvements at different scales. Based on these results, key areas for future research are identified, and extensions to the trade space analysis suitable for higher fidelity electrified commercial aircraft design and analysis have been developed

Rubella metapopulation dynamics and importance of spatial coupling to the risk of congenital rubella syndrome in Peru

Rubella is generally a mild childhood disease, but infection during early pregnancy may cause spontaneous abortion or congenital rubella syndrome (CRS), which may entail a variety of birth defects. Consequently, understanding the age-structured dynamics of this infection has considerable public health value. Vaccination short of the threshold for local elimination of transmission will increase the average age of infection. Accordingly, the classic concern for this infection is the potential for vaccination to increase incidence in individuals of childbearing age. A neglected aspect of rubella dynamics is how age incidence patterns may be moulded by the spatial dynamics inherent to epidemic metapopulations. Here, we use a uniquely detailed dataset from Peru to explore the implications of this for the burden of CRS. Our results show that the risk of CRS may be particularly severe in small remote regions, a prediction at odds with expectations in the endemic situation, and with implications for the outcome of vaccination. This outcome results directly from the metapopulation context: specifically, extinction–re-colonization dynamics are crucial because they allow for significant leakage of susceptible individuals into the older age classes during inter-epidemic periods with the potential to increase CRS risk by as much as fivefold