On the Dilemma of Contemporary Liberal Theory of Moral Rights for Penalty Justification——Exemplified by the Right to Personal Liberty

Contemporary liberal theory on moral rights argues that moral rights associated with personal liberty constitute a strong constraint on the boundaries of state power.Therefore,the core issue of the penalty justification is not the purpose of the penalty,but the reason for the penalty to refrain from infringing on the moral rights of individuals.In order to justify the penal system,scholars have explored solutions such as limiting the content of rights,waiving rights,and finally rights forfeiture.However,the concept of rights forfeiture cannot be reasonably integrated into the framework of the liberal theory of moral rights.The failure of these attempts stems from the patchwork understanding of rights presupposed by the liberal theory of moral rights.There is another systematic way of understanding rights that offers a better justification.Individual rights are not an independent non-derivative moral justification,and both individual rights and the penal power of the state are only part of a specific(realistic or ideal)system of rules that collectively serve certain values.The real question of penalty justification is not why the punishment does not infringe on the moral rights of individuals,but whether the overall institutional arrangements,including the penal system,are justifiable for all citizens,including the punished.

Referring Physicians’ Knowledge on Justification of Medical Exposure in Diagnostic Imaging in a Sub-Saharan African Country, Cameroon

Background: Justification is the process of weighing the potential benefit of the exposure against potential detriment for that individual. Its role has been largely delegated to imaging professionals. Nevertheless, justification process involves referring physicians, radiographers and radiologists. Objective: To assess the knowledge of referring physicians regarding justification of irradiating examinations in medical imaging at the university-affiliated hospitals in Yaoundé Cameroon. Materials and Methods: A questionnaire (18 questions) based on the French guide for the proper use of medical imaging tests in relation to the justification of irradiating examinations, was self-administered to 151 referring physicians in Yaounde (Cameroon) between October 2012 and January 2013. The pre-tested questionnaire was completed in the presence of the investigator. A scoring system was then adopted with a total of 15 points from the level of knowledge on justification which could be classified as satisfactory or not. Results: Referring physicians were 75 (49.7%) GPs, 53 (35.1%) residents and 23 (15.2%) specialists. Knowledge on justification was unsatisfactory for 79.5% of referring physicians with no significant difference in terms of professional experience (p = 0.95) or specialty (p = 0.119). The concepts of “useful exam” and “justified exam” were not known by 113 (74.8%) and 95 (62.9%) practitioners. MRI was selected as irradiating by 62 (41.1%), SPECT and PET-scan as non-radiating examinations by 98 (64.9%) and 115 (76.1%) participants. The main reasons for repeating a giving radiology exam were: unsatisfactory interpretation, unknown of where it was performing and poor quality exam respectively for 23 (15.2%), 37 (24.5%) and 43 (28.5%) referring physicians. Justification was the responsibility of the referring physician alone for 57% of respondent. Only 11 clinicians knew the reference of “Justification-Optimization-Limitation” to radiation protection. Conclusion: The knowledge of physicians on radiating medical procedures and justification of requests for these procedures is inadequate. Training in radiation protection and the introduction of guidelines for the proper use of imaging tests could improve physicians’ justification of radiating examinations.

Writing the future： A theoretical justification for a uniform and universal system of currency in accounting for inflation

This paper submits that the advantages gained by introducing a single currency at the domestic level, applies equally to the economy at the global level. The advantages gained are （1） a reduction of the inflation rate to one common rate （if required） amongst all states, （2） a possible reduced interest rate, （3） an expansion in investment, （4） an increase in development and trade due to the removal of uncertainty, （5） the reduction in transaction costs, and （6） the reduction in the cost of capital （Moshirian, 2004, p. 306）. A single global currency has immediate implications in accounting for inflation as it presents an opportunity for the permanent removal of problems associated with accounting for inflation. This paper addresses the phenomenon of inflation and how accounting measurement and valuation associated with inflation is removed by the introduction of a single global currency.

An Analysis of the Origin of the Interaction Force between Electric Charges, including Justification of the ln<i>r</i>Term in the Completed Coulomb’s Law, in HM16 Ether

In this study, we demonstrate the correctness of our 2010 hypothesis regarding the need to complete Coulomb’s FC law with the term lnr, resulting in the completed FCC force. For this purpose, we consider the electrical interactions between charged microparticles (MPs), which develop as fundamental vibrations (FVs) in ether, producing the vibrational strains &epsilon;and &gamma;and the resulting stresses &sigma;and &tau;, as percussions of ether cells (ECs) upon the MP surface. The stresses &sigma;?and?&tau;produce a resultant force FP, due to the percussions which constitute the real electric force FCC. The spatial effect of ether on FP is demonstrated by an analytical method, considering the electrical interaction between MPs through various equidistant spatial paths li of FVs, modelled on the basis of the Huygens principle for waves. For this issue, we utilized a numerical calculation, which could be generalized. But this spatial effect of the ether leads at a very slow decreasing of the FP forces ratio rF when doubling the distance l, in contrast to Coulomb’s FC forces whose ratio rF?decreases accentuate with doubling l. Accordingly, the necessity of including the term ln r in the FCC force, which is limited to 1.0 for doubling l, at long distances, was justified.

Unbelief as Sin versus Justification by Agape： A Dialogical Response to Prof. Ogletree and Prof. Stackhouse

Due to the top priority of the command to love God over the command to love one＇s neighbor, these two commands wil/ fall into a profound paradox ＂to violate generally accepted morality for the sake of Christian faith. ＂ The orthodox doctrine of ＂justification by faith＂ expresses this paradox in a most definite way, because it regards unbelief in God as the most unacceptable, hateful, and punishable sin against God. Only by giving up this priority can the two love commands truly move beyond the moral paradox and realize their essential and holy unity in the framework of a new ＂ theology of agape＂ or a new doctrine of ＂justification by agape. ＂

A differentiated approach for justification of advanced manufacturing technologies

European companies rely on advanced manu- facturing technologies （AMTs） in order to succeed in an environment of high labour costs, increasing competition and rising customer expectations. AMT implementation is often a high-risk investment. Many companies experience a misalignment between the installed functionality and pro- duction needs. There is a need for decision support in order to take into account all possible advantages and disad- vantages of the technology implementation, and ensure that the technology meets the requirements of the production processes. In this article, a differentiated technology justi- fication approach is introduced. The approach suggests a combination of strategic, financial and risk justification methods. The recommended number and type of methods depend on the integration level of the technical system under consideration, ranging from stand-alone machines to large and integrated production systems. The approach was developed based on a literature review and a case study. The application of the approach was presented in a case where several types of pipe bending technology were evaluated.

DLJ:A Dynamic Line-Justification Algorithm for Test Generation

Line justification is a basic factor in affecting the efficiency of algorithms for test generation.The existence of reconvergent fanouts in the circuit under test resalts in backtracks in the process of line justification.In order to reduce the number of backtracks and shorten the processing time between backtracks,we present a new algorithm called DLJ(dynamic line justification)in which two techniques are employed.1.A cost function called“FOCOST”is proposed as heuristic information to represent the cost of justifying a certain line.When the relations among the lines being justified are“and”,the line having the highest FOCOST should be chosen.When the relations are“or”,the line having the lowest FOCOST should be chosen.The computing of the FOCOST of lines is very simple.2. Disjoint justification cubes dynamically generated to perform backtracks make the backtrack number of the algorithm minimal.When the backtrace with cube C_1 does not yield a solution,the next cube to be chosen is C′_2=C_2-{C_1,C_2}.Experimental results demonstrate that the combination of the two techniques effectively reduces the backtracks and accelerates the test generation.

Extracting a justification for OWL ontologies by critical axioms

Extracting justifications for web ontology language(OWL)ontologies is an important mission in ontology engineering.In this paper,we focus on black-box techniques which are based on ontology reasoners.Through creating a recursive expansion procedure,all elements which are called critical axioms in the justification are explored one by one.In this detection procedure,an axiom selection function is used to avoid testing irrelevant axioms.In addition,an incremental reasoning procedure has been proposed in order to substitute series of standard reasoning tests w.r.t.satisfiability.It is implemented by employing a pseudo model to detect“obvious”satisfiability directly.The experimental results show that our proposed strategy for extracting justifications for OWL ontologies by adopting incremental expansion is superior to traditional Black-box methods in terms of efficiency and performance.

KNOWLEDGE RECONSTRUCTION AND JUSTIFICATION FOR REGIONAL VITALIZATION

This paper considers the regional vitalization problem and discusses the methodology to create regional vitalization plans, which include activating the local economy, enriching people＇s lives, and activating the feelings of people, by new initiatives. Activily underlying the methodology is the experience of implementing several actual projects with the local residents, and theory underlying the methodology is the knowledge construction and justification theory based on knowledge management and systems thinking. Introducing an actual vitalization project as an illustrative example, the paper proposes a knowledge reconstruction and justification procedure for regional vitalization.

JUPITER and satellites:Clinical implications of the JUPITER study and its secondary analyses

The justification for the use of statins in prevention: an intervention trial evaluating rosuvastatin(JUPITER) study was a real breakthrough in primary cardiovascular disease prevention with statins,since it was conducted in apparently healthy individuals with normal levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol(LDL-C <130 mg/dL)and increased inflammatory state,reflected by a high concentration of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein(hs-CRP≥2 mg/L).These individuals would not have qualified for statin treatment according to current treatment guidelines.In JUPITER,rosuvastatin was associated with significant reductions in cardiovascular outcomes as well as in overall mortality compared with placebo.In this paper the most important secondary analyses of the JUPITER trial are discussed,by focusing on their novel findings regarding the role of statins in primary prevention.Also,the characteristics of otherwise healthy normocholesterolemic subjects who are anticipated to benefit more from statin treatment in the clinical setting are discussed.Subjects at"intermediate"or"high"10-year risk according to the Framingham score,those who exhibit low post-treatment levels of both LDL-C(< 70 mg/dL)and hs-CRP(<1 mg/L),who are 70 years of age or older,as well as those with moderate chronic kidney disease(estimated glomerular filtration rate <60 mL/min every 1.73 m2)are anticipated to benefit more from statin treatment.Unlikely other statin primary prevention trials,JUPITER added to our knowledge that statins may be effective drugs in the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease in normocholesterolemic individuals at moderate-to-high risk.Also,statin treatment may reduce the risk of venous thromboembolism and preserve renal function.An increase in physician-reported diabetes represents a major safety concern associated with the use of the most potent statins.

Hybrid ant colony optimization for the resource-constrained project scheduling problem

To solve the resource-constrained project scheduling problem （RCPSP）, a hybrid ant colony optimization （HACO） approach is presented. To improve the quality of the schedules, the HACO is incorporated with an extended double justification in which the activity splitting is applied to predict whether the schedule could be improved. The HACO is tested on the set of large benchmark problems from the project scheduling problem library （PSPLIB）. The computational result shows that the proposed algo- rithm can improve the quality of the schedules efficiently.

基于启发式搜索的ASP程序支撑原因分析算法

为了尽快找到一个错误及其来源,以加快ASP程序调试的效率,把启发式搜索技术引入ASP程序支撑原因分析算法。在生成支撑原因分析图时利用启发式函数,仅搜索对回答集产生影响且有可能更快找到一个支撑原因的规则。改进算法在搜索关于某个回答集的支撑原因时,其时间和空间复杂度明显下降。实例分析表明了该算法的有效性。

New Knowledge Network Evaluation Method for Design Rationale Management

Current design rationale （DR） systems have not demonstrated the value of the approach in practice since little attention is put to the evaluation method of DR knowledge. To systematize knowledge management process for future computer-aided DR applications, a prerequisite is to provide the measure for the DR knowledge. In this paper, a new knowledge network evaluation method for DR management is presented. The method characterizes the DR knowledge value from four perspectives, namely, the design rationale structure scale, association knowledge and reasoning ability, degree of design justification support and degree of knowledge representation conciseness. The DR knowledge comprehensive value is also measured by the proposed method. To validate the proposed method, different style of DR knowledge network and the performance of the proposed measure are discussed. The evaluation method has been applied in two realistic design cases and compared with the structural measures. The research proposes the DR knowledge evaluation method which can provide object metric and selection basis for the DR knowledge reuse during the product design process. In addition, the method is proved to be more effective guidance and support for the application and management of DR knowledge.

The Rational Man Model in Social and Political Studies： A Plea for Relevance

This paper examines the assumptions of the Rational Man （RM） model familiar in social and political studies. It is observed that the model is too restrictive in its explaining events and behavior in social and political situations. It is suggested that the assumptions of RM model should be relaxed using the familiar methods and techniques of elementary formal logic. The concept of relevance is then introduced to take account of a ＂weaker＂ formal requirement in an attempt to explain events and processes in human action and/or behavior. The concept of ＂justification by reasons＂ is then introduced as a necessary though not sufficient requirement of explaining events and processes in social and political studies

A new approach to classroom-based language assessment

If one considers the number of language learners that are worldwide,the number of classroom-based language assessments(CBLAs)that are given each year,and the number of decisions that are made on the basis of these,it is obvious that in terms of sheer numbers,more students are affected by CBLAs per year than by those based on large-scale language assessments.Because of this,it is essential that classroom teachers have the knowledge,skills,and tools to enable them to develop and use CBLAs that they can justify to stakeholders,e.g.,students,parents,and school authorities.In this paper we describe the approach to CBLAs that we have developed.First,we discuss the role of assessment in teaching and learning,the kinds of decisions that classroom teachers need to make,and the different modes of CBLAs.We then describe the process of using CBLAs to help teachers make decisions that will have beneficial consequences.Next,we discuss fairness and accountability in assessment and the process of assessment justification,including an assessment use argument.Finally,we discuss the process of developing CBLAs,using an example of a classroom-based language assessment to illustrate this.

Factors Associated with Women＇s Attitude towards Spousal Abuse： The Case of Zambia

Gender based violence （GBV） is a worldwide scourge and spousal battering has been found to be a common form of GBV. The objective of this paper was to examine the attitudes of women towards spousal battering and to assess the association between women＇s attitudes and the likelihood of being abused. The paper utilizes secondary data from the 2007 Zambia Demographic Health Survey （ZDHS）. Results show that the younger women were more likely to justify wife beating when compared to older women （P 〈 0.05）. Women from urban areas （68%） with middle income background （71%） were more likely to agree that wife beating is justified compared to rural women （56%） and women with a higher income background （51%）. Women who had attained secondary level of education were 1.3 times more likely to report that wife beating was justified compared to those from higher levels of education. Women whose husbands drunk alcohol were 1.2 times more likely to report that wife beating was justified compared to those women whose husbands never drunk alcohol. The results from the analysis suggests that age, marital duration, place of residence, wealth index, partner＇s wife and husband＇s educational level, number of children and husband＇s alcohol consumption contributed to justification of spousal battering.

The Effect of Requester Training on the Relevance of Lumbar Spine X-Ray Request for Low Back Pain in Adults at Yaounde

Background: Despite the availability of guidelines, the requests for medical imaging examinations for the exploration of low back pain remain irrelevant in the majority of cases. Objective: To assess the impact of requester training on the justification of lumbar spine X-rays for low back pain in adults in Yaounde. Materials and Methods: We carried out an interventional study from December 2017 to April 2018 in Yaounde (Cameroon). We analyzed the relevance of the prescription of X-rays for low back pain before and after an interactive training of the requesters. Results: Among the 16 requesters who were trained, the proportion of irrelevant requests dropped from 58.22% (46/79) before training to 44.44% (20/45) after training, representing a decrease of 13.78% (p = 0.012). The highest drop in the proportion of irrelevant requests was found among general practitioners (-21.98%) and requesters having less than 10 years of experience in medical practice (-31.8%). Conclusion: The training of requesters moderately reduces the rate of irrelevant examinations. Other factors of irrelevant prescription must be investigated and corrected for this decrease to be more significant.

Designing Trade Rules to Promote Climate Sustainability

Climate sustainability has become a key issue of our time. Measures protecting the environment, however, can have an impact on the competitiveness of domestic firms and on cross-border trade. Therefore, regulatory bodies should enlarge the scope of their policies and treat climate sustainability as global public good; based on such concept trade rules are to be designed in a way that allows a fair balancing between the diverse interests.

COLLABORATIVE DESIGN OF RFID SYSTEMS FOR MULTI-PURPOSE SUPPLY CHAIN APPLICATIONS

One of the key challenges for implementing RFID systems in supply chain management is the difficulty in economic justification. Such difficulty is further amplified by its public participation nature as multiple self-interest beneficiaries may receive diverse paybacks, and their incentives to join the system are difficult to align. This paper aims to address these problems by a collaborative design from two aspects. First, we propose to introduce a centralized planning mechanism in the chain to facilitate the participation, so that the cost of the overall system can be minimized. Second, we propose to analyze the multi-facet economic return from multi-purpose applications to achieve the full potential of RFID systems. To illustrate our approach, its application for inventory inaccuracy and product recall in RFID system is presented.

There are no Justified True Beliefs in Gettier Cases

According to the standard interpretation of Gettier cases, they can be used to form significant challenges to the tradition of defining knowledge as justified true beliefs (hereafter "JTB").This position naturally assumes that varieties of target beliefs involved in typical Gettier cases are all JTBs, namely, unified beliefs which are simultaneously justified and true. But I do not think this is true. Conversely, every target belief in typical Gettier cases should be cashed out as one or more beliefs, none of which is a genuine JTB. In short, there is no JTB in Gettier's JTB-hostile vignettes at all. Hence, no matter whether the JTB account of knowledge is correct or not, Gettier cases are not really relevant to it. In addition, although I agree to Mizrahi's(Logos Episteme 7(1):31-44, 2016) general observation that face-values of target beliefs cannot be taken for granted in all Gettier cases, I have made a further claim that there is no cross-board methodology to disambiguate the target beliefs in all Gettier cases.