Law and Morality at War

Through a critical engagement with Jeremy Waldron’s work, as well as the work of other writers, I offer an account of the relative scope of the morality of war, the laws of war, and war crimes. I propose an instrumentalist account of the laws of war, according to which the laws of war should help soldiers conform to the morality of war. The instrumentalist account supports Waldron’s conclusion that the laws of war justifiably prohibit attacks on civilians even if it turns out that some civilians lack a moral right not to be killed. Importantly, the instrumentalist account also offers what Waldron thinks impossible: a non-consequentialist defense of the failure of the laws of war to prohibit the killing of nonthreatening combatants. Finally, I argue that new war crimes can be broader than the morality of war as well as established laws of war and that many of the arguments for defining war crimes more narrowly than either the morality of war or the laws of war are unconvincing. In all of these ways, I hope to carry forward Waldron’s project of exploring the relationship between law and morality in war.     

Productivity Improvement and Public Personnel Management： An Analysis of Presidents Reagan and Obama Administration

Considering the financial crises, all the recent presidents have emphasized the importance of productivity improvement in government, especially in public personnel management. Though there is a general agreement on the concept of productivity, the means to achieve productivity vary with president＇s ideology. President Reagan championed the cause of conservatism. On one hand, despite Obama＇s attempt to diffuse ideological question, his actions can be regarded as liberal. This study seeks to make a comparison between Presidents Reagan and Obama on their efforts in productivity improvement in public personnel management, based on their ideological preferences. President Reagan campaigned on an anti-Washington agenda. He promoted the idea that the government is the problem rather than the solution. He popularized the idea that the people are burdened with heavy taxation as a result of the big government. Therefore, the solution to heavy taxation was to cut big government, which can be accomplished by reducing unnecessary and expensive regulations. On the other hand, when President Obama came to office, the country was faced not only with a deep recession, but two difficult wars, the collapse of the banking and the auto industries, the housing crisis, and overall capacity crisis in the government. Obama resisted ideological level in his campaign speeches to diffuse the criticisms of the conservatives.     

Can Demographic Characteristics Influence Perception on Internal Control System？

The purpose of this study is to develop a reliable and valid construct for internal control system and to assess the association between respondents＇ demographic factors and their perception on internal control system. The fraud triangle theory underpins the development of the survey instrument. Survey questionnaires were administered to 553 respondents out of which 334 were usable responses in the Malaysian financial sector, using face to face data collection procedure. Cochran＇s method was adopted for sample size determination. The confirmatory factor analysis （chi square = 3.09; AGFI = 0.81; NFI = 0.89; TLI = 0.91; CFI = 0.92; RMSEA = 0.08）, normality （skewness 〈 1.50） and reliability （composite reliability = 0.95; average variance extracted = 0.46） results were convincing. It was found that respondents＇ age （p = 0.02） and working experience （p = 0.01） had significant bearings toward their perception on internal control system within the Malaysian financial sector.     

Role of blogging in perceived learning and satisfaction of students

The contemporary smart concepts of education signify a heavy role of blogging tools in digital learning environments that have a substantial effect on students' learning and satisfaction. This study aims to analyze the influence of students' four perceptions about blogging that is, perception of digital technology (PDT), perceptions of teaching and learning (PTL), perceptions of previous blogging experience (PBE), and perceived usefulness of blogging (PUB) on the frequency of blogging and then assesses the impact of the frequency of blogging on perceived satisfaction as well as perceived learning of students. For this purpose, the researchers conducted a quantitative study with a positivist approach in which the data were collected from 350 students in Anhui Province, China to conduct analysis of the proposed relationships. The results of the current study suggest that there is a positive impact of PDT, PTL, PBE and PUB on the frequency of blogging. It means that the positive perceptions of students towards digital technology, teaching and learning, previous bogging experience and usefulness of blogging result in higher frequency and use of blogging activity. It further indicates that the high frequency of blogging has ultimately a positive impact on perceived satisfaction and perceived learning. The discussion and findings of the current study have useful implications for theory and practice because they provide empirical evidence and theoretical guidelines about the role of blogging in perceived learning and satisfaction.     

Street children's use of social support against everyday abuse in Bangladesh

This qualitative study explores how the estimated 1–3 million street children of Bangladesh cope with the verbal, physical, and sexual violence inflicted on them on an almost daily basis. Drawing on a sample of 75 street children ages 10–17 in the capital city of Dhaka, the study is based on multiple interviews with participants. Interview data and social network theory yielded insights about the types of violence endured and how age, gender, and location impacted risks faced by street children. The study also highlights the complex and varied roles that social networks and group solidarity, as well as the actions of individual peers, play in the survival of this vulnerable population.     

Hyperlinks citations, reproducing original works

A hyperlink (or simply a link) is a citation of an electronic address where further information can be found but, additionally, navigates the surfer almost instantaneously to material hosted anywhere on the Internet at a mere click of a mouse. Controversy arises because either the composition or functionality of the hyperlink can potentially infringe property rights of the claimant. Many have written about the hyperlink as a navigation tool authorising or contributing to infringement of copyright by a third party.¹This article concentrates on the composition of an external hyperlink, as a citation. Part 2 outlines the nature of Internet communication and explains why hyperlinks are often controversial. Part 3 asserts when copyright subsists in original literary works, but because a hyperlink may incorporate diverse formats, this part also addresses the protection of other works including the issue of composite works covered under section 1(1) of Copyright, Design and Patents Act, 1988. Applying copyright principles, it suggests that a hyperlink reproducing an identifiable part of a web page capable of standing apart from its context can infringe copyright in the web page containing the part. That said the claimant might face difficulty in demonstrating that the work is substantive or, where the hyperlink consists of diverse inputs, in categorising the subject matter. Part 4 acknowledges the significance (electronic) collections and therefore defines a database falling within the Databases Directive.² It then highlights challenges presented by copyright and sui generis right relating to databases concluding that reproducing an identifiable part of author compiled work can infringe copyright and/or sui generis right therein but the same is not true of search engine generated returns. Part 5 concedes that, in practice, subsistence of copyright and/or sui generis right is open to challenge because the part reproduced in a hyperlink may not be substantive, may not easily fit into the category of protected subject matter or lacks ‘substantial investment.’ Nevertheless, it argues that proving infringement in an identifiable part of a web page reproduced in a hyperlink remains the most viable option for indirectly controlling access to the target page, which may itself be unprotected by copyright.