Beyond Westminster governance: Bringing politics and public service into the networked era

Abstract: The underlying premise of this article stems from the following question: is our Westminster, parliamentary model of democratic governance and administration adaptable for contemporary realities and emerging challenges? By way of response, the author attempts to expose what is wrong with the current model and sketches what changes to our governing institutions must be envisioned in order to safeguard political legitimacy and administrative competence in a world that is increasingly networked. Central to this discussion is the doctrine of ministerial responsibility and accountability and an appropriate parcelling of roles and authorities to public servants and politicians. Equally important is the rise of the Internet and new forms of political mobilization outside of government, on the one hand, and the potential for more direct mechanisms of public engagement, on the other hand. Without significant innovation and reform, Parliament and the federal government instead face a steady erosion of political and human capital that cannot be reversed until the country is convinced that 1) a new approach to governing is a realistic proposition, and 2) citizens will play an important role in designing this new approach. Sommaire: La prémisse sous‐jacente du présent article découle de la question suivante : est‐ce que notre modèle de Westminster de gouvernance et d'administration démocratique parlementaire peut s'adapter aux réalités contemporaines et aux défis émergents? En guise de réponse, l'article essaie d'exposer ce qui ne ne fonctionne pas dans le modèle actuel et donne un aperçu du genre de changements que nous devons envisager pour nos institutions dirigeantes afin de sauvegarder la légitimité politique et la compétence administrative dans un monde de plus en plus réseauté. Au centre de cette discussion se trouvent la doctrine de la responsabilité et de l'imputabilité ministérielle et une répartition appropriée des rôles et des pouvoirs des fonctionnaires et des responsables politiques. Tout aussi importants sont le rôle accru d'Internet et de nouvelles formes de mobilisation politique en dehors du gouvernement d'une part, et la possibilité de recourir à des mécanismes de participation publique plus directe, d'autre part. Par contre, à défaut d'innovations et de réformes importantes, le Parlement et le gouvernement fédéral font face à une érosion continue du capital politique et humain qui ne peut être inversée tant que le pays ne sera pas convaincu : a) qu'une nouvelle manière de gouverner est une proposition réaliste; et b) que les citoyens joueront un rôle important en concevant cette nouvelle démarche.     

Does Early Yogācāra Have a Theory of Meaning? Sthiramati’s Arguments on Metaphor in the <Emphasis Type="Italic">Triṃśikā-bhāṣya</Emphasis>

Can the early Yogācāra be said to present a systematic theory of meaning? The paper argues that Sthiramati’s bhā?ya on Vasubandhu’s Tri??ikā (Treatise in Thirty Verses), in which he argues that all language-use is metaphorical, indeed amounts to such a theory, both because of the text’s engagement with the wider Indian philosophical conversation about reference and meaning and by virtue of the questions it addresses and its motivations. Through a translation and analysis of key sections of Sthiramati’s commentary I present the main features of this theory of meaning and discuss the ways in which it is distinct from Vasubandhu’s ideas. I demonstrate how this theory of meaning enabled Sthiramati to present a unique understanding of discourse that distinguishes between varying levels of truth within the conventional realm. This understanding sat well with the Yogācāra soteriological and theoretical needs, and most importantly, enabled him to establish the meaningfulness of the school’s own metaphysical discourse. Securing this meaningfulness was especially important to Sthiramati in meeting the challenge posed by the radical conventionalism of the Madhyamaka, and his response as I interpret it suggests that one of the main disputes between the early Yogācāra with the Mādhyamika, at least as reflected in the Tri??ikā-bhā?ya, in fact turns on linguistic rather than ontological issues.     

Internal Validation of RapidHIT®ID ACE Sample Cartridge and Assessment of the EXT Sample Cartridge*†

A new rapid DNA solution, the RapidHIT^®ID, can accommodate two different sample cartridges, ACE, for the analysis of a single swab and EXT, for the analysis of DNA extracts. An efficient internal validation designed for low‐throughput rapid DNA is described. An evaluation of the EXT sample cartridge is also described. Each cartridge generated profiles with sufficient data quality to meet CODIS eligibility in fewer than 120 min. The results exhibited 100% correlation when compared to conventional DNA typing methods. Precision, reproducibility, stochastic, mixture, and contamination experiments produced expected results. Sensitivity of the ACE sample cartridge was acceptable for buccal swab analysis. The sensitivity of the EXT sample cartridge is discussed. The ACE validation and the EXT evaluation utilized a minimalist, cost‐saving, efficient design to generate a validated RapidHIT^®ID instrument capable of producing genetic profiles from both extracted forensic DNA samples and buccal swab samples within 120 min.     

Total factor productivity and the role of entrepreneurship

The absence of evidence in the scholarly literature for a tested long-term relationship between entrepreneurship and economic growth is at odds with the importance attributed to entrepreneurship in the policy arena. The present paper addresses this absence, introducing entrepreneurship using four different and accepted models explaining the total factor productivity of twenty OECD countries with data for the period 1969–2010. Traditionally, entrepreneurship is not addressed in these models. We show that in all models—as well as a joint one—entrepreneurship has a significant influence while the remaining effects largely stay the same. Entrepreneurship is measured as the business ownership rate (number of business owners per workforce) corrected for the level of economic development (GDP per capita).     

Suicide associated with the Antichrist delusion

The Antichrist delusion is a relatively infrequently observed religious delusion. Some cases of the Antichrist delusion have been associated with violence toward others. The aim of this article is to document a case of suicide secondary to the delusion. At age 17 a woman with no history of mental illness developed the belief that she was the Antichrist. For several years she did not discuss this with anyone and functioned appropriately in society. Then, at age 32, after the birth of her first child, her delusion intensified and she ultimately committed suicide to protect others from the harm she felt she was destined to cause them. The Antichrist delusion as a misidentification state may involve danger to a patient who harbors the delusion, as well as to other individuals.