Discussion and inquiry: A Deweyan perspective on teaching controversial issues

There is a steady line of academic discourse around the topic of controversial issues and how to approach them in and through education. In this line of discourse, discussion is widely seen as a primary method of democratic education that is especially suitable to foster its major educational aims, such as tolerance, reciprocal respect, or political autonomy. The aim of this contribution is to show that the widespread emphasis on the educational and political value of discussions as a way to handle controversial issues in education can be problematic and one-sided. It is argued that the focus on discussions sometimes tends to be interpreted as a ‘magic bullet’ to all different sorts of controversies, without sufficient inquiry into the details that make up the controversy. This uniform solution threatens to downplay and underestimates other relevant components which are essential for the intelligent handling of controversial issues, such as practices of inquiry. Instead of questioning the political value and central educational role of discussing controversial issues tout court, the contribution points out some of the blind spots of the current debate and thereby aims to broaden the spectrum of theoretical and practical perspectives on how to approach controversial issues in education.

The law applicable to objective arbitrability: 'Lex fori', 'lex arbitri' and their alternatives

Bearing in mind that there is no uniform solution to the issue of arbitrability of the subject matter of a dispute in international conventions and the Model Law, as well as that different national legislations solve this issue in different ways, the great importance of correctly determining the applicable law for objective arbitrability is noticed. The paper first analyses the lex fori and lex arbitri as classic points of attachment, and then their alternatives such as the lex causae for contract, the place of potential enforcement of the award and the law applicable to the material validity of the arbitration agreement, as well as the proposal to abandon the collision technique. After concluding that for several reasons it is inadequate to apply the law applicable to the arbitration agreement to this issue, and that it is still early to consider that there is an autonomous notion of arbitrability from the New York Convention, the author recognizes that the definition of objective arbitrability encompasses several aspects. Accordingly, for each of them it is necessary to determine separately the applicable law.

The Glass Ceiling: Career Progression Barriers for Female Employees in the South African Hospitality Industry

This study examined the glass ceiling phenomenon in the South African hospitality industry, with a particular focus on four hotels in Gauteng. The primary aim was to investigate the different perspectives held on the glass ceiling by exploring the key factors inhibiting women in the hospitality industry from proceeding to the next level of the corporate hierarchy, and, ultimately, to reach senior executive positions. Data was collected through informal semi-structured interviews and an online questionnaire that was targeted at men and women in lower to top management positions within the different hotels. The key findings show that the glass ceiling indeed exists, as a fluid and dynamic phenomenon, which takes on various ever-evolving shapes within different work environments. Many women resonated with the nature of the glass ceiling. The literature depicts the glass ceiling as an overarching and all-encompassing phenomenon affecting women. The study sheds more light on the circumstantial nature of the glass ceiling and shows that certain factors exacerbate the effects of the ‘glass ceiling’ phenomenon. A study found that a combination of variables affected the careers of women and their work life balance. The study revealed that the circumstantial nature of the glass ceiling and its dynamic nature makes it impossible for there to be a uniform solution to navigating one’s career around it or to shatter it. This finding challenges the existing view of the glass ceiling and how women should be attempting to shatter it.

Computing the exponent of a Lebesgue space

We consider the question as to whether the exponent of a computably presentable Lebesgue space whose dimension is at least 2 must be computable. We show this very natural conjecture is true when the exponent is at least 2 or when the space is finite-dimensional. However, we also show there is no uniform solution even when given upper and lower bounds on the exponent. The proof of this result leads to some basic results on the effective theory of stable random variables.

Analysis of Deformation and Stress Characteristics of Anchored-Frame Structures for Slope Stabilization

In recent years, anchored-frame structures are widely being used in road slopes for stabilization and improvement. The technology of frame structure with anchors is becoming more and more mature, but the pertinent theory lags behind the application. While more attention is being paid to the control of deformation, there is still no uniform solution to the calculation of deformation in the anchored-frame structures. According to the classical laterla earth pressure theory and static equilibrium, this paper improves the calculation method of lateral earth pressure and derives the calculation formula of slope-induced lateral earth pressure. At the same time, based on the elastic foundation beam model, the columns and beams are treated as a whole system, and the appropriate elastic frame beam model is established. The formula of the deformation and bending moments for the columns and beams in the anchored-frame structures are derived. Additionally, the calculated results based on the abovementioned newly derived formulas are compared with those of finite element simulations for a simulated case study. The results of simulation and analytical calculation are basically consistent, which prove the feasibility of the new analytical method.

Demystifying Moral Damages in International Investment Arbitration

Claims for compensation of material damages in investment arbitration are well known – they are part of every dispute. Tribunals deal extensively with such claims and do not accord much attention to another type of damages: moral damages. Until today, no uniform solution has been found. There seems to be stark disagreement between arbitral tribunals on how to deal with a claim for moral damages. This article sheds light on moral damages and proposes a possible solution under international law. To this end, it introduces the concept of moral damages and its history in international disputes. After having set out such general overview, it then applies the concept to investment arbitration by analysing five issues arbitral tribunals have been faced with when confronted by a claim for moral damages. Finally, it comments on the most prominent awards and provides an outlook for a possible solution.

Sets, lies, and analogy: a new methodological take

The starting point of this paper is a claim defended most famously by Graham Priest: that given certain observed similarities between the set-theoretic and the semantic paradoxes, we should be looking for a ‘uniform solution’ to the members of both families. Despite its indisputable surface attractiveness, I argue that this claim hinges on a problematic reasoning move. This is seen most clearly, I suggest, when the claim and its underlying assumptions are examined by the lights of a novel, quite general and, I contend, promising take on inter-theoretic analogy. The ensuing discussion is intended to serve as both a possible case study and a first step towards the broader aim of the paper: namely, to initiate a wider conversation on the methodology of paradox-solving on the one hand, and the use of inter-theoretic analogies on the other.

When Curry met Abel

Based on his Inclosure Schema and the Principle of Uniform Solution (PUS), Priest has argued that Curry’s paradox belongs to a different family of paradoxes than the Liar. Pleitz (2015, The Logica Yearbook 2014, pp. 233–248) argued that Curry’s paradox shares the same structure as the other paradoxes and proposed a scheme of which the Inclosure Schema is a particular case and he criticizes Priest’s position by pointing out that applying the PUS implies the use of a paraconsistent logic that does not validate Contraction, but that this can hardly seen as uniform. In this paper, we will develop some further reasons to defend Pleitz’ thesis that Curry’s paradox belongs to the same family as the rest of the self-referential paradoxes & using the idea that conditionals are generalized negations. However, we will not follow Pleitz in considering doubtful that there is a uniform solution for the paradoxes in a paraconsistent spirit. We will argue that the paraconsistent strategies can be seen as special cases of the strategy of restricting Detachment and that the latter uniformly blocks all the connective-involving self-referential paradoxes, including Curry’s.

Impecunious parties in international commercial arbitration

This article discusses the possible effects that a party’s lack of funds can have on the arbitration agreement. It explains the different theories used to deal with this issue and proposes to classify them into substantive and jurisdictional solutions, depending on whether they propose an actual answer or examine it from a competence–competence perspective, thus simply deferring the question to the arbitrators without further guidance. The former category can also be divided into two further subgroups, in accordance with the weight given to the contractual nature of arbitration or to its jurisdictional nature. Finally, the article proposes a uniform solution under the New York Convention, arguing that impecuniosity might fall under the ‘incapable of being performed’ exception of article II(3). It concludes by proposing a narrow construction of this exception and putting forward four factors that practitioners should consider when deciding whether impecuniosity can void or suspend the effects of arbitration agreements.