Academic literature on the topic 'Liability of Voice'

Extant voice research suggests that voice has a positive effect on organizations, which indicates that an unlimited amount of resources should be devoted to increasing employee voice. However, resources that can enable and facilitate voice - such as managerial attention and focus - can be costly to organizations. Given that there is a cost to increasing employee voice, the benefit of employee voice may not continuously justify the cost. From an interdisciplinary perspective using the Radner-Shepp-Shiryaev mathematical framework in finance, we find that employee voice is beneficial for an organization up to a point. Specifically, we find that employee voice, despite having a myriad of positive outcomes for organizations, reaches a tipping point where the cost of voice to the organization may outweigh its benefits. After this tipping point is reached, organizations do not benefit from investing to increase employee voice. The mere presence of employee voice, without regard to how much, may not be sufficient for enhanced organizational performance. Implications for this work are discussed.

In December 1948, a Washington Radio Station telephoned various ambassadors in the capital asking what they would like for Christmas. The unedited replies were recorded and broadcast in a special programme the following week. ’Peace throughout the world’, proclaimed the French Ambassador. ’Freedom for all people enslaved by imperialism’, demanded the Russian Ambassador. ’Well, its very kind of you to ask’, came the polite voice of Sir Oliver Shewell, the British Ambassador. ’I’d quite like a box of crystallised fruit.’

Voice over internet protocol (VoIP) calls are increasingly transported over computer-based networking due to several factors, such as low call rates. However, point-to-point (P-P) calls, as a division of VoIP, are encountering a capacity utilization issue. The main reason for that is the giant packet header, especially when compared to the runt P-P calls packet payload. Therefore, this research article introduced a method to solve the liability of the giant packet header of the P-P calls. The introduced method is named voice segment compaction (VSC). The VSC method employs the unneeded P-P calls packet header elements to carry the voice packet payload. This, in turn, reduces the size of the voice payload and improves network capacity utilization. The preliminary results demonstrated the importance of the introduced VSC method, while network capacity improved by up to 38.33%.

As an important personality marker, how to protect the voice of a natural person has always been a focus of academic discussion. The second paragraph of Article 1023 of the Civil Code of China stipulates that the protection of the voice of a natural person shall refer to the provisions of the right of portrait, and clearly incorporates this new type of personality rights into the protection system of the Personality rights law. However, there is still no clear basis on how to protect the voice of a natural person. Through empirical research on 101 judicial judgment documents related to voice rights disputes in China, it was found that there are unclear definitions of legal relationship elements for reference and application of voice rights protection in judicial practice; There are a series of issues such as unclear scope of reasonable use and unclear liability determination and bearing methods after damage to sound rights and interests. The protection of voice rights and interests is a systematic project. The application of this protection rule not only needs the support of Article 1023 of the Civil code, but also needs coordination and cooperation with other similar personality rights protection rules, reference to the application of subject and object, responsibility bearing form innovation and other aspects, so as to build a perfect judicial application system of voice rights and interests protection.

This study aims to determine the background of the existence of Radio Voice of As'adiyah in Wajo Regency. This research is a historical research that is descriptive analytical using historical methods. The results of the study indicate that the background of the establishment of Radio Voice of As'adiyah cannot be separated from the figure of its founder, namely KH. Yunus Martan, who is sensitive to the development of science and technology, was also inspired by the religious program (MTQ) of the Province of South Sulawesi which was covered by Radio Republik Indonesia. So that in 1968 this radio officially aired with the initial goal of establishing it as a propaganda medium. For the sake of smooth management, on July 29, 1972 Radio Voice of As'adiyah was confirmed as a legal entity in the form of a Limited Liability Company (PT) with Deed Number 73 drawn up before Notary Sistke Limoa SH. at the Edge of View.

abstract: This article examines the contested adoption of cockpit voice recorders and flight data recorders ("black boxes") in aviation. It uses the 1971 collision between two airliners in Sydney, Australia, as a case study. Australia, the first country to mandate cockpit voice recording for large, jet-powered airliners, encountered resistance due to the poor performance of early recorders and pushback from pilots through industrial action. The analysis reveals how technical, political, legal, and financial factors shaped air safety investigations and debates over evidence use. It also explores tensions between legal frameworks of admissibility, liability, and restitution and aviation's "just culture," which encourages open admission of errors to prevent future incidents. The article argues for integrating judicial and technological perspectives to better understand aviation safety and risk epistemologies.

The strict liability standard employed by the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) in equine doping cases has been a source of contention among academics, riders and trainers. The FEI Disciplinary Tribunal and the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) have consistently upheld the standard and no alternative has been considered. At the core of the application of the strict liability standard has been the protection of the equine athlete. With the dual aims of the protection of equine athletes and equality between competitors, the FEI imposes a provisional equine suspension when a horse’s sample records an adverse analytical finding. The standard of strict liability and the imposition of provisional suspensions together put the welfare of the horse to the fore. While the intentions of the FEI have been based on this noble premise, ambiguities and inconsistencies have undermined the effectiveness of the Equine Anti-Doping and Controlled Medication Regulations (EADCMRs).

The right to identity aims to protect the subjective interests of individuals in their likeness, image, voice, and other distinctive personality attributes. The right to identity is legally recognised in South Africa, but deepfakes have a tendency to devalue this right. Deepfakes are created with deep learning software that enables users to create deceptive videos, sound recordings, and photographs of events and people that are indistinct from reality. This goes against a person’s right to control the use of their likeness. South African law does not directly regulate the creation and publication of deepfakes. Liability for the publication of deepfakes may be established using principles in different fields of law, such as the law of delict and criminal law. However, the dissemination of deepfakes on the internet continues to evolve, as they become more difficult to detect, and this necessitates a new perspective on how to provide sufficient remedies for victims whose right to identity is violated through deepfakes. It also calls for the refinement of establishing the liability of people who are tagged to deepfakes posted on social media. This article aims to highlight the challenges in protecting the right to identity and establishing liability under South African law in the context of deepfakes.

The effectiveness of warnings and social influence (modeling) for improving safety behavior was examined in a laboratory setting. Although training programs aimed at improving safety behavior in the workplace frequently use videotapes with models portraying safe and unsafe behaviors, the effectiveness of training interventions of this type are rarely evaluated nor have results been published in the research literature. Training to increase safety behaviors can translate into large savings to an organization in terms of reductions in equipment damage, cost of liability litigation, and decreases in injury to both consumers and employees. The present research examined the effects of a posted (video) warning, video role-modeling, and a voice warning on compliance with safety behaviors. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions, warning alone, warning and exposure to a video model performing the appropriate safety behaviors, or warning, video modeling, and a voice warning. The results showed that behavioral modeling presented through a video display significantly enhanced behavioral compliance compared to a video sign warning alone. The addition of a voice warning did not further increase compliance due to ceiling effects produced by the powerful influence of the modeling. Implications of this research for safety training programs and forensic human factors as well as suggestions for future research are discussed.

O objetivo do estudo é demonstrar a possibilidade e a necessidade de proteção jurídica da voz. Para tanto, o estudo analisa se a voz de uma pessoa é única e se conseguimos diferenciar uma pessoa de outra com base em sua voz, enfocando, principalmente, a dublagem de obras audiovisuais, o uso (ou imitação) da voz de celebridades para fins humorísticos, em campanhas publicitárias, institucionais ou políticas, sem autorização ou para fins diversos e/ou após o período autorizado, bem como a divulgação de entrevistas de pessoas comuns sem que a voz do entrevistado seja descaracterizada e o uso da voz de pessoas comuns para fins diversos do combinado, entre outras hipóteses. Na primeira parte do trabalho, verifica-se que a voz é um som vivo e que existe substancial influência do corpo e dos estados psicológicos na voz, e vice-versa. Assim, afirma-se que a voz é um meio pelo qual a pessoa expressa sua personalidade. A segunda parte do trabalho apresenta a evolução histórica da tutela da voz, enquanto que a terceira parte do trabalho traz um panorama da tutela da voz no direito estrangeiro. Na quarta parte do trabalho, apresenta-se a voz como meio de expressão de idéias, como instrumento para interpretação artística e como instrumento de trabalho, e verifica-se que o ordenamento jurídico brasileiro reconhece a voz como um bem jurídico a ser protegido sob diversos enfoques. Em seguida, analisam-se os possíveis fundamentos existentes no ordenamento jurídico brasileiro para a proteção da voz, e constata-se que não há legislação sistematizada sobre o tema. Demonstra-se que muitos autores brasileiros reconhecem na voz um atributo da personalidade, mas não reconhecem a autonomia da voz em relação a outros atributos. Assim, apresentam-se as justificativas para o reconhecimento do direito à voz como um direito da personalidade autônomo, indicando sua natureza jurídica, seu conteúdo, suas características especiais e sua extensão. Aponta-se, ainda, a interrelação do direito à voz com outros direitos da personalidade, sua eventual colisão com direitos de terceiros e possíveis maneiras de solucionar situações fáticas de aparente conflito. Nesse contexto, analisa-se a questão das imitações vocais. Finalmente, é analisada a responsabilidade civil por violação ao direito à voz no Brasil. A quinta parte do trabalho traz propostas para ampliar a efetividade da tutela jurídica da voz no Brasil. O estudo conclui que a voz é um bem jurídico a ser protegido, que essa proteção se dá por meio do direito à voz, direito da personalidade autônomo, cuja extensão deve abranger todas as pessoas, não se podendo mais defender que a tutela da voz limita-se ao âmbito dos direitos conexos ao direito de autor ou a um direito do trabalhador dos meios de comunicação.<br>The goal of this study is to demonstrate the possibility and necessity of legal protection of the human voice. The study assesses whether a person\'s voice is unique and whether we can distinguish one person from another individual based on their voices. The study focuses mainly on the dubbing of audiovisual works, the use (or imitation) of the voice of celebrities for comedy shows, advertising campaigns, institutional or political use without authorization or for other purposes and/or after the authorized period, as well as the disclosure of the voice in sensitive interviews without cloaking effects and the use of the voice of ordinary people for unauthorized purposes. In the first part of the study, it is shown that the voice is a live sound and that the voice is deeply influenced by the body structure and by psychological elements, and vice versa. Thus, it is said that the voice is a way by which a person expresses their personality. The second part of the study offers the historical evolution of the protection of the voice whereas the third part provides a brief comparative analysis of voice protection in foreign law. The fourth part presents the voice as a way of expressing ideas, as a tool for artistic interpretation, and as a working tool, showing that the Brazilian legal system recognizes the voice as a legal right to be protected under various approaches. The relevant provisions of the Brazilian legal system able to protect the human voice are presented, and it is shown that there is no systematic legislation on the subject matter. In fact, many Brazilian authors acknowledge the voice as an attribute of the human personality, but they do not recognize the autonomy of the voice over other personality attributes. Therefore, the study presents some justifications to acknowledge the legal protection of the human as an independent personality right, indicating its legal nature, contents, special characteristics and extension. The interrelation of the human voice with other personality rights is also presented, along with Possible collisions with third-party rights and the possible ways to resolve factual situations of apparent conflict. In this context, the study explores the issue of vocal imitations. Finally, the liability for violation of the sound of a voice in Brazil is analyzed. The fifth part of the study offers some proposals to expand the effectiveness of the legal protection of the human voice in Brazil. Thus, the study concludes that the human voice is an asset that must be legally protected and that said protection happens by the recognition of a voice right, which is an autonomous personality right, encompassing all people, and that said protection should not be limited to the scope of rights related to copyright or to labor rights of media people.

En droit français, le régime des attroupements et rassemblements est au carrefour des droits administratif et pénal. Il dépasse le droit de manifester reconnu et protégé, tout en étant une nouvelle manière pour les citoyens de manifester leurs opinions, souvent véhiculées par Internet. Ces prises de position ont souvent pour point commun leur caractère spontané et immédiat, ainsi que leurs formes très éclectiques. Polysémique et évolutif dans son contenu, l’ordre public limite les atteintes à la liberté de manifester dont il est le corollaire. Dès lors, un équilibre entre les deux est exigé, illustré par la tolérance de l'autorité administrative d'un certain degré de désordre. C'est aujourd'hui la seule manière de concilier l'intérêt du pouvoir et des attroupements mobilisés dans la rue. Le maintien de l’ordre est l’une des missions principales des forces de police. Les dispositifs de prévention et les opérations de rétablissement de l’ordre troublé doivent obéir à la nécessité et à la proportionnalité reconnues à l’échelle européenne et nationale, assurant ainsi la légitimité des interventions policières. L’objectif poursuivi de cette recherche est de tenter de définir un régime juridique des attroupements unique, fondé sur l’ordre public dans un système cohérent et pertinent, indicateur du degré démocratique des systèmes contemporains. Ce fil directeur prend appui sur les textes, sur la jurisprudence, ou sur la doctrine mais aussi sur la pratique du maintien de l’ordre<br>In French law, the rules governing gatherings and assemblies sit at the crossroads of administrative and criminal law. They go beyond the right to protest, which is recognised and protected, whilst also being a new way for citizens to demonstrate their opinions, often conveyed via the internet. Such positions often share a spontaneous and immediate nature, as well as taking highly eclectic forms. Polysemous and constantly evolving in terms of its content, public order limits the freedom of demonstration of which it is a corollary. Consequently, a balance between the two is required, illustrated by tolerance on the part of the administrative authorities of a certain degree of disorder. It is currently the only way to reconcile the interests of public authority and gatherings mobilised in the streets. One of the main tasks of police forces is to maintain order. Preventive mechanisms and operations intended to re-establish public order must be guided by necessity and proportionality, which are recognised at European and national levels, thus ensuring the legitimacy of police intervention. The aim pursued by this research is to attempt to define a single set of rules governing gatherings, based on public order within a consistent and relevant system, which is an indicator of the level of democracy in modern systems. That guiding principle is based on legislation, case law and jurisprudence, as well as the practicalities of maintaining public order

La sentence internationale est communément réputée obligatoire et non exécutoire et l’exécution est conçue comme une phase « post-adjudicative » relevant de l’imperium de l’Etat. L’étude des mécanismes de surveillance de l’exécution des arrêts et décisions des Cours européenne et interaméricaine des droits de l’homme permet un renversement de ces postulats. Alors que les articles 46§2 de la CEDH et 65 de la CADH prévoient des surveillances de nature politique de l’exécution desdits arrêts et décisions, la pratique a été toute autre. Il s’avère que les procédures de surveillance en question sont respectivement quasi juridictionnelle et juridictionnelle et continuent autrement le procès. Elles sont aussi contentieuses, car les organes de surveillance tranchent des différends relatifs à l’exécution des arrêts et décisions, selon les principes directeurs du procès. Les contentieux de l’exécution européen et interaméricain permettent alors une redéfinition du procès en droit international et attestent que la notion de phase « post-adjudicative » n’existe pas. Ces procédures de surveillance ont en outre une double finalité. La première s’attache au contrôle de deux types de comportements étatiques, des comportements imposés et escomptés. Ces contrôles révélant que l’Etat n’est pas libre de ses moyens d’exécution, visent à aboutir au résultat de l’exécution effective de l’arrêt ou de la décision juridictionnelle telle que cette exécution est conçue par les organes de surveillance. La seconde finalité consiste en des suivis d’actes rendus au cours des surveillances et desquels résulte une chose à exécuter. D’un point de vue procédural, les suivis de cette chose qui émerge des précisions apportées à la chose jugée et aux comportements étatiques, révèlent l’existence de nouveaux types de recours dans le contentieux international. D’un point de vue substantiel, les suivis de la chose sont une contrainte formelle pour l’Etat qui n’est libéré des procédures de surveillance que s’il exécute l’arrêt ou la décision conformément à la chose à exécuter. Ces suivis sont donc des voies d’exécution et attestent alors de la force exécutoire interne des arrêts et décisions des Cours européenne et interaméricaine des droits de l’homme, que les organes de surveillance garantissent<br>In the absence of enforcement mechanisms, an international decision is deemed binding and non-enforceable, and execution is generally perceived as a “post-adjudicative” phase, belonging to the State’s imperium. Study of the supervision of execution of the judgments and decisions of the European and Inter-american Courts of Human Rights reveals that these basic assumptions can be challenged. Whereas articles 46§2 of the ECHR and 65 of the ACHR provide for political modes of supervision of execution of the judgments and decisions of the European and Inter-american Courts of Human Rights, the practice has been completely different. It appears that the said supervision procedures are respectively quasi judicial and judicial and arise in the continuation of the trial. They are also contentious, given that the supervision authorities resolve disputes relating to the execution of judgments and decisions in accordance with due process principles. These procedures contribute to redefining the concept of trial in international law and illustrate that the notion of “post-adjudicative” phase does not exist. They also serve a double purpose. First, they allow control of two types of the State conduct, imposed and expected conduct. Illustrating that the State is not free in choosing its means of execution, such control aspires to achieve the effective execution of the judgment or judicial decision. The second purpose consists in following up on the resolutions and/or orders made in the course of supervision and which result in a res executiva. This res executiva, which would have emerged on the basis of clarifications made to res judicata and State conduct, in turn becomes the subject of the follow-up procedures. The consequences of such follow-up are twofold : from the procedural point of view, it creates new forms of appeals; from the substantive point of view, it formally constraints the State and achieves enforceability of judgments and decisions, guaranteed by the supervision authorities

Les assistants vocaux ont mis au jour une nouvelle manière pour l’humain d’interagir avec les technologies en n’utilisant que la voix. Une technologie qui est également évolutive et interactive grâce à l’intelligence artificielle. Nous verrons que les caractéristiques techniques et logicielles les composant concourent à une collecte massive de renseignements personnels par les entreprises. L’imprécision des politiques de confidentialité, l’absence d’information sur le mode de fonctionnement, l’imperfection du traitement automatique du langage naturel (ci-après le « TALN ») caractérisée par les faux positifs et les difficultés inhérentes à l’exercice par l’individu de certains de ses droits tendent à limiter l’effectivité des différentes lois existantes à l’assistant vocal. En outre, la possibilité pour plusieurs personnes d’interagir avec l’objet ainsi que son absence d’autonomie tendent à compliquer l’application des régimes de responsabilité civile, dont celui résultant du fait des biens. Cette apparition récente de l’assistant vocal n’a pour l’heure pas permis au juge de se prononcer pour faire évoluer les jurisprudences relatives au droit à la vie privée, à la protection des renseignements personnels et à la responsabilité civile. Celles déjà existantes ne semblent plus être adaptées à ce contexte technologique autour de l’assistant vocal, et plus généralement autour de la voix. C’est ainsi que le test de Oakes, permettant de déterminer le caractère raisonnable d’une violation des droits et libertés énoncés dans la Charte canadienne, repris pour être appliqué à la LPRPDE, apparaît comme étant inadapté à ce nouveau contexte technologique. Enfin, le manque de pouvoirs conférés aux autorités compétentes représente un obstacle majeur dans le suivi de l’application des règles de droit.<br>Voice assistants bring a new way for humans to interact with technology by only using their voice. Scalable and interactive technology thanks to artificial intelligence. We will see that the technical and software characteristics of voice assistants contribute to a massive collection of personal information by companies. The imprecision of confidentiality policies, the absence of information on the mode of operation, the imperfection of the Natural Language Processing characterized by false positives and the difficulties inherent in the exercise by individuals of some of their rights contribute to the mismatch between voice assistants and various existing laws. In addition, the possibility for people to interact with the object as well as its lack of autonomy tend to complicate the application of civil liability regimes, including that resulting from the act of thing. This recent appearance of voice assistants has so far not giving judges the possibility to rule on the right to privacy, protection of personal information and civil liability. Current case law doesn’t seem to be well adapted to the technological context around the voice assistant, and more generally the voice. The Oakes test, which was design to determining the reasonableness of a violation of the rights and freedoms set out in the Canadian Charter, appears to be unsuited to this new context. We will see that the lack of powers conferred on the competent authorities represents a major obstacle in monitoring the application of the rule of law.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is often discussed as something extraordinary, a dream—or a nightmare—that awakens metaphysical questions on human life. Yet far from a distant technology of the future, the true power of AI lies in its subtle revolution of ordinary life. From voice assistants like Siri to natural language processors, AI technologies use cultural biases and modern psychology to fit specific characteristics of how users perceive and navigate the external world, thereby projecting the illusion of intelligence. Integrating media studies, science and technology studies, and social psychology, Deceitful Media examines the rise of artificial intelligence throughout history and exposes the very human fallacies behind this technology. Focusing specifically on communicative AIs, Natale argues that what we call “AI” is not a form of intelligence but rather a reflection of the human user. Using the term “banal deception,” he reveals that deception forms the basis of all human-computer interactions rooted in AI technologies, as technologies like voice assistants utilize the dynamics of projection and stereotyping as a means for aligning with our existing habits and social conventions. By exploiting the human instinct to connect, AI reveals our collective vulnerabilities to deception, showing that what machines are primarily changing is not other technology but ourselves as humans. Deceitful Media illustrates how AI has continued a tradition of technologies that mobilize our liability to deception and shows that only by better understanding our vulnerabilities to deception can we become more sophisticated consumers of interactive media.

This chapter places the 2011 Broadway sensation Book of Mormon within the context of Correlation. The musical Book of Mormon demonstrates that interrupting ancient mythologies with current popular mythologies may help strengthen people facing unimaginable hardships, and that the singular message of American fundamentalism--one built upon obedience and narrow views of piety--will ultimately fail. Book of Mormon, along with other musical satires emerging in recent years from within Mormonism, represent musical theater affronts to the Mormon Church that have become more prominent in the last decades of the twentieth century as the Church removes dissenting members, including those espousing feminist or intellectual ideologies seemingly at odds with current Church policies. This chapter situates the concept of excommunication within musicologist Nina Eidsheim’s vibrational theory and Levinas’s ethics of communication, and suggests that Mormonism can be a powerful vehicle for improving lives if it returns to its original principle where multiple voices are seen as an asset, not a liability.

Born in 1950, Googoosh began her career as a child actor on stage, television and film; by her twenties, she was the country’s primary female interpreter of musiqi-yi pap (Western-influenced “pop music”). Following the Iranian revolution and the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran in 1980, Googoosh’s fame became a liability. The revolutionary project involved purifying Iran of its “colonized” culture; moral corruption and unveiled “lust-inciting” women. Then, in 2000 Googoosh left Iran to restart her career in exile, landing first in Toronto and then settling in Los Angeles. She embarked on a new phase of her career singing her prerevolutionary romantic repertoire but also with a declaration of her intention to “give voice” to herself, to Iran and Iranians around the world. This chapter argues that the metaphorical “voicing” Googoosh performed on behalf of “those inside Iran” was an extension of an already-established pattern in which she blurred the line between celebrity as exceptional individual and celebrity as medium for collective expression.

Accurate and reliable identification is a vital concern in crime identification. A biometric system is an automated recognition system which utilises various physiological and behavioural traits for personal identification. In the context of the criminal justice system, the Biometric technique became an important form of evidence. The biometric technique became more popular due to its liability and efficient nature. Due to the various recent advancements in the Biometric system, the technique is replacing the manual recognition methods used in the criminal identification process. The Forensic Biometric system uses various characteristics such as Fingerprint, Iris, Retina, facial Markers, gait patterns, voice recognition, hand geometry, etc. The chapter explains the workings of biometric systems and their uses in forensic science. It will explore various biometric system and their uses and emerging trends in biometric identifiers

This concluding chapter reiterates the points made in the previous chapters to tell a story of how a commercial law was created by giving voice in law to broader political economic concerns. Although, as with the Factors Acts, there were instances of conflict between judges and merchants, the overall picture here is not one of judges pushing back against merchants riding the tide of economic progress. Unlike many modern courts, judges did not see their role as simply encouraging commercial activity. This was rooted in the wider belief that commercial activity was not per se desirable, as too much trade was causing economic instability. This was not a mindset specific to judges or lawyers. This analysis itself raises a broader question. Given that large joint stock companies were perceived of us inefficient and even immoral, why did England introduce general incorporation in 1844, and limited liability in 1855? The chapter draws from the foregoing analysis to make some observations.

In 1991, American inventor and philanthropist Hugh Loebner funded the launch of a competition aimed at recreating the conditions of the Turing test to assess the success of conversational programs in passing as human. The Loebner Prize competition has been conducted every year since then. This chapter looks at the history of this competition in order to argue that it has functioned as a proving ground for AI’s ability to deceive humans and as a form of spectacle highlighting the potential of computing technologies. The staged confrontations between computers and humans provide a context where humans’ liability for deception and its implications for natural language programs were systematically put to test in a competitive framework. This encouraged programmers to develop strategies and tricks that are reemerging today in communicative AI technologies. Thus, the case of the Loebner Prize helps one better understand Alexa, Siri, and other AI voice assistants that are becoming increasingly widespread in contemporary societies.

This chapter concludes the volume. In normative terms, the Judiciary revisions imposed on CEE since 1989 (and now the West) exhibit an unmistakable pattern: they transfer political power away from majoritarian institutions to non-majoritarian ones, from elected officials to judges; exclude the ‘sovereignty people’ from a voice in the Judiciary’s make-up; and insulate judges from accountability and liability to democratic boundaries. This Template amounts to the Americanization of the European Judiciary, and reflects the Network Community’s ambition to rule through the Judiciary (in Europe, but perhaps globally). In causal terms, a nexus was discovered explaining the Template’s puzzling ubiquity: the agency of a class of transnational elites sharing a collective identity and solidarity; their paradigmatic assumptions about the Judiciary’s role in democracy, and the coerciveness of their hegemonic discourses, which the public is unable to fathom or negotiate. The Network’s motivation is not solely the aspiration to solve mankind’s problems, but the all-too-human will to the power to arbitrate between all other political actors. A crucial but ‘invisible’ causal factor was the omission by the main veto players, elected representatives in parliaments, to forestall their own disempowerment.

Abstract This chapter charts perceptions about miners and the coal industry in the later 1960s. It falls into three sections. The first section looks at the debate surrounding the publication of the Labour government’s White Paper on fuel policy in November 1967. Whereas policymakers regarded the industry as a liability inherited from a dark past, the National Coal Board (NCB) sought to project a contrasting image of a forward-looking, future-oriented industry. The second section focuses on the miners’ official voice, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM). It details the union’s position on the future of the industry and demonstrates the impact of generational change on perspectives about the past among mining trade unionists. The third section shifts attention from the industry to the people working in it. Miners were praised as ‘model workers’ across the political spectrum—as hard-working, adaptable, and productive. Social scientists and artists, by contrast, developed a rather different image of coal miners, depicting them as ‘proletarian traditionalists’ who embodied the very antithesis of the modern ‘affluent worker’. Testimony from ordinary miners, meanwhile, suggests that the people working in the industry were keenly aware of the predicament facing it, and were eager to resolve the crisis in a way that would do least harm to themselves and their families.

It is a known fact that the era of the Covid19 pandemic has further exposed the concept and technology of distance learning as more and more people are now interested in higher education through the distance learning mode. Distance learning courses are possibly an appropriate tool for mainstream students with impairments in education since they rely significantly on digital material and are technology-mediated. However, in the drive to move forward, most structures/systems are typically created without taking into cognizance the unique interface issues those students with disabilities are confronted with while using technology, especially the blind and the visually impaired. Hence, this paper is aimed at creating an enabling examination platform where this vulnerable group would be supported by providing a voice supported application, ODL Visually Impaired Assessment Bot for the blind and the visually impaired to write their examinations. This will further ensure equality and inclusive education in acquiring life-long learning through distance learning. Artificial intelligence technologies were used to develop a Robot that was used for the implementation of the Application. The Robot reads out the examination questions to the blind and visually impaired student and also listens to the student speak and thereafter captures and types out the answers of the student. It is against this backdrop that this paper is written to proffer a solution to the blind and the visually impaired students in Africa, especially, the National Open University of Nigeria. The significance of this ODL Visually Impaired Assessment Bot is aimed at building a sustainable educational system through the use of technology, thus eradicating limiting ideologies in Africa, like ‘those with disabilities cannot be educated and the rich only deserve quality education’. This application will create a level ground for all to access life-long quality education, through the open and distance mode. The visually impaired if given proper education cannot constitute any form of liability but an asset to themselves, their families and the society at large.