Basic Interpretations Research Articles

Non-territorial Autonomy and International Law

AbstractThe author seeks to analyze in what ways international law can justify or limit ethnicity-based non-territorial autonomy (NTA). NTA serves as a category of practice lacking a uniform understanding. NTA has gained two basic interpretations: as a collective entitlement to promote ethnicity, language and culture and as the idea of granting self-governing organisations certain public functions and resources. Some ‘soft law’ provisions explicitly employ the notion of non-territorial autonomy or self-administration; they are declaratory and far from being instrumentalised. Concurrently, there are more concrete and instrumental provisions as well as case-law which fit into the second understanding of NTA; but these approaches more restrictive than of the first cluster. This gap can be explained in terms of differences between symbolic and instrumental policies, through taking into account the ideological function of international law, or the function of generating non-controversial macro-narratives.

A Graphic Review of the Free Speech Clause

A number of years ago, Professors Tussman and tenBroek published in this Review an excellent analysis of the equal protection clause.' Using Venn diagrams, they sought to disaggregate various ways of looking at equal protection claims in order to aid our understanding of what that clause might mean. Their article was not the first word ever published on the equal protection clause, of course, and certainly it was not meant to be the last. But it did impose an extremely helpful clarity on what was even then a murky, undisciplined subject, and it filled a gap in the unruly professional literature. Three decades later, students of constitutional law still find Tussman-tenBroek graphics a useful starting place. A similar presentation of the free speech clause is the main object of this Article. Like the Tussman-tenBroek piece, it disaggregates a jumble of rival judicial doctrines that purport to define a correct way of framing questions arising under the free speech clause. My aim is to determine what is at stake among contending interpretations, and to see why great importance tends to be attached to such matters. Written principally for students, this Article, too, proceeds through a series of graphic depictions, each designed to reflect a distinct impression or interpretation of the free speech clause. To be sure, the different constructions of the clause reflected in these graphics are not exhaustive.2 They do embrace, however, nearly all the basic interpretations that have competed most strongly for judicial favor during the past century of Supreme Court adjudications. The Article begins with the simple,

From “Forest Fires” and “Hunting” to Disturbing “Habitats” and “Food Chains”: Do Young Children Come up with any Ecological Interpretations of Human Interventions Within a Forest?

This study aims at highlighting young children’s reasoning about human interventions within a forest ecosystem. Our focus is particularly set on whether preschoolers are able to come up with any basic ecological interpretations of human actions upon forest plants or animals and how. Conducting individual, semi-structured interviews with 70 preschoolers (age 4–5), we first tested their ability to consider the forest as a habitat and recognize simple food chains in it, and then we traced their reasoning about the consequences that human actions upon plants or certain forest animals may possibly have for other animals that also live in the forest. The analysis of our qualitative data with “NVivo” software does reveal an ecological aspect in preschoolers’ reasoning, which is thoroughly discussed in the paper.

Adapting to the human world: Dogs’ responsiveness to our social cues

Dogs are more skilful than a host of other species at tasks which require they respond to human communicative gestures in order to locate hidden food. Four basic interpretations for this proficiency surface from distilling the research findings. One possibility is that dogs simply have more opportunity than other species to learn to be responsive to human social cues. A different analysis suggests that the domestication process provided an opening for dogs to apply general cognitive problem-solving skills to a novel social niche. Some researchers go beyond this account and propose that dogs' co-evolution with humans equipped them with a theory of mind for social exchanges. Finally, a more prudent approach suggests that sensitivity to the behaviours of both humans and conspecifics would be particularly advantageous for a social scavenger like the dog. A predisposition to attend to human actions allows for rapid early learning of the association between gestures and the availability of food.

Frequency and confidence in performing clinical skills among medical interns in Kuwait

Background: Several investigations suggest inadequate emphasis of basic clinical procedures during internship training. Many trainees had reported lack of competence, while some expressed confidence to manage conditions although not sufficiently experienced.Aims: This study aimed at ascertaining the perceptions of new medical graduates regarding the performance of core clinical skills during training and confidence of performing them later. It also aimed at determining any gender variability in the confidence in performing selected clinical skills in Obstetrics & Gynaecology.Methods: Interns trained during 2005/06 responded anonymously to a questionnaire that listed 48 core clinical skills. The 124 subjects eligible for the study comprised graduates from Kuwait (64), other Gulf Cooperation Council countries (29), Ireland (27) and Egypt. They indicated whether they felt confident to perform the skills in future, and the number of times they had performed them during training. We received 91 completed questionnaires.Results: The majority felt confident in performing routine skills (basic ECG and X-ray interpretations, insertion of intravenous line, inserting urethral catheter and nasogastric feeding). Approximately two thirds had performed generic skills related to emergency resuscitation, with a half of them confident in performing them in the future. A third felt confident in performing artificial ventilation and endotracheal intubation. The confidence to perform common skills in Obstetrics & Gynaecology varied, with no significant gender variation. Approximately a fifth was confident in performing lumbar puncture, needle aspiration of joints, insertion of thoracic drainage, insertion of central venous catheter, venous cut-down and indirect laryngoscopy. A small proportion reported confidence in performing different clinical procedures although they had not undertaken them during training.Conclusions: Substantial proportions of trainees lacked confidence in performing emergency resuscitative measures and some routine clinical skills. Training needs to be closely monitored and interns who are not competent identified early for taking remedial measures.

Foundational Soil Survey Data—A Case for Linking Basic Soil Data and Interpretations to the Official Series Description

T he purpose of this article is to present some ideas and concepts that will enhance the consistency, manageability, utility, and quality of the soils interpretations within NASIS for the current updating and digitization phase of the National Cooperative Soil Survey. Following is a case for creating and linking basic soil data and interpretations to the Official Series Description within the National Soil Information System (NASIS).

Negotiating Socially Optimal Allocations of Resources

A multiagent system may be thought of as an artificial society of autonomous software agents and we can apply concepts borrowed from welfare economics and social choice theory to assess the social welfare of such an agent society. In this paper, we study an abstract negotiation framework where agents can agree on multilateral deals to exchange bundles of indivisible resources. We then analyse how these deals affect social welfare for different instances of the basic framework and different interpretations of the concept of social welfare itself. In particular, we show how certain classes of deals are both sufficient and necessary to guarantee that a socially optimal allocation of resources will be reached eventually.

Advances in NMR Logging

Distinguished Author Series articles are general, descriptive representations that summarize the state of the art in an area of technology by describing recent developments for readers who are not specialists in the topics discussed. Written by individuals recognized to be experts in the area, these articles provide key references to more definitive work and present specific details only to illustrate the technology. Purpose: to inform the general readership of recent advances in various areas of petroleum engineering. Introduction This summary of the state of the art in nuclear-magnetic-resonance (NMR) well-logging technology is aimed at nonspecialists who would like to gain some knowledge of the formation-evaluation capabilities of NMR logging tools. The objective is to explain the basic measurement principles and interpretations needed to understand NMR formation-evaluation techniques and to discuss a few examples of these methods. Introduction of pulsed-NMR logging tools in the 1990s provided the industry with unique, even revolutionary, new methods for analyzing reservoir fluids, rocks, and fluid/rock interactions. The introduction of this technology came at an opportune time. It coincided with rapidly declining production after the 1970s drilling boom and the need for new tools to evaluate the more complex reservoirs being explored and developed. Pulsed-NMR logging tools brought a wealth of new and unique formation-evaluation applications, and this technology has grown rapidly since its inception. Today, major service companies (e.g., Baker Hughes, Halliburton, and Schlumberger) offer NMR logging services. Historical Perspective The potential value of NMR logging was first recognized in the 1950s, leading to development of nuclear-magnetic-logging (NML) tools in the early 1960s. NML tools had many limitations and eventually were retired from service in the late 1980s. In spite of these limitations, laboratory research conducted to support NML logging anticipated many formation-evaluation applications in use today. These applications include estimation of permeability, pore-size distribution, free-fluid volume, oil viscosity, and wettability. The modern phase of NMR logging can be traced to the initiation of an NMR borehole-logging research project at Los Alamos Natl. Laboratory in 1978. The goal of this project was, in part, to build and test a borehole NMR logging tool that would overcome the limitations of the NML tools. The Los Alamos experimental tool used strong permanent magnets and performed pulsed-NMR spin-echo measurements like those used in modern laboratory-NMR instruments. The value of these measurements is that they are extremely flexible and can be tailored to fit many different formation-evaluation applications.

06/00034 Molecular and stable isotope compositions ofnatural gas hydrates: A revised global dataset and basic interpretations in the context of geological settings: Milkov, A. V. Organic Geochemistry, 2005, 36, (5), 681–702

06/00034 Molecular and stable isotope compositions ofnatural gas hydrates: A revised global dataset and basic interpretations in the context of geological settings: Milkov, A. V. Organic Geochemistry, 2005, 36, (5), 681–702

Molecular and stable isotope compositions of natural gas hydrates: A revised global dataset and basic interpretations in the context of geological settings

A global dataset of molecular and stable isotope compositions of gases released from 209 different specimens of natural gas hydrate is presented and discussed. The 26 hydrate-bearing areas from 21 geographic regions are grouped into high gas flux (HGF) settings, low gas flux (LGF) settings and hydrated gas accumulations (HGA). Methane (CH 4) is the most abundant hydrate-bound gas, while CO 2 and C 2+ hydrocarbon gases are frequently present in small amounts. Non-hydrocarbon gases, such as H 2S, are uncommon. The stable isotope composition of hydrate-bound gases varies significantly (e.g., δ 13C of CH 4 from −74.7 to −39.6‰), suggesting that gases of both microbial and thermogenic origin form gas hydrates. Hydrate-bound gases are derived from autochthonous [located predominantly within the gas hydrate stability zone (GHSZ)] and allochthonous (located in deep sediments) sources. The occurrence and concentration of gas hydrates in sediments are controlled not by the origin of gases, but rather by their sources, which in turn strongly depend on geological setting. Allochthonous gases (microbial and/or thermogenic) dominate in HGF and HGA settings where they are focused in the shallow GHSZ along faults, within mud volcanoes, in permeable carrier beds and other geological features from underlying petroleum systems. Relatively high concentrations of gas hydrate (average 5–15% of pores and locally up to 100% of volume) occurring over small areas are typical of HGF and HGA settings. In contrast, autochthonous and diffuse allochthonous gases (mostly microbial) occur in stratigraphically and structurally simple LGF settings and result in relatively low concentrations of gas hydrate (average ∼2% of pores in the GHSZ) spread over large areas. The major implication of this finding is that successful prediction of resource and geohazard potential of gas hydrates is possible only if regional petroleum systems extending well below the GHSZ are properly evaluated. In addition to the diagnosis of origins and sources of hydrate-bound gases, molecular and isotopic data help to better identify hydrate-bearing intervals and provide valuable insights into the dynamics of hydrate-bearing sites.

“A Theory for Strong Long-Lived Squall Lines” Revisited

Based on the analysis of idealized two- and three-dimensional cloud model simulations, Rotunno et al. (hereafter RKW) and Weisman et al. (hereafter WKR) put forth a theory that squall-line strength and longevity was most sensitive to the strength of the component of low-level (0‐3 km AGL) ambient vertical wind shear perpendicular to squall-line orientation. An ‘‘optimal’’ state was proposed by RKW, based on the relative strength of the circulation associated with the storm-generated cold pool and the circulation associated with the ambient shear, whereby the deepest leading edge lifting and most effective convective retriggering occurred when these circulations were in near balance. Since this work, subsequent studies have brought into question the basic validity of the proposed optimal state, based on concerns as to the appropriate distribution of shear relative to the cold pool for optimal lifting, as well as the relevance of such concepts to fully complex squall lines, especially considering the potential role of deeper-layer shears in promoting system strength and longevity. In the following, the basic interpretations of the RKW theory are reconfirmed and clarified through both the analysis of a simplified two-dimensional vorticity‐streamfunction model that allows for a more direct interpretation of the role of the shear in controlling the circulation around the cold pool, and through an analysis of an extensive set of 3D squall-line simulations, run at higher resolution and covering a larger range of environmental shear conditions than presented by WKR.

Recoil ion momentum distributions from laser-induced double ionization

The momentum distribution of a doubly charged recoil ion is considered. On the basis of the semiclassical rescattering picture, we propose a model, allowing for basic studies and physical interpretations of the main properties of measured momentum distributions such as the position and the width of the observed double humps. Simple formulas are derived which agree rather well with several experimental findings.

Le principe de précaution comme norme de l'action publique, ou la proportionnalité en question

L’introduction du principe de precaution en France a donne naissance a deux conceptions antagonistes. La premiere, correspondant a la definition legale et a la doctrine europeenne, promeut une prevention precoce mais proportionnee de risques potentiels. La seconde, portee par des ong et relayee par l’usage courant en situation de crise, demande la preuve de l’innocuite et vise asymptotiquement l’eradication des risques par l’accumulation de mesures precautionneuses. Cette situation a entretenu une confusion entre deux idees : agir de facon precoce, sans attendre des certitudes scientifiques, et agir de facon plus precautionneuse. L’article dresse un tableau des conceptions en presence puis montre en quoi la « regle d’abstention » n’est pas defendable, meme lorsqu’on attenue ses exigences. Il montre ensuite comment une mauvaise structuration du probleme de decision cree un artefact par lequel la precocite dans le temps scientifique induit mecaniquement une inflation des risques via l’aggravation des dommages potentiels percus. Pour s’en premunir, il faut s’en tenir a deux garde-fous : instituer la prise en compte des avantages potentiels au meme titre que les dommages potentiels ; proportionner les actions de prevention a la plausibilite scientifique des hypotheses de risque de facon a donner de moindres effets pratiques aux conjectures non etayees qu’aux hypotheses confortees par un faisceau d’elements scientifiques.

Key factors for improving performance of concurrency control algorithms

Abstract Five key factors for improving the performance of access methods with concurrency control features are presented. Three of these factors reflect search and concurrency control methods, and the other two explore the interference behaviors among a set of concurrent operations. These factors can be used as keys to improve the efficiency and robustness of a concurrency control algorithm (CCA) and as basic interpretations to explain why the performance of one CCA would be better (or worse) than another in a multi-user environment. To illustrate the applicability of these factors, two CCAs for R-trees were used as examples to explain how to improve the performance of a CCA using these five key factors.

Measuring pulsating flow with ultrasound

This paper continues the research presented at the IMEKO XV World Congress in Osaka/JP. It gives deeper insights into the topic of measuring the average volume flow with ultrasound based flow meters in a pulsating fluid. Pulsations are very common in industrial applications so that flow meters have to cope with this kind of disturbances. Especially ultrasonic flow meters are expected to react very sensitively to this effect because they measure any kind of pressure changes. By generating pulsations with a rotating paddle the following article will give impressions about possible influences and the maximum operating range of a cross-correlation and a vortex frequency meter. In addition to the IMEKO basic interpretations are proved by new theoretical considerations.

Radiographic fracture assessments: which ones can we reliably make?

To identify the fracture characteristics that can be reliably assessed by analysis of plain radiographs of tibial plateau fractures. Radiographic review study. Five orthopaedic traumatologists served as observers. Observers made assessments based on the radiographs of fifty-six tibial plateau fractures. Precise definitions of the assessments to be made were agreed on by all observers. The tested assessments included raters' abilities to identify and locate fracture lines, identify the presence of fracture displacement and comminution, make quantitative measurements of displacement, and characterize qualitative features of fractures. For thirty-eight of the fractures that had a computed tomography (CT) scan available, assessments were repeated using both radiographs and CT scans. To characterize interobserver reliability, percentage agreement and kappa statistics were calculated for categorical variables, and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) were calculated for noncategorical variables. Reliability of the assessments varied widely. Determining the location of fracture lines had the greatest reliability, whereas the subjective assessments of fracture stability and energy showed the poorest reliability. Although the ICCs for quantitative measurements approached acceptable levels, the tolerance limits were extremely wide. The addition of a CT scan improved the reliability of most assessments, but not to a statistically significant degree. Many basic radiographic interpretations relied on in making treatment decisions are made variably by observers. Using experienced raters and precise definitions of fracture assessments does not guarantee a high level of agreement. Discrete assessments have higher interrater agreements than do more qualitative assessments. Quantitative measures have wide tolerance limits and, therefore, probably cannot be used reproducibly to classify fractures or make treatment decisions. We conclude the reliability of fracture classification is limited by raters' abilities to agree on basic radiographic assessments.

The Dialectic of Religious Identity: Lonergan and Balthasar

The author develops Lonergan's notion of dialectic in order to clarify the source of conflicting positions often arising in theological reflection in terms of religious identity. The assumption is that there exists a dynamic tension between two basic interpretations of Christian identity, specific-identity focus and general-identity focus. Examples from Balthasar's theological esthetics are used in order to illustrate this dialectic.

The Impact of the Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty on the Law of Criminal Procedure and Evidence

In March 1992, Israel's Parliament, the Knesset, enacted Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty. Some believe that this Basic Law has created a constitutional revolution in Israel, while others feel this view to be exaggerated. In any event, there is general agreement that the Basic Law, with its 13 brief sections, has effected many significant changes in numerous areas of law.It is well known that criminal procedure and some parts of the law of evidence are particularly sensitive to constitutional changes. To what extent is this also true in Israel as a consequence of the Basic Law and interpretations given to it?More particularly, what precisely does the Basic Law say, and what has the Supreme Court inferred from the principles of human dignity and liberty beyond the express provisions of the Basic Law? What influence does the Basic Law exert on new legislation and indeed on legislation preceding the enactment of the Basic Law itself? May one expect that the Supreme Court will adopt the idea that the Basic Law embodies an exclusionary rule of evidence obtained in breach of a constitutional right? These, and other relevant questions, will be discussed below. First, however, we shall refer briefly to the legal and social background of the Basic Law.

Electron Microscopic Examination of Cytologic Samples

To review the results of observations of cytologic samples performed in our laboratory by light microscopy (LM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) performed in succession (LM-SEM-TEM examination) using the same cytologic sample and to assess the diagnostic value of this method of successive examination. Using a previously reported method of LM-SEM-TEM sample preparation and observation, we analyzed 201 cytologic specimens over a seven-year period (1986-1993) and investigated whether the histologic origin and malignancy can be estimated from SEM and TEM findings on the cells. Observations of many cytologic samples over a seven-year period (by LM, SEM and TEM) showed that several basic interpretations of cellular ultrastructure are possible. In cases where cell identification was difficult by LM, electron microscopic findings were sometimes useful for determining the biologic characteristics of cells and for estimating their tissue origin. Electron microscopic findings also provided important information for cytodiagnosis. SEM and/or TEM findings are useful for determining the morphologic (including biologic) characteristics of cells in cases where they cannot be determined by LM. With the accumulation of data on electron microscopic examination of cytologic samples, it is expected that in the future, electron microscopy will continue to provide new information that can be used to improve the accuracy of cytodiagnosis by LM.

Infants Attribute Value± to the Goal-Directed Actions of Self-propelled Objects

Motion is a fundamental source of information for basic human interpretations; it is basic to the fundamental concept of causality and, the present model argues, equally basic to the fundamental concept of intentionality. The model is based on two main assumptions: When an infant perceives an object (1) moving spontaneously and (2) displaying goaldirected action, it will interpret the object as intentional and assign to it the unique properties of the psychological domain. The key property tested was: Do infants attribute value to interactions between intentional objects using criteria specified by the model? We showed infants (average age 52 weeks) computer-generated animations of spontaneously moving "balls," using looking time in a standard habituation/dishabituation paradigm. In two positive interactions, one ball either "caressed" another, or "helped" it achieve its goal; whereas in two negative interactions, one ball either "hit" another, or "prevented" it from achieving its goal. In keeping with predictions of the model, when transferred to a negative condition, infants who had been habituated on a positive condition showed greater dishabituation than those habituated on a negative condition. The results could not be easily explained by the similarity relations among the animations depicting the interactions. The results suggest that well before the age when the child can ascribe mental states or has a "theory of mind," it recognizes the goals of self-propelled objects and attributes value to the interactions between them.