The Expulsion and Disqualification of Legislators: Parliamentary Privilege and the Charter of Rights

This article examines whetherthe Charter of Rights limits the ability of legislatures to expel sitting members and to disqualify individuals from running for election. The discussions reveal the uncertain breadth of the constitutional status that the Supreme Court of Canada accorded legislative privilege in New Brunswick Broadcasting Co. v. Nova Scotia (Speakerof the House of Assembly). The author argues that both explusion and disqualification should be included among the privileges that are beyond the Charter\u27s purview

Military Law and the Charter of Rights

Substantial re-evaluations of the rules ordering many facets of Canadian society have been required since the introduction of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, both as a consequence and in anticipation of challenges in the courts. The military community in particular has been faced with extensive difficulties because of the adoption of the Charter of Rights by its parent civilian society. The dilemma the military finds itself in stems from the creation of the Charter by civilian politicians and lawyers who had the problems of a civilian society and legal system in mind; yet it applies equally to the military.\u27 Although the Forces have adopted a number of changes in order to accommodate the Charter, there still remains a broad range of long-established military policies which could face challenges in the courts for limiting the enumerated rights in the Charter. Not only may a number of administrative practices and specific military offences be open to question, but so may the tribunals which form the very basis of military justice. Serious problems arise in trying to resolve these apparent contraventions because this conflict represents more than just a discrepancy between a particular set of laws and the Charter, rather, it is generated by a fundamental clash between the values of the military community and those of the Canadian society at large

T-SIMn: Towards a Framework for the Trace-Based Simulation of 802.11n Networks

With billions of WiFi devices now in use, and growing, combined with the rising popularity of high-bandwidth applications, such as streaming video, demands on WiFi networks continue to rise. To increase performance for end users the 802.11n WiFi standard introduces several new features that increase Physical Layer Data Rates (PLDRs). However, the rates are less robust (i.e., more prone error). Optimizing throughput in an 802.11n network requires choosing the combination of features that results in the greatest balance between PLDRs and error rates, which is highly dependent on the environmental conditions. While the faster PLDRs are an important factor in the throughput gains afforded by 802.11n, it is only when they are used in combination with the new MAC layer features, namely Frame Aggregation (FA) and Block Acknowledgements (BAs), that 802.11n achieves significant gains when compared to the older 802.11g standard. FA allows multiple frames to be combined into a large frame so that they can be transmitted and acknowledged as one aggregated packet, which results in the channel being used more efficiently. Unfortunately, it is challenging to experimentally evaluate and compare the performance of WiFi networks using different combinations of 802.11n features. WiFi networks operate in 2.4 and 5 GHz bands, which are shared by WiFi devices, included in computers, cell phones and tablets; as well as Bluetooth devices, wireless keyboards/mice, cordless phones, microwave ovens and many others. Competition for the shared medium can negatively impact throughput by increasing transmission delays or error rates. This makes it difficult to perform repeatable experiments that are representative of the conditions in which WiFi devices are typically used. Therefore, we need new methodologies for understanding and evaluating how to best use these new 802.11n features. An existing trace-based simulation framework, called T-RATE, has been shown to be an accurate alternative to experimentally evaluating throughput in 802.11g networks. We propose T-SIMn, an extension of the T-RATE framework that includes support for the newer 802.11n WiFi standard. In particular, we implement a new 802.11n network simulator, which we call SIMn. Furthermore, we develop a new implementation of the trace collection phase that incorporates FA. We demonstrate that SIMn accurately simulates throughput for one, two and three-antenna PLDRs in 802.11n with FA. We also show that SIMn accurately simulates delay due to WiFi and non-WiFi interference, as well as error due to path loss in mobile scenarios. Finally, we evaluate the T-SIMn framework (including trace collection) by collecting traces using an iPhone. The iPhone is representative of a wide variety of one antenna devices. We find that our framework can be used to accurately simulate these scenarios and we demonstrate the fidelity of SIMn by uncovering problems with our initial evaluation methodology. We expect that the T-SIMn framework will be suitable for easily and fairly evaluating rate adaptation, frame aggregation and channel bandwidth adaptation algorithms for 802.11n networks, which are challenging to evaluate experimentally

Managing farmed landscapes for pollinating insects

Increasing floral resources and improving habitat conditions can benefit pollinating insect species, wildflowers and crop production

Topical delivery of a Rho-kinase inhibitor to the cornea via mucoadhesive film

The application of inhibitors of the Rho kinase pathway (ROCK inhibitors) to the surface of the eye in the form of eyedrops has beneficial effects which aid the recovery of diseased or injured endothelial cells that line the inner surface of the cornea. The aim of this study was to test the plausibility of delivering a selective ROCK inhibitor, Y-27,632, to the cornea using a thin polymeric film. Mucoadhesive polymeric thin films were prepared incorporating Y-27,632 and diffusional release into PBS was determined. Topical ocular delivery from the applied film was investigated using freshly excised porcine eyes and eyedrops of equivalent concentration acted as comparators; after 24 h the formulations were removed and the corneas extracted. Drug-loaded thin polymeric films, with high clarity and pliability were produced. ROCK inhibitor Y-27,632 was weakly retained within the film, with release attaining equilibrium after 1 h. This in turn facilitated its rapid ocular delivery, and an approximately three-fold greater penetration of Y-27,632 into cryoprobe-treated corneas was observed from the thin film (p < 0.01) compared to eyedrop. These findings support the further development of ROCK inhibitor delivery to the cornea via release from thin mucoadhesive films to treat vision loss cause by corneal endothelial dysfunction

Current trends and practices in the use of imprisonment

This article charts the rapid rise in the use of imprisonment in recent decades before considering some of the most pressing issues of concern in the use of imprisonment today. First among these is prison overcrowding, which continues to blight the record of many countries in their treatment of prisoners. To illustrate the potentially dire consequences of overcrowding – a problem common to many other countries and regions – an account is given of a recent visit to a prison in El Salvador. The article then provides an overview of the relevant regional and international standards on the treatment of prisoners, referring also to the role of judicial bodies in ensuring implementation

The sum-product problem for small sets

For $A\subseteq \mathbb{R}$, let $A+A=\{a+b: a,b\in A\}$ and $AA=\{ab: a,b\in A\}$. For $k\in \mathbb{N}$, let $SP(k)$ denote the minimum value of $\max\{|A+A|, |AA|\}$ over all $A\subseteq \mathbb{N}$ with $|A|=k$. Here we establish $SP(k)=3k-3$ for $2\leq k \leq 7$, the $k=7$ case achieved for example by $\{1,2,3,4,6,8,12\}$, while $SP(k)=3k-2$ for $k=8,9$, the $k=9$ case achieved for example by $\{1,2,3,4,6,8,9,12,16\}$. For $4\leq k \leq 7$, we provide two proofs using different applications of Freiman's $3k-4$ theorem; one of the proofs includes extensive case analysis on the product sets of $k$-element subsets of $(2k-3)$-term arithmetic progressions. For $k=8,9$, we apply Freiman's $3k-3$ theorem for product sets, and investigate the sumset of the union of two geometric progressions with the same common ratio $r>1$, with separate treatments of the overlapping cases $r\neq 2$ and $r\geq 2$.Comment: 10 pages, 1 table, 4 figure

Childhood- versus Adolescent-Onset Antisocial Youth with Conduct Disorder: Psychiatric Illness, Neuropsychological and Psychosocial Function

The present study investigates whether youths with childhood-onset antisocial behavior have higher rates of psychiatric illness, neuropsychological and psychosocial dysfunction than youths who engage in antisocial behavior for the first time in adolescence. Prior studies have generally focused on single domains of function in heterogeneous samples. The present study also examined the extent to which adolescent-onset antisocial behavior can be considered normative, an assumption of Moffitt's dual taxonomy model.Forty-three subjects (34 males, 9 females, mean age = 15.31, age range 12-21) with a diagnosis of conduct disorder (CD) were recruited through Headspace Services and the Juvenile Justice Community Centre. We compared childhood-onset antisocial youths (n = 23) with adolescent-onset antisocial youths (n = 20) with a conduct disorder, across a battery of psychiatric, neuropsychological and psychosocial measures. Neuropsychological function of both groups was also compared with normative scores from control samples.The childhood-onset group displayed deficits in verbal learning and memory, higher rates of psychosis, childhood maltreatment and more serious violent behavior, all effects associated with a large effect size. Both groups had impaired executive function, falling within the extremely low range (severely impaired).Childhood-onset CD displayed greater cognitive impairment, more psychiatric symptoms and committed more serious violent offences. The finding of severe executive impairment in both childhood- and adolescent-onset groupings challenges the assumption that adolescent-onset antisocial behavior is a normative process