A review of the decoherent histories approach to the arrival time problem in quantum theory

We review recent progress in understanding the arrival time problem in quantum mechanics, from the point of view of the decoherent histories approach to quantum theory. We begin by discussing the arrival time problem, focussing in particular on the role of the probability current in the expected classical solution. After a brief introduction to decoherent histories we review the use of complex potentials in the construction of appropriate class operators. We then discuss the arrival time problem for a particle coupled to an environment, and review how the arrival time probability can be expressed in terms of a POVM in this case. We turn finally to the question of decoherence of the corresponding histories, and we show that this can be achieved for simple states in the case of a free particle, and for general states for a particle coupled to an environment.Comment: 10 pages. To appear in DICE 2010 conference proceeding

Common European Sales Law (CESL) and Private International Law: Some Critical Remarks

This article is an updated and revised version of the contribution published by the author in XI Anuario Español de Derecho Internacional Privado, 2011, 25-61, under the title: “La Propuesta de Reglamento relativo a una normativa común de compraventa europea y el Derecho internacional privado”.La Propuesta de Reglamento del Parlamento Europeo y del Consejo relativo a una normativa común de compraventa europea de 11 de octubre de 2011 (PCESL) introduce una reglamentación material para algunas compraventas transfronterizas que no desplaza la aplicación de las normas de conflicto (en particular de las contenidas de los Reglamentos “Roma I” y “Roma II”). Al contrario, el instrumento opcional contenido en la Propuesta de Reglamento (CESL) presupone la aplicación de la ley de un Estado miembro, como lex contractus. Una vez escogida por las partes, la CESL desplaza a las normas internas cobre compraventa de la ley del Estado miembro. Esta opción del legislador comunitario plantea numerosos problemas e interrogantes acerca de las relaciones entre la CESL y las normas de Derecho internacional privado y en torno a su coexistencia con otros convenios internacionales y el propio acervo comunitario. El análisis de estas relaciones es el objeto del presente estudio, que permite concluir con una valoración negativa de la competitividad internacional de este nuevo instrumento comunitario.The Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on a Common European Sales Law of 11 October 2011 (PCESL) introduces a substantive regulation for some cross-border sales contracts that does not displace the application of conflict-of-laws rules (especially those included in “Rome I” and “Rome II” Regulations). On the contrary, the optional instrument included in the Proposal (CESL) presupposes the application of the law of a Member State as lex contractus. Once the parties have chosen the CESL, this regime prevails over the internal rules on sales contracts of the law of that Member State. The formula used by the European legislator gives rise to many concerns and questions about the relationships between the CESL and the conflict-of-laws rules and about its cohabitation with other international conventions and the European acquis itself. The analysis of these relationships is the subject of this article, which concludes with a negative assessment on the international competitiveness of the new European instrument

The Roles of Standardization, Certification and Assurance Services in Global Commerce

In this article we examine the rapid emergence and expansion of standardized product and process frameworks and a private-sector compliance and enforcement infrastructure that we believe may increasingly be providing a substitute for public and legal regulatory infrastructure in global commerce. This infrastructure is provided by a proliferation of performance codes and standards, many of which define acceptable social and environmental behavior, and a rapidly-growing number of privately-trained and authorized inspectors and certifiers that we call the third-party assurance industry. We offer reasons for this development, evidence of its scope and scale, and then describe the phenomenon in more detail by examining supply chain arrangements in two industries, food products and apparel, where the use of third-party standards and assurance services has expanded especially rapidly. We conclude with a discussion of the implications for the make or buy decision at the core of the theory of the firm. We argue that as quasi-regulatory standards are developed within various industries, and as performance to these standards can be systematically evaluated using third-party inspectors and certifiers, the costs of moving production outside of vertical firm hierarchies drop. We believe this may be an important factor in accelerating the shift to outsourcing that has been observed over the last two decades

Nurses' perceptions of aids and obstacles to the provision of optimal end of life care in ICU

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