2,718 research outputs found
The MDGs, Archeology, Institutional Fragmentation and International Law
INTRODUCTION
When considering the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) the first characteristic
that struck me was the fact that the goals and targets were not new, when endorsed by
world leaders in 2000. Upon further consideration, especially of documents related to
the implementation of the MDGs a second characteristic emerged: the integrated
approach that relevant documents adopt towards development, often accompanied by
the assertion that the MDGs embody basic human rights.
The first characteristic â not new â prompted me to engage in some
archeological research. The findings of that research led to the following question.
Why have we not done better, given that the MDGs have been part of human rights
law for six decades? This essay points to the fragmented nature of the international
institutional framework â or international governance structure â as a factor that has
contributed to our failure. This fragmented institutional setting â also not new â has
led to a fragmented approach to international law. Finally, this essay considers how
international law, despite its fragmented nature, might further the integrated approach
evident from the MDGs. In this essay I assume that the fragmented nature of the international institutional framework is unlikely to undergo significant change in the near future, given the limited outcome of the 2005 World Summit in this respec
The Importance of Chemistry for Nanotechnology
The paradigm shift from uniform bulk materials towards nanostructured multifunctional materials is essential for future knowledge transfer from fundamental to applied sciences. In nanotechnology, two approaches are employed: âtop-downâ and âbottom-upâ. In the top-down approach, larger assemblies are broken down to smaller units, while the bottom-up approach makes use of atomic or molecular building blocks to construct the desired nanostructures. Chemistry plays a major role in the bottom-up approach by providing progressive building blocks, such as âsmartâ molecules, that can be combined â preferentially by self-organisation â to create fundamentally new classes of materials. The ultimate goal is to create environmentally friendly, highly efficient, low-cost devices serving multifunctional purposes for a steadily more diversified modern societ
Introduction: The Possibilities of Comparative Law Methods for Research on the Rule of Law in a Global Context
Since its rise at the beginning of the twentieth century, comparative legal research
has gained an inïŹuential place in legal research concerning national legal systems.
Comparative legal methodology is used to acquire insight into foreign legal systems,
to ïŹnd solutions for problems of a speciïŹc legal system, or to promote the uniïŹ cation
of law between national legal systems. Its methods consist of a comparison of
different legal systems or legal traditions (external comparison), or of ïŹelds of
law within national legal systems (internal comparison). With the proliferation
of regulatory regimes at the international level (e.g. in the context of the United
Nations or the WTO), comparative legal research has expanded its focus to include
international law. Consensus, however, has not been reached on the most suitable
way of applying comparative law methods to the global context. Can the concepts
and methods developed to conduct comparative legal research of national legal
systems be transposed to study the international legal system?
In this issue of Erasmus Law Review, a number of scholars with different legal backgrounds reflect on these questions
Introduction: Public Values and Public Participation in Decision-Making in Times of Privatisation
__Abstract__
Privatisation poses challenges to the manner in which public values, such as accessibility, affordability, reliability, safety and sustainability, can be secured. In liberal societies the state, legitimised through democratic elections (input legitimacy) and the rule of law upheld by courts (output legitimacy), was traditionally regarded as the entity responsible for securing such values â although these values were perceived rather thinly. During the second half of the 20th century, with the role of the state expanding and public values conceived more thickly, the perception emerged that democratic elections and courts upholding the rule of law were not sufficient for legitimising the exercise of public power by states and that concerned members of the public should play a direct role in securing public values. As a result, public participation in the national context â here defined as consisting of the following elements: transparency (including access to information), public participation in decision-making, and access to courts or court-like institutions â emerged as a tool for securing public values, as well as checking, and thereby legitimising (input legitimacy), the exercise of public power by the state
Experimental evidence of delocalized states in random dimer superlattices
We study the electronic properties of GaAs-AlGaAs superlattices with
intentional correlated disorder by means of photoluminescence and vertical dc
resistance. The results are compared to those obtained in ordered and
uncorrelated disordered superlattices. We report the first experimental
evidence that spatial correlations inhibit localization of states in disordered
low-dimensional systems, as our previous theoretical calculations suggested, in
contrast to the earlier belief that all eigenstates are localized.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures. Physical Review Letters (in press
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