The Judicial Domain in View: figures, trends and perspectives

Where will the Dutch judicial system be in 2015? One of us answered a similar type of question elsewhere with a sketch of two frightening scenarios.* In the first scenario the judicial system will have insufficiently adapted itself to its surroundings. The judicial system will become more intensively involved in a decreasing amount of cases that gradually carry less weight. The judicial system, as a social phenomenon, will be marginalized even though the traditional standards of constitutional legitimacy and professionalism of the administration of justice are kept up. Interesting or big cases will be handled outside the judiciary by special courts or through arbitration, mediation or other forms of “alternative dispute resolution” (ADR). The large amount of bulk cases will be transferred to other legal areas or authorities where the involvement of the judge will decrease (for example the Mulderizing of criminal cases, or settlement by the Public Prosecutor). With the decrease in jurisdiction the authority of the judicial system will decline and eventually prise itself out of the market. In the second frightening scenario the judicial system will have adapted itself too much to its surroundings. Van Gunsteren once sketched a picture of the court as a dynamic centre for settling conflicts, a place where the experts fall over each other with seminars, workshops, courses, and new methods. Instead of settling conflicts they get copied within the judicial organization itself.† The judicial system, with its well-meaning efforts at being responsive, will have distanced itself from its core duties: settling disputes through binding judgments. While the judicial system has lost touch with its surroundings in the first scenario, it has lost its own self in the second scenario

Photogrammetry and ballistic analysis of a high-flying projectile in the STS-124 space shuttle launch

A method combining photogrammetry with ballistic analysis is demonstrated to identify flying debris in a rocket launch environment. Debris traveling near the STS-124 Space Shuttle was captured on cameras viewing the launch pad within the first few seconds after launch. One particular piece of debris caught the attention of investigators studying the release of flame trench fire bricks because its high trajectory could indicate a flight risk to the Space Shuttle. Digitized images from two pad perimeter high-speed 16-mm film cameras were processed using photogrammetry software based on a multi-parameter optimization technique. Reference points in the image were found from 3D CAD models of the launch pad and from surveyed points on the pad. The three-dimensional reference points were matched to the equivalent two-dimensional camera projections by optimizing the camera model parameters using a gradient search optimization technique. Using this method of solving the triangulation problem, the xyz position of the object's path relative to the reference point coordinate system was found for every set of synchronized images. This trajectory was then compared to a predicted trajectory while performing regression analysis on the ballistic coefficient and other parameters. This identified, with a high degree of confidence, the object's material density and thus its probable origin within the launch pad environment. Future extensions of this methodology may make it possible to diagnose the underlying causes of debris-releasing events in near-real time, thus improving flight safety.Comment: 26 pages, 11 figures, 3 table

Resource partitioning among African savanna herbivores in North Cameroon: the importance of diet composition, food quality and body mass

The relationship between herbivore diet quality, and diet composition (the range of food plants consumed) and body mass on resource partitioning of herbivores remains the subject of an ongoing scientific debate. In this study we investigated the importance of diet composition and diet quality on resource partitioning among eight species of savanna herbivore in north Cameroon, with different body mass. Dung samples of four to seven wild herbivore and one domesticated species were collected in the field during the dry and wet period. Diet composition was based on microhistological examination of herbivore droppings, epidermis fragments were identified to genus or family level. In addition, the quality of the faecal droppings was determined in terms of phosphorus, nitrogen and fibre concentrations. The results showed that there was no significant correlation between body mass and (differences in) diet composition for wet and dry season. When all species are considered, only significant relationships are found by the Spearman rank correlation analyses during the wet season between body mass and phosphorus and nitrogen, but this relationship did not exist during the dry season. When the analyses focuses on ruminants only (thus leaving out hippo), none of the relationships between body mass and diet quality was significant in either season. During the dry season the proportion of graminoids ranged between 10% (small unidentified herbivore species) to 90% (hippopotamus), during the wet season this proportion ranged from 60% (zebu) to 90% (hippopotamus). All species but zebu had more graminoids in their dung during wet season compared with dry season. However all species but hartebeest had more graminoids old stems in their dung during the dry season, compared with the wet season. The niche breadth for food categories consumed by kob (0.300), hippo (0.090), hartebeest (0.350), roan (0.510) and zebu (0.300) was much greater in the dry season than in the wet season for kob (0.120), hippo (0.020), hartebeest (0.190), roan (0.090) and zebu (0.200). When looking at grass taxa consumed, the niche breadth of kob (0.220), hartebeest (0.140), and roan (0.250) was also greater in the dry season when compared with the wet season for kob (0.050), hartebeest (0.120) and roan (0.120). The opposite was found for zebu and hippo. Comparison of the species’ diet compositions with randomized data showed that dietary overlap between different herbivore species was much higher than what would be expected on the basis of chance, demonstrating surprisingly limited niche separation between species. This offers potential for competition, but it is more likely that the high niche overlap indicates absence of competition, due to low herbivore densities and abundant food resources, permitting species to share non-limiting resources. With increasing herbivore densities and subsequent increasing scarcity of resources, the relationship between diet quality and body mass in combination with increased niche separation is expected to become more visibl

On the Connection of Anisotropic Conductivity to Tip Induced Space Charge Layers in Scanning Tunneling Spectroscopy of p-doped GaAs

The electronic properties of shallow acceptors in p-doped GaAs{110} are investigated with scanning tunneling microscopy at low temperature. Shallow acceptors are known to exhibit distinct triangular contrasts in STM images for certain bias voltages. Spatially resolved I(V)-spectroscopy is performed to identify their energetic origin and behavior. A crucial parameter - the STM tip's work function - is determined experimentally. The voltage dependent potential configuration and band bending situation is derived. Ways to validate the calculations with the experiment are discussed. Differential conductivity maps reveal that the triangular contrasts are only observed with a depletion layer present under the STM tip. The tunnel process leading to the anisotropic contrasts calls for electrons to tunnel through vacuum gap and a finite region in the semiconductor.Comment: 11 pages, 8 figure

Non-mean-field theory of anomalously large double-layer capacitance

Mean-field theories claim that the capacitance of the double-layer formed at a metal/ionic conductor interface cannot be larger than that of the Helmholtz capacitor, whose width is equal to the radius of an ion. However, in some experiments the apparent width of the double-layer capacitor is substantially smaller. We propose an alternate, non-mean-field theory of the ionic double-layer to explain such large capacitance values. Our theory allows for the binding of discrete ions to their image charges in the metal, which results in the formation of interface dipoles. We focus primarily on the case where only small cations are mobile and other ions form an oppositely-charged background. In this case, at small temperature and zero applied voltage dipoles form a correlated liquid on both contacts. We show that at small voltages the capacitance of the double-layer is determined by the transfer of dipoles from one electrode to the other and is therefore limited only by the weak dipole-dipole repulsion between bound ions, so that the capacitance is very large. At large voltages the depletion of bound ions from one of the capacitor electrodes triggers a collapse of the capacitance to the much smaller mean-field value, as seen in experimental data. We test our analytical predictions with a Monte Carlo simulation and find good agreement. We further argue that our ``one-component plasma" model should work well for strongly asymmetric ion liquids. We believe that this work also suggests an improved theory of pseudo-capacitance.Comment: 19 pages, 14 figures; some Monte Carlo results and a section about aqueous solutions adde

The developmental effects of media-ideal internalization and self-objectification processes on adolescents’ negative body-feelings, dietary restraint, and binge eating

Despite accumulated experimental evidence of the negative effects of exposure to media-idealized images, the degree to which body image, and eating related disturbances are caused by media portrayals of gendered beauty ideals remains controversial. On the basis of the most up-to-date meta-analysis of experimental studies indicating that media-idealized images have the most harmful and substantial impact on vulnerable individuals regardless of gender (i.e., “internalizers” and “self-objectifiers”), the current longitudinal study examined the direct and mediated links posited in objectification theory among media-ideal internalization, self-objectification, shame and anxiety surrounding the body and appearance, dietary restraint, and binge eating. Data collected from 685 adolescents aged between 14 and 15 at baseline (47 % males), who were interviewed and completed standardized measures annually over a 3-year period, were analyzed using a structural equation modeling approach. Results indicated that media-ideal internalization predicted later thinking and scrutinizing of one’s body from an external observer’s standpoint (or self-objectification), which then predicted later negative emotional experiences related to one’s body and appearance. In turn, these negative emotional experiences predicted subsequent dietary restraint and binge eating, and each of these core features of eating disorders influenced each other. Differences in the strength of these associations across gender were not observed, and all indirect effects were significant. The study provides valuable information about how the cultural values embodied by gendered beauty ideals negatively influence adolescents’ feelings, thoughts and behaviors regarding their own body, and on the complex processes involved in disordered eating. Practical implications are discussed

New Mechanics of Traumatic Brain Injury

The prediction and prevention of traumatic brain injury is a very important aspect of preventive medical science. This paper proposes a new coupled loading-rate hypothesis for the traumatic brain injury (TBI), which states that the main cause of the TBI is an external Euclidean jolt, or SE(3)-jolt, an impulsive loading that strikes the head in several coupled degrees-of-freedom simultaneously. To show this, based on the previously defined covariant force law, we formulate the coupled Newton-Euler dynamics of brain's micro-motions within the cerebrospinal fluid and derive from it the coupled SE(3)-jolt dynamics. The SE(3)-jolt is a cause of the TBI in two forms of brain's rapid discontinuous deformations: translational dislocations and rotational disclinations. Brain's dislocations and disclinations, caused by the SE(3)-jolt, are described using the Cosserat multipolar viscoelastic continuum brain model. Keywords: Traumatic brain injuries, coupled loading-rate hypothesis, Euclidean jolt, coupled Newton-Euler dynamics, brain's dislocations and disclinationsComment: 18 pages, 1 figure, Late

Involvement of patients or their representatives in quality management functions in EU hospitals:implementation and impact on patient-centred care strategies

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to describe the involvement of patients or their representatives in quality management (QM) functions and to assess associations between levels of involvement and the implementation of patient-centred care strategies. DESIGN: A cross-sectional, multilevel STUDY DESIGN: that surveyed quality managers and department heads and data from an organizational audit. SETTING: Randomly selected hospitals (n = 74) from seven European countries (The Czech Republic, France, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Turkey). PARTICIPANTS: Hospital quality managers (n = 74) and heads of clinical departments (n = 262) in charge of four patient pathways (acute myocardial infarction, stroke, hip fracture and deliveries) participated in the data collection between May 2011 and February 2012. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Four items reflecting essential patient-centred care strategies based on an on-site hospital visit: (1) formal survey seeking views of patients and carers, (2) written policies on patients' rights, (3) patient information literature including guidelines and (4) fact sheets for post-discharge care. The main predictors were patient involvement in QM at the (i) hospital level and (ii) pathway level. RESULTS: Current levels of involving patients and their representatives in QM functions in European hospitals are low at hospital level (mean score 1.6 on a scale of 0 to 5, SD 0.7), but even lower at departmental level (mean 0.6, SD 0.7). We did not detect associations between levels of involving patients and their representatives in QM functions and the implementation of patient-centred care strategies; however, the smallest hospitals were more likely to have implemented patient-centred care strategies. CONCLUSIONS: There is insufficient evidence that involving patients and their representatives in QM leads to establishing or implementing strategies and procedures that facilitate patient-centred care; however, lack of evidence should not be interpreted as evidence of no effect

Quantum flutter of supersonic particles in one-dimensional quantum liquids

The non-equilibrium dynamics of strongly correlated many-body systems exhibits some of the most puzzling phenomena and challenging problems in condensed matter physics. Here we report on essentially exact results on the time evolution of an impurity injected at a finite velocity into a one-dimensional quantum liquid. We provide the first quantitative study of the formation of the correlation hole around a particle in a strongly coupled many-body quantum system, and find that the resulting correlated state does not come to a complete stop but reaches a steady state which propagates at a finite velocity. We also uncover a novel physical phenomenon when the impurity is injected at supersonic velocities: the correlation hole undergoes long-lived coherent oscillations around the impurity, an effect we call quantum flutter. We provide a detailed understanding and an intuitive physical picture of these intriguing discoveries, and propose an experimental setup where this physics can be realized and probed directly.Comment: 13 pages, 9 figure