Hierarchy and the Sources of International Law: A Critical Perspective

The doctrine of sources is constructed around a set of shared intuitions and accepted wisdoms. One of them is that there exists no hierarchy in and among the recognized sources of international law. Conventional accounts of international law-making depict an eclectic and uncoordinated system in which States - as sovereign equals - create rules for themselves through various processes which can be engaged simultaneously, in a kind of decentralized and pluralistic arrangement where no source ranks higher than the other. This article argues that the "no-hierarchy" thesis is deceptive and that the law of sources is replete with multiple forms of hierarchy. The article examines two types of source hierarchies. The first type concerns what may be termed "informal hierarchies of pre-eminence". These stem from the fact that legal actors (states, adjudicators, scholars) routinely express preferences for specific sources and form normative judgments in which some sources are deemed superior (good, effective, democratic) and others inferior (bad, inefficient, illegitimate). The second type concerns the material hierarchies of influence that typify law-making in the international community, in which some actors, voices and experiences are privileged (states, great powers, white men, transnational capital etc.) and others are marginalized (non-state groups, small powers, brown women, labor etc.). The article examines how, despite a broad commitment to legislative equality, international law-making has been historically - and continues to be - characteristically oligarchic and patriarchal, accommodating and institutionalizing inequalities of status and influence among law-making agents. In the conclusion, I argue for a robust rejection of the "no-hierarchy" thesis as analytically inconsistent (i.e. at odds with the "real world" of sources) and normatively problematic, as it conceals and neutralizes law-making hierarchies, rendering them immune to critical scrutiny and challenge

Transverse instability of the antiproton beam in the Recycler Ring

The brightness of the antiproton beam in Fermilab's 8 GeV Recycler ring is limited by a transverse instability. This instability has occurred during the extraction process to the Tevatron for large stacks of antiprotons even with dampers in operation. This paper describes observed features of the instability, introduces the threshold phase density to characterize the beam stability, and finds the results to be in agreement with a resistive wall instability model. Effective exclusion of the longitudinal tails from Landau damping by decreasing the depth of the RF potential well is observed to lower the threshold density by up to a factor of two.Comment: 3 pp. Particle Accelerator, 24th Conference (PAC'11) 2011. 28 Mar - 1 Apr 2011. New York, US

The Septa for LEIR Extraction and PS Injection

The Low Energy Ion Ring (LEIR) is part of the CERN LHC injector chain for ions. The LEIR extraction uses a pulsed magnetic septum, clamped around a metallic vacuum chamber. Apart from separating the ultra high vacuum in the LEIR ring from the less good vacuum in the transfer line to the PS this chamber also serves as magnetic screen and retains the septum conductor in place. The PS ion injection septum consists of a pulsed laminated magnet under vacuum, featuring a single-turn water cooled coil and a remote positioning system. The design, the construction and the commissioning of both septa are described

Does wilderness therapy reduce recidivism in delinquent adolescents?: A narrative review

Adolescent recidivism rates remain high in the United States despite the fact juvenile crime has declined since the 1990’s. Wilderness therapy (WT) is an emerging treatment approach for adolescents involved in the juvenile justice system. This review examines outcome studies utilizing a wilderness therapy program in an effort to reduce adolescent recidivism. Studies were eligible if they: (a) evaluated a WT intervention, (b) utilized an adolescent population, (c) included a measure of recidivism as an outcome variable, and were (d) published in English between 1990 and June of 2010 in a peer-reviewed journal. A total of seven studies on WT were included, and the majority of studies indicated mildly positive short-term results though long-term effects were mixed. The overall quality of the evaluations designs was low, indicating the need for better controlled and longer term experimental evaluations

Modélisation de l'hydrodynamique d'un décanteur primaire de station d'épuration

Les qualités de fonctionnement d'un décanteur primaire de station d'épuration d'eaux usées dépendent essentiellement de ses caractéristiques hydrauliques. Le but de ce travail est la caractérisation et la modélisation de l'hydrodynamique d'un décanteur réel d'une station d'épuration d'eaux usées urbaines.Cette opération s'effectue par la détermination de la Distribution des Temps de Séjour (DTS) de la phase liquide du décanteur par traçage au chlorure de lithium. Simultanément, les évolutions des débits d'effluent à traiter et des rendements d'épuration en Matières En Suspension (MES) ont été suivis.La courbe de DTS obtenue a permis une modélisation de l'hydrodynamique du décanteur primaire par des associations en série ou en parallèle de Réacteurs Parfaitement Agités (RPA). Le modèle hydrodynamique proposé, dont les résultats sont en très bonne concordanoe avec les résultats expérimentaux, est composé de 2 branches associées en parallèle: l'une traversée par une fraction a = 0,14 d'effluent entrant dans le décanteur est une cascade de 7 RPA d'un volume total de 77 m3. L'autre branche traversée par la fraction de débit restante (l-a) est composée de 2 modules en série: le premier module, caractérisant une zone de recirculation, est un RPA de 645 m3 en échange avec un second RPA de 1935 m3, la fraction de débit ß échangée est de 28. Le deuxième module de cette branche, représentant un écoulement uniforme, est une cascade de 7 RPA d'un volume total de 1 183 m3.Ce modèle hydrodynamique permet d'analyser les résultats obtenus quant à l'évolution des rendements d'épuration en MES mesurés dans le décanteur.The operating performances of wastewater treatment plant primary clarifiers essentially depend on hydraulic conditions. The aim of this paper is to characterize and to simulate the hydraulic flow regime of an existing sedimentaton tank.This study was carried out on a wastewater treatment plant primary clarifier. It is a circular clarifier of 3900 m3 in volume, 42 m in diameter, 2.1 m in straight useful height, and, 2.1m in height for the conical part. The inlet flow rate is between 1400 and 2700 m3/h, whereas the sequental (3 primary clarifiers) sludge extraction flow rate is about 20 m3/h.To characterize the liquid phase residence time distribution (RTD) in the clarifier, we did a tracing operation (pulse injection) with lithium chloride as tracer (20 kg of lithium chloride dissolved in 120 litres of tap-water). After the tracer injection, the lithium concentration at the outlet of the clarifier was measured as a function of time. During this experiment we also followed the evolution of inlet flow rates and the suspended solid (SS) retention efliciency ofthe clarifier. For 350 min of experimental time, the recuperation of lithium was 92.7%.The experimental RTD curve allowed us to develop a model for the primary clarifier hydrodynarnics by association of elementary units (completely stirred reactors, CSTR) in series or in parallel. The transfer function in the LAPLACE domain, G (s), and the mathematical expressions of the first order and second central order moments were determined for this model. The nurnerical simulation of RTD between the inlet and the outlet of the system was performed with the help of a general computer code which numerically calculates the RTD, using Fast Fourier Trandormation techniques, from a given transfer fucnction.The hydrodynamic model proposed in this study matches very well with the experimental results. It comprises two trranches associated in parallel. The first one, which is drived by an effluent flow rate fraction α (α=0,14), is treated as 7 CSTR's in series of 77 m3 in total volume. The second branch, which is drived by the remaining eflluent flow rate fraction (1-α), is composed of two modules associated in series. The first module, which characterizes a recycling zone, is treated as a CSTR of 645 m3 in volume exchanging with a second CSTR of 1935 m3 in volume, the exchanged flow rate fraction, ß, being equal to 28. The second module of this branch. which characterize a uniform flow zone, is represented by 7 CSTR's in series of 1183 m3 in total volume.These results are confirmed by the comparison of the first order and the second central order moments. Indeed, between t = 0 and t = 350 min., we find for the experimental curve µ1=l27 min and µ2=6957, and, for the proposed hydrodynamic model curve µ1=129 min and µ2=7154 which are equivalent values. Finally, the proposed hydrodynamic model makes possible the analysis of the primary clarifier performance with respect to suspended solid removal

Anomalous fluctuations of active polar filaments

Using a simple model, we study the fluctuating dynamics of inextensible, semiflexible polar filaments interacting with active and directed force generating centres such as molecular motors. Taking into account the fact that the activity occurs on time-scales comparable to the filament relaxation time, we obtain some unexpected differences between both the steady-state and dynamical behaviour of active as compared to passive filaments. For the statics, the filaments have a {novel} length-scale dependent rigidity. Dynamically, we find strongly enhanced anomalous diffusion.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Factors Responsible for the Stability and the Existence of a Clean Energy Gap of a Silicon Nanocluster

We present a critical theoretical study of electronic properties of silicon nanoclusters, in particular the roles played by symmetry, relaxation, and hydrogen passivation on the the stability, the gap states and the energy gap of the system using the order-N [O(N)] non-orthogonal tight-binding molecular dynamics and the local analysis of electronic structure.Comment: 26 pages including figure