Toward a General Theory of Standards of Proof

Which standard of proof is best for a particular type of case This deceptively simple question has been much discussed but the current state of understanding is unsatisfactory Statisticians posed a general answer philosophers and others launched an assault on that answer practically oriented scholars draw on both strains unsystematically and courts generally offer little or no reasoning for their decisions The goal of this article is to outline a systematic and complete justification for selecting one probabilistic standard of proof over another By training a microscope on one small corner of the law incapacity will contests this article demonstrates the relevance of old factors identifies several new factors and integrates the factors into an approach that will hopefully guide future inquiry One important implication is that the choice of proof standard will almost necessarily be tentative too much is unknown or unknowabl

Tower-Top Antenna Array Calibration Scheme for Next Generation Networks

Recently, there has been increased interest in moving the RF electronics in basestations from the bottom of the tower to the top, yielding improved power efficiencies and reductions in infrastructural costs. Tower-top systems have faced resistance in the past due to such issues as increased weight, size, and poor potential reliability. However, modern advances in reducing the size and complexity of RF subsystems have made the tower-top model more viable. Tower-top relocation, however, faces many significant engineering challenges. Two such challenges are the calibration of the tower-top array and ensuring adequate reliability. We present a tower-top smart antenna calibration scheme designed for high-reliability tower-top operation. Our calibration scheme is based upon an array of coupled reference elements which sense the array's output. We outline the theoretical limits of the accuracy of this calibration, using simple feedback-based calibration algorithms, and present their predicted performance based on initial prototyping of a precision coupler circuit for a 2×2 array. As the basis for future study a more sophisticated algorithm for array calibration is also presented whose performance improves with array size