Smart Language: How to Address an Inherent Weakness Undermining the Implementation of U.N. Sanctions on North Korea

Since 2006, the U.N. has adopted ten sanction resolutions against North Korea (The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea or DPRK) to date. While these sanctions appear comprehensive, the DPRK is still advancing its nuclear and ballistic missile programs and continuing relevant procurement, according to the U.N. 1874 Panel of Experts, which monitors the implementation of these sanctions. There are constant discussions on how to improve the U.N. Member States’ implementation of the resolutions. However, the shortcomings of the language of the resolutions often is overlooked and should be examined, as these shortcomings frustrate effective implementation by U.N. Member States. After providing an overview of the development of the U.N. sanctions against North Korea, this article analyzes examples of operative paragraphs within relevant resolutions that lack determinative language and how these shortcomings affect implementation. It then discusses how smart language can improve implementation. Due to the political sensitivity of this issue and disagreements among members of the Security Council, the resolution’s language sometimes lacks clarity or leaves room for ambiguity. Thus, States’ obligations are not always clearly specified, which in turn creates problems for the States’ competent authorities that need specific legal grounds to establish domestic law to implement U.N. resolution obligations. Further, incomplete definitions also impede the U.N.’s monitoring of Member States’ implementation. As a result, these shortcomings of the language in the U.N. resolutions contribute to the incomplete implementation of the resolutions and create loopholes used by North Korea to evade sanctions. To improve implementation, the Security Council must provide clearer expectations and use smarter language

Using Turbidity and Acoustic Backscatter Intensity as Surrogate Measures of Suspended Sediment Concentration. Application to a Sub-Tropical Estuary (Eprapah Creek)

A key element in stream monitoring is the choice of a measuring technique of suspended sediment concentration (SSC). Several studies suggested that turbidity and acoustic Doppler backscattering may be suitable surrogate measures for SSC. A series of new experiments were conducted in laboratory under controlled conditions using water and soil samples collected in a small sub-tropical estuary of Eastern Australia. The tests were conducted with a microADV (16 MHz) system and a YSI6600 probe using two types of sediment material : some fine mud collected on the bed and some slightly coarser material collected on the bank slope. In addition, some experiments were repeated with the creek estuarine waters and with Brisbane tap waters. The best fit relationships were established in terms of the suspended sediment concentration (SSC) as a function of the acoustic backscatter intensity (BSI), the SSC as a function of the turbidity, and the turbidity as a function of the acoustic backscatter intensity. The present results confirmed earlier findings that the relationships presented some monotonic increase. The calibration curves were however affected by the sediment material characteristics and by the water quality. The results indicated that the calibration of an acoustic Doppler system must be performed with the waters of the natural system (creek waters) and with some bed material. Importantly the calibration of an ADV system is specific to the unit itself. Its calibration relationships are functions of the water quality and sediment properties, but also of the intrinsic characteristics of the emitter and receivers. A limited comparison between an ADV (10 MHz) and a microADV (16 MHz) indicated that the newer microADV system could detect significantly more counts per unit volume than the older unit. The results were applied to some earlier field measurements conducted continuously at high frequency for 50 hours each in Eprapah Creek with the same microADV system. For each field study, the instantaneous suspended sediment flux per unit area data showed some high-frequency bursts that were believed to be linked to some turbulent bursting phenomena next to the bed. For each tidal cycle, the suspended sediment flux data were integrated with respect of time. The results yielded a net sediment mass transfer per unit area of about -20 kg/m2 per tidal cycle during the first study conducted mid-estuary and of about -4 kg/m2 per tidal cycle for the second study performed in the upper estuary. That is, the net sediment flux over a full tidal cycle was upstream in average, and the finding was consistent with earlier studies in sub-tropical rivers during dry conditions for a similar tidal range. It must be stressed that the present work highlighted a number of limitations. The present calibration relationships might not be suitable for earlier field studies at Eprapah Creek with different water quality conditions. The calibration curves were also specific to the microADV unit at the time of the tests, and they were developed for a subtropical estuary with relatively low turbidity levels

High-Frequency Turbulence and Sediment Flux Measurements in an Upper Estuarine Zone

In natural estuaries, the predictions of scalar dispersion are rarely predicted accurately because of a lack of fundamental understanding of the turbulence structure in estuaries. Herein detailed turbulence field measurements were conducted continuously at high frequency for 50 hours in the upper zone of a small subtropical estuary with semi-diurnal tides. Acoustic Doppler velocimetry was deemed the most appropriate measurement technique for such shallow water depths (less than 0.4 m at low tides), and a thorough post-processing technique was applied. In addition, some experiments were conducted in laboratory under controlled conditions using water and soil samples collected in the estuary to test the relationship between acoustic backscatter strength and suspended sediment load. A striking feature of the field data set was the large fluctuations in all turbulence characteristics during the tidal cycle, including the suspended sediment flux. This feature was rarely documented

Using turbidity and acoustic backscatter intensity as surrogate measures of suspended sediment concentration in a small subtropical estuary

The suspended sediment concentration is a key element in stream monitoring, although the turbidity and acoustic Doppler backscattering may be suitable surrogate measures. Herein a series of new experiments were conducted in laboratory under controlled conditions using water and mud samples collected in a small subtropical estuary of Eastern Australia. The relationship between suspended sediment concentration and turbidity exhibited a a linear relationship, while the relationships between suspended sediment concentration and acoustic backscatter intensity showed a monotonic increase. The calibration curves were affected by both sediment material characteristics and water quality properties, implying that the calibration of an acoustic Doppler system must be performed with the waters and soil materials of the natural system. The results were applied to some field studies in the estuary during which the acoustic Doppler velocimeter was sampled continuously at high-frequency. The data yielded the instantaneous suspended sediment flux per unit area in the estuarine zone. They showed some significant fluctuations in instantaneous suspended mass flux, with a net upstream suspended mass flux during flood tide and net downstream sediment flux during ebb tide. For each tidal cycle, the integration of the suspended sediment flux per unit area data with respect of time yielded some net upstream sediment flux in average

Continuous high-frequency turbulence and suspended sediment concentration measurements in an upper estuary

The present study details new turbulence field measurements conducted continuously at high frequency for 50 hours in the upper zone of a small subtropical estuary with semi-diurnal tides. Acoustic Doppler velocimetry was used, and the signal was post-processed thoroughly. The suspended sediment concentration wad further deduced from the acoustic backscatter intensity. The field data set demonstrated some unique flow features of the upstream estuarine zone, including some low-frequency longitudinal oscillations induced by internal and external resonance. A striking feature of the data set is the large fluctuations in all turbulence properties and suspended sediment concentration during the tidal cycle. This feature has been rarely documented

The cerebral basis for language learner strategies: A near-infrared spectroscopy study

In this paper, we validate Macaro’s (2006) model of strategy use among language learners by assessing the amount of neural activity around the prefrontal cortex, the supposed locus of working memory (WM). We also examine whether WM activation during first language (L1) strategy deployment is lower than WM activation during second language (L2) strategy deployment, as predicted by Macaro’s model. In the analysis, we consider data obtained through an innovative neuroimaging technique (near-infrared spectroscopy) and stimulated- recall interviews. The results reveal greater brain activity during execution of the L1 and L2 tasks than in a control condition; further, use of strategies in the L2 resulted in stronger WM activation than use of strategies in the L1. These results provide partial support for the validity of Macaro’s model

Repeated Presentations of Material: Is it Effective for EFL Students’ Listening?

Thanks to the advances in digital audio technology, it becomes much easier for language teachers to present any two given points of listening material repeatedly to their students without losing sound quality. However, the effectiveness of repeated material presentations has not yet been proven satisfactorily. An empirical study therefore was conducted to test the following two hypotheses; (1) repeated presentations of material are effective for EFL learners’ listening, and (2) the effectiveness of repeated presentations is influenced by i) the length of the sentence, ii) the grammatical complexity of the sentence, and iii) the proficiency level of the learner. The subjects were 148 Japanese college students learning EFL. The results indicated that repeated presentations are indeed effective, although the degree of effectiveness varies with learners’ proficiency as well as material length and difficulty. Along with full description of the findings, some pedagogical implications are also mentioned.The Fourth Conference on Foreign Language Education and TechnologyJuly 28 to August 1, 200

Clarifying the differences in learning EFL reading strategies : An analysis of portfolios

The aim of this study is to reveal the differences in the process of learning reading strategies by EFL learners whose English proficiency levels differ. For this purpose, portfolios made by 10 Japanese female college students learning English (five in the higher proficiency group and the other five in the lower) were analyzed. The results found six prominent differences between the two groups. The first difference is the amount of description recorded in each portfolio. The second, third, and fourth differences concern the understanding of the purpose and the merit of each strategy use, of the conditions in which each strategy is used effectively, and of the combined use of strategies. Also, the timing for and the method for evaluating efficacy of strategy use are different between the two groups. After the full descriptions of these six differences with samples from portfolios, some pedagogical and research implications for strategy instruction are made