El cartógrafo a bordo: registros de testigos presenciales en las cartas náuticas tempranas

In this article I examine early nautical charts and isolarii, or island books illustrated with maps, for evidence that indicates the maps were made on the basis of first-hand observation by the cartographer. There are very few claims on early nautical charts that the charts were created based on the cartographers’ own observations. I suggest that these claims are rare because chart-making was more an artistic enterprise than as a medium for recording discoveries. This conception of nautical charts changed with the advent of the Age of Discoveries, and claims that charts were made based on eyewitness information become more common. The case with isolarii is very different, although the maps in isolarii derive from the nautical chart tradition. Some of the creators of isolarii claim that their works were based on first-hand experience, but not always truthfully. Other authors neither sailed among the islands they describe nor claim to have visited them.En este artículo examino las cartas náuticas tempranas y los islarios, o libros sobre islas ilustrados con mapas, en busca de evidencia que indique que los mapas se hicieron en base a la observación de primera mano por parte del cartógrafo. Hay muy pocas afirmaciones en las cartas náuticas tempranas de que las cartas se crearon en base a las propias observaciones de los cartógrafos. Sugiero que estas afirmaciones son raras porque la creación de las cartas náuticas fue más una empresa artística que un medio para registrar descubrimientos. Esta concepción de las cartas náuticas cambió con el advenimiento de la Era de los Descubrimientos, y las afirmaciones de que las cartas se hicieron en base a información de testigos oculares se vuelven más comunes. El caso de los islarios es muy diferente, aunque los mapas en los islarios derivan de la tradición de las cartas náuticas. Algunos creadores de islarios afirman que crearon sus libros a partir de la observación de primera mano, pero no siempre con la verdad. Otros autores no navegaron entre las islas que describen ni afirman haberlas visitado

Magnetic Sensors Based on Long Josephson Tunnel Junctions - An Alternative to SQUIDs

The properties of Josephson devices are strongly affected by geometrical effects. A loop-shaped superconducting electrode tightly couples a long Josephson tunnel junction with the surrounding electromagnetic field. Due to the fluxoid conservation, any change of the magnetic flux linked to the loop results in a variation of the shielding current circulating around the loop, which, in turn, affects the critical current of the Josephson junction. This method allows the realization of a novel family of robust superconducting devices (not based on the quantum interference) which can function as a general-purpose magnetic sensors. The best performance is accomplished without compromising the noise performance by employing an in-line-type junction few times longer than its Josephson penetration length. The linear (rather than periodic) response to magnetic flux changes over a wide range is just one of its several advantages compared to the most sensitive magnetic detectors currently available, namely the Superconducting Quantum Interference Devices (SQUID). We will also comment on the drawbacks of the proposed system and speculate on its noise properties.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figure

Martin Waldseemüller’s 'Carta marina' of 1516

This open access book presents the first detailed study of one of the most important masterpieces of Renaissance cartography, Martin Waldseemüller’s Carta marina of 1516. By transcribing, translating into English, and detailing the sources of all of the descriptive texts on the map, as well as the sources of many of the images, the book makes the map available to scholars in a wholly unprecedented way. In addition, the book provides revealing insights into how Waldseemüller went about making the map -- information that can’t be found in any other source. The Carta marina is the result of Waldseemüller’s radical re-evaluation of what a world map should be; he essentially started from scratch when he created it, rejecting the Ptolemaic model and other sources he had used in creating his 1507 map, and added more descriptive texts and a wealth of illustrations. Given its content, the book offers an essential reference work not only on this map, but also for anyone working in sixteenth-century European cartography

A Canadian Perspective on Fifty Years of International Economic Law

In 1970, “international economic law” (IEL) was not a distinct academic subject. Fifty years later, IEL has become an important and well-recognized field of legal enquiry, though its boundaries remain unclear. Globalization of trade and investment activity and the concomitant proliferation of trade and investment treaties over the last 50 years have been key drivers of academic interest in IEL and its transformation. The impacts of trade and investment on the protection of the environment and health, Indigenous, labour, and human rights, development, and other policy priorities have become significant subjects of academic discourse and are increasingly addressed in trade and investment treaties. IEL scholarship has become methodologically diverse, incorporating empirical and inter-disciplinary analysis, and embraces a wide range of theoretical and critical perspectives. This paper surveys the development of international trade and investment law as part of IEL from 1970 to 2021 from a Canadian point of view. En 1970, le « droit économique international » (DEI) n’était pas une discipline universitaire distincte. Cinquante ans plus tard, il est devenu un domaine de recherche juridique important et bien reconnu, même si ses frontières restent floues. La mondialisation des activités de commerce et d’investissement et la prolifération concomitante des traités en la matière au cours des cinquante dernières années ont été les principaux moteurs de l’intérêt universitaire pour le droit en matière d’investissement et sa transformation. L’impact du commerce et de l’investissement sur la protection de l’environnement et de la santé, les droits des autochtones, les droits du travail et les droits de l’homme, le développement et d’autres priorités politiques sont devenus des sujets importants du discours universitaire et sont de plus en plus abordés dans les traités sur le commerce et l’investissement. La recherche sur le DEI s’est diversifiée sur le plan méthodologique, en intégrant des analyses empiriques et interdisciplinaires et en embrassant un large éventail de perspectives théoriques et critiques. Cet article examine le développement du droit international du commerce et de l’investissement dans le cadre du DEI entre 1970 et 2021, d’un point de vue canadien