Multilingual Legislation in the European Union. EU and National Legislative-Language Styles and Terminology

One approach is to consider a specific piece of EU text in a range of languages and consider how the text is reproduced in each language in terms of structure and terminology. Since the original draft is frequently made by non-native speakers and then translated into the other EU languages, which are bound by the structure of the base version, we obtain little information from it about divergent national linguistic and legislative methods. However, if the EU text is a directive which is transposed into national law, we should be able also to look at the national implementing legislation intended to implement the directive. The implementing texts are produced within the national legal context and, one assumes, aim at similar results, as laid down by the directive. Thus it could be expected that they should provide vehicles for study between the national systems and between each national system and the EU legal order. The paper explores these ideas to see where they lead

PROFILOWANIE PRAWNO-JĘZYKOWE W OSADZENIU INSTYTUCJONALNYM – NA PRZYKŁADZIE PRACOWNICZYCH ORGANÓW PRZEDSTAWICIELSKICH W UE

This paper applies a structured legal-linguistic profiling approach to EU “staff representation bodies” as a way to access domains that lie behind the public face of EU institutions and their texts concerning translation, language and terminology. The study commences with a legal-linguistic analysis of EU texts for references to “staff”, “staff representation” and “employment” in order to identify specific texts and bodies of relevance to the study. This approach leads to two broad categories: staff committees and trade unions. Information is sought from EU institutions about these bodies and their translation and language arrangements, and a list is made of websites available to the general public. These sites are then examined as part of the legal-linguistic profiling approach.W niniejszym artykule zastosowano ustrukturyzowane podejście do profilowania prawno-językowego do „unijnych organów reprezentujących pracowników” jako sposobu dostępu do obszarów poza oficjalnym obliczem instytucji UE oraz ich tekstów dotyczących tłumaczeń, języka i terminologii. Badanie rozpoczyna się od analizy prawno-językowej tekstów UE pod kątem odniesień do „pracowników”, „reprezentacji pracowników” i „zatrudnienia” w celu zidentyfikowania konkretnych tekstów i organów mających znaczenie dla badania. Takie podejście prowadzi do dwóch kategorii, ujmowanych szeroko: komitetów pracowniczych i związków zawodowych. Instytucje UE poszukują informacji na temat tych organów oraz ich tłumaczeń i ustaleń językowych. Sporządzono także listę stron internetowych dostępnych dla ogółu społeczeństwa, które następnie są badane w ramach profilowania prawno-językowego

Euler Characteristic in Odd Dimensions

It is well known that the Euler characteristic of an odd dimensional compact manifold is zero. An Euler complex is a combinatorial analogue of a compact manifold. We present here an elementary proof of the corresponding result for Euler complexes

Numerical simulation of the airflow–rivulet interaction associated with the rain-wind induced vibration phenomenon

Rain-wind induced vibration is an aeroelastic phenomenon that occurs on the inclined cables of cable-stayed bridges. The vibrations are believed to be caused by a complicated nonlinear interaction between rivulets of rain water that run down the cables and the wind loading on the cables due to the unsteady aerodynamic flow field. Recent research at the University of Strathclyde has been to develop a numerical method to simulate the influence of the external air flow on the rivulet dynamics and vice versa, the results of which can be used to assess the importance of the water rivulets on the instability. The numerical approach for the first time couples a Discrete Vortex Method solver to determine the external flow field and unsteady aerodynamic loading, and a pseudo-spectral solver based on lubrication theory to model the evolution and growth of the water rivulets on the cable surface under external loading. The results of the coupled model are used to assess the effects of various loading combinations, and importantly are consistent with previous full scale and experimental observations of rain-wind induced vibration, providing new information about the underlying physical mechanisms of the instability

America First: The Global Trump at Six Months

For Donald Trump ‘America First’ means ‘America First.’ Canada and likeminded nations will have to get used to it. Canada will have to actively engage with Congress, the states and the private and public interests that drive the American agenda. We will also have to put more effort and contribute more to the rules-based order of which we have been a beneficiary. Traditional statecraft is based on predictability and stability, both hallmarks of U.S. post-war foreign policy practised by both Democrats and Republicans. Predictable, Mr. Trump is not. The deliberation and careful planning that characterized the Obama administration have been replaced by Mr. Trump’s reliance on gut and instinct. Such unpredictability will continue to create heartburn inside foreign chancelleries, whether friend or foe. Where once the USA was prepared to cover the spread on trade and security, under Donald Trump there will be more take than give. Now, Canada and the allies will have to make their own investments in hard power to preserve collective security. But less dependence and reliance on US leadership and more collective responsibility would be a good thing. Middle powers, like Canada, will have to step up their diplomacy, both collective and individual. Focusing on their own niche capacities they will have to shore up the space left by Trump Administration decisions on climate, migration and at the international institutions that sustain the rules-based order. Ironically, one effect of the Trump presidency may be to make the western alliance stronger

A Bayesian space-time model for discrete spread processes on a lattice

Funding for this work was provided by GEOIDE through the Government of Canada’s Networks for Centres of Excellence program.In this article we present a Bayesian Markov model for investigating environmental spread processes. We formulate a model where the spread of a disease over a heterogeneous landscape through time is represented as a probabilistic function of two processes: local diffusion and random-jump dispersal. This formulation represents two mechanisms of spread which result in highly peaked and long-tailed distributions of dispersal distances (i.e., local and long-distance spread), commonly observed in the spread of infectious diseases and biological invasions. We demonstrate the properties of this model using a simulation experiment and an empirical case study - the spread of mountain pine beetle in western Canada. Posterior predictive checking was used to validate the number of newly inhabited regions in each time period. The model performed well in the simulation study in which a goodness-of-fit statistic measuring the number of newly inhabited regions in each time interval fell within the 95% posterior predictive credible interval in over 97% of simulations. The case study of a mountain pine beetle infestation in western Canada (1999-2009) extended the base model in two ways. First, spatial covariates thought to impact the local diffusion parameters, elevation and forest cover, were included in the model. Second, a refined definition for translocation or jump-dispersal based on mountain pine beetle ecology was incorporated improving the fit of the model. Posterior predictive checks on the mountain pine beetle model found that the observed goodness-of-fit test statistic fell within the 95% posterior predictive credible interval for 8 out of 10. years. The simulation study and case study provide evidence that the model presented here is both robust and flexible; and is therefore appropriate for a wide range of spread processes in epidemiology and ecology.PostprintPeer reviewe

Unprecedented Reactivity of Fluorocarbons and the Synthesis of New Inclusion Compounds

A new and unprecedented reactivity of saturated fluorocarbons has been discovered. Application of this reaction to perfluorodecalin at ambient temperature and above is used to synthesis members of the 'octa-host' series. The mechanism of the reaction and its extension to analogous reactions, including different substrates (unsaturated fluorocarbons or other saturated fluorocarbons, particularly those with a tertiary carbon centre) and different nucleophiles is investigated. A Single Electron Transfer (SET) pathway is favoured. The 'octa-host' series itself, an extension of the 'hexa-host' series, is further investigated and new host inclusion discovered. A new class of host materials, octakis(aryloxy)naphthalenes, is synthesised. Structural investigation of six octa-hosts by X-ray single-crystal diffraction is used to elucidate their inclusion properties; uniquely one of the octa-hosts, octakis(m-tolylthio)-naphthalene has a 'clathrate' open-packed structure as a non-solvate, with no stabilisation other than by van der Waals forces . Another, octakis(cyclohexylthio)naphthalene, contains an axial C-S cyclohexyl bond conformation. These two solid-structures are also investigated by magic angle spinning solid state n.m.r. Other 'octa-host'-like variants were investigated, including routes to 'deca-hosts', anthracene based systems, both through classical synthesis routes and using the newly discovered reactivity of saturated fluorocarbons. More structural tuning of the 'hexa-'host' concept was investigated by the synthesis and solid-state structure elucidation of hexakis -(p-hydroxyphenyloxy) benzene, a potential beta-Hydroquinone analogue. Chiral legs for 'hexa-' and 'octa-hosts' were briefly investigated. The role of symmetry in partnership with molecular conformation and shape is analysed for the 'octa-hosts', C2 equivalents of the C3 'hexa-hosts', and general principles discussed. Fluorocarbon chemistry is summarised and recent progress in the directed design of inclusion compounds reviewed