ICANN—Now and Then: ICANN’s Reform and Its Problems

This paper sheds some light upon the major problem arising from the current normative infrastructure of the DNS and provides a possible solution to the current physical problem of the DNS. The paper\u27s main focus is the single-entity control of the A Root. The paper uses as a starting point the Blueprint prepared by the Committee on ICANN Evolution and Reform and raises the question: Has this reform done anything to resolve the single-entity control of the A Root? The paper argues that the reform has done nothing to solve the problem because the international privatization of the DNS merely substitutes the administration of the DNS function without making changes to the normative infrastructure of the DNS. In light of the above, the paper argues that there is a need to declare independence from a one-entity controlled DNS. The suggested approach is to share authority over the root by acknowledging that countries that are accountable to their populations are the authorities for their own ccTLDs. Once technical and political independence has been achieved, the technical and, to some degree, political management of the DNS should be exercised through an international body. In order to initiate a discussion for a truly international body this paper offers nine principles that a new international ccTLD cooperation organization should observe when working on its own creation

The Patriation of .ca

Country code top level domains (‘‘ccTLD’’s), such as .ca, are distinct from generic top-level domains (‘‘gTLD’’s), such as .com, in that they are generally conceived to be associated with a specific country. In Canada, the authority to operate the technical functions of the .ca domain name registry has been delegated to the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (‘‘CIRA’’) by a United States non-profit corporation, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (‘‘ICANN’’). The authority to make policy regarding the .ca has purportedly been delegated to CIRA by the Government of Canada. There is an issue, however, as to whether ICANN’s delegation of authority to CIRA to manage the technical functions of the .ca reflects a diminished ability of Canada to decide the identity of the .ca registry and, by implication, to control the registry’s operational policies, thereby diminishing Canada’s sovereignty over the .ca domain. While ICANN has been criticized as illegitimate, unfair, anticompetitive and its dispute settlement procedure systematically biased, this paper steps back from those issues and asks whether acknowledging the technical authority of a private foreign entity over the .ca domain is consistent with Canada’s commitment to political sovereignty. For, as Lessig has pointed out, in cyberspace, code (computer hardware and software) is like law in that code regulates how cyberspace behaves. Applying this observation to the DNS, we argue that the structure of the DNS, which enables the U.S. Department of Commerce (‘‘DoC’’) to decide who manages the technical aspects of the .ca, implies that Canada lacks sovereign control over the .ca domain space and related policies and laws

SOVEREIGN DOMAINS: A Declaration of Independence of ccTLDs from Foreign Control

In the year 2000, the Government Advisory Committee (“GAC”) of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (“ICANN”) passed a set of principles that essentially claimed national sovereignty over country code top-level domains (“ccTLD”s) such as .us, .ca, .uk and .au. Shortly thereafter, ICANN redelegated several ccTLDs in accordance with new GAC principles. Despite the outcry accompanying the passage of these principles and ICANN’s self-professed adherence thereto, the entire exercise could easily be criticized as merely symbolic because of the overriding power of ICANN in the operation of the Domain Name System (“DNS”). Indeed, Stuart Lynn, ICANN’s current president, summed up the lack of power that ccTLDs have within the governance structure of the Internet when he opined that “ICANN could, in theory, recommend that a particular ccTLD be redelegated to a cooperating administrator. If the United States government accepted that recommendation, non-cooperating ccTLD administrators would be replaced.

Endoscopic endodontic microsurgery: 2-year evaluation of healing and functionality.

This prospective clinical study aimed to evaluate the benefits of the endoscope as an aid to root-end management, and to assess the treatment outcome during 2 years following surgery. Forty-three endodontic surgical procedures in 30 patients were performed with the aid of an endoscope and followed for a period of 2 years. Radiographic criteria and clinical evaluation were used to assess the outcome. All cases were evaluated in terms of healing and functionality. 91.1% and 90.7% of the teeth evaluated after 1 and 2 years, respectively, were classified as successful. We found no statistically significant differences for both healing and functionality between the 1- and 2-year evaluations. No difference related to tooth type or tooth location was found at the 2-year follow-up. Fisher's exact test was used to statistically assess the difference between successful and unsuccessful cases for each of the variables considered. The endoscope can be an aid for endodontic surgical procedures in terms of both periapical healing and functionality up to 2 years follow-up

Pseudogap suppression by competition with superconductivity in La-based cuprates

We carried out a comprehensive high-resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) study of the pseudogap interplay with superconductivity in La-based cuprates. The three systems La2−xSrxCuO4, La1.6−xNd0.4SrxCuO4, and La1.8−xEu0.2SrxCuO4 display slightly different pseudogap critical points in the temperature versus doping phase diagram. We studied the pseudogap evolution into the superconducting state for doping concentrations just below the critical point. In this setting, near optimal doping for superconductivity and in the presence of the weakest possible pseudogap, we uncover how the pseudogap is partially suppressed inside the superconducting state. This conclusion is based on the direct observation of a reduced pseudogap energy scale and re-emergence of spectral weight suppressed by the pseudogap. Altogether these observations suggest that the pseudogap phenomenon in La-based cuprates is in competition with superconductivity for antinodal spectral weight

Pseudogap Suppression by Competition with Superconductivity in La-Based Cuprates

We have carried out a comprehensive high-resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) study of the pseudogap interplay with superconductivity in La-based cuprates. The three systems La$_{2-x}$Sr$_x$CuO$_4$, La$_{1.6-x}$Nd$_{0.4}$Sr$_x$CuO$_4$, and La$_{1.8-x}$Eu$_{0.2}$Sr$_x$CuO$_4$ display slightly different pseudogap critical points in the temperature versus doping phase diagram. We have studied the pseudogap evolution into the superconducting state for doping concentrations just below the critical point. In this setting, near optimal doping for superconductivity and in the presence of the weakest possible pseudogap, we uncover how the pseudogap is partially suppressed inside the superconducting state. This conclusion is based on the direct observation of a reduced pseudogap energy scale and re-emergence of spectral weight suppressed by the pseudogap. Altogether these observations suggest that the pseudogap phenomenon in La-based cuprates is in competition with superconductivity for anti-nodal spectral weight

The Patriation of .ca

Country code top level domains (‘‘ccTLD’’s), such as .ca, are distinct from generic top-level domains (‘‘gTLD’’s), such as .com, in that they are generally conceived to be associated with a specific country. In Canada, the authority to operate the technical functions of the .ca domain name registry has been delegated to the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (‘‘CIRA’’) by a United States non-profit corporation, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (‘‘ICANN’’). The authority to make policy regarding the .ca has purportedly been delegated to CIRA by the Government of Canada. There is an issue, however, as to whether ICANN’s delegation of authority to CIRA to manage the technical functions of the .ca reflects a diminished ability of Canada to decide the identity of the .ca registry and, by implication, to control the registry’s operational policies, thereby diminishing Canada’s sovereignty over the .ca domain. While ICANN has been criticized as illegitimate, unfair, anticompetitive and its dispute settlement procedure systematically biased, this paper steps back from those issues and asks whether acknowledging the technical authority of a private foreign entity over the .ca domain is consistent with Canada’s commitment to political sovereignty. For, as Lessig has pointed out, in cyberspace, code (computer hardware and software) is like law in that code regulates how cyberspace behaves. Applying this observation to the DNS, we argue that the structure of the DNS, which enables the U.S. Department of Commerce (‘‘DoC’’) to decide who manages the technical aspects of the .ca, implies that Canada lacks sovereign control over the .ca domain space and related policies and laws