Scenario design and analysis tasks of the National Data Centre Preparedness Exercise (NPE) 2019

<p>National Data Centre (NDC) Preparedness Exercises (NPE) base on partially simulated scenarios of CTBT relevant events distributed to all NDC. They provide an opportunity to practice the verification procedures for the detection of nuclear explosions in the framework of CTBT monitoring. The NPE 2019 scenario was developed in close cooperation between the Italian NDC-RN (ENEA) and the German NDC (BGR). The fictitious state RAETIA announced a reactor incident with release of unspecified radionuclides into the atmosphere. Simulated concentrations of particulate and noble gas isotopes at IMS stations were given to the participants. The task was to check the consistency with the announcement and to search for waveform events in the potential source region of the radioisotopes. <br>During NPE2019 an Exercise Expert Technical Analysis was requested from the IDC for the first time. A fictitious state party provided within the scenario (simulated) national measurements of radionuclides and asked for assisistance in analysing the additional samples. Especially backward ATM and the search for seismic events in the possible source region was requested. In addition the overall consistency to potential emissions of the reactor incident declared by the ficititious state RAETIA was questioned. In the third and last stage of the exercise, national regional seismic data were distributed among the particpants which contained an (synthetically manipulated) anomaly pointing on a explosive event.</p>

A Fictitious States: past and present

The article discusses the concept of a fictitious state, which can be defined as an international legal fiction that is created or consciously supported by real actors in international relations to legitimize illegal actions, such as annexation, evasion of obligations, seizing the assets of other states, creating a buffer zone, etc. The main feature of a fictitious state is the absence of real sovereignty in the presence of only external attributes of the state. The authors believe that fictitious states are a facet of neocolonialism. Although the number of states in the world has increased from 70 to 197 since 1945, this figure has no relation to the self-determination of peoples. The authors conclude that at present there are no legal requirements for the legal capacity of subjects of international law. Condemnation or recognition of fictitious states, as before, is determined solely by the interests of foreign policy. The authors propose to continue work on strengthening the sovereignty of the Russian Federation at the level of national legislation.

The National Data Centre Preparedness Exercise NPE 2019 - Scenario design and expert technical analyses

<p>For detection of non-compliance with the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) the global International Monitoring System (IMS) is being built up and nearly complete. The IMS is designed to detect and identify nuclear explosions through their seismic, hydroacoustic, infrasound, and radionuclide signature. The IMS data are collected, processed to analysis products, and distributed to the signatory states by the International Data Centre (IDC) in Vienna. The member states themselves may operate National Data Centers (NDC) giving technical advice concerning CTBT verification to their government. NDC Preparedness Exercises (NPE) are regularly performed to practice the verification procedures for the detection of nuclear explosions in the framework of CTBT monitoring. The NPE 2019 scenario was developed in close cooperation between the Italian NDC-RN (ENEA) and the German NDC (BGR). The fictitious state RAETIA announced a reactor incident with release of unspecified radionuclides into the atmosphere. Simulated concentrations of particulate and noble gas isotopes at IMS stations were given to the participants. The task was to check the consistency with the announcement and to serach for waveform events in the potential source region of the radioisotopes. In a next step, the fictitious neighbour state EASTRIA provided further national (synthetic) measurements and requested assistance from IDC with so called Expert Technical Analysis (ETA) about the origin of those traces. The presentation shows aspects of scenario design, event selection, and forward amospheric transport modelling as well as radionuclide and seismological analyses.   </p>

French and Venezuelan People’s Conceptualization of Human Rights: Indivisibility and Universality Issues

The present study aimed to examine French unpaid participants’ (N = 50) perceptions about Human Rights (HR). The material was a series of scenarios depicting a socio-political situation of a fictitious state and a response scale. Four critical items of information were provided: (a) the degree in which the State offers social protection to the citizens (not at all, intermediate or complete);(b) the level of respect for Civil Liberties in the country (no respect, intermediate, full respect);(c) the level of Equality between citizens (inequality of rights vs. equality of right);and (d) the level of Respect for the private life of the citizens (no respect for private life vs. full respect for private life). The 36 stories were obtained by the orthogonal crossing of the four factors: 3 x 3 x 2 x 2 = 36. Results from the French sample were compared with previous results from a Venezuelan sample (Guédez & Mullet, 2014). Results showed no difference in the importance given to Social Protection between French and Venezuelan participants. Also, the crucial four-way interaction was significant at a very stringent level, and the five-way interaction involving Country was not. Thus, it can be safely considered that the way HR are conceptualized is correctly expressed by the equation: Judged Respect for HR = Privacy x Civil Liberties x Equality x Social Protection.

Tilføjelse til “Grundtvig og censuren” i Grundtvig-Studier 2007

Tilføjelse til “Grundtvig og censuren ” i Grundtvig-Studier 2007[Supplement to “Grundtvig and censorship ” in Grundtvig-Studier 2007]By Flemming Lundgreen-NielsenThe supplement to “Grundtvig and censorship” in Grundtvig-Studier 2007 (44-90; 281) presents the discovery that Grundtvig’s idea from 1831 about an age limit for young writers may have been influenced by Ludvig Holberg’s description of academic restrictions in the fictitious state of Potu in his Latin novel Niels Kliim, 1741, chapter 8, recycled in his essay Epistle No. 395, 1750. A polite protest against Holberg by C. B. Tullin was published posthumously in 1773, emphasising the freedom of printing and the advantage of competition among writers. Grundtvig regrets his strange elitist conception already in 1836, but the point may be that he has in fact been inspired to some of his discussions on education and freedom of speech and printing by leading writers from the Danish Enlightenment of the eighteenth century in spite of his often proclaimed general dissociation from that period.