Complexity Digest 2002.12

25-Mar-2002

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Content

  1. Cold Atoms And Quantum Control, Nature
    1. Nonlinear And Quantum Atom Optics, Nature
    2. Quantum Information Processing With Atoms And Photons, Nature
  2. Grammar: The Barest Essentials, Nature
  3. Resisting Attack, Science
  4. Embryonic Assembly Of A Central Pattern Generator Without Sensory Input, Nature
  5. Genetics And General Cognitive Ability (g), Trends in Cognitive Sciences
  6. Rejection Massively Reduces IQ, NewScientist
  7. Brain-Machine Interface: Instant Neural Control Of A Movement Signal, Nature
    1. Neurons Weigh Options, Come to a Decision, Science
  8. Facial Expression Of Pain: An Evolutionary Account, Brain And Behavioral Science
  9. Deviants, Inc, Fastcompany.com
  10. Time Series Analysis For Minority Game Simulations of Financial Markets, arXiv
  11. Alternative Insecticides: An Urgent Need, Trends in Parasitology
  12. Kinetic Origin of Heredity in a Replicating System with a Catalytic Network, arXiv
  13. The Tests We Know We Need, NYTimes
  14. Molecular Electronics Advances Two Steps Closer to Reality, Scientific American
    1. Strange Attractor Simulated On A Quantum Computer, arXiv
  15. Made To Order, IBM Makes Sense Of Unstructured Data, Think Research
  16. Pattern Storage And Processing In Attractor Networks, Network: Comput. Neural Syst.
  17. Slow Feature Analysis: Unsupervised Learning of Invariances, Neural Comp
    1. Redistribution of Synaptic Efficacy Supports Stable Pattern Learning in Neural Networks, Neural Comp.
    2. Why Synaptic Transmission Should Be Unreliable, Neural Comp.
  18. Self-Organized Complexity In The Physical, Biological, And Social Sciences, PNAS
    1. Fractal Dynamics In Physiology: Alterations With Disease And Aging
    2. Allometric Scaling Of Metabolic Rate From Molecules And Mitochondria To Cells And Mammals
    3. Proteins: Paradigms Of Complexity
    4. Turbulence In Nature And In The Laboratory
    5. What Might We Learn From Climate Forecasts?
    6. "Waves" vs. "Particles" In The Atmosphere's Phase Space: A Pathway To Long-Range Forecasting?
    7. Positive Feedback, Memory, And The Predictability Of Earthquakes
    8. Unified Scaling Law For Earthquakes
    9. Self-Organization In Leaky Threshold Systems: Implications For Earthquakes, Neurobiology, And Forecasting
    10. Predictability Of Catastrophic Events: Material Rupture, Earthquakes, Turbulence, Financial Crashes, And Human Birth
    11. Self-Organization, The Cascade Model, And Natural Hazards
    12. Complexity And Robustness
    13. Natural Variability Of Atmospheric Temperatures And Geomagnetic Intensity Over A Wide Range Of Time Scales
    14. Wavelet Analysis Of Shoreline Change On The Outer Banks Of North Carolina: An Example Of Complexity In The Marine Sciences
    15. Self-Organized Complexity In Economics And Finance
    16. Random Graph Models Of Social Networks
    17. Scaling Phenomena In The Internet: Critically Examining Criticality
  19. Complex Challenges: Global Terrorist Networks
    1. Bush Puts 'Fair Trial In Doubt', CNN/Reuters,
    2. Rules for Military Terror Trials Set, Criticized, Reuters/NYTimes
    3. Rumsfeld Gives Details of Rules for Military War Tribunals, NYTimes
    4. Covering Terrorism: The Media and 9/11, Fathom Course
  20. Links & Snippets
    1. Other Papers
    2. Webcast Announcements
    3. Conference Announcements

  1. Cold Atoms And Quantum Control, Nature Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Excerpts:  This overview prefaces a collection of Insight review articles on the physics and applications of laser-cooled atoms. I will cast this work into a historical perspective in which laser cooling and trapping is seen as one of several research directions aimed at controlling the internal and external degrees of freedom of atoms and molecules.(...)

    The control of these variables is linked to our ability to place atoms and photons into a well-defined set of quantum states and to manipulate these states coherently.

     


    1. Nonlinear And Quantum Atom Optics, Nature Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Excerpts:  Coherent matter waves in the form of Bose-Einstein condensates have led to the development of nonlinear and quantum atom optics - the de Broglie wave analogues of nonlinear and quantum optics with light. (...)

      In nonlinear atom optics, four-wave mixing of matter waves and mixing of combinations of light and matter waves have been observed; such progress culminated in the demonstration of phase-coherent matter-wave amplification. Solitons represent another active area in nonlinear atom optics (...) created experimentally, and observed subsequently to break up into vortices.

       


    2. Quantum Information Processing With Atoms And Photons, Nature Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Excerpts: (...) cold atoms and individual photons may lead the way towards bigger and better quantum information processors, effectively building mesoscopic versions of 'Schrödinger's cat' from the bottom up.(...)

      After all, the systems currently under study are exactly the thought experiments envisioned by Einstein, Bohr and the other founding fathers of quantum physics. With the new language of quantum information, we might hope to gain more insight in the underlying quantum-physical principles, exactly as Shannon's theory of classical information ushered advances in physics responsible for the current digital age.


  2. Grammar: The Barest Essentials, Nature Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Excerpts: Two styles of explaining the science of mind and behavior have been competing for as long as anyone cares to remember: empiricist, centering on habit formation, statistical learning, imitation and association; and rationalist, focusing on the projection of internally represented rules. (...)

    A grammar capable of generating complex structures for all well-formed sentences of a natural language must have recursive rules, because phrasal constituents can contain other phrasal constituents of the same or higher kinds. (...) consider the concept of grammar as primary, and that of language as derived.


  3. Resisting Attack, Science Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Excerpts: Plants must withstand attack by a huge assortment of pathogens (viruses, bacteria, fungi, nematode worms, parasitic plants) as well as predation by herbivores such as insects. To resist assault, plants have a group of resistance (R) genes that act in response to perception of complementary avirulence (avr) genes expressed by pathogens. Early genetic studies on the interaction of plants with pathogens suggested that the R genes encode highly selective receptors that detect the presence of pathogens.
    • Resisting Attack, Marc Nishimura, Shauna Somerville, Science Mar 15 2002: 2032-2033

  4. Embryonic Assembly Of A Central Pattern Generator Without Sensory Input, Nature Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Excerpts: Locomotion depends on the integration of sensory information with the activity of central circuitry, which generates patterned discharges in motor nerves to appropriate muscles. (...) Here we describe the effects of eliminating sensory function and structure on the development of the peristaltic motor pattern of Drosophila embryos and larvae. We infer that the circuitry for peristaltic crawling develops in the complete absence of sensory input; however, the integration of this circuitry into actual patterns of locomotion requires additional information from the sensory system.

  5. Genetics And General Cognitive Ability (g), Trends in Cognitive Sciences Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Abstract: Two recent articles in this journal made the case for the existence and importance of g and reviewed research on cognitive and psychophysical correlates of psychometric g. This review considers g from a genetic perspective. Multivariate genetic research indicates that g accounts for nearly all of the genetic variance of diverse psychometric cognitive tests (genetic g). Recent research suggests not only that elementary cognitive tasks are genetically linked to psychometric g but also that genetic g pervades these tasks. Contrary to the assumption of modularity that dominates cognitive science, genetic g exists in the mind as well as in psychometric tests.

  6. Rejection Massively Reduces IQ, NewScientist Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Excerpts: Rejection can dramatically reduce a person's IQ and their ability to reason analytically, while increasing their aggression (...)(...) procedures to investigate the effects of rejection. In the first, a group of strangers met, got to know each other, and then separated. Each individual was asked to list which two other people they would like to work with on a task. They were then told they had been chosen by none or all of the others.(...) rejection interferes with a person's self-control.

  7. Brain-Machine Interface: Instant Neural Control Of A Movement Signal, Nature Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Excerpts: The activity of motor cortex (MI) neurons conveys movement intent sufficiently well to be used as a control signal to operate artificial devices, but until now this has called for extensive training or has been confined to a limited movement repertoire. Here we show how activity from a few (7-30) MI neurons can be decoded into a signal that a monkey is able to use immediately to move a computer cursor to any new position in its workspace (14° 14° visual angle).

    1. Neurons Weigh Options, Come to a Decision, Science Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Excerpts:  Some decisions you can make in a snap. For others, you have to weigh the options and mull them over for a while. Monkeys in a new study wrestled with the latter type of task while researchers measured a sequence of neural activities involved in making such a decision.

      Previously, neuroscientists had observed operations necessary for some types of decision-making. For instance, they can monitor neurons encoding sensory information, comparing stimuli, and preparing commands to move.


  8. Facial Expression Of Pain: An Evolutionary Account, Brain And Behavioral Science Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Contributing Editor's Note: Pain motivates to action, serving as a "lever" for decision making. Behaviour following injury is modified by variables such as the nature and severity of injury, its location etc. There are several models in explaining feeling of pain; like one on the basis of accumulating evidence about the activity of areas of the brain concerned with following pain stimuli. But according to the authors, these are the unsatisfactory aspects of the global pain behaviour constructed to describe clinically relevant behaviors. The question is if there is any place for emotion explaining pain? The following paper reviews evidence collected in the investigation of facial expression of pain in the light of evolutionary theory.

    Abstract: Pain motivates the individual to promote safety and recovery; the function of facial expression of pain is examined in relation to evolved propensities for specific behaviours. A distinct and specific facial expression of pain is recognized as pain by observers, even under attempts to suppress it. However, pain is largely disregarded in evolutionary literature on facial expression and help-giving, and facial expression of pain neglected in clinical pain settings, where operant formulations of global expression and social contingencies dominate. An evolutionary account of pain facial expression can generate improved assessment of pain and reactions to it.


  9. Deviants, Inc, Fastcompany.com Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Deviance tells the story of every mass market ever created. What starts out weird and dangerous becomes America's next big corporate payday. So are you looking for the next mass-market idea? It's out there ... way out there.
    • Deviants, Inc., Ryan Mathews, Watts Wacker, photographs, Daniel Clowes, Fastcompany.com issue 56, page 70

         


  10. Time Series Analysis For Minority Game Simulations of Financial Markets, arXiv Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Abstract: The minority game model introduced recently provides promising insights into the understanding of the evolution of prices, indices and rates in the financial markets. In this paper we perform a time series analysis of the model employing tools from statistics, dynamical systems theory and stochastic processes. Using benchmark systems and a financial index for comparison, we draw conclusions about the generating mechanism for this kind of evolution. The trajectories of the model are found to be similar to that of the first differences of the SP500 index: stochastic, nonlinear and (unit root) stationary.

  11. Alternative Insecticides: An Urgent Need, Trends in Parasitology Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Abstract:   Most insecticides used against pests and vectors of human disease (e.g. fleas, flies and mosquitoes) are spin-offs from agrochemical research and development. The arsenal of safe and cost-effective public health insecticides is being depleted by restrictions for various reasons (e.g. insecticide resistance, unacceptable side effects and non re-registration) and the number of new products launched is dwindling. Mobilizing public resources and establishment of partnerships to support research and development of public health insecticides is crucial in the post-DDT and post-pyrethroid era.

     


  12. Kinetic Origin of Heredity in a Replicating System with a Catalytic Network, arXiv Next Article Bookmark and Share

     Abstract: The origin of heredity is studied as a recursive state in a replicating proto-cell consisting of many molecule species in mutually catalyzing reaction networks. Protocells divide when the number of molecules, increasing due to replication, exceeds a certain threshold. We study how the chemicals in a catalytic network can form recursive production states in the presence of errors in the replication process. Depending on the balance between the total number of molecules in a cell and the number of molecule species, we have found three phases; a phase without a recursive production state, a phase with itinerancy over a few recursive states, and a phase with fixed recursive production states. Heredity is realized in the latter two phases where molecule species that are population-wise in the minority are preserved and control the phenotype of the cell. It is shown that evolvability is realized in the itinerancy phase, where a change in the number of minority molecules controls a change of the chemical state.

  13. The Tests We Know We Need, NYTimes Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Excerpt:  Public Agenda also surveyed parents, teachers and college professors about testing. By huge margins, all said students work harder if they have to pass tests for promotion or graduation.(...)

    Last fall, college professors and employers were asked to assess the writing proficiency of high school graduates. Three-quarters of both groups rated graduates as poor or fair on writing. Two-thirds rated graduates as poor or fair in math. Too few children are getting what they need out of our public schools (...).


  14. Molecular Electronics Advances Two Steps Closer to Reality, Scientific American Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Excerpts: The goal of molecular electronics-fashioning electronic parts from single molecules joined together-may now be two steps closer to reality. One group of researchers has created the most compact (and first self-assembled) organic molecule transistor yet, while another team has figured out how to measure the flow of electrons through single molecules accurately. The leaders of both groups say these advances should help physicists further explore the potential of molecular electronic devices. (...)

    "By tethering the molecule [to gold] you've removed a lot of the variability. (...)"


    1. Strange Attractor Simulated On A Quantum Computer, arXiv Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Abstract: Starting from the work of Lorenz, it has been realized that the dynamics of many various dissipative systems converges to so-called strange attractors. These objects are characterized by fractal dimensions and chaotic unstable dynamics of individual trajectories. They appear in nature in very different contexts, including applications to turbulence and weather forecast, molecular dynamics, chaotic chemical reactions, multimode solid state lasers and complex dynamics in ecological systems and physiology. The efficient numerical simulation of such dissipative systems can therefore lead to many important practical applications. Here we study a simple deterministic model where dynamics converges to a strange attractor, and show that it can be efficiently simulated on a quantum computer. Even if the dynamics on the attractor is unstable, dissipative and irreversible, a realistic quantum computer can simulate it in a reversible way, and, already with 70 qubits, will provide access to new informations unaccessible for modern supercomputers.

      Contributing editor's note: Among their other useful properties, quantum computers should be able to resolve chaotic trajectories. Chaotic systems defy prediction after a certain time because they contain nearby trajectories that separate from each other at an exponential rate. Quantum computers, however, can resolve computations that take exponentially long.


  15. Made To Order, IBM Makes Sense Of Unstructured Data, Think Research Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Excerpt:  Most of us like to have a certain amount of structure in our lives, yet all too frequently the complexity of modern-day living confronts us with what seems more like chaos than order. (...)

    Much the same holds true in the inanimate world of computerized data, which is increasingly confronted with confusion merely by virtue of its exponential growth. As a result, IBM researchers are developing a series of complex software systems aimed at bringing this seemingly uncontrollable mass of information, known as unstructured data, into an orderly, usable, structured state.

    • Made to Order, IBM makes sense of unstructured data , Victor D. Chase, Think Research, 02/03/08

  16. Pattern Storage And Processing In Attractor Networks, Network: Comput. Neural Syst. Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Abstract: Neurophysiological experiments show that the strength of synaptic connections can undergo substantial changes on a short time scale. These changes depend on the history of the presynaptic input. (...) we study how short-time dynamics of synaptic connections influence the performance of attractor neural networks in terms of their memory capacity and capability to process external signals. For binary discrete-time as well as for firing rate continuous-time neural networks, the fixed points of the network dynamics are shown to be unaffected by synaptic dynamics. However, the stability of patterns changes considerably. Synaptic depression turns out to reduce the storage capacity.

  17. Slow Feature Analysis: Unsupervised Learning of Invariances, Neural Comp Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Abstract: Invariant features of temporally varying signals are useful for analysis and classification. Slow feature analysis (SFA) is a new method for learning invariant or slowly varying features from a vectorial input signal. It is based on a nonlinear expansion of the input signal and application of principal component analysis to this expanded signal and its time derivative. (...) SFA is applied first to complex cell tuning properties based on simple cell output, including disparity and motion. (...) The same unstructured network can learn translation, size, rotation, contrast, or, to a lesser degree, illumination invariance for one-dimensional objects, depending on only the training stimulus. Surprisingly, only a few training objects suffice to achieve good generalization to new objects. The generated representation is suitable for object recognition. Performance degrades if the network is trained to learn multiple invariances simultaneously.

    1. Redistribution of Synaptic Efficacy Supports Stable Pattern Learning in Neural Networks, Neural Comp. Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Abstract:  Markram and Tsodyks, by showing that the elevated synaptic efficacy observed with single-pulse long-term potentiation (LTP) measurements disappears with higher-frequency test pulses, have critically challenged the conventional assumption that LTP reflects a general gain increase. This observed change in frequency dependence during synaptic potentiation is called redistribution of synaptic efficacy (RSE). RSE is here seen as the local realization of a global design principle in a neural network for pattern coding. The underlying computational model posits an adaptive threshold rather than a multiplicative weight as the elementary unit of long-term memory. (...) Multiplicative weights have served as a cornerstone for models of physiological data and neural systems for decades. Although the model discussed here does not implement detailed physiology of synaptic transmission, its new learning laws operate in a network architecture that suggests how recently discovered synaptic computations such as RSE may help produce new network capabilities such as learning that is fast, stable, and distributed.


    2. Why Synaptic Transmission Should Be Unreliable, Neural Comp. Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Abstract: No experimental evidence, however, exists for a direct modification of neuronal delays (...). We show that in fact an explicit delay adaptation is not needed if one assumes that the synaptic strengths are modified according to the recently observed temporally asymmetric learning rule (...). During development, slow, unbiased fluctuations in the transmission time, together with temporally correlated network activity, may control neural growth and implicitly induce drifts in the axonal delays and dendritic latencies. The nature of the selection process requires unreliable synapses in order to give successful synapses an evolutionary advantage over the others.

  18. Self-Organized Complexity In The Physical, Biological, And Social Sciences, PNAS Next Article Bookmark and Share

    Editor's Note: We apologize that we have overlooked this important special colloquium PNAS supplement covering the Arthur M. Sackler Colloquium on "Self-organized complexity in the physical, biological, and social sciences" at the NAS Beckman Center, Irvine, CA, on March 23-24, 2001. Several of our alert readers informed us about this omission, thanks.

    Excerpt: The organizers had no difficulty in finding many examples of complexity in subjects ranging from fluid turbulence to social networks. However, an acceptable definition for self-organizing complexity is much more elusive. Symptoms of systems that exhibit self-organizing complexity include fractal statistics and chaotic behavior. Some examples of such systems are completely deterministic (i.e., fluid turbulence), whereas others have a large stochastic component (i.e., exchange rates). The governing equations (if they exist) are generally nonlinear and may also have a stochastic driver.

    Self-Organized Complexity In The Physical, Biological, And Social Sciences, Donald L. Turcotte, John B. Rundle , Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, Vol. 99, Suppl. 1, 2463-2465, February 19, 2002

    1. Fractal Dynamics In Physiology: Alterations With Disease And Aging Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Fractal Dynamics In Physiology: Alterations With Disease And Aging, Ary L. Goldberger, Luis A. N. Amaral, Jeffrey M. Hausdorff, Plamen Ch. Ivanov, C.-K. Peng, and H. Eugene Stanley, PNAS 2002 99 Suppl. 1: 2466-2472

    2. Allometric Scaling Of Metabolic Rate From Molecules And Mitochondria To Cells And Mammals Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Allometric Scaling Of Metabolic Rate From Molecules And Mitochondria To Cells And Mammals, Geoffrey B. West, William H. Woodruff, and James H. Brown, PNAS 2002 99 Suppl. 1: 2473-2478

    3. Proteins: Paradigms Of Complexity Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Proteins: Paradigms Of Complexity, Hans Frauenfelder, PNAS 2002 99 Suppl. 1: 2479-2480.

    4. Turbulence In Nature And In The Laboratory Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Turbulence In Nature And In The Laboratory, Z. Warhaft, PNAS 2002 99 Suppl. 1: 2481-2486

    5. What Might We Learn From Climate Forecasts? Next Article Bookmark and Share

      What Might We Learn From Climate Forecasts?, Leonard A. Smith PNAS 2002 99 Suppl. 1: 2487-2492

    6. "Waves" vs. "Particles" In The Atmosphere's Phase Space: A Pathway To Long-Range Forecasting? Next Article Bookmark and Share

      "Waves" vs. "Particles" In The Atmosphere's Phase Space: A Pathway To Long-Range Forecasting?, Michael Ghil , Andrew W. Robertson, PNAS 2002 99 Suppl. 1: 2493-2500

    7. Positive Feedback, Memory, And The Predictability Of Earthquakes Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Positive Feedback, Memory, And The Predictability Of Earthquakes, G. Sammis and D. Sornette, PNAS 2002 99 Suppl. 1: 2501-2508

    8. Unified Scaling Law For Earthquakes Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Unified Scaling Law For Earthquakes, Kim Christensen, Leon Danon, Tim Scanlon, Per Bak, PNAS 2002 99 Suppl. 1: 2509-2513

    9. Self-Organization In Leaky Threshold Systems: Implications For Earthquakes, Neurobiology, And Forecasting Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Self-Organization In Leaky Threshold Systems: Implications For Earthquakes, Neurobiology, And Forecasting, J. B. Rundle, K. F. Tiampo, W. Klein, J. S. Sá Martins, PNAS 2002 99 Suppl. 1: 2514-2521

    10. Predictability Of Catastrophic Events: Material Rupture, Earthquakes, Turbulence, Financial Crashes, And Human Birth Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Predictability Of Catastrophic Events: Material Rupture, Earthquakes, Turbulence, Financial Crashes, And Human Birth, Didier Sornette, PNAS 2002 99 Suppl. 1: 2522-2529

    11. Self-Organization, The Cascade Model, And Natural Hazards Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Self-Organization, The Cascade Model, And Natural Hazards, Donald L. Turcotte, Bruce D. Malamud, Fausto Guzzetti, Paola Reichenbach, PNAS 2002 99 Suppl. 1: 2530-2537

    12. Complexity And Robustness Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Complexity And Robustness, J. M. Carlson, John Doyle, PNAS 2002 99 Suppl. 1: 2538-2545

    13. Natural Variability Of Atmospheric Temperatures And Geomagnetic Intensity Over A Wide Range Of Time Scales Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Natural Variability Of Atmospheric Temperatures And Geomagnetic Intensity Over A Wide Range Of Time Scales, Jon D. Pelletier, PNAS 2002 99 Suppl. 1: 2546-2553

    14. Wavelet Analysis Of Shoreline Change On The Outer Banks Of North Carolina: An Example Of Complexity In The Marine Sciences Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Wavelet Analysis Of Shoreline Change On The Outer Banks Of North Carolina: An Example Of Complexity In The Marine Sciences, Sarah F. Tebbens, Stephen M. Burroughs, Eric E. Nelson, PNAS 2002 99 Suppl. 1: 2554-2560

    15. Self-Organized Complexity In Economics And Finance Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Self-Organized Complexity In Economics And Finance, H. E. Stanley, L. A. N. Amaral, S. V. Buldyrev, P. Gopikrishnan, V. Plerou, M. A. Salinger, PNAS 2002 99 Suppl. 1: 2561-2565

    16. Random Graph Models Of Social Networks Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Random Graph Models Of Social Networks, M. E. J. Newman, D. J. Watts, S. H. Strogatz , PNAS 2002 99 Suppl. 1: 2566-2572

    17. Scaling Phenomena In The Internet: Critically Examining Criticality Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Scaling Phenomena In The Internet: Critically Examining Criticality, Walter Willinger, Ramesh Govindan, Sugih Jamin, Vern Paxson, Scott Shenker, PNAS 2002 99 Suppl. 1: 2573-2580

  19. Complex Challenges: Global Terrorist Networks Next Article Bookmark and Share

    1. Bush Puts 'Fair Trial In Doubt', CNN/Reuters, Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Editor's Note:  Following president Bush's "detainees are killers" statements, the critical decision about "who is a killer" is made by whoever makes the initial accusation and arrest. This seems to be very similar to medieval law practices in Europe before the modern law system and the principles of checks and balances have been introduced.

      Excerpts: "The concern we have is that the very man who is to make the final determination of any sentence or conviction has already stated, 'Remember the Guantanamo Bay detainees are killers, they don't share the same values we share'," he said. (...)

      But Kenny said there did not appear to be any limit set on the time detainees could be held before being brought to trial.

      "In American and Australian law, indefinite detention without charge and due process is illegal," he said.


    2. Rules for Military Terror Trials Set, Criticized, Reuters/NYTimes Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Excerpt: The military trials have caused concern among some countries, especially in Europe where European Union nations oppose capital punishment. Amnesty International and other civil rights groups raised objections on Thursday because convictions would go only to the military review board and not to civilian courts.

      `We fear that in the proceedings undertaken by military commissions, justice may neither be done, nor seen to be done,'' said William Shulz, the executive director of Amnesty International USA.


    3. Rumsfeld Gives Details of Rules for Military War Tribunals, NYTimes Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Excerpts: The rules do not provide a process for independent appeals, a procedure that critics also sought, keeping control of the tribunals in the military chain of command. (...)

      Mr. Bush will have final review of the cases, although he has already called the prisoners to be tried "killers."


    4. Covering Terrorism: The Media and 9/11, Fathom Course Next Article Bookmark and Share

      Summary: On September 11, 2001, the world experienced one of the most lethal acts of terrorism ever committed as hijacked planes crashed into the World Trade Center Towers in New York City and into the Pentagon just outside Washington, D.C. Through television and radio broadcasts, newspapers, magazines, and the Internet, the mass media reported the events to audiences around the globe. In this e-seminar, Professor Nacos focuses specifically on how the media's coverage shaped the events of September 11 and what unfolded after the attacks occurred.


  20. Links & Snippets Next Article Bookmark and Share

    1. Other Papers Next Article Bookmark and Share

      1. The Adaptive Enterprise in Action, The Center for Business Innovation, online until June 2002
      2. Center for Preventive Action Special Event, Kofi Annan, John W. Vessey, Webcast, 02/03/06

    2. Webcast Announcements Next Article Bookmark and Share

      1. Did Mammals Spread Out From An Asian Eden?, MSNBC
      2. US Army Seeks Nanotech Suits, New Scientist, 02/03/14
      3. WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY: 3G or Not 3G?, That Is the Question The next generation of wireless technologies may sound like science fiction, but it's not. It's just not now, Kathleen S. Carr
      4. Changes In Brain Complexity During Valproate Treatment In Patients With Partial Epilepsy, Kim JM, Jung KY, Choi CM, Neuropsychobiology 2002 45(2): p. 106-12
      5. Motion Integration During Motion Aftereffects Zoltan Vidnyanszky, Erik Blaser, Thomas V. Papathomas Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 2002, 6:4157-161
      6. Probing Perceptual Asynchrony, Lauren Stewart, Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 2002, 6:4153
      7. Left Hemisphere Discourse?, Edith Kaan, Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 2002, 6:4152
      8. Seeing Patterns In Human Visual Cortex, James Ingram, Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 2002, 6:4152
      9. Application Of Degree Of Complexity In Heart Rate Variability Analysis During Orthostatic (Correction Of Orthosatic) Standing, Gu HG, Ren W, Lu QS, Liu G, Shen XY, Meng JR.Space Med Med Eng (Beijing). 2001 Jun;14(3):192-5. Chinese.
      10. Recurrence Quantification Analysis As A Tool For Nonlinear Exploration Of Nonstationary Cardiac Signals, Zbilut JP, Thomasson N, Webber CL., Med Eng Phys. 2002 Jan;24(1):53-60.
      11. The Balance Beam In The Balance: Reflections On Rules, Relational Complexity, And Developmental Processes, Zelazo PD, Muller U., J Exp Child Psychol. 2002 Apr;81(4):458-65
      12. Complexity Of Biomedical Data Models In Cardiology: The Intranet-Based AF Registry, Dugas M, Hoffmann E, Janko S, Hahnewald S, Matis T, Miller J, Bary Ch, Farnbacher A, Vogler V, Uberla K., Comput Methods Programs Biomed. 2002 Apr;68(1):49-61
      13. Characteristics Of Information Decay In Short-Term Visual Memory And A Diffusion Model], Sakai K, Inui T., Shinrigaku Kenkyu. 2001 Dec;72(5):404-12. Japanese
      14. Symbiotic Sympatric Speciation: Compliance With Interaction-Driven, Phenotype Differentiation From A Single Genotype, Kunihiko Kaneko, arXiv, nlin.AO/0203038, 02/03/18
      15. Emergence Of Local And Global Spatio-Temporal Order On The Way To Equipartition: A Nonlinear Field Model, Marcel Gleiser, Rafael C. Howell, arXiv, nlin.AO/0203034
      16. Formidable Catalogue Puts Army Of Ants Online, Tom Clarke, Nature 416, 115 (2002) , see also SOCIAL INSECTS WORLD WIDE WEB SIWeb: Antbase
      17. Oceanography: An Extra Dimension To Mixing, Chris W. Hughes, Nature 416, 136 - 139 (2002), According to a new theory, stratification of the oceans is controlled by a balance between heat input at the surface and heat redistribution by eddies.
      18. Asteroid Buzzes Earth From "Blind Spot", Jeff Hecht, NewScientist, 02/03/15
      19. Did Mammals Spread Out From An Asian Eden?, Becky Ham, MSNBC, 02/03/14
      20. Demographic Characteristics and Population Dynamical Patterns of Solitary Birds, Bernt-Erik Sæther, Steinar Engen, Erik Matthysen, Science Mar 15 2002: 2070-2073. 
      21. Information Transfer In Entrained Cortical Neurons, P. H. E. Tiesinga, J-M. Fellous, J. V. Jose and T. J. Sejnowski, Network: Comput. Neural Syst. 13, pp. 41-66, March 2002
      22. Derivation of the Visual Contrast Response Function by Maximizing Information Rate,  A. Gottschalk, Neural Computation, Vol. 14 No: 3, pp 527-542 , March 2002.
      23. Conditioned Memory Modulation, Freezing, and Avoidance as Measures of Amygdala-Mediated Conditioned Fear, Holahan M.R. & White N.M., Neurobiology of Learning and Memory , Vol. 77, No 2, pp. 250-275(26), March 2002
      24. Specialization of Neural Mechanisms Underlying Face Recognition in Human Infants, M. de Haan, O. Pascalis and M. H. Johnson, J. of Cognitive Neurosc. Vol. 14, Issue 2 pp: 199 - 209, February 2002
      25. Neural Specialization for Letter Recognition, T. A. Polk, M. Stallcup, G. K. Aguirre, D. C. Alsop, M. D'Esposito, J. A. Detre and M. J. Farah, J. of Cognitive Neurosc., Vol. 14, Issue 2, pp.  145 - 159, February 2002
      26. Active Virtual Network Management Prediction: Complexity as a Framework for Prediction, Optimization, and Assurance, Stephen F. Bush, arXiv Paper ID: cs.NI/0203014. 11-Mar-2002
      27. Representing and Aggregating Conflicting Beliefs, Pedrito Maynard-Reid II, Daniel Lehmann, arXiv Paper ID: cs.AI/0203013. 11-Mar-2002.
      28. Learning an Artist's Style: Just What Does a Pigeon See in a Picasso?, Vokey, John R and Tangen, Jason M. CogPrints. 2001
      29. Soldier of the Future: Army Turns to Nanotechnology, Kurzweil AINet
      30. Twin Probes To Map Earth's Gravity, CNN, 02/03/18, Grace aims to map variations in Earth's gravity field as it changes over time in response to shifts in sea levels, the ebb and flow of glaciers, the seasonal melting and freezing of ice sheets and other such fluctuations.

    3. Conference Announcements Bookmark and Share

      A NAME=20.3>
      1. SwarmFest 2002: Sixth Annual Swarm Users Meeting, Seattle, 02/03/29-31
      2. AIS'2002: Towards Component-Based Modeling and Simulation, Lisbon, Portugal, 02/04/07-10
      3. Manufacturing Complexity Network Conference, Cambridge, UK, 02/04/09-10
      4. Modeling & Simulation of Microsystems (MSM 2002) & Intl. Conf on Comp Nano Science (ICCN 2002), San Juan, Puerto Rico, 02/04/22-25
      5. 'Introducing Complexity', The University of Liverpool, 02/04/24
      6. International Conference Ethics and Technological Complexity, Louvain-la-Neuve, 02/05/29-31
      7. PROTECTING THE HOMELAND: Lessons Learned and Policy Implications of 9/11, Washington, DC, 02/04/29-05/01
      8. World Conference NL 2002 - Networked Learning in a Global Environment: Challenges and Solutions for Virtual Education, Berlin, Germany, 02/05/01-04
      9. Electronic Conference on Foundations of Information Science: The Nature Of Information: Conceptions, Misconceptions, And Paradoxes, 6-10 May 2002
      10. Mass Customisation: Strategies and Enabling Technology, U. Warwick, UK, 02/05/14-15
      11. International Conference on Complex Systems (ICCS2002), Nashua, NH, 02/06/9-14
      12. Sitges Conference "Statistical Mechanics of Complex Networks", Sitges, Spain, 02/06/10-14
      13. Complex Systems: Control and Modeling Problems, Samara, Russia, 02/06/17
      14. International Conference SocioPhysics, ZIF - Bielefeld, Germany, 02/06/06-09
      15. 2nd International Conference on Development and Learning (ICDL'02), Cambridge, Massachusetts USA, 02/06/12-15
      16. Let's Face Chaos Through Nonlinear Dynamics, Maribor, Slovenia, 02/06/30 - 07/14
      17. 7th International Conference on Music Perception & Cognition - ICMPC7, Sydney, 02/07/17-21
      18. Complexity and Philosophy, Norwood, Massachusetts, USA, 02/07/29-30
      19. 12th Ann Intl Conf Society For Chaos Theory in Psychology & Life Sciences: Chaos and Complexity in a Changing World, Portland, OR, USA, 02/08/01-04
      20. Self-Organisation and Evolution of Social Behaviour, Monte Verità, Switzerland, 02/09/08-13
      21. Complex Systems (CS02) Complexity with Agent-Based Modeling, Chuo University, Tokyo, Japan, 02/09/10-12
      22. 3rd Intl NAISO Symposium on Engineering Of Intelligent Systems (EIS 20020), Malaga, Spain, 02/09/24-27
      23. ACRI 2002, 5th Intl Conf on Cellular Automata for Research and Industry, Geneva, Switzerland, 02/10/09-11 
      24. 4th Asia-Pacific Conference on Simulated Evolution And Learning (SEAL'02), 9th International Conference on Neural Information Processing (ICONIP'02), International Conference on Fuzzy Systems and Knowledge Discovery (FSKD'02), Singapore, 02/11/18-22
      25. Managing the Complex IV, Naples , FL, Early December 2002
      26. Artificial Life VIII, UNSW, Sydney, Australia, 02/12/09-13
      27. Hawaii International Conference On System Sciences (HICSS-36), Big Island, Hawaii, 03/01/06-09

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