Ignorance of International Law Is No Excuse, or How the Florida Legislature Ticked Off Canada†
During its 2012 session the Florida Legislature amended the text of the Florida Statutes which lists exemptions from the requirements of obtaining a Florida drivers’ license. Removed from the text of Florida Statute 322.04 was the line concerning nonresidents, both fellow Americans and international visitors, “who has in his or her immediate possession a valid noncommercial driver's license issued to the nonresident in his or her home state or country [emphasis added].” Inserted was a new line, “An International Driving Permit issued in his or her name in his or her country of residence and a valid license issued in that country.” International visitors were required to have in their possession not only a valid drivers’ license, but also an International Driving Permit (IDP) that translated into English the personal identification information of the driver. The change took effect January 1, 2013, but even before that date, Florida faced allegations that it was violating international law with this new requirement.
Design of Network Architecture Using Mobile Gateways for DLNA Devices in Wide Area Networks
The prevalence of information appliances supporting DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) such as televisions, recorders, and mobile phones has made it possible to share digital contents (e.g. videos, music and pictures) among appliances connected to a local network. However, DLNA does not let you share contents over different networks via the Internet. In this paper, we propose a network architecture where we adopt our SOAP method to mobile devices and use them as mobile gateways to consume digital contents from remote networks. We also confirm its practicality with a prototype.
Integrated land degradation monitoring and assessment: Horizontal knowledge management at the national and international levels
The need for improved horizontal knowledge management at the national and international levels is essential for monitoring and assessment of land degradation and desertification. At the national level, governments utilise scientific, socio‐economic and technical data and information for strategic planning, priority setting and national environment and development planning. However, challenges including the lack of capacity and lack of collaboration and sharing of information across governments affect responses to and the effectiveness of monitoring and knowledge exchange, along with the ability to effectively implement treaties. At the international level, a number of Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) share cross‐sectoral themes related to research and monitoring, information exchange, technology transfer, capacity building and financial resources. The need for increased synergies stems from the similarities between the issues they address. Challenges for improving knowledge management at the international level include insufficient interaction between the scientific bodies of the various MEAs; duplication of reporting, monitoring and assessment efforts; limited knowledge management between the various assessments addressing ecosystems and biological diversity during the past decade; and insufficient collaboration between the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), the UN system and the international non‐governmental organisation (NGO) community. This paper examines these challenges and offers recommendations on how monitoring and assessment knowledge can be better managed at the national and international levels. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.