The entry into force of the 2001 UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage
On 2 January 2009 the Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage (CPUCH; Paris, 2001) entered into force for the first 20 States that decided to become parties to it. The CPUCH can be seen as a reasonable defence against the disastrous regime on underwater cultural heritage set forth by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS; Montego Bay, 1982). In fact, the UNCLOS allows for a “freedom-of-fishing” regime where a State which has a cultural link with the objects cannot prevent the pillage of its historical heritage. The picture is worsened by the reference in the UNCLOS to “the law of salvage and other rules of admiralty” which have been intended by United States courts as meaning the application of a first-come-first-served approach in many cases relating to the underwater cultural heritage. The basic defensive tools included in the CPUCH are the elimination of the undesirable effects of the law of salvage and finds, the exclusion of a first-come-first-served approach for the heritage found on the continental shelf, and the strengthening of regional cooperation.
Oceans and the Law of the Sea at the UN General Assembly
The article studies the annual resolutions adopted on the law of the sea by the UN General Assembly since the adoption of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea in 1982. It outlines the general framework of the resolutions and discusses their contents and the recommendations made for the conduct of marine activities and the implementation and application of the Convention regime. In the preparation of the resolutions, differing views and positions often result in texts vague or complex in formulation. Such difficulties have related, for instance, to the transport of radioactive materials through coastal zones, adequate protection of underwater cultural heritage or the ways and means to conserve marine biodiversity. The resolutions have expanded in size and could be streamlined to highlight new efforts and innovation to address the various uses of the seas. The General Assembly item on ‘Oceans and the law of the sea’ offers the UN Membership a useful opportunity to consider sea related issues and to promote the protection and good management of the oceans.
Cognitive Correlaretes of Physics Achievement of Some Nigeria Senior Secondary Students
Some cognitive correlates of physics achievement of some Nigeria senior secondary students were considered in the study. Specifically, the study examined the relationship between measures of student’s field independency. Cognitive tasks, formal reasoning and their achievement in physics. Purposive and stratified random sampling techniques were employed to obtain a sample of 524 senior secondary two students from six education zones in Kogi State of Nigeria. Three instruments were used. They are science Reasoning Tasks (SRTs). Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT) and Physics Achievement Test (PAT). Data analysis using multiple regressions reveals that measures of students’ fields’ independency and cognitive tasks predicted student’s achievement in physics generally. However, only measure of field independency predicted students’ achievement in physics in the higher order cognitive demand questions. Measures of formal reasoning had no significant relationship with students’ achievements in physics generally or in higher order cognitive demand questions in physics. However, the overall relationships between measures of field independency, cognitive tasks, formal reasoning and students’ achievement in physics generally and in higher order cognitive demand questions in physics were both significant. Educational implications of these findings were discussed.