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This article concerns the compliance of the institutions of remote trials and remote detention hearings introduced to the CCP by the Polish ‘coronavirus act’ of 19 June 2020 with the ECHR standard on the rights of the accused. In the first part of the article, it is indicated that the ECtHR in its jurisprudence accepts that a trial in the form of a videoconference is not in principle contrary to the ECHR, provided, however, that there are compelling reasons to dispense with the traditional trial (main or appellate) and that the procedure of using a videoconference itself meets the requirements of a fair trial according to Article 6 ECHR and ensures the accused both effective personal participation in the trial and effective use of the services of a defence counsel, in particular the confidentiality of the lawyer’s contact with their client. The Covid-19 outbreak has changed European justice systems, and now videoconferencing in court proceedings is seen not only as an exceptional measure, but as possibly an effective part of the ordinary activity of courts. The analysis of the assumptions of remote trials in ordinary Polish criminal proceedings shows that this institution does not meet the standards of a fair trial, especially the standard of the effective participation of the defence counsel. In contrast, compared to a remote trial, a remote detention hearing in Poland has a wider scope of application and poses serious risks to the standards on deprivation of liberty (Article 5(3) and Article 3 ECHR) and effective defence (Article 6(3) ECHR). The possibility of using both forms of videoconferencing without the participation of a defence counsel and the permanent nature of the changes introduced are particularly worrying.

This article examines the responses of national courts to the ECtHR's decision in Salduz v Turkey that suspects be provided with access to a lawyer before they are first interrogated by the police. It argues that harmonious application of human rights standards in criminal proceedings should build upon common values underpinning the procedural traditions of member states. ECtHR success in gaining acceptance for the principle of access to a lawyer during police interrogation, anchoring it in the privilege against incrimination, is contrasted with resistance towards giving the defence any active role during criminal investigations. It is argued that this resistance can be overcome by an appeal to safeguards that have long dominated the trial process. As the investigation phase increasingly determines the outcome of criminal proceedings, standards of fairness traditionally reserved for the trial process should be applied also to this phase in order to provide suspects with an effective defence.

This paper aims at providing a comparative study of the legal frame-work applicable in the legal systems of Romania and the Republic of Moldova ensuring the exercise of the right of defence in criminal proceedings. A special focus shall be placed on the fair-trial standards developed by the European Court of Human Rights in interpreting the European Convention on Human Rights, as both Romania and the Republic of Moldova are Council of Europe members. The European system of safeguarding the fundamental rights is made whole by the EU standards, which are briefly presented here (while binding for the Member States, the EU model can also serve as a source of inspiration for third countries with which the EU would hold periodic dialogues on various human rights topic). Subsequently, the applicable national provisions of both States, both constitutional and pertaining to criminal procedure law, will be analysed by also making reference to relevant case-law in order to convey the dynamics of the defence rights in practice. The comparative approach is appropriate in the case in point to emphasise the common elements and values shared by the two legislations under examination, stemming from the consistency with the ECHR model ofprotecting the right to a fair trial, in general, and the defence rights, in particular, while, at the same time, revealing the national legal specificities.

Soft Operational Research (OR) methods, despite providing considerable benefit to organisations in tackling a range of problems, are not widely utilised by OR practitioners. Reasons include a lack of awareness of both methods and their benefits, perceptions that the methods lack the robustness of their \"Hard\" OR cousins and challenges in learning the methods. The research presented in this article seeks to better understand these issues and their implications for teaching Soft OR through (a) the development and delivery of a pedagogically informed bespoke training program in the Soft OR method Strategic Options Development and Analysis to analysts working in a Defence environment and (b) reflecting upon the training through analysis of learning diaries and trainee feedback. The findings contrast the challenges faced by post-experience and undergraduate students in learning Soft OR methods, and encompass (i) tailoring programs to match students' experience, (ii) appreciating the significance of context in the adoption of Soft OR approaches, and (iii) identifying mechanisms for gaining competence and confidence in these approaches. The research aims to improve uptake of Soft OR methods, addresses a literature gap on the challenges of Soft OR from a learner perspective, and extends research in this area into the Defence domain.

Arrifin, E.-H.; Sedrati, M.; Ismailuddin. A.; Zainuddin, S.N.-H.; Ramli, M.-Z.; Siddiq, I., Taslin, P.N.-A, and Mokhtar, M., 2024. Eco-friendly approach on sand dune restoration in micro-tidal beach. In: Phillips, M.R.; Al-Naemi, S., and Duarte, C.M. (eds.), Coastlines under Global Change: Proceedings from the International Coastal Symposium (ICS) 2024 (Doha, Qatar). Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 113, pp. 448-452. Charlotte (North Carolina), ISSN 0749-0208. Coastal erosion is a worldwide issue in which the absence of sand dunes could alter the landscape of beaches, especially those in micro-tidal environments. Practically, hard structures, such as revetments, is effective in mitigating erosion but do not protect well and can change the beach's natural landscape and appeal. Therefore, an eco-friendly approach using wooden fence in a beach dune at a coast in Terengganu, Malaysia, can act as an alternative to control the erosion. This eco-friendly approach is known as E-Fence or Effective Sand Fences, which has proven to be effective in reducing the impact of erosion. In this research, the E-Fence was installed in a zigzag pattern parallel to the shoreline and placed within the Highest Astronomical Tide (HAT) and Mean Higher High Water (MHHW) water level. The effectiveness of the E-Fence in mitigating the erosion in the micro-tidal beach was identified through beach profile, sediment characteristics, and vegetation assessment. The beach profile were analyzed using the Profiler 3.2 XL program, revealing the sand dune accumulation at the back of the E-Fence, in comparison with and without the E-Fence which tends to be more eroded and steeper. Meanwhile, the GRADISTAT v8.0 was used to analyze the sediment characteristics, which showed the changing of particle size of the sand from very coarse to coarse sand. The installation of E-Fence is very affordable and effective, quick, easy to construct, and has a fast completion time while the vegetation line at the beach dune is well protected.

We investigate whether politically sensitive contractors pay higher taxes and whether their bargaining power reduces these tax costs. Using federal contractor data, we develop a new composite measure of political sensitivity that captures both the political visibility arising from federal contracts and the importance of federal contracts to the firm. We proxy for bargaining power using the firm-level proportion of contract revenues not subject to competition, the firm-level proportion of contract revenues arising from defense contracts, and industry-level concentration ratios. We find that politically sensitive firms pay higher federal taxes, all else equal. However, firms with greater bargaining power incur fewer tax-related political costs. Our study provides new evidence on the political cost hypothesis in a tax setting and the first evidence of the interactive effects of a firm's political sensitivity and bargaining power on tax-related political costs.

The reliability and availability of a Jet Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (JUAV) for balloon downing are evaluated in this third part of the paper. The paper delves into the challenges faced by traditional air defence systems in countering high-altitude balloons, leading to the proposal of substituting missiles with Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), specifically the Jet Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (JUAV). The best solution found in the previous section is a derivation of the 1:6 scale RC model of the Lockheed F104C. This is designed for balloon downing, and the essay meticulously analyses its reliability, failure probabilities, and maintenance strategies for various subsystems. The engine is replaced with a more powerful micro-jet, and an 84 mm recoilless cannon is added at the base of the tail. The scaled-down model can use most data derived from the full-scale airplane flight manual, corrected for larger thrust-to-weight and lower wing-loading. Several adjustments and additions are made on sensors, autopilot, On-Line Diagnostic System, communication system, and firing system to increase the reliability of the system. Due to the relatively short design life of the RC model, the Time Between Overhaul (TBO) of the UAV is reduced to 25 h. Consequently, the study emphasizes the importance of simplicity, operational reliability, and adaptability in the development and assessment of modern missile defence systems. The reliability of the JUAVI is presented as 98.14% for 50 consecutive fully automatic missions, highlighting its potential significance in bolstering national security.

Direct wide-bandgap III-Ns and II-Os have recently gained considerable attention due to their unique electrical and chemical properties. These novel semiconductors are being explored to design short-wavelength light-emitting diodes, sensors/biosensors, photodetectors for integration into flexible transparent nanoelectronics/photonics to achieve high-power radio-frequency modules, and heat-resistant optical switches for communication networks. Knowledge of the elastic constants structural and mechanical properties has played crucial roles both in the basic understanding and assessing materials’ use in thermal management applications. In the absence of experimental structural, elastic constants, and mechanical traits, many theoretical simulations have yielded inconsistent results. This work aims to investigate the basic characteristics of tetrahedrally coordinated, partially ionic BeO, MgO, ZnO, and CdO, and partially covalent BN, AlN, GaN, and InN materials. By incorporating a bond-orbital and a valance force field model, we have reported comparative results of our systematic calculations for the bond length d, bond polarity αP, covalency αC, bulk modulus B, elastic stiffness C(=c11−c122), bond-stretching α and bond-bending β force constants, Kleinmann’s internal displacement ζ, and Born’s transverse effective charge eT*. Correlations between C/B, β/α, c12c11, ζ, and αC revealed valuable trends of structural, elastic, and bonding characteristics. The study noticed AlN and GaN (MgO and ZnO) showing nearly comparable features, while BN (BeO) is much harder compared to InN (CdO) material, with drastically softer bonding. Calculations of microhardness H, shear modulus G, and Young’s modulus Y have predicted BN (BeO) satisfying a criterion of super hardness. III-Ns (II-Os) could be vital in electronics, aerospace, defense, nuclear reactors, and automotive industries, providing integrity and performance at high temperature in high-power applications, ranging from heat sinks to electronic substrates to insulators in high-power devices.

Background Vermicompost contains humic acids, nutrients, earthworm excretions, beneficial microbes, growth hormones, and enzymes, which help plants to tolerate a variety of abiotic stresses. Effective microorganisms (EM) include a wide range of microorganisms’ e.g. photosynthetic bacteria, lactic acid bacteria, yeasts, actinomycetes, and fermenting fungi that can stimulate plant growth and improve soil fertility. To our knowledge, no study has yet investigated the possible role of vermicompost and EM dual application in enhancing plant tolerance to water scarcity. Methods Consequently, the current study investigated the effectiveness of vermicompost and EM in mitigating drought-induced changes in wheat. The experiment followed a completely randomized design with twelve treatments. The treatments included control, as well as individual and combined applications of vermicompost and EM at three different irrigation levels (100%, 70%, and 30% of field capacity). Results The findings demonstrated that the application of vermicompost and/or EM significantly improved wheat growth and productivity, as well as alleviated drought-induced oxidative damage with decreased the generation of superoxide anion radical and hydrogen peroxide. This was achieved by upregulating the activities of several antioxidant enzymes, including superoxide dismutase, catalase, peroxidase, ascorbate peroxidase, glutathione peroxidase, monodehydroascorbate reductase, dehydroascorbate reductase, and glutathione reductase. Vermicompost and/or EM treatments also enhanced the antioxidant defense system by increasing the content of antioxidant molecules such as ascorbate, glutathione, phenolic compounds, and flavonoids. Additionally, the overproduction of methylglyoxal in water-stressed treated plants was controlled by the enhanced activity of the glyoxalase system enzymes; glyoxalase I and glyoxalase II. The treated plants maintained higher water content related to the higher content of osmotic regulatory substances like soluble sugars, free amino acids, glycinebetaine, and proline. Conclusions Collectively, we offer the first report that identifies the underlying mechanism by which the dual application of vermicompost and EM confers drought tolerance in wheat by improving osmolyte accumulation and modulating antioxidant defense and glyoxalase systems.