Entrepreneurship represents a means of increasing personal freedom and designing an attendant lifestyle. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies sole proprietors used to sustain their small business operations beyond five years and attain profitability levels necessary for freedom and autonomy. Data collection involved semi-structured interviews of 10 entrepreneurs who answered open-ended interview questions, granted access to archival documents, and direct observation of their business operations. The conceptual framework was emancipation theory addressing personal freedom through business autonomy. With the modified van Kaam method, the identification of emerging themes involved identifying groupings, clusters, and unrelated antecedents all of which yielded such themes as customer service, personal control, and creativity. The customer service theme was prevalent throughout the interview. The personal control theme arose from participants' perceptions of emancipation, business autonomy, and personal freedom. The creativity theme appeared through the comments of all participants; each participant alluded to the power of creativity and vision. Determination mattered to all the participants. The participants harped on the need for inward strength necessary to overcome all obstacles. Results from this study may contribute to social change assisting sole proprietors in strategies to grow their businesses to profitability, attain personal freedom, and contribute to community economic development which in turn would extend to benefits a stable economy across the community for a safe and progressive society.

Partant du postulat selon lequel la principale justification de la répression de formes d’expressions réside dans leur nocivité supposée, nous tentons de répondre à la question suivante : comment définir des limites claires et cohérentes à la liberté d’expression ? L’analyse des controverses relatives à la pornographie, et en particulier de la manière dont les notions de liberté d’expression et de nuisance ont été articulées, contribue à répondre à cette question générale. À travers l’analyse des débats portant sur la restriction des représentations sexuelles, nous tentons de montrer que les parties en présence ne sont pas parvenues à définir la notion de « nuisance » de manière claire et satisfaisante, et ne permettent pas, dès lors, de définir avec précision les limites légitimes de la liberté d’expression. Les deux voies théoriques alternatives que nous avons identifiées, les conceptions instrumentales et déontologiques de la liberté d’expression, ne se révèlent pas plus convaincantes. Nous montrons néanmoins qu’il est possible de préciser le principe de non-nuisance en y intégrant deux éléments auparavant négligés : la subjectivité du récepteur, et les rapports d’autorité qui existent entre le locuteur et le récepteur. Nous défendons ainsi l’idée que le principe de non-nuisance reste l’instrument le plus clair et le plus cohérent pour fonder les limites de la liberté d’expression, à condition de l’amender et de le compléter. / Acknowledging the fact that the main justification to restrict some forms of expression lies in the harm they may cause to others, this thesis aims at answering the following question: how do we define clear and coherent limits of the freedom of expression? The study of the controversies regarding pornography, and particularly the way in which the concepts of freedom of expression and harm are closely linked together, is an important contribution in order to answer this vast subject. Through the analysis of debates with regard to sexual representations, this thesis aims at gaining a deeper understanding on how the authors were unsuccessful in defining the notion of « harm » in a clear and convincing way, and fail at allowing to set precisely the legitimate limits of freedom of expression. The two alternative theoretical approaches that were identified and established - the instrumental and deontological conceptions of freedom of expression – were not proven to be more satisfactory either. However, this research confirms that the harm principle can be clarified if two previously neglected aspects are included in the analysis: the receiver’s subjectivity, and the authority relationship established between the speaker and the viewer. Thus, it is argued that the harm principle, given that it is modified and completed, remains the most effective and adequate tool in order to ground the limits of freedom of expression.

A small satellite simulator with attitude determination and control was designed and implemented in hardware. The simulator consists of inertial sensors for attitude determination and a pyramidal four-wheel momentum exchange system as the control actuators. A linearized PV controller with trajectory generation and feedback linearization was implemented, with the focus on controlling yaw. The simulator was tested on a spherical air bearing platform to allow three-degree-of-freedom operation. The simulator software was developed to read measurements from the sensors, apply the control algorithm, and send commands to the actuators. A data processing routine was developed. Electromechanical testing for the system as well as test results are presented.

This is a copy of my thesis which I have written in its original form as a travel journal that I brought with me on a trip I took driving across the country. I have duplicated it word for word so that it may be more accessible to review. Accompanying this copy are a few photographic samples of different places I've been that offer a visual feeling of what I'm talking ahout thru-out the journal. The original copy of the journal will be displayed as part of my show (March 1st-5th at the Oliver Gallery) and can be viewed in its entirety. The form of this thesis is in journal format so you as a reader will enter right into my life on a specific data and will follow my experiences on a daily basis. The writing is done with no consideration to proper grammar so that I could flow better when I wrote it. In a lot of ways the creation of this project parallels my painting processes. The journal exists as an object that I have transformed through layers of words and images and materials that all together form an overall "big story" in it about who I am. My paintings seem to follow the same master and even though they have individual personalities they as a whole tell my story. All these different ways of communicating my experiences (painting, writing, talking) have brought out a variety of ways of remembering them and the explanation of them as stories of voice and words and paint.

A presente pesquisa objetiva identificar a natureza jurídica do instituto do consentimento do ofendido para o direito penal brasileiro atual, evidenciando o papel da vítima. Para tanto, inicia-se a pesquisa com uma análise sobre o ofendido, estabelecendo sua evolução histórica, seu conceito atual, bem como os conceitos de vitimologia e vitimodogmática. Logo, aborda-se o consentimento propriamente dito, determinando seu histórico, seu conceito, seu objeto (bem jurídico disponível), seus requisitos e diferenças em relação à autocolocação da vítima em risco. Em seguida, verifica-se o estado atual da questão da natureza jurídica do consentimento. Parte-se da legislação brasileira e do entendimento doutrinário atual. Em razão da predominância do entendimento pela causa de justificação, os fundamentos histórico dogmáticos do conceito material de antijuridicidade são verificados. Ainda no campo da análise da natureza jurídica, fundamental a análise da questão da tipicidade (formal e substancial) pressuposto da antijuridicidade. Assim, analisa-se o consentimento do ofendido como causa de exclusão da tipicidade material. Tendo em vista a teoria unitária, busca-se afastar a diferenciação entre o consentimento e o acordo. Na sequência, trata-se do direito comparado. Assim, torna-se possível a análise do consentimento do ofendido no direito penal brasileiro, tendo em vista a legislação penal em vigor. / This paper aims to identify the legal institute of the need for the offended persons consent for the current Brazilian criminal law, highlighting the role of the victim. To this effect, the study begins with an analysis of victims rights, establishing their historical evolution, the current concept, as well as the concepts of victimology and victim dogmatism (a branch that studies the behavior of crime victims and their contribution to the occurrence of the event, as well as the repercussion of that participation on setting the penalty imposed on the perpetrator). Then it examines consent itself, determining its history, concept, object (alienable rights), the requirements and differences in relation to the victims self-exposure to risk. Next it describes the current state of the legal nature of the consent question based on Brazilian legislation and the interpretation of legal scholars. Because of the predominant position regarding cause for justification, dogmatic historical foundations of the material concept of material illegality are addressed. Still in the field of the legal nature, it is fundamental to analyze the question of classification of the crime (formal and substantive), which is a presupposition for illegality. Therefore, consent of the offended person is analyzed as cause to exclude the classification of the act as a crime. Based on unitary theory, I argue against the distinction between consent and concurrence. Finally, the matter is examined from the perspective of comparative law, to analyze the issue of victims consent in current Brazilian criminal law.

La notion de « juridiction » au sens de l'art. 1 de la Convention européenne de sauvegarde des droits de l'homme et des libertés fondamentales est directement liée au problème plus ample de la mise en cause de la responsabilité des Etats contractants et, implicitement, au problème d'ordre procédural de la compétence de la Cour de Strasbourg. L'interdépendance de ces trois éléments a mené à une interprétation jurisprudentielle autonome du concept de «juridiction», qui reflète les efforts de la Cour européenne des droits de l'homme de concilier les différents rôles dans lesquelles l'Etat évolue sur la scène internationale. Vu que la mission de la Cour est celle de protéger les droits individuels, le défit auquel l'instance de Strasbourg doit répondre est celui de privilégier le rôle de « garant des droits de l'homme » de l'Etat, sans provoquer un déséquilibre fonctionnel ou relationnel des Etats parties à la Convention. La frontière entre équilibre et déséquilibre n'étant pas fixe, le concept de « juridiction » fonctionne en tant qu'axe élastique d'orientation du comportement des Etats, théoriquement gouverné par le principe de la liberté d'action, mais pratiquement encadré par l'obligation de garantir les droits consacrés par la Convention. / The « jurisdiction » concept as provided by Art. 1 of the European convention for human rights is directly connected to the more complex topic of attracting the responsibility of the States - party to such Convention and, implicitly, to the procedural matter of Strasbourg Court's competence. The interconnection between these elements has lead to an autonomous case-law interpretation of the « jurisdiction » concept, evidencing the efforts of the European court for human rights to conciliate the various roles played by the States on the international scene. Taking into account that the mission of the Court is to protect individual rights, the challenge that the Strasbourg court is facing consists in emphasizing the State's role of « human rights guarantor » without creating functional or relational misbalances for the States – party to the Convention. Since the borderline between balance and misbalance is not a fix one, the « jurisdiction » concept functions as a variable orientation axis for the State's conduct, theoretically governed by the freedom of action principle, which in practice is bordered by the general obligation to guarantee the rights established in the Convention.

Although tremor is the most common movement disorder, there are few non-invasive treatment options. One of the obstacles to creating effective tremor suppression devices is our lack of understanding regarding where tremor originates (which muscles), how it propagates through the limb (to which degrees of freedom, DOF), and where it manifests most severely (which DOF). To investigate these questions, we created a simple, linear time-invariant model to simulate tremor, with tremorogenic muscle activity input (in the 15 major superficial muscles from the shoulder to the wrist) and joint displacement output (in the 7 major upper limb DOF). The model included excitation-contraction dynamics, musculoskeletal geometry (muscle moment arms) and the mechanical impedance (inertia, damping, and stiffness) of the limb. From our simulation results, we determined four principles of tremor propagation. First, the distribution of tremor depends strongly on musculoskeletal dynamics. Second, the spreading of tremor is due to inertial coupling (primarily) and musculoskeletal geometry (secondarily). Third, tremor spreads narrowly in the sense that most of the tremor caused by a muscle occurs in a small number of DOF. Lastly, assuming uniform distribution of tremorogenic activity among upper-limb muscles, tremor increases proximal-distally, and the contribution from muscles increases proximal-distally.

[pt] Este trabalho tem como objeto o direito à comunicação abordando, especificamente, seu exercício através da radiodifusão televisiva. Assume-se a premissa de que a concretização dos direitos e garantias tais como estabelecidos no capítulo V do título VIII da Constituição brasileira demandam a atuação de agentes reguladores, tendo sido buscados fundamentos teóricos e normativos para legitimar essa demanda. A pesquisa perfaz um breve histórico da implantação do sistema de televisão no Brasil, em paralelo com o desenvolvimento dos instrumentos legislativos que disciplinaram sua atividade. Para demonstrar a natureza democrática da regulação da comunicação televisiva, é feito um resumo dos principais instrumentos e agências internacionais que atuam no setor da radiodifusão. Complementando o estudo, foi realizada uma pesquisa bibliográfica sobre o tema da comunicação como capital e poder político, com autores contemporâneos tais como Manuel Castells, John B. Thompson, Franco Berardi, Antonio Negri e Michael Hardt. / [en] This work is about communication rights and its main focus is on television broadcast regulation.It assumes that the manifestation of the rights and guaranties of chapter V of the Brazilian Constitution demands the participation of regulatory agencies, and in this work is shown bases for it application in the norms, doctrine and theories. This work makes a brief history of the television broadcasting in Brazil, and also talks about its legal forms and norms. In order to demonstrate the democratic nature of broadcast regulationis shown a list of some communication regulation agencies and policies around the world.Complementing this research was made a bibliography on the political aspects of communication, with authors such as Manuel Castells, John B. Thompson, Franco Berardi, Antonio Negri e Michael Hardt.

Defamation law‘s truth defence – the oldest, most obvious and principal defence – has failed Australian media defendants. Few who mount the defence succeed. Many, discouraged by the defence‘s onerousness, do not even attempt it. As a consequence the journalistic articulation of matters of public concern is stifled. This thesis argues that the limitations of the Australian truth defence are inconsistent with established freedom of speech ideals and the public interest in having a robust media. As a result society is constrained from enlightened participation in public affairs. This thesis proposes reforms to alleviate the heavy demands of the defence so as to promote the publication of matters of public concern and to strike a more contemporary balance between freedom of speech and the protection of reputation. These reforms employ defamation law‘s doctrinal calculus to reposition the speech-reputation fulcrum. While defamation law has for decades attracted reform attention, the truth defence has languished by the wayside. This thesis steps into the breech. The cornerstone of this thesis is a proposal to reverse the burden so that the plaintiff bears the burden of proving falsity of the defamatory publication where: the complainant is a public figure; the matter complained about is a matter of public concern; and the suit involves a media defendant. While this proposal is likely to dramatically alter the prevailing Australian freedom of speech/protection of reputation equilibrium, other measures are proposed to serve as a bulwark against the wanton destruction of reputation.

Australian debates about racial vilification legislation have been dominated by mainstream American First Amendment jurisprudence and popular American notions of 'free speech' to the exclusion of alternative Europeans models. This can be seen from notions of Australian racial vilification legislation as inconsistent with 'free speech' rights as well as the influence of some of the basic assumptions of First Amendment jurisprudence on political speech cases in the Australian High Court. Despite the widespread existence of legislation that penalises racial vilification at State and Federal levels, there has been a rise in Australia over the past 10 years of divisive 'race' politics. Against that background, this thesis considers the scope and limits of racial vilification legislation in Australia. It is argued that First Amendment jurisprudence is inadequate in the Australian context, because it is heavily dependent upon economic metaphors, individualistic notions of identity and outdated theories of communication. It assumes that 'free speech' in terms of lack of government intervention is essential to 'democracy'. It ignores the content, context and effect of harmful speech, except in extreme cases, with the result that socially harmful speech is protected in the name of 'free speech'. This has narrowed the parameters within which racial vilification is understood and hindered the development of a broader discourse on the realities of racist harms, and the mechanisms necessary for their redress. The author calls for the development of an Australian jurisprudence of harmful speech. Failing an Australian Bill of Rights, that jurisprudence would be grounded upon the implied constitutional right of free political speech, informed by an awareness that modern structures of public speech favour a very limited range of speech and speakers. The jurisprudence would take advantage of the insights of Critical Race Theory into the connections between racial vilification and racist behaviour, as well as the personal and social harms of racial vilification. Finally, it is argued that the concepts of human dignity and equality, which underpin European discrimination legislation and notions of justice, provide a way forward for Australian jurisprudence in this area.