Gun rights activists in the United States have been incredibly successful in opposing state regulation and restrictions on firearms. Activists argue that violence in the U.S. will subside not through firearm restrictions but by allowing “good” people to continue to buy, possess, and carry guns who will then be able to stop “bad” people from committing violence. Based on participant-observation with a grass-roots, gun rights organization in the state of Georgia, this thesis critically examines what it means to be a “good” gun owner. I argue that gun owners cultivate themselves ethically by learning new skills which disproportionately prioritize anonymous human attacks as the most concerning threat to one’s physical and social integrity. I further show the implications of such a worldview as being enacted in gun owners’ everyday lives.

This study consists of a discourse analysis of five Nerf toy gun commercials which were aired on US television between 2017 and 2018 and were produced by the international toy gun company Hasbro Inc. Using Gillian Rose’s model of discourse analysis I as a method in combination with discourse theory, theoretical concepts of militarisation and masculinity, the question how militarised masculinity is produced through the discourse of the selected Nerf toy gun commercials has been posed and guided the analysis of this study. The findings of the analysis showed, that militarised masculinity is produced through the discourse of Nerf toy gun advertisements as presenting militaristic behaviour in combination with everyday scenes. Throughout the commercials, characteristics that are typically perceived as being masculine, such as boldness, hardness and enthusiasm for technology are frequently displayed. Moreover, the way in which protagonists in the Nerf toy gun commercials act, conveys the feeling, that when using Nerf toy guns, the viewer will belong to an exclusive group which contributes to the persuasiveness of the discourse.

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Gene gun assisted micro-particle delivery system is an excellent method for the delivery of DNA into target tissue so as to carry out gene transfection in the target cells. The gene gun is primarily a particle accelerator which accelerates DNA-coated micro-particles to sufficient velocities to breach the target layer enabling the micro-particles to penetrate to a desired depth and target the cells of interest to achieve gene transfer. However, an inevitable problem in this process is the tissue/cell damage due to the impaction of the pressurized gas and micro-particles on the target. The purpose of this research is developing a new conceptual system which improves the penetration depth of micro-particles at less imposed pressure and particle injection velocity. This is achieved by applying a microneedle array and ground slide in the gene gun system, thus a study involving microneedle assisted micro-particle delivery is conducted in this work. Microneedle array is used to create holes in the target which allows a number of micro-particles to penetrate through the skin which enhances the penetration depth inside target. The ground slide is used to load a pellet of the micro-particles and prevent the pressurized gas to avoid the impaction on the target. The operation principle is that the pellet is attached to ground slide which is accelerated to a sufficient velocity by the pressurized gas. The pellet is released from the ground slide which separates into individual micro-particles by a mesh and penetrates to a desired depth inside the target. An experimental rig to study various aspects of microneedle assisted micro-particle delivery is designed in this PhD research. The passage percentage of the micro-particles and size of the separated micro-particles are analysed in relation to the operating pressure, mesh pore size and Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) concentration to verify the applicability of this system for the micro-particle delivery. The results have shown that the passage percentage increases from an increase in the mesh pore size and operating pressure and a decrease in PVP concentration. A mesh pore size of 178 μm and pellet PVP concentration of 40 mg/ml were used for the bulk of the experiments in this study as these seem to provide higher passage percentage and the narrow size distribution of the separated micro-particles. In addition, the velocity of the ground slide is detected by the photoelectric sensor and shown that it increases from an increase in operating pressure and reaches 148 m/s at 6 bar pressure, A further analysis in the penetration depths of the micro-particles to determine whether they achieve enhanced penetration depths inside the target after using microneedles is carried out. A skin mimicked agarose gel is obtained from comparing the viscoelastic properties of various concentration of agarose gel in comparison with the porcine skin, which is assumed to mimic the human skin. These experiments are used to relate the micro-particle penetration depth with the operating pressure, microneedle length and particle size. In addition, a theoretical model is developed based on the experimental data to simulate the microneedle assisted micro-particle delivery which provide further understanding of the microneedle assisted micro-particle delivery. The developed model was used to analyse the penetration depth of micro-particles in relation to the operation pressure, target properties, microneedle length and particle size and density. The modelling results were compared with the experimental results to verify the feasibility of the microneedle assisted micro-particle delivery for micro-particles delivery. As expected, both experimental and theoretical results show that the micro-particles achieve an enhanced penetration depth inside target. The maximum penetration depth of micro-particles is increased from an increase in operating pressure, microneedle length, particle size and density.

- 1 - 9. Abstract Forensic ballistics The goal of this thesis is to initiate readers into the branch of criminalistic or forensic ballistics and to its basic terminology. It is not possible to compile this theme at full length, there is no sufficient space for it, therefore I offer professional minimum of criminalistic ballistics. The fundamental purpose of my thesis is to afford the complex view of problems of modern forensic ballistics. The thesis is composed of introduction, six chapters, conclusion and supplements. Introduction defines short acquaintance with theme and with reasons why I decided on the subject of criminalistic ballistics. The following chapter "Historic development of fire arms" features history of weapons or fire arms. The subchapter "Historical development of forensic ballistics" includes the development of the branch abroad and in the territory of late Czechoslovakia too, including the well-known case of manslaughter of countess Windischgrätz. The chapter "Conception of forensic ballistics and its signification" illustrates basic division of criminalistic ballistics, then illustrates objects of investigation and occurrence of ballistics clues. The chapter named "Categories of object in ballistics investigation" is divided into three subchapters and readers can learn basic dividing of...

One slight mistake or misuse of police firearms could infringe human¡¦s right; thus, when it comes to the controlling of police firearms, legal state will usually adhere to the principles of legal reservation strictly. Police officers need to deal with all sorts of various and strange situation in the society. However, the legal provisions can not regulate and list all kinds of police firearms, which will bring doubts to police officers if it is necessary for them to use firearms and news related to the misuse of firearms has been heard all the time. Since the controlling of police firearms is part of national administration, the purpose of using police firearms and protecting the right of human should be considered with the same aspect and extent under this democratic and legal state. Furthermore, stipulating a comprehensive act for controlling and managing the police firearms should not be limited with the interpretation of the law, but should be established with suitable rules for Taiwan to control and manage police firearms in terms of different aspects and comprehensive considerations. Based on the 5 major frameworks of administration law, including the principles, organization, authority, remedy and supervision, this study aims at examining the legal system of national controlling of police firearms, in terms of legal and practice aspect, to clarify the problems that using police firearms might bring with researching by reference, historical analysis, comparative analysis and induction analysis. Through the study, a ¡§legal system of controlling and managing the national police firearms¡¨ should be set up comprehensively, so that the suggestions of adjusting the deficiency of current law can be made. The current legal system of controlling and managing the national police firearms forms a basic shape; however, by this study, the deficiency of it has been found, such as the unspecific timing of firing, the scarcity of authority for assessing the liability of using firearms, the insufficiency of administrative authority system including administrative investigation,, the deficiency of national remedy and state compensation, vacancy of the mechanism of interior self-supervision and so on, which means that the 5 elements , including the principles, organization, authority, remedy and supervision, are left to be redressed. Fortunately, the problems may be corrected by the suggestions below. A, learn to enhance the firearms regulations from imitating how the on-duty police officers in Japan work. B, the National Police Agency of Ministry of the Interior can establish an authority to assess the liability of using firearms. C, make it a mandatory regulation to start administrative investigation before using firearms. D, state compensation should be complied with the original State Compensation Act. E, facilitate the mechanism of interior self-supervision by imitating the evaluation for universities. The government should examine the related problems of national police firearms as soon as possible, so that the reviewing and redressing can be conducted and the problems can be solved.

Within the collections of the Museu de Angra do Heroismo (Terceira Island, Azores, Portugal) are nine cast bronze guns from the 16th century. Most were raised from the seafloor between the 1960s and 1990s, but this study comprises the first in-depth research into their design and manufacture. The importance of this kind of study lies in the fact that ordnance is commonly found on shipwrecks of this time. A greater knowledge of guns will help provide information about the ships from which they came. Careful documentation and study of the Museu de Angra cannon will add greatly to their value as museum exhibits, by allowing museum patrons to better understand where the guns came from, how they were cast, and why they were important. This documentation adds to our knowledge of Western European gunfounding technology during the sixteenth century, as four different countries commissioned the guns: Portugal, Spain, France, and England. With detailed documentation and publication, the Museu de Angra bronze guns can be added to the bibliography of ordnance of this period, which will aid future researchers who encounter similar pieces. The Museu de Angra bronze guns, as symbols of the military and naval power of the countries that commissioned them, were sent aboard ships, into the field, and mounted on fortress walls. Bronze guns of this time period are particularly important, as bronze was an expensive commodity, and the demand for ordnance was increasing rapidly. Countries developed more effective ways to make use of iron for the founding of guns, and the use of bronze became more symbolic of wealth. The information that each gun contains includes both the cutting-edge military technology of the time and the artistic statement of the founder. Some of the finest metalwork of the period was displayed in cast bronze guns, and due to the founding techniques, no two are the same, making each an important piece of history.

Many academic and popular accounts of the Civil Rights era emphasize nonviolent activists and activism at the expense of those who embraced armed self-defense and resistance. Nevertheless, the latter played a significant role within these struggles. One of the most significant was Robert F. Williams, a black militant activist—and president of the local NAACP chapter in Monroe, North Carolina—who embraced armed self-defense as a necessary and instrumental component for the liberation of black people in America. After publicly declaring that blacks should defend themselves and hold racist whites accountable through armed self-defense, he was met with immeasurable backlash from other civil rights leaders and organizations, including the national NAACP. The purpose of this study is to examine his beliefs in the necessity of armed self-defense, as well as his impact on the civil rights movement.

Cette thèse traite de l'analyse économique des conflits, et plus particulièrement de l'apport d'une méthode, la "Contest Theory". En partant du postulat simple que les agents économiques réalisent un arbitrage beurre-canons, les conflits ont pu être intégrés dans le champ de l'analyse économique. Dans le premier chapitre, nous proposons une synthèse des principaux résultats et nous décrivons le rôle décisif des Contest Success Functions dans ce cadre théorique. Le second chapitre montre que, pour traiter des conflits armés, l'identité institutionnelle des agents devrait davantage être pris en considération dans les modèles de la "Contest Theory". Le troisième chapitre s'intéresse aux motivations pouvant expliquer le commerce d'armes entre ennemis. Nous montrons que si le vendeur dispose d'une technologie militaire et non militaire plus efficace que l'acheteur, le commerce d'armes peut s'avérer mutuellement avantageux. Dans le quatrième chapitre nous proposons d'estimer et de comparer les quatre plus grandes formes de Contest Success Functions en recourant à des données provenant du monde virtuel. À partir d'un échantillon de 1957 batailles, nous trouvons que la forme ratio est celle qui a la plus grande qualité prédictive. En d'autres termes, le principal facteur expliquant la victoire sur un champ de bataille (virtuel) est le ratio du nombre de canons déployés. / This thesis deals with conflict economics, and more precisely with the contributions of the Contest Theory to the field. This method assumes that economic agents face a trade off between guns and butter's activities. By doing so, it allows the consideration of conflicts in economic mainstream. In the first chapter, we offer a survey on guns versus butter models. In particular, we focus on Contest Success Functions which are the cornerstone of the framework. The second chapter highlights one limit of the models of contest theory in conflict economics namely the lack of importance given to the identity of agents. The third chapter studies the motivation which can explain the existence of arms trade between enemies. We show that if the seller has a higher productivity both in guns and butter's activity, there exists a mutually benefficial agreement. As a result, even between enemies, arms trade may be rational. In the fourth chapter, we estimate and compare the four main forms of Contest Success Functionsusing data coming from virtual worlds. Based on a sample of 1957 (virtual) battles, we find that the ratio form is always the best-fit Contest Success Function.

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