Since the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) establishment in 2002, its interventions in African situations have produced a mix of results. Whereas many observers have hailed the ICC’s forays onto the continent for expanding the avenues of justice for mass atrocities, there are also political connotations to some of its interventions, as evidenced in narratives of selectivity and neo-colonialism. Building on the latter impacts of the Court’s interventions in Africa, this thesis seeks to discern the shape of local/regional uptake of international criminal justice (ICJ). This follows from contrasting the ICC’s qualification as a moral agent in the global war on impunity for international crimes, with domestic political translations of the Court’s interventions and subsequent collective action at local and regional levels. Thus, the principal argument from this thesis is that contextual normative adaptions produce global-local exchanges that result in viable conditions under which the ICC’s interventions are politicized, to the detriment of its investigative activities and legacy in situation countries. More specifically, elite level exchanges in sub-national, national, regional and international realms produce blends of local and global realities, resulting into the ICC’s exposure to politicization. These findings are instructive for wider debates on the subtle ways in which the ICC is undermined (rather than outright defiance), with spiralling effects on long term peace-building and other regional contexts. In discerning the aforementioned conclusions, I asked the simple research questions: (1) why and how is an ostensibly international legal response to heinous crimes susceptible to (mis)appropriation and subversion by domestic political elites? (2) what are the far-reaching consequences of politicizing the ICC’s interventions on creating conditions for lasting peace in fragile societies? Given the duality of the ICC’s politicization – through (mis)appropriation and subversion, the thesis adopted a comparative study of Uganda and Kenya, which exemplify the two forms of domestic translations of ICJ. The thesis employed a qualitative methodological approach that drew upon secondary data sources, as well as primary data collected through personal key informant interviews in the Netherlands, Uganda and Kenya, with ICC officials, politicians, government officials, representatives of local and international organizations and affected communities. Some of the secondary data sources include: journal articles, media reports, government documents, books, online sources, legal instruments, the ICC’s documents and official speeches. The data collected was analyzed through grounded theory, in which evidence collected raised new sub-questions for further interrogation. All available evidence was then triangulated to develop a critical analysis of the research questions posed. Conceptually, I built on three interrelated concepts (the ICC’s projection of a moral universe, the narrative lens and spatial hierarchies) to discern the ICJ norm diffusion in local/regional contexts. The thesis concludes that the various forms of political resistance to the ICC have pernicious effects on peace-building beyond national boundaries. Perhaps, a greater degree of the Court’s acceptance will be driven by its proactive steps towards the universality of justice, whose absence partly informed the construction of narratives on some of its foremost interventions in Africa.

This study investigated the spatial and temporal distribution in species composition and numerical abundance of thaliaceans (Tunicata) in relation to environmental factors in the waters off southern Taiwan between February 2004 and October 2005. In total, 18 thaliacean taxa belonging to 10 genera and 3 families were identified, with the mean abundance of 152 ¡Ó 33 ind./100m3. The abundance of thaliaceans showed clear seasonal change, higher in winter. The five most dominant species were Thalia rhomboides, Pyrosomella verticillata, Doliolum denticulatum, Thalia orientalis and Thalia democratica. They were widespread oceanic species, and together constituted 82 % of the total thaliaceans. The abundance of thaliaceans showed significant negative correlation with temperature. Different predominant thaliacean species showed different correlationship with environmental factors; Thalia rhomboides, Doliolum denticulatum and Thalia orientalis were significant and negatively correlated with temperature. Result of ANOVA test revealed that the abundance of thaliaceans and hydrography had significant seasonal differences in the waters off southern Taiwan, but showed no significant difference among stations. The variation of dominant thaliacean species composition among the water masses was small, implied that the influence of water masses on the distribution of thaliaceans was minor.

Given the prominence of international trade in the globalized economy, large undesirable costs arise due to uncertainties in international transactions. The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sales of Goods, Vienna, 1980 identifies some of these costs to be a product of separate legal rules on international trade, and recognizes the solution to lie in a unified statement of norms. Judicial experience with the Convention, however, has demonstrated that the existence of a unified statement of norms does not ensure uniform results. While the majority of the literature on the Convention takes a black letter law approach without examining the impact of varying interpretations on the end users of the Convention, this thesis argues that the provisions of the Convention, from the perspective of the parties, must operate to achieve the ends of efficiency. Absent the same, parties drafting a contract would opt out of the application of the default rules by including a provision in the contract governing the contingency. Such an outcome would in turn significantly increase transaction costs associated with contractual negotiating and drafting. This thesis concerns itself with six areas that have raised a great deal of disagreement amongst the scholarly and judicial community namely: The scope and role of the principle of good faith; the issues surrounding the inclusion of standard terms into the contracts of sale; the extent to which the Convention allows for the use of openprice terms; the question of the period within which notice of non-conformity must be provided; the rate at which interest has to be paid on sums in arrears and; the guiding principles for the interpretation of the term 'foreseeability' as contained in article 74. Each chapter of this thesis therefore deals with one of these issues and attempts to resolve it in line with the international character of the Convention - and one that promotes the efficiency of the agreement. For the purposes of this thesis, an efficient rule is defined as one that operates to minimize transaction costs, does not allow or de-incentivizes the potential of parties to act in an opportunistic manner and places liability on the best risk avoider. In reaching such an interpretation of the articles under examination, the thesis gives due regard to the travaux preparatoires, scholarly opinion and judicial pronunciations on the matter.

Thesis (M.S.)--Air Force Institute of Technology, 2007. / AFIT/GAE/ENY/07-M21. Title from title page of PDF document (viewed on: Nov. 29, 2007). "March 2007." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 107-108).

Thesis (M.S. in Logistics)--Department of Operational Sciences, Graduate School of Engineering and Management, Air Force Institute of Technology, Air University, Air Education and Training Command, June 2009. / "June 2009." Thesis advisor: Dr. James T. Moore. Performed by the Air Force Institute of Technology, Graduate School of Engineering and Management (AFIT/EN), Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. "Presented to the Faculty Department of Operational Sciences, Graduate School of Engineering and Management, Air Force Institute of Technology, Air University, Air Education and Training Command In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Logistics, June 2009."--P. [ii]. "AFIT/IMO/ENS/09-07." Includes bibliographical references. Also available online from the Air University Research Information Management System Web site and the DTIC Online Web site.

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento CientÃfico e TecnolÃgico / Nos Ãltimos anos, com a evoluÃÃo explosiva da informÃtica e da eletrÃnica, a comunidade cientÃfica mundial tem intensificado os estudos no sentido de desenvolver e aplicar pesquisas baseada no aprimoramento da alta precisÃo. Os avanÃos na Ãrea de informÃtica, principalmente na elaboraÃÃo de interfaces com sensores eletrÃnicos, permitiram o desenvolvimento e aplicaÃÃo de vÃrios transdutores na Engenharia AgrÃcola. No que diz respeito à agricultura irrigada uma grande preocupaÃÃo à com o enorme volume de Ãgua utilizado. Segundo a FAO atà 2030 serà necessÃrio um incremento de 14% da Ãgua potÃvel, na irrigaÃÃo, a fim de suprir a demanda provocada pelo crescimento da populaÃÃo mundial. No intuito de aprimorar o uso da Ãgua na irrigaÃÃo, vÃrios trabalhos foram e estÃo sendo desenvolvidos, principalmente na busca de se avaliar, economicamente, a conversÃo da Ãgua em alimento e a real necessidade hÃdrica das culturas para seu desenvolvimento pleno. O kc à um fator que relaciona a necessidade hÃdrica da cultura em estudo e a necessidade hÃdrica de uma cultura hipotÃtica. O balanÃo hÃdrico do solo contabiliza todas as adiÃÃes e retiradas de Ãgua que realmente ocorrem em certo volume de solo, utilizado na produÃÃo agrÃcola, permitindo avaliar a situaÃÃo hÃdrica pela qual uma cultura passa. Pelo exposto acima, o presente trabalho teve como objetivo geral a avaliaÃÃo do uso do sensor capacitivo FDR em substituiÃÃo ao tensiÃmetro para o cÃlculo do coeficiente de cultivo (kc), por meio do balanÃo hÃdrico do solo. O experimento foi realizado no PerÃmetro Irrigado do Baixo Acaraà â CearÃ, em uma Ãrea de 1,0 ha, em dois ciclos com a cultura da melancia nos anos de 2009 e 2010. Os sensores foram calibrados, em laboratÃrio, atravÃs de anÃlise de regressÃo entre umidade da amostra e frequÃncia produzida pelo sensor, e entre esta Ãltima e a tensÃo verificada em um tensiÃmetro com mercÃrio partindo do ponto de saturaÃÃo atà aproximadamente 8,0% de umidade volumÃtrica. A avaliaÃÃo da equaÃÃo de calibraÃÃo ocorreu atravÃs da comparaÃÃo entre os dados dos sensores e os dados dos tensiÃmetros para umidade e tempo de irrigaÃÃo. A equaÃÃo de calibraÃÃo tanto para a umidade, como para tensÃo foi do tipo exponencial. A comparaÃÃo entre as tensÃes medidas e estimadas, pela equaÃÃo de ajuste, alcanÃou desempenho forte e/ou Ãtimo em todos os itens analisados. A validaÃÃo em campo, das equaÃÃes de ajuste, deu-se atravÃs de uma anÃlise comparativa entre as tensÃes obtidas pelos sensores FDR e pelos tensiÃmetros, alÃm das umidades atuais, estimadas por ambos os equipamentos, no primeiro ano de cultivo. Para o segundo ciclo produtivo fez-se uso da tÃcnica do papel filtro que retornou as seguintes equaÃÃes de ajuste para as curvas de retenÃÃo da Ãgua no solo: θ=0,3843*T^(-0,381)(1 camada), θ=0,4381*T^(-0,372)(2 camada) e θ=0,4103*T^(-0,34)(3 camada), e a tÃcnica do perfil instantÃneo para avaliaÃÃo da condutividade hidrÃulica. Aplicaram-se variaÃÃes de umidade do solo, com tratamento, a fim de verificar algumas respostas fisiolÃgicas da cultura. Os tratamentos apresentaram diferenÃa estatÃstica para transpiraÃÃo e condutÃncia estomÃtica, sendo o T4 (ϴ= 1,3 da capacidade de campo) superior aos demais ao nÃvel de confianÃa de 0,05. Os valores de kc variaram entre os tratamentos de 0,74 a 1,06 (18 DAP), 0,98 a 1,52 (45 DAP) e 0,67 a 0,85 (59 DAP). A produÃÃo variou de 13,019 a 25,867 Mg entre os tratamentos. O uso eficiente de Ãgua variou de 4,17 a 6,95 kg m-3. O uso do sensor permite medir o potencial da Ãgua no solo e a umidade em tempo real, possibilitando o monitoramento e a tomada de decisÃes de forma mais segura. / In recent years, with the explosive development of information technology and electronics, the scientific community worldwide has intensified research to develop and implement research-based improvement in precision application. Advances in information technology, especially in the developing of interfaces with electronic sensors, allowed for the development and application of various transducers in Agricultural Engineering. With respect to irrigated farms there is a major concern with the large volume of water used. According to FAO by 2030 it will be required an increase of 14% of drinking water used by irrigation, in order to meet the demand caused by population growth worldwide. In order to improve water use in irrigation, several studies have been and are being developed, especially focused on evaluating, economically, the conversion of water into food and the actual requirement of crops for their full development. The kc is a factor that relates crop water requirement of a real crop to the water requirement of a hypothetical culture. The soil water balance accounts for all additions and withdrawals of water that actually occur in a certain volume of soil used in agricultural production, allowing to access the water situation in which a culture is. From the above, this study aimed to evaluate the use of a capacitive FDR sensor to replace tensiometer in the process of obtaining the crop coefficient (kc) through the soil water balance. The experiment was conducted at the Low Acaraà Irrigation District - CearÃ, in an area of 1.0 ha, into two cycles with of watermelon, in the years 2009 and 2010. The sensors were calibrated in the laboratory using regression analysis between soil moisture from a soil sample and frequency produced by the sensor, and between it and the tension found in a mercury based tensiometer, from saturation to approximately 8.0% volumetric water content. The evaluation of the calibration equation occurred by comparing the sensor data and data from tensiometers for moisture and irrigation timing. The calibration equation for both moisture and for the tension was exponential. The comparison between the estimated and measured tensions using the fitted equation produced a strong performance and/or great on all items analyzed. Field validation of the fitted models was conducted by comparative analysis between the frequencies obtained from the FDR sensors and the tensiometers during the first harvesting year. For the second harvesting year, the technique of filter paper was tested. It resulted in the following equations to fit the water retention curves for the soil: θ=0,3843*T^(-0,381) (1st layer), θ=0,4381*T^(-0,372) (2nd layer) and θ=0,4103*T^(-0,34) (3rd layer). In addition, the instantaneous profile method for evaluating the hydraulic conductivity was applied. Were application depth was applied as a treatment for analyzing some physiological characteristics of the crop. The treatments showed statistical differences for stomatal conductance and transpiration, T4 (ϴ= 1.3 of field capacity) being superior to the others to a 0.05 confidence level. kc values ranged between treatments from 0.74 to 1.06 (18 DAP), 0.98 to 1.52 (45 DAP) and 0.67 to 0.85 (59 DAP). Crop yield ranged from 13.019 to 25.867 Mg between treatments. The efficiency of water use ranged from 4.17 to 6.95 kg m-3. The use of the sensor allows for real time measurement of soil water potential and soil moisture, enabling a more secure monitoring and decision making.

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento CientÃfico e TecnolÃgico

Thesis--School of Advanced Airpower Studies, Air University, 2002. / Title from title page of PDF document (viewed 23 March 2004). "June 2002." Approved for public release ; distribution is unlimited. "ADA420556."

Summary Water resources are an important part of ecosystems. In the water balance of the landscape, the variability of climate, soil factors, as well as high diversity of vegetation play an important role. Evapotranspiration represents a major passive component in the water balance of the basin. Unlike forests, where the water balance is particularly predictable due to the long-term development of the stands, regular crop rotation in agricultural systems and agricultural practices may cause rapid changes in water balance during much shorter time. It may sometimes result in irreversible changes in ecosystems with impact on landscape biodiversity. An understanding of the limiting environmental factors and exact determination of the water demands of plants makepossible not only an improvement of yield parameters, but it is also condition for understanding of the agroecosystems sustainability in the cultural landscape. Field measurements of actual evapotranspiration were carried out in the period 2007 to 2015 in Velvary (Budihostice) in the Central Bohemia region, 210 m above sea level in the rain shadow area around Slaný territory. In terms of the average annual water balance (CHMI, 2014), the locality is regarded as the area with the difference between the average annual precipitation and annual potential evapotranspiration totals in amount of -200 mm, so the potential evapotranspiration slightly exceeds precipitation. Field measurements were conducted on commonly managed areas with a minimum size of the experimental plots of 1 ha. The measurements confirmed differences between the crop water demands during the growing season. Different values of the actual evapotranspiration as well as the Bowen ratio values were estimated for the observed crops depending on the growth stage of crops. The lowest values of actual evapotranspiration were detected for Zea mays and Sorghum bicolor. Higher water demands were shown by Triticum aestivum and Hordeum vulgare. On the contrary, the highest values of actual evapotranspiration were found in stands of Beta vulgaris and Medicago sativa. According to the values obtained for crop coefficients (Kc), the crops of Z. mays, S. bicolor and T. aestivum had about a quarter lower values of Kc compared with M. sativa and B. vulgaris crops in the main growing season. In this work, the daily values of Kc, which are the basic characteristics of moisture requirements for individual crop were determined and can be used modelling of hydrological processes in agro-phytocoenoses. The evaluation of moisture requirement of crops by the water flow in plants (determined by the sap flow method) showed the expected differences between S. bicolor and Z. mays plants. Water use efficiency (WUE) was significantly higher in plants of C4 type (Z. mays and S. bicolor) compared with the rest of observed plants of C3 type (T. aestivum and H. vulgare).

SILVA, Eduardo Magno Pereira da. Determinação do coeficiente de cultura da melancia, em solo sob palhada e preparo convencional, na microrregião de Teresina, Piauí. 2012. 101 f. Dissertação (Mestrado em engenharia agrícola)- Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza-CE, 2012. / Submitted by Elineudson Ribeiro (elineudsonr@gmail.com) on 2016-06-17T18:34:53Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2012_dis_empsilva.pdf: 2759087 bytes, checksum: d0dfc3464fcc4081ed5b63da1851ebd4 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by José Jairo Viana de Sousa (jairo@ufc.br) on 2016-07-21T20:10:18Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 2012_dis_empsilva.pdf: 2759087 bytes, checksum: d0dfc3464fcc4081ed5b63da1851ebd4 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-07-21T20:10:18Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2012_dis_empsilva.pdf: 2759087 bytes, checksum: d0dfc3464fcc4081ed5b63da1851ebd4 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012 / The experiment was carried out at in Teresina county (5 ° 05'S, 42 ° 29'W and 72 m altitude), an area of 1.2 ha in the period from September to November 2011, in ofder determine the watermelon (Citrullus lanatus L.) crop coefficient, hybrid Olympia, drip irrigated, cultivated in soil under conventional tillage and straw, at soil and climate conditions of the Teresina region, Piauí State, Brazil. The soil of the experimental area is classified as an Oxisol, sandy loam texture. The climate, according to Köeppen classification is Aw ', hot and humid tropical, with summer rainy season. To order the formation of straw ground cover was planted in half of the experimental area, pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum L.). The crop evapotranspiration (ETc) was determined daily using the average of three weighing lysimeters, with 2.25 m2 surface area, measured in each condition (mulch and conventional tillage), occured between 6 to 18 hours. The experimental was design a completely randomized. The reference evapotranspiration (ETo) was estimated by the FAO-Penman-Monteith, with daily records of air temperature, air relative humidity, solar radiation and wind speed obtained from weather station installed at 500 m from the experimental area. The total ETc observed during the watermelon cycle in straw and conventional tillage was 206.78 and 222.26 mm, respectively. The values of Kc in the straw were 0.23, 0.52, 1.28 and 0.56 and conventional tillage were 0.27, 0.57, 1.36 and 0.61, for initial (sowing to 18 days after sowing - DAS), vegetative growth (from 19 to 32 DAS), intermediate (from 33 to 51 DAS) and late (from 52 to 64 DAS), respectively. The crop water requirement under straw was 7.5% lower than measured under conventional tillage. / O experimento foi conduzido em Teresina, PI (05°05'S, 42°29'W e 72 m de altitude), em uma área de 1,2 ha, no período de setembro a novembro de 2011, com o objetivo de determinar o coeficiente de cultura da melancieira (Citrullus lanatus L.), híbrido Olímpia, irrigada por gotejamento, cultivada em solo sob palhada e com preparo convencional, nas condições edafoclimáticas da microrregião de Teresina, Piauí. O solo da área experimental é classificado como um Latossolo Vermelho Amarelo, de textura franco arenosa. O clima, segundo a classificação de Köeppen, é do tipo Aw', tropical quente e úmido, com estação chuvosa no verão. Para a formação da palhada visando a cobertura do solo foi semeado, em metade da área experimental, o milheto (Pennisetum glaucum). A evapotranspiração da cultura (ETc) diária foi determinada utilizando-se a média de três lisímetros de pesagem, com 2,25 m2 de área superficial, em cada condição avaliada (palhada e preparo convencional), ocorrida no intervalo das 6 às 18 horas. Modelou-se o experimento em um delineamento experimental inteiramente casualizado. A evapotranspiração de referência (ETo) foi estimada pelo método Penman-Monteith, com os registros diários de temperatura do ar, umidade relativa do ar, radiação solar e velocidade do vento obtidos em estação agrometeorológica instalada a 500 m da área experimental. A ETc total observada durante o ciclo da melancia na palhada e no preparo convencional foi de 206,78 e 222,26 mm, respectivamente. Os valores de Kc na palhada foram de 0,23, 0,52, 1,28 e 0,56 e no preparo convencional foram de 0,27, 0,57, 1,36 e 0,61, para as fases inicial (da semeadura aos 18 dias após a semeadura - DAS), desenvolvimento vegetativo (dos 19 aos 32 DAS), intermediária (dos 33 aos 51 DAS) e final (dos 52 aos 64 DAS), respectivamente. A demanda hídrica da cultura sob palhada foi 7,5% inferior a medida comparada ao solo sob preparo convencional.