O artigo analisa os capítulos sobre propriedade intelectual dos acordos preferenciais de comércio firmados pelos Estados Unidos com países da América Latina na década de 2000, discutindo tanto as motivações do país para a assinatura dos mesmos (e inserindo tal discussão em um framework teórico) quanto as implicações dos acordos para os direitos de propriedade intelectual de seus signatários. Nesse sentido, apresenta algumas teorias acerca das características intrínsecas a instituições internacionais multilaterais, em contraste com as bilaterais e regionais; tais teorias afirmam que os estados, ao lidarem com resultados indesejados de características institucionais, modificam instituições (ou criam novas instituições) de acordo com seus objetivos. Em seguida, apresenta o resultado de um levantamento bibliográfico acerca das motivações estadunidenses para a assinatura dos mencionados acordos preferenciais de comércio, com ênfase nas relacionadas aos direitos de propriedade intelectual; tal resultado é complementado com a análise dos documentos primários pertinentes. Por fim, compara o conteúdo dos mencionados capítulos entre si; também os compara com o Acordo TRIPS da OMC. O artigo conclui que as motivações estadunidenses coincidem com as expectativas teóricas; que os capítulos analisados são substancialmente diferentes do Acordo TRIPS; que eles contêm diversas diferenças entre si (as quais são, em parte, decorrentes de exigências do legislativo estadunidense); e que ainda há espaço para pesquisas sobre a política comercial estadunidense praticada no período, no que tange à sua interface com os direitos de propriedade intelectual. / The article analyzes the intellectual property rights chapters of the preferential trade agreements signed by the United States with Latin American countries during the 2000s, discussing both the country\'s reasons for signing such agreements (and inserting such discussion in a theoretical framework) and their implications to the intellectual property rights of its signatories. In this regard, it presents some theories about the features intrinsic to the multilateral international institutions, when contrasted with the bilateral and regional ones; such theories claim that states, when dealing with undesired effects of institutional features, modify institutions (or create new ones), in accordance with their objectives. Then, the article presents the findings of a literature review about the U.S. reasons for signing the aforementioned preferential trade agreements, emphasizing those reasons related to intellectual property rights; such findings are complemented by the analysis of the pertinent primary documents. Finally, it compares the content of the chapters with each other; it also compares them with the WTO TRIPS Agreement. It concludes that the U.S. reasons presented coincide with the theoretical expectations; that the analyzed chapters are substantially different from the TRIPS Agreement; that the chapters have many differences with each other (which are, in part, due to U.S. Congress requirements); and that there is still room for new researches on the U.S. trade policy practiced during the analyzed period, when it comes to its interface with intellectual property rights.

Entendimento de processos que levem ao surgimento de opiniões extremas é valioso na prevenção de atos de violência. Os modelos são ferramentas úteis para identificar possíveis padrões relacionados a estes processos. No entanto, modelos discretos ou contínuos com confiança limitada não se mostram adequados para estudar dinâmicas caracterizadas pela divergência de opiniões. É proposta uma extensão cultural do modelo de Opiniões Contínuas e Ações Discretas (CODA) com múltiplos assuntos alternados por um mecanismo de ligação preferencial. Os agentes são influenciados não só em suas opiniões, mas também nas importâncias que atribuem aos diferentes assuntos. As principais características do modelo são o surgimento de preferências e consensos locais, aos quais estão associadas as opiniões mais extremas. Há, em contrapartida, persistência de opiniões brandas nos temas menos preferidos. O estudo do espaço paramétrico do modelo revelou que modificações diminuindo a localidade das interações aumentam maiorias e amenizam opiniões. Duas estratégias distintas de debate foram testadas. Zelotes têm poder de conversão aumentado quando dispersos. Evitadores minimizam o número de interações indesejável se agrupados. Foram esboçadas abordagens para inserção de efeitos da mídia na dinâmica / Understanding processes leading to extremism is invaluable to prevent violence outbursts. Models are useful tools that allow for identifying patterns related to those processes. Nevertheless, discrete models and bounded-confidence continuous models are unfit for studying diversion-based dynamics. We present a cultural extension of CODA model, with multiple subjects selected through a preferential attachment rule. Agents are influenced in their opinions and relevance attributed to different subjects. The most notable results of the dynamics are the establishment of local subject preferences and consensus, associated with more extreme opinions. On the other hand, there is persistence of immature undeveloped opinion in the locally less regarded subjects. The study of parametric space has shown that settings reducing the locality of interactions both increase the majority size and make opinions less extreme. Two distinct debate strategies were simulated. Zealots increase conversions when spread throughout the network. In contrast, subject avoiders decrease the number of unwanted interactions by grouping together. Some ideas for introducing media influence to the model were outlined

Primary Water Stress Corrosion Cracking (PWSCC) of Alloy 600 and similar Ni-Cr-Fe alloys is regarded as one of the most important challenges to nuclear power plant operation. During the past decades the majority of research has focused on PWSCC crack growth rate measurements in order to assess the lifetime of real components and to develop empirical models for crack propagation. However, the incubation and initiation stages of PWSCC have the same or even greater importance than the propagation stage, particularly because SCC can be undetected for more than 20 years before the occurrence of a rapid and catastrophic failure. There is, therefore, the scientific need to understand the mechanisms playing a fundamental role in the formation and development of intergranular cracks embryo, the so-called SCC initiation "precursor events", in order to be able to predict and mitigate the occurrence of PWSCC. Amongst all the models proposed for SCC initiation, the internal oxidation mechanism proposed by Scott and Le Calvar in 1992 appears to be the most comprehensive. Although the internal oxidation mechanism is widely accepted, it still requires further elucidation, especially in terms of enhanced grain boundary diffusivity and the role of intergranular carbides on the oxidation mechanism. The present work has focused on the initial stages of intergranular oxidation of solution-annealed (SA) and thermally-treated (TT) Alloy 600 with the aim of understanding the active mechanism responsible for the enhanced intergranular oxide penetration kinetics. The material was tested in simulated PWR primary water at 320°C, high-pressure hydrogenated-steam at 400°C and low-pressure H2-steam environment at 480°C at potential more reducing than the Ni/NiO equilibrium. The detailed microstructural characterization was conducted using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and analytical transmission electron microscopy (ATEM) and demonstrated that Alloy 600SA is susceptible to diffusion-induced grain boundary migration (DIGM), preferential intergranular oxidation (PIO) and localised Cr and Fe depletions at the grain boundaries. The similar analyses performed on Alloy 600TT demonstrated reduced susceptibility to PIO and grain boundary migration. Further, detailed analyses confirmed that intergranular carbides were readily oxidized/consumed in all 3 environments and acted as Cr reservoir/O trap. These results shed additional light on the "precursor events" for PWSCC of Alloy 600, especially on the mechanism responsible for the enhanced Cr and O diffusivity and on the mechanism responsible for the enhanced Alloy 600TT SCC initiation resistance. Moreover, the strong similarities in the Alloy 600 oxidation behaviour observed for the 3 different environments and at the 3 different temperatures suggested that the same PIO mechanism is active in both steam and water and at temperatures between 320°C and 480°C. These results strongly support the possibility of using the low-pressure H2-steam environment as a substitute environment to accelerate PWSCC initiation without changing the mechanism.

Entendimento de processos que levem ao surgimento de opiniões extremas é valioso na prevenção de atos de violência. Os modelos são ferramentas úteis para identificar possíveis padrões relacionados a estes processos. No entanto, modelos discretos ou contínuos com confiança limitada não se mostram adequados para estudar dinâmicas caracterizadas pela divergência de opiniões. É proposta uma extensão cultural do modelo de Opiniões Contínuas e Ações Discretas (CODA) com múltiplos assuntos alternados por um mecanismo de ligação preferencial. Os agentes são influenciados não só em suas opiniões, mas também nas importâncias que atribuem aos diferentes assuntos. As principais características do modelo são o surgimento de preferências e consensos locais, aos quais estão associadas as opiniões mais extremas. Há, em contrapartida, persistência de opiniões brandas nos temas menos preferidos. O estudo do espaço paramétrico do modelo revelou que modificações diminuindo a localidade das interações aumentam maiorias e amenizam opiniões. Duas estratégias distintas de debate foram testadas. Zelotes têm poder de conversão aumentado quando dispersos. Evitadores minimizam o número de interações indesejável se agrupados. Foram esboçadas abordagens para inserção de efeitos da mídia na dinâmica / Understanding processes leading to extremism is invaluable to prevent violence outbursts. Models are useful tools that allow for identifying patterns related to those processes. Nevertheless, discrete models and bounded-confidence continuous models are unfit for studying diversion-based dynamics. We present a cultural extension of CODA model, with multiple subjects selected through a preferential attachment rule. Agents are influenced in their opinions and relevance attributed to different subjects. The most notable results of the dynamics are the establishment of local subject preferences and consensus, associated with more extreme opinions. On the other hand, there is persistence of immature undeveloped opinion in the locally less regarded subjects. The study of parametric space has shown that settings reducing the locality of interactions both increase the majority size and make opinions less extreme. Two distinct debate strategies were simulated. Zealots increase conversions when spread throughout the network. In contrast, subject avoiders decrease the number of unwanted interactions by grouping together. Some ideas for introducing media influence to the model were outlined

Hazardous waste sites and aging wastewater infrastructure are common in the United States. There are hundreds of thousands of contaminated sites and more than a million miles of sewer pipes. Populations living close to hazardous waste sites often suffer from increased risk of adverse health effects due to exposure to contaminated environmental media. Vapor intrusion is one process by which nearby populations can be exposed to volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Aging wastewater infrastructure is important for vapor intrusion site assessments because sewer pipes can serve as preferential vapor transport pathways. Near contaminated sites, pipe deterioration allows migration of contaminants into sewers and potential accumulation of chemical vapors in sewer gas and nearby buildings. The objectives of this study are to develop a screening-level method to identify contaminated sites where additional evaluation of vapor intrusion is necessary, and then conduct field sampling at these sites to investigate sewers as potential vapor intrusion pathways. Sampling was conducted at four study sites, which consist of former and current dry cleaning facilities located in Lexington, Kentucky. The results of this study demonstrate that preferential vapor intrusion pathways such as sewers can facilitate the spread of vapor intrusion exposure risks beyond source areas of contamination.

<p><font face="Helvetica"> <p align="left">The objectives of this study were:&nbsp / To review and understand flow and transport processes in unsaturated zones. In this study, particular emphasis is placed on understanding mechanisms that cause non-uniform (preferential) flow for two casestudies, namely the Cape Flats sandy environment and the Mpumalanga Highveld fractured rock environment.&nbsp / To evaluate the adequacy of models, in particular MACRO 5.0, in simulating flow and transport in the vadose zone, by making use of two case study sites (Cape Flats and Mpumalanga Highveld). Of particular importance is the evaluation of transfer coefficients to represent fluid and solute exchange between macropores and matrix.&nbsp / To run a sensitivity analysis with MACRO 5.0 in order determine which input model parameters are the most relevant in describing the effects of preferential flow in water and solute transport.</p> </font></p>

<p>Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) has been a topic of discussion since the dawn of democracy in April 1994. Due to the entrenched inequalities of the past, economic empowerment is very important for the economic growth of the majority of South Africa&rsquo / s citizens. However, significant economic enrichment of black people has not been made, despite, economic success, legislation, state policies and programme interventions. This economic growth is to be realised through the use of preferential procurement as a policy tool for BEE. Whilst sufficient legislation has been enacted to regulate preferential procurement, to favour black people, much still seems to be lacking in the enforcement of the laws in public procurement. Central to the challenges of preferential procurement is the disharmony between the Framework legislation governing preferential procurement and BEE. This discord has seen two visions being followed for preferential procurement / the Procurement Act refers to the beneficiaries of BEE as historically disadvantaged individuals (HDI / s) and the goals for BEE are measured through specific goals which promotes narrow empowerment / the BBBEE Act on the other hand defines black people as the recipients of BEE and through the BEE Codes broad-based empowerment is promoted through seven core elements. This congruency has not served the promotion of preferential procurement, it has created a hindrance that frustrates economic growth for those it is intended. The other quandary that undermines the success of preferential procurement is willful practices engaged by both tenderers and public officials / skills deficiency in the adjudication of tenders and self-interest. The success of BEE through preferential procurement is dependent on a coherently legislated procurement environment fortified by perceptive public officials. The objective of this thesis is to analyse the impact of these challenges on the success of preferential procurement. The study will highlight the main practices that defeat the use of preferential procurement. This will include an analysis of the various legislation and the amendments thereto. In addition the enquiry will examine the proficiency of public officials in the adjudication of public tendering. Recommendations for a successful preferential public procurement environment will be made. The proposed thesis will utilise, inter alia, relevant legislation, case law, theses, journals, books and policy documents.</p>

<p>The aim of this thesis is to clarify the affect that preferential and regional trade agreements have on the World Trade Organization (WTO), as being establisher of the international trading regime. The essay is an explanatory literature study, which strives to answer the following questions:</p><p>Are regional and preferential trade agreements a threat or a complement to the WTO?</p><p>Is an undermining of the MFN principle weakening the WTO?</p><p>How do regional trade agreements made by the EU affect the future of the WTO?</p><p>The empirical material is to be analyzed using an explanatory framework, which is based on neo-liberal instutionalism, theories on regime changes and a game theoretical approach, using prisoner’s dilemma. I will employ the EU-ACP relation, the Cotonou agreement to exemplify how an agreement of this kind can have an influence on multilateral trade. The result shows that preferential agreements do have an impact on the WTO, one that is fairly negative in scope. Preferential trade agreements do pose a threat to the WTO, in its current structure and may be harmful to the international trading regime. It is partly because the MFN is widely discouraged that PTAs are stumbling stones to the organization. By signing agreement that do not comply with WTO regulations and considering its role in international trade, EU does affect the future of the WTO.</p>

<p><font face="Helvetica"> <p align="left">The objectives of this study were:&nbsp / To review and understand flow and transport processes in unsaturated zones. In this study, particular emphasis is placed on understanding mechanisms that cause non-uniform (preferential) flow for two casestudies, namely the Cape Flats sandy environment and the Mpumalanga Highveld fractured rock environment.&nbsp / To evaluate the adequacy of models, in particular MACRO 5.0, in simulating flow and transport in the vadose zone, by making use of two case study sites (Cape Flats and Mpumalanga Highveld). Of particular importance is the evaluation of transfer coefficients to represent fluid and solute exchange between macropores and matrix.&nbsp / To run a sensitivity analysis with MACRO 5.0 in order determine which input model parameters are the most relevant in describing the effects of preferential flow in water and solute transport.</p> </font></p>

<p>Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) has been a topic of discussion since the dawn of democracy in April 1994. Due to the entrenched inequalities of the past, economic empowerment is very important for the economic growth of the majority of South Africa&rsquo / s citizens. However, significant economic enrichment of black people has not been made, despite, economic success, legislation, state policies and programme interventions. This economic growth is to be realised through the use of preferential procurement as a policy tool for BEE. Whilst sufficient legislation has been enacted to regulate preferential procurement, to favour black people, much still seems to be lacking in the enforcement of the laws in public procurement. Central to the challenges of preferential procurement is the disharmony between the Framework legislation governing preferential procurement and BEE. This discord has seen two visions being followed for preferential procurement / the Procurement Act refers to the beneficiaries of BEE as historically disadvantaged individuals (HDI / s) and the goals for BEE are measured through specific goals which promotes narrow empowerment / the BBBEE Act on the other hand defines black people as the recipients of BEE and through the BEE Codes broad-based empowerment is promoted through seven core elements. This congruency has not served the promotion of preferential procurement, it has created a hindrance that frustrates economic growth for those it is intended. The other quandary that undermines the success of preferential procurement is willful practices engaged by both tenderers and public officials / skills deficiency in the adjudication of tenders and self-interest. The success of BEE through preferential procurement is dependent on a coherently legislated procurement environment fortified by perceptive public officials. The objective of this thesis is to analyse the impact of these challenges on the success of preferential procurement. The study will highlight the main practices that defeat the use of preferential procurement. This will include an analysis of the various legislation and the amendments thereto. In addition the enquiry will examine the proficiency of public officials in the adjudication of public tendering. Recommendations for a successful preferential public procurement environment will be made. The proposed thesis will utilise, inter alia, relevant legislation, case law, theses, journals, books and policy documents.</p>