The aim of this study was to identify and analyze the dominating discourse in the preliminary work of the Sex Purchase Act. In order to achieve the aim of this study we selected preliminary work of the Sex Purchase Act that was produced between 1977 and 1999. The selection is based on the fact that prostitution began to be recognized as a social problem and a gender equality issue between men and women in society. The ongoing debate during the chosen years resulted in the Sex Purchase Act, which was passed in 1999. By using discourse analysis as a methodological and theoretical approach, we have empirically studied and theoretically analyzed the dominating discourse in the preliminary work of the Sex Purchase Act. This study shows that the dominating discourse in the preliminary work is based on a perception that prostitution reflects violence against women, which prevents women and men from becoming equal in society. The dominating discourse in the preliminary work is characterized by a heteronormative standard and has influences that can be recognized as feminist ideology. The content in the dominating discourse is produced by people with high social status, which gives sex buyers and sex workers limited influence on how their categories are presented in the preliminary work.

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited / The VAX/VMS UIS graphics library routines were used in the creation of a menu driven, interactive program which solves basic preliminary ship design problems. The program uses a menu with active mouse and keyboard to select options, enter data, and control program execution. At present, the program solves transverse and longitudinal static stability problems and predicts the effects of shifting weight in three planes. It also calculates the hydrodynamic derivatives for maneuvering performance and predicts the turning circle characteristics of the ship. Provisions for a hardcopy, detailed report are also included. Space has been allocated to include future program modules or user supplied programs.

This thesis describes the system of submitting observations envisaged in Article 23 of the Protocol on the Statute of the European Court of Justice. The thesis seeks to illustrate and criticize the utilization of the system enshrined in Article 23 by the member states of the European Union. The experience of the United Kingdom is analyzed by examining the preliminary ruling judgments that the government of the United Kingdom has submitted observations in order to describe the system and demonstrate its application by a member state of the European Union.

De nos jours, les entreprises doivent faire face à une situation économique de plus en plus concurrentielle qui les oblige à développer de plus en plus rapidement des produits de plus en plus complexes. C’est dans ce contexte que sont apparus les systèmes mécatroniques, fruits de l’intégration de technologies issues de la mécanique, l’électronique, l’informatique et l’automatique. Ces systèmes mécatroniques sont particulièrement complexes à concevoir pour les bureaux d’étude en raison des niveaux d’intégration fonctionnelle et techniques, nécessitant une forte coordination entre les différents ingénieurs, de différentes disciplines. Il est par conséquent nécessaire de fournir aux concepteurs de nouveaux outils permettant de mieux concevoir, de manière plus efficace, des produits mécatroniques, optimisés tant du point de vue fonctionnel que performanciel. La thèse présentée dans ce mémoire vise à proposer aux concepteurs des outils permettant de concevoir des architectures mécatronique et de les optimiser, dans les phases amont du processus de conception (conception architecturale). Nous présentons dans un premier temps notre démarche de conception globale, comprenant quatre niveaux de conception et permettant, en détaillant progressivement les architectures mécatroniques dans les différents niveaux, de construire plusieurs architectures permettant de répondre à un besoin client, tout en satisfaisant aux normes et législations en vigueur. Dans un deuxième temps, nous proposons une démarche d’optimisation permettant d’employer des techniques d’optimisation combinatoire afin d’automatiser une partie du processus de conception architecturale, en particulier la phase visant à construire les architectures produits à partir d’un ensemble de principes de solution ou de solutions techniques. Nous montrons enfin dans un troisième temps l’application des étapes de notre démarche globale, ainsi que de notre démarche d’optimisation combinatoire, afin de résoudre un problème visant à développer une éolienne de moyenne puissance pour l’alimentation d’un gîte de montagne. / Nowadays, industries should face a more and more competitive economic situation that forces them to faster develop increasingly complex products. This is in this context that appeared mechatronic systems, the fruit of the integration of technologies from mechanical, electrical, computer and control engineering. These mechatronic systems are particularly complex to design for R&D designers as they require strong coordination between the engineers from different specialities to reach the required levels of functional and technical integration. It is therefore necessary to provide new design tools and approaches to better and more efficiently design mechatronic products and optimize their functionalities as well as their performance. The thesis presented in this manuscript aims to provide design approaches to the designers to design and optimize mechatronic architectures from the early design phases (embodiment design). We first present our global design approach, with four design levels to build and gradually detail mechatronic architectures to meet customer needs as well as the standards and legislation. Secondly, we propose an combinatorial optimization-based approach to computerize some parts of the architectural design process, especially the phase where architectures are built from a set solution of principles or technical solutions. We finally show how the design and optimization approaches have been applied to solve a design problem aiming to develop a medium power wind turbine for supplying a mountain cottage.

No presente trabalho busca-se demonstrar a inovação trazida pela regulamentação dos Estados-partes do Mercosul, especialmente pela brasileira, que conferiu ao particular o direito subjetivo de postular Opiniões Consultivas diretamente ao Tribunal Permanente de Revisão. Para tanto, destaca-se a condição de sujeito de direito internacional adquirida pelo particular por meio de normas advindas de integrações entre Estados soberanos. Da mesma forma, a importância que possui um tribunal legitimado e com atribuições claras, tendo por exemplos a União Europeia e da Organização dos Estados Americanos, onde o Tribunal de Justiça e Corte Interamericana de Direitos Humanos são reconhecidos como responsáveis diretos pelo sucesso destes blocos. Dentre suas competências, destaca-se o protagonismo que tiveram as suas faces consultivas, representadas pelo reenvio prejudicial e pelas opiniões consultivas, respectivamente, instrumentos que não foram apenas responsáveis pela harmonização das legislações internas com a norma da integração, mas também por criar uma verdadeira cooperação jurisdicional entre organismos jurisdicionais interacionais e as jurisdições nacionais. Institutos que se assemelham às opiniões consultivas do Mercosul, cuja legitimação em postulá-las diretamente ao Tribunal Permanente de Revisão é conferida ao particular de forma inovadora em processos de integração. / This paper seeks to demonstrate the innovation brought about by the regulations of the Mercosur States Parties, especially by the Brazilian, which gave the individual the subjective right to apply for Consultative Opinions directly to the Permanent Review Tribunal. In order to do so, the condition of being a subject of international law acquired by the individual is highlighted, through norms derived from integrations between sovereign states. Likewise, the importance of a legitimate and clearly defined court, for example the European Union and the Organization of American States, where the Court of Justice and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights are recognized as directly responsible for the success of these blocs. Among its competences, the leading role played by advisory opinions, represented by the reference for a preliminary ruling and by the advisory opinions respectively, were not only responsible for the harmonization of domestic legislation with the integration rule but also for creating a genuine Jurisdictional cooperation between national courts and national courts. Institutes that resemble the consultative opinions of Mercosur, whose legitimacy in postulating them directly to the Permanent Review Tribunal is given to the individual in an innovative way in integration processes.

No presente trabalho busca-se demonstrar a inovação trazida pela regulamentação dos Estados-partes do Mercosul, especialmente pela brasileira, que conferiu ao particular o direito subjetivo de postular Opiniões Consultivas diretamente ao Tribunal Permanente de Revisão. Para tanto, destaca-se a condição de sujeito de direito internacional adquirida pelo particular por meio de normas advindas de integrações entre Estados soberanos. Da mesma forma, a importância que possui um tribunal legitimado e com atribuições claras, tendo por exemplos a União Europeia e da Organização dos Estados Americanos, onde o Tribunal de Justiça e Corte Interamericana de Direitos Humanos são reconhecidos como responsáveis diretos pelo sucesso destes blocos. Dentre suas competências, destaca-se o protagonismo que tiveram as suas faces consultivas, representadas pelo reenvio prejudicial e pelas opiniões consultivas, respectivamente, instrumentos que não foram apenas responsáveis pela harmonização das legislações internas com a norma da integração, mas também por criar uma verdadeira cooperação jurisdicional entre organismos jurisdicionais interacionais e as jurisdições nacionais. Institutos que se assemelham às opiniões consultivas do Mercosul, cuja legitimação em postulá-las diretamente ao Tribunal Permanente de Revisão é conferida ao particular de forma inovadora em processos de integração. / This paper seeks to demonstrate the innovation brought about by the regulations of the Mercosur States Parties, especially by the Brazilian, which gave the individual the subjective right to apply for Consultative Opinions directly to the Permanent Review Tribunal. In order to do so, the condition of being a subject of international law acquired by the individual is highlighted, through norms derived from integrations between sovereign states. Likewise, the importance of a legitimate and clearly defined court, for example the European Union and the Organization of American States, where the Court of Justice and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights are recognized as directly responsible for the success of these blocs. Among its competences, the leading role played by advisory opinions, represented by the reference for a preliminary ruling and by the advisory opinions respectively, were not only responsible for the harmonization of domestic legislation with the integration rule but also for creating a genuine Jurisdictional cooperation between national courts and national courts. Institutes that resemble the consultative opinions of Mercosur, whose legitimacy in postulating them directly to the Permanent Review Tribunal is given to the individual in an innovative way in integration processes.

abstract: Creative design lies at the intersection of novelty and technical feasibility. These objectives can be achieved through cycles of divergence (idea generation) and convergence (idea evaluation) in conceptual design. The focus of this thesis is on the latter aspect. The evaluation may involve any aspect of technical feasibility and may be desired at component, sub-system or full system level. Two issues that are considered in this work are: 1. Information about design ideas is incomplete, informal and sketchy 2. Designers often work at multiple levels; different aspects or subsystems may be at different levels of abstraction Thus, high fidelity analysis and simulation tools are not appropriate for this purpose. This thesis looks at the requirements for a simulation tool and how it could facilitate concept evaluation. The specific tasks reported in this thesis are: 1. The typical types of information available after an ideation session 2. The typical types of technical evaluations done in early stages 3. How to conduct low fidelity design evaluation given a well-defined feasibility question A computational tool for supporting idea evaluation was designed and implemented. It was assumed that the results of the ideation session are represented as a morphological chart and each entry is expressed as some combination of a sketch, text and references to physical effects and machine components. Approximately 110 physical effects were identified and represented in terms of algebraic equations, physical variables and a textual description. A common ontology of physical variables was created so that physical effects could be networked together when variables are shared. This allows users to synthesize complex behaviors from simple ones, without assuming any solution sequence. A library of 16 machine elements was also created and users were given instructions about incorporating them. To support quick analysis, differential equations are transformed to algebraic equations by replacing differential terms with steady state differences), only steady state behavior is considered and interval arithmetic was used for modeling. The tool implementation is done by MATLAB; and a number of case studies are also done to show how the tool works. textual description. A common ontology of physical variables was created so that physical effects could be networked together when variables are shared. This allows users to synthesize complex behaviors from simple ones, without assuming any solution sequence. A library of 15 machine elements was also created and users were given instructions about incorporating them. To support quick analysis, differential equations are transformed to algebraic equations by replacing differential terms with steady state differences), only steady state behavior is considered and interval arithmetic was used for modeling. The tool implementation is done by MATLAB; and a number of case studies are also done to show how the tool works. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S. Mechanical Engineering 2014

abstract: Tall buildings are spreading across the globe at an ever-increasing rate (www.ctbuh.org). The global number of buildings 200m or more in height has risen from 286 to 602 in the last decade alone. The increasing complexity of building architecture poses unique challenges in the structural design of modern tall buildings. Hence, innovative structural systems need to be evaluated to create an economical design that satisfies multiple design criteria. Design using traditional trial-and-error approach can be extremely time-consuming and the resultant design uneconomical. Thus, there is a need for an efficient numerical optimization tool that can explore and generate several design alternatives in the preliminary design phase which can lead to a more desirable final design. In this study, we present the details of a tool that can be very useful in preliminary design optimization - finite element modeling, design optimization, translating design code requirements into components of the FE and design optimization models, and pre-and post-processing to verify the veracity of the model. Emphasis is placed on development and deployment of various FE models (static, modal and dynamic analyses; linear, beam and plate/shell finite elements), design optimization problem formulation (sizing, shape, topology and material selection optimization) and numerical optimization tools (gradient-based and evolutionary optimization methods) [Rajan, 2001]. The design optimization results of full scale three dimensional buildings subject to multiple design criteria including stress, serviceability and dynamic response are discussed. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S. Civil Engineering 2014

O presente trabalho trata das tutelas antecipadas em processos coletivos a partir do tratamento legal diferenciado dado pelo legislador e das considerações jurídicas não-legais próprias do seu objeto. Por meio de estudo comparado, o trabalho pretende enfrentar as dificuldades inerentes à complexidade das relações envolvidas, dando especial atenção à função do desenho da tutela antecipada, ao conceito de irreparabilidade e irreversibilidade, e à aplicação dos requisitos balance of hardships e interesse público. A análise passa pelas teorias da decisão judicial a fim de dar perspectiva à necessidade de um procedimento deliberativo mais complexo e minucioso para fins de responsividade das decisões judiciais. Ademais, explorase a adjudicaçãoo pragmática elaborada por Richard Posner e pretende-se sua aplicação aos processos coletivos por meio da introdução da análise de custo-benefício como procedimento decisório welfarista moralmente relevante, mas não moralmente decisivo. / This thesis focuses on the preliminary injunctions in class actions, having as the starting point the different legal treatment given by the legislator and the non-legal jurídical considerations that flows from its nature. By means of a comparative study, the work intends to face the inherent difficuties of the complex relationships entailed, paying extra attention to the function of the preliminary injunction structure, to the concept of irreparability and irreversibility, and to the way the requirements of balance of hardships and public interest apply. The analysis passes through the theories of the judicial decision-making process in order to give perspective to the need of more complex deliberative proceedings which must be done in full details to reach accountability. Furthermore, the work explores the pragmatic adjudication elaborated by Richard Posner and intends its application to class actions by means of the introduction of cost-benefit analysis as a welfarist decision-making procedure that is morally relevant, but not morally decisive.

The thesis includes the analysis of the preliminary hearing of the indictment institute as an optional part of criminal proceedings, which follows after bringing an indictment to court. The thesis is focused on summary of theoretical findings, which draws mainly from the commentary literature, but a key focus of the thesis is the analysis of relevant judicial decisions that relate to the institute investigated. The thesis works in particular with the decisions of the Supreme Court of the Czech Republic and High Courts, to a lesser extent with decisions of the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic and several regional courts are used. The text is (except introduction and conclusion) divided into eight parts. The first part contains an explanation of the concept of preliminary hearing of the indictment. Next part of the thesis is focused on the historical development of the preliminary hearing of the indictment, from 1850 to the present. This part also summarizes the most important amendments of the currently effective Criminal Procedure Code. Following parts are focused on explanation of purpose of preliminary hearing of the indictment and explanation of the difference between this and the obligatory review of indictment in accordance with § 181 par. 1 and 185 par. 1 of the Criminal Procedure...