This thesis portrays new information concerning the cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning flashes or ground flashes produced by thunderclouds. It emphasizes the importance of characterizing lightning studies as the relationship between lightning mechanisms, and of incorporating the influence of geographical location, latitude and storm type. Sweden, Malaysia and USA were chosen as the main locations for field experiments in 2009 to 2011 to gather a significant number of negative and positive CG flashes. This work provided data on a total of 1792 CG lightning flashes (1685 negative and 107 positive ones) from a total of 53 thunderstorms by monitoring both the slow and the fast electric field and the narrowband radiation field at 3 and 30 MHz signals simultaneously. This thesis is comprised of: (i) the relationship of the Low Positive Charge Region (LPCR) and Preliminary Breakdown Pulse (PBP) trains to the occurrence of negative CG, (ii) slow field changes generated by preliminary breakdown processes in positive and negative ground flashes, and (iii) the occurrence of positive and negative ground flashes. It was revealed that the PBP train appeared have a higher strength in the in Sweden. The strength of the PBP train was caused by the LPCR; in contrast,  weak PBP trains were characteristic in tropical countries constituting insignificant LPCR and needing little energy to break the “blocking” agent to allow the flash to propagate downward to the ground. The second contribution concerns the characteristics of the PBP train mentioned; this includes novel information for Malaysia. Further, it is stated that there are some different characteristics in the PBP trains in Johor, Malaysia and Florida, USA. The studies of slow field changes generated by preliminary breakdown processes clarifies unclear features concerning the starting position of slow field changes generated by preliminary breakdown processes in positive and negative ground flashes. It was found that the slow field changes did not occur before the initial process of the commencement of preliminary breakdown. Single-station electric field measurements incorporating narrowband radiation field measurement and high resolution transient recording (12 bits) with an accuracy of several nanoseconds, allows one to distinguish between the intracloud activities and the preceding processes of ground flashes. The results for the interstroke intervals, amplitude distribution of subsequent return-stroke (SRS) and the number of strokes per flash in the tropics, subtropics and northern regions were similar. Finally, a significant number of positive return-stroke (RS) electric fields provided statistically significant information on the characteristics of these strokes.

The trend to outsource the engineering functions in state departments of transportation (DOTs) to private consultants has increased in recent years. However, most DOTs do not have a strategic approach to the outsourcing of engineering functions or projects. This thesis addresses that gap by examining outsourcing decision-making in the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and developing a rationalized procedure. TxDOT, the largest state DOT in terms of annual construction program,expends about 65% of its engineering on consultants. Staff from 18 of TxDOTs 25 districts were interviewed for this research, and Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) Analysis is used to identify improvements to the current decision-making processes. A framework is presented for systematic assessment of the outsourcing potential of engineering functions, which would enable TxDOT districts to determine what engineering work to contract out cost-effectively without sacrificing core competencies. / text

Syftet med denna studie är att söka svar på i vilken omfattning barn har getts möjlighet att uttrycka sin åsikt inom socialtjänstens förhandsbedömningar som inte har lett till utredning. Detta genom att mäta i vilken omfattning barnets närvaro har dokumenterats inom ramen för en förhandsbedömning som inte har lett till utredning. För att besvara studiens syfte användes utvalda variabler för att ta reda på om det finns eventuella omständigheter som kan ha påverkat om barnet har getts möjlighet att uttrycka sin åsikt. Barnets ställning inom socialtjänsten är stärkt på ett flertal vis och denna studie tar avstamp i vad socialtjänstlagen (SFS 2001:453), FN:s konvention om barnets rättigheter och Stockholms stads riktlinjer för socialtjänsten fastställer om barnets möjlighet till att uttrycka sin åsikt i ärenden som rör dess person.  Studien är en kvantitativ aktstudie och empirin består av 384 förhandsbedömningar som inte lett till utredning. Förhandsbedömningarna är genomförda av samma stadsdel inom Stockholms stad under 2013. Genom att se till dessa dokument gav det oss möjlighet att mäta i vilken omfattning barnets närvaro har dokumenterats i förhandsbedömningarna och på så vis getts möjlighet att uttrycka sin åsikt. Den huvudsakliga teoretiska utgångspunkt vi valt att använda är synen på barn som såväl subjekt som aktör i ärenden som rör dess person. Då studien avser att mäta en företeelse som sker utifrån en socialsekreterares aktiva val i om barnet tillåts att närvara under en förhandsbedömning tolkas resultatet även utifrån ett maktperspektiv.  Studiens resultat visar att barns möjlighet till att uttrycka sin åsikt är begränsad inom förhandsbedömningarna som inte lett till utredning. Då barnets närvaro endast dokumenterats i 20 procent av det undersökta materialet. I resterande förhandsbedömningar har socialtjänsten valt att inte låta barnet närvara och beslut har fattats utan att höra barnets åsikt.

93 Abstract Preliminary injunction is one of the most important means of protecting the rights of the participants of civil proceedings. The proceedings on the preliminary injunction is easier and faster than the proceedings on the merits, which allows the courts to act without undue delays and to effectively secure either the legal relations of the parties or the risk of loss. The consequence of these facts, however, is a restriction on the application of certain principles of civil procedure, and therefore also of the rights of the parties, especially the defendant. The question is whether this restriction is not unreasonably high and thus whether the current legal regulations meet requirements that are placed on it. The aim of this thesis is to provide a critical look at the regulation of preliminary injunctions, especially on its possibilities and limits, regarding the doctrinal and judicial conclusions. The first part of this thesis deals with the regulation of preliminary injunctions in general. Preliminary injunctions are there defined in terms of their meaning and the purpose, then the author briefly describes the basic principles, the taxonomy and the history of the regulation. The second and the third part focus on the material and formal conditions of the preliminary injunction. In addition to...

The main theme of this thesis is the isue of leases and its treatment in International Financial Reporting Standards. The thesis is devided into five parts. The first part is devoted to basic characteristics of the lease, its structure and historical development. The third part focuses on convergence of IFRS and US GAAP in leases. This section contains a summary of the opinions contained in Discussion Paper and decisions made at meetings of the IASB and the FASB after publishing of Discussion Paper. The fourth part deals with practical application of the rules contained in IAS 17 at real lease contract. The last part is devoted to research of implementation of disclosure requirements specified in IAS 17.

Submitted by Filipe dos Santos (fsantos@pucsp.br) on 2018-04-24T12:28:09Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Leandro Lopes Genaro.pdf: 2248401 bytes, checksum: 04dde4ea1835e542a4fbe71fda42500f (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-04-24T12:28:09Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Leandro Lopes Genaro.pdf: 2248401 bytes, checksum: 04dde4ea1835e542a4fbe71fda42500f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-03-14 / The dissertation analysis the new procedures involving preliminary injunctions arising from the Civil Procedure Code of 2015, and its implications in tax matters, by means of tracing its historical evolution, concept and characteristics in the new Code. In addition, the dissertation analysis the use, by tax payers, of preliminary injunctions against the Public Treasury and Tax Authorities, its limitations and reflexes in concrete cases / A dissertação analisa a nova sistemática das tutelas provisórias decorrentes do Código de Processo Civil de 2015 e as suas implicações nas discussões judiciais envolvendo matéria tributária, analisando a evolução das tutelas provisórias, seu conceito e definição e as disposições trazidas pelo atual Codex processual, bem como a aplicação deste instrumento processual em face da Fazenda Pública, as limitações existentes e seus reflexos nas ações ajuizadas pelos Contribuintes para questionar matéria tributária, analisando situações concretas vivenciada no Poder Judiciário

L’instauration de la question prioritaire de constitutionnalité (QPC) conduit à repenser les rapports entre les juridictions suprêmes : Conseil constitutionnel, Cour de cassation et Conseil d’Etat. Elle met aussi en lumière les spécificités de la fonction de juger – et notamment l’exercice, par le juge, de son pouvoir d’interprétation. De fait, en créant un lien direct entre les trois juridictions suprêmes, la QPC brouille les frontières de leurs compétences respectives et les place dans une situation d’interdépendance qui impacte directement l’étendue et l’exercice de leur pouvoir herméneutique. La QPC s’avère donc être le vecteur – c’est-à-dire à la fois le support, et le révélateur – d’une concurrence très vive entre les interprètes. De ce fait, il n’est pas possible de considérer qu’un juge détient le « dernier mot » pour l’attribution d’un sens à la loi ou à la Constitution – ces deux textes étant conjointement et simultanément interprétés par l’ensemble des juges du système. Le contrôle de constitutionnalité a posteriori met ainsi en lumière l’existence d’un processus interprétatif à la fois continu et inachevé. L’étude de ce contentieux permet donc de mieux comprendre le travail herméneutique effectué par le juge – en donnant l’occasion de forger le concept d’interprétation normative. / The introduction of the The Priority Preliminary Ruling on the Issue of Constitutionality (QPC) leads to rethinking the relations between the supreme jurisdictions : Constitutional Council, Court of Cassation and Council of State. It also highlights the specificities of the judging’s function- and in particular the exercise by the judge of his interpretation’s power. In fact, by creating a direct link between the three supreme jurisdictions, the QPC blurs the boundaries of their respective jurisdictions and places them in a situation of interdependence that directly impacts the extent and the exercise of their hermeneutical power. Therefore, the QPC turns out to be the vector - that is to say, both the medium and the developer - of a very lively competition between the performers. Thereby, it is not possible to consider that a judge has the "last word" for the attribution of a meaning to the law or the Constitution - these two texts being jointly and simultaneously interpreted by the whole judges of the system. The QPC thus highlights the existence of an interpretive process that is both ongoing and uncompleted. The study of this litigation so lets understand the hermeneutical work done by the judge - by giving the opportunity to forge the concept of normative interpretation.

Den svenske lagstiftaren har under de senaste decennierna ökat polisens och åklagarens möjligheter till förundersökningsbegränsning som innebär att alla brott inte behöver utredas i enlighet med 23 kap. 4 a § RB. Samtidigt har Europadomstolen tolkat Europakonventionen om mänskliga rättigheter i en allt mer brottsoffervänlig riktning. Det betyder att reglerna om förundersökningsbegränsning rört sig ännu mera i riktningen mot mera av samhällelig effektivitetshänsyn medan konventionen gått mer åt att stärka brottsoffrens roll. I en rad rättsfall har Europadomstolen slagit fast att staterna har positiva förpliktelser gentemot brottsoffer, att se till att deras grundläggande rättigheter respekteras. Det betyder att de anslutna staterna måste skydda brottsoffren. Det gäller i synnerhet mot grova brott men domstolen har också öppnat för att offer för mindre allvarlig brottslighet måste få en chans till upprättelse. Samtidigt förundersökningsbegränsas, nedlägges, brottsutredningar av den typen med stöd av 23 kap. 4 a § RB dagligen i Sverige. / The Swedish legislator has during the three last decades extended the possibility for the police and the prosecutors to use preliminary enquiry limitation. That means that according to chapter 23, paragraph 4 a of the code of judicial procedure, the police and prosecutors does not always have to investigate crimes.   In the meantime, the European court of human rights has eventually interpreted the European convention on human rights, the ECHR, in a more crime victim friendly way. This study shows that the convention states need to consider positive obligations of the ECHR towards crime victims. The main aim of the convention is to protect individuals from violations of their rights committed by representatives of the states. But although it is not clearly written in the convention, the court of human rights has several times interpreted that article 8 of the convention includes positive obligations that demands the convention states to take measures in order to protect individuals and guarantee them their rights to personal and family life.

"Over the years, risk analysis methodologies have been developed and implemented by many industries. NASA has implemented a cost efficient Continuous Risk Analysis methodology with good results. The U. S. Department of Transportation also states that a continuous risk analysis is the key in identifying, addressing, and handling risks before they become threats to success. However, current practices seldom incorporate this concept into real transportation projects. In general, risk is simply disregarded in feasibility studies. One of primary reasons is the lack of a feasible and effective risk analysis approach to guide efficient implementation in real projects. This thesis reviews current risk analysis practices used in public transportation projects. Using a case study, it also explores potential obstacles encountered in the implementation of systematic risk analysis. Finally, this thesis presents a preliminary risk analysis framework developed through the case study and enriched subsequently by incorporating material documented in the literature. The proposed risk analysis approach is to help achieve continuous risk analysis in transportation projects by enabling early start, frequent implementation, extensive application and flexible adoption."

Submitted by Filipe dos Santos (fsantos@pucsp.br) on 2016-08-16T12:40:11Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Carlos Eduardo Jorge Bernardini.pdf: 1295593 bytes, checksum: f5886fe78f9e706b503e453b2021a91b (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-16T12:40:11Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Carlos Eduardo Jorge Bernardini.pdf: 1295593 bytes, checksum: f5886fe78f9e706b503e453b2021a91b (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-04-27 / The scope of this dissertation consists in analyzing the non-ordinary court protection and its possibility of stabilization regarding preliminary relief and its effects. The work analyses its characters, limitations and possible effects that these kind of decision may have. For this, it is analyzed the concept of court protection, some historical aspects and classification. In light of those concepts, it will be analyzed the non-ordinary court protection types, provision proceedings (preliminary relief), evidence court decision, especially in regards to the New Procedure Civil Code. Furthermore, it will be developed the new ruling concept and some constitutional principles, such as due process of law, the principle of equality and critical Court precedents that encompass the subject matter. In addition, in this chapter cognition techniques will be pointed out and analyzed. We addressed the topic of the unappealeble decisions, historical aspects and classification settling a comparison among CPC/73 and CPC/15. Finally, the preliminary injunction will be analyzed; its proceedings stated in the CPC/15 and some critical aspects / O escopo do presente trabalho é analisar a tutela jurisdicional que concede a antecipação de tutela antecedente, as características, as limitações e os possíveis efeitos que podem ser atribuídos a ela. Com essa finalidade abordaremos, inicialmente, o conceito de tutela jurisdicional, suas classificações segundo a doutrina clássica e também segundo uma perspectiva constitucional. Abordar-se-ão, ainda, no capítulo atinente à tutela jurisdicional, o conceito de tutela jurisdicional diferenciada, alguns exemplos e também, mais especificamente, as tutelas de urgência e da evidência consagradas pelo Novo Código de Processo Civil. Tratar-se-á, outrossim, do conceito de sentença no Novo Código de Processo Civil e de alguns princípios constitucionais julgados importantes e que permeiam a concessão de qualquer tutela jurisdicional, tendo o autor optado por aqueles julgados mais relevantes sobre o assunto, como o princípio do juiz natural, a imparcialidade e a motivação das decisões judiciais. Ainda nesse capítulo, serão examinadas as técnicas de cognição e suas espécies, por constituírem de traço característico da tutela jurisdicional diferenciada, na qual se insere a tutela de urgência. Essa análise é muito importante para se aferir quais os possíveis efeitos que podem ser atribuídos à estabilização da tutela antecipada antecedente. Como não poderia deixar de ser, no capítulo seguinte àquele em que tratada a tutela jurisdicional será abordado o conceito de coisa julgada, sua natureza jurídica, suas características e sua eficácia preclusiva. Nesse capítulo, em específico, serão demonstradas algumas modificações trazidas pelo Novo Código de Processo Civil quanto à coisa julgada e à possível ampliação de seus limites objetivos, face à questão das questões prejudiciais e da ação declaratória incidental. Em seguida, será tratado, de forma sucinta, do que é preclusão, dos aspectos que a diferenciam da coisa julgada e, após isso, da ação rescisória. Atinente à ação rescisória, julgou-se importante saber o seu conceito e cabimento, sobretudo face às alterações que o Novo Código de Processo Civil trouxe em relação ao conceito de sentença, à possibilidade de julgamento antecipado e parcial do mérito e, enfim, aos aspectos e ao alcance da coisa julgada. Finalmente, no último capítulo, pretende-se demonstrar qual a natureza jurídica da tutela antecipada antecedente estabilizada, em face ao que foi abordado no trabalho ─ a finalidade para a qual foi criada, as características e o procedimento para requerimento. Ademais, serão tratados, igualmente, questões controvertidas acerca da nova medida no Código de Processo Civil e possíveis efeitos que podem ser a ela atribuídos. Importante salientar que o trabalho analisou, no que necessário, doutrina e jurisprudência nacionais e internacionais, para relacioná-las com o escopo que se pretende