European Private International Law - Domicile and Brussels I Regulation Abstract It is undisputable, that the Council Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters, the so-called Brussels I Regulation, constitutes the cornerstone of the European Private International Law. The term domicile, employed as the most important connecting factor for the determination of jurisdiction under the Brussels I Regulation, is the key word thereof. Domicile as such is a very interesting, although complicated, legal concept. This holds true even in the case of domicile for the purposes of Brussels I Regulation. At the European level, the tradition of domicile, being the connecting factor in most cases of the determination of jurisdiction, was established by the Brussels Convention. Nevertheless, it did not provide for a uniform definition. Instead, it referred to the national laws of the then contracting states. By adopting, with an exception, a uniform definition of a legal person's domicile, the Brussels I Regulation has partially deviated from this practice. However, as regards the natural person's domicile, the reference to the national laws of the European Union Member States was upheld. As the understanding of this concept differs from...

Master of Science / Department of Counseling and Student Development / Christy Moran Craft / Graduate assistants in residence life face many different challenges that are unique to their positions, and their wellness is critical to ensuring their place as competent professionals ready to serve students on university campuses. For the continued success and relevance of graduate assistantship positions in housing departments, it is critical that an effort be made to understand these student employees’ experiences as they complete graduate study and are employed under various expectations that may be directly impactful to the manner in which they work with students. This report serves to understand the experiences of residence life graduate assistants to better prepare full-time professionals in supervising and supporting these individuals.

A pesquisa parte de inquietações docentes cotidianas de uma professora de Arte de escola básica da rede pública, que, ao relacionar seus processos artísticos com questões da docência e com os estudos dos conceitos de ―vida como obra de arte‖ (NIETZSCHE, 2012) e ―estética da existência‖ (FOUCAULT, 2004a), percebe a arte como um modo de pesquisar em educação. Com a realização de uma residência artística em uma escola básica da rede pública de Porto Alegre – RS, buscou-se produzir outros tempos e espaços para problematizar as emergências dos encontros entre arte e escola, a partir da seguinte problematica: De que modos uma residência artística pode vir a problematizar os tempos e os espaços da escola, a partir dos encontros entre arte e educação?. As experiências da residência artística na escola permitiram tensionar, de modo artístico, questões relacionadas ao cotidiano escolar, à docência e seus desafios no mundo contemporâneo. A arte permeou a pesquisa, em sentido expandido, a partir dos referenciais teóricos, como postura diante da vida, bem como, através de produções artísticas desenvolvidas na residência e de trabalhos de artistas que contribuem para pensar as questões emergentes neste trabalho. Os encontros entre arte e escola fizeram emergir questões relacionadas às minúcias da escola, entendidas, aqui, como potências para pensá-la nas seguintes linhas de força: a escola como espaço de alteridade, no(s) outro(s) como estrangeiro(s) e os tempos e os espaços escolares em relação aos tempos da arte Os modos de fazer pesquisa na escola são relacionados com noções de residência artística, bem como, das pesquisas educacionais baseadas em arte (PEBA), no intuito de salientar a especificidade de uma pesquisa de cunho artístico realizada no campo educativo. Também buscou-se operar na potência dos entremeios, produzindo fissuras entre as fronteiras que delimitam o que é considerado arte e o que é considerado educação. A escola foi pensada como potência de criação em sua multiplicidade de práticas, sem o intuito de realizar diagnósticos ou prescrições. O caráter de troca permeou todas as ações da residência, em que o próprio lugar da pesquisadora&professora&artista esteve em constante movimento na escola, possibilitando afirmar a potência dos espaços ―entre‖ para além de delimitações. No entrecruzamento entre as experiências vividas na residência artística e a escola, afirma-se a potência da arte como um outro tempo e espaço para pensar as relações entre escola, arte e educação no mundo contemporâneo. / The research is based on daily teaching concerns of an art teacher from a public elementary school who, by relating her artistic processes to teaching issues and to the studies of the concepts of "life as a work of art" (NIETZSCHE, 2012) and "aesthetics of existence" (FOUCAULT, 2004a), perceives art as a way of researching in education. With the development of an artistic residence in a elemetary public school of Porto Alegre - RS, the aim was to try to produce other times and spaces to problematize the emergencies of the encounters between art and school, from the following problematic: In what ways a residence can problematize the times and spaces of the school, from the encounters between art and education?. The experiences of the artistic residence in the school allowed problematize, in an artistic way, questions related to the school routine, teaching and its challenges in the contemporary world. The art permeated the research, in an expanded sense, from the theoretical references, as an attitude to life, as well, through artistic productions developed in the residence and works of artists that contribute to think the emerging issues in this work. The encounters between art and school have raised questions related to the minutiae of the school, understood here as powers to think of it in the following lines of force: the school as a space of alterity, in the other(s) as foreign(s) and the times and the school spaces in relation to the times of art The ways of doing research in the school are related to notions of artistic residency, as well as of art-based educational research, in order to emphasize the specificity of an artistic research carried out in the educational field. At the same time, we tried to operate on the power of the interstices, producing fissures between the boundaries that delimit what is considered art and what is considered education. The school was conceived as a creative power in its multiplicity of practices, without the intention of performing diagnoses or prescriptions. The character of exchange permeated all the actions of the residence, in which the researcher & teacher & artist's place was in constant movement in the school, making it possible to affirm the potency of spaces "between" beyond delimitations. In the intersection between the experiences lived in the artistic residence and the school, the power of art is affirmed as another time and space to think the relations between school, art and education in the contemporary world.

CoordenaÃÃo de AperfeiÃoamento de Pessoal de NÃvel Superior / Nos Ãltimos anos, o Programa Nacional de Controle da HansenÃase tem focado suas aÃÃes em Ãreas geogrÃficas definidas com alta detecÃÃo de casos. Este estudo teve o objetivo de caracterizar padrÃes epidemiolÃgicos, espaciais e temporais da hansenÃase em um agregado de alto risco de transmissÃo, em municÃpios dos estados do MaranhÃo, ParÃ, Tocantins e PiauÃ. Desta forma, foram aplicados diferentes mÃtodos de anÃlise espacial (Descritivo, Abordagem Bayesiana Local, EstatÃstica Scan Espacial) e quantificada a dependÃncia espacial de diversos indicadores epidemiolÃgicos e operacionais da hansenÃase. Em outro estudo, foram identificados o fluxo de pessoas afetadas e os motivos para migraÃÃo apÃs diagnÃstico. No perÃodo de 2001 a 2009, 82.463 casos novos foram detectados no agregado (coeficiente mÃdio de detecÃÃo: 95,9/100mil habitantes ao ano). No resto do Brasil o coeficiente foi 21,0 (RR=4,56, IC 95%: 4,45-4,66; p<0,0001). Houve fluxo direcionado dos pacientes com hansenÃase notificados para um municÃpio diferente da sua residÃncia. AraguaÃna, Imperatriz, Marabà e Floriano receberam um nÃmero considerÃvel de casos provenientes dos municÃpios em seu entorno. As capitais SÃo LuÃs, Teresina e BelÃm absorviam tambÃm casos vindos de outros estados. GoiÃnia e BrasÃlia se localizam distante do agregado, mas tÃm destaque pela notificaÃÃo de casos provenientes do agregado. ApÃs o primeiro diagnÃstico, 53,5% dos motivos principais de migraÃÃo foram relacionados a mudanÃas de estilo de vida. AnÃlise Scan Espacial identificou 23 agregados de elevada detecÃÃo de casos novos, a maioria localizados no Parà e MaranhÃo. Estes agregados incluÃram apenas 32% da populaÃÃo, mas 55,4% dos casos novos e 101 (27,1%) municÃpios. TambÃm foram identificados 14 aglomerados significativos para o coeficiente de detecÃÃo em crianÃas e 11 de casos novos com grau 2 de incapacidade/100mil hab. O agregado mais significativo, no centro do MaranhÃo, teve um RR de 2,24 e uma detecÃÃo anual de 10,4 casos com grau 2/100mil hab. O mÃtodo de autocorrelaÃÃo local mostrou superposiÃÃo com Ãreas de alto risco identificadas pelo mÃtodo Bayesiano Local e na anÃlise Scan Espacial. O estudo mostra que a hansenÃase à hiperendÃmica na Ãrea de estudo, sem a perspectiva de exaurir estes casos nos prÃximos anos. AlÃm de diagnÃstico tardio em um nÃmero de casos considerÃvel, houve lacunas na descentralizaÃÃo do atendimento, evidenciado pelo fluxo das pessoas afetadas. A construÃÃo de mapas utilizando outros indicadores, alÃm do coeficiente de detecÃÃo geral, e a sobreposiÃÃo desses mapas pÃde identificar Ãreas desconhecidas em relaÃÃo ao risco de transmissÃo e de detecÃÃo de casos com incapacidades avanÃadas. Essa abordagem poderà ser aplicada em outras Ãreas de risco para assim identificar agregados mais especÃficos de risco elevado para a hansenÃase. / In recent years, the National Leprosy Control has focused its actions on defined geographic areas with high leprosy detection rates. This study aimed to characterize epidemiological, spatial and temporal patterns in a high risk leprosy cluster in municipalities in the states of MaranhÃo, ParÃ, Piauà and Tocantins. Different methods of spatial analysis were applied (Descriptive, Local Bayesian Approach, Spatial Scan Statistics), and the spatial dependence of various epidemiological and operational indicators was quantified. In an additional study, I identified the flow of leprosy-affected individuals, and the reasons for migration after diagnosis. In the period 2001â2009, 82,463 new cases were detected in the endemic cluster (mean detection rate: 95.9/100mil inhabitants per year). In the rest of Brazil, the mean rate was 21.0 (RR=4.56, 95% CI: 4.45 - 4.66; p<0.0001). There was a directed flow of patients who were reported by a municipality other than their residence. AraguaÃna, Imperatriz, Marabà and Floriano notified a considerable number of cases from the municipalities in the proximity. SÃo LuÃs, Teresina and BelÃm received also cases from other states. GoiÃnia and BrasÃlia are distant from the cluster, but reported cases from the cluster. After first diagnosis, in 53.5% of cases migration was related to lifestyle changes. Spatial Scan analysis identified 23 clusters of high detection rates, most of them located in Parà and MaranhÃo. These clusters included only 32% of the population but 55.4% of new cases, and 101 (27.1%) municipalities. There were also 14 significant clusters for high detection rates in children, and 11 clusters of new cases with grade 2 disabilities/100.000 population. The most significant cluster, in the centre of MaranhÃo, had a RR of 2.24 and an annual detection of grade 2 cases of 10.4/100.000 population. The local auto-correlation method showed overlapping with high-risk areas identified by Local Bayesian and Spatial Scan Statistics. The study shows that leprosy is hyperendemic in the study area, without an expected trend of reduced detection rates in the coming years. In addition to late diagnosis in a considerable number of cases, there were shortcomings in the decentralization of the health system, evidenced by the flow of affected people. The use of maps based on other indicators than detection rates and the overlap of these maps highlighted previously unknown risk areas for transmission and for cases with advanced disabilities. This approach can be applied in other endemic areas to identify clusters of high risk for leprosy.

This this three-article dissertation sought to explore the potential causal link of students’ collegiate residence with three broad categories of student outcomes. Using data from the Wabash National Study of Liberal Arts Education, each article employed propensity score matching in an effort to reduce selection bias associated with a student’s decision to live on campus. The first manuscript examined academic achievement, retention, four-year graduation, and satisfaction with the college experience and found that living on campus had no direct effect on any of these outcomes. The second manuscript explored the effect of living on campus on students’ overall health, alcohol consumption and binge drinking, smoking behaviors, exercise frequency, and psychological well-being. Findings suggest that living on campus has a positive effect on students’ first-year alcohol consumption, frequency of binge drinking, and exercising behaviors. These findings do not persist beyond the first year. Some conditional effects were uncovered, with a significant interaction between race and campus residence on some outcomes. The final study considered the effect living on campus has on student engagement. Living on campus was found to have a direct effect on positive peer interactions, frequency of interactions with student affairs staff, and co-curricular involvement. Like the second study, conditional analyses were conducted and revealed significant interactions mostly among race and campus residence.

In the History of major American metropolitan areas, Detroit stands out as a particularly interesting study. At its height, Detroit was the center of America's "Arsenal of Democracy", today it stands as a shadow of its onetime greatness. My thesis attempts to examine root causes for the city's ultimate failure dating back to the World War II era. In my research I found that the greatest failures for the city were not within its people, but rather within its political institutions and its leadership.

From the various studies, it can be concluded that the excessive summer heating and the humidity are one of the major problems of the hot, humid climatic region. The literature review for this study shows that natural ventilation alone cannot meet year long optimum indoor comfort in buildings. This research, through a design exercise, intends to verify whether a naturally ventilated house, in hot humid region of Austin, TX, can enhance its passive cooling potential through double‐walled wind catcher and solar chimney. In this research, a passive solar residence has been designed. Two designs have been explored on the chosen site: a basecase design without the wind catcher and solar chimney and another design with wind catcher and solar chimney. In the designcase, the placement of the wind catcher and the solar chimney has been designed so that a thermal siphon of airflow inside the building can be created. The design might show that there will be a natural airflow during the time of the year when natural wind does not flow. Moreover, the double walled wind catcher will resist the cool winter wind due to its shape and orientation. In the design, the placement of the wind catcher and the solar chimney has been done so that a thermal siphon inside the building can be created. Therefore, inside the home, there will be a natural airflow during the time of the year when natural wind does not flow. The double walled wind catcher has been designed and placed according to the orientation of the building in order to achieve the optimum wind flow throughout the year. The solar chimney has been placed in a certain part of the building where it can get maximum solar exposure. By comparing two cases, it can be clearly said that there will some kind of changed indoor comfort level. Since the potential of the design has been judged through perception, a computational fluid dynamics simulation analysis for a year is to be done.

The intension model of purchasing houses for Kaohsiung female consumers

Successful organizational change experience can be easily copied by another organization in the same culture. Residence Administration (R.A.) in Taiwan had a wonderful change experience that can be learned by another public organizations in Taiwan. This paper used Sastry¡¦s(1997) organizational change theory and dynamic feedback loops to research the R.A.¡¦ successful change stories and compare with one health organization for deeper understanding. We know successful change is a dynamic structure, and found some helpful strategies for successful public organizational change: 1. Organizational performance was being influenced by two loops, strategy appropriateness loop and competence establishment loop. 2. Strategy appropriateness loop shows that frequently changing organizational main strategies would lead to bad organizational performance. 3. Competence establisyhment loop shows that there must be enough time to establish new competence for performing new strategies. 4. Change ability loop shows that higher organizational inertia led to lower organizational ability to adapt to its environment. 5. Inertia created loop shows that organizational inertia is highly related to its socialized process. According to the dynamic feedback loops, one organization could figure out its present situation and think its change strategies. This paper showed that Sastry¡¦s theory could explain the R.A.¡¦s change strategies well. Other public organizations can use R.A.¡¦s experience to make their own successful change stories.

Energy-efficient building design involves minimizing the energy use and optimizing the performance of individual systems and components of the building. The benefits of energyefficient design, in the residential sector, are direct and tangible, provided that design strategies with a substantial combined energy and cost-saving potential are adopted. Many studies have been performed to evaluate the energy-saving potential and the costeffectiveness of various design options, and to identify conditions for optimizing the performance of building systems and components. The results of these studies, published in various resources, were analyzed discretely using different techniques, and were reported using different bases for comparison. Considering the complex interaction of, and energy flows through various building components, it is difficult to directly compare/combine the results from various studies to determine the energy-saving potential of combination of strategies, and to select an appropriate set of strategies for making design decisions. Therefore, this thesis develops a comprehensive survey and analysis of energy-efficient design strategies and their energy-saving potential, in isolation as well as in combination, using a DOE-2 simulation model of a prototype house in the hot and humid climate of Houston, Texas. Optimized strategies that included building configuration, materials/ assembly for building envelop components, and efficient mechanical and electrical systems, equipment and appliances, were applied in combination that could minimize the annual energy use. Application of these strategies is expected to allow downsizing systems and equipment and to confirm their operation at their rated performance, resulting in additional installation and operation cost savings. The study is concluded by outlining the procedures for selecting optimized set of strategies, and by developing guidelines for achieving maximum energy-efficiency in singlefamily detached houses in hot and humid climates. Thus, this study will facilitate the selection of energy-saving measures for their individual or combined application for developing energyefficient residences in hot and humid climates.