The project was aimed at describing the mixing phenomena relevant for both safety analysis, particularly in steam line break and boron dilution scenarios, and mixing phenomena of interest for economical operation and the structural integrity. Measurement data from a set of mixing experiments, gained by using advanced measurement techniques with enhanced resolution in time and space help to improve the basic understanding of turbulent mixing and to provide data for Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) code validation. Slug mixing tests simulating the start-up of the first main circulation pump are performed with two 1:5 scaled facilities: The Rossendorf coolant mixing model ROCOM and the VATTENFALL test facility, modelling a German Konvoi type and a Westinghouse type three-loop PWR, respectively. Additional data on slug mixing in a VVER-1000 type reactor gained at a 1:5 scaled metal mock-up at EDO Gidropress are provided. Experimental results on mixing of fluids with density differences obtained at ROCOM and the FORTUM PTS test facility are made available. Concerning mixing phenomena of interest for operational issues and thermal fatigue, flow distribution data available from commissioning tests (Sizewell-B for PWRs, Loviisa and Paks for VVERs) are used together with the data from the ROCOM facility as a basis for the flow distribution studies. The test matrix on flow distribution and steady state mixing performed at ROCOM comprises experiments with various combinations of running pumps and various mass flow rates in the working loops. Computational fluid dynamics calculations are accomplished for selected experiments with two different CFD codes (CFX-5, FLUENT). Best practice guidelines (BPG) are applied in all CFD work when choosing computational grid, time step, turbulence models, modelling of internal geometry, boundary conditions, numerical schemes and convergence criteria. The BPG contain a set of systematic procedures for quantifying and reducing numerical errors. The knowledge of these numerical errors is a prerequisite for the proper judgement of model errors. The strategy of code validation based on the BPG and a matrix of CFD code validation calculations have been elaborated. Besides of the benchmark cases, additional experiments were calculated by new partners and observers, joining the project later. Based on the "best practice solutions", conclusions on the applicability of CFD for turbulent mixing problems in PWR were drawn and recommendations on CFD modelling were given. The high importance of proper grid generation was outlined. In general, second order discretization schemes should be used to minimise numerical diffusion. First order schemes can provide physically wrong results. With optimised "production meshes" reasonable results were obtained, but due to the complex geometry of the flow domains, no fully grid independent solutions were achieved. Therefore, with respect to turbulence models, no final conclusions can be given. However, first order turbulence models like K-e or SST K-w are suitable for momentum driven slug mixing. For buoyancy driven mixing (PTS scenarios), Reynolds stress models provide better results.

The purpose of this study is to describe and understand how the principle of the child’s best interest in the asylum process for families with children is interpreted and implemented in practice by the asylum bureaucrats at the Swedish Migration Agency. Our questions are: “How is the best interest of the child in families with children interpreted by the asylum bureaucrats at the Swedish Migration Agency?” "How are asylum bureaucrats at the Swedish Migration Agency reasoning about the implementation in practice of the child's best interest in families with children? The essay rests upon semi-structured interviews with eight asylum bureaucrats at three different asylum units. The interviews are based on an interview guide together with a vignette, which purpose was to see how the interviewees are implementing the best interest of the child in a specific case of a potential application. We are analyzing our results by using Lipsky’s theory of street-level bureaucrats and their professional discretion. We are also using Roine Johansson’s (2007) interpretation of Lipsky and Svensson et al., (2008) and their perspectives about professional discretion. Our main findings and conclusions in the study are showing that the asylum bureaucrats interpretations of the best interest of the child are statutory. According to the asylum bureaucrats, the main definition of the principle is related to the importance of talking with the children. These statements in the interviews also reflects how they look upon the implementation in practice of the child's best interest. The asylum bureaucrats felt they have a wide discretion in their everyday work.

For any given reason, every year many countries spend a lot of money purchasing at least one weapon. Due to the secret character of the military, the decision process for specific weapon procurement is shrouded. Moreover, there are several funds loss cases due to mistakes in weapon contractions. Weapon procurement requires very large amounts of money which comes from tax payers. Therefore, an effort to reduce a possible monetary loss is needed. A decision process based on an analytic model can present a better chance to decision makers for better weapon decisions. In general, weapon procurement decision is a multi criteria environment. Decision making in such environments is defined as Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM). MCDM is broadly classified into two areas: Multi-Attribute Decision Making (MADM) and Multi-Objective Decision Making (MODM). MADM methods are used for selecting an alternative from a small explicit list of alternatives. MODM methods are used for designing problems involving an infinite number of alternatives implicitly defined by mathematical constraints. This research is intended to be used by the South Korean Navy when there is a need to select one weapon type among several candidate types. Therefore, MADM methods are used in this research.Many researches for developing an analytical model for better decision-making have been done. However, there is no research for a generalized weapon procurement decision model that is easy to implement. For this reason, whenever there is a need for weapon procurement decision, the Navy has to spend a lot of effort in determining the best weapon. These efforts can be reduced with a generalized model that is proposed in this research for naval weapon procurement. MADM methods determine alternatives ranking orders and the highest ranked alternative is the best one. Various MADM methods are used in computing the alternatives ranking scores.

Can explicitly Christian principles be invoked and put into practice in political life without thereby rendering that politics fideistic, exclusionary and immoderate? Could such principles in fact strengthen the rule of reason in politics? Many secular and Christian thinkers agree that the answers to these questions must be no, only parting ways on their practical conclusions. But Aquinas' much-neglected De Regno suggests the matter is not so simple. In his careful pedagogical structuring of De Regno, Aquinas opens up the possibility of a kind of dialogue between convention, reason and revelation, one that permits him to propose and reformulate his political teachings according to diverse but convergent principles. I aim to develop an account of Aquinas' political teaching that reveals itself as indebted to revelation for its principles but grounded in and open to reason, and thus neither irrational, exclusionary nor immoderate. I will focus particularly on his treatment of the natural law. / text

The purpose of this study was to examine students' perspectives of writing instruction to gain insights into their awareness of the impact of high-stakes writing assessments on instructional practices and teaching strategies. Students in grades four and five who attended the 2004 Suncoast Young Author's Celebration (SYAC) served as the sample for this study. Data were gathered through surveys and interviews with 20 students who attended the SYAC. Survey questions were used to obtain general information about the students' perceptions of writing instruction and assessment. Interviews were conducted to gain a richer understanding of their perceptions of classroom experiences.The participants in this study provided descriptive data about their perceptions of writing in school. Fourteen distinct patterns emerged from the data which fell into three overarching categories: Writing, Teacher Instruction, and Testing.Findings suggest that students write for various purposes at school: for pleasure, to express themselves, to acquire and share knowledge, and because they are tested. The participants in this study spent a great deal of time discussing content area writing. During content area writing, students interacted with their peers which provided meaningful support to their writing development.According to the students, most teachers used a combination of grading methods when assessing writing. The students provided a great deal of data regarding the comments their teachers made on their writing assignments.A major finding was the amount of emotion that the students expressed regarding timed writing assessments. The data from this study do not specify whether or not teachers overtly discussed the significance of the FCAT. I expected the emphasis on high-stakes writing assessments to impact the individual attention that the students received; however, according to the students, their teachers' provided a great deal of support and guidance.Although the data did not produce what I expected, when I began analyzing the data it became apparent that FCAT Writing does influence many facets of the writing curriculum including grading, feedback, and conferencing.

In Kentucky, Best Management Practices (BMPs) were developed to protect the integrity of water resources during and after silvicultural operations, but their effectiveness is largely unknown. The study objectives were to (1) quantify the extent to which current BMPs minimized logging-related changes in stream water quality, channel morphology, and the content of woody debris and (2) quantify the extent to which modified BMPs influenced these characteristics. Six watersheds in eastern Kentucky were commercially logged in 2008-2009. In each watershed, one of three treatments was implemented (each replicated once). Treatment 1 (BMP) was based on current Kentucky BMPs. In treatments 2 (BMP+) and 3 (BMP++), current BMPs were modified with additional protective measures. Before the harvest, sampling sites were established in each watershed. Channel morphology and woody debris data were collected at each site in 2006 and again 2014. Data for water chemistry were retrieved from ongoing sampling records. BMP watersheds were compared to one another and to unharvested control watersheds in each year independently. Data within each individual watershed were also compared across years. The results indicate that current BMPs were effective in minimizing changes in the watershed characteristics examined here, and the benefits of modified BMPs were highly variable.

The aim of this study is to determine the extent to which Quality Management Practices has been effectively adopted and implemented by Pakistani manufacturing companies and to identify best practices for adoption by the companies. The study employed primary and secondary data sources to determine the relationship between QM and Productivity. The study used quantitative methodology for data collection and analysis. The survey responses were categorised into foreign owned companies (FOC's) and local owned companies (LOC's). The outcome of the descriptive and statistical analysis of the survey responses and secondary data of the companies found that, although most of the companies were aware of the significance of the QM practices and Productivity, FOC's were found to have performed highly better in the adoption and implementation of QM practices in their companies compared to locally owned companies. The study also revealed that there is positive relationship between quality and productivity of the manufacturing companies. The evidence deduced from the study shows that foreign owned companies have performed better compared to local owned companies in terms of quality and productivity. Furthermore, the evidence from this study also points out that, automobile sector of Pakistan performed well in the adoption and implementation of QM practices. Strong positive link between quality and productivity was found in the case of automobile companies. This study therefore recommends for manufacturing companies in Pakistan to effectively adopt and implement Quality management practices that encapsulate the study's framework for adoption of QM practices (see figure 7.1).

Over the last 10 years, the solar photovoltaic (PV) market has experienced tremendous growth due in part to government incentive programs. However the effect and welfare analysis of these policy instruments remain ambiguous. In the first chapter of my dissertation, we estimate a dynamic model of households investment decisions on rooftop PV systems to understand the impact of these programs on residential solar installations and evaluate the outcome of alternative incentive policies. The model separately evaluates the effect of system prices, up-front subsidies, tax credits and production revenues using a 5-year data set collected by the California Solar Initiative program, which subsidized solar installations in California. The results indicate that capacity-based subsidies are equally effective as production-based subsidies, but that the latter are more efficient. With a $100 social cost of carbon, the total subsidies in California would be welfare neutral. If California were only as sunny as Frankfurt, Germany, this value has to be $200 to be welfare neutral. We find that without subsidies, 85% of the existing installations would not have occurred. The second chapter of my dissertation is on the political economics of corruption. This is a relevant question in the Environmental Economics due to the human factors involved in government regulations. We investigate the effects of unhindered corruption in the entry-certifying process of an industry on market structure and social welfare. To gain entry, a firm must pay a bribe-maximizing official an exogenous percentage of anticipated profit, in addition to the usual set up cost. This would lead to a monopoly, but only in markets without pre-existing firms. A benevolent social planner may use bribery to the benefit of society by either manipulating the number of pre-existing firms in the market, or by setting up independent (corrupt) licensing authorities. A socially optimal number of firms in the market may be reached by choosing the right number of pre-existing firms or by having exactly two licensing authorities. These mechanisms may be seen as restoring second-best efficiency in settings characterized by two major sources of distortion: Imperfect competition and corruption.

According to the Nobel Prize winner Paul Krugman, “productivity isn’t everything, but in the long-run it is almost everything”. It is unfortunate that the productivity in the construction industry has lagged behind the manufacturing industry for the last several decades. The research presented in this thesis aims to improve productivity in the infrastructure sector of the construction industry by developing and validating Best Productivity Practices Implementation Index (BPPII) for Infrastructure projects. The BPPII Infrastructure is a check list of practices that are considered to have a positive influence on labour productivity at the project level for infrastructure projects. These practices have been identified through a literature review and consultation with industry experts, and have been anecdotally proven to positively affect productivity. These practices have been grouped together into a formalized set of BPPII’s categories, sections, and elements. Each practice and its planning and implementation levels have been completely defined. Each practice in the index has been assigned a relative weight based on its importance in affecting labour productivity. In total, there are 61 elements, 20 sections, and 6 categories. The six categories of the BPPII Infrastructure are: (1) Materials Management; (2) Construction Machinery and Equipment Logistics; (3) Execution Approach; (4) Human Resources Management; (5) Construction Methods; and (6) Health and Safety. The productivity factor defined as a ratio of estimated productivity and actual productivity was used as a metric to collect information about labour productivity. Data were collected for infrastructure projects on the planning and implementation level of practices, on the productivity factor, and on project schedule performance. The research hypothesis tested was that projects that have a high level of implementation of best practices as defined by the BPPII Infrastructure will have a better productivity performance than projects which have a low level of implementation of best practices. The regression analysis confirms that the BPPII score has a strong positive relationship with the productivity factor. ANOVA tests confirm that there is statistically significant difference between the productivity of projects that have a high level of implementation of practices and those that have a low level of implementation. Also, it was found that projects that have a high score on the index perform better in terms of project schedule performance than projects which have a low score on the BPPII Infrastructure.

Šiandien vaikas turi visas universalių žmogaus teisių dokumentų nuostatose įtvirtintas teises kaip suaugęs asmuo, tačiau to nepakanka. Nors vaikas yra kiekvienos visuomenės pagrindas bei ateitis, tačiau kartu jis yra kiekvienos visuomenės silpnoji dalis, priklausoma nuo aplinkos, dažniausiai nesugebanti apginti savo interesų, jo teises galima įgyvendinti tik per kitų asmenų – visų pirma, tėvų, teises ir pareigas. Tačiau daugeliu atvejų vaikų teisių ir teisėtų interesų pažeidimams atsirasti sąlygas sudaro būtent suaugusiųjų asmenų, tarpusavyje nesutariančių tėvų konfliktai. Vaikų, atsidūrusių tėvų konfliktų centre, padėtis yra reikalinga apmąstymų. Oficiali civilinių bylų statistika patvirtina, jog šiandien ginčų dėl vaikų gyvenamosios vietos nustatymo sprendimas teismine tvarka itin aktualus. Šių ginčų gausa įpareigoja valstybę bei visuomenę nebūti abejingais, kadangi adekvatus šių ginčų teisinis reglamentavimas gali kokybiškai užtikrinti vaiko teisių apsaugą. Darbe siekiama įvertinti, kaip įgyvendinami geriausi vaiko interesai sprendžiant ginčus dėl vaikų gyvenamosios vietos nustatymo, siekiama atskleisti šių ginčų probleminius aspektus, pasiūlyti galimus jų sprendimo būdus. Aptariamas teismo vaidmuo šio pobūdžio ginčuose, valstybinės vaiko teisių apsaugos institucijos dalyvavimas, siekiama įvertinti šių institucijų dalyvavimą geriausių vaiko interesų požiūriu. Analizuojamas pagrindinių principų, kuriais vadovaujantis sprendžiami ginčai dėl vaiko gyvenamosios vietos... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Today a child is entitled with the same rights enshrined in the provisions of the universal human rights documents as an adult, but it is not enough. Though the child is the foundation and the future of each society, at the same time it is the weakest part of every society, dependent on the environment, often unable to defend its interests; its rights can only be realized through the other personsʼ, in particular, parental rights and responsibilities. However, in many cases, the conditions for infringement of the childrenʼs rights and legitimate interests occur due to the conflicts arising between the adults, arguing parents. The situation of children, who find themselves in the centre of conflict of their parents, is to be considered properly. The official statistics of the civil cases proves that today the question of judicial judgment of the disputes on establishment of the residence place of the child is of particular interest. Multiplicity of such disputes obligates the state and society not to be indifferent, because the adequate legal regulation of these disputes can ensure the quality of protection of the childrenʼs rights. Masterʼs thesis aims to access realization of the best interests of the child in resolution of disputes regarding establishment of the residence place of the child, to determine the problematic aspects of these disputes, to offer possible solutions. Masterʼs thesis discusses the role of the court in such disputes, participation of the state child... [to full text]