Scientific evidence is increasingly relied on in litigation. Discussions and debates aimed at enabling courts to make the best use scientific evidence are therefore critical. This thesis adds the perspective of procedural legitimacy to the science and law dialogue. Procedural Legitimacy is the concept that consistent adherence to legal procedure maintains the overall legitimacy of the legal system, and the validity of its outcomes. I argue that to maintain legitimate legal outcomes, procedural rules must be applied consistently and vigilantly to scientific evidence. This means that admissibility rules must be applied properly to scientific evidence, and that admitted scientific evidence must be duly scrutinized and weighed against the legal standard of proof. This ensures that the legal outcome will be based on valid legal facts. When the law is applied to those legal facts, litigants are legitimately bound by the judicial decision, despite the risk of factual inaccuracy. / The bulk of this thesis develops the notion of procedural legitimacy, and argues that its role in the adjudicative process is vital. The argument is founded on the conditions of uncertainty in which legal decisions are made. I show that both liability determinations and damages determinations in personal injury actions are made in conditions of uncertainty, and are dependent on consistency in procedure to maintain legitimacy. Ultimately, I apply the procedural legitimacy argument to admissibility and use of scientific evidence, and endorse the recommendations of the Goudge Inquiry in that respect.

La question à laquelle ce travail tente de répondre est la suivante: l'intérêt d'assurance doit-il être considéré comme un élément constitutif de la déclaration initiale du risque en assurance de dommages? Notre hypothèse de travail dans ce contexte est que l'intérêt doit être déclaré dans la mesure où il constitue un risque moral. Afin de soutenir notre argumentation, nous avons divisé notre étude en deux parties. Premièrement, nous avons examiné toutes les facettes de l'intérêt d'assurance. Tout d'abord son historique, ensuite sa définition et enfin l'interprétation qu'en ont donnée les tribunaux au fil des ans. Puis, nous avons fait de même avec la notion de déclaration initiale de risque. Plus particulièrement, nous avons examiné les conséquences d'une brèche à l'obligation de l'assuré à l'étape de la formation du contrat. Les conclusions que nous avons tirées de cette analyse sont les suivantes: 1. Il existe toujours un questionnement quant au moment précis où l'assuré doit remplir son obligation de détenir un intérêt d'assurance. L'intérêt d'assurance pourrait être examiné uniquement à l'arrivée du sinistre, alors que la déclaration initiale de risque doit être examinée au moment de la souscription de l'assurance; 2. Les différents intérêts qu'une personne peut avoir dans un bien n'influent pas directement sur le risque assurable, contrairement à la déclaration initiale qui sert justement à circonscrire le risque. Cette conclusion est par ailleurs conforme à l'historique de l'exigence de l'intérêt lui-même, quoique certains jugements affirment le contraire; 3. L'intérêt d'assurance peut être modifié en cours de contrat sans entacher la validité du contrat alors que la déclaration initiale de risque ne peut être modifiée sans encourir le risque de voir la prime d'assurance augmentée ou le risque d'assurance refusé: 4. Par contre, l'intérêt particulier qu'une personne détient dans une chose peut constituer un risque subjectif accru pour l'assureur dans certaines circonstances. / This work tries to answer one question: should the insurable interest be an element of the initial declaration of risk? Our main hypothesis is to prove that the interest must be declared when it constitutes a moral risk. To support our opinion, we divided our argument in two parts. The first one is dedicated to the insurable interest : its definition, its history and its interpretation given by the court through the years. ln the second part, we discuss the representation of risk. Particularly, we examine the consequences of a breach in the insured's obligation to divulgate ail the pertinent information to the insurer. Our conclusions are the following : 1. An interrogation still exists concerning the insured's obligation of having an insurable interest at the moment of the loss or also at the signing of the contract. Some authors consider that the insurable interest has to exist only at the loss; 2. The different interest which a person can have should not influence directly the risk, contrarily to the initial declaration which is used to identify and Iimit the risk. This conclusion is conform to the historie background of the insurable interest; 3. The insurable interest can be modify without changing the validity of the contract. On the contrary, the initial declaration of risk can not be modified without a raise in the premium or a refusaI; 4. The particular interest detained by an individual can constitute an increased subjective risk for the insurer in certain circumstances. / "Mémoire présenté à la Faculté des études supérieures en vue de l'obtention du grade de maîtrise en droit (LL.M.)"

<p><font size="3" face="Arial"><font size="3" face="Arial"> <p align="left">In this study, I will look at the common law principle of offset to see whether it can be applied to employers making deductions against employees for loss or damage. Notice is a quantifiable amount and is a legal debt / therefore. it should be able to be applied as an offset. Two subsections deal with deductions / after looking carefully at the wording of theses subsections I will try to determine whether the one is alternate to the other, or whether the narrow interpretation that the Department of Labour gives to the statute is accurate. A narrow interpretation of the law states that the employee must sign an acknowledgement of debt. However, employees often refuse to sign an acknowledgement of debt, thereby frustrating the law. Could this possibly have been the intentions of the drafters? Surely not, yet the Department of Labour, by having a narrow interpretation of the law, see it as such and as a result the employer is left out of pocket. In this mini-thesis, I will look at the way the law should be interpreted and the way it should be applied in practice.</p> <p>&nbsp / </p> </font></font></p>

Nonlinear optical frequency conversion is one of the most important key techniques in order to obtain lasers with wavelengths targeted for specific applications. In order to realize efficient and tailored lasers, the quasi-phase-matching (QPM) approach using periodically-poled ferroelectric crystals is getting increasingly important. Also understanding of damage mechanisms in nonlinear materials is necessary to be able to design reliable and well working lasers. This is especially true for high power application lasers, which is a rapidly growing field, where the damage problem normally is the ultimate limiting factor. In this thesis work, several promising novel ferroelectric materials have been investigated for nonlinear optical applications and the emphasis has been put on QPM devices consisting of periodically-poled structures. The materials were selected from three different types of ferroelectric materials: 1) MgO-doped stoichiometric LiNbO3 (MgO:SLN) and LiTaO3 (MgO:SLT), and non-doped stoichiometric LiTaO3 (SLT), 2) KTiOPO4 (KTP) and its isomorphs RbTiOPO4 (RTP), and 3) KNbO3 (KN). The focus in our investigations have been put on the spontaneous polarization switching phenomena, optimization of the periodic poling conditions, and the photochromic optical damage properties which were characterized by the help of blue light-induced infrared absorption (BLIIRA) measurements. With electrical studies of the spontaneous polarization switching, we were able to determine quantitatively, and compare, the coercive field values of different materials by applying triangularly shaped electric fields. We found that the values of the coercive fields depended on the increase rate of the applied electric field. The coercive field of KN was the lowest (less than 0.5 kV/mm) followed by the ones of KTP, SLT, and MgO:SLT (1.5 to 2.5 kV/mm). MgO:SLN, and RTP had relatively high coercive fields, approximately 5.0 to 6.0 kV/mm, respectively. Based on the domain switching characteristics we found, we successfully fabricated periodically-poled devices in all of the investigated materials with 30 μm periodicities and sample thickness of 1 mm. Blue light-induced infrared absorption (BLIIRA) has been characterized for unpoled bulk and periodically-poled samples using a high-sensitivity, thermal-lens spectroscopy technique. SLT showed a large photorefraction effect and the BLIIRA signal could not be properly measured because of the large distortion of the probe beam. The rise and relaxation time of BLIIRA, after switching the blue light on and off was in a time span of 10 to 30 sec except for KTP and its isomorphs, which needed minutes to hours in order to saturate at a fixed value. KN and MgO:SLN showed the lowest susceptibility to the induced absorption. Periodic poling slightly increased the susceptibility of KTP, MgO:SLT, and KN. Relatively high thresholds were observed in MgO:SLT and KN. By increasing the peak-power intensity of the blue light, the induced absorption for MgO:SLN, KTP and KN saturated at a constant value while that of MgO:SLT increase in a constant fashion. This trend is critical issue for the device reliability at high-power applications. / QC 20100830

本論文的研究重心為1980年聯合國國際商品買賣契約（以下簡稱CISG）七十四條第二段所規定之「預見可能性原則」。 第二章「預見可能性原則在比較法上的觀察」中整理大陸法系，普通法系及CISG的前身ULIS、國際統一商務契約原理和PECL等以預見可能性原則做為限制賠償責任制度的相關規定和研究成果，做為解釋CISG預見可能性原則的基礎。 第三章「CISG的預見可能性原則」則以CISG七十四條第二段的預見可能性原則規定為中心，分節探討其體系架構、構成要件，例如預見的主體、客體（包含損害的可能性、類型與規模）、判斷的主客觀標準、判斷時點及舉證責任等問題。除了以第二章在比較法上的觀察為解釋的材料以外，也視情況引用聯合國秘書處所提供之一九七八年CISG草案註釋。 第四章「預見可能性原則與我國法之比較分析」整理我國現行契約法上通用的責任限制原則──相當因果關係原則和法規目的原則，再將預見可能性原則與之分別比較分析，從其中觀察到不同的政策背景如何地影響制度的形成並造成彼此的差異。 最後，於第五章「結論」中總結本論文對CISG預見可能性原則及與我國法比較分析後的結論與論文寫作的一點心得。

Universiẗat, Diss.--Frankfurt (Main), 2001. / Literaturverz. S. 159 - 189.

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität, Göttingen, 2004. / English summary: International liability for damage caused by genetically modified organisms. Copyright by Max-Planck-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Wissenschaften e.V., to be exercised by Max-Planck-Institut für ausländisches öffentliches Recht und Völkerrecht, Heidelberg. Includes bibliographical references (p. [393]-410) and index.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, Technology and Policy Program, 2007. / Title from document title page. Includes bibliographical references. Available in PDF format via the World Wide Web.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-26T13:30:19Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 texto completo.pdf: 1669830 bytes, checksum: aa8f0b5ad8baa19129a43c823c004e96 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-05-30 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The present study was performed to obtain information on the biology of Oncideres saga (Dalman, 1823) and to evaluate the effects of its girdling of branches and trunks of Acacia mangium Willd. trees in terms of increase in diameter and height . The study on the biology of this insect pest was performed in a plantation of A. mangium located in Coimbra- MG, between September/2006-November/2007. Damage was assessed by collecting fallen branches and adults of this insect. The laboratory activities were performed in the Casa dos Cupins/UFV, in Viçosa-MG. The eggs of O. saga were of white coloration, of elongated shape, with length being approximately three times greater than the width average length of 3,54±0,03 mm and width 1,05±0,02 mm. The incubation period of eggs varied from 8 - 14 days and the viability was 52,89%. First instar larvae are whitish and semi- transparent, they have no legs, they have a prognathous head that is retracted in the prothorax, the antennae are short, and the mandibles are robust and short. The larvae average length was 2,92±0,04 mm, while the average widths of the body and of the head capsule were 1,02±0.01 mm and 0,62±0,01 mm, respectively. Sex of adults can be distinguished by total length of the antenna, with emphasis on the eleventh antennal segments. The occurrence period of O. saga was from January-April 2007 and the period of adult activity was 4 months. Adults of O. saga fed on the bark, on the epidermis of the leaf petiole (leafstalk) and also on the phyllode. Oviposition by O. saga in the branches of A. mangium was always close to the incision, with the egg being deposited between the bark and the xylem. There was only one egg per incision, rarely two and the average number of incisions for a girded branch was 80,33±16,81; the lower third had the largest amount of incisions (64,73%). It was found that 77,78% (n=9) of the girdle were made in the shaft. The average diameter of the girded branches was 6,68±0,70 cm and the average length of these branches was 3,45±0,16 m. With only one girdle, O. saga caused an average leaf loss of 135.069,4±24,354.4 cm2, which corresponds to a loss of 14,79% of foliar area of the tree. This beetle can therefore be considered an important defoliator of forests. The presence of one Scolytidae species was verified in branches of A. mangium girdled by O. saga, and four cerambycid species also emerged from these branches, which were identified as Engyum quadrinotatum Thomsom, 1864; Eburodacrys sexmaculata (Olivier, 1790); Achryson surinamum (Linnaeus, 1767) and Neoclytus pusillus (Laporte & Gory, 1838). Another experiment was carried out in May 2007 in order to evaluate the effect of sawing the main shoot of A. mangium. Blocks were randomized, and portions were subdivided according to ages of trees (from 40 - 46 months). Fifty-four trees were examined monthly in three blocks, in which three experimental treatments were applied, with six replicates for each one. The applied treatments consisted of "No damage" (T1= Control), "Artificial defoliation of the main shoot (T2) and "Artificial cut of the main shoot (T3). I also measured for each tree the total height (H) and the diameters with bark at 1,30 m (Breast diameter) and 20 cm (Base diameter) from the ground. It was concluded that the artificial cut of the main shoot (equivalent to girdling by O. saga) affected growth in diameter and in height. The effect on height was equivalent to the effect due to defoliation of A. mangium by O. saga. Thus, we conclude that this beetle can be considered as a serious defoliator in this forest system. / O presente estudo foi desenvolvido com o intuito de obter informações sobre a biologia de Oncideres saga (Dalman, 1823) e avaliar o efeito do roletamento do ponteiro principal de árvores de Acacia mangium Willd., realizado por este serrador, sobre o crescimento em diâmetro e altura. Os estudos foram realizados em um plantio de A. mangium localizado em Coimbra-MG. Primeiramente, estudou-se a biologia de O. saga de setembro/2006 a novembro/2007, através de vistorias no plantio com o intuito de avaliar o dano de O. saga, coletar galhos caídos e adulto deste inseto. As atividades de laboratório foram realizadas na Casa dos Cupins/UFV, em Viçosa-MG. Os ovos de O. saga apresentaram coloração branca, formato alongado, com comprimento aproximadamente três vezes maior do que a largura, estrutura do cório lisa, comprimento de 3,54±0,03 mm e largura de 1,05±0,02 mm. O período de incubação destes ovos variou de oito a 14 dias e a viabilidade foi de 52,89%. As larvas de primeiro ínstar apresentam tegumento esbranquiçado e semitransparente, são ápodas, do tipo cerambiciforme, com cabeça prognata e retraída para dentro do protórax; suas antenas são curtas, as mandíbulas robustas e curtas. O comprimento médio destas larvas foi de 2,92±0,04 mm, as larguras médias do corpo e da cápsula cefálica foram iguais a 1,02±0,01 mm e 0,62±0,01 mm, respectivamente. A época de ocorrência de O. saga foi de janeiro a abril de 2007 e o período de atividade de adultos foi de quatro meses. Adultos de O. saga se alimentaram da casca, do pecíolo das folhas e de parte do limbo foliar próximo do pecíolo. A oviposição por O. saga nos galhos de A. mangium foi realizada sempre próxima à incisão de postura, de modo a ficar entre a casca e o lenho. Foi encontrado um ovo em cada incisão de postura, raramente dois, e a média de incisões de postura por galho cortado foi de 80,33±16,81, apresentando o terço inferior a maior quantidade das incisões (64,73%). Adultos podem ser sexados com base no comprimento total da antena, com ênfase no décimo primeiro antenômero. Verificou-se que 77,78% (n=9) dos roletamentos foram realizados no fuste. O diâmetro dos galhos roletados foi de 6,68±0,70 cm e o comprimento destes galhos foi 3,45±0,16 m. Com apenas um roletamento, O. saga causou desfolhamento médio de 135.069,4±24.354,4 cm2, o que corresponde a uma perda de 14,79% da área foliar da árvore, e ele pode, assim, ser considerado um besouro desfolhador de essências florestais. Foi constatada a presença de um escolitídeo nos galhos de A. mangium roletados por O. saga e quatro cerambicídeos emergiram destes galhos, Engyum quadrinotatum Thomsom, 1864; Eburodacrys sexmaculata (Olivier, 1790); Achryson surinamum (Linnaeus, 1767) e Neoclytus pusillus (Laporte & Gory, 1838). Em outra etapa foi instalado um experimento para avaliar o efeito do corte do ponteiro principal de A. mangium, em maio de 2007, com delineamento em blocos ao acaso, e parcelas subdivididas no tempo em função das idades das árvores (40 a 46 meses). Foram avaliadas, mensalmente, 54 árvores dispostas em três blocos, nas quais foram aplicados três tratamentos, com seis repetições cada. Os tratamentos aplicados consistiram em Nenhuma injúria (T1=Testemunha), Desfolhamento do ponteiro principal (T2) e Corte do ponteiro principal (T3). Foram mensurados os diâmetros com casca a 1,30 m (DAP) e a 20 cm (DAB) do solo, e a altura total (H) de cada árvore no experimento. Como resultado, constatou-se que o corte do ponteiro principal, à semelhança do que faz O. saga, afetou o crescimento em diâmetro e em altura, e o efeito em altura é equivalente ao efeito devido ao desfolhamento, em A. mangium. Concluiu-se, assim, que o besouro serrador da espécie Oncideres saga pode ser considerado como besouro desfolhador, nesta essência florestal.

Revisorer har i uppdrag att granska företagens finansiella räkenskaper för att säkerställa attsiffrorna är rättvisande, trots att det inte är en fullständig garanti. Revisorn har ettskadeståndsansvar i de fall han eller hon vållar skada i det granskade företaget. Dennahermeneutiska studie har genomförts till följd av ett gap i forskningen gällande denriskproblematik i granskningen som kan föranleda skadestånd. Syftet med studien är attbeskriva riskproblematiken i granskningen kopplat till skadeståndsansvaret och hurproblematiken påverkar revisorns arbete, samt utveckla begreppet revisorns dilemma.Forskningsfrågan: Vilken riskproblematik i perspektiv av skadeståndsansvar finns och hurpåverkar den revisorns granskning? har med hjälp av en kvalitativ metod besvarats. Empirinär uppbyggd av tio personliga intervjuer med auktoriserade revisorer från små och storarevisionsbyråer verksamma i Västsverige. Resultatet visar att skadeståndsrisken och revisornsriskmedvetenhet har ökat de senaste åren. Risken för skadestånd är högre för större byråer,eftersom deras klientstock består av större klienter, till skillnad från mindre byråer. Revisornförhåller sig till skadeståndsansvaret, men påverkas dock inte av det i sitt dagliga arbete.Dessutom anses sanktioner från Revisorsinspektionen vara en mer betydande risk än ettskadeståndsanspråk. Många svårigheter i granskningen grundas i att de kräver en bedömningav framtida prospekter, som ibland stöds av få konkreta revisionsbevis. I granskningenbedömer revisorn poster utifrån revisionsrisken. I det fall klientens företagsledning undanhållereller förfalskar information ökar risken för att revisorn gör en felaktig bedömning. Därmedökar risken för att förskingring och annat mygel inte upptäcks. Denna farhåga stiger också dåföretagsledningen visar på hög riskbenägenhet. Slutligen kan skadestånd föranledas då revisornupplyser för mycket eller för lite i revisionsberättelsen. Både typ I- och typ II-fel utförda avrevisorn kan skada klienten och ligga till grund för ett monetärt anspråk. / The auditor has a task of reviewing a company's financial accounts to ensure that the numbersare accurate. Nevertheless, it is not an absolute guarantee of ensurance. The auditor is liablefor damages in the event of injury to the audited company. This hermeneutic study has beencarried out due to a research gap regarding the problematic risks in the audit that could lead todamages. The purpose of this study is to describe the problematic risks in the audit associatedwith the auditor’s liability of damages and how this affects the auditor's examination, as wellas to develop the concept of the auditor's dilemma. The research question: What problematicrisks in terms of liability of damages exist and how does it affect the auditor's examination?has been answered by means of a qualitative method. The empirical evidence consists of tenpersonal interviews with authorized auditors from small and large auditing firms operating inwestern Sweden. The results show that the auditor’s risk of being liable for damages, and thusthe auditor’s risk awareness, has increased in recent years. The risk of a claim for damages ishigher for larger auditing firms because their client base more often consists of larger clients,unlike smaller auditing firms. The auditor maintains an awareness for the damages liability butis, however, not affected by the liability in his or her daily work. In addition, sanctions fromthe Swedish Inspectorate of Auditors are considered to be a more significant risk than a claimfor damages. Many difficulties in the audit are based on the fact that they require an assessmentof future prospects, sometimes supported by few concrete audit evidence. In the audit, theauditor makes assessments based on the audit risk. In the event that the client's managementwithholds or falsifies information, it increases the risk that the auditor makes an incorrectassessment. This amplifies the risk of not detecting embezzlement and other manipulationsmade by the management of the client. This apprehension also enhances when the client’scorporate management exhibits high risk propensity. Finally, damages can be induced whenthe auditor remarks too much or too little in the audit report. Both Type I and Type II errorsmade by the auditor can damage the client and may form the basis for a potential monetaryclaim.