LL.M. (International Commercial law) / The primary objective of this thesis is not to question or investigate the existence of this doctrine but it attempts to illustrate the application of the doctrine of forum non conveniens in different jurisdictions, namely South Africa and the United Kingdom, as well as the position if the Brussels I Regulation applies. The objective is also to provide a comprehensive relative review of the doctrine of forum non conveniens, looking into both the history of the doctrine as well as the possibilities for the future development of the doctrine.1 A further aim is to see whether the doctrine is being applied correctly in the right situations and that, when it is applied, it does not lead to judicial abuse. The doctrine of forum non conveniens is applied exclusively in the common law countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada; it is not recognized in most civil law countries. The doctrine is applied differently in these nations. This doctrine applies between courts in different countries and between courts in different jurisdictions in the same country. It provides a flexible device to serve the forum states policy objectives and, in practice, it has been rather resistant to abuse.

A new legal phenomenon has emerged in recent years, as plaintiffs from developing countries have begun to initiate civil proceedings against multinational corporations in the courts where these companies have their headquarters. These suits have typically claimed damages for personal injuries arising from the multinationals' activities in a developing country. While the doctrine of forum non conveniens blocked many of the earlier attempts by plaintiffs to seek justice overseas, courts are increasingly refusing to dismiss these cases to ensure the interests of justice are served. The purpose of this thesis will be to compare the application of forum non conveniens to these cases in Canada, with the approaches in the U.K., the U.S. and Australia. The thesis concludes that Canadian courts have the jurisdiction to consider civil claims against a resident for extraterritorial harm and that this jurisdiction can be appropriately exercised where the foreign plaintiff is not likely to receive justice in the alternative forum. Precedents from the U.K., the U.S. and Australia, where courts have already accepted such jurisdiction, will also be examined for their relevance in Canada.

No description available.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2001. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

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Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2001. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 298-312). Availaible also in an electronic version.

Köln, Universiẗat, Diss., 2008.

Thesis (M.A.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / Hannah Arendt's meditations on the changing landscape of political life and private life in the 20th century still speak to us today. Her work anticipates the extent to which feelings of alienation stemming from post-World War II economic expansion and the subsequent suburban exodus resulted in a retreat from political and public life in America. Modern man took up shelter in his home, ideologically turning away from public and political life, and mass society's alienation of man only seemed to reinforce his conviction. Urban planners substituted neutral spaces for public social spaces in their designs, making these areas inhospitable to public gatherings. Thus, as man retreated into the shelter of the household and into familial intimacy, the outside world dissociated from the public until the public forum had all but disappeared. Reclaiming some sense of what was lost in the dissolution of the public realm is the antidote to the alienation we face as modern social beings. Mass society gathers us up into a huddled mass and yet fails to relate us to one another, and our own attempt to reach out to others and connect in a meaningful way through online social networks has set us adrift in a sea of passing acquaintances. Electronic social networking, still in its infancy, has the potential to help us connect with one another across great distances, and so the challenge is redesigning it to make it more conducive to the development of closer, more personal relationships. New designs for urban development must be implemented such that spaces previously designed to keep communities segregated and prevent people from gathering together are remade to create more open, yet carefully articulated space, as well as specialized areas that exist solely as public social spaces. In redefining our new social medium and reconfiguring our public spaces, we may yet address the problem of alienation and find the means to fulfillment as social beings. / 2031-01-02

[pt] Esta pesquisa tem como objetivo estudar a interação em um fórum de discussão online de um curso híbrido de formação de professores de inglês, com ensino presencial e a distância, em uma instituição particular de ensino de idiomas. Visando desenvolver uma investigação nas áreas de aprendizagem à distância e interação social, este trabalho busca responder a duas questões: (1) Como as relações interpessoais podem influenciar as práticas discursivas no contexto de aprendizagem online? (2) Tendo em vista os princípios de EAD, como o curso analisado reflete a perspectiva de aprendizagem colaborativa? O trabalho foi desenvolvido seguindo os fundamentos de Ensino a Distância (Burge, 1998; Lévy, 1993; Berge, 1995; Johnson e Johnson, 1994), os pressupostos teóricos da Lingüística Sistêmico-Funcional (Halliday, 1994; Halliday e Hasan, 1989; Thompson, 2004) e da Teoria da Valoração (Martin, 2000; Martin e White, 2005; White, 2005). O corpus utilizado é composto de aproximadamente 90.000 palavras e engloba trocas interpessoais entre tutores e cursistas, todos professores de inglês, em atividades plenárias e em grupos, desenvolvidas no fórum de discussão online. O discurso dos participantes foi analisado com o auxílio de ferramentas computacionais de buscas em contexto, e através da identificação manual de marcas lingüísticas de valoração. Resultados quantitativos e qualitativos da pesquisa apontam para a existência de pouca interação no fórum, além de relações assimétricas entre tutores e cursistas. Ambos os achados demonstram que este fórum de discussão online não se caracterizou como um ambiente propício à aprendizagem colaborativa. A pesquisa aponta para a necessidade de: (1) identificação e formulação de tarefas online com características mais compatíveis com o paradigma de aprendizagem colaborativa; (2) maior integração entre teoria e prática na área de ensino a distância; e (3) aprofundamento e disseminação do conhecimento acerca da prática discursiva de tutores, visando viabilizar um ambiente de maior colaboração entre os participantes. / [en] This research aims at studying the interaction taking place in the online discussion forum of a hybrid English teaching training course, with face-to-face and online components, at a private language teaching institution in Brazil. In order to conduct an investigation into distance learning and social interaction, this study tries to answer two questions: (1) How can interpersonal relationships influence discursive practices in the e-learning context? (2) Bearing in mind distance learning principles, to what extent does the analyzed course reflect the collaborative learning approach? The work was developed following distance learning principles (Burge, 1998; Lévy, 1993; Berge, 1995; Johnson e Johnson, 1994); a theoretical framework based on Systemic-Functional Linguistics (Halliday, 1994; Halliday e Hasan, 1989; Thompson, 2004) and Appraisal Theory (Martin, 2000; Martin e White, 2005; White, 2005). The 90,000-word corpus used for the investigation consists of exchanges between online tutors and course participants (all of them English teachers), working as one whole group or several small groups. Discourse was analyzed with the aid of a concordance software and linguistic appraisal features were identified. Quantitative and qualitative research results point to little interaction in the discussion forum, as well as to the existence of asymmetrical relationships among online tutors and course participants. Both findings demonstrate that this online discussion forum was not an ideal environment for collaborative learning. This research highlights the need for: (1) the identification and creation of online tasks which are more in tune with the collaborative learning concept; (2) a closer relation between theory and practice as far as distance learning is concerned; (3) further investigation and sharing of knowledge on tutors` discourse, so as to create a more inviting environment for collaboration.

Many traditional Internet forums have not adapted to the development of the web and their usability standard is low. In order to satisfy this unexplored market segment Zoorum AB is working on a project with the goal to develop a new kind of Internet application for topic oriented discussions. The goal of this master thesis is to design a usable Internet forum, in association with Zoorum AB and Teknikhuset AB. Our challenge was to manage the designprocess, contribute with competence in interaction and usability and functionas a connection between the technology and the users. The result is presented as guidelines for design and visualized in the shape of mock-ups.