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The roads constitute a major part of the nation’sinfrastructure. For the society and the individuals it isimportant with a well functioning road network. To sustain theimpact from traffic intensity and heavy loads durable pavementsare demanded. Concrete pavements for roads with high trafficintensity and heavy loads are common in the USA and in severalEuropean countries. In Sweden, less than 1 % of the roadnetwork consists of concrete roads. The research about concrete road pavements has been focusingon development of design methods and studies of surfaceproperties like friction, longitudinal evenness, wearresistance and noise. To increase the knowledge and use ofconcrete roads there is a need to optimise the differentfunctional properties with regard to each other and to socialfactors. The objective of this doctoral thesis is to survey, analyseand quantify relationships between functional properties ofconcrete roads and social factors such as environmental impact,traffic and user safety, riding comfort and economicconsiderations (costs). The goal is to develop a model that canbe used as an instrument for optimising the concrete roaddesign. This thesis describes a thorough literature investigation,special studies on road lighting design of concrete pavements,laboratory investigations about saw-cutting times for jointsand bonding properties of dowels and development of anoptimisation model. The literature investigation has resultedin compiled knowledge on functional properties of concreteroads and their relationships with social factors. A compiledanalysis has also been performed from follow-ups of the fourconcrete roads constructed in Sweden in the 1990s. From thespecial study on road lighting design, proposals are made forusing new values for brightness and specularity and changingthe classification of wet concrete pavements. Theinvestigations of joint performance have given recommendationsfor the earliest saw-cutting time for joints in concrete roads.An optimisation model is proposed, and presently parts of themodel can be used for economic comparisons between differentalternatives. The proposed model needs further research regardingvaluation of the relationships before the model can be used asa total model. Other areas interesting for further researchare: road lighting design and especially wet pavements, upperbound of sawcutting time for joints and further analysis ofdowel performance.

<p>The roads constitute a major part of the nation’sinfrastructure. For the society and the individuals it isimportant with a well functioning road network. To sustain theimpact from traffic intensity and heavy loads durable pavementsare demanded. Concrete pavements for roads with high trafficintensity and heavy loads are common in the USA and in severalEuropean countries. In Sweden, less than 1 % of the roadnetwork consists of concrete roads.</p><p>The research about concrete road pavements has been focusingon development of design methods and studies of surfaceproperties like friction, longitudinal evenness, wearresistance and noise. To increase the knowledge and use ofconcrete roads there is a need to optimise the differentfunctional properties with regard to each other and to socialfactors.</p><p>The objective of this doctoral thesis is to survey, analyseand quantify relationships between functional properties ofconcrete roads and social factors such as environmental impact,traffic and user safety, riding comfort and economicconsiderations (costs). The goal is to develop a model that canbe used as an instrument for optimising the concrete roaddesign.</p><p>This thesis describes a thorough literature investigation,special studies on road lighting design of concrete pavements,laboratory investigations about saw-cutting times for jointsand bonding properties of dowels and development of anoptimisation model. The literature investigation has resultedin compiled knowledge on functional properties of concreteroads and their relationships with social factors. A compiledanalysis has also been performed from follow-ups of the fourconcrete roads constructed in Sweden in the 1990s. From thespecial study on road lighting design, proposals are made forusing new values for brightness and specularity and changingthe classification of wet concrete pavements. Theinvestigations of joint performance have given recommendationsfor the earliest saw-cutting time for joints in concrete roads.An optimisation model is proposed, and presently parts of themodel can be used for economic comparisons between differentalternatives.</p><p>The proposed model needs further research regardingvaluation of the relationships before the model can be used asa total model. Other areas interesting for further researchare: road lighting design and especially wet pavements, upperbound of sawcutting time for joints and further analysis ofdowel performance.</p>

Since the 1980s, New Public Management (NPM) has deeply influenced the public sector across the world, and thus measuring or managing performance has become a principal element of government reform. In terms of borrowing models and techniques from the private sector, performance measurement has been significantly extended into government, but differences between the two sectors have led to difficulties and criticism of this practice with a wide inconsistent variety of different theoretical explanations about it. In this context, this thesis investigates the effectiveness of performance measurement and theoretical explanations of conditions for its success in the public sector. It focuses through a comparative methodology on Comprehensive Performance Assessment and Joint Performance Assessment that have recently been introduced between the levels of government in England and Korea for the improvement of local government performance and accountability. Extensive analysis of literature and case studies have allowed the thesis to find firstly, that the introduction of such unique assessment systems, by which the centre assesses localities, was deeply affected by the environmental commonalities of both countries such as centralisation in inter-governmental relations and enthusiasm for NPM. Second, the empirical evaluation of both tools shows that they have in practice been valid for accurate assessment, and directly functional for improvement and indirectly for accountability to the public. Their high validity and functionality proved to be mainly attributable to two characteristics. One was institutionally that both frameworks were based on a balanced approach to performance and the disclosure of assessment results to the public for facilitating competition between localities. The other was that both had impacted on internal management of local government which led to change in organisational culture with more focus on performance. However, it identified a necessity for local authorities to participate in the development process of those tools to ensure legitimacy of central management of local performance since they enjoy their own electorally based political support. The research has also found the importance of assessors’ expertise for accurate assessment and a possibility that performance measurement can contribute to the resolution of political tension and cooperation between central and local government when it focuses more on outcomes than input and process. A deeper theoretical and practical understanding of these successful experiences and important policy elements in contemporary public management contributes significantly to knowledge in the three settings of evaluation of policy instruments, comparison between countries and central-local relations. Finally, the study assists each country and others to draw lessons from each other.

Alumina-to-alumina brazed joints were formed using 96.0 and 99.7 wt.% Al2O3 ceramics in as-ground and in ground and heat treated conditions using TICUSIL® (68.8Ag-26.7Cu-4.7Ti wt.%) braze preforms of thicknesses ranging from 50 to 250 μm. Brazing was conducted in a vacuum of 1 x 10-5 mbar at 850 °C for 10 minutes. Joint strengths were evaluated using four-point bend testing and were compared to the flexural strengths of standard test bars according to ASTM C1161-13. Post-grinding heat treatment, performed at 1550 °C for 1 hour, did not affect the average surface roughness or grain size of either grade of alumina but affected their average flexural strengths, with a small increase for 96.0 wt.% Al2O3 and a small decrease for 99.7 wt.% Al2O3. Post-grinding heat treatment led to secondary phase migration, creating a fissured 96.0 wt.% Al2O3 surface. This affected the reliability of 96.0 wt.% Al2O3 brazed joints, in which braze infiltration was observed. As the TICUSIL® braze preform thickness was increased from 50 to 150 μm, the average strengths of both 96.0 and 99.7 wt.% Al2O3 brazed joints improved. This occurred due to a microstructural evolution, in both sets of joints, which was studied using SEM, TEM and nanoindentation techniques. An increase in the TICUSIL® braze preform thickness increased the amount of Ti which was available to diffuse to the joint interfaces. This led to increases in both, reaction layer and braze interlayer thicknesses. Excess Ti in joints that were made using TICUSIL® braze preforms thicker than 50 μm, led to relatively hard Cu-Ti phases in an Ag-Cu braze interlayer. Cu-Ti phase formation, which may have reinforced joint strength whilst also reducing CTE mismatch at the joint interface, also led to Ag-rich braze outflow at the joint edges. Brazed joints made using as-ground 96.0 wt.% Al2O3 consistently outperformed brazed joints made using as-ground 99.7 wt.% Al2O3, due to the formation of Ti5Si3 phases at locations where the Ti-rich reaction layer intersected with the triple pocket grain boundary regions of the as-ground 96.0 wt.% Al2O3 surface.

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Summary. In this thesis there is treated legal institute solidary obligation relationship. It is one of that legal institutes which are not in the limelight of as many specialized works as they should be for their frequency of their use in practice. Although it could seem at first sight that the solidary obligation relationship is formed enough that there cannot arise any faintnesses there, but the opposite is true. There is not a one united theoretical view of solidary obligation relationship; the solidary obligation relationship can be understand as a one obligation relationship by the first view called theory of unity, but it can be understand as more obligation relationships which exist between creditor and every solidary debtors (in case of passive pluralism) or between debtor and every solidary creditor (in case of active pluralism) by the other view called theory of plurality. The most of specialized literature which take heed of solidary obligation relationship and which were written in recent time understand the solidary obligation relationship in accordance with the theory of plurality. This thesis in opposite to that specialized works understands solidary obligation relationship as a one obligation relationship in accordance with the theory of unity which is preffered in practice although it is...