The performance of pilots in the aerospace environment is a critical factor in the success of modern air and space travel. Various methods of evaluating performances of pilots have been implemented and the search for improved means of evaluation is an ongoing process. Multiple factors influencing performance have been identified in the past. However, as the demands on the pilot’s performances varies with changing technology, so does the need to identify new risk factors, as well as ranking old and new factors in order of effect on performance. Aim The descriptive study aims to identify and rank risk factors affecting the performance of pilots as assessed by the Penalty Scoring System at a Precision World Flying Championship. Methods and materials Pilots participating at the 2008 World Precision Championship in Ried-Kircheim in Austria were requested to complete questionnaires regarding possible factors that could affect performance stress factors. Each questionnaire required the subject to answer 14 questions, relating to 17 possible factors. These questionnaires were linked to the participant’s individual score as per the official competition results. Results Out of a total number (n = 178) of pilot performances during a week period, 88 % (n=157) completed questionnaires. Only 57% (n=89) of these performances were included in the study, due to administrative difficulties preventing the accurate linking of performances to penalty scores. Out of the 17 possible risk factors, 4 factors (23 %) were identified as being significantly associated with the Penalty Scoring System. Age proved the most consistent factor, the younger pilots (youngest aged 21) performing consistently better than the older ones (oldest aged 67), even if the older pilots may have had more experience. Experience also proved reliable as a factor predicting outcome, as the performances of the moderate experienced group (having competed in 3 or less previous World championships) was associated with a lower penalty score. The mood of the pilots on the day of competing proved to be an effective way of predicting outcome, with a good mood associated with a lower penalty score. Any medical condition or medication used, were associated with a higher penalty score. The remaining factors (n=13) showed no association, although some (n=5) factors, like sleep deprivation and alcohol are known risk factors. Conclusions The study succeeds in showing an association between the Penalty Scoring System and 4 factors (Age, Experience, Mood and Medical conditions) affecting the performance of pilots. Although not the aim of this study, the conclusion can be made that the Penalty Scoring System may be a valuable tool in identifying risk factors affecting pilot’s performance. / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / School of Health Systems and Public Health (SHSPH) / Unrestricted

A family of concave penalties, including the smoothly clipped absolute deviation (SCAD) and minimax concave penalties (MCP), has been shown to have attractive properties in variable selection. The computation of concave penalized solutions, however, is a difficult task. We propose a majorization minimization by coordinate descent (MMCD) algorithm to compute the solutions of concave penalized generalized linear models (GLM). In contrast to the existing algorithms that uses local quadratic or local linear approximation of the penalty, the MMCD majorizes the negative log-likelihood by a quadratic loss, but does not use any approximation to the penalty. This strategy avoids the computation of scaling factors in iterative steps, hence improves the efficiency of coordinate descent. Under certain regularity conditions, we establish the theoretical convergence property of the MMCD algorithm. We implement this algorithm in a penalized logistic regression model using the SCAD and MCP penalties. Simulation studies and a data example demonstrate that the MMCD works sufficiently fast for the penalized logistic regression in high-dimensional settings where the number of covariates is much larger than the sample size. Grouping structure among predictors exists in many regression applications. We first propose an l2 grouped concave penalty to incorporate such group information in a regression model. The l2 grouped concave penalty performs group selection and includes group Lasso as a special case. An efficient algorithm is developed and its theoretical convergence property is established under certain regularity conditions. The group selection property of the l2 grouped concave penalty is desirable in some applications; while in other applications selection at both group and individual levels is needed. Hence, we propose an l1 grouped concave penalty for variable selection at both individual and group levels. An efficient algorithm is also developed for the l1 grouped concave penalty. Simulation studies are performed to evaluate the finite-sample performance of the two grouped concave selection methods. The new grouped penalties are also used in analyzing two motivation datasets. The results from both the simulation and real data analyses demonstrate certain benefits of using grouped penalties. Therefore, the proposed concave group penalties are valuable alternatives to the standard concave penalties.

Charles University in Prague Faculty of Law Ing. Viera Krajňáková THE ISSUES OF EXCEPTIONAL PUNISHMENT Diploma thesis Abstract The Supervisor of Diploma thesis: doc. JUDr. Jana Tlapák Navrátilová, Ph.D. Department of Criminal Law Date of elaboration of Diploma thesis (closing the manuscript): 6. 9. 2021 THE ISSUES OF EXCEPTIONAL PUNISHMENT ABSTRACT The diploma thesis is focused on the description and evaluation of the basic forms of exceptional punishment, as they are known by the Czech legal system and legal systems of selected European states. The introductory part deals with the meaning and purpose of the institution of punishment as such and the basic streams of thought dealing with the justification of punishment as an intentional harm caused to the offender for the committed crime. The second part of the thesis analyzes the historical development of the types of punishments in relation to the development of its function, from various physical punishments through the death penalty to the modern imprisonment of a limited duration or for life. In the following sections, I tried to describe and evaluate the death penalty itself from the point of view of its conformity with the basic human rights, from the point of view of arguments presented by retentionists and abolitionists, its current use in various...

Problematics of extraordinary punishment - Abstract The aim of this thesis is to provide a comprehensive overview about a criminal law's legal institute of the extraordinary punishment. In this thesis I will comprise historical development of this legal institute and its connection with the death penalty. The first chapter is focused on defining the concept of punishment and its purpose, along with punishment theories. I will compare both theories with the extraordinary punishment. Subsequently I will deal with the historical development of punishment in the Czech republic in general, and than focus on the strictest penalties and finally I will represent historical develompent of the extraordinary punishment. The third chapter deals with the death penalty and its context. At the beginning I will shortly mention the history of the death penalty and than I will introduce situation in the world about the death punishment. Mostly this chapter analysis the arguments of supporter and opponents of the death penalty. In the fourth chapter I will deal with international sources that influenced the national adjustment of exceptional punishment primarily on the performance of imprisonment. The fifth part of my work will be based on the definition of substantive and processing provisions of the national adjustment of...

The abolition of the death penalty lies at the core of the EU’s human rights agenda. Iraq, a long-term partner of the EU, has one of the highest execution rates in the world. Despite the plethora of policies, agreements and strategies of the EU in its relations with Iraq, the death penalty remains unbridled and in widespread use. With human rights and the EU’s abolitionist policy constituting essential elements of the EU’s relations with third countries, it is vital to examine the extent to which this is the case in its relations with Iraq. The legitimacy of the EU as a leading promoter of the universal abolition of the death penalty is at stake. This thesis examines the subject of human rights promotion in the EU’s external actions with Iraq, focusing on the EU norm of the abolition of the death penalty. The EU as a ‘normative power’ in its relations with Iraq is analyzed. This thesis aims to answer the following questions: How has the EU’s foreign policy towards Iraq aligned with its normative objectives and human rights priorities? To what extent is the EU limited in its ability to promote the abolition of the death penalty in Iraq? The focus is on the period from 2004 onwards, as this marked the beginning of official EU-Iraq relations. The thesis concludes that the EU’s normative power is and will remain limited in its ability to bring about normative change as long as the Iraqi community and society continue to accept the death penalty as an appropriate punishment. Therefore, the EU must continually maintain its strong opposition to the death penalty by consistently addressing the death penalty in the documents with Iraq, working with the local community and civil society, and taking concrete action to provide for alternative punishments.

In this master's thesis the author proposes an optimized alternative of joint assessment. The author concentrates, in the first place, at the joint assessment as such. The first part is purely theoretical, followed by a model situation demonstrated on a family with children. The final part includes an evaluation of what options can be used in the previous model situation. In the conclusion the author comments also on the current public finance and tax reform in relation to possible end to joint assessment.

"Public opinion finds its way into the justice system and finally to the decision making platform of the courts through various channels. These include public opinion polls, legislative debates, writings of jurists, social pressures, political situations and referendum on legal issues. Regarding the death penalty, the role of public opinion becomes more debatable because as Kakooza explains, there is a difficulty of addressing death penalty issues as values, national aspirations and conditions of social intercourse vary from society to society. The death penalty touches life, which is the most important of all human rights. It, therefore, remains debatable as to whether it is the courts or the people that may decide the legality of criminal sanctions like the death penalty. Protection of judicial independence conflicts with the need for legitimacy, given that courts are occupied by un-elected judges. While sticking to legalistic and official positions, courts must keep in touch with the public since they need the latter's approval for decisions to be respected and implemented. It is also not clear whether, and if so, to what extent, courts may rely upon public opinion in making decisions, thus the importance of assessing the role it sould play and coming out with a way forward. ... Chapter one comprises the background of the study, statement of the problem, significance of the study, aims and objectives of the study, literature review, methodology and limitations of the study. Chapter two is a discussion of the role public opinion ought to play in court decisions in general, and decisions on the legality of the death penatly in particular. Chapter three is an analysis of the actual influence of public opinion on court decisions on the legality of the death penalty. It also has a comparison of court practice in Uganda and South Africa and includes a critique. Chapter four is a presentation of arguments for and against the role of pulic opinion in court decisions. Chapter five contains conclusions from the research findings and recommendations on how public opinion should be treated in court decisions generally, and the legality of the death penalty in particular." -- Introduction. / Thesis (LLM (Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa)) -- University of Pretoria, 2006. / Prepared under the supervision of Dr. Raymond A. Atuguba at the Faculty of Law, University of Ghana, Legon / http://www.chr.up.ac.za/academic_pro/llm1/dissertations.html / Centre for Human Rights / LLM

The thesis deals with the crime of women in Czechoslovakia. The aim of the theoretical and empirical work is to map the crime of women in Czechoslovakia, namely its occurrence, and to use selected case studies to find out the motives of women perpetrators, who were victims, and apply selected theories of crime to specific cases. In the theoretical part will be introduced basic theories and concepts related to crime , from the sociological, psychological and biological point of view. Given that the work focuses primarily on female crime, the next section will specifically focus on the specificities of female crime and define the types of female criminals with the motives behind the crime, especially with a focus on murder. The last part of the theoretical part is focused on how crime was measured not only in the period of Czechoslovakia, but also how it is measured today, and where it is possible to get information about this social phenomenon. The empirical part of the thesis is devoted to the research itself, in which both qualitative and quantitative data were used. It also includes research on historical archival research, as it was worked from sources from archives. In the empirical part of the thesis, we are already working with specific data, namely data that map women's crime in...

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This report addresses a project conducted at Saab Aeronautics during the spring of 2018. The goal of the project was to investigate aircraft weight estimations in the conceptual design phase. The work was divided into two major parts: finding new weight estimation techniques and implementing an existing technique called the Berry Weight Estimation in to the Pacelab APD software. Several weight estimation techniques were found during an extensive literature review but in the end, only one was chosen for further investigation. The chosen technique was the NASA Wing Weight Build-Up which proposed calculations for wing weights based on aircraft statistics. It contained material data tables for determining so called K-factors that were used to essentially scale the individual wing weight formulas. The data tables did not include K-factors up to a load factor of 9 which was a requirement from Saab. Extrapolations of the material data tables were done to approximate the missing values. The NASA wing weight build-up showed promising results with little deviation from the actual wing weight for a few chosen aircraft. This weight estimation technique was consequently chosen as a worthy candidate for a future implementation in the Pacelab APD software. The task of implementing the Berry Weight Estimation in Pacelab APD was divided into a fuselage- and a wing part. This was done to ease the implementation since it would resemble the original description of the method. The wing and fuselage weights were both calculated in two steps. The first step was to calculate a gross shell weight. This is the weight of an idealized structure without cut-outs or imperfections. The second step was to add so called weight penalties for various components within the wing or fuselage. Typical aircraft components had associating weight penalty functions described in the Berry Weight Estimation. Most of the implemented calculations used Pacelab APD to get involved parameters automatically. However, some of the needed parameters had to be user specified for the implemented Berry Weight Estimation to work. Once the implementation task was finished, several sensitivity studies were made to establish a perception about the involved parameters impact on the Berry Weight Estimation results. The new implementation gave benefits compared with the Berry Weight Estimation in Bex. One of these was the ability to perform extensive trade- and sensitivity studies. The sensitivity studies gave verdicts on the most influencing parameters of the implemented code and guide lines on future improvements of the calculations. These sensitivity studies show, among other things, that is recommended to increase the number of wing and fuselage stations significantly in order to get a converged result for the Berry Weight Estimation.