Imitation is a fundamental way of acquiring knowledge in human development. In their theory of goal-directed imitation (GOADI), Wohlschl&auml / ger et al. (2003) divide the representation of observed movements into hierarchically organized aspects the highest of which is usually the goal. In a face-to-face imitation task young children usually copy the (spatial) goal of the body movement in terms of perceptual mirror symmetry rather than match them conceptually onto their own body, as adults do. We refer to these imitation schemes as &ldquo / mirroring&rdquo / and &ldquo / matching&rdquo / respectively. In the present study, we investigate the effects of age and perspective of the child with respect to the experimenter (0&deg / , 90&deg / , 180&deg / ) in two imitation tasks, a hand-to-ear and a cup-grasping task. Moreover, we evaluate the developmental changes in the imitative behavior of children from a dynamical systems perspective. Children were supposed to imitate the movements of the experimenter. Tasks were conducted on 4.5- to 11-year-old Iranian pre-school and elementary school children (81 female, 84 male). Imitation scores for the spatial goal were analyzed in terms of mirroring or matching. Imitation schemes varied according to age and perspective in both tasks. Overall, older children&rsquo / s imitations of movements were more adult-like as established by an adult Iranian control group than those of the younger ones. They rather matched than mirrored observed movements. In the 180&deg / and 90&deg / conditions the mirroring scheme was predominant, but in 0&deg / matching was predominant. GOADI was confirmed / however it was qualified by the child&#039 / s perspective on the experimenter. Children&rsquo / s imitations showed a non-linear shift from perceptually-based mirroring to conceptually-based matching of observed movements onto their own body. This shift happens between 6 and 8-9 years of age. The amount of matching depends not only on age but also on control parameters such as spatial perspective, task demands, and exposure.

Arsenic is found in drinking waters in many countries and since maximum allowable concentration is as low as 10 &micro / g/L, there are many research efforts to separate it from water. Membrane methods are used more and more widely in separation operations in recent years. Arsenic is mainly present in water as arsenite [As(III)] and arsenate [As(V)]. As pH of water changes, molecular formulas of As(III) and As(V) change. In this study, the performance of different ultrafiltration membranes for arsenic removal from water was investigated at different pH values, different feed concentrations and presence of other anions (SO42-, HPO42-, NO3-, Cl-). Donnan exclusion effect on separation was discussed since distribution of arsenite and arsenate anions change in water due to change in pH of the solution. Experiments were conducted via batch and continuous modes. For continuous ultrafiltration experiments, 30 kDa of polysulfone and 20 kDa of polyether sulfone membranes were used. Batch ultrafiltration experiments were performed with the usage of 3 kDa of regenerated cellulose membrane. Higher retention values for As(V) were obtained compared to retention values of As(III). When membranes&rsquo / performances were investigated, it was seen that highest As(V) removal was observed with the usage of polysulfone membrane. Increase in feed concentration and presence of other anions caused decrement in separation. Hydride Generation Atomic Absorption Spectrometry was used to perform analyses. Hydride generator part was designed, constructed and optimized to obtain reliable and accurate absorbance values.

Abstract ¡@¡@The motion when two parting in machine into contact can combine squeeze and sliding motion. This situation does occur for example in the meshing of gear teeth and in heavily loaded rolling elements bearing etc. In this study, the experiment is used to investigate the microscopic mechanism of the oil film under the combined squeeze and sliding motion. ¡@¡@The laser optical system is employed in the starting friction tester to measure the film thickness accurately by the principle of optical interferometry. High-speed video camera with the microscope records the dynamic characteristics of lubrication in the diminutive contact region. ¡@¡@Results show that the dimple becomes deeper with increasing squeeze velocity. When sliding velocity increases, the duration of dimple becomes shorter, but when the squeeze load increases, the dimple can keep longer. Furthermore, the dimple diameter increases with increasing the curvature radius of steel ball at the same experiment condition.

Pyrolysis has been a useful procedure to treat waste-tire, which decomposes waste-tire at high temperature in the absence of oxygen. This thermal decomposition process generates pyrolysis oil, combustible gas, and char, which distribute in liquid phase, gas phase, and solid phase, respectively. Pyrolysis oil and combustible gas are fuels, while char is composed of carbon black and ash. Thus, char would be economically worth while to be treated before reuse. In this study, based on the resistivity difference between carbon black and ash, ash can be removed from char in the principle of electrostatic separation and thus increase the value of char. In this study, the objective was to separate ash from char by electrostatic separation process, different char including waste-tire pyrolytic char (raw char), low pressure re-pyrolytic char, ZnO-added char (12% ZnO mixed with 600 oC re-pyrolytic cahr) and man-made char (N600 carbon black mixed with 14.5% metallic oxide) were tested. The Electro-Static Separator (ESS) was designed and constructed with two types of discharge electrodes including a needle-plate electrode (NPE) and a needle-bar electrode (NBE) and two kinds of dust feeders to generate either fine or coarse particles. The results indicated that raw char had higher collection efficiency using the NBE system than the NPE system in the operating voltages of -7 kV to -15 kV because the surface area of the NBE system was less than the NPE system, thus led higher surface charge density for the NBE system than the NPE system, resulting in higher discharge current of the NBE system. In order to lower resistivity and reduce deposited pyrolysis oil on char, low pressure repyrolysis process was used. Because the removal efficiency of pyrolysis oil is proportional to repyrolysis temperature, more pyrolysis oil can be removed from the surface of char, resulting in more carbon blacks exposed on the char surface as conductive material. Thus, the collection efficiency of 600 oC repyrolytic char was less than that of 400 oC repyrolytic char. Furthermore, because particle charging quantity was proportional to particle size, fine char particles had less collection efficiency than coarse char particles. However, both raw char and repyrolytic char, the collection efficiency of carbon and ash had similar trends, suggesting that similar percentage of carbon and ash were collected on the plate and penetrated the ESS system. Therefore, the separation efficiency of carbon and ash were similar, same situation was observed for the ZnO-added char. In order to verify the feasibility of carbon and ash separation by electrostatic separation process, N660 carbon black mixing with 14.5% man-made ash (Al2O3, ZnO and CaO composed) to simulate man-made char, which was further used to proceed the electrostatic separation experiments in this study. The results indicated that the collection efficiency of man-made char increased with operating voltage, and the ash content seems to increase with voltage. Carbon black is a low resistivity material, which causing sparkover during the experiments, thus operating voltage cannot be regulated more than -8.25 kV. In order to verify the feasibility of carbon black and ash separation by the principle of electrostatic separation, this study applied non-linear regression to model the collection efficiency of man-made char, carbon black and ash, and further simulate the collection efficiency at higher electrical field strength. The simulated results indicated that the maximum collection efficiency of carbon and ash was approached around -10 kV/cm of carbon black and ash and their collection efficiencies were similar. The collection efficiency of ash was close to the ash content of man-made char (the collection efficiency of ash equal to the collected ash per mass of injected char), suggesting that most injected ash was collected by the ESS system. In addition, the ash content of penetration char was also simulated, the modeling results showed that the ash content of penetrated char were lower than 2%, while was relatively lower than the raw man-made char, and more than 75% injected char could penetrate the ESS system during the operation procedure. According to the modeling results, solid-solid separation technology could be more efficient if carbon and ash are independently separate particles, and lower resistivity materials would penetrate the ESS system and higher resistivity materials would be collected by the electrostatic separation process.

Since Convention on the Rights of the Child of the United Nations are released, children's best interests becomes the highest principle for every state having legal system to deal with children's affairs. So we can say that the first serious mission of the subject of modern parent and tot's relation is protecting minor children's interests, then keeping the marriage and family peace and stable identity relations and etc. is the next. And in order to reach the above-mentioned purpose, the numerous countries have begun to examine their law of the marriage and family, even some advanced countries have abolished the differentiation between legitimate and illegitimate children too, in order to reach the demand for this two equalization. Now people of our country and mainland China ( what follows we call them two sides) contact with each other frequently, and then the extramarital sexual intercourse of people of two sides becomes numerous, and the quantity of the legitimate children also increases year by year. Base this, the announcement of the Equal Principle between legitimate and illegitimate children in mainland China marriage law has a deep meaning, but when we review our country, we find that our law about children's affairs has no response for the above-mentioned things. Even now our law about children's affairs still maintain the differentiation of legitimate and illegitimate children and also especially discriminate against the children of the mainland China in "The ordinance of people's relationship between Taiwan and mainland China ". So this thesis's aim is checking the legal system related to legitimate and illegitimate children of two sides by the standard namely with the children's best interests and look over them to find they observe the standard namely with the children's best interests or not. By the way, this thesis will try to find the reason and the cause that helping legal system about legitimate and illegitimate children stand out ,and try to find the real way to make legitimate children equal with illegitimate children in the modern status which has varied family type and varied pattern of both sexes getting along with each other. To this end, the thesis want to set up a new ¡§legitimate children presumption¡¨system to adapt to the above-mentioned purpose, and doesn't make children unequal just because their parents aren't husband and wife , and our law ¡]or mainland China's law¡^about children's affairs will juxtapose advanced countries.

<p>The purpose of this master’s thesis is to explain and analyze whether today’s existing regulations provide sufficient guidance on how to apply the Profit Split Method (PSM) in practice. Since the enterprises’ profits arising from intra-group transactions increases, the tax base for any government also becomes larger and more important. This issue will likely become even more problematic as the globalization branches out and the majority of the global trade is undertaken between associated enterprises.</p><p>In order to satisfy all parts and serve the dual objective of securing an appropriate tax base in each jurisdiction and avoiding double taxation, one ambition of the OECD is to harmonize the transfer pricing rules and make them become more uniform. An area in which this goal can be accomplish is at an international level such as the OECD; an important developer in the field of transfer pricing. Different transfer pricing methods has been developed which can be applied by both taxpayers and tax authorities to determine a correct transfer price. Six of these methods has gained international acceptance, although to a more or less extent among various countries, and one of these methods is the PSM. In the years between 1979 and 1995, the OECD had a reluctant standpoint of accepting the application of any transfer pricing method based on profits, such as the PSM. This hesitant viewpoint changed in the existing TPG which explicitly stipulates that the PSM could provide a transfer pricing estimation in accordance with the ALP, which should be accepted in exceptional cases.</p><p>There are certain situations where a PSM possibly will provide the most appropriate arm’s length result. Since the principle of economics can create complex business environments of both vertical and horizontal integration, contributions of valuable intangibles on both sides of the cross-border transaction, the PSM might be the only method which can be employed. A relevant issue which need to be enlightened is whether the existing guidance provided by the OECD and USA is sufficient from a practitioners and tax administration point of view, or is more guidance needed to better understand the issues surrounding the concept of the PSM. The fact that OECD insist of using comparables to the highest extent as possible when employing the PSM entails practical problems, since it is rather a rule than an exception that reliable comparables cannot be found when valuable intangibles are involved.</p><p>The Arthur of this master’s thesis has identified three key conclusions which might facilitate how PSM issues can be handled in the future and improve the existing PSM guidance. These conclusions are the need for a uniform PSM interpretation, the need for additional flexibility and acceptance, and the need for additional TPG guidance.</p>

<p>The transfer system was created in order to control player movement between football clubs and has existed since the late nineteenth century. During the negotiation of today’s transfer rules FIFA, UEFA and the Commission found that a breach of contract during the season could upset the balance of competition and therefore should be restricted. It was considered necessary to strengthen the contractual stability and to apply a special rule to preserve the regularity and proper functioning of competition. This was done by the means of a provision stipulating that a football player only can be registered to play with a national association during one of the two registration periods per year, generally known as the transfer windows.</p><p>Sport has never been included in the formal structures of the European Union and the regulation of sport has instead materialized through verdicts from the European Court of Justice. One of the most influential statements emerging from the Court is that sport is subject to Community law in so far it constitutes an economic activity. Consequently, if the activity is economic there is a risk that it infringes EU law. The purpose of this master thesis is to examine the FIFA transfer window system and to determine whether it violates Article 39 and/or Article 81 EC.</p><p>The transfer windows, a regulation strengthened by the ECJ in the case of <em>Lehtonen</em>, restrict the ability of players to seek alternative employment and could therefore be regarded as a violation of the free movement of workers. In order to trigger the Treaty provisions guarding the right of freedom of movement the person in question must be a national of a Member State of the European Union and the activity must have a territorial dimension beyond the borders of a single Member State of the European Union. The person in question must also be engaged in some kind of economic activity. It is, however, clear that football players who are members of the European Union and are applying for a job in another Member State, and are performing at a certain level, fulfil these requirements. Footballers should therefore be considered as workers within the meaning of Article 39 EC and the prohibition of discrimination contained in that article which catches non-discriminatory private collective measures, such as the transfer system, invented by regulatory bodies like FIFA and UEFA.</p><p>When considering the FIFA “windows system” it is clear that it is liable of restricting the ability of players to seek alternative employment in another Member State and should therefore be regarded as a violation of Article 39 EC. Nevertheless, restricted transfer periods have been found by the ECJ to be objectively justified as having sporting benefits in the Belgian Basketball league. It is, however, likely that the “window system”, as it operates in European football, goes beyond what is necessary to achieve team and player contract stability since it is too restrictive and somewhat redundant. Consequently, the FIFA transfer windows do not comply with the requirements of the principle of proportionality and should therefore, if challenged, be regarded as a violation of Article 39 EC.</p><p>The use of transfer windows in European football can also be considered to be an issue for competition law and in particular Article 81 EC. The article prohibits all agreements between undertakings that restrict competition and affect trade between Member States and has the objective to protect consumers, enhance their welfare and to facilitate the creation of a single European market. The ECJ has, however, acknowledged a certain type of sporting rule that, even though it restricts competition, will be granted immunity from Article 81 EC. The FIFA “windows system” should not be regarded as such a rule since it does not fulfil the required conditions.</p><p>The transfer windows do little for the competitive balance within the European football. It may be argued that it preserves the appeal and the unpredictability of the finishing stages of a championship. However, they also prevent clubs from developing their economic activity and restrict the free play of the market forces of supply and demand. Furthermore, the “windows system” hinders certain clubs from raising the quality of their sporting performance since clubs in minor leagues with a closed window are losing their best players to clubs in a better league with an open window, without being able to replace them. All of this affects the small and economically weak clubs and strengthens the position of the financially strong clubs. As a result a few strong clubs will, contrary to the best interest of consumers, continue to dominate European football. The FIFA regulation of transfer windows is therefore likely to fall under Article 81(1) EC.</p><p>It is unlikely that the pro-competitive benefits of the FIFA transfer windows outweigh its restrictive effects since it is improbable that they would be considered the least restrictive means of creating these benefits. Subsequently, the FIFA “windows system” would not qualify for an exemption under Article 81(3) EC and should, if challenged, be void under Article 81(2) EC.</p>

Die Glücksgöttin Fortuna in Rom ist wohl eine der bekanntesten Gottheiten, die menschliche Geschicke leiten sollen. Andere Schlagwörter in diesem Zusammenhang sind Zufall, Pech, Schicksal, Glückssträhne etc. Geht man davon aus, dass Menschen zu diesen Konstrukten greifen, weil sie die Geschehnisse in der Welt und die ihnen zugrunde liegenden Ursache-Wirkung-Beziehungen nicht verstehen, so ist eine Klärung des Kausalitätsprinzips nötig. Bisher ist es nicht gelungen, Kausalgesetze in der Geschichte zu ermitteln. Nichtsdestotrotz existiert eine Vielzahl von Ansätzen zur Untersuchung ursächlicher Beziehungen. Einige ausgewählte Konzepte werden in dieser Arbeit anhand von Fallbeispielen vorgestellt.

<p>Several factors have influenced the recent development in charging of heavy goods vehicles in Europe. European legislation is changed and the political will is strong in many countries. The public awareness and acceptance is large for the need to put a price and a cost on the use of infrastructure. Environmental concerns are also actuating change in this direction. Systems are being introduced to support and enhance principles of marginal cost, fair pricing, inclusion of emission factors and to support modal shift. This has laid the foundation for a payment will for good technical solutions in the field of road user charging.</p><p>This licentiate thesis aims at analysing and identifying the most important factors and areas to focus on for reaching a successful implementation of a system for charging heavy goods vehicles based on distance and marginal cost. These are:</p><p>- Public acceptance and use of opportunities and public opinion</p><p>- The political process and most important decision points</p><p>- The legal framework before and during introduction as well as for operation of a system</p><p>- The institutional framework</p><p>- Responsibility assignment</p><p>- System procurement and implementation, including procurement strategy, technology choices, testing and demonstration and interoperability</p><p>Another important contribution is the implementation process model for an introduction of a distance based system for heavy goods vehicles in a country. The model comprises of the most important aspects to consider which has been made through the study and analysis of both implemented and cancelled systems as well as planned introductions, where the Swedish work in this direction has formed the major part of the analysis. The implementation process model with its main actors, decision points and information flow between actor groups are cornerstones of the model, which can serve as a tool for future implementers to follow.</p>

<p>The Baltic Sea is a sensitive and unique ecosystem that has been strongly affected by human activity in the area. It is an important cultural and natural resource that contributes with several economic benefits. Among the many documents aiming to protect the Baltic Sea, this thesis concerns two of the action plans; An Agenda for the Baltic Sea Region – Baltic 21 and HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan, which are two of the most recognised documents aiming at protecting the Baltic Sea area. The two documents was analysed using three different types of text analysis.</p><p>As the main goal in all environmental protection is to urge preventive action in protecting the environment, the two documents will be analysed with the aim of investigating whether preventive action is advocated in the protection of the Baltic Sea, even though the region is threatened and have many problems from an environmental point of view.</p><p>The two documents differ structurally as their approaches differ. The HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP) has an ecosystem approach, whiles the Baltic 21 has sustainable development as its primarily approach. The results of the study further show that preventive action is advocated in both documents. However, the BSAP presents a cleared preventive approach and suggests more preventive action than Baltic 21. Baltic 21 lack a clear connection to the Baltic Sea and instead focus in the whole Baltic Sea area. There are few clearly preventive action presented in the protection of the actual Baltic Sea in Baltic 21. Instead the Baltic 21 shows a vague argumentation and few actions aiming at preventing environmental harm to the Baltic Sea.</p>