The Racial Equality Directive – from law to practice. IES Policy Brief Issue 2013/07/September 2013

The transposition of the Racial Equality Directive (2000/43/EC) has immensely enhanced legal protection against discrimination on the grounds of racial and ethnic origin throughout the EU. More than 10 years after its adoption, the main challenge identified in many Member States is the enforcement of anti-discrimination laws in practice, in particular with regard to access to justice. Ultimately it is up to the domestic courts to ensure effective implementation of anti-discrimination law. Polls regularly show that the discrepancy between the levels of discrimination experienced and discrimination reported by victims must be seriously addressed. Awareness is low not only among the public but also among the members of the legal professions, leading to under-reporting of discrimination cases. In addition, data that reflect the ethnic or racial composition of the population are scarce which makes it difficult to prove discrimination before the competent authorities. Moreover, certain procedural difficulties that affect access to justice and effective enforcement also stem from the short limitation periods foreseen in legislation, lengthy procedures, evidence, high costs and failures in the provision of legal aid, ineffective sanctions, as well as barriers in the form of language and issues relating to legal standing or legitimate interest. The law remains complex and remedies often inadequate

Assessing the Impact of Chlorine Residual on Trihalomethane and Haloacetonitrile Formation Under Chlorination and Chloramination Disinfection Regimes

A disinfection byproduct (DBP) formation potential (FP) test can be used to indirectly measure the concentration of DBP precursors in natural waters, permitting assessment of various DBP-related treatment processes and control strategies. While these tests require a 7-day chlorine residual (CR) between 3-5 mg L-1 as Cl2, it is not well known if this recommended residual corresponds to the true DBPFP (i.e., the maximum concentrations) for trihalomethanes (THMs) and haloacetonitriles (HANs). In this study, THMs and HANs were quantified as a function of CR under three common disinfection regimes: (1) free chlorine at pH 7.0 (FC7), (2) monochloramine at pH 7.0 (MC7), and (3) monochloramine at pH 8.3 (MC8). Three source waters were collected, one from a drinking water source (LW) and two from the effluent of a wastewater treatment plant (WW1 and WW2), and used to generate a total of 90 sample waters for the DBPFP experiments. Trichloromethane (TCM) was the predominant THM formed in the sample waters, and, for MC8, achieved its maximum value of ~40 µg L-1 at a CR of 30 mg L-1 as Cl2 (referred to as CRMAX), and in excess of the 3-5 mg L-1 as Cl2 target residual. For the FC7 and MC7 disinfection regimes, TCM concentrations continued to increase beyond the maximum CR achieved in this study (73.6- and 17.1 mg L-1 as Cl2, respectively), indicating its true FP was not reached. CRMAX values for the bromine-substituted THMs and HANs varied by disinfectant type and pH, however none were between the 3-5 mg L-1 as Cl2 recommended residual, and were limited by the low bromide concentrations in the source waters (\u3c 0.24 mg L-1). For dichloroacetonitrile, the predominant HAN formed, the CRMAX was 1.5-1.7 mg L-1 as Cl2 for FC7 and in excess of 15 mg L-1 as Cl2 for MC7 and MC8. The results of this study demonstrate the impact of CR on the formation of THMs and HANs, and can be leveraged to help assess various DBP-precursor removal processes and be used to guide development of more a more robust DBPFP test

On the finite energy classes of quaternionic plurisubharmonic functions

We investigate the finite $p$-energy classes $E_p$ of quaternionic plurisubharmonic functions of Cegrell type. We also construct an example to show that the optimal constant in the energy estimate is strictly bigger than $1$ for $p>0$, $p\neq 1$. This leads us to the fact that we can not use the variational method to solve the quaternionic Monge-Amp\`ere equation for the classes $E_p$ when $p>0$, $p\neq 1$

Study on model for cutting force when milling SCM440 steel

This article presents empirical study results when milling SCM440 steel. The cutting insert to be used was a TiN coated cutting insert with tool tip radius of 0.5 mm. Experimental process was carried out with 18 experiments according to Box-Behnken matrix, in which cutting speed, feed rate and cutting depth were selected as the input parameters of each experiment. In addition, cutting force was selected as the output parameter. Analysis of experimental results has determined the influence of the input parameters as well as the interaction between them on the output parameters. From the experimental results, a regression model showing the relationship between cutting force and input parameters was built. Box-Cox and Johnson data transformations were applied to construct two other models of cutting force. These three regression models were used to predict cutting force and compare with experimental results. Using parameters including coefficient of determination (R-Sq), adjusted coefficient of determination (R-Sq(adj)) and percentage mean absolute error (% MAE) between the results predicted by the models and the experimental results are the criteria to compare the accuracy of the cutting force models. The results have determined that the two models using two data transformations have higher accuracy than model not using two data transformations. A comparison of the model using the Box-Cox transformation and the model using the Johnson transformation was made with a t-test. The results confirmed that these two models have equal accuracy. Finally, the development direction for the next study is mentioned in this articl

On the weighted m-energy classes

In this article, we investigate the weighted $m-$subharmonic functions. We shall give some properties of this class and consider its relation to the $m-$Cegrell classes. We also prove an integration theorem and an almost everywhere convergence theorem for this class

Forward Kinematics Based Prediction for Bending Motion of Soft Pneumatic Actuators with Various Air Chambers

This study proposes a forward kinematic model for soft actuators that utilize pneumatic control to predict their bending motion, which is simulated using Ansys software. Firstly, a bending motion test is conducted with a 2-air chamber actuator to derive an equation that establishes the relationship between the bending angle and input pressure. Next, a serial model for the overall soft actuator is developed using forward kinematics with the DH method. The angle variables in the soft actuator are then replaced with an equation that relates the deformed angle and compressed air. Finally, the proposed serial model is used to predict the bending motion of 4-air and 6-air chamber actuators, and the results are compared to simulations and real experiments. The comparison shows that the proposed model could accurately predict the bending motion of the real actuators within an acceptable tolerance of 10%

World and United States Wheat Supply, Demand, Prices and a Pricing Model

this thesis is composed of three studies. They will provide farmers, decision makers, and analysts information about wheat supply, demand, and prices. The first study, World's Wheat Supply, provides an overview about world's wheat production, stocks, consumption, harvest calendar, and 10-year average monthly price trend of major wheat producing countries. The second study, World's Wheat Exports, Imports, and Prices, provides information about world's wheat exports, imports of major exporters, importers. In addition, it compares monthly price trends among classes of wheat, and major exporters. The data are from Economic Research Service of United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The third study, Rework of a Simplified Procedure to Predict Seasonal Average Wheat Price, provides an explanatory model of wheat price. It provides analysts, decision makers with a simple model to estimate wheat price based on supply/demand information from the World Agriculture Supply and Demand Estimate (WASDE) report of USDA.Department of Agricultural Economic

Business Culture Issues in Vietnam: Case Studies

What practical issues can arise when doing business in Vietnam? How is Vietnam adapting to the demands of the market economy? In particular, how does a knowledge of Vietnamese business culture, and history, help to clear up misunderstandings – especially involving relations between foreign business people and representatives from Vietnamese business and government? Does the Vietnamese experience have a broader value in the Asian region, where numerous different societies have been seeking a way to engage vigorously in international commerce – yet without losing touch with their own ethical foundations? ... ¶ This volume presents case study material relating to business in Vietnam. It outlines real issues and problems that have arisen – and then seeks to provide a cultural and historical context in which to understand them, and perhaps even solve them