Litigation In The Consumer Interest

The identification of the consumer as a discrete party, entitled to specific legal rights, is a product of the latter half of the twentieth century. Looking back on the last four decades, one can now clearly detect a trend for special legislation protecting the interests of consumers

Rethinking EU Consumer Law

In Rethinking EU Consumer Law, the authors analyse the development of EU consumer law on the basis of a number of clear themes, which are then traced through specific areas. Recurring themes include the artificiality of the EU’s consumer image, the problems created by the drive towards maximum harmonisation, and the unexpected effects EU Consumer Law has had on national law. The book argues that EU Consumer Law has the potential of enhancing the protecting of consumers throughout the EU and could offer a model for consumer law elsewhere in the world, but in order to unlock this potential, there needs to be a rethink with regard to the EU’s approach to consumer law and policy

Rethinking EU Consumer Law

This title is published in Open Access with the support of the University of Helsinki.In Rethinking EU Consumer Law, the authors analyse the development of EU consumer law on the basis of a number of clear themes, which are then traced through specific areas. Recurring themes include the artificiality of the EU’s consumer image, the problems created by the drive towards maximum harmonisation, and the unexpected effects EU Consumer Law has had on national law. The book argues that EU Consumer Law has the potential of enhancing the protecting of consumers throughout the EU and could offer a model for consumer law elsewhere in the world, but in order to unlock this potential, there needs to be a rethink with regard to the EU’s approach to consumer law and policy

Rethinking EU Consumer Law

In Rethinking EU Consumer Law, the authors analyse the development of EU consumer law on the basis of a number of clear themes, which are then traced through specific areas. Recurring themes include the artificiality of the EU's consumer image, the problems created by the drive towards maximum harmonisation, and the unexpected effects EU consumer law has had on national law.Peer reviewe

Dissemination of Consumer Law and Policy in Africa, Asia, the Americas, and Australia

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Fully 3D Printed Tin Selenide (SnSe) Thermoelectric Generators with Alternating n-Type and p-Type Legs

Tin selenide (SnSe) has attracted much attention in the field of thermoelectrics since the discovery of the record figure of merit (zT) of 2.6 ± 0.3. While there have been many publications on p-type SnSe, to manufacture efficient SnSe thermoelectric generators, ann-type is also required. Publications on n-type SnSe, however, are limited. This paper reports a pseudo-3D-printing technique to fabricate bulk n-type SnSe elements, by utilizing Bi as a dopant. Various Bi doping levels are investigated and characterized over a wide range of temperatures and through multiple thermal cycles. Stable n-type SnSe elements are then combined with printed p-type SnSe elements to fabricate a fully printed alternating n- and p-type thermoelectric generator, which is shown to produce 145 μW at 774 K

Rapid Printing of Pseudo-3D Printed SnSe Thermoelectric Generators Utilizing an Inorganic Binder

There has been much interest in tin selenide (SnSe) in the thermoelectric community since the discovery of the record zT in the material in 2014. Manufacturing techniques used to produce SnSe are largely energy-intensive (e.g., spark plasma sintering); however, recently, in previous work, SnSe has been shown to be produced via a low embodied energy printing technique, resulting in 3D samples with high zT values (up to 1.7). Due to the additive manufacturing technique, the manufacturing time required was substantial. In this work, 3D samples were printed using the inorganic binder sodium metasilicate and reusable molds. This facilitated a single-step printing process that substantially reduced the manufacturing time. The printed samples were thermally stable through multiple thermal cycles, and a peak zT of 0.751 at 823 K was observed with the optimum binder concentration. A proof-of-concept thermoelectric generator produced the highest power output of any reported printed Se-based TEG to date

Protecting the Values of Consumer Law in the Digital Economy: The Case of 3D-Printing

The law on consumer goods is currently underpinned to a significant degree by the need ethic (prioritising protection of consumers as vulnerable parties, over business self-interest and consumer self-reliance ). This is manifest in strict and quasi-strict liability standards. Notwithstanding 3D-printing innovations, there is a good case for adherence to the need ethic: The risks (of poor quality and unsafe goods) are as high as before (or higher); consumers are as vulnerable (or more so) than before; and there is insufficient evidence that the need ethic undermines innovation. We will argue in this paper that, despite the innovative aspects of 3D-printing, the law can often continue to reflect the need ethic via existing legal principles (current strict and quasi strict liability standards), subject to some extensions (e.g. as to supplier and producer liability for digital content), and through clarifications of existing legal rules and principles (e.g. as to who counts as a professional business supplier). However, to ensure that the need ethic is respected fully in all aspects of this technology, the law may need to go beyond these clarifications and modest extensions. For example, the increasing difficulty of locating the source of a quality or safety problem and the impact this has on a consumer’s ability to discharge the burden of proof, increase the need to impose some ‘network’ liability, involving re-allocation of responsibilities to traders (e.g. internet platforms) who would not be responsible under traditional legal regimes. This analysis is significant in providing specific doctrinal solutions for an important and emerging sector of the consumer economy. More generally, it provides a new theoretical framework for analysing how consumer law should deal with the challenges of innovation