Undue Influence and the Law of Wills: A Comparative Analysis

Fastighetsmarknaden har visat på ett växande behov av ett hjälpmedel för fastighetsvärderare som underlättar implementeringen av byggnaders gröna egenskaper i värderingsprocessen, samt för att investerare ska kunna se specifika gröna egenskapers effekt på fastighetsvärdet. Användningen av ett flertal olika miljöklassningssystem på marknaden skapar svårigheter vid jämförelse. RICS har tagit fram ett utkast på en hållbarhetschecklista för att komplettera värderingsutlåtandet med en utökad beskrivning av fastigheterna med en systematisk redovisning av egenskaper relevanta ur ett hållbarhetsperspektiv. Dess syfte är att tydliggöra skillnader och öka utbudet av tillgänglig transaktionsdata med en påföljande ökad transparens på fastighetsmarknaden. Studien syftar till att undersöka hur en hållbarhetschecklista kan tas fram, se ut och fungera, samt om den kan implementeras i ett projekt för en samhällsfastighet. Genom att använda mig av utkastet från RICS och intervjua aktörer på fastighetsmarknaden har en lista tagits fram som jämförts med miljöklassningssystemen och implementerats på ett specifikt projekt. Utfallet har sedan analyserats och legat till grund för de slutsatser som dragits. Resultatet av studien visar att den lista som utgår från RICS ”Sustainability Checklist” med relevanta hållbarhetsaspekter kan implementeras även på samhällsfastigheter då dessa innehar liknande egenskaper som de kommersiella fastigheterna, med vissa skillnader, som övergripande beror av: budgetrestriktioner, lokala förhållanden samt regleringar från kommunen och övriga parter. Även val av miljöklassningssystem har en viss påverkan på utfallet i fallstudien, då ett nära samband finns mellan parametrarna i hållbarhetschecklistan och miljöcertifieringssystemen, och där de kommersiella fastighetsutvecklarna i högre grad har valt att certifiera sina byggnader med de internationella systemen som är mer komplexa och innehar ett högre antal parametrar. Emellertid bygger en framgångsrik implementering av listan på att värderarens roll ändras till mer informerande, vilket också ställer krav på kunskapsnivå och utbudet av utbildning och vägledning för professionella värderare, en uppgift som ska upptas av professionella värderingsorgan. Slutligen fastställs att listan bör bearbetas ytterligare, med utveckling och förtydligande av vissa aspekter för att underlätta insamling av information samt underlätta för värderare att i praktiken kunna använda den som ett komplement i värderingsarbetet.The real estate market has shown an increased demand among real estate appraisers for a tool to facilitate the implementation of green building features into the valuation process, and for investors to discern a specific green feature’s impact upon value. The wide range of green building rating systems used on the real estate market today causes difficulties in comparison. To supplement the valuation report with an extended description of the properties including a systematic presentation of relevant features from a sustainability perspective, RICS (2012) has formed a draft of a ”sustainability checklist”, which purpose is to highlight differences, increase the supply of information and enhance transparency in the property market. The study aims to investigate the development, design and function of a sustainability checklist, and whether it can be implemented on public properties. A list was created based on the draft from RICS ”Sustainability Checklist”, and interviewed players in the real estate market, which were implemented on a specific project consisting of a public building. The result of the study was analysed and has formed the basis of the conclusions drawn. The result of the study conducted within this thesis shows that the list based on RICS ”Sustainability Checklist” with sustainability aspects included can be implemented also on public buildings, as these buildings possess similar features as the commercial buildings. Some main differences can be seen, overall resulting from: budget constraints, local conditions and regulations from the municipality and other parties. Also, the choice of a certain green building rating system influence the effect on the outcome, whereas a close relationship can be find between certain aspects within the sustainability checklist and green building rating systems, and the commercial real estate developers increasingly chose to certify their buildings with the international systems, which are more complex and contain a higher number of aspects. However, in order to achieve a successful implementation of the list among appraisers within the real estate market, the role of the valuer must change to more informative, which also make demands on the level of knowledge and the provision of training and guidance for professional appraisers, a task to be undertaken by professional valuators. Furthermore, it is also established within this study that the list should be further processed and modified in order to facilitate the gathering of information and to simplify for the appraiser to use it as a supplement within the valuation process

A New Look at Azimuthal Wave Propagation Constants of an n-Layered Dielectric Coated PEC Cylinder

A method for determining the azimuthal wave propagation constants supported by an n-layered dielectric coated PEC cylinder is presented. The method, based on a Green\u27s function described in , is designed to optimally handle layered cylinders where the number of layers is extremely large as might be encountered in structures designed using transformational optics. The method is also tractable for any stratification profile without the need for individual layer analysis. We implement a recently developed numerical method to calculate Bessel functions of complex order and argument. Our method is verified by comparison with previously published results. We also present new results for a 5-layer case demonstrating self consistency and improved accuracy over published methods. Finally, to illustrate the method\u27s benefits, we present a brief analysis of two multilayer structures; a multilayer variation of the coated cylinder presented in and an example of a 7-layer case that approximates a material parameter gradient

Our Shrinking First Amendment: On the Growing Problem of Reduced Access to Public Property for Speech Activity and Some Suggestions for a Better Way Forward

The Article posits that the scope of certain First Amendment protections has contracted rather than expanded over time and uses access to public property for speech activity as an exemplar of this troubling phenomenon The Roberts and Rehnquist Courts have issued decisions that significantly restrict access to public property for speech activity Under the rubric of the public forum doctrine less public property is available today for speech activity than was the case under the precedents of the Warren and Burger Courts Moreover even with respect to government property that constitutes a traditional or designated public forum the federal courts have permitted government to burden or even banish speech activity through the adoption and enforcement of time place and manner TPM regulations By way of contrast during the Warren and Burger Court eras the federal courts generally presumed that government property must be available for speech activity the burden fell squarely on the government to justify denying access to public property for First Amendment activities Our Shrinking First Amendment posits that the contemporary public forum doctrine in conjunction with the TPM doctrine vests too much discretionary power with government to squelch speech activity on public property Instead of using a rigid categorical approach to decide whether government must make public property available for speech activity the federal courts should instead use a functional approach to decide what constitutes a public forum “ essentially the approach used by the Warren and Burger Courts Simply put public spaces compatible with First Amendment activity should be available for such activity Second federal courts should be less ready to sustain TPM regulations “ particularly when the context of their adoption suggests a censorial motive It is probably unrealistic to propose a complete return to the open balancing test that prevailed under the Warren and Burger Courts Even if this is so however the public forum and TPM doctrines could be reformed to create literally more breathing space for First Amendment activities essential to sustaining the project of democratic selfgovernmen

An Efficient Cost Function for the Optimization of an \u3cem\u3en\u3c/em\u3e-Layered Isotropic Cloaked Cylinder

In this paper, we present an efficient cost function for optimizing n-layered isotropic cloaked cylinders. Cost function efficiency is achieved by extracting the expression for the angle independent scatterer contribution of an associated Green\u27s function. Therefore, since this cost function is not a function of angle, accounting for every bistatic angle is not necessary and thus more efficient than other cost functions. With this general and efficient cost function, isotropic cloaked cylinders can be optimized for many layers and material parameters. To demonstrate this, optimized cloaked cylinders made of 10, 20 and 30 equal thickness layers are presented for TE and TM incidence. Furthermore, we study the effect layer thickness has on optimized cloaks by optimizing a 10 layer cloaked cylinder over the material parameters and individual layer thicknesses. The optimized material parameters in this effort do not exhibit the dual nature that is evident in the ideal transformation optics design. This indicates that the inevitable field penetration and subsequent PEC boundary condition at the cylinder must be taken into account for an optimal cloaked cylinder design. Furthermore, a more effective cloaked cylinder can be designed by optimizing both layer thickness and material parameters than by additional layers alone

The Shot (Not) Heard \u27Round the World: Reconsidering the Perplexing U.S. Preoccupation with the Separation of Executive and Legislative Powers

Since the drafting of the U.S. Constitution in 1787, the document has served as a model for constitutional design for many other democratic polities. Core elements of U.S. constitutionalism, including adoption of a written constitution, entrenched and judicially enforceable human rights, and federalism, have become commonplace in other nations’ constitutions. One key element of U.S. constitutional structure, however, has failed to find a receptive audience abroad: the separation of legislative and executive powers. Most modern democracies have broken with the British model of parliamentary supremacy in favor of some system of judicial enforcement of entrenched human rights, but nevertheless have retained the British practice of selecting the heads of executive branch agencies from within the ranks of the legislature. This Article explores the U.S. commitment to separating and dividing legislative and executive powers, and posits cultural pluralism as a key reason for this structural commitment. In addition, it suggests that creating a political check on the legislative process provides an additional normative reason for embracing the practice. In the end, U.S. separation of powers doctrine reflects the distinctive nature of the polity: in a cultural jambalaya, citizens have good cause to be suspicious of the government and its motives, and hence to establish structural safeguards against the perceived risk of tyranny