Applying the Market Participant Exception to Selective Purchasing Laws That Affect Foreign Commerce Relations: Reading Between the Lines of \u3cem\u3eNational Foreign Trade Council v. Natsios\u3c/em\u3e

In this Note, I will examine the background of the situation in Burma as well as the federal and state legislation passed in response to the atrocities occurring within Burma\u27s borders. I will then address the First Circuit\u27s holding that the Massachusetts Burma Law is unconstitutional, focusing on the court\u27s foreign Commerce Clause analysis and failure to apply the market participant exception. Finally, I will discuss the history of and the justifications for the market participant exception, exploring how the exception should be applied in the context of foreign commerce

Ceria-based anodes with cobalt and copper additions for the direct utilisation of methane in solid oxide fuel cells

The utilisation of hydrocarbons as fuels in solid oxide fuel cells presents as an ingenious alternative for boosting the market widespread of such technology. The main advantage is the lower need of infrastructure investments. Therefore, the objective of this thesis was to develop a ceria-based material with cobalt and copper additions to serve as anode for the electrochemical oxidation of methane. The electrocatalysts powders were synthesised with different proportion of cerium, cobalt and copper and were then tested and characterised. The characterisation was done by X-ray diffractometry, X-ray fluorescence, thermogravimetric analysis, temperature-programmed reduction, DC-conductivity tests and particle size distribution. The tests consisted in electrochemical performance and impedance, gas cromatography. Post-mortem characterisation was done by scanning electron microscopy and was focused in assessing eventual carbon deposition by Raman spectroscopy and temperature-programmed oxidation. The produced cells and compositions have shown to be suitable for operating with both hydrogen or methane as fuels in the range of 700-850C. The post-mortem showed the anode integrity and besides that, no significant carbon was found in the anode post-mortem bulk. Therefore, the anode material has presented itself as a promising alternative for real solid oxide fuel cells applications.O uso de hidrocarbonetos em pilhas a combustível de óxido sólidos tem se mostrado como uma engenhosa alternativa para tornar a aplicação mais viável facilitando sua penetração no mercado atual e diminuindo o aporte em investimentos infraestruturais. Portanto, o objetivo do presente trabalho foi desenvolver um material com uma matriz de céria e adições de cobalto e cobre para servir como anodo em pilhas a combustível de óxido sólido. O material deve ser capaz de promover a oxidação eletroquímica de hidrocarbonetos como metano. O eletrocatalisador foi sintetizado em diferentes proporções de cério, cobalto e cobre, foi caracterizado e testado segundo suas propriedades eletroquímicas utilizando-se de difratometria e fluorescência de raios X, análise termogravimétrica, redução a temperatura programada, testes de condutividade elétrica, testes de desempenho e espectroscopia de impedância eletroquímica, quantificação através de cromatografia dos gases produzidos. Por fim, as pilhas operadas foram submetidas à microscopia eletrônica de varredura, análises de espectroscopia Raman e oxidação a temperatura programada para avaliar a presença de eventual carbono proveniente de coqueificação. As pilhas produzidas se mostraram capazes de operar em temperaturas da ordem de 700-850C com hidrogênio ou metano como combustíveis. Os testes na pilha pós operada atestaram sua integridade além de confirmarem que quantidades irrisórias de carbono remanesciam em sua estrutura. Portanto, o material de anodo se mostrou promissor para aplicações reais em pilhas a combustível de óxido sólido

Proposta de um plano de capacitaçao empresarial para micro e pequenos empresarios

Orientador: Maria do Carmo Duarte FreitasMonografia(Graduaçao) - Universidade Federal do Paraná,Setor de Ciencias Sociais Aplicadas, Curso de Gestao da Informaça

Costa Rica aumenta su ambición climática imaginando colectivamente el futuro

La metodología de los escenarios futuros permite visualizar diversas situaciones para explorar variadas soluciones. En el Caso de Costa Rica, la cooperación interinstitucional ha permitido el explorar algunos escenarios, relacionando el cambio climático con otros factores, que, junto con métodos cualitativos y cuantitativos, facilita una visión acertada del futuro en determinadas condiciones. A partir de este ejercicio, se identificaron como factores críticos el cambio de uso del suelo, la gestión de la biodiversidad, la gobernanza de los recursos hídricos, el desarrollo tecnológico y las relaciones entre los países de la región, ante lo cual el MINAE asegura que las acciones a implementar deben trascender al cambio climático, para involucrar el desarrollo socioeconómico. Otro aspecto para considerar es la necesidad de desarrollar capacidad institucional para fortalecer la toma de decisiones que requerirá el futuro

"Eu sonho em ser uma pessoa digna" : uma análise do discurso sobre projeto de vida de jovens inseridos numa instituição de assistência social

Orientadora: Profª. Drª. Luciana Albanese ValoreDissertaçao (mestrado) - Universidade Federal do Paraná, Setor de Ciencias Humanas, Letras e Artes, Programa de Pós-Graduaçao em Psicologia. Defesa: Curitiba, 20/09/2013Bibliografia: f. 128-135Resumo: O presente trabalho investigou os sentidos atribuídos ao futuro e à construção de um projeto de vida no discurso de jovens que frequentam regularmente o Centro de Referência da Assistência Social numa pequena cidade no interior do estado do Paraná. Realizaram-se treze entrevistas individuais, com jovens de ambos os sexos e com idade entre 16 e 18 anos, que foram analisadas segundo o referencial da Análise Institucional do Discurso. Dentre os resultados, evidenciou-se que, na comunidade discursiva da qual fazem parte, pouco se fala sobre o tempo por vir. Poucos atribuíram sentidos e perspectivas ao futuro, principalmente em longo prazo. Solitários em seus pensamentos, a maioria dos jovens não encontram eco no discurso do outro para elaborar seus anseios de futuro ou, sequer, para ter anseios. Questões de gênero, capital e consumo também foram proferidas e compõem a subjetividade dos jovens e, desta forma, os pensamentos e imagens de futuro. Observou-se ainda que as práticas assistenciais constituem a identidade destes meninos e meninas. Nos discursos enunciados, tais jovens ou fixam-se na categoria daqueles que necessitam de ajuda ou resistem a este assujeitamento. Tais constatações podem contribuir para redimensionar a prática do psicólogo junto à assistência social, estendendo-a, também, para o âmbito da orientação profissional.Abstract: The present study investigated the meanings assigned to the future and to the youth's life project in the speech of the young people that frequently attend to the Reference Center of Social Assistance, in a small town in the heartland of Parana state. Thirteen youngsters of both sexes and aged between sixteen and eighteen were interviewed. These individual interviews were analysed according to the referential of the Speech's Intitutional Analyses. Among other results, it was evident that, in the discourse community where they belong, they speak little about the future. Only few of them have assigned the meanings and perspectives to the future, mainly long-term. Lonely in their thoughts, most of the young people do not find an echo in another's speech to elaborate the yearnings of their future or even to have yearnings. Issues about genre, capital and consumption also were uttered and compose the youngsters' subjectivity and, therfore, the thoughts and images of the future. It was still observated that the assistance practice compose the identity of these boys and girls. In the enunciated speech, or the youngsters fix themselves in the category of those that need help or resist to go through it. These observations can contribute to resize the practice of the psychologist with the social assistance, also extending it to the carrer guidance's scope

Ceria-Co-Cu-based SOFC anode for direct utilisation of methane or ethanol as fuels

Nickel-free solid oxide fuel cell anodes are an object of study for applications that aim at utilising primary carbonaceous fuels to generate power. In this study, a ceria-Co-Cu anode is produced and tested with hydrogen, methane and ethanol fuels at various temperatures.The produced catalysts were characterised by X-ray analysis and H2 temperature-programmed reduction (TPR). Catalytic tests were performed and compared with the material under electrochemical operation. The cells were electrochemically characterised by recording i-V plots. The samples were assessed post-test for eventual carbon deposits by Raman spectroscopy investigations and temperature-programmed oxidation (TPO) analysis.The cells were able to operate with hydrogen, methane as well as ethanol, directly fed to the anode, with maximum power densities ranging from 400 to 540 mW.cm−2, depending on the fuel stream utilised. The cells also kept their integrity demonstrating coking resistance for over 24 h of continuous operation. Important discussions and conclusions are drawn about carbon formation and the role of each compound in the anode composition. The bimetallic cell (ceria-Co-Cu) is herein compared to monometallic ones (ceria-Co and ceria-Cu) that served as baselines. The advantages of the bimetallic composition are listed and evaluated throughout the discussions

Considering the suitability of symmetrical cell testing in developing electrodes for solid oxide fuel cells via a study of different lanthanum nickelate cathode materials

Developing solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) with improved performance and lifetime continues to attract research attention from around the world. One important focus in this field is the synthesis of new air electrode materials that can replace the state-of-the-art lanthanum cobaltite-type phases. A host of materials with a wide range of properties has resulted. However, the means and metrics by which promising cathode materials are best characterised are not widely agreed upon within the literature and this can often complicate comparisons between studies. One common approach to conducting analysis of electrodes is to employ so-called ‘symmetrical cell’ tests which aim to isolate the performance of a specific electrode material under open-circuit conditions. However, despite the prevalence of symmetrical cell testing in the literature, there are some widely accepted limitations of the approach (e.g. limited to study at equilibrium conditions). In this work, a selection of air electrode materials with a wide range of properties were studied in both symmetrical and single cell testing set-ups. This case-study was conducted to identify the correlation between the two approaches and to understand how successful the symmetrical cell testing approach is in identifying favourable electrode materials. The results show that, whilst symmetrical-cell testing can be used to identify open circuit behaviours, the comparison between polarisation resistance at open circuit and performance under polarisation is not always perfectly correlated. Crucially, while the symmetrical cell test can provide some guidance in determining whether a new material may show promise, it highlights the need for more detailed studies to understand material performance under polarised conditions

Preparation of gadolinium-doped ceria barrier layer for intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cells by spin coating and evaluation of performance degradation by impedance analysis

Thin gadolinium-doped ceria (GDC) films were deposited via the cost-effective aqueous spin coating technique and with rapid one-step sintering at 1200 °C, to be used as barrier layer between a lanthanum strontium cobalt ferrite (LSCF) cathode and a scandia-ceria-stabilised zirconia (ScCeSZ) electrolyte within a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) configuration. A 5.5 μm-thick GDC film was deposited using a 50 wt% GDC slurry in 3 cycles. The single cell comprising this GDC film produced a peak power density of over 1.00 W•cm−2 at 750 °C in hydrogen operation. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy was carried out to investigate the SOFC performance evolution with potential changes in microstructure over time. An operational stability test was also conducted at a current density of 0.2 A•cm−2 for over 1200 h. The degradation behaviour of each electrochemical process as a function of cell operating time was evaluated by the distribution of relaxation times method based on the obtained electrochemical impedance spectra

O desamparo na construção do futuro de jovens em programas de assistência social

O estudo investigou os sentidos atribuídos ao futuro e à construção de um projeto de vida no discurso de jovens que frequentam o Centro de Referência de Assistência Social numa pequena cidade do interior, no sul do país. Realizaram-se treze entrevistas analisadas segundo o referencial da Análise Institucional do Discurso. Dentre outros resultados, evidenciou-se que, na comunidade discursiva da qual fazem parte, pouco se fala sobre o tempo por vir. Este parece ficar circunscrito à perpetuação da situação de pobreza vivenciada no presente. Tal condição, associada à sua percepção de que os programas de assistência visam exclusivamente à melhoria das condições materiais de vida, parece contribuir para a produção de um sentimento de desamparo quanto à possibilidade de dimensionar uma vida futura. Sugere-se a inclusão de ações de orientação profissional na prática do psicólogo na assistência social a fim de auxiliar a potencializá-la como estratégia de desenvolvimento e transformação social.Palavras-chave: juventude; pobreza; projeto de vida; assistência social; desamparo