UN Trust Funds as Agent to Fulfill the Norm Adapting and Diffusing Functions

This thesis focuses on existing large-scale general trust funds at the United Nations (UN) Secretariat, as one example of the important transformations of the UN. They were created around the 1990s amid a paradigm shift in international relations after the end of the Cold War. They function as autonomous entities to carry out specific mandates to tackle emerging global issues in responding to the requests of a limited number of UN member states that provide voluntary contributions of significant sum. The thesis explores answers to the questions of why such general trust funds were created within the UN Secretariat, and why they continue to exist and expand. To address these questions, two theories of international relations are called upon: first, the theory of Principal-Agent relationship based on rational functionalist approach focusing on the trust funds’ efficiency and accountability to meet the interests of donors; and, second, constructivism highlighting the trust funds’ autonomous function in adapting and diffusing norms. The thesis illustrates the theoretical application by presenting a case study of one of the UN general trust funds - the United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF) - and how its functional efficiency has been fulfilling donor interests and how and to what extent it has been adapting and diffusing its specific norm and practice: the promotion of democracy at the grass-roots level and the engagement with non-state actors within the UN

A Study on Disassemblability and Feasibility of Component Reuse of Mobile Phones

AbstractReuse is a good way to prolong product life and reduce environmental impact due to production. When the whole product cannot be reused, reuse of components might be the option. Mobile phone is a product in which technological progresses are made every year. Components of mobile phones often have high qualities. Such components may have good functionalities after the lives of the phones themselves. This paper focuses on mobile phone components and tries to find the feasibility of reuse. Because of the functionality of the component, the paper selects liquid crystal display (LCD) as the target of reuse. Firstly, disassemble experiments are carried out to clarify disassemble time and bottlenecks of dismantling. Secondly, design improvements to enhance disassemblability are discussed. Then, by comparing LCDs of mobile phones with target products, technological feasibility is examined. Finally, the paper concludes component reuse of LCD can be feasible by implementing design for disassembly

6-Methyl­pyridin-3-amine

In the mol­ecule of the title compound, C6H8N2, the methyl C and amine N atoms are 0.021 (2) and 0.058 (2) Å from the pyridine ring plane. In the crystal structure, inter­molecular N—H⋯N hydrogen bonds link the mol­ecules