Search

The present thesis deals with the legal position of irregular migrants in the three receiving societies, i. e. Britain, Russia and South Africa. Irregular migrants are an exploited underclass enjoying very few, if any, entitlements in the host countries and so long as their numbers are substantial their status becomes problematic both for them and the receiving society. To deal with these challenges, I propose that immigration policies or regimes, directly or indirectly related to regulation of the irregular migrants' position (internal legal capacity) are too restrictive and discriminatory for the position of irregular migrants and do not constitute an effective means of immigration control. In order to test this hypothesis, a socio-legal analysis of irregular migrants' position is made in the following spheres: entry, residence, employment (including temporary labour migration policies) and social welfare. The position of asylum seekers constitutes an integral part of the present analysis. The research led to two general conclusions in relation to irregular migration. First of all, irregular migrants should be granted at least a limited internal juridical capacity in the countries of residence. Secondly, there should be a more liberal labour migration policy and more balanced approaches to the humanitarian needs of immigrants. These liberal solutions could nevertheless be combined with rigorous internal control.

The friction surfacing process is a derivative of friction welding and retains all the benefits of that welding process - solid phase, forged microstructures and excellent metallurgical bonds. This work is aimed at the development of mathematical and statistical models for the optimisation of the significant process parameters in order to allow rapid development of new applications using standard CNC equipment. Also the possibility of implementing real-time control systems have been investigated and developed. A friction surfacing database has been configured to allow continuos recording and storage of the useful machine outputs. Later, an infrared pyrometer and thermocouples have also been connected to the data acquisition set-up establishing fully automated information flow from the process. A conversion procedure has been developed to ensure that the experimental results are applicable in industrial environments. Response surface map and the method of visual optimisation have been developed. They are an essential part of the methodology for experimental optimisation of the friction surfacing process. The problem of modelling and optimisation has also been approached using accurate statistical methods. Artificial intelligence in the form of neural networks has been used to improve the accuracy of the derived friction surfacing analytical relationships. For the first time dynamic study of the process has been carried out and CARIMA models have been derived using a modified version of the recursive least squares, to ensure high sensitivity and stability of the identification procedure. New conversion technique has been developed, allowing the use of existing models for materials that have not been used for friction surfacing before, reducing significantly the number of experiments. The idea of using indicator parameters has been introduced for the first time in this research. Such parameters are the force, the torque and the interface temperature and they can be measured on-line. It has been shown that variations of these parameters reflect in the quality of the coating characteristics that cannot be measured on-line. Real-time control has also been considered. An algorithm involving fuzzy logic and self-tuning extremum controller has been developed to continuously monitor and compensate in real-time against the variations in the coating characteristics, and respectively in the indicator parameters. The proposed methodology has been used to design a control system that is capable of maintaining optimal process characteristics. The value of this work is also in reducing the lead-time and hence the cost for determining the optimum parameters for a given coating material on a given substrate geometry. This is an important feature when developing new applications for the friction surfacing process. On the basis of this research a range of new commercial applications have emerged including the manufacture of machine knives for the food, pharmaceutical and packaging industries, repair of car engine valve seats, turbine blades, reclamation of shafts, etc.

The purpose of this study is to provide an analysis of Genji Monogatari based on certain principles outlined in Chapter 1. I have focussed my attention as much as possible on the style of Murasaki's novel, as opposed to its content, "message", or sociological significance. The style of a work cannot be thoroughly examined without reference both to the circumstances in which it was written and to the subject-matter. Parts of this study are accordingly concerned with such topics as Murasaki's life, the development of fiction in Japan prior to her time, and the historical and literary sources of her material. But it is in the presentation of material that Murasaki's originality and greatness manifest themselves, and in the subsequent chapters I stress what seem to be the outstanding qualities of her style: the use of psychological detail, the technique of construction, the use of imagery, and the handling of a central theme. As far as possible, I compare her writing on each point with that of predecessors in order to determine what is traditional and what original. I believe that I have identified certain significant and original elements of Murasaki's style, such as her use of anticipation and of sustained symbolic imagery, which appear to have been overlooked elsewhere. I have also made what I think is an original approach to certain subjects, such as the development of language within Genji, Murasaki's humorous style, her treatment of neurotic characters, and the connexion between her sustained imagery and principal theme. Parts of this study, such as those on Murasaki's literary and religious knowledge and on accidence in the language of Genji, may be of use to future students.