Transzendentaler Schematismus: Zum Verhältnis von Sinnlichkeit und Verstand in Kants Kritik der reinen Vernunft

Thèse de doctorat (2016)

In my dissertation, I deal with one of the fundamental topics of Immanuel Kant's Critique of Pure Reason, that is, the relation between sensibility and understanding as the two main and a priori sources ... [plus ▼]

In my dissertation, I deal with one of the fundamental topics of Immanuel Kant's Critique of Pure Reason, that is, the relation between sensibility and understanding as the two main and a priori sources of human knowledge. I argue that most interpretations of the First Critique marginalise the role of sensibility as an isolable and irreducible representational capacity of the human mind and the importance of that role sensibility in order to understand some of the main Kantian arguments. In taking Kant’s position as what in contemporary philosophical debates is called a non-conceptualist viewpoint, I provide a detailed exegesis of some of the landmarks in the First Critique, which are, first, the Transcendental Aesthetic that uncovers the pure sensible nature of aspects of our representation of space and time, second, the second step of the Transcendental Deduction that relies on a sense of objectivity provided by sensibility alone, and finally, the Transcendental Schematism that implements our pure conceptual capacity within a non-conceptual representational framework. [moins ▲]

Disposition Effect, Expectations and Behavior: Essays in Experimental Finance

Thèse de doctorat (2016)

This thesis indicates future price expectations and past returns as major determinants for trading decisions in experimental asset markets. Both determinants persist independently of the market ... [plus ▼]

This thesis indicates future price expectations and past returns as major determinants for trading decisions in experimental asset markets. Both determinants persist independently of the market institutions continuous double auction market or once per period closing call auction market. Investor subjects are shown to submit more market sell orders after positive returns than after negative returns. They sell more assets with a past positive return, especially when this return is higher than the market return. Expectations about a positive return also lead to more sales of assets with past positive returns. Those investor subjects who have high price expectations buy more frequently and submit higher bids and asks, and those who hold low price expectations sell more frequently and submit lower bids and asks, than average. Future price expectations are adapted based on market outcome when investors receive feedback about market prices. The results do not reveal a significant relationship between transaction volume and the heterogeneity of price expectations, rather they support a positive relationship between the heterogeneity of price expectations and prices. Heterogeneity in price expectations decreases with experience, but markets are not able to homogenize expectations to reach a no-trade equilibrium. [moins ▲]

Subjektives Wohlbefinden von Schülerinnen und Schülern : Welche Faktoren auf der Ebene der Schule/Schulorganisation, des Unterrichts sowie des Individuums sind bedeutungsvoll für das schulische Wohlbefinden von Schülerinnen und Schülern? : Eine qualitative Auswertung von Gruppendiskussionen mit Schülerinnen und Schülern der Sekundarstufe I im Schweizer Kanton Bern.

Thèse de doctorat (2016)

This dissertation addresses the subjective well-being of school pupils and considers the associated factors which either promote or inhibit their well-being at school. The significance of well-being at ... [plus ▼]

This dissertation addresses the subjective well-being of school pupils and considers the associated factors which either promote or inhibit their well-being at school. The significance of well-being at school particularly comes to the fore where schools face the challenge of developing lasting and measurable knowledge and skills in pupils with the aim of preparing them for the tasks of later life. Well-being at school can also play a key role inasmuch as the pupils’ acquisition of skills is supported by their positive feelings and attitudes towards school because these emotions and mindsets provide a stabilising and trusting basis for learning and development (cf. e.g. Hascher, Hagenauer & Schaffer, 2011). The identification of influential variables is called for, particularly for the purposes of providing targeted support for well-being at school and preventing unwanted regressions – which have, however, been empirically demonstrated in pupils in later school years (cf. Czerwenka et al, 1990). This study therefore explores which factors at the school/school administration level, the lesson level and the individual level are significant to the subjective well-being at school from the perspective of the secondary school pupils that were surveyed, and whether differences between boys and girls can be established in these respects. The response to the research questions is based on a methodologically qualitative approach. Male and female secondary-level pupils (year 8) from schools in the Swiss Canton of Bern were asked questions in 16 single-sex group discussions. Their comments and opinions were evaluated using the qualitative content analysis method set out by Mayring (2010). In this regard, the following main conclusions were drawn as an overview: At the school/school administration level, both boys and girls find that the high frequency of examinations and the poor scheduling of the examinations that they are required to pass put a strain on them. According to their comments, the generally long school days and the amount of homework, exam preparation and apprenticeship applications that they are required to do at the same time also lead to stress and a feeling among the pupils of being overloaded. At the lesson level, well-being among pupils is promoted by lessons that are not boring (in terms of subject matter) and are sufficiently varied in their methodological format. With regard to a teacher’s character and personality traits, both sexes feel that a teacher has a positive impact on their well-being at school when he or she is sociable, close to the pupils, kind, and self-critical with an open, relaxed and humorous manner around the pupils. It is striking, however, that the groups of boys cite the aspect of the teacher’s character and personality traits and the quality of the relationship between the teacher and the pupils as a factor relevant to their level of well-being much more frequently and in more detail than the girls. At the individual level, girls link their well-being at school to a high degree to their learning-related emotions and motivational orientation. In contrast to the boys, the girls emphasise the importance of achieving good grades much more frequently, which also plays a crucial role in girls experiencing positive emotions. The micro-social environment of pupils – their peers and their parents – is also a relevant factor governing their well-being. Whereas boys see their peers as an important motivator in coming to school and as a significant factor in their enjoyment of school, girls emphasise the importance of their peers as an important emotional crutch for problems (at school) and failures at school (e.g. bad grades). Both boys and girls see their parents as an important and reliable source of support for learning which also contributes to their sense of well-being at school. [moins ▲]

Legal Ontology for Nexus: Water, Energy and Food in EU Regulations

Thèse de doctorat (2016)

Objectives of the thesis are – (a) to identify the problems in water-energy-food nexus from ICT and Law point of view and to propose theoretically a legal knowledge framework for water-energy-food nexus ... [plus ▼]

Objectives of the thesis are – (a) to identify the problems in water-energy-food nexus from ICT and Law point of view and to propose theoretically a legal knowledge framework for water-energy-food nexus in order to reduce those problems technologically, (b) to construct and implement legal ontology for nexus extracted from EU water, energy and food Regulations in OWL 2 language, which is a part of the grater work of implementing legal knowledge framework for water-energy-food nexus pro-posed through the compilation of objective (a). Considering these objectives, this thesis presents total five chapters. Chapter 1 is dedicated to fulfill the requirement of objective (a) and the rest chapters are devoted for objective (b). More particularly chapter four presents technical descriptions of the legal ontology for nexus, while chapter two and three articulate methodological aspect of it. Chapter five evaluates legal ontology for nexus. Additionally, besides the list of references, annex 1 delivers all asserted restrictions used in this ontology and annex 2 provides the links of all modules and documentations of legal ontology for nexus. [moins ▲]

Les contrats liés à la lumière de l'harmonisation européenne du droit des contrats

Thèse de doctorat (2016)

Cette thèse étudie la notion de contrats liés à travers le prisme de l'harmonisation européenne du droit des contrats. Dans certains droits nationaux, pléthore de travaux d'ensemble ont été réalisés sur ... [plus ▼]

Cette thèse étudie la notion de contrats liés à travers le prisme de l'harmonisation européenne du droit des contrats. Dans certains droits nationaux, pléthore de travaux d'ensemble ont été réalisés sur la notion de groupes de contrats, chaînes de contrats, ensembles contractuels ou encore de l'interdépendance contractuelle. S'appuyant sur les travaux déjà existants dans ce domaine, ce travail appréhende cette notion sous un éclairage européen. En adoptant la définition la plus large possible des liaisons entre contrats cette thèse explore l'appréhension par le droit européen des problématiques spécifiques des contrats liés ainsi que l'articulation entre le droit européen et les droits nationaux autour de ces problématiques. [moins ▲]

Force-Guided Robotic Assembly Process: Control and Contact-State Recognition

Thèse de doctorat (2016)

This thesis addresses developing novel Contact-State (CS) modeling, control strategy, and environment position localization (position searching) for force-guided robotic assembly processes of rigid and ... [plus ▼]

This thesis addresses developing novel Contact-State (CS) modeling, control strategy, and environment position localization (position searching) for force-guided robotic assembly processes of rigid and flexible objects. For the CS modeling, the wrench (Cartesian force and torque) signals of the manipulated object are captured for different phases of the considered assembly processes and using the Expectation Maximization-based Gaussian Mixtures Model (EM-GMM), a recognizer is developed for each CS of the assembly. The suggested EM-GMM CS modeling scheme is shown to have excellent Classification Success Rate (CSR) with reduced computational efforts. For the control part, it is shown throughout the thesis that a force-guided robotic assembly process is a hybrid nonlinear system with arbitrary switching signal resulted from the constraints arbitrary switching during the assembly. Furthermore, the robot dynamics is frequently unknown, which is the case in many industrial robots, that would make the force-guided robotic assembly process to be an unknown hybrid nonlinear system with arbitrary switching. In order to overcome such a control challenge, a Decentralized Robust Adaptive Fuzzy Control (DRAFC) strategy is derived that guarantees stable performance under constraints arbitrary switching and unknown dynamics. For the environment position localization, the EM-GMM CS modeling scheme is integrated with a spiral search path and the precise hole position is identified for cases of position uncertainty. Experiments are conducted on a KUKA Lightweight Robot (LWR) doing different force-guided assembly tasks for rigid and flexible objects. Excellent performance is reported for the proposed EM-GMM CS recognition scheme, the DRAFC strategy, and the suggested position searching algorithm. The suggested EM-GMM CS recognition, DRAFC strategy, and position localization schemes are compared with the availably corresponding schemes and the superiority of the suggested schemes is shown. The reasons behind the superiority of the EM-GMM CS recognition scheme are the accommodation of the captured signals non-stationary behavior, employing optimized number of GMM components in the modeling process, and employing the EM algorithm that iteratively increases the log-likelihood. The causes behind the superiority of the DRAFC strategy are addressing the unknown nonlinear dynamics of the robot, accommodating the constraints arbitrary switching, and the robustness against possible dynamics parameters drift. The reasons behind the surpassing of the suggested position localization strategy are the robustness against the surface roughness and reduced computational efforts. The proposed EM-GMM CS modeling scheme, DRAFC strategy, and position searching scheme are applied to the entire peg-in-hole assembly processes of rigid and flexible objects. Excellent Localization Success Rate (LSR) was resulted when using the suggested schemes. Furthermore, the proposed CS modeling scheme, control strategy, and localization approach are applied to a couple of applications in automotive industry; the first one is the camshaft caps assembly of a cylinder head and the other is the air-intake manifold assembly of a powertrain. Efficient force-guided robotic assembly processes are obtained for both considered applications. [moins ▲]

La protection juridictionnelle dans le Mécanisme de surveillance unique ou MSU, premier pilier de l'Union bancaire européenne

Thèse de doctorat (2016)

La lecture et l’application combinées de l’article 47 de la Charte des droits fondamentaux de l’Union européenne et de l’article 19 §1 du Traité sur l’Union européenne garantissent le droit ... [plus ▼]

La lecture et l’application combinées de l’article 47 de la Charte des droits fondamentaux de l’Union européenne et de l’article 19 §1 du Traité sur l’Union européenne garantissent le droit fondamental à un recours effectif ; ces dispositions doivent être interprétées à la lumière de l’article 6 §1 de la Convention européenne des droits de l’homme, source d’inspiration privilégiée de la Cour de Justice de l’Union européenne. Cet ordre juridique international sui generis offre à ses sujets un haut niveau de protection juridictionnelle, le triptyque institué par le Traité de Lisbonne visant à garantir effectivement leurs droits par un système complet de voies de recours. Le juriste qui maîtrise les fondamentaux de l’économie tire le signal d’alarme : il souligne la rapidité avec laquelle le secteur bancaire transmet ses crises à l’économie réelle, les banques constituant, par nature, de véritables courroies de transmission. Garantir l’efficacité du Mécanisme de surveillance unique (MSU), premier pilier de l’Union bancaire européenne, est plus que nécessaire : c’est vital. En jeu ? La stabilité financière de la zone euro et de l’Union européenne dans son ensemble. Il fallait donc conférer, au réseau d’autorités administratives chargées de réaliser cet objectif d’intérêt général, les pouvoirs les plus étendus... dans le respect du droit fondamental des banques à une protection juridictionnelle effective. L’objectif de stabilité financière en est-il fragilisé, ou le MSU atteint-il l’équilibre ? [moins ▲]

Towards Ambient Intelligent Applications Using Models@run.time And Machine Learning For Context-Awareness

Thèse de doctorat (2016)

Ambient Intelligence (AmI) constitutes a new paradigm of interaction among humans, smart objects and devices. AmI systems are expected to support humans in their every day tasks and activities. In order ... [plus ▼]

Ambient Intelligence (AmI) constitutes a new paradigm of interaction among humans, smart objects and devices. AmI systems are expected to support humans in their every day tasks and activities. In order to achieve this goal, these systems require augmenting the environment with sensing, computing, communicating, and reasoning capabilities. Due to advances in technology, sensors are getting more powerful, cheaper and smaller, which stimulated large scale development and production. These sensors will generate a big amount of data and can easily lead to millions of values in a short amount of time, which can quickly reach the computation and storage limits when it comes to structuring and processing the data. For this problem, we propose a concept of continuous models that can handle highly-volatile data, and represent the continuous nature of sensor data in an efficient and compact way. We show on various AmI datasets that this can significantly improve storage and efficiency. One important goal of AmI systems is to transform living and working environments into intelligent spaces able to adapt to their users’ needs and desires in real-time. In this sense, we call AmI applications context-aware, meaning that they use environmental information to adaptively provide more relevant and better services to the user. However, AmI systems are composed from heterogeneous components, operating in an open and dynamic environment. Each of these components can have different storage and computation capabilities. They might not have all the information needed to derive context information, and they might not be reachable all the time for various reasons. In this thesis, we present a contextual reasoning solution adapted for component based platforms. Our solution can derive contextual information in a distributed way and can handle inconsistencies when contradictory information is received from several components. Other than the storage and computation efficiency, several qualities need to be satisfied according to the different contexts. Privacy is one of these qualities. AmI services will rely more and more on personal data that is vastly collected, stored, and exchanged with other third parties in order to provide added-value services. Such data are sensitive and often related to personal activities and therefore can lead to privacy risks, especially when data is shared with high precision and frequency. However, this privacy quality can be relaxed in some contexts, for example in an emergency situation in order to increase utility or efficiency. This leads to the need of developing an adaptive solution that is able to react to context changes in real-time and involve optimizing conflicting objectives. For this challenge, we propose to use blurring components as our main privacy preservation elements. The idea behind this approach is that, by gradually decreasing the data quality, a blurring component is able to hide some of the personal data delivered by sensors while still keeping the necessary information for the services to work. In order to find a good trade-off between these different conflicting objectives, we adapt a multi-objective evolutionary algorithm to run directly on top of domain specific models. We then apply it as our main optimization engine on models@run.time to keep adapting the different qualities, when the context change. Finally, AmI services are expected to be tailored for different users’ needs in a seamless and unobtrusive way. Meaning that they should be able to detect contexts and learn habits automatically with the least possible intervention of users. In order to achieve this, machine learning (ML) techniques need to be merged at the core of reasoning models. These techniques offer powerful tools to automatically detect patterns, categorize contexts, build usage profiles, represent data with compact mathematical hypothesis and provide statistical information vital for the intelligent aspect of AmI. This dissertation ends up by opening new directions on how to model and adapt machine learning techniques to fit for AmI platforms. Overall, this thesis provides solutions for the next leap of technology, where sensors become ubiquitous. Our solutions, implemented in an open source framework KMF, allow to create efficient and distributed, data and component models for IoT, adaptable at runtime leveraging multi-objective optimization to find good tradeoff between qualities for the current context, and machine learning techniques to derive contextual rules, profile and learn habits automatically. [moins ▲]

Plurilingual Approaches to Spatial Education – Perspectives of Primary Schools in the German Context

Thèse de doctorat (2016)

‘Plurilingual Approaches to Spatial Education – Perspectives of Primary Schools in the German Context’ is a theory-based didactic study which centers on the role of migratory languages in primary ... [plus ▼]

‘Plurilingual Approaches to Spatial Education – Perspectives of Primary Schools in the German Context’ is a theory-based didactic study which centers on the role of migratory languages in primary geography education. Hereby, theories of space, concept development, and plurilingualism are discussed while migratory languages are recognized and actively applied in the content-based teaching of primary geography classes. A language-sensitive approach to plurilingual concept development processes is fostered in spatial education. The paper can be divided into three parts: Firstly, established theories on space, language, and plurilingualism are constituted. Highlighting possible interlinkages, a symbiosis of the different fields is developed for the educational context. Secondly, a didactical model is derived in order to be able to apply theory guided discussions to daily educational practices. Thereby, the approach of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) is incorporated into the model. Subsequently, the newly generated didactic model is intensively discussed in all its complexity. In relationship to the model, an exemplary CLIL learning sequence is developed. Thirdly, this best-practice learning sequence is implemented in the field of primary school education in Germany. This process is accompanied by scientific research in order to gain insights into the concept development processes of eight-year-old learners. Here, development is understood as emergence rather then progression. Significant concept development processes as well as the core concept are retrieved through the application of the Grounded Theory Methodology (GTM). The paper closes with a critical discussion on the relevance of meaning-making processes in plurilingual spatial education and their prospects in the realm of geography didactics. [moins ▲]

Temporary Migration and Temporary Integration: Canada and the UK in a Comparative Perspective

Thèse de doctorat (2016)

Wissensgenerierung in Hybriden Foren: Dargestellt am Beispiel der Erstellung von Sozialindikatoren in internationalen Arbeitsgruppen

Thèse de doctorat (2016)

In modern knowledge societies, knowledge is increasingly co-produced in hybrid fora. Actors from heterogeneous contexts and social positions with different competences come together to discuss, negotiate ... [plus ▼]

In modern knowledge societies, knowledge is increasingly co-produced in hybrid fora. Actors from heterogeneous contexts and social positions with different competences come together to discuss, negotiate and finally solve problems with real-life applications. The main goal of such a hybrid forum is to negotiate a common solution for very specific problems. <br />To date, little attention has been paid within sociology to this manner of common knowledge production in hybrid fora. Given the rise in popularity of hybrid fora, there is a need for empirical data. Addressing this need and filling this gap is a major goal of this thesis. Using the example of the construction of a specific set of quantitative Social Indicators, two case studies which illustrate how knowledge is co-produced in a hybrid forum will be presented. <br />Case Study I reconstructs the indicator production within an expert group of the European Commission. This group can structurally be characterized as a hybrid forum consisting of heterogeneous actors. The mission of this group is to create a set of indicators, namely the „European Dashboard on Youth Indicators“. This set of indicators is used as an information source for the promotion of evidence-based-policy-making for EU-Policy. This case study illustrates the structures and processes within a hybrid forum, reflecting the formative factors in the process and shows the final outcome of the indicator creation process. The analysis of this complex process highlights how the different perspectives of the stakeholders evolve and influence each other and which factors and conditions determine the decisions for the final integration of an indicator into the indicator system. This study also analyses which criteria are reflected in this hybrid context to evaluate the indicators and their consequences for practical use in different contexts of interest and application. <br />Case Study II builds on the results of Case Study I and reflects the possibilities, the potential and limitations of the practical application of the European Dashboard on Youth Indicators within the youth reporting system in Luxembourg. <br />The findings of these case studies provide a detailed and empirically grounded picture of factors influencing the indicator production within an expert group and the consequences for the alignment within a real-life application. Within the context of a rising awareness of the conditions of hybrid knowledge production, the results of these studies do not only offer a novel contribution for the perspective of the sociology of knowledge and research methodology, but also offer specific recommendations for the establishment of adequate contexts and structures for hybrid knowledge production in the context of practical applications. [moins ▲]

Integrative analysis of whole genomes, transcriptomes and miRNomes of primary melanoma patients

Thèse de doctorat (2016)

ELECTRODEPOSITION AND SELENIZATION OF METALLIC THIN FILMS FOR KESTERITE SOLAR CELLS APPLICATION

Thèse de doctorat (2016)

Thin films of Kesterite Cu2ZnSnSe4 (CZTSe) are prepared via a low energy cost and high material efficiency process, to be potentially used as light absorbers in solar cell devices. The fabrication process ... [plus ▼]

Thin films of Kesterite Cu2ZnSnSe4 (CZTSe) are prepared via a low energy cost and high material efficiency process, to be potentially used as light absorbers in solar cell devices. The fabrication process involves two main steps: (i) formation of a metallic stack of Cu/Sn/Zn by sequential electrodeposition of Cu, Sn and Zn onto glass/Mo substrates; (ii) reactive annealing at 550°C in presence of Se and SnSe powders to form Kesterite. This thesis mainly aims at understanding the mechanisms of metal alloying and selenization occurring during step (ii), and their effects on the microstructure of the final film, the presence of secondary phases and their distribution in the thin films synthesized. The second objective is to understand their effects on the solar cells parameters. The stoichiometry of the precursor layers Cu/Sn/Zn is deliberately chosen to be Cu-poor and Zn-rich (Cu/(Zn+Sn)<1 and Zn/Sn>1), as it allows to reach the best power conversion efficiencies. Under these conditions, Kesterite, SnSe2 and ZnSe are expected. However, a study of different compositions shows that the predominant phases present are only Kesterite and ZnSe. SnSe2 is not present because this phase is unstable under the conditions of selenization, which leads to a self-regulation of tin content via gas phase exchange of SnSe during the selenization. Analyses of the selenization of Cu/Sn/Zn layers at short times and lower temperatures allow to deconstruct the mechanism of Kesterite formation into sequential steps. Because of the diffusion of metals and the formation of alloys, a reorganization of metals is observed in the thin films. The layers are then composed of Sn, Cu-Sn and Cu-Zn phases mainly, which are found to be segregating at large scales of tens of micrometers. During selenium incorporation, a tin self-regulation process is established, in which tin is depleted during the first stages of selenization, and then tin is replenished. ZnSe segregates at the surface of the absorber layer as large islands of 10-20 micrometers. By analyzing a specific position of a sample after the different process steps, it is shown that the segregation of ZnSe at this large scale is originating in the segregation of metals during alloying. Because of the presence of ZnSe on the surface of the films, part of the photocurrent generated in the absorber layer is not collected, which decrases the short circuit current of the devices. In this sense, a linear decrease of short circuit current is observed when the ZnSe molar ratio is increasing, and confirmed by external quantum efficiency (EQE) measurements showing a decrease of current collected through the whole range of photon energies. An optimal molar ratio of ZnSe/(CZTSe + ZnSe)=0.2 is found. Below this value, the short circuit current decreases, probably due to the formation of other types of harmful secondary phases such as Cu2SnSe3 or Cu2Se. A strong decrease of open circuit voltage and fill factor of the solar cells is proved to be related to the formation of blisters in the thin films, which result in the creation of pinholes due to their fragility. Formation of these blisters is supposed to originate from hydrogen evolution under the Cu layer during the electrodeposition process. Finally, a study of an additional process of prealloying between the steps of electrodeposition and selenization is presented, which demonstrates the possibility to increase the open circuit voltage of the solar cells by varying the time of this alloying step. A best power conversion efficiency of 7.2% is achieved via this method, which is close to the highest value of 9.1% reported for an electrodeposition-based process of Kesterite synthesis. [moins ▲]

A Geographical Analysis of Bicycle Sharing Systems

Thèse de doctorat (2016)

This thesis evaluates the performance of bicycle sharing systems (BSS), autonomous systems of accessible bicycles that can be easily used for one way trips, and determines whether they are successful at ... [plus ▼]

This thesis evaluates the performance of bicycle sharing systems (BSS), autonomous systems of accessible bicycles that can be easily used for one way trips, and determines whether they are successful at achieving promoted social and environmental outcomes through quantitative and qualitative methods. Such systems are typically surrounded by positive narratives of success, health, environmental and social benefits. This work challenges these notions. This thesis begins with the formalisation of BSS station level and trip data revealing alternative data contained within. Combined with spatiotemporal data analysis, this allows the estimation of trips, a potential measure of success. Due to most operators not providing consistent or comparable metrics of usage this work opens this heavily promoted technological transport innovation’s performance for public scrutiny. Performance estimates of 75 case studies show a majority having less than two trips per day per bicycle, suggesting a poor investment, regardless of existing social justice issues and exaggerated environmental benefits. Using this metric this work determines which attributes impact performance. While station density and cycling infrastructure, among others, are found to impact performance, results challenge promoted practice. Formalisation yielded rebalancing, the moving of bicycles to adjust to demand exceeding supply. Spatiotemporal data analysis and interviews with operators provides the first description of applied rebalancing, providing an alternative perspective to the many theoretical optimisation models. Results show rebalancing is spatially selective and influencing BSS outcomes, potentially contrary to its purpose. Finally, this thesis, through a critical urban sustainability perspective, presents darker aspects of BSS, beyond the golden narratives, showing conflicts of interest, controversy and the commercialisation of an initially environmental and anti-consumerism concept. Existential questions are raised due to BSS, mostly privately operated, providing benefits to an already advantaged class while public space is privatised and urban advertising increased. This work concludes by suggesting that alternative investment to bicycle sharing systems, such as cycling infrastructure, may be more beneficial and just. [moins ▲]

COMPOSITION AND INTERFACE STUDY OF Cu2ZnSnSe4 BASED SOLAR CELLS

Thèse de doctorat (2015)

Energy-Efficient Driver Assistance System for Electric Vehicles Using Model-Predictive Control

Thèse de doctorat (2015)

This thesis investigates a method to save energy and thus also extend the range of a series-production battery electric vehicle by influencing the driving style automatically with the help of a of a ... [plus ▼]

This thesis investigates a method to save energy and thus also extend the range of a series-production battery electric vehicle by influencing the driving style automatically with the help of a of a cruise controller. An exploration of existing methods shows that the contextual consideration of the current and upcoming driving situation is necessary to realise safe and energy-efficient driving. This limits the appropriate approaches to online methods using updated predictions of the vehicle behaviour. It turns out that the most suitable method for the intended purpose is model-predictive control (MPC). The MPC generates controls for the accelerator pedal of the vehicle based on optimised predictions of the vehicle motion and energy consumption subject to the current and future road slope, curvature, speed limits and distance to an eventually preceding vehicle. The non-linear nature of the vehicle dynamics generally necessitates the use of a non-linear prediction model and solving a non-linear optimisation which goes along with difficulties in the online real-time implementation. However in this work - by exploiting and extending the tool sets of classical MPC - a controller based on a quadratic optimal control problem with linear constraints can be formulated that approximates the nonlinearities of the plant dynamics with equivalent accuracy as a non-linear formulation. A linear prediction model of the vehicle motion is derived by a change of the model domain from time to position and a change of variables to predict the kinetic energy of the moving vehicle instead of the driving speed. Further, a convex piece-wise linear energy consumption model is included in the inequality constraints of the problem according to the methodology of separable programming to capture the consumption characteristics of the vehicle in different operating points. In this form, real-time capability and the energy-saving potential of the presented control approach can be demonstrated by simulations of the closed loop and by implementing the controller for driving experiments. A Smart ED series-production battery electric vehicle is chosen for the practical tests and all models and parameters are identified and adapted to the characteristics of the car. In this application case, a significant energy-saving potential could be demonstrated compared to human drivers. To further reduce the computational burden and speed up the computation, the so-called move blocking method for input parameterisation of the MPC control trajectory is investigated and extended within this work to a flexible move blocking approach which enables a fast computation and at the same time high tracking performance. [moins ▲]

Distribution Network Line Protection in the Presence of Distributed Generation

Thèse de doctorat (2015)

The evolution of the distribution network from a passive grid with unidirectional power flows to, in the presence of distributed generation (DGs), an active grid with bidirectional power flows can lead to ... [plus ▼]

The evolution of the distribution network from a passive grid with unidirectional power flows to, in the presence of distributed generation (DGs), an active grid with bidirectional power flows can lead to some technical challenges in its operation as well as some opportunities for greater control and grid support. This dissertation studies the impact of high levels of penetration of DGs into the power system on the operation of distribution network line protection. The contribution of DGs during faults results in varying short circuit current levels that are hard to predict. This complicates the design of distribution network line protection. If the DGs are located in between the protection device and the fault, the device sees a lower current than it would see in the absence of the DGs. Conversely, if they are connected upstream of the device, the device sees a higher current than before. This means that the reliability, selectivity and speed of the protection devices can be negatively or positively affected. This dissertation analyzes what can be expected from the DGs and how the protection devices themselves can be enhanced in order to avoid these potential problems. In the planning stage, it is possible to control the outputs of DGs during faults in a way that enhances the operation of the protection devices instead of hampering it. This can be done by enforcing regulations through distribution network grid codes. There are two main grid code requirements that directly impact the fault current levels in the network: fault ride through requirements that specify how long and for what voltages the DGs need to remain connected and dynamic voltage support curves that regulate their reactive current output during faults. From these requirements, three parameters are of particular interest: the voltage threshold above which the DGs need to remain connected, the maximum current that they should be capable of producing and the maximum reactive current that they are required to produce below a certain voltage. Using these three parameters, it is possible to control the fault current levels in the network and consequently increase the maximum amount of DGs that can be connected, without endangering the operation of the protection system. In the operating stage, it is possible to enhance the protection devices themselves so that they can deal with the varying fault current levels. Here, adaptive protection is considered. By gathering information about the changes in the network, including the status of switches and DGs and changing the settings of the protection relays accordingly, the reliability, selectivity and speed of the protection system can be maintained while increasing its complexity and cost. To get the information needed from the network, a modified state estimation is proposed. The distribution network is characterized by low observability due to the low number of measurements available. For this reason, load estimates and zero injection buses are added as measurements. To account for the additional uncertainty introduced by the presence of DGs, information about the DGs and their controls are used to add additional measurements that support the state estimation. When calculating the fault current levels in the network to choose the protection relay settings, it is important to correctly account for the fault contributions of inverter based DGs that represent a significant proportion of DGs connected to the distribution network. Unlike synchronous and asynchronous generators, inverter based DGs have a controlled current output during faults. By using an iterative process where the outputs of inverter based DGs are changed based on the calculated voltage at their terminals, a more accurate calculation of the short circuit current levels can be made. Employing these methods in the planning and operating stages, it will be possible to increase the amount of DGs that can be connected to the distribution network, while avoiding cascading faults, slower operation times and the unnecessary loss of load associated with protection mal-operation. The methods should be applied in reasonable steps and whenever needed in combination with each other to ensure the practicality of their implementation and to avoid unnecessary costs. [moins ▲]

DIFFERENTIAL EFFECTS OF IL-6-TYPE CYTOKINES, THEIR INTERPLAY WITH HYPOXIA AND RESULTING EFFECTS ON THE METABOLISM

Thèse de doctorat (2015)

IL-6-type cytokines signal mainly via the Jak/STAT pathway using the common receptor chain gp130. They are implicated in various biological processes such as differentiation, apoptosis, tissue ... [plus ▼]

IL-6-type cytokines signal mainly via the Jak/STAT pathway using the common receptor chain gp130. They are implicated in various biological processes such as differentiation, apoptosis, tissue regeneration and proliferation. However, one of their main functions is the regulation of inflammatory processes, especially the initial induction of an inflammatory response. They hereby exert key steps in the onset as well as in the termination of an inflammation and in the promotion of the shift from the innate to the adaptive immune response. In hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) IL-6 has been identified as a key factor in the onset as well as in the progression of this cancer. In this study we first investigated the effects of the IL-6-type cytokine IL-27 on hepatic cells. By evaluating IL-27 signalling in several HCC cell lines as well as hepatic cells, we could demonstrate that IL-27 does, in contrary to other IL-6-type cytokines, activate STAT1 and STAT3. A transcriptional and protein read-out of STAT3 was not found in hepatic cells. Thus, IL-27 exerts interferon γ-like functions only in the liver. Interestingly, we could further show that the IL-27 signalling can still be repressed by the canonical IL-6-type cytokine feedback regulator SOCS3, following a pre-stimulation with other IL-6-type cytokines. The second part of this thesis focused on the effects of the IL-6-type cytokine Oncostatin M (OSM) on the cellular metabolism. We hereby evaluated to which extent OSM-mediated STAT3 activation can induce a Warburg-like, highly glycolytic, metabolic phenotype under normoxia. OSM induced the expression of HIF-1α, a key factor mediating the shift to a highly glycolytic phenotype, in several HCC cell lines and immortalized hepatocytes. In the non-neoplastic hepatocyte cell line, PH5CH8, this led to the induction of a more glycolytic metabolic phenotype. The observed changes in these immortalized hepatocytes did not fully resemble the metabolic state seen under hypoxia, since mainly the observed induction of PDK1 seems to explain the effect. Overall we could not observe strong effects on glycolytic enzymes or other canonical HIF-1α target genes involved in metabolism, on a transcriptional or protein expression level in the investigated cells. Interestingly we found that HIF-1α does not seem to be mediating all the early adaptions of the cellular metabolism to hypoxia. The early inhibition of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex could be shown to be independent of the HIF-1α-mediated up-regulation of the pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 1, but might rather be induced by reactive oxygen species, created during the switch from normoxia to hypoxia. In summary we could show that in the liver IL-27 exerts interferon γ-like effects. Additionally, cytokine-activated STAT3 does not per se induce a glycolytic metabolic phenotype and HIF-1α is not necessary for some of the early adaptions of the cellular metabolism to hypoxia. [moins ▲]

ELECTRICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF KESTERITE THIN FILM ABSORBERS AND SOLAR CELLS

Thèse de doctorat (2015)

EFFECT OF TRANSMISSION TARIFFS ON INVESTMENTS IN CONVENTIONAL AND RENEWABLE POWER GENERATION, STORAGE AND TRANSMISSION IN THE COUPLED PAN- EUROPEAN DAY-AHEAD MARKET FRAMEWORK

Thèse de doctorat (2015)

This work examines how electricity transmission tariffs influence the composition of the future power plants fleet. Transmission tariffs are classified and an optimization model of power markets and ... [plus ▼]

This work examines how electricity transmission tariffs influence the composition of the future power plants fleet. Transmission tariffs are classified and an optimization model of power markets and investors profit maximization is suggested. The work finds that transmission tariffs do influence investment decisions, though this influence is not large. [moins ▲]

On the behaviour of shear stud connections in composite beams with deep decking

Thèse de doctorat (2015)

Steel-concrete composite construction has many advantages for the construction of multistorey buildings. The use of composite beams acting compositely with the floor slab achieves longer spans and reduces ... [plus ▼]

Steel-concrete composite construction has many advantages for the construction of multistorey buildings. The use of composite beams acting compositely with the floor slab achieves longer spans and reduces the weight of the beams. The weight reduction can be further improved by replacing the solid concrete slab with a steel-concrete composite slab using steel decking. However, using composite slabs reduces the shear forces that are transferred between the slab and the beam. This is because the number of studs in the span is limited by the deck geometry. In addition, the load-bearing behaviour of studs in the ribs of composite slabs is different to studs in solid slabs and shows typically a reduced resistance per stud. Currently, [DIN EN 1994-1-1, 2010] applies an empirical reduction factor to the resistance of studs in solid slabs to analyse the resistance of studs in the ribs of composite slabs. A comparison to push-out test results shows that this formulae results in an unsatisfactory correlation. Furthermore, the reduction factor is unsafe in many cases with modern decking. The latest empirical reduction factors in [Konrad, 2011] are currently discussed as alternative to the rules of [DIN EN 1994-1-1, 2010]. They show a significantly improved correlation to test results and an increased field of application. A significantly higher correlation to test results is obtained with the mechanical model by [Lungershausen, 1988]. Because of the restrictive field of application and missing parameters, like the concrete strength, it is not discussed as replacement for the reduction factors. A newly conducted series of push-out tests with modern deep steel decking shows the insufficiency of the presented analysis methods of the stud shear resistance, as the predictions were in general non-conservative. Furthermore, depending on the geometry of the shear connection, a new failure mode was observed: Rib pry-out failure. Investigation on concentric and eccentric transverse loading of push-out specimens, to consider the loading conditions of a real slab, show in general beneficial influences on the load-slip behaviour. Based on the behaviour of the studs in push-out tests, equations for the shear connector resistance based on the failure modes are developed. A combined bending failure of the shear stud and the concrete rib is assumed. The observed failure modes in the tests are considered by different yield-lines of the shear stud. The shear resistance of the pure stud gives the upper bound for the shear connector resistance. The new equations show a good correlation to test results and are safe for modern types of steel decking. In comparison to [DIN EN 1994-1-1, 2010], the field of application is extended by the stud position, as in [Konrad, 2011], and deeper decking, as in [Lungershausen, 1988]. The analysis of the bending resistance of two accompanying beam tests confirms the accuracy of the new shear stud resistance. The beam tests have very low degrees of shear connection. The end-slip at ultimate load exceeds the limiting slip of 6mm, but at 95% of ultimate load the limiting slip is satisfied. A numerical model for composite beams is verified against the test results. The model considers the shear studs as non-linear springs. A simplified load-displacement curve is presented and verified against real load-slip curves. [moins ▲]

NON-CONTRACTUAL LIABILITIES FROM CIVILIAN VERSIONS OF GNSS: CURRENT TRENDS, LEGAL CHALLENGES AND POTENTIAL

Thèse de doctorat (2015)

Galileo is to be Europe’s own Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). It is expected to provide a highly accurate, guaranteed global positioning service under civilian control. It will be interoperable ... [plus ▼]

Galileo is to be Europe’s own Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). It is expected to provide a highly accurate, guaranteed global positioning service under civilian control. It will be interoperable with the Global Positioning System (GPS), the US version of GNSS. Remarkably enough, whereas GPS was introduced as a purely military system, Galileo will be the first solely civilian GNSS, offering a great number of useful -everyday life- applications. It is expected to become fully operational by the year 2020 as part of Horizon 2020, the EU’s funding program for research and innovation. For the operation of Galileo, advanced technology will need to be employed. A number of satellites will be placed into fixed orbits in outer space; the satellites will be constantly emitting navigational signals indicating their position at any given time and in a very precise way. The navigational signals will be received by any person possessing the necessary technology, such as a GNSS receiver (the so-called navis technology). When receiving the signals from at least four satellites, the receiver can accurately pinpoint the position of persons and goods around the globe. There will be many benefits in using this technology, such as more efficient navigation of different modes of transportation (i.e. navigation of planes or ships). Besides navigational data, Galileo satellites will provide information for timing and positioning. Hence, various applications concerned with the synchronization of economic networks (i.e. at banks or financial institutions) or scientific applications related to the environment and meteorology are expected to emerge. Nonetheless, where there are advantages, there are also risks and legal challenges. Questions relating to the civil liability of the Galileo’s system operator in the event of a GNSS failure -especially liabilities connected to signal provision in space- have attracted significant interest lately. For example, a failure in signal provision (i.e. signal loss or an erroneous signal) resulting from negligence with respect to the GNSS operator may lead to damage scenarios with catastrophic consequences: an aircraft crash in a densely populated area, or a shipwreck with disastrous effects for the environment would be two examples. Following these observations, several questions must be asked from a liability law perspective. Inter alia: what are possible civil liability implications emanating from the advent of civilian versions of GNSS such as the EU’s Galileo? Can the provision of defective information from signals lead to liability implications? What would be the responses under current legal provisions? And lastly, what need may arise in the future for the initiation of a centralized approach, for instance a unified instrument, either at EU or international level, regulating liabilities for the signal in space provision? Interestingly enough, once the first GNSS structures such as the US GPS or Russian GLONASS became operational, the issue of liability from a signal failure was not of such significant concern in light of their mostly military nature. Presently, the situation has changed to an important extent: due to the advent of new non-military versions such as Galileo, the issue of liability connected to the provision of navigational signals has become topical. This research aims at examining the foregoing questions related to civil liability implications (mainly non-contractual liabilities) from the perspective of civilian versions of GNSS. The EU’s Galileo will be the most prevailing example examined in the present study. The research attempts to investigate the civil liability ramifications especially from the GNSS-Galileo operator’s perspective. Since the governance issues surrounding the operation of Galileo are still subject to debate, the research features two hypothetical case studies: on the one hand, a public governance scheme with the EU operating the system and possible liabilities against the EU, and on the other hand, a private governance scheme with a private entity operating the system and potential liabilities towards the private operator. Both case studies are examined from a de lege lata and a de lege ferenda perspective. Yet, the present research attempts to identify some future proposals. As it is argued, the issue of GNSS liability should be first regulated at regional level rather than international level. In this respect, the EU could, for example, possibly promote a future EU Regulation. Moreover, and as established by the analysis of the present study, such a Regulation should contain two elements, a substantive and procedural one. For the resolution of disputes connected to signal provision in space, the rule of strict liability and liability channeling onto the operator from a substantive viewpoint may depict the peculiarities contained within the field of satellite navigation more efficiently. Most importantly, and as far as the resolution of such disputes is concerned, this study argues that binding arbitration may be a plausible and alternative option to be considered in the foreseeable future. To this end, certain inspirations can potentially be drawn by the new PCA Rules of Arbitration on Outer Space Disputes adopted recently in December 2011. [moins ▲]

Collusions and Privacy in Rational-Resilient Gossip

Thèse de doctorat (2015)

Gossip-based content dissemination protocols are a scalable and cheap alternative to centralized content sharing systems. However, it is well known that these protocols suffer from rational nodes, i.e ... [plus ▼]

Gossip-based content dissemination protocols are a scalable and cheap alternative to centralized content sharing systems. However, it is well known that these protocols suffer from rational nodes, i.e., nodes that aim at downloading the content without contributing their fair share to the system. While the problem of rational nodes that act individually has been well addressed in the literature, colluding rational nodes is still an open issue. In addition, previous rational-resilient gossip-based solutions require nodes to log their interactions with others, and disclose the content of their logs, which may disclose sensitive information. Nowadays, a consensus exists on the necessity of reinforcing the control of users on their personal information. Nonetheless, to the best of our knowledge no privacy-preserving rational-resilient gossip-based content dissemination system exists. The contributions of this thesis are twofold. First, we present AcTinG, a protocol that prevents rational collusions in gossip-based content dissemination protocols, while guaranteeing zero false positive accusations. AcTing makes nodes maintain secure logs and mutually check each others’ correctness thanks to verifiable but non predictable audits. As a consequence of its design, it is shown to be a Nash-equilibrium. A performance evaluation shows that AcTinG is able to deliver all messages despite the presence of colluders, and exhibits similar scalability properties as standard gossip-based dissemination protocols. Second, we describe P AG, the first accountable and privacy-preserving gossip pro- tocol. P AG builds on a monitoring infrastructure, and homomorphic cryptographic procedures to provide privacy to nodes while making sure that nodes forward the content they receive. The theoretical evaluation of P AG shows that breaking the privacy of interactions is difficult, even in presence of a global and active opponent. We assess this protocol both in terms of privacy and performance using a deployment performed on a cluster of machines, simulations involving up to a million of nodes, and theoretical proofs. The bandwidth overhead is much lower than existing anonymous communication protocols, while still being practical in terms of CPU usage. [moins ▲]

Insilico genomes for high-throughput sequencing cancer-specific analysis

Thèse de doctorat (2015)

As a genomic disease cancer is unique in that the entire genome can be highly unstable, with new mutations accumulating at a rapid rate and massive alterations to the chromosomal structure. Structural ... [plus ▼]

As a genomic disease cancer is unique in that the entire genome can be highly unstable, with new mutations accumulating at a rapid rate and massive alterations to the chromosomal structure. Structural aberrations can be highly significant to a patient’s disease, resulting in aberrant proteins that can drive a cancer to progress faster or metastasize. Such aberrations may also have more subtle effects, enabling the cellular population to more rapidly develop drug resistance or simply generate highly diverse populations within a tumor making targeted therapies less effective. In fact it is these diverse or heterogeneous cellular populations, with highly mutated and frequently structurally aberrant genomes, that make understanding the extent of a tumor genome’s variation so challenging. Large scale sequencing efforts through the Cancer Genome Atlas and the International Cancer Genome Consortium have sequenced thousands of cancer genomes, and while small-scale variants have enabled researchers to begin to trace the evolutionary history and diversity of tumor genomes, large-scale structural variations have continued to be difficult to identify.Current methods and technologies for short-read sequencing generally rely on fitting genomes to a single reference assembly that is assumed to be representative of all individuals. Tumor genomes, which consist of heterogeneous cellular populations with unique aberrations can vary significantly from a ‘normal’ genome. This means that such single references are poor representations of a cancerous cell population, and so methods that rely less directly on the reference offer better opportunities to investigate these aberrations. In this project, a new method for large-scale structural variant identification, called MultiSieve, is proposed. This method uses prior knowledge to generate and test multiple references for each patient genome. Validation using simulated data establishes the utility of the method, and a comparison with commonly used methods demonstrates that MultiSieve is capable of finding variations often missed by traditional methods and that there are likely to be more structural variants in patients than have been identified previously. [moins ▲]

Interference in Multiple-antenna Communications: From Channel Estimation to Exploitation

Thèse de doctorat (2015)

Multi-antenna technologies have emerged as attractive techniques of providing efficient and reliable communications in future wireless communications. The potential gain of multiple antennas in the ... [plus ▼]

Multi-antenna technologies have emerged as attractive techniques of providing efficient and reliable communications in future wireless communications. The potential gain of multiple antennas in the downlink of wireless systems is well-known: if the spatial dimension is exploited to deliver simultaneous data streams to multiple users, the total data throughput increases linearly with the number of transmit antennas. However, interference in multiple-antenna communications presents a challenging factor that should be dealt with wisely in cellular systems. This thesis is concerned with tackling the interference at two different steps in the communications process: channel estimation, and downlink data transmissions. The interference at estimation process can occur in reciprocity based channel state information (CSI) acquisition if the utilized pilots are reused in the network. On the other hand, the interference at downlink occurs when the base station serves multiple users simultaneously over the same spectrum. This first part of the thesis focuses on the channel estimation in multiple antenna multicell interference-limited networks. The channel state information (CSI) acquisition is vital for interference mitigation. Wireless networks often suffer from multicell interference, which can be mitigated by deploying beamforming to spatially direct the transmissions. The accuracy of the estimated CSI plays an important role in de-signing accurate precoders that can control the amount of interference created from simultaneous spatial transmissions to mobile users. Therefore, a new technique based on the structure of the spatial covariance matrix and the discrete cosine transform (DCT) is proposed to enhance channel estimation in the presence of interference. Bayesian estimation and Least Squares estimation frameworks are introduced by utilizing the DCT to separate the overlapping spatial paths that create the interference. The spatial domain is thus exploited to mitigate the contamination and enhance the quality of estimation. The second part of the thesis focuses on the precoding techniques in the downlink of a single cell. The constructive interference concept in the downlink of multiple-antenna systems is addressed in this paper. The concept of the joint exploitation of CSI and data information (DI) is discussed. Using symbol-level precoding, the interference between data streams is transformed under certain conditions into useful signal that can improve the signal to interference noise ratio (SINR) of the downlink transmissions. In this thesis, not only different constructive interference precoding techniques are proposed for different types of modulation, but also a transmitter architecture that can accommodate them. These schemes optimize the performance of the symbol-level precoding with respect to different objectives such as: minimizing the transmit power under per user quality of service constraint, maximizing the fairness among different users under total power constraint. Extensive simulations are performed to validate our proposed techniques and show that they outperform the conventional precoding schemes. [moins ▲]

El nexo migración-desplazamiento-asilo, entre el orden fronterizo de las cosas y su desafío: políticas migratorias/fronterizas de control y gestión y prácticas emergentes de ciudadanías transfronterizas en las fronteras España (Unión Europea)-Marruecos (África) y Colombia-Venezuela (CAN-Suramérica). 1990-2010.

Thèse de doctorat (2015)

The subject of study of this doctoral thesis is addressing to the nexus configuration between asylum and intern displacement migratory processes and the identifiable response in control and management ... [plus ▼]

The subject of study of this doctoral thesis is addressing to the nexus configuration between asylum and intern displacement migratory processes and the identifiable response in control and management migratory and border-crossing policies which state a “Border-crossing Order of things ”. Additionally, analyzing the potential challenge/response to that identifiable order in “Transborder Citizenship Emerging Practices” by migrants, displaced people and refugees. A comparative study is carried out about/in the frontiers Spain-Morocco (European Union) and Colombia-Venezuela (Andean Community of Nations) in the period 1990-2010. In Chapter One, it is intended to made clear the coordinates about the What and How of the research as well as the results. This is done by three subsections: the literature review and the approach to the problem; research questions, hypothesis and research objectives; research methodology. The methodological design used poses a combination between qualitative and comparative research, which allow us to analyze and compare observations and descriptions (exploratory-descriptive research) and also to analyze and compare the addresses and representations (analytical-interpretive research). Generally, the type of comparison followed was the one proposed by Skocpol and Somers called “ Contrast of Contexts ” which is essential for the interpretive comparative variant in social sciences, different to the type of comparison by “ hypothesis control ”. On the other hand, we followed Charles Ragin’s (1987) suggestions about the “Case-oriented Research ” and about the complex problems of the “ Conjunctural Causality ”, in other words, causal models that vary “ according to the context ”. In Chapter Two, Global Order of Control and Management of Migrations and Borders.. The emergence from the Migration-Displacement-Asylum nexus, the contextualization is made and the characteristics for this order are shown; in order to highlight transformation of the international migration tendencies to forced migrations and alongside with it, the emergence of the Migration-Displacement-Asylum nexus. The global order of control and migrations management as a border regime responds to a policy spin and to the policies that transform the frontiers into a mechanism for the migration control (Faist, 2003); just as shown in the detailed description of the global and regional control agendas, management and migration and border-crossing cooperation; migration and border-crossing policies, and the protection and asylum policies for refugees, asylum seeker and migrants in the frontiers Spain-Morocco and Colombia-Venezuela. In Chapter Three, emerging typologies related to the migration-displacement-asylum nexus that allowed us to make the analysis and the comparison in the specific border-crossing zones Spain-Morocco and Colombia-Venezuela; which have a big potential of being used in other case studies. These typologies correspond to: the closely related causes of forced and voluntary migration in their home countries; the diverse motivations of several migrants, displaced and asylum seekers; motivation changes during migration for many migrants, displaced and asylum seekers; motivation changes during migration for many migrants, displaced people and asylum seekers; the close relation between refugees and economic migrants in some transit countries in the Spain-Morocco frontier and the close relationship between refugees and economic migrants on the way through Colombian regions; the rising similarities in the migration process for both “ forced ” and “ voluntary ” migrants; refugees and migrant workers can have similar experiences in the host countries; the experience of return, repatriation or deportation can be similar. We have built an analytical-comparative proposal that includes theoretical contributions from anthropology and politics about frontiers and migrations, entering into conversation with political theories about frontiers, migrations and citizenship. Our proposal consists in analyzing control and migration/border-crossing management politics and the “ transborder citizenship emerging practices ” through two analytic triads “ ( IBO-1 e IBO-2 ) ”, known in critical literature about frontiers as “ IBO ( IFO in spanish ) triad: Identities, Borders, Orders “ ( Kearney, 1995; Albert, Jacobson and Lapid, 2001; Van Houtuum and Van Naerssen, 2001 ). The analytic and comparative effort allowed to integrate the two triads in three related pairs ( I-1 and I-2 ), ( B-1 and B-2 ), ( O-1 and O-2 ) between the state-built identities and their migration policies ( I-1 ) and the ways of identification-disidentification that the migrants-displaced-asylum seekers and refugees claim and negotiate ( I-2 ). Between the states border-crossing control ( B-1 ) and the unauthorized border crossing of the migrants-displaced-asylum seekers ( B-2 ). Between the states’ power and the politics orders ( O-1) and the ways of political subjectivation from the migrants-displaced-asylum seekers and refugees (O-2 ). The IBO-1 triad corresponds to the border-crossing order of things and the IBO-2 triad to the potential challenge to that order via transborder citizenship emerging practices. In Chapters Four and Five, the previous analytical-comparative framework was applied in the Spain-Morocco and Colombia-Venezuela borders. In each case, the control and management migratory and border-crossing policies were analyzed taking into account three main aspects: identities production and classification, specially the political and civic identities. This is selectivity (Filter function); the frontierization practices, not only control and regulation but also the border-permeability function (Filter function), who can or cannot enter (citizens and non-citizens production ), taking into account the role of the States as well as their regional, global and local registry. In this dimension we talk about the border-crossing order of things. On the other hand, also in each case, the practices from the migrant, displaced, refugees, asylum seeker citizenships in other border games through de-frontierization practices; it is about authorized and unauthorized border-crossing agents and they answer to the Border Crossing Control but previously, they have been qualified and some identities have been attributed such as “irregulars“, “illegals”, “undesirables” and so on, against that, they answer de facto, claiming-verifying that “Any human being is illegal”; this through active processes of disidentification and disclassification, they will be rejecting, also de facto, their imputation as non-citizens; and in this process, they act as if they were citizens, in an equality verification as human beings and as a subject of universal law (Ranciére, 1999). Summarizing, these are “transborder citizenship emerging practices “ from these migrant subjects alongside with their regional, global and local registry. In this analysis dimension, we talk about the (potential) challenge to the border-crossing order of things. Chapter Six gathers the compared analysis about the Spain-Morocco and Colombia-Venezuela borders. In this doctoral thesis, defining two case study was from the beginning the search for a comparative analysis that allowed addressing every case itself to give account of its own dynamics and evolution. From the particularities of the migration-displacement-asylum nexus in each border-crossing zone, there was an advance in a comparison, not as a migratory flows problem itself, but in its political articulations related to migration/border-crossing control and management politics and the citizenship practices. Actors and their political interactions related to their position in the face of borders. Borders are the matters of dispute that reconfigures constantly the concept of politics and the political Chapter Seven about conclusions was oriented to answer the question “How migrants, displaced people and refugees are constituted as political actors and are allowed to appeal to their community members condition? As exposed in the conclusions, in their transborder migrants condition and the democratization assertion from the borders, the transborder citizenship emerging practices take shape. Finally, we present some limitations, possible contributions from the doctoral thesis and some proposals for the future research development. The importance of contributing with studies that overcome the methodological nationalism and the internal focus was posed; also contributing to the methodological, epistemological and conceptual change in the borders, migrations and citizenship studies and strengthening a new epistemic community; and contribution to the ongoing research program about the relation between identity, borders and political orders in border-crossing zones. This analytical-comparative proposal pretends to be one step to the formation of a method or a theory about the comparative anthropology in the borders and periphery and more specifically, as the presentation of the border-crossing order of things and its challenge hypothesis. Therefore, the same questions that we have posed in this doctoral thesis could be asked concerning different borders and demarcation and policies regimes to perform compared works about how some borders are built and the migration processes that pass through it. A short-term future researching development could be addressing the migration-displacement-asylum nexus with a comparative analysis of the borders between Colombia and Venezuela and, Ecuador and Panama in the post-peace agreement transition process. [moins ▲]

IDENTITÄTSKONSTRUKTIONEN UND NATIONENBILDER IN LUXEMBURG IM SPIEGEL VON LITERATUR UND MEDIEN

Thèse de doctorat (2015)

Challenges and Outlook in Machine Learning-based Malware Detection for Android

Thèse de doctorat (2015)

Just like in traditional desktop computing, one of the major security issues in mobile computing lies in malicious software. Several recent studies have shown that Android, as today’s most widespread ... [plus ▼]

Just like in traditional desktop computing, one of the major security issues in mobile computing lies in malicious software. Several recent studies have shown that Android, as today’s most widespread Operating System, is the target of most of the new families of malware. Manually analysing an Android application to determine whether it is malicious or not is a time- consuming process. Furthermore, because of the complexity of analysing an application, this task can only be conducted by highly-skilled—hence hard to come by—professionals. Researchers naturally sought to transfer this process from humans to computers to lower the cost of detecting malware. Machine-Learning techniques, looking at patterns amongst known malware and inferring models of what discriminates malware from goodware, have long been summoned to build malware detectors. The vast quantity of data involved in malware detection, added to the fact that we do not know a priori how to express in technical terms the difference between malware and goodware, indeed makes the malware detection question a seemingly textbook example of a possible Machine- Learning application. Despite the vast amount of literature published on the topic of detecting malware with machine- learning, malware detection is not a solved problem. In this Thesis, we investigate issues that affect performance evaluation and that thus may render current machine learning-based mal- ware detectors for Android hardly usable in practical settings, and we propose an approach to overcome those issues. While the experiments presented in this thesis all rely on feature-sets obtained through lightweight static analysis, several of our findings could apply equally to all Machine Learning-based malware detection approaches. In the first part of this thesis, background information on machine-learning and on malware detection is provided, and the related work is described. A snapshot of the malware landscape in Android application markets is then presented. The second part discusses three pitfalls hindering the evaluation of malware detectors. We show with extensive experiments how validation methodology, History-unaware dataset construction and the choice of a ground truth can heavily interfere with the performance results of malware detectors. In a third part, we present an practical approach to detect Android Malware in real-world settings. We then propose several research paths to get closer to our long term goal of building practical, dependable and predictable Android Malware detectors. [moins ▲]

LEGAL CHALLENGES FACING CLOUD COMPUTING – A STUDY OF RELEVANT CONCEPTS IN CURRENT AND FUTURE EU DATA PROTECTION LAW

Thèse de doctorat (2015)

Patient-derived colon cancer stem cell-like spheroid cultures-characterization and effect of hypoxia

Thèse de doctorat (2015)

Biopharm - the Influence of Macro-substrates & Conditioning on Pharmaceutical Removal Rates by Moving Bed Biofilm Reactors

Thèse de doctorat (2015)

Organic micropollutants with endocrine disruptive properties are present in the aquatic environment. A major part of their emission is caused by municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). For this ... [plus ▼]

Organic micropollutants with endocrine disruptive properties are present in the aquatic environment. A major part of their emission is caused by municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). For this reason, a vast amount of research has been undertaken to remove xenobiotics from municipal wastewater by developing post-treatment technologies with some success. However, these technologies cause considerable environmental costs due their high demand for electrical energy implicating an increase in CO2 emissions. Consequently, existing biological treatments need first to be better understood and subsequently optimized regarding xenobiotic removal before post-treatments are employed. The study focused on the fate of xenobiotics during biological wastewater treatment. In particular, metabolic strategies of bacteria degrading pharmaceuticals were investigated within moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) processes. Two main objectives were tracked. On the one hand, it was to unfold the impact of macro-substrates in terms of type and molecular complexity on the activity of microorganisms and consequently pharmaceutical degradation performance. On the other hand, the study was set out to explore the adaptation of metabolic means regarding exoenzymes and consortia structure during continuous (long-term) exposure to pharmaceuticals. Accordingly, the ability to increase microbial competences during pharmaceutical short-term pulses was the general target of investigation. Both conditions continuous substance flow and short-term peak loads of xenobiotics are believed to occur in urban WWTPs. A pilot MBBR was set up next to a domestic WWTP. The pilot treated municipal sewage and served as inoculation reservoir for biofilm carriers used for in-depth laboratory experiments. The latter comprised six lab-scale MBBRs featuring flow through operation under controlled conditions regarding temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, influent flow and influent load. The reactors were conditioned over four weeks with a synthetic sewage providing substrates and micro-nutrients in a similar manner as expected under real conditions. Biofilm was monitored by respirometry and a series of enzyme assays using fluorogenic substrates to capture esterase, phosphatase, alpha- and beta-glucosidase and aminopeptidase activity. All enzymes are essential during organic carbon metabolism. An array of macro-substrates with different molecular complexity was triggering individual enzyme activity profiles. After conditioning, 12 pharmaceuticals being subject to a range of anticipated metabolic pathways and degradation rates were spiked into the MBBRs. Their degradation kinetics were measured by liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (LC MS/MS). Pseudo first-order kinetics revealed substrate related fingerprints and showed that readily biodegradable substrate leads generally to good pharmaceutical degradation performance compared to synthetic sewage with a mixture of several high molecular organic substrates. The latter was designed to induce the greatest metabolic effort of tested substrates before microbial uptake occurs. However, single substrates triggering exoenzyme activity in a more targeted manner such as maltose and cellobiose showed positive impact on the pseudo first-order rate coefficients of particular pharmaceuticals such as atenolol and diclofenac. Accordingly, alpha-glucosidase activity was found to be directly proportional to atenolol degradation kinetics. Phylogenetic characterisation of DNA and RNA involving state-of-the-art 16S ribosomal rRNA gene amplification and sequencing techniques was used to explore community structures. Prokaryote diversity in lab-scale MBBRs was in agreement to previous studies which investigated microbial consortia in full-scale systems. Multivariate analysis revealed that bacteria are adapting their active gene pool when the beta-blocker atenolol is continuously present with a concentration in ug/L range. Differential analysis unfolded that the prokaryotic genera Delftia and Lysobacter were thereby exclusively benefiting from the exposure to atenolol. Yet, compared to the influence of macro-substrates, biomass conditioning (training) with atenolol and diclofenac had no notable impact on the degradation performance of pharmaceutical short-term pulses. The outstanding comprehensive character of the study which encompassed sophisticated experimental design and powerful analytical tools from different scientific domains uncovered some interesting insights in xenobiotic degradation processes. The results finally show how biomass is reacting towards the presence of primary carbon sources and organic micro-pollutants. The outcomes highlight the importance of WWTP influent characterization being indicative of metabolic activity and therefore degradation capacity of xenobiotics. The study further suggests that xenobiotic metabolism and co-metabolism co-exist during biological treatment processes. Co-metabolism is the decisive actor when adaption time is relatively short as it was the case during the lab-scale experiments compared to real conditions. Further, the study indicates some potential of process enhancement of WWTPs ranging from straightforward implementations such as external carbon sources to more elaborated processes of bioaugmentation. [moins ▲]

La "Bancabilité" des infrastructures intégratrices financées par les Institutions financières du développement en Afrique de l'Ouest

Thèse de doctorat (2015)

Analysis of the Urinary Proteomes of the Participants in the “Mars 500” Flight Simulation Program Using Advanced Mass Spectrometry Techniques

Thèse de doctorat (2015)

Urine is a valuable material in the clinical proteomics studies as it may contain biomarkers for diagnosis of urinary tract and renal pathologies. Nevertheless, the high variability of protein abundances ... [plus ▼]

Urine is a valuable material in the clinical proteomics studies as it may contain biomarkers for diagnosis of urinary tract and renal pathologies. Nevertheless, the high variability of protein abundances in the context of normal homeostasis may mask the changes in the case of pathological protein expression and become a stumbling block in urinary proteome investigation. The main objective of this study was to define the normal (minimal) protein abundance variability in urine for a well-controlled group of healthy individuals. The analyses of urine samples collected in the frame of the “MARS 500” space flight simulation program was an unique opportunity to carry out such a study. In order to perform a reliable and systematic analysis of a large set of proteins in urine samples several challenges had to be overcome. First, a reliable sample preparation procedure had been established to address the problems associated to urine samples (e.g., the low overall protein concentration in urine). Second, a detailed map of the urinary proteome was created, including the identification of low abundant proteins in urine samples. High quality MS/MS spectra corresponding to a large set of identified peptides constituted the basis for a spectral library. The library allowed reinforcing the peptide identity confirmation by experimental spectra comparison with the reference spectra. Third, an LCMS/ MS method was devised to acquire systematically a large data set using the state-ofthe- art instrument with implemented dynamic correction of the targeted peptide monitoring time. The analysis of the urine samples collected over 100 days from six participants in the “MARS 500” program revealed unexpectedly large changes in the intra-personal protein abundances. Differences exceeding one order of magnitude between lowest and highest protein abundance measured within one individual were observed. However, some proteins exhibited a low abundance ratio, even across individuals. The proteins showing highest differences in abundance are presumably involved in the inflammatory response of the innate immune system. The present study provides a description of longitudinal protein abundance variation in urine in the context of the normal homeostasis and may be a resource for future biomarker studies. [moins ▲]

Development of Alternative Proteomics Methods for Lung Cancer Biomarker Evaluation

Thèse de doctorat (2015)

Lung cancer is a serious public health problem, killing millions of people around the world every year. It is the third most common cancer in Europe after colorectal cancer and breast cancer, but the ... [plus ▼]

Lung cancer is a serious public health problem, killing millions of people around the world every year. It is the third most common cancer in Europe after colorectal cancer and breast cancer, but the deadliest since it is often detected too late. Sensitive and reliable methods for early stage detection and drug response prediction could significantly improve the therapeutic treatment and survival rate of lung cancer patients. Although tremendous efforts in biomedical research have been made over the last decades to develop novel biomarkers for cancer diagnosis and treatment response, no reliable and specific panels of biomarkers are available for early lung cancer diagnosis. During the past decade mass spectrometry (MS) based proteomics has become an important approach to biological and clinical investigations. Most MS-based protein quantification approaches generally involve trypsin digestion of the endogenous proteins in biological samples, followed by a targeted liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analysis of signature peptides indicative of the proteins of interest. Trypsin cleaves proteins C-terminal of lysine and arginine residues generating peptides that are well suited for LC-MS/MS analysis. However, despite the undeniable advantages of trypsin, the enzyme is not optimal for all types of proteomics studies due to an uneven distribution of the cleavage sites in the human proteome. During a tryptic digestion also very short non-specific peptides (< 6 amino acids) are produced resulting in a loss of sequence protein coverage. This can be problematic as the missing peptide parts could contain crucial information for disease understanding, such as specific amino acid mutations or post- translational modifications of amino acid residues. Moreover, the generation of large numbers of short peptides results in an increased background complexity which is a main limiting factor in quantification experiments as it reduces the selectivity of the measurements, which in turn affects the sensitivity of the experiments. Isotope dilution strategies are frequently employed to achieve accurate quantification of the proteins of interest using calibrated isotopically labeled peptides as internal standards. In quantitative assays, which involve the use of stable isotope-labeled standards, the reliability and the accuracy of the experiments is principally dependent on the quality of the standards. Different factors can affect the standard concentration between the synthesis and its utilization, such as incomplete solubilization, non-specific adsorption to hydrophobic surfaces or aggregation. To ensure an accurate quantification the internal standards need to be verified immediately before analysis. The purpose of this PhD thesis was to develop new proteomic approaches to remedy these limitations by using, instead of trypsin, alternative enzymes and by developing a quantification approach based on concatenated polypeptide standards containing a cleavable reporter peptide for accurate quantification. [moins ▲]

Die Herausforderung der dritten Sprache – eine Grounded-Theory-Studie zu sprachlichen Praktiken und Repräsentationen von Mehrsprachigkeit bei Studierenden dreisprachiger Masterstudiengänge an der Universität Luxemburg

Thèse de doctorat (2015)

The University of Luxembourg presents itself as an international and multilingual university, two attributes that may seem at odds to those who equate internationalization with anglicization. In fact ... [plus ▼]

The University of Luxembourg presents itself as an international and multilingual university, two attributes that may seem at odds to those who equate internationalization with anglicization. In fact, more than 50 % of students of this officially trilingual institution come from outside Luxembourg and the proportion of international students’ increases at the Master’s level. While the majority of Master study programs in the winter term 2012/13 were mono- or bilingual, four trilingual Masters have been offered as well. Three of them used French, English and German as languages of instruction, another one Luxembourgish, French and German. This dissertation investigates linguistic practices and representations of individual and institutional multilingualism by students and study directors in four trilingual Master study programs. The exploratory study combines an ethnographic approach with constructivist Grounded Theory. The corpus comprises around 90 hours of participant observation, 47 field notes, 19 questionnaires, and 9 interviews with students and 4 with course directors. The data has been generated in 2012 and 2013. The general research question “How do students experience individual and institutional multilingualism in trilingual Master programs?” has been split up in three specific questions: (1) How are the linguistic repertoires of the involved actors categorized? (2) Which representations of institutional multilingualism and a “multilingual study program” are constructed by students and study directors? (3) In which situations do multilingual language practices emerge in the program? The results show that the configuration of linguistic repertoires, the motivation for a Master program and their expectations, among other factors, play a role in the construction of representations of multilingualism. Students and lecturers have different linguistic resources in one, two or all three of the program languages. On the basis of the official presentation of the programs, some students expect a symmetrical form of multilingualism, but perceive an asymmetrical use of the three languages in practice. The hierarchical use of languages is accompanied by a marginalization of German in each Master and explained by the limited repertoires of students or lecturers. Receptive multilingualism is practiced in some contexts or presented as a goal and opposes the view that a multilingual study program should mean studying in three languages. The students’ expectations of support for language learning and the institutional offer of language courses diverge. While in two Masters language courses in French and German for beginners are offered, support is missing for advanced learners and for academic language. Overall, the findings suggest an influence of individual and collective linguistic repertoires on linguistic practices of teaching and studying as well as on the implementation of institutional multilingualism in practice. While students mention changes of former study practices during their Master studies, lecturers develop spontaneous strategies to deal with the linguistic heterogeneity of their groups, whereby the degree of multilingualism varies. The significance of the core category “the third language” can be explained by the fact that some students begin their studies with no or only little language resources in one of the program languages and by their tendency to hierarchize languages. The results of this qualitative study have implications for the language policy of multilingual study programs. A clear definition of a language competence profile for enrolling and finishing a multilingual study program as well as specific language learning objectives are recommended. Finally, an integration of language learning in content courses according to the CLIL-model is proposed. [moins ▲]

Role of Calprotectin as a Modulator of the IL27-Mediated Inflammatory Response of Endothelial Cells

Thèse de doctorat (2015)

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the leading causes of death with a morbidity of around 40% worldwide. Their development occur long before any symptoms are clinically evident. An underlying endothelial ... [plus ▼]

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the leading causes of death with a morbidity of around 40% worldwide. Their development occur long before any symptoms are clinically evident. An underlying endothelial dysfunction plays a fundamental role in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular events and is the central feature of atherosclerosis, which often appears prior to other CVD. However, the involvement of the chronic inflammatory state of the endothelium in the early mechanisms leading to the atherosclerotic phenomenon, which includes the protein-based communication between leukocytes and inflamed endothelial cells, remains to be further investigated. In this context of atherosclerosis, several key players have already been identified, but the role of the cytokines IL17D, IL27, and IL32γ is less well understood. In addition, evidence for the impact of calprotectin on promoting atherosclerosis has been reported, but its modulatory role on cytokine communication is still unclear. In this study, we first analysed the inflammatory responses of monocytes stimulated with the potent agonist TNFα to simulate a stress-induced inflammatory state. In order to characterize the monocytes as a potential cellular source of IL17D, IL27, IL32γ, and calprotectin, the regulation of gene expression was studied based on microarray data and qPCR. Highly significant up-regulations of IL27 subunit EBI3 and IL32 gene expressions were confirmed in TNFα-stimulated THP-1 cells. Furthermore, we were able to determine elevated intracellular IL27 and calprotectin protein levels in TNFα- stimulated THP-1 cells. In a second part, Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells (HUVECs) were stimulated with IL17D, IL27, IL32γ, and calprotectin to characterize the induced inflammatory responses regarding gene expression. A gene-array qPCR screening demonstrated higher differential gene expression (DGE) after IL27 compared to IL17D, IL32γ, and calprotectin stimulation. Highest IL27-mediated DGEs were ob- served for CXCL10, CXCL11, IL7, and IL15. In order to highlight potential calprotectin modulatory effects on these genes, time course experiments of HUVECs stimulated with IL27+/-calprotectin were assessed by qPCR. We identified modulatory effects of cal- protectin on IL27-induced CXCL10 and IL15 gene expressions. Furthermore a mass spectrometry-based proteomic analysis of IL27+/-calprotectin-stimulated HUVECs enlightened a modulatory role of calprotectin in the late differential regulation of proteins such as the IL27 downstream effector STAT1. A literature-based pathway analysis of significant regulated proteins emphasized that calprotectin-modulated IL27 activity was able to decrease the probability of the development of atherosclerosis. Altogether, our findings suggest that calprotectin may exert a regulatory role on cytokine-mediated inflammatory responses and highlight the need of further investigations in the understanding of atherosclerosis development. [moins ▲]

Multilingualism and Early Education: An Ethnography of Language Practices and Processes of Institutionalisation in Luxembourgish Early Childcare Settings

Thèse de doctorat (2015)

During the last twenty years, the Luxembourgish system of early childhood education and care (ECEC) has been undergoing some considerable transformations in light of growing demands by social, economic ... [plus ▼]

During the last twenty years, the Luxembourgish system of early childhood education and care (ECEC) has been undergoing some considerable transformations in light of growing demands by social, economic and educational policies. In the multilingual context of Luxembourg, these demands are especially complex, ranging from language promotion and school preparation to contributing to social cohesion and to the integration of a heterogeneous society. The early educational practice today is thus confronted with multiple, at times also divergent expectations. Instead of asking how effectively educational practices might meet these demands and expectations, my research rather takes a non-normative approach by investigating how multilingualism is actually dealt with in the everyday practice of the day care centres. Drawing on praxeological and institutional perspectives as analytical tools, the thesis aims at a better understanding of the everyday accomplishment of the early educational practice in light of these societal developments. Language is thus regarded as a social practice, putting the focus on the actual doing of language and its contribution to the practical enactment of an institutional order. Institutionalisation, here, is understood as the intricate processes of referring and answering to external expectations in everyday practice in order to negotiate what ‘early childhood education and care’ actually is and means. Hence, not everything that happens in educational fields is per se ‘education’; rather it has to be performed and practically constituted as such in response to certain institutionalised norms, values and expectations. In order to investigate how language practices contribute to processes of institutionalisation in ECEC, an ethnographic research has been carried out in three state-funded Luxembourgish day care centres over the course of three years. Pertinent questions that guided my observations and analyses were for example: What different kinds of language practices can be observed in the centres? How are these language practices, on the one hand, conducive to the accomplishment of an institutional order and are, on the other hand, themselves constrained by this order? What are the respective parts of adults and children in these processes? How is early education thereby constituted but also challenged or transformed? Data analysis is based on a reflexive and constructivist Grounded Theory approach and yielded several interrelated aspects of language-mediated institutionalisation processes: First, language serves to constitute institutional boundaries and to differentiate the pedagogical social space from the ‘outside’ or ‘everyday’ world. Second, language also contributes to the creation of an institutional order ‘inside’ this pedagogical space and helps to position actors within this order. Third, language is part of processes of routinisation and incorporation that serve to stabilise the institutional practice. Finally, language is also involved in representing the early educational practice vis-à-vis its constitutive outside, such as the family and the school, thus supporting its claims to legitimacy. These processes, however, are not as straightforward as it may seem, because language also plays a part in destabilising processes of institutionalisation and bringing forward institutional changes. For example, language practices also transcend and fracture the monolingual imaginings of pedagogical space. They may not only constitute and support but also challenge and resist the institutional order as well as question its legitimacy. The study raises some important further questions that are addressed in the final chapter: How can ethnographic research contribute to processes of practice development in ECEC? How do institutional factors both enable and constrain the early educational practice? In what ways do the children themselves contribute to the practical accomplishment of early educational realities? What are the limitations of the study and further lines of inquiry for future research? [moins ▲]

Geplante Bildung für die freie Welt. Die OECD und die Entstehung einer technokratischen Bildungsexpertise

Thèse de doctorat (2015)

Today, national education polices are increasingly informed and affected by an international education policy space: ‘World education managers,’ equipped with standardized tests and indicators, identify ... [plus ▼]

Today, national education polices are increasingly informed and affected by an international education policy space: ‘World education managers,’ equipped with standardized tests and indicators, identify ‘best practices’ that are assumed to be valid across all nation states, largely irrespective of their specific historical, cultural and educational contexts. These global experts have found many hosts and platforms for their views within international governmental organizations, foremost among them the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). With instruments such as the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), OECD has become – without having any educational mandate – a hegemonic power in the field of international education policy. The OECD is thus a significant example for a new kind of educational expertise that is characterized by a permanent, institutionalized link between policy and research. For all its ‘influence’ on contemporary policy, little is known about the emergence of this international policy space, its inner logics – its ‘managers’ and the origins of their ‘universal language’. Whereas the current research literature often associates the origins of this internationalization with the fall of the Iron Curtain, this PhD thesis argues that its roots were established and shaped during – and not after – the Cold War, with the formative period occurring during the late 1950’s and the 1960’s. By reconstructing OECD’s emerging role as an expert in education, this thesis sheds light on particular ‘actors’ or rather ‘networks’ and the ‘styles of reasoning’ that enabled, shaped, and legitimized this new international authority. More precisely, this thesis describes how, against the background of a Cold War ‘culture of control,’ a space was created for the rise of different technocratic networks. These networks were eventually characterized by the belief that education bears the ultimate means for solving the problems of societies. Within the OECD these technocratic networks found the ideal institutional platform to give their ‘styles of reasoning’ expression and to establish and to diffuse a specific goal-oriented, quantitative research culture with a strong ‘social engineering’ bent. The epistemology and methods of this specific form of research originated not the least from military war research, whereby the USA acted both as a model and as a catalyst. In the name of the ‘free world’ – as the thesis concludes – a cult of expertise was established leading less to forms of democracy than to a monarchy of ‘evidence’. By disentangling and identifying the ‘styles of reasoning’ as well as the ‘networks’ that were crucial in establishing OECD’s educational expertise, this thesis highlights that a policy phenomenon like the OECD’s PISA does not derive ‘out of the blue’ but, on the contrary, has its roots in a longer history – a decisive context that is often neglected in current explanations assembled around buzzwords like ‘globalization’ or ‘world culture’. Moreover this thesis contributes to the reconstruction of the establishment of a new institutional site that generates a specific kind of knowledge and oscillates between policy and research whilst bypassing the traditional research institutions – the universities. [moins ▲]

European Causation in Tort Law: a Comparative Study with emphasis on Medical Law in the United Kingdom, Germany and France and Luxembourg

Thèse de doctorat (2015)

This purpose of this paper is to explore how the different jurisdictions under consideration here treat the legal notion of causation. These jurisdictions are the United Kingdom, Germany and France and ... [plus ▼]

This purpose of this paper is to explore how the different jurisdictions under consideration here treat the legal notion of causation. These jurisdictions are the United Kingdom, Germany and France and Luxembourg. The problem of causation has been described as insoluble and I shall not be trying to solve it. Rather I shall consider how each of the jurisdictions here treats causation in the law, the better to ascertain whether there can be any common European idea of causation in this field. The reason for this is not only as two of the European projects aiming at codification in tort law seek to attempt if not strictly a definition of causation then recommendations in ways in which it could be refined. The European Court of Justice itself has been mandated to extract general principles common to European Union member states with regard to non-contractual obligations which can be applied when faced with a problem in tort law. I must necessarily explain the notion of causation more generally before considering causation in the law so causation itself is understood. Within the sphere of causation in the law, there are a number of theories that I examine, which can be found, to a greater or lesser extent (or sometimes not at all), in one form or another, in the jurisdictions under consideration. My conclusion is that there can be no common idea in causation from which principles in furtherance of any European codification projects may be stated. In most cases in court, a discussion of causation is not even entered into, as it is not controversial. There can be no “common sense” solutions in cases where causation is in doubt. I offer no principles. I make only one suggestion at the end with regard to experts’ reports. The originality I hope to bring to this area of law is that this will be the first work that considers French (and Luxembourg), German and British law under one cover. I conclude by what seems to be the opposite view from many jurists in that, who hold that, however courts may arrive there “the results are [or will be] just the same” in causation. [moins ▲]

INTEGRATED ANALYSIS OF TRANSCRIPT-LEVEL REGULATION OF HUMAN ADIPOGENESIS AND CELL TYPE-SELECTIVE DISEASE ASSOCIATION OF HIGH REGULATORY LOAD GENES

Thèse de doctorat (2015)

Most diseases are characterized by altered epigenetic and metabolic states, pointing to the need of a global and combined understanding of mechanisms underlying epigenetic and metabolic changes as an ... [plus ▼]

Most diseases are characterized by altered epigenetic and metabolic states, pointing to the need of a global and combined understanding of mechanisms underlying epigenetic and metabolic changes as an important piece to enable disease eradication. Adipocytes impact systemic homeostasis and their differentiation encompasses a phenotypic change whose function becomes impaired with diseases such as obesity and metabolic syndrome. Following an integrative systems biology approach, we combined different omics data from the differentiation of Simpson-Golabi-Behmel syndrome (SGBS) adipocytes with a human metabolic model to observe key metabolic changes upon differentiation, their regulation and relevance for disease. Pursuing the link to disease, we used public data from the genome-wide binding of TFs and location of active enhancers to test for disease association in function of the regulatory load, revealing a cell type-selective enrichment for disease of the high regulatory load genes. Diverse experimental data were collected, covering a gene expression time-course during adipogenesis, with identification of miR-27a, miR-29a and miR-222 target genes, the genome-wide binding profiles of PPARg, C/EBPa and LXRa , and the H3K4me3 histone modification mark for actively transcribed transcription start sites (TSSs). Metabolic genes showed a highly dynamic expression pattern during adipogenesis, most being targeted by PPARg and C/EBPa . Lipid metabolism pathways including triacylglyceride synthesis showed extensive and combinatorial regulation by TFs and miRNAs, converging on known dyslipidemia genes. For data visualization, we developed a web portal that interactively renders metabolic pathways with omics data overlaid (IDARE, http://systemsbiology.uni.lu/idare.html). Public ChIP-seq data revealed a general principle of higher disease association of genes under higher regulatory control in a cell type-selective manner. First, data from the genome-wide binding of 10 TFs in HUVEC cells showed an enrichment for vascular diseases on metabolic genes targeted by > 6 TFs. Second, data from the binding of a total of 93 TFs confirmed the enrichment for disease association of genes with the top TF load in 8 additional cell lines. Finally, active enhancer data from 139 samples spanning 96 cell types and tissues demonstrated the cell type-selective disease enrichment of the genes with the highest active enhancer load. High regulatory load genes enriched for disease association beyond genetic variation, including association types like “altered expression” and “biomarker”, among others. Additionally, high regulatory load genes appeared on average in more KEGG pathways and had higher betweenness centrality in a liver disease network than other genes, showing longer 3’UTRs harboring more binding sites for diverse microRNA families, suggesting also a higher post-transcriptional regulatory load and a role as signal integrators within biological networks. Our results point to the pertinence of including high regulatory load genes for unbiased prioritization of novel candidate genes for disease association. [moins ▲]

Interaction in Luxembourgish as an Additional Language: An analysis of language learning as related to affordances among multilingual adult learners

Thèse de doctorat (2015)

This study examines affordances for Luxembourgish as the ‘speak-able’ and ‘use-able’ of the target language in the learning environment. Grounded in the Sociocultural theory that assumes that active ... [plus ▼]

This study examines affordances for Luxembourgish as the ‘speak-able’ and ‘use-able’ of the target language in the learning environment. Grounded in the Sociocultural theory that assumes that active verbal engagement in naturally occurring interaction enables learners to develop knowledge of target language use, the study analyses Luxembourg learners’ discourses and actions in interaction. Results show that in a context where the target language's functions are limited to "juste les petites conversations wie geet et?" [only mini-dialogues how are you?], metalinguistic awareness is crucial for the occurrence of executive affordance that allows for language learning and development to take place. Awareness of the context on the one side and of the status of the target language on the other side plays an important role in the learning and development of Luxembourgish. [moins ▲]

Régulation ou règlementation des fonds islamiques en Europe?

Thèse de doctorat (2015)

Les fonds islamiques intègrent dans leur stratégie d’investissement des critères d’investissement extra-financiers fondés sur des principes directeurs issus du droit musulman. Ils répondent à une demande ... [plus ▼]

Les fonds islamiques intègrent dans leur stratégie d’investissement des critères d’investissement extra-financiers fondés sur des principes directeurs issus du droit musulman. Ils répondent à une demande croissante de produits financiers religieusement orientés. Si l’industrie de la gestion d’actifs islamiques se développe sur le marché européen, les fonds islamiques, ainsi que leurs gestionnaires ne font pas l’objet d’une règlementation dédiée. Ils sont par conséquent soumis aux exigences du droit conventionnel des organismes de placement collectif, qui, selon les cas, relèvent du droit européen ou du droit interne des États membres. Pour combler l’indifférence religieuse d’un droit positif aconfessionnel, un cadre normatif spécifique complète le cadre règlementaire étatique. La régulation des fonds islamiques se fait alors par le biais de prescriptions et de recommandations issues de normes autonomes d’origines publiques et privées. Le caractère non-contraignant de ce second ensemble normatif pose la question de l’efficacité juridique de l’encadrement des fonds islamiques. Il interroge également sur l’opportunité, voire la faisabilité d’une norme étatique en la matière. Ce dernier point ne serait-il pas un pré requis nécessaire à la possible émergence d’un modèle (européen) de fonds islamiques permettant de renforcer la protection des investisseurs et l’épanouissement de ce marché ? [moins ▲]

Identification of the underlying mechanism of the c.192G>C mutation in the DJ-1 gene and functional characterisation in patient-based cellular models of Parkinson’s disease ex vivo

Thèse de doctorat (2015)

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disease and characterised by a progressive loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta and in other brain ... [plus ▼]

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disease and characterised by a progressive loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta and in other brain regions. Homozygous loss-of-function mutations in the DJ-1 gene (PARK7) are a rare cause of familial early-onset PD. The protein encoded by PARK7 is involved in a variety of biological processes including transcriptional regulation, chaperone-like functions, oxidative stress response and mitochondrial protection. In the present study, we deciphered novel molecular mechanisms underlying the pathogenicity of the c.192G>C DJ-1 mutation previously predicted to lead to a p.E64D amino acid exchange in the DJ-1 protein. To analyse the c.192G>C DJ-1 mutation, we generated and characterised different ex vivo patient-based cellular models including patient-derived primary fibroblasts, immortalised fibroblasts, induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), iPSC-derived small molecule neuronal precursor cells (smNPCs) as well as iPSC-derived midbrain-specific dopaminergic (mDA) neurons. Analyses of DJ-1 expression in these patient-derived model systems from homozygous carriers of the c.192G>C DJ-1 mutation unexpectedly revealed that this mutation leads to the loss of DJ-1 protein in these cell types. Further experiments using qPCR and an in vitro splicing assay showed a splicing defect causing complete skipping of the mutation-carrying exon 3 in the pre-mRNA. After deciphering the pathogenic mechanism, we developed a targeted genetic rescue strategy of the pathological skipping of exon 3. This was performed by using a specific U1 snRNA that specifically binds to the mutated DJ-1 pre-mRNA and allows for the re-induction of physiological splicing. In addition, we extended our strategy by first candidate approaches aiming at a pharmacological rescue that may offer novel causative treatment options in patients carrying the c.192G>C DJ-1 mutation as well as for other diseases caused by the same mutational mechanism. Beyond the molecular genetic characterisation, we developed different patient-based cellular models and addressed the functional effects of loss of DJ-1 protein in different patient-derived cells carrying the c.192G>C DJ-1 mutation (human fibroblasts, iPSC-derived mDA neurons). These analyses revealed mitochondrial impairments upon loss of DJ-1 protein in fibroblasts, including fragmentation and reduced branching of mitochondria as well as a reduced mitochondrial membrane potential compared to healthy controls. The results correlate with our observations in primary cells from DJ-1 knockout mice and support the idea of a conserved role of DJ-1 in maintaining mitochondrial function. Moreover, mDA neurons of the index patient carrying the homozygous c.192G>C DJ-1 mutation showed in-creased lesion rates of mtDNA and no increase in mtDNA copy numbers, suggesting a lack of compensatory capacity. Our data substantially contribute to the understanding of mechanisms and functions of DJ-1 mutations in PD pathogenesis, in particular focusing on mitochondrial phenotypes upon loss of DJ-1 in different human ex vivo models. This underlines the role of DJ-1 as an important key player in the response to oxidative stress and the maintenance of proper mitochondrial function and homeostasis. Overall, we show that the fibroblasts with an inherited c.192G>C DJ-1 mutation, mDA neurons differentiated from iPSCs of these human fibroblasts and the DJ-1 knockout mice constitute excellent knockout model systems to further dissect the role of DJ-1 in neurodegeneration in PD. This also offers human DJ-1 knockout models for future iso-genic control experiments with a restituted endogenous DJ-1 background. Sequentially, it is possible to test whether disease related phenotypes might be rescued by reintroducing DJ-1 or correcting the defective splicing. Finally, the discovery of the underlying mechanism of the c.192G>C DJ-1 mutation opens up novel opportunities for a first genetic and maybe even pharmacological causative treatment for PD. [moins ▲]

Mesophilic anaerobic digestion of lignocellulosic substrates under different operating modes and extreme feeding conditions – Optimisation and modelling

Thèse de doctorat (2015)

DNS and Semantic Analysis for Phishing Detection

Thèse de doctorat (2015)

Phishing is a kind of modern swindles that targets electronic communications users and aims to persuade them to perform actions for a another’s benefit. Miscreants performing this activity are named ... [plus ▼]

Phishing is a kind of modern swindles that targets electronic communications users and aims to persuade them to perform actions for a another’s benefit. Miscreants performing this activity are named phishers and employ their power of persuasion to tailor socially engineered messages able to deceive their gullible victims. A popular example of phishing activities is the stealing of web services account login information or credit card information using fake websites or spoofed emails. However, several means are used to perform phishing attacks and several goals are sought, which harden the fight against phishing. Despite the forces engaged to get rid of this threat, phishing remains a concerning problem since the financial damage it causes is increasing overtime. Moreover, the perceived fatality about being a victim of phishing erodes the trust among users and threaten the use of electronic means as way of communicating. Existing solutions to cope with phishing attacks are not adapted to their short lifetime and the variety of means used to perform them, making them inefficient. Crowd verified blacklists, emails content analysis techniques or web page content analysis techniques did not succeed to reverse the increasing trend presented by phishing consequences. None of these solutions present the essential requirements that must meet a phishing protection technique to be efficient and which are speed, coverage, reliability and usability. Stating that phishing attacks rely mostly on social engineering and that most phishing vectors leverage directing links represented by domain names and URLs, we introduce new solutions to cope with phishing. These solutions rely on the lexical and semantic analysis of the composition of domain names and URLs. Both of these resource pointers are created and obfuscated by phishers to trap their victims. Hence, we demonstrate in this document that phishing do- main names and URLs present similarities in their lexical and semantic composition that are different form legitimate domain names and URLs composition. We use this characteristic to build models representing the composition of phishing URLs and domain names using machine learning techniques and natural language processing models. The built models are used for several applications such as the identification of phishing domain names and phishing URLs, the rating of phishing URLs and the prediction of domain names used in phishing attacks. All the introduced techniques are assessed on ground truth data and show their efficiency by meeting speed, coverage and reliability requirements. This document shows that the use of lexical and semantic analysis can be applied to domain names and URLs and that this application is relevant to detect phishing attacks. [moins ▲]

Essays on Judgment and Decision Making in Accounting

Thèse de doctorat (2015)

Inclusive education from a social-cognitive perspective: Preservice teachers’ explicit and implicit cognitions, judgments of and behavioral intentions regarding immigrant students with special education needs

Thèse de doctorat (2015)

Understanding primary-school, high-school and university students sustainable behaviours: An approach based on the theory of planned behaviour

Thèse de doctorat (2015)

Developing a more thorough understanding of what motivates young people to adopt sustainable behaviours is an important area of concern that has practical implications for creating sound educational ... [plus ▼]

Developing a more thorough understanding of what motivates young people to adopt sustainable behaviours is an important area of concern that has practical implications for creating sound educational interventions and ensuring a sustainable future. The overall purpose of this thesis was to assess and understand primary- and high-school students’ environmentally sustainable behaviours in order to inform educational interventions. Moreover, it aimed at analysing one particular socially sustainable behavioural intention among university students, notably their intention to buy fair trade products. The theory of planned behaviour (TPB) was used as the basic theoretical framework to examine these behaviours. We first conducted a pilot study for each behaviour, with the aim to identify salient beliefs of the target populations with regard to the behaviour investigated. Open-ended questionnaires were administered to a sample of 116 primary-school students, 92 high-school students, and 17 voluntary participants at the university level. A content analysis of the participants’ responses allowed the determination of the most salient beliefs, which were used as the basis for the quantitative measures of beliefs in the main studies. The first and second main studies investigated the beliefs of 812 primary-school students and 602 high-school students regarding the adoption of pro-environmental behaviours using a longitudinal approach. The gist of our results seems to be that for both age groups, educational interventions should target control beliefs especially. For instance, students insist on tools that would facilitate pro-environmental behaviours (e.g., having duplex printers or recycling bins at school and at home). However, behavioural and normative beliefs should not be neglected. The last study examined mainly differences in male and female university students’ intentions to consume fair trade products. The results indicate that for women, more emphasis should be placed on perceived behavioural control (e.g., factors that facilitate the ii purchase of fair trade products), while for men, more emphasis should be placed on attitudes towards buying fair trade products (i.e., the advantages of adopting this behaviour). Our results confirm the usefulness of the TPB as a framework for understanding young people’s sustainable intentions and behaviours, with perceived control and attitudes having considerable impacts on sustainable intentions and perceived social pressure having a rather low weight. In addition, perceived control and intentions contributed significantly to the explained variance in primary- and high-school students’ eco-friendly behaviours. This thesis makes a number of important contributions to the literature. From a practical point of view, primary- and high-school students are important populations because sustainability-related habits might be established early in life. Moreover, in their roles as potentially important future decision makers in our society (e.g., future company leaders, politicians, global citizens), university students should be sensitized to the unequal power relationships often involved in conventional trading. Offering fair trade products and encouraging their consumption should be considered a small, but important, step in universities’ duty to create awareness. Despite the positive input for interventions inspired by this thesis, some limitations have to be considered, for instance, our reliance on self-report questionnaires and the possibility that participants may have overestimated the extent to which they perform environmentally and socially desirable behaviours related to sustainability. Last, further research is needed to test the effectiveness of interventions based on the present results. [moins ▲]

Enabling Testing of Large Scale Highly Configurable Systems with Search-based Software Engineering: the Case of Model-based Software Product Lines

Thèse de doctorat (2015)

Complex situations formed by mixes of versatile environments, various user needs and time-to-market constraints led to the development of highly configurable systems. In line with the emergence of such ... [plus ▼]

Complex situations formed by mixes of versatile environments, various user needs and time-to-market constraints led to the development of highly configurable systems. In line with the emergence of such systems, software development is increasingly moving from the production of a single, yet configurable software to the development of families of software products. Such families of related software are called Software Product Lines (SPLs), and they allow the automation of the configuration, deployment and management of tailored software products through the combination of software features. These features and the constraints defining their legal combinations are usually encoded in a feature model (FM), which is used to represent a SPL. One main challenge with SPLs is testing them, a task which is even more difficult as the number of features proposed is important. Ideally, all the possible products that can be configured from a SPL should be tested. This, however, is unfeasible in practice since only 270 optional features allows configuring more products than the number of atoms in the universe. Considering that realistic SPLs involve thousands of features and that testing capabilities are limited by time and budget constraints, only a subset of all the configurable products can actually be tested, introducing the needs for strategies to test such SPLs. To reduce the testing effort, techniques using combinatorial interaction testing (CIT) have been proposed and proven to be successful. However, they fail at scaling to large and heavily constrained SPLs. In addition, CIT is costly to apply due to the combinatorial explosion induced by calculating the feature combinations. Besides, existing approaches do not consider multiple and potentially conflicting testing objectives such as minimizing the number of configurations and their cost. In this respect, this dissertation introduces scalable techniques for both generating and prioritizing relevant SPL product configurations for CIT by using a similarity heuristic which avoids the combinatorial explosion. In a second step, methods for handling multiple testing objectives are presented. The following part of this thesis focuses on the quality assessment of given product configurations prior to testing. The objective here is to evaluate how good is a given set of configurations according to different testing criteria, whatever the way these configurations have been selected. This situation arises when configurations that have to be tested are already available. Since testing these software products individually is a costly and time consuming task, methodologies to evaluate them prior testing are introduced, thus allowing to discard unnecessary ones and save testing sessions. In particular, an approach based on mutation of the SPL FM which can form viable and cheaper alternative to CIT is presented. The next part of this dissertation investigates the reverse-engineering of a SPL and its FM from existing source code of software product variants. Since SPLs allows us to reduce development costs and quickly derive tailored products for specific market share, automated techniques to migrate similar product variants into a whole SPL are necessary. In particular, the challenge of reverse-engineering a SPL which is concordant with the underlying software products is tackled by a fully automated approach. In addition, since reverse-engineering approaches (whether manually or automatically performed) are inherently error-prone, a methodology for evaluating and fixing reverse-engineered SPL FM is presented. The final part of this dissertation describes the application of the introduced theoretical advances to an industrial case with the CETREL company. In this project, a credit card authorization system is tested by using credit card authorizations. The testing process is optimized by modeling credit card authorizations as a SPL, enabling the application of the above-mentioned generation and evaluation approaches. All the proposed approaches use search-based techniques combined with constraint solvers and have been validated through rigorous experiments performed on moderate to large scale SPLs. [moins ▲]

Effect of Endogenous Inhibitors of Tyrosine Kinase Receptors on Glioma Growth: A Role for LRIG1?

Thèse de doctorat (2015)