OPSOMMING Gebeurlikhede kan omskryf word as onsekere omstandighede van positiewe of negatiewe aard wat, onafhanklik van die verweerder se optrede en indien dit sou realiseer, waarskynlik 'n persoon se gesondheid, inkomste, verdienvermoë, lewenskwaliteit, lewensverwagting of onderhoudsafhanklikheid in die toekoms kan beïnvloed of in die verlede kon beïnvloed het en wat gevolglik op billike en realistiese wyse in ag geneem moet word ter bepaling van die skadevergoedingsbedrag. Die skadevergoedingsbedrag kan vanweë gebeurlikhede verminder of vermeerder word waar die eiser wel met `n oorwig van waarskynlikheid die volle omvang van die skade bewys het, maar die hof nie kon oortuig dat geen ander oorsaak die skade waarskynlik ook sou kon veroorsaak nie (sg "gebeurlikheids-aanpassings"). In gevalle waar die eiser nie die volle omvang van die skade op `n oorwig van waarskynlikheid kon bewys nie, kan die hof nogtans `n verminderde bedrag toeken op grond van die gebeurlikheid dat die skade wel waarskynlik in die toekoms kan realiseer (sg "gebeurlikheidstoekennings"). Die eiser moet getuienis voorlê van gebeurlikhede wat die skadevergoedingsbedrag sal verhoog, en die verweerder van gebeurlikhede wat die skadevergoedingsbedrag sal verlaag. Die waarskynlikheid dat die gebeurlikheid sal realiseer, moet deur die hof aan die hand van objektiewe maatstawwe en op grond van feitelike bewerings en logiese afleidings uit deskundige en ander getuienis in die vorm van `n waarskynlikheidsgraad van tussen vyf persent en tagtig persent uitgedruk word. Hipotetiese kousaliteit word deur die hof aangewend om gebeurlikhede op `n billike wyse in ag te neem en verwys na die kousale ketting van hipotetiese feite wat waarskynlik sou gerealiseer het indien die skadestigtende gebeurtenis nie plaasgevind het nie. Gebeurlikhede kan in twee kategorieë geklassifiseer word: Algemene gebeurlikhede wat gewoonlik in enige stadium by alle persone kan voorkom (bv vroeë dood, siekte ens) en spesifieke gebeurlikhede wat gewoonlik op spesifieke tydstippe by spesifieke individue kan voorkom (bv hertroue, egskeiding ens). Terwyl die hof geregtelik kennis behoort te kan neem van die invloed van algemene gebeurlikhede, behoort die hof hoofsaaklik op grond van ondersteunende getuienis van die invloed van spesifieke gebeurlikhede oortuig te word. Algemene gebeurlikheidsaanpassings is gewoonlik relatief laag (gemiddeld tien persent), terwyl gebeurlikheidsaanpassings vir spesifieke gebeurlikhede fluktueer (gewoonlik tussen vyf persent en vyftig persent), afhangende van die getuienis en omstandighede van die eiser. Gebeurlikheidstoekennings is gewoonlik laer as vyftig persent. SUMMARY Contingencies can be described as uncertain circumstances of a positive or negative nature which, independent of the defendant's conduct and if it should realise, would probably influence a person's health, income, earning capacity, quality of life, life expectancy or dependency on support in future or could have done so in the past, and which must consequently be taken into account in a fair and realistic manner in the quantification of damages. Contingencies can be used to increase or reduce damages in circumstances where the plaintiff succeeded in proving the full loss on a preponderance of probability, but could not convince the court that there was no probability that any other cause could also have given rise to the loss (so-called "contingency adjustments"). In circumstances where the plaintiff could not prove the full loss on a preponderance of probability, the court can nevertheless award a reduced amount on the basis of the contingency that loss could probably realise in future (so-called "contingency allowances"). The plaintiff must adduce evidence of contingencies that can increase damages, and the defendant of contingencies that can reduce damages. The degree of probability that the contingency will realise, must be expressed by the court as a percentage of between five percent and eighty percent, in view of objective measures and on the basis of factual allegations and logical deductions derived from expert and other evidence. Hypothetical causation assists the court in taking account of contingencies in a fair manner and refers to the causal link of hypothetical events which would probably have realised if the damage-causing event did not occur. Contingencies can be classified into two categories: General contingencies that usually can be present in the lives of all people at any point in time (eg early death, sickness, etc) and specific contingencies that usually are present in the lives of specific individuals at specific times (eg remarriage, divorce, etc). While the court should be able to take legal notice of the influence of general contingencies, the court should be convinced of the influence of specific contingencies primarily on the basis of supporting evidence. General contingency adjustments are usually relatively low (on average ten per cent), while contingency adjustments for specific contingencies fluctuate (usually between five per cent and fifty per cent), depending on the evidence and circumstances of the plaintiff. Contingency allowances are usually lower than fifty per cent. / Jurisprudence / LL.D

The contemporary world of work is undergoing far-reaching changes as a result of global economic developments and technological progress. This has necessitated an appraisal of the school curriculum in order to identify the life skills necessary for vocational success. As the concept of a lifetime career has become obsolete, the accent has shifted to a life chance approach in education. This approach emphasises the wide repertoire of life skills required by learners for successful participation in a range of career possibilities and in the sphere of their personal lives, the two being perceived as inseparable. A literature survey investigated the development of professional careers in historical perspective, the contribution of developmental theorists regarding trends in contemporary career progression, various dimensions of success and what motivates successful men and women in their public and private domains. Furthermore, the adjustments required by dual career couples were examined. Various dimensions of life skills for lifespan competence were investigated, with particular reference to South African society. The life orientation approach currently advocated by the new curriculum in South Africa was briefly described. A qualitative study of the life histories of twelve professionals, forty five years and over was conducted in natural settings in order to explore the life skills responsible for career and personal success. Semi-structured interviews elicited descriptive data from participants, selected by judgement sampling. Data was analysed, discussed and synthesised. The major findings emanated: Success in public and private domains was only possible if a balance between them was maintained. Family background, values and educational experiences created a facilitating environment which contributed to early character development. Certain enabling attributes were essential to achieve both career success and self-fulfilment, even among the less privileged participants. Personal obstacles were confronted and managed. Self-discipline, time management and the maintenance of a healthy lifestyle was vital. The interpenetration of public and private domains was emphasised. A sound work ethic and healthy interpersonal relationships with family, colleagues and the community were crucial. Middle and late adulthood emerged as periods of continuing, dynamic self-development. Based on these findings, recommendations for relevant life skills education were proposed. / Educational Studies / D. Ed. (Comparative Education)

Cette présentation examinera le degré de certitude qui peut être atteint dans le domaine scientifique. Le paradigme scientifique est composé de deux extrêmes; causalité et déterminisme d'un côté et probabilité et indéterminisme de l'autre. En faisant appel aux notions de Hume de la ressemblance et la contiguïté, on peut rejeter la causalité ou le hasard objectif comme étant sans fondement et non empirique. Le problème de l'induction et le sophisme du parieur proviennent d’une même source cognitif / heuristique. Hume décrit ces tendances mentales dans ses essais « Of Probability » et « Of the Idea of Necessary Connexion ». Une discussion sur la conception de la probabilité de Hume ainsi que d'autres interprétations de probabilité sera nécessaire. Même si la science glorifie et idéalise la causalité, la probabilité peut être comprise comme étant tout aussi cohérente. Une attitude probabiliste, même si elle est également non empirique, pourrait être plus avantageuse que le vieux paradigme de la causalité. / This presentation examines the degree of certainty which can be attained in science. The scientific paradigm is composed of two extremes; causality and determinism on one end and probability and indeterminism on the other. By appealing to Hume’s notions of resemblance and contiguity, we can dismiss any claim of objective causality or chance as being ungrounded for lack of an empirical basis. The problem of induction as well as the gambler’s fallacy stem from the same cognitive/heuristic source. Hume describes these mental tendencies in his essays ‘Of Probability’ and ‘Of the Idea of Necessary Connexion’. This will necessitate a discussion of Hume’s notion of probability, as well as other interpretations of probability. While science has glorified and romanticized causality, probability can be understood as being just as consistent. While a probabilistic stance is as non-empirical as a causal stance, it will be remarked that we may benefit from a paradigmatic switch to probabilism.

Dans cette thèse l’ancienne question philosophique “tout événement a-t-il une cause ?” sera examinée à la lumière de la mécanique quantique et de la théorie des probabilités. Aussi bien en physique qu’en philosophie des sciences la position orthodoxe maintient que le monde physique est indéterministe. Au niveau fondamental de la réalité physique – au niveau quantique – les événements se passeraient sans causes, mais par chance, par hasard ‘irréductible’. Le théorème physique le plus précis qui mène à cette conclusion est le théorème de Bell. Ici les prémisses de ce théorème seront réexaminées. Il sera rappelé que d’autres solutions au théorème que l’indéterminisme sont envisageables, dont certaines sont connues mais négligées, comme le ‘superdéterminisme’. Mais il sera argué que d’autres solutions compatibles avec le déterminisme existent, notamment en étudiant des systèmes physiques modèles. Une des conclusions générales de cette thèse est que l’interprétation du théorème de Bell et de la mécanique quantique dépend crucialement des prémisses philosophiques desquelles on part. Par exemple, au sein de la vision d’un Spinoza, le monde quantique peut bien être compris comme étant déterministe. Mais il est argué qu’aussi un déterminisme nettement moins radical que celui de Spinoza n’est pas éliminé par les expériences physiques. Si cela est vrai, le débat ‘déterminisme – indéterminisme’ n’est pas décidé au laboratoire : il reste philosophique et ouvert – contrairement à ce que l’on pense souvent. Dans la deuxième partie de cette thèse un modèle pour l’interprétation de la probabilité sera proposé. Une étude conceptuelle de la notion de probabilité indique que l’hypothèse du déterminisme aide à mieux comprendre ce que c’est qu’un ‘système probabiliste’. Il semble que le déterminisme peut répondre à certaines questions pour lesquelles l’indéterminisme n’a pas de réponses. Pour cette raison nous conclurons que la conjecture de Laplace – à savoir que la théorie des probabilités présuppose une réalité déterministe sous-jacente – garde toute sa légitimité. Dans cette thèse aussi bien les méthodes de la philosophie que de la physique seront utilisées. Il apparaît que les deux domaines sont ici solidement reliés, et qu’ils offrent un vaste potentiel de fertilisation croisée – donc bidirectionnelle. / In this thesis the ancient philosophical question whether ‘everything has a cause’ will be examined in the light of quantum mechanics and probability theory. In the physics and philosophy of science communities the orthodox position states that the physical world is indeterministic. On the deepest level of physical reality – the quantum level – things or events would have no causes but happen by chance, by irreducible hazard. Arguably the clearest and most convincing theorem that led to this conclusion is Bell’s theorem. Here the premises of this theorem will be re-evaluated, notably by investigating physical model systems. It will be recalled that other solutions to the theorem than indeterminism exist, some of which are known but neglected, such as ‘superdeterminism’. But it will be argued that also other solutions compatible with determinism exist. One general conclusion will be that the interpretation of Bell’s theorem and quantum mechanics hinges on the philosophical premises from which one starts. For instance, within a worldview à la Spinoza the quantum world may well be seen as deterministic. But it is argued that also much ‘softer’ determinism than Spinoza’s is not excluded by the existing experiments. If that is true the ‘determinism – indeterminism’ is not decided in the laboratory: it remains philosophical and open-ended – contrary to what is often believed. In the second part of the thesis a model for the interpretation of probability will be proposed. A conceptual study of the notion of probability indicates that the hypothesis of determinism is instrumental for understanding what ‘probabilistic systems’ are. It seems that determinism answers certain questions that cannot be answered by indeterminism. Therefore we believe there is room for the conjecture that probability theory cannot not do without a deterministic reality underneath probability – as Laplace claimed. Throughout the thesis the methods of philosophy and physics will be used. Both fields appear to be solidly intertwined here, and to offer a large potential for cross-fertilization – in both directions.

Le Magistère catholique a accueilli la théorie de l’évolution et a reconnu sa valeur. L’encyclique Humani Generis en constitue le moment-clé. Mais le Magistère ne va pas loin. Il refuse de sacrifier les points forts de l’anthropologie chrétienne traditionnelle sur l’autel de l’évolution. Il insiste sur la création directe de l’âme humaine par Dieu. Quelques théologiens catholiques, comme G. Martelet, J.-M. Maldamé et J. Arnould, voient la nécessité d’articuler les discours théologiques et les acquis de la théorie de l’évolution, où la conceptualité de l’émergence est dominante ; une démarche qui repose sur l’idée que si Dieu est unique, la vérité de sa révélation ne saurait s’opposer à la vérité manifestée par le monde. Ce travail veut cerner les prises de position du Magistère, de Pie XII à Jean-Paul II. Il se propose aussi d’explorer les apports des trois théologiens dans le travail d’approfondissement de la théologie de la création, de montrer comment leurs réflexions contribuent à l’intelligence de la spécificité humaine et de l’action de Dieu dans la création. Les acquis scientifiques contribuent au progrès de notre connaissance de l’univers et de l’homme. Il en va de la compréhension de l’action de Dieu dans le monde. Celle-ci cesse de se penser à partir des schèmes mécaniques où le Créateur apparaît comme un ingénieur cosmique ; elle se dit en termes d’accompagnement des possibles inscrits dans l’intime de l’être. Le moins que nous puissions dire est que la Bible s’intéresse moins au passé de l’humain qu’à son origine. Selon la Bible, être humain, c’est répondre à l’appel de Dieu et appel de l’humanité en termes de responsabilité. C’est cela être à l’image de Dieu. / The Catholic Magisterium welcomed the theory of evolution and recognizes its value. The encyclical Humani Generis constitutes its key moment. However, the Magisterium went no further. It declined to sacrifice the cornerstone of traditional Christian anthropology on the altar of evolutionary theory. It insists on the direct creation of the human soul par God. A few theologians like G. Martelet, J.-M. Maldamé and J. Arnould, saw the need to articulate this theological discourse and the advances of evolutionary theory, where the conceptuality of emergence dominates ; an approach that is based on the idea that if God is unique then the truth of is revelation would by no means oppose to the truth showed by the world. The present study attempts to grasp the stance taken by the Magisterium, from Pius XII to John-Paul II. It explores the contribution of the three mentioned theologians to a deeper reflection on the theology of creation, on how their work has contributed to the understanding of the human identity and God’s action within creation. The scientific knowledge contributes to the improvement of our awareness of the Universe and mankind. Indeed, the understanding of God’s action in the world is at stake. It is not considered according to mechanical patterns where the Creator is described as a cosmic engineer. It is more represented in terms of support and arousing of the potential within the innermost being. The least we can say is that the Bible is not as interested about the past of mankind but rather about its origin. According to the Bible, answering the call of God and the one of mankind in terms of responsibility defines what being human is. That is what being in the image of God.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-25T19:20:21Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Jassanan Amoroso Dias Pastore.pdf: 2609602 bytes, checksum: 2afc24e3327956c37ed498b6e3ad2801 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-05-23 / The study of Freud s writings, from the perspective laid down by the convergences and divergences promoted by Freud between psychoanalysis and Schopenhauer s philosophy, enables to investigate on the possible points that put nearer or farther the ways in which Freud and Schopenhauer face the tragic. Halfway in the transition from the XIXth century, which was marked by the theoretical optimism of rationalism and the primacy of conscience, to the XXth century, which main characteristic was the crisis of the reason, psychoanalysis has emerged as a new science about the human soul, having as foundations the unconscious and the drives. Similarly, Schopenhauer had, one hundred years before, in the transition from the XVIIIth to the XIXth century, put in doubt not only the attempts at metaphysically interpreting the world optimistically, but also the notions of the German romantic idealists who, as a rule, in following the tradition, postulated an absolute rational principle of the world. Schopenhauer, in his philosophy, elaborates his thinking by situating the essence of man not in conscience and reason, but in the Will, which he considered to be an irrational impulse. We will depart from the notion of the tragic among the Ancient Greeks, crossing the path of modern philosophy, and finally arriving at psychoanalysis / O estudo dos textos freudianos, a partir da perspectiva estabelecida pelos encontros e desencontros que Freud promove entre a psicanálise e a filosofia schopenhaueriana, permite investigar as possíveis aproximações e distanciamentos entre a concepção e o modo de enfrentamento do trágico em Freud e em Schopenhauer. Em meio à transição do século XIX, marcado pelo otimismo teórico do racionalismo e do primado da consciência, para o século XX, caracterizado pela crise da razão, Freud funda a psicanálise, uma nova ciência sobre a alma humana que postula como fundamentos o inconsciente e as pulsões. Da mesma maneira, cem anos antes, na transição do século XVIII para o XIX, Schopenhauer já havia problematizado as tentativas de interpretar metafisicamente o mundo de maneira otimista e também as concepções dos idealistas românticos alemães, que, de modo geral, ao seguirem a tradição, postulavam um princípio racional absoluto do mundo. Em sua filosofia, Schopenhauer elabora um pensamento que situa a essência do homem não na consciência e na razão, mas na Vontade, considerada por ele um impulso irracional. Partiremos do estudo da concepção de trágico desde a Antiguidade grega, passando pela filosofia moderna, até chegarmos à psicanálise

Orientador: John Fredy Franco Baquero / Resumo: A crescente penetração dos Veículos Elétricos (VEs) no setor de transportes representa um novo e grande desafio para o planejamento da expansão e da operação dos Sistemas de Distribuição de Energia Elétrica (SDEEs) devido ao correspondente aumento da demanda associada ao carregamento das baterias. Portanto, devem ser desenvolvidos métodos que ajudem os SDEEs a lidar com esses desafios, considerando as incertezas associadas às demandas convencionais e aos VEs. Nesta tese é proposto um método robusto baseado em um modelo de Programação Linear Inteira-Mista (PLIM) para auxiliar a integração de VEs no SDEE. O método proposto permite resolver o problema de planejamento multi-estágio da expansão do SDEE considerando a alocação e o dimensionamento de Estações de Carregamento de VEs (ECVEs). Restrições probabilísticas são usadas na formulação proposta para lidar com as incertezas associadas à demanda, garantindo o cumprimento da capacidade de potência das subestações com um nível de confiança especificado. O modelo proposto para o planejamento da expansão avalia a construção e/ou reforço de subestações, ECVEs e circuitos, assim como também a alocação de unidades de geração distribuída e bancos de capacitores ao longo do horizonte de planejamento. O modelo de PLIM proposto é resolvido através de técnicas de otimização clássica visando garantir a solução ótima do problema. A eficiência e robustez do modelo são verificadas usando sistemas teste de 18 e 54 nós, junto com simulações de Mo... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The increasing penetration of electric vehicles (EVs) in the transportation sector represents a new challenge for the expansion planning of electrical distribution systems (EDS) due to the corresponding increase of the energy demand. Therefore, methods to support the EDS considering the uncertainties associated with conventional and EV demands should be developed. This thesis presents a methodology to consider the EV integration into the EDS. A mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) model is proposed to solve the multi-stage expansion planning of EDS considering the allocation and sizing of EV charging stations (EVCSs). Chance constraints are used in the formulation to deal with the uncertainties associated with the demands, guaranteeing the fulfilment of the substation capacities within a given confidence level. The proposed model for the expansion planning considers the construction/reinforce of substations, EVCSs and circuits as well as the allocation of distributed generation units and capacitor banks along the planning horizon. The proposed MILP model guarantees optimality using classical optimization techniques. The efficiency and robustness of the model is verified using two test systems with 18-nodes and 54-nodes. Monte Carlo simulations were carried out to verify the compliance of the proposed chance constraint. / Doutor

Aesthetic criticism very often has been overlooked and considered a lesser form. However, many interpretations, applications and discernments can be obtained from this kind of art writing. Using Osvaldo Sánchez's work as a case study, this thesis examines how writerly art criticism offers an active reading framework of the work of art by using philosophical, literary and poetic constructions. In this regard, I will see how the "writerly" condition has contributed compelling insights to the History of Aesthetics, highlighting the connections and disconnections between Sánchez and other writerly critics, which demonstrates the significance of developing a flexible, available and aesthetic learning model of art appreciation. I will analyze as well various models of experience, subjective and objective, that release certain "openness" as a premise for their existences. Here are included the Kantian sublime, Heidegger's ontological Being, the surrealist cultivation of chance, Kaprow's happenings, and the attitude of disinterest developed by the vanishing poets as defended by the scholar Rafael Hernández Rodríguez. I will show that, by choosing an accommodating approach to discover forms of knowledge, an assortment of valuable empirical content can be found. Finally, I investigate the writerly work of Cuban critic Osvaldo Sánchez that does not adopt a fixed critical pattern. Instead, Sánchez's art writing passes through fields, providing us with a heuristic methodology in which the aesthetic emerges not as a preconditioned set of principles/procedures, but as a true lived experience.

This thesis explores Chance-Constrained Programming (CCP) in the context of learning. It is shown that chance-constraint approaches lead to improved algorithms for three important learning problems — classification with specified error rates, large dataset classification and Ordinal Regression (OR). Using moments of training data, the CCPs are posed as Second Order Cone Programs (SOCPs). Novel iterative algorithms for solving the resulting SOCPs are also derived. Borrowing ideas from robust optimization theory, the proposed formulations are made robust to moment estimation errors. A maximum margin classifier with specified false positive and false negative rates is derived. The key idea is to employ chance-constraints for each class which imply that the actual misclassification rates do not exceed the specified. The formulation is applied to the case of biased classification. The problems of large dataset classification and ordinal regression are addressed by deriving formulations which employ chance-constraints for clusters in training data rather than constraints for each data point. Since the number of clusters can be substantially smaller than the number of data points, the resulting formulation size and number of inequalities are very small. Hence the formulations scale well to large datasets. The scalable classification and OR formulations are extended to feature spaces and the kernelized duals turn out to be instances of SOCPs with a single cone constraint. Exploiting this speciality, fast iterative solvers which outperform generic SOCP solvers, are proposed. Compared to state-of-the-art learners, the proposed algorithms achieve a speed up as high as 10000 times, when the specialized SOCP solvers are employed. The proposed formulations involve second order moments of data and hence are susceptible to moment estimation errors. A generic way of making the formulations robust to such estimation errors is illustrated. Two novel confidence sets for moments are derived and it is shown that when either of the confidence sets are employed, the robust formulations also yield SOCPs.

Cette présentation examinera le degré de certitude qui peut être atteint dans le domaine scientifique. Le paradigme scientifique est composé de deux extrêmes; causalité et déterminisme d'un côté et probabilité et indéterminisme de l'autre. En faisant appel aux notions de Hume de la ressemblance et la contiguïté, on peut rejeter la causalité ou le hasard objectif comme étant sans fondement et non empirique. Le problème de l'induction et le sophisme du parieur proviennent d’une même source cognitif / heuristique. Hume décrit ces tendances mentales dans ses essais « Of Probability » et « Of the Idea of Necessary Connexion ». Une discussion sur la conception de la probabilité de Hume ainsi que d'autres interprétations de probabilité sera nécessaire. Même si la science glorifie et idéalise la causalité, la probabilité peut être comprise comme étant tout aussi cohérente. Une attitude probabiliste, même si elle est également non empirique, pourrait être plus avantageuse que le vieux paradigme de la causalité. / This presentation examines the degree of certainty which can be attained in science. The scientific paradigm is composed of two extremes; causality and determinism on one end and probability and indeterminism on the other. By appealing to Hume’s notions of resemblance and contiguity, we can dismiss any claim of objective causality or chance as being ungrounded for lack of an empirical basis. The problem of induction as well as the gambler’s fallacy stem from the same cognitive/heuristic source. Hume describes these mental tendencies in his essays ‘Of Probability’ and ‘Of the Idea of Necessary Connexion’. This will necessitate a discussion of Hume’s notion of probability, as well as other interpretations of probability. While science has glorified and romanticized causality, probability can be understood as being just as consistent. While a probabilistic stance is as non-empirical as a causal stance, it will be remarked that we may benefit from a paradigmatic switch to probabilism.