Consacrée à la fin du 19ème siècle, la perte de chance n'est autre qu'un préjudice visant à réparer 1 disparition de la probabilité de constater la réalisation d'un évènement favorable. Synonyme du hasard quand elle est employée au singulier mais synonyme de probabilité lorsqu'elle est plurielle la chance est encadrée par le droit. La perte de chance constitue un préjudice réparable dès lors que la victime du comportement dommageable démontre la réunion de certaines conditions de fond. A cet effet, la question de la causalité semble retenir une attention toute particulière. Le lien de causalité doit s'établir entre le comportement répréhensible et la perte de chance. Ainsi, le préjudice de perte de chance dispose d'une causalité autonome et ne saurait se confondre avec le dommage intégral. Par ailleurs, la chance doit être « réelle et sérieuse » pour être réparable, excluant ainsi toutes les chances faibles de la réparation. La victime obtiendra alors une réparation à hauteur de la chance perdue. Disposant d'une valeur juridique, la chance doit être irrémédiablement perdue pour être réparable. En effet, si la victime se prévaut d'une chance encore susceptible d'être atteinte, la réparation de la chance sera exclue. Bien que rigoureusement définie, la perte de chance s'est quelque peu dévoyée afin d'apparaître comme une notion « fourre-tout », comme un réflexe juridique, comme la solution de la dernière chance pour obtenir une réparation. Dans cet objectif, la perte de chance a notamment contourné la relation causale, pourtant indispensable, afin d'attribuer ce préjudice une vocation plus morale que juridique. La perte de chance subit les conséquences de l'évolution du concept de responsabilité civile et l'influence du principe de précaution. Remettant en cause la définition de la perte de chance, cette conception a même permis de poser la question de l'existence de cette théorie juridique qui ne rencontre qu'un succès plus que relatif dans le systèmes juridiques européens. Coincée dans un tourbillon juridique, la perte de chance est devenue un réflexe indemnitaire mettant toutes les chances au même niveau. Par un revirement de jurisprudence, assez inattendu, la Cour de Cassation est venue insérer la référence à la notion de « chance raisonnable ». Ainsi, la perte de chance retrouve la place qui lui avait été consacrée en ne réparant que les chances substantielles. Ce travail consistera à démontrer l'intérêt que cette révolution juridique apporte au préjudice de perte de chance. Qu'il s'agisse de l'efficacité de son régime juridique ou de stabilité de son application, la perte de chance aura tout intérêt à épouser un renouveau juridique au gré de propositions, certes rigoureuses, mais ô combien pragmatiques. / Acknowledged by the end of the 19th century, the loss of chance is nothing else than the prejudice recognizing the Joss of the probability of a positive event occurring. Synonymous of coincidence when used in its singular form but synonymous of probabilities when plural, the chance is in framed by law. The loss of a chance is a repairable prejudice as long as the victim of the harmful attitude shows the gathering of a few substantive conditions. To this effect, the notion of causality ought to be given a particular consideration. The chain of causation must be established between the objectionable behavior and the loss of chance. Hence, the loss of chance prejudice has its own autonomous causation and shall not be mistaken with the entire damage. Furthermore, the chance must be « real and serious » in order to be repairable, thus excluding the low chances on reparation. The victim will then obtain a compensation equal to the loss of chance. Having a legal value, the chance must be lost forever in order to be compensated. Indeed, if the victim claims chance that might still be reached, its compensation will be excluded. Even though it has been rigorously defined, the loss of chance has been brought down to the holdall status, as a legal reaction as if it were the last possibility to obtain compensation. In this perspective, the loss of chance has bypassed the causality, yet essential, in order to award to this prejudice a moral connotation whether than a legal one. The loss of chance undergoes the consequences of the evolution of the civil liability concept and the influence of the precautionary principle. Taking perspective on the loss of chance's definition, this concept has even enable the question of the existence of this legal theory, which encounters a relative success in the European legal systems. Trapped in a legal swirl, the loss of chance has become a compensation reflex, putting all the chances on the same level. By an unexpected revision of the jurisprudence, the Cour de Cassation (Supreme Court), has integrated the reference the "reasonable chance" notion. Thus, the loss of chance finds its original place back, compensating only the substantive chances. This work will aim at demonstrating the impact of the legal revolution on the loss of chance. Whether it is the effectiveness of its legal regime or the stability of its enforcement, the loss of chance has an interest in embracing the legal renewal through strict and pragmatic propositions.

Autor se v diplomové práci zabývá optimalizačními úlohami s pravděpodob- nostními omezeními. Konkrétně pak situacemi, kdy není známo pravděpo- dobnostní rozdělení přítomného náhodného efektu. K řešení těchto problém· lze přistoupit metodami optimistických a pesimistických scénář·, kdy z dané rodiny možných pravděpodobnostních rozdělení vybíráme bu¤ nejpříznivější možnou variantu, nebo naopak tu nejméně výhodnou. Optimalizační úlohy s pravděpodobnostními omezeními formulovanými pomocí výše zmíněných přístup· byly za učinění jistých předpoklad· transformovány do jednoduš- ších a řešitelných optimalizačních úloh. Dosažené výsledky byly aplikovány na reálná data z oblastí optimalizace portfolia a zpracování obrazu. 1

Thesis advisor: Jeffrey J.P. Pontiff / My dissertation includes three chapters on the value premium. In the first chapter, I study whether seemingly innocuous decisions in the construction of the original HML portfolio (Fama and French, 1993) affect our inference on the value premium. I find that the value premium is dramatically smaller than we thought. In sample, the average estimate of the value premium is 0.09% per month smaller than the original estimate of the value premium. Out of sample, however, the difference is statistically insignificant. The results suggest that the original value premium estimate is upward biased because of a chance result in the original research decisions. In the second chapter, I propose an estimate for intangible assets and growth opportunities and examine if this estimate improves book-to-market equity as a measure of value. I find that portfolios sorted on book equity plus the estimate to market equity have lower returns than portfolios sorted on book-to-market equity. The results suggest that intangible assets and growth opportunities diminish book-to-market equity as a measure of value because investors value intangible assets and growth opportunities in an overly optimistic way. In my third chapter, I simultaneously study nine explanations of the value effect to better understand what the dominant value explanation is. I find that duration accounts for most of the value effect and that the eight other explanations account for a negligible part of it. The results suggest that duration is the dominant explanation of the value effect. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2021. / Submitted to: Boston College. Carroll School of Management. / Discipline: Finance.

John Cage’s Concerto for Prepared Piano and Chamber Orchestra (1950-51) holds a unique position within the composer’s oeuvre as the first work based in part on chance-derived compositional procedures. Cage entered into such practice gradually, incrementally abandoning subjective taste and personal expression through the course of the work. Drawing from the philosophical framework provided by Cage’s "Lecture on Nothing" (1950) and "Lecture on Something" (c. 1951-52), this thesis explores the aesthetic foundations of the concerto and examines Cage’s compositional methodology throughout its three movements. Special attention is paid to the procedure underlying the first movement, whose analysis is based largely on the composer’s manuscript materials for the work.

In this dissertation, we show two significant applications of combinatorial branch-and-bound as an exact solution methodology in combinatorial optimization problems. In the first problem, we propose a set of new group centrality metrics and show their performance in estimating protein importance in protein-protein interaction networks. The centrality metrics introduced here are extensions of well-known nodal metrics (degree, betweenness, and closeness) for a set of nodes which is required to induce a specific pattern. The structures investigated range from the ``stricter'' induced stars and cliques, to a ``looser'' definition of a representative structure. We derive the computational complexity for each of the newly proposed metrics. Then, we provide mixed integer programming formulations to solve the problems exactly; due to the computational complexity of the problem and the sheer size of protein-protein interaction networks, using a commercial solver with the formulations is not always a viable option. Hence, we also propose a combinatorial branch-and-bound approach to solve the problems introduced. Finally, we conclude this work with a presentation of the performance of the proposed centrality metrics in identifying essential proteins in helicobacter pylori. In the second problem, we introduce the asymmetric probabilistic minimum-cost Hamiltonian cycle problem (APMCHCP) where arcs and vertices in the graph are possible to fail. APMCHCP has applications in many emerging areas, such as post-disaster recovery, electronic circuit design, and security maintenance of wireless sensor networks. For each vertex, we define a chance-constraint to guarantee that the probability of arriving at the vertex must be greater than or equal to a given threshold. Four mixed-integer programming (MIP) formulations are proposed for modeling the problem, including two direct formulations and two recursive formulations. A combinatorial branch-and-bound (CBB) algorithm is proposed for solving the APMCHCP, where data preprocessing steps, feasibility rules, and approaches of finding upper and lower bounds are developed. In the numerical experiments, the CBB algorithm is compared with formulations on a test-bed of two popular benchmark instance sets. The results show that the proposed CBB algorithm significantly outperforms Gurobi solver in terms of both the size of optimally solved instances and the computing time.

People released from incarceration are not equipped to deal with the challenges of transitioning back into society. Previous research on reentry suggests that correctional institutions may fail to adequately prepare inmates to transition to community life at the time of release, and little research addresses the perspectives of incarcerated people who have experienced reentry. Using social justice theory and the institutional analysis and development framework as guides, the purpose of this ethnographic study of reentry programs in a western state was to (a) determine how well they meet the needs of ex-offenders receiving reentry services, (b) identify best practices if their needs are being met, and (c) document challenges experienced by participants and program staff. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with 2 staff members, and 12 male and 3 female ex-offenders recruited through flyers at three different reentry programs. Interviews were transcribed, subjected to deductive coding, and a thematic analysis procedure. The key finding of this study was that participation in reentry programs supports the values and hope of second chances for ex-offenders, but formerly incarcerated people need access to resources and support in order to achieve social and financial independence. The results of this study validated the two theoretical frameworks used. To the results of the study indicate that program administrators should establish methods to monitor and track outcome success, and policy makers should consider increases in funding to expand reentry projects that have demonstrated successful reentry projects and thus promote improved public safety outcomes.

The energy resource planning process for electric utilities in the Northwestern United States is unique because the region relies upon a mix of hydro and thermal resources. Consequently, methods used to study predominantly thermal or predominantly hydro systems are not applicable. Methods are needed to determine if a particular configuration of resources will be adequate to meet future energy load, taking into account various sources of uncertainty. A literature survey of presently available methods is described, and one method is studied in some detail. A new method for analyzing systems that rely upon a mix of hydro and thermal resources is then described. The primary contributors to uncertainty in a hydro/thermal electricity supply system are: (1) uncertain rainfall and snowfall, which results in uncertain availability of hydro energy; (2) the uncertain arrival times of planned nuclear and coal plants; (3) uncertain capacity factors for thermal plants; and (4) the uncertain amount of energy that customers will require in future years. The new model, called CHANCE, characterizes each of these uncertain phenomena with a probability density function. Mathematical convolution and an algorithm developed by the author are then used to determine the probability density function for the energy margin--the difference between supply and demand. Measures of the "energy adequacy" of the supply system are then computed from the energy margin probability density function. A computer program was designed so that the conceptual model can be easily applied to any desired electrical supply system. Once an appropriate set of input assumptions h2ve been determined, they are easily entered into the computer via a question and answer sequence and stored for future use. The computer program then computes the energy adequacy of the system. The user can then change assumptions and/or resource schedules via a question and answer sequence, and recompute the energy adequacy. The computer then prepares a report showing how the alternative assumptions and/or schedules compare. CHANCE has been applied to Pacific Power and Light Company, Portland, Oregon. At the present time, about half of their energy is generated by hydro plants and the other half is generated by coal plants. Only a small fraction is generated by nuclear plants. All planned additional generation is either coal-fired or nuclear-fired. The results of applying CHANCE indicate that planned resources are not likely to be adequate to meet the needs in the early 1980's. Several evaluation exercises have also been carried out. First, CHANCE was calibrated against other electrical energy planning models used by Pacific Power and Light. Next, the sensitivity of the CHANCE model to changes in input assumptions was measured. As was anticipated, the model is highly sensitive to the assumed energy load forecast, to the assumed potential delays in the arrival of resources, and to the assumed thermal plant capacity factors. Thus, more research in these areas is warranted. Research that might lead to improvements in the CHANCE model is then outlined, and final conclusions are drawn. The final conclusions are that the CHANCE model: (1) is valid relative to the outlined scope, (2) is quite versatile and flexible, and (3) fulfills an important need in electrical energy planning.

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This dissertation studies two important models in the field of the distributed generation technologies to provide resiliency to the electric power distribution system. In the first part of the dissertation, we study the impact of assessing a Combined Cooling Heating Power system (CCHP) on the optimization and management of an on-site energy system under stochastic settings. These mathematical models propose a scalable stochastic decision model for large-scale microgrid operation formulated as a two-stage stochastic linear programming model. The model is solved enhanced algorithm strategies for Benders decomposition are introduced to find an optimal solution for larger instances efficiently. Some observations are made with different capacities of the power grid, dynamic pricing mechanisms with various levels of uncertainty, and sizes of power generation units. In the second part of the dissertation, we study a mathematical model that designs a Microgrid (MG) that integrates conventional fuel based generating (FBG) units, renewable sources of energy, distributed energy storage (DES) units, and electricity demand response. Curtailment of renewable resources generation during the MG operation affects the long-term revenues expected and increases the greenhouses emission. Considering the variability of renewable resources, researchers should pay more attention to scalable stochastic models for MG for multiple nodes. This study bridges the research gap by developing a scalable chance-constrained two-stage stochastic program to ensure that a significant portion of the renewable resource power output at each operating hour will be utilized. Finally, some managerial insights are drawn into the operation performance of the Combined Cooling Heating Power and a Microgrid.