Longtemps considérées comme de regrettables anomalies altérant la figure du propriétaire, unique souverain sur sa chose, les techniques du démembrement et de l’indivision sont désormais incontournables. Parce qu’elles permettent de multiplier, sur un même bien, le nombre de bénéficiaires des utilités qu’il procure, ces modes d’attribution provoquent la mise en concurrence d’une pluralité d’intérêts qui, lorsqu’ils divergent, sont source de conflits de pouvoirs. Tandis que ces conflits se résolvent ordinairement grâce à l’application des règles propres à chacune de ces techniques, la situation se complexifie néanmoins lorsque plusieurs d’entre-elles s’agrègent sur un même bien. Cet enchevêtrement de modes hétéroclites d’attribution des utilités est source de confusions : quotes-parts indivises, usufruits, droits d’usage et autres servitudes s’entrecroisent, troublant d’autant la lecture correcte de la répartition des prérogatives entre les différents titulaires de droits sur le bien. Déterminer avec justesse l’étendue des pouvoirs de chacun d’eux nécessite donc de questionner l’articulation des différents droits réels en présence pour mettre en exergue leurs convergences et oppositions. Ce faisant, l’analyse méthodique de ces enchevêtrements de droits permet de dévoiler l’existence de véritables structures combinatoires organisant les différents modes d’attribution. Étudier le contentieux sous l’angle de ces différentes combinaisons permet de résoudre plus aisément les conflits résultant de ces enchevêtrements de droits, tout en proposant une systématisation intelligible des différentes règles et décisions gouvernant la matière / Long regarded as unfortunate anomalies altering the figure of the unique owner of its object, the techniques of dismemberment and joint possession are now unavoidable. The main reason being that they enable one to multiply, on a particular object, the number of beneficiaries of the utilities that they offer, these modes of attribution result in creating a competition of varied interests which, when diverging, lead to conflicting powers. If these conflicts can naturally be solved by applying the specific rules attached to each of these techniques, the situation becomes far more complex when several aggregate around the same thing. This entanglement of these heterogeneous modes of allocation to these utilities is a source of great confusion. Undivided shares, usufruct, user rights and other easements then come into contact, disturbing the correct reading of the distribution of prerogatives between the different holders of rights over the thing. Determining with accuracy the extent of the powers of everyone of them requires one to question the articulation of the real and actual rights in order to highlight their conveniences and oppositions. In doing so, the methodical analysis of this entanglement of rights makes it possible to reveal the existence of true combinatorial structures that frame and organize the diverse existing modes of allocation. While a few of these structures seem to allow a fairly equal treatment of rights over the object, other structures tend to organize them into a hierarchy

My sculpture and prints are about dismemberment and the destruction caused by war. To address the high cost of war, I make works that present the threat of injury, amputation, and prosthetics. I use Classical Greek art history references to address contemporary political, military, and social issues. I include images such as Amazonian women, horses, and doves. These images are coupled with references to the damage caused by conflict. While my work concerns destruction, paradoxically, my process involves additive construction. I take a mixed media approach to both my sculptures and my prints, and use a wide range of materials and techniques. Hardware cloth, wire, and abaca pulp are staples of my sculpture. Craft foam, copy paper, and feathers are often used for my printing plates. I use mixed media because it symbolically parallels the fabrication of improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and the merging of human bodies with artificial limbs. My work addresses war in general but some motifs point to specific, current conflicts. I hope that my pieces will remind the viewer of the terrible toll war takes, and make them question the meaning of winning a war.

Mémoire (M.E.S.R.)--Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, 1999. / Document électronique également accessible en format PDF. CaQCU

The present research examined the features that may differentiate cuts made in bone by mechanical and hand-powered saws, specifically investigating the characteristics of commercially available reciprocating saws. The partial limbs of adult white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) were used as a proxy for human remains, and were cut using five commercially available reciprocating saw blades and a hand-powered hacksaw. The reciprocating blades tested ranged from five teeth-per-inch to 14/18 teeth-per-inch and included raker, alternating, and wavy tooth sets. The hacksaw blade had 32 teeth-per-inch, with wavy set teeth. All the blades examined were intended to cut wood, metal, or both materials. The resulting false start kerfs and complete kerfs on the remains were then examined macroscopically and microscopically. The present study utilized both qualitative and quantitative analysis to examine kerf features that characterize reciprocating saws. The presentation of specific features within the kerf varied based upon blade properties, how the implement was powered, and how it was wielded in reference to the material. The results of the present study demonstrated that significant differences do exist between reciprocating saw blades. Kerf characteristics in which significant differences were noted include: kerf false start (cross section) shape, frequency of cut surface drift, presence of harmonics, striation regularity, and exit chipping size. Inter-blade differences generally reflect class characteristics previously established for hand-powered blades, though reciprocating blades do not strictly follow these categorizations (Symes 1992; Symes et al. 1998, 2010). Identification of inter-blade differences allows the limited identification of sub-classes within reciprocating saws based on the above characteristics, though blades cannot be uniquely identified. Additionally, interior exit chipping was noted, which has not been mentioned in previous sharp force trauma research. Ultimately, this research has applications for sharp force trauma analysis and further aids in the identification of reciprocating saw use in a forensic context, including dismemberments.

A component to some forensic cases is being able to identify tool class, whether it is a murder weapon or if a tool was used postmortem in dismemberment. The goal of the present study is to determine if it is possible to identify tool class macroscopically and/or what level of force was applied in cases involving hacking. Three hypotheses are proposed. The first is that the cutmarks would appear differently at the varying levels of impact force for the same implements, including patterns of fractures, number of fragments, size of fragments, and appearance of the cutmark, i.e., the kerf. The second hypothesis is that there would be observable macroscopic differences on the cutmarks between tool classes, and the ability to distinguish between tool classes will not be affected by the differences from various levels of force of impact. The third hypothesis is that these observable macroscopic differences can be used to create prediction tables that can be used for predicting tool class and the level of force applied. Using a device created to simulate hacking, the long bones of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), a chef’s knife, cleaver, machete, and axe were tested at three different impact forces each. The author examined the hack marks on the bones quantitatively by measuring the kerf width and depth, number of fragments present, as well as qualitatively by describing any fractures present and the appearance of the entrance and exits. It was found that there is a statistically significant relationship between the implement and the entrance width (p-value = 7.27e-13). There is a statistically significant relationship between the force of impact and the entrance width (p-value = 5.57-06), overall entrance appearance (clean cut: p-value = 2.40e-06; chattered: p-value = 0.004), and conchoidal flaking (p-value = 0.025). There is also a statistically significant relationship between the implement and the level of force as a combined influence, as opposed to separate influences, and if the overall appearance of the entrance is chattered (p-value = 0.017). These relationships support the first two proposed hypotheses. Recursive partition and regression trees were created for each implement to determine what characteristics may be used to create prediction guides based on the collected data. The results of the experiment were used in the creation of an implement prediction guide and force of impact prediction tables. A blind test showed that the implement prediction guide was accurate 50% of the time and that the force of impact prediction tables were accurate 10% of the time. While this is low accuracy, it indicates that this research has potential to help with hacking trauma analysis as a baseline for future research, but is not applicable at this time, accepting the null hypothesis for the third hypothesis.

Decision making is an inherent part of human life. Every day we decide on little things, but also some more complex problems may appear. In such cases, we need to choose a more complex process leading to the final decision. To do so, many multiple-criteria decision-making methods can be used. These methods will be explored in this thesis. They will be used to select accident insurance according to the preferences and requirements of several respondents. Accident insurance protects the insured person against the impairment of their life caused by the consequences of their injury. Accident insurance is a commitment for many years, so its choice needs close attention. The choice of the insurance can be assessed based on of several criteria. Designing a model of multi-criteria decision-making strategy was the main goal of this diploma thesis. The thesis is divided into two parts - the theoretical and practical part. Theoretical part defines the concepts of decision making, multi-criteria decision making and its methods using specialized literature. It also defines the concept of insurance and its specifics relating to accident insurance. The practical part focuses on the specific solution of the given problem. The first step was a survey of offers of insurance companies operating on the Czech market that have separate accident insurance in their product portfolio. Based on these offers, decision variants have been created. The second step was to determine the five criteria on whose basis the variants were evaluated. After the general procedure has been established, the model has been applied. The proposed procedure was tried on a group of respondents to select the best offer for them. The target group, for which the procedure was designed, was set for people between the ages of 40 and 50 who do not have a risky job and do not engage in any hazardous leisure activities. Their preferences were determined by a questionnaire, based on which the decision matrices and weightings of the individual criteria were compiled. The optimal option was recommended to respondents.

This thesis explores the spectrum of signification of disability, impairment and embodied difference in medieval drama. Drama is an important medium in which to explore what the body is used to signify as it provides an extra dimension in the physical embodiment and performance of these physical and spiritual conditions. Despite the value of medieval drama in understanding the significations of physical and psychological affliction, it remains a neglected area of scholarly research. In order to understand the meaning of dramatic representations of disability and impairment, it is necessary to explore the spectrum of signification attached to these conditions, since they could elicit such unstable and ambivalent responses. In this endeavour, this thesis consults medical, historical and cultural sources in addition to play-texts and performance evidence in order to understand the construction and representation of specific types of physical and psychological affliction in medieval drama, and what these conditions are used to signify through the body. Over the four chapters of this thesis I examine the ageing body (chapter 1); the unconverted Jewish body (chapter 2); the disease of leprosy (chapter 3); and wounds, mutilation and dismemberment (chapter 4). The play-texts I use deliberately draw upon a wide range of characters and personified abstractions, from the moral and the sacred to the immoral and the profane, from biblical drama to morality plays. These diverse conditions and identities allow an overarching insight into their use and meanings in medieval drama. Similarly, the diverse range of characters allows me to consider how the body is used to reflect the moral and spiritual condition of a character through the embodied mode of dramatic performance. For each of my chapters, the conditions I discuss possess ambivalence in their contrasting meanings, which binds the thesis together as a whole in acknowledging the changing and contrasting significations of disability, impairment and embodied difference according to the context.

The Egyptian religion viewed the whole world as divine and inhabited by both gods and men. Concepts such as death was therefore explained through myths. The ancient society feared death but desired an eternal life. The Egyptians saw death as a physical dismemberment of the body as had happened in the myth of Osiris when death was first introduced to the world. Osiris functioned as a prototype for all men as he had overcome death by finding a new existence in the netherworld. He was not viewed as a resurrected deity but as a god who had found a way to live forever after death. Funerary texts were developed to help the Egyptians navigate the netherworld, overcome trials and dangers, and to become Osiris. These were an extensive corpus of texts which was placed in the grave with the deceased. By analyzing the New Kingdom’s Book of the Dead the Egyptians’ fear of death can be clearly interpreted in the spells which the book contains. In the Book of the Dead there are 189 spells which functions to secure an eternal life after death by protecting the dead from a number of horrible fates. The book depicts a number of dangerous animals and beings in the netherworld which the spells would offer protection from. There are also incantations for things taken for granted on earth such as breathing, walking upright, not eating faeces or drinking urine. The need to formulate these spells shows an underlying fear of death, and deliverance came by using the Book of the Dead. To preserve the body of the deceased in the grave was of the outermost importance since eternal life could only be achieved if the remains worked as a link between the living world and the land of the dead. That is why the Egyptians developed such a complex funerary ritual and mummified the remains, preserving it forever. Fear of death is derived from the descriptions of it as an isolation, total destruction, dismemberment, and decomposition. The purpose of the ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead was to counteract this fate as it assured the deceased of an eternal life.

La mort d'autrui est une épreuve que les communautés humaines ont dû apprendre à surmonter dès les premiers temps de l'Humanité. Ce travail est une exploration des différentes réponses proposées par l'homme face au problème de la perte de l'autre à travers les gestes effectués sur le corps mort, depuis les soins thanatopraxiques jusqu'aux funérailles en plusieurs temps ou la création de reliques.La manipulation post-mortem des corps fournit régulièrement à l'archéologue des “dépôts secondaires” ou des dépôts primaires ayant subi des manipulations anthropiques post-dépositionnelles. Ces dépôts impliquent une gestion complexe et planifiée du processus funéraire et, en général, des gestes / pratiques / cérémonies en plusieurs épisodes. Cette thèse propose un éclaircissement des concepts et de la nomenclature liés à ces dépôts spécifiques. Une analyse transchronologique et transculturelle d’études de cas archéologiques et ethnologiques nous permet d'éclairer ces phénomènes mortuaires complexes dans leur dimension anthropologique. / Human remains resulting from sophisticated mortuary treatments represent a preferred information source about the organization of societies and about the belief systems of ancient people. Thereby, on the archaeological field, secondary deposits, sacred artefacts made of humain bones or dismembered burials emerge as precious raw material in order to reconstruct gestures, practices and finally the symbolic discourse built around those dead who are selected to become particular protective entities, perhaps Ancestors. This work includes the study of double-funerals ceremonies and manipulations of human bones in funerary or ritual contexts but also complicated pre-funerals treatments (exposure, dismemberment, mummification) in a transcultural and transchronological perspective. Human remains and spacial data from archaeological contexts have been analyzed using bioanthropological and traceological approach in order to reconstruct complex mortuary operating sequences. An ethnoarcheological study on multiple-steps funerals has been led in order to interpret archaeological remains

Previous studies of saw marks have primarily focused on morphological characteristics and their utility in identifying saws suspected to have been utilized in cases of criminal dismemberment. The present study examined the extent to which metric analysis may be used to correlate saw blades measurements of kerf width. A sample of 56 partially defleshed white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) limbs were utilized as a proxy for human remains. The partial limbs were cut using a variety of commercially available saws, including 11 manual-powered saws and 5 mechanical-powered saws. A total of 500 false start kerfs (FSKs) were measured using digital calipers. Two experiments were performed, with the first test examining the kerf widths of false starts produced on specimens that were restrained using clamps, while the second test analyzed the kerf widths of false starts produced on minimally restrained specimens. Statistical analysis using Hierarchical Linear Modeling indicated a positive relationship between saw blade width (mm) and minimum kerf width (MKW), with the model estimating that MKWs would increase by 1.61 mm for every millimeter increase in blade width. Results from the models indicated that blade width (p<0.001) and the difference between mechanical- and manual-powered saws (p=0.029) were considered statistically significant. A comparison of MKWs produced using manual-powered saws on unrestrained and restrained bones suggests that restraint condition (p=0.009) is statistically significant. In comparisons of MKWs to blade widths, the average ratio for used saws was 2.7% greater than the average ratio for new saws. The mode of the ratios was approximately 1.4, supporting the general rule that MKW does not exceed 1.5 times saw blade width.