Summaries in English and Afrikaans / Wanvoorstelling van wesenlike feite deur omiss/o aan 'n versekeraar kan tot gevolg he dat die versekeringskontrak ongeldig verklaar word ingevolge die gemene reg. In Mutual and Federal Insurance Co Ltd v Oudtshoorn Municipality 1985 (1) SA 419 (A) is beslis dat wesenlikheid bepaal moet word vanuit die oogpunt van die redelike man. In 'n paging om bewys van die wesenlikheid van feite te vermy, het versekeraars vereis dat aansoekers die voorstellings in die kontrak moat waarborg. Dit het tot gevolg gehad dat voorstellings wat in die kontrak gewaarborg is outomaties wesenlik was. Sedert die invoering van artikel 63(3) van die Versekeringswet 27 van 1943 deur die wetgewer gedurende 1969, is die wesenlikheid van voorstellings egter 'n vereiste, selfs waar dit in die kontrak gewaarborg is. Versekeraars sou dus in die toekoms nie agter kontraktuele wanvoorstellings kon skuil nie. Hierdie maatreel het meer beskerming aan die versekerde gebied. In Qilingele v South African Mutual Life Assurance Society 1993 (1) SA 69 (A) is die toets vir wesenlikheid, soos vereis deur artikel 63{3), aangespreek. Dit het die vraag laat ontstaan of daar twee aparte toetse vir wesenlikheid bestaan, naamlik gemeenregtelik en statuter, en of daar een algemene toets bestaan. / Misrepresentation by omissio of material facts to an insurer may lead to an insurance contract being declared invalid in terms of the common law. In Mutual and Federal Insurance v Oudtshoorn Municipality 1985 (1) SA 419 (A) it was decided to determine materiality in the eyes of the reasonable man. To avoid proving materiality of facts, the insurers required proposers to warrant the representations in the contract. This resulted in the facts automatically being material. In 1969 parliament, .however, enacted section 63(3) of the Insurance Act 27 of 1943 whereby materiality of presentations, even where it was warranted in the contract, became a requirement. Therefore insurers could in future not hide behind contractual misrepresentations. This provided more protection to the insured. Qilingele v SA Mutual Life Assurance Society 1993 (1) SA 69 (A) addresses the test for materiality as required by section 63(3). This resulted in the question whether two separate tests for materiality in terms of common law and statute, or only one exists. / Criminal and Procedural Law / LL.M.

Small signal oscillation has been always a major concern in the operation of power systems. In a generator, the electromechanical coupling between the rotor and the rest of the system causes it to behave in a manner similar to a spring mass damper system. Following any disturbance, such as sudden change in loads, actuations in the output of turbine and faults etc. it exhibits an oscillatory behaviour around the equilibrium state. The use of fast acting high gain AVRs and evolution of large interconnected power systems with transfer of bulk power across weak transmission links have further aggravated the problem of these low frequency oscillations. Small oscillations in the range of about 0.1Hz to 3.5Hz can persist for long periods, limiting the power transfer capability of the transmission lines. These oscillations can be reduced by incorporating auxiliary controllers on generator excitation system. Power System Stabilizers (PSSs) were developed to produce additional damping by modulating the generator excitation voltage. Designing effective PSS for all operating conditions especially in large interconnected power systems still remains a difficult and challenging task. More and more power electronic based controllers have been and will be used in power systems. Many of these controllers such as Static Var Compensators (SVCs), Static Synchronous Compensators (STATCOMs) and Unified Power Flow Controllers (UPFCs) etc., are incorporated in power transmission networks to improve its operational capability. In addition, some of the energy storage systems such as Battery Energy Storage systems (BESS), Super conducting Magnetic Energy Storage System (SMES) as well large non-conventional energy sources are also increasingly being integrated with the power grid. With large integration of these devices, there is a significant impact on system stability, more importantly on small signal oscillatory instability of the power system. This thesis primarily focuses on impact of such devices on small signal oscillatory stability of the power systems. More specifically in this thesis small signal stability analysis of a Single Machine Infinite Bus (SMIB) system with a grid connected wind powered Permanent Magnet Synchronous Generator (PMSG) has been presented. A SMIB system has been purposely chosen so that general conclusions can be obtained on the behaviour of the embedded STATCOM/Energy Source (ES) system on system stability. With a better understanding of the impact of such a system it would be probably possible to analyze more complicated multimachine power system and their impact on system stability. Small signal model of the complete system which comprises the generator, transmission network, inter connecting STATCOM, the wind power generator and all associated controllers has been developed. The performances of the system following a small disturbance at various operating conditions have been analyzed. To obtain quantitative estimates of the damping and synchronizing torques generated in the system, expressions for damping and synchronizing torque clients have been developed. With these analyses, the relative impact of the STATCOM and STATCOM with ES on system performance have been assessed. It is shown that with active and reactive power modulation capabilities effective and efficient control of small signal oscillations in power systems can be achieved.

No description available.

Ce mémoire s’intéresse aux modèles de Markov à variables latentes, une famille de modèles dans laquelle une chaîne de Markov latente régit le comportement d’un processus stochastique observable à travers duquel transparaît une version bruitée de la chaîne cachée. Pouvant être vus comme une généralisation naturelle des modèles de mélange, ces processus stochastiques bivariés ont entre autres démontré leur faculté à capter les dynamiques variables de maintes séries chronologiques et, plus spécifiquement en finance, à reproduire la plupart des faits stylisés des rendements financiers. Nous nous intéressons en particulier aux chaînes de Markov à temps discret et à espace d’états fini, avec l’objectif d’étudier l’apport de leurs reformulations hiérarchiques et de la relaxation de l’hypothèse d’homogénéité de la matrice de transition à la qualité de l’ajustement aux données et des prévisions, ainsi qu’à la reproduction des faits stylisés. Nous présentons à cet effet deux structures hiérarchiques, la première permettant une nouvelle interprétation des relations entre les états de la chaîne, et la seconde permettant de surcroît une plus grande parcimonie dans la paramétrisation de la matrice de transition. Nous nous intéressons de plus à trois extensions non-homogènes, dont deux dépendent de variables observables et une dépend d’une autre variable latente. Nous analysons pour ces modèles la qualité de l’ajustement aux données et des prévisions sur la série des log-rendements du S&P 500 et du taux de change Canada-États-Unis (CADUSD). Nous illustrons de plus la capacité des modèles à reproduire les faits stylisés, et présentons une interprétation des paramètres estimés pour les modèles hiérarchiques et non-homogènes. Les résultats obtenus semblent en général confirmer l’apport potentiel de structures hiérarchiques et des modèles non-homogènes. Ces résultats semblent en particulier suggérer que l’incorporation de dynamiques non-homogènes aux modèles hiérarchiques permette de reproduire plus fidèlement les faits stylisés—même la lente décroissance de l’autocorrélation des rendements centrés en valeur absolue et au carré—et d’améliorer la qualité des prévisions obtenues, tout en conservant la possibilité d’interpréter les paramètres estimés. / This master’s thesis is centered on the Hidden Markov Models, a family of models in which an unobserved Markov chain dictactes the behaviour of an observable stochastic process through which a noisy version of the latent chain is observed. These bivariate stochastic processes that can be seen as a natural generalization of mixture models have shown their ability to capture the varying dynamics of many time series and, more specifically in finance, to reproduce the stylized facts of financial returns. In particular, we are interested in discrete-time Markov chains with finite state spaces, with the objective of studying the contribution of their hierarchical formulations and the relaxation of the homogeneity hypothesis for the transition matrix to the quality of the fit and predictions, as well as the capacity to reproduce the stylized facts. We therefore present two hierarchical structures, the first allowing for new interpretations of the relationships between states of the chain, and the second allowing for a more parsimonious parameterization of the transition matrix. We also present three non-homogeneous models, two of which have transition probabilities dependent on observed explanatory variables, and the third in which the probabilities depend on another latent variable. We first analyze the goodness of fit and the predictive power of our models on the series of log returns of the S&P 500 and the exchange rate between canadian and american currencies (CADUSD). We also illustrate their capacity to reproduce the stylized facts, and present interpretations of the estimated parameters for the hierarchical and non-homogeneous models. In general, our results seem to confirm the contribution of hierarchical and non-homogeneous models to these measures of performance. In particular, these results seem to suggest that the incorporation of non-homogeneous dynamics to a hierarchical structure may allow for a more faithful reproduction of the stylized facts—even the slow decay of the autocorrelation functions of squared and absolute returns—and better predictive power, while still allowing for the interpretation of the estimated parameters.

Цифровизация современного общества оказывает существенное влияние на коммуникацию индивидов. При создании сообщения, эффектность и воздействующая функция, оказываются более релевантными , чем истинность передаваемой информации. В интернет-пространстве проявляется релятивистское отношение к объективным фактам. Такое состояние общества, когда реальность и объективные факты теоряют свою значимость, является результатом постправды. Fake-news является текстовой экспликацией постправды. В настоящее время постправда является предметом междисциплинарных исследований. В данной работе проводятся как теоретическое, так и практическое исследования. В теоретической главе обозреваются исследований постправды в гуманитарной сфере и исторический контекст постправды. Теоретическая глава завершается рассмотрением с помощью риторики способов воздействия, осуществляемых в тексте fake -news. Практическая глава представляет собой лингво-риторический анализ фейковых новостей. В данной работе вводятся ранее не изучаемые тексты. / The digitalization of modern society has a significant impact on the communication of individuals. When creating a message, showiness and influencing function turn out to be more relevant than the truth of the transmitted information. In the Internet space, a relativistic attitude towards objective facts is manifested. This state of society, when reality and objective facts theorize their significance, is the result of post-truth. Fake-news is a textual explication of post-truth. Currently, post-truth is the subject of interdisciplinary research. In this work, both theoretical and practical research is carried out. The theoretical chapter reviews post-truth research in the humanities and the historical context of post-truth. The theoretical chapter concludes with a rhetorical examination of the ways in which fake-news is used in the text. The practical chapter is a linguo-rhetorical analysis of fake news. In this work, previously unstudied texts are introduced.

In this essay I attempt to show that both the weak interpretation and the strong interpretation of what John Searle calls the principle of self–referentiality for social phenomena should be abandoned. This, I argue, is because they give rise to what I, following Burman (2023), call ”location problems” for opaque social phenomena and for social wholes, as well as a faulty understanding of social power. Instead, I propose that we understand social phenomena as constitued by social practices, in turn constituted by individuals who have the know–how necessary to participate in the social practices (in the sense that they are reliably able to do so), while not necessarily knowing that they are participating in them. In doing this, I draw on Robert B. Brandom’s notion of a social practice from Making it Explicit (1994).

L'évolution rapide des réseaux sociaux en ligne (RSO) représente un défi significatif dans l'identification et l'atténuation des fausses informations, incluant les fausses nouvelles, la désinformation et la mésinformation. Cette complexité est amplifiée dans les environnements numériques où les informations sont rapidement diffusées, nécessitant des stratégies sophistiquées pour différencier le contenu authentique du faux. L'un des principaux défis dans la détection automatique de fausses informations est leur présentation réaliste, ressemblant souvent de près aux faits vérifiables. Cela pose de considérables défis aux systèmes d'intelligence artificielle (IA), nécessitant des données supplémentaires de sources externes, telles que des vérifications par des tiers, pour discerner efficacement la vérité. Par conséquent, il y a une évolution technologique continue pour contrer la sophistication croissante des fausses informations, mettant au défi et avançant les capacités de l'IA. En réponse à ces défis, ma thèse introduit le cadre FACTS-ON (Fighting Against Counterfeit Truths in Online Social Networks), une approche complète et systématique pour combattre la désinformation dans les RSO. FACTS-ON intègre une série de systèmes avancés, chacun s'appuyant sur les capacités de son prédécesseur pour améliorer la stratégie globale de détection et d'atténuation des fausses informations. Je commence par présenter le cadre FACTS-ON, qui pose les fondements de ma solution, puis je détaille chaque système au sein du cadre : EXMULF (Explainable Multimodal Content-based Fake News Detection) se concentre sur l'analyse du texte et des images dans les contenus en ligne en utilisant des techniques multimodales avancées, couplées à une IA explicable pour fournir des évaluations transparentes et compréhensibles des fausses informations. En s'appuyant sur les bases d'EXMULF, MythXpose (Multimodal Content and Social Context-based System for Explainable False Information Detection with Personality Prediction) ajoute une couche d'analyse du contexte social en prédisant les traits de personnalité des utilisateurs des RSO, améliorant la détection et les stratégies d'intervention précoce contre la désinformation. ExFake (Explainable False Information Detection Based on Content, Context, and External Evidence) élargit encore le cadre, combinant l'analyse de contenu avec des insights du contexte social et des preuves externes. Il tire parti des données d'organisations de vérification des faits réputées et de comptes officiels, garantissant une approche plus complète et fiable de la détection de la désinformation. La méthodologie sophistiquée d'ExFake évalue non seulement le contenu des publications en ligne, mais prend également en compte le contexte plus large et corrobore les informations avec des sources externes crédibles, offrant ainsi une solution bien arrondie et robuste pour combattre les fausses informations dans les réseaux sociaux en ligne. Complétant le cadre, AFCC (Automated Fact-checkers Consensus and Credibility) traite l'hétérogénéité des évaluations des différentes organisations de vérification des faits. Il standardise ces évaluations et évalue la crédibilité des sources, fournissant une évaluation unifiée et fiable de l'information. Chaque système au sein du cadre FACTS-ON est rigoureusement évalué pour démontrer son efficacité dans la lutte contre la désinformation sur les RSO. Cette thèse détaille le développement, la mise en œuvre et l'évaluation complète de ces systèmes, soulignant leur contribution collective au domaine de la détection des fausses informations. La recherche ne met pas seulement en évidence les capacités actuelles dans la lutte contre la désinformation, mais prépare également le terrain pour de futures avancées dans ce domaine critique d'étude. / The rapid evolution of online social networks (OSN) presents a significant challenge in identifying and mitigating false information, which includes Fake News, Disinformation, and Misinformation. This complexity is amplified in digital environments where information is quickly disseminated, requiring sophisticated strategies to differentiate between genuine and false content. One of the primary challenges in automatically detecting false information is its realistic presentation, often closely resembling verifiable facts. This poses considerable challenges for artificial intelligence (AI) systems, necessitating additional data from external sources, such as third-party verifications, to effectively discern the truth. Consequently, there is a continuous technological evolution to counter the growing sophistication of false information, challenging and advancing the capabilities of AI. In response to these challenges, my dissertation introduces the FACTS-ON framework (Fighting Against Counterfeit Truths in Online Social Networks), a comprehensive and systematic approach to combat false information in OSNs. FACTS-ON integrates a series of advanced systems, each building upon the capabilities of its predecessor to enhance the overall strategy for detecting and mitigating false information. I begin by introducing the FACTS-ON framework, which sets the foundation for my solution, and then detail each system within the framework: EXMULF (Explainable Multimodal Content-based Fake News Detection) focuses on analyzing both text and image in online content using advanced multimodal techniques, coupled with explainable AI to provide transparent and understandable assessments of false information. Building upon EXMULF’s foundation, MythXpose (Multimodal Content and Social Context-based System for Explainable False Information Detection with Personality Prediction) adds a layer of social context analysis by predicting the personality traits of OSN users, enhancing the detection and early intervention strategies against false information. ExFake (Explainable False Information Detection Based on Content, Context, and External Evidence) further expands the framework, combining content analysis with insights from social context and external evidence. It leverages data from reputable fact-checking organizations and official social accounts, ensuring a more comprehensive and reliable approach to the detection of false information. ExFake's sophisticated methodology not only evaluates the content of online posts but also considers the broader context and corroborates information with external, credible sources, thereby offering a well-rounded and robust solution for combating false information in online social networks. Completing the framework, AFCC (Automated Fact-checkers Consensus and Credibility) addresses the heterogeneity of ratings from various fact-checking organizations. It standardizes these ratings and assesses the credibility of the sources, providing a unified and trustworthy assessment of information. Each system within the FACTS-ON framework is rigorously evaluated to demonstrate its effectiveness in combating false information on OSN. This dissertation details the development, implementation, and comprehensive evaluation of these systems, highlighting their collective contribution to the field of false information detection. The research not only showcases the current capabilities in addressing false information but also sets the stage for future advancements in this critical area of study.

「沒有標準化就沒有現代經濟。」在知識經濟時代，掌握制定規則權力者，就占有主宰市場的領導地位。由於絕大多數標準係由政府或私人組織所制定，因此，研究標準制定組織具有重要意義。此外，觀察當代立法趨勢，政府以採訂私人組織或非政府組織所擬定之產業標準的方式，擴增其管制功能，在此潮流下，採訂私人草撰標準成為法律規範一環，此舉一方面可能形成授權立法之漏洞，另一方面將迫使個人暴露於著作權侵權行為之刑事、民事以及行政制裁大帽。同時，政府將產品標準及認證之工作委由產業協會等私人組織承擔亦成主流，該項¬「公益性」作業即可能成為事實標準制定者用來限制競爭、不當逐利的手段。 本文便以上述爭議問題為出發點，討論標準制定組織所擬定之標準，特別是經過政府機關以法律規範形式採用後，是否仍該當著作權的保護客體？並將研究延伸到網路產業中標準著作權保護的適當性問題，以及針對標準這類事實編輯物的資料庫保護進行分析；其次，本文將針對一國之產業標準制定組織為研究重心，探討例如標準制定與認證中的限制競爭及獨占管制的法律問題，以及隱然成為事實標準的市場領導者涉及智慧財產權的拒絕交易紛爭等課題。然而，針對上述命題的前提要件是對標準的概念與應用有相當之瞭解，以導入標準制定組織之運作、不同層級標準制定過程之影響及其所涉及之智慧財產爭議問題研究。因此，本文將對國家標準以及行業標準制定及運用過程所涉及之著作權及競爭法問題作深入且廣泛之瞭解，以此為基礎，分析各層級標準制定體系的規範內涵，繼而詮釋一國保護行業標準之著作權與競爭法之法律規定；並提出建言作為我國標準化體系之發展、參與國際標準制定活動、標準著作權保護分析架構、事實編輯物（資料庫）保護模式、競爭法對標準與認證活動之適用以及切入拒絕交易案件等之參考。 / In a knowledge-based economy, whoever dominates rules-developing overpowers the market. Most of the standards are set by the government and private organizations; therefore, a study on standard-setting organizations is of essential value. The Government leverages its regulatory function by adopting law standards promulgated and copyrighted by non-governmental actors. Despite governmental ambitions, no one is responsible for evaluating the legitimacy of this approach ex ante and no framework exists to facilitate analysis. On the other hand, standard-developing and conformity assessment increasingly falls on the shoulders of industry associations and lead to impartiality concerns from the antitrust law perspective. Regarding standards that are generated and controlled by private actors exposing citizens to criminal, civil and administrative sanctions, this paper contributes an analytical framework and proposes institutional mechanisms to implement it in terms of copyright. This paper extends by questioning if copyright would be an appropriate form to protect standards in the Internet industry. Then, it explores ways to protect compilation of facts and databases once they are de facto standards. Following the antitrust concerns, this paper focuses on industry standard-setting organizations within a specific territory to explore the antitrust and unfair competition problems confronting the role of the de facto standard-setters or the certification performers and the refusal to deal involving intellectual property issues. As foundations, this paper initiates by a detailed study of concepts and applications surrounding standardization; then, it leads to how a standards is produced, how standard-developing organizations in various levels affect the market, and how the intellectual property problems involves in standardization. In conclusion, based upon in-depth coverage of copyright and antitrust predicaments facing applications of national standards and industry standards, this paper interprets how copyright and antitrust laws work to protect business standards. At the same time, it delivers suggestions for the development of our standardization system, involvement of international standard-setting activities, an analytical framework for standards in copyright, protection for compilation of facts and databases, and how antitrust laws works when it comes to non-governmental standard-setting actors.

Residential building, sales comparison approach, market valuation, specific location, arm’s length price, market value

Information technology evidence consists of a mix of representations of various applications of digital electronic equipment, and can be brought to the fore in all contexts that result in legal decisions. The occurrence of such evidence in legal proceedings, and other legal decision-making, is a phenomenon previously not researched within legal science in Sweden. The thesis examines some of the consequences resulting from the occurrence of information technology evidence within Swedish practical legal and judicial decision-making. The thesis has three main focal points. The first consists of a broad identification of legal problems that information technology evidence entails. The second focal point examines the legal terminology associated with information technology evidence. The third focal point consists of identifying sources of error pertaining to information technology evidence from the adjudicator’s point of view. The examination utilizes a Swedish legal viewpoint from a perspective of the public trust in courts. Conclusions include a number of legal problems in several areas, primarily in regards to the knowledge of the adjudicator, the qualification of different means of evidence and the consequences of representational evidence upon its evaluation. In order to properly evaluate information technology evidence, judges are – to a greater extent than for other types of evidence – in need of (objective) knowledge supplementary to that provided by parties and their witnesses and experts. Furthermore, the current Swedish evidence terminology has been identified as a complex of problems in and of itself. The thesis includes suggestions on certain additions to this terminology. Several sources of error have been identified as being attributable to different procedures associated with the handling of information technology evidence, in particular in relation to computer forensic investigations. There is a general need for future research focused on matters regarding both standards of proof for and evaluation of information technology evidence. In addition, a need for deeper legal scientific studies aimed at evidence theory has been identified, inter alia regarding the extent to which frequency theories are applicable in respect to information technology evidence. The need for related further discussions on future emerging areas such as negative evidence and predictive evidence are foreseen.