Aim. This study suggests a set of methodologies to combine different indicators of road safety into a single index. The RSDI is a simple and quick composite index, which may become a significant measurement in comparing, ranking and determining road safety levels in different countries and regions worldwide. Design. One particular concern in designing a Road Safety Development Index (RSDI) is to come up with a comprehensive set of exposure and risk indicators which includes as far as possible the main parameters in road safety related to human-vehicle-road and country patterns instead of considering few and isolated indicators such as accident rates. The RSDI gives a broad picture compared to the traditional models in road safety.  Challenges. The differences in definitions, non-collection of data, no reliability of data and underreporting are problems for the construction of RSDI. In addition, the index should be as relevant as possible for different countries of the world, especially in developing countries. Empirical study. This study empirically compares the road safety situation and trends between ten Southeast Asian countries and Sweden for the period 1994- 2003. Methodologies. Eleven indicators are chosen in RSDI, which have been categorised in nine dimensions. Four main approaches (objective and subjective) are used to calculate RSDI and determine which one is the best. One approach uses equal weights for all indicators and countries, whereas the other approaches give different weights depending on the importance of indicators. Findings. The thesis examines the RSDI for the ten ASEAN countries and Sweden in 2003. The results from this study indicate a remarkable difference between ASEAN countries even at the same level of motorisation. Singapore and Brunei seem to have the best RSDI record among the ASEAN countries according to the indicators used, while Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam show lower RSDI records. Conclusions. The RSDI results seem very promising and worth testing further applications with bigger samples of countries and from different parts of the world. / <p>ISRN/Report code: LiU-Tek-Lic 2005:29</p>

Le but de cette thèse est de développer un absorbant acoustique à base de panic érigé, sur le principe du développement durable, dans le but de l'utiliser pour des applications acoustiques en intérieur et d'être une alternative à la laine de verre. Ainsi, les questions environnementales, économiques et sociétales sont à prendre en compte. Autrement dit, le produit devra être fabriqué localement avec des ressources renouvelables tout en minimisant le transport et l'énergie nécessaire pour son cycle de vie au complet. L'utilisation du panic érigé est une avenue dans la mesure où cette plante pousse sans apport particulier de l'homme et fournit une quantité de paille abondante (c.-à-d.. quatre fois plus que le blé). Son implantation permettrait de valoriser les terrains peu cultivables des agriculteurs. Une extension de la méthode des matrices de transfert a été proposée afin de simuler non plus des empilements de matériaux acoustiques en série (c.-à-d.. l'un derrière l'autre) mais en parallèle (c.-à-d.. l'un à côté de l'autre). Cette méthode permet, ainsi, de modéliser l'empilement de tiges de panic érigé dans une configuration dite ``longitudinale'' par rapport à la propagation sonore et de prédire la réponse de systèmes acoustiques assemblés en parallèle (p. ex. résonateurs quart d'onde) qui peuvent donner naissance à de potentiel concept en panic érigé. Ainsi, le projet se découpe en deux étapes majeures : la caractérisation acoustique de la plante et sa modélisation puis l'élaboration (c.-à-d.. modélisation, fabrication et optimisation) d'un concept acoustique à partir de cette plante.

This doctorate explores key aspects of the economics of housing by examining Ireland's housing market bubble of the early 2000s. For earlier chapters, the main source material is a previously unused dataset of almost two million property listings, covering the entire country from 2006 until 2012, maintained by property website daft.ie. An initial chapter outlines stylised facts of Ireland's housing market 2007-2012, including a greater spread of prices over property size in the crash but a narrower spread of rents. In contrast, the geographical spread of prices and rents was largely unchanged. The spread of rents was constrained relative to the spread of prices, suggesting either renter search thresholds or buyer "lock-in" effects. To examine which was at work, the daft.ie dataset is combined with information on a range of amenities, including landscape, transport, education, social capital and market depth. Overall, there is clear evidence that the rent effects of a range of amenities are smaller than the price effects. There is limited evidence of procyclical amenity pricing, which would indicate "lock-in" effects, with the analysis suggesting instead countercyclical pricing, or "property ladder" effects during the bubble. Results from these analyses are based on listed price and rents, rather than transaction prices. The relationship between the two is examined in a separate chapter, using an additional Central Bank of Ireland dataset on mortgages. The spread between list and sale prices gap that exists between the two is decomposed into four parts, a selection spread, a matching spread, a counteroffer spread and a drawdown spread. A selection spread of up to 10% emerged in the Irish housing market after 2009, while the counteroffer spread was positive before 2009 but negative for much of the period 2009-2011. The final chapter uses both inverted-demand and price-rent ratio methods to examine the long-run determinants of house prices in Ireland from 1980 on. In addition to careful treatment of standard fundamentals, it includes a measure of credit conditions as well as the ratio of persons to households, both contributions to the literature. The resulting inverted demand error-correction model shows a clear and stable long-run relationship, which is largely preserved when cointegration between series is explored. Similarly, a model of the price-rent ratio from 2000 shows clear error-correction properties. Together, they suggest that while a range of factors drove Irish house prices 1995-2001, credit conditions were largely responsible for the subsequent increase.

Transnational advocacy networks (TANs) are a rapidly proliferating phenomenon in international contentious politics. Widely known for waging headline-grabbing wars of words, TANs remain under-theorised on important levels of analysis. Unsurprisingly, they have been termed ‘elusive’ in the political literature. Typically portrayed as vital service-providing agencies that by-pass official controls to relay civil society concerns to the world’s media and international policy-makers, TANs are commonly assumed to be the vociferous, Internet-enabled, offspring of traditional NGOs and, thus, heirs to the reputational capital of NGOs. However, despite this respected provenance, it is evident that TANs frequently fail to achieve their goals. Knowledge of why some TAN strategies succeed while others fail is contested and inconclusive. This empirical thesis attempts to build on the international political literature by showing why the emerging NGO typology of TANs cannot be explained without paying attention to the systemic complexity of their environment and the essentially communicative functioning of these globe-spanning advocacy cooperatives. It seeks to demonstrate also the analytical value of applying complex realism in IR praxis. Hence, the thesis explicates a real-world conundrum: What is the place and function of transnational advocacy networks in the contemporary international system and how effective are they in achieving their aims? To identify macro-structural conditions and indicators of relationship quality — primarily involving state and non-state elements in the context of the United Nations — the thesis study reclaimed macro-sociological perspective as a first stage, ‘top-down’ approach to this complex, multi-dimensional problem space. The resultant data and patterns were then tested by way of a second-stage, micro-sociological, ‘bottom-up’, case study exploration of the UN’s interface with three iconic TANs — Greenpeace, Oxfam and Human Rights Watch. By conceptualising these relationships as intersections between systemic elements constituted on different social levels and scales of complexity, the scalable methodology enabled the study to transcend the micro-macro problems inherent in the primary research question. The results indicate that TANs are a distinctive typology of NGO that the international system is struggling to evaluate and accommodate within existing arrangements for NGO engagement. Unexpectedly, the study found plausible indications that the barriers many TANs encounter are endogenously produced. The results challenge prevailing assumptions about the place and function of grassroots diplomacy in the international arena; the ability of communications strategies to remedy global problems; and the reality and limitations of ‘people power’. By highlighting under-exposed features of the contemporary international relational landscape, the thesis argues, we might better determine whether many contemporary TANs are, in fact, evolving as the best-suited champions for the urgent, political quests they adopt.

Thesis (MA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2001. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The construction of macro-structures. Four reading-improvement courses were offered to grade ten pupils in an attempt to improve their general reading skills and more specifically their ability to abstract the gist (macrostructure - Van Dijk and Kintsch, 1983) of texts as well as their ability to recall detail about texts. The macro-structures that learners constructed and the number of propositions recalled from a specific section of the text during a pre-test were compared to the macrostructures they formulated and the number of propositions that they recalled during a post-test. The courses were presented in Afrikaans to four of the five grade 10 classes in a Western Cape school. (The course was also presented in English to the fifth class but that course was not taken into consideration.) The courses were conducted over eight periods of approximately 40 minutes. The content of the first three periods were the same for all four courses. During the first period the learners did a reading exercise in order to determine their reading speed and reading index. During the second and third periods they were taught skimming and study skills respectively. The first course focused on questioning skills in the last five sessions. The second course was presented in order to improve learners' structuring skills. The third course was a combination of the first two courses. A conventional speed reading course was presented to learners who did the fourth course. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to determine whether (1) the construction of macro-structures and (2) the recall of propositions from the texts could be ascribed to questioning skills, structuring skills or the combination of those skills. This was done after variance in the dependant variables brought about by differences in intelligence was controlled statistically. The results of this study indicate a statistically significant improvement to construct macro-structures for the learners who completed the courses aimed at improving structuring and questioning/structuring abilities. This improvement can be ascribed to the skills that they acquired during the courses. Traditional schema theories regard schemas or schemata as pre-fabricated structures that need only to be activated by readers. In these courses, however the emphasis was placed on the formation of a structure by the reader; on the activity performed by the reader. Hence it was referred to as a structuring course. During the courses the learners were encouraged not only to "chunk" the content of the texts, but to generalize and to construct the structure of the texts. They were encouraged to use their own words or categories. Several studies indicated that an improvement in the ability to structure texts lead to an improvement in text comprehension. There are five other reasons why structuring the content of texts will facilitate the construction of macro-structures. The first is that when subjects are given the task to remember unorganized material they structure the material to be remembered spontaneously. The second is that the semantic organization of material facilitate recall and the third that normal perception is highly structured. The fourth argument is that experts make effective use of schemes. The fifth argument is that the activity of structuring forces the reader to process the text at a deeper level of processmg. Since it was assumed that top achievers are good readers who have mastered the ability to construct macro-structures efficiently, it was argued that they would benefit more from a course that aimed at improving their question-generating skills. Thus, the fact that there was not a statistically significant improvement in their ability to construct macrostructures can be attributed to the fact that they have already mastered that ability sufficiently. It is also possible to attribute the fact that there was not a statistically significant improvement to the fact that they did not master the question-generating activities. The results of this study also indicated that learners who did the structuring, questioning and questioning/structuring courses improved their ability to recall propositions from the texts in a pre-test to a post-test. Their improved ability to recall propositions, can be ascribed to the fact that detail can be inferred from a hierarchical structure since detail facts are subsumed under thematic propositions. Put differently, micro-propositions can be inferred from macro-propositions. The improvement in the ability of subjects who did the questioning course can be ascribed to the fact that questioning helps to focus attention and that the activity of questioning leads to deeper levels of processing. Three assumptions concerning macro-structures were made in this study. It was assumed that the construction of macro-structures is an automatic and integral part of the (normal) reading process. Readers do not construct macro-structures only when they are required to do so. Good readers construct better macro-structures than poor readers. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die konstruksie van makrostrukture. Vier leesverbeteringskursusse is vir graad 10-leerders aangebied ten einde hul leesvaardighede te probeer verbeter; meer spesifiek, hul vermoe om die kern (die makrostrukture - Van Dijk en Kintsch, 1983) van tekste te kan konstrueer en ook om proposisies van die tekste te kan herroep. Die makrostrukture wat leerders gevorrn het en die getal proposisies wat hulle kon herroep oor 'n spesifieke teksgedeelte nadat 'n leeskursus vir hulle aangebied is, is vergelyk met die makrostrukture wat hulle gevorrn het en getal proposisies wat hulle kon herroep, voordat die kursus vir hulle aangebied is. Die kursusse is in Afrikaans aangebied vir vier van die vyf graad 10-klasse van 'n skiereilandse skool. (Die kursus is ook in Engels aangebied vir die vyfde klas, maar hul resultate is nie in berekening gebring nie, aangesien die inhoud van die tekste verskil het.) Die kursusse het bestaan uit agt lesure van 40 minute. Die inhoud van die eerste drie ·lesure was dieselfde vir al vier kursusse. Tydens die eerste lesuur het die leerders 'n leesoefening gedoen en daarna het hulle hul leesspoed en leesindeks uitgewerk. Tydens die tweede en derde lesuur is vlugleesvaardighede vir die leerders aangeleer. In die eerste kursus IS die klem tydens die laaste vyf lesure geplaas op vraagstellingsvaardighede bene wens vlugleesvaardighede en studievaardighede. Leerders is geleer om kemvrae en detailvrae te forrnuleer. Tydens die tweede kursus is struktureringsvaardighede vir leerders aangeleer in die laaste vyf lesure. Die derde kursus was 'n kombinasie van die eerste twee kursusse. Tydens die vierde kursus is 'n konvensionele spoedleeskursus vir die leerders aangebied. Deur middel van meervoudige regressie-ontledings is vasgestel of vraagstelling, strukturering of die interaksie tussen vraagstelling en strukturering variansie in (1) die konstruksie van rnakrostrukture en (2) die herroep van proposisies of feite verklaar. Dit is gedoen nadat daar statisties gekontroleer is vir die variansie in die afhanklike veranderlikes wat opgewek is deur verskille in intelligensie. Uit die resultate het dit geblyk dat daar 'n statisties beduidende verbetering was by die leerders wat die strukturering-kursus gevolg het en ook by die leerders wat die vraagstelling/strukturering-kursus gevolg het om makrostrukture te konstrueer. Hierdie verbetering sou toegeskryf kon word aan die vaardighede wat hulle tydens die kursus aangeleer het. In teenstelling met skema-teoriee wat van die veronderstelling uitgaan dat skemas vaste strukture is wat slegs deur lesers geaktiveer word, is die klem in hierdie ondersoek geplaas op die aktiewe strukturering van teksinhoude. Dit is die rede waarom na die kursus verwys word as die "strukturering' -kursus. Tydens die kursus is die leerders aangemoedig om nie net die afdelings van die tekste te groepeer nie, maar om te veralgemeen; om die teksinhoude self te struktureer deur hul eie woorde te gebruik. Benewens die feit dat dit uit verskeie ander ondersoeke geblyk het dat die strukturering van tekste deur lesers hulle leesbegrip verbeter het en hulle gehelp het om meer proposisies van 'n teks te kon herroep, sou nog vyf ander argumente ook aangevoer word waarom strukturering die vorming van makrostrukture vergemaklik. Die eerste is dat toetslinge ongestruktureerde geheuemateriaal spontaan struktureer; die tweede dat semantiese organisasie die herroep daarvan vergemaklik; die derde dat ("alledaagse") persepsie hoogs gestruktureerd is en die vierde dat deskundiges skemas effektiewer benut as beginners. Die vyfde argument is dat die aktiwiteit van strukturering dieper prosessering van leesinhoude sal meebring as gewoonlees; wanneer lesers tekste struktureer, word hulle verplig om dit uitvoerig te prosesseer. Die vraagstelling-kursus is aangebied vir die leerders in die klas wat die beste presteer het, aangesien daar van die veronderstelling uitgegaan is dat hulle goeie lesers is en dat goeie lesers alreeds daartoe in staat is om goeie makrostrukture te kan konstrueer. Die feit dat diegene wat die vraagstelling-kursus gevolg het, se vermoe om rnakrostrukture te vorm, nie 'n statisties beduidende verbetering getoon het nie, sou dus moontlik daaraan toegeskryf kon word dat hulle die vaardigheid om goeie makrostrukture te vorm, alreeds in 'n groot mate bemeester het. 'n Ander moontlikheid waarom hul vermoe om makrostrukture te konstrueer, nie 'n statisties beduidende verbetering getoon het nie, is dat hulle nie die vraagstelling-aktiwiteite deeglik bemeester het rue. Uit die resultate van hierdie ondersoek het dit ook geblyk -dat daar 'n statisties beduidende verbetering was in die vermoe van leerders wat die vraagstelling-, strukturering-, asook die vraagstellinglstruktureringkursus gevolg het om na afloop van die leeskursusse meer proposisies oor die betrokke tekste te kon herroep. Die rede waarom die strukturering-kursus effektiewer herroepprestasie in die hand gewerk het, sou toegeskryf kon word aan die feit dat iemand wat 'n struktuur gekonstrueer het, detail kan herroep na aanleiding van die gekonstrueerde raarnwerk. Anders gestel, mikroproposisies sou afgelei kon word van makroproposisies. Die rede waarom die vraagstelling-kursus 'n verbetering van leerders se herroepvermoens meegebring het, sou waarskynlik daaraan toegeskryf kon word dat vraagstelling 'n leser se aandag fokus of rig. Daarby verplig die vraagstelling-aktiwiteit lesers om tekste uitvoerig te prosesseer. Hierdie vraagstelling-aktiwiteit verplig dieper prosessering van leesinhoude as die meer oppervlakkige prosessering wat tydens gewoonlees plaasvind. In hierdie ondersoek is van die verondersteIling uitgegaan dat die vorrmng van makrostrukture 'n outomatiese en integrale deel van die leesproses is. Lesers konstrueer nie net makrostrukture wanneer die leestaak dit vereis nie. Hoewel aIle lesers makrostrukture konstrueer, vorrn goeie lesers beter rnakrostrukture as swak lesers.

Trade is largely considered a driving force of economic growth and development of nations. To this end, there is vast and far-reaching research on the subject, especially on matters international. However, research on intra-African trade is lacking in comparison to research on trade amongst the rest of the world, not just developed, but also developing countries alike. That aside there are numerous efforts put in place to enhance and encourage trade within and without the continent. The research presented in this thesis aims to investigate and address three key issues specific to intra-Africa trade. The questions asked are: are the measures currently in place successful in the promotion of intra-Africa trade; is the continent ready for measures about to be implemented and after all that, is trade really the key driving force for economic growth and development within Africa? To answer these questions, the research presented here in this thesis employs the gravity modelling approach, the G-PPP test and develops a macro-economic model which is applied to the Kenyan economy. The results indicate that; yes, trade is significant and important in determining economic growth, and while measures taken thus far such as the creation of Economic Integrations have not been as successful as was envisioned, trade openness continues to be among the most important ways in which trade is encouraged and enhanced, to this end, although the continent is yet to fulfil all the requirements for the formation of a full-blown Economic Union, it is ready for drastic measures such as the formation of a currency union. Literature reveals that this could form the basis of hastening complete integration and harmonization of all systems of the participating economies, thereby benefiting not just trade but also all other sectors of the economies.

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2011. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Several experiments [1, 2, 3, 4] have shown that e ective attractive interactions exist between con ned like-charged macromolecules. Theoretical approaches have not reached consensus as to precisely what the mechanism for the attraction is, but it is agreed that comprehending the role of the counterion arrangement around macromolecules is crucial for understanding the e ective macromolecule interactions. It is generally assumed that attraction only occurs in the limit of strong electrostatic coupling and is driven by correlation e ects that are neglible in a mean- eld approach, which is valid in the weak-coupling limit. However, in some experimental situations attraction occurs even in the limit of weak-coupling. We consider a eld-theoretic approach that includes uctuations to study the Coulomb interactions of con ned counterions with a single exible charged spherical macromolecule that can expand or collapse uniformly by changing its radius. We show how the linearised eld-theory (valid in the weak-coupling limit) is mapped onto the square-well potential of Quantum Mechanics. The con nement leads to bound states being present in the spectrum at all times. Bound states are non-perturbative and we investigate the role they play in the physics of the system. Some of the e ects are rather counter-intuitive. Firstly, upon expanding the macromolecule in a xed con nement volume, the uctuation part of the free energy favours a decrease in the free energy. Secondly, upon increasing the temperature to high but nite values, the uctuation contribution does not dominate the free energy as would be expected. The mathematical origins of these e ects are dicussed in detail and as part of the analysis we introduce a novel regularisation scheme for computing the functional determinant arising in the model considered where the cut-o is speci ed unambiguously in terms of physical parameters. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Verskeie eksperimente [1, 2, 3, 4] toon dat makro-ione met gelyksoortige ladings, in `n eindige volume, `n e ektiewe aantrekkende krag ondervind. Alhoewel daar nog geen konsensus oor die presiese meganisme vir die aantrekking bereik is nie, is dit duidelik dat die rol van \counter-ion" rangskikking rondom die makro-ione belangrik is om die e ektiewe wisselwerkings te verstaan. Dit word algemeen aanvaar dat die aantrekkende krag slegs in die limiet van sterk elektrostatiese koppeling plaasvind en dat dit `n gevolg van \counter-ion" korrelasies is wat weglaatbaar is in `n gemiddelde veld benadering, wat geldig is in die limiet van swak elektrostatiese koppeling. Daar bestaan egter eksperimentele situasies waar die aantrekking in die limiet van swak elektrostatiese koppeling waargeneem word. Ons bestudeer die Coulomb wisselwerking tussen \counter-ions" en `n enkele rekbare sferiese makro-ioon vanuit `n veld-teoretiese beskouing wat uktuasies in ag neem. Die sferiese makro-ioon kan vergroot of verklein deur sy radius uniform te verander. Ons toon aan dat die gelineariseerde veldeteorie (geldig in die limiet van swak elektrostatiese koppeling) op die eindige-diepte put Kwantummeganiese model afgebeeld kan word. Die eindige volume van die sisteem het tot gevolg dat daar altyd gebonde toestande in die spektrum voorkom. Gebonde toestande is `n suiwer nie-steuringsteoretiese e ek en ons ondersoek die rol wat dit speel in die sika van die sisteem. Die teenwoordigheid van die gebonde toestande in die spektrum het `n paar teen-intuitiewe e ekte tot gevolg. Eerstens word die vrye energie verlaag soos die makro-ioon in `n eindige volume vergroot. Tweedens oorheers die uktuasie bydrae nie die vrye energie met toenemende temperatuur soos verwag sou word nie. Ons bespreek die wiskundige oorsprong van hierdie e ekte. As deel van die analise ontwikkel ons `n nuwe regulariseringstegniek vir die berekening van funksionaalintegrale waar die regulariseringsparameter ondubbelsinnig in terme van siese hoeveelhede uitgedruk kan word.

Urban watershed management poses a very challenging problem due to the varioussources of pollution and there is a need to develop optimal management models that canfacilitate the process of identifying optimal water quality management strategies. Ascreening level, comprehensive, and integrated computational methodology is developedfor the management of point and non-point sources of pollution in urban watersheds. Themethodology is based on linking macro-level water quality simulation models withefficient nonlinear constrained optimization methods for urban watershed management.The use of macro-level simulation models in lieu of the traditional and complexdeductive simulation models is investigated in the optimal management framework forurban watersheds. Two different types of macro-level simulation models are investigatedfor application to watershed pollution problems namely explicit inductive models andsimplified deductive models. Three different types of inductive modeling techniques areused to develop macro-level simulation models ranging from simple regression methodsto more complex and nonlinear methods such as artificial neural networks and geneticfunctions. A new genetic algorithm (GA) based technique of inductive modelconstruction called Fixed Functional Set Genetic Algorithm (FFSGA) is developed andused in the development of macro-level simulation models. A novel simplified deductivemodel approach is developed for modeling the response of dissolved oxygen in urbanstreams impaired by point and non-point sources of pollution. The utility of this inverseloading model in an optimal management framework for urban watersheds isinvestigated.In the context of the optimization methods, the research investigated the use of parallelmethods of optimization for use in the optimal management formulation. These includedan evolutionary computing method called genetic optimization and a modified version ofthe direct search method of optimization called the Shuffled Box Complex method ofconstrained optimization. The resulting optimal management model obtained by linkingmacro-level simulation models with efficient optimization models is capable ofidentifying optimal management strategies for an urban watershed to satisfy waterquality and economic related objectives. Finally, the optimal management model isapplied to a real world urban watershed to evaluate management strategies for waterquality management leading to the selection of near-optimal strategies.

Cette thèse étudie la possibilité de simuler des écoulements complexes (polymères chargés, suspensions de fibres courtes, polymères) en prenant en compte la structure à l'échelle microscopique dans le cadre de la théorie cinétique. Il y a un couplage fort entre la structure microscopique et la cinématique à l'échelle macroscopique. Le caractère multidimensionnel de l'équation de Fokker-Planck décrivant la microstructure du fluide rend la simulation difficile avec des approches déterministes classiques. Pour palier ce problème, plusieurs méthodes visant à réduire les dimensions sont développées et testées. <br /><br />Ces méthodes sont appliquées en particulier dans le cas des écoulements recirculants. Le cas d'une recirculation ajoute une difficulté supplémentaire car nous ne connaissons ni les conditions initiales, ni les conditions aux limites. Or les recirculations se trouvent dans beaucoup d'écoulements industriels, lors de la mise en forme des matériaux. Pour cette raison nous avons développé des méthodes numériques spécifiques à ce type d'écoulement.<br /><br />Finalement, une partie de la thèse est dédiée à une étude expérimentale permettant de valider les résultats numériques obtenus et d'étudier les phénomènes physiques entrant en jeu dans la mise en forme des polymères chargés.

Storage of mine tailings and waste concrete imposes economical and environmental impacts. Researchers have attempted to reuse wastes as construction material by utilizing ordinary Portland cement (OPC) to stabilize them. This method, however, has a number of limitations related to OPC. In this research, a recent technology called geopolymerization is used to stabilize mine tailings and concrete waste so that they can be completely recycled and reused. The research includes three main parts. The first part studies the effect of different factors on the mechanical properties, micro/nano structure, and elemental and phase composition of mine tailings-based geopolymer binder. The second part investigates the feasibility of producing geopolymer bricks using mine tailings. The physical and mechanical properties, micro/nano structure, durability, and environmental performance of the produced bricks are studied in a systematic way. Moreover, the enhancement of the mine tailings-based geopolymer bricks by adding cement kiln dust (CKD) is studied. The third part of the research investigates the recycling of the fines fraction of crushed waste concrete to produce binder through geopolymerization in order to completely recycle concrete waste. The results indicate the viability of geopolymerization of mine tailings by optimizing the synthesis conditions. By properly selecting these factors, mine tailings-based geopolymer bricks can be produced to meet the ASTM standard requirements and to be environmentally safe by effectively immobilizing the heavy metals in the mine tailings. The physical and mechanical properties and durability of the mine tailings-based geopolymer bricks can be further enhanced by adding a small amount of CKD. The results also show that the fines fraction of crushed waste concrete can be used together with fly ash to produce high performance geopolymer binder. Incorporation of calcium in the geopolymer structure and coexistence of the calcium products such as CSH gel and the geopolymer gel explains the enhancement of the mine tailings-based geopolymer bricks with CKD and the high performance of geopolymer binder from the waste concrete fines and fly ash. The research contributes to sustainable development by promoting complete recycling and utilization of mine tailings and concrete waste as construction material.