Esta dissertação de mestrado apresenta os resultados de uma pesquisa que buscou verificar se as normas vigentes no Brasil para os alojamentos dos tripulantes de navios mercantes são efetivas em propiciar boas condições de habitabilidade e segurança. O processo utilizado para esta verificação foi o de comparar tais normas com recomendações e determinações de diversas fontes. A opção por este objeto de pesquisa se justifica uma vez que atualmente, após mais de duas décadas de decadência da indústria naval e da frota mercante brasileiras, há um grande número de navios em construção. Além disso, a vida útil dos navios é de aproximadamente trinta anos, o que significa que a inadequação das normas segundo as quais são construídos implicaria em consequências de longo prazo e difíceis de serem revertidas, em função da complexidade dos navios. Por outro lado, a Organização Marítima Internacional e outras fontes citam o projeto dos alojamentos como um dos fatores que podem influenciar no aumento do número de casos e na intensidade da fadiga entre os tripulantes, com reflexos na incidência de erros humanos e, consequentemente, de acidentes marítimos. Um indicador da existência de deficiências na configuração dos espaços de alojamento é o número de acidentes pessoais neles ocorridos, relativamente alto quando comparado com o das áreas de trabalho e operação da embarcação, onde o risco de acidentes é consideravelmente maior. A confrontação das normas vigentes no Brasil com recomendações e determinações das diversas fontes consultadas evidenciou que estas admitem condições mais desfavoráveis do que as aceitas para embarcações destinadas a fins especiais e em navios de algumas marinhas de guerra. Ademais, sua análise revelou que não especificam os níveis considerados apropriados ao conforto térmico, acústico, iluminação e vibrações, o que indica que estão desatualizadas e aponta para a necessidade de sua revisão com base em estudos atuais. / This Master\'s dissertation presents the results of research which seeks to establish whether the prevailing standards for crew accommodation in merchant shipping in Brazil is effective in providing good conditions of habitability and safety. The verification process used was to compare such standards with recommendations and requirements from several different sources. The justification for this choice of research is that following more than two decades of decline in the shipbuilding sector and the Brazilian merchant navy, there are now a large number of ships once more under construction in indigenous shipyards. Since ships have a useful life of approximately thirty years, this means failure to adhere to construction standards would imply long term consequences, difficult to revert in the light of the complexity of vessels. Conversely, the International Maritime Organization as well as other sources, cites the onboard accommodation project as one of the factors that can impact the number of cases of fatigue and its intensity among crew members. This in turn is reflected in the level of human error and consequently, maritime accidents. One indicator of deficiencies in accommodation configuration is the number of personal accidents that occur in them, relatively high compared with onboard working and operational areas where risk of accidents is considerably greater. The comparison of the prevailing standards in Brazil with recommendations and requirements of several sources which have been consulted, revealed that these tolerate conditions which are less favorable than those acceptable in special purpose vessels and in the ships of some navies. Additionally, comparison showed that standards prevailing in Brazil fail to specify the levels deemed appropriate for thermal and acoustic comfort, lighting and vibration. The indication is that such are out-of-date - pointing to a need for review based on current studies.

Cette interrogation sur le blocus franco britannique porte sur l’efficacité du blocus, les mesures prises pour le mettre en oeuvre, sur sa réalité et sur sa régularité. Puis une fois ses approches traitées, on s’est intéressé à la mise en placedu blocus, aux tentatives de le forcer, à la collecte d’informations, à la diffusion de l’information, à la mise en place des réseaux d’informations. Ainsi à travers les décisions prises par l’Etat-major de la marine, on s’intéresse à la collecte del’information par les consulats, puis, relayée par les ambassades et les attachés navals, à l’information en elle-même pour savoir comment elle a contribué à la capture des navires ennemis. Différents aspects sont étudiés pour savoir comment lamarine allemande de commerce a réussi à adopter des stratégies pour contourner le blocus allié. Il convient aussi de s’intéresser aux neutres qui accueillent ces navires bloqués pour connaitre leurs regards sur des problèmes extérieurs. Les éléments spatio-temporels sont déterminants pour comprendre les dynamiques du blocus et les différentes politiques et moyens mis en oeuvre par les différents acteurs du conflit. Ainsi grâce à ces études, on tire un bilan des succès et des échecs de ce premier blocus naval à dimension mondiale en soulignant les éléments permettant sa réussite comme en soulignant ses failles / This questioning of the Anglo-French blockade applied to its effectiveness, the measures taken to keep it regularly. Once a study’s treated, This work is on the setting up of the blockade, on the attempts to cross it, on the datagathering, on thecirculation of the information, on the netting of a net information and on the efficiency of the blockade. Trough the decisions taken by the naval headquarters, I interested in the gathering of information coming from the consulate, serst to the embassies and the naval attaché. Her information by itself to know how it was leading to the capture of the enemy vessels. Various aspects are considered to know how the German Merchant Navy has succeeded to get around the allied blockade. It focuses also on Neutrals attitude toward the blockade, to know now their managed in front of this problem. The elements in time as well as in space are decisive for the comprehension of the blockade dynamics and the different politics and methods used by the actors of conflict. Theses study enables understand the success and this failures of the first world size naval blockade

Sujet d’actualité, le phénomène de l’ethnicisation est devenu un fait urbain contemporain dans les métropoles du monde. Dans le contexte actuel du Tchad, les conflits ethniques et sociaux semblent investir les champs économiques par une ethnicisation du commerce, la spécialisation de certaines branches. La ville de N’Djamena, avec son espace marchand varié et coloré, fournit un exemple d’étude singulier. L’étude du commerce ethnique - dans l’espace marchand tchadien à travers la ville de N’Djamena - traite d’une part les branches des commerces spécialisées par les groupes ethniques, en majorité nordistes et musulmans, d’autre part les divers circuits et réseaux marchands sur lesquels s’appuient ces groupes. La géographie humaine, comme discipline et méthode, pointe à travers cette étude une double approche théorique : celle qui interroge les modalités de formation, du maintien et de l’extension des réseaux sociaux et marchands par la pratique du commerce ethnique, et celle qui analyse ces modalités comme moyen de reproduction sociale et identitaire des commerçants. A l’instar des autres villes tchadiennes, N’Djamena est devenu, au fil de temps, le théâtre de ces conflits d’intérêts ethno-régionalistes, instrumentalisés par le contexte de la "géopolitique tchadienne"[recherche d’équilibre entre le nord musulman et le sud chrétien]. Ainsi, au prisme d’analyses nécessairement pluridisciplinaires autour d’une approche géographique qui privilégie l’organisation spatiale, l’ethnicisation du commerce apparait comme un processus de mutation socio-économique par lequel se consolide l'économie ethnique et la spécialisation des quartiers [des régions] de la ville. / As a contemporary topic, the phenomenon of racialization has become a contemporary urban phenomenon in the world's metropolises. In the current context of Chad, ethnic and social conflicts seem to invest economic fields along ethnic trade, specialization in certain industries. The city of N'Djamena, with its varied and colorful merchant space, provides an example of singular study. The study of ethnic business - in the merchant Chad area around the city of N'Djamena - addresses a hand branches of specialized shops by ethnic groups, mostly northerners and Muslims, on the other hand the various merchants trails and networks that support these groups. Human geography as a discipline and method, leading through this study a double theoretical approach which questions the methods of training, maintenance and expansion of social and merchants through the practice of ethnic business networks, and the analysis that these terms as a means of social reproduction and identity of the traders. Like other cities of Chad, N'Djamena has become, over time, the theater of ethno-regionalist conflicts or interest, manipulated by the context of the "geopolitical Chad" [search for balance between the north Muslims and south Christians]. Thus, through the prism of necessarily multidisciplinary analyzes around a geographic approach that emphasizes the spatial organization, the ethnicization of trade appears as a process of socio-economic transformation through which consolidates the ethnic economy and specialization areas [regions] of the city.

Cette thèse s’inscrit dans le cadre théorique très général de la sécurité des systèmes complexes. Son terrain d’application est la marine marchande. L’objectif de cette recherche est double : 1. Investiguer la gestion du risque d’abordage grâce à une démarche systémique s’intéressant à la fois aux conditions de l’échec et à celles du succès. 2. Explorer les liens entre les trois concepts liés à la sécurité que sont la Culture de sécurité, le Système de Management de la Sécurité et la Résilience. La culture de sécurité constitue un sous-ensemble de la culture organisationnelle globale. Elle se compose d’un ensemble de valeurs, de croyances, d’attitudes, de normes et de pratiques concernant la sécurité. Partagé par les membres d’une organisation, cet ensemble influence directement les comportements mis en oeuvre dans le cadre du travail. Dans le cadre de cette thèse, nous avons tout d’abord réalisé une analyse du domaine de travail du système du transport maritime, ainsi, qu’une étude des cas d’abordage entre navires répertoriés par le MAIB (Marine Accident Investigation Branch). Ces analyses ont permis, respectivement, d’identifier les barrières de défense du système et de mettre en évidence les principales causes à l’origine des accidents. Les études suivantes ont cherché à appréhender la culture de sécurité d’un armement réputé sûr, grâce à un couplage de méthodes qualitatives et quantitatives. L’analyse du système de management de l’armement a démontré que celui-ci était performant. Il s’appuie sur un solide système de retour d’expérience et se montre participatif. Une enquête portant sur le climat de sécurité a été menée auprès de plusieurs équipages, à l’aide d’un questionnaire inspiré de celui de Håvold. Elle montre qu’une grande majorité des opérateurs adhère à une culture de sécurité positive, bien que les scores soient significativement influencés par la fonction et par le niveau hiérarchique des répondants. Enfin, l’analyse de l’activité des chefs de quart en passerelle a mis en évidence des mécanismes de gestion diachronique et synchronique des risques externes (i.e. Risque de collision). Les résultats de ces différentes études conduisent à discuter de l’articulation entre Culture de Sécurité, Résilience et Système de Management de la Sécurité. La proposition d’un modèle tridimensionnel de la sécurité montre que la Culture de Sécurité semble en effet agir comme le médiateur des deux autres concepts. Elle permettrait également au système de conserver une importante part de sécurité gérée, malgré la forte composante de sécurité réglée liée aux contraintes réglementaires importantes du secteur. / This thesis belongs in the general theoretical area of the safety of complex systems. Its field of application is the merchant navy. Its object is twofold: 1. To investigate the management of collision risks by a systemic approach which takes into account both factors leading to failure and those leading to success; and, 2. To explore the links between three concepts of safety : Safety culture, Safety Management Systems and Resilience. Safety culture is a subset of the overall organizational culture. It consists of a set of values, beliefs, attitudes, norms and practices concerning safety. Shared by members of an organization, this directly influences behaviour at work. The first step in the research was to study the marine transportation system and collisions between merchant vessels listed by the United Kingdom’s Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB), focussing on two areas: the safety barriers system and the main failures leading to accidents. Qualitative and quantitative methods were then applied to gain an understanding of the safety culture of a shipping company with a good safety record. Analysis of this company’s management system showed it to be effective: it was built on a strong reporting system and seemed to be participatory. A survey of the safety climate was conducted with several crews, using a questionnaire inspired by Håvold’s questionnaire. This showed that a large majority of the company’s personnel had a positive safety culture, although the scores were significantly influenced by the duty and the hierarchical level of individual respondents. Finally, the activities of bridge watchkeeping officers were studied to identify diachronic and synchronic mechanisms implemented to manage the collision risk. The results of these studies enable a discussion of the relationship between Safety Culture, Resilience and Safety Management System. A proposal for a generic three-dimensional safety model shows that Safety Culture seems to act as the mediator of the other two concepts. Safety Culture would also allow the system to maintain a significant portion of “managed safety”, complementing a strong element of “prescribed safety” flowing from regulation.

The purpose of this research was to evaluate the quality of design, materials, construction, appearance, and performance of mens 100% cotton jersey knit t-shirts from three retail categories: mass merchant, fast fashion, and better. These retail categories were represented by brands Fruit of the Loom, H&M, and Brooks Brothers, respectively. A convenience sample was comprised of 78 t-shirts. 13 white and 13 navy t-shirts from each brand were used for testing according to ASTM and AATCC standards and specifications. Evaluations and measurements were conducted before washing, and after one, five, ten, and twenty laundry cycles. The t-shirts were evaluated for fabric weight, fabric count, color change, whiteness change, crocking, smoothness appearance, bursting strength, pilling, dimensional stability, and skewness. The navy t-shirts in the ‘better’ retail category met five out of the six requirements specified by the ASTM standard. However, the navy t-shirts in the ‘fast fashion’ category met four out of five met by the ‘better’ category. In conclusion, the decision to purchase a t-shirt from these retail categories may depend on consumer expectations.

Following the Glorious Revolution in 1688, the British North American colonies interpreted Parliament's success in removing arbitrary governmental practices and establishing a balanced government as a victory for local representative government. Within these colonies, merchants secured their influence in local government in order to protect their profits and trade networks. The New England merchants that resettled in Nova Scotia in the 1750s successfully established a local government founded upon their rights as British subjects. The attempt by the British government to centralize the imperial administration in 1763 and the perceived threat of reintroducing arbitrary rule by Parliament was a direct threat to the colonial governmental system. Although Nova Scotia chose loyalism in 1775-1776, this decision did not stem from isolation or a differing political philosophy. In fact, it was their cultural and political similarities that led Nova Scotia and New England to separate paths in 1776. Nova Scotia merchants controlling the Assembly were able to confront and defeat attempts that threatened their influence in local politics and on the local economy. With the threat to their authority defeated and new markets opening for the colony, the Nova Scotia merchant class was able to preserve the status quo in local government.

We consider two game-theoretic settings to determine the optimal values of an issuer's interchange fee rate, an acquirer's merchant discount rate, and a merchant's retail prices for multiple products in a credit card network. In the first setting, we investigate a two-stage game problem in which the issuer and the acquirer first negotiate the interchange fee rate, and the acquirer and the retailer then determine their merchant discount rate and retail prices, respectively. In the second setting, motivated by the recent U.S. bill "H.R. 2695," we develop a three-player cooperative game in which the issuer, the acquirer, and the merchant form a grand coalition and bargain over the interchange fee rate and the merchant discount rate. Following the cooperative game, the retailer makes its retail pricing decisions. We derive both the Shapley value- and the nucleolus-characterized unique rates for the grand coalition. Comparing the two game settings, we show that the participation of the merchant in the negotiation process can result in the reduction of both rates. Moreover, the stability of the grand coalition in the cooperative game setting may require that the merchant should delegate the credit card business only to the issuer and the acquirer with sufficiently low operation costs. We also find that the large, highly-specialized merchants and banks are more likely to join the cooperative negotiation whereas the small firms may prefer the two-stage game setting. Our numerical experiments demonstrate that the acquirer's and the issuer's unit operation costs more significantly impact both rates in the cooperative game setting than in the two-stage game setting.

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The Puritans constituted a very vocal influential minority during the time of Shakespeare. One of their more interesting ideas was the doctrine of the covenant, which explained why a transcendent God would care for fallen human beings. God, for Puritans, voluntarily bound himself in a covenant to man. The interrelations of elements of grace and works make it difficult to interpret what a covenant should be like: more like a modern contract or more like a feudalistic promise system? Unlike a contract, God never ends the covenant even when humans disregard their commitment, but instead helps humans fulfill their obligations by means of mercy. The covenant also sets out specific limitations that each party is required to fulfill like a contract. Puritans applied this pattern of the covenant not only to their relationship with God, but to other relationships like business, government, and most interestingly marriage. I will focus on how Shakespeare sets out this same covenantal pattern between man and God in his depiction in Portia's and in Helena's marriages respectively. I use sixteenth and seventeenth century Puritan treatises and sermons as well as secondary experts to illustrate Shakespeare's invocation of a Puritan marriage. This Puritan interpretation of the marriage covenant points toward equality by making the couple equally obligated in the contract, yet requiring more than mere obligation. These authors believed that the marriage covenant should not just be for procreation, but cohabitation and communion of the mind.