Texte remanié de: Th. Ph. D.--Londres--University of London. / Bibliogr. p. 267-303.

Problems related to apparel fit stem from a variety of factors, such as an outdated anthropometric database from which sizing systems could be developed, lack of and/or inadequate classified body forms, non-standardised communication of sizing and fit and non-standardised fit quality management, amongst the clothing industries (Chun-Yoon&Jasper, 1996; Holzman, 1996; Winks, 1997; Desmarteau, 2000; Anderson, Brannon, Ulrich, Presley; Woronka; Grasso&Stevenson, 2001; Ashdown, 2003; Simmons&Istook, 2004). Anthropometric data in Kenya was taken in 1975 and the measurements were obtained from girls and women of Kenya’s learning institutions and organisations (KEBS, 2001). The source of the original data from which the size tables were derived is obscure, to authenticate the quality of the techniques and instruments used for the data collection. Apparently, there is no known research that has been carried out on clothing anthropometry, sizing (body measurements) and fit (body shape) for women. In the absence of representative sizing systems, wrong styles and sizes based on estimates and not on the actual sizes and body shapes of women consumers in Kenya, contribute to fit problems. Consumers’ lack of knowledge about size (body measurements) and fit (body shape) issues also contributes to the disillusionment, confusion and inappropriate apparel selection. Consumers’ fit preferences contribute to fit problems, if the available styles do not consider consumers’ body shapes, and even further, if the consumers are uninformed about their shapes and how to dress accordingly. The aim of this research was therefore to identify and describe distinctive female body shapes of career women in Kenya using body dimensions and photographs, to describe the differences between the emerging distinctive body shapes (measurements and photographs) and the Western distinctive shapes, and to finally describe and analyse implications for the fit of apparel associated with the emerging distinctive body shapes of Kenya’s career women. It also intended to assess and describe career women’s self-perceived fit issues with the ready-made apparel in Kenya, to determine and describe Kenyan career women’s knowledge about the communication of size (key body dimensions) and fit (body shapes), and also to determine and describe career women’s fit preferences for differently fitted apparel items in Kenya. This research is descriptive as an attempt is made to describe and understand body shape(s) and tendencies in consumers’ behaviour regarding fit issues. It is exploratory as it aims to obtain insight into a relatively new area of study, namely identification of the most prevalent (distinctive) body shape of Kenya’s career women, consumers’ perceived size and fit issues, their knowledge about size and fit, and their fit preferences. Various theories were consulted and adapted in this study, while practical training in anthropometry and photography was undertaken to ensure that measurements and photographs were taken accurately and reliably. Traditional anthropometric-related theories and standards of obtaining body measurements were consulted and applied. Photography rules were set and observed while photographing the women. Phase one of the study focused on the variables in the body characteristics thought to be appropriate for identifying and describing distinctive female body shapes. Phase two applied the quantitative research that focused on the variables obtained from fit problems with apparel, the communication of size and fit, and fit preferences. A structured questionnaire was used to get the broader picture of the respondents’ perceived fit problems, their knowledge about the communication of size and fit, as well as their fit preferences for differently fitted apparel items. The questionnaire measured specific dimensions of fit problems with apparel, the communication of size and fit, as well as fit preferences. The body dimensions that were recorded, body evaluations, and the responses to the questionnaire were coded, captured and analysed. It is apparent from this study that the most dominant body shape is a curvy rectangular shape that differs not only from the ideal (hourglass) body shape, but also from the Western (USA) prevalent straight rectangular shape. The fit problems such as tight hips, crotch, bust and stomach experienced by Kenya’s career women are therefore inevitable, as confirmed by the dissatisfaction with the unavailability of appropriate styles for their sizes and shapes. It is clear that most Kenyan female consumers are familiar with the non-informative lettered and numbered size labels, but unfamiliar with size label terms that represent established body types. They understand neither the meanings of various size and fit descriptions, nor their own key body dimensions; this leads to confusion as to where the cause of their problems lies. Apparently most Kenyan career women consumers prefer fitted and semi-fitted skirts and jackets. In the absence of a distinctive body shape in Kenya, it is possible that the available styles do not cater for their curvy rectangular body shape; hence, they experience fit problems. Consumers’ lack of knowledge about body shape may also lead to inappropriate fit preferences that do not take into account their distinctive body shape and its critical fit points. This study makes certain recommendations to the ready-made apparel industry in Kenya and foreign companies that export their apparel items to Kenya, government agencies such as the Kenya Bureau of Standards, and to consumer-oriented organisations. The results contribute to the body of knowledge regarding the theory of apparel size and fit, Ashdown’s sizing systems theory, research methodology theory, and consumer education theory. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Consumer Science / unrestricted

The aim of this dissertation is to investigate ergodic properties, in particular unique ergodicity, in a noncommutative setting, that is in C*-dynamical systems. Fairly recently Abadie and Dykema introduced a broader notion of unique ergodicity, namely relative unique ergodicity. Our main focus shall be to present their result for arbitrary abelian groups containing a F lner sequence, and thus generalizing the Z-action dealt with by Abadie and Dykema, and also to present examples of C*-dynamical systems that exhibit variations of these (uniquely) ergodic notions. Abadie and Dykema gives some characterizations of relative unique ergodicity, and among them they state that a C*-dynamical system that is relatively uniquely ergodic has a conditional expectation onto the xed point space under the automorphism in question, which is given by the limit of some ergodic averages. This is possible due to a result by Tomiyama which states that any norm one projection of a C*-algebra onto a C*-subalgebra is a conditional expectation. Hence the rst chapter is devoted to the proof of Tomiyama's result, after which some examples of C*-dynamical systems are considered. In the last chapter we deal with unique and relative unique ergodicity in C*-dynamical systems, and look at examples that illustrate these notions. Speci cally, we present two examples of C*-dynamical systems that are uniquely ergodic, one with an R2-action and the other with a Z-action, an example of a C*-dynamical system that is relatively uniquely ergodic but not uniquely ergodic, and lastly an example of a C*-dynamical system that is ergodic, but not uniquely ergodic. / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2014 / Mathematics and Applied Mathematics / unrestricted

Les logiciels multi-partis sont des applications distribuées sur le web qui mettent en oeuvre des fonctions collaboratives. Ces applications sont les principales cibles des attaquants qui exploitent des vulnérabilités logicielles dans le cadre d'activités malveillantes. Récemment, un type moins connu de vulnérabilité, les anomalies logiques, a attiré l'attention des chercheurs. Sur la base d'informations tirées de la documentation des applications, il est possible d'appliquer deux techniques de test: la vérification du modèle, autrement appelé ``model checking'', et les tests de sécurité de type ``boîte noire''. Le champs d'application du model checking ne prend pas en suffisamment en compte les implémentations actuelles, tandis que les tests de type boîte noire ne sont pas assez sophistiqués pour découvrir les vulnérabilités logique. Dans cette thèse, nous présentons deux techniques d'analyse modernes visant à résoudre les inconvénients de l'état de l'art. Pour commencer, nous présentons la vérification de deux protocoles de sécurité utilisant la technique du model checking. Ensuite, nous nous concentrons sur l'extension du model checking pour soutenir les tests automatisés d'implémentations. La seconde technique consiste en une analyse boîte noire qui combine l'inférence du modèle, l'extraction du processus et du flot de donnée, ainsi qu'une génération de tests basés sur les modèles d'attaque d'une application. En conclusion, nous discutons de l'application de techniques développées au cours de cette thèse sur des applications issues d'un contexte industrielle. / Multi-party business applications are distributed computer programs implementing collaborative business functions. These applications are one of the main target of attackers who exploit vulnerabilities in order to perform malicious activities. The most prevalent classes of vulnerabilities are the consequence of insufficient validation of the user-provided input. However, the less-known class of logic vulnerabilities recently attracted the attention of researcher. According to the availability of software documentation, two testing techniques can be used: design verification via model checking, and black-box security testing. However, the former offers no support to test real implementations and the latter lacks the sophistication to detect logic flaws. In this thesis, we present two novel security testing techniques to detect logic flaws in multi-party business applicatons that tackle the shortcomings of the existing techniques. First, we present the verification via model checking of two security protocols. We then address the challenge of extending the results of the model checker to automatically test protocol implementations. Second, we present a novel black-box security testing technique that combines model inference, extraction of workflow and data flow patterns, and an attack pattern-based test case generation algorithm. Finally, we discuss the application of the technique developed in this thesis in an industrial setting. We used these techniques to discover previously-unknown design errors in SAML SSO and OpenID protocols, and ten logic vulnerabilities in eCommerce applications allowing an attacker to pay less or shop for free.

The Java collection framework introduces aliasing when objects are added to and accessed from collections. This thesis describes a list component implemented in Java that preserves unique references of objects in the list, thereby avoiding undesired aliasing. We compared the running time of our list with three other lists from Java collections (Java collection framework, Google, and Functional Java) in five different applications. We found that the performance of our list was usually slightly slower than the performance of the Java list, but often much faster than the Google and Functional Java lists. We also compared the reasoning complexity of our list with Java's list by creating tracing tables for a method from a towers-of-Hanoi application and comparing the number of tokens in the table using our list with the number of tokens in the table using the Java list. We found that the number of tokens in the tracing table using the Java list was much higher than the number of tokens in the table using our list. We argue that this result will occur in any table for applications that use mutable list objects. / Master of Science

In this paper, we present techniques for proving a group to be non-left-orderable or a unique product group. These methods involve the existence of a mapping from the group to R which obeys a left-multiplication criterion. By determining the existence or non-existence of such a mapping, the desired information about the group can be concluded. As examples, we apply this technique to groups of transformations in hyperbolic 2- and 3- space, and Fibonacci groups. / Master of Science

L’identité est un concept très complexe qui peut se décliner en quatre catégories : l’identité ethnique, l’identité culturelle, l’identité sociale et l’identité personnelle. Alors que l’identité ethnique sera difficilement changée, les trois autres catégories peuvent muter, peuvent se combiner à d’autres éléments, on parle d’hybridation de l’identité. L’identité hybride est une identité ayant plusieurs composantes et se présente en fonction de la situation vécue par une personne. Dany Laferrière nous montre une manifestation de cette identité hybride dans son ouvrage Comment faire l’amour avec un nègre sans se fatiguer. L’hybridité est constatée chez les jeunes filles blanches fréquentant les personnages noirs issus de la migration à Montréal. Elles bravent des interdits pour passer le temps avec ces personnages quitte à avoir une double vie, témoignant alors de la multiplicité de leurs identités en fonction de la situation.L’identité unique n’existe plus, mais pourra se manifester à l’issue d’interactions répétées formant alors une nouvelle identité. L’interculturel est alors à la base de l’identité hybride. Cette dernière ne pourra cependant être qu’éphémère. / The hybridity of the characters in the novel Comment faire l’amour avec un nègre sans se fatiguer by Dany LaferrièreIdentity is a very complex concept that can be broken down into four categories: ethnic identity, cultural identity, social identity and personal identity. While the ethnic identity will hardly be changed, the other three categories can mutate, can combine with other elements, we speak of hybridization of identity. Hybrid identity is an identity with several components and presents itself according to the situation experienced by a person. Dany Laferrière shows us a manifestation of this hybrid identity in his novel How to make love to a negro without getting tired. Hybridity is seen in young white girls dating black characters from migrant backgrounds in Montreal. They brave prohibitions to spend time with these characters even if it means having a double life, testifying then to the multiplicity of their identity depending on the situation.The single identity no longer exists, but may manifest itself at the end of repeated interactions then forming a new identity. Interculturality is therefore the basis of hybrid identity. The latter, however, can only be ephemeral.

Cette thèse est constituée de deux parties indépendantes. La première partie concerne l'étude des vecteurs propres de matrices aléatoires de type Wigner. Dans un premier temps, nous étudions la distribution des vecteurs propres de matrices de Wigner déformées, elles consistent en une perturbation d'une matrice de Wigner par une matrice diagonale déterministe. Si les deux matrices sont du même ordre de grandeur, il a été prouvé que les vecteurs propres se délocalisent complètement et les valeurs propres rentrent dans la classe d'universalité de Wigner-Dyson-Mehta. Nous étudions ici une phase intermédiaire où la perturbation déterministe domine l'aléa: les vecteurs propres ne sont pas totalement délocalisés alors que les valeurs propres restent universelles. Les entrées des vecteurs propres sont asymptotiquement gaussiennes avec une variance qui les localise dans une partie explicite du spectre. De plus, leur masse est concentrée autour de cette variance dans le sens d'une unique ergodicité quantique. Ensuite, nous étudions des corrélations de différents vecteur propres. Pour se faire, une nouvelle observable sur les moments de vecteurs propres du mouvement brownien de Dyson est étudiée. Elle suit une équation parabolique close qui est un pendant fermionique du flot des moments de vecteurs propres de Bourgade-Yau. En combinant l'étude de ces deux observables, il est possible d'analyser certaines corrélations.La deuxième partie concerne l'étude de la distribution des valeurs propres de modèles non-linéaires de matrices aléatoires. Ces modèles apparaissent dans l'étude de réseaux de neurones aléatoires et correspondent à une version non-linéaire de matrice de covariance dans le sens où une fonction non-linéaire, appelée fonction d'activation, est appliquée entrée par entrée sur la matrice. La distribution des valeurs propres convergent vers une distribution déterministe caractérisée par une équation auto-consistante de degré 4 sur sa transformée de Stieltjes. La distribution ne dépend de la fonction que sur deux paramètres explicites et pour certains choix de paramètres nous retrouvons la distribution de Marchenko-Pastur qui reste stable après passage sous plusieurs couches du réseau de neurones. / This thesis consists in two independent parts. The first part pertains to the study of eigenvectors of random matrices of Wigner-type. Firstly, we analyze the distribution of eigenvectors of deformed Wigner matrices which consist in a perturbation of a Wigner matrix by a deterministic diagonal matrix. If the two matrices are of the same order of magnitude, it was proved that eigenvectors are completely delocalized and eigenvalues belongs to the Wigner-Dyson-Mehta universality class. We study here an intermediary phase where the deterministic perturbation dominates the randomness of the Wigner matrix : eigenvectors are not completely delocalized but eigenvalues are still universal. The eigenvector entries are asymptotically Gaussian with a variance which localize them onto an explicit part of the spectrum. Moreover, their mass is concentrated around their variance in a sense of a quantum unique ergodicity property. Then, we consider correlations of different eigenvectors. To do so, we exhibit a new observable on eigenvector moments of the Dyson Brownian motion. It follows a closed parabolic equation which is a fermionic counterpart of the Bourgade-Yau eigenvector moment flow. By combining the study of these two observables, it becomes possible to study some eigenvector correlations.The second part concerns the study of eigenvalue distribution of nonlinear models of random matrices. These models appear in the study of random neural networks and correspond to a nonlinear version of sample covariance matrices in the sense that a nonlinear function, called the activation function, is applied entrywise to the matrix. The empirical eigenvalue distribution converges to a deterministic distribution characterized by a self-consistent equation of degree 4 followed by its Stieltjes transform. The distribution depends on the function only through two explicit parameters. For a specific choice of these parameters, we recover the Marchenko-Pastur distribution which stays stable after going through several layers of the network.

We study the existence of expander graphs with a focus on odd and unique expanders. The main goal is to describe configurations of arguments for which there is no infinite family of expanders. The most imporant result is that for every graph there is a nonempty subset of at most half of its vertices, such that every other vertex is connected at least twice to the subset or not connected to the subset at all. It follows that certain classes of unique expanders cannot exist. On the other hand we present some configurations for which there are families of expanders. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)

Le contrôle des propriétés et la maîtrise du couplage cohérent d'objets quantiques individuels dans une matrice solide sont un enjeu essentiel pour le développement de l'information quantique. Les centres colorés dans le diamant, équivalent aux molécules artificielles, présentent des caractéristiques qui sont très prometteuses pour la réalisation d'une telle application. Parmi les centres colorés, le centre NV (azote-lacune) est le plus intéressant, dû en particulier à sa grande photostabilité à température ambiante. Le travail de cette thèse est consacré à l'étude des propriétés optiques et électroniques des centres colorés NV à température ambiante. / Researches over the past decade in many fields of science, including physics, chemistry have initiated the dream of building computers that work according to the rules of quantum mechanics, and computer and quantum information have been proposed. The Nitrogen-Vacancy color center in diamond is one of the most promising candidate due to several advantages: no blinking and no photo bleach at room-temperature, single photon generation, electron spin manipulated with microwave and readout optically. This thesis concentrates on the study of optical and spin properties of NV color center.