The impact of a pipeline by a dropped object has been considered to consist of four distinct impact components: the dropped object, pipeline protection, the soil bed and the pipeline itself. The effect of these components as energy absorbers and the effect on system response has been investigated. Quasi-static and dynamic testing has been earned out to investigate the interaction between the various impact components. Quasi-static testing has been widely used to develop initial predictions, since closer observation of interaction is easier. The validity of applying these predictions to dynamic situations has been addressed using results from dynamic impact testing. The Dropped Object: Two areas have been investigated which address the dropped object within the impact system: the dropped object's impact profile and its deformability. Testing has been carried out to study the effect of typical loading profiles. Research has shown that the dropped object profile significantly effects the pipe response; a cone shaped indentor generates deformation with far less energy than either a wedge or a patch shape. The applicability of a method to predict the interaction between two deforming structures, using a method of shared energy, has been investigated for quasi-static and dynamic loading. During quasi-static testing it was found possible to predict a combined response using individual responses. During dynamic testing prediction was not possible, since inertia effects where found to dominate the response. The Concrete Protective Coating: A programme of work carried out has qualified the role of a pipeline protective coating and assessed the effect of four different types of concrete reinforcement. Summary Although the study has not been exhaustive, it is clear that reinforcements, which hold the concrete coating to the pipe, allow the coating to continue its protection. Fibres added to a concrete mix were found to reduce the damage to the pipe. However mesh reinforcements were found to hold the concrete together most effectively and provided the greatest added protection. The Soil Support: All foundations absorb some energy. Tests have been carried out to investigate the effect of a soil bed on the response of a laterally loaded pipeline. During dynamic tests on sand supported pipes it was noted that no energy was absorbed during the initial deformation, possibly corresponding to local indentation of the pipe wall. After this the sand was seen to react and absorbed a proportion of the energy, depending on the hammer's drop height. The energy absorbed by the soil continued to increase until an energy plateau was reached, after which the soil absorbed no further energy. It was noted that the displacement at which this energy plateau was reached increased as the drop height increased. Two possible causes of the energy plateau have been discussed. The first cause questioned an assumption that the pipe would deform as if on simple supports. The second possible cause suggested a change from dynamic to quasi-static response and investigated the relationship between acceleration, velocity and reaction force. Of the possible causes of the energy plateau, the most likely is thought to be soil related. Investigation into the Deformation of Locally Loaded Pipes: The investigation into pipeline deformation has been carried out using experimental, numerical and theoretical analysis methods. Quasi-static test results have been used to investigate four pipeline parameters and their influence on energy absorbed by the pipeline, (length, L, wall thickness, t, diameter, D and material yield stress, ay). This investigation led to an empirical equation, which brought all energy-displacement (E-8) curves on to a common curve, for a wide range of these variables. This empirical relationship has been developed to predict deformation, for the range of parameters investigated. Dynamic results obtained were normalised using these empirical equations and data was seen to fall into two broad groups, one group comprising seam welded pipe and one group comprising cold drawn pipe. Strain rate effects were proposed as the most likely cause of this bi-grouping. Limitations in the experimentally derived empirical relationship have been identified, resulting from an insufficient range of pipe samples tested.

Les données personnelles sont omniprésentes sur internet et leur importance économique est croissante. Pour les services de la société de l’information tels que les moteurs de recherche, les réseaux sociaux ou les sites de vente en ligne, elles sont devenues indispensables. Ces services apparaissent comme essentiellement gratuits pour les utilisateurs mais ont en réalité un modèle économique particulier : la monétisation des données personnelles des utilisateurs, en échange d’un accès gratuit. Le texte originel de la loi du 6 janvier 1978, dite « Informatique et Libertés », est le texte de référence en matière de protection des données à caractère personnel et permet d’assurer une protection étendue des données. Fondée par le principe du droit à l’autodétermination, cette loi permet d’assurer un traitement des données à caractère personnel, dans le respect du droit à la vie privée. Néanmoins, la loi dite « Informatique et Libertés » originelle ne prenait pas en compte l’apparition des nouveaux traitements de données sensibles en dehors du domaine médical. La directive Européenne 95/46/CE fait un apport, notamment en matière de protection des données biométriques. Cependant, on assiste au développement de nouvelles technologies qui permettent la collecte d’un nouveau type de données personnelles se rattachant à une personne et permettant son identification. Celles-ci sortent du cadre réglementé du cabinet médical. Les nouvelles technologies de l’information font apparaître un nouveau type de données difficile à définir. Ces nouveaux types d’informations sur la santé, générées et collectées directement par la personne concernée, font également l’objet de nombreux travaux au niveau européen. En effet, le Parlement Européen et le Conseil de l’Europe ont voté un nouveau Règlement visant à renforcer le cadre juridique en matière de circulation et de protection des données à caractère personnel. Le renforcement de la protection des données personnelles et des données de santé fait également l’objet d’un projet de loi, présenté par la secrétaire au gouvernement A. Lemaire, qui vise à développer une « république numérique ». Ce projet a notamment pour objectif de renforcer certains principes fondamentaux comme le droit d’accès ou le droit à l’information. Il développe un nouveau concept comme « l’habeas corpus numérique » qui vise à renforcer les prérogatives de chaque utilisateur et à maîtriser davantage les données personnelles, notamment dans le domaine de la santé. / Personal data is omnipresent on the internet and their economic importance is growing. For the information society services such as search engines, social networks, or online shopping sites, they have become indispensable. These services appear as essentially free for users, but actually have a particular economic model: the monetization of personal data of users in exchange for free access. The new data processing necessity an original governance by law.

The deciphering of the human genetic code in 2003 has been widely acknowledged as a major achievement in genetic science but it has given rise to a number of legal and ethical concerns, most notably that of the protection of genetic information. Universally, there are ongoing attempts to address this concern. This research proposes a suitable approach for South African law. It proceeds from the premise that the privacy paradigm, rather than the anti-discrimination paradigm, is better suited to the protection of genetic information, hence the discourse on genetic privacy. The unique challenges posed by genetic information are identified, with a focus on forensic DNA databases, genetic research databases, life insurance, employment, and genetic research involving human participants. An in-depth analysis of the South African privacy protection framework is undertaken in order to determine its adequacy for the purpose of meeting the legal and ethical demands of genetic information. Aspects of the law of privacy, insurance, labour, evidence; medical law; philosophy and bioethics are accordingly traversed. A cross-jurisdictional review is undertaken with the aim of identifying lessons to be learnt from the experiences of the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, and the United States of America. Legislation, common law, codes of practice, court decisions, international conventions, legal literature, ethical guidelines, and industry developments pertaining to the selected jurisdictions, are studied with the aim of identifying strengths and weaknesses in the various approaches. It is found that the current South African position is fragmented, complex, and in urgent need of reform. Another finding is that existing national and international ethical guidelines are not entirely adequate for the protection of genetic privacy. These findings, together with the lessons gleaned from the cross-jurisdictional review, lead to the conclusion that South Africa needs a specific genetic information protection statute for the protection of genetic privacy. This research culminates with recommendations regarding the content of the proposed statute.

Les inventions liées à des ordinateurs pénètrent pratiquement tous les domaines de la technologie. Dans la plupart des cas, ces inventions concernent une nouvelle fonctionnalité à exécuter au moyen d’un ordinateur ou autre dispositif programmable comme les procédés de cryptage de données qui rendent les communications plus sûres, la commande de véhicules par des procédés modernes d’injection de carburant ou encore, l’assistance à la conduite d’un véhicule permettant de répondre à une situation dangereuse. Avec l’adoption de la loi n° 85-660 du 3 juillet 1985 et de la directive 91/250/CEE du Conseil du 14 mai 1991, c’est une protection par le droit d’auteur qui a été instituée en France et au niveau européen. Cette forme de protection n’est toutefois pas optimale en matière de logiciel dans la mesure où les moyens d’atteindre un résultat technique ne peuvent être protégés. Le constat que nous pouvons faire actuellement est celui d’une situation ambigüe. D’un côté, les articles L. 611-10 du Code de la propriété intellectuelle et 52 de la Convention sur le brevet européen considèrent que les programmes d’ordinateurs sont exclus de la qualification d’invention lorsqu’ils sont considérés en tant que tels. De l’autre, les tribunaux français et les chambres de recours techniques de l’OEB reconnaissent une protection des programmes d’ordinateurs par le droit des brevets dès lors qu’ils réalisent l’obtention d’un effet technique. Une évolution des dispositions françaises et européennes sur la protection des programmes d’ordinateurs semble nécessaire afin d’apporter plus de clarté et de sécurité juridique pour l’ensemble des acteurs. / The protection of software is currently quite a controversial issue. In France, software as such is only able to be protected by copyright. At a European level, the tendency is to accept the protection of software through patent law in some cases. With this in mind, the European Commission has submitted a draft Directive on the patentability of software. However, this project has met with very strong opposition from the partisans of free software. There is therefore a distortion of case law between the French judge and the European judge on the patentability of software. It is also interesting to compare this distortion with the software protection system in the United States, which accepts its protection via patent law. A legal discussion is therefore required on this subject, with a view to harmonisation of the protection systems in a context of globalisation. To do this, the meaning of “software” and “patentable invention” must be defined much more precisely, and it must be determined whether the conditions of patentability (novelty, inventive activity, industrial application) in France and in Europe are transposable to software. Moreover, within the framework of a comparative study, we should take inspiration from the legislation and case law of the United States.

Due to legal uncertainty surrounding the application of key provisions of European and UK data protection law, the public interest in protecting individuals’ informational privacy is routinely neglected, as are the public interests in certain uses of data. Consent or anonymisation are often treated as the paradigmatic example of compliance with data protection law, even though both are unable to attend to the full range of rights and interests at stake in data processing. Currently, where data processing may serve a realisable public interest, and consent or anonymisation are impracticable (if not impossible to obtain) the public interest conditions to processing are the rational alternative justifications for processing. However, the public interest conditions are poorly defined in the legislation, and misunderstood and neglected in practice. This thesis offers a much-needed alternative to the predominant consent-or-anonymise paradigm by providing a new understanding of the public interest concept in data protection law and to suggest a new approach to deploying the concept in a way that is consistent with the protective and facilitative aims of the legislation. Through undertaking legislative analysis new insight is provided on the purpose of the public interest conditions in data protection law, revealing critical gaps in understanding. By engaging with public interest theory and discovering the conceptual contours of the public interest, these gaps are addressed. Combined with the insight obtained from the legislative history, we can determine the reasonable range of circumstances and types of processing where it may be justifiable to use personal data based on the public interest. On this basis, and to develop a new approach for deploying the concept, other legal uses of the public interest are examined. The lessons learned suggest legislative and procedural elements that are critical to successful deployment of the public interest concept in data protection. The thesis concludes with the identification of key components to allow a clearer understanding of the public interest in this field. Further, these insights enable recommendations to be made, to reform the law, procedure and guidance. In doing so, the concept of the public interest can be confidently deployed in line with the aims of data protection law, to both protect and facilitate the use of personal data.

This thesis analyses issues related to aid in Ethiopia and provision of elder care in the US. The first essay assesses the targeting of two major aid interventions, public works and food aid. Both types of aid are primarily allocated through community-based targeting. The few studies that have analysed the accuracy of aid targeting in Ethiopia have shown biases along demography, geography and political affiliations lines. With the introduction in 2005 of the Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP), a major social protection programme, several administrative guidelines were introduced aimed at improving targeting. This paper uses the last two rounds of the Ethiopian Rural Household Survey to investigate whether there were changes in both targeting determinants, and amount received for PSNP public works and food aid components from 2004 to 2009. Overall, the PSNP appears to be allocated on the basis of observable-poverty-related characteristics, and food aid on household demographics. In addition, results suggest for both PSNP and food aid beneficiaries, political connections are significant in determining receipt of the program in 2004, but no longer in 2009, indicating an improvement towards means-based targeting. The second essay investigates the long-term effectiveness of emergency aid in Ethiopia in pro- tecting child health from the negative effects of a severe drought that hit the country in 2011. Child malnutrition remains a critical issue in Ethiopia and the literature has shown that shocks can have long lasting effects on physical and cognitive development. Using the two rounds of the Ethiopian Rural Socioeconomic Survey (ERSS) collected in 2011 and 2013, I explore the impact of emergency aid on child height-for-age aged 0-36 months two years after the drought had occurred. Because aid was not randomly allocated, I use a matching estimator to account for selection into the programme. The results show that emergency aid was effective in protecting children that experienced the drought. In the last essay, I research the effects of kindergarten eligibility on the provision of elder care in the US. I am able to identify the trade-off between child care and elder care by exploiting age eligibility criterion for public kindergarten, in combination with state-level variation, in the provision of full-time kindergarten. Through a reduced form approach, I estimate the Intention to Treat (ITT) for the effect of eligibility to kindergarten on provision of elder care. The results show that having the youngest child aged 5 in states that offer full-time kindergarten increases the probability of providing elder care by around 9 percentage points, which corresponds to 63 percentage increase to the baseline. The effect is higher for females (9.2) than for males (8.1).

The use of community-based participatory research (CBPR) methods to conduct environmental exposure assessments provides valuable insight about disparities in fish consumption and contaminant exposure. Ninety-five community-specific fish consumption surveys were administered to low-income African American women (ages 16--49) residing in the Southeast community of Newport News, Virginia, USA, in 2008. The mean fish consumption rate for the women surveyed was 147.8 g/day (95% CI: 117.6-185.8), a rate substantially higher than the mean fish consumption rate reported for U.S. women (1.8 g/day 95% CI: 1.51-2.04). Through collaborative partnerships established between current researchers and The Moton Community House (a local community center), African American women (ages 16--49 yrs) from the same community were surveyed in 2010 to assess the reproducibility and consistency of fish consumption patterns (ingestion rates, exposure frequencies, weight, and fish consumption rates), and the reliability of the survey responses. Fish consumption patterns were reproducible and the survey responses were reliable. Comparison between years revealed that fish consumption patterns remained consistent over time. In addition, the high fish consumption rate estimated in 2008 was reaffirmed in 2010 with a rate (134.9 g/day; 95% CI: 88--207 g/day) not materially different and still considerably higher than mean fish consumption rates reported for U.S. women. Daily mercury intake rates were estimated using consumption data from 2008 and three consumption scenarios (canned white, canned light, and no tuna) due to confirmed differences in mercury concentration between canned white and light tuna. Arithmetic mean daily mercury intake rates were 0.284 ug/kg-bw/day (95% CI: 0.229 - 0.340 ug/kg-bw/day) using canned white tuna, 0.212 ug/kg-bw/day (95% CI: 0.165 - 0.259 ug/kg-bw/day) using light tuna, and 0.197 ug/kg-bw/day (95% CI: 0.151 - 0.243 ug/kg-bw/day) using no tuna. Probabilistic estimations of dietary mercury exposure for African American women (ages 16--49) from the Southeast Community were generated and compared to point estimates. Four different consumption scenarios were assumed, representing 1) no, 2) light, 3) both light and white, and 4) white tuna consumption. The probabilistic models generated lower dietary mercury intake rates than the point estimations, under these consumption scenarios. Arithmetic mean daily mercury intake rates (95% Cl) for the probabilistic models were 0.149 (+/-0.003), 0.148 (+/-0.003), 0.172 (+/-0.004), and 0.202 (+/-0.004) ug/kg-bw/day, respectively for no, light, both, and white tuna consumption. Reducing the amount of fish consumed in probabilistic models resulted in lower dietary mercury exposures for each consumption scenario. at a rate that was a quarter of what was normally consumed, the percentages of exposures that exceeded the US EPA's oral RfD for mercury were 14%, 13%, 18%, and 25% respectively for no, light, both, and white tuna consumption. In this community we learned that even though African American women in Southeast Newport News, Virginia are not subsistence fishers, they consume seafood at a subsistence fisher rate. In addition, estimates of dietary mercury exposure were high enough to warrant concern.

This project tested the hypothesis that non-experts' rankings of ergonomic stressors differ from those of health professionals. Tennessee ranks fifth in the production of tomatoes, an industry in which stoop labor, hand harvesting, and packing predominate. Specific parts of tomato workers' bodies are at risk of ergonomic injury such as, shoulders (loads), backs (stoop labor), lower extremities (posture), and upper extremities (repetitive motion). Of equal importance is our expectation that the scores assigned by non-experts will correlate with those of experts, leading to a community consensus for action and practical intervention research. Video footage of harvesting and sorting was analyzed using the Rapid Entire Body Assessment method, revealing movements and postures likely to be injurious. A panel of 13 health professionals (“experts”) and industry personnel (“non-experts”) were assembled to rate job task video segments in tomato harvesting and packing using the REBA method. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to analyze the extent to which raters agree on the major body parts at risk of cumulative trauma disorders. Agreement and variation among professional groups, as well as intra-rater variability, were assessed . The possibility of achieving consensus among various professional groups with respect to the most dangerous tasks is discussed.

Le débat portant sur la relation entre la protection des droits de l'homme et la protection des investissements étrangers n’est pas nouveau. Quand cette dernière et la protection des droits de l'homme des peuples locaux s'opposent, quelle solution le régime du droit de l'investissement devrait-il proposer? Est-il possible d'inclure la protection des droits de l'homme des investisseurs étrangers dans le régime du droit international de l'investissement? Il faudrait trouver le moyen de rendre le régime du droit international de l'investissement compatible avec le régime du droit international des droits de l'homme. C'est le problème principal que cette thèse souhaite traiter. Je propose d'inclure la protection des droits de l'homme par le biais de la clause du traitement juste et équitable (TJE) dans les TBI. Le sens littéral du TJE est de donner aux investisseurs étrangers le traitement qu'ils méritent. Cela veut dire que l'on ne devrait leur donner ni plus ni moins que ce qu'ils méritent. On leur donne plus quand leur investissement est protégé sans que l'on accorde l'attention qui lui revient à la protection des droits de l'homme des peuples locaux. En même temps, les investisseurs étrangers méritent un environnement d'investissement dans lequel leurs droits de l'homme sont respectés. Pour l'argument de la cohérence, on a pu voir que le TJE était en général la mise en œuvre de l'état de droit. Les investisseurs étrangers méritent un environnement d'investissement où l'état de droit existe. L'état de droit inclut la protection des droits de l'homme. Les investisseurs étrangers méritent un environnement d'investissement où les droits de l'homme sont protégés. / The relationship between human rights protection and foreign investment protection has been an issue that has been widely discussed. When the foreign investment protection and the human rights protection of local people conflicts, how should the investment law regime solve the problem? Moreover, is it possible that foreign investors' human rights protection be included in the international investment law regime? The international investment law regime should find a way to make itself compatible with international human rights law regime. The aforementioned is the major issue that this thesis intends to address. I have proposed to include human rights protection through the fair and equitable treatment (FET) clause in BITs. The literal meaning of FET is to give foreign investors the treatment that they deserve. This means that foreign investors should not be given neither less than they deserve, nor more than they deserve. Foreign investors were given more than they deserve when their investment were protected without giving due regard to local people's human rights protection. Meanwhile, foreign investors deserve an investment environment where their human rights are protected. For the coherence argument, FET is generally the implementation of the rule of law. In its interpretation, there is a presupposed warrant. The warrant is "foreign investors deserve an investment environment where rule of law is implemented." Foreign investors deserve an investment environment where rule of law is implemented. Rule of law includes the protection of human rights. Foreign investors therefore deserve an investment environment where the protection of human rights is implemented.

Corrosion can take place as chloride ions accumulate above a critical concentration (CT) at the surface of a reinforcing bar inside concrete in marine service. The initiation of corrosion can be delayed by polarizing the steel cathodically, which is known to increase the value of CT. That effect is the basis of the cathodic prevention (CPrev) method to control corrosion of reinforcing steel in concrete. However, concrete cracks are a common occurrence and at cracks, the buildup of chloride ions is accelerated to the extent that CPrev may be less effective. The findings from an ongoing investigation to determine the effectiveness of cathodic prevention on cracked concrete exposed to a marine environment are presented. Experiments were conducted on reinforced concrete blocks with controlled-width cracks placed along the length of a central reinforcing steel bar. A ponding area on top of each specimen allowed for cyclic exposure to a 5% NaCl solution to imitate a marine environment. Crack widths ranging from 0.01 inch to 0.04 inch and polarization levels ranging from -330 mV to -540 mV were used. The onset of corrosion as a function of time of exposure was determined by measurements of the cathodic current demand needed to reach each target polarization level. The ranking of time to onset of corrosion was used as an indicator to determine how much cathodic prevention is necessary to effectively extend the life of cracked concrete. Results to date suggest that a minimum cathodic polarization level in the range of -540 mV would be needed.