Confrontés depuis plusieurs années à des mutations à la fois sociétales, technologiques, concurrentielles et juridiques, les établissements bancaires se voient dans la nécessité de revoir tant la stratégie d’implantation de leurs réseaux d’agences que le modèle de l’agence lui-même. Les banques coopératives sont particulièrement concernées par ce défi en ceci qu’elles ont construit leur modèle organisationnel sur un vaste réseau de caisses locales profondément enraciné dans les territoires. Touchées par un phénomène de banalisation résultant de l’hybridation progressive de leur modèle, elles aspirent aujourd’hui à reconquérir leur identité en inscrivant les sociétaires au coeur d’une relation bancaire articulant ancrage territorial et modernité. Nous nous interrogeons dès lors sur les déterminants de cette nouvelle relation de proximité en contexte bancaire coopératif. Pour ce faire, nous nous appuyons sur un cadre théorique articulé autour des théories de la proximité que nous confrontons à la réalité du terrain. Notre recherche nous amène à rencontrer des parties prenantes appartenant à la sphère locale (sociétaires, chargés de clientèle, administrateurs, directeurs de caisses) et au noyau stratégique (secrétaire général). Les résultats sont par ailleurs issus de l’analyse statistique d’un questionnaire administré à 982 jeunes sociétaires du Crédit Mutuel de Bretagne. Nous en venons finalement à défendre la thèse selon laquelle la complexification des attributs de la proximité doit amener le management à réinventer les relations entre les sociétaires et la banque de réseau traditionnelle tout en veillant à ne pas s’enfermer dans une logique d’isomorphisme institutionnel qui semble pourtant être déjà bien amorcée. / Facing for several years with societal, technological, competitive and legal mutations, banking institutions see the need to review both the strategy of their retail bank network implantation and the model of the branch itself. Cooperative banks are particularly concerned by this challenge in that they have built their organizational model on a vast network of local agencies deeply rooted in the territories. Affected by a phenomenon of banalization resulting from the progressive hybridization of their model, they aspire today to regain their identity by inscribing their members at the heart of a banking relationship centered on territorial anchoring and modernity. We are therefore pondering about the determinants of this new proximity relationship in a cooperative banking context. To do this, we rely on a theoretical framework articulated around the theories of proximity that we confront with the actual situation. Our research has brought us to meet stakeholders in the local sphere (members, collaborators, administrators and branches managers) and the strategic core (general secretary). The results are also derived from the statistical analysis of a questionnaire survey carried out among 982 young members of Crédit Mutuel de Bretagne. Finally, we argue that the complexity of the attributes of proximity must lead management to reinvent the relations between members and the traditional retail bank, while ensuring that they don’t lock themselves into an institutional isomorphism which seems to be already well underway.

The diploma thesis deals with the cooperation of universities and companies. The main aim was to analyze the spatial distribution of companies cooperating with research teams at the engineering faculties of universities in Ostrava, Liberec, Plzeň and Prague and to find out the spatial formula of the partners working with these faculties. The partial aim of the work was to identify the mechanisms behind cooperation and to analyze initiatives and activities supporting this cooperation. Last but not least, the work tried to find out which types of proximity play a role in establishing cooperation among academic staff and private enterprises. The theoretical framing of the thesis was based on the theory of regional innovation systems and the concepts of triple helix and knowledge bases. In order to obtain the necessary information, a number of interviews with academic staff were carried out. The results show the importance of geographical, institutional and cognitive and social proximity, which have an impact on the character of cooperation. The main finding is that a geographic distance has a major influence on the realization of contract research with engineering faculties. Key words: technology transfer, contractual research, cooperation, proximity

An understanding of the ecology and behavior of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) is necessary for proper conservation and management, especially in the face of emerging infectious diseases. The objectives of my study were to estimate juvenile survival, compare methods of quantifying contact rates (simultaneous GPS locations vs. proximity loggers [PLs]), and investigate the impact of group depopulation on contact rates of remnant adult female and juvenile deer. To achieve these goals, I captured, radiotracked, and monitored adult female and juvenile white-tailed deer in southern Illinois during 2011-2014. Survival analysis of juveniles revealed that main causes of mortality were capture related and predation, though some dead animals also showed signs of hemorrhagic disease. Comparison between simultaneous GPS locations and PLs showed evidence that deer coming within the general vicinity of each other are less likely to come in close contact if they are in neighboring social groups than deer whose home ranges overlap little, if at all. Finally, experimental removal of group members caused few if any remnant adult females to alter their contact rates or space-use, but caused remnant juveniles to have lower space-use fidelity compared to control deer and to increase their direct contact rates with other groups temporarily. Using these results, I discuss the large effects that severe weather events can have on juvenile survival, the importance of social structure on the potential transmission of disease agents among female and juvenile deer, and the difference between adult females and juvenile deer in their need for social interactions. My research provides ecologists, wildlife biologists, and managers with valuable information concerning the potential impacts of the environment, infectious diseases, and management strategies on white-tailed deer populations.

abstract: Node proximity measures are commonly used for quantifying how nearby or otherwise related to two or more nodes in a graph are. Node significance measures are mainly used to find how much nodes are important in a graph. The measures of node proximity/significance have been highly effective in many predictions and applications. Despite their effectiveness, however, there are various shortcomings. One such shortcoming is a scalability problem due to their high computation costs on large size graphs and another problem on the measures is low accuracy when the significance of node and its degree in the graph are not related. The other problem is that their effectiveness is less when information for a graph is uncertain. For an uncertain graph, they require exponential computation costs to calculate ranking scores with considering all possible worlds. In this thesis, I first introduce Locality-sensitive, Re-use promoting, approximate Personalized PageRank (LR-PPR) which is an approximate personalized PageRank calculating node rankings for the locality information for seeds without calculating the entire graph and reusing the precomputed locality information for different locality combinations. For the identification of locality information, I present Impact Neighborhood Indexing (INI) to find impact neighborhoods with nodes' fingerprints propagation on the network. For the accuracy challenge, I introduce Degree Decoupled PageRank (D2PR) technique to improve the effectiveness of PageRank based knowledge discovery, especially considering the significance of neighbors and degree of a given node. To tackle the uncertain challenge, I introduce Uncertain Personalized PageRank (UPPR) to approximately compute personalized PageRank values on uncertainties of edge existence and Interval Personalized PageRank with Integration (IPPR-I) and Interval Personalized PageRank with Mean (IPPR-M) to compute ranking scores for the case when uncertainty exists on edge weights as interval values. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Computer Science 2017

No description available.

Nous utilisons un microscope combinant microscopie à force atomique (AFM) et microscopie à effet tunnel (STM) à très basse température (~100 mK) afin d'étudier des nanocircuits mésoscopiques. Pour effectuer l'AFM dans ces conditions, nous utilisons un diapason en quartz recouvert de deux électrodes sur l'une desquelles est collée la pointe. Lorsque le diapason vibre on peut alors localiser en AFM un échantillon conducteur sur un substrat isolant, puis stopper les vibration pour réaliser des spectroscopies tunnel le long de la partie conductrice. Nous utilisons des pointes de platine-iridium ce qui nous permet de mesurer la densité d'états électronique locale. Nous nous sommes intéressés aux jonctions Josephson hybrides composées d'un îlot d'environ 1 µm de métal normal (cuivre) séparant deux supraconducteurs (aluminium). Ces échantillons sont réalisées par lithographie électronique et évaporation sous angle.Les courbes courant-tension de ces jonctions deviennent hystérétiques à très basse température ce qui est vraisemblablement dû à la dissipation thermique dans la partie normale. Nous avons pu localiser de manière fiable des échantillons uniques et effectuer simultanément des mesures en transport et des spectroscopies locales. Nous avons vu que la densité d'états du supraconducteur varie continuement à proximité du métal normal. Nous avons également observé un chauffage du supraconducteur avec le courant traversant la jonction. La mesure de la densité d'états du supraconducteur permet alors d'estimer la température électronique dans l'échantillon. La comparaison avec notre modèle thermique montre que l'énergie thermique produite dans le métal normal semble être évacuée mieux que prévu. / We use a microscope combining atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) at very low temperature (~100 mK) to study mesoscopic nanocircuits. To perform AFM measurements, we use quartz tuning forks covered with metallic electrodes on which we glue the tip. By using the tuning fork as a dynamic force sensor, we can localize the sample. Then, switching off the oscillation, we can perform local spectroscopies along the conductive part. We use platinum-iridium coated tips to measure the local density of states. This work is focused on hybrid Josephson junctions composed of a normal metal (copper) island of approximately 1 µm separating two superconductors (aluminium). These samples are made by electronic lithography and shadow evaporation.The current-voltage characteristics of these junctions become hysteretic at very low temperature because of thermal dissipation in the normal part. We achieved the localization of a unique sample and performed simultaneously transport measurements and local spectroscopies. We observed that the density of states of the superconductor varies continuously close to the normal metal. We also observed heating in the superconductor when the junction is current biased. The measure of the density of states of the superconductors gives an estimation of the electronic temperature in the sample. The comparison with our thermal model shows that the energy produced in the normal metal seems to be evacuated better than expected.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:24:02Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2010-09-17Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T20:11:46Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 meneghetti_dp_me_bauru.pdf: 6651329 bytes, checksum: b5c6b95bea053ee018d2f506f3a685a3 (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Esta pesquisa é dedicada à relação entre proximidade e afastamento, provacada pelas imagens da mídia, por meio dos vínculos que tais superfícies produzem na mediação entre homem e mundo, e entre homem e a própria mídia. Com o objetivo de colaborar com a ampliação do estatuto epistemológico do jornalismo visual, este estudo considera que os sentidos produzidos pela informação visual são componentes importantes na construção discursiva das notícias. Por ser uma relação binária, polar e assimétrica, proximidade e afastamento atribuem à comunicação imagética cargas ora positivas, ora negativas, de acordo com sua configuração e contexto. A partir dessa dicotomia, serão analisadas diferentes formas de utilização das imagens no jornalismo brasileiro, especialmente nos suportes impressos e on-line, de acordo com estratégias discursivas que permitem aproximar ou afastar o observador da informação ou da própria midia. A construção teórica e conceitual do trabalho forma-se, principalmente, a partir dos estudos do teórico da mídia Harry Pross (sobre a teoria relacional dos signos e estrutura simbólica do poder), do filósofo Vilém Flusser (ao tratar sobre as formas de leitura das imagens), entre outros autores como Hans Belting, Dietmar Kamper e, do Brasil, Norval Baitello Junior, Malena Segura Contrera e Luciano Guimarães / This research is dedicated to the relationship between proximity and remoteness, caused by media imagens, through the ties that such surfaces produce in the mediation between man and world, and between man and the media itself. The purpose of the research is support the epistemological expansion of visual journalism and it considers that the senses produced by the visual information are important in the discursive news construction. Proximity and remoteness have a binary, polar and asymmetric relation and because of this it attaches to imagery communication sometimes positive and sometimes negative load, according to its configuration and context. Different ways of using images in Brasilian journalism from this dichotomy will be analyzed, particularly in printed and online media. This will be according to the discursive strategies that allow the viewer zoom in or out of the information or the media itself. The theoretical and conepctual construction of work is mainly created from the media studies theorist Harry Poss (about the relational theory of signs and symbolic structure of power). It's also created from the philosopher Vilém Flusser (on how to handle the reading of images), besides other authors such as Hans Belting, Dietmar Kamper and, of Brazil, Norval Baitello Junior, Malena Segura Contrera and Luciano Guimarães

Orientador: Luciano Guimarães / Banca: Mauro de Souza Ventura / Banca: Alberto Carlos Augusto Klein / Resumo: Esta pesquisa é dedicada à relação entre proximidade e afastamento, provacada pelas imagens da mídia, por meio dos vínculos que tais superfícies produzem na mediação entre homem e mundo, e entre homem e a própria mídia. Com o objetivo de colaborar com a ampliação do estatuto epistemológico do jornalismo visual, este estudo considera que os sentidos produzidos pela informação visual são componentes importantes na construção discursiva das notícias. Por ser uma relação binária, polar e assimétrica, proximidade e afastamento atribuem à comunicação imagética cargas ora positivas, ora negativas, de acordo com sua configuração e contexto. A partir dessa dicotomia, serão analisadas diferentes formas de utilização das imagens no jornalismo brasileiro, especialmente nos suportes impressos e on-line, de acordo com estratégias discursivas que permitem aproximar ou afastar o observador da informação ou da própria midia. A construção teórica e conceitual do trabalho forma-se, principalmente, a partir dos estudos do teórico da mídia Harry Pross (sobre a teoria relacional dos signos e estrutura simbólica do poder), do filósofo Vilém Flusser (ao tratar sobre as formas de leitura das imagens), entre outros autores como Hans Belting, Dietmar Kamper e, do Brasil, Norval Baitello Junior, Malena Segura Contrera e Luciano Guimarães / Abstract: This research is dedicated to the relationship between proximity and remoteness, caused by media imagens, through the ties that such surfaces produce in the mediation between man and world, and between man and the media itself. The purpose of the research is support the epistemological expansion of visual journalism and it considers that the senses produced by the visual information are important in the discursive news construction. Proximity and remoteness have a binary, polar and asymmetric relation and because of this it attaches to imagery communication sometimes positive and sometimes negative load, according to its configuration and context. Different ways of using images in Brasilian journalism from this dichotomy will be analyzed, particularly in printed and online media. This will be according to the discursive strategies that allow the viewer zoom in or out of the information or the media itself. The theoretical and conepctual construction of work is mainly created from the media studies theorist Harry Poss (about the relational theory of signs and symbolic structure of power). It's also created from the philosopher Vilém Flusser (on how to handle the reading of images), besides other authors such as Hans Belting, Dietmar Kamper and, of Brazil, Norval Baitello Junior, Malena Segura Contrera and Luciano Guimarães / Mestre

abstract: The widespread adoption of mobile devices gives rise to new opportunities and challenges for authentication mechanisms. Many traditional authentication mechanisms become unsuitable for smart devices. For example, while password is widely used on computers as user identity authentication, inputting password on small smartphone screen is error-prone and not convenient. In the meantime, there are emerging demands for new types of authentication. Proximity authentication is an example, which is not needed for computers but quite necessary for smart devices. These challenges motivate me to study and develop novel authentication mechanisms specific for smart devices. In this dissertation, I am interested in the special authentication demands of smart devices and about to satisfy the demands. First, I study how the features of smart devices affect user identity authentications. For identity authentication domain, I aim to design a continuous, forge-resistant authentication mechanism that does not interrupt user-device interactions. I propose a mechanism that authenticates user identity based on the user's finger movement patterns. Next, I study a smart-device-specific authentication, proximity authentication, which authenticates whether two devices are in close proximity. For prox- imity authentication domain, I aim to design a user-friendly authentication mechanism that can defend against relay attacks. In addition, I restrict the authenticated distance to the scale of near field, i.e., a few centimeters. My first design utilizes a user's coherent two-finger movement on smart device screen to restrict the distance. To achieve a fully-automated system, I explore acoustic communications and propose a novel near field authentication system. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Computer Science 2014

abstract: A series of Molybdenum-Copper bilayers were studied for use in 120mK superconducting transition edge sensors for spectrometer applications. The Transition temperature (T_C) was tuned to the desired temperature using the proximity effect, by adjusting the thickness of a normal copper layer in direct contact with the superconducting molybdenum layer in a proximitized bilayer structure. The bilayers have a fixed normal metal thickness d_Cu=1250 Å, on top of a variable superconductor thickness 650 Å ≤ d_Mo ≤ 1000 Å. Material characterization techniques including X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Rutherford Backscattering Spectroscopy (RBS), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), and 4-point electrical characterization are used to characterize the films. Film TC are compared with the results of the Usadel proximity theory. The results of RBS analysis demonstrated that some Argon-contamination is observed at the Mo film-substrate interface, which correlates with bilayer surface roughness (as observed with AFM), reduced crystalline quality (via XRD Rocking Curve), and a deviation from the theoretical expected TC for a bilayer. The Argon contamination is presumably the cause of interface roughness, reducing the interface transmission coefficient in the Usadel model, and producing the discrepancy from the expected TC. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Materials Science and Engineering 2014