Bakgrund. Transpersoners hälsa och välbefinnande är ett område som fått en ökad uppmärksamhet. Trots framsteg inom den psykologiska och medicinska behandlingen har många psykisk ohälsa och har ett stort lidande. Det saknas forskning som fokuserar på de specifika behov som transkvinnor upplever. Genom att förstå deras perspektiv och erfarenheter kan forskning bidrag till en bättre förståelse för hur vården skall utformas. Syfte: Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka hälsorelaterad livskvalitet och könskongruens bland transkvinnor som genomgått könsbekräftande vaginalplastik. Syftet är även att undersöka huruvida ifall förekomst av psykisk sjukdom påverkar livskvalitet och könskongruens. Metod: Kvantitativ metod via datainsamling av enkäter har använts. Två enkäter har använts RAND-36, ett patient-rapporterat utfallsmått (PROM) som mäter hälsorelaterad livskvalitet samt GCLS som är avsedd att mäta könskongruens hos transpersoner. En gruppjämförelse genomfördes mellan deltagare som uppgett förekomst av psykisk sjukdom och de som inte uppgett någon förekomst. Detta analyserades med ett MannWhitney U test och effektstorlek (Cohen’s) beräknades. Resultat: I resultatet framkom att deltagarna skattar sin fysiska och sociala livskvalité som mycket god. Upplevd könskongruens var mycket god, särskilt inom området psykiskt välbefinnande och könsorgan. Andra sekundära könskarakteristiska skattades som det lägsta området inom könskongruens. Deltagare som rapporterade psykisk sjukdom skattade sin hälsorelaterade livskvalitet och könskongruens lägre än de deltagare som inte hade någon psykisk sjukdom. Diskussion/slutsats: Transkvinnor som genomgått könsbekräftande vaginalplastik har god hälsorelaterad livskvalitet och könskongruens men att psykisk sjukdom kan påverka utfallet. Vidare forskning med före- och eftermätningar behövs för att utvärdera vilken effekt vaginalplastik har på livskvalitet och könskongruens bland personer med könsdysfori.

Water is a symbol of life. It affects all organisms on earth and its importance is emphasised in times of drought. The human population growth places more demands on our natural resources. As pressures on the available water increases, more measures are required to utilise water sustainably. South Africa is classified as a water stressed country with less than 1700 cubic meters of water available per person per year. Rand Water supplies water to approximately 11 million people in Gauteng. During times of drought, restrictions imposed are aimed mainly at the broader Green Industry. This research investigated international strategies, existing restrictions in Gauteng, and undertook a survey within the Green Industry to determine the most appropriate response. This research proposes a new water supply shortage response plan for Rand Water in Gauteng with a total of four levels of restrictions implemented at different stages of water stress in the system. / Environmental Sciences / M. Sc. (Environmental Management)

Cette thèse est consacrée au problème de la comparaison de deux partitions non strictes (floues/probabilistes, possibilistes) d’un même ensemble d’individus en plusieurs clusters. Sa résolution repose sur la définition formelle de mesures de concordance reprenant les principes des mesures historiques développées pour la comparaison de partitions strictes et trouve son application dans des domaines variés tels que la biologie, le traitement d’images, la classification automatique. Selon qu’elles s’attachent à observer les relations entre les individus décrites par chacune des partitions ou à quantifier les similitudes entre les clusters qui composent ces partitions, nous distinguons deux grandes familles de mesures pour lesquelles la notion même d’accord entre partitions diffère, et proposons d’en caractériser les représentants selon un même ensemble de propriétés formelles et informelles. De ce point de vue, les mesures sont aussi qualifiées selon la nature des partitions comparées. Une étude des multiples constructions sur lesquelles reposent les mesures de la littérature vient compléter notre taxonomie. Nous proposons trois nouvelles mesures de comparaison non strictes tirant profit de l’état de l’art. La première est une extension d’une approche stricte tandis que les deux autres reposent sur des approches dite natives, l’une orientée individus, l’autre orientée clusters, spécifiquement conçues pour la comparaison de partitions non strictes. Nos propositions sont comparées à celles de la littérature selon un plan d’expérience choisi pour couvrir les divers aspects de la problématique. Les résultats présentés montrent l’intérêt des propositions pour le thème de recherche qu’est la comparaison de partitions. Enfin, nous ouvrons de nouvelles perspectives en proposant les prémisses d’un cadre qui unifie les principales mesures non strictes orientées individus. / This thesis is dedicated to the problem of comparing two soft (fuzzy/ probabilistic, possibilistic) partitions of a same set of individuals into several clusters. Its solution stands on the formal definition of concordance measures based on the principles of historical measures developped for comparing strict partitions and can be used invarious fields such as biology, image processing and clustering. Depending on whether they focus on the observation of the relations between the individuals described by each partition or on the quantization of the similarities between the clusters composing those partitions, we distinguish two main families for which the very notion of concordance between partitions differs, and we propose to characterize their representatives according to a same set of formal and informal properties. From that point of view, the measures are also qualified according to the nature of the compared partitions. A study of the multiple constructions on which the measures of the literature lie completes our taxonomy. We propose three new soft comparison measures taking benefits of the state of art. The first one is an extension of a strict approach, while the two others lie on native approaches, one individual-wise oriented, the other cluster-wise, both specifically defined to compare soft partitions. Our propositions are compared to the existing measures of the literature according to a set of experimentations chosen to cover the various issues of the problem. The given results clearly show how relevant our measures are. Finally we open new perspectives by proposing the premises of a new framework unifying most of the individual-wise oriented measures.

Water is a symbol of life. It affects all organisms on earth and its importance is emphasised in times of drought. The human population growth places more demands on our natural resources. As pressures on the available water increases, more measures are required to utilise water sustainably. South Africa is classified as a water stressed country with less than 1700 cubic meters of water available per person per year. Rand Water supplies water to approximately 11 million people in Gauteng. During times of drought, restrictions imposed are aimed mainly at the broader Green Industry. This research investigated international strategies, existing restrictions in Gauteng, and undertook a survey within the Green Industry to determine the most appropriate response. This research proposes a new water supply shortage response plan for Rand Water in Gauteng with a total of four levels of restrictions implemented at different stages of water stress in the system. / Environmental Sciences / M. Sc. (Environmental Management)

法院處理涉外標準必要專利之案件時，經常面臨國際管轄以及準據法適用的問題。涉及議題包含授權契約之成立與效力、專利侵權、違反競爭法等。本文先分析我國涉外民事法律適用法在智慧財產案件上之實務適用情形，認為目前涉外民事法律適用法第42條第1項應僅適用與智慧財產權利內容本身相關之爭議，智慧財產契約或侵權行為案件，則應適用契約與一般侵權行為之選法規則。 其次，本文透過研究日本、中國、韓國、美國、英國等國之標準必要專利案件，探討標準必要專利案件中，標準制定組織的智財權政策與F/RAND承諾，經常約定以標準制定組織所在地法為準據法，因此所生之授權契約爭議與競爭法爭議，包括法院是否有權管轄，以及應該如何適用之準據法。在與F/RAND相關之爭議裡，各國法院鮮少有拒絕管轄的情形。準據法方面，實務上基於當事人意思自主原則，適用標準制定組織之智財權政策與F/RAND承諾之準據法，判斷F/RAND承諾之性質，以及當事人間授權契約是否成立以及其效力為何。競爭法方面，實務上各國皆適用內國競爭法，以決定標準必要專利權人之行為是否濫用其市場地位。 經由比較法與實務案件之分析，本文主張標準必要專利之中基於F/RAND所生之契約爭議，仍應適用標準制定組織之智財權政策與F/RAND承諾中所約定之法律。適用涉外民事法律適用法部分，法院實務判決應更清楚明確定性案件以及適用涉外民事法律適用法之依據與理由，俾使涉外民事法律適用法第42條第1項之意義更為明確。競爭法之部分，由於其強行法規之性質，實務皆適用法庭地法，原則上僅就影響國內市場之涉外行為判斷。此外，就我國立法就智慧財產之國際管轄規定付之闕如，應該針對智慧財產之特殊性增加相關規定。 / In cross-border SEP-related cases, courts often face the problems of international jurisdiction and the choice of law. SEP-realted cases often involve issues such as the nature of the F/RAND declarations and the IPR policies of Standard Setting Organizations (SSOs), the formation and the effect of licensing agreements, and violation of competition law, etc. The thesis starts from the examination of Act Governing the Choice of Law in Civil Matters Involving Foreign Elements in Taiwan. Article 42(1) of the Act should be applied only to the issues related to the content of IP right itself. As for IP infringements and IP-related contracts, the choice of law rules on general infringements and contracts should be applied. Secondly, the thesis further looks into the practice of conflict of law in Japan Korea, PRC, the UK and the US on SEP-related cases, which mostly apply the principle of party autonomy to determine the nature of F/RAND declarations and the nature of SSOs’ IPR policies. As for the competition law argument, based on the mandatory nature of competition law, the court often applied lex fori to the issues. Back to the private international law in Taiwan, the thesis suggests that the court should elaborate more specifically on the process of the court determining the characterization of the case and further deciding the choice of law. Besides, Taiwan should also legislate the law on the international jurisdiction on IP cases.

L’avènement des théories et des politiques publiques dites néolibérales marque à première vue le déclin de la notion de souveraineté, à la fois comme principe légitimant et comme motif mobilisateur. Les thèses néolibérales, dans leur diversité, se sont construites comme des contre-points à la souveraineté. Contre la puissance absolue de commander du monarque, les régimes libéraux ne doivent leur vertu qu’à la croissance des libertés individuelles ; contre la souveraineté populaire, la démocratie ne trouve son effectivité que dans des techniques de gouvernement. Cette opposition théorique paraît d’autant plus ferme que les évolutions géopolitiques d’après-guerre portent massivement atteinte aux attributs classiques de la puissance souveraine. La mondialisation de l’économie bouleverse le découpage territorial de l’espace en faisant commercer des régions plus que des États souverains. La globalisation des échanges fait émerger des instances économiques privées dont la puissance rivalise avec les États institués. L’avènement d’internet complexifie les transactions rendant vaine toute prétention à maîtriser la vie publique. Enfin, le développement du droit international et l’aventure communautaire européenne portent atteinte à la puissance législative et décisionnaire des gouvernements représentatifs. Cependant, contre le récit annonçant le retrait de l’idée de souveraineté, contre l’idée d’une incompatibilité de la souveraineté et du néolibéralisme, cette thèse cherche à se rendre attentive aux traitements qui sont réservés à la notion de puissance souveraine, aussi bien dans les œuvres théoriques que dans les politiques publiques européennes contemporaines. / The advent of so-called neoliberal theories and public policies seems to mean the decline of the notion of sovereignty, both as a legitimizing principle and as a mobilizing motive. Neoliberal theses, in their diversity, have been constructed as counterpoints to sovereignty. Against the absolute power of command of the monarch, liberal regimes owe their virtue only to the growth of individual liberties; against popular sovereignty, democracy finds its effectiveness only in the techniques of government. This theoretical opposition seems even stronger because the post-war geopolitical developments massively undermine the classic attributes of sovereign power. The globalization of the economy disrupts the territorial division of space. The globalization of trade brings out private economic powers which compete with the instituted States. The invention of the Internet makes transactions more complex, which prevent any possibility of controlling public life. Finally, the development of international law and the European community adventure undermine the power of representative governments. However, against the narrative announcing the withdrawal of the idea of sovereignty, against the idea of an incompatibility of sovereignty and neoliberalism, this thesis seeks to pay attention to the treatments that are reserved for the notion of sovereign power, in theoretical works as well as in contemporary European public policies.

Rand Water contracted UNISA to develop a monetary valuation method for its open spaces and their inherent ecological functions. This study began by reviewing existing contemporary definitions of open space in South Africa and then identifying their key characteristics. The research project then looked at the economic contribution that open spaces make to the economy as a basis for environmental valuation. By determining the economic value of open spaces, decision makers can be informed about the importance of open space provision, preservation and maintenance. The project applied the participatory action research method which requires the active participation of focus groups. The focus groups consisted of Rand Water employees who deal with open spaces in their respective areas of work. During the literature review and problem formulation the various limitations of environmental valuation methods became evident. It became apparent that the development of new valuation methods would not be possible before existing valuation methods had been tested to see if they could feasibly be applied to open space in the Rand Water context. A literature review also determined that open space valuation studies in South Africa are very limited, which made it difficult to formulate a localised context. It was furthermore found that environmental valuers prefer to use the contingent valuation, travel cost and hedonic pricing methods. These methods rely on revealed and stated preferences of open space users to infer an economic value for an open space. Access to Rand Water’s open spaces is largely limited owing to strict access control. The excludability of open space users therefore hampers the generation of sufficient data to apply revealed and stated preference valuation methods. On the basis of this finding, it was decided to eliminate the contingent valuation and travel cost methods from this study. It was decided to apply the constraint composition theory, under the grounded theory model, to study the constraints or moderators which could affect the feasibility of environmental valuation application to Rand Water open spaces. Four moderators were then identified which could influence the outcome of the feasibility assessment. These are the limitations of the methods, the limitations of the legal framework, the limitations of the user and the limitations of the study area. It was found that the limitations of the methods were a moderator owing to their inherent data requirements. The only suitable valuation methods vi were found to be market based as they were not influenced by the excludability factor. These methods include the replacement cost, damage cost avoided, restoration cost and defensive expenditure valuation methods. The focus group was introduced to each method by participating in a method application exercise. Questionnaires regarding each method were completed to test variables. The legal framework was found not to be a moderator since even though there are limited direct provisions in legislation to mandate environmental valuation, there are legal principles which require economic impacts to be measured and damage to the environment to be estimated. These principles in themselves have supported litigation cases and the mere admission of environmental value estimates in court as evidence and support to a case therefore sets the required legal precedence and mandates further application. The user was found not to be a moderator. Feedback from the focus groups as well as an environmental resource economics workshop held at the Gauteng Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Environment showed that users understood environmental valuation principles, their benefits and limitations. With training, environmental scientists can apply these methods. The study area was found to be a moderator. The limited access for potential open space users, limited harvesting, limited agriculture and limited open space categories result in limited values that can be measured. In conclusion, it was found that not all environmental valuation methods can be applied to Rand Water open space owing to inherent limitations of the methods and the study area. Only market-based methods were found to be suitable for use on Rand Water open space. Notwithstanding the limitations of the methods and study area, which restrict the ability of valuers to obtain a total economic value for Rand Water open space, the available suite of methods can provide an indicator of value for environmental goods and services that flow from the utility’s open spaces. It was concluded that the application of environmental valuation methods to Rand Water open space is feasible within the context of the identified limitations. / Environmental Sciences / M.Sc. (Environmental Management)

Made available in DSpace on 2015-02-04T21:45:28Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Vinicius Alves.pdf: 740567 bytes, checksum: bf37e8ad38e43e90f7ff2432e96b31c1 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007-02-23 / A atividade de agrupamento de dados (obter uma partição que represente a estrutura de um conjunto de objetos) é de vasta aplicabilidade e importância nos dias de hoje. Ferramentas de agrupamento de dados são aplicadas em diversos domínios: inteligência artificial, reconhecimento de padrões, economia, ecologia, psiquiatria, marketing, entre outros. Algoritmos evolutivos são ferramentas inspiradas na teoria da evolução das espécies que são, em geral, aplicados a problemas de otimização. Tais algoritmos são capazes de encontrar boas soluções (subótimas) em tempo computacional razoável e, por esta razão, eles são utilizados desde a década de 60 como opção para a solução de problemas complexos. Quando considerado como um problema de otimização combinatória, a atividade de agrupamento de dados tem espaço de busca de complexidade não polinomial. Tal complexidade tem estimulado o desenvolvimento de ferramentas de agrupamento de dados utilizando algoritmos evolutivos. Nesta dissertação apresenta-se o novo Algoritmo Evolutivo Rápido para Agrupamento de Dados (Fast- EAC), uma ferramenta capaz de estimar o número ótimo de grupos para um determinado conjunto de dados e a respectiva partição dos dados utilizando a abordagem de algoritmos evolutivos. Além da proposta do novo Fast-EAC, são contribuições desse trabalho a proposta de uma nova metodologia de avaliação para algoritmos evolutivos aplicados a agrupamento de dados e um novo índice externo de avaliação de partições, o Rand Index parcial por grupos.

Landmark-based architecture has been commonly adopted in the networking community as a mechanism to measure and characterize a host's location on the Internet. In most existing landmark based approaches, end hosts use the distance measurements to a common, fixed set of landmarks to derive an estimated location on the Internet. This paper investigates whether it is possible for participating peer nodes in an overlay network to collaboratively construct an accurate geometric model of its topology in a completely decentralized peer-to-peer fashion, without using a fixed set of landmarks. We call such a peer-to-peer approach in topology discovery and modeling using landmarks PALM (Peers As LandMarks). We evaluate the performance characteristics of such a decentralized coordinates-based approach under several factors, including dimensionality of the geometric space, peer distance distribution, and the number of peer-to-peer distance measurements used. We evaluate two PALM-based schemes: RAND-PALM and ISLAND. In RAND-PALM, a peer node randomly selects from existing peer nodes as its landmarks. In ISLAND (Intelligent Selection of Landmarks), each peer node selects its landmarks by exploiting the topological information derived based on existing peer nodes' coordinates values. / Singapore-MIT Alliance (SMA)

Model-based clustering is based on a finite mixture of distributions, where each mixture component corresponds to a different group, cluster, subpopulation, or part thereof. Gaussian mixture distributions are most often used. Criteria commonly used in choosing the number of components in a finite mixture model include the Akaike information criterion, Bayesian information criterion, and the integrated completed likelihood. The best model is taken to be the one with highest (or lowest) value of a given criterion. This approach is not reasonable because it is practically impossible to decide what to do when the difference between the best values of two models under such a criterion is ‘small’. Furthermore, it is not clear how such values should be calibrated in different situations with respect to sample size and random variables in the model, nor does it take into account the magnitude of the likelihood. It is, therefore, worthwhile considering a model-averaging approach. We consider an averaging of the top M mixture models and consider applications in clustering and classification. In the course of model averaging, the top M models often have different numbers of mixture components. Therefore, we propose a method of merging Gaussian mixture components in order to get the same number of clusters for the top M models. The idea is to list all the combinations of components for merging, and then choose the combination corresponding to the biggest adjusted Rand index (ARI) with the ‘reference model’. A weight is defined to quantify the importance of each model. The effectiveness of mixture model averaging for clustering is proved by simulated data and real data under the pgmm package, where the ARI from mixture model averaging for clustering are greater than the one of corresponding best model. The attractive feature of mixture model averaging is it’s computationally efficiency; it only uses the conditional membership probabilities. Herein, Gaussian mixture models are used but the approach could be applied effectively without modification to other mixture models. / Paul McNicholas