Widespread cross-border securities trading have led to the internationalization of securities markets. No one seriously disputes that such securities dealings require regulation, but there is no academic consensus on the best normative approach to such regulation. The academic debate initially focused on whether regulatory competition or cooperation constitutes the better model. However, the debate seems to have evolved to adopt a hybrid model combining the virtues of these two approaches. ‘Harmonization’ constitutes the dominant hybrid model. Nevertheless, the implementation of the harmonization model has barely received any attention in the literature. The aim of this thesis is hence two-fold: first, justify why harmonization should be the preferred model for the regulation of international securities markets; and second, develop, applying an international trade regulation perspective, a regulatory framework to implement the harmonization model using the World Trade Organization and General Agreement on Trade in Services (WTO/GATS) framework.

Widespread cross-border securities trading have led to the internationalization of securities markets. No one seriously disputes that such securities dealings require regulation, but there is no academic consensus on the best normative approach to such regulation. The academic debate initially focused on whether regulatory competition or cooperation constitutes the better model. However, the debate seems to have evolved to adopt a hybrid model combining the virtues of these two approaches. ‘Harmonization’ constitutes the dominant hybrid model. Nevertheless, the implementation of the harmonization model has barely received any attention in the literature. The aim of this thesis is hence two-fold: first, justify why harmonization should be the preferred model for the regulation of international securities markets; and second, develop, applying an international trade regulation perspective, a regulatory framework to implement the harmonization model using the World Trade Organization and General Agreement on Trade in Services (WTO/GATS) framework.

Cette thèse est une étude analytique et comparative des conceptions éthiques autochtones, à travers des discours coloniaux de deux régions de l'Amérique : le Pérou et le Québec. Le but ultime de cette étude est permettre de découvrir les principes de ces éthiques des communautés autochtones et de les faire participer au débat et à la création d'éthiques interculturelles et écologiques pertinentes pour le monde contemporain. À cette fin, ce travail se consacre à l'étude des traditions orales autochtones, et plus particulièrement à la littérature de source orale coloniale. Plus précisément, nous étudions deux chroniques coloniales autochtones des Andes : le Manuscrit de Huarochirí et la Relation de Joan Santa Cruz Pachacuti, ainsi que les relations de deux missionnaires jésuites en Nouvelle-France : Paul Lejeune et Jean de Brébeuf. Étant donné que ces textes ne peuvent être considérés comme des transcriptions littérales des traditions orales autochtones, nous optons pour une méthodologie qui prend en compte à la fois les locus de l'énonciation, les traditions discursives et les processus de textualisation de la mémoire, ainsi que les relations contextuelles (référentielles, intertextuelles et interpersonnelles) et les instances d’une analyse « éthicologique ». Du côté des textes des Andes, des dynamiques éthiques synthétisées comme une « éthique de la réciprocité » sont dégagées. Cette dernière se veut hautement écologique, prend en considération la cohabitation avec toutes les entités de l’environnement (humaines et non humaines) et, par conséquent, peut être considérée comme un effort pour répondre aux défis imposés par le contexte dans lequel elles vivent. En ce qui concerne les textes québécois, leurs principes éthiques se résument en une « éthique du respect », celle-ci pouvant également être considérée comme une éthique écologique. De fait, on y observe l’absence d’une réelle séparation entre l’être humain et les autres entités de son milieu, remplacée par une continuité fluide de relations entre celles-ci, formant un « cercle sacré » de relations. À partir de ces résultats, un bilan comparatif est dressé et montre que les différences sont pour la plupart de nature formelle. En effet, les éthiques sont ancrées dans des réalités sociohistoriques différentes puisqu’elles se réfèrent à différents environnements et aux coutumes qui y sont reliés. En termes de similitudes, celles-ci se résument au concept de « cosmoéthique du cercle » qui révèle une conception de l'éthique comme un processus dynamique mettant en jeu non seulement les humains, mais aussi l'environnement et ce qui échappe à l’appréhension palpable du monde. Enfin, une tentative est faite, celle de donner une perspective à certains principes dégagés lors des analyses, montrant qu’elles peuvent impliquer une complexité parfois niée ou écartée par certains philosophes occidentaux contemporains. Ainsi, ce travail montre que l’étude de discours proprement autochtones est une porte d’accès à leurs manières de concevoir l’éthique et peut donc contribuer au travail interculturel de la philosophie et, plus précisément de l’éthique. / This thesis is a comparative study of indigenous ethical conceptions, through the analysis of colonial discourses from two regions of the Americas: Peru and Quebec. The aim of this study is to discover the principles of indigenous ethics and have these participate in the creation of and discussion about intercultural and ecological ethics that are relevant to the contemporary world. To this end, this paper is devoted to the study of indigenous oral traditions, and more particularly to colonial literatures based on oral sources. Specifically, we study two indigenous colonial chronicles from the Andes: the Huarochiri Manuscript and the Relation, by Joan and Santa Cruz Pachacuti; we also examine the relations of two Jesuit missionaries in New France: Paul Lejeune and Jean de Brébeuf. Since these texts cannot be considered as direct transcriptions of indigenous oral traditions, we use a methodology that takes into account the locus of enunciation, discursive traditions and processes of textualization of memory; as well as contextual relationships (intertextual, referencial, and interpersonal) and the different instances of an “ethicologic” analysis. Regarding the Andean texts, ethical dynamics are highlighted and then synthesized as an “ethics of reciprocity”. This highly ecological ethics takes into consideration the coexistence of all environmental entities (human and non-human), and may be viewed as an effort of Andean people to respond to the specific challenges they faced. Concerning the texts from Quebec, the ethical principles identified may be summarized as an “ethics of respect”. These may also be viewed as an ecological ethics as they do not perceive a real separation between man and the other entities that inhabit their environment. Rather, they view the relationship between human and non-human entities as a fluid continuity that forms a “sacred circle”. Based on these results we draw a comparative assessment that demonstrates that the difference is mostly formal: ethics are anchored in different socio-historical realities related to environmental differences and the customs associated with these environments. Regarding the similarities between the Peruvian and Quebec indigenous ethics, they may be summarized by the concept of a “cosmoethics of the circle”. This reveals a conception of ethics as a dynamic process that brings into play not only humans, but also the environment, as well as that which escapes a palpable apprehension of the world. Finally, this thesis attempts to lend a perspective on some of the principles outlined in the analysis, by showing that they can involve a complexity that is at times denied or dismissed by contemporary Western philosophers. In summary, this dissertation shows that the study of indigenous discourses, or discourses which give a voice to indigenous people, is a gateway to their ways of thinking about ethics and therefore can contribute to the intercultural work of philosophy and ethics. / La presente tesis es un estudio analítico y comparativo de las concepciones éticas indígenas, a través de discursos coloniales de dos regiones de América: Perú y Quebec. La finalidad última de este estudio es la de permitir descubrir los principios de esas éticas indígenas y de hacerlas participar en el debate y creación de éticas interculturales y ecológicas pertinente al mundo contemporáneo. A ese fin, este trabajo se consagra al estudio de las tradiciones orales indígenas, y más particularmente al de la literatura de fuente oral colonial. Concretamente, se hace un estudio de dos crónicas coloniales indígenas de los Andes: el Manuscrito de Huarochirí y la Relación de Joan Santa Cruz Pachacuti; y de las relaciones de dos misioneros jesuitas en Nueva Francia: Paul Lejeune y Jean de Brébeuf. Puesto que estos textos no pueden ser considerados como trascripciones literales de las tradiciones orales indígenas, se ha optado por una metodología que toma en consideración tanto los locus de enunciación, las tradiciones discursivas y los procesos de textualización de la memoria, como las relaciones contextuales (intertextuales, referenciales e interpersonales) y las diferentes instancias de un análisis “eticológico”. Del lado de los textos andinos, se destacan dinámicas éticas que se sintetizan en una “ética de la reciprocidad”, ética altamente ecológica que toma en consideración el convivir con todas las entidades del entorno (humanas y no humanas) y, en consecuencia, que se puede considerar como un esfuerzo para responder a los desafíos impuestos por el contexto en el cual viven. Por lo que se refiere a los textos quebequenses, se identifican principios éticos que pueden ser resumidos como una “ética del respeto”, que también puede ser considerada como una ética ecológica, ya que no se concibe una real separación entre el ser humano y las demás entidades de su entorno, sino más bien una continuidad fluida de relaciones entre ellos, formando un “círculo sagrado” de relaciones. A partir de estos resultados, se elabora un balance comparativo que muestra que las diferencias son sobre todo de orden formal, ya que las éticas se anclan en realidades socio-históricas diferentes por tener que ver principalmente con las diferencias del medio ambiente y de las costumbres que les están asociadas. En cuanto a las similitudes, estas se resumen en el concepto de “cosmoética del círculo”, que releva una concepción de la ética como una dinámica que pone en juego no sólo a los humanos, sino también el medio ambiente y lo que escapa a la aprensión palpable del mundo. Para terminar, se intenta dar perspectiva a algunos principios destacados en el análisis, mostrando que pueden conllevar una complejidad que a veces es negada o descartada por los filósofos occidentales contemporáneos. Así, este trabajo muestra que el estudio de discursos propiamente indígenas, o que dan la palabra al indígena, es una puerta de acceso a sus maneras de concebir la ética y que, por tanto, puede contribuir en una labor intercultural de la filosofía y de la ética.

Ce mémoire de maitrise porte sur l’étude de la relation entre les croyances religieuses, le développement économique et l’identité socioculturelle des libanais. Ce sujet est suscité par deux approches : une approche conceptuelle relatant le lien entre la religion et le développement économique, et une approche révélant le rapport entre les trois éléments du sujet et imposant une observation rigoureuse des libanais du Liban et des libanais de Montréal. Deux types d’études empiriques sont envisageables afin d’expliquer le rapprochement entre les trois éléments du sujet : des études visant à tester le lien entre la religion et le développement au Liban et à Montréal et des études traitant la problématique identitaire. Les analyses historiques, sociologiques et empiriques invoquées dans notre projet démontrent qu’en général il existe une corrélation entre la religion et le développement. Nos enquêtes soulignent que cette corrélation est tout de même vérifié chez les libanais. Les points de vue culturel et religieux attestent que la religion et la famille constituent deux éléments indissociables de l’identité socioculturelle des libanais. La religion est une valeur qui peut influencer le choix du consommateur libanais. En effet, une relation de réciprocité est établie entre ces deux éléments. Les études, menées au Liban et à Montréal, soulignent aussi que le degré de religiosité peut déterminer certains comportements sociaux; ceci crée un enchainement entre le comportement social d’un libanais, ses appartenances religieuses qui reflètent son identité, et le développement économique. Ainsi, Les croyances religieuses endoctrinent le développement économique au plan macroéconomique et au plan microéconomique. Une relation s’installe entre le spirituel et la science économique. / This thesis focuses on the study of the relationship between religious beliefs, economic development and socio-cultural identity of Lebanon. This topic is generated by two approaches: a conceptual approach to describing the relationship between religion and economic development, and an approach to revealing the relationship between the three elements of the subject and requiring strict adherence to the Lebanese in Lebanon and the Lebanese in Montreal. Two types of empirical studies are possible to explain the relation between the three elements of the subject: studies to test the link between religion and development in Lebanon and Montreal and studies dealing with the issue of identity. Historical, sociological and empirical analyses show that there is in general a correlation between religion and development. Our investigations point out that this correlation is still checked in Lebanon. The cultural and religious views show that religion and family are two inseparable elements of the socio-cultural identity of Lebanese. Religion is a value that can influence consumer choice Lebanese. Indeed, a reciprocal relationship is established between the two. Studies conducted in Lebanon and Montreal also highlight that the degree of religiosity may determine some social behaviors; this creates a chain between the social behavior of a Lebanese, his religious affiliations that reflect his identity, and economic development. Thus, religious beliefs indoctrinate economic development at the macroeconomic and microeconomic levels. / Les fichiers qui accompagnent mon document ont été réalisés avec les logiciels : STATA, SPSS et EXCEL.

The study is practice-led in visual art and it explores the impact of intermediality to validate that new knowledge emerges via processes that lead to possibilities of transformative hybridity. Intermediality was established and generated through a productive reciprocity between practice and theory as well as between analogue and digital art. The research created a community of enquiry through an exhibition entitled TRANSCODE: dialogues around intermedia practice (2011) in order to model innovative approaches towards improvement of transmedial artistic practice. The diversity of work by artists involved in this exhibition allowed exploration of a range of creative processes to investigate and understand characteristics of productive intermediality. The concept of transcoding in this study was derived from Deleuze and Guattari, which describes how one milieu functions as a foundation for another, implying an intermedial tension. TRANSCODE alludes to the mediation that transcribes meanings across boundaries and within complexity. Selected characteristics of narratives, space, embodiment and visual systems were researched through the lens of mediamatic thinking, which refers to thinking via media. The study proposes that intermediality is best seen as a construct of the tensional differences that become enriched within the grey areas. In applying Deleuze and Guattari‘s metaphor of the rhizome and Tim Ingold‘s concept of the mycelial mesh, the research project not only prompted structured collective thinking through practice, but also captured various case studies relevant to practice-led methodology. / Art History, Visual Arts and Musicology / D. Litt. et Phil. (Art History)

Au sein de l’économie libérale, est né un modèle d’entreprise conjuguant altruisme et recherche du profit : l’Économie de Communion. À travers sa responsabilité sociale, cette entreprise adopte des stratégies particulières de gestion qui tentent de replacer l’homme au centre de l’activité de l’entreprise. L’objectif du mémoire est de présenter l’Économie de Communion, son but et les différents axes qui la soutiennent, ainsi que sa compréhension de l’interaction du monde des affaires avec l’éthique, la morale et le droit. À la lumière des expériences vécues par 811 entreprises, cet agir économique rend compte de l’efficacité de son mode de gestion au niveau de l’optimisation de la performance entrepreneuriale. L’Économie de Communion met en exergue notamment une approche où la dynamique économique repose sur la solidarité et la fraternité. / Within the liberal economy, a business model was born combining altruism and profit-seeking: the Economy of Communion. Through its social responsibility, this model adopts specific management strategies that try to put people at the center of the firm's activities. The aim of the paper is to present the Economy of Communion, its purpose and the various axes that support it, as well as its understanding of the interaction of the business world with ethics, values and law. In the light of the experience of 811 firms, the Economic of Communion acknowledges the efficiency of its management mode in terms of optimizing entrepreneurial performance. It emphasizes in particular an approach where economic dynamics are based on solidarity and fraternity.

Biblical scholars have grown increasingly aware of the importance of looking at texts not only in their historical or literary contexts, but also in their socio-cultural contexts. Many studies have shown that honour and shame were core social values in the ancient Mediterranean world. By scrutinizing the available research on the topic of honour and shame, one realizes that there were indeed four major social values in the Mediterranean world, that is i) honour and shame, ii) patronage and reciprocity, iii) kinship and iv) purity. Modern biblical scholars would often appeal to the works of the classical authors in order to show how important these values were in the ancient world. Unfortunately claims that are being made in modern studies concerning honour and shame are usually based on the biblical and classical writings. These scholars seldom consult patristic writings. In this study it is argued that the ancient Church Fathers were indeed aware of these social values. The four social values mentioned above are taken as a basis to unlock the social context of Clement of Alexandria’s Paedagogue. It illustrates the importance of understanding the core social values of the Mediterranean society in order to interpret the theology of the early Church Fathers. / Thesis (DLitt (Greek))--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Ancient Languages / unrestricted

Dans cette thèse on s’est intéressé aux méthodes de génération de clés secrètes symétriques en utilisant la couche physique ultra large bande impulsionnelle (IR-UWB). Les travaux ont été réalisés selon trois axes, les deux premiers concernant la communication point-à-point et le dernier, les communications coopératives. Tout d’abord, la quantification des signaux typiques IR-UWB (soit directement échantillonnés, soit estimés) a été investiguée, principalement du point de vue du compromis entre la robustesse (ou réciprocité) des séquences binaires obtenues et leur caractère aléatoire. Différents algorithmes de quantification valorisant l’information temporelle offerte par les canaux IR-UWB pour améliorer ce compromis ont alors été proposés. Ensuite, des études concernant les échanges publics nécessaires à l’étape de réconciliation (visant la correction d’éventuels désaccords entre les séquences binaires générées de part et d’autre du lien) ont montré qu’il était possible d’être plus robuste face aux attaques passives en utilisant des informations de plus haut niveau, inhérentes à cette technologie et disponibles à moindre coût (ex. via une estimation précise du temps de vol aller-retour). Finalement, une nouvelle méthode a été développée afin d’étendre les schémas de génération de clé point-à-point à plusieurs nœuds (trois dans nos études) en utilisant directement la couche physique fournie par les liens radio entre les nœuds. / Emerging decentralized wireless systems, such as sensor or ad-hoc networks, will demand an adequate level of security in order to protect the private and often sensitive information that they carry. The main security mechanism for confidentiality in such networks is symmetric cryptography, which requires the sharing of a symmetric key between the two legitimate parties. According to the principles of physical layer security, wireless devices within the communication range can exploit the wireless channel in order to protect their communications. Due to the theoretical reciprocity of wireless channels, the spatial decorrelation property (e.g., in rich scattering environments), as well as the fine temporal resolution of the Impulse Radio - Ultra Wideband (IR-UWB) technology, directly sampled received signals or estimated channel impulse responses (CIRs) can be used for symmetric secret key extraction under the information-theoretic source model. Firstly, we are interested in the impact of quantization and channel estimation algorithms on the reciprocity and on the random aspect of the generated keys. Secondly, we investigate alternative ways of limiting public exchanges needed for the reconciliation phase. Finally, we develop a new signal-based method that extends the point-to-point source model to cooperative contexts with several nodes intending to establish a group key.

This thesis examines key examples of materially experimental writing (B.S. Johnson’s The Unfortunates, Marc Saporta’s Composition No. 1, and Julio Cortázar’s Hopscotch), hypertext fiction (Geoff Ryman’s 253, in both the online and print versions), and video games (Catherine, L.A. Noire, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, and Phantasmagoria), and asks what new critical understanding of these ‘interactive’ texts, and their broader significance, can be developed by considering the examples as part of a textual continuum. Chapter one focuses on materially experimental writing as part of the textual continuum that is discussed throughout this thesis. It examines the form, function, and reception of key texts, and unpicks emerging issues surrounding truth and realism, the idea of the ostensibly ‘infinite’ text in relation to multicursality and potentiality, and the significance of the presence of authorial instructions that explain to readers how to interact with the texts. The discussions of chapter two centre on hypertext fiction, and examine the significance of new technologies to the acts of reading and writing. This chapter addresses hypertext fiction as part of the continuum on which materially experimental writing and video games are placed, and explores reciprocal concerns of reader agency, multicursality, and the idea of the ‘naturalness’ of hypertext as a method of reading and writing. Chapter three examines video games as part of the continuum, exploring the relationship between print textuality and digital textuality. This chapter draws together the discussions of reciprocity that are ongoing throughout the thesis, examines the significance of open world gaming environments to player agency, and unpicks the idea of empowerment in players and readers. This chapter concludes with a discussion of possible cultural reasons behind what I argue is the reader’s/player’s desire for a high level of perceived agency. The significance of this thesis, then, lies in how it establishes the existence of several reciprocal concerns in these texts including multicursality/potentiality, realism and the accurate representation of truth and, in particular, player and reader agency, which allow the texts to be placed on a textual continuum. This enables cross-media discussions of the reciprocal concerns raised in the texts, which ultimately reveals the ways in which our experiences with these interactive texts are deeply connected to our anxieties about agency in a cultural context in which individualism is encouraged, but our actual individual agency is highly limited.

<p>Metamaterials are artificially structured materials which attain their unconventional macroscopic properties from their cellular configuration rather than their constituent chemical composition. The judicious design of this cellular structure opens the possibility to program and control the optical, mechanical, acoustic, or thermal responses of metamaterials. This Ph.D. dissertation focuses on scalable design and manufacturing strategies for optical and mechanical metamaterials.<br> <br> </p> <p>The fabrication of optical metamaterials still relies heavily on low-throughput process such as electron beam lithography, which is a serial technique. Thus, there is a growing need for the development of high-throughput, parallel processes to make the fabrication of optical metamaterials more accessible and cost-effective. The first part of this dissertation presents a scalable manufacturing method, termed “roll-to-roll laser induced superplasticity” (R2RLIS), for the production of flexible optical metamaterials, specifically metallic near-perfect absorbers. R2RLIS enables the rapid and inexpensive fabrication of ultra-smooth metallic nanostructures over large areas using conventional CO₂ engravers or inexpensive diode lasers. Using low-cost metal/epoxy nanomolds, the minimum feature size obtained by R2RLIS was <40 nm, facilitating the rapid fabrication of flexible near-perfect absorbers at visible frequencies with the capability to wrap around non-planar surfaces.</p> <p> </p> <p>The existing approaches for designing mechanical metamaterials are mostly <i>ad hoc</i>, and rely heavily on intuition and trial-and-error. A rational and systematic approach to create functional and programmable mechanical metamaterials is therefore desirable to unlock the vast design space of mechanical properties. The second part of this dissertation introduces a systematic, algorithmic design strategy based on Voronoi tessellation to create architected soft machines (ASMs) and twisting mechanical metamaterials (TMMs) with programmable motion and properties. ASMs are a new class of soft machines that benefit from their 3D-architected structure to expand the range of mechanical properties and behaviors achievable by 3D printed soft robots. On tendon-based actuation, ASMs deform according to the topologically encoded buckling of their structure to produce a wide range of motions such as contraction, twisting, bending, and cyclic motion. TMMs are a new class of chiral mechanical metamaterials which exhibit compression-twist coupling, a property absent in isotropic materials. This property manifests macroscopically and is independent of the flexible material chosen to fabricate the TMM. The nature of this compression-twist coupling can be programmed by simply tuning two design parameters, giving access to distinct twisting regimes and tunable onset of auxetic (negative Poisson’s ratio) behavior. Taking a metamaterial approach toward the design of soft machines substantially increases their number of degrees of freedom in deformation, thus blurring the boundary between materials and machines.</p>