为了监测以及分析全球或者局部范围内发生的气候变化、生态系统动态以及人类活动，遥感是不可或缺的重要工具。在过去的二十年间，随着众多应用领域对遥感数据需求的增长以及太空技术的发展，卫星传感器发射的数目一直在增加。然而，由于硬件技术和经济方面的制约，卫星传感器获取遥感数据时不得不在空间分辨率和其他数据属性之间进行平衡，包括时间分辨率、光谱分辨率、扫描宽度等。为了使得卫星数据同时兼备高空间分辨率和高时间分辨率或者高空间分辨率和高光谱分辨率，一种经济有效的方法是利用数据融合处理技术将多源遥感数据进行融合，从而提高可用遥感数据的应用潜力。在本论文中，我们提出利用稀疏表示理论来探索空间分辨率和时间分辨率的融合以及空间分辨率和光谱分辨率的融合。 / 以Landsat ETM+（空间分辨率为30米，时间分辨率为16天）和MODIS（空间分辨率为250米~1千米，重访周期为1天）的反射率融合为例，我们提出两种时空融合方法将Landsat图像的精细空间细节和MODIS图像的每天重访周期进行结合。这两种传感器捕获的反射率值在相应的波段具有可比性，受这一事实启发，我们提出在已知的Landsat-MODIS图像对上将它们的空间信息建立对应关系，然后在预测日期将Landsat图像从相应的MODIS图像中预测出来。为了有效地从先验图像中学习空间细节信息，我们基于稀疏表示理论对Landsat和MODIS图像分别建立一个冗余字典来提取它们的基本表示基元。在两对先验Landsat-MODIS图像场景下，我们通过从先验图像对中学习一个高-低分辨率字典对，在ETM+和MODIS的差图像间建立对应关系。在第二个融合场景下，即只有一对先验Landsat-MODIS图像对，我们通过一个图像降质模型直接连接ETM+和MODIS数据；在融合阶段，结合高通调制MODIS图像在一个两层融合框架下被提高分辨率从而得到融合图像。值得注意的是，本论文提出的时空融合方法对于物候变化和地物类型变化形成了一个统一的融合框架。 / 基于本文提出的时空融合模型，我们提出对中国深圳的土地利用/覆盖变化进行监测。为了达到合理的城市规划和可持续发展，深圳作为一个快速发展的城市面临着检测快速变化的问题。然而，这一地区的多云多雨天气使得获得高质量的遥感图像的周期比卫星的正常重访周期更长。时空融合方法可以处理这一问题，其通过提高具有低空间分辨率而频繁时间覆盖图像的空间分辨率来实现检测快速变化。通过选定两组分别具有年纪变化和月份变化的Landsat-MODIS数据，我们将本文提出的时空融合方法应用于检测多类变化的任务。 / 随后，基于字典对学习和稀疏非负矩阵分解，我们对于遥感多光谱和高光谱图像提出一种新的空谱融合方法。通过将高光谱图像 (具有低空间分辨率和高光谱分辨率，简称为LSHS)的光谱信息和多光谱图像（具有高空间分辨率和低光谱分辨率，简称为HSLS）的空间信息进行结合，本方法旨在产生同时具有高空间和高光谱分辨率的融合数据。对于高光谱数据，其每个像素可以表示成少数端元的线性组合，受这一现象启发，本方法首先充分利用LSHS数据中的丰富光谱信息提取LSHS和HSLS图像的光谱基元。由于这些光谱基元可以分别对应地表示LSHS和HSLS图像的每个像素光谱，我们将这两类数据的基元形成一个字典对。接着，我们将HSLS图像关于其对应的字典进行稀疏表示求得其表示系数，从而对LSHS图像进行空间解混。结合LSHS数据的光谱基元和HSLS数据的表示系数，我们可以最终得到具有LSHS数据的光谱分辨率和HSLS数据的空间分辨率的融合图像。 / Remote sensing provides good measurements for monitoring and further analyzing the climate change, dynamics of ecosystem, and human activities in global or regional scales. Over the past two decades, the number of launched satellite sensors has been increasing with the development of aerospace technologies and the growing requirements on remote sensing data in a vast amount of application fields. However, a key technological challenge confronting these sensors is that they tradeoff between spatial resolution and other properties, including temporal resolution, spectral resolution, swath width, etc., due to the limitations of hardware technology and budget constraints. To increase the spatial resolution of data with other good properties, one possible cost-effective solution is to explore data integration methods that can fuse multi-resolution data from multiple sensors, thereby enhancing the application capabilities of available remote sensing data. In this thesis, we propose to fuse the spatial resolution with temporal resolution and spectral resolution, respectively, based on sparse representation theory. / Taking the study case of Landsat ETM+ (with spatial resolution of 30m and temporal resolution of 16 days) and MODIS (with spatial resolution of 250m ~ 1km and daily temporal resolution) reflectance, we propose two spatial-temporal fusion methods to combine the fine spatial information of Landsat image and the daily temporal resolution of MODIS image. Motivated by that the images from these two sensors are comparable on corresponding bands, we propose to link their spatial information on available Landsat- MODIS image pair (captured on prior date) and then predict the Landsat image from the MODIS counterpart on prediction date. To well-learn the spatial details from the prior images, we use a redundant dictionary to extract the basic representation atoms for both Landsat and MODIS images based on sparse representation. Under the scenario of two prior Landsat-MODIS image pairs, we build the corresponding relationship between the difference images of MODIS and ETM+ by training a low- and high-resolution dictionary pair from the given prior image pairs. In the second scenario, i.e., only one Landsat- MODIS image pair being available, we directly correlate MODIS and ETM+ data through an image degradation model. Then, the fusion stage is achieved by super-resolving the MODIS image combining the high-pass modulation in a two-layer fusion framework. Remarkably, the proposed spatial-temporal fusion methods form a unified framework for blending remote sensing images with phenology change or land-cover-type change. / Based on the proposed spatial-temporal fusion models, we propose to monitor the land use/land cover changes in Shenzhen, China. As a fast-growing city, Shenzhen faces the problem of detecting the rapid changes for both rational city planning and sustainable development. However, the cloudy and rainy weather in region Shenzhen located makes the capturing circle of high-quality satellite images longer than their normal revisit periods. Spatial-temporal fusion methods are capable to tackle this problem by improving the spatial resolution of images with coarse spatial resolution but frequent temporal coverage, thereby making the detection of rapid changes possible. On two Landsat-MODIS datasets with annual and monthly changes, respectively, we apply the proposed spatial-temporal fusion methods to the task of multiple change detection. / Afterward, we propose a novel spatial and spectral fusion method for satellite multispectral and hyperspectral (or high-spectral) images based on dictionary-pair learning and sparse non-negative matrix factorization. By combining the spectral information from hyperspectral image, which is characterized by low spatial resolution but high spectral resolution and abbreviated as LSHS, and the spatial information from multispectral image, which is featured by high spatial resolution but low spectral resolution and abbreviated as HSLS, this method aims to generate the fused data with both high spatial and high spectral resolutions. Motivated by the observation that each hyperspectral pixel can be represented by a linear combination of a few endmembers, this method first extracts the spectral bases of LSHS and HSLS images by making full use of the rich spectral information in LSHS data. The spectral bases of these two categories data then formulate a dictionary-pair due to their correspondence in representing each pixel spectra of LSHS data and HSLS data, respectively. Subsequently, the LSHS image is spatially unmixed by representing the HSLS image with respect to the corresponding learned dictionary to derive its representation coefficients. Combining the spectral bases of LSHS data and the representation coefficients of HSLS data, we finally derive the fused data characterized by the spectral resolution of LSHS data and the spatial resolution of HSLS data. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Song, Huihui. / Thesis (Ph.D.) Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2014. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 103-110). / Abstracts also in Chinese.

La présente thèse porte sur l’utilisation et l’interprétation des sujets nuls et pronominaux en portugais brésilien. Son objectif est de comprendre les facteurs sémantiques et discursifs qui peuvent être pertinents pour le choix entre ces expressions anaphoriques et la façon dont ce choix s’articule avec la théorie générale de la résolution de l’anaphore. Le point de départ a été la recherche sur les sujets nuls et réalisés sous la perspective de la grammaire générative, en particulier la théorie paramétrique. Cette thèse démontre que l’analyse proposée dans cette perspective ne peut rendre compte des données observées. Par exemple, la généralisation sur la « pauvreté » de la morphologie verbale directement liée à l’absence, ou à la fréquence réduite, de sujets nuls est contestée avec les données expérimentales ainsi qu’avec la distribution de la fréquence relative des sujets nuls au sein des personnes discursives dans le corpus. Une explication alternative présentée dans la littérature, à savoir l’importance des caractéristiques sémantiques des antécédents – l’Animacité et le Specificité – semble mieux expliquer la distribution constatée. Cette explication n’est cependant pas suffisante pour comprendre le choix des sujets anaphoriques en brésilien, puisque le nombre relatif de sujets nuls animés et spécifiques est relativement plus élevé que dans les langues à expression obligatoire des sujets. Par conséquent, cette thèse soutient que les facteurs discursifs semblent jouer un rôle crucial dans l’utilisation des sujets nuls et réalisés en brésilien. Les principaux facteurs identifiés ici sont le statut évident de l’antécédent et le caractère contrastif de l’information d’arrière-plan et l’information nouvelle. Le premier est un facteur standard dans la littérature sur la résolution de l’anaphore (exprimé par différents termes comme l’accessibilité, la familiarité, etc.), qui permet l’hypothèse d’une relation inverse entre le degré de saillance de l’antécédent et degré explicitation nécessaire dans l’expression anaphorique : plus l’antécédent est saillant, moins l’anaphore doit être explicite. Le second facteur, le contraste, constitue la principale contribution nouvelle de cette thèse : Comme pour d’autres niveaux d’analyse linguistique et d’autres phénomènes dans le langage, le choix de l’expression anaphorique semble être orienté vers l’efficacité. Plus précisément, lorsque l’information d’arrière-plan (background) et l’information assertée (focalisée) dans un énoncé contrastent, il est plus probable qu’un sujet nul soit utilisé. Les caractéristiques d’une grammaire permettant de traiter ces diverses caractéristiques est esquissée : on propose une grammaire à plusieurs niveaux dont les contraintes sémantiques et discursives agissent en parallèle à travers un principe de correspondance probabiliste. Il est ainsi démontré que les sujets nuls sont probables dans certains contextes de co-référence discursifs, puisque dans ces contextes, leurs antécédents sont plus évidents et contrastent plus avec l’information d’arrière-plan. Une contre-preuve apparente à la proposition esquissée ici est analysée : l’interprétation générique des sujets nuls. Cependant, on montre que les mêmes contraintes sémantiques appliquées à d’autres constructions génériques dans plusieurs langues peuvent produire des sujets nuls génériques en brésilien, étant donné l’échec de la mise en arrière-plan prédite par l’approche proposée ici. Enfin, les résultats de trois expériences de mouvements oculaires en lecture, qui étudient l’utilisation et l’interprétation des sujets nuls et pronominaux, sont présentés. Ces résultats corroborent de façon convaincante l’hypothèse selon laquelle les sujets nuls et réalisés ainsi que leur interprétation peuvent être expliqués par la théorie proposée ici, qui les traite en termes de contraintes d’interprétation plutôt qu’en termes de légitimation syntaxique. / The present dissertation is concerned with the use and interpretation of null and pronominal subjects in Brazilian Portuguese. This investigation examines these phenomena in an attempt to disentangle the semantic and discursive factors that can be relevant for choice between these anaphoric expressions in Brazilian Portuguese and the way in which this choice is articulated with the general theory of anaphora resolution. The starting point of this dissertation was the research looking into null and overt subjects from the perspective of Generative Grammar, specially the Parametric Theory. Throughout the present work, however, the analyses proposed in this perspective were shown not to account for the data at stake. The generalization that poor verbal morphology is directly related to the absence or reduced frequency of null subjects, for example, is challenged through experimental data and an investigation of the relative frequency of null subjects across discourse persons in corpora. An alternative explanation presented in the previous literature, namely the importance of the antecedents’ features of Animacy and Specificity, seems to better account for the attested distribution. However, this explanation is not sufficient for understanding the choice between null and overt subjects in Brazilian Portuguese, since the number of animate and specific null subjects is still relatively higher than in languages with obligatory expression of subjects. Therefore, it is argued that discourse factors seem to play a crucial role in the use of null and overt subjects in Brazilian Portuguese. The main factors identified here are Obviousness and Contrast. The first is a standard feature in the literature about anaphora resolution (expressed by a variety of terms, such as Salience, Familiarity, Accessibility, etc.), which is part of the reverse mapping hypothesis according to which the more obvious the subject is, the less explicit the co-referential form is allowed to be. The second factor, Contrast, is the main finding of the present dissertation: as is the case for other levels of linguistic analyses and other phenomena in language, the choice of anaphoric expression in Brazilian Portuguese seems to be driven by efficiency. In the present case, this means that, when the backgrounded information and the asserted (focused) in- formation in an utterance contrast the most, it is more likely that a null subject will be used. The design of a grammar that deals with these multiple features is sketched, specifically, a multi-layered scalar probabilistic grammar is proposed, whose semantic and discourse constraints act in parallel through a probabilistic mapping. It is, thus, shown that null subjects are likely in discursive co- reference, since in these contexts their antecedents are more obvious and the focused information contrasts the most with the background. An apparent counter-example to the proposal sketched here is analyzed: the generic interpretation of null subjects. However, it is shown that the same semantic constraints cross-linguistically applied to other generic constructions can produce generic null subjects in Brazilian Portuguese, given the failure to be grounded predicted by the approach proposed here. Finally, on-line evidence for the analysis of the use and interpretation of null and pronominal subjects is provided. The results found in three eye-tracking while reading experiments provide striking evidence in favor of the proposal put forward here, according to which null and overt subjects and their interpretation can be accounted for in terms of constraints on interpretation rather than licensing.

This thesis investigates how the behaviors and skills learned during childhood play are conducive towards successful conflict resolution in adulthood. From reviewing the literature, it is clear that pretend play, social play, and games help the socio-cognitive development of a child. Through these types of play, children learn how to become better at taking another person’s perspective, effectively communicate, and regulate their socio- emotional behavior. Additionally, recognizing that negotiation seems to be the most mature way to handle conflict, I argue that children learn to navigate opposition through engaging in their own peer to peer conflicts during play. As a result, using their practiced perspective-taking, communication, and socio-emotional skills learned from play, they improve in their conflict management. Although there has not been substantial studies connecting play and conflict resolution, it is clear that the skills learned during play are associated with constructive resolution–-which as adults, is usually negotiation. Nonetheless, there needs to be more research done on how engaging in conflict and having these broad behaviors and attributes are more directly related to successful conflict management.

Ethnic conflicts persist in Ghana despite the efforts of governments to resolve them. Governments are increasingly concerned not only about their massive human rights abuses and wide-scale destruction of property that characterize these conflicts, but also the difficulty of resolving them and restoring permanent peace. The purpose of this qualitative exploratory case study was to provide a deeper understanding of the processes and mechanisms of transitional justice implemented in Dagbon after war broke out in 2002 and explore the conditions under which these initiatives can be more effective in resolving the conflict and maintain peace. Data were collected through individual interviews, focus group discussions, and review of documents. Thirteen participants were purposively selected from communities, chiefs, and representatives of civil society organizations. Focus groups consisted of four men and four women. NVivo was used to manage and analyze the data. Data were analyzed using the theory of protracted social conflict as a lens and the concept of transitional justice as the conceptual foundation. The findings showed that a mixture of formal retributive and restorative initiatives was implemented. These were imposed on informal institutions and rules more deeply rooted in Dagbon. The institutions also suffered undue pressure from both government and elite of Dagbon which made peacebuilding difficult. A recommendation was made for government to strengthen the Dagbon Traditional Council to lead the conflict resolution process using traditional approaches, and identify and empower a credible civil society group to facilitate the process. The results could potentially change the way the conflict resolution initiatives have been conceptualized and managed in future.

Thesis (LLM) --University of Limpopo, 2011

La dématérialisation des méthodes de traitement, de transmission et de conservation de l’information modifie substantiellement les rapports économiques et sociaux. Le domaine juridique n’aurait pu rester étranger à ce mouvement de fond. Le droit et la justice s’en trouvent bouleversés jusque dans leurs organisations, leurs méthodes et leurs métiers. L’adaptation du droit aux technologies numériques désormais acquise, les craintes et résistances liées à leur intégration dans le fonctionnement judiciaire surmontées ; la dématérialisation des actes du procès et leur communication électronique se généralisent. Une phase de maturation débute à présent, celle d’un retour au droit de la procédure civile et de l’appréciation que la jurisprudence fera de ces innovations technologiques. Il conviendra dès lors de veiller à ce que cette appropriation serve pleinement les intérêts des justiciables et de la justice. / Paperless methods of data production, process and records management has substantially changed both the economic and social relationships. Therefore, French law and justice could not have ignored these technological evolution which is deeply impacting their own organisation, methods, and professions. The necessary adaptation by French law and Justice to digital technologies now acquired, and concerns or fears on their integration into the civil litigation process being overcome ; dematerialisation of procedural acts and their communication in electronic forms are generally used. Regarding this technological reality, attention needs henceforth to be directed towards the role of each relevant actor of the French E-justice to make sure that such proceedings allow a fair trial to any litigant

No description available.

This thesis examines the use of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) for local government planning and development disputes in New South Wales. Set within broader theoretical concerns around key concepts, this research comprehensively documents, for the first time, how the ADR process of mediation was introduced to NSW councils and then used by their staff and independent ADR practitioners for disputes over development applications and the formation of local planning policies. The thesis also provides a systematic overview of the use of mediation and conciliation for development appeals brought before the Land and Environment Court of NSW (LEC). In the 1980s there was considerable interest in ADR in Australia. Mediation was in use for community, family and business disputes and by the early 1990s was being suggested for environmental, planning and development matters. Its use was encouraged by government agencies keen to see a reduction in the costs of often delayed council decisions on development applications. There was also a desire by councils to find a way to reduce the community disharmony that often occurred over large or contentious applications, or when changes to planning policies were proposed. Mediation held great promise in these early years but as this research shows, its take-up has been modest and its use variable. A detailed analysis of the encouragement to use ADR for planning and development disputes before councils and the LEC, together with an examination of policy and survey evidence, uncovers a significant gap between the promotional rhetoric and actual practice. From extensive in-depth interviews with council staff and ADR practitioners and through personal knowledge, it can be seen that the initial enthusiasm for ADR has not continued, with council staff now more commonly seeking to directly negotiate solutions to development disputes. The thesis concludes by considering the likely future for ADR in local government planning and development disputes.

Australia has a lower teenage fertility rate than other industrialised English-speaking countries. However, with over 11,000 births and 12,000 abortions to teenagers each year, the resolution of teenage pregnancy is an issue faced by many young Australian women. ¶ This research seeks to explore the factors that discriminate between those who terminate and those who continue a teenage pregnancy. To achieve this aim a survey was conducted on young ever-pregnant women throughout New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. The survey sought information on young women’s characteristics on three different levels: individual; institutional; and societal or cultural. ¶ The findings suggest that, at each of the three levels proposed, there are factors that discriminate between young women who choose abortion and those who choose motherhood. At the individual level, attitudes to abortion and career aspirations were found to affect pregnancy resolution. At the institutional level factors relating to education, family, relationships and religion were found to discriminate between the two groups. Finally, at the cultural level, ethnicity and area of residence were found to be associated with pregnancy resolution, in addition to modifying the effect of characteristics at other levels.

Les fonctions analytiques généralisées sont définies par des séries convergentes de monômes à coeficients réels et exposants réels positifs. Nous étudions l'extension de la géométrie analytique réelle associée à ces algèbres de fonctions. Nous introduisons pour cela la notion de variété analytique réelle généralisée. Il s'agit de variétés topologiques à bord munies de la structure du faisceau des fonctions analytiques réelles généralisées. Notre résultat principal est un théorème de monomialisation locale de ces fonctions.