I. DESCRIPTION DE PROJET DE RECHERCHE Le canal sodium épithélial bloquable par l’amiloride (ENaC) est une protéine intégrale de la membrane apicale des épithéliums impliqués dans l’absorption du sodium. Deux fonctions majeures sont directement liées au fonctionnement d’ENaC. D’une part, la régulation de la balance sodée par le rein et donc de la pression artérielle et d’autre part, la clairance du fluide alvéolaire pulmonaire. Le transport vectoriel de sel et d’eau à travers ces épithéliums à jonctions serrées repose sur un transport actif de sodium entraînant un flux osmotique d’eau. Ce transport de sodium s’effectue en deux étapes: l’entrée apicale, par diffusion, facilitée via ENaC, et la sortie basolatérale, active, par les pompes Na+/K+ ATPases. Ces dernières années, un intérêt grandissant est porté sur les acides gras polyinsaturés à longues chaînes de type oméga 3 (PUFAs) et leurs implications dans divers processus physiologiques. Entre autres effets, les PUFAs modulent différents types de canaux ioniques (canaux Na+ dépendant du voltage, Ca++ L-type, K+). Les études in vivo impliquant un effet à long terme des PUFAs décrivent des mécanismes inhibiteurs. Cependant, lors d’une étude précédente, axée sur la composition lipidique des membranes de cellules rénales en culture et l’influence de l’ajout d’acides gras saturés et insaturés sur le transport du sodium, nous avons constaté que les acides gras polyinsaturés à longues chaînes de type oméga 3 augmentaient la réabsorption du sodium. Ces résultats pourraient être intéressants, car les canaux sodiques de l’épithélium alvéolaire sont en contact direct avec le surfactant, dont la composition lipidique varie en fonction de l’apport alimentaire en PUFAs. Chez les prématurés humains, le syndrome de détresse respiratoire est une des causes les plus fréquentes de mortalité. Dans un certain nombre de cas, on peut restaurer une fonction pulmonaire satisfaisante par l’administration de surfactant. Dans ce travail, nous avons opté pour une approche fondamentale des mécanismes de régulation du canal sodium épithélial par l’acide eicosapentanoïque (EPA, C 20:5, n-3). Des études électrophysiologiques, biochimiques et d’imagerie cellulaire ont été réalisées sur la lignée cellulaire A6 de rein d’amphibien, qui sert d’épithélium modèle pour l’étude d’ENaC depuis plus de 25 ans. Cette lignée exprime des canaux sodiques très sélectifs et possède des propriétés électrophysiologiques facilitant l’étude de leur régulation. Ce travail nous a permis de mettre en évidence de nouveaux mécanismes fondamentaux dont la pertinence physiologique et /ou clinique ne pourra être établie qu’en transposant cette étude sur un modèle in vivo, comme nous le proposons dans les perspectives. Dans le présent travail, nous avons étudié : 1. La distribution fonctionnelle d’ENaC dans la membrane apicale des cellules A6. 2. Les effets des acides gras polyinsaturés oméga-3 (n-3 PUFAs) sur le transport du sodium et les voies de signalisation impliquées dans ces effets. Nous montrons que les canaux sodiques épithéliaux sont distribués de manière hétérogène dans la membrane apicale des cellules A6, les canaux actifs se localisant au niveau de microdomaines membranaires (Am. J. Renal Physiol. 2003). Nous montrons aussi que l’acide eicosapentanoïque (EPA, C20 :5) augmente la perméabilité au sodium de la membrane apicale des cellules A6. Cette stimulation est transitoire et réversible, et implique l’activation de la protéine kinase A (PKA) en aval d’une augmenation d’adénosine monophosphate cyclique (AMPc) (Am. J. Renal Physiol. 2004). L’EPA ne provoque ni la stimulation de l’adénylate cyclase, ni l’augmentation d’AMPc total, mais inhibe l’activité phosphodiestérasique membranaire. En l’absence d’une augmentation mesurable d’AMPc, nous avons testé l’hypothèse d’une compartimentalisation de la PKA à la membrane apicale, où une faible augmentation d’AMPc pourrait être suffisante pour son activation. Nous montrons qu’une telle compartimentalisation est rendue possible grâce à une A-Kinase Anchoring Protein (AKAP) qui ancre la PKA à la membrane apicale. L’inhibition de la liaison AKAP-PKA empêche la stimulation du courant sodium par l’EPA. La distribution d’ENaC dans les microdomaines membranaires insolubles aux détergents pourrait favoriser l’ancrage de l’AKAP et des protéines régulatrices à proximité du canal ( J. Biol. Chem, 2007). Ce travail montre pour la première fois, un ancrage membranaire de la PKA par une AKAP dans les cellules A6 et met ainsi en évidence un nouveau mécanisme de régulation des canaux sodium épithéliaux.

SUMMARY: This thesis presents the possibilities and benefits of the use of anchoring vignettes method in educational science, in connection with information and communication technologies (ICT). It is the first ever use of the anchoring vignettes method in this field. In its theoretical part, the thesis introduces the works of other authors in which research was done with the use of self- assessment questions. It also shows the research using the anchoring vignettes method, and research in which this methodology was used in educational science. The practical part presents the results of the author's own survey, which shows the diversity of self-assessment of ICT knowledge and skills of Year 1 and 2 students at secondary schools. The thesis proves distinctive subjectivity in students' self-assessment, different usage of the scale by respondents and the purposefullness of using the anchoring vignettes method in this field. First and foremost, it shows an entirely different self-assessment of students of different study programmes, genders etc. before and after the correction using the anchoring vignettes method.

Après plusieurs décennies de désertification, certaines campagnes bénéficient aujourd’hui d’un réinvestissement croissant par des populations urbaines. Aussi, la restructuration des sociétés rurales interroge. Le paysage social change, transformant ainsi le rural en un monde social avant tout. Le village fait-il encore sens pour ses habitants ? La thématique de ce travail s’intéresse alors à l’évolution et à la transformation relationnelle de l’espace rural français, avec un intérêt tout particulier pour les communes de moins de 500 habitants et leur identité communale singulière. Le village de Gigouzac dans le Lot, 239 habitants, est mon terrain d’étude depuis plus de 10 ans. Ce choix n’est pas sans raisons et sans conséquences puisque j’habite mon terrain et mon objet d’étude, familialement, personnellement, et scientifiquement.La propriété essentielle de cette recherche est son caractère longitudinal, impliquant une mise à distance et une observation constante et participante. Ces différentes postures « du dedans » mêlent la sociologie et l’audiovisuel à une approche psychosociale. Le concept d’identité doit être défini en le signifiant. Cette thèse tente de saisir l’identité communale. Afin d’observer les effets que peut avoir l’arrivée de nouveaux habitants de culture urbaine sur cette identité, j’ai choisi de la considérer du point de vue de la psychologie sociale et de la dynamique de ses représentations. Les différentes méthodes de recueil de données employées, tour à tour quantitatives, comparatives, qualitatives, et audiovisuelles, montrent les permanences et les dynamiques de la ruralité. Le village évolue, se modernise, se réinvente, mais reste un territoire pertinent et cohérent, une réponse à l’individualisme grandissant de la société moderne. / After several decades of desertification, some countryside areas benefit today from an increasing reinvestment by urban populations. The restructuration of rural societies is also questioning. The social landscape is changing, turning above all the rural into a social world. Does the village make still sense for its inhabitants ? The field of this research deals with evolution and the relational transformation of the French rural space, with a special emphasis on townships (in the north-american sense) of less than 500 inhabitants and their singular identity. The village of Gigouzac (Lot), of 239 inhabitants, is my fieldwork since more than 10 years. This choice is not without reasons and without consequences, as I live my fieldwork and my research topic, personally, with my family, and scientifically.The essential property of this research lies in its longitudinal character, implying a distance to take as well as constant and participating observation. These various « in situ » postures are combining sociology and audiovisual techniques with a psychosocial approach. The concept of identity have to be defined by its meaning. This Ph-D thesis is trying to understand the township identity. In order to observe the effects the new inhabitants of urban culture could have on the township identity, I choiced to consider it under an angle of social psychology and its representation dynamics. The different methods used in the data collection, being quantitative, comparative, qualitative and audiovisual, show the permanencies and the dynamics of the rurality. The village is evolving, is modernizing, is reinventing itself, but it remains a pertinent and a coherent territory, a reply to the increasing individualism of the modern society.

À partir d’une enquête ethnographique et comparative menée dans une station balnéaire landaise et une station de ski savoyarde, cette recherche examine les dimensions spatiales de la vie sociale des personnes qui habitent différents lieux au cours d’une même année pour travailler dans le secteur du tourisme. À l’articulation de la sociologie urbaine et des sociologies de la précarité et de la jeunesse, cette étude analyse les effets socialisateurs d’une relation discontinue à l’espace et au temps, au regard des multiples sphères de l’existence convoquées par cette discontinuité : professionnelle, résidentielle, relationnelle, conjugale, familiale et corporelle. Une approche synchronique montre d’abord comment des individus partageant une relative communauté de positions habitent de manière variable un même espace selon leurs caractéristiques sociales, leur trajectoire d’entrée et leur ancienneté dans le lieu. La comparaison entre ce qui se joue l’été dans une station littorale et l’hiver dans une station montagnarde confirme le poids des effets de lieu sur les modes d’appropriation différenciés de ces espaces et la manière dont se structure la vie sociale locale. Cette recherche permet également d’éclairer les effets sociaux de la précarité et la force socialisatrice des différentes formes d’adaptation secondaires qu’engage la discontinuité spatiale et temporelle. Pour beaucoup d’enquêtés, majoritairement âgés de moins de trente ans et issus des classes moyennes et supérieures, faire les saisons apparaît comme un moyen d’échapper provisoirement, par la mobilité, à la cristallisation d’une forme potentielle de déclassement social. Cette pratique, dans un contexte fortement marqué par la précarisation structurelle de l’emploi, s’inscrit alors dans une logique d’expérimentation associée à la jeunesse et de différemment de l’entrée dans l’âge adulte. En outre, la recherche montre comment l’ancrage local et l’attachement à un lieu de saison particulier, où la vie sociale est régie par l’interconnaissance et des relations de proximité, peuvent offrir différentes ressources face à l’instabilité et l’incertitude. Les formes de compensation symboliques à la précarité dont ces ressources deviennent les supports alimentent chez les enquêtés une forte intériorisation des contraintes sociales et de l’injonction à la mobilité portée par le capitalisme moderne. Une approche diachronique met ensuite en lumière les conditions sociales qui encadrent le parcours de bi-saisonnier mobile. Elle dévoile comment l’entrée dans le monde des saisons puis la stabilisation plus ou moins longue dans l’alternance apparaissent à la fois comme une forme de rupture avec la trajectoire antérieure mais aussi en continuité avec certaines dispositions incorporées dans le cadre familial ou professionnel. Avec l’avancée dans le cycle de vie, les contraintes induites par la vie de bi-saisonnier mobile et les faibles possibilités de projection qu’elles engagent entrent en tension avec les formes de stabilisation résidentielles, conjugales et professionnelles que suppose l’entrée dans la vie adulte. Ces tensions poussent la plupart des individus à rompre avec l’alternance saisonnière après quelques années d’expérience. Cependant, la force socialisatrice du milieu dans lequel ils ont évolué participe chez certains à une reconfiguration du destin social auquel ils étaient objectivement destinés au regard de leur milieu d’origine ou de leur trajectoire scolaire. Cette reconfiguration peut se matérialiser par la sédentarisation dans un lieu touristique investi temporairement au départ. / With the comparative ethnographic studies of a seaside resort in Les Landes and a Savoy ski resort as a starting point, this research examines the spatial dimensions of the social lives of people who inhabit different places within a same year to work in the tourism sector. Joining urban sociology and the sociology of youth and social insecurity, this study analyses the socializing effects of a discontinuous relationship to time and space, in the light of the multiple spheres of existence impacted by this discontinuity: professional, residential, conjugal, relational, domestic and corporeal. A synchronic approach first shows how individuals sharing a relative similarity in their positions inhabit a same space differently depending on social characteristics, their trajectory and their history at the resort. The comparison between what goes on in the summer at the seaside resort and in the winter at the mountain resort confirms the weight of place on the different appropriations of these spaces and the way local social life is structured. This research also sheds light on the social effects of social insecurity and the socializing power of different forms of secondary adaptation that spatial and temporal discontinuity engages. For many subjects, mostly under the age of 30 from middle – upper class backgrounds, being a seasonal worker appears to be a temporary way of escaping the crystallization of a potential social downgrading by staying mobile. This practice, in a context strongly marked by the structural precariousness of employment, fits into an experimentation logic linked to youth as opposed to entering adult life. Furthermore, this research shows how local anchoring and the attachment to a particular seasonal resort, where life is ruled by interconnections and local relationships, offer different resources to cope with instability and incertitude better. The symbolic ways of compensating for social insecurity for which these resources become the backing nourish a strong internalization of social coercion and the injunction to be mobile carried by modern capitalism. A diachronic approach then brings the social conditions that surround the course of a bi-seasonal mobile worker’s life to light. It shows how entering the seasonal working world and the stabilization in this alternating lifestyle seems to be both a break from the trajectory prior to it but also a continuity of certain dispositions previously assimilated in the home or professional spheres. With the advancement of life, the constraints of bi-seasonal mobile life, and the little outlook they entail, come into conflict with residential, domestic, marital and professional forms of stabilization that the characterizes the entrance into adult life. These conflicts eventually lead most individuals to stop the seasonal alternating lifestyle after a few years experience. However the socializing force of the social environment they have evolved in leads to a reconfiguration of their social destiny for some, which they where objectively destined to by their background or their education trajectory. This reconfiguration can materialize in the form of the settlement in a touristic place that had been inhabited temporarily in the first place.

This diploma thesis deals with issues of pupils' behavior and discipline at elementary schools. It consists of a theoretical and practical part. The theoretical part deals with basic concepts and general problems of discipline and inexplicably with available literature. The practical part is focused on the research of the frequency of individual manifestations of disruptive behavior, it is determined whether the lack of discipline is associated with one of the selected characteristics of the pupil, such as the type of school, gender, socio - economic situation of the family and the development of the frequency of individual manifestations of disruptive behavior from the sixth to ninth grade. The aim of the thesis is to find out the extent of undesirable behavior in selected schools. The research method used is the statistical analysis of the data and the collection method is in the form of questionnaire. The result is a summary of the most frequently occurring unruly behavior at second level of the elementary school and its comparison within selected characteristics from the pupilś point of view. Self-evaluation is compared with the evaluation of unruly behavior from the point of view of the class and with the assessment of hypothetical person's suggestion. Key words Discipline, school discipline,...

Cette thèse de doctorat a pour objectif d’étudier le rôle et la fonction de la tradition et des innovations dans la création de nouveaux textes rituels dans l’Égypte ptolémaïque. L’étude est concentrée sur une analyse approfondie de l’organisation structurelle et de la composition rituelle d’un des rituels les plus élaborés et les plus complexes que nous connaissons dans l’Égypte ptolémaïque: le rituel du couronnement du faucon sacré à Edfou, représenté sur le mur d’enceinte du temple. Les sources disponibles suggèrent que ce rituel est une nouvelle composition de l’époque ptolémaïque dans laquelle des traditions sont associées à des traits nouveaux, ce qui ouvre la possibilité d’une analyse sur le rôle et la fonction de la tradition dans ce rituel, sur l’étendue de l’originalité de la composition, et sur les processus de composition et d’édition qui ont abouti à la création de ce nouveau rituel. L’analyse de l’organisation structurelle du rituel a montré que l’ordre des scènes rituelles sur la paroi ne correspond pas nécessairement à celui dans lequel les actes rituels étaient exécutés dans la réalité et que rituel n’était pas nécessairement effectué là où il se trouvait représenté. Ces conclusions ont débouché sur une nouvelle reconstruction de la séquence rituelle du couronnement du faucon sur la base des inscriptions hiéroglyphiques. De plus, en s’appuyant sur une analyse approfondie des sources textuelles, iconographiques, lexicographiques et archéologiques, une nouvelle identification des lieux où se déroulait le rituel dans le domaine du temple d’Edfou a été proposée. / This research project investigates the role and function of tradition in the composition of new ritual texts in Ptolemaic Egypt on the basis of an in-depth analysis of the structural organisation and ritual composition of one the most elaborate and complex temple rituals known from Ptolemaic Egypt: the coronation ritual of the sacred living falcon. The available source material suggests that this ritual was a new composition of the Ptolemaic period in which tradition was merged with contemporary ideas. An investigation of the interrelations of the ritual texts and iconographic themes of this ritual with other textual and iconographic materials enabled us to investigate the role and function of tradition in the ritual, to identify the editorial processes to which the new composition was subjected and to reach conclusions on the extent of originality and the conceptualisation of innovation in ancient Egyptian ritual composition. The analysis of the structural organisation of the ritual on the temple walls has shown that the order of the ritual scenes on the temple walls does not necessarily reflect the order in which the ritual took place in reality and that the ritual was not necessarily carried out in the specific location where it is depicted on the temple walls. These findings resulted in a new reconstruction of the ritual sequence of the coronation ritual of the falcon based on the hieroglyphic inscriptions. On the basis of textual, iconographic and lexicographic material combined with an analysis of the archaeological sources a new identification was proposed of the various locations in and around the Edfu temple domain where the ritual was carried out.

A presente dissertação versa sobre a determinação do parâmetro de adesão entre nata de cimento e rocha. Este parâmetro é de fundamental importância no dimensionamento de grampos e tirantes ancorados, sistemas de contenção frequentemente executados que utilizam da técnica de ancoragem. Ensaios de arrancamento in loco são comumente realizados para avaliar essa tensão de aderência, no entanto, muitas vezes, apenas se tornam viáveis financeiramente durante a etapa de execução das obras. A metodologia Composite Cylinder Bond Test (CCBT) permite a determinação da adesão de maneira mais simples e com menor custo, por meio de ensaios de laboratório utilizando corpos de prova mistos de rocha e nata de cimento, sendo, por isto, uma interessante alternativa para a etapa de definição paramétrica de projetos. Neste contexto, foram estudadas três litologias sedimentares do município de Caçapava do Sul/RS – aqui chamadas de conglomerado, arenito muito fino e arenito médio – pertencentes à Formação Varzinha. A caracterização dessas litologias foi realizada por meio de lâminas delgadas e outros ensaios de caracterização de laboratório A classificação textural do conglomerado é de conglomerado arenoso, o arenito muito fino é classificado como arenito lamoso e o arenito médio é classificado como arenito. Do ponto de vista composicional, o arenito muito fino é classificado como arcóseo, enquanto o arenito médio é classificado como arcóseo lítico. Noventa ensaios CCBT, além de ensaios de resistência à compressão simples das rochas e da nata de cimento foram realizados. As tensões de adesão médias obtidas dos ensaios de laboratório foram de 2,52 MPa para o conglomerado, 1,84 MPa para o arenito muito fino e 1,43 MPa para o arenito médio. Foi realizada uma avaliação de intervalos de confiança de valores de tensão de adesão, conforme a distribuição t-student. Concluiu-se que não apenas a resistência das rochas influencia nessa capacidade de adesão, mas também a capacidade de absorção d’água e a porosidade. Maiores valores dessas duas propriedades na rocha favorecem a adesão entre os dois materiais. Os valores encontrados em laboratório são compatíveis com dados de literatura de campo em rochas similares. / This dissertation evaluates the determination of the adhesion parameter between cement grout and rock. This parameter is of great importance on design of two systems frequently executed that use the technique of anchoring: rock anchors and bolts. Pull out field tests are commonly carried out to evaluate this bond strength, however, they are normally only economically feasible during the construction stage. The Composite Cylinder Bond Test (CCBT) methodology allows the adhesion determination in a simpler and cheaper way, by laboratory tests using mixed samples of rock and cement grout. Therefore, the CCBT is an interesting alternative to project definition of adhesion values. In this context, three different sedimentary lithologies from Caçapava do Sul/RS, Southern Brazil, were studied. The lithologies – called here as conglomerate, fine sandstone and medium sandstone – belong to Varzinha Formation. The characterization of these lithologies were made by thin sections and characterization laboratory tests The textural classification of the conglomerate was sandy conglomerate, the fine sandstone was classified as muddy sandstone, and the medium sandstone was classified as sandstone. In the view of their composition, the fine sandstone was classified as arkose, while the medium sandstone was classified as lithic arkose. Ninety CCBT tests, besides unconfined compression tests on rock and cement grout specimens were carried out. The average adhesion values obtained from laboratory tests were 2,52 MPa for the conglomerate, 1,84 MPa for the fine sandstone and 1,43 MPa for the medium sandstone. An evaluation of confidence intervals of adhesion was also carried out, according to t-student distribution. It was concluded that the adhesion strength was influenced not only by the unconfined compressive strength of the rocks, but also by their water absorption and porosity. Larger values of these two properties increased the adhesion between the two materials. The values obtained from laboratory tests are compatible with literature field data in similar rocks.

Neste trabalho investigamos os efeitos de superfícies de contorno e de confinamento na ordem orientacional de cristais líquidos, onde utilizamos cristais líquidos termotrópicos e liotrópicos. A importância deste estudo deve-se à aspectos tanto de interesse tecnológico (formas de alinhamento) como de pesquisa básica. Com relação aos cristais líquidos termotrópicos, determinamos que cargas eletrostáticas superficiais induzidas por esfregamento influenciam as propriedades orientacionais do cristal líquido, essas cargas foram medidas com a técnica de microscopia de força eletrostática (EFM). Estudamos novas formas de alinhamento ao tratar a superfície com polímeros fotosensíveis, onde foi possível introduzir uma competição entre dois potenciais superficiais de alinhamento (grades de relevo e fotoalinhamento) e geramos padrões microtexturizados com diferentes direções de alinhamento, o que pode ser aplicado na elaboração de dispositivos biestáveis. Em ambos os casos, uma forma de alinhamento local pode ser obtida com o uso de um microscópio óptico de campo próximo (SNOM). Com o uso de um surfactante (OTE) produzimos um perfil periódico de alinhamento homeotrópico e planar para tentar observar estados orientacionais esperados teoricamente, além de propor novos tratamentos superficiais. As análises topográficas foram feitas com medidas de microscopia de força atômica (AFM) e as análises de textura do cristal líquido com um microscópio óptico de luz polarizada. O efeito do confinamento de uma amostra de cristal líquido liotrópico foi investigado através do comportamento dinâmico induzido por campos magnéticos externos, dando evidências de uma transição de fase induzida apenas pelo confinamento da amostra. A ocorrência desta transição de fase foi confirmada através de medidas diretas com o uso de técnicas ópticas não-lineares, como a geração de segundo harmônico e Varredura-Z. / In this work we investigated the boundary surface and confinement effects on the orientational order of liquid crystals, where we used thermotropic and lyotropic liquid crystals. The importance of these studies refers to technological and fundamental research aspects. Regarding to the thermotropic liquid crystals, we determined that the electrostatic charges induced by rubbing of polymeric surfaces influence the liquid crystal orientational properties, these charges were measured with the electrostatic force microscopy technique (EFM). We studied new liquid crystal aligning forms with photosensitive polymers, where it was possible to impose a competition between two surface aligning potentials (surface relief gratings and photoalingment) and we created microtextured patterns of diferent alignment directions, which favors the use in bistable devices. In both cases, a local treatment can be achieved with a scaning near-field optical microscope (SNOM). With a surfactant (OTE) we produced periodic patterns of homeotropic and planar states to investigate the possibility of new orientational states induced to the liquid crystal, which are expected theoretically. The topographic analysis were done by atomic force microscopy (AFM) measurements and the liquid crystal texture was investigated with a polarized microscope. The confinement effect on a lyotropic liquid cristal was investigated according to theoretical approches of the dynamical behavior induced by external magnetic fields, giving evidences of a phase transition induced only due to the sample confinement. This phase transition was confirmed with direct measurements of the transition by using nonlinear optical techniques, as second harmonic generation and Z-scan.

In recent years oil and gas mining has moved into increasingly deeper water in search of undeveloped fields. As water depths approach and exceed 3000 m conventional offshore foundation systems become inefficient and ineffective in stabilising platforms and floating production storage units. The trend of supporting structure design in deep water has been to install catenary and taut leg mooring systems. Consequently, many types of anchoring systems are being developed and used in order to withstand large mooring forces. The SEPLA (Suction Embedded Plate Anchor) is ideal for use in this situation. This project has employed advanced numerical techniques and centrifuge testing to study pullout behaviour of plate anchor foundations in different soil profiles and suction caisson installation effect with the aim of generating a robust framework for design. The behaviour of strip and circular plate anchors during vertical pullout in uniform and normally consolidated clays has been studied by means of small strain and large deformation finite element analyses. Both fully bonded (attached), and ‘vented’ (no suction on rear face), anchors have been considered. The current numerical results were compared with existing laboratory test data, finite element results and analytical solutions. This study showed that the ultimate pullout capacity factors (Nc) for deep embedment were 11.6 and 11.7 for smooth and rough strip anchors and 13.1 and 13.7 for smooth and rough circular anchors respectively. When the anchor base was vented, the soil stayed attached to the anchor base for deep embedment, and the pullout capacity was therefore the same as for the attached anchor. The separation depth ratio, Hs/B or Hs/D was found to increase linearly with the normalised strength ratio, su/γ'B or su/γ'D. / Numerical simulation has been conducted to assess the bearing capacity for inclined pullout plate anchors. This bearing capacity analysis was performed by embedding the anchors in clay with different initial inclinations and different embedment ratios. Both the attached anchor base and vented base were evaluated. The results showed that the bearing capacities of the inclined plate anchors were associated with the inclination angles and base conditions. The separation depth of the plate anchors can be assessed by a simple equation from vertically pulled out plate anchors. Large deformation finite element analyses of plate anchor keying in clay has been performed. The effects of anchor thickness, anchor padeye eccentricity, anchor-soil interface roughness, soil shear strength, anchor submerged weight and soil disturbance have been studied with anchors in uniform or normally consolidated clays. The numerical results were compared with transparent soil test and existing centrifuge test data. The study showed that the RITSS method works well in simulating the anchor keying process. Anchor padeye eccentricity played an important role in anchor keying. A normalised anchor geometry ratio was used to estimate the loss in embedment during plate anchor’s keying. Both finite element analysis and centrifuge tests have been conducted to study the suction caisson installation effect. In finite element analysis, the soil disturbed zone varied from 3 times the caisson wall thickness to a full area inside a caisson. / Centrifuge tests of suction embedded plate anchors were conducted in normally consolidated kaolin clay and transparent uniform soil. It can be concluded that the reduction in anchor capacity due to soil disturbance after suction caisson installation depends on re-consolidation time and soil sensitivity. The soil disturbance also reduced the loss of embedment during the anchor keying process.

Nowadays event extraction systems mainly deal with a relatively small amount of information about temporal and modal qualifications of situations, primarily processing assertive sentences in the past tense. However, systems with a wider coverage of tense, aspect and mood can provide better analyses and can be used in a wider range of text analysis applications. This thesis develops such a system for Turkish language. This is accomplished by extending Open Source Information Mining and Analysis (OPTIMA) research group&#039 / s event extraction software, by implementing appropriate extensions in the semantic representation format, by adding a partial grammar which improves the TAM (Tense, Aspect and Mood) marker, adverb analysis and matching functions of ExPRESS, and by constructing an appropriate lexicon in the standard of CORLEONE. These extensions are based on the theory of anchoring relations (Tem&uuml / rc&uuml / , 2007, 2011) which is a cross-linguistically applicable semantic framework for analyzing tense, aspect and mood related categories. The result is a system which can, in addition to extracting basic event structures, classify sentences given in news reports according to their temporal, modal and volitional/illocutionary values. Although the focus is on news reports of natural disasters, disease outbreaks and man-made disasters in Turkish language, the approach can be adapted to other languages, domains and genres. This event extraction and classification system, with further developments, can provide a basis for automated browsing systems for preventing environmental and humanitarian risk.