Published Article / A controlled, voluntary human act is the basic element of criminal liability. If the act is not subject to the will, it is involuntary and excludes the act and therefore criminal liability. This defence is known as automatism. This condition of involuntariness can arise as a result of insanity or due to reasons other than insanity. If the accused were insane at the time of committing the offence and he successfully raises an automatism defence, he is sent for mandatory confinement in a psychiatric institution. The problem created by this legal provision of mandatory confinement is that an accused who was insane at the time of the crime, but sane at the time of the trial, must be confined in a psychiatric institution even though he is considered sane. In order to avoid this injustice, the courts have distinguished between "insane automatism" and "sane automatism." Cases where an involuntary action has occurred for reasons other than insanity have involved a defence of "sane automatism" and, if successful, have resulted in full acquittal. The reason for creating the term "sane automatism" was to avoid the said unjustified functioning of the law. Amendments to legislation in South Africa have given courts wider discretion and they are no longer compelled to confine the accused to a psychiatric institution. The legislation is no longer unjust, with the result that the distinction between "insane automatism" and "sane automatism" is no longer necessary. The automatism defence (no longer "sane automatism") must still be retained, but as an ordinary defence that is indicative of an involuntary act, and therefore the absence of one of the elements of a crime (but without a specific indication of whether it is sane or insane automatism). Automatism must therefore be limited to grounds for exclusion of the element of an act, i.e. the voluntary and personal conduct of the accused.

Le striatum, tout particulièrement sa région sensorimotrice, est connu pour jouer un rôle crucial dans l’expression de routines motrices qui nécessitent la réalisation d’une suite de mouvements. Dans ce travail, nous avons étudié la contribution respective des neurones efférents et des interneurones cholinergiques du striatum dans les processus qui sous - tendent l’expression de séquences motrices automatisées, en enregistrant l’activité unitaire de ces deux populations neuronales chez des singes entraînés à effectuer des mouvements d’atteinte manuelle de cibles. Par cette approche, nous avons examiné les modifications d’activité de ces neurones lors d’un changement des conditions de performance durant la réalisation de la séquence de mouvements. Ainsi en manipulant l’ordre habituel ou la structure temporelle de la séquence, nous avons montré, au sein du striatum sensorimoteur, que les neurones efférents et les interneurones cholinergiques participent au traitement des informations spatiales et temporelles qui caractérisent une séquence motrice automatisée. Par ailleurs, nous avons montré que ces deux populations neuronales sont différentiellement activées lorsque l’ordre de la séquence est visuellement spécifié ou déterminé sur la base d’informations mémorisées. Ces résultats apportent des informations essentielles pour mieux comprendre les mécanismes neuronaux impliqués, au niveau du striatum sensorimoteur, dans le contrôle des séquences motrices automatisées. / It is well known that the striatum, especially its sensorimotor part, is involved in the expression of motor skills which require the production of a sequence of movements. In this study, we addressed the respective contribution of efferent neurons and cholinergic interneurons of the striatum in the processes underlying the expression of motor sequences, by recording single unit activity of these two neuronal populations in monkeys performing sequential arm reaching movements. By this experimental approach, we examined activity modulations of these neurons during a change in the conditions of performance of the motor sequence. Thus, by changing the habitual order or the temporal structure of the sequence, we underlined that within sensorimotor striatum, efferent neurons and cholinergic interneurons are involved in the processing of spatial and temporal information which characterize an automatic motor sequence. In addition, we reported differential activations of these two neuronal populations depending on whether the serial order of the sequence of movements is visually cued or based on internally stored information. Taken together, these results provide essential information in order to better understand the neuronal mechanisms involved, within the sensorimotor part of striatum, in the control of the automatic motor sequences.

The work that I have produced during my graduate studies at the University of New Orleans addresses the impact that humans have on the environment in our contemporary world. A primary focus, but not exclusive, includes industrial materials or objects, their overwhelming presence that informs the juxtaposition of economic progress, and the reality of environmental disruption. Humor and metaphor are central themes of my work and reference my personal observations and experiences of living in the midst of these environments. Sources from Contemporary underground art have been filtered through my exposure to studio practice and art history, mainly the autonomous processes of Surrealism, resulting in a variety of influences that inform my work. I present imaginary images of architectural, biological, and mechanical transformations with the hopes of nudging the viewers' expectations and to create a better understanding of my opinion pertaining to the world and reality we all live in.

This interdisciplinary thesis investigates the Action Painting movement using rhetorical theories and models with the intent of producing a higher level of understanding of the paintings and increasing their approachability. A brief history of nonobjective painting, the technique of automatism, and the Action Painting movement is given. Following this, the semiotic character of the visual elements within Action Paintings is discussed and their behavior catalogued through descriptive analysis, using Kenneth Pike's theory of tagmemics. The work culminates in a comparison of painted gestures to conversational implicatures and guidelines are given for establishing meaningful and relevant dialogues with the paintings, presupposing the importance of an intangible context as defined by the reconstruction of authorial intent and anticipated readership. / Department of English

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Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Esta dissertação investiga o conceito de imagem-movimento e de imagem-tempo do filósofo Gilles Deleuze por meio das implicações contidas na passagem de um conceito para o outro. O aparecimento de regimes de imagem constituem mundos e automatismos específicos: o automovimento do chamado regime orgânico e a autotemporalização presente no regime inorgânico. A substituição da imagem-movimento pela imagem-tempo caracteriza-se por uma reversão da subordinação do tempo pelo movimento. Dessa forma, apresenta a conquista da realidade íntima do tempo puro, em que o tempo aparece completamente emancipado de determinações cronológicas. Ao marcar essa passagem, deve ser entendido como Deleuze alcança um novo regime de imagem e pensamento a partir de uma aliança com a arte cinematográfica. A transposição entre esses dois regimes expressa a mudança de um regime que afirma um autômato motor para outro em que há o surgimento de um autômato capaz de levantar o fundamental do pensamento. E mais decisivamente erigir o plano de imanência. / This thesis investigates the concepts of movement-image and time-image created by the philosopher Gilles Deleuze by analyzing the passage of one concept to the other. The emergence of image systems constitutes worlds and unique automatisms: the auto-movement from the organic system, and the auto-temporalization present in the inorganic system. Replacement of the movement-image by the time-image is characterized by a reverse logic of how time is subordinated to movement. Therefore, it presents the conquer of the intimate reality of the short time, in which time appears completely free of any chronological barriers. In highlighting this passage, its possible to understand how Deleuze reaches another image and thought systems in an alliance with the cinematic art. The transposition between these two systems expresses the shift in one system that reaffirms the automaton-machine to another system in which there is an automaton capable of raising the essential in thinking. And more decisively erect the plane of immanence.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Esta dissertação investiga o conceito de imagem-movimento e de imagem-tempo do filósofo Gilles Deleuze por meio das implicações contidas na passagem de um conceito para o outro. O aparecimento de regimes de imagem constituem mundos e automatismos específicos: o automovimento do chamado regime orgânico e a autotemporalização presente no regime inorgânico. A substituição da imagem-movimento pela imagem-tempo caracteriza-se por uma reversão da subordinação do tempo pelo movimento. Dessa forma, apresenta a conquista da realidade íntima do tempo puro, em que o tempo aparece completamente emancipado de determinações cronológicas. Ao marcar essa passagem, deve ser entendido como Deleuze alcança um novo regime de imagem e pensamento a partir de uma aliança com a arte cinematográfica. A transposição entre esses dois regimes expressa a mudança de um regime que afirma um autômato motor para outro em que há o surgimento de um autômato capaz de levantar o fundamental do pensamento. E mais decisivamente erigir o plano de imanência. / This thesis investigates the concepts of movement-image and time-image created by the philosopher Gilles Deleuze by analyzing the passage of one concept to the other. The emergence of image systems constitutes worlds and unique automatisms: the auto-movement from the organic system, and the auto-temporalization present in the inorganic system. Replacement of the movement-image by the time-image is characterized by a reverse logic of how time is subordinated to movement. Therefore, it presents the conquer of the intimate reality of the short time, in which time appears completely free of any chronological barriers. In highlighting this passage, its possible to understand how Deleuze reaches another image and thought systems in an alliance with the cinematic art. The transposition between these two systems expresses the shift in one system that reaffirms the automaton-machine to another system in which there is an automaton capable of raising the essential in thinking. And more decisively erect the plane of immanence.

Emotionally triggered involuntary violent behaviour not attributed to a mental disorder: conceptual criteria and their reliability. This study conceptualised emotionally triggered involuntary violent behaviour (ETIVB), developed criteria for the identification of ETIVB, and examined their validity and reliability. South Africa criminal courts allow for a defence called “non-pathological criminal incapacity”. It refers inter alia to extreme emotional arousal triggering involuntary violent behaviour. This is usually called an “emotional storm” or a so-called “psychological blow automatism”. Psychiatrists are often called to give expert testimony in this regard, but there is no conceptual clarity or criteria upon which to base it. This difficulty is compounded by the requirement set by the criminal courts that the behaviour may not be attributed to a mental disorder (in this thesis the terms mental disorder and mental illness are used interchangeably). The first advance in obtaining clarity was afforded by focusing on the behaviour as distinct from 1) legal and jurisprudential considerations as well as 2) whether the behaviour is (not) attributed to mental disorder. The subsequent research questions driving the study were, “what counts as ETIVB?” In particular, what counts respectively as „emotional triggered‟, „involuntary‟, „violent‟, and „behaviour‟. Through conceptual methods suggested in the work of J.L. Austin, draft ETIVB-criteria were developed and then repetitively applied to a set of 28 cases. Twenty seven of these cases involved a charge of murder. The other one had behaved violently, but was not charged. The criteria were refined and their content validity derived by a repetitive to-and-fro process between comparative exploration of the concepts and their empirical application to the set of cases. The criteria were formulated into an instrument by which a psychiatrist can identify ETIVB. In addition provision was made to record whether ETIVB is, or is not, attributed to specific causes including mental disorder, but only as an attribution that follows after ETIVB has been identified. The ETIVB-instrument was subjected to reliability testing among 14 psychiatrists and 10 psychiatrists in training. They applied the ETIVB-criteria to a set of 5 externally validated case summaries. The participants had first been trained in the use of the instrument by considering other example cases. Statistical analyses of inter-rater reliability were performed. The modified kappa agreement ranged from 0.388 (fair) to 0.636 (substantial) across study cases for all criteria A.1 – H.1. The criteria for violence had exceptionally high inter-rater agreement, all being 0.947 and higher. The complexity of the ETIVB-construct transpired when inter-rater reliability analyses were compared between cases in that different cases posed different challenges for inter-rater agreement. The reliability testing across cases however, showed which less agreed-upon items would benefit from refinement. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2015. / gm2015 / Psychiatry / PhD / Unrestricted

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Peintre et dessinateur, Adrien Dax fait partie du groupe surréaliste réuni autour d’André Breton après 1948. Son œuvre et l’appareil théorique qui l’accompagne contribuent au renouvellement de l’automatisme pictural. Dax pense un nouveau paradigme de l’automatisme en peinture notamment nourri d’éléments empruntés aux sciences ou à l’ésotérisme, l’inscrivant dans le sillage de l’automatisme absolu. La production de l’artiste, marquée par une démarche expérimentale, se distingue par l’invention de nouveaux procédés techniques et par un vocabulaire plastique qui laisse la part belle au biomorphisme. Les années de jeunesse d’Adrien Dax mêlent avant-gardes, lutte antifasciste et engagement révolutionnaire. Elles contribuent à lui donner le recul nécessaire pour participer pleinement à l’action collective du groupe surréaliste, faisant de lui un des principaux animateurs du mouvement après-guerre, bien qu’il ait volontairement occulté son œuvre. Étudier le parcours d’Adrien Dax permet de caractériser une nouvelle génération qui, à partir de 1951, s’empare du surréalisme pour le faire vivre. / From 1948 onwards, Adrien Dax participated, with his paintings and drawings, in the activities of the surrealist group around André Breton. Dax’s work and its theoretical underpinning contributed to the renewal of pictorial automatism. Dax created a new paradigm of automatism in painting which, in particular, contained elements borrowed from the sciences or from esoterism, placing him directly in line with absolute automatism. His output, marked by an experimental approach, is notable for the invention of new technical processes and by a plastic vocabulary which emphasized biomorphism. When he was young, Adrien Dax was involved with « avant-garde » movements, the fight against fascism and revolutionary commitment. This enabled him to gain the necessary perspective for participating fully in the collective activities of the surrealist group, making him one of the leading figures of the movement after the war, despite his persistent discretion regarding his work. A study of Adrien Dax’s life enables us to identify a new generation, which from 1951 onwards, was to reinvigorate the surrealist movement.