Par ce travail de recherche, nous tâchons de mettre à jour les dynamiques qui sous-tendent la relation entre syndicalistes et travailleurs d'un secteur de production de services tel que le nettoyage industriel. Ce secteur, désormais le plus souvent externalisé, emploie une main-d’œuvre majoritairement féminine et souvent d’origine immigrée. Ce n’est pourtant pas entièrement un « désert syndical », ce qui justifie une analyse fine des pratiques syndicales de ce secteur. Par la comparaison internationale, nous avons ciblé les interactions qui se déploient au niveau des structures territoriales de la bourse du travail pour la CGT de Marseille et de la Camera del Lavoro pour à la CGIL de Bologne. En particulier, une approche basée sur l'observation directe et sur le concept de stratégie syndicale nous a permis d'analyser trois pratiques syndicales, le suivi individuel, l'action collective et les assemblées. Des dynamiques de fonctionnement variées, ainsi que les différentes sources de légitimité des organisations syndicales, conduisent à parler de syndicalismeS au pluriel, plutôt que de syndicalisme. / The current research project aims to analyze the relation between cleaning workers and labor unions based on the comparative international approach. The cleaning sector mainly employs immigrant female workforce, and many of them work under, subcontracting. Although this sector is characterized by a weak labor-union presence, however labor-unions exist, and they have constant relations with cleaning workers. Therefore, the current research project highlights the importance of taking into account trade union practices, and studies more in details the interaction between union activists and cleaning workers. For the purpose of the analysis, we performed participant observation studies at the local structures of the CGT in (Marseille) and CGIL in (Bologna). The participant observation was focused on the concept of union strategies which helped us to identify three main union practices: (individual monitoring (suivi individuel), strikes, and meetings). The results show that different modes of union practices lead us to define the concept labor-unionismS in the plural form, rather than in the singular form.

Ce travail entend examiner les conditions de production d’un syndicalisme « politique », à partir de l’analyse localisée d’un syndicat CGT d’établissement dans un hôpital psychiatrique de 1968 à aujourd’hui. La catégorie de « politique », au cœur de ce travail, recouvre différentes dimensions qui sont analysées : des activités syndicales qui ne s’éprouvent pas seulement sur le lieu de travail, une présence importante de militants multipositionnés dans des organisations politiques, un attachement à attribuer une signification aux positions occupées dans les rapports sociaux. L’attention portée à l’ancrage syndical dans le lieu de travail permet de saisir comment ce dernier façonne le syndicat et ses membres. La thèse montre dans quelle mesure les modalités de l’engagement des militants procèdent conjointement des socialisations professionnelles et des socialisations syndicales. Néanmoins, l’inscription du syndicat dans l’univers hospitalier a pour effet de reproduire une inégale distribution des positions sociales et professionnelles dans l’organisation, accentuant des rapports différenciés à l’engagement et aux conceptions syndicales qui sont portées par les militants. L’approche socio-historique permet d’appréhender dans le temps la production de l’institution syndicale et ses spécificités en étant attentif aux continuités et aux évolutions. / This work aims at examining the conditions of production of a “political” trade unionism through a study of the specific case of a CGT trade union in a psychiatric hospital from 1968 to nowadays. The sense of “political”, crucial to this work, is explored and analyzed in its numerous dimensions, such as the trade union activities experimented in other places than work, the large amount of multipositioned activists taking part in political organizations or the tendency to give a meaning to the different positions in social relationships. By focusing on how a trade union and a workplace are closely intertwined, we aim at showing how a workplace can shape both a trade union and its members. Similarly, the activists’ commitment has to be understood in association with the socialization process within their work and their union trade. However, in this case, the unbalanced distribution of social and professional positions in the hospital is reproduced in the organization, which in turn widens the gap between the activists’ different ways of being committed in the trade union or even of considering it. Through its socio-historical approach, this work seeks to understand how a trade union is produced and what its characteristics are while keeping its developments in sight.

En paralelo con la crisis económica y política del año 1930, surgió la Confederación General del Trabajo (CGT), como un intento más de aglutinar a los diversos sectores que se adjudicaban la representación sindical en nuestro país. En un escenario marcado por la instalación de la dictadura militar del general José Félix Uriburu y los primeros años del fraude instaurado por el gobierno de Agustín P. Justo, el movimiento obrero se enfrentó a un nuevo desafío que volvía a poner en debate diferentes temas que venían siendo recorridos desde los inicios mismos de su experiencia organizacional: los vínculos con el estado y los partidos políticos, las diferentes tradiciones ideológicas y el proceso de institucionalización más conveniente para su funcionamiento unificado. En ese clima, los primeros cinco años de la organización, que a la postre sería la más importante de la historia sindical de nuestro país, estarían signados por la preeminencia en la conducción de los dirigentes y gremios que adherían a la corriente sindicalista. Este liderazgo se construyó con el inicial acuerdo de importantes sectores referenciados en el socialismo, en una dinámica de creciente tensión entre ambos grupos, acerca de los métodos institucionales y de los posicionamientos ideológico-políticos. Esta tesis analiza, entonces, la lógica de construcción de liderazgo político y gremial en la CGT, entre su fundación en 1930 y el fin de la conducción de preeminencia sindicalista en la central, ocurrida en diciembre de 1935.

South Asia, a land of contrasting landscapes, seasons and climates, is highly vulnerable to climate variability over intra-seasonal to decadal time scales. In winter, precipitation over the western parts of south Asia and fog over the Indo-Gangetic (IG) plains are the two major climatic features. During summer most of the region comes under the grip of monsoon. Winter precipitation over the north-western parts of South Asia is associated with eastwards propagating ‘western disturbances’ originating mostly from Mediterranean. Both observations and regional climate-model simulations show that the winter precipitation increases/decreases during the positive/negative phases of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and the warm/cold phase of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). During these phases, the intensification of western disturbances results from the effect of an enhanced trough visible at sea-level as well as at higher altitudes over central Asia. The inter-annual variability of fog is coupled over IG plains with a significant trend in the fog frequencies, both in observations and ERA-Interim reanalysis data. This increase shows two distinct regime shifts in 1990 and 1998 with respect to mean and variance, this in contrast to a gradual increase of the humidity over the region. The thermodynamic analysis of the intra-seasonal summer monsoon active phases (APs) over Pakistan revealed that a few days before AP, an upper-level warm anomaly appears over the northern Hindu Kush-Himalaya region and is reinforced by surface heating. The baroclinic height anomalies, with a low-level anticyclone located east of the warming, causes a moisture convergence, strong enough to overcome the preexisting stable atmospheric conditions. The extratropical dynamics also play an important role for the inter-annual variation of the South-Asian monsoon. It is found that the two leading modes between the upper-level circulation in the Atlantic/European region and monsoon rainfall are the Circumglobal Teleconnection (CGT) and the summer NAO. The positive phase of the CGT is related to a widespread increase of monsoon rainfall, and a positive summer NAO is related to a precipitation dipole with its positive anomaly over Pakistan. / At the time of the doctoral defense, the following paper was unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 4: Submitted.

Thesis--Cologne. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 406-433).

<p></p><p>Shader programming is an efficient way to render graphics yet can be complex to understand for emerging computational artists who are new to the world of creative programming. Since shaders are an important part of visual programming, making them easier to use should be considered an important factor in teaching basic to advanced concepts in the rendering pipeline of computer graphics. Though some tools like shader editors and interactive graphical interfaces have been designed to aid in the understanding of these concepts, they still fall behind in some areas in meeting the requirements of emerging computational artists. </p> <p>In this thesis we present and explore the usability of a new Shader Mode tool developed for an open-source software called Processing, widely used in education and production for digital arts and design, and discuss how it can aid shader programming for emerging computational artists. This tool was inspired by a project the author did for Google Summer of Code in 2018. The tool was tested with Processing users who have some familiarity with shader programming. The analysis of the tool was done using a mixed method research technique: combination of quantitative and qualitative analysis. Since we were unable to get enough users for the study, the results could not be generalized to all Processing shader users. However, relevant user feedback is discussed. </p><br><p></p>

In this thesis, available tools for call graph generation, processing and visualization are analyzed. Based on this analysis, a call-graph processing tool is designed. The tool is then implemented and tested on call graphs generated from various real-world programs, including the Linux Kernel.

<p>Recently, exploration to develop creative and technology-centered learning techniques have become popular. Researchers work on non-traditional tools to help students understand abstract concepts and reduce misconceptions in physics education. Studies have been performed to explore the influence computer simulations can make on learning as compared to the traditional methods. Simulations with dynamic moving images which engage visual senses have helped improve learning, while haptic channels are unexplored in comparison tactile senses are crucial in the case of embodied cognitive learning.</p><p><br></p><p>This thesis takes an opportunity to explore the research area of haptic technology combined with visual simulation. It tests the efficiency of the learning environment developed as a part of this thesis called the Visuo-Haptic Pulley Simulation (ViHaPS) in learning concepts of when compared to traditional learning tools. ViHaPS consists of six different scenarios and is designed to address common misconceptions of pulleys and has two different modes - minimal visual cues and added visual cues. Undergraduate students enrolled at Purdue University participated in this research. They were formed into two groups - an experimental group (ViHaPS) and control group (physical manipulatives) and were compared for learning gains.</p><p> </p><p><br></p><p>Results indicate that ViHaPS is useful in learning concepts of pulleys; however, the results are not significant in comparison to the real experimentation with pulleys.</p>

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Commerce (specializing in Taxation) Johannesburg 2015 / Due to the vast number of groups of companies having many subsidiaries that are no longer viable from an economic perspective or that no longer gain the tax benefit that they were first created to achieve, there are many group restructurings occurring. These restructurings are to potentially simplify the group structure as well as achieve the maximum tax benefit. This research report will analyse how groups may be restructured in line with the provisions of the Income Tax Act (‘the Act’) as it stands currently by looking back at how restructurings were dealt with in the past and how that has now evolved. The research discusses the corporate rollover relief provisions that may be applied in order to simplify the restructuring process which is commonly used in today’s practice. The research suggests that there are many different ways to restructure a group in order to gain the maximum amount of benefit from a tax perspective. Key Words: branch, capital gains tax (CGT), corporate income tax, corporate rollover relief, deregistration, foreign tax resident, general anti-avoidance rules (GAAR), liquidation, partnership, restructure, value-added tax.

Dans les sociétés occidentales, le processus de désindustrialisation et l'essor des secteurs du tertiaire ont représenté un important banc d'essai pour les organisations syndicales. Cela a conduit nombre de chercheurs à voir dans cette période historique les éléments d'une crise irréparable du syndicalisme, supposé incapable de survivre à l'époque du capitalisme industriel. Toutefois, le syndicalisme continue d'exister et cela aussi dans des contextes de précarité. Le choix a été fait d'étudier le syndicalisme dans un secteur emblématique du point de vue de la complexité des rapports sociaux et des différentes formes de précarité, à savoir le secteur de la propreté. Du fait de la composition de sa main-d'œuvre (majoritairement féminine, immigrée et/ou ethnicisée) et de son mode d'organisation (externalisation et temps partiel imposé), cette branche d'activité représente un terrain fécond pour l'étude du syndicalisme dans un milieu caractérisé par un " cumul de précarités ". Par ce travail de recherche, nous avons voulu positionner la focale d'analyse du côté des " pratiques syndicales en train de se faire ". Par une telle démarche, nous avons tout particulièrement montré l'importance de la prise en compte, au-delà du rapport de domination mobilisé traditionnellement pour l'étude du syndicalisme - la relation capital/travail - d'autres formes de domination. En effet, on ne peut plus se dispenser de la prise en compte des dominations liées au statut d'immigré, à l'ethnie - et plus largement à l'ethnicisation des identités sociales - et aux rapports sociaux de sexe. La combinaison entre approche ethnographique et la comparaison internationale a permis de soumettre un objet de recherche construit sur les pratiques à l'épreuve de deux contextes sociétaux différents, démarche qui s'est révélée féconde pour le processus de monté en généralité.