Le développement des relations économiques internationales et la construction d’un espace européen intégré tant d’un point de vue économique que politique a relancé le débat sur la nationalité des sociétés. La question n’est pas tant de savoir si les sociétés commerciales disposent d’une nationalité au même titre que les personnes physiques – les solutions en la matière sont depuis longtemps acceptées par la doctrine et la jurisprudence internationales – mais plutôt de déterminer comment cette notion a évolué et s’adapte aux contraintes d’une part, d’une économie de marché mondialisée et d’autre part, du droit de l’Union européenne qui bouleverse les solutions traditionnellement admises en matière de nationalité des sociétés dans les droits internes des Etats membres. Ainsi, les critères de rattachement juridique d’une société à un Etat déterminés par les règles de droit international privé de chaque Etat s’orientent inéluctablement vers le critère anglo-saxon de l’incorporation. L’apparition de nouvelles personnes morales de droit de l’UE comme la Société européenne (SE) ou la future Société privée européenne (SPE) posent également la question de la nationalité et de la loi applicable à ce type de groupement européen. Il en est de même s’agissant des groupes de sociétés dont une réglementation de leurs activités pourrait être relancée dans le cadre du droit de l’UE. / The development of international economic relations and the construction of an integrated European area, both from an economic and a political point of view, has revived the debate on the nationality of trading companies. The question is not so much whether trading companies have a nationality on an equal footing with natural persons – solutions have long been accepted by international doctrine and jurisprudence – but rather to determine how this notion has evolved and adapted to the constraints on the one hand, of a globalized market economy and, on the other hand, of European Union law which overturns the traditionally accepted solutions of nationality of trading companies into the legal systems of Member States. Thus, the criteria for the legal connection of a company to a State determined by the rules of private international law of each Member State are inevitably directed towards the Anglo-Saxon criterion of incorporation. The emergence of new European Union legal entities such as the European Company or the future European Private Company also raises the issue of nationality and the law applicable to this type of European legal entities. The same applies to groups of companies whose regulation of their activities could be revived under European Union law.

The aim of my extended essay is to map out a state of an introduction of quality standards of social services in Social Welfare Institition of Stod. Process of a standard formation and their division into three basic parts are described in the first theoretical part. This is followed by a detailed acquaintance with the content of all the standards which is complemented by some instructions how to distinguish their filling and the most frequent mistakes. We can also find an explanation of a new terminology here which is used in the standards most often. The results of my carried-out qualitative research are presented in the following part. These were obtained by means of evaluating the interviews with some users and providers of social services, by making a content analysis of documentation and an analysis of various situations arising during the formation and introduction of standards in Social Welfare Institution of Stod. In this part, there is also a SWOT analysis of the current state of filling standards in this institution. The valuable point of the whole research is a suggestion of a methodical procedure during the intruduction of quality standards of social services which can be an instruction for other institutions. In the closing part of my extended essay, some measures are suggested which should contribute to a faster implementation of the standards into practice.

[pt] Recentes apagões em todo o mundo fazem da confiabilidade de sistemas de potência, no tocante a contingências múltiplas, um tema de pesquisa mundial. Dentro desse contexo, se faz importante investigar métodos eficientes de proteger o sistema contra falhas de alguns de seus componentes, sejam elas dependentes e/ou independentes de outras falhas. Nesse sentido, se tornou crucial a incorporação de critérios de segurança mais rigorosos na operação e planejamento de sistemas de potência. Contingências múltiplas são mais comuns e desastrosas do que falhas naturais e independentes. A principal razão para isso reside na complexidade da estabilidade dinâmica de sistemas de potência. Além disso, o sistema de proteção que opera em paralelo ao sistema de distribuição não é livre de falhas. Portanto, interrupções naturais podem causar contingências em cascata em decorrência do mau funcionamento de mecanismos de proteção ou da instabilidade do sistema elétrico como um todo. Nesse contexto, se dá a motivação pela busca de critérios de segurança mais severos como, por exemplo, o n - K, onde K pode ser maior do que 2. Nesse trabalho, o principal objetivo é incorporar o crtitério de segurança geral n-K para geração e transmissão em modelos de operação e planejamento de sistemas de potência. Além de interrupções em geradores, restrições de rede, bem como falhas em linhas de transmiss˜ao também são modeladas. Esse avanço leva a novos desafios computacionais, para os quais formulamos metodologias de solução eficientes baseadas em decomposição de Benders. Considerando operação, duas abordagens são apresentadas. A primeira propõe um modelo de otimização trinível para decidir o despacho ótimo de energia e reservas sob um critério de segurançaa n - K. Nessa abordagem, a alta dimensionalidade do problema, por contemplar restrições de rede, bem como falhas de geradores e de linhas de transmissão, é contornada por meio da implícita consideração do conjunto de possíveis contingências. No mesmo contexto, a segunda abordagem leva em conta a incerteza da carga a ser suprida e a correlação entre demandas de diferentes barras. Considerando planejamento de expansão da transmissão, outro modelo de otimização trinível é apresentado no intuito de decidir quais linhas de transmissão, dentro de um conjunto de candidatas, devem ser construídas para atender a um critério de segurança n - K e, consequentemente, aumentar a confiabilidade do sistema como um todo. Portanto, as principais contribuições do presente trabalho são as seguintes: 1) modelos de otimização trinível para considerar o critério de segurança n - K em operação e planejamento de sistemas de potência, 2) consideração implícita de todo o conjunto de contingências por meio de uma abordagem de otimização robusta ajustável, 3) otimização conjunta de energia e reserva para operação de sistemas de potência, considerando restrições de rede e garantindo a entregabilidade das reservas em todos os estados pós-contingência considerados, 4) metodologias de solução eficientes baseadas em decomposição de Benders que convergem em passos finitos para o ótimo global e 5) desenvolvimento de restrições válidas que alavancam a eficiência computacional. Estudos de caso ressaltam a eficácia das metodologias propostas em capturar os efeitos econômicos de demanda nodal correlacionada sob um critério de segurançaa n - 1, em reduzir o esfor¸co computacional para considerar os critérios de seguran¸ca convencionais n-1 e n-2 e em considerar critérios de segurança mais rigorosos do que o n - 2, um problema intratável até então. / [en] Recent major blackouts all over the world have been a driving force to make power system reliability, regarding multiple contingencies, a subject of worldwide research. Within this context, it is important to investigate efficient methods of protecting the system against dependent and/or independent failures. In this sense, the incorporation of tighter security criteria in power systems operation and planning became crucial. Multiple contingencies are more common and dangerous than natural independent faults. The main reason for this lies in the complexity of the dynamic stability of power systems. In addition, the protection system, that operates in parallel to the supply system, is not free of failures. Thus, natural faults can cause subsequent contingencies (dependent on earlier contingencies) due to the malfunction of the protection mechanisms or the instability of the overall system. These facts drive the search for more stringent safety criteria, for example, n - K, where K can be greater than 2. In the present work, the main objective is to incorporate the joint generation and transmission general security criteria in power systems operation and planning models. Here, in addition to generators outages, network constraints and transmission lines failures are also accounted for. Such improvement leads to new computational challenges, for which we design efficient solution methodologies based on Benders decomposition. Regarding operation, two approaches are presented. The first one proposes a trilevel optimization model to decide the optimal scheduling of energy and reserve under an n - K security criterion. In such approach, the high dimensionality curse of considering network constraints as well as outages of generators and transmission assets is withstood by implicitly taking into account the set of possible contingencies. The second approach includes correlated nodal demand uncertainty in the same framework. Regarding transmission expansion planning, another trilevel optimization model is proposed to decide which transmission assets should be built within a set of candidates in order to meet an n - K security criterion, and, consequently, boost the power system reliability. Therefore, the main contributions of this work are the following: 1) trilevel models to consider general n - K security criteria in power systems operation and planning, 2) implicit consideration of the whole contingency set by means of an adjustable robust optimization approach, 3) co-optimization of energy and reserves for power systems operation, regarding network constraints and ensuring the deliverability of reserves in all considered post-contingency states, 4) efficient solution methodologies based on Benders decomposition that finitely converges to the global optimal solution, and 5) development of valid constraints to boost computational efficiency. Case studies highlight the effectiveness of the proposed methodologies in capturing the economic effect of nodal demand correlation on power system operation under an n - 1 security criterion, in reducing the computational effort to consider conventional n-1 and n-2 security criteria, and in considering security criteria tighter than n - 2, an intractable problem heretofore.

Natural forests are characterised by great vegetation diversity and create habitats for a major part of Earth’s terrestrial organisms. Plantation forests, which are mainly composed of a few genera of fast-growing trees, constitute an increasing fraction of global forests, but they only partly compensate for loss of area, habitat and ecological functions in natural forests. Plantation forests established near natural forests can be expected to serve as buffers, but they seem to be relatively poor in invertebrate species and it is not clear why. This bachelor’s degree project aimed at establishing the ecological and edaphic factors that correlate with soil invertebrate diversity in dry upland forests and surrounding plantation forests in eastern Africa. Some aspects of the above-ground vegetation heterogeneity were investigated since this was assumed to influence the heterogeneity of the soil environment, which is considered as critical for soil biodiversity. The obtained knowledge may be valuable in conservation activities in East African forests, which are threatened by destruction, fragmentation and exotic species. The study area was Karura Forest, a dry upland forest in Nairobi, Kenya. Three different sites were investigated; a natural forest site characterized by the indigenous tree species Brachylaena huillensis and Croton megalocarpus, and two different plantation forest sites, characterized by the exotic species Cupressus lusitanica and Eucalyptus paniculata, respectively. For each forest type, six plots were visited. Soil invertebrates were extracted from collected soil and litter samples by sieving and Berlese-Tullgren funnels. The invertebrates were identified, and the taxonomic diversity calculated at the order level. The ecological and edaphic factors, measured or calculated for each plot, were tree species diversity, ratio of exotic tree species, vertical structure of trees, vegetation cover, vegetation density, litter quality, soil pH, soil temperature and soil moisture. One-way ANOVA was used to compare soil invertebrate diversity and other variables between different forest types. Akaike’s Information Criterion and Multiple Linear Regression were used to establish linear models with variables that could explain measured variations of the diversity. There was some evidence for higher soil invertebrate diversity in natural forests than in surrounding plantation forests. The abundance of soil invertebrates was also clearly higher in natural forests, which indicates that natural forests are more important than plantation forests for conservation of soil invertebrate populations. Soil invertebrate diversity (in terms of number of orders present) was found to be influenced by forest type and litter quality. The diversity was higher at places with high amounts of coarse litter, which here is considered as more heterogenous than fine litter. The dependence on forest type was partly a consequence of differences in soil pH since Eucalyptus trees lower soil pH and thereby also soil biodiversity. No relation to heterogeneity of above-ground vegetation was found. For future conservation activities in Karura Forest Reserve it is recommended to continue removing exotic plant species and replanting indigenous trees, to prioritize the removal of Eucalyptus trees before Cypress trees, to only remove a few trees at a time and to establish ground vegetation when doing so.

We study Social Groups consisting of self-interested inter-connected nodes looking for common content. We can observe Social Groups in various socio-technological networks, such as Cellular Network assisted Device-to-Device communications, Cloud assisted Peer-to-Peer Networks, hybrid Peer-to-Peer Content Distribution Networks and Direct Connect Networks. Each node wants to acquire a universe of segments at least cost. Nodes can either access an expensive link to the content distributor for downloading data segments, or use the well-connected low cost inter-node network for exchanging segments among themselves. Activation of an inter-node link requires cooperation among the participating nodes and reduces the cost of downloading for the nodes. However, due to uploading costs, Non-Reciprocating Nodes are reluctant to upload segments, in spite of their interest in downloading segments from others. We define the Give-and-Take (GT) criterion, which prohibits non-reciprocating behaviour in Social Groups for all nodes at all instants. In the “Full Exchange” case studied, two nodes can exchange copies of their entire segment sets, if each node gains at least one new segment from the other. Incorporating the GT criterion in the Social Group, we study the problem of downloading the universe at least cost, from the perspective of a new node having no data segments. We analyze this NP-hard problem, and propose algorithms for choosing the initial segments to be downloaded from the content distributor and the sequence of nodes for exchange. We compare the performance of these algorithms with a few existing P2P downloading strategies in terms of cost and running time. In the second problem, we attempt to reduce the load on the content distributor by choosing a schedule of inter-node link activations such that the number of nodes with the universe is maximized. Link activation decisions are taken by a central entity, the facilitator, for achieving the social optimum. We present the asymptotically optimal Randomized algorithm. We also present other algorithms, such as the Greedy Links algorithm and the Polygon algorithm, which are optimal under special scenarios of interest. We compare the performances of all proposed algorithms with the optimal value of the objective. We observe that computationally intensive algorithms exhibit better performance. Further, we consider the problem of decentralized scheduling of links. The decisions of link activations are made by the participating nodes in a distributed manner. While conforming to the GT criterion for inter-node exchanges, each node's objective is to maximize its utility. Each node tries to find a pairing partner by preferentially exploring nodes for link formation. Unpaired nodes choose to download a segment using the expensive link with Segment Aggressiveness Probability (SAP). We present linear complexity decentralized algorithms for nodes to choose their best strategy. We present a decentralized randomized algorithm that works in the absence of the facilitator and performs close to optimal for large number of nodes. We define the Price of Choice to benchmark performance of Social Groups (consisting of non-aggressive nodes) with the optimal. We evaluate the performance of various algorithms and characterize the behavioural regime that will yield best results for node and Social Group as well.

Cette thèse porte sur l'étude de différents aspects de la physique nucléaire depuis les basses énergies jusqu'aux énergies intermédiaires. Pour les basses énergies, où la matière nucléaire est essentiellement constituée de nucléons en interaction, la partie I traite de la fusion-fission des noyaux super-lourds, et la partie II des règles de somme associées aux interactions de type Skyrme. Pour les énergies intermédiaires, la matière nucléaire étant alors considérée comme une phase hadronique principalement constituée de pions, la partie III se focalise sur l'hydrodynamique relativiste de la matière nucléaire avec brisure spontanée de symétrie chirale. Dans la partie I, on s'intéresse à la formation puis à la désexcitation des noyaux super-lourds. On étudie donc la formation du noyau composé avec effets de mémoire. Pour la désexcitation d'un noyau super-lourd, l'existence d'un puits isomérique dans la barrière de potentiel change la dynamique de désexcitation et augmente les temps de fission. Cette dernière étude pourrait être utile à l'étude de la dynamique de la fission des actinides. Dans la partie II, les règles de somme M1 et M3 associées aux potentiels phénoménologiques de type Skyrme sont calculées à partir de leurs définitions intrinsèques. On détermine alors M1 jusqu'au niveau tensoriel et M3 avec potentiel central. Dans la partie III, pour le traitement hydrodynamique de la matière hadronique appliqué aux collisions d'ions lourds on peut, en première approximation, écarter les modifications induites par la brisure spontanée de symétrie chirale mais pas celles dues à l'aspect dissipatif. / This study focuses on different aspects of nuclear physics from low energies to intermediate ones. For the low energies, the nuclear matter is essentially constituted from interacting nucleons. Part I is on the fusion-fission of super-heavy elements, while Part II is on the Skyrme interactions-associated sum rules. In the case of the intermediate energies, where the nuclear matter is considered as being an hadronic phase mainly constituted from pions, Part III is focused on nuclear matter relativistic hydrodynamics with spontaneous chiral symmetry breaking. In Part I, the formation and the desexcitation of super-heavy nuclei are being studied. We analyzed the formation of compound nuclei including the memory effects. For super-heavy nuclei desexcitation, the existence of isomeric state within the potential barrier modifies the desexcitation dynamics and increases the fission time. This latter study could be useful for the study of the actinides fission. In Part II, the phenomenological Skyrme effective interactions- associated M1 and M3 sum rules are being calculated based on their intrinsic definitions. We identify then M1 up to the tensorial level and M3 with central potential. In Part III, as for the hadronic matter hydrodynamics being applied to heavy ions collisions, and as a first approach only, we can neglect spontaneous chiral symmetry but certainly not the dissipative impact.

La thèse concerne différents aspects de la répartition des fonctions arithmétiques.1. Deshouillers, Iwaniec et Luca se sont récemment intéressés à la répartition modulo 1 de suites qui sont des valeurs moyennes de fonctions multiplicatives, par exemple phi(n)/n où phi est la fonction d'Euler. Nous étendons leur travail à la densité modulo 1 de suites qui sont des valeurs moyennes sur des suites polynômiales, typiquement n^2+1.2. On sait depuis les travaux de Katai, il y a une quarantaine d'années que la fonction de répartition des valeurs de phi(p-1)/(p-1) (où p parcourt les nombres premiers) est continue, purement singulière, strictement croissante entre 0 et 1/2. On précise cette étude en montrant que cette fonction de répartition a une dérivée infinie à gauche de tout point phi(2n)/(2n). / Abstract

Die vorliegende Arbeit befasst sich mit dem Formänderungsvermögen von Al-Mg-Verbunden. Diese hybriden Verbunde wurden mittels hydrostatischem Strangpressen hergestellt und sind gekennzeichnet durch eine stoffschlüssige Verbindung basierend auf einer intermetallischen Phase. Basis der Untersuchungen waren die experimentellen Analysen der grundlegenden Hauptumformarten des Schmiedens Stauchen, Breiten und Steigen, um eine umfassende Charakterisierung der Umformbarkeit derartiger hybrider Verbunde zu gewährleisten. Dabei erfolgte die Herleitung von geeigneten Umformgesenken, der Aufbau eines Experimentierfeldes sowie die Definition der Variationsparameter. Die experimentellen Methoden wurden zweckmäßig mit numerischen Methoden ergänzt, um die Problemstellung umfassend zu analysieren. Bei den Untersuchungen wurde die belastungsabhängige Umformbarkeit der hybriden Al-Mg-Verbunde, insbesondere der intermetallischen Phasen, festgestellt. Aufgrund der Mikrostruktur verfügen die intermetallischen Phasen über eine Vorzugsrichtung, welche eine Schädigung hauptsächlich in radialer Belastungsrichtung aufweist. Die Schädigung der primären Grenzschicht geschieht durch eine Fragmentierung, wobei sich durch Diffusionsprozesse eine sekundäre Grenzschicht entlang der neuen Kontaktstellen bildet. Durch die Anwendung der numerischen Methoden konnten die maximalen Schubspannungen sowie die Vergleichsumformgrade als bedeutsame Einflussgrößen ermittelt werden. Basierend auf diesen Erkenntnissen erfolgte die Herleitung eines makromechanischen Versagenskriteriums, mit dem innerhalb der numerischen Simulation kritische Bereiche der Grenzschichtschädigung ohne experimentelle Versuche dargestellt werden können. Abschließend wurden Optimierungsstrategien auf Basis der gewonnenen Erkenntnisse abgeleitet. Die Modifikation des Mantel-Kern-Verhältnisses sowie die gezielte Anwendung von Exzentrizitäten bieten die Möglichkeit, anforderungsspezifische maßgeschneiderte hybride Al-Mg-Verbunde zu realisieren. / The presented work describes the extensive studies of the formability of hybrid Al-Mg compounds. These hybrid compounds were produced by a hydrostatic co-extrusion process and can be characterized by an interface consisting of an intermetallic phase. Basis of the studies were experimental analyses of the fundamental forming processes upsetting, spreading and uprising to provide a comprehensive characterization of the formability of such hybrid compounds. Therefore, the development of suitable forging dies, the experimental set-up and the definition of the variation of parameters was carried out. The experimental methods were supported with appropriate numerical methods to analyze the compounds in detail. In the studies, a load direction dependency of the formability of hybrid Al-Mg compounds, especially related to the intermetallic phases was detected. Due to the microstructure of the intermetallic phases, a primarily preferred damage direction in radial load direction, was determined. The damage to the primary interface occurs by a fragmentation mechanism. Due to diffusion processes a secondary interface along the new contact areas was established. The application of numerical methods showed that the maximum shear stresses and the logarithmic equivalent strains were determined as the significant parameters. Based on these scientific findings a macro-mechanical damage model was developed. By means of this model the critical areas of the interface damage can be visualized in the numerical simulation. Finally, based on the scientific findings optimization strategies were derived. The modification of the sleeve-core ratio and the specific application of eccentricity by a new eccentric hydrostatic co-extrusion process allow the full application of such hybrid Al-Mg compounds in the industry.

Transformations between different geodetic reference frames are often performed such that first the transformation parameters are determined from control points. If in the first place we do not know which of the numerous transformation models is appropriate then we can set up a multiple hypotheses test. The paper extends the common method of testing transformation parameters for significance, to the case that also constraints for such parameters are tested. This provides more flexibility when setting up such a test. One can formulate a general model with a maximum number of transformation parameters and specialize it by adding constraints to those parameters, which need to be tested. The proper test statistic in a multiple test is shown to be either the extreme normalized or the extreme studentized Lagrange multiplier. They are shown to perform superior to the more intuitive test statistics derived from misclosures. It is shown how model selection by multiple hypotheses testing relates to the use of information criteria like AICc and Mallows’ Cp, which are based on an information theoretic approach. Nevertheless, whenever comparable, the results of an exemplary computation almost coincide.

To extract the best possible information from geodetic and geophysical observations, it is necessary to select a model of the observation errors, mostly the family of Gaussian normal distributions. However, there are alternatives, typically chosen in the framework of robust M-estimation. We give a synopsis of well-known and less well-known models for observation errors and propose to select a model based on information criteria. In this contribution we compare the Akaike information criterion (AIC) and the Anderson Darling (AD) test and apply them to the test problem of fitting a straight line. The comparison is facilitated by a Monte Carlo approach. It turns out that the model selection by AIC has some advantages over the AD test.