In the currently dominating linear economy, there is a strong focus on the forward supply of products, where products and materials are being replaced and wasted at an increasing pace. In addition to this, there are products not even reaching customers, being scrapped as a result of them being excess in inventories. As the increasingly noted circular economy aims to control the flows of materials so that these are circulated and the value of them is kept as high as possible while minimizing waste, it offers a set of tools useful to increase the material efficiency of excess inventories. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate how improved inventory management can increase material efficiency from a circular economy perspective, to improve environmental and economic sustainability performance. A case study was completed at a global company in the ICT manufacturing sector where the current processes for handling excess inventory were studied along with the implications of product modularization. While exploring this topic, the thesis further aims to identify barriers and potentials to improving inventory management from the circular economy perspective. In enabling this, a qualitative study was performed, collecting empirical data through interviews with employees and researchers to use as the base for analysis and discussion. The findings present that although processes for managing products in excess inventory exist at the case company, there is great room for improvement regarding both a wider application of these along with the incentives and efficiency of them. The selection of products to be recirculated is today greatly dominated by economic factors, where typically only high-value products tend to be considered and the environmental aspect is somewhat lost in this consideration. Moreover, modularization is identified as an enabler for increased material efficiency in inventory management, reducing unique components and materials in inventories and thereby the risk of scrapping. However, these positive effects of modularization on the material efficiency are unfortunately not expected to be seen in the nearest time, but rather in the future. Furthermore, several barriers to improved inventory management are identified, also indicating the existing potentials for improvement and capabilities required for this. The most prominent barriers recognized are organizational, technological and economic barriers. The majority of them are internal barriers existing within the organization. / I den för närvarande dominerande linjära ekonomin finns ett starkt fokus på det framåtgående flödet av produkter, där produkter och material byts ut och slösas i en allt ökande takt. Utöver det här produktflödet finns dessutom produkter som aldrig når kund, utan som skrotas på grund av att de är i överskott eller har blivit föråldrade medan fortfarande i lager. Då den alltmer uppmärksammade cirkulära ekonomin syftar till att kontrollera flödena av material så att dessa cirkuleras och hålls vid ett så högt värde som möjligt samtidigt som avfall minimeras, erbjuder den en uppsättning användbara verktyg som kan användas för att öka materialeffektiviteten i överskottslager. Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur förbättrad lagerhantering kan öka materialeffektiviteten ur perspektivet av den cirkulära ekonomin, med syftet att förbättra miljömässig och ekonomisk hållbarhetsprestanda. En fallstudie utfördes vid ett globalt företag inom den tillverkande ICT-sektorn där de nuvarande processerna för hantering av överskottslager studerades tillsammans med implikationerna av att modularisera delar av produktportföljen. I undersökningen av detta syftar studien vidare till att identifiera barriärer och potential för förbättrad lagerhantering utifrån den cirkulära ekonomins principer. Detta utfördes genom en kvalitativ studie där empirisk data samlades in genom intervjuer med anställda samt forskare, vilken låg till grund för den analys och diskussion som genomförts. Resultaten visar att även om det i dagsläget finns processer för att hantera produkter i överskottslager hos fallföretaget, finns det stort utrymme för förbättring gällande effektiviteten av dessa. Urvalet av produkter för återcirkulering domineras idag till hög grad av ekonomiska faktorer, där oftast enbart produkter av högt ekonomiskt värde prioriteras för återcirkulering, och hållbarhetsaspekten förloras på vägen. Vidare identifieras modularisering som en möjliggörande faktor till förbättrad lagerhantering där färre unika komponenter och reducerade materialnivåer i lager minskar risken för skrotning. De positiva effekterna av modularisering på materialeffektiviteten inom lagerhantering förväntas däremot bli synbara på lång sikt snarare än kort sikt. Avslutningsvis identifieras flertalet barriärer till förbättrad materialeffektivitet inom lagerhantering, vilka indikerar de befintliga möjligheterna till förbättring. De mest framstående typerna av barriärer inkluderar organisatoriska, tekniska och ekonomiska barrirärer, där det kan konstateras att merparten är interna barriärer som kan hanteras inom organisationen.

Bakgrund: I takt med den stigande börsen så har intresset för aktiehandel ökat. Det finns ett stort antal investeringsstrategier att använda i jakten på att generera maximal avkastning. Två sådana strategier är att investera i företag med låga respektive höga multiplar. Tidigare studier har primärt fokuserat på icke teoretiska (redovisade) multiplar för stora bolag, varför det kan vara relevant att undersöka hur väl investeringsstrategier baserade på teoretiska multiplar för små och medelstora bolag presterar. Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att med hjälp av teoretiska multiplar identifiera undervärderade bolag listade på Stockholmsbörsen Large, Mid samt Small Cap, för att sedan studera om en sådan strategi kan användas för att överavkasta över tid. Investeringarnas optimala tidshorisont undersöks också. Metod: Studien använder en kvantitativ forskningsstrategi med en deduktiv ansats. Bolagen som undersöks är listade på OMXSPI under perioden 2016–2022 med 3, 6, 9 och 12 månaders portföljer. De redovisade och teoretiska multiplarna P/E, EV/EBITDA och EV/Sales jämförs och totalt har nio portföljer skapats. Dessa portföljer utvärderas med avseende på årlig avkastning och ackumulerad avkastning samt med olika utvärderingsmått såsom Sharpekvot, Treynorkvot, Modigliani-Modigliani och Jensens alfa. Resultat: Resultatet visar att det inte är möjligt att överavkasta genom att investera i teoretiskt undervärderade bolag. Ingen av årsportföljerna hade en riskjusterad avkastning som översteg index. Den multipel som lyckades bäst i denna studie var EV/EBITDA, och den marknadslista som presterade bäst var Mid Cap, dock utan signifikans i resultaten vilket innebär att det kan ha varit slumpmässigt. Vad gäller portföljerna med kortare tidshorisont presterade de klart bättre än årsportföljerna, men även här är det svårt att dra några slutsatser eftersom signifikansen överlag var låg. / Background: With a stock market rising for a long time, interest in the share trading has increased. There is a great number of investment strategies to use in the pursuit of generating maximum returns. Two of these are to invest in companies with low and high multiples, respectively. Previous studies have primarily focused on non-theoretical (reported) multiples for large companies. Thus, it is relevant to examine how well investment strategies based on theoretical multiples will perform for small and medium companies. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify undervalued companies listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange Large, Mid and Small Cap by means of theoretical multiples, and then study whether such a strategy can be used to over-return over time. The optimal time horizon for the investments is also examined. Method: In this study, we have used a quantitative research strategy with a deductive approach. The companies under investigation are listed on OMXSPI during the period 2016–2022 with 3, 6, 9 and 12- month portfolios. The reported and theoretical multiples P/E, EV/EBITDA, and EV/Sales are compared and a total of nine portfolios were created. These portfolios are evaluated with respect to annual returns and accumulated returns and with various evaluation measures such as Sharpe ratio, Treyone ratio, Modigliani-Modigliani, and Jensen's alpha. Result: The results of the study show that it is not possible to over-return by investing in theoretically undervalued companies. None of the annual portfolios managed, risk-adjusted, to outperform the market. The multiple that succeeded best in this study was EV/EBITDA, and the market list that performed best was Mid Cap, although without significance in the results, which means that it may have been random. As for the portfolios with a shorter time horizon, they performed clearly better than the 12-month portfolios, but even here it is difficult to draw any conclusions as the significance was generally low

The first part of this doctorate dissertation examines the factors influencing the occurrence and costs of pinhole leak corrosion as well as the household decisions for corrosion prevention and plumbing material selection. Three mail surveys of households were used to elicit the experiences with leaks as well as the optimal corrosion prevention and material choices. Probability modeling (i.e. MNL) and linear regression analysis were used to analyze survey responses. Pinhole leak occurrences were found associated with pipe type installed, property age, pipe failure history, and dwelling distance from a water treatment plant. The number and location of pinhole leaks in the dwelling and the pipe type are associated with the financial costs of pinhole leaks. The corrosion prevention choices as well as the plumbing materials depended on the risk of corrosion and cost associated with each option. Previous experiences with pinhole leak impacted the decision for household choices. Faster responses to pinhole leak outbreaks by utility managers and policymakers in terms of advising homeowners on the best ways of responding to leaks would assist homeowners in reducing costs of pinhole leak repairs and associated damages. The second part of this document deals with the debt financing issues. Debt financing decisions are made simultaneously by lenders and borrowers. Since lenders are unable to observe directly the firms’ investment decisions, the banks offer contracts based up on firms’ observable characteristics (i.e. wealth and size) and the prevailing market conditions. When deciding on the financing decisions, firms also take into account the changes in macroeconomic variables in order to lower the cost of borrowing. As a result, the goal for this article is to examine empirically the hypothesis of the effect of the debt determinant as well as the macroeconomic variables on the debt maturity structure. A reduced form of the simultaneous financing decisions model is estimated by employing several OLS estimation methods. The empirical findings offer strong support for firms with few growth options, large, and of low quality having more long-term debt in their capital structure. There was, however, no clear support for the impact of macroeconomic variables on debt maturity as some variables were not statistically significant. / Ph. D.

Envisioned as a contribution to South Asian studies in general, and the fields of historical and political anthropology in particular, this dissertation develops around a set of relationships centered on the concept of sovereignty. In addressing the question of what the expenditure on Brahmins and the colonial, missionary, and Nair critiques against it meant for the evolving notion of sovereignty for the princely state of Travancore in the nineteenth century, I argue that the colonial, missionary and Nair critiques were not just based on the economic logic of productivity and the governmental logic of welfare, but also on the recognition of the Brahmin Problem as the fundamental crisis of sovereignty. Brahmin is the name of a problem that concerns the practice of expenditure, the relationship of property, and the construction of religion in the nineteenth-century Travancore. Travancore, located in the southwest of today's South India, was a native princely state under the indirect rule of the British East India Company in the first half of the nineteenth century and under the British crown in the second half. The problem was articulated in the colonial critique of spending money on Brahmins, their ceremonies, and their feeding. In trying to construct an archive of the crisis out of this problem embedded in the colonial and later missionary and Nair critiques of the state's expenditure in the nineteenth century, I focus on three key sites of contestation. The first one is the relationship of property, the second is the practice of feeding, and the third is expenditure on ceremonials. The postulation of the problem in these three sites is marked by colonial policies such as the integration of temples, or Brahmin properties, to the state treasury in the early nineteenth century and the activation of expenditure as a category of critique owing to the colonial pressure on the native state of Travancore to ensure the surplus of two lakhs rupees per year for the tributary payment for the British and the emergence of what I call public critique in nineteenth century. In my effort to build this problem, I particularly pay attention to its relationship with the evolving notion of sovereignty in the nineteenth century. This relationship is not a stable or steady text for analysis, but rather contingent on how the state variously negotiated this problem, leading to the emergence of the concepts of charity, trust, and religion. I characterize this negotiation of the state as translation, transposition, and adaptation within the colonial grammar of power. The archive of this negotiation, characterized by translation, transposition, and adaptation, provided me with the first material to think about charity, trust, and religion and see how they were connected to the evolving sovereignty of the state. By drawing on primary sources collected from various archives in Kerala, I map how sovereignty constituted a problem space in Travancore for a genealogical rumination. Following David Scott, Quentin Skinner, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Talal Asad, and Michel Foucault, I employ genealogy as a method to understand sovereignty as a relationship of power rather than an absolute type of power. This relationship of power is characterized by the crisis of the Brahmin Problem, giving rise to what I call, following Scott, the problem space of sovereignty. My primary sources consist of Travancore administrative records, temple records, written exchanges between the Dewan of Travancore and the British Resident, royal orders, colonial policy records, records of the policy discussion for temple reform, newspapers, and magazines. The dissertation concludes with a reflection on the scholarly stakes in studying sovereignty as a relationship of power in the context of caste, religion, and state in the contemporary context. / Doctor of Philosophy / The dissertation proposes a genealogical approach to the study of sovereignty in the nineteenth-century Travancore princely state by constructing what it calls the Brahmin Problem. I conceptualize the Brahmin problem as a form of expenditure that remained unexplained to the colonial officials in the Madras Presidency. Following the nineteenth-century debates around expenditure, charity, and trust, the dissertation traces varying expressions of sovereignty across time and argues that the princely state of Travancore showcased an archive of crisis cataloged by the excessive presence of the Brahmin problem. What this archive of crisis entailed was a necessity for the state to refine its policies of expenditure that include translation, transposition, and adaptation within the colonial grammar of power. Following the method of historical anthropology, the dissertation tells the story of princely sovereignty in the context of caste and expenditure in nineteenth-century Travancore.

Background: A blood analysis with the particular focus of the blood gas status is often performed on critically ill patients to investigate whether there are any potential metabolic or respiratory causes underlying their condition. Utilizing a point-of-care analysis system for blood analysis close to the patient can enable faster analysis and thus accelerate medical decision-making. The aim of this project was to validate two point-of-care blood analysis instruments, EPOC and iSTAT. The blood analysis comprises 13 parameters (e.g. blood gases, hemoglobin, electrolytes), and some of which are calculated based on the original parameters.   Method and materials: The study was performed on blood samples taken from 20 volunteers after informed consent. The volunteers were regular patients who were referred to the hospital to leave a blood test: at the phlebotomy department the patients were informed about the purpose of the study, and for those who agreed, additional sample designated for this study were taken. The samples were initially analyzed using the two point-of-care instruments (Epoc and iSTAT) and thereafter with two verification instruments (ABL90-flex PLUS and Cobas Pure), which were located in the laboratory of Bollnäs hospital. Precision measurements were conducted by doing five replicates for four of the parameters (sodium, base excess, pCO2, potassium) on five different occasions.  Result: Both the Epoc and iSTAT-blood analysis system displayed satisfactory correlation with the reference instruments for each analyzed parameter. Further, the precision measurements showed that both Epoc and iSTAT displayed equivalent variation coefficient (CV%) as the reference methods.  Conclusion: The result of this study showed that the point-of-care instruments performed well and displayed a high correlation with the reference instruments.

Ill health, accident and death are themes common to all of Jane Austen's novels. Some illnesses are physical, whereas some of her heroines experience excessive psychological, emotional and spiritual traumas. These references are too numerous to be either coincidental, glossed over or ignored. Austen expressed an interest in the mind/body relationship, believing that illness could be brought upon in certain personalities by the sufferer herself, and it seems that she might have held theories similar to those advocated by Mary Wollstonecraft in A Vindication of the Rights of Woman and even have anticipated those on feminine hysteria, and the effects of unconscious motives on behaviour, which were advanced by Freud in works such as The Interpretation of Dreams. This study examines Austen's novels, and the origin and purpose of physical and psychological illness in these, and looks at how Austen uses illness, accident and death, and more particularly how their roles progressively change and develop. For Austen's handling of these common issues appears to vary and to develop in line with the order of composition of her novels. She places increasing emphasis on them, not just to further plot, but also to reflect character change and development. Many of the parents or guardians of Austen's heroines are inadequate. And so Austen's heroines are often deprived of commendable models, left to find their own way, alone and in need of emotional support, to confront their youthful excesses, to work their way through these and to find their own destiny despite their handicaps. Self-improvement is neither pleasant nor easy, especially where one is young, inexperienced and alone. And, where heroines exhibit unhealthy or excessive interests in anything that diverts them from their paths of virtue or usefulness, the correction may frequently be painful. Thus most of the novels are, to a greater or lesser degree, filled with references to both physical and psychological ill health. This thesis examines how Austen used these illnesses, accidents and deaths in the various novels, both in the development of plot, as well as in the development of the character of the heroine in each instance. / English Studies / M.A. (English)

Thesis (MA (VA))--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This dissertation investigates forms of excess in representations of the body in specific examples of contemporary visual art in South Africa and internationally. Representations of excess are phenomena that have gained increasing prominence in recent art practice both locally and abroad. The discussion is focused on two artworks that are examples of this increasing phenomenon of excess in contemporary art: the Swedish video artist Nathalie Djurberg’s video installation Experimentet (2009), and South African performance artist Steven Cohen’s film Golgotha (2007-9). My discussion of the two artworks revolves around the central question: what is the signifying role of excess in representations of the human body in contemporary visual art? This central question is asked throughout the dissertation with two aims in mind: firstly, to situate within a theoretical framework the phenomenon of excess in relation to depictions of the body in contemporary art; and secondly, to situate my own arts practice within this framework. The analysis of Djurberg’s Experimentet and Cohen’s Golgotha is spread over four discussions, each relating to a specific aspect of the representation of excess in relation to the body. Firstly, I investigate the grotesque body with regards to Mikhail Bakhtin’s notion of grotesque realism and Jacques Lacan’s psychological notion of the fragmented body, or corps morcelé. Secondly, I examine the ‘body spectacle’ as a cultural critique of capitalism, and make specific reference to Cohen’s use of real human skulls as shoes in Golgotha as a cultural critique of capitalism. In this discussion I also investigate George Bataille’s philosophical enquiry into the notion of expenditure as a critique of capitalism. The ‘body spectacle’ is situated in the context of late-twentieth-century theorist Frederic Jameson’s view of the postmodern and his exposition of the ‘waning of affect’. Thirdly, I investigate excess and mimesis in representations of the female body, with specific reference to Djurberg’s Experimentet. Here the discussion is situated within the context of French feminist psychoanalytical theory with Luce Irigaray’s concept of the role of excess in mimesis. The study then turns to investigating the experiences elicited in spectators by representations of excess in relation to the body. I draw from George Bataille’s writings of the function of taboo and Mikhail Bakhtin’s insistence on the ambivalence of grotesque imagery to explain my own observations on images of excess. Here I argue, in reference to both Experimentet and Golgotha, that excess is characterised by the paradoxical stance of being simultaneously attracted and repulsed. Lastly I discuss my own current art practice with reference to the theoretical framework outlined here around representations of excess in relation to the body. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie verhandeling ondersoek die voorkoms van oordaad in die uitbeelding van die menslike liggaam in spesifieke voorbeelde van kontemporêre Suid-Afrikaanse en internasionale visuele kunswerke. Oordaadsuitbeelding is ‘n verskynsel wat opvallender voorkom in huidige plaaslike en internasionale kunspraktyke. Die verhandeling fokus primêr op twee kunswerke ter illustrasie van hierdie verskynsel: die Sweedse videokunstenaar Natalie Djurberg se video-instellasie Experimentet (2009), en Suid-Afrikaanse ‘performance’- kunstenaar Steven Cohen se film Golgotha (2007 -9). My bespreking van die twee kunswerke wentel rondom die sentrale vraag: watter aanduidende rol speel oordadigheid in uitbeeldings van die menslike liggaam in kontemporêre visuele kuns? Ter beantwoording van hierdie vraag het hierdie ondersoek ten doel om, eerstens, die verskynsel van oordaadsuitbeelding van die menslike liggaam in kontemporêre kuns binne ‘n teoretiese raamwerk te plaas. Ten tweede gaan ek my eie kunspraktyk binne hierdie raamwerk plaas. Die oorsig van Djurberg se Experimentet en Cohen se Golgotha word oor vier hoofstukke versprei. Elke hoofstuk bespreek ‘n spesifieke aspek van oordaadsuitbeelding rakende die menslike liggaam. Ten eerste bespreek ek die groteske liggaam aan die hand van Mikhail Bakhtin se idée van groteske realisme en ek verwys ook na Jacques Lacan se psigoanalitiese idée van die gefragmenteerde liggaam, of corpse morcelé. Die tweede ondersoek in die verband van oordaadsuitbeelding verwys na die ‘liggaamspektakel’ as kulturele kritiek op kapitalisme, met spesifieke verwysing na Cohen se gebruik van egte menslike skedels as skoene in Golgotha. Ek bespreek ook George Bataille se filosofiese ondersoek na die idée van ‘uitgawe’ as kritiek op kapitalisme. Die ‘liggaamspektakel’ word geplaas binne die konteks van die laat-twintigste-eeuse teoretikus Frederic Jameson se opvatting van postmodernisme en sy verduideliking van die afname in gevoelsinhoud. Ten derde ondersoek ek oordaad en nabootsing in uitbeeldings van die vroulike liggaam, met spesiefieke verwysing na Djurberg se Experimentet. Hier is die bespreking geplaas in die konteks van die Franse feministiese psigoanalitiese teorie van Luce Irigaray se konsep van die rol van oordaad in nabootsing. Die studie verander dan na die ondersoek na die ervarings wat by die gehoor ontlok word deur die uitbeeldings van oordaad rakende die menslike liggaam. Ek verduidelik my eie observasies oor oordaadsuitbeelding deur gebruik te maak van George Bataille se skrywes oor die funksie van taboe, sowel as Mikail Bakhtin se aandrang op die ambivalensie van groteske beelde. Hier argumenteer ek, met verwysing na Experimentet en Golgotha, dat oordaad gekenmerk word deur die paradoks van gelyktydige aantrekking en walging. Ten einde bespreek ek my eie kunspraktyk met verwysing na die teoretiese raamwerk uiteengesit rondom uitbeeldings van oordaad rakende die liggaam.

本研究之主要貢獻為發展適合台灣營造綜合險保單（本體損失險）之風險曲線。 先前由Salzmann (1963)及Ludwig (1998)之相關研究，係採用美國市場之損失經驗，考量不同保單之承保範圍、不同保險標的、及不同之承保風險，直接引用美國市場風險曲線於台灣市場之通用性值得釐清。 本研究回顧台灣營造綜合險保單之承保範圍及除外條款，依據西元一九九六年至兩千年之損失經驗，發現台灣營造綜合險之損率深受天然災害如地震、颱風、豪雨所影響。 再保險安排可分成兩大類，一是比例再保險; 另一是非比例再保險。風險曲線是非比例再保險常用之計價方式之一。 比較先前之研究，本研究之風險曲線分佈集中在低層其主要之原因如下:- 一、 分析標的之可能最大損失(PML)偏低: PML代表某一特定危險所可能造成之可能最大損失。以道路工程為例，其可能最大損失小於30%之保額。由於道路工程大多綿延數十公里甚或更長，其工程本身呈線狀之分佈。換言之，非常不可能會有單一損失其損失金額超過保額之30%。 因此，道路工程之損失分佈不平均且分佈集中在低層。 二、 營造綜合險保期偏長: 營造工程其中一個特性為多年期的保險期間。 因為工程之進行往往需要花超過一年的時間來完成，因此，營造綜合險全損(損失金額等於保額)之機率，遠小於財產險因火災造成全損之機率。 三、 分析之承保風險不同: Salzmann (1963)僅針對火災此一危險因子來從事她的研究。就我們所知，美國大多數住宅皆是木造，屬可燃性建材，火災造成之影響相當大。 相反地，本研究標的大多利用不可燃性建材來興建，如鋼鐵或混凝土，故火災之影響性相對較小。 關鍵字: 非比例再保險、風險基礎計價、營造綜合保險 / The major contribution of this research is to develop the exposure curves suitable for the Taiwan Contractor’s All Risks (CAR) Insurance (Material Damage Cover). The exposure curves generated in Salzmann (1963) and Ludwig (1998) were originated from the loss experience in the United States. Considering the different types of policies, different types of risks, and different types of perils, the applicability of those curves in Taiwan market is discussable. This study reviews the scope of coverage, insuring clause and exclusions of the Taiwan Contractor’s All Risks Insurance. According to the loss records between 1996 and 2000, it’s understood that the result of the Contractor’s All Risks Insurance is highly influenced by the natural catastrophic perils, such as earthquake, typhoon and heavy rains. The reinsurance placement can be categorized into proportional and non-proportional reinsurance or called excess of loss reinsurance. Exposure rating is one of the common pricing methods for the excess of loss reinsurance. Compared with those two previous researches done by Salzmann (1963) and Ludwig (1998), the outcome of this analysis shows an unbalanced loss distribution which leans to the lower layers that is mainly because of the following reasons: - (1) Low PML percentage of analyzed risks: The PML represents the Probable Maximum Loss subject to a certain type of peril. Taking a road construction project as an example, the PML of a road construction project is less than 30% of the total sum insured. Usually, the length of a road construction project is tens of kilometers or even much longer. In consideration of its linear shape, it’s very unlikely to have a loss exceeding 30% of its total sum insured. Therefore there was very few or nil loss data above the 30% of the total sum insured that’s the reason why the loss distribution is unbalanced and leans to the lower layers. (2) Long Construction Period of a CAR Project: A character of a CAR project is having a multiple-year policy period because the construction work usually takes more than one year to be completed. Therefore the possibility to have a total loss case, loss amount equal to the total sum insured, is much less than a property risk with a fire scenario. (3) Types of Perils Analyzed: Salzmann (1963) carried out her research by analyzing the peril of fire covered under the homeowners’ policies. As we know, most of the houses in the United States are the wooden structures, which are combustible. Oppositely, the risks in this research are mostly constructed by using the non-combustible materials, such as steel or reinforced concrete. Keywords: excess of loss, non-proportional reinsurance, exposure rating, and contractor’s all risks insurance.

Le présent mémoire part du constat qu’une thématisation redondante des motifs de l’excès et de la saturation constitue l’un des traits caractéristiques de la dramaturgie québécoise contemporaine. Si ces motifs figurent dans de nombreux textes, ils se déploient de manière singulière et originale dans plusieurs d’entre eux. Notre étude le démontre en prenant pour corpus trois pièces phares issues du théâtre québécois des cinq dernières années, Faire des enfants d’Éric Noël, Ainsi parlait d’Étienne Lepage et Nous voir nous de Guillaume Corbeil. Notre analyse sociocritique permet de mettre en exergue le fait que ces œuvres mobilisent, intègrent et transforment des sociolectes, des fragments discursifs, des programmes idéologiques, des manières de parler ou de penser qui essaiment dans le discours social contemporain. Par le travail qu’elles exercent sur ce déjà-là, chacune d’elles propose un regard critique inédit sur le vivre-ensemble et sur la manière d’être au monde à l’ère actuelle. Quelque différentes qu’elles soient dans leur procès esthétique, une lecture comparative conduit néanmoins à dégager qu’elles élaborent toutes trois une représentation oxymorique de l’individu, qui balance sans cesse entre le trop plein et le manque. / This present master’s dissertation is based on the fact that excess and saturation are some of the recurring themes of Quebec’s contemporary drama. If these themes are present in a lot of plays, they extend uncannily in a unique way in some of them. This particularity is revealed by the analysis of three important and recent Quebec plays, which are Faire des enfants by Éric Noël, Ainsi parlait by Étienne Lepage and Nous voir nous by Guillaume Corbeil. Our sociocritic study of these plays allows to point out the fact that they mobilize, take over and transform different sociolects, discursive fragments, ideological programs, languages and ways of talking or thinking that are swarming in the contemporary social discourse. By the work they do on the “already there”, each of the plays offers a critical and original glance on the present living together. As different as their critical process may be, a comparative study of these texts however leads to show that they converge in an oxymoronic representation of the modern individual, always ambivalent between overfill and lack.

In the present work we study multivariate extreme value theory. Our main focus is on exceedances over linear thresholds. Smaller part is devoted to exce- edances over elliptical thresholds. We consider extreme values as those which belong to remote regions and investigate convergence of their distribution to the limit distribution. The regions are either halfspaces or ellipsoids. Working with halfspaces we distinguish between two setups: we either assume that the distribution of extreme values is directionally homogeneous and we let the halfspaces diverge in any direction, or we assume that there are some irre- gularities in the sample cloud which show us the fixed direction we should let the halfspaces drift out. In the first case there are three limit laws. The domains of attraction contain unimodal and rotund-exponential distributions. In the second case there exist a lot of limit laws without general form. The domains of attraction also fail to have common structure. The similar situation occurs for the exceedances over elliptical thresholds. The task here is to investigate convergence of the random vectors living in the complements of ellipsoids. For all, the limit distributions are determined by affine transformations and distribution of spectral measure. 1