<p>An entity capable of assessing its and others action capabilities possess the power to predict how the involved entities may change their world. Through this knowledge and higher level of situation awareness, the assessing entity may choose the actions that have the most suitable effect, resulting in that entity’s desired world state.</p><p>This thesis covers aspects and concepts of an arbitrary planning system and presents a threat analyzer architecture built on the novel planning system Goal-Oriented Action Planning (GOAP). This planning system has been suggested for an application for improved missile route planning and targeting, as well as being applied in contemporary computer games such as F.E.A.R. – First Encounter Assault Recon and S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl. The GOAP architecture realized in this project is utilized by two agents that perform action planning to reach their desired world states. One of the agents employs a modified GOAP planner used as a threat analyzer in order to determine what threat level the adversary agent constitutes. This project does also introduce a conceptual schema of a general planning system that considers orders, doctrine and style; as well as a schema depicting an agent system using a blackboard in conjunction with the OODA-loop.</p>

冷戰結束後的「一超多強」情勢與「中國威脅論」興起，以美國為首的國際社會有圍堵「中國崛起」之意，中國遂提出「新安全觀」以維護周邊環境穩定。「新安全觀」有別於冷戰安全觀思維，強調以「和平共處五原則」與各國共處，以雙邊、多邊外交政策實踐，經由協商解決衝突。 此論文目的是瞭解中國在胡錦濤時期的「新安全觀」指導下的對外政策，與對美關係（一）詮釋中國「新安全觀」的背景、意涵及在外交上的實踐；（二）分析胡錦濤時期的外交政策；（三）分別就朝核問題、台海問題、南海主權爭議、人權問題等安全議題中，分析中國在「新安全觀」思維下與美國之互動關係。 / Since the end of the Cold War, there has no longer been superpower confrontation . Nonetheless the global situation has turned out to be a realm of “one superpower and many other powers.” As China’s threat emerges, China recognizes that the international community, especially the United States, is forging a strategy of containment. Therefore, the PRC initiates a “New Security Concept” to stabilize its adjacent environment, proclaiming a unique security concept, to implement bilateral and multilateral diplomatic ties with other nations. China emphasizes its “Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence,” solving disputes with others by way of coordination and cooperation. In this thesis, the author reviews the Hu Jintao government foreign policy and strategy based on China’s “New Security Concept,” and explore “Big Power” diplomacy . The author also analyzes the evolving changes of Sino-U.S. relationship under the “New Security Concept” so as to realize China’s very motive in manipulating foreign policy.

Syftet med studien har varit att ur ett militärtekniskt överlevnadsperspektiv ta fram underlag över vilken verkansförmåga helikopter 16 behöver under ett transportuppdrag, i en nationell insats där hotet utgörs av mekaniserat infanteri. Studien har genomförts som en kvalitativ studie med ett visst kvantitativt inslag och baseras på data och fakta hämtad ur öppen litteratur samt genom intervjuer av uppdragsspecialister med erfarenhet och kunskap inom dörrskytte. Till hjälp har metodverktyget A´WOT-analys använts, vilken är en hybrid till SWOT-analysen. Syftet med A´WOT-analysen är att skilja ut de faktorer som behövs för verkan från helikopter 16 mot en definierad motståndare. Det samlade resultatet och sammanfattningen av studien är att helikopter 16 verkansförmåga behöver en omfattande uppgradering, om uppdrag som egen taktisk enhet skall kunna genomföras i en hotmiljö som utgörs av en kvalificerad motståndare. / The purpose of the study has been to investigate, from a military technical survival perspective, the effectiveness of helicopter 16 during a transport mission, in a national effort where the threat consists of a qualified opponent. The study has been conducted as a qualitative study with a certain quantitative element and based on data and facts obtained from open literature as well as interviews by mission specialists with experience and knowledge from door gunnery. As a help, the method tool A'WOT analysis have been used, which is a hybrid to the SWOT analysis. The purpose of the A'WOT analysis is to distinguish important factors for the effect from helicopter 16 against a defined opponent. The overall result and summary of the study is that helicopter 16 action ability needs a proper upgrade if assignments as a tactical unit can be carried out in a hot environment dictated by a qualified opponent.

Cette thèse cherche à saisir, au plus près des expériences, ce que signifie pour les étrangers en situation irrégulière de vivre sous la menace de l’expulsion. L’interpellation policière susceptible de surgir à tout moment et le spectre de la reconduite à la frontière façonnent leur quotidien. Afin de garantir leur séjour sur le territoire français, les étrangers en situation irrégulière doivent constamment se confronter à d’innombrables questions auxquelles il leur est bien difficile de répondre : à qui puis-je faire confiance ? Où se situe le risque de l’arrestation ? Comment ne pas être découvert comme irrégulier ? La menace qui s’immisce dans les moindres replis de l’existence vient en troubler tous les repères. Vivre sous la menace impose alors, au-delà des seules tactiques de contournement et de dissimulation employées pour se soustraire aux contrôles policiers, de mener quotidiennement des investigations pour tenter de s’orienter au sein d’un univers opaque. C’est l’exploration de cette réalité déstabilisée qui fait l’objet de cette recherche. Sont ainsi analysés la perception, les contours et les effets de la menace. À partir d’un travail de terrain mené entre novembre 2005 et juin 2013, d’abord dans un local de rétention administrative de la région parisienne, puis à l’extérieur par le suivi des étrangers en situation irrégulière ayant échappé à leur expulsion, cette thèse interroge la politique de contrôle de l’immigration qui fait de la menace la forme de gouvernement d’une population. / This research attempts to describe what it means to live with the constant threat of deportation in France. The everyday lives of undocumented migrants are shaped by imminent police arrests and the specter of deportation. In order to guarantee their stay in France, unauthorized migrants must confront questions that are often very difficult to answer: Who can I trust? Where does the risk of arrest lie? How can I hide the fact that I am undocumented? This threat is constantly present in every crevice of their existence. To live under the threat of deportation then is more than simply avoiding and deceiving the authorities; unauthorized migrants are forced to constantly evaluate and adjust to an unpredictable destabilized world. It is with this self-questioning that this dissertation is concerned; it aims at analyzing the forms the threat takes, the perception that individuals have of it, and the effects it has on their everyday existence.Based on ethnographic research carried out between November 2005 and June 2013, firstly in a detention facility in the Parisian suburbs, and then out of the detention center, following undocumented migrants who were not deported, this dissertation questions immigration policies that use threat as a form of governing a population.

The problem of Third Party Interference (TPI) on Oil and Gas Pipelines is on the rise across the world. TPI is not only common in developing countries but is now occasionally experienced in developed countries including Germany and the UK. The risks posed by these third-party activities on Oil and Gas pipelines are enormous and could be measured in terms of financial costs, environmental damages as well as health and safety implications. The quest for an end to these malicious activities has triggered a lot of studies into the root causes of pipeline TPI, other causes of pipeline failure, risks associated with pipeline failure and their mitigation measures. However, despite the significance of the effects of TPI, very little has been done to proffer an enduring solution through research. This research therefore aims at developing a framework for integrated oil and gas pipeline monitoring and incident mitigation system through integration of various wireless sensors for effective monitoring of oil and gas pipelines. Having identified the existing gaps in literature as lack of reliable, accurate and standard method for oil and gas pipeline risk assessment model, the study undertook a quantitative approach to develop an effective Quantitative Risk Assessment (QRA) model for pipelines. The QRA model developed benchmarks pipeline risk assessment and gives the parameters with which standard QRA could be measured. The research findings indicate that risk associated with Nigerian Pipeline system is in the intolerable region whereas TPI is an increasing menace across the globe. Further findings show that Support Vector Machine (SVM) gave the best performance with 91.2% accuracy while Neural Networks (NN) and Decision Tree (DT) gave 63% and 57% accuracies respectively in terms of pipeline failure mode prediction accuracies. It was recommended that operators should draw out Pipeline Integrity Management (PIM) programs and store pipeline data in a format that captures number of fatalities, property damages and costs as well as volume of oil or gas spilled to ensure that accurate data is obtainable for improved PIM. In conclusion, having achieved its aim and objectives evidenced by the framework, model developed, and the recommendations presented, the research has contributed in no small measure to providing a solution to pipeline incidences.

How do states perceive threats? Why are material forces sometimes more prominent in shaping threat perception, whereas ideational ones are key in other instances? This study aims to move beyond the task of determining whether material or ideational factors offer a more plausible explanation by arguing that threat perception is a function of the interplay between material factors and state identity, the influence of which can run both ways. Based on ‘analytical eclecticism’, I develop a two-layered conception of security as both physical and ontological, in which the interaction of ideational and material forces can be analysed. Ontological security is intimately connected with identity; its pursuit, therefore, requires distinctiveness and differentiation from the ‘Other’ as well as a coherent and consistent identity narrative at the domestic level. Physical security, on the other hand, involves the identification of threats that constitute a danger to the survival of the state. While ontological and physical security spheres have distinct dynamics and processes, they constitute two interrelated layers. Accordingly, I argue that states can suffer from ontological insecurity while their physical security remains intact, and vice versa. In some instances, physical security and its corresponding material forces condition identity narratives while in other instances the causal arrow points in the other direction. To illustrate these processes, I present a ‘structured, focused’ comparison of Syrian and Saudi threat perceptions during three major wars in the region: the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988), the 2006 Lebanon War, and the 2009 Gaza War. While providing novel insights for explaining the dynamics of threat perception in the Middle East, this study contributes to the broader IR literature by proposing a conceptual framework that links the literature on Self/Other relations, ontological security, and realism in IR theory. This study thus demonstrates the potential utility of bringing IR theory and the Middle East as an area study into closer dialogue.

This thesis investigates the use of the pragmatic particles (PPs) 'enfin' and 'écoute' in French film dialogue, and their translations in British English subtitles. Using a corpus of nine films and eight episodes drawn from two television series – all released in the UK between 2005 and 2015, and equating to approximately twenty-two hours – the study identifies tokens across a much wider range of contexts than has previously been possible using traditional corpora. The main contribution is an analysis of PP functions. The results for 'enfin' show a different functional distribution of the particle to other corpora, with corrective 'enfin' occurring significantly less frequently. The relatively large number of tokens of performative and emotional (or affective) 'enfin' allows for an elaboration of these two categories, and a tendency is observed for 'enfin' to appear as an apparent disagreement mitigator in discussions between peers. With regard to 'écoute', it is argued that écoute1 functions as a face-threat mitigator in unequal relationships and écoute2 as an FTA, although the particle is multifunctional and some tokens exhibit characteristics of both categories. Attention is given to combinations of 'enfin' and 'écoute' with other particles: while there is a clear tendency for disagreement-mitigating 'enfin' to co-occur with 'mais', and for the precision and restrictive subcategories of the corrective to co-occur with 'je veux dire', other previously documented combinations ('enfin bon' and 'ben écoute') are not frequently occurring in the present corpus. The thesis also makes a significant contribution to the field of Audiovisual Translation (AVT). The English subtitles show high rates of omission for both particles consistent with previous research, with disagreement-mitigating 'enfin' particularly vulnerable to omission. However, the analysis reveals a surprising pattern regarding 'écoute': a clear division of labour between ‘look’ (used to translate more confrontational tokens) and ‘listen’ (more conciliatory and socially distant). The study includes an experimental analysis of the subtitles relative to their character limits, demonstrating a potential new approach for researchers wishing to investigate the impact of various subtitling constraints.

In the intention to establish a geomorphologic zonation of the threat levels due to slope in-stability of the Mocoy hydrographic basin, an analysis of the biophysics conditions was made by using the heuristic method. Space variables of greater incidence in local dynamics were identified and processed in ARC/INFO, and applied methodological proposals associated to the matrix of spatial analysis of Leopold and the system of transparencies of MacHarg. It was possible to identify three levels of threat: low, moderate and high, which were correlated with the operating morphogenetic processes, the geologic structure and lithology, as well as with the land use of this important river basin in the northern flank of the Venezuelan Andes. The analysis of the implicit mechanisms in the collapse of geologic material, as well as the estimation of the future tendency and detection of the areas of greater threat, constitute the basis for a suitable mitigation problem of dangerous slope processes and the sediment contribution tothe fluvial system of the Mocoy river. / Con la intención de establecer una zonificación de los niveles de amenaza geomorfológica porinestabilidad de laderas de la cuenca hidrográfica del río Mocoy, se efectuó un análisis de las condiciones biofísicas, mediante el método heurístico y se identificaron las variables espaciales de mayor incidencia en la dinámica local, tratadas en ARC/INFO y con propuestas metodológicas asociadas a la matriz de análisis espacial de Leopold y el sistema de transparencias de MacHarg. Se logró representar tres niveles de amenaza: baja, moderada y alta, las cuales fueron correlacionadas con los procesos morfogenéticos actuantes, la estructura geológica y litología, así como también con el uso de la tierra de esta importante cuenca del flanco norandino vene- zolano. El análisis de los mecanismos implícitos en el colapso de material geológico, así como la estimación sobre la tendencia futura y detección de las áreas de mayor amenaza, constituyen las bases para una adecuada mitigación del problema de procesos de ladera peligrosos y el aportede sedimentos al sistema fluvial del río Mocoy.

The subject for this thesis stems from the recent world events, were Sweden has received its largest number of refugees and asylum seekers since World War II. At the same time integration policies all over Europe are getting stricter. People are concerned about the increasingly normalizing racist discourse in public debate. A cornerstone in an open and democratic society like Sweden is equal treatment and how we talk about each other effects how we treat each other. Hence great importance lies in the portrayal of all social groups, such as refugees. Using discourse as a unit - both as a theory and a method this thesis examine and analyze how refugees are represented in the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter (DN). The thesis focuses on eight articles from the time period between January-April before the parliamentary elections in September 2014 and 2018. Questions were asked about how refugees are portrayed in DN and what differences and similarities could be identified between the time periods. With the help from theories concerning representation and agenda-setting the empirical analysis indicate similarities between the time periods regarding the representation of refugees. Differences was found in the portrayal of people from different places and how they were put in contradiction to each other. To deepen the analysis of the empirical material and to understand the textual discourses in the articles the thesis uses previous research, both international and national concerning the coverage of refugees.

Les recherches en psychologie sociale ont mis en évidence que le caractère évaluatif d'une situation de performance influence la réussite des individus. La peur de confirmer une infériorité à un standard d'évaluation génère un inconfort psychologique et amène les individus à s'autoréguler. Cette thèse vise à comprendre à partir de quand, comment et pourquoi la situation d'évaluation détermine le fonctionnement attentionnel des individus. Nous défendons l'idée que les situations évaluatives représentent une menace pour l'image de soi et perturbent l'attention à partir du moment où les individus questionnent leurs capacités intellectuelles. Deux études démontrent qu'une situation de comparaison sociale ascendante entraine une focalisation de l'attention quand la dimension de comparaison porte sur l'intelligence. Nous postulons également que les modifications attentionnelles qui surviennent en situation évaluative se traduisent au niveau de la sélection des informations. Trois études mettent en évidence que le mécanisme de filtrage des informations est plus strict chez les participants en situation évaluative et s'établit indépendamment de phénomènes concurrents de capture attentionnelle. Enfin, nous proposons que les situations évaluatives amènent les individus à basculer dans un mode général de traitement de l'information davantage analytique. Nous faisons l'hypothèse que ce changement cognitif général qui apparaîtrait en situation évaluative est un précurseur à la mise en place de filtres attentionnels plus stricts. Trois études pointent le rôle médiateur de l'adoption d'un style de traitement analytique dans l'apparition de ces effets / Research in social psychology highlighted that the evaluative nature of performance situations influences individuals' achievement. The fear of possibly being inferior to a standard of evaluation generates psychological discomfort and leads to self-regulation. This thesis aims to understand when, how and why evaluative situations influence individuals' attentional functioning. We defend the idea that evaluative situations represent a threat to self-image and disturb attention if individuals' intellectual abilities are questioned. Two studies demonstrate that a situation of upward social comparison leads to attentional focusing when intelligence is the dimension of comparison. We also postulate that evaluative situations lead to differences in attentional filtering. Three studies show that people in evaluative situations filter more information, and that this mechanism operates independently from concurrent phenomena of attentional capture. Finally, we propose that evaluative situations lead individuals to be in a more analytical general information-processing mode. We hypothesize that this general cognitive change is a forerunner of the implementation of stricter attentional filters in evaluative settings. Three studies show that the adoption of an analytical (i.e., local) processing style mediates the effects of evaluative situations on attention. Taken together, the results support the idea that individuals' cognitive functioning is deeply influenced by characteristics of the immediate performance situation