Tigers (Panthera tigris Linnaeus, 1758) are in danger of extinction. Their populations have declined from ~100,000 to only ~3,000 individuals in a century and their habitat has shrunk to less than 7% of the historic range. Of the five extant tiger subspecies, the Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae Pocock, 1929) is the most seriously threatened. Currently determined as Critically Endangered under IUCN criteria, the Sumatran tiger is likely to become extinct unless effective conservation measures are enacted. Threats to the tiger include habitat destruction, killing due to conflict with humans and livestock, and poaching for illegal wildlife trade. Long-term survival of Sumatran tigers depends largely on the effectiveness of current conservation efforts in every tiger landscape. Successful conservation and management require accurate information on ecology of the species upon which decisions can be based. This study investigated basic ecological aspects of tigers and developed strategies for management and restoration to improve tiger viability in the Central Sumatra landscape. This landscape is comprised of natural forests and plantations managed for timber and agricultural commodities. The first chapter assesses the variation in tiger abundance across forest types in Southern Riau, and over time in Tesso Nilo National Park, all in Central Sumatra. Using camera traps, my team and I systematically sampled five blocks representing three major forest types in the region: peat land, flat lowland, and hilly lowland. I found that tiger abundance varied by forest type and through time. Excluding two sampling blocks where no tigers were photographed, the lowest tiger density was in peat land forest of Kerumutan, and the highest density was in the flat lowland forest of Tesso Nilo. Repeated sampling in the newly established Tesso Nilo National Park documented a trend of increasing tiger density (SE) from 0.90 (0.38) individuals/100 km2 in 2005 to 1.70 (0.66) individuals/100 km2 in 2008. Overall, tiger densities from this study were lower than most previous estimates from other parts of Sumatra. The trend of increasing tiger density in Tesso Nilo, however, suggests that the tiger population could be augmented by protection of habitats that were previously logged and severely disturbed. The second chapter examines the occupancy and habitat-use of the tiger across the major landcover types (natural forest, acacia plantation, oilpalm plantation, rubber plantation, and mixed agriculture). I found that tigers used some plantation areas, although they significantly preferred forests over plantations. In all landcover types, sites with tiger detections had thicker understory cover than sites without tiger detection. Modeling tiger occupancy while recognizing that probability of detection is not always perfect, I found that tiger occupancy covaried positively and significantly with altitude and negatively, but not significantly, with distance-to-forest-cores. Probability of habitat use by tigers covaried positively and significantly with understory cover and altitude, and negatively and significantly with human settlement and landcover rank. The results suggested that with adjustments in plantation management, tigers could use or roam through plantations within the habitat mosaic provided that the plantations had adequate understory cover and low level of human activity. They also could use riparian forests (as corridors) and smaller forest patches (as stepping stones) to travel between the main habitat patches across the forest and plantation landscape. The third chapter investigates the ecological characteristics and possible inter-specific interactions among wild felids, including tigers and smaller cats, based on data collected using systematic camera trapping in combination with information on their natural history. I found that despite overlap in resource needs of the five felid species, each appears adapted to specific environmental conditions allowing coexistence with other felids. The five felid species used statistically different elevations, with the golden cat found to inhabit the highest elevation. Two-species occupancy models showed that only leopard cats were found to co-occur with other felid species more frequently than expected by chance under independence. Species of similar size or eating similar-sized prey generally tended to have low coefficients of temporal activity overlap, suggesting avoidance. Temporal avoidance is likely occurring in three pairs of felids, namely clouded leopards and golden cats, clouded leopards and marbled cats, and marbled cats and leopard cats. Based on the differences in morphological and ecological characteristics, and on patterns of spatial and temporal occurrence, I identified six possible mechanisms by which felids in Central Sumatra maintain coexistence. I discussed the implications of this study for management, focusing on how to balance diversity and abundance of felids. The fourth chapter presents the tiger distribution models as a case study to illustrate the importance of accounting for uncertainty in species distribution mapping. I applied four modeling approaches, differing in how the response variable (tiger presence) is constructed and used in the models. I compared the performance and output of different models based on the relative importance of variables, descriptive statistics of the predictions, cross comparison between models using an error matrix, and validation using tiger presence data collected from independent surveys. All models consistently identified forest area within the grid as one of the most important variables explaining tiger probability of occurrence. Three models identified altitude as another important factor. While the four models were consistent in predicting relatively high probability of tiger occurrence for high elevation forest areas such as Rimbang Baling and Bukit Tigapuluh, they generally had a lower level of agreement in predictions for low elevation areas, particularly the peat land in the northeastern part of the study area. Based on the results of cross evaluation of the predictions among models and validation with the independent data, I considered the occupancy model to be superior to the others. If data collection format permits, I advocate the use of occupancy instead of the other modeling techniques to develop predictive species distribution maps. The last chapter constructs a strategy to restore the tiger population across the ecosystem of Central Sumatra through integration of knowledge on tiger ecology from previous chapters with consideration of the ecological conditions of the landscape in the region. The strategy combines existing knowledge of tiger conservation and regional ecosystem restoration. It recognizes the limitations and challenges of traditional nature protection and considers existing and new opportunities. Emerging opportunities and new mechanisms, such as direct and indirect economic incentives for nature conservation and restoration, are taken into account. These, coupled with increased awareness of the stakeholders, better policies and implementation of good governance, and the willingness and know-how to maintain coexistence with wildlife among the local people, are expected to support and accelerate the recovery of tigers and their ecosystem. / Ph. D.

This dissertation examines theatre and film in Ireland between 1988 and 2005, focusing on the plays of Sebastian Barry and Marina Carr, as well as a select group of films from this period. Employing a method of analysis that couples close-readings with attention to socio-cultural context, aesthetic form, and issues of representation, the dissertation demonstrates how theatre and film work to complicate conventional Irish historical narratives and thereby encourages a reassessment of contemporary constructs of Irish identity. The introduction provides a contextual framework for significant contemporaneous social, cultural and economic changes in Ireland, and includes a case study of ‘The Spire,’ a monument unveiled on Dublin’s central boulevard in 2003, which I argue is the architectural metonym for the transitional nature of Celtic Tiger Ireland. The case study explores the aesthetics of the monument, as well as the politicised public debate that ensued, and thereby provides a snapshot of issues relevant to the readings pursued in dissertation’s remaining chapters. The discussion of Sebastian Barry’s ‘family plays’ reveals the playwright’s effort to refuse traditional binary conceptions of identity and to proffer, instead, a dramatic landscape that similarly refuses to allow conflict to dominate. Barry’s use of a non-conflictual dramatic form supports his narrative interest in compassion and peaceful resolution, and provides a model for living with otherness that could prove useful in an increasingly diverse and globalised Ireland. Marina Carr’s plays share Barry’s desire to represent aspects of Irish character anew, but they also dramatise how cultural transitions are difficult and never linear, and how the conventional pull of memory and the past has a residual presence in the ‘new’ Ireland. Taken together, these chapters reveal Barry’s hopefulness as an antidote to Carr’s tragic endings. The final chapter provides close readings of several ‘Celtic Tiger’ films, arguing that the representation of landscape is the key lens through which Irish film communicates shifting images of Irish identity. A cycle of films from the first years of the new millennium ekes out a space for new modes of representation through a critical dialogue with major tropes in Irish film history.

Many economies throughout the world were devastated by the global financial crisis of 2007-2008. Ireland in particular experienced a severe collapse in its housing market. Despite the progression of European-influenced planning policy that was meant to promote balanced regional development in Ireland, the country's housing market vastly overbuilt, exacerbating a housing market crash that ended the Celtic Tiger era. Drawing on Europeanization and historical institutionalism as theoretical frameworks, this thesis argues that the link between these EU-influenced policy principles and local Irish planning practice was weak during an important phase of Ireland's economic growth. This conclusion is demonstrated through the analysis of a case study, McEvoy and Smith v. Meath County Council. The findings show that while Ireland's national government created an ambitious National Spatial Strategy modeled on EU principles, non-binding Regional Planning Guidelines allowed local authorities to continue granting zoning changes and permissions. These decisions were therefore uninhibited by the constraints of population projections, consideration for infrastructure provision, and overall good planning practice. This research calls into question the effectiveness of transferring policy principles from the EU to Member States. It suggests more generally that to implement policy and law successfully, policy makers must appreciate the societal and economic context in which these rules will operate.

Ce mémoire est une étude de cas dans le domaine des politiques publiques, et porte sur la lutte à la pauvreté et à l’exclusion sociale en Irlande. L’Irlande a réussi l’exploit de diminuer de façon spectaculaire la pauvreté et l’exclusion sociale durant la décennie 1997-2006 et bien que son développement économique fut sans doute tout aussi spectaculaire, celui-ci n’explique pas entièrement ce résultat, tout comme il ne rend pas compte de l’engagement politique qui a amené le gouvernement irlandais à faire de la réduction de la pauvreté un objectif important. Le mémoire cherche à définir et à identifier les facteurs qui ont contribué à l’émergence de cette orientation politique. Comme il s’agit d’une étude de cas, la démarche de recherche se situe dans l’horizon des méthodes qualitatives. La variable dépendante est donc la conception et la mise en œuvre d’un nouvel ensemble de politiques sociales, centrées sur la réduction de la pauvreté. L’explication proposée met l’accent sur les idées, les intérêts et les institutions. / This master thesis is a case study in the field of public policies and deals with policies to fight against the poverty and social exclusion. Ireland succeeded in diminishing poverty and social exclusion during the 1997-2006 decade and even though if economic development was also spectacular, it did not explain completely this result, neither could it explain the political engagement that brought the Irish government to make the reduction of the poverty a major objective. This thesis tries to define and identify the factors that have contributed to the emergence of this political orientation. As it is a case study, the research mostly qualitative. The dependant variable is then the conception and the implementation of a new set of social policies, centered on poverty reduction. The proposed explanation places the emphasis on ideas, interests and institutions.

Le moustique Aedes albopictus, potentiellement vecteur de virus tels que la dengue, le Chikungunya ou le Zika est présent dans une quarantaine de départements français de métropole. L’expérience de cas et foyers autochtones de dengue et de Chikungunya enregistrés en Europe et en France métropolitaine depuis une dizaine d’années confirment l’intérêt des autorités d’anticiper le risque par l’adoption de stratégies collectives. Ce travail s’appuie sur une ethnographie des interactions entre les agents de la communauté d’agglomération Var-Esterel-Méditerranée et des riverains, ainsi que sur une série d’entretiens semi-directifs réalisés auprès d’acteurs institutionnels et d’administrés de la Ville de Nîmes. A partir d’analyses des discours et des pratiques, ce travail propose une réflexion sur les perceptions de la nuisance, des risques sanitaires associés à Aedes albopictus, ainsi que des mesures mises en œuvre à titre individuel et collectif. Cette thèse entend démontrer en quoi la lutte contre Aedes albopictus et la promotion de la mobilisation sociale à l’échelle institutionnelle locale relèvent moins d’enjeux strictement sanitaires que plus largement politiques et en particulier de priorisation de l’agenda politique local. L’enjeu plus général que nous discutons est de savoir si l’implication institutionnelle locale en matière de lutte contre le moustique tigre est révélatrice d’identités de territoire et préfigure des inégalités territoriales et plus largement sociales en termes d’accès à l’information, de prévention vis-à-vis des risques sanitaires et de qualité de vie des populations. / The mosquito Aedes albopictus, is the potential vector of different viruses, such as dengue, Chikungunya and Zika, and is present in about 40 departments of mainland France. The experience of the cases and the autochthonous clusters of dengue fever and Chikungunya recorded in Europe and in mainland France in the last 10 years confirm the authorities’ interest in anticipating this problem by adopting collective strategies. The work of this thesis is based on the ethnography of the interactions between the local authority agents of the communauté d’agglomération Var-Esterel-Méditerranée and the local residents, as well as on a series of semi-structured interviews with institutional players and citizens of the city of Nîmes. Starting from the analysis of the words and actions, this work proposes an investigation of the perceptions concerning the mosquito nuisance and health risks associated with Aedes albopictus, as well as of the individual and collective measures. This thesis work wants to show how the fight against Aedes albopictus and the promotion of social mobilization at the local scale are less related to strict health issues and more broadly to political issues, particularly the local political agenda priorities. The more general issue we discuss is to understand whether the local institution implication in the fight against tiger mosquitoes reveals local identities and foreshadow local and also more general social inequalities in terms of access to information and prevention of health risks and quality of life of the populations.

<p>Sectra Communications AB has developed a terminal for encrypted communication called the Tiger platform. During voice communication delays have sometimes been experienced resulting in conversational complications.</p><p>A solution to this problem, as was proposed by Sectra, would be to introduce voice activity detection, which means a separation of speech parts and non-speech parts of the input signal, to the Tiger platform. By only transferring the speech parts to the receiver, the bandwidth needed should be dramatically decreased. A lower bandwidth needed implies that the delays slowly should disappear. The problem is then to come up with a method that manages to distinguish the speech parts from the input signal. Fortunately a lot of theory on the subject has been done and numerous voice activity methods exist today.</p><p>In this thesis the theory of voice activity detection has been studied. A review of voice activity detectors that exist on the market today followed by an evaluation of some of these was performed in order to select a suitable candidate for the Tiger platform. This evaluation would later become the foundation for the selection of a voice activity detector for implementation.</p><p>Finally, the implementation of the chosen voice activity detector, including a comfort noise generator, was done on the platform. This implementation was based on the special requirements of the platform. Tests of the implementation in office environments show that possible delays are steadily being reduced during periods of speech inactivity, while the active speech quality is preserved.</p>

Sectra Communications AB has developed a terminal for encrypted communication called the Tiger platform. During voice communication delays have sometimes been experienced resulting in conversational complications. A solution to this problem, as was proposed by Sectra, would be to introduce voice activity detection, which means a separation of speech parts and non-speech parts of the input signal, to the Tiger platform. By only transferring the speech parts to the receiver, the bandwidth needed should be dramatically decreased. A lower bandwidth needed implies that the delays slowly should disappear. The problem is then to come up with a method that manages to distinguish the speech parts from the input signal. Fortunately a lot of theory on the subject has been done and numerous voice activity methods exist today. In this thesis the theory of voice activity detection has been studied. A review of voice activity detectors that exist on the market today followed by an evaluation of some of these was performed in order to select a suitable candidate for the Tiger platform. This evaluation would later become the foundation for the selection of a voice activity detector for implementation. Finally, the implementation of the chosen voice activity detector, including a comfort noise generator, was done on the platform. This implementation was based on the special requirements of the platform. Tests of the implementation in office environments show that possible delays are steadily being reduced during periods of speech inactivity, while the active speech quality is preserved.

本文的主要研究目的，在於將文化因素（即龍年與虎年效果）納入生育行為的考量，以重新審視台灣生育率與婦女教育程度之間的Granger因果關係。利用台灣1952年至1994年資料進行實證的Cheng and Nwachukwu（1997）及Cheng（1999），其結論指出台灣教育程度與生育率之Granger因果關係並不顯著。本文將以該文章之實證模型為基礎，並加入代表龍年效應與虎年效應的虛擬變數以建立本文模型。 首先根據Cheng（1999）的資料與變數，利用台灣1952年至2005年之年資料，建立一個包含粗出生率、教育程度大專以上的比例、女性勞動參與率、與實質經濟成長率等四個內生變數，以及代表龍虎年效應的兩個虛擬變數之VAR模型。並以Toda and Yamamoto（1995）提出的Granger因果關係檢定，檢定台灣教育程度與生育率之間的因果關係。隨後，為增進估計的有效性，本文利用台灣地區1978年至2005年的季資料，共112個樣本進行實證研究。變數定義方面，將粗出生率替換為一般生育率，教育程度大專以上的比例替換為育齡婦女大專以上的比例。並根據上述建立之VAR模型，進行Granger因果關係檢定。 經由本文的實證研究發現，將龍年效果與虎年效果納入考量後，台灣婦女教育程度的提昇會Granger影響生育率的下降。亦即台灣婦女教育程度日益提升，是解釋生育率下降的重要因素，此結果與Cheng（1999）所提出的結果並不一致。此外，龍年與虎年對台灣的生育率分別有顯著正向與負向的影響。 / This paper tries to revisit the null hypothesis of Granger no-causality between female education and fertility rate in Taiwan, by considering the culture factors captured by Dragon and Tiger Years which might influences the fertility behavior. In addition, this study compares the primary finding with the result proposed by Cheng and Nwachukwu (1997) and Cheng (1999) which are that female education does not affect fertility rate in Taiwan. According to Cheng (1999), official time series yearly data from 1952 to 2005 provided by Taiwan government are used first, and quarterly data from 1978 to 2005 are required to improve the efficiency. This study models a 4-Variables VAR and applies Granger no-causality test proposed by Toda and Yamamoto (1995). The primary finding of this study is that there is a negative causality from female education to fertility rate in Taiwan, which is inconsistent with conclusions in Cheng (1999). In addition, culture factors do play a very important role in fertility behavior in Taiwan.

Ce mémoire est une étude de cas dans le domaine des politiques publiques, et porte sur la lutte à la pauvreté et à l’exclusion sociale en Irlande. L’Irlande a réussi l’exploit de diminuer de façon spectaculaire la pauvreté et l’exclusion sociale durant la décennie 1997-2006 et bien que son développement économique fut sans doute tout aussi spectaculaire, celui-ci n’explique pas entièrement ce résultat, tout comme il ne rend pas compte de l’engagement politique qui a amené le gouvernement irlandais à faire de la réduction de la pauvreté un objectif important. Le mémoire cherche à définir et à identifier les facteurs qui ont contribué à l’émergence de cette orientation politique. Comme il s’agit d’une étude de cas, la démarche de recherche se situe dans l’horizon des méthodes qualitatives. La variable dépendante est donc la conception et la mise en œuvre d’un nouvel ensemble de politiques sociales, centrées sur la réduction de la pauvreté. L’explication proposée met l’accent sur les idées, les intérêts et les institutions. / This master thesis is a case study in the field of public policies and deals with policies to fight against the poverty and social exclusion. Ireland succeeded in diminishing poverty and social exclusion during the 1997-2006 decade and even though if economic development was also spectacular, it did not explain completely this result, neither could it explain the political engagement that brought the Irish government to make the reduction of the poverty a major objective. This thesis tries to define and identify the factors that have contributed to the emergence of this political orientation. As it is a case study, the research mostly qualitative. The dependant variable is then the conception and the implementation of a new set of social policies, centered on poverty reduction. The proposed explanation places the emphasis on ideas, interests and institutions.

This dissertation examines theatre and film in Ireland between 1988 and 2005, focusing on the plays of Sebastian Barry and Marina Carr, as well as a select group of films from this period. Employing a method of analysis that couples close-readings with attention to socio-cultural context, aesthetic form, and issues of representation, the dissertation demonstrates how theatre and film work to complicate conventional Irish historical narratives and thereby encourages a reassessment of contemporary constructs of Irish identity. The introduction provides a contextual framework for significant contemporaneous social, cultural and economic changes in Ireland, and includes a case study of ‘The Spire,’ a monument unveiled on Dublin’s central boulevard in 2003, which I argue is the architectural metonym for the transitional nature of Celtic Tiger Ireland. The case study explores the aesthetics of the monument, as well as the politicised public debate that ensued, and thereby provides a snapshot of issues relevant to the readings pursued in dissertation’s remaining chapters. The discussion of Sebastian Barry’s ‘family plays’ reveals the playwright’s effort to refuse traditional binary conceptions of identity and to proffer, instead, a dramatic landscape that similarly refuses to allow conflict to dominate. Barry’s use of a non-conflictual dramatic form supports his narrative interest in compassion and peaceful resolution, and provides a model for living with otherness that could prove useful in an increasingly diverse and globalised Ireland. Marina Carr’s plays share Barry’s desire to represent aspects of Irish character anew, but they also dramatise how cultural transitions are difficult and never linear, and how the conventional pull of memory and the past has a residual presence in the ‘new’ Ireland. Taken together, these chapters reveal Barry’s hopefulness as an antidote to Carr’s tragic endings. The final chapter provides close readings of several ‘Celtic Tiger’ films, arguing that the representation of landscape is the key lens through which Irish film communicates shifting images of Irish identity. A cycle of films from the first years of the new millennium ekes out a space for new modes of representation through a critical dialogue with major tropes in Irish film history.