L’évolution du contexte énergétique mondial et la lutte contre le changement climatique ont conduit à l’accroissement des capacités de production d’énergie renouvelable. Les énergies renouvelables sont caractérisées par une forte variabilité due à leur dépendance aux conditions météorologiques. La maîtrise de cette variabilité constitue un enjeu important pour les opérateurs du système électrique, mais aussi pour l’atteinte des objectifs européens de réduction des émissions de gaz à effet de serre, d’amélioration de l’efficacité énergétique et de l’augmentation de la part des énergies renouvelables. Dans le cas du photovoltaïque(PV), la maîtrise de la variabilité de la production passe par la mise en place d’outils qui permettent de prévoir la production future des centrales. Ces prévisions contribuent entre autres à l’augmentation du niveau de pénétration du PV,à l’intégration optimale dans le réseau électrique, à l’amélioration de la gestion des centrales PV et à la participation aux marchés de l’électricité. L’objectif de cette thèse est de contribuer à l’amélioration de la prédictibilité à court-terme (moins de 6 heures) de la production PV. Dans un premier temps, nous analysons la variabilité spatio-temporelle de la production PV et proposons une méthode de réduction de la non-stationnarité des séries de production. Nous proposons ensuite un modèle spatio-temporel de prévision déterministe qui exploite les corrélations spatio-temporelles entre les centrales réparties sur une région. Les centrales sont utilisées comme un réseau de capteurs qui permettent d’anticiper les sources de variabilité. Nous proposons aussi une méthode automatique de sélection des variables qui permet de résoudre les problèmes de dimension et de parcimonie du modèle spatio-temporel. Un modèle spatio-temporel probabiliste a aussi été développé aux fins de produire des prévisions performantes non seulement du niveau moyen de la production future mais de toute sa distribution. Enfin nous proposons, un modèle qui exploite les observations d’images satellites pour améliorer la prévision court-terme de la production et une comparaison de l’apport de différentes sources de données sur les performances de prévision. / The evolution of the global energy context and the challenges of climate change have led to anincrease in the production capacity of renewable energy. Renewable energies are characterized byhigh variability due to their dependence on meteorological conditions. Controlling this variabilityis an important challenge for the operators of the electricity systems, but also for achieving the Europeanobjectives of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, improving energy efficiency and increasing the share of renewable energies in EU energy consumption. In the case of photovoltaics (PV), the control of the variability of the production requires to predict with minimum errors the future production of the power stations. These forecasts contribute to increasing the level of PV penetration and optimal integration in the power grid, improving PV plant management and participating in electricity markets. The objective of this thesis is to contribute to the improvement of the short-term predictability (less than 6 hours) of PV production. First, we analyze the spatio-temporal variability of PV production and propose a method to reduce the nonstationarity of the production series. We then propose a deterministic prediction model that exploits the spatio-temporal correlations between the power plants of a spatial grid. The power stationsare used as a network of sensors to anticipate sources of variability. We also propose an automaticmethod for selecting variables to solve the dimensionality and sparsity problems of the space-time model. A probabilistic spatio-temporal model has also been developed to produce efficient forecasts not only of the average level of future production but of its entire distribution. Finally, we propose a model that exploits observations of satellite images to improve short-term forecasting of PV production.

This exegesis examines the proposition that playwriting is an entrepreneurial activity when combined with the role of producer. The thesis demonstrates that, when a playwright combines the two roles and considers the development of a network of relationships in the process, positive steps can be made towards the marketing of a work and the career progression of the playwright. The issues of marketing and career progression are considered in a regional context. The thesis comprises the creation of a full-length theatrical work through the MA (Research) Program at Queensland University of Technology and an analysis of that journey in the context of regional theatre practice in Queensland. Nicolas Bourriaud’s theory of the Relational Aesthetic is used as a way of charting my practice and of examining how this approach might be appropriate to theatre-making in regional Australia. The paper establishes strategies by which the playwright, when also undertaking the role of producer, might manage the complex set of circumstances and interactions between the work, the community and the industry. Using practice-led research methodologies, the exegesis examines the process of the creation of a new play, Sinking, and explores, through the use of an autobiographical case study, what the process has meant to the author’s development as a playwright over a fifteen month period. The paper uses a network map to explore the interactions created through a rehearsed reading of the first draft of the play in October 2006 and, in doing so, demonstrates how a close engagement with the community formed the basis of the entrepreneurial strategy. The exegesis demonstrates that Bourriaud’s work connects very closely with the author’s practice and examines how the approach might be useful for other regional arts practitioners, particularly those in the early stages of their careers. The research aims to identify how the creation of the play, and the subsequent interactions generated within a regional community, can lead to opportunities to create connections both within the author’s place of residence and in broader theatre industry contexts, nationally and internationally, in order to provide commercial and professional outcomes.

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Violence in traditional “satisfaction” atonement theologies is addressed here. An alternative non-violent view follows in discussion with Weaver / Heim. Weaver outlines a nonviolent Jesus narrative focussing on God’s rule made visible in history. Jesus’ saving death stems not from God but Jesus’ opposing evil powers. For viability violent biblical texts are disregarded. Church history interpretation is nonconventional. Early church is nonviolent. The subsequent Constantinian “fall” births the violent satisfaction model. Weaver’s problematical violence definition receives attention. Girard’s scapegoating philosophy and Jesus’ rescuing humankind from this evil undergirds Heim’s approach. Scapegoating establishes communal peace preventing violence. The bible is antisacrificial giving victims a voice. Jesus becomes a scapegoating victim, yet simultaneously exposes and reverses scapegoating, his death stemming from evil powers not God. Nonviolent atonement influences numerous theological concepts with Incarnational theology demonstrating Jesus’ humanness impacting upon atonement. Four ways to live out transformation established by Jesus’ saving work follow. / School of Humanities / MTH (Systematic Theology)

Violence in traditional “satisfaction” atonement theologies is addressed here. An alternative non-violent view follows in discussion with Weaver / Heim. Weaver outlines a nonviolent Jesus narrative focussing on God’s rule made visible in history. Jesus’ saving death stems not from God but Jesus’ opposing evil powers. For viability violent biblical texts are disregarded. Church history interpretation is nonconventional. Early church is nonviolent. The subsequent Constantinian “fall” births the violent satisfaction model. Weaver’s problematical violence definition receives attention. Girard’s scapegoating philosophy and Jesus’ rescuing humankind from this evil undergirds Heim’s approach. Scapegoating establishes communal peace preventing violence. The bible is antisacrificial giving victims a voice. Jesus becomes a scapegoating victim, yet simultaneously exposes and reverses scapegoating, his death stemming from evil powers not God. Nonviolent atonement influences numerous theological concepts with Incarnational theology demonstrating Jesus’ humanness impacting upon atonement. Four ways to live out transformation established by Jesus’ saving work follow. / School of Humanities / M. Th.(Systematic Theology)

Vegetative species diversity is under threat from environmental pressures, particularly climate change. As the impacts of climate change vary from place to place, response of vegetative species diversity to a changing climate also vary depending on geographical location. The response of vegetative species diversity under dry conditions in Zimbabwe is not well known. This study assessed the impact of climate change on vegetative species diversity under semiarid conditions of Masvingo province in Zimbabwe. This was achieved by determining climate change trends over a period of forty years (1974-2014), and examining the relationship between vegetative species diversity and spatially interpolated climate data. The absence of historical diversity data prompted the use of remote sensing to enable the assessment of spatial and temporal changes. Thus, the Normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI) was used to assess vegetative species diversity changes after establishing a positive relationship between species diversity and NDVI. The mixed methods research design was used as the strategy of inquiry. The non-aligned block sampling design was used as the sampling framework from which 198 sampling points were identified. Meteorological data obtained from Zimbabwe Meteorological Services Department (ZMSD) and the National Climate Data Centre (NCDC) were used for climate change analysis. Data collected through image analysis, direct observations, questionnaire surveys and interviews were used to assess the impact of climate change on vegetative species diversity. Results indicate that all temperature and precipitation variables have significant (p<0.05) trends over the period under study. However, the trend for seasonal total precipitation was not significant but declining. The significant trends indicate that climate change occurred over the period under study. 93% of the respondents confirmed having experienced the climate change phenomenon. Results also show a significant relationship between climate elements (precipitation and temperature) and vegetative species diversity represented by Shannon Weaver Index (H). More so, there is a positive relationship between NDVI and H. Vegetative species diversity represented by NDVI decreased over the period under review. The results indicate that climate change has contributed to the decrease of vegetative species diversity in Masvingo province, thus it is a force behind many other factors contributing to biodiversity loss. / College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences / Ph. D. (Environmental Sciences)

La cognition physique correspond à l’ensemble des connaissances que nous possédons sur les objets inanimés qui nous entourent, et à leurs relations avec l’environnement. Selon l’hypothèse de l’intelligence sociale générale, la cognition physique se serait développée tel un continuum (à l’instar de tous les autres domaines cognitifs), chez les espèces vivant au sein de groupes sociaux complexes. A l’inverse, l’hypothèse de l’intelligence sociale adaptée suppose que le fait d’interagir avec des congénères a permis de développer des capacités cognitives supérieures, mais spécifiques, du domaine social. Bien que les recherches relatives à l’évolution de la cognition physique se soient d’abord focalisées sur les primates, nous savons aujourd’hui que certains oiseaux sont capables d’interagir de manière complexe avec leur monde physique, en utilisant et en fabriquant des outils (p. ex., voir Article 1). Néanmoins, de nombreuses familles aviaires restent à ce jour non étudiées, laissant ce débat en suspens. L’objectif général de ce travail de recherche est de contribuer à une meilleure compréhension des facteurs responsables de l’évolution de la cognition, grâce à l’apport théorique de l’hypothèse de l’intelligence sociale suivant son aspect général et adapté. Quatre espèces, jusqu’alors inconnues sur le plan cognitif, ont été sélectionnées suivant leur degré de socialité mais également la spécificité de leur écologie. Ce dernier facteur, trop souvent ignoré en biologie du comportement, est crucial pour apprécier le comportement dans son ensemble. Nous avons ainsi estimé la faculté des sujets, à savoir des pélicans blancs Pelecanus onocrotalus (sociaux) et des euplectes vorabés Euplectes afer afer (grégaires), à reproduire le comportement d’un congénère (domaine social) grâce à un test d’apprentissage social (Articles 2 part I & 3). Nous avons ensuite évalué leur capacité à se servir d’un objet pour obtenir une récompense alimentaire hors de portée (domaine physique), grâce à un test d’utilisation d’outils (Articles 2 part II & 4). Bien que les pélicans fussent capables de résoudre rapidement la tâche d’apprentissage social, ils ne réussirent pas à utiliser spontanément des outils (cf. discussion Article 2 part II). A l’instar du pélican, l’euplecte imita le comportement d’un congénère. Néanmoins, il échoua à utiliser des outils dans le contexte du fourragement, malgré le fait que cet oiseau utilise et fabrique des outils de manière complexe pour construire son nid.A défaut d’avoir pu étudier l’apprentissage social et l’utilisation d’outils chez deux autres espèces sociales, les calaos terrestres Bucorvus et les toucans Ramphastidae, cette recherche consistait également à administrer un paradigme permettant d’apprécier le domaine physique : le test de la ficelle (Articles 5 & 6, respectivement). La tâche impliquait de tirer sur une ficelle afin d’obtenir une récompense alimentaire accrochée à son extrémité. Les calaos terrestres échouèrent à tirer sur la ficelle dans la configuration verticale, mais réussirent rapidement la tâche dans diverses conditions de la configuration horizontale. Chez les toucans, cependant, un seul sujet réussit le test dans sa configuration verticale. Les résultats obtenus nous permettent de réfuter l’hypothèse de l’intelligence sociale dans son aspect général. En effet, aucun lien ne semble se dessiner entre le domaine social et physique chez les quatre espèces aviaires étudiées. Bien que l’hypothèse de l’intelligence sociale soit soutenue depuis plus de quatre décennies, une théorie unitaire est requise. Dans ce cadre, un nouveau modèle d’évolution cognitive, permettant d’évaluer l’importance de l’intelligence générale chez une espèce donnée, pourrait s’avérer particulièrement prometteur. / Physical cognition is defined as the knowledge that we possess about the inanimate objects surrounding us, and their relation with the environment. According to the general social intelligence hypothesis, physical cognition would have developed as a continuum (like all the other cognitive domains), in species living in complex social groups. By contrast, the adapted social intelligence hypothesis assumes that interacting with conspecifics has allowed development of superior, but specific, cognitive capacities related to the social realm. Although research on the evolution of cognition first focused on primates, we now know that some avian species are capable of interacting with their physical world in a complex way by using and manufacturing tools (e.g., Article 1). However, to date, various bird families are still unstudied, leaving open this debate. The general goal of this work is to contribute to a better understanding of the factors acting on the evolution of cognition, thanks to the theoretical input of the social intelligence hypothesis according to its general and adapted aspect. Four species that had never been studied in cognitive studies before were selected according to their degree of sociality but also according to the specificity of their ecology. This latter factor has been largely ignored in behavioural biology, although it is crucial for a more holistic comprehension of the behaviour. This work aimed to assess the ability of two avian species, great white pelicans Pelecanus onocrotalus (social birds) and yellow-crowned bishops Euplectes afer afer (gregarious birds), to imitate the behaviour of a trained conspecific (social domain) with a social learning task (Articles 2 part I & 3, respectively). Subsequently, we have studied heir ability to use an object in order to get an out-of-reach food reward (physical domain) with a tool use task (Articles 2 part II & 4). Although pelicans were capable of rapidly solving the social learning task, they did not succeed in using tools spontaneously (cf. discussion Article 2 part II). The bishops were able to imitate the behaviour of a conspecific, however they were not capable of using tools in the foraging context, although these birds are well known to use and manufacture tools in quite a complex way in order to build their nests. We have also administrated to two other avian social species, ground-hornbills Bucorvus and toucans Ramphastidae, an experimental paradigm to assess cognition in the physical domain: the string-pulling test (Articles 5 & 6, respectively). The task involved pulling on a string in order to obtain a food reward attached to its extremity. Ground-hornbills failed to pull on the string in the vertical configuration, but rapidly solved the task in various conditions within the horizontal configuration. In toucans, however, only one subject succeeded in the vertical configuration. These results allow us to refute the social intelligence hypothesis in its general aspect. Indeed, no link seems to be drawn between the social and the physical domains in the four species studied. Although the social intelligence hypothesis is supported since decades, a unitary theory is required. A new model of cognitive evolution, that allows assessing the importance of general intelligence in species, may be particularly promising.

This study considers industrial society and development in the East Tennessee Copper Basin from the 1890s through World War II; its main focus will be on the primary industrial concern, Tennessee Copper Company (TCC 1899), owned by the Lewisohn Group, New York. The study differs from other Appalachian scholarship in its assessment of New South industries generally overlooked. Wars and increased reliance on organic chemicals tied the basin to defense needs and agricultural advance. Locals understood the basin held expanding economic opportunities superior to those in the surrounding mountains and saw themselves as participants in the nation’s industrial and economic progress, and a vital part of its defense. The study upends earlier scholarship contending local industrial concerns acted proactively to challenges from farmers harmed by industrial pollution; investigation shows firms hesitated to initiate new production processes and manipulated local elections. Partisan developments woven amid all this underscore errors in assuming ancient regional affinity for Republicans. Confederate heritage gave Democrats an historic advantage that fractured before New Deal progressivism and expanding basin Republican power. Markets forced basin firms to merge and embrace technological change affecting working people’s relationships, forcing workers to improve skills or settle for low-skill jobs. Excepting TCC managers and supervisory staff, provincialism ruled; suspicions and competitiveness among workers grew as most miners lived a few scattered villages and most managers and craftsmen settled in the basin’s “Twin-cities” district. Early union efforts collapsed before union mismanagement, rational management and a company union based upon Sam Lewisohn’s ideals. Management managed to wrest control of its industrial relations despite the effects of Depression and the New Deal’s empowerment of workers. Workers’ infighting, reflecting neighborhood demographics and ideological differences, benefitted TCC; it convinced locals TCC could best protect industrial peace. The submissive AFL union installed fit of ownership’s nationally recognized program for industrial relations reliant on federal power. After competition crippled local industry, locals continued their reliance on government: to investigate the medical consequences of extraction work and coordinate environmental restoration. Recent regional anti-government populism makes the basin’s peculiar historic reliance on federal help engaging.

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