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La paralysie cérébrale (PC) spastique est une pathologie qui touche près d’un enfant sur 500 à la naissance. Cette pathologie crée de nombreux problèmes moteurs notamment lors de la marche comme des mouvements involontaires due à une hypertonie musculaire appelée aussi spasticité. Chaque paralysie cérébrale a sa propre sévérité mesurée par différentes échelles. Actuellement, très peu d’aides motrices sont disponibles pour les enfants, le marché des assistances robotisées se focalisant principalement sur les adultes (anthropométrie constante et pathologie peu évolutive).L’objectif du projet EXOKID, dont cette thèse est issue, est donc de permettre à davantage d’enfants atteints de paralysie cérébrale d’avoir accès à un système robotisé à anthropométrie adaptée. Ce système doit pouvoir évoluer en fonction de leur croissance et de l’évolution de leur pathologie afin d’améliorer leur marche tant dans un contexte de rééducation au sein de structures adaptées que dans leur mobilité quotidienne.L’enfant, atteint de cette paralysie cérébrale, doit être pris en charge le plus tôt possible. Le but est de permettre à ce que l’enfant apprenne à marcher : en effet, la plasticité cérébrale des enfants est plus importante que celle des adultes et permet potentiellement à l’enfant d’apprendre rapidement, malgré d’éventuelles lésions cérébrales.Deux sœurs jumelles, dont l’une est atteinte de PC spastique, ont été étudiées. Cette gémellité nous a permis d’avoir des anthropométries proches et d’utiliser les données de la jumelle saine comme référence pour améliorer la marche spastique de sa sœur.Cette thèse s’articule ainsi autour de deux grands champs : la biomécanique et la robotique. Une étude de l’impact de paralysie cérébrale spastique sur la marche humaine a été réalisée. Cette étude a été suivie par une modélisation de la marche spastique et de l’interaction entre un enfant atteint de PC spastique et un exosquelette dans le but d’améliorer la cinématique de l’enfant.Cette thèse a abouti à la modélisation personnalisée d’une marche spastique ainsi que d’un premier contrôle de cette marche, par le biais d’une interaction exosquelette-humain, afin de la faire converger vers une marche plus saine. Spastic cerebral palsy is a pathology that affects nearly one child in 500 at birth.This pathology creates numerous motor problems, particularly when walking, suchas involuntary movements due to muscular hypertonia, also called spasticity. Eachcerebral palsy has its own severity measured by different scales. Currently, very fewmotor aids are available for children, as the market for robotic aids focuses mainlyon adults (constant anthropometry and pathology that does not evolve much). Theobjective of the EXOKID project, from which this thesis stems, is therefore to allowmore children with cerebral palsy to have access to a robotic system with adaptedanthropometry. This system must be able to evolve according to their growth andthe evolution of their pathology in order to improve their walking both in the contextof rehabilitation within adapted structures and in their daily mobility. The child,suffering from this cerebral palsy, must be taken in charge as soon as possible. Theaim is to enable the child to learn to walk : indeed, the cerebral plasticity of childrenis more important than that of adults and potentially allows the child to learnquickly, despite possible cerebral lesions.Two twin sisters, one of whom has spastic PC, were studied. This twinhood allowedus to have close anthropometries and to use the data of the healthy twin as areference to improve the spastic gait of her sister. This thesis is thus articulatedaround two main fields : biomechanics and robotics. A study of the impact of spasticcerebral palsy on human walking was carried out. This study was followed by amodelling of a spastic walking and the interaction between a child suffering fromspastic cerebral palsy and an exoskeleton with the aim of improving the child’skinematics. This thesis resulted in the personalised modelling of a spastic gait anda first control of this gait, through an exoskeleton-human interaction, in order tomake it converge towards a healthier gait.

The work done in this thesis is about the interactions between human and humanoid robot HRP-2Kai as co-workers in the industrial scenarios. By interactions, we started with the non-physical human-robot interaction scenario based on an industrially inspired Pick-n-Place task example and then advanced towards the physical human-robot interactions with an example of human, humanoid robot dual-arm bi-directional object handover. The research topics in the thesis are divided into two categories. In the context of non-physical human-robot interactions, the studies conducted in the 1st part of this thesis are mostly motivated by social interactions between human and humanoid robot co-workers, which deal with the implicit behavioural and cognitive aspects of interactions. While in the context of physical human-robot interactions, the 2nd part of this thesis is motivated by the physical manipulations during object handover between human and humanoid robot co-workers in close proximity using humanoid robot whole-body control framework and locomotion. When an individual (human and robot) performs an action followed by the observation of someone’s action, implicit behavioural effects such as motor contagions causes certain features (kinematics parameters, goal or outcome) of that action to become similar to the observed action. However, previous studies have examined the effects of motor contagions induced either during the observation of action or after but never together; therefore, it remains unclear whether and how these effects are distinct from each other. We designed a paradigm and a repetitive task inspired by the industrial Pick-n- Place movement task, in first HRI study, we examine the effect of motor contagions induced in participants during (we call it on-line contagions) and after (off-line contagions) the observation of the same movements performed by a human, or a humanoid robot co-worker. The results from this study have suggested that off-line contagions affects participant’s movement velocity while on-line contagions affect their movement frequency. Interestingly, our findings suggest that the nature of the co-worker, (human or a robot), tend to influence the off-line contagions significantly more than the on-line contagions. Moreover, while the past studies have examined how the effects of induced motor contagions due to the observation of human and robot movements have affected either human co-worker’s movement velocity or how it affected movement variance but never both together. Therefore we argue that since precision in movements along with speed is the key in most industrial tasks, hence it is necessary to consider both task accuracy and task speed to measure the performance in a task accurately. Therefore in second HRI study, under the same paradigm and repetitive industrial task, we systematically varied the robot behaviour and observed viii whether and how the performance of a human participant is affected by the presence of the humanoid robot. We also investigated the effect of physical form of humanoid robot co-worker where the torso and head were covered, and only the moving arm was visible to the human participants. Later, we compared these behaviours with a human co-worker and examined how the observed behavioural effects scale with experience of robots. Our results show that the human and humanoid robot co-workers have been able to affect the performance frequencies of the participants, while their task accuracy remained undisturbed and unaffected. However, with the robot co-worker, this is true only when the robot head and torso were visible, and a robot made biological movements. Next, in pHRI study, we designed an intuitive bi-directional object handover routine between human and biped humanoid robot co-worker using whole-body control and locomotion, we designed models to predict and estimate the handover position in advance along with estimating the grasp configuration of an object and active human hand during handover trials. We also designed a model to minimize the interaction forces during the handover of an unknown mass object along with the timing of the object handover routine. We mainly focused on three important key features during the human humanoid robot object handover routine —the timing(s) of handover, the pose of handover and the magnitude of the interaction forces between human hand(s) and humanoid robot end-effector(s). Basically we answer the following questions, —when(timing), where (position in space), how(orientation and interaction forces) of the handover. Later, we present a generalized handover controller, where both human and the robot is capable of selecting either of their hand to handover and exchange the object. Furthermore, by utilizing a whole-body control configuration, our handover controller is able to allow the robot to use both hands simultaneously during the object handover. Depending upon the shape and size of the object that needs to be transferred. Finally, we explored the full capabilities of a biped humanoid robot and added a scenario where the robot needs to proactively take few steps in order to handover or exchange the object between its human co-worker. We have tested this scenario on real humanoid robot HRP-2Kai during both when human-robot dyad uses either single or both hands simultaneously.; Human-robot interaction is an emerging field which deals with the study andresearch of interactions between humans and robots Goodrich et al. [2008]. Thework done in this thesis is about the interactions between human and humanoidrobot HRP-2Kai as co-workers in the industrial scenarios. In the context of nonphysical human-robot interactions (HRI), the studies conducted in the 1st part of this thesis investigated the implicit behavioral effects of humanoid robot onthe behavior of human co-workers during an industrially inspired Pick-n-Placetask paradigm. In the context of physical human-robot interactions (pHRI), wedeveloped a novel bi-manual object handover framework using robot whole-bodycontrol and locomotion in the 2nd part of this thesis.The results from this study have suggested that off-line contagions affects participant’s movement velocity while on-line contagions affect their movement frequency. Interestingly, our findings suggest that the nature of the co-worker, (human or a robot), tend to influence the off-line contagions significantly more than the on-line contagions. Moreover, while the past studies have examined how the effects of induced motor contagions due to the observation of human and robot movements have affected either human co-worker’s movement velocity or how it affected movement variance but never both together. Therefore we argue that since precision in movements along with speed is the key in most industrial tasks, hence it is necessary to consider both task accuracy and task speed to measure the performance in a task accurately. Therefore in second HRI study, under the same paradigm and repetitive industrial task, we systematically varied the robot behaviour and observed viii whether and how the performance of a human participant is affected by the presence of the humanoid robot. We also investigated the effect of physical form of humanoid robot co-worker where the torso and head were covered, and only the moving arm was visible to the human participants. Later, we compared these behaviours with a human co-worker and examined how the observed behavioural effects scale with experience of robots. Our results show that the human and humanoid robot co-workers have been able to affect the performance frequencies of the participants, while their task accuracy remained undisturbed and unaffected. However, with the robot co-worker, this is true only when the robot head and torso were visible, and a robot made biological movements. Next, in pHRI study, we designed an intuitive bi-directional object handover routine between human and biped humanoid robot co-worker using whole-body control and locomotion, we designed models to predict and estimate the handover position in advance along with estimating the grasp configuration of an object and active human hand during handover trials. We also designed a model to minimize the interaction forces during the handover of an unknown mass object along with the timing of the object handover routine. We mainly focused on three important key features during the human humanoid robot object handover routine —the timing(s) of handover, the pose of handover and the magnitude of the interaction forces between human hand(s) and humanoid robot end-effector(s). Basically we answer the following questions, —when(timing), where (position in space), how(orientation and interaction forces) of the handover. Later, we present a generalized handover controller, where both human and the robot is capable of selecting either of their hand to handover and exchange the object. Furthermore, by utilizing a whole-body control configuration, our handover controller is able to allow the robot to use both hands simultaneously during the object handover. Depending upon the shape and size of the object that needs to be transferred. Finally, we explored the full capabilities of a biped humanoid robot and added a scenario where the robot needs to proactively take few steps in order to handover or exchange the object between its human co-worker. We have tested this scenario on real humanoid robot HRP-2Kai during both when human-robot dyad uses either single or both hands simultaneously.

Since the end of the 19th century, the mining area of Gafsa (south-west Tunisia) has specialized in the single-activity extraction and enrichment of phosphate for reasons of economic profits. With these exports, this area has suffered an intense degradation of soil resources, vegetation cover and an advanced deterioration of agricultural areas. The management of the mining infrastructure has failed to meet environmental standards, causing social and spatial inequalities and increasing the level of environmental risks.The mining activity was at the origin of the birth and genesis of the mining towns in the Basin of Gafsa (BMG). The formation of spontaneous cities has caused the disarticulation of the urbanization. Urban extensions, including the expansion of anarchic cities, extending to laundries and to mines, thus created conflicts with the phosphatier domain. All these factors make costly and complicated attempts at development and rehabilitation that mining companies do not dare to commit.Taking into account the complexity of the many social, spatial and environmental aspects of the BMG, we used both the classical geographical approach and the geomatics approach that seemed appropriate for better decision-making. The interest of this latter approach makes it possible to identify, analyze, and model the state of the sites, the urban and environmental mutations in relation to the spatial-mining growth.; Depuis la fin du 19ème siècle, l’espace minier de Gafsa (Sud-Ouest de Tunisie) s’est spécialisé dans la mono-activité de l’extraction et l’enrichissement du phosphate pour des raisons de profits économiques certains. Avec ces exportations, l’espace a subi une dégradation intense des ressources du sol, de la couverture végétale et une détérioration avancée des zones agricoles. La gestion des infrastructures minières n’a pas su répondre aux normes environnementales et a provoqué ainsi des inégalités sociales et spatiales et a accentué le niveau des risques environnementaux.L’activité minière a été à l’origine de la naissance et de la genèse des villes minières dans le Bassin Minier de Gafsa (BMG). La formation de cités spontanées a provoqué la désarticulation du tissu urbain. Les extensions urbaines notamment l’expansion des quartiers anarchiques, s’étendant vers les laveries et vers les mines, ont créé ainsi des conflits avec le domaine phosphatier. Tenant compte de la complexité des multiples aspects sociaux, spatiaux et environnementaux du BMG, nous avons utilisé à la fois l’approche géographique classique et l’approche géomatique qui nous a semblé appropriée pour aider à la prise de décision. L’intérêt de cette dernière approche permet d’identifier, d’analyser, et de modéliser l’état des lieux, les mutations urbaines et environnementales en relation avec la croissance spatiale-minière. Les principaux résultats permettent d’avoir une banque de données statistiques et cartographiques, à différentes échelles, pour une vision synthétique et une meilleure compréhension du BMG et de réaliser un modèle d’aide à la décision.

This work seeks to mitigate the effects of constraints on mobile robotic systems. To this end, auxiliary control loops and robust tuning techniques are proposed. The former are proposed to mitigate the effects of constraints on the input and output of the systems through the modification of the motion parameter in path following applications.Then, PID controllers are considered as a structural constraint, given its wide use in robotics particularly at low control level. A robust tuning methodology considering this constraint is proposed which achieves good performancelevels even when facing disturbances. Finally, to deal with robustness in presence of robots nonlinearity constraints, an analysis and tuning tool for sliding mode controllers is proposed. The particularity of this tuning method, based on global optimization and interval techniques,is that it allows generating tuning maps of the parameter regions where the desired performance criterion is fulfilled. All the proposed strategies are put into practice, through real experimentation or invalidated simulators, over the AUV Ciscrea available at ENSTA Bretagne.; Ce travail vise à atténuer les effets des contraintes sur les systèmes robotiques mobiles. À cette fin, des structures de commande auxiliaire et des techniques de réglage robuste sont proposées. Les structures sont proposées dans le cadre du suivi de chemin pour atténuer les effets des contraintes sur les entrées et les sorties des systèmes. Ensuite, étant donnée leur utilisation répandue en robotique, les contrôleurs de type PID sont considérés comme une contrainte structurelle. Une méthode de réglage robuste, tenant compte de cette contrainte, est proposée permettant d’atteindre de bons niveaux de performance même en présence de perturbations. Enfin, pour faire face à la robustesse en présence des contraintes de non-linéarité sur robots, un outil d’analyse et de réglage pour les contrôleurs de mode glissant est proposé. La particularité de cette méthode de réglage, basée sur des techniques d’optimisation globale et de calculs par intervalles, est qu’elle permet de générer des cartographies de réglage des paramètres pour lesquels le critère de performance souhaité est rempli.Toutes les stratégies proposées sont mises en pratique par des expérimentations réelles ou sur des simulateurs validés (AUV Ciscrea disponible à l’ENSTA Bretagne).

Mangroves have many ecological, socio-economic and climate change mitigation values and functions vital for the littoral populations around the world and in Madagascar.This richness induce them intense exploitation, subjecting to strong natural and anthropogenic pressures. However in Madagascar "the mangroves are very poorly understood and we do not have the elements necessary for a good diagnosis", while they are presented as of perpetual regression in the Madagascar Southwest region. This study aims at identifying, mapping and quantifying the evolution (since 1949) of 5 mangrove’s sites in the Southwest : Manombo-Fitsitike, Ambondrolava, Ankiembe, Sarodrano and Andriambe. It also aims the diagnosis of the different factors of evolution putting in perspective the anthropogenic and natural pressures. To achieve these objectives, two approaches were adopted : geomatics based on the diachronic analysis of Spot images from1987, 1998, 2012 and 2014 associated with aerial photographs (1949) and field work with floristic inventories, physico-chemical measurements, particle size analyzes of substrates and surveys. The results show complex and contrasting trend evolution’s dynamics between growth, stability and regression. In the end, based on the knowledge gained on the mangroves dynamic over more than 60 years, it is possible to make available to all a tool to help decision-making and sustainable and adequate management to protect and conserve these ecosystems, particularly in the context of climate change that will impact natural changes and anthropogenic forcing.; Les mangroves présentent des fonctions et valeurs écologiques, socio-économiques et d’atténuation du changement climatique majeures et vitales pour la population littorale dans le monde et à Madagascar. Leur richesse en fait des milieux intensément exploités, les soumettant à de fortes pressions naturelles et anthropiques. Pourtant à Madagascar « les mangroves sont très mal comprises et nous n'avons pas en main les éléments nécessaires à un bon diagnostic » alors qu’on associe celles de la région Sud-ouest à un état de perpétuelle régression. Cette thèse a pour objectifs l’identification, la cartographie et la quantification de la dynamique d’évolution (depuis 1949) des mangroves de 5 sites du Sud-Ouest : Manombo-Fitsitike, Ambondrolava, Ankiembe, Sarodrano et Andriambe. Elle vise aussi à diagnostiquer les différents facteurs d’évolution en faisant la part des pressions anthropiques et naturelles. Pour atteindre ces objectifs, deux approches ont été adoptées : la géomatique se basant sur l’analyse diachronique d’images Spot de 1987, 1998, 2012 et 2014 associées à des photos aériennes de 1949 et des recherches sur terrain avec des inventaires floristiques, des mesures physico-chimiques, des analyses granulométriques des substrats et des enquêtes. Les résultats montrent des dynamiques d’évolution complexes et contrastées entre progression, stabilité et régression. Au final, en s’appuyant sur les connaissances acquises sur les dynamiques d’évolution des mangroves sur plus de 60 ans, il est possible de mettre à la disposition de tous un outil d’aide à la décision et à la gestion durable et adéquate pour protéger et conserver ces écosystèmes, particulièrement dans le contexte du changement climatique qui va impacter les dynamiques d’évolution naturelles et les forçages anthropiques.

Since its founding as a social welfare state, India has been meandering through “a life of contradictions” when it comes to social and economic equality. A potent indicator of this reality is the state of food and nutrition security across the country. India’s meager progress comes on the heels of rapid economic growth over the last two decades and a slew of public programs have attempted to address the multi-faceted nature of food and nutrition security. These efforts have included subsidized grains for households through the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS), village health, nutrition and education programming through the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), and Nutrition Rehabilitation Centers (NRCs) to treat cases of severe acute malnutrition (SAM). Though these programs have been scaled across the country, numerous governance challenges and institutional failures have persisted. The latest development in India’s food and nutrition policy landscape is the National Food Security Act (hereafter referred to as the Act) of 2013, which leverages existing national programs, including the TPDS and ICDS, to grant legal entitlements to nearly 70% of the total population. This Act was the fruit of a rights-based movement in India that demanded for over a decade to codify social and economic rights. However, the question arises as to whether this new Act been able to achieve its goal to ensure food and nutrition security by strengthening the governance of these programs? This is the central question of the present thesis. This thesis investigates how the Act has reformed the implementation of food and nutrition programs in the states of Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and the capital of New Delhi. The four key objectives of this study are to investigate 1) what changes are prescribed by the Act; 2) how effective these reforms have been in addressing persistent governance challenges; 3) what challenges remain and why; and 4) what strategies could be used to address these gaps. A qualitative case study approach was applied, which involved the following data collection methods: key informant and in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, participant observation, matrix ranking and process net-mapping, an innovative participatory tool that maps complex institutional processes and actors. This thesis is comprised of nine chapters. The first chapter introduces the puzzle of India’s nutritional status and explores why government efforts to tackle this problem have had tepid results. The second chapter presents the conceptual framework that defines governance challenges and an institutional framework of demand and supply side factors that contribute to effective policy and programming. Chapters three and four present an overview of the TPDS, ICDS and NRCs, and review the existing literature on the governance issues of these programs. Chapter 5 lays out the study design, methods and ethical protocols. Chapters six through eight explore each of the three programs and present key findings across the selected study sites. The last chapter presents cross-cutting conclusions for these programs in the wake of the Act and proposes a way forward to address institutional gaps in tackling food and nutrition security. Seit der Gründung des Wohlfahrtsstaates erlebt Indien eine Reihe von Widersprüchen, was die soziale und wirtschaftliche Gerechtigkeit des Landes angeht. Ein aussagekräftiger Indikator dieser Realität ist der Stand der Ernährungsicherheit im Land. Indiens dürftiger Fortschritt in der Ernährungssicherung folgt einer zwei Jahrzehnte andauernden Periode rasantem Wirtschaftswachstum, sowie einer Reihe von öffentlichen Programmen, die versuchen, die vielschichtigen Aspekte von Ernährung zu adressieren. Zu diesen Bemühungen gehören subventioniertes Getreide für Haushalte durch das gezielte öffentliche Vergabesystem TPDS, dörfliche Gesundheits-, Ernährungs- und Bildungsprogramme durch die Integrierten Dienstleistungen zur Entwicklung von Kindern ICDS und Rehabilitierungszentren für Fälle von schwerer akuter Mangelernährung (NRCs). Obwohl diese Programme auf ganz Indien ausgeweitet wurden, bestehen weiterhin institutionelle Mängel sowie zahlreiche Governance-Herausforderungen. Die jüngste Entwicklung in der Indischen Ernährungspolitik ist das Gesetz zur nationalen Ernährungssicherheit NFSA aus dem Jahr 2013. Das NFSA nutzt zwei bestehende nationale Programme, TPDS und ICDS, um fast 70% der Bevölkerung Rechtsansprüche zu gewähren. Dieses Gesetz war das Ergebnis einer größeren rechtebasierten Bewegung in Indien, die seit über einem Jahrzehnt das Ziel hat, soziale und wirtschaftliche Rechte zu kodifizieren. Es stellt sich die Frage, ob dieses neue Gesetz es ermöglicht hat, durch eine Stärkung der Governance der bestehenden Programme einen Lebenszyklusansatz in der Ernährungssicherung zu etablieren. Diese Doktorarbeit verwendet einen Ansatz vergleichender Fallstudien, um zu untersuchen, wie das NFSA die Umsetzung der Ernährungsprogramme in den Staaten Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh und der Hauptstadt Neu Delhi reformiert hat. Die vier Hauptziele der Dissertation sind: 1) die Änderungen, die durch das NFSA vorgeschrieben wurden, zu beschreiben 2) die Effektivität dieser Reformen bei der Bewältigung von Governance-Herausforderungen zu erklären, 3) die weiterhin bestehenden Governanceprobleme und Gründe dafür zu erklären, und 4) Strategien zu erarbeiten, die zur Behebung dieser Defizite beitragen können. Diese vier Aspekte wurden untersucht mittels Befragung von Schlüsselpersonen, Tiefeninterviews, Fokusgruppendiskussionen, teilnehmender Beobachtung, Matrix-Ranking und Prozessnetzkartierung (process net-mapping), ein innovatives und partizipatives Instrument, das komplexe institutionelle Prozesse und Akteure abbildet. Die vorliegende Doktorarbeit besteht aus neun Kapiteln. Das erste Kapitel gibt eine Einleitung in die Rätselhaftigkeit der Ernährungslage in Indien, und warum staatliche Bemühungen dieses Problem anzugehen, nur dürftige Ergebnisse erzielt haben. Das zweite Kapitel stellt einen konzeptionellen Rahmen bezüglich Governance-Herausforderungen und einen institutionellen Rahmen bezüglich Nachfrage- und Angebotsfaktoren, die zu wirkungsvollen Politikmaßnahmen und Programmgestaltung beitragen, dar. Kapitel drei und vier geben einen Überblick über TPDS, ICDS und NRCs, und über die bestehende Literatur bezüglich der Governance-Herausforderungen dieser drei Programme. Kapitel fünf beschreibt das Studiendesign, die angewandten Methoden und die Forschungsprotokolle. Kapitel sechs bis acht untersuchen jeweils eins der drei Programme und erklären Schlüsselergebnisse über die drei ausgewählten Untersuchungsstandorte hinweg. Die Dissertation schließt mit einer übergreifenden Zusammenfassung für diese Programme vor dem Hintergrund des neuen Gesetzes und gibt wegweisende Vorschläge wie man diese institutionellen Defizite zur Verbesserung der Ernährungssicherheit adressiert.

At the heart of the smart space vision is the idea that devices interoperate with each other autonomously to assist people in their everyday activities. In order to make this vision a reality, it is important to achieve semantic-level interoperability between devices. The goal of this dissertation is to enable Semantic Web technology-based interoperability in smart spaces. There are many challenges that need to be solved before this goal can be achieved. In this dissertation, the focus has been on the following four challenges: The first challenge is that the Semantic Web technologies have neither been designed for sharing real-time data nor large packets of data such as video and audio files. This makes it challenging to apply them in smart spaces, where it is typical that devices produce and consume this type of data. The second challenge is the verbose syntax and encoding formats of Semantic Web technologies that make it difficult to utilise them in resource-constrained devices and networks. The third challenge is the heterogeneity of smart space communication technologies that makes it difficult to achieve interoperability even at the connectivity level. The fourth challenge is to provide users with simple means to interact with and configure smart spaces where device interoperability is based on Semantic Web technologies. Even though autonomous operation of devices is a core idea in smart spaces, this is still important in order to achieve successful end-user adoption. The main result of this dissertation is a semantic interoperability framework, which consists of following individual contributions: 1) a semantic-level interoperability architecture for smart spaces, 2) a knowledge sharing protocol for resource-constrained devices and networks, and 3) an approach to configuring Semantic Web-based smart spaces. The architecture, protocol and smart space configuration approach are evaluated with several reference implementations of the framework components and proof-of-concept smart spaces that are also key contributions of this dissertation.

Kmetijstvo sodi med najpomembnejše dejavnike zmanjševanja biotske pestrosti v EU, vendar integracija varstva narave v Skupno kmetijsko politiko ostaja nezadostna. Namen doktorske disertacije je proučiti načrtovanje, učinke in vrednotenje slovenske kmetijske politike na področju ohranjanja narave. Analiza z modeli BRT je pokazala negativno povezavo med diverziteto ptic kmetijske krajine in neposrednimi plačili, okoljski ukrepi pa so imeli v obdobju 2008–2019 na diverziteto ptic šibek relativni vpliv. Diverziteta ptic je bila najvišja v odprti krajini na območjih Natura 2000 z visoko pestrostjo kmetijskih rastlin in nizko obtežbo z živino. Programsko-teoretična analiza slovenske kmetijske politike je pokazala številne vrzeli v opredelitvi intervencijske logike. Manjka predvsem opredelitev ciljev in kazalnikov, ki bi omogočali presojo uspešnosti ukrepanja. Integracija varstva narave je na strateškem nivoju omejena predvsem na prostovoljne ukrepe, strategije za preprečevanje konfliktov med naravovarstvenimi in drugimi cilji kmetijske politike pa večinoma niso opredeljene. Ocenili smo, da je bilo v programskem obdobju 2014–2020 varstvu narave namenjenih okrog 5 % (17,8–19,4 mio EUR) letnega proračuna slovenske kmetijske politike. Disertacijo zaokrožuje analiza možnosti za izboljšanje rezultatske naravnanosti kmetijsko-okoljskih ukrepov, ki je potekala s poskusom diskretne izbire (521 kmetov na območju Haloz in Krasa) ter kvalitativno tematsko analizo intervjujev s kmeti, raziskovalci, odločevalci in kmetijskimi svetovalci. Kmetje so izkazali statistično značilno večje preference do rezultatskih shem kot do shem s predpisanimi praksami ter naklonjenost do individualnega pristopa k svetovanju. Za uspešno uveljavitev rezultatskih shem je nujno izboljšanje podatkovnih podlag, raziskav trajnostnih proizvodnih modelov ter usposobljenosti kadrov v nadzornih in svetovalnih službah. Agriculture is one of the most important factors in reducing biodiversity in the EU. However, the integration of nature conservation into the Common Agricultural Policy remains inadequate. The purpose of the doctoral dissertation is to study the planning, effects and evaluation of the Slovenian agricultural policy in the field of nature conservation. An analysis using BRT models showed a negative link between the diversity of farmland birds and direct payments, while environmental measures had a weak relative influence on bird diversity in the period 2008–2019. Bird diversity was highest in open landscapes on Natura 2000 sites that had a high diversity of agricultural plants and low stocking density. A programme theory analysis of the Slovenian agricultural policy showed numerous gaps in the definition of the intervention logic. Particularly lacking is a definition of objectives and indicators that would enable an assessment of the effectiveness of interventions. At the strategic level, the integration of nature conservation is limited mainly to voluntary measures. Strategies for preventing conflicts between nature conservation and other objectives of agricultural policy are mostly not defined. We estimated that in the 2014–2020 programming period, approximately 5 % (17.8–19.4 million EUR) of the annual budget of the Slovenian agricultural policy was allocated to nature conservation. The dissertation is concluded with an analysis of the possibilities for improving the result-orientation of agri-environmental measures, which was conducted with a discrete choice experiment (521 farmers in the Haloze and Karst area) and a qualitative thematic analysis of interviews with farmers, researchers, decision-makers and agricultural advisers. The farmers showed statistically significant higher preferences for result-based schemes than for schemes with prescribed practices and a preference for an individual approach to knowledge transfer. In order to successfully implement result-based schemes, it is necessary to improve data bases, research into sustainable production models and the training of staff in supervisory and advisory services.

Pathogenic fungi impose a great threat to the global food production. They are globally distributed and display a huge amount of phenotypic diversity. They demonstrate high adaptability to diverse environments and to fluctuating conditions within their hosts. However, not much is known about the mechanisms underlying these processes of adaptation. Deciphering the genetic basis of phenotypic diversity may help us to get a deeper insight into the mechanisms that regulate complex adaptive traits. Furthermore, these findings may help in improving strategies for an effective and sustainable management of pathogens. In my PhD study, I aimed to understand the genetic basis of adaptation to variable environments using Zymoseptoria tritici. Z. tritici causes septoria leaf blotch of wheat and is considered to be the most devastating fungal wheat pathogen in Europe. In the first chapter of my thesis, I studied the role of melanin in adaptation of Z. tritici. I, demonstrated that melanin is essential for protection against harmful chemical fungicides such as bixafen. Remarkably, I observed high phenotypic variability in melanin accumulation levels in different Zymoseptoria tritici strains, most probably reflecting its role in adaptation to variable environments. Using genetic mapping, I was able to demonstrate that variability in melanization levels between two Swiss strains of Z. tritici was mediated by differential expression of the transcription factor Zmr1 (Zymoseptoria melanin regulation 1). I identified nucleotide mutations in the promoter region and an insertion of transposable elements (TEs) upstream of the promoter region as two mechanisms responsible for this observed differential expression of Zmr1. My findings clearly demonstrated the significance of gene expression regulation, mediated by the insertion of TEs and SNPs, in optimizing the growth and adaptation of the fungus under variable environments. Furthermore, these adaptive changes are responsible for the phenotypic diversity that we observe in Z. tritici strains from all over the world. In the second part of my thesis, I analyzed the expression of several secreted peptidases of Z. tritici at distinct stages during the infection process of wheat plants. Using computational genetic methods, I also analyzed nucleotide data sets of the peptidase genes for evolutionary signatures of genetic adaptation. By combining both approaches, I aimed at obtaining a more detailed picture of the relevance and the role of each enzyme during the infection process. I was able to show that the peptidases belonging to MEROPS families A1 and G1 were significantly up regulated during the asymptomatic phase of infection and displayed signatures of accelerated evolution, suggesting their key role in suppression of plant defenses and host specialization. In the third part of my thesis, I evaluated the role of a cellulase-encoding gene (JGI Prot. ID: 76589) using molecular biology techniques. This cellulase was only expressed during the final necrotrophic phase of Z. tritici infection and the nucleotide sequences of the gene showed signatures of diversifying selection. This pattern is consistent with the hypothesis of evasion from host recognition during the first phases of infection and subsequent induction of host-cell death by the secretion of an array of different cellulase isoforms by the fungus. To test this hypothesis, I constitutively expressed the cellulase-encoding gene in Z. tritici during all infection stages by inserting a constitutive promoter (originally from the Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase gene of Aspergillus nidulans) upstream of the start codon of the cellulase gene. I was able to show that the progress of infection in this mutant was delayed compared to the non-modified Z. tritici isolates. This suggests that the cellulase acts as an elicitor molecule that is detected by the plant and triggers the defense machinery that will hinder the growth of the pathogen. In summary, my PhD work demonstrated the significance of fine-tuning of gene expression regulation of various genes in plant pathogenic fungi to facilitate adaptation to different environmental conditions and host colonization. Remarkably, I was able to show that gene expression fine-tuning resulted in large amounts of phenotypic diversity in adaptive traits.

This thesis analyzes the transformations of crop managers. This professional group is central to the running of a unique form of agricultural concern, the integrated farm, which symbolises the "new agricultural capitalism" (Purseigle, Nguyen and Blanc, 2017).The archival research carried out to study the sociogenesis of crop managers shows that this professional group has never enjoyed a linear trajectory since its inception from its social existence (Roquet, 2012). Indeed, it has alternated between dominant and dominated positions within the field of agricultural policies. Since its emergence at the beginning of the nineteenth century, its construction was profoundly ambivalent; caught in-between two different dynamics: first, a professionalization "from above" led by landowners and consubstantial with the pursuit of an institutional program (Dubet, 2010) of group formation; second, the contestation of their role and value by farmers committed to family farms without employees.The ethnographic data collected through four immersion periods as an employee, supported by the structural analysis of the job market for crop managers, and a study of their initial and continuous professional training, demonstrate the persistence of this ambivalence. It also shows the dualist nature (Demazière, 2012) of the group’s current professionalization. The processes defining integrated agricultural enterprises — the integration of trade and packaging, the managerialism (Craipeau and Metzger, 2011) of the organization, and its concentration of capital and land — participate in strengthening the professional autonomy of crop managers, serving as the "bridgeheads" facilitating the capitalist accumulation of agricultural concerns, as well as in the destabilization of their professional model.This dissertation therefore sets out to account for the simultaneous and combined developments of a hitherto forgotten profession and of an organization under the pressures of modern capitalism. By studying the dualism of the professionalization process and its effects on the professional group under scrutiny, we demonstrate, among other things, that crop managers are frustrated interpreters of the new agricultural capitalism. Cette thèse analyse les transformations du groupe professionnel des chefs de culture au sein d’une forme singulière d’entreprise, symbole d’un « nouveau capitalisme agricole » (Purseigle, Nguyen et Blanc, 2017) : les entreprises agricoles intégrées.Le travail sur archives réalisé pour étudier la sociogenèse de la profession de chef de culture montre que dès son existence sociale (Roquet, 2012), le groupe professionnel ne connaît pas de trajectoire linéaire, alternant entre position dominante et position dominée dans le champ des politiques agricoles. Il se caractérise, au cours du XXème siècle, par une ambivalence entre une professionnalisation « par le haut » organisée par les propriétaires terriens, consubstantielle de la construction d’un programme institutionnel (Dubet, 2010) du groupe, et une mise à l’écart par les chefs d’exploitation modernistes qui défendent une agriculture familiale sans salarié.Les données ethnographiques de quatre immersions en tant que salarié, articulées à l’étude de la structure du marché de l’emploi des chefs de culture et à celle des évolutions de leur formation initiale et continue, montrent la poursuite de cette ambivalence et le dualisme (Demazière, 2012) actuel de la professionnalisation du groupe. Les processus définissant les entreprises agricoles intégrées — l’intégration de la commercialisation et du conditionnement, la gestionnarisation (Craipeau et Metzger, 2011) de l’organisation et sa concentration capitalistique et foncière — participent à la fois à un renforcement de l’autonomie professionnelle des chefs de culture, incarnant les « têtes de pont » de la poursuite de l’accumulation capitaliste des entreprises agricoles, et à une déstabilisation de leur modèle professionnel.Ce travail de thèse fait donc le pari initial de rendre compte des évolutions conjointes d’une profession jusqu’alors oubliée et d’une organisation où pénètre la force contraignante du capitalisme moderne. Par l’étude du dualisme du processus de professionnalisation et ses effets sur le groupe professionnel en question, nous démontrons notamment que les chefs de culture sont des interprètes contrariés du nouveau capitalisme agricole.