This thesis is an investigation into the concept of citizenship, or, more precisely, the core concept of citizenship. It attempts to show how certain key debates within citizenship theory can (and should) be framed once the core concept has been clarified. Its central claim is that citizenship is primarily an institutional relationship between an individual and the laws and organs of government to whose authority she is subject. All other 'aspects', 'dimensions', 'senses', or conceptions of citizenship, should be oriented in relationship to this core meaning. Understanding citizenship as primarily an institutional relationship affects how we should approach a number of issues in citizenship theory. The first issue I consider has to do with the limits of both citizenship theory and the extension of citizenship in practice. Specifically, can the conceptual category of citizenship apply to non-human animals, or, indeed, for animals to be citizens in sense that is substantively on par with human citizens? I next consider what the core concept tells us about the moral aspect of citizenship and the relationship between co-citizens. I ask whether one's membership in a morally bounded community could be either necessary or sufficient for a kind of citizenship, and whether citizens owe each other special obligations qua citizens. Finally I ask who might have a moral claim to citizenship in a given state. I consider the possible moral claims a person might have to each of citizenship's two primary elements - what I call democratic membership (i.e. to be included in the demos of a democratically governed polity), and basic membership (i.e. the rights to live and work within the territory of a polity). The first sort of claim brings us into contact with the debate over what is known as the 'democratic boundary problem', while the second leads us to consider the practice of 'birthright ascription'.

The purpose of this study is to examine the language of literary texts based on the pragmatic theories; Cooperative Principle and Grice's maxims. The researcher collected data from a science fiction novel, The Giver by Los Lowry. The findings reveal that most of the time, Lowry made the characters disobey Grice's maxims and the Cooperative Principle. Observance of the maxims was less than failure to observe the maxims. Lowry had her characters fail to observe the maxims for specific purposes such as generating new implicatures, hiding the truth for a period, or persuading and convincing the readers about a message Lowry wanted to convey.

Some emotional and descriptive aspects of an imagined pleasure experience were examined for low- and high-anhedonic undergraduates. Subjects were classified into low-anhedonic or high-anhedonic on the basis of scores on the.Physical Anhedonia Scale (Chapman, Chapman, & Raulin, 1976). Emotional responses were derived from scores on the Differential Emotions Scale (Izard, Dougherty, Bloxom, & Kotsch, 1974) and included anxiety items. A factor analysis was conducted for each of the two scales used and factor scores were computed. Because males scored as significantly more anhedonic than females, analyses were conducted separately for 49 dependent measures: recall of pleasant situations, average rating of pleasantness, frequency of pleasant experiences, individual situation ratings of pleasantness (maximum of 10), factor scores for 12 emotion factors, and factor scores for 24 anhedonia factors. The overall T2 for both males and females was highly significant, suggesting that low-anhedonics of both sexes differ from high-anhe-donics in their report's "regarding their emotional and experiential concomitants of the pleasure experience. The precise source of the difference was not, however, discernible. The factor structures of both the Differential Emotions Scale and the Physical Anhedonia Scale are discussed. Although the structure of the Differential Emotions Scale clearly replicates the work of Izard et al. (1974), that of the Physical Anhedonia Scale failed to be consistent. The weaknesses of the latter instrument are discussed with reference to factor analytic study. / Arts, Faculty of / Psychology, Department of / Graduate

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / According to the von Neumann-Landauer principle (VNL) for every bit of information lost during a computation, kT ln 2 amount of heat is dissipated into the environment. Irreversible logic, the basis of modern computing, inevitably leads to loss of information and is thus fundamentally bound by the VNL principle. However, its validity has been challenged since its inception and the case concerning its legitimacy is still open. Due to the tiny energy scales involved, this debate has been entirely academic in nature and an experimental test of the VNL principle is highly desired by both proponents and skeptics. Such a test would entail contrasting the energy dissipation of irreversible and reversible logic. In particular, we need to perform a non trivial logic both reversibly and irreversibly based on identical technology, testing whether or not energy dissipation for the reversible computation can be less than VNL limit while the irreversible computation is limited by the VNL limit. Reversible logic does not entail information loss, and hence is not bound by the VNL limit. It offers the potential for indefinite performance improvements of digital electronics. Bennett's Turing machine first proved that any computation can be performed reversibly and, in the proper limit, without energy cost. This promise of computing for free has spurred Fredkin, Toffoli, Wilczek, Feynman and others to propose reversible logic gates, though very few experimentally-realized reversible logic gates have since been reported. Here, we experimentally demonstrate for the first time the core of a logically reversible, CMOS-compatible, scalable nanoelectromechanical Fredkin gate, a universal logic gate from ... [TRUNCATED] / 2031-01-01

This thesis aims at providing reasonable explications of theprecautionary principle and the concept of precaution, todefend the precautionary principle against some commoncriticisms, and to give an indication of how the precautionaryprinciple might be operationalised. In Essay I, the concept of precaution is analysed in termsof precautionary actions. Distinctions between precaution andtwo related concepts, prevention and pessimism, are discussed.A definition involving three necessary and jointly sufficientconditions is proposed as a reasonable explication of aprecautionary action. Essay II attempts to provide an analytical apparatus whichmay be used for finding an authoritative formulation of theprecautionary principle. Several formulations of theprecautionary principle are examined. It is argued that theprecautionary principle can be recast into a four-dimensionalif-clause, and that this format can be used in negotiationsconcerning the precautionary principle. In Essay III, the precautionary principle is defendedagainst five common charges, namely that it is ill-defined,absolutist, and a value judgement, increases risk-taking, andmarginalises science. In Essay IV, a simple formalised model is introduced, inwhich the precautionary principle is interpreted in terms ofdefault values of chemicals regulation. <b>Key words:</b>Precautionary principle, precaution, risk / NR 20140805

Estudamos a entropia em várias situações na gravidade, verificando se seu comportamento é holográfico, obedecendo à lei de área de Bekenstein. Inicialmente, usando o método da \"parede de tijolos\", calculamos, em diversos casos, a entropia estatística de um campo escalar num fundo não trivial. Tal fundo é gerado por buracos negros de 4 ou 5 dimensões com cargas. A fórmula da entropia de Bekenstein é geralmente satisfeita, mas algumas correções são discutidas no caso pentadimensional. Este método é também aplicado para soluções tipo buracos negros na gravidade de Lovelock. Resulta que o método de \"parede de tijolos\", apesar de correto para a teoria de Einstein-Hilbert, pode não ser válido em geral, o que também acontece com a lei área. Algumas propriedades concernentes à teoria de cordas, especialmente a tecnologia das D-branas, são revistas naqueles aspectos necessários para este trabalho. Também estudamos e calculamos o limite superior da entropia para a gravidade de Lovelock. Finalmente, verificamos a validade do princípio holográfico num universo de (4 + n) dimensões numa fase inflacionária assimétrica. / We study the entropy for various situations in gravity, checking whether its behavior is holographic, obeying Bekensteins area law. First, using the brick wall method, we compute the statistical entropy of a scalar field in a nontrivial background in different cases. Such a background is generated by four and five dimensional black holes with charges. The Bekenstein entropy formula is generally obeyed, but corrections are discussed in the latter case. This method is applied also to the black hole solutions of the Lovelock gravity. It turns out that the brickwall method, through correct for the Einstein-Hilbert theory, may fail in general. The same happens to the area law. Some properties concerning string theory, especially the D-branes technology, are reviewed while necessary to this work. Furthermore, we study and compute the upper limit of the entropy for the Lovelock gravity. Finally, we check the validity of the holographic principle in a (4+n) dimensional universe in an asymmetric inflationary phase.

While the basic premise of precaution has been widely endorsed in environmental treaties since its inclusion in the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, as a legal principle, it has been framed in such vastly dissimilar ways that it continues to generate significant disagreement over its precise nature, standing and legal effect. Despite the rich and extensive scholarship aimed at clarifying its normative content and operation, the ongoing lack of consensus on when the precautionary principle is applicable and what its application entails points to fundamental definitional challenges as well as its overall limitations as a regulatory tool. This thesis attempts to move beyond this impasse by reassessing the precautionary principle in light of the distinction traditionally made in formal scientific discourse between risk and uncertainty. While this technical distinction is fundamental to defining the proper scope of the principle’s application, the thesis finds that much of the existing legal discourse has either overlooked or marginalised the risk/uncertainty dichotomy, which in turn has blurred the distinction between the principles of precaution and prevention. The thesis sets out what is meant by these analytically distinct concepts in the legal context, focusing on their implications for the processes of legal reasoning and regulatory decision-making. Having examined the conceptual underpinnings of the precautionary principle, and of the principle of prevention, the thesis proceeds to address a central research question – if uncertainty, as opposed to risk, determines the operational scope of the precautionary principle, to what extent do the current applications of the precautionary principle actually fall within its proper domain? To answer this, the thesis embarks on a deconstruction of the precautionary principle in practice by analysing how precaution has been deployed as an operational principle in particular treaty contexts. The treaty regimes examined here include: international fisheries; persistent organic pollutants; ocean dumping; sanitary and phytosanitary threats under the WTO; and atmospheric pollution and climate change. In each case, the thesis scrutinises the extent to which assumptions, obligations and measures contained therein are consistent with the theoretical underpinnings of precaution. Despite the pervasive use of the precautionary rhetoric in treaty texts and practice, the thesis ultimately finds that, for the most part, these instruments are in fact aimed at specific, scientifically-determined risks, and thus what is often upheld in the name of precaution is actually the prevention principle. The thesis argues that it is better to frame risk regulation through prevention, and not precaution, by considering the implications of abandoning the precautionary principle in those areas where the prevention principle is clearly at play. The thesis completes the analysis by addressing what is actually left for the precautionary principle and discussing some of the distinct ways in which precaution functions within its specific, circumscribed domain.

Specifying a prior distribution for the large number of parameters in the linear statistical model is a difficult step in the Bayesian approach to the design and analysis of experiments. Here we address this difficulty by proposing the use of functional priors and then by working out important details for three and higher level experiments. One of the challenges presented by higher level experiments is that a factor can be either qualitative or quantitative. We propose appropriate correlation functions and coding schemes so that the prior distribution is simple and the results easily interpretable. The prior incorporates well known experimental design principles such as effect hierarchy and effect heredity, which helps to automatically resolve the aliasing problems experienced in fractional designs. The second part of the thesis focuses on the analysis of optimization experiments. Not uncommon are designed experiments with their primary purpose being to determine optimal settings for all of the factors in some predetermined set. Here we distinguish between the two concepts of statistical significance and practical significance. We perform estimation via an empirical Bayes data analysis methodology that has been detailed in the recent literature. But then propose an alternative to the usual next step in determining optimal factor level settings. Instead of implementing variable or model selection techniques, we propose an objective function that assists in our goal of finding the ideal settings for all factors over which we experimented. The usefulness of the new approach is illustrated through the analysis of some real experiments as well as simulation.

Estudamos a entropia em várias situações na gravidade, verificando se seu comportamento é holográfico, obedecendo à lei de área de Bekenstein. Inicialmente, usando o método da \"parede de tijolos\", calculamos, em diversos casos, a entropia estatística de um campo escalar num fundo não trivial. Tal fundo é gerado por buracos negros de 4 ou 5 dimensões com cargas. A fórmula da entropia de Bekenstein é geralmente satisfeita, mas algumas correções são discutidas no caso pentadimensional. Este método é também aplicado para soluções tipo buracos negros na gravidade de Lovelock. Resulta que o método de \"parede de tijolos\", apesar de correto para a teoria de Einstein-Hilbert, pode não ser válido em geral, o que também acontece com a lei área. Algumas propriedades concernentes à teoria de cordas, especialmente a tecnologia das D-branas, são revistas naqueles aspectos necessários para este trabalho. Também estudamos e calculamos o limite superior da entropia para a gravidade de Lovelock. Finalmente, verificamos a validade do princípio holográfico num universo de (4 + n) dimensões numa fase inflacionária assimétrica. / We study the entropy for various situations in gravity, checking whether its behavior is holographic, obeying Bekensteins area law. First, using the brick wall method, we compute the statistical entropy of a scalar field in a nontrivial background in different cases. Such a background is generated by four and five dimensional black holes with charges. The Bekenstein entropy formula is generally obeyed, but corrections are discussed in the latter case. This method is applied also to the black hole solutions of the Lovelock gravity. It turns out that the brickwall method, through correct for the Einstein-Hilbert theory, may fail in general. The same happens to the area law. Some properties concerning string theory, especially the D-branes technology, are reviewed while necessary to this work. Furthermore, we study and compute the upper limit of the entropy for the Lovelock gravity. Finally, we check the validity of the holographic principle in a (4+n) dimensional universe in an asymmetric inflationary phase.

The benefits of being average were examined within the context of romantic relationships by focusing on courtship progression and events for 164 married couples. The courtship progression was captured using a graph of the fluctuations in the percentage chance of marriage for each spouse from when couples first began dating up until the wedding day. Five factors were then used to capture the graph: Time elapsed to progress from 25 to 75% chance of marriage, turbulence in chance of marriage values, average change in percent chance of marriage between relationship events, courtship length, and the sum of squared deviations from a straight line connecting when couples first started dating until their marriage date. Couples also reported on the timing of important relationship events (i.e., meeting parents, first fell in love, first sexual intercourse, and engagement) that were then compared to the order of the average courtship event progression. Deviations from the average courtship in terms of either graphical or event indicators did not significantly predict whether or not couples divorced in the first 13 years of marriage. / text