Thesis (M.S.)--Oregon State University, 2008. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 54-56). Also available on the World Wide Web.

Thesis (PH. D.)--University of Chicago, 1911. / "Extracted from Carnegie institution of Washington. Publication no. 161." Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2008. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

The purpose of the present study is to assess the study of the synoptic problem in this century. The questions raised are: does the two-document hypothesis, more correctly, each of the theses of Markan priority and Q, merely stand on the sands, as its opponents claim?; and does any proposed alternative hypothesis account better for the synoptic phenomena than the two-document hypothesis, so that this orthodox view must now give way to it? Chap. I is mainly to answer the first question. To appraise the thesis of Markan priority, we investigate the synoptic phenomena like the agreement and disagreement in content, order and wording, doublets and OT quotations. The conclusions are: (a) they do not necessarily demand Markan priority; and yet (b) they are sufficiently explained on this hypothesis. There seems, on the other hand, no such evidence that requires us to discard Markan priority. Even the minor agreements between Matthew and Luke against Mark are amenable to it. Then we assess the view that a proto-Mark rather than our canonical Mark was used by later evangelists (the hypotheses of Boismard, V. H. Stanton, Hendriks, J. A. T. Robinson and others). The proposed arguments, however, fall short of establishing a distinct proto-Mark. The Q hypothesis remains the most likely solution to explain Matthew's and Luke's double tradition material, unless Luke's direct use of Matthew or the opposite is proved. Any of these latter alternatives (the views of Parrer, Goulder, West and others) can readily explain the phenomenon of the so-called minor agreements but entails difficulties in accounting for drastic differences between Matthew and Luke in various phases. Our evaluation of the proto-Luke hypothesis shows that the evangelist Luke may well have employed a version of Q considerably expanded with special material. In chap. II, "Matthean priority," we deal with the Augustinian hypothesis (Jameson, Chapman and Butler), the Griesbach hypothesis (Parmer, Orchard, Dungan, Longstaff and others) and also three different proto- Matthew hypotheses (Hunt's testimony book, Parker's Jewish Christian Gospel K and Vaganay's Aramaic proto- Matthew M). The given evidences scarcely convince us that any of these is a better substitute for the twodocument hypothesis. As far as the phenomenon of order is concerned, the Griesbach hypothesis works well but this hardly justifies the view that this solution is superior over the two-document hypothesis* Por the former involves far greater difficulties than the latter allegedly has. Chap. Ill is concerned about Lukan priority, which is the least preferable solution. Hone of its proponents (Lockton, Bussmann and Lindsey) has offered a decisive reason for the assumption that our Luke is more primitive than Matthew and Mark, Finally, the thesis of independence of the Synoptics (Leon-Dufour, Gahoury and Rist) is appraised in chap, IV, Although the assumption of independence enables us to reconcile the opposing hypotheses of Markan priority and Matthean priority, it remains less plausible than the two-document hypothesis. For though there is little choice between the independence view and the two-document hypothesis as far as the synoptic dissimilarities are concerned, the latter explains the similarities far easily than the former. Some of the proposed alternatives are not well substantiated by the evidence. Some others may have a merit in solving some difficulty allegedly unsolved by the two-document hypothesis, or seem successful in explaining some aspects of the phenomena, but they hardly provide better explanation for the whole range of data. The alleged difficulties in the two-document hypothesis, on the other hand, are not insuperable. Thus we are led to the final conclusion that the two-document hypothesis remains the best solution of the synoptic problem.

No description available.

The purpose of this interdisciplinary study was to answer the question, "What is the meaning of the transformative dream for people who do not experience resolution of their problem immediately upon awakening?". Existential-phenomenology from the perspective of a story was used to describe the meaning of the experience for ten individuals, nine women and one man, whose ages ranged from 23 to 48. From transcripts of the interviews, ten individual accounts of the experience were constructed. These accounts included a construction of the structure of each dream story and its relationship to the person’s description of the experience. Significant statements of the experience were also extracted from the transcripts and formulated into twenty common themes which were then woven into a common story. Each person checked and validated the transcript, individual account, common themes, and common story for any omissions or distortions. The study also included responses to a questionnaire given to psychology students, asking them if they had ever had a dream which revealed a solution to a problem. Out of 305 students, 103 (34%) had experienced one of these dreams. Forty-three (42%) knew the answer immediately, 58 (56%) found the answer later, and two were not sure. These results suggest that the prevalence of dreams which reveal solutions to problems could be much higher than expected. The findings support the general contention that these dreams are preceded by a desire for resolution and a search for answers. The dreams were vivid and emotional with the dreamer alert and actively participating in the drama. People experienced a felt sense of change without understanding the meaning of the dream. The dreams were complete stories with a beginning, middle, and end. The findings demonstrate that viewing these dreams within the context of people's lives is essential in order to understand the meaning of the experience. The description is a beginning and can become the basis for future research on dreams which resolve problems. / Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies / Graduate

[No abstract available] / Science, Faculty of / Mathematics, Department of / Graduate

The present study investigated two aspects of suicide which, to date, had received little attention. These are problem-solving behavior and perception. In terms of problem-solving behavior, this study established (l) that suicidal patients show a lesser sense of concern about self-improvement and religion than non-suicidal patients; (2) that suicidal patients are significantly more passive and less competitive in their mode of response to problems than non-suicidal patients; and (3) that suicidal individuals tend to become rigid more quickly in stressful problem-solving situations than non-suicidal individuals. In the area of perception, it was established that suicidal patients are significantly more field-dependent than non-suicidal patients. In addition, the results of investigating these two aspects of suicidal behavior contributed to a better understanding of the personality make-up of suicidal individuals. / Arts, Faculty of / Psychology, Department of / Graduate

The Reflected Quasipotential V(x) is the solution to a variational problem that arises in the study of reflective Brownian motion. Specifically, the stationary distributions of reflected Brownian motion satisfy a large deviation principle (with respect to a spatial scaling parameter) with V(x) as the rate function. The Skorokhod Problem is an essential device in the construction and analysis of reflected Brownian motion and our value function V(x). Here we characterize V(x) as a solution to a partial differential equation H(DV(x))=0 in the positive n-dimensional orthant with appropriate boundary conditions.  H(p) is the Hamiltonian and DV(x) is the gradient of V(x). V(x) is continuous but not differentiable in general. The characterization  will need to be in terms of viscosity solutions. Solutions are not unique, thus additional qualifications will be needed for uniqueness. In order to prove our uniqueness result we consider a discounted version of V(x) in a truncated region and pass to the limit. In addition to this characterization of V(x) we explore the possibility of cyclic optimal paths in 3 dimensions. / Ph. D.

Examination of the literature on methodologies for verifying and validating complex computer-based Problem Solving Systems led to a general hypothesis that there exist measurable features of systems that are correlated with the best testing methods for those systems. Three features (Technical Complexity, Human Involvement, and Observability) were selected as the basis of the current study. A survey of systems currently operating in over a dozen countries explored relationships between these system features, test methods, and the degree to which systems were considered valid. Analysis of the data revealed that certain system features and certain test methods are indeed related to reported levels of confidence in a wide variety of systems. A set of hypotheses was developed, focused in such a way that they correspond to linear equations that can be estimated and tested for significance using statistical regression analysis. Of 24 tested hypotheses, 17 were accepted, resulting in 49 significant models predicting validation and verification percentages, using 37 significant variables. These models explain between 28% and 86% of total variation. Interpretation of these models (equations) leads directly to useful recommendations regarding system features and types of validation methods that are most directly associated with the verification and validation of complex computer systems. The key result of the study is the identification of a set of sixteen system features and test methods that are multiply correlated with reported levels of verification and validation. Representative examples are: • People are more likely to trust a system if it models a real-world event that occurs frequently. • A system is more likely to be accepted if users were involved in its design. • Users prefer systems that give them a large choice of output. • The longer the code, or the greater the number of modules, or the more programmers involved on the project, the less likely people are to believe a system is error-free and reliable. From these results recommendations are developed that bear strongly on proper resource allocation for testing computer-based Problem Solving Systems. Furthermore, they provide useful guidelines on what should reasonably be expected from the validation process.