Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2003. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 79-80).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2001. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 177-179).

This thesis consists of three papers about N-complexes and their uses in categorification. N-complexes are generalizations of chain complexes having a differential d satisfying dN = 0 rather than d2 = 0. Categorification is the process of finding a higher category analog of a given mathematical structure. Paper I: We study a set of homology functors indexed by positive integers a and b and their corresponding derived categories. We show that there is an optimal subcategory in the domain of every functor given by N-complexes with N = a + b. Paper II: In this paper we show that the lax nerve of the category of chain complexes is pointwise adjoint equivalent to the décalage of the simplicial category of N-complexes. This reveals additional simplicial structure on the lax nerve of the category of chain complexes which provides a categorfication of the triangulated homotopy category of chain complexes. We study this in general and present evidence that the axioms of triangulated categories have a simplicial origin. Paper III: Let n be a product of two distinct prime numbers. We construct a triangulated monoidal category having a Grothendieck ring isomorphic to the ring of n:th cyclotomic integers.

The purpose of this study is to investigate and understand data which are grouped into categories. At the onset, the study presents a review of early research contributions and controversies surrounding categorical data analysis. The concept of sparseness in a contingency table refers to a table where many cells have small frequencies. Previous research findings showed that incorrect results were obtained in the analysis of sparse tables. Hence, attention is focussed on the effect of sparseness on modelling and analysis of categorical data in this dissertation. Cressie and Read (1984) suggested a versatile alternative, the power divergence statistic, to statistics proposed in the past. This study includes a detailed discussion of the power-divergence goodness-of-fit statistic with areas of interest covering a review on the minimum power divergence estimation method and evaluation of model fit. The effects of sparseness are also investigated for the power-divergence statistic. Comparative reviews on the accuracy, efficiency and performance of the power-divergence family of statistics under large and small sample cases are presented. Statistical applications on the power-divergence statistic have been conducted in SAS (Statistical Analysis Software). Further findings on the effect of small expected frequencies on accuracy of the X2 test are presented from the studies of Tate and Hyer (1973) and Lawal and Upton (1976). Other goodness-of-fit statistics which bear relevance to the sparse multino-mial case are discussed. They include Zelterman's (1987) D2 goodness-of-fit statistic, Simonoff's (1982, 1983) goodness-of-fit statistics as well as Koehler and Larntz's tests for log-linear models. On addressing contradictions for the sparse sample case under asymptotic conditions and an increase in sample size, discussions are provided on Simonoff's use of nonparametric techniques to find the variances as well as his adoption of the jackknife and bootstrap technique. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1998.

Note: / Butler's Theorems, with one minor exception, are resolved: in a 2-categorical setting. His Adjointness theorems are all proved correct, after one tiny modification. Then, using a condition on adjoint squares, twenty-two of his Tripleability theorems are proved correct; th~ee are proved false. The other theorem is still unresolved, but it is of very minor importance. / Les theoremes de Butler, a l'exception d'un seul de peu d'importance, sont resulus dans un contexte 2-categorique.Tous ses theoremes d'adjonction sont demontres etre valides apres une modification minime. Ensuit~ utilisant une condition de carres adjoints, vingt-deux de ses Theoremes de monadicite sont demontres et trois autres sont refutes. La validation ou refutation d'un seul de ses +heoremes, de peu d'importance, demeure en suspense.

Bakgrund: Meticillinresistenta staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) är ett växande problem globalt och är en bakterie som kan orsaka svåra infektioner i olika delar av kroppen. Oftast är den dock symtomfri då de flesta bär på bakterien utan att den orsakar infektion. I Sverige görs sedan länge mycket nationellt för att försöka minska spridningen och detta är antagligen en anledning varför prevalensen är förhållandevis låg. Dessutom måste patienterna själva förhålla sig till lagar och landstingen har utarbetat handlingsplaner för MRSA bärande patienter. MRSA sprids via kontaktsmitta och kan då spridas till sjuka människor som på grund av sin sjukdom är mer mottagliga för dessa bakterier. Följaktligen är isolering och vård genom avdelad personal, så kallat kohortvård, delar av dessa handlingsplaner för MRSA bärande patienter på vårdavdelningar. Utifrån ett omvårdnadsperspektiv blev författarna nyfikna över det aktuella kunskapsläget gällande patienters upplevelse av att bära på MRSA, både på sjukhus och i sina vardagliga liv. Syfte: Syftet med arbetet var att utforska patienters upplevelser av att vara bärare av MRSA, genom att granska tidigare forskning. Metod: Allmän litteraturöversikt baserad på tio kvalitativa vetenskapliga artiklar. Resultat: Resultaten bestod av tre kategorier, som i sin tur bestod av vardera två underkategorier. Kategorin påverkan av MRSA bestod av underkategorierna mental påverkan och fysiska symtom. Kategorin förståelse bestod av underkategorierna kunskap och information. Slutligen bestod kategorin isolering av underkategorierna isolering på sjukhuset och relationellt. Slutsats och klinisk betydelse: Att vara MRSA bärare orsakade ofta negativa känslor, som även uppstod till följd av isoleringen och omgivningens avhållsamma beteende. Patienterna hade ofta lite kunskap om MRSA och fick inte tillräckligt med information från vårdpersonal om MRSA. Att förstå patienternas känslor och ge adekvat information kan bidra till en bättre upplevelse. / Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a growing problem globally and is a bacteria that can cause severe infections in different parts of the body. Usually, the bacteria does not cause infections or produce symptoms, the person is instead merely a carrier. In Sweden much has been done and much is still being done to combat the spread of MRSA. This is presumably a reason why the prevalence of MRSA in Sweden is relatively low. Besides this, patients have to abide to laws and Socialstyrelsen, which is a Swedish Health Authority, has developed action plans regarding MRSA carriers. MRSA is contagious through physical contact and can spread to already ill patients, who because of their illness, are more susceptible. Therefore, care through the use of isolation and cohort in the care unit, is part of Swedish Health Authorities’ action plan. The authors became curious about the current knowledge regarding patient’s experience of being MRSA carriers in the in-patient hospital environment as well as in their ordinary lives. Aim: The aim was to explore patient’s experience of being MRSA carriers, by reviewing previous studies. Method: Common literary survey based on ten qualitative articles. Results: The results consisted of three categories, which each consisted of two subcategories. Influence of MRSA consisted of the subcategories mental influence and physical symptoms. The category understanding consisted of the subcategories knowledge and information. Finally, the category isolation consisted of the subcategories isolation at the hospital and interpersonal. Conclusion and clinical impact: Being a MRSA carrier was related to negative feelings, which were also caused by isolation and other people, such as family and friends, withdrawing themselves from the patient. Patients often lacked knowledge about MRSA and did not receive enough information from hospital staff. Understanding patient’s emotions as well as supplying adequate information can contribute to a better patient experience.

Butler's Theorems, with one minor exception, are resolved: in a 2-categorical setting. His Adjointness theorems are all proved correct, after one tiny modification. Then, using a condition on adjoint squares, twenty-two of his Tripleability theorems are proved correct; three are proved false. The other theorem is still unresolved, but it is of very minor importance.

This dissertation is about biological sex and how we ought to make sense of it. By biological sex I mean those elements of an individual’s body that are involved in reproduction of the individual’s species; by make sense of it I mean the way in which the occurrence of these elements and their interactions are conceptualized in our minds. Given certain things that are known about sex and reproduction, I argue in this dissertation that sex, maleness, and femaleness ought to be conceptualized in a specific way: this specific way is what I call the multidimensional model of sex. My argument challenges what I call the folk understanding of biological sex, which is (generally speaking) the understanding that most people in most places have about what makes a person male or female. This understanding, I argue, takes the concepts MALE and FEMALE to be logically opposed and atomistic, and constitutive of categories with homogeneous members. I explore three important facts that challenge this understanding: 1) the emphasis on continuity within biological thought, 2) the understanding of sex differences within biology, and 3) the occurrence of intersexuality in human beings. Some authors have already proposed continuum-based understandings of SEX as a replacement for the folk understanding. I identify and discuss three of these: 1) the basic continuum model (Fausto-Sterling 1993, 2000; Blackless, et al. 2000; Kessler 1998; Preves 2003; Intersex Society of North America 2011a; Organisation International des Intersexués 2011a), 2) the multiple continua model (Stoltenberg 1989), and 3) the hybrid model (Stein 2001; Dreger 1998). Inherent to different degrees within each of these models is the belief that maleness and femaleness are somehow conceptually opposite (which is a belief also shared by the folk understanding). This belief, I argue, is not borne out in nature, as demonstrated in part by the occurrence of intersexuality in the species Homo sapiens, and the occurrence of hermaphroditism in other species. These occurrences, I argue, suggest another way to make sense of sex. The model of sex that I present is inspired by the occurrence of intersexuality and hermaphroditism, and also by Sandra Bem’s (1974) work on the concept ANDROGYNY. Bem reconceptualized masculinity and femininity as dimensions of psychological androgyny. I argue that the concepts MALE and FEMALE, and thus BIOLOGICAL SEX, can be understood in a similar way. I propose a multidimensional model of SEX that includes the concepts MALE and FEMALE as intersecting continua that create a space in which the separate features of an individual’s sex are each individually located. The dissertation concludes by discussing the moral implications of the multidimensional model, as some of our judgments about the rightness or wrongness of a person’s actions are related to our understanding of that person’s sex. But if the words male and female come to refer to individual parts of the body and not whole people (as I argue they would, if the multidimensional model were adopted), how would our ideas about the moral acceptability of certain actions and practices change? By examining this general question, I show that adoption of the multidimensional model of sex is important not just because it offers a more biologically accurate representation of sex: it is also important, I conclude, because there is good reason to think that adopting it could improve the quality of life for many.

Diss. Uppsala : Uppsala Universitet, 2006.

Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of Glasgow, 2008. / Ph.D. thesis submitted to the Faculty of Information and Mathematical Sciences, Department of Mathematics, University of Glasgow, 2008. Includes bibliographical references. Print version also available.