The measures studied in this thesis were a measure of disorder, D, and a measure of the individual part of the disagreement, the measure of relative rank variance, RV, proposed by Svensson in 1993. The measure of disorder is a useful measure of order consistency in paired assessments of scales with a different number of possible values. The measure of relative rank variance is a useful measure in evaluating reliability and for evaluating change in qualitative outcome variables. In Paper I an overview of methods used in the analysis of dependent ordinal data and a comparison of the methods regarding the assumptions, specifications, applicability, and implications for use were made. In Paper II an application, and a comparison of the results of some standard models, tests, and measures to two different research problems were made. The sampling distribution of the measure of disorder was studied both analytically and by a simulation experiment in Paper III. The asymptotic normal distribution was shown by the theory of U-statistics and the simulation experiments for finite sample sizes and various amount of disorder showed that the sampling distribution was approximately normal for sample sizes of about 40 to 60 for moderate sizes of D and for smaller sample sizes for substantial sizes of D. The sampling distribution of the relative rank variance was studied in a simulation experiment in Paper IV. The simulation experiment showed that the sampling distribution was approximately normal for sample sizes of 60-100 for moderate size of RV, and for smaller sample sizes for substantial size of RV. In Paper V a procedure for inference regarding relative rank variances from two or more samples was proposed. Pair-wise comparison by jackknife technique for variance estimation and the use of normal distribution as approximation in inference for parameters in independent samples based on the results in Paper IV were demonstrated. Moreover, an application of Kruskal-Wallis test for independent samples and Friedman’s test for dependent samples were conducted. / Statistical methods for ordinal data

No description available.

No description available.

In this thesis, we describe linear codes over prime fields obtained from incidence designs of iterated line graphs of complete graphs Li(Kn) where i = 1, 2. In the binary case, results are extended to codes from neighbourhood designs of the line graphs Li+1(Kn) using certain elementary relations. Codes from incidence designs of complete graphs, Kn, and neighbourhood designs of their line graphs, L1(Kn) (the so-called triangular graphs), have been considered elsewhere by others. We consider codes from incidence designs of L1(Kn) and L2(Kn), and neighbourhood designs of L2(Kn) and L3(Kn). In each case, basic parameters of the codes are determined. Further, we introduce a family of vertex-transitive graphs 􀀀n that are embeddable into the strong product L1(Kn) ⊠ K2, of triangular graphs and K2, a class which at first sight may seem unnatural but, on closer look, is a repository of graphs rich with combinatorial structures. For instance, unlike most regular graphs considered here and elsewhere that only come with incidence and neighbourhood designs, 􀀀n also has what we have termed as 6-cycle designs. These are designs in which the point set contains vertices of the graph and every block contains vertices of a 6-cycle in the graph. Also, binary codes from incidence matrices of these graphs have other minimum words in addition to incidence vectors of the blocks. In addition, these graphs have induced subgraphs isomorphic to the family Hn of complete porcupines (see Definition 4.11). We describe codes from incidence matrices of 􀀀n and Hn and determine their parameters.

La réflexion morale de Theodor Adorno est manifestement traversée par une tension : l’exigence paradoxale d’enraciner pleinement la morale à la fois dans les impulsions les plus vives et dans la raison la plus lucide. Plus qu’une excentricité parmi d’autres de la figure de proue de l’École de Francfort, le présent mémoire donne à penser que ce problème pourrait être une des principales charnières de son éthique. L’objectif de ma recherche est de dégager une voie pour articuler conjointement, «sans sacrifice aucun», ces deux exigences. Pour ce faire, je tenterai d’étayer l’hypothèse suivante : l’analyse du problème de la liberté et de la non-liberté que développe le premier des trois «modèles» de Dialectique négative permet de comprendre à la fois le lien et l’écart entre la dimension impulsive et rationnelle de l’éthique d’Adorno. L’argument qui sera déployé se penchera d’abord sur le problème de la non-liberté et son incarnation à travers le phénomène concret de l’antisémitisme ainsi que de la peur et de la rage animale dans lesquelles il s’enracine, pour ensuite examiner la conception adornienne de la liberté dans ses deux dimensions de «pleine conscience théorique» et «d’impulsion spontanée», et pour finalement tenter d’apprécier la portée plus générale pour la compréhension de l’éthique d’Adorno de cette interprétation du problème de la liberté en tentant de comprendre sur cette base son «nouvel impératif catégorique». / Throughout Theodor Adorno’s moral thought runs a paradoxical demand : that morality should be fully rooted in both the liveliest impulses and the keenest reasonings. More than a quirk among Adorno’s many, this essay suggests that this problem plays a pivotal role in his ethics. The current research seeks to develop a strategy to conjointly articulate these two demands. To this end, I will try to expound the following hypothesis : the analysis of the problem of freedom and unfreedom set forth by the first of the ‘models’ in Negative Dialectics enables making sense of both the bond and the disparity between the impulsive and rational constituents of adornian ethics. This study will first focus on the problem of unfreedom and its embodiment in the concrete phenomena of anti-Semitism as well as the animal fear and rage that it builds upon. It will then go on to examine Adorno’s conception of freedom in its two facets : «full theoretical consciousness» and «spontaneous impulse». It will finally try to ascertain the more general relevance of this interpretation of the problem of freedom for making sense of Adorno’s ethics, by trying to make sense on that basis of his «new categorical imperative».

The aim of the monograph is to contribute towards bridging the gap between methodological developments that have evolved in the social sciences, in particular in psychometric research, and methods of statistical modelling in a more general framework. The first part surveys certain special psychometric models (often referred to as Rasch family of models) that share common properties: separation of parameters describing qualities of the subject under investigation and parameters related to properties of the situation under which the response of a subject is observed. Using conditional maximum likelihood estimation, both types of parameters may be estimated independently from each other. In particular, the Rasch model, the rating scale model, the partial credit model, hybrid types, and linear extensions thereof are treated. The second part reviews basic ideas of generalized linear models (GLMs) as an an excellent framework for unifying different approaches and providing a natural, technical background for model formulation, estimation and testing. This is followed by a short introduction to the software package GLIM chosen to illustrate the formulation of psychometric models in the GLM framework. The third part is the main part of this monograph and shows the application of generalized linear models to psychometric approaches. It gives a unified treatment of Rasch family models in the context of log-linear models and contains some new material on log-linear longitudinal modelling. The last part of the monograph is devoted to show the usefulness of the latent variable approach in a variety of applications, such as panel, cross-over, and therapy evaluation studies, where standard statistical analysis does not necessarily lead to satisfactory results. (author´s abstract) / Series: Research Report Series / Department of Statistics and Mathematics

Sloutsky (2010; Kloos與Sloutsky, 2008) 操弄不同的類別結構亂度 (categorical entropy) 進行類別學習作業，藉此提出了雙系統理論，認為人們會啟動不同的系統，濃縮式系統 (compression-based system)或選擇式系統 (selection-based system)，以適應不同的類別結構組成之刺激材料。本研究回顧了Sloutsky的研究證據與過去類別學習領域的相關文獻，認為此雙系統理論可能只適用在向度數目較多的情境之下，因此設計了三個實驗，使用和Kloos與Sloutsky (2008) 相同的實驗派典，欲說明刺激材料的向度個數確實會影響到人們的類別學習行為。實驗一發現，Sloutsky所預測的類別結構與學習方式之交互作用只出現在向度個數較多的情境，向度個數少時則無此交互作用。實驗二得到與實驗一相同的結果，並排除了刺激材料本身特性（幾何圖形或類自然類別材料）此一混淆變項。實驗三採用特別設計的依變項，直接觀察受試者採用相似性(similarity)或規則(rule)的方式進行分類判斷，集群分析的結果顯示在向度數目少的情境時，不管何種類別結構受試者均傾向使用以規則為基礎的選擇式系統學習。因此，綜合以上發現，本研究認為Sloutsky的雙系統理論必須考慮到向度數目此一變項，才能更廣泛的應用於各種類別學習情境之中。 / The goal of this research is to point out that the dimensions of experimental materials can influence human category learning, which is neglected by traditional models of category learning. Three experiments in this research examined the effect of stimuli complexity by following the paradigms of Kloos and Sloutsky (2008). In Experiment 1, the prediction of Sloutsky’s theory (2010) on the interaction effect between category structures and learning conditions succeeds only at high complexity of materials, but fails in the low complexity condition. Experiment 2 was conducted by the same experimental setting as Experiment 1, but the natural-like stimuli were replaced by well-defined artificial geometrics. The result of Experiment 2 is the same as Experiment 1, suggesting that the complexity of materials plays a critical role in category learning no matter what kind of stimuli are used. Experiment 3 found that various materials complexity had distinct effects on human category representations. Namely, when experimental stimuli are relatively complex, people would use the corresponding category learning system to represent stimuli to learn dense categories or sparse ones. In contrast, when the stimuli are relatively simple, participants would represent the stimuli in a rule-based manner both in dense and sparse category structures.

This Thesis engages with contemporary philosophical controversies about the nature of dispositional properties or powers and the relationship they have to their non-dispositional counterparts. The focus concerns fundamentality. In particular, I seek to answer the question, ‘What fundamental properties suffice to account for the manifest world?’ The answer I defend is that fundamental categorical properties need not be invoked in order to derive a viable explanation for the manifest world. My stance is a field-theoretic view which describes the world as a single system comprised of pure power, and involves the further contention that ‘pure power’ should not be interpreted as ‘purely dispositional’, if dispositionality means potentiality, possibility or otherwise unmanifested power or ability bestowed upon some bearer. The theoretical positions examined include David Armstrong’s Categoricalism, Sydney Shoemaker’s Causal Theory of Properties, Brian Ellis’s New Essentialism, Ullin Place’s Conceptualism, Charles Martin’s and John Heil’s Identity Theory of Properties and Rom Harré’s Theory of Causal Powers. The central concern of this Thesis is to examine reasons for holding a pure-power theory, and to defend such a stance. This involves two tasks. The first requires explaining what plays the substance role in a pure-power world. This Thesis argues that fundamental power, although not categorical, can be considered ontologically-robust and thus able to fulfil the substance role. A second task—answering the challenge put forward by Richard Swinburne and thereafter replicated in various neo-Swinburne arguments—concerns how the manifestly qualitative world can be explained starting from a pure-power base. The Light-like Network Account is put forward in an attempt to show how the manifest world can be derived from fundamental pure power.

Mελετάμε το πρόβλημα της διατήρησης κάποιας κλάσης πεπερασμένων ορίων από την αριστερή επέκταση Kan ενός συναρτητή. Παρουσιάζουμε αρχικά την περίπτωση για συναρτητές που λαμβάνουν τιμές στην κατηγορία των συνόλων. Η περίπτωση αυτή έχει μελετηθεί στην βιβλιογραφια, και ο χαρακτηρισμός τέτοιων επεκτάσεων Kan έχει να κάνει με την έννοια της επιπεδότητας του συναρτητή. Παρατηρώντας ότι η έννοια της επιπεδότητας μπορεί να ερμηνευτεί (με όρους εσωτερικής λογικής) σε μία κατηγορία η οποία είναι εφοδιασμένη με μία τοπολογία Grothendieck, μελετάμε το πρόβλημα στην γενικότητά του. Καθοριστικό ρόλο στην μελέτη μας, παίζει η έννοια του καθορισμένου συνορίου. Με αυτά τα εργαλεία καταλήγουμε σε ικανές και αναγκαίες συνθήκες για την διατήρηση πεπερασμένων γινομένων, πεπερασμένων συνεκτικών ορίων και όλων των πεπερασμένων ορίων από την αριστερή επέκταση Kan ενός συναρτητή που λαμβάνει τιμές σε μια κατηγορία η οποία είναι εφοδιασμένη με μία υποκανονική τοπολογία Grothendieck. Τέλος μελετάμε και την περίπτωση διατήρησης μονομορφισμών από αριστερές επεκτάσεις Kan μεταξύ αλγεβρικών κατηγοριών. / We study the problem of preservation of some classes of finite limits from the left Kan extension of a functor. Initially we present the case where the functor takes values in the category of sets. This case has been studied in the literature, and the characterization of such Kan extensions is related with the notion of flatness. Observing that the notion o flatness can be interpreted (with terms of internal logic) in a category which is equipped with a Grothendieck topology, we study the problem in its generality. Crucial role plays the notion of postulated colimit. With those tools, we conclude necessary and sufficient conditions for the preservation of finite products, of finite connected limits and all the finite limits from the left Kan extension of a functor which takes values into a category which is equipped with a subcanonical Grothendieck topology. Finally we study the case of preservation of monomorphisms from certain Kan extensions between algebraic categories.

The current dissertation is the result of an investigation about the principle of the autonomy of the will. According to Immanuel Kant, the autonomy is the foundation of all morality of the human actions. The autonomy consists in the presentation of the reason for herself of a moral law valid for the will of all rational beings. The moral law is going against the actions that are practiced by selfishness, since she possesses the form of an universal legislation that is expressed in the categorical imperative of the reason. The heteronomy of the will is the principle contrary to the autonomy. Starting from the determination of your will for the moral law the man becomes conscious of your freedom. Consequently, the freedom is what turns possible to the man your self-determination for the moral action. / A presente dissertação é o resultado de uma investigação acerca do princípio da autonomia da vontade. Segundo Immanuel Kant, a autonomia é o fundamento de toda a moralidade das ações humanas. A autonomia consiste na apresentação da razão para si mesma de uma lei moral que é válida para a vontade de todos os seres racionais. A lei moral vai contra as ações que são praticadas por egoísmo, já que ela possui a forma de uma legislação universal que é expressa no imperativo categórico da razão. A heteronomia da vontade é o princípio contrário à autonomia. A partir da determinação de sua vontade pela lei moral o homem torna-se consciente de sua liberdade. Por conseguinte, a liberdade é o que torna possível ao homem sua autodeterminação para a ação moral.