Pour explorer le monde qui nous entoure nous bougeons sans cesse les yeux alternant entre des mouvements rapides ``les saccades'' et des moments d'immobilisation ``les fixations''. Quels sont les facteurs guidant ces mouvements oculaires? Comment les interpréter et les évaluer quantitativement? Cette thèse aborde ces questions lors de l'exploration libre de scènes naturelles, sous deux aspects: la modélisation et le recueil de données comportementales avec des enregistrements oculométriques. Le modèle proposé s'inspire fortement de la biologie et propose de prédire les régions dites saillantes (qui attirent les yeux) en utilisant un certain nombre de caractéristiques visuelles de bas niveaux, selon une démarche de traitement ascendante (``bottom-up'') compatible avec le contexte choisi d'exploration libre des scènes naturelles. Bien qu'il s'agisse de l'exploration de scènes statiques, un modèle dynamique spatio-temporel est également proposé considérant les séquences temporelles alternant les phases de stabilisation durant les fixations et les phases de déplacement durant les saccades. Les données comportementales et les données physiologiques ont permis l'établissement du modèle, ses évolutions et améliorations successives, puis sa validation. Ainsi, nous montrons que bien que la couleur soit présente partout et apparaisse dans plusieurs modèles de la littérature, celle-ci influence peu les mouvements oculaires des sujets. De même nous montrons que programmer plusieurs saccades en parallèle à partir d'un point de fixation comme cela a été montré dans des expériences de recherche de cible n'est pas compatible avec les données comportementales. Cette thèse propose aussi de nombreux outils méthodologiques pour comparer des données comportementales à des données issues d'un modèle et propose également une manière de tester l'importance relative de plusieurs caractéristiques visuelles de bas niveau sur la prédiction des mouvements oculaires.

At its core, this dissertation examines the role of information, particularly as it relates to proxies for quality, and how it affects both donor and organization decision processes in the humanitarian space. In Chapter 2 I consider the context of competition within the sub-sector of international humanitarian relief organizations. It has been observed that large scale humanitarian relief events tend to spawn highly competitive environments in which organizations compete with one another for publicity and funding, often times to the detriment of effective resource utilization. The question of why altruistic organizations behave in this manner arises. Positing that competition is a result of dual organization objectives and the inability to credibly signal quality a model of signaling is presented to explain this phenomenon, and conditions under which pooling and separating equilibrium can occur are shown. Results are shown to match closely with observed behavior, and potential policy remedies are considered using the model as a foundation. Chapter 3 addresses a similar question but broadens the analysis to that of a general market for charitable goods. Building on foundational results in search theory, I propose a two-stage model of donor search behavior to explain the effects of transparency and exposure on both donor and organization behavior as it regards how donors select organizations. Using both analytical and simulated results I show how donor behavior changes under various market constructions, with implications on total market outcomes and organization behavior discussed. Chapter 4 concludes with an empirical analysis to test the assumptions and results from the models of Chapters 2 and 3. Using an observational data set provided by the online charitable giving marketplace GlobalGiving, fixed effects panel regression and logit models are used to investigate the effects of transparency on both the amount of a donor's gift, and on the likelihood of repeat giving. Results are complicated by discussed validity issues, and in general show that within the context of GlobalGiving proxied transparency does not appear to have a significant practical effect on either the amount of the gift or organization selection by a given donor. While some significance is shown for various constructions, the results are not shown to be robust. A discussion of the results within the context of the donor search model of Chapter 3 is also provided.

<p>Nyligen publicerades ett skatteupplägg, det så kallade bankupplägget, vilket innebär att ägare till kvalificerade aktier i fåmansföretag tar ett omfattande lån av en bank och tillskjuter motsvarande belopp till sitt företag som ett ovillkorat aktieägartillskott. Det ovillkorade aktieägartillskottet ökar omkostnadsbeloppet på de kvalificerade aktierna, vilket innebär att även gränsbeloppet höjs. Ett högt gränsbelopp är positivt ur fåmansföretagsägarens synvinkel eftersom utdelning och kapitalvinst upp till gränsbeloppet beskattas i inkomstlaget kapital medens överskjutande del beskattas i inkomstlaget tjänst. Kapitalvinstbeskattningen är i regel lindigare vilket innebär att den skattskyldige uppnår en skatteförmån genom erhållandet av det högre gränsbeloppet. Efter att ha företagit utdelning av allt fritt eget kapital, exklusive aktieägartillskottet likvideras företaget och allt insatt kapital utbetalas till ägaren. Därefter återbetalas banklånet.</p><p>SKV har uttalat att bankupplägget skall bedömas som stridande mot skattelagstiftningen. Den första anledningen till detta är att de anser att det inte finns någon avsikt att tillskjuta varaktigt kapital till företaget, utan att kapitaltillskottet endast sker i syfte att möjliggöra uttag av upparbetade vinstmedel i företaget till låg beskattning. Dessutom är SKV:s ståndpunkt att skatteflyktslagen är tillämplig på bankupplägget. Uppsatsen analyserar båda dessa aspekter i syfte att komma fram till huruvida SKV:s ståndpunkt skall anses riktig.</p><p>Min slutsats är att det i nuläget inte går att ge ett klart svar på dessa frågor. Det är svårt att med tillfredställande säkerhet uttala sig om i vilka situationer ett ovillkorat aktieägartillskott skall underkännas eftersom lagreglering på området helt saknas. Däremot är min slutsats att man skattemässigt inte bör acceptera transaktioner som sker huvudsakligen av skattemässiga skäl, vilket framstår vara fallet då bankupplägget genomförs, utan att de även kan försvaras ur en företagsekonomisk synvinkel. Svårigheten att ge en klar slutsats avseende skatteflyktslagens tillämplighet på bankupplägget grundar sig främst på osäkerhet huruvida det fjärde rekvisitet i skatteflyktslagen skall anses uppfyllt, det vill säga om transaktionerna som genomförs i bankupplägget strider mot lagstiftningens syfte. Frågan är svårbesvarad eftersom det i SKV:s information om upplägget inte framgår av vilka regler kringgående sker. Min åsikt är dock att kringgående sker av 3:12 reglerna, och att transaktionerna strider mot syftet för dessa regler eftersom transaktionerna i bankupplägget får som effekt just det som 3:12 reglerna avser att förhindra, nämligen att inkomster som enligt fåmansbeskattningsreglernas schablonmässiga beräkning skall beskattas i inkomstlaget tjänst istället beskattas lindrigare i inkomstlaget kapital.</p> / <p>At their homepage, the Swedish Tax Agency describes a procedure, called the banking arrangement. The procedure can briefly be described as follows. A shareholder takes a considerable loan from a bank and contributes the corresponding sum to his company as an unconditioned shareholder´s contribution. The contribution increases the expense ra-tio. The legal consequence of this increase is that the shareholder´s dividends and capi-tal gains will be taxed less heavily, which means that the person liable for tax (the shareholder and only owner of the company) has obtained a tax benefit. After having obtained this tax benefit, the company is liquidated since it does not carry on any busi-ness.</p><p>The Swedish Tax Agency considers this arrangement to be contrary to the Swedish tax legislation by two main reasons. Firstly, since they consider that the unconditioned shareholder´s contribution is done without intention to permanently strengthen the com-pany´s capital and that the only reason for the contribution is to be able to remove the generated profits to a low tax. Secondly, the Swedish Tax Agency considers that the ar-rangement is contrary to the Swedish statue against tax evasion. This essay analyzes these two statements in order to come to a conclusion whether they should be regarded as correct or not.</p>

利益團體影響政府政策的制定，在各國均時有所聞。本文主要探討當政府面對利益團體的政治獻金操作時，在謀求社會福利水準極大下，將如何影響污染管制政策的制定。藉由 Grossman and Helpman (1994) 所建立之政治獻金模型為架構，分析利益團體如何藉由政治獻金的捐獻來達成影響政府制定最適污染管制政策的目的；並藉由此一模型分析政府如何在考量政治獻金的收入下，訂定最適污染管制政策。我們發現廠商及一般民眾所提供政治獻金的多寡及最適污染標準的高低，受到政府對全國福利水準重視的程度，及一般民眾組成利益團體的人數所影響。當一般民眾組成利益團體的人數愈多時，政府制定之最適污染標準將愈趨於嚴格，尤其全體民眾組成一共同利益團體時，最適污染標準值將與未收受政治獻金時之數值相等。然而一般而言，政府所制定最適污染標準值卻是較有利於廠商。 / This paper analyzes how the interest groups use political contributions to influence the government optimal control policy of pollution. We find that both the optimal control of the pollution and the amount of political contributions are affected by the weight that the domestic government puts on the social welfare and the population. When the weight is larger, the political contributions of interest groups will become smaller. Secondly, the more people pay attention to pollution, the more strict the optimal control of the pollution will be. Moreover, in general, the optimal control of the pollution tends to favor the manufacturer.

Nyligen publicerades ett skatteupplägg, det så kallade bankupplägget, vilket innebär att ägare till kvalificerade aktier i fåmansföretag tar ett omfattande lån av en bank och tillskjuter motsvarande belopp till sitt företag som ett ovillkorat aktieägartillskott. Det ovillkorade aktieägartillskottet ökar omkostnadsbeloppet på de kvalificerade aktierna, vilket innebär att även gränsbeloppet höjs. Ett högt gränsbelopp är positivt ur fåmansföretagsägarens synvinkel eftersom utdelning och kapitalvinst upp till gränsbeloppet beskattas i inkomstlaget kapital medens överskjutande del beskattas i inkomstlaget tjänst. Kapitalvinstbeskattningen är i regel lindigare vilket innebär att den skattskyldige uppnår en skatteförmån genom erhållandet av det högre gränsbeloppet. Efter att ha företagit utdelning av allt fritt eget kapital, exklusive aktieägartillskottet likvideras företaget och allt insatt kapital utbetalas till ägaren. Därefter återbetalas banklånet. SKV har uttalat att bankupplägget skall bedömas som stridande mot skattelagstiftningen. Den första anledningen till detta är att de anser att det inte finns någon avsikt att tillskjuta varaktigt kapital till företaget, utan att kapitaltillskottet endast sker i syfte att möjliggöra uttag av upparbetade vinstmedel i företaget till låg beskattning. Dessutom är SKV:s ståndpunkt att skatteflyktslagen är tillämplig på bankupplägget. Uppsatsen analyserar båda dessa aspekter i syfte att komma fram till huruvida SKV:s ståndpunkt skall anses riktig. Min slutsats är att det i nuläget inte går att ge ett klart svar på dessa frågor. Det är svårt att med tillfredställande säkerhet uttala sig om i vilka situationer ett ovillkorat aktieägartillskott skall underkännas eftersom lagreglering på området helt saknas. Däremot är min slutsats att man skattemässigt inte bör acceptera transaktioner som sker huvudsakligen av skattemässiga skäl, vilket framstår vara fallet då bankupplägget genomförs, utan att de även kan försvaras ur en företagsekonomisk synvinkel. Svårigheten att ge en klar slutsats avseende skatteflyktslagens tillämplighet på bankupplägget grundar sig främst på osäkerhet huruvida det fjärde rekvisitet i skatteflyktslagen skall anses uppfyllt, det vill säga om transaktionerna som genomförs i bankupplägget strider mot lagstiftningens syfte. Frågan är svårbesvarad eftersom det i SKV:s information om upplägget inte framgår av vilka regler kringgående sker. Min åsikt är dock att kringgående sker av 3:12 reglerna, och att transaktionerna strider mot syftet för dessa regler eftersom transaktionerna i bankupplägget får som effekt just det som 3:12 reglerna avser att förhindra, nämligen att inkomster som enligt fåmansbeskattningsreglernas schablonmässiga beräkning skall beskattas i inkomstlaget tjänst istället beskattas lindrigare i inkomstlaget kapital. / At their homepage, the Swedish Tax Agency describes a procedure, called the banking arrangement. The procedure can briefly be described as follows. A shareholder takes a considerable loan from a bank and contributes the corresponding sum to his company as an unconditioned shareholder´s contribution. The contribution increases the expense ra-tio. The legal consequence of this increase is that the shareholder´s dividends and capi-tal gains will be taxed less heavily, which means that the person liable for tax (the shareholder and only owner of the company) has obtained a tax benefit. After having obtained this tax benefit, the company is liquidated since it does not carry on any busi-ness. The Swedish Tax Agency considers this arrangement to be contrary to the Swedish tax legislation by two main reasons. Firstly, since they consider that the unconditioned shareholder´s contribution is done without intention to permanently strengthen the com-pany´s capital and that the only reason for the contribution is to be able to remove the generated profits to a low tax. Secondly, the Swedish Tax Agency considers that the ar-rangement is contrary to the Swedish statue against tax evasion. This essay analyzes these two statements in order to come to a conclusion whether they should be regarded as correct or not.

In this thesis I investigate the relationship between 'I' as principle of transcendental philosophy and its ordinary use as first-personal pronoun. This relationship is a central issue in the philosophy of J. G. Fichte. Fichte was concerned to secure the gains made by Kant's Critique against what he called the 'dogmatism of the so-called Kantians' as well as against the attack of the skeptics, by grounding philosophy in a first principle which he called 'I'. To say what Fichte means by 'I' is to give an account of his philosophy, for, according to him, nothing is to be assumed outside of this 'I'. For Fichte the dogmatism of the 'so-called Kantians' consists in the idea that even when the formal conditions of experience have been established, a non-conceptualized content needs to be given to the mind from outside in order to produce empirical knowledge. This way of conceiving empirical constraints of thought, according to Fichte, threatens the results of Kant's critical philosophy, because it is inconsistent with the theoretical spontaneity and the practical autonomy that are crucial to Kant's conception of reason. Fichte argues that adequate empirical constraints can only be deduced from within the 'I'. To do this we must radically rethink our received concept of an 'I', a rethinking which in essence has already been effectuated by Kant, and which Fichte merely wants to make explicit and bring to fruition. Adequate constraints can be seen to be generated internally, once we realize that the standpoint of the 'theoretical I' is derivative from the standpoint of the 'practical I'. A result of Fichte's emphasis on the practical aspect of reason is a heightened awareness of the concept of the individual person and its status vis-a-vis the 'I' as philosophical principle. To be consistent with his principle, and indeed to prove his point, Fichte must 'deduce' the 'I' as individual. / Fichte's repudiation of dogmatism bears striking resemblances to a contemporary reading of Kant associated with the works of P. F. Strawson and John McDowell. The crucial difference is that for these philosophers the concept of a person is taken as primitive, and hence as the starting point of philosophy. At Fichte's time this position was defended by Fichte's critic, F. H. Jacobi. In the thesis I develop a position in contrast with Fichte's idealism which I call a 'naturalism of second nature' and which I use as a conceptual foil to explicate Fichte's thinking. I argue that ultimately Fichte's project fails by his own standards, in that it fails to save what we normally mean by a moral individual. I argue that in order to conceive of adequate constraints on freedom, we need to make the concept of a person as a natural individual our point of departure.

The aim of the present study is to demonstrate the nature of the relation of Russell's political philosophy to the other areas of his work, both popular and professional. The nature of the relation can be demonstrated, however, only if two premises are accepted: (1) that Russell has a political philosophy, and (2) that his political theory is related to the other branches of his philosophy. [...]

Pensija – tai senatvės pajamos, skirtos kasdieniam senų žmonių vartojimui finansuoti. Šiandien beveik visi Lietuvos pensininkai, kaip ir daugelyje Europos šalių, pensijas gauna iš valstybės, t. y. valstybė turi finansuoti beveik visą pensininko vartojimą. Dėl ilgėjančio senų žmonių amžiaus ir mažėjančio gimstamumo didėja valstybės išlaidos senatvės pensijoms. Vienas iš siūlomų valstybės išlaidų mažinimo būdų – padidinti asmeninių santaupų vaidmenį senatvės pajamose. Manoma, kad ateityje daugelis pensinio amžiaus žmonių beveik visą savo vartojimą turės finansuoti iš asmeninių santaupų. Vadinasi, pensijų sistemos reforma padidins asmeninių santaupų svarbą. Asmeninių santaupų struktūra – esminis pensijų reformos klausimas. Lietuvos gyventojai, galėdami laisvai pasirinkti investicijų formas (vyriausybės taupymo lakštai, banko indėliai ir pan.) ir investicijų horizontą, dažniausiai savo santaupas laiko trumpalaikių banko indėlių forma. LR Vyriausybė įvedė privalomąjį kaupimą pensijų fonduose, dalį socialinių draudimo įmokų perduoti į privačius pensijų fondus. Šie fondai pradėjo veikti 2004 metų pradžioje. Pensijų fondų finansavimo šaltinis – privalomos darbuotojų įmokos. Privalomojo kaupimo pensijų įmoka yra atimama iš valstybinio socialinio pensijų draudimo įmokos. / According to the currently effective system in Lithuania funds collected from currently employed persons are immediately paid out to the existing pensioners (the solidarity principle of generations). Pensions currently paid are too low to maintain a “normal” living standard. The practices of well-developed Western countries suggest that an old age pension should make at least 70 per cent of the average wages previously earned by the person in order to maintain a similar living standard (now it represents about 40 per cent of average wages). In the future pensions are likely even to decrease in relative terms as life expectancy is getting longer and employed persons will have to maintain more and more pensioners. In order to ensure a higher living standard for future pensioners the pension reform has been launched recently. It may help to take care of one’s future and have a possibility to receive higher income when retired. Participation in private pension funds provides a possibility to accumulate pension funds in one’s personal account. Pension funds invest contributions paid by employed persons in shares, bonds and bank deposits. By investing part of income of individuals in the pension funds the Government is changing the structure of personal savings, and that influences the importance of certain segments of the financial sector (banks, capital market, insurance, etc.) in the Lithuanian economy.

The left hemisphere (LH) is accepted as the dominant hemisphere for language processing. There is also evidence confirming the language processing abilities of the right hemisphere (RH), particularly its lexical-semantic processing potential (Chiarello, 1988; Joanette, Goulet, & Hannequin, 1990). The capacity of the RH for language processing is significant to the investigation of language processing following LH lesions. However, the precise neurocognitive mechanisms underlying language processing following lesion remain to be fully elucidated. Subsequently, the overall aim for this thesis is to investigate hemispheric contributions to semantic processing following unilateral lesions, and to explore the significance of the contribution made by the RH. In order to achieve this overall aim, the current thesis firstly explores the hemispheric contributions made to lexical-semantic processing for healthy adults, and then shifts focus to explore the changes in hemispheric processing for participants with unilateral lesions (LH and RH). Comparisons of hemispheric activation between these groups will clarify the underlying hemispheric mechanisms that facilitate language processing following unilateral lesion. This thesis includes four complementary investigations of hemispheric contributions to semantic processing. The first study combined divided visual field (DVF) priming with event-related potentials (ERPs), in order to investigate controlled hemispheric semantic priming for young healthy adults. Two experiments were employed for a between subjects comparison of time-course differences (stimulus onset asynchrony, or SOA, varied between experiments) in hemispheric activation of associated and nonassociated category members. Continuous electroencephalograms were recorded throughout the priming task for each participant, and later analysed with reference to relevant ERP components (N400 and Late Positive Complex). Bilateral N400 priming was revealed for associated category members at both the short and long SOA. There was no significant N400 priming for the nonassociated category member condition. The examination of hemispheric priming of associated and nonassociated category member stimuli over the same time-course was continued in the second study for participants with unilateral LH lesions and matched controls. The second investigation aimed to determine the impact of unilateral LH lesions on controlled hemispheric semantic priming, utilising the DVF priming paradigm with participants following unilateral lesions. This study also aimed to explore associations between hemispheric activation during the online priming task and offline comprehension abilities. Differences in priming were observed between the LH lesion group and the control group, with participants in the LH lesion group requiring the association relationship to elicit priming. Priming also varied for participants as a function of their offline comprehension abilities, with RH priming associated with higher offline scores. The third investigation continued the exploration of hemispheric semantic activation following LH lesion, examining the impact of a LH lesion on interhemispheric control mechanisms, and the modification of hemispheric processing capacities with and without dominant hemisphere control. This investigation again utilised DVF priming with associated and nonassociated category member stimuli, in conjunction with the dual task paradigm. The dual task paradigm is designed to overload one hemisphere’s processing resources in order to remove interhemispheric suppression. Findings indicate that following LH lesions, the RH’s contribution is enhanced under conditions that are designed to overload the LH. The final study shifts from the investigation of participants with LH lesions to the impact of a RH lesion. This exploration of controlled hemispheric semantic priming following RH lesion sought to increase our understanding of the underlying mechanisms for semantic processing following unilateral lesion. The RH’s role in lexical-semantic processing has been documented consistently over approximately the last twenty years, however, there remains limited direct investigation of a RH lesion’s impact on contributions to semantic processing. A single case investigation utilised the same experimental procedure as the second study described. Findings suggest a similar activation pattern between the individual with RH lesion and the control participants, with both exhibiting bilateral activation of the associated and nonassociated category member stimuli. However, a subtle difference was found between the activation of the individual with RH lesion and that of the control group, with the individual with a RH lesion showing increased strategic processing difficulties at the longer SOA. Overall, the current thesis demonstrates the importance of the RH for efficient strategic semantic processing for both healthy adults, and people with unilateral lesions. In addition, this thesis concludes that following a LH lesion, the RH contribution to controlled semantic processing may be associated with successful comprehension, and that RH contributions may be improved with the addition of a secondary task designed to overload LH processing. The present thesis provides evidence to support the use of the DVF priming paradigm in the investigation of hemispheric contributions to semantic processing following unilateral lesion. It is anticipated that these findings will improve the current understanding of the underlying hemispheric contributions to lexical-semantics following a unilateral lesion, and will encourage continuing investigation into the RH’s capacity to impact language recovery.

The left hemisphere (LH) is accepted as the dominant hemisphere for language processing. There is also evidence confirming the language processing abilities of the right hemisphere (RH), particularly its lexical-semantic processing potential (Chiarello, 1988; Joanette, Goulet, & Hannequin, 1990). The capacity of the RH for language processing is significant to the investigation of language processing following LH lesions. However, the precise neurocognitive mechanisms underlying language processing following lesion remain to be fully elucidated. Subsequently, the overall aim for this thesis is to investigate hemispheric contributions to semantic processing following unilateral lesions, and to explore the significance of the contribution made by the RH. In order to achieve this overall aim, the current thesis firstly explores the hemispheric contributions made to lexical-semantic processing for healthy adults, and then shifts focus to explore the changes in hemispheric processing for participants with unilateral lesions (LH and RH). Comparisons of hemispheric activation between these groups will clarify the underlying hemispheric mechanisms that facilitate language processing following unilateral lesion. This thesis includes four complementary investigations of hemispheric contributions to semantic processing. The first study combined divided visual field (DVF) priming with event-related potentials (ERPs), in order to investigate controlled hemispheric semantic priming for young healthy adults. Two experiments were employed for a between subjects comparison of time-course differences (stimulus onset asynchrony, or SOA, varied between experiments) in hemispheric activation of associated and nonassociated category members. Continuous electroencephalograms were recorded throughout the priming task for each participant, and later analysed with reference to relevant ERP components (N400 and Late Positive Complex). Bilateral N400 priming was revealed for associated category members at both the short and long SOA. There was no significant N400 priming for the nonassociated category member condition. The examination of hemispheric priming of associated and nonassociated category member stimuli over the same time-course was continued in the second study for participants with unilateral LH lesions and matched controls. The second investigation aimed to determine the impact of unilateral LH lesions on controlled hemispheric semantic priming, utilising the DVF priming paradigm with participants following unilateral lesions. This study also aimed to explore associations between hemispheric activation during the online priming task and offline comprehension abilities. Differences in priming were observed between the LH lesion group and the control group, with participants in the LH lesion group requiring the association relationship to elicit priming. Priming also varied for participants as a function of their offline comprehension abilities, with RH priming associated with higher offline scores. The third investigation continued the exploration of hemispheric semantic activation following LH lesion, examining the impact of a LH lesion on interhemispheric control mechanisms, and the modification of hemispheric processing capacities with and without dominant hemisphere control. This investigation again utilised DVF priming with associated and nonassociated category member stimuli, in conjunction with the dual task paradigm. The dual task paradigm is designed to overload one hemisphere’s processing resources in order to remove interhemispheric suppression. Findings indicate that following LH lesions, the RH’s contribution is enhanced under conditions that are designed to overload the LH. The final study shifts from the investigation of participants with LH lesions to the impact of a RH lesion. This exploration of controlled hemispheric semantic priming following RH lesion sought to increase our understanding of the underlying mechanisms for semantic processing following unilateral lesion. The RH’s role in lexical-semantic processing has been documented consistently over approximately the last twenty years, however, there remains limited direct investigation of a RH lesion’s impact on contributions to semantic processing. A single case investigation utilised the same experimental procedure as the second study described. Findings suggest a similar activation pattern between the individual with RH lesion and the control participants, with both exhibiting bilateral activation of the associated and nonassociated category member stimuli. However, a subtle difference was found between the activation of the individual with RH lesion and that of the control group, with the individual with a RH lesion showing increased strategic processing difficulties at the longer SOA. Overall, the current thesis demonstrates the importance of the RH for efficient strategic semantic processing for both healthy adults, and people with unilateral lesions. In addition, this thesis concludes that following a LH lesion, the RH contribution to controlled semantic processing may be associated with successful comprehension, and that RH contributions may be improved with the addition of a secondary task designed to overload LH processing. The present thesis provides evidence to support the use of the DVF priming paradigm in the investigation of hemispheric contributions to semantic processing following unilateral lesion. It is anticipated that these findings will improve the current understanding of the underlying hemispheric contributions to lexical-semantics following a unilateral lesion, and will encourage continuing investigation into the RH’s capacity to impact language recovery.