In order to reduce their predation risk, species have evolved a range of anti-predator behaviours. One co-ordinated anti-predator behaviour present in some group-living species is sentinel behaviour. In this behaviour individuals take up an elevated position and scan for threats, providing an alarm when one is spotted. However, this behaviour can lead to social conflict. Sentinel behaviour is a public good, i.e. the benefits are felt by all group members, but the costs only accrue to the actor. Thus it may be open to free loading, requiring individuals to monitor collaborators to prevent cheats. Additionally, individuals may vary in their alarm call reliability, which may select individuals to alter their behaviour based on caller ID. Monitoring others requires individuals to be closely associated, yet individuals may be spread out. For instance, foraging groups may be some distance from their nest, yet nestlings are particularly vulnerable. Adults should reduce their number of nest visits if a threat is nearby, so individuals returning from the nest may be selected to communicate about any perceived threats. Additionally, when perceiving threats, species need not use only conspecific information, because heterospecifics can also provide relevant information. In this thesis, I test these ideas in the Southern Pied Babbler (Turdoides bicolor), and I show that a) pied babblers monitor the quantity and quality of group-mates’ anti-predator behaviour; b) babblers accompany naïve sentinels and I investigate whether this may be related to anti-predator teaching; c) babblers do not appear to actively communicate about perceived nest threats because they do not alter their provisioning rate based on heterospecific derived anti-predator information; while d) avian heterospecifics are more prevalent in the presence of pied babblers, and can be attracted to areas by playback of pied babbler calls. These results show that species monitor both conspecifics and heterospecifics, and alter their behaviour based on the information they collect.

Trademarks are a valuable asset of a business and play a crucial role with regards to the quality of goods and its reputation, however, the rise in counterfeiting activities is undermining those benefits. Counterfeiting activities are considered to be the fastest growing phenomenon that focuses solely on reputable international brands ranging from cosmetics, watches, shoes and clothing, to cars and aeroplane parts. It has engulfed the world economy by dealing with fake commodities and intellectual property rights across the board. The PhD thesis looks at the relevant trademark laws in the Gulf Cooperation Council States (GCC) as an effective enforcement mechanism to deal with the rise of counterfeiting activities in the region. The GCC States have been listed among the countries with significant problems in terms of intellectual property protection and enforcement. Thus, the importance and effectiveness of border measures, judicial process, including civil and criminal proceedings in all six Member States are analysed using a combination of comparative, doctrinal, and socio-legal research. The main objective of the thesis is to show the degree to which the GCC States' legislative regimes and their enforcement efforts addresses counterfeiting problems to meet their international treaty obligations.

O presente estudo propõe-se responder à questão de investigação: como podemos abordar conceitos de geometria plana com estudantes de sexto ano por meio de confecção de objetos manipulativos digitais e não-digitais, permitindo que estes se reconheçam como fabricantes de seu próprio conhecimento? A pesquisa apresenta uma proposta de atividade em que estudantes foram convidados a serem fabricantes de seu próprio conhecimento, mais especificamente de conhecimentos de geometria plana. Por meio da confecção e manipulação de objetos digitais e não-digitais, os estudantes transformaram a sala de aula em uma Fábrica de Matemática. O estudo foi desenvolvido durante o ano de 2016, com uma turma de sexto ano de uma escola municipal de Sapucaia do Sul, no horário regular de aula. Apoiada na teoria do construcionismo de Seymour Papert, na pedagogia da autonomia de Paulo Freire e na aprendizagem cooperativa e por equipes de Jean Piaget, e utilizando o estudo de caso como metodologia, o presente trabalho apresenta uma experiência de abordagem de conceitos de geometria plana – área, perímetro, paralelismo e perpendicularismo, entre outros – que permitiu o reconhecimento, por parte dos estudantes, da possibilidade de se tornarem agentes ativos na construção dos seus conhecimentos. Além disso, percebeu-se quanto aos resultados, que quando lhes são oferecidas diferentes oportunidades para aprendizagem, os estudantes podem se tornar sujeitos críticos, autônomos e produtores de conhecimento. / The present study proposes to answer the research question: how can we approach concepts of flat geometry with sixth-year students by making digital and non-digital manipulative objects, allowing them to recognize themselves as manufacturers of their own knowledge? The research presents a proposal of activity in which students were invited to be manufacturers of their own knowledge, more specifically of knowledge of flat geometry. Through the making and manipulation of digital and non-digital objects, students transformed the classroom into a Mathematics Factory. The study was developed during 2016, with a sixth grade class from a municipal school in Sapucaia do Sul, at regular school hours. Based on the construction theory of Seymour Papert, Paulo Freire 's pedagogy of autonomy and cooperative and team learning by Jean Piaget, and using the case study as methodology, the present work presents an experience of approaching concepts of flat geometry - area, perimeter, parallelism and perpendicularism, among others - that allowed the students to recognize the possibility of becoming active agents in the construction of their knowledge. In addition, it was perceived as to the results, that when they are offered different opportunities for learning, students can become critical, autonomous subjects and producers of knowledge.

Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 1981. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ROTCH. / Bibliography: leaves 113-122. / by Fernando Cruz-Villalba. / M.C.P.

An interaction dynamics perspective conceives the cooperation process as an action chain consisting of the actions and reactions between cooperating partners when they respond to disruptive events. The action chain is characterized by three constructs: action acquiescence, action simplicity, and action reciprocity. I further develop an action pattern model that clarifies the relationships among partner relation, governance structure, action pattern, and cooperation performance in a partnership. / Extant literature in strategic alliance has inconsistent conclusions on why some cases of cooperation succeed but some fail. I argue that the interaction process in cooperation may be the missing piece in the puzzle. Drawing on an interaction dynamics perspective, this dissertation examines what factors affect the interaction process and how variations of the interaction process affect cooperation performance. / In the second study, a questionnaire survey was conducted and a sample of 263 construction projects was obtained. The regression analysis indicated that partner relation affected action pattern, and this effect was moderated by governance structure. Contrary to conventional belief that action pattern mediates the effect of partner relation on cooperation performance, I found that action pattern and partner relation affected cooperation performance independently. / The action pattern model was empirically tested in the dyadic partnership between architects and contractors in two related studies. In the first study, qualitative data from 12 construction partnerships were collected through semi-structured interviews, questionnaires, and documents between architects and contractors. Overall, the case studies provided some "thick descriptions" of the action repertoire in cooperation. Results showed that cooperating partners adopted particular actions as deliberate strategic signaling to each other and as a means of reward/punishment. Moreover, actions tended to stabilize after repeated interaction cycles as cooperating partners categorized each other into specific portraits. / The interaction dynamics approach provides a new and promising perspective to study inter-firm cooperation. This dissertation suggests that how process unfolds in cooperation is crucial for cooperation success and carefully "matched" alliance may fail without appropriate management of the interaction process. / Lui Siu-yun Steven. / "August 2000." / Adviser: Ngo Hang-Yue. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 61-08, Section: A, page: 3253. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 141-156). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, MI : ProQuest dissertations and theses, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / School code: 1307.

This dissertation examines the case of 250-300,000 largely Orthodox Christian refugees who fled Ottoman Bosnia and Hercegovina for the Habsburg Empire during the uprisings of 1875-1878. The violence during this period started out as a peasant uprising, but over the course of three years cascaded into revolts and violence across the Ottoman Balkans and led to a major European diplomatic crisis. The Treaty of Berlin of 1878, which ended the violence, reconfigured the political geography of the Balkans, making the former Ottoman provinces of Montenegro, Romania, and Serbia independent; giving a sweeping autonomy to Bulgaria, and handing over to Austria-Hungary the administration of a nominally Ottoman Bosnia and Hercegovina. Refugees played an under-appreciated role in the international and domestic politics of the period, and this dissertation argues that forced migration was in fact one of the key considerations of Great Power diplomacy. Forced migration offered a means to measure degree of violence, and control over population movement offered a way for empires to lay claims to legitimacy. In a similar manner, philanthropists and international humanitarians used forced migration to build and advocate for their own civic spheres. The dissertation argues that during this period, the modern category of "refugee" was defined as states developed processes to manage refugees domestically and to create international policies for refugee aid and return.

In modern days, along with restricted traditional funding sources and massive demand of infrastructure investment comes a significant gap of funding. Institutional investors are considered reliable sources of financing for infrastructure due to the long-term investment horizon and asset/liability management (ALM) requirement. Hence, institutional investors start to embrace infrastructure as an attractive asset class because infrastructure assets are able to generate long-term, stable, and predictable cash flows and diversify investors’ portfolios. As a result, financial innovations to encourage institutional investment have become an important issue. Asset-backed securitization (ABS) of Public-Private Partnership (PPP) infrastructure project’s receivables has been promoted in China since Dec. 2016 as an alternative financing instrument to encourage institutional investment to finance infrastructure projects. Traditional approaches of project financing are considered less attractive vis-à-vis the innovative PPPABS financing method, regarding liquidity, steady operational asset, risk sharing, bankruptcy remoteness, long maturity, and standardization. Despite these advantages, lack of knowledge and experience is still preventing project participants from seeking finance opportunities with PPPABS. In order to provide a guideline for practitioners to understand this innovative financing method, this thesis proposes a feasibility assessment framework for financing PPP infrastructure projects through ABS. Firstly, a list of 25 critical success factors (CSFs) of PPPABS is identified through a literature analysis, case studies, and expert interviews. Then a questionnaire survey is designed to collect opinions on these 25 critical factors from not only PPP stakeholders but also capital markets. Preliminary analysis is performed then to have a basic understanding of the data, including descriptive analysis, agreement analysis, and analysis of variance (ANOVA). Furthermore, after applying factor analysis to reduce the dimensions of the model, 5 principal components are derived, including “Effective ABS issuance and lifetime management”, “Clear regulatory guidance”, “Robust PPP and concessional arrangements”, “Supportive capital market conditions”, and “Reliable underlying asset quality”. Based on this finding, an assessment framework and index are proposed for PPPABS financing. Afterward, a case study of the pilot batch of PPPABS in China is presented as validation of the framework. By investigating the causal relationships among the critical factors of successful PPPABS financing, an advanced model is constructed to assist the project participants to quantify the feasibility. A focus group is conducted to collect rating data from experienced experts who have participated infrastructure ABS issuance and management intensively. Structural equation modeling (SEM) method is used to analyze the rating data of PPPABS products on the market. Hypothetical models are then examined, and the best-fit model for illustration is verified and proposed. Causal relationships in this model are investigated and proved to be significant. The result indicates that “Capital market conditions”, “Underlying asset quality”, and “Regulatory guidance” are exogenous variables and affect the overall feasibility of PPPABS indirectly. Furthermore, both “ABS issuance and lifetime management” and “PPP and concessional arrangements” are endogenous variables, affecting the overall feasibility directly. The path coefficients are employed to calculate the weights allocated to each principal factor and to create the feasibility assessment index. In the end, the pilot batch of PPPABS launched in China is used again to illustrate the application in practice and validation of the advanced assessment model. As an in-depth work to understand critical pricing determinants of PPPABS, a regression analysis is performed to build a financing cost estimation model for practitioners. This work can serve as a fundamental guideline in this particular research area of ABS financing for infrastructure projects. And the proposed framework shall support the decision-making process for not only the project managers who consider financing through ABS, but also the institutional investors who consider investment opportunities in PPPABS products.

Why do states of the Global South initiate international criminal justice processes for domestic atrocity crimes? The phenomenon of Southern agency regarding international criminal justice presents an empirical and theoretical puzzle given the Southern states' defence of Westphalian sovereignty, or the juridical equality of states and domestic non-intervention. International criminal justice challenges this notion of sovereignty by directly prosecuting individuals under international law through international courts. This thesis rejects this theoretical notion that international criminal justice curbs sovereignty, and argues that the initiative for international criminal justice processes is a type of short-term political strategy adopted by Southern state actors to strengthen specific aspects of their statehood. In doing so, the thesis challenges the dominant theoretical explanations of Southern state preference that relies on their relative weakness and the power of external factors, such as Great Power interests or transnational activist networks, and reclaims the possibility of agency for Southern state actors. The argument is derived from a theory developed in this thesis, referred to as judicial extraversion, or a counter-structural theory of strategic action that links the politics of statehood in the Global South and the political opportunities inherent in the nature of international criminal justice, namely, the individualisation of responsibility, criminalisation of specific forms of violence, and the privileged status of the state in the international criminal justice system. It develops this theory through the qualitative case studies of Uganda's self-referral to the International Criminal Court (ICC), Cambodia's request for an international criminal tribunal to the UN, and the counterexample of Colombia's special domestic criminal justice process for paramilitary demobilisation. The thesis finds that relative weakness of Southern states is insufficient to explain engagement with international criminal justice, and highlights the possibility of paradoxical agency. Finally, the findings suggest that, under particular circumstances, international criminal justice can be used to entrench the authority of weaker states in the international system.

Orientador: Tullo Vigevani / Banca: Rodrigo Duarte Fernandes dos Passos / Banca: Fernanda Mello Sant'Anna / Resumo: O multilateralismo e a constituição de organizações internacionais são fenômenos ligados à construção de uma ordem internacional, na qual se impera a busca pela elaboração de regras de convivência entre as nações. Os fenômenos surgem e se desenvolvem de forma praticamente conjunta, mais especificamente no final século XIX: portanto os dois fenômenos estão intimamente ligados um ao outro. Dessa forma, esta dissertação tem como objetivo principal realizar um breve resgate histórico do conceito de multilateralismo e das organizações internacionais, através de autores de referência, a fim de entender as dificuldades de implementação desses princípios que deveriam permear o sistema segundo essa lógica. Nas conclusões apontaremos que as dificuldades de implementação do multilateralismo estão ligadas principalmente com as imprevisibilidades, incertezas e desconfianças entre os países. / Abstract: Multilateralism and the constitution of international organizations are phenomena related to the construction of an international order, in which the search for the elaboration of rules of coexistence between nations is imperative. The phenomena arise and develop in a practically joint way, more specifically in the late nineteenth century: therefore the two phenomena are closely linked to one another. Thus, this dissertation has as main objective to make a brief historical rescue of the concept of multilateralism and international organizations, through reference authors, in order to understand the difficulties of implementing these principles that should permeate the system according to this logic. In the conclusions we will point out that the difficulties of implementing multilateralism are mainly related to the unpredictability, uncertainty and distrust between countries. / Mestre

Both of the two major components of Game Theory, e.g., the non-cooperative game theory and the cooperative game theory, are becoming more and more closely related to the field of optimization, as the needs to study the analytical properties of games start to rise. The results presented in this thesis illustrate several connections between Optimization and Game Theory, and attempts are made to build a bridge between the cooperative game theory and the non-cooperative game theory, to characterize the co-existence of competition and cooperation in practice. We start by applying the properties of Polymatroid Optimization to the cooperative game theory, and show that both of the joint replenish game and the one warehouse multi retailer game are submodular games. In the next part, we show that the strategies promoting learning from history are convergent under certain conditions. This result can also be viewed as an efficient algorithm to compute the Nash Equilibrium of the game. Because the competitive routing game satisfies the condition, we know that if every user adapts with good enough memory, then asymptotically the system converges to Nash Equilibrium. Therefore, if the decision of cooperation is difficult to reverse, then it can be justified for the farsighted players to use the cost structure in the Nash Equilibrium point to decide if they should cooperate or not, instead of reacting to the immediate consequences as a basis to make decisions. With the optimization tools applied, we are able to show that in parallel network, the social cost and the cost of other players tend to decrease if two players cooperate. Also, the price of anarchy is higher when the flow demand of players are more evenly distributed. Using that structural result, we derive the exact upper bound of the price of anarchy for a given parallel network with fixed number of players. The exact upper bound of the price of anarchy for arbitrary parallel network with given number of players, which is independent to the network structure and parameters, can be derived consequently. / Simai He. / Adviser: Shuzhong Zhang. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 72-11, Section: B, page: . / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 97-103). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [201-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstract also in Chinese.