In wireless channels and many other channels, interference is a central phenomenon. Mitigating interference is a key to improving system performance. To find the limit of the achievable rates for these channels in the presence of interference, the two-user Gaussian interference channel has been the subject of intensive study in network information theory. However, most current results have been obtained by assuming Gaussian input distributions. While optimal in single-user Gaussian channels, the issue with this assumption is that the Gaussian noise becomes the worst noise when the input distribution is also Gaussian. In this thesis, we propose a class of discrete constellations. We show that this class of constellations can automatically achieve the same sum rates as schemes that treat interference as noise or perform time sharing.

In wireless channels and many other channels, interference is a central phenomenon. Mitigating interference is a key to improving system performance. To find the limit of the achievable rates for these channels in the presence of interference, the two-user Gaussian interference channel has been the subject of intensive study in network information theory. However, most current results have been obtained by assuming Gaussian input distributions. While optimal in single-user Gaussian channels, the issue with this assumption is that the Gaussian noise becomes the worst noise when the input distribution is also Gaussian. In this thesis, we propose a class of discrete constellations. We show that this class of constellations can automatically achieve the same sum rates as schemes that treat interference as noise or perform time sharing.

This project is primarily exegetical in nature and aims to provide a rational reconstruction of the concept of moral responsibility in the work of Immanuel Kant, specifically in his Critique of Pure Reason (CPR), Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals (GR), and Critique of Practical Reason (CPrR). It consists of three chapters – the first chapter interprets the concept of freedom that follows from the resolution to the Third Antinomy in the CPR. It argues that Kant is best understood here to be providing an unusual but cogent, compatibilist account of freedom that the author terms meta-compatibilism. The second chapter examines the GR and CPrR to interpret the theory of practical reason and moral agency that Kant develops in these works. This chapter concludes by evaluating what has been established about Kant’s ideas of freedom and moral agency at that point in the project, identifying some problems and objections in addition to providing some suggestions for how Kantian ethics might be adapted within a consequentialist framework. The third chapter argues that, for Kant, there are two necessary and jointly sufficient conditions (in addition to a compatibilist definition of freedom) that must obtain for an individual to qualify as responsible for her actions.

Vibration energy harvesting devices have been widely used to power many electronic self-sustainable devices. The aim of this study is to introduce an alternative design to an existing electromagnetic energy harvesting devices to improve the power production of the unit. This thesis presents a multiple degree of freedom compared design and it has demonstrated higher power efficiency over a wider range of frequencies. The power outputs for both the previous single degree of freedom and the current designs are compared and the developed models are validated against their experimental values. Finally, the numerical model is used to find an optimal arrangement to produce the maximum power for the unit.

The Right to leave and return (RLR) has been affirmed as a fundamental human right in several international instruments. While being a fundamental human right, each State has the sovereign right to regulate RLR in accordance with its own laws. The regulation of RLR, however, is not only an attribute of sovereignty but an issue with important political, economic and security implications for the State. Given its significance, it is understandable and desirable that States regulate RLR. The regulation must however take account of both the interests of the State and the human rights dimension of the right. This is an issue of balance. In the case of China, the country's communist political system has significantly affected the development of RLR and the country's approach to it. As a rule China's approach is restrictive. As part of its reform and 'opening up' policies, China has embarked on a range of reforms to liberalise RLR, but the reforms lack cohesion and focus, and remain restrictive. Given its peculiar past and complex social and economic conditions, China may have some justifications for its approach, but on balance, has more to gain from adopting a more liberal approach. The issue of RLR in China is crucial both for the future of China, and for development of RLR in the world. China's current policy's on RLR still reflects a closed culture. A more open policy is not only consistent with international human rights norms, but also a useful infrastructure for the country's place in the global economy. Great achievements over the last 25 years and encouraging developmental trends demand acceleration of reforms to protect RLR in China. A careful and well-coordinated migration strategy with a well-defined RLR focus could enhance China's economic progress as well as its international human rights image. When designing the reform strategy, the balance of the Western experience and Chinese realities needs to be finely kept. This thesis will explore the Chinese regulatory regime governing RLR to determine its consistency with international standards. The thesis is divided into 15 chapters. It investigates RLR in international migration law and practice; analyses RLR in the context of China, and identifies its driving factors; investigates the conditions and practical concerns relevant to the protection of RLR; and concludes with recommendations on how the Chinese regulatory regime governing RLR can be improved.

This thesis consists of a series of encounters with textual figures, or conceptual personae, which are strongly associated with freedom in Nietzsche???s oeuvre. The conceptual persona, drawn from the work of Deleuze and Guattari, is an integral part of the process of developing and articulating philosophical concepts. Nietzsche???s texts abound with figures, both anthropomorphic and otherwise. I suggest that regarding these figures as conceptual personae in the Deleuzo-Guattarian sense offers a way into some of Nietzsche???s most complex ideas. Freedom surely ranks among Nietzsche???s most multifaceted and teasingly elusive ideations. It has not, however, benefited from the intensive scholarship devoted to signature Nietzschean themes such as will to power, nihilism, or eternal return. This thesis seeks to raise the profile of Nietzsche???s innovations on the subject of freedom by means of close readings of texts featuring three conceptual personae of Nietzschean freedom. These are the free spirit, the sovereign individual, and Zarathustra. These three personae embody freedom as plural and processual. They animate a conception of freedom as something to be striven for, and, indeed, striven for differently by different individuals. Highlighting the infinite variability of embodied freedom, each persona problematises freedom in a distinctly different manner. The free spirit, understood as representing the intersection between freedom and truth, is a primarily epistemological figure. The sovereign individual, who transvaluates bad conscience into good by means of a masterly praxis of promising, instantiates a novel reconstruction of Kantian autonomy as is thus an ethico-political figure. Zarathustra bodies forth an ontology of freedom based on creative willing. A detailed study of the complex interaction of the three conceptual personae of freedom is beyond the scope of this project. I outline the contours of such a study in the concluding chapter, arguing that the reverberations between the three figures offer a further demonstration, if that were still needed, of the rich originality of Nietzsche???s thought of freedom.

Universiẗat, Diss., 2005--Osnabrück. / Includes bibliographical references.

Zugl.: Halle (Saale), Universiẗat, Diss., 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. [367]-398) and index.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of New South Wales, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 446-504). Also available online.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Notre Dame, 2007. / Thesis directed by Jennifer Herdt for the Department of Theology. "June 2007." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 384-402).