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The primary objective of this work is to discuss some of the elementary properties of near-rings as they are related to rings. This study is divided into three subdivisions: (1) Basic Properties and Concepts of Near-Rings; (2) The Ideal Structure of Near-Rings; and (3) Homomorphism and Isomorphism of Near-Rings.

A series of seven functionalized near-infrared aza-BODIPY dyes have been synthesized and their spectroscopic properties measured. Their fluorescence emissions could be tuned by altering the electronic substituents on the aryl-groups. A through-bond energy transfer cassette featuring two fluorescein units as donor, and an aza-BODIPY dye as acceptor, was then synthesized and its preliminary spectroscopic properties examined. This cassette exhibited absorption and fluorescence characteristics that were highly dependent on the pH and the solvent polarity. Furthermore, no energy transfer was observed upon excitation of the donor. Novel near-infrared aza-BODIPY were also synthesized via a one-pot, two step reaction. Upon demethylation and intermolecular cyclization onto the B-atom, a ~ 100 nm red¬shift of both the absorption and fluorescence emission maxima could be observed. Through-bond energy transfer cassettes based on squaraines have also been synthesized and their spectroscopic properties studied. These cassettes exhibited fast and efficient energy transfer from the donor to the acceptor. In depth experiments have also been realized to correlate the rate of energy transfer and structure on 3 different sets of through-bond energy transfer cassettes. No correlations could be made between the rate of the energy transfer and the nature of the acceptor, and the distance between the donor and acceptor. Finally, the use of DPP (diketo-pyrrolopyrolle) pigment as a potential donor for through-bond energy transfer cassettes was investigated. Three water-soluble DPPs dyes were prepared and studied. They all displayed weak fluorescence in water.

Over recent decades, much has been learned about the perceptual capacity that enables infants to recognize and understand language. However, not until very recently have the neural mechanisms that are the substance of language learning been investigated. A recently developed optical imaging technique called near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) shows promise for being an acceptable alternative to invasive imaging techniques. NIRS measures correlates of neural activity by assessing hemoglobin concentration changes in the infant brain. The research presented here investigates neural activation in the left temporal and occipital cortex regions during exposure to speech and visual stimuli. As hypothesized, hemodynamic reaction was observed in both areas. Results indicate a significant activation in response to speech in the left temporal region, and an intriguing difference between uni- and bi-modally presented speech stimuli. These results have interesting implications for future multimodal studies of infant speech perception.

A geophysical survey presents many challenges. A scientist must be able to not only understand the theory and nature of the geophysics being applied but must also be able to identify features of interest in a dataset. It is also of extreme importance to be able to determine where, in the subsurface, the features identified in the data occur. This research is designed in an attempt to identify the locations of subsurface heterogeneities that affect geophysical instrument response. An experiment was conducted in which topography, magnetics, ground-penetrating radar (GPR), and electromagnetic induction (EM) data were collected over a defined survey line. An excavator with a modified flat-bladed bucket was used to remove, or skim, a 5 to 10 cm thick layer of material from the survey line. Upon removal of the material, datasets from the above mentioned instruments were again collected along the same survey line. This process was repeated for 10 skims, resulting in a total of 11 sets of data for each instrument. Having collected data with various instruments in the same location as material was progressively removed allowed for an empirical study with the goal of noting how the response of each instrument changed with respect to the removal of material. By observing how the anomalies changed in the data from one skim to the next, a better understanding of the location of the causative heterogeneities could be had. Data for each instrument was compared to the equivalent data collected from each subsequent skim to determine how similar or different the data appeared as the depth of the trench increased. The experiment also sought to determine if the topographic variations, or roughness, along the survey line had any impact of the geophysical signals. The data collected from each instrument were compared to the topographic roughness of the survey line for the corresponding skim.

With the escalating demands for optical communication network system, the need for broadband gain medium in optical communication has increased. Among them, Cr4+:YAG crystal has shown an exceptionally successful broadband amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) light source that fully cover 1.2-1.6 £gm range (3-dB bandwidth up to 265 nm). More recently, we demonstrated the realization of a waveguiding, low-loss, and ultralow threshold Cr4+:YAG double-clad crystal fiber (DCF) based ultrabroadband ASE light source, optical amplifier, and laser grown by the codrawing laser-heated pedestal growth (LHPG) technique. These results demonstrate the potential of the Cr4+:YAG DCF for the replacement of the erbium doped fiber in future optical communications. In this thesis, we focus on the correlation between the nanospectroscopy and nanostructure of the Cr:YAG DCF in order to further improve its device performance. For nanospectroscopic and nanostructural characterizations, near-field scanning optical microscopy (NSOM) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) techniques have played key roles. In this thesis, we successfully prepared the HRTEM specimen of Cr:YAG DCF, which is heterostructure, ultrahard, but fragile. Here we show the first study on the nanospectroscopy and nanostructure of the nanocrystals in the inner cladding of Cr:YAG DCF by highly spatial resolved NSOM. The NSOM results were compared with those obtained by HRTEM. In addition, the difference in thermal expansion coefficients between a YAG core and an inner cladding creates a significant localized strain field beneath the core, which can result in optical confinement and provide the possibility to simultaneously control the Cr3+ and Cr4+ fluorescence with systematically varied growth parameters. This new class of strain-tunable Cr:YAG DCF opens up new opportunity to improve the performance of the Cr:YAG DCF based ultrabroadband light source, optical amplifier, and crystal fiber laser in all-optic fiber communications.

This two-fold study examines the status of women of Afghanistan and the reality of their lives as depicted in their Persian-Dari literature and a few of their autobiographies published in English. It presents several relevant objectives: first, it argues that the highly traditional interpretations of Islam and Islamic law by certain religious authorities in the multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, multi-cultural, and semi-tribal society of Afghanistan, combined with some strong patriarchal system of the states, are the main factors imposing silence on the female population of that country. Second, to enhance this argument, the study provides a brief historical overview, with focus on women's status in Afghanistan since 1919 up to the present. Third, and most pertinent to the main subject of this project, the dissertation substantiates the above arguments by examining the portrayal of sexism, subjugation, segregation, resistance, veiling, and the overall oppression of Afghan women in women's prose, poetry, and autobiographical writings (the latter naturally have been published abroad). Finally, it argues that the absence of a strong Afghan female voice from any global dialog, along with the scarcity of academic study regarding their real status, have opened the way for a number of feminist writers and scholars to approach women's issues in Afghanistan from different perspectives that, in some cases, omit factual and realistic assessments of women's situation in that country. Documentary evidence is integrated into this study to demonstrate the courage, and the gradual awakening of Afghan women to their identity and power in the very complex society of Afghanistan, as well as their growing awareness that having a voice is vital for their survival.

Nineteenth and twentieth century migratory networks had a formative, yet unrecognized, impact in the lead-up to the 1962 establishment of the Yemen Arab Republic. Migrants from Northern Yemen to Aden built discursive spaces for contesting economic and political oppression that served as a foundation for later channels of political dissidents and reformists to oppose the Imamic regime, often walking a tightrope between their own calls for reform and the interests of foreign state actors. Those spaces were preserved in the later development of similar networks after 1962 and paved the way for generations of migrants to contest or advance reigning economic and social orders via labor migration to oil-rich states.

The development of the interwar Egyptian economy resulted from interactions between extra-economic and exogenous factors, normally seen as lying outside the economic sphere in historical accounts. Local economic elites successfully challenged colonial domination of the local economy by utilizing a number of strategies to found locally controlled businesses. The strategy of economic nationalism allowed the local elite to break into the foreign dominated Egyptian economy. By 1927 this strategy was adjusted to facilitate partnerships with foreign firms who sought out partners due to the exigencies of the Great Depression. Foreign powers interested in Egypt began to see colonial control as a detriment to their continued influence in Egypt following their increased economic success in the country. Along with strategic factors this would bring about the diminution of the capitulations in 1937 in favor of bi-lateral trade arrangements.

This dissertation examines excavated jewelry from the Iron Age II Southern Levant, especially the kingdoms of Israel and Judah between 850-580 BCE. This assemblage allows for the identification of social functions of the jewelry in order to give scholars greater insight into an artifact class that has been little studied by archaeologists. Separating different social functions, and finding the criteria that made some jewelry objects apotropaic is also a necessary step in identifying ancient amulets, that being just one of the several possible functions of jewelry.Social functions are addressed by examining various characteristics of the jewelry found in excavations, including colors and materials used, and the terminology used for jewelry and its traits in the Hebrew Bible. Anthropological theory about dress and ornament is then applied to the corpus, focusing on visibility of jewelry, or what another person would be able to see in a social situation. This is useful for whole pieces such as bangles, earrings, and rings, but less so for jewelry elements such as beads, pendants, scarabs, scaraboids, and seals, which are examined together with the ancient texts and in terms of their individual characteristics.Color turned out to be the primary criteria for the choices of materials for beads, pendants, and glyptic objects. The most common colors of stone and synthetic jewelry materials were the same colors of cloth that were called for in ritual settings in the Hebrew Bible, suggesting that these colors were ritually powerful, and that the jewelry was as well. It is not clear whether they were powerful because they were used in the Temple, or vice versa, but the correlation is clear.Color was not the most important trait of earrings, nose rings, bangles, and rings, which were overwhelmingly made of metal. In those cases, size, location of wear, and available wealth appeared to be more important. These objects could, at a minimum, convey information on wealth, social status, and marital status to a viewer.