This study is an exploration of five children’s relationship with the existential as it is played out in their everydayness at the nursery. Previous research in the field has looked at teachers’ perceptions of pre-school children’s existential questions, showing, thus, a place for a study on children’s existential encounters. My focus lies with the subjective meanings and the emotional qualities of these encounters, specifically how they are embodied in children’s play in the form of a word but also an object, an image, a movement or silence as well as in their ordinary doing and their very being at the nursery. I am also interested in how the existential reveals itself in children’s everyday relationships with others as well as how it is precisely through my relationship with them that I, as someone who looks for it, can get closer to it. For that I use psychoanalytic observation as a methodology that stays with the child’s interior worlds as they unfold in her play and in the relationship with the observer. My methodology is informed by relational psychoanalytic thinking and feminist writings that allow me to locate meaning in the liminal spaces between the self and the other, the interior and the exterior. In the analysis, I use writing as inquiry as a means to explore an integrative approach by moving between psychoanalytic theories and existential-phenomenological ideas to think the existential with. I explore children’s existential encounters with the questions of nothingness, strangeness, ontological insecurity, death and selfhood as they emerged in the context of our relationship in the course of the observations. I also discuss how time, space and relationship - as inherent in the existential but also implicated in the method of psychanalytic observation - manifested in children’s existential encounters. Finally, I look at the idea of the interpersonal unconscious as a creative source of meaning and discuss how the existential emerged embodied in symbolic articulations in the form of character, imagery, sounds and scents.

by Siu-fung Chan. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1991. / Bibliography: leaves 38-41. / Chapter Chapter 1 --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter Chapter 2 --- Analysis of the Structural Equation Model with Continuous Data --- p.6 / Chapter §2.1 --- The Model --- p.6 / Chapter §2.2 --- Mehtods of Handling Incomplete Data --- p.8 / Chapter §2.3 --- Design of the Monte-Carlo Study --- p.12 / Chapter §2.4 --- Results of the Monte-Carlo Study --- p.15 / Chapter Chapter 3 --- Analysis of the Structural Equation Model with Polytomous Data --- p.24 / Chapter §3.1 --- The Model --- p.24 / Chapter §3.2 --- Methods of Handling Incomplete Data --- p.25 / Chapter §3.3 --- Design of the Monte-Carlo Study --- p.27 / Chapter §3.4 --- Results of the Monte-Carlo Study --- p.31 / Chapter Chapter 4 --- Summary and Discussion --- p.36 / References --- p.38 / Tables --- p.42 / Figures --- p.78

This thesis investigates weak lensing (WL) of galaxies and the cosmic microwave back- ground (CMB) in the nonlinear regime. WL describes the effect of bending of background light rays by foreground matter (“lens”). It is sensitive to the large scale structure of the universe, and hence is a promising method to answer some unsolved fundamental questions in physics, such as the nature of dark energy and the total mass of neutrinos. WL datasets of unprecedented precision will come on-line in the early 2020s. This presents an exciting yet challenging task for the WL community: how do we extract the maximum amount of information from lensing observables, while minimizing the impact of systematics? This work attempts to answer this question by studying non-Gaussian statistics. Traditionally, WL data are analyzed using second-order statistics, which capture all the cosmological information if the density field is Gaussian. However, the small-scale density fluctuations are strongly non-Gaussian and can be highly sensitive to cosmology. Thus we need higher order (non-Gaussian) statistics to utilize these features in the nonlinear regime. In this thesis, we study the constraining power on cosmology and relevant systematics of non-Gaussian statistics, with a focus on convergence peaks. We present the first cosmological constraints using peak counts of the CFHTLenS survey. We also quantify the impact of magnification and size bias, one type of lensing systematics, on the lensing power spectrum and peaks. Finally, going beyond galaxy lensing, we cross-correlate Planck CMB lensing maps with CFHTLenS galaxy lensing maps, to investigate various WL systematics.

Leung Man-Kit. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 37-41). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Chapter 1 --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1 --- Basic concepts of survival data --- p.3 / Chapter 1.2 --- Missing Complete at Random (MCAR) --- p.8 / Chapter 1.3 --- Missing at Random (MAR) --- p.9 / Chapter 2 --- The maximaization of the marginal likelihood --- p.11 / Chapter 2.1 --- Survival function --- p.11 / Chapter 2.2 --- Missing covariate pattern --- p.13 / Chapter 2.3 --- Set of survival time with rank restrictions --- p.13 / Chapter 2.4 --- Marginal likelihood --- p.14 / Chapter 2.5 --- Score function --- p.15 / Chapter 3 --- The MCMC stochastic approximation approach --- p.17 / Chapter 4 --- Simulations Studies --- p.22 / Chapter 4.1 --- MCAR : Simulation 1 --- p.23 / Chapter 4.2 --- MCAR : Simulation 2 --- p.24 / Chapter 4.3 --- MAR : Simulation 3 --- p.26 / Chapter 4.4 --- MAR : Simulation 4 --- p.27 / Chapter 5 --- Example --- p.30 / Chapter 6 --- Discussion --- p.33 / Appendix --- p.35 / Bibliography --- p.37

Lenticular and elliptical galaxies, collectively referred to as "early-type galaxies" (ETGs), are commonly thought to represent the end-points of galaxy evolution. Lying in the red sequence of galaxies, these objects are defined by their mostly old stellar populations and by their "red and dead" appearance in optical observations. Much progress in understanding these objects has been made with integral-field spectroscopy in recent years, with results repeatedly pointing to a link between early-type galaxies and high-redshift spiral galaxies. However, the exact nature of this link remains unclear, with a wide variety of evolution scenarios likely required to fully explain the range of observed early-type galaxy properties. In my study, I analysed observations of twelve early-type galaxies taken with the Mitchell Integral-Field Spectrograph at McDonald Observatory, Texas. These galaxies have previously been found to contain detectable quantities of neutral hydrogen gas, with ten out of the twelve displaying large-scale hydrogen disks. I extracted line-of-sight kinematics of the stellar and ionised gas components of these galaxies, and I used various modelling approaches to constrain their stellar population parameters as well as their three-dimensional mass structure in terms of both dark and visible components. An important feature of this study is the wide field of view of the spectroscopic observations, which reach beyond two half-light radii for almost all of the sample; this remains rare for integral-field unit (IFU) studies of ETGs, and so sets this study apart from most earlier works. The gas-rich nature of the sample is likewise novel. I find all aspects of my analysis to yield a consistent view of these galaxies' evolution, in which one or more gaseous interaction events served to shape them into their observed forms. I find these galaxies to contain low dark matter fractions on average within the inner half-light radius, and I also find mass modelling to favour near-isothermal total density profiles over much of the sample.

Le programme international Argo a révolutionné l'observation globale des océans. Une flotte de plus de 3000 instruments sous-marins autonomes est en place, programmés pour fournir des mesures globales de profils de température et de salinité sur les 2000 premiers mètres de l'océan. Ces mesures sont assimilées dans des modèles océaniques conjointement aux observations satellitaires afin de décrire et prévoir l'océan. Dans cette thèse nous proposons une analyse permettant de caractériser les erreurs d'un modèle global océanique par comparaison aux données du réseau Argo. Ces erreurs sont décrites via leurs amplitudes, leurs variations régionales et temporelles ainsi que via les échelles spatiales associées. Une caractérisation des échelles spatiales à la fois pour la variabilité océanique et pour les erreurs modèles est, en particulier, menée permettant de relier la structure des erreurs modèles à celle du signal. Enfin, des techniques basées sur le contenu en information sont testées afin de pouvoir à terme mieux quantifier l'impact des observations Argo sur les systèmes d'assimilation de Mercator Océan. / The international Argo program has revolutionized the observation of the global ocean. An array of more than 3000 profiling floats is in place and provides global measurements of temperature and salinity on the first 2000 meters of the ocean. These measurements are assimilated into ocean models together with satellite observations to describe and forecast the ocean state. We propose here to characterize model errors using Argo observations. Model errors are described through their amplitude, geographical and temporal variations as well as their spatial scales. Spatial scales of both model errors and ocean signals are, in particular, estimated. This allows a comparison of model errors and ocean variability structure. Finally, techniques based on information content are tested in the longer run quantifying the impact of Argo observations in the Mercator Ocean data assimilation systems.

"August 2001." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 77-80). Examines the susceptibility of existing signal processing methods to errors and identifies other possible causes of depth error not accounted for by existing signal processing methods, by analysis of the detected laser return waveform data. Methods to improve depth accuracy are investigated.

The purpose of this research was to create the longest possible, homogeneous, historical daily temperature dataset for Southern New Zealand, analyse the changes in extreme temperatures and investigate atmospheric circulation patterns that contributed to these changes. Daily minimum and maximum temperature data for Southern New Zealand were captured from paper records and extended to include all available archival data from the region. This dataset was digitised and contains temperatures from 26 stations that began operation sometime in the period between 1852 and 1953. Stations include the Chatham and Campbell islands. Adjustments for inhomogeneities in the dataset were made using a frequency distribution matching method. Dunedin has a record dating from 1852, the longest in the Southern Hemisphere south of 40�S latitude. Reconstruction of a homogeneous record for Dunedin was made by taking into account site changes from contemporaneous modem data logger measurements and from an analysis of overlapping period data. Temperatures showed no clear pattern of change in Southern New Zealand from the mid 1800s through to the early 1900s with the exception of a brief cold period that occurred around 1900. However, from the 1940s through to the 1970s both minimum and maximum extreme temperatures showed strong warming. These trends were duplicated over the shorter length period of record for other regions, especially in Eastern Canterbury. The warming trend was maintained over the period 1979 - 2003, but only in the colder ends of minimum and maximum distributions. Temperatures have become less cold due to the recent compression of the temperature distribution. There was a marked decrease in cold days at stations in the south and offshore islands. Atmospheric circulation pattems, and in particular ENSO, were shown to affect extreme temperatures recorded in Southern New Zealand. Anomalous southwesterlies associated with El Nino events produce cooler temperatures and increase the numbers of cold extreme temperatures, while anomalous northeasterlies typical of La Nina increase the numbers of warm extreme temperatures. Monthly frequencies of extreme temperatures were primarily affected by anomalous south/north meridional airflows to increase cold/warm extreme temperature frequencies. Zonal airflows have a lesser, but topographically influenced effect. Record hot and cold temperatures in Southern New Zealand were a product of the interaction between advective northerly and southerly airflows respectively, and local climatic effects caused by topography.

The dynamics of the polar mesosphere and lower thermosphere ( MLT ) is investigated using MF radars at Davis ( 69 ° S, 78 ° E ), Syowa ( 69 ° S, 40 ° E ) and Rothera ( 68 ° S, 68 ° W ) in the Antarctic, and Poker Flat ( 65 ° N, 147 ° W ) and Andenes ( 69 ° N, 16 ° E ) in the Arctic. Mean winds and gravity waves are investigated on a climatological scale and also during sudden stratospheric warmings. Mean wind climatologies in the MLT show differences that are often hemispheric in nature. For example, summer peaks in westward and equatorward winds occur earlier ( closer to the solstice ) in the Antarctic than in the Arctic. The greater symmetry around the solstice of phenomena such as these indicates that radiative effects may play a greater role in controlling the state of the Antarctic MLT than in the Arctic, where dynamical effects might be more important. Gravity wave observations are consistent with this theory, suggesting more wave drag may occur in the Arctic MLT. The equatorward jet persists for about 2 weeks later in summer in the Arctic than in the Antarctic, as do satellite observations of polar mesospheric clouds ( PMCs ) ( a temperature dependent phenomenon ). It is proposed that the meridional winds can be used as a proxy for gravity wave driving and consequent adiabatic cooling in the MLT. VHF radar observations of polar mesospheric summer echoes ( PMSEs ) at Davis, and the satellite PMC observations, both occur at a similar time to the equatorward jet. Seasonal variations in gravity wave activity are generally a combination of annual ( with winter maxima and summer minima ) and semi - annual ( with maxima near the solstices and minima near the equinoxes ) components. The winter maxima and spring / summer minima both occur about 3 weeks later in the Antarctic than in the Arctic, with the difference in magnitude between these extrema being about 90 % larger in the Antarctic. The available MF radar data include six major sudden stratospheric warmings in the northern hemisphere, and the unprecedented southern event which occurred during 2002 splitting the Antarctic ozone hole apart. Three of the six northern events are relatively weak and could almost be classed as minor warmings, while the larger three are similar in strength and duration to the southern event. Gravity wave activity reduces dramatically at Davis during the southern event, but not at Syowa ( possibly due to differences in critical level filtering ). The influence of major warmings on mesospheric gravity wave strength and polarisation varies significantly between locations, and individual events. Zonal wind reversals associated with the large major warmings are all weaker and occur earlier in the mesosphere than in the stratosphere. Another hemispherically common response is zonal wave - 1 planetary wave signatures in the mesospheric meridional winds ( i.e., a flow over the pole ). The planetary wave signatures have 14 - day periodicity and are westward propagating leading up to the southern event. The zonal winds are weaker than average during the 2002 southern winter, and also during the transition to the summer circulation. This is not seen for the large northern major warmings. There appears to be both hemispheric similarities and differences in polar middle atmosphere dynamics during stratospheric warmings, and also on a climatological scale. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--School of Chemistry and Physics, 2005.

Most statistical surveys and data collection studies encounter missing data. A common solution to this problem is to discard observations with missing data while reporting the percentage of missing observations in different output tables. Imputation is a tool used to fill in the missing values. This dissertation introduces the missing data problem as well as traditional imputation methods (e.g. hot deck, mean imputation, regression, Markov Chain Monte Carlo, Expectation-Maximization, etc.). The use of artificial neural networks (ANN), a data mining technique, is proposed as an effective imputation procedure. During ANN imputation, computational effort is minimized while accounting for sample design and imputation uncertainty. The mechanism and use of ANN in imputation for complex survey designs is investigated. Imputation methods are not all equally good, and none are universally good. However, simulation results and applications in this dissertation show that regression, Markov chain Monte Carlo, and ANN yield comparable results. Artificial neural networks could be considered as implicit models that take into account the sample design without making strong parametric assumptions. Artificial neural networks make few assumptions about the data, are asymptotically good and robust to multicollinearity and outliers. Overall, ANN could be time and resources efficient for an experienced user compared to other conventional imputation techniques. / Graduation date: 2005