Thesis (M.S.)--Worcester Polytechnic Institute. / Keywords: Itemset Pruning, Association Rules, Adaptive Minimal Support, Associative Classification, Classification. Includes bibliographical references (p.70-74).

Thesis (M.S)--Ohio University, November, 2004. / Title from PDF t.p. Includes bibliographical references (p. 93-95)

Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2006. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains viii, 108 p. : ill. (some col.). Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 80-81).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Lehigh University, 1994. / Adviser: Michael R. Notis. Includes bibliographical references.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:35:43Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2008-07-25Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T18:47:10Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 nardy_o_dr_rcla.pdf: 3226439 bytes, checksum: 5a6b6af0a77e36a028fdd67051607c4c (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Foram realizadas meta análises com o Gradiente Latitudinal de Riqueza de espécies, a Regra de Rapoport e sua interação para vertebrados ao longo de todo o Globo. Com os resultados é possível concluir que ambos os padrões são generalizáveis e consistentes para todos os grupos de vertebrados, no entanto nenhuma variável moderadora associada à característica ecológicas, biológicas ou biogeográficas pode ser confirmada como principal condicionante destes padrões, não apresentando padrões constantes entre hemisférios, continentes, classes, número de províncias biogeográficas, tamanho corpóreo ou outra variável analisada. Foram utilizados como effect sizes a inclinação da reta de regressão ou o coeficiente angular da regressão linear (b) e o Coeficiente de Correlação de Spearman corrigido por Z-Fisher (r), entre estes dois, o segundo apresentou melhores resultados referentes as suas adequações e restrições associadas a meta análise, tais como normalidade dos dados e pressupostos de viés de publicações. As variáveis moderadoras associadas a características metodológicas como poder do teste, significância e tamanho amostral apresentaram maior poder explicativo do padrão do que as demais variáveis, sugerindo uma necessidade de se adotar um padrão mais rigoroso no delineamento de estudos que abordem este tema. Para a Regra de Rapoport o método utilizado na confecção do teste foi a variável moderadora mais evidente para a detecção de uma estrutura nos dados. / In the present work where made meta analysis with Latitudinal Gradient of Species richness, Rapoport Rule and their interaction for vertebrates along a global scale. With the results is possible to conclude that both patterns are general for vertebrates, nevertheless none of the ecological, biological or biogeographical moderators variables could be confirmed as the primary cause of the patterns, don’t showing any constant pattern between hemispheres, continents, classes, number of biogeographical provinces or other analyzed variable. It will be used as effect size the angular coefficient or the linear regression (b) and the Spearman Correlation Coefficient transformed by Z-Fisher (r), among these two effect size, the second presents best results associated with restrictions and fits inherent to meta analysis, such as normality and publication bias. The moderator’s variables associates with methodological issues, like statistical power, significance and sample size show higher explanation strength than the others variables, suggesting a necessity of more strength methods in the studies that claim these global patterns. For Rapoport Rule the method used to do the test was the moderator variable more evident to detect some data structure.

The rule of law is declared to be a foundational and guiding value of the European Union in Article 2 Treaty on European Union. The European Commission claims to be the 'guardian of the rule of law', and the concept has been determinative in judgments in the Court of Justice of the EU. However, the EU has not defined what exactly is meant by 'the rule of law'. This leads to the question: how can the EU claim to be guided by the rule of law, 'common to all Member States', but not provide an account of what that means in practice? To determine such an account, I examine contemporary accounts of the rule of law and identify the specific nature of the EU. I conclude that while the rule of law is a shared value across legal systems, distinct accounts develop within, and adapt to, each one. I advance an EU-centric account of the rule of law (EUCA) which is apt for the EU legal order. I advocate the value of EUCA first in abstract by providing reasons for why it is to the benefit of the EU Institutions, the Member States and individuals to endorse EUCA compliance. I then show the practical use of EUCA as a source of legitimacy from the perspective of Member States and individuals in the context of issues of contemporary and pressing concern in the areas of international trade, corporate taxation and the criminal law. I seek to bridge the gap between a theoretical account of the rule of law apt for the EU legal order, and the practical guidance it can provide in the resolution of crisis issues. I conclude on the essential importance of guarding, strengthening, and enhancing the rule of law throughout the EU, not just as a means of resolution in times of crisis, but as a guarantee of the future of the European Union.

This thesis offers a new conceptual framework - the environmental rule of law - to describe weaknesses in the development of Indian environmental law, and uses this description to critique the dominant discourse on environmental institutional reform. A secondary framework-fragmentation is also used to supplement the analysis of Indian environmental law. Part I develops the conceptual framework of the environmental rule of law by considering the special challenges that the inherent polycentric and interdisciplinary nature of environmental law present for commonly understood rule of law values such as clarity, certainty and consistency. It also relies on Jeremy Waldron's conception of articulated governance to demonstrate that the rule of law is linked to the principle of separation of powers. This conception lays emphasis on the role of the three institutions of government - the legislature, the executive and the judiciary - in strengthening or weakening the rule of law. To determine institutional contribution to the rule of law, I develop three broad indicators to assess the legal quality of the instruments of each of these institutions of government. These indicators are: a) capacity of statutes to guide executive and judicial behaviour by goal-setting and balancing competing interests; b) the ability of the executive to make flexible yet reasoned decisions grounded in primary legislation; and c) the use of statutory interpretation and consistent standards of judicial review by the courts as they give effect to environmental rights and principles. Through the use of case studies in Part II that span environmental impact assessment, forest conservation, and indigenous rights, I demonstrate that the lack of adherence to these indicators produces a body of environmental law that is fragmented i.e. one characterised by multiple overlapping yet self-contained legal regimes with conflicting provisions and the absence of unifying norms. In Part III, I use this understanding of fragmentation to critically analyse environmental legal and institutional reform proposals. I show that existing proposals address only the structure, rather than the process of functioning of the institutions of government. The rule of law framework that I develop also has potential for application to other areas of the law.

One research path has been to see whether the type of political regime, namely a democratic versus an authoritarian regime, influences economic growth. Much of the past literature has produced ambiguous results. But more recent studies using more sophisticated statistical techniques have often shown a positive effect of democratization upon economic growth. These studies have made welcome contributions. However, they often fail to examine how the effects of democratization could differ across countries or over time. In my dissertation, I will look more closely at how the effects of democratization could differ depending upon country characteristics - corruption and adherence to rule of law - or when democratization occurs. Chapter 1 investigates whether the association between corruption and economic growth differs between democracies and authoritarian regimes. Consider illegal corruption and legal lobbying, both forms of rent seeking, as imperfect substitutes. Suppose lobbying is easier to do in democracies. Then, lowering corruption in authoritarian regimes could have greater growth benefits because of the lower substitutability between corruption and lobbying in these countries. Using cross-country, annual data from 1984 to 2007, we regress economic growth on: the control of corruption, the degree of democracy, and an interaction term combining the two. We find that coefficients are positive on the first two variables. However, the coefficient on the interactive term is negative, suggesting that the benefits upon growth of controlling corruption are actually greater in authoritarian regimes. Chapter 2 examines both short and long-run effects of democratization upon economic growth and measures the extent they differ. For example, democratization could initially lower economic growth due to transitional costs. Effects could then turn positive as democratic reforms take hold and provide greater freedoms to the populace. But over time, greater amounts of rent seeking could occur and so diminish benefits of democratization. Or, do other patterns rise? Utilizing difference-in-difference estimations and controlling for time and country specific fixed effects, we analyze a panel data sample of 174 countries from 1960 to 2003. Our results show that democratizations are not associated with high transitional costs. Instead, we find that democratization enhances long-run growth more in Sub-Saharan Africa than in other regions. Finally, we find evidence that the effects of democratization upon growth differ between partial and full democratization episodes. Chapter 3 considers whether or not democratization improves institutions that have so often been argued to increase economic growth. Utilizing a panel dataset from 1984 to 2007 for 127 countries, we examine whether democratization promotes the rule of law. We generally find a positive influence from democratization upon the rule of law although effects are strongest for sub-Saharan Africa.

One of the consequences of British rule in Ceylon was the gradual disintegration of the traditional social order with its structure of authority and influence. In the traditional social system, power and prestige were derived from caste and kinship. The caste system restricted the life chances of individuals to very narrow limits, and the authority of the traditional elite, comprising of 'high caste' royal officials, was theoretically inviolable. But British rule changed all this. The administrative and economic changes introduced in the 19th century, together with English education, offered the individual new avenues for social advancement. Since English was the language of administration, proficiency in English became indispensible for government employment. The English educated 'colonial elite' of government servants (and in the course of time, professional men) acted as intermediaries between the small cadre of British officials who represented the raj in Ceylon and the masses. This new elite who owed their social position mainly to western education, came to eclipse in power and prestige the old nobility. This process of change in native leadership developed gradually but steadily in the 19th century and by the turn of this century the western educated community had emerged as an important element of Ceylonese society. This study shows their development in the period, 1910-1931, primarily, in terms of their growing involvement in public life and the increasing access to political power. In 1910 the western educated had little political influence, but they were considered sufficiently important and distinct to be given separate representation in the Legislative Council. After 1931, with universal franchise, the masses also participated in political activity. But the years in between saw the political scene dominated almost exclusively by the new elite. This period was chosen for study because it was in these two decades that the western educated elite developed into a position of undisputed leadership in the Ceylonese community.

This thesis examines Home Rule in Ireland from 1858-1893 from a transnational perspective. In particular, it explores ties between the United States and Ireland by locating common discourses on generational rights and human rights. It draws attention to American and Irish organizations that sought to free Ireland from Britain’s oppressive grasp. The thesis pays special attention to the Irish-American experience in the United States in the wake of the Great Famine of 1845-1846. Through a look at transnational rights discourses during Home Rule, this thesis exposes the impact this experience had on transnational organizations such as the Fenian Brotherhood and the Irish National League of America during Home Rule in the late nineteenth century. Furthermore it reveals how Irish Home Rule from 1858-1893, was in various ways a transnational rights movement.