In this thesis, higher derivative theories and constrained dynamics are investigated in detail. In the first part of the thesis, we discuss how the Ostrogradski instability emerges in non-degenerate higher derivative theories in the context of a one-dimensional point particle where the position of the particle is a function only dependent on time. We show that the instabilities can only be removed by the addition of constraints if the original theory’s phase space is reduced. We then generalize this formalism to the most general higher derivative gravity theory where the action is not only linearly dependent on the Ricci scalar but also the quadratic curvature invariants in four-dimensional spacetime. We find that the instabilities can be removed by the judicious addition of constraints at the quadratic level of metric fluctuations around Minkowski and de Sitter backgrounds while the dimensionality of the original phase space is reduced. The constrained higher derivative gravity theory is ghost free as well as preserves the renormalization properties of higher derivative gravity, at the price of giving up the Lorentz invariance. In the second part of the thesis, we study the spherically symmetric static solution of a class of two scalar-field theory, where one of them is a Lagrange multiplier enforcing a constraint relating the value of the other scalar field to the norm of its derivative. We find the spherically symmetric static solution of the theory with an exponential potential. However, when we investigate the stability issue of the solution, the perturbation with the odd type symmetry is stable, while the even modes always contain one ghostlike degree of freedom.

What is an event? What sort of object are they? How is a given event distinguished from other events and other objects? This thesis on science oriented metaphysics will take Davidson's account of events as its starting point to answer the above questions. It will develop this conception of events into one that is consistent with the special theory of relativity by updating its notions of change, cause and property. The new concept of a proper property, a generalization of the notion of an invariant, is introduced to solve some of these metascientific problems. Other features of the work include an analysis of the Lorentz force equation as it applies to one family of cases of causation, showing that a use of cause and effect to help individuate events cannot be complete until relativistic features are built into it. I propose that the conception of a proper property will also solve this worry over the nature of causation as it affects the issues of events above. In particular, it will attempt to solve a charge of circularity which has been leveled at Davidson's account. This property analysis also has the feature that it makes the account of events which started with Davidsonian inspiration (i.e. causes and effects are intimately connected to events) more like Kim's. Kim's account of events is modified on the grounds it does not do justice to our intuitions about changes and events. / Arts, Faculty of / Philosophy, Department of / Graduate

Numerical relativity is concerned with the generation of solutions to Einstein's equations by numerical means. In general, the construction of such a spacetime is accomplished in two stages: 1) the determination of initial data which is specified on a single spacelike hypersurface and satisfies four initial value equations, and 2) the evolution of the initial data to generate the spacetime or some portion of it. One of the key problems is the development of efficient algorithms for the solutions of these equations, as they are sufficiently complex to tax the fastest present computers. This thesis presents a comparison of various algorithms for the solution of the initial value equations, concentrating on the recently developed multi-grid method. The specific problem examined has been previously studied by Bowen, Piran and York. Their initial data has been interpreted as representing "snapshots" of three new families of black holes. Three of the four initial value equations possess analytic solutions. The remaining 2-dimensional nonlinear partial differential equation is solved numerically in this thesis using finite difference techniques. The performance of the multi-grid method, with respect to three more well-known methods, is evaluated through numerical experiments. The speed and reliability of the multi-grid algorithm are found to be very good. In addition, the results which had been previously calculated numerically by Piran are essentially reproduced, with the correction of some errors in that work. Possible extensions of the work to more complex initial value problems are also discussed. / Science, Faculty of / Physics and Astronomy, Department of / Graduate

This thesis investigates the similarities in the study of time and space in literature and science during the modern period. Specifically, it focuses on the portrayal of time and space within Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1897) and Joseph Conrad’s Lord Jim (1899-1900), and compares the ideas presented with those later scientifically formulated by Albert Einstein in his special and general theories of relativity (1905-1915). Although both novels precede Einstein’s theories, they reveal advanced complex ideas of time and space very similar to those later argued by the iconic physicist. These ideas follow a linear progression including a sense of temporal dissonance, the search for a communal sense of the present, the awareness and expansion of the individual’s sense of the present, and the effect of mass on surrounding space. This approach enhances readings of Dracula and Lord Jim, illuminating the fascination with highly refined notions of time and space within modern European culture.

Thesis advisor: Rebecca Schendel / Organizational culture was originally addressed in the management literature in the late 1970s (e.g. Pettigrew, 1979; Deal & Kennedy, 1982). Scholars have later on extended the discussion to include higher education institutions (e.g. Tierney, 2008). However, the majority of the literature on organizational culture in higher education is based on institutions that follow and are placed within the Western model. Despite the lack of direct evidence, it is fair to suspect that there is a relationship between the culture of an organization and its national/regional context. This study investigates the nature of that relationship and provide real world examples through an in-depth case study on the American University of Madaba (AUM). In evaluating AUM’s organizational culture, this study explores the institution’s organizational identity and its organizational design (the sum of the two, in this study, constitutes the culture of the organization). The data suggests that AUM’s organizational identity holographically (Albert & Whetten, 2004) brings together four different identity pieces: American, Catholic, Jordanian, and not-for-profit. The study concludes that the institution’s focus on its American identity and partial neglect in incorporating its other identity pieces into its organizational design with equal weight lead to a misalignment between its espoused, attributed, shared and aspirational organizational values (Broune & Jenkins, 2013), which ultimately leads to a misalignment between its organizational identity and its organizational design, resulting in what would be generally considered an unhealthy organizational culture (Gulua, 2018). In AUM’s case, this misalignment causes an amended combination of what the literature presents as an expectation gap and a dislocation gap in organizational values (Broune & Jenkins, 2013). However, context-relativity (a crucial concept in this study), with its historical, economic, political, socio-cultural and colonial components, is highly impactful in studying the relationship between AUM’s organizational culture and its national/regional context and impacts our understanding of the initial findings. This study reveals that there is a strong conception in the Middle East that American higher education = good quality (but good quality does not necessarily equal American). Therefore, in the light of context-relativity, AUM’s organizational gaps and the misalignment between its identity and design is not a matter of unauthenticity, but rather lack of options. Being an American institution in the Middle East comes with a market advantage; therefore, such an approach is a way for AUM to survive in a world where global power dynamics carry strong preconceptions about the quality of American higher education. By being American “enough” to maintain its market advantage and being Jordanian “enough” to keep the peace with their students and staff and the surrounding community, AUM, as a young higher education institution, is finding a way to survive and advance its quality in the process. / Thesis (MA) — Boston College, 2020. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education.

Special relativity is an area of physics that is abstract and consists of concepts and effects that is hard to link to everyday experience. From a learning perspective, that is problematic as we form new knowledge by linking it to old experiences. One approach to experience a relativistic environment is through computer simulations. MIT game lab has developed the game “A Slower Speed of Light” where the user slows down the speed of light in discrete steps. That allows the user to experience what the surroundings would look like if we were traveling at a relativistic speed. As the user does that, he/she will experience that certain visual effects do not appear as the course literature describes it. In this project, we study how visual effects of special relativity are perceived by students by letting them play the game and solve an assignment. In the assignment, there was one problem where they were instructed to identify two relativistic effects and describe the physics behind them. The project aims to find an answer to what students while playing the game think they see and how they relate the visual effects to quantities arrived by applying the Lorentz transformation. The project also investigates whether the game can be used productively in teaching. The findings of project show that it is easier for students to describe visual effects where observation match with what the students actually see. We have also found that the students' perception of visual effects is that they are consistent with the predictions of the Lorentz transformation as they try to force their observations onto the theory. That despite the fact that the game clearly shows that it is not the case. The game can be used productively by a teacher when lecturing e.g. relativistic optics. / Speciell relativitetsteori är ett område inom fysiken som är abstrakt och består av begrepp och effekter som är svåra att länka till vardagslivet. Från ett lärandeperspektiv blir det problematiskt då vi bildar ny kunskap genom att länka det till gamla erfarenheter. Ett sätt att få uppleva en relativistisk miljö är genom datorsimuleringar. MIT game lab har utvecklat spelet “A Slower Speed of Light” där användaren stegvis saktar ner ljusets hastighet. Detta gör det möjligt för användaren att uppleva hur omgivningen skulle se ut om vi färdades i en relativistisk hastighet. När användaren färdas relativistiskt kommer han/hon uppleva att vissa visuella effekter inte stämmer överens med beskrivningar från kurslitteratur. I detta projekt studerar vi hur visuella effekter av den speciella relativitetsteorin uppfattas av studenter genom att låta dem spela spelet och lösa en inlämningsuppgift. I inlämningsuppgiften fanns ett problem där de skulle identifiera två relativistiska effekter och beskriva fysiken bakom dessa. Projektet försöker att besvara vilka effekter studenter tror att de ser när de spelar spelet men också hur de relaterar de visuella effekterna till värden som förutsägs genom Lorentz transformationen. Projektet undersöker också om spelet kan användas produktivt i undervisning. Projektets observationer visar att studenterna har lättare att beskriva visuella effekter där observation stämmer överens med vad studenterna faktiskt ser. Vi har ocksånoterat att studenternas föreställning om visuella effekter är att de stämmer överens med Lorentztransformationens förutsägelser då de försöker tvinga sina observationer att överensstämma med teorin trots att spelet tydligt visar att det inte är fallet. Spelet kan användas produktivt av en lärare vid föreläsning av t.ex. relativistisk optik.

My dissertation investigates how relativity impacts human personhood and freedom in theology. Assumptions about human subjectivity have always affected philosophical and religious discourse about time. Most Abrahamic religious traditions assume what James McTaggart has called an A-theory of time, in which time flows, and the differences among past, present and future are meaningful, in accordance with our subjective impressions. The A-theory complements an assumption that human beings can choose their actions. However, philosophers like Hilary Putnam have employed relativistic physics to contend that time does not flow, and that the future is as fixed as the past—a B-theory in McTaggart’s terminology. D. H. Mellor and others, explicitly assuming an opposition between scientific objectivity and all subjectivity, including the subjective sense of self, have built on B-theoretic arguments to claim human consciousness is illusory. Given Abrahamic religions’ emphasis on the importance of selves, this interpretation rules out any dialogue between science and religion. If Abrahamic theology is to be compatible with modern physics, we must reconcile relativity with the A-theory of time. Two potential models already exist. William Lane Craig and J. R. Lucas draw upon physicist Hendrik Lorentz to posit a universal reference frame, based on the experience of a God who lives in time much as human beings do. Robert John Russell fuses a traditional interpretation of special relativity with Boethius’s metaphysics to propose a pluricentric view of time in which God is present in every observer’s reference frame, making each relativistic construction of events true on its own terms, and eliminating the need to reconcile frames that disagree. I argue that Russell’s model is preferable: neo-Lorentzian relativity is vulnerable to scientific critique, and Craig’s view of God risks falling into occasionalism. Finally, Russell’s system not only establishes the kind of open future that is a prerequisite for free will, but in fact dovetails with personalist ontology and epistemology that place subjectivity at the heart of existence without sacrificing the importance of science. Far from being mutually exclusive, science and subjectivity need one another, and time’s flow is an excellent place for their collaboration to start.

The need to construct a fermion quantum field theory in black-hole spacetimes is an acute one. The study of gravitational collapse necessitates the need of such. In this dissertation, we construct the theory of free fermions living on the static Schwarzschild black-hole and the rotating Kerr black-hole. The construction capitalises upon the fact that both black-holes are stationary axisymmetric solutions to Einstein's equation. A factorisability ansatz is developed whereby simple quantum modes can be found, for such stationary spacetimes with azimuthal symmetry. These modes are then employed for the purposes of a canonical quantisation of the corresponding fermionic theory. At the same time, we suggest that it may be impossible to extend a quantum field theory continuously across an event horizon. This split of a quantum field theory ensures the thermal character of the Hawking radiation. In our case, we compute and prove that the spectrum of neutrinos emitted from a black-hole via the Hawking process is indeed thermal. We also study fermion scattering amplitudes off the Schwarzschild black-hole. / Ph. D.

The prime concern of this paper is with the nature of probability. It is argued that questions concerning the nature of probability are intimately linked to questions about the nature of time. The case study here concerns the single case propensity interpretation of probability. It is argued that while this interpretation of probability has a natural place in the quantum theory, the metaphysical picture of time to be found in relativity theory is incompatible with such a treatment of probability.

In 1920, Rudolf Bach proposed an action based on the square of the Weyl tensor or CabcdCabcd where the Weyl tensor is an invariant under a scaling of the metric. A variation of the metric leads to the field equation known as the Bach equation. In this dissertation, the same action is analyzed, but as a conformal gauge theory. It is shown that this action is a result of a particular gauging of this group. By treating it as a gauge theory, it is natural to vary all of the gauge fields independently, rather than performing the usual fourth-order metric variation only. We show that solutions of the resulting vacuum field equations are all solutions to the vacuum Einstein equation, up to a conformal factor—a result consistent with local scale freedom. We also show how solutions for the gauge fields imply there is no gravitational self energy.