Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Physics / Glenn Horton-Smith / Double Chooz is a reactor neutrino experiment which has shown evidence of electron anti-neutrino disappearance at 1 km distance. It has been able to exclude the no-oscillation hypothesis at 99.8% CL (2.9ς) with only one detector. From a rate plus spectral shape analysis, the value of sin²2θ₁₃ was found to be 0.109±0.030(stat) ± 0.025(syst). Correlated events mimicking an anti-neutrino event are one of the most important backgrounds for a reactor neutrino experiment like Double Chooz which measured the neutrino mixing angle θ₁₃. Cosmic muons passing through the rock surrounding the detector produce fast neutrons which give rise to correlated events through proton recoil followed by a neutron capture. Muons stopping around the chimney region subsequently decay into Michel electrons also contributing to the correlated background. Measurement of the shape and rate of this background is very important for the precise measurement of θ₁₃. Experimental techniques to estimate of the shape and rate of this background in the Double Chooz far detector are presented in this thesis.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Physics / Glenn Horton-Smith / In March 2012, the Double Chooz reactor neutrino experiment published its most precise result so far: sin[superscript]2 2theta13 = 0.109 +/- 0.030(stat.) +/- 0.025(syst.). The statistical significance is 99.8% away from the no-oscillation hypothesis. The systematic uncertainties from background and detection efficiency are smaller than the first publication of the Double Chooz experiment. The neutron detection efficiency, one of the biggest contributions in detection systematic uncertainties, is a primary topic of this dissertation. The neutron detection efficiency is the product of three factors: the Gd-capture fraction, the efficiency of time difference between prompt and delayed signals, and the efficiency of energy containment. [superscript]252 Cf is used to determine the three factors in this study. The neutron detection efficiency from the [superscript]252 Cf result is confirmed by the electron antineutrino data and Monte Carlo simulations. The systematic uncertainty from the neutron detection efficiency is 0.91% used in the sin[superscript]2 2theta13 analysis. The seasonal variation in detector performance and the seasonal variations of the muon intensity are described in detail as well. The detector stability is confirmed by observation of two phenomena: 1) the [electron antineutrino] rate, which is seen to be uncorrelated with the liquid scintillator temperature, and 2) the daily muon rate, which has the expected correspondence with the effective atmospheric temperature. The correlation between the muon rate and effective atmospheric temperature is further analyzed in this thesis to determine the ratio of kaon to pion in the local atmosphere. An upper limit on instability of the neutron detection efficiency is established in the final chapter. The systematic error, 0.13%, from the relative instability is the deviation of the calibration runs. This thesis concludes with the potential systematic errors of neutron detection efficiency and estimation of how these potential systematic errors affect the result of sin[superscript]2 2theta13.

This dissertation studies two interesting business cycle issues. The first issue concerns the effectiveness of tax policies in stimulating an economic recovery. The second issue concerns the costs of business cycle fluctuations to an investor who chooses to invest in risky assets. The first essay evaluates the effectiveness of the "end of double tax" policy in stimulating an economic recovery by analyzing the transitional dynamics of the economy's aggregates toward the steady states. The effectiveness of this policy is compared with two alternative policies that reduce corporate income or personal income taxes. Although all of these tax policies are found to stimulate the economy's levels of output and investment, the "end of double taxation" appears to exert the most significant impact on the aggregate levels of these variables in the short run. Based on this finding, we claim that the "end of double taxation" is an effective policy for stimulating an economic recovery in the short-run. In a thought-provoking exercise Lucas (1987 and 2003) argues that the welfare costs of business cycles is negligible. The second essay follows up on this argument by incorporating prospect theory into the formulation of individual preferences. Prospect theory proposes that agents care about changes in their wealth level rather than the level of their final wealth, and individuals are also taken to be more sensitive to losses than gains in their financial wealth. According to the prospect theory, therefore, the agents take fluctuations in the asset returns seriously. Results from empirical tests find that an individual investor, on average, would give up2.58-9.49% of the average returns, she receives from investing in the risky asset, in order to eliminate all the fluctuations associated with her asset returns. This result is interpreted as an indication of much larger welfare costs than Lucas' estimates.

Ever since the birth of the telephony system, the problem with echoes, arising from impedance mismatch in 2/4-wire hybrids, or acoustic echoes where a loudspeaker signal is picked up by a closely located microphone, has been ever present. The removal of these echoes is crucial in order to achieve an acceptable audio quality for conversation. Today, the perhaps most common way for echo removal is through cancellation, where an adaptive filter is used to produce an estimated replica of the echo which is then subtracted from the echo-infested signal. Echo cancellation in practice requires extensive control of the filter adaptation process in order to obtain as rapid convergence as possible while also achieving robustness towards disturbances. Moreover, despite the rapid advancement in the computational capabilities of modern digital signal processors there is a constant demand for low-complexity solutions that can be implemented using low power and low cost hardware. This thesis presents low-complexity solutions for echo cancellation related to both the actual filter adaptation process itself as well as for controlling the adaptation process in order to obtain a robust system. Extensive simulations and evaluations using real world recorded signals are used to demonstrate the performance of the proposed solutions.

In this project, frequently required double bass orchestral audition excerpts as well as their individual technical difficulties are identified. A survey of professional double bass players and teachers currently and formerly employed by major orchestras, universities, and conservatories have participated to validate the importance of four of the most frequently required orchestral excerpts: Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, Mvt. 4, and Symphony No. 5, Mvt. 3; Richard Strauss’ Ein Heldenleben; and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Symphony No. 40, Mvt. 1. The survey respondents identified the primary and secondary technical concerns of each of the four excerpts. I have created technical studies, or etudes, that specifically address these difficulties and help fill a literary gap within the existing pedagogical resources for the double bass.

Arthur Ashkin's Nobel Prize-winning single-beam gradient force optical tweezers have revolutionized research in many fields of science. The invention has enabled various atomic and single molecular studies, proving to be an essential tool for observing and understanding nature at the nanoscale. This thesis showcases the uniqueness of single-beam gradient force traps and the advances necessary to overcome the limitations inherent in conventional techniques of optical trapping. With decreasing particle sizes, the power required for a stable trap increases and could potentially damage a particle. This is a significant limitation for studying biomolecules using conventional optical traps. Plasmonic nanoaperture optical trapping using double-nanohole apertures is introduced as a solution to overcoming these limitations. Achievements in double-nanohole optical trapping made possible by the pioneering work of Gordon et. al are highlighted as well. This thesis focuses on the advances in nanoaperture fabrication methods and improvements to experimental techniques adopted in single molecular optical trapping studies. The technique of colloidal lithography is discussed as a cost-effective high-throughput alternative method for nanofabrication. The limitation in using this technique for producing double-nanohole apertures with feature sizes essential for optical trapping is analyzed. Improvements to enable tuning of aperture diameter and cusp separation is one of the main achievements of the work detailed in this thesis. Furthermore, the thesis explains the modified fabrication process tailor-made for designing double-nanohole apertures optimized for optical trapping. Transmission characterization of various apertures fabricated using colloidal lithography is carried out experimentally and estimated by computational electrodynamics simulations using the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method. Optical trapping with double-nanohole apertures fabricated using colloidal lithography is demonstrated with distinct results revealing trapping of a single polystyrene molecule, a rubisco enzyme and a bovine serum albumin (BSA) protein. / Graduate

Thesis advisor: Arthur Madigan / Thesis advisor: Jorge L. Garcia / The relationship between intention, intentional action, and moral assessment is of fundamental importance to ethical theory. In large part, moral responsibility is based on an assessment of agent responsibility, which in turn is based on the connection between an agent's intentions and the actions which they cause. In the last twenty-five years, there has been a debate in contemporary action theory about the relationship between intentions and intentional action. Objecting to what he calls the "Simple View," which he characterizes as the view that all intentional actions are intended under some description, Michael Bratman, among others, argues that not all intentional actions are intended. In this dissertation, we will defend the Simple View by appealing to Aristotle's theory of action as developed in his psychological and ethical works. In the first part of the dissertation, we argue that all intentional actions are intended under some description; however, we argue that distinctions between different types of intention are essential: specifically, the distinction between deliberate and non-deliberate intentions and the distinction between the intention of the end and the intention of the means. Our account centers on Aristotle's concept of prohairesis, which he identifies as the distinctly human principle of action. The term prohairesis in Aristotle's works seems to have at least three senses: 1) primarily, the deliberate intention with which a person acts, an `occurent' choice; 2) the habitual or `dispositional' choice or resolve of `decent' people; and 3) general purposes that men have which may encompass voluntary action as a whole. The first sense of the term is the primary one that properly signifies the concept. Prohairesis fits within the general framework of animal motion which Aristotle sets out in the De Anima and De Motu Animalium. For Aristotle, orexis or desire is the cause of all animal motion, including human motion. Prohairesis is a deliberate desire for the means to an end. It is a principle of action peculiar to mature human beings capable of deliberating, as it is the intention which is the result of deliberation. It marks off a narrow but important stretch of intentional action. Prohairesis is set off against other types of intention, like boulesis, which is an intention of the end, and epithumia (bodily appetite) and thumos (anger), which are non-deliberate intentions relating to non-rational appetites like lust and anger. Aristotle, in contrast to contemporary accounts of intentional action, is unusually specific in his designation of the different kinds of intention. Different orexeis differ not only with regard to specific objects but also with regard to time, planning, and detail. Aristotle traces both the causal and moral responsibility agents have for their actions to the action of these internal principles of desire. Moral assessment is linked to the operative internal principle of an act. This allows for an action to be voluntary and intentional, even if the agent does not fully understand or plan for the consequences of an action. Intention, for Aristotle, if we correctly understand it as orexis and what results from orexis, is not reducible to one mode but is irreducibly plural. Furthermore, each person's capacity for intentional action is shaped by his character, and each character has correspondingly different kinds of intention, both with respect to the objects of intention and in their relation to action. Finally, the scope of intention is not definite, and depending on the agent, can include those things which attend to the means of which he has cognizance, for instance, harmful side-effect consequences or other costs of his action. In the second part of the dissertation, we examine at length the objections to the Simple View, lodged by Bratman, Gilbert Harman, and Joshua Knobe. We give an overview of objections by Bratman, Harman, and Knobe which center on three cases and four objections. The cases are: 1) a hypothetical video game; 2) unexpected success; and 3) unintended consequences. The objections are: 1) with respect to the hypothetical video game, the Simple View ascribes an irrational intention to a gamer playing the game; 2) When agents are doubtful of the success of an action they undertake, the Simple View requires that they intend the act the perform rather than that they merely try to perform the act, which opponents argue that this is irrational and false; 3) The Simple View entails the rejection of the distinction between intention and foresight which itself entails that agents intend all the results of their actions, even when those results are merely foreseen and not intended; 4) The Simple View does not adequately explain ordinary language usage with respect to ascriptions of intention for side-effect consequences, and therefore does not reflect basic, commonly shared notions of intentional action. The first two objections center on cases where it seems irrational for an agent to intend the act he performs. In the case of the video game, the scenario is so set up that the player wins a prize for hitting either target but knows that he cannot hit both or the game will shut down. It seems irrational for him to intend to hit both if he cannot; however, in order to maximize his chance winning, it would be rational to aim at both. In the case of unexpected success, it seems that agents do not intend acts whose chances of success they doubt because intending seems to require the positive belief that one will succeed; rather, it is argued that agents merely try but do not intend the act they perform. Against these cases and objections, we argue that agents are capable of conditional and complex intentions, such that one may conditionally intend to hit whichever target is opportune, while aiming at both. Likewise, we argue that intending to act does not require the positive belief that one will succeed; only that it is possible for one to succeed. Furthermore, the distinction between trying and intending is specious. Finally, we respond to the third and fourth objections centering on the intentionality of side-effect consequences. It is argued by Bratman et al. that the Simple View entails the rejection of the distinction between intention and foresight, and that such a rejection further entails consequentialism. Likewise it is also argued that the Simple View fails to account for ordinary language ascriptions of intentionality for side-effect consequences. We agree that the Simple View entails rejecting the distinction between intention and foresight as it is currently applied, but deny that this entails consequentialism, i.e., the view that the consequences of an action are the primary basis for moral evaluation and not the agent's intentions. Likewise, we agree that the Simple View does not model ordinary language ascriptions of intention; however, this is not necessarily a defect since such ascriptions are inconsistent and imprecise. Furthermore, we argue that the Simple View might be used to more adequately explain such usage. We center our response to these objections on the Doctrine of Double Effect. We argue that the doctrine arises from a mistaken interpretation of St. Thomas Aquinas' treatment of defensive killing. We argue that Aquinas does not hold that the death of an attacker is a foreseen but not intended side-effect, as proponents of Double Effect and opponents of the Simple View hold; rather it is intended as a means to the end of self-defense. Therefore, the two effects are not the desired end and a side-effect but rather the intended end and the intended means. Furthermore, we argue that this does not entail doing evil for the sake of good because Aquinas' Aristotelian account of action specification incorporates circumstances as essential components of intentions which give an act its moral quality. Furthermore, the necessary references to an agent's intentions show how the rejection of the application of the distinction between intention and foresight does not entail consequentialism. Finally, we tackle the underlying assumptions about intention and desire which lead to the rejection of the Simple View. Opponents of the Simple View hold that intention is not a form of desire because then it would not have an essential role in the genesis of action or in rational deliberation. We, however, argue that the major objections to the Simple View are defeasible once one understands intention as a species of desire, i.e. a deliberate desire, whose scope includes consequences beyond acts performed and goals achieved. The paradoxes at the heart of the debate hinge on the ambiguity of the English word `intention' and its usage, as well as the inherent difficulty of examining psychological concepts. `Intention' has several senses unified by the purposiveness of the mental states to which the word is referred. These senses can often, but not always, be distinguished in English usage by the degree and kind of deliberation attendant to them. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2009. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Philosophy.

Student Number: 0008522F Master of Science Faculty of Engineering & The Built Environment School of Mechanical, Industrial & Aeronautical Engineering / An aircraft travelling at supersonic speeds close to the ground generates a bow wave, which is reflected off the ground surface. When the aircraft enters a valley, the three-dimensional bow wave is reflected off the valley walls, such that it could focus behind the aircraft. Complex threedimensional wave surfaces will result. The real situation of an aircraft entering a valley can be modelled and tested experimentally in a shock tube. To simulate the process a planar shock wave, generated in a shock tube, is moved over several notched wedge configurations. Schlieren photographs were produced to identify the resulting complex three-dimensional wave structures and then verified by three-dimensional CFD. The valley geometries investigated are rectangular, triangular, parabolic and conical. Three hill geometries were also investigated. The three-dimensional reflected surfaces from the rectangular valleys were found to vary only slightly as the valley floor inclination is increased. As the incident wave interacts with both the wedge and valley floor surfaces two prominent reflections occur. A primary reflected wave surface is generated from regular reflection off the wedge. This surface flows over into the valley contacting the incident wave at a second contact point. A secondary reflected wave is found underneath the primary reflected wave, generated due to Mach reflection occurring over the full width off the valley floor. The area of the incident wave between the second contact point and the triple point is seen to bow out into the downstream flow. The Mach stem of the reflection off the valley floor tends to become less pronounced for the larger valley floor inclination angles. In all the rectangular valleys, a shear layer is present, cascading down the valley wall and then along the valley entrance. The shear layer tends to decrease in size as the valley floor inclination increases. Both prominent reflected shock surfaces are almost conical in nature at close proximity to the valley wall. The triangular valleys show similar reflection patterns as the rectangular valleys. As the incident shock wave initially interacts with the wedge surface only regular reflection occurs. The resulting reflected wave forms the primary reflected surface which flows over into the valley. The reflection changes to Mach reflection as the incident wave interacts with the valley floor. The Mach stem of the reflection off the valley floor increases in characteristic height as one moves from the valley entrance wall to the plane of symmetry. The Mach stem is much smaller for the higher valley floor inclinations. A secondary reflected wave is found underneath the primary reflected surface. The secondary wave is Mach reflection near the plane of symmetry which turns iii to regular reflection closer to the valley wall. The primary and secondary reflected surfaces merge near the plane of symmetry and again along the wedge surface. A shear layer is found to cascade down the valley entrance wall for all geometries, decreasing in strength as the valley inclination angle increases. The parabolic valleys show similar reflection patterns as the triangular valleys. As the incident wave interacts with both the wedge and valley surfaces two reflections occur. The reflection off the wedge surface is regular. As the incident wave flows over into the valley the initial reflection off the valley floor is regular. This regular reflection then turns into Mach reflection the closer one moves to the symmetry plane. The Mach reflection off the valley floor forms a secondary reflected wave underneath the primary reflected wave that is found to flow over into the valley. The primary reflected wave contacts the incident wave at a second contract point found above the triple point. This contact point moves closer to the triple point and eventually along the secondary reflected wave as the incident wave advances downstream. The second contact point at a single time instant is also seen to move closer to the triple point as one moves closer to the plane of symmetry. A shear layer is found cascading down the valley entrance wall. The secondary reflected wave of the Mach reflection off valley floor forms a semi-circular surface which contacts the floor just after the shear layer. The Mach reflection off the valley floor changes to regular reflection as the surface begins to climb up along the valley entrance wall. The conical valleys once again show similar reflection patterns as those found in the other valley geometries. As the incident wave interacts with both the wedge and valley surfaces two reflections occur. Regular reflection occurs off the wedge surface with the resulting primary reflected wave flowing over into the valley. This primary reflected wave contacts the incident shock at a second contact point in the valley. The reflection off the valley floor is regular close to the valley entrance wall changing to Mach reflection nearer the symmetry plane. The reflected wave from the Mach reflection forms the secondary reflected surface found beneath the primary reflected wave. The secondary reflected Mach wave changes to regular reflection as the surface nears the valley wall, with the reflection point travelling along the valley floor until coincident with the valley entrance wall, where it then travels along the entrance wall. The second contact point found on the incident wave is found above the triple point and moves down the incident shock to eventually coincide with the triple point. A weak shear layer is found to cascade down the valley entrance wall. A weak separation also occurs at the entry point of the valley. iv The three hill geometries, triangular, parabolic and conical, all display similar reflection patterns. As the incident wave advances downstream regular reflection occurs off both the wedge and hill surfaces. The reflected waves come together at a point off the surface. At this point a double triple point occurs with two resulting Mach stems. One Mach stem contacts the wedge surface while the other contacts the hill surface. The resulting double Mach stem surface wraps around the base of the hill getting progressively tighter the closer it gets to the incident wave. The only major differences between all three geometries is the shape of the resulting reflected wave off the hill surface (which tends to follow the same geometric shape as the hill) and the distance between the two triple points for the conical and parabolic hills tends to be larger than that found for the triangular hill.

A research report submitted to the faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Commerce (specialising in Taxation). Johannesburg - March, 2015 / Where Contracting States to a Double Taxation Agreement (DTA) refer to their respective domestic law concepts in respect of determining residence for purposes of a DTA, conflicting results may arise which can lead to double taxation and Contracting States being denied treaty relief. The interpretation of the concept of ‘Place of Effective Management’ as found in the residency tie-breaker clause in Art 4(3) of DTAs (based on the OECD Model Tax Convention on Income and Capital) used to resolve issues of dual-resident companies for purposes of applying the DTA, provides a pertinent example of a need for a common international understanding of treaty terms in order to avoid such potential conflicts. This paper explores how the term ‘Place of Effective Management’ should be interpreted in the above context by a South African court of law in order to conform to an internationally accepted meaning of the phrase.

A temática do duplo é assunto recorrente dentro da Literatura desde tempos primordiais, sendo encontrada nela diferentes formas de constituição da duplicidade. O presente trabalho tem como objetivo analisar as obras Amphytruo, do escritor latino Plauto e O Homem Duplicado, do escritor português José Saramago por meio da investigação do tema do duplo presente nas duas obras em questão. Dessa forma, o diálogo entre as obras se estabelece por meio do mito de Anfitrião, que é retomado pelos dois escritores transfigurado segundo a intenção de cada um. Nosso proposito é, amparados pela literatura comparada, investigar como o tema do duplo é tratado em cada obra, para qual direcionamento a crise identitária imanente em cada uma aponta e examinar quais mecanismos intertextuais cada escritor se vale para compor suas obras retomando/renovando seu protótipo. A análise das referidas obras tem, como apoio teórico, os estudos bakhtinianos sobre o dialogismo e os elementos intertextuais de acréscimo, supressão, inversão e deslocamento. Por meio da análise empreendida, verificamos como os autores retomam o tema do duplo para abordar a cisão da identidade dos sujeitos de suas épocas. Do estudo podemos apreender que a literatura clássica, por ser monolítica, não assume dimensões dramáticas, diferente da literatura moderna que atinge, com maior frequência, desfechos trágicos. / The theme of the double is recurring issue in the literature since early times, founding it up different forms of constitution of duplicity. This study aims to analyze the works Amphytruo, of the Latin writer Plautus and O Homem Duplicado, of the Portuguese writer Jose Saramago by investigating the theme of this double in the two works in question. Thus, the dialogue between the works is established through the myth of Host, which is taken up by two writers transfigured for the intentions of each. Our purpose is supported by comparative literature to investigate how the theme of the double is treated in each work, to which direction the immanent identity crisis points in each and examine what intertextual mechanisms each writer uses to create his works returning / renewing its prototype. The analysis of these works has as theoretical support, Bakhtin studies on dialogism and the intertextual elements of addition, deletion, inversion and displacement. Through this analysis, we examine how the authors take up the subject of the double to approach the identity split of the subjects of their times. From this study we learn that the classic literature, for being monolithic, does not assumes dramatic dimensions, unlike the modern literature which affects, more often, tragic endings.