Call number: LD2668 .T4 1979 F35 / Master of Science

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1979 G44 / Master of Science

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1979 W57 / Master of Science

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1984 L624 / Master of Science

LD2668 .T4 1962 L66

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1965 K17 / Master of Science

Many contemporary philosophers are committed – either implicitly or explicitly – to Propositionalism about thought-experimental intuitions. According to this view, thought-experimental intuitions are (1) phenomenally conscious, (2) spontaneous, (3) and non-theoretical; most importantly, Propositionalists claim that intuitions (4) bear consciously accessible propositional content. The negative project of this essay is a critique of (4), the rejection of which is tantamount to rejecting Propositionalism. In addition, I propose an alternative position – namely, Interpretationalism. According to Interpretationalism, intuitions possess the features ascribed in (1)-(3); however, they do not bear consciously accessible propositional content. Instead, intuitions acquire cognitive significance by virtue of being interpreted in light of a subject’s background beliefs.

Thesis (MSc)--Stellenbosch University, 2004. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: A series of di- and mono-substituted acyl(aroyl) thioureas were examined for the extraction and transportation of Au(III). Two-phase metal ion extraction experiments were employed to investigate the extraction behaviour of these ligands. The effect of varying ligand concentration on the extraction trend of these ligands was investigated. The results show that the different substituent groups on the benzoyl ring can affect the extraction pattern of the metal. Furthermore, the alkyl substituents on the thiourea moiety and varying the ligand concentration have an influence on the percentage of metal ion extracted. With the exception of the H2L2(N,N-di-propyl-N'- benzoylthiourea ) ligand the di-alkyl substituted thioureas were more efficient for the metal ion extraction than the mono-alkyl ligands. In almost all the experimental set ups there was reduction of the Au(lIl) to Au(l) and Au(O) but it was more pronounced with HL3 (N,N-di-(2-hydroxyethyl)-N'-benzoylthiourea). Transport experiments were also conducted, the experimental set up for transportation was a concentric type cell involving a 3-phase system - 2 aqueous phases ( source and receiving phase) separated by a chloroform membrane incorporating the ligand. The transport results however only gave a satisfactory result of about 5% of gold transported by the HL1 (N,N-dibutyl-N'-benzoylthiourea). All other ligands attempted resulted in metal ion being present in the organic phase, but no metal ion present in the receiving phase. To help drive the transport of the metal ion to the receiving phase CN-, S203 2- and perchloric acid were incorporated into the receiving phase. The transport results were not enhanced with these substances being present in the aqueous receiving phase. The aqueous source and receiving phases were analyzed by flame atomic absorption spectroscopy (FAAS). Finally the N,N-diethyl-N'-camphanoylthiourea (HL10) ligand and its complex with Au(l) were synthesised. Single crystals of the complex were grown for X-ray crystallography and the crystal and molecular structure of the complex was determined. The complex crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P21. The cell parameters are a = 10.7356(7)A b = 16.3443(11)A c = 10.9268(7)A f3 = 103.1450(10t , and final R-factor of 1.76%. The coordination sphere around Au(l) shows a nearly linear arrangement of sulphur and chloride. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In hierdie proefskrif is In aantal mono- en di-gesubstitueerde asiel(ariel) thioureums ondersoek vir die transportasie en ekstraksie van Au(III). Twee-fase metaalioon vloeistof-vloeistof ekstraksie eksperimente is gebruik om die ekstraksie patroon van hierdie ligande te ondersoek. Die effek van verskillende ligand konsentrasies op die ekstraksie neiging van hierdie ligande is ondersoek. Resultate toon dat die verskillende substituente op die benziel ring die ekstraksie patroon van die metaalioon beïnvloed. Verder, is gevind dat die alkiel substituente op die thioureum saam met varierende ligand konsentrasies geensins die metaalioon ekstraksie beïnvloed nie. Met die uitsondering van H2L2 (N,N-dipropiel-N'-benzielthioureum) is die di-alkiel gesubstitueerde ligande meer effektief vir metaalioon ekstraksie in vergelyking met die mono-alkiel ligande. In baie van die eksperimente is In reduksie van Au(llI) na Au(l) en Au(O) gesien en dit is baie duidelik met ligand HL3 (N,N-di(2- hidroksie-etiel)N'-benzielthioureum). Alle waterige fases is ge-analiseer met gebruik van Atoomabsorpsie Spektroskopie (AAS). Transportasie eksperimente is ook uitgevoer met gebruik van In drie-fase selsisteem. Twee waterige fases (bron- en ontvang-fase) is geskei met die chloroform membraan fase wat die ligande bevat. Hierdie eksperimente het net In 5% Au(lll) transportasie getoon met HL1(N,N-dibutiel-N'-benzielthioureum). Daar was geen transportasie van Au(lIl) met enige van die ander ligande. Analise van die twee waterige fases het getoon dat die metaalioon eindelik goed ge-ekstraeer is en is teenwoordig in die membraan fase. Om die transportasie van Au(lIl) aan te spoor, is CN-, s2ol- en perchloorsuur in die ontvang-fase geinkorporeer. Die resultate was geensins beïnvloed nie. N,N-di-etiel-N'-kamfonielthioureum (HL10)ligande en die kompleks daarvan met Au(l) is ook gesintetiseer. Enkel-kristalle van die kompleks is verkry en X-straal kristallografiese analiese is onderneem. Hierdie kompleks kristalliseer in die monokliniese ruimtegroep P21,met a =10.7356(7)Á, b=16.3443(11)Á, c=10.9268(7)Á en ~=103.1450(10t. Die finale R-faktor is 1.76%. Die koordinasie om Au(l) toon In liniêre geometrie met swael en chloor.

This dissertation includes three chapters that utilize experimental methods to answer questions relating to social choices. Social choice is a broad category that can incorporate an individual’s choices when it comes to charitable giving, providing a public good or creating externalities through one’s choices. In the first chapter “To Be or Not To Be Corrupt: An Experimental Study on Bribery” I designed a modified version of the bribery game used in Abbink et al. (2002) to study whether information on the prevalence of bribery activity within the experimental environment has an effect on behavior. In addition it also tests whether this prevalence effect can be reduced by implementing a strict punishment. In the second chapter “Can Cooperative Behavior Improve Efficiency in Public Good Provision?” laboratory experiments are used to test whether information about the cooperative behavior of the group members in a trust game affects contribution to a public good game. The first part of the design utilizes a trust game to measure the cooperative behavior of the subjects. This information is provided in the public goods game to see if there is an effect on contributions. The essay also looks at if there is an effect on contribution, and if that effect lasts over time or it merges towards a selfish-man equilibrium of no contribution. The third chapter “Means and Ends in Charitable Giving for Environmental Protection: A Discussion” conducts a discussion on the charitable giving literature related to environmental charities and builds a simple model of warm glow to show that the attributes of an environmental charity may affect giving. The model can also be used to consider attributes on how the money is used. For example, whether there is a difference when a market-based mechanism like Payment for Environmental Services (PES) is used versus more traditional mechanism like education on alternative livelihood. It then proposes a possible design for a field experiment to test the hypotheses.

In this thesis we focus on Stochastic combinatorial Optimization Problems (SCOPs), a wide class of combinatorial optimization problems under uncertainty, where part of the information about the problem data is unknown at the planning stage, but some knowledge about its probability distribution is assumed. Optimization problems under uncertainty are complex and difficult, and often classical algorithmic approaches based on mathematical and dynamic programming are able to solve only very small problem instances. For this reason, in recent years metaheuristic algorithms such as Ant Colony Optimization, Evolutionary Computation, Simulated Annealing, Tabu Search and others, are emerging as successful alternatives to classical approaches. In this thesis, metaheuristics that have been applied so far to SCOPs are introduced and the related literature is thoroughly reviewed. In particular, two properties of metaheuristics emerge from the survey: they are a valid alternative to exact classical methods for addressing real-sized SCOPs, and they are flexible, since they can be quite easily adapted to solve different SCOPs formulations, both static and dynamic. On the base of the current literature, we identify the following as the key open issues in solving SCOPs via metaheuristics: (1) the design and integration of ad hoc, fast and effective objective function approximations inside the optimization algorithm; (2) the estimation of the objective function by sampling when no closed-form expression for the objective function is available, and the study of methods to reduce the time complexity and noise inherent to this type of estimation; (3) the characterization of the efficiency of metaheuristic variants with respect to different levels of stochasticity in the problem instances. We investigate the above issues by focusing in particular on a SCOP belonging to the class of vehicle routing problems: the Probabilistic Traveling Salesman Problem (PTSP). For the PTSP, we consider the Ant Colony Optimization metaheuristic and we design efficient local search algorithms that can enhance its performance. We obtain state-of-the-art algorithms, but we show that they are effective only for instances above a certain level of stochasticity, otherwise it is more convenient to solve the problem as if it were deterministic. The algorithmic variants based on an estimation of the objective function by sampling obtain worse results, but qualitatively have the same behavior of the algorithms based on the exact objective function, with respect to the level of stochasticity. Moreover, we show that the performance of algorithmic variants based on ad hoc approximations is strongly correlated with the absolute error of the approximation, and that the effect on local search of ad hoc approximations can be very degrading. Finally, we briefly address another SCOP belonging to the class of vehicle routing problems: the Vehicle Routing Problem with Stochastic Demands (VRPSD). For this problem, we have implemented and tested several metaheuristics, and we have studied the impact of integrating in them different ad hoc approximations.