Communication enables us to share our ideas, feelings, beliefs and opinions with others. Therefore it constitutes the very root of our civilization. However, in order for communication to be meaningful, it must initially be understood. To be understood, the message must be communicated in a language we know, with reasoning based on what we already understand (as knowledge). Definitions often function as such premises, and starting points, for our reasoning. Definitions can be explicit, but mostly appear as implicit argumentative perspectives, which is why this essay intends to investigate the argumentative nature of definitions. More specifically I have chosen to examine the definitions Amnesty International use in defense of their decision to advocate for the decriminalization of sex work more closely. The theoretical framework consists of rhetorical theories about argumentation. The results show how one, by analyzing definitions as argumentative perspectives, is able to alert problematic and questionable premises that went unnoticed in the overall examination of Amnesty Internationals argumentation.

Human memory systems have been divided into two broad domains, one responsible for 'declarative memory' and the other for 'non-declarative memory'. The evidence for multiple memory systems is reviewed with respect to the human SRT, a sensitive measure of non-declarative memory. A qualitative review of the human SRT literature concludes that damage to extrapyramidal brain systems disrupts SRT performance whereas limbic system neuropathology (LSN) leaves performance intact. However, a meta-analysis of the SRT literature with neuropathological patients revealed unexpectedly that patients with explicit memory disorders are impaired on the SRT task, although less severely than patients with extrapyramidal damage. Other evidence suggested that the apparent SRT impairment in humans with LSN might be due to the additional pathology (eg frontal) often evident in these patients. A brief review of the animal evidence for multiple memory systems concluded that, like humans, animals too have multiple memory systems but none of the animal tasks used to model non-declarative memory make good conceptual or behavioural contact with the corresponding human tasks. Thus a novel animal-analogue of the human-SRT task, the 'fan-maze', was developed. Although rats displayed a reasonable ability to perform the fan-maze SRT task it was abandoned due to technical and conceptual problems in favour of a better design. The second new SRT task used intra-cranial self-stimulation to promote prolonged, rapid and continuous responding. A control study determined that the optimal conditions for sequence learning was a single large (2820 trial) session. Intact rats that experienced a switch from the repeating to a random sequence under these conditions demonstrated a clear interference effect, the primary measure of SRT performance. A lesion study used these optimal conditions and showed that small caudate lesions impaired, whereas small hippocampal lesions facilitated, rat-SRT performance. Hence, this second task has proven to be a valid animal-analogue of the human SRT task, as rats performed it in a manner similar to that shown by humans and relied on the same neural substrate to perform the task as humans. In addition, this second task resolved the discrepancy of the LSN meta-analysis. Quantitative findings are reviewed in light of theories and studies presented earlier in the thesis. Limitations of the thesis are identified and suggestions are made as to future SRT research in animals or humans.

Human memory systems have been divided into two broad domains, one responsible for 'declarative memory' and the other for 'non-declarative memory'. The evidence for multiple memory systems is reviewed with respect to the human SRT, a sensitive measure of non-declarative memory. A qualitative review of the human SRT literature concludes that damage to extrapyramidal brain systems disrupts SRT performance whereas limbic system neuropathology (LSN) leaves performance intact. However, a meta-analysis of the SRT literature with neuropathological patients revealed unexpectedly that patients with explicit memory disorders are impaired on the SRT task, although less severely than patients with extrapyramidal damage. Other evidence suggested that the apparent SRT impairment in humans with LSN might be due to the additional pathology (eg frontal) often evident in these patients. A brief review of the animal evidence for multiple memory systems concluded that, like humans, animals too have multiple memory systems but none of the animal tasks used to model non-declarative memory make good conceptual or behavioural contact with the corresponding human tasks. Thus a novel animal-analogue of the human-SRT task, the 'fan-maze', was developed. Although rats displayed a reasonable ability to perform the fan-maze SRT task it was abandoned due to technical and conceptual problems in favour of a better design. The second new SRT task used intra-cranial self-stimulation to promote prolonged, rapid and continuous responding. A control study determined that the optimal conditions for sequence learning was a single large (2820 trial) session. Intact rats that experienced a switch from the repeating to a random sequence under these conditions demonstrated a clear interference effect, the primary measure of SRT performance. A lesion study used these optimal conditions and showed that small caudate lesions impaired, whereas small hippocampal lesions facilitated, rat-SRT performance. Hence, this second task has proven to be a valid animal-analogue of the human SRT task, as rats performed it in a manner similar to that shown by humans and relied on the same neural substrate to perform the task as humans. In addition, this second task resolved the discrepancy of the LSN meta-analysis. Quantitative findings are reviewed in light of theories and studies presented earlier in the thesis. Limitations of the thesis are identified and suggestions are made as to future SRT research in animals or humans.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-05-15T11:46:17Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 1343739 bytes, checksum: 4f7caf2526432672d390fda34f536365 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-02-20 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / In this work we study the first order partial differential equations on the neighborhood of an isolated zero. Using the classification of singular points put by Izumiya in [27] and [28], we study the multiplicity of such equations introduced in [15]. When the first order partial differential equation defines an implicit differential equation, the definition of multiplicity coincides with the notion of multiplicity introduced by Bruce and Tari in [21]. We will also study the invariance of this multiplicity by smooth equivalence. / Neste trabalho estudaremos as equações diferenciais parciais de primeira ordem em uma vizinhança de um zero isolado. Utilizando a classificação de pontos singulares apresentada por Izumiya em [27] e [28], estudaremos a multiplicidade de tais equações, introduzidas em [15]. Quando a equação diferencial parcial de primeira ordem define uma equação diferencial implícita, a definição de multiplicidade coincide com a noção de multiplicidade introduzida por Bruce e Tari em [21]. Estudaremos também a invariância dessa multiplicidade por equivalência suave.

The thesis assesses measurements of the VAT efficiency. It compares the tax quota, implicit tax rate and VAT revenue ratio. The first chapter deals with theoretical foundations for a flat rate consumption tax. Following chapters discuss the perquisites for VAT efficiency calculations (comparing actual VAT revenue and theoretical amount of tax base). Following chapters assess the above mentioned calculations, with special respect to VAT Revenue Ratio, which is analyzed in detail and to which is presented a comparison across the EU countries. The thesis further analyses Policy Efficiency Ratio (policy gap) and Compliance Efficiency Ratio (compliance gap). In its conclusion it summarizes the information gathered and presents a number of possible improvements.