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<p>I seek to answer a specific question of justice: namely, how to find an equitable division of the Earth’s capacity to absorb greenhouse gases, here termed as the global carbon sink. The dominant approach to date has been a variation of equal per-capita emissions. My aim is to expand on the Rawlsian legacy by presenting a viable alternative to the dominant approach in the form of an adaptation of Rawls’s <em>difference principle </em>in the form of a <em>climatic difference principle</em>. The climatic difference principle takes the conceptual idea behind the difference principle – of justifying inequalities so long as they result in a compensating benefit for everyone, with a particular concern for the least advantaged – and applying it to the problem of how to divide the global carbon sink.</p> <p>I begin with a critique of the dominant approach in order rectify the lack of critical scrutiny that the scheme has enjoyed in order to illustrate that the scheme fails for two reasons: first, it violates the ideal that it purports to promote; second, the reasons to support the proposal rest on shallow, rather than deep, reasons alone. Next, I engage in a critique of past attempts to globalize the difference principle, for if it were possible to merely globalize the difference principle, we wouldn’t need a distinct principle to guide emissions allocations.</p> <p>The climatic difference principle itself takes the distributive outcomes of equal per-capita emissions, as measured on the Human Development Index (HDI), as a baseline to judge alternative schemes. My conjecture is that the way emissions are used will have an effect on the amount of net benefits that we can derive per unit of the global carbon sink. Shares of the global carbon sink can be used more or less efficiently, and incentives in the form of a greater share of the sink will spur technological innovation. However, Rawls was correct to insist that the most efficient scheme is not necessarily just.</p> <p>A division of the global sink is considered <em>just </em>if we can compensate everyone (in particular the least advantaged) for accepting an unequal share. Specifically, when judged by improvements from the baseline created by the distributive outcomes of equal per-capita emissions, as measured on the Human Development Index (HDI). In order to realize the distributive obligations of the climatic difference principle, a green-technology transfer program will be advanced along with other forms of aid and compensation.</p> / Master of Philosophy (MA)

<p> The optimal temperature and catalyst renewal policies which maximize the average profit over a free time period in a tubular reactor with uniform temperature and decaying catalyst for a single irreversible reaction, are sought.</p> <p> In addition, the optimal initial catalyst activity and the optimal total time have been studied.</p> <p> A numerical procedure together with theoretical developments is used to solve the problem for a more general performance index (average profit function) which takes into account the value of the desired product, the cost for the regeneration of the catalyst and the cost of the fresh catalyst.</p> <p> The problem is treated in the format of Pontryagin's Maximum Principle.</p> / Thesis / Master of Engineering (MEngr)

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of context-dependency of seductive details on recall and transfer in multimedia learning environments. Two experiments were conducted. In Experiment 1, the purpose was to identify context-dependent vs. context-independent seductive details in a lightning animation. Seductive details were considered as interesting yet irrelevant sentences in the narration of lightning animation. Sixty-seven undergraduate students participated in Experiment 1 and assigned interestingness scores to the 28 content irrelevant sentences. Participants were assigned to two different groups, context-dependent seductive details group (CDSD) and context-independent seductive details group (CISD). Participants in the CDSD group assigned interestingness scores after watching a lightning animation to be familiarized with the context of lightning formation. Participants in the CISD group watched a historical inquiry animation as a distraction task before assigning interestingness scores. The results of Experiment 1 revealed that 13 of 28 sentences in the lightning formation text were seductive details according to participants of the study. Ultimately, 6 of the 13 seductive details were determined to be context-dependent and 7 were determined to be seductive details were context-independent. The purpose of Experiment 2 was to investigate the effects of context-dependency of seductive details on recall and transfer in multimedia learning environments. Undergraduate students (n = 184) were randomly assigned into four groups. Participants in all groups watched a lightning animation, and performed a recall and a transfer task. The first group watched an animation that did not include any seductive details. The second group watched the animation with context-dependent seductive details only. The third group watched the animation with context-independent seductive details only. The last group watched the animation with both types of seductive details. A 2x2 ANOVA for both recall and transfer, and contrast analyses were conducted to determine the effects of context-dependency of seductive details on recall and transfer. The results indicated that there was no significant effect of context-dependency of seductive details on recall or transfer. The findings are discussed in the context of the related literature and directions for future research are suggested. / Ph. D.

The focused-attention dichotic listening technique was used to investigate auditory-linguistic and hemi-attentional asymmetries in reading-disabled (RD) and non reading-disabled (nonRD) children. Subjects were defined as RD according to a statistical formula which determined whether IQ and reading achievement scores were significantly discrepant. None of the subjects evidenced hyperactivity and attentional problems according to teacher ratings of behavior. Although both groups showed a right ear advantage (REA) for the consonant-vowel dichotic syllables under standard non-focused conditions, the RD group showed a weaker REA. When instructed to attend to the right side, the RD group accentuated their REA while the nonRD group did not. A ceiling effect was suggested as a possible reason for the nonRD group's lack of REA accentuation. When instructed to attend to the left ear, the nonRD group attenuated their REA, but the RD group did not. Based on the effects of the attentional instructions on the dichotic listening task and performance on other measures, the findings were interpreted as suggesting left hemisphere linguistic and right hemisphere hemi-attentional dysfunction in the RD group. / M.S.

The cosmologist Dennis W. Sciama (1926-1999) was a long-standing advocate of the steady state model of the universe. This theory, originally proposed in 1948 by Hermann Bondi, Thomas Gold, and Fred Hoyle, suggested that the universe was eternal, and unchanging on the largest scales. Contrary to the popular image of a scientist as a dispassionate, unbiased investigator of nature, Sciama fervently hoped the steady state model to be correct. In addition, and also pace the stereotypical image of a scientist, Sciama was motivated significantly by "extrascientific" or aesthetic factors in his adoption of the model. Finally, Sciama, in a stark contrast to the naive falsificationism usually presented as a virtue of the "scientific method," went through a several-year period of attempting to "save" the model from hostile data. However, Sciama abandoned the model in 1966 due to increasingly reliable data relating to the distribution of quasars. Thus the Sciama case also stands as a counterexample to irrationalist criticisms of science, according to which scientists can and will always find ways to hold on to their "pet" theories until they die, regardless of contradictory data. Sciama's conversion also sheds light on the iterative process that goes on as scientists localize and attempt to repair faults in their theories. / Ph. D.

The dissertation focuses on the nonlinear Schrodinger equation iu_t+u_{xx}+kappa|u|^2u =0, for the complex-valued function u=u(x,t) with domain t>=0, 0<=x<= L, where the parameter kappa is any non-zero real number. It is shown that the problem is locally and globally well-posed for appropriate initial data and the solution exponentially decays to zero as t goes to infinity under the boundary conditions u(0,t) = beta u(L,t) and beta u_x(0,t)-u_x(L,t) = ialpha u(0,t), where L>0, and alpha and beta are any real numbers satisfying alpha*beta<0 and beta does not equal 1 or -1. Moreover, the numerical study of controllability problem for the nonlinear Schrodinger equations is given. It is proved that the finite-difference scheme for the linear Schrodinger equation is uniformly boundary controllable and the boundary controls converge as the step sizes approach to zero. It is then shown that the discrete version of the nonlinear case is boundary null-controllable by applying the fixed point method. From the new results, some open questions are presented. / Ph. D.

The thesis consists of two parts. The first part discusses the initial value problem of a fifth-order Korteweg-de Vries type of equation w_t + w_xxx - w_xxxxx - ⁿ&#8721;_j=1 a_jw^jw_x = 0, w(x, 0) = w₀(x) posed on a periodic domain x &#8712; [0, 2&#960;] with boundary conditions w_ix(0, t) = w_ix(2&#960;, t), i = 0, 2, 3, 4 and an L²-stabilizing feedback control law w_x(2&#960;, t) = &#945;w_x(0, t) + (1 - &#945;)w_xxx(0; t) where n is a fixed positive integer, a_j, j = 1, 2, ... n, &#945; are real constants, and |&#945;| < 1. It is shown that for w₀(x) &#8712; H¹_&#945;(0, 2&#960;) with the boundary conditions described above, the problem is locally well-posed for w &#8712; C([0, T]; H¹_&#945;(0, 2&#960;)) with a conserved volume of w, [w] = &#8747;^2&#960;₀ w(x, t)dx. Moreover, the solution with small initial condition exists globally and approaches to [w₀(x)]/(2&#960;) as t &#8594; + &#8734;. The second part concerns wave motions on water in a rectangular basin with a wave generator mounted on a side wall. The linear governing equations are used and it is assumed that the surface tension on the free surface is not zero. Two types of generators are considered, flexible and rigid. For the flexible case, it is shown that the system is exactly controllable. For the rigid case, the system is not exactly controllable in a finite-time interval. However, it is approximately controllable. The stability problem of the system with the rigid generator controlled by a static feedback is also studied and it is proved that the system is strongly stable for this case. / Ph. D.

The international liner shipping industry has been undergoing major structural changes caused by a number of factors. Liner companies have responded to these challenges by engaging in mergers and acquisitions and by forming global strategic alliances. Many of these organizational changes have reportedly been undertaken to achieve, among other things, economies of scale. This paper systematically addresses two questions — whether there are economies of scale in international liner shipping, and if so, what are the implications of those economies for industry structure. To determine whether scale advantages exist, George Stigler's "Survivorship Principle" is used with current data in three phases. All three phases of the study show that increasing returns to scale are present. In each application of the survivorship test, small and medium sized firms experienced significant decline in their share of the industry's capacity, while the largest firms continued to gain market share over the 20-year test period. The existence of economies of scale at both the firm and plant level is most pronounced during the shorter 1987-1997 period, subsequent to significant regulatory changes. The study empirically verifies that economies of scale in liner shipping have been increasing in response to technology-driven productivity growth, regulatory changes, and higher world-wide trade flows. The pursuit of economies of scale also appears to be contributing to the consolidation occurring in the industry today via both mergers and acquisitions, and the formation of global strategic alliances. Lastly, the study discusses the implications of economies of scale on firm structure within the context of current industry economics, and evaluates business strategies presently being pursued. / Master of Arts

No / The naturally occurring bitter principle quassin (1) was converted chemically into the gamma-lactone quassilactone (13) in an attempt to enhance its antiplasmodial activity. The in vitro antiplasmodial activity of 13 against Plasmodium falciparum (K1) (IC(50) = 23 microM) was 40-fold greater than that of 1. However, one of the intermediates, compound 8, the 15beta-hydroxy,16-O-m-chlorobenzoyl analogue of 1, was 506-fold more active than 1 against P. falciparum (IC(50) = 1.8 microM) and only 3-fold less potent than chloroquine. In addition, 8 displayed the best cytotoxic/antiplasmodial ratio (112) of all of the compounds tested. In the course of this work a dimer, neoquassin ether (6), linked at C-16 was also prepared; 6 was found to have weak antiplasmodial activity (IC(50) = 9.7 microM).