Perfect simulations are methods, which convert suitable Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithms into algorithms which return exact draws from the target distribution, instead of approximations based on long-time convergence to equilibrium. In recent years a lot of various perfect simulation algorithms were developed. This work provides a unified exposition of some perfect simulation algorithms with applications to spatial point processes, especially to the Strauss process and area-interaction process. Described algorithms and their properties are compared theoretically and also by a simulation study.

This paper explores the issues underlying the Scott v. Canada veteran class action lawsuit. In particular it seeks to provide context to these issues by examining the cultural and legal structure of the Canadian military, the historic developments of veteran benefits in Canada, and the difficulties veterans face navigating the institutions that disseminate these benefits. The Scott v. Canada veteran class action lawsuit was launched against the Federal Government in 2012, in response to the Canadian Forces Members and Veterans Re-establishment and Compensation Act (the “New Veterans Charter”), which replaced the disability pension regime for many Canadian Forces Members and veterans under the Pension Act. / Graduate

Terra Mirabilis is a three-movement musical composition for symphony orchestra with piano solo inspired by natural landscapes photographed by the composer. The three movement composition and its corresponding landscapes portray three times of a day: early morning (I. The Mists), evening (II. Oceanus), and late night (III. Nocturne). Each chapter is devoted to the discussion of one movement, wherein overall concept and form are addressed, followed by detailed analyses of harmonic structure, motivic and thematic development, orchestration, and representational elements. As a complement to the score and the text, a CD-R audio recording of orchestral mock-ups accompanies this dissertation.

ABSTRACT This study focuses on twenty-one particular texts published in 1925 as contemporaries of The Great Gatsby. The manuscript is divided into four categories—The Impressionists, The Experimentalists, The Realists, and The Independents. Among The Impressionists are F. Scott Fitzgerald himself, Willa Cather (The Professor’s House), Sherwood Anderson (Dark Laughter), William Carlos Williams (In the American Grain), Elinor Wylie (The Venetian Glass Nephew), John Dos Passos (Manhattan Transfer), and William Faulkner (New Orleans Sketches). The Experimentalists are Gertrude Stein (The Making of Americans), E. E. Cummings (& aka “Poems 48-96”), Ezra Pound (A Draft of XVI Cantos), T. S. Eliot (“The Hollow Men”), Laura Riding (“Summary for Alastor”), and John Erskine (The Private Life of Helen of Troy). The Realists are Theodore Dreiser (An American Tragedy), Edith Wharton (The Mother’s Recompense), Upton Sinclair (Mammonart), Ellen Glasgow (Barren Ground), Sinclair Lewis (Arrowsmith), James Boyd (Drums), and Ernest Hemingway (In Our Time). The Independents are Archibald MacLeish (The Pot of Earth) and Robert Penn Warren (“To a Face in a Crowd”). Although these twenty-two texts may in some cases represent literary fragmentations, each in its own way also represents a coherent response to the spirit of the times that is in one way or another cognate to The Great Gatsby. The fact that all these works appeared the same year is special because the authors, if not already famous, would become famous, and their works were or would come to represent classic American literature around the world. The twenty-two authors either knew each other personally or knew each other’s works. Naturally, they were also influenced by writings of international authors and philosophers. The greatest common elements among the poets and fiction writers are their uninhibited interest in sex, an absorbing cynicism about life, and the frequent portrayal of disintegration of the family, a trope for what had happened to the countries and to the “family of nations” that experienced the Great War. In 1925, it would seem, Fitzgerald and many of his writing peers—some even considered his betters—channeled a major spirit of the times, and Fitzgerald did it more successfully than almost anyone.

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Frauen- und Geschlechtergeschichte' untersucht die Rolle von Frauen in der Vergangenheit und der Geschichtsschreibung, hebt sie als Handelnde hervor und dekonstruiert die binäre Geschlechterordnung, die seit dem 19. Jahrhundert zunehmend Eingang in die Geschichtswissenschaft gefunden hat. Der Beitrag gibt einen Überblick über die Genese dieser Disziplin in der Nachkriegszeit, ihren bis in die Gegenwart bestehenden emanzipatorischen Charakter sowie über die 'nützliche Kategorie Gender' (Scott) und ihre Interaktion mit anderen Wissensfeldern.

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The productivity advances generated from lean manufacturing are self-evident. Plants that adopt lean are more capable of achieving high levels of quality, shorter lead times, and less waste in the system. While it seems logical that higher levels of productivity and quality, as is common in lean companies, should result in positive financial performance, the research community has failed to establish the financial profitability of lean. Those researchers who have studied the financial returns issue report varying results. The goal of this research was to determine if a connection exists between lean and financial success and to discover why so many researchers are finding mixed results. Information Velocity (IV) was theorized to provide the solidifying link between lean and financial performance. Measured by combining the environmental volatility with a company's leanness, IV measures how fast a company can transmit information from the market into a customer-satisfying product in the hands of the consumer. This study analyzed over 530 publicly-traded manufacturing companies to validate the following hypotheses: 1) there is a positive relationship between leanness and financial returns, 2) there is a negative relationship between environmental volatility and financial returns, and 3) there is a positive relationship between IV and financial returns. Regression models were run in various combinations to determine the effect of lean, environmental instability, environmental unpredictability, and IV on financial performance indicators such as return on sales (ROS), return on assets (ROA), and quarter-closing stock price. The outcome of this study showed that financial rewards do result from lean, which positively affected financial performance in almost all scenarios. Environmental instability always negatively correlated with financial returns, and IV mostly shows a positive effect, but with mixed results. Lastly, IV does not explain why researchers find mixed results on the profitability measures of lean. The results of this thesis highlight the significance of implementing lean manufacturing, especially in a dynamic environment. As the instability in the environment increases, profitability decreases. Therefore, an increase in leanness by boosting inventory turns can compensate for the volatility and create enhanced productivity measures and financial results.

Over the course of the last few years, a new movement has taken the American political system by storm, the Tea Party. The movement has not only captivated our media but also the minds of ordinary Americans and political elites. According to popular consensus and academic opinion, the Tea Party is comprised of a group of conservative-leaning Republicans who want a smaller government and a lesser tax burden. This is what we think of the Tea Party, but is it true? It is perceived that Tea Party members differ significantly from their Republican colleagues in the House of Representatives, but do they? Do they truly represent the Tea Party philosophy and agenda? By creating an original data set on the Republican members of the United States House of Representatives, and examining variables such as the political lean, economic and employment make-up of a member's district, their endorsements and incumbency, as well as high priority legislative votes from the 112th Congress, I will be able to investigate the characteristics and tendencies of Tea Party Caucus members. Once one looks at the 242 member House Republican Caucus and further examines the sixty members of the Tea Party Caucus, the data shows that Tea Party Caucus members largely originate from safe Republican districts and have served in previous congressional terms. Analysis shows that Tea Party Caucus members do vary significantly from their House Republican colleagues when examining their districts, but do not vary as considerably when examining their voting patterns.