This study attempts to demonstrate that there is a new turn in Collingwood's philosophy of history in and after 1935 and that this new turn is the result of Collingwood working out his theory of absolute presuppositions in the early 1930's. Collingwood's unpublished manuscripts are examined in order to assist us in justifying this claim. A clarification of the theory of absolute presuppositions follows our attempt to situate this theory in Collingwood's intellectual development. After arguing that absolute presuppositions are logico-regulative entities, we suggest that Collingwood is a foundationalist in a unique sense and that he can solve the problem of conceptual change in consistently rational terms. Although we argue against the view that there are radical discontinuities in his thought, we contend that Collingwood's principles of metaphysics, uncovered in the early 1930's, throw new light on his analysis of history in The Idea Of History. We argue that absolute presuppositions underlie all attempts at a theory of historical explanation. We attempt to show that absolute presuppositions logically regulate the historical imagination and that the historical imagination has changed over time as the result of absolute presuppositions changing. We argue that there is a logico-regulative relationship of absolute presuppositions to historical evidence over time. We also argue that it is necessary to account for Collingwood's acceptance of the incommensurate thesis in 1925 and his rejection of this thesis in 1936 for question-and-answer complexes. We claim that it was Collingwood's newly uncovered principles of metaphysics in the early 1930's that account for his about-face on the subject of rethinking question-and-answer complexes. Collingwood still accepted the incommensurate thesis for contexts of irrmediacy, and so his new position was not a radical change, but his principles of metaphysics did provide a ground or basis for the possibility of re-thinking an identical questionand- answer complex. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

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Studying the effectiveness of environmental policies is of primary importance to address the unsustainable use of resources that threatens the entire society. Thus, the aim of this paper is to investigate on the effectiveness of environmental policy instruments to decouple waste generation and landfilling from economic growth. In order to do so, the paper analyzes the case study of the Slovakian municipality of Palarikovo, which has drastically improved its waste management system between 2000 and 2012, through the utilization of differentiated waste taxes and awareness-raising and education campaigns, as well as targeting increased recycling and municipal composting. We find evidence of absolute decoupling for landfilled waste and waste generation, the latter being more limited in time and magnitude. These policy instruments could therefore play an important role in municipalities that are still lagging behind in waste management. More specifically, this policy mix was effective in moving away from landfilling, initiating recycling systems, and to some extent decreasing waste generation. Yet, a more explicit focus on waste prevention will be needed to address the entirety of the problem effectively. (author's abstract)

Subjects were presented with choices between stimuli which differed along some dimension.The present study investigates whether a relational or absolute theory best predicts the results in a transposition situation.

The problem of absolute or positive pitch has been studied by a considerable number of researchers. This cannot be said, however, for the problem of the element of tempo, or the normal speed of the true beat in music. The reason for this probably lies in the fact that absolute pitch can be measured quite accurately, for it is dependent upon the anatomy and physiology of the ear. On the other hand, a means whereby the innate pulse in music can be externalized so as to be capable of exact expression and measure in number, presents a challenge to those interested in further investigation of this phenomenon.

Cette thèse a pour objet le rapport d’Aragon à la croyance à travers l’examen de son oeuvre poétique, du Crève-coeur au Fou d’Elsa. Si l’engagement n’est pas son unique expression, l’amour fonctionnant comme pôle d’attraction complémentaire, le besoin de croire a trouvé dans la rencontre avec le communisme une incarnation à la fois providentielle et problématique, qui met l’oeuvre à l’épreuve. Après avoir analysé la façon dont la « rupture de cadre » due à la guerre permet à Aragon de renouer avec la poésie, vecteur privilégié d’une foi polymorphe qu’elle reflète autant qu’elle l’alimente, on voit le poète prendre pleinement la mesure de son rôle et endosser la posture hugolienne du prophète, assignant à l’écriture une vocation pragmatique très forte tout en faisant fond sur un syncrétisme éblouissant qui mêle constamment références religieuses et enjeux politiques de défense nationale. Cette période effervescente se clôt avec l’entrée dans la Guerre froide, qui se caractérise par une démarche gestionnaire des emblèmes plus spécifiquement communistes et la dégradation du poème en catéchèse, sur fond de dénégation de la crise de la croyance. C’est en affrontant poétiquement cette crise, en faisant place aux étranglements de la voix, que Le Roman inachevé peut la surmonter, livrant un constat lacunaire et ambivalent sur la perte de l’utopie. Le tournant mystique pris par Le Fou d’Elsa permet de figurer par le destin de Grenade la tragédie de l’Histoire et de préserver, au prix de la déréalisation de l’objet aimé, la passion d’un absolu désormais orphelin de toute incarnation politique. / This doctoral thesis explores the complex set of beliefs espoused by Louis Aragon in his poetical oeuvre from Le Crève-coeur to Le Fou d'Elsa. He drew his inspiration from love and the support for the communist cause. Aragon's life-long commitment to communism was providential and problematic - it put his literary prowess to the test. This thesis examines how the second world war marked a turning point in his life and how it prompted him to resume writing poems. He became a prophet who relentlessly paced his quarterdeck bellowing hugolian stanzas that combined religious references with national politics. In his poems the captain-prophet spelt out the grammar of the all-encompassing communist militant. Aragon then rethinks the role of the poem and transcends its limitations, his aesthetics being based on efficiency. These times came to an end with the advent of the cold war during which he doggedly preached the gospel of communism. His poems recited the catechism and painted the glorious emblems of his faith. He confronted the crisis as a poet and overcame it in Le Roman inachevé by denouncing in an ambivalent whisper the demise of the utopian ideal. In Le Fou d'Elsa Aragon mustered his mystical powers to reveal the tragic dimension of History through the ordeal and fall of Grenada. He was intent on preserving and reaffirming the preeminence of the passionate search for an absolute now devoid of any political motive.

Absolute value has often been taught procedurally. Many students struggle with solving absolute value equations and inequalities because they do not have an understanding of the underlying concepts. This study was designed to determine to what extent solving absolute value equations and inequalities by using the concept of distance on a number line is an effective method. The claim is that if students use the distance concept on a number line, they will develop the necessary conceptual understanding in addition to just a procedural knowledge that will lead to the success with and flexibility in the use of strategies for more challenging problems. The following questions were addressed in this study: How and to what extent can using a number line develop a conceptual understanding of absolute value equations and inequalities? What solution strategies do students tend to use to solve absolute value equations and inequalities? Does the strategy depend on the complexity of the problem? To what extent do they exhibit flexibility in their use of strategies? What extensions are students able to make? What misconceptions do they have? In this study, lessons and assessments were implemented based on the “best practice” of using multiple representations with a focus on conceptual understanding of absolute value. The lessons were consistent with current content standards. Students completed a pre and post assessment, and some students were selected to participate in a 15 minute interview based on their responses from their assessments. The results were analyzed qualitatively and show that students struggled with remembering the procedure for solving absolute value equations and inequalities. The results also show that students were more successful when using the distance concept on a number line.

There has been considerable controversy and debate over recent years about the most appropriate method of measuring poverty. This debate has included, among other issues, the questions of absolute versus relative poverty, the merits of money income as a measure of the standard of living and the associated selection of poverty lines and equivalence scales, and the selection of alternative indices of poverty. A review of the literature indicates that the choice of differing approaches to poverty measurement can lead to differing estimates of poverty. In the face of such results an evaluation of the impact upon poverty estimates of alternative measurement methodology is appropriate. This thesis assesses the impact upon the estimated level of poverty of variations in some of the key poverty measurement parameters. The expenditure data derived from the 1975-76, 1984 and 1993-94 Household Expenditure Surveys have been analysed to assess the sensitivity of poverty estimates, derived from a range of poverty indices, to variations in the generosity of the equivalence scales, the level of the poverty line, and the choice of the indicator of the level of resources used. The sensitivity of each poverty index to variations in these parameters is assessed at both the aggregated level and for the specified household types, while those population subgroups particularly susceptible to poverty are also identified. The poverty distributions derived for each of the survey years are compared to evaluate the impact upon changes in the level of poverty over time of variations in the underlying parameters. The thesis concludes that both poverty estimates at a point in time, and poverty trends over time are sensitive to variations in the equivalence scales, in the level of the poverty line, in the selection of the indicator of the level of resources, and in the choice of poverty index itself. In light of these results, a review of recent Australian poverty research concludes that insufficient attention has been paid to the sensitivity issues associated with the measurement of poverty.

Hedge fund investing is a relatively new phenomenon in Sweden. The first Swedish hedge fund was started in 1996. This new financial sector has since showed a steady growth. Due to the novelty of hedge fund phenomena, it is right to ask whether the investors are prepared for this kind of investments; how they choose their hedge funds investments and whether they have adequate knowl-edge in the field. This thesis provides a mapping of the investors’ behavior regarding hedge fund investments. We have concluded that Swedish hedge fund investors have a limited basis of knowledge required to fully utilize hedge funds in their portfolios.