The Edinburgh Mathematical Society started out in 1883 as a society with a large proportion of teachers. Today, the member base is mainly academical and there are only a few teachers left. This thesis explores how and when this change came about, and discusses what this meant for the Society. It argues that the exit of the teachers is related to the rising standard of mathematics, but even more to a change in the Society’s printing policy in the 1920s, that turned the Society’s Proceedings into a pure research publication and led to the death of the ‘teacher journal’, the Mathematical Notes. The thesis also argues that this change, drastic as it may seem, does not represent a change in the Society’s nature. For this aim, the role of the teachers within the Society has been studied and compared to that of the academics, from 1883 to 1946. The mathematical contribution of the teachers to the Proceedings is studied in some detail, in particular the papers by John Watt Butters. A paper in the Mathematical Notes by A. C. Aitken on the Bell numbers is considered in connection with a series of letters on the same topic from 1938–39. These letters, written by Aitken, Sir D’Arcy Thompson, another EMS member, and the Cambridge mathematician G. T. Bennett, explores the relation between the three and gives valuable insight into the status of the Notes. Finally, the role of the first women in the Society is studied. The first woman joined without any official university education, but had received the necessary mathematical background from her studies under the Edinburgh Association for the University Education of Women. The final chapter is largely an assessment of this Association’s mathematical classes.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-28T14:16:37Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Edaival Mulatti.pdf: 1316493 bytes, checksum: 2ddebbfbb24364b182ea454f86c50397 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-10-23 / The Royal Institution, English organization founded at the end of the eighteenth century in London and existing in this day and age as an institution dedicated to research in the theory and dissemination of science, was born with the purposes of an institution of public character, depending on financial contributions. Within a conception of science, categorized by its founders as "useful science," the Royal Institution had as main goals, the diffusion of knowledge and application of science in the life of the population. For the present work, we studied up some of the social and political circumstances present in England at the end of the eighteenth century, and provided evidence to the understanding of the reasons that enabled the creation of that institution. Also, we tried to identify in the creation and consolidation of that institution, the role played by personalities of the time, as Joseph Banks, Benjamin Thompson, Thomas Young, Thomas Garnett and Humphry Davy. This work was based on the study of the following documents: "Proposals for forming by subscription, in the Metropolis of the British Empire, the Public Institution for diffusing the knowledge and facilitating the general introduction of useful mechanical inventions and improvements, and for teaching, by Philosophical Lectures and courses of Experiments, the application of science to the common purposes of life.", document-creation of the Royal Institution, authored by Benjamin Thompson and dated March 1799,"The discourse introductory to the Course of Lectures on Chemistry , Delivered in the Theatre of the Royal Institution, on the 21st of January, 1802," inaugural lecture of the Royal Institution Humphry Davy, and "The Bakerian Lecture, on some chemical Agencies of Electricity," lecture in which Davy presented the results of their research on electrolysis, made the Royal Institution and presented at the Royal Society on November 20 de1806. The focus of this work was in the study of the model for dissemination of knowledge established on the origins of the Royal Institution, as well as some of the changes that have made this model a strong point of support for the Royal Institution to be seen, at the beginning of the nineteenth century, as a major scientific institutions of England / The Royal Institution, organização inglesa fundada no final do século XVIII em Londres e existente nos dias de hoje como uma instituição voltada a pesquisas no campo teórico e divulgação da ciência, nasceu com os propósitos de uma instituição de caráter público, dependendo financeiramente de contribuições. Dentro de uma concepção de ciência, categorizada por seus fundadores como ciência útil , a Royal Institution tinha como principais objetivos, a difusão do conhecimento e aplicação da ciência na vida da população. Para o presente trabalho, estudou-se algumas das circunstâncias sociais e políticas presentes na Inglaterra no final do século dezoito, e que forneceram elementos para o entendimento dos motivos que propiciaram a criação de tal instituição. Procurou-se também identificar, na criação e consolidação dessa Instituição, o papel desempenhado por personalidades da época, como Joseph Banks, Benjamin Thompson, Thomas Young, Thomas Garnett e Humphry Davy. Esta dissertação baseou-se no estudo dos seguintes originais: Proposals for forming by subscription, in the Metropolis of the British Empire, a Public Institution for diffusing the knowledge and facilitating the general introduction of useful mechanical inventions and improvements, and for teaching, by courses of Philosophical Lectures and Experiments, the application of science to the common purposes of life , documento de criação da Royal Institution, de autoria de Benjamin Thompson e datado de março de 1799, A discourse introductory to a Course of Lectures on Chemistry, Delivered in the Theatre of the Royal Institution, on the 21st of January, 1802 , palestra inaugural de Humphry Davy na Royal Institution, e The Bakerian Lecture, on some chemical Agencies of Electricity , palestra na qual Davy apresentou os resultados de suas pesquisas sobre eletrólise, efetuadas na Royal Institution e apresentadas perante a Royal Society em 20 de novembro de1806. O ponto central desse trabalho situou-se no estudo do modelo de difusão do conhecimento formulado nas origens da Royal Institution, bem como em algumas de suas modificações que fizeram desse modelo um forte ponto de apoio para que a Royal Institution se projetasse, no início do século dezenove, como uma das principais instituições científicas da Inglaterra

The main objective in sampling is to select a sample from a population in order to estimate some unknown population parameter, usually a total or a mean of some interesting variable. When the units in the population do not have the same probability of being included in a sample, it is called unequal probability sampling. The inclusion probabilities are usually chosen to be proportional to some auxiliary variable that is known for all units in the population. When unequal probability sampling is applicable, it generally gives much better estimates than sampling with equal probabilities. This thesis consists of six papers that treat unequal probability sampling from a finite population of units. A random sample is selected according to some specified random mechanism called the sampling design. For unequal probability sampling there exist many different sampling designs. The choice of sampling design is important since it determines the properties of the estimator that is used. The main focus of this thesis is on evaluating and comparing different designs. Often it is preferable to select samples of a fixed size and hence the focus is on such designs. It is also important that a design has a simple and efficient implementation in order to be used in practice by statisticians. Some effort has been made to improve the implementation of some designs. In Paper II, two new implementations are presented for the Sampford design. In general a sampling design should also have a high level of randomization. A measure of the level of randomization is entropy. In Paper IV, eight designs are compared with respect to their entropy. A design called adjusted conditional Poisson has maximum entropy, but it is shown that several other designs are very close in terms of entropy. A specific situation called real time sampling is treated in Paper III, where a new design called correlated Poisson sampling is evaluated. In real time sampling the units pass the sampler one by one. Since each unit only passes once, the sampler must directly decide for each unit whether or not it should be sampled. The correlated Poisson design is shown to have much better properties than traditional methods such as Poisson sampling and systematic sampling.

Ce travail peut être divisé en trois partie: 1. Théorie des groupes. Il s'agit ici d'une étude de la structure du groupe T de Thompson. On explique la notion de la mutation linéaire par morceaux et on obtient la nouvelle présentation de ce groupe en termes des génerateurs et relations. 2. Géometrie birationnelle. On étudie en détail le groupe de Cremona qui est un groupe des automorphismes birationnels du plan projectif. En particulier on s'interesse à son sous-groupe Symp des elements qui préserve le crochet de Poisson dit logarithmique, aussi bien qu'à un sous-groupe H engendré par SL(2,Z) et par les mutations. On construit des limites projectives des surfaces sur lesquelles ces groupes agissent régulièrement, et on en déduit les répresentations linéaires de ces groupes dans les limites inductives des groupes de Picard des surfaces. 3. Algèbre homologique. A partir d'une variété algébrique on construit une catégorie triangulée qui ne dépend que de sa classe birationnelle. En utilisant la technique de quotient de dg-catégories, on calcule explicitement cette catégorie pour les surfaces rationnelles. Comme consequence on obtient l'action du groupe de Cremona sur une algébre non-commutative par les automorphismes extérieures. On donne les applications de ces résultats aux formules des mutations des variables non-commutatives.

Through exploring the use of documentary style in a selection of contemporary American comedy series, this thesis closes in on the question whether texts that stylistically differ from traditional sitcom can still be regarded as part of the sitcom genre. The contemporary American TV series that are being analyzed are The Office, Arrested Development, Modern Family, Parks and Recreation, Brooklyn Nine-Nine and The Michael J. Fox Show. As the series’ place within sitcom becomes apparent, the analysis ultimately leads to a critical investigation of the term “comedy verite.” Questioning the concepts applicability for the American series and their development leads to the investigation of new definitions. This analysis of contemporary televisual styles reveals a myriad of deeper issues and elucidates how stylistic developments point towards broader developments of the TV medium – towards a medium more and more defined by, or even drenched in, “reality.”

This study aims to determine whether current and past research on the Badarian culture of early Egypt accurately reflects the evidence uncovered in the past and the evaluation of the excavation reports by the early excavators. An archaeological re-evaluation of the Badarian culture and relevant sites is presented in the introduction. Inter-regional development of the Badarian is crucial to placing the Badarian in the temporal ladder of the predynastic cultures, leading up the formation of the dynastic era of Ancient Egypt. The following thesis is not meant to be a definitive answer on the origins and placement of the Badarian people in the Predynastic hierarchy of ancient Egypt, but one of its aims is to stimulate discussion and offer alternatives to the narrative of the Badarian culture. A set of outcomes is presented to test all hypotheses. Research questions are discussed to determine whether the Badarian culture is a regional phenomenon restricted to a small area around the Badari-Mostagedda-Matmar region, or as a wider inter-regional variable carrying on into the later Nagada cultures. To reach a hypothesis, the chronology of the Badarian is analysed, in-depth study of the original excavation reports and later research on the Badarian question. An important facet of this study is a literature review of the Badarian culture, past and present. The Badarian culture had always been a subject of speculation, especially in terms of its chronology and regional development. There is no consensus on the chronology of dispersion out of the desert to the Nile Valley, as well as areas north and south of the Nile Valley. It is important to establish the concept of an agronomic sedentary lifestyle by the Badarian, and to re-evaluate the evidence for the long-standing idea that the Badarian was in fact the first farmers of the Nile Valley, also in terms of their perceived exchange and trade networks. / Biblical and Ancient Studies / D. Litt. et Phil. (Ancient Near Eastern Studies)

The guiding question for this essay is: who is the learner? The aim is to examine and criticize one answer to this question, sometimes referred to as the theory of the learning brain, which suggests that the explanation of human learning can be reduced to the transmitting and storing of information in the brain’s formal and representational architecture, i.e., that the brain is the learner. This essay will argue that this answer is misleading, because it cannot account for the way people strive to learn in an attempt to lead a good life as it misrepresents the intentional life of the mind, which results in its counting ourselves out of the picture when it attempts to provide a scientific theory of the learning process. To criticize the theory of the learning brain, this essay will investigate its philosophical foundation, a theory of mind called cognitivism, which is the basis for the cognitive sciences. Cognitivism is itself built on three main tenets: mentalism, the mind-brain identity theory and the computer analogy. Each of these tenets will be criticized in turn, before the essay turns to criticize the theory of the learning brain itself. The focus of this essay is, in other words, mainly negative. The hope is that this criticism will lay the groundwork for an alternative view of mind, one that is better equipped to give meaningful answers to the important questions we have about what it means to learn, i.e., what we learn, how we do it and why. This alternative will emphasize the holistic and intentional character of the human mind, and consider the learning process as an intentional activity performed, not by isolated brains, but by people with minds that are extended, embodied, enacted and embedded in a sociocultural and physical context.

This dissertation examines the political and business career of H. R. “Bob” Haldeman. Scholars studying Richard M. Nixon’s presidency and administration have given very little attention to Haldeman’s career before and after his time as chief of staff. This dissertation argues that in order to understand Haldeman’s actions as chief of staff one needs to have a firm understanding of his career before he entered Nixon’s White House. In contrast to what many have argued, an overt interest in politics and overriding ambition to serve Nixon did not solely drive Haldeman. Instead, the development of Haldeman’s career is best understood through his consistent search for opportunities and activities in which he could alter, reform, or improve existing processes and organizations. Only a study of his entire career brings this motivation to the forefront. Using Haldeman’s recollections, his White House diaries, archival records relating to his business and political career, assessments of the Nixon presidency, and the recently published memoir of his wife, this dissertation provides an in-depth study of his career as a manager in business and politics. This study answers important questions regarding Haldeman’s background, intellectual makeup, and the trajectory of his career by reexamining Haldeman’s work for Nixon and his career in the advertising industry and analyzing how each of these experiences informed his life, skillset, and his managerial behavior. Providing the scholarship with a more complete picture of Haldeman’s life and career augments the understanding of Richard Nixon’s political career and presidency, by filling a critical void with a more comprehensive overview of a close aide and a major figure at the center of the Watergate scandal. An examination of Haldeman’s entire career, moreover, illuminates how significant developments in twentieth century United States political and business history impacted one individual.

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A critical investigation of the public/private distinction as it has been conceived in Anglo-American political thinking in the second half of the 20th century. A broadly held consensus has developed amongst many theorists that public/private does not refer to any single determinate distinction or relationship but rather to an often ambiguous range of related but analytically distinct conceptual oppositions. The argument of this thesis is that if we approach public/private in the search for analytic or conceptual clarity then this consensus is correct. Against this I propose that a number of the most dominant invocations of the distinction can be understood to express public/private as an irreducibly political dialectic that mediates the relationship between the subjective and objective side of social and political life. By locating these conceptually diverse invocations within a broader and more determinate framework of the historical development and contestation of the boundaries which establish the conditions for subjectivity, as the assertion of political agency, on the one hand, and which demarcate, police and defend these particular boundaries, as part of the objectively given character of social life and institutional organisation, on the other hand, then a more determinate character to public/private can be recognized. I then seek to explore the capacity of this model to capture and explain the peculiar post-war problematisation of public/private amongst a number of new left thinkers in Britain and America.