This thesis asks why some centre-right formations have been more successful than others in the new democracies of Central and Eastern Europe. It does so by examining a single centre-right formation – the Romanian Democratic Convention. It adds to an existing body of literature that covers the development of political parties in post-Communist Central and Eastern Europe and to the small number of studies focusing on centre-right parties in the region. Specifically it adds to the literature on party success and failure and to that on Romanian party and electoral politics. The Romanian Democratic Convention is chosen to add new insights: it is unusual because it is a study of organisational failure and because there is a geographical imbalance in the published studies of the politics of the region towards the Visegrad states. The thesis acknowledges existing academic debate about the competing influences of historical legacies, agency and structural factors in relation to post-Communist democratisation. It aims to identify what led the Convention to first establish itself but then fail to consolidate and eventually to collapse. It draws on a range of sources: semi-structured interviews; contemporaneous newspaper reports; published diaries and autobiographies and a number of secondary sources. The thesis is structured thematically, examining the role of legacies and critical events in shaping long term behaviour by politicians (chapters three and four); organisational factors and the influence of operational objectives (chapter five); the search for a broad and integrative ideology (chapter six). The conclusions in chapter seven suggest that successfully crafting a new, broad political formation requires a degree of pragmatism, directive leadership and political entrepreneurship that was missing from the Democratic Convention because it was shaped by Romania's transition from Communism, by its organisational structure and by differences within its leadership elite so that competing operational objectives could not be reconciled when the formation entered government.

This thesis addresses the paradox of capitalist market reform being introduced by a politically undefeated communist state in China. It does so by developing an historical account of the Chinese polity's relationship with the modern world. Chapter one offers a critique of existing explanations; these tend to focus narrowly on the immediate circumstances surrounding the decision to reform and thereby eschew analysis of the specific dynamics of the Chinese Revolution. In so doing, they also ignore its origins within the welter of contradictions arising from the process of capitalist internationalization, giving no causal efficacy to ‘the international' in explaining this dramatic social transformation. In response to this neglect, chapter two invokes Leon Trotsky's ‘theory of uneven and combined development' as an alternative approach to the study of social contradictions within and amongst societies across the longue durée. This approach is then applied to the Chinese case in three steps, which consider, successively, the impact of British colonialism on the Qing dynasty, the emergence of a Chinese nationalism, and the specificities of Maoism. Chapter three shows how British imperialism integrated Qing China into the capitalist world by revolutionising global finance and imposing ‘free trade' through military force. This capitalist penetration of a tributary state created a unique amalgam of social relations that inhibited China's ability to ‘catch up' with the advancedcapitalist powers. Focusing on how these processes and pressures fostered a transformation in social consciousness, chapter four then outlines the emergence of a 'national imagination' amongst a new stratum of intellectuals outside of the traditional scholar-gentry ruling class. These layers turned to anti-imperialism, but also found their own country deficient in the face of colonialism and longed for a mythical restoration of ‘lost' Chinese power. The Russian Revolution dramatically raised the horizons of these new, modern Chinese, but also exposed a deep tension between internationalist and nationalist responses to the crisis of colonial capitalism. Chapter five outlines the role of national patriotism in the authoritarian decay of the communist project, arguing that Maoism represented a complementary amalgam of Soviet Stalinism with Chinese nationalism. This nationalism, however, resulted in tense relations with the Soviet Union after 1949 as China's elite rejected its tutelage. Chinese communists desired ‘national salvation' and, once Soviet-style planning failed to achieve it, they took the ‘capitalist road' to build a strong nation-state. Existing explanations of Chinese economic reform overlook this concatenation of local and global processes across the longue durée. The thesis shows, however, that this ‘methodological nationalism' results in a failure to give sufficient weight to the real-world political nationalism that underpinned market reform. The theory of uneven and combined development answers this absence by placing Chinese development in the global setting. Its dialectical account of history rejects the view that sees ‘cultural analysis' as an alternative to class based explanation, but rather treats nation, culture, ideology and class as essential moments in the uneven and combined reproduction of the world system.

It is well-known that in 2 + 1 dimensions the flux attachment transmutes the statistics of a particle.The aim of this master thesis is to study the dualities between bosons and fermions induced by Abeliantopological gauge fields in 2 + 1 dimensions. Chapter 1 and 2 are reviews of known results about thepath integral quantization of Chern-Simons theory and the regularization of the fermionic path integral.In the following chapters, we will derive the statistical transmutation and various Abelian dualities in2 + 1 dimensions.

Notre problématique porte sur les liens entre logique et topoï, sémantique et topoï et enfin entre logique et sémantique. Le travail consiste donc à mettre en relief la pérennité de la notion de topos, son évolution et son intégration dans la logique, dans la sémantique et même dans l’informatique. Dès lors, topoï, logique et sémantique sont les trois facettes de cette problématique.L’objet de cette thèse consiste donc à présenter l’histoire des topoï, à cerner leurs propriétés linguistiques. Il consiste aussi à montrer que cette notion est présente dans toutes les approches linguistiques et que la sémantique est l’axe fédérateur de toutes les recherches linguistiques.Nous n’avons pas l’intention de donner une définition nouvelle, mais nous avons essayé de faire la synthèse des caractéristiques principales des topoï et de dresser un tableau des recherches passées et actuelles élaborées sur cette notion.L’approche que nous avons adoptée est constructive et diachronique. Elle a mis en relief l’évolution des topoï, de leurs formes, de leurs sens et de leurs usages. La notion de topoï continue à exister de l’antiquité jusqu’à nos jours, puisqu’elle a des fondements sémantiques, qui sont inhérents à toutes les langues naturelles.Notre travail comporte trois grandes parties. La première expose la conception terminologique de la notion de topoï et son aspect évolutif. Elle met en évidence les différents emplois, les différentes définitions et l’aspect évolutif des topoï. Dans cette première partie, nous avons essayé de dresser à grands traits l’historique de la notion de topoï, l’emploi qui en a été fait par les logiciens, les rhéteurs, les linguistes, les pragmaticiens et les informaticiens.La deuxième est consacrée à la présentation des fondements sémantiques de la logique et des topoï et à la relation de complémentarité de ces trois notions, à savoir logique, sémantique et topoï. Nous avons précisé que la théorie des topoï est une théorie du sens. Et la troisième partie traite les fondements lexicaux des topoï et les exploitations modernes de cette notion, à savoir le traitement automatique, la théorie des cadres et l’ontologie, tout en présentant les différentes théories sémantiques argumentatives. Nous avons présenté/évoqué tout d’abord, « les lieux d’enthymèmes d’Aristote » qui relèvent des quatre lieux principaux déjà évoqués dans la première partie (à savoir la définition, le genre, le propre et l’accident). Ensuite nous avons mis en relief la présence des topoï dès le niveau lexical dans les théories sémantiques argumentatives (théorie des topoï, théories des blocs sémantiques et sémantique des possibles argumentatifs et théorie des prototypes). Nous avons présenté un petit exemple, un échantillon d’extraction de l’information à l’aide de la plateforme NooJ. / Our problematic concerns the links between logic and topoï, semantics and topoï and finally between logic and semantics. The work therefore consists in highlighting the durability of the notion of topos, its evolution and its integration in logic, in semantics and even in computer science. From then on, topoi, logic and semantics are the three facets of this problematic.           The purpose of this thesis is to present the history of topoi, to identify their linguistic properties. It also shows that this notion is present in all linguistic approaches and that semantics is the unifying axis of all linguistic research.It is not our intention to give a new definition, but we have tried to summarize the main characteristics of the topoi and to draw up a table of past and current research developed on this notion.The approach we have adopted is constructive and diachronic. She highlighted the evolution of topoi, their forms, their senses and their uses. The notion of topoi continues to exist from antiquity to the present day, since it has semantic foundations, which are inherent in all natural languages.          Our work has three main parts. The first presents the terminological conception of the concept of topoi and its evolutionary aspect. It highlights the different jobs, the different definitions and the evolutionary aspect of the topoï. In this first part, we tried to sketch out the history of the notion of topoi, the use that has been made by logicians, rhetoricians, linguists, pragmatists and computer scientists.The second is devoted to the presentation of the semantic foundations of logic and topoi and to the complementary relationship of these three notions, namely logic, semantics and topoi. We have specified that the theory of topoi is a theory of meaning. And the third part deals with the lexical foundations of the topoi and the modern exploitation of this notion, namely the automatic processing, the theory of the frames and the ontology, while presenting the different semantic argumentative theories. We have presented / evoked first of all, "the places of Aristotle's enthymemes" which belong to the four principal places already mentioned in the first part (namely the definition, the kind, the clean and the accident). Then we have highlighted the presence of topoi from the lexical level in argumentative semantic theories (theory of topoï, theories of semantic blocks and semantics of argumentative possibilities and theory of prototypes). We presented a small example, a sample extraction of information using the NooJ platform.

In 1946, Erdös posed the distinct distances problem, which asks for the minimum number of distinct distances that any set of n points in the real plane must realize. Erdös showed that any point set must realize at least &Omega(n1/2) distances, but could only provide a construction which offered &Omega(n/&radic(log(n)))$ distances. He conjectured that the actual minimum number of distances was &Omega(n1-&epsilon) for any &epsilon > 0, but that sublinear constructions were possible. This lower bound has been improved over the years, but Erdös' conjecture seemed to hold until in 2010 Larry Guth and Nets Hawk Katz used an incidence theory approach to show any point set must realize at least &Omega(n/log(n)) distances. In this thesis we will explore how incidence theory played a roll in this process and expand upon recent work by Adam Sheffer and Cosmin Pohoata, using geometric incidences to achieve bounds on the bipartite variant of this problem. A consequence of our extensions on their work is that the theoretical upper bound on the original distinct distances problem of &Omega(n/&radic(log(n))) holds for any point set which is structured such that half of the n points lies on an algebraic curve of arbitrary degree.

This report investigates the sensitivity of the control rod depletion coefficients, Sg, to different input parameters and how this affects the accumulated 10B depletion, β. Currently the coefficients are generated with PHOENIX4, but the geometries can be more accurately simulated in McScram. McScram is used to calculate Control Rod Worth, which in turn is used to calculate Nuclear End Of Life, and Sg cannot be generated in the current version of McScram. Therefore, it is also analyzed whether the coefficients can be related to CRW and thus be studied indirectly through it. Simulations of the coefficients were done in PHOENIX4, simulations of CRW were done in both PHOENIX4 and McScram and simulations of β were done in POLCA7. All simulations were performed for a CR99 in a BWR reactor. The control rod coefficients were found to be sensitive to the enrichment of the fuel, void fraction of the water and the width of the gap, and these effects were also seen in the results of β. As a result, one of three steps could be taken. First, the parameter values should not be set arbitrarily, instead default values could be chosen such that Sg is calculated more accurately. Second, a set of tables of Sg could be generated for different parameter values so that β can be calculated with Sg from the current conditions, although this would mean that PHOENIX4 needs to be updated. Third, McScram can be updated to be able to calculate Sg directly. It has been concluded that Sg cannot be studied indirectly through CRW since the trends and the sensitivity to the different parameters were not consistent between Sg, CRW calculated with PHOENIX4 and CRW calculated with McScram, where PHOENIX4 was more sensitive than McScram. The results can instead be used to bench-mark the PHOENIX4 results.

Of many modern constructions in geometry Calabi Yau manifolds hold special relevance in theoretical physics. These manifolds naturally arise from the study of compactification of certain string theories. In particular Calabi Yau manifolds of dimension three, commonly known as threefolds, are widely used for compactifications of heterotic string theories. Among the many constructions, that of complete intersection Calabi Yau manifolds (CICY) is generally regarded to be the simplest. Furthermore, CICY threefolds have been proven to exist only in finite number. In the following text CICY manifolds will be analyzed, with particular attention to threefolds. A general description of some of their topological quantities and their calculation is offered. Lastly, a proof of the finiteness of CICY threefolds is given.

As part of the current fast growing development of digital technologies, collaborations between professions such as neurosciences, robotics, big data processing and artificial intelligence offer new possibilities for healthcare. For these new technologies to reach clinical practice, there is an increasing need for interdisciplinary organizational work to support decision-making over their introduction. In the field of neurorehabilitation, exoskeletons are an example of a robotic tool that can be used to regain locomotion abilities after a neurological injury. They are part of an umbrella term, Robot-Assisted-Rehabilitation (RAR), that stands for neurological recovery techniques assisted with robotic tools. For these tools, the introduction, evaluation and implementation in clinical practice have not been evaluated. In many cases it is also not taken into account that tools such as rehabilitation robotics are context-dependent. In other words, the needs, opportunities and challenges that come together with working efficiently with this new technology can widely vary between clinics, regions and countries. Lastly, it appears that smaller hospitals consider themselves in need of tools to support their decision-making in the RAR introduction phase. In collaboration with Hälsostaden and Region Skåne, we set out to develop a tool to support Ängelholm Hospital (ÄH) in their decision-making over a test-bed trial of RAR in their clinical setting. A tool that we coined the Co-Strategy Process (CSP), was developed based on identified needs related to this stage of the process, using a blend of interdisciplinary scientific methods. It integrates internal and external interdisciplinary expertise and includes four steps: Preparation, Knowledge Empowerment, Exchange & Development and Synthesis & Report. The current Master thesis presents the development and assessment of the CSP at ÄH. In the present context, it results in a new tool for supporting organizations implementing new technologies, optimized based on its application in a Swedish clinical setting. This tool aims at serving this introductory process, so that new technologies can be implemented meeting the needs of both the clinic and patients. / e Rehab-robotic project in collaboration with Uppsala University, Basel University and ETH Zurich

The purpose of this research was to determine the condition of evolution education in American parochial schools and the effect of evolution education on students' attitudes toward science. Data were gathered using Eraser's Test of Science Related Attitudes (TOSRA) and Bilica's Teaching Evolutionary Topics Survey (TETS). The research participants consisted of 60.3% of biology teachers currently teaching in Lutheran high schools in the United States, and 479 Lutheran high school biology students grades 9-12 in California, Nevada, and Arizona. In the first attitudinal study done specifically on parochial students, statistical analysis confirmed the reliability and validity of the TOSRA instrument for parochial school students. In a quasi-experimental design, analysis revealed that student science attitudes do change as a result of participating in a unit on evolution in the first year biology classes of secondary parochial schools. The emphasis placed by teachers on particular evolutionary topics was also analysed. It was found that all Lutheran high school biology teachers present evolution to some extent although not all topics are emphasized equally. The results also demonstrate that parochial school teachers have nearly the same emphasis placed on evolution as do public school teachers.

We propose a definition of aboutness topicality that not only encompasses individual denoting DPs, but also indefinites. We concentrate on the interpretative effects of marking indefinites as topics: they either receive widest scope in their clause, or they are interpreted in the restrictor of an overt or covert Q-adverb. We show that in the first case they are direct aboutness topics insofar as they are the subject of a predication expressed by the comment, while in the second case they are indirect aboutness topics: they define the subject of a higher-order predication – namely the set of situations that the respective Q-adverb quantifies over.