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In the period from the sixteenth century to the eighteenth century, East Asia witnessed changes in the Chinese tribute system, the downfall of the Ming Dynasty, the Manchu invasion of Korea, the establishment of the Tokugawa bakufu in Japan, and the prosperity of the High Qing era. This extraordinary period disrupted the existing China-centered diplomatic system; however, at the same time, a fertile ground was created for new perceptions of the respective immediate neighbor for each individual state. In the struggle to achieve or maintain domestic and external stability, intellectuals, officials, and even commoners reflected on ways to express their individual and communal narratives that contributed to their nation’s history. This thesis explores Sino-Korean and Sino-Japanese cultural and diplomatic interactions from the sixteenth to the eighteenth century based on primary sources with a special focus on diplomatic envoys’ travel reports.

Le passage de l'Afrique du Sud d'un système politique répressif à un système démocratique a ouvert un nouvel espace de parole aux exclus, notamment aux femmes noires à travers les Commissions pour la Vérité. La parole féminine noire libérée suite à la transition politique du pays se reflète aussi dans le développement d'une production littéraire féminine, donnant lieu à l'émergence de nouvelles formes d'écriture romanesque, étudiées dans ce travail qui porte sur dix romans publiés par huit auteures entre 1998 et 2011 : S. Magona, K.L. Molope, K. Matlwa, A.N. Sithebe, A. Makholwa, H.J. Gololai, Z. Wanner et C. Jele. Nous étudions dans un premier temps comment les écrivaines s'approprient le genre romanesque durant la période transitionnelle, s'éloignant d'une écriture réaliste politiquement engagée, courante durant l'apartheid, pour se tourner vers une écriture de l'intime qui met en lumière les traumatismes d'un passé national qui hante le présent. Puis, nous étudions dans les trois parties suivantes comment les auteures émergeant durant la période post-transitionnelle explorent des genres jusqu’ici peu utilisés par les femmes noires sud-africaines : le Bildungsroman, le roman policier et la chick lit, mettant en mots les peurs et les angoisses de la nouvelle Afrique du Sud. Revisitant des genres européens, pour certains populaires, à travers une perspective féminine noire nouvelle, ces auteures continuent d'innover tant dans les thématiques abordées que dans une écriture fondée sur le mélange. Le roman devient un moyen subversif pour critiquer une société patriarcale fortement occidentalisée, qui ne doit pas renier son passé afin de faire face aux nouveaux défis à venir. / The South African political transition from a repressive system to a democratic one opened new spaces to a marginalized part of the population among whom the black woman to express themselves, such as the Truth and Reconciliation hearings. This black feminine voice, made free by the political transition is reflected through the development of a literary female production. It gave way to the emergence of new novelistic forms, analysed in our study through ten novels written by eight different female writers between 1998 and 2011: S. Magona, K.L. Molope, K. Matlwa, A.N. Sithebe, A. Makholwa, H.J. Gololai, Z. Wanner and C. Jele. In a first part, we analyse the way these authors rewrite the novel during the transitional period, moving away from a realistic writing, deeply involved in politics and largely used during the apartheid era, towards a more intimate way of writing which reflect the traumas of a national past haunting the present. Then, we examine in three parts how the writers emerging during the post-transitional period explore new genres, rarely used by black South African women until then, namely the Bildungsroman, detective fiction and chick lit, which reflect their fears in the new South Africa. These authors rewrite these European genres, among which popular ones, through a new feminine perspective, thus innovating the themes they deal with and creating a literature made of mixtures. The European novel becomes a subversive tool to criticise a patriarchal and Europeanised society, which, according to these authors, should not deny the past in order to solve the new challenges coming.

The reaction of [MCl2(cod)] (M = Pt, Pd) with two equivalents of 2-(diphenylphosphinoamino)pyridine, Ph2PNHpy, in warm acetonitrile led to cationic complexes of the type cis-[MCl(Ph2PNHpy-P,N){Ph2PNHpy-P}][Cl] (M = Pt, Pd) which exhibit broad single 31P{1H} NMR resonances due to their dynamic pyridyl exchange behaviour in solution. A single crystal X-ray diffraction study of the platinum species confirmed the proposed structure and revealed that adjacent complex molecules were held together by hydrogen bonding to the same chloride counter-ion. The bromo- and iodo-cis[MX(Ph2PNHpy-P,N){Ph2PNHpy-P}][X] (M = Pt, Pd; X = Br, I) complexes were obtained by metathesis from the corresponding chloride complex.

Diatom analysis performed on sediment profiles from several localities provided information on past changes in the aquatic environment related to climatic and artificial shifts since the Last Glacial-Interglacial Transition. The practicality of diatom analysis from fish guts of three European fish species in palaeolimnological studies was tested.

This thesis seeks to contribute to our understanding of why creditors and debtors do not ordinarily use China's reformed Enterprise Bankruptcy Law ('EBL'), whether the low use of the EBL is problematic, and if so, what can be done to ensure a more efficient resolution of corporate insolvencies and corporate financial distress in China. The EBL has been lauded – domestically and internationally – as a major legislative success. However, despite the rapidly growing number of companies, level of corporate indebtedness and non-performing loans – which should, one might expect, lead to an increase in the use of the EBL – the number of court-run insolvency cases has in fact been decreasing since the law was implemented in 2007. The thesis draws on newly collected insights from a series of interviews in China - to supplement the scarce and often incoherent data that is available - to determine what motivates debtors and creditors not to use the EBL. The findings are presented as four complementary constraints on a more effective and efficient operation of the EBL. First two constraints relate to the low payoffs under the EBL that debtors and creditors expect to receive due to (i) flaws in the EBL itself and (ii) problems in surrounding non-bankruptcy rules and practices that reduce or prevent recoveries under the EBL. A third constraint affects those debtors and creditors who wish to use the EBL despite the low expected payoffs – for example to avoid directors' liability for corporate insolvency – but are prevented from doing so due to (iii) potential enforcers' limitations and biases. A fourth and final constraint on the use of the EBL that reinforces debtors' and creditors' unwillingness to use the EBL is (iv) the parties' (often inaccurate) perception that alternative debt enforcement mechanisms may offer comparatively higher payoffs (v. the EBL). Building on this discussion, the thesis then considers the desirability of, and options for, reform. It argues that reform and subsequent greater use of court-enforced insolvency law are desirable in China because the (reformed) EBL has the potential to contribute to economic development through more efficient resolution of complex financial distress; better control of bad debt; easier and cheaper corporate financing; more efficient allocation of resources; and more entrepreneurial activity. However, because the necessary changes to deliver this are likely to be slow in coming, it proposes a dual-track reform encompassing (i) substantive reform of the EBL and select non-bankruptcy laws and practices; accompanied by (ii) the introduction of a new speedy, independent and confidential mechanism for insolvency resolution, 'MedArb'.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:35:05Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2001-02-08Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T20:06:23Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 fernandes_ns_dr_araiq.pdf: 3831286 bytes, checksum: 1e94d572a9dbeea49beace1001cfce35 (MD5) / Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) / No presente trabalho os 4-clorobenzalpiruvatos de Lantanídeos exceto (promécio) e de ítrio foram sintetizados adicionando-se à solução aquosa do ligante 4-clorobenzalpiruvato de sódio (Na- 4ClBP), solução aquosa dos respectivos cloretos metálicos, exceto para o composto de cério, para o qual usou-se o nitrato de cério. Os precipitados obtidos foram lavados com água destilada para a eliminação de interferentes, secos a temperatura ambiente e armazenados em dessecador com atmosfera rarefeita sobre cloreto de cálcio anidro. Para a caracterização dos compostos obtidos foram utilizadas as técnicas de Análise Elementar, Espectroscopia de Absorção na região do infravermelho, Difratometria de raios X pelo método do pó e complexometria com EDTA. A espectroscopia de absorção na região do infravermelho sugere que a coordenação metal – ligante ocorre pelo grupo carboxilato e carbonila cetônica. Na determinação da estequiometria, estabilidade térmica, bem como o estudo da desidratação foram utilizadas as técnicas: Termogravimetria (TG), Termogravimetria Derivada (DTG), Calorimetria Exploratória Diferencial (DSC) e Termogravimetria/Análise Térmica Diferencial simultâneo. As curvas TG, DTG e DSC foram obtidas utilizando-se o sistema Mettler em atmosfera dinâmica de ar sintético e CO2 com fluxo de 150 e 90 mL min -1, respectivamente. Utilizou-se razão de aquecimento de 10 o C min -1, massa de amostra da ordem de 7 mg, cadinho de α - Al2O3 e faixa de temperatura de 30 a 900 o C para as curvas TG, DTG e cadinho de alumínio com tampa perfurada e faixa de temperatura de 30 a 600 o C para as curvas DSC. As curvas TG/DTA foram obtidas utilizando-se o equipamento da TA Instruments modelo SDT 2960 em atmosfera dinâmica de ar sintético com fluxo de 100 mL min –1, razão de aquecimento de 20 o C min –1, cadinho de alumina para a amostra e referência e massa... / In the present work the lanthanide 4-chlorobenzylidenepyruvates, except prometium, and yttrium were synthesized by addition of aqueous solutions of the respective metal chlorides, except for the cerium compound that was cerium nitrate, to the aqueous solution of the ligand sodium 4-chlorobenzylidenepyruvate (Na-4-ClBP). The precipitates obtained were filtered, washed with distilled water until elimination of the chloride or nitrate ions, dried at room temperature and kept in a desiccator over anhydrous calcium chloride and with rarefied atmosphere. The compounds obtained were characterized by elemental analyses, infrared spectroscopy, X Ray powder diffractometry and complexometry with EDTA. The infrared spectroscopy suggest that the metal – ligand coordination occur for the carboxylate group and ketonic carbonyl. Thermogravimetry, derivative thermogravimetry (TG, DTG), Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and simultaneous thermogravimetry, differential thermal analysis (TG/DTA) were used to determine the stoichiometry, thermal stability as well as the dehydration study. TG, DTG and DSC curves were obtained using a Mettler TA – 4000 thermal analyses system in dynamical air and CO2 flowing at 150 and 90 mL min –1, respectively. At heating rate of 10 o C min –1, samples of ca. 7 mg in alumina crucible, temperature ranging from 30 to 900 o C for the TG and DTG, and in aluminium crucible with perforated cover from 30 and 600 o C, for the DSC curves. TG/DTA curves were obtained using a TA Instruments model SDT 2960 with an air flux of 100 mL min –1, a heating rate of 20 o C min –1, alumina crucible for the sample and reference and with samples of ca. 7 mg. Dehydration enthalpies were determined from the DSC curves for the La, Ce, Pr, Sm, Tm, Er, Yb and Y compounds, as representative of the Lanthanide Series (Ln). The heating rate of 10 o C min –1, samples of ca. 5 mg,...(Complete abstract, click electronic access below)

The transition from education to the labour market is a constant theme for sociological investigation, but the study of occupational choice itself has occupied a peripheral place in the theory and research literature for the past two decades. Of particular concern here, neither extant theories of occupational choice nor the contemporary youth studies literature offer satisfactory accounts of the patterns of girls' aspirations and the social processes in which these are embedded. It is argued here that occupational choice processes are a critical switch in the social reproduction of gender relations. Specifically situated subjects construct a transitions biography from a range of legitimated and concretely available alternatives. The possibilities are specified through the terms of gender discourse which, in describing the confluence of circumstances and understandings, represents the social space in which girls are positioned and position themselves across time. A model of the modalities of gender relations is developed and explored through a study of primarily working class girls aged 11-14 and 14-16 between 1983-1986 who were attending three inner London comprehensives. The data were collected by cross-sectional survey (N = 169) and interview (N=61) and by longitudinal interview (N=37). These girls see occupational structure in highly gendered and partial terms, corresponding to the specific social worlds they inhabit. Over time, perspectives and aspirations focus increasingly on female-typed jobs. Within this, their expectations reflect what is judged realistically available. Such processes of gendered closure are modified by educational achievement and by schooling milieu in relation with family and cultural context. Subject specialisation fixes the course of these processes, since options are generally chosen with current aspiration/ expectation in mind. In sum, gendered transitions across the secondary schooling years are shaped not only institutionally but also socially and culturally by girls' personal attempts to resolve the contradictory puzzle of production/reproduction relations under modern patri3 archy and in the light of the resources at their disposal. Most trajectories inevitably prefigure accommodative arrangements and do not threaten social reproduction processes, but this does not imply non-critical and automatic consent. The potential for critical consciousness is fostered by various cross-pressures in the specific configurations of girls' lives, but the partial insights they open up are held in check both ideologically and through social-educational selection/ allocation.

Master of Science / Department of Statistics / Wei-Wen Hsu / BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Alzheimer's disease is currently a neurodegenerative diseases without any effective treatments to slow or reverse the progression. To develop any potential treatments, the need of a good statistical model to assess the progression of Alzheimer's disease is becoming increasingly urgent. This study proposed a latent transition model to monitor the progression of Alzheimer's disease which can help the development of a given proposed treatment. METHOD: A latent transition model was used to assess the progression of Alzheimer's disease. The volume of Hippocampus and fluorodeoxyglucose-PET (FDG) were employed as biomarkers in this model. These two biomarkers are very sensitive to the pathological signs of the Alzheimer's disease. The proposed latent transition model was performed with real data from Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI), which contain 2,126 participants from 2005 to 2014. RESULTS/FINDINGS: The latent transition model suggested six states of disease progression and two different pathological profiles. One progression profile was mainly determined by the biomarker of FDG and the other by the volume of Hippocampus. CONCLUSION: The results revealed the existence of various progression profiles of Alzheimer's disease, suggesting a new way to evaluate the disease progression.

The preparation of the modified silane [special characters omitted]; a phosphinoalkylsilane or PSi) via an alkylzirconium intermediate is reported. The synthesis of [special characters omitted] was carried out by the reaction of organolithium reagents with chloro-silanes at low temperature. The PSi compounds are isolated as air-sensitive, thermally stable and very viscous liquids. The reactivity of two of the silanes was investigated with the platinum group metal complex [special characters omitted] (cod = cycloocta-1,5-diene). In both cases, square planar platinum (II) complexes were isolated. The reactivity of [special characters omitted] produces five coordinate M (III) complexes which undergo stereomutation. The isomerisation of the syn to anti forms of [special characters omitted] has been examined at several temperatures via NMR spectroscopy and the activation parameters determined for the conversion of the syn to the intermediate isomer form [special characters omitted]. The implications of the stereomutation phenomona are discussed in relation to catalysis. None of the isomers of this complex forms a stable six coordinate adduct when reacted with a number of common nucleophiles. The analogous compound where M = Ir and related complexes of the formula [special characters omitted] are reactive towards CO to form stable six coordinate adducts containing two M-P and one M-Si, M-H, M-CO and a M-Cl bond. Some of these adducts can be made directly by the reaction of the PSi ligand precursor with [special characters omitted] (M = Rh, Ir) at room temperature. The reaction of the silane [special characters omitted] produces six coordinate complexes directly. For M = Ir, the compound reacts with CO to produce a six coordinate cation by displacement of a chloride ligand, the latter of which then acts as a non-coordinating counterion. A series of organosilicon dendrimers of the type : [special characters omitted] ([G-1] : x = 3, y = 2 = q = 0; [6-2] : y = 3, x = 9 , z = q = 0; [G-3] : z = 3, y = 9, X = 27, q = 0; [G-4] : q = 3, z = 9, y = 27, x = 81) are sythesised and examined spectroscopically. All of the dendrimers are air stable liquids. Species G3 has a marked tendency to undergo what appears to be self-condensation polymerisation. End and core group substitution is presented for a carbosilane dendrimer containing one shell of identical exterior Si atoms. The dendrimeric end groups can be modified by the replacement of a terminal chloride by fluoride, hydrogen, alkyl groups or metal complexes. The selective removal of a core phenyl group can be accomplished with the strong acid [special characters omitted]. The resulting silyl triflate can in turn be used as a precusor to a silyl ether, hence facilitating selective core group modification. / Graduate