Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'A Return to Ireland'

This study discerns how, and the extent to which cnme III Ireland and Northern Ireland is related to social capital, homogeneity and tolerance measured in the European Values Survey. Higher levels of social capital are associated with lower crime and higher crime is associated with lower levels of social capital. Reported crime was 92% higher in Northern Ireland in 1999, as it had been for the previous five and ten years I. The level of unreported crime is higher in Northern Ireland. Social capital is higher in the Republic than in Northern Ireland in 100 of 128 European Values Survey 1999 measures (of social capital, homogeneity and tolerance). 21 were higher in NI. Higher levels of social capital, homogeneity and tolerance have a demonstrable and continuous downward impact on reported and unreported crime in the Republic of Ireland. The findings in this study do not support the GECD suggestion that trust can be a proxy for social capital, nor is voluntary activity alone a valid proxy. The level of involvement in sports and recreation, concern for the elderly, being prepared to help immigrants and spending time with work colleagues neighbourliness - is a more reliable indicator. Sporting membership is high in Ireland and Northern Ireland. The Ulster Tiger and Celtic Tiger help and hinder social capital. Satisfaction with the police and justice in Northern Ireland is increasing among Catholics and decreasing among Protestants but decreasing overall. Social bonding in credit unions, pubs, white collar crime and the black economy is considered as a form of social capital. The EVS 1999 results do not raise questions about the general applicability of the recommendations of the Patten Commission as a blueprint for police reform but the ESS 2003 suggests a need to evaluate the results of the Commission's recommendations. Twenty activities and policies are suggested to discourage crime through social capital, homogeneity and tolerance.

In my essay, I reflected on my personal experience of moving to another city and all the physical, fiscal, and emotional changes that I went through. Through the text, I bounced between my thoughts of my old hometown and questions that one suburb lifestyle brings. In my painting practice, I used references from my visions and memories. In a way, every piece has a kind of resemblance to gambling and child upbringing. Every painting situation creates its own needs, and my work is engaged in staying attentive to this setting and how it changes and changes me.
Fine Art

The purpose of this research has been to study contemporary Mormon migration in the United States. The underlying assumption of the research was that Utah Mormons are culturally and normatively different from Mormons living elsewhere. Research was carried out in two stages. The first stage was a description of migration streams between four designated regions, i.e. Utah, states adjacent to Utah, other Western states, and the remaining Other states. This stage also determined the proportion of return migration in each stream. It provides initial evidence of the cultural pull of Utah for Mormons. The second stage was a multivariate analysis of predictors of Mormon return migration in the United States between 1976 and 1981. A theoretical framework of measures of cultural and religious attachment (within the conceptualization of location-specific capital) and status and distance migration differentials was used. Seven models were tested. Each model looked at particular migration directions, i.e. to Utah, to regions other than Utah, from Utah, two models of return to Utah, and two models of return to regions other than Utah. Findings show that migration to regions other than Utah are predicted better by predominantly socioeconomic stat us variables. destination But migration involving Utah as an origin or also require measures of cultural and/or religious commitment as well. These findings tend to support the conclusion that the intensity of cultural location-specific capital of Utah, as the Mormon cultural core, does influence the type and magnitude of Mormon migration.

This thesis investigates how relations between the government of Britain, Ireland and Northern Ireland changed in the early years of the Northern Ireland Troubles until the collapse of the Sunningdale executive in May 1974. Specifically this research looks at the three relations studying many of the important aspects of intergovernmental relations within the three jurisdictions at the time and using a wide range of examples to demonstrate how the primary driver in relations between all three jurisdictions moved from economic to political, security and intelligence by 1972 and how these relationships grew and developed before their eventual collapse in the months following the Ulster Workers’ Council Strike. Primarily this study is based on archive research in London, Dublin and Belfast at the official national archives of the three states. However it has also made use of interviews with officials. It includes new insight into negotiations for membership of the EEC, Territorial Seas Delimitation, the Arms Crisis, British relations with Terence O’Neill (and the Northern Ireland government’s opinion of the British), the preparations for internment and Direct Rule, the origins of the Northern Ireland Office and the Irish government’s relations with Northern Ireland’s nationalists. This thesis, using recently released sources, challenges a number of conclusions from previously published research, particularly into North-South relations after 1966, and Britain’s preparations for sending British troops in support of the Northern Ireland government. Significantly, this PhD also demonstrates a long series of British attempts at the end of 1972 and throughout 1973 to tease the Irish government into increasing their border security operations. In doing so it explains the Sunningdale Agreement in the context of a relationship between the Cosgrave and Heath governments that went far beyond what was known at the time and was dependent to a far greater extent on security cooperation than has previously been accepted.

Thesis advisor: John Houchin
The objective of this project was to attempt not only to adapt the novel "The Master and Margarita" by Mikhail Bulgakov to the stage, but rather to translate it in both time and place to the stage. It has been more than 60 years since the novel was written, and as such the concerns of the characters have changed both in time and locale. Not only are their objectives adjusted, but the novel is ultimately that: a novel. Being a theatrical adaptation, the play must acknowledge its own existence as such and take issue with its form as much as "The Master and Margarita" does its own. The play is, ultimately, a failed one in my opinion. The greatest downfall thereof being the fact that theatre, drama, is centered around a single thing: conflict. The devil can be in conflict with no one but the divine, and as such any time he is on stage there is simply something missing. The failure is, to a certain extent, befitting of the piece for what it takes to heart as its issues. Enjoy
Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2013
Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences
Discipline: College Honors Program
Discipline: Theater

Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro de Comunicação e Expressão, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Inglês: Estudos Linguísticos e Literários, Florianópolis, 2016.
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Abstract : The present thesis aimed at investigating modern Irish poetry and its relation to the historical and political context in which it is inserted. More specifically, the poetry of William Butler Yeats, who was one of the major organizers of the Irish Literary Revival. A movement that had the objective of revitalizing the national identity of Ireland after the process of colonization. The corpus was composed of seven poems from different books. They were: ?To Ireland in the Coming Times? (1892), ?September 1913? (1913), ?The Fisherman? (1916), ?Easter, 1916? (1916), ?Nineteen Hundred and Nineteen?, (1921), ?Come Gather Around me, Parnellites?(1937), ?Politics?(1939). The chronological order of publication of the poems was followed in order to investigate changes in relation to the political positioning of the poet. This study was grounded on the presupposition that the political poems written by Yeats were important to the process of decolonization of Ireland and that history and politics can present other possibilities when they are discussed by means of poetry.
A presente dissertação teve como objetivo investigar a poesia irlandesa moderna e sua relação com o contexto histórico e político no qual está inserida. Mais especificamente, a poesia de William Butler Yeats, um dos principais organizadores do Irish Literary Revival. Um movimento que teve o objetivo de revitalizar a identidade nacional da Irlanda após o processo de colonização. O corpus foi composto por sete poemas de diferentes livros. Foram eles:  To Ireland in the Coming Times (1892),  September 1913 (1913),  The Fisherman (1916),  Easter, 1916 (1916),  Nineteen Hundred and Nineteen , (1921),  Come Gather Around me, Parnellites (1937),  Politics (1939). A ordem cronológica de publicação dos poemas foi seguida a fim de investigar as mudanças em relação ao posicionamento político do poeta. Este estudo baseou-se no pressuposto de que os poemas políticos escritos por Yeats foram importantes para o processo de descolonização da Irlanda e que a história e a política podem apresentar outras possibilidades quando eles são discutidos por meio da poesia.

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.

Purpose: Whether researchers have an obligation to disclose genetic incidental findings (GIFs) to research participants has been widely debated but has lacked empirical data. This is the first extensive national examination of IRB professionals’ understanding, experience, and beliefs surrounding GIFs in the context of genomic sequencing. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional online survey of 796 individuals sampled from Public Responsibility in Medicine and Research (PRIM&R) about background and experience with GIFs and ethical reasoning supporting or diminishing an obligation to disclose. Results: Most participants have had experience dealing with GIFs (74%), but less than half (47%) felt well prepared to evaluate a plan for managing them. Respondents generally agreed (78%) that researchers have some obligation to disclose GIFs. The top-cited ethical principles were a duty to warn (84%), respect for autonomy (80%), and beneficence (79%). While a majority believed that the obligation could be undermined by inadequate clinical or analytical validity (72%) or inadequate clinical utility (66%), respondents disagreed that researchers’ additional time and effort (87%) and participants’ imperfect understanding of genetics (70%) were valid reasons for non-disclosure. Almost all (96%) indicated it is definitely or probably acceptable for a participant to elect not to receive any GIFs. This view, however, became less pronounced (63%) when applied to specific case studies. Conclusion: Most IRBs are actively dealing with GIFs but feel only moderately prepared to do so. A majority believes there is sometimes or always an obligation to disclose and that duty to warn, autonomy, and beneficence are guiding forces in this obligation. Respondents generally rejected instrumental and paternalistic concerns as valid reasons for non-disclosure.

Background: With the return to relative peace in Northern Ireland, available demographic data suggest that its population is growing in the sense of becoming increasingly diverse in line with the UK. However, there has been very little research on the social psychological implications of this growing diversity. One aspect of the implication of the growing diversity is prejudice. But past research had focused on Catholics and Protestants with little on the multiethnic dimension. In view of this gap, this research was directed at multiethnic prejudice in Northern Ireland. Aims: To understand the extent of multiethnic prejudice in Northern Ireland in view of the growing diversity. Research Design: The research broadly comprised four studies. The first, focused on a qualitative perspective with seven ethnic groups. It employed the simultaneous use of focus groups with sample sizes of 4-6 persons and Interpretative Phenomenological Analytical (IPA) approaches. The quantitative part had a total sample size of 417. In a cross-sectional design using a convenience sample method, Study two was an evaluation of intergroup relations based on Social Identity to understand its dimensionality in a multiethnic context. The third and fourth studies were focused on Blatant/Subtle Prejudice and Social Distance as measures of the prevalence of ethnic prejudice respectively. These studies also sought to understand their factor structures. Findings: The qualitative study uncovered feelings of dislike and mutual suspicion between ethnic groups. The study also showed that it is possible to simultaneously use Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis and focus in analysing data. The quantitative analysis which employed the use of SPSS and AMOS found a three factor structure for Social Identity in a multiethnic context. In addition, Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was applied due some of the limitation of factor analysis. There were significant differences between Catholics and Protestant on Social Identity and all the prejudice measures. There was also evidence of significant negative views between majority and minority groups in the country. Conclusion: The main implication of this research is that there is evidence of a broad divide between the ethnic groups involved in the research indicating a lack of integration. Further implications and areas for future research are suggested.

Two proxies are best suited to an investigation of animal exploitation in medieval Ireland, the historical record and the zooarchaeological record. Extensive analyses of both have been brought together here to address this topic. In selecting period documents to include in the study, an attempt was made t.o cover the various historical traditions seen in medieval Ireland; this includes Irish annals, Anglo-Norman administratixe documents, and narrative histories and observations from medieval writers. One of the more important aspects of this thesis was the accumulation of as authoritative corpus of zooarchaeological data as possible. Towards these ends, a large number ofpublished and unpublished reports have been brought together to form a complete picture ofthe state of the medieval Irish faunal record. Three new faunal assemblages, from Carrickmines Castle, Co. Dublin, Dunboyne Castle, Co. Meath, and Ballybarrack souterrain, Co. Louth, have also been analysed and included in the thesis. On a broader scale, this thesis highlights three problems in both the archaeology of medieval Ireland. The first of these is the integration of historical and archaeological data, and to what extent it is appropriate to do so. The second is a general problem within archaeology and that is the treatment of specialist reports. Too often such reports are either not fully published or not published at all, limiting or eliminating the usefulness of the data they contain. Alternatively, they are not readily accessible to researchers whom they would benefit. Finally, the state of the medieval Irish archaeological record is heavily biased towards Anglo-Norman/urban sites. This is of special significance in that, due to a lake of economic records, zooarchaeology is one ofthe few strands of evidence available which may shed light on animal exploitation in Gaelic Ireland. Supplied by The British Library - 'The world's knowledge'

The leaf shaped bronze sword is one of the most distinctive and evocative weapons of prehistory. The type appears throughout Western Europe in the final centuries of the second millennium BC only to disappear as an artefact type with the widespread introduction of iron weapons hundreds of years later. The widespread distribution of the bronze sword points to the increasingly martial nature of Late Bronze Age society, a feature echoed in Ireland by the appearance of defensive landscape features. The expansion and development of Irish archaeology in the last fifteen years has rather left metalwork and swords, in particular, behind, as the main focus has moved away from artefacts towards settlement. It is only in recent years that interest has revived in the Bronze Age and bronze metalwork. Over six hundred swords have been recovered from Ireland, the vast majority being nineteenth century finds. Most belong to the equivalent of the Ewart Park type in Britain – but there are significant numbers of early flange hilted weapons and of the late Gundlingen type. This thesis represents the first major study of the development and context of the Irish swords since George Eogan’s work (Eogan 1964). It examines, in addition to those weapons listed in Eogan’s catalogue, all of the more recent discoveries, and takes as the central theme the biography or life cycle of a sword, from manufacture through to use and deposition, with the emphasis on the latter. The thesis represents a companion to the comprehensive analysis and catalogue of Bronze Age swords in Britain, co- authored by myself and Colin Burgess (Colquhoun and Burgess 1988). Following the death of Ian Colquhoun on 7th June 2013, the thesis was compiled, formatted and submitted posthumously by his supervisors – Dr Benjamin Roberts and Dr Tom Moore.

Le travail de recherche présenté ici a pour objectif de dégager les particularités des combattants irlandais engagés dans l’armée britannique pendant le Premier Conflit mondial et d’apprécier la singularité de leur sortie de guerre. Le champ chronologique est volontairement large dans la mesure où il dépasse 1918 pour traiter de la question des mémoires de guerre et de la démobilisation des unités irlandaises. Ainsi, notre travail entend montrer dans quelle mesure la situation endogène en Irlande influence la participation et les expériences de guerre des engagés volontaires et se répercute sur leur réinsertion dans le tissu urbain irlandais. En s’intéressant au retour des anciens combattants sous un angle socio-économique, politique et culturel notre travail enrichit l’historiographie de la période révolutionnaire irlandaise 1919-1924. L’étude des trajectoires des rescapés de la Première Guerre mondiale permet de traiter du réengagement d’anciens combattants irlandais dans les brigades républicaines et dans les unités de l’armée britannique tout en travaillant sur les actes de violence et de cruauté dont ils font l’objet. Les questionnements que suscite notre travail sont multiples, et se situent au croisement de l’histoire politique, de l’histoire sociale, de l’histoire culturelle et de l’anthropologie de l’expérience combattante
This research work aims to identify the characteristics of the Irish soldiers who served in the British Army during the First World War and assess their peculiar post-war situation. We chose a wide chronological field, beyond 1918, in order to cover the war remembrance and demobilisation issues of Irish units. We aim to show how the endogenous situation in Ireland influenced the volunteers’ war effort and impacted their reintegration into Irish civil life. Our work enriches the 1919-1924 Irish revolutionary period’s historiography by focusing on socio-economic, political and cultural factors. Studying the life story of Irish First World War survivors enables us to span their enlistment in Republican brigades or British Army units, while also covering the acts of violence and cruelty committed against them. Our work lies at the crossroads of numerous political, social and cultural questions, as well as raising the anthropological issues of the Irish veterans’ experience

Cette thèse suit l’évolution et la transmission du concept de GND à travers le temps et l’espace via l’analyse des documents produits par les groupes GND de Grande Bretagne, d’Irlande et d’Irlande du Nord dans une perspective comparative. La thèse intègre des méthodes quantitatives et qualitatives, dont des entretiens semistructurés, l’analyse lexicométrique et une forme adaptée de l’Analyse Critique du Discours afin de répondre à la question suivante : « Comment les discours et les idéologies des 'Green New Deals' de l'Irlande, la Grande-Bretagne et l'Irlande du Nord peuvent-ils être compris en relation les uns aux autres et dans leurs contextes respectifs ? » La thèse explore l'influence des contextes et des groupes sur les discours et le contenu idéologique des textes Green New Deal, et avance l’argument que bien que les Green New Deals aient, à des degrés divers, le potentiel pour constituer la première étape d'une transition sur le long terme vers une économie politique juste et verte, ils se doivent de développer certains thèmes pour permettre à leur potentiel transformateur d’opérer, au lieu de renforcer les idéologies actuellement dominantes
This thesis follows the evolution and transmission of the Green New Deal concept through time and space by examining the British, Irish and Northern Irish Green New Deal documents from a comparative perspective. It uses quantitative and qualitative methods including Corpus Linguistics, Critical Discourse Analysis and the collection of elite oral history interviews to respond to the guiding question, “How can the discourses and embedded ideologies of the Green New Deals of the Republic of Ireland, Great Britain and Northern Ireland be understood in relation to one another and their respective contexts?”. The thesis explores the influence of contexts and groups on the discourses and ideological contents of the Green New Deal texts, ultimately finding that though the Green New Deals have the potential to act as transitional documents in a move towards a just green political economy, further work must be done to develop key themes in the texts and ensure they realise their transformative potential rather than simply reinforcing currently dominant ideologies

Through an autoethnographical approach, and interviews and participant observations with forty women who migrated from Japan during the past two decades and are now living in Northern Ireland and the Republic, this thesis documents the dynamic subjectivities of individual migrants: the ways in which their emotions, perceptions and memories are formed by specific globalising forces and the peculiar dynamics of transnational families. The following questions have been considered: (1) what prompted these women to leave Japan and migrate to Ireland! Northern Ireland?; (2) how did they make adjustments to the cultural and physical distance between their own and their husbands' home country?; (3) in shifting social settings and cultural contexts, how did they recreate a sense of belonging?; and (4) how were their subjectivities shaped and reshaped in changing relationships and emotional involvements with families 'here' and 'there'? In examining these questions, this study reconsiders two themes that have been central to contemporary studies of migration, transnationalism and cosmopolitanism: the role of global imaginary in shaping people's perceptions of places as loci of possibility (or lack of possibility); and shifting and situated senses of belonging. Some theories of affect, emotion, acculturation, and perception are also applied in order to explore the links between individuals' subjectivities and social-cultural forms.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 2007.
Title from first page of PDF file (viewed August 7, 2007). Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations. Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (B.S.)--California Polytechnic State University, 2009.
Project advisor: James G. Harris. Title from PDF title page; viewed on Jan. 28, 2010. Includes bibliographical references. Also available on microfiche.

Die vorliegende Dissertation hat einen technologischen und einen anwendungsbezogenen Schwerpunkt. Technologisch ordnen sich die präsentierten Forschungsergebnisse in das Gebiet der "Swarm Intelligence" (dt.: Schwarm-Intelligenz) ein. Swarm Intelligence ist ein Teilbereich der Informatik, der sich an der Überschneidung zwischen der Multi-Agenten Systeme Forschung der Künstlichen Intelligenz und dem Forschungsgebiet "Artificial Life" (dt.: Künstliches Leben) befindet. Im Gegensatz zur Swarm Intelligence im allgemeinen, überträgt der spezielle Ansatz "Synthetic Ecosystems" (dt.: synthetische Ökosysteme) nicht nur Koordinationsmechanismen aus biologischen Multi-Agenten Systemen, wie zum Beispiel Insekten Kolonien, in den Entwurf künstlicher Systeme. Vielmehr sollen die grundlegenden Prinzipien "natürlich" entstandener komplexer Systeme, also auch zum Beispiel einer Aktienbörse, übernommen werden. Als anwendungsbezogener Hintergrund der Dissertation wurde die verteilte Steuerung moderner industrieller Fertigungsanlagen gewählt. Die Fertigungssteuerung ist ein geeignetes Anwendungsfeld für die Technologien, die im Rahmen der Forschungsarbeiten entwickelt wurden. Damit dient die Präsentation eines synthetischen Ökosystems für die Fertigungssteuerung der Demonstration des neuartigen Ansatzes zum Entwurf, Realisierung und Evaluierung komplexer, industriell relevanter Systeme. Gleichzeitig leistet die vorgestellte Architektur der Fertigungssteuerung und die darin verwandten Koordinationsverfahren einen Beitrag zur Weiterentwicklung holonischer Produktionssysteme. Der holonische Ansatz zur Produktionsplanung und -steuerung genießt derzeit große Aufmerksamkeit sowohl in der Forschung als auch in der Industrie. Als Teilgebiet der Entwicklung intelligenter Fertigungssysteme (engl.: IMS - Intelligent Manufacturing Systems), propagiert der holonische Ansatz eine Abkehr von der traditionell zentralistischen und hierarchischen Planung und Steuerung hin zu selbst-organisierenden Systemen autonom (inter-)agierender Individuen ("Holone"). Bei der praktischen Umsetzung holonischer Systeme werden sehr häufig Technologien aus der Multi-Agenten Systeme Forschung angewandt. Mit dieser Dissertation rücken auch synthetische Ökosysteme in das Blickfeld holonischer Systeme. Natürliche Agentensysteme im allgemeinen und Kolonien sozialer Insekten im besonderen faszinieren durch ihre Robustheit, ihre Flexibilität und ihre Anpassungsfähigkeit. Solche Systeme bestehen häufig aus sehr vielen, sehr einfachen Individuen und doch weisen sie ein komplexes und koordiniertes Gesamtverhalten auf. Es gibt mehrere Zweige in unterschiedlichen Wissenschaften, zum Beispiel in der Biologie, Physik, Ökonomie oder in der Informatik, die sich mit verteilten Systemen lokal interagierender Individuen beschäftigen. Ihre Erforschung resultiert in einer Reihe wiederholt beobachteter grundlegender Eigenschaften. Um künstlich erschaffene Systeme mit ähnlichen Eigenschaften auszustatten werden Entwurfsprinzipien für das Design von Multi-Agenten Systemen in dieser Dissertation vorgeschlagen. Jedes Entwurfsprinzip wird systematisch eingeführt, motiviert und in seinen Konsequenzen für Anwendungen in der Fertigungssteuerung diskutiert. Stigmergie ist ein grundlegendes Konzept der Koordination einer großen Anzahl von Individuen unter anderem in Kolonien sozialer Insekten. Die Formulierung dieses Konzepts ist auf den Biologen Grassè zurückzuführen, welcher in der Mitte des zwanzigsten Jahrhunderts das Schwarmverhalten von Termiten untersuchte. Stigmergie beruht auf der Tatsache, daß das Verhalten eines jeden Individuums durch die aktuelle Konfiguration seiner lokalen Umwelt bestimmt wird. Die Umwelt wiederum, wird durch die Aktivitäten der Individuen verändert. Diese Wechselwirkung führt in Verbindung mit entsprechend ausgelegten individuellen Verhaltensmustern zur Emergenz einer global koordinierten Erfüllung der anstehenden Aufgaben der Kolonie. Im Detail wird sematektonische von marker-basierter Stigmergie unterschieden, wobei bei sematektonischer Stigmergie der Zustand der Aufgabenerfüllung selbst (z.B. Stand des Nestbaus) das Individualverhalten beeinflußt, während marker-basierte Stigmergie aufgabenunabhängige Marker (z.B. Pheromone) in der Umwelt platziert. Multi-Agenten Systeme finden ihre Realisierung in Software, welche gegebenenfalls an physische Aktuatoren gekoppelt ist. Im allgemeinen besteht diese Software aus einer Laufzeitumgebung und den darin ausgeführten Agenten. Die vorliegende Dissertation präsentiert eine Erweiterung von Laufzeitumgebungen um eine anwendungsunabhängige Pheromon Infrastruktur (PI). Die PI ermöglicht es den Softwareagenten des jeweiligen synthetischen Ökosystems, künstliche Pheromone als Datenstrukturen in einem virtuellen Raum abzulegen und wahrzunehmen. Diese Datenstrukturen dienen als Marker in stigmergetischen Koordinationsmechanismen. Die Algorithmen der PI operieren auf diesen künstlichen Pheromonen und emulieren die natürlichen Vorgänge der räumlichen Ausbreitung und Verdunstung von Pheromonen auf abstrakter Ebene. Zusätzlich wird das natürliche Vorbild um eine automatische Aufbereitung von Informationen erweitert. Die Funktionalität der PI wird in dieser Dissertation spezifiziert. Des weiteren wird ein formales Modell erstellt, welches die Grundlage einer numerischen Analyse der Eigenschaften der PI bildet. Die Analyse liefert Vorhersagen für das Entstehen von räumlichen Mustern von Pheromonkonzentrationen in der PI. Diese Vorhersagen können dann in der Feineinstellung und der Evaluierung von Koordinationsmechanismen verwendet werden. Außerdem dient das formale Modell als Grundlage für den Beweis der globalen Stabilität der PI. Damit ist gesichert, daß unabhängig von der gewählten räumlichen Struktur und den von der jeweiligen Anwendung generierten Pheromonen die Konzentrationen der Pheromone immer in ihrer Stärke begrenzt sind. Der Beweis der globalen Stabilität ist eine wichtige Voraussetzung für die Verwendung der PI in praktischen Anwendungen. Die Spezifikation einer verteilten Realisierung der PI bildet den Abschluß der allgemeinen Betrachtung. Die Agenten, welche die (virtuelle) räumliche Struktur der PI widerspiegeln, werden im Detail spezifiziert. Auf der Basis dieser Spezifikation ist im Rahmen der Dissertation ein Prototyp der PI realisiert worden. Dieser Prototyp diente dem Nachweis des vorhergesagten Verhaltens der Infrastruktur und der späteren Evaluierung des entwickelten Fertigungssteuerungssystems. Im weiteren Verlauf der vorliegenden Dissertation wird ein neuartiger Ansatz zur Fertigungssteuerung betrachtet. Die absehbaren Veränderungen der äußeren Bedingungen der industriellen Produktion, ausgelöst durch den globalen Übergang von Anbieter- zu Verbrauchermärkten, erfordert die Fertigung immer komplexerer und variantenreicherer Produkte in ständig schwankenden Stückzahlen und deutlich verkürzten Lebenszyklen bei gleichzeitig sinkenden Kosten. Zur Erfüllung dieser Anforderungen in der Massenproduktion wandelt sich die traditionell starr verkettete Strangfertigung (z.B. Transferstraßen) zur flexiblen Fließfertigung (z.B. flexible Bearbeitungszentren). Die Steuerung einer flexiblen Fließfertigung erfordert neue Herangehensweisen. In einer holonischen Fertigung, zum Beispiel, organisiert sich die Produktionsplanung und Produktionssteuerung selbst um die Erfüllung der aktuellen Aufträge. Dabei werden in der Steuerung verteilte, reaktive Verfahren verwendet, welche eine deutlich gesteigerte Robustheit und Flexibilität gegenüber Störungen und Veränderungen aufweisen. Der Übergang zur flexiblen Fließfertigung bedeutet die Einführung von Flexibilität in der Bearbeitung aber auch im Transport des Materials. Es ist eine grundlegende Eigenschaft dieser Fertigungssysteme, daß zu einem beliebigen Zeitpunkt eine Reihe möglicher Transportwege und damit eine Vielzahl möglicher Muster im Materialfluß zur Verfügung stehen. Dabei führt aber nur eine kleine Menge dieser Muster zu einer bestmöglichen Erfüllung der globalen Produktionsziele (z.B. hoher globaler Durchsatz). Es ist also die Aufgabe der Fertigungssteuerung in jeder Situation das bestmögliche Materialflußmuster zu erreichen. Ist ein verteilter Ansatz für die Steuerung gewählt worden, so muß diese Optimierung nach globalen Produktionszielen in die lokalen Steuerungsentscheidungen integriert werden, ohne die Autonomie der lokalen Einheiten zu verletzen. Die Dissertation präsentiert ein sogenanntes geführtes Fertigungssteuerungssystem (GFSS), welches einen verteilten und reaktiven Steuerungsansatz mit einer Flußoptimierung unter Beachtung globaler Produktionsziele in neuartiger Weise verbindet. Der Entwurf des GFSS folgte den vorgeschlagenen Prinzipien für synthetische Ökosysteme und die Agenten im GFSS werden mit Hilfe der Pheromon Infrastruktur koordiniert. Die Agenten und Pheromone des GFSS werden detailliert spezifiziert und in einem realistischen Beispiel aus der Automobilindustrie evaluiert. In der Evaluierung wird von den Ergebnissen der Analyse der PI Gebrauch gemacht. Die dabei gewählte numerische Beschreibung des Einzelverhaltens und die darauf aufbauende Betrachtung des emergierenden Gesamtverhaltens weist den Weg zu einer systematischen Evaluierung von emergenten Systemeigenschaften in synthetischen Ökosystemen. In einem abschließenden Kapitel werden die drei inhaltlichen Schwerpunkte der Dissertation noch einmal betrachtet. Vor dem Hintergrund des GFSS werden die vorgeschlagenen Entwurfsprinzipien für synthetische Ökosysteme systematisch auf ihre Anwendbarkeit und praktische Bedeutung hin überprüft. Außerdem wird die allgemeine Verwendung der PI für den Austausch von Informationen zwischen Agenten untersucht. Und schließlich wird die Fertigungssteuerung aus der Sicht abstrakter Zustandsräume diskutiert. Die vorliegende Dissertation weist den Weg für eine Reihe weiterführender Forschungsarbeiten. So werden zum einen detaillierte Konzepte für die Erweiterung des GFSS um eine automatische Strategiebewertung und -generierung und um ein Visualisierungssystem vorgestellt. Zum anderen werden aber auch notwendige Ergänzungen der Entwurfsprinzipien und mögliche Verbesserungen der PI und des darauf basierenden Evaluierungsansatzes vorgeschlagen.
The synthetic ecosystems approach attempts to adopt basic principles of natural ecosystems in the design of multiagent systems. Natural agent systems like insect colonies are fascinating in that they are robust, flexible, and adaptive. Made up of millions of very simple entities, these systems express a highly complex and coordinated global behavior. There are several branches in different sciences, for instance in biology, physics, economics, or in computer science, that focus on distributed systems of locally interacting entities. Their research yields a number of commonly observed characteristics. To supply engineered systems with similar characteristics this thesis proposes a set of principles that should be observed when designing synthetic ecosystems. Each principle is systematically stated and motivated, and its consequences for the manufacturing control domain are discussed. Stigmergy has shown its usefulness in the coordination of large crowds of agents in a synthetic ecosystem. Sign-based stigmergy through synthetic pheromones is supported by an extension to runtime environments for software agents called the pheromone infrastructure. In this thesis the operation of the pheromone infrastructure is specified, formally modeled and analyzed, and an implementation is presented. The guided manufacturing control system for flexible flow shops is designed following the proposed principles and it uses the pheromone infrastructure to coordinate its agents. It comprises two subsystems. The control (sub)system, which enables production, is distributed and reactive. The advisory (sub)system observes the operation of the control system and advises the manufacturing execution under global considerations. This thesis specifies the guided manufacturing control system and evaluates its operation in a simple but realistic example adapted from the automotive industry. The applicability of the design principles, the usage of the pheromone infrastructure, and the operation of manufacturing control in abstract state spaces are considered on the basis of the guided manufacturing control system.

This thesis provides a discussion and analysis of the factors that influence real estate return. The result is a combination of capital growth and rental profit, which are affected predominantly by changing location values, leverage, interest rates, and property use. These are analysed separately and brought together with formulas for calculating the total return, and demonstrations for how this return may be affected by changes in the underlying parameters.

Markowitz introduced the concept of modelling the risk associated with a given security as the variance of the expected return and showed how under certain conditions an investors portfolio can be managed by balancing the expected return of the portfolio and its variance. Building on Markowitz original framework, William Sharpe, extended these ideas by connecting a portfolio to a risky asset. This extension became known as the Sharpe Index Model. There are number of assumptions governing the residuals of the Sharpe index model, one being that the error terms of the stocks are uncorrelated. The Troskie-Hossain innovation to the Sharpe Index model relaxes this assumption. We evaluate the Troskie-Hossain model relative to the Sharpe Index Model and Markowitz portfolio, and find that the Troskie-Hossain model approximates the Markowitz efficient frontier and optimal portfolio very closely. Further examining the residuals, we find evidence of autocorrelation and heteroskedasticity. Using ARMA to model the autocorrelation of the residuals has very little impact on the efficient frontier when working with log returns. However when working with simple returns the ARMA shifts the efficient frontier to the left. We find that GARCH(l , 1) models capture most of the autocorrelation in the squared residuals for both simple returns and log returns and shifts the efficient frontier to the left. Modelling a non-constant conditional mean and non-constant conditional variance (ARMA and GARCH) has proven difficult. The more complex a model becomes the more difficult the estimation. We investigate the effects of dividend yields on the efficient frontier, as well as using simple returns vs log returns in portfolio construction. Including dividend yields in our return data shifts the efficient frontier upwards. However only the a's are increased, and the f3's and f3 t-statistics of the shares remain the same. This shift effect of dividends has no impact on the time series or heteroskedastic models. The simple returns efficient frontier lies above that of the log returns efficient frontier. The a 's for simple returns are very different to those of log returns, however the f3's lie in a similar region to those of log returns.

Business Administration
Ph.D.
This dissertation investigates the role of credit in the evaluation of risk and return. The research comprises three essays, which analyze the use of credit from different perspectives. Chapter 1: The first essay proposes a comprehensive theory for the assessment and implementation of "acceptable" underwriting and rating variables. While the use of personal credit was the driving force behind the essay, we extend our theory and models to include all controversial rating classifications. It is shown that a rating classification would be appropriate when the cost to society is relatively small. The use of personal credit in the automobile insurance industry is provided as an application of the proposed models, and other considerations are explored. Chapter 2: For many years, gamblers have developed strategies to reach specific monetary and survival goals. In the second essay, a strategy is introduced in which a speculator engages in bet doubling to increase his chances of walking home a winner. It is shown that with enough credit it is quite possible to become a winner with a high degree of certainty--99.9%, even while facing a losing proposition. However, huge returns require huge risks, and so adopting such a strategy would eventually lead to large losses and negative expected profits. It is also shown that limited liability and a cost of obtaining credit are important factors to consider when analyzing expected gains. Chapter 3: "Hazardously immoral" contracts force external parties to bear significant losses without their consent. Abuses are particularly likely to occur when the threat of system-wide disruption is sufficient to make governments and international agencies bail out the offending organizations in order to limit total damages. The models provided in chapter 2 are presented in the third essay as strategies for externalizing extreme risks, and several results are derived.
Temple University--Theses

Diasporic Homecoming and the New Indian City “We set out, [my father] and my mother and I, for Karol Bagh. ‘15/64 Western Extension Area, Ajmal Khan Road,’ he chanted momentously in the back of the car. We drove through the wide, fluid streets of the bureaucratic area…the entire area was bursting at the seams: shops and warehouses extended out onto the streets, apartments had grown upwards and outwards into every possible gap, and parked cars filled in the rest. We missed our turn and had to do a U-turn, a mistake that cost us half an hour…My father became increasingly upset as we penetrated deeper and deeper into the end-of-day clamour. ‘Karol Bagh used to be a bagh,’ he said, ‘a garden. I used to ride my bike on these streets. What happened?’”—Rana Dasgupta

 Abstract

 Titel: Terms of endearment: A study on how strangers are addressed in Northern Ireland and Ireland

Författare: Kristina SkagerströmEngelska C, 2009

 

Antal sidor: 16

 

Abstract: The aim of this study was to find out whether terms of endearment are used by native speakers of English while addressing strangers and if so, what are the reasons? Another aspect is if they use familiar body language while addressing a stranger. This study was carried out based on a number of observations in Northern Ireland and Ireland.

Since the aim of the study was to see why terms of endearments are used the researcher needed the help of a male observer to see if the reasons were gender related. Nine restaurants of different social class were visited, nine stores of different social class, the observers spoke to nine taxi drivers, they visited nine hotels of different social class; and asked nine people for directions in the street.

 The results showed that no young people addressed either of the observers with terms of endearment. There was no difference in social class. There was a big difference in how the male and the female observer were addressed by people over the age of 40. While the male observer was addressed very polite, the female observer was addressed with a very informal speech were the participants used terms of endearments such as "love" and touched her on the shoulder.

 Nyckelord: Terms of endearment, Northern Ireland, Ireland, Observations

This study addresses critical questions in relation to the factors affecting the economic lives, performance and assimilation of immigrants in Ireland. Data from the Census of Population of Ireland, 2006, is used. Three key themes are addressed: the labour market outcomes and performance of immigrants in Ireland; immigrant and gender equality in the Irish labour market; and the housing outcomes of immigrants in Ireland. Preliminary statistics show that immigrants in Ireland have favourable labour market characteristics. Utilising econometric estimation techniques, it is reported that, ceteris paribus, immigrants from NI, GB, EU 13 and USA are more likely, relative to the native population, of having occupational success (being employed in Professional, Managerial or Technical (PMT) jobs). Other immigrants report a very different labour market experience, where, positive labour market characteristics do not translate into occupational success. Others experience a structural disadvantage in the Irish labour market. All immigrants are less likely to be in self-employment, relative to natives. Education and subjects studied play a key role for immigrants' labour market integration and success. Employing equality adjusted proportions, it is reported that immigrants experience greater within group inequality than natives. This study paints the gender dimension of immigration in Ireland in a favourable light. Female immigrants do not appear to suffer from a double disadvantage in the Irish labour market.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2007.
The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on January 10, 2008) Includes bibliographical references.

The aim of this research is to address the situation of transport disadvantage in Northern Ireland. The link. between transport disadvantage and social exclusion, namely the ability to access goods and services is a key public policy concern. Work in England and Scotland has identified the extent of the problem and some of the key patterns (DE~ 2000; Hine and Mitchell, 2001, 2003; Social Exclusion Unit, 2003). To date, limited research has been undertaken on this relationship in Northern Ireland. In 2000 the General Conswner Council (GCCNI) produced a short discussion document on transport disadvantage. This is problematic given the statements of concern in national transport strategy and planning docwnents (DRDNI, 1998, 2002). By and large, the relationship between transport and social exclusion is little understood by local authorities who are struggling to target resources at the problem (DETR, 1998). There is a clear need, therefore, to identify patterns of transport need. For the purposes of this thesis four case study areas at electoral ward level were selected. Focus group meetings and in-depth individual interviews within the rural community were carried out to explore the linkages between transport provision and lifestyle decisions. These were followed up by a target sample of 200 household surveys in each ward area, 200 secondary school surveys and 120 travel diary completions. The travel diaries have only been used in a supplementary capacity due to problems associated with incomplete returns. The key to detennining levels of transport disadvantage in the four case studies surrounded the link with gender, age group, level of household income and socioeconomic group. In this study, differences in travel experiences by gender were found to be minimal. Many females have access to a private car and are, thus accessing facilities, goods and services relatively easily. The issue of age group was found to be a more significant variable. While gender is not an issue, both males and females in the 25 to 59 age groups are the only groups who do not suffer in any way from transport disadvantage. lbis is due to the fact that the vast majority of respondents here are employed, own their own cars and are on relatively good household incomes. When younger and older respondents are considered, problems become more evident. The data presented shows that these groups are less likely to be able to drive or to have access to a private car, other than by relying on someone to give them lifts. These groups are also more liable to be on lower income levels resulting in less ability to buy and maintain their own transport, thus relying on public transport to meet their needs, something which proves problematic in the rural context.