Дисертації з теми "Free choices"

In our daily activities, we all experience a certain degree of control over our behaviours and the more we feel ‘in control’ the more we are likely to describe our behaviours as self-generated or ‘intentional’. Such intentional control refers to the capacity of humans to perform actions based on internal decisions and motivations, rather than external stimulation. Within the psychological debate on free will, this evidence raised the question on how ‘free-choices’ are taken when decisions are not dictated by immediate external imperatives. The core argument concerns whether voluntary actions follow a conscious intention to act or whether the feeling of being in control is just an epiphenomenon of unconscious neural mechanisms that are the true origin of behaviour. Different components of a free-choice can be isolated and investigated. Participants can choose what action to make, when to make an action, or whether to make an action at all (Brass & Haggard, 2008). Each of these refers to a different aspect of free-choice, but all of them involve the presence of a choice between multiple available options. Studying voluntary responses in this manner and comparing them with action or inhibition in response to a specific external stimulus, allow us to obtain useful insights into the origin of endogenous decisions. Among these components, the decision about whether to act – the so called ‘intentional inhibition’ – has received less attention. Such decision can be taken at almost any stage during motor preparation, until a point of no return (Schultze-Kraft et al., 2016). Libet (1983) controversially suggested that last-moment decisions to inhibit an action involved a purely conscious form of ‘free won’t’ (Libet, Gleason, Wright, & Pearl, 1983). However, alike voluntary actions, conscious decisions to inhibit might also depend on unconscious brain processes. For this reason, to what extent intentional decisions to inhibit are necessarily based on a deliberate choice is still an open question (Parkinson & Haggard, 2014). The present thesis will examine how unperceivable – subliminal – information in the environment, physiological states of the body and ongoing pre-conscious fluctuations in brain activity contribute to generate voluntary decisions to act or to inhibit. Starting from the contemporary debate raging around free will and taking into account the most recent cognitive models of voluntary actions, the introductory section of the thesis will provide an overview on the basic concepts linked to volition (Chapter 1). Particular attention will be given to behavioural inhibition and how this component has been studied along a continuum from ‘stimulus-driven inhibition’ to ‘intentional inhibition’. For each concept introduced, I will provide a review of the current state of the art regarding both the neural and behavioural mechanisms involved. In particular, I shall focus on previous research suggesting that making free-choices activate a specific network of brain activity. Chapter 2 will review current evidence regarding how subliminal information in the environment and psychophysiological states act as modulators for free-choice mechanisms both at the behavioural and neural level. Indeed, there is consistent evidence concerned with the ability of subliminal stimuli to bias our free decisions by influencing the activity within the ‘choice network’. Similarly, psychophysiological states such as the arousal have been shown to moderate a number of cognitive tasks including response inhibition. The second part of the thesis will focus on the empirical work I have conducted to investigate some of the theoretical issues previously introduced. The experiment described in Chapter 3 exploits a ‘Go/Nogo’ paradigm assessing the effect of subliminal priming by highlighting the dramatic effect of congruent and incongruent subliminal information on reaction times and free-choices. As the first experiment validated the paradigm as a meaningful tool to disentangle between forced and free components of making choices in relation to subliminal processing, the functional magnetic resonance (fMRI) experiment described in Chapter 4 capitalizes on the same kind of manipulation. A region of interest (ROI) analysis was conducted to test whether the degree of intentionality of the response and the information provided by subliminal information might modulate the activity within the ‘free-choice network’. In Chapter 5 the effect of an increased level of arousal induced by physical exercise on the performance in the same task will be examined. The experimental section of the present thesis will end with Chapter 6 in which the neural underpinnings of the conscious generation of actions by means of multi-voxel pattern analysis (MVPA) has been investigated. The thesis will end with a general discussion (Chapter 7). Here I shall rely on the evidence presented in the preceding experimental chapters to propose that free-choices are determined by the interplay between brain, body, and sensory environment.
Nelle attività quotidiane, tutti noi percepiramo di essere in controllo delle nostre azioni e più ciò viene avvertito, più siamo inclini a descrivere i nostri comportamenti come ‘intenzionali’. Questa sensazione di ‘controllo intenzionale’ si basa sulla nostra capacità di produrre azioni basate più su decisioni e motivazioni interne rispetto a decisioni e motivazioni guidate da eventi esterni. L’evidenza di ciò ha alimentato il dibattito relativo al ‘libero arbitrio’ stimolando la discussione su come sia possibile prendere delle decisioni unicamente endogene e non basate su indicazioni derivanti dall’ambiente circostante. Il problema principale riguarda la definizione dell’origine di questi meccanismi: le nostre azioni, quando eseguite intenzionalmente, sono prodotte da processi decisionali consci, oppure la nostra sensazione di essere ‘in controllo’ è solamente un epifenomeno dovuto a meccanismi neurali inconsci che determinano il successivo svolgimento dell’azione? È possibile differenziare e studiare separatamente diverse componenti decisionali di un’azione intenzionale. Le persone possono scegliere quale azione fare, quando farla e se farla (Brass & Haggard, 2008). Ognuna di queste componenti fa riferimento a diversi aspetti delle azioni intenzionali ma tutte loro sottintendono la capacità di fare una specifica scelta tra molte alternative. Studiando in questo modo le azioni intenzionali e confrontando quest’ultime con le azioni guidate da stimoli esterni, è possibile ottenere utili indicazioni sull'origine delle nostre scelte. Delle tre componenti precedentemente descritte, la componente decisionale del se fare un azione – definita “inibizione intenzionale” – ha ricevuto minor attenzione in letteratura. La scelta di inibire un azione può essere presa a diversi stadi della programmazione motoria, fino a un “punto di non ritorno” dove l’azione non può più essere inibita efficacemente (Schultze-Kraft et al., 2016). Libet (1983) suggerì che la capacità umana di inibire un azione fino all’ultimo momento, sottintendesse la possibilità di una forma consapevole di "libertà di veto" (Libet, Gleason, Wright, & Pearl, 1983). Tuttavia, come per l’origine delle azioni intenzionali, anche l’inibizione intenzionale delle azioni, potrebbe dipendere da processi cerebrali inconsci. Per questo motivo, la possibilità che la decisione d’inibire un’azione intenzionalmente sia necessariamente basata su una libera scelta è ancora argomento di forte dibattito (Parkinson & Haggard, 2014). Alla luce di quanto detto, lo scopo di questa tesi è quello di esaminare il contributo della presenza di stimoli subliminali nell’ambiente circostante, degli stati psicofisiologici del corpo e delle fluttuazioni dell’attività cerebrale precosciente, nelle generazione delle decisioni intenzionali di inibire o produrre un’azione. Partendo dalla descrizione del dibattito sul libero arbitrio e prendendo in considerazione i più recenti modelli teorici sulle azioni intenzionali, il capitolo introduttivo fornirà una panoramica completa dei concetti relativi alla volontarietà nel controllo motorio (Capitolo 1). L’inibizione delle azioni verrà trattata con occhio di riguardo, introducendo la distinzione tra “inibizione intenzionale” e “inibizione guidata da stimoli esterni”. Per ognuno dei concetti introdotti, fornirò una descrizione completa dello stato di avanzamento della ricerca sia dal punto di vista teorico sia dei correlati comportamentali e neurali coinvolti. In particolare mi concentrerò su un network di aree strettamente legate alla produzione di decisioni intenzionali. Il Capitolo 2 esaminerà come gli stimoli subliminali e gli stati psicofisiologici del corpo possano agire da modulatori dei meccanismi legati alla produzione di azioni, sia a livello comportamentale che a livello neurale. Infatti, studi recenti concordano nel dimostrare come gli stimoli subliminali possano manipolare i processi decisionali legati all’azione influenzando l'attività di un specifico network di aree cerebrali. Allo stesso modo, gli stati psicofisiologici come l'arousal hanno dimostrato di moderare numerosi compiti cognitivi tra i quali anche l'inibizione delle azioni. Sull base degli aspetti teorici introdotti nella prima parte della tesi, la seconda parte si focalizzerà sul lavoro sperimentale che ho condotto durante il dottorato di ricerca. L’esperimento descritto nel Capitolo 3 utilizzerà un paradigma di "Go/Nogo" per evidenziare l'effetto drammatico della stimolazione subliminale sui tempi di reazione agli stimoli e sulle scelte volontarie di inibire o produrre un’azione. Poiché il primo esperimento ha potuto validare la fruibilità del paradigma come strumento di analisi delle componenti volontarie dell’azione ed inibizione, in relazione all'elaborazione subliminale, l'esperimento di risonanza magnetica funzionale (fMRI) descritto nel Capitolo 4 capitalizzerà sullo stesso tipo di manipolazione sperimentale. È stata condotta un'analisi su aree cerebrali di interesse (ROI) per verificare se il grado di intenzionalità della risposta e le informazioni fornite dagli stimoli subliminali possano modulare l'attività all'interno network di aree specifico. Nel Capitolo 5 invece, verrà esaminato l'effetto dell’aumento del livello di arousal indotto da esercizio fisico, sulla prestazione allo stesso compito. La sezione sperimentale della tesi terminerà con il Capitolo 6 in cui verranno esplorati i correlati neurali della generazione delle azioni mediante l’analisi multivariata dell’attività cerebrale (MVPA). La tesi terminerà con una discussione generale (Capitolo 7) nella quale, basandosi sui risultati ottenuti nei precedenti capitoli sperimentali, verrà proposto come la capacità di scelta intenzionale tra l’esecuzione e l’inibizione di un’azione sia determinata dall’interazione tra cervello, corpo e l’ambiente circostante.

It has peen argued that for young boys who are trying to evolve a sex-role differentiated from that of girls, contact on a daily and prolonged basis with male teachers should serve to help clarify their concept of the masculine sex-role (Clyde 1987). It is this traditionally based reasoning, that males are needed to defeminise early childhood centres by modelling masculine behaviours, that has been used by many writers as the basis for calls to include more males as teachers in early childhood education. Lee and Gropper (1974, cited in Fagot 1981) took a non-traditional stance in suggesting that providing male teachers for young children would also help teach young children that males can engage in female-typed activities, thereby increasing the chances of providing a non-sexist environment for young children. Carpenter et al (1986) suggested that to facilitate attempts to thoughtfully and ethically modify the conditions of socialisation of sex-typed behaviours, the optimal strategy might be first to understand the processes by which individual's sex-typed behaviours are socialised, and secondly to use elements of the naturally occurring processes to implement changes. One of those naturally occurring processes is the free play activity choices that children typically make. The present study arises from the premise that children's play experiences can be used as a vehicle of social change, and focuses on the development of gender-role stereotypes in early childhood. Specifically, the effect of teacher modelling of gender appropriate and gender inappropriate behaviour on the free play activity preferences of children will be examined. It is hoped to determine the relative importance of the sex of the teacher, the activity choice, and the sex-typing of the teacher modelled behaviour on children's choice of free play activities in order to better understand the processes by which individual's sex-typed behaviours are socialised. The subjects in the present study were twenty five children from a local pre-school centre. The children ranged in age from four years seven months to five years four months of age. The only criteria used for the selection of the centre was that it had an established male and female teaching team. The present study was conducted in three phases, the first of these involved a pre-test or baseline phase. Observations made during this time were used in three ways 1) to provide definitions of masculine and feminine behaviour for the treatment conditions in the intervention phase, 2) to provide baseline participation levels against which to compare the influence of the interventions and 3) to provide information on the social context of the centre. The second phase of the study was the intervention phase. During this phase the treatments were introduced following a reversal methodology (ABA). By then withdrawing the intervention in the third reversal condition experimental control was increased. Systematic evidence was collected using three event recording check lists. The first of these, the Male and Female Representations Check List (Meade 1981 ), was designed to assess gender-based differences in the number of representations of males and females in pictures, jigsaws, books and dress-up clothes displayed within the centre. The second check list, The Preschool Teachers Interactions with Children Check List (Ebbeck 1985), was designed to record differences in the interactional style of staff towards the children. It also shows the curriculum areas in which the teachers were involved with the children during free play. Finally, the Children's Participation Check List (Lloyd 1989) was used to establish the usage pattern of the centre by the children during the pre-test, intervention and post-test phases of the study. The pre-test observations were made for five days prior to the intervention phase. From these observations, two areas were selected to concentrate on, one area in which the participation rate was dominated by the girls and one area in which the participation rate was dominated by the boys. The activity themes and equipment used in these areas by the girls were coded as feminine, and the activity themes and equipment used by the boys were coded as masculine. Eight treatment conditions were formed from the combination of teacher sex, curriculum area, and activity theme I equipment choice variables. Results of the pre-test phase showed that although there was little in the physical environment to label and reinforce notions of gender appropriate and genderinappropriate behaviours, the daily experiences of the children showed a differentiation based on gender, both in terms of the teacher's interactions with children and their free play activity choices. From these observations the area in which the participation rate was dominated by the girls was the collage area, and the area in which the participation rate was dominated by the boys was the block area. With the introduction of the intervention conditions in the block and collage areas, the girl's participation rate decreased in the presence of the female teacher and increased in the presence of the male teacher. The greatest increase in the girl's participation rate occurred when the male teacher modelled masculine behaviour in the block area and feminine behaviours in the collage area. The boy's participation rate however increased in the presence of both teachers in the collage area and decreased with the presence of both teachers in the collage area. These results are discussed with reference to the prevalent theories on sex-role development, and their implications for the provision of non-sexist learning environments for children. The results of the present study suggest that there is little to discriminate between a male or female teacher in terms of the children's responses to the modelling conditions. Neither teacher was a more effective model because of their sex. Thus the non-traditional stance can be supported from these results, that is that the male teachers contribution consists of disproving the idea that men need to act in some "manly" way.

This thesis will explore whether Augustine of Hippo altered his theological views and what influences might have precipitated the alleged modifications. Augustine’s early "De libero arbitrio" argued for an individual’s ability to respond freely to God while his later anti-Pelagian writings rejected any human ability to believe until God infuses grace creating belief as his gift. Does his theology exhibit continuity or discontinuity? Four commonplace assertions within Augustinian studies are questioned in this thesis: 1.) Augustine changed his theology in AD 396; 2.) while he was writing the letter to Bishop Simplicianus (Simpl.); 3.) with his transition occurring through reading scripture (Rom.7, 9;1 Cor.15); 4.) which he developed through merely modifying prevalent doctrines. No scholarly work has researched Augustine’s entire corpus from AD 386–430 specifically analyzing his theology in the five final doctrines of: 1.) God giving initial faith as a gift, 2.) inherited damnable reatus from Adam, 3.) the gift of perseverance, 4.) unilateral pre-determination of persons’s eternal destinies independently of foreknowledge, and 5.) God’s neither desiring nor providing for the salvation of all persons. Only a comprehensive methodological approach—reading systematically, chronologically, and comprehensively through his entire corpus—can legitimately demonstrate changes. Did a Patristic consensus exist regarding post-Adamic free choice? What was Augustine’s contribution to this theology? To what degree did the combination of Stoicism, Neoplatonism, and Manichaeism contribute to his liberum arbitrium captivatum? Chapters include an introduction followed by chapters on free choice versus determinism in the: 1.) ancient philosophical-religious world, 2.) Christian authors AD 95–215, 3.) Christian authors AD 216–430, 4.) Augustine’s works AD 386–395, 5.) Augustine’s works AD 396–411, 6.) Augustine’s works AD 412–426, 7.) Augustine’s works AD 427–430, 8.) sermons and epistles, 9.) Augustine’s exegesis of scripture, and 10.) conclusion. Conclusions will be established via extensive primary quotations and references with supporting secondary sources.

Les Termes de Choix Libre (TCLs) ont souvent été analysés comme des Termes à Polarité. On a souvent supposé, de ce fait, que leur distribution pouvait être analysée au moyen des conditions de légitimation ou d'anti-légitimation. En m'appuyant sur des données du français, du grec et de l'anglais, je soutiens l'hypothèse que cette approche n'est pas correcte. Les TCLs ont une s'emantique lexicale riche exprimant l'élargissement, l'indiscrimination, l'indifférence, l'ignorance, l'indistinction et la d'apréciation. Puisque toutes les valeurs des TCLs peuvent être pragmatiquement bloquées dans tout contexte, je propose que la distribution des TCLs est entièrement libre, sauf dans quelques cas où on a un blocage sémantique
It has often been argued that Free Choice Items (FCIs) are Polarity Items. Consequently, we have analyzed FCI distribution in terms of the conditions of licensing and anti-licensing. Based on French, Greek and English data, I defend the hypothesis that this approach is not correct. FCIs have a very strong lexical semantics. They express widening, indiscriminacy, indifference, ignorance, indistinguishability and low-level. Since all the readings of FCIs can be pragmatically blocked in all contexts, I propose that the distribution of FCIs is entirely free with the exception of certain cases in which we have semantic blocking

The Nielsen-Schreier theorem states that subgroups of free groups are free. As all of its proofs use the Axiom of Choice, it is natural to ask whether the theorem is equivalent to the Axiom of Choice. Other questions arise in this context, such as whether the same is true for free abelian groups, and whether free groups have a notion of dimension in the absence of Choice. In chapters 1 and 2 we define basic concepts and introduce Fraenkel-Mostowski models. In chapter 3 the notion of dimension in free groups is investigated. We prove, without using the full Axiom of Choice, that all bases of a free group have the same cardinality. In contrast, a closely related statement is shown to be equivalent to the Axiom of Choice. Schreier graphs are used to prove the Nielsen-Schreier theorem in chapter 4. For later reference, we also classify Schreier graphs of (normal) subgroups of free groups. Chapter 5 starts with an analysis of the use of the Axiom of Choice in the proof of the Nielsen-Schreier theorem. Then we introduce representative functions - a tool for constructing choice functions from bases. They are used to deduce the finite Axiom of Choice from Nielsen-Schreier, and to prove the equivalence of a strong form of Nielsen-Schreier and the Axiom of Choice. Using Fraenkel-Mostowski models, we show that Nielsen-Schreier cannot be deduced from the Boolean Prime Ideal Theorem. Chapter 6 explores properties of free abelian groups that are similar to those considered in chapter 5. However, the commutative setting requires new ideas and different proofs. Using representative functions, we deduce the Axiom of Choice for pairs from the abelian version of the Nielsen-Schreier theorem. This implication is shown to be strict by proving that it doesn't follow from the Boolean Prime Ideal Theorem. We end with a section on potential applications to vector spaces.

This study examines the issue of school choice in the context of Free Schools in England. It focuses on three different aspects, each one related the Free Schools policy from a social justice and equity perspective. First, the admissions arrangements of secondary Free Schools, are explored. Second, the reasons and strategies that parents reported when choosing a school are considered. Finally, the student compositions of the schools are analysed. The study as a whole takes a multi-method approach, using Annual School Census data, parent questionnaires and interviews and a documentary analysis of admissions policies. The findings show a complex picture, reflecting the heterogeneous and diverse nature of Free Schools. Disadvantaged pupils are under-represented in the majority of Free Schools, but not in all. The admissions policies also suggest that the majority of Free Schools are using similar methods for allocating places as those used by other schools in their area. Parents that had chosen Free Schools tended to report looking for similar features but had taken different routes and encountered varying circumstances during the decision-making process. Many were attracted to the Free School by its promise of quality and used a range of proxy features to determine this, including factors relating to the social composition, comparisons with other school types and a focus on a traditional approach to schooling. Recommendations for how the Free Schools policy (and education policy more widely) could be used to encourage equity of access and opportunity are included at the end of the study.

The purpose of this study was to examine my belief that allowing young children time for free choice engagements and play is not only appropriate but necessary for their development of written literacy. This teacher research study took place in my kindergarten classroom. Data was collected during a daily free choice time when students had access to virtually all materials in the classroom and were responsible for their own engagement decisions. The primary data consists of field notes of my observations while students were involved in free choice engagements, a checklist of their engagements, and artifacts of the written literacy that students engaged in. The data analysis led to the development of a description of the types, functions, and contexts for how written language is integrated into the free choice engagements of the kindergarten students in my class. This analysis is from data on all the children in my classroom. Case studies offered a portrayal of three individual students' explorations of written language during free choice. The case studies give background information about each child, then describe the child as a player, and finally the child's literacy knowledge is described. This study has allowed me to become more acutely aware of what was happening during free choice time in my classroom. Throughout this dissertation I have contended that children come to school with a great deal of knowledge about literacy, and teachers need to value the literacy knowledge that children already have. The same must hold true for play. No doubt children have learned to play long before they come to school. It is the teacher's responsibility to close the gap between the two environments. Teachers need to respect each child's literacy strengths and motivations, and continue to offer invitations for engagements in many functional literacy engagements. I am confident that students will engage in written literacy when they are ready and see the engagements as meaningful and functional in their own lives.

The purpose of this study was to explore the meaning of leisure among women in the developing East African nation of Uganda. In this study, I evaluated the leisure experiences of 38 Ugandan women of various backgrounds and socioeconomic statuses through semi-structured interviews. I analyzed the data using the constant comparative method. Themes for the meaning of leisure include fortifying leisure, enjoyment, and rest and relaxation. Results point to free choice as the core variable. Finally, I discuss the implications and suggestions for future research.

Providing supplemental feed is a popular management practice for quail (northern bobwhite Colinus virginianus and scaled quail Callipepla squamata ) in Texas. It is common knowledge that non-target species, e.g., raccoons (Procyon lotor), are frequent visitors at feeding stations intended for quail. However, empirical data are scarce on seasonal visitation rates at such feeders, either by quail or by non-target species. The ecological efficacy and economic efficiency of a feeding program for quail depends on several variables; perhaps the most important of these is how much of the feed is consumed by quail versus various non-target species. I monitored species visitation seasonally at free-choice quail feeders with motion-sensing cameras at 4 sites in West Texas (Coke, Fisher and Stonewall counties). Quail feeders were monitored using active-infrared sensing camera systems and passive-infrared video systems, to compare data obtained via these 2 surveillance techniques. I tested 2 research hypotheses: 1) that quail feeders are visited by a wide range of non-target species; and 2) active-infrared surveillance will yield a more precise estimate of species visitation than estimates derived from passive video surveillance. Major findings included documentation of approximately 14 mammalian and 18 avian species that were recorded in a total of 6,558 events. Data analysis yielded a chronology of feeding behavior by all visiting species. I found that species visitation at quail feeders varied according to season, with the greatest number of events occurring during the fall and the fewest during the winter. Feeder visitation also varied according to lunar phase, with the fewest events occurring during the new moon phase. I recorded the duration of each event monitored on videotape, a total of 29,235 minutes, and determined that feeder visitation by raccoons comprised 43.2% of all time spent at quail feeders across all species. Visitation by bobwhite and scaled quail comprised only 5.4% of time spent at quail feeders by all visiting species. This study confirmed the need for strategy implementation that minimizes non-target consumption of feed intended for quail.

This qualitative study is an exploratory look at family experiences at night time telescope observing events, often called star parties. Four families participated in this study which looked at their expectations, experiences and agendas as well as the roles that identity and family culture played in the negotiation of meaning. Two families who had prior experience with attending star parties were recruited ahead of time and two other families who were first time visitors were recruited on-site at the observing event. Data were collected at two star parties. At each event, one experienced family was paired with an on-site family for the purposes of facilitating conversations about expectations and prior experiences.The results of this study showed that learning is constantly occurring among families, and that star parties and family culture were mediational means for making meaning. Expectations and agendas were found to affect the families' star party experiences and differences were observed between the expectations and experiences of families based on their prior experiences with star parties. These data also showed that family members are actively negotiating their individual and family identities. These families use their cultural history together to make sense of their star party experiences; however, the meaning that families were negotiating was often focused more on developing family and individual identity rather than science content. The families in this study used the star party context as a way to connect with each other, to make sense of their prior experiences, and as raw material for making sense of future experiences.

In everyday life we are constantly confronted with situations that we think require us to trust. Getting on the bus, depositing a check, or simply buying food from a local street vendor all seem to call upon us to trust to some degree. The suggestion that we regularly trust in these instances is fairly noncontroversial among writers on trust. Some philosophers such as Onora O’Neill have suggested that in such routine circumstances we may often find we have no choice but to trust. Others, such as Philip Pettit, have suggested we “may have no option but to make [trust] manifest.” But is it right to characterise this as trust? The central purpose of this paper will be to answer this question of whether the nature of trust allows for trusting because we have no other option.

The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the effects of free-choice intake of sodium bentonite and sodium bicarbonate on physiological and production parameters. Eight Jerseys and seventeen Holsteins (four fistulated) were randomly assigned to two groups to equalize stage of lactation, age and production history. Two diets were fed: diet 1 without added sodium bicarbonate and diet 2 with sodium bicarbonate added at 1.2% of dry matter. Each group followed a different diet regime: 1) diet 1 with no free-choice (D1-NFC), 2) diet 2 with no free-choice (D2-NFC), 3) diet 1 with free-choice (D1-WFC), and 4) diet 2 with free-choice (D2-WFC). Free-choice options of sodium bentonite and sodium bicarbonate were offered side by side in a covered feeder to breed groups. Diets were changed every 10 d to provide 8 periods with a repetition of each diet regime. All diets were adjusted to 17% ADF and 17% CP. There were no differences with either breed among diets for blood and fecal observations or milk protein. Urine specific gravity was lower in both breeds when sodium bicarbonate was force-fed. Holsteins force-fed sodium bicarbonate had greater intake and milk production than Holsteins not force-fed. In Jerseys, milk urea nitrogen (MUN) decreased when sodium bicarbonate was added to the TMR. During periods in which cows were allowed free-choice access to sodium bentonite and sodium bicarbonate, Jerseys had higher urine pH, fat-corrected milk, MUN, and dry matter intake (DMI), and Holsteins had higher milk fat percentages and fecal pH.
Master of Science

People who are voluntarily childless, or ‘‘childfree,’’ face considerable stigma. Researchers have begun to explore how these individuals respond to stigma, usually focusing on interpersonal stigma management strategies. We explored participants’ responses to stigma in a way that is cognisant of broader social norms and gender power relations. Using a feminist discursive psychology framework, we analysed women’s and men’s computer-assisted communication about their childfree status. Our analysis draws attention to ‘‘identity work’’ in the context of stigma. We show how the strategic use of ‘‘choice’’ rhetoric allowed participants to avoid stigmatised identities and was used in two contradictory ways. On the one hand, participants drew on a ‘‘childfree-by-choice script,’’ which enabled them to hold a positive identity of themselves as autonomous, rational, and responsible decision makers. On the other hand, they mobilised a ‘‘disavowal of choice script’’ that allowed a person who is unable to choose childlessness (for various reasons) to hold a blameless identity regarding deviation from the norm of parenthood. We demonstrate how choice rhetoric allowed participants to resist stigma and challenge pronatalism to some extent; we discuss the political potential of these scripts for reproductive freedom.

Thesis (M.A.)--Georgia State University, 2008.
Title from file title page. Pearl McHaney, committee chair; Stephen Dobranski, Nancy Chase, committee members. Electronic text (71 p.) : digital, PDF file. Description based on contents viewed July 2, 2008. Includes bibliographical references (p. 63-71).

This paper considers the influences of fate and free will in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. Current scholarship on the topic generally agrees that Rowling champions free will by allowing her characters learning opportunities through their choices. By using Friedrich Nietzsche’s philosophy on fate and free will and by more closely examining the Harry Potter texts, this paper demonstrates fate’s stronger presence in Rowling’s fictional world. Certain strong-willed characters rise above their peers’ fated states by embracing their personal fates and exercising their wills to create themselves within fated destinies. The paper also explores the possibility of an authority directing fate.

This dissertation considers the mystery of the relationship between human free choice and God by focusing on the Controversy de Auxiliis (1582-1607) and the thought of Domingo Báñez, O.P. (1528-1604) in particular. The dissertation comprises four chapters and a conclusion preceded by a preface and brief historical introduction. The preface introduces the issue to be explored and the motivations for exploring it before providing a general synopsis of the dissertation that is more detailed than the present abstract. The historical summary that follows introduces a theological debate that has become widely unfamiliar to contemporary theology, even while conceptually, that debate remains perennial. The four-chapter body that follows may be divided into two general parts: Broadly, chapters One and Two exposit Báñez’s thought, while chapters Three and Four critique it. Chapter One explores Báñez’s positive account of physical premotion, human freedom and sin. Chapter Two examines Báñez’s critique of Luis de Molina S.J.’s alternative proposal, in conjunction with some contemporary sources from both sides of the debate (Molina was Báñez’s principal adversary in the Controversy de Auxiliis). Báñez’s line of critique in Chapter Two is found to be cogent. Chapter Three investigates Molina’s critique of Báñez and finds it too to be cogent, even though Molina’s positive account was found to be problematic in Chapter Two. Chapter Four begins by exploring Bernard Lonergan S.J.’s work on divine causality and human free choice. Lonergan attempts to provide a fresh historical reading of Aquinas that is unencumbered by the presuppositions of the Controversy de Auxiliis. The first part of Chapter Four explains Lonergan’s critique of Báñez and finds it convincing, while the second part of the chapter finds Lonergan’s interpretation of Aquinas problematic from a theoretical standpoint. Chapter Four then offers a constructive critique of Lonergan’s interpretation before advancing an alternative way to think about God’s causation of human free choices. In closing, this dissertation argues that God creates human free choices, but that in creating a human free choice, God, or God’s creative will, is not an antecedent condition that determines choice. Rather, God creates the entire reality of a human free choice—both what it is and that it is—and in so doing, part of the reality God creates just is that choice’s being up to its human agent.

This Grounded Theory study explores how the use of social media influenced the dynamics of interaction in a free-choice religious education experience between a world religious leader and young adult learners. Results indicate that social media (a) enhanced proxy group interaction due to the increased visibility of leader-learner interactions to the entire group and the ability of learners to comment on, like, mention other learners, and share leader-learner interactions; (b) enabled active non-verbal interaction which allowed for social curation, peer validation, community reaction, and the non-verbal pushing of posts into the social media streams of those not participating in the event; (c) greatly enhanced dialogic interaction between learners and allowed for a safe hashtag-bound space for religious expression to occur online; and (d) enabled a theoretically infinite amount of learner-learner interactions on single comment nodes, referred to as multilogic interactions. Grounded Theory was also used to derive patterns from the data generated in this experience which were then abstracted and reconstituted into an explanatory and predictive theoretical framework referred to as Orbital Interaction Theory (OIT). OIT, as a design theory, predicts that three types or tiers of interaction will occur when three essential pedagogical design elements are used together—namely, a question and answer session with a highly respected and sought-after leader within a social media-bound context. Furthermore, I posit that three essential learner conditions are required for the success of OIT—namely, learner trust in the leader, a high degree of learner homogeneity, and high levels of civility. The preexistent nature of these learner conditions in religious education experiences makes them the most natural contexts for an OIT approach to be successful. It is precisely because of the challenge of achieving these three factors at comparable levels in non-religious free-choice learning contexts that makes the transferability of OIT into these contexts difficult. Finally, I posit that when the essential pedagogical design elements of OIT are combined with the essential learner conditions of OIT, the Optimum Conditions for Interaction (OCI) in OIT will be achieved with highly predictable results.

The purpose of the study was to investigate how Irish pro-choice organizations work in respect of free choice in relation to abortion, since abortion is illegal except when there is a substantial risk to the mother’s life. This purpose was constructed with the significance of social work as a practical profession restricted by regulations, at the same time as it is a profession to support and help deprived people. This was a qualitative study with semi-structured interviews with seven different people from five different pro-choice organizations. The interviews indicated that in Ireland abortion was a stigmatized matter, as well as taboo to talk about. The results showed that the pro- choice organizations work to provide support and information and they viewed the right to abortion as a fundamental right and that women going through crisis pregnancy should be able to access a free choice. Still, it is the stigmatizing environment as well as the existing laws that become an obstacle for accessing free choice.

This thesis aims to explore informational autonomy by demonstrating the correlation between genetic testing and informational autonomy, focusing on the preservation of the free choice option with special reference to thalassemia in Cyprus. This exploration does not intend to deliver a groundbreaking and bullet-proof new concept of informational autonomy that should be used without exception in every application of genetic testing, but rather to constitute the bedrock for reinstating the Cyprus strategy on genetic testing for thalassemia trait: it is a specific case study. This thesis makes a case for protecting informational autonomy, the ability for people to make their own responsible decisions, and argues that Cyprus strategy on thalassemia - as the empirical work demonstrates - is an example where the option of free choice is limited. The Cyprus Thalassemia Programme is recognised as being unique in the world for its success in almost completely eliminating new cases of thalassemia within 15 years. Along with premarital testing, genetic screening is mandatory for a couple wishing to get married in a Christian Orthodox Church. In the case of premarital testing, the option for couples to know or not know if they are the thalassaemic trait carriers is not considered at all. The challenge for Cyprus in the 21st Century is to advance the existing control programme while respecting freedom. By introducing pre-natal diagnosis along with premarital screening, Cyprus succeeded in eliminating the number of births with thalassemia, but increasing the number of abortions at the same time. People in Cyprus must have the option to know or not know if they are thalassemia trait carriers and should not be "forced" to make a premarital testing. Informational autonomy is a right that Cypriots are allowed to have. Human genetic information is ultimately not about genes it is about people.

The term free-choice learning has received relatively recent support, having been favoured by John Falk from around 2001. Free-choice learning can be described most simply as “the type of learning that occurs most frequently outside of school” (Falk, 2001, p.6). Free-choice science learning has connections with the research areas of science communication, the public understanding of science, public engagement with science and, in particular, informal learning. Additionally, Falk introduced the idea of working knowledge of science as, “knowledge generated by the learner’s own interests and needs” (Falk, Storksdieck and Dierking, 2007, p.464). This thesis explored the terms free-choice learning and working knowledge of science in order to gain a better understanding of their meaning and their importance. The work was carried out to address the following research questions: 1. Can the BodyWorks exhibits be used as a tool to provide evidence of free-choice learning and working knowledge? 2. Can the BodyWorks exhibits be used as a tool to gain a better understanding of free-choice learning and working knowledge? 3. What can be gained from revisiting scientific and health literacy concepts from the perspective of free-choice learning and working knowledge? 4. Can best practice with regards to free-choice learning and working knowledge be shared between the fields of scientific and health literacy? Glasgow Science Centre’s BodyWorks exhibits were used as a tool to empirically investigate free-choice learning and working knowledge. Data were gathered using semi-structured interviews and staff diaries. It was found that 93% of participants referred to some type of free-choice learning experience when discussing the BodyWorks exhibits. A better understanding of free-choice learning and working knowledge was achieved. Free-choice learning and working knowledge were used as a lens through which to revisit the concepts and definitions of scientific literacy and health literacy. This theoretical work provided an insight to key themes developing in this literature and directions for future research. The results of both the empirical and theoretical parts of this thesis combined to produce implications for free-choice learning providers, formal education, the health sector and society. Most importantly the results presented ideas on how these groups could utilise free-choice learning and working knowledge to their benefit.

The aim of the present study was to determine differences in reaction time resulting from the ingestion of three caffeine containing beverages. Six low-caffeine consuming college students (25.2 + 7.0 years) were recruited to participate in this study. The participants were tested for simple and choice reaction time prior to consuming Red Bull Energy Drink, Sugar-free Energy Drink, Mountain Dew soft drink or no drink and 60 minutes following the consumption of the product. Participants participated in all four conditions and were tested over a two week period with at least 48 hours between sessions. The order of drink administration was randomly selected for each subject. Significant differences (p < 0.05) were found in choice reaction time for the Red Bull and Sugar-free Red Bull conditions, with no significant differences witnessed in the simple reaction time test. An improvement of 321.0 to 302.9 milliseconds and 335.4 to 303.0 milliseconds were found for Red Bull and Sugar-free Red Bull, respectively. The Mountain Dew soft drink (325.4 to 319.0 milliseconds) and the no drink condition (315.8 to 312.03) showed no significant improvements. These results suggest that caffeine and taurine have some combined effect on improvement of reaction time or high levels of glucose negatively affect the cognitive improvements of caffeine in non-fasted individuals. Further research is warranted to determine the exact interaction between caffeine, glucose and taurine.
Thesis (M.Ed.) - Wichita State University, College of Education, Dept. of Human Performance Studies
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 40-46).

Societies will always fail to live up to the expectations of citizens one way or another, independent of their economic and political standards. Albert Hirschman proposed that citizens then have the option of expressing their voice for social change. This paper sets up a rational choice model of voice to empirically test whether higher levels of political and economic grievance make it more likely for citizens of a country to have a collective voice. The main result from the probit regression is that an increase in the level of democracy has a negative effect on the probability of voice, all else being equal.

Can prostitution be conceived as a voluntary choice? Can the exchange of sexual services in return for money be seen as an act of will? Is it possible to distinguish between voluntary and coerced prostitution? Going through the philosophical debate within the feminist arena, my thesis will analyse the main theoretical standpoints: the radical one, mostly based on gender identity and adversarial logic between sexes; the libertarian one relying on self-ownership and individual freedom; the median one which tries to strike a balance between the two preceding perspectives admitting a certain dose of paternalism. To better understand the polarity within the feminist debate, consider that, while the American feminist Catherine MacKinnon excludes the possibility of voluntary prostitution, waging also a crusade against pornography seen as “an arm of prostitution”1, on the other hand the self-described dissident feminist, Camille Paglia, views the prostitute as “one of the few women who is totally in control of her fate, totally in control of the realm of sex”2. Moreover, moving from the theoretical to the descriptive dimension, I will describe the main regulatory frameworks existing in some countries, from the most liberal to the strictest one. My thesis is that there is no reason to exclude the possibility of voluntary prostitution, that is the possibility that someone chooses prostitution as a “desirable” activity; and that a neat distinction does exist between voluntary sex working and exploitation, being the latter featured by coercion.

This thesis asks to what extent should we be free to choose when it comes to our pension? Three perspectives were considered: that of the state; that of the employer; and that of the individual. The thesis starts by examining the issue from an institutional perspective. Using the example of three different countries’ pension policies, it argues that there is a trade-off between maintaining private incentives to save and cost. If pension saving is compulsory, then the state is free to target money at those most in need (which is more cost effective). If pension saving is voluntary, then the state needs to invest heavily in creating a structure that rewards private saving (through tax incentives and the reduction of means testing). The second part of the thesis is a qualitative study that looks at choice from the perspective of the employer. The UK government has restricted its role to poverty relief and occupational pension saving is expected to bridge the gap between needs and aspiration in retirement. However, employers are allowed considerable discretion over how much they contribute to their employees’ pensions. Fifteen private sector employers were interviewed to uncover the logic behind the design of their pension offer. It found that few profit-seeking employers saw any commercial advantage to paying in the form of a pension. Finally, the thesis looks at choice from the point of view of the individual. Using three experimental studies it asks, if given choice, do individuals go on to make ‘good’ choices. The first experiment recasts the issue of whether people are saving ‘enough’ for their retirement by looking at the job choice itself. The following two experiments look at the impact that financial communication has on pension engagement. In conclusion this thesis argues: (i) it is expensive to design a system that will incentivise voluntary saving; (ii) profit seeking employers see little commercial advantage to paying in the form of a pension; and (iii) many individuals fail to respond to the incentives to save because of almost insurmountable information problems. The current UK pension system is founded on an ideological commitment to free choice, and this carries an unduly heavy cost, not only for the individual, but also for the state.

The paper examines the philosophical themes of Free Will as opposed to Determinism/Predestination and how they are portrayed in the seven books about Harry Potter. It is discussed whether the character of Harry Potter, but also the world itself in which he acts, seem to be governed primarily by forces of Free Will and/or Determinism. The author concludes that though Harry is indeed strongly tempted to believe in Determinism, influential figures around him direct him towards a different choice - making himself believe in Free Will instead.

The literature presents us with two distinct, and at times opposed, approaches to strategic management: the use of strategic choice and determinism. This research shows that these approaches can actually be considered as two distinct variables, which create a space or framework in which it is possible to identify, according to the available different amounts of strategic choice and determinism, the four different ontological perspectives of determinism, hard incompatibilism, libertarianism and compatibilism. According to the literature, within each ontological perspective of the strategic choice/determinism framework, companies use different levels of strategic choice and determinism to produce organizational outcomes. This research provides empirical evidence of the real life existence of these ontological perspectives, in which companies’ performance of revenues is driven by a different amount of strategic choice or determinism according to the perspectives in which companies operate. This research also shows that other important performance indicators, such as EBITDA, depend only on deterministic variables, while ROA depends neither on strategic choice nor on deterministic variables. These findings suggest that future research could increase our knowledge on the internal environment of companies, as it could do from the hard incompatibilist perspective, which was not possible to study thoroughly within this research. The research conclusions provide several contributions to both academic knowledge and practice.

In the last twenty years, regional trade agreements have proliferated. These have usually taken the form of customs unions (CUs) or free trade areas (FTAs). This thesis concentrates mostly on the formation and behaviour of CUs. Union members levy a common external tariff (CET) on non-members. Existing theoretical models, however, do not agree on how the CET rate is chosen. Every model imposes a different choice rule exogenously. In this thesis, for the first time, plausible choice rules, based on the CU's social welfare function, are derived endogenously. The strategic behaviour of members and non-members, reveals that responsibility for CET choice tends to be assumed by the member that can induce the rest of the world to levy those tariffs members prefer to face. Relatively few general results exist describing the relationship between country characteristics and trade bloc formation. Here, new light is shed on this issue, by systematically analysing bloc formation in an asymmetric world, and investigating the role of preferences in coalition formation. It is found that global free trade is most likely to arise when all countries are similar. Customs unions tend to form between relatively well-endowed countries or those with similar preferences. It is also demonstrated that CUs will usually Pareto dominate FTAs, except where preferences differ significantly. The role of transfers in CU formation has received relatively little attention in the regionalism literature. In this thesis, optimal intra-union transfers are introduced and their impact on CET choice is investigated. The impact of transfers on CU behaviour depends on the direction of the transfer. When the relatively inelastic member is the recipient, the CU responds less aggressively to non-member tariff choices than it does when transfers are not permitted. However, if the relatively elastic member is the transfer recipient, the union's aggression increases. Moreover, when one union member exercises a similar degree of control over both CET and transfer choice, then the equilibrium CET tends to be lower than in the corresponding no-transfers situation.

In the last twenty years, regional trade agreements have proliferated. These have usually taken the form of customs unions (CUs) or free trade areas (FTAs). This thesis concentrates mostly on the formation and behaviour of CUs. Union members levy a common external tariff (CET) on non-members. Existing theoretical models, however, do not agree on how the CET rate is chosen. Every model imposes a different choice rule exogenously. In this thesis, for the first time, plausible choice rules, based on the CU's social welfare function, are derived endogenously. The strategic behaviour of members and non-members, reveals that responsibility for CET choice tends to be assumed by the member that can induce the rest of the world to levy those tariffs members prefer to face. Relatively few general results exist describing the relationship between country characteristics and trade bloc formation. Here, new light is shed on this issue, by systematically analysing bloc formation in an asymmetric world, and investigating the role of preferences in coalition formation. It is found that global free trade is most likely to arise when all countries are similar. Customs unions tend to form between relatively well-endowed countries or those with similar preferences. It is also demonstrated that CUs will usually Pareto dominate FTAs, except where preferences differ significantly. The role of transfers in CU formation has received relatively little attention in the regionalism literature. In this thesis, optimal intra-union transfers are introduced and their impact on CET choice is investigated. The impact of transfers on CU behaviour depends on the direction of the transfer. When the relatively inelastic member is the recipient, the CU responds less aggressively to non-member tariff choices than it does when transfers are not permitted. However, if the relatively elastic member is the transfer recipient, the union's aggression increases. Moreover, when one union member exercises a similar degree of control over both CET and transfer choice, then the equilibrium CET tends to be lower than in the corresponding no-transfers situation.

On divorce, the court determines how spouses' property is divided. If couples want to make this determination for themselves, entering a prenuptial agreement is one way of doing so. Yet whilst prenuptial agreements give couples the right to make autonomous decisions, this does not necessarily mean both parties have actually exercised their autonomy. Drawing on data from a study on practitioners' experiences of prenuptial agreements in New York, this thesis will show t hat prenuptial agreements are fraught with issues of power and autonomy, and that these issues are not always recognised by the court. The free choice of parties to a prenuptial agreement is often presumed, while the complexity of the parties' relationship is ignored. In order to address the analytical weaknesses inherent in the current judicial approach to prenuptial agreements, as articulated in Radmacher v Granatino [2010J UKSC 42, the theoretical framework employed in this thesis will consider feminist and contractual perspectives. An aim of this framework is to produce a more nuanced understanding of the autonomy experienced and exercised by parties entering into prenuptial agreements. Furthermore, this theoretical approach aims to expose power imbalances, particularly along gender lines, which other perspectives on prenuptial agreements overlook. Finally, this thesis will explore how the court might address concerns with power and autonomy during the drafting and enforcement processes of prenuptial agreements, in a way which appreciates the relationship between the parties, thus providing a more convincing approach to the role that prenups can play in the judicial allocation of spousal property on the breakdown of marriage.

Approximately half of all reported laminitis cases are the result of “grass founder” (laminitis associated with long-term over consumption of lush, early spring pastures). Elevated body weights (BW), body condition scores (BCS), and blood glucose concentrations have all been associated with the onset of grass founder. Plasma fructosamine concentrations (PFC) have recently been used as an indicator of long-term (14–21 d), mean blood glucose concentrations in horses and numerous authors have reported that elevated PFC were observed in laminitic horses (Murphy et al., 1997; Keen et al., 2004; Knowles et al., 2012). This study was conducted to evaluate the long-term effects of transitioning from an ad-libitum tall fescue hay diet in late winter to an adlibitum tall fescue pasture diet in early spring on parameters associated with grass founder in horses. Five mature stock horse mares were given free choice access to good quality tall fescue hay for 18 weeks before initiation of data collection. Each horse acted as their own control. PFC were determined on day 1, day 128, and then monitored at 14 d intervals for the following 84 d (February 26th through May 21st). Three trained lab technicians evaluated BW and BCS on day 1, 128, 170 and 212 of the trial. The horses were placed in a 20 acre field where their diets consisted of free choice access to hay only for 156 days (DTP1) followed by free choice access to tall fescue hay with minimal access to some early emerging tall fescue pasture for 14 days (DTP2), and finally to free choice access to lush spring tall fescue pasture only for the final 42 days (DTP 3) when the animals refused to eat offered hay. Mean PFC were highest (P < 0.01) for DTP1 and decreased with each successive transition to DTP2 and DTP3. This may have been due to increased insulin secretion associated with the pasture only diet. Mean BCS at the beginning of the trial was 5.7 and increased throughout the trial (P < 0.001) to a value of 7.8. BCS associated with the pasture only diet were higher (P < 0.001) than those associated with the free choice hay and hay plus pasture diets. Mean BW increased (P < 0.05) from 1199 lbs. to 1268.3 lbs. during the 12-week trial. Mean weight gain was 113 lbs. with an average daily gain of 1.35 lbs./day. No incidence of laminitis was observed.

This thesis argues that Isabel Archer of Henry James’s novel The Portrait of a Lady and Lily Bart of Edith Wharton’s novel The House of Mirth were nineteenth-century characters struggling to assert their social and sexual independence in a male dominated society. Although Isabel inherits a fortune that allegedly enables her to have more autonomy than Lily, both characters are negatively affected by their inability to conceive of their lives outside of social convention.

Meiofauna, and especially marine nematodes are common in sediments around the world. Despite very wide ranging distributions in many nematode species, little is presently known about their dispersal mechanisms shaping these patterns. Rafting, and perhaps ballast water transport has been suggested as viable means for nematode long-range transport. On a much smaller scale other processes have been suggested for their dispersal. They generally include some form of passive suspension into the water column and later on a passive, haphazard settling back towards the bottom.

Small-scale phenomena in nematode dispersal were studied by conducting a series of studies at Askö field station, Trosa Archipelago, Baltic proper. Studied aspects were one case of macrofaunal influence on nematode dispersal rate, using an amphipod, Monoporeia affinis as disturbing agent, and three different studies on mechanisms related to settling. The experiments were conducted both in laboratory and field settings.

The amphipod Monoporeia affinis did not exert any influence on the dispersal rate in the nematodes. The nematode dispersal was only an effect of time, in the aspect that the more time that past, the more nematodes dispersed from their place of origin. The settling experiments revealed that nematodes do have an active component in their settling behaviour, as they were able to exert influence on the spot where they were to settle. They were able to choose settling spot in response to the food quality of the sediment. It also became evident that contrary to common belief, nematodes are able to extend their presence in the water column far beyond the times that would be predicted considering settling velocities and hydrodynamic conditions alone.

The article analyzes the system of focus-sensitive particles and, to a lesser extent, clefts in Vietnamese. EVEN/ALSO/ONLY foci are discussed across syntactic categories, and Vietnamese is found to organize its system of focus-sensitive particles along three dimensions of classification: (i) EVEN vs. ALSO vs. ONLY; (ii) particles c-commanding foci vs. particles c-commanding backgrounds; (iii) adverbial focus-sensitive particles vs. particles c-commanding argument foci only. Towards the end of the paper, free-choice constructions and additional sentence-final particles conveying ONLY and ALSO semantics are briefly discussed. The peculiar Vietnamese system reflects core properties of the analogous empirical domain in Chinese, a known source of borrowings into Vietnamese over the millennia.

Wildlife ecotourism is becoming a well-established industry due to its ability to contribute to local economies and the growing tourist demand for opportunities to observe endangered or rare species. Wildlife ecotourism is also recognized for its ability to provide free choice-learning settings for visitors, through the use of environmental interpretation programs. The process of environmental interpretation is a communication phenomenon thought to hold the potential to contribute to conservation by educating and raising awareness amongst tourists about environmental issues. Using a qualitative phenomenological research design, this research examined the environmental interpretation programs of great white shark ecotourism operators in Gansbaai, South Africa, from the perspective of tourists. Findings indicated that while tourists did not primarily choose to embark on shark tourism excursions to learn more about the species, many participants became slightly more informed about great whites and the surrounding environment after their experience. It was also found that most participants did not experience nervousness or fear when in the water with great whites, but instead felt an emotional connection and appreciation for the animal, causing a shift towards pro-conservation attitudes.

Museums are vast resources, but much of their information is inaccessible to visitors. Typical labels for artifacts provide few details, making it difficult for non-expert visitors to learn about an artifact, and to find its relevance to other artifacts or to themselves. Although museums have developed interpretive aids such as brochures and audio guides, these are limited and do not offer visitors the possibility to explore artifacts both broadly and deeply as they go through an exhibition. Visitors often have questions that go unanswered or pass through an exhibition without being engaged. As visitors all have their own personal interests and preferences, it would be difficult to offer a usable version of any current interpretive aid that includes all of the information, stories, and related content that each visitor would like. Personal mobile devices provide a platform for interactivity and access to an unlimited amount of information, presentation of rich media, and flexibility for customized experiences both inside the museum and beyond. To bridge the gap between museum collection information and visitor engagement, I propose a framework for increasing engagement through resonant, rich, and interactive experiences mediated by a personal mobile guide, and present a case study and functional prototype mobile guide for the Hall of Architecture at the Carnegie Museum of Art.

In Germany, many universities have student tickets that are bargained for between student representatives and public transport companies, approved by referendum, and mandatory for all students. They allow the use of public transport at no additional cost. I analyze such a scenario in a theoretical model as an example of a flat-rate ticket for public transport which is implemented by majority decision. The mandatory character of the ticket reduces transaction costs like marketing and ticket inspection, reducing the ticket price and thus the students’ commuting expenses. However, there is a countervailing effect. Students face and rationally expect zero marginal monetary commuting costs, so that new students choose a place of residence which is relatively far from the university. This in turn raises the equilibrium ticket price. It may even be the case that students would be better off if such a ticket had never existed. Nonetheless, they always vote for it in referenda, because accepting the high price is optimal given their place of residence. After laying out the model, I analyze an optimal policy, which consists, for example, of subsidizing student dorms at an efficient distance to the city center.

This thesis investigates the implications of positive polarity for grammar. The empirical focus is on two positive polarity particles in Sinhala, an Indo-Aryan language spoken in Sri Lanka. Sinhala has two particles -hari and -da that systematically appear across disjunction, indefinite and question constructions. Traditionally, these particles have been called Q-particles (i.e. Hagstrom (1998); Cable (2010); Slade (2011); a.m.o). They have so far been analyzed in terms of either Q-question/-uantifier operators (Kishimoto (2005)) or choice function variables (cf. Hagstrom (1998); Cable (2010); Slade (2011)). This thesis presents new data pertaining to the distribution and interpretation of disjunctions and indefinites formed with the two particles in contexts of negation, modals, quantifiers and intensional operators, that none of the previous accounts has captured. It proposes to analyze the grammar of the two particles based on their positive polarity character associated with exhaustivity (cf. Spector (2014); Nicolae (2017)). It claims that we can account for a wide range of grammatical phenomena such as ignorance inferences, scope or non/specificity effects, free/no choice implicatures and de re/dicto readings of -hari and -da disjunctions/indefinites in matrix and overt modal/quantifier contexts based on a distribution requirement (DR) derived by way of exhaustification with respect to alternatives of a disjunction or indefinite. The thesis casts its proposal in a hybrid system of lexical (cf. Levinson (2000); Chierchia (2004)) and grammatical (cf. Fox (2007); Chierchia et al. (2012)) approaches borrowing insights from both approaches. It also utilizes a hybrid framework of Hamblin semantics (cf. Hamblin (1973); Kratzer and Shimoyama (2002); Alonso-Ovalle (2006)) to keep domain alternatives separated and application of an alternative sensitive exhaustivity (Exh) operator (cf. the grammatical approach) to derive implicatures. Obligatory exhaustivity is treated as a morphological requirement/ lexical property of the particles -hari and -da represented by an uninterpretable exhaustivity [unExh] feature. Then, this lexical property is factored into the grammar by way of the Exh operator carrying an equivalent interpretable exhaustivity [inExh] feature placed in the syntactic structure of a -hari and -da disjunction/indefinite construction at LF. “Inclusivity” and “exclusivity” components of the particles -hari and -da that have consequences for distribution requirements are derived by way of different morpho-syntactic requirements of the particles -hari and -da. Thus, this thesis proposes a fully compositional/grammatical account all the way from the bottom to the top in the derivations.