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This analysis of the English-speaking popular reception of Nietzsche from 1895 to the present will follow Nietzsche in bringing history and philosophy together. I will argue that Nietzsche's philosophy provides explanatory power for understanding the reception of his atheism and that his reception history in turn sheds light on the meaning of his atheism. Chapter One explores how Nietzsche employs form and style to establish the event of God's death as the chasm of understanding that lies between himself and other atheists. Chapter Two considers the defining features and concerns of Nietzsche's atheism - nihilism, Dionysianism, asceticism, naturalism, eternal recurrence and the übermensch - in the context of Nietzsche's soteriological project. Against this backdrop, the remaining chapters will explore the reception of Nietzsche's atheism that has not been conveyed to a popular audience through the details of his philosophy but rather through the themes and categories that naturally arose between the established poles of debate of the broader culture of the time. Chapters 3-5 demonstrate how Nietzsche's popular reception has been shaped through debates over Nietzsche's alleged madness, nationalism, social Darwinism, decadence, warmongering and nazism, while chapter 6 explores why most authors attempting to popularise atheism today either make little mention of Nietzsche or conspicuously do not mention him at all. The question throughout this account of Nietzsche's reception is not simply 'How has Nietzsche been received?' but rather 'What would Nietzsche make of his own popular reception?' A Nietzschean evaluation of his own reception history is made feasible by Nietzsche himself who not only predicts that he and the majority of atheists who read him will remain at a vast distance from each other, but having measured the distance that lies between them, he also takes the trouble to explain why that distance exists.

Topic: Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is a highly contentious and controversial mental health diagnosis. Often characterised as the quintessential personality disorder, it is widely described as being diagnosed much more often in women than in men. Clinical and research samples often reflect this, yet community prevalence studies do not support any such gendered prevalence disparity. Various attempts have been made to explain how either BPD or its application might be gendered, but none have made provided a compelling explanation for the disparity, and few have explored the issue discursively. Method: Semi-structured interviews were carried out with UK Counselling Psychologists who had experience of working with men with a BPD diagnosis. Transcripts were subjected to a form of critical discourse analysis, to create a reading of accounts that might answer research questions on participants' understanding of the BPD male, including differences from and similarities with the BPD female, as well as their understanding of the gender disparity around this diagnosis and presentation. Findings: Participants' accounts were found to draw on four discrete interpretative repertoires, covering psychiatric, psychological, psychotherapeutic, and societal realms, which produced varying and conflicting conceptions of 'the BPD male'. Contradictions produced by these repertoires led to the identification of dilemmas. and the ways participants made discursive sense of these was analysed. Men who might meet BPD diagnostic criteria were variously constructed as no different from women meeting the criteria, yet also fundamentally 'othered' within all but one discursive realm. Issues around diagnostic practice and feminised psychological services were identified. Conclusions: The BPD gender disparity can be understood by conceptualising it not as a product of psychological difference between men and women, but as resulting from systemically, institutionally, and culturally situated diagnostic and psychotherapeutic practices, influenced by hegemonic constructions of gender. Consequently, gender-informed diagnosis and services are suggested.

The present study focuses on the experiences of students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in higher education. It was important to conduct this study because of the rising numbers of students with ASD in higher education and the scant amount of research available about how to best serve them depending on their actual needs, not the perceived needs stated by experts based on research from K-12 student populations, or the perceived needs of these students stated by their parents or other service providers or faculty. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine students from a Hispanic-serving institution in the Southeast United States of America. The data gleaned from these interviews using holistic coding and the constant comparative method were used to create a case study of a resilient group of students that understand their needs in higher education, are interested in becoming more engaged with on-campus activities, and know what needs to be done to attend to these needs. They are a group of students who have goals of their own, despite what their loved ones and service providers may have to say, and they are utilizing the option available in higher education to live in student housing as a way of sharpening their life skills so they may be better prepared to live independently after graduation. The results of the study are followed by a discussion of how this information can be used in practice and what other research can be conducted to further these findings and better understand this student population. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

The contribution to knowledge, and the core of the research, is a tonal foundation based on glissandi using compositional techniques derived from synergy of glissandi, microtonality, and isorhythm. The techniques are performed on specially constructed guitars in 18, 24, 30, and 36 tet (tone equal temperament). Guitar based musical artefacts demonstrating some possible techniques are arranged on two compact discs: CD1 ‘Experimental Miniatures’ and CD2 ‘After Twelve’.

This thesis examines aspects of the political career of Robert Wilmot Horton (1784-1841), a junior minister in the Tory governments of the 1820s and an advocate of state-aided emigration to the British colonies. It considers how far Wilmot conforms to existing conceptualisations of 'liberal Toryism', which are summarized in Chapter 1. Chapter 2 finds both ambition and principle in Wilmot's choice of party, while identifying fundamental aspects of his political make-up, in particular his devotion to political economy and his hostility to political radicalism. Chapters 3 to 5 explore his economic thinking. Chapter 3 charts Wilmot's gradual move away from a Malthusian approach to the problem of pauperism, and the resulting changes in his view of the role of emigration as a means of relief. Chapter 4 shows how his specific plan of colonization addressed broader considerations of imperial strategy and economic development. Chapter 5, exploring the wider context of economic debate, reveals Wilmot as an advocate of governmental activism in social policy, a critic of 'economical reform', and a moderate protectionist in the short term. Chapter 6 suggests that Wilmot, and the ministry as a whole, were driven by pragmatic rather than ideological considerations in their approach to the amelioration of slavery. Chapter 7 concludes that Wilmot's advocacy of Catholic Emancipation, on grounds of expediency, conformed to the approach normally ascribed to liberal Tories in principle if not in detail. Chapter 8 finds, in Wilmot's pamphleteering and lecturing, a striking instance of an 'outward turn' in political behaviour; and, in his support for parliamentary reform in 1831, a continuing determination to resist political radicalism. Overall, the thesis argues that Wilmot embraced political economy more in its 'secular' than its 'Christian' guise, but took interventionist positions on economic and social questions which set him apart from his colleagues. These conclusions complicate the task of retrieving a convincing ideology of liberal Toryism, if indeed there is one to be found.

This thesis contains three chapters concerning synthetic studies towards the alkaloids (-)-α-kainic acid; a natural product isolated from the Japanese marine algae Kainin-sou (海人草) or Digenea simplex and the close family member (-)-domoic acid isolated from another Japanese marine algae Doumoi or Chondria armata. Chapter one gives an introduction to the isolation, structure and biological activity of kainic acid, domoic acid and their analogues. Chapter one also contains a discussion of the previous syntheses of both kainic acid, domoic acid and domoic acid C. It is written with the aim of selecting key aspects of each synthesis and in turn gives a critical account of each piece of work. Chapter two is concerned with the results obtained from the experimental section of this thesis. Disclosed is a novel method for the construction of (-)-α-kainic acid via an ene-reaction on a 1,6-diene intermediate. The synthesis comprises of eight linear steps from readily available D-serine and through the use of simple methodology forms the target compound kainic acid in a satisfactory overall yield of 20 %. This thesis also investigates the possibility of installing a variety of side chains to the biologically active kainoid core via a cross-metathesis reaction on an unsaturated carbon appendage. Chapter three contains the experimental procedures carried out for the synthesis of the compounds discussed in chapter two.

We introduce open quasitoric manifolds and their functorial properties, including complex bundle maps of their stable tangent bundles, and relate these new spaces to the standard constructions of toric topology: quasitoric manifolds, moment angle manifolds and polyhedral products. We extend the domain of these constructions to countably infinite simplicial complexes, clarifying and generalising constructions of Davis and Januszkiewicz. In particular we describe final spaces in the categories of open quasitoric manifolds and quasitoric spaces, as well as in the categories of characteristic pairs and dicharacteristic pairs. We show how quasitoric manifolds can be constructed smoothly as pullbacks of the final spaces QT(n) for n >= 1, and how stably complex structure also arises this way. We calculate the integral cohomology of quasitoric spaces over Cohen-Macaulay simplicial complexes, including the final spaces QT(n) as a special case. We describe a procedure for calculating the Chern numbers of a quasitoric manifold M and, relating this to our cohomology calculations, show how it may be interpreted in terms of the simplicial homology of H(n), the simplicial complex underlying QT(n).

We have developed a new ligand (H\(_3\)L\(^2\)) based on a DTPA bis-amide backbone which improves upon previous work within the group. The quantum yields of the europium and samarium complexes of H\(_3\)L\(^2\) are greatly enhanced over that of H\(_3\)L\(^1\). The previously observed nanoparticle-based quenching of the lanthanide luminescence lifetime of EuL\(^1\) is suppressed in EuL\(^2\). We have demonstrated the functionalisation of gold and platinum nanoparticles of various sizes with the surface active lanthanide complexes of H\(_3\)L\(^1\) and H\(_3\)L\(^2\). As a proof of principle, we have imaged, tracked and measured velocities of individual EuL\(^2\) functionalised nanoparticles in an aqueous flow, providing flow-rates accurate to micrometer resolution of fluids through a 2 mm diameter tube. We have also observed the microscale mixing of a nanoparticle labelled solution with water on time-scales of milliseconds to seconds. We can study the development and measure the dimensions of features present during mixing and therefore assess the efficiency of that mixing. We have also visualised a turn-on event at the boundary of aqueous solutions of Eu(III) ions and H\(_3\)L\(^2\)-functionalised nanoparticles during mixing, demonstrating a novel optical method for ascertaining the degree of mixing between two solutions and the position and area of that mixing.

This thesis reports on experimental and modelling work carried out in order to make quantitative estimates on the environmental impacts of home composting. The focus of the work was climate relevant gaseous emissions, and developing and utilising a methodology for quantifying them. Experiments using 220L open bottomed home compost bins, alongside purpose built 200L composting reactors with airflow control were performed. A variety of composting conditions were tested, using different compositions of garden and kitchen wastes. The experiments were monitored for headspace gas composition, including CO2, O2, NH3, N2O, CH4 and volatile organic compounds, as well as temperature, humidity, moisture and solids losses and pH. From the CO2 emission rates calculated from the reactor experiments, theoretical analysis and modelling and airflow pathway tests on home compost bins, it was concluded that molecular diffusion, rather than bulk convective flow, is the dominant gas transfer mechanism from home compost bins. There were no detected emissions of N2O but emissions of NH3 up to 16 g/T feed. Only a few cases of CH4 emission were detected, typically in the first 2-3 days following a feed addition, with the highest single concentration measured at 86 ppm within the headspace. The total anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions from home composting were estimated as between 3 and 12 Kg CO2E/Tw with almost 90% coming from the lifecycle of the compost bin. This compares with between 20 and 56 Kg CO2E/Tw from centralised facilities, at least more than double that for home composting. Total anthropogenic CO2-equivalent emissions from home composting in the UK in 2008 were estimated to be in the region of 7 thousand tonnes CO2E.

Small interfering RNA siRNA promise to be highly effective molecules but susceptible to some of the limitations experienced with antisense oligonucleotide ASO technology biological instability, design of target mRNA accessible sequences and efficient delivery to subcellular sites of action. This thesis has aim to address each of these limitations for siRNA. The biological stability of 5'-end 32P radiolabeled siRNA and ASO were tested in FBS, FBS-containing cell culture media and in A431 cell lysates. The biological degradation profiles of ASO and siRNA in serum were comparable ASO t1/2 19 minutes and siRNA t1/2 19 minutes. The stability of siRNA was higher than ASO in A431 cell lysates ASO tU2 37 minutes and siRNA t1/2 43 minutes. siRNA were designed using innovative scanning ASO array technologies to EGFR mRNA accessible sites. Initially seven siRNAs were designed against different mRNA accessible sites. Based on above a further five siRNAs were designed incorporating termini modifications to alter the thermodynamic stability of the siRNA duplex. These sequences were evaluated for biological activity following optimisation of a delivery strategy. siRNA delivery to A431 cells was optimised using a FACs assay with Oligofectamine and fluorescendy labelled siRNA. Oligofectamine delivery showed significant cell fluorescence associated with labelled siRNA compared with untreated controls P 0.05. The activity, cell proliferation and EGFR protein and mRNA knockdown, of the designed siRNA was investigated in A431 and TamR cells. RT-PCR, Western blot and immunofluorescent microscopy showed inhibitory trends, but ultimately lacked sufficient resolution and reproducibility A431 growth was not inhibited. A proprietary siRNA showed knockdown of EGFR mRNA in TamR cells, but all the custom designed siRNA produced highly variable effects, failing to show significant knockdown, even when various designed siRNA were pooled. ASO and siRNA share common pharmaceutical developmental problems, although siRNAs can elicit the powerful innate RNAi mechanism. Further understanding of RNAi will allow siRNA to fulfill their enormous therapeutic potential.

This thesis is concerned with robustness of decision making in financial economics. Feedback control models developed in engineering are applied to three separate though linked problems in order to examine the role and impact of robustness in the creation and application of decision rules. Three problems are examined using robust optimal control techniques to evaluate the impact of robustness and stability in financial economic models. The first problem examines the use of linear models of robust optimal control in the pricing of castastrophe based derivatives and finds its relative performance to be superior to the popular jump diffusion and stochastic volatility models in the pricing of these emerging instruments. The novelty of the approach arises from the examination of the impact of robustness and stability of the pricing solution. The second problem involves robustness and stability of hedging. An alternative method of creating hedging rules is developed. The method is based on robust control Lyapunov functions that are simple, robust and stable in operation, yet in practice are not so conservative that they eliminate all trading gains. The third problem involves the development of robust control policies for managing risk, using non-linear robust optimal control techniques to provide clear evidence of superior performance of robust models when compared with existing VAR and EVT approaches to risk management. The novelty in the approach arises from the development of a simple and powerful risk management metric.

UIST is a facility class near-infrared imager and spectrometer, built at the UK Astronomy Technology Centre (UKATC) in Edinburgh, and now in use at the UK Infrared Telescope (UKIRT). UIST operates at wavelengths of 1-5 μm, providing a variety of imaging and spectrometry modes. UIST is the first instrument to include a cryogenic deployable integral field unit (IFU), allowing integral field spectroscopy to be carried out over a 3.3 x 6.0 arcsec field of view using any of the grisms available for spectroscopy in UIST. The optical components of the image slicing IFU were tested and aligned on the bench before the IFU was integrated into UIST for cryogenic tests in the laboratory in Edinburgh and on the telescope. These tests included measurements of the image quality produced by the IFU and the transmission of the IFU relative to a slit of equivalent width as a function of wavelength, found to increase from 0.4 at 1 μm to 0.62 at 2.5 μm. When the seeing is poor and high spectral resolution is required the loss of light in the IFU may be significantly less than the slit-losses from a conventional slit. The conditions under which use of the IFU may be preferable to use of a silt are discussed. The data reduction methods used to automatically combine IFU observations with arc-lamp spectra, flat-field frames and standard-star spectra in order to transform the two-dimensional output of the IFU into a calibrated (x, y, l) datacube in near real-time and the procedures required to obtain the necessary calibration data are outlined. An example of one type of observation made possible by the IFU is shown by observations of H2 lines excited in bow-shocks in the outflow from a young star in the vicinity of the ultra-compact H II region G25.65-1.05, allowing measurement of the spatial variation of the excitation temperature in these shocks.

This thesis gives an account of work done on semi-classical and quantum Monte Carlo simulations in far-detuned optical lattices. Firstly, the basic principles of laser cooling of atoms are presented including a short introduction to optical lattices in the near and far-detuned regime. A detailed analysis is made of the band-structure of optical lattices, using the Bloch formalism, and of the bound-state population distribution appropriate for a thermal sample of trapped atoms. Secondly, a general overview is given of the quantum Monte Carlo method for simulating the dynamics of atom-light interactions. This is followed by a detailed study of the concept of Raman cooling, which is a useful tool to prepare atoms in the ground motional state of the lattice and an important first step to achieving quantum state control with ultra-cold atoms. A simplified model of Raman cooling is introduced and simulated using the quantum Monte Carlo wave-function approach. Then the implementation of simulations of resolved-sideband Raman cooling based on this model is discussed as is how the results were used to optimize the experimental work done by our group. The results of these simulations show for the first time that the quantum Zeno effect has a crucial impact on the efficiency of Raman cooling experiments. Also the experimental measurements of the temperature of Raman sideband cooled atoms for a range of parameters are compared with theoretical results and shows a good qualitative agreement. Thirdly, the results of semi-classical numerical simulations of parametric excitation in optical lattices are presented. It is shown that the modulation of the potential can result in selective parametric excitation of trapped atoms. The theoretical results show good qualitative agreement with experiment. The thesis is concluded with a description of possible avenues for future studies on quantum state control in optical lattices.

Goethe's early lyric poetry tends to figure in literary history for its thematic (and often biographical) expressivity. By contrast it is the aim of this thesis to pay particular attention to the particular linguistic achievement that makes that poetry possible. This thesis examines the expressive means by which Goethe communicates thoughts and experiences within poetry. I want above all to notice the conduit by which the energies of experience, and reflections upon that experience, become articulate. I first undertake a brief survey of philosophical ideas and linguistic developments that form a context for the poetry readings. I next examine the poetry of Barthold Hinrich Brockes, and some of Herder's writings. These disparate figures both contextualise and prefigure the emergence of Goethe's lyric genius - the former, because his poetry conveys the physical appearance of nature in remarkable detail; and the latter, because he insists on the essential complicity of language in experience. To situate my readings within a critical context, I then chart several critical approaches, and note points of divergence and disagreement between my readings and those of others. The main body of the thesis offers detailed readings of several Sesenheimer Lieder, Willkommen und Abschied, and Maifest. And I look across the period of Goethe's early creativity (the mid-1770's), including both poetry and excerpts from his scientific writings of this time. The aim here is to chart issues of language, of experience, and of poetic self This is undertaken in the belief that the range of his poetry is unified by his characteristic sensibility, by his amazing creativity which has as its source a profound trust in the wholeness of human experience and in the patterns and structures of the organic living process. And finally, I look at several of Goethe's later poems, in an attempt to hear the consistent resonance of his poetic voice.

Traditionally, the bishops who held office during the civil war which dominated King Stephen's reign (1135-1154) have been considered weak and ineffective, able neither to bring peace between the two sides or among warring local barons nor to protect their flocks or even themselves from the so-called 'Anarchy'. The explanation for this has been found in the bishops' lack of spiritual calibre. Bishops have also been seen as withdrawing their support from the king and ending their involvement in royal government, partly because of increasing general ecclesiastical desire for separation between Church and State and partly because of specific disputes with Stephen. As a consequence of all this, bishops are allowed little importance in modern histories of Stephen's reign. This thesis shows that modern historiographical consensus is based in flawed interpretive frameworks which have led to misinterpretation of the nature of the episcopate and its importance in Stephen's reign. It offers more valid alternatives and then re-examines, the royal, ecclesiastical and, especially, the local evidence in light of them to show that, in fact, the bishops were crucially important figures in regional politics, religion and society during the civil war. It proves as well, that they could possess considerable spiritual authority and continued to be committed to the king and active in the government of the kingdom throughout the period. Additionally, each of these also has consequences for how the episcopacy and Anglo-Norman history in general are understood. This is, therefore, a reassessment of the bishops of King Stephen's reign.

A growing number of indjviduals in this country, who share a common background, are gaining academic success, accessing work-related training, further and higher education, and entering rewarding occupations. Their common background is home-schooling. They have received all or part of their 'compulsory' years of education at home. This is a study of a small number of such individuals aged sixteen and over. I include case studies of their family's home-schooling experiences and focus on the legacy that this 'alternative' education has provided for their transition into 'institutionalised' learning - at school, college, university or workplace. I explore political, historical and philosophical perspectives of the 'movement', which has escalated rapidly in the USA over the past twenty years and is gaining impetus in the UK. Views expressed by Education Authority officers, teachers and employers also help me to frame my inquiry into whether this educational provision presents an appropriate rather than (as I initially viewed it ) a radical alternative to school. As well as revealing the development of my understanding of this multifaceted, alternative form of 'child-centred' education, this study also examines the methodological complexities of the inquiry.