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Alpedrinha, J. A. C. V. "Social evolution and sex allocation theory." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2012. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:35e4f1c8-68ea-4395-9e67-5b72982196d6.
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The study of sex allocation is one of the most successful areas in evolutionary biology: its theoretical predictions have been supported by experimental, observational and comparative approaches. Here, I develop sex allocation theory as follows: (1) I use fertility insurance theory to predict the sex ratio strategy of the malaria parasite, in response to human medical interventions that increase mortality and decrease fertility of the parasite’s various sexual stages; (2) Haplodiploidy has been suggested as a driver of the evolution of eusociality, as under this genetic system a female may be more related to her sister than to her own offspring. I examine a model considering queen versus worker control over the sex ratio of the colony and show that haplodiploidy alone does not explain the evolution of helping; (3) I follow up this study of the haplodiploidy hypothesis by examining the idea that split-sex ratios may favour the evolution of eusociality in haplodiploid species. I study the two mechanisms of split sex ratios, that are found in natural populations and may have been important in the transition to eusociality: queen virginity and queen replacement. I focus on the impact of worker reproduction by considering the effect of woker producing a fraction of the colony offspring and by considering variation in the workers’ offspring sex ratio. My analysis shows that worker reproduction does not promote the evolution of helping in haplodiploid species; (4) I examine the evolution and function of a sterile soldier caste in parasitoid wasps from the genus Encyrtidae. Two main functions have been hypothesized for the emergence of soldiers: spiteful mediation of a sex ratio conflict in mixed-sex broods, and altruistic protection and 7 facilitation of the development of relatives. I develop a model considering variation in the oviposition behaviour of females, that may produce single-sex or mixed-sex broods. I show that, in accordance with previous theory, females are expected to produce more soldiers than males, under the sex ratio conflict hypothesis. I also show that one of the consequences of this costly conflict is that females are favoured to produce single-sex broods over mixed-sex broods.
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Ulusoy, Suleyman. "The Mathematical Theory of Thin Film Evolution." Diss., Georgia Institute of Technology, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/16213.
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We try to explain the mathematical theory of thin liquid film evolution. We start with introducing physical processes in which thin film evolution plays an important role. Derivation of the classical thin film equation and existing mathematical theory in the literature are also introduced.
To explain the thin film evolution we derive a new family of degenerate parabolic equations. We prove results on existence, uniqueness, long time behavior, regularity and support properties of solutions for this equation.
At the end of the thesis we consider the classical thin film Cauchy problem on the whole real line for which we use asymptotic equipartition to show H^1(R) convergence of solutions to the unique self-similar solution.
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McAvoy, Alexander Patrick. "Essays on game theory and stochastic evolution." Thesis, University of British Columbia, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/58514.
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Evolutionary game theory is a popular framework for modeling the evolution of populations via natural selection. The fitness of a genetic or cultural trait often depends on the composition of the population as a whole and cannot be determined by looking at just the individual ("player") possessing the trait. This frequency-dependent fitness is quite naturally modeled using game theory since a player's trait can be encoded by a strategy and their fitness can be computed using the payoffs from a sequence of interactions with other players. However, there is often a distinct trade-off between the biological relevance of a game and the ease with which one can analyze an evolutionary process defined by a game. The goal of this thesis is to broaden the scope of some evolutionary games by removing restrictive assumptions in several cases. Specifically, we consider multiplayer games; asymmetric games; games with a continuous range of strategies (rather than just finitely many); and alternating games. Moreover, we study the symmetries of an evolutionary process and how they are influenced by the environment and individual-level interactions. Finally, we present a mathematical framework that encompasses many of the standard stochastic evolutionary processes and provides a setting in which to study further extensions of stochastic models based on natural selection.Science, Faculty of
Mathematics, Department of
Graduate
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Gardner, Andy. "Developments in the theory of social evolution." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/14887.
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The study of social evolution is concerned with fitness consequences of interactions between individuals. It has proven to be an excellent area for relating theoretical predictions to empirical observations. I develop social evolution theory in several ways. (1) I demonstrate that limited male fecundity and small mating groups can select for extreme fertility insurance, curbing female biased sex allocation under local mate competition, which explains puzzling sex ratios in protozoan blood parasites. (2) I examine the underlying causes of an observed statistical invariant in the relative size at sex change in animals, revealing that it does not imply as much conservation of biology across taxa as previously imagined. (3) I extend recent theory regarding how local competition impedes the evolution of altruism to show that it also promotes the evolution of spite. This allows me to re-interpret several behaviours in terms of spitefulness, and predict where spite will occur in nature. (4) I apply spite theory to the evolution of chemical (bacteriocin) warfare in bacteria, and derive novel predictions for the evolution of virulence caused by bacterial parasites. (5) I formalize a verbal model for the evolution of costly punishment as a mechanism of promoting cooperation, revealing a logical flaw and the true source of its (potential) selective benefit. (6) I develop a multi-locus methodology for arbitrary social interactions, and apply this to a dynamically-sufficient co-evolutionary analysis of cooperation and costly punishment, revealing when punishment is favoured by selection. (7) I apply this methodology to the evolution of mutation robustness for a simple two locus model with recombination and inbreeding.
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Nee, S. P. "The units of evolution." Thesis, University of Sussex, 1987. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.382534.
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Wärneryd, Karl. "Economic conventions : essays in institutional evolution." Doctoral thesis, Handelshögskolan i Stockholm, Samhällsekonomi (S), 1990. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hhs:diva-917.
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Conventions are social institutions that solve recurrent coordination problems. Many of the written and unwritten rules that make up a modern market society may be said to have the coordinative property. This dissertation uses a game-theoretical framework to discuss the emergence and functioning of conventions of communication, private property rights, money, and the firm. In each case the anlysis provides new insigts for these classical areas of economic inquiry.Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögskolan, 1990
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Bentley, Michael. "The dynamical systems theory of natural selection." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2016. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:ff01467a-c1ac-4852-a4b8-9055e9dcb1b0.
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Darwin's (1859) theory of evolution by natural selection accounts for the adaptations of organisms, but, as Fisher (1930) famously said, 'natural selection is not evolution.' Evolutionary theory has two major components: i) natural selection, which involves the underlying dynamics of populations; and ii) adaptive evolutionary change, which involves the optimisation of phenotypes for fitness maximisation. Many of the traditional theoretical frameworks in evolutionary theory have focussed on studying optimisation processes that generate biological adaptations. In recent years, however, a number of evolutionary theorists have turned to using frameworks such as the 'replicator dynamics' or 'eco-evolutionary dynamics', to explore the dynamics of natural selection. There has, however, been little attempt to explore how these dynamical systems frameworks relate to more traditional frameworks in evolutionary theory or how they incorporate the principles that embody the process of evolution by natural selection, namely, phenotypic variation, differential reproductive success, and heritability. In this thesis, I use these principles to provide the formal foundations of a general framework - a mathematical synthesis - in which the future state of an evolutionary system can be predicted from its present state; what I will call a 'dynamical systems theory of natural selection.' Given the state of an existing biological system, and a set of assumptions about how individuals within the system interact, the job of the dynamical systems theory of natural selection is no less than to predict the future in its entirety.
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Di, Gioacchino Debora. "Essays on learning and evolution." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 1994. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.338128.
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Johnstone, Rufus A. "The evolution of biological signals." Thesis, University of Oxford, 1993. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.358640.
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Young, Matthew. "Evolution in literature: Natsume Sōseki's theory and practice." Thesis, McGill University, 2012. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=110701.
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In Bungakuron (Principles of Literature), Natsume Sōseki applies concepts of evolution to dynamics in literature, consciousness, and society. Although he posits that transformations occur in literature and literary movements in a largely contingent and non-teleological manner, he also suggests that development and progress occur in these domains in the direction of ever-increasing differentiation and complexity. In response to the alienating effects of such differentiation and individualization over the course of modernization, he explores the potential for other relations to arise. Such potentiality is largely conceived in terms of affective processes, including forms of "pure experience." This thesis explores Sōseki's theory and works of literature including Wagahai wa neko de aru (I am a Cat), Koto no sorane (Hearing Things), Shumi no iden (The Heredity of Taste), and Kusamakura (Grass Pillow), considering ethical questions raised in the context of themes of war, trauma, and the relation between subjects and the nation-state.Dans Bungakuron (Principes de littérature) de Natsume Sōseki, il s'agit d'une dilatation des concepts d'évolution aux domaines de la littérature, de la conscience et de la société. Bien que Sōseki souligne que certaines transformations prennent place dans les domaines de la littérature et des mouvements littéraires de façon largement contingente et non-téléologique, il suggère également que le développement et le progrès effectués dans ces domaines sont orientés vers une différentiation et une complexification grandissantes. En réponse aux effets aliénants de la différentiation et de l'individualisation qui accompagnent la modernisation, il explore les possibilités pour que d'autres types de relation émergent. Ce potentiel est largement exploré en termes de processus affectifs, incluant des formes d'expériences pures. Ce mémoire amorce une série d'analyses des théories et des travaux littéraires de Sōseki incluant Wagahai wa neko de aru (Je suis un chat), Koto no sorane (Entendre des choses), Shumi no iden (L'hérédité du goût) et Kusamakura (Oreiller d'herbe) en considérant les questions éthiques soulevées dans le traitement des thèmes de la guerre, du traumatisme et du rapport entre sujets et l'état-nation.
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Astolfi, Michael T. "A unified theory of humor and its evolution." Thesis, Boston University, 2007. https://hdl.handle.net/2144/27578.
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Thesis (B.A.)--Boston University. University Professors Program Senior theses.PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you.
2031-01-02
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Sharp, Keith. "Evolution and social theory : the problem of culture." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 1991. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/19291.
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The primary aim of this thesis is to establish that the central tenets of conventional social theory cannot be sustained in the light of modern evolutionary biological theory (the theory of inclusive fitness). In particular, it is argued that the central social scientific assumption of a radical separation between biology and culture raises insuperable problems for the formulation of the motivation of action, when the logical consequences of modern Darwinian biology are fully considered. At the same time, however, it is argued that recent attempts to apply evolutionary theory to the direct analysis of human social behaviour - human sociobiology - have been fundamentally unsuccessful, theoretically, but above all, empirically. The central problem which the thesis formulates, therefore, is of how to conceptualize human action as motivated in accordance with the expectations of evolutionary biology, whilst recognizing that such action does not necessarily conform either in its immediate subjectivity, or in its objective distal consequences, to the predicted patterns of inclusive fitness theory. The solution to this problem is sought through an analysis of the level of phenotypic selection at which explanations should proceed; it is concluded from this that the appropriate level must be that of psychological mechanism, and that the sociobological emphasis on overt behavioural pattern crucially ignores the interactive nature of the gene-environment relationship. Accordingly, it is argued that only by proceeding at the level of psychological mechanism, can the motivation of culture in general, and in particular maladaptive behaviour, be understood in terms of evolutionary theory. Through an examination of the evolutionary logic of psychological models, it is argued that evolutionary theory strongly suggests a model which resembles, in important respects, that advanced by classical psychoanalytic theory. In particular, it is argued that the psychoanalytic conception of motivation, and the special relationship which Freud conceived between instincts and objects permits an analysis of empirical behavioural variation - even maladaptive variation - in full accordance with the expectations of evolutionary theory. The final chapters of the thesis illustrate the method of analysis proposed with reference to the example of apparently maladaptive variation in human sexual behaviour.
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Ilderton, Anton. "String field theory : time evolution and T-duality." Thesis, Durham University, 2005. http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/2395/.
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The time evolution operator of quantum field theory (Schrödinger functional) can be written in terms of particles moving on S(^1)/Z(_2-). By deriving the 'gluing property’ which joins two propagators across fixed time surfaces, we show that the Feynman diagram expansion of the free Schrödinger functional is determined once we know the field propagator. We generalise the gluing property to a new method of sewing string field propagators and construct the string field Schrödinger functional in terms of strings moving on S(^1)/Z(_2-). Timelike T-duality in string theory then appears as a large/small time symmetry of string field theory with an exchange of boundary states and string backgrounds. All of our arguments apply equally to the open and closed string. The addition of interactions to quantum field theory bring no complication to our arguments, but modifications are required when the interaction is non-local. As application of these methods we construct the interacting string field vacuum wave functional using knowledge of the vacuum expectation values it must generate.
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Laird, Kurt Wilford. "Mormon Rhetoric and the Theory of Organic Evolution." Diss., CLICK HERE for online access, 2008. http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/ETD/image/etd2411.pdf.
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Manwaring, Katherine F. "Accepting Evolution and Believing in God: How Religious Persons Perceive the Theory of Evolution." BYU ScholarsArchive, 2016. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/6215.
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Students frequently hold an incorrect view of evolution. There are several potential barriers that prevent students from engaging evolutionary theory including lack of knowledge, limited scientific reasoning ability, and religiosity. Our research provides tools for overcoming barriers related to religiosity and diagnoses the barriers preventing students from fully engaging in learning the theory of evolution. This was a two-part study. The first part of our study addressed two hypothesized barriers to learning evolutionary theory among members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS or Mormon): (1) religious views stemming from incorrect understanding of the Church's neutral stance on evolution and (2) misunderstanding the theory of evolution. We measured the relationship between acceptance of evolution and knowledge of evolution, religiosity, and understanding of religious doctrine on evolution. Additionally, we measured the effect of including a discussion on religious doctrine in the classroom. Students in all sections, except for a control section, were taught a unit on evolution that included a discussion on the neutral LDS doctrine on evolution. Students enrolled in introductory biology for non-majors took pre, post, and longitudinal surveys on topics in evolution. We found significant relationships between knowledge, understanding of religious doctrine, and religiosity with acceptance of evolution. Additionally, an in-class discussion of he LDS doctrine on evolution helped students be more accepting of evolution. In the second part of our study, we studied a broader population to analyze differences in acceptance of evolution based on religious affiliation and religiosity. Our study focused on the interaction of five variables and their implication for evolution education: (1) religious commitment (2) religious views (3) knowledge of evolution (4) scientific reasoning ability and (5) acceptance of evolution. We measured each of these among equal samples of Southern Baptists, Catholics, Jews, and LDS populations and analyzed them with traditional statistics and structural equation modeling. Our findings showed that religious affiliation, religiosity and creationist views effected evolution acceptance, but not knowledge or scientific reasoning. These data provide compelling evidence that as students gain an accurate understanding of their religious doctrines and knowledge of evolution, they are more willing to accept the basic concepts of evolution. They also show diagnostic results that help educators better understand students' background and views. When educators better understand views that students hold, they are better able to design instruction for optimal learning.
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鄭啓明 and Kai-ming Cheng. "Evolution problems in supersymmetric quantum mechanics." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 1993. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B3123351X.
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Cheng, Kai-ming. "Evolution problems in supersymmetric quantum mechanics /." [Hong Kong : University of Hong Kong], 1993. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record.jsp?B13731488.
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Jackson, Edgar Basil. "The faith dynamic in creationism and evolutionary theory." Thesis, North-West University, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10394/9061.
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This study attempts to examine evolutionary theory and creationism objectively without engaging in an apology for or a criticism of either. It compares the presuppositions and assumptions of both systems, and examines the role of faith in religion and in the scientific theory of evolution. After discussing the nature of the scientific method and the development of the theory of evolution, the study explores the dichotomy of faith and reason, the ways in which these operate in theories of intelligent design and theistic evolution, and the question of whether scientific evolutionary theory can be considered to be a secular religion. The thesis argues that acceptance of the scientific theory of evolution is as dependent upon a faith commitment as is adherence to religion, though the type and quality of the two respective faith systems are very different and, therefore, worthy of comparison and contrast. The study concludes that, while science and evolutionary theory share many of the same features and characteristics of faith and presumption, it is presently not appropriate to claim that evolutionary theory is a secular religion, and that when this opinion is asserted it is worthwhile to analyze the motivation, conscious and unconscious, involved.Thesis (PhD (Dogmatics))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus in association with Greenwich School of Theology, U.K., 2013.
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Kelm, Matthias. "Institutional determinants of economic evolution." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 1995. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.389840.
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Nabti, Abderrazak. "Non linear, non-local evolution equations : theory and application." Thesis, La Rochelle, 2015. http://www.theses.fr/2015LAROS032.
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Cette thèse concerne l’étude qualitative (existence locale, existence globale, explosion en temps fini) de quelques équations de Schrödinger non-linéaires non-locales. Dans le cas où les solutions explosent en temps fini, l’estimation du temps maximal d’existence des solutions sera présentée. Le chapitre 1 concerne l’étude d’une équation de Schrödinger non-linéaire sur RN. On s’intéresse à l’existence locale d’une solution pour toute condition initiale donnée dans L2(RN). De plus, on montre que la norme-L2 de la solution explose en temps fini T < 1. Les démonstrations reposent essentiellement sur le théorème de point fixe de Banach et les estimations de Strichartz, et aussi sur le choix convenable de la fonction test dans la formulation faible du problème. Dans le chapitre 2, on considère une équation de Schrödinger non-linéaire non-locale en temps, et on démontre que les solutions de notre problème explosent en temps fini ; ensuite on obtient des conditions nécessaires d’existence globale. Finalement, on obtient une borne inférieure du temps maximal d’existence de la solution. Le chapitre 3 porte sur la non-existence de solutions d’une équation de Schrödinger non-linéaire posée dans RN. Dans un premier temps, sous certaines conditions sur la donnée initiale, on montre qu’il n’existe pas de solution faible globale ; puis on donne une estimation du temps maximal d’existence de la solution. Enfin, on établit des conditions d’existence locale, ou globale de l’équation considérée. En plus, on généralise les résultats précédents au cas d’un système 2 _ 2. Le dernier chapitre traite une équation de Schrödinger non-linéaire non-locale en temps sur le groupe de Heisenberg H. En utilisant la méthode de la fonction test, on démontre que l’équation n’admet pas de solution faible globale. De plus, on obtient, sous certaines conditions sur les données initiales, une estimation inférieure du temps maximal d’existence de la solutionOur objective in this thesis is to study the existence of local solutions, existence global and blow up of solutions at a finite time to some nonlinear nonlocal Schrödinger equations. In the case when a solution blows-up at a finite time T < 1, we obtain an upper estimate of the life span of solutions. In the first chapter, we consider a nonlinear Schrödinger equation on RN. We first prove local existence of solution for any initial condition in L2 space. Then we prove nonexistence of a nontrivial global weak solution. Furthermore, we prove that the L2-norm of the local intime L2-solution blows up at a finite time. The second chapter is dedicated to study an initial value problem for the nonlocal intime nonlinear Schrödinger equation. Using the test function method, we derive a blow-up result. Then based on integral inequalities, we estimate the life span of blowing-up solutions. In the chapter 3, we prove nonexistence result of a space higher-order nonlinear Schrödinger equation. Then, we obtain an upper bound of the life span of solutions. Furthermore, the necessary conditions for the existence of local or global solutions are provided. Next, we extend our results to the 2 _ 2-system. Our method of proof rests on a judicious choice of the test function in the weak formulation of the equation. Finally, we consider a nonlinear nonlocal in time Schrödinger equation on the Heisenberg group. We prove nonexistence of non-trivial global weak solution of our problem. Furthermore, we give an upper bound of the life span of blowing up solutions
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Arns, Célia Maria. "Jack Richardson's theory of historical evolution in The Prodigal." reponame:Repositório Institucional da UFPR, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/1884/22280.
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Resumo: Os dramaturgos gregos basearam as suas peças em fatos mitológicos e históricos que receberam uma interpretação trágica. Dentro deste contexto, Jack Richardson, que tem um profundo conhecimento da tragédia Grega, também tenta inserir alguns acontecimentos políticos e históricos que afetam a Civilização Moderna dentro da estrutura do mito de Orestes. Em sua peça, The Prodigal, que está sendo analisada nesta dissertação, ele enfoca a Guerra de Tróia e, como acontece em todas as guerras, os soldados que voltam, como os cidadãos de Argos, são atingidos pelas conseqüências psicológicas de após-guerra de exaustão e fadiga. Na peça citada acima, a dimensão política é fundamental e constitui uma espécie de leitmotiv que sustenta a ação. O autor demonstra um interesse especial pela função política do homem - a estrutura política determina os aspectos sociais e religiosos nesta peça. Em um texto literário, o aspecto político não transporta valor por si só, mas, pode significar um elemento essencial de sua estrutura. Richardson dramatiza a sua teoria de Evolução Histórica em The Prodigal pondo em evidência as razões e circunstâncias que causam a queda de uma Instituição, que não pode manter os seus valores fundamentais contra uma nova mentalidade que emerge. Ele analisa as divergências políticas, a sociologia da família e discute argumentos religiosos, literários e filosóficos, tendo como modelos os personagens da antiga mitologia. O principal objetivo desta dissertação é determinar a teoria de Evolução Histórica de Jack Richardson em The Prodigal. A minha intenção é comparar a peça moderna com a Oréstia de Ésquilo para determinar até que ponto os dois dramaturgos sustentam os mesmos pontos de vista e quais especificamente são as inovações introduzidas por Jack Richardson.
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Kerr, William Fraser. "Darwinian social evolution as a theory of social change." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/31066.
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This thesis investigates the use of a reconceptualised social evolutionary theory for understanding and explaining how and why societies change, specifically looking at this question through the frame of nationalism. The thesis is split into three parts: in the first part I first examine older forms of social evolutionary theory (conceptions from Marx, Spencer and generalized evolutionary accounts) and critique them on the grounds that they are too ‘progressive’ in character, suffer from teleology and have a notion that all societies change linearly, i.e. pass through the same set of stages. After this I elaborate on a reconstructed version of social evolutionary theory, taking it along more Darwinian lines: that the process should be understood as contingent and non-linear, where cultural variants and social intuitions change in response to selective pressures brought about by environmental conditions. To reconstruct social evolution I draw mainly on accounts from Runciman (2009), Hodgson and Knudsen (2010), Sperber (1996), Hull (1988) and Richerson and Boyd (2006). In the second part of the thesis I look at four different theories of social change and utilize Darwinian social evolutionary theory to critique them. The four in question are: Immanuel Wallerstein (world-systems theory); Michael Hechter (rational-choice theory); Michael Mann (sources of social power); and Ernest Gellner (functionalism). These four theories were chosen as they either have, or represent, different theories of social change, and also because they are all concerned to some extent with the rise of the nation-state and nationalism. The main argument in this section is that Darwinian social evolutionary theory can incorporate elements of these theories whilst also going beyond them in explaining and understanding why societies undergo changes. In the case of Mann and Gellner I also note that they are, to a certain extent, implicitly relying on a social evolutionary account, and that drawing this out more explicitly helps provide greater theoretical solidity to their arguments. In the final part of the thesis I apply the theory to two case-studies, looking at the rise of nationalism in Britain (with a focus on England) and Japan. In both cases I examine each development of nationalism historically, using Darwinian social evolution to assess why nationalism emerged at the point that it did in each case, and not before. A final synthesis chapter then looks comparatively at the two cases and applies Darwinian social evolutionary theory to address the question of why nationalism generated in England/Britain, but did not in Japan and why the nationalist movements took the forms that they did. The chapter centres on three main themes, the role of war in forming identities, the role of variation in generating institutions, and the role of lineages in creating continuity in discontinuity. Finally it address the question of why nationalism became the dominant movement and not something else. Together this demonstrates demonstrate the usefulness of the framework for addressing questions concerning social change, in providing a different perspective and insights from other theories of social change. A final chapter summarizes and concludes the thesis, as well as pointing to new directions that research could develop.
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Episkopou, D. M. "The theory and practice of information systems methodologies : A grounded theory of methodological evolution." Thesis, University of East Anglia, 1987. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.380960.
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Zander, Claudia. "Information measures, entanglement and quantum evolution." Diss., University of Pretoria, 2007. http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-04212008-090506.
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Ellsworth, Ryan M. Palmer Craig. "Evolution and religion theory, definitions, and the natural selection of religious behavior /." Diss., Columbia, Mo. : University of Missouri--Columbia, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10355/6527.
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The entire thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file; a non-technical public abstract appears in the public.pdf file. Title from PDF of title page (University of Missouri--Columbia, viewed on November 13, 2009). Thesis advisor: Dr. Craig T. Palmer. Includes bibliographical references.
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Rael, Rosalyn Cherie. "Comparing theory and data on multi-species interactions using evolutionary game theory." Diss., The University of Arizona, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/194398.
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Mathematical models with fixed parameters have a long history of use in describing the dynamics of populations in ecological interactions. However, in many instances, evolutionary changes in species characteristics can have a significant influence on these dynamics. Using evolutionary game theory, we incorporate evolution into population dynamic models and apply the resulting “Darwinian dynamic” models to study the effects that evolutionary changes can have on populations in several ecological scenarios. We start with a single species (Chapter 2), then add a competitor (Chapter 3), and a predator (Chapter 4). In Chapter 2, a rigorous mathematical analysis of the Darwinian logistic model for a single species shows that stable equilibria occur at strategies that maximize population size rather than growth rate. We apply this model to the data obtained from an experimental study on genetically perturbed populations of the flour beetle Tribolium castaneum. In Chapter 3, we apply a Darwinian dynamic modification of the Lotka-Volterra model to investigate circumstances under which evolution will change expected competitive outcomes. We compare the results of our Darwinian Lotka-Volterra model to studies in which unusual observations were made in studies of the flour beetles T. castaneum and T. confusum, including a reversal in the “winner” of competitive exclusion, and evolution from exclusion to coexistence. Chapters 2 and 3 provide one of the few examples in which evolutionary game theory has been successfully applied to empirical data. From a foundation provided by the Darwinian logistic equation, we build Darwinian dynamic models with two and three trophic levels to study effects of evolution on some basic ecological interactions in Chapter 4. We show how a consumer can cause a resource (producer) species to evolve to a mean strategy that increases its growth rate rather than its population size. We also briefly study how predation on the consumer species can affect equilibrium strategies of species lower in the food chain. Our results show how evolutionary game theoretic methods can be useful for studying both theoretical and applied problems that arise due to evolutionary processes, even when they occur on a ecological time scale. They provide a foundation for the future study of evolutionary effects in larger complex networks of interacting species.
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Katardjiev, I. V. "Theory and experimental studies of surface evolution during ion bombardment." Thesis, University of Salford, 1989. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.234793.
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Zhang, Guohua. "Exploratory Robotic Controllers : An Evolution and Information Theory Driven Approach." Thesis, Paris 11, 2015. http://www.theses.fr/2015PA112208/document.
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Cette thèse porte sur la conception de contrôleurs pour robots explorateurs autonomes basée sur une approche en ligne (online) intégrée, ne nécessitant pas de vérité terrain ni d'intervention de l'expert humain au cours du processus d'entrainement.Le travail présenté se focalise sur le domaine de la robotique autonome et plus particulièrement la conception de controleurs robotiques pour les essaims de robots.Ce contexte présente deux difficultés spécifiques. Premièrement, les approches basées sur l'usage de simulateur sont d'efficacité limitée : d'une part, la précision du simulateur est limitée compte tenu de la variabilité des robots élémentaires; d'autre part, la complexité de la simulation est super-linéaire en fonction du nombre de robots de l'essaim. Deuxièmement, les approches guidées par le but se heurtent au fait que la fonction objectif n'est pas définie au niveau du robot individuel, mais au niveau de l'essaim.Une première étape vers la conception de contrôleur explorateur autonome est proposée dans cette thèse. L'approche proposée, appelée exploration robotique fondée sur l'évolution et l'information (Ev-ITER) se fonde sur l'hybridation de la robotique évolutionnaire et de l'apprentissage par renforcement utilisant l'entropie. Cette approche procède en deux phases: (i) dans une première phase l'évolution artificielle est utilisée pour générer des contrôleurs primaires (crawlers), dont les trajectoires sont d'entropie élevée dans l'espace sensori-moteur; (ii) dans une seconde phase, l'archive des trajectoires acquises par les controleurs primaires est exploitée pour définir les controleurs secondaires, inspirés de la motivation intrinsèque robuste et permettant l'exploration rigoureuse de l'environnement.Les contributions de cette thèse sont les suivantes. Premièrement, comme désiré Ev-ITER peut être lancé en ligne, et sans nécessiter de vérité terrain ou d'assistance. Deuxièmement, Ev-ITER surpasse les approches autonomes en robotique évolutionnaire en terme d'exploration de l'arène. Troisièmement, le contrôleur Ev-ITER est doté d'une certaine généralité, dans la mesure où il est capable d'explorer efficacement d'autres arènes que celle considérée pendant la première phase de l'évolution. Il est à souligner que la généralité du contrôleur appris vis-à-vis de l'environnement d'entrainement a rarement été considérée en apprentissage par renforcement ou en robotique évolutionnaireThis thesis is concerned with building autonomous exploratory robotic controllers in an online, on-board approach, with no requirement for ground truth or human intervention in the experimental setting.This study is primarily motivated by autonomous robotics, specifically autonomous robot swarms. In this context, one faces two difficulties. Firstly, standard simulator-based approaches are hardly effective due to computational efficiency and accuracy reasons. On the one hand, the simulator accuracy is hindered by the variability of the hardware; on the other hand, this approach faces a super-linear computational complexity w.r.t. the number of robots in the swarm. Secondly, the standard goal-driven approach used for controller design does not apply as there is no explicit objective function at the individual level, since the objective is defined at the swarm level.A first step toward autonomous exploratory controllers is proposed in the thesis. The Evolution & Information Theory-based Exploratory Robotics (Ev-ITER) approach is based on the hybridization of two approaches stemming from Evolutionary Robotics and from Reinforcement Learning, with the goal of getting the best of both worlds: (i) primary controllers, or crawling controllers, are evolved in order to generate sensori-motor trajectories with high entropy; (ii) the data repository built from the crawling controllers is exploited, providing prior knowledge to secondary controllers, inspired from the intrinsic robust motivation setting and achieving the thorough exploration of the environment.The contributions of the thesis are threefold. Firstly, Ev-ITER fulfills the desired requirement: it runs online, on-board and without requiring any ground truth or support. Secondly, Ev-ITER outperforms both the evolutionary and the information theory-based approaches standalone, in terms of actual exploration of the arena. Thirdly and most importantly, the Ev-ITER controller features some generality property, being able to efficiently explore other arenas than the one considered during the first evolutionary phase. It must be emphasized that the generality of the learned controller with respect to the considered environment has rarely been considered, neither in the reinforcement learning, nor in evolutionary robotics
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Papaioannou, Theodoros. "The moral dimension of Hayek's political theory." Thesis, University of Sussex, 2001. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.390829.
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This thesis provides an 'immanent' critique of the moral dimension of Hayek's political theory. The concept of morality that Hayek advances is epistemologically founded. That concept is concerned with the recognition and respect of the natural limits of human knowledge and is incompatible with the idea of objective value judgement. The moral dimension of Hayek's theory is based on the methodological implications of his epistemologically founded concept of morality. That dimension consists of the ideas of social spontaneity and cultural evolution and is incompatible with any concept of objective liberal values. The moral dimension of Hayek's theory excludes but also requires substantive politics. The moral exclusion of substantive politics' undermines freedom and equality in catallaxy while, at the same time, it relativises commutative justice and legitimates the minimal state only from the point of view of its legality. Substantive politics is morally required for preserving and promoting institutions such as catallaxy and commutative justice in terms of liberalism. It is argued that the moral exclusion of substantive politics is due to the epistemological premises of Hayek's theory. Those premises form the praxeological presuppositions of social spontaneity and cultural evolution. In terms of them, substantive politics cannot be morally explained. Substantive politics is grounded on a normative/evaluative conception of a social good. That conception depends on critical reason in terms of which objective liberal values can be "recognised and respected. The moral requirement of substantive politics is due to the fact that the process of social spontaneity and cultural evolution cannot by itself be safeguarded against coercion, inequality and injustice.
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Wuolle, Victoria R. "Conscious Evolution as Catalyst for Emerging Community." Thesis, Marian University, 2017. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10606785.
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The purpose of this study was to look at the role of Conscious Evolution as a catalyst for community building. The work of the researcher was to take an in depth look at Conscious Evolution in relation to the success and growth of a service oriented nonprofit organization that works in the area of integrated health care. The scientific and theological perspectives of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, 20th Century Jesuit priest and paleontologist, provided the theoretical framework that guided the study. His understanding of Conscious Evolution, simply described, is the emergence of humans’ ability to reflect on existence through means of discernment.
Teilhard’s framework fit with the methodological approach of hermeneutic phenomenology that was used to inform this study. The phenomenon of Conscious Evolution was examined with ten participants from a community center that works with integrative health and wellness. Each participant took part in three extensive interviews that inquired about experiences prior to involvement with the organization, since they became involved, and what their involvement means for them. Four themes arose (community, spirituality, service, and belonging) that affirmed the research questions and promote an opportunity for further study of Conscious Evolution as catalyst for community building.
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Ghachem, Montasser. "Essays in Evolutionary Game Theory." Doctoral thesis, Stockholms universitet, Nationalekonomiska institutionen, 2016. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:su:diva-132433.
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Evolutionary game theory tries to explain the emergence of stable behaviors observed in human and animal societies. Prominent examples of such behaviors are cooperative and conformist behaviors. In the first part of the thesis, we develop a model of indirect reciprocity with institutional screening to study how institutions may promote cooperative behavior. We show that cooperation can emerge if screening institutions are sufficiently reliable at identifying cooperators. The second part presents a large-population learning model in which individuals update their beliefs through time. In the model, only one individual updates his beliefs each period. We show that a population, playing a game with two strategies, eventually learns to play a Nash equilibrium. We focus on coordination games and prove that a unique behavior arises both when players use myopic and perturbed best replies. The third part studies the payoff calculation in an evolutionary setting. By introducing mutual consent as a requirement for game play, we provide a more realistic alternative way to compute payoffs.At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 2: Manuscript. Paper 3: Manuscript.
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Hoseini, Sayed Mohammad. "Solitary wave interaction and evolution." Access electronically, 2007. http://www.library.uow.edu.au/adt-NWU/public/adt-NWU20080221.110619/index.html.
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鄭楚明 and Cho-ming Cheng. "The evolution operator in quantum mechanics and its applications." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 1989. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B31231500.
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Cheng, Cho-ming. "The evolution operator in quantum mechanics and its applications /." [Hong Kong : University of Hong Kong], 1989. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record.jsp?B12428590.
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Anderson, Dianne L. "Natural selection theory in non-majors' Biology : instruction, assessment, and conceptual difficulty /." Diss., Connect to a 24 p. preview or request complete full text in PDF format. Access restricted to UC IP addresses, 2003. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/ucsd/fullcit?p3112820.
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Schlomer, Gabriel Lee. "Evolutionary Theory and Parent-Child Conflict: The Utility of Parent-Offspring Conflict Theory." Diss., The University of Arizona, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/194662.
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Parent-offspring conflict theory (POCT) has been underutilized by researchers interested in family relationships. The goal of these three manuscripts is to help remedy this problem.Manuscript one presents POCT in its original formulation and more recent developments. The theory is described and explained and four topical areas of human development are discussed in terms of how POCT has been applied and how the theory can help inform future research.Manuscript two tests hypotheses derived from POCT about mother-adolescent conflict. This study showed that coresidence with a younger half sibling significantly incremented conflict between mothers and their children. This effect was not explained by SES, maternal depression, number of children in the household, or stepfather presence. In addition, children in younger half sibling households demonstrate elevated levels of conflict compared to families with a younger full sibling indicating that this effect is not an artifact of coresidence with a younger sibling. Presence of a younger half sibling also partially mediated the relationship between biological parental disruption and mother-child conflict.Manuscript three sought to extend on the findings from manuscript two by examining how different family contexts affect trajectories of mother-child conflict across adolescence. A piecewise growth model was implemented to estimate linear conflict trajectories from early to mid and from mid to late adolescence. Results indicated that conflict tends to increase from early to mid adolescence but remain constant from mid to late adolescence, that biological parental disruption did not differentiate trajectories of conflict, nor did living with a stepfather. In addition, despite a large difference in regression coefficients between families with and without a younger half sibling, younger half sibling status did not differentiate conflict trajectories from early to mid adolescence. Families did differ in their trajectories from mid to late adolescence with younger half sibling families showing a reduction in conflict over this time period. Inclusion of family level covariates effectively nullified all significant results. Results are discussed in the context of parent-offspring conflict theory. It is concluded that a larger sample with more diverse family types is needed to achieve sufficient power for additional analyses and future research.
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Andersen, Hanne Birgitte. "Technological change and the evolution of corporate innovation." Thesis, University of Reading, 1997. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.339495.
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Baker, Joseph O. "The Evolution of Creationism." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2014. https://dc.etsu.edu/etsu-works/485.
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Joseph O. Baker discussed a moving-target strategy of fundamentalist Christians to oppose Darwin’s theory of biological evolution with creationism over the last few hundred years in the United States.
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Harley, Amy E. "Physical activity evolution a grounded theory study with African American women /." Connect to resource, 2005. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc%5Fnum=osu1117131933.
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Thesis (Ph.D.)--Ohio State University, 2005.Title from first page of PDF file. Document formatted into pages; contains xi, 235 p.; also includes graphics. Includes bibliographical references (p. 192-203). Available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center
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Witteloostuijn, Adriaan van. "Rationality, competition and evolution entry (deterrence) in dynamic barrier market theory /." Maastricht : Maastricht : Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, University of Limburg ; University Library, Maastricht University [Host], 1990. http://arno.unimaas.nl/show.cgi?fid=5578.
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Diuk, N. M. "M.P. Drahomanov and the evolution of Ukrainian cultural and political theory." Thesis, University of Oxford, 1986. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.381841.
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Smith, Rachel. "The evolution of debris disk systems : constraints from theory and observation." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/3131.
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Debris disks are believed to be the remnants of planet formation; a disk of solid bodies called planetesimals that did not get incorporated into planets. They provide an ideal opportunity for studying the outcome of planet formation in their systems. The best studied disks exhibit cool emission peaking at ≥ 60 microns, lying in Edgeworth-Kuiper belt-like regions with an inner dust-free hole. However around half of the main sequence stars with excess emission seen in IRAS observations show an excess at 25 microns only. This thesis presents a study of mid-infrared debris disks through theory and observations to examine the following questions: are such disks around Sun-like stars simply debris disks of truncated planetary systems?; can this emission be explained by a collisionally-evolving disk analogous to the asteroid belt?; is the degree of variation in emission levels seen around otherwise similar A stars evidence of stochastic evolution? An analytical model of debris disk evolution assuming the disk evolves under a steadystate collisional cascade is presented and shows there is a maximum flux that can be expected from a disk of a given radius and age and that, for a given disk location, the excess emission arising from the disk will decrease linearly with time. Comparison of observations with the maximum predicted flux from the analytical model indicates some Sun-like stars are likely hosts of transient emission. Comparison with A star statistics shows that A star excesses can be explained by collisionally-evolving disks, and that the variation in emission between similar stars can be explained by varying initial conditions. However the model assumes the disk consists of a narrow ring (whereas the true dust distribution may be spatially extended) at a location predicted by blackbody fitting to the excess SED (which can lead to errors in the dust location of up to a factor of 3). Resolved imaging is needed to determine the true disk morphology and the implications of this on the transient or steady-state interpretation. A sample of 12 Sun-like stars with mid-infrared excess, and a complementary sample of 11 A-type stars, are observed with TIMMI2, VISIR on the VLT and MICHELLE and TReCS on Gemini. Six of the Sun-like sources are shown not to be debris disks, highlighting the need for high-resolution imaging to remove bogus disk sources. None of the Sun-like stars show resolved emission, however a new method of determining extension limits from unresolved imaging is presented and used to show that a single-temperature dust model for the η Corvi mid-infrared excess with transient dust at 1.7AU is more likely than a 2-temperature fit with dust belts at 1.3AU (transient) and 12AU (steady-state). The A star observations reveal a further bogus disk source. Unresolved images of HD71155 constrain the excess emission to be from 2 dust populations: a transient population at 0.6AU and a steady-state population at 61AU. The extension limits modelling is further used to highlight A star disks which may present fruitful subjects for future 8m imaging. One such source, HD181296, is observed with TReCS and shown to possess an edge-on disk at around 22 AU which fits with the steady-state interpretation. As the unresolved 8m observations are used to constrain the outer limits of the disk emission, MIDI observations of 2 Sun-like and 2 A-type sources are used to constrain the inner limits of the disk. The first results from these observations indicate that there are changes in the visibility function with wavelength that match the predicted changes for a completely resolved disk component. The combined limits for the hot Corvi emission suggest the source has a transient disk lying between 0.9AU and 3.0AU.
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Moreno, Almeida Javier. "Time evolution of inflaton fields in non-equilibrium quantum field theory." Thesis, University of Leeds, 2007. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.439566.
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Entezam, Ben. "Predicting the future of atomic clocks using the Theory of Evolution." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/44692.
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Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, System Design and Management Program, 2008.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 59-60).
The trend of technology evolution plays a very important role to understand how and why products evolve over time and define strategies of further improvements of products. The trend of evolution is based on the fact that all the products, process or technical systems will evolve over time. A cesium atomic clock is the most accurate realization of a reference unit that mankind has yet achieved. The commercial cesium atomic clock is very mature and the demand for this type of clocks expected to be flat. A size reduction is possible due to new physics improvement by using optical pumping technique, but no major changes in performance and prices are expected. The masers outperform the high performance cesium clocks for a time period of sub seconds to one day. The hydrogen maser is very mature product like cesium and the design has remained the same for the last 30 years. The product is expected to remain as presently available. Rubidium atomic clocks provide enhanced accuracy, stability and timing precision compared to quartz-based technologies. This market is large enough to support continuing technological innovation. The world's first commercially available miniature developed by Symmetricom in 2008 marks a major step toward in the evolution of rubidium atomic clocks. It is predicted that future of rubidium oscillators will be based on coherent population trapping technology. The miniature rubidium clocks will be smaller, cheaper, and will be operated by small batteries.
by Ben Entezam.
S.M.
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Vlerick, Michael Marie Patricia Lucien Hilda. "Darwin's doubt : implications of the theory of evolution for human knowledge." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/71595.
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Thesis (DPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2012.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In this dissertation I enquire into the status, scope and limits of human knowledge, given the fact that our perceptual and cognitive faculties are the product of evolution by natural selection. I argue that the commonsense representations these faculties provide us with yield a particular, species-specific scope on the world that does not ‘correspond’ in any straightforward way to the external world. We are, however, not bound by these commonsense representations. This particular, species-specific view of the world can be transgressed. Nevertheless, our transgressing representations remain confined to the conceptual space defined by the combinatorial possibilities of the various representational tools we possess. Furthermore, the way in which we fit representations to the external world is by means of our biologically determined epistemic orientation. Based on the fact that we are endowed with a particular set of perceptual and cognitive resources and are guided by a particular epistemic orientation, I conclude that we have a particular cognitive relation to the world. Therefore, an accurate representation for us is a particular fit (our epistemic orientation) with particular means (our perceptual and cognitive resources).
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie tesis handel oor die aard, omvang en limiete van kennis, gegewe dat ons perseptuele en kognitiewe vermoëns die resultaat van evolusie deur middel van natuurlike seleksie is. Eerstens, word daar geargumenteer dat die algemene voorstellings wat hierdie vermoëns aan ons bied ‘n partikuliere, spesie-spesifieke siening van die wêreld aan ons gee, wat nie op ‘n eenvoudige manier korrespondeer aan die werklikheid nie. Ons is egter nie gebonde aan hierdie voorstellings nie. Hierdie partikuliere, spesie-spesifieke siening van die wêreld kan oorskry word. Ons is egter wel beperk tot die konseptuele ruimte wat gedefinieër word deur die kombinatoriese moontlikhede van die voorstellingsmiddele tot ons beskikking. Verder word die manier waarop ons hierdie voorstellings aan die wêreld laat pas deur ons biologies gedetermineerde epistemiese oriëntasie bepaal. Dus, gegewe dat ons ‘n spesifieke stel perseptuele en kognitiewe vermoëns het en deur ‘n spesifieke kognitiewe epistemiese oriëntasie gelei word, staan ons in ‘n spesifieke kognitiewe verhouding tot die wêreld. ‘n Akkurate voorstelling (m.a.w. kennis vir ons) is om spesifieke vermoëns (perseptuele en kognitiewe vermoëns) op ‘n spesifieke manier (epsitemiese oriëntasie) aan die wêreld te laat pas.
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Broderick, James Patrick. "The history and evolution of management theory in the United States." Instructions for remote access. Click here to access this electronic resource. Access available to Kutztown University faculty, staff, and students only, 1992. http://www.kutztown.edu/library/services/remote_access.asp.
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Swift, Adam Glen. "Mapping posthuman discourse and the evolution of living information." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2006. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/16439/1/Adam_Swift_Thesis.pdf.
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The discourse that surrounds and constitutes the post-human emerged as a response to earlier claims of an essential or universal human or human nature. These discussions claim that the human is a discursive construct that emerges from various configurations of nature, embodiment, technology, and culture, configurations that have also been variously shaped by the forces of social history. And in the absence of an essential human figure, post-human discourses suggest that there are no restrictions or limitations on how the human can be reconfigured. This axiom has been extended in light of a plethora of technological reconfigurations and augmentations now potentially available to the human, and claims emerge from within this literature that these new technologies constitute a range of possibilities for future human biological evolution.
This thesis questions the assumption contained within these discourses that technological incursions or reconfigurations of the biological human necessarily constitute human biological or human social evolution by discussing the role the evolution theories plays in our understanding of the human, the social, and technology. In this thesis I show that, in a reciprocal process, evolution theory draws metaphors from social institutions and ideologies, while social institutions and ideologies simultaneously draw on metaphors from evolution theory. Through this discussion, I propose a form of evolution literacy; a tool, I argue, is warranted in developing a sophisticated response to changes in both human shape and form. I argue that, as a whole, our understanding of evolution constitutes a metanarrative, a metaphor through which we understand the place of the human within the world; it follows that historical shifts in social paradigms will result in new definitions of evolution. I show that contemporary evolution theory reflects parts of the world as codified informatic systems of associated computational network logic through which the behaviour of participants is predefined according to an evolved or programmed structure.
Working from within the discourse of contemporary evolution theory I develop a space through which a version of the post-human figure emerges. I promote this version of the post-human as an Artificial Intelligence computational programme or autonomous agent that, rather than seeking to replace, reduce or deny the human subject, is configured as an exosomatic supplement to and an extension of the biological human.
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Swift, Adam Glen. "Mapping posthuman discourse and the evolution of living information." Queensland University of Technology, 2006. http://eprints.qut.edu.au/16439/.
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The discourse that surrounds and constitutes the post-human emerged as a response to earlier claims of an essential or universal human or human nature. These discussions claim that the human is a discursive construct that emerges from various configurations of nature, embodiment, technology, and culture, configurations that have also been variously shaped by the forces of social history. And in the absence of an essential human figure, post-human discourses suggest that there are no restrictions or limitations on how the human can be reconfigured. This axiom has been extended in light of a plethora of technological reconfigurations and augmentations now potentially available to the human, and claims emerge from within this literature that these new technologies constitute a range of possibilities for future human biological evolution. This thesis questions the assumption contained within these discourses that technological incursions or reconfigurations of the biological human necessarily constitute human biological or human social evolution by discussing the role the evolution theories plays in our understanding of the human, the social, and technology. In this thesis I show that, in a reciprocal process, evolution theory draws metaphors from social institutions and ideologies, while social institutions and ideologies simultaneously draw on metaphors from evolution theory. Through this discussion, I propose a form of evolution literacy; a tool, I argue, is warranted in developing a sophisticated response to changes in both human shape and form. I argue that, as a whole, our understanding of evolution constitutes a metanarrative, a metaphor through which we understand the place of the human within the world; it follows that historical shifts in social paradigms will result in new definitions of evolution. I show that contemporary evolution theory reflects parts of the world as codified informatic systems of associated computational network logic through which the behaviour of participants is predefined according to an evolved or programmed structure. Working from within the discourse of contemporary evolution theory I develop a space through which a version of the post-human figure emerges. I promote this version of the post-human as an Artificial Intelligence computational programme or autonomous agent that, rather than seeking to replace, reduce or deny the human subject, is configured as an exosomatic supplement to and an extension of the biological human.
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Earnest, Michael J. "Extortion and Evolution in the Iterated Prisoner's Dilemma." Scholarship @ Claremont, 2013. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/hmc_theses/51.
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The Prisoner's Dilemma is a two player game where playing rationally leads to a suboptimal outcome for both players. The game is simple to analyze, but when it is played repeatedly, complex dynamics emerge. Recent research has shown the existence of extortionate strategies, which allow one player to win at least as much as the other. When one player plays such a strategy, the other must either decide to take a low payoff, or accede to the extortion, where they earn higher payoff, but their opponent receives a larger share. We investigate what happens when one player uses this strategy against an ``evolutionary'' player, who makes small changes to her strategy over time to increase her score, and show that there are cases where such a player will not evolve towards the optimal strategy of giving in to extortion.
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Qubain, Edward George. "A quantum phase space with classical time evolution /." Full text (PDF) from UMI/Dissertation Abstracts International, 2001. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/utexas/fullcit?p3008424.
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