Hiu Chan

This study utilized attachment theory to explore the functions of companion animals (pets) and the influence of secure human-pet bond on attachment security and emotion regulation among companion-animal guardians (pet owners) in Hong Kong. Hierarchical regression analyses were conducted exploring the relative influence of adult attachment and pet attachment on mental wellbeing, and the moderating effect of pet attachment on emotion regulation. Results revealed a consistent attachment pattern across human-human and human-pet bonds. A secure human-pet bond can act as a positive catalyst that exerts a moderating effect on emotion reappraisal. Treating pets as family members/friends helps pet owners receive the security that they lack in adult attachment. This study verified the role of pets as a “security supplement” (an additional supply of security) rather than a complete substitute for a human attachment figure. Implications for theory, service practice, and policy are discussed.

Using transmission electron microscopy, in-situ changes in ferroelastic domains in 0.7PbO 3 -0.3PbTiO 3 single crystals were observed at 60 to -163°C. At -163°C, the microscopic tweed morphology of the ferroelastic domains rotated by 90°, and certain orientation changes in the mesoscopic sawtooth domains took place. At this temperature, the ferroelastic domains became coarsened and certain S-shaped mesoscopic domains were reshaped. The disappearance and/or changes in the orientations of both the sawtooth and the ferroelastic domains were reversible upon return to room temperature. On heating to 60°C, both the mesoscopic sawtooth and the microscopic tweed domains were stable below 53°C. Above 53°C, the mesoscopic walls disappeared and the contrast of the tweed domains became blurred. Upon return to room temperature from 60°C, the mesoscopic domain patterns could not be retrieved, indicating that the transformation was irreversible. The morphology of the tweeds at this temperature indicated a structural transition from a two-variant domain state to a multivariant state, eliminating mesoscopic boundaries

This thesis studies whether there is a tenable distinction between a priori justification and a posteriori justification. My research considers three possible conceptions of a priori: Justification Independent of Experience, Mere Meaning Based Justification and Justification by Rational Insight, and examines whether they can provide a sound and significant distinction between a priori and a posteriori. This thesis contains five chapters. Chapter 1 introduces the background knowledge of the a priori/a posteriori distinction. Chapter 2 analyzes the traditional conception of a priori, i.e. justification independent of experience, and considers whether the distinction based on it is tenable. Five approaches for defining “experience” are examined, but none of them succeed in providing a distinction between a priori and a posteriori. Chapter 3 focuses on the empiricist conception of the a priori, i.e. a priori as mere meaning based justification, and argues that the distinction based on it has a problem of classification. Chapter 4 concerns the rationalist conception of the a priori, i.e. a priori as justification by rational insight, and argues that neither the idea of justification by rational insight itself nor the distinctive features of rational insight could provide a distinction between a priori and a posteriori. Given that none of the current major accounts seem to work, we should not be optimistic about the potential for success in accounting for the distinction between a priori and a posteriori. In the last chapter, I will conclude the thesis and point out the implication of abandoning the a priori/a posteriori distinction: a need to reform our understanding of the nature of different sources of justification and knowledge.