VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Romantic rebellion, romantic retreat [electronic resource] : music and "1968" in West Germany
Keywords: Music

West Germany numbers among the many countries for which the year "1968" symbolizes an era of social unrest. My dissertation presumes that the fraught sociopolitical climate of this time and place somehow reverberated in art music. I particularly focus on compositions written in the decade following 1968. These works -- by composers including Wolfgang Rihm, Wilhelm Killmayer, and Dieter Schnebel -- reinvigorate certain characteristics of nineteenth-century music. My dissertation presents two interpretations of how this "neo-romantic" music developed from both the music of the 1960s and the "1968" context -- a context known in Germany as the Studentenbewegung, or West German student protest movement. One interpretation, which already exists in German musicology, views this music as development as a retreat from the progressive aesthetic and social ideals that had prevailed in the previous decade. The other, which my study helps to establish, views the same music as a modified continuation of the very rebellion that had characterized the immediate past. Both interpretations draw upon specific musical examples, prose writings of composers, previous scholarship about music particularly and West German culture generally, as well as the roughly contemporaneous social and aesthetic theories of T.W. Adorno and Herbert Marcuse.
School reform and the arts of re-enchantment [electronic resource]
Keywords: Education.

'Disenchantment' has been a consistent trope in sociology since Weber's appropriation of the term nearly a century ago. In this work I argue that, in contrast to the standard modernization story, organizations have long been subject to countervailing forces other than that that of rationalization. This has been especially true in schools, institutions that exist at the intersection of the logics of bureaucracy, democracy and expressive youth cultures. In this dissertation I identify a uniquely contemporary organizational response to these tensions, one I associate with the notion of 're-enchantment.' I use this term to refer to reforms that identify emotional and intellectual alienation as the primary institutional problems to be overcome and find a solution in the reinvigoration of organizational practices with imagination, creativity, and collaboration. The result is a genre of reform that accepts the logic of standardized and rationalized outcomes but attempts to transform the process of achieving these goals by 're-enchanting' organizational experience with a sense of connectedness and creativity. In this dissertation I discuss small school reform generally, and a particular instance of it at Mill Town high specifically, as examples of organizational re-enchantment. More than just introducing new practices or structures, small school reform entails an effort to reshape the tactic and practical modes of coordination, what I call ways of being. These are social conventions that allow actors to coordinate with each other and their environment in a way that is grounded in a shared practical understanding of the proper ordering of people and things. In contrast to standard account that locate the barrier to change in the minds of organizational actors, utilizing a mixed-methods approach I show that much of the failure of the reform at Mill Town was not the result of beliefs, attitudes or values of teachers, but rather concerned the complexity of changing culturally disposed, and intersubjectively sustained, modes of coordination in the organization.
Search for large extra dimensions based on observations of neutron stars with the Fermi-LAT [electronic resource]
Keywords: Applied Physics

According to the Large Extra Dimensions (LED) model of Arkani-Hamed, Dimopoulos, and Dvali (ADD), in addition to the (3+1) observed space-time dimensions, there exist n gravity-only spatial dimensions. Due to the presence of the additional dimensions, the Planck scale of gravity should be brought down from 1E16 TeV to the TeV scale, near the electroweak scale, and thus solve the hierarchy problem. Based on the ADD theory, Kaluza-Klein (KK) gravitons, having masses of the order 100 MeV and lifetimes of the order of billions of years, are expected to be produced within supernova cores by nucleon-nucleon gravi-bremsstrahlung in the LED model. Once produced, they are predicted to be trapped by the gravitational potential of subsequently formed neutron stars (NS), and their decay is predicted to contribute to a measurable gamma-ray flux from NS. In this dissertation, refinements to past theoretical models are made, including modifications for the expected spectral energy distribution based on orbital motion of the gravitons, and NS surface magnetic field and age. n = 2,3, ..., 7 extra dimensions are considered. A sample of 6 gamma-ray faint NS sources not reported in the first Fermi gamma-ray source catalog that are good candidates are selected for this analysis, based on age, surface magnetic field, distance, and galactic latitude. Based on 11 months of data from Fermi -LAT, 95% CL upper limits on the size of extra dimensions R from each source are obtained, as well as 95% CL lower limits on the (n+4)-dimensional Planck scale M_D. In addition, the limits from all of the analyzed NSs have been combined statistically using two likelihood-based methods. The results indicate more stringent limits on LED than quoted previously from individual neutron star sources in gamma-rays. In addition, the results are more stringent than current collider limits, from the LHC, for n < 4. If the Planck scale is around a TeV, then for n = 2,3, the compactification topology of LED must be more complicated than a torus.
A search for spectral lines from WIMP annihilation in the milky way using the Fermi large area telescope [electronic resource]
Keywords: Physics

The most popular class of dark matter candidates is the class of weakly-interacting massive particles (WIMPs). The Fermi Large Area Telescope has the possibility of indirectly detecting WIMPs by the flux from their annihilation/decay products. When a WIMP annihilates or decays directly into a photon gamma and another particle Y the photons are monochromatic. Detection of the resulting spectral line(s) would provide convincing evidence for particulate dark matter and could provide the WIMP mass. In the case of no detection, knowledge of the dark matter distribution can be used to place limits on the annihilation cross section and lifetime for the WIMP(s) to Y-gamma channel. We present the spectrum from 4.8 to 264 GeV and spectral line flux upper limits, obtained from a subset of this spectrum, from 7 to 200 GeV. The spatial region of the dataset covers a large portion of the sky, the high latitudes plus the Galactic Center. We report upper limits on the WIMP cross sections for annihilation to gamma-gamma and Z-gamma and lower limits on the WIMP lifetime for decay to gamma-neutrino. We discuss the implications of the spectrum and line flux limits for several dark matter models with optimistic branching ratios for photon channels.
The search for WIMP dark matter continuum Gamma-ray emission from dark matter satellites in the milky way using the Fermi LAT [electronic resource]
Keywords: Physics

This thesis focuses on the search for unknown dark matter (DM) satellites in the Milky Way using the Fermi Large Area Space Telescope (LAT). The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope (Fermi) is a next generation space observatory, which was successfully launched on June 11th, 2008. The LAT is the principal scientific instrument onboard. Its unprecedented angular resolution and sensitivity in the 100 MeV to > 300 GeV energy range makes it an excellent instrument for probing the sky for DM satellites. Current N-body simulations based on the Lambda-CDM cosmology model predict a large number of as yet unobserved DM satellites in our galaxy; some satellites are predicted to be extended sources (> 1deg extension) as seen by the LAT. Our work assumes that a significant component of DM is a Weakly Interacting Massive Particle (WIMP) in the 100 GeV mass range. The annihilation of WIMPs results in many high energy gamma rays that can be well measured by the LAT. The WIMP produced gamma-ray spectrum from the putative DM satellites is considerably harder than most astrophysical sources. Also, DM satellites have no astronomical counterparts in the X-ray and radio bands, and the emission has no time variability. My thesis will focus on a blind analysis in the search for unknown DM satellites using one year of LAT data, and setting constraints on some WIMP models based on the results of our analysis in which we find no candidates.
Search strategies for new physics at the LHC [electronic resource]
Keywords: Physics

The LHC is in the frontline of experimental searches for New Physics beyond the Standard Model of Particle Physics. Its power is accompanied by no smaller challenges in analyzing and interpreting its results. In this thesis I explore ways to parameterize new physics phenomena, design search strategies that are sensitive to them, and interpret experimental results in general new physics contexts. In particular, I discuss interpretations of the first ATLAS analysis for supersymmetry with 70/nb of integrated luminosity. I also carry a careful investigation of comprehensive search strategies for new physics with jets and missing energy signatures, and estimate the sensitivity bounds of the 7 TeV LHC to new colored particles decaying to jets and and a neutral particle that escapes detection. Finally, I discuss the implications of the recent LHC excesses hinting to a Higgs boson with mass in the range 142-147 GeV. If confirmed, this range for the Higgs mass will be an important evidence for Split Supersymmetry. I work out the phenomenological predictions of this scenario that will be tested in the very near future by a variety of experiments, including direct and indirect dark matter detection, EDM experiments searching for CP violation and the 7 TeV run of the LHC.
Sectoral Mobility and Egyptian Labor Reform
Keywords:  Department of Economics
Stanford Department of Economics
Labor
Private Sector
Public Sector
Economic Reform
Thesis

This paper examines the effects of a recent labor law, which seeks to promote job creation in the private sector of the Egyptian labor market. Labor Law 12 of 2003 provides increased flexibility in the hiring and firing procedures for private sector employers in Egypt. This paper analyzes the effects of this legislation on new entrants to the labor force, experienced workers, public sector workers, and the unemployed. Specifically, this paper examines the mobility of workers from the public to the private sector and the wages of workers in both sectors. The empirical evidence suggests that the added non-wage benefits of this law effectively led to a transfer of workers from the public sector to the private sector. Egypt’s interim military-led government is seeking to repeal many of Egypt’s recent economic reforms aimed at liberalizing the Egyptian economy, including Labor Law 12. Based on my analysis I recommend that Labor Law 12 should be maintained and the new government should continue to increase incentives for private sector employment.
A self assembly approach to localization and patterning of optically resolved single molecules [electronic resource]
Keywords: Chemistry

Directed assembly of single molecules is a central theme in nanotechnology. This body of work was inspired by a specific challenge involving ordered deposition of single DNAs on surfaces for massively parallel single molecule DNA sequencing via fluorescence microscopy. A potential 10-fold gain in data density is possible if single molecules can be forced into a regular array rather than randomly deposited. The dimensions of such an array are difficult to achieve with conventional lithography techniques. On one end, molecules must be separated by sufficient distance so their optical signatures do not overlap. This distance is on the order of hundreds of nanometers. On the other end, the attachment points for the molecules must have molecular dimensions. Bridging these two length scales is a formidable task. The ability to place nanometer scale objects with nanometer precision can been achieved through atomic force microscopy, scanning tunneling microscopy, optical tweezers, and ebeam lithography. All of these techniques, however, are serial in nature and hence do not serve the intended gain in data density. Another approach toward directed patterning of single molecules is through self-assembly. In this work, self-assembly of block copolymers is explored as a means to addressing the molecular and optical resolution length scales simultaneously. First, the challenge of molecular patterning for single molecule fluorescence microscopy is explored theoretically and the limits of this approach are defined. Block copolymers are introduced as a possible solution to generating the correct surface patterns for improved data density, and experimental results are compared to theoretical predictions. Second, the surface chemistry of these arrays is characterized, and I will show they can be selectively functionalized in preparation for directed assembly of DNAs. Third, these arrays are integrated into single molecule fluorescence imaging experiments to determine their potential for improved data density. What emerges from this work is not only a viable platform for increased single molecule fluorescence data density, but also a deeper understanding of the requirements for directed self-assembly of single molecules.
A semidefinite programming method for graph realization and low rank matrix completion problem [electronic resource]
Keywords: Computational and Mathematical Engineering.

Owing to their high accuracy and ease of formulation, there has been great interest in applying convex optimization techniques, particularly semidefinite programming (SDP) relaxation, to the graph realization and sensor network localization problems in recent years. A drawback of such techniques is that the resulting convex program is often expensive to solve. In order to speed up computation, various edge sparsification heuristics have been proposed, whose aim is to reduce the number of edges in the input graph. Although these heuristics do reduce the size of the convex program and hence make it faster to solve, they are often ad hoc in nature and do not preserve the realization (or localization) properties of the input. As such, one often has to face a tradeoff between solution accuracy and computational effort. In this thesis, we propose a novel edge sparsification heuristic that can provably preserve the realization (or localization) properties of the original input. At the heart of our heuristic is a graph decomposition procedure that allows us to identify certain sparse generically universally rigid subgraphs of the input graph. Our computational results show that the proposed approach can significantly reduce the computational and memory complexities of SDP-based algorithms for solving the graph realization and sensor network localization problems. Moreover, it compares favorably with existing speedup approaches in terms of both accuracy and solution time. The graph realization problem indeed aims to reconstruct a matrix from a sampling of its entries, which can be viewed as a special case of the well-studied matrix completion problem. The main objective of the matrix completion problem is to design an efficient algorithm that can reconstruct a matrix by inspecting only a small number of its entries. Although, generally speaking, this is an impossible task, Candes and co-authors have recently shown that under a so-called incoherence assumption, a rank r n x n matrix can be reconstructed using SDP after one inspects O(nr log6 n) of its entries. We first provide an equivalent SDP formulation based on chordal decomposition, which has smaller SDP cones. Then we propose an alternative approach that can reconstruct a larger class of matrices by inspecting a significantly smaller number of the entries. Specifically, we first introduce a class of matrices, which we call stable matrices, and show that it includes all those that satisfy the incoherence assumption. Then, we propose a randomized basis pursuit (RBP) algorithm and show that it can reconstruct a stable rank r n x n matrix after inspecting O(nr log n) of its entries. Our sampling bound is only a logarithmic factor away from the information-theoretic limit and is essentially optimal.
Service after serving [electronic resource] : the hiring, performance, and compensation of military veterans in the United States federal civilian bureaucracy
Keywords: Political Science.

Since the end of World War II, military veterans have staffed between one-quarter to one-half of all positions in the United States federal civilian bureaucracy. The abundance of former military personnel in federal employment results mainly from preferential hiring policies that partially exempt veterans--and, in some instances, their relatives--from merit screening. Yet, despite their prominence, veterans working in the federal civilian bureaucracy have received little attention from scholars: veterans' influence on government performance remains unknown, as does the effect of government employment on military veterans. In this dissertation, I provide new information about those issues, while also considering the normative and policy implications of veterans' preference policies. I find that that military veterans rank among the top performing civil servants and they increase the performance of programs housed in the bureaus in which they work. Moreover, this performance effect holds among veterans known to have benefited from preferential hiring. Despite this strong performance, statistical analyses reported herein indicate that military veterans employed in the federal service earn significantly lower wages than nonveteran federal employees. As well, I find that veterans employed as civil servants do not produce distinctively better outcomes for other veterans who seek government services. In sum, while veterans significantly improve federal government performance, federal employment does not offer exceptional advantages to military veterans. These findings carry normative and policy implications, which I discuss in this dissertation.
Shock-turbulence interaction and Richtmyer-Meshkov instability in spherical geometry [electronic resource]
Keywords: Aeronautics and Astronautics

The canonical problems of shock-turbulence interaction and Richtmyer-Meshkov instability (RMI) are central to understanding the hydrodynamic processes involved in Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF). Over the last few decades, there has been considerable analytical, computational and experimental work on the planar versions of these problems. In spite of the problem of interest being spherical in nature, there have been few studies in any of the three areas for these problems. It is not clear a priori, that the conclusions drawn from planar versions of these problems carry over to the spherical domain. The research presented here represents a first attempt to understand the hydrodynamic processes involved in an Inertial Fusion Engine (IFE) from capsule implosion to interaction of the resulting shock waves with the chamber gases. To abstract the key hydrodynamic components from the complex physics involved in an IFE, three canonical problems are identified and simulated: Interaction of a blast wave with isotropic turbulence, interaction of a converging shock with isotropic turbulence and RMI in spherical geometry. The last problem is a hydrodynamic abstraction of the capsule implosion itself, while the first two problems attempt to model the late stage interaction of fusion induced shock waves with chamber gases. On the shock-turbulence front, the study primarily focuses on the effect of shock strength relative to background turbulence on vorticity dynamics, which forms the cornerstone of any turbulence simulation. The effect of turbulence on shock structure is also characterized. For the converging shock, the maximum compression achieved in presence of turbulence is compared with that for a pure shock. For spherical RMI, focus is on evolution of the mixing layer and growth in vorticity and turbulent kinetic energy for different incident shock Mach numbers. The effect of interface perturbation on maximum compression achieved, which is one of the most important metrics for feasible ICF, is also considered.
Single channel full-duplex wireless radios [electronic resource]
Keywords: Electrical Engineering

Wireless networking is fast becoming the primary method for people to connect to the Internet and with each other. The available wireless spectrum is increasingly loaded, with users demanding higher performance and reliability from their wireless connections. This dissertation proposes single channel full-duplex as a new paradigm for wireless system design that can mitigate some of the throughput and reliability problems of today's wireless systems. With full-duplex wireless radios, a node can receive and transmit data at the same time, without using multiple wireless channels. At the physical layer, this capability can double the available throughput at a node. Further, sending and receiving at the same time allows a wireless node to exchange control messages while receiving data, making real-time feedback schemes possible. Such feedback, assumed to be impossible till now, allows network researchers to rethink the way wireless networks are designed. This dissertation shows that with the extra feedback channel available through full-duplexing, reliability in existing wireless networks can be significantly improved. Motivated by the promise that full-duplex wireless holds, this dissertation explores the challenges in implementing such radios and how these radios could influence the design of wireless networking stacks. The primary challenge in implementing a full-duplex wireless system is removing the self-interference from a node's transmit antenna to its receive antenna. This dissertation discusses various analog and digital techniques to cancel this self-interference. It presents an adaptive full-duplex wireless system that combines analog and digital self-interference cancellation to remove up to 73dB of self-interference. Exploiting full-duplexing to the fullest extent requires a redesign of higher layers, especially the MAC and network layers. This dissertation presents a full-duplex MAC layer implementation to show how full-duplexing can be leveraged to improve wireless reliability and performance. This implementation reduces hidden terminal losses by up to 88% and significantly improves network fairness and throughput. The main contribution of this dissertation is to motivate full-duplex radios as a direction for research on future wireless systems. It shows that designing full-duplex systems, while challenging, is feasible. It also presents many ideas on how full-duplexing could be used to improve a variety of wireless systems, including multi-hop data networks, cellular systems, and wireless LANs.
Single-molecule and super-resolution in living cells [electronic resource]
Keywords: Chemistry

Since the first successful detection single molecules over two decades ago, single-molecule spectroscopy has developed into a burgeoning field with a wealth of experiments at room temperature and inside living cells. Probing asynchronous and heterogeneous populations in situ, one molecule at a time, is not only desirable, but critical for many biological questions. Further, super-resolution imaging based on sequential imaging of sparse subsets of single molecules, has seen explosive growth within the last five years. This dissertation describes both the application of live-cell single-molecule imaging as an answer to important biological questions, and development and validation of fluorescent probes for targeted super-resolution imaging.