VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
“Play your broken music to my broken song?” Contemporary Implications of Performing Schubert Lieder in English Translation
Keywords: English
Leiermann
Lieder
Schubert
Singable
Translation

This study uses the songs of Franz Schubert as a foundational example to consider the contemporary implications of performing Lieder in English translation. Over the last 150 years such translations have been written, published, performed, and rationalized in a variety of ways. However, their “validity” is now broadly dismissed in both pedagogical and performance contexts. This begs the question: how did performance in the original language become an essential aspect of Lieder performance across the English-speaking world? In probing this question, my objective is to reimagine the possible role of such a translational approach in mediating, or even repairing something that is currently “broken” in Anglophone encounters with Lieder. To fulfil this objective, an initial discussion of ontologies of Lieder attempts to examine singing translations alongside other approaches that extend, transform or otherwise challenge the traditional boundaries of the genre, and the ways that these approaches aim to satisfy less dominant notions of “authenticity”. This is followed by an examination of the historical and contemporary debate and attempts to establish adequate translational methodologies amongst a range of aesthetic, nationalistic, and theoretical issues. In addition to this engagement with public documents (including translations, paratextual materials, articles and reviews), I have solicited the views of a range of contemporary stakeholders on the implications of the practice and assembled a collection of thirty-three distinct singing translations of “Der Leiermann”, the final song of Schubert’s 1828 song cycle, Winterreise (D911, op. 89). This collection serves to demonstrate a plurality of translational approaches, the inevitable subjectivity of the translational role, the impossibility of a “definitive” translation, and new avenues of expression engendered by that lack of definition. In considering “the English Lied”, this study has two aims: to provide insight into the complicated relationship we have with language and meaning in this repertoire, and to prompt a reconsideration of singing in translation: one that does not limit itself to concepts of fidelity and failure, but rather opens itself to the creative possibilities of interacting with the repertoire in this way.
Evangelicals, the Liberal State, and Canada’s Family Values Debates: The Struggle to Shape Selves
Keywords: Affect Theory
Canada
Evangelicalism
Liberalism
Politics
Secularism

One of the most pervasive challenges for liberal democracies is the ongoing tension between religious conservatives and the liberal state. Using as my central case study, the highly-charged debates over “family values” in Canada circa 1985-2015, I argue that despite claims that liberal democracy enables religious freedom, its values and extensive reach prove challenging to conservative religiosity. Heightening the stakes is that the rival worldviews I examine – liberalism and evangelicalism – are ambitious, struggling not merely over matters such as same-sex weddings but ultimately for the ability to shape selves. My research focuses on certain central nodes of family values politics, namely three conservative evangelical lobbies – the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, Focus on the Family Canada, and the Canada Family Action Coalition – as they enter political debates, confront state bodies and legislation, and try to gain a hearing in the country where liberal pluralism has achieved a cultural power perhaps unmatched anywhere else. This study examines the lobbies’ discursive output in order to: trace the ideological drivers of evangelicals’ family values focus; question liberal democratic theory’s emphasis on reason and freedom at the expense of affect and compulsion; and contribute to a rethinking of a central question in secularization theory, by suggesting that persistent disputes over American versus European exceptionalism overlook the most important factor – that Western societies’ ability to resist secularization has rested chiefly on the relative strength of its evangelical community. In short, America’s relative religiosity has depended primarily on the strongly held commitments that foster evangelical exceptionalism.
Metal 2-Adamantyl Complexes: Synthesis and Characterization
Keywords: Adamantane
C-H activation
Crystallography
DFT
Organometallics

This thesis describes the synthesis and characterization of several new 2-adamantyl metal complexes via transmetallation. Chapter 2 – Synthesis of 2-Adamantyl Anions for use in Transmetallation outlines new procedures for generation of 2-adamantyl transmetallating agents, including [(2-Ad)2Zn], [(2-Ad)MgBr], and [(2-Ad)2Mg(THF)2]. Chapter 3 – Synthesis of 2-Adamantyl Metal Complexes is focused on the utility of the newly developed transmetallating agents. The synthesis of several complexes, including those of gold, iridium, platinum, and tantalum using [(2-Ad)ZnBr] (a commercially available precursor), [(2-Ad)2Zn], and [(2-Ad)MgBr] is explored. The efficacy and ease of use of [(2-Ad)2Zn] was instrumental in development of isolable and fully characterizable complexes of both gold 2-adamantyls, and platinum 2-adamantyls. Owing to the well-developed chemistry of platinum alkyls, Chapter 4 – The Chemistry of Platinum(II) 2-Adamantyls focuses on the nature of the 2-adamantyl ligand compared to well-known platinum(II) alkyl complexes of methyl, phenyl, neopentyl, and cyclohexyl. The expansion of synthetic procedures for further modification of platinum(II) 2-adamantyls, as well as assessment of the trans influence of the 2-adamantyl ligand is discussed. Chapter 5 – The Synthesis and Chemistry of Pt(IV) 2-Adamantyls expands on the robust platinum(II) chemistry, allowing for synthesis and characterization of 2-adamantyl platinum(IV) complexes. Future work towards the use of the resulting organometallic species, and applications to C-H activation of the 2-adamantyl γ-CH2 offers a promising pathway towards new adamantyl chemistry. As such, Chapter 6 – Considerations for γ-C-H activation of 2-adamantyl discusses the potential for metal-mediated activation and functionalization of the 2-adamantyl γ-CH2 position, with the goal of generating a facially tri-substituted 2-adamantyl compound. Such a compound is currently inaccessible using organic methods, and only one successful fluorination leading to a facially tri-substituted adamantyl was reported in 2020. Development of 2-adamantyl metal complexes provides promising new developments for both catalysis and organic synthesis.
ENERGY MODELS FOR PRUNING NEURAL NETWORKS
Keywords: Deep learning
Dropout
Energy models
Ising model
Pruning

Deep neural networks (DNNs) have achieved significant performance improvement in image classification tasks.A DNN utilizes an enormous number of trainable parameters and non-linear functions to learn a mapping from a set of input images to a set of target classes. However, the increasing number of parameters, called the overparameterization problem, can create major challenges in implementation of these models on resource limited devices and can encourage overfitting of the model. Pruning less important trainable parameters in DNNs is one of the major established methods to defeat the above challenges. Pruning methods are also applicable on small models by design to further reduce their size. This thesis proposes the concept of energy models for pruning convolutional filters and hidden units with corresponding incoming and outgoing connections and bias terms for image classification tasks. Specifically, two energy models, namely EPruning and IPruning, are proposed. The first approach uses the Hamiltonian of a given DNN to form an energy loss minimization problem. The loss function is defined based on the difference between the energy of target class and the closest energy of the competitive classes. The second approach uses entropy of feature maps, Kullback–Leibler (KL) divergence between convolution filters in a layer, and activation level of hidden units to form an Ising energy-based minimization problem for detecting less important and redundant parameters in the network. Despite most pruning methods, which are based on defining a pruning threshold per layer, the proposed methods are data-driven and perform a network-wise pruning of the trainable parameters. We define pruning as searching for a sub-network of a given DNN, which has the lowest energy loss value based on a defined energy loss function. Since this is an NP-hard combinatorial optimization problem, a population-based global optimization framework is proposed to minimize the pruning objective functions. The proposed framework is evaluated on different flavors of DNNs (e.g. ResNets, AlexNet, and SqueezeNet) and datasets (e.g. CIFAR-10, CIFAR-100, and ImageNet) for image classification tasks.
Dynamics of Electron-induced Recoil and Reaction On Single-crystal Copper
Keywords: Dehalogenation
Electron-Induced Reaction
Reaction Dynamics
Scanning Tunneling Microscopy
Selected Impact Parameter
Surface-Aligned Reaction

This thesis reports three studies of chemical reactions at the Cu(110) surface at 4.6 K, examined a ‘molecule-at-a-time’ by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and density functional theory. The first study reports widely different efficiencies for electron-induced reaction of an aliphatic adsorbate as compared with aromatic. The second describes a novel means of aiming an energized reagent at a fixed vinyl 'target' molecule. In the third an energized reagent is aimed to strike the target at its centre-of-mass, expelling an atom in a new type of reaction we term 'knock-on'. The first study compares electron-induced reaction of pentyl bromide (PeBr) and phenyl bromide (PhBr). A single ~2.0 eV electron induced C–Br bond dissociation for each reagent, with three orders-of-magnitude greater dissociation yield measured for PeBr (2.0 × 10-7 reactive events per electron) than for PhBr (1.7 × 10-10). Lower yield of the aromatic PhBr was attributed to the presence of two additional anionic states, absent for aliphatic PeBr. These additional states provide a pathway for electron transfer to the surface in the case of the aromatic, but not the aliphatic anion. The second study employs a new method permitting the miss-distance (‘impact parameter’) between colliding reagents to be controlled using a highly collimated reactive ‘projectile’ aimed along the surface at a stationary adsorbed ‘target’. Here, a CF2 projectile, recoiling from electron-induced dissociation of chemisorbed CF3, exhibits highly directional travel having
Gender Self-determination Troubles
Keywords: Dysphoria
Gender
Parents
Self Determination
Sex Classification
Trans

This dissertation explores the growing legal recognition of what has become known as ‘gender self-determination.’ Examining sex reclassification policies on a global scale, I show a shift within sex reclassification policies from the body to the self, from external to internal truth. A right to self-attested gender identity amends the grave breach of autonomy presented by other legal schemes for sex reclassification. To secure autonomy, laws and policies understand gender identity as an inherent and internal feature of the self. Yet, the sovereignty of a right to gender identity is circumscribed by the system of sex classification and its individuating logics, in which one must be stamped with a sex classification to be an autonomous legal subject. To understand this failure, I turn to the legal roots of the concept self-determination by looking to international law, and to the origin moment of legal differentiation, sex assignment at birth. Looking at the limitations of the collective right for state sovereignty allows me to provide a critical account of the inability of a right to gender identity to address systemic harms. Self-attested gender identity inevitably redraws the public/private divide along the contours of the trans body, suggesting a need to examine the apparatus of assigning sex at birth and its pivotal role in both the systemic exclusions of trans people, and in the broader regulation of gender. Looking forward rather than back, I turn to what I perceive to be the ‘future challenge’ of a right to self-attested gender identity, trans parental designations. I show that when people ask that their gender identity be recognized as parents, and especially when using their own bodies to conceive, they become inconceivable, exposing the gaps between what the law imagines as natural and the realities of lived experience. Theorizing the self-determination of gender through sex reclassification histories and practices of international law, and through its articulation within family law, suggests that all its elements, the individual self and its assumed ability for autonomous determination, and the formulation of gender identity as a self-evident right, require new imaginaries.
Implementation of Bayesian Inference Technique to Address Data Limited Problems in Acology: A Case study with Peary Caribou in Canadian Arctic Archipelago
Keywords: Ecological modelling
Endangered species
Habitat analysis
Population viability
Statistics

In the present era, rates of decline in species’ abundance provide some of the most compelling evidence of biodiversity loss rates globally. To address the problem of biodiversity loss, a critical piece of knowledge is the understanding of species interactions with their environment, because environmental variables are generally better predictors of population integrity than intrinsic biological traits. Peary caribou (Rangifer tarandus pearyi), the smallest of all caribou subspecies, are endemic to the Canadian Arctic Archipelago (CAA) and a characteristic example of species at risk. Climate change can affect their habitat availability, as well as the makeup of the entire Arctic ecosystem. Logistical and financial constraints in the CAA often compromise the frequency and the spatial extent of Peary caribou surveys, and therefore inconsistent sampling, errors in measurements, or faults in data acquisition encumber the robust assessment of their population status. To remedy such data gaps in surveys and, improve the robustness of any modelling exercise, I first developed a regression-based imputation framework to reconstruct the Peary caribou time series. The model was able to capture more than 65% of the variability in the dataset. To date, little work has been done to evaluate the net impact of changes from the climate on Peary caribou population dynamics, as it has been argued that the net balance of limited forage accessibility due to severe weather conditions relative to that of increased forage biomass due to prolonged growing season will depend on local climate, floral abundance and composition, and landscape characteristics. Using a two-pronged modelling approach, I characterized the year-to-year variability of the habitat conditions across the CAA, using meteorological variables, landscape features, and resource competition. My dissertation also introduced a spatially explicit modelling framework to examine the strength and nature of the relationships of snow density and vegetation with Peary caribou populations. My dissertation concludes by identifying critical augmentations of the available scientific knowledge that necessitate to design the optimal management actions of Peary caribou populations across the Canadian Arctic Archipelago.
Essays in Development Economics
Keywords: China
Economic Growth
Labor Misallocation
Migration

Since the beginning of its economic reform in 1978, China’s extraordinary economic growth has been accompanied by increased migration and rapid structural transformation – the reallocation of economic activity from agriculture to nonagriculture. This significant labor reallocation and migration stemmed from a series of institutional reforms and policies that significantly reduced labor market barriers. My thesis studies the impact of changes in labor market barriers during China’s reform era. Chapter 1 constructs measures of sectoral reallocation and geographical relocation of labor at the provincial level for 1978-2015 resulting from a series of institutional reforms and policies that lowered labor market barriers. I find that the structural transformation process was uneven across provinces. Agriculture-to-nonagriculture worker reallocation began earlier and on a larger scale for coastal provinces. Since 1990, workers moving from inland agriculture to coastal nonagriculture became an important source of nonagricultural labor growth. Chapter 2 quantifies changes in barriers regarding sectoral reallocation and regional migration and studies their impact on China’s economic growth over 1978-2015. I build a two-sector two-region general equilibrium model focusing on labor market barriers both between agricultural and nonagricultural sectors and across coastal and inland regions. I find that the 1982-2015 decline in labor market barriers contributed to an increase in output of 26.5% in 2015. Despite this, there remain considerable gains for future improvement. In particular, eliminating barriers from inland agriculture to coastal nonagriculture in 2015 could further increase output by 12%. Chapter 3 presents the joint work with Ruiqi Sun, Trevor Tombe, and Xiaodong Zhu. Expanding on Chapter 2, we explore the effect of changes in capital market and trade frictions in addition to labor market barriers on resource allocation. Employing a rich spatial general equilibrium model, we quantify the size and impact of migration barrier changes, capital barrier changes, and trade cost changes, to growth, regional income convergence, and structural change in China over 2000-2015. While each contributed meaningfully to growth, migration policy changes were central to China’s structural change and regional income convergence.
Prevalence and Phenotypic Characterization of Rare Genetic Disorders within Psychiatric Populations
Keywords: bipolar disorder
general anxiety disorder
major depressive disorder
obsessive compulsive disorder
rare treatable genetic diseases
schizophrenia

Many rare genetic syndromes are known to phenotypically manifest with psychiatric symptoms that can be indistinguishable from primary psychiatric disorders. While the majority of ongoing research in psychiatric genetics has been dedicated to the identification and characterization of genes involved in primary psychiatric disorders, there has been a lack of research to determine the extent to which rare genetic variants contribute to the overall psychiatric disease load. This thesis aims to investigate the prevalence of clinically well-characterized pathogenic copy number variant (CNV) syndromes and treatable genetic disorders that can present with neuropsychiatric symptoms within the general psychiatric patient population. In our first study, a greater than expected number of syndromic CNVs was observed amongst a cohort of 348 schizophrenia patients. In our second, pilot, study of 2 046 psychiatric patients, an enrichment for variants associated with four treatable inborn errors of metabolism were found in comparison to the control population. In the third, expansion, study screening for 108 treatable genetic disorders, there was also an enrichment found for the screened genetic disorders in a general psychiatric patient population relative to the expected disease prevalence in the general population. Moreover, an increased carrier frequency for screened genetic disorders was also seen amongst psychiatric patients. Taken together, discovering genetic diseases in psychiatric patients will shift how health care is delivered to these vulnerable patients by addressing underlying conditions rather than masking symptoms with medications and will especially help patients who don't respond to regular medications. This will lead to significant cost savings to the health care system. Ultimately, this study will pave the way for the development of a genetic testing strategy screening psychiatric patients for genetic diseases and identification of specific characteristics associated with psychiatric symptomatology in treatable genetic diseases that will allow for earlier targeted screening and treatments.
From Ink Traces to Ideology: Material, Text, and Composition of Qumran Community Rule Manuscripts
Keywords: Ancient Law
Community Rule
Dead Sea Scrolls
Digital Humanities
Material Philology
Media

This study is a fresh analysis of a collection of scrolls and fragments grouped under the rubric, The Community Rule or Serekh ha-Yaḥad. As part of the manuscripts discovered in the Judean Desert, the Community Rule manuscripts are all fragmentary to various degrees, yet attest to important issues of legal dispute and community formation in the Second Temple era. Whereas the previous 70 years of scholarship bifurcated some of these scrolls into different “works,” I argue for a process of compositional development which revolved around issues of legal authority and purity. It is my contention that textual similarities and differences—ink traces as it were—provide opportunity to probe into the legal ideology of the tradents, in terms of how anterior sources were configured to establish and project political authority in contradistinction to the tradents’ opponents. Consequently, I propose a compositional hermeneutic model that accounts for textual stability and change with respect to disputes of legal authority and notions of textuality in the Second Temple era. In addition, I provide several new editions, most importantly a new edition of 4QSerekh ha-Yaḥade (+ olim 4QOtot), 4QSerekh ha-Yaḥadb, and 1QS+ab (= 1QS, 1QSa, and 1QSb). These new editions were made by drawing on advanced manuscript studies in the digital humanities and material philology. Consequently, I provide a plethora of new textual readings and reconstructions. In short, this study observes and takes account of the various semantic and textual drifts in the compositional development attested in, among, and between the manuscripts of the so-called Communty Rule at Qumran.