VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
The authenticity game: order, recognition, and customary rule for empire to the international system
Keywords: international order
colonial violence
liberal international order
self-determination
imperial law
India
game theory
nationalism
historical international relations
agency
Africa
empire
politics of recognition
indirect rule

This thesis attempts to diversify International Relations’ understanding of the patterns of ordering that governed European empire in the 19th and early 20th–centuries, and in doing so to identify an overlooked but crucial precursor to the contemporary international order. IR research has overwhelmingly focused on liberal universalism and civilizing missions in Empire’s politics of recognition, its ideas of difference, and its strategies of rule. This thesis argues that our focus has been too narrow, and draws from work in colonial history, political thought and anthropology, as well as original archival research, to illustrate the ideas and practices of customary rule that predominated in the British Empire after the 1857 Indian Rebellion. I argue that this form of rule was not simply a set of ideas, or a top–down imposed regime, but a ‘game’ of jurisdictional jockeying. In this game, life in colonized societies was increasingly bifurcated into ‘traditional’ and ‘modern’ spheres as local elites and colonial officials worked to define increasing swaths of governance as belonging to one or another, while avoiding violent responses to overreach on either side. From 1857 through the scramble for Africa and the League of Nations mandates system, I use records of official knowledge work to study the ways that colonized and colonizer alike vied to craft new language of legitimacy: language through which new subjects in international politics could be recognized and heard. Studying knowledge work as strategic interaction, I find that non–European intermediaries exercised crucial agency in crafting these new customary forms of governance, leveraging revolts and violence to narrate crisis to power in ways that shaped colonial and eventually international rule. Beyond its historical value, this work has implications for the ways IR understands the emergence of order from interaction, and for present debates on the questionably liberal nature of international order.
Cryogenic phonon-scintillation detectors with PMT readout for rare event search experiments and characterisation of a PMT at milli-Kelvin temperatures
Keywords: CaWO4
Dark matter
PMT
CPSD
Rare event searches
photomultiplier
neutrinoless double-beta decay
Low-temperature
photomultiplier tube
cryogenic
CaMoO4
Calorimeter

Reliable, robust, efficient, and scalable light detectors operated at milli-Kelvin temperature that can resolve individual photons in a scintillation event are required by the cryogenic phonon-scintillation detectors (CPSD) for next generation rare-event search experiments. This thesis demonstrates a cryogenic detector with a scintillating crystal as the absorber, equipped with a Neutron Transmutation Doped Germanium (NTD-Ge) phonon sensor and a Hamamatsu R8520-06 photomultiplier tube (PMT) with platinum underlay as the light detector. The PMT is powered by a Cockcroft-Walton generator. In this experiment, two CPSD modules are successfully tested, one with CaWO4 and the other with CaMoO4 as the scintillating absorber. The detector modules were cooled down to ~ 18 milli- Kelvin inside a dilution refrigerator. The CPSD modules are demonstrated to be able to measure signals from the phonon channel and light channel simultaneously, which is critical for particle identification. The full-width-at-half-maximum (FWHM) energy resolutions at 122.1 keV for the phonon channel are 2.17 keV (1.8%) for CaWO4 and 0.97 keV (0.79%) for CaMoO4. The FWHM resolutions at 122.1 keV γ excitation for the scintillation/photon channel are 19.9% for CaWO4 and 29.7% for CaMoO4. At milli-Kelvin temperatures, the dark count rate of the PMT is determined to be less than 5 Hz while the gain of the PMT is found to be 3.3 × 10E6. These characteristics of the CPSD in this work compare favourably to conventional CPSDs with cryogenic calorimeter-based light detectors currently deployed in cryogenic rare-event search experiments, especially in the energy region of interest for dark matter direct detection. The PMT is demonstrated to have low dark count rate and high gain at milli-Kelvin temperatures, thus it remains an effective single photon detector. From the radioactivity of a similar model of PMT as input to a Geant4 simulation, the radioactivity introduced by the PMT contributes only minorly (<10%) to the overall radioactive background of a hypothetical CPSD module for WIMP searches. The CPSD module with PMT readout benefits a reliable, well-tested and commercially available apparatus, while the PMT as a photon detector at milli-Kelvin temperatures offers a much better time resolution than cryogenic light detectors, allowing to resolve individual photons. The technology in this study can potentially revolutionise the science reach of rare event search experiments using CPSD (e.g. the CRESST experiment), by offering an alternative light detector solution which is much more scalable and more consistent in performance than conventional CPSDs with cryogenic calorimeter-based light detectors, addressing two major issues that the present techniques face.
Loyalty, secrecy and revolutionary work: female underground operatives and narratives about Chinese female spies before and after 1949
Keywords: Chinese Communist Party
Chinese Civil War
Civilian Women
Espionage
Narratives
Clandestine activities
Female Spies
Intelligence
Sino-Japanese War
Gender norms

This thesis is a study of civilian women mobilised by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and their wartime activities prior to the 1949 Communist takeover of China. Specifically, it investigates the kind of clandestine activities civilian women were mobilised to do – such as the gathering of intelligence and enemy sabotage, how civilian women came to be involved in the first place, and the reasons behind their mobilisation, especially according to CCP Woman-Work officials. It also considers whether civilian women acted or were expected by officials to act in ways similar to the “seductress-spy” stereotype which pervaded popular culture in China at that time. To do so, this thesis first explores popular Chinese ideas of female spies in the first half of the 20th century. It then looks at how civilian women were actually mobilised to engage in clandestine activities during the civil wars between the Nationalists and the Communists and the Sino-Japanese War. Lastly, it explores what happened when the demand for civilian women to engage in these activities decreased in the latter half of the 1940s, and how such women remembered their activities in the 1980s. It uses Republican Chinese periodicals, newspapers, rare published sources in both Chinese and Japanese, compiled volumes of CCP documents and declassified Nationalist and Communist archival materials from Chinese archives. It finds that civilian women did not and were not expected to act exactly like “seductress-spies,” but there were some similarities. Civilian women were expected to utilise perceptions that women were ignorant and apolitical to their advantage. They were also expected to capitalise on their femininity to appear innocent and approach enemy men in order to ferret out intelligence and to get these men to do things they otherwise would not have done. Moreover, in the 1930s and early 1940s some officials found that civilian women who had been deemed promiscuous locally or were prostitutes made good recruits because they thought that having already rejected Confucian values they would be relatively tolerant of the risks and more willing to be seen in public. Ultimately, this thesis argues that while CCP Woman-Work efforts in the first half of the 20th century sought, on paper at least, to reject and eradicate what they saw as detrimental stereotypes about women, in practice civilian women were sometimes mobilised to engage in clandestine activities during wartime based on aspects of these stereotypes and perceptions. As such, this thesis contributes to the study of female espionage in China by examining those who were attached to the peripheries of CCP intelligence operations. It also contributes to the study of how some of the traditional values and gender norms regarding Chinese women continued to exist in the 20th century despite the CCP’s official pledge to change them.
On the existence of representer theorems in Banach spaces
Keywords: regularisation
regularised interpolation
representer theorem
Banach space learning

We consider general regularisation and regularised interpolation problems for learning parameter vectors from data. In particular in Hilbert spaces regularisation methods have been applied very successfully, largely due to the well known representer theorem. Classical formulations of the theorem state that under certain conditions on the regulariser there exists a solution of the optimisation problem which is contained in a linear subspace spanned by the data points. This is at the core of kernel methods in machine learning as it significantly reduces the dimensionality and thus makes the problem computationally tractable. Most of the literature only deals with sufficient conditions on the regulariser for a representer theorem to hold, mostly in Hilbert spaces with some generalisations to certain classes of Banach spaces. In this work we give an essentially complete answer to the question of existence of representer theorems in general Banach spaces. This question had previously been answered for Hilbert spaces with an intuitive characterisation for differentiable regularisers. We show how the necessary and sufficient conditions extend to arbitrary Banach spaces and give the more intuitive geometric characterisation for a variety of classes of Banach spaces, which contain all spaces we know of which are commonly used in applications. We conjecture that the same characterisation can also be given for any other Banach space not currently covered by those classes. We further show that, if the learning relies on the linear representer theorem, in most cases the solution is actually independent of the regulariser and determined by the function space alone. This is interesting for two reasons. Firstly it means one is free to choose whichever regulariser is most suitable for the application at hand, whether this is computational efficiency or ease of calculations. Moreover it shows the importance of extending classical elements of learning theory such as kernel methods from Hilbert spaces to Banach spaces.
Research waste and inefficiency in cardiovascular prediction rule development: exploration of causes and implications
Keywords: clinical prediction rule
research waste
external validation
impact analysis
evidence-based medicine

Background: Research waste and inefficiency occur when research studies do not contribute to the decisions of patients, clinicians, and policymakers. In this thesis, I examine research waste and inefficiency throughout the stages of cardiovascular clinical prediction rule (CPRs) development and explore their causes and implications.
Methods: This thesis includes six research projects. A mixed-methods study, which consists of a review of derivation studies, thematic content analysis, and author survey, assesses justifications for deriving a new cardiovascular CPR. Using survival analysis, I evaluate the probability for a CPR for cardiovascular disease risk to have an independent external validation study after its derivation. I assess whether external validation studies update the Framingham Wilson coronary heart disease (CHD) risk rule when it performs poorly, and external validation studies contribute to understanding the performance in meta- analyses. A systematic review evaluates the design, methods, and reporting of studies assessing the impact of cardiovascular CPRs. I conduct an online survey to understand which cardiovascular CPRs are recognised and used by GPs in the UK. Lastly, an exploratory qualitative interview study with thematic analysis explores how perceptions of and experiences with cardiovascular CPR research influence primary care providers’ (PCPs) decisions about using cardiovascular CPRs.
Results: I found that the authors of derivation studies do not cite existing evidence when justifying a new cardiovascular CPR even though they believe it is important to do so. Most of cardiovascular CPRs do not have a timely conducted independent external validation study. External validation studies of Framingham Wilson CHD risk rule fail to generate the evidence of generalizability to their full potential because they do not update the CPR when it performs poorly, or do not contribute to understanding the CPR’s overall performance. The vast majority of impact studies had flaws in study design, methods or reporting. GPs’ use of cardiovascular CPRs in the UK has evolved and is focused on a few CPRs, such as the QRISK scores. PCPs’ decisions about using cardiovascular CPRs seem to be influenced by their familiarity, trust, and confidence in using research evidence.
Conclusions: To reduce research waste and inefficiency in cardiovascular CPR development, it is necessary to shift the paradigm from deriving new CPRs to externally validating, assessing the impact of, and promoting the adoption of high-quality existing cardiovascular CPRs. Also, systematic efforts are needed to reduce the flaws in design, methods, and reporting of CPR studies, and strengthen evidence-base to support the use of cardiovascular CPRs.
Interplay between retinal light responses and the circadian clock, and their implications for retinal degenerative diseases
Keywords: retina
melanopsin
circadian rhythms
retinal light damage

Multiple aspects of mammalian physiology display circadian rhythms, which allow the organism to better adapt to the external environment. Several circadian rhythms, such as the sleep-wake cycle and the retinal function, are primarily regulated by light detection in the retina. The molecular properties of melanopsin, a blue light sensitive photopigment expressed in a subset of retinal ganglion cells, make it ideal for encoding environmental light levels. Indeed, melanopsin has been shown to regulate several aspects of the retinal circadian function. However, the molecular mechanisms underpinning melanopsin’s role in retinal circadian rhythms remain unknown. By analysing the circadian transcriptome of wild-type and melanopsin-null retinas, I discovered that the absence of melanopsin leads to dampened rhythmicity in the expression of core clock genes. Furthermore, while the melanopsin-null retinas retained the rhythmic expression of dopamine- related and gap junction genes, the circadian rhythmicity of sphingolipid and phototransduction pathways were aberrant.
Alongside its role in the retinal circadian clock, melanopsin is also modulat- ing functional aspects of retinal light adaption, and it has been suggested that melanopsin may mediate retinoprotection in response to bright light exposure. However, using a mouse model of light-induced retinal damage, I did not detect an increased susceptibility to light damage in animals lacking melanopsin. I further studied how well the mouse model of retinal light damage mirrors the human retinal degenerations. I conducted a meta-analysis of all available datasets probing retinal transcriptome changes in this model and discovered that the genes affected by light damage were enriched for genes implicated in human retinal degenerations, indicating that the model indeed mimics the molecular aspects of human diseases.
Finally, melanopsin signalling also regulates the central light responses in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), but several reports on its role in retinal light sensitivity are conflicting. Therefore, I further researched how retinal and SCN responses to light are regulated. I found that the retinal light responses of animals lacking melanopsin were slightly attenuated, similarly to what is known about their SCN light responses. However, in a mouse model showing increased SCN light sensitivity, the retinal responses were not enhanced, suggesting differential regulation of the retinal and SCN light sensitivity.
These results provide valuable insights into the molecular and functional aspects of retinal light responses in both local and central circadian rhythms, and dissect their implications for retinal degenerative diseases, together providing a wealth of avenues for future research.
Oligarchs and separatist trajectories: a comparison of secessionist rebellions during 2014 crisis in Eastern Ukraine
Keywords: war
oligarchs
separatism
Ukraine
Donbas

This study seeks to explain the local variation in the timing of the separatist rebellion across fortyseven municipalities that comprise three regions of East Ukraine: Donetsk, Kharkiv, and Luhansk. More specifically, the objective is to explain why some municipalities experienced a separatist takeover in the first few weeks of the crisis, while others did so much later, or not at all. The study builds on and contributes to the research on workplace mobilization theories and engages in an indepth analysis of crucial domestic factors, chiefly, of powerful regional economic players, commonly known as the oligarchs, on the local separatist rebellions. Given that the oligarchs are known to be notoriously influential forces in the socio-political landscape in Ukraine – as well as in most postSoviet states – the study seeks to empirically estimate their influence by collecting local-level enterprise-ownership data, which, in turn, reveals the number of people employed by these actors in a particular area. With people being a crucial component and a key driving force behind mass protests, the study theorizes that the oligarchs were able to use their control over local populations to not only sometimes initiate mobilization, but to also guide and shape its outcome. Moreover, the study demonstrates that the local economic composition of the regions is a key determining factor in guiding the political preferences of the oligarchs and often determines the extent of their "political flexibility," meaning their willingness to accept new political establishments as opposed to relying on lucrative connections in the corridors of power. To that end, the thesis also supplements the quantitative component with case studies across the three regions to better illustrate the tools and various strategies that the oligarchs used to shape the outcome of separatist rebellion, thus providing evidence in support of my argument through a combination of original data and drawing on extensive empirical research from both primary and secondary sources.
Computational and physiological investigations of information processing in auditory cortex
Keywords: auditory cortex

Auditory cortex has been shown to play a critical role in a plethora of processes, including the extraction of complex acoustic features, auditory scene analysis, decision making, and learning. However, there are still many aspects of auditory cortex’s structure and function that we do not understand. In this thesis, I explored three separate but related questions regarding cortical tuning properties, inhibition and their interplay in adaptation in the auditory cortex of the ferret. Firstly, I investigated the spatial distribution of preferred frequencies (“tonotopy”) amongst cortical neurons in the ferret using 2-photon calcium imaging and electrophysiology, and compared it to the mouse. I found that cortical neurons in mice and ferrets have equivalent local heterogeneity in their tuning, while retaining a globally tonotopic map. Much of the observed heterogeneity in the tonotopic maps could be explained by the existence of neurons with complex receptive fields. Secondly, I developed electrophysiological and imaging approaches in order to study the properties of excitatory and inhibitory neurons, allowing me to label and record from excitatory and subclasses of inhibitory neurons. I did not find significant differences in the proportions of tuned neurons across neuron classes, or in their tuning characteristics. I also found that the cotuning within and between classes are similar. Lastly, I explored the role of auditory cortex in adaptation to reverberation: What is the optimal transformation from reverberant to anechoic sounds in a statistical model, and can this model explain the robust representation of natural sounds in auditory cortex? The model recapitulated known properties of auditory cortical neurons, in addition to making novel predictions which I confirmed using electrophysiological recordings. These predictions were: (1) the inhibitory component of neuronal receptive fields shifts in time in proportion to the amount of reverberation, and (2) the degree of this inhibitory shift is frequency dependent. Taken together, these findings shed new light onto the organization and function of auditory cortex, providing exciting avenues for future research.
Computing multiple solutions of topology optimization problems
Keywords: deflation
multiple solutions
finite element method
preconditioning
numerical analysis

Topology optimization finds the optimal material distribution of a continuum in a domain, subject to PDE and volume constraints. Density-based models often result in a PDE, volume and inequality constrained, nonconvex, infinite-dimensional optimization problem. These problems can exhibit many local minima. In practice, heuristics are used to aid the search for better minima, but these can fail even in the simplest of cases.
In this thesis we address two core issues related to the nonconvexity of topology optimization problems: the convergence of the discretization and the computation of the solutions. First, we consider the convergence of a finite element discretization of a fluid topology optimization problem. Results available in literature show that there exists a sequence of finite element solutions that weakly(-*) converges to a solution of the infinite-dimensional problem. We improve on these classical results. In particular, by fixing any isolated minimizer, we show that there exists a sequence of finite element solutions that \emph{strongly} converges to that minimizer. Moreover, these results hold for both traditional conforming finite element methods and more sophisticated divergence-free discontinuous Galerkin finite element methods.
We then focus on developing a solver that can systematically compute multiple minimizers of a general density-based topology optimization problem. This leads to the successful computation of 42 distinct solutions of a two-dimensional fluid topology optimization problem. Finally, by developing preconditioners for the linear systems that arise during the optimization process, we are able to apply the solver to three-dimensional fluid topology optimization problems. This culminates in an example where we compute 11 distinct three-dimensional solutions.