VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Robust Egomotion Estimation for Automatic and Crowdsourcing-Based Indoor Localization and Tracking
Keywords: Crowdsourcing
Egomotion
Fingerprinting
Indoor Localization
Indoor Tracking
Stereo Vision

Indoor localization has been an active research in recent years. Among many different algorithms proposed, fingerprinting-based methods have found a great popularity due to ease of deployment and high accuracy. A major disadvantage to fingerprinting-based methods, is the burden of the training phase in which fingerprints of a certain type of a signal are recorded in many known locations inside the indoor environment. The collected dataset of fingerprints and corresponding locations is then used to model the relationship between fingerprints and locations in order to use that model to localize future queried fingerprints. This process is usually time consuming and requires considerable human effort and expertise. To overcome the burden of the training phase, in this thesis, we discuss two different perspectives towards solving these problems. We refer to these perspectives as: automatic fingerprinting and, crowdsourcing-based fingerprint-location dataset generation. The former, aims to reduce the time and effort put by an expert to generate the fingerprint dataset by automatically estimating the location of the collected fingerprints while the expert walks in the environment, hence reducing the training time from typically several hours to a few minutes needed to walk in the target indoor area. The latter method, aims to approach the problem by leveraging the shared data from the users in an indoor environment, hence eliminating the need for an expert to repeat the training process to update the dataset of fingerprints. Both perspectives above can expedite the widespread use of fingerprinting-based methods of localization for indoors by alleviating the burden of the training phase which currently seems to be the major drawback for this popular category of indoor localization systems. We will propose, design and validate algorithms for each of these methods.
The Mathematical Minister: John Wallis (1616-1703) at the Intersection of Science, Mathematics, and Religion
Keywords: John Wallis
mathematics
natural philosophy
Scholastic philosophy
science and religion
theology

John Wallis, Savilian Professor of Geometry at Oxford, is primarily known for his contributions to seventeenth-century mathematics. However, as a founder member of the Royal Society and an Anglican minister, Wallis also had a productive career in both natural philosophy and theology. This thesis considers Wallis as a “clerical practitioner” of science—a member of the clergy who studied natural philosophy as well as divinity—and seeks to articulate his unique perspective on the relationship between God and nature. This account of Wallis serves as a case study in the history of science and religion, establishing several novel connections between secular and sacred studies in seventeenth-century England. In particular, Wallis blends elements of experimental philosophy, Calvinist theology, and Scholastic philosophy in creative ways to make connections between the natural and the divine. This thesis has three main goals. First, it traces Wallis’s unique and idiosyncratic role in the history of science and religion. Second, it complicates two common narratives about Wallis: first, that he is historically significant mostly because his mathematics served as a precursor to Isaac Newton’s development of calculus, and second, that his successful career is the result of his ambition and political savvy rather than his original contributions to mathematics, natural philosophy, theology, and other fields. Third, it emphasizes how Wallis interacted with the ideas of the major intellectual figures of his time, including Galileo, Descartes, Hobbes, Boyle, Newton, and Leibniz, in order to suggest how the interaction between the natural and the divine in his works might impact our understanding of the broader history of science and religion in the seventeenth century. Each of the five chapters in this thesis contributes to these goals by identifying and analyzing connections—methodological, epistemological, and rhetorical—between Wallis’s natural philosophy and theology.
Rethinking Membership: Statelessness, Domination, and the Limits of Contemporary Citizenship
Keywords: Forced Migration
Global Justice
International Ethics
Political Theory
Refugees
Statelessness

This dissertation examines the politics and ethics of forced migration from both a conceptual and normative perspective. The dissertation does so by focusing on the phenomenon of what Hannah Arendt referred to as ‘statelessness’—a term which is deployed in this project in an extended sense that includes all persons who might be in need of international protection because their own state is unable or unwilling to effectively secure their human rights. In approaching statelessness from the perspective of political theory, the primary task of my dissertation is to offer a novel conceptual account of the harm that is done by statelessness or the de facto loss of membership within a political community and what this entails for how we ought to respond to the global reality of forced displacement. In doing so, this project challenges conventional approaches and intuitions regarding our ethical responsibilities to refugees and others categories of displaced persons. The goal of this critical reconstruction is to recast the nature of our responsibilities as obligations of justice, as opposed to those of humanitarian assistance. At the same time, this account also foregrounds the importance of constructing fair and effective responses to these forms of exclusion that attend to the role of agency in remedying the loss of membership.
Facilitating Sustainable Access to Medical Devices in Sierra Leone and Ghana through Transnational Funders: Challenges and Opportunities
Keywords: Access
Health care
Health care services
Medical devices
Philanthropy
Policy

Background Transnational funders provide up to 80% of funds for medical devices in resource-limited settings where an estimated 72% of medical devices are reportedly abandoned. This means that for every dollar that funders spend on medical devices, 65 to 90 cents are wasted. The objective of this study was to inform public health care policy reform to facilitate sustainable access to medical devices by characterizing current transnational funding policies and practices from the perspectives of recipients and funders. Methods A case study was developed in March 2016 involving a review of policy documents; semi-structured interviews of frontline and administrative public health care staff, and representatives of funding organizations; and direct observation of medical devices in Sierra Leone. Subsequently, case study was conducted in Ghana between January and April 2017 using the same research instruments. Following thematic analysis, the data from the interviews were cross-referenced with information from the document reviews and direct observations. Results The national governments of Sierra Leone and Ghana have guidelines on donating medical devices; however, neither are linked to enforceable regulations nor are they promoted among frontline health care staff. Study participants in Sierra Leone underscored the importance of communication and collaboration; quality, functionality and appropriateness of medical devices. In Ghana, interviews revealed that donation guidelines were obscure and that there were technical leadership gaps in government hospitals. Conclusion To ensure sustainable access to medical devices, the national governments of Sierra Leone and Ghana, must establish coherent and enforceable policies that foster the development of a cohesive network of funders, medical device manufacturers and distributors, and service providers; mandate purposive funding of medical devices; foster technical leadership on hospital management teams; and establish a comprehensive device acquisition and management framework. To complement the efforts of recipient governments, funders should proactively incorporate principles of good governance such as collaboration, transparence, and accountability into their practices. By being more purposive, funders may finally achieve a worthwhile mission of sustainably enhancing the medical device capacity of health care providers in government-owned facilities in Sierra Leone and Ghana.
Systematics and Biogeography of the Neotropical “Polymorphic Earless Praying Mantises” (Mantodea: Acanthopoidea)
Keywords: Biogeography
Mantodea
Ootheca
Systematics
Taxonomy

The Mantodea, or praying mantises, are a lineage of cryptic predatory insects with a history of rampant evolutionary convergence in their cryptic strategies. Historical emphasis on multiply-evolved character states related to crypsis resulted in largely phenetic classification schemes. Although praying mantises are the subject of renewed interest in both basic and applied research, the lack of a phylogenetic framework encumbers research on these organisms. This dissertation uses phylogenetic methods to investigate relationships in a unique branch of the mantodean tree of life: the polymorphic earless praying mantises (PEPM), a Neotropical assemblage comprising ~55% of mantodean diversity in the region. The overarching goals of this dissertation are to: (a) construct a new higher-level classification of the PEPM; (b) establish the morphological limits of all supraspecific taxa, providing updated diagnoses for each one; and (c) reconstruct an evolutionary timeline of the PEPM. Using molecular phylogenetic analyses, relationships among higher-level taxonomic groups were resolved with high levels of nodal support. These analyses also revealed numerous inconsistencies with current classifications. Reconciling phylogeny and classification required eleven new synonymies at the species-group level, and a further four synonymys and 40 new combinations at the genus-group level. The PEPM, now assigned to the superfamily Acanthopoidea, include 8 families, 15 subfamilies, 18 tribes, 63 genera (all morphologically redefined), and 315 valid species. Historical biogeographic analyses revealed that higher-level diversification occurred in mesic biomes throughout the Cretaceous Period, Crown diversification occurred during the Cenozoic (Paleogene/Neogene) Period, when punctuated evolutionary shifts to more seasonal, drier, biomes likely occurred in response to cyclical climatic fluctuations. The implications of this pattern of diversification, and potential drivers of mantodean diversity, are discussed.
Rights Discourse and Economic Domination: Thinking Beyond the Narrow Horizon of Liberal Justice
Keywords: Justice
Legality
Liberalism
Marx and Marxism
Rights
Socialism

This dissertation offers a theoretical reconstruction of Karl Marx’s materialist conception of right through a re-examination of his critique of liberalism. The liberal conception of justice regards individuals as equal rights-bearers in abstraction from material circumstances and asymmetries of economic power. The dominant interpretation among leading Marxist and Anglo-American political theorists is that Marx’s critique of liberalism culminates with the “withering away” of right and rights in post-capitalist society. Explanations for this view have been framed around the postulation that communist society transcends the “circumstances of justice,” and that the end of class domination would pave the way for the disappearance of juridical relations. The first part of the dissertation questions this longstanding interpretation by reconstructing Marx’s materialist conception of right. The central thesis of the dissertation is that Marx regards right as an essential feature of any mode of production, including the future communist society, and that standards of right undergo transformation throughout history. The historical expansion of human freedom also provides Marx with a normative basis for assessing between higher and lower standards of right across different modes of production. The second part of the dissertation tracks the enduring legacy of Marx’s critique of liberal justice by examining how leading contemporary political theorists have responded to Marx’s challenge in the face of global financial capitalism and the hollowing out of democratically-enacted law. The dissertation also reconsiders the relationship between Marxism and the idea of the rule of law in the current era of neoliberal hegemony. Taken together, the dissertation aims at reconstructing Marx’s views on right and rights in ways that resonate with ongoing debates in political theory and the broader public sphere.
Integrins are key mediators of cell state and tumour heterogeneity
Keywords: cancer-initiating cells
CRISPR-Cas9
extracellular matrix
functional genetics
integrins
synthetic antibodies

Human cancers display a high degree of intratumoural heterogeneity (ITH), largely driven by heterogeneous genetic/epigenetic alterations and interactions with the cellular microenvironment resulting in functionally diverse cell subpopulations with differing clinical implications. In order to better isolate, study and potentially target clinically relevant tumour subpopulations, I developed a methodology for simultaneous target discovery and synthetic antibody generation, coined CellectAb. This approach allowed me to discover, develop and characterize antibodies against CD133 positive colorectal cancer initiating cells (CICs). Surprisingly, two of the three antibodies I discovered and characterized recognize members of the integrin family of cell adhesion molecules: integrins alpha (α) 7 and beta (β) 6. These antibodies enrich for self-renewing CICs, and genetic ablation of integrin β6 impedes colorectal CIC function. Together, these findings validate the CellectAb approach, identify two integrins as novel colorectal CIC markers, and provide a rational for therapeutic targeting of integrin β6. Integrins play critical roles in many cancer biological processes including survival, proliferation, invasion and metastasis. While seven drugs targeting leukocyte/platelet integrins have progressed to market, drugs against solid tissue integrins, especially αV, fail to show clinical efficacy despite promising preclinical results. In chapter 3, I hypothesize that a contributing reason for this failure may be that without αV function, cells relate very differently to the extra cellular matrix (ECM) microenvironment. Specifically, loss of αV robustly mediates the loss of adherent growth and switch to a viable three dimensional sphere state in cell types ranging from fibroblasts to epithelial cancers. Surprisingly, this phenotype is completely reversed when exogenous ECM is provided or metabolic redox conditions are perturbed. This unexpected discovery stemmed from parallel functional genetic screen approaches to identify genes regulating proliferative interaction with the ECM. Together, my thesis contributes to a better understanding of how cancer cells functionally interact with their microenvironment through various integrins, and provides a new technology for marker discovery on rare cell populations.
Conceiving Dramaturgical Practice in English Canada: Histories, Methods, and Models, Post-WWI to the 1990s
Keywords: 20th century
dramaturgy
English Canada
new play development

The thesis provides both a historical exploration and a theoretical model of the practice of developmental dramaturgy in the 20th century in English-speaking Canada. From the end of WWI to the 1990s, the notion of the importance of a uniquely Canadian drama took hold, and institutions and practices arose to achieve that end. However, much of what has been documented and analyzed has focused on the period roughly following Canada’s centennial, when the formalization and funding of those institutions and practices took place. As a result, the purpose of this work is two-fold: first, to reclaim the voices of early practitioners and the historical record of dramaturgical practice, and second, to bring these voices into the contemporary discourse of developmental dramaturgy to create a working model of dramaturgical practice. Through an examination of a series of case studies, including the Art and Little Theatres, educational theatre, radio, and professional theatres, a consistency of practice across time and contexts is evident: the impetus to create an original body of Canadian drama (the meta-dramaturgical project), as well as the institutions and practices (macro- and micro-dramaturgy respectively) that arose to carry it out. What emerges through this examination is the recurrence of meta-dramaturgical questions—and macro-dramaturgical models and micro-dramaturgical strategies to address them—which serve as a starting point for a discussion of dramaturgical practice in Canada. That discussion includes, first, an examination of the influences, especially from the United States, in shaping dramaturgical practices—and the reciprocal emphasis Canadian practices had south of the border; second, the common elements—including the importance of encouraging playwrights and the need to educate audiences in the intricacies of new play development—and the varying contexts that led to the prioritization of the playwright or the production; and third, the cycles of articulation, negotiation, and concretization through which a play or theatrical event emerges, as well as notions of (shared) authority made possible by the creation of group language and governing structure of the piece. What is remarkable is that, despite instances where there is no connection between persons or resources, or, indeed, a knowledge of historical practice, the same strategies, the ways of doing the work, exist. This repetition serves to highlight the recurrence of micro-dramaturgical practices in the creation of individual works, macro-dramaturgical institutional models within which those works emerge, and the meta-dramaturgical frameworks that create the environment for them to exist and thrive.
Multiscale Modeling of Mechanical Behavior of Nextel 720 CMC Fibers at a Range of Temperatures
Keywords: Bridging Cell Method
composite fibers
mechanical properties
multiscale modeling
Temperature-dependent modeling

The mechanical behavior of Nextel 720 ceramic matrix composite fibers was modeled using a novel multiscale modeling technique called the Bridging Cell Method (BCM). The BCM divides the system into three domains: atomistic, bridging, and continuum. The main advantage of the BCM is seamless coupling between the atomistic and continuum domains. The BCM allows considering the effects of the nano- and micro-structural characteristics of the material when modeling a macro-scale bulk. It incorporates interatomic potentials and quasi-harmonic calculations to find the final state of the system, while avoiding high strain rates and small timesteps. First, Alumina and Mullite BCM sub-models were generated and validated via existing experimental data, across a range of temperatures. Then, the Nextel BCM was generated by combining the two sub-models. The mechanical properties of the as-received Nextel fibers were investigated in tension via micro-tensile testing and the results – evaluated in terms of the ultimate tensile strength (UTS), failure strain, and elasticity of the fibers under uniaxial loads – were used to validate the Nextel BCM model at room temperature. This model was further used as a benchmark, and a temperature-dependent formulation was employed to account for the temperature effect. The temperature-dependent Nextel BCM was tested under uniaxial tensile loads ranging from room temperature to 1700°K and the results were validated via experimental data obtained from the literature. The high-temperature drop in fiber strength was predicted by the Nextel BCM as a result of implementing the fibers’ microstructural evolution into the model, caused by phase transformation occurring at higher temperatures. The model was further validated with the fracture behavior of the fibers at room and high temperatures by implementing inter- and intra-granular cracks. Overall, the results show that the Nextel BCM can predict Nextel 720 fibers’ mechanical behavior across a range of temperatures.
Households' Preferences, Strategic Interactions, and Joint Forest Management outcomes
Keywords: Evolution of Social Preference
Game Theoretic Modeling
Joint Forest Management
Social Preference
Time Preference

Joint forest management (JFM), which seeks to involve local communities in the management of state-owned forests, was started in India in 1990. One of the prime objectives of JFM was to restock degraded forest areas, which has not been uniformly achieved across the country. Variation in the success of JFM has been attributed to several socioeconomic and organizational factors. Existing literature, however, has ignored the role of intracommunity strategic interactions in JFM outcomes. Similarly, roles of social preferences and individual time preferences have also been overlooked. In this research, JFM outcomes have been analyzed through the lens of intracommunity strategic interactions, social preferences, and endogenous and good-specific time preferences. A model of strategic interactions among households of a village has been developed, and it has been shown that in JFM households play a public goods game. Equilibrium of the game has been analyzed, and effects of various model parameters on equilibrium participation have been investigated. An empirical study has been carried out in five villages in central India to observe the role of social preferences in JFM outcomes. It has been found that the presence of social preference is strongly correlated with success in JFM in the village. Since in JFM households incur costs in the beginning and get benefits later, individual time preferences are crucial for JFM outcomes. Time preference analysis is usually done using Samuelson’s discounted utility (DU) model, which expresses individual time preference by a unitary construct – discount rate, and does not consider endogenous and good-specific time preferences. In this research, a theoretical model is developed, and an empirical study is used to show that households’ time preferences are endogenous and good specific. A model for the evolution of other-regarding preferences in JFM has also been developed, and it has been shown that other-regarding preferences may evolve in JFM provided a stimulus is given, community’s dependence on the forest is high, and alternatives to forest resources are available.