VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Human trafficking, modern slavery and discursive institutionalism: entertainers, foreign trainees and interns in contemporary Japan, 1990-2017
Keywords: Immigration
Discursive Institutionalism
Japan
Human Trafficking
Modern Slavery

This thesis offers insights into the institutional and policy changes associated with anti- trafficking and anti-slavery paradigms by drawing attention to discursive institutionalism. These insights derive from the constructed dominant discourses on human trafficking and modern slavery in Japan from 1990 to 2017. Two strands of discourse have become dominant there as a consequence of political activism since the early 1990s: Filipina entertainers as ‘sex trafficked victims’ and interns and trainees in the Technical Intern Training Programme (TITP) as ‘modern slaves’. Taking a critical view of these discourses, this thesis answers the questions of how and why institutional arrangements associated with trafficking and modern slavery have changed in Japan. It argues that, in the context of a discursive shift regarding how to treat these workers, institutions and policies gradually changed to provide remedies to foreign interns and trainees under the purview of TITP by 2017, whilst entertainers largely remained subjects of criminalisation and deportation. By looking at the empirical transformation by 2017, this thesis argues that the discourse about trafficking and modern slavery was significant in making known the needs to protect unskilled migrants. While not officially admitting that labour trafficking and modern slavery exist in Japan (due to its zero-immigration principle), the government in 2017 revealed its intention to establish an action plan to fight trafficking and modern slavery, following the initiatives of United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8.7. Through the lens of human trafficking and modern slavery and the related changes in policies and institutional arrangements since the early 1990s, this thesis examines the role of the state in solving problems related to unskilled migrants. In this sense, the study empirically illuminates the trajectory of the government’s current shift towards officially accepting unskilled labourers in response to Japan’s dwindling workforce.
Learning (to learn) from few examples
Keywords: deep learning
few-shot learning
ridge regression
meta-learning
metric learning
Correlation filter
Siamese network
similarity learning
machine learning
computer vision
visual object tracking
artificial intelligence

The availability of large labelled datasets has played a crucial role in the recent success of deep neural networks. However, there are many situations in which training data is scarce. For instance, in the case of object tracking, such a limitation arises directly from the definition of the problem, which requires an estimate of the position of an object of interest in every frame of a video with the sole supervision of a bounding box in the first frame. Another scenario which can be doomed by data scarcity is classification. For example, one might want to identify the species of a rare insect with a single reference image, or train a tumour classification system from a few labelled MRI scans. For both tracking and classification, we propose techniques that sidestep per-task data scarcity by leveraging a large number of small episodes, each characterised by a limited training set. This strategy is particularly novel for tracking, for which for many years the standard approach has been to train a discriminative model exclusively online, while the video is streaming. Moreover, we examine how this general approach can be framed as "learning to learn", in the sense that the knowledge distilled within a training task is accrued and used across tasks. We show how such a framework allows one to devise systems that can be trained with a small amount of per-task data while also being dynamically tailored to the problem at hand. From a practical point of view, the proposed methods have a common focus on simplicity, efficiency and speed, achieved by exploiting the shape or redundancies of the data.
All the code produced in this thesis is open source and available at http://www.robots.ox.ac.uk/~luca
"Comment les femmes ordinairement appetent choses defendues": writing women into the history of Rabelais' reception (1628-1785)
Keywords: Early Modern France

This thesis makes three key contributions to early modern French studies; it reintroduces forgotten perspectives into the history of Rabelais’ reception, offers new, less phallocentric, ways of reading the major episodes in Rabelais’ work that feature questions of women and femininity, and reconsiders early modern processes of authorial construction and posterity more generally. Women readers and audiences have thus far been excluded from the history of Rabelais’ afterlives. This study addresses this gap in scholarship by exploring a diverse range of thus far neglected seventeenth and eighteenth-century re-appropriations of Rabelais’ work. These sources take the form of literary genres associated with feminine culture in the early modern world: ballets, anecdotes, letters, journals and illustrations. I consider the ways in which these moments not only complicate the critical narrative of Rabelais’ literary afterlives but also help us to reread those episodes of Rabelais’ work that have proved to be the most problematic when it comes to the issue of women in Rabelais’ world.
Through detailed analysis of these instances of re-appropriation in conjunction with close readings of Rabelais’ primary text, I make the case for a feminist reading of Rabelais’ work whereby the woman reader may take linguistic pleasure in the text. I debunk the current critical characterisation of Rabelais’ text as masculinist by demonstrating the extent to which the misogyny of the text is a fabrication of posterity related to the narratives surrounding Rabelais’ life, rather than an aspect inherent to the work itself. Despite the important contributions to Rabelais studies made by queer criticism in recent years, this work has thus far been predominantly phallocentric in nature. My thesis readdresses this imbalance, offering a more balanced approach to reading gender in Rabelais’ text. I suggest that the figure of ‘Dame mouche’ provides a useful model for thinking about what it means to read Rabelais’ work as a woman. By underlining the ways in which re-appropriations of texts and constructions of authorial personas serve to both include and exclude, this thesis reveals the gendered and class-based power structures that shape a writer’s posterity. By taking more seriously the lessons of reception history, this study distinguishes Rabelais’ work from the mythmaking surrounding the author’s life, and offers a fresh perspective on reading Rabelais’ women.
Microwave magnonics at millikelvin temperatures
Keywords: magnon damping
niobium
two level fluctuators
strong coupling
superconducting resonator
transfer matrix method
millikelvin temperatures
gadolinium gallium garnet
yttrium iron garnet
microwave magnon
magnonic crystal

This thesis reports on three recent experimental studies of microwave magnons in yttrium iron garnet (YIG) systems at millikelvin temperatures.
We begin with an introduction to the emerging field of quantum magnonics and its underpinning motivations. Basic theory of dipolar spin-wave or magnon dynamics in various sample geometries is presented. This introduction is followed by a brief description of the specificities of our experimental setup and properties of YIG --- the magnetic material used in our studies.
The first experiment involves a hybrid system combining a YIG sphere and a niobium-based superconducting planar resonator. The device is measured at millikelvin temperatures and signals of strong magnon-photon coupling are observed when the excitation energy is at the level of single photons. The superconducting resonator is shown to maintain a good quality factor even under sizeable in-plane magnetic field that is required to support the excitation of magnons in YIG.
The second experiment demonstrates the operation of a magnonic crystal based on an etched YIG film at millikelvin temperatures. A magnonic bandgap is successfully observed both under continuous- and pulsed- microwave excitation. High magnon damping is observed in the device at low temperature.
The third experiment involves the measurement of magnon damping in YIG films. Comparisons between results from different samples and at different temperatures provide insight into the role of the substrate and two-level fluctuators at low temperature. A brief review of the known damping processes in bulk YIG from room temperature down to millikelvin temperature is also presented.
The final chapter summarises results in this thesis and suggests possible future research directions.
Aristotle's account of sense-perception in De Anima II.5, II.12, and III.2
Keywords: sense-perception
mind
Anima
philosophy
perception
Aristotle

The idea that Aristotle portrays perception as a kind of conceptual activity is supported by this thesis. This support is the result of a detailed consideration of Aristotle's formal characterizations of perception in De Anima II.5, II.12, and III.2.
The first chapter considers Aristotle's doctrine that actual sense and sense-object are 'the same, but different in being' (DA III.2). This doctrine may amount to the dispositional view that sense-qualities as sensed exist only when sensed, or to the trivial view that sensed sense-qualities so exist. Aristotle's treatment of his non-Democritean predecessors, and his positive account of the sense-qualities in DA and DS, cannot decide between these interpretations. His rejection of the Democritean dispositional theory on the basis of features shared by all dispositional theories, however, would seem to confirm the trivial interpretation of the unity-of-actuality doctrine.
The second chapter turns to Aristotle‘s doctrine that perception is a special kind of assimilation of the senser to the object of sense (DA 11.5). A change in the senser's sense-organs is unlikely~fo be a case of the special kind of assimilation, whose distinctive feature is its status as an energeia. The senser's cognitive assimilation to the oBgect of sense, on the other hand, might well be. The view that Aristotle's assimilation doctrine identifies such an assimilation, however, requires support from Aristotle‘s form-without-matter doctrine.
The doctrine that sense receives the sensible forms without the matter (DA 11.12) is thus the subject of the third chapter. Physicalist and unity-of-actuality interpretations of this doctrine, antecedently implausible, are in fact unsatisfactory. An acceptable non-physicalist interpretation, however, may be based on the view that a form-without-matter is a universal. On this interpretation, Aristotle's form-without-matter doctrine (supplemented by his assimilation doctrine) states that perception is the reception of a particular sensible as a sensible. If this interpretation is right, Aristotle would indeed see perception as a kind of conceptual activity.
Single cell analysis of the adult neural stem cells of the lateral ventricle using a novel genetic marker
Keywords: Single cell sequencing
Subventricular Zone
Neural Stem Cells
RNA sequencing
Neurogenesis

Canonically, adult neurogenesis occurs, in mammals, in two distinct regions of the brain—the subgranular zone of the dentate gyrus and the ventricular-subventricular zone (V-SVZ) of the lateral ventricle. The V-SVZ germinal niche is comprised, in part, by ependymal cells and the quiescent neural stem cells (NSCs) that lie near these cells. During neurogenesis, the quiescent NSCs change their transcriptional state and alter their cellular machinery to become activated NSCs. Together, quiescent and activated NSCs are also known as B-cells. B-cells generate transit amplifying cells, which then generate neuroblasts. Initially, it was believed that the function of V-SVZ neurogenesis was to populate the olfactory bulb with new neurons. However, recent work suggests that under disease and injury states it can lead to the formation of new striatal neurons.
Studying B-cells is important because although they were identified two decades ago, many important questions regarding their development, specification, and function remain unanswered. The fate of B-cells is specified at the time of their formation during embryonic development. This work suggested that there existed many different subpopulations of B-cells—each fated to generate different types of neurons in the adult mouse brain. However, the mechanism by which the B-cells are apportioned to the different subgroups still remains a mystery.
In this thesis, we demonstrate that a BAC-Penk-CRE transgenic line (which causes CRE expression in cells with an active pre-pro-Enkephalin promoter), generated in our lab and crossed to an appropriate reporter strain, labels a novel subgroup of B-cells, as well as previously identified subgroups of B-cells and neuroblasts. Using single-cell RNA sequencing, and other validation techniques, we show that this novel subgroup expresses the 5-Hydroxytryptamine Receptor 2C (5-HT2C receptor) and the prolactin receptor—which have been functionally correlated with B-cells, but B-cells expressing these receptors have never been captured and sequenced before. We also show that this novel subgroup expresses the KiR7.1 channel and the folate receptor. These findings are novel and exciting and will allow for the further study of the heterogeneity of B-cells and to investigate the many unanswered questions.
Finally, not only have we been able to validate the RNAseq data, but we also show that in a partial progressive model of Parkinson’s disease, cells expressing the BAC-Penk-CRE reporter increase their proliferation and can be found in the striatal parenchyma. Thereby demonstrating the functional importance of this group of V-SVZ stem cells.
Optimizing Bayesian optimization
Keywords: Bayesian Optimization
Gaussian Processes
Optimization

We are concerned primarily with improving the practical applicability of Bayesian optimization. We make contributions in three key areas.
We develop an intuitive online stopping criterion, allowing only as many steps as necessary to achieve the desired target to be taken. By combining this with intelligent online switching between acquisition functions and pure local optimization we are also able to substantially improve convergence to the local minimum associated with our final solution.
In cases where a continuum of reduced cost, but also reduced accuracy, evaluations are available we develop a Bayesian Optimization acquisition function to select both the location and cost of each evaluation. We achieve this with lower overheads than previous methods, translating to a real increase in performance. Part of this improvement is achieved by way of a new, more efficient, method for generating support points to sample the minimum of a Gaussian process. Further, in the case that the reduced cost estimates are unbiased we show that a practical solution cannot exist in most cases without also taking into consideration both computational overheads and a restriction on available resources. Given this knowledge we then develop a method which provides a viable solution in this setting.
Finally, we outline practical implementation details for Bayesian optimization which allow substantial reductions in the overhead costs without changing the theoretical properties of optimization. This is primarily achieved by use of adaptive quadrature to marginalize Gaussian process hyperparameters in place of the more common slice sampling approach.
Regional and basin scale modelling of hydro-ecology: potential impacts of climate change from a conservation perspective
Keywords: Hydroecology
Scenario-Neutral Climatic Modelling
Europe
Climate Change
River Thames
Environmental Modelling
Freshwater Conservation

The principal objective of this thesis has been to assess the potential impacts of climate change on hydro-ecology at the regional and basin scale, with particular reference to the associated effects these may have on conservation efforts. Different methodologies are required when considering climate-change impact at regional and basin scales. At the regional scale, the vulnerability of European HydroBasins was determined through the application of a 'top-down' methodology to climate assessment and incorporation of novel approaches in determining both catchment and species sensitivity and resilience to climate change. The congruence between existing European protected areas and catchments most vulnerable to climate change was explored, suggesting fewer than 25% of these catchments are currently adequately included. At the basin scale, a 'scenario-neutral' approach was adopted, and the sensitivity of four key hydro-ecological variables to perturbed climatic drivers identified on a catchment-by-catchment basis in the Thames Basin, UK. Linking these responses to Water Framework Directive thresholds of environmental quality and the application of UKCP09 probabilistic scenarios generated quantifiable estimates of potential ecological alteration under climate change. Protocols were developed to further aggregate these into whole basin summary maps, and congruence between existing protected areas and potential ecological alteration under climate change was explored. The results presented in this thesis should be used to a) re-design the European protected area network to better account for projected climate change, and b) explore the most effective management strategies in mitigating climate change within existing protected areas of the Thames Basin and identify high impact Priority River Habitats for conservation and restoration.
Gender differences in occupational preferences among young people: evidence from the UK
Keywords: Gender
Preferences
UK
Young people
Aspirations

This thesis advances the understanding of gender differences in occupational preferences and job values among young people in the UK. There are two main aims; first, to provide an up-to-date description of gender differences. Second, to investigate how job values and occupational preferences are related, and to what extent gender differences are associated with parental education, mother, father, and sibling characteristics, or an individual’s own attitudes. My four chapters make several contributions to the literature. First, I explain the theoretical relevance of job values—the features of a job that are important to an individual, and describe differences by gender and parental education, in the UK and wider Europe. Second, I show how job values are associated with gender differences in preferences for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Third, I examine the relationship between parental education and gender-typical occupational preferences and assess potential explanations for this. Fourth, I study the role of siblings, and whether preferences cluster within sibships. Overall, this thesis confirms the persistence of significant and substantial gender differences in occupational preferences in the UK. Gender differences in ratings on job values are small but important for occupational preferences; girls consistently value altruistic aspects of jobs highly and this discourages them from STEM aspirations. There are clear differences by parental education, with young people from a low parental education background more likely to have gender-typical aspirations. This is primarily due to the distribution of gender-typical occupations between occupational classes, and differences in the occupational class aspired to. Lastly, siblings do not significantly influence occupational preferences, either due to sibship composition, and/or through clustering of specific occupational preferences. Instead, the main between-family contrast is between only children and those who have siblings—the former are more likely to have gender-atypical aspirations.
General-to-specific approaches for evaluating multi-step system forecasts
Keywords: hurricanes
Covariance
log determinant
MSFE
GFESM

Multi-horizon forecasts from large scale models play important roles in ongoing policy debates across a wide range of disciplines. Although there are many ways to evaluate imperfect forecasts, we show the importance of taking a more general approach and considering the joint distributions over variables and horizons. Once a multi step system context is envisaged, potential singularities need to be addressed, as do tests of significant differences between the forecasts and assessments of the value of improved forecasts. These important issues are the focus of the thesis and are illustrated using applications in the fields of macroeconomics and climate.
Restrictions on press freedom in Ethiopia: an historical analysis of Ethiopian laws and compliance with international law
Keywords: Freedom of Expression
Press Law
Media Law

This thesis offers a historical analysis of press law in Ethiopia and examines the extent to which the current legal framework for freedom of expression and press freedom complies with constitutional guarantees and international human rights conventions. Following the political transition in 1991, Ethiopia made perhaps a major stride with accession to the International Bill of Human Rights and adopting a new constitution which should have been a powerful foundation for securing freedom of expression and media freedom. However, the EPRDF regime that led the making of a new constitution and accession to the international human rights covenants earned itself the infamous reputation as one of the world’s leading jailer of journalists and predator of free press. At the heart of this paradox is the contradiction between constitutional guarantees for press freedom and restrictive subsidiary laws inherited from the past.
Contrary to commonly held assumptions that press freedom was introduced to Ethiopia in the 1991 political transition and accession to international human rights covenants, this thesis uncovers the emergence of press freedom in Ethiopia as well as its traditional foundations well before 1991 and the international covenants. However, the analysis also shows how several of the current repressive and restrictive laws are directly inherited from the imperial and military rule period laws which are inconsistent with international standards. Despite the new constitution, the current legal framework continues legal antecedents and a pattern of restrictive and repressive laws adopted by the successive imperial and the military regimes.
The historical analysis is critical for understanding the current laws. The thesis, therefore, documents the history of printing and press work in Ethiopia starting from the early traditional foundations to demonstrate freedom of expression as an indigenous concept and the birth of free press in Ethiopia at the beginning of the 20th century and the emergence of press restrictive laws in the 1930’s. Since then, there has been a persistent popular demand to reclaim press freedom which is initially heeded by the successive political regimes but systematically rolled back as the regimes consolidate political power. The thesis also identifies the necessary legislative reform to create an enabling legal environment for freedom of expression and press freedom in Ethiopia. The new political transition in Ethiopia since April 2018 offers yet another historical opportunity to implement this legislative reform.