VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Efficient algorithms in selfish peer-to-peer networks: design and implementation

Peer-to-peer networks are constructed in the application layer by peer nodes at the edge of wide-area networks, using the underlying IP network topology to forward application-layer messages. A fundamental fact is that participating nodes in peer-to-peer networks are noncooperative or selfish. This challenges the existing design paradigm for developing distributed algorithms, often assuming that participating nodes are cooperative. Consequently, the following question arises: How do we design and implement algorithms that can effectively and efficiently execute in selfish peer-to-peer networks? In this thesis, we resort to microeconomic theory as our tool to investigate node behavior and strategies, identifying specific issues that need to be addressed. Our goal is to design and implement "selfishness-aware" algorithms that function in selfish peer-to-peer networks. Particularly, we focus on three problems: (1) Why cannot we simply execute "selfishness-unaware" distributed algorithms in selfish peer-to-peer networks? (2) How do we provide proper incentives to selfish peer nodes so that the desired system output can be achieved? (3) How do we implement prototypes of decentralized protocols in a quick and efficient way? In light of the above problems, we have done extensive theoretical analysis and experiments towards the design of effective algorithms in non-cooperative overlay networks. Our main contributions are the following. First, using techniques in microeconomics theory, we have proposed and analyzed algorithms to mitigate information asymmetries in peer-to-peer networks, using peer-to-peer queries as a case study. Second, with the theory of mechanism design, we have designed incentives in peer-to-peer streaming applications, so that each node's utility maximizing efforts lead to the maximization of system-wide output, with respect to end-to-end throughput. Finally, we have designed and implemented iOverlay, an application development framework for peer-to-peer applications over the Internet. We have effectively used the iOverlay framework to streamline implementation efforts when we evaluate our peer-to-peer protocol design.
Model-checking with many values

Automated verification is an important step towards reliable software systems of the future. In this thesis, we concentrate on model-checking---an automated technique for deciding whether a system satisfies a temporal formula. We present techniques to address several major challenges facing adoption of model-checking as a practical verification technology. The validity of model-checking is threatened by vacuous satisfaction---a case where the system passes the analysis for a wrong, and often trivial, reason. We build upon vacuity detection---a well-known sanity check. We argue that it is important to distinguish different levels of vacuity to provide a user with a better understanding of potential threats to the analysis. We present a more general definition of vacuity---mutual vacuity, that captures truth or falsity of a property together with its vacuity with respect to different subformulas and their occurrences. To address the challenge of specifying correctness properties, we extend query-checking---a technique for discovering system's properties based on user-supplied queries. We develop a language of queries based on Computation Tree Logic, and present an algorithm for it. The technique is implemented in TLQSOLVER. We report on analysis of a cruise control system, and demonstrate novel applications of query-checking. To address the scalability challenge, we develop an abstraction technique that allows for verification and refutation of arbitrary temporal properties. Our main contributions are the systematic derivation of abstraction following Abstract Interpretation and a new characterization of the most precise abstract model for a given abstract domain. To address the challenge of automatic analysis of software at the source code level, we present a new software model-checker YASM. Y ASM is based on a combination of the CounterExample Guided Abstraction Refinement with the abstraction technique presented in this thesis. The main distinguishing feature of YASM is support for both verification and refutation of properties of sequential C programs. We address problems that occur at different stages of the model-checking process. The unifying theme is the use of the framework of multi-valued model-checking. The thesis also contributes to this framework by presenting a reduction technique between multi-valued and classical model-checking.
Lessons from North American telecommunications for developing nations in the new information era: case studies of India, South Africa and Chile

With the globalization of economies and convergence of technologies, a major challenge facing developing nations like India, South Africa and Chile, is the need to upgrade their telecommunications systems. This requires them to move from a closed centralized policy model to a pro-competitive decentralized regime as proposed in the WTO's Basic Telecommunications Service Agreement and its Reference Paper. These international agreements do not expressly require developing nations to follow North American telecommunication developments. However, the role of North America in framing the Agreement and its Reference Paper was profound. This thesis examines North American telecommunications developments and in particular the theories of Gerald Brock, Milton Mueller and Alan Stone. It seeks to show that the developing nations chosen for study, in upgrading their telecommunications systems by reforming their legal and regulatory regimes and complying with new international obligations, while seeking to achieve their diverse domestic goals, may learn much from theoretical insights drawn from North American experience. Thus the historical experience of North America may be used to assist in meeting the contemporary needs of developing nations in their reforms.

Keywords: Telecommunication, Law and legislation
Telecommunication, India
Telecommunication, Law and legislation
Telecommunication, South Africa
Telecommunication, Law and legislation
Telecommunication, Chile
Poetic licence: Invention and intentions in historical novels

There are two ways of mixing history and invention. In one, poetry fills out a set of historical facts. In the other, historical particulars circumstantiate a myth. The first generalizes a historical action by motivation. The second specifies a general action by historical definition. The former approach, that of epic and historical drama, has dominated the poetics of the mixed genres. Given a condition of uncertainty about the past, invention is conceived as an inference from well-known or documented effects to hypothetical causes. Here invented particulars, including the discourse, demeanour and psychological states of agents, disclose an internal aspect of brute facts. However, there are truths about the past apart from what happened. Modern historical novels, by inverting the structure of historical subject and invented episodes, turn programmatically from the issue of conjecture to define, evaluate, and reflect on the judgement of human action. Since the Waverley novels of Walter Scott, historical novels have been derided for their formulaic application of invented subjects or general actions to diverse settings and national traditions. This apology identifies the general actions of historical novels as devices that pick out expressive meanings or intentions in the past. Intention is a significant description of action rather than its subjective complement. It is intrinsic to action rather than a meaning attributed to action by thought or character. There are common descriptions of discontinuous phenomena: the dispersed acts of the members of collectives, for example, or the acts of exemplars and of their belated followers. So the historical field must be invented. In this sense, historical invention is neither a gross fabrication nor a treatment of inert material. It is a topically oriented activity of recognizing something significant in past action that may have been lacking since the action was done. This study scrutinizes conventional oppositions between history and poetry, between behaviour and thought. With particular reference to Cinq-Mars by Alfred de Vigny and The Captain's Daughter by Aleksandr Pushkin, it explores parabolic relations between distinct modes of expression in the inventions of historical plots.

Keywords: Comparative literature
A unified theory for laminated plates

A literature survey on plate and beam theories show how the advent of the finite element method and the variational method circa 1940 have been a great stimulant for the research in this field. The initial thin plate formulation has been incrementally expanded to treat the isotropic thick plate, the anisotropic single layer, and then laminated plates. It appears however that current formulations still fall into one of two categories: (1) The formulation is tailored for a specific laminate and/or loading case; (2) or the formulation is too complicated to be of practical relevance. The proof of concept is realized using Pagano solution for rectangular plates under sinusoidal load, for a sandwich panel. Additional comparisons are also performed for four and six-layer symmetric and antisymmetric laminates, between the new plate theory results and full three-dimensional finite element solutions. Three major contributions are produced in this work: (1) A complete calibration of the plate as a two-dimensional structure is performed with pure bending and constant shear fundamental states. (2) There are four independent ways to apply a constant shear resultant on a plate, as opposed to one for a beam. This makes it impossible to define a unique 2 x 2 transverse shear stiffness matrix. Therefore the traditional problem of the shear correction factor loses all relevance. It is however shown that an explicit transverse constitutive relation can be obtained for isotropic-layered laminates or single-layers. (3) Higher accuracy, three-dimensional solutions are obtained using a two-dimensional finite element model with a complexity level (degrees of freedom) similar to the Reissner-Mindlin plate. The novel idea is the introduction of fundamental state solutions, which are analytical far field stress and strain solutions of the laminated plate subjected to a set of hierarchical primary loads, the fundamental loads. These loads are carefully selected to form a basis of the load space, and corresponding solutions are superposed to obtain extremely accurate predictions of the three dimensional solution. six, y, z =aklx, y sikl z where i = 1 ..., 6; 1=1 ..., l max is a substate of the kth fundamental state k=1,2,3 ... Typically, a fundamental state solution is expressed as a through-thickness function (z), while the amplitudes of each fundamental load are found from two dimensional finite element solution as a function of in-plane coordinates (x, y). In this work a new unifying approach to laminated plate formulation is presented. All laminated plates, including sandwich panels, subjected to any surface load and with any boundary conditions are treated within a single model. In addition, the fundamental behavior of the plate as a two-dimensional structural element is explained.
The antinomy of the text form: dialogical-meaning vs. communicative-meaning

This thesis explores a historically specific human activity, reading/writing-activity, expended on the production of texts that have become the repositories of objectified meanings. Michel Foucault in a series of books delineates the sphere of discursive practices as an independent phenomenon and places Karl Marx's work, which provides an analysis and explication of the social organization of production, among other strands of discursive practices. While Foucault engages in a descriptive account of discursive practices, which have their own law of formation, Dorothy Smith provides a sociological analysis that employs a Marxist-feminist methodology to explicate their workings. Smith's inquiries into the text-mediated and text-constituted practices of contemporary societies discover text as the ‘cell’ of the social organization of discursive practices. Drawing on Smith's observation that texts are necessarily read and written in actual sites and in time, I further specify how reading/writing-activity becomes the sole source of meaning production in contemporary societies.

Keywords: Discourse analysis
Meaning (Philosophy)
Functional analysis of Drosophila Myosin VI in larval neuromuscular junction synapses

Myosin VI is an actin-based motor protein that moves toward the negative end of actin filaments. Mutation of the Drosophila Myosin VI gene jaguar leads to locomotory defects in adults and larvae. This phenotype implicates a role for Myosin VI in the neuromuscular system. Drosophila jaguar mutants displayed a reduced neuromuscular junction (NMJ), with fewer nerve terminal boutons. These phenotypes are novel and were not previously reported in any other analysis of Myosin Vl. Intra-bouton analysis in Myosin VI depleted nerve terminals showed a vesicle distribution defect, shown by synaptotagmin staining, and a reduced number of active zones per bouton, exhibited by nc82 staining. Finally, the pre-synaptic actin expression pattern was analyzed using actin-GFP and the normal actin pattern appeared disrupted in jaguar mutants. The results of this study, for the first time, demonstrate a role for Myosin VI in neuromuscular junction development.
Cartografias regionales en America Latina

"Regional Cartographies in Latin America" examines the paradigmatic transformation of Latin American national cultures in the context of globalization. I show how economic integration in the Southern Cone has led to a revitalized Latin Americanism that is contributing to a growing cultural hegemony in favour of a community of nations. I contend that contemporary literature critically engages the notion of regional community in an effort to show the epistemological gaps in its discursive construction and advance alternate forms of being-in-common. This work is an effort to reveal and examine the epistemological range of the discourses of integration and the role of contemporary literature in debating these historical transformations. My methodology combines a critical study of the discourses of integration with a close textual analysis of contemporary literature. I study how public discourses, the literary and philosophical essay, disciplines in the humanities as well as cultural artifacts such as art exhibitions, television and official ceremonies imagine the regional community. I have purposefully chosen to foreground the vanguard's cartographic experimentations (Xul Solar, Torres Garcia) and the prolific usage of maps of the continent in contemporary art and regional discourses to draw attention to the central role of cartography in the new regional imaginings. I use this notion of a regional cartography as a productive metaphor to describe the discursive construction of a supranational community. Through a study of Los conjurados del Quilombo del Gran Chaco (2001) by Augusto Roa Bastos et al; Avante, soldados: para tras (1992) by Deonisio da Silva; Tres muescas en mi carabina (2002) by Carlos Maria Dominguez; Fronteras de Umbria (2002) by Rafael Courtoisie, I demonstrate how literature debates this increasingly hegemonic vision of integration and how it questions its own historical engagement with political projects through: (a) the elaboration of postnational literary manifestos; (b) the questioning of the role of the intellectual; (c) the introduction of a marginal textual demography and space; (d) the rewriting of foundational texts and national historiographies from multiple national traditions; and (e) the dialogic confrontation of various national imaginaries with the ultimate purpose of debating a new regional cartography.
Context-dependent male competitive behaviours and strategies

Male conspecifics compete with one another for opportunities to access mates. As the context in which competition takes place varies, males often employ different context-dependent behaviours, reproductive strategies, and conflict resolution tactics, during agonistic interactions. My thesis examines two examples of this—competitive mate attraction via acoustic signalling in the katydid, Conocephalus brevipennis (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae), and overt aggression in the cockroach, Gromphadorhina portentosa (Dictyoptera: Blaberidae). In C. brevipennis, I show that males utilize individual acoustic advertisement signals (i.e., calling song, a multicomponent species-specific signal) to facilitate beneficial aggregative behaviour in both sexes. Males then use song to mediate the costs and benefits of group behaviour. In G. portentosa, I demonstrate that the escalation of male aggression towards rivals is influenced by the presence and quality of females. Males are more aggressive when females are present and are less aggressive when the female is of lower quality (i.e., a small female).
China's telecommunications reforms: from monopoly towards competition

Although general economic reforms had been initiated in China in 1978, for more than a decade China's telecommunications industry was largely untouched and remained an administrative monopoly. As a result of ongoing overall reforms, as well as interactions between internal and external forces, China started to reform its telecommunications regime in the early 1990s. In a relatively short period, fundamental changes have taken place in a number of key areas, including regulation, market access, competition, foreign investment and the like. As a milestone in the reforms, the Chinese government in 2000 promulgated the Telecommunications Regulations, which went a long way to meet WTO standards, set out fundamental competition rules and cleared away obstacles that barred foreign and private investment from entering the telecommunications sector. In the past few years, a number of important rules covering various regulatory issues have also been made, including the long awaited Regulations on the Administration of Foreign Invested Telecommunications Enterprises . In the mean time, the Chinese government continues the process of drafting a comprehensive Telecommunications Law, which is expected to be passed by the People's Congress in 2003. In studying China's telecommunications reforms, this thesis applied a Public Choice Plus theory, which analyzes interactions between various discrete factors or forces in policy-making, and in particular, the roles of interests, ideology, technology, ideas, institutions and the internationalization of markets. Chapter One outlines the analytical framework to be applied in subsequent chapters. Chapter Two studies the development of competition over the past decade, including the emergence of new competitors, institutional restructuring and the two rounds of break-up of China Telecom. Starting with a general discussion of the relationship between the WTO and telecommunications services, Chapter Three examines the decisive role of the WTO in gradually lifting China's restrictions on foreign direct investment and its impact on telecommunications regulation. Chapter Four discusses how to establish an effective, pro-competitive regulatory system in China. Chapter Five concludes the thesis by weighing all the factors discussed in the Public Choice Plus theory in the policy-making process of China's telecommunications reforms, an understanding of which is key to the success of further reforms.

Keywords: Telecommunication, Law and legislation
Telecommunication, China
Competition, China
Examining comorbid anxiety and depression in a child and adolescent clinical population

Objectives. Examined whether youths with pure anxiety (PUR ANX), pure depression (PUR DEP), or co-occurring anxiety and depression (ANX + DEP), differed on measures of internalizing symptoms, externalizing symptoms, and family functioning. Method. 193 youths, aged 4 to 18 years (M = 12.4, SD = 3.1), and maternal caregivers completed measures (i.e., CBCL, YSR, SCARED, CDI, Brief FAM, Frustration Questionnaire). Results. Compared to PUR ANX and PUR DEP, ANX + DEP was associated with significantly more severe scores on various indices of internalizing symptoms and family functioning, but not externalizing symptoms. More differences, however, were found between ANX + DEP and PUR ANX than between ANX + DEP and PUR DEP. Conclusions. Past findings indicating that comorbidity is related to more severe reports of internalizing symptoms and family dysfunction were replicated. Results suggest comorbid subthreshold anxiety and depression symptoms in youths are clinically relevant and merit further research.

Keywords: Anxiety in adolescence
Anxiety in children
Depression in adolescence
Depression in children
Comorbidity
Birth, time, and ethics

What does it mean to be born, or to give birth? I explore the relation between ethics and time through a phenomenology of birth, understood as the gift of the Other. My birth is not my own; apart from death, it is that moment when I am least present as a self-determining subject. But unlike death, birth binds me to an Other without whom I could not exist. This difference opens the possibility of understanding time in its ethical dimensions, as time from an Other and for the Other. To be born is to be engendered for responsibility; it is to be given the imperative to give to Others. Part I, Given Birth, discusses the significance of being born for Heidegger, Arendt and Levinas. Heidegger interprets birth as an inheritance or “heritage” which Dasein hands down to itself by authentically “repeating” the past. I argue that this self-inheritance tends to obscure the sense in which one is born to an Other. Arendt understands birth as the initiation of someone new into a political world; thanks to natality, we are given the promise of a different, more hopeful future. Finally, Levinas suggests an interpretation of birth as being welcomed into a home by the feminine Other. This formulation begins to articulate the ethical dimensions of birth; and yet it also raises questions about the status of sexual difference in the work of Levinas. Part II, Giving Birth, explores the ethical and temporal dimensions of maternity and paternity in Beauvoir, Levinas, and selected biblical texts. In particular, I consider Levinas' articulation of responsibility as becoming “like a maternal body” for the stranger. To become like a maternal body is to give time to the Other, opening up a past of forgiveness and a future of promise. It is to remember the immemorial gift of birth, while metaphorically passing it on to a stranger. But the sexual specificity of maternity raises questions which can only be addressed through feminist analysis. How can we explore the richness of the maternal metaphor, and its implications for ethics, without making the embodied “reality” of motherhood disappear?