VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
"VOICE" Vision of Inclusive Community Engagement

Vision of Inclusive Community Engagement, “VOICE”/nA Design Development Study to support school leaders in engaging/nAfrican American Parents/nBy/nPeter I. Parenti/nDoctor of Education/nUniversity of California, Berkeley/nProfessor Tina Trujillo, Chair/nThe ideal American education system is assumed to operate with democratic, inclusive, student-focused principles. Towards that end, recent California legislation emphasizes a local, community-based process encouraging parents and staff to share information about student needs, reason through problems, and make decisions together. However, while research strongly indicates that parent engagement is a primary factor in determining student success, school leaders and educators perpetuate a culture of racial inequality whereby African-American families are disenfranchised, and their students underperform./nThe purpose of this study is to re-conceptualize leadership so that current practices become more proactive and racially inclusive. At the core of this design is a focus on shared leadership that empowers African American parents to profess their values and concerns, to influence decision-making, and to participate more fully in the school community./nThe theory of action is based on three essential elements that support change: understanding inequities and their impact on student success, developing transformational leadership, and engaging and empowering parents. I incorporate these elements into a series of action-oriented team meetings and community engagement events. Learning by doing becomes the vehicle by which school and community leaders challenge the status quo./nBased on the findings, I argue that the theory of action is strong. The design contributed to an observable improvement in the participants’ abilities to understand specific issues of inequity, to understand strategies that are effective at engaging African American parents, and to understand the qualities of leadership needed to address issues of inequity in public schools. The findings inform a set of design principles that drive future iterations. Primarily, school and community leaders need to reduce their dependence on rigid agendas that control participant behaviors, open dialogue with parents on issues that are difficult to discuss and resolve, and be willing to engage in emotional debates about issues related to race and discrimination. However, there were several limitations in the degree to which the design principles are readily transferrable to similar settings.

Advisor: Trujillo, Tina
Quasi-Fuchsian surface subgroups of infinite covolume Kleinian groups

Given a complete hyperbolic 3-manifold $N$, one can ask whether its fundamental/ngroup $\Gamma=\pi_1N$ contains any quasi-Fuchsian surface subgroups./nEquivalently, given a pared 3-manifold $(M,P)$, one can ask whether there/nexists a closed immersed $\pi_1$-injective surface in $M$ that avoids the/nperipheral subgroups associated to $P$. This is known to be true for closed/nhyperbolic 3-manifolds, and more generally for finite volume hyperbolic/n3-manifolds. We outline a strategy to solve the case of infinite volume/nhyperbolic 3-manifolds, that is, infinite covolume Kleinian groups. As a first/nstep in this program, we give a characterization of books of $I$-bundles which/ncontain quasi-Fuchsian surface subgroups.

Advisor: Agol, Ian
Innovation through Interpretation: How Judges Make Policy in China

My dissertation explores the role of courts in making the law respond to the social and economic transformations that have defined contemporary China. In particular, I find that Chinese judges working in the civil law tradition are nevertheless able to effect incremental changes in existing law without having to resort to the formal legislative process./nPart I reviews the theory and practice of Chinese statutory interpretation, paying special attention to the use of sources and methodology. I demonstrate that despite the sometimes overdrawn differences between civil law and common law jurisdictions, techniques of statutory interpretation can and are employed by Chinese judges to give the law a fluid and dynamic character, thereby facilitating its adaptation to emergent societal circumstances./nA legal innovation can spread as a court’s novel reading of a statute is adopted by other courts and becomes mainstream. Part II describes and accounts for the diffusion of judicial innovations in Chinese courts since the 1980s. The confluence of two factors, the norm of judicial openness and the medium of the internet, have made prior judicial decisions readily accessible and a convenient resource for Chinese judges confronting hard cases. These prior judicial decisions serve as a form of political communication between courts that indicates the acceptability and feasibility of policy innovations in the law. Three case studies – the “Guiding Cases” issued by Chinese Supreme People’s Court, and a series of provincial-level cases on driving under the influence (DUI) and ATM Theft – demonstrate how innovative statutory interpretations diffuse through the court system and eventually precipitate legislative amendment of outdated statutes. I supplement these case studies with surveys, survey experiment, and interviews./nFinally, Part III of my dissertation describes the law-making function of the judiciary in other civil law countries, such as Japan and Germany. Drawn from the convergence of judicial roles between common law and civil law systems, it further assesses the social, political, and legal conditions necessary for judicially initiated policy innovations to succeed in China. This chapter demonstrates that judicial innovations in China survive because of their silent and gradual character of their assimilation by the legal system. Some of these innovations fade, however, due to political reasons or the transience of the societal conditions that gave rise to them./nOverall, I conclude that despite their protestations to the contrary, Chinese courts balance the tension between the unchanging code and the changing social and economic conditions in Chinese society by engaging in experimentation through statutory interpretation. In this function, Chinese courts are not that different from their sisters in common law jurisdictions or, for that matter, from courts everywhere.

Advisor: Mayali, Laurent
Learning From People

Learning from people represents a new and expanding frontier for data science. Crowdsourcing, where data is collected from non-experts online, is now extensively employed in academic research, industry, and also for many societal causes. Two critical challenges in crowdsourcing and learning form people are that of (i) developing algorithms for maximally accurate learning and estimation that operate under minimal modeling assumptions, and (ii) designing incentive mechanisms to elicit high-quality data from people. In this thesis, we addresses these fundamental challenges in the context of several canonical problem settings that arise in learning from people./nFor the challenge of estimation, there are various algorithms proposed in past literature, but their reliance on strong parameter-based assumptions is severely limiting. In this thesis, we introduce a class of "permutation-based" models that are considerably richer than classical parameter-based models. We present algorithms for estimation which we show are both statistically optimal and significantly more robust than prior state-of-the-art methods. We also prove that our estimators automatically adapt and are simultaneously optimal over the classical parameter-based models as well, thereby enjoying a surprising win-win in the statistical bias-variance tradeoff./nAs for the second challenge of incentivizing people, we design a class of payment mechanisms that take a "multiplicative" form. For several common interfaces in crowdsourcing, we show that these multiplicative mechanisms are surprisingly the only mechanisms that can guarantee honest responses and satisfy a mild and natural requirement which we call no-free-lunch. We show that our mechanisms have several additional desirable qualities. The simplicity of our mechanisms imparts them with an additional practical appeal.

Advisor: Wainwright, Martin J
Ramchandran, Kannan
SUBSTRATE DEPENDENT ACTIVATION OF CAS9 ENDONUCLEASE

The RNA-guided CRISPR-Cas9 nuclease from Streptococcus pyogenes (SpCas9) has been widely repurposed for genome editing. DNA cleavage of Cas9 is controlled by the conformational state of the HNH nuclease domain, but the mechanism that governs HNH activation at on-target DNA while reducing cleavage activity at off-target sites remains poorly understood. Using single-molecule FRET, we identified an intermediate state of S. pyogenes Cas9, representing a conformational checkpoint between DNA binding and cleavage. Upon DNA binding, the HNH domain transitions between multiple conformations before docking into its active state. HNH docking requires divalent cations, but not strand scission, and this docked conformation persists following DNA cleavage./nSequence mismatches between the DNA target and guide RNA prevent transitions from the checkpoint intermediate to the active conformation, providing selective avoidance of DNA cleavage at stably bound off-target sites. Previously, by alanine substitutions of the non-specific DNA contacts, several Cas9 mutants have been designed to decrease the off-target activity of Cas9 while retaining the on-target activity. High-fidelity (SpCas9-HF1) and enhanced specificity (eSpCas9(1.1)) variants exhibit substantially reduced off-target cleavage in human cells, but the mechanism of target discrimination and the potential to further improve fidelity were unknown. Using single molecule FRET experiments, we show that both SpCas9-HF1 and eSpCas9(1.1) are trapped in the checkpoint state when bound to mismatched targets. We find that a non-catalytic domain within Cas9, REC3, recognizes target mismatches and governs the HNH nuclease to regulate overall catalytic competence. Exploiting this observation, we identified REC3 residues involved in mismatch sensing and designed a new hyper-accurate Cas9 variant (HypaCas9) that retains robust on-target activity. These results offer a more comprehensive model to rationalize and modify the balance between target recognition and nuclease activation for precision genome editing.

Advisor: Yildiz, Ahmet
Semiparametric and Nonparametric Methods for Network Data

This dissertation studies two frameworks for incorporating network data into economic modeling./nIn the first chapter I consider the latent space framework of Holland and Leinhardt (1981) in which the existence of a link between two agents depends on their position in a latent space. I use this framework to estimate the parameters of a linear model in which the regressors and errors covary with the agents latent positions. Neither the endogenous relationship between the regressors and errors nor the distribution of network links are restricted parametrically. Instead, the model is identified by variation in the regressors unexplained by the agents latent positions. I first demonstrate that agents with similar columns of the squared adjacency matrix, the ijth entry of which contains the number of other agents linked to both agents i and j, necessarily have a similar distribution of network links. I then propose a semi parametric estimator based on matching pairs of agents with similar columns of the squared adjacency matrix. I find sufficient conditions for the estimator to be consistent and asymptotically normal, and provide a consistent estimator for its asymptotic variance./nIn the second chapter I consider the rooted network framework of Aldous and Steele (2004). I use this framework to specify a nonparametric regression of a scalar outcome on a sparse network. The main assumption is that the outcome depends predominately on the configuration of agents and links nearby a distinguished agent. I first establish notion of distance between such configurations and then use it to construct a nearest-neighbor estimator of the regression function./nIn the third chapter I revisit the latent space setting of the first chapter. I first specify a semi parametric model of link formation in which the existence of a link between a pair of agents depend on their positions in some latent space, an idiosyncratic error, and some linear combination of observed link covariates. I then proposes an estimator for the infinite- dimensional component of the model using a variation on the matching strategy outlined in the first chapter ands characterize the rate of convergence of the estimator using large- deviation arguments.

Advisor: Powell, James
Graham, Bryan
Else Lasker-Schüler's Collaborative Avant Garde: Text & Image in Berlin c.1910

Between 1910-1914, the German poet Else Lasker-Schüler formed her infamous alter ego, Prinz Jussuf von Theben, in her frequent publications in the expressionist periodicals Der Sturm and Die Aktion. The publishing opportunities in these periodicals allowed Lasker-Schüler the space to explore genre conventions and to begin including her own graphic art. Central to Lasker-Schüler’s creation of Prinz Jussuf and her increasing incorporation of visual art, were her unsuccessful and successful collaborations with Oskar Kokoschka and Franz Marc. The texts published in the two periodicals ranged from short theater, book, and art gallery reviews to her poetry and two epistolary novels. In Der Sturm, Lasker-Schüler serially published Briefe nach Norwegen, a series of letters written to her husband and Der Sturm editor Herwarth Walden on his two-week trip to Scandinavia. The letters were published over nine months and chronicle life in bohemian circles in Berlin, merging Lasker-Schüler’s emerging fantasy world into her artistic practice. Later published as Mein Herz, the letters have previously only been analyzed within the context of this later novelization and never within their original context of a weekly periodical. By analyzing the texts within their original context, check by jowl with other texts, illustrations, and advertisements, Lasker-Schüler’s idiosyncratic engagement with contemporary life in Berlin is brought into high relief. Lasker-Schüler’s second epistolary novel was published in Der Sturm’s competitor, Die Aktion, after Lasker-Schüler’s divorce from Walden. Briefe und Bilder was addressed to Franz and Maria Marc, and corresponds to a rich private correspondence between Lasker-Schüler and the Marcs. In Briefe und Bilder, Lasker-Schüler incorporates her emerging Kingdom of Thebes, and regularly references her simultaneous private correspondence with Marc, confusing and blending the boundaries between public and private, as well as the real and the fantastic. Later published after Franz Marc’s 1916 death at Verdun in an expanded form as Der Malik, Lasker-Schüler’s text in its Briefe und Bilder form has been ignored in existing scholarship. Utilizing biography and historiography to responsibly read these texts, this dissertation approaches Lasker-Schüler’s frequent publications in weekly periodicals to understand how her identity as Prinz Jussuf von Theben was formed in the public sphere and how her multimedia practice emerged.

Advisor: Tennant, Elaine C
Nanophotonic Devices Based on Indium Phosphide Nanopillars Grown Directly on Silicon

III-V optoelectronic device integration in a CMOS post-process compatible manner is important for the intimate integration of silicon-based electronic and photonic integrated circuits. The low temperature, self-catalyzed growth of high crystalline quality Wurtzite-phase InP nanopillars directly on silicon presents a viable approach to integrate high performance nano-optoelectronic devices./nFor the optical transmitter side of the photonic link, InGaAs quantum wells have been grown in a core-shell manner within InP nanopillars. Position-controlled growth with varying pitch is used to systematically control emission wavelength across the same growth substrate. These nanopillars have been fabricated into electrically-injected quantum well in nanopillar LEDs operating within the silicon transparent 1400-1550 nm spectral window and efficiently emitting micro-watts of power. A high quality factor (Q ~ 1000) undercut cavity quantum well nanolaser is demonstrated, operating in the silicon-transparent wavelength range up to room temperature under optical excitation./nWe also demonstrate an InP nanopillar phototransistor as a sensitive, low-capacitance photoreceiver for the energy-efficient operation of a complete optical link. Efficient absorption in a compact single nanopillar InP photo-BJT leads to a simultaneously high responsivity of 9.5 A/W and high 3dB-bandwidth of 7 GHz./nFor photovoltaic energy harvesting, a sparsely packed InP nanopillar array can absorb ~90% of the incident light because of the large absorption cross section of these near-wavelength nanopillars. Experimental data based on wavelength and angle resolved integrating sphere measurements will be presented to discuss the nearly omnidirectional absorption properties of these nanopillar arrays.

Advisor: Chang-Hasnain, Connie
Optical Design: from Extreme Ultraviolet Lithography to Thermo-Photovoltaics

As optics and photonics technologies advance, more energy efficient use of light will be necessary. This dissertation presents methods developed to enhance the efficiency of three different optical systems: extreme ultraviolet lithography, a hybrid solar photovoltaic/thermal collection system, and thermo-photovoltaics./nExtreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography is the leading contender to become the next industrial scale lithography technology in the semiconductor industry. Traditionally, aberration correction in extreme ultraviolet projection optics requires the use of multiple lossy mirrors, which results in prohibitively high source power requirements. This dissertation analyzes a single spherical mirror projection optical system where aberration correction is built into the mask itself through an adjoint-based optimization algorithm. This greatly reduces the power requirements for the source./nHybrid solar photovoltaic/thermal systems offer a way to convert sunlight into electricity and heat that efficiently uses different parts of the solar spectrum. Highly efficient hybrid solar photovoltaic/thermal systems are enabled by recent advances in photovoltaic technology. Record breaking photovoltaic cells have highly reflective rear mirrors to maximize luminescence efficiency. This reflectivity can also be used to create reflective optics to concentrate the reflected radiation onto a thermal absorber. This dissertation reports on a hybrid solar photovoltaic/thermal system with a thermal efficiency of 37% at a maximum absorber temperature of 365°C, and a direct solar to electric efficiency of 8%./nThermo-photovoltaics offers a method to use photovoltaic cells to efficiently convert heat to electricity. In a thermo-photovoltaic system, light is collected by photovoltaic cells from a local black body source. This dissertation reports on a thermo-photovoltaic device that recycles unused radiation from the photovoltaics with a highly reflective rear mirror. Theoretical efficiencies using this strategy are in excess of 50%. For an emitter temperature of 1207°C, this dissertation reports an experimental power conversion efficiency of 28.1%.

Advisor: Yablonovitch, Eli
High Performance FM Gyroscopes

MEMS gyroscopes are used in a wide range of applications such as gaming and image stabilization. However, the poor long-term stability of consumer MEMS gyroscopes precludes their use in demanding applications such as inertial navigation. Although devices with higher performance are available, they suffer from substantially higher power dissipation, size, and cost. For wider adoption it is imperative to find solutions that reduce drift without compromising the advantages of MEMS gyroscopes./nThis thesis focuses on scale factor and bias stability. The scale factor of any sensor is set by a reference. Unfortunately, conventional amplitude modulated (AM) MEMS gyroscopes measure rate indirectly via the Coriolis force. In these solutions, the scale factor is set by many parameters including mass, spring constant, gaps, and, depending on the implementation, even absolute voltage. Achieving an accurate scale factor requires controlling all of these parameters, a most challenging task. The proposed solution measures rate—degrees per second, i.e. a frequency—directly . The scale factor is set explicitly by an external clock. Since very accurate clock sources are available, scale factor accuracy at the ppm level is readily achievable./nThe second issue, bias stability, is addressed with a readout mechanism that implicitly modulates input rate, hence shifting its spectrum away from low-frequency drift sources such as temperature variations. The same approach is used in conventional precision gyroscopes under the name “may tagging”. Those solutions mount the gyroscope on a spinning platform that periodically rotates the transducer, thereby inverting its sensitivity. The proposed solution achieves the same without moving the transducer and hence is compatible with low cost planar MEMS implementations.

Advisor: Boser, Bernhard E
American Music in the Culture of Self-Actualization: Performance and Composition in the Long 1970s

This study explores how US concert musicians of the sixties, seventies, and eighties came to imagine the act of composing, performing, and listening as a transformative practice of “self-actualization.” I borrow this latter term from the influential humanistic psychologist Abraham Maslow, whose contemporary writings helped popularize the notion that one’s true self was to be “actualized” not through the so-called “rational” processes of the ego-mind but in the throes of “intuitive” psychosomatic activity. Musicologists often treat the era as one of aesthetic fracture, but I show how composers as musically diverse as Pauline Oliveros, George Rochberg, and John Adams, along with a host of their performer-collaborators, all helped to foster an emergent culture of musical self-actualization that continues to shape performance culture and musicological inquiry today./nThe history of US art music within the culture of self-actualization sheds new light on contemporary debates over the self and human nature—debates that still inform American studies and US culture more broadly. In a 1976 essay, the outspoken conservative journalist Tom Wolfe derided advocates of self-actualization as hopelessly (and irresponsibly) narcissistic—and famously christened the 1970s the “Me Decade.” Today even more measured scholarly accounts still tend to characterize the era as one of individualistic retreat from political engagement and social reform. My study challenges this view. Through their works and performances, I argue, musicians who adopted new “self-actualizing” performance practices and compositional styles became very public advocates for the new model of the self that their music was designed to express. Challenged to respond to these new modes of musical expression, critics began to think and write not just about the music they heard, but about the very nature of the self and the human body. The debates they stoked, our contemporary historiography suggests, have yet to abate.

Advisor: Smart, Mary Ann