VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Opportunities of Contact: Derrida and Deleuze/Guattari on Translation

This work engages with three contemporary thinkers who offer directions for a philosophy of translation. The initial thesis is that translation is a privileged mode of examining difference in language, because it indicates both the necessity to bring what is irreducibly other or foreign into terms of familiarity, and the extreme difficulties, perhaps the impossibility, of such an enterprise. I examine the particular responses to this translation dilemma given by Jacques Derrida and Gilles Deleuze/Félix Guattari, ultimately arguing that although Derrida gives crucial insights into the problem itself, a future theory of translation would need to go beyond Derrida’s approach and adopt the radically pragmatic approach to language articulated by Deleuze and Guattari. Throughout, I examine this problem in terms of the distinction between Derrida as a philosopher of transcendence and Deleuze and Guattari as philosophers of immanence. Derrida’s work insists on the impossibility of representing the other in language, and his simultaneous necessity and impossibility of translation is valuable insofar as it offers resistances to the presumptions of translation as standing in for the other. I argue, however, that Derrida’s insistence on impossibility as marked in the performativity of language itself is ultimately unable to give us a satisfying account of the relation between language and the world, which leaves us with no direction for how we might engage with concrete problems in actual translation situations in a productive way. The central problem with Derrida’s view is his insistence on the model of inter-lingual translation as figuring the paradox of difference in language. The approach of Deleuze and Guattari reverses this order and re-conceives of translation in a pragmatic context, where inter-semiotic translations are uniquely able to release the creative power of language. Through their articulation of the expressivity of matter, Deleuze and Guattari place language in a wider context in which it is intricately engaged in a world. I place translation in this wider context in order to demonstrate how Deleuze and Guattari’s thinking about language allows us to re-conceive of translation practices as opportunities for transformations of both language and world.

Keywords: translation
Advisor: Comay, Rebecca
Gibbs, Robert B.
The Book of Ezekiel: Patterned after a Mesopotamian City Lament?

This dissertation is a comparison of the book of Ezekiel wit the well-known city lament genre of ancient Mesopotamia. Nine shared features are analyzed and explained. These features derive from the work of Dobbs-Allsopp and his comparison of biblical Lamentations with city laments of Mesopotamia. This material provides a fruitful point of comparison; one that is more than coincidental given Ezekiel's geographical location in Nippur (the provenience of one of the five historical city laments). Compelling comparative evidence reveals that the lament genre is reflected in the book of Ezekiel and was used for its compilation. Ezekie's usage of the city lament genre is, perhaps, the key to understanding the organizational structure of much of the book along with many of its various themes.

Advisor: Taylor, J. Glen
Power of Non-uniformity in Proof Complexity

As the title indicates, this thesis is concerned with the strength of non-uniformity in proof complexity. The non-uniform part is there because we look at quantified propositional proof systems. With these proof systems we are interested in the minimum size of proofs that prove a family of tautologies. Like circuits, these proofs are not necessarily easy to construct. We measure the strength of a proof system by characterizing which families of tautologies have polynomial-size proofs in the proof system. The proof systems we examine were first introduced by Krajícek and Pudlák [23], but have only received limited attention since then. These systems are called Gi and [special characters omitted]. Gi is the propositional version of Gentzen's LK with cut formulas restricted to formulas with i − 1 quantifier alternations, and [special characters omitted] is the treelike version of Gi. We look at the strength of these proof systems in three ways. The first is to compare them with bounded arithmetic. We find the weakest theory that can prove that a given proof system is sound. The second method is to compare proof systems with respect to computational complexity. We determine the complexity of finding a witness for the outermost existential quantifiers of a formula given a proof of that formula. The final method is to compare the proof systems to each other. This is done using the notion of p-simulations. An important tool in all of this work is an adaptation of the Herbrand theorem for the propositional setting. Most proof-theoretic proofs of the Herbrand theorem require cut-elimination which causes the size of the proof to increase exponentially. We adapt the statement of the theorem and the proof to avoid this increase. We finish by defining new proof systems that meet given requirements. The goal is to determine where proof systems get their strength. In all cases, it comes down to the eigenvariables. The strength of a proof system that allows quantifiers in the cut formulas is determined by the difficulty of witnessing the eigenvariables.

Keywords: proof complexity
computational complexity
Advisor: Cook, Stephen A.
A Game Theoretical Approach to Constrained OSNR Optimization Problems in Optical Networks

Optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR) is considered as the dominant performance parameter at the physical layer in optical networks. This thesis is interested in control and optimization of channel OSNR by using optimization and game-theoretic approaches, incorporating two physical constraints: the link capacity constraint and the channel OSNR target. To start, we study OSNR optimization problems with link capacity constraints in single point-to-point fiber links via two approaches. We first present a framework of a Nash game between channels towards optimizing individual channel OSNR. The link capacity constraint is imposed as a penalty term to each cost function. The selfish behavior in a Nash game degrades the system performance and leads to the inefficiency of Nash equilibria. From the system point of view, we formulate a system optimization problem with the objectives of achieving an OSNR target for each channel while satisfying the link capacity constraint. As an alternative to study the efficiency of Nash equilibria, we use the system framework to investigate the effects of parameters in cost functions in the game-theoretic framework. Then extensions to multi-link and mesh topologies are carried out. We propose a partition approach by using the flexibility of channel power adjustment at optical switches. The multi-link structure is partitioned into stages with each stage being a single sink. By fully using the flexibility, a more natural partition approach is applied to mesh topologies where each stage is a single link. The closed loop in mesh topologies can be unfolded by selecting a starting link. Thus instead of maximization of channel OSNR from end to end, we consider minimization of channel OSNR degradation between stages. We formulate a partitioned Nash game which is composed of ladder-nested stage Nash games. Distributed algorithms towards the computation of a Nash equilibrium solution are developed for all different game frameworks. Simulations and experimental implementations provide results to validate the applicability of theoretical results.

Keywords: Game theory
Constrained optimization
Optical Networks
Advisor: Pavel, Lacra
Theory of Ultrafast Electron Diffraction

Ultrafast electron diffraction (UED) is a method of directly imaging system dynamics at the atomic scale with picosecond time resolution. In this thesis I present theoretical analyses of the experimental processes, and construct models in order to better understand UED experiments and to guide future refinements. In particular, I derive a model of electron bunch propagation and a model of electron bunch diffraction, where both models take into account all bunch parameters. To analyse the propagation of electron bunches, I present a mean-field analytic Gaussian (AG) model. I derive a system of ordinary differential equations that are solved quickly and easily to give the bunch dynamics. The AG model is compared to N -body numerical simulations of initially Gaussian bunches, and I demonstrate excellent agreement between the two result sets. I also present a comparison of the AG model with numerical simulations of quasi-Gaussian and non-Gaussian distributions, extending the applicability of the AG model to the propagation of ``real-world'' bunches. During propagation, electron bunches can be shaped by electron-optic devices, which are necessary to attain high brightness, sub-100 fs bunches. I investigate two types of electron-optic devices: one is a magnetic lens used for collimating or focusing bunches, the other is a bunch compressor. I derive bunch parameter transformations for each of the electron-optic devices, and present numerical calculations using these transformations along with the AG model showing the effects of the devices on the evolution of the bunch parameters. To analyse electron bunch diffraction in UED experiments, I present a general scattering formalism. Using single-scattering and far-field approximations, I derive an expression for the diffracted signal that depends on the electron bunch properties just before scattering. Using this expression I identify the transverse and longitudinal coherence lengths and discuss the importance of these length scales in diffraction pattern formation. I also discuss the effects of different bunch parameters on the measured diffracted flux, and present sample numerical calculations for scattering by nanosize particles based on this model. This simulation demonstrates the cumulative effects of the bunch parameters, and shows the complex interplay of the bunch and target properties on the diffracted signal.

Keywords: Ultrafast physics
electron diffraction
electron propagation
Advisor: Sipe, John E.
Contrast and Similarity in Consonant Harmony Processes

This thesis deals with the nature and definition of phonological similarity and shows that, when similarity plays a role in the motivation of phonological processes, it is evaluated over abstract, phonological features and not purely phonetic properties. Empirical evidence for this position is drawn from the domain of consonant harmony. Typological studies of consonant harmony (Hansson 2001, Rose and Walker 2004) have argued that segments which interact in consonant harmony processes must be highly similar to one another. This thesis provides analyses of a range of consonant harmony processes and demonstrates that, in each case, the notion of similarity needed in order to determine participating segments is evaluated over contrastive feature specifications. Contrastive specifications are established according to language-specific feature hierarchies (Jackobson and Halle 1956, Dresher 2003, forthcoming) with some features taking scope over others. Languages analyzed in some detail include Bumo Izon, Kalabari Ijo, Hausa, Dholuo, Anywa, Tzutujil and Aymara. Two definitions of similarity are proposed in order to account for two sets of cases. In one set of consonant harmony processes, interacting segments are similar in the sense that they constitute the natural class of segments contrastively specified in the harmonic feature. In another set of cases, participating segments must be similar according to the following definition; they must differ in only a single marked and contrastive feature specification.

Keywords: phonology
similarity
contrast
consonant harmony
Advisor: Dresher, B. Elan
The Ghost of Liaozhai: Pu Songling's Ghostlore and Its History of Reception

This dissertation looks beyond the prevailing view of Pu Songling’s (1640-1715) Liaozhai zhiyi as an undisputed classic of Chinese literature, positing that much of the work’s cultural relevance and popular appeal derives from its status as “minor discourse” rooted in the tradition of the ghost tale. The first half of the dissertation examines the ghosts depicted within Liaozhai, reconnecting their tamed and feminized images with their dark and anarchic origins. The second half studies the reception of Liaozhai, chronicling the book’s cultural ascension from xiaoshuo, in the original sense of a minor form of discourse fraught with generic and ideological tensions, to a major work of fiction (xiaoshuo in its modern sense). However, the book’s canonical status remains unsettled, haunted by its heterogeneous literary and cultural roots. The Introduction reviews current scholarship on Liaozhai, justifying the need to further investigate the relationship between popular perceptions of Liaozhai and the Chinese notion of ghosts. Chapter One delineates Pu Songling’s position in late imperial ghost discourse and examines how the ghost tale reflects his ambivalence toward being a Confucian literatus. Chapter Two reads Pu Songling’s “The Painted Skin” in conjunction with its literary antecedents, demonstrating that Pu’s uses of both zhiguai and chuanqi modes are essential for the exploration of the ghost’s critical and creative potential. Chapter Three takes up the issues of genre, canon and ideology in the “remaking” of the book by Qing dynasty critics, publishers and commentators, a process in which Liaozhai gains prestige but Liaozhai ghosts become aestheticized into objects of connoisseurship. Chapter Four looks at the ruptures in modern ghost discourse that paradoxically create new vantage points from which Liaozhai regains its “minor” status, most notably in Hong Kong ghost films. The Conclusion revisits “The Painted Skin,” a Liaozhai story that exemplifies the complex cultural ramifications of the ghost. The dissertation combines a study of Liaozhai’s textual formation and its subsequent history of reception with a dialogic inquiry into the ghost, which occupies a highly contested field of cultural discourse, functioning variously as a psychological projection, a token of belief, a literary motif and an aesthetic construction.

Keywords: Chinese literature
Ghost tale
Advisor: Sanders, Graham
The Impact of Depression on Outcomes Following Acute Myocardial Infarction

This thesis uses observational study design methods to explore the relationship between depression and various outcomes following acute myocardial infarction (AMI). There are three main studies. First, the relationship between depression and mortality following AMI was measured. The main finding was that the factor determining the increased mortality rate in depressed patients is reduced cardiac functional status. The main implication was that efforts to address increased mortality in depressed patients with cardiovascular illnesses should focus on processes that impact cardiac functional status. Second, the impact of depression on service consumption following AMI was examined. Depressive symptoms were associated with a 24% (Adjusted RR:1.24; 95% CI:1.19-1.30, P<0.001), 9% (Adjusted RR:1.09; 95% CI:1.02-1.16, P=0.007) and 43% (Adjusted RR: 1.43; 95% CI:1.34-1.52, P<0.001) increase in total, cardiac, and non-cardiac hospitalization days post-AMI respectively, after adjusting for baseline patient and hospital characteristics. Depressive-associated increases in cardiac health service consumption were significantly more pronounced among patients of lower than higher cardiac risk severity. The disproportionately higher cardiac health service consumption among lower-risk AMI depressive patients may suggest that health seeking behaviors are mediated by psychosocial factors more so than by objective measures of cardiovascular risk or necessity. Third, methodological issues related to missing data were explored. A systematic review of three psychiatric journals revealed that a small minority of studies (5.8%) addressed the impact of missing data in a meaningful way. An example using real data demonstrated the potential bias introduced by missing data and different ways to address this bias. The paper concludes with recommendations for both reporting and analyzing studies with substantial amounts of missing data. Overall, the studies add to the literature exploring the relationship between depression and outcomes following acute myocardial infarction. Future studies measuring the relationship between depression and mortality will need to factor the mediating relationship between depression and cardiac functional status. The increased health service utilization associated with depression will need to be replicated in other illness models. Together, the studies add to the existing conceptual framework for measuring relationships between depression and outcomes in patients with cardiovascular illnesses.

Keywords: Health Service Utilization
Advisor: Goering, Paula N.
Controlling Semiconductor Optical Amplifiers for Robust Integrated Photonic Signal Processing

How can we evaluate and design integrated photonic circuit performance systematically? Can active photonic circuits be controlled for optimized performance? This work uses control theory to analyze, design, and optimize photonic integrated circuits based on versatile semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOAs). Control theory provides a mathematically robust set of tools for system analysis, design, and control. Although control theory is a rich and well-developed field, its application to the analysis and design of photonic circuits is not widespread. Following control theoretic methods already used for fibreline systems we derive three interrelated state-space models: a core photonic model, a photonic model with gain compression, and a equivalent circuit optoelectronic model. We validate each model and calibrate the gain compression model by pump/probe experiments. We then linearize the state-space models to design and analyze SOA controllers. We apply each linearized model to proof-of-concept SOA control applications such as suppressing interchannel crosstalk and regulating output power. We demonstrate the power of linearized state-space models in controller design and stability analysis. To illustrate the importance of using the complete equivalent circuit model in controller design, we demonstrate an intuitive bias-current controller that fails due to the dynamics of the intervening parasitic circuitry of the SOA. We use the linearized state-space models to map a relationship between feedback delay and controller strength for stable operation, and demonstrate that SOAs pose unusual control difficulties due to their ultrafast dynamics. Finally, we leverage the linearized models to design a novel and successful hybrid controller that uses one SOA to control another via feedback (for reliability) and feedforward (for speed) control. The feedback controller takes full advantage of the equivalent circuit modelling by sampling the voltage of the controlled SOA and using the error to drive the bias current of the controller SOA. Filtering in the feedback path is specified by transfer function analysis. The feedforward design uses a novel application of the linearized models to set the controller bias points correctly. The modelling and design framework we develop is entirely general and opens the way to the robust optoelectronic control of integrated photonic circuits.

Keywords: semiconductor optical amplifiers
optical control
state-space methods
feedback control
feedforward control
integrated photonics
optical crosstalk
equivalent circuits
Advisor: Aitchison, J. Stewart
Pavel, Lacra
Legal Rules and Reasoning: On the Nature of Legal Validity

Abstract: In this dissertation, I propose a solution to Ronald Dworkin’s challenge from hard cases. Hard cases are cases in which the judges agree on the facts of the case and on what the posited law requires, but they disagree on what the law on the matter is. It is commonly thought that hard cases are decided on moral grounds, and that this problem raises the problem of explaining how the law can include unposited moral considerations. Dworkin argues that this problem generalizes, and that a theory of law must explain how all attempts to determine what the law is must make appeal to moral considerations. I argue that existing attempts to solve this problem fail. On the one hand, Dworkin argues that every attempt to determine what the law is must include an appeal to all moral considerations. This overstates the role of morality in law. Legal positivists, on the other hand, hold that moral considerations can be legally binding only when they are anticipated by the posited law. This understates the role of morality in law. By making the validity of moral considerations depend on the posited rules, inclusive positivists remain vulnerable to the possibility that a new hard case will arise that is not anticipated by the posited rules, but that the law can resolve nonetheless. And by excluding all moral considerations from law, exclusive positivists fail to explain law as we know it. Instead, I propose an alternative positivist solution to Dworkin’s challenge. First, legal positivists need not accept Dworkin’s understanding of source-based considerations as excluding all appeals to morality in their applications By econfiguring this problematic distinction, positivists can explain who the law can require frequent appeal to morality in the application of its rules. Secondly, I argue, the problem of hard cases is best understood as in instance of the prior problem of distinguishing legal rules from all other rules to which people are subject. And, I hold that Hart’s solution to this prior problem solves this problem as well. I thus conclude that the problem of hard cases poses no special threat to legal positivism.

Keywords: Philosophy of Law
Hart, H. L. A.
Dworkin, Ronald
Jurisprudence
Legal Philosophy
Advisor: Ripstein, Arthur
Matrix Factorizations of the Classical Discriminant

The classical discriminant D_n of degree n polynomials detects whether a given univariate polynomial f has a repeated root. It is itself a polynomial in the coefficients of f which, according to several classical results by Bézout, Sylvester, Cayley, and others, may be expressed as the determinant of a matrix whose entries are much simpler polynomials in the coefficients of f. This thesis is concerned with the construction and classification of such determinantal formulae for D_n. In particular, all of the formulae for D_n appearing in the classical literature are equivalent in the sense that the cokernels of their associated matrices are isomorphic as modules over the associated polynomial ring. This begs the question of whether there exist formulae which are not equivalent to the classical formulae and not trivial in the sense of having the same cokernel as the 1 x 1 matrix (D_n). The results of this thesis lie in two directions. First, we construct an explicit non-classical formula: the presentation matrix of the open swallowtail first studied by Arnol'd and Givental. We study the properties of this formula, contrasting them with the properties of the classical formulae. Second, for the discriminant of the polynomial x^4+a_2x^2+a_3x+a_4 we embark on a classification of determinantal formulae which are homogeneous in the sense that the cokernels of their associated matrices are graded modules with respect to the grading deg a_i=i. To this end, we use deformation theory: a moduli space of such modules arises from the base spaces of versal deformations of certain modules over the E_6 singularity {x^4-y^3}. The method developed here can in principle be used to classify determinantal formulae for all discriminants, and, indeed, for all singularities.

Keywords: commutative algebra
algebraic geometry
discriminants
singularities
matrix factorizations
homological algebra
Advisor: Ragnar-Olaf, Buchweitz