VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
On the choice of transform for robust watermarking in the presence of lossy compression

Digital watermarking technology is an approach for the protection of digital information against illegal duplication and manipulation. In this thesis, we concentrate on the problem of robust watermarking in the presence of lossy compression. We investigate how the embedding of the watermark signal in a suitable transform domain can improve performance. Two typical classes of watermarking techniques are considered: one is the spread spectrum watermarking method, the other is the quantization based watermarking method. Based on a communication paradigm for watermarking, we present an information-theoretic approach to estimate the number of watermark bits that can be reliably hidden. The best domain for watermarking is determined to maximize the watermark channel capacity. Based on the advantages and disadvantages of both watermarking methods, a novel hybrid watermarking technique is proposed which combines the best of both spread spectrum and quantization based methods.
The effect of dissolving salts or gases in water sprayed on a hot surface

A study on the effect of dissolved salts and gas on droplet boiling and spray cooling was conducted. The effect of dissolved salts and gas on droplet boiling was observed on a hot stainless steel surface at temperatures ranging from 100°C to 300°C. Dissolving small amount of salts in water does not change the properties of water significantly; it may, however, have a great effect on droplet boiling. Dissolved salts reduced heat transfer in the evaporation regime since they lower the vapour pressure of water, while dissolved CO2 enhanced the evaporation rate slightly. In the nucleate boiling regime, dissolved salts (Na2CO3, Na2SO 4, MgSO4) prevented bubble coalescence in the liquid and promoted foaming, reducing droplet evaporation time significantly. Heat transfer was enhanced by increasing salt concentration until it reached the "transition concentration". Above this limit, dissolved salts started to reduce droplet evaporation rate since they lower the vapor pressure of water. Dissolved NaHCO3 reduced droplet lifetimes even more than Na2CO 3, because it decomposed when heated to produce CO2, further augmenting bubble formation. It was also found that when a droplet impinged on a surface above the Leidenfrost temperature, dissolved CO2 suppressed heterogeneous nucleation because CO2 escaped from below the drop and prevented it touching substrate. Experiments on spray cooling of a hot surface were performed with water sprays containing dissolved salts (NaCl, Na2SO4, MgSO 4). Dissolving salts in water significantly enhanced heat transfer in the transition and nucleate boiling regimes during spray cooling. The increase in heat transfer was observed at all mass fluxes and impact velocities as well as concentrations in the range of experiments conducted. The critical heat flux was found to increase with increasing molar concentration of dissolved salts in water until the concentration reached the "transition concentration". Dissolving salts in water over the transition concentrations reduced spray cooling due to the reduction of vapor pressure. Precipitated salt particles on the hot surface increased surface roughness, improving heat transfer in transition boiling. Furthermore, dissolved salts increased the Leidenfrost temperature in spray cooling by preventing bubble coalescence and producing particles which increase surface roughness.
Poverty and the pox, venereal disease in London hospitals, 1600-1800

This dissertation examines the treatment of venereal disease in London hospitals in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. It argues that gender and class played an important role in determining the scope of medical options available to venereal patients, as well as patients' own experiences of medical care. My research engages two main assumptions about early modern institutional venereology. First, it has been thought that London hospitals refused venereal patients on moral grounds until the establishment of the Lock Hospital in 1747. Data from St. Bartholomew's and St. Thomas's Hospitals shows that venereal patients found care at these institutions from as early as the mid-sixteenth century. Moreover, the scope of venereology at these hospitals was great; between twenty and thirty percent of all Bart's patients were in the venereal wards through much of the seventeenth century. Secondly, studies have assumed that moral reformation was the primary impetus behind institutionalized VD care. Moral reformation did become important at the very end of our period, and became quite prevalent in Victorian VD hospitals. However, for the majority of two centuries London hospitals did not strive to reform paupers with VD. This revision shows that venereal patients were legitimate objects of charity from a very early date, and that the Lock Hospital emerged not as a result of Enlightenment, but as a result of demography as London's population bulged as a result of migration. In order to demonstrate the role of gender and class I compare the scope of care available for patients who could afford private treatment. An important public-private gap differentiated the medical experiences of rich and poor. The stigmatized nature of this disease made medical privacy all-important. This study shows that medical confidentiality emerged in this period as a direct result of VD. However, that luxury was not available to paupers who had to utilize hospitals. Wealthy women could also afford to hire female practitioners, while poor women always faced hospital care that was controlled by male administrators and delivered by male doctors. Because of the sexual nature of the pox, gender infused the medical exchange and colored the experiences of venereal patients at every step.
Conceptual models for knowledge management, an empirical study using Knowledge Forum

Advances in telecommunications and computer software and hardware have led to an ever-increasing amount of information, and a corresponding need for knowledge management tools. Knowledge Forum is software designed to support creative work with ideas, and a goal of its workplace applications is to maximize affordances for knowledge management while supporting knowledge building and innovation. Recently, conceptual models have been proposed as supports for knowledge management. Specifically, models can be used as tools for organizing, representing and communicating information. The present study sought to empirically evaluate the potential benefits of using conceptual models as tools for knowledge building in a work environment supported by Knowledge Forum. A qualitative case study was conducted using six participants. Conceptual modeling was used first as a tool for each individual to express his/her understanding of the project and second as a collaborative representation of the groups understanding.
Systematics and ecology of the Polychaeta (Annelida) of a seagrass bed in Bermuda

A review of the literature showed 267 species of polychaetes have been found in Bermuda. In this study, 4618 individuals from 91 species of polychaetes were collected from four sites, sampled in spring and fall. Three new species were described. Confusion found in the literature about some species assigned to 'Branchiosyllis' (Syllinae) required redescription of this genus, and a new genus--'Ungulosyllis' (Syllidae:Polychaeta)--is proposed. Phylogenetic analysis of all Syllinae genera did not resolve ' Ungulosyllis' as the immediate sister to the confusing genera. Statistical analysis of polychaete species and abundance in spring and fall, and across the seabed showed notable differences. The species found, their life histories, and their feeding strategies, suggest that these seagrass beds are different (less stable) than seagrass beds of other subtropical locations. It is suggested that polychaetes may be used as an indicator of the status of the entire macrobenthic community.
Distributed Bragg grating sensing, strain transfer mechanics and experiments

The optical fiber sensor is a tool by which a measurement of a thermo-mechanical field inside a mechanical host can be made. It is possible to interrogate the optical fiber sensor with light. The parameters of the in-fiber sensor determine the response of the sensor to lightwave interrogation. Having the sensor response, a reconstruction of the in-fiber structure can be attempted. Successful reconstruction of the in-fiber structure allows an inference of the behaviour of the mechanical substrate. The substrate behaviour is ultimately the information of interest. Extraction of such a measurement may be seen as two sub-problems. The first problem addresses the ability of the mechanical system to transfer surrounding material information into the optical fiber sensor. It is not the field values inside the optical fiber sensor that are particularly interesting, instead, it is the degree to which the in-fiber field values accurately represent the field values of the surrounding material. It is important to examine the mechanical system's ability to transfer strain from surrounding material to optical fiber sensor. Certainly, if strain information is not transferred into the optical fiber, even an ideal interrogation of the in-fiber sensor cannot report the full strain field of the mechanical host. The second issue concerns the sensor itself. The reflectivity characteristics of the loaded sensor must first be recovered experimentally, then interpreted in meaningful way. The experimental arrangement to recover the sensor response and interpretation of this data constitute the optical measurement problem. This thesis examines the two problems.
Queer identities, rupturing identity categories and negotiating meanings of queer

Queer is a contested term with numerous meanings. This thesis explores how queer is taken up as a personal identity and asks why some individuals are choosing to identify as queer over other existing sexuality identities such as gay, lesbian, heterosexual, and to a lesser extent bisexual. The meanings attributed to queer by queer-identified people go beyond simply naming the sex/es of their partner/s. When invoked by the participants of this study the term queer can mean/be: something you are; something you call yourself; something you do; a way to think (theory); and a way to act--sexually and politically. Throughout the five sections which make up this thesis I will describe some of the meanings ascribed to queer, and explore the ways in which queer is understood and represented by people who claim, or have claimed, queer as their sexuality identity category.
Rewriting queries over XML views

XML is widely used as the standard format of data representation and data exchange on the Web, and database research has recently focused on exploiting its experience in traditional databases to handle similar issues in the context of the new data format. This thesis deals with the problem of query composition in the context of XML-QL, which is one of the most popular XML query languages. More specifically, we study how a user query defined over one or more views can be rewritten, so that the rewritten query only refers to source data. This problem is extensively studied in the context of relational and object-oriented databases, but several issues are not yet examined in XML query languages. The thesis presents a simple rewriting algorithm which is based on a matching procedure between properties of the user query and properties of the view query. The purpose of this procedure is to derive the bindings of the user-query variables without materializing the view. The underlying data model is object-based and unordered. Special issues that we study include multiple view references, equality conditions between variables in the user query, and element grouping in the view.
An Adaptive Model Selection Procedure for All-subsets Regression

The problem of determining which variables to keep in a linear regression model is addressed. All possible subsets are considered and a new model selection procedure for determining the best subset is introduced. This procedure minimizes over all subsets, -2 times the log likelihood plus a penalty term which accounts for overfitting. The proposed penalty depends on the number of variables, the number of variables per subset as well as the covariance structure of the predictors. It is initially derived as an asymptotic estimate of the overfitting bias in all-subsets regression for the special case of null models. Several criteria are used to assess model selection performance including mean squared prediction error, model error, and distribution of model size. The penalty works best for null models and an additional estimation step is needed for non-null models. Simulations (large and small sample) show that our procedure is superior to some of the popular criteria used today for null models and enjoys distinct advantages for non-null data.
Aspects of entanglement

We present a theoretical study of entanglement in selected topics from quantum cryptography, Bose-Einstein condensation and the interpretation of quantum mechanics. First, we consider the two-party cryptographic task known as bit commitment. For specific types of bit commitment protocols, we determine the optimal cheating strategy for one of the parties, and identify the cases wherein the cheater must have the ability to generate entanglement. We proceed to determine the maximum degree of security that can be achieved against each party given various restrictions on the form of the protocol. In particular, we identify a family of protocols wherein there is a linear trade-off between the maximum probabilities of each party cheating successfully. Next, we consider the fragmentation of a Bose-Einstein condensate, wherein multiple single-particle wavefunctions acquire a macroscopic occupation number. We demonstrate that for atoms with weak repulsive inter-particle interactions trapped in a double-well potential, one can achieve various degrees of squeezing in the relative number of atoms between the wells by varying the height of the central barrier and allowing the system to relax to the ground state. This constitutes a technique for generating entanglement between a pair of localized atomic modes. Finally, we propose a modal interpretation of quantum mechanics based on a novel choice of preferred decomposition for a multi-partite entangled state: from among all decompositions containing only product states, it is the one for which the coefficients squared have the smallest Shannon entropy. This proposal is shown to compare favorably with those that make use of the bi-orthogonal decomposition, particularly in the extent to which it provides a solution to the quantum measurement problem.
Pyramid power, network marketing leaders' accounts of professional development and success

Millions of people from all walks of life in North America and in over 125 countries worldwide participate in a phenomenon called network marketing, or multi-level marketing. Yet very few researchers have examined the topic, perhaps because of the stigma attached to it. Media reports frequently feature "exposés" about people involved in network marketing, and often condemn the entire sector as a scam. But what are the differences between pyramid schemes and network marketing enterprises? How does the industry operate? What do people have to say about their involvement in the industry? For this qualitative inquiry I explored the industry through both an extensive review of prior research and published literature, and through the words and stories of network marketing leaders. Interviews with elite members of the field were conducted by and published in a leading trade magazine. I examined 33 of these interviews (with 40 individuals) to answer questions about how and why people become involved in this industry; the challenges they face in their work; how they overcome those challenges; and what they consider to be the keys to their success. A wide range of network marketing companies and personal backgrounds is represented in the inquiry. Critics denounce the industry on several grounds, including that it: is immoral or unethical; involves controlling recruits in a cult-like manner; encourages materialism and greed; is a pyramid scheme in disguise; does not provide an income for most members; is extremely difficult to succeed in; destroys friendships and other relationships; and that it commercializes friendships. In this thesis, I complicate these criticisms through an examination of both the views of industry proponents and the interviews with leading members of the field. Interspersed with these discussions, I use vignettes featuring a fictitious character whose adventures in network marketing offer an alternative way of describing the experiences of elite participants in the industry. Thus, several layers of experiential understandings, information, and critique about the topic are interwoven throughout the thesis.
Soot modeling of a turbulent non-premixed methane/air flame

Soot is an important air pollutant. Its formation must be modeled accurately to assist designers in development of low soot emission combustors. This study was concerned with the semi-empirical modeling of soot. The models considered inception, coagulation, agglomeration, and oxidation of the soot particles. Since inception is a key process in the development of soot it was studied in great detail. Two approaches to modeling inception were investigated: acetylene and phenyl. For a methane/air coflow diffusion flame at a pressure of one atmosphere both approaches showed good agreement with experimentally observed trends. Furthermore, the acetylene route under predicted the magnitude of the soot volume fraction while the phenyl route over predicted the magnitude of the soot volume fraction. However, it is believed that the phenyl model will perform better with more complex fuels such as kerosene and with improved laminar flamelet libraries that are optimized for C6 species.
In-line color monitoring of polymers during extrusion using a charge coupled device spectrometer

An inexpensive, fiber-optic equipped, charge coupled device spectrometer was used to monitor both color and residence time distributions in polyethylene melts during extrusion. A procedure involving quality control charts and spectral correction factors was developed and then used to examine the effect of screw RPM on color change-overs in a single screw extruder. A method of deriving residence time distributions from the in-line acquired reflectance spectra was derived. Dimensionless time (time/mean residence time) was shown to superimpose the residence time distribution data at the two screw speeds investigated, in accord with theory. It also superimposed L*a*b* time dependent data at the different screw speeds. Thus, the shape of these curves was unaffected by screw speed but was strongly affected by the color formulation used and the direction of the color change-over.
Smoking cessation using an interpersonal coping skills program

The present study investigated the effectiveness of Christensen and Pass' (1983 interpersonal coping skills model as a tool for facilitating smoking cessation and relapse prevention. It was hypothesized that the implementation of the seven skills from the interpersonal coping skills program (Social Interaction Program) would assist in the acquisition of the skills conducive to quit smoking and to deal more effectively with the high risk situations which lead individuals to relapse, post cessation. Seventy-five subjects (51 female and 24 male) who responded to a local advertisement for a smoking cessation study were randomly assigned to a Social Interaction Program group, The Lung Association Countdown Programme group, or to the No Treatment Control group. At the designated quit day, approximately 62% of the individuals in the Social Interaction Program group had quit smoking, while only 22% of those in the Lung Association Countdown Programme group and 10% of those in the No Treatment group had quit smoking. At the six month post cessation assessment period, the Social interaction Program group had significantly more quitters than the No Treatment group, whereas the Lung Association Programme group did not. At the one year post cessation assessment period, there was no significant difference in the percent of individuals who smoked between the Social Interaction Program group and the Lung Association Countdown Programme group. However, those individuals in the Social Interaction Program group were smoking significantly fewer cigarettes than those individuals in the Lung Association Countdown Program group. There were no significant differences on any of the pretreatment variables between those individuals who quit smoking and those who did not quit smoking. With respect to relapse, those individuals who relapsed, scored significantly higher on the depression subscale of the Profile of Mood States Questionnaire (POMS), than did those who did not relapse. The reason for relapse provided by subjects in the study closely paralleled the findings of Marlatt and Gordon (1980, 1985). That is, a majority relapsed due to peer pressure and depression. The Social Interaction Program was effective in promoting smoking cessation. It is probable that the effectiveness of the program could be maintained past six months with the incorporation of pharmacological intervention to address depression, which has been previously demonstrated to significantly impede successful smoking cessation (Abrams et al., 1987; Carmody, 1992; Covey et al., 1990; Lerman et al., 1996). The Social Interaction Program could also be modified and utilized as a skill teaching program for adolescent prevention programs. Research suggests that between 33% and 50% of individuals who start smoking, become regular smokers (McNeil, 1991). Since adolescent smoking is often viewed as a collective, peer behavior (King et al., 1996), it would be prudent to provide prevention which incorporates effective coping skills to deal with the pressure to commence smoking.
State and non-state actors in the climate change regime, the power of legitimacy among actors in international environmental institutions

Non-state actors have become increasingly involved in the formulation, implementation and enforcement of international environmental law, but their influence is not yet reflected in the design of environmental regimes. This thesis outlines a normative framework for the emerging global civil society, based on a horizontal understanding of legitimacy in international lawmaking. After criticizing the case liberal scholars make in favour of non-state actors participation in international lawmaking, which is based on notions of vertical legitimacy, I suggest an alternative understanding of legitimacy between and among state and non-state actors, drawing upon social constructivism, "international society" theories, and the jurisprudential insights provided by the "interactional theory" of international law. While the institutional design of the climate change regime represents a shift away from a formalistic conception of international law, a state-centric view of international law continues to constrain the creativeness of its institutional design, and threatens to impede its successful implementation.