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Categories for Cryptographic Composability
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/5538ea39-9626-41cc-9557-9b860af150ed/thumb/128.jpgWe present introductory material on cryptography and category theory, focused on the prerequisites to cryptographic composability. We then present the approach to cryptographic composability of Broadbent and Karvonen. We give several novel contributions, including a new model for cryptographic protocols which use both single- and multi-use resources, and a 2-categorical generalization of their model which incorporates data about computational reductions
Rattled: Shifts in Global Nuclear Norms due to Russian Nuclear Threats in the 21st Century
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/493f51a6-d21d-4c9b-b9c2-66f8a3c43e74/thumb/128.jpgGlobal nuclear norms have changed since the start of the 21st century. Since the year 2000, Russia has made 36 nuclear threats, over half of which were made since the start of the Ukrainian invasion in 2022. This study tracks the shifts in global normative inhibition — the nuclear taboo — due to these threats. Via the use of discourse and content analysis, I have found three proprietary shifts away from the nuclear taboo. First, between 2000 and 2013 Russia expanded nuclear justification to incorporate regional conflicts against non- nuclear states. Second, between 2014 and 2021 Russia further spread the parameters of nuclear use by the annexation of foreign territory under the wing of their nuclear doctrine. Third, since the start of the Ukrainian invasion in 2022 through 2023, Russia has made threats in the attempts of satisfying their national agenda. Through the cross-comparison of these threats with their responses, I have found that there is an inverse relationship between severe threats and low- level responses, indicating a normalization and acceptance of nuclear rhetoric. I conclude the paper with recommendations to retain the nuclear taboo and ensure a safer world order via the dissuasion from nuclear use
The Road to Synodality
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/f8a587b8-f7a6-418f-95ac-a1e789850f52/thumb/128.jpgThe following thesis presents a conceptual history of synodality in Catholic thought, interpreting it as a reception of developments in Catholic theology in the twentieth century. Synodality as it is presently deployed by Pope Francis, I argue, exists as a social theory—in the terminology of Charles Taylor—that seeks to demonstrate the relationship between three facets of the life of the Church: (1) the practice of reform, (2) the activity of the Holy Spirit (Pneumatology), and (3) the location and exercise of authority. Central to Francis’ explication of these topics is the deployment of two ecclesiological models: Church as Pilgrim and Church as Communion. Pope Francis’ use of synodality invites consideration of how the Church’s pilgrim and communion identities cooperate with each other and with the Holy Spirit
The CUBE: Using Virtual Reality to Visualize Electromagnetic Fields in Real-Time
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/2d55caa1-0b44-4d0d-b294-66ca8c87778e/thumb/128.jpgThis thesis describes the development of a virtual reality demonstration designed to help physics students develop an intuition for 3-dimensional electromagnetic fields, called the Cube Ubserver of B(magnetic) and Electric fields (CUBE). In this demonstration, the user is placed in a box of six screens with a small sphere, representing a point charge. The user can grab this point charge and throw it around while the screens update to display heat maps of the electric, magnetic, or Poynting vector fields generated by the charge in real-time. Each step in the development process is documented, and the derivations of equations representing the approximate fields of slow-moving point charges are described. The reader is encouraged to continue development of this demonstration and several ideas are offered for possible improvements
[Dancing] with Death: Investigating Liminality Through the Lens of Butoh
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/565f308e-4c35-4ef3-b358-f009ad1daa73/thumb/128.jpgBecause dance is an inherently embodied and experiential art form, living bodies that interact with death through dance can be understood as entering a transitional space that is neither living nor dead. Grounding its research in Butoh, a Japanese avant-garde dance/theatre art form, this thesis seeks to investigate this liminal space that dance allows us to access and how it might allow living bodies to explore their relationship to death, dying, and the dead in unique ways. Interested in the unique embodied knowledge dancers might gather while moving within life/death liminality, the research extended beyond text-based research and included a workshop process that allowed for a prolonged period of embodied, studio-based research. The workshops developed into the structural basis for an improvisational dance performance that incorporated the use of scenic, lighting, and sound design to explore the translation of liminality into physical space
Decoding Neural Dynamics in Inattentional Blindness: A Temporal Generalization Approach
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/9595b01d-0e3b-4fb9-bb92-b45a75678ff0/thumb/128.jpgInattentional blindness refers to a phenomenon where individuals fail to perceive an expected stimulus despite its visibility. This study investigates the temporal dynamics of neural activity in a three-phase IB paradigm, isolating the effects of conscious perception and task relevance. Using EEG data from an existing published IB study, the analysis employed a temporal generalization approach to decode neural patterns. The results reveal that during inattentional blindness, decoding facial and random stimuli was unsuccessful. However, successful decoding emerged when participants were consciously aware of the stimuli, regardless of the report condition. Temporal generalization was observed in the condition of awareness without reporting, with a more time-restrict window from ~200-400 ms,and was amplified and sustained more under the reporting condition when task relevance was introduced. These findings allow for a reevaluation for the theories of consciousness such as the Global Workspace Theory and Recurrent Processing Theory. Future directions are discussed, including the incorporation of spatial generalization and the exploration of alternative paradigms
Areÿto
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/4fd901a3-a591-4d62-ac9c-bf720f0998cb/thumb/128.jpgThis thesis is an interdisciplinary, maelstromic, creolizing, rhizomatic, and counter-archival exploration of oral history, and the stories of colonialism. Beginning with the catastrophe of 1492, and following the resulting ripples, threads, and traces to the present day, I seek to analyze, understand, and make a systematic defense of, a genealogy of musicokinetic performances practices from the island of Borikén — in particular, areÿto, bomba, plena, cacerolazos, and perreo combativo. I argue in favor of these practices, and the orality they carry, as literature, truth, memory, relation, history, and epistemic triumph against the violences of the Archive, and illustrated their overlooked and subversive power as protest, resilience, resistance, and worldmaking in the wake. In my first chapter, I examine Spanish colonial chroniclers’ first contact narratives as they arrived in the Caribbean and encountered my ancestors, the Taīno. I call into question their errors, biases, elisions, and violences, and, drawing on Diana Taylor’s elaborations of the Archive and the Repertoire, analyze the Taīno areÿto — through a long series of historical examples — as a means of navigating the colonial encounter and resisting, subverting, denying, and outlasting its apocalyptic effects. In my second chapter, employing Ángel Rama’s theorization of the Lettered City and its lettered denizens as the primary structure of Spanish Empire, and Édouard Glissant’s conceptualizations of Abyss, Trace, Maelstrom, Relation, Errantry, language, and memory; I follow the remnants of the areÿto and the echoes of the pre-contact Caribbean, and show how they gave rise to bomba, plena, and, eventually, perreo combativo. I analyze their power as method, means, and mode of anti-colonial resistance, and how these traditions and lifeways came together to overthrow Governor Ricky Rosselló, and advance the struggle for Boricuan freedom
Extending Targeted Function Balancing to Models without Linear Representations
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/b289865f-7cc1-45d2-87ea-42e02cd989e1/thumb/128.jpg"Targeted Function Balancing (TFB), proposed by Wainstein (2022), is a covariate balancing weight method for estimating the causal effect of a binary treatment on an outcome in the setting of observational studies. TFB linearly regresses an outcome on the covariates and balances functions that are probabilistically close to the linear model. This thesis proposes a generalized TFB (GTFB), which does not require models for the outcome to have linear representations. GTFB preserves TFB's philosophy of strategically leaving imbalance in the covariates to achieve higher efficiency, and seeks balance on functions of the covariates determined by the model specification to safeguard against modeling error. In addition, GTFB allows the use of any predictive model for the outcome, widening the range of data settings where the philosophy of TFB is applicable. This thesis demonstrates that GTFB performs well on simulated data in conjunction with ordinary least squares, logistic regression, Bayesian additive regression trees, and boosting. This thesis also compares GTFB to other commonly used causal inference methods in two applications: the 2016 Atlantic Causal Inference Conference (ACIC) competition and the National Supported Work (NSW) dataset. The ACIC datasets contain covariates from a real study, and treatment and outcomes simulated to assess the performance of causal inference methods. The NSW dataset came from a study on the effect of a subsidized labor training program on workers' income. The dataset includes an observational study on which causal inference methods can be applied and a randomized control trial that provides an experimental benchmark to which the estimates can be compared. Wainstein, L. (2022). Targeted function balancing. arXiv preprint arXiv:2203.12179.
Publishing Participation: The Politics of Gendered Image in the Iranian Revolution
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/95ff93ef-b0d2-47ed-9106-c49357ff5d9c/thumb/128.jpgIn the era surrounding the Iranian Revolution, the portrayal of women serves not only as a symbol but also as a marker of temporal progression. The evolving gendered imagery reflects shifts in political paradigms, acting as a visual narrative of intention, ideology, and power dynamics. However, it's crucial to recognize that ideologies are dynamic entities, subject to change alongside shifts in intention and power. Consequently, the depiction of women, as a symbolic tool, fluctuates in accordance with these evolving dynamics. Diverse factions and entities instrumentalized the image of women to advance their respective ideological agendas around the era of the Iranian Revolution both inside of Iran, and outside looking in. This research seeks to elucidate the role of women in the revolutionary process by analyzing various publications and sources from leftist groups, the state apparatus, foreign media outlets, and the women themselves. Central to this analysis is the delineation of three distinct "micro-eras" within the broader timeframe of the revolution: the pre-revolutionary buildup, the revolutionary climax, and the immediate aftermath characterized by the ascendance of Khomeinism and the onset of the Iranian Hostage Crisis. By scrutinizing these pivotal moments through tangible evidence, this study aims to underscore the intricate interplay between gender dynamics and revolutionary discourse. Moreover, this research endeavors to underscore the dual nature of gender's influence, both as a causal factor and as a construct shaped by social representations and internal discourses. Specifically, it seeks to unpack how media portrayals, originating from sexist frameworks, have contributed to the perpetuation of Islamophobic and sexist stereotypes about Muslim women in Western societies. Ultimately, this investigation prompts a critical examination of the ways in which media narratives, rooted in gendered biases, have influenced broader perceptions of Muslim women, thereby shaping societal attitudes and policies in the Western world
Topological Data Analysis for Cache Prediction
No full texthttps://rdc.reed.edu/v1/resources/a393e945-6e71-4af6-a198-c541f9ba0be5/thumb/128.jpgCaching is a method for improving computer speeds by bringing memory closer to the CPU. Deciding whether or not to cache data is crucial for maintaining this speed boost. The optimal caching method involves predicting the future reuse of data and caching accordingly. To approach the optimal strategy, I propose a method for predicting the number of repeated addresses in the future using topological data analysis (TDA) and random forests. This model based on TDA model has a mean squared error (MSE) of 1,048 compared to the baseline model's MSE of 1,908. However, a model based on the previous number of repeated addresses achieves an MSE of 791