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Outbidding with Ontology: Routine, Rebel Justice, and the Competition for Legitimacy
Get PDFCivil wars upset the everyday routines and relationships of ordinary people. Though recent research into civil wars has significantly increased the degree of study into non-conflict activities of rebel groups, particularly in rebel governance, rebel groups have not yet been seen as ontological security providers, capable of developing and reinstating some form of normalcy for civilian populations. This thesis seeks to promote this view of rebel groups, theorizing that rebel justice systems serve as a distinct space for insurgents to routinize interactions with civilians and signal their desire and ability to serve as capable providers of ontological security. Further, I posit that groups proving themselves as capable ontological security providers allows them to outbid rival groups vying for legitimacy among the same set of civilians. This thesis delves into the dynamics of rebel justice in conflict dyads in Myanmar, Sudan, the Philippines, and Liberia, and explores the applicability of the theory in each. Finally, I offer conclusions on the theory and implications for future research and modern peacemaking processes. This thesis thus contributes to the existing literature on ontological security in IR and security studies, and to the expanding body of research on rebel justice and civil wars more broadly
Akt Disruption Leads to Non-Canonical Apical Constriction in Drosophila Embryos
No full textThe Akt/mTOR pathway (Akt pathway) has largely been examined in terms of its role as the primary nutrient sensing pathway due to its ability to recognize nutrient availability within a cell, particularly amino acids and glucose. Among its nutrient sensing characteristics, this pathway also contributes to a large variety of other cell functions such as cell growth, proliferation, protein synthesis, and cell survival via anti-apoptotic signaling. Although many aspects of this pathway have been carefully studied, the extent to which it regulates embryonic development remains unclear. Here, I examine Akt function in the early Drosophila embryo and demonstrate that Akt disruption via shRNA results in ectopic apical constrictions during tissue elongation in gastrulating Drosophila embryos. Interestingly, Akt KD embryos show a mislocalization of both cell adhesion (E-cadherin) and cytoskeletal proteins (Myosin II). Additionally, this disrupted phenotype exhibits abnormal oscillatory behavior that suggests a non-canonical mechanism of apical constriction
On Salvation and Genre: Fast Sermons in Seventeenth-Century New England
No full textThe fast sermon is an important and overlooked genre in the literary history of colonial New England, one which complicates theories about American puritanism underwritten by the imprecise narrative construct of the jeremiad. This thesis will argue that preachers used fast sermons to shape their communities, respond to major events, and provide competing interpretations of Congregationalist doctrine throughout the seventeenth century. Borrowing from the methodologies of new formalist criticism and Louis Althusser’s theory of material ideology, it will examine common themes, motifs, and rhetorical demands in John Wheelwright’s 1637 Fast Sermon, Thomas Shepard’s 1645 Wine for Gospel Wantons, and Thomas Thacher’s 1674 A Fast of Gods Chusing in order to show that preachers were participating in an ongoing dialogue about the meaning of works in religious life generally and of religious fasting in the long wake of the Antinomian Controversy specifically
A Phenomenological Examination of the Perception of Psychopathological Misdiagnosis in Gifted Men
Get PDFWhile the exact prevalence of psychopathological misdiagnosis in gifted children is unknown, it is an occurrence within the gifted population (Amend & Beljan, 2009; Batstra et al., 2012; Bishop & Rinn, 2019; Bishop & Rinn, 2020; Coon, 2014; Webb et al., 2016). However, there is a gap in the literature related to psychopathological misdiagnosis specific to gifted males. (Desmet & Pereira, 2021; Ecklund et al., 2014; Eren et al., 2018; Neu & Weinfeld, 2007; OECD, 2015; Preckel et al., 2015; Watts, 2022). This transcendental phenomenological study leveraged Bronfenbrenner’s Bioecological Model for Human Development (Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 2006) as a theoretical framework and Greenspoon and Saklofske’s (2001) Dual Factor Model of Mental Health as a conceptual framework to help in understanding, analyzing, and interpreting the experience of a psychopathological misdiagnosis in gifted men. The four themes that were revealed during this study were Precipitating Event/Conflict Within the Home at Time of Misdiagnosis, Similar External Behaviors at Time of Misdiagnosis, High Psychopathology at Time of Misdiagnosis, and Positive Disintegration. A smaller sub-theme, I am Autistic, was also identified. For this study, based on the experiences of the five gifted men who participated, the essence of psychopathological misdiagnosis involved perseverance to shift from high psychopathology and disintegration to reflection and introspection, self-actualization, authenticity, and well-being
Unraveling the Role of HID-1: Insights into SgII Regulation
Get PDFThe regulated secretory pathway is important for the secretion of hormones and neuropeptides from large dense core vesicles (LDCVs). Dysregulation of the biogenesis of LDCVs can result in metabolic and neurological diseases. Recent studies have suggested that the peripheral membrane protein HID-1 plays a role in the sorting and storage of granins which contribute to LDCV biogenesis. To further understand how HID-1 influences the regulation of granins, we investigated potential HID-1 interactors. We determined that while HID-1 is likely functioning in the same pathway as USP25, a deubiquitinating enzyme (DUB), the cause of reduced cellular SgII levels is likely not due to increased degradation. We also characterized the role of phosphorylation within HID-1’s disordered region and found that it didn’t affect HID-1’s function or localization. Further investigation into HID-1 will allow us to unravel the mysteries behind SgII regulation, which may lead to pharmaceutical targets for metabolic and neurological diseases
Koopman-Based Modeling for Nonlinear Control of Multirotor UAVs
Get PDFThis PhD dissertation focuses on adopting the emerging Koopman Operator theory for modeling and nonlinear control of multirotor UAVs, focusing specifically on quadrotors for proof-of-concept demonstration purposes.
The Koopman Operator theory is based on the foundation that nonlinear dynamics in the state space may be represented as a linear evolution of some functions in the state space. Thus, using appropriately defined and possibly nonlinear functions of the state variables, called observables, as a new and maybe infinite set of coordinates that are referred to as lifted space, the original nonlinear dynamics appear to be linear. The implications of this theory center around the promising trait of defining a systematic framework for generalizing linear system analysis to the underlying nonlinear dynamics of the system under consideration. However, a key and open challenge is to find sets of Koopman observables for which a finite truncation of the infinite dimensional system representation embeds most of the original nonlinear dynamics.
The first main contribution of this dissertation is the derivation of a novel and analytically derived Koopman Operator based linear model for rigid body position and attitude dynamics; the novel formulation is adapted to multirotor UAVs which constitute underactuated and highly nonlinear robot platform systems. The Koopman based model is then used for controller design purposes. Compared to limited existing literature research, the presented analytical model provides a better approximation of the nonlinear dynamics in a more compact truncated form.
The second important contribution and result of the presented formulation is that it allows for solving the underactuation problem by extracting the intrinsic dependencies between inputs and states, effectively controlling the multirotor using a single linear control loop.
A third main contribution is the design and testing of an attitude trajectory tracking Koopman reduced order multirotor controller that exploits a well-known Koopman operator eigenfunction, i.e., the Hamiltonian function, which allows for embedding the nonlinear dynamics in a lower dimensional space. The resulting attitude controller is able to achieve trajectory tracking by exploiting a single scalar function that drastically simplifies the controller design.
The fourth main set of contributions are the correction of the literature Euler-Lagrange multirotor model by providing a proof of equivalence to the Newton-Euler formulation, the derivation of a Euler-Lagrange model with detailed aerodynamics and gyroscopic effects used for dynamic compensation control, and a comparative study of linear and nonlinear quadrotor controllers.
Finally, additional contributions include a Mars simulation environment for testing hexacopter autonomous control and navigation strategies, real-time hardware in the loop design and implementation of an enhanced model reference adaptive controller, and deployment and testing of model-based controllers on real quadrotor platforms
Capturing Latent Abilities and Latent Capacities of Professional Golfers Using Nonlinear Mixed Effects Growth Modeling
Get PDFThis study demonstrates an effective and innovative approach to measuring the latent athletic abilities and capacities of professional golfers. I used nonlinear mixed effects growth modeling (e.g., Dynamic Measurement Modeling) to measure professional golfers’ ability levels and capacities for improvement. I accomplished this using a two-stage modeling approach. First, a crossed linear mixed effects model estimated each player’s ability level in each year. In the second stage, I used the results from the first stage to estimate several candidate nonlinear growth trajectories for players’ abilities over time. The quadratic growth trajectory was the best-fitting of these trajectories and was used to estimate each player’s individual-level capacity (maximum predicted ability). Validation results indicate that the ability estimates from stage one can outperform existing unidimensional measures of golfing ability and that the capacity estimates from the second stage are reliable and provide better forecasts of players’ future abilities than do single-timepoint estimates. This study demonstrates the applicability of latent variable statistics and longitudinal growth models to the study of sports, provides a novel statistical method to estimate player abilities and capacities in professional golf, and provides a tutorial for estimating Dynamic Measurement Models (DMM) using R
Evaluating the Effect of Domain-Specific Large Language Models on Question and Response
No full textLarge Language Models have emerged to great fanfare in the Information Technology market. Business and Information Technology leaders are currently exploring ways to apply these models to assist their organizations in executing business processes and generating innovation. Software vendors, consultants, and academics promote various approaches to making Large Language Models work effectively for business. However, little academic literature is available today that quantifies the degree of improvement possible with these domain-specific approaches over the standard capabilities of generalized Large Language Models.
The study seeks to quantify the benefits of one approach, Retrieval Augmented Generation. The study uses a collection of questions across several topics with known reference answers. The context for these questions is used to assemble a study corpus. Responses are generated by both a standard Large Language Model system and a Retrieval Augmented Generation system. The study analyzes the quality of generated responses to determine the degree to which the Retrieval Augmented Generation responses differ from those generated by the standard Large Language Model
Changing the Narrative: Student Empowerment in Unequal School Contexts
No full textEducational experiences affect a wide variety of life outcomes for individuals. The type of education an individual receives influences their occupation, the neighborhood in which they live, and even their risk of mortality (National Research Council, 2013; Sasson, 2016). In particular, the life trajectories of students who attend high-poverty schools are not the same as youth who attend schools with greater resources (National Center for Education Statistics [NCES], 2013; Taylor, 2005). In this dissertation, I provide a brief background on current rates of disproportionality in education and examine how specific theoretical constructs and educational policies may be used to explain the aforementioned disparities or develop solutions to them. I conducted a convergent parallel mixed methods research study examining perceptions of student empowerment in one high-poverty elementary school using a quantitative survey and qualitative interviews with students in grades 4-6. I used Kirk et al.’s (2016) three constructs of student empowerment to guide this dissertation. The findings indicate that there is a need for teachers and social workers to increase opportunities for relationship building, power sharing, and sense of community amongst students and staff. This holds particularly true for older students, males, and students of color as they reported fewer instances of empowerment. Participants specifically described wanting teachers to see them as diverse individuals and not just students. They also discussed needing opportunities to make decisions and share their voice, and staff intervention when bullying or foul language is used to aid them in feeling safer at school. In this dissertation I make recommendations for how teachers, social workers, and policy makers can implement these practices into the school system to strengthen its effectiveness. This study has the potential to show that by empowering students, it may allow them higher rates of academic achievement despite the disparities they face in school and illuminate the benefits of working collaboratively with students rather than in a position power
Empirical Validity of the Okun’s Law: Evidence from Indonesia
Get PDFThis paper reinvestigates the validity of the Okun’s Law on its inverse relationship between unemployment rate and real GDP growth rate in Indonesia using annual data. The sample period spans from 1984 through 2019 with 36 observations. Data are obtained from the International Monetary Fund (www.imf.org). The time series data distributions of both variables are near-normal in their mean-to-median ratio, accompanied by relatively high standard deviations. To provide linear and unbiased estimates parameters, the Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) is utilized to estimate regressions (1) and (2). The slope-coefficients provide evidence of very weak inverse relationship between the variables in terms of the associated t-value and p-value