In under 6 decades dengue has emerged from South East Asia to become the most widespread arbovirus affecting human populations. Recent dramatic increases in epidemic dengue fever have mainly been attributed to factors such as vector expansion and ongoing ecological, climate and socio-demographic changes. The failure to control the virus in endemic regions and prevent global spread of its mosquito vectors and genetic variants, underlines the urgency to reassess previous research methods, hypotheses and empirical observations. This thesis comprises a set of studies that integrate currently neglected and emerging epidemiological, ecological and evolutionary factors into unified mathematical frameworks, in order to better understand the contemporary population biology of the dengue virus. The observed epidemiological dynamics of dengue are believed to be driven by selective forces emerging from within-host cross-immune reactions during sequential, heterologous infections. However, this hypothesis is mainly supported by modelling approaches that presume all hosts to contribute equally and significantly to the selective effects of cross-immunity both in time and space. In the research presented in this thesis it is shown that the previously proposed effects of cross-immunological reactions are weakened in agent-based modelling approaches, which relax the common deterministic and homogeneous mixing assumptions in host-host and host-pathogen interactions. Crucially, it is shown that within these more detailed models, previously reported universal signatures of dengue's epidemiology and population genetics can be reproduced by demographic and natural stochastic processes alone. While this contrasts with the proposed role of cross-immunity, it presents demographic stochasticity as a parsimonious mechanism that integrates, for the first time, multi-scale features of dengue's population biology. The implications of this research are applicable to many other pathogens, involving challenging new ways of determining the underlying causes of the complex phylodynamics of antigenically diverse pathogens.

This thesis seeks to interpret the cinematic representations of Hong Kongers’ identity quest during a transitional state/stage related to the sovereignty transfer. The Handover transition considered is an ideological one, rather than the overnight polity change on the Handover day. This research approaches contemporary Hong Kong cinema on two fronts and the thesis is structured accordingly: Upon an initial review of the existing Hong Kong film scholarship in the Introduction, and its 1997-related allegorical readings, Part I sees new angles (previously undeveloped or underdeveloped) for researching Hong Kong films made during 1982-2002. Arguments are built along the ideas of Hong Kongers’ situational, diasporic consciousness, and transformed ‘Chineseness’ because Hong Kong has lacked a cultural/national centrality. This part of research is informed by the ideas of Jacques Derrida, Homi Bhabha and Stuart Hall, and the diasporic experiences of Ien Ang, Rey Chow and Ackbar Abbas. With these new research angles and references to the circumstances, Part II reads critically the text of eight Hong Kong films made during the Handover transition. In chronological order, they are Boat People (Hui, 1982), Song of the Exile (Hui, 1990), Days of Being Wild (Wong, 1990), Happy Together (Wong, 1997), Made in Hong Kong (Chan, 1997), Ordinary Heroes (Hui, 1999), Durian Durian (Chan, 2000), and Hollywood Hong Kong (Chan, 2002). They meet several criteria related to the undeveloped / underdeveloped areas in the existing Hong Kong film scholarship. Hamid Naficy’s ‘accented cinema’ paradigm gives the guidelines to the film analysis in Part II. This part shows that Hong Kongers’ self-transformation during transition is alterable, indeterminate, and interminable, due to the people’s situational, diasporic consciousness, and transformed ‘Chineseness’. This thesis thus contributes to Hong Kong cinema scholarship in interpreting films with new research angles, and generating new insights into this cinematic tradition and its wider context.

This research examines narratives about the quality of everyday life with dementia. The aim of the study is to compare and contrast differing perspectives about the impact of ageing and dementia upon the lives of older people with dementia. A total of 50 interviews with six older people with dementia and ten family and paid carers were conducted over a two-year period. Narrative analysis was used to examine the content and structure of their accounts to understand their perspectives on what matters most to people living with dementia. This in-depth analysis enabled an exploration of different social concepts and narrative constructions that people draw upon in making sense of their experiences of caring and living with dementia. The analysis demonstrated that older people incorporate ageing and dementia into a continuing sense of self. Positive constructions of living with dementia involve the ability to lead a meaningful life that supports pre-existing social roles and relationships and active engagement within the family and community. The emphasis is on living an ordinary life while responding to the challenges associated with cognitive impairment and social stigma. For family and paid carers, perceptions of a meaningful life depend on how the identity of the older person with dementia is positioned relative to past social roles and relationships. Positive constructions assume continuity as opposed to focusing on disruption in the person’s identity and life. Carer perspectives are also influenced by how the person is perceived to conform to social standards of normality. The narratives of older people with dementia reflect their active struggle to find meaning in terms of realising their sense of self within a social world that largely defines them as different and out of the ordinary. The narratives of carers resonate with emotional difficulty, reflecting their struggle to make sense of a life that is not represented as essentially normal. These findings show that, for all, finding meaning in everyday life depends upon making sense of that life as normal and ordinary.

Approved for public release, distribution is unlimited / The purpose of this thesis is threefold. Firstly, to attempt to provide validity for the two-sided matching process; secondly, analyze FITREP attributes to determine their suitability for a weighted criteria evaluation system and; thirdly, compare the USMC promotion and assignment process with contemporary human resource management practices. Using data from the USMC Officer Accession Career file (MCCOAC), a logit model is used to estimate the effects of TBS preference and other officer characteristics on retention to the seven year mark. Findings indicate that there was little difference in the probability of retention throughout most preference levels except for the bottom sixth. Using USMC FITREP data, an ordinary least squares model is used to estimate the effects of rank and MOS on FITREP scores across all attributes. Multiple comparison tests demonstrated that there are statistical differences at the 0.05 level between the means of the MOSs. Additionally, reporting creep is continuing across all attributes. Surveys were also conducted. The first survey indicated that USMC officers believe the FITREP attributes were not all equally important within, and across each MOS - although the USMC assesses them as such. The second survey indicated that the USMC promotion and assignment process can be strengthened through a clearly defined HRM plan that extends beyond 'faces' and 'places', and provides very clear links to the organizational strategy. Based on the findings it is recommended that the USMC review its HRM processes and conduct further analyses on the FITREP data for: (1) correlation, (2) longitudinal analysis as a predictor for success and, (3) relevance and relationship to MOS characteristics, position descriptions, and organizational strategy. / Major, Royal Australian Infantry Corps / Major, United States Marine Corps

During human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1) infection, the viral population is in constant battle with the host immune system. The cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) response, a branch of the adaptive immune response, is implicated in viral control and can drive viral evolution in the infected host population. Endogenous viral peptides, or ‘epitopes’, are presented to CTLs by human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I molecules on the surface of infected cells where they may be identified as non-self. Mutations in or proximal to a viral epitope can result in ‘escape’ from CTLs targeting that epitope. The repertoire of epitopes which may be presented is dependent upon host class I HLA types. As such, reversion may occur after transmission due to changes in viral fitness and selection in the context of a new HLA background. Thus, parameters describing the dynamics of CTL escape and reversion are key to understanding how CTL responses within individuals relate to HIV-1 sequence evolution in the infected host population. Escape and reversion can be studied directly using biological assays and longitudinal viral sequence data, or indirectly by considering viral sequences across multiple hosts. Indirect approaches include tree based methods which detect associations between host HLA and viral sequence but do not estimate rates of escape and reversion, and ordinary differential equation (ODE) models which estimate these rates but do not consider the dependency structure inherent in viral sequence data. We introduce two models which estimate escape and reversion rates whilst accounting for the shared ancestry of viral sequence data. For our first model, we lay out an integrated Bayesian approach which combines genealogical inference and an existing epidemiological model to inform escape and reversion rate estimates. Using this model, we find evidence for correlation between escape rate estimates across widely separated geographical regions. We also observe a non-linear negative correlation between in vitro replicative capacity and escape rate. Both findings suggest that epistasis does not play a strong role in the escape process. Although our first model worked well, it had some key limitations which we address in our second method. Notably, by making a series of approximations, we are able account for recombination and analyse very large datasets which would be computationally infeasible under the first model. We verify our second approach through extensive simulations, and use the method to estimate both drug and HLA associated selection along portions of the HIV-1 genome. We test the results of the model using existing knowledge, and determine a collection of putative selected sites which warrant further investigation. Finally, we find evidence to support the notion that the CTL response played a role in HIV-1 subtype diversification.

Comment rendre compte des transformations opérées dans le champ culturel par les technologies numériques ? Au-delà des grands récits technicistes, quelle entrée choisir pour observer les mutations induites par le numérique dans les rapports qu’entretiennent les publics avec les objets culturels ? Sur quels terrains se placer pour tenter de saisir les transformations issues de l’émergence d’une technologie hybride et protéiforme, sans pour autant faire de l’informatique une pratique culturelle « comme les autres » ou verser dans le déterminisme médiatique ?En pointant les doutes et les hésitations ayant marqué ce travail de thèse, en les examinant et en les contextualisant diachroniquement, il s’est agi de contribuer à l’analyse de la réception et des dynamiques culturelles en lien avec les technologies numériques. Cette réflexion, construite sur une longue durée, s’est attachée à l’exploration d’usages du numérique qui, en leur temps, semblaient devoir s’imposer comme radicalement « modernes ». Ainsi, en trois temps et trois focales nous avons choisi d’étudier des objets apparemment hétéroclites mais qui devaient témoigner des profonds changements culturels engagés par l’émergence des technologies de l’information et de la communication. Ce cheminement nous a conduit à étudier des pratiques aux statuts sociaux et scientifiques divers, depuis les lectures en bibliothèques jusqu’aux jeux vidéo en passant par les écritures intimes sur les sites de rencontres ou les blogs. Cette méthodologie nous a finalement conduit à isoler un élément transversal aux objets étudiés, et dont le déploiement est favorisé par les technologies numériques : l’essor des capacités réflexives des publics de la culture. / How to demonstrate how the cultural arena has been changed by the digital technologies? Beyond the pro-technologies discourses, how to examine the variation (inferred by the digital technologies) between the audiences and the cultural objects? Which field to choose to try to understand the transformations resulting from the emergence of an hybrid and protean technology, without saying that computing is a cultural practice like the others?Describing the doubts and hesitations of this thesis, examining and contextualize them over time, make possible to contribute to the reception analysis and the cultural dynamics, in connection with the digital technologies. This long work has been exploring the uses of digital which, in their time, seemed to have to grow on as radically “modern”. So, in three times and three focal length, we chose to study three objects, apparently heterogeneous, but which must show the deep cultural changes due to the emergence of information and communication technologies. So, we have been studying some practices with different social and scientific status, from the readings in libraries to the videogames, along with dating sites or blogs.This methodology has finally led us to isolate a cross-disciplinary element of the studying objects and which the display is favored by the digital technologies: the rapid development of reflexive abilities of cultural audiences.

La présente étude s’attache à l’absentéisme long pour raison de santé chez les personnels hospitaliers non médicaux. Deux types de congé non ordinaire sont visés : les C.L.M. et C.L.D. Ceux-Ci constituent en effet un enjeu de gestion par les désorganisations et les coûts, principalement cachés, qu’ils suscitent. Ces derniers représentent également un enjeu de santé sociale (voire publique), en raison de la morbidité qu’ils expriment.Afin de les caractériser et de les mesurer, ce travail s’inspire de l’approche socioéconomique des organisations (I.S.E.O.R., Lyon). On s’efforce notamment de procéder à un diagnostic pluriel (social, organisationnel et financier). L’ambition est triple. Il s’agit 1) de faire prendre conscience de l’ampleur des préjudices (effet miroir pour la direction) ; 2) de contribuer au développement d’un référentiel théorique et pratique (évaluation élargie des absences) ; 3) d’encourager la promotion d’un présentéisme-Qualité (préconisations de type R.H.). Les diverses investigations se font sur trois hôpitaux régionaux publics (Auvergne) de taille volontairement différente (C.H.U., C.H. et H.L.). Les résultats laissent à chaque fois apparaître des profils, des fonctionnements, des dépenses et des vécus assez alarmants. Ils témoignent d’une défaillance au niveau des ressources humaines (organisationnelle et managériale). Ces retours négatifs attestent par ailleurs d’une possibilité d’extension de l’analyse de type socio-Économique (application aux interruptions prolongées en structures de soins). Ils autorisent enfin à dégager quelques pistes d’intervention, tantôt transversales(proximité dans les procédures), tantôt spécifiques (particularités de la structure). / The present study focuses on the long absenteeism for health reason at non medicalhospital staff. Two types of non ordinary sick leave are aimed : the C.L.M. and C.L.D. (rulingson salary insurance). Those indeed constitute a challenge of management by thedisorganizations and the costs, mainly hidden, which they cause. They represent also a stakein social health, because of the morbidity they express.In order to characterize and measure them, this work takes as a starting point theorganizations socio-Economic approach (I.S.E.O.R., Lyon). We particularly try to carry out aplural diagnosis (social, organizational and financial). The ambition is threefold. It acts 1) tomake become aware of the scale of the damages (mirror effect for the direction); 2) tocontribute to the development of a theoretical and practical reference frame (widenedevaluation of the absences); 3) to contribute to the promotion of good and really presenteeim(human resources recommendations).The various investigations are done on three publicregional hospitals of voluntarily different size (C.H.U., C.H., H.L. – in the center of France).Each time the results let appear alarming profiles, operations, spending and lived. They giveevidence to a failure in organisational and managerial human resources. These negativereturns also attest an extension possibility of the socio-Economics’ analysis (to the extendedsickness absences in structures of care). They finally allows to identify some tracks ofintervention, sometimes transverse (proximity in the procedures), sometimes specific(peculiarities of the structure).

The aim of this diploma thesis is to point out how personal experience and memories on the drug violence that was common in Colombia during 80's - 90's reflect in the novelistic works of a few contemporary Colombian writers. The thesis is based on the following five novels: Noticia de un secuestro (Gabriel García Márquez), El olvido que seremos (Hector Abad Faciolince), El ruido de las cosas al caer, Reputaciones (Juan Gabriel Vásquez) a La luz difícil (Tomás González). Aforementioned books were published after the year 2000 (Noticia de un secuestro makes an exception), thus they come from the writers that represent same generation. Almost all of the analyzed books are connected with the topic of terrorism of drug mafia and they take interest in the life of ordinary people. By analyzing novels, the thesis tries to point out also another topics, such as death or power of the fame and public opinion in the country. In each novel are analyzed also autobiographical features, language style and the process of the creation of the text. The last chapter contains memories and opinions of ten Colombian respondents which we can compare with the memories of the writers. Thanks to these opinions we can imagine not only the past of Colombia but partly also her current state. Key words: contemporary Colombian...

<p>Deep ‘Analog Artificial Neural Networks’ (AANNs) perform complex classification problems with high accuracy. However, they rely on humongous amount of power to perform the calculations, veiling the accuracy benefits. The biological brain on the other hand is significantly more powerful than such networks and consumes orders of magnitude less power, indicating some conceptual mismatch. Given that the biological neurons are locally connected, communicate using energy efficient trains of spikes, and the behavior is non-deterministic, incorporating these effects in Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) may drive us few steps towards a more realistic neural networks. </p> <p> </p> <p>Emerging devices can offer a plethora of benefits including power efficiency, faster operation, low area in a vast array of applications. For example, memristors and Magnetic Tunnel Junctions (MTJs) are suitable for high density, non-volatile Random Access Memories when compared with CMOS implementations. In this work, we analyze the possibility of harnessing the characteristics of such emerging devices, to achieve neuro-inspired solutions to intricate problems.</p> <p> </p> <p>We propose how the inherent stochasticity of nano-scale resistive devices can be utilized to realize the functionality of spiking neurons and synapses that can be incorporated in deep stochastic Spiking Neural Networks (SNN) for image classification problems. While ANNs mainly dwell in the aforementioned classification problem solving domain, they can be adapted for a variety of other applications. One such neuro-inspired solution is the Cellular Neural Network (CNN) based Boolean satisfiability solver. Boolean satisfiability (k-SAT) is an NP-complete (k≥3) problem that constitute one of the hardest classes of constraint satisfaction problems. We provide a proof of concept hardware based analog k-SAT solver that is built using MTJs. The inherent physics of MTJs, enhanced by device level modifications, is harnessed here to emulate the intricate dynamics of an analog, CNN based, satisfiability (SAT) solver. </p> <p> </p> <p>Furthermore, in the effort of reaching human level performance in terms of accuracy, increasing the complexity and size of ANNs is crucial. Efficient algorithms for evaluating neural network performance is of significant importance to improve the scalability of networks, in addition to designing hardware accelerators. We propose a scalable approach for evaluating Liquid State Machines: a bio-inspired computing model where the inputs are sparsely connected to a randomly interlinked reservoir (or liquid). It has been shown that biological neurons are more likely to be connected to other neurons in the close proximity, and tend to be disconnected as the neurons are spatially far apart. Inspired by this, we propose a group of locally connected neuron reservoirs, or an ensemble of liquids approach, for LSMs. We analyze how the segmentation of a single large liquid to create an ensemble of multiple smaller liquids affects the latency and accuracy of an LSM. In our analysis, we quantify the ability of the proposed ensemble approach to provide an improved representation of the input using the Separation Property (SP) and Approximation Property (AP). Our results illustrate that the ensemble approach enhances class discrimination (quantified as the ratio between the SP and AP), leading to improved accuracy in speech and image recognition tasks, when compared to a single large liquid. Furthermore, we obtain performance benefits in terms of improved inference time and reduced memory requirements, due to lower number of connections and the freedom to parallelize the liquid evaluation process.</p>

The polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) was investigated in this dissertation. Selected kinetic models from the literature were reviewed, and two new, generalized models of diffusion-limited effects (gel- and glass effects), derived from the current models were proposed and tested for bulk and solution polymerization of MMA in batch and semi-batch reactors, under isothermal and non-isothermal conditions. The newly proposed models include the capability of modeling termination by combination, radical transfer to monomer and depropagation reaction. The new and previous models were compared with experimental data of bulk and solution polymerizations of MMA, under a selection of non-steady state processes conditions (initiator and monomer feed, step changes in temperature) and compositions (initiator and chain transfer agents, regarding both type and dosages). The particular case of a non-isothermal bulk polymerization was also investigated. A simulation program (Reactormodel) was developed in Matlab, and its algorithm is provided. / Sem resumo.