This dissertation is about a modern Chinese mathematician’s use of traditional Chinese mathematics. Wu Wen-Tsun (born 1919), a French-trained algebraic topologist, became interested in Chinese mathematical heritage in the Cultural Revolution period (1966-1976). He claimed that his subsequent, internationally acclaimed work on the “mechanisation of mathematics” (computer proofs) was inspired by this historical interest. He thus situated his mathematical success within a nationalist framework of independent modernisation, and has become a government-promoted celebrity since the turn of the millennium. Against the standard ‘national hero’ story told about Wu, I portray his turn to the history of Chinese mathematics as a sophisticated response to political, institutional and ideological pressures on mathematics in post-1949 Maoist China. I integrate a biographical account of Wu’s career with in-depth studies of the content and influence of his mathematical work to show the fluctuations of his fortunes since his return to China in 1952. Wu as an individual shared the fate of the Institute of Mathematics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, where he worked between 1952 and 1977. I argue that Wu’s philosophy of mathematics was shaped by the utilitarianism preached by the Communist Party of China, which caused excesses especially during the Great Leap Forward (1958-1960), but remained a feature of Chinese science policy even afterwards. After the research hiatus of the Cultural Revolution, Wu consciously linked his research to ideology. His parallel mathematical research and history-writing since 1977 have reflected the same philosophy of mathematics and the same concerns about modernisation, national development, and independence. The dissertation uses unpublished archival material from China and first-hand interviews with Wu Wen-Tsun and other Chinese mathematicians. I relate Wu’s mathematical nationalism to theories of cultural nationalism and historicism from the political sciences, and theoretically analyse the contradiction between nationalism and internationalism in modern Chinese mathematics.

abstract: ABSTRACT As a composer, Chou Wen-Chung (1923-2019) was a learner and inheritor of Chinese traditional music culture and was committed to carrying it forward. As a native of China who had his primary musical training in the West, Chou Wen-Chung was one of the first Chinese composers to make his mark on Western music. He successfully combined Western elements and Chinese tradition in his music. Chou Wen-Chung was one of the few prominent East Asian composers known in the Western musical world, and his music therefore has had a strong influence on other Chinese composers. In order to understand more clearly his music, I analyzed his chamber work: Yü Ko. This piece was composed in 1965 for 9 instruments: Violin, Alto Flute, English Horn, Bass Clarinet, 2 Trombones, 2 Percussion and Piano. Inspired by the ancient Chinese musical instrument the Qin (also called guqin, or “ancient qin”), which is a plucked seven-string instrument, Chou Wen-Chung composed Yü Ko. Literally meaning “fisherman’s song,” this work was composed originally for the Qin, based on a melody composed by Mao Min-Zhong who was a very noted scholar and Qin player of the late Southern Song dynasty (C.E.1127-1276). This paper provides Chou Wen-Chung’s biography, compositional styles and developments. It lists and explains the most common Chinese traditional cultural elements which he used in his compositions. In particular, it introduces the Qin in detail from the external structure, performance techniques, sound characteristics, the tablature notation, and compositional methods. This document also includes a detailed analysis of Yü Ko in terms of the orchestration, pitch, tonal material, structure and tempo, dynamic and musical materials, and explains Chou Wen-Chung’s imitation of the Qin as well as the influence of Western music shown in this piece. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Music 2020

Magíster en Ciencias de la Ingeniería, Mención Ingeniería Sísmica. Ingeniero Civil / Las diagonales de pandeo restringido son disipadores sísmicos compuestos por un núcleo de acero cubierto por un elemento que impide su pandeo. Esta condición permite que la histéresis asociada al elemento sea amplia, y con gran capacidad de disipar energía. Debido al elemento restrictor, no es posible hacer una inspección visual directa luego de un gran sismo, y toma importancia conocer los resultados de la identificación del sistema cuando las diagonales trabajan disipando energía. Para ello, se evalúa la respuesta no lineal con un modelo Bouc-Wen calibrado para representar Diagonales de Pandeo Restringido, en un sistema de un grado de libertad, y en un marco diseñado con estos elementos. Se usan registros sísmicos reales y de ruido blanco como aceleración basal. Los resultados obtenidos se procesan con tres técnicas de identificación lineal, ampliamente usadas: Espectro de Densidad de Potencia (PSD), Identificación en el SubEspacio Estocástico, SSI-COV, y Multivariable Output Error State Space, MOESP. Los registros se aplican primeramente para que los sistemas trabajen en respuesta lineal, y luego cada excitación es amplificada para obtener la respuesta en tres niveles de incursión no lineal. Se analizan la respuesta en frecuencia, amortiguamiento y formas modales. En el sistema de un grado de libertad se realiza un análisis de sensibilidad de los parámetros del modelo, variando la rigidez post-fluencia de la histéresis y la suavidad de la curva en la transición a la fluencia. En el marco se realiza un análisis sobre el marco modelado con diagonales bilineales, y otro cuyas diagonales son modeladas con histéresis suavizada. El resultado es que las técnicas de identificación detectan frecuencias cercanas a la elástica en todos los sistemas, que disminuyen a medida que se entra en el rango no lineal. El amortiguamiento aumenta con la incursión en el rango no lineal y presenta gran dispersión en su determinación. Para el caso del marco, este comportamiento es más significativo en los modos principales del sistema. Cuando se analizan las formas modales identificadas en el análisis del marco, la primera forma permanece sin grandes cambios, mientras que las otras formas exhiben mayores grados de dispersión. De cualquier manera, visualmente siguen siendo reconocibles, aunque en algunos casos se acoplen con otras formas modales. El parámetro del modelo Bouc-Wen que más influye en los cambios es el que controla la transición a la fluencia y la suavidad de la histéresis. Para pequeñas no linealidades y una ley bilineal, la identificación arroja resultados iguales a la que se obtiene de un sistema lineal. Todas las técnicas de identificación arrojan resultados consistentes entre sí, pero no indican en forma clara el grado de no linealidad alcanzado por el sistema.

Cette thèse en Histoire et sémiologie porte sur les représentations de l’unité du peuple chinois (1949-2009) et le traitement médiatique des conflits au Tibet (2008) et au Xinjiang (2009). Dans le cadre d'une approche sémiotique, l'analyse des images et des textes nous permet de considérer comment les discours d'information, les discours institutionnels et ceux des industries culturelles font la promotion de l'unité du peuple chinois. Ce travail se concentre sur les écritures portées par le gouvernement chinois soucieux de proposer le récit collectif d'une société harmonieuse, de maintenir une nation solidaire au moment de deux crises sociales entre les Hans et les ethnies minoritaires. L'année 2008 aurait dû, grâce aux Jeux Olympiques, être l'année favorisant le nation-branding d'une Chine victorieuse. Or, cinq mois avant l’ouverture des JO de Pékin, les événements de Lhassa, capitale de la région autonome du Tibet, mettent sous tension le gouvernement chinois et soulignent une fracture profonde entre les Hans et les Tibétains. Un an après, des émeutes surviennent dans la Région autonome ouïghoure du Xinjiang. Pour traiter les récits médiatiques, nous comparons à la fois les différents points de vue portés par des journalistes chinois et français sur ces événements, nous observons aussi comment un certain nombre d’Ouïghours ont participé à un mouvement de réhabilitation des Xinjiangrens (habitants du Xinjiang) à la suite de la publication d’un livre Je viens du Xinjiang, ouvrage qui fait partie de notre corpus. Cette thèse observe donc comment les médias d'information, les séries télévisées, les écritures de l'histoire officielle promue par le gouvernement chinois, les productions des industries culturelles (cinéma, émissions de plateau, projets d'éditions imprimées...) finissent par former la légende collective de l'unité du peuple chinois. / The present thesis in History and Semiology concentrates on the representations of the unity of Chinese people (1949-2009) and the media coverage of conflicts in Tibet (2008) and Xinjiang (2009). From a semiotic approach, the analysis of images and texts give us an overview of how the information discourse, political discourse and cultural industry discourse, promote the unity of the Chinese people. This current research focuses on the writings of the Chinese government whose main concerns are to construct a collective narrative of a harmonious society and to maintain a united nation at the time of two social crises between the Han Chinese and other Chinese ethnic minorities. The year of 2008 should, thanks to the Olympic Games, be the year in favor of the nation-branding of a victorious in China. However, five months before the opening of the Beijing Olympics, the events in Lhasa -the capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region- put the Chinese government under pressure and brought to light the great divide between the Han and the Tibetans. A year later, riots occurred in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. In order to analyze the media narrative, we compare different points of view of both Chinese and French journalists on these events. We also observe how a number of Uyghurs participated in a rehabilitation movement of Xinjiangrens (people of Xinjiang) after the publication of the book I come from Xinjiang - a work that is a part of our corpus. As a result, this thesis observes how, in 21st centry, the news, the television series, the official writings of the history promoted by the Chinese government, a diverse range of productions of cultural industries (new technology of information and communication, social network, cinema, TV program and the traditional media...) contribute to re-write a new collective legend of the unity of Chinese people.

n recent years, there has been a surge in interest and research into the utilisation of soft actuators within the field of robotics, driven by the novel capabilities of their inherently compliant material. One such actuator is the Pneumatic Artificial Muscle (PAM) which offers a high power-to-mass ratio, compliance, safety, and biological mimicry when compared to their traditional counterparts. However, because of their flexible and complex physical structure and the compressibility of air inside the PAM, they exhibit nonlinear dynamic behaviour, largely due to the influence of the hysteresis phenomenon. In order to implement strategies to counteract this effect, it first needs to be modelled. As such, this thesis investigates two approaches, namely the Maxwell-Slip (MS) and generalised Bouc-Wen (BW) models. Firstly, the test muscle's initial braid angle, maximum displacement, and maximum force are determined to establish the static force using a modified model. Data is then collected on the PAM's force-displacement hysteresis for 2-6 bar of pressure. Using the results from these experiments, the MS and BW model parameters are identified through optimisation. With the static and hysteresis force components characterised, two complete dynamic models are created. The findings show that, when compared to the collected force-displacement data, the BW model has greater accuracy for all pressures except at 4 bar, although both approaches demonstrate results within a satisfactory margin. Lastly, a model validation is conducted to compare the models using a new dataset, separate from the one on which they were trained. Data for this test is recorded at a pressure of 4 bar with a more complex reference that covers four different regions of the muscle's displacement range. Thereafter, both dynamic models are applied to assess their performance. It is evident from the results that the BW model produces a better outcome than the MS, achieving a normalised error of 5.3746% as compared to the latter's 12.835%. The higher accuracy of the generalised BoucWen method is likely due to it having a more complex structure, specialised parameters, and the ability to model asymmetric hysteresis. The Maxwell-Slip model may however still be preferable in some applications due to its relative simplicity and faster optimisation. / Under de senaste åren har intresset och forskningen ökat kring användningen av mjuka ställdon inom robotik, drivet av den innovativa potentialen som erbjuds av egenskaperna hos deras naturligt flexibla material. Ett sådant ställdon är den Pneumatiska Artificiella Muskeln (PAM) som erbjuder hög kraft i förhållande till vikten, elasticitet, säkerhet och biologisk imitation jämfört med dess traditionella motsvarigheter. Trots dessa fördelar så uppvisar PAM:s ett icke-önskvärt olinjärt dynamiskt beteende, till stor del på grund av deras flexibla och komplexa fysiska struktur samt kompressibiliteten av luft inuti PAM:en. Dessa olinjäriteter orsakar hysteresfenomenet i muskeln. För att implementera strategier för att kunna motverka denna effekt så måste den först modelleras. Till följd därav så undersöker denna avhandling två tillvägagångssätt, nämligen Maxwell-Slip (MS) och den generaliserade Bouc-Wen (BW) modellen. Inledningsvis identifieras testmuskelns initiala flätvinkel, maximala förskjutning och maximala kraft för att fastställa den statiska kraften med hjälp av en modifierad modell. Data samlas sedan in på PAM:ens kraft-förskjutningshysteres för 2-6 bar av tryck. Med hjälp av resultaten från dessa experiment identifieras MS- och BW-modellparametrarna genom optimering. Med de statiska och hystereskraftskomponenterna karakteriserade kan två kompletta dynamiska modeller framkallas. Resultaten visar att jämfört med den insamlade kraft-förskjutningsdatan har BW-modellen en större noggrannhet för alla tryck förutom vid 4 bar, men båda metoderna uppvisar resultat som är inom en godtagbar marginal. Slutligen genomförs en modellvalidering för att jämföra modellerna med hjälp av ett nytt dataset, annorlunda från den som de tränades på. Datan för detta test mäts vid ett tryck på 4 bar med en mer komplex referens som täcker fyra olika regioner av muskelns förskjutningsområde. Därefter tillämpas båda dynamiska modellerna för att bedöma deras prestanda. Det är uppenbart från resultaten att BW-modellen ger ett bättre resultat än MS-modellen, och uppnår ett normaliserat fel på 5,3746% jämfört med den sistnämndas 12,835%. Den högre noggrannheten hos den generaliserade Bouc-Wen-metoden beror sannolikt på att den har en mer komplex struktur, specialiserade parametrar och förmågan att modellera asymmetrisk hysteres. Maxwell-Slipmodellen kan däremot ändå vara att föredra i vissa sammanhang på grund av dess relativa simplicitet och snabbare optimering

“McLuhan’s Bulbs” argues that the 1960s movement of “light art” is the primary site of negotiation between the discourses of “medium” and “media” in postwar art. In dialogue with the contemporaneous work of Marshall McLuhan, who privileged electric light as the ur-example of media theory, light art eschewed the traditional symbolism of light in Western art, deploying it instead as a cipher for electronic media. By embracing both these new forms of electronic media and also McLuhan’s media theory, light art ultimately becomes a limit term of the Greenbergian notion of medium-specificity, heralding the transformation of “medium” into “media” on both a technological and a theoretical level. This leads to a new understanding of the concept of media as not peripheral, but rather, central to the history and theory of contemporary art. Drawing on extensive archival research to offer the first major history of light art, the project focuses in particular on the work of leading light artist Otto Piene, whose sculptural “light ballets,” “intermedia” environments, and early video projects responded to the increasing technological blurring of media formats by bringing together sound and image, only to insist on the separation between the two. Piene’s position would be superseded by the work of light artists who used electronic transducers to technologically translate between light and other phenomena, particularly sounds. These artists are represented here by Piene’s close friend and colleague, Wen-Ying Tsai. In the spirit of earlier examples of “computer art,” Tsai’s “cybernetic sculptures” used light to announce that art would no longer be defined by its material substrates, anticipating the fluid condition of media that we associate with new media art, and digital technology more broadly, today.