Digital feminism in India: sexual harassment digital complaints, the transformation of grievances and legal consciousness

The interplay between gender, law and digital technologies is central to engineering social change. This thesis maps and analyses the architecture of digital and legal accountability of sexual harassment complaints in the context of the #MeToo movement in India. It conducts a discourse analysis of 8,200 Twitter posts across three moments of #MeTooIndia between 2017 and 2021. In doing so, it uses qualitative and quantitative methods to construct a ‘netography’ of bottom-up accounts of online sexual harassment complaints and their responses. Methodologically, the thesis takes a grounded feminist approach to knowledge by drawing on women’s digital sexual harassment complaints as sources for knowledge production. It sets out three main arguments. First, the thesis conceptualises online complaining in relation to the concept of digital feminism and argues that the movement, in its individual dimension, transformed individual complaints into collective ones, impacting dispute resolution. This was made possible through what the thesis argues is digital capital, a form of social capital ascribed to Twitter dynamics, which allowed a form of accountability ‘outside the law’ but in its shadow. Second, it argues that this feature of the movement transformed a crowdsourcing exercise into a form of governance. The movement acted as a diagnostic process exposing the causes and consequences of sexual harassment. It also produced a collective memory with cultural and social effects, altering the costs of not repudiating sexual harassment practices in specific sites and generating spaces for legal reform. Finally, the thesis argues that digital feminism, through collective legal consciousness, worked to decentre and re-centre the role of the law as a polyvocal movement. Ultimately, the thesis provides an account of how digital feminism generated new accountability paradigms, produced collective legal consciousness and acted as a governance tool, socially constructing women’s rights

Absolute profinite rigidity, direct products, and finite presentability

We prove that there exist finitely presented, residually finite groups that are profinitely rigid in the class of all finitely presented groups but not in the class of all finitely generated groups. These groups are of the form Γ × Γ where Γ is a profinitely rigid 3-manifold group; we describe a family of such groups with the property that if P is a finitely generated, residually finite group with Pb ∼= Γ\× Γ then there is an embedding P ,→ Γ × Γ that induces the profinite isomorphism; in each case there are infinitely many non-isomorphic possibilities for P

The (non)canonical status of the ka- passive in Balinese

In Balinese, a noncanonical passive construction exists alongside the canonical passive. This noncanonical form shares some properties with the canonical passive but differs in key ways, particularly in expressing an unintentional agent. This study explores this construction, similar to the English get passive, by compiling a corpus of Balinese passives from storybooks and conducting grammaticality judgment tests. Results reveal that the ka- passive is incompatible with agent-oriented adverbials and purposive clauses, and contrasts semantically with the -a passive, which marks accomplishments. The ka- passive, associated with achieved states in Austronesian languages, often appears as a high-register or polite form, suggesting its (non)canonical status is gradient due to language change

Mott insulating phase and coherent-incoherent crossover across magnetic phase transition in 2D antiferromagnetic CrSBr

In two-dimensional van der Waals magnetic materials, the interplay between magnetism and electron correlation can give rise to new ground states and lead to novel transport and optical properties. A fundamental question in these materials is how the electron correlation manifests and interacts with the magnetic orders. In this study, we demonstrate that the recently discovered 2D antiferromagnetic material, CrSBr is a Mott insulator, through the combined use of resonant and temperature-dependent angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy techniques, supplemented by dynamical mean-field theory analysis. Intriguingly, we found that as the system transitions from the antiferromagnetic to the paramagnetic phases, its Mott bands undergo a reconfiguration, and a coherent-incoherent crossover, driven by the dissolution of the magnetic order. Our findings reveal a distinctive evolution of band structure associated with magnetic phase transitions, shedding light on the investigation of the intricate interplay between correlation and magnetic orders in strongly correlated van der Waals magnetic materials

Effect modification and interaction between ethnicity and socioeconomic factors in severe COVID-19: analyses of linked national data for Scotland

Objective: Minority ethnic groups disproportionately experienced adverse COVID-19 outcomes, partly a consequence of disproportionate exposure to socioeconomic disadvantage and high-risk occupations. We examined whether minority ethnic groups were also disproportionately vulnerable to the consequences of socioeconomic disadvantage and high-risk occupations in Scotland. Design: We investigated effect modification and interaction between area deprivation, education and occupational risk and ethnicity (assessed as both a binary white vs non-white variable and a multi-category variable) in relation to severe COVID-19 (hospitalisation or death). We used electronic health records linked to the 2011 census and Cox proportional hazards models, adjusting for age, sex and health board. We were principally concerned with additive interactions as a measure of vulnerability, estimated as the relative excess risk due to interaction (RERI). Results: Analyses considered 3 730 837 individuals aged ≥16 years (with narrower age ranges for analyses focused on education and occupation). Severe COVID-19 risk was typically higher for minority ethnic groups and disadvantaged socioeconomic groups, but additive interactions were not consistent. For example, non-white ethnicity and highest deprivation level experienced elevated risk ((HR=2.7, 95% CI: 2.4, 3.2) compared with the white least deprived group. Additive interaction was not present (RERI=−0.1, 95% CI: −0.4, 0.2), this risk being less than the sum of risks of white ethnicity/highest deprivation level (HR=2.4, 95% CI: 2.3, 2.5) and non-white ethnicity/lowest deprivation level (1.4, 95% CI: 1.2, 1.7). Similarly, non-white ethnicity/no degree education (HR=2.5, 95% CI: 2.2, 2.7; RERI=−0.1, 95% CI: −0.4, 0.2) and non-white ethnicity/high-risk occupation (RERI=0.3, 95% CI: −0.2, 0.8) did not experience greater than additive risk. No clear evidence of effect modification was identified when using the multicategory ethnicity variable or on the multiplicative scale either. Conclusion: We found no definitive evidence that minority ethnic groups were more vulnerable to the effect of social disadvantage on the risk of severe COVID-19

Landscape‐Scale Effects of Season and Predation Risk on the Terrestrial Behavior of Chacma Baboons ( Papio ursinus )

Objectives: “Terrestrial” primates are not common nor well defined across the order. In those species that do use the ground, terrestriality is rarely documented outside daylight hours. Predation risk is thought to have shaped conserved behaviors like primates' selection of arboreal sleep sites, but it is less clear—particularly at the landscape scale—how predation risk interacts with other ecological and seasonal variables to drive terrestriality. This camera trapping study investigates patterns in terrestrial behavior both spatially and temporally across neighboring populations of chacma baboons. Materials and Methods: We use camera trap data from two terrestrial grids, one established within and one outside the boundaries of Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique. We model how baboon terrestrial activity varies with woody cover, proximity to water, season, anthropogenic variables, as well as predation risk. We also model how terrestrial activity varies across the diel cycle and use overlap analyses to explore differences in the baboon populations' activity patterns. Results: We find no significant predictors of geospatial variation in the terrestrial activity of baboons across each grid but do find evidence of higher terrestrial activity in the late dry season. We also find significantly different diel patterns of baboon activity detected across each grid. Discussion: Baboons likely use the ground more in the dry season for accessing water and resources when arboreal foods are less abundant. Diel variation between the two populations suggests that baboons might utilize the ground more during “riskier” crepuscular and nocturnal hours where leopards are not present

Electronic structure, reflectivity and X-ray luminescence of MAPbCl 3 crystal in orthorhombic phase

This study provides a comprehensive analysis of the electronic structure, reflectivity, and luminescent spectra of the organic-inorganic, metal-halide MAPbCl3 perovskite, which has considerable potential for various optoelectronic applications. Using density functional theory (DFT) calculations, we investigated the electronic structure of MAPbCl3 and interpreted the key features of its reflectivity spectra across a wide energy range from 3 to 10 eV. The reflectivity spectra reveal prominent excitonic features at 3.22 eV near the absorption edge and additional optical transitions at higher energies, highlighting the material’s intricate electronic structure. Furthermore, we examined the temperature dependence of radiative decay dynamics under high-energy radiation through X-ray luminescence spectra and decay time measurements. We observe emission from free and bound excitons with an exceptionally short decay time (≤ 1 ns) and significant thermal quenching at low temperatures (100 K) in the 385–430 nm range. These findings underline the importance of continued exploration of optoelectronic properties of the material to enhance its performance in practical applications

Power, place, and peoplehood in Chikashshiyaakni': the role of “religion” at Federal Indian Boarding Schools in the Chickasaw Homeland (1799-1837)

This dissertation explores the theoretical limitations of contemporary religious studies by tracing the dynamics of power connected to knowledge production at the first Federal Indian Boarding Schools in the Chickasaw Homeland (1799-1837). In critically analyzing the prevailing ‘substantialist’ and ‘situationalist’ paradigms within religious studies, this dissertation reveals their shortcomings in acknowledging the relationships between Indigenous peoples and their homelands as real. The substantialist perspective perceives a universal phenomenon called “religion,” emphasizing common manifestations across societies while positing an innate inclination towards the sacred. Conversely, situationalist approaches emphasize the role of discourse and intentionality in constructing meaning. Both paradigms fail to adequately address the complex ontic and epistemic relations between Indigenous peoples and their ancestral territories, reducing them to symbolic representations. Drawing on insights from critical Indigenous studies, this dissertation proposes a more nuanced understanding of place that centers Indigenous relationships with land as material, embodied, and interconnected beyond essentialized categories. It critiques contemporary scholarly works on the role of “religion” at Federal Indian Boarding Schools among Southeastern Indians for perpetuating panhuman assumptions and dualistic frameworks that separate spiritual beliefs from material practices, echoing the perspectives of the earliest Protestant missionaries to the Chickasaws in the 1700s. By foregrounding the affective, gendered, and land-based tactics employed by Protestant missionaries operating mission schools in the Chickasaw Homeland, this dissertation challenges prevailing assumptions, calling for a more holistic approach to studying the intersections of peoplehood and place within settler-colonial contexts. Through original archival research, this thesis provides a nuanced and comprehensive analysis of the experiences of Chickasaw children enrolled at the first Federal Indian Boarding Schools in their homeland. Highlighting the strategies employed by Chickasaw pupils to maintain their homeland relations and resist assimilation, it offers valuable insights into the broader dynamics of colonialism and Indigenous resistance during the 18th and 19th centuries

Interactive Panel Summaries of the 2024 Voice AI Symposium

The 2024 Voice AI Symposium presented by the Bridge2AI-Voice Consortium, was a 2-day event which took place May 1st-May 2nd in Tampa, FL. The event included four interactive panel sessions, which are summarized here. All four interactive panels featured an innovative format, designed to maximize engagement and facilitate deep discussions. Each panel began with a 45 min segment where moderators posed targeted questions to expert panelists, delving into complex topics within the field of voice AI. This was followed by a 45 min “stakeholder forum,” during which audience members asked questions and engaged in live interactive polls. Interactive polls stimulated meaningful conversation between panelists and attendees, and brought to light diverse viewpoints. Workshops were audio recorded and transcripts were assembled with assistance from generative A.I tools including Whisper Version 7.13.1 for audio transcription and ChatGPT version 4.0 for content summation. Content was then reviewed and edited by authors

Task-sharing and telemedicine delivery of psychotherapy to treat perinatal depression: a pragmatic, noninferiority randomized trial

Task-sharing and telemedicine can increase access to effective psychotherapies. Scaling Up Maternal Mental healthcare by Increasing access to Treatment (SUMMIT) is pragmatic, multisite, noninferiority, four-arm trial that tested the non-inferiority of provider (non-specialist vs. specialist providers) and modality (telemedicine vs. in-person) in delivering psychotherapy for perinatal depressive symptoms. Across three university-affiliated networks in the United States and Canada, pregnant and postpartum adult participants were randomized 1:1:1:1 to each arm (472 nonspecialist telemedicine, 145 nonspecialist in-person, 469 specialist telemedicine and 144 specialist in-person) and offered weekly behavioral activation treatment sessions. The primary outcome was depressive symptoms (Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS)) and the secondary outcome was anxiety (Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7)) symptoms at 3 months post-randomization. Between 8 January 2020 and 4 October 2023, 1,230 participants were recruited. Noninferiority was met for the primary outcome comparing provider (EPDS: nonspecialist 9.27 (95% CI 8.85–9.70) versus specialist 8.91 (95% CI 8.49–9.33)) and modality (EPDS: telemedicine 9.15 (95% CI 8.79–9.50) versus in-person 8.92 (95% CI 8.39–9.45)) for both intention-to-treat and per protocol analyses. Noninferiority was also met for anxiety symptoms in both comparisons. There were no serious or adverse events related to the trial. This trial suggests compelling evidence for task-sharing and telemedicine to improve access to psychotherapies for perinatal depressive and anxiety symptoms. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT0415386