Modality, Control and Restructuring in Arabic

The dissertation examines theories of modality and control with data from Standard Arabic (SA). In particular, I show that complementations of particular modal and control verbs in SA are not clausal, but smaller phrases. This challenges proposed accounts in the literature of modality in SA as well as theories of control within Minimalism. I alternatively argue for a novel account of both constructions that posits a monoclausal (i.e., restructuring) structure. First, Chapter 2 investigates modality verbs in SA and shows that subjunctive complements of modality do not exhibit the properties of clausal complementation. I examine the syntax-semantics properties of modality which reveal insights into the structure of modality. I argue that modality verbs are situated based on their semantic denotation. In this respect, I show that SA provides novel arguments to the long-held assumption that epistemic modality is high while root modality is low. Previously-unnoticed data are also discussed where it is shown that morphosyntactic properties comply with semantic restrictions that are independently motivated. Hence, I propose that modal verbs in SA have discrete positions in the clause structure and that they do not all target the same syntactic position. I discuss several arguments for this claim including Cinque’s (2001, 2006) hierarchy and its relative ordering. I present a novel analysis that posits that modality in SA is a restructuring (monoclausal) structure. The second part of the dissertation examines recent theories of control in Minimalism and argues that SA provides a new intriguing challenge in various theoretical and empirical aspects. In particular, I show that various empirical issues arise with the Movement Theory of Control (Hornstein, 2001; Boeckx and Hornstein, 2006, Hornstein et al., 2010), the Agree Theory of Control (Landau, 2000, 2004, 2006), and the Functional Theory of Control (Cinque, 2001, 2006; Grano, 2012). In Chapter 3, I establish that SA has obligatory control and examine the two types of control classified after Landau (2000). I argue that both Partial Control (PC) and Exhaustive Control (EC) obtain in SA. I propose a biclausal (i.e., non-restructuring) analysis for PC that postulates an embedded null syntactic subject (i.e., PRO). In Chapters 4 and 5, I provide a battery of restructuring diagnostics that show that EC in SA is restructuring and pose an enormous challenge to contrasting analyses. The chapters discuss various issues that pertain to theories of control and finite control crosslinguistically. In particular, it is shown that control theories that postulate biclausal constructions for EC make untenable predications and are thus empirically challenged. I propose a new restructuring analysis for EC in SA that derives its properties and does not encounter the empirical challenges observed with other theories. The proposed account has crosslinguistic consequences and also sheds new lights into the discrepancies between forward and backward control

Signal concentration and related concepts in time-frequency and on the unit sphere

Unit sphere signal processing is an increasingly active area of research with applications in computer vision, medical imaging, geophysics, cosmology and wireless communications. However, comparing with signal processing in time-frequency domain, characterization and processing of signals defined on the unit sphere is relatively unfamiliar for most of the engineering researchers. In order to better understand and analysis the current issues using the spherical model, such as analysis of brain neural electronic activities in medical imaging and neuroscience, target detection and tracking in radar systems, earthquake occurrence prediction and seismic origin detection in seismology, it is necessary to set up a systematic theory for unit sphere signal processing. How to efficiently analyze and represent functions defined on the unit sphere are central for the unit sphere signal processing, such as filtering, smoothing, detection and estimation in the presence of noise and interference. Slepian-Landau-Pollak time-frequency energy concentration theory and the essential dimensionality of time-frequency signals by the Fourier transform are the fundamental tools for signal processing in the time-frequency domain. Therefore, our research work starts from the analogies of signals between time-frequency and spatial-spectral. In this thesis, we first formulate the k-th moment time-duration weighting measure for a band-limited signal using a general constrained variational method, where a complete, orthonormal set of optimal band-limited functions with the minimum fourth moment time-duration measure is obtained and the prospective applications are discussed. Further, the formulation to an arbitrary signal with second and fourth moment weighting in both time and frequency domain is also developed and the corresponding optimal functions are obtained, which are helpful for practical waveform designs in communication systems. Next, we develop a k-th spatially global moment azimuthal measure (GMZM) and a k-th spatially local moment zenithal measure (LMZM) for real-valued spectral-limited signals. The corresponding sets of optimal functions are solved and compared with the spherical Slepian functions. In addition, a harmonic multiplication operation is developed on the unit sphere. Using this operation, a spectral moment weighting measure to a spatial-limited signal is formulated and the corresponding optimal functions are solved. However, the performance of these sets of functions and their perspective applications in real world, such as efficiently analysis and representation of spherical signals, is still in exploration. Some spherical quadratic functionals by spherical harmonic multiplication operation are formulated in this thesis. Next, a general quadratic variational framework for signal design on the unit sphere is developed. Using this framework and the quadratic functionals, the general concentration problem to an arbitrary signal defined on the unit sphere to simultaneously achieve maximum energy in the finite spatial region and finite spherical spectrum is solved. Finally, a novel spherical convolution by defining a linear operator is proposed, which not only specializes the isotropic convolution, but also has a well defined spherical harmonic characterization. Furthermore, using the harmonic multiplication operation on the unit sphere, a reconstruction strategy without consideration of noise using analysis-synthesis filters under three different sampling methods is discussed

Interacting electrodynamics of short coherent conductors in quantum circuits

When combining lumped mesoscopic electronic components to form a circuit, quantum fluctuations of electrical quantities lead to a non-linear electromagnetic interaction between the components that is not generally understood. The Landauer-B\"uttiker formalism that is frequently used to describe non-interacting coherent mesoscopic components is not directly suited to describe such circuits since it assumes perfect voltage bias, i.e. the absence of fluctuations. Here, we show that for short coherent conductors of arbitrary transmission, the Landauer-B\"uttiker formalism can be extended to take into account quantum voltage fluctuations similarly to what is done for tunnel junctions. The electrodynamics of the whole circuit is then formally worked out disregarding the non-Gaussianity of fluctuations. This reveals how the aforementioned non-linear interaction operates in short coherent conductors: voltage fluctuations induce a reduction of conductance through the phenomenon of dynamical Coulomb blockade but they also modify their internal density of states leading to an additional electrostatic modification of the transmission. Using this approach we can account quantitatively for conductance measurements performed on Quantum Point Contacts in series with impedances of the order of $R_K = h / e^2$. Our work should enable a better engineering of quantum circuits with targeted properties

Anaphors at the interfaces: a comparative study of the variation of the anaphoric systems of english, Dutch and Spanish

Tesis doctoral inédita leída en la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Facultd de Filosofía y Letras, Departamento de Lingüística, Lenguas Modernas, Lógica y Filosofía de la Ciencia, Teoría de la Literatura y Literatura Comparada, 18 de marzo de 201

Adaptive control using variable structure systems.

Adaptive control is employed in control systems required to operate satisfactorily regardless of parameter variations, external disturbances and changes in the environment. A conceptually simple approach to adaptive control is the model reference approach which yields a nonlinear feedback system. In a model reference control system the system output is made to follow the output of a specified model. There are numerous approaches to the design of model reference adaptive control systems (MRAC). In this thesis the theory of variable structure systems (VSS) is studied and applied in the design of MRAC systems. VSS are inherently nonlinear feedback systems which exhibit certain adaptive properties including insensitivity to a range of parameter variations and certain external disturbances when operating in the sliding mode. The application of VSS theory to the problem of adaptive model-following has demonstrated the simplicity of the design. It also ensures the asymptotic stability of the controlled system and provides direct control over the error transient. The notion of system zeros arises naturally when tackling the problem of output model-following control systems. Certain interrelations between VSS, system zeros and the output model following problem have suggested a new method for computing the zeros of linear multivariable square systems. A fundamental operator in VSS is shown to be a projector. The employment of projector theory in the study of VSS provides further insight into their operation. Furthermore new methods for constructing the switching hyperplanes matrix are formulated by utilizing projector theory. The linear control law ensuring output model-following and the necessary order reduction is shown to be identical to the equivalent control encountered in VSS. The control law also decouples the system, assigns arbitrary poles and possesses certain adaptive properties. The extension of VSS theory to output model following systems using output information is also discussed