Practical Parallel External Memory Algorithms via Simulation of Parallel Algorithms

This thesis introduces PEMS2, an improvement to PEMS (Parallel External Memory System). PEMS executes Bulk-Synchronous Parallel (BSP) algorithms in an External Memory (EM) context, enabling computation with very large data sets which exceed the size of main memory. Many parallel algorithms have been designed and implemented for Bulk-Synchronous Parallel models of computation. Such algorithms generally assume that the entire data set is stored in main memory at once. PEMS overcomes this limitation without requiring any modification to the algorithm by using disk space as memory for additional "virtual processors". Previous work has shown this to be a promising approach which scales well as computational resources (i.e. processors and disks) are added. However, the technique incurs significant overhead when compared with purpose-built EM algorithms. PEMS2 introduces refinements to the simulation process intended to reduce this overhead as well as the amount of disk space required to run the simulation. New functionality is also introduced, including asynchronous I/O and support for multi-core processors. Experimental results show that these changes significantly improve the runtime of the simulation. PEMS2 narrows the performance gap between simulated BSP algorithms and their hand-crafted EM counterparts, providing a practical system for using BSP algorithms with data sets which exceed the size of RAM

On Empathy and Appeasement

In an effort to complicate the commonplace understanding of empathy as an uncomplicated good, the author draws on her experience of sibling abuse to distinguish between empathy and appeasement. Because both rely on perspective-taking, empathy and appeasement are often conflated, but this essay demonstrates the importance of recognizing that empathy originates in courage and appeasement in fear. Abuse victims will recognize this important difference quickly enough; we need others espousing the value of empathy to recognize the difference as well

Telling the Truth About Sibling Abuse: Domestic Violence in Julie Barton\u27s Dog Medicine and Tara Westover\u27s Educated

Cultural conversations about two recent memoirs, Julie Barton’s Dog Medicine and Tara Westover’s Educated, miss an opportunity to address the most common form of domestic violence—sibling abuse—in favor, instead, of more palatable cultural narrative about depression and education. I argue that the memoirs themselves provide ample opportunity for such a conversation

On Narrative Collapse: Dementia, Depression, and the Significance of Narrative Resources

Drawing on scholarship in illness narrative, this article argues for the significance of Arthur Frank’s concept of narrative resources to an understanding of narrative collapse. Dependent on the belief that stories need other stories and that all humans need to narrate their lives, the concept of narrative resources draws our attention to the kinds of stories that are sanctioned by our culture and asks us to consider those that are not. The author herself draws on a number of narrative resources to consider what happens when our life narratives collapse. Driven by a desire to understand her mother’s dementia, the author examines the narrative resources available for narrating dementia and depression. The author proposes Judith Butler’s concept of precariousness as a new framework for understanding the work of narrative