China’s Confucius Institute in the Discourse of Power in International Relations: A Case Study of the Confucius Institute in Africa

More than 30 countries in the world sponsor a Language and Culture Promotion Organisation (LCPO), disseminating their own languages, cultures and other knowledge to people of different nationalities. The Confucius Institute (CI), as one such organisation, was set up by the Chinese government in 2004. This thesis uses the example of the CIs in Africa to examine the role of the CI in a two-dimensional power analytical framework. This framework was built on the key elements of both traditional understanding of power in international relations and Foucault’s conception of power. In the first dimensional analysis, the CI is seen as a concrete entity. The material and strategic support for the construction and operation of this organistion is elaborated. The second dimensional analysis adopts a Foucauldian perspective where the CI is deconstructed. It demonstrates the CI’s power technology, including its power structure, power techniques and power instruments. By examining the power effects produced by the CI’s power technology, the thesis argues that the CI plays a positive role in promoting China’s national interest in Africa and China-Africa relations

Industry Classification, Industry Concentration and Expected Stock Returns.

Ph.D. Thesis. University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa 2017

Numerical Methods for Finite Temperature Effects in Quantum Field Theory

The basic structure of quantum field theory that is used to describe the Standard Model of fundamental interactions of nature is usually formulated for zero temperature. However, the effects of temperature are extremely important for understanding a number of physical processes such as the electroweak phase transition and quark-gluon plasma. The extension of quantum field theory to non-zero temperature is achieved by modifying the propagators in loop integrations represented by Feynman diagrams. The Python-language-based package pySecDec is designed for numerical calculation of dimensionally regulated loop integrals. The research goal for my thesis is to develop a methodology to numerically calculate loop integrations for finite temperature effects in quantum field theory by adapting pySecDec functions and implementing them for such purpose. In this thesis, the methodology is used on one-loop self-energy to achieve numerical calculation results. The pySecDec methodology is validated in comparison to existing analytic results for this topology