On colimits and elementary embeddings

We give a sharper version of a theorem of Rosicky, Trnkova and Adamek, and a new proof of a theorem of Rosicky, both about colimit preservation between categories of structures. Unlike the original proofs, which use category-theoretic methods, we use set-theoretic arguments involving elementary embeddings given by large cardinals such as alpha-strongly compact and C^(n)-extendible cardinals.Comment: 17 page

The infinite random simplicial complex

We study the Fraisse limit of the class of all finite simplicial complexes. Whilst the natural model-theoretic setting for this class uses an infinite language, a range of results associated with Fraisse limits of structures for finite languages carry across to this important example. We introduce the notion of a local class, with the class of finite simplicial complexes as an archetypal example, and in this general context prove the existence of a 0-1 law and other basic model-theoretic results. Constraining to the case where all relations are symmetric, we show that every direct limit of finite groups, and every metrizable profinite group, appears as a subgroup of the automorphism group of the Fraisse limit. Finally, for the specific case of simplicial complexes, we show that the geometric realisation is topologically surprisingly simple: despite the combinatorial complexity of the Fraisse limit, its geometric realisation is homeomorphic to the infinite simplex.Comment: 33 page

Subcompact cardinals, squares, and stationary reflection

We generalise Jensen's result on the incompatibility of subcompactness with square. We show that alpha^+-subcompactness of some cardinal less than or equal to alpha precludes square_alpha, but also that square may be forced to hold everywhere where this obstruction is not present. The forcing also preserves other strong large cardinals. Similar results are also given for stationary reflection, with a corresponding strengthening of the large cardinal assumption involved. Finally, we refine the analysis by considering Schimmerling's hierarchy of weak squares, showing which cases are precluded by alpha^+-subcompactness, and again we demonstrate the optimality of our results by forcing the strongest possible squares under these restrictions to hold.Comment: 18 pages. Corrections and improvements from referee's report mad

Group Dance/Movement Therapy and Attachment Theory with Female Survivors of Domestic Violence

One in three women in the United States has experienced physical abuse by an intimate partner (NCADV, 2015). Nearly half of all women in the US have experienced psychological aggression by an intimate partner (Black, et al., 2010). Survivors of domestic violence commonly face long-term psychological damage because of the abuse, which can lead to negative social implications throughout their lifetime. Illnesses stemming from abuse include post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety, and can further result in low self-esteem, or being unable to trust others and build healthy social or romantic relationships (Black et al., 2010). This thesis will discuss the long-term psychological and social challenges faced by survivors of domestic violence, therapies currently offered to survivors, and how group dance/movement therapy can serve this population in their recovery. Group dance/movement therapy aids in introducing emotional regulation and coping skills through movement, and provides survivors an opportunity to build social capital and trust. This thesis also considers Bowlby’s Attachment Theory as a framework of a survivor’s ability to build and maintain healthy relationships after experiencing abuse

Accounting for Mysteries: Narratives of Intuition and Empiricism in the Victorian Novel

This dissertation explores the tensions between an empirical epistemology and an intuitive method of knowing the world as depicted in popular Victorian novels. These narratives attempt to assimilate alternate modes of understanding; however, the uneasiness of the relationship between empiricism and intuition speaks to larger cultural tensions about the possibility of reconciling fact and feeling in the mid- to late-nineteenth century. I argue that intuitive and imaginative modes of cognition are continually privileged in novels that explicitly claim to adhere to empirical forms of knowledge. As I examine the work of Charles Dickens, Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Wilkie Collins, and George Eliot, my project traces what I suggest is a particularly Victorian desire to empirically account for the material facts of the world and a simultaneous reluctance to abandon a sense of moral certainty that can be maintained only within the realm of instinct and intuition

Our Grandparents / 旧识

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Arts of Bard College

Adolescent Borderline Personality Disorder: A Diagnosis More Hopeful Than Harmful

Although Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is a valid and treatable diagnosis, it has been one of the most stigmatized illnesses since entering the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual in 1980 (Sharp & Tackett, 2014). This disorder continues to be underdiagnosed and undisclosed in adolescent patient populations in particular (Koehne et al., 2012) despite well-founded agreement that BPD begins in adolescence (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Because of this reluctance from clinicians to disclose a BPD diagnosis to their patients, adolescents with BPD tend to face even more stigma than adults with the same diagnosis, which then impedes their ability to seek and receive proper treatment before symptoms worsen. Considering that common symptoms of severe BPD include self-harm, multiple inpatient hospitalizations, and or suicide, early diagnosis and treatment intervention is imperative. BPD has actually been called the “good prognosis diagnosis” (Gunderson et al., 2009), but misdiagnosis and lack of education and awareness about adolescent BPD remain an issue. It is entirely possible that a BPD diagnosis in adolescence can in fact do more good than harm, and in that diagnosis itself, one can even find hope. A review of the literature includes: disclosing the diagnosis and ethical considerations, adolescent-specific challenges and perspectives on mental health in general, misdiagnosis, and the importance of psychoeducation for BPD. Finally, based on this review, a training intervention on adolescent BPD for psychiatric inpatient treatment clinicians is proposed