VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Agrarian Social Structures, Insurgent Embeddedness, and State Expansion: Evidence from Colombia
Keywords: Civil War
Colombia
Counterinsurgency

In the context of civil war, the efficacy of counterinsurgency strategies varies dramatically across space and time. While this process of state expansion produces different outcomes between different national level cases, it also engenders diverging results at the sub-national level. Counterinsurgent responses can lead to notable reductions in violence, an achievement mirrored by improved stability and order in contested zones. Quite frequently, however, violence will increase as stability and order worsen. The fact that state expansion into contested spaces produces such different results across areas of extremely close proximity begs the following questions: How is the state able to establish control, and by extension order, in some contested spaces more easily than in others? Conversely, what enables armed non-state actors to withstand and survive this massive onslaught in some cases, while failing elsewhere? Since 2002, the Colombian state has embarked upon a massive state expansion project in many volatile areas of the country that were previously controlled and governed by armed non-state actors. This projection of military, bureaucratic, and economic power into these contested spaces has not always brought peace and stability with it, casting into doubt the efficacy of the central government’s larger attempt at state expansion. This dissertation explores the above research puzzle through a comparative historical analysis of two sub-national counterinsurgency laboratories in rural Colombia which demonstrate enormous variation in counterinsurgent outcomes: Montes de María and Arauca. I provide a longitudinal qualitative model that highlights the importance of pre-existing agrarian social structures on the process of insurgent institutionalization in these spaces, or the ability of these armed non-state actors to embed themselves in rural civilian communities. I find that those actors that are better able to appropriate local cleavages in favor of specific constituencies will achieve a higher level of embeddedness in these spaces and thus possess a higher level of populational control over civilians. These advantages are crucial for insurgents during periods of state expansion, as they are better equipped to protect civilian populations from counterinsurgent violence and to prevent potential defection to their rivals.
Sarcomere Structure in Drosophila Musculature Studied with Polarimetric Second Harmonic Generation Microscopy
Keywords: Drosophila Melanogaster
Microscopy
Muscle
Myosin
SHG

Nonlinear optical microscopy is a powerful imaging modality that enables label-free imaging with endogenous signal generated from the protein arrays that constitute biological structures and can be used to reveal structural and functional information in a system. Second Harmonic Generation (SHG) Microscopy does not require photon absorption for signal generation, providing the added benefit of having a significantly reduced photo-bleaching effect. SHG signal is observed in non-centrosymmetric molecules like myosin and can be used to directly visualize muscle structure. Additionally, polarimetric SHG imaging allows for the quantification of the sample’s microstructure. Muscle function depends on highly ordered protein complexes. UNC45 is a USC chaperone necessary for myosin incorporation into thick filaments. UNC45 is expressed throughout the entire Drosophila life cycle and has been shown to be important during late embryogenesis when initial muscle development occurs. However, the effects of UNC45 manipulation at later developmental times have not yet been studied. The focus of my thesis is to utilize both traditional and nonlinear optical microscopy to investigate changes in myosin filament organization and interactions between protein complexes and how it relates to muscle function. UNC45 was knocked down with RNAi in a way that permitted survival to the pupal stage. Immunofluorescence and electron microscopy imaging showed diminished expression of UNC45 and disorganized myosin filaments and Z-disk proteins. Changes in synaptic physiology and impaired locomotor behavior were also observed. These observations were confirmed and further analyzed on a whole-larval scale using the newly developed wide-field SHG microscopy, revealing changes in the striated pattern of somatic muscles and a reduced signal intensity. Polarimetric parameters were used to study chiral and achiral properties of larval muscles. R- and C-ratios were determined using scanning SHG microscopy. R-ratio values were higher in the mutant compared to control, suggesting that a second protein structure was producing a second harmonic response. CD image and C-ratio revealed the bimodal distribution of myosin filaments and changes in chiral structure in UNC45 knockdown larva. Overall, this technique provides insight on how second harmonic properties changes with myosin filament structure. This opens new perspective to study the dynamic properties of muscle structure.
Investigating the Association between Iron and Breast Cancer Risk and Factors Associated with Iron Status among Canadian Women
Keywords: breast cancer
heme iron
iron intake
iron status
serum ferritin

Iron is an essential nutrient but also a potent contributor to oxidative stress. Changes in iron status across reproductive stages may have important implications for women’s health. This dissertation investigates the role of iron as a potential risk factor for breast cancer and assesses determinants of body iron status among Canadian women. First, a systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to evaluate associations between iron and breast cancer risk. When comparing the highest vs. lowest category, heme iron intake and serum iron, but not other measures of iron intake or body iron status, were positively associated with breast cancer risk, with pooled relative risks of 1.12 (95% CI: 1.04–1.22) and 1.22 (95% CI: 1.01–1.47), respectively. Nonlinear dose-response was also observed. Second, in a population-based case-control study of Ontario women (3030 cases, 3402 controls), iron intake was not associated with overall breast cancer risk. Among premenopausal women, higher intakes of total, dietary, and dietary nonheme iron were associated with increased risk of hormone receptor-negative breast cancer. Among postmenopausal women, heme iron and supplemental iron were positively and inversely associated with breast cancer risk, respectively. Among women providing DNA (1696 cases, 1761 controls), those with genotypes resulting in reduced antioxidant capacity, particularly glutathione S-transferase deletions, were most susceptible to the effects of higher dietary iron intake. Third, based on nationally representative data from the Canadian Health Measures Survey, iron deficiency affects 16% and 4% of pre- and postmenopausal women, respectively, whereas 21% of postmenopausal women have elevated iron stores as defined by serum ferritin levels. Age, East/Southeast Asian (vs. White) race/ethnicity, alcohol consumption, and red meat (main source of heme iron) consumption were positively associated with serum ferritin in both pre- and postmenopausal women; aspirin use and dairy consumption were inversely associated with serum ferritin in postmenopausal women. Overall, these results suggest that heme iron may be a major contributor to body iron stores and a potential risk factor for breast cancer, especially among postmenopausal women. This dissertation provides additional insights into iron’s role in breast cancer etiology and highlights the importance of considering elevated iron stores in addition to iron deficiency.
Children’s Literate Identities: Exploring the Literacy Discourses That Permeate the Lives of Two Young Children
Keywords: discourse
identities
identity
literacies
literacy
tutor

This thesis reports on a multiple case study in which I explored the literate identities of two children. I examine how the literacy values, beliefs, dispositions etc. of family members, as well as those enacted during tutor sessions with me as their tutor, support or constrain children’s positive literate identities. Two children, their parents and siblings, who reside in Ontario, Canada, participated in this study. Participant observations, informal and semi-structured interviews, videos of children during tutor sessions, pictures of children’s communicative artifacts and my reflective diary, were the sources of data. Informed by Ivanic (2004) and Wohlwend (2009), I analyzed 372 interview responses for literacy discourse. I then analyzed 9853 meaning-making acts across videos for social purpose, which was informed by Peterson et al. (2019). I also coded meaning-making acts for literacy discourse. I coded 29,559 literacy discourses in total. Patterns of discourse were identified by first making comparisons across participants’ interview responses, then making comparisons between the two children’s tutor sessions. Social purpose and activity/task were also included in the comparisons between the children’s tutor sessions. I found that restrictive views of literacy, such as those pertaining to the skills-mastery discourse, were more likely to constrain children’s (re)construction of positive literate identities. I also found that participants’ interview responses predominantly reflected the skills-mastery discourse. Furthermore, children’s schools often assigned homework that enforced such restrictive views of literacy, influencing the discourses taken up during tutor sessions. I as the children’s tutor, however, played a significant role in exposing children to alternative views/discourses of literacy. My findings point to the need for tutors to move beyond a “shadow education” service model, where tutors closely follow the curricula of schools – private or public – by providing homework or test preparation support no matter the messages about literacy homework tasks enforce. This study advances research in this field by describing the connections between tutors and families’ perceptions of literacy and by highlighting how tutors can open up reflective dialogues with families, with the goal of encouraging broadened notions of literacy. My study contributes to improvements in teaching, particularly for tutors, and children’s literacy development.
Analysis of the Moral Habitability of Obstetric Settings in Ghana
Keywords: Ethics
Midwives/Nurses
Moral agency
Moral Habitability
Moral Identity
Resource constrained settings

Morally habitable workplaces are essential for enhancing the ability of nurses and midwives to meet their caring responsibilities and to limit the experience of moral distress and other work-related adversities. Morally habitable places are those that promote recognition, cooperation, and shared goods as compared to those that create suffering, distress, oppression, and violence. While there have been studies exploring moral habitability or moral climate and its impact on nurses in Western countries, little is known about the moral habitability of the workplaces of nurses and midwives in resource-constrained settings. The purpose of this research was to examine the moral habitability of the work environment of nurses and midwives and its influence on their moral agency. The philosophical works of Margaret Urban Walker and Kwame Gyekye were used as interpretive lenses. A critical moral ethnography was conducted with 30 nurses and midwives working in obstetric settings in Ghana. Data were collected through interview, observation, and documentary materials. Five themes were identified reflecting the moral habitability of the obstetrics settings and moral agency including: 1) holding onto the values, identities, and responsibilities of being a midwife/nurse; 2) scarcity of resources as limiting capacity to meet caring responsibilities; 3) gender and socio-economic inequities shaping the moral social context of practice; 4) working with incoherent moral understandings and damaged identities in the context of inter- and intra-professional relationships; and 5) surviving through adversity with renewed commitment and courage. The nurses and midwives work in a context dominated by the scarcity of resources, overwhelming incoherent moral responsibilities, oppressive conditions, and workplace violence that constrained their moral agency, endangered patient lives, and provoked suffering and distress. Nurses and midwives negotiated their practice and adversity through the influence of their moral values. Creating morally habitable workplaces through a collaborative effort from institutional managers, nurse leaders, doctors, and policymakers may promote a culture of ethical and ideal nursing and midwifery care for childbearing women and professional well-being. Given the ethically laden nature of the work environment, there is a need for an enhanced ethics education and consultation to help the nurses and midwives confront the issues with confidence.
Indoles and Indolines – Palladium-catalyzed Synthesis and Functionalizations by Aromatization and Dearomatization
Keywords: catalysis
dearomatization
fluorine
indole
indoline
palladium

The Lautens group has developed many late transition-metal catalyzed protocols for the synthesis of various heterocycles. The focus of this work is palladium-catalysis for the synthesis and functionalization of indoles and indolines. This thesis is divided into three chapters concerning the synthesis of indoles using the Fang-Lautens indole synthesis, the dearomatization of indole by a migratory insertion strategy, and an electrophilic dearomatization of indoles with N-fluorobenzenesulfonimide. Chapter 1 describes the synthesis of 2-cyanoindoles using the Fang-Lautens indole synthesis. The reaction utilizes vinyl gem-dibromo anilines to access diverse free- and N-capped 2-cyanoindoles in good yield. An investigation of the mechanism and a one-pot procedure to access the 2-tetrazole containing indole is presented. Chapter 2 focuses on the palladium-catalyzed dearomatization of indoles by migratory insertion to access chiral 2,3-functionalized indolines in good to excellent yields. Two research goals are presented. First, a protocol for a diastereoselective arylation/direct arylation of indoles is described, producing complex indolines from benzoyl-indoles and activated C–H bond containing aryl and heteroaryl compounds. The role of a copper additive is explored in preserving dr in the products. Secondly, an asymmetric arylation/borylation of indoles is presented. The synthesis of privileged 3,3’-diaryl phosphoramidite ligands as well as a preactivated mixed-boron reagent containing an sp2-“sp3” bond is described. Chapter 3 focuses on an electrophilic dearomatization of indoles using an electrophilic source of fluoride in a “push-pull mechanism”. The scalable reaction produces activated indolines bearing an exocyclic double bond on the 2-position. The amphoteric nature of these indolines is explored and various palladium, rhodium, and copper reactions are described for the formation of new C–H, C–B, C–C (sp3 and sp2), C–N, C–O, C–P, and C–S bonds.
Making Sense of Relativised Identity
Keywords: Identity
Leibniz's Law
Metaphysics

Relative Identity theorists (such as Geach 1967, 1980; Garbacz 2002; Griffin 1977, and Zemach 1972) claim, while Absolute Identity theorists (such as Wiggins 1967, 2001; Feldman 1981; Hawthorne 2005, and Lowe 2009) deny, that a statement of identity may be true relative to one sortal term (perhaps`statue'), but false relative to another (perhaps `clay'). Typical defenses of Relative Identity have been along the following lines: (i) Absolute Identity cannot be non-circularly defined, and (ii) there are prima-facie cases of Relative Identity in the world (Geach 1962, 1980; Griffin 1972). Both defenses fall short. The Absolute Identity theorist's response to (i) is to note that some of our concepts are basic\textemdash they are not definable in other terms (Hawthorne 2005). The Absolute Identity theorist's response to (ii) is to explain away the purported cases of Relative Identity. I argue that Relative Identity is superior to Absolute Identity because it better captures what we want out of the concept of identity than Absolute Identity does. In Chapter 1, I outline the commitments of Relative Identity, and set up the rest of the dissertation. In Chapter 2, I discuss standards for a good theory of identity. In Chapter 3, I argue that Relative Identity is consistent. \par In Chapter 4, I reply to the worry that Relative Identity is reducible to Absolute Identity and that Absolute Identity therefore plays the role of "real" identity. I argue that to the extent that Relative Identity is reducible to Absolute Identity, Absolute Identity is also reducible to Relative Identity. In Chapter 5, I argue, further, that Relative Identity ought to be considered more fundamental than Absolute Identity. In chapter 6, examine the most controversial aspect of my account of Relative Identity: that objects may be identical in one circumstance but distinct in another. Typically, this would have the counter-intuitive consequence that an object's existence is insufficient for its self-identity. I argue that Relative Identity circumvents this outcome. In Chapter 7, I use the standards of a good theory of identity identified in Chapter 2 to argue that Relative Identity deserves the title of `identity.'
Planning Like a State: Railway Modernization in China
Keywords: Chinese Political Economy
Development
Highspeed Rail
Railway Politics

Railroads in China represent something special. As China enters the third decade of the 21st century, one of its hallmark achievements has been the remarkable modernization of its railway system. However, post-1949 sectoral modernization did not occur in a linear fashion. The Party-state failed to develop this critical sector, both during the 27 years of the Mao era (1949 to 1976) and the first 25 years of Deng’s reform and opening (1978 to 2002). China’s railway dream—sustained rapid development—only took off in the early 2000s. Against such a backdrop, my research questions are as follows: 1) Why did China’s railway dream only take off in the early 2000s, despite five decades of centralized Party rule? 2) What were the obstacles to sectoral modernization, and how were they finally overcome? 3) What political and economic factors, both internal and external, most decisively shaped the evolution of China’s railway system? 4) Finally, what do the distinctive patterns of railway development tell us about the broader political economy of industrial development in China? This dissertation argues that the practice of “concentrating powers to accomplish big things” was the principal reason behind sustained rapid modernization, and China’s accession to the World Trade Organization provided the crucial catalyst. I define “power concentration” as an institutionalized and centralized means of shaping and supporting a particular approach to sectoral development in order to meet the broader developmental challenges of the time. Power concentration manifested as the alignment of a clear developmental approach, professionalized and institutionalized macro-economic planning agencies and strategic industrial policies with restrictive targets that focus on overall planning and top-level design. In the absence of such policy guidance and environment, railway development was meagre as during the Mao era and early periods of reform and opening.
Artistic Knowledge and Performance Identity Formation in Toronto's Hip-hop Communities of Practice
Keywords: hip-hop
informal learning
narrative methodology
performance identity
performativity and Signifyin(g)
Toronto hip-hop

This research project illustrates, through the voices of Toronto hip-hop artists, how the complex, mutually influential interactions between individuals and their communities shape and create knowledge, while encouraging the articulation of difference through unique performance identities. Their learning spaces are not institutional classrooms, but rather public spaces such as community centres, church basements, and concrete city squares, where the line between teacher and student is crossed and blurred. I employ narrative methodology as a means of obtaining the rich accounts necessary to illuminate these community-based learning processes. Hip-hop’s history is passed on orally and aurally as artists cultivate their craft. Artists’ personal stories are essential to the way hip-hop’s history, together with its teaching philosophies, are internalized and passed on in community spaces. Narratives elicited through interviews, conducted as dialogue, have the potential to more respectfully trace these individual-communal relationships. As such, the body of my data consists of the narratives of three Toronto hip-hop artists – B-boy Jazzy Jester, DJ Ariel, and MC LolaBunz – presented and interpreted according to the themes or moments that they have voiced as significant to the development of their skills and of their performance identities. The narratives presented here show the dialogic relationship between musical creativity and identity-building, resulting in embodied, performed expressions of an engagement with the tensions of lived experience. Each artist reveals their personal engagement with layers of normative discourses that are constantly at play, accepted, rejected, and creatively manipulated to fashion one’s own performance identity expressed as style.
Novel Approaches to Hardware Safety Checking and Certificate Minimization
Keywords: Model Checking
Safety Checking
Verification

Verification is an ever-growing challenge in hardware design due to the complexity of modern designs. As a result, formal verification methodologies are seeing rapid adoption in the industry. Formal verification of safety properties is an essential verification task and a key component of algorithms that verify other types of properties. Due to the computational resources required, scalability is a significant concern in this area. Additionally, when a safety property passes verification, safety verification algorithms return only a machine-checkable certificate, which may leave the user with little confidence that the property passes for the “right” reasons rather than, for instance, because the property itself is written incorrectly. This dissertation presents contributions aimed at improving the scalability of formal safety verification algorithms and addressing the lack of feedback from such algorithms. The first contribution is an algorithm called Truss that extends the state-of-the-art safety verification algorithm IC3 with novel heuristics and reasoning capabilities to achieve better runtime performance. Experiments demonstrate a significant speedup relative to the state of the art. The second contribution is a set of techniques to minimize machine-checkable certificates of safety produced by IC3 and similar algorithms. Given such a certificate represented by a Boolean formula, the algorithms find minimal subformulas that are also valid certificates, called minimal safe inductive subformulas (MSISes). Experiments are presented comparing the techniques and demonstrating theireffectiveness. The third contribution is a set of techniques to produce and minimize inductive validity cores (IVCs), which are abstractions of the circuit that are sufficient to prove the given property. Several techniques are presented to compute all minimal IVCs for a safety property and are evaluated experimentally. The final contribution is a set of results related to the computational complexity of the certificate minimization problems noted above. Results are presented showing that two decision problems related to MSIS computation are D P -complete and Σ P2 -complete, respectively, while similar problems for MIVC computation are in PSPACE. The results are also extended to cover a more general class of problems related to finding minimal subsets subject to a monotone predicate (MSMPs).