VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
An Investigation of Consumers' Moral Licensing Behavior
Keywords: Accessibility
Closure
Licensing
Moral Regulation
Self-Concept

Research suggests that when individuals have done a good deed, this grants them `license' to engage in more self-interested, immoral or asocial behaviors that otherwise would have discredited the individual. A number of studies across disciplines have found evidence of such licensing effects, yet our understanding of what causes these effects is limited. It is clearly counterproductive if a good deed is likely to be followed by a bad one. Such a regulatory pattern threatens people's moral integrity and undermines personal welfare, yet no research examines how to counteract it. In Essay 1 "Removing Individuals' License to Misbehave," I present an intervention aimed at counteracting the licensing effect. I demonstrate that having participants engage in a physical act of closure - enclosing a written recall of their good deeds within an envelope - counteracts their licensing behavior. This intervention targets what I propose is a critical but overlooked condition for moral licensing to occur: the accessibility of one's previous good deeds. Furthermore, I contribute to our understanding of moral licensing by examining a novel moderator of the licensing effect, the actor-perceived specialness of one's good deed. Research has found that changes in self-concept may mediate the licensing effect. In Essay 2 "Examining Self-Concept as a Mediator of Licensing Effects", I critically examine this process. Across three studies I replicate the licensing effect, but find no significant relationship with participants' self-concepts. In each study, self-concept was measured using scales previously established in the licensing context, yet none of these mediated participants' licensing behavior. Based on both theoretical as well as empirical findings, I propose that our current self-concept measures need to be re-examined.By advancing our understanding of moral licensing behaviors and demonstrating how to counteract them, this dissertation provides significant practical and theoretical contributions for our understanding of moral licensing effects.
Unconventional Symmetry Breaking in Strongly Correlated Systems
Keywords: hidden order
Kitaev
Kondo lattice
magnetism
spin liquid
strongly correlated

New and interesting phases of matter can be stabilized in frustrated and strong correlated systems. In this thesis, we study a variety of exotic symmetry broken states that arise when conventional or natural ordering tendencies have been suppressed. We consider several diverse examples, drawing from frustrated magnets and Kondo lattice systems. We first explore this topic in the Z[Pd(dmit)
Epistemically Responsible Action
Keywords: action
assertion
knowledge
norms
responsibility

We are often, as agents, responsible for the things we do and say. This responsibility can come in a number of different forms: here I propose and defend a view of how we are epistemically responsible for our actions and assertions. First, I establish a general claim about the ways that we make epistemic evaluations in relation to the norms that govern assertion and practical reasoning. Many endorse what I call epistemic monism, the view that all epistemic evaluations of actions or assertions must be explained solely in terms of whether one has adhered to the respective norm. I argue that epistemic monism is false. Instead, I defend epistemic separability, the view that we make two different kinds of epistemic evaluations when it comes to assertions and actions: one that pertains to whether one has adhered to the relevant epistemic norm, and one that pertains to the way in which one has adhered to that norm. I argue that whether one's action is epistemically responsible depends on whether one is able to fulfil the epistemic commitments one makes in performing that action. These commitments consist in being able to provide reasons to believe that one has adhered to the norm governing the action one performs, according to a standard imposed by the situation in which one acts. Finally, I consider how accepting a notion of epistemic responsibility affects the ways in which epistemologists interpret judgments of the propriety of actions and assertions. I argue that epistemologists might be mistakenly interpreting judgments of epistemic propriety as being indicative of something important about knowledge, when they should actually be interpreted as something about our ability to employ our knowledge responsibly in our actions.
Ecological and Evolutionary Consequences of Herbivory on Plant Communities
Keywords: community genetics
community phylogenetics
contemporary evolution
herbivory
plant-herbivore interactions

Understanding the consequences of species interactions is central to ecological and evolutionary research. My research focused on better understanding the evolutionary ecology of plant- herbivore interactions by asking two broad questions: 1) How do herbivores shape the composition and diversity of plant populations and communities? And, 2) How does genetic variation and ongoing evolutionary dynamics in herbivores influence plant ecology? To test the first question, I utilized long-term herbivore manipulations in the grasslands of Silwood Park, England. I tested ecological and evolutionary consequences of rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) grazing on plant populations by collecting seeds from rabbit exclosures ranging in age from 4 months to >20 years and growing them in common environments. I found that rabbit exclusion caused evolution of multiple plant defensive traits in three plant species and influenced the costs and benefits of a mutualistic interaction between a grass and its fungal endophyte. In another experiment at Silwood Park I investigated how multiple groups of herbivores (rabbits, insects, and mollusks) and nutrient additions shaped plant species richness and phylogenetic diversity. I found that nitrogen addition strongly reduced species richness while rabbit grazing increased plant phylogenetic diversity. To test the second question, I conducted field experiments where I manipulated the genotypic composition of green peach aphid (Myzus persicae) populations on two host plant species. I found that genetic variation in M. persicae had large impacts on plant growth, that M. persicae populations changed in genotype frequency (i.e. they evolved) over 5 generations, and that in some cases faster evolving populations had larger negative impacts on plant growth. Together these results demonstrate how herbivory can concurrently shape the ecology and evolution of plants at multiple levels of organization and that herbivore genetic variation and evolution can have important consequences on plant ecology.
A Narrative Perspective on the Study of Select Professional Trumpeters' Experiences: Shaping a Musical Life
Keywords: Performance
Trumpet

Many aspiring young trumpeters the world over share the same purpose: to achieve international acclaim for their art. Each trumpeter seeking such acclaim needs to adopt those skills and characteristics necessary to achieve greatness in performance and maintain a professional career. As master musicians continue to excel in their fields, their students are privileged to learn from their expertise. My career as a performer and educator has been profoundly shaped both by the teachings of my professors and the concerts of internationally acclaimed performers. Concepts of trumpet pedagogy have changed significantly since the early twentieth century. Methods have become increasingly under examination as performance demands have grown. However, there is a lack of research on the personal professional knowledge of trumpet performers. The documentation of this specialist knowledge from the artists themselves is particularly sparse. As a result, only select students have the privilege of gaining this information. In many cases successful musicians often have a small number of protĂŠgĂŠes who receive this wisdom aurally. Although a number of studies focus on specific pedagogical techniques and philosophical ideologies, few studies exist that connect innate methods of pedagogy to the careers of trumpet performers. Moreover, a body of literature that documents the cultural impact on professional and educational development in trumpet performance is lacking. This study seeks to document the professional wisdom of four successful artists so that more students and pedagogues may benefit.This research found that the stories told by professional trumpeters suggest key elements of their success. There are similarities in their pedagogical approaches and innate qualities that are vital to that success. Their teachers have had profound influence on their development. Another common element was an early involvement with music in the family. Cultural backgrounds had some influence on the various pathways to the respective professional careers, but since many professionals aim for acclaim across the globe for their performances, it is not the culture that defines an individual's style, but the person him/herself who grows into his/her own style.
Optical Switching in Next-generation Data Centers
Keywords: cloud computing
data center
optical packet switching
wavelength-division multiplexing
wavelength routing

This thesis presents advanced optical connectivity solutions for next-generation data centers, spanning millions of processing cores. The wavelength routing of optical packets based on arrayed waveguide gratings (AWGs), tunable wavelength converters (TWCs), and fiber delay lines (FDLs) is a disruptive technology for capacity, footprint, and flexibility requirements of massive cloud data centers. We develop a wavelength-division multiplexed (WDM) design based on Birkhoff-von Neumann architecture as a bit-rate transparent, scalable solution to switching bottlenecks in data center networks. As no mature all-optical buffering technology is currently available, central to our design is the buffering strategy that we adopt to store contending packets. Due to the limited number of FDLs, packet drops are common in optical packet switching (OPS) data centers and limit the network throughput. In a practical scenario, physical layer impairments, predominantly amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) noise and crosstalk, degrade Q-factor and lead to additional packet drops. To examine the performance of optical buffer units more accurately, we develop a unified analysis framework, integrating the network layer and the physical layer effects. Using this framework, we refine our architectures and provide guidelines for minimizing the physical layer impact. Besides, optical switch designs should not neglect the diversity of data center traffic patterns when developing connectivity solutions. Empirical studies of data center network traffic reveal that server traffic exhibits strong spatial and temporal correlations. We examine the effectiveness of an AWG-based load balancer with round-robin tuning TWCs in resolving congestion penalties in the data center network. Our cross-layer analysis suggests that the physical layer impairments due to the load balancer hardware could counteract its potential gains and lead to significant throughput degradation. To resolve this challenge, we develop a novel modular router architecture based on WDM shared recirculation buffers that integrates the functions of load balancing and routing and maximizes the optical buffering gains. The router employs a load-balancing scheduler to maximize throughput and minimize delay. Our mathematical analysis and Monte Carlo simulations show that the consolidation of optical buffer slots into WDM FDLs accompanied with internal load balancing leads to a virtually lossless router, resilient to data center traffic anomalies.
Engineering of Doping and Transport for Enhanced Colloidal Quantum Dot Photovoltaics
Keywords: doping
photovoltaics
quantum dot
solar cells
transport

Colloidal Quantum Dots (CQDs) are nanoscale quantum-tuned semiconductor particles suspended in solution. When deployed as optoelectronic materials, CQDs are closely packed together into thin films enabling charge transport. This also enables the formation of semiconductor junctions and contacts with other bulk semiconductor materials and metals, respectively. However, limited attention has been given to understanding the fundamental electronic behavior of these materials as bulk-like films, gaining fine control over their semiconducting properties, and then leveraging these insights to make better semiconductor devices. In this thesis, I explore two of the most fundamental concepts to CQD semiconductor device physics: charge carrier doping density and charge carrier transport. With the aid of optoelectronic simulation, I show that these are the most important paths to pursue in order to improve the photovoltaic device performance. I develop a doping density theory that I then rigorously test for the PbS CQD materials system; this theory is also applicable to other types of CQD materials. I demonstrate doping densities on the order of 1016 cm-3 to 1018 cm-3 for both p- and n-type films. My work enables a previously unavailable p-n homojunction within one CQD materials system, and furthermore allows to grade the doping within the active absorber layer to reach power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) exceeding 7%. I then study CQD size polydispersity, and use it to investigate the details of charge transport in the rough energetic landscapes inherent to these materials. Here, I find that midgap trap elimination is the most important concept in rapidly obtaining dramatic photovoltaic performance gains. By directly measuring the diffusion length in highly coupled CQD films, and combined with optoelectronic modeling, I was able to develop a new passivation strategy achieving a record 8.5% PCE. My research serves as a roadmap for future performance improvements in CQD photovoltaics.
A Health Promoting Continuous Learning Sustainable Education System
Keywords: educational leadership and systems change
health promoting continuous learning sustainable education systems
health promotion and systems change
healthy schools
workplaces and communities
leadership and systems change
sustainable systems

Abstract This thesis was inspired by a new, evolving vision of a health promoting, continuous learning, education system with an ecological consciousness and focus on sustainability. In health promotion we are coming to a greater understanding of what creates health and how it is created in complex living systems - individuals, organizations, communities, and our planet. The setting is a large school district in Ontario involved in transformational systems change through creating collaborative learning environments, distributed leadership, and networking - locally and internationally. The research questions were: 1) Why and how do the top three most influential system environments (leadership, a culture of continuous learning, and interrelatedness of work and life) promote the optimal health, well-being, and sustainability of individuals (teachers, principals and supervisory officers) and the school district as a whole?; 2) What are the principles, patterns, relationships, and synergies that are integral to creating a health promoting, continuous learning, sustainable system? and; 3) Is there one or possibly two system environment(s) that might be a major enabler(s) for creating a health promoting, continuous learning, sustainable system? This study was a purposive qualitative study involving sixty semi-structured interviews with teachers, principals, and district leaders. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis and an ecological, holistic systems approach, involving dialogue with experts in systems thinking, theory and change.The findings identify: (a) 12 major themes emerging from three system environments; (b) the synergy point; (c) leadership as the major enabler (d) one major pattern of increasing complexity and consciousness of health, well-being, and sustainability; (e) three sub-patterns: leadership, a culture of continuous learning, and interrelatedness of work and life; and (f) four tensions and paradoxes. This study makes five substantial contributions: * drawing on an ecological, holistic systems approach to health, well-being, and sustainability;* using a systems approach to research design and methodology;* using three knowledge lenses to draw on literature across diverse fields; *identifying 12 Principles of a Health Promoting, Continuous Learning, Sustainable System; *developing a Reflective Framework: Five Levels of Complexity and Consciousness of Health, Well-Being, and Sustainability.Recommendations and suggestions for further study are outlined.
FKBP14 in Notch Signalling and Drosophila Development
Keywords: FKBP14
Notch
Presenilin

Presenilins (PSs) are highly conserved transmembrane proteins that form the catalytic core of the gamma-secretase complex, which cleaves a growing list of transmembrane proteins including Notch and Amyloid Precursor Protein. Autosomal dominant mutations in the genes encoding human PS have been closely linked to cases of early onset familial Alzheimer's Disease (FAD), and these FAD-linked PS mutations influence the activity of gamma-secretase. The production and maturation of gamma-secretase subunits are highly codependent, yet the mechanisms regulating assembly and activity of the complex are unclear. A screen in Drosophila identified FKBP14, an FK506-binding proteins (FKBP), as a genetic modifier of Presenilin (Psn), with FKBP14 mutants exhibiting defects typical of loss of Notch signalling. FKBPs are highly conserved and involved in a wide array of biochemical processes including protein folding, assembly, and trafficking, yet they are non-essential in yeast and their role in development of multicellular organisms remains unclear.The work presented in this thesis establishes a role for FKBP14 in multicellular development as a regulator of Notch signalling via Presenilin and the gamma-secretase complex. I show that FKBP14 mutants genetically interact with components of the Notch pathway, and that Psn-dependent gamma-secretase cleavage, a process required for Notch signalling, is reduced in FKBP14 mutants. I also identify a Notch-independent role for FKBP14 in cell viability during Drosophila development and present data establishing that both the PPIase and EF hand domains of FKBP14 are required for its function. Altogether, these data demonstrate that FKBP14 plays a critical role in development, one aspect of which includes regulating members of the Notch signalling pathway. Investigation of the role of FKBP14 in Notch signalling via its interaction with Psn, and potentially broader roles in development, may provide a greater understanding of FKBPs in multicellular signalling.
Quantum Hamiltonian Reduction of W-algebras and Category O
Keywords: Category O
Poisson Geometry
Quantum Hamiltonian Reduction
W-algebras

W-algebras are a class of non-commutative algebras related to the classical universal enveloping algebras. They can be defined as a subquotient of U(g) related to a choice of nilpotent element e and compatible nilpotent subalgebra m. This procedure constitutes a quantisation of the classical construction of Hamiltonian reduction.We define a quantum version of Hamiltonian reduction by stages and use it to construct intermediate reductions between different W-algebras U(g,e) in type A. This allows us to express the W-algebra U(g,e') as a subquotient of U(g,e) for adjacent nilpotent elements e' e.It also produces a collection of (U(g,e),U(g,e'))-bimodules analogous to the generalised Gel'fand-Graev modules used in the classical definition of the W-algebra; these can be used to obtain adjoint functors between the corresponding module categories.The category of modules over a W-algebra has a full subcategory defined in a parallel fashion to that of the BGG category O; this version of category O(e) for W-algebras is equivalent to an infinitesimal block of category O by an argument of Miličić and Soergel. We therefore construct analogues of the translation functors between the different blocks of O, in this case being functors between the categories O(e) for different W-algebras U(g,e). This follows an argument of Losev,and realises the category O(e') as equivalent to a full subcategory of the category O(e), where e' e in the refinement ordering. Future work is to use this to provide an alternate categorification of U(sl
Proteomic Signatures of the Colorectal Cancer Desmoplastic Invasion Front
Keywords: Bone Morphogenetic Protein Pathway
Cancer-associated Fibroblasts
Colorectal Cancer
Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition
Proteomics Bioinformtics
Tumor-Budding

Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) comprise a proponent compartment of the tumor microenvironment and are implicated in tumor progression. Local invasion and tumor-budding formation, i.e. detachment of individual cancer cells from the tumor invasion front, are regulated by CAFs and the desmoplastic stroma. Given accumulative evidence that such cells have undergone dedifferentiation and have acquired stem-like properties, it was hypothesized that they may be subjected to epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in a context-dependent manner. This thesis attempts to identify and characterize the contextual signals originating from the adjacent CAF population, responsible for mediating these malignant phenomena.Colorectal cancer was opted as model system to address these questions. Co-cultures mimicking the colorectal cancer desmoplastic tumor-host cell interface were generated. Mass spectrometry-based proteomic methods and bioinformatics pipelines were deployed to draw comprehensive signatures of growth factors/mediators secreted in these cocultures, with potential of regulating EMT in neoplastic invasive margins. Given previously-established, tumor-suppressive roles of the BMP pathway, a group of bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) antagonists, namely GREM1, FST and HTRA3, demonstrated attractive candidacy as potential EMT mediators. Using in vitro assays, this thesis further provided experimental insights that antagonist-dependent disruption of the BMP pathway induces enhanced motility and triggers mesenchymal phenotype switching in colon cancer cells. Finally, this thesis provided translational impact of these results in colon cancer patients. BMP antagonists, especially HTRA3 and GREM1, were overexpressed in desmoplastic stromata with tumor budding presence, and their expression significantly correlated with increased tumor-budding score. Additionally, GREM1 was more prominently expressed in invasion fronts with nuclear versus membranous beta-catenin expression.Overall, the data provided here support a working model, whereby contextual BMP antagonism may drive EMT, local invasion and de novo formation of tumor buds from the desmoplastic invasion front. Unraveling this axis thoroughly might be critical for clarifying pharmaceutical opportunities and proposing targeted strategies to manipulate metastasis.