VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Modelling technology in agriculture and manufacturing using cross-country panel data
Keywords: common factor model
cross-country productivity analysis
nonstationary panel econometrics
technology heterogeneity

Why do we observe such dramatic differences in labour productivity across countries in the macro data? This thesis argues that the growth empirics literature oversimplifies the complexity of the production process across countries and neglects data cross-section and time-series properties, leading to bias in the empirical estimates. Chapter 1 presents two general empirical frameworks for cross-country productivity analysis and demonstrates that they encompass the growth empirics literature of the past decades. We introduce our central argument of cross-country heterogeneity in the impact of observables and unobservables on output and develop this against the background of the pertinent time-series and cross-section properties of macro panel data. Chapter 2 uses data from 48 countries to estimate manufacturing production functions. We discuss standard and novel estimators, focusing on their treatment of parameter heterogeneity and data time-series and cross-section properties. We develop the Augmented Mean Group (AMG) estimator and show its similarity to the Pesaran (2006) Common Correlated Effects (CCE) approach. Our results confirm parameter heterogeneity across countries in the impact of observable inputs on output. We check the robustness of this finding and highlight its implications for empirical measures of TFP. Chapter 3 investigates the heterogeneity of agricultural production technology using data for 128 countries. We develop an extension to the CCE estimators which allows us to suggest that TFP is structured such that countries with similar agro-climatic environment are influenced by the same unobserved factors. This finding offers a possible explanation for the failure of technology-transfer from advanced countries of the temperate 'North' to developing countries of the arid/equatorial 'South'. Our Monte Carlo simulations in Chapter 4 investigate the performance of the AMG, CCE and standard (micro-)panel estimators. Failure to account for cross-section dependence is shown to result in serious distortion of the empirical estimates. We highlight scenarios in which the AMG is biased and offer simple remedies.
Half spaghetti- half Knödel: cultural division through the lens of language learning
Keywords: bilingualism
borders
education
multilingualism
South Tyrol
second language acquisition
Austria
language minorities
Italy

South Tyrol, which is situated on the border between Austria and Italy, has been considered a 'peace model' by many nation-states since the creation of the province's autonomy statutes. The objective of these statutes was to allow for minority protection of the German- and Ladin-speaking communities while also permitting Austria to be the 'protector' of South Tyrol even though the province is situated in Italy. Another bi-product of these statutes was the creation of the 'separate but equal' education system, which allowed the German-, Italian- and Ladin-speaking communities to have individual schools in order to protect their culture and language identity.
In the past several decades, there has been an increase in 'mixed' marriages with members of differing language groups producing bilingual children. Additionally, civil service positions now require that all applicants have a mandatory comprehension of the L2, or in some cases L3, in order to apply for certain posts. As the education system tries to adjust to local concerns regarding the insufficient teaching of the L2 in monolingual education, the concept of South Tyrol as a 'peace model' is brought into question.
In this thesis, I examine how the South Tyrolean school system is reflective of society at large as its divided education mirrors the current fissures existent amongst the language communities. With parents looking for alternative measures to instruct their children in the L2, some residents would prefer a bilingual schooling option to encourage inter-group assimilation.
Furthermore, I discuss, outside of education, external social factors in the region which impact L2 learning creating language learning 'blocks' and 'victim' versus 'conqueror' mentalities. The objective of this research is to try and understand how South Tyrol continues to be in transition as the province adjusts to more bilingualism despite the historical need to preserve the language minorities.
Ethical issues in the use of magnetic resonance imaging of the brain in newborn infants with hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy
Keywords: euthanasia
disability
cerebral palsy
decision-making
neuroethics
intellectual disability
Prognosis
Birth asphyxia
withdrawing treatment
neonatal intensive care
neuroimaging
medical ethics
Withholding treatment
MRI
Magnetic Resonance imaging
applied ethics
decision theory
Hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy
Brain injury
Newborn infant
prognosis

Infants with hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy (birth asphyxia) have a high risk of death or disability. Those with poor prognosis are sometimes allowed to die after withdrawal of intensive care. In recent years, doctors have used new types of brain scan, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), to predict the type and severity of impairment if the infant survives and to help with such decisions. In this thesis, I analyse the issues arising from the use of MRI for prognostication and decision-making in newborn infants. I argue that previous prognostic research has been hampered by a failure to identify and focus on the most important practical question and that this contributes to uncertainty in practice. I outline recommendations for improving research. I then look at existing guidelines about withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment. I identify several problems with these guidelines; they are vague and fail to provide practical guidance, they provide little or no genuine scope for parental involvement in decisions, and they give no weight to the interests of others. I argue that parental interests should be given some weight in decisions for newborn infants. I develop a new model of decision-making that, using the concept of a Restricted Life, attempts to set out clearly the boundaries of parental discretion in decision-making. I argue that where infants are predicted to have severe cognitive or very severe physical impairment parents should be permitted to request either withdrawal or continuation of treatment. I justify this model on the basis of overlapping interests, (prognostic, experiential and moral) uncertainty, asymmetrical harms, and the burden of care. In the conclusion, I set out a guideline for the use of MRI in newborn infants with hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy. I suggest that this guideline would provide a more robust, coherent and practical basis for decision-making in newborn intensive care.
The place of the inns in the commercial life of London and western England, 1660-1760
Keywords: Inns

The economic history of England has long been dominated by the Industrial Revolution, examining its degree of uniqueness, and its longer-term implications for both the domestic economy and that of the nations whose advance to the modern industrial state took place rather later. In this study , scholars have tended to concentrate on the period after 1750, often dismissing the previous century rather naively in terms of 'preconditions' for industrial growth. Relatively few have looked at the later seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries in depth, except in the fields of public finance and overseas trade. For most purposes, the century before the Industrial Revolution is still, in Professor Fisher's words, a 'Dark Age'.
One sector of the economy, the retail trade and retailing institutions, has been generally deprived of scholarly attention. Apart from the development of the great chain stores in the nineteenth century, the bulk of our knowledge of the sector of the economy stems from research conducted prior to 1920. While age is hardly synonymous with a lack of quality, the time had clearly come for some revision. As scholars such as Professor Eversley have come to stress the significance of changing patterns of consumption in the home market to the Industrial Revolution, this sector of the economy has increasingly demanded more research.
[Abstract continued in thesis]
When two worldviews meet
Keywords: Epistemology
Hinduism
Biology
Consciousness
Teleology
Ontology
Bhagavata Purana
Darwinism

Over the past thirty years, academic dialogues on the relationships between the sciences and religions have flourished, albeit primarily within Judeo-Christian historical, theological and philosophical contexts. Can a Hindu tradition be brought into this dialogue? The Bhāgavata Purāṇa is one of the most well-known sacred texts of India, and biology, Darwinism in particular, has become one of the most spirited areas of the science and religion dialogue in academia, as well as in the popular media. This thesis examines the possibility, scope and foundational topics involved in a dialogue between Vaiṣṇava-Hindu theology as found in the Bhāgavata, and the theoretical, philosophical and theological issues surrounding contemporary biology.
To examine the possibility and scope of a Bhāgavata-science dialogue, I focus on the theological, ontological, epistemological and teleological presuppositions that each tradition bring to the study of nature, outlining the similarities and differences in their approaches. I establish the grounds for further discussion through a comparative analysis of terms such as "consciousness," "knowledge" and "goal of knowledge"; as they appear in the Bhāgavata and noteworthy Darwinian texts.
My argument is that although prima facie the two traditions appear different in their philosophical, scientific and theological approaches, there are a number of areas of common interest and parallels, especially in their epistemologies and teleologies. In the case of genuine differences, such as their views on the ontology of consciousness, I demonstrate the possibility of reconciliation. Clarifying the conceptual differences, establishing parallels and demonstrating areas of common interests opens the possibility and widens the scope for further dialogue.
Statistical models for social network dynamics
Keywords: social network analysis
statistical modeling

The study of social network dynamics has become an increasingly important component of many disciplines in the social sciences. In the past decade, statistical models and methods have been proposed which permit researchers to draw statistical inference on these dynamics. This thesis builds on one such family of models, the stochastic actor oriented model (SAOM) proposed by Snijders [2001]. Goodness of fit for SAOMs is an area that is only just beginning to be filled in with appropriate methods. This thesis proposes a Mahalanobis distance based, Monte Carlo goodness of fit test that can depend on arbitrary features of the observed network data and covariates. As remediating poor fit can be a difficult process, a modified model distance (MMD) estimator is devised that can help researchers to choose among a set of model elaborations. In practice, panel data is typically used to draw SAOM-based inference. This thesis also proposes a score-type test for time heterogeneity between the waves in the panel that is computationally cheap and fits into a convenient, forward model selecting workflow. Next, this thesis proposes a rigorous method for aggregating so-called relational event data (e.g. emails and phone calls) by extending the SAOM family to a family of hidden Markov models that suppose a latent social network is driving the observed relational events. Finally, this thesis proposes a measurement model for SAOMs inspired by error-in-variables (EiV) models employed in an array of disciplines. Like the relational event aggregation model, the measurement model is a hidden Markov model extension to the SAOM family. These models allow the researcher to specify the form of the mesurement error and buffer against potential attenuating biases and other problems that can arise if the errors are ignored.
Germline determinants of 5-fluorouracil drug toxicity and patient survival in colorectal cancer
Keywords: 5FU
association study
SNP
diarrhoea
TYMS
genetics
TS
drug personalisation
cancer
survival
ENOSF1
chemotherapy
drug personalization
colorectal cancer
5-fluorouracil
toxgnostics
DPYD
toxicity
neutropaenia
metabolism
thrombocytopaenia
DPD
GWAS
5-FU

Despite a decade of publications investigating the effect of germline polymorphisms on both toxicity related to treatment with 5-fluorouracil-based (5-FU) chemotherapy and prognosis following diagnosis with colorectal cancer (CRC), few genetic biomarkers have been identified convincingly. For 5-FU toxicity and CRC prognosis, in four results chapters, this thesis aims to validate previously-reported genetic biomarkers, identify new markers, determine the mechanistic basis of associated polymorphisms, and expand upon methods in the field.
The first three results chapters investigate genetic biomarkers for the prediction of toxicity caused by 5-FU-based treatment, particularly for the 5-FU prodrug capecitabine (Xeloda®, Roche). In the first, a systematic review and meta-analysis is performed for all variants that have been previously studied for an association with toxicity caused by any 5-FU-based drug regimen. 16 studies are analysed, including 36 previously-studied variants. Four variants show strong evidence of affecting a patient’s risk of global (any) 5-FU-related toxicity upon analysis of both the existing data and over 900 patients from the QUASAR2 trial of capecitabine +/- bevacizumab (Avastin®, Roche/Genentech): DPYD 2846, DPYD *2A, TYMS 5’VNTR and TYMS 3’UTR. Next, 1,456 polymorphisms in 25 genes involved in the activation, action or degradation of 5-FU are investigated in 1,046 patients from QUASAR2. At a Bonferroni-corrected p-value threshold of 3.43e-05, three novel associations with capecitabine-related toxicity are identified in DPYD (rs12132152, rs7548189, A551T) and the previously-identified TYMS 5’VNTR and 3’UTR toxicity polymorphisms are refined to a tagging SNP (rs2612091) downstream of TYMS and intronic to the adjacent ENOSF1, the latter of which appears to be functional. Finally, a genome-wide investigation of 4.77 million directly genotyped or imputed SNPs identifies one variant (rs2093152 on chr20) as significantly associated with capecitabine-related diarrhoea (p<5e-08), though no associations meet this threshold for global toxicity.
In the study of CRC prognosis, a severe left truncation to the VICTOR trial is defined and shown to probably reduce statistical power but not bias effect estimates. Applying standard and novel genome-wide analysis approaches, a set of 43 SNPs are prioritised for future work.
With over one million new CRC cases annually, this work helps define biomarkers that could become broadly applicable in the clinical setting.
East African rainfall: classification of rain producing systems - a modelling and observation study
Keywords: rainfall
geography
climate change
East Africa
climate

The study of anthropogenic climate change is a research area of vital importance for the coming decades, with rainfall change and variability expected to be keenly felt in vulnerable regions of the world, including Africa. The focus of this study is daily rainfall during the short rains season over East Africa from October to December, which has one of the most coherent increasing rainfall projections in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP) dataset. This thesis aims to examine the fidelity of coupled climate models over an East African domain, with the question approached through focus on the daily (rather than monthly) rainfall field.
The self-organising map is used as a clustering tool to establish contemporary characteristics of daily rainfall events in reanalysis (ERA-40) and satellite (TRMM) rainfall datasets between 1971-2000 and 1998-2010 respectively for the East African short rains. Moisture flux divergence is found to be the circulation parameter that is most closely related to the presence of rainfall events or dry conditions over East Africa. Coupled climate models are poor at replicating the daily rainfall field over the domain. A key result of the analysis is the consistent overestimation of daily rainfall by climate models for days where dry conditions of suppressed convection should prevail. In contrast, the moisture flux divergence field maps well to dry nodes for days of the self-organising map array for the models. Dry days are associated with widespread anomalous moisture flux divergence and rainfall events with co-located anomalous moisture flux convergence. This is in agreement with the moisture flux divergence field in the ERA-40 dataset; it is the rainfall field where there is disagreement for days of suppressed convection.
Twenty to thirty-five percent of the projected rainfall increase towards the end of the twenty-first century results from an increase in the proportion of days assigned to nodes of suppressed convection in six of the seven models and the ensemble mean. There is an accompanying projected rainfall increase associated with days assigned to these nodes. Such days in the 2090s are characterised by projected increased strength moisture flux divergence over East Africa. Given that the moisture flux field was more successfully simulated in the coupled models under contemporary conditions than the daily rainfall field, this suggests that rainfall projections under a high emissions scenario at the end of the twenty-first century are overestimated and that an important part of the key increase in the projected rainfall may not be real.
Computational studies of signalling at the cell membrane
Keywords: cell signalling
membrane-binding proteins
Pleckstrin homology domains
inositol phosphates
phosphoinositides
Brownian dynamics simulations
PTEN tumour suppressor
molecular dynamics simulations

In order to associate with the cytoplasmic leaflet of the plasma membrane, many cytosolic signalling proteins possess a distinct lipid binding domain as part of their overall fold. Here, a multiscale simulation approach has been used to investigate three membrane-binding proteins involved in cellular processes such as growth and proliferation. The pleckstrin homology (PH) domain from the general receptor for phosphoinositides 1 (GRP1-PH) binds phosphatidylinositol (3,4,5)-trisphosphate (PI(3,4,5)P₃) with high affinity and specificity. To investigate how this peripheral protein is able to locate its target lipid in the complex membrane environment, Brownian dynamics (BD) simulations were employed to explore association pathways for GRP1-PH binding to PI(3,4,5)P₃ embedded in membranes with different surface charge densities and distributions. The results indicated that non-PI(3,4,5)P₃ lipids can act as decoys to disrupt PI(3,4,5)P₃ binding, but that at approximately physiological anionic lipid concentrations steering towards PI(3,4,5)P₃ is actually enhanced. Atomistic molecular dynamics (MD) simulations revealed substantial membrane penetration of membrane-bound GRP1-PH, evident when non-equilibrium, steered MD simulations were used to forcibly dissociate the protein from the membrane surface. Atomistic and coarse grained (CG) MD simulations of the phosphatase and tensin homologue deleted on chromosome ten (PTEN) tumour suppressor, which also binds PI(3,4,5)P₃, detected numerous non-specific protein-lipid contacts and anionic lipid clustering around PTEN that can be modulated by selective in silico mutagenesis. These results suggested a dual recognition model of membrane binding, with non-specific membrane interactions complementing the protein-ligand interaction. Molecular docking and MD simulations were used to characterise the lipid binding properties of kindlin-1 PH. Simulations demonstrated that a dynamic salt bridge was responsible for controlling the accessibility of the binding site. Electrostatics calculations applied to a variety of PH domains suggested that their molecular dipole moments are typically aligned with their ligand binding sites, which has implications for steering and ligand electrostatic funnelling.
Human capital, informality and labour market outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa
Keywords: Tanzania
human capital
South Africa
informality

In this thesis I explore three topics in labour economics, using micro data from South Africa and Tanzania.
South Africa suffers from extremely high income inequality, in part as a result of comprehensive Apartheid-era racial discrimination. The first topic explores possible explanations for the extremely large earnings differences across different types of employment for black South Africans, using the KwaZulu-Natal Income Dynamics Study data. I analyse the relative importance of individual ability and institutions, including public sector wage setting and trade unions, in determining earnings. My results suggest that human capital explains much of the earnings differentials within the private sector, including union premiums, but cannot explain the large premiums for public sector workers.
Self-employment is very common in urban Tanzania but, unlike South Africa, survey data show that there are large overlaps in the distribution of earnings in private wage employment and self-employment. This suggests that self-employment represents a viable alternative to wage employment in small, low productivity firms for the majority of urban Tanzanians. In chapter three I build an equilibrium search model of the urban Tanzanian labour market to explain the choice of wage and self-employment and the variation in earnings across and within these sectors.
In the final topic I explore the effect of education on earnings in Tanzania. Estimating the returns to education has stimulated much recent work in applied econometrics as researchers advance their understanding of the effect of individual heterogeneity on the possibility of estimating the returns to education. In my attempt to purge estimates of the return to education of the influence of individual heterogeneity, I use an education reform in Tanzania as a natural experiment that provides exogenous variation in education. When using Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) I find high and strongly convex, increasing returns to education. My best attempt at separating out the effect of individual heterogeneity suggests that returns are still high but that they may actually be concave.