VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
The Impact of Technological Change within the Home

During the first two thirds of the 20th century, electricity, running water, and a host of new consumer durables diffused into most American homes. These new household technologies revolutionized domestic life by freeing up time from basic housework. In this dissertation, I study the consequences of household technological change on families, focusing on fertility, child health, marriage, and female labour force participation. Chapter 1 provides a short history of household modernization. I then present an econometric framework for evaluating the effects of household technological change, and discuss the main estimation challenges. To address these issues, I introduce an estimation strategy based on a newly-assembled dataset that captures the rollout of the U.S. power grid during the mid-20th century. In chapter 2, I study the impact of household technological change on fertility and child health, exploiting substantial cross-county and cross-state variation in the timing of when households acquired new consumer durables. Modern household technologies led families to make a child quantity-quality tradeoff favouring quality: household modernization is associated with decreases in infant mortality and decreases in fertility. The declines in infant mortality were particularly large in states where households had relied heavily on coal for heating and cooking, where the potential to improve indoor air quality was greatest. Health improvements were also larger in states that had previously invested heavily in maternal education, suggesting that household modernization led parents to provide better infant care. Overall, household technological change can account for between 25% and 30% of the total decline in infant mortality between 1930 and 1960. In chapter 3, I examine the relationship between household modernization, investment in children, and female employment. I present a conceptual framework in which household technological change has little immediate impact on female employment, but generates increased investment in daughters' human capital, ultimately causing a rise in employment for subsequent cohorts of women. I find empirical support for these predictions. Further, the results suggest that the diffusion of modern technology into the home during the first half of the 20th century can account for a significant fraction of the rise in female employment after 1950.

Keywords: Household technological change
Female labour force participation
Infant mortality
Advisor: Siow, Aloysius
Stabile, Mark
Benjamin, Dwayne
McMillan, Robert
Mobilizing Collaborative Networks for a Transformative Food Politics: A Case Study of Provincial Food Networks in Canada

In this dissertation I focus on the diversity of alternative food initiatives (AFIs) that have emerged amidst concerns about the corporate-led industrial food system. While there have been significant successes, critics suggest that many AFIs are an inadequate response to the complex problems within the food system, and further, are complicit in propagating neoliberal ideals and facilitating the retrenchment of the state. While these critics identify important challenges, they tend to consider place-based AFIs as operating independently on particular projects, with specific claims, or in isolated sectors of the food system. There has been little documentation or analysis situating AFIs within a broader community of practice. To fill this gap, my research builds on the existing literature to investigate the increasing collaborations among AFIs in Canada. Using a community-based action approach, I explore the development of provincial food networks in British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario and Nova Scotia. I pay particular attention to efforts that foster and maintain these networks by exploring their history, structure and processes of collaboration. My findings reveal that the provincial food networks can be characterized as assemblages constituted by the self-organization of diverse actors through non-hierarchical, bottom-up processes with multiple and overlapping points of contact. Further, I find that AFIs have used networks strategically to contest the rules and institutions of the dominant food system and to develop participatory and democratic practices that challenge the logics of neoliberalism. Based on the results from this research, I argue that besides developing viable place-based alternatives to the dominant food system, AFIs are also involved in prefigurative ways of being - establishing democratic governance structures, building new institutions, and engaging in different kinds of social relations - in the belly of the existing (food) system.

Keywords: transformative food politics
alterative food initiatives
social movement networks
politics of scale
community based research
Advisor: Wakefield, Sarah
Cocreating Value in Knowledge-intensive Business Services: An Empirically-grounded Design Framework and a Modelling Technique

While knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS) play an important role in industrialized economies, little research has focused on how best to support their design. The emerging understanding of service as a process of value cocreation – or collaborative value creation – can provide the foundations for this purpose; however, this body of literature lacks empirically grounded explanations of how value is actually cocreated and does not provide adequate design support for the specific context of KIBS. This research thus first identifies generative mechanisms of value cocreation in KIBS engagements; it then develops a design framework from this understanding; finally, it elaborates a modeling technique fulfilling the requirements derived from this design framework. A multiple-case study of two academic research and development service engagements, as a particular type of KIBS engagement, was first undertaken to identify generative mechanisms of value cocreation. Data was gathered through interviews, observation, and documentation, and was analyzed both inductively and deductively according to key concepts of value cocreation proposed in literature. Data from a third case study was then used to evaluate the ability of the modeling technique to support the analysis of value cocreation processes in KIBS engagements. Empirical findings identify two contextual factors; one core mechanism; six direct mechanisms; four supporting mechanisms; and two overall processes of value cocreation, aligning and integrating. These findings emphasize the strategic nature of value cocreation in KIBS engagements. Results include an empirically grounded design framework that identifies points of intervention to foster value cocreation in KIBS engagements, and from which modeling requirements are derived. To fulfill these requirements, a modeling technique Value Cocreation Modeling 2 (VCM2) was created by adapting and combining concepts from several existing modeling approaches developed for strategic actors modeling, value network modeling, and business intelligence modeling.

Keywords: KIBS
service design
conceptual modeling
value cocreation
Advisor: Yu, Eric
Nonlinear Robust Control Synthesis Methods for Spacecraft Applications

This thesis focuses on practical methods for constructing robust nonlinear control systems. In general, the development of such control systems is characterized by the solution to one or more Hamilton-Jacobi partial differential equations (HJE). However, no general analytical solution has yet been obtained to solve this optimization problem. Solutions have thus far only been obtained under certain conditions. Therefore, the first significant contribution of this thesis is a method for obtaining analytical expressions for approximate solutions to a common form of HJE (under certain assumptions regarding the class of nonlinear systems used). Additionally, modern state space controller synthesis techniques typically result in state estimators of equal or greater dimension than the plant model. However, it is often desirable, or even necessary, to approximate these controllers by models of lower state dimension. Presently, methods for developing nonlinear state balancing transformations are not very well understood. Therefore, the second significant contribution of this thesis is a proper algorithm for the application of state balancing techniques to nonlinear control systems and the subsequent reduction of the number of control states. The method to be developed for state balancing is based on the above framework for constructing analytical solutions to the HJE. In this thesis we will make use of three existing robust nonlinear control methods from the literature. These three methods have the advantage that they can all be constructed from solutions to a single form of HJE. Thus, by developing a method for obtaining analytical expressions for the solution to a single form of HJE, we are able to develop explicit polynomial solutions for each of these three control methods. Due to the difficulties associated with quantifying robustness and performance properties for nonlinear systems, the effectiveness of the three control methods considered shall be demonstrated via numerical simulations. The particular applications of interest to us here are space systems. First, we will consider the attitude control of a single spacecraft. Second, we examine the problem of formation flying control for a pair of spacecraft. The third and final problem we consider is the control of a nonlinear mass-spring chain.

Keywords: Nonlinear
Robust
Control
Spacecraft
Advisor: Damaren, Christopher J.
Analysis of Hemopoietic Malignancy in IgHm-TLX1TgPrkdcScid/Scid Mice

The non-cluster homeobox gene TLX1 was initially identified at the breakpoint of the t(10;14)(q24;q11) chromosome translocation in the malignant cells. Three independent research groups have generated transgenic mouse models expressing TLX1 in various hemopoietic cells resulting in development of B cell lymphoma and T-ALL. T-ALL tumours were characterized as immature Double Negative or/and Double Positive phenotypes. In addition, all TLX1 transgenic mice showed a long latency for leukemia development suggesting requirement of additional genomic abnormalities for the conversion of premalignant cells to full-blown malignancy. We hypothesized that unresolved double strand DNA breaks might act as additional genetic mutation and contribute to T-ALL progression in TLX1 overexpressed thymocytes. To address this hypothesis, we generated double mutant IgHμ-TLX1TgPrkdcScid/Scid mice, which accelerated the development of leukemia relative to PrkdcScid/Scid littermates. We identified that multiple genes associated with chromosome segregation, apoptosis and cell cycle progression were aberrantly expressed in IgHμ-TLX1TgPrkdcScid/Scid premalignant thymocytes. We found that IgHμ-TLX1TgPrkdcScid/Scid thymocytes were prone to chromosome instability suggesting malfunction of the mitotic spindle assembly checkpoint. In addition to T-ALL, 46% of IgHμ-TLX1TgPrkdcScid/Scid mice developed Acute Myeloid Leukemia, suggesting that the cancer initiating effects of TLX1 are not limited to cells of lymphoid origin. Transplantation experiments revealed that T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia initiating cells (T-ALL-ICs) reside in the thymus of IgHμ-TLX1TgPrkdcScid/Scid mice and T-ALL-ICs were enriched in the c-kit+CD44+CD25- fraction. We showed that T-ALL tumour cells from IgHμ-TLX1TgPrkdcScid/Scid were transplantable and there was a tendency for the latency period of T-ALL development to be reduced with secondary and tertiary transplantations. We demonstrated that premalignant IgHμ-TLX1TgPrkdcScid/Scid myeloid progenitors exhibited deregulated apoptosis and proliferation. Collectively, our studies demonstrate that TLX1 expression in DNA-PK-deficient cells activats multiple oncogenic pathways leading to apoptosis resistance, accelerated proliferation and deregulation of the spindle assembly checkpoint. We propose that activation of the same pathways supporting survival and proliferation in various cells may be indicative of the universal principles driving TLX1-induced tumourogenesis. Our data provide clinically relevant information of the molecular mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of leukemia that makes IgHμ-TLX1TgPrkdcScid/Scid mouse model a powerful tool to explore potential treatment options directed to delay disease progression.

Keywords: Leukemia
cell biology
immunology
genetics
Advisor: Hough, Margaret
Angiotensin II Proteomic Signature in Human Proximal Tubular Cells as a Predictor of Renin Angiotensin System Activity in Kidney Diseases

Angiotensin II (AngII), the major effector of the renin angiotensin system, mediates kidney disease progression by signalling through AT-1 receptor (AT-1R), but there are no specific measures of renal AngII activity. Accordingly, we sought to define an AngII-regulated proteome in primary human proximal tubular cells (PTEC) in order to identify potential AngII activity markers in the kidney. We utilized stable isotope labelling with amino acids (SILAC) in PTECs to compare proteomes of AngII-treated and control cells. Of 4618 quantified proteins, 83 were differentially regulated. SILAC ratios for 18 candidates were confirmed by Selected Reaction Monitoring (SRM) assays. Both SILAC and SRM revealed the nuclear factor erythroid 2-related 2 (Nrf2) target protein, heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) as the most significantly upregulated protein in response to AngII stimulation. AngII-dependent regulation of HO-1 gene and protein was further verified by qRT-PCR and ELISA in PTECs. In order to extend these in vitro observations, we utilized a systems biology approach. We thus overlaid a network of significantly enriched gene ontology (GO) terms from our AngII-regulated proteins with a dataset of differentially expressed kidney genes from AngII-treated wild type mice and AT-1R knock-out mice. Five GO terms were enriched both in vitro and in vivo, and all included HO-1. Furthermore, four additional Nrf2 target proteins were functionally important in vitro and in vivo. We then studied HO-1 kidney expression and urinary excretion in AngII-treated wild type mice and mice with PTEC-specific AT-1R gene deletion. Deletion of the AT-1R gene in PTECs lowered both kidney expression and urine excretion of HO-1, confirming AngII/AT-1R mediated regulation of HO-1. In summary, our in vitro experiments identified novel molecular markers of AngII activity in PTECs and the animal studies demonstrated that these markers also reflect AngII activity in PTECs in vivo. These interesting proteins hold promise as specific markers of renal AngII activity in patients and in experimental models.

Keywords: kidney disease
angiotensin II
renin angiotensin system
proteomics
systems biology
SILAC method
biomarker
heme oxygenase 1
Advisor: Scholey, James W
Diamandis, Eleftherios P
America's Search for Control in Iraq in the Early Cold War, 1953-1961

The United States emerged from the destruction of World War II a superpower with burgeoning global interests. Nowhere was this more evident than in Iraq. US policymakers greatly expanded their relationship with the pro-Western regime in Baghdad during the 1950s. To examine these trends more closely, this dissertation analyzes the American relationship with Iraq during the presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953 to 1961). This study discusses how American oil concessions, military aid programs, collective defense arrangements, and modernization initiatives shaped the US-Iraqi bilateral relationship of the 1950s. It also looks intensively at American intelligence assessments and covert action programs in Iraq in this period. An in-depth examination of the Eisenhower administration’s policies vis-à-vis Baghdad offers important lessons about the ways US officials understood and navigated complex political developments in the Middle East. In addition, this dissertation considers US strategies in Iraq in the context of ongoing developments in Egypt, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Jordan, Iran, and elsewhere in the region. This transnational lens yields fascinating insights into how American interests throughout the Middle East influenced US policies in Iraq. As with their partners in the Iraqi government, American officials privileged the pursuit of “order” and “stability” in Baghdad. When confronted with the prospect of “unrest” in Iraq, the Eisenhower administration decisively supported its Iraqi allies’ moves to clamp down on political dissent. The United States worked energetically to control Iraqi developments in channels favourable to US interests. However, the regime led by Abdel Karim Qasim fundamentally transformed the patterns of the US-Iraqi relationship following the July 1958 Iraqi Revolution. Qasim’s program calling for the “Iraqification” of national economic resources collided with larger American understandings of Washington’s power in Baghdad. The Eisenhower administration proved unable to control the disorderly nature of revolutionary rule in Iraq, suggesting (as with the pre-revolutionary period) the tangible limits to American power in Iraq and the Middle East in this critical period of the Cold War.

Keywords: US diplomatic History
US-Iraqi Relations
Advisor: Pruessen, Ronald
Positive Regulation of PKB/Akt Kinase Activity by the Vacuolar-ATPase in the Canonical Insulin Signaling Pathway: Implications for the Targeted Pharmacotherapy of Cancer

The canonical PI3K/Akt pathway is activated downstream of numerous receptor tyrosine kinases, including the insulin and insulin-like growth factor receptors, and is a crucial regulator of growth and survival in metazoans. The deregulation of Akt is implicated in the pathogenesis of numerous diseases including cancer, making the identification of modifiers of its activity of high chemotherapeutic interest. In a transheterozygous genetic screen for modifiers of embryonic Akt function in Drosophila, in which the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway is conserved, we identified the A subunit of the vacuolar ATPase (Vha68-2) as a positive regulator of Dakt function. Our characterization of this genetic interaction in the larval stage of development revealed that Vha68-2 mutant phenotypes stereotypically mimicked the growth defects observed in mutants of the Drosophila insulin signaling pathway (ISP). The loss of Vha68-2 function, like Dakt-deficiency, was found to result in organismal and cell-autonomous growth defects, and consistent with its putative role as a positive regulator of Dakt function, both the mutational and pharmacological inhibition of its activity were found to downregulate Akt iv activation. Genetic epistasis experiments in somatic clones of Vha68-2/dPTEN double mutants demonstrated that the loss of Vha68-2 function suppressed the growth defects associated with dPTEN-deficiency, placing Vha68-2 activity downstream of dPTEN in the ISP, while the examination of PI3K activity and PH domain-dependent membrane recruitment in pharmacologically inhibited larval tissues further placed Vha68-2 function downstream of PI3K. These findings were recapitulated in cultured NIH-3T3 cells, whose treatment with bafilomycin A1, a potent and specific inhibitor of V-ATPase, resulted in the downregulation of Akt phosphorylation, particularly in non-cytoplasmic intracellular compartments. Furthermore, cellular subfractionation of bafilomycin-treated NIH-3T3 cells demonstrated a decrease in the localization of Akt to early endocytic structures, and a downregulation in the localization and activation of Akt in the nuclei of both Drosophila and mammalian cells. Finally, the pharmacotherapeutic relevance of V-ATPase inhibition was addressed in two tumor models – multiple myeloma and glioblastoma – and our preliminary findings in these cancers, which are often associated with ectopic PI3K/Akt signaling, showed significant cytotoxic efficacy in vitro, warranting its consideration as a tractable pharmacological option in the treatment of cancer.

Keywords: Cancer
Insulin Signaling pathway
Advisor: Manoukian, Armen
Behavioural and Neuronal Correlates of Long-term Contextual Memory for Cocaine: Relevance to Craving and Relapse

Relapse is the single greatest barrier to recovery from addiction. Long-term memories for drug experience and associated contextual cues can provoke craving and resumption of drug use, particularly when a reminder of a highly charged context is encountered. In this thesis, three key questions related to the maintenance of long-term memory for drug-associated contexts are addressed: (1) Are Pavlovian conditioned associations between cocaine experience and the context in which it occurred maintained in long-term memory after extended periods of abstinence? (2) Are regions of the mesocorticolimbic circuitry, namely the nucleus accumbens and amygdala, differentially activated by retrieval of Pavlovian conditioned associations as time passes after cocaine experience? (3) Do neurons of the nucleus accumbens and amygdala show changes in dendritic architecture that reflect the impact of chronic cocaine exposure, which may underlie the maintenance of Pavlovian and/or instrumental drug-conditioned associations? Results confirm that Pavlovian conditioned memory for a cocaine-associated context is maintained in the long-term, becoming increasingly resilient over time. However, maintenance of these contextual associations is not accompanied by gross changes in dendritic architecture in neurons of the nucleus accumbens or amygdala within the timeframe examined. Nonetheless, these brain regions, along with the prefrontal cortex, are differentially activated by retrieval of Pavlovian conditioned associations after brief versus extended periods of abstinence. Together, these results emphasize a distinct contribution of Pavlovian memory processes, beyond instrumental and operant drug memory processes, in the long-term maintenance of addiction.

Keywords: Addiction
Memory
Advisor: Erb, Suzanne
Investigation of Glass Fibre Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) Bars as Internal Reinforcement for Concrete Structures

Glass Fibre Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) internal reinforcing bars are being increasingly considered as a potential corrosion free alternative to regular and stainless steel reinforcing bars. In spite of the availability of code provisions governing both design and certification of the GFRP bars, their use within concrete structures is currently limited to very specific applications unless some behaviour aspects are further investigated. In particular, crack control, ultimate member deformability and the behaviour of the bent GFRP bars are areas in need of such further investigation. An experimental program was conducted consisting of 24 large-scale beams reinforced with various types of GFRP and steel bars complying with CSA certification standards. The results of which show that the stress in the bent bar stirrups at beam failure exceeded minimum code-prescribed values for design (CSA S6, CSA S806, ACI440). An alternative bend-less system of shear reinforcement using straight double headed bars was successful as shear reinforcement but did however result in significant reductions to member deformability. A critical review of the various design provisions incorporating GFRP shear reinforcement, it was found that many of the design codes use conservative shear reinforcement strengths coupled with unconservative values of either the angle of inclination of the compression strut or the concrete contribution to shear resistance. A new relationship for the inclination of the compression strut was proposed for use within the Simplified Modified Compression Field Theory which when combined with the bend/anchor strength of the shear reinforcement correlate well with the experimental results. Also, it was determined that the design strain limits for GFRP shear reinforcement should not be increased until more detailed studies on the long-term performance of the stirrups are conducted. Finally, advanced analysis techniques like layered sectional- and finite element-analysis both gave excellent analytical estimates of the experimental beam response.

Keywords: GFRP
Stirrup
Reinforced Concrete
Shear
Advisor: Sheikh, Shamim A.