VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
'It's need, not greed': needs and values at work in an Italian social cooperative

Among the key issues that arise in research of cooperatives are their supposedly hybrid nature and how they are able to balance both social and economic goals. I contend that the concept of ‘needs’ has become an important differentiating factor for the cooperatives I studied in Emilia Romagna. Placing this concept centrally in an analysis of cooperative practice helps to reveal the interplay between various value systems, reaching beyond arguments of the degeneration of cooperatives or the reproduction of dominant models, which both assume a one-way flow of influence. The recent history of the cooperative movement in Italy shows that these institutions have developed along with changing conceptions of need, supported by broader social movements and value systems. The cooperative network is today of central importance, and seen as an egalitarian means to share ideals and drive local innovation. However, my research shows that the instrumentalisation of the concept of ‘need’ also naturalises certain aspects of capitalist practice and has consequences for the enactment of other values within the cooperative. For example, in one cooperative I examined, the focus on meeting the members’ needs for work was important in justifying a decision to merge with another cooperative despite a decision-making process that was seen as less than entirely democratic. This orientation also justified the use of precarious labour, and the need to protect members’ livelihoods helped to justify low pay for internships and municipal job placements, as opposed to furthering the cooperative values of equity and equality. While the cooperative workers desired an element of personal relations, this was sometimes seen to be at odds with the focus on production and the maintenance of jobs. The marketing of more ethical products with reference to their social added value highlighted the central role of individual consumer citizens in bringing about change, which also reinforced divisions within the cooperatives based on who was more or less able to make these choices. In conclusion, I argue that while ‘needs’, like ‘added value’, can unite social and economic concepts of value, this also naturalises certain aspects of capitalist practice, particularly in this case where employment emerges as the primary need to be met. This leads me to suggest that the focus on meeting needs, as opposed to focusing on achieving specific ideals such as democracy and equality, may not be as effective to create alternative practice.

Keywords: Cooperative
Economic Anthropology
Social enterprise
Third sector
Precarity
Labour
Advisor: Parkin, R
Exact categories, Koszul duality, and derived analytic algebra

Recent work of Bambozzi, Ben-Bassat, and Kremnitzer suggests that derived analytic geometry over a valued field k can be modelled as geometry relative to the quasi-abelian category of Banach spaces, or rather its completion Ind(Bank). In this thesis we develop a robust theory of homotopical algebra in Ch(E) for E any sufficiently 'nice' quasi-abelian, or even exact, category.
Firstly we provide sufficient conditions on weakly idempotent complete exact categories E such that various categories of chain complexes in E are equipped with projective model structures. In particular we show that as soon as E has enough projectives, the category Ch+(E) of bounded below complexes is equipped with a projective model structure. In the case that E also admits all kernels we show that it is also true of Ch≥0(E), and that a generalisation of the Dold-Kan correspondence holds. Supplementing the existence of kernels with a condition on the existence and exactness of certain direct limit functors guarantees that the category of unbounded chain complexes Ch(E) also admits a projective model structure. When E is monoidal we also examine when these model structures are monoidal.
We then develop the homotopy theory of algebras in Ch(E). In particular we show, under very general conditions, that categories of operadic algebras in Ch(E) can be equipped with transferred model structures. Specialising to quasi-abelian categories we prove our main theorem, which is a vast generalisation of Koszul duality. We conclude by defining analytic extensions of the Koszul dual of a Lie algebra in Ind(Bank).

Keywords: Koszul Duality
Homotopy Theory
Category Theory
Algebra
Advisor: Kremnitzer, Y
McGerty, K
Survival or success? The Kimono retail industry in contemporary Japan

This thesis explores the ways in which the kimono retail industry in contemporary Japanese society is changing in response to the economic crisis of the 1990s and the declining popularity of the kimono as formal wear, leading to falling demand and sales. A central aim of this thesis is to address the lack of academic literature focused on the kimono, particularly economic aspects of the kimono such as the way it is made, sold and consumed. Based on twelve months of ethnographic fieldwork in Aichi prefecture, Kyoto, Tokyo and Yamagata with kimono shop owners, wholesalers, craftspeople, writers, bloggers, designers, government officials and consumers, this thesis explores how a small but influential group that I call the ‘kimono fashion network’ are aiming to change the industry from within by marketing the kimono as fashion and framing the kimono as a lifestyle choice. Their efforts have led to a monumental shift in manufacturing, marketing and selling strategies that have effectively aligned the kimono with global discourses about fashion. This shift has split the kimono retail industry into two camps: those who sell kimono as ceremonial wear for key ritual occasions such as weddings, funerals, tea ceremonies, coming of age ceremonies, graduation and school entrance ceremonies, and those who sell it for fashion. I begin by examining the socio-economic factors that led to falling demand and therefore falling sales in the industry, before exploring how the industry is structured in terms of production and distribution. Finally, I explore how and why the kimono fashion network have gone about changing the industry from within. Adding a different perspective to prevailing understandings of traditional culture in Japan as a vehicle for cultural nationalism, I argue that the contemporary kimono fashion movement has many similiarities with the global phenomenon of lifestyle consumer culture to be found across industrialised nations.

Keywords: Japan
Kimono
Economic Anthropology
Traditional Industries
Clothing
Advisor: Daniels, I
Optimisation and acceleration of second-order dynamic shimming at 7T

Magnetic resonance imaging requires a homogeneous B0 magnetic field, however the field is often distorted by the presence of the subject. Techniques to homogenise the magnetic field, so called shimming, are commonly used. Conventional shimming methods homogenise the magnetic field once before scans. Dynamic shimming is an advanced method of updating shim fields during scans for homogenising the B0 magnetic field in small volumes, which improves field homogeneity to a higher degree. However, hardware limitations and shim calculation errors pose challenges to dynamic shimming. Methods to optimise the performance of dynamic shimming are investigated in this thesis.
Minimising eddy current effects induced by rapid shim switching is one of the most important topics for dynamic shimming. In this work, we use pre-emphasis to compensate for eddy current effects. Determination of pre-emphasis parameters requires the knowledge of eddy-current-induced fields. Chapter 2 compares the performance of two eddy current characterisation methods, an image-based method and a method based on a state-of-art field camera. Dynamic shimming is implemented based on the eddy current compensation results.
Dynamic shimming requires robust shim setting calculation methods to deliver high-quality and stable shimming results. In Chapter 3, we propose a fast and fully automated regularised shim current determination algorithm to simultaneously improve the current efficiency and the robustness of the shim calculation against noise, while preserving good shimming quality. Following this, to improve the robustness of shim settings to residual eddy currents, a fast and simple regularised shim setting optimisation method is proposed. Additionally, the performance of dynamic shimming using different cost functions (e.g., signal loss, BOLD sensitivity) is evaluated.
In typical MRI protocols, time is spent on acquiring a field map to calculate the shim settings for best image quality. In Chapter 4, we propose a fast template-based field map prediction method that yields near-optimal shims without measuring the field. This technique is initially implemented by using an averaged template created based on a field map database. Additionally, subject-specific information, like brain geometry, age and weight, is considered and used for improving field map prediction accuracy.

Advisor: Clare, S
Miller, K
Vannesjo, J
Investigation of topological nodal semimetals through angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy

Nodal semimetals host either degenerate points (Dirac/Weyl points) or lines whose band topology in Brillouin zone can be classified either as trivial (normal nodal semimetals) or non trivial (topological nodal semimetals). This thesis investigates the electronic structure of two different categories of topological nodal semimetals probed by angleresolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES):
The first material is Indium Bismuth (InBi). InBi is a semimetal with simple tetragonal structure with P4/nmm space group. This space group is predicted to host protected nodal lines along the perpendicular momentum direction at the high symmetry lines of the Brillouin zone boundary even under strong spin-orbit coupling (SOC) situation. As a semimetal with two heavy elements, InBi is a suitable candidate to test the prediction. The investigation by ARPES demonstrates not only that InBi hosts the nodal line in the presence of strong SOC, it also shows the signature of type-II Dirac crossing along the perpendicular momentum direction from the center of Brillouin zone. However, as the nodal line observed is trivial in nature, there is no exotic drumhead surface states observed in this material. This finding demonstrates that Dirac crossings can be protected in a non-symmorphic space group.
The second material is NbIrTe4 which is a semimetal that breaks inversion symmetry predicted to host only four Weyl points. This simplest configuration is confirmed by the measurement from the top and bottom surface of NbIrTe4 showing only a pair of Fermi arcs each. Furthermore, it is found that the Fermi arc connectivity on the bottom surface experiences re-wiring as it evolves from Weyl points energy to the ARPES Fermi energy level. This change is attributed to the hybridisation between the surface and the bulk states as their projection lie within the vicinity of each other. The finding in this work demonstrates that although Fermi arcs are guaranteed in Weyl semimetals, their shape and connectivity are not protected and may be altered accordingly

Keywords: Fermi arc
Topological Weyl Semimetal
Z2 Invariant
Topological Nodal Line Semimetal
ARPES
Advisor: Chen, Y
Structural studies of amorphous materials

Amorphous materials have attracted interest due to their unique properties as many common objects and industrially important components are made of amorphous materials. To understand their properties, building structure-property correlations is an important step. Typically, amorphous materials are investigated by X-ray or neutron diffraction, but due to the relatively large interaction volumes for both probes, these techniques are not suitable for studying materials with nanovolumes. In contrast, electron probes can be focused on specifically chosen nanoscale areas and data from electron diffraction patterns can be transformed into a reduced density function (RDF) which describes the distribution of nearest-neighbour distances at high precision.
In this thesis, using electron diffraction based RDF techniques I have studied the effects of various factors on the RDF. In addition, Density Functional Theory (DFT) simulations and Reverse Monte Carlo (RMC) refinements were performed to support the interpretation of the experimental RDF results.
Finally, two industrial important materials, bioactive glass and metallic glass, were examined. A possible structure-property correlation in bioactive glasses is proposed while an analytical RDF technique was developed for the construction of metallic glass models.

Advisor: Borisenko, K
Kirkland, A
Controls on T-cell receptor phosphorylation and triggering

An effective immune response in mammalian cells relies on a network of molecular interactions to detect and respond to pathogens. The T-cell receptor (TCR) is one of the most important components of this system responsible for the outcome of the immunological response. Paramount to its role is its ability to efficiently signal a productive interaction with a peptide embedded in an MHC molecule. Important aspects of TCR structure and organization are unknown, limiting the current understanding of this process and rendering it highly controversial. The work described in this thesis seeks to define the valency, structural organization and signalling properties of the TCR in order to provide a better framework for thinking about the receptor-triggering problem. The results suggest that a largely monovalent complex diffuses at the surface of T cells, which is able to trigger intracellular signalling in the absence of large structural rearrangements of the extracellular subunits of the TCR. Moreover, a recently proposed mechanism involving conformational rearrangements of the cytoplasmic domains of the complex is shown to fail to explain the regulation of TCR phosphorylation. Steps are also taken toward investigating the role of more subtle conformational rearrangements at atomic resolution. Finally, an investigation of what controls tyrosine phosphorylation of the receptor in resting T lymphocytes led to the development of new approaches to address the role of specific phosphatases. The outcome of this analysis suggested how a finely-tuned balance between kinase and phosphatase activity, at both global and local levels, regulates TCR phosphorylation and T-cell activation.

Advisor: Davis, S
A novel human stem cell platform for probing adrenoceptor signaling in iPSC derived cardiomyocytes including those with an adult atrial phenotype

Scientific research is propelled by two objectives: Understanding and recognizing the essential biology of life, and deciphering this to uncover possible therapeutics in order to improve quality of life as well as relieve pain from disease. The aim of the work described in this thesis was to dissect the fundamental requirements of induced pluripotent stem cells both in pluripotency and differentiation with a particular focus on atrial specificity.
Drug targeting of atrial-specific ion channels has been difficult because of lack of availability of appropriate cardiac cells, and preclinical testing studies have been carried out in non-cardiac cell lines, heterogeneous cardiac populations or animal models that have been unable to accurately represent human cardiomyocyte physiology. Therefore, we sought out to develop a preparation of cardiomyocytes showing an atrial phenotype with adult characteristics from human induced-pluripotent stem cells.
A culture programme involving the use of Gremlin 2 allowed differentiation of cardiomyocytes with an atrial phenotype from human induced-pluripotent stem cells. When these differentiated cultures were dissociated into single myocytes a substantial fraction of cells showed a rod-shaped morphology with a single central nucleus that was broadly similar to that observed in cells isolated from atrial chambers of the heart. Immunolabelling of these myocytes for cardiac proteins (including RyR2 receptors, actinin-2, F-actin) showed striations with a sarcomere spacing of slightly less than 2um. The isolated rod-shaped cells were electrically quiescent unless stimulated to fire action potentials with an amplitude of 100 mV from a resting potential of approximately -70 mV. Proteins expressed included those for IK1, IKur channels. Ca2+ Transients recorded from spontaneously beating cultures showed increases in amplitude in response to stimulation of adrenoceptors (both alpha and beta).
With the aim of identifying key signaling mechanisms in directing cell fate, our new protocol allowed differentiation of human myocytes with an atrial phenotype and adult characteristics that show functional adrenoceptor signaling pathways and are suitable for investigation of drug effects.

Keywords: Cardiac Physiology
Atrial Cardiomyocytes
Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells
Stem Cells
Advisor: Terrar, D
Lei, M
Numerical algorithms for the mathematics of information

This thesis presents a series of algorithmic innovations in Combinatorial Compressed Sensing and Persistent Homology. The unifying strategy across these contributions is in translating structural patterns in the underlying data into specific algorithmic designs in order to achieve: better guarantees in computational complexity, the ability to operate on more complex data, highly efficient parallelisations, or any combination of these.

Keywords: Computational Algebraic Topology
Topological Data Analysis
Numerical Analysis
Compressed sensing
Persistent Homology
Parallel Algorithms
Combinatorial compressed sensing
Expander graphs
Advisor: Tanner, J
PtSnCo/C nanoparticle catalysts for ethanol electro-oxidation reaction in an acidic medium

Binary PtSn/C and ternary PtSnCo/C catalysts with the nominal Pt:Sn and Pt:Sn:Co atomic ratios of 3:1, 3:1:1, 3:1:2, 3:1:3, and 3:1:4 were synthesised by the modified sodium borohydride reduction method. All the as-synthesised catalysts were characterized by a number of analytical techniques including EDS, ICP-MS, TGA, XRD, TEM, BF-STEM, XPS, and XAS. The electrocatalytic activity towards alcohol electro-oxidation was measured using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and chronoamperometry (CA). Prior to each CV measurement for an activity test, a catalyst-modified glassy carbon electrode was potential cycled in 0.5M H2SO4 supporting electrolyte between -0.2 V and 1.0 V (vs. SCE) for 20 cycles to obtain a stable catalyst surface. The results from electrocatalytic activity tests showed that the electrochemically treated PtSnCo/C catalysts of all atomic ratios exhibited higher ethanol electro-oxidation activity than the PtSn/C (3:1) catalyst synthesised by the same preparation method. Moreover, they exhibited higher electro-oxidation activity for ethylene glycol (EG), 2-propanol (2P), and methanol (MeOH) compared to PtSn/C (3:1). These results can lead to the conclusions that carbon supported ternary PtSnCo nanoparticle catalysts would be a candidate for application in direct alcohol fuel cells as anode electrocatalysts.

Advisor: Tsang, S
Identifying causal mechanisms for beta cell dysfunction at type 2 diabetes risk loci

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified more than 150 loci associated with type 2 diabetes (T2D) risk. Most association signals are located in noncoding regions of the genome, and uncertainty remains over the causal gene in the vast majority of cases. Motivated by the overall aim of accelerating the translation of genetic discoveries into molecular mechanisms for disease pathogenesis, the work presented in this thesis sought to identify candidate causal genes, and to study their roles in human beta cell function.
The causal mechanism for non-coding variants at the CDKN2A/B locus has remained elusive, though animal models have implicated Cdkn2a in beta cell function. To determine the effect of CDKN2A haploinsufficiency on glucose homeostasis in humans, I analysed data from oral and intravenous glucose tolerance tests in individuals carrying rare CDKN2A loss-offunction mutations. Compared with controls, carriers displayed increased insulin secretion, impaired insulin sensitivity, and reduced hepatic insulin clearance. Follow-up studies in the human beta cell line, EndoC-βH1, demonstrated cell-cycle independent effects of CDKN2A on insulin secretion.
At the PAM/PPIP5K2 locus, two non-synonymous variants in PAM are associated with both T2D risk and insulinogenic index. To elucidate a causal mechanism, I investigated possible local and extra-pancreatic roles of PAM in beta cell function. I demonstrated that PAM deficiency results in reduced insulin content and altered dynamics of insulin secretion in EndoC-βH1 and primary beta cells. I also identified the amidated granular packaging protein Chromogranin A as an endogenous PAM substrate, establishing a direct link to granulogenesis in human beta cells.
Lastly, to enable systematic, large-scale prioritization of causal genes for T2D risk, I performed a high-throughput RNAi screen for beta cell dysfunction. Among 300 genes selected from 75 risk loci, I identified significant hits at half of these regions. The hits were highly enriched for known monogenic diabetes genes, but also revealed the poorly characterised transcription factor ZMIZ1 to be one of the strongest regulators of insulin secretion. Silencing of ZMIZ1 in primary human islets subsequently revealed a core beta cell network to be negatively affected, highlighting a plausible causal mechanism.
Overall, this thesis has addressed a significant outstanding challenge in the translation of genetic signals into disease mechanisms. Using a range of different strategies, including genetic data, candidate gene biology, and functional genetic screening, the work has successfully identified several candidate causal mechanisms for beta cell dysfunction at T2D risk loci. These results provide a deeper understanding of the fundamental mechanisms underpinning disease predisposition, and thus highlight potential new therapeutic applications.

Advisor: Gloyn, A
McCarthy, M
Gautier, Wilde, and the visual arts: artistic media and movement

In nineteenth-century literary studies and histories, Théophile Gautier (1811-1872) is still largely remembered as the instigator of the doctrine of Art for Art’s Sake, mostly because of his novel Mademoiselle de Maupin (1835) and its controversial preface. This recognition is usually accompanied by a retrospective appreciation of Gautier’s work in light of the more famous authors who succeeded him and developed some of the precepts of the doctrine, such as Baudelaire.
This thesis is a comparative study of Gautier and Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) as the two main exponents of the doctrine of Art for Art’s Sake respectively in France and Britain. While comparisons between Gautier and Baudelaire have tended to highlight the superiority of the latter, a comparison with Wilde allows Gautier to be seen and understood in his own terms, and simultaneously casts a new light on Wilde’s contribution to the development of the doctrine. My study is the first to examine the works of the two authors comparatively from the vantage point of their aesthetic theories.
I argue that in order better to assess their contribution, it is necessary to start with an analysis of their experimentations with literary form. The overall aim of the thesis is to re-evaluate their fictional works which, as a result of their commitment to the doctrine, are often seen as lacking in depth and content, and as being too descriptive and decorative. The central argument is that the very decorative form of their works should be seen as the starting point of an ambitious reflection on literature, its aims and its relation to other artistic media, the visual arts in particular.

Keywords: decadence
aestheticism
Gautier
literature and the visual arts
Wilde
Advisor: McGuinness, P
Evangelista, S