VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
A Non-archimedean Definable Chow Theorem

O-minimality has had some striking applications to number theory. The utility of o-minimal structures originates from the remarkably tame topological properties satisfied by sets definable in such structures. Despite the rigidity that it imposes, the theory is sufficiently flexible to allow for a range of analytic constructions. An illustration of this `tame' property is the following surprising generalization of Chow's theorem proved by Peterzil and Starchenko - A closed analytic subset of a complex algebraic variety that is also definable in an o-minimal structure, is in fact algebraic. While the o-minimal machinery aims to capture the archimedean order topology of the real line, it is natural to wonder if such a machinery can be set up over non-archimedean fields. In this thesis, we explore a non-archimedean analogue of an o-minimal structure and prove a version of the definable Chow theorem in this context.

Advisor: Tsimerman, Jacob
Children’s Literate Identities: Exploring the Literacy Discourses That Permeate the Lives of Two Young Children

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

Keywords: discourse
identities
identity
literacies
literacy
tutor
Advisor: Stagg Peterson, Shelley
Analysis of the Moral Habitability of Obstetric Settings in Ghana

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

Keywords: Ethics
Midwives/Nurses
Moral agency
Moral Habitability
Moral Identity
Resource constrained settings
Advisor: Peter, Elizabeth H
Indoles and Indolines – Palladium-catalyzed Synthesis and Functionalizations by Aromatization and Dearomatization

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

Keywords: catalysis
dearomatization
fluorine
indole
indoline
palladium
Advisor: Lautens, Mark
Making Sense of Relativised Identity

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

Keywords: Identity
Leibniz's Law
Metaphysics
Advisor: Wilson, Jessica
Hellie, Benj
Glial cells in health and disease

Glial cells are often considered to be ‘supporting cast’ members in the nervous system, with ancillary roles in providing nutrient and structural support to neurons. However, glial cells have many essential roles, including the myelination of nerves to allow information to be transmitted rapidly and efficiently. My thesis has largely focused on the role of myelinating glial cells in health and disease. I first studied a population of malignant oligodendrocyte-like cells that form glial tumors in the central nervous system, called oligodendroglioma. For the rest of my thesis, I focused on Schwann cells in the peripheral nervous system. In Chapter 2 of my thesis, I describe my investigation into the role of extracellular vesicles in controlling oligodendroglioma growth by mediating heterotypic and homotypic cell-cell interactions. I revealed that oligodendroglioma tumor cells secrete extracellular vesicles that carry cytotoxic cargo to induce cell death in neighboring cells. Furthermore, I implicated a gene involved in extracellular vesicle biogenesis, SMPD3, in negatively regulating oligodendroglioma growth by controlling the synthesis of extracellular vesicles (Chapter 2). I then studied the development of Schwann cells, and their transition into repair Schwann cells post nerve injury. I characterized the dynamic expression patterns of a panel of transcriptional regulators during development and in repair Schwann cells post-injury (Chapter 3). I then used this panel of markers to ask whether the ets domain transcription factor Etv5, expressed transiently in Schwann cell precursors, played a role in regulating Schwann cell development and in repair Schwann cells by using a hypomorphic Etv5 mutant mouse model (Chapter 4). While Etv5 mutants had no apparent defects in Schwann cell development, I describe several important caveats and future considerations. Finally, I performed the first steps towards developing a non-integrative, triple transcription factor mediated lineage conversion strategy for the generation of induced repair Schwann cells from mouse embryonic fibroblasts (Chapter 5). In conclusion, I have gained new insights on how glial cells in a healthy and diseased state are regulated. My findings have therapeutic implications for the treatment of oligodendroglioma tumors in the central nervous system, and for peripheral nerve repair.

Advisor: Schuurmans, Carol
Planning Like a State: Railway Modernization in China

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

Keywords: Chinese Political Economy
Development
Highspeed Rail
Railway Politics
Advisor: Pauly, Louis W.
Falkenheim, Victor C.
Artistic Knowledge and Performance Identity Formation in Toronto's Hip-hop Communities of Practice

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

Keywords: hip-hop
informal learning
narrative methodology
performance identity
performativity and Signifyin(g)
Toronto hip-hop
Advisor: Dolloff, Lori-Anne
Exploring Main Group Phosphorus Chemistry: Lewis Acid Catalysis and Applications of Low-Coordinate Building Blocks

The study of main-group elements in unique coordination environments is of fundamental interest and serves to deepen our understanding of bonding and chemical trends. In recent years, interest in phosphorus chemistry pertaining to catalysis and synthesis has experienced a resurgence. Herein, contributions towards expanding the fields of phosphorus Lewis acid catalysis and the construction of simple phosphorus-containing organic molecules are delineated. Phosphonium polycationic Lewis acid catalysts of increasing stability towards air and moisture were synthesized and shown to mediate a range of organic transformations. The chemistry of the 2-phosphaethynolate anion ([PCO]-), which has generated a flurry of activity in recent years, has been studied in the context of electrophilic boranes. The phosphaketene Ph3GePCO, derived from [PCO]-, has been employed in the formation of formylphosphines, diphosphaureas, and substituted phosphaalkenes. Dibenzo-7-phosphanorbornadienes were used to access the acyl(chloro)phosphine functional group.

Advisor: Stephan, Douglas W
Novel Approaches to Hardware Safety Checking and Certificate Minimization

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

Keywords: Model Checking
Safety Checking
Verification
Advisor: Veneris, Andreas
Multiplication of Generalized Affine Grassmannian Slices and Comultiplication of Shifted Yangians

Given a semisimple algebraic group G, shifted Yangians are quantizations of certain generalized slices in G((t-1)). In this thesis, we work with these generalized slices and the shifted Yangians in the simply-laced case. Using a presentation of antidominantly shifted Yangians inspired by the work of Levendorskii, we show the existence of a family of comultiplication maps between shifted Yangians. We include a proof that these maps quantize natural multiplications of generalized slices. On the commutative level, we define a Hamiltonian action on generalized slices, and show a relationship between them via Hamiltonian reduction. This relationship is established by constructing an explicit inverse to a multiplication map between slices. Finally, we show that the above relationship lifts to the Yangian level.

Keywords: Geometric representation theory
Advisor: Kamnitzer, Joel