VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Essays on the econometric analysis of forward-looking behaviour in health care markets

This dissertation makes three contributions to the economics literature. Chapter 1 finds that expanding health insurance that covers treatment but not prevention can discourage prevention to a large extent, when the prior literature only recovered small effects (if at all). It also uses a simple economic model to reconcile the results with estimates found in other studies. Chapter 2 shows that a regression-discontinuity design can be used to determine whether the long-run effect of a discontinuous change differs from the short-run effect traditionally estimated by these designs when the assignment variable is deterministically linked to time. Chapter 3 examines subjective medical expenses forecasts, and finds that they depart from the forecasts that would be made by a hypothetical agent that incorporated all of the relevant information in the decision-making environment.

Keywords: Insurance
Regression discontinuity
Medicare
Prevention
Advisor: Crawford, I
Keane, MP
Development of teachers' dialogic teaching using the CoRe framework: planning for transformation and contingency

This research project focuses on the development of two beginning teachers’ practice in physics classrooms over an academic year. Both teachers are in their first three years of teaching and one is a physics specialist while the other is a non-specialist. Within a mentoring relationship with the teacher educator, a framework called Content Representation (or CoRe) (Loughran et al., 2012) was used to develop dialogic teaching in their classrooms. The completion of CoRes by expert teachers had allowed their pedagogical and subject knowledge to be shared with the beginning teachers who had used them to plan for dialogic teaching. Elliott’s (1991) model of action research is applied to investigate the research questions set at the start and throughout the study. A qualitative methodology using semi-structured interviews was adopted to explore the beginning teachers’ beliefs and practice. This included lesson observations and feedback carried out over each of the three school terms (or phases). During the first phase (phase-1) baseline-data was collected to explore the teachers’ practice. In phase-2, data collection aimed to reveal to what extent the CoRe framework was effective in developing dialogic teaching. Also, during this phase, the extent to which my mentoring was effective was explored. Data collection in phase-3 aimed to find out to what extent the CoRe we had modified (CoRe2) was effective in developing dialogic teaching. Lessons were analysed using a framework called the Knowledge Quartet (KQ) (Rowland et al., 2005) and Alexander’s five principles of dialogic teaching and related indicators (Alexander, 2017).
The findings suggest that the CoRe framework can support beginning teachers plan for dialogic teaching. In particular, the modified version, CoRe2, had been useful for them to consider activities that encouraged student talk. The findings also suggest that the constructivist-oriented mentoring received by the teachers had allowed them to be involved in their own development in the classroom. These findings will be shared with colleagues at the Institute of Physics (IOP) who are also expert physics practitioners working with teachers to develop their practice. This will have implications for the way we cater for the needs of both specialist and non-specialist novices teaching physics.

Keywords: MTEd2018
MTEd
Algorithmic decision making in financial markets

Machine learning's prowess for automatic pattern recognition at scale is meaningfully reshaping every branch of science. From astronomy to vision, web analytics to medical diagnostics, every data-intensive field is harnessing the potential of modern AI techniques. Though not commonly viewed through the same lens, finance is very much at the forefront of the data revolution. Financial markets present one of the most complex, noisy environments for machine learners: a vast range of factors - not all readily quantifiable - may impact a financial time series, and the relative salience of market variables may evolve through time. The aim of this thesis is to investigate algorithmic frameworks for the challenging decisions faced by liquidity takers (the buyside′)andmarketmakers(the
sell side'), the primary agents in financial markets. By extension, we also consider the behaviour of influential external agents such as regulators, whose actions affect the information landscape for buyers and sellers alike. This thesis deploys recent advances in machine learning to provide rational, data-driven tools to promote market efficiency in the areas of price discovery, liquidity provision and financial regulation.

Advisor: Roberts, S
Objectives and Key Results in the classroom: a framework for practice development on goal-setting

Student motivation and engagement seem to be more important than ever considering information technology has rendered learning away from a classroom setting relatively commonplace. Also, recent research has provided evidence that the lack of non-cognitive skills may be harming academic results in developing countries such as Brazil. Motivated by these two circumstances, this study aimed to investigate the use of a modern goal-setting framework, Objectives and Key Results (OKR), as a tool to improve teachers´ leadership skills and foster a more structured teacher/student dialogue about performance. A randomised controlled trial (RCT) was conducted to estimate the short-term effect caused on teachers by a lecture on OKR. Positive effects were detected, but the sample size prevents these results to be considered statistically significant. A single teacher OKR pilot was carried out to identify a manner of use for the framework in the classroom context. Pilot results look promising and probably justify the continuation of the research.

Keywords: MTEd2018
MTEd
Fostering beginning teachers' competence in using talk and questions to promote effective teaching in science classrooms

The reform of school science curriculum is taking place in China, requiring teachers to use meaningful questions which can stimulate students’ interest, promote inquiry-based learning and develop higher-order thinking skills.
The interview with three chemistry beginning teaches in my context about their views on science teaching and assessment and observation of their daily normal lessons showed that although they wanted to develop students’ problem-solving abilities and help students to understand the process of knowledge discovery, all teachers regarded delivery of science knowledge as the key role of a science teacher and teachers usually had little interest in engaging students in class discussion and exploring their ideas. In response to the demanding requirement of recent science education standards and the lack of support for teachers to develop their strategies, a school-based teacher education program was initiated to find out to what extent an intervention designed to develop teachers’ use of questions could develop their practice in three areas: a. using class talk and questions to create more interactive and dialogic environment aiming to increase the participation of students in class, b. asking more higher-level questions, c. conducting assessment for learning.
After theoretical input, teachers were provided with opportunities to better understand these new ideas and put them into planning and delivery of lessons in practice. The teacher educator offered continuous support and guidance to facilitate their learning and practice. Various data and evidence were collected to record professional progress of three beginning teachers in using more dialogic interaction and higher level questions to promote student thinking and do formative assessment. The research project also attempts to establish a feasible and effective mode of teacher education in my context by drawing on various theoretical and empirically-based literatures on teacher education models and principles that underpin the successful teacher education. Alongside the teacher growth, the teacher educator has developed various knowledge and competencies required for his own professional development.

Keywords: MTEd2018
MTEd
Complex vectorial beam state manipulation through gradient index optics

Gradient index (GRIN) lenses are commonly used for compact imaging systems. It is not widely appreciated that the ion-exchange process that creates the rotationally symmetric GRIN lens index profile also causes a symmetric birefringence variation. This property is usually considered a nuisance, such that manufacturing processes are optimized to keep it to a minimum.
Here, rather than avoiding this birefringence, we understand, harness and overcome its effect by using GRIN lenses in cascade with other optical components to enable extra functionality in commonplace GRIN lens systems.
I first show how the GRIN lens cascades can benefit research in the area of asymmetric Müller matrices and spin-orbital interaction of light, through taking advantage of their optical properties. I then show how birefringence in the GRIN cascades can generate vector vortex beams and foci, and how it can be used advantageously to improve axial resolution. Through using the birefringence for analysis, I show that the GRIN cascades form the basis of a new single-shot Müller matrix polarimeter with potential for endoscopic label-free cancer diagnostics. The versatility of these cascades opens up new technological directions. Additionally, with the help of vectorial adaptive optics, preliminary demonstrations of the correction of the birefringence effect of a GRIN lens were shown both in its pupil domain and focal domain.
I finally give a summary of the whole thesis and provide an outlook for future work with an emphasis on novel fluorescence-based or label-free imaging systems empowered by GRIN lens cascades.

Advisor: Booth, M
Intelligibility and comprehensibility of Japanese speakers of English from a global Englishes perspective

This study investigated how different listener factors are associated with the intelligibility and comprehensibility of Japanese speakers of English. Specifically, the association between the two dimensions of speech understanding (intelligibility and comprehensibility) and three listener factors (listeners’ first language, familiarity with English spoken by Japanese people, and listeners’ English level) was examined. A total of 67 listeners from three different L1 groups (Japanese, Mandarin, and English) participated in this study. They listened to thirty-two English sentences spoken by two different Japanese groups (high proficiency and low proficiency) and rated the intelligibility and comprehensibility of those speech acts with a transcription task and a Likert scale, respectively. Their familiarity with Japanese accented English and English proficiency was measured with a questionnaire. Statistical analyses revealed that when the speaker and listener shared the same L1, both intelligibility and comprehensibility were high, indicating there was a shared L1 effect. The effect was greater in the case where speakers’ English level was low. Similarly, listeners’ familiarity with English spoken by Japanese people was significantly correlated with both intelligibility and comprehensibility. These correlations tended to be stronger when the speaking participants' English level was low. By contrast, there were no significant correlations between listeners’ English proficiency and intelligibility, nor between listeners' English proficiency and comprehensibility. An implication of these findings is that sharing a L1 and familiarity with a speakers’ L1 accented English could enhance intelligibility and comprehensibility. Additionally, these results can be interpreted as showing that a high level of English does not necessarily lead to a better understanding of English speech by non-native English speakers.

Keywords: ALSLA2019
ALSLA
Advisor: Chalmers, H
Sheol and resurrection in the Hebrew Bible

In the Hebrew Bible, the two most salient concepts relating to the hereafter or existence beyond death are a) the underworld, or realm of the dead known as ‘Sheol’, and b) the eschatological resurrection of the dead. In so far as both Sheol and resurrection concern the fate or future of the dead, it might seem natural to expect a close association between the two concepts in the biblical text linguistically or thematically. However, there are ostensibly fundamental differences that have led interpreters to draw a distinction between the two. One such difference is the understanding that essentially there is no return from Sheol, whereas resurrection is the return of the dead to bodily existence. Furthermore, Sheol is often viewed as the benchmark of pre-exilic Israelite post-mortem expectations, whereas resurrection is viewed as a post-exilic development with possible foreign origins. The extent to which the above is accurate, in terms of how we understand both the term Sheol and biblical resurrection, as well as the relationship or distinctiveness of the two concepts, is the topic of this thesis. In this study, I analyse each of the sixty-six biblical occurrences of Sheol, as well as the key passages relating to biblical resurrection, and provide an exegesis for each passage. In the course of this analysis, I address contextual, lexical and hermeneutical issues, and where it is pertinent, the texts are compared with their reception in the Septuagint and other ancient versions. Ultimately, where it was previously thought that there existed a bifurcation between the ideas of Sheol and resurrection, this study finds evidence for the converse. The biblical portrayal of both concepts displays a theological and thematic overlap, which is shown to be evident in the language and phraseology of the biblical passages analysed.

Advisor: Williamson, H
Olfactory learning through dopamine modulated plasticity in the fruit fly

In this thesis I investigate the role of dopamine modulated plasticity during olfactory learning in the fruit fly Drosophila Melanogaster. Although previous plasticity models explore many qualitative aspects of how dopamine orchestrates plasticity that also apply to the fruit fly, no model explains recent relief learning and extinction experiments. In relief learning if a shock precedes an odour, the fly will learn to approach the relief signalling odour. Extinction is the disappearance of a previously learned behaviour when the behaviour is not reinforced. I address this problem by building a model that is based on the known anatomy of the fruit fly's olfactory circuit, as well as recent behavioural and imaging data in four results chapters. In chapter 2 I introduce a three-layer spiking model based on the first layers of the olfactory circuit to study the transformations of dense spatio-temporal odour patterns into sparse representations in the fly. In chapter 3 I introduce a model of the olfactory associative memory centre to study olfactory aversive learning and extinction. I show that a learning rule that doesn't require postsynaptic spikes, like in traditional models of plasticity, is sufficient to reproduce learning experiments in the fruit fly. In chapter 4 I explore appetitive learning and extinction. I hypothesize that dopaminergic neurons can inhibit each other and that suppressing the activity of a select group of dopaminergic neurons during odour exposure forms an aversive memory. In chapter 5 I investigate the role of potentiation in two experiments: relief learning and aversive re-learning. The aversive re-learning experiment shows that a fly can learn to avoid an odour, reduce its avoidance and re-learn to avoid the odour in a flexible manner depending on the absence or presence of shock in consecutive trials. I show that with potentiation re-extinction is also possible in the fly. My results provide a new perspective on dopamine-modulated learning in the fruit fly and suggest that dopamine orchestrates both potentiation and depression during plasticity.

Advisor: Vogels, T
Constructing value in the medial prefrontal cortex

Humans and other animals are remarkably adept at integrating a vast array of information into their choices. For instance, they seamlessly integrate their own internal states and goals (e.g. being thirsty or aspiring to obtain a PhD) into their actions without extensive training. How does the brain enable them to do this efficiently? In this thesis, I will investigate three key components of this behaviour: i) how humans track accumulation of resources as information about the current state of their goals, ii) how they arbitrate between two competing goals, and iii) how remembered value information is efficiently re-weighted to support pursuit of novel goals. All reported experiments employed functional magnetic resonance imaging to localize neural responses.
In the first line of research, covering points i) and ii), I will review two experiments, which investigate the neural correlates in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) during goal-directed decision-making. In Chapter 3, I report results from a study in which participants accumulated rewards from risky gambles over time. A key value-related area in the prefrontal cortex (PFC), the ventromedial PFC, encoded both the momentary receipt of reward and the participants’ current cumulative rewards. Next, in Chapter 4, I ask how humans arbitrate between two competing goals based on such latent accumulation signals. Another PFC region, the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), reflected both the pressure to act on one goal over another as well as participants’ likelihood to act according to this pressure. Importantly, the vmPFC encoded how much participants’ choices redressed the imbalance between goals, indicating that its value correlates may represent an integration of multiple goals and momentary receipt. If goals exert pressure to re-direct choices towards certain courses of action, then the areas supporting such decision-making must be able to flexibly re-weight information according to these new goals. Thus, in Chapter 5, I present a study showing that the frontopolar cortex as well as the ACC are key areas supporting this dynamic re-weighting and the representation of opportunity costs. Lastly, I will review a framework of primary rewards, homeostatic reinforcement learning, and how it may be adapted to encompass cognitive goals.

Advisor: Summerfield, C
O'Reilly, J
The role of cyclin E1 expression on sensitivity to DNA damage response modulators in Osteosarcoma

Osteosarcoma (OS) is an aggressive malignant bone tumour mostly present in childhood. In particular, the retinoblastoma tumour suppressor gene (RB1) has an essential role in the pathogenesis of OS. In response to growth stimuli, an altered Retinoblastoma/E2F pathway mediates an aberrant expression of downstream cell cycle promoters. Specifically, ectopic expression of cyclin E1 accelerates DNA replication timing leading to genomic instability and DNA replication stress. Consequently, DNA replication stress triggers an intra-S phase checkpoint that is dependent on Ataxia Telangiectasia and Rad3 related (ATR) kinase signalling. Oncogene activated DNA replication stress is a common feature of cancer cells. ATR inhibition selectively targets tumour cells exploiting endogenous vulnerabilities and increasing DNA damage to induce cancer cell death.
This research project aims to investigate the oncogenic role of cyclin E1 in modulating sensitivity to DNA damage response inhibitors (DDRi). Here, we use the U2OS osteosarcoma cell line with a stably integrated TET-off inducible genes system to investigate the role of ectopic expression of cyclin E1 in early priming and firing of DNA replication origins, replication stress and genomic instability.
Biomarkers for replication origin firing (pCDC6ser54), DNA replication stress (pRPAser33, pRPAser4/8) and DNA damage response pathways (pCHK1, pKAP1) were explored by western blot analysis. Whether variabilities in cell proliferation upon DDR inhibitors exposure were examined with resazurin-based fluorescence viability assays. Additionally, we extended our findings to PC-9 and A549 human lung carcinoma cell lines to explore DDRi activity regarding differences in cyclin E1 expression.
ATR inhibition (ATRi) using AZD6738 exhibited an unexpected disparity in selectively decreasing viability of cells with ectopic expression of cyclin E1. In particular, ATRi sensitivity was characterised by an increase in biomarkers for replication stress and DNA damage response pathways such as pATM. This result suggests that AZD6738 could selectively target tumour cells, including osteosarcoma, with aberrant expression of cyclin E1, although further study of the relationship between cyclin E1 expression and sensitivity to ATRi is required.

Advisor: Ryan, A
Serum hormone levels in women with chronic pain

Title: Serum Hormone Levels in Women with Chronic Pain, The Women In Pain Study, Oxford (WIPSOx).
Introduction:
Regular menstrual cycles in post-menarchal women reflect a healthy hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian (HPO) axis. It is well known that psychological stress can disrupt this axis both acutely and chronically leading to cycle irregularity or a period of amenorrhoea. High levels of opiate use, both for chronic pain and recreationally, can lead to suppression of ovarian endocrine function, amenorrhoea or even premature ovarian insufficiency. However, it is not known whether chronic pain in itself is a sufficient stressor to disrupt HPO axis activity.
Aim of Investigation
This observational study aimed to investigate the extent to which hormone production is altered in women with chronic pain and to explore whether clinical symptoms relate to this suppression.
Methods:
Local ethical approval was obtained (Oxford REC 15/SC/0077).
Pre-menopausal women (aged 18 – 50) with chronic (>6 months) pelvic or musculoskeletal pain were recruited by advertisement. At a single research visit, subjects completed a detailed questionnaire, were weighed and measured and blood was drawn. All samples were analysed to determine levels of estradiol, progesterone, testosterone, follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), cortisol, Vitamin D and sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG).
Questionnaire data collected included: menstrual data; number and regularity of periods in the previous 6 months; date of last menstrual period; length of cycle; measures of psychological distress: Beck Depression scale (BDI), State-Trait Anxiety Inventory Scale (STAI), measures of sleep disturbance and current and past stressful events.
Results:
Menstrual cycles:
33% of the cohort described irregular or absent cycles in the last 6 months. Comparing women with regular cycles to those with irregular/absent cycles, there was no significant difference in age; duration of pain; severity of pain; state anxiety, or depression. There were also no significant differences in any of these variables when women with regular cycles were compared to those with amenorrhoea for the last six months.
Serum hormone levels:
Four women were clinically hypoestrogenic and eight women were hypoandrogenic. However, forty-eight of the women had estradiol levels in the lowest quartile of the normal range and forty-eight had testosterone levels in the lowest quartile.
Conclusions:
This study found high rates of menstrual cycle disturbance in a cohort of women with chronic pain who were of reproductive age. In line with this, low levels of estradiol and testosterone were present in approximately half of the cohort. Such changes in serum hormone levels of women with chronic pain may have a significant impact on their morbidity and potentially mortality. Health consequences include reduced fertility; increased risk of cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis; psychological sequelae; and potentially an exacerbation of pain symptoms.

Advisor: Williams, S
Vincent, K