VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Three essays on auctions

The importance of being discrete: on the (in-)accuracy of continuous approximations in auction theory
While auction theory views bids and valuations as continuous variables, real-world auctions are necessarily discrete. In this paper, we use a combination of analytical and computational methods to investigate whether incorporating discreteness substantially changes the predictions of the theory. In some cases, we find that introducing discreteness leaves auction theoretic predictions almost entirely unaffected. In other cases, however, we show that introducing discreteness can rob auctions of their usual symmetric, pure-strategy equilibria; and can even rob them of pure-strategy equilibria altogether (symmetric or otherwise). We discuss the implications of our findings for both theoretical and experimental work on auctions.
Going... going... wrong: a test of the level-k (and cognitive hierarchy) models of bidding behaviour
In this paper, we design and implement an experiment aimed at testing the level-k model of auctions. We begin by identifying (simple) environments that optimally disentangle the predictions of the level-k model from the natural benchmark of Bayes-Nash equilibrium. We then implement these environments within a virtual laboratory in order to see which theory can best explain observed bidding behaviour. Overall, our findings suggest that, despite its notable success in predicting behaviour in other strategic settings, the level-k model (and its close cousin, cognitive hierarchy) cannot explain behaviour in auctions.
Competitive equilibrium and the double auction
In this paper, we revisit the common claim that double auctions necessarily generate competitive equilibria. We begin by observing that competitive equilibrium has some counterintuitive implications: specifically, it predicts that monotone shifts in the value distribution can leave prices unchanged. Using experiments, we then test whether these implications are borne out by the data. We find that in double auctions with stationary value distributions, the resulting prices can be far from competitive equilibria. However, we also show that double auctions display stronger equilibrating tendencies once traders can leave without replacement as time progresses. Taken together, these findings suggest that the exit of traders over time is a key driver of equilibrium prices in double auctions.

Advisor: Ballester, M
Identifying epigenetic regulators of survival motor neuron protein to treat spinal muscular atrophy

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a rare monogenic disease of mostly paediatric onset, affecting approximately 1:8,000 – 10,000 live births. If untreated, it leads to progressive muscle weakness and paralysis, due to degeneration of lower α-motor neurons in the spinal cord and brainstem. Three therapies are currently approved for SMA and while effective, they are extremely costly and not without limitations. It is becoming apparent that with SMA individuals living longer, new therapies, alone and/or in combination with the ones already on the market, are needed to improve quality of life and ensure sustained benefit for patients.
Epigenetic mechanisms have been implicated in several neuroprotection and neurodegeneration processes as well as SMA itself. The aim of this project is to identify novel epigenetic mechanisms involved in the regulation of SMN with the ultimate goal to identify new therapeutic targets. To this end, I have screened a library of epigenetic probes from the Structural Genomic Consortium, for their ability to modulate SMN2 in SMA patient-derived fibroblasts. Lead molecules have been further validated in the SMA mouse model. Among these molecules, I have identified MS023, an inhibitor of type I protein arginine methyltransferases (PRMTs), and IOX2, an inhibitor of prolyl hydroxylase domain 2 (PHD2), and characterized MS023 in depth. MS023 is able to increase the levels of SMN protein in vitro and in vivo, via a splice switching mechanism and improve survival and weights in a severe mouse model of SMA. Furthermore, the combinatorial treatment of oral MS023 and the market-approved antisense oligonucleotide nusinersen, is able to prolong the lifespan of severe SMA mice to a greater extent than the oligonucleotide treatment alone. MS023 alters the methylation pattern of hnRNPA1, the main negative regulator of exon 7 inclusion, weakening its binding to SMN2 pre-mRNA. Transcriptomic analysis in spinal cords of SMA mice identified correction of immune-related pathways by the combinatorial treatment but not nusinersen alone. These results provide a new insight into epigenetic regulation of SMN and PRMT function in splicing and justify moving forward with MS023 preclinical development as an add-on therapy for SMA.

Keywords: neuromuscular
SMA
epigenetics
PRMT
small molecules
spinal muscular atrophy
monogenic
arginine methylation
Advisor: Wood, M
Rinaldi, C
Unmaking and remaking the coast in southwestern India: a political ecology of erosions and accretions

The coast of southwestern India is at the crossroads of several social, economic and environmental long-term processes: the modernisation of artisanal fishing techniques, a portled development strategy, Blue Growth and increasingly severe coastal erosion. The purpose of this thesis is to make analytical sense of these different transformations and their interplay, to understand what they tell us about the evolution of the coast, a space so far characterised as a geographic, social and economic margin in various academic and media accounts.
Using a multi-sited design, I look at two different and seemingly unrelated areas in a southern district. First, I focus on a “bottom-up” project, i.e. a small fishing harbour constructed upon the demands of the local fish-workers. Second, I look at an international Seaport project. Initiated by the state government and implemented through a public-private partnership, I see this massive infrastructure as a “top-down” project.
My overarching argument contends that the coast of the district is being assembled into a frontier for “development”, understood as technological/infrastructural modernisation and capitalist expansion, of which these two sites actually represent two variegated and complementary “sub-processes”. Throughout this thesis, I therefore characterise the frontier, a notion better understood in terms of effects than in terms of essence. First, I argue that the frontier both results from, and coheres into, new imaginations and discourses. Secondly and most centrally, I argue that the dynamics of coastal erosion and accretion, i.e. the biophysical transformations that result from the construction of infrastructure such as the ones I study, are a key pillar of the frontiers assembled around my two sites. Third, I argue that these socioenvironmental processes contribute to shift the boundaries between three key actors of the nature and society interactions around my fieldsites.

Advisor: Sud, N
Visually guided flight in Harris' hawks: a computer vision approach

Animals with well-developed visual systems often use vision as an active sense. This means they can manipulate the position and orientation of their viewpoint to interrogate their visual environment. In this thesis, I investigate active vision in a particularly challenging scenario: birds in manoeuvring flight. I focus on Harris' hawks (Parabuteo unicinctus), which strongly rely on vision to coordinate their manoeuvres. I cover three key challenges of studying birds' gaze strategies in flight. First, I explore the problem of accurately tracking an animal's gaze direction. Marker-based motion capture is the most accurate species-agnostic method to track 3D movements in humans and animals, but commercial systems often underperform when applied to animals. I present a marker-labelling method that solves many of the existing problems, based on an arrangement of markers that is optimal for a custom per-frame labelling algorithm. Second, I explore how to capture the visual scene an animal experiences. I solve this computationally, using a 3D model of the flight environment, and a model of the birds' view during flight. I demonstrate how the proposed method allows us to define alternative gaze strategies for hypothesis testing, and explore different methods of modelling the environment, that adapt to varying levels of geometric complexity. Third, I investigate how we can use the generated synthetic data to analyse the hawks' behaviour. For N = 4 birds, I generate semantic maps of the visual scene the animals experience in flight, for a total of n = 97 perching and obstacle avoidance flights. I characterise the birds' gaze strategies around the landing perch and the obstacles, and discuss possible explanations as to why these strategies may be advantageous. Overall, my thesis demonstrates a novel and reliable method of investigating avian vision in flight and opens up new avenues for data-driven models of animal behaviour.

Keywords: avian vision
obstacle avoidance
motion capture
pursuit
computer vision
bird flight
Advisor: Taylor, G
Golodetz, S
Derek Walcott's early writing (1948-1962): a critical reading

This thesis offers a critical reading of the poetry and drama Derek Walcott composed between 1948 and 1962. It contends that Walcott’s positions on imitation, hybridity and mimicry were influenced by his reading at school and changed little as he aged, but that the narrative currently employed to conceptualise his artistic trajectory has distorted this continuity. Largely comprising imitations of Anglo-European texts produced in the context of a self-avowed apprenticeship, his early writing was celebrated for its maturity and virtuosity in the 1940s and ’50s. However, it was retrospectively denigrated by detractors at the University of the West Indies in the 1960s and ’70s who framed it as beholden to Europe. Walcott defended his poetics amidst this criticism, but when discussions of hybridity’s positive potential gained critical currency in the West from the 1980s onwards, this earlier defence was misunderstood as a shift towards embracing Africa by scholars who could no longer access his earliest work. This gave rise to the idea that he departed from an overreliance on European writing in the early 1970s and developed an increasingly hybrid aesthetic thereafter. That narrative was generalised in the 1990s to formulate a model for Caribbean literature, which was then employed to theorise more widely about the interrelationship between modernist and postcolonial literatures.
By revisioning miscomprehensions about Walcott’s early work through a series of targeted close readings, the thesis challenges the predominant narrative for Caribbean literary history and probes the complex points of intersection that exist between metropolitan and peripheral literatures. In particular, it employs Walcott’s early work as a case study to evaluate the four most popular paradigms currently used to conceptualise global literary influence, which variously characterise the ideological traffic between centre and periphery in terms of cross-cultural osmotic diffusion, anti-imperial antagonism, regional polymodernity, and coeval anti-capitalism. Ultimately, it advocates the development of a “tidalectic” Caribbean literary historiography grounded in regionally specific notions of influence and spatiotemporality.

Keywords: diffusionism
1960s
poetry
Derek Walcott
global modernism
derivation
1940s
influence
writing back
cross-cultural
Caribbean
early writing
tidalectics
Japonisme
Anglophone
1950s
imitation
Juvenilia
Advisor: Boehmer, E
Riach, G
On the formation of singularities for the compressible Euler equations

The purpose of this thesis is to study the phenomenon of singularity formation in large data problems for C^1 solutions to the Cauchy problem of the compressible Euler equations. The classical theory established by P. D. Lax in 1964 (J. Math. Phys. 5: 611-614) shows that, for 2x2 hyperbolic systems, the break-down of C^1 solutions occurs in finite time if initial data contain any compression in some truly nonlinear characteristic field under some additional conditions, which include genuine nonlinearity and the strict positivity of the difference between two corresponding eigenvalues. These strong structural assumptions mean that it is highly non-trivial to apply this theory to archetypal systems of conservation laws, such as the (1+1)-dimensional relativistic Euler equations.
Actually, in the (1+1)–dimensional spacetime setting, if the mass-energy density rho does not vanish initially at any finite point, the essential difficulty in considering the possible break-down is coming up with a way to obtain sharp enough control on the lower bound for rho.
In Chapter 2 and Chapter 3, we consider the (1+1)–dimensional isentropic Euler equations in both classical and relativistic settings. We will establish a sufficiently sharp lower bound of rho, and show Lax's theory indeed holds for these systems. Furthermore, we will give a better lower bound of rho, at the expense of restricting the class of initial data further.
In Chapter 4 and Chapter 5, we consider the (1+1)–dimensional non-isentropic Euler equations in both classical and relativistic settings. As the non-isentropic Euler equations are 3x3 systems, Lax's theory no longer directly applies. Instead, we will establish a sufficiently sharp lower bound of rho, and give a sufficient condition for the solution to break down in finite time.
In Chapter 6 and Chapter 7, we consider the multidimensional isentropic Euler equations with spherical symmetry in both classical and relativistic settings. With spherical symmetry, the system will have a singularity at the origin. To bypass this, we consider a specific set of initial data such that the local existence and uniqueness result can be established. Same as in the non-isentropic case, we will give a sufficient condition for the solution to break down in finite time.

Keywords: hyperbolic systems
compress Euler equations
PDEs
Advisor: Chen, G
Evolution and ecomorphology of the avian foot: the morphology of the tarsometatarsus in birds and its responses to evolutionary changes in foot use

Accipitriformes, Strigiformes, and Falconiformes are the three extant raptorial avian clades, most members of which use their feet to kill and carry prey. The disparate grouping of these clades with similar foot use has been hypothesised to result from retention of raptoriality from a telluravian ancestor, which has not been tested using ecomorphological methods. I evaluated the hypothesis by testing the anatomical correlates of raptoriality and other foot uses in extant birds using geometric morphometrics and phylogenetic comparative shape analysis on first the entire tarsometatarsus bone, and then on the proximal articular surface and hypotarsus (a plantar channel through which flexor tendons run). I then mapped the ancestral states of raptoriality across the phylogeny, including fossil taxa, as well as the ancestral states of 14 other foot uses. Centroid size, body mass, flightlessness, zygodactyl digit orientation, force grip foot use, and raptoriality all had significant and independent effects on whole tarsometatarsus shape, and explain approximately 26% of tarsometatarsus shape variation. Hypotarsus shape is a statistically significant indicator of raptoriality in birds: raptorial birds tend to possess a deep and wide monosulcate hypotarsus. This relationship can be used to infer raptorial foot use in stem taxa throughout Telluraves known only from fossils. Using these inferred states in ancestral character estimation demonstrates that all extant raptorial groups have convergently evolved raptoriality, contradicting existing hypotheses of a raptorial ancestry of Telluraves as a whole. However, this does not rule out the occurrence of carnivory in the ancestor of Telluraves. Cursoriality, ability to hold down objects, digital manipulation, scansoriality, and hanging and clinging behaviour were determined to be convergent within Telluraves. Force grip foot use, walking ability, perching ability, and anisodactyl digit orientation were determined to be ancestral to Telluraves.

Keywords: raptoriality in telluraves
avian evolution
phylogenetic geometric morphometric analyses
Advisor: Benson, R
Taylor, G
Female roles in Euripidean tragedy. Language, performance, conceptions

The thesis aims to offer a typology of the various ways in which tragic women conceptualize and perform their role in Euripidean tragedy, examining the wide range of female characters’ acts, attitudes, and languages as reflective of their role performances.
The thesis consists of four chapters. Chapter I focuses on the maternal attempt to persuade a son, taking Aethra in Suppliant Women and Jocasta in Phoenician Women as its main case studies. The aim of the chapter is twofold: first, it analyses the linguistic characterization of Aethra and Jocasta by using two modern linguistic approaches, namely politeness theory and speech-act theory; second, it considers how Aethra and Jocasta conceive of their private role as mothers in the face of the public demands placed on them by the civic community, using other maternal figures (Atossa in Aeschylus’ Persians, Praxithea in Euripides’ Erechtheus, and Clytemnestra in IA) as points of comparison.
While Chapter I focuses on the single role of mother, Chapter II investigates the way in which female characters negotiate the demands of different roles, paying particular attention to women holding simultaneously the roles of daughter and wife, and those of mother and wife. Two concepts prove crucial in my analysis of these negotiations, namely balance and conflict. By balance, I mean all those instances in which female characters perform one role to the benefit of another; when, that is, performing a given role helps to fulfil the demands of another. Conflict, on the other hand, refers to those situations in which the performance of two roles irremediably clashes, and where women are forced to choose which of these to prioritize.
Chapter III and IV shift to close readings of Andromache, Helen and Iphigenia in Tauris, three plays that showcase not only different roles from those explored in Chapter I and II, but also different forms of role playing. Chapter III explores the notions of role failure and role blurring, illustrating the ways in which Hermione fails to play the role of wife, and making the case that Andromache blurs the boundaries between her present role as concubine and her previous role as wife. Chapter IV investigates whether the often-remarked affinities between Helen and IT also reflect on the way Helen and Iphigenia perform their roles. Here I delve into Helen’s double identity as a real person and eidōlon, and I examine Iphigenia’s multiple roles as a virgin, priestess, and sister.
The thesis as a whole illuminates many novel aspects of tragic characterization, gender-specific language, and plot structure, provides fresh readings of individual plays and enhances our understanding of Euripides’ dramatic technique.

Keywords: classical philology
Euripides
characterization
female characters
Greek tragedy
linguistics
roles
role-playing
Advisor: Allan, W
Van Emde Boas, E
Practitioner researchers: can an innovative approach to professional development boost pedagogical engagement across the entire teaching body?

This dissertation begins by considering the role of a headteacher in school improvement through the lens of educational literature and determines that Continuing Professional Development (CPD) for teaching staff is considered as an effective method for improving outcomes for young people across the educational spectrum. In the context of a selective, London independent school, a project enabling teachers to collaborate in small groups which cut across traditional subject divides and which extend across the entire academic year is devised. The ethics of a headteacher both leading and researching a school-improvement initiative are considered and key research questions are drawn up including whether seven “Collaborative Enquiry Groups” can promote innovation in the classroom, encourage engagement with academic literature and support even the ‘hard-to-reach’ teachers. Quantitative and qualitative data sources are deployed in order to assess the impact of the “Collaborative Enquiry Groups” which are ultimately judged to have been successful and well-received. Teachers appreciated especially the opportunity to work together and to discuss their pedagogy and a majority of staff finished the year by describing themselves as “practitioner-researchers”, although the required workload was considered burdensome by some participants. This paper adds to the field of educational research by offering a rare insight into pedagogy within an independent school and by developing a model of teacher CPD which could be extended to other schools.

Keywords: MLT
MLT 2020
Investigating the effects of procedural variation on multiplicative reasoning

Procedural variation uses varied sequences of questions to draw children's attention to the invariant critical features of a mathematical concept. This pre- and post-test intervention study investigates the effects of teaching using procedural variation on 7-8-year-old children's distributive and scalar multiplicative reasoning. The first research question examines whether Year 3 children are capable of recognising the distributive and scalar relationships between sequences of multiplication questions. The second research question considers whether teaching using procedural variation can improve Year 3 children's distributive and scalar reasoning. 184 children were recruited from six Year 3 classes and were randomly allocated to three interventions: distributive reasoning, scalar reasoning or the active control. Each intervention comprised three 30-minute sessions; the distributive and scalar reasoning groups received procedural variation teaching, while the active control focused on times tables. The pre- and post-test comprised distributive and scalar reasoning tasks and was administered immediately before and after the interventions. Many of the children were capable of using procedural variation to recognise the distributive relationships between multiplications but could not identify the scalar relationships. There were significant post-test differences between groups, with the experimental groups outperforming the control group. There was also a significant interaction between the distributive and scaling groups and their respective tasks, meaning that procedural variation teaching had a specific effect on distributive or scalar reasoning. This is the first intervention study to empirically evaluate the effects of teaching using procedural variation and it therefore makes a small yet valuable contribution to primary mathematics research.

Keywords: multiplicative reasoning
primary mathematics
intervention study
mathematical reasoning
distributive
scalar
variation theory
scalar reasoning
multiplication
invariant
distributive reasoning
procedural variation
Advisor: Bryant, P