VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Playing with Fiscal Fire: The Politics of Consumption Tax Reform

Drawing on the case of consumption tax reform, this thesis investigates the varying capacity of governments to enact and institutionalize “general-interest reforms” (Patashnik 2003). The study advances a two-stage theory of policy reform. The first part explains why some governments, in spite of the political risks, decide to pursue general-interest reforms. In this first stage, two variants of policy learning—rational learning and emulation—are proposed to explain policy uptake. The second stage of the theory builds on policy feedback scholarship (Pierson 1993; Mettler and SoRelle 2014), claiming that the durability of a reform hinges on policy design. It proposes that governments can prompt various policy feedback effects through policy design and communications. Such efforts can shape the political incentives and perceptions of interest groups, opposition parties and voters at key junctures in the policy process. The study illustrates the analytic value of this approach through two distinct but complementary empirical strategies. First, through comparative case analysis using mainly qualitative techniques of elite interviews and document analysis, it compares the varying experiences of two Canadian provincial governments—Ontario and British Columbia (BC)—with value-added tax (VAT) reform. While each government chose to pursue VAT reform in the late 2000s, only in the case of Ontario was it successfully implemented while the BC government was forced to reverse its policy decision. Second, through a series of survey experiments, the study tests whether issue framing and policy design can shape mass receptivity to various tax reforms (e.g., carbon, sales and income taxes). The findings from the case studies as well as the survey experiments provide novel insights into the importance of policy design. The study holds important implications for our broader understanding of the mechanisms underpinning policy change and stability.

Keywords: Feedback effects
Learning
Politics
Public policy
Taxation
Advisor: White, Linda A
Neoliberal Conceptual Framing and the Disappearing of Marginalized Adults from the Basic Adult Education Learning Landscape in Ontario

Abstract This study of Literacy and Basic Skills (LBS) programs that are funded under the provincial Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Development (MAESD) in Ontario looks at the potential first and second order effects of MAESD LBS policy changes since 2012. This study brings to bear an anti-colonial and anti-oppressive practice lens, in order to examine the potential for, and implications of marginalization and displacement within a number of adult basic education programs in the province of Ontario. A component of this study will consider comparisons between Northern and Southern Ontario. Twenty-two LBS administrators and practitioners across Ontario—who between them have a cumulative knowledge of approximately 50 LBS sites in the province—were interviewed. These site administrators and practitioners were invited to participate after having been selected on the basis of sampling across both Northern and Southern Ontario from the Learning Networks of Ontario by LBS streams (Francophone, Deaf, Aboriginal, and English) and sectors (College, School Board, Community-based). Northern LBS site sampling included sites in the three Northern Regional Literacy Networks. Southern LBS site sampling included sampling by stream and sector in the sixteen (in total) Eastern, Western, and Southern Regional Literacy Networks. Interviews were semi-structured with “what would you do in this situation” vignette scenarios which could be expanded by the administrators and practitioners. The potential displacement of adult education students that seems to be happening in Northern and rural Ontario LBS is discussed, as is the marginalization of senior learners, developmentally delayed learners, and English Second Language learners from some sites. The implications of these results are discussed in relation to issues concerning equity in education, how New Public Management and neoliberal conceptual framing can create erasure as a consequence of second order policy effects, and the relationship between practitioner response and gatekeeping. Further discussions of practitioner self-efficacy, practitioner resistance, and meaning making at work, related to sustainable place-based community development ideologies, rooted in our diversity of economic, geographic and socio-cultural needs, for more holistic, multilingual education models and decolonial praxis are all explored.

Keywords: adult basic education
anti-oppressive practice
equity studies
neoliberalism
New Public Management
sustainable community development
Advisor: Restoule, Jean-Paul
Investigating the Clinical Validity of CUB and Zona-Pellucida-like Domain-Containing Protein 1 (CUZD1) in Malignant and Non-Malignant Human Diseases

CUB and zona pellucida-like domain-containing protein 1 (CUZD1) has been previously shown to be specifically expressed in normal pancreas and was proposed as a candidate biomarker for pancreatic related disorders. Due to the lack of specific reagents and techniques, its levels in tissues and biological fluids have not been extensively examined. We generated mouse monoclonal antibodies against recombinant CUZD1 and used them for the development of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Analysis of various human extracts showed that CUZD1 is measured in high levels in pancreas and at much lower (but detectable) levels in several other tissues. Analysis of biological fluids showed that CUZD1 is detected exclusively in pancreatic juice. CUZD1 has been previously linked to diseases (such as pancreatitis, ovarian cancer and IBD) but it is currently unknown if the expression levels of this antigen are elevated in any of the aforementioned or other disorders. Analysis of a large number of serum samples from patients with various malignant and benign disorders showed that CUZD1 levels were elevated in patients with ovarian cysts but not ovarian cancer. CUZD1 is a pancreas-specific protein but it is unclear if its expression is elevated in malignant conditions of the pancreas. IHC staining of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) and acinar cell carcinoma (ACC) tissue sections revealed that CUZD1 protein was highly expressed in ACC but not in PDAC. CUZD1 is one of the targets of pancreatic autoantibodies (PABs) which have been emerged as possible biomarkers for Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). Data assessing the diagnostic significance of CUZD1 autoantibodies in patients with IBD are scarce, mainly due to the lack of high throughput techniques for their detection. We developed an ELISA targeting CUZD1 autoantibodies and used it to analyze 200 serum samples from IBD patients and 129 patients assessed for various autoimmune diseases (vADs). CUZD1 autoantibodies were detected in 16% of CrD patients in 9% of UC patients and in less than 5% of patients being tested for vADs. In conclusion, this thesis encompasses the development and validation of analytical techniques targeting CUZD1 antigen and CUZD1 autoantibodies. These tools can facilitate future investigations aiming to delineate the role of CUZD1 in physiology and pathobiology.

Keywords: autoantibodies
CUZD1
ELISA
IBD
pancreas
proteomics
Advisor: Diamandis, Eleftherios P
Blasutig, Ivan M
Development of Genome Engineering Strategies for Cell Therapy Safety

Cell therapy is the process of introducing healthy, therapeutic cells into human bodies to treat diseases. Cell therapies have great promise as a treatment or even cure for many different types of diseases such as cancer, blindness, diabetes and so on. Currently, cells therapies are still mainly in the pre-clinical stage due to several unsolved problems, one of which is that the transplanted cells have a risk of developing into tumors, which we call tumorigenicity. Here I report my PhD thesis projects on developing genome engineering strategies to eliminate this risk of tumorigenicity through introducing our designer â safety switchâ into the genome of the transplanted cells. One is the Fail-safe system, and the other is the Dox-bridge strategy, of which both are about modifying cell division essential locus in the genome. We have tested both strategies in vitro, in vivo and in silico with various cell types. We hope this could provide solutions towards the safety issue and accelerate the promise of cell therapies treating devastating diseases to come into reality.

Keywords: Cell division essential gene
Cell therapy
Gene editing
Safety switch
Suicide gene
Tumorigenicity
Advisor: Nagy, Andras
BORDERED LIVES: ETHNIC IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT AND ACCULTURATION PATTERNS AMONG UNDOCUMENTED ADOLESCENTS

Objective. Undocumented migration, the phenomenon of living somewhere without legal documents, has replaced traditional immigration to become the fastest growing form of global migration (International Organization for Migration, 2014). Despite burgeoning numbers, this population is often overlooked within psychology (Ellis Chen, 2013). Building on limited literature, this dissertation addresses two primary aspects related to the experiences of undocumented adolescents – ethnic identity development and the acculturation process – from a developmental lens. Paper 1. Although Ellis and Chen (2013) and Maduena (2015) have developed models for ethnic identity amongst undocumented university students, no existing model focuses specifically on the developmental periods of adolescence and emerging adulthood. This qualitative study addresses gaps in the literature by developing an ethnic identity model for undocumented youth. A sample of 23 undocumented youth, between the ages of 16-22, completed a demographic questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. Employing a grounded theory approach, four major themes or stages related to ethnic identity development emerged: Revelation, (Dis)Engagement, Developing Undocumented Consciousness, and Negotiating Undocumented Consciousness. Paper 2. The second paper extends the Tridimensional Model of Acculturation (Ferguson et al., 2013) – whereby individuals acculturate to host, home, and other subcultures within host country – to explore how undocumented adolescents understand and negotiate processes related to acculturation. Using qualitative data gathered from semi-structured interviews with 23 undocumented adolescents, the second paper identified various cultural influences, specific stressors that amplify acculturative stress, and the most critical sites where acculturation occurs. Youth identified attachment to native, host, and subcultures and described school, work, service provision institutions and national borders as the most influential sites of acculturation. Conclusions: This dissertation deepens our understanding of the impacts of undocumented status upon adolescents via an analysis of developmental stages of identity development and an empirical investigation of the process of acculturation. The first paper contributed a new model on undocumented adolescent development and the second paper offered evidence supportive of the Tridimensional Model of Acculturation whereby individuals endorsed acculturating to multiple cultures. Findings provide important insights for service provision, including addressing specific developmental needs of undocumented adolescents by facilitating information sharing to counteract confusion and fear of the unknown. Continued research into processes of identity and acculturation during adolescence may establish best practices for undocumented youth.

Keywords: Acculturation
Identity Development
Immigration
Migration
Undocumented
Advisor: Peterson-Badali, Michele
Killian, Kyle
Abelianisation of Logarithmic Connections

This thesis studies an equivalence between meromorphic connections of higher rank and abelian connections. Given a complex curve X and a spectral cover π: Σ → X, we construct a functor πab : ConnX → ConnΣ, called the abelianisation functor, from some category of connections on X with logarithmic singularities to some category of abelian connections on Σ, and we prove that πab is an equivalence of categories. At the level of the corresponding moduli spaces MX, M Σ, which are known to be holomorphic symplectic varieties, this equivalence recovers a symplectomorphism constructed by Gaiotto, Moore, Neitzke in their work on Spectral Networks (2013). Moreover, the moduli space MΣ is a torsor for an algebraic torus, so in fact π ab provides a Darboux coordinate system on MX, known as the Fock-Goncharov coordinates constructed in their work on higher Teichmüller theory (2006). To prove that πab is an equivalence of categories, we introduce a new concept called the Voros class. It is a canonical cohomology class in H1 of the base X with values in the nonabelian sheaf Aut(π*) of groups of natural automorphisms of the direct image functor π*. Any 1-cocycle v representing the Voros class defines a new functor ConnΣ → ConnX by locally deforming the pushforward functor π *; the result is an explicit inverse equivalence to πab, called a deabelianisation functor. We generalise the abelianisation equivalence to the case of quantum connections: these are ħ-families of meromorphic connections restricted to a sectorial neighbourhood in ħ with prescribed asymptotic regularity. The Schrödinger equation is a quintessential example. The most important invariant of a quantum connection ∇ is the Higgs field ∇ (0) obtained by restricting ∇ to ħ = 0 (the so-called semiclassical limit). Then abelianisation may be viewed as a natural extension to an ħ-family of the spectral line bundle of ∇ (0). That is, we show that for a given quantum connection (ϵ, ∇), the line bundle ϵab obtained from ϵ by abelianisation π ab restricts at ħ = 0 to precisely the spectral line bundle of the Higgs field ∇(0). Finally, in this thesis we explore the relationship between abelianisation and the WKB method, which is an asymptotic approximation technique for solving differential equations developed by physicists in the 1920s and reformulated by Voros in 1983 using the theory of Borel resummation. We give an algebro-geometric formulation of the WKB method using vector bundle extensions and splittings. We then show that the output of the WKB analysis is precisely the data used to construct the abelianisation functor πab.

Keywords: abelianisation
algebraic geometry
connection
differential equation
D-modules
WKB
Advisor: Gualtieri, Marco
SYNTHESIS OF POLYFERROCENYLSILANE BLOCK COPOLYMERS AND THEIR CRYSTALLIZATION-DRIVEN SELF-ASSEMBLY IN PROTIC SOLVENTS

Polyferrocenylsilane (PFS) di-block copolymers self-assemble in selective solvents to form rod-like micelles, driven be the crystallization of the PFS block in the core. One of the unique features of these rod-like micelles is that the length can be extended upon addition of an extra amount of PFS block copolymers in a good solvent for both blocks. This process, referred to as the living crystallization-driven self-assembly (CDSA), has been utilized to prepare near monodisperse rod-like micelles. To further investigate the potential bio-medication application of these rods, I set out to synthesize new PFS BCPs with water-soluble thermoresponsive corona to prepare uniform nano-rods in polar media, and study their solution behavior. The first part of my thesis describes the synthesis and living CDSA of poly(ferrocenyldimethylsilane-b-N-isopropyl acrylamide) (PFS-b-PNIPAM) by a Cu-catalyzed alkyne/azide coupling reaction to covalently combine the two homopolymers. In self-assembly studies, I found that the growth rate of the rod-like micelles in alcohol solvents decreased dramatically when the number of PNIPAM repeating units was increased. Varies attempts to transfer the micelles to water were accompanied by extensive fragmentation. I attributed the phenomenon to the cononsolvency of PNIPAM corona in alcohol/water mixture. The second part describes the preparation of a photocleavable PFS-hv-poly(2-vinylpyridine) (P2VP) block copolymer bearing an o-nitrobenzyl ester (ONB) group at the junction. I investigated in detail the UV light-induced cleavage of the P2VP corona chains from the rod-like micelles by GPC, TEM and multiangle light scattering. The third part in the thesis describes the formation of rod-like co-micelles with segregated coronas via living CDSA of two mixed unimers of PFS-b-PNIPAM and PFS-hv-P2VP. By controlling the epitaxial growth rate of the two competing species, the morphology of the co-micelles could be varied from patchy to block co-micelles. The fourth part describes the synthesis and living CDSA of PFS-b-poly(oligo(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate) (PFS-b-POEGMA). I explored the self-assembly condition of this polymer in different alcohol media and found a methanol/ethanol mixture as selective solvent to prepare uniform nano-rods by living CDSA. These nano-rods stayed intact after transfer to water. The thermoresponsiveness of these uniform cylindrical brushes was investigated by multiangle light scattering.

Keywords: crystallization-driven self-assembly
polyferrocenylsilane
stimuli-responsive
uniform nano-rods in water
Advisor: Winnik, Mitchell
Make Yourself Proud: An Investigation of Experienced and Anticipated Pride in Physical Activity Contexts

This program of research consists of four inter-related studies that examined how the experience and anticipation of pride is associated with physical activity behaviours. Further, the antecedents of anticipated pride were also examined. Study 1 employed an intensive longitudinal design and purposeful sampling of individuals training for a long-distance race (n = 131), to explore how experiences of authentic and hubristic pride are associated with subsequent training progress. Using data collected from this same dataset (n = 158), Study 2 examined how both the experience and the anticipation of pride and shame predicted the quality and quantity of training behaviours as individuals trained for an upcoming race. Guided by the Affect and Health Behavior Framework, Study 3 utilized a prospective design to test whether intentions to be physically active mediated the relationship between anticipated pride and engagement in physical activity among young adults (n = 158). Finally, study 4 (n = 130) employed a cross-sectional design to examine the theoretical antecedents of anticipated pride using the Process Model of Self-Conscious Emotions (Tracy Robins, 2004) as the guiding framework. Based on tenets of this model, the congruence between self-representations were of particular interest. Collectively, this body of work underscores the functional nature of pride in physical activity contexts for promoting achievement outcomes. Pride is a competence relevant emotion that motivates achievement striving. When engaged in competence pursuits, low feelings of pride provide feedback that changes in goal striving are needed. Subsequently, this results in greater goal progress. Thus, individuals strive to experience pride and the anticipation of pride is likely to guide behaviour. The anticipation of fitness-related pride was associated with intentions to engage physical activity behaviours. Finally, self-representations associated with an individualâ s ideal self is a prominent antecedent of authentic pride. These findings are important given the relative scarcity of research on self-conscious emotions, and positive emotions more generally, despite their stated importance for optimal functioning in achievement contexts. Given the predominance of research that has examined the effects of negative emotions in sport and exercise contexts, the current program of research highlights the importance of targeting positive emotional experiences such as pride as they appear to have important regulatory functions in these contexts that can facilitate both performance and participation in health behaviours.

Advisor: Sabiston, Catherine M
Three Essays in International Trade

This thesis comprises three chapters: In Chapter I, I develop a general model to study the impact of labour mobility distortions on the gains from trade liberalization. The main feature of the model is that it combines comparative advantage forces with sectoral production misallocation. I use this framework to study the effect of labour market policies affecting the level of occupational mobility distortions on the gains from trade. I first show that differences in market structure across sectors lead to a misallocation of production. A planner is able to solve this misallocation by changing the composition of employment in the economy through changes in the level of labour market distortions. I use the model to study the impact of labour market distortions on the gains from trade from 1992 to 2007 in the US. I find that, relative to observed, optimal distortions lead to a 2.7% increase in the median cost of switching occupations and a doubling of welfare gains from trade. In Chapter II, I examine whether trade liberalization decreases investment misallocation in India. I provide evidence that, independently of firm heterogeneity, exporters earn more revenue from the extensive margin of production. Also, I show that this difference between exporters and non-exporters is increasing in the degree of external financing needs of the sector in which firms operate. This finding suggests that an increase in trade liberalization has the additional effect of increasing the efficiency of the allocation of investment in new product varieties from less-productive non-exporters to more-productive exporters. In Chapter III, I propose a model to explain deviations from the source-destination hierarchy prediction in models of trade with heterogeneous firms. I first show that firms do not follow a pecking order of foreign market entry. To explain these deviations, I show a two-period, partial equilibrium model with asymmetric information in product appeal. Firms know the appeal of their products but consumers are unaware of it. After consuming in the first period, consumers observe a noisy signal and update their expectations. Given the updating process, I show that there is an imperfect sorting of firms into markets.

Advisor: Trefler, Daniel