VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Essays on urbanisation and governance in developing countries

This thesis examines the role of the state in shaping economic outcomes in rapidly urbanising developing countries.
Increasing the effectiveness of the state is a major challenge facing most developing countries today. Chapter 1 focusses on one important factor that constrains the state’s ability to provide public goods to all citizens: citizens’ physical remoteness from their administrators. Using rich data on village India, and a spatial regression discontinuity design, this chapter shows that greater distance to administration reduces a village’s access to public goods and worsens economic outcomes. Villages that are more remote from their administrators have fewer roads, schools, health centers and less irrigation. In turn, their residents have lower incomes, fewer assets, less literacy, and are more likely to be employed in agriculture. At least for roads, these effects are not driven by the higher cost of construction in remote villages, but higher cost of monitoring road quality. These results suggest that reducing the distance between the state and its citizens, and changing incentives for bureaucrats, can help to mitigate the large spatial disparities in living standards observed within many developing countries.
In addition to hosting administrative headquarters, cities are also large goods and labour markets, and have been a major driver of recent employment growth in de- veloping countries. Chapter 2 uses newly matched and geocoded data from India’s Economic and Population Censuses to study how growing cities affect the economic structure in neighbouring villages. Instrumenting for employment growth in cities using a Bartik (shift-share) instrument, the chapter finds that 10% higher growth in manufacturing employment in the nearest city reduces the growth in manufacturing employment in the village by 1.8%, though it does not affect employment growth in other rural non-farm sectors. The effects are stronger for villages located close to larger towns and cities. Further, the effects are stronger for villages that are less suited for manufacturing activities, such as more remote villages and villages that lack paved roads.
Finally, Chapter 3 examines the effect of property titles on housing investment deci- sions of low-income urban households, using data from Delhi’s resettlement localities. It finds that more secure property titles are not associated with a higher probability of engaging in housing investment, with higher levels of housing investment, or indeed with measures of housing quality. The results are robust to using matching estimators. The null results can be explained by the by the limited differences in perceived evic- tion risk between titled and non-titled households, and by low reliance on the formal financial sector by all households. These results suggest that urban property titling programs in developing countries can be more successful if they also expand access to complementary inputs, such as the formal financial sector.

Advisor: Gollin, D
Javorcik, B
The impact of cognitive control deficits and rumination on depressive symptoms and social cognition: implications for the postnatal period

Rumination is a maladaptive emotional regulation strategy that involves a negative and repetitive focus on one’s self and one’s thoughts. Ruminative thinking is often pervasive in the context of depression and is understood to play a role in the onset and maintenance of depressive symptoms. Two major themes are explored throughout the thesis: firstly, the idea that cognitive control deficits underpin rumination, which in turn increases vulnerability to depression; secondly, the proposed role that rumination plays in impairing social cognition. These themes are explored in relation to general adult depression, and also with reference to specific applications during the perinatal period.
Cognitive control refers to the set of processes involved in facilitating flexible and goal-driven behaviour, notably the ability to direct and control the focus of attention. Theoretical models posit that deficits in cognitive control promote rumination, as ruminative thought is more likely to occur and persist where there are difficulties with flexibly directing attention. Both cognitive control deficits and rumination have been consistently linked with increased vulnerability to depression. Rumination is hypothesised to mediate relationships between cognitive control and depression. In this thesis, associations between cognitive control, rumination and depressive symptoms are examined both concurrently (Chapter 2), and in a longitudinal design (Chapter 3). The impact of manipulating cognitive control using a cognitive training paradigm is also explored (Chapter 6), with rumination as a key outcome.
It has been suggested that rumination mediates the effects of depression on social functioning, as it involves a persistent, internally-directed focus of attention. It is thought that this may impair effective engagement with social cues and social cognitive processes. In the postnatal context, rumination is hypothesised to be a mechanism through which depression affects parenting, which can be conceptualised as a specific example of social functioning. In this thesis, associations between rumination and empathy are examined using questionnaire measures (Chapter 4), and the impact of induced rumination on processing of infant cues is assessed (Chapter 5).
In summary, the thesis begins with an introduction to the relevant concepts and literature, then presents findings from a systematic review (Chapter 1) and series of experimental studies (Chapters 2-6). Finally, remaining questions, directions for future research and possible clinical applications of the work are discussed (Chapter 7).

Advisor: Stein, A
Fox, E
Ideology, language and the politics of time

This thesis examines the temporal dimension of political thought. From the standpoint of ideology studies, it incorporates methods and findings in conceptual history and in the work of Reinhart Koselleck, the primary theorist in the field, to the study of political thinking. Building on Koselleck’s theorisation on the semantics of historical time, the thesis investigates the ways that political ideologies, which primarily influence political activity through the control of language, linguistically mediate historical time for political purposes.
There are three parts to the thesis. The first is an assessment of the existing scholarship on the study of political thinking and time in the field of ideology studies, followed by an analysis of Koselleck’s hitherto unincorporated writings on historical time. The second offers an initial typology of three core ‘modes’ of the ideological politicking of time—on the politics of contingency, the politics of horizons and the politics of movement—each incorporating particular themes from Koselleck’s writings. The third puts Koselleck in conversation with two British political thinkers with whom he did not engage—J. S. Mill and Michael Oakeshott—in an effort to unpack contestations of historical time in their respective works.
On both these levels—the typological and by way of conversation—the thesis endeavours to give a better understanding of the routine ways in which politics contests and shapes historicity. Yet doing so also concerns the influence of time on politics. It suggests that political practice is not simply an activity to study ‘in time’, but is also, on the level of experience, a contestation of time itself.

Advisor: Freeden, M
Strategies to facilitate the long-term expression of transgenes for treatment of chronic liver disease

The development of new gene therapy products offers ground-breaking opportunities for the treatment of human disease. To provide lasting benefit to patients, the expression of a correct copy of a non-functional gene needs to be life-long, and the maintenance of therapeutic levels of gene expression is a key challenge. Gene therapy for chronic liver disease using recombinant adeno-associated virus, is very encouraging, but as the vector exists as an extra-chromosomal episome, it can be lost during subsequent cell division, especially in paediatric liver disease.
In this study, maintenance of transgene expression was investigated through repeated administration of rAAV after inducing immunogenic tolerance to rAAV capsid proteins. Using a liver-specific rAAV2/8, induction of tolerance to the non-self transgene luciferase was successfully demonstrated in mice. However, rAAV2/8 delivery of the AAV8 capsid was unable to induce humoral tolerance to the AAV8 capsid itself. Similarly, a lentiviral directed approach in the liver did not induce tolerance to AAV8 capsid. An alternate method to achieve life-long transgene expression utilised a gene editing strategy called homology-independent targeted integration (HITI), that facilitates insertion of a transgene sequence in a precise location in the genome, allowing, for example, therapeutic transgene expression under the strict control the endogenous promoter of an otherwise defective target gene. A fluorescent reporter cell line was constructed to test the feasibility of HITI and was used to confirm multiple permutations of the integration location and the sequence inserted, each of which offers a distinct therapeutic opportunity. Optimisation of the HITI donor sequence was required to prevent potential false positive expression in the analysis of in vivo HITI applications. One permutation was successful in addressing alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency in vitro and subsequently in a disease mouse model. Two new quantitative analytical methods, Capture-Seq and CasEnrich, were used to determine the propensity for off-target integration in the models tested. While these next-generation sequencing approaches were optimised for analysis of HITI on- and off-target integration events, they can be readily applied to interrogate the genomic consequences other gene editing and gene therapy approaches.
In conclusion, in the absence of a successful protocol for repeat rAAV administration in vivo, the HITI approach provides a promising platform for targeted genomic integration leading to life-long expression of therapeutic transgenes from an endogenous promoter.

Advisor: Gill, D
Hyde, S
Evolution and existential risk with observation selection bias

If life emerges on a planet, is it likely to become intelligent? And if intelligent life does emerge, how long will it persist? These two questions motivate this thesis, and are linked by a common methodological challenge associated with observer selection effects. An observer selection effect is a particular type of sampling bias that occurs when a sample is not representative of all out- comes, but rather a subset of outcomes compatible with the existence of the observers. Naive approaches that fail to account for this potential bias could overestimate the probability that intelligent life emerges or underestimate the rate of catastrophes. An overview of these topics is presented in Chapter 1.
Using highly simplified models, I explore ways that observation selection effects could affect our understanding of the history of life on Earth. In some instances, these simple models enable us to conclude that observation selection effects are unlikely to be a major factor. For example, Chapter 2 investigates the rate of human extinction from natural sources, and finds that the rate is reassuringly low and unlikely to be heavily biased by observer selection effects.
In other instances, the simple models provide a reason to think that observation selection effects could have an overwhelming impact, opening up new hypotheses for future research. For example, Chapter 3 investigates the timing of key evolutionary transitions on Earth, and concludes that exceptionally rare events occurred much earlier than expected due to observation selection effects. Chapter 4 builds on this result, finding that catastrophes, when combined with observation selection effects, can accelerate hard evolutionary transitions that past literature may have overlooked.
Finally, in some cases the impact of observer selection bias may be modest but not overwhelming. In Chapter 5, I examine the rate at which catastrophes might destroy the biosphere, and conclude that although observation selection effects may play some role in underestimating the rate, it is unlikely to bias our estimates enough to be meaningful on the scale of human lifetimes. I finish with a short discussion of some general principles suggested by the work, and directions for future research.

Advisor: Bonsall, M
Understanding the post harvest disorder blackheart in Solanum tuberosum

Over a third of the food produced globally for human consumption is wasted each year, representing huge economic losses and limiting the security and efficiency of our food systems. In the UK, almost a half of potato tubers are lost after harvest, with the post-harvest disorder Blackheart accounting for a significant proportion of this wastage. Despite the importance of Blackheart, the underlying cause of the disorder is unclear, preventing its reliable prediction and management in industry.
Utilisation of a Blackheart induction method enabled improved characterisation of Blackheart in Solanum tuberosum, identifying it as a tissue specific condition that originates in tuber pith tissues. Although high temperatures and the abundances of CO2 and O2 have long been attributed to causing Blackheart, it was shown that none are necessary for the disorder to develop and instead, multiple conditions influence Blackheart development. Blackheart was associated with a decrease in the ATP:ADP ratio below a threshold level in affected tissues. The production of ATP did not appear to be limited in Blackheart affected tissues, as demonstrated by flux analysis and the abundance of respiratory substrates. Altered redistribution of labelled precursors into lipids and increased lipid acyl hydrolase activity of the potato storage protein, patatin, suggested that that active phospholipid breakdown was responsible for observed increases in membrane leakage. The resulting increased maintenance costs and consumption of ATP are proposed to drive cell death and the polyphenol-oxidase catalysed pigmentation that is observed in Blackheart affected tissues.

Advisor: Sweetlove, L
Kruger, N
Gene type-specific control of pol II transcription elongation

Eukaryotic RNA polymerase II (RNA pol II) transcribes both protein-coding and snRNA genes. A hallmark of RNA pol II that distinguishes it from the other RNA polymerases is the unusual carboxy-terminal domain (CTD) of the large subunit. In mammals, the CTD comprises 52 repeats of the heptapeptide YSPTSPS. In the expression of protein-coding genes, phosphorylation of Ser2 of the CTD heptapeptide repeats by the positive transcription elongation factor b (P-TEFb) is associated with productive transcriptional elongation. However, a number of studies show that P-TEFb is not required for elongation of transcription on snRNA genes, but functions only to activate 3' processing. In addition, we find that Negative Elongation Factor (NELF), which is an important factor in the formation of the elongation checkpoint of protein-coding genes, functions as a termination factor on the U2 snRNA genes. Thus, elongation and transcription termination appear to be controlled differently in the transcription of snRNA and protein-coding genes. In order to understand the molecular mechanism underlying these differences, I have analyzed the association of different RNA pol II elongation factors with the β-actin protein-coding gene and the U2 snRNA genes. The elongation factors TFIIS and FACT associate with both gene types, suggesting that these factors are unlikely to be directly involved in the differential control of elongation. However, I have found that a number of other well-characterized elongation factors are differentially associated with the two gene types. Thus, this analysis highlights key players in the gene-type specific switch to productive elongation of transcription.
Made in the media: actresses, celebrity and the periodical press in the late eighteenth century

This thesis examines the periodical culture that operated in late eighteenth-century Britain (predominantly though not exclusively in London) and the ways in which it made the female ‘stars’ of the stage. I propose that actresses’ celebrity was in part made in the media; the press coverage they received has not had the same attention as their treatment through other media, such as the memoir or portraiture. Through a combination of literary and cultural analysis, this thesis examines the ‘media texts’ that circulated in the periodical press about three contemporaneous actresses: Sarah Siddons, Elizabeth Farren and Mary Wells.
Three central questions drive this thesis. What role did the periodical press play in the development of actresses’ celebrity in the late eighteenth century? What rhetorical strategies were used in the newspapers to represent actresses’ public identities and how did these verbal images correspond with other media? How did readers and subjects engage with news media as a shared space for shaping celebrity identities?
In exploring answers to these questions this work aims to contribute to the ongoing reevaluation of the centrality of media in early celebrity and to an understanding of the daily, weekly and monthly circulation of motifs that created and sustained celebrity identities. It also makes the case that an emergent celebrity culture in this period was shaped in and through an exploration of gendered (female) performance and the limits of its agency.
Part I describes the media landscape in relation to the stage. Chapter 1 describes the ways in which the stage represented newspapers and their reception. Chapter 2 turns to the ways in which newspapers represented the stage. Part II offers case studies. Chapter 3 argues that the press treated ambivalently Sarah Siddons’s background as a stroller. Chapter 4 focuses on the kind of ‘credit’ newspapers accorded Elizabeth Farren’s portrayal of the character of the ‘lady’ on and off stage. And Chapter 5 demonstrates that, despite her close association with newspapers, Mary Wells failed to secure the kind of celebrity she craved through the press.

Keywords: Media
Periodicals
Theatre
Celebrity
Actresses
Newspaper
Advisor: Ballaster, R
Art and natural science in the Hellenistic world

This thesis examines the scope and nature of natural science in the Hellenistic world using a diverse assemblage of artistic and visual material surviving from Hellenistic and Imperial times. In doing so, it provides a fresh insight into the intellectual climate that is often heralded as a hallmark of the Hellenistic age.
Following an introductory chapter that sketches some of the historical background against which developments in the natural sciences need to be set, the thesis is divided into two principal parts. The first focuses on a series of compositions containing representations of animals accompanied by identifying labels composed in Greek: the painted frieze of the Tomb of Apollophanes in Marisa; the Nile Mosaic at Praeneste; and the verso of the Artemidoros Papyrus. These compositions, it is argued, testify to a culture of describing, depicting, cataloguing and classifying exotic animals upon encountering them in faraway lands, which originated in royal circles in Ptolemaic Alexandria, before spreading down the social and artistic spectrum.
The second part of the thesis concerns a selection of mosaics and wall paintings that contain astonishingly naturalistic representations of animals: the late Hellenistic fish mosaics from Praeneste, Pompeii and Panisperna; a series of mosaics excavated in and associated with Attalid Pergamon; and our surviving corpus of garden paintings from Latium and Campania. These compositions demonstrate that animals were sometimes kept in captivity and studied in close detail in the Hellenistic world, probably with a combination of scientific and decorative ends in mind. They also provide important information concerning the ways in which detailed images were transmitted and re-produced during antiquity.
A picture will emerge of a world in which the animal kingdom played an important role in defining power and privilege, particularly among the uppermost echelons of society.

Advisor: Smith, R
Divine providence and natural contingency: new perspectives from Aquinas on the divine action debate

This theological thesis is about conceptualising providence and its relation to contingency. What approach shall we take to arrive at an appropriate concept of the providence of God? Is there a creaturely analogue that can facilitate understanding of a genuinely divine providence?
Within the context of the contemporary divine action debate, the presupposition has been that providence is best understood in terms of divine action modelled on human action. There is a view, however, associated with this presupposition although not properly dependent on it. On this view, either natural contingency limits divine providence, or natural contingency is a locus of divine providence, but in either case, there is a fundamental incompatibility between natural and divine causation.
The present thesis seeks to offer a new perspective on the conception of divine providence associated with Thomas Aquinas. This alternative models providence in terms of prudence, incorporating not only the intentionality of God but also the immanent teleology of created beings. By re-framing providence in terms of divine transcendence and natural teleology, this thesis argues that this alternative prevents the incompatibility of natural and divine causation. This revised approach not only presents an alternative vision conceiving natural contingency as an effect and means of providence, but also provides a far richer understanding of providence compatible with contemporary science.
PART ONE illuminates the current standard model by showing the historical positions and driving forces behind the (theo-physical) incompatibilist and action-istic argumentation that has led to the limited positions on the relation of contingency and providence.
PART TWO returns to the source texts of a (theo-physical) compatibilist and teleological alternative, Thomas Aquinas, to reveal a richer account of providence, and undertakes a careful examination of its relation to natural causation, contingency and teleology.
PART THREE shows the advantage of this recovered theological view. By way of illustration, the study shows how the revised account harmonises naturally with the scientific perspective that contingency plays a key role in biological evolution.

Advisor: Silva, I
Pinsent, A