VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
The Organization of Online Outsourcing: Observational and Field Experimental Studies

This thesis explores how digitized international labor markets affect hiring and the organization of production using experimental and observational data from the world's largest online contract labor market, oDesk. Team-based production in knowledge work is becoming increasingly important for firm success, and with the globalization of economic activities, teams of workers are increasingly diverse in their nationality and skill sets. In the first chapter of this thesis I test whether these differences have meaningful implications for performance by designing and conducting a natural field experiment to examine how national diversity affects the returns to team work. I find that team work improves outcomes when workers are from the same country, and worsens outcomes when workers are from different countries relative to groups independent workers. I also find that these results are most pronounced for groups of workers with specialized skills sets. These findings suggest that while technology is facilitating cross-border interactions with potentially large benefits such as knowledge transfer, market growth, and access to higher paying jobs, participants in international markets may benefit from investing in managing the costs associated with national diversity. Aside from the costs national diversity introduces into team work, international labor markets may also introduce informational costs for employers trying to hire from countries they know little about. Using observational data from the same market, oDesk, the second chapter of my dissertation considers how employers from developed countries and contract workers from developing countries overcome the information asymmetries associated with remote work. This chapter finds that workers from less developed countries are disadvantaged relative to those from developed countries in terms of their likelihood of being hired by employers from developed countries, but that verifiable information benefits them relatively more. This suggests that reliable and easily understood information can overcome some of the difficulties associated with hiring foreign workers. The final chapter of my thesis considers some of the broader implications of the digitization of contract labor for workers and firms by taking advantage of observational and survey data from oDesk.

Keywords: Contract Labor
Economic Development
Economics of Digitization
International Labor Markets
Team Diversity
Advisor: Ajay, Agrawal
Three Essays on the Impact of Knowledge Accumulation on the Process of Knowledge Creation with a Focus on Collaboration

The cumulative nature of knowledge constantly alters the innovative landscape and thus the process of knowledge creation. In this dissertation, I explore the impact of cumulativeness on individual-level collaboration as it shapes the production of new ideas. I focus on two main influencing factors: conditions of access to knowledge and knowledge accumulation as it leads to increased specialization. This is important since the ability to build on knowledge influences the evolution of innovation trajectories.In the first study, I explore the composition of collaboration and the impact of a researcher level of expertise on the type of knowledge created. Leveraging a natural experiment, the launch of Microsoft Kinect, which triggered an unanticipated reduction in the cost of motion-sensing technology, I examine how individuals respond to opportunities for knowledge creation opened by a change in conditions of access to knowledge. Despite growing emphasis on the importance of specialists for knowledge creation, I identify generalists - researchers with broader exposure to knowledge - as playing a particularly important role in the process of innovation with implications for the type of knowledge created. Specifically, generalists have a higher propensity than specialists to respond to opportunities for knowledge creation that span knowledge areas and play a central role in coordinating collaboration between specialists required to execute on the opportunities. In the second study, I focus on the impact of increased specialization due to knowledge accumulation on the rate of collaboration. The knowledge burden hypothesis - that reaching the knowledge frontier is progressively costly due to knowledge accumulation and results in increasing specialization and collaboration - is one of several theories advanced to explain the widely documented observation that researcher team size is increasing over time. I exploit a natural experiment, the collapse of the USSR as an exogenous shock to the knowledge frontier in theoretical mathematics, to provide results of a first causal test in support of the knowledge burden hypothesis. This identification exercise is important since this hypothesis leads to policy implications that do not apply to other explanations of increases in team size. Lastly, in the third study, I discuss the influence of collaboration and individual-level breadth and depth of expertise in potentially influencing the rate and direction of a big science project. A narrative on commercial quantum computing innovation, a controversial contemporaneous endeavour, suggests the influential role of an entrepreneurial venture coordinating large-scale collaboration to exploit an opportunity at the intersection of knowledge areas.

Keywords: Collaboration
Innovation
Specialization
Advisor: Ajay, Agrawal
Endoscopic Classification of Representations of GSp(2n) and GSO(2n)

In 1989 Arthur conjectured a very precise description about the structure of automorphic representations of reductive groups using Arthur packets and endoscopy theory. In his recent monograph [Art13], he proved this conjecture for symplectic groups and orthogonal groups G. The results are conditional on the stabilization of twisted trace formula, which is a project in progress under Mœglin and Waldspurger (see [MW14], [Wal14a]-[Wal14e]). Our goal is to extend Arthur’s result to general symplectic groups and general even orthogonal groups Ge, by studying the restriction of representations from Ge to G. This idea goes back to Labesse and Langlands [LL79], where they considered G to be SL(2) and Ge to be GL(2). To extend Arthur’s result, there are two main problems that we have solved in this thesis. One is local and the other is global. Locally, we have determined the tempered Arthur packets for Ge, and shown they satisfy certain character relations under the endoscopic transfer. Globally, we have proven the functoriality of endoscopic transfer for a large family of tempered automorphic representations of Ge.

Keywords: Arthur packet
automorphic representation
endoscopy
multiplicity
similitude group
trace formula
Advisor: James, Arthur
From the Hands of Quacks: Aural Surgery, Deafness, and the Making of a Surgical Specialty in 19th Century London

This dissertation critically examines the social and medical perceptions of nineteenth-century British aural surgery, a subset of medical practice providing treatments for aural diseases. Tracing the efforts of a particular group of London-based aural practitioners ("aurists") and their visions of a specialist identity, this dissertation explores how medical legitimacy was founded within a field constantly battling accusations of charlatanry. As aurists fiercely competed with each other for positions, status, and patients, accusations of quackery weakened their attempts to forge authority as skilled experts. Questions of credibility grazed the boundaries between authority and legitimacy as aurists not only defended their speciality from the broader medical occupation, but also from a social prejudice that deemed deafness medically incurable. Aurists thus used the rhetoric of "medical science" to invoke particular representations on how they wanted to define their surgical authority and be perceived by the broader medical community. From an examination of various strategies aurists used to construct their surgical authority, this dissertation highlights the resonances between quackery, entrepreneurialism, and legitimatization; "quack" was a highly ambiguous term generally used to disqualify an adversary or competitor, or to dismiss a particular medical procedure or technology. This dissertation is divided into five chapters, with each chapter showcasing the varied ways in which aurists constructed their identity and shaped their claims to legitimacy: from publicly disputing rules against medical intervention at deaf asylums, creating specialty hospitals, increasing publications of aural treatises, and developing newer diagnostic, therapeutic, and assistive instruments.

Keywords: Deafness
History of Medicine
Otology
Professionalization
Specialization
Surgery
Advisor: Lucia, Dacome
Development of Novel Magnetic Resonance Imaging Techniques to Evaluate Plasticity in the Injured Human Cervical Spinal Cord

Traumatic injury to the human spinal cord is a devastating condition that results in motor and sensory impairment. The goal of this thesis is to develop magnetic resonance imaging techniques as a biomarker to evaluate the human spinal cord after injury. The specific aims are: 1a) to characterize the standard T1 and T2-weighted intramedullary spinal cord signal characteristics first used by clinicians treating spinal cord injury in order to classify patients along a spectrum of injury severity; 1b) to calculate the sensitivity and specificity of MRI biomarkers to determine neurological function and 1c) to determine whether standard T1 and T2-weighted imaging biomarkers offer an advantage over clinical examination to predict neurological outcomes. 2) To determine whether spinal functional MRI can be used to distinguish spinal cord injury patients from healthy controls by 2a) determining whether there is an abnormal neuro-vascular response to afferent stimulation in dermatomes of normal sensation, above the level of injury, in spinal cord injury (SCI) patients 2b) to determine whether the neuro-vascular response to afferent stimulation in dermatomes of altered sensory perception, below the level of injury, is correlated to the degree of sensory loss and 2c) to determine the functional connectivity between regions of the spinal cord that process an afferent stimulus and other regions of the brainstem-spinal cord axis. 3) To outline the diversity of segmental anatomy of the human spinal cord across a cohort of individuals by 3a) measuring the position of vertebral bodies and spinal cord segments relative to the ponto-medullary junction; 3b) to calculate the relative positions of vertebral bodies and spinal cord segments; and 3c) to predict the position of spinal cord segments. Results indicate that 1) standard T1 and T2-weighted intramedullary spinal cord signal characteristics offer no advantage over clinical examination to predict prognosis. 2) Spinal fMRI can be utilized to provide evidence of spinal cord plasticity after traumatic injury and 3) there is natural diversity of the position of vertebral and spinal cord segments relative to the ponto-medullary junction that should be taken into account for advanced imaging studies. Collectively, the new knowledge presented herein contributes to the advancement of imaging techniques to investigate the human spinal cord.

Keywords: cervical spinal cord
functional imaging
imaging biomarkers
plasticity
segmentation
Spinal cord injury
Advisor: Michael, G Fehlings
Polytellurophenes as Solution Processable Materials for Applications in Organic Electronics

With very few previous publications on polytellurophenes prior to 2009, this is a largely unexplored class of conjugated polymers. This thesis details investigations into two types of tellurophene polymers. The synthesis of four novel tellurophene containing polymers is described and the characterization of their optical, solid-state, and electronic properties is discussed. The first chapter provides an introduction to the history of the field of polytellurophenes and provides context for the work presented in this thesis. The second chapter describes the synthesis of a novel bitellurophene monomer and its use in palladium-catalyzed polymerization. Once synthesized, the polymer is used to explore the unique chemistry of tellurium and its ability to form coordination species with bromine. Upon treatment with elemental bromine, changes in the optical properties of the system are observed. In chapter three, the synthesis of the first examples of soluble tellurophene homopolymers is presented. These poly(3-alkyltellurophene)s are solution processable materials and are fully characterized in solution and the solid-state. Chapter four describes further studies into the thin-film morphology of the materials presented in chapter three. Furthermore, semiconductor:insulator blends are prepared using poly(3-alkyltellurophene)s and high-density polyethylene. Taking advantage of the elemental contrast provided by the tellurium heavy atom, the micro- and nanostructure of the blend thin-films are investigated with various microscopy techniques providing insight into these types of blends that was previously unavailable. In the final chapter, the performance of these materials in thin-film field-effect transistors was investigated.

Keywords: Conjugated polymer
Organic electronics
Polytellurophene
Tellurophene
Transistor
Advisor: Dwight, S Seferos
From 21st Century Learning to Learning in the 21st Century: Influences on Transforming Teacher Knowledge of Constructivist Practices in Technology-rich Learning Environments

Teaching practices supported by networked digital technologies that activate the kind of learning environments advocated by the learning sciences require significant changes in pedagogical practices (Fullan Langworthy, 2014, Fullan, 2012; Friesen Lock, 2010; Dede, 2010; Scardamalia, 2010, 2006, 2004; Koehler Mishra, 2008; Sawyer, 2008). Using technology to support a constructivist approach to K-12 education, this thesis looks at factors that impede and facilitate that stance. Some studies describe the challenge of creating these types of learning environments as related to teachers' abilities and desires to develop new ways of knowing, which in turn drive the process of change and improvement. Other studies indicate change and improvement is more likely driven by collaborative action among teachers, and it is action that leads to new understandings. This study seeks to determine how such change happen by asking K-12 teachers what influences their tendencies to adopt more constructivist practices in technology-rich environments. Concepts and assumptions inherent in the popularized term "21st Century Learning" are deconstructed and reconstructed. Employing a qualitative constructivist grounded theory design, the findings indicate that teachers believe the use of technology in classrooms will only be successful when it is effectively used as a tool to support sound pedagogical practices, and the tools used are connected to authentic teaching and learning. The findings demonstrate that an understanding of how knowledge is constructed accelerates teachers' transitions to constructivist practices in technology-rich environments. The findings also suggest that shifting teacher practice is most effective when teachers are empowered to collaboratively and collectively shape change and improvement initiatives. A clear sense of how the educational community can support teachers in change and improvement initiatives that engage students in deeper and more authentic learning emerges.

Keywords: Change and Improvement
Knowledge Building
Learning in the 21st Century
Learning Sciences
Pedagogy
Technology
Advisor: Linda, Cameron
Forelimb Muscle and Muscle Attachment Morphology

The ability to make behavioural inferences from skeletal remains is critical to understanding the lifestyles and activities of past human populations and extinct animals. Muscle attachment site (enthesis) morphology has long been assumed to reflect muscle strength and activity during life, but little evidence exists to directly link activity patterns with muscle development and the morphology of their attachments to the skeleton. This research used a primate sample (

Keywords: Activity
Animal model
Bone growth
Bone remodelling
Muscle architecture
Muscle attachment
Advisor: David, R Begun
The Politics of "Access": Undocumented Students and Enrollment in Toronto Schools

Bordering occurs beyond ports of entry. It operates in spaces where immigration status is examined in order to participate or access a public good. In Ontario, schools serve as borders and often exclude undocumented migrant on the basis of status. At the same time, community activists work to erode border-zones and redefine "membership." This project tracks and analyzes one such initiative. It historicizes constructions of membership in relation to the Toronto District School Board and its "Students Without Legal Immigration Status Policy." This policy, discursively known as a "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT) policy stipulates that the Board would protect students by barring employees from asking, reporting, or sharing information regarding a family's immigration-status. However, the policy remains to be fully implemented, the Board has constructed procedures that make enrolment more difficult, and undocumented students continue to experience exclusion. . Thus, this project addresses the gaps in implementation as well as differing understandings of what constitutes "access."The project combines Anti-racist theory, LatCrit, border rhetoricity, and concepts developed by Frantz Fanon, and Antonio Gramsci. This framework facilitates the examination of the construction of internal borders along hegemonic understandings of membership, how these processes are facilitated by the dehumanization of undocumented migrants, and the resistance practices of migrants and their allies. Data stems from interviews, experiential knowledge, and grey literature. Interviews were conducted with fourteen differently located social actors including TDSB administrators and grassroots organizers. Grey literature from the TDSB, the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Coalition, and No One Is Illegal- Toronto was also examinedKey findings include the ways bureaucratic processes at the TDSB invisibilize undocumented migrants and the resultant hegemonic reproduction of bordering in spite of "access" policies. Additionally, this project highlights the strategies employed by community organizers to make Toronto a space of "non-compliance" to immigration authorities and how access to schooling is framed as a key component. Finally, different framings of "access" are examined. While Board practices equated access to the ability to enroll, local activists demanded broader understandings of this concept including recognition of the ways interrelated factors, including safety and access to other services affected schooling.

Keywords: Anti-Racism
Bureaucracy
Critical Race Theory
Migration
Schooling
Undocumented Migrants
Advisor: George, S. Dei
Canadian Social Housing: Policy Evolution and Impacts on the Housing System and Urban Space

The social housing system is analysed as an element of the evolving welfare state, housing system, and urban space, focusing on a 1965-1995 prime period in Canada, Ontario and Toronto. The theoretical concerns pertain to welfare state evolution and impacts. These include: in policy change, the relation between institutional continuity, structural factors, and political forces; in the housing system, decommodification in a liberal-welfare regime in shifting eras; and in urban space, the structuring of social mix by socio-tenure segregation. The policy history, using archival sources, interviews, and reinterpreted secondary literature, is the first detailed overview all turning points including the critical junctures of the mid-1960s and mid-1990s. Its structured narrative analyses the reshaping of policy by the political-economic context, housing market and urban development factors, ideas, and specific events. The housing system analysis reviews impacts in production, housing mix, rents paid, mobility (choice), and the value of rent-geared-to-income (RGI) assistance as a social transfer. The spatial analysis uses administrative and census data to analyse, for Greater Toronto 1971-1996, the evolving locations of low-income RGI tenants vis-Ă -vis low-income market renters and all households. The close relation of social housing policy change to critical junctures in welfare state evolution is confirmed, but also the large impact of housing market conditions and urban development agendas; shifting ideas; and particular political actors and events. Social housing accounted for about 10 percent of production, while RGI reduced rents to under 40 percent of market levels for almost 40 percent of low-income renters, and accounted for about one-fifth of their residential mobility. The thirty-year social housing prime created a mixed economy of urban development, its non-market housing sector altering urban space and mitigating the low-end extremes of inequality: comparable to what Canada's then `mid-Atlantic' welfare state effected generally in that era.

Keywords: History
Policy
Social housing
Spatial
Urban
Welfare state
Advisor: Alan, Walks
Open-cell Foaming with Injection Molding

Open-cell foams are very versatile and continue to proliferate in our daily lives. Despite the bright future prospect, the open-cell plastic foam industry is facing many challenges. The use and end-of-life disposal the common non-recyclable thermosetting open-cell foams have received increasingly stringent regulation and public opposition over years. Hence, there is a strong demand and interest in the industry to devise strategies to produce recyclable thermoplastic open-cell foams with conventional processing processes, particularly with injection molding due to its manufacturing flexibility and cost-effectiveness. However, it has been technologically challenging to achieve foams with high foam expansion or open-cell morphologies with this process. Foams manufactured by conventional injection molding technique have a void faction much lower than 50%. Owing to that, the cell wall thicknesses are relatively thick, and therefore, it is very difficult for the bubbles meet with each other and create opening. Some open-cell structures had been reported earlier with injection molding, however, most of them were the result from excessive elongation of premature cells or from improper processing control; therefore, the overall structures tended to be very poor and not acceptable.In this context, the objective of this thesis is to investigate open-cell foaming of recyclable thermoplastic foams with injection molding in conjunction with the mold-opening method to attain higher foam expansion. Processing control of the process was achieved by controlling the temperature of the foam expansion step through the varying the material cooling/dwelling time in the mold cavity. A numerical model was also established to provide a reasonable estimation on this material temperature, which is critical to the investigation of open-cell foaming with the proposed process. A clarifying-type crystal nucleating agent, MDBS, was also used to refine the size and increase the number density of the crystals of PP, and thereby, increasing the cell density for achieving thinner cell walls for cell wall opening. Results from the crystallization kinetics analysis, as well as the estimated temperature profile from the numerical simulations, were used to explain the evolution in the cellular morphologies and to postulate a potential mechanism for achieving open-cell and highly-reticulated foam structures in this study.

Keywords: Foam
Injection Molding
Open-Cell
Polymer Crystallization
Polypropylene
Thermoplastic Polymer
Advisor: Chul, B Park