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In bed with Kierkegaard
Get PDFFor the creative part of this thesis, I have submitted a novel in the genre of autofiction, titled In Bed with Kierkegaard. It is a fictionalised account of my initiation in a BDSM community in Athens, Greece, between the years 2007 – 2009, and an account of a long-distance relationship I developed with a dominant man, with the nickname Morpheus. The themes of the novel are: domination/submission and sadism/masochism in our modern digital age, the quest for a female identity defined by sexuality, and writing erotic memoirs. The novel is based on detailed notes kept during the narrated events and follows closely on the advice on seduction offered by the Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard in the text, The Seducer’s Diary.
The critical part of this thesis provides a background account of writing a novel of autofiction on sadomasochism and seeking its publication. It also provides a comparative analysis of two literary works on similar themes, Dominique Aury’s Story of O, and Garth Greenwell’s Cleanness, especially as they pertain to the way in which erotic fantasy encroaches on reality, as well as the quest for what Kierkegaard called a ‘God-relationship’: a love and devotion so deep it may offer one a sense of transcendence beyond the limitations of human existence as grounded on the quotidian
Three essays on financial analysts
Get PDFThis thesis comprises three chapters in related to the financial analysts. The first chapter focuses on the textual information in analyst reports. The second chapter examines the impact of analyst coverage. The third chapter investigates analysts’ forecasting behavior in relation to the cultural characteristics of covered companies.
The first study in Chapter one examines the determinants and the impacts of analysts’ tendency to provide similar textual information in their reports. To implement the tests, I collect a large sample of analyst report transcripts for the S&P 500 companies from 2015 to 2020. I introduce four factors to investigate the possible determinants of analyst report similarity, which include analysts’ herding behavior, analysts’ lack of ability, analysts’ learning behavior, and the significant firm-related news. The regression results indicate that these four factors are positively associated with the analyst report similarity, which suggests that the four factors are likely to be the determinants of analyst report similarity. Next, I examine whether this textual similarity among analyst reports has implications for the market. The results indicate a negative association between the analyst report similarity and the short-term investor reactions, suggesting that market investors consider an analyst report as less informative if the report contains the textual information that is more similar to that in other prior analysts’ reports. In the additional analysis, I find that this similarity likely hinders investors’ understanding of analysts’ quantitative outputs, including the earnings forecasts, stock recommendations, and price target forecasts. In addition, I find that the observed negative investor reaction to the analyst report similarity is stronger when firm managers have more incentives to withhold relevant information, but it is alleviated if the analysts are from larger brokers.
The second study in Chapter two investigates the influence of analysts on corporate governance in the context of corporate culture. I first examine the association between the analyst coverage of a firm and the score of the firm’s culture. The baseline results show that the firm with higher level of analyst coverage is associated with a lower score of corporate culture. This is consistent with the argument that analysts can impose short-term pressure on firms, resulting in a weak corporate culture. In further tests, I find that this negative association is stronger for the long-term oriented cultural values than other cultural values. Furthermore, to deal with the potential endogeneity problems, I first employ the two-stage least squares model based on a commonly used instrumental variable in this field, the expected coverage. The results suggest that the analyst coverage has a negative impact on the corporate culture. Moreover, I implement a quasi-natural experiment based on two exogenous shocks to analyst coverage, the brokerage closures and mergers. Consistent with the above findings, the results of the Difference-in-Difference model indicate that the analyst coverage could negatively influence the covered firm’s culture. Taken together, these results are mostly consistent with the pressure effect that analysts impose short-term pressure on firms, increasing management myopia and resulting in a weak corporate culture. In additional tests, I find that analysts’ negative effect on the corporate culture is alleviated when firms are covered by more experienced analysts, when firms are more likely to reach analysts’ earnings forecasts, and when firms tend to have better corporate governance as captured by a higher competitive market.
The third study in Chapter three examines whether analysts’ forecasting behavior is affected by the covered firm’s information environment that is characterized by a strong integrity culture. I first investigate the association between analyst forecast boldness and the covered firms’ scores of integrity culture. The baseline results indicate a positive relationship between the two variables, suggesting that analysts tend to issue bolder earnings forecasts when covering the firm with a stronger integrity culture. In further analysis, the results show that analysts’ bolder forecasts for firms with a strong integrity culture are associated with decreased market reactions, indicating that analysts’ bold opinions for these firms are regarded as less informative by market investors. Moreover, I find that the firm with a higher score of integrity culture is negatively associated with the number of analysts following the firm, suggesting that the analyst’s service is less demanded for the firm with a stronger integrity culture. Additionally, other results show that analysts tend to issue less accurate earnings forecasts for firms with higher scores of integrity culture. Furthermore, I mitigate the potential endogeneity issue by conducting the two-stage least squares regression based on two instrumental variables: the average score of corporate integrity culture in an industry and the CEO age of the firm. Consistently, the regression results support the positive association between the firm’s integrity culture and analyst forecast boldness. Finally, I introduce an alternative measure of the score of corporate integrity culture based on the analyst report transcripts. Consistent with the main findings, the regression results show that the corporate integrity culture is positively associated with analysts’ forecast boldness. However, the association is not statistically significant, possibly due to the limited sample of analyst report transcripts
Advancing the concept of Democratic Public Ownership
Get PDFThis thesis examines and refines the concept of Democratic Public Ownership, which has emerged in both theory and practice in recent years as neoliberalism continues to mutate and falter. While increasingly referenced and discussed in academic, policy, and movement settings, Democratic Public Ownership currently lacks conceptual clarity, coherence, and distinctiveness, and could benefit from heightened scrutiny and development. This thesis reviews the modern literature on Democratic Public Ownership, investigating its connections to, and impact on, political economic shifts and theorizing since the turn of the 21st century (such as the global remunicipalization movement); identifies and analyzes numerous relevant historical and contemporary theories, experiments, and prototypes ranging from the early days of the industrial revolution to the Great Financial Crisis of the late 2000s; locates the concept of Democratic Public Ownership historically and ideologically as part of the broader effort to advance and implement systemically transformative visions of economic democracy, especially as it relates to moving beyond historical and contemporary versions of capitalism; and presents a refined and coherent concept consisting of a novel definition, numerous revised and new principles, and a suggested theory of change. This thesis significantly advances the literature and discourse on Democratic Public Ownership, economic democracy, and democratic participation in the economy more broadly, opening new research directions and serving as an important theoretical steppingstone
Strengthening of concrete columns with pseudo-ductile hybrid FRP
No full textAbstract not currently available
Investigating the effect of HIV infection on TCR repertoire diversity and Mycobacterium tuberculosis-specific T cell function in Malawian adults
Get PDFThe burden of tuberculosis (TB) is huge, posing a significant health threat worldwide, particularly in HIV-endemic regions such as sub-Saharan Africa. Coinfection with HIV is a major risk factor for development and progression to active Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) disease. People living with HIV (PLHIV) remain at more risk of developing lower respiratory tract infections including TB than HIVuninfected individuals, despite successful coverage of antiretroviral therapy (ART). HIV depletes and impairs the function of Mtb-specific T cells crucial in controlling Mtb infection. However, the impact of HIV on T cell receptor (TCR) usage in alveolar T cells is incompletely described. Characterisation of TCR repertoire is essential for understanding the mechanisms of recognition and control of Mtb infections by T cell adaptive immunity.
To investigate the Mtb antigen-specific TCR diversity and clonality in the airway and blood and assess the impact of HIV and ART on TCR diversity, peripheral blood and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) samples were collected from PLHIV ART–naïve, on ART (≥3 years) and HIV-uninfected adults recruited at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, Blantyre, Malawi. Alveolar and peripheral blood lymphocytes were stimulated with Mtb antigens and analysed using flow cytometry and TCR bulk sequencing.
Notably, Mtb-specific TCR repertoires from PLHIV displayed a reduced diversity and clonality compared to HIV-uninfected individuals in both the airway and blood. Moreover, ART was associated with the restoration of TCR clonotypes in PLHIV. Additionally, lower frequencies of Mtb-specific CD4 IFN-γ and TNF-α producing cells were observed in both blood and airway in PLHIV on ART and ART naïve compared to HIV-uninfected individuals. Significant alterations in TCR Vβ expression patterns were noted in CD4+ T cells in PLHIV compared to healthy controls. Vβ1, Vβ7.2, and Vβ23 were higher, while Vβ9 and Vβ18 were lower in blood and airway in PLHIV than in HIV uninfected individuals. In CD8 T cells, no significant differences were found in TCR Vβ expression in the PBMC compared to BAL. However, in the lung, Vβ5.1, Vβ16, and Vβ17 were increased, while Vβ14 was decreased in PLHIV. Furthermore, CDR3 length distribution analysis showed a higher and more diverse distribution of TCR amino acid lengths of Mtb-specific T cells in BAL and PBMCs in HIV-uninfected individuals compared to PLHIV. The elevated TCR Vβ in the lung and blood in PLHIV suggests their potential involvement in HIV immune response whilst depletion of certain TCR Vβ clones in Mtb-specific CD4 and CD8 T cells in the lung and blood may indicate HIV-induced alteration in the repertoire associated with increased TB risk.
These findings suggest a more restricted TCR repertoire in PLHIV compared to healthy controls, with alterations in the frequency of certain families that may impact antigen recognition and specificity. This could lead to a reduced ability to mount protective immune responses against infections, including Mtb, in PLHIV. Identifying highly used and expressed TCR Vβ segments provides insights into mechanisms of host protective immunity in HIV and TB and may offer crucial targets for vaccine development and preventive therapies
A novel privacy-preserving data sharing system based on attributed-based encryption and zero knowledge proof
Get PDFThe exponential growth of digital data across various sectors, such as healthcare, finance, and e-commerce, has underscored critical concerns regarding data privacy, security, and ownership. Centralised data storage systems are inherently vulnerable to cyber-attacks, raising significant privacy risks and compliance challenges, despite regulatory frameworks like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This research introduces a decentralised, privacy-preserving data-sharing framework leveraging blockchain technology, Ciphertext-Policy Attribute-Based Encryption (CP-ABE), and Zero-Knowledge Proofs (ZKP).
By employing CP-ABE, the proposed system enables fine-grained access control, ensuring that only authorised entities can access sensitive data based on specified attributes. The integration of Zero-Knowledge Proofs preserves user privacy by allowing verification of access rights without revealing the underlying attributes. The system architecture is underpinned by decentralised storage, with smart contracts managing secure access verification.
Performance evaluations demonstrate that the system effectively handles dynamic policies and attribute sets, demonstrating its adaptability to real-world applications. This framework represents a significant advancement in privacy-preserving data-sharing technologies, offering a scalable and secure solution for safeguarding sensitive users’ attributes in decentralised environments
The suicide narratives of Silius Italicus
Get PDFIn this dissertation, I examine the theme of suicide in Silius Italicus’ Punica through the following case studies: Saguntum (Punica 2), Capua (Punica 11, 13), Hannibal (Punica 2, 13, 17), Scipio (Punica 4), and Solimus (Punica 9). I analyse recurrent literary features and motifs –civil war, human/object/divine agency, bodily disfigurement, elemental imagery in loci horridi, exile, haunting memory, fides, and pietas– and their connections to Silius’ suicide ideology. I use frameworks provided by Narrative Exposure Therapy to connect these features with textual allusions to Silius’ contemporary Rome and other Latin epics. I observe that Silius portrays suicide as a powerful weapon and instrument for moral action, a form of internal civil war, a form of escape and exile, and a transformative boundary threshold. I conclude that Silius presents an epic ideology of suicide that enabled readers to contemplate the emotional experiences of suicide, and the effects of suicide on one’s physical/cultural identity and environment. These reveal a duality of Silian suicides as desperate acts amid uncontrollable and impossible situations, and as means of reclaiming personal power and control of one’s fate
Investigating the associations between plasmodium infections and autoimmunity in sub-Saharan Africa
Get PDFAutoimmune diseases affect 5- 8% of the global population and are known to occur due to a misguided immune response towards the host, consequently affecting several organs. Importantly, infections are considered key environmental triggers of autoimmunity and contribute to the onset of autoimmune diseases, though this idea remains controversial. In this research, I focus on malaria, a disease caused by Plasmodium species, which has been linked to autoimmunity through the induction of anti-self-antibodies, with higher levels of autoantibodies associated with disease severity. By contrast, there is evidence suggesting that autoantibodies play a crucial role in anti-malarial protection, with increased autoantibodies shown to inhibit parasite growth. Thus, autoantibodies play a dual role in protection and pathology. However, this raises a crucial question on whether the induction of autoimmune antibodies during malaria increases predisposition to autoimmune disease later in life.
Herein, anti-citrullinated protein autoantibodies (ACPA) commonly associated with clinical diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis and their corresponding native peptides were first screened using ELISA in mice infected with the model pathogen Plasmodium chabaudi. This approach was chosen to investigate whether Plasmodium triggers ACPA production, providing insights into the potential link between Plasmodium infections and autoimmunity. Subsequently, the impact of heightened antibody responses to both the native and citrullinated peptides on the development of a model of experimental arthritis in mice was assessed. Extending the findings to humans, serum samples obtained from individuals residing in areas with varying levels of malaria exposure were examined for the presence of autoimmune markers using ELISA and protein microarray assays. This was followed by assessing differential cellular immune phenotypes using flow cytometry.
Interestingly, increased levels of antibody responses to both the native and citrullinated peptides were observed in the P. chabaudi-infected mice with levels comparable to those observed in a chronic experimental arthritis model. However, despite the elevated autoantibodies, under the experimental conditions used in our study, infection-induced autoantibodies did not appear to influence the outcome of either acute or chronic experimental arthritis in mice.
Furthermore, expanding our findings to adults and children residing in malariaendemic areas, I observed that individuals living in high malaria transmission areas exhibited elevated antibody responses to both the native and citrullinated peptides compared to those in low transmission areas. Interestingly, a similar trend was observed in children, particularly children with uncomplicated and severe malaria who had increased levels of autoantibodies compared to healthy children. In addition, protein microarray data suggested that individuals from a high malaria transmission area had an overall increase in autoimmune reactivity. Notably, higher levels of antibodies against both the native and citrullinated peptides were also associated with increased frequency of atypical B cells (CD27⁻ CD21⁻CD11c⁺T-bet⁺) and a reduction in the levels of FOXP3 regulatory T cells.
My research indicates that Plasmodium infection leads to a broad spectrum of autoantibodies, including responses to both the native and citrullinated peptides as well as extracellular antigens, mirroring a profile of increased autoantibodies typically observed in autoimmune diseases. Moreover, in this study, I report the presence of elevated antibody responses to these peptides in both Plasmodium infected mice and humans residing in areas of high Plasmodium falciparum transmission. Notably, the pre-existing autoantibody response to these peptides from a single Plasmodium infection episode did not modulate susceptibility to experimental autoimmune arthritis. Thus, the effect and role of chronic exposures to P. falciparum infections on the risk of developing autoimmune diseases in people living in endemic areas cannot be ruled out and should be determined
Microalgal biofilm cultivation systems for enhanced biomass production
No full textAbstract not currently available
Youth building the future: The political economy of the adoption of a youth policy in Mexico
Get PDFThis thesis presents a single qualitative case study that examines the main material and ideational factors behind the adoption of the youth policy ‘Jóvenes Construyendo el Futuro‘ (JCF) (Youth Building the Future) in Mexico in 2019. The JCF is an eclectic, broad-based youth policy that combines elements of conditional cash transfer, work-based training and social inclusion that, by 2023, had supported more than 2.3 million young people ‘not in education, employment or training’ (NEET) aged 18 to 29. Historically, most youth policies in Mexico and Latin America have been small-scale ‘upskilling’ interventions. Therefore, most research typically focuses on implementation or labour, social, or economic impacts, overlooking the adoption phase. For these reasons, both because of its scale and its underlying rationale, the JCF appears as a paradigmatic policy.
This thesis employs a combined analytical approach of Cultural Political Economy (CPE) and the Policy Cycle Model (PCM). Methodologically, the study is built on the triangulation of interviews with key informants from the public, private, and social sectors and the analysis of a variety of primary and secondary policy documents. The data was analysed using iterative coding within Thematic Analysis (TA). The findings reveal how several intertwined material and ideational factors explain the adoption of this youth policy. A stern anti-neoliberal stance provided the framework for the leftist MORENA government that won the presidency in 2018 to reinterpret the problems that plagued millions of NEET youth as a direct consequence of the neoliberal development model (1980s - 2018) portrayed as the cause of high levels of poverty, informal employment and lack of opportunities. This problematisation led to the design of an intervention with elements of universality and lax conditionality for the target population, which is uncommon in social policies in Mexico. Despite inevitable disagreements with the private sector in defining the rules of the programme, the overwhelming electoral legitimacy and political-administrative leverage resulted in an expeditious adoption of the JCF.
This thesis contributes various conceptual, empirical, and theoretical insights to current debates on the relationship between development models and the type of welfare institutions that can support the construction of new social bases in contexts of high labour informality, among others, all this amidst significant political-ideological shifts
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