This forum contribution considers the complexities and importance of gender in the historiography of LGBTQ+ college students. After a brief introduction, we focus on four key areas in the existing historiography: women’s romantic relationships in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, higher education leaders’ enforcement of gender norms and purges of LGBTQ+ students through the mid-twentieth century, the gender dynamics within LGBTQ+ student organizations from the 1970s onward, and trans and other LGBTQ+ students’ expansion of gender possibilities, including through the use of drag. In so doing, we argue that gender analysis is important to the historiography of LGBTQ+ students, though most often that analysis has been implicit rather than explicit. Considering both the gaps in our historical knowledge and the rising attacks on LGBTQ+ individuals, we contend that continued gendered analyses are not only warranted but also needed.

Gerschenkron (1962) argued that public institutions such as the State Bank of the Russian Empire spurred the country’s industrialization. We test this assertion by exploiting plant-level variation in access to State Bank branches using a unique geocoded factory data set. Employing an identification strategy based on geographical distances between banks and factories, our results show improved access to public banking encouraged faster growth in factory-level revenue, mechanization, and labor productivity. In line with theories of late industrialization, we also find evidence that public credit mattered more in regions where commercial banks were fewer and markets were smaller.

Despite the considerable attention paid to Adam Smith’s ethical theory over the past quarter of a century, at least one area of his thought remains outstanding for the lack of interest it has received: Part V of The Theory of Moral Sentiments, “Of the Influence of Custom and Fashion upon the Sentiments of Moral Approbation and Disapprobation.” This is unfortunate, however, insofar as there are good reasons for thinking that Part V is important to Smith’s project. This essay substantiates this importance by placing Smith’s intervention in the context of David Hume’s earlier attempts to wrestle with the problem of moral relativism. The connections between Hume and Smith on this matter have not previously been explored, yet doing so is crucial for gaining a more complete appreciation of Smith’s moral thought. Beyond this historical intervention, however, I also contend that neither Smith nor Hume offer satisfactory answers to the philosophical challenge posed by moral relativism. Despite remaining the two outstanding theorists in the tradition of ethical sentimentalism, both Smith and Hume fall short on this score. Insofar as moral relativism remains a challenge to ethical sentimentalists today, proponents of this tradition must look elsewhere for solutions.

We say that a computable structure $\mathcal {A}$ is computably categorical if for every computable copy $\mathcal {B}$, there exists a computable isomorphism $f:\mathcal {A}\to \mathcal {B}$. This notion can be relativized to a degree $\mathbf {d}$ by saying that a computable structure $\mathcal {A}$ is computably categorical relative to $\mathbf {d}$ if for every $\mathbf {d}$-computable copy $\mathcal {B}$ of $\mathcal {A}$, there exists a $\mathbf {d}$-computable isomorphism $f:\mathcal {A}\to \mathcal {B}$. A key part of this thesis is to study the behavior of this notion of categoricity in the computably enumerable degrees.

The main theorem in Chapter $1$ states that given any computable partially ordered set P and any computable partition $P=P_0\sqcup P_1$, there exists an embedding h of P into the c.e. degrees and a computable graph $\mathcal {G}$ which is computably categorical, computably categorical relative to all degrees in $h(P_0)$, and is not computably categorical relative to any degree in $h(P_1)$. We also show that by using largely the same techniques alongside a standard construction of minimal pairs, we can embed a four-element diamond lattice into the c.e. degrees in the style of the main result of Chapter $1$.

We then apply some of the techniques used in this thesis to study the behavior of this notion in the context of generic degrees in Chapter $2$. Additionally, we show that several classes of structures admit a computable example that witnesses the pathological behavior of categoricity relative to a degree as seen in Chapter $1$’s main theorem.

Lastly, in the context of reverse mathematics, we investigate the reverse mathematical strength of a topological principle named $\mathsf {wGS}^{\operatorname {cl}}$, a weakened version of the Ginsburg–Sands theorem which states that every infinite topological space contains one of the following five topologies as a subspace, with $\mathbb {N}$ as the underlying set: discrete, indiscrete, cofinite, initial segment, or final segment.

Abstract prepared by Java Darleen Villano

E-mail: java.villano@utoronto.ca

URL: https://javavillano.github.io/thesisfinal.pdf

Air pollution remains a major challenge, especially in developing countries, requiring joint efforts from governments and society. This study examines how mass media, through its emotional tone, functions as an informal regulator of air pollution in China’s “war on air pollution”. Using daily data on media sentiment, air quality and related variables across Chinese cities, we find that negative emotional tones in environmental news are significantly associated with lower pollution levels. We identify mechanisms through which media influence public awareness, trigger government responses and pressure firms to reduce emissions. Our findings highlight the media’s role beyond information dissemination to shape agendas and social norms, even in contexts with restricted press freedom. This study offers new insights into how emotional framing in mass media contributes to environmental governance in developing countries.

Social media has become a strategic driver of sponsorship effectiveness in major sporting events. At the 2024 Paris Olympics, digital platforms transformed how sponsorship relationships are formed, sustained, and activated for audience engagement. Yet, the mechanisms through which social media management influences sponsorship outcomes remain underexplored. This study examines the mediating role between core sponsorship antecedents – sport involvement, event attachment, brand familiarity, and sponsor-event congruence – and engagement outcomes. A quantitative survey of 7,412 Greek spectators was analyzed using structural equation modeling to test the proposed framework integrating sponsorship management and digital strategy. Results confirm that social media substantially amplifies the impact of sponsorship factors, fostering stronger sponsor–spectator connections and enhancing sponsorship returns. This is the first empirical model to link social media usage as a mediating variable between sponsorship antecedents and engagement outcomes in the context of mega-events, with a focus on the Paris 2024 Olympics. The research contributes to theory by positioning social media as a critical mediator in sponsorship strategy and offers actionable insights for managers seeking to optimize sponsorship effectiveness across diverse cultural and event contexts.