Thesis advisor: M. Utku Ünver / Thesis advisor: M. Bumin Yenmez / This thesis is a collection of three essays in market design concerning designs of matching markets, affirmative action schemes, and COVID-19 testing policies. In Chapter 1, we explore the possibility of designing matching mechanisms that can accommodate non-standard choice behavior. In the standard model of matching markets, preferences over potential assignments encode participants' choice behavior. Our contribution to this literature is introducing behavioral participants to matching theory's setup. We pin down the necessary and sufficient conditions on participants' choice behavior for the existence of stable and incentive compatible matching mechanisms. Our results imply that well-functioning matching markets can be designed to adequately accommodate a plethora of non-standard (and standard) choice behaviors. We illustrate the applicability of our results by demonstrating that a simple modification in a commonly used matching mechanism enables it to accommodate non-standard choice behavior. In Chapter 2, we show that commonly used methods in reserving positions for beneficiaries of affirmative action are often inadequate in settings where affirmative action policies apply at two levels simultaneously, for instance, at university and itsdepartments. We present a comprehensive evaluation of existing procedures and formally and empirically document their shortcomings. We propose a new solution with appealing theoretical properties and quantify the benefits of adopting it using recruitment advertisement data from India. Our theoretical analysis hints at new possibilities for future work in the literature on the theory of apportionment (of parliamentary seats). Chapter 3 delves into the designs of the commonly used and advocated COVID-19 testing policies to resolve a conflict between their allocative efficiency and the ability to identify the infection rates. We present a novel comparison of various COVID-19 testing policies that allows us to pin down ordinally efficient testing policies that generate reliable estimates of infection rates while prioritizing testing of persons suspected of having the disease. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2022. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Economics.

Introducción: La insuficiencia renal es una de las complicaciones extrapulmonares más frecuente en pacientes hospitalizados con COVID-19 condicionando peores desenlaces que podría afectar al sistema de salud en Perú. Sin embargo, estudios comparan pacientes con insuficiencia renal aguda (IRA) o crónica (ERC) con pacientes sanos. Objetivo: Determinar características clínicas de pacientes con COVID-19 e insuficiencia renal hospitalizados y evaluar el efecto del tipo de insuficiencia renal y el recibir hemodiálisis en los desenlaces clínicos negativos. Métodos:Cohorte descriptiva incluyó pacientes con algún tipo de insuficiencia renal y COVID-19 hospitalizados durante marzo y julio del 2020, que tuvieron una interconsulta con nefrología. La insuficiencia renal se clasificó como aguda, crónica, y crónica en estadio V con hemodiálisis crónica. Se recolectó información sobre mortalidad, uso de inotrópicos, ventilación mecánica y recibir hemodiálisis aguda. Resultados: Se analizó a 279 pacientes, 22.6% tenían IRA, 33.3% tenían ERC, y 44.1% tenían ERC V. Se describe una mortalidad general de 32.9%, y 27% usaron inotrópicos y recibieron ventilación mecánica. Entre los pacientes con IRA y ERC el 12.9% recibió hemodiálisis por primera vez. Los adultos con ERC y ERC V en HD estudiados tienen menor prevalencia de diabetes mellitus (23.7.3% y 43.9%, respectivamente) e hipertensión arterial (31.2% y 59.4%, respectivamente) en comparación con los adultos que desarrollan IRA (81.0% y 73%, respectivamente) (valor p<0.001). El desarrollo de IRA se asoció a ventilación mecánica (RPa: 6.46), uso de inotrópicos (RPa: 7.02) y morir (RPa: 2.41), en comparación con los que tenían sólo ERC. Entre quienes tenían IRA o ERC, aquellos que recibieron hemodiálisis por primera vez tienen mayor prevalencia de morir (RPa: 2.95; IC95%:2.20 a 3.94) en comparación con los que no recibieron hemodiálisis. La hemodiálisis aguda podría ser un modificador de efecto de la asociación entre tipo de insuficiencia renal (IRA o ERC) y desenlaces clínicos negativos (p<0.001). Conclusión: Es importante Identificar a pacientes hospitalizados por COVID-19 que desarrollan IRA y/o necesitan hemodiálisis aguda pues se encuentran en alto riesgo de tener una mala evolución clínica.

Magister Curationis - MCur / Digital integration is evident in many countries and across all sectors. The need for integration of Information and Communications Technology with higher education was almost inevitable because of the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic. The closure of higher education institutions in South Africa has made it mandatory for institutions to transition from traditional face-toface classroom learning to online learning. This mitigation left minimal time to achieve institution readiness in adopting this new manner of learning and subsequently will influence the students’ learning experiences.

This study examined the learning experiences of 6 young adolescent students in Grades 6 to 8 in India during COVID-19 lockdowns. The lockdowns resulted in teaching through virtual learning instead of the traditional face-to-face learning in a formal classroom during 2020-22. Since students are important stakeholders in their education process, hearing their voices and understanding their perspectives in this learning process was important as they had been directly affected by this sudden change in the teaching-learning medium. To understand the personal and cultural conditions of the young learners the study drew on socio-cultural theory (Rogoff, 2003, Vygotsky,1978) and the dialogical perspective of Bakhtin (1984). In-depth narrative interviews with 6 adolescents were conducted and were analyzed using the framework proposed by Clandinin and Connelly (2000). A narrative interpretation focused on both the individual experiences and the common themes that emerged from six in-depth narratives. The analyses revealed the learners' resilience and their ability to adapt to change by developing constructive coping strategies. They also revealed the learners' recognition of the value of in-person social connection and the role that in-person classes, which foster collaboration, have for meaningful learning to take place. Finally, all the young learners expressed joy in being invited to share their learning experiences.

The purpose of this study is to examine memes on the internet linked to covid-19 to see what opinions, themes and discourses are presented. Hopefully this study can contribute to increase the understanding of the meme-culture, but also the meaning and function memes has in a crisis context such as the pandemic. This study is conducted by a thematic coding which makes it possible to identify the most common themes in the popular community r/Coronavirusmemes on Reddit. The following theories are used as a theoretical framework in this study; critical analysis, semiotic analysis and participatory culture.

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Stigma surrounding substance use has been documented as a roadblock to recovery, posing a greater barrier to care for some populations more than others. In particular, pregnant and parenting women are an often overlooked and understudied demographic who could benefit considerably from targeted resources. Though, due to stigma surrounding substance use and motherhood, this demographic is routinely subject to judgement and discrimination resulting in delayed treatment entry. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, issues of access have been compounded by a reduction in services despite heightened mental health struggles caused by prolonged periods of isolation and abrupt changes in lifestyle and environment. The purpose of this study is to understand how stigmatization affects help-seeking behaviour and to explore the impact of COVID-19 on women’s mental health and treatment experiences. Semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted from October 2020-February 2021, with current and past clients of integrated treatment programs in Ontario (n=24). Using an interpretive description approach, data was constructed to identify how stigma is internalized, anticipated, and embodied in the context of help-seeking behaviour, as well as to determine the extent to which the pandemic has interfered with maternal wellbeing. The following themes emerged: (1) stigma and help-seeking (2) COVID-19 and maternal wellness (3) stigma at the structural level: barriers to care and (4) mitigating stigma to enhance help-seeking: facilitating recovery through relationships. This research contributes evidence to a growing body of literature emphasizing the importance of relationships in the recovery process for combatting the effects of stigma and promoting early treatment entry and lends insight into the ways in which pregnant and parenting women with problematic substance use have navigated recovery during COVID-19. / Graduate

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This study explores the challenges that elementary science educators face when teaching science in a time of crisis, as well as how to best provide elementary teachers with ongoing support for their science teaching during the novel COVID-19 pandemic. Using a phenomenological approach, this research focuses on elementary science teachers, educators, and formal and informal leaders to understand their experiences during the pandemic and how to best support them during remote and in-person science teaching. Using data collected from questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, and focus group discussions, findings discuss the specific experiences and challenges faced by elementary science first-year teachers, early career teachers, and leaders. Following the transactional model of stress and coping (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984) and the buffering effect of social support (Cohen & McKay, 1984), first-year and early career elementary science teachers used multiple coping mechanisms to handle the stress of science teaching during the pandemic, including problem solving and collaborating with other educators. From a distributed leadership perspective (Spillane, Halverson, & Diamond, 2001b), district-level elementary science curriculum specialists and coaches act as leaders in science education. When faced with constraints and challenges due to the pandemic, these district-level leaders used this opportunity to reimagine what their leadership work could look like, including rethinking what supports they can offer classroom teachers when they cannot easily access classrooms, how to design effective science curricula for remote teaching, and how to collaborate with other educators in new ways.

Introduktion/Bakgrund: Covid-19 är en pandemi som har belastat hela sjukvården världen över.Tusentals sjuksköterskor har avlidit. Det är ett nytt virus som tillhör coronavirusfamiljen. Vid vård av andrasmitsamma sjukdomar och middle east respiratory syndrome (MERS) som var en pandemi, har det visat sigatt sjuksköterskans arbete och vården av patienterna påverkats. Syfte: Belysa sjuksköterskans upplevelser av att vårda patienter med Covid-19 i slutenvård. Metod: Litteraturstudien genomförs med hjälp av Polit och Becks (2021) nio steg. De tre databaserna somanvändes var CINAHL, PubMed och PsycINFO. Artiklarna som söktes fram kvalitetsgranskades och 10kvalitativa artiklar gick vidare i det sista urvalet. Resultat: Efter databearbetning uppstod fyra olika huvudkategorier med 11 olika underkategorier. De fyraolika huvudkategorierna var ”Ett påfrestande arbete”, ”Covid-19 påverkade arbetet i relation till patienten”,”Blandade känslor so uppkom av att arbeta med patienterna” och ”Sekundära effekter av att arbeta medpatienterna”. Slutsats: Sjuksköterskornas upplevde vården av patienter med Covid-19 tung psykiskt och fysiskt. Skyddsutrustningen var en belastning i arbetet, riktlinjer ändrades ofta och att möta behoven hospatienterna var svårt när sjuksköterskorna behövde minska besöken i rummen. Sjuksköterskorna fickarbeta långa arbetspass, hade en tyngre arbetsbörda och ibland fanns inte den skyddsutrustningen sombehövdes. De var rädda för att bli smittade och smitta sina familjer samt blev behandlade diskriminerade isamhället. Sjuksköterskorna kände att arbetet gjorde att de utvecklades.