Repertoires of Resistance: Latino Immigrant Food Service Workers, Covid-19, and the Struggle for Dignity and Justice at Work

Latino immigrant workers in the greater Boston food service industry are at high risk of exploitation and face multiple barriers defending their rights, including deportation, retaliation, discrimination, and job loss. The COVID-19 pandemic intensified workers’ vulnerability to exploitation in the wake of widespread unemployment and social insecurity. Studies suggest that immigrant workers are unlikely to contest poor working conditions unless they are organized into larger collective actions. However, in other contexts, workers with limited freedom to directly protest injustices leverage everyday forms of resistance to combat subjugation. This project examines how Latino immigrants in the greater Boston food service industry resist exploitation at work and the impact of COVID-19 on these strategies. Through a participatory action research approach in collaboration with five Latina immigrant co-researchers, the Las Mariposas Monarcas research collective conducted forty telephone interviews with Latino immigrant food service workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. We found that Latino immigrant workers deployed dynamic “repertoires of resistance” across three spheres: 1) individual strategies characterized by narratives of resilience and hope, quitting, and vigilance; 2) interpersonal strategies characterized by direct appeals to supervisors, co-worker solidarity, and mutual aid; and 3) institutional strategies characterized by seeking help from allied institutions. Workers carefully assessed the tools of resistance available to them, considered the strengths and dangers of each one, and engaged with multiple strategies over multiple attempts and contexts. These findings demonstrate that immigrant workers are active, savvy, and persistent participants in the protection of their rights and dignity in an industry notorious for worker rights violations, and during one of the most turbulent periods for workers in modern history. Additionally, these findings have implications for how workers, advocates, and oversight agencies can incorporate everyday resistance into organizing models and frameworks to combat injustice in low-wage, high-risk industries

Mapping QTL Modulating Rhizosphere Bacterial Communities of Arabidopsis Thaliana

Developmental stage, root system architecture and rhizodeposition are among the known ways that plants modulate their physical interactions with bacteria in the rhizosphere, the zone of soil under the direct influence of plant roots. The genes involved in these interactions are largely unknown. In this study, a population of Arabidopsis recombinant inbred lines (RILs) derived from a cross between Cvi (Cape Verde Island) and Ler (Germany) identified quantitative trait loci (QTLs) influencing bacteria inhabiting the rhizosphere. Using a simple community fingerprinting technique, terminal-restriction fragment length polymorphisms (T-RFLPs), a core fingerprint of bacterial 16s rDNA was targeted for quantitative genetic analysis. While Cvi and Ler showed no major differences, increases in genetic variance (broad-sense heritability) among the RILs could be attributed to multiple QTL, some with opposing effects. Genetic correlations were predominantly weak, suggesting multiple distinct genetic architectures influence rhizosphere bacteria. Across 45 terminal-restriction fragments (T-RFs) considered in QTL mapping, 18 QTL influencing 14 T-RFs were detected. Conditional QTL mapping revealed four of these QTL could be categorized as dependent on changes in plant development. The two most significant QTL detected were independent of plant development and explained 14-19% of phenotypic variance and 31-52% of broad-sense heritability. A large clone library comprised of 709 sequences revealed the dominant phyla (\u3e2% of the library) as Proteobacteria (59.5%), Bacteroidetes (23.9%), Verrucomicrobia (4.1%), Firmicutes (3.1%), Armatimonadetes (2.5%) and Actinobacteria (2%). Matching T-RFs to the library suggested QTL operate mostly at lower taxonomic ranks. These results provide valuable insights into the plant genetic architecture influencing rhizosphere bacteria and provide a resource for mining Arabidopsis candidate genes in future studies

The Marketing Feasibility of the MIT Press in Asian Market

Revenue from international markets is long proven a vitally profitable quadrant on general balance sheet for academic publishers in the United States. Expanding brand image and maximizing audience landscape beyond the comfort zone have appeared to be a new trend accustomed by a considerable number of academic publishers due to intrinsic content fatigue and distributional restraints facing university presses in the market terrain of America. Similar to many U.S. based businesses, some university presses have set out in uncharted international market to create endemic content and promote multi-lingual publications to broaden overall market share and disseminate their global images. This thesis will discuss the feasibility of one of the biggest academic presses in the U.S., The MIT Press (MITP) in particular international market of mainland China. Considering its previous success in international markets of India and Europe, recently, The MITP is proposed to explore sales and publish translated content in mainland China in the foreseeable future. Furthermore, this paper will double down on a holistic feasibility analysis of the Press’s international business blueprint in mainland China by exploring and evaluating the intrinsic advantages, opportunities, barriers, and challenges facing MITP across its competitive landscape in the particular Asian market. Multiple theories extrapolated from the literature review chapter are used to interpret and consolidate the suggested answers to the research question in the thesis, whereas an abundant volume of interviews and surveys from various stakeholders in local market of mainland China was collected and analyzed to further supplement the market feasibility projection made in the thesis, which adopts a qualitative research method accompanied by a number of commonly utilized research tactics arranged from SWOT analysis, Customer-Centric Marketing (CCM) analysis, focus groups, direct interviews, survey samples, competitive analysis, exploratory research, to Minimum Value Product (MVP) lens

Just Existing Beyond the Gender Binary: Contexts, Agency, and Investment of Non-Binary Teens in French and Spanish World Language Classes

One in four LGBTQ+ young people in the United States identifies outside of the gender binary, generating an ever-evolving constellation of identity terms and pronouns. Many study French and Spanish classes at school, languages based in a binary grammatical system classifying all nouns and corresponding modifiers as “masculine” or “feminine.” Given the hostile political climate towards queer youth and the power of language for (in)validating trans identities, French and Spanish classes may pose particular challenges for non-binary students. Though vital for building inclusive classrooms, accounts from non-binary language learners have been barely documented in research. This dissertation asks: What aspects of non-binary students’ contexts impact their ability to be themselves in their French and Spanish classes? How do students exercise agency within these spaces? How do students’ contexts and agentive strategies relate to their investment in language learning? As a queer, cisgender teacher-researcher, I adopted a participatory approach grounded in trans epistemologies to create an online community called the Non-Binary Language Alliance with twelve non-binary high school students. Using surveys, interviews, journals, focus groups, and art, generated individually and in interaction, I conducted reflexive thematic analysis with a discourse analytic approach. Analysis revealed multiple constraints for students in their language classrooms: binary grammatical gender, lack of queer curricular representation, queerphobia among peers, and teacher-student power dynamics, while supportive peers and teachers were seen as affordances. Participants exercised agency to navigate and transform their contexts by: innovating in French and Spanish, creating queer representation through headcanon, drawing on community to “queer” their contexts, disengaging from stressful situations as a coping strategy, and taking on the role of language educators. Finally, participants’ investment was associated with their perceived level of agency within the classroom and the degree to which teachers and peers shared their labor of research and advocacy. These findings illustrate the agency and innovative power of marginalized and minoritized youth while highlighting the role of mediating social factors such as language ideologies, classroom power dynamics, and community. The study offers recommendations to language teachers for increasing non-binary students’ investment in language learning by laboring alongside students and fostering their agency

First Symposium Discussion

First Symposium Discussion. Volume 36, Issue 2 of the New England Journal of Public Policy

Long-Term Impact of World War II on Suicide in Japan

Long-Term Impact of World War II on Suicide in Japan. Volume 36, Issue 2 of the New England Journal of Public Policy

How Were the War Dead Treated in Japan? Developments of Recovering the Overseas Remains of Japanese War Dead

How Were the War Dead Treated in Japan? Developments of Recovering the Overseas Remains of Japanese War Dead. Volume 36, Issue 2 of the New England Journal of Public Policy

Latinos in Massachusetts Selected Areas: Leominster

This is a publication of the Mauricio Gastón Institute for Latino Community Development and Public Policy

The Application of High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry for the Analysis of Biopolymers, Metabolites, and Biologically Relevant Small Molecules

High-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS), as its name suggests, possesses high resolving power that enables the separation of ions with very close mass values. This is particularly beneficial for analyzing complex samples where numerous compounds may have similar masses, as it helps prevent signal overlaps and ensures an accurate spectral analysis. The current work explores the diverse applications of high-resolution mass spectrometry in oligonucleotide research, organic synthesis and medicinal chemistry. Oligonucleotide research: Chapters 2-5 present the research results from studies that employed ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC-HRMS) to understand the pharmacokinetics of RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutics. The investigations, which used REVERSIR, givosiran, and 2’-deoxy-2’-fluoro nucleotides as examples, showcased the application of HRMS in studying the ADME (absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion) properties of oligonucleotides in silencing RNA. The REVERSIR study involved a single-stranded GalNAc-siRNA-mediated oligonucleotide and was carried out using samples from rat and monkey plasma, liver, and kidney. A novel single-stranded deaminated metabolite from REVERSIR was identified in monkey liver, characterized by the deamination of the terminal 2′-O-methyladenosine nucleotide to 2′-O-methylinosine, and its structure was confirmed with HRMS. Quantification methods for both the parent compound and the identified metabolites were developed and validated for various concentration ranges in rat and monkey plasma, liver, and kidney, showing high intra- and inter-day accuracy and precision. Givosiran, an RNAi therapeutic, was characterized using HRMS to elucidate its distribution and metabolism in nonclinical studies, providing essential insights into the drug\u27s behavior within biological systems. The key findings include comprehensive analyses of the drug\u27s metabolic pathways and its distribution in different tissues, which contribute to a better understanding of its efficacy and safety profile. A non-naturally occurring 2′-deoxy-2′-fluoro-modified nucleotide unit is present in GalNAc-siRNA conjugates. HRMS was used to identify, confirm, and qualify modified nucleotides within siRNA therapeutics. The in vitro study assesses the integration of these modifications into RNA strands, their metabolites, and metabolic stability. The results indicated that the modified nucleotides are neither inhibitors nor preferred substrates for human polymerases, and no obligation or non-obligate chain termination was observed. Therefore, they can be safely applied in the design of metabolically stabilized therapeutic GalNAc–siRNAs with favorable potency and prolonged duration of activity, allowing for low dose and infrequent dosing. Organic synthesis and medicinal chemistry: HRMS has emerged as a pivotal tool in organic synthesis for characterizing complex molecular structures and reaction intermediates, ensuring the purity and specificity of the synthesized compounds. Chapter 6 describes the HRMS applications in the development of new β-carboline derivatives targeting the pathology of Alzheimer’s disease. HRMS was used to analyze and confirm the interaction of these compounds with Aβ by observing inhibitor-Aβ complex formation thereby gaining insights into the mode of action of the compounds and affirming their potential in therapeutic applications

Older Immigrants\u27 Long-Term Care Expectations: The Roles of Caregiving Experience, Acculturation and Transnational Ties

Understanding how older immigrants expect to meet long-term care (LTC) needs is important for policymakers, service providers and families to ensure that the future LTC supply meets the needs of a growing older population from diverse cultural backgrounds. This dissertation employed a convergent parallel research design, in which quantitative and qualitative studies were conducted concurrently, to examine the roles of the following cultural aspects in older immigrants’ long-term care expectations: caregiving experience, acculturation, and transnational ties. Caregiving experience and transnational ties reflect orientations toward one’s origin-culture, while acculturation reflects orientation towards one’s host-culture. Results from both studies revealed that older immigrants were not expecting their adult children to be future LTC providers. Older immigrants’ caregiving experience did not show evidence of influencing LTC expectations, pointing to how structural conditions surrounding LTC have changed since care was provided to parents. Acculturation was found to operate on multiple pathways in relation to LTC expectations, in that older immigrants can simultaneously express low acculturation on proxy aspects and high acculturation on direct aspects. Older immigrants who migrated later in life and have little to no English proficiency can still orient toward American values and behaviors that emphasize independence, if structural conditions support such values and behaviors. Maintaining transnational ties with family members in the origin-country did not lead older immigrants to expect to return to their origin-country for LTC needs. While one’s origin-culture may prioritize familial-based caregiving for LTC needs, older immigrants in this study did not expect such transnational ties would adequately support LTC needs if they returned to their country of origin. Therefore, participants expected to stay in the U.S. for LTC needs, in an environment where they can draw on existing formal structures for LTC support even if familial support is not available. As older immigrants are not expecting to primarily depend on children to meet future LTC needs, formal LTC structures should prepare for a growing demand for LTC services among an increasingly diverse older population. This research emphasizes that origin- and host- cultural aspects are intertwined with social structures in older immigrants’ LTC expectations. LTC providers, policymakers, and researchers are encouraged to carefully consider what is deemed a cultural influence in long-term care among older immigrants and acknowledge how culture fluidly interacts with existing structures