VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
The crucible of culture: ethnicity and the second generation Italian-Canadian woman in Toronto
Keywords: Italians, Social conditions
Italians, Ontario
Minority women, Social conditions
Minority women, Ontario
Italians, Ethnic identity
Italians, Ontario
Culture conflict, Ontario

This essay examines the nature and persistence of ethnicity among a group of university educated, second generation Italian Canadian women. It explores those factors, both external and internal, that contribute to the formation and maintenance of their ethnic identity. While no two women had identical experiences or views, as a whole they feel at odds with the duality of cultures they are forced to balance because they lack a sense of belonging to either their native community or their ethnic community. Those of the second generation have no definable place as they are not immigrants, and they do not feel themselves Canadian beyond their legal citizenship. As Italian Canadian women, they are reduced to mythological constructs of society's imagination. Ultimately, they are labelled "typical Italian women", indicating both a feeble attempt at understanding and contempt for a "foreign" group. The "crucible", both a melting pot for metal, and a trial, is a metaphor for the Italian Canadian woman expected to assimilate into one culture or another. Unable to assimilate she faces judgement and condemnation to a social role she may not otherwise have chosen.
Declining participation of female students in computer studies programs at an Ontario college: What stands in their way
Keywords: Women in computer science, Ontario
College majors, Sex differences
College majors, Ontario

Previous research examining the declining participation of females in post-secondary computing programs focuses primarily on computer science programs in U.S. universities and rarely distinguishes between the needs of different groups of females. This study explores obstacles experienced by females in computer studies programs at an Ontario college where female enrollment in computer studies programs declined from 35% in 1999 to 14% in 2006. Experiences of obstacles are explored by age and race. Fifteen female students participated in an interview and completed a three-part questionnaire. Findings revealed the importance of mentors and role models, participants' lack of interest and weak backgrounds in computer programming, participants' desire for balance in their work, negative images of computing work discouraged participants, especially younger participants, and a perceived lack of computing jobs discouraged participants, especially visible minority participants. Finally, four personas were created from a composite of the words, perceptions, and life stories of participants to convey how they experience obstacles to their academic progress.
Ongoing works of art: artful pedagogy and teaching performances
Keywords: Teaching
Arts
Performance artists
Arts, Study and teaching
Teachers

This inquiry draws parallels between artistic practices and the inherent artistry of teaching, and posits teaching as an art form. Teaching, when invested and activated with artful qualities like creativity, intuition, imagination, flexible purposing, intrinsic satisfaction, empathy, and enhanced perception, achieves connectedness between a teacher's self and their professional life because of the artistry involved with their pedagogy. Teaching as a performance and as self-presentation are other artful ways of knowing and teaching. Teachers of visual arts who project identity and integrity, allow their own subjectivity to emerge, embrace paradoxical and subject-centered ways of teaching---rather than relying on objective techniques---bring their complete, undivided selves to the service of their students, as teacher-artists. Through autobiographical and collaborative inquiry, this thesis identifies and highlights ways that teachers regard their own pedagogy as artful and performance in order to enhance the selfhood and efficacy of the teacher-artist, and contribute to educational improvement.
Educated to crime: Community and criminal justice in Upper Canada, 1800--1840
Keywords: Criminal justice, Administration of, History
Criminal justice, Administration of, Ontario
Criminal justice, Administration of, Public opinion
Criminal justice, Administration of, Ontario

From 1800 to 1840, Upper Canada witnessed a crisis that affected the administration of criminal justice in Upper Canada: the fear that pauper immigration was bringing a criminal element into the province; a growing loss of faith in older systems of punishment; and the overpopulation of district goals. According to recent penal historians, the response of the executive arm of the Tory government reflected its entrenched conservatism. Believing in the efficacy of coercive institutions, the ruling elite initiated two signal events: the Penal Reform Act of 1833 and the construction of what was to become an instrument of social control: the Kingston Penitentiary. This thesis takes the position that the crucial factor that drove the restructuring of criminal law was a breakdown in the administration of punishment. Canadian historians have considerably underestimated the influential role that local communities played in sponsoring penal reform. Prior to 1833, with few exceptions, capital sentences were reduced to banishment to the United States. Many, however, never left the province. Many others returned early. In both cases their communities, believing the system of primary and secondary punishment to be too severe, sheltered them. Interpreted as a demonstrated lack of respect for the legal system, the Tory executive reacted by using its central authority to push through funding legislation for a penitentiary. A legal culture, which included the harbouring of "banished" convicts, operated within and among Upper Canadian communities. Through grand jury addresses published in newspapers and the regular posting of changes to the criminal code, communities were legally educated. In the absence of effective policing, neighbourhoods wielded discretionary power, hunting down criminals and prosecuting them. Within traditionally prescribed limits, they morally policed themselves. The move toward penal reform in Upper Canada was, in part, a reaction to these "democratic incursions."
Shifting the gaze in higher education: the importance of physical education to critical theory
Keywords: Critical pedagogy
Physical education and training
Critical theory

Although science/technology allow for increasing control over bodies, knowledge about what bodies are is heavily debated. Whereas social construction viewpoints have yielded discursively constructed bodies, the body, as a material phenomenon, has been an “absent presence” (Shilling) in postmodern theory. This thesis will explore embodiment in theories of critical pedagogy within higher education literature. Beginning with Giroux and McLaren, the author will employ Ellsworth and Lather as points of departure and examples of engaged, embodied critical pedagogy. Where Reagon foregrounds the importance of coalition work, Mohanty calls for seeing ourselves as activists with an ethical connection to our pedagogical practices. The author will explore his particular body as curriculum; specifically, his body as a site of teaching/learning, as a site of healing/caring and as a site of resistance. At stake is the articulation of critical pedagogy as physical education, thereby grounding the personal as centrally political in an ethical framework.
The use of the Rorschach as a perceptive cognitive assessment tool with learning disabled adolescents
Keywords: Cognition in adolescence
Educational evaluation
Learning disabled teenagers
Rorschach Test

The Rorschach test is a task to which people respond by exercising their perceptual-cognitive abilities. It may, therefore, reflect elements of learning and consequently provide potentially useful information in an academic setting. The current study examined the Rorschach from this perspective using adolescents identified with learning disabilities. Several studies have supported the hypotheses that students with learning disabilities will perform similarly on the Rorschach and differently than their non identified peers. What has emerged is a Rorschach personality profile for learning disabilities. Some research studies have made suggestions for intervention, but no intervention programs have, as yet, been under taken. This study, therefore, had two goals. First, nine adolescents with learning disabilities (ages 15–16) were given the Rorschach to see if they performed similarly to identified subjects in past studies. Twenty-one Rorschach variables were chosen for examination based on current research findings. Second, these students underwent a six week cognitive re-training program based on Donald Meichenbaum's cognitive-functional approach to learning. The students were re tested at the end of the six weeks. Because the Porteous Maze Test was used in previous studies using Meichenbaum's program, it was added to the battery along with the Paragraph Completion Test a language based test of cognitive processing. Four students were examined more closely in case study analyses to determine if the effectiveness of the intervention program was linked with specific characteristics of the individual. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)
Curriculum, pedagogy and embodied experience: The (re)production of health discourse in grade 9 health and physical education
Keywords: Educational sociology
Health education

Physical Education has been garnering greater attention as the neoliberal agenda promotes healthy active living. This, combined with an educational shift in Ontario's secondary school system, becomes the cultural context for the interrogation of the production of health knowledge in the 1999 Ontario Physical and Health Education curriculum revision process. From a feminist post-structural perspective I explore power/knowledge relations within curriculum development to expose the politics of knowledge production (Foucault, 1977; Gore, 1998; St. Pierre, 2001). Drawing from critical cultural studies and the circuit of cultural production (Hall, 1997), my research establishes a circuit of knowledge production uncovering the confounding ways health knowledge is (re)produced in physical education. The methods used in this research include policy text and discourse analysis of seven policy documents combined with in-depth interviews with three policy planners and writers. In addition, a critical ethnography of a Toronto area school exposes the translation of policy in a school setting. The ethnography is a compilation of interviews with 5 physical educators and the school principal, focus groups with 54 students, and participant observation of seven different physical education classes, several times a week, for six months. At the policy level, the disproportionate representation from the health sector foreshadows the discursive production of health discourse in the curriculum re-visioning process. Re-invigorating health discourse and negating the physical educator's knowledge works to legitimate the curriculum while maintaining the power/knowledge relations of the profession. The view of physical activity and health in school curriculum continues to be framed through middle class, white, culturally dominant, gendered values. Embodied learning is regulated by standardized parameters that function to give physical education more legitimacy within the school and provides greater clarity for physical educators during evaluation; however, the dominant patterns of moving and learning about the body benefit some while continuing to constrain others. Students' experiences suggest the potential for enjoyable, meaningful movement and health practice, but the reliance on set evaluative measures limits the possibility of fully learning about one's body. I conclude that physical education continues to emphasize a successfully physically educated person, as being someone who can (re)produce dominant lifestyle practices.
Mystical experience and prophetic imagination: a religion teacher's self-reflective inquiry and life-text
Keywords: Mysticism, Psychological aspects
Spiritual life, Christianity
Pastoral theology
Phenomenology
Religious educators
Christian education

This thesis uses the constructs of “mystic” and “prophet” to conduct a self-reflective, developmental inquiry into my life and practice as a religion teacher. I employ arts-based literary forms to interrogate myself, and draw attention to narrative inquiry as a process of creating a work of art of one's life. The thesis attempts to synthesize two strains in curriculum theory: teacher development and critical pedagogy. I interpret my life-text by experimenting with a diversity of writing styles, images, and metaphors, and referring to relevant insights in the fields of educational theory, philosophy, theology and literature. The aim is to outline a spirituality of education that can balance mystical experience with prophetic imagination. These dual orientations are shown to be compatible with a postmodern understanding of the teacher and teaching.
The role of sex hormones on atypical absence seizures
Keywords: Neurosciences
Pharmacology

Treatment of Long Evans hooded rats during development with the cholesterol synthesis inhibitor AY9944 (AY) produces atypical absence seizures with slow spike-and-wave discharges (SSWDs). The purpose of this study was to determine the role of both male and female sex hormones on atypical absence seizures in the AY model. Initially, a time course study was performed that examined the effects of the female estrous cycle on the chronic SSWDs, γ-aminobutyric B receptor (GABA BR) binding, and GABA BR protein expression. It was found that there was a significant increase in both the duration of SSWD and GABA BR binding in the AY model during the proestrus stage of the estrous cycle, the stage during which the levels of progesterone are at their highest. No changes in GABA BR1a or R2 protein levels were observed across the cycle. Subsequently, a pharmacological study using progesterone, allopregnanolone (progesterone metabolite), 17 β-estradiol and testosterone was performed to determine their effects on AY-induced seizures. It was found that the administration of both progesterone and allopregnanolone exacerbated seizures in the AY model, whereas 17 β-estradiol and testosterone attenuated the SSWD duration. Interestingly, protein analysis revealed that GABA BR2 levels in the cortex and hippocampus decreased in a time dependent manner after testosterone was administered in AY-treated animals. Finally, we examined the effects of hormone receptor blockers and inhibitors of metabolism. Mifepristone (intracellular progesterone receptor antagonist), tamoxifen (intracellular estrogen receptor antagonist), flutamide (intracellular testosterone receptor antagonist) and finasteride (a metabolite inhibitor of both progesterone and testosterone) were used. Our results showed that neither mifepristone, tamoxifen nor flutamide blocked the effects of progesterone, 17 β-estradiol or testosterone, respectively, on SSWD duration in the AY model, suggesting that these three sex hormones are working in a manner independent of their intracellular receptors. Our experiments with finasteride indicated that both progesterone and testosterone are working via their metabolites in the AY model. These data suggest an important role for steroid hormones in the regulation and maintenance of AY-induced atypical absence seizures. In addition, further studies on the GABAergic mechanism of action of testosterone may be very useful for the development of new anti-absence medications. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)
The role of motivational design in health education: an examination of computer-based education on women, smoking and health
Keywords: Women, Tobacco use
Health education of women
Motivation in education
Women, Health and hygiene

A sample of 40 adult women who currently smoke or quit within the last six months volunteered to participate in an evaluation of two programs on women, smoking and health: (a) Breath of Fresh Air---a program designed specifically for women and developed with Keller's principles of motivational design as its theoretical underpinning; (b) Canadian Cancer Society web site---a web-site on smoking and health designed for a generic audience. This study examined the effects of motivational design on affective and cognitive outcomes of computer-based education on smoking and health among women. A program developed using the principles of Keller's approach to motivational design was compared with a generic web site on smoking created by the Canadian Cancer society. In addition, it used Prochaska's Stages of Change model to examine the effects of frames of reference with respect to smoking cessation. This study provided clear evidence that instructional design and frames of reference can both affect outcomes to computer-based health education. Other factors like education, computer experience, and age tended to have only modest effects on a limited set of outcomes. The implication of this work is that efforts to improve population health through computer based education must take into account the characteristics of the target audience in the design of those materials and that strategies to enhance motivation are essential ingredients to the success of those interventions. The participants in the Breath of Fresh Air were substantially more positive in their response to the software on all measures of motivational outcomes compared with the users of the Cancer Society web site. Moreover, these participants were also more likely to indicate that they were more motivated to quit smoking after using the software than their counterparts in the control group. However, motivation to quit smoking was also clearly affected by the participant's stage of change, such that pre-contemplators were less likely to say that they were more motivated to quit independent of which study group they were in.
Therapists' experiences of power in feminist therapy: an exploratory study
Keywords: Psychotherapists, Attitudes
Feminist therapy

There is an abundance of theoretical work on feminist therapy, however, there are very few studies of feminist therapists' practical experiences. The current study aims to explore feminist therapists' experience and practice around power in the counselling relationship. Participants were 8 women who self-define as feminist therapists, and who have at least 5 years of practice as a feminist therapist. Participants engaged in open-ended semi structured interviews, which were analyzed using pattern coding. The themes that emerged during analysis include; the therapist's description of theoretical principles that guide their practice, feminist therapy in practice, divergences in practice, and sources of struggle for therapists. Results indicate that there are gaps between the theory and the practice of feminist therapy, particularly around divergences in practice and the elements of practice which involved participants struggling with issues of power.
Improperly collected taxes: The border between private and public law
Keywords: Tax collection
Unjust enrichment
Restitution

In recent years, Professor Birks' doctrine of constitutional right to restitution has become a new supreme normative authority with respect to the issue of restitution of improperly collected taxes. Nevertheless, the new doctrine has puzzled academics. Deep questions regarding the "private law-public law" location of Professor Birks' doctrine and the current status of traditional law doctrines have arisen. This study challenges Professor Birks' doctrine and demonstrates that despite its universal adoption, the doctrine is based on weak premises. Furthermore, based on Professor Weinrib's legal philosophy, this study develops an alternative framework for analyzing the issue of improperly collected taxes. The study shows that the "private-public" puzzle and the traditional-to-improperly-collected-taxes doctrines may be coherently explained within this legal philosophy.
Design and implementation of the electrical power system for CanX-1
Keywords: Nanosatellites
Satellite solar power stations

Six CubeSats designed and built by students were launched on June 30, 2003 by a Russian launch vehicle, ROCKOT. CanX-1 (Canadian Advanced Nanospace eXperiment-1) was one of them and is the first picosatellite in Canadian history. CanX-1, the first satellite in the CanX program initiated by the Space Flight Laboratory at the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies, employs a custom-built OBC, radio, ACS and power system, as well as experimental payloads such as CMOS imagers, a GPS receiver and a Xiphos Q4 controller card. Throughout this thesis, the electrical power subsystem comprising triple-junction GaAs solar panels, a lithium-ion battery, and a custom power distribution module is extensively presented. Moreover, the design, implementation and testing of the power system, in order to meet the mission and system level requirements, are explained.
Computational study of fuel injection in a shcramjet inlet
Keywords: Fuel, Combustion
Airplanes, Scramjet engines

The primary objective of this investigation is to present the mixing of fuel with air in the inlet of a shock-induced combustion ramjet (shcramjet). The study is limited to non-reacting hydrogen-air mixing in an external-compression inlet at a flight Mach number of 11 and at a dynamic pressure of 1400 psf (67032 Pa), using an array of cantilevered ramp injectors. A numerical method based on the Yee-Roe scheme and block-implicit approximate factorization is developed to solve the FANS equations closed by the Wilcox kω turbulence model. A new acceleration technique for streamwise-separated hypersonic flow, dubbed the “marching window”, is presented. The dilatational dissipation correction is seen to affect the mixing efficiency considerably for a cantilevered ramp injector flowfield even at a vanishing convective Mach number, due to the high turbulent Mach number generated by the high cross-stream shear induced by the ramp-generated axial vortices. Due to the fuel being injected at a very high speed, fuel injection in the inlet is found to increase considerably the thrust potential, with a gain exceeding the loss by 40–120%. Losses due to skin friction are seen to play a significant role in the inlet, as they are estimated to make up as much as 50–70% of the thrust potential losses. The use of a turbulence model that can predict accurately the wall shear stress is hence crucial in assessing the losses accurately in a shcramjet inlet. Substituting the second inlet shock by a Prandtl-Meyer compression fan is encouraged as it decreases the thrust potential losses, reduces the risk of premature ignition by reducing the static temperature, while decreasing the mixing efficiency by a mere 6%. One approach that is observed herein to be successful at increasing the mixing efficiency in the inlet is by alternating the injection angle along the injector array. The use of two injection angles of 9 and 16 degrees is seen to result in a 32% increase in the mixing efficiency at the expense of a 14% increase in the losses when compared to a single injection angle of 10 degrees. Using alternating injection angles, the mixing efficiency reaches as much as 0.47 at the inlet exit.