VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Beyond PTSD: Moving Military Trauma out of the Realm of Psychiatry and into an Arts-Based Education and Community-Oriented Framework
Keywords: arts
madness
mental health
military
theatre

Guided by the question: “what is military trauma, really?” this two-part research project is underscored by the assumption that hegemonic bio-medical framings of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and resulting treatment approaches fall short and that military trauma is significantly more complex, gendered, morally injurious and community-based than popular culture and well-intentioned “de-stigmatization” campaigns suggest. Employing a feminist and mad-informed existential embodied phenomenological methodology, the initial stage of this research involved in-depth narrative interviews with nine veterans of the Canadian Armed Forces who participated in the recent war in Afghanistan and with three health care workers who specialize in veteran care. In order to move conversations about military trauma out of the realm of psychiatry and into an adult education and community-oriented framework, the data from the interviews was transformed into a research-based play that was written with the express objective of transcending individual experiences of madness into a critique of culture, systems, and dominant practices and convictions. This play also seeks to offer a counterpoint to popular naturalistic and documentary approaches to creating research-based theatre that lay claim to an “aesthetics of objectivity” as the “view from nowhere” such approaches assume, is both impossible and undesirable. Drawing instead on mad approaches to storytelling, feminist theory, magic realism and expressionism in the visual arts, and Brechtian theatrical estrangement devices, this play embraces embodiment and subjectivity and encourages deep emotional and intellectual engagement. The playwriting process necessitated a secondary research question: “How might the creation of a ‘mad aesthetic’ in research-based theatre disrupt both biomedical ways of conceptualizing military trauma and objectivist attempts at representing mad stories?” In order to answer this question, the play also upends classic war hero narratives and the militarized hyper-masculine ideals they propagate. Such narratives and ideals risk further isolating traumatized veterans from their own experiences, knowledge, and coping strategies as well as from members of the public who have not been to war but who, if given access to the deep nuances of military trauma and moral injury, might be vital allies in helping veterans who are suffering transition from military to civilian life.
Diasporic Constellations: Performing on the Periphery of the Archives
Keywords: Affect and Identity
Archive
Cultural Memory
Iranian Diaspora
Performance
Remix

This dissertation examines a wide array of performance and media practices in the Iranian diasporas. It argues that any understanding of diasporic imagination and material culture demands an in-depth engagement with cultural histories, including genealogies of media and technologies. By focusing on performance and media practices in various geographical regions within the Iranian diasporas and putting contemporary practices in dialogue with their historical precedents, this dissertation argues that histories and archives in public and digital spaces help find points of connection in diasporas. I argue that Iranian diasporas, in all their complexities and effects, are fundamentally historical subjects. Diasporic Constellations ultimately posits that the affective engagements in the Iranian diasporas undergird our diasporic imaginations and matters. Using remix studies’ broad definition of the remix as practices of “appropriation and transformation” of material and mass media texts, this project considers the remix as the aesthetics underpinning the selected diaspora cultural productions. The analysis of multiple case studies proves that the remix gives these Iranian diasporic remixers/curators and minoritarian artists techno compositional strategies to archive, queer the archival practice, and unarchive cultural histories. In doing so, the remix also offers a technology of remembrance in affective, visceral, trans-temporal, and interspecies archival encounters. In sum, despite their differences, the selected case studies this dissertation draws upon remember diasporic histories and pasts, and in doing so, envision alternative futurities that trespass hegemonic Iranian archives and historiographies.
Surface-modification of Rod-like Nanoparticles with Functional Copolymers via Copper Catalyzed Click Chemistry for Applications in Cancer Drug Delivery
Keywords: Atom transfer radical polymerization
Cellulose nanocrystals
Click chemistry
Nanomedicine
Poly-grafting
Tumour penetration

Elongated colloidal nanoparticles (NPs) have significant potential for drug delivery and imaging applications in cancer therapy, but progress depends on developing a deeper understanding of how their physicochemical properties affect their interactions with cells and with tumours. Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) are biocompatible, rodlike colloids that are broadly surface-functionalizable, making them interesting as modular drug carriers. In this thesis, I start by describing the atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) synthesis and characterization of azide-terminated poly(oligoethylene glycol methacrylate) (POEGMA)-based “stealth” copolymers that can be attached to NP systems. The comonomer, aminopropylmethacrylamide (APMA) supplies amino groups for the attachment of diagnostic or therapeutic moieties. In Chapter 3, I present the synthesis and characterization of an alkyne-functionalized cellulose nanocrystal (CNC−≡) and the subsequent attachment of the N3-PAPMA-stat-POEGMA copolymers using copper catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) coupling chemistry. In this chapter I also demonstrate the versatility of this system by sequentially grafting different azide-end group-functionalized polymers to the CNC−≡. In subsequent chapters, I show these CNC NPs to be non-toxic to human ovarian cancer cell line, HEYA8, human breast cancer cell line, MDA-MB-436, and human healthy cell line, L929. The effect of actively targeting these NPs with folic acid on cellular uptake was also examined in SK-OV-3 and HEYA8 cell lines over time. I continue by discussing a series of elongated NPs of comparable length, surface polymer grafting density and structure but different surface polymer architectures. I examine their cellular uptake and penetration into multicellular tumour spheroids (MCTSs) formed from two cancer cell lines (MDA-MB-436 and HEYA8). For rod-like NPs of the same size and shape that were coated with brush-POEGMA, substantial penetration into MCTS was observed. However, when these NPs were coated with linear polyethylene glycol (PEG) polymers, much less tumour penetration was observed. I conclude by summarizing the main findings of this thesis and offering ideas for new experiments. By continuing research in this field, it will be possible to develop a deeper understanding of how the chemical nature of elongated NPs affects their interaction with biological environments and these results will provide support for applications of polymer-coated NPs in medicine and cancer treatment.
Current Programmed Mode and Fast Transient Control Techniques for Multi-Level Flying Capacitor Converters
Keywords: Converter Modeling and Stability Analysis
Current Programmed Mode Controllers
DC-DC Converter Control
Fast Transient Controllers
Flying Capacitor Voltage Control
Multi-Level Flying Capacitor Converters

Multi-Level Flying Capacitor (ML-FC) converters are attractive alternatives to conventional two-level buck and boost topologies in low power applications typically processing power from a fraction of a watt to tens of watts. This is mostly due to reduced physical volume and improved power processing efficiency, provided by the switching node voltage swing reduction. The work presented in this thesis includes analysis of stability problems in Current Programmed Mode (CPM) control of ML-FC converters and provides solutions for the same. It also presents new control methods for achieving fast transient response. Both of these control techniques, commonly adopted in conventional converters, have been practically absent in ML-FC topologies, mostly due to unresolved stability problems and lack of practical control solutions. For ML-FC converters, the difficulty of CPM and fast transient control paradigms is compounded by the need to account for stabilization of the Flying Capacitor (FC) voltage, which is the key for ML-FC converter operations. The analysis presented in this thesis is confirmed both through simulations and experimental verifications. All the introduced control methods have been experimentally verified with mixed-signal platforms combining a Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) and auxiliary analog circuitry for 15 W three-level FC converters.
Electroconvulsive Therapy for Hospitalized Patients with Depression
Keywords: Clinical Epidemiology
Depression
Electroconvulsive therapy
Psychiatry
Suicide

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), the most effective treatment for depression in psychiatry, is underused due to stigma and lack of information regarding its risks and benefits. The aims of this thesis were to inform evidence-based use of ECT by identifying patient-level factors that influence the use of ECT and determining the association between ECT and rare but clinically important medical and psychiatric outcomes. The thesis included three projects using administrative health data of hospitalized patients with depression in Ontario, Canada between 2007 and 2017. The first project was a comprehensive assessment of patient characteristics associated with receipt of inpatient ECT in Ontario. Both clinically appropriate, and potentially inappropriate factors were associated with receipt of inpatient ECT, suggesting opportunities to increase appropriate utilization. In the second project, the risk of serious medical events associated with ECT compared to no ECT was evaluated using propensity score matching that adjusted for a large set of sociodemographic and clinical variables. There was no clinically significant increased risk of serious medical events – as measured by medical hospitalization or death – with ECT exposure. In the third project, weighting by the odds of the propensity score was used to compare the risk of suicide among individuals receiving ECT vs. similar individuals not receiving ECT in the year following discharge from psychiatric hospitalization. ECT was associated with a significantly reduced risk of suicide and all-cause death. Taken together, these findings provide important data that can be used to support the evidence-based use of ECT in a highly vulnerable clinical population.
Beyond the Numbers: An Intersectional Exploration of the Undergraduate Engineering Student Experience
Keywords: engineering education
equity
diversity and inclusion
intersectionality
student experience

The engineering profession seeks to diversify the people studying and practicing engineering. In Canada, diversity initiatives have focused on achieving gender parity for women, but progress has been slow. Little research exists that considers cultural systemic barriers, or the experiences of engineering students which could help explain why more progress to increase diversity in the engineering profession has not been made. This study explores inclusivity through the experiences of undergraduate students studying engineering at Ontario universities. Utilizing intersectionality as my framework and approach, I considered the complexities of students’ experiences through the dimensions of oppression and multiple identities. This mixed-methods study collected quantitative and qualitative responses from fifty-two undergraduate engineering students through an online survey and semi-structured one-on-one interviews with ten of the participants to answer the following research questions: how do students from marginalized groups describe their experiences in engineering education and how do those experiences vary for students of different genders, races, sexual orientations, disabilities, and socio-economic statuses? This study explored how identity impacted students’ experiences, whether students felt advantaged or disadvantaged by those experiences, and what students think their universities could do to provide a more inclusive learning environment. The key finding of this study was that students’ identities did impact their experiences in engineering education. Participants shared stories of marginalization and limited access to the whole engineering experience, meaning some students were underserved by their engineering programs and not fully engaged by the opportunities available to them. Women, queer students, racialized students, and students from lower socio-economic status described being excluded from the engineering student culture and community. Students from lower socio-economic backgrounds, students with disabilities, Black students, and women described experiences of othering, microaggressions, and discrimination. The stories and experiences shared by participants provides some evidence of a culture in engineering education that upholds maleness, whiteness, ableism, and classism. This finding implies that to be effective diversity initiatives need to address the culture and systemic socio-cultural constructs of power found in engineering education. Based on my findings and implications I provide recommendations for future research and outline strategies that engineering educators might utilize to make engineering more inclusive.
Use of Compound-specific Isotope Analysis to Investigate Enzymatic Reaction Mechanisms
Keywords: chlorinated alkanes
compound-specific isotope analysis
reductive dechlorination
reductive dehalogenases

To maximize the efficiency of biodegradation in groundwater at contaminated sites, it is imperative to understand biodegradation reaction mechanisms. Compound-specific isotope analysis (CSIA) is a powerful approach that provides novel insights into biodegradation reaction mechanisms, enzyme kinetics and bioremediation potential and efficiency. This thesis aims to extend the discipline of CSIA in several new directions including its use as a means for probing reaction mechanisms, and for examining enzyme kinetics and biodegradation efficiency for halogenated alkanes. This thesis expands the application of CSIA to a new class of compounds, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). Significant carbon isotope fractionation was observed during biotransformation of CFC- 113 and CFC-11, and experimental findings applied to investigation of a contaminated field site. Carbon isotope fractionation of CFC-11 in groundwater suggested up to 86% transformation was occurring. Science and public attention remain focused on CFCs, due to recently reported unexplained source inputs to the atmosphere, and the potential for CFC biotransformation in surface and groundwaters remains unclear. Further biotransformation experiments integrated chlorine isotope with carbon isotope analysis for 1,1,1-trichloroethane (1,1,1- TCA) and 1,1-dichloroethane (1,1-DCA). Carbon isotope effects for 1,1,1-TCA and 1,1-DCA biotransformation are suppressed while ΛCl/C are consistent, suggesting a non-fractionating masking effect is present in 1,1,1-TCA and 1,1-DCA biotransformation. In contrast CF biotransformation by the enriched culture SC05 produced highly suppressed carbon and chlorine isotope effects, resulting in significantly different ΛCl/C values. These results are inconsistent with a non-fractionating masking effect and indicate differences in reaction mechanisms or an isotopically fractionating masking effect. The observational data and insights into underlying controls on isotopic fractionation observed for the experiments and field applications herein emphasize the need to understand mechanistic and kinetic controls on carbon and chlorine isotope effects. Studying RDases using CSIA has implications for understanding the role of reductive dehalogenation in the global halogen cycle that influences environmental contamination, atmospheric chemistry and, in turn, climate.
Droplet Impact, Infiltration, and Boiling in Pores and Porous Media
Keywords: baking
capillary flow
evaporation
inerita
steam

In the baking industry, metallic, porous media beds are cyclically heated and then sprayed with water to generate the steam that is crucial for many baked products. Unfortunately, any improvements to these steam generators are slowly made by trial and error because fundamental studies into this mode of steam generation are absent from the literature. Experiments are performed on how individual drops impact and infiltrate long, narrow gaps and porous media to understand the trade-off between impact velocity and pore size on the drop’s infiltration time. Long, narrow gaps are heated to 130°C and 230°C to observe how the gap temperature influences the infiltration and evaporation of a water drop. An evaporation balance is designed to quantify the amount of steam that is generated from a porous media bed and different media bed configurations are tested. The infiltration of water inside narrow gaps and porous media slices can be predicted by a radial capillary model, which is an improvement over the commonly used Washburn capillary rise model. Photographs of the drop simultaneously spreading and infiltrating clearly show that drops commence infiltration into gaps and porous media immediately upon impact for We>7. Cleaving of the drops, when only a portion of the drop infiltrates, occurs when pore sizes are large and/or impact velocities are high. Criteria that predict the cleaving of drops on narrow gaps and porous media are established. For heated gaps, larger gap sizes permitted more of the drop to infiltrate and remain in the gap. For the 100 µm gap size the steam generated inside the gap repeatedly stopped the infiltration. Using the evaporation balance, media beds made from larger media evaporate more water than media beds made from smaller media. The porosity of the media bed did not produce a measurable difference in quantity of steam generated. It is shown that steam generation increases with a decreasing Fourier number and that steam generators should be designed with a Fo
Solid-state Extraction of Nickel from Nickel Sulphide Concentrates by Iron Addition
Keywords: ferronickel
iron sulphide
low temperature
nickel sulfide concentrate
solid-state nickel extraction
sulfur dioxide emissions

Nickel is a strategic metal in modern society and is widely used in stainless steel, Ni-based alloys, electroplating, and batteries. Nickel production from sulphide nickel ores constitutes approximately 30% of all nickel produced worldwide. The conventional extraction process begins with the smelting of nickel sulphide concentrates, producing large quantities of SO2, either released to the atmosphere directly or captured at a cost. The high cost of SO2 abatement alone has, in instances, resulted in the shutdown of nickel smelters. The smelting product, nickel sulphide melt (known as Bessemer matte), is not directly marketable and has to be further refined by a long series of steps. The refining process is complex, costly, and energy-intensive. This research focused on developing a novel Ni extraction method from sulphide concentrates with minimal SO2 emissions. Under a neutral atmosphere, heating mixtures of metallic iron powders and nickel sulphide concentrates at 950 oC followed by slow cooling to 700 – 800 oC produced large ferronickel grains (d80 = 125 μm) and Ni extraction of approximately 98%. Grinding the particle size of the heat treatment products to below 44 µm yielded a significant liberation degree of the ferronickel grains. Through magnetic separation, the Ni-depleted iron sulphide was removed, producing a ferronickel (FeNi) concentrate with a grade of 15.6 wt% Ni. Additionally, the remaining S in the recovered FeNi concentrates was analyzed to be 3 wt%, demanding additional refining of FeNi if it was to be used for stainless steel production. The by-product, Ni-depleted iron sulphide, is a possible feed material for the production of iron oxide and sulfuric acid or elemental sulfur.
The Grounds of Transcendental Idealism
Keywords: Ground
Kant
Metaphysics
Transcendental Idealism
Truthmaking

This dissertation consists of three papers on the role of ground in the metaphysics of transcendental idealism. In the first two papers, I provide novel reconstructions of Kant’s two main arguments for transcendental idealism. I show that both arguments rely on assumptions about the metaphysics and epistemology of ground that were commonplace in Kant’s time. In the third paper, I provide a new interpretation of transcendental idealism, by drawing a conceptual distinction between two forms of intentionality: reference and truthmaking. I argue that this interpretation manages to avoid many of the traditional problems for traditional readings of Kant.
Quality of Early Childhood Education and Care: Examining Different Conceptualizations and Levels of Quality
Keywords: Child Care Quality
Differential Treatment
Early Childhood
Early Childhood Education and Care
Educator Training
Preschool

A large proportion of young children spend many hours in early childhood education and care (ECEC) and such care is costly. Given this context, it is important to examine the quality of care children receive, whether they experience quality differently, and the effects of quality on child development. Exposure to high quality ECEC is expected to promote child development. However, results linking ECEC quality to children’s outcomes are mixed. Perhaps researchers need to focus on different aspects of ECEC quality. Alternatively, limitations of the literature may explain this inconsistency, as assessments of ECEC quality often aggregate across individual children to the classroom level, and such research is conducted primarily in the U.S. My two dissertation papers address gaps regarding what impacts quality, children’s differential experiences of quality, and associations between quality and child outcomes. Both papers focus on classrooms serving preschool-aged children. The first paper is a systematic review and meta-analysis examining the role of educator early childhood specialization on a range of preschool-aged children’s outcomes. Findings from this paper indicate that this quality indicator is not strongly or consistently associated with the outcomes examined in the literature. Limitations of the literature are discussed as possible explanations for the few results. The second paper uses archival data to assess ECEC quality at the child, classroom, and centre levels, by examining whether and why children are differentially treated by ECEC educators. This paper consists of two studies. The first examines educator differential treatment (DT) of children using educator-reports of their perceived closeness and conflict with each child in their classroom. The second examines DT using child-educator observations of social interaction and instruction. Results indicate that individual children have very different experiences in ECEC settings across a range of affective, social, and instructional domains, regardless of how DT is assessed. Educators reported closer and less conflicted relationships with prosocial children and directed more positive support and engagement towards children demonstrating oppositional behaviour. In addition to child behaviour, aspects of classroom quality showed associations with DT, however, results were inconsistent. Implications for public policy, resource allocation, and future research, particularly in Canada, are discussed.