VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Disability in the context of HIV: Building a foundation for an instrument to describe disability experienced by adults living with HIV
Keywords: Physical therapy
Epidemiology

Since the advent of new medication therapies, in developed countries individuals are living longer with the health-related consequences of HIV and the potentially adverse effects of treatment. An initial working term that may be used to label these health-related consequences is disability . Adequately measuring disability can help determine its prevalence and impact and evaluate interventions to improve care and support. Understanding the experience of disability is first necessary to know how to approach measuring this concept. The overall purpose of this thesis was to determine what disability means from the perspective of adults living with HIV in order to facilitate the identification, modification or development of an instrument that describes disability experienced by this population. Specific objectives were to (1) determine how disability is conceptualized by adults living with HIV, and (2) evaluate how well existing HIV-specific health status instruments describe disability experienced by adults living with MTV.
Navigating two worlds: experiences of Canadian mental health professionals who integrate aboriginal traditional healing practices
Keywords: Indians of North America, Medicine
Indians of North America, Canada
Indians of North America, Mental health services
Indians of North America, Canada
Psychotherapists, Canada
Traditional medicine, Canada

The purpose of this study was to explore how Aboriginal traditional healing practices are being integrated with mainstream Canadian mental healthcare. This was accomplished by interviewing mental health professionals who integrate these practices into their clinical work. Data were analyzed via the Grounded Theory approach and four core themes were identified. 'Becoming a helper' described how participants came to practice both traditional healing and counselling. 'Deciding when to integrate' addressed the assessment process pertaining to integration. 'Describing integrative efforts' outlined participants' interventions and identified three areas of integrative work: incorporating traditional elements, using a specific approach, and referral/collaboration. 'Experience with integration' addressed participants' perception of their work. A model is proposed that brings together these themes and illustrates participants' integrative efforts. Findings highlight the complex constellation of diverse influences that informed participants' practice. A central implication is that integration cannot be removed from and appropriated outside its intricate context.
Challenging the contemporary health paradigm: evaluating its application in health education
Keywords: Medical care
Medical care, Psychological aspects
Spirituality
Holistic medicine

Health spans the physical, psychological and social realms. There is a disparity between this holistic notion of health and its conventionally application. The lack of application of health's spiritual realm into health-related activities influences the disparity, particularly in health education. A survey was administered to ninety-six (n=96) pre-service student teachers from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto. Participants were asked about personal factors influencing exercise adherence and how they would counsel others regarding exercise behaviour. Descriptive and inferential statistical methods were employed including measures of central tendency, confidence intervals and analysis of variance. Content analysis was utilized for written data. The results revealed that participants feel that spirituality is a significant factor influencing their exercise behaviour. However, they did not address spirituality when educating others about exercise behaviour. The results confirmed the lack of application of the spiritual realm into health education activities.
Alberta women in the field: geoscientists in the resource industry, government research, and academia, 1914-1999
Keywords: Women earth scientists, History
Women earth scientists, Alberta

This dissertation takes a threefold approach in examining the changing nature of the entry experiences, career opportunities, and professional identities of Alberta women geoscientists working in the resource industry, government research, and academia between 1914 and 1999. First, it explores the literature related to women in science, women's entry to universities and graduate schools, women in academia and the professions, and women and the resource frontier. Second, it engages in the recovery and analysis of the careers of three early women geoscientists. Third, it undertakes an empirical study based on interviews of thirty-four contemporary women geoscientists in Alberta. The review of the literature on women in science shows British women were in the vanguard of education for women in the geosciences, the cross-fertilization of scientific knowledge across international boundaries, and the impact of the transition from the amateur naturalist tradition to institutionalized and academic settings, which resulted in loss of visibility for the early contributions of women in science. The diversity of the careers of Grace Anne Stewart, Helen Belyea, and Mary Turner illustrates the three different possibilities in terms of career path for women geoscientists: university teaching, research and field work in government service, and work in private industry and the oil patch. Stewart and Belyea fit the category of high achievers who concentrated on their careers, while Turner had a shortlived career in geology, married, and later resumed her teaching career. The interview-based study shows that while career opportunities for women in the booming Alberta resource industry are very positive, social attitudes are the slowest part of the job equation to change. While women are gaining senior technical and management positions, lingering social stereotypes and outdated exclusionary practices continue to exist, and women continue to have to work to overcome them. Despite these challenges, a majority of women geoscientists interviewed in the study are experiencing or have experienced fulfilling and financially rewarding careers.
Personal images in second language teacher development: Exploration of a reflective teaching tool
Keywords: English language, Study and teaching
Teachers, Training of
Reflective teaching, Study and teaching

The participants, who are teachers of adult ESL, were invited to explore a creative and collaborative reflective teaching tool. After raising our awareness to our personal images and implicit beliefs about teaching and learning, each participant was invited to state a concern that was applicable to a professional issue. Together, we addressed each concern and created actions plans by exploring the reflective tool under investigation. This qualitative study illustrates the temporal nature of professional development within an embedded narrative framework that embodies the experienced knowledge of second language teachers. Responses from two participants were collected at four workshops and two interviews and each of their responses correspond to one or more dimensions in the narrative framework. From a holistic perspective, these texts locate the participants and their experiences with this study at a particular place and time, while also exhibiting the multi-faceted nature of reflective teaching.
Growing up Canadian: language, culture, and identity among second-generation Chinese youths in Canada
Keywords: Chinese, Canada

This dissertation empirically describes the emerging patterns of incorporation in terms of language, culture, and identity among second-generation Chinese youths growing up in Canada. The theoretical focus of my study is to (1) identify the limitations of conventional assimilation theory and (2) explore the applicability of “segmented assimilation theory” in studying the second-generation incorporation in Canada. In addition, in order to understand the mechanism by which non zero-sum bicultural form of adaptation becomes prevalent among the contemporary second-generation youths, I pay special attention to the role of ethnic socialization by parents and friends as well as network variety of friends. The findings suggest that the patterns and extent of incorporation vary among second-generation Chinese youths in Canada; conventional assimilation theory cannot fully explain this variation. In terms of language, the rate and the patterns of the shift toward English monolingualism depend on the interactive effect of parental socioeconomic resources and community context, as suggested in segmented assimilation theory. Those children from lower income families in cities with a higher Chinese immigrant concentration tend to show a selective mode of acculturation. Children from higher income families will become English monolinguals at a higher rate regardless of community context. In terms of culture, the current study also finds that acculturation does not necessarily take place at the expense of ethnic culture as suggested in conventional assimilation theory. As long as second-generation youths are surrounded by parents and friends who can influence their ethnic retention, their incorporation can take place in an additive and bicultural form. The results strongly suggest that cultural incorporation is a network mediated process and we need to look at social relations in which the second-generation youths are embedded in order to understand the persistence of biculturalism. In terms of identity, the results show that there is a manifestation of binational hyphenated-Canadian identity among the second-generation Chinese.
An inquiry into concept mapping as a form of pre-task planning in adult Japanese ESL learners' essay writing
Keywords: English language, Study and teaching
English language, Rhetoric
English language, Writing

This study investigated concept mapping as a form of pre-task planning in ESL (English as a Second Language) learners' writing performance. I observed during regular class periods the writing practices of 3 adult Japanese learners enrolled in a writing program at a private ESL school in Toronto. I then analyzed 4 of the learners' compositions written with and without concept mapping, using measures of accuracy, complexity, fluency and following Hamp-Lyons' (1991) holistic measures. I examined through a questionnaire, retrospective interview and logs the students' applications of the strategy in their writing processes. Pre-task planning was associated positively with the overall measures of the learners' written production during in-class compositions, except for accuracy. However, each learner made unique applications of the concept mapping strategy in their writing processes, suggesting that concept mapping may help ESL learners improve their composing but in unique ways according to individual experience, motivation, and task conditions.
Demonstrations of faith: Religious and political identity among feminist activists in North America
Keywords: Religion

This dissertation investigates political and religious identity for social justice activists, centering on women who identify both as political activists and as feminist Neo-Pagans, Catholics or United Church Protestants. Methodologically, the research is based on ethnographic interview material from individuals who understand their activism as religiously motivated and participant-observation within these three religious communities. This project places such activists in historical context as religiously motivated advocates for social change and discusses what their actions reveal about the public significance of religion in the pluralistic context of North America. This work engages many scholarly conversations, including anthropology of religion, ritual studies, political science, gender and equity studies, ethics, North American religious history, and new religious movements.
An Embedded Fibre Optic Sensor for Impact Damage Detection in Composite Materials
Keywords: composite material
optical fibre
optical fiber
aircraft composite structure
damage detection
Kevlar/epoxy
low energy impact
impact analysis
optical fibre sensor
backlighting
image processing
image enhancement
non-destructive evaluation
NDE

A structurally embedded fibre optic damage detection sensor for composite materials is described. The system is designed specifically for the detection of barely visible damage resulting from low-velocity impacts in Kevlar-epoxy laminates. By monitoring the light transmission properties of optical fibre embedded in the composite, it has been shown that the integrity of the material can be accurately determined. The effect of several parameters on the sensitivity of the system has been investigated, including the effect of the optical fibre orientation and depth of embedding within the composite. A novel surface treatment has also been developed for the optical fibres to ensure they will fracture at the requisite damage level. The influence of the optical fibre sensors on the tensile and compressive material properties and on the impact resistance of the laminate has also been studied. Extensive experimental results from impact tests are reported and a numerical model of the impact event is presented which is able to predict and model the damage mechanism and sensor system. A new and powerful method of nondestructive evaluation for translucent composite materials based on image enhanced backlighting is also described.
On the Lengths of Proofs In The Propositional Calculus
Keywords: Applied Sciences

Just as P = NP if and only if some NP-complete set ; is a member of P, the class NP is closed under complementation if and only if the complement of some NP- complete set is a member of NP. This in turn leads to the fact that NP is closed under complementa~ion if and only if there exists a system for proving tautologies of the propositional calculus in which each tautology has a (polynomial-time verifiable) proof whose length is no greater than some fixed polynomial in ; the length of the tautology. Such a system is called a polynornial-bqunded verification system. Most of the important proof systems for the propositional calculus that have been proposed in the literature have been investigated, and two types of results are reported. The first are simulation results that show that if one system is polynomial-bounded, then the simulating system is also polynomial-bounded. Such simulations are shown for all Frege systems (called "Hilbert -type" systems by Kleene), natural deduction systems, and Gentzen systems with cut. Frege system with the substitution rule simulate all other systems studied. The second type of results are lower bounds, where certain systems are shown not to be polynomial-bounded. Lower bounds are reported for regular resolution, semantic trees, analytic tableaux, and other systems, and Tseitin's lower bound for regular resolution is improved and applied to certain systems of regular resolution with limited extension.
Antibacterial effectiveness of a final rinse with MTAD and intracanal medication with 2% chlorhexidine gel in teeth with apical periodontitis
Keywords: dental care

This randomized-controlled and double-blinded clinical study assessed the antibacterial efficacy of (1) final rinse with BioPure™MTAD™, and (2) intracanal-medication with 2% chlorhexidine gel (CHX) in teeth with apical periodontitis in consenting humans. Thirty teeth were chemomechanically prepared using NaOCl, then rinsed with MTAD, or coloured saline. Bacteriological samples were obtained from canals before preparation (IA), after preparation (1B), and after the final rinse (1C). After 7d medication with CHX canals were flushed, sampled (2A), further irrigated and re-sampled (2B). Bacteria were enumerated by colony-forming-unit (CFU) counts after 14d incubation and epifluorescence-microscopy. High counts in 1A samples were >99% lower in 1B samples. Lower counts in 1B, 1C, 2A and 2B samples were not significantly different from each other. Microscopic counts were higher than CFU counts. A final rinse with MTAD and intracanal-medication with CHX did not reduce bacterial counts in infected canals beyond levels achieved by chemomechanical preparation using NaOCl.
Duality and the problem of moral self -awareness in Dostoevsky's “Dvoinik” (“The Double”)
Keywords: Language
literature and linguistics
Dostoyevsky, Fyodor
Duality
Dvoinik
Moral self-awareness
Russia

This dissertation investigates the problem of duality as it relates to the moral situation of the protagonist of F. M. Dostoevsky's novella Dvoinik (The Double, 1846). Bearing the cultural and literary heritage as well as contemporary social realities of mid-nineteenth century Russia steadily in mind, I analyse the duality motif in Dvoinik in terms of the protagonist's self-consciousness [samosoznanie ] and moral perceptions. In particular, the moral ideas that underpin his self-definitions are products of what I refer to as moral self-awareness . In the course of my analysis, I interrogate the modulations of moral reasoning in the mind of the protagonist to show how his perceptions and discourse create moral categories, which in turn motivate his contradictory self-definitions and behaviours. In view of this conflict, I argue that the protagonist's will to succeed in the civil bureaucratic order of nineteenth-century Petersburg is incompatible with his implicit need to find moral rectitude. Ego-driven motivations provide contrapuntal tensions to exacerbate his experience of inner division. At the same time, his view of himself as a moral being is obscured by mystified understandings of 'honour' and 'chivalry,' which he has adapted from popular lore and mimicry of the discursive conventions of privileged society. Where social humanism and philosophical Idealism inform the moral issues under examination, their projections through the paired lenses of ego psychology and myth ultimately show dual consciousness to hinge on the problem of moral self-awareness. Finally, with reference to Dostoevsky's notebook drafts, personal correspondence and literary journalism, I examine the author's plans for revision of Dvoinik in the early 1860s. I view these developments as evidence of the crystallization of Dostoevsky's idea of the 'underground type,' a term he applied to the hero of Dvoinik as prototype after recasting the role in Zapiski iz podpol'ia (Notes from Underground , 1864). In my conclusion, the protagonist of the latter work exhibits greater conscious understanding of the tensions between ego motivations and innate strivings for moral truth; yet he fails, in the end, to overcome the dualistic divide between the rational mind and the transrational pursuit of higher spiritual meaning and purpose.
An assessment of interproximal crestal bone topography and gingival papilla morphology adjacent to sintered porous-surfaced dental implants
Keywords: Dental care

Background. The relationships between crestal bone topography and implant positioning on interproximal soft tissue morphology adjacent to sintered porous-surfaced (SPS) dental implants were investigated. Methods. Assessment of implant position and osseous topography of 102 SPS implants was conducted using digitized standardized radiographs and interpreted with computer software. Gingival papilla morphology was assessed using the Jemt Papillary index from digital photos. Results. The mean bli (bone level-to-implant) was 1.00 mm. The retention of mid-proximal crestal bone height (pcl ) was optimal at a horizontal inter-implant distance (hiid ) of >4 mm or a horizontal implant-to-tooth distance (hitd ) of >1.5 mm. Neither contact point distance nor pcl effected gingival papillae form. Papilla morphology appeared to be influenced most by horizontal distance and the adjacent tooth bone height. Conclusion. Optimal gingival papilla form adjacent to SPS implants appears to rely mainly on: (1) the horizontal distance and (2) the osseous support of the adjacent tooth.
Time-Resolved Optical Kerr Effect Spectroscopy by Four-Wave Mixing
Keywords: Physics

The time-resolved optical Kerr effect (TR-OKE) experiment is commonly used for spectroscopy of very fast molecular motions in fluids. The four-wave mixing formalism of nonlinear optics is used here to obtain complete, general expressions for TR-OKE signals in terms of the third-order nonlinear susceptibility. These expressions are obtained for both the usual and optically heterodyned detection schemes, and are independent of models of molecular motions. The susceptibility is then derived for a model of a fluid of librating molecules, and combined with the susceptibility for instantaneous (electronic) response. This allows prediction, in the Born-Oppenheimer approximation, of the specific forms of the signals from experiments. Kerr experiments on carbon disulphide are performed and the results compared with the predictions. The analysis is found to predict all the features of the experiments, including effects of coherence and incompletely modelocked pulses. Precise comparison of experiment and theory is possible because heterodyne signals are linear in the third-order susceptibility. The in-phase detection experiment is shown to be an especially sensitive test for models of molecular motion because of the high amount of structure intrinsic in the signal. The analysis in terms of the nonlinear susceptibility also allows easy comparison with other nonlinear optics and light scattering experiments. Overall, this represents a significant increase in the understanding of the TR-OKE experiment, and promotes it to major importance amongst techniques for studying molecular motion in fluids.
Fcγ receptor signaling in response to soluble versus immobilized IgG
Keywords: Health and environmental sciences
immunology

Fcγ receptors present on monocytes and macrophages clear pathogens engaged by antibodies through the process of endocytosis. Upon being clustered by immune complexes, Fcγ receptors initiate signaling that lead to cellular activation and cytokine secretion, processes that are likely terminated upon receptor internalization and subsequent degradation. In many disease states, however, Fcγ receptors encounter their ligands in the tissue deposited form that cannot be readily internalized. In this project, we examined kinetics of Erk 1/2 phosphorylation and TNF-α secretion in enriched human primary monocytes in response to stimulation of Fcγ receptors by soluble heat aggregated IgG or plastic surface-bound IgG, to mimic immune complexes and tissue-deposited IgG, respectively. Soluble aggregated IgG induced transient and robust signaling, leading to peak levels of phospho-Erk 1/2 by 15 minutes and TNF-α secretion by 1 hour, in contrast to surface-bound IgG, which caused sustained signaling lasting for hours, supporting the hypothesis that signal termination is dependent upon receptor internalization.