VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Key Insights into Permeable Interlocking Concrete Pavement: Measuring, Mimicking and Mitigating Clogging
Keywords: Clogging
Hydraulic Conductivity
Low Impact Development
Maintenance
Permeable Pavement
Surface Infiltration Rate

Permeable Interlocking Concrete Pavements (PICPs) are a Low Impact Development technology designed to mimic natural pathways and control rainfall events at the source. As these pavements age, sediments accumulate within their permeable joints, causing them to clog and lose their capacity to infiltrate stormwater. Maintenance of PICPs is a critical practice to ensure long-term functionality. This thesis evaluates restorative maintenance practices for PICP and investigates how sediment characteristics influence clogging processes. To achieve this goal, a novel accelerated clogging method was developed, tested and applied in both field and laboratory experiments. Standardizing clogging methodologies will allow researchers to translate laboratory results more easily into actionable maintenance plans for operational pavements and allow for direct evaluations of new maintenance technologies. The accelerated clogging method was used to evaluate different restorative maintenance techniques, including three street sweeper technologies, a specialized high pressurized air and vacuum technology intended specifically for PICP maintenance and manual pressure washing followed by vacuuming. Each technology restored infiltration rates to above 2,000 mm/hr; however, only the specialized equipment restored infiltration rates to post-construction conditions. When the specialized equipment was re-tested for maintenance capabilities on a surface clogged with on-site (cohesive) soils, it could only restore infiltration rates to approximately 50% post-construction conditions. Lastly, the regenerative air sweeper was retested for early and repeated maintenance, which increased the effective lifespan of the PICP but was unable to prevent eventually clogging of the surface. In a parallel laboratory study, PICP clogging and surface infiltration losses were observed when varying material gradation and type using the same accelerated clogging procedure and exposing the surfaces to cycled wetting and drying. PICPs cells that were clogged with well-graded and cohesive materials lost their surface infiltration rates more rapidly compared to cells clogged non-cohesive or poorly graded materials. Well-graded clogging material allowed coarse sediments to cause early blockages and fine sediments to accumulate near the surface. Simultaneously cohesive sediments agglomerated together, forming a surface crust and attraction to water, limiting the amount of water permeation through the clogged joints leading to decreased infiltration rates.
Function-Space Bayesian Learning: from Gaussian Processes to Bayesian Deep Learning
Keywords: Bayesian Deep Learning
Bayesian Methods
Gaussian Process
Machine Learning
Uncertainty Estimation

Bayesian methods provide a general and principled framework to quantify and update beliefs based on prior knowledge and observed evidence. This thesis presents my works about function-space Bayesian learning, whose priors and posteriors are specified and computed over the function-space. This thesis first focuses on Gaussian processes (GPs), a family of traditional function-space Bayesian models. To learn a suitable kernel for the GP prior, I propose a neural network structure that computes expressive kernel compositions. Because this structure is fully differentiable, we can learn the prior kernel from data with end-to-end gradient-based optimization. Moreover, I propose a new variational GP approximation to address computational bottlenecks in variational Gaussian processes. This variational GP achieves substantial improvement in computational complexity and approximates the true posterior with high fidelity. In the next part, I propose a general framework for function-space Bayesian learning that goes beyond GPs. I apply this framework in Bayesian deep learning and demonstrate its ability to train Bayesian neural networks with interpretable function-space priors. Furthermore, by exploiting a function-space perspective, I show that the hidden units in neural networks can be viewed as inter-domain inducing points so that I can draw an equivalence between finite neural networks and sparse Gaussian processes. In the last part, I employ Bayesian models for online memory selection and improve the robustness against imbalanced data streams in continual learning. Finally, I summarize the thesis and discuss potential future directions.
The 1841, 1851, and Mahler Versions of Robert Schumann's Symphony No. 4 in D Minor: A Comparative Investigation into Cyclic Form and Dramatic Structure
Keywords: 1841 1851 Mahler Version Schumann op. 120
Gustav Mahler
Reorchestration
Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann Symphony No. 4
Three Versions of Schumann's Symphony No. 4

While past studies have provided a general comparison of the three versions ofSchumann’s Fourth Symphony, or a more detailed account of orchestrational variances among the first movement(s), this thesis addresses the first and the fourth movements, primarily from a form-functional perspective, and secondarily in terms of dramatic structure / Steigerung characteristics. From a conductor’s perspective, the study informs the formal and expressive clarity of each version’s broad “four-in-one” design. It also evaluates a somewhat more subjective matter, which is the effectiveness of each version’s dramatic transformation from dark and heavy to light and exuberant: a process that manifests most prominently across the duration of the Finale. The dissertation’s first section deals with the first movement in five parts. It reveals that the 1851 version, though lacking the transparency and contrapuntal variety of the original, creates a more expressive higher-level exposition of the work’s melodic content. Moreover, Schumann’s revised final sections clearly depict an evaded reprise for the movement, while the original is less resolute in this characterization. As a result, Schumann’s revision more compellingly points to the Finale for the powerful arrival of the work’s higher-level recapitulation. Mahler’s first movement, in turn, surpasses the 1851 version in creating the clearest large-scale exposition of thematic content, and the most vivid depiction of recapitulatory evasion. The study’s second section focuses on the transition to the Finale and the Finale’s main theme, the subordinate theme, development, elements of recapitulation, and the coda sections. The investigation reveals that the 1841 version forms the least powerful high-level recapitulatory confirmation at the start of the Finale; and, as it is consistent with a relatively light aesthetic across the movement, the least vivid depiction of “relaxant” transformation by the end of the symphony. By contrast, Schumann’s revision creates the strongest large-scale reprise, and expresses the greatest “relaxant” transformation across the movement. Mahler’s version, despite possessing a wonderful Steigerung in the transition to the Finale, actually displaces intensity from the start of the Finale to its end. This ultimately undermines the symphony’s recapitulatory climax, and re-shapes the dramatic narrative to emphasize heroic brilliance at the work’s end.
Strongly Interacting Fermions in a Multi-orbital Optical Lattice
Keywords: Degenerate Fermi Gas
Feshbach Resonance
p-wave interactions
Quantum Optics
Quantum Simulation
Ultracold Atoms

This dissertation discusses the experimental study of strong fermionic interactions in an optical lattice. Ultracold samples of $^{40}$K are prepared in an intricate experimental platform using the combination of various optical and evaporative cooling techniques. The atoms are adiabatically loaded into an optical lattice to realize isolated pair states. Various tools for the coherent manipulation of spin and orbital degrees of freedom of the atoms in the lattice are developed. The inter-particle interactions between pairs are tuned using magnetic Feshbach resonances. Spectroscopic measurements of resonantly enhanced and controllable s-wave and p-wave interaction energies are reported. The measurements extend to the unitary limit of interactions characterized by diverging scattering lengths and universal observables. These measurements show excellent agreements to an exact solution for two harmonically confined atoms interacting via a pseudopotential and numerical solutions using an \textit{ab initio} interaction potential. For p-wave interactions, exquisite experimental control is demonstrated by measuring Rabi oscillations between non-interacting and strongly interacting atomic pairs, which are used to accurately measure highly sensitive properties such as the two-body wavefunction overlap. With the full suppression of three-body loss processes, the lifetime of p-wave interacting pairs is investigated. The experiments demonstrate that losses of p-wave interacting pairs are limited by the intrinsic lifetime of the free-space molecular dimer, resulting in the observation of lifetimes that are fifty times larger than previous measurements in $^{40}$K. The observation, control, and comprehensive understanding of strong fermionic interactions demonstrated in this thesis illuminate a path towards the assembly of new many-body states of matter.
On the Manufacturing, Characterization, and Optimization of Melt-stretched Honeycombs
Keywords: honeycomb
optimization
rheology
sandwich panel
thermoplastic

Melt-stretching is a process by which a polymer melt expanded between a set of perforated platens can be made to self-arrange into a honeycomb sandwich panel with integrated face sheets. The resulting architectures are dependent on numerous process inputs including the air ingress locations, the stretching speed and distance, and the rheological properties of the polymer melt. Strain hardening in the polymer melt has been identified as a key factor to enable such honeycombs to form, as well as to determine their non-constant web thickness in both the in-plane and out-of-plane directions. The mechanical behaviour of melt-stretched honeycombs can be understood as a hybridization of a conventional constant-thickness honeycomb with an array of columns at the locations where webs intersect; the significant corner fillets created in this process concentrate structural material at the web junctions. Depending on its relative density and internal material distribution, a melt-stretched honeycomb may exhibit a variety of competing failure modes including plastic collapse and elastic buckling. The varieties of non-uniform material distribution accessible through the melt-stretching process were generally found to reduce mass-specific strength and stiffness in the loading paradigms evaluated. Polymers which produced honeycombs of near-constant web thickness were therefore found to be preferable for lightweight structural applications. Webs in a melt-stretched honeycomb panel can be positioned by manipulating the air ingress locations to tune the mechanical responses of the structure. An evolutionary algorithm was developed for this purpose and showed good effect over a range of design cases. Through many iterations of random change and selective screening, improvements in mass-specific stiffness have been demonstrated on the order of 10% compared to generic honeycombs of the same mass and geometry. Melt-stretching has thus been shown to offer a novel design freedom that is infeasible by conventional honeycomb manufacturing processes.
How Do Work-Family Policies Shape Parents’ Time with Children?
Keywords: Family
Fatherhood
Paternity leave
Remote work
Time use
Work-family policy

Parents’ time devoted to unpaid care for their children remains persistently gendered and is a key driver of gender inequality at home and work. At the same time, both mothers and fathers report a strong desire for more time with children, driven by norms prescribing an intensification of parenthood. These care pressures may be alleviated by work-family policy, an institutional tool that provides financial and normative imperatives for (re)shaping gendered arrangements of paid work and unpaid care. This dissertation explores how work-family policies aimed at or available to fathers – reserved paternity leave and workplace flexibility – shape parents’ time with children in Canada and the United States. These three chapters innovate on the conceptualization of parent-child time, considering a broader scope of time (total co-present time) and the co-presence of the other parent (solo versus family time). First, I examine how a state-provided reserved paternity leave policy in the quasi-experimental setting of Québec impacts fathers’ and mothers’ time with children. This policy led to a plausibly causal increase in fathers’ “responsibility time,” i.e., solo parenting time across activities when co-present with children. Similarly, this policy led to a plausibly causal increase in mothers’ solo parenting time in routine childcare, likely because of a corresponding decrease in housework time. Second, looking at employer-provided policy, I investigate how workplace flexibility policies are associated with fathers’ time with children in the United States. Flextime (control over start and stop times) and flexplace (work from home or remote work) are associated with increased “family” time with children – when the mother is also present – across activities. Taken together, these studies show that work-family policies aimed at or accessed by fathers can reshape gendered arrangements of unpaid care for children. However, this depends on the policy design (near-universal, state-provided reserved paternity leave versus selective, employer-provided flexibility policies) and the dimensions of parent-child time examined (total co-present time; solo or family time). Ultimately, this dissertation expands knowledge on and presents methodological considerations for the relationship between work-family policies and parent-child time, with key implications for family well-being and gender inequality.
“A Rough Road to the Stars”: Exploring Resilience Through Overcoming the Trauma of Anti-Black Racism
Keywords: Anti-Black racism
Black Canadians
Canada
Race
Racial trauma
Resilience/resistance

ABSTRACT Over the last decade, there has been growing body of research and scholarship exploring the experiences of anti-Black racism and its effects on Black Canadians. However, there seems to be little or no research that looks at the ways in which Black Canadians mediate the negative effects of anti-Black racism from a strengths-based perspective. Much of the literature is deficit-based and appears to address ways in which Black individuals survive but does not describe how they are able to thrive. The present study was conducted to explore how Black Canadians mediate the potential negative mental health effects (specifically racial stress or racial trauma) of anti-Black racism. A constructivist grounded theory methodology was used. Ten (10) Black Canadians in the GTA (Greater Toronto area, including Toronto) were interviewed on their experiences of anti-Black racism. Four core themes emerged from the interview data: awareness and understanding of anti-Black racism; experiences of anti-Black racist incidents; the effects of anti-Black racist experiences; and mediating the impacts of anti-black racism through resilience/resistance. The results of the study illustrated the nuanced, multi-layered, and diverse experiences of Black Canadians and how they navigate and make sense of ‘everyday racism’. This study posits that there needs to be a critical awareness of the relationship between white supremacy and anti-Blackness within the Canadian context if anti-Black racism is to be psychologically understood and engaged with. A mid-level theory illustrating the ways in which Black Canadians mediate the negative effects of anti-Black racist incidents arose from the data. Implications for theory, research and practice in counselling and psychotherapy are offered. Recommendations for a de-colonized, culturally specific, and trauma-informed therapeutic approach are also offered. The study’s limitations are discussed. Key words and Phrases: Anti-Black Racism, Anti-Black Racist Incidents, Racial Trauma, Mediate, Resilience/Resistance, Black Canadians, Race, Canada
A Glucose Meter Interface for Point-of-care Gene Circuit-based Diagnostics
Keywords: Diagnostics
Gene circuit
Glucose meter
Synthetic biology
Toehold switch
Trehalase

Synthetic biological systems have increasingly been applied to the field of diagnostics due to their unique and often highly sensitive detection capabilities. Of particular interest is their potential application towards point-of-care diagnostics because of their low cost and speed. However, such systems have been limited in their adoption for these purposes, in part due to the use of standard laboratory output signals such as fluorescence, which may not be suitable for low-cost and distributable diagnostics. Here, I describe the development of a glucose-based gene circuit output which can be measured using a standard personal glucose meter, a widely available device used by millions of people with diabetes. This glucogenic output is adaptable to different gene circuits, can be used in the creation of diagnostic systems, and includes multiplexing potential. Further, this work describes the additional necessary components needed in a distributable diagnostic system, including isothermal target amplification and sample preparation, and their synthesis into an effective assay.
Exploring the Developmental Experiences of Youth Athletes During the Transition to Competitive Sport
Keywords: Development
Parents
Psychosocial
Sport
Transitions
Youth

The purpose of this dissertation was to study athletes’ experiences during a year in which they have the potential to transition from recreational to competitive sport. Two studies are presented in this dissertation to support this aim. Study 1 was a scoping review of positive youth development through sport and athletic transition research and aimed to investigate how theory has informed research in these two bodies of literature. 207 articles and dissertations were included, and data was extracted according to Sandelowski’s (1993) conceptualization of the uses, centrality, and function of theory in research. Main findings included: a limited body of literature that had examined youth athletes’ experiences of transitioning into the athletic pathway; the breadth of developmental and non-developmental theoretical frameworks that have informed youth sport research; and that theories are predominantly used in a peripheral, rather than central manner to introduce youth sport as a developmental context, or to explain findings related to research outcomes. Study 2 was an example of how youth sport transitions can be studied from a developmental approach. Seven parent-child dyads took part in a longitudinal (one year), mixed methods case study to explore how children’s transitions in sport influenced, and were influenced by, their psychosocial development. Children were aged between 8 and 12 (M = 10 years, SD = 1.3 years) and parents were aged between 42 and 51 (M = 44.9 years, SD = 5.1 years) at the start of the study. Participants completed measures of sports experiences, self-perceptions, and social competencies, as well as qualitative interviews at three timepoints during their potential transition. Results were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis and quantitative data was visually inspected in Microsoft Excel. Themes explore children’s experiences related to their self-perceptions and social comparisons during the transition. Additional themes include the impact of physical maturation and the Covid-19 Pandemic for children’s transitions in sport. Collectively, the studies included in this dissertation contribute a novel approach to reviewing youth sport research (namely, by analyzing the use of theory), and documented some of the psychosocial skills that are relevant when studying transitions among youth samples.
Drought in the Canadian Forest Fire Danger Rating System
Keywords: boreal forest
drought
fire danger
fuel moisture
remote sensing
wildland fire

The Canadian Forest Fire Danger Rating System (CFFDRS) is the cornerstone of contemporary fire management in Canada. Although the System is conceptually robust there are known issues, primarily based on limitations that existed over the last 75 years of its development. One area with many known questions is the Drought Code (DC). Within fire operations management the DC is primarily used to indicate when potential suppression issues may occur, due to burning in deeper, denser fuels that typically take longer to dry but which, once dry, can sustain deep and prolonged burning. The DC is also used to carry-over drought from one fire season to the next, when drought conditions are present. Unlike the other moisture codes in the Fire Weather Index System (a sub-system of the CFFDRS), there is much ambiguity around the DC, what it represents, how it should be interpreted and validated, and how and when it should be used to carry the accumulated moisture deficit from one fire season into the next. This latter question is more relevant than ever as we enter into an era where the effects of climate change are becoming apparent. The central goal of this thesis is to clarify some of these common operational questions through the analysis of historic fire and weather data, and new field observed moisture data. The study area included select regions within the provinces of Alberta and Ontario. Results from the thesis identify some of the sources of bias in the DC values and provide recommendations to reduce that bias. It also tested and validated new methods of soil moisture monitoring, including electronic moisture probes and land surface models. In doing so, best practices were identified that can be readily incorporated operationally to reduce errors. Where shortcomings in the science were found that limit operational use, recommendations were made to identify potential solutions needed to move the science forward. These findings will help ensure that these technologies will eventually be available for regular use in fire management and the findings herein will improve our understanding of drought and how to better represent it in the Next-Generation CFFDRS.