VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Luminosity Studies and a Search for Heavy Resonances Decaying into a Pair of Z Bosons with the ATLAS Detector
Keywords: ATLAS Experiment
Beyond the Standard Model
CERN
High Energy Physics
Large Hadron Collider

Many theories beyond the Standard Model predict additional, heavy Higgs bosons or other resonances. This thesis presents a search for such new states decaying into a pair of Z bosons. Two final states are considered, corresponding to the X → ZZ → ℓℓℓℓ and X → ZZ → ℓℓνν decay channels, where X stands for the hypothetical heavy resonance and ℓ stands for either an electron or muon, with the focus of this thesis on the ℓℓℓℓ channel. The search uses proton–proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of sqrt(s) = 13 TeV collected between 2015 and 2018 by the ATLAS detector during Run 2 of the Large Hadron Collider, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb−1. Different mass ranges spanning from 200 GeV to 2000 GeV for the hypothetical resonances are considered, depending on the final state and model. No significant excess over Standard Model predictions is observed, therefore the results are interpreted as upper limits on the production cross section of a spin-0 or spin-2 resonance under a number of benchmark scenarios. In the case of a spin-0 resonance, the observed upper limits on the production cross section times branching ratio at 95% confidence level are between 215 fb and 2.0 fb for the gluon–gluon fusion production mode, and between 87 fb and 1.5 fb for the vector-boson fusion production mode. These results are also interpreted in the context of Type-I and Type-II two-Higgs-doublet models, and are used to constrain the Randall–Sundrum model with an extra dimension giving rise to spin-2 Kaluza–Klein graviton excitations, which are excluded up to a mass of 1830 GeV at 95% confidence level. This thesis also presents studies of a novel luminosity-monitoring technique used for evaluating the systematic uncertainties of a track-counting luminosity algorithm used in the nominal calibration of the primary ATLAS luminosity measurement provided by the LUCID detector. This new luminosity algorithm, called LAr energy flow, exploits the observation that the average amount of energy deposited in the liquid-argon calorimeters per bunch crossing is proportional to the instantaneous luminosity. The energy-flow luminosity is evaluated in a set of special pp runs in 2017 and 2018, and is compared against track counting to evaluate their relative nonlinearity, with the two algorithms agreeing to within 0.5% in fills with sufficiently isolated bunches.
The Impact of Domestically Violent Fathers on Childrens Social-emotional Development: Beyond Domestic Violence Perpetration
Keywords: Domestic violence
Fathering
Fathers
Intimate partner violence
Social-emotional development

A clear majority of children exposed to father-perpetrated domestic violence (DV) continue to have contact or live with fathers, yet beyond describing the impact of child exposure to father-perpetrated domestic violence (CEDV) on children, little research has investigated domestically violent men as fathers. This dissertation contributes to this scant literature. Study 1 investigated potential mediators of the relationship between CEDV and child social-emotional outcomes. Participants were fathers with a history of DV (n = 123) and a comparison group of non-violent fathers (n =101). Results showed that paternal depression, hostility, and coparenting difficulties significantly mediated the relationship between child exposure to DV and child internalizing and externalizing difficulties. Rejection was significantly correlated only with child externalizing difficulties and did not function as a mediator. Paternal over-reactivity and laxness were not significantly correlated with DV perpetration or child social-emotional outcomes. Study 2 presents a multiple hierarchical linear regression to determine whether there was a significant relationship between fathers’ history of DV, amount of father-child contact, and child social-emotional difficulties amongst fathers with (n = 124) and without (n = 101) a history of DV. Significant mediators identified in Study 1 were entered as covariates, as was child gender. Controlling for these paternal difficulties, there was a main effect of DV status such that fathers’ history of domestic violence was associated with more internalizing difficulties for children. All other effects were not significant. Study 3 used a longitudinal cross-lagged panel model to investigate the relationship between CEDV fathers’ (n = 39) parenting and coparenting over the course of an intervention program for DV fathers. Two hypotheses for how parenting and coparenting may be related were tested, including 1) the spillover hypothesis which predicted that higher levels of parenting difficulty would ‘spill over’ into the coparenting relationship and predict higher levels of coparenting difficulties and 2) the protective mothering hypothesis, which predicted that improvements in CEDV fathers’ warmth would predict increased healthy coparenting over time. Results showed the protective mothering model was a good fit for the data; the spillover hypothesis was not.
An Agent-based Freight Business and Logistics Decisions Simulation - FREBUILDS
Keywords: agent-based modelling
carrier type
location choice
shipment size
urban freight
vehicle type

This dissertation focuses on agent-based microsimulation urban freight transportation modelling. Urban freight models are classified based on multiple dimensions of freight transportation. A conceptual framework of an agent-based urban freight model is developed. The framework integrates key business and logistics decisions, from short- to long-term, made by firms. Some of the modelling components of the framework are estimated for the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area. This dissertation contains four empirical studies that are part of the conceptual framework of the urban freight model. The first study focuses on long-term business decisions and estimates an establishment location choice model that incorporates intra-firm interactions. The next three studies focus on key logistics decisions that are part of the shipment formation decisions. The first of these studies estimates models of freight transportation outsourcing and vehicle type choice decisions. The two decisions are modelled independently and jointly using discrete choice methods. The second study compares machine learning and discrete choice methods for the choice of freight vehicle type. The final study, that is part of shipment formation decisions, estimates empirical models of freight vehicle type and shipment size choice. It studies the nature of the choice process i.e., sequential or joint, and recommends the appropriate modelling structure. Together with the remaining modelling components of the urban freight modelling framework, this dissertation is a first step towards operational urban freight models.
Reading (in) Speculative Fiction
Keywords: comparative literature
fantasy
literary theory
Miguel de Unamuno
science fiction
Scottish Gaelic literature

Drawing on both recent and older debates in and about literary theory, this dissertation considers the relationship between “theory” and “literary texts,” arguing that we can and should learn to read literary texts as themselves a kind of theory. More specifically, I argue that speculative fiction (that is, fantasy and science fiction) makes the theoretical aspects of literature particularly obvious: by virtue of its ability to change or circumvent the “rules of reality” that govern our day-to-day lives and the worlds and conventions of realist fiction, speculative fiction is uniquely positioned to explore theoretical questions and problems, in ways that I argue can inform our non-speculative reading and interpretive practices as literary critics. I bring together contemporary speculative fiction in English and Scottish Gaelic, published between 1976 and 2017, as well as the work of the Spanish philosopher and writer Miguel de Unamuno (1868-1936), whose fiction and theoretical writing foreground many of the questions I am interested in, in order to consider specifically both representations of reading within speculative fiction and real-world reading practices for speculative fiction. This dissertation looks at several core aspects of reading in and through speculative texts: the ontological status of fictional characters and the relations that develop between readers, writers, characters, and fictional worlds during the reading process; what I call “speculative literary criticism,” practices of interpretation that rely on the specifically speculative elements of a text (riddles, spells, prophecies, and the like); and the politics of “escape” and “escapism” in relation to the language of Gaelic science fiction. Interspersed with these critical analyses of speculative fiction are several of my own short stories that explore relevant theoretical questions through the medium of speculative fiction. Ultimately, I argue that speculative fiction both raises and can help answer significant questions about literary interpretation and open new possibilities for the practice of literary criticism.
Looking And Learning Together: Collaborative Reflection Within An Online Environment
Keywords: Collaboration
Cultural-Historical Activity Theory
DBR
Muslim Civilizations
VoiceThread

This design-based research study examines the use of an online platform (VoiceThread) to engage in collaborative reflection and learning about artifacts from Muslim cultures and civilizations within a public-school context. The research is situated within the field of learning sciences and technology design as it takes up key inquiries of the field, including the design of technology and its role in learning as well as the potential of socio-cultural views of learning, specifically Cultural-Historical Activity Theory, to provide deeper insight into complex learning environments. The study involved 37 participants from two Humanities classrooms in British Columbia, with the classroom teacher as co-designer. Learners in each class reflected on a series of uploaded images of artifacts and captured their reflections in a collaborative online environment, VoiceThread. Learners then listened to other’s reflections before revisiting the images and recording their subsequent reflections. Instructional interventions were embedded between recordings. Data collected included transcripts and video extracts of learner engagement within the environment, video recordings of learners engaging with the software and hardware (iPads), pre-post questionnaires with learners and interviews with the classroom teacher. Findings provided evidence of ways in which the online environment supported collaborative learning, however, the data showed that the impact of reflection in this learning was limited as there was little interrogation of learners’ own or peers’ perceptions of the artefacts they were observing. Findings also provided evidence that the affordances of both the software (VoiceThread) and the hardware being used (iPads) did support learners in developing their understandings, however, learners did not consistently engage with these affordances. Over time, and together with the support of instructional interventions built into learners’ engagement with VoiceThread as well as ongoing engagement with each of the artifacts, learners did acquire a deeper knowledge of the artifacts and of historical processes. The evidence also brought attention to how learners from Muslim contexts and communities developed confidence to speak and learn about their heritage cultures.
Elucidating the Interactive Effects of Climate Change and Invasive Species Using a Lotic Fish Species Pair
Keywords: Climate Change
Invasive Species
Round Goby
Thermal Ecology

Climate change is a primary threat to freshwater biodiversity, negatively affecting the structure and functioning of ecosystems. Freshwater fishes are particularly vulnerable to climate change due to their ectothermy and constrained dispersal ability within dendritic networks. Through shifting environmental conditions, the frequency of species invasions increases, as increased levels of disturbance are known to destabilize ecosystems and create niche space filled by generally adaptable invasive competitors. Although the impacts of invaders through predation and competition with native species are well documented, these processes are largely context- dependent, and shifting thermal and hydrological regimes caused by climate change may limit our ability to make generalized predictions of invasive species impacts to native competitors. Therefore, this thesis examines the context-dependencies of interactions between invasive Round Goby and native White Sucker under shifting environmental conditions. These species were chosen because of the ecological importance of White Sucker to lotic environments and its recent decline, hypothesized to be the result of benthic niche overlap with Round Goby, which may be exacerbated by changing climatic conditions. I tested the prediction that per capita effects of invading species are higher at temperatures that approach a species’ thermal optima, which reflect projected water temperatures and flows in the Great Lakes under climate change. I demonstrate that there is a competitive interaction between these species - the trophic niche of Round Goby significantly overlaps with White Sucker, which expands its prey selectivity to compensate for increased competition. Utilizing field thermal maximum and laboratory feeding experiments, I demonstrate that competition between these species is expected to increase under climate change. As the Round Goby continues to invade Lake Ontario tributaries under climate change, there will be increasing competition with White Sucker for prey items and thermally suitable habitat.
The Role of Geometric and Mechanical Properties in Bird-beak Configuration Formation in Thoracic Endovascular Aneurysm Repair
Keywords: Aneurysm
Aorta
Computational simulation
Finite element method
TEVAR

Thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) is a minimally invasive treatment for thoracic aortic conditions including aneurysms and is associated with a number of postoperative stent graft related complications. Bird-beak configuration is a wedge-shaped gap at the proximal end of the deployed stent graft in TEVAR that leads to incomplete seal and other complications such as type Ia endoleak (failure of proximal stent graft seal). In this study it is hypothesized that the geometric and mechanical properties of aorta and stent graft contribute to bird-beak. This study proposes a novel framework for creating realistic population-based computational models of TEVAR focused on aneurysms that allow for developing various clinically relevant geometric configurations and scenarios that are not easily attainable with limited patient data. This framework is employed to conduct a sensitivity analysis on the geometric and mechanical characteristics of aorta and stent graft in relation to bird-beak formation. The most significant parameters contributing to bird-beak are identified as aortic arch angle, TEVAR landing zone, and stent graft oversizing. The computational framework is further used to investigate the impact of various stent graft design parameters on bird-beak formation through testing a number of conceptual device designs by varying several design parameters from a commercial stent graft model as the baseline for this study. A stent graft with reduced stent height and fabric gap is identified to have the most significant impact on reduction of bird-beak size. This stent graft design maintains the radial forces within an acceptable range. Furthermore, the computational models are used to simulate patient-specific TEVAR cases to verify the accuracy of the proposed framework in predicting the proximal position of deployed stent graft as well as the presence of bird-beak. The patient-specific TEVAR simulations can predict bird-beak length and angle size with less than 10 and 24% error, respectively. The findings of this study can provide insight into the surgical planning and device selection process with the goal of minimizing bird-beak formation. The proposed framework has the potential to predict bird-beak formation in TEVAR preoperatively and modify surgical plans accordingly.
A Multiplayer Target Defense Game Between Quadrotor Teams
Keywords: Counter-UAV
Differential game
Dominance region
HJI equation
Optimal control
Target defense game

The rapid development of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) has created enormous opportunities as well as emerging security risks. As increasing drone accidents and threats have been reported, the research interest in counter-UAV missions has also grown. The goal of this thesis is to find a guidance law, or a defending strategy, in a counter-UAV mission that helps a group of defenders to reach in vicinity of a group of invading drones so the latter can be intercepted before entering a target area. For the defending strategy to be robust, a conservative assumption is adopted that the invaders are also capable of optimizing the invading strategy, instead of following a predefined path. This gives rise to a target defense differential game. Because player velocities have a fundamental impact on the solution, the problem is divided into two branches, where the defenders travel faster and slower respectively. When the defenders travel faster, capture is guaranteed, therefore the focus is on how far from the target area the invaders can be captured. The proposed defending strategy is fully distributed, containing a local subgame for each defender and a task assignment problem that allocates the invaders among the defenders. The optimality of the proposed solution is extensively discussed. When the defenders travel slower, an invader can only be captured by two cooperative defenders in most situations. In addition, the defenders must recede toward the target area in exchange for a chance of capture. The optimal defending strategy is a tradeoff between the receding distance and other assisting factors, such as the cooperation from another defender, the boundary of the game region, or the topology of the target area. These three aspects are discovered and explained in the solution of three different slower-defender games. The focus of solving a slower-defender game is the defenders' winning condition that whether the invaders can be captured outside of the target area. Two methods are proposed to design a computationally effective state-feedback defending strategy to meet these winning conditions. The proposed defending strategies are validated through experiments.
Decolonize and Divest: The Changing Landscape of Oil-Sponsored Museums in Canada
Keywords: decolonization
divestment
exhibitions
museums
oil
sponsorship

This dissertation investigates the relation between oil companies and museums in Canada. I situate museums in a moment of critical change, wherein Canadian museums lead global efforts to “decolonize” – or reform the ways they engage with Indigenous stakeholders and Indigenous collections – while maintaining financial partnerships with the oil industry. With activists and cultural workers increasingly calling for museums to divest from fossil fuels in Europe and the U.S., I interrogate the reality of museum practice in two oil-sponsored museums: the Glenbow Museum in Calgary and the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau. Focusing on two museum exhibitions from different moments of Canadian history, I trace the political economic implications of industry support for cultural initiatives and highlight the granular experiences of museum professionals who work on such projects. I explore the first instance of contested oil sponsorship in a Canadian museum –The Spirit Sings: Artistic Traditions of Canada’s First Peoples (1988), sponsored by Shell – to argue that, despite community-informed reforms to collections care, exhibitions, or programming, Canada’s museum sector has neglected Indigenous groups’ early critiques of oil sponsors and their ties to land dispossession. The next case study explores the more recent Canadian History Hall (2017) – sponsored by the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers – to illustrate the contemporary manifestations of extractive interests that emerge in the development of a large, national history exhibition. Together, the historical and contemporary data I collected through archival research, interviews, and document analysis point to the complexity of justice-oriented museology in a country deeply connected to exploitative resource extraction. I argue that while there is minimal overlap between sponsors and exhibition development, the contradictions of corporate funding highlight the ongoing hegemonic function of museums. Through reflective engagement with contributions from decolonial pedagogy and museology, I propose that undertheorized aspects of museum operations, including the behind-the-scenes practices of funding, should be similarly informed by the socially engaged frameworks currently underpinning museum work in Canada.
The Noncontractile Phage Tail-like Bacterial Killing Nanomachines – Characterizing the Specificity Determinants of the F-Pyocins of Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Keywords: Bacteriocin
F-pyocin
LPS
Phage
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Specificity genes

The rise of antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains poses an enormous threat to our collective human existence; hence, there is a dire need to search for alternatives to current antibiotic treatment options. In this work, I characterized the non-contractile phage tail-like entities called F-pyocins. F-pyocins are high molecular weight bacteriocins resembling non-contractile bacteriophage tails such as E coli phage lambda of the Siphoviridae family. They are produced by many Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains and possess bactericidal activity against other strains of the same species. Structurally, F pyocins are differentiated into the tubular portion and the tail tip complex lying at the bottom of the tail. F-pyocins produced by different strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, share strong sequence similarities in the genes encoding the tubular portion, however, notable variability exists in the last six genes at the tail tip complex, collectively designated here as specificity genes. In this study, I differentiated F-pyocins into groups based on the sequence diversity in their specificity genes, which assort into two modules – modules 1 and 2, each comprising three genes. I showed that swapping module 2 from one F-pyocin to the other changes the killing spectrum of the chimeric F-pyocin to new P. aeruginosa strains. This is mediated by the interaction of the module 2 c-terminus with the LPS O-specific antigen (OSA) of the target P. aeruginosa strain. Module 1 on the other hand was shown to interact with target receptor moieties deeper within the LPS core implying that each module has selective specificity and that F-pyocins may have evolutionarily co-opted both modules to ensure the successful killing of their target P. aeruginosa strain. The plasticity of F-pyocins was further explored by engineering them with side fibre proteins from siphophage DMS3, which retargeted their bactericidal spectrum. Summing all my findings, I concluded by proposing the mechanism with which F-pyocins bind and kill susceptible P. aeruginosa strains. This study provides valuable insight into the specificity determinants of F-pyocins and how they interact with the bacterial surface, which further helps us to understand how they can be explored as potential alternatives to antibiotics.