VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Policy Windows and Changing Arrangements: An Analysis of the Policy Process Leading to the Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology Act, 2002
Keywords: Ontario higher education policy
Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology
Ontario Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology Act, 2002
Multiple Streams Model
macro-structural policy problems
micro-specific policy problems
Structured Dynamics Model
Postsecondary Education Choice and Excellence Act, 2000
policy change
policy windows
policy development
governance

This case study focuses on Ontario higher education policy and the Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology (CAATs). A sequence of policy shifts occurred during the last decade of the twentieth century and the early years of the new millennium. By 2002, the Government of Ontario had reviewed its position with regard to baccalaureate degree credentials being the exclusive domain of publicly supported universities. Governance arrangements for the CAATs had also changed. The new policy framework was set with two pieces of legislation, the Postsecondary Education Choice and Excellence Act, 2000, and the Ontario Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology Act, 2002. The purpose of this case study is to explain why these policy changes occurred. To facilitate inquiry, John W. Kingdon’s Multiple Streams Model was used as a platform and lens to guide data collection and organize the findings. For Kingdon, policy is the outcome of a complex pre-decision process that requires the ‘coupling’ of the problem, policy, and political streams at the time of an open policy window. A qualitative approach was adopted, and primary and secondary documents covering the period 1990 to 2002 were collected. In addition, in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with key policy actors and policy entrepreneurs.  The study found evidence to support the Multiple Streams Model's contention of streams of processes. However, with respect to this study, two types of policy problems were found flowing in the problem stream: macro-structural policy problems shaped conditions and the scope of options available with respect to policy goals and policy solutions; and micro-specific policy problems were localized, actor identified, constructed, and linked to specific interests. The study also found that historical institutional structures, and intermediate institutions, had a significant impact on policy development. The policy changes occurred as the result of two open policy windows, and in both instances, policy entrepreneurs were able to couple the policy streams to effect change. In view of the findings, a Structured Dynamics Model of Policy Development is offered as an explanation of the policy changes and for consideration in future inquiry.
Arctic Aerosol Sources and Continental Organic Aerosol Hygroscopicity
Keywords: Arctic aerosol
cloud condensation nuclei
aerosol-cloud interactions
aerosol nucleation

Atmospheric particles can affect climate directly, by scattering solar radiation, or indirectly, by acting as the seed upon which cloud droplets form. These clouds can then cool the earth's surface by reflecting incoming sunlight. In order to constrain the large uncertainties in predicting the ultimate effect of aerosol on climate, the sources of atmospheric particles and their subsequent ability to turn into cloud droplets needs to be better understood. This thesis addresses two parts of this issue: the sources of Arctic aerosol and the hygroscopicity of continental organic aerosol. Small particles were observed in Baffin Bay during September 2008 that coincided with high atmospheric and ocean surface dimethyl sulphide (DMS) concentrations suggesting that the aerosol formed from oceanic sources. An aerosol microphysics box model confirmed that local DMS could have produced the observed particles. In addition, the particle chemical composition was measured using aerosol mass spectrometry in the central Arctic Ocean in August 2008 and particles were found to be 43% organic and 46% sulphate. Factor analysis further apportioned the aerosol mass to marine biogenic and continental sources 33% and 36% of the time, respectively, with the source of the remaining mass unidentified. The second part of the study parameterises the hygroscopicity of the ambient organic aerosol fraction (κorg) at Egbert, Ontario and Whistler, British Columbia. This was done using two methods: 1) by assuming that the oxygenated organic component was hygroscopic and that the unoxygenated organic component was non-hygroscopic, κ of the oxygenated component was found to be 0.22 ± 0.04, and 2) by assuming that κorg varied linearly with the atomic oxygen to atomic carbon ratio, it could be parameterised as κorg = (0.29 ± 0.05) × (O/C). Calculations predict that knowing κorg is important in urban, semi-urban, and remote locations whenever the inorganic mass fraction is low.
Synthesis of Heterocycles and Carbocycles Through Tandem and Domino Palladium-catalyzed Reactions
Keywords: tandem and domino reactions
palladium catalyzed reactions

We have described two important classes of palladium-catalyzed reactions for the synthesis of heterocycles and carbocycles: tandem Pd-catalyzed reactions of gem-dibromoolefins and domino Pd-catalyzed reactions via an ortho C−H functionalization. Chapter 1 describes the tandem Pd-catalyzed reaction of gem-dibromoolefins via an intramolecular direct arylation and an intermolecular Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling. A number of aromatic carbocycles were synthesized by this method. Chapter 2 describes the tandem Pd-catalyzed reactions of β,β-dibromoenamides via an intramolecular C−O bond formation and an intermolecular Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling. Depending on the substituent on the nitrogen of β,β-dibromoenamides, either aromatic heterocycles or acyclic compounds can be synthesized. Chapter 3 and 4 describe the domino Pd-catalyzed reactions via an ortho C−H functionalization of aryl iodides. 2-Pyrrole substituted phenyl iodides were coupled with alkyl bromides in the presence of norbornene to provide aromatic tetracyclic compounds through three C−C bond formations (Chapter 3). However, the reaction between 2-methyl substituted phenyl iodides and the alkyl bromides in the presence of norbornene provided tetrasubstituted helical alkenes with the norbornene incorporated in the final product through four C−C bond formations (chapter 4). In Chapter 5, detailed mechanistic studies including kinetic and NMR studies were described for the regioselective C−H functionalization of 2-pyrrole substituted phenyl iodides. The studies provided advanced and important understanding of the mechanism, and a rationale for the high regioselectivity.
On Globalization and Civil Society: Mediating Spatial Practice in Twenty-first-century Latin America
Keywords: Colombia
Mexico

“On Globalization and Civil Society: Mediating Spatial Practice in Twenty-first-century Latin America” explores the tensions between globalization and civil society from a multi-geographical and multidisciplinary angle. The dissertation is informed by theories of space, power, identity, citizenship, and postmodernity, as well as mediatic and socio-political analyses of conditions that have consistently challenged democracy and the formation of a just civil society specifically in the Colombian and Mexican contexts but throughout Latin America as well. I argue that national institutions fundamental to the formation of knowledge and the construction of identity--namely national citizenship, geopolitical and symbolic borders, and the national media--impose undue limits and power on globally affected individuals. After acknowledging and analyzing the dehumanizing way in which these national institutions limit individual freedoms and participation within local and global public spheres, I take a more hopeful stance as I explore humanizing instances that transcend victimization through the imagination and creation of alternative social orders that destabilize traditional apparatuses of authority through agency-enhancing initiatives. Through close readings of contemporary Colombian and Mexican narrative by Héctor Abad Faciolince, Jorge Franco, Heriberto Yépez, and Luis Humberto Crosthwaite, and a case study of Un Pasquín, Vladimir Flórez’s independent alternative Bogotá media project, I call for a new understanding of the possibilities of the twenty-first-century public sphere in Latin America. I contend that by subverting dominant paradigms of power, these alternative spheres provide a new model from which to think and advance a just global order. In short, I argue that, despite globalization’s mostly deleterious consequences for the world’s most at risk local populations, the formation of a more humanizing spatial and mediatic practice that fosters alternative public spheres responsive to the human need for individual agency and subjectivity, though seemingly unattainable, is in fact possible.
Challenging the Dominant Discourse of ‘Welfare Dependency’: A Multi-episode Survival Analysis of Ontario Works Spells
Keywords: social assistance, welfare, Ontario, Canada, social provisioning, lone mothers, social exclusion, social capital, new social movements, citizenship

This dissertation examines the dominant discourse of welfare dependency and its implications for lone mothers in Ontario, Canada. This hegemonic discourse has been instrumental in positioning lone mothers as deviant, pathologically flawed and ineffective citizens. Using a repeated survival analysis, I examine the spells of participants identifying the significant variables influencing social assistance exit rates. Social constructionism and critical feminism are the theoretical lenses underpinning the analysis. The quantitative study examines the current composition of the Ontario Works caseload, interrogates the legitimacy of the welfare dependency supposition, debunks numerous social constructions surrounding welfare receipt and highlights the barriers impeding participants. The study culminates with a new understanding to counter the welfare dependency paradigm, recognizing the overlooked provisioning work of women in the neoliberal post welfare state.
Architecture and Identity: The Occupation, Use, and Reuse of Mughal Caravanserais
Keywords: Mughal
Caravanserai
South Asia
Architecture
Survey
Identity
life history
Place
Sikh
British
Pakistan
India
Memory
Peshawar
NWFP
Archaeology
Anthropology
History

Life, individual and collective, exists in reference to what came before; my research into the life histories of places explores the cultural threads which tie us to places and which allow us to make personal and collective connections between the past and the present. Understanding these life histories helps us understand the value and power historic places have in the world today. This thesis focuses on Mughal caravanserais from northwestern Pakistan, examining how they were initially intended to be used during the Mughal rule of South Asia and how they were reused in the periods that followed (Sikh, Afghani, British, and Pakistani). Caravanserais are walled arcaded buildings where travelers could stop briefly. After the Mughal Empire declined, caravanserais were reused by local people and/or taken over by subsequent governing bodies. Surviving structures are still used today, although their original appearance and functions have been altered to serve new purposes. My research is part of the Caravanserai Networks Project, directed by Dr. Heather Miller, University of Toronto. I develop my survey method through comparative study of two caravanserais, Gor Khuttree and Pakka Khanpur. Using information from architectural survey, historic documents, and photographs, I create three-dimensional architectural models of Gor Khuttree’s occupations. I use access and planning analysis to characterize the use and alteration of the sites’ architecture. Conceptually, I develop a tripartite formation of place: formed, in practice, and in memory. As a multifaceted place, I consider Gor Khuttree’s life history; the occupations, identities, and memories associated with the site through time. The City of Peshawar, central to this research, was at the time of writing in Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province. This province was renamed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on April 15th, 2010. This research continues to refer to the province by its former name. This ensures continuity with published documents and the organizational names used by colleagues in Pakistan at the time of research.
Posttraumatic Growth in Survivors of Breast Cancer: The Role of Dispositional Optimism, Coping Strategies, and Psychosocial Interventions
Keywords: posttraumatic growth
breast cancer
psychosocial intervention
optimism
coping strategies

This study investigated the experience of posttraumatic growth for breast cancer survivors who volunteered to complete a survey (N = 277). A number of participants also provided narrative responses containing their personal experiences of breast cancer (N = 100). Demographic characteristics, breast cancer variables, optimism, coping strategies, and participation in psychosocial interventions were examined in relation to posttraumatic growth as measured by the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory. Differences between those who participated in psychosocial interventions versus those who did not were examined. The relation of coping strategies utilized and optimism level to interventions accessed was also of interest. Predictors of posttraumatic growth were examined via generalized linear modeling. Finally, the narrative responses were investigated by means of content analysis. The results provided evidence that demographic characteristics (i.e., affiliation with religion and lower levels of education) and one breast cancer variable (i.e., increased number of years since diagnosis) were related to experiences of posttraumatic growth for breast cancer survivors. Use of active forms of coping, optimism level, and participation in recreational interventions were also related to posttraumatic growth. Those who participated in psychosocial interventions were more likely to be employed and have higher levels of education than those who did not access interventions. Use of several active coping strategies and one passive coping strategy increased the likelihood of accessing a number of different psychosocial interventions. Posttraumatic growth was predicated by affiliation with religion, lower levels of education, increased number of years since diagnosis, knowledge of breast cancer stage, higher levels of optimism, and use of one passive and two active coping strategies. Many of these findings support previous research, however some conflict with prior results. The narrative responses contained information regarding diagnosis and treatment, impact of breast cancer, coping with breast cancer, and support accessed. Although the negative impact of breast cancer was discussed in terms of short and long-term, positive long-term changes were also reported. A variety of coping strategies and supports were utilized by the participants as well.
Conformal Heating of the Prostate for the Treatment of Localized Cancer using MRI-guided Transurethral Ultrasound
Keywords: MRI-guided ultrasound therapy
Feedback temperature control
Prostate therapy

Prostate cancer is the most prevalent cancer and the third-leading cause of cancer-related death among men in the developed world, with the number of cases expected to double within the next 15 years. Conventional therapies offer good control of local disease but are associated with high complication rates reducing long-term health-related quality-of-life significantly. MRI-guided transurethral ultrasound therapy has emerged as an attractive, minimally-invasive alternative for the treatment of localized prostate cancer, where the entire gland is heated to temperatures sufficient to cause irreversible thermal coagulation. A device inserted in the urethra uses multiple ultrasound transducers to produce directional heating patterns directly in the prostate. Adjusting the ultrasound power, frequency and device rotation rate enables high spatial control of the thermal lesion. MRI provides information essential to the accurate targeting of the prostate; anatomical images for device positioning and treatment planning, and quantitative temperature measurements within the prostate to compensate for dynamic tissue changes, using feedback control. This thesis develops a complete treatment delivery strategy for producing conformal regions of thermal coagulation shaped to whole-gland prostate volumes, while limiting the thermal impact to the surrounding important anatomy. First, acoustic and thermal simulations incorporating a novel temperature feedback controller were used to model and shape regions of coagulation to human prostate geometries with a high degree of accuracy. Second, treatment delivery strategies were developed and simulated to reduce thermal injury to the surrounding anatomy, below the threshold for sustained damage. Third, experiments in tissue-mimicking gel phantoms confirmed the predictive accuracy of the simulations and the feasibility of producing conformal volumes of coagulation using transurethral ultrasound devices and MRI-temperature feedback. This work forms the basis of clinical treatment delivery methods and supports the use of the simulations as a planning tool to enhance the inherent compromise between safety and efficacy on a patient-specific basis.
Modular Approach to Adipose Tissue Engineering
Keywords: Adipose Tissue Engineering
Adipose-derived Stem Cells
Regenerative Medicine
Biomaterials
Cotransplantation
In Vivo
Revascularization
Hydrogel

Despite the increasing clinical demand in reconstructive, cosmetic and correctional surgery there remains no optimal strategy for the regeneration or replacement of adipose tissue. Previous approaches to adipose tissue engineering have failed to create an adipose tissue depot that maintains implant volume in vivo long-term (>3 months). This is due to inadequate mechanical properties of the biomaterial and insufficient vascularization upon implantation. Modular tissue engineering is a means to produce large volume functional tissues from small sub-mm sized tissues with an intrinsic vascularization. We first explored the potential of a semi-synthetic collagen/poloxamine hydrogel with improved mechanical properties to be used as the module biomaterial. We found this biomaterial to not be suitable for adipose tissue engineering because it did not support embedded adipose-derived stem cell (ASC) viability, differentiation and human microvascular endothelial cell (HMEC) attachment. ASC-embedded collagen gel modules coated with HMEC were then implanted subcutaneously in SCID mice to study its revascularization potential. ASC cotransplantation was shown to drive HMEC vascularization in vivo: HMEC were seen to detach from the surface of the modules to form vessels containing erythrocytes as early as day 3; vessels decreased in number but increased in size over 14 days; and persisted for up to 3 months. Early vascularization promoted fat development. Only in the case of ASC-HMEC cotransplantation was progressive fat accumulation observed in the module implants. Although implant volume was not maintained, likely due rapid collagen degradation, the key result here is that ASC-HMEC cotransplantation in the modular approach was successful in creating vascularized adipose tissue in vivo that persisted for 3 months. The modular system was then studied in vitro to further understand ASC-EC interaction. Coculture with ASC was shown to promote an angiogenic phenotype (e.g. sprouting, migration) from HUVEC on modules. RT-PCR analysis revealed that VEGF, PAI-1 and TNFα was involved in ASC-EC paracrine signalling. In summary, ASC-HMEC cotransplantation in modules was effective in rapidly forming a vascular network that supported fat development. Future work should focus on further elucidating ASC-EC interactions and developing a suitable biomaterial to improve adipose tissue development and volume maintenance of engineered constructs.
Molecular Characterization of Hereditary Spherocytosis Mutants of the Cytoplasmic Domain of Anion Exchanger 1 and their Interaction with Protein 4.2
Keywords: anion exchanger 1
protein 4.2
erythrocyte
cytoskeleton
protein-protein interactions
protein structure and stability
red blood cell

Anion exchanger 1 (AE1) is a red cell membrane glycoprotein that associates with cytoskeletal protein 4.2 in a complex bridging the cell membrane to the cytoskeleton. Disruption of this linkage results in unstable erythrocytes and hereditary spherocytosis (HS). Three HS mutations (E40K, G130R and P327R) in the cytoplasmic domain of AE1 (cdAE1) result in a decreased level of protein 4.2 in the red cell yet maintain normal amounts of AE1. Biophysical analyses showed the HS mutations had little effect on the structure and conformational stability of the isolated domain. However, the conformation of the cytoplasmic domain of the kidney anion exchanger, lacking the first 65 amino acids including a central -strand, was thermally destabilized relative to cdAE1 and had a more open structure. In transfected human embryonic kidney (HEK)-293 cells the HS mutants had similar expression levels as wild-type AE1, and protein 4.2 expression level was not dependent on the presence of AE1. Protein 4.2 localized to the plasma membrane with wild-type AE1, the HS mutants of AE1, the membrane domain of AE1 and kidney AE1, and to the ER with Southeast Asian ovalocytosis AE1. A fatty acylation mutant of protein 4.2, G2A/C173A, could not localize to the plasma membrane in the absence of AE1. Subcellular fractionation showed wild-type and G2A/C173A protein 4.2 were mostly associated with the cytoskeleton. Co-immunoprecipitation and Ni-NTA pull-down assays revealed impaired binding of protein 4.2 to HS mutants compared to AE1, while the membrane domain of AE1 was unable to bind protein 4.2. These studies show that HS mutations in cdAE1 cause impaired binding of protein 4.2, without causing gross structural changes in the domain. The mutations change the binding surface on cdAE1 by the introduction of positive charges into an otherwise acidic domain. This binding impairment may render protein 4.2 more susceptible to degradation or loss during red cell development.
Automated Methods in Chemical Risk Assessment
Keywords: chemical risk assessment
environmental modelling

In this thesis, topics in chemical hazard and risk assessment are explored through the use of multimedia mass balance models and high-throughput chemical property prediction methods. Chemical hazard metrics, as calculated by environmental fate and transport simulations, are investigated to determine the validity of two common simplifying assumptions in the underlying models; the use of octanol as a surrogate for organic matter and the use of environmental parameters that do not vary in time. A major finding is that the use of these common simplifying assumptions in multimedia mass balance models has little effect on chemical risk assessment, provided that chemicals are ranked relative to each other rather than a predetermined cutoff value. Chemical properties relevant to hazard and risk are collected, and applied in a large-scale chemical hazard assessment to derive a short list of potential Arctic contaminants. Several further data needs are identified; these are widely applicable and easily calculable metrics for chemical biodegradation, toxicity and emissions. A new method of predicting chemical properties is presented to assist in meeting these data needs. The method automatically creates predictive, quantitative relationships between the structures and properties of chemicals that are comparable to similar relationships created with expert judgement.