VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Queer World-Making in Petronius' Satyrica
Keywords: Petronius

This dissertation is a reading of certain aspects of Petronius’ Satyrica in light of contemporary queer theory, where “queer” is understood broadly as “non-normative”. This non-normativity encompasses gender and sexuality as well as other vectors of positionality, in particular class. A popular reading of the Satyrica contends that its characters are figures of derision, and that their “lowly” escapades should be viewed over the narrator’s head, from the implied perspective of a “hidden author”. The dissertation challenges this interpretation by reading from the perspective of the characters themselves rather than that of a superior figure of elite normativity, arguing that they are in the process of creating new queer worlds. Key queer theoretical texts informing the dissertation’s approach include Edelman’s No Future, Butler’s Gender Trouble, and Halberstam’s The Queer Art of Failure. The first two chapters explore the queer parody and reformulation by Petronian characters of two key aristocratic Roman institutions, fraternity and marriage. The first chapter examines how the central characters, Encolpius, Ascyltos, and Giton, appropriate sublime Roman fraternity in order to forge new forms of kinship in the absence of natal family, while the second focusses on the Pannychis episode, the marriage of Trimalchio and Fortunata, and the Wife of Ephesus, substantiating the myriad ways in which these episodes challenge normative conceptions of marriage and elite (reproductive) futurity. The second pair of chapters reads the Croton episode as a microcosm of the text as a whole, focusing on its paradoxical combination of biological non-reproductivity and creative fertility, as instantiated by the struggle of the younger generation to adapt to a world where biological reproduction no longer carries world-building force and normative social relations have been blighted. The fourth chapter presents a close reading of the Circe episode in light of theoretical literature positioning masochism as a mode of eroticism that privileges non-phallic means of generating pleasure. It suggests that Encolpius’ “failed” relationship with Circe exhibits a queer, masochistic aesthetic, to the side of the phallocentric impotence plot: as elsewhere, failure is productive, not paralyzing.
Democratic Citizenship Education in Rural High Schools: Navigating Difference and Conflict in Three Ontario Classrooms
Keywords: Controversial issues
Democratic citizenship education
Discussion
Multicultural education
Rural
Secondary classrooms

Citizenship education is a key means to support understanding and respect of Canada’s diversity. How are various visible and invisible social, political, cultural, and ethnic identity diversities negotiated in some predominantly white, rural classroom contexts in Canada? How may these differences surface, intersect with, or be denied through teachers’ pedagogical choices? This thesis compares three case studies of how democracy-committed social studies teachers in rural public high school classrooms in southern Ontario selected and taught subject matter, and implemented pedagogies, to facilitate students’ expression in relation to various social and cultural differences and conflicts. Data include 56 classroom observations, 6 teacher interviews, 10 group interviews with a total of 29 students, and analysis of documents including teacher handouts and student written work. The case studies brought to light pedagogical challenges and opportunities for citizenship teachers to affirm social, political, and ethnocultural diversity and justice. Some students had had few prior opportunities to interact across difference, especially (visible) ethnocultural difference. One teacher organized a rural-urban encounter to introduce her students to racialized newcomer youth, to exchange their different and similar lived experiences. Others presented information and discussion opportunities about various social differences such as immigration experience. The three teachers’ pedagogical choices also surfaced the less visible differences that did exist among their students – such as ideological (opinions on contemporary issues), religious, socioeconomic, and mental health – as (additional) important elements of pluralistic democracy. Pedagogies that invited expression of contrasting, sometimes unpopular, views provided students with opportunities to hear alternate perspectives beyond their own, thus to experience social difference and conflict as valuable conditions of living in a democracy. This study challenges notions of difference typically embedded in some citizenship literature, by drawing upon learners (as well as experienced teachers) as sources of knowledge about less visible social diversities in (under-studied) rural contexts. This study contributes to teacher education and citizenship teacher theory and practice, concrete ways of teaching for democratic pluralist citizenship, especially in relation to apparently homogeneous student populations.
Evaluating the Contribution of Immune Gene Variants to Schizophrenia
Keywords: Genetic
Genome-wide association study
Immune
Inflammation
Psychiatry
Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a devastating mental illness of unknown etiology. There is a longstanding theory that dysregulation of the immune system causes schizophrenia in at least a subset of patients. Many schizophrenia patients show hallmarks of immune disease – such as prior infections, presence of autoantibodies, co-occurring autoimmunity, and inflammation – supporting this immune hypothesis. Given that another hallmark of immune disease is the convergence of genetic risk factors on key immune pathways, this thesis evaluates the immune hypothesis of schizophrenia using both focused candidate gene and large-scale genome-wide association study (GWAS) approaches. In study one, we performed a candidate gene study of the neuroinflammatory biomarker TSPO and identified a loss-of-function variant (Thr allele of rs6971 or Ala147Thr) associated with increased antipsychotic-induced weight gain in two independent samples. In study two, we performed conditional analysis of the extended major histocompatibility complex (xMHC) – the strongest region of association in schizophrenia GWASs – and discovered three independent genetic variants explaining the association that do not appear to represent canonical immune genes in the MHC region. In study three we compared enrichment of SNPs representing immune genes in GWASs of schizophrenia and five immune diseases, and found that the genetic architecture of schizophrenia was distinct from diseases of known immune origin. Finally, in study four, we evaluated the extent of shared genetic risk factors for schizophrenia and 19 immune-mediated diseases again using GWAS results. We found evidence of subtle genome-wide sharing of risk alleles for schizophrenia and a subset of five immune diseases, the biological significance of which remains unclear. Taken together these studies indicate a non-genetic etiology for the immune disturbances observed in schizophrenia, and suggest that immune genes and variants conferring risk for immune-mediated diseases do not play a major role in schizophrenia susceptibility. It remains to be seen whether immune processes act as a second non-genetic hit that contributes to disease susceptibility, progression, or treatment outcomes. Whether this is the case is an important question to be addressed by longitudinal studies, particularly given burgeoning interest in the potential use of immunotherapies.
Interactions Between 2009 Pandemic H1N1 Influenza A Virus and Underlying Host Factors Dictate Host Response and Disease Outcome
Keywords: Adaptive Immunity
A(H1N1)pdm09
Host-Pathogen Interaction
Inflammation
Influenza A
Lung Immunology

Host responses and disease during influenza A infection are shaped by multiple interactions between virus and host which may vary considerably between virus strains. The 2009 pandemic H1N1 influenza A (A(H1N1)pdm09) virus was recently introduced in the human population and now persists in worldwide circulation. Distinct clinical manifestations and distribution of severe illness among human cohorts including the young (
Code-aided Expectation-maximization and Probabilistic Constellation Shaping for Fiber-optic Communication Systems
Keywords: Constellation shaping
Error control coding
Fiber-optic communication
Machine learning
Nonlinearity
Phase noise

This thesis provides signal-processing and constellation shaping algorithms to combat equalizer-enhanced phase-noise and nonlinearity-induced interference in long-haul fiber-optic communication systems. In the first part of this work, an iterative phase-estimation algorithm is designed that combines expectation-maximization (EM) with a soft-input soft-output error control decoder. At 280 Gbit/s, this system doubles the optical system reach, and generally enhances phase-noise tolerance. Among three different 16-point constellations, the 4-4-4-4 ring constellation was found to have the best performance. The laser linewidth tolerance gain is improved further by reducing the code rate. In the second part of this work, this code-aided (CA) EM approach is applied to long-haul systems dominated by nonlinearity-induced interference. Based on laboratory measurements, a second-order autoregressive phase-noise model is proposed, and used to modify the EM regularizer term. Simulation and experimental results show that in a dual-polarization wavelength-division-multiplexed 16 QAM system, launch-power tolerance can be increased by 1.5 dB, and the optical signal-to-noise ratio requirement can be relaxed by 0.3 dB to achieve the same error ratio. The complexity of the CAEM algorithm was found to be about 1/4 of the complexity of digital back-propagation. In the third part of this work, a low complexity probabilistic constellation shaping scheme is proposed to increase the system tolerance to nonlinearity impairments. A theoretical analysis predicts that, with 16 and 64-point constellations, reach improvements of 7% and 10% respectively can be achieved at a mutual information of 3.2 bit/symbol/polarization. Such probabilistic constellation shaping requires minimal added complexity.
Biochar and Wood Ash Impacts on Soil Microbial Community Structure and Biogeochemical Functioning in Managed Ontario Forests
Keywords: amplicon sequencing
biochar
forests
metagenomics
soil microbial ecology
wood ash

Biochars and wood ash could be used as valuable soil amendments in managed Canadian forests to counteract effects of full-tree harvesting and N deposition, such as soil acidification and nutrient depletion. However, large-scale application cannot be recommended without a thorough assessment of the impacts of these amendments on key aspects of the ecosystem. Characterizing microbial responses is crucial for predicting the overall forest response to biochar and wood ash additions, because soil microbial communities affect ecosystem health and functioning and aboveground plant communities. However, for biochars in particular, the long-term effects on the soil microbial community in temperate forested ecosystems are still unknown. Similarly, while there have been ongoing ash-addition experiments in northern European and South American forests, the variability in microbial responses makes it challenging to extrapolate to other forest types and few field-scale ash addition studies have been conducted in Canadian forests. This thesis examines the effects of adding biochars and wood ash to Great Lakes' St. Lawrence and Boreal forest soils, particularly focusing on changes to the structure of the soil microbial community and its biogeochemical functional ability. In a north-temperate, selection-harvested forest, biochar application had only minor effects on bacterial and fungal community composition, fungi:bacteria ratios, microbial biomass, and microbial C mineralization two years after addition. Ash addition to a clear-cut boreal forest and the same selection-harvested forest had similarly minor effects on microbial community composition and did not alter overall microbial biomass or microbial C mineralization. In a microcosm experiment, biochar and ash addition effects on P bioavailability depended on soil texture and tree species. A comparison of four-year-old biochar particles and adjacent soil showed that even when there were phylogenetic differences between biochar and bulk soil microbial communities, both groups had very similar functional abilities. Across all experiments, site-specific factors played a strong role in chemical and biological responses to biochar and ash addition. However, most observed effects were minor and transient, indicating that biochar and ash can likely be used as soil amendments in these systems without negatively disrupting the soil microbial community.
From Africa to Europe, Youth and Transnational Migration: Examining the Lived Experiences of Nigerian Migrant Youth in Malta
Keywords: Europe
Experiences
Migration
Nigeria
Transnational
Youth

Innovations in communication and transportation industries have improved and increased the potential for the movement of individuals, commodities, and capitals across international borders as they respond to global environmental and socio-economic stimuli. Extant studies have focused on adult transnational migrants, and youth migration is highlighted only in relation to the adult experiences. However, movement of young adults as independent transnational migrants is an emerging trend in international migration. There is a general lack of awareness on the working and living conditions of youth migrants. This research was therefore informed by the urgent need to understand the migration experiences of youth with the view of protecting young migrants and ensuring that migration leads to their development and those of their home and host countries. The thesis employs data collected with interpretative phenomenological analysis, IPA in a qualitative field study conducted in 2013 in the Republic of Malta to examine the lived experiences of Europe-bound migrant Nigerian youth. By resisting the banal Push and Pull explanations for transnational migration, which literally blames migrants and the countries of origin for current trends in global migration, the thesis advances the understanding of global youth migration from the perspectives of Indigenous world views, anti-colonial, and antiracist theories. It disturbs, and by so doing, unpacks as colonial project, the existing dominant imaginaries around immigrants from the developing world. These imagined mindsets have informed immigration policies and praxis that have continued to generate and sustain the migrant other. The study uncovered the enormous transit and settlement challenges that transnational migrant youth contend with as they are polarized into social and demographic opposites (male and female migrants, legal and illegal, citizen and alien) by the advanced border-surveillance technologies and authorities of receiving states. Within this intersectionality lies migrant struggles and resistance as they aim for the countries of their destination. It therefore concludes by recommending a holistic and multilateral approach to resolving the issues of global youth migration. The approach (es) adopted must include addressing the major driving forces of the 21st century migration, which is social insecurity and economic marginalization.
Transformational Learning Experience of RPN to BScN Students in One Program in Ontario
Keywords: BScN program
Mature Learner
Mixed Method
RPN to BScN learner
Transformational Learning

The purpose of this study was to explore the learning experience of students who are transitioning from the Registered Practical Nurse (RPN) to the Registered Nurse (RN) role in Ontario. Recent changes in the educational system now provide the opportunity for RPNs to pursue their Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BScN) in three years. The challenge is to develop programs that recognize the diversity of the RPNs' pre-existing knowledge and cultivate those into more advanced critical thinking and leadership skills required of an RN. To explore their transitioning and transformative learning experiences, a mixed method design was utilized through the use of interviews and King's (2009) learning activity survey (LAS) that identifies factors that contribute to transformational learning. RPN to BScN students enrolled in the program completed the LAS and participated in interviews. Graduates of the program, and faculty who taught in the program also participated in the interviews. During the interviews, factors that contributed and hindered the RPN learner was explored. The factors that triggered opportunities to reflect critically upon previously held beliefs were key nursing concepts that added value to their existing knowledge. Faculty, peer support and specific learning activities also contributed to their change in thinking. The challenges revealed by the students and graduates were: balancing multiple responsibilities, disappointment with faculty, overall program challenges, being integrated with the generic students, and role confusion. The faculty interviews resulted in two major themes that were: respect and admiration for the RPN, and challenges teaching the RPN learner. This study concluded that the RPN to BScN learner in this study represented the mature students who are older and have greater responsibilities in relationship to family and work than traditional students. Their diverse nursing backgrounds brought a wealth of knowledge to the classroom that needed to be challenged in different ways to facilitate a change in perspective. Exploration of RPN to BScN program curriculum should be reviewed and revised to ensure this learnerâ s needs are being met. Transformative learning provided a viable theoretical lens that educators can use to create optimal learning experiences for the RPN learner.
Roman de l'Artiste et Valeurs chez George Sand
Keywords: Artist
Bildungsroman
George Sand
K端nstlerroman
Poetics
Values

Dans cette thèse nous examinons le Künstlerroman (le roman de l’artiste) de George Sand en tant que lieu d’un investissement intellectuel complexe qui permet à la romancière à la fois de résoudre une crise identitaire, causée par le statut problématique de femme auteur à son époque, et de mettre en place une axiologie provocatrice qui déstabilise les étalons esthétiques, romanesques et socioculturels contemporains. Nous démontrons, dans un premier temps, comment l’exploitation des structures et des topoï du Künstlerroman dans Lettres d’un voyageur rend possible une représentation (dans la culture) de la Bildung au féminin, phénomène réputé difficile, même impossible dans la littérature du XIXe siècle. Dans un deuxième temps, nous examinons les notions, importantes pour le discours esthétique romantique, de l’idéal, de l’interprétation artistique, telles que les réfracte le Künstlerroman de Sand en les juxtaposant avec la réflexion sur le statut social de l’artiste (de la femme artiste). Une analyse de l’effet-valeur qui se dégage de plusieurs récits représentatifs sandiens (Les maîtres mosaïstes, Pauline, Consuelo, Les maîtres sonneurs) démontre comment la figure de l’artiste, figure créatrice s’il en est une, est utilisée pour produire des récits où de nouvelles significations culturelles apparaissent, de nouvelles relations normatives se forment. Traversé par l’Histoire, mais aspirant à laisser sa propre marque sur elle, le roman de l’artiste sandien met en avant les figures inexistantes dans le roman de l’artiste de ses contemporains : les femmes génies, les paysans artistes, tout en célébrant le savoir-faire des artisans. Au fil de notre étude, nous constatons que son Künstlerroman apporte d’importantes innovations au genre et à celui du Bildungsroman, tandis que la romancière supplée à une idéologie romantique de la sacralisation de l’Art et de l’Artiste, tout en valorisant à l’extrême ces deux notions, à l’instar de son époque, ce qu’on pourrait appeler la sécularisation de l’art et de l’artiste.
Temperature and Pressure Retrievals and Mitigation of the Impact of Dust for a High-resolution Fourier Transform Spectrometer Mission to Mars
Keywords: ACE
atmospheric
ExoMars
FTIR
FTS
Mars

On the path to sending a Fourier transform spectrometer (FTS) to Mars to measure the trace gas composition of the atmosphere, several critical elements of the analysis routine need to be adapted from Earth to Mars observation. I have developed new algorithms and software for retrieving vertical profiles of temperature and pressure from infrared spectra, and created interferograms simulating observations at Mars in the presence of dust. The temperature and pressure retrieval algorithm exploits the temperature dependence of absorption lines in \coo vibration rotation bands. It was applied to terrestrial spectra from the Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment (ACE) FTS, a solar occultation instrument in orbit since 2003, and the basis for the instrument selected for a Mars mission. ACE-FTS makes multiple spectral measurements during an occultation, separated in altitude by 1.5-5 km, and ten CO2 bands are analyzed at each altitude, each with a different usable altitude range. I present an inter-comparison of temperature profiles retrieved from ACE-FTS using my algorithm and that of the ACE Science Team, and from the Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate (COSMIC, coincident within 1.5 hours and 150 km). Compared to the ACE-FTS standard product, my retrievals exhibit mean differences between -5 and +2 K and compared to COSMIC, mean differences are between -4 and +1 K. A solar occultation FTS vertically scans the limb of the atmosphere continuously, and so the optical path for a Mars observation will move through layers of varying dust levels during a single interferogram acquisition, resulting in source intensity variations (SIVs), negatively impacting trace gas retrievals. I have simulated SIV using synthetic spectra for the Martian atmosphere, and investigated high-pass filters in the wavenumber domain, and smoothing methods in the optical path difference (OPD) domain. The use of a convolution operator in the OPD domain can isolate the SIV and be used to correct for it. Comparing the original synthetic spectra to SIV-corrected spectra, I obtain spectral residuals of less than 0.25% in simulations for both high- and low-dust conditions, and VMR vertical profile differences on the order of 0.5-3% for several trace gases known to be present in the Martian atmosphere. The work presented in this thesis directly addresses some of the problems faced at Mars: detectability and sources of methane, determining the temperature and pressure of the atmosphere, and estimating the impact of dust on high-resolution solar occultation spectra.