VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Miracles and Memory: The Virgin of Chiquinquirá and her People in the Seventeenth-Century New Kingdom of Granada
Keywords: Colombia
Colonial Spanish America
Cultural history
Image shrine
Miracles
Virgin Mary

This dissertation examines the geneses of devotion to the Virgin of the Rosary of Chiquinquirá, now national patron of Colombia. I begin in 1586 with a miracle – the first of many – which signaled the activation of a painting of the Virgin Mary then hanging, neglected, in an open-air mission chapel in the New Kingdom of Granada. I explore ways in which the proliferation of miracles over a long seventeenth century fueled not only devotion to this local Marian advocation, but desire, including the desire of certain churchmen to elicit and preserve the memory of Mary’s favors. I demonstrate that as people testified under oath to their marvelous experiences before recording notaries, vestiges of colonial mentalities and lived worlds – reflections of contemporary society and culture – were preserved also. Devotion to Our Lady of Chiquinquirá was born in the translatable “thin places” of familiarity and rapprochement between Catholic Christianity and indigenous cosmologies, and its longevity was forged in the early intercessory processions which first introduced this Virgin to all kinds of people. I describe the hopeful who came to her rural shrine in pilgrimage, carrying away numinous relics and sharing stories of hopes fulfilled. I show how news of the Virgin’s interventions spread to needful believers throughout Spanish America and the Mediterranean basin as an aspect of their Catholic cosmopolitanism. Mary of Chiquinquirá was effectively championed by a series of promoters, some of whom also sought benefits which flowed from controlling the image and cult. In an evolving, often-perilous colonial landscape, this American Virgin became both community mediator and intimate personal advocate for many different people. Early preservation of the Virgin’s miracles was undertaken over the course of three texts: an información jurídica (1587-1589); an unpublished collection of juridical miracle testimonies (1651-1654); and the first published sacred history (1694). I examine these sources in a five-part study, with particular attention to ways in which the last, best-known historian of the sacred redacted the testimonies of miracles collected by the notary-priests who came before him. And I reveal how these texts, connected and complementary, illuminate the people who lived within the Virgin’s sphere.
A Hybrid Method for Stability Assessment of AC-DC Power Systems
Keywords: dynamic security assessment
energy function
power system stability

This thesis develops a novel hybrid stability assessment method, i.e., combine both time-domain and direct stability methods, for assessment of stability subsequent to small and large-signal transients. The proposed assessment method uses the critical component energies instead of the total system energy to calculate the critical energy which extend the ability to include multi-swing stability analysis. The method can estimate the time to reach to instability in which the system reaches to an unstable equilibrium point (UEP) for small or large disturbances. A new index is proposed to detect the expected separation areas/islands and rank all components/disturbances in a power system based on their criticality. Also, a termination criterion is provided to minimize time-domain simulation runs and makes the proposed algorithm a feasible candidate for real-time/near-real-time online dynamic security assessment (DSA) applications. The proposed method requires a full direct stability model representation for the system elements. Due to lack of a detailed generator model and a HVDC model, a structure-preserving energy function (SPEF) with a sixth-order generator model and a detailed HVDC model is proposed. The proposed SPEF satisfies energy function conditions and is also applicable to lower order generator models, i.e., second-order and fourth-order models. Several time-domain simulation studies, presenting each energy function term, are demonstrated to demonstrate applicability and accuracy of the proposed energy function. The stability assessment method is demonstrated by examining four possible post-fault responses of the 68-bus, 16-machine IEEE benchmark system.
Scaling Up Health Services Delivery for Bottom of the Pyramid Populations in Lower-and-Middle-Income Countries
Keywords: bottom of the pyramid
health services delivery
lower-and-middle-income countries
scaling up
strategy
value chain integration

Context: While there have been many successful global health pilots and initiatives that have been implemented, often organizations struggle to scale interventions that have proven efficacy and effectiveness. Within the global health literature, there are limited studies that examine the strategies health services organizations employ to advance delivery for disadvantaged populations in lower-and-middle-income countries. Objectives: The objectives of this thesis are three-fold. First, the thesis provides in-depth case study analysis of an organization that has successfully scaled its operations for the bottom of the pyramid populations in multiple countries in Africa. Second, the thesis analyzes strategies private sector organizations use to achieve scale in lower-and-middle-income countries. Third, the thesis illustrates how value chain integration strategy advances scale up of health services delivery in resource-poor settings. Design: We use a qualitative research methodology to provide rich nuance about empirical phenomena by extending prior research on scaling up health services delivery and applying strategic management frameworks to analyze the phenomenon. While we predominantly employ qualitative case study methodology, we supplement our analysis using exploratory statistical analysis. Results: Many health services organizations operating in lower-and-middle-income country contexts struggle to achieve goals of scale, sustainability and inclusion. Using value chain integration as a framing logic, this research demonstrates that organizations should not try to do everything themselves, especially activities where other actors in the ecosystem have superior skills and positions. We identify three main mechanisms for using value chain integration strategy to scale up health services delivery: identifying mutual dependency with partners, creating an efficiency core and building a strong set of four types of management skills, including financial skill, quality management, supply chain management, and client relationships. Conclusion: The novel contribution of this thesis emerges from the use of a strategic management conceptual framework (i.e., value chain integration) to analyze a health services research context and problem (i.e., health care delivery by an NGO in Africa). Further mixed-methods research, which includes disconfirming or negative case sampling, is needed to examine whether and how health services organizations in resource-constrained environments deploy value chain integration strategies to achieve expansion and deliver services to disadvantaged populations.
Learning and Leading Collaboratively: A Study of Intermediate Teachers Engaged in Project Based Learning in Three Elementary Schools
Keywords: project based learning
student-centred learning
teacher beliefs
teacher collaboration
teacher leadership
teacher learning

This qualitative study examines teacher learning during project based learning (PBL) in three elementary schools. This multiple case study involved an analysis of 10 participating teachers’ interview responses about how they learn to adapt their practice to meet their students’ needs and the beliefs these teachers hold about teaching and learning collaboratively, both from and with their students and from and with other teachers. The findings suggest that teachers who facilitate PBL engage in learning that takes place collaboratively and that skilled teachers who engage in PBL learn to direct their own learning. To support teachers in this area, schools should continue to provide learning opportunities with a focus on both student and teacher development.
H3K4 methylation dependent and independent chromatin regulation by JHD2 and SET1 in budding yeast
Keywords: histone mutants
JHD2
SET1
transcription

Set1 and Jhd2 regulate the methylation state of histone H3 lysine-4 (H3K4me) through their opposing methyltransferase and demethylase activities in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. H3K4me associates with actively transcribed genes and, like both SET1 and JHD2 themselves, is known to regulate gene expression diversely. It remains unclear, however, if Set1 and Jhd2 act solely through H3K4me, and studies of the S. pombe SET1 ortholog suggest the existence of non-H3K4 Set1 targets relevant to gene regulation. I interrogated genetic interactions of JHD2 with essential genes involved in varied aspects of the transcription cycle. My findings implicate JHD2 in genetic inhibition of the histone chaperone complexes Spt16-Pob3 (FACT) and Spn1-Spt6 (Spt6C). This targeted screen also revealed that JHD2 inhibits the Nrd1-Nab3-Sen1 (NNS) transcription termination complex. I found that while Jhd2’s impact on these transcription regulatory complexes likely acts via H3K4me, Set1 governs the roles of FACT and NNS through opposing H3K4-dependent and -independent functions. I also identify diametrically opposing consequences for mutation of H3K4 to alanine or arginine, illuminating the care that must be taken in interpreting histone mutation studies. Unlike FACT and NNS, detailed genetic studies suggest an H3K4me-centric mode of Spt6C regulation by JHD2 and SET1. Genetic epistasis suggests that jhd2∆ rescues Spt6C mutant temperature sensitivity indirectly through the modulation of the small Rpd3 histone deacetylase complex. Chromatin immunoprecipitation and transcript quantification experiments show that Jhd2 opposes the positioning of a Spt6-deposited nucleosome near the transcription start site of SER3, a Spt6C regulated gene, leading to hyper-induction of SER3. In addition to confirming and extending the understanding of an emerging role for Jhd2 in the control of nucleosome occupancy near transcription start sites, my findings suggest some of the chromatin regulatory functions of Set1 are independent of H3K4 methylation. Indeed, together with collaborators, I have identified nine methylated lysines on the subunits of NNS, raising the possibility that they may be targeted for regulatory methylation by Set1 itself.
Asymmetric Hydrogenation Using Catalysts Based on Abundant Metals
Keywords: abundant metals
asymmetric
catalysis
hydrogenation

The design of chiral catalysts for hydrogenation chemistry is a field forever continuing as there are always improvements to be made, either in activity, selectivity, or cost and toxicity of catalysts. This dissertation focuses on the design and synthesis of new base-metal catalysts with the intention to improve the activity and selectivity of asymmetric hydrogenation reactions. This was approached with the following goals in mind: the improvement of syntheses of current catalysts to reduce the cost or to decrease the harshness of catalytic conditions required, the variation of phosphine donors for insight into the mechanism and to use such data to assist in the future rational design of new catalysts, and the use of other less-used abundant first row transition metals to explore the limits of such metals in hydrogenation chemistry. Each of the chapters discussed, with the exception of Chapter 1, describes the findings of new catalysts which were synthesized following one or more of the goals outlined and how they differ from previously reported related complexes, both fundamentally in their molecular structures as well as their activity and selectivity in the asymmetric hydrogenation of ketones. New asymmetric transfer hydrogenation catalysts were synthesized following our previous reports with a series of phosphorus donors. This resulted in an increase in enantioselectivity of the product alcohols at the cost of lower activity. An improvement of synthesis and variation of donors for pincer iron catalysts applied in the asymmetric pressure hydrogenation of ketones resulted in an increase in enantioselectivity; however slightly higher pressures of H2 gas were required for complete conversion (10 vs 5 bar). Manganese analogues of the previously mentioned pincer complexes were discovered to be active in the asymmetric pressure hydrogenation of ketones. These complexes required higher pressures and temperatures than their iron counterparts, but we did see an improvement of catalytic results when comparing to other manganese hydrogenation catalysts recently reported since our catalysts operate at lower temperatures, pressures, and shorter reaction times. An iron complex bearing a new chiral, bidentate, and protic NHC-PPh2 ligand was synthesized for the asymmetric transfer hydrogenation of acetophenone. This complex requires UV-irradiation for catalysis.
Early Intervention Programs for Low Income Students: What Can Evaluations Reveal? A Systematic Review
Keywords: access
college
early intervention
evaluation
postsecondary
university

In Canada and the United States, young people from low-income families are less likely than other youth to enroll in postsecondary education. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of early intervention programs on the participation of low-income students in postsecondary education, by looking at existing program evaluations. Early intervention is a programmatic approach to improving access to postsecondary education. Programs are designed to start early in the educational pathway and help those youth who might otherwise not participate in postsecondary education get the resources, support, counselling and information they need to participate. This study attempts to answer the question, what can evaluations reveal about the impact of early intervention programs on the postsecondary education preparation and enrollment of low-income youth. To try to answer the research question, this study examines 14 existing early intervention program evaluations, and the literature on program evaluations, to better understand the impact of these programs on the target population. The 14 program evaluations examined in this study include the following about how low-income students are served: the programs taken as a whole had moderate to strong impact on high school graduation and postsecondary enrollment, but moderate to nil impact on academic achievement and postsecondary retention; the effects seem to diminish when students leave the programs; the application process is a strong determinant of success in programs that require application, implying that these programs serve those students who are already motivated and aspirational; and, the impact of “place-based” programs which theoretically serve the most at-risk, low-income students, are ambiguous and require significantly more research. Finally, to better understand the impact of early intervention programs, it is recommended that there be a stronger emphasis on evaluation in these programs, and that future evaluations take into consideration the application process as a confounding variable in the effect of the program (i.e., have an experimental or quasi-experimental design with a control for application).
The “Missing Discourses of Desire”: Young Women’s Health and Physical Education Experiences in Toronto and Porto Alegre
Keywords: Comparative education
Critical policy studies
Educational sociology
Gender studies
Physical education

Through a feminist poststructural lens, this dissertation explores: (a) the range of understandings about gendered and racialized bodies held by young women in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil; (b) a comparison of the discourses embedded in health and physical education (HPE) policy with respect to gender, sexuality, and fitness in two urban high schools in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and two urban high schools in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil; and (c) the effects that gendered and racialized narratives mediating HPE policy and media consumption have on young women in these cities. This study involved a policy analysis of HPE documents and 40 semi-structured interviews with young women 14-17 years of age (n=20 in Canada; and n=20 in Brazil) in order to investigate the myriad of ways in which the body is gendered, sexualized and racialized in HPE and media. Interviews in Toronto and Porto Alegre reveal that students who took part in this study embody a form of healthism promoted in school and throughout the wide range of media platforms the young women consume. In Toronto, the consequence is what Michelle Fine (1988) calls a “missing discourse of desire” that tends to negate pleasure for students. Porto Alegre students taking part in this study also exhibit healthist biopedagogies, although self-acceptance and pleasure emerged as dominant themes. These latter themes emerging from the Porto Alegre responses, diverge from the Toronto youth responses; as the Porto Alegre youth celebrate more diverse visions of the female body, whereas Toronto students discuss a discourse of ‘moderation.’ This moderation discourse narrows positive embodied practices. Utilizing Fine’s argument about “missing discourses of desire” in education, Ontario HPE is then examined and questioned in relation to embodied pleasures made possible for young people in HPE. Policy recommendations include: addressing the social determinants of health in policy, adding opportunities for joyful experiences in physical education, and including critical health literacy and social media literacy in future policy. Young women are encouraged to find embodied pleasure in their physical education experiences and to critically question media representations of the female form.
Game Design Therapoetics: Autopathographical Game Authorship as Self-Care, Self-Understanding, and Therapy
Keywords: authorship
computer games
game design
games
humanities
mental health

An autopathographical game is an autobiographical narrative of illness and disability applied to the creative process of computer game authorship. Autopathographical game design (AGD) during an Autopathographical Game Jam (AGJ) is a healing process for game designers—a therapoetic platform for self-care, self-understanding, and therapy. This data-driven theorization examines how thirteen game designers with mental illness, emotional trauma, and disability author autopathographical games during an Autopathographical Game Jam—specifically how they render their autopathographical narratives through the distinct formal properties of computer game design, and how this process feels therapeutic. The first-person experiences informing their design processes include bipolar disorder, anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), attention/deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), colour-blindness, grief, shyness, childhood memories of being bullied, and insomnia. This study’s findings demonstrate that autopathographical game design engenders four dimensions of poiesis (creative making) that co-constitute AGD-AGJ as a therapeutic process, and when integrated amplify the therapeutic effects on the game designer: sociopoiesis (collective making during the AGJ), autopoiesis (self-making through a self-reflexive and introspective praxis), fabulopoiesis (re-imagining the self through metaphor and analogy), and logopoiesis (reevaluating the self through the articulated ‘calculated making’ of implementation and programming). The integrated therapeutic effects of these four dimensions seem to arise when subjects inhabit three epistemological perspectives during the AGD-AGJ process: the first-person subjective perspective (autopoiesis), the second-person relational perspective (sociopoiesis), and the third-person objective perspective (fabulopoiesis and logopoiesis), which together cater to well-being. This study’s qualitative methodology is situated in a framework of grounded theory, case studies, discourse analysis, and research-creation. Data collection methods are semi-structured interviews with subjects, video recordings of the two-day Autopathographical Game Jam, and collection of subjects’ processual artifacts, e.g., sketches and doodles. Discourse analysis of interview testimony and processual artifacts is used to theorize on the phenomenological ontology that defines the AGD-AGJ experience for subjects.
The functional role of the subthalamic nucleus in response control
Keywords: beta oscillations
event-related deep brain stimulation
low-frequency oscillations
response control
subthalamic nucleus

The subthalamic nucleus (STN) of the basal ganglia is considered a relay station for response control such as stopping or slowing of responses and is thought to have a broad, suppressive effect on the motor system. Previous studies found that STN oscillatory activity in the beta (13-30Hz) band was associated with stopping and in lower frequencies (
BUILDING DEMOCRATIC CONVIVENCIA (PEACEFUL COEXISTENCE) IN CLASSROOMS: CASE STUDIES OF TEACHING IN MEXICAN PUBLIC SCHOOLS SURROUNDED BY VIOLENCE
Keywords: conflict resolution education
democratic convivencia
education for democracy
peace education
peaceful coexistence
school violence prevention

Mexico is suffering from an avalanche of violence and school surroundings are not the exception. Although teachers’ perceptions tend to consider that violent contexts around schools increase the levels of school violence, large-scale international studies show that even when schools are located in high-crime areas, they can develop low levels of school violence by promoting communitarian relationships, equal access to quality education, and democratic participation. Some qualitative inquiries in Latin America have attempted to explain causal pathways for building peaceful relationships in schools by applying the theoretical construct of democratic convivencia (peaceful coexistence). However, scarce research in this field has been accomplished. This qualitative multiple-case study examined how three purposely selected Mexican teachers (fifth and sixth grades), through their classroom pedagogies, fostered (or not) the development of democratic convivencia in regular urban elementary public schools located in violent neighborhoods, the apparent consequences of these pedagogies for student-participants, and the factors that helped or hindered this process. Data included 23 observations in classrooms (of 90 minutes each in average), six individual interviews with teachers, and six group interviews with 20 students. While these three teachers followed official textbooks, they found spaces –within and outside the curriculum– to include elements of the three dimensions of pedagogies for democratic convivencia: inclusion, equity and conflict (resolution) dialogue. Results show that these teachers offered students meaningful lived experiences of inclusion and community-building by recognizing and affirming (to different degrees) students’ identities. They offered valuable (though ambivalent) opportunities for students’ equitable access to academic success by balancing students’ academic status. They also tended to use educative peacekeeping (avoiding punishment) and/or some elements of peacemaking as main conflict resolution strategies. Contrastingly, these teachers offered limited opportunities for deliberation and collective decision-making processes, two important elements for facilitating the development of students’ democratic capacities. Despite contradictions and limitations: poverty, students’ painful experiences with violence, extensive official curriculum content, and national standardized tests, these teachers showed that it is possible to implement pedagogies based on the three dimensions of democratic convivencia that may offer students opportunities for experiencing new horizons of human relationships in impoverished and violent contexts.