VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Spiritual/religious Experience in Atheists with Bipolar Disorder: A Qualitative Study of Subjective Interpretation, Coping, and Treatment Experiences

Spiritual/religious experiences (SREs) are a hallmark of bipolar disorder (BD), and their subjective influence often persists post-episode. However, difficulty disentangling SRE meaning from illness narratives is common in BD, which can negatively impact illness coping and treatment engagement. While individuals with pre-existing spiritual/religious beliefs may benefit from access to adaptive interpretive frameworks shared by supportive social contexts, such resources are less readily available to atheists, who may be especially vulnerable to maladaptive SRE coping and outcomes. The present study aimed to understand ways in which atheist adults with BD interpret their SREs, and which coping and treatment experiences are involved. Eleven medication-adherent Canadian and U.S. adults diagnosed with BD completed semi-structured interviews. A grounded theory analysis resulted in the following themes: SRE descriptions and mental health contexts; experiences influencing SRE interpretation; SRE explanations & related views; conflicting values and beliefs; helpful conceptual approaches; (predominantly negative) sharing and help-seeking experiences; spiritual/religious coping; relapse prevention; and personal growth and wellbeing. All participants endorsed agnostic and/or spiritual/religious worldviews after their SREs. Interpretation of the results employed a cognitive approach to belief formation. The resulting middle-range theory proposes that SRE interpretation in atheists with BD is significantly influenced by cognitive dissonance between the lasting meaning/value of the SRE, acceptance of illness, and pre-existing atheist values and beliefs. Explanatory efforts may involve online and offline research, community exploration, and counselling/psychotherapy, and may be influenced by social pressures (e.g., effects of stigma, marginalization); consequences for self-esteem (e.g., internalized stigma, self-enhancing beliefs); existential concerns (e.g., coping with mortality); and mood fluctuations. Hybrid biomedical–spiritual/religious explanatory models may be common in this group, serving to reconcile SRE meaning/value with illness acceptance and pre-existing atheist values. Residual uncertainty, which can be persistent and pervasive, may be managed using various cognitive and behavioural strategies. Clinical implications of the findings are examined and support a range of recommendations for clinical practice in assessment and treatment with this population. The study’s key contributions, limitations, and recommendations for future research are discussed, followed by some reflections from the researcher.

Keywords: atheism
bipolar disorder
meaning-making
mental health
religious experience
spiritual experience
Advisor: Moodley, Roy
Aerodynamic Design and Fuel Burn Evaluation of Transonic Strut-Braced-Wing Regional Jet and Single-Aisle Aircraft Through Aerodynamic Shape Optimization

The strut-braced-wing configuration is an unconventional aircraft concept that has the potential to significantly improve the fuel efficiency of transport aircraft through lower induced drag and higher structural efficiency. At transonic Mach numbers, however, the junction region of the wing and strut behaves as a transonic channel, which can cause the flow to accelerate and form shock waves, potentially diminishing the overall advantages of the concept. In order to address this concern and demonstrate the viability of the configuration for the regional jet and single-aisle classes of aircraft, this thesis investigates the concept’s aerodynamic design and fuel efficiency through aerodynamic shape optimization based on the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations. Conceptual multidisciplinary design optimization is first performed to develop strut-braced-wing concepts based on the Embraer E190-E2 and Airbus A320neo for the regional jet and single-aisle classes, respectively. Conventional tube-and-wing concepts are also developed to represent each reference aircraft as performance baselines. Gradient-based optimization is then performed on wing--body--tail models of each aircraft, with the objective of drag minimization at cruise over nominal range missions suitable to each class. Results from single-point optimization indicate that low drag strut-braced-wing aircraft can be achieved at Mach 0.78 and high design lift coefficients, while capturing trades between induced, viscous, and wave drag. This is accomplished with the help of novel aerodynamic design features which contribute to mitigating shock formation and boundary-layer separation from each wing-strut junction. Multipoint optimization demonstrates that the low drag performance can be maintained over a range of suitable and more challenging cruise conditions. Introducing low-order estimates for constructing approximations of full aircraft performance, results indicate a 13.1% and 12.2% improvement in cruise lift-to-drag ratio for the transonic strut-braced-wing regional jet and single-aisle aircraft, respectively, when compared to the similarly optimized conventional tube-and-wing aircraft. With current technology levels, these translate to relative block fuel reductions of 7.8% over each nominal range mission for both classes of aircraft. These benefits are attained with relatively high cruise altitudes necessary for achieving the lift coefficients optimal for such high aspect ratio wings, despite increased climb and descent fuel.

Keywords: Aerodynamic Shape Optimization
Computational Fluid Dynamics
Conceptual Multidisciplinary Design Optimization
Strut-Braced-Wing Configuration
Sustainable Aviation
Unconventional Aircraft
Advisor: Zingg, David
Luminosity Studies and a Search for Heavy Resonances Decaying into a Pair of Z Bosons with the ATLAS Detector

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.

Keywords: ATLAS Experiment
Beyond the Standard Model
CERN
High Energy Physics
Large Hadron Collider
Advisor: Krieger, Peter
The Impact of Domestically Violent Fathers on Childrens Social-emotional Development: Beyond Domestic Violence Perpetration

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.

Keywords: Domestic violence
Fathering
Fathers
Intimate partner violence
Social-emotional development
Advisor: Scott, Katreena L
Deciphering the Biological Differences between Micro-metastasis and Macro-metastasis in Medulloblastoma

Medulloblastoma is a common paediatric brain tumor, arising within the hindbrain and affecting approximately 18-20% of children diagnosed with brain cancer. Metastasis is present in 40% of patients during initial diagnosis and is almost exclusive to the leptomeninges of the brain and spinal cord. Unfortunately, despite such high incidence and poor prognosis, leptomeningeal metastatic disease remains poorly understood and lacks effective therapies.The objective of my studies is to investigate the biology between micro- and macro-metastatic stages in medulloblastoma. My hypothesis is that the progression of a micro- to a macro-metastasis is dependent on a biological switch in which its inhibition carries therapeutic potential. In transgenic mice, I observed metastases of various sizes and with statistical modeling, I confirmed that there were two populations – micro- and macro-metastases. Using single-cell sequencing, I revealed that the two populations differed in their lipid metabolism and that alterations in the lipid composition of animals influenced metastatic burden. With such results, I proposed that micro-metastases are metabolically plastic – the ability to use one metabolite for multiple purposes – and must undergo a transition to become metabolically flexible – the ability to use multiple metabolites – prior to developing as macro-metastases. In addition to understanding the progression, I investigated the evolutionary trajectory of micro- and macro-metastases. Contradictory to expectations, I found that primary tumors and macro-metastases are more similar to each other than either primary tumors to micro-metastases, or micro- and macro-metastases to each other. Therefore, a proposed model for metastatic progression is the primary tumor gives rise to both micro- and macro-metastases, and the macro-metastases are capable of seeding more micro-metastases. Finally, I briefly explored the microenvironments of micro- and macro-metastases and found evidence of macrophages in association with micro-metastases. Overall, the results of my doctoral studies have contributed to the expansion of our knowledge in medulloblastoma metastasis.

Advisor: Taylor, Michael D
An Agent-based Freight Business and Logistics Decisions Simulation - FREBUILDS

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.

Keywords: agent-based modelling
carrier type
location choice
shipment size
urban freight
vehicle type
Advisor: Roorda, Matthew J
Reading (in) Speculative Fiction

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.

Keywords: comparative literature
fantasy
literary theory
Miguel de Unamuno
science fiction
Scottish Gaelic literature
Advisor: ten Kortenaar, Neil
Looking And Learning Together: Collaborative Reflection Within An Online Environment

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.

Keywords: Collaboration
Cultural-Historical Activity Theory
DBR
Muslim Civilizations
VoiceThread
Advisor: Brett, Clare
Distribution of Cokernels of (n+u) × n Matrices Over Zp and Expected Number of Fields Using Local Mass Formulas

In the first part of the thesis, let n and u be nonnegative, Mn be (n+u) x n matrices over Zp, and G be a finite abelian p-group. We find that the probability that the p-torsion of the cokernel of Mn is isomorphic to G, as n goes to infinity, is equal to the Cohen and Lenstra measure mu u of G. In the second part of the thesis, using Bhargava's heuristics and local mass formulas, we compute the expected number of cubic and sextic fields using discriminant square classes, as well as the expected number of number fields ordered by conductor.

Advisor: Tsimerman, Jacob
Elucidating the Interactive Effects of Climate Change and Invasive Species Using a Lotic Fish Species Pair

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.

Keywords: Climate Change
Invasive Species
Round Goby
Thermal Ecology
Advisor: Mandrak, Nicholas E
Jones, Nicholas E