VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Weaving the Home Web: A Canadian Case Study of Internet Domestication

The internet has increasingly become a part of our daily practices, and previous research has pointed to the numerous different ways individuals and groups use and integrate the internet into their lives. Yet, despite the pervasiveness of the internet within the home, few have investigated internet domestication. To grasp the process of internet domestication, my research uses a Social Shaping of Technology approach to investigate how internet domestication develops as a set of contextual practices within households of East York, Ontario. My research is part of the Connected Lives Project that took place in East York, Ontario between 2004 and 2005. Using a combination of survey data, semi-structured interviews and digital photos, I offer a novel combination of methods not implemented in previous research of the household internet that provides a rich and descriptive illustration of household internet practices. This dissertation research is the first case study of the household internet that offers an in-depth portrayal and interpretation of its domestication. It is an empirical demonstration of the complicated patterns through which the internet is domesticated. My research builds upon previous quantitative and qualitative internet research, and contributes to the clear epistemological gap in what we know about internet domestication as a dynamic process. How does the domestication of the internet develop as a set of contextual practices? My investigation draws attention to the kinds of things that shape the everyday - paid work, immigrant status, household structure, and gender roles. Each of these act as threads - different practices - that weave together to shape how the internet is used and integrated as a domestic technology into today's households and families. I characterize the social worlds shaping internet domestication, and discuss how households and families actively shape internet domestication through examining internet communication and information seeking patterns, and address concerns that family is in decline. My research provides new and different ways of thinking about family, family time, and our relationship with the household internet by discussing the time families spend together online, and how family's household spaces are evolving in response to the ubiquitous internet.

Keywords: internet
domestication
Advisor: Wellman, Barry
Characterization of the Neurospora Varkud Satellite Plasmid and Transcript in vivo

The Varkud satellite (VS) plasmid is found in the mitochondria of some strains of Neurospora, and exhibits properties that may allow it to be developed as a genetic transformation vector to study mitochondrial molecular biology. An ideal transformation vector would not confer a phenotype. The overall goal of my thesis was to examine interactions of VS with its Neurospora host to identify possible phenotypes, using biochemical and proteomic approaches. Biochemical experiments provided evidence consistent with the plasmid transcript, VS RNA, being present as a ribonucleoprotein particle that can be separated from ribosomal subunits by sucrose density gradient centrifugation; however, no VS-specific proteins were identified under the purification conditions examined. During the analyses of proteomic data I obtained new insights into the consequences of the statistical methods commonly used to normalize quantitative 2D gel data. However, irrespective of the method used, the fraction of the proteome amenable to 2D gel-based proteomics revealed, at most, subtle effects of VS on the abundance of a few proteins. I also observed no differences in growth rate between strains differing by the presence or absence of VS when grown in the presence of inhibitors and stressors affecting a wide range of mitochondrial and other cellular functions. Overall, despite VS RNA being as abundant as the large and small mitochondrial ribosomal RNAs, my genetic, biochemical and proteomic investigations of the effect of VS on its host strain provides evidence that VS is a phenotypically neutral element.

Keywords: Neurospora
VS
Advisor: Collins, Rick
Three Essays on Personnel Economics

My dissertation focuses on the role of incentives in the workplace. In Chapter 1, I study peer effects in pay-for-individual-performance jobs. Specifically, I explore whether, how, and why coworker performance matters when rewards are based on individual performance. When teamed with high-performing peers, I find that workers are more productive overall. I also find that workers who resign are unaffected by coworker performance in the period after they hand in their resignation notice. The findings suggest peer effects in pay-for-individual-performance jobs reflect reputational concerns about relative performance rather than competitive preferences. In Chapter 2, I present field evidence that sheds new light on incentive provision in multitask jobs. Specifically, I design and conduct a field experiment at a large-scale restaurant, where the pre-existing wage contract encourages workers to carry out their tasks in a way that is not perfectly aligned with the firm's preferences. The experimental treatment pays bonuses to waiters for the number of customers they serve, in addition to their tips for customer service and hourly wages. I compare worker performance under the treatment to that under the pre-existing contract, where workers are rewarded for overemphasizing customer service, to evaluate the effect of a wage contract that encourages undesirable behavior. I find that the average worker earns more, is more productive, and generates higher short-run profits for the firm when paid bonuses for customer volume. Overall, the findings suggest that sharpening wage contracts to deal with incentive problems in multitask jobs has benefits for workers as well as the firm. In Chapter 3, I present joint work (with Arvind N. Magesan at the University fo Calgary) on the beauty premium's role in the workplace. Specifically, we investigate whether, how, and why the beauty premium can be explained by the behaviour of workers after they are hired. We find that attractive workers earn more because they transfer effort from tasks that reward looks to tasks that reward effort. We also provide evidence against favorable treatment by customers and the employer as sources for the beauty premium. We conclude that the premium is largely driven by the worker's on-the-job behavior.

Keywords: Incentives
Organizations
Advisor: Benjamin, Dwayne
Critical Identity Classrooms as Turbulent Spaces: Exploring Student and Instructor Experiences with Identities, Privilege, and Power

This qualitative study focuses on students and instructors who study, teach, and learn critical concepts of identity, such as gender, race, and dis/ability. The participants’ reflections on these university classroom experiences are examined in order to explore the ways they understand their encounters with privilege and power. In classes that take up discussions of identity – critical identity classrooms – the intention is often to teach, study, and learn how (our) identity or identities manifest in social life, how these manifestations can be problematized, and how these explorations can lead to social change. Often, these courses centre on discussing identity in terms of oppression, rather than investigating the intersections of privilege and oppression. A major contention of this study is that a lack of discussion about privilege in the academy enables the pervasive invisibility of many unearned social advantages to remain under-theorized and ‘invisible.’ This study questions how it is that we come to understand concepts of identity to be one-dimensional, rather than understanding privilege as dynamic and situated. Using in-depth interviews with 22 undergraduate students and 8 instructors from 2 contrasting universities, this study explores 3 main questions: (1) How do students in higher education who are engaged in critical identity studies interpret privilege, both for others and themselves? (2) How do the participants understand their experiences inside and outside the classroom to be related to notions of privilege and oppression that often arise in critical identity classrooms? (3) How does using a multi-site approach to study critical identity classroom experiences extend the ways in which students’ understandings of privilege can be explored? Using these research questions, the intersections of space/location, power, and identities as they inform notions of privilege and oppression are demonstrated. The participants’ reflections expose how questions of belonging, safety, and ‘place’ contribute to the silences around the study of privilege. The study suggests that understanding privilege and oppression as located within the same network of relations, rather than as binary opposites, will aid in making privilege more accessible as a topic of study in critical identity classrooms.

Keywords: Privilege
Power
Higher Education
Identity
Canada
Feminism
Embodiment
Geography
Student
Instructor
Advisor: Acker, Sandra
SlyD, A Ni(II) Metallochaperone for [NiFe]-hydrogenase Biosynthesis in Escherichia coli

SlyD is a protein involved in [NiFe]-hydrogenase enzyme maturation and, together with HypB and HypA proteins, contributes to the nickel delivery step. To understand the molecular details of this in vivo function, the nickel-binding activity of SlyD was investigated in vitro. SlyD is a monomeric protein that can chelate up to 7 nickel ions with an affinity in the sub-nanomolar range. By truncation and mutagenesis studies we show that the unique C-terminal metal-binding domain of this protein is required for Ni(II) binding and that the protein coordinates this metal non-cooperatively. This activity of SlyD supports the proposed in vivo role of SlyD in nickel homeostasis. In addition to nickel, SlyD can bind a variety of other types of transition metals. Therefore it was feasible that the protein contributes to homeostasis of metals other than nickel. To test this hypothesis, the metal selectivity of the protein was examined. The preference of SlyD for the metals examined could be ordered as follows, Mn(II), Fe(II) < Co(II) < Ni(II) ~ Zn(II) << Cu(I) indicating that the affinity of SlyD for the different metals follows the Irving-Williams series of metal-complex stabilities. Although the protein is unable to overcome the large thermodynamic preference in vitro for Cu(I) and exclude Zn(II) chelation, in vivo studies suggest a Ni(II)-specific function for the protein. To understand the function of SlyD as a metallochaperone, its interaction with HypB was investigated. This investigation revealed that SlyD plays a role in Ni(II) storage in E. coli and can function as a Ni(II)-donor to HypB. This study also revealed that SlyD can modulate the metal-binding as well as the GTPase activities of HypB. Based on the experimental data, a role for the HypB-SlyD complex in [NiFe]-hydrogenase biosynthesis is presented.

Keywords: SlyD
Metal homeostasis
[NiFe]-hydrogenase
Metallochaperone
Advisor: Zamble, Deborah
Development of Axisymmetric Drop Shape Analysis - No Apex (ADSA-NA)

The main purpose of this thesis is the development of a new methodology of contact angle measurement called ADSA-NA (Axisymmetric Drop Shape Analysis - No Apex) that analyzes drop shape configurations with no apex. Thus ADSA-NA facilitates contact angle measurements on drops with a capillary protruding into the drop. This development is desirable because the original ADSA has some limitations for contact angle measurement, and there is a need for the improvement of the accuracy of contact angle measurement. To develop ADSA-NA, a new reference point other than the apex and a new set of optimization parameters different from those of ADSA had to be defined. The three main modules of ADSA had also to be modified; the image analysis, the numerical integration of the Laplace equation for generating theoretical curves, and the optimization procedure. It was shown that ADSA-NA significantly enhances the precision of contact angle and surface tension measurements (by at least a factor of 5) compared to those obtained from sessile drops using ADSA. Computational as well as design aspects of ADSA-NA were scrutinized in depth, well beyond the level of scrutiny in the original ADSA. On the computational side, the results obtained from one and the same drop image were compared using different gradient and non-gradient edge detection strategies and different gradient and non-gradient optimization methods. It was found that the difference between the results of different edge detection strategies is minimal. It was also found that all the optimization methods yield the same answer with eight significant figures for one and the same image. The determination of the location of the solid surface in the drop image was also further refined. On the design side, the effect of controllable experimental factors such as drop height and drop volume on the accuracy of surface tension measurement was studied. It was shown that drop height is the dominant experimental factor, and larger drop heights yield lower surface tension errors.

Keywords: ADSA
Contact Angle
Surface Tension
Drop Shape Methods
No-Apex
Advisor: Neumann, A. Wilhelm
Acosta, Edgar
The Role of Social Networks in the Decision to Test for HIV

The major global concern of preventing the spread of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) requires that millions of people be tested in order to identify those individuals who need treatment and care. This study’s purpose was to examine the role of social networks in an individual’s decision to test for HIV. The study sample included 62 participants of African and Caribbean origin in Toronto, Canada. Thirty-three females and 29 males, aged 16 to 49 years who had previously tested positive or negative for HIV, participated in interviews that lasted approximately 60 minutes. Measurement instruments adapted from Silverman, Hecht, McMillin, and Chang (2008) were used to identify and delimit the social networks of the participants. The instrument identified four social network types: immediate family, extended family, friends, and acquaintances. The study examined the role of these network types on the individuals’ decisions to get HIV testing. A mixed method approach (Creswell, 2008) was applied, and both qualitative and quantitative data were collected simultaneously. Participants listed their social networks and retrospectively described the role of their network members in influencing their decision to test for HIV. The participants’ narratives of the influence of social networks in HIV testing were coded. A thematic analysis of the qualitative descriptions of the network members’ influence was performed. The quantitative and the qualitative analysis results were then tallied. The results of the study demonstrated that the influence of social networks was evident in the individuals’ decisions to test for HIV. The most influential group was friends, followed in descending order of influence by immediate family, acquaintances, and extended family. These social network ties provided informational, material, and emotional support to individuals deciding to seek HIV testing. For policy makers and health professionals, coming to a more complete understanding of these dynamics will enable them to make institutional decisions and allocate resources to improve and enhance the support available from within these social networks, thus encouraging, promoting, and leading to increased testing for HIV.

Keywords: Social Networks
HIV Testing
Denial
Stigma
Network ties
Discrimination
Information flow
Social Network theory
Advisor: Quarter, Jack
The C. elegans p53 Family Gene cep-1 and the Nondisjunction Gene him-5 are Required for Meiotic Recombination

p53 promotes maintenance of genetic information either by causing apoptosis of damaged cells, or by altering the cell cycle and repair pathways such that damage can be accurately repaired. The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans possesses only one p53 family member, CEP-1, that controls apoptosis and the cell cycle in response to genotoxic stress. Mutation in the meiotic gene him-5 increases nondisjunction of the X chromosome, resulting in increased frequencies of XO male and XXX Dpy progeny, and it affects the frequency of meiotic recombination on X. him-5 is allelic to the ORF D1086.4, which encodes a putative basic protein with no clear homologues or domain structure. The modest embryonic lethality (Emb) of him-5 mutants is dramatically increased by mutation of cep-1 but no change is seen in the proportion of XO male or XXX Dpy progeny. The synergistic effects of cep-1 and him-5 mutation are independent of CEP-1's DNA damage regulators and other meiotic mutants, and they do not involve deregulated apoptosis. cep-1; him-5 double mutants have abnormal chromatin morphology in diakinesis-arrested oocytes reminiscent of that seen in double strand break (DSB) repair mutants. This phenotype depends on the presence of SPO-11-induced meiotic DSBs, suggesting CEP-1 and HIM-5 function together to promote accurate recombination during meiosis. In support of this hypothesis, cep-1; him-5 show a significant reduction in crossover frequency between autosomal markers compared to wild-type or either single mutant alone, suggesting they function together to promote meiotic crossing over. The X chromosome nondisjunction in both him-5 and cep-1; him-5 is a result of failure of DSB formation and subsequent chiasma formation on the X. However, the embryonic lethality phenotype of him-5 and cep-1; him-5 is caused by a defect either downstream or in parallel to meiotic DSB formation. The diakinesis chromatin phenotype of cep-1; him-5 suggests this defect may be in meiotic DSB repair. This is confirmed by the fact that cep-1; him-5 animals show more persistent meiotic DSB-associated RAD-51 foci staining compared to wild-type, suggesting CEP-1 and HIM-5 may function in efficient resolution of SPO-11-induced DSBs during meiosis. A role for CEP-1 in promoting accurate repair of DSBs during meiosis may be related to p53's function in promoting faithful meiotic recombination in mammalian cells. HIM-5's role in DSB formation and repair suggests another mechanistic link between these recombination steps. Meiotic recombination is vital for genome stability, and characterization of the role of CEP-1 and HIM-5 will increase our understanding of the p53 family and genetic redundancy at multiple steps in this process.

Keywords: meiotic recombination
p53
C. elegans
Advisor: Derry, William Brent
È caso da intermedio! Comic Theory, Comic Style and the Early Intermezzo

This dissertation is a study of the comic intermezzo’s literary origins and musical practice in the years before Pergolesi’s La serva padrona (1733). It begins with a chronological examination of Italian comic plays and operas written between 1660 and 1723. During these years comic playwrights adopted a style of writing speech from the improvised theatre which makes use of what Richard Andrews (1993) refers to as “elastic gags.” This style of comedy flourished under Medici patronage in Florence in the last decades of the seventeenth century and then spread to Venice, Rome and Naples during the first years of the intermezzo’s development. It is a style of comedy shared with the plays of Molière, and other contemporaneous French authors. This dissertation examines several scenes based on French works which have previously not been identified as having earlier sources. The decision to adapt these earlier sources for the intermezzo did not occur in a vacuum. The practice of comedy in the intermezzo was conditioned by the artistic, social and political climate of Italy. This study investigates the relationship between intermezzos and the milieus which produced them. The success of some intermezzos, like Il marito giocatore (1719), resulted from a combination of their artistic merit and their broad social appeal, while others, like Albino e Plautilla (1723), were musically adept but remained obscure because their humour was specific to the world they satirized. Both intermezzos are indebted to earlier French sources. Many others which are metatheatrical in nature draw on contemporary debates about opera. A final section examines selected arias from the intermezzo repertory using incongruity theory. Comic theory makes clear that the intermezzo’s musical language was not a new development. Just as librettists drew on earlier written traditions to form the literary text of the intermezzo, composers drew on existing musical practices to create humour. The intermezzo was therefore not naively comic—a portrait of the genre which is all too common—but rather a repertory which was thoroughly enmeshed within contemporary artistic practice and a wider social and cultural world.

Keywords: music
intermezzo
Molière
comedy
commedia dell'arte
opera
Antonio Salvi
Leonardo Vinci
Giuseppe Maria Orlandini
Bernardo Saddumene
Descartes
Naples
Venice
humour
Medici
elastic gag
Advisor: Parker, Mary Ann
System Availability Maximization and Residual Life Prediction under Partial Observations

Many real-world systems experience deterioration with usage and age, which often leads to low product quality, high production cost, and low system availability. Most previous maintenance and reliability models in the literature do not incorporate condition monitoring information for decision making, which often results in poor failure prediction for partially observable deteriorating systems. For that reason, the development of fault prediction and control scheme using condition-based maintenance techniques has received considerable attention in recent years. This research presents a new framework for predicting failures of a partially observable deteriorating system using Bayesian control techniques. A time series model is fitted to a vector observation process representing partial information about the system state. Residuals are then calculated using the fitted model, which are indicative of system deterioration. The deterioration process is modeled as a 3-state continuous-time homogeneous Markov process. States 0 and 1 are not observable, representing healthy (good) and unhealthy (warning) system operational conditions, respectively. Only the failure state 2 is assumed to be observable. Preventive maintenance can be carried out at any sampling epoch, and corrective maintenance is carried out upon system failure. The form of the optimal control policy that maximizes the long-run expected average availability per unit time has been investigated. It has been proved that a control limit policy is optimal for decision making. The model parameters have been estimated using the Expectation Maximization (EM) algorithm. The optimal Bayesian fault prediction and control scheme, considering long-run average availability maximization along with a practical statistical constraint, has been proposed and compared with the age-based replacement policy. The optimal control limit and sampling interval are calculated in the semi-Markov decision process (SMDP) framework. Another Bayesian fault prediction and control scheme has been developed based on the average run length (ARL) criterion. Comparisons with traditional control charts are provided. Formulae for the mean residual life and the distribution function of system residual life have been derived in explicit forms as functions of a posterior probability statistic. The advantage of the Bayesian model over the well-known 2-parameter Weibull model in system residual life prediction is shown. The methodologies are illustrated using simulated data, real data obtained from the spectrometric analysis of oil samples collected from transmission units of heavy hauler trucks in the mining industry, and vibration data from a planetary gearbox machinery application.

Keywords: Availability maximization
Residual life prediction
Hidden Markov model
EM algorithm
Partially observable system
Time series modelling
Stochastic dynamic programming
Control limit structure
Multivariate Bayesian control chart
Condition-based maintenance
Semi-Markov decision process
Hidden semi-Markov model
Advisor: Makis, Viliam