VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Facilitating patient self-care through remote patient monitoring: Validation, design, and evaluation of an intervention for nocturnal hemodialysis

This study used a mixed-methods approach to determine the barriers to patient adoption of nocturnal hemodialysis (NHD) and inform the design and evaluation of a remote monitoring intervention to facilitate patient self-care in the home. In determining the profile of patients that are amenable to NHD, several findings were made. The strongest predictors of adoption of NHD were the factors of self-efficacy in performing the therapy, confidence in self-cannulation and length of time on current therapy. Patients cited the main barriers to the adoption of NHD as the perceived burden of family members, the fear of self-cannulation, the fear of catastrophic event, and low self-efficacy . NHD patients reported improved perceived physical health comes, but were no different in mental health outcomes when compared to conventional patients. These findings informed the design of the remote monitoring intervention, which was then evaluated through a clinical trial. The findings from the trial indicate that patients experience serious alerts throughout the first year of treatment. It is recommended that continuous monitoring be used for all patients, using the minimum standard of bloodline disconnection monitoring and dialysis treatment data. Patients develop a dependency on remote monitoring that will make limited transitional use problematic for providers, without clear justification. The newly empowered, accountable patient must now share the responsibility of disease management with their caregiver. Policy enactment is needed to ensure the appropriate use of information by providers, given the unprecedented access the system allows. An extension of Orem's self-care deficit theory was developed to explain the relationships and interaction between self-care, dependent-care, and a support intervention. The results of the trial suggest that a patient self-care deficit can be eliminated to reach equilibrium by the addition of monitoring-mediated support. This supports most nursing functions that were the norm in conventional hemodialysis. This includes the safety aspects of monitoring that have been automated through use of the system, and the aspects related to adherence, adjustments to treatment parameters, and addressing technique issues. Developments in monitoring-mediated nursing support can be shown to assist in facilitating patient self-care using complex therapies.
A quantitative study of snow sintering and its interaction with sulphur dioxide

Snow sintering has not been studied extensively, despite its potentially significant effects on the fate of pollutants in the natural environment. The present research focused on quantifying the sintering of both artificial and natural snow. Snow sintering was found to follow an exponential decay function, and was strongly temperature-dependent. As expected, the rate of snow sintering decreased with the decrease in temperature. Sintering rate of natural snow was much higher than that of artificial snow. The presence of SO2 gas accelerated snow sintering at -20°C and -35°C. At the lower temperature however, the effect of SO2 on snow sintering was weaker. SO2 uptake capacities were highly dependent of snow types; natural snow was much more capable of uptaking SO2 than artificial snow. This difference indicated the importance of the QLL in sorbing soluble gases. The higher uptake capacity of natural snow was attributed to the oxidative species in natural snow samples.
Partnership, community and the young entrepreneur: Exploring educational partnerships in Canada

This thesis explores how educational partnerships operate as technologies of governance. In doing so, it builds upon existing critical literature on partnership by using the concept of neoliberal governmentality to generate new questions for critical inquiry. The project is centred on partnership in Canada, but draws upon international research in order to situate Canadian trends within their global context. It asks how partnership has come to circulate as a new truth in education, both in Canada and abroad, and explores the effects of this discourse. It does so by engaging theoretically with the existing literature, and by analyzing how one Canadian partnership is constructed in discourse.

Keywords: Business and education, Political aspects
Business and education, Canada
Education and state, Canada
Entrepreneurship, Canada
Towards a framework of humane non-anthropocentric environmental education

This thesis explores humane environmental education from an animal liberationist perspective—it tenders a foundation for non-anthropocentric thinking for the whole of society as well as integration of anti-speciesist paradigms within scholastic and academic communities. The resources utilised for this literature review dissertation stem from environmental theorists, animal liberationists, and animal compassionists. The primary goal of this dissertation is to put forth a framework for humane environmental education which is able to: (1) bring to social consciousness of the pain and suffering meted out to non-human animals by humankind, (2) recognise and acknowledge non-human animals as fellow earthlings with very similar needs and desires as humans, and (3) visualise and assert alternative ways of knowing, of thinking, of learning, and of living in relation to our non-human neighbours. This thesis delves deeper into non-anthropocentric philosophy whereby humane values inherent of humane education are utilised as methods for altering social and individual attitudes, behaviours and lifestyle choices shifting from human-centeredness towards a relatedness of peaceful living with and among all species of Earth. Broad fields of philosophy—animal liberationist ideology, bio-centric environmentalism, eco-feminist perspectives, and veganism—are explored and integrated for fomenting strong advocacy for non-anthropocentric humane environmental education.
Productive and amenity relationships with 'nature' in exurbia: Engagement and disengagement in urban agriculture and the residential forest

This project addresses such tensions in the negotiation of productive fringe landscapes in Canterbury, Aotearoa/New Zealand. Using ethnographic methods of interviews, participant observation, and landscape interpretation along urban---rural transects around Christchurch, I explore small-scale residential land uses with both amenity and productive values. Collecting strong narratives of improvement about and aspiration for environmental interactivity from both residents and land managers, I found that amenity-productive land uses provided a forum for resistance against and critique of issues of human agency in the environment important in my sample, and also a sanctuary within which to withdraw from such issues. As new forms of community and environmental governance are negotiated under rubrics of "sustainability" and in the context of current struggles over neoliberalization, biculturalism, and global trade and governance, the mediation of negotiations takes on an increasingly central role. The results of this study suggest that material engagement in complex and dynamic landscape processes---especially in explicit relation to their social contexts---may provide participants increased rhetorical flexibility and ability to balance abstract overviews with material landscapes in the negotiation of fringe urbanization."Lifestyle" residential development in urban fringes often projects urban images of rurality onto landscapes in limbo between productive uses and suburbanization. This exurbanization is targeted by landscape protection schemes as the bow wave of "urban sprawl." In such a vision of regional geographies, consequently, exurban lifestyle development assumes a paradoxical status: it is at the same time the image of rurality aspired to from within the city, and the image of the encroaching city to defend against from the fringe. In this ambivalent role, large lot rural urbanization simultaneously encourages an aestheticized view of rurality and an anti-urbanism reified in the celebration of rural living and the valorization of nature. The interactions with environmental processes afforded to residents in the fringe can be considered both in terms of the potential for blending urban and rural land use in alternative forms of agricultural and natural resource production, and also in terms of the commodification of countryside and nature, and the co-opting of environmental aspirations associated with rural aspirations. Keywords. urban-rural fringe, peri-urban, urban agriculture, exurbia, planning, Christchurch New Zealand.
Historic Space: A transformative model of history education

This thesis presents the findings of the critical cognitive activity Historic Space as a transformative instructional strategy in high school history education. Drawing on transnational feminist theory, poststructuralist deconstruction, and current work on historical consciousness, a small sample of upper-level high school students from a variety of Toronto high schools completed two interviews based on conceptual learning strategies, such as Concept Formation and Concept Mapping. The purpose of this research was to see if students were able to think about history conceptually and spatially, and if they could, would learning history in this manner make it easier for them to talk about social injustice. The results of this thesis are promising and show that history education can have transformative potential if students are presented with instructional strategies that build their confidence and give them opportunities to make their own conclusions about contentious subject matter.

Keywords: Concept mapping
Concepts in adolescence
Transformative learning
A study of "piercing the corporate veil" in Chinese new company law and its legal practice in China

In modern company law, the concepts of a separate corporate personality and Limited liability protect shareholders from being liable for unlimited company's debts. This function of modern company law encourages the development of capital economy, however, it also poses a risk of abuse of the granted rights. Most modern company law systems have created the doctrine of "piercing the corporate veil" to avoid this risk of abuse. China formally established the doctrine of "piercing the corporate veil" in Chinese new company law in 2006. This ended the uncertain status of the application of veil-piercing doctrine in Chinese law. This thesis explores the development of the doctrine of "piercing the corporate veil" in Chinese company law and aims to highlight why it is significant to legalize the veil-piercing doctrine in Chinese new company law. The thesis also studies the expressed regulation of the doctrine of "piercing the corporate veil" in Chinese new company law and its current legal practice in China. Accepting the significance of legalizing the doctrine in new law, the thesis critiques the ambiguous scopes or narrow provisions of this new doctrine in legal practice; and also makes some proposals on this issue. The thesis concludes that it is desirable to find a feasible scope of application for the veil-piercing doctrine in China.

Keywords: Corporation law, China
Stockholders, Legal status, laws, etc
Stockholders, China
Corporate debt, Law and legislation
Corporate debt, China
The effects of short-term endurance exercise training on vascular function in young males

Long-term endurance exercise training has been shown to improve vascular health; however the effects of short-term training on vascular function are unknown. Fourteen healthy males with a mean age (+/- SD) 25 +/- 4 years exercised for two hours a day on six consecutive days at 65% of their pre-training peak oxygen consumption (VO2peak). Measures of VO 2peak, arterial stiffness, maximal blood flow and resting heart rate variability (HRV) were obtained prior to and two days following the cessation of the training program. Following six days of training there were significant increases in VO2peak, plasma volume and standing RMSSD (time-domain measure of HRV), and significant reductions in central and peripheral pulse wave velocities. Aortic stiffness, maximal blood flow and frequency domain measures of HRV were unchanged. These data indicate that favorable changes in arterial stiffness can be achieved in healthy young males following only six days of intensive endurance exercise.
Political attitudes in New Urbanist communities

This study uses both surveys and electoral data to look at the political attitudes and voting patterns of residents of New Urbanist communities. It finds that the voting patterns in each neighbourhood depend on the type of New Urbanist community; whether a development adheres to the principles of the Charter for the New Urbanism or is simply loosely influenced by it. The explanatory factors behind this are explored along with resident opinions' of their neighbourhood. Other topics pertinent to New Urbanism are discussed, such as the influence of social capital on political attitudes and the success of New Urbanism in fostering tightly-knit communities.
Initiation of Delayed Hydride Cracking in Zr-2.5Nb pressure tube materials under constant load and overload conditions

Zr-2.5Nb alloy pressure tubes in CANDU reactors are susceptible to a crack initiation and growth mechanism known as Delayed Hydride Cracking (DHC). In this thesis, systematic experimental studies were carried out to examine DHC initiation behavior under constant load and overload conditions. The experiments under constant load conditions were performed on simulated debris fretting flaws prepared from two unirradiated pressure tubes. Test results demonstrate that the resistance to DHC initiation increases with increasing root radius from 15 μm to 30 μm and 100 μm. Root radius is shown by optical metallography and scanning electron microscopy to have a significant effect on the distribution and morphology of the notch-tip reoriented hydrides. One tube is observed to have less resistance to DHC initiation than the other tube, consistent with the difference between their KIH properties. The effect of material variability may be attributed to the differences in their microstructure and texture. There is reasonable agreement between the test results and the predictions from the Engineering Process-Zone model under hydride ratcheting conditions. In addition, it is observed that the resistance to DHC initiation is dependent on the different types of thermal cycles including ratcheting, non-ratcheting and non-ratcheting with re-ratcheting. The flaw-tip hydrides formed under non-ratcheting conditions have significantly higher resistance to DHC initiation than those formed under hydride ratcheting conditions, due to the dispersion of the flaw-tip hydrides from the non-ratcheting thermal cycles. The experiments under overload conditions were performed on simulated debris fretting flaws and bearing pad fretting (BPF) flaws prepared from two unirradiated pressure tubes. Test results indicate that overload fracture resistance is dependent on different parameters including hydride formation stress, material variability, flaw shape (V-notch vs. BPF), flaw root radius, hydrogen concentration and thermal cycles, through their effects on the distribution, size and density of the flaw-tip hydrides. The results also suggest that DHC initiation under constant load conditions has different fracture mechanism than that under overload conditions. The test results are also discussed in terms of their implications to assessing DHC in CANDU pressure tubes and to the understanding of DHC mechanism.
Culture and identity and success in school: educating African Canadian youth

This thesis examines the role of cultural identity in the education of minority students in the Ontario school system and how cultural identity impacts their scholastic success. The study focuses on the examination of the vast body of existing literature on cultural identity and the education of minority students within the Euro-American school system. It explores and identifies ways in which a strong cultural identity can enhance the learning outcomes for minority students. Educational research has shown that cultural identity plays a significant role in students' learning and academic achievement and that minority students who have strong cultural ties develop a strong sense of self and that these ties are important assets as they navigate their way through the Euro-American school system. The study has given major consideration to the relationship between language, culture and identity and success in school; it examines the effects of factors such as colonization on the identity of a large segment of students considered "minority" with a legacy of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade; the dominant culture; power, knowledge hegemonism/Eurocentrism on a global level as well as factors of the more immediate personal level of the home environment and theories and ideologies surrounding school; it examines an alternative approach to education and suggests strategies for enhancing the learning outcomes for minority students---i.e., the specified "some."

Keywords: Academic achievement, Canada
Blacks, Education
Blacks, Canada
Racism, Canada
Discrimination in education, Canada
Blacks, Race identity
Educational anthropology
Germline MYH mutations and colorectal cancer risk population-based and clinic-based studies

In a clinic-based study we examine the prevalence of germline MYH mutations in multiple colorectal adenoma patients. Homozygous and compound heterozygous germline MYH mutations were identified in 30% of patients, and 67% carried mutations other than Y165C and G382D. Our results indicate that MYH mutation screening in patients with multiple colorectal adenomas should include the entire MYH gene. Mutations in the MYH gene, a member of the base excision repair pathway, have been associated with the development of colorectal adenomas and cancer as an autosomal recessive disease. In a population-based study of colorectal cancer cases and healthy controls we demonstrate an association between germline MYH mutations and an increased risk of colorectal cancer, and provide evidence for a moderate increased risk in heterozygous carriers that suggests a codominant mode of transmission. We conclude that MYH mutations may account for 1.7% of all colorectal cancer cases in Ontario.
Procedural obligations and substantive outcomes: the structure and role of international commitments to conduct environmental impact assessments

This study addresses, in the context of international environmental governance, the structure and role of a set of institutionalized decision-making arrangements commonly referred to as environmental impact assessment (EIA). The central idea that animates EIA is that decisions affecting the environment are best made through comprehensive evaluation of predicted environmental impacts and through the creation of an open, participatory and information rich decision-making environment. EIA commitments do not impose specific environmental standards on decision-makers nor do they require a proponent to mitigate the identified environmental impacts of a proposed activity. However, the inclusion of EIA commitments in international instruments is premised on the ability of EIA processes to bring about substantive outcomes that reflect international environmental norms. In light of tension between process and substance that inheres in international EIA commitments, the objective of this study is to assess whether EIA, as a method of implementing international environmental norms, is acommitments may structure scientific, political and normative considerations so as to influence domestic decisions affecting the international environment. It is argued that international EIA commitments incorporate many of the features of international and transnational governance structures identified by process-oriented legal scholars as contributing to state compliance with international law. Like process-oriented compliance explanations, EIAs rely on the projection of international norms into processes that are transparent, participatory, discursive, contextual and normative to produce outcomes that are consistent with prevailing norms in a self-regulatory manner. Flowing from this analysis, this study identifies two complementary roles that EIAs play in international environmental governance structures. Firstly, EIAs perform a broad interest co-ordination function by requiring source states to notify and consult with affected states and affected persons where there is a likelihood of international environmental impacts. Secondly, EIAs provide opportunities for persuasion and interest transformation of government agencies through repeated interactions where norms are raised and considered in the context of specific project approvals. In this manner, international EIA commitments, which require domestic decision-makers to account for international environmental norms, can produce policy outcomes that are broadly reflective of the goals of international environmental law.

Keywords: Environmental impact analysis, Law and legislation
Copyright, communication, and culture: re-imagining the copyright model

This thesis is concerned with the underlying philosophy of the Canadian copyright system, and role that this philosophical model plays in shaping core concepts in copyright doctrine. It argues that the current model is premised upon the political and ontological assumptions of traditional liberal theory, and the normative assumptions of possessive individualism. As a result, copyright law fails to adequately reflect the realities of cultural creativity, and so frequently restricts the very communicative or expressive activities that it is meant to encourage. Advocating a shift away from this traditional model and the individual, proprietary rights that characterize it, the thesis suggests a new model for copyright based upon a relational and dialogic account of authorship and culture, and guided by the public interest. Within this new model, authorship can be recognized as a collaborative and communicative process, as opposed to an individualized and independent act; the author's work can be regarded as speech and not property; and users of protected works can be valued as participants in an ongoing dialogic exchange of meaning. Chapter 1 lays out the philosophical critique that underpins the thesis, and draws upon feminist literary and legal theory to suggest a new vision of the author and authorship that could influence the development of copyright doctrine. Chapter 2 examines the nature of the copyright interest, and argues for a departure from the view of copyright as a natural property right that inheres in the author as intellectual labourer. Chapter 3 considers the originality doctrine and the role played in its construction by competing theories of the author's right and the public interest. Chapter 4 is concerned with the use, transformation, and "appropriation" of protected materials, and draws the connection between the social values of copyright law and those underlying the right of free expression. The overarching theme of this thesis is the need for a departure from notions of natural right, individual entitlement, and private property in copyright law and policy, and the re-imagination of copyright in terms of cultural policy, the encouragement of a vibrant and participatory community, and the facilitation of relationships of communication.