VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Computational Approaches to Style and the Lexicon

The role of the lexicon has been ignored or minimized in most work on computational stylistics. This research is an effort to fill that gap, demonstrating the key role that the lexicon plays in stylistic variation. In doing so, I bring together a number of diverse perspectives, including aesthetic, functional, and sociological aspects of style. The first major contribution of the thesis is the creation of aesthetic stylistic lexical resources from large mixed-register corpora, adapting statistical techniques from approaches to topic and sentiment analysis. A key novelty of the work is that I consider multiple correlated styles in a single model. Next, I consider a variety of tasks that are relevant to style, in particular tasks relevant to genre and demographic variables, showing that the use of lexical resources compares well to more traditional approaches, in some cases offering information that is simply not available to a system based on surface features. Finally, I focus in on a single stylistic task, Native Language Identification (NLI), offering a novel method for deriving lexical information from native language texts, and using a cross-corpus supervised approach to show definitively that lexical features are key to high performance on this task.

Keywords: computational linguistics
style
register
sociolinguistics
native language identification
computer science
literature
genre
lexicon
Advisor: Hirst, Graeme
The Impact of Chronic High Temperatures on Anther and Pollen Development in Cultivated Oryza Species

Rice is the leading staple for half the world’s population. Climate change, expanding populations and loss of agricultural land are projected to reduce rice yields by upwards of 30%. Significantly, rice yields decline by 10% for every 1°C increase in temperature. Temperatures ≥ 32°C can cause failure in male reproductive development and eliminate yields in some cultivars. This dissertation determined the developmental features and mechanisms associated with failure in male reproduction at temperatures of 32 °C and 36 °C in temperature tolerant and sensitive cultivars of O. sativa and O. glaberrima. Temperatures of 32 °C impaired anther dehiscence in the temperature sensitive cultivar of O. sativa by preventing septum cell wall degradation, which is essential for pollen dispersal. Temperatures of 36 °C induced abortion in pollen development either during meiosis primarily in O. sativa or at the uninucleate stage in O. glaberrima. Abortion during meiosis was associated with autophagic programmed cell death, whereas failure at the uninucleate stage of pollen development was associated with features of necrosis such as cytoplasmic shrinkage and cell wall collapse. Increased hydrogen peroxide production was detected in aborting meiocytes and uninucleate microspores at 36 °C, indicating that this reactive oxygen species may contribute to the failure of male reproductive development in rice during high temperature stress. Identification of the timing of failure in male reproductive development, and the cellular features associated with these processes in rice, form the basis for the identification of molecular mechanisms that control yield responses to high temperature stress.

Keywords: High temperature
Rice
Advisor: Sage, Tammy
Impact of Liming Ratio on Lime Mud Settling and Filterability in the Kraft Recovery Process

In kraft pulp mills, lime is used to convert sodium carbonate to sodium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2). The causticizing reaction precipitates lime mud which is washed, dewatered, and calcined in a lime kiln to generate lime for reuse. Clean, dry, and more stable lime mud helps reducing the energy usage of the kiln, improving burner flame stability, minimizing ring formation, and alleviating emissions of reduced sulphur gases from the kiln stack. The dewatering efficiency of lime mud is greatly affected by the mud and liquor properties, and the equipment design and operation. The properties of the mud vary continuously due to changes in the liquor strength, lime quality and dosage, which is known as the “liming ratio”. Many studies have been carried out to relate lime mud properties to dewatering and filtration behaviours, the mechanisms by which lime mud becomes difficult to settle and filter are not well understood. A systematic study was therefore conducted to examine the effect of the liming ratio on the settling rate and filterability of lime mud. The results show that the mud settling rate and filterability decreased with an increase in liming ratio. The effect was more noticeable as the liming ratio exceeded a critical level leading to an overliming condition. The results also show that the particle size of the resulting lime mud did not appreciably change with liming ratio. Therefore, the decrease in settling rate and filterability cannot be attributed to the smaller particle size of Ca(OH)2 compared to that of lime mud as commonly believed. Rather, it was caused by a change in zeta potential of Ca(OH)2-containing mud particles.This study also shows that the zeta potential of the mud slurry increases proportionally to the free lime content in the lime mud. This suggests that the zeta potential can be used to indicate the extent of overliming in the causticizing plant. The correlation between zeta potential and free lime content can be used to develop an on-line overliming monitoring system to help regulate theamount of lime addition to the system to achieve optimum operating conditions for the mud settling and filtering equipment.

Keywords: lime mud
settling and Filterability
Advisor: Tran, Honghi
Farnood, Ramin
Secondary School Mathematics Teacher Candidates' Research Pedagogical and Content Knowledge

University-based initial teacher education aims at instilling in teacher candidates the idea of the interconnectedness of content, pedagogical and educational research knowledge by allowing meaningful interaction between teacher candidates and teacher educators. The theory-practice divide is presented in the literature as barrier to achieving this goal. This mixed methods research study re-conceptualizes the theory-practice divide from a problem into an opportunity. Secondary school teacher candidates can use contradictions and tensions, surrounding the theory-practice divide, for synthesizing diverse perspectives on content, pedagogical and educational research knowledge. They can integrate this perspective in their practice teaching. The study examined secondary school teacher candidates’ perspectives on the interaction of their content, pedagogical and educational research knowledge in practice teaching as well as factors contributing to these perspectives. The study found that participants’ different perspectives on their research pedagogical and content knowledge (RPACK) were associated with the different levels of their reform-mindedness in mathematics education as measured by a survey. The low, medium and high reform minded participants placed as the first priority pedagogical knowledge, content knowledge and educational research knowledge, respectively.

Keywords: initial teacher education
secondary school mathematics
Advisor: McDougall, Douglas
Ecological Processes in a Spatially and Temporally Heterogeneous Landscape: a Study on Invasive Alliaria Petiolata

The dynamics of ecological populations and communities are predominantly governed by three ecological processes, environmental filtering, species interactions and dispersal, and these processes may vary with heterogeneity of the environment. In my PhD research, I investigated how ecologists conceptualize landscape heterogeneity, and how these three ecological processes may vary with spatial and temporal environmental heterogeneity. I conducted my empirical work in Alliaria petiolata, a non-native invasive species in North America, at the Koffler Scientific Reserve at Joker’s Hill in Ontario, Canada. The thesis contains six chapters, where chapters 2 – 5 are structured as stand-alone manuscripts. In chapter 2, I conducted a quantitative review to link the metacommunity concept (which combines the above-mentioned three processes) with different conceptual models of landscape spatial heterogeneity. I found that 78% of metacommunity studies were not explicit about the underlying model of landscape heterogeneity, though there was a significant association between the implied model of landscape heterogeneity and the observed metacommunity model. In chapter 3, I quantified dispersal of Alliaria petiolata, assessed the spatial structure of rosette and adult density, and compared the effects of the different processes on rosette and adult density. Seed dispersal followed a lognormal distribution (μ = 0.01, σ = 0.65). Both adults and rosettes exhibited significant spatial structure up to 2 m. Propagule pressure and interactions among life stages were significant processes shaping rosette density, whereas propagule pressure was the only important process shaping adult density. In chapter 4, I investigated patterns, determinants and demographic consequences of herbivory in A. petiolata. I found that patterns, determinants and demographic consequences of herbivory may vary between life stages and habitat types. One striking finding was that herbivory incidence in A. petiolata may strongly depend on plant life stage, possibly due to a defense–fitness trade off. In chapter 5, I tested whether intra-specific interactions in A. petiolata shift with temporal environmental heterogeneity (seasonality). I found significant negative density-dependent survival in summer and positive density-dependent survival over winter. I suggested that predictions of the stress gradient hypothesis at the intra-specific level are applicable to seasonal variation in environmental stress.

Keywords: Alliaria petiolata, Ecological processes, Landscape heterogeneity, Environmental filtering, Species interactions, Dispersal, Landscape contrast
Advisor: Wagner, Helene H
(Un)Mapping The Contested Geographies Of Urban Knowledge Production During the 2010 World Cup In South Africa

In 2010, South Africa became the first country on the continent of Africa to host a World Cup. This thesis analyzes aspects of the planning process for this mega-event. My analysis focuses on three interrelated phenomena: public order policing and re-branding through the control of public space; policy transfer and the attempt to clone the 'world-class' city in South Africa; and, the influence of consciously planning for an external television audience on the uneven geographies and temporalities of the mega-event. First, in analyzing the processes of public order policing and its connection to city branding in Durban, South Africa during the World Cup, I trace three mechanisms: the regulation of nuisance behaviors, the restriction of social movement activities, and the introduction of welcome ambassadors. I argue that this policing strategy reveals what city planners believe to be appropriate uses of public space as well as a future vision of the city. Second, using “cultural cloning” as a metaphor, I argue that policy mobility and the valorization of “best practices” can reinforce hegemonic conceptions of a 'world class' city that exacerbate already existing social inequalities. Such notions, also, work to foreclose on alternative visions of how a 'world class' World Cup host city might act such as those articulated in the World Class Cities for All campaign. Third, I examine how the particular medium of television works to shape urban planning, the production of space and the processes of urban knowledge production during mega-events. Such a theoretical approach necessitates closer examination of the relationship between urban planning and urban knowledge production through television. In the conclusion of my dissertation, I put my work in context of recent events and struggles that have emerged in Brazil as that country gets set to host the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics. Additionally, I highlight what I believe to be the key scholarly contributions of this project and outline a future research agenda that emerges from this work.

Keywords: South Africa
World Cup
Urban Planning
Urban Geography
Durban
Advisor: Mahtani, Minelle
Presynaptic Protein Interactions that Regulate Synaptic Strength at Crayfish Neuromuscular Junctions.

Synapses vary widely in the probability of transmitter release. For instance, in response to an action potential the phasic synapses of the crayfish have a 100-1000-fold higher release probability than tonic synapses. The difference in release probability is attributed to differences in the exocytotic machinery such as the degree of “zippering” of the trans-SNARE (Soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor Attachment protein REceptor) complex. I used physiological and molecular approaches to determine if the zippered state of SNAREs associated with synaptic vesicles and the interaction between the SNARE complex and Complexin influence the probability of release at the synapse. I used three Botulinum neurotoxins which bind and cleave at different sites on VAMP to determine whether these sites were occluded by SNARE interaction (zippering) or open to proteolytic attack. Under low stimulation conditions, the light-chain fragment of botulinum B (BoNT/B-LC) but not BoNT/D-LC or tetanus neurotoxin (TeNT-LC) cleaved VAMP and inhibited evoked release at both phasic and tonic synapses. In addition, a peptide based on the C-terminal half of crayfish VAMP’s SNARE motif (Vc peptide) designed to interfere with SNARE complex zippering at the C-terminal end inhibited release at both synapses. The susceptibility of VAMP to only BoNT/B-LC and interference by the Vc peptide indicated that SNARE complexes at both phasic and tonic synapses were partially zippered only at the N-terminal end with the C-terminal end exposed under resting conditions. I used a peptide containing part of the crayfish Complexin central α-helix domain to interfere with the interaction between Complexin and the SNARE complex. The peptide enhanced phasic evoked release and inhibited tonic evoked release under low stimulation but attenuated release at both synapses under intense stimulation. Therefore, Complexin appeared to exhibit a dual function under low synaptic activity but only promoted release under high synaptic activity. The results showed that the zippered state of the SNARE complex does not determine initial release probability as a similar zippered SNARE complex structure under resting conditions is common to both phasic and tonic synapses. However, Complexin may have a role in influencing the initial release probability of a synapse. Therefore, the interaction between the SNARE complex and Complexin is important for release but other factors contribute more significantly to synaptic strength.

Keywords: SNAREs
Complexin
Synapse
Release probability
SNARE zippering
Crayfish
Neuromuscular junction
Synaptic strength
Synaptic transmission
Presynaptic differentiation
VAMP (Synaptobrevin)
Advisor: Charlton, Milton
Aspects of Evil in Seneca's Tragedies

This thesis explores the theme of evil in Senecan tragedy through the prism of his Stoic principles, as they are illustrated in his philosophic treatises, with special reference to de ira, de clementia, and naturales quaestiones. The introduction defines evil and situates this study in the historical context of Julio-Claudian rule at Rome. In addition, I sketch the relative chronology of Seneca’s works and chart Seneca’s interest in the myths on display in Greek and Roman tragedy. Chapter One, “The Beast Within,” investigates the contrast of the civilized and uncivilized behaviour of Seneca’s characters in the Phaedra, Thyestes and Hercules Furens. I argue that although Seneca’s characters represent themselves as creatures of civilization and the city in their rejection of wild nature and their embrace of the values of civilization, in their words and actions they repeatedly revert to the wild landscape and bestial appetites that lurk outside the safety of the city walls. In Chapter Two, “Anger,” I examine the emotion of anger as represented in the Medea and compare that tragic exploration with Seneca’s discussion of the emotion in the de ira, where it is called the greatest vice. I conduct an extensive comparative investigation of the language of Seneca’s treatise de ira and his tragedy Medea. Fitch contends that “the dramas do not read like ii negative exemplars designed to warn of the dangers of passion,”1 but I argue that here and elsewhere they do indeed. In Chapter Three on “Cruelty,” I discuss the theme of cruelty in the Troades with reference to the de clementia where Seneca develops the theme of cruelty as the opposite of mercy, in an effort to guide the eighteen-year-old emperor Nero to compassionate rule. However, Seneca takes up the question of cruelty not only in the treatise, but also in his moral epistles and in his tragedies, especially the Troades. There I show that Seneca employs tragedy to hold up a mirror to his audience so that they can see their own behaviour reflected in it. Chapter Four, on “Ghosts and Curses,” takes its starting point from Seneca’s well-known use of ghosts in his tragedies, a feature which had a great influence on Tudor and Jacobean drama. In Senecan tragedy, the presence of ghosts often threatens the safety of the living. I contend that there are four types of ghost in Senecan drama. In the conclusion, I show that Seneca’s tragedies can be read as a criticism of the powerful, and that his Stoic interpretation of human behaviour can be seen throughout his tragedies.

Keywords: evil
malum
Seneca
tragedy
Advisor: Keith, Alison
Notch Pathway Blockade in Human Glioblastoma Stem Cells Defines Heterogeneity and Sensitivity to Neuronal Lineage Commitment

Glioblastoma is the commonest form of brain neoplasm and among the most malignant forms of cancer. The identification of a subpopulation of self-renewing and multipotent cancer stem cells within glioblastoma has revealed a novel cellular target for the treatment of this disease. The role of developmental cell signaling pathways in these cell populations remains poorly understood. Herein, we examine the role of the Notch signaling pathway in glioblastoma stem cells. In this thesis we have demonstrated that the canonical Notch pathway is active in glioblastoma stem cells and functions to inhibit neuronal lineage commitment in a subset of patient derived glioblastoma stem cells in vitro. Gamma secretase (γ-secretase) small molecule inhibitors or dominant-negative co-activators inhibit glioblastoma stem cell proliferation and induce neuronal lineage commitment in a fashion that synergizes with Wingless pathway activation via GSK-3β blockade. Our data suggest that subsets of patient samples show a Notch gene expression profile that predicts their abilities to undergo neuronal lineage differentiation in response to γ-secretase small molecule inhibitors. Additionally, the data suggests that Notch may perturb the relative fractions of cells undergoing symmetric division, in favour of asymmetric division, limiting clonal expansion from single cells. These data may have important implications for treating human glioblastoma, and suggest that in addition to inhibition of proliferation, influencing lineage choice of the tumor stem cells may be a mechanism by which these tumors may be pharmacologically inhibited.

Keywords: Glioblastoma
Cancer stem cells
Notch signaling
Advisor: Dirks, Peter
Cosmo Girls, Cheetah Boys and Creatures Unlike Any Other: Relationship Advice and Social Change in North America

Over the past fifty years, numerous cultural and structural changes have profoundly altered how heterosexual women and men in North America envision and live out their intimate lives. As key social structures where individuals typically sought guidance about their relationships have lost cultural potency, and insecurities about social and economic structures have grown, people have turned increasingly to alternative sources of advice, of which self-help books are a readily available option. In three interrelated studies, this dissertation considers one of North America’s most popular and lucrative book genres—relationship advice—and its readers. On a textual level, it examines connections between ideological shifts in advice and macro-level changes; with regard to audiences, it asks what generates particular modes of self-help reading. All studies then consider the implications of ideological shifts and modes of reading for the creation or maintenance of social boundaries and attendant inequalities. While prior theoretical and empirical work on relationship advice products and audiences has considered time-limited samples of women’s texts, and research in reception studies has emphasized the importance of gender in generating modes of reading, this dissertation contributes new insight by looking longitudinally at bestselling advice books, offering the first detailed look at books for men, and considering the influence of variables beyond gender in channeling readers toward particular modes of reading. Findings demonstrate strong coupling between ideological trends in advice and broader social changes, and an interlocking effect of readers’ biographical, demographic and psychological factors on modes of reading. Analyses of texts and readers also reveal how the genre reinforces social inequalities. Paper 1 corrects presumptions about advice book content by identifying new ideological trends, Paper 2 develops a conceptual and theoretical vocabulary for understanding constructions of ideal masculinity, namely through identification of a process of “masculinizing” intimacy, and Paper 3 newly identifies two modes of reading—targeted and habitual—and generates theoretical insight broadly applicable to reception studies.

Keywords: relationships
self-help
advice
books
North America
social change
Advisor: Baumann, Shyon
Taylor, Judith