VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Deontic and epistemic reasoning in children

Extensive research demonstrates that adults show an advantage for deontic reasoning (reasoning about permissions and obligations) over epistemic reasoning (reasoning about a supposed state of affairs). This “deontic advantage” in adults occurs when the only difference between deontic and epistemic tasks is whether participants hear and are asked to reason about a deontic rule or an epistemic statement, while context is held constant. Two published studies (Cummins, 1996b; Harris and Núñez, 1996) have determined that preschool-aged children also show a deontic advantage. However, in these studies there were a number of contextual differences between the deontic and epistemic conditions, in addition to the crucial deontic/epistemic language difference. One study (Ain, 2004) removed these contextual differences between conditions, leaving only the language difference, finding that preschoolers showed no evidence of the deontic advantage under these conditions. Thus, the deontic advantage in preschoolers appears to be different from the deontic advantage in adults, in that it seems to rely on contextual differences between conditions. Based on this, the current thesis examines deontic and epistemic reasoning in preschool- and school-aged children, in four successive studies. The reasoning tasks used in the studies include Cummins' (1996b) Squeaky Mice Task, and Harris and Núñez's (1996; Expt. 4) Evaluation Task, as well as adapted versions of both tasks. The aim of the thesis is twofold. The first goal is to determine whether school-aged children show the same deontic advantage as adults (i.e., one that is not based on contextual differences between conditions). Results reveal that 7-year-old children do show this ability. The second goal is to determine the specific conditions under which preschool-aged children show the deontic advantage. Results reveal that, in preschoolers, the deontic advantage relies on three differences between conditions—the language used in the rule/statement, the presence of an authority figure in the deontic condition only, and the language used in the test questions. This is different from adults (and older children), who do not require an authority figure in the deontic condition to show the advantage. Through these findings, this thesis provides clarity to the concept of the deontic advantage in children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)
Insights into the pore structure and function of Kir2.1 and HCN4 channels

Inward rectifier K+ (Kir) and hyperpolarization-activated cyclic-nucleotide gated (HCN) channels are members of the K+ channel superfamily essential for numerous cell processes. A narrow ( sim;3.3A) selectivity filter formed by the P-loop sequence 1T 2T(V/I)GYG confers K+ selectivity to K+ channels. Electrostatic effects originating from surface charges outside the selectivity filter can influence conductance. Surface charge contributions to Kir2.1 conductance were explored by measuring unitary conductance (gamma) over a range of K+ activities (aK). Typical of surface charge effects, the gamma-aK relationship was hyperbolic with a non-zero intercept which was eliminated following treatment with charge screening agents NMG+ or TMO. Of three candidate acidic residues, E153C, but not E125C or D152C, channels showed hyperbolic gamma-aK relationships through the origin, with WT gamma properties re-established following the addition of MTSES. Thus, E153 provides a surface charge, enhancing gamma in Kir2.1 channels. HCN channels resemble Kv channels in structure but possess the pore-lining sequence 1L2CIGYG suggesting 1L2C account for low selectivity in these channels. Since no currents were measured in L478T/C479T channels and 2T is more highly conserved, we examined C479T HCN4 channels. C479T channels were less selective than WT in a manner suggesting they had larger pores, which was further supported by increased whole-cell and unitary conductances in C479T channels. "Excluded Field Theory" predicted pore diameters of 6.9+/-0.4A and 8.7+/-0.3A for WT and C479T channels respectively. Thus, the TIGYG sequence is insufficient to confer K+ selectivity to HCN4 channels. HCN4 channels have larger diameters than Kv channels with Cys479 dictating the minimum diameter. Large pore diameters and low selectivity of HCN channels may derive from fewer stabilizing interactions between the pore-helix and the selectivity filter, which we attempted to rectify through the creation of Kir2.1-HCN4 chimeric channels and strategic mutagens. These efforts either failed to express protein or current or in the case of S475D/C479T channels did not improve K + selectivity suggesting P-loop interactions are not the sole determinants of HCN pore topology. Collectively, theses results provide insights into the functional roles of pore region structures from two K+ channels that may consequently help to understand the structure and function of other channels.
Understanding professional development and the process of change: a case study of effective primary literacy teachers

The purpose of this study was to examine the ways that primary level teachers implemented changes in their literacy teaching practice as a result of intensive in-service professional development based on Willows's (1994) model: The Balanced and Flexible Literacy Diet: Putting Theory into Practice. Two teachers from a small elementary school were interviewed at length to determine their perceptions of the key content, process, and context variables of the in-service professional development that guides teachers in translating research into practice. Through the use of qualitative research methods to analyse the data, teachers emphasized the importance effective classroom time management skills, flexibility, creativity, and self-monitoring skills to initiate change in the classroom. The results also suggested that teachers are most likely to implement change in early literacy instruction when there is strong ministry, administrative, and staff support. Recommendations are made for implementing future professional development programs.
Quantification of and gender differences in human loudness adaptation: Experiment and theory

Introduction. Previous studies report gender differences in the auditory system; however, none reports gender differences in auditory adaptation, the decrease in perceived loudness to protracted auditory stimulation. Experiments. We applied a 6-min tone to a participant's adapting ear. Each minute on the minute, participants adjusted the intensity of an iso-frequency tone in the contralateral control ear until both tones sounded equally loud. We calculated adaptation as the intensity difference between a reference level and that registered at later time points. Results. At each time pint, the magnitude of femaile adaptation was greater than that of males. Adaptation was found to oscillate with time. Model. We created a model of loudness for each ear, and used it to obtain values of a psychophysical parameter. Hypothesis. The magnitude of loudness adaptation will differ between genders when we administer pure tones of constant intensity and frequency to participants.
In quest of Eros: an examination of erotic short stories by Latin American women

A discussion of the erotic cannot ignore the sexual, a subject frequently mired in debates regarding the appropriateness/boundaries of its depiction in words and pictures. In order to provide a framework for the analyses in Chapters Two through Nine of the individual stories, in Chapter One I discuss theoretical considerations pertaining to the erotic, beginning by underlining the difficulty of isolating a word as subjective as “erotic,” and pointing out the complications involved in separating it from the equally subjective “pornographic.” This leads to an examination of the controversies surrounding issues regarding what is erotic, what is pornographic, and how the two concepts might differ, or, conversely, might be similar. As it would appear that there are divisions along gender lines regarding what may or may not be considered erotic, and, given that written and spoken expression is rooted in the word, in Chapter One I also explore some of the related language and gender issues. Women have expressed concern that the portrayal of the sexual in literature is too often by means of a male voice which expresses male preoccupations at the expense of those of women; women writers from machista societies such as those in Latin America, in particular, have been emerging from their imposed silence to fill in the gaps, as it were. A multiplicity of women's voices can be heard in the eight narratives examined: “Mulher sentada na areia” by Renata Pallottini; “tetra para salsa y tres soneos por encargo” by Ana Lydia Vega; “La despedida” by Ana Maria Shua; “El descubrimiento de Barracas” by Cecilia Absatz; “Penelope en sus bodas de plata” by Rima Vallbona; “El testigo” by Cristina Peri Rossi; “Sombra entre sombras” by Ines Arredondo; and “Bien pretty” by Sandra Cisneros. In the end, one can only search for Eros, since Eros itself is an elusive and subjective concept. Nonetheless, it has been possible to proffer in this thesis a conjectural model of what constitutes an erotic story written by a woman; such a model will conceivably result in further deliberation upon the subject.
Radio frequency identification technology for automated data collection in construction

One of the most important factors that determine the profitability of a project and the competitiveness of a construction company as a whole is the availability of full and correct data about ongoing activities on the construction site, since managers rely on such data in their decision making. It is not only the data itself that is of interest, but also how soon it can be delivered to the decision maker. In this research, the Radio Frequency Identification technology is applied as an aid-technology for automated data collection of cyclic processes in construction. The capabilities of the RFID technology in the conditions of the construction site environment are investigated, and the feasibility of RFID applications in construction is discussed.
'Encountering' violence: White sexual assault counsellors and race

This research, which employs a feminist anti-colonial theory of sexual violence, explores how colonization shapes the racial encounter between white sexual assault counsellors and Aboriginal women in a Prairie city. Through semi-structured interviews, counsellors revealed that they employ various strategies of ignoring race when counselling, which aligns with a liberal feminist view that imagines all women as unified through their shared gender oppression. The analysis indicates that when white counsellors encounter Aboriginal clients, they reproduce racism and perform dominance through strategies of racelessness. Counsellors desire to know more about Aboriginal women and their culture, because due to their different social locations, counsellors are often unable to relate to their clients' realities and "vulnerability." When vulnerability is empathized, pity and empathy become the emotional responses, but as I argue the problem with these responses is that it does not lead to respect, nor any structural change in the system of oppression.

Keywords: Rape, Canada
Counseling, Canada
Racism, Canada
Counselors, Attitudes
Counselors, Canada
Indigenous women, Crimes against
Indigenous women, Canada
Indigenous women, Counseling of
Indigenous women, Canada
Effects of nursing education on the formation of professional values

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of formal educational preparation programs on the formation of nursing professional ethical values in nursing students. The aim of this study was to discover how nursing students define and manifest ethical values in relation to their perceptions of expectations for the profession. It also investigates what they perceive as professional ethical practice and what they identify as the most influential aspects of the learning process associated with their change in orientation from layperson to professional nurse. The conceptual framework that guided this study was a model based on Van Gennep's three stages of development. The groups were studied at three stages in the educational process; the beginning level, the end of the program and as a new practitioner who had graduated within the last year. These cross-sections of the program were analyzed for individual perceptions of professional behaviour, professional values, and what influenced their development as a nursing professional. This qualitative study involved twenty-one (21) individual interviews and three (3) focus group meetings. The data collected were analyzed for common themes and variations within each stage of the conceptual framework and across the experiential divisions of the study sample. The findings indicate that there is a change over time in how these students identify with personal and professional values as they proceed through formal nursing education. As they progress through the program they are able to differentiate when they would make a professional value decision and what the effects of this decision would be. There were variations in responses based upon their individual experiences. The data indicate that the acquisition of professional values is influenced by many factors. Formal lectures regarding professional ethical values serve as a base line for their knowledge level. However the influence of practical experience in a healthcare setting, the effect of role-modeling by teachers and nurses provides the opportunity to see and apply these professional expectations. These influences have an impact on their understanding and integration of the professional values into their sense of professional identity. Recommendations are made for nursing education as well as implications for the preparation of nursing professionals. A further distinction between professional socialization and organizational socialization is made as an implication for theory.

Keywords: Nursing, Study and teaching
Nursing, Ontario
Medical ethics, Study and teaching
Medical ethics, Ontario
Professional ethics, Study and teaching
Professional ethics, Ontario
Nursing ethics, Ontario
Nursing students, Professional ethics
Nursing students, Ontario
IRT parameter estimation: can the jackknife improve accuracy?

Unidimensional item response theory (IRT) models are routinely applied to data that are not strictly unidimensional despite the general consensus that this may lead to inaccurate parameter estimates. The jackknife technique, typically used to remove bias by re-sampling observations, may improve the accuracy of the unidimensional parameter estimates that result from multidimensional data by re-sampling items. This study examined (1) the systematic errors in marginal maximum likelihood (MML) parameter estimates that result from fitting a unidimensional two-parameter logistic IRT model to a test consisting of passage-linked groups of multiple-choice items and (2) the effectiveness of the jackknife in increasing the accuracy of these parameter estimates. Data were simulated according to one-, two-, and ten-dimensional models. Results suggest that the magnitude of bias in the unidimensional MML parameter estimates of passage-linked items depends predominantly on the characteristics of the item. Of the items classified as biased, the bias was more likely to occur in small item and person sample sizes. While the errors in the parameter estimates that arose from person sampling were fairly consistent across dimensionality models, the item sampling errors were not. Specifically, in the multidimensional conditions, the parameter estimates for a particular item varied as a result of the other items included in the calibration. The jackknife did not reduce the multidimensional item bias in the MML estimates.

Keywords: Item response theory
Jackknife (Statistics)
Parameter estimation
Virginibus puerisque: five preaching plays of Castellano de' Castellani addressed to the youth of Florence

Castellano di Pierozzo Castellani (1461-1519/20) was a Florentine priest, academic, and playwright of patrician lineage and multiple talents who became a professor of canon law in the Studio of Florence, Vicar of Resole, a conte palatino, and a client of the Medici, patrons of the Renaissance and de facto rulers of the city. Moreover, Castellani was a zealous religious reformer who contributed both as a regulator of convents and as a devotional poet to the late-Quattrocento Christian Renaissance spearheaded by the Dominican friar Girolamo Savonarola (1452-98).
Electron transport through molecularly linked nanoparticle films in an external magnetic field

In this thesis, we report the preparation and characterization of niobium carbide (NbC) nanoparticles suitable for study of electronic transport through molecularly linked superconducting nanoparticle films in magnetic fields. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and magnetic susceptibility are used to determine the size distribution and superconducting critical temperature (Tc), respectively. We also report on design and construction/assembly of apparatus required to perform the electrical measurements. To test the apparatus and to explore properties of nanoparticle films comprised of normal metal particles, we have performed an initial study of the temperature and magnetic field dependence of electronic transport through disordered arrays of molecularly linked gold (Au) nanoparticle films. In particular, we have measured the differential conductance and Hall Potential as functions of bias voltage, temperature (to l.8 K) and magnetic field (to 14 T). Magnetic field dependent Coulomb Blockade is observed at low T. We also observe oscillations in the Hall Potential and features in the differential conductance as a function of magnetic field. Work is ongoing to confirm and model these effects.
An A.C. impedance investigation of corrosion of Cr, electrodeposited Cr, and polyimide coated Cr

An investigation of the possible corrosion in Cr/polyimide interfaces was performed. The electrochemical behaviour of Cr metal in 1 N H2SO4 and in 4 N HCl was determined with both d.c. and a.c. measurement techniques. A similar investigation was performed for electrodeposited Cr in 4 N HCl. Improvements in the corrosion resistance of electrodeposited Cr were observed with heat treatment; however, the corrosion resistance remained inferior to that observed for Cr metal. A modification of the previously proposed mechanism for Cr dissolution in 1 N H2SO4 successfully explained the impedance behaviour of Cr in 4 N HCl as a function of potential (active, active - passive, or passive) and structure (metallic or electroplated). With an understanding of the dissolution mechanism of the metallic and electrodeposited Cr surfaces, the electrochemical behaviour of these surfaces coated with polyimide was investigated with a.c. impedance. A potential dependent equivalent circuit model was proposed for the coated interfaces. The breakdown of Cr/polyimide interfaces immersed at open circuit potentials was the result of a simple charge transfer processes beneath the coating. Breakdown under the application of an active bias occurred at an accelerated rate and the corrosion reaction at the biased interfaces was diffusion controlled. Failure of the Cr/polyimide interface was the result of blister formation, regardless of the bias conditions. A.C. impedance proved to be a useful technique for the successful characterization of breakdown at the interface of a polyimide coated metal.
Species-specific optimizations of sequence and structure

How does life adapt to the diverse environmental conditions found on earth? In the ongoing mission to answer this question, genome sequencing efforts identify the genes and proteins that provide the mechanism for growth, reproduction and adaptation. In this study, we took advantage of this exceptional opportunity to investigate whether sequences and structures from different organisms exhibited features that were species-specific. We analyzed the amino acid composition of sequences and structures of up to 150 completely sequenced genomes and explored the effectiveness of predictive methods that take advantage of amino acid composition bias. As a first case, we demonstrate a fast and simple method to predict domain linkers from sequence composition alone. Since the number of solved protein structures for any complete genome is rather nominal, we built a database of conservative, domain-based homology models called the species-specific fold database. Our analysis indicates that species-specific sequence and structure optimizations are significantly attributable to lifestyle and environment. Predictive scoring functions based on genome composition biases are shown to be effective in the identification of the taxonomic origin from sequence composition alone. Our predictive contact potentials derived from residue contacts in the structure models captures species-specific contact preferences that may be useful in evaluating structure optimizations. Finally, we demonstrate the ability of novel, asymmetric, species-specific substitution matrices in the alignment of compositionally biased sequences. Taken together, this work presents an original exploration into the adaptation of organisms from diverse environments using both sequence and structure information.
Factors relating to parenting by non-heterosexual fathers

Non-heterosexual fathers face homophobia, heterosexism, and sexism wherein socially constructed rules dictate their prescribed roles as fathers and individuals. However, little is know about the experiences or concerns of this group. This research investigation involved two interconnected studies. Study One was conducted as an Internet survey that requested mostly demographic information from non-heterosexual men, both fathers and non-fathers, from across Canada, and surveyed selected perceptions of societal beliefs about gay parenting, homophobia and heterosexism. Of the non-fathers, twenty-one wanted children, while only ten did not. Six respondents were unsure. Perceived attitudes towards non-heterosexual parents by both heterosexuals and non-heterosexuals were positive. While non-fathers perceived more positive attitudes towards non-heterosexual parents from other non-heterosexuals than did fathers, perceived attitudes towards non-heterosexual parents by heterosexuals did not differ. Study Two consisted of interviews with both non-heterosexual fathers and non-fathers. Interview questions focused on family structure, how the fathers came to have children, attitudes towards non-heterosexual fathers, current and future concerns about parenting, and services and information available for fathers and potential fathers. Both Studies One and Two revealed many ways that a non-heterosexual man could become a father. The most common way reported was for men to have had children in the context of a heterosexual marriage, and then come out as non-heterosexual at a later date. Less common, but increasing in frequency, were those men who choose adoption, surrogacy, co-parenting, fostering or step-parenting as a means of having children after coming out. Several themes emerged as salient throughout the research. One of the most frequently cited themes was the invisibility of non-heterosexual fathers. This was reflected in the lack of available services and supportive agencies. Other themes emerging included (i) prejudice from both heterosexuals and non-heterosexuals towards these men as parents, (ii) coming out, and (iii) identity conflict. All of these themes were enmeshed in issues around identity organization and synthesis. Many previously married fathers had concerns around coming out as gay and being a father. Conversely, many men who had fathered children after coming out discussed the difficulties in having children, and subsequently incorporating fatherhood into an established gay identity.

Keywords: Gay fathers
Fatherhood
Father and child
Parenting