VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Using Bourdieu’s Theory of Practice to Investigate the Experiences of Ontario College Graduates from Three Former Soviet Republics

With an aging population and a looming shortage of skilled labor, the Canadian government wants to attract more international students in the hope that many will stay on after graduation. For most international graduates, the path to citizenship involves securing suitable employment in Canada. This study used a mixed-methods research design to explore the experience of 30 Ontario community college graduates originally from three former Soviet republics – Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus – as they attempted to transition from school to work and to integrate into Canadian society. Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of practice provided the theoretical framework used to analyze their work and integration experience. The study examined the relationship between structure and agency, as well as the interplay of the three elements of Bourdieu’s theory: field, capital, and habitus. The data collected from in-depth interviews and document analysis revealed that each participant belonged to one of three distinct groups: “Teenagers”, or those who arrived in Canada shortly after graduating from high school; “Young Adults”, or those who were in their 20s and had further life experience on arrival; and “Mature Adults”, or those who were over 30 on arrival, leaving behind established lives. Before coming to Canada, many members of the Teenager group already had attitudes and attributes suited to Canada’s career field. They also possessed considerable cultural and economic capital as a result of opportunities provided by their parents. The participants in the Young Adult group could not come to Canada right after high school and therefore spent several years engaged in various activities in their home countries, gaining experience that gave them a career habitus not well aligned with the Canadian labor market. And the salient feature of the Mature Adult Group was that, even though some were still young when the Soviet Union collapsed, socialism had a profound impact on their habitus in general and career habitus in particular. Accordingly, they had the greatest difficulty adjusting to life in Canada. The study also revealed that, even though the participants experienced prejudice and discrimination as a nonvisible minority, their whiteness served as a form of capital in the job market.

Advisor: Wheelahan, Leesa
Human Papillomavirus and Anorectal Immunology in HIV-positive Men who have Sex with Men

Anal human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is prevalent among HIV-positive men who have sex with men (MSM) and can lead to the development of anal intraepithelial neoplasia (AIN) before possibly progressing to anal cancer. However, very little is known about mucosal immune changes that occur as a consequence of AIN development. As such, the overarching goal of this thesis was to explore the impact of AIN on anorectal immunology in HIV-positive MSM. Because my studies took place in Toronto, Canada, I first aimed to understand anal HPV prevalence among MSM living in Toronto. To this end, I analyzed data collected from a previous study and confirmed a high anal HPV prevalence of 82% in 294 HIV-positive and 148 HIV-negative MSM. I began my thesis work by testing whether AIN is associated with increased anorectal HIV shedding in men with suppressed HIV viremia. Although I did not find an association between AIN and anorectal HIV shedding, a subset of the cohort did have low-level anorectal HIV shedding despite effective ART. Therefore, I next assessed mucosal immune correlates of HIV shedding. Contrary to my hypothesis, mucosal inflammation was not associated with HIV shedding in ART-treated MSM. Finally, I aimed to identify immune predictors of AIN regression. I found compelling evidence to support that T cell activation within AIN lesions is associated with natural regression. Moreover, AIN regressors had significantly higher systemic responses to HPV peptides than non-regressors, and these responses in the blood strongly correlated with T cell activation in AIN lesions. Taken together, the findings presented in this thesis demonstrate that while AIN is unlikely to enhance HIV transmission in ART-treated men, differential immune responses within AIN lesions can help predict clinical outcomes. Further studies are warranted to 1) understand the relationship between HIV shedding and the HIV reservoir; and 2) inform clinical management of AIN. Importantly, if similar mucosal immune responses mediate AIN regression in HIV-negative MSM, this may be a mechanism by which anal HPV/AIN increases HIV susceptibility; thus, the association between AIN and HIV susceptibility in HIV-negative MSM should be investigated in the future.

Advisor: Kaul, Rupert
A New Kind of Energy: Atomic Science in the Cold War Koreas: 1945-1958

This study takes up discourses on atomic science and technology in the mid-twentieth century Koreas. By doing so, it demonstrates how, well before either North or South Korea was capable of developing a domestic nuclear program, atomic science served as a discursive channel for the aspirations and apprehensions connected to decolonization. Broadly, the project examines writing on atomic technology in colonial, socialist, and liberal renditions of the Korean nation. In each of these settings, intellectuals reduced liberation and historical advancement to the capacity of the people to embrace a developmentalism built on science in general and atomic technology in particular. However, these proscribed entanglements also posited versions of science that reified Europe as the singular wellspring of the discipline, and in turn, historical progress. Rather than reduce the question of nuclear proliferation to the whims of political leadership or the contours of international exchange, this study focuses on the social and cultural dimensions of science in the nation-building process. With implications for the broader issue of global nuclear proliferation, this project is the first study to comparatively explore the sociopolitical character of atomic science in the two Koreas. This work provides a broad examination of atomic science in technology in North and South Korea through five sections. Chapter one explores science writing in post-1945 Seoul, and the colonial era roots of a belief in an apolitical and individualist science capable of creating an atomic bomb. Chapter two follows the genre in the north where Pyongyang-based science journals explored the atomic promise of a centrally planned socialist science. Chapter three analyzes the confluence of visions in the north and south on the developmentalist horizons of limitless atomic energy. A fourth chapter highlights how science influenced narratives of the past; specifically, Korean accounts of the Asia-Pacific War and the atomic bombings that coincided with its conclusion. Finally, chapter five reorients towards the future. This section considers the meaning of a postcolonial sovereignty in a world defined by the geographies of fallout and the threat of atomic war.

Keywords: Cold War History
Cold War Science
East Asian History
North Korea
Nuclear Proliferation
South Korea
Advisor: Schmid, Andre
Simulating Paradise: Exploring Habitable Exoplanet Climates with a Fast GCM

A quarter-century of exoplanet science has delivered thousands of confirmed exoplanets, revealing a far broader palette of worlds than those found in our own solar system--including many Earth-sized planets in the habitable zones of their stars. With these discoveries has come a growing interest in using the computer models developed to simulate Earth's climate to probe the possible climates of potentially-habitable planets. However, many of these models are limited in their ability to model planets that are very different from Earth, or are computationally expensive to run, limiting the degree to which they can be used to study the full breadth of that diversity. In this dissertation, I present ExoPlaSim, a version I have created of the PlaSim 3D climate model. ExoPlaSim is designed to simulate a wide range of habitable planets, including those most likely to be observed and characterized in the coming decades. ExoPlaSim is accurate and extremely fast, enabling modellers to pursue new kinds of exoplanet science. It is also easy to use, enabling more people than ever to use and learn from 3D climate models. I present validation tests using established models as benchmarks, and show several demonstrations of its utility through sensitivity studies, discoveries of new phenomena in narrow regions of parameter space, and simulations of a climate's evolution over geological timescales. Finally, I demonstrate how ExoPlaSim can help inform observations by combining it with a spectral postprocessing code to create synthetic observations, which allow us to explore the impact that the underlying diversity of possible climates has on our ability to infer climate from observations. This model, and the discoveries it has already enabled, will enable rapid improvements in our understanding of habitable climates through studies involving hundreds and even thousands of 3D models, obtained in a matter of weeks rather than months or years. This model thus fills a gap in the model hierarchy, helping to guide the more sophisticated models to interesting modeling targets, and permitting the study of questions that are easy to answer, but of too-low priority to justify the use of more expensive models.

Keywords: atmospheres
climate
exoplanet
simulation
Advisor: Menou, Kristen
Applying Mathematics to the Natural and Social World

My dissertation explores the roles that mathematics plays in explanations and action-guidance. In particular, I address epistemic and ethical aspects of applying mathematics in empirical and normative inquiry. In Chapter 2, I examine whether mathematical explanations can be analyzed in terms of counterfactual conditionals. I offer three challenges for such analyses and tentatively conclude against countermathematical explanations. In Chapter 3, I extend the epistemic resources of a popular framework for applying mathematics in sciences. In particular, I use two case studies from biology and physics in order to argue that this framework for applying mathematics in the empirical sciences must be complemented by a distinct role, which I name the bridging role. I show how considering the bridging role would capture mathematical practice in the sciences in a more holistic way. In Chapter 4, I investigate and compare the conditions for applying mathematics in the empirical sciences and normative inquiry. Using two case studies from fair algorithmic decisions and the allocation of scarce resources, I identify two typical sets of different conditions for the applicability of mathematics. Finally, in Chapter 5, I explore the ramifications of the arguments from Chapter 4 to a novel field of research known as Explainable Artificial Intelligence.

Keywords: Applied mathematics
Counterfactual explanation
Explainable Artificial Intelligence
Mathematical explanation
Philosophy of science
Scientific explanation
Advisor: Brown, James
Dissecting Genetic and Cellular Heterogeneity in Glioblastoma at Single Cell Resolution

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common and aggressive form of adult primary brain cancer. Therapeutic resistance in GBM is rooted in its layered genetic and cellular heterogeneity, including rare glioblastoma stem cells (GSCs) that drive tumour growth and disease relapse. Despite extensive profiling of primary tumours, heterogeneity within the GSC fraction and its relationship to the tumour bulk remains poorly characterized. To address this gap, I used whole genome sequencing of 44 GSC-tumour pairs to demonstrate that purified GSC cultures recapitulate the somatic landscape of tumours. I then performed single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq) on >69,000 GSCs isolated from 26 tumours to characterize functional diversity within the tumour-initiating fraction of GBM. GSCs exhibited extensive transcriptional heterogeneity that translated to variable, subpopulation-specific drug sensitivity profiles. Although a portion of intra-GSC heterogeneity was explained by subclonal somatic alterations at the DNA level, we found GSCs mapped to a unifying transcriptional gradient spanning two cellular states reminiscent of normal neural development and inflammatory wound responses. Genome-wide CRISPR–Cas9 dropout screens independently recapitulated this observation and identified targetable sensitivities within each GSC state. Additional scRNA-seq of >56,000 malignant cells from primary tumours found that the majority organize along an orthogonal astrocyte maturation gradient yet retain expression of founder GSC transcriptional programs. Finally, to investigate transcriptional programs and cellular dynamics underpinning disease progression in glioma, I performed single nuclei RNA-sequencing on >270,000 cells isolated from 52 cryopreserved gliomas, including a subset of patients with longitudinal samples before and after therapy. Compositional analysis revealed gliomas separated into distinct groups based on the frequency of malignant phenotypes, each with an associated microenvironmental niche and GSC state mirroring the Developmental to Injury Response gradient. Collectively, this work has two important consequences. First, gliomagenesis may be explained by a single biological model that involves mixtures of inflammatory wound-healing cells and neurodevelopmental-like cells that cause aberrant neural growth and underpin therapeutic resistance. Second, the heterogeneity discovered at the GSC level suggests combination therapies must be developed to simultaneously target both developmental and inflammatory subpopulations. This paradigm may help identify new approaches to target treatment-refractory cells that reside at the apex of GBM cellular hierarchies.

Keywords: cancer stem cells
glioblastoma
single cell RNA-sequencing
Advisor: Pugh, Trevor
Carbohydrate-based Inhibitors of PNAG-dependent Biofilm Formation

Many bacteria form biofilms, surface-attached communities within an extracellular matrix. They are medically significant since they provide pathogens with increased tolerance to antibiotics and protection from the host immune response. The biofilms of various bacterial pathogens contain a common exopolysaccharide, PNAG: a partially de-N-acetylated polymer of β-1,6-linked N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc). PgaABCD and IcaADBC comprises the biosynthetic machinery which assembles, modifies, and exports this polymer In E. coli and S. epidermidis, respectively. Here, synthetic carbohydrate derivatives are used to probe the mechanisms of these biosynthetic components and study PNAG biosynthesis. First, GlcNAc derivatives were evaluated as inhibitors of the PNAG de-N-acetylases PgaB, IcaB, and related peptidoglycan deacetylase PgdA. In one study, GlcNAc analogs bearing substitutions at the C3 position were examined, replacing the hydroxyl with metal chelating groups including amine and thiol. Though most of this series was inactive, a 2-thioacetamido 3-thio GlcNAc analog was identified as a potent, mechanistically unusual PgdA inhibitor. Additionally, α-hydroxyphosphonamidate transition state analogs were investigated. These compounds had limited activity, providing insights into substrate recognition and active site differences between the CE4 enzymes. Next, PNAG metabolic labelling was attempted using azido and thio GlcNAc analogs. Though metabolic labelling was not observed, 3-thio and 3-azidoGlcNAc were identified as inhibitors of gram-positive PNAG-dependent biofilm formation. Lastly, C6-substituted UDP-GlcNAc analogs were evaluated as inhibitors of the glycosyltransferase complex PgaCD. These compounds inhibited through chain termination, providing evidence that PgaCD elongates PNAG from its non-reducing end. Furthermore, a method to deliver these inhibitors into E. coli was developed by introducing an unnatural GlcNAc salvage pathway. These substrate analogs reduced PNAG-dependent biofilm formation, primarily through disruption of PgaCD.

Keywords: Biofilms
Biological chemistry
Carbohydrate chemistry
Chemical biology
Enzymology
Glycobiology
Advisor: Nitz, Mark
Genealogies of Transnational Religion: Translation, Revelation, and Discursive Technologies in Two Female Gurus of Esoteric Vedanta

This project investigates the role of translation within Theosophy and Integral Yoga, focusing on translational discursive devices in the work of the movements’ respective female preceptors—Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (1831-1891) and Mirra Alfassa (1878-1973), better known as the Mother. This research, using translation as a hermeneutic lens, examines the discursive structures of the women’s teachings, and especially the ways in which both had leveraged translation to articulate their universalist visions. Translation, both linguistic and idiomatic, permeates the underlying logic of these late-colonial transnational movements, giving rise to a peculiar universalism and a constellation of teachings I have termed Esoteric Vedanta. The contribution of this paper is twofold: first, it demonstrates that ‘thinking with translation’ is an effective entry into the multidirectional traffic of ideas, practices, and epistemologies that have given rise to these movements, allowing a better understanding of ideological commitments at the fin-de-siècle, including affective, hybrid, and radical political alignments. This, in part, is made possible by examining the two women side by side, since, while the content of their teachings differs, the logic of translation permeating their thought allows one to excavate a deeper genealogy of ideas. Secondly, this thesis argues that the universalist thrust of transnational movements such as Theosophy and Integral Yoga is itself a function of translation practice—translation at multiple registers and in an expanded sense of the term—emerging in a specifically heterolingual idiomatic context. The utopian, evolutionary, esoteric, and broadly Vedantic (or else, Buddhist) currents in Blavatsky and Alfassa’s teachings continue to reverberate and inform not only their respective traditions but also the broader fields of modern yoga and New Age spirituality. In attending to processes and discourses of translation in both women’s thought, this project both traces the connections between Theosophy and Integral Yoga, and seeks to reframe the ideological history of contemporary transnational religion and the sort of universalist thinking it offers.

Keywords: Alfassa
Mirra
Blavatsky
Helena Petrovna
History of modern yoga
Translation theory
Transnational religion
Universalism
Advisor: Raman, Srilata
A Comparative Inquiry Into Religious and Secular Students’ Perspectives on Peace and Conflict Resolution through Science Education in Bangladesh

This ethnographic study based in Bangladesh analyzed Grade 10 students’ perspectives on the learning of science regarding peace and conflict resolution, and the use of science in their everyday lives to negotiate peace and resolve conflicts. The in-class delivery of the secondary science curriculum in Religious and Secular educational streams was documented, including the teachers’ pedagogical approaches to teaching science; the students’ preferred approaches to learning science; and the students’ conception of science in everyday life with reference to the sociocultural factors affecting peace and conflict resolution. A theoretical framework, which I termed the integrated theory of pedagogy, was constructed using Tagore’s comprehensive models of learning that promote peace through science, juxtaposing the models with Gandhi’s non-violent approach, Dewey’s experiential learning, and J. P. Miller’s holistic pedagogy, frameworks that also support peace education. Twenty-four Grade 10 science students from the two educational streams were selected using purposive sampling. Data collection tools included classroom observation, in-depth interview, focus group discussion, and field journal. Six science teachers and two head teachers were consulted for contextual information and to corroborate findings from the students. Information was also gathered from science textbooks. Data were analyzed using an inductive approach. The findings indicate that peace and conflict resolution through science education was not taught in those classrooms. There was also a lack of transactional and transformational pedagogical approaches to teaching science. The predominant teaching approach was teacher- and textbook centred, echoing the need to cover the syllabus for impending standardized examinations. For learning science, the students from both streams preferred hands-on activities. Students explained their awareness of conflict in society and were eager to explore the role of the science curriculum in peace, conflict resolution, tolerance, and indirect peace states. This dissertation offers an analysis that may be helpful to local and international peace and science educators, curriculum designers, administrators, teachers, and policy makers interested in developing peace through science pedagogy. The study recommends “school approach” in peace education, including the concept of peace and conflict resolution as an additional emphasis in the science curriculum, and a peace-and-spirituality-based, science-pedagogy-engaging, action-centred education: PEACE.

Keywords: Bangladesh
conflict resolution
peace
secondary science
secular religious
Advisor: Gitari, Wanja
Deciphering the Arabesque: Genre Mixture and Formal Digression in the Early Romantic Piano Concerto

This dissertation uses Friedrich Schlegel’s (1772–1829) literary concept of the arabesque to analyze genre mixture and formal digression in the early Romantic piano concerto. Drawing on both John Daverio’s adaptation of the arabesque for nineteenth-century music (1987;1993) and contemporary theories of musical form (Caplin, 1998; Hepokoski and Darcy, 2006; Vande Moortele, 2009; and Horton, 2017), I identify four procedures in which elements of ritornello form, variation form, song, or fantasy engage with, interrupt, or supplant sonata-form functions. Using examples from a corpus of 24 piano concertos by Bennett, Chopin, Field, Henselt, Herz, Kalkbrenner, Liszt, Mendelssohn, Moscheles, Schumann, Taubert, Thalberg, and Wieck, I demonstrate that seemingly supplementary embellishments, ritornellos, and lyrical interludes proliferate and fragment the central sonata form to produce a distinctly Romantic genre. Chapter 1 surveys the history of the arabesque as it developed from an ornate framing device for pictorial artworks to a metaphor for the chaotic genre fusions of the Romantic novel, and, later, as an analytical tool for disruptive characteristics in nineteenth-century music. Chapter 2 establishes the concerto as a hybrid genre in which the ritornello framework interrelates with the interior sonata form to varying degrees depending on subgenre. The virtuoso concerto, for example, maximizes the distinction between the orchestral framework and solo sonata form, while the symphonic concerto minimizes the distinction. The chapter then outlines four arabesque procedures that further complicate these paradigms. Chapter 3 examines the first arabesque procedure, in which solo bravura, passagework, and dominant embellishments pervade the sonata form proper in lieu of an interpolated cadenza. This process, which is characteristic of the virtuoso concerto, transfers virtuosity from the exterior to the interior of the concerto form, enlarging the solo domain. Chapter 4 covers local ritornello statements that participate in the sonata form, eroding the textural framework and producing a topical likeness with the symphonic genre. Chapter 5 studies local digressions that require the mediating judgement of an interpreter to decipher hidden formal logic, while Chapter 6 covers large-scale lyrical episodes that intrude upon single movements or overarching sonata forms in continuous cycles, conflating formal levels and introducing elements of fantasy.

Keywords: Arabesque
Digression
Friedrich Schlegel
Genre
Piano Concerto
Romantic
Advisor: Vande Moortele, Steven