VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
The assessment-curriculum relationship, consequences for teacher instruction and student assessment

This interpretive case study compared the relationships between assessment and curriculum, and their consequences on teacher instruction and student assessment in the classrooms of two research sites. One research site was in an early, the other was in a more advanced stage of use with an assessment innovation (the Toronto Benchmark Program). The Program emphasized mastery learning, and standards of performance at key stages in students' education. In the early site, where the curriculum was found to be content-driven, the assessment procedures had limited interaction with classroom instruction. Assessment practices were mainly summative, and instruction was growth-centred. In the advanced site, where the curriculum was standards-driven, the assessment and instructional procedures interacted with each other to a greater extent. The assessment was mainly formative, and instruction was information-centred. Simultaneously, data emerged that clarified how contextual, and background factors influenced classroom use of the innovation. This study may be relevant for practitioners as well as researchers since technical and management dimensions of change have been portrayed through the "first-voice" experiences of those most closely associated with the development, implementation, and consequences of an assessment innovation.
The circus and respectable society in Victorian Britain

The circus is a subject that has received no rigorous historical treatment in the period when its growth, as a trade, occurred. Having its origins in the fairground world, the circus emerged in the Victorian era as a structured and organized trade, as chapters one through three of this thesis demonstrate. This development was intricately tied to a widespread demand for circus acts by a broad range of classes in this society and so, this work also considers, in chapters four through six, the Victorians' interest in the circus as an artistic form within the context of a vibrant (and sometimes not so respectable) consumer market. In doing so, it provides a new view on popular culture which has, until now, largely been seen as the preserve of the working classes. It considers the complex problem of taste, in conjunction with class, as one way of approaching the problem, "what drew the Victorians to the ring?" The consuming public's desire to see the kinds of displays which reformers wished to regulate put the circus establishment in a difficult position. Wishing to create a respectable reputation for itself while also a profitable business, the circus company was engaged in a struggle that required the appeasement of both camps--that of the regulator and the consumer--which were, more often than not, in conflict. These conflicts inform us not only of the complicated role that the circus played in Victorian society but also of the fractures and dislocations that were present within the respectable world whose vibrant consumer market sometimes strayed from its path. Many within the circus establishment tried to paper over these cracks but, in the process, drew attention to them.
Trust, a feminist ethic for nursing practice

My primary objective of this research was to develop an ethic of trust for nursing relationships which could be used to examine and guide nurse-patient relationships and intraprofessional and interprofessional nursing relationships. I chose this objective because until recently trust has received little attention in health care ethics or moral philosophy. Furthermore, other approaches, such as those based on contracts, caring, and paternalism have limitations. Feminist ethics, with an emphasis upon Annette Baier's work on trust, is the theoretical approach I used. A feminist approach was useful because it addressed the oppression of women and the devaluation of caring practices which are concerns of the nursing profession. The central categories of concern of feminist ethics and their relationship to nursing practice were described. I then examined Baier's work and situated it in relation to other theoretical scholarship exploring trust. I then developed a preliminary ethic from the theoretical approach and from empirical studies exploring trust in health care relationships. The ethic rests on the following four foundational values: the development and maintenance of relationships, concern, justice, and freedom from exploitation and oppression. I defined 'trust' in following way: Trust is the reliance on the good will and competence of a person and/or network of persons, such as an institution or group of persons, who has/have been given the responsibility to care for things that another or others value[s]. The empirical component of my research consisted of a content analysis of a sample of 86 cases from the College of Nurses of Ontario's review of discipline decisions. These cases document incidents where there has been a breakdown of trust between nurses and the public. Coherentism, along with the foundational values, guided the examination and modification of the preliminary ethic of trust in light of the data from the discipline decisions. I then outlined the following seven central themes of the final ethic along with their related considerations: The Care of Valued Things of Particular Others; The Care of Valued Things of Unknown and Future Others; Honesty; Power Differences; Encouragement of Relationships; Competence, and The Network of Trust.
Cosmological gas-dynamics, simulations of the Lyman-Ã forest

Quasar absorption spectra provide the best probe of the state of the gaseous universe at high redshifts. Lyman-Ã absorption lines map out hydrogen gas structures ranging from tenuous filaments (forest lines) to galaxies (damped absorbers). These are naturally occurring features in hierarchical structure formation theories and well described by the cosmic web picture. A fast non-periodic hydrodynamical 'N'-body code, Tree-P 3M-SPH, was developed and extensively tested. Simulations were performed for the standard cold dark matter cosmological model and the hot-cold, open and vacuum extensions. Artificial spectra were generated and fit as observed spectra are, with an automated Voigt profile line fitter, allowing a direct confrontation of theory with data. Both high resolution and the inclusion of large-scale effects are shown to be essential. These competing aims are satisfied here with many simulations of small patches of the universe and the accurate inclusion of long waves and tides. Mean shear is identified as the critical parameter describing the patches. The results are combined into a representative sample using the theory of Gaussian random fields. The advantages of constrained field initial conditions for high resolution structure formation studies are demonstrated. The cosmological models studied differ in power spectrum shape, amplitude and dark matter abundances. After rescaling the ultraviolet flux, each model fits the observed flux depression and line column density distribution in detail. Non-local measures, such as two point functions, would better reflect the highly visible differences between the models. The range of ultra-violet fluxes required falls within the broad observational constraints. Changing the ultra-violet flux history is found to have a measurable impact on the gas temperatures only at high densities. The mini-halo picture of absorbers is confirmed; at redshift 'z' = 3, the dominant absorbers are dwarf galaxies for neutral hydrogen columns <math> <f> N<inf>HI</inf>~10<sup>15</sup>-10<sup>17</sup><rm>cm<sup> -2</sup></rm></f> </math> and filamentary gas below <math> <f> N<inf>HI</inf>~10<sup>15</sup><rm>cm<sup>-2</sup></rm>.</f> </math> Insufficient numerical resolution is shown to suppress or remove the dwarf galaxies. The time evolution, helium absorption, line width versus column density and line width distributions match the observations well for cosmological models with similar fluctuation amplitudes on small scales.
Identification of high-copy-number inhibitors of P1 plasmid stability

P1 is a low-copy-number plasmid that requires an active partition system for stable maintenance in Escherichia coli. The P1 par operon contains two cotranscribed genes, parA and parB, and a downstream cis-acting site, parS. ParA and ParB are both essential for partition, but overproduction of either protein disturbs partition and destabilizes P1. Partition must position P1 plasmids so that each daughter cell receives one copy. Bacterial host factors are believed to participate in the positioning process. A genetic screen using a high-copy library of E. coli genes was performed to identify host factors, as it was anticipated that overproduction of key host proteins would disrupt the partition process and destabilize P1. I identified ten gene products that destabilize P1 when overproduced, but are not directly required for partition. Subsequent tests were performed to elucidate the functions of these gene products, but their roles in P1 partition remain unknown.
Characterizing the usage of computer-mediated communications

'Theory-based design' is a philosophy in the field of Human Computer Interaction which argues that we can build better interfaces by studying that the ways in which people reason, perform tasks, and perceive sensory stimuli. In the HCI subfield of Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW), theory-based design studies how people communicate and collaborate and then applies this knowledge to improve computer mediated communication applications. This thesis contributes to theory-based design in CSCW. It develops and tests models for the usage of four types of computer-mediated communications: videoconferencing, voice mail, e-mail and fax communications. It then shows how these models can be used to build better user interfaces for computer-mediated communications applications. This thesis differs from previous work in CSCW in that the models are stochastic, quantitative and deal with the behaviour of populations, not individuals. Three characteristics of usage are modeled: arrivals, occupancy and duration. We propose that occupancy and arrivals can be modeled with a distribution from the binomial family and that durations can be modeled with either an exponential or a special case of a two stage hyperexponential distribution. We find that our models for arrivals and occupancy fit the data reasonably well. The models for durations and size do not fit as well, but do approximate the distribution of the data. We also study how the parameters to these models vary over time. We find that temporal variations follow regular patterns and thus the models can be used for prediction. We then describe several ways in which the models can be applied to predict resource utilization for computer- mediated communication. Because of this, the models can also be used to improve the user interface of an computer-mediated communications application. For example, the models can used to build an intelligent interfaces that assist users in scheduling video conferences, based on the required video quality. We close by drawing conclusions, summarizing the limitations of the research and sketching the contributions of the thesis.
Improving the recovery of aerobic myocardial metabolism following cardioplegic arrest

'Background'. Cardiovascular disease remains an important cause of morbidity and mortality in North America. Surgical treatment of cardiovascular disorders has emerged over the past 40 years and is now a proven, effective therapy. Cardioplegic arrest of the heart enables surgeons to operate on a motionless field, but is associated with a degree of perioperative injury. Sensitive measures of myocardial metabolism and function reveal a delayed recovery following surgery which may lead to postoperative morbidity and mortality. These series of investigations were designed to evaluate the recovery of aerobic myocardial metabolism following cardioplegic arrest. We believe that improving the transition from anaerobic to aerobic metabolism may result in enhanced functional recovery and improved patient outcomes following cardiac surgery. We hypothesized that insulin would stimulate myocardial pyruvate dehydrogenase activity and lead to improved metabolic recovery following simulated ischemia and reperfusion. 'Methods'. We employed isolated, cultured human ventricular cardiomyocytes to examine the effects of ischemia and reperfusion on myocardial metabolism. We measured the degree of cellular injury, intracellular lactate accumulation, extracellular lactate and pyruvate release, intracellular high energy phosphate levels and the activity of mitochondrial pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH). We investigated the effect of preischemic exposure to insulin on the recovery of myocardial metabolism following ischemia and reperfusion. 'Results'. Preischemic exposure to insulin (10 IU/L) was found to confer protection against ischemia. Insulin was found to stimulate mitochondrial PDH during stabilization and preserved the activity of PDH following ischemia and reperfusion. Insulin exposure reduced extracellular lactate release and improved the preservation of high energy phosphates. The mechanism of insulin' effect on myocardial PDH was found to be mediated by Protein Kinase C-Ã stimulation of the PDH phosphatase subunit. 'Conclusions'. Preischemic exposure to insulin improved human cardiomyocyte tolerance to ischemia and reperfusion. These investigations provide the first direct evidence that insulin can stimulate human myocardial pyruvate dehydrogenase and lead to improved metabolic recovery following ischemia. Novel strategies of myocardial protection can be developed to exploit the beneficial metabolic effects of pyruvate dehydrogenase stimulation.
Individualism and community: A study of teachers in a Canadian Jewish day school

Individualism and community are competing values in the late twentieth century. The dominance of individualism, which cherishes freedom and independence, is antithetical to the bonds and boundaries implicit in healthy community. The purpose of this study is to explore the ways in which individualism and community are fostered in elementary classrooms of Jewish studies teachers, and supported by the school philosophy and practice, in one Canadian Jewish day school affiliated with the Conservative movement of Judaism. The assumption of this study is not that this school would or should reflect either individualism or community exclusively. The study employs ethnographic research methodology in the observation of five classrooms over a four month period. Interviews were conducted with the four participating teachers, all native Israelis, and two school administrators. Individualism is found at various levels of the school. There is a high level of concern for the self-esteem and well-being of individual students. In academic structures, remedial lessons are provided, and teachers employ differentiated pacing. There is allowance for levels and leeway for creativity and originality, digression and spontaneity. Teachers reinforce effort and achievement at every level. Teachers enjoy autonomy in curriculum development and classroom methodology. Judaism is presented as a religion with concern for the individual. Diversity in religious practice is not discouraged. Community is developed through school purpose and practice. Among the primary goals of the school is the socialization of students to the heritage and cultures of Judaism, Israel, and Canada. The school acts in partnership with local synagogues and student families in order to achieve its ideals of commitment to a Conservative Jewish lifestyle. The transmission of moral values is a priority; teachers provide guidelines of appropriate and inappropriate behavior. Authority, order, and discipline are evident. There is some evidence of class pride. Judaism is presented in a very positive fashion and is accessible to students through ritual and celebration. Tension between individualism and community is evident in the following areas: teacher practice and values--autonomy versus school purpose; religious life--pluralism versus commitment; dual loyalty to Judaism and Canada; and the role of Israeli teachers.
Characterization of the promoter for the human factor I (C3b/C4b inactivator) gene

Factor I is an 88 kDa serine protease which regulates the complement system by cleaving the C3b and C4b components of C3 and C5 convertases. To map the upstream regulatory regions and the basal promoter of the factor I gene, a series of 5$\sp\prime$ deletion fragments were fused to a CAT reporter gene and transiently expressed in HepG2 cells. The regions $-$1314 to $-$1127 and $-$71 to $-$46 upstream of the transcription start site (+1) possessed a silencer activity, while sequences from $-$869 to $-$319 positively regulated factor I transcription. The basal promoter was localized to a 74 bp region ($-$46 to +26). This region lacks a TATA box, but contains a TdT-like initiator (Inr) element that overlies the major cap site (+1). Constructs containing the Inr ($-$12 to +9), Inr and upstream region ($-$63 to +12), and the downstream TATA-like sequence (+26 to +160) were inactive in CAT assays. Hence, factor I promoter appears to be a TATA-less Inr-dependent class II promoter which requires the sequences upstream and downstream for expression. Oligonucleotides to the Inr, P2 ($-$12 to +9) and to the TATA-like sequence, P3 (+89 to +130) interacted with HepG2 nuclear extract in a mobility shift assay to generate specific complexes with similar mobilities. These complexes could be cross competed by unlabeled P2 and P3. An oligonucleotide containing the TATA-like sequence alone (P4) also inhibited the specific band formed by P3. P2, P3 and P4 share a common CTGGA sequence which may be responsible for generating the complex. The functional role of this pentamer in constitutive expression of factor I needs to be investigated.
Cladding formation in laser-beam fusion of metal powder

Over the past decade, many novel layered-manufacturing techniques have been used successfully for building complex 3D parts. However, parts built by these Rapid Prototyping (RP) methods have been used either for checking fit and geometry, or as models for subsequent creation of fully-densed metal parts using investment casting. Due to increased market competition and, in turn, shortened product development cycles, there is a demand to rapidly create the functional fully-densed metal parts without hard tooling. A possible solution to this problem is layered Rapid Manufacturing (RM), for example, via laser-beam fusion of metal powder. The RM process proposed in this thesis is based on this approach. It involves selective laser-beam scanning of a predeposited metal-powder layer. The laser beam melts the powder locally, forming fully-densed claddings, as the basic building block of individual layers. This thesis specifically addresses only one of the fundamental issues of the proposed RM process, namely the fabrication of single claddings. The most important process parameter, in this context, is the laser-beam scanning speed. The influence of this process parameter on cladding's descriptive parameters was investigated for two possible laser-working modes: pulsed and continuous. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)
The sleep-promoting and temperature effects of human interleukin-1ß fragment 163-171 in cats

Interleukin-1$\beta$ (IL-1$\beta$) is one of a group of cytokines that promotes sleep and a pyrogenic response in animal studies. In separate trials, IL-1$\beta$ (20 ng and 40 ng) and a synthetic fragment of human IL-1$\beta$ corresponding to positions 163-171 (IL-1$\beta\sb{163-171}$) (50 ng and 160 ng) were infused into the third cerebral ventricle of cats to determine their sleep promoting and temperature effects. IL-1$\beta\sb{163-171}$ (160 ng) increased the amount of rapid-eye movement (REM) sleep and shortened sleep onset latency compared to the aCSF control condition. IL-1$\beta$ had no effect on sleep at either dose tested. There was no significant increase in core body temperature (i.e. $>$ 1$\sp\circ$C) after infusion of any substance at any of the dosages tested. These findings are consistent with the notion that the sleep and fever effects of IL-1$\beta$ are separable. Furthermore, the sleep and fever effects of IL-1$\beta$ may be dose dependent in the cat.
Computer modelling of landslides

Heavy rains, earthquakes, volcanoes and even forestry have an effect on whether or not a landslide will occur. With increased urban sprawl, construction often occurs on slopes of minimum stability. This leads to a greater influence of landslides on both people and property, which in turn leads to a greater desire for realistic modeling of landslides. The computer model presented in this thesis is one such model. It is based on a single semi-rigid block model that will allow various resistance terms. A demonstration of the computer model and the effects of the different resistance terms will be presented using the Aberfan landslide of October 1966 as a basis.
Extrusion processing of low-density microcellular foams

A continuous extrusion process for the manufacture of low-density, microcellular foams is presented. Microcellular polymers are foamed plastics characterized by a cell density greater than 109 cells/cm3 and a fully grown cell size on the order of 10 [mu]m. Previous research on the continuous processing of microcellular polymers has focused on the control of microcell nucleation in extrusion. This thesis presents an effective means for the control of cell growth by freezing the foam skins in order to achieve a desired expansion ratio in microcellular foam processing that uses CO 2 as a blowing agent, a means of lowering the melt temperature to prevent deterioration of the cell-population density via cell coalescence, and a means of employing lubrication to suppress the melt fracture observed on the extruded foams. Promotion of a desired volume expansion ratio and prevention of cell coalescence while suppressing the melt fracture in microcellular foam processing were experimentally verified. The influences of processing parameters such as melt temperature, nozzle temperature, amount of injected CO2, and amount of injected lubricant on the final foam morphologies were investigated. By tailoring the extrusion processing parameters, microcellular HIPS and HDPE foams with a cell density of 108-1010 cells/cm3 and a controlled expansion ratio in the range of 1.5 to 25 were successfully obtained.