VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
High School/College Transitions: A Case Study Examining the Impact of a Dual Credit Program at Fleming College

The purpose of this study was to explore how Dual Credit (DC) programs at Ontario high schools impacted the persistence of students when they are in college and what specific features of these programs affected the participating students’ academic performance. This study focused on the Dual Credit students enrolled full-time at Sir Sandford Fleming College who successfully completed one full-time semester of academic study. Fleming College is one of the 24 Ontario Colleges of Applied Arts & Technology. This was a case study based on both qualitative and quantitative data collected by a number of methods including survey questionnaires, audio-recorded phone and face-to-face interviews, and document analysis. There were a number of findings related to persistence at College. For example, the DC student group persisted at the same rate as did all College students and DC students who enrolled in a College program that was “related” to their DC program were more likely to persist at college. Although there was no attempt to compare the data for the two groups because of uncontrollable variables, this study found that DC students (as a group) did not achieve academically quite at the same level, as did all Fleming College students. However, considering that the DC target group was “at risk” students, the overall academic achievement (64%) of the DC students (2011) was similar to the academic achievement of all College students (68%). The participants in this study recommended that the DC program be as much like college as possible. This study supports previous research, which indicates that the DC courses should be delivered at the college campus (rather than in the high school) and DC students should be integrated with other college students. Although this was a case study of DC students at only one Ontario College and the findings are not generalizable to other sites, the findings of this study will partially address a gap in the research literature and add to the body of knowledge about the impact of DC programs in the areas of student engagement, integration and persistence with respect to DC programs elsewhere.

Keywords: Dual Credit
transition
engagement
Advisor: Pascal, Charles
Development of a New Mid-infrared Source Pumped by an Optical Parametric Chirped-pulse Amplifier.

The mid-infrared (MIR) system presented in the thesis is based on a sub-100-fs erbium-doped fiber laser operating at 1.55 µm. The output of the laser is split in two, each arm seeding an erbium-doped fiber amplifier. The output of the first amplifier is sent to a grating-based stretcher to be stretched to 50 ps before seeding the optical parametric chirped-pulse amplifier (OPCPA). The output of the second amplifier is coupled to a highly nonlinear fiber to generate the 1 µm needed to seed the a neodymium-doped yttrium lithium fluoride (Nd:YLF) system. This work represents the first time this synchronization scheme is used, and the timing jitter between the two arms at the OPCPA is reduced to 333 fs. The pump laser for the OPCPA is a regenerative amplifier producing 1.6 W followed by a double-pass amplifier, for a final output power of 2.5 W at 1 kHz. Etalons were inserted into the cavity of the regenerative amplifier to stretch the pulses to 50 ps The OPCPA consists of two potassium titanyl arsenate crystals in a noncollinear configuration. With three passes, the gain is 3.8 · 10 6 . Using a grating compressor, the pulse duration is reduced to 140 fs, with a power of 300 mW. Because of the reduction of the timing jitter, the amplitude stability is 1 %, which is a great improvement compare to existing systems. To generate ultrafast light in the MIR, an optical parametric amplifier is used, pumped ii by the output of the OPCPA and seeded with its 3-µm idler. Two crystals were tested, both in a single-pass configuration. For the first crystal, a 4-mm thick silver thiogallate, an efficiency of 7.4 % was reached, with 8.76 mW in the signal and 7.2 mW in the idler. For the second crystal, a 2-mm thick lithium gallium selenide, the efficiency was higher, reaching 10.8 %. The power for the signal was 11.5 mW, and for the idler, 11.11 mW. Using this new scheme, energies on par with current systems are achieved with much higher efficiencies.

Keywords: Laser amplifier
nonlinear optics
mid-infrared
ultrafast
Advisor: Miller, R. J. Dwayne
Women's Experiences of Embodied Joy: Resisting the Cultural Dictate of Bodily Dissatisfaction

Among women in North America, body dissatisfaction is prevalent and well documented. Women are often unhappy with their bodies and strive to change their bodies to fit the dominant cultural ideal of beauty and femininity. Within this context, in which women are expected to focus tremendous resources, time, and energy on bodily striving and body dissatisfaction, some women are able to resist these expectations. They experience joy with their bodies—joy that is not contingent on their appearance, size, or weight. With respect to women’s embodied experiences of joy, a number of significant gaps exist in the research literature. The current study examined women’s experiences of embodied joy through the use of qualitative research methods, including individual interviews and a focus group. A feminist constructivist grounded theory frame was utilized. The findings of this analysis indicated the presence of four core dimensions of women’s joyful body experiences as a form of resistance to bodily dissatisfaction. The first core dimension addressed the experience of embodied joy, which included attunement, growth, liberation, and thriving. The second core dimension addressed participants’ active creation of environments that nurtured joy, including: creating spaces that facilitated embodied joy, creating internal openness to the experience of joy, and seeking supportive social relationships. The third core dimension addressed enacting joy in the context of resistance and struggle, specifically when navigating the imposition of the other’s external gaze. This core dimension included the themes of media deconstruction, disengagement from problematic relationships, personal practices of resistance, and critical political consciousness. The fourth core dimension involved enacting joy in the context of resistance and struggle as a journey towards joy, which included reclaimed childhood experiences, disruption and reconnection, and guiding other girls and women. The present study has implications for clinical work as well as for health promotion. Ultimately, women’s experiences of embodied joy both reflected their resistance to cultural dictates and further enabled them to resist the dictate of bodily dissatisfaction.

Keywords: women
joy
embodied
body
bodily
satisfaction
dissatisfaction
joyful
resistance
resisting
qualitative
interviews
feminist
grounded
women's experiences
Joy in the body
Joyful body experiences
psychology
Advisor: Piran, Niva
&ldquo;Was wird sich dein Gesang aus Satans Kindern machen?&rdquo;Cantata BWV 210: &quot;O holder Tag, erw&uuml;nschte Zeit&quot;: A Response by Bach to a Changing Musical Aesthetic

As the Enlightenment took hold in Europe, all aspects of eighteenth-century society felt its effects. Musical tastes, caught in this ideological shift, began to move from the more codified complexity of counterpoint toward the more simplified aesthetic known as galant. Johann Sebastian Bach, now in the most mature phase of a musical career rooted in the contrapuntal style, came under growing public criticism from proponents of galant who were increasingly dismissive of counterpoint as an out-dated compositional method. In 1741, during this time of growing censure, Bach created the wedding cantata BWV 210, O holder Tag erw&uuml;nschte Zeit, based on an earlier cantata but with significant changes that are unique within this oeuvre. Rather than the typical celebratory libretto characteristic of his other wedding cantatas, Bach mounted a strong rhetorical argument in defense of music, deftly combining irony, humour, and pointed barbs to make his point. The rationale for this has not received significant scholarly attention. This dissertation explores the idea that Bach used BWV 210 as a specific personal response to his critics who favoured the changing musical aesthetic of the era, and as a defense of a contrapuntal style cherished by him but no longer valued by many advocates of the galant. This claim is supported through an aggregation of extant research linking the cantata to the circumstances in which it was created. Particular attention is given to the ideological conflict represented in the aesthetic shift of the eighteenth century, and Bach&rsquo;s reactions evident in written documents, his compositions and in his unique synthesis of compositional styles intersecting the aesthetics of his era. The circumstances under which the cantata was written provide context for the significant libretto revisions undertaken to adapt the cantata from its closest known counterpart, BWV 210a. Finally, Johann Scheibe&rsquo;s published criticism against Bach is explored as an important flashpoint for Bach&rsquo;s use of BWV 210 as a musical rebuttal. Not only is a better understanding of a lesser-known cantata achieved, but a glimpse into the mindset of Bach is also realized through the unusually personal response included in BWV 210.

Keywords: Bach
Cantata
Enlightenment
galant
gallant
O holder Tag
BWV 210
BWV 210a
Scheibe
polyphony
homophony
eighteenth century
Germany
aesthetics
Advisor: Johnston, Gregory
Altering the Crystal Packing of Boronsubphthalocyanine Derivatives through Molecular Engineering

There are currently three known crystal packing motifs of boronsubphthalocyanine derivatives. Each motif is associated with a particular class of BsubPc derivatives, and none are ideal for organic electronic applications according to the criteria we defined for evaluation: having a continuous pathway for charge-carrier conduction in the solid-state, resistance to hydrolysis, good electrochemical and optical properties, and possession of a robust crystal form. In this thesis, we present five methods for altering the crystal packing structure of phenoxy-BsubPc derivatives in order to meet the above four criteria. We find that neither addition of steric bulk to the axial derivative nor changing the symmetry of the compounds is sufficient for creating a new crystal packing motif. We do find that reducing the symmetry of the axial group does increase the solubility greatly, however. We identify a new motif for BsubPc crystals that occurs when the intermolecular interactions between the axial phenoxy segment and the BsubPc ligand are increased. We present two methods for achieving this new motif, one is through addition of a π-Br interaction and the other is through creation of a strong π-acid/ π-base stacking by making the axial phenoxy more π-electron rich. Unfortunately, the p-bromophenoxy-BsubPc forms this new motif as a kinetic product, isolation of which is unreliable. Attaching a naphthol fragment axially to the BsubPc creates a stable version of this new motif. We also synthesized a new class of BsubPc pseudohalides based on sulfonate derivatives. Of the derivatives in this new class, we found that mesylate-BsubPc forms into a crystal packing structure that possesses a one-dimensional pathway for charge carrier mobility, but is still resistant to hydrolysis under the conditions tested. Overall, we show four compounds that meet the criteria for further study as organic electronic materials: p-methoxyphenoxy-BsubPc, α-naphthoxy-BsubPc, β-naphthoxy-BsubPc, and mesylate-BsubPc.

Keywords: Crystal Engineering
Boronsubphthalocyanine
Intermolecular Interactions
Pi-stacking
Pseudohalides
Organic Electronic Materials
Chromophore
Halogen Bonding
Advisor: Bender, Timothy
System Level Energy Optimization Techniques for a Digital Load Supplied with a DC-DC Converter

The demand to integrate more features has significantly increased the complexity and power consumption of smart portable devices. Therefore extending the battery life-time has become a major challenge and new approaches are required to decrease the power consumed from the source. Traditionally the focus has been on reducing the dynamic power consumption of the digital circuits used in these devices. However as process technologies scale, reducing the dynamic power has become less effective due to the increased impact of the leakage power. Alternatively, a more effective approach to minimize the power consumption is to continuously optimize the ratio of the dynamic and leakage power while delivering the required performance. This works presents a novel power-aware system for dynamic minimum power point tracking of digital loads in portable applications. The system integrates a dc-dc converter power-stage and the supplied digital circuit. The integrated dc-dc converter IC utilizes a mixed-signal current program mode (CPM) controller to regulate the supply voltage of the digital load IC. This embedded converter inherently measures the power consumption of the load in real-time, eliminating the need for additional power sensing circuitry. Based on the information available in the CPM controller, a minimum power point tracking (MiPPT) controller sets the supply and threshold voltages for the digital load to minimize its power consumption while maintaining a target frequency. The 10MHz mixed-signal CPM controlled dc-dc converter and the digital load are fabricated in 0.13µm IBM technology. Experimental results verify that the introduced system results in up to 30% lower power consumption from the battery source.

Keywords: power management, dc-dc converter, adaptive body-biasing, dynamic voltage scaling , minimum energy point, integrated SMPS
Advisor: Prodic, Aleksandar
Investigating the Role of Apelin Receptor Signaling in Zebrafish Myocardial Progenitor Development

In vertebrates, the heart is the first organ to form and function. The basic steps and molecular pathways involved in heart development are highly conserved. Myocardial progenitor-fated cells are among the first cells to migrate during gastrulation away from the primitive streak. These cells move bilaterally to populate the heart-forming region (HFR) in the anterior lateral plate mesoderm (ALPM). Once cells have reached the HFR, they receive the signals necessary to differentiate into myocardial progenitor cells. It is clear that the development of myocardial progenitor cells entails the migration of cells from the lateral embryonic margin to the ALPM. However, it is unclear whether cells are specified for a myocardial progenitor fate early in embryogenesis, a step that may promote their migration specifically to the ALPM, or whether the migration of cells to the ALPM alone is sufficient for differentiation into myocardial progenitor cells. A zebrafish mutant, grinch (grn), was indentified in which there is a defect in the development of myocardial progenitor cells. The mutation resulting in the grn phenotype was mapped to the gene encoding the G protein-coupled receptor Apelin receptor b (Aplnrb). I have used the aplnrb mutant embryo, as well as morpholino-mediated knockdown (morphant embryos) of aplnrb, and its paralog aplnra, to determine the function of Aplnr signaling in myocardial progenitor development. Results demonstrate that Aplnr signaling is necessary for the migration of cells from the lateral embryonic margin of the zebrafish embryo to the heart-forming region. Interestingly, this entails a novel cell-non-autonomous function for Aplnr signaling. Furthermore, both the only identified ligand for the receptor, Apelin, and the canonical mediators of Aplnr signaling, Gαi/o proteins, appear to be dispensable for this process. Loss of Aplnr signaling also appears to affect embryonic patterning of the early embryo through subtle perturbations of Nodal, Wnt, and Bmp signaling and attenuation of Nodal signaling can partially recapitulate the aplnr morphant cardiac phenotype. Taken together, my results suggest that Aplnr signaling plays a role in creating an environment that allows for the migration of cells to the heart-forming region, possibly through the regulation of early embryonic patterning.

Keywords: cardiac development
developmental biology
Advisor: Scott, Ian C.
Related and Conflated: A Theoretical and Discursive Framing of Multiculturalism and Global Citizenship Education in the Canadian Context

There is a public perception that Canada is an ideal place for cultivating global citizenship because of its culturally plural demographics and official policies of multiculturalism. Global Citizenship Education (GCE) is a growing field in Canadian education and is an explicit focus in the Alberta social studies curriculum. This thesis brings together four conversations within which multiculturalism and GCE are both related and conflated: (a) the public perceptions of Canada as a model of cultural diversity and global citizenship, (b) the scholarly discussions of GCE and multiculturalism, (c) the policy context where multiculturalism is set alongside GCE, and (d) the practical ways that the two are mutually related in curriculum and lesson documents. There are four interrelated sections to this thesis; each identifies the tensions inherent to multiculturalism, GCE, and the perceived relationship between these fields. First is a wider philosophical and theoretical framing of the topic. Second is the examination of educational research on the topic. Third is a critical discourse analysis of policy, curriculum, and lesson plan documents in the province of Alberta. Last is a synthesis of the findings from all three sections. The analysis finds that there are philosophical and ideological tensions inherent to both fields and to the relationships between them. This contributes to conceptual and ideological conflation and confusion. This finding raises some important concerns in terms of possibilities and constraints to thinking about cultural diversity and social inequities in new ways. It highlights how multicultural contexts of GCE can lead to the recreation of tensions, conflation, and ambiguity. However, the Alberta context demonstrates that a multicultural context can also open critical spaces and possibilities for GCE through engagements with tensions and complexities. Thus this thesis contributes theoretically, by presenting a framework and perspective for interrogating and critically inquiring into the relationship between the two fields. It also contributes to the policy and curriculum discussions in educational research and practice by highlighting the importance of foregrounding key tensions inherent to each field and by identifying the potential negative consequences of leaving these tensions implicit.

Keywords: Global Citizenship Education
Critical Multiculturalism
Citizenship Education
Situated Philosophy of Education
Critical Discourse Analysis
Advisor: Joshee, Reva
Tree Spanners of Simple Graphs

A tree t-spanner T of a simple graph G is a spanning tree of G, such that for every pair of vertices of G their distance in T is at most t times their distance in G, where t is called a stretch factor of T in G. It has been shown that there is a linear time algorithm to find a tree 2-spanner in a graph; it has also been proved that, for each t > 3, determining whether a graph admits a tree t-spanner is an NP-complete problem. This thesis studies tree t-spanners from both theoretical and algorithmic perspectives. In particular, it is proved that a nontree graph admits a unique tree t-spanner for at most one value of stretch factor t. As a corollary, a nontree bipartite graph cannot admit a unique tree t -spanner for any t. But, for each t, there are infinitely many nontree graphs that admit exactly one tree t-spanner. Furthermore, for each t, let U( t) be the set of graphs being the union of two tree t-spanners of a graph. Although graphs in U(2) do not have cycles of length greater than 4, graphs in U(3) may contain cycles of arbitrary length. It turns out that any even cycle is an induced subgraph of a graph in U(3), while no graph in U(3) contains an induced odd cycle other than a triangle; graphs in U(3) are shown to be perfect. Also, properties of induced even cycles of graphs in U(3) are presented. For each t > 3, though, graphs in U( t) may contain induced odd cycles of any length. Moreover, there is an efficient algorithm to recognize graphs that admit a tree 3-spanner of diameter at most 4, while it is proved that, for each t > 3, determining whether a graph admits a tree t-spanner of diameter at most t +1 is an NP-complete problem. It is not known if it is hard to recognize graphs that admit a tree 3-spanner of general diameter; however integer programming is employed to provide certificates of tree 3-spanner inadmissibility for a family of graphs.

Keywords: graph spanner
Advisor: Corneil, Derek
Structural Variation in the Human Genome

The study of variation found in DNA is fundamental in human genetic studies. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are simple to document because they can be captured in single DNA sequence reads. Larger structural variation including duplications, insertions, deletions, termed as copy number variation (CNV), inversions and translocations are more challenging to discover. Recent studies using microarray and sequencing technologies have demonstrated the prevalence of structural variation in humans. They can disrupt genic and regulatory sequences, be associated with disease, and fuel evolution. Therefore, it is important to identify and characterize both SNPs and structural variants to fully understand their impact. This thesis presents the analysis of structural variation in the human genome. The primary DNA sample used for my experiments is the DNA of J. Craig Venter, also termed HuRef. It was the first personal human genome sequenced. I combined computational re-analysis of sequence data with microarray-based analysis, and detected 12,178 structural variants covering 40.6 Mb that were not reported in the initial sequencing study. The results indicated that the genomes of two individuals differed 1.3% by CNV, 0.3% by inversion and 0.1% by SNP. Structural variation discovery is dependent on the strategy used. No single approach can readily capture all types of variation, and a combination of strategies is required. I analyzed the formation mechanisms of all HuRef structural variants. The results showed that the relative proportion of mutational processes changed across size range: the majority of small variants (<1kb) were associated with nonhomologous processes and microsatellite events; median size variants (<10kb) were commonly related to minisatellites and retrotransposons; and large variants were associated with nonallelic homologous recombination. Eight new breakpoint-resolved HuRef inversions were genotyped in populations to elucidate these understudied variants. I discovered that the structures of inversion could be complex, could create conjoined genes, and their frequencies could exhibit population differentiation. The data here contributes to our understanding of structural variation in humans. It shows the need to use multiple strategies to identify variants, and it emphasizes the importance to examine the full complement of variation in all biomedical studies.

Keywords: human genetics
structural variation
whole genome sequencing
personal genome
bioinformatics
copy number variation
inversion
next generation sequencing
mechanism of formation
biotechnology
Advisor: Scherer, Stephen W.