VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Neighborhood and family contexts of gendered aggression in childhood

Past crime and delinquency research is restrictive in focusing on direct predatory forms of physical aggression among adolescents and adults. This dissertation combines the investigation of physical aggression along with a consideration of indirect aggression that involves manipulating feelings and relationships of and through others. In early and middle childhood, the frequency of physical aggression is more common among males and indirect aggression among females, and while physical aggression (e.g., childhood kicking, hitting, biting) decreases through middle childhood, indirect aggression (e.g., intentional exclusion of others from play, rumors and gossip) increases, especially among girls (Tremblay et al. 1996). While much recent attention has been given to the contextual effects of neighborhoods on predatory aggression, little is known about how such variation might influence indirect aggression. This dissertation uses both sociological and psychological perspectives to explore and explain the patterning of physical and indirect aggression among children in the first wave of the Canadian National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY) gathered in 1994-1995. As children are nested in families in this study, several specifications of multilevel models are assessed. Analyses examine both "structural" and "mediational" models considering the additive effects of the objective and subjective features of neighborhoods, in addition to family and individual characteristics. The models indicate significant intra-class correlations for both indirect and physical aggression when census tract units are used to operationalize neighborhoods. Controlling for family characteristics, residence in neighborhoods perceived to have elevated levels of neighborhood problems is positively associated with both forms of aggression. Canadian Census data are used to operationalize the objective neighborhoods in which young children live. However, the subjective effects of neighborhoods are found to be more robust than the objective neighborhood effects. Complexities in the patterning of results across levels of analysis and features of neighborhoods in addition to socio economic status are examined. It is concluded that a sensitivity to gendered forms of aggression is required to fully assess the implications of structural disadvantages and children's development.
Fostering inter-ethnic relations at an urban school, is knowledge forum combined with face-to-face cooperative learning superior to face-to-face cooperative learning alone?

The present research sought to determine how the combination of Knowledge Forum (KF) and face-to-face cooperative learning (FTF) compares to FTF alone with respect to fostering student interethnic relations at school. Fifty-one fourth-graders were examined (26 in the combined class and 25 in the FTF class) in regard to their friendship patterns and attitudes toward participating in FTF and KF group learning. Network analyses revealed that students' friendship patterns in both classes were highly interethnic; students segregated by gender and not by ethnicity. FTF is effective in promoting integration, yet problems concerning student status differences still arise in its application. KF might overcome the unequal-status problem, but it does not allow opportunities for face-to-face contact during on-line collaboration. The combined class students perceived on-line participation as more egalitarian than in FTF, thus demonstrating the potential of KF to promote integration by overcoming status differences in face-to-face cooperative learning.
The neurophysiological, behavioral and cognitive-enhancing effects of adrafinil in the aging canine

Adrafinil is a behavioral stimulant that is currently being used in France to promote vigilance in the elderly. Most of our understanding of adrafinil comes from it's main metabolite, modafinil. Although the exact mechanism of action of adrafinil and modafinil is unknown, most of the research suggests that they are Ãl-adrenergic agonists. When aged beagles were tested on the open field test following the administration of adrafinil, they showed an increase in total distance traveled without the presence of stereotypical behaviors. On visual discrimination tasks, dogs administered adrafinil made fewer errors and required fewer trials to reach a predetermined criterion than dogs given a placebo control. The EEG of dogs administered adrafinil revealed a decrease in delta and theta activity and an increase in alpha and slow beta activity. Based on these findings, adrafinil provides excellent promise as a vigilance-promoting agent for aged dogs and the elderly human population.
Expression of inducible and constitutive heat shock protein 70 in tissues of the western painted turtle, Chrysemys picta belli

This study examines the expression of the inducible and constitutive form of the 70 kDa heat shock protein (Hsp72 and Hsp73, respectively) in tissues of the western painted turtle ('Chrysemys picta belli') in response to heat shock and anoxia. Brain and liver displayed high expression of Hsp73 under control conditions as compared to low expression in heart and pectoral muscle. Upon stress (heat shock, anoxia and 1 h normoxic recovery) Hsp73 levels did not differ significantly with the exception of liver where levels of Hsp73 decreased significantly after heat shock and 1 h normoxic recovery. Expression of Hsp72 under control conditions was low in all four tissues. After 1 h 35°C heat shock exposure Hsp72 expression was elevated in all tissues examined. A 24 h period of anoxic submergence resulted in no significant induction of Hsp72 in brain or liver; however, Hsp72 expression increased in heart and pectoral muscle. Following 1 h normoxic recovery Hsp72 expression was elevated in all tissues examined. Data suggest that the expression of Hsp73 and Hsp72 is stress- and tissue-specific.
The Yearbook Program: Observation and Analysis of Secondary School Yearbook Teachers and the Implementation of Their Curriculum

The purpose of this thesis was threefold: to explore the curricular innovations of yearbook teachers, to emphasize similarities between the curricula of the participants and to question the need for yearbook curriculum standards. The literature review provided information from three aspects of education text: yearbook literature, teacher narratives and curriculum inquiry related to teacher narrative. The last section included three frameworks, applied in data analyses: Tyler's model, Eisner's model and curriculum integration. Once a questionnaire process ascertained the number of schools administering yearbook courses, two candidates were willing to participate. Structured interviews and artifacts detailed their curriculum-making process. The findings were reported in a multiple-case, replication logic research design. The conclusions revealed that yearbook teachers share similar objectives, but plan different learning experiences. These results and a lack of resources require further inquiry into creating standards for yearbook curriculum and more research into the phenomenon of the yearbook program.
Multiple imputation of missing data in clinical trials

Missing data or incomplete data are very common in almost every statistical situation. The simple application of complete-data based methods without a careful thinking of the missingness mechanism may result in an invalid conclusion. The statistical inferences on the unknown parameters may be complicated and the power of the inferences may be lowered due to the missing data. A large number of methods have been developed to handle the missing data. These methods can be categorized as (1) the likelihood based approach and (2) the multiple imputation approach. The likelihood-based methods utilize the observed data only; all infers are based on the observed-data likelihood function. The multiple imputation is to impute the missing data by some 'plausible' values multiple times, the analyses results based on each imputed complete data are then combined to make a repeated imputation inference (Rubin, 1987). In order to make a valid repeated imputation inference, an appropriate imputation model needs to be built and the missing data need to be imputed by independent draws from this model. In this research, we develop new analytical methods for imputing the missing data arising from clinical trials in which the repeated measurement design are commonly employed. A particular covariance structure, the ante-dependence structure, is fully discussed and the methods for imputing the missing data with the ante-dependence covariance structure are the core components of this research. The merits of multiple imputation versus no imputation are investigated by simulations. The performance of the proposed methods and two other developed multiple imputation methods, the predictive model method and the MCMC method, are also compared by simulations. The application of these methods to a clinical trial data is presented.
A 10 bit, 50MS/s, Low-Power Pipelined A/D Converter for Cable Modem Applications

Cable modems have been recently developed for high speed, bidirectional communication over the broadband hybrid fiber-coaxial network. Such modems use mixed-mode circuits to achieve high performance interactive multimedia communications. The digital back-end circuits in the cable modem are implemented in a submicron CMOS process for low power dissipation and high speed of operation. To realize low cost and single chip modems, the analog front-end circuits must be implemented together with the digital circuits on the same chip. A crucial block in the cable modem is the high performance A/D converter which operates in the in-band downstream receiver and links the analog front-end to the digital back-end circuitry. This thesis deals with the design of a pipelined A/D converter realized using a one bit per stage pipelined architecture for use in cable modems. The A/D converter includes the input track-and-hold circuit, clock timing generator, digital synchronization block and the pipelined stages. The pipelined A/D converter is implemented in a 0.25-[mu]m, 2.5-3.3V CMOS process, with single layer of polysilicon and 5 levels of metallization and uses an area of 3.2mm2. The prototype exhibits a 10 bits resolution at 50MSample/s and 57dB SNDR while dissipating 65mW from a 2.5V supply voltage. The DNL and the INL are -0.5LSB and 0.95LSB respectively and the area of the core excluding pads is 1.2mm2. Compared to the best previous design with the same resolution and sampling speed, this design achieves the same dynamic range at lower supply voltage, lower power dissipation and with a smaller core area.
Extrusion processing for manufacture of low-density, fine-celled polypropylene foams

A continuous extrusion process for the manufacture of low-density, fine-celled polypropylene foams is presented. Due to its outstanding functional characteristics and low material cost, polypropylene foams have been considered as a substitute for other thermoplastic foams in industrial applications. However, only limited research has been conducted on the production of polypropylene foams because of the weak melt strength, and no research has been conducted to investigate the mechanisms that govern the expandability of polypropylene foams. This thesis presents the effective strategies for increasing the volume expansion ratio as well as the mechanisms governing the foam density of polypropylene foams. The basic strategies taken in this study for the promotion of a large volume expansion ratio of polypropylene foams are: (a) to use a branched material for preventing cell coalescence; (b) to use a long-chain blowing agent with low diffusivity; (c) to lower the melt temperature for decreasing gas loss during expansion; and (d) to optimize the processing conditions in the die for avoiding premature crystallization. The effects of processing and materials parameters on the foam morphologies of polypropylene materials were thoroughly studied using a single-screw tandem foam extrusion system. A careful analysis of extended experimental results obtained at various processing conditions indicates that the final volume expansion ratio of the extruded polypropylene foams blown with butane is governed either by loss of blowing agent or by crystallization of the polymer matrix. By tailoring the processing conditions in the die, ultra low-density, fine-celled polypropylene foams with very high expansion ratio up to 90-fold were successfully produced from the branched polypropylene resins. Fundamental studies have also been conducted to investigate the effect of various processing and materials parameters on the thermodynamic, thermal and melt fracture behaviors of polypropylene melts with foaming additives that influence the cell morphology of polypropylene foams.
Grazia Deledda, the politics of non-involvement

The purpose of the present dissertation is to reappraise the work of Grazia Deledda (1871-1936) in the light of psychological, semiotic and feminist theory introduced in Chapter I, "Methodologies". Towards this end Chapter II, "Syllabus," reviews the social and political climate into which Deledda was born and the key events in her early family life up to the time of her marriage in 1900. Using her personal letters and her autobiographical novel Cosima as primary sources, the link between Deledda's personal experience and her writing is established. The letters and Cosim are also analyzed in an effort to reach a better understanding of Deledda's veiled antagonism towards familial and societal restrictions. It is our intention, in so doing, to demonstrate just bow the effects of 19th-century patriarchy were negotiated by Deledda as a woman author. Paying particular attention to those episodes and relationships which influenced the ambivalent nature of her views on sexuality and gender relations Chapter III, "Marriage of the Mind," continues to explore Deledda's obsession with such sexual themes as pathology, the consequence of that restrictive web of prohibitions which, in the lives of women, tolerated no exposure to the outside world and subverted any natural expression of sensuality. Through her literary treatment of women in the short story "Battesimi" and the novel ' Nostalgie', the extent of autobiographical intrusion, introduced in Chapter II, is examined in more detail. Chapter IV, "The Business of Writing", investigates Deledus entrepreneurial skills in her letters and fiction noting how she employed gender tactics to develop her career aspirations despite the opposition of her family and the pressures of society. Chapter V, "Gender Wars", examines the nature of both male and female characterization in Deledda's novels in order to uncover her views regarding inequality. Her language and images are evaluated here by enlisting semiotics to corroborate her anxiety and anger in respect to gender issues. It is our intention herein to show the author's constant awareness of women's power and potential as well as their plight at an almost total absence of legitimate channels allowing them. Deledda's profound personal frustration with sexual and professional repression will be shown to have had a significant impact on the nature of the style and content of her literary output.
An exploration of stress in police officers, a study of the predictive value of pre-employment psychological measures in the development of stress reactions in a sample of Ontario police officers

This study examines self-reported levels of stress and coping in a sample of 102 newly-hired police officers. Specifically, the domains of Occupational Stress, Psychological Strain, and Coping Resources as measured by the Occupational Stress Inventory were examined both independently and in relation to scores on select scales of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, Revised and the 16 Personality Factors Questionnaire. At the time of the study, 53% of the sample indicated experiencing some degree of occupationally-related stress, with 17% indicating the presence of significant levels of occupational stress. The majority of respondents (83.4%) indicated no difficulty within the psychological strain domain. On the coping domain, 25.5% of the sample indicated experiencing mild deficits in their coping resources while 6.9% indicated significant deficits. As expected, participants' scores on the measure of personal coping were significantly negatively correlated with both the Occupational Stress and Psychological Strain categories. For the MMPI-2, significant negative correlations were found between the K scale (Subtle Defensiveness) and both the Occupational Stress and Psychological Strain scales. A significant positive correlation was also found between Scale 9 (Hypomania) and the Occupational Stress scale. For the 16 PF, significant correlations were found between the Psychological Strain scale and the Ego Strength and Rebelliousness factors. Gender differences were examined with respect to scores on both the stress inventory and the measures of personality. The results indicate that male police officers identified the presence of more occupational stress than did their female counterparts. Male police officers also tended to obtain significantly higher scores on Scale 1 (Hypochondriasis), Scale 2 (Depression), and Scale 7 (Psychastenia). Female officers had higher scores on Scale 5 (Masculinity-Femininity). Last, a median split on the total measure of occupational stress was performed in order to identify any significant differences between higher and lower scorers on this variable, Significant results were found on the K (Subtle Defensiveness) scale and on Scale 6 (Paranoia). The relationship between stress levels and the career stage of police officers is discussed, as is the impact of stress on the recruitment, training, and management of police officers.
Women's physical health after childbirth, do violence and depression histories represent risk factors for more postpartum physical health symptoms?

A prevalence study was conducted to document the extent and the correlates of common postpartum physical health symptoms, and to determine whether violence and depression histories were associated with these symptoms. Women were recruited in the hospital after delivery and were interviewed by telephone 8 to 10 weeks later. Data were also obtained from women's medical records. Two hundred of the 332 (60.2%) women who were approached completed the study. Most women (96%) reported at least one physical symptom. The risk factors identified by the stepwise logistic regression were: assisted vaginal delivery (' RR' = 2.04; 95% 'CI' = 1.26-3.29), sick leave during pregnancy ('RR') = 1.92; 95% 'CI' = 1.11-3.33), depression during pregnancy ('RR' = 2.01; 95% 'CI' = 1.20-3.38), and possibly adult emotional abuse ('RR' = 1.57; 95% 'CI' = 0.97-2.56). Postnatal physical symptoms are common. Practice implications for health professionals are discussed.
On the robustness of a systematic methodology of fuzzy-logic modeling

This thesis presents a detailed investigation of the robustness of fuzzy-logic models. The key problem in fuzzy model generation is to find a suitable structure based upon a good model can be found. However, regardless of the modeling approach, three as yet unsolved problems will always arise after developing the model: (i) no guarantee that the developed model has a satisfactory continuous behaviour; (ii) the model may show a "poor" performance if the data used to build the model is contaminated with noise; and (iii) the model may show a "poor" generalization capability if used to predict data that has not been used in the model generation. Each of the above problems is investigated in the context of the fuzzy-logic modeling approach. To perform this investigation, a definition of the model robustness is introduced and the systematic methodology of fuzzy-logic modeling (Emami et al., 1996a) is reviewed. The goal is to improve this methodology with regard to the above-mentioned problems. First, the continuity behaviour of the fuzzy reasoning mechanism is investigated. As a result, some conditions on the reasoning parameters are introduced to adjust the sensitivity of the inference mechanism to account for any deviation in the inputs. Finally, the results are applied to two real applications. The first application is a well-known gas furnace plant. The second application is a 4 d.o.f robot manipulator developed in the Robotics and Automation Laboratory at the University of Toronto. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)
Analysis of subtraction methods in 3D contrast-enhanced MR digital subtraction angiography

3-D Contrast-enhanced MR angiography is promising as a replacement to catheter-based x-ray angiography due to its non-invasive nature. However, the image quality of MR angiography is still inferior to that of x-ray angiography at present, particularly in terms of image resolution and arterial conspicuity. Image subtraction is one of the techniques to improve arterial conspicuity in first-pass MR angiography. Three subtraction methods can be chosen in practice: complex subtraction, magnitude subtraction and MIP subtraction. This thesis compares and analyses the effectiveness of these three algorithms under different situations through computer simulations, phantom studies, and clinical studies. The principles for choosing the appropriate algorithm are provided. Future techniques to improve the image quality in MR angiography are also discussed.
Eigensystem analysis of a numerical method for fluid dynamics

Arnoldi's method was implemented to approximate the semi- and fully-discrete eigenvalues of ARC1D, a quasi-one-dimensional Euler solver. Three test cases were run to see the effects of different CFL numbers on the convergence rate and the approximations of the largest fully-discrete eigenvalue. Verification of the eigenvalue approximations was performed and an appropriate subspace size for Arnoldi's method was determined. A subspace size of about 40% of the original matrix size yields good results for the largest eigenvalues. The asymptotic convergence rate of the solver was found to agree closely with the largest eigenvalue of the fully-discrete operator matrix, confirming the linear behaviour of the operator. Similarly, a good correlation between the eigenvectors of the largest fully-discrete eigenvalues and the remaining error at a right-hand-side residual value of 10$\sp{-10}$ was found. Overall, these results indicate that, while Arnoldi's method is a very useful tool for obtaining the maximum eigenvalues of large matrices, it can require large subspace sizes which could be prohibitive in two and three dimensions.
The modifiability of triggered stepping reactions, effects of environmental demands

The purpose of this thesis was to determine whether perturbation-evoked forward stepping reactions can be modulated to accommodate obstacles, whether such modulation occurs automatically, and which features are modulated. Compensatory stepping reactions were evoked in healthy young adults by unpredictable horizontal movement of a large platform. In the first study, subjects were well able to modulate their forward stepping reactions to clear a high frontal obstacle while recovering balance, even in the earliest trials. A large anticipatory postural adjustment (APA) was used along with a laterally directed step to maintain medio-lateral stability. The second study included a second obstacle condition which constrained lateral foot placement. Subjects then upregulated the APA amplitude in order to guarantee medio-lateral stability. The results provide evidence that triggered stepping reactions can be modulated to deal with environmental constraints, and that large, functional APAs can contribute significantly to balance control during compensatory stepping.