VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Operating virtually within a hierarchical framework, how a virtual organization really works

This thesis is an extensive case study of an internationally dispersed, multi-disciplinary network of sixteen independent scholars working in a virtual research organization (Globenet). This case study compares Globenet to bureaucratic and virtual organizational models. It does so to examine, first, how Globenet establishes itself and operates as one type of virtual organization, and, second, how its members' involvement in this temporally, geographically distributed organization affects the structure and content of scholarly and interpersonal relationships within the organization. Comparing the functioning of Globenet to traditional typifications of bureaucracies does offer insight into the functioning of a small, goal oriented, temporary virtual organization established and funded by a much larger more permanent, hierarchical organization. Globenet members' involvement in this loosely-connected, temporal, spatially distributed organization affects the structure, composition and content of work and social relationships within the network. Social network properties are employed to examine how these sixteen spatially dispersed scholars establish positions of prominence and scholarly involvement in advice seeking, scholarly contact (outside of regular meetings) and collaboration networks. Members who performed internal organizational positions such as director, co-editor and co-director achieved greater prominence within Globenet. Members' external prestigious accomplishments and status were independent of their levels of prominence within Globenet. However, because of the fraternity-like nature of this organization, members were recruited according to their academic achievements and research endeavours. Globenet members' scholarly involvement with corresponding members was associated with their frequent communication, friendship relations, discipline similarity and reading of each others' work. Members who were socially similar (discipline) were more likely to develop scholarly involvement than those who were working closer in distance. Members' overall pattern of relationships further reinforced the distinction between social similarity (e.g., disciplinary and research similarity) and physical proximity (e.g., working in the same country, city or university). Globenet members were positioned with other members who were working in the same discipline or who were producing work that showed common interests, as opposed to members who were working in the same city or university. Even though Globenet is a case study of one type of scholarly network, it provides rich information on how a cross-disciplinary, globally dispersed virtual organization gets established and then operates.
Characterization on OCTN1 and OCTN2 in the human mammary gland

Breastfeeding provides the optimal source of nutrition for newborn infants. However, many mothers require medication while nursing. Knowledge regarding the mechanisms of drug transport into breast milk is lacking. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate whether two members of the organic cation transporter family, hOCTN1 and hOCTN2, are responsible for cationic drug transport into breast milk. Using RT-PCR, mRNA for both transporters were found in human mammary gland derivatives. Functional transport experiments determined the pH-dependency of [14C]TEA uptake, and Na+-dependency of [3H]L-carnitine uptake in an 'in vitro' mammary epithelial model. In addition, mathematical modelling of TEA and L-carnitine uptake found that transport was best described by two functionally distinct systems. In conclusion, these findings suggest that, while hOCTN1 may not contribute significantly to TEA uptake in MCF-12A cells, hOCTN2 plays an important role in L-carnitine uptake. Therefore, this transporter may participate in drug transport within the mammary gland.
Being tested, an investigation of recipient perspectives on HIV testing services using a multi-method approach

In order to enhance our understanding of HIV testing services and suggest possible areas of service improvement, this study investigated: (1) test recipients' perceptions of the elements of HIV testing services, (2) test recipients' conceptualizations of testing services, and (3) some of the prominent personal and social factors related to perceptions of HIV testing. In the first phase of the research, 39 HIV test recipient transcripts were analyzed using a grounded theory approach to identify the elements of testing service valued by test recipients and to investigate the personal and social factors influencing perceptions of HIV testing services. In the second phase of the research, supplemental interviews were conducted with 15 test recipients to (a) provide confirmation of the HIV test service elements and related themes uncovered during the grounded theory analysis, and (b) to explore test recipients' conceptualizations of HIV testing services using a pile sort technique and multi-dimensional scaling (MDS) analysis. Results suggest both diversity in test recipient experiences and complexity in their views of testing services. The grounded theory analysis produced a comprehensive set of 28 elements of testing services, including service components related to accessibility and availability, structure of the service, technical and medical aspects of the testing process, and both cognitive and socio-emotional aspects of the interpersonal process. The most prominent elements of service that emerged from the analysis were those to do with the socio-emotional aspects of the interpersonal process. Results from the MDS analysis suggest that HIV testing services are understood by test recipients in terms of their concerns about testing. For the small sample (N = 15) employed in this study, these concerns were with ease of the testing process, time taken in the testing process, anxiety control, and confidence in the blood-taking process. The three dominant social and perceptual themes that emerged from the grounded theory analysis were risk and responsibility, the social experience of HIV and stigma, and the power dynamic in the medical relationship. These themes are important contextual factors influencing HIV test recipients' views of testing services. Implications of the study results for both service delivery and patient views theory are discussed.
The influence of equivalence ratio and wall temperature on the ignition of H¦2/air mixtures in hypersonic flow boundary layers

The ignition of H$\sb2$ in air in the boundary layers of high-enthalpy hypersonic flows was numerically solved for a flat plate geometry using the Thin-Layer Navier-Stokes equations coupled with a complex thirteen species chemical solver. The Mach number range of study was between 2 and 17. Four different constant wall temperatures and three equivalence ratios were implemented. The heat transfer rate along the wall was studied and the solutions compared to each other. For higher Mach number flows (approximately greater than Mach 9), the heat transfer rate to the wall becomes largely independent of the inflow Mach number. The heat generation within the flow was analyzed at various transversal sections along the flat plate. As the inflow Mach number is increased, the presence of H$\sb2$ originally in the flow eventually result in endothermic reactions which cause the heat produced in the boundary layer to be less than that of a chemically frozen flow.
The regulation of T/B lineage commitment by Lunatic Fringe and Notch1

Notch proteins are surface receptors that regulate many developmental processes. One outcome of Notch signaling is the differentiation of bipotential precursors into one cell type versus another. Recent evidence has suggested Notch regulates T cell versus B cell commitment. Evidence from our lab suggests that Lunatic Fringe (Lfng) may regulate this process. Deletion of the extracellular region constitutively activates Notch (NotchIC) and renders it insensitive to modulation by Fringe. Our lab has shown that cortical thymocytes ectopically expressing Lfng act cell non-autonomously to inhibit Notch1 activation in thymic lymphoid progenitors (LP). As a result, LP commit to the B cell lineage. I undertook this study to determine if constitutively active Notch1 would prevent thymic LP from adopting a B cell fate in response to ectopic Lfng. NotchIC infected LP produced only T cells, suggesting that constitutively active Notch1 can abrogate the effect of the Lfng transgene.
Dissecting the developmental and molecular defect in split hand/ split foot malformation

Split hand/split foot malformation is a human developmental limb defect that affects the central rays of the hands and feet, resulting in missing digits and claw-like extremities. Commonly segregating as an autosomal dominant disorder, this genetically heterogeneous disease displays a number of distinctive genetic features including reduced penetrance, variable expressivity, and segregation distortion, where affected males transmit the disease to their male offspring in excess of 50 percent. A SHFM locus (SHFM1) has been mapped to human chromosome 7 on the basis of a large number of patients with visible cytogenetic rearrangements. A physical map spanning this region has been generated and a 1Mb SHFM1 critical interval has been defined at 7q21.3-q22.1. This thesis describes the identification and characterization of five genes from the SHFM1 critical interval. 'DSS1', the first gene identified, encodes a putative novel acidic protein and has a developmental expression profile consistent with a role in the disease process. ' DNCI1', a cytoplasmic dynein gene, is likely not involved in the basic defect but it may be implicated in the non-Mendelian segregation observed in this disease. Two homeobox transcription factors, 'DLX5' and 'DLX6', are expressed during limb development and the known function of the related gene in 'Drosophila' further implicates them in limb development. Lastly, 'DSS2', a putative mitochondrial ATP transporter, is expressed in a specific pattern during limb development highly suggestive of role in the disease process. What is more important, ' DSS2' is the only gene identified that is directly interrupted by disease associated balanced translocation breakpoints, making it an interesting candidate. In addition, a phenotypic analysis of a mouse model for SHFM, called ' Dactylaplasia', was undertaken to further understand the disease process. It was determined that the phenotype results from the failure to maintain the central portion of the apical ectodermal ridge, a key signaling centre in the developing limb bud. It is further shown that this tissue is lost due to a lack of cellular proliferation. The data presented in this thesis provide a framework from which to begin to understand the developmental and molecular defect in SHFM.
Defending Lilliput, domestic cultural industry development schemes and the wrold trade regime

This thesis investigates the increasingly tenuous position of domestic cultural industry development schemes, particularly for film, television and music, within the world trade regime. The common justifications for the deployment of such schemes are outlined, and the various methodologies adopted by countries to support their cultural industries, e.g. broadcast quotas, tax breaks, direct subsidies, and foreign ownership restrictions, are examined by way of value chain analysis. The WTO regime is then introduced, and the application of the GATS to audiovisual products is examined. The history and outcomes of such schemes in Australia, Canada and South Africa are specifically discussed, with particular attention being paid to Project Blue Sky Inc. v Australian Broadcasting Authority. The "public morals" exception is considered as a possible escape route for the retention of broadcast quotas, and the thesis concludes with an examination of the current Canadian initiative to build an international coalition for the creation of specific rules on international trade in cultural products.
Imaging silver nanowire using near-field scanning optical microscope

Near-field scanning optical microscopy (NSOM) has become a widespread technique due to its promising capability to image with sub-micron resolution. The first use of a new tapping-mode NSOM instrument developed in our group is presented here. The system is employed to image silver nanowires fabricated by a non-lithographic, electrochemical templating technique. The technical problems of NSOM relating to the fabrication of the tip were investigated and solved. Appropriate combinations of the tip parameters were found to provide high transmittance of light and good resolution for both topographic and optical images obtained simultaneously. The improved spatial resolution and low detection limit capabilities of the tapping-mode probe design are demonstrated through the topographic and optical NSOM images of nanowires. The optical image reveals subwavelength optical information on the nanowires and also indicates the possible distribution of optical fields in the vicinity of the nanowire.
What else is there to do? A heuristic study of emancipatory relationships

The question "how do people perceive and describe the experience of emancipatory relationships?" is explored through a heuristic research process, a qualitative research methodology, which was developed by Clark Moustakas. The theoretical framework upon which this study is based is interdisciplinary, and draws on the fields of education (humanistic, holistic, progressive education and critical and engaged pedagogy), psychology (person-centred, inter/intrapersonal studies, sport psychology), women's studies (feminist epistemology) and, sports and recreation studies (social justice issues, women-centred coaching, women and non-traditional sport). Data was collected through audiotaped informal conversational interviews with 14 volunteer co-researchers. The verbatim data was then analyzed using heuristic methodology's six phases: initial engagement, immersion, incubation, illumination, explication, and culmination. Based on this procedure, thirty-three learnings and six themes were derived that highlight the co-researchers' shared perceptions, descriptions, and experiences of emancipatory relationships. The themes and learnings are presented in the form of individual depictions, a composite depiction, three exemplary portraits, and a creative synthesis. The study concludes with reflections on the data, the value of the research methodology, the emancipatory potential of relationships, and the researcher's experience of the study.
The knower and the known in folk pedagogies, a paradox exposed

The folk pedagogy construct is used to differentiate between alternative conceptions of competence and the pedagogical moves aimed at altering or enhancing that competence. Two very different conceptions characterize the contours of the landscape of formal education, best defined in terms of what is known collectively (the known) and what is known subjectively (the knower). Extensive interviews with practicing teachers show how they are forced to attend to each of these in their challenge to meet both the demands of a fixed school curriculum and the needs of the individual children with their varied understandings, backgrounds, and interests who make up a class. First, practical illustrations of this set of potentially contradictory folk epistemological and pedagogical concerns are provided. Second, teachers' explicit considerations of the knower in relation to the known are shown to reflect a trait-like categorical conception of the phenomenon of individuality, supporting the explicated dualism. Third, arenas of professional practice in which teachers are aware of the apparent contradiction inherent in being caught between the two sets of constraints given by the knower and the known are presented as the first step towards reconciling the folk pedagogical paradox. Finally, a new pedagogy is proposed, one predicated on a psychology and an epistemology that respects and unites both the subjective properties of the child and the objective properties of the curriculum in a commensurate relationship.
Globalization of judgment, transjudicialism, international human rights law and Commonwealth courts

This paper develops a theory of international human rights law's relationship to domestic law that mediates between local values and international law's ambition to govern. It is divided into four parts. Chapter I explores the strengths and weaknesses of various existing approaches to the domestic use of international law. Chapter II identifies five rationales invoked by Commonwealth courts to justify their reliance on international law. Chapter III develops an approach to international law's relationship to domestic law that is grounded in the case law and that builds on the strengths of existing theories while seeking to address their shortcomings. Chapter IV turns to some of the theoretical questions posed by the invocation of international norms in divergent cultural and legal contexts. Are divergent interpretations permissible? Are they avoidable? Drawing on Hans-Georg Gadamer's hermeneutic philosophy, it concludes that the same norm can give rise to divergent meanings without succumbing to relativism.
Cognitive impairment and physical disability as predictors of stroke in a Canadian elderly population

This thesis assessed the influence of cognitive impairment and physical disability as predictors of incidence of first stroke, overall stroke, and stroke mortality in 9008 elderly living across Canada. Cognitive impairment, physical disability, age in ten year increments, diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart and circulation problems were significant bivariate predictors of first stroke. The same risk factors including a history of stroke were significant bivariate predictors of overall stroke incidence. Cognitive impairment, physical disability, age and previous stroke were significant bivariate and multivariate predictors of stroke mortality. Cognitive impairment did not retain its significance in the multivariate analysis of first stroke or overall stroke incidence. Physical disability is an important risk factor for stroke in elderly populations, however more research on the mechanisms behind the increased risk for stroke from limitations in physical function is needed. Cognitive impairment may be important in predicting more severe strokes.
The role of lycopene on human prostate cancer and bone cells in-vitro

Lycopene is found naturally in fruits and vegetables with tomatoes and tomato products being the main dietary source. Epidemiological studies have shown that serum and tissue lycopene levels are inversely related to chronic disease risk. The objective of this study was two-fold; to measure the effects of a water-dispersible lycopene on (1) the proliferation of LNCaP human prostate cancer cells and (2) on the proliferation and differentiation of human osteoblastic SaOS-2 cells. For the LNCaP cells, lycopene, in a dose-dependent manner, inhibited the proliferation of LNCaP cells after 24, 48, 72 and 96hrs. For the SaOS-2 cells, lycopene stimulated the proliferation of cells when incubated for 96 and 144hrs. Dexamethasone (Dex) enhanced alkaline phosphatase activity (ALPase) in a time-course manner, indicating differentiation of the cells. Based on these observations, it is suggested that lycopene may have implication for a significant role in the prevention of human prostate cancer and osteoporosis.
Coping with transitional stress in childhood, an exploratory study of immigrant children in Toronto

Aspects of children's coping with transition are explored against the background of self-reported experience with immigration, by a group of students in their early teens. The study focuses on the analysis of coping resources and is conceptually indebted to the relational theory of stress (Lazarus and Folkman, 1984). The information gleaned from the interviews falls into two main categories, based on (a) the analysis of the stressful situations in terms of the implied challenges and (b) analysis of coping units as reflective of the underlying resources. As a result, it became possible to outline the adjustment task for the members of the sample and to describe a number of conditions that helped them negotiate stress. The material is informative about the school experience, social network, quality of parenting and the child' s own strengths as supports in transition; it also highlights the emotional underpinnings of this period and touches upon their relationship with mental health.
Elastic pulse attenuation for damage assessment of concrete

Ultrasonic testing of concrete has been traditionally based on the measurements of the speed of wave propagation. The signal, however, carries significantly more information, namely the amplitude and energy contained in the frequencies constituting the signal. Changes to this energy distribution are called attenuation. The main promise of this study is that attenuation increases with increasing frequency and heterogeneity in a material. To measure the signal attenuation, an array of narrow band frequency signals was analyzed in both time and frequency domains. These analyses included simple methods such as total amplitude sum, and complex methods such as the attenuation using individual frequency components. The study was done using steel as a reference material, hydrating cement paste samples, and AAR affected concrete. All of the examined methods clearly showed the expected results. The most promising methods are the total-sum, and individual frequency components.
The ß-delayed particle decay of ¹§7Ne

An experiment has been proposed to study the ß-delayed proton decay of 17Ne into Ã-particle-emitting states in 16O below the 12C + Ã threshold in the hopes of using the information gained to constrain the 12C(Ã, ã) 16O cross section at stellar energies; several experiments have been carried out using the TISOL facility at TRIUMF in an effort to determine the feasibility of such an approach. 17Ne decays by ß-particle emission to excited states in 17F; by studying proton-ã-ray coincidences in the decay of these states, relative branching ratios have been obtained for the ß-delayed proton decay of 17Ne to ã-ray-emitting states in 16O. These indicate that the decay of the isobaric analogue state (IAS) at 11.1929 MeV in 17F to the 2 + subthreshold state at 6.917 MeV in 16O is a factor of thirty weaker than that of the IAS to any other ã-emitting state. From measurements of the angular correlations observed in such coincidences, the spins and parities of several excited states in 17F have been determined; it has also been shown that the decay of the IAS to the 1 - subthreshold state at 7.117 MeV in 16O is strongly anisotropic, suggesting that it has a strong ¾ = 2 component. Further decay studies have yielded a comprehensive set of ß-delayed particle branching ratios from the decay of 17Ne; from these, ' fAt' values and reduced Gamow-Teller matrix elements have been calculated, and the Fermi decay strength of the IAS has been limited to >=2.96 ± 0.14 indicating a 'T' = <math> <f> <fr><nu>3</nu><de>2</de></fr></f> </math> isospin purity of >=98.7 ± 4.6% for the IAS. The results obtained suggest that a determination of both the 'E1' and ' E2' components of the 12C(Ã, ã) 16O cross section is not feasible; however, with improved yields of 17Ne, a determination of only the 'E1' component should be.