VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
The Renaissance cobbler: the significance of shoemaker and cobbler characters in Elizabethan drama

This thesis focuses upon the original significance of the cobbler and shoemaker characters featured in extant Elizabethan plays. My research suggests that these characters carried figurative significance based mainly on ancient, medieval and Renaissance ideas and stories about these craftsmen. For this reason, a character's identification as a shoemaker was not a random detail, but an integral part of the playwright's communication to his original audiences. The thesis contends that the cobbler or shoemaker was generally understood and used in drama as one who reaches above and beyond his competence by trying to function at a higher occupational and/or social level. The first chapter lays the foundation by noting the prevalence of the proverb "Ne sutor ultra crepidam" by the late sixteenth century. The first two chapters concern the cobbler who is pressed into service as a soldier or a protector of a city or town. The next two focus on cobbler or shoemaker characters who aspire to gentility or suddenly acquire wealth. Chapter five argues that the cobbler in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar is not only an apt representative of the political incompetence of the rabble, but one whose ill-concealed aspirations to higher-ranking occupations foreshadow republican concerns about Caesar's political ambitions. Chapter six attempts to debunk editorial and scholarly hypotheses about allusions to shoemakers in the St. Crispin's Day speech in Shakespeare's Henry V (1599). Finally, the epilogue categorizes and comments briefly upon cobbler and shoemaker characters in twenty-three later plays, dating from c. 1604 through 1716.
Music and mixed emotions

In three experiments, we tested whether music listening evokes mixed emotional responding. Undergraduates listened to music that varied in tempo (fast or slow) and mode (major or minor), such that it had consistent happy (fast/major), consistent sad (slow/minor), or inconsistent (fast/minor or slow/major) emotional cues. Participants were asked to rate their reaction to the music on several pairs of semantic opposites (happy-sad, pleasant-unpleasant, like-dislike). Across experiments, fast tempi and major mode were associated with higher ratings on positive scales; slow tempi and minor mode were associated with higher ratings on negative scales. As predicted, "mixed" positive and negative responding was evident, but it was greater when tempo and mode cues conflicted only for mixed happiness and sadness. These response patterns were evident whether we asked listeners how the music made them feel or how it sounded, and whether the stimuli varied in a highly controlled or an ecologically valid manner.
The role of lipid rafts in the AY-9944 model of atypical absence seizures

In this study, the AY-9944 rat model of atypical absence seizures was used to study the pathogenesis of these seizures, in particular with regards to lipid rafts, which are detergent-resistant microdomains on the plasma membrane that are enriched in cholesterol, and have been suggested to serve as an assembly and sorting platform for signaling complexes. It was determined that GABA and NMDA receptors moved into lipid rafts throughout development. The relatively sudden movements of those receptors corresponded well with their development, in particular the GABA receptors. AY-9944 has been shown in this study to disrupt the normal incorporation of both GABA and NMDA receptors into lipid rafts in the brain. This effect lasts between three to six days, and likely disrupts GABA and NMDA receptor functioning and maturation during this time. The data presented in the thesis suggest novel avenues of investigation of epileptogenesis in atypical absence seizures.
Sensory function after traumatic upper extremity amputation in the human

Awareness of a phantom limb (PLA) as an integral part of the body is experienced by almost every individual after amputation. This awareness can be accompanied by specific qualities of sensation (PLS) and/or pain (PLP) in the missing limb. The neural mechanisms underlying these phenomena are not known. Previous hypotheses focused on PLP and were primarily based on data obtained in subjects evaluated several years after their amputation. Furthermore, these studies were potentially confounded by age effects and/or coexisting injuries or disease. The present thesis tested the main hypothesis that phantom awareness is a distinct phantom phenomenon reflecting an altered interaction of multiple sensory inputs and does not reflect cutaneous sensory thresholds. Prospective evaluations (interviews, quantitative sensory testing) were conducted in an unselected cohort of otherwise healthy individuals early (
Tudor politics, Tuscan ambition: a Florentine diplomat and intelligencer in sixteenth-century Europe

A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the Centre for Medieval Studies, University of Toronto, 2000 Scholars generally believe that Anglo-Tuscan diplomatic ties were nonexistent in the mid-sixteenth century, when both England and Florence were considered too preoccupied with preserving their autonomy and domestic tranquility to have engaged in extensive foreign policy making. Connections in fact existed in the person of Antonio Guidotti (1492–1555), a precursor to the official relationship between England and Tuscany realized at the end of the century. During his reign, Cosimo I de' Medici (r. 1537–1574), acquired a level of sovereignty within the Habsburg Empire in part by utilizing individuals like Guidotti. Correspondence between Cosimo and Guidotti, housed in the Archivio di Stato in Florence and as yet unpublished, is a vital contribution to this study. Guidotti's career provides evidence regarding the extent of social mobility. Guidotti, the scion of a Florentine patrician family, used his personal and professional connections for advancement. Settling in Southampton, Guidotti ingratiated himself into the civic merchant elite and, through them, the English court. Despite, or because of, a massive business failure and a substantial debt to the crown, Guidotti was sent by the English to France to open discussions for the return to the French of the English-held town of Boulogne. His diplomatic success resulted in an English knighthood, and, upon his return to Florence, a formal entry followed by civic offices. Limits placed on Guidotti's social mobility, however, confirm the development of the Florentine patriciate into a closed caste during the sixteenth century. Guidotti also represents a new breed of diplomat. The clergy and nobility no longer dominated diplomacy by virtue of their education and rank. Guidotti and others of his ilk recognized that diplomacy might become a tool for social mobility. They appreciated the value of information, which they collected and disseminated to their employers. Guidotti is an example of this new diplomat, one who provides his connections, talents, and loyalty to the highest bidder. In short, Guidotti's career, and the context of Florence under Cosimo I and England under Edward VI, illustrate the growing professionalization of diplomacy, in which men of ambition with private access to information could receive international recognition.
Inquiry learning: a narrative inquiry into the experiences of three teachers

This is a qualitative study that explores the nature of teacher learning in inquiry-based classrooms. The study investigates three teachers' experiences of enacting inquiry learning at an independent school for girls committed to this approach. I employ a narrative inquiry methodology and work collaboratively with these inquiry-based teachers to uncover their understanding of inquiry learning and investigate the ways in which they have adopted roles of co-learners with their students. I also consider the role of the institution in their adoption of inquiry learning. This dissertation also documents my own journey as teacher, teacher leader, and narrative researcher. By relating my own stories of how I came to teach and support other teachers, and how I came to understand narrative inquiry through study and practice, I offer a rationale and a framework for this study. I find that to reconstruct one's role as an inquiry teacher requires more than a theoretical understanding of the approach but entails an iterative process of experimentation, reflection and reconstruction that is unique to and deeply personal for each teacher. I also discover that for the three teachers in my study the role of co-learner is integral to their identities and how they live their lives. I also find that the setting in which the implementation takes place has much to contribute to the process through providing a safe and supportive environment for making mistakes and taking risks.
An investigation of the shear lag effect in welded channel tension connections

The design strength of tension members is often governed by connection parameters. For many steel tension members a phenomena known as shear lag often reduces the ultimate design strength. A series of tensile specimens was designed using the current CAN/CSA S.16-01 standard. The sections were designed such that a comparison of the results would illustrate the effect of various design parameters on shear lag. A review of similar experimental programmes suggested that many important design parameters had yet to be examined. These parameters, including weld strength, weld size and section weight were among those examined in this research programme. A new, accurate and inexpensive photometric strain measurement technique was also attempted and evaluated. The results of this research programme suggest that current design standards are generally conservative in their estimation of ultimate strength, but sometimes unconservative.
Lettres de femmes a un homme de lettres: La construction du sujet epistolaire au feminin dans les lettres envoyees a Zola

Dans ce travail, nous cherchons ̉dčrire et ̉analyser de faȯn approfondie les pratiques p̌istolaires de femmes en tant que sujet fm̌inin črivant. Pour ce faire, nous ťudions un corpus de 271 lettres de femmes envoyěs ̉¿mile Zola pendant l'affaire Dreyfus. En analysant non seulement ce que les correspondantes de Zola disent dans leurs lettres (thm̈es abordš, ce qu'elles rv̌l̈ent explicitement et implicitement sur elles-mm̊es et sur leur destinataire), mais aussi la faȯn dont elles le disent (le style, le choix de mots, les dǐctiques, les modalisateurs), nous relevons les multiples marques de la subjectivit ̌langagir̈e au fm̌inin qui sont fortement inscrites dans le texte p̌istolaire. En analysant la lettre comme objet historique et textuel, pour sa forme et pour son contenu, l'objectif de cette ths̈e est de montrer la variť ̌et la pluralit ̌des procďš mobilisš par les femmes dans la construction de leur identit ̌p̌istolaire. Au terme de ce travail, il nous est ainsi possible d'ľaborer les premiers jalons d'une poťique p̌istolaire au fm̌inin qui voit dans la lettre un espace textuel dans lequel la construction identitaire est le produit d'un acte dľibř ̌d'čriture. L'analyse se divise en deux parties principales: dans un premier temps, l'intřt̊ porte sur les ľm̌ents conventionnels de la lettre, c'est--̉dire, sur l'appel, la formule finale et la signature. ° l'aide d'une grille d'analyse que nous avons ľaborě, on examine ici les moments o ̮les p̌istolir̈es ont respect ̌les conventions p̌istolaires telles qu'avancěs par les manuels p̌istolaires de l'p̌oque, et ceux o ̮elles se sont dľibřm̌ent čartěs de ces normes afin d'črire selon leurs propres desseins. Il s'agit dans la seconde partie de cette ths̈e de considřer le corps de la lettre et ce, selon deux axes: ce qui est črit (le contenu) et la faȯn dont ceci est črit (la forme). L'ťude du sujet abord ̌dans les lettres, l'affaire Dreyfus, rv̌l̈e les opinions des p̌istolir̈es et leurs prises de position concernant cet important v̌ňement historique. L'analyse de la forme et des stratǧies d'čriture repr̈e les procďš linguistiques qui permettent aux p̌istolir̈es d'inscrire (implicitement ou explicitement) des marques de leur identit ̌textuelle dans leurs lettres.
Psychometric properties of a teacher semi-structured interview for childhood externalizing disorders

Current practice guidelines for the assessment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) recommend direct evidence from teachers and parents. Although interviews are considered the gold standard in clinical practice, few teacher interviews exist and existing ones are rarely used. The objective was to evaluate the psychometric properties of a novel semi-structured clinical interview for teachers. The Teacher Telephone Interview for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Related Disorders: DSM-IV Version (TTI-IV) was designed to quantify symptoms of ADHD, oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), and conduct disorder (CD) in the school setting. It also screens academic performance, aggression, anxiety, depression, and other psychiatric symptoms pertinent to the differential diagnosis of ADHD. The TTI-IV applies a unique approach involving (1) a context-driven framework; (2) operational definitions and probes; (3) avoidance of direct DSM terminology; and (4) use of clinician-based rather than teacher-based ratings of behaviour. An exploratory factor analysis study with 321 participants, aged 6- to 13-years-old (239 males, 82 females), was conducted to identify the TTI-IV's underlying structure. Principal axis factoring with oblique rotation revealed six factors accounting for 56% of the variance: Sustained Attention, Executive Control, Hyperactivity/Impulsivity, Peer Related Oppositional Problems, Adult Related Oppositional Problems, and Conduct Disorder. Preliminary analyses indicated these factors were separable dimensions. The same sample was used in a second study investigating the TTI-IV's reliability and validity. Partial correlational and multivariate analyses were conducted to examine the relationships between the TTI-IV and established teaching rating scales and cognitive, academic, language, and affective measures. Results indicated good convergent and discriminant validity. Reliability analyses for a subset of the sample (30 males, 12 females) revealed excellent inter-scorer and test-retest reliability. Inter-scorer reliability intraclass correlations of the continuous scoring scale were .98 and .97 for ADHD and ODD respectively. Kappas were .85 and .84 respectively for ADHD and ODD diagnostic agreement. Test-retest reliability of 8 children (4 males, 4 females) for continuous and dichotomous scoring, respectively, was .88 and .60 for ADHD and .95 and 1.00 for ODD. Results indicate that the TTI-IV is a reliable and valid approach for evaluating and quantifying psychopathological symptoms in the school setting, when used by trained clinicians.

Keywords: Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, Diagnosis
Psychometrics
Oppositional defiant disorder in children, Diagnosis
Conduct disorders in children, Diagnosis
Interviews
Teachers of problem children
Material correlates of the pre-famine agri-social hierarchy: Archaeological evidence from County Roscommon, Republic of Ireland

Little is known about Irish pre-famine rural society beyond what is available in the few extant documents and contemporary reports available on the subject. Archaeological excavation offers a new avenue of research into the lives of the families that were most affected by the Great Hunger of 1845 to 1850. Over the course of six years, researchers associated with the Centre for the Study of Rural Ireland have excavated four rural households from the pre-famine period in County Roscommon, Republic of Ireland---Gorttoose townland, Mulliviltrin village, and the two Nary households at Ballykilcline townland. Through the combination of historical research and archaeological inquiry, I have recreated the rural agricultural and social hierarchy that was a social reality for the nineteenth-century population of rural County Roscommon. Rather than consisting of landlords, large farmers, and a simple homogenous 'peasantry, ' the rural population of Ireland consisted of at least seven hierarchical categories based upon access to land and type of lease agreement. In rural Ireland, a family's agri-social position was defined by their access to land and agricultural output. Therefore, the higher a household's position in the rural agri-social hierarchy, the more land, livestock, or both, they owned or accessed. Would these agri-social positions be visible in the archaeological record? North American historical archaeologists have previously demonstrated that quality, quantity, and variety of artifact assemblages often reflect social status. I applied these North American methods in a new context, rural Ireland, to assess their effectiveness. In addition, I utilized a new data set, the locally-produced coarse earthenware, in the evaluation of status. I contend that due to the peculiarities of sociohistoric context, such as the role coarse earthenware played in agricultural production and local market conditions, coarse earthenware would more closely reflect agri-social position than imported fine earthenware, whose market history is largely unknown.
Novel approaches towards the synthesis of protein tyrosine phosphatase inhibitors and alternative strategies in the design of transition state analogues for phosphatase abzymes

The work reported herein spans two different projects. In the first section, SPSOS chemistry is used to prepare two series of compounds bearing the difluoromethylene phosphonic (DFMP) acid moiety that are screened against PTP1B. Non crosslinked polystyrene (NCPS) is employed as a support for the synthesis of both series of inhibitors allowing for homogeneous reaction conditions and non-destructive monitoring of the reaction progress by 19F NMR. In the first series, a Suzuki reaction is used to prepare a series of biaryl phosphonic acids while a Wittig reaction is used to synthesize the second styrl-like series of compounds. Compounds from both libraries ranged in purity from 43 to 99% and were suitable for assaying without the need for further purification. The best inhibitors from the Suzuki and Wittig libraries had Ki's of 1.7 and 5 μM respectively. In the second section of the thesis, isomeric 2,5-di-p-nitrophenyl phospholanate esters were synthesized and employed as transition state analogues for the purpose of obtaining catalytic antibodies capable of hydrolyzing model phosphotriester and phosphono diester substrates. Crucial to the hapten design was the C-P-C bond angle of the cyclic TSA's. The value of this angle was determined by X-ray crystallography of one of the final TSA products as well as various synthetic intermediates. The TSA's were conjugated to carrier proteins and immunized into mice for the purposes of isolating antibodies. One antibody, Jel 541, was found to be able to differentiate between the TSA's and exhibit catalytic activity in hydrolyzing the substrates significantly above background rates.
Three essays on monetary search models

In the past two decades, the monetary search model pioneered by the work of Kiyotaki and Wright (1989) has been used predominantly to study the microeconomic foundations of monetary theories. The main contribution of this model is to carefully describe the decentralized trading environment that gives rise to a double coincidence of wants problem, and thus makes money essential. This thesis studies the latest generation of the monetary search model and its application. Chapter 3 investigates the output effect of unanticipated inflation in a competitive search environment where there is asymmetric information about monetary shocks. I show that in a decentralized environment with asymmetric information, in order to generate real output effects, no real shocks are needed. When the realization of the monetary shock is privately observed by buyers, sellers offer more output when the economy experiences a higher inflation rate. This contrasts with the centralized Walrasian market environment, where price adjust proportionally to monetary shocks, and where nominal shocks by themselves have no real output effects. Chapter 2 studies the impact of inflation on individuals' trading behavior in a search environment. The two alternative margins that have been used to model this effect are the extensive margin (e.g., frequency of shopping per period) and the intensive margin (e.g., average shopping time per trip). This paper investigates the effect of inflation on these two margins. It deviates from the previous literature by allowing individuals to vary both margins simultaneously. I conclude that the effect is determined by the interaction between the opportunity cost of carrying money and the direct costs of searching. Chapter 1 examines the properties of competitive search equilibrium. Competitive search is an equilibrium concept that introduces price competition in an environment where trades take place in bilateral matches. This concept has been widely used in labor economics and recently it has been introduced to monetary economics by Rocheteau and Wright (2005). This paper clarifies that competitive search has a special property without counterpart in non-monetary economies. Namely, when money is the medium of exchange, competitive search tends to make payments predictable to avoid idle money balances.
Characterization of potential BRCA2 interacting proteins and correlated gene expression in breast cancer

The breast cancer 2 early onset gene (BRCA2), when mutated, predisposes women to early onset breast cancer and accounts for approximately 5% of all reported cases. Many studies have established that mutation of BRCA2 is associated with an increased sensitivity towards DNA damage, most likely a result of compromising the association between BRCA2 and RAD51, a well-studied regulator of DNA repair and recombination. Since much of breast cancer etiology remains unknown, the discovery of new BRCA2 interactions may lead to an improved understanding of breast cancer. In this thesis, two yeast two-hybrids were carried out using a C-terminal fragment of BRCA2 to identify potential interactions, and LIMD1 was identified as a potential BRCA2 interacting protein. LIMD1 encodes a 75 kDa protein that belongs to the ZYXIN family of LIM domain containing proteins. I generated a polyclonal LIMD1 antibody and demonstrated that LIMD1 is hyperphosphorylated during mitosis and that LIMD1 co-localizes with vinculin at focal adhesions sites. Additionally, immunohistochemistry on prostate tissue shows that LIMD1 can also be found at cell-cell junctions, indicating a potential role for LIMD1 in cellular attachment. Given previous genetic and functional studies indicating LIMD1 involvement in tumour suppression, a mutational analysis was conducted on the L1MD1 gene in breast cancer. I identified a potential tumour associated mutation (S255R). This could have important functional consequences given that serine phosphorylation of the ZYXIN family of proteins is a frequent occurrence, and could affect unknown functions, especially during mitosis when LIMD1 is hyperphosphorylated. To further understand the role of BRCA2 and other genes that may be involved in breast cancer, I evaluated gene expression of BRCA2 and DNA repair genes associated with the BRCA2 pathway. Some genes, such as BRCA2 and PLK1, had 8-10 fold differences in expression in primary breast tumours of sporadic origin. Correlation of gene expression within tumours identified associations between BRCA2, RAD51, and PLK1 and between LIMD1, MRE11A, and EMSY. Changes in gene expression of DNA repair genes could affect protein levels and potentially, the ability to repair DNA. Furthermore, correlations of gene expression may also point toward novel and/or deregulated pathways involved in breast tumourigenesis. Altogether, these results have the potential to identify new genes leading to breast cancer.