VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
An evaluation of audioconferencing as a collaborative tool for Japanese teleworkers with physical disabilities

This study examined how audioconferencing can be adapted for use by teleworkers with physical disabilities. A field trial with teleworkers of a Japanese company using the Vocal Village, a spatialized audioconferencing system, was conducted. Prior to the field trial, a number of activities were carried out including, review of relevant literature, user profiling, requirements gathering, interface customization, task structuring, and evaluation of the existing Vocal Village system. During the trial, a team of seven teleworkers with physical disabilities developed a website over a two week period. They provided feedback on their experience in using the Vocal Village in their work both during and after the trial. The audioconferencing interface was customized to meet the requirements of the trial participants. Results concerning usability, work satisfaction and related measures were also reported, along with design recommendations for further initiatives and research in the area of audioconferencing for teleworkers with physical disabilities.
Commodity-based goods movement modelling: a case study in Ontario

The research attempts to develop a commodity-based truck traffic model using roadside interview data, provincial input/output tables, population and employment data, and estimated truck shares. The case study focuses on the commodity group "motor vehicles and other transport equipment and parts" and demonstrates the implementation of two approaches for estimating commodity origin-destination flows in Ontario. In the first method, a Gravity model is used to distribute zonal commodity totals to origin and destination pairs, and a gradient updating procedure is used to update the matrix to reflect observed link flows. In the second method, a Genetic Algorithm attempts to find the best fitting O-D matrix by minimizing the difference between estimates and observed information. Goodness of fit criteria are used to compare the estimated results with an observed O-D matrix from a roadside truck survey. Using the current data, objective function and computing resources, our implementation of the Genetic Algorithm does not offer better estimates than the gravity model approach.
Patterns, mechanisms and nature of ethnic intermarriage in urban China, Kunming case, 1950--1996

This dissertation studies how the institutional restructuring and policy shifts during the past five decades have modified and altered the conditions for and hence patterns of intermarriage between ethnic minorities and the Han majority in the context of urban China. The analysis is primarily based on the one percent sample data of 1990 Chinese census and the marriage registration data in the early 1990s from Kunming, a multiethnic metropolis in the southwest of China. This study has the following findings:Ethnic intermarriages increased rapidly in Kunming in PRC, and by the early 1990s, ethnic intermarriage was prevalent among all minorities of ethnic groups and two genders and various class backgrounds. The highly positive market conditions for intermarriage were created by the institutions and policies. In the first place, the tightly controlled migration policies and the household registration system created near closed marriage market, which effectively cut off the connections between urban ethnic minorities and their ethnic folks in the rural and other areas. Next, the work unit system not only replaced the traditional ethnic economies, absorbing ethnic minorities into the mainstream economy, but also together with the public housing system creating highly ethnically mixed workplaces and neighborhoods. Besides, ethnic minority elites rose in the cities as a result of the preferential policies toward minorities. The declining SES gap between minorities and the Han majority also enhanced the possibility of intermarriage, for which status homogamy is the rule. However, the prevalence of marital assimilation did not lead to identity assimilation in the city; instead, children of minority-Han marriage overwhelmingly choose minority identity rather than that of the majority Han. A series of institutional factors are considered mostly responsible including the fixed ethnic categorization, the separation of ethnic status as a political status and as a way of daily life (culture), and the advantages of minority status given by the preferential policies. Key words. ethnic intermarriage, institutional change, interethnic contact opportunity, ethnic stratification, status homogamy, ethnic option, reversed assimilation, Kunming, China.
Recognizing composite events for event-condition-action rules

This thesis explores the problem of recognizing composite events. Our work extends the event specification language proposed in Vasiliki Kantere's M. Sc thesis titled "A Rule Mechanism for Peer-to-Peer Data Management", and proposes an efficient mechanism, the Recognizer, for composite event recognition. Among other features, the Recognizer supports different kinds of event consumption policies and unrestricted context, so it can be easily applied to different applications. The Recognizer has been implemented and evaluated under different workload assumptions. Peer-to-Peer (P2P) computing has become a popular topic in Computer Science because it offers a new paradigm for data sharing and service provision. Each peer in a P2P network is independent and autonomous, and (in our work) is assumed to own a relational database. Peers can establish (and cancel) acquaintances with other peers, and share data and services with their acquaintances. They can also coordinate their databases through Event-Condition-Action (ECA) rules.
Isolation and processing of protein from by-product of bio-ethanol

Attention on protein applications has been growing steadily. In particular, there is much emphasis on exploring the potential of protein from renewable bio-sources in the use for industrial applications. Two processes for isolating of protein from condensed distillers soluble (CDS) have been developed in this research: the whole process (process i) and the simplified process (process ii). Process i provided a level of protein purity of over 71%, while process ii reached 64%. However, process ii produced more isolated protein powder (0.089g per 1.5g CDS) than process i (0.048g per 1.5g CDS). Thus, for protein industrial-sized production, process ii is more suitable. The results in progress strongly suggested that protein isolated from CDS could be used as a substitute for the target protein in surface coating.
Simultaneous detection of linkage and linkage disequilibrium for families with an affected sib-pair

The transmission disequilibrium test (TDT) was built on the early work of haplotype relative risks, to test linkage when association/linkage disequilibrium exists and to evaluate association/linkage disequilibrium when linkage is present. The method applies to nuclear families that have at least one heterozygous parent with one child who is affected by a single-locus bi-allelic recessive genetic disease. An array of extensions of this method, including likelihood approaches, has been developed to cope with more complicated family structures and more complex genetic models. In particular, there are several methods developed for nuclear families with two affected siblings. In all methods, no attempt has been made to estimate linkage and linkage disequilibrium parameters simultaneously. In this thesis, we extend the TDT to a more general scenario that can include any disease and genetic model, can include affected sib pairs to build a test with 2 degrees of freedom, and can include general family structure without the assumption of independent transmission from the parents to their children. We consider nuclear families with at least one parent who is heterozygous at a bi-allelic marker locus and with two affected siblings. The genetic model is specified by penetrances and allele frequency. The joint distribution of transmitting and non-transmitting a particular marker allele from a heterozygous parent to his affected children is computed. The probability distribution of the TDT is verified to be a special case. The likelihood is then derived for the transmission probabilities which are based on this joint distribution, including the families structured with one heterozygous parent as well as two heterozygous parents without the assumption of independent transmission from the parents to their children. With this likelihood, maximum likelihood estimates for the parameters of interest, either the linkage and linkage disequilibrium parameters or the transmission probabilities can be obtained, as well as their confidence intervals/confidence region. Statistical tests, such as the score test and the maximum likelihood ratio test, can also be performed based on this likelihood. Power calculation is presented for the score test. Simulated data from GAW 11 is used as an example to illustrate the method.
A new multiobjective optimization algorithm based on artificial immune systems and its engineering application

Based on the new MOAIS, a constrained MOAIS is proposed to deal with constrained multiobjective optimization problems. An efficient constraint-handling technique is proposed by extending a single-objective constraint-handling technique to multiobjective optimization procedure. Comparative studies are performed quantitatively to assess the performance of the constrained MOAIS. Simulation results demonstrate that the constrained MOAIS is highly competitive with other state-of-the-art constrained multiobjective algorithms on a number of complex constrained multiobjective optimization test problems. This thesis is devoted to developing an efficient multiobjective optimization algorithm based on artificial immune systems. Multiobjective optimization is a very important research topic both in science and engineering since the presence of multiple and often competing objectives is natural in most real-world problems. In most cases, multiobjective optimization problems are difficult to solve because the multiple objectives often conflict across a complex and high-dimension search space. Therefore, efficient multiobjective optimization techniques are required to be able to deal with the problem difficulty. This thesis proposes an efficient multiobjective optimization algorithm named MOAIS, which is based on artificial immune systems. A new unified architecture is developed in the proposed algorithm by integrating both clonal selection principle and immune network theory. A sensitivity analysis is performed to investigate how the parameters defined in the algorithm affect the performance of the algorithm. In addition, comparative studies are made to demonstrate the performance of the proposed algorithm with respect to other advanced multiobjective optimization algorithms. Results show that the proposed algorithm is highly competitive with other state-of-the-art multiobjective algorithms in finding a set of well-converged and well-distributed Pareto-optimal solutions on a number of difficult multiobjective test problems. The constrained MOAIS is applied to solving a complex multiobjective cam shape optimization problem for a revolutionary cam drive engine. The superiority and efficiency of the constrained MOAIS are demonstrated through the engineering application.
Evaluation and determination of partitioning coefficients of organic solutes between the gas phase and organic liquids and solids

Phase ratio variation (PRV) method for measuring gas-liquid equilibration is modified to suitable for solid matrix and multiple solutes. The modified procedure has a precision and accuracy comparable with other methods. A thermodynamic consistent property dataset for three hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCH) is derived. The data analysis confirms an unusually high KOA and an unusually low H for beta-HCH. Linear solvation energy relationships fail to predict such differences. PL and KOA are often compared with each other in terms of their predictive capabilities for the partitioning between gas and organic matters without considering experimental uncertainty. The activity coefficient in octanol (gammaOct) is a measure of the difference between these two interactions. An analysis reveals that PL and KOA are highly correlated, gammaOct tends to remain constant, and the selected dataset strongly affects the regression results. It is impossible to judge one better than the other with the current experimental precision.
Some structural features of biomass in a hybrid reactor

The results indicate that biofilm had always a higher density, geometric porosity, and a larger boundary fractal dimension than flocs. Both types of biomass were found to exhibit at least two distinct Sierpinski fractal dimensions, indicating two major different pore space populations. With the increasing wastewater flow, both types of biomass were found to shift their structural properties to larger values, except porosity and surface roughness, which decreased. Floc density and biomass Sierpinski fractals were not affected much by the system loadings. This study investigates the structural features of biomass present in hybrid form in the same pilot-scale aeration tank. The attached-growth biomass was characterized by biofilm thickness, density, porosity, inner and surface fractal dimensions. The suspended-growth biomass was analyzed by floc size distribution, density, porosity, inner and surface fractal dimensions. The study was carried out in two subsequent periods, which differed in hydraulic and substrate loadings.
Optimal grid scheduling by dynamic selection of scheduling heuristics

A grid provides an infrastructure for applications to use shared heterogeneous resources. Such an infrastructure may be used to solve large-scale problems or to improve application performance. Experience with many years of parallel and distributed applications indicates that scheduling is fundamental to achieving good performance. However, it has already been proved that to achieve an optimal solution for a grid scheduling problem is, in general, NP-complete. Therefore, many different heuristics have been developed over the last decade. Because of the diversity of the tasks and the dynamic heterogeneous nature of the grid, there is no single heuristic that maintains good performance in all conditions. In this thesis, we aim to optimize performance (minimizing the total run times for jobs) by dynamically selecting the best heuristic. To achieve this goal, we first develop an approach to improve the estimation accuracy of job runtime, which greatly affects grid scheduling performance. Since past experience is a good indicator of future trends, we use a case-based reasoning (CBR) approach to predict the run time. We create a case base to store historical data, and predict the run times for new jobs by identifying cases that have been executed in the past. Second, we create a simulator called CasSim (Center for Advanced Studies Simulator), and use it at the back end of the real system to dynamically select the best heuristic from all candidate heuristics based on the scenarios at each scheduling time. Third, we investigate how machine and task characteristics influence estimation and we systematically study the effect of runtime estimation errors on scheduler performance. We perform experiments in the real system, the IBM CAS Grid. Our CBR approach to predicting run times achieves a low runtime estimation error, about 21% on average. The dynamic heuristic selection produces a significant improvement in large scheduler performance compared to a preselected heuristic. In addition, as a case study, we apply our approaches to the real scheduler, which is used by the Database Technology (DBT) Regression Test Team at IBM to schedule functional regression tests. The performance evaluation of our new scheduler shows that we achieve 7%–30% performance benefit over the original scheduler.
A screen for novel regulators of transcription termination on protein-encoding genes

The termination of transcription by RNA polymerase II on protein-encoding genes is controlled by a diverse set of trans-acting factors. While the list of known factors is extensive and growing, this list is also very likely incomplete. Accordingly, the goal of this research was to uncover novel and interesting regulators of termination on protein-encoding genes. I have screened a collection of essential gene mutants from the budding yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, looking for those that display termination defects. Several new and intriguing candidates for genuine termination factors were identified. These include Sen1p, a putative helicase, Abd1p, a 5'-end capping enzyme, Taf6p, a polypeptide found in several transcription complexes, and Nup49p, a protein involved in nuclear import and export. Downstream experiments that dissect the functions of these proteins reveal potentially interesting connections between termination, the other phases of transcription, and non-transcriptional nuclear events.
Automated transformation of database queries to Enterprise JavaBeans client code

With the emerging Enterprise JavaBeans (hereafter EJB) technology, many legacy systems need to be reengineered into an EJB-based architecture. Those legacy systems are typically database applications that use SQL statements to access a relational database directly. One of the research challenges in this reengineering effort is to find an algorithm to automatically translate database queries into EJB finder function calls. A companion MSc. thesis [CHE03] implemented a query rewriting algorithm. Once an SQL query has been rewritten, query planning is used to determine if the results are executable and the order of query execution. Then, the output of the query rewriting algorithm needs to be transformed to Enterprise JavaBeans finder function calls. This thesis describes our implementation of an Enterprise JavaBeans client code generation system that uses binding theory in query planning and Eclipse technology.
The challenge for cause: does it reduce bias in the jury system?

This dissertation was undertaken in an effort to determine the efficacy of the current legal system procedures designed to remedy the presence of bias, and specifically racial prejudice, in our jury selection process. These procedures known as the challenge for cause were systematically examined over the course of three studies. The first study conducted in this series was done in the laboratory and showed evidence that the challenge for cause is ineffective in identifying and rejecting biased jurors. The second study was an observational study conducted at the Toronto Superior Court of Justice in which the challenge for cause procedures were examined in their actual practice. During the course of this study a naturalistic variable presented itself for consideration. Specifically, it was observed that during the challenge for cause process the jury pool was either allowed to remain in court for the entire procedure or the jury pool remained outside the court and were called in one by one to be asked the challenge for cause question. The results of this study suggest that when the jury pool remains inside the court, jury pool members are less likely to admit to being prejudiced, and there are less overall rejections. The third study, also conducted in the laboratory, was done to test this naturalistic variable and revealed evidence that the presence or absence of the jury pool during the challenge for cause is an influential variable on the admission of prejudice and the rejection of potential jurors.
The effects of aryl hydrocarbon on vasular calcification in the warfarin-vitamin K rat model

Confirmation of the vascular calcification model using subcutaneous injections of vitamin K and warfarin was established histologically using von Kossa staining. The study involved 66 rats treated with warfarin and vitamin K; further classified into 6 groups: group 1---vehicle-control; group2---warfarin-vitamin K control; and groups 3 to 6 with varying doses of TCDD (1mug/kg; 5mug/kg; 15mug/kg; 25mug/kg) respectively. Histological results confirm positive calcification in warfarin treatment groups (Groups 2 to 6) and negative calcification in group 1 (vehicle-control). Elastin degeneration was noted in areas of focal calcification relative to non-calcified tissue. Groups 1 to 4 showed similar weight gain relative to groups 5 and 6. Groups 3 and 4 showed increased soluble phosphate levels relative to control groups in all vessels examined. Immunohistochemicaf staining demonstrated increased expression of BSP/OPN in localized areas of calcification. Initial data indicates that low doses of TCDD in this model increases vascular calcification.
The lived experience of disadvantaged students in a liberal arts program: a heuristic inquiry

This heuristic study examines the lived experience of non-traditional students from a disadvantaged background who completed a rigorous course in the humanities. It seeks to determine the effect this program had on students' identities, social relationships and levels of civic engagement. This humanities program was based on the ideas of Earl Shorris, who created the Clemente Course in the Humanities. Shorris believes humanities education helps disadvantaged students move from being reactive to active thinkers and from being powerless and isolated to fully-engaged citizens. Participants reported epistemic, sociolinguistic and psychological changes and some increase in civic engagement as a result of their humanities education. However, most participants were active lifelong learners before enrolling in the program; most were also engaged civically. Thus, while humanities education for the poor is valuable, underlying assumptions about the role of education and civic engagement in the lives of the poor should be re-examined.
The cardiovascular response to acute, repeated orthostatic stress

Air combat maneuvers involve frequent repeated exposures to +Gz . Acute, repeated orthostatic stress was produced on a human tilt table to study the physiologic means for counteracting the repetitive exposure. Repeated tilts (RT), starting from the upright position, were performed on fifteen participants. Two sets of 10 cycles of RT to ?45° head down tilt (HDT) for 3 or 15 s were completed, followed by return to +75° head up tilt (HUT) for 20 s. RT-induced changes in cardiovascular reflexes were compared pre- and post-tilt using the Valsalva Test (VT) and Cold Pressor Test. RT altered carotid level systolic blood pressure (SBPCarotid) during HDT and HUT. Compared to cycle 1, the minimum SBPCarotid during HUT cycle 2 was increased by 13 mm Hg and deferred to 12 s from 7 s. Forearm blood flow, total peripheral resistance index, and VT results suggest an improved vasoconstriction response after RT.
Colonizing movement: exercise and the (re)production of whiteness

In this thesis I examine the movement patterns of commonly prescribed strength training exercises in an authoritative and widely distributed textbook for fitness professionals. My examination includes the movement notation (in Motif Description) and textual analysis of representations of idealized movement patterns produced during common strength training exercises with apparatus such as resistance machines, barbells and dumbbells using a methodology that combines Laban Movement Analysis within a postcolonial theoretical framework. The purpose of this thesis is twofold. First it examines the degree to which imperialist and colonialist impulses of dominance and enlightenment that existed in nineteenth-century Europe share similarities with twenty-first-century approaches to modern exercise. Second, it questions the implications this raises in terms of racialized, gendered and classed notions of popular physical exercises. In conclusion, I discuss how movement can be potentially resistive by challenging normative movement patterns, both in following and in deviating from the (straight) line.