VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Virginity and the married-virgin saints in Ælfric's Lives of Saints, the translation of an ideal

Among the narratives included in his 'Lives of Saints', Ælfric of Eynsham translates three 'passiones' of married-virgin saints: 'Passio Sancti Iuliani et Sponse Eius Basilisse, Passio Sanct¶ Cecilie Virginis', and 'Passio Chrisanti et Dari¶ Sponse Eius'. This study offers a literary examination of Ælfric's construction and development of the virginal ideal in these 'passiones '. The study begins with an examination of the vocabulary of purity and body ('virginitas, castitas, integritas, corpus' and ' caro') in seminal works by Ambrose, Jerome, Augustine, and Aldhelm, each of whom helped establish virginity as the preeminent form of the Christian life. The symbolic, sacramental claims of virginity proposed in these texts call into question modern interpretations of virginity as the repudiation of sexuality and the means by which male authors exercised control over women's bodies. Ælfric addresses the necessity of sexual purity in two discursive works: the "Letter to Sigefyrth" and the homily 'Nativitas Sanct¶ Mariæ Virginis'. An examination of the Old English vocabulary of purity and body ('mægðhad, cl¶nnes, lichama ', and 'fl¶sc') in these works illustrates that, although working in the tradition: of the Church Fathers, Ælfric's call for sexual purity arises from his particular concern for holy service. Moreover, his explicit concern for the inclusion of both sexes in this life of service redresses any disproportionate emphasis upon female virginity. A comparison of Ælfric's translation of the 'passio' of Julian and Basilissa with the Latin version found in the Cotton-Corpus Legendary reveals not only Ælfric's promotion of regular monastic values over ascetic ones, but also his deliberate avoidance of attaching the need for sexual purity specifically to women. Throughout the 'passio', virginity signifies the saints' eternal priorities and heavenly allegiance. The 'passio' of Chrysanthus and Daria contains a much more sexualized representation of the conflict between the saints and their antagonists, while the 'passio' of Cecilia focuses upon the celestial nature of the virginal life. In neither, however, does the promotion and importance of physical purity account for virginity's significance. Instead, Ælfric's depiction of virginity in these two 'passiones' pushes virginity's symbolic, sacramental capacity to the forefront. The study concludes with a brief examination of how Ælfric's expressed purpose for these 'passiones' and his treatment of virginity relate to the late Anglo-Saxon context.
A critical review and synthesis of the literature on agitation related to cognitive impairment and dementia

The purpose of this study was to undertake a critical review and synthesis of the literature in order to (a) describe how agitation has been conceptualized and operationalized, (b) describe the correlates of agitation, and (c) describe the nature and effectiveness of current interventions for agitation. This review was limited to literature focussing on institutionalized elders with dementia, and included 22 correlational studies and 18 quasi-experimental studies. Each of these studies was critiqued with regard to the reliability and validity of the study designs. The findings of this review indicated that a number of variables are positively and significantly related to agitation, although the direction of these relationships is not always clear. Cognitive impairment and impairment in activities of daily living have been the most frequently studied. In addition, several nonpharmacologic interventions for agitation have been reviewed, with music being the most thoroughly studied. Although the available studies have methodological weaknesses and few have been replicated, the interventions proposed all offer a kinder, more gentle approach to the treatment of agitation than the traditional use of chemical and physical restraints.
Detecting mediators of the Flk-1 signalling pathway by mRNA differential display

I have used Differential Display to identify partial gene sequences appearing following activation of Flk-1 by VEGF (Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor). The technique is PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) based and uses oligo-dT and arbitrary primer pairs. Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells were stimulated with VEGF. RNA was extracted and Reverse Transcribed for PCR. The appearance of transcripts following VEGF activation was observed when PCR products were electrophoretically separated. These transcripts were sub-cloned, sequenced and subjected to homology searches. I selected amplicons resembling signalling molecules for further analysis. Results of database searches allowed me to speculate on the nature of VEGF induced transcripts. However, because these amplicons often represent rare transcripts, I was unable to correlate them to full-length genes. Taken together, my results reveal partial sequences that probably represent interesting genes and yield significant technical insights into Differential Display. I also attempted using other RNA sources for similar experiments.
Numerical simulation of cantilevered ramp injector flow fields for hypervelocity fuel/air mixing enhancement

Increasing demand for affordable access to space and high speed terrestrial transport has spawned research interest into various air-breathing hypersonic propulsion systems. Propulsion concepts such as the supersonic combustion ramjet (scramjet) and the shock-induced combustion ramjet (shcramjet) utilize oxygen freely available in the atmosphere and thereby substantially reduce the weight penalty of on-board oxidizer tankage used in rocket based systems. Of key importance to the ultimate success of an air-breathing concept is the ability to efficiently mix the fuel with atmospheric air. In the case of a hypersonic air-breather the challenge is accentuated due to the requirement of supersonic combustion. Flow velocities through the combustor on the order of thousands of meters per second provide the fuel and air with only a brief time to adequately combine. Contemporary mixing augmentation methods to address this issue have focused on fuel injection devices which promote axial vortices to enhance the mixing process. Much research effort has been expended on investigation of ramp injectors for this purpose. The present study introduces a new ramp injector design, based on the conventional ramp injector, dubbed the cantilevered ramp injector. A two-pronged numerical approach was employed to investigate the mixing performance and characteristics of the cantilevered injector consisting of, (1) comparison with conventional designs and (2) a parametric study of various cantilevered injector geometries. A laminar, three-dimensional, multispecies flowsolver was developed in generalized coordinates to solve the Navier-Stokes equations for the flow fields of injected H2 into high-enthalpy air. The scheme consists of an upwind TVD scheme for discretization of the convective fluxes coupled with a semi-implicit LU-SGS scheme for temporal discretization. Through analysis of the numerical solutions, it has been shown that the cantilevered ramp injector is a viable fuel injection system facilitating enhanced mixing of fuel and air. Comparison with conventional designs have revealed a competitive and, in most cases, superior design in the context of mixing performance. A strong counter-rotating vortex pair generated under the cantilevered injector was shown to be the distinguishing characteristic of this design and largely accounted for improved mixing performance. Results also elucidated the importance of a coupled design approach between the fuel injector and propulsive duct to optimize mixing performance.
Sectional analysis of reinforced concrete members

Four easy to use programs have been written that allow for state of the art sectional analysis of reinforced concrete blocks, plates, beams, columns and shells. Unlike most sectional analysis programs, these programs include the effects of shear on behaviour. They are based on the assumption that plane sections remain plane, that there is no transverse clamping stress, and that the biaxial behaviour can be modelled well by the Modified Compression Field Theory (MCFT). Each of these assumptions is shown to be reasonable. The programs are freely available on the World Wide Web at the listed addresses: <table cwl="100:100" wdm="100"><rowrule rty="."> <tablerow><cellrule rty="."> <tablecell>http://www.ecf.utoronto.ca/ ~bentz/m2k.htm</tablecell> <cellrule rty="."> <tablecell>Membrane-2000 for plates</tablecell> <cellrule rty="."></tablerow> <rowrule rty="."> <tablerow><cellrule rty="."> <tablecell>http://www.ecf.utoronto.ca/ ~bentz/r2k.htm</tablecell> <cellrule rty="."> <tablecell>Response-2000 for beams and columns</tablecell> <cellrule rty="."></tablerow> <rowrule rty="."> <tablerow><cellrule rty="."> <tablecell>http://www.ecf.utoronto.ca/ ~bentz/t2k.htm</tablecell> <cellrule rty="."> <tablecell>Triax-2000 for 3D blocks</tablecell> <cellrule rty="."></tablerow> <rowrule rty="."> <tablerow><cellrule rty="."> <tablecell>http://www.ecf.utoronto.ca/ ~bentz/s2k.htm</tablecell> <cellrule rty="."> <tablecell>Shell-2000: shells with out-of-plane forces</tablecell> <cellrule rty="."></tablerow> <rowrule rty="."> This thesis describes the MCFT in detail as implemented in the programs as well as explaining new constitutive relations employed for the behaviour of concrete in tension. The strongest feature of the new programs is the employment of the longitudinal stiffness method, developed for this thesis, which calculates the shear stress profile for a beam or shell much faster and with more numerical stability than the previous state of the art. The programs are verified against a set of experiments as well as against two new shear experiments performed for this thesis. They indicate the programs are good at predicting the behaviour of the elements. Response-2000 is compared to a database of 534 beams and shown to predict shear strengths with an average experimental over predicted shear strength ratio of 1.05 and with a coefficient of variation of 12%. This compares favourably to the ACI code prediction ratios that have an average of 1.20 and a coefficient of variation of 32%. It is suggested that the programs in this thesis represent a good first step in allowing rational, state of the art computer programs to be directly allowed in the code for elements subjected to shear.
After Delgamuukw, Aboriginal Oral Tradition as Evidence in Aboriginal Rights and Title Litigation

The integration of Aboriginal oral tradition within many academic disciplines, legal cases and land-use disputes means that Euro-Canadian institutions now have to examine their relationship to and their understanding of Aboriginal oral tradition. Both the legal and the contextual issues involved in cross-cultural interpretation of oral and written historical materials have implications for how Aboriginal communities may chose to share, validate and evaluate their oral traditions. As well the identification of these issues have implications for how Euro-Canadian institutions may choose to approach Aboriginal oral tradition as evidence. The eight people interviewed gave their thoughts and opinions about the use of Aboriginal oral tradition as evidence, using the Supreme Court recommendations in 'Delgamuukw' (1997) as a focus. The interviewees had either; (a) given evidence in the form of Aboriginal oral histories in a court case; (b) been involved in a court case where Aboriginal oral histories were called upon as evidence; or (c) done research/writing in the area of Aboriginal oral histories. Their opinions represent a particular segment of informed opinion post-'Delgamuukw' (1997). The combination of the issues that emerged from the legal research and the interviews contributes to two main bodies of research and literature: (1) Aboriginal rights and title litigation: systemic barriers were identified that make it difficult for Aboriginal oral histories to be evaluated equally alongside written historical evidence. A number of issues such as testing for Aboriginal rights, frozen rights, how rights can be extinguished by the Crown and how the Crown rationalizes assertions of sovereignty, emerged as systemic barriers within Aboriginal rights and title litigation. (2) Cross-cultural communication: issues such as interpretation, evaluation and comparison of Aboriginal oral histories alongside of written historical documents were identified as some of contextual issues that need to be dealt with. These issues have more to do with the nature, the content and the role that Aboriginal oral histories play not just in the courts, but in other forums where Aboriginal oral histories are being evaluated and compared in cross-cultural contexts.
A comparative analysis of first- and second-language oral reading errors

The aim of the present study was to test the theory that reading performance is determined by linguistic competence gained as a primary language user. It involved a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the substitution errors produced by early French immersion students as they read aloud graded series of English and French language texts of approximately equivalent subjective difficulty. It was found that by manipulating language and text difficulty, measures used to control accessibility of higher-order linguistic information, significant differences were obtained on such variables as reading speed, accuracy, and the grammatical and semantic acceptability of substitution errors. It would seem that the extent to which the reader uses conceptual information on a given reading task is a function of the availability of that information to the individual, which in turn is a function of her competence in a language.
Quality of life in laryngeal cancer patients

'Purpose'. To estimate the magnitude of difference in quality of life (QOL) that is noticeable to patients. 'Materials and methods'. Laryngeal cancer patients (n = 120, 83% male, mean age = 65) completed a health questionnaire, FACT-H&N, and two utility assessments, TTO and DATE. Paired participants subjectively rated their own QOL as compared to each other 'Results'. FACT-H&N was more highly correlated with Karnofsky (r = .43, p = .0001) than with the TTO (r = .29, p = .002) or DATE (r = .35, p = .0003). Subjective comparison ratings were positively skewed. The threshold for ratings of "a little bit better" rather than "just the same" was about 6 units for FACT-H&N, and about 0.05 units for either TTO or DATE. The thresholds for ratings of "a little bit worse" were significantly lower (-12, -0.06, -0.14 units respectively). 'Conclusion'. An arithmetic QOL difference of 5 to 10% was noticeable. Participants were sensitive to a smaller positive than negative difference. Health questionnaire and utility measures may be perceived differently.
Performance analysis and optimization of reduced complexity Low Density Parity Check decoding algorithms

Reduced complexity decoding algorithms for Low Density Parity Check codes are presented. The performance of these algorithms is optimized using the concept of density evolution and they are shown to perform well in practical decoding situations. The codes are examined from a performance vs. complexity point of view. It is shown that there is an optimal complexity for practical decoders beyond which performance will suffer. The idea of practical decoding is used to develop the sum-transform-sum algorithm, which is very well suited for a fixed-point hardware implementation. The performance of this algorithm approaches that of the sum-product algorithm, but is much less complex.
Experimental investigation of the boundary layer-based sliding mode control and single-input model-based sliding mode fuzzy logic control with applications to robot manipulators

This thesis provides an experimental investigation of the boundary layer-based Sliding Mode Control (SMC) and single-input model-based Sliding Mode Fuzzy Logic Control (SMFLC). Comparisons of SMC and SMFLC and of SMFLC with the traditional Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) control are provided. A boundary layer-based sliding mode controller (SMCer) was designed according to the theory of Slotine 'et al'. (1991). In addition, a single-input model-based sliding mode fuzzy logic controller (SMFLCer) was designed following a proposed approach. Then, the SMCer and SMF'LCer were applied to the tracking control problem of a real robot manipulator for various trajectories and end-effector payloads. The results obtained from these controllers are analyzed and compared. Finally, a well-tuned PID controller is applied to the tracking control problem of a robot arm in various operating conditions, and the results are compared with those of the SMFLCer.
Mothers' accurate perception of adolescents' goals in disagreement situations

Thirty-eight mother-adolescent dyads were interviewed about two disagreements in which they had recently engaged. The interviews were designed to tap adolescents' goals in the disagreement situations as well as mothers' accurate perception of these goals. Adolescents reported six types of goals: relationship, emotional support, autonomy, dominance, instrumental, and avoidance. Mothers' perceptual accuracy of adolescents' goals was computed and correlations with disagreement outcomes and measures of conflict in the dyad were tested. Correlations between maternal perceptual accuracy and maternal empathy, perspective-taking, feelings of control, parenting practices and a measure of dyadic functioning were also tested. Contrary to prediction, no significant relations were found between perceptual accuracy and any of the hypothesized variables. Some possible explanations for the absence of associations are discussed.
Who can be a citizen?: Decoding the "law of the land" in contemporary Manitoba politics

This thesis decodes key aspects of the "law of the land" operating in contemporary Manitoban society. Focusing on 'white' elite political performances of the official national story, I contend that (a gendered, classed, heterosexed) racism underwrites the shifting and disparate instances of 'what' and 'who' a Canadian citizen can be, both in the letter of the law, and in the diverse lived realities of the 1990s. Combining discourse analysis with tools of critical geography, my work speaks back to the decreed 'unspeakability' of racism in Manitoba's Legislature. I contend that the 1995 prohibition on the use of the word "racist" in the House is consistent with the amnesic context of (post)colonial Canadian society and its celebrated 'anti-racist' nationalism. In response to the extremity of systemic violence experienced by First Nations peoples in the Canadian past and present, my analysis gives priority to the ordering of Aboriginal/non-Aboriginal relations in Manitoba.
Racism, girl violence and the murder of Reena Virk

This thesis addresses the media coverage of the murder of Reena Virk, a young South Asian woman who was killed on November 14, 1997 in Saanich, B.C. Academics, policy makers and journalists have asserted that the most alarming aspect of this crime is that young women participated in it. They argue that this is evidence of a rising trend of "girl violence." In this thesis I argue that the narrative of girl violence obscures other investigations and explanations surrounding this murder. In the mainstream media interlocking systems of oppression including racism, have not been addressed. I argue that the circumstances of Reena Virk's life and the media coverage of her murder are structured by interlocking systems of oppression. 1 Furthermore, I argue that the narrative of girl violence is linked to notions of hegemonic femininity--a construct supported by patriarchy, white supremacy, hetero-sexism, ableism, capitalism as well as gender-centric feminist theory. 1An interlocking analysis of oppression keeps in view the multiple forms of violence and oppression that work interdependently to support elite hegemony: "Interlocking systems need one another, and in tracing the complex ways in which they help to secure one another, we team now women are produced into positions that exist symbiotically but hierarchically." Razack, Sherene 'Looking White People in the Eye, Gender, Race, and Culture in Courtrooms and Classrooms', Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1998:13.
Deepening children's understanding of rational numbers, a developmental model and two experimental studies

The present thesis concerns the design, implementation and assessment of an experimental program to teach the difficult topic of rational numbers. Based on Case's theory of cognitive development, it was hypothesized that a core conceptual structure for a global understanding of rational number is formed by the coordination of children's intuitive understanding of proportion and their numerical splitting schemas. In order to support this coordination, the experimental curriculum introduced rational number through the teaching of percent in linear measurement. Props such as cylindrical beakers filled with water, allowed students to make proportional judgements of fullness of these containers relative to the whole using the language of percents. Thus, the traditional sequence of rational number instruction was altered so that decimals and fractions were taught later grounded in students understanding of percents. Two formal teaching studies were conducted. In the first, the participants were an intact grade 4 class who were new to rational number and in the second the curriculum was implemented with grade 6 students who had 4 years of previous instruction in rational number prior to the intervention. Results showed that all of the students made large and statistically significant gains from pre to posttest. Qualitative analyses of this data revealed that the students had acquired a number of new competencies including the ability to (1) move flexibly among representations, (2) resist misleading cues, (3) order numbers by magnitude, and (4) invent their own procedures. In a further analysis, the posttest results of the experimental students were compared to the performance of normative groups on the same measure. These groups consisted of students from grades 4, 6, and 8 and from a postgraduate teacher training program. Both the Grade 4 and Grade 6 experimental students achieved better scores than the grade 8 students and equal scores to the preservice teachers. The experimental students also were less reliant on whole number strategies when solving novel problems, and made more frequent reference to proportional concepts in justifying their answers.