VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
In the Mood for Mentoring: Critical Spotlights on the Canadian Integration of Immigrants as Citizens and Consumers

Historically considered an informal process of knowledge transmission, mentoring has more recently become an institutional form of intervention. Over the past forty years, formalized mentoring programs have mushroomed in workplaces, schools and non-profit organizations in North America. To specifically understand the influence of mentoring on the integration of immigrants into Canadian society, this project explored the mentoring experiences of adult newcomers from diverse national backgrounds. In two Torontonian mentoring programs with instrumental and community-based elements, mentees were matched with volunteer mentors in groups. For the examination of these experiences, the researcher utilized a theoretical framework based on critical theory as well as a conceptual framework blending studies on emotions, citizenship and consumption. Methodologically, this doctoral project employed an exploratory qualitative approach combining and integrating participant observations, individual interviews and collages. The key findings revealed that participants recognized as their mentors primarily those who were named as such, had roles, and were affiliated to organizations. Concomitantly, the same participants often ignored or discredited informal mentors. Indeed, the mentees displaying instrumental or corporate orientations seemed to fit particularly well into the researched programs, which are based on a generalized conformance to Canada's dominant values and mainstream social norms. Nonetheless, this study concluded that both mentoring and integration were fundamentally dynamic and partial processes. At the expense of its epistemological nature as a way of knowing, mentoring was commodified as part of a broader national training and volunteer process conducted under the Canadian multicultural framework. In this context, citizenship and consumerist discourses and practices intertwined to support the social construction of immigrant experiences fostered throughout happy narratives and representations. Overall, this study demonstrated that the institutionalization of mentoring is presently a powerful strategy for the integration of immigrants. Finally, this research also indicated the salience of nationality, language and emotions in these processes.

Keywords: Canada
citizenship and consumption
emotions
immigrants
integration
mentoring
Advisor: Walcott, Rinaldo
Microfluidic and Micro-core Methods for Enhanced Oil Recovery and Carbon Storage Applications

Injection of CO2 into the subsurface, for both storage and oil recovery, is an emerging strategy to mitigate atmospheric CO2 emissions and associated climate change. In this thesis microfluidic and micro-core methods were developed to inform combined CO2-storage and oil recovery operations and determine relevant fluid properties. Pore scale studies of nanoparticle stabilized CO2-in-water foam and its application in oil recovery to show significant improvement in oil recovery rate with different oils from around the world (light, medium, and heavy). The CO2 nanoparticle-stabilized CO2 foams generate a three-fold increase in oil recovery (an additional 15% of initial oil in place) as compared to an otherwise similar CO2 gas flood. Nanoparticle-stabilized CO2 foam flooding also results in significantly smaller oil-in-water emulsion sizes. All three oils show substantial additional oil recovery and a positive reservoir homogenization effect. A supporting microfluidic approach is developed to quantify the minimum miscibility pressure (MMP) - a critical parameter for combined CO2 storage and enhanced oil recovery. The method leverages the inherent fluorescence of crude oils, is faster than conventional technologies, and provides quantitative, operator-independent measurements. In terms of speed, a pressure scan for a single minimum miscibility pressure measurement required less than 30 min, in stark contrast to days or weeks with existing rising bubble and slimtube methods. In practice, subsurface geology also interacts with injected CO2. Commonly carbonate dissolution results in pore structure, porosity, and permeability changes. These changes are measured by x-ray microtomography (micro-CT), liquid permeability measurements, and chemical analysis. Chemical composition of the produced liquid analyzed by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometer (ICP-AES) shows concentrations of magnesium and calcium. This work leverages established advantages of microfluidics in the new context of core-sample analysis, providing a simple core sealing method, small sample size, small volumes of injection fluids, fast characterization times, and pore scale resolution. Lastly, a microfluidic approach is developed to analyze the complex, multiphase fluid interactions in CO2 enhanced oil recovery at relevant reservoir temperature and pressure. Fluorescence imaging is applied to visualize and measure the effect of CO2 pressure on contact angles changes at the pore scale.

Keywords: carbon
CO2
eor
foam
microfluidic
nanoparticle
Advisor: Sinton, David
An Exploration of Teacher Candidate Willingness and Readiness to Incorporate Aboriginal Content into their Teaching Practice

Teacher education is a crucial site for the (re)education of the Settler Canadian public concerning Aboriginal perspectives on histories and current events. This thesis explores the infusion of Aboriginal content into one professional learning community (called Central Option) of approximately 70 teacher candidates at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education over the period of its Aboriginal infusion initiative (2009-2014). The research emerged from a framework of Participatory Action Research, Research as Ceremony, and Appreciative Inquiry. Our work was guided by the question “what strategies increase teacher candidate willingness and readiness to incorporate Aboriginal histories, current perspectives, and pedagogies into their teaching practice.” Three instructors who led the Aboriginal infusion within the Central Option participated in one-on-one interviews which gave context to the decisions behind their efforts. Their experiences are interpreted based on the relationships which emerged when their transcripts were considered together in accordance with Wilson’s (2008) framework of relationality. The thesis positions those various relationships as the vehicle through which the work to further Aboriginal education within the teacher education program was carried out. Quantitative and qualitative data was also collected from the 2012-2013 cohort of Central Option teacher candidates through surveys at the beginning, middle and end of their program, and through one-on-one interviews with five candidates conducted twice that year. The findings are that the majority of candidates entering into Central Option had little knowledge of Aboriginal content, and if they recognized the importance of including this material in their future curriculum, lacked the confidence to enact it. Strategies such as inviting Indigenous guest speakers into the program was a powerful tool for teacher candidate learning, as was in-depth instruction on current and historical events, and a continuous examination of privilege as means to prepare teacher candidates for incorporating Aboriginal content into their future practice. Comments reveal that a political understanding of Aboriginal perspectives often bolster teacher candidates to give Aboriginal content prominence in their future teaching. Candidates also indicated that more guidance and clear instruction on exactly what this material might look like in a classroom would be helpful to build their confidence and willingness.

Keywords: Aboriginal education
Indigenous education
Participatory Action Research
Research is Ceremony
Teacher education
Advisor: Restoule, Jean-Paul
Trastuzumab Metal Chelating Polymer (MCP) Radioimmunoconjugates for Auger Electron Radioimmunotherapy of Breast Cancer

Objective: Trastuzumab modified with nuclear translocation sequence (NLS) peptides and diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA) for complexing 111In (111In-DTPA-NLS-trastuzumab) has shown promise for Auger electron radioimmunotherapy of HER2-positive breast cancer (BC), but a limitation is the low specific activity (SA) achievable for labeling with 111In. Our objective was to synthesize and characterize trastuzumab modified site-specifically with a metal chelating polymer (MCP) that presents multiple DTPA chelators for complexing 111In to increase the SA and the amount of 111In delivered to HER2-overexpressing BC cells. Methods: The first set of MCPs was synthesized with a polyglutamide backbone with 24 or 29 DTPA units, with or without NLS peptide modification, and a terminal hydrazide group (Hy-) for reaction with aldehydes generated by sodium meta periodate (NaIO4)-oxidation of glycans on the Fc domain of trastuzumab. The maximum SA for 111In-labeling of trastuzumab modified with a MCP [trastuzumab-Hy-MCP-(NLS)] was determined. Cytotoxicity was evaluated by clonogenic assays in HER2-positive BC cell lines. The second set of MCPs was synthesized with a polyglutamide backbone with 23 or 30 DTPA units, with or without 7 polyethylene glycol (PEG) chains [trastuzumab-Hy-(PEG)-MCP]. Tumor and normal tissue accumulation of trastuzumab-Hy-(PEG)-MCP-111In, its elimination from the blood, and its normal tissue toxicity were evaluated in mice. Results: The maximum SA for labeling trastuzumab-Hy-MCP-111In was 90-fold greater than for trastuzumab modified with two DTPA. Clonogenic survival (CS) of HER2 overexpressed SK-BR-3 cells (1.3×106 receptor/cell), ZR-75-1 cells with intermediate HER2 density (4×105 receptor/cell) but no HER2 gene amplification, and HER2 overexpressed (5×105 receptor/cell) but trastuzumab resistant TrR1 cells were decreased to 1.8 ± 1.3%, 20.5 ± 4.3% and 17.1 ± 1.6% respectively by high SA trastuzumab-Hy-MCP-111In (20 nmol/L). Trastuzumab-Hy-PEG-MCP-111In achieved 1.6 fold higher HER2-mediated uptake than trastuzumab-Hy-MCP-111In (1.3 ± 0.3 %ID/g vs. 0.8 ± 0.4 %ID/g) in s.c HER2 overexpressed BT-474 xenografts in mice. In non tumor bearing mice, kidney uptake of trastuzumab-Hy-PEG-MCP-111In was 5.5-fold lower than trastuzumab-Hy-MCP-111In (3.0 ± 0.4 % ID/g vs. 16.6 ± 4.3 %ID/g). There was no normal tissue toxicity of trastuzumab-Hy-PEG-MCP-111In or trastuzumab-Hy-MCP-111In (14 MBq, 10μg). Conclusion: These results are promising for further development of trastuzumab-Hy-PEG-MCP-111In for Auger electron radioimmunotherapy of BC.

Keywords: Auger electrons
breast cancer
HER2
Indium-111
Metal chelating polymer
Trastuzumab
Advisor: Reilly, Raymond M
The Effects of Neuronal Calcium Sensor-1 Deletion on Mouse Behaviour and Neurophysiology

While neuronal calcium sensor-1 (NCS-1) has been implicated in neurotransmitter release, synaptic plasticity, spatial cognition and a number of diseases, its role in mammalian behaviour, learning and motivation have not been thoroughly explored. Here we investigated the effects of Ncs-1 deletion on mouse behaviour and explored potential underlying physiological mechanisms. Since NCS-1 is a dopamine-receptor interacting protein and has known roles in hippocampal synaptic plasticity, we focused on striatal-dependent motivated behaviours as well as hippocampal-dependent learning and memory. We hypothesized Ncs-1 deletion would (1) impair motivated behaviour and decrease striatal dopamine signalling, (2) disrupt spatial learning and memory as well as hippocampal synaptic plasticity, and (3) produce endophenotypes of human neuropsychiatric disease. We found Ncs-1 knockout (Ncs-1-/-) mice were less willing to work for food than wildtype mice in operant conditioning tasks with high work requirements or when a less-preferred food was freely available. However, Ncs-1-/- mice preferred sweet foods as much as wildtype mice and showed intact Pavlovian incentive learning, operant acquisition and habit formation. At the level of striatal physiology, Ncs-1-/- mice displayed a 50% decrease in electrically evoked dopamine release from the nucleus accumbens core in acute slices. Dopamine half-life, dopamine receptor D2 (DRD2) levels, and dopamine transporter (DAT) levels were relatively unaffected. Learning and memory was also relatively intact. Ncs-1-/- mice showed normal spatial reference memory, fear memory, and spontaneous object recognition, but were impaired in displaced object recognition. Subtle changes were found in hippocampal electrophysiology, with a trend for less metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR)-dependent LTD early on and reduced maintenance of LTP in the dentate gyrus. Ncs-1-/- mice had wildtype levels of locomotion, amphetamine-induced hyperlocomotion, sensorimotor gating, and anxiety-like behaviour but showed decreased social approach without impairments to actual social interaction behaviour. Our results suggest NCS-1 has a role in modulating effort to approach and work toward goals and rewards, via effects on presynaptic dopamine release.

Keywords: dopamine
learning
motivation
mouse behaviour
NCS-1
Neuronal calcium sensor-1
Advisor: Wong, Albert H
Roder, John C
Adjustments to the Signed Likelihood Root and Analysis of an Embedded Experiment in a Survey

This thesis consists of two projects. The first project is to develop an adjustment to the signed likelihood root (r) so that the normal approximation to the distribution of the adjusted r is improved. By using Taylor series expansions, we have developed an additive adjustment to r, which leads to a second-order approximation to its distribution. The theory is developed, simulations are recorded to indicate repetition accuracy, real data is analyzed, and connections to alternatives are discussed. The second project is dedicated to the analysis of an embedded experiment in a survey. We derive the Horvitz-Thompson estimator of the average treatment effect and its variance for a general design. Five estimators of corresponding variance are proposed and examined under a design combination of simple random sampling without replacement and completely randomized design. In the presence of auxiliary information, a new model-assisted estimator for the average treatment effect is developed and the variance of the estimator is derived. We show that the new estimator is approximately design-unbiased when a general model is employed to incorporate the auxiliary information. Moreover, it doesn't require auxiliary variable information at the population level and is relatively easy to implement and compute. Simulations carried out indicate that the new estimator gains in efficiency and its relative bias is negligible. Reliable variance estimators based on simulation experiments are suggested. The method proposed is applied to a synthetic data provided by Statistics Canada with multiple treatments under a design combination of stratified random sampling and randomized block design.

Keywords: Asymptotic theory
complex survey design
embedding experiments
experimental design
Likelihood inference
signed likelihood root
Advisor: Reid, Nancy M.
Fraser, Donald A.S.
Generalized Skew Reed-Solomon Codes and Other Applications of Skew Polynomial Evaluation

This thesis studies the theory of error-correcting codes based on evaluation of skew polynomials. Skew polynomials are a noncommutative generalization of ordinary polynomials that, in recent years, have found applications in coding theory and cryptography. The evaluation of skew polynomials is significantly different from that of ordinary polynomials. Using skew polynomial evaluation, we define a class of codes called Generalized Skew-Evaluation codes. This class contains a special subclass that we call Generalized Skew Reed-Solomon codes. Generalized Skew Reed-Solomon codes are intimately connected to both regular Reed-Solomon codes and Gabidulin codes. These connections allow us to design interesting codes for both the Hamming metric and the rank metric. In addition, we prove a duality theory that exists within a subclass of Generalized Skew Reed-Solomon codes. This duality theory can be viewed as an extension to the well-known duality theory of Generalized Reed-Solomon codes. The decoding of Generalized Skew Reed-Solomon codes can be done using a Berlekamp-Welch style decoder. We design such a decoder by studying the general polynomial interpolation problem for skew polynomials. In particular, we generalize Kötter interpolation to work over skew polynomial rings. In our generalization, we provide a mathematically rigorous framework, as well as two important applications: a Newton interpolation algorithm for skew polynomial evaluation and a Berlekamp-Welch style decoder. In analyzing the connection between Generalized Skew Reed-Solomon codes and Gabidulin codes, we demonstrate the interplay between skew polynomials and linearized polynomials. This is summarized by a Structure Theorem. Using this theorem, we construct a matroid called the Fqm[χ;σ]-matroid. The structure of this matroid is induced by skew polynomial evaluation. We examine numerous properties of this matroid, and show an application of this matroid in the context of network coding.

Keywords: Evaluation Codes
Kotter Interpolation
Skew Polynomials
Advisor: Kschischang, Frank R
The Power and Politics of Immigrant Philanthropy: Charitable Giving and the Making of the New Canadian Establishment

This study explores how high net worth immigrants are contributing to the new golden age of philanthropy. Who are the actors behind the transnational philanthropic class? How are local and regional diaspora networks sustained through charitable giving? What role do non-profits, governments, corporations, and the media play in advancing a model minority aesthetic? These questions are brought to life through an analysis of forty in-depth interviews with immigrant philanthropists and volunteers, fundraising executives of large non-profits, and executive directors of settlement charities conducted from 2013 to 2015 in Toronto, Canada. Through these voices, a number of social, political, and economic themes are explored. First, drawing on Jacques Derrida's writings about hospitality and gift exchange, I consider how the philanthropic actions of elite immigrants challenge the rules of engagement between the old and new establishments. Second, I explore how the making of a philanthropic diaspora is a translocal process that reinforces a growing divide between have and have not charities. Finally, I look at the role of high net worth immigrants in the development of a philanthropic state within the context of financialization. Ultimately, this study articulates how diaspora philanthropy is entering a new evolutionary phase that is strategically incorporating the rhetorics of diversity and inclusion, philanthrocapitalist models of investing, and a variety of domestic and global agendas aimed at reconciling politics, giving, and the expansionist logic of advanced capitalism. Moreover, this study suggests that large charities uniquely offer elite diasporas with an opportunity to bundle their humanitarian, business, and community interests through strategic investments while advancing macro-level political and economic agendas that further stratify the charitable sector in Canada.

Keywords: Charity
Diaspora
Philanthrocapitalism
Philanthropy
Toronto
Transnationalism
Advisor: Walcott, Rinaldo
The People and the Policy: The Possibilities and Limitations of Current Supervisory Appraisal Practices for Experienced Secondary Teachers in Ontario

Many Ontarians have lost faith in their teachers. In the court of public opinion, teachers are greedy, entitled, and highly fallible. Quality of teaching is questioned, and the belief that ineffective teachers are "protected" by their federations, persists. Raising the issue of teacher quality, and examining the Teacher Performance Appraisal (TPA) policy, at this time, has enormous implications. Are Ontarioâ s teachers held to the highest standards? Are there mechanisms and tools within the TPA policy that would promote authentic and sustained teacher development while at the same time offering provisions for the removal of those who do not demonstrate improvement? The purpose of this qualitative research study was to explore these questions and to examine perceptions of current supervisory appraisal practices of experienced secondary teachers in Ontario as held by teachers, administrators, and teacher labour union representatives. This study took a grounded theory approach and was propelled by a social constructivist interpretative framework. Three main sources of data were collected: document analysis, surveys, and interviews. All data were rigorously coded and analyzed, iteratively, in order to develop a comprehensive and rich narrative of the perceptions of the stakeholders in regards to the possibilities and limitations associated with current teacher evaluation practices in Ontario and the potential for authentic, lasting impact upon teaching practice. It is a central finding of this study that conflicting notions of teaching, and indeed in the expectations of the role teachers inhabit in education, create a tension within which clarity and consistency in implementation of the TPA process are casualties. Additional findings of this study are: (1) the TPA policy presupposes a particularly narrow view of teaching and teacher learning; (2) there are significant inconsistencies in implementation of the TPA process across the province; (3) problems in implementation are derived from the dueling objectives of the policy; and (4) for a large faction of study participants, the TPA process does not serve as a vehicle for teacher growth and development. Possibilities, however, within the current model of teacher performance appraisal in Ontario, are presented, as well as recommendations and directions for future inquiry.

Keywords: Educational Policy
Supervision
Teacher Appraisal
Teacher Development
Teacher Evaluation
Teacher Learning
Advisor: Rolheiser, Carol
Understanding, Reconciliation, and Prevention – Rethinking Hannah Arendt’s Representation of the Holocaust

In an effort to identify and assess the practical effects and ethical implications of representations of the Holocaust, this dissertation is a rethinking and evaluation of Hannah Arendt’s representation of the Holocaust according to the goal that she herself set out to achieve in thinking and writing about the Holocaust, understanding, or, “the unmediated, attentive facing up to, and resisting of, reality- whatever it may be.” By examining Arendt’s confrontation with the Holocaust from within the context of systemic evil (which is how I argue she approached the Holocaust), and in light of her ultimate aim to “be at home in the world,” I conclude that understanding entails both reconciling human beings to the world after the unprecedented evil of the Holocaust, as well as working towards its prevention in the future. Following my introductory chapter, where I argue that Arendt provided an overall representation of the Holocaust, and delimit the criteria of reconciliation and prevention, each subsequent chapter is dedicated to an aspect I identify as central to her representation of the Holocaust: Her claim that totalitarianism was unprecedented; that the evil exemplified by Adolf Eichmann was “banal;” and that the Jewish Councils “cooperated” with the Nazis in the destruction of their communities. Each of these chapters presents this aspect of Arendt’s representation, considers it in light of its responses, criticisms, and limitations, and asks whether it fulfills the criteria of reconciliation and prevention. In my concluding chapter, I consider where Arendt’s overall representation leaves us in light of these criteria, and the framework I have proposed.

Keywords: Adolf Eichmann
Banality of Evil
Comparative Genocide
Hannah Arendt
Holocaust Representation
Holocaust Studies
Advisor: Novak, David