VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Feasibility study, research efforts to identify and reach Portuguese-speaking women who are underscreened for cervical cancer

The value of secondary prevention of cervical cancer by screening with the Pap test is well-recognized, but women at greatest risk for cervical cancer (older, poorer, not speaking an official language) continue to be least well-screened. This study investigated the use of quantitative and qualitative research to identify and reach Portugese-speaking women who are underscreened with respect to cervical cancer. Traditional epidemiologic approaches were seriously constrained, but conceptual synthesis using qualitative approaches provided a resolution. The project was developed, implemented and reviewed, in iterations, with Portuguese-speaking women and those who care for them in Toronto, Ontario. Many approaches to identify and reach underscreened women were considered; two approaches (health events and physicians' offices) were evaluated. Questionnaires, surveys and physicians' logs revealed misclassification of "eligibility for screening", "interval since last Pap test", and "intentions regarding Pap tests". Not all underscreened women identified by their doctors or friends wished to attend health events or have Pap tests. A pilot trial of appointment scheduling (now versus later) and brochure language (Portuguese versus English and Portuguese) showed that randomization, consent forms and follow-up interviews were largely acceptable to participants, but data validation (requested on follow-up) was not. Barriers and facilitators of Pap testing were categorized using the PRECEDE (Predisposing, Reinforcing, and Enabling Constructs in Educational/Environmental Diagnosis and Evaluations) model. A theoretical model integrates elements of others, including the Health Belief Model, and social learning theory. This "Two Streams" model explains perceptions of need and value for Pap testing in the context of the test and understandings (including myths) about cancer and health care. This model explains how age, fear, and lack of symptoms impede screening Pap tests. Time, contact and communication are proposed to develop trusting relationships and understandings about health behaviour and health outcomes. Public health's role in developing and implementing strategies for improving screening to prevent invasive cervical cancer is affirmed. Recommended strategies, which should contribute to social marketing, include: scheduling appointments for prevention counselling, dispelling myths (e.g., Pap tests are for young and sexually active women) with their complements, and developing narrative or dramatic scenarios to model patient-provider interactions.
Phylogenetic systematic analysis of the Neodermata (Platyhelminthes) and Aspidobothrea (Trematoda: Neodermata) with investigation of the evolution of the quinone tanned eggshell

A phylogenetic analysis of the Neodermata and their closest relatives (the Rhabdocoela) was undertaken in order to provide a robust estimate of phylogeny. This phylogenetic analysis incorporates new character information and addresses a number of methodological issues raised by recent phylogenetic systematic analyses of the Platyhelminthes. A phylogenetic analysis of the Aspidobothrea incorporates a new genus, 'Sychnocotyle' Ferguson et al. 1999, and 16 new morphological characters. This analysis tests three previously proposed family-level hypotheses. The two phylogenetic systematic studies undertaken herein provides the basis for a study of the evolution of quinone-tanned eggshell among the parasitic platyhelminths. Its been hypothesized that quinone-tanned eggshell are a "pre-adaptation" (exaptation) to endoparasitism. I evaluate this hypothesis by means of the comparative phylogenetic approach, which provides both a test and suggests future research.
Living the wired life in the wired suburb, netville, glocalization and civil society

This dissertation addresses the question, what will be the fate of community and social relations as a result of the growth of new home-based information and communication technologies? How have social networks, social capital and community involvement been affected by the rise of personal computers, the Internet and computer mediated communication (CMC)? Will the Internet reconnect the disaffiliated, or will CMC only contribute to a further disengagement of American community life? Survey and ethnographic data from a long-term study of "Netville," a wired suburb near Toronto, are used to investigate the effects of advanced communication technology on social relationships. Netville was one of the first residential developments in the world to be built from the ground up with a broadband high-speed local computer network. Netville provided a unique opportunity to observe the effects of advanced information and communication technology on people's daily interactions with family, friends and neighbours. The "wired" residents of Netville are compared with a similar group of non-wired residents who lived in the same neighbourhood, but who were never connected to the local computer network. Greater involvement with friends, family and neighbours is linked to use of CMC. Internet use is associated with high levels of in-person and telephone contact, the exchange of support, the growth of personal network and increased community involvement.
The proximate dream, a comparative approach to The tale of Genji and two Western literary counterparts

The subject of this comparative study is a trio of novels, ' The Tale of Genji' by Murasaki Shikibu, 'Don Quixote' by Cervantes, and 'The Idiot' by Dostoyevsky. Though they differ widely in cultural/historical background, language, style, and tone, they share numerous thematic preoccupations, structures, and metafictional elements. The heroes of the novels are Messiah-like figures, offering various forms of enlightenment to humankind, including concepts of beauty, of art, of poetry, and the wisdom of irony. All are exiles from an original harmony or innocence, and ceaselessly wander, seeking to restore that ideal state of original harmony. None of the heroes are entirely successful in their idealistic endeavors due to a bifurcation at the heart of their consciousness which they continuously struggle against. While comparing the novels, the author explores the epistemological questions of the relationship between truth/reality and fiction, and world and language.
A multimethod examination of the friendships of overtly aggressive and relationally aggressive children

Self-report and observational measures were used to assess the qualities of friendships involving overtly and relationally aggressive children. Participants ('n' = 284; 10-13-year olds) completed peer nomination measures concerning their friendships and the aggressiveness of their classmates in the fall and spring, along with self-report measures of friendship features and friendship satisfaction. Trained graduate students coded videotaped interactions of the friends for interpersonal processes, problem solutions, negotiation features and nonverbal intimacy. Overtly aggressive participants and their friends reported participating together in aggressive acts against third parties (coalitional aggression) to a greater extent than other children. Relationally aggressive children noted that their friendships were characterized by a higher degree of supportive features than participants who were not relationally aggressive (non-relationally aggressive). However, non-relationally aggressive friends of relationally aggressive children perceived greater levels of conflict and relational aggression in their friendships than did other participants. Increased participation in coalitional aggression over the school year was reported by the non-relationally aggressive friends of relationally aggressive children. Some discrepancies between friends were found in their perceptions of friendship features. The friends of relationally aggressive children who were non-relationally aggressive indicated less satisfaction with their friendships, and overtly aggressive children more satisfaction, than did other children. However, a unique decline in friendship satisfaction from fall to spring was evident in dyads involving two overtly aggressive children. Observed interpersonal processes varied according to the number of overtly aggressive or relationally aggressive children in the dyads. In conversations regarding problems with other peers, dyads comprised of two overtly aggressive children were observed to suggest more aggressive solutions than dyads consisting of one or fewer overtly aggressive participants. Finally, negotiation features, including the probability of total acceptance of proposals, and discrepancies between initial and final proposals, varied with respect to the number of relationally aggressive children in each dyad. Taken together, these findings suggest that both overtly and relationally aggressive children evidence some aspects of social competence in their interactions with their friends. However, the results also suggest possible mechanisms within these friendships by which social maladjustment and antisocial behaviour could be promoted.
Chatter analysis of machine tool systems in turning processes

Chatter of a machine tool system consisting of a flexible workpiece and a cutting tool flexibly mounted on a guided bed in turning process is investigated in this thesis. Chatter onset conditions are accurately determined using combinations of the finite element method, the modal analysis method, and the Laplace transform technique. Stability charts separating stable and unstable cutting operations are determined using the Nyquist criteria and provided for conventional lathes and workpieces of various shapes subjected to different boundary constraints simulating the effects of chuck and center. These charts can be conveniently used in industry to select an appropriate set of cutting parameters for a chatter-free turning operation. Four dynamical models are proposed in this thesis to handle chatter of machine tool systems. The first model is applicable to machine tool systems having workpieces of very large stiffness compared to the cutting tool mounting stiffness. The second model is developed for workpiece of relatively small stiffness. The third model handles general machine tool systems in which motions of the workpiece and cutting tool structure are truly coupled. The fourth model is applicable to turning processes involving the novel use of two cutting tools. In chatter analysis, the tool structure is considered as a mass-spring-damper system having two degrees of freedom; the workpiece is considered a spinning beam structure whose displacement-strain relationships obey the Timoshenko theory. The finite element method and Lagrange equations are employed to formulate the system equations of motion for the workpiece. In all cases studied, the cutting force may be applied at any locations along the workpiece. The procedure for determining the chatter onset conditions of machine tool systems represented by the four dynamical models is programmed into a computer code written in the Matlab language. Chatter-flee cutting conditions may now be easily established for any machine tool system in turning process by simply providing a few input parameters and running the computer program.
Negative affect, attentional flexibility, and the development of sensorimotor intelligence

This study tests attentional flexibility (AF), a predictor of competence, as a mediator of individual differences in distress regulation and in the timing of sensorimotor means-end skills. This proposition was assessed through analysis of data from a study of 12 infants over 16 visits during their first year. Regulation and AF were assessed from videotaping infant responses to a frustrating procedure. Sensorimotor skills were also assessed. Associations were found between distress regulation at 2-4 months, AF at 4-8 months, and means-end coordination at 8-10 months. Poor regulation predicted the co-occurrence of scanning and an agitated emotional state. Such co-occurence predicted the timing of acquisition of means-end skills. These results suggest that the timing of skill acquisition was predicated on the infant's developmental history. The implications of these findings for a model of cascading constraints on pathways to competence are discussed.
Supporting student efforts to learn with understanding, an investigation of the use of JavaSketchpad sketches in the secondary geometry classroom

This qualitative case study sought to understand the benefits and limitations of using 'JavaSketchpad' sketches in learning tasks aimed at developing reasoning and communication skills related to geometric proof in the secondary school classroom. In addition to video and audiotaped observations of student pairs, data was collected via student questionnaires and teacher interviews. The systematic analysis of the data led to the building of interrelationships among the following elements of the learning situation: teacher, student, student partner, labsheet questions, and sketch. Categories developed by Towers (1999) to describe teacher interventions were extended to provide a more appropriate framework for analysis of the roles of 'JavaSketches' and labsheets in the secondary school geometry program. The study results showed that 'JavaSketchpad'--supported activities offer several benefits. 'JavaSketches' motivate and engage students through their interactive elements. They support exploration of geometric relationships through the provision of action buttons, dragging capabilities, and onscreen measurements. They also provide opportunities for students of different ability levels to investigate geometric ideas, and to develop further visual, analytic, and deductive reasoning skills. When students work in pairs, the activities enable student-student and student-teacher communication through the following: sketch colour and labels aid referencing; the onscreen diagram acts as a shared image; and the sketch provides an easily accessible tool for demonstration during discussion. Several limitations were also identified. The extent to which ' JavaSketches' are beneficial is dependent on the skills of the sketch creator. Sketches must be carefully linked to the accompanying labsheets to be effective in guiding students to extend their geometric understanding. Additional limitations are that details cannot be added, and that geometric terminology is not displayed during use of the pre-constructed sketches. The results of the study indicate that pre-constructed 'JavaSketches ' and the accompanying labsheets provide effective interaction opportunities for student pairs, and intervene in the learning situation in ways that parallel those of a good teacher. To support student efforts they must complement one another in the roles of focusing attention--drawing attention, prompting action--providing affordances, inviting exploration--providing alternate paths, introducing uncertainty--supporting experimentation, checking for understanding--providing a shared image. When developed with attention to these parameters, 'JavaSketchpad '--centred learning situations can provide valuable opportunities for students to enhance their understanding of geometric problems.
The experience of managing from the perspective of first-line nurse managers working in program management

The purpose of this study was to describe the experience of managing from the perspective of first-line nurse managers working in program management. The descriptive qualitative study involved 6 managers. It took place in a Canadian hospital in which there was an absence of traditional professional departments, (a) first-line managers reported to non-nursing or nursing supervisors, (b) authority was decentralized to the first-line manager for human and financial resources, and (c) first-line managers supervised nursing and non-nursing professionals. Mintzberg's model of managing (1994a, 1994b) was used as the conceptual framework. Interview data indicated that managing in program management was about (a) taking on more and more in a lean management structure, (b) maintaining a commitment to patient care in light of urgent resource issues, and (c) carrying on despite patchy success. Furthermore, the managers' in-depth descriptions of what managing was like illustrated the impact of program management on managers' leadership.
Rigorous shadowing of numerical solutions of ordinary differential equations by containment

An exact trajectory of a dynamical system lying close to a numerical trajectory is called a 'shadow'. We present a general-purpose method for proving the existence of finite-time shadows of numerical ODE integrations of arbitrary dimension in which some measure of hyperbolicity is present and there is either 0 or 1 expanding modes, or 0 or 1 contracting modes. Much of the rigor is provided automatically by interval arithmetic and validated ODE integration software that is freely available. The method is a generalization of a previously published 'containment' process that was applicable only to two-dimensional maps. We extend it to handle maps of arbitrary dimension with the above restrictions, and finally to ODEs. The method involves building n-cubes around each point of the discrete numerical trajectory through which the shadow is guaranteed to pass at appropriate times. The proof consists of two steps: first, the rigorous computational verification of an ' inductive containment property'; and second, a simple geometric argument showing that this property implies the existence of a shadow. The computational step is almost entirely automated and easily adaptable to any ODE problem. The method allows for the rescaling of time, which is a necessary ingredient for successfully shadowing ODEs. Finally, the method is local, in the sense that it builds the shadow inductively, requiring information only from the most recent integration step, rather than more global information typical of several other methods. The method produces shadows of comparable length and distance to all currently published results.
Nitrenium ions, reactivity and intitial site of adduct formation with guanosine and guanosine derivatives

Many aromatic amines are established carcinogens that are abundant within society. Their mode of action involves the formation of an unstable intermediate, an ester that undergoes N-O heterolysis to produce an arylnitrenium ion that reacts with DNA, especially at guanine residues. Conventional lamp flash photolysis experiments were done to measure the effect of pH on the rates of decay of the adduct formed between the 2-fluorenyinitrenium ion with guanosine and guanosine derivatives. This study shows that the ionization of the N-1 proton is responsible for pH-dependency. The effect of substituents at the exocyclic N-2 position of guanosine on the initial reaction with nitrenium ions was examined by laser-flash photolysis. It was determined that the addition of alkyl substituents increases the reaction rate by an order of magnitude. This is consistent with the theory that the nitrenium ion forms an initial adduct directly at the C-8 position of the guanine derivatives.
Theoretical evaluation of moderately focused spherical transducers and multi-focus acoustic lens/transducer combinations for high intensity focused ultrasound thermal therapy

Impractically long treatment times are required for highly focused spherical transducers [HF] to destroy tumours because thermal lesions generated by these transducers are small and a large number of such lesions are required. Moderately focused spherical transducers [MF] and multi-focus acoustic lens/transducer combinations [LTC] can generate larger lesions compared to those produced by highly focused spherical transducers, and therefore shorter treatment times are expected. The degree of improvement in total treatment time by the use of MFs and LTCs was quantified in this study. A 3-D ultrasound thermal model and a target model were developed to calculate treatment times required for various ultrasound transducers, under identical treatment conditions. A LTC design method was developed to determine the thickness of lens elements for production of specified multi-focus fields. The simulation results show for the treatment of a 2 x 2 x 2 cm3 tumour, a HF, MF and LTC require 150, 42 and 30 min respectively.
A novel glaucoma drainage valve

The development of a glaucoma drainage valve was continued from an earlier study. The valve featured an osmotically generated opening/closing pressure, which was expected to provide a level of intraocular pressure control superior to that of currently used valves. A large scale prototype was designed, constructed, mathematically modelled, and tested. Tests using a constant supply pressure revealed an unacceptably long response time. In order to reduce the response time, a second large scale prototype was designed, constructed, mathematically modelled, and tested. Testing with a constant supply pressure confirmed an adequate reduction in response time. The dynamic response of the valve was then tested by replacing the constant supply pressure with constant supply flows. The valve did not completely close at low flow levels, a flaw which must be corrected before development may continue.
Child care, Ontario politics, and the agenda-setting process

The intent of this study is to identify some of the variables that have influenced the agenda-setting process of a provincial government specific to social policy issues, by examining the dynamics that have surrounded child care policy in Ontario. A conceptual framework was proposed to aid in identifying variables and the nature of interaction among variables. The conceptual framework was proposed to illustrate the nature of the dynamics and the relationships that were revealed through the data analysis. Key-informant interview data led to revisions that more accurately reflected the influential variables and their impact on the agenda-setting process. Primary data sources included a review of newspaper articles on child care and Hansard from the Ontario legislature. Interviews with key informants also yielded unique data. Results suggest that the social policy agenda-setting process issues, can be influenced by variables such as (but not limited to) ideology, media, economics, and public opinion. Independently and collectively such variables appear to influence the feasibility, legitimacy, and support of a particular issue as well as the political leadership given to the issue. Ultimately, this has an impact on the agenda. Further investigation of the nature of the dynamics could add to our understanding of the agenda-setting process. Participants in the agenda-setting process may be able to more effectively influence the agendas of governments by focusing their efforts on those variables most likely to lead to the desired outcome in terms of the agenda.