VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
La construction sociale de l'él`eve en difficulté: émergence et cristallisation des processus menant `a l'identification des él`eves en difficulté `a l'école élémentaire de langue franðcaise en Ontario

Cette these s'attache a demontrer que le secteur de l'enfance en difficulte est le fruit d'une construction sociale au sens de Berger et Luckmann (1989), que nous analysons a travers l'examen des processus sociaux menant a l'identification des eleves consideres en difficulte a l'ecole elementaire de langue francaise en Ontario. Cette question du reperage de l'enfance jugee en difficulte est examinee dans une orientation theorique issue du constructivisme sociologique qui fait des acteurs, des processus et des interactions sociales les producteurs de structures. Sur la base d'observations menees en salle de classe, d'entrevues aupres d'enseignant(e)s titulaires, de specialistes, de directions d'ecoles et de parents obtenues lors d'une enquete qualitative de type ethnographique menee dans deux ecoles durant trois annees, nous documentons, d'une part, la part jouee par le personnel enseignant, dans l'histoire de la production sociale de l'enfance en difficulte. A savoir, par quel travail d'interpretation subjective (ou de construction symbolique), les acteurs scolaires donnent naissance a l'eleve en difficulte subjective et a travers quelles pratiques sociales (ou construction materielle) l'eleve en difficulte s'objectivise. Nous re-construisons, d'autre part, en retracant les trajectoires scolaires de sept eleves juges en difficulte suivis durant trois annees, le processus qui conduit a l'identification de ces eleves. Une modelisation du processus d'identification permettra de restituer les phases d'emergence, de consolidation et de cristallisation qui jalonnent l'experience scolaire de ces sept eleves. Nous demontrons, en "ouvrant la boite noire", que le processus d'identification des eleves s'instaure dans une construction au jour le jour en interaction et qu'il prend differentes formes liees a des facteurs aleatoires et cumulatifs dans un travail de reinterpretation. Nous verrons, finalement qu' "on ne nait pas en difficulte mais qu'on le devient", selon l'expression adaptee de Simone de Beauvoir.

Keywords: Exceptional children, Identification
Exceptional children, Ontario
Exceptional children, Social conditions
Exceptional children, Ontario
Special education, Ontario
French-Canadians, Education (Elementary)
French-Canadians, Ontario
Performance analysis and optimization of the hurricane file system on the K42 operating system

The performance scalability of the Hurricane File System (HFS) is studied under the context of the K42 Operating System. Both systems were designed for scalability on large-scale, shared-memory, non-uniform memory access multiprocessors. However, scalability of HFS was never studied extensively. Microbenchmarks for reading, writing, creating, obtaining file attributes, and name lookup were used to measure scalability. As well, a macrobenchmark in the form of a simulated Web server was used. The unoptimized version of HFS scaled poorly. Optimizations to the meta-data cache in the form of (1) finer grain locks, (2) larger hash tables, (3) modified hash functions, (4) padded hash list headers and cache entries, and (5) a modified block cache free list, resulted in significant scalability improvements.
Usability evaluation for handheld devices: Presenting clinical evidence at the point of care

An information query system was developed to provide relevant and timely evidence-based information to clinicians at the point of care to be displayed on handheld devices. As the first iteration in building a usable product, a prototype was built and evaluated with usability testing. A coding scheme was developed to extract and classify key comments made by participants during usability sessions to assess the usability of prototype designs for the delivery of medical information to support clinical decision making. The coding scheme was then applied to the verbal usability test transcripts and quantitative analysis was performed. Recommendations about how the product can be customized to meet the information needs of clinicians from different disciplines, as well as for individuals, were generated. Design modifications and further areas for research were identified for possible implementation in the next cycle of the iterative design process.
The endothelial nitric oxide synthase messenger RNA: Structure and regulation

The endothelial isoform of nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) assumes a pivotal role in the maintenance of vascular homeostasis. Perturbations in eNOS expression, which lead to deranged endothelial nitric oxide bioactivity, have been implicated in a variety of acute and chronic diseases of the blood vessel. The expression of eNOS is now recognized as a highly regulated process. Increasingly appreciated is the significant contribution of steady state eNOS mRNA regulation to the final expression of the gene. This body of work characterizes in detail the structure of the eNOS transcript and addresses two distinct attendant concepts, specifically cell-specific expression and TNF-alpha-induced endothelial activation. We found that the eNOS transcript is a stable and translationally competent oligoadenylated mRNA, with a unique nuclear non-canonical polyadenylation signal that functions in the maintenance of mRNA stability. In human umbilical vein endothelial cells, a typical steady state eNOS transcript has an adenylate tail of approximately 10 residues. eNOS mRNA regulation studies reveal multiple levels of transcript control. Each level appears to further fine-tune the regulatory process leading to a quantitatively graded, rather than all-or-none, pattern of final expression. Cell-specific eNOS expression is characterized by a lack of correlation between transcript synthesis and steady state message levels. This finding is not attributable to differential mRNA degradation. The eNOS convergent transcriptional unit, sONE, shows a cell-specific pattern of transcriptional regulation in direct correlation with that of eNOS and may present the missing link in the modulation of eNOS mRNA expression in a cell-specific manner. The complexity of regulation is further accentuated by the identification of endothelial-specific aggregation of transcriptional complexes within exon 1/intron 1 sequences, the significance of which awaits further investigation. In the model of TNF-alpha-induced endothelial activation, eNOS mRNA is downregulated by a dual regulatory pathway that appears to couple transcriptional downregulation at the proximal promoter to enhanced deadenylation-independent mRNA degradation. The regulation of eNOS mRNA expression is anticipated to involve a complicated network of interrelated nuclear and cytoplasmic events.
The development of a 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction with 1,5-dimethyl-3-phenyl-6-oxoverdazyl radical

The current work presents the preliminary development of a 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction using the stable 1,5-dimethyl-3-phenyl-6-oxoverdazyl radical. When in solution, the stable radical forms an azomethine imine via hydrogen abstraction reaction. The in situ formed 1,3-dipole has been used to react with various olefins to provide novel pyrazolidine derivatives. The mechanism, scope and limitations of the reaction are detailed in this thesis.
Investigation of lead content in Norway Maple tree rings and soils in the vicinity of a secondary lead smelter in Toronto

Two separate, but complimentary, studies were undertaken to investigate the extent of lead pollution in an urban environment. Changes in xylem lead concentrations in Norway maple (Acer platanoides) trees sampled from three municipal parkland sites in metropolitan Toronto were examined. One site was located less than a kilometer from a major secondary lead smelter, a second located 2 km from the smelter was adjacent to a major expressway, and a third site was chosen approximately 8 km from the smelter. Concentrations of lead in surface soil collected beneath sampled trees were elevated at the site near the smelter compared to the other sites, and the site located adjacent to the expressway had more lead than the third site. Lead concentrations in tree-rings were highest at the site near the smelter followed by the site adjacent to the expressway, and lead levels in trees at the third and furthest site were significantly lower than the other sites. A significant decline of lead in wood formed in the decade before 1977 to the present time was recorded, reflecting changes in lead deposition into the parklands. The results indicate that Norway maple trees can accurately record historical changes of lead in their environment. In a second study, concentrations and total quantities of lead in Norway maple seedling roots, stems and leaves were determined after 10 weeks growth in soils with similar pH but different total and exchangeable lead levels. These soils were collected underneath the trees sampled from the three parklands and a site adjacent to the lead smelter. Roots accumulated most of the lead and its uptake increased as exchangeable lead in the soil increased. Significantly lower concentrations were observed in stems and leaves suggesting that lead was transported and deposited throughout the plant. In all four treatments, leaves had accumulated consistently higher lead levels than stems.
Development and validation of a paediatric comorbidity index using administrative data

Results. We identified 339,077 index discharges with 1988 deaths (i.e., 880 died le;1 year). 1,294 distinct ICD-9-CM codes were recorded for all those that died. The top 200 were clustered into 127 diagnostic groups, which were further reduced to 37 with clinical appraisals and empirical modeling strategies. Stepwise logistic regression resulted in 27 predictor variables with a c-statistic of 0.825. Objective. To develop a risk index to predict death at 1-year post index discharge for paediatric patients between ages 1 and 14 years. Conclusion. The index demonstrated excellent discrimination with a high c-statistic. Methods. Retrospective study using administrative data obtained from CIHI Discharge Abstract Database and the Deaths File. From April 1 1991 through April 1 2002, index discharges for children between ages 1 and 14 years were compiled. Receiver Operating Characteristic curve was used to assess validity. Bootstrapping was used to determine the stability of parameter estimates.
ELFORSPOT: an equilibrium model of the combined forward market and spot market for electricity, using complementarity programming

In restructured electricity markets, participants have the option of trading financial forward contracts prior to the spot market. To evaluate the interactions between the forward and spot market, we have created ELFORSPOT, a Complementarity Programming model. It is a deterministic model of multiple suppliers and customers that resembles a potential future Ontario-like electricity market for a period of one year. There are three formulations of ELFORSPOT. The first focuses on suppliers' knowledge of the effect of the forward contracts on the spot equilibrium. The second simulates a market under various competition assumptions for strategic suppliers. The third extends the formulation of the second to include strategic customers which, similar to suppliers, anticipate the effect of their bids on the market prices. To illustrate the usefulness of these models, we focus on the behaviour of a new entrant which has higher variable cost and annual capital charges than the existing generation.
Prooxidant activity and cellular effects of indole-3-acetic acid derivative radicals

The prooxidant activity of radicals formed when IAA and its derivatives were metabolically oxidized by peroxidase/H2O2, were compared. It was found that the effectiveness of IAA for catalyzing the cooxidation of ascorbate, NADH or GSH increased as their one electron redox potential decreased. IAA and its derivatives cooxidized NADH, ascorbate, GSH and hepatocyte GSH with an order of effectiveness of 5MeO-2Me-IAA> 2Me-IAA> 5MeO-IAA> IAA. The rate of NADH or ascorbate cooxidation was faster at pH 7.4 than pH 6.0, whereas GSH cooxidation was faster at pH 6.0. The order of efficiency of IAA and its derivatives in catalyzing lipid peroxidation correlated with their rate of oxidation by HRP-I and their one-electron potential. Hepatocytes incubated with IAA derivatives and peroxidase/H2O2 resulted in cytotoxicity, GSH oxidation, lipid peroxidation and "ROS" formation, prooxidant activities can therefore be attributed to radicals rather than the end product methylene-2-oxindole.
Quantum programming

The subject of this work is quantum programming---the study of developing of programs intended for execution on a quantum computer. We look at programming in the context of formal methods of program development, or programming methodology. Our work is based on probabilistic predicative programming, a recent generalisation of the well-established predicative programming. It supports the style of program development in which each programming step is proven correct as it is made. We inherit the advantages of the theory, such as its generality, simple treatment of recursive programs, and time and space complexity. Our theory of quantum programming provides tools to write both classical and quantum specifications, develop quantum programs that implement these specifications, and reason about their comparative time and space complexity all in the same framework.
Government and culture: social capital and the consolidation of democracy

In this thesis, I am primarily concerned with two related questions: when is a democratic government consolidated and what determines any particular country's prospects for consolidation. First, I defend an understanding of the consolidation of democracy. Then, to consider what might determine a country's prospects for consolidation, I begin my investigation by broadly surveying and analysing the current literature on this issue. Following this, I narrow my sights on the issue of civil society and social capital. I carry out a detailed examination of Robert Putnam's work on social capital. I conclude that his argument is plagued by several problems, the most serious of which is its circularity. By appealing to data regarding levels of interpersonal trust in various countries and measuring that data against their level of democratization, I argue that the evidence does not support the claim that social capital, and by extension civil society, is either a necessary or sufficient condition for democratic consolidation. I defend an approach where many factors (I isolate eight) play important roles in determining the possibility of stable and effective democratic government. While I claim that these factors can facilitate or obstruct consolidation, I further argue that none of these should be seen as invariantly necessary or sufficient for democratic consolidation in all countries. Rather, the importance of these factors will vary given the particular local situation of any country. Furthermore, I am committed to the idea that adequate statecraft can achieve the consolidation of democracy in very diverse countries, including ones lacking the conditions typically laid down by consolidation theorists. As well, I carry out a case study of Paraguay, concentrating on events since 1989. I argue that this case study corroborates my larger claim that no specific condition or set of conditions can be articulated that is either necessary or sufficient for all countries to consolidate a democratic government.
Posttranscriptional regulation of maternal transcripts by the PAN GU kinase in the early Drosophila embryo

Early embryonic development is controlled by maternally deposited proteins and transcripts. Egg activation triggers a cascade of posttranscriptional mechanisms that are crucial to the regulation of these maternal mRNAs during this time of transcriptional quiescence. These mechanisms include translational activation, repression and transcript destabilization. Here I show that, in Drosophila, the PAN GU (PNG) kinase complex sits near the top of this cascade that ultimately leads to the destabilization of maternal mRNAs. The genes png, plutonium (plu) and giant nuclei (gnu), which encode the components of this complex, were recovered in a screen for maternal effect lethal mutants which fail to undergo degradation. I show that png's control of transcript destabilization is genetically separable and therefore independent of its well characterized role in the cell cycle. PNG acts following egg activation in promoting the translation of SMAUG (SMG), a major posttranscriptional regulator. Our gene-expression profiling experiments show that SMG is responsible for targeting two thirds of degrading maternal mRNAs. PNG activates smg translation in a poly(A)-independent manner acting through the smg 3'UTR. Finally, I show that PNG also has a SMG-independent mechanism of eliciting transcript decay.
Sensitivity analysis using fixed basis function finite element method in shape optimization: A comparison study

The sensitivity of the objective functional, required in gradient-based optimization algorithms, is often hard to find explicitly. One method to determine the sensitivities called "Fixed Basis Function" Finite Element analysis assumes that during sensitivity analysis the finite element nodes will not change or move with the varying domain. Instead, they are accommodated by the boundary conditions on the adjacent nodes; therefore it evaluates the stationary derivatives of the objective function. In this work computer implementation of Fixed Basis Function plus Material Derivative approach, Complex Step and Finite Difference method is presented in one and two dimensions for a comparison study. The Fixed Basis Method produces very accurate results compared to the exact stationary derivative for the beam and converges for the plate problem. It is also very cost effective. Except for the fixed basis method, all other methods include the effect of domain change in the sensitivity and therefore produce convective derivatives.
Women sharing strength for all generations: Aboriginal birth knowledge new media creation

This thesis explores the subject of Aboriginal birth knowledge from Wasauksing First Nation in Ontario. The intent is to document and generate positive representations of traditional birth knowledge in response to processes of colonization, which in the past have worked to silence them. Three Wasauksing mothers share their understandings of traditional birth knowledge and where the origins of their knowledges lie. A brief historical examination of Aboriginal birth knowledge and experience, and its relationship to colonization and colonial education are presented as part of a literature review. A short video documentary accompanies the thesis to best capture and convey the oral tradition and make the research findings more accessible for community members that might not otherwise engage with this discourse. The author approaches the work from her own personal standpoint: that of a Native woman from Wasauksing First Nation seeking information about her identity as a new mother.

Keywords: Childbirth
Indians of North America, Medicine
Indians of North America, Ontario
Indian women healers, Ontario
Midwives, Ontario
Midwifery, Ontario
Splitting interfaces: making trust between applications and operating systems configurable

In current commodity systems, applications have no way of limiting their trust in the underlying operating system (OS), leaving them at the complete mercy of an attacker who gains control over the OS. In this work, we describe the design and implementation of Proxos, a system that allows applications to configure their trust in the OS by partitioning the system call interface into trusted and untrusted components. System call routing rules that indicate which system calls are to be handled by the untrusted commodity OS, and which are to be handled by a trusted private OS, are specified by the application developer. We find that rather than defining a new system call interface, routing system calls of an existing interface allows applications currently targeted towards commodity operating systems to isolate their most sensitive components from the commodity OS with only minor source code modifications. We have built a prototype of our system on top of the Xen Virtual Machine Monitor with Linux as the commodity OS. In practice, we find that the system call routing rules are short and simple---on the order of 10's of lines of code. In addition, applications in Proxos incur only modest performance overhead, with most of the cost resulting from inter-VM context switches.
Implementation of a dynamic wake distortion model for UTIAS Cormorant helicoptor model

The goal of this research is to implement a state-of-the-art dynamic wake and inflow model within the UTIAS EH101 Cormorant Helicopter model with the intent to improve the incorrect initial off-axis response that occurs when the Pitt-Peters dynamic inflow model is used. A set of four first order ordinary equations, derived by Zhao, for the dynamic wake distortion states has been added to the augmented Pitt-Peters inflow module. Another goal of this research is to prove the effectiveness of the dynamic wake distortion effect on a different helicopter model other than the widely used UH-60 BlackHawk helicopter model by correlating the EH101 simulation results with the ones in literature. In hover, similar pitch and roll rate responses with the inclusion of the wake distortion effect have been observed. As airspeed increases however, the wake distortion effect for the EH101 model diminishes compared with the UH-60 model.