VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Gender stereotypes in South African law: Hugo and beyond

This paper examines the extent and effects of gender stereotyping in South African equality law. In using the case of Hugo v the Republic of South Africa, I argue that the stereotype that women are the natural caretakers of children and that men are not has the undesirable impact of preventing the attainment of substantive equality. This stereotype is only one aspect preventing the attainment of substantive equality. Racial stereotypes also exist. These problems are not peculiar to South Africa and are similarly evidenced in Canada. It is argued that benefits to women ought to be framed in terms of functional categories. This combined with a progressive court and long term social policies would bring about substantive equality to women.

Keywords: Sex discrimination against women, Law and legislation
Sex discrimination against women, South Africa
Equality before the law, South Africa
Women, Legal status, laws, etc
Women, South Africa
Constitutional law, South Africa
Influence of the scleral shell on the biomechanical environment of the human optic nerve head

Glaucoma, a leading cause of blindness, is a disease of unclear aetiology. A leading hypothesis is that elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) leads to damage of the tissues of the optic nerve head (ONH), leading to vision loss. Individual susceptibility to IOP is suspected to vary, perhaps due to anatomical differences. We investigate the role of the sclera, the principal load-bearing tissue of the eye, in ONH biomechanics. Individual-specific measurements of scleral thickness acquired through MRI of human eyes are presented. We observe significant inter-individual scleral thickness variations. The effect of these variations is investigated using finite element models of both physiological and idealized corneoscleral shells. Their effect on ONH biomechanics is determined by measuring strain and displacement within the tissues of an idealized ONH. We observe substantial variation in these outcome measures over the physiological range of scleral dimensions, suggesting that individual susceptibility to IOP may vary significantly.
An environmental economic model for policy analysis in Canada and the United States: Binational economic input-output life-cycle assessment (EIO-LCA)

A new generation of global environmental problems has highlighted the importance of holistic policy-development. Despite a rhetorical bias toward a global economy there has to-date been a lack of effective and transparent tools for assessment of cross-border environmental impacts. This work addresses this need by developing new environmental economic models for Canada and the US, based on a modeling approach is known as Economic Input-Output Life-Cycle Assessment (EIO-LCA), and an innovative binational EIO-LCA model to obtain novel insights into urban planning and the effect of international trade. In applying the model, we show that low density development is more energy and greenhouse gas intensive (by a factor of 2.0 to 2.5) than high density urban core development on a per capita basis. We also show that US industries are approximately 1.15 times as energy intensive and 1.3 times as GHG intensive as their Canadian counterparts, largely due to a heavy reliance on fossil fuels in the US.
Spectral element solutions to flows in pipes with two planar curvatures

Pipes with two planar curvatures exhibit complicated geometries defined by changing curvature and torsion. This results in complex secondary velocity patterns and low wall shear stress values, this is studied with higher order numerical methods. The spectral element method obtains accurate solutions and captures complex geometries through curvilinear elements. Disadvantages of this numerical method are addressed through parallelization, examination of different numerical algorithms and improvements to the elemental operations. In order to minimize pressure errors, equal order bases for both velocity and pressure are used by employing the rotational formulation of the splitting method. Pipe geometry is defined through a transformation function on a torus, thus accurately capturing the geometry and eliminating the need for inlet/outlet boundary conditions. In this configuration the geometric effects on the flow are isolated with the main focus of this study being the secondary velocity field and the wall shear stress. The resulting flow attempts to follow the geometric changes. However for rapid changes of the geometry the fluid is unable to follow the geometry and has complex flow patterns. These flow patterns are characterized by a highly perturbed secondary flows and areas of low wall shear stress. It is found that this behavior is governed mainly through the Reynolds number which represents the fluid properties. For flows where low wall shear stress values need to be avoided, pipes with small curvatures, torsion and flows at low Reynolds number should be employed.
Phase-locked loop with adaptive supply noise cancellation

This dissertation presents the design and implementation of a PLL system with adaptive supply noise cancellation. The PLL system effectively cancels the supply induced jitter at the PLL output with very low power and area overhead. Phase-Locked Loops are widely used in high-performance digital systems to generate well-timed clocks. The timing uncertainty in the PLL's output clock limits the system performance. One of the dominating noise sources in the PLLs is the noise of the power supply. The switching activities of digital blocks contribute a large amount of noise on the supply lines in the digital systems. The PLL is designed with a programmable supply noise cancellation circuit and a fitter measurement system. A minimization algorithm can effectively program the cancellation circuit for the best jitter performance of the system. The proposed PLL along with the jitter cancellation circuits can reduce the supply induced jitter by more than 11 dB.
Suppressor of Fused is a negative regulator of epidermal proliferation

Multiple signaling pathway activities contribute to the initiation and development of normal skin; in particular, Sonic Hedgehog (Shh) signaling plays an important role in both embryonic and adult skin development. Furthermore, the importance of Shh signaling in tumorigenesis is strongly linked by the hyper-activation of the pathway and tumor formation. However, the precise molecular mechanism underlying the development of malignancy remains largely unknown. In this study, I demonstrate that Suppressor of Fused (Su(fu)), a negative regulator of the Shh pathway, plays an essential role in programming normal hair morphogenesis and epidermal development. The loss of Su(fu) function leads to a disruption in hair formation, ectopic Shh signaling in the epidermis, an increase of basal cell proliferation, and the delay in the onset of differentiation. Strikingly, some severely affected mutants develop epidermal hyperplasia, but are unable to progress into skin tumor compared to the deletion of Ptc1 in skin grafts.
Short and long range effects of BRG1 at cytokine-responsive genes

BRG1 is the ATPase subunit of the SWI/SNF chromatin-remodeling complex and is required for IFN inducible gene activation. However, the point at which BRG1 acts in IFN inducible cascade and the function of BRG1 in other cytokine signaling pathways beyond IFN was unclear. Also, eukaryotic transcription can involve distant elements, but whether such effects regulate IFN induced targets was unknown. Here, using chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP), we found that the recruitment of STAT1, STAT1/STAT2/IRF9 and STAT3 at a subset of IFNgamma, IFNalpha and IL-6 target promoters, respectively, is in a BRGI dependent fashion. BRG1 is also required for histone acetylation at these cytokine target promoters. In contrast, BRGI was constitutively bound to cytokine target promoters in a STAT 1 independent manner. Based on previous observation that IFNgamma induction of isolated CIITA promoter (pIV) is BRG1-independent, we hypothesized that long-range elements may be critical for the control of the endogenous locus. Using ChIP combined with genomic tiling arrays (ChIP-chip) we identified numerous STAT1 and IRF1 binding sites that showed acetylated H3 and H4 histones at 122kb CIITA locus and other loci. Multiple sites around CIITA are hubs of chromatin activity and physically contact the promoter by looping in an IFNgamma-dependent fashion. ChIP analysis showed that BRG1 binds these distal sites and this association increased upon IFNgamma treatment. BRG1 is required for transcription factor (STAT1 and IRF 1) binding, histone acetylation, and chromatin remodeling at the distal sites. Moreover, distal elements interact with target promoters in a BRG1 dependent manner at both CIITA and SOCS1 loci. A sim;200 kb CIITA bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) reporter vector was engineered to study the functional relevance of remote sites. Importantly, deletion of distal elements in the CIITA locus-containing BAC decreased IFNgamma induction. Thus, remote enhancers are a common novel feature at IFNgamma responsive genes and the chromatin-remodeling factor BRG1 is a key mediator of their effects. In summary, my work shows that BRG1 has an apical role in cytokine signaling and this function extends to assembly events at novel remote elements critical for gene induction.
Stereospecific synthesis of chiral vicinal diamines by diaza-Cope rearrangement reaction

Two factors that control the equilibrium in the diaza-Cope rearrangement reaction were investigated. In the first part, resonance-assisted hydrogen bond was used to direct the diaza-Cope rearrangement reaction to completion. This rearrangement reaction was used to make a series of C2 symmetrical chiral vicinal diamines in moderate to good yields (62-89%) and excellent enantiopurity (>99% ee). In the second part, oxyanionic effect was used to direct the diaza-Cope rearrangement to completion.
Maneuver regulation, transverse feedback linearization and zero dynamics

The maneuver regulation (or path following) problem has received considerable attention in the control literature where feedback linearization has proven an effective approach to solving the problem. This thesis presents a general synthesis method for designing path following controllers for a class of systems using the concept of transverse feedback linearization. The relationship between maneuver regulation, transverse feedback linearization, and zero dynamics is explored. An output stabilization problem is solved, which under suitable conditions, also solves a maneuver regulation problem.
Bandwidth-efficient space-time multiple access schemes for multi-antenna systems

Recently, the class of new technologies based on the multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) system has emerged as a major breakthrough in the area of wireless communication. Among these new technologies, which promise a multiple-fold increase in spectral efficiency, the single-user optimization plays the dominant role. The present work in this thesis departs from this traditional perspective by introducing the concept of bandwidth-efficient space-time multiple access or multiuser optimization. When the forward link is considered, a new multiplexing framework called the Spread Space-Spectrum Multiple Access (SSSMA) is proposed. One main objective is to increase the number of users per unit of time. In this framework, the coded data streams from independent users are modulated with a set of distinct spreadtime spreading sequences. Code symbols from different users are multiplexed over the same spreading period, while the code symbols from the same user are transmitted sequentially over different spreading periods. Within the spreading period, the multiple access interference (MAI) is minimized by using the proposed space-time-diagonal spreading sequences. This set of sequences is shown to be the best linear modulation scheme for linear receiver. It delivers a fading-averaging effect which is shown to be very effective against either correlated or independent fading existing across the MIMO channel. Subsequently, the coded performance of SSSMA is investigated. The appropriate power profile is derived for the case with two transmit-receive antenna pairs, in which the set of STD sequences can be viewed as two groups of Alamouti's space-time-block-codes (STBC). The orthogonality of STBC simplifies the interference cancellation and power allocation process. It is then found that the resulting performance is superior to existing MIMO transmission schemes with same number of antenna pairs. Upon developing a new MIMO framework for the forward link, attention is turned toward the reverse link which does not permit direct cooperation among transmitters form different users' terminals. A novel approach is proposed by viewing the joint multiuser MIMO system as a single-user MIMO system. This new multiuser signal design viewpoint facilitates the development of a novel transmission scheme named interference-resistant modulation (IRM). (Abstract shortened by UMI.)
Investigating a role for post-translational modifications in the regulation of EBNA-1 function

Through binding specific recognition sites in the EBV genome, Epstein-Barr nuclear antigen (EBNA-1) viral protein performs several important functions in latent infection. The 325--376 amino acid region, which is essential for transcriptional activation and viral episome segregation functions of EBNA-1, contains four serines that have been predicted to be phosphorylated and is rich in RGG motifs that are predicted to be methylated. In addition, interactions between EBNA-1 and protein arginine methyltransferases have been identified. Through my research, I investigated a role for post-translational modifications in the regulation of EBNA-1 functions. My data suggests that serine phosphorylation of the 325--376 amino acid region of EBNA-1 may be involved in the regulation of EBNA-1 segregation activity. I also observed an alteration in EBNA-1 cellular localization upon treatment with methyl-transferase inhibitor 5'-deoxy-5'-methyl-thioadenosine (MTA), suggesting a possible role for arginine methylation in the regulation of EBNA-1 activity.
The importance of race and class in satisfaction with school: a comparative study of Hong Kong immigrant and white Canadian students

This paper examines race and social class factors that affect students' satisfaction with school. Empirical research shows that when compare with white Canadian students, Hong Kong immigrant students from low family income background are less satisfied with the Canadian higher education in some aspects, namely curriculum content; choices in the selection of courses and the tuition rate. However, research also reflects that Hong Kong students are generally more satisfied than the white counterparts in the aspects of academic workload and instruction method. Generally, research shows that all four groups of students (high and low income Canadians and Hong Kong students) are satisfied with the existing Canadian higher education. However, there is a different degree of satisfaction level, with the highest satisfaction coming from the high income white Canadians, followed by the low income white Canadians, and then high income Hong Kong students, and lastly, the low income Hong Kong students.

Keywords: Chinese students, Attitudes
Chinese students, Canada
Racism, Canada
Discrimination in education, Canada
Chinese, Education
Chinese, Canada
Classism, Canada
Students, Attitudes
Students, Canada
The diversity in language socialization: gender and social stratum in a North Vietnamese village

Drawing on a complementarity of different methods such as statistical analyses, conversation analyses, and ethnography, this dissertation focuses on language socialization and explores the shared as well as differentiated patterns of discursive practices in a small North Vietnamese village in 1990-1991. Unlike several studies of language socialization, the thesis demonstrates that children's process of becoming members of the community was not only culturally specific, but also varied with different social factors such as interactants' age, gender, socioeconomic conditions, or the multifaceted interaction among these factors in actual contexts. In other words, although reflecting a number of culturally salient features such as respecting age and/or hierarchical status, language socialization practices in the above village revealed that children of the same community were socialized to different identities due to different ideologies and /or material conditions they were living in. Herewith, the thesis supports the argument for alternative definitions of the same social identities such as gender and/or membership of a certain social stratum people expressed in and through their discursive practices. Furthermore, the dissertation shows that villagers' practices of language socialization represented both structural and individual patterns. As agents of their socialization processes, children not only learned the cultural values provided by others, but also made choices to express their own identities. Working within the community of practice model set out by Eckert and McConnell-Ginet (1992, 1995), the thesis suggests that the notions of structural and individual patterns need to be dynamically understood. Hereafter, a certain pattern such as the egalitarian way of address and self-reference of children in the same age group could be considered structural if seen from the perspective of a certain community of practice, and at the same time "individual" if seen from that of another community of practice. In general, the dissertation attempts to take advantage of different methods of research on language and society to explore the interaction of contextual parameters, especially gender and social strata, in everyday practices of language socialization in an apparently homogenous community.
Interrogating restructuring: a critical ethnography of ethno-racial women bank workers in Canadian retail banking

This thesis examines in detail the consequences of restructuring for ethno-racial women bank workers from one of Canada's major financial services institutions. It asks the primary question: What are the consequences of restructuring for ethno-racial women bank workers in the Canadian financial services industry? This is followed by three additional questions: How do ethno-racial women bank workers define restructuring? How do social differences, particularly race, class, gender and ethnicity mediate restructuring? and, How do ethno-racial women bank workers comply and contest the dominant restructuring practices and processes of this organization? The answers to these questions comes from the data collected from interviews with twenty-two ethno-racial women bank workers from eighteen different Greater Toronto Area (GTA) branches of a major Canadian financial services organization. Based on their knowledge, experiences, opinions, ideas and beliefs on restructuring in this organization from the late 1980s to the late 1990s, this thesis interrogates the dominant instrumental, economically rational restructuring paradigm to show that this is an inadequate framework from which to understand the consequences of restructuring for ethno-racial women bank workers in the Canadian financial services sector. This study draws on a wide range of literature and theoretical and discursive concepts and perspectives, primarily integrative anti-racism and anti-colonialism, to reveal how restructuring is a historically situated political process that is imbued with social relations and open to contestation. Specifically, the findings of this thesis illustrates how issues of equity, social justice, difference, diversity, identity, knowledge and power rooted in Canada's colonial history as a 'white settler society' and its racialized, gendered and classed political economy are at the heart of restructuring in Canadian retail banking. It is hoped that the study will cast further light on the relationship between restructuring and the unequal functioning of global capital, the imperialist agenda of Canadian financial institutions and the role of ethno-racial women bank workers in maintaining and challenging these oppressive systems, institutions and practices.
Diffusion in block and star copolymer hydrogels of poly(ethylene glycol) and poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)

The transport characteristics of block and star PEG-PNIPAAm copolymer hydrogels were investigated. Using a side-by-side diffusion cell, the diffusive properties of rhodamine B, vitamin B12, and FITC-dextran were studied. Results verify that the hydrogels can be used as controlled release systems. PEG-PNIPAAm hydrogels were prepared from the polymerization of NIPAAm on different structure of PEG with molecular weight (MW) ranging from 2000 Da to 10 000 Da, and architecture of 2-arm and 4-arm. The effect of hydrogel concentration on the diffusion coefficients was studied by preparing 17%, 20% and 23% w/w hydrogels. The diffusion coefficients were found to vary exponentially with the hydration volume and the molecular weight of solutes, a result which is consistent with the free volume interpretation. An increase in PEG MW increased the diffusion coefficients, but the magnitude was smaller than that from varying the concentrations. Lastly, the diffusive characteristics for 2-arm and 4-arm PEG-PNIPAAm hydrogels were found to be similar.
Teachers' instructional responses to their heterogeneous classes

Thirty regular grade elementary teachers participated in this study. Each teacher was required to complete a Student Rating Form, and to rate the perceived level of curriculum adaptation or modification that was needed by each student. These two checklists resulted in a division of the teachers into four quadrants. The high/high quadrant consists of teachers who recognize the high academic variance of their classes and perceive the need for curriculum adaptations to be high. The high/low quadrant consists of teachers who recognize the high academic variance of their classes and perceive the need for curriculum adaptations to be low. The low/high quadrant consists of teachers who report having classes with low academic variance and who also perceive the need for curriculum adaptations to be high. The low/low quadrant consists of teachers who report having classes with low academic variance and who perceive the need for curriculum adaptation to be low. In this thesis I examine effective teaching practices in inclusive classrooms by analyzing the beliefs of elementary school teachers and the impact that these beliefs have on their instructional practices. I hope to learn why a group of teachers who understand the heterogeneous nature of their classes, believe that they need to make limited curriculum adaptations to help their students to learn.

Keywords: Elementary school teachers, Attitudes
Inclusive education
Individualized instruction