VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
The corrected frontier: DEA-chebyshev model with an application to financial resource management

It is often seen that productivity analysis is based on quantitative approaches. Management's intangible concerns are often neglected due to the difficulty in quantifying them. Economists coin them as “nuisance parameters” which are often considered as fixed effects or to be ignored entirely. These “nuisance parameters” can be a product of rapidly evolving economic, environmental and sociological conditions that are not explicitly captured in static data. Under these conditions, a corporation may appear more inefficient (or efficient) than it truly is. The issue now is (which is the goal of this thesis), how can these (qualitative) concerns be incorporated into productivity analysis? The DEA-Chebyshev model (DCF) is an appealing technique developed in this research which has incorporated qualitative information into a quantitative approach that is simple to use and easily applied without requiring parameterization, specification of some functional form and substantial amount of data. This model was tested on several test data sets, and has proven to be more accurate for approximating the “corrected” frontier than the current stochastic methods, even when homogeneity is assumed in DCF. In the economics literature, a resource-based view suggests that efficiency of individual businesses rather than industry structure determines profitability. In today's fast paced global economy where monetary resources are scarce and talent is in even shorter supply, corporations are forced to optimize the utilization of funds and people. Conventional tools traditionally used to measure productivity such as ratio analyses are no longer adequate or even applicable. Ratio analyses cannot evaluate performance based on multiple parameters simultaneously and is not unit invariant allowing the analyst to only carry out the analysis based on dollar amounts or unit numbers. DCF was designed to overcome these limitations and be applied to the analysis of profitability and operational efficiency of a group of corporations in the manufacturing sector. The results show that there are more corporations that are efficient in generating profits than that are operationally efficient, indicating that profit improvements are possible even that in strong performance periods. Companies, which ranked high on the Business500 list may not have ranked as high in DCF due to the multidimensional nature of the production model.
The inconsistent treatment of partnerships in the Income Tax Act

The ancillary objectives of the Income Tax Act are equity, neutrality and simplicity. A mutual characteristic of these objectives is consistency. If provisions of the Income Tax Act are consistent, they will support the system's objectives and strengthen the income tax system. This thesis will analyze the inconsistencies in the structure of partnership taxation and discuss how they breach the objectives of the Income Tax Act. Recommendations to improve the taxation of partnerships structure are also presented. Partnerships, however, are treated inconsistently in the Income Tax Act. Income tax law relies on general partnership law when applying tax law principles. However, there are instances where the Income Tax Act deviates from general partnership law. Also, there are instances where general partnership law is conflicting. As well, there are instances in the Income Tax Act where partnerships and corporations are treated differently in the same situation with no supporting policy reason.

Keywords: Partnership, Taxation
Partnership, Canada
Income tax, Law and legislation
Income tax, Canada
The effects of mitochondrial rescue strategies and/or hypothermia on ischemia-induced synaptic failure

Ischemia-induced mitochondrial Ca2+ efflux can occur through the mitochondrial Na+/Ca2+ exchanger (mNCX), or via the mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP). Raised intracellular Ca2+ from ischemia-induced mitochondrial dysfunction may contribute to the immediate and delayed synaptic dysfunction characterized by decreased evoked neurotransmitter release. Since blocked synaptic transmission is an early event in ischemia which precedes cell death, it may be a target for neuroprotective strategies. Using hippocampal brain slices, I demonstrated that mitochondrial rescue strategies, namely mPTP and mNCX inhibition, alone or in combination with hypothermia ameliorated OGD-induced depression in fEPSPs. Aging is the main risk factor for stroke. I showed that the susceptibility to OGD increased with age, as mature slices required a shorter duration of OGD to cause an irreversible decline in fEPSPs. Inhibition of the mPTP was neuroprotective, as CsA treatment significantly reversed the OGD-induced decline in fEPSPs upon the reintroduction of oxygen and glucose in mature slices.
Equity, literacy testing, and marginalized youth: the social construction of "illiterate" identities

This study explores how the large-scale, high-stakes, standardized Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT) produced by the Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) affects Ontario secondary students who have failed it. I strategically use the poststructuralist work of Lesko and Foucault, and incorporate the work of feminist, critical policy and anti-oppressive educational theorists (Arendt, Lipman, Thomson, TeRiele, Walkerdine) to look at the ways in which those who find themselves marginalized by test failure resist and/or are constrained by their "illiterate identities." I draw upon the experiences of youth and teachers to reflect on policy, literacy and testing. The methodology of the study is based on in-depth, semi-structured, qualitative interviews conducted with teachers and youth. The youth participants have failed the OSSLT once or twice, and some are completing the literacy course in order to fulfill their high school graduation requirement. This study draws out implications for education policy. EQAO claims its work is conducted in the best interest of students to promote excellence in 'learning and teaching,' and 'equity'. Through a juxtaposition of policy documents and personal narratives, I show the discrepancy between the policy and the lived experience of youth and teachers. I further examine how youth and teachers' identities and knowledge are positioned by this policy discourse. Overall, I argue that high-stakes standardized literacy testing in Ontario continues to build upon the legacy of colonialism, masculine domination, and policies that sought to produce 'good citizens' through discipline and 'proper' development. These oppressive mechanisms are seen in the state's power to sort and select students and produce deficient identities. The "illiterate" student and/or "at risk" youth revealed by the test acts as one more form of social control projected upon youth who have historically been deemed "other." Given the historical forces that govern the discourse of youth, their status as a literate or illiterate subject within the state functions as an attribute that renders some youth superior and others inferior. I conclude the thesis by examining the ethical and political implications of this study for policy makers, literacy curriculum, and theorizing on youth, identity and equity in education. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)
Self-reported symptoms of mood and psychopathology in young adults who underwent epilepsy surgery in childhood

This study examined predictors of mood and psychopathology, using self-report instruments, in young adults (age 18–29) who had epilepsy surgery in childhood. Eighty-four individuals with epilepsy of childhood onset, were divided into three groups, a seizure-free surgical group, a surgical group still experiencing seizures, and a non-surgical epilepsy comparison group. The seizure-free surgical group reported lower levels of obsessive-compulsive behaviour, symptom distress, and fewer symptoms than did the other groups. The number of antiepileptic medications, however, moderated these effects. When the number of antiepileptic medications was controlled for, all group differences disappeared. Past history of treatment for psychiatric disorders was the most prominent predictor of psychiatric outcome, followed by seizure status and proportion of life with epilepsy, respectively. These results provide preliminary support that pediatric epilepsy surgery reduces the risk for psychiatric distress during early adulthood, in those individuals who are seizure free.
Analysis and modification of the Test Evaluant les Membres superieurs des Personnes Agees (TEMPA) for use in an adult hand program

Revisions planned include restructuring the writing task, additional scoring changes, and improving the manual to reduce inconsistencies between evaluators. Further reliability and validity studies will then be required. This study evaluated an upper limb functional measure for the elderly and modified it for use with acute hand injuries. Twelve occupational and physiotherapists skilled in hand rehabilitation, analyzed the TEMPA, a performance measure consisting of nine bilateral and unilateral functional tasks. They identified all arm movements, also prehensions, strength, coordination and sensory requirements of the tasks. Making sure to include all essential aspects of function, redundancies were eliminated and the WULFE consisting of three tasks was formulated with revised scoring. Inter-rater and test-retest reliability of the WULFE was evaluated with 35 clients of an adult hand program. Resulting ICCs ranged from 0.20 to 0.98 with nine of 14 values exceeding 0.80. However, ceiling effects in the scores obtained were a concern.
A distributed ontology architecture for highway construction: toward semantic exchange of infrastructure knowledge

Ontologies support knowledge management through the use of common taxonomies, axioms and non-taxonomical relationships. This research thesis presents distributed ontology architecture for knowledge management in highway construction. The architecture presents highway knowledge on three levels: domain knowledge, application knowledge, and user knowledge. The architecture was developed as an extension for the e-COGNOS ontology. A highway engineering taxonomy (HiOnto) of more than 1,800 concepts is specified. Taxonomic and non-taxonomic relationships are established. Application ontologies for five sub-domains of highway engineering provide a framework for the future extension of HiOnto as a full fledge ontology. The architecture was validated through input from domain experts.
Race, gender and class: Malayalee women's experiences in Toronto

This thesis is a case study of Malayalee living in Toronto, Canada. It examines the experiences of Malayalee women in two generations: women who immigrated to Canada as adults and women who immigrated as children or were born here. This study is concerned with exploring how their race, gender, culture, class, sexuality and history work together in creating social locations and experiences that are specific to Malayalee women. It also examines feminist literature and attempts to explain South Asian women's experiences using relevant feminist theories. This research has focused on Malayalee women and more generally South Asian women because literature on South Asian women is scarce. Recognizing racial diversity, as well as the complex and interesting ways that dimensions of difference intersect, will be significant to both feminism and social science. It will allow these disciplines to study how the different aspects of social structure work together and interact to create inequalities and systems of oppression that produce different choices, opportunities and lifestyles for specific groups of people. From this research I conclude that Malayalee women in this study have diverse life histories and are complex subjects whose lives do not resemble the stereotypes of one dimensional South Asian women. This thesis has examined conflicts that have emerged and strategies that have been employed within the Malayalee community as a response to the immigration process, racism and sexism that Malayalees, and Malayalee women in particular, have experienced in Canada. As well, I conclude that many of the experiences that Malayalee women have had, especially in relation to the immigration process, are not accounted for by mainstream feminist theories. Feminist theories would need to incorporate into its analysis an examination of race, sexuality, age, culture and immigration experiences, as well as class and gender, and explain how these dimensions of difference are interconnected. Further, I conduct that analyzing race, class, gender, sexuality and age only make sense within the specificities of social, political and historical processes and structures, including racism, sexism and immigration, and that any analysis of inequality must take all relevant dimensions into account.

Keywords: Malayalis (Indic people), Social conditions
Malayalis (Indic people), Ontario
Women, Social conditions
Women, India
Minority women, Social conditions
Minority women, Ontario
South Asians, Social conditions
South Asians, Ontario
Racism, Ontario
Sex discrimination against women, Ontario
Social classes, Ontario
Simulation of the tube drawing process using the finite element method

The power law and the Ramberg-Osgood constitutive equations are commonly used for describing material behavior. The Ramberg-Osgood equation is the more popular one as it is capable of describing behavior of several materials over the entire range of deformation. Previous research revealed, however, that the Ramberg-Osgood equation is not capable of describing the behavior of materials which exhibit sudden changes. One of the goals of this research was to develop a more accurate and efficient way of describing materials behavior. This goal has been achieved as a new equation, called the Alpha constitutive equation, has been developed. This equation is very accurate and efficient as well due to the ability of one equation being able to describe the behavior of any material—even materials that exhibit strain softening. The second phase of this research focused on developing a finite element program to simulate the tube drawing process which involves large plastic deformation and complicated boundary conditions. A specialized code to simulate the tube drawing in the presence of a mandrel has been developed. This finite element program has the ability to accept materials data in the form of a modified Ramberg-Osgood equation as well as the Alpha equation. A special technique was devised and implemented in the finite element program to avoid instability that tends to occur at the die exit. The finite element simulation results achieved in terms of the prediction of the drawing force compares well with the results obtained by Ontario Hydro Technologies. In addition, experiments conducted at Ontario Hydro revealed the formation of shear cracks on the outer surface of the tube. The finite element simulation results are consistent with this observation as the results indicate that maximum shear stress does exist at the outer walls of the tube which is responsible for the formation of shear cracks. The FEM program developed has the added advantage of having the capability to determine the stresses under unsteady state (transient) conditions. In addition, the residual stresses in the material can be determined. This research work is far from over—it is only the beginning of a very promising step to reach the goal of being able to use mathematically simulations to accurately simulate tube forming processes.
The roles of TGF-beta-targeted genes in bone development

Bone matrix contains growth factors belonging to the TGF-beta super family, which regulate growth, differentiation, and matrix synthesis. To understand the consequences of TGF-beta signaling during osteogenesis, cDNA microarray technology was used to identify TGF-beta responsive target genes during osteoblast development. From the 120 differentially expressed genes in the clonal osteoblastic cell line MC3T3-E1 treated with TGF-beta1, collagen, type V, alpha1 (COL5A1) {Differential expression = + 4.9} and nephronectin {Differential expression = - 5.2} were selected for further studies since they represented previously uncharacterized components of the bone matrix. Northern blotting confirmed the microarray results, and immunostaining showed that treatment with TGF-beta1 dramatically down-regulates nephronectin expression. Furthermore, COL5A1 and nephronectin mRNA and protein expression were detected in the developing bone of the E15.5 and E17.5 mouse embryos, in which nephronectin mRNA was found to be highly expressed in proliferating osteoblasts, thereby suggesting that nephronectin could be a potential marker for distinguishing proliferating from mature osteoblasts. To determine the function of nephronectin in osteogenesis, various nephronectin constructs were generated to produce stable cell lines of MC3T3-E1, expressing and secreting nephronectin protein, including full-length (NN), nephronectin lacking EGF-like repeats (NN-MAM), nephronectin lacking RGD and MAM domains (NN-EGF), and full-length with 3'-untranslated region (3'-UTR, named NN-3'). I demonstrated for the first time that nephronectin promotes differentiation during osteoblast development. This result was confirmed by expression of an siRNA targeting nephronectin, which resulted in down-regulation of osteoblast differentiation. The motif responsible for enhanced osteoblast differentiation was identified as that comprising multiple EGF-like repeats. Expression of nephronectin lacking these repeats inhibited the morphological transition from fibroblastic to cuboidal that accompanies the onset of differentiation in osteoblasts. In comparison, over-expression of full-length nephronectin resulted in earlier formation of bone nodules in MC3T3-El cells. It was also found that the nephronectin 3'-UTR contains a binding site for microRNA-378. Inclusion of the 3'-UTR repressed nephronectin translation, resulting in the delay in differentiation exhibited by the NN-3'-transfected cells compared to the NN-transfected cells. Lastly, analysis of second messenger signaling revealed that the effects of nephronectin are mediated by ERK and that ERK activation is essential for osteoblast differentiation.
A retrospective evaluation of the effectiveness of the Invisalign® appliance using the PAR and irregularity indices

InvisalignRTM (Align Technologies Inc., Santa Clara, CA) has recently (1999) been offered correct malocclusions. Few studies have evaluated the capabilities of this appliance. Forty-four cases were studied for comparison of pre- and post treatment results. These cases were mainly mild to moderate Class I malocclusions. Cases were measured according to the PAR (Peer Assessment Rating) and Little's Irregularity Index. The Invisalign RTM appliance improved the overall PAR score (p
Experiences of parents with spinal cord injury and their use of aids and adaptations for childcare

This study used mixed methods, incorporating interviews and a questionnaire, to understand the experiences of twelve parents with spinal cord injury (SCI) and their use of aids and adaptations (AA) in caring for their young children. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Qualitative findings were analyzed using a Grounded Theory approach. Evidence demonstrated a strong relationship between utility of AA and involvement in childcare. The themes identified were (1) Psychosocial Aspect of Parenting, (2) Social Attitudes, (3) Division of Labour, (4) Physical Aspect of Parenting, and (5) Resources and Services. Salient themes derived from the study enabled the development of an emerging model of managing childcare. The participants' experiences offer insights and recommendations for parents with SCI, healthcare providers, and manufacturers of assistive technology regarding solutions to challenges encountered when caring for young children, access and availability of resources and services, and modification or development of adapted childcare products. Key Words: spinal cord injury, parenting, aids and adaptations.
Language representation in children with medically intractable epilepsy: findings from extraoperative stimulation mapping, intracarotid sodium-amobarbital procedure, and functional magnetic resonance imaging

Language representation was investigated in 25 children and adolescents with medically intractable epilepsy using intracarotid sodium amobarbital procedure (IAP), functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), and extraoperative stimulation mapping (ESM), prior to surgical intervention. Findings across all procedures indicated elevated atypical (right or bilateral) language representation in this population. ESM identified left-hemisphere language sites outside classical language areas, suggesting ipsilateral reorganization. Possible relationships between language representation and several demographic and seizure-related variables were explored. ESM, IAP, and fMRI yielded largely consistent findings, although the measures were not simply redundant; each technique provides distinct data and unique opportunities for language study. It was concluded that the multiple language mapping procedures worked best together---data provided by one measure could benefit later investigations.
Dynamic texture modelling

Dynamic textured sequences are scenes with complex motion patterns due to the interactions between the multiple moving components. Examples of dynamic textures include blowing leaves, flickering flames and water splashing in a fountain. In our approach, the images of the sequence are interpreted as the output of a linear autoregressive process driven by white Gaussian noise. We extend earlier work by increasing the amount temporal information included when learning the motion in the scene allowing the models to capture motion patterns which extend over multiple frames, thereby, increasing the perceptual accuracy of the synthesized results. To overcome problems of dynamic model stability, we apply the Maximum Entropy Method (Burg, 1975) for parameter estimation, which is reliably stable on smaller samples of training data, even with higher-order dynamics.
Control of AC-DC-AC converters with minimized DC link capacitance under grid harmonic distortion

In the presence of grid voltage harmonics, an AC-DC-AC drive with conventional fundamental frequency control experiences large line current harmonics, and in the case of a minimized DC link capacitance, large DC link voltage ripple harmonics. This thesis presents and compares two control methodologies that overcome this problem and suppress the effects of grid voltage harmonics on AC-DC-AC converters with minimized DC link capacitance. The first harmonic mitigation controller is implemented via multiple synchronous frame control structure somewhat similar to those used in active power filter applications. The other harmonic mitigation controller is realized in the stationary frame with several variations to the controller via the inclusion of cross-coupling control and feedback terms.
Probabilistic planning with constraint satisfaction techniques

In this document, we explore the use of constraint satisfaction techniques in solving probabilistic planning problems. We restrict our research to two special cases of probabilistic planning: contingent probabilistic planning, where the agent's environment is fully observable, and conformant probabilistic planning where the environment is totally un-observable. For each case, we formally define the problem we are considering and describe a new algorithm for solving it. We then compare our empirical results with current state-of-the-art planners. Finally, we draw conclusions from those results as to the efficiency of our approach on such problems. Our work shows that applying reachability techniques does improve efficiency but that further improvements are needed and could be obtained by combining this approach with abstraction techniques.