VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Understanding how rural men who have sex with men (MSM) manage their sexual identities: A grounded theory approach

Rurality remains a relatively unexplored territory when considering the research on men who have sex with other men (MSM). This study addresses the knowledge gap in the research literature about how MSM manage their sexual identities in rural areas and small towns across Ontario, Canada. This unique exploratory study examined the intersection of sexuality, rurality and notions of masculinity in the rural Canadian context. More specifically, this study explored how rural MSM actually negotiate their sexual identities and serves to enhance our limited understanding of context and identity. This study employed a constructivist grounded theory design as espoused by Charmaz (2006) to develop a substantive theory on rural MSM. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 32 rural men across 28 geographic locales consisting of populations of less than 10,000 people. Men were interviewed primarily within their context and to obtain an understanding of their lived experiences. The results indicate that rural MSM are affected by numerous variables but three major themes emerged. MSM manage their sexual identities through on-going negotiations about their sexual identity, through their relationships with their community (local and urban) and their religious/spiritual beliefs. In responding to these negotiations, each participant was affected by how long he had resided in the rural context. Based upon a man's length of time within the rural environment, two general identity groups emerged: 'natives' and 'transplanters'. Each identity group managed their sexual identities in distinct ways. Finally, the general findings from the study are explored in relation to their implications for future research on MSM, and social work education and practice.
Masked ball at the White Cross Cafe: the failure of Jewish assimilation in post-emancipation Hungary

Not many decades after the emancipation of the Jews in Western Europe, studies began to appear investigating the causes of anti-Semitism. This study is part of that body of work. However, it differs significantly from recent efforts in that it is situated within Western European history as opposed to Jewish history. This means that it will not be reliant upon Jewish sources. Furthermore, it does not look at anti-Semitism from the viewpoint of liberalism---which declared the illegitimacy of such sentiments---nor is it informed, as is so often the case, by the shadow cast by the Holocaust. It throws into sharp relief a continuum---the rejection of the Jew as Jew---historically achieved through marginalization and reconfigured as a series of stipulated reforms by the Enlightenment thinkers meant to culminate in assimilation. It is the rupture of this continuum---the emancipation of the Jews, the vast majority of whom did not conform to these stipulations---which created the conditions that eventually led to the Holocaust. After summarizing the centuries-long era of Toleration, I address in great detail Enlightenment discourse as it pertained to the Jews. Whereas the Church steadfastly offered only conversion in order to gain acceptance into the general society, the Enlightenment thinkers arrived at a new paradigm, based on Enlightenment ideals. However, it will be shown that their strategy had exactly the same impulse as that of Christianity: to erase all distinctiveness of the Jew. The discussion of this discourse forms the backbone of my study and, in the process, reconfigures the very definition of anti-Semitism. This study maintains that the non-Jewish context was a uniform one, modified only by national and local issues, an assertion many historians have recoiled from. As a first step in confirming uniformity, I have analyzed the response to the failure of emancipated Jews to assimilate in the prescribed ways in Hungary, and then inquired into the same phenomenon in Britain. The similarity of the responses outweighs the differences, demonstrating that the Jewish effort to reform, and thereby to assimilate into the host society was equally unsuccessful in both countries. Christian Europe responded uniformly to the presence of unreformed Jews in its midst.

Keywords: Jews, History
Jews, Hungary
Judaism, History
Jews, Cultural assimilation
Jews, Hungary
Assimilation (Sociology)
The development of evaluative processing in children

Currently, little is known about how evaluation develops. In this study, 8-, 10- and 12-year-old children, and adults, were presented with novel stimuli resembling vitamins. The vitamins varied in color and were associated with two equiprobable outcomes, one positive, and one negative. Participants were instructed to accept or reject each vitamin to maximize a health score. In the second phase, half the participants were explicitly told the reward contingencies were now reversed, whereas the other half were told to 'learn these vitamins'. When not explicitly told the new rules, only 8- and 10-year-olds were unable to update their evaluations. Adults switched successfully in the absence of a rule, and 12-year-olds appeared to be in a transitional phase. Results suggest that children are able to learn complex associations and use them to guide evaluation and decision-making, but it is only with development that children can update these associations.
Manufacturing process optimization for improved failure performance of thick composite structures

A method is presented for finding the optimal autoclave temperature history for pre-impregnated thermoset composites based on their failure performance. A coupled finite element model which incorporates a thermo-chemical and incremental elastic analysis is used to predict the residual stress distribution at the edge of a thick composite beam. The optimal autoclave temperature is sought by formulating an objective function and an associated set of constraints. The objective is designed to maximize the minimum failure load of the manufactured beam amongst a set of load cases, while the constraints are imposed to ensure that the composite is uniformly cured and does not sustain temperature damage during the manufacturing process. A novel semi-analytic gradient evaluation technique is developed which incorporates elements of the adjoint and direct sensitivity methods. Initial results show that significant improvements in the failure load can be achieved for certain beam constructions.

Keywords: Manufacturing processes
Production engineering
Multidisciplinary design optimization
Identification of human proteins that bind slipped strand (CTG).(CAG) structures in vitro

The expansion of (CTG)·(CAG) repeats has been associated with least 16 human diseases, including myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) and is attributed to DNA slipped structure formation at the repeat tract during DNA metabolic processes. Towards identifying proteins that may be involved in processing these DNA structures, (CTG)·(CAG) slipped-structure binding activity was detected in HeLa cell extracts using gel shift assays. Binding activity was protein-dependent and partially resistant to SDS and heat denaturation, indicating that a multiprotein complex might be involved. Candidate proteins, including HMGB1, HMGB2 and nucleolin, were isolated by cell extract fractionation and affinity chromatography. Antibodies against these proteins caused a progressive decrease in the degree of electrophoretic shift, suggesting that HMGB1, HMGB2 and nucleolin may be components of a multiprotein slipped DNA structure binding complex. These results may have implications for the recognition and processing of slipped strand DNA structures and trinucleotide repeat instability.
Colonizing bodies: aboriginal health and healing in British Columbia, 1900-1950

This thesis examines the impact of the processes of colonization on aboriginal health and healing in British Columbia in the first half of the twentieth century. The first section looks at the ways in which government restrictions on the procurement of food and limitations on the land bases available to the First Nations negatively affected aboriginal nutrition and sanitation and created a situation in which aboriginal health was undermined. In addition, government insistence on residential schooling for aboriginal children produced stresses on the physical, familial and emotional health of First Nations communities. The second section focusses on the role of Indian Health Services on aboriginal conceptions of the body, illness, health and healing. This section begins with an overview of Native healing as it was (and continues to be) practiced among the First Nations of British Columbia in the twentieth century. The next chapters examine how non-Native medical care was designed to promote assimilation and how the policies associated with this were implemented in aboriginal communities. The final chapter points out how the First Nations were able to maintain their notions of the body, disease etiology and therapeutics by assimilating some aspects of Euro-Canadian medicine as supplementary to their own systems. Ultimately this thesis argues that while colonization has certainly detrimentally affected aboriginal health and has had an impact on aboriginal therapeutics, aboriginal people have been able to adapt to the changing health circumstances brought on by such processes and have continued to survive both physically and culturally.

Keywords: Indians of North America, Health and hygiene
Indians of North America, British Columbia
Indians of North America, Medical care
Indians of North America, British Columbia
Indians of North America, Colonization
Indians of North America, British Columbia
Social medicine, History
Social medicine, British Columbia
Essays on initial public offerings

In this thesis, I study three aspects of going public. First, I examine whether separating the decision to list on a stock exchange and the decision to issue equity decreases the underpricing costs of going public. Next, I examine the extent to which economic fundamentals versus investor sentiment drive the equity issuance activity of firms going public. Finally, I examine whether the quantity of financing raised by firms going public is associated with firm value, and, if so, why this is the case.
An investigation of emotional processing ability and related brain activity in young and old adults

This thesis describes three experiments designed to compare emotional processing in young and old adults. The first experiment administered a series of general and social cognition tasks to young and old adults. Older adults performed more poorly at identifying negative emotional expressions independent of performance on general cognitive measures. It was hypothesized that differences in age-related patterns of brain activity during negative face discrimination may be responsible for this effect. Experiment 2 used event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to test this hypothesis. The results revealed that regions typically found to be involved in social cognition (e.g. amygdala, rostral and dorsal anterior cingulate, prefrontal cortex) responded under different conditions for the two groups. Specifically, younger adults activated the amygdala more for negative and neutral faces, while activity in this same region responded more to positive and neutral faces in older adults. The final experiment (3) was designed to directly examine the relationship between brain activity and negative and neutral face identification in young and old adults. The results of this analysis revealed a unique pattern of brain activity associated with negative faces processed in an indirect manner (i.e. while judging gender) for young adults only. In particular, activity in the amygdala for both age groups was associated with better performance for negative faces when attention was focused on the emotional content. In comparison, it was associated with poorer performance for younger adults when the negative content was not the focus of the task, suggesting that the amygdala activity may have interfered with task performance. Taken together, the results suggest that the lack of amygdala activity to negative stimuli in older adults may indicate a decreased ability to recruit the amygdala and related regions in an automatic fashion, independent of conscious awareness. However, older adults might maintain the ability to recruit these areas in a more direct manner but this seems to occur only for positive and neutral faces. This age-related difference in amygdala involvement may partially explain the poorer performance observed in Experiment 1 for older versus younger adults during negative emotional face discrimination.
In vitro analysis of the requirements for B lineage commitment and differentiation from bipotent B cell-macrophage precursors isolated from murine fetal liver

B lymphopoiesis is dependent on interactions with stromal cells. However, the precise role of these cells, or the factors they produce, in the regulation of B lineage commitment and differentiation is not well understood. In this thesis I examine the requirements for B cell development using an in vitro assay that monitors bipotent B cell-macrophage precursors during commitment to the B lineage and differentiation into antibody-secreting B cells. I identify and characterize the distribution of murine CD10/Neutral endopeptidase, an enzyme which has been postulated to function in the regulation of B cell development in humans. CD10/NEP is expressed on murine stromal cells, however, inhibition of CD10/NEP enzymatic activity in vitro does not affect the ability of stromal cells to support B lymphopoiesis from bipotent B cell-macrophage precursors. While CD10/NEP is not required for B lymphopoiesis in vitro, it may play a role in vivo possibly in the degradation of a negative regulator(s) of B cell development. I demonstrate that three stromal cell derived factors, interleukin 11 (IL-11), mast cell growth factor (MGF) and IL-7 are sufficient to replace the requirement for stromal cells in supporting the development of pre-B lymphocytes from bipotent precursors. I examine the requirements for each of these stromal cell derived factors during the process of B lineage commitment and differentiation in vitro. IL-11 and MGF are sufficient to support the development of B lineage restricted progenitors from bipotent precursors. IL-7 is not required for B lineage restriction but is required for the survival and expansion of committed B cell progenitors. In addition, I examine the expression of genes that are associated with the B lineage during the course of in vitro differentiation. These studies identify distinct patterns of gene expression and suggest genes whose products may be expressed during the commitment process. In summary, I have established an in vitro, stromal cell independent, system in which bipotent B cell-macrophage precursors commit to the B lineage and develop into pre-B lymphocytes. I have examined the requirements for B cell development under these conditions and identified factors which support commitment and differentiation of progenitors at definable stages of development. This assay provides a valuable model in which to examine the cellular and molecular basis for commitment and differentiation in the B lineage.
Structural brain findings in adults with 22q11 deletion syndrome

Background. 22q11 Deletion Syndrome (22qDS) is a genetic syndrome associated with 22q11.2 deletions and high rates of schizophrenia. Based on brain structural findings in children with 22qDS and adults with schizophrenia compared to controls, we hypothesized that adults with 22qDS and no psychosis (22qDS-NP) would have: (1) smaller ventricular and larger gray matter volumes than adults with 22qDS and schizophrenia (22qDS-SZ) and (2) larger ventricular and smaller gray matter volumes than controls. Method. Analysis of variance and t-tests were performed on MRI scan data corrected for total intracranial volume from 22qDS-NP (n = 7), age- and sex-matched controls (n = 7) and 22qDS-SZ (n = 12) groups. Results . Ventricular volumes for 22qDS-NP were smaller than 22gDS-SZ (p = 0.004) and larger than Control groups (p = 0.04). Whole brain gray matter volumes for 22gDS-NP were intermediate to 22qDS-SZ and control subjects (p> 0.14). Conclusions. Enlarged ventricles in this small sample suggest that increased power to detect differences between 22gDS-SZ and 22gDS-NP adults may lead to the identification of brain structure findings related to the expression of schizophrenia in 22qDS.
Fixing nature: Economic transition, creative destruction the remaking of Southeast False Creek, Vancouver

This thesis is an interrogation of the relationship between economic change and socionatural transformation as expressed through the struggle to redevelop Southeast False Creek in Vancouver, British Columbia. This interrogation is divided into three chapters. In the first, I engage with debates surrounding the etiology and epistemology of landscapes change through a retrospective account of the redevelopment of Southwest False Creek in the 1970s. In the second, I connect the process of socionatural change to the imperatives of capital accumulation. The process of harmonizing socionature with accumulation is shown to be symbolic as well as material. In the final chapter I muddy the theoretical arguments laid down in the previous chapter and demonstrate, through the specific circumstances of Southeast False Creek, that socionatural transformation is a far from "natural" intrinsically political contest.
Abuse of dominance: what New Zealand can learn from Australia and the United States' approaches to legitimate business justifications

This thesis explores the role that legitimate business justifications can play in monopolization or abuse of dominance assessments, and argues that business justifications are helpful in distinguishing anticompetitive behaviour from competition on the merits. It analyzes the treatment of business justifications in three jurisdictions--New Zealand, Australia and the United State--with New Zealand forming the primary focus. While assessing business justifications would fit with New Zealand's approach to abuse of dominance, the courts are yet to explicitly adopt the inquiry. This stands in contrast to the United States, where business justifications can act as a defence to an otherwise anticompetitive act, and in Australia, where they are considered within establishing the offence. This thesis argues that New Zealand should follow the Australian approach to business justifications. In doing so, it would move to a more economically grounded approach that focuses on the objective effects of conduct.

Keywords: Competition, Unfair, New Zealand
Antitrust law, New Zealand
Competition, Unfair, Australia
Competition, Unfair, United States
Characterization of PERK family members in Arabidopsis thaliana through promoter::GUS analyses and T-DNA insertion lines

The Arabidopsis PERK family of receptor kinases consists of 15 members characterized by extracellular domains rich in proline and sharing sequence similarity to extensins. To gain information about their biological roles, AtPERK1, 2, and 3 promoter::GUS transgenic plants were analyzed by histochemical staining. Specificity not apparent from previous RNA blot analyses was revealed. AtPERK1 exhibited widespread vascular expression, while AtPERK3 was restricted to pollen grains, hypocotyls, and major veins of rosette leaves. No consistent staining was observed for AtPERK2 promoter::GUS plants. To gain more direct functional data T-DNA insertions were identified in many AtPERK genes. Initial phenotypic characterization of several of these lines did not reveal obvious phenotypes, suggesting that functional redundancy may exist. However, analysis of previously generated ectopic and antisense BnPERK1 Arabidopsis suggests a potential role in mediating cell elongation. Collectively, expression and transgenic analyses support possible roles for AtPERKs in various aspects of growth and development.
Anti-B-cell lymphoma activity mediated by CD3+CD4-CD8- T cells activated in vitro or in vivo

In this study, the anti-lymphoma ability of double negative (DN) T cells was examined in vitro and in vivo. Infusion of these cells did not cause graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). However, we found that DN T cells were able to kill lymphoma cells in vitro partially through Fas-Fas ligand interactions. When co-injected with a lethal dose of lymphoma cells, both DN T cell clones and primary DN T cells could inhibit systemic and local lymphoma outgrowth and prevent death of the recipients. Furthermore, intra-muscular infusion of lymphoproliferative DN T cells induced expansion of recipient DN T cells, which were able to kill MHC matched lymphoma cells both in vitro and in vivo. Together, these findings demonstrate that DN T cells have a potent anti-lymphoma ability, and suggest their use as a novel cellular therapy for the treatment of lymphomas.
Awakening creativity and spiritual intelligence: the soul work of holistic educators

The evolving nature of human consciousness compels us to redefine what education is for and to expand how we teach, learn, think and live as educators and learners. Holistic education is at the forefront of reconceptualising educative practices and curricula that dynamise personal and systems transformation. Holistic learning, rooted in perennial philosophy, exercises “second tier thinking” characterised by the reflexive, world centric affiliative constructs of pluralism and relativism. Its transpersonal practices nurture levels of wholeness through personal transformation. At the heart of holistic learning are educators taking charge of their personal and professional growth by developing reflective, insightful practices rooted in transformative principles. In studying their work, we discover the soulful and spiritualising value of learning activities that restore wholeness and wonder. Researching their praxis contributes practical ideas and new psychotechnologies for nourishing creativity in modern education. Qualitative research tools, such as narrative, are best suited to studying the human perspectives of holistic educational praxis. This study, using a narrative voice as a method of inquiry, describes the work of three educators who have developed models of creative activities committed to actualising transpersonal and spiritual consciousness. Principles of caring and authenticity inform their educational encounters and attend to the learner's transformation through self-integration. Their practices foster inner balance and nurture soulful connections among self, subject and community. They seek to develop multidimensional levels of intelligence, including spiritual intelligence—a dynamic, holistic cognition that synergises the concrete intelligences (characterised by physical, emotional and logical intelligences) with higher order intelligence (exemplified by imagination, intuition and vision). Imaginal and aesthetic tools awaken such qualities of the self/Self as presence, aliveness and joy of learning, encouraging learners to make inner and outer connections that cultivate spiritual intelligence. Their novel, holistic approaches articulate the value of communion and create meaningful opportunities for learners to experience creativity and self-reflective awareness through creative visualisation, meditation and aesthetic contemplation. When used with the expressive arts—such as creative writing, these modalities encourage learners to animate deeper connections within the self/Self and discover creativity, wholeness, purpose, insight, self-awareness, harmony and love as integral aspects of learning and living.

Keywords: Education, Humanistic
Holism
Creative ability
Spirituality
Intuition
Intellect
Spiritual life