VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Staging madness: dramatic modes of representing mental illness at The Workman Theatre Project, 1989-2001

Toronto's Workman Theatre Project is a non-profit, performing arts company that integrates people who receive mental health services with the professional arts community. Fundamentally, the company seeks to imagine a reconstructed representation of mental illness on stage. Since its incorporation in 1991, the WTP has created over twenty theatrical productions, toured inter-provincially, provided performing arts training to hundreds of people, supported a playwrights' circle and acted as a centre for the exchange of professional and experiential perspectives on mental illness in the community. Over the years, company productions have used theatre to explore a wide range of issues related to mental illness. These include, for example, schizophrenia and the use of police force, cross-cultural conceptions of mental illness and Japanese-Canadian immigrant experience, the role of the asylum in local history, and depression in view of the decision to use or not use antidepressants. By examining the WTP's history, practice and several important productions, it is possible to elucidate emerging strategies in the company's work for representing mental illness. Broadly, these strategies have tended to privilege voices of particular experiences of mental illness and emphasize infinite variety rather than stability within these experiences. The company's representations have also challenged traditional aesthetic stereotypes about madness and disrupted the historical patterns for mental illness representation outlined by such cultural theorists as Sander Gilman, Lillian Feder and Roy Porter. This thesis seeks to understand these representational strategies, compare them one with another, and examine their place within the theatre's history. Research for this thesis is based on materials from the company's archives, critical press, related theoretical material and interviews with WTP members, staff and associated artists.
Whither the community in community health centres?: the limits of primary care reform

The purpose of this research was to demonstrate the limits of reform in a capitalist society, and in particular, how 'reform' in the health care system has reproduced power relations. This objective was accomplished through a historical analysis of the development of community health centres (CHCs) in Ontario and a case study of one urban CHC. The development of CHCs in Ontario is documented from the conception of the first centre in 1963 until the Conservative government implemented its cutbacks to the health centres in 1997. The characteristic that has distinguished CHCs from all other models of primary care has been community participation and in particular, community governance. The second aim of this thesis was to describe the development of policies and directions pertaining to the role of the community in the CHC, as well as to investigate how these directions have been interpreted and implemented at the local level. The results indicate that the community health centre's place on the periphery of the health care system can be understood in terms of the existing structure of power and privilege in Ontario's health care system. The CHC program was a concession to both urban poor and ethnic minorities whose needs were not being served by the traditional model of health care delivery and to a segment of a professional-managerial class which has challenged the existing health care system in an effort to achieve particular benefits and privileges. Yet, while enshrined in a rhetoric of health promotion, community participation, and cost containment, the CHC program was developed within a capitalist structure of power and privilege. Specifically, by restricting the beneficiaries of the program to the poor and disadvantaged, the program was marginalized to foster dominant interests; that is, to ensure the predominance of the curative, physician-dominated, technologically and market-oriented health care system. Further, at the expense of the community and consumer participation, CHC policies and directions pertaining to governance and the role of the consumers have, in fact, supported professionals in their quest to expand their presence and power in the health care system.
Canadian pharmacy students' knowledge of herbal medicine

Background. Pharmacists are optimally positioned to provide information on herbal medicines to consumers. Methods. Herbal medicine tests assessing students' knowledge were distributed to all fourth year pharmacy students at five pharmacy schools in Canada. Results. Students at British Columbia and Alberta had the highest mean scores on the test of herbal knowledge, followed by Nova Scotia, Quebec and Ontario. Herbal knowledge test score was positively associated with having previously taken an herbal medicine class, p
Lithium protects the rodent amygdala from neuronal and molecular effects of chronic stress

Bipolar disorder (BD) is a debilitating psychiatric illness, yet its etiology remains poorly understood. Stress contributes to the emergence and recurrence of BD, therefore neuronal and molecular actions of the mood-stabilizing drug lithium were investigated using a chronic restraint stress (CRS) paradigm in rodents. Based on previous findings, it was hypothesized that lithium would protect the rat amygdala against stress-induced dendritic hypertrophy, as well as decreased levels of phosphorylated CREB (pCREB) protein and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) mRNA transcripts. As expected, lithium treatment prevented CRS-induced dendritic hypertrophy, and reversed a decrease in the number of pCREB-positive cells and density of pCREB-induced BDNF mRNA transcripts in the basolateral and lateral amygdala. The results of this thesis support the neuroprotection hypothesis of lithium action, and suggest that CRS is a useful model within which to study the effects of lithium on changes in neuroplasticity relevant to BD.
Determinants of membrane protein folding

Due to the challenges of insolubility, aggregation, and purification presented by membrane proteins in structure determination, it is important to develop alternative methods for elucidating their final folds. In particular, since few membrane protein high-resolution structures are available, it would be of value to be able to predict the three-dimensional conformation arising from the transmembrane (TM) helical segment(s) of a membrane protein largely on the basis of the protein primary sequence. In order to predict this structure and its stability, it is necessary to evaluate the principal energetic contributions in the folding process, including helix-helix, helix-lipid, and lipid-lipid interactions. To this end, this thesis examines sequence motifs and packing interactions both between TM helices, and between the TM helix and the lipid acyl chains of the surrounding phospholipid bilayer. By using a de novo designed hydrophobic hairpin as a model, it was found that helix-helix association exists as a delicate balance of forces consisting predominantly of electrostatic and van der Waals interactions. In situations where hydrophobic van der Waals packing energy between helices is sufficient to prevent significant rotation about the major axes of interacting helices, we found that intra-hairpin side chain - side chain hydrogen bond formation occurred mainly when pairs of polar residues were interfacially located and proximal. The role of lipid in helix-helix associations was also addressed; we showed a strong inverse correlation between non-polar group lipid accessibility and dimer affinity in both glycophonn A (GpA) and M13 coat protein (MCP) Gly-xxx-Gly (GG4) motif-mediated homodimers, suggesting that lipid can act as a poor membrane protein solvent---conceptually analogous to water in soluble protein folding---and thus can contribute to dimer stability. In a further study of both GpA and MCP homodimers, we demonstrated that centrally located GG4 motifs are capable of stronger helix-helix interactions than those proximal to TM helix ends even while surrounding interfacial residues are maintained, indicating that relative importance of the TM context of GG4 motifs in stabilizing helix-helix interactions. These overall findings are interpreted in terms of progress toward prediction of helix-helix interaction strength in the folding and assembly of membrane proteins.
Caribbean-Canadian adolescents' perceptions of teacher influence on their personal development

The relationships among 50 Caribbean-Canadian adolescents' perceptions of their teachers' interpersonal attitudes and actions in general and as they pertain to issues of race and adolescents' self-esteem and ethnic identity development were examined. The students responded to questions about their perceptions of teacher-student interactions and to questions relating to three hypothetical scenarios. Both quantitative and qualitative techniques were used to analyse the data. The analyses revealed that teachers were perceived to be the least influential people in the participants' lives, in comparison to significant others. The results of the study indicated that although the students had positive interactions with their teachers they still perceived prejudice within their schools, as well as within their classrooms. Further, self-esteem was positively associated with their perceptions of their teacher-student interactions, while there were no significant associations with ethnic identity. The analyses also exposed gender differences that confirmed published research.

Keywords: West Indians, Education
West Indians, Canada
Teacher-student relationships
Motivation in education
High school teachers, Canada
Knowing in our bones: exploring the embodied knowledge of somatic educators

This thesis examines the personal experiences, understandings, and values of somatic practitioners in relation to their work and to the field of somatic education. The embodied knowledge of four somatic educators—a teacher of Alexander Technique®, a Trager® practitioner, a certified movement analyst who teaches Bartenieff Fundamentals® , and a practitioner of Gestalt Somatics—is investigated through a process of dialogue, interaction, and lived experience.

Keywords: Psychophysiology
Counselors
Teaching
Medicine, Psychosomatic
Perceptual-motor processes
The community genetics of plant-arthropod interactions: The importance of genetic variation and evolution in Oenothera biennis (Onagraceae) for its arthropod community

As a whole, my thesis suggests that there is a dynamic interplay between ecological and evolutionary processes within plant-arthropod communities, and that genetic variation and evolution within plant populations can be one of the most important factors shaping community patterns.Community genetics research has led to the hypothesis that genetic variation and evolution in one species can have cascading ecological effects throughout entire communities. I test this hypothesis using a native plant (Oenothera biennis) that plays host to a diverse community of over 150 arthropod species. I manipulated plant genetic variation in a series of field experiments and found that genotypic differences among individual plants affected the abundance and population dynamics of arthropod species, and shaped the composition, diversity, and abundance of entire arthropod communities on plants. Genetic variation in several plant traits was strongly correlated with the observed variation in the arthropod community. Plant genotype often had a larger impact on the structure of arthropod communities than ecological factors typically identified as most important in community ecology (e.g., environment variation, competition, mutualisms, etc.). The effects of plant genotype on arthropod communities were typically independent of variation in other biotic factors (e.g., density-dependent population growth, mutualistic interactions, competition), but highly dependent on variation in abiotic factors. Based on these results, I predicted that the amount of genetic diversity within plant populations, and not just the genetic differences between individual plants, could control the diversity and abundance of arthropods. By manipulating the number of plant genotypes within plant populations, I discovered that increased genotypic diversity leads to a greater diversity and abundance of arthropods, as well as increased plant fitness (lifetime fruit production). The community-level effects of plant genetic variation were accompanied by natural selection on plant traits correlated with the diversity and abundance of arthropods. Using phenotypic and genotypic selection analyses, I show that natural selection acting on O. biennis is predicted to cause an evolutionary response within plant populations, and an ecological change in the structure of arthropod communities.
(Un)learning oppression through the body: toward an embodied critical pedagogy

Through narrative and somatic inquiry, this thesis examines and documents the lived embodied experiences and understandings of five people who self-identify as oppressed. It explores the somatic impact of their experiences of oppression—how they embody oppressive social conditions through their non-verbal interactions, and how oppression affects their relationship with their body. The participants' narratives suggest that (1) the embodied experience of oppression is multidimensional, (2) there is a relationship between the somatic effects of trauma and embodied responses to oppression, (3) body language plays an important role in navigating oppressive interactions, (4) oppression affects body image, and (5) the body is an important source of knowledge and power in unlearning oppression. These new insights and knowledge are situated in the related fields of education, sociology and psychology. Implications for diversity and equity issues in teaching and learning are then discussed, and a model of embodied critical pedagogy is proposed.
Ethical policy analysis in an age of risk, uncertainty, and futurity

Once dominated by approaches based on positivist assumptions, the field of policy analysis has diversified in recent times. Policy analysis now includes numerous perspectives on the processes of policy formulation, implementation, and evaluation. Many of these approaches derive from self-consciously defined schools of ethics. This dissertation surveys three generalized approaches to ethical policy analysis and evaluates them in light of moral dilemmas arising in the case of nuclear waste management policy in Canada. Its central argument is that an adequate approach to ethical policy analysis contains the philosophical tools necessary to address the moral problems of defining risk and understanding safety, identifying obligations to both existing and future generations, and conceptualizing legitimacy-conferring policy processes. Neither welfare utilitarianism nor modern deontology is sufficiently equipped, each containing philosophical elements of the good that beg further determination in actual policy contexts. Only the deliberative/discursive approach contains convincing conceptions of justice and the good, as well as a convincing conception of legitimacy, that provide for the justifiable resolution of debates about the moral foundations of public policy. Responding to challenges in the case of nuclear waste management in ways more comprehensive and more justifiable than both utilitarianism and deontology, discursive policy analysis promises to be an effective approach in other cases associated with risk, uncertainty, and futurity.
The effectiveness of orientations as an alternative to traditional hazing practices

This dissertation described two major research themes. The first was an assessment of the perceived effectiveness of alternative types of orientation activities by the participants such as co-operative games, ropes courses and team building activities, as substitutes for more traditional forms of initiating first-year players onto varsity teams. (The past practices have included numerous hazing ceremonies involving degradation, humiliation and abuse which the candidates were forced to endure in order to secure their social place within their team community). The second theme explored in this project involved the development of communitas, membership and bonding of participants to their teams and team mates as a result of going through an alternative form of orientation. It focussed on the need for groups to maintain entry rituals in a bid to address the tensions around belonging, identification and masculinity. This was a qualitative study involving varsity athletes and coaches from teams that included males and females in each of hockey, volleyball, badminton, and basketball. The orientation ceremony was found to be an effective replacement for traditional forms of entry rituals as it creates a more egalitarian plane which diminishes veteran-rookie power imbalances, restructures the team hierarchy and allows for a more democratic environment. These orientation characteristics forge a deeper bond among players and coaches who opt to participate. Although all traditional forms of hazing were not completely eliminated after their orientation event on the teams that participated, it was effective in humanizing the first year players and creating a kinship which did lessen the extent to which they were hazed during their team organized ceremony.

Keywords: Hazing
Initiation rites
Sports teams, Social aspects
Solidarity
A contingent valuation and travel cost model comparison of the net economic benefits of wilderness canoeing in Temagami

Increasing demand on natural resources and changing societal values has led economists to develop a variety of methods to estimate a dollar value for non-marketed goods. Two of these methods that have seen extensive use over the last few decades are the travel cost method and the contingent valuation method. The purpose of this thesis was to measure the net economic benefits of wilderness canoeing in Temagami, Ontario, using both the travel cost and contingent valuation methods. A survey, designed to collect the data necessary to apply both a zonal travel cost model and a dichotomous choice contingent valuation model, was conducted in Temagami during the summer of 1994. The results of both methods show that considerable benefits accrue to both residents and non-residents from this particular use of the Temagami wilderness. The travel cost and contingent valuation models yielded results of $16.20 per person per day and $38.29 per person per day respectively.
Hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon thin film growth in the DC saddle field PECVD system

Hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) and microcrystalline silicon (muc-Si:H) thin films were grown at the threshold of the amorphous-to-microcrystalline phase transition in a modified direct current (DC) saddle field plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition (SF-PECVD) system. For the first time, the microcrystalline content of the resulting films was successfully controlled through direct manipulation of the substrate surface bias during growth. This effect was quantified for multiple pressures. The as-grown microcrystalline content and the laser-induced crystallization of the films was quantified using Raman scattering spectroscopy. The optoelectronic and morphological properties of the films were measured. These measurements included UV-Vis and IR spectroscopy, temperature-dependent four-point conductivity, photoluminescence, atomic force microscopy, and spectroscopic ellipsometry. All measurements correlated well with the microcrystalline content of the films. The growth of muc-Si:H in an ion-bombarding environment was modeled using a general formalism applicable to all methods of muc-Si:H growth. The simulation results of the model showed good qualitative agreement to experimental findings from this work as well as the literature. The operation of the SF-PECVD system using a large-area externally applied substrate bias was examined under varying conditions and new limitations to the large area application of substrate bias were discovered. Three previously unidentified plasma operation regimes were identified that explain the role of substrate bias in controlling microcrystalline growth. A methodology for the design of SF-PECVD systems for the growth of muc-Si:H was described.
The design and construction of a Bose-Einstein condensation apparatus

This work describes the design and construction of the Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) apparatus at the University of Toronto. The aim of the experiment is to create a Bose-Einstein condensate out of a vapour cloud of 87Rb atoms using a combination of laser cooling, magnetic trapping and evaporative cooling. The design and construction of all of the constituent parts necessary for the realization of these techniques are described in this work. The apparatus consists of two magneto-optical traps (MOTs, whereby the atoms are collected from a background vapour into the first MOT, and then transferred into the second MOT, which is in a region of ultra-high vacuum (
Character education - a health belief model: bridging the gap between character education health education

This thesis examines character education in relation to two important health frameworks: the health belief model and the model of health promotion schools. A case is made for an approach to character education that is more than a course of study, more than a set of lessons. Rather it is presented as a way of life modeled in the way students are taught and in the ways in which they interact with each other, with teachers and with curriculum content. The health belief model, typically limited to the explanation of health related behaviours, is expanded to include a critical and transformational approach to health, which is shown to be consistent with a constructivist view of character education. It is argued that health education and character education are inextricably linked, existing essentially as one in the same.

Keywords: Moral education
Health education
Social sciences, Study and teaching