VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
The implications of intellectual property rights for firm strategy and organizational choice

This thesis consists of a set of essays analyzing the influence of intellectual property on different aspects of firm behaviour. Chapter 2 considers the effects of the degree of patent protection on firm organization. In bilateral arrangements, the threat of imitation influences the division of surplus and thus the incentive to make specific investments. Stronger property rights can make the imitation of lower-quality products less profitable. When investments influence expected product quality, this can lead to a disincentive to invest on the part of the patent-holder. For relatively low levels of patent protection, a strengthening of the property right may lead to results opposite those predicted by the traditional theory; contracting parties may also be made worse off by an increase in patent strength. Chapter 3 characterizes the competitive effects of some common licensing contracts. I show that if firms compete in markets that are related to, but distinct from the market for a patented good, there may be a strong incentive to license the patented product with an intrabrand restraint on price or territory. Since firms will internalize the effects of demand for the patented good on the prices of related goods, contracts that fix the final price of the patented good are generally anticompetitive; the effects of exclusive territory contracts are less severe. I derive conditions under which simple royalty contracts also can be used to influence prices in related markets for unpatented goods. The final essay analyzes the effects of Canada's 1989 'Patent Act' reform on firm behaviour. A set of hypotheses based on pre-existing theoretical models of priority and disclosure policies are developed and tested using a unique sample of Canadian manufacturing firms. I find evidence to support the priority hypotheses: the move to the first-to-file priority rule appears to have induced an increase in R&D spending and patenting intensity. The disclosure hypothesis is not supported: smaller firms did not differentially decrease R&D following the introduction of public application disclosure.
Extended dynamic network modelling

In order to design, maintain and operate a distribution system, one must first understand how it will perform when subjected to different external hydraulic loads. This understanding is often complicated by the complex and dynamic behaviour of modern systems. This thesis presents a hybrid model which couples a transient simulator with a time-stepping method and which tracks system conditions over an extended period. To do this, short transient simulations are run at different points in an extended time step to gather information on changes in a system so as to advance the solution to the next extended step. The hybrid model can help link unsteadiness with its associated costs (i.e., design, repair, etc.) Some extended period and worst-case simulations are performed in a numerical test to show the model's routing accuracy and its ability to identify the critical state which will produce the most severe transients in a system.
Sliding mode control of switched reluctance motors

The objective of this thesis is to design a simple nonlinear controller for stabilization of switched reluctance (SR) machines. The nonlinearities in the torque production of SR machines and the complicated model for the magnetization characteristics are the major problems in designing a simple controller that guarantees stability and robustness of SR machines. In this thesis, the nonlinear sliding mode control design method is employed to guarantee the stability of speed tracking control in SR machines. In addition, a control design method that utilizes minimal information on magnetization characteristics is developed. The resulting controller requires simple computations which are beneficial in practical implementations.
Range and endurance optimization of a sailplane gliding through atmospheric turbulence

This research was conducted to numerically investigate the effect of atmospheric turbulence in sailplane design. A Schleicher ASK 23 was employed as a base model. Longitudinal dynamics were investigated and MATLAB$\sp\circler$ programs were developed to analyse the sailplane's response to the Dryden model of turbulence in the control-fixed case and automatically controlled case. Then, variations to the design were attempted such as modifying its stabiliser location and size, mass moment of inertia (pitch wise), static margin, and scale to optimise the standard deviation of angle of attack from nominal performance values. However, the original design, i.e. ASK 23, already fell in the "optimal region". A simple automatic control was then implemented. It suggested a possibility of performance enhancement via artificial stability as opposed to modification of inherent stability. The procedures and computer codes developed during the course of this research can be of significant use in the future design of aircraft concerned with stability and performance in turbulence.
Effects of human milk and formula on the expression of cytochrome P450s in cell lines

Human milk has an intimate relation with the health of an infant. A linkage between breast-feeding and pharmacokinetics in infants has been indicated from an observation that breast-fed infants had slower caffeine metabolism compared with formula-fed infants. Since caffeine is mainly metabolized by CYP3A4 and CYP1A2, we hypothesized that human milk would inhibit the expression of these enzymes or that formula would induce their expression. We examined the effects of human milk and formula on the expression of CYP3A4, CYP1A2 and their related genes in a cell culture model of liver (HepG2) and intestine (C2BBe1) cells. The mRNA of CYP3A4 and CYP1A2 was induced by formula but not by human milk in HepG2 cells. In C2BBe1 cells, CYP3A4 mRNA was induced by human milk but not by formula. These findings suggest that human milk may affect oral drug bioavailability and formula may influence drug biotransformation rate, which is helpful in interpreting the above clinical observation.
A visual model for blast waves and fracture

Explosions generate extreme forces and pressures. They cause massive displacement, deformation and breakage of nearby objects. The chief damage mechanism of high explosives is the blast wave which they generate. A practical theory of explosives, blast waves and blast loading of structures is presented. This is used to develop a simplified visual model of explosions for use in computer graphics. A heuristic propagation model is developed which takes object occlusions into account when determining loading. The study of fracture mechanics is summarized. This is used to develop a fracture model that is significantly different from those previously used in computer graphics. This model propagates cracks within planar surfaces to generate fragmentation patterns. Visual results are presented, including the explosive destruction of a brick wall and the shattering of a window.
The role of expectation as a mediator of reasoning behaviour

The Wason selection task (Wason, 1966) is a reasoning task where performance has often appeared to be suboptimal according to the norms of logic and hypothesis testing (Popper, 1959). The Theory of Relevance (Sperber and Wilson, 1986) has recently been used to explain performance on the selection task (Sperber, Cara & Girotto, 1995). The present study involves two experiments where variations of the selection task are used to test the Relevance account against two other current theories of reasoning--the modularity account (Cummins, 1996a) and the theory of mental models (Johnson-Laird & Byrne, 1991). The results of both experiments favour the Relevance account. The account is also compared favourably with two other theories of reasoning--the dual processing account (Evans & Over, 1996) and the subjective expected utility account (Kirby, 1994). Compatibility is noted with aspects of the general dual processing framework (Evans & Over, 1996; Sloman, 1996).
Effects of tryptophan depletion on central and peripheral chemoreflexes in man

'Background'. Klein (1993) suggests that panic attacks are the result of a defective "suffocation alarm" threshold that presents with carbon dioxide (CO2) hypersensitivity, exaggerated ventilatory response and panic in panic disorder (PD) patients. Serotonin is expected to normalize the "suffocation alarm" threshold and associated CO2 hypersensitivity. Current research supports both 5-HT-mediated increases and decreases of ventilatory output. Knowledge of serotonin's role on ventilatory output and its neuroanatomical sources impacts on the "suffocation alarm" theory validity and predictive value. ' Method'. We used tryptophan depletion (TRP-) in concert with a modified Read rebreathing test to determine the effect of deficient serotonergic modulation on the central and peripheral chemoreflex threshold and sensitivity of response to CO2 in eleven healthy men. 'Results'. TRP- did not affect central or peripheral chemoreflex threshold or sensitivity of response to CO2. However, basal ventilation was significantly elevated during TRP-. 'Conclusions'. In contrast to "suffocation alarm" theory predictions, deficient 5-HT neurotransmission does not significantly affect the respiratory chemoreflex response to CO2, instead increasing non-chemoreflex drives to breathe. Panic associated respiratory abnormalities may be related to deranged 5-HT modulation of non-chemoreflex drives to breathe, unrelated to any respiratory chemoreflex abnormality.
The experience of teaching with Multiple Sclerosis, an emerging blend of theory with practice

The purpose of this research was to explore the experience of teaching with a disability. More specifically, I intended to describe and understand the experience of teaching with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). At the outset of this research endeavor, I aimed to explore some of the following questions: what is it about the nature of a teacher's work which makes it challenging for one with Multiple Sclerosis? How does having MS influence one's ability to carry out teaching responsibilities? How does it positively, or negatively, affect the teaching experience? What resources and support networks are available to, and desired by, teachers with MS? Finally, what recommendations do teachers have for improving the environment in which they work, so that it may be more accessible, comfortable and supportive for them and, perhaps, for teachers with similar disabilities? On the basis of my epistemological and ontological assumptions, I chose a qualitative approach for carrying out the research at hand. From the many qualitative models which guide human science inquiry, I chose an approach which merges the aims of, and perspectives underpinning, phenomenological and heuristic modes of inquiry. While I intended to explore the experience of teaching with MS from the perspectives of those who had lived it, I also hoped to acquire enhanced self-knowledge and self-understanding in relation to my own teaching experience, from the vantage point of coping with a disability. Three in-depth phenomenologically based interviews were carried out with four teachers who have Multiple Sclerosis. Focus group sessions were also held with all of them, which served to complement the data gathered from the interviews and ensure consistency therein. Having immersed myself in teachers' stories of experience, I gradually discovered them coming together around a passion for work and desire to stay there. Hence, the question unfolded: How can teachers, who have MS, stay in their profession and hold onto well-being? In other words, the desire to give to and be sustained through their work came forth as a puzzling dilemma in need of practical solutions. Naturally, from there, practical answers for teachers, fellow colleagues, school boards as a whole and insurance carriers, were voiced. Implications were then drawn. Personal along with professional next steps were also taken. As one of those steps came forward as the beginning of a support group for teachers who have MS, the valuable contributions this thesis makes in both theory and practice were revisited and, thereby, acknowledged.
Viscosity of radial hydrogenated styrene-isoprene and block ethylene-propylene copolymer solutions under conditions of high shear rate and small channel size

In many lubrication applications, polymer containing lubricating oils are subject to conditions of high shear rates through small clearance channels. The objectives of this study are to design and construct two viscometers, each capable of independently examining one of these conditions, and then to use them to characterize the high shear rate and channel size dependent viscosity of two polymer additives, a radial hydrogenated styrene-isoprene copolymer and an A-B-A type block ethylene-propylene copolymer. During the capillary viscometer high shear rate tests the styrene-isoprene additive exhibited significant shear thinning, while the more highly concentrated ethylenepropylene solutions showed a region of shear thickening. Using the specially designed microchannel viscometer a viscosity dependence on channel size was observed for all solutions. In the upper shear rate range (>500 l/s) the smaller channels exhibited a lower viscosity while in the lower shear rate range all solutions exhibited a significant increase in viscosity.
Computer-aided collaboration in a graduate-level music analysis course, an exploration of legitimate peripheral participation

This thesis investigates the potential of Legitimate Peripheral Participation (LPP) combined with Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) to promote learning at the university graduate level. Students in a Schenkerian analysis class used computer conferencing to form a supportive local community, and the World Wide Web to post their work in an Internet journal. Initial interest in the efficacy of CMC, collaboration, and impact of the social community was extended to include emergent issues identified as important by the students. Qualitative case study methodology was used to investigate lessons about teaching and learning learned by and from the students, acknowledging the importance of student voice and seeking to account for the disparity of teacher-student power. The researcher carried out participant observation for the entire semester, with bi-weekly survey questionnaires and final private interviews with each student and the professor. Data were scrutinized to identify such emergent issues as the importance of career aspirations in learning goals and significantly different perceptions about their experience from their professor. Implementing an LPP model, a local community was established outside of class hours using computer conferencing to discuss class issues and prepare for the next class. During the first half of the semester, students had the option to collaborate on five analysis assignments, and were encouraged to collaborate, post, and discuss each other's work on-line. In the second half the students wrote individual articles that were peer-critiqued before inclusion in an Internet journal, which was created and edited by the students. Although the results of this exploratory study are only suggestive, findings do indicate that participation in a local community has benefits for learning for graduate students, and that CMC can play a valuable part in the formation of such a community. Work on a student-led journal can focus learning for an entire semester and lead to high-quality work as well as an entry point into the community of professional practice. The study also suggests that students can make valuable contributions to each other's learning and that further research on allowing them more latitude in controlling their education is warranted.
Modelling and analysis of retrofitted reinforced concrete structures

Over the last two years, two nonlinear finite element programs, originally developed at the University of Toronto, have been modified and improved in order to account for the chronology of loading, damage and repair. VecTor2 (for 2-D membranes) and VecTor3 (for 3-D solids) are based on the equilibrium, compatibility and constitutive relations established by the Modified Compression Field Theory (Vecchio and Collins, 1986). In order to corroborate the accuracy of these two programs, test data is required. Thus, a 3-D shear wall previously tested and failed under cyclic loading at the Structures Laboratory of the University of Toronto (Palermo, 1999), was repaired and retested until failure with a monotonically applied load. Also, various experiments related to repaired concrete structures published in the literature were modelled and analysed with these programs. The test results, along with the experimental responses published elsewhere and considered for this study, represent a valuable amount of data to corroborate these programs.
Why information privacy and the employment relationship don't mix: Workplace e-mail and Internet monitoring in the United Kingdom and Canada

This thesis is a comparative study of the law relating to workplace e-mail and internet monitoring in the United Kingdom and Canada. The thesis begins by considering why information privacy is important and how it applies to the workplace. Chapters two and three analyse the law in the United Kingdom and Canada, which is shown to be incoherent and contradictory. Chapter four examines how concepts central to the definition of privacy are deliberately being applied to the employment relationship in such a way as to result in contracting-out of the right of privacy, so failing to treat information privacy as a constraint on freedom of contract. Proportionality is proposed as a preferable way of reconciling employee rights with employer interests. In the concluding chapter it is suggested that the reluctance to recognise information privacy rights in employment is due to the fact that privacy protection involves a direct interference with management prerogative.
Oxygen transport properties of highly-doped perovskite-type ferrite oxides under high and low oxygen chemical potentials

Diffusion coefficients and surface activation coefficients for samples of La0.2Sr0.8FeO3-d and La0.2Sr 0.8Cr0.2Fe0.8O3-d were determined with the Isotope Exchange Depth Profiling/Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (IEDP/SIMS) method for high oxygen partial pressure atmospheres (20% O2 in Ar) low oxygen partial pressure atmospheres (CO:CO2 = 1, 5% each in Ar, Ne). A method for distinguishing surface reaction pathways from gas composition and depth profile data in CO/CO2 atmospheres is presented. Results show no significant gain in the transport properties at low partial pressures, indicating offsetting effects of increased oxygen vacancies versus vacancy ordering. Addition of chromium to the B-site resulted in no significant change in the transport properties. Under reducing atmospheres the samples showed high levels of Sr segregation to the surface, possibly lowering the surface activation rate despite the increase in surface area. Sodium was also observed on the surface but its source was unknown.
Functional characterization of the Fanconi anemia group C (FANCC) protein during apoptosis in factor-dependent hematopoietic progenitor cells

The rare autosomal recessive disease Fanconi Anemia (FA) is characterized by progressive bone marrow failure, congenital malformations and elevated cancer susceptibility. Cells derived from FA patients exhibit chromosomal instability, hypersensitivity to DNA cross-linking agents and oxygen and an increased predisposition to undergo apoptosis. FA is genetically heterogeneous, with at least seven complementation groups (FA-A through FA-G). The gene defective in FA-C patients ('FANCC') lacks significant homology with other known genes and its function is poorly defined. Here I demonstrate that the 'FANCC' gene plays an essential role in ensuring the survival of hematopoietic cells following growth factor deprivation. Using retroviral-mediated gene transfer, I present evidence that overexpression of the 'FANCC ' gene in the interleukin-3 (IL-3) dependent hematopoietic progenitor cells lines, 32D and MO7e, suppresses apoptosis induced by IL-3 withdrawal. Overexpression of 'FANCC' in both cell lines promotes increased viability rather than proliferation after growth factor deprivation. In order to elucidate the role of the FANCC protein in IL-3 deprivation-induced apoptosis, a 25 kDa FANCC-interacting protein was purified from 32D cell lysates and identified as Glutathione S-Transferase P1-1 (GSTP1). Overexpression of GSTP1 by retroviral mediated gene transfer significantly delays the onset of apoptosis in 32D cells following IL-3 deprivation. Coexpression of both FANCC and GSTP1 in 32D cells confers dramatically higher resistance to apoptosis compared to cells expressing FANCC or GSTP1 alone. GST activity is significantly elevated in 32D cells overexpressing FANCC, particularly after IL-3 withdrawal. Furthermore, overexpression of either FANCC or GSTP1 prevents the loss of the endogenous antioxidant glutathione (GSH) during apoptosis. However, depletion of GSH abolishes the ability of GSTP1 but not FANCC to inhibit apoptosis. FANCC functions by inhibiting the oxidation of GSTP1 during apoptosis, even in the absence of GSH. These findings identify GSTP1, an enzyme involved in the detoxification of xenobiotics and by-products produced during oxidative stress, as a redox sensitive anti-apoptotic protein regulated by FANCC. Moreover, the prevention of disulfide bond formation by FANCC reveals a new pathway for redox regulation of proteins.
Physical property determination of perfluorinated surfactants

Fluorinated surfactants, perfluorocarboxylic acids in particular, have become increasingly popular in numerous industrial and domestic applications although little is known about their environmental fate. The purpose of the study was to measure the physical properties (vapour pressure, vp, and Henry's Law constant, KH) of the protonated form of perfluorocarboxylic acids. In order to supplement the determination of these physical properties, a series of simple and novel methods for the separation and detection of perfluorocarboxylates and perfluoroalkyl sulfonates by ion chromatogaphy (IC) were developed. Mixtures of perfluorocarboxylates ranging in chain length from perfluoropropionate to perfluorodecanoate, as well as perfluorohexyl sulfonate and perfluorooctyl sulfonate were separated using either an isocratic anion exchange separation method or a gradient reverse phase method. It was found that separation and method application (anion exchange vs. reverse phase) was dependent on the length of the perfluoro portion of these compounds. Anion exchange separation was appropriate for shorter chain compounds while reverse phase was better for longer chained perfluoro compounds. Once developed, the KH was determined using an acidified water method while vp was determined using the boiling point method. Results from the physical property determination experiments show the unique attributes of the carbon--fluorine bond, and the perfluoro chain. Vapour pressure results showed little deviation with increasing perfluoro chain length while Henry's Law constant results showed an inflection in the volatility of perfluorocarboxylic acids, with a maximum value at perfluoropentanoic acid.