VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Employment facilitation programs for professional immigrants in the Greater Toronto area: surveying participants' opinions about the programs

In the context of the aging Canadian labour market and a growing shortage of trained professionals, the social and economic consequences of skilled immigrants working as low skilled labourers is significant. Calling for the provision of more language-training, job-search and self-marketing training programs for newcomers are among the widely proposed solutions that so far dominate the response system in Canada. The view that seeks a "training solution" presumes that the problem is caused primarily by "skill-gaps" between immigrants' skills and job-market requirements, while research as well as anecdotes in the press have long documented the influence of structural, institutional and cultural factors as well. Surveys, including scaled rating, open-ended response format and post-survey conversation with participants were deployed to investigate the effects of employment training programs on the surveyed sample. The interplay of my personal experience with the developing results raised my awareness of the insufficiency of a traditional research approach (testing a hypothesis through observable data) in explaining differences between the employment status of immigrants with almost the same level of personal skills. Opinion surveys of over 200 graduates from nine different EFP programs in the Toronto area confirmed that while the trainees' job-hunting skills improved, the improved skills did not affect their hope of finding relevant jobs. Similarly, my post-survey participants also thought that a lack of connectedness to professionals and Canadian workplaces hindered their access to professional jobs more than gaps in job-hunting skills. Building on Livingstone's argument about the structural causes of under-employment, I suggest that lowering the growing rate of under-employment among skilled immigrants requires a strategic change from the current skill-training focus to collaborative programs to find workplace opportunities for newcomers to enable them to re-connect to their professions and test their own professional capabilities while being tested in a realistic work settings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)
Design and manufacturing of novel microcellular acoustical foams

This work focuses on establishing the scientific and engineering foundations for the design and modeling of novel microcellular acoustical polymeric and ceramic foams and gaining a fundamental understanding of the mechanisms and critical parameters governing their sound absorption behavior. The presented research is particularly intended to broaden the knowledge in the fields of understanding the effects of structure and morphology on the acoustical behavior of microcellular foams. In this context, an attempt has been made to establish rigorous, experimentally validated, theoretical models that describe the phenomena and increase the accuracy of the current sound propagation models by integrating the structure and morphology effects to them for better design of acoustical materials. The major contributions of this thesis include: (i) development of the relation between foaming process parameters and the generated microcellular structure and morphology, (ii) characterization of the control of the foaming process for the production of acoustical foams with various microcellular structures, (iii) characterization of the effects of the structure and morphology on the acoustical behavior of microcellular foams, (iv) performing theoretical studies on the Effects of the morphological parameters on the acoustical behaviors of foams, and hence, (v) the development of a new corrected sound absorption model that accounts for the morphological and structural factors in acoustical modeling of foams, (vi) the application of the newly developed model to adjust accurately the structure and morphology of microcellular foams and optimize their acoustical performances, and (vii) characterization and modeling of novel acoustical microcellular ceramic foams.
Timing analysis in presence of power supply and ground voltage variations

Given the sensitivity of circuit delay to supply and ground voltage values, static timing analysis (STA) must take into account supply voltage variations. Existing STA techniques allow one to verify the timing at different process corners which effectively only consider cases where all the supplies are low or all are high: Cases of mismatch between the supplies of driver and load are not considered. In this work, we consider the supply and ground nodes of a logic gate to be either totally independent variables, or to be directly tied or connected to those of some other gate(s) in the circuit. It is also assumed that the exact supply voltage values are not known exactly, but that only upper/lower bounds on them are known. In this framework, a new timing model for logic gates is proposed and the worst-case voltage configurations for individual gates and for simple paths is identified. Subsequently, an STA technique is given that provides the worst-case circuit delay taking supply variations into account.
Essays on money, search and the underground economy

This thesis examines the effect of household level decisions on the emergence of commodity money. It also studies how micro level decisions and macroeconomic variables interact to impact optimal monetary policy, as well as the extent of tax evasion. The second chapter studies the optimal rate of seigniorage in an economy characterized by bilateral trade and a tax-evading underground sector. Optimal inflation depends on which sector, formal or underground, is more congested with buyers. Calibrated to the economy of Peru, the model predicts that the optimal inflation rate is about 42.6% per annum. This offers a possible motivation for the high rates of inflation observed in that country in the 1980s. A policy that returns this economy to the Friedman rule delivers a welfare loss that is equivalent to a 14% drop in permanent consumption for the representative household. If the formal sector is more congested however, optimal inflation falls to 1.48%, close to the rate observed in 2005. In a progressive tax system, earnings inequality implies differences in marginal tax rates, hence, differences in the marginal incentive of each agent to evade those taxes. Although individual differences in tax evasion incentives can be eliminated by a simple flat tax regime, little is known about the potential effect of such a policy on the tax-evading sector. In the third chapter, I study quantitatively the effect of a revenue-neutral flat tax reform on the degree of tax evasion in the United States. I find that although a flat tax reform brings fundamental changes in the distribution of wealth and formal sector earnings, the relative size of the tax-evading sector is hardly affected. In the first chapter, I show that when goods are perfectly divisible, the fundamental and speculative equilibria of Kiyotaki and Wright (1989) can coexist. I compare these two equilibria in terms of welfare. The speculative equilibrium is always a better lubricated economy with a higher quantity of commodity money circulating. When goods with high storage costs start to circulate, they crowd out the circulation rate of goods with lower storage costs, resulting in a version of Gresham's Law. A direct consequence is that the speculative equilibrium is not Pareto superior.
Computer-assisted screening for intimate partner violence in family practice

The RCT participants in the intervention arm completed a computer-based health risk assessment before seeing their physician. The computer survey included questions on IPV and other health risks. Computer-generated risk reports were attached to patients' medical charts for review by their physician. Participants in the control arm received standard medical care. Data were collected by audio taping the medical visits and an exit survey of patients. The results reveal that the overall prevalence of IPV in the family practice was high; 14.6% in the pencil and paper survey and 13.7% in the RCT study. The RCT demonstrated that, compared to standard medical care, the computer-assisted screening resulted in a 1.8-fold increase in the likelihood of physician and patients discussing IPV risk and the detection of women at risk of IPV increased by a factor of 2.5-fold. Further, RCT participant patients showed acceptance of the computer-assisted screening, after its use. The interviewed physicians perceived computer-assisted screening as most feasible for periodic health exams and follow-up visits, given the existing logistical limitations. Overall, physicians expressed general acceptance of the computer screening. The results provide impetus for improvements in clinical practice, medical training, policy and research to address the issue of IPV. The use of the screening tool may be enhanced by continued research into its generalizability by inclusion of multiple family practice clinics and various primary care settings. The overall aim of the dissertation research was to advance knowledge on the phenomenon of computer-assisted screening for intimate partner violence (IPV) within a Canadian family practice context. A series of inter-linked studies (quantitative and qualitative) was conducted to answer three research questions: (1) what is the effectiveness of computer-assisted screening for increasing physician-patient discussions on and detection of IPV risk? (2) what is the acceptance of computer-assisted screening among patients? and (3) what is the feasibility of computer-assisted screening from the perspectives of family physicians? To answer the first two questions, a randomized controlled trial (RCT) was conducted at an academically-affiliated family practice clinic in Toronto with adult female patients in a current or recent intimate relationship (n = 314). The RCT planning was facilitated by studies in the pre-trial phase (a pencil and paper survey of patients, and a psychometric scale validation). To answer the third question, in-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with the trial physicians (n = 10).
Architecture of the human soleus muscle: three-dimensional computer modelling of cadaveric muscle and ultrasonographic documentation in vivo

The purpose of this study was to visualize and document the architecture of the human soleus muscle throughout its entire volume. The architecture was visualized by creating a three-dimensional manipulatable computer model of an entire cadaveric soleus, in situ, using B-spline solids to display muscle fiber bundles that had been serially dissected, pinned and digitized. A database of fiber bundle length and angle of pennation throughout the marginal, posterior and anterior soleus was compiled from three sources: the computer model, manually measured cadaveric specimens and from ultrasonographic scans of relaxed and contracted muscle of living subjects. The computer model allowed documentation of the architectural parameters in three-dimensional space, with the angle of pennation being measured relative to the tangent plane of the point of attachment of a fiber bundle. The architectural parameters recorded to date have been two-dimensional, like those obtained from the scans and manually measured cadaveric specimens in this study. Three-dimensional reconstruction is an exciting innovation since it provides not only an architectural database but also allows visualization of each fiber bundle in situ from any perspective. It was concluded that the architecture is non-uniform throughout the volume of soleus, the percentage change of the architectural parameters on contraction varies by muscle part and the soleus of females has significantly longer fiber bundles, smaller angles of pennation and is not as thick as the soleus of males. The techniques developed in this thesis provide a novel approach to the study of muscle architecture. Detailed architectural studies may lead to the development of muscle models that can more accurately predict interaction between muscle parts, the effect of pathologic states on muscle function and force generation.
Design and fabrication of a dispensing microarrayer

This thesis presents the design and fabrication of a piezoelectrically actuated non-contact droplet generator for the production of microarrays. A novel dispensing system is presented that can potentially generate an array of same-sized droplets with a droplet volume in the range of 40 ∼ 150 pL at frequencies ranging from 4 - 6 kHz. A system model was developed to calculate the exact volume of the dispensed liquid. Finite element analysis was performed with ANSYS to model the droplet ejection and to design the microdispenser. Silicon micromachining together with photolithography of negative tone photoresist was used to fabricate the main structural layers. A low temperature adhesive-based wafer bonding process was developed and tested to bond different structural layers. Bond strength of 470 erg/cm 2 was found by crack opening method. Leakage, and bond surface inspection tests were also performed results show the bonded area is 80 %.
Long-term structural performance of corroded RC beams repaired with externally bonded CFRP reinforcement

This study investigates the long-term structural performance of shear- and flexure-critical reinforced concrete (RC) beams that have been corroded and repaired with externally bonded carbon fibre-reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites. Seven large-scale RC beams were constructed, five of which were subjected to an accelerated corrosion regime. The resulting corrosion damage was repaired in flexure and shear with CFRP. Four beams were subjected to further corrosion after CFRP application to simulate the effects of long-term exposure. Structural testing of the beams shows that the longitudinal CFRP layer is rendered ineffective after further corrosion exposure. An analytical model is used to predict the flexural response of corroded, CFRP-repaired RC beams. Separate analyses are conducted to account for the deteriorated bond and associated debonding at the CFRP-concrete interface. Khalifa et al.'s model is used to predict the shear capacity of beams strengthened in shear with CFRP.
El otro Borges: Tratamiento matemático del estilo poético

In the first paragraph of the prologue to his Obras completas , Borges informs his reader about the existence of a relation of identity between the poet of 1923 and the poet of 1969. The stated relation of identity is the point of departure of our literary exploration and the primary cause of this thesis. Stylometrics, or the statistical measurement of literary style and literary phenomena, is the research method predominantly used to evaluate the exactitude of the foregoing claim. The balance of the evaluation will be conducted within the framework of traditional literary exposition. Our investigation focuses on four fundamental areas of the poetics of Borges distributed in the following works: Fervor de Buenos Aires; Luna de enfrente; Cuaderno San Martín; El hacedor, El otro, el mismo; Elogio de la sombra. The areas in question are the following: the constitution of the word; word type; verse type; the meaning of the word. The thesis is divided into four chapters. Chapter one deals with the discrete variable ‘constition of the word.’ Hence, the tests performed on the variable are parametric: ANOVA and Null Hypotheses tests. Chapter two deals with the qualitative variable ‘word type.’ The tests, consequently, are nonparametric: χ2-Homogeneity and Goodness-of-Fit tests. Chapter three deals with two qualitative variables, namely, ‘verse type’ and ‘the meaning of the word.’ The tests performed on both variables are also nonparametric: Spearman's Rank Correlation Coefficient. Some statistical results vindicate the author's claim. Chapter four offers two complementary and yet contrasting explanations within the framework of traditional literary exposition: one, a rather general illustration of what is actuated in the entire statistical cycle; the other, a particularised, pervasive and protracted explanation of the findings of one test of the last stage of the cycle. The latter explanation coerces an in-depth scrutiny of the intertextualities in the poetics of Borges, in other words, the perceived (or conjectured) influence of theological postulates, historic phenomena, descriptive mathematics, id est plane and solid geometry, classical literary and philosophical sources and, foremost, philosophy as an expression of higher love.
Gay men's health: A social constructionist analysis of academic literature and men's talk about the health of gay men

At the close of the third decade of the AIDS epidemic, there is renewed interest in the once dormant field of gay men's health. Resurfacing in the 1990s, the term "gay men's health" has cropped up in numerous arenas including government policy, academic literature, popular press, and community organising. In this dissertation, I explore the social construction of gay men's health. I specifically draw on gay men's health literature and interview talk not as a resource for what they can tell us about the health of gay men, but as data. Using social constructionism and discourse analysis, I analyse these data to explore (a) how the disciplinary practices of gay men's health are constructed in the academic literature and (b) how the health of gay men is constructed in talk. In Part II, I report on the findings from analyses of interview talk about the health of gay men. In particular, I explore two salient accounts in gay men's health: substance abuse and HIV/AIDS. I show that the interviewees harness these accounts to manage their accountability for engaging in the very behaviours that gay men's health seeks to prevent. I also show that the interviewees are explicitly concerned with avoiding individualised explanations for their health. In the conclusion, I summarise the findings in relation to the research questions and discuss the implications of my research for constructionist and discursive research, gay men's health, and gay oppression, and I offer suggestions for future research in gay men's health. The findings are divided into two sections. In Part I, I explore how the health of gay men is constructed in the literature and how these constructions promote particular ideologies, as well as theoretical, and epistemological interests. First, I explore the types of claims about the health of gay men reported in the literature and how they reveal a firm commitment to positivist-empiricism and the scientific method. Second, by highlighting constructions of gay oppression, gay oppression as a determinant of health, and health interventions directed toward gay men, I show how gay men's health is fundamentally individualistic.
The Universe is a Horse: autopoietic education for technoprosaic times : an applied mythology

My masters thesis: "A Chronicle of Stumbles: The Nature of Nature in the Learning Game", explored heuristic knowledge patterns and promoted a constructivist approach to curriculum development. My doctoral dissertation investigates motives for learning and develops a theory of education based partially on Popper and Campbell's concept of evolutionary epistemology (the biological nature of complex adaptive systems) through a series of personal, practical, and pedagogical examples. The theory, which I call 'autopoietic education', extrapolates advances in quantum physics that view the world as a self-manifesting organism. The consequence for education is a realignment of educational paradigms towards, local, contested, democratic, vertically integrated practices that are student initiated and nature framed. The style of the dissertation is polymorphic and literary. chapters 1 to 3 begin with a dialogue of comingled voices of poetry and academic prose, resolve with insights into the educational relevance of quantum theory, and extend into a defense of multiple literacies. This sets the conceptual stage for chapters 4 to 7 detailing practical explorations into the synthesis of arts and science in theme-based curriculum, investigations into practical examples of autopoietic education in a variety of learning institutions, and a summary of principles of autopoietic education supported by the works of John Dewey, Maria Montessori, Rudolf Steiner, Mihaly Csikszentmihaly, David Booth, Jack Miller, David Selby, David Bohm, and a host of illustrious others. The primary title of this dissertation: The Universe is a Horse, is consciously transgressive of conventional standards and positions personal mythology as root of the learning impulse. (Reproduced with permission of ProQuest LLC.) (edited)
Reproductive behaviour and larval development of Monochamus scutellatus scutellatus (Say) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) in three pine species from the Great Lakes Forest Region

This study investigated the reproductive behaviour and larval development of Monochamus scutellatus scutellatus (Say) infesting Pinus banksiana L., P. resinosa Ait., and P. strobus Lamb. in laboratory and field settings. The reproductive aspects included mating and ovipositing behaviour. For mating behaviour, laboratory and field results suggest that neither female nor male beetles selected mates based on body size. For ovipositing behaviour, ovipositional rate and density on the three pine hosts were similar. Oviposition rates were greatest by heavy females. Acceptance of an oviposition site (measured by the presence of an egg) was greatest in large stem diameters, and thin outer bark. Oviposition scars and eggs within host stems were distributed in an aggregated to random pattern. Larval development in M. s. scutellatus was greatest in P. resinosa and least in P. banksiana; larval growth was influenced primarily by inner bark thickness. The current study increases the understanding of the reproductive behaviour of M. s. scutellatus and allows for the improvement of ecologically-based pest management methods. Mass trapping may be enhanced if trap placement is extended to areas where beetles are feeding, because beetles were found mating in feeding as well as ovipositing areas. In addition, my results suggest that host logs, but specifically P. resinosa with thin outer bark or thick inner bark should be processed first at the mill, as well as avoiding harvesting trees with the aforementioned characteristics in the spring and summer. Foremost, the present study gives rise to many questions to continue investigating the population dynamics, and evolution and ecology of the reproductive behaviour and development of M s. scutellatus.
Germline CDKN2A mutations and the p16(INK4A) interaction network

Approximately 38% of families predisposed to melanoma carry mutations in the CDKN2A gene. This gene encodes the cell cycle inhibitor p16INK4A, which acts during G1 to prevent entry into the S-phase of the cell cycle. The p16INK4A protein accomplishes this task by binding and inhibiting two G1-specific kinases called CDK4 and CDK6. While many CDKN2A mutations cannot bind and inhibit CDK4 and CDK6, at least one melanoma-predisposing p16INK4A mutant still functions normally through both kinases. This mutant, designated p16A4_P11dup, binds with wild-type avidity to both kinases, can act as a potent inhibitor of kinase activity, and can inhibit cellular proliferation. These results suggest that functional tests based on CDK4 or CDK6 activity may not entirely represent the pathogenicity of this and possibly other amino-terminal mutants and provides evidence for the existence of other p16INK4A targets. To determine if other activities may be affected by this mutation, we devised a novel binding screen, which is able to identify proteins that bind to the wild-type variant of p16 INK4A but not the p16A4_P11dup mutant. From this screen, we identified cyclin C, a known regulator of G0-G1 progression. We demonstrate that wild-type p16INK4A can bind to cyclin C and its target kinase CDK3, while the p16A4_P11dup mutant cannot. Collectively, these findings argue that the current model of p16INK4A function is incomplete and suggest that p16INK4A acts through multiple pathways to regulate cellular proliferation.