VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
The modifiable area unit problem, empirical analysis by statistical simulation

The Modifiable Area Unit Problem (MAUP) has been discussed in the spatial analysis literature since the 1930's, but it is the recent surge in the availability of desktop computing power and Geographical Information Systems software that have caused both a resurgence of interest in the problem and a greater need to learn more about it. Many spatial datasets are collected on a fine resolution (i.e. a large number of small spatial units) but, for the sake of privacy and/or size concerns, are released only after being spatially aggregated to a coarser resolution (i.e. a smaller number of larger spatial units). The chief example of this process is census data which are collected from every household, but released only at the Enumeration Area or Census Tract level of spatial resolution. When values are averaged over the process of aggregation, variability in the dataset is lost and values of statistics computed at the different resolutions will be different; this change is called the ' scale effect'. One also gets different values of statistics depending on how the spatial aggregation occurs; this variability is called the ' zoning effect'. The purpose of studying the MAUP is to try to estimate the true values of the statistics at the original level of spatial resolution. Knowing these would allow researchers to attempt to make estimates of the data values using either synthetic spatial data generators like the one described in this thesis or by other techniques. Many studies of the MAUP have been made using specific datasets and examining various statistics, such as correlations. Although interesting properties have been documented, this approach is ultimately unsatisfactory because researchers have had no control over the various properties of the datasets, all of which could potentially affect the MAUP. This research has focused on the creation of a synthetic spatial dataset generator that can systematically vary means, variances, correlations, spatial autocorrelations and spatial connectivity matrices of variables in order to study their effects on univariate, bivariate, and multivariate statistics. Even though the MAUP has traditionally been written off as an intractable problem, results from the various experiments described in this thesis indicate that there is a degree of regularity in the behaviour of aggregated statistics that depends on the spatial autocorrelation and configuration of the variable values. If the MAUP can be solved, however, it is clear that it will likely be a complex procedure.
Masculinity, identity and culture, male undergraduate life at Oxford and Cambridge, 1850-1920

This dissertation explores the formation of elite status and male gender identities in nineteenth and early twentieth century Britain. As an analysis of male student culture at Oxford and Cambridge between the years 1850 and 1920, a period during which these reformed and increasingly 'modern' universities seemed to count most in the production of a national elite, it attempts to describe the world-views of young men who went on to lead the nation and the empire. Each substantive chapter addresses a particular feature of student life by analyzing the various representations of undergraduate experiences which appeared in 192 student magazines from this period. The themes explored in these chapters include definitions of the university and the undergraduate which reinforced ideas about the 'superiority' of university men and the creation of masculine space and culture; the transition from boyhood to manhood; institutional discipline; examinations and the relationship between these academic "trials", masculine identities and professional status; and the social rituals associated with the intercollegiate boat races. A final chapter explores some of the ways in which undergraduates responded to the presence of new groups, most notably foreign students and women, in the universities after 1870. This dissertation establishes three central arguments. Firstly, it describes how the years between 1850 and 1920 represented a period of coalescence during which the traditions and rituals of student life, no matter how recently "invented", came to be accepted as time-honored. It also illustrates the ways in which elite status was formulated and perpetuated through particular cultural forms and practices which helped, for example, to define the universities as unique "little worlds" in which Britain's "best and brightest" were trained for the future. Finally, this study points to the ways in which this elite status, for young 'Oxbridge' men, was gendered specifically as male. The transformation which undergraduates experienced within the university was as much about assuming the mantle of manhood and acquiring a class-specific sense of male gender identity as it was about preparing for a life of leadership and public service. These upper middle-class conceptions of masculinity also intersected with prevailing racial, national, ethnic and sexual identities.
Overland flow and tunnelflow generation on a semi-arid catchment, from field and experimental studies to simulation modeling

The major barriers to modeling hydrological processes in semi-arid and areas are a lack of understanding and model representations of some of the distinctive features and processes associated with runoff generation in those regions and a paucity of field data. This study incorporates field and experimental investigations into simulation modeling to explore stormflow generation processes on a semi-arid agricultural catchment of the Loess Plateau in China. Overland flow and tunnelflow processes were first investigated in the field. The mechanisms responsible for runoff generation processes and their spatial variation within the catchment were further explored using field rainfall experiments. TOPOG, developed by CSIRO in Australia, was then modified by adding model representations of some of the predominant features and processes identified by field and experimental investigations. The modified models were used to continuously simulate both slowly changing hydrologic states during interstorm periods and fast-responding overland and tunnel flows during stormflow periods. Finally, model simulations, under a wide range of rainfall and spatially temporally varied land cover conditions, were validated by a comparison of observed and simulated stormflow discharges from both catchment outlet and internal plots. Field investigations indicated that stormflow generation processes in this catchment are dominated by an infiltration-excess mechanism. Tunnel flows are almost entirely derived from the overland flow entering via inlets, but tunnel flow processes may be significantly disturbed by tunnel instability. Tunnel systems are likely to be initiated in catastrophic storm events, although the subsequent storms do expand these systems. Tunnel conduits are developed above materials of low permeability. The spatial variation in soil infiltration capacity is largely responsible for the spatial variability in runoff generation. The spatial variation in soil infiltration capacity is mainly caused by the spatial variation in crusting, which results from varied land management activities. The simulations showed that the model represents reasonably well stormflows generated by rainfall events with recurrence intervals >2 years, which account more than 60 per cent of runoff and 70 per cent of sediment leaving this area. The simulations are extended by the inclusion of some features associated with land management, such as terracing and the existence of a plow pan. Considerable variability in simulation accuracy was found among storm events and within the catchment.
Influence of earthworms (Lumbricus terrestris L.) on the dissipation and distribution of herbicides in soil

The effect of earthworms on chemical, physical, and biological soil properties influenced the persistence, bioavailability, and transport of the herbicides atrazine [2-chloro-4-ethylamino-6-isopropylamino-1,3,5-triazine] and metolachlor [2-chloro-'N'-(2-ethyl-6-methylphenyl)-' N'-(2-methoxy-1-methylethyl)acetamide] in soil. Herbicide applications at maximum recommended field rates had no adverse effects on earthworm biomass. [U-ring-14C]at-dzine dissipated and mineralized more rapidly in soil preincubated with earthworms than in soil that did not contain earthworms. Earthworm activity, initiated in soil following herbicide application, increased atrazine mineralization rates over 22 days in soil at 12°C, when compared to the control soil. Earthworms also increased the formation of nonextractable atrazine compounds in soil resulting in lower mineralization rates from 20 to 68 days at both 12°C and 30°C At 68 days after [U-ring- 14C]atrazine applications at 12°C incubation, total nonextractable radioactivity in soil columns with earthworms was 21% greater than that in soils without earthworms. Extractable [U-ring-14C]metolachlor decreased more rapidly in microcosms containing earthworms than in earthworm-free soil, primarily due to uptake of metolachlor residues into earthworm tissue. Earthworms feeding activity on [U-ring-14C]atrazine-sprayed corn leaves (surface application) translocated 60% of the total radioactivity below 4 cm soil depth, depositing between 1.3 * to 2.8 * more MeOH-extractable radioactivity in their burrow than in surrounding matrix soil. In soils containing no earthworms, more than 65% of the initially applied [U-ring-14C]atrazine remained in the 0 to 4 cm surface layer. The influence of earthworm-mediated processes during interstorm periods decreased preferential herbicide transport via burrow flow in subsequent rainstorms. At the end of a series of 14 and 47 mm h-1 simulated rainstorms, radioactivity in drainage from soils with biopores was between 1.9 * and 2.2 * greater in the absence than in the presence of earthworms. Metolachlor and atrazine sorbed more strongly on earthworms surface castings than on matrix soil. Burrow linings reduced [U-ring- 14C]atrazine and [U-ring-14C]metolachlor solutions, introduced in burrows, to 60% of their original concentration in the first 0 to 3 min of flow, and to 80% in 3 to 9 min of flow. The implications of the findings for weed and environmental management are discussed.
Children's false belief understanding and social-emotional correlates, individual and developmental differences

Individual differences in children's sensitivity to criticism and challenge seeking, and concurrent false belief understanding were studied in 42 children in their Junior Kindergarten year (JK) (mean age = 59 months); and 29 children in their Senior Kindergarten year (SK) (mean age = 70 months). A measure of social maturity as rated by the child's parent was also collected on 52 of these children in JK or SK. Of the JK children, 14 previously had been studied in their preschool year (mean age = 42 months) and of the SK children, 11 previously had been studied their preschool year (mean age = 40 months) when a series of 3 false belief measures had been collected. Although significant correlates were not revealed between concurrent false belief and challenge seeking and global social maturity measures, there was a trend in the SK group which suggests a link between concurrent measures of false belief and sensitivity to criticism. More advanced mind-readers were prone to rate criticized products less harshly than less advanced mind-readers. Children with an earlier understanding of false belief were less sensitive to criticism. A trend was also revealed between false belief understanding in preschool and propensity to seek a challenge in JK. The findings support the notion that children who come to an earlier understanding of others' mental states are more resilient to criticism and more likely to seek a challenge. Developmental differences were also examined. Significant negative correlations were found between sensitivity to criticism and age in months and between challenge seeking and age in months. Older children were found to be more sensitive to criticism and less likely to seek a challenge. It was proposed that older children have developed a greater ability to incorporate contextual variables into their appraisal of the task. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)
Integration as ideology: Survival ESL and the nation-state

Using a critical, feminist framework, this thesis will examine what has become known as "Survival ESL" within the larger social, political, and economic context of the nation-state. The overall goal of Survival ESL is teach immigrants the linguistic and cultural knowledge they need in order to participate in their new society and it is subsequently within this context that Survival ESL engages in progressive pedagogies (i.e. communicative language teaching, communicative competence, and the situational/functional syllabus). Thus, it is to this end that Survival ESL lays claim to a discourse of empowerment. However, the larger sphere in which Survival ESL is situated is characterized by the inequality inherent to the capitalist nation state. The ideologies of racism, sexism, class, and integration, operate within this larger context to organize and naturalize a certain set of relations: a set of relations in which immigrants are marginalized. Thus, despite Survival ESL's discourse of empowerment, its failure to critically engage with the social and ideological implications of both its pedagogical orientation and the larger social relations within which it is situated supports an integrationist framework. As demonstrated through a survey of the existing curricular materials it will be argued that this framework operates to enable immigrant learners to function within an existing set of relations: a set of unequal relations. Thus, it will be argued that only by engaging in a critical or transformative pedagogy which explicitly confronts these relations of power can a Survival curriculum begin to be genuinely empowering.
Analysis of regulatory W mutations and the function of the Kit receptor tyrosine kinase in the intestine

The murine 'W' locus encodes the Kit receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK). Many structural mutations at the 'W' locus, affecting the Kit coding sequence, lead to pleiotropic defects in hematopoiesis, gametogenesis and melanogenesis. Regulatory 'W' mutations, on the other hand, do not affect the Kit coding sequence and cause cell type specific defects. Moreover, the Kit RTK is expressed in several cell types and tissues with no obvious defects in 'W' mutant mice, raising the question of the function of the Kit molecule in these tissues. In this thesis, I have analyzed the molecular basis and developmental defects associated with two spontaneous regulatory mutations in the mouse ' W' locus. I describe the effects of the 'W57' and <math> <f> W<sup>banded<fen lp="par">bd<rp post="par"></fen></sup></f> </math> mutations on 'Kit' expression during embryogenesis and in the adult animal and show specific defects in melanocyte development in these mutant animals. In addition, I describe the molecular basis of these regulatory 'W' mutations. The Kit RTK is expressed in the adult intestine, but no intestinal defects had been described in 'W' mutant animals. I identify the Kit-expressing cells in the small intestine as the interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC) and demonstrate the importance for this cell type in intestinal pacemaking. Moreover, I analyze the developmental origin and lineage relationships of these Kit-expressing cells in the small intestine and investigate the role of Kit in their development. ICC and smooth muscle cells of the intestine are derived from a common precursor. Moreover, a functional Kit receptor is not required as an instructive signal during lineage determination, but is necessary for ICC proliferation after birth. These results provide novel information on the multiple roles of the Kit RTK in mouse development, as well as new insights into the regulation of expression of this gene.
Language and imagining the nation in Singapore

This thesis is about the relationship between language and the imagining of the nation, with a particular focus on Singapore. The view I put forward is that we need to think of this relationship as being discursive. "Discourse" allows us to focus on the dynamic process of this relationship, embedded in real historical, socio-political and economic moments. Singapore offers a particularly interesting analysis. On its own, the national language plays only a peripheral role in the nation; however, language and language ideologies are no less central to the imagining of the nation than elsewhere. Language ideologies concur in very significant ways with the particular image of the "ideal society" that the government leaders seek to achieve. In particular, we see language intricately involved in the nation's attempt to understand itself and itself in relation to the world. On the one hand, there is the need to locate itself globally, as an international hub of trade, commerce, information technology, tourism and so forth. On the other, there is the need to authenticate itself locally. The story thus becomes one of balancing authenticity in the imagining of the nation in and through language ideologies. Much of this balancing authenticity has occurred by means of the ' Speak Mandarin Campaign' and the policy of "English-knowing bilingualism". The policy of bilingualism is premised on the role of English to meet the pragmatic needs of the nation (globalisation, economics and technology, inter-ethnic communication), and the mother-tongue languages (Mandarin, Malay, Tamil) to meet the cultural needs of the nation. Two main dichotic arguments have been given: dialects versus Mandarin, and English versus Mandarin. How these debates have been argued, the language ideologies inherent to these debates, and their implication in the imagining of the nation is the topic of much of this thesis. Paradoxes, voices of resistance, and challenges to these ideologies and the government's response are examined as part of these language ideological debates. One of the most accessible places to see this discursive construction of language ideologies is in government leaders' speeches as published in largest daily newspaper, 'The Straits Times'. Thus, in order to see the ways in which these ideologies are constructed and their interaction with the imagining of the nation, much of this analysis is anchored on such speeches. I suggest that textual analysis is a useful means by which to establish a premise for comparative analyses of "nationalisms" in their various manifestations around the world.
Giving up the ghost, disrupting the (re)production of white privilege in anti-racist pedagogy and organizational change

This thesis explores the operations of white privilege within progressive white culture service organizations engaged in anti-racist change efforts. My analysis flows from a critique of two practices pervasive in, but by no means exclusive to, pedagogy: the use of storytelling, and 'moves to innocence'. Among anti-racist, feminist and critical pedagogy theorists there is a significant gap between the level of interest in poststructural ideas and efforts to apply them at an operational level. The particular relevance of this thesis lies in its intended contribution to the bridging of that gap. At the heart of this thesis lies the theoretical tension between the anti-foundational and deconstructive impulses of poststructuralism and the liberationist desire to honour the historical material realities of the oppressed. By reading the concept of 'epistemic privilege' through 'strategic essentialism' I argue the feasibility of a carefully constructed and politically engaged poststructuralism in order to negotiate the material basis for valuing truths from the margins, while recognizing the partiality and power implicatedness of knowledge.
Contact angles and surface energetics

Low-rate dynamic contact angles of a large number of liquids are measured on various solid surfaces by Axisymmetric Drop Shape Analysis - Profile (ADSA-P). It is found that not all experimental contact angles can be used for energetic calculations: In a specific case, slip and stick contact angle behaviour occurs where the contact angle fluctuates by as much as 35°. Thus, circumspection is necessary in the decision whether or not the experimental contact angles can be used to surface energetics in conjunction with Young's equation and whether the solid-liquid systems violate the basic assumptions made in all contact angle approaches. It is shown that if one omits the inconclusive contact angle measurements, the liquid-vapour surface tension times cosine of the contact angle changes smoothly with the liquid-vapour surface tension, i.e. <math> <f> <g>g</g><inf>l<g>n</g></inf><rf>cos</rf><g>q</g></f> </math> depends only on <math> <f> <g>g</g><inf>l<g>n</g></inf></f> </math> for a given solid surface (or solid surface tension). Changing the solid surface (and hence <math> <f> <g>g</g><inf>s<g>n</g></inf></f> </math>) shifts the curves in a very regular manner. Thus, <math> <f> <g>g</g><inf>l<g>n</g></inf><rf>cos</rf><g>q</g></f> </math> depends only on <math> <f> <g>g</g><inf>l<g>n</g></inf></f> </math> and <math> <f> <g>g</g><inf>s<g>n</g></inf></f> </math>. Intermolecular forces do not have an additional and independent effect on the contact angles. Because of Young's equation, the solid-liquid surface tension <math> <f> <g>g</g><inf>sl</inf></f> </math>can be expressed as a function of only <math> <f> <g>g</g><inf>l<g>n</g></inf></f> </math> and <math> <f> <g>g</g><inf>s<g>n</g></inf></f> </math>. Goniometer and ADSA-P contact angle measurements are also compared: they are shown to be essentially identical for solid-liquid systems which have constant contact angles. In the specific case of the slip/stick of the three-phase contact line using a goniometer technique, the observed static advancing angle corresponds to the maximum angle of the entire slip/stick behaviour, as registered by the automated ADSA-P technique. Thus, conventional goniometer measurements may produce a mixture of meaningful and meaningless contact angles, with no criteria to distinguish between the two. This provides partial explanation of the contact angle controversy in the literature. A large amount of dynamic contact angle data is generated. An equation which follows these experimental patterns and which allows the determination of solid surface tensions is discussed.
Repair and strengthening of columns with fibre reinforced composites

In the research presented in this thesis, relatively new materials, fibre reinforced plastics (FRP), have been used to retrofit circular columns. Continuous fibers of glass and carbon were used in the circumferential direction to confine the columns. Results from twelve specimens tested under constant axial load and reversed cyclic lateral load are presented. Each specimen consisted of a 356 mm (14 in.) diameter and 1473 mm (58 in.) long column cast integrally with a 510 x 760 x 810 mm (20 x 30 x 32 in.) stub. The test specimens can be divided into three categories. The first category consisted of four columns that were conventionally reinforced with longitudinal and spiral reinforcement; the second category contained six columns which were strengthened with carbon or glass FRP before testing; and the last category included two columns that were damaged to a certain extent, repaired with FRP under load, and then tested to failure. The main purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of FRP reinforcement in strengthening deficient columns or repairing damaged columns. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)