VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
The Educational Production of Students at Risk

Informed by institutional ethnography, and taking the problematic from disjunctures in teacher/participants’ experience between actual practice and official policy, this study is an intertextual analysis of print/electronic documents pertaining to students ‘at risk.’ It unpacks the Student Success Strategy in Ontario secondary schools as organized around discourses on risk and safety. Discriminatory classing and racializing processes construct students ‘at risk’ in ways that reproduce socio-economic inequities through premature streaming into pathways geared to post-secondary destinations: university, college, apprenticeship and work. This study questions the accounting logic that reduces education to skills training in workplace literacy/numeracy, and contradicts the official ‘success’ story that promotes Ontario as a model of large-scale educational change. The follow-up intertextual analyses reveal ideological circles that promote ‘evidence-based research’ and ‘evidence-informed practice,’ while actually gearing education to improving ‘results’ on large-scale standardized tests and manufacturing consent for government policies. Questions arise about the lack of transparency and selective use of educational research. A web of behind-the-scenes activities are made visible at public policy think-tanks (e.g. Canadian Council on Learning; Canadian Language and Literacy Research Network), and two little-researched bodies in educational governance — the Council of Ministers of Education Canada (CMEC) and OECD. Although invisible to teachers, the infrastructure for the Student Success Strategy is the Ontario School Information System (OnSIS); this web-enabled data-management technology has built-in capacity to profile students ‘at risk’ and to instigate accountability and surveillance over teachers’ work, with implications for re-regulating teaching practice towards test scores and aggregate statistics. With the intention of transforming education towards genuine equity, and linking the re-organization of social relations in large-scale reform locally, nationally and globally, this study contributes to critical scholarship on the effects of reform policies on people’s lives and extends knowledge of how translocal text-mediated ruling relations operate in education.

Keywords: students at risk, K-12 education, evidence-based research, institutional ethnography, Safe Schools Act, Student Success Strategy, education reform, teachers' work, literacy, numeracy, lifelong learning, pathways
education, sociology, philosophy, psychology
Advisor: Muzzin, Linda
Computational Complexity in Analysis and Geometry

Computable analysis studies problems involving real numbers, sets and functions from the viewpoint of computability. Elements of uncountable sets (such as real numbers) are represented through approximation and processed by Turing machines. However, application of this approach to computational complexity has been limited in generality. In this thesis, we present a refined framework that is suitable for discussing computational complexity. The key idea is to use (a certain class of) string functions as names representing these objects. These are more expressive than infinite sequences, which served as names in prior work that formulated complexity in more restricted settings. An important advantage of using string functions is that we can define their size in the way inspired by higher-type complexity theory. This enables us to talk about computation on string functions whose time or space is bounded polynomially in the input size, giving rise to more general analogues of the classes P, NP, and PSPACE. We also define NP- and PSPACE-completeness under suitable many-one reductions. Because our framework separates machine computation and semantics, it can be applied to problems on sets of interest in analysis once we specify a suitable representation (encoding). As prototype applications, we consider the complexity of several problems whose inputs and outputs are real numbers, real sets, and real functions. The latter two cannot be represented succinctly using existing approaches based on infinite sequences, so ours is the first treatment of functions on them. As an interesting example, the task of numerical algorithms for solving the initial value problem of differential equations is naturally viewed as an operator taking real functions to real functions. Because there was no complexity theory for operators, previous results could only state how complex the solution can be. We now reformulate them and show that the operator itself is polynomial-space complete. We survey some of such complexity results involving real numbers and cast them in our framework.

Advisor: Cook, Stephen A.
A Novel Process for Fabricating Membrane-electrode Assemblies with Low Platinum Loading for Use in Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

A novel method based on pulse current electrodeposition (PCE) employing four different waveforms was developed and utilized for fabricating membrane-electrode assemblies (MEAs) with low platinum loading for use in low-temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cells. It was found that both peak deposition current density and duty cycle control the nucleation rate and the growth of platinum crystallites. Based on the combination of parameters used in this study, the optimum conditions for PCE were found to be a peak deposition current density of 400 mA cm-2, a duty cycle of 4%, and a pulse generated and delivered in the microsecond range utilizing a ramp-down waveform. MEAs prepared by PCE using the ramp-down waveform show performance comparable with commercial MEAs that employ ten times the loading of platinum catalyst. The thickness of the pulse electrodeposited catalyst layer is about 5-7 µm, which is ten times thinner than that of commercial state-of-the-art electrodes. MEAs prepared by PCE outperformed commercial MEAs when subjected to a series of steady-state and transient lifetime tests. In steady-state lifetime tests, the average cell voltage over a 3000-h period at a constant current density of 619 mA cm-2 for the in-house and the state-of-the-art MEAs were 564 mV and 505 mV, respectively. In addition, the influence of substrate and carbon powder type, hydrophobic polymer content in the gas diffusion layer, microporous layer loading, and the through-plane gas permeability of different gas diffusion layers on fuel cell performance were investigated and optimized. Finally, two mathematical models based on the microhardness model developed by Molina et al. [J. Molina, B. A. Hoyos, Electrochim. Acta, 54 (2009) 1784-1790] and Milchev [A. Milchev, “Electrocrystallization: Fundamentals of Nucleation And Growth” 2002, Kluwer Academic Publishers, 189-215] were refined and further developed, one based on pure diffusion control and another based on joint diffusion, ohmic and charge transfer control developed by Milchev [A. Milchev, J. Electroanal. Chem., 312 (1991) 267-275 & A. Milchev, Electrochim. Acta, 37 (12) (1992) 2229-2232]. Experimental results validated the above models and a strong correlation between the microhardness and the particle size of the deposited layer was established.

Keywords: Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells
Platinum Electrocatalyst
Pulse Electrodeposition
Pulse Waveform
Catalyst Layer
Microporous Layer
Hydrophobic Polymer Content
Advisor: Foulkes, Frank
The Graded Redfined Assessment of Strength, Senssibility and Prehension (GRASSP): Development of the Scoring Approach, Evaluation of Psychometric Properties and the Relationship of Upper Limb Impairment to Function

Upper limb function is important for individuals with tetraplegia because upper limb function supports global function for these individuals. As a result, a great deal of time and effort has been devoted to the restoration of upper limb function. Appropriate outcome measures that can be used to characterize the neurological status of the upper limb have been one of the current barriers in substantiating the efficacy of interventions. Techniques and protocols to evaluate changes in upper limb neurological status have not been applied to the SCI population adequately. The objectives of this thesis were to develop a measure; which is called the Graded Redefined Assessment of Strength Sensibility and Prehension (GRASSP). Development of the scoring approach, testing for reliability and construct validity, and determining impairment and function relationships specific to the upper limb neurological were established. The GRASSP is a clinical measure of upper limb impairment which incorporates the construct of “sensorimotor upper limb function”; comprised of three domains which include five subtests. The GRASSP was designed to capture information on upper limb neurological impairment for individuals with tetraplegia. The GRASSP defines neurological status with numerical values, which represent the deficits in a predictive pattern, is reliable and valid as an assessment technique, and the scores can be used to determine relationships between impairment and functional capability of the upper limb. The GRASSP is recommended for use in the very early acute phases after injury to approximately one year post injury. Use of the GRASSP is recommended when a change in neurological status is being assessed.

Keywords: tetraplegia, outcome measures, function, impairment, upper limb
Advisor: Verrier, Molly
Leakage Resilience and Black-box Impossibility Results in Cryptography

In this thesis, we present constructions of leakage-resilient cryptographic primitives, and we give black-box impossibility results for certain classes of constructions of pseudo-random number generators. The traditional approach for preventing side-channel attacks has been primarily hardware-based. Recently, there has been significant progress in developing algorithmic approaches for preventing such attacks. These algorithmic approaches involve modeling side-channel attacks as {\em leakage} on the internal state of a device; constructions secure against such leakage are {\em leakage-resilient}. We first consider the problem of storing a key and computing on it repeatedly in a leakage-resilient manner. For this purpose, we define a new primitive called a {\em key proxy}. Using a fully-homomorphic public-key encryption scheme, we construct a leakage-resilient key proxy. We work in the ``only computation leaks'' leakage model, tolerating a logarithmic number of bits of polynomial-time computable leakage per computation and an unbounded total amount of leakage. We next consider the problem of verifying that a message sent over a public channel has not been modified, in a setting where the sender and the receiver have previously shared a key, and where the adversary controls the public channel and is simultaneously mounting side-channel attacks on both parties. Using only the assumption that pseudo-random generators exist, we construct a leakage-resilient shared-private-key authenticated session protocol. This construction tolerates a logarithmic number of bits of polynomial-time computable leakage per computation, and an unbounded total amount of leakage. This leakage occurs on the entire state, input, and randomness of the party performing the computation. Finally, we consider the problem of constructing a large-stretch pseudo-random generator given a one-way permutation or given a smaller-stretch pseudo-random generator. The standard approach for doing this involves repeatedly composing the given object with itself. We provide evidence that this approach is necessary. Specifically, we consider three classes of constructions of pseudo-random generators from pseudo-random generators of smaller stretch or from one-way permutations, and for each class, we give a black-box impossibility result that demonstrates a contrast between the stretch that can be achieved by adaptive and non-adaptive black-box constructions.

Keywords: computer science
cryptography
leakage resilience
pseudo-random generators
Advisor: Rackoff, Charles
On Improving Multi-channel Wireless Networks Through Network Coding and Dynamic Resource Allocation

Multi-channel wireless networks represent a direction that future state-of-the-art fourth generation (4G) wireless communication standards evolve towards. The IEEE 802.16 family of standards, or referred to as WiMAX, has emerged as one of the most important 4G networks to provide high speed data communication in metropolitan areas. There will be huge challenges in designing the networking protocols to allow WiMAX to provide high quality of services. How to effectively control the errors in the wireless channels and how to efficiently manage the scarce spectrum and power resources in different communication scenarios are crucial for network performance. This thesis aims to solve these challenges to improve the performance of multi-channel wireless networks, using WiMAX as a representative, through a number of techniques. First, we take advantage of the favorable properties of network coding, and design the adaptive MAC-layer and symbol-level network coding protocols. They tightly integrate with WiMAX physical and MAC layers, effectively perform error control, and efficiently utilize scarce wireless spectrum. Second, we investigate multicast services and the femto-cell architecture in WiMAX, and offer a cooperative multicast scheduling protocol as well as a cognitive WiMAX architecture with femto cells. They implement dynamic resource allocation in the networks through techniques of cooperative communication and dynamic optimization. Evaluated with rigorous analysis and extensive simulations, our proposed protocols are able to achieve substantial performance improvement over traditional protocols in the literature.

Keywords: Computer Networks
Communication
Network Modeling
Network Optimization
Advisor: Li, Baochun
The Virtues of Shame: Aristotle on the Positive Role of Shame in Moral Development

Aristotle famously claims that we become virtuous by performing virtuous actions. He also recognizes the potential puzzle this claim gives rise to: How can we perform virtuous actions unless we are already virtuous? After all, virtuous actions require virtuous motives – they are performed “for the sake of the noble” – and virtuous motives characteristically belong to virtuous people. Many modern commentators presume that Aristotle’s solution rests upon characterizing the actions of learners as actions that are the right things to do in the circumstances but are not done with virtuous motivation. But this leaves Aristotle with the problem of bridging what I call “the moral upbringing gap” – i.e. the gap between the motivationally-neutral actions of learners and the dispositions to act reliably from a virtuous motive that such actions are supposed to produce. This gap emerges because the weaker the link between the way in which the actions of learners are performed and the way in which virtuous actions are done by virtuous agents, the more difficult it will be to understand how the repeated performance of the learners’ actions produce genuinely virtuous dispositions. The main aim of this thesis is to show that (and how) shame plays a crucial role in the process of moral development as the moral emotion that provides continuity between the actions of the learners of virtue and the corresponding dispositions that those actions eventually yield. My view is that Aristotle understands shame not as mere fear of external disapproval, nor as mere tendency to find pleasure in the noble, but as an emotion responsive to praise and blame and consequently to considerations about the nobility and shamefulness of one’s own actions and one’s character. Understood this way, shame provides learners with the sort of motivation that allows them to perform genuinely virtuous actions before they have acquired practical wisdom and the stable dispositions characteristic of virtuous agents. Shame thus bridges the “moral upbringing gap” by providing the kind of motivation that, when entrenched by understanding, constitutes moral virtue.

Keywords: Aristotle
Shame
Moral Development
Habituation
Advisor: Whiting, Jennifer
Doing the Right Thing: Negotiating Risk and Safety in Child Protection Work with Domestic Violence Cases

The concepts of risk and safety are central to social work practice with survivors of violence against women, especially within the child protection system. Recent studies have highlighted how discrepancies between client and worker perceptions may create problematic conditions for developing effective intervention strategies (Dumbrill, 2006; Jenney, Alaggia, Mazzuca, & Redmond, 2005). In addition, tensions exist between movement toward improving worker-client interactions through collaboration and the use of standardized risk and safety assessments as a means of improving practice. The purpose of this research study was to explore how women’s narratives of domestic violence (DV), expressed within the context of child protection services (CPS), become translated into CPS workers’ assessments of risk and need for safety planning. Using Grounded Theory Methodology (GTM), this qualitative study used focus group and interview data to explore how both workers and clients’ experiences of the process of risk assessment and safety planning influenced the course of the intervention. What emerged is that workers and clients held similar representations about the social construction/collective representation of woman abuse and the work of CPS. For both worker and client participants the concept of ‘doing the right thing’ presented itself as an over-arching theme. This theme implies that there is a perceived ‘right way’ of addressing DV cases within CPS work and enhances understanding about the ways in which social workers and clients interact. These findings illustrate how narrative structures shape interactions that take place within the context of care and prevention, manifesting themselves in complex ways that can lead to misunderstanding the impact on children, the (un) conscious subjugation of women victims, and the absence of dialogue about the role of men in addressing DV at a system level.

Keywords: domestic violence
child protection
Advisor: Mishna, Faye
Digital Microfluidics: A Versatile Platform For Applications in Chemistry, Biology and Medicine

Digital microfluidics (DMF) has recently emerged as a popular technology for a wide range of applications. In DMF, nL-mL droplets containing samples and reagents are controlled(i.e., moved, merged, mixed, and dispensed from reservoirs) by applying a series of electrical potentials to an array of electrodes coated with a hydrophobic insulator. DMF is distinct from microchannel-based fluidics as it allows for precise control over multiple reagent phases (liquid and solid) in heterogeneous systems with no need for complex networks of microvalves. In this thesis, digital microfluidics has been applied to address key challenges in the fields of chemistry, biology and medicine. For applications in chemistry, the first two-plate digital microfluidic platform for synchronized chemical synthesis is reported. The new method, which was applied to synthesizing peptide macrocycles, is fast and amenable to automation, and is convenient for parallel scale fluid handling in a straightforward manner. For applications in biology, I present the first DMF-based method for extraction of proteins (via precipitation) in serum and cell lysate. The performance of the new method was comparable to that of conventional techniques, with the advantages of automation and reduced analysis time. The results suggest great potential for digital microfluidics for proteomic biomarker discovery. Furthermore, I integrated DMF with microchannels for in-line biological sample processing and separations. Finally, for applications in medicine, I developed the first microfluidic method for sample clean-up and extraction of estrogen from one-microliter droplets of breast tissue homogenates, blood, and serum. The new method is fast and automated, and features >1000x reduction in sample use relative to conventional techniques. This method has significant potential for applications in endocrinology and breast cancer risk reduction. In addition, I describe a new microfluidic system incorporating a digital microfluidic platform for on-chip blood spotting and processing, and a microchannel emitter for direct analysis by mass spectrometry. The new method is fast, robust, precise, and is capable of quantifying analytes associated with common congenital disorders such as homocystinuria, phenylketonuria, and tyrosinemia.

Keywords: digital microfluidics
electrowetting
lab-on-a-chip
sample processing
miniaturized synthesis
clinical chemistry
Advisor: Wheeler, Aaron
Hrushovski and Ramsey Properties of Classes of Finite Inner Product Structures, Finite Euclidean Metric Spaces, and Boron Trees

We investigate two combinatorial properties of classes of finite structures, as well as related applications to topological dynamics. Using the Hrushovski property of classes of finite structures -- a finite extension property of homomorphisms -- we can show the existence of ample generics. For example, Solecki proved the existence of ample generics in the context of finite metric spaces that do indeed possess this extension property. Furthermore, Kechris, Pestov and Todorcevic have shown that the Ramsey property of Fraisse classes of finite structures implies that the automorphism group of the corresponding Fraisse limit is extremely amenable, i.e., it possesses a very strong fixed point property. Gromov and Milman had shown that the unitary group of the infinite-dimensional separable Hilbert space is extremely amenable using non-combinatorial methods. This result encourages a deeper look into structural Euclidean Ramsey theory, i.e., Euclidean Ramsey theory in which we colour more than just points. In particular, we look at complete finite labeled graphs whose vertex sets are subsets of the Hilbert space and whose labels correspond to the inner products. We prove "Ramsey-type" and "Hrushovski-type" theorems for linearly ordered metric subspaces of "sufficiently" orthogonal sets. In particular, the latter is used to show a "Hrushovski version" of the Ramsey-type Matousek-Rodl theorem for simplices. It is known that the square root of the metric induced by the distance between vertices in graphs produces a metric space embeddable in a Euclidean space if and only if the graph is a metric subgraph of the Cartesian product of three types of graphs. These three are the half-cube graphs, the so-called cocktail party graphs, and the Gosset graph. We show that the class of metric spaces related to half-cube graphs -- metric spaces on sets with the symmetric difference metric -- satisfies the Hrushovski property up to 3 points, but not more. Moreover, the amalgamation in this class can be too restrictive to permit the Ramsey Property. Finally, following the work of Fouche, we compute the Ramsey degrees of structures induced by the leaf sets of boron trees. Also, we briefly show that this class does not satisfy the full Hrushovski property. Fouche's trees are in fact related to ultrametric spaces, as was observed by Lionel Nguyen van The. We augment Fouche's concept of orientation so that it applies to these boron tree structures. The upper bound computation of the Ramsey degree in this case, turns out to be an "asymmetric" version of the Graham-Rothschild theorem. Finally, we extend these structures to "oriented" ones, yielding a Ramsey class and a corresponding Fraisse limit whose automorphism group is extremely amenable.

Keywords: combinatorics
Ramsey theory
graph theory
topological dynamics
Fraisse theory
Hrushovski
metric spaces
boron trees
Euclidean spaces
Advisor: Todorcevic, Stevo