VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Teaching English in the Global Age: Cultural Conversations

Globalization and English-language predominance situate English teachers as increasingly influential mediators of both language and culture. In the iconic multicultural hub of Ontario, Canada, teachers work within a causal nexus of social theories of language, the information and communication technologies revolution, and unprecedented global interdependency. Changes in English curriculum reflect these trends, from references to “global citizenship,” to stress on “intercultural communication,” “cultural sensitivity,” and Information and Communication Technology (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2007). Delegated gatekeepers of both linguistic and critical literacies, and facing new questions about the purposes and priorities of their discipline, Ontario English teachers must negotiate the divide between an inherited curriculum and the impacts of sociocultural transformation on changing literacy needs. To contribute to a professional dialogue about teaching English in a multicultural society and global age, this thesis presents findings from interviews with fifteen Ontario secondary English teachers. The focal question, “How is English changing?” introduces a range of pressing issues, such as: displacing the canon, practicing intercultural communication, balancing a democratic discourse, or “common culture,” with respect for diverse values, and managing opposing views and resistance to English curriculum change. The data reveal how English teachers across levels of experience occupy contrasting positions on the curriculum change debate. In part, this can be explained in terms of epistemological orientations. The participants represent three categories: Adaptation, Applied Research / Collaborative Inquiry, and Activism, each by turn more geared toward reconceptualizing English for social diversity and global consciousness. Beyond these classifications, the teachers reflect dissonant perceptions, sometimes personal ambivalence, on the changing role of text choice, and written and oral dialogue in the English classroom. From passionate defenses of Shakespeare, to radical measures to revamp book lists for cultural relevance, to remarkable illustrations of curriculum linked with global consciousness and civic action, the responses of the English teachers delineate zones of difficulty, change, and possibility. They help, too, to catch sight of a new horizon: the English classroom as a space for “cultural conversation” (Applebee, 1994) where canon- and teacher-centred dialogue give way to intertextual (Bakhtin, 1981; Kristeva, 1980) and intercultural (R. Young, 1996) transactions.

Keywords: Best Practices in English teaching
English language arts
culture and education
multicultural education
globalization and education
social constructivism
intertextuality
canon debate
poststructuralism
postcolonial literature curriculum
Canadian education
Ontario curriculum
curriculum change in secondary English
critical travelogue
teacher narrative
cultural sensitivity
intercultural communication
literacies
Advisor: Kooy, Mary
'Women in Computing' as Problematic: Gender, Ethics and Identity in University Computer Science Education

My study is focused on women in graduate Computer Science programs at two universities in Ontario, Canada. My research problem emerges from earlier feminist research addressing the low numbers of women in university Computer Science programs, particularly at the graduate level. After over twenty years of active feminist representation of this problem, mostly through large survey-based studies, there has been little change. I argue that rather than continuing to focus on the rising and falling numbers of women studying Computer Science, it is critical to analyze the specific socio-economic and socio-cultural conditions which produce gendered and racialized exclusion in the field. Informed by Institutional Ethnography – a method of inquiry developed by Dorothy Smith – and by Foucault’s work on governmentality, I examine how specific institutional processes shape the everyday lives of women students. Through on-site observation and interviews with women in graduate Computer Science studies, Computer Science professors and university administrators, I investigate how the participants’ everyday institutional work is coordinated through external textual practices such as evaluation, reporting and accounting. I argue that the university’s institutional practices produce ‘women in computing’ as a ‘problem’ group in ways that re-inscribe women’s outsider status in the field. At the same time, I show that professionalized feminist educational projects may contradict their progressive and inclusive intentions, contributing to the ‘institutional capture’ (Smith) of women as an administrative ‘problem’. Through ethnographic research that follows women students through a range of experiences, I demonstrate how they variously endorse, subvert and exploit the contradictory subject positions produced for them. I illustrate how a North American-based institutional feminist representation of ‘women in computing’ ignores the everyday experiences of ethnoculturally diverse female student participants in graduate Computer Science studies. I argue that rather than accepting the organization of universal characteristics which reproduce conditions of exclusion, North American feminist scholars need to consider the specificity of social relations and forms of knowledge transnationally. Finally, I revisit how women in the study engage with ‘women in computing’ discourse through their lived experiences. I suggest the need for ongoing analysis of the gender effects and changing socio-cultural conditions of new technologies.

Keywords: women in computing
computer science education
graduate students
women and computer science
feminism
neoliberalism
governmentality
gender equity
women and science
women and technology
gender and science
gender and technology
gender and technoscience
higher education
university restructuring
accountability
student experience
graduate education
Rae Review
Ontario
feminism and science
feminism and technology
identity
subjectivity
Institutional Ethnography
Advisor: Boler, Megan
Integrated Early Childhood Program Participation, Parenting, and Child Development Outcomes: The Toronto First Duty Project

This study examined predictors of program participation and the potential effects of participation on child development in five school sites offering integrated preschool services as part of the Toronto First Duty (TFD) demonstration project. The TFD model offered a seamless, school-based ‘service community’ integrating childcare, kindergarten, family literacy, and other early childhood services. Despite sound conceptual arguments for the utility of integrating early childhood services, no empirical studies have examined the relation between uptake of integrated preschool services and children’s developmental outcomes, within the ecological context of integrated services. This study examined program participation levels or ‘dosage’, while considering the social ecology of the child, including family and school level characteristics that may moderate or mediate the effectiveness of community-level service integration efforts to improve child outcomes during the transition to school. The ecology of participation effects was examined through generalized linear modeling techniques analyzing a linked dataset (N=272) including: (1) systematic intake form and tracking data on hours of program use, (2) children’s school readiness or child development teacher-report ratings (Early Development Instrument) measured across five domains (physical health and well-being, social competence, emotional maturity, language and cognitive development, communication and general knowledge), and (3) a measure of service integration levels across sites. The results provided evidence that TFD achieved its outreach aims in ensuring equitable access for all families; demographic risk factors did not predict less participation in TFD integrated services. In a parallel analysis of predictors of kindergarten absences, there was one difference; males were absent more in kindergarten, whereas there were no gender differences in integrated service participation. The results provided additional evidence that the TFD model has potential in reducing disparities in children’s developmental outcomes since participation dose predicted children’s physical health and well-being, language and cognitive development, and communication and general knowledge, after taking into account demographic, parenting and site factors. Further, parents' being less child-centred and less interested in parent participation, were significant risk factors associated with children's developmental outcomes. This study has implications for understanding the ecological complexities of school readiness, and the potential processes by which program participation affects children’s outcomes.

Keywords: early childhood
service integration
Advisor: Corter, Carl
Autonomic Core Network Management System

This thesis presents an approach to the design and management of core networks where the packet transport is the main service and the backbone should be able to respond to unforeseen changes in network parameters in order to provide smooth and reliable service for the customers. Inspired by Darwin's seminal work describing the long-term processes in life, and with the help of graph theoretic metrics, in particular the "random-walk betweenness", we assign a survival value, the network criticality, to a communication network to quantify its robustness. We show that the random-walk betweenness of a node (link) consists of the product of two terms, a global measure which is fixed for all the nodes (links) and a local graph measure which is in fact the weight of the node (link). The network criticality is defined as the global part of the betweenness of a node (link). We show that the network criticality is a monotone decreasing, and strictly convex function of the weight matrix of the network graph. We argue that any communication network can be modeled as a topology that evolves based on survivability and performance requirements. The evolution should be in the direction of decreasing the network criticality, which in turn increases the network robustness. We use network criticality as the main control parameter and we propose a network management system, AutoNet, to guide the network evolution in real time. AutoNet consists of two autonomic loops, the slow loop to control the long-term evolution of robustness throughout the whole network, and the fast loop to account for short-term performance and robustness issues. We investigate the dynamics of network criticality and we develop a convex optimization problem to minimize the network criticality. We propose a network design procedure based on the optimization problem which can be used to develop the long-term autonomic loop for AutoNet. Furthermore, we use the properties of the duality gap of the optimization problem to develop traffic engineering methods to manage the transport of packets in a network. This provides for the short-term autonomic loop of AutoNet architecture. Network criticality can also be used to rank alternative networks based on their robustness to the unpredicted changes in network conditions. This can help find the best network structure under some pre-specified constraint to deal with robustness issues.

Keywords: Autonomic Communication
Graph Theory
Robustness
Random-Walk Betweenness
Network Science
Traffic Engineering
Advisor: Leon-Garcia, Alberto
The ecology and evolution of wind pollination

The evolution of wind pollination (anemophily) has occurred at least 65 times in the flowering plants and over 10% of angiosperm species are wind pollinated. However the pollination and mating of anemophily species is poorly understood, particularly in comparison with animal-pollinated species. My thesis employs a range of approaches and tools to examine the evolution and ecology of wind pollination. These include comparative analyses, theoretical modeling, field and glasshouse experiments, the use of genetic markers and quantitative genetics. Experimental studies on diverse taxa were used to address questions concerned with the efficacy of outcrossing mechanisms, the ecological and demographic context of pollination and mating, and the plasticity of sex allocation. Comparative analyses indicated that wind pollination is correlated with unisexual flowers, reduced ovule number, small unshowy flowers, an absence of nectar, and open habitats. These analyses also demonstrated that anemophily originates more often in lineages with unisexual flowers. This suggests that wind pollination evolves in diclinous taxa as a mechanism of reproductive assurance because autonomous selfing is mechanically precluded. Empirical data on stigmatic pollen loads in 19 anemophilous species challenge the widespread assumption that anemophilous plants commonly have uniovulate flowers because they capture few pollen grains. Further, a model based on floral costs and the aerodynamics of pollen capture demonstrated that when flowers are inexpensive it is optimal to produce many flowers each with few ovules, because this allows more efficient sampling of the airstream. Manipulative field experiments on seven Carex species indicated that neither monoecy nor protogyny, two putative outcrossing mechanisms, are effective at limiting selfing. Based on these results I suggest that geitonogamy can provide reproductive assurance in anemophilous species with unisexual flowers. Field experiments and the application of sex-specific markers in Rumex nivalis revealed that the local neighbourhood of maternal plants affects pollination intensity and progeny sex ratios. Finally, I demonstrated that plant density in Ambrosia artemisiifolia affects stigmatic pollen loads but not outcrossing rates. Through a quantitative genetics experiment in A. artemisiifolia, I detected significant genetic variation for plasticity in sex allocation, potentially enabling adaptive adjustment of sex allocation to local environmental conditions.

Keywords: wind pollination
plant reproductive biology
Advisor: Barrett, Spencer C. H.
When It's Choosing Time: Boys' Multiliteracies at Play

"Why are you researching us?" ... "Are you a spy?"..."Are you taping right now?" asked children at the ‘Community School,' in those first moments of this qualitative study. This thesis contributes to the growing body of social research in the field of early childhood education, viewing children as capable and competent meaning makers, engaging their input as ‘agentive researchers,’ and reconceptualizing research methodology, play theory, and early childhood teaching practice. Changing contexts of 21st century childhoods, as well as new theories regarding literacy and meaning making, prompted this research involving a reconceptualization of play and its value, within the context of multiliteracies theories and holistic education. This process of reconceptualization was informed by observation (playscapes, places, props, plots, partners and practices) of boys at play considering their meaning-making processes. Through participant observation in a full-day Kindergarten, play episodes were documented (i.e., digital videography, photography, audio recording, field notes, collection of artifacts) and analyzed using a grounded theory approach. Three broad themes emerged. First, physical and social aspects of the Classroom Play Environment were found to be influential in creating conditions for play, influencing the quality of engagement and learning. Ample time, space, freedom of movement, and access to plentiful creative materials were important in children’s active play and meaning making processes. Common behavourist classroom management techniques were avoided in favour of social constructivist approaches, which promoted children’s self-regulation with an aim to recognize and foster their sense of agency, and support emergent play-literacy practices (Hill & Nichols, 2006). Second, children’s explanations regarding the source and inspiration of play themes and interests prompted a reconsideration of ‘spontaneity’ as foundational to a Definition of Play. Defining play processes as “multiliteracies”, and play episodes as “text”, play ideas were found to be intertextually linked to multiple texts including picture books, multimedia, and iconic texts. Third, Boys' Play was observed to involve much movement combined with rough and tumble, pretend, construction, and word play, prompting a re-consideration of ‘narrative’ within the context of play and literacy research literature. As well, boys inquired about gendered play objects and identities in complex and personal ways. This digital thesis document utilized a multimodal design, embedding visual and audio text, creating a new multimodal thesis form with an aim toward considering all modes of meaning making as equal, rather than emphasizing or privileging print text (Jewitt & Kress, 2003).

Keywords: early childhood education
literacy
multiliteracies
play
classroom research
kindergarten
learning modalities
young children
classroom environment
pretend play
research methodology
student participation
Advisor: Cameron, Linda
Charge Transport in Self-assembled Nanoparticle-molecule Systems

Charge transport in self-assembled gold nanoparticle (NP)-alkanedithiol (HS(CH2)nSH) systems are investigated using break-junctions. A remarkably simple and reproducible method to fabricate break-junctions using electromigration is described. Using the break-junctions, self-assembled NP systems are studied in two limits: (1) at the single-NP and (2) at the NP-array limits. Single-NP devices exhibit Coulomb-blockade (CB) conductance suppressions at low temperatures. Contrary to predictions of an Orthodox theory, temperature-dependence of conductance inside CB exhibits multiple activation energies (Ea): A small Ea at low temperatures, and a larger Ea at high temperatures. The small Ea is independent of NP size and is attributed to an energy state at the metal--molecule contact, whereas the larger Ea scales with NP size and is attributed to NPs' charging energy. Importantly, a significant (~5-100fold) discrepancy is observed between values of charging energies obtained from Ea and CB thresholds. To account for the discrepancy, a new model is proposed in which electrons can temporarily be localized at the energy states at the contacts and lose energy. The model is supported by ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy which shows energy states close to Fermi level likely arising from gold-thiolate bonds. A suitably modified Orthodox theory can successfully explain the experimental observations. These results underscore the critical role of metal--molecule contacts in influencing energy-profiles of molecular junctions. Resistance-temperature dependencies of alkanedithiol-linked NP films show evidence of a metal-insulator transition (MIT) as n is varied. The MIT occurs at n = 5 and is explained in the context of a Mott-Hubbard model. Furthermore, all metallic films exhibit temperature coefficients of resistance that are smaller than that of bulk gold, and all insulating films exhibit a universal behavior, R ~ exp[(T0/T)^p], with p = 0.65. These observations are discussed in terms of temperature-independent elastic scattering and competitive thermally activated processes, respectively. The ability to tune properties of NP films thru an MIT implies that materials near the transition may be viewed as semiconductors. To explore this analogy, application of these materials in fabricating field-effect transistors is briefly described. These results highlight the utility of NP films as a platform for studying charge transport.

Advisor: Dhirani, Al-Amin
A Configurable B-spline Parameterization Method for Structural Optimization of Wing Boxes

This dissertation presents a synthesis of methods for structural optimization of aircraft wing boxes. The optimization problem considered herein is the minimization of structural weight with respect to component sizes, subject to stress constraints. Different aspects of structural optimization methods representing the current state-of-the-art are discussed, including sequential quadratic programming, sensitivity analysis, parameterization of design variables, constraint handling, and multiple load treatment. Shortcomings of the current techniques are identified and a B-spline parameterization representing the structural sizes is proposed to address them. A new configurable B-spline parameterization method for structural optimization of wing boxes is developed that makes it possible to flexibly explore design spaces. An automatic scheme using different levels of B-spline parameterization configurations is also proposed, along with a constraint aggregation method in order to reduce the computational effort. Numerical results are compared to evaluate the effectiveness of the B-spline approach and the constraint aggregation method. To evaluate the new formulations and explore design spaces, the wing box of an airliner is optimized for the minimum weight subject to stress constraints under multiple load conditions. The new approaches are shown to significantly reduce the computational time required to perform structural optimization and to yield designs that are more realistic than existing methods.

Keywords: Configurable B-spline, Structural Optimization, Wing Boxes
Advisor: Martins, Joaquim R. R. A.
Accessible Microfluidic Devices for Studying Endothelial Cell Biology

Endothelial cells (ECs) form the inner lining of all blood vessels in the body, and coat the outer surfaces of heart valves. Because ECs are anchored to extracellular matrix proteins and are positioned between flowing blood and underlying interstitium, ECs are constantly exposed to hemodynamic shear, and act as a semi-permeable barrier to blood-borne factors. In vitro cell culture flow (ICF) systems have been employed as laboratory tools for testing endothelial properties such as adhesion strength, shear response, and permeability. Recently, advances in microscale technology have introduced microfluidic systems as alternatives to conventional ICF devices, with a multitude of practical advantages not available at the macroscale. However, acceptance of microfluidics as a viable platform has thus far been reserved because utility of microfluidics has yet to be fully demonstrated. For biologists to embrace microfluidics, engineers must validate microscale systems and prove their practicality as tools for cell biology. Microfluidic devices were designed, fabricated, and implemented to study properties of two EC types: aortic ECs and valve ECs. The objective was to streamline experimentation to reveal phenotypic traits of the two types and in the process demonstrate the usefulness of microfluidics. The first task was to develop a protocol to isolate pure populations of valve ECs because reported methods were inadequate. Dispase and collagenase in combination for leaflet digestion followed by clonal expansion of cell isolates was optimal for obtaining pure valve EC populations. Using a parallel microfluidic network, we discovered that valve ECs adhered strongly and spread well only on fibronectin and not on type I collagen. In contrast, aortic ECs adhered strongly on both proteins. Both aortic and valve ECs were then exposed to shear and analyzed for cell orientation. Morphological analyses showed aortic and valve ECs both aligned parallel to flow when sheared in a macroscale flow chamber, but aortic ECs aligned perpendicular to flow when sheared in a microchannel. Finally, a microfluidic membrane device was designed and characterized as a potential tool for measuring albumin permeability through sheared endothelial monolayers. Overall, these studies revealed novel EC characteristics and phenomena, and demonstrated accessibility of microfluidics for EC studies.

Keywords: microfluidics
endothelial cells
mechanobiology
aortic valve
adhesion
shear stress
permeability
membrane
Advisor: Simmons, Craig Alexander
Wheeler, Aaron