VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
The role of alternative dispute resolution in resolving waste management conflicts, a study of cases in Ontario and Massachusetts

This thesis studies 54 recent cases in which negotiation, facilitation or mediation was applied to a waste management conflict in Ontario or Massachusetts, to empirically investigate several important questions concerning these methods of alternative dispute resolution (ADR). The methodology relies on analysis of case documentation and, for 23 of the cases, detailed telephone interviews with 123 ADR participants. Study findings are organized into three articles, each submitted to a peer-reviewed journal. The first employs seven criteria to empirically test several frequently stated claims regarding the success of environmental ADR. It finds that, although by some measures ADR has been quite successful, it can hardly be considered a panacea. The second article identifies the characteristics of environmental disputes and ADR processes that are most frequently cited as affecting the degree of success of these processes, and tests the influence they actually had on the outcome of ADR in the study cases. Statistical tests of relationships between 17 of these factors and four criteria of success leads to the conclusion that far fewer characteristics are actually important to ADR success than widely claimed in the literature, and that their influence was less than expected. These findings are used to make recommendations for screening waste management conflicts prior to the application of ADR and for designing ADR processes to increase their effectiveness. Among the findings of the second article is that the incentive of disputants to participate in ADR is one of the most important causal mechanisms by which the factors found to be significant influence the outcome of these processes. Recognizing this, the third article identifies and ranks the importance of incentives and disincentives that stakeholders consider when deciding whether to enter into ADR, and compares those factors to those addressed in the literature. Further investigation of the most important of these factors reveals the sub-factors by which they are in turn influenced. Finally, the article examines whether these key factors have different effects on different types of parties, and concludes with recommendations for improving ADR processes by increasing the motivation of disputants to participate.
Gender, type of mental disorder and use of outpatient mental health services

Outpatient mental health services make up the bulk of mental health care but little is known about how it is accessed. Although men and women differ in the types of mental disorder they experience and use varies accordingly, the role of type of mental disorder in understanding gender differences in use has not received much attention. The purpose of this thesis is to describe gender differences in the use of outpatient mental health services and explicate why women are more likely to use these services. The data source is the Mental Health Supplement to the Ontario Health Survey, a population-based survey of Ontario residents in 1990-1991. The sample is N = 7,475 respondents 18-64 years of age. For theoretical and empirical reasons, type of mental disorder is defined as: a Mood and/or Anxiety Disorder (Mood/Anx) or a Substance Use Disorder and/or Antisocial Behaviours (Subs/Asb) within the past year. Self-reported overall use, level, type and prior use and volume of use are defined in relation to specific providers seen within the past year. Descriptive and multiple logistic regression analyses are employed including sociodemographic and socioeconomic factors. Female gender is positively associated with overall use even after multivariate adjustment (adjusted OR: 1.7 with 95% CI: 1.2; 2.4). This relationship is consistent across the level and type of use and prior use. No gender differences are found in the volume of use. In the multivariate analyses controlling for Mood/Anx attenuates the gender-overall use relationship by 26%. Controlling for Subs/Asb has a lesser effect in the opposite direction. The magnitude of the association between Mood/Anx and overall use (adjusted OR: 8.4 with 95% CI: 5.9; 11.9) is almost three times higher than that for Subs/Asb. Also, Mood/Anx attenuates the Subs/Asb association with overall use by nearly 60%. Main activity is associated with use and influences the gender, overall use relationship. The findings suggest that Mood/Anx is a determinant of use for men and women. However, type of mental disorder does not fully explain gender differences in use. These results raise compelling questions about what the remaining gender differences in use mean.
The nature and role of chief education officers' values

This study was an investigation into the nature and sources of the personal and professional values of Directors of Education and was guided by four research questions: (1) To what extent do Directors of Education in Ontario share similar values? (2) To what extent have Directors of Education in Ontario experienced similar influences during the development of their personal and professional values? (3) What are the values Directors consider most important to their professional problem-solving processes? and (4) How are these values linked to professional action? The methodology was divided into three parts. The first part consisted of a survey questionnaire regarding personal and professional values and their development sent to all 122 Directors of Education in Ontario ('N' returned = 62). Second, a smaller group of volunteers participated in telephone interviews regarding influences on the development of their professional values ' N' = 14). The third part involved transcripts from stimulated recall interviews with Directors based on the playback of audiorecordings from problem-solving meetings they had led with senior administrative staff ('N' = 7). Analysis of the survey data through frequency counts, crosstabulations, and ranking of responses by comparing weighted means showed similarities and differences among Directors' values and their development. Different values were emphasized in answers that involved a specific context (e.g., CEOs' examples of value conflicts) and in non-contextual situations (e.g., ranking values in a list). Telephone interview transcripts revealed a variety of influential experiences that had affected the development of Directors' professional values. The interviewees presented a range of reactions (from acceptance to rejection) to policies created by the Ministry of Education, and they indicated the extent to which their professional values had been affected by the following list of high-ranking influences on professional values from general survey results: Mentors, Peer Groups, Educational Work Experiences, and On the Job Leadership Opportunities. Segments of CEOs' speech from the stimulated recall interview transcripts were coded as representing values using the Leithwood and Steinbach (1991) Values Framework. The results were organized into value profiles for the Directors that reinforced findings from the survey indicating different values were emphasized when the CEOs were situated in a specific professional problem-solving context.
Development of a facility for Axisymmetric Drop Shape Analysis, ADSA

Axisymmetric Drop Shape Analysis (ADSA) is a computer program developed in the Laboratory of Applied Surface Thermodynamics at the University of Toronto, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering. It uses digital image analysis to detect the edge of a drop and accurately determines a number of surface parameters including the interfacial tension <math> <f> <g>g</g></f> </math> and contact angle <math> <f> <g>q</g></f> </math>. The measurement of these quantities is essential to the study of Surface Thermodynamics, and ADSA is capable of determining these parameters with greater accuracy and flexibility than traditional techniques. The software had been refined continuously over a fifteen-year period; however, the hardware had not evolved significantly, and thus remained an improvised collection of parts that was often difficult to use. To remedy this situation an improved facility was designed and built, one which allows the experimentalist to more easily and accurately measure both interfacial tensions and contact angles using ADSA. The design is capable of handling a wide variety of systems and experiments, including the measurement of interfacial tension, line tension, film tension, surface pressure, surface dilational modulus, surface dilational viscosity, and contact angles for liquid-fluid systems. It also allows these experiments to be conducted under variable conditions, such as high pressure and temperature. A Motorized Syringe (MOS) was also developed, which allows the drop volume to be manipulated. The ADSA facility and MOS were tested by conducting a variety of experiments, two of which are reported in this thesis: The surface tension response to oscillating surface area conditions was measured for the aqueous sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS) system; the area was changed in a sawtooth manner and the surface tension's response to these area changes was determined. The peak-to-peak surface tension response <math> <f> <fen lp="par"><g>D</g><g>g</g><rp post="par"></fen></f> </math>, as a function of the peak-to-peak surface area excitation <math> <f> <fen lp="par"><g>D</g>A<rp post="par"></fen></f> </math>, was measured for the SDS system for the first time, and the <math> <f> <g>D</g><g>g</g>-<g>D</g>A</f> </math> relation was found to be approximately linear. In addition, preliminary advancing and receding contact angle measurements were carried out at 30°C for the hexadecane-air-FC722 system.
Development of temperature-compensated fiber optic strain sensors based on fiber Bragg gratings

The development of temperature compensated fiber optic strain sensors based on fiber Bragg gratings is reported. The various sensors manufactured and tested include a stainless steel capillary tube-encased Bragg grating, a partially-bonded Bragg grating, and a fully embedded Bragg grating. Strain and temperature resolution is accomplished by measuring the characteristic Bragg wavelength shift of each Bragg grating sensor relative to its initial wavelength. Another measurement technique used involves calculating the differential strain measurement between two dissimilar resistive strain gauges to determine strain and temperature. Testing is done using both a self-made convection and industrial oven to regulate the temperature, as well as applying strain to the specimen via bending or tension. The performance of the sensors in tracking the strain and temperature in variable strain and variable temperature environments is reported and evaluated. The development of an in-lab convection oven and a stress machine specifically designed for this thesis is also described. Suggestions are made for improvements to the sensors in addition to further developmental research and possible practical temperature compensated fiber optic strain sensor applications.
DNA damage checkpoints in the development of normal and neoplastic lymphocytes

Lymphocytes respond to DNA damage by activating a checkpoint which either causes cell cycle arrest and repair of DNA, or induces apoptosis. The tumor suppressor gene p53 is a central mediator of the DNA damage checkpoint, effecting both G1 arrest and apoptosis. Disruption of checkpoint genes allows cells to continue cycling despite the presence of DNA damage, substantially increasing the risk of accumulating transforming mutations. V(D)J recombination is a developmentally regulated process of DNA breakage and repair. Site-specific DNA double strand breaks (DSB) are generated by lymphoid-restricted genes, but DNA ends are repaired through the universal cellular process of end-joining. Although V(D)J recombination is essential for the development and expansion of an immunological repertoire, the repeated generation and repair of DNA DSB threatens chromosomal integrity, implying a vital function for checkpoint genes in preventing neoplastic transformation of lymphocytes. Indeed, lymphomas and leukemias are among the most common tumors in mice and humans to result from a disruption of the genes involved in DNA damage surveillance, such as ' p53' and 'Ataxia Telangiectasia mutated' (' atm'). Mutation of the DSB repair protein DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK) renders mice immunodeficient and highly sensitive to the apoptosis-inducing effects of DNA damaging agents. Treatment of these DSB repair deficient severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) mice with low-dose DNA damaging agents restores V(D)J recombinase activity but induces lymphomagenesis, illustrating the crucial importance of intact, regulated DSB repair to the genomic stability of lymphocytes. In my thesis work I have utilized a genetic approach to better understand the interfaces between checkpoint controls, cell cycle regulation and DNA repair and the function of these processes in regulating lymphocyte development and lymphomagenesis.
The relationship between teachers' beliefs and their consultative practice in in-school team meetings

The focus of this inquiry was on the relationship between teachers' beliefs and their consultative practice as resource teachers within the context of the in-school team meeting. This work provided a detailed picture of the consultative practices of special education teachers set against a backdrop of their discussions regarding their personal beliefs. The following questions shaped this investigation: (1) What are these teachers' stated beliefs about students? (2) What are these teachers' stated beliefs about their consultative role? (3) What is the relationship between these teachers' stated beliefs and their consultative practice during in-school team meetings? With the co-operation of three learning resource teachers (also referred to as special education resource teachers), this inquiry was structured around three distinct phases. Initially, an open-ended interview format was used to discuss with participants their individual beliefs regarding their consultative practice as well as their beliefs about students. The second phase involved the tape recording of diagnostic prescriptive team meetings (DPT's) in which these three teachers participated. Once this was completed, the relationship between these teachers' stated beliefs and their consultative practice during team meetings was explored in collaboration with participants. What emerged were three portraits of the relationship between consultative practice and personal belief. Each participant's portrait was given a name by the author in order to characterise the relationship between beliefs and practice. Each of these women struck a balance between practice and personal beliefs, a balance that illuminated their consultative role within in-school team meetings at its most basic and intimate level. This assimilation of beliefs by participants was explored in the light of its importance in the area of teacher change.
Downhill exercise elicits differential changes in the levels of calcitonin gene-related peptide in the intact adult rat neuromuscular system

Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) is a 37 amino acid peptide synthesised in the nervous system. Although the functional role of CGRP in the mammalian motor system is unclear, variable amounts are present in motoneurons, and in motor nerve terminals on skeletal muscle fibres. Experimental perturbations affecting neuromuscular connectivity alter CGRP expression in motoneurons. Eccentric exercise is known to produce muscle damage. The studies in this thesis were designed to investigate whether exercise involving eccentric contractions elicits changes in CGRP expression in the adult neuromuscular system. In the first study, we demonstrated that one 30 minute bout of downhill running resulted in increased numbers of CGRP-positive triceps surae motoneurons within 48 hours post-exercise, with values returning to control levels by 4 weeks. In contrast, the numbers of CGRP-positive anterior crural motoneurons remained unchanged following downhill exercise. These results provided the first evidence in the literature that muscle exercise activity increases CGRP expression preferentially in motoneurons innervating extensor muscles undergoing eccentric contractions. In the second study, retrograde labelling of the triceps surae (TS) muscle group, combined with co-localisation of CGRP immunoreactivity, identified a distinct response in CGRP expression in motoneurons innervating the medial gastrocnemius (MG) muscle. Elevated numbers of CGRP-positive motoneurons were observed by 72 hours post-exercise, with values returning to baseline by 2 weeks. No changes in CGRP expression were observed in the soleus or in the lateral gastrocnemius motoneurons over the experimental time period. The number of CGRP-positive motor nerve terminals in the MG increased significantly within the first 72 hours post-exercise and remained elevated at 2 weeks. CGRP immunoreactivity was exclusively found at motor endplates of type IIB, fast glycolytic muscle fibres. The eccentric exercise protocol may evoke post-synaptic changes at affected neuromuscular junctions that require stabilisation or remodelling to maintain or enhance synaptic efficiency. Given the differential recruitment of the distal and proximal regions of the MG, our results suggest that unique motor commands may be required in the execution of eccentric contractions. The protocol we describe would be suitable to test alternate theories of motor control and investigate the dynamic interactions of neuropeptides at the neuromuscular junction.
Balance control of externally triggered and self-initiated reaching movements in healthy individuals

The kinematic properties, postural electromyographic (EMG) profiles and ground reaction forces were characterized in the context of a visual reaching task in standing and sitting body positions to address the question: does the center of pressure (COP) excursion and the underlining postural muscle activation pattern relative to the onset of the primary mover (anterior deltoid) differ if a rapid reaching movement is externally-triggered (EX) or self-initiated (SI)? With the same motor performance as measured by peak wrist velocity, differences seen in the spatial and temporal characteristics of the distal lower limb muscle activity (earlier tibialis anterior [TA] onset, smaller onset magnitude for SI) and COP excursion (earlier onset, and larger medial-lateral [ML] displacement in SI) were due to the triggering conditions and not to the characteristics of the focal reaching velocity. Findings suggest that SI and EX might be associated with two separate control mechanisms that function in parallel and vary according to the context of the task. Alternatively, these differences could be explained by findings similar to those of Romo and Schultz (1992) where primate upper limb movements under the two triggering conditions involved different anatomical structures. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)
Prometheus wired, the hope for democracy in the age of network technology

Two claims have accompanied the emergence of digital computer networks as the definitive technology of late modernity. The first is that networks are the infrastructure of a democratic revolution that win fundamentally alter the terms of political life in any society where this technology presides. The second claim asserts that our existing and traditional reservoir of political thought offers few resources for thinking about and understanding this technology and the transformation it promises. In this dissertation, I reject the second claim in order to more fully investigate the first. I assert that the tradition of political thought provides us with considerable resources for specifying what is at stake in the politics of network technology. Drawing on a range of thinkers who have devoted attention to the relationship between technology and politics, I argue that claims regarding the inherently revolutionary and democratic character of digital networks are overstated. The dissertation begins with an examination of the claims being made about network technology, and situates these in the context of the history of technology. Chapter II constructs an approach to technology and politics by reviewing the contributions to the philosophy of technology made by Plato, Aristotle, Karl Marx, Martin Heidegger and George Grant. Chapter III gives an account of the technical development of digital computers and networks. Following this, a series of chapters brings the philosophical approach elaborated in Chapter II to bear on various aspects of the politics of network technology. Chapters IV and V consider the political economy of network technology. Chapter VI examines the ontological consequences of an existence mediated by digital instruments. Chapter VII investigates the impact proliferating network technologies have on political sovereignty. The dissertation concludes that the economic, ontological, and political properties of networks suggest they are unlikely to be the technology of a fundamental democratic revolution.
Fundamental studies on contrast resolution of ultrasound B-mode images

The primary objective of this thesis is to study the factors that affect the contrast resolution of ultrasound B-mode images. A computer simulation model of B-mode image formation has been developed and validated. The model simulates beam profiles from linear, 1.5-D and curvilinear arrays. An initial study was performed to compare the accuracy and computational efficiency of different methods that have been used to calculate the field profile from linear arrays. It was concluded that the far-field approximation for the impulse response method yields the best trade-off between accuracy and efficiency. The model was used to investigate the effects of transducer design, and tissue parameters on the image characteristics, specifically, texture and contrast resolution. It was shown that the scatterer distribution, as well as the transducer geometry, determines the textural appearance and the contrast of an image. It was also demonstrated that post-processing schemes can significantly alter the image appearance by changing the mean signal levels and speckle statistics. The simulation model can be used to predict optimum values for the parameters used in post-processing algorithms. Different measures of contrast resolution were examined, and it was concluded that the contrast-to-speckle ratio is the most accurate measure in defining an imaging system's ability to detect low-contrast targets in background speckle noise. In order to illustrate the clinical application of the model, a simple, approximate model of a carotid artery wall with fatty plaque was developed and a preliminary study was performed to analyze the B-mode image of this geometry. The simulated image indicates that the wall region is more echogenic than the plaque region as is the case in clinical images. The image also reveals sharp reflection signals at the wall-plaque, and plaque-lumen interfaces. It was shown that the signal levels at these interfaces depend on the backscattering coefficients and the distributions of the scatterers in the neighbouring media.