VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
The social construction of a collective Indian ethno-religious identity in a context of ethnic diversity, a case study of an Indo-Caribbean Hindu temple in Toronto

The direct face-to-face encounters between Indo-Caribbeans and their estranged ancestral South Asian "cousins" have not only resulted in the gradual transformation of the traditional Indo-Caribbean ethnic identity but have also created the conditions for the development of a new "Indian" identity in the Canadian diaspora. In this study, I have examined the consequences of this "meeting-up" and the impact that it has had (or is currently having) on ethnic identification among Indo-Caribbeans. The construction of ethnic identity and culture is the result of both convention and innovation--a dialectic played out by ethnic groups for reshaping and redefining ethnic self-conceptions and culture. The Hindu mandir examined in this thesis was characterized by a synchretistic fusion of Indo-Caribbean and South Asian cultural traditions, and this has resulted in the emergence of a new and second diasporic Indo-Caribbean ethnic identity: an identity that takes the form of an imaginary South Asian Indian identity. For Indo-Caribbeans, the melding together of elements from both the past and present is crucial for redefining who and what they are and wish to be. This new "Indian" identity is tantamount to the creation of "new ethnicity" or ethnic rediscovery. The idea of trying to reconnect with one's ethnic "roots" is not just simply an aspect of ethnic renewal or ethnic rediscovery, but one that represents a significant instance of constructed ethnicity. As such, this study contributes significantly to our understanding of ethnicity as a socially constructed phenomenon. This sociological ethnographic case study was located within the Social Constructionist approach to ethnicity--a theoretical model that emphasizes the dynamic and fluid nature of ethnic relations. In keeping with the qualitative nature of the case study methodology, this study necessitated the utilization of field research. The rich body of ethnographic data derived from participant observation and in-depth semi-structured interviews contributed to our understanding of inductive theoretical reformulation made possible through the grounded theory approach.
Tyrone Guthrie and the open stage controversy in postwar Britain

Tyrone Guthrie directed for the Stratford Festival Theatre, Ontario, on a large open stage that was designed for ritual performances of Shakespeare in 1953. Ten years later in Minneapolis he created a similar open stage modified to suit a wider repertoire. The appeal of these stages was their intimacy and economy of means as an alternative to proscenium staging. Although Guthrie was not the first director to be involved with the architecture of theatres, he emphasized the important role of theatre artists in such work. His stages directly inspired the development of open stages in Britain at Chichester (1962) and Sheffield (1972) and stimulated controversy which effectively started in 1962. This debate was at its peak between traditionalists and neo-Brechtians on the Building Committee for Britain's National Theatre (1962-1976). A unique large open stage (Olivier Theatre) was planned for the National, primarily influenced by Peter Hall's ideas for acting on such stages. Under Hall's direction, the RSC developed a large open stage innovation for the Barbican Theatre (1982), which became the locus of social and political arguments about arts complexes and took the controversy beyond the realm of artistic considerations. The open form continued to interest British directors who were looking for alternative forms for mainstream venues. Later innovations are exemplified by the Swan Theatre (1986), a small wooden conversion planned by Trevor Nunn, built in the Conference Hall of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre.
The rhetoric of deracination in Q, a reassessment

This study investigates the most prevalent view of the social circumstances prompting the Synoptic Sayings Gospel Q, namely Gerd Theissen's thesis of radical itinerant preachers. The focus of the investigation is on Q, and specifically its inversionary rhetoric and language of uprootedness, which is, of course, fertile territory for the itinerancy hypothesis. After reviewing the scholarly history of this theory, several substantial conclusions are drawn. First, the actual textual evidence for the itinerancy hypothesis is very tenuous indeed. For the most part, a prior assumption of itinerancy is required for the texts in question actually to evince the peripatetic behavior imputed to their tradents. The entire hypothesis should certainly be called into question at least as regards Q. Second, the immediate material context for the rise of earliest Christianity, Q included, is one of socio-economic crisis. This crisis was caused by a deliberate effort to restructure the northern Galilean local economy along lines more conducive to a monetized and trade- (and booty-) oriented Roman Imperial economy. Galilean isolation, especially from the coast, had allowed the region a measure of autonomy both social and economic, putting a natural brake on the degree to which the region could be exploited by outside political powers. Antipas' foundation of new cities within the Galilee, however, most especially Tiberias, put an end to this autonomy and caused significant social and economic changes. The foundation of cities and the consequent loss of local autonomy marked the period and region with which we are concerned. Third, the reaction of the Q tradents was a reaction of local "village scribes" to these changes, which deleteriously affected their social standing. Their rhetoric of deracination is a symbolic reflection of their loss of independent local standing and power. But more than this, it is also a careful rhetorical strategy to enlist local support for a program intended to reaffirm autonomy, to endeavour to return to the autonomous days of the past, in which, for the Q tradents, local relations were marked by a kind of idealized reciprocity and justice.
Intergenerational changes in the distribution of Canadian living standards

In this thesis I investigate how the distribution of living standards has changed for different generations, and what this may imply for social welfare and social stability. The first chapter introduces the thesis by presenting information that suggests that differences in living standards between young and old households might be growing wider. In the second chapter, some of the problems with social measurements are examined. As the choice of index can affect the measured speed and direction of social change, such choices can become identified with the group whose interests are best promoted by that choice. Unlike most complete index measures of social change, stochastic dominance rankings provide impartial social rankings that are robust to a wide range of reasonable social preferences. Furthermore stochastic dominance rankings can be embedded in a theory of ethics consistent with individual choice, and can be implemented with simple robust tests. In the third chapter, I examine whether divisions between young and old Canadian families are deepening. I find that standard measures of difference indicate a growing divide in the income and consumption of young and older families. Whether these divisions are likely to be a source of social discord is examined by a novel index and ranking procedure that measures the polarization between groups. The evidence suggests that the growing divisions have not created a strong growth in polarization, largely because of growing heterogeneity within each generation. The fourth and fifth chapters examine whether young and old families are continuing to benefit from economic growth. In the fourth chapter, household micro-data are used to estimate the distribution of income in young and older households. The application of Anderson's (1996) non-parametric tests for stochastic dominance indicates that older families have continued to enjoy gains in recent years, while young families have experienced declines. Extensions to Anderson's test procedure are proposed in the fifth chapter to test for stochastic dominance in bivariate distributions. Using household micro-data, the bivariate distribution of consumption and leisure was estimated. The stochastic dominance tests confirmed the gains found in income data for older households and the declines found in younger households. The sixth chapter draws conclusions. The main observation is that divisions have grown, but polarization has not increased, and that because these divisions are found in consumption data, they are likely to reflect permanent changes to the expected lifetime living standards of young households.
Safety for battered women in a textually mediated legal system

Using Dorothy Smith's work on institutional ethnography I have conducted an investigation of the Duluth, Minnesota, criminal court system which shows how the safety of battered women becomes marginalized in the process of managing cases. Those efforts which have been made to build safety into this system have been piecemeal. The complexity of the case processing system results in a single case being processed by six levels of government, over a dozen agencies, and as many as thirty individuals. I have shown that the system is textually mediated at every point of institutional action and is embedded in an institution which is hierarchical, incident focused, bureaucratically fragmented, and based in an adversarial process of resolving cases. Each of these features of criminal law compromises the likelihood of practitioners taking protective measures for battered women. I have shown that the daily routines of the legal system are linked to ideological ways of interpreting women's lives and extended relations of social ruling. I have proposed conducting an interagency safety audit as a legal reform strategy which can identify concrete ways to insert victim safety into domestic-assault case management procedures.
The Stoic theory of aisthêsis

In this thesis I examine the meaning and role of the term $\alpha\acute\iota\sigma\theta\eta\sigma\iota\varsigma$ in early Stoic thought. A$\acute\iota\sigma\theta\eta\sigma\iota\varsigma$ is usually translated as "perception" and is frequently conflated with the term $\varphi\alpha\nu\tau\alpha\sigma\acute\iota\alpha$ or "presentation." Scholarly discussions over the last century have focused almost exclusively on the role of $\varphi\alpha\nu\tau\alpha\sigma\acute\iota\alpha$. This dissertation targets those elements of the Stoic theory of perception that have been neglected. I, therefore, have two primary objectives: (1) to investigate the various meanings of the term $\alpha\acute\iota\sigma\theta\eta\sigma\iota\varsigma$, and (2) to examine $\alpha\acute\iota\sigma\theta\eta\sigma\iota\varsigma$ as a physical process responsible for sense-perception. By focusing on these two neglected elements of the Stoic theory of perception I believe that the overall theory will be more clearly understood. According to the Stoics the term $\alpha\acute\iota\sigma\theta\eta\sigma\iota\varsigma$ is ambiguous. In chapter one I examine the various meanings and denotations attributed to the term. These can be reduced to three general meanings: the apparatus of sense-perception, the activity of the apparatus, and the culminating apprehension. These three general meanings form the skeleton of this dissertation. In chapters two and three I examine the nature of the sensory apparatus, and in particular, the role of $\pi\nu\varepsilon\tilde\upsilon\mu\alpha$ as the material substance of the sensory apparatus. In chapters four and five I examine the activity of the sensory apparatus and mechanism which is responsible for the successful transmission and reception of sensory information. I also analyse the individual senses and reconstruct the Stoic theory of vision. The final chapter is an examination of the culminating event of sense-perception, the apprehension $\lbrack\kappa\alpha\tau\acute\alpha\lambda\eta\psi\iota\varsigma\rbrack$ of the sense-object. This is defined as an assent to a clear and incorrigible sensory presentation. In the course of this investigation we shall see that the term $\alpha\acute\iota\sigma\theta\eta\sigma\iota\varsigma$ does not refer to all "sensory experience" or "sensation." As an activity, $\alpha\acute\iota\sigma\theta\eta\sigma\iota\varsigma$ is responsible for all sensory experience but is not identified as the experience. The term $\alpha\acute\iota\sigma\theta\eta\sigma\iota\varsigma,$ in its epistemological sense, is reserved exclusively for a successful and incorrigible apprehension through the senses. It, therefore, should not be conflated with non or mis-assented presentations.
The effect of cross-cultural training on cross-cultural skills, adjustment, and performance in a transcultural nursing context

This thesis examines the effects of information-based versus experientially-based cross-cultural (C/C) training programs on the adjustment and performance of nurses in a domestic transcultural nursing context. Mediating and moderating constructs were derived from the international C/C management literature and Social Cognitive Theory (Bandura, 1986). Mediating constructs include the nurse's C/C self-efficacy regarding (1) the effective application of her cultural knowledge (hypothesized to mediate the relationship between C/C training rigor & C/C adjustment) and (2) her ability to perform interactive nursing activities with culturally-different patients (hypothesized to mediate the relationship between C/C training rigor & C/C performance). Moderating constructs include perceptual flexibility (i.e., tolerance for the particular kind of ambiguity that is posed by transcultural situations; hypothesized to moderate the relationship between C/C training rigor & each type of C/C self-efficacy), cultural-distance (i.e., between nurses and their patients hypothesized to moderate the relationship between each type of C/C self-efficacy & its corresponding outcome of C/C adjustment or performance), and intensity of interaction (i.e., frequency and breadth of the interactions required by nurses with patients of diverse medical conditions; also hypothesized to moderate the relationship between each type of C/C self-efficacy & its corresponding outcome of C/C adjustment or performance). These relationships were examined via a quasi-experimental cross-sectional design in 9 Toronto hospitals. Subjects (148 staff nurses & their supervisors) completed questionnaires with reliable measures that tapped into the constructs of interest. Self & supervisor performance appraisals were sought. Results partially supported the hypothesized model. Theoretical implications included: (1) the positive effect of C/C training on C/C performance generalizes to a domestic C/C context; (2) the positive effect of C/C training on C/C adjustment does not generalize to an environmentally-turbulent, domestic C/C context; (3) C/C skills may be effectively operationalized in the form of C/C self-efficacy; (4) these two operationalizations of C/C self-efficacy are differentially related to C/C training and performance; (5) prior C/C exposure facilitates transfer of training insofar as the exposure is contextually similar to the work environment; and (6) perceptual flexibility is significantly correlated to C/C adjustment and performance but does not impede learning. The key practical implication is that C/C training can improve nurses' C/C performance.
Feminist anti-violence activism, the struggle towards multi-centred politics

This thesis examines the challenges and possibilities that have arisen as a result of the increasingly broad participation of diverse groups of women in anti-violence activism. Interviews with twenty-one feminist anti-violence activists from a wide variety of service provision and activist sites in Toronto reveal the impact of pressures (e.g., professionalization, institutionalization) on activism against male violence as well as weaknesses in some forms of feminist theory and practice (e.g., racism and other forms of exclusionary practices.) It is argued that despite the ways in which these challenges are threatening feminists' structural understanding of violence against women and the achievement of solidarity among diverse groups of women, new forms of multi-centred practice and theory are emerging which reflect and sustain both radical analyses and alliances between women. A look at this practice and the challenges and pressures that undermine it, suggests that the ability to sustain multicentred analyses and practices will be key factors in determining feminist anti-violence activists' ability to avoid internal movement fragmentation and co-optation by traditional social and political institutions.
A framework for visual system configuration

System modelling is an important sub-area of software configuration management (SCM); it is concerned with how software systems are composed from their constituent elements. This dissertation investigates several problems associated with current approaches, and introduces the ConForm framework for visual system modelling. A shortcoming of most SCM environments is that their system modelling notations incorporate only a small amount of the available information about a system and its components; in particular, architectural information, such as system structure and component interconnections, is rarely considered. There are several resulting problems: (1) System models are often inscrutable and difficult to derive by visual inspection. (2) Usually, there is no guarantee that the components listed in a system model can be combined in a meaningful way, or that all components are present. (3) It is often difficult to reason about the effects of replacing components, and only limited automated support may be given for the construction of new systems. (4) System modelling notations are often inherently textual, ad hoc, lack formal foundations, and are tied to a particular programming language. The purpose of ConForm (Configuration Formalism) is to address these inadequacies within a single framework. In particular, ConForm: (1) supports the modelling of software systems as a composition of versioned components; (2) explicitly models architectural information, such as system structure and component interconnections; (3) models relationships between versions of components based on architectural information; (4) has a core formal model that is independent of any implementation language or platform, but may be extended to handle industrial languages such as C; (5) allows user-defined design constraints to be modelled and enforced; and (6) has both a textual and a visual representation. ConForm's data model and calculus of system construction are formally defined using the Z specification language. A prototype version of ConForm has been constructed as a proof of concept, using the formal definition as a guide.
Towards task transparency in alternative computer access, selection of text through switch-based scanning

Current access technology for people with disabilities is based on a concept called transparency. Developers have generally interpreted this by building access systems that emulate the keyboard and mouse. In contrast, this thesis proposes and studies a refinement to transparent access, called task transparency. This approach has much potential impact on scanning access within a GUI. Here, scanning is applied to the underlying tasks, rather than emulating the input devices. The goal is to derive new knowledge and understanding of the interactions that arise with a number of strategies that apply switch-based scanning to text selection in a task transparent fashion. In the case of selecting text, it was demonstrated that directness to the task could be achieved with minimal effort by applying scanning within the text area itself. The concepts are readily extended across other GUI objects including menus, buttons, and window controls. These objects can be incorporated within the access system such that they are directly engaged in the scanning. Through such strategies, users can significantly reduce their efforts and in doing so achieve greater overall productivity, and accomplish tasks that are otherwise strenuous. Text scanning was implemented using repeating keys injected by an on-screen keyboard such that the user perceived scanning in the text area. Two test applications were developed and used to evaluate a number of proposed text scanning strategies. In addition, predictive performance models were derived to predict performance measures under error-free conditions. Initial design guidelines for scanning in a task transparent fashion were also formulated. An access system developer could extend the concepts in new ways with scanning and other access methods. Future areas of research are identified that may improve overall productivity. Through this work I have contributed new knowledge towards improving scanning access and I have demonstrated the feasibility of task transparency by which further gains are possible.
Die Darstellung der Troerinnen in den Trojaromanen Benoîts de Sainte-Maure und Herborts von Fritzlar, ein vergleich

This dissertation compares the presentation of Helen, Cassandra, Polyxena, Hecuba, and Andromache--five prominent female figures of the Trojan War--by Benoi t de Sainte-Maure in his Roman de Troie and by Herbort von Fritzlar in his Liet von Troye, two narratives of the twelfth century which witnessed a keen interest by Anglo-Norman nobility in asserting its purported descent from the nobility of Troy. As the courtly culture of France had established itself as a model for other European courts, a German sovereign, Hermann von Thuringen, acquired Benoi t's Roman de Troie and asked Herbort von Fritzlar to adapt it for his court. The Liet von Troye was most likely written around 1195 to furnish the story preceding that of Heinrich von Veldeke's Eneasroman. Both authors narrate generally the same stories of these five Trojan women, but differ in the presentation of their love and guilt. While Benoi t shows the beneficial effects of love through Helen and Andromache--Andromache becomes the mother of the new Troy--Herbort points to Helen's unfaithfulness, to love's dangerous ways in the example of Polyxena, and, in Andromache, to the salutary consequences of a virtuous mother's love. Both authors consider Andromache per se guiltless and do not blame Cassandra either, but show differences in assigning guilt regarding the other women: Herbort blames love in the case of Polyxena and considers the unfaithful Helen guilty, and Benoi t assigns blame to Hecuba because of her loss of faith, while attributing Troy's destruction and Polyxena's death to fate. The importance of Helen, Cassandra, Polyxena, Hecuba, and Andromache is weighed differently by Benoi t and by Herbort. The reason for these differences is that, although both authors inform, entertain, and teach through these women, they present them with different goals in mind: Benoi t educates his audience in affairs of the court, emphasizing the idea of nobility as continuing from Troy onward, whereas Herbort, who does not show evidence of that tradition, gives his audience lessons in morality.