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A study of millerite from Cu-Ni-PGE footwall veins, Sudbury, ON: crystal-chemistry, morphology, & geological implications
Millerite (-NiS) is a common accessory mineral in magmatic Cu-Ni-PGE deposits, such
as those occurring in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. In such localities, millerite develops as platy
crystals, often forming large, cleavable masses. This is in stark contrast to the more widespread
occurrence of millerite as a hydrothermal precipitate within vugs in carbonate basins, where it
develops an acicular morphology, with crystals often exhibiting exaggerated aspect ratios (l:w >
20). The reason for these contrasting morphologies is attributed directly to the genesis of
magmatic millerite that initially crystallizes as the high-temperature mineral crowningshieldite
(-NiS), later inverting to millerite upon further cooling. The morphology exhibited by platy
millerite is thus representative of crowningshieldite via a paramorphic relationship. Millerite of
magmatic origin also frequently exhibits secondary twinning on {011̅2}, resulting from a postcrystallization increase in pressure. Development of these twins produces a variable response
under BSE microscopy that is attributed to orientation contrast
Conscientious objection to effective referral for medical assistance in dying: an analysis in terms of Rawlsian liberal political theory
The recent legalization of medical assistance in dying (MAID) and the contentious mandatory
effective referral policy implemented by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario
(CPSO) have spurred robust legal and academic debate around the following question: to what
extent should the CPSO limit physicians’ ability to conscientiously object to referrals for
healthcare services? Rawlsian political liberalism ranks conscience freedoms as fundamental
liberties central to justice in a liberal democracy, whereas equality of access to goods or services
rank secondarily. Mandatory effective referrals make unjust demands on some physicians by
requiring them to take positive action against their consciences. Patients should have direct
access to assenting physicians for services where fundamental moral disagreements are common,
as is the case with abortion, for example. In order to protect patient autonomy, conscientious
objections should be public so that patients can make informed choices about their primary
healthcare providers prior to coming under their care
Understanding the staff cancer through the perceived experiences of varsity male soccer players
Informal roles can be beneficial or detrimental to sport performance.
Researchers have identified negative informal roles within sports and
organisational contexts; however, exploration of these roles has been
limited to athletes within sports research or staff members within organisational research. To our knowledge, negative informal roles occupied by
a staff member on a sports team have not been studied. The purpose of
the current research was to develop an introductory understanding of
a negative informal staff role on a sports team, henceforth referred to as
the staff cancer. Working within a critical realist framework, we utilised
photo elicitations and arts-based conversational interviews to augment
comfort and interview seven former varsity male soccer players concerning their perceived experiences of the staff cancer. Two overarching
themes representing the characteristics and consequences of the staff
cancer were developed using an interpretive/inductive thematic analysis.
Four subthemes represent the characteristics theme, including passionate, insecure, controlling, and poor communicator, while five subthemes
represent the consequences theme, including poor mental health, team
divide, team unification, diminished performance, and increased attrition.
The results are presented through a composite vignette to safeguard
participant confidentially. This manuscript makes a valuable contribution
towards understanding some of the characteristics and consequences of
the staff cancer, showcases clarity regarding the application of critical
realism, and highlights how combining methods can be used to augment
participant comfort when discussing sensitive topics, such as coaches’ and
athletes’ power hierarchies
Mining scars of single industry communities: an architectural response to the ecological impact of the mining industry in the Lakeshore Basin, Kirkland Lake, Ontario.
This research aims to create a better understanding of the ecological economies and cultural identity within
industrial communities and create a strategy for the second life of single industry cities and towns. Communities which are dependent on a single industry for employment become established in parallel with industrial economies, industry in turn becomes integrated in their identity, landscape and urban fabric. With a high
number of these towns and cities reliant on mining in particular, they become incredibly susceptible to world
price fluctuations. 1 The mine within the community is a double-edged sword, in that through settlement it
provides jobs and economic benefits, but in its reliance on finite minerals it creates an unsustainable resource
for the community. Having been born and raised in Kirkland Lake, Ontario which is a single industry mining town, I have a good understanding that this reliance guides many communities into boom bust
cycles, which ultimately leads to population decline, decreased local services, and reduced property value.
2 This understanding has led me to choose Kirkland Lake as the location for my thesis, my connection to
the community will be an asset within this body of research
Revisiting a traditional brick: a modern approach to an age old material
This thesis will investigate robotically 3D printed bricks as a
structural material to construct a funicular structure without the use
of mortar or adhesives, and thus eliminate the need for falsework.
The use of robotic fabrication processes will create bricks that yield
less waste and provide greater effciency in the construction process.
A new approach for a traditional brick will be investigated, using
design and fabrication through digital architectural design. With the
extreme changes in temperature and signifcant yearly precipitation
in Sudbury, being able to get out of the environmental conditions is
a necessity. Often wait times for buses can vary from 15 minutes to
three hours, depending on whether it is a rural or urban area. A bus
shelter that can be easily implemented will be designed specifc to
site, using pre-fabricated 3D printed components that will interlock
when assembled. Through the use of advanced manufacturing
technology, processes to reduce embodied energy within a material
and building strategy will be explored; introducing a new typology for
the understanding of a modern brick and its potential. The process
for geometry development will range from analogue explorations
to digital geometry-based optimization techniques of form and
fabrication.
The robotic additive manufacturing of custom bricks, will
inform the exploration of a funicular structure by enriching the known
formal vocabulary of shell design, by way of advanced manufacturing
processes. The brick is a building block used extensively in
architecture. By expanding the manufacturing processes of traditional
brick, a new ideology can evolve, one that combines natural
materials with a funicular typology. This study refects contemporary
technologies, while revisiting historical construction techniques for
stereotomic stone and brick. It will further develop effcient design and
fabrication strategies for a funicular structure, based on architectural
and structural requirements and constraints. It will employ the use of
computational design tools and form fnding methods to assist in the
development of a funicular structure without the need for falsework
La question du rapport au corps dans la formation en STAPS : Cas de deux enseignants universitaires tunisiens
Comment le corps de l’enseignant universitaire expérimenté se
déploie-t-il en formation pratique STAPS ? Cette étude comparative de l’effet
du rapport au corps de deux enseignants universitaires expérimentés sur leurs
pratiques enseignantes se base sur une double filiation théorique : didactique
et clinique d’inspiration psychanalytique (Terrisse & Carnus, 2009 ; Carnus &
Terrisse, 2013). Elle constitue le prolongement des travaux de l’EDiC sur la
didactique universitaire (Sghaier, Ben Jomâa, Mami, Kpazaï, & Bouassida,
2019 ; Ben Jomâa, Abdelkefi, Chili, Majdoub, & Kpazaï, 2018) et se réfère
ainsi au cadre théorique de la didactique clinique universitaire à perspective
de formation (Romainville, 2002 ; Altet, 1994 ; Perrenoud, 1994). Le primat
accordé à l’analyse de la place du rapport « différentiel » au corps dans l’enseignement supérieur, à travers le prisme de l’expérience professionnelle
et au regard du genre (Ben Jomâa, 2019) vise à étudier les articulations entre
rapport au corps, genre et action didactique. Cette prise en compte a priori et
a posteriori de la pratique enseignante s’organise à travers deux études de cas
rapprochés, dont nous avons l’intention d’examiner et d’en comparer
notamment le rapport au corps (féminin vs masculin) et son rôle dans les choix
didactiques, quant à l’usage de la distance « didactique », des formes
ostensives et des formes de proxémie sous un angle clinique. Cette recherche
se veut descriptive et compréhensive. Elle se focalise sur l’analyse des ressorts
de l’acte d’enseignement au supérieur à travers une épistémologie pratique
privée, un déjà-là singulier et des postures professorales différenciées. Les
résultats de la présente recherche ont permis d'identifier un
rapport « différentiel au corps » qui se déploie. L'enseignant masculin a un
rapport techniciste au corps, tandis que l'enseignante féminin a un rapport
régulateur au corps. Ce rapport « différentiel au corps » est révélateur d’un
rapport au savoir singulier, propre à l'histoire de chaque enseignant
Make(over): an integrated rhetorical analysis of masculine transformation in Disney animated film
This thesis analyzes patterned constructions of paternal, hetero-masculine heroism in
three contemporary CGI animated Disney films: Wall-E (2008), Wreck-It Ralph (2012), and Big
Hero 6 (2014). Wall-E the robot, Ralph the avatar, and Baymax the automaton, are maleidentified “artificial figures” who are positioned as inferior and insufficiently masculine because
of their flawed physiques or social anomalies (Kakoudaki 2-3). Through processes of
transformation, these seemingly unconventional males learn to present and perform their gender
in ways that comply with hegemonic ideals of hetero, patriarchal masculinity. There are three
main rhetorical strategies used in each film to map the male characters’ transformations.
Juxtaposition, discipline, and reward are employed to project a set of ideals about gender, to
correct deviance from these ideals, and to reward conformity. The artificial figures in the three
films analyzed in this study reveal the latest trend in male-focused Disney animated makeover
narratives.
All three Disney animated films employ the makeover motif to reinstate dominant
conceptualizations of masculinity despite occasional attempts to counter some of the male body
types, gender role stereotypes, and male/female power dynamics found in previous Disney
animated stories featuring male characters. Wall-E appears to be a fragile, dirty, broken lowclass labourer; Ralph is emotionally stunted and banished from his community; Baymax is fat,
androgynous, and desires to care and nurture, which are traditionally “feminine” characteristics.
However, although these animated films present slightly revised versions of masculinity by
incorporating postfeminist characteristics into the narrative fold, as a whole, the films do not
alter, in any significant way, conventional presentations of masculine physical supremacy,
traditional gender roles, as well as patriarchal and hetero-normative structures. As my analysis
demonstrates, it is more accurate to view these films as promoting the illusion of progress,
particularly through the transformation narratives featured in each film.
Thus, this dissertation answers a broad question about Disney’s masculine makeovers:
what type(s) of male bodies and masculine roles are considered ideal according to these animated
films? To answer this guiding question, I address the following sub-questions: how do the films
through their visual, aural, and kinesic modes give preference to particular models of masculinity
and how do these accounts of masculinity act upon audiences in a combined sensorialideological way?
Drawing on concepts and methods from gender scholarship within Disney Studies,
postfeminism (Angela McRobbie and Rosalind Gill), gender order theory (R.W. Connell),
rhetorical criticism (Kenneth Burke), rhetorical materialism (Carole Blair), social semiotics and
multimodality (Carey Jewitt), structural Marxism (Louis Althusser), cine-psychoanalysis (Laura
Mulvey), cultural materialism (Mikhail Bahktin), and cultural studies (Stuart Hall), this study
examines the symbolic choices and patterns used by Disney filmmakers not only to characterize
the gender of their artificial figures but also to uphold particular idealizations of masculinity.
The communication of ideology through film is not limited to the literal meaning of the
narrative. It also occurs through emotional appeals enacted by the aesthetic elements of the films.
The affective dimensions of these films and their capacity to instruct (in an ideological sense)
and arouse (in an embodied, material sense) can shape the audience’s perceptions of gender and
social relations.
This study thus engages in a modified approach to ideological rhetorical criticism that
accounts for the sensorial and affective dimensions of film. I call this method integrated for it
attends to both the individual and collaborative functions of three symbolic modes: visual, aural,
and kinesic used to promote hegemonic constructs of masculinity as well as to provoke
embodied reactions in audiences that strengthen their identification with the characters and their
makeover journeys. As a whole, this thesis uncovers how meanings about paternal, heteromasculine heroism emerge in the interaction of these three symbolic modes and what types of
messages these films articulate, reinforce, or suppress to the embodied and emotionally-involved
audience
Characterization of the novel 4-chloro-1-piperidin-1ylmethyl-1H-indole-2,3-dione compound (Raja 42) for its antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli, Clostridium difficile, Staphylococcus aureus and Helicobacter pylori
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), drug-resistant bacteria are prevalent in 83.3% of the regions where WHO conducts surveillance. Furthermore, the number of antibiotic resistant bacterial strains increases every year, necessitating the development of new classes of antibacterial agents. Toward developing a novel class of antibacterial agents, we have created a chemical library using chloroquine as the basic scaffold. We screened our chemical library of 211 compounds to identify antibacterial activity. Twenty-seven were effective on drug-sensitive E. coli strains as well as on those resistant to ampicillin, kanamycin or NDM-1. In addition, they were also effective against Staphylococcus aureus and methicillin-resistant S. aureus. Since all of them contain an isatin moiety, they are classified as the γ-lactam class of antibiotics. Although similarities can be seen in the spectrum of activities of γ-lactam-based and β-lactam-based antibiotics, there are marked differences in the activity against antibiotic resistant bacterial strains. One of the new compounds, Raja 42 (4-chloro-1-piperidin-1ylmethyl-1H-indole-2,3-dione), displayed a lowered MIC value and, therefore, was chosen for further studies. In addition to its excellent activity against E. coli, Raja 42 is also notably effective against Helicobacter pylori and Clostridium difficile isolates from patients.
I set out to unravel the molecular mechanism by which Raja 42 exhibits its antibacterial effects. Data from cellular and fluorescent microscopic assays showed that bacteria were killed rapidly in the presence of Raja 42. A time-kill and membrane depolarization assays confirmed the rapid cell killing by Raja 42, suggesting that the mode of killing by the compound is likely due to the disruption of bacterial cell membrane. To further investigate this possibility, I carried out protein 2-D gel electrophoresis in an attempt to identify proteins involved in the Raja 42-mediated cell killing. In the process, those proteins differentially expressed in response to Raja 42 were isolated and their identities were determined by peptide fingerprinting using mass spectrometry. The resultant data revealed that several proteins involved in the reactive oxygen species (ROS) pathway are upregulated in the Raja 42-treated samples. In parallel, ten clones resistant to Raja 42 were generated, and their nucleotide sequences were determined. A 27 bp deletion upstream of the promoter region of ghrA, a necessary catalytic converter of glyoxylate to glycolate in the glyoxylate shunt pathway, was found to be present in all of the Raja 42-resistant clones. This data suggests that the ablation of ghrA is directly related to the Raja 42 resistant phenotype. To determine the quantitative gene expression of bacteria in response to Raja 42 treatment, QPCR analysis was carried out. To solidify the mechanism of Raja 42 further, rescue experiments were performed to determine the importance of ghrA. Taken all the data together, Raja 42 appears to kill bacteria by upregulating the level of cellular ROS through rapidly redirecting the metabolic pathways
Cellular and dosimetric characterization for biological studies of sub-natural background radiation
Living things have evolved and grown in the presence of natural background radiation. Many
biologic studies have been conducted with levels above natural background, but very few have
examined sub background levels of radiation. A specialized tissue culture incubator (STCI) was
constructed to shield against environmental radiation within SNOLAB. GEANT4 simulations of
the STCI results showed a substantial decrease in dose rate compared to above ground and below
ground incubator environments at 0.51 nGy/hr (for the STCI) vs 18.51 nGy/hr and 19.1 nGy/hr
respectively, which equates to a 37.5 fold and 36.3 fold reduction in dose respectively.
Compared to other sub background experimental dose rates (such as those conducted by Gran
Sasso), the STCI is lower by a factor of 7.5. Neoplastic transformation assays were run above
ground using the CGL1 hybridized cell line, both treated with aluminum and without. This
experiment has laid out the protocol for future below ground assays in SNOLAB using the STCI.
It has also led to interesting trends worth studying in future experimentation. Compared to the 0
mGy control, the 3000 mGy dose point was statistically significant (p-value <0.05) both with
aluminum and without
Structure, subject, and experiment: first forays of interdisciplinary philosophical investigations
The present dissertation aims to incorporate inter-disciplinarily features of
philosophical inquiry, scientific exploration, and subjective reflection on the epistemology
of knowledge. The work begins with an extensive literature review on the topics of
MODERN PHYSICS AND PHILOSOPHY, in particular exploring in depth the PHILOSOPHY OF
PHYSICAL SCIENCE of Sir Arthur Eddington and synthesizes it with works of CLASSICAL
PHILOSOPHERS, namely Aristotle, Plato, and to a smaller extent Heraclitus. It borrows
heavily from the early movers of QUANTUM MECHANICS – Werner Heisenberg and Erwin
Schrodinger – and demonstrates their own familiarity with the aforementioned Classical
Thinkers, finally emphasizing their still necessary and continued relevance in MODERN
PHILOSOPHY OF PHYSICS. The work focusses on the nature of knowledge – EPISTEMOLOGY –
under two particular facets; that of subjectivity and the role of experimenter/observer in
creating knowledge, and that of structuralism as defined by Eddington as the metaphysical
“structure” created by the objects of inquiry, the methods used to observe them, and the
observer themselves. The introductory chapters conclude with a Treatise on the Nature of
Interdisciplinary research, emphasizing INTERDISCIPLINARITY as a naturally-occurring
process of the human mind, and thereby illustrating its omnipresence throughout the
entirety of Homo sapiens – from pre-history to CLASSICAL ANTIQUITY to the modern official
conceptualization of the term in ACADEMIA. The work proceeds with three experimental chapters designed to explore and
illustrate these above features. The first demonstrates the communication of bacteria
using photons of particular periodicities, emphasizing the notion of structure. The second
explores the most destructive of human activities, war, through the resolution of
potentially sub-conscious patterns and periodicities within this aggressive behaviour,
demonstrating its governance by Lunar cycles. The third and final experiment investigates
a fundamental behaviour of our species, language, by comparing the quantitative shifts in
frequencies and formants resultant from holding facial expressions that encapsulate
neutral, happy, and sad affective states; the phenomenon arises from the subjective expression and reception of vocalizations altered in periodic ways. The dissertation closes
with a brief exploration of dogmatic approaches to knowledge production. There are a number of objectives for the present dissertation. First, it has an
overarching aim of continuing the traditional field of what was NATURAL PHILOSOPHY – the
highly integratory science in which the barriers between disciplines had not yet been
firmly entrenched. In doing so, it is a work of interdisciplinary science, cobbling together
diverse fields as biology, biophysics, experimental psychology, linguistics, with a
particular emphasis on philosophy. It is arguably a work of EXPERIMENTAL PHILOSOPHY, only
instead of focusing on moralist issues it explores the PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE through
experimentation. Second, it enquires to what extent a particular tool is applicable in
multiple scenarios from epistemological and ontological perspectives; it questions to what
extent emergent phenomena are capable of describing the states of the biological systems.
Whether recording biophotons from bacteria, observing patterns of human warfare, or
measuring the vocalizations of psychology students, the dissertation hopes to demonstrate
signals of those systems are equivalent epistemologically; in that breaking the signal down
into its components is sufficient and justifiable for discerning knowledge of the system
that produced it. In so doing, it is possible to argue they are ontologically related as signal
phenomenon – although their precise natures of being differ, as signals they represent a
particular class of being; a messenger. Finally, the document hopes to illustrate in a
general sense the continued importance of including to some extent philosophical
considerations and perspectives within science. It desires to be a demonstration of the “BIG
PICTURE” approach to devising methodologies and comparing results for seemingly varied
fields of study, promoting the act of interdisciplinarity without ascribing to any the
nuances of particular interdisciplinary theory. In short, it emphasizes that “science can be
destroyed by having the disciplines too thin, because there is no integration.”