This thesis describes the development of microfluidic (MF) platforms for the study of biological and chemical processes. In particular the thesis is divided into two distinct parts: (i) development of a MF methodology to generate tunable cell-laden microenvironments for detailed studies of cell behavior, and (ii) the design and fabrication of MF reactors for studies of chemical reactions. First, this thesis presented the generation of biopolymer microenvironments for cell studies. In the first project we demonstrated a high-throughput MF system for generating cell-laden agarose microgels with a controllable ratio of two different types of cells. The MF co-encapsulation system was shown to be a robust method for identifying autocrine and/or paracrine dependence of specific cell subpopulations. In the second project we studied the effect of the mechanical properties on the behavior of acute myeloid leukemia (AML2) cancer cells. Cell-laden macroscopic agarose gels were prepared at varying agarose concentrations. A modest range of the elastic modulus of the agarose gels were achieved, ranging from 0.62 kPa to 20.21 kPa at room temperature. We observed a pronounced decrease in cell proliferation in stiffer gels when compared to the gels with lower elastic moduli. The second part of the thesis focuses on the development of MF platforms for studying chemical reactions. In the third project presented in this thesis, we exploited the temperature dependent solubility of CO2 in order to: (i) study the temperature mediated CO2 transfer between the gas and the various liquid phases on short time scales, and (ii) to generate bubbles with a dense layer of colloid particles (armoured bubbles). The fourth project involved the fabrication of a multi-modal MF device with integrated analytical probes. The MF device comprised a pH, temperature, and ATR-FTIR probes for in-situ analysis of chemical reactions in real-time. Furthermore, the MF reactor featured a temperature controlled feedback system capable of maintaining on-chip temperatures at flow rates up to 50 mL/hr.

Digital media storytelling and the creation of narrative texts using digital technology is an emerging social process that is being utilized by social workers as a means of engaging in critical reflection. As an emerging practice, little is known about the contributions that these texts make to critical social work knowledge; to this end this thesis considers social worker's use of digital media storytelling as a tool for resisting and remembering and as a tool for critical reflection about their changing field. Six digital media stories are considered in this thesis. The texts are deconstructed using multi-modal analysis informed by internet/digital media research scholarship. The layers produced through this deconstruction are crystalized using critical discourse, narrative and metaphor analysis in order to develop a complex understanding of the multi-modal and multi-vocal meaning making processes inherent in these stories. The analysis reveals the way in which discourses and themes present in the contemporary context of social work practice such as neo-liberalism, managerialism and professionalization, are brought to life in the narratives produced by the social workers, who each tell their stories using different genres, from unique points of view, based on their individual subjective positions. The findings point to the significance of digital media storytelling as an important resources for knowledge production and knowledge dissemination. The analysis further points to the significance of connections between and among these texts as demonstrating the tensions and contradictions that are produced through the workers’ attempts to bring to life the social justice values, goals and objectives of social work to which they are committed in a social climate that is increasingly hostile to such approaches to human service work.

Digital media storytelling and the creation of narrative texts using digital technology is an emerging social process that is being utilized by social workers as a means of engaging in critical reflection. As an emerging practice, little is known about the contributions that these texts make to critical social work knowledge; to this end this thesis considers social worker's use of digital media storytelling as a tool for resisting and remembering and as a tool for critical reflection about their changing field. Six digital media stories are considered in this thesis. The texts are deconstructed using multi-modal analysis informed by internet/digital media research scholarship. The layers produced through this deconstruction are crystalized using critical discourse, narrative and metaphor analysis in order to develop a complex understanding of the multi-modal and multi-vocal meaning making processes inherent in these stories. The analysis reveals the way in which discourses and themes present in the contemporary context of social work practice such as neo-liberalism, managerialism and professionalization, are brought to life in the narratives produced by the social workers, who each tell their stories using different genres, from unique points of view, based on their individual subjective positions. The findings point to the significance of digital media storytelling as an important resources for knowledge production and knowledge dissemination. The analysis further points to the significance of connections between and among these texts as demonstrating the tensions and contradictions that are produced through the workers’ attempts to bring to life the social justice values, goals and objectives of social work to which they are committed in a social climate that is increasingly hostile to such approaches to human service work.

This thesis describes the development of microfluidic (MF) platforms for the study of biological and chemical processes. In particular the thesis is divided into two distinct parts: (i) development of a MF methodology to generate tunable cell-laden microenvironments for detailed studies of cell behavior, and (ii) the design and fabrication of MF reactors for studies of chemical reactions. First, this thesis presented the generation of biopolymer microenvironments for cell studies. In the first project we demonstrated a high-throughput MF system for generating cell-laden agarose microgels with a controllable ratio of two different types of cells. The MF co-encapsulation system was shown to be a robust method for identifying autocrine and/or paracrine dependence of specific cell subpopulations. In the second project we studied the effect of the mechanical properties on the behavior of acute myeloid leukemia (AML2) cancer cells. Cell-laden macroscopic agarose gels were prepared at varying agarose concentrations. A modest range of the elastic modulus of the agarose gels were achieved, ranging from 0.62 kPa to 20.21 kPa at room temperature. We observed a pronounced decrease in cell proliferation in stiffer gels when compared to the gels with lower elastic moduli. The second part of the thesis focuses on the development of MF platforms for studying chemical reactions. In the third project presented in this thesis, we exploited the temperature dependent solubility of CO2 in order to: (i) study the temperature mediated CO2 transfer between the gas and the various liquid phases on short time scales, and (ii) to generate bubbles with a dense layer of colloid particles (armoured bubbles). The fourth project involved the fabrication of a multi-modal MF device with integrated analytical probes. The MF device comprised a pH, temperature, and ATR-FTIR probes for in-situ analysis of chemical reactions in real-time. Furthermore, the MF reactor featured a temperature controlled feedback system capable of maintaining on-chip temperatures at flow rates up to 50 mL/hr.