Relationships between the terms culture and education are often taken for granted in educational research. This study challenges some of the taken for granted assumptions around the term culture in educational contexts, particularly in secondary language arts education. It examines these assumptions through an analysis of three debates from the contemporary culture wars in education. The implications of these debates on uses of the term culture in secondary language arts education are examined through Othello as a secondary school text. I am arguing that these debates, namely, on the literary canon, multicultural education, and cultural literacy, represent intractable conflicts over definitions of the term culture. In light of these conflicts, the aim of this study is to provide language arts educators with analytical tools for developing greater theoretical rigour when defining the term culture in language arts education. Drawing on recent theoretical writings on culture, concepts of cultural capital, cultural rights, and cultural reproduction are proposed as analytical tools. I then apply these to develop a methodological approach by which to structure my analysis of Othello as a school text. The study makes a theoretical contribution by bringing into sharper focus ways in which the ideological opposition between expressions of cultural right versus cultural left perspectives is articulated in language arts education, as well as illustrating that claims about culture in the canon debate reflect competing normative assumptions; in the multicultural education debate they reflect competing essentialist constructions; and in the cultural literacy debate they reflect competing empowerment goals. Such cultural debates have a long history and thus the study also situates the contemporary culture wars in education within a wider historical context by tracing related conflicts in the history of literary criticism on and performances of Othello over the past four centuries.

Francisella tularensis is a highly infectious. Gram-negative coccobacillus that is the etiological agent of the acute. febrile. zoonotic disease tularemia. A ca. 35 kb Francisella pathogenicity island (FM) was previously discovered. Two genes. pdpA and pdpD were shown to be required for virulence. The FP1 gene pdpC encodes a protein that has no significant similarities to any motifs, domains, or homologues of known bacterial proteins. This gene of unknown function may encode a novel virulence factor involved in Francisella infection. The role of PdpC in F. novicida intracellular growth was investigated. Results from this study demonstrated that the erythromycin allelic replacement mutant of pdpC was more attenuated in intracellular growth in the murine macrophage-like J774A.1 cells than in bone marrow-derived macrophages from BALB/c mice and that complementation in trans partially complements this mutation. To further investigate the role of pdpC in virulence. partial deletion mutagenesis in the C-terminus of PdpC was performed which resulted in four mutants that showed slight attenuation in J774A.1 intramacrophage growth but behaved like wildtype F, novicida in bone marrow-derived macrophages. Chicken embryos were infected to evaluate the virulence of these pdpC mutants. The virulence of the Em allelic replacement mutant was significantly more attenuated than wildtype F. novicida and complementation partially restored virulence. Partial deletion mutants of pdpC exhibited greater virulence than the EmR mutant in chicken embryos and were able to cause 100% mortality at day 6. Furthermore, eukaryotic expression of triple FLAG-tagged PdpC in chicken embryo fibroblasts resulted in cells that exhibited different morphologies than uninfected fibroblasts which suggests that PdpC may play a role in cytoskeletal rearrangements by altering host cell signaling pathways.

Nanotechnology is more and more present in our world today and different fields are taking advantage of its possibilities. Among others, microscopists have been interested in using nanoparticles in combination with available techniques, one of which is fluorescence microscopy. Lanthanide-doped nanoparticles for example have been studied for many years now for their interesting luminescence and upconversion characteristics. This research presents the development of upconverting biolabels operating in the near-infrared (NIR) to eventually allow scientists to probe deeper into tissues using fluorescence microscopy. Two distinct types of nanoparticles were fabricated using the lanthanide ions Yb3+ and Tm3+ for their upconversion capabilities (from 980 to 800 nm) within the biological window (700 to 1000 nm). The first one, an annealed silica-coated LaF3:Yb,Tm nanoparticle, could not be used as a biolabel due to its lack of dispersibility in aqueous environment. However, the second type, a silica-coated NaYF4:Yb,Tm nanoparticles proved to be very promising. Two surface modifications of these particles were successfully performed. The first introduced NH2 groups while the second incorporated polyethyleneglycol (PEG). The latter was achieved using two distinct methods: one through a reaction with the amino groups and one through a second silica coating involving PEGsilanes. Stable dispersions of these PEGylated nanoparticles were obtained and imaging of ovarian cancer cells grown in their presence showed that they interact with the cells although the nature of this interaction is still to be determined.

Abstract In a time of unprecedented outpouring of writing about the self, the subject appears in a striking multiplicity of perspectives. Variously described in such terms as fractured, decentred, and minimal, or roundly denounced as illusory, the self in shadowy form often assumes the role of a background participant in discourse, making fleeting appearances in discussions of theory and practice across a broad range of disciplines within education. This study seeks to trace some of those forms and, in examining discussions that deal particularly with ethics and moral development, to contribute to an understanding of how variant notions of the self influence conceptual economies of meaning that travel into classrooms. Assessing how notions of the self vary, and attempting to understand their influence on particular approaches to ethical deliberation, invites engagement with questions of language, epistemology and ontology and the conceptual incommensurables that inhabit them. The study examines various aspects of selfhood under such descriptive categories as ethical agency, identity, experience and the dialogical, and discusses how these are rendered problematic by essentialist and anti-essentialist views. Based on a presentation of opposing approaches to the self, the study argues that an appreciation of the relationship between the theoretical and the practical becomes the site of a process in which individual ethical integrity may flourish. An examination of the various ways in which the self is understood through narrative focuses on the concept of narrative knowing as it appears in the writings of Jerome Bruner and Donald Polkinghorne. A critical appraisal of their views and the instantiation of these in the literature of educational research includes discussion of insights from the work of Paul Ricoeur, David Carr, and Martha Nussbaum. The phenomenological and hermeneutic perspectives they bring to an understanding of the relation between self and ethics in narrative, serves to preface a review of the formidable contribution of feminist writing. Feminist writings on the self, and particularly the ethics of care as presented in the work of Nel Noddings, offer important challenges to educators steeped in more traditional deontological ethical approaches; in this work they also serve to underscore the recurrent theme of the role of consciousness in making meaning of experiences in which human connection with others and the environment is central. Feminist insistence on the crucial role of relationship and on the consideration of the affective, embodied aspects of experience, also invite timely questions about the role of spirituality and religion in ethical perspectives. In contemplating notions of the self as spiritual, the study brings together views from outside and inside religion in an appreciation for the nuanced character of a polymorphic consciousness in confronting the summons to ethical deliberation. Various recommendations concerning the inclusion of the spiritual in curriculum are advanced in support of the principal contention of this work: that the challenge of pursuing an understanding of the elusive self in its many guises offers an indispensable opportunity for ethical development in education.

The process of creating and using participatory photonovels can empower immigrant ESL speaking women and also act as a tool to educate these women about a specific health topic. This was a qualitative case study that was conducted at an immigrant society in an urban center in British Columbia. The ESL speaking immigrant women in this study created a photonovel called From Junk Food to Healthy Eating: Tanya’s Journey to a Better Life. The findings of this research reveal some of the health experiences of ESL speaking immigrant women in Canada. The results also contribute to the growing body of knowledge that discusses effective or ineffective means to educate ESL speakers about health by improving their health literacy. Most notably, however, the photonovel project engaged the women in an educational process that raised their critical consciousness.

This study grew out of my work with Maggie, a teacher at Blueberry Vale elementary school in suburban western Canada. Maggie and I began to use cogenerative dialogues after we identified and sought a method to address a number of issues in her class. Cogenerative dialogue praxis is meetings of students, teachers, researchers, and others designed to facilitate the process of improving the teaching and learning taking place. To this time this praxis has been used exclusively at the secondary education level. As such this study developed its overarching question: what will happen when cogenerative dialogue praxis is introduced to an elementary school class? To address this question I focus on: the activities in question and try to account for the various mediating factors each action experiences; human agency, which helped me understand the role the individuals play in instigating change to the system; and an ethical understanding of responsibility. From this analysis I form these specific claims: Cogenerative dialogue praxis is an authentic research tool which, when conducted properly, can address some of the ethical issues inherent in classroom research; cogenerative dialogue praxis facilitates the discussion of the ethical issues that are part of the research setting (e.g., class); cogenerative dialogue praxis is one viable solution for teachers to ethically mediate the various activity systems that constitute a class; cogenerative dialogue praxis contains internal contradictions such that there is the potential for its openness to collapse by its openness to any comment; a significant amount of time may be spent “unfocused,” during cogenerative dialogues but many of these moments can be contextualized positively in terms of building relationships, introducing new teaching topics, and so on; during my cogenerative dialogues the group developed and implemented a model to address a problem through cycles of expansive learning; and finally I learned from Maggie how teachers work with researchers, as researchers, evaluate their own work, and can direct research studies in new directions. These topics are important to my study but also introduce further discussion in regard to ethnographic research methods, current teacher praxis, and the continual development of cogenerative dialogue praxis.

Microfluidic fuel cell architectures are presented in this thesis. This work represents the mechanical and microfluidic portion of a microfluidic biofuel cell project. While the microfluidic fuel cells developed here are targeted to eventual integration with biocatalysts, the contributions of this thesis have more general applicability. The cell architectures are developed and evaluated based on conventional non-biological electrocatalysts. The fuel cells employ co-laminar flow of fuel and oxidant streams that do not require a membrane for physical separation, and comprise carbon or gold electrodes compatible with most enzyme immobilization schemes developed to date. The demonstrated microfluidic fuel cell architectures include the following: a single cell with planar gold electrodes and a grooved channel architecture that accommodates gaseous product evolution while preventing crossover effects; a single cell with planar carbon electrodes based on graphite rods; a three-dimensional hexagonal array cell based on multiple graphite rod electrodes with unique scale-up opportunities; a single cell with porous carbon electrodes that provides enhanced power output mainly attributed to the increased active area; a single cell with flow-through porous carbon electrodes that provides improved performance and overall energy conversion efficiency; and a single cell with flow-through porous gold electrodes with similar capabilities and reduced ohmic resistance. As compared to previous results, the microfluidic fuel cells developed in this work show improved fuel cell performance (both in terms of power density and efficiency). In addition, this dissertation includes the development of an integrated electrochemical velocimetry approach for microfluidic devices, and a computational modeling study of strategic enzyme patterning for microfluidic biofuel cells with consecutive reactions.

The importance of exercising within a group has been suggested to demonstrate a positive individual and group influence on exercise adherence. In addition, the important role the group fitness leader plays is integral in the development of group cohesion and individual exercise success (Turner, Rejeski, & Brawley, 1997). Bain, Wilson, and Chaikind (1989) revealed the importance of leadership style and approach on the exercising participant’s enjoyment and adherence. The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of the lived experiences of novice, female group fitness participants and the feelings and attitudes they have about their group fitness experiences as they relate to the leadership of the class. Participants included six women, between the ages of 38-60 years currently participating in a novice, group fitness class. Participants were recruited through posters placed at the YM-YWCA of Greater Victoria and Oak Bay Recreation Centre. This ethnomethodological inquiry used interview and focus group as the data collection strategies. Analysis of the data revealed seven themes that were connected to four styles of leadership. Characteristics of the transformational style of group fitness leadership offer the participants the best support as they move from novice to advanced levels of experience. The results of this study provide a greater understanding of how to advance fitness leadership to maximize exercise adherence.

This thesis investigates the potential and emerging roles of the Social Economy at the level of global governance by examining how transnational civil society (TCS) has organized in an attempt to influence global policy-making. One of this study’s principal aims is to glean insights into the dynamics of civil society coalitions, gaining a better understanding of how they combine the collective knowledge, resources and strengths of members and drawing out some of the “best practices” and challenges inherent in past civil society alliances. This study seeks to explore the complex nature of the relationships that exist among civil society actors and the unique challenges such groups face in forming partnerships by examining these relationships through the lens of Inter-Group Conflict Theory. A Case Study of one TCS partnership, the Make Poverty History (MPH) campaign, is conducted and an Inter-Group Dispute Resolution Analysis of MPH is carried out.

BACKGROUND: We have recently shown that standard treatments for prostate cancer, specifically hormone therapy (HT) and radiation therapy, induce antigen-specific immune responses in human patients. However, the contribution of these antigen-specific immune responses to clinical outcomes is not known. HYPOTHESIS: HT induces tumour-specific antibody and T cell responses that delay or prevent tumour recurrence. METHODS: We utilized the androgen-dependent Shionogi tumour cell line. Male DD/S mice bearing established Shionogi tumours (~64 mm2) were castrated to induce tumour regression, similar to HT in human prostate cancer patients. Control mice were not castrated. Mice were monitored for tumour recurrence. Tumour-specific antibody responses were measured by immunoblot, and T cell responses by ELISPOT and immunohistochemistry. Tumour-specific antigens were identified by serological screening of a cDNA expression library (SEREX). RESULTS: Following castration, 32/33 mice experienced complete tumour regression, while the remaining mouse experienced partial tumour regression. Of the 32 mice that underwent complete regression, 72% (23/32) experienced tumour recurrence 3-70 days post-castration, while the remaining 28% (9/32) remained tumour-free for the duration of the experiment until they were sacrificed for analysis (64-86 days post-castration). Shionogi tumours became heavily infiltrated by CD3+ T cells between 7-14 days post-castration, after which T cell infiltrates became progressively more sparse. Castration induced antibody responses to one or more tumour proteins in approximately one third of mice with an average latency of 21 days. The most common antibody response was against poly(A) binding protein, nuclear 1 (PABPN1). Interestingly, 71% (17/24) of mice with recurrent tumours had an antibody response against PABPN1, whereas only 11% (1/9) of mice that remained tumour-free had a PABPN1-specific antibody response. Put another way, the mean tumour-free interval for those mice that had a PABPN1 antibody response was approximately 25 days compared to approximately 63 days for those mice that did not have a PABPN1 antibody response. However, we found a moderate correlation between the timing of the PABPN1-specific antibody response and growth rate of the recurrent tumour, such that if a mouse had a PABPN1-specific antibody response that occurred shortly after castration, it was more likely to have a slower growing recurrent tumour. IFN-γ ELISPOT assays revealed that castration also induced a PABPN1-specific T cell response that persisted for the duration of the experiment (up to 92 days post-castration). Unexpectedly, this T cell response was exceedingly stronger in recurrent mice versus non-recurrent mice and was accompanied by splenomegaly in recurrent mice. Anti-CD3 staining of the recurrent tumours showed that the CD3+ T cells were confined to the periphery and stroma of the tumours. CONCLUSIONS: In the androgen-dependent murine Shionogi carcinoma model, HT induces robust antibody and T cell responses to PABPN1 that are associated with unfavourable outcomes. To determine why those mice that do not have PABPN1-specific antibody and T cell responses have better outcomes, we will further delineate the T cell response with respect to CD4+ versus CD8+ subpopulations. Additionally, we will investigate the use of immunomodulatory agents to amplify host CD8+ T cell responses and thereby improve the therapeutic effects of HT.