title: Direct Numerical Simulations of Magnetic Helicity Conserving Astrophysical Dynamos

contributor:
Vishniac, Ethan
Pudritz, Ralph
Wadsley, James
Physics and Astronomy

subject:
Astrophysics
Magnetohydrodynamics
MHD
dynamo theory
direct numerical simulation
Physical Processes
Physical Processes

abstract: Here we present direct numerical simulations of a shearing box which models the MHD turbulence in astrophysical systems with cylindrical geometries. The purpose of these simulations is to detect the source of the electromotive force - the driver of large scale magnetic field evolution. This electromotive force is responsible for the large scale dynamo action which builds and maintains the magnetic field against dissipation in plasmas. We compare the estimates of the electromotive force from the kinematic approximation of mean field theory - the most prevalent theory for astrophysical dynamos - with a modified version of mean field theory which restricts the electromotive force by the consideration of magnetic helicity conservation. We will show that in general the kinematic approximation overestimates the observed electromotive force for the majority of the simulation, while the term derived from the helicity conservation estimates the electromotive force very well. We will also illustrate the importance of the shear in the fluid to the growth and strength of the resulting large scale magnetic field. Too strong and the small scale dynamo does not grow enough to properly seed a strong large scale dynamo. Too weak, and no large scale magnetic field is observed after the small scale dynamo has saturated. Finally, we will find that in order to maintain the strength of the emerged large scale magnetic dynamo we require a magnetic Prandtl number ($Pr \equiv \nu/\eta$) that is at least an order of magnitude above unity.

abstract: Master of Science (MSc)


title: Purification and synthesis of PEGylated protein

contributor:
Ghosh, Raja
Chemical Engineering

subject:
PEGylation
PEGylated protein
Membrane
Environment-responsive
Chromatography
Hydrophobic interaction
Polyethylene glycol
Hollow fibre
Chemical Engineering
Chemical Engineering

abstract:
PEGylation, referring to the covalent attachment of poly(ethylene glycol) or PEG to protein, has become the most established technology for improving pharmacokinetic behavior of native proteins, especially the prolongation of circulation half-life in vivo. This thesis focuses on the synthesis and purification of PEGylated proteins.

The conventional way to synthesize PEGylated proteins is in liquid phase batch reaction, which usually causes the formation of significant amount and high diversity of by-products (i.e. di-, tri-, and/or higher-PEGylated forms of a protein). Many chemical and physical ways have been explored to increase the specificity of mono-PEGylated protein. Chemical ways involve manipulation of operating conditions towards site-specific PEGylation. Understanding reaction kinetics is helpful in optimizing conversion and specificity of mono-PEGylation. In this thesis, the PEGylation reaction kinetics between a model protein and PEG NHS ester under various operating conditions was investigated.

In the physical perspective, the key point is to gain degree of control on reactant addition instead of one-time addition as in liquid phase batch reaction. Herein, two novel reactor systems were developed. One is solid phase PEGylation bioreactor, bringing free protein to react with immobilized PEG on a membrane surface; the other is Hollow-fiber Membrane Reactor (HMR), distributing PEG into the fiber lumen (where protein is flowing) through the pores on the fiber wall. Greatly improved conversion and specificity of mono-PEGylated protein were observed in both systems, compared to liquid phase batch reactor.

An effective and efficient purification technique is very essential because purification step accounts for a significant portion of total cost. In this thesis, the use of hydrophobic interaction chromatography with environment-responsive microporous membranes was examined for the fractionation of different PEGylated proteins. The capability of this technique was demonstrated by obtaining mono-PEGylated protein in a pure form and observing well-resolved chromatographic peaks for different PEGylated proteins.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: Unity In Diversity: Multivalence in British and American Literary Utopias, 1880-1980

contributor:
Petrie, Graham
English

subject:
English Language and Literature
English Language and Literature

abstract:
This study of modem utopian fiction articulates a new theory of what constitutes utopia in the context of literature and science. Traditionally, utopia has been seen either as a vision of the ideal society crystallized into a static and oppressive order, or as a self-contradictory form of wishful thinking. However, utopia is neither uniform nor unchanging but heterogeneous and evolving. Diversity and dynamism are the two defining characteristics of utopia.

These two principles imply the convergence of seeming opposites into a unified whole, through a process which can accommodate both stability and growth. The thesis illustrates the meaning of dynamism and diversity in utopia by using two theories from modem physics as heuristic guides to reading ten utopian novels written between 1880 and 1980. Non-linearity, a concept from chaos theory, is used to explore dynamic change; complementarity, a concept from field theory, is used to investigate the significance of diversity. Non-linearity is an essential feature of modem utopianism because it allows for a complex understanding of history by showing that both personal choices and impersonal forces play a part in historical change. Complementarity describes the relationships between various sites in contemporary culture by reconciling seemingly incompatible ideas and placing them in a unified field where difference implies interaction.

Utopia's abiding fascination, as well as its transformative power, lies in the fact that it is truly nowhere and therefore potentially everywhere. This openness to potentiality provides the ground for hope, the force which sustains the desire for change and drives the movement toward utopia. In bringing together literary and scientific discourses and illustrating the desirability of unity in diversity, utopian fiction indicates the directions that society ought to take in order to advance.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: The Liu-miao-fa-merl or Six Profound Gateways to Dharma: A Study of the Variable Method of Meditation in the Light of the Debate between Sekiguchi and Sato on the T'ien-T'ai Classification of Buddhist Doctrine

abstract:
The primary purpose of this thesis is to undertake a critical assessment of the Liu-miao-fa-men or Six Profound Gateways to Dharma which was composed by Chih-i, the acknowledged founder of the T'ien-t'ai School.

T'ien-t'ai practice is usually treated under the three general headings of the Complete and Sudden Method of Meditation (Yuan-tun chih-kuan), the Gradual Method of Meditation (Chien-tz'u chih-kuan), and the Variable Method of Meditation (Pu-ting chih-kuan). The Liu-miaofa- men embodies the Variable Method of Meditation and illustrates its significant characteristics.

The T'ien-t'ai ssu-chiao-i or Outline of the T'ien-t'ai Fourfold Teachings had been thought to provide a concise and reliable presentation of T'ien-t'ai doctrine until Sekiguchi Shindai challenged its authority. Sekiguchi criticized the text by refuting the three-century-Iong acknowledgement that the scheme of Five Periods and Eight Teachings (Wu-shih pa-chiao) faithfully represents the thought of Chih-i and summarizes the whole system of T'ien-t'ai Buddhism. With the results of the debates between Sekiguchi and Sato Tetsuei, the signification of the theory of Five Periods and Eight Teachings is now clear. Accordingly, a fuller and more accurate presentation of the early T'ien-t'ai doctrinal system as formulated by Chih-i can be made.

Thus, the secondary purpose of this thesis is to discern the T'ien-t'ai classification and to see doctrinal disparities within the T'ien-t'ai tradition in its right perspective. Without such an effort, a critical assessment of the Liu-miao-fa-men is impossible, and the characteristics of the Variable Method of Meditation remain vague.

abstract: Master of Arts (MA)


title: The Formation of Early Esoteric Buddhism in Japan: A Study of Three Japanese Esoteric Apocrypha

contributor:
Shinohara, Koichi
Religious Studies

subject: Religion

abstract:
It is said that the Japanese monk: Saich6 (767-822), during his nine-month stay in China, was initiated by his chief Chinese Esoteric mentor Shunxiao (n.d.) into an illustrious esoteric lineage starting from a prestigious Indian Esoteric master Subhakarasimha (637-735). It is also believed that Shunxiao, based on three Esoteric texts translated by Subhakarasimha, transmitted to Saich6 some particular fonns of Esoteric Buddhist teachings, the core of which is preserved in one of the two "dhanna-transmission documents" fuhomon) supposedly written by Shunxiao to certify the esoteric transmission conducted between himself and Saicho. This is the conventional view regarding the roots of Tendai Esoteric Buddhism in Japan.

This dissertation subjects this conventional view to a critical examination. It argues that the two fuhCmons ascribed to Shunxiao were not written by Shunxiao himself, but were prepared in Japan for re-interpreting the meaning, and strengthening the legitimacy, of the initiation Saicho received from China. The three siddhi texts attributed to Subhakarsimha were also composed in Japan as the scriptural support for Saicho' s esoteric transmission. The Tendai fonn of Esoteric Buddhism in the name of Saicho was for the main part created not by Saicho himself but by his followers.

These negative conclusions can be turned into a positive agenda for future research of Japanese Tendai Buddhism. Scholars can turn from a fruitless search for the roots of Tendai Esoteric Buddhism in China to look more closely in Japan. On the other hand, this study might invite more scholarly attention to a host of Buddhist apocrypha which, long regarded as Chinese, might have been actually produced in Japan or Korea.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: Towards an Understanding of Geographic Variation in Cardiovascular Disease Mortality and Morbidity in Ontario, 1986-1994

contributor:
Elliott, Susan J.
Geography

subject: Geography Geography

abstract: This thesis aims to understand geographic variations in cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality and morbidity in Ontario between 1986 and 1994. While cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of preventable mortality and morbidity in Canada and Ontario, a large proportion of the regional variations in the outcomes remain unexplained. Using the public health units in the Province as the units of analysis, the research addressed three specific objectives: 1) to describe the spatial and temporal variations in CVD mortality and morbidity in Ontario, 1986-1989 and 1990-1994; 2) to examine the prevalence and distribution of a broad range of potential CVD risk factors in Ontario; and, 3) to model geographic variations in CVD mortality and morbidity in Ontario. The data used come from a variety of sources, including the Canadian Institute of Health Information, the 1990 Ontario Health Survey, the 1991 census of Canada, the Child Care Services Division of the Ontario Ministry of Community and Social Service, Customs and Revenue Canada, and the Municipal Financial Returns of the Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs. Informed by the population health perspective, a socio-ecological conceptual model was developed to guide the research. It is composed of seven CVD risk constructs: economic characteristics, social capital, demographic characteristics, risk factor behaviours, psychosocial health and well-being, social support, and physiological characteristics. The research used GIS analytical techniques to examine the spatial patterns of CVD mortality and morbidity, which were largely concentrated in the northern part of the Province. Results also show that the prevalence of CVD risk factors varied markedly across the public health units with respect to age, sex, and level of education, type of public health unit, and the relative location of public health units in the province. The modelling results show that, overall, variables of the socio-economic and psychosocial environments played a far more significant role in explaining geographic variations in CVD outcomes than physiological variables and CVD risk factor behaviours. The implications of these findings are that strategies aimed at reducing the rate of cardiovascular disease mortality and morbidity in the Province need to place more emphasis on northern Ontario as well as focus more on such risk factors as the socioeconomic and psychosocial environments. This thesis has made a theoretical contribution by developing a conceptual model within the context of the population health perspective to guide the investigation of the underlying causes of geographic variations in cardiovascular disease outcomes. It has also made a methodological contribution by illustrating how GIS and spatial analytical techniques can be applied in identifying local clusters of elevated rates (or 'hot spots') of chronic disease outcomes. Substantively, this research has expanded the range of potential determinants of CVD outcomes in Ontario. It has also provided a basis for rethinking the emphasis on individual level, physiological and behavioural characteristics in CVD risk factor research and heart health programming.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: Early Film Semiotics and the Cinematic Sign

contributor:
Allen, Barry
Philosophy

subject: Philosophy Philosophy

abstract: This thesis explores the early attempts to extend semiotic theory to the study of the cinema, concentrating on the problem of the cinematic sign. The contributions of Christian Metz, Peter Wollen and Umberto Eco are discussed. Metz employs the language-based semiology of Saussure, whose conceptual framework is based on the arbitrary, conventional linguistic sign. Such a semiotic scheme cannot accommodate visual signs such as the cinematic image, which is considered to be motivated and natural. The language analogy encourages an identification of the semiotic sign with the linguistic sign, forcing Metz's semiotics to exclude the image as a basis for semiotic study. Wollen reassesses the nature of the image in light of Peirce's sign trichotomy of icon, index and symbol, which is based on the sign's relationship to its object. According to Peirce, a sign may be composed of all three sign aspects. Wollen argues that the image can be treated semiotically insofar as it is recognized to have symbolic or conventional as well as natural dimensions. Eco departs both from the language-based semiology of Saussure and from Peirce's idea that visual signs are naturally motivated by their object. He argues that all signs are conventional, and yet need not strictly resemble the linguistic sign. With Eco's contribution, the image can be considered a sign of the cinema. Semiotics appears to be a valid approach to the study of the cinema once semiotic signs are not identified with linguistic signs and visual signs are not identified with nature.

abstract: Master of Arts (MA)


title: Production and Efficiency at Ontario Universities: Evidence from Departments of Economics

contributor:
Mestelman, Stuart
Economics

subject:
Economics
academic models

abstract: The potential efficiency gains which could be realized at Ontario universities from system reorganization are analyzed with special reference to departments of economics. A model of academic production is specified and estimated, and the results are used to perform various hypothetical experiments pertaining to the system rationalization proposal. It is found that, for departments of economics, an increase in research productivity, holding teaching output constant, would result from either producing output at fewer, larger departments, or by creating a two-tier system. However, the actual gain in productivity, or cost savings, which are predicted to occur, are surprisingly small. In general, the results of the analysis do not lend support to the notion that system rationalization would substantially solve the financial difficulties of the university system.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: The Social Adjustment of International Students Attending McMaster University

contributor:
Frank E.Jones, Roy Cain
Sociology

subject: Sociology Sociology

abstract: This study examines the types of factors that facilitate and/or impede the social adjustment of international students in a foreign culture. It is argued that establishing effective communication with hosts forms a necessary basis for successful sojourner adjustment. The findings indicate that establishing effective cross-cultural communication and understanding facilitates the longer-term adjustment of the sojourner and contributes positively to the intergroup integrative process. It is further argued that social network involvement facilitates successful sojourner adjustment. The findings indicate that international students belong to two key social networks-the conational and host networks. Each type of network performs different functions in relation to the adjustment process. The primary function of the conational network is to provide a setting within which cultural values may be rehearsed. It largely determines the living arrangements, friendship patterns and organizational affiliations of the sojourners involved. Whereas the conational network aids in initial adjustment, it hinders longer-term adjustment when used as a vehicle for self-segregation rather than as a beachhead from which to enter into meaningful social interaction with members of the host society. The primary function of the host network is the instrumental facilitation of the professional and academic aspirations of the sojourner. It is the primary medium through which students gain proficiency in the host language and learn about the norms governing relations in the host society. The meanings attributed to relationships in each of these networks are found to be qualitatively different. Ties established with members comprising the conational network are intimate and emotional, while those of the host network are primarily instrumental in nature. Finally, an examination of the effects of foreign study indicates that students consider themselves changed by the sojourn experience, particularly in the areas of intellectual development, selfreliance, and self-confidence. Students also acquire a more realistic, in-depth view of the host country and a deeper appreciation of home country. Foreign study also helps to crystallize the return migration decision. The findings indicate that two factors strongly influence whether the initial migration becomes a permanent one. The possibility that skills and training acquired abroad will be underutilized in respective home countries and uncongenial home country political conditions are important factors in the expatriation decision.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: The Ecumenical Theme in the Religious Poetry of Tayumanavar: Vedanta Siddhanta Samarasam

contributor:
Sivaraman, K.
Religious Studies

subject: Religion Religion

abstract:
In this thesis I intend to investigate the theme of Vedanta Siddnanta samarasam in the writings of Tayumanavar. Tayumanavar was a philosopher-poet, mystic and scholar of the Seventeenth century and represents a true landmark in the religious history of Tamil India. One dimension of his religious poetry is his creative response to the contesting creeds of his days, interpreting them in terms of his own intimate religious (sivanubhava). I and mystical experience will use his deeply of God, Siva reflective and philosophical hymns as the main basis for re-constructing an overall picture of his religious vision. Much of my discussion of that vision will be in terms of his understanding and appropriation of the term "advaita". Both the terms "advaita" and "vedanta", which Tayumanavar often uses, are not to be understood in the first instance as signifying monism or absolutism of scholastic Advaita Vedanta. understanding, refer primarily to as developed in the school These terms, in the poet's the unique and intimate mystical bond among God, Pa~a) which he explains man and the world (Pati, Pasu and in many places is an "inseparable union".

The existing editions of Tayumanavar's hymns, and the commentaries and works on him produced by the Saiva tradition and other scholars are slanted toward an interpretation of Tayumanavar as an orthodox advocate of Saiva Siddhanta. In this tradition the problem for scholars has been how to interpret the meaning of samarasam within / the framework of Saiva Siddhanta. Writers like Muttiah Pillai, Nallaswami Pillai, K. Subramanya Pillai, Isaac Tambyah and others have not focused their attention on what appears to be the most significant theme in the whole of Tayumanavar's writings, namely Vedanta Siddhanta samarasam. My study will underline how Tayumanavar's work was intended / to liberalize the Saiva Siddhanta tradition. It will attempt to reopen the question of Vedanta Siddhanta samarasam and show that it has a different and deeper meaning than the one suggested by the above writers. My research thus will be an attempt to understand how Tayumanavar intended Vedanta Siddhanta samarasam to serve as part of an ecumenical and liberal approach towards the religious pluralism of Seventeenth century India.

This study might prove useful in several ways: It can stimulate new interest in the hymns of Tayumanavar. The investigation hopes to provide new insights into the understanding of Vedanta Siddhanta samarasam in the , theological history of Saiva Siddhanta; it will show how Tayumanavar sought to bring about an encounter between two opposed traditions through a re-reading of his own tradition and a re-interpretation of scholastic Advaita in favour of a more religiously defined popular Advaita. Finally, this research will illustrate how a concern which is today identified with concepts such as ecumenism and religious dialogue was Hinduism as interpretation also early of a as the Hinduism will be seen as concern within the "household" of the Seventeenth century. If my spirit of samarasam is accepted, having offered as early as the Seventeenth century a basis for affirming its claim of tolerance in the context of a plurality of religions.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: Principles and Practices of Buddhist Education in Asanga' s Bodhisattvabhumi

contributor:
MacQueen, Graeme
Religious Studies

subject: Religion Buddhism

abstract:
Arya Asanga was one of Indian Buddhism's leading scholars in the middle Mahayana period, fourth - sixth centuries C.E. His encyclopedic Bodhisattvabhumi is considered to be one of Buddhism's foremost expositions of bodhisattva doctrine.

The Bodhisattvabhumi contains a systematic description of the bodhisattva path of practice (bodhisattva-siksamarga) that emphasises broad knowledge and general education in the pursuit of enlightenment and liberation. The subjects of that education are the "five sciences" (pancavidyasthanani) which range from Buddhist textual scholarship to the study of non-Buddhist religious literature and secular subjects, including works on grammar, logic, medicine and crafts.

The historical accounts of the seventh century Chinese pilgrim travellers HsiianTsang and 1-Tsing confirm that these five sciences were the basis for the curriculum at Nalanda Mahavihara, India's most renowned monastic university. Corroborating information indicates that the Bodhisattvabhumi was studied at Nalanda Mahavihara and that its views and values were influential in Nalanda's approach to education.

The inclusion of non-traditional subjects as valid areas of "liberating knowledge" for Buddhists required an innovative philosophy of education. This was achieved in the Bodhisattvabhumi by reformulating certain key Buddhist concepts, most notably dharma ("teachings"), prajna ("wisdom-insight") and bodhi ("enlightenment"). The result was a comprehensive vision of religious education that encouraged a quest for general learning and broadened the range of knowledge deemed necessary for attainment of complete enlightenment (anuttarasamyaksambodhi).

To illustrate the importance of education and embody principles of its acquisition and proper application, the Bodhisattvabhumi also developed portrayals of role types. These include the bodhisattva depicted as a novice beginner, teacher, and mentor; and the Tathiigata Buddha portrayed as the personification of "all-knowledge" and defender of the faith. The Chinese travelers' accounts confirm that the students and masters of Nalanda Mahavihara were involved, in their daily lives, in activities that corresponded to these roles.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: Chih-i and Madhyamika

contributor:
Jan, Ylin-hua
Religious Studies

subject: Religion Buddhism

abstract:
In this thesis a systematic comparative study is made between Chih-i's thought and the Madhyamika. The study is a response to a basic problem that can be formulated as follows. Indian Madhyamika influenced the development of Chinese Buddhism amply and deeply. Chih-i, the founder of the Chinese T'ien-t'ai school, had a close relationship with the Madhyamika tradition textually and theoretically. However, in his classification of the Buddhist doctrines, he regarded the Madhyamika as "Common Doctrine" and theoretically lower than his "Perfect Doctrine". Here, then, are our questions:

1. Why is Chih-i not satisfied with Madhyamika thought?

2. Why does he advocate the Perfect Doctrine?

Our study shows that these questions are mainly concerned with the understanding of Truth and its realization. For Chih-i, the Madhyamika Truth (termed Emptiness or the Middle Way) lacked permanence, function and all-embracing nature; the Truth explicated in the Perfect Doctrine (termed the Middle Way - Buddha Nature) is permanent, functional and all-embracing. With regard to the realization of the Truth, Chih-i mainly points out that in the Madhyamika, the Truth is attained in the extirpation of defilements, while in the Perfect Doctrine, the Truth can be attained in making use of defilements. Chih-i obviously advocates that Truth should be permanent, functional and all-embracing, and that it is better to realize Truth in the midst of defilements than by eliminating them.

It is hoped that the study of these questions will enhance our understanding of Chih-i's thought in light of its relation to the Madhyarnika as well as our understanding of the essence of the Madhyamika as viewed by Chih-i. We shall consequently be able to see how a Chinese thinker absorbed Indian Buddhist doctrines, developed them, and eventually built up a great Buddhist school in a distinct, Chinese style.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: The Techniques of Realism and Fantasy for the Expression of the Political in French Cinema from its Origins to the New Wave

contributor:
Stout, John
French

subject: French and Francophone Language and Literature

abstract: This study examines the relationship between film techniques and politics in French cinema. The first filmmakers established the basic techniques of cinema, using realism to record events, and fantasy to create amusements. Narrative film developed as a combination of these techniques. Cinema of the twenties was closely associated with the European art movements of Dadaism, Surrealism and Expressionism. By the thirties, the political polarization and the threat of a second World War caused filmmakers to project political opinions and to portray societal problems. Narrative film became an important means of influencing public opinion, although not always in the directions intended. With the New Wave, autobiographical content and a return to early film techniques made narrative film both personal and traditional. The directors solidified the reputation of French cinema as topical, socially relevant, and politically involved.

abstract: Master of Arts (MA)


title: The Life and Thought of A Chinese Buddhist Monk Zhiyuan (976-1022 C.E.)

contributor:
Shinohara, K.
Religious Studies

subject: Religion Religion

abstract:
This dissertation is a study of a Buddhist monk, Zhiyuan, in the Song dynasty who was generally known as a leader of the Off-mountain (Shanwai) faction of the Tiantai school. The aim of the study is threefold: first, to investigate critically the nature and development of the Home-mountain/ Off-mountain (Shanjia/ Shanwai) debate of the Tiantai school in the Song dynasty; and second, to reconstruct the views of Zhiyuan on some of the issues involved in the Home-mountain/ Off-mountain debate; and third, to examine the life of Zhiyuan and what lies behind his label of a leader of the Off-mountain faction.

This dissertation consists of four chapters. Chapter one challenges the traditional rigid division of the Tiantai school into the Home-mountain and Off-mountain factions and suggests that this division was closely related to the formation of an orthodox lineage of the school among different competing lineages.

Chapter two reconstructs the views of Zhiyuan on various issues involved in the Home-mountain/ Off-mountain debate. Our study shows that many of the issues debated by Zhiyuan and his opponents have to do with a 'mind-only' persuasion which can be traced back to Zhanran's teaching. This provides a more sympathetic understanding of the Offmountain faction of the Tiantai school. Chapter three studies the image of Zhiyuan in his different surviving biographies written by both Buddhists and non-B~ddhists. The study shows that Zhiyuan was understood by his biographers, not as a leader of the Offmountain faction, but as a learned monk with remarkable literary skills.

Chapter four examines Zhiyuan's self-portrait as found in his autobiographical essays which reveal other aspects of his life that lie behind his label of being a Off-mountain leader especially his involvement in the literary movement known as the Ancient Style (Guwen) of Writing which is Confucian in orientation, and his struggle with his illhealth.

A translation of Zhiyuan's own prefaces to his ten commentaries on Buddhist canon written for his disciples is also provided at the end of this dissertation which provides a summary of his Buddhist thoughts.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: Text, Interpretation and Ritual Use of Tamil Saiva Poems

contributor:
Younger, Paul
Religious Studies

subject: Religion Religion

abstract:
This study is about the nature of two Tamil Saiva poems, "TiruppaUiyclucci" and "Tiruvempavai", their structure as text, the style in which they are interpreted, and the way in which they are used in ritual events. These two poems are narrative moments rather than longer narrative sequences. They are interpreted in commentarialliterature, and in ritual, by situating the utterance of them as events in different narrative worlds. The significance of the poem is the significance of the event in a particular world. The meaning therefore changes from narrative world to narrative world, and even within the same narrative world if the poem is situated as a number of different events. In this study, the poems were generally situated in one or more of six narrative worlds: the akam world of love, the putam world of heroism, the theological world of Saiva Siddhanta, the world of the hero's biography, the world of the poet-saint's (Mal)ikkavacakar) life, and the world viewed from the perspective of one's own life.

This study contributes to scholarship firstly as an understanding of Tamil Saivism, by studying the interaction between the Tamil Saiva poems, their interpretation and their use in ritual, which illustrates a basic style of interpretation within which there is considerable interpretive freedom. Secondly, this research contributes to the wider area of "Tamil Studies" in that it shows links between this style of interpretation, and that of the classical Tamil akam and putam poems. Thirdly. this research contributes to performance and ritual studies by focusing on the "ritual text" as a text in itself, and by suggesting that the significance and principle of coherence of the "ritual text" lies in the specific situation in which it is created and interpreted, rather than in the nature of the source texts. Lastly, this study includes field research on two relatively new temples in the village of Nakamalai Putukkogai, west of the city of Madurai.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: The Teaching of Critical Thinking Skills in Senior Division History

subject: Teaching

subject: Adult and Continuing Education and Teaching

abstract: Master of Arts (MA)


title: Oxygen and Sulphur Isotope Geochemistry of Marine Evaporites

contributor:
Schwarcz, H. P.
Geology

subject: Geology Geology

abstract:
The variation in the ratio of oxygen isotopes in natural sulphate differs fundamentally from that of sulphur because it is linked to several geochemical cycles in addition to the sulphur cycle. Published results indicate that dissolved sulphate and water do not exchange oxygen isotopes to any measurable extent at low temperatures and near-neutral pH. In sulphate reduction however, the intermediate sulphite rapidly exchanges oxygen with water. Appreciable back oxidation of the intermediate sulphite confirms Rees' steady state model for bacterial sulphate reduction. Analogous indirect exchange with water may be affected by the cycling of sulphur by phytoplankton; crude calculations show that the flux of sulphur in the biomass may quantitatively dominate the processes that determine the processes that determine the oxygen del value of sea-water sulphate.

The present formation of gypsum and anhydrite on the sabkhas of the Persian Gulf has led to several reinterpretations of the depositional environments of ancient evaporites. Sulphur and oxygen isotope analyses of the evaporite minerals and the interstitial brines from the Abu Dhabi sabkha strongly confirm Patterson's distinction between the seaward, mixed, and landward hydrological regimes. Isotopic equilibrium between gypsum and dissolved sulphate with considerable exchange between early-formed gypsum and subsequent interstitial brines is demonstrated for the seaward zone. Bacterial reduction is significant in the mixed or central zone where little new deposition is occurring. The influx of continental brines in the landward zone is causing a marked shit to lighter sulphur del values. Gypsum-anhydrite transitions do not involve large isotope fractionations. The seaward and central zones constitute an analogue for shallow or subaerial evaporite mineral deposition and it is likely that a substantial range of variation would prevail on the much larger scale of ancient evaporites.

Isotopic studies on ancient evaporites have established that the sulphur del value of seawater sulphate has varied more than twenty per mille in the Phanerozoic. The narrow range of individual anhydrite beds like the Midale Evaporite that are considered to have a sabkha origin may be due to postdepositional homogenization. The very large range of sulphur del values, and to a lesser extent, oxygen del values of the Salina Formation is consistent with a sabkha origin on the flanks of the depositional basin. Two near surface gypsum mines in the Salina B Anhydrite had constant del values on a scale of hundreds of meters. Permian evaporites from geographically separate locations fall within a narrow range and coincidentally have the the lightest sulphur and oxygen del values of any geological period. The sulphur isotope analyses reported here conform to the Phanerozoic pattern, and display comparable fluctuations in the Precambrian. It is suggested that the noise on the curve may be primary depositional information. The oxygen isotope analyses do not support suggestions of significant variations over geological time, and limit the possible range of variation to less than three per mile.

Experiments on the exchange between gypsum crystals and dissolved sulphate have established an equilibrium isotope fractionation of about 3.5 per mille. Lower values found elsewhere are considered to be a kinetic isotope effect.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: The Critical Reception of The Great Code

contributor:
Lee, Alvin
English

abstract: Northrop Frye remains a widely read but profoundly misunderstood critic. This survey of critical responses to The Great Code is intended to demonstrate that Frye's theory of language, despite the misapprehensions of his many critics, is radically dialectical, a conception of language that reveals centres and presences rather than margins and absences. This kerygmatic property of language is, according to Frye, the legacy of the Bible whose typological organization of myth and metaphor provides a unique verbal paradigm. What the prophetic language proper to the Bible reveals is "royal metaphor," the imaginative and decentralized expression of concern that identifies without subordinating. As the survey of The Great Code's reviews illustrates, Frye's dialectical account of language is often incompletely appreciated and substituted by what is here characterized as some form of "metonymic fallacy"--the presumption not that language generates meaning from within, but merely attempts to represent external phenomena somehow assumed to be more "real." Frye's kerygmatic conception of language, however, extends beyond metonymic bias to identify words with power as possessing the power of the Word.

abstract: Master of Arts (MA)


title: Luke's Conception of Prophets Considered in the Context of Second Temple Literature

contributor:
Westerholm, Stephen
Religious Studies

subject: Religion Religion

abstract:
The fresh assessment of Luke's conception of prophets undertaken in this thesis is doubly warranted, both by recent scholarly debate about Second Temple Jewish beliefs concerning prophets and by ongoing discussion about Luke's terminology for prophets. The results of the thesis shed light not only on the role of prophets in Luke-Acts, but also on the author's familiarity with beliefs about prophets held by (other) Second Temple Jewish writers.

The results also challenge contemporary scholarship regarding Luke's Christology and his conception of salvation history. Luke does not distinguish prophets according to the period of salvation history to which they belong, nor does he suggest that prophecy had ceased. Instead, the prophets in Luke's infancy narrative join with the biblical prophets as they anticipate the time of fulfillment initiated by Jesus' birth. Luke was aware of expectations concerning the return of Elijah, but there is little evidence in LukeActs or in Second Temple literature for a belief in the "prophet like Moses" understood as an independent eschatological figure. Luke limits Jesus' prophetic role to his earthly life, subsuming it under the all-encompassing category of royal Messiah.

Luke attributes a fairly consistent but not unique range of characteristics to prophets. Though non-prophets sometimes "prophesy," the title "prophet" is reserved for individuals who served as prophets over an extended period of time. While the events of Pentecost led to an increase in prophetic activity among Jesus' followers, Luke does not portray all believers as prophets. That Luke does not identify members of the Twelve or the Seven as "prophets" points to a shift in focus: In Luke, Jesus is portrayed against the background of Scripture and first century Jewish life as one who functioned as a prophet and as the Messiah. In Acts, as exalted Messiah and Lord, Jesus becomes the primary background against which Luke's story of the church is told.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: The Social Situation in 1 Peter

contributor:
Hillmer, Melvyn
Divinity College

subject:
Biblical Studies
Biblical Studies

abstract:
This thesis argues that 1 Peter dealt with and responded to the social situation of Christian communities in the provinces of Asia Minor. Having used terms familiar to a Gentile audience with a strong Jewish background, the author described the readers using metaphors of separation and solidarity. He understood his readers to have been a people alienated within their society.

Analysis of ancient Mediterranean societies reveals that alienation would have been the experience of early Christian communities. Though social status within the Christian communities varied, social class was that of a predominately low level. Those who joined the Christian communities were among the masses of the "marginalized" in Roman society. The idea of conversion, prominent among such minority movements as Christianity, ran contrary to the popular religions of the state. As in similar communities, conversion into the Christian community resulted in a high level of social anxiety and rootlessness among the recent converts.

Understanding the perceptions of ancient Mediterranean societies helps to explain the turmoil of such conversions. The group and its honour predominated over the individual; individuals, therefore, discovered identity and experienced honour through their group associations. Movement, then, to a minority group such as Christianity produced severe social distress. The individual could well be ostracized by his or her previous associations (especially the family) and be the object of social hostilities. Further, minority religious groups, such as Christianity, were disdained by the elite of society. Social pressure against the Christian communities came from all sides.

1 Peter confirms that the persecution suffered by the community was indeed of a social nature. The Christian community was persecuted as a result of the perceived foreignness of their beliefs and practices. Recognizing that society had developed false notions about the Christian community attempting to undermine society, the author appealed to his readers to accept their persecution in the same manner that Christ had accepted his suffering and to behave in a manner that would eliminate these false notions; he urged them to imitate the behaviour of Christ. He also invoked portions of the household code to ensure his readers behaved in a manner acceptable to society and in keeping with his view of the nature of Christianity.

abstract: Master of Theological Studies (MTS)


title: After the Despot: Changing Patterns of Leadership and Social Control in Kilenge, West New Britain Province, Papua New Guinea

contributor:
Counts, David R.
Anthropology

subject: Anthropology Anthropology

abstract: [Missing pg 405]

abstract:
This dissertation examines the continuing process of transition, transformation, and adaptation of the people of Ongaia village to their changing social environment. It concentrates on a problem which reflects a people's concern for their future in the year 1977. I focus specifically on changing patterns of leadership and social control, and contend that such patterns are not merely due to colonial and post-colonial impositions of centralized administrations; changing patterns of leadership and social control are in large part a product of Ongaian adaptation to and manipulation of external stimuli. The relatively unusual response of the Ongaiains is explained in terms of several factors:

1. Traditional indigenous leadership patterns which, unlike leadership in most Melanesian societies, were based on ascription to a defined and named leadership position or office.

2. The fusion of traditional and introduced leadership roles.

3. The activities of one particular leader, the paramount ~uluai appointed in the wake of the Second World War.

4. The alleged use of sorcery as a tool of political assassination, and the consequences of people's beliefs regarding this.

5. The current explicit and implicit demands on leadership, which legally require the election of a man to office, and in practice demand that he be a forceful, entrepreneurial sort.

Chapter I outlines the problems examined in the dissertation, describes the setting and conduct of the research, and provides a brief introduction to the Kilenge of West New Britain. In Chapter II, I describe and analyze Kilenge social organization, thus examining the social mutrix of leadership and correcting certain errors in the ethnographic record. Traditional leadership and social control are discussed in Chapter III, as are the social consequences of the first introduced leadership roles. The place of sorcery in Kilenge society, and its use as a social control, are delineated in Chapter IV. Chapter V examines the thirty year career of the paramount luluai Aisapo, and also explores the social changes wrought in that period. The consequences of l\.isapo' s actions for contemporary leadership form the subject of Chapter VI. The final chapter, VII, compares Kilenge reaction and adaptation to the course of events in o-cher socie-ties in Papua New Guinea, and draws conclusions aimed at explaining, the current national political dilemma in that country.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: The Qumran New Jerusalem Text: Contents and Contexts

contributor:
Schuller, Eileen
Religious Studies

subject:
Religious Studies
Religion
Religion

abstract:
This dissertation investigates the Qumran New Jerusalem [NJ] text, which is partially preserved in seven fragmentary copies recovered from five Dead Sea caves. The NJ details the measurements of a magnificent, monumental city that is similar to the cities exhibited in other Second Temple writings. The principal contribution ofthis dissertation is its systematic examination of several aspects of this comparatively understudied and somewhat misunderstood text.

Chapter 1 presents the first working edition of the Cave 4 NJ fragments 4Q554, 4Q554a, and 4Q555. Such an edition is very much a desideratum.

Chapter 2 investigates the NJ as an important example of the "New Jerusalem" topos. It concentrates on the common themes of the topos, the ways in which its expressions may be categorized, and the stages of its historical evolution. In the light of the results of this investigation, we examine the genre of the NJ and the antecedents of its orthogonal city plan, and the question as to whether one can reconstruct the original order of the NJ.

In Chapter 3 challenges the prevailing scholarly opinion regarding the degree of correspondence between the NJ and other Dead Sea scrolls concerning their descriptions of architectural details and eschatological expectations. This chapter also contains the first investigation of the points of contact between the NJ and the recently published texts 4Q391, 4Q462, 4Q475, 4Q537, and 4Q491.

In the Conclusion we suggest that the NJ is a response to the Antiochene crisis of the mid-second century BCE. The NJ describes an ideal end-time when Jerusalem would enjoy peace and strength, without enemies. Although it made no impact on the conceptions and expectations of the sectarians, the NJ would not have been out of place with respect to the general eschatological anticipations of the Qumran community.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: Missional hermeneutics : an analysis and application of Chris Wright's theory

contributor:
Porter, Stanley
Biblical Studies, Religion

subject:
Biblical Studies
Biblical Studies
Biblical Studies

abstract: Chris Wright has offered to us in the Mission of God: Unlocking the Grand Narrative of the Bible, a way to read the canonical text in a faithful manner. This faithful reading, as Wright calls it, is accomplished as we read the Bible with Christology and Missiology in the foreground. Wright distinguishes what he is suggesting by indicating that such a reading is the biblical expectation expressed in Luke 24:44-47 and not something that we bring to the text from some extemallocation. Wright would suggest further that Luke 24 alerts us to the Mission of God, which is, according to Wright, to redeem and restore his creation for his glory. The development of this Mission is the primary story line or Grand Narrative which individual biblical stories nuance including the story ofJesus. This type of reading is what is meant by a missional focus. The intent of this thesis is to offer a critical examination of Wright' s work and apply his model to a biblical text, in this case Philippians 1:12-2:18. By doing this it can be demonstrated that Wright is offering a corrective to biblical studies to be practised in conjunction with established henneneutical efforts.

abstract: Master of Arts (MA)


title: And Not One Jumps: The Women In Conrad's Novels

contributor:
Granofsky, R.
English

abstract:
There is more than one misperception about Joseph Conrad and women: He wrote novels that contain no female characters. He was a misogynist who, when he included female characters wrote about them in a misogynistic way. When he created women characters they were not true to life, but either one-dimensional or highly idealized. These untruths need to be dispelled. They help to perpetuate a reputation that is unfounded and unjust.

Conrad did not include women in many of his short stories. However, his novels contain many female characters, and their portrayals reveal that Conrad's reputation as a man who disliked women has no solid foundation. Conrad's letters and biographies show that Conrad's opinion of women was often more than positive. He based much of his thinking on his memories of his mother, a woman admired by many for her tireless energy and commitment to the cause of Polish independence. Female characters who share his mother's many fine qualities appear over and over in his longer fiction. However, although these female characters display lively intelligence, profound insight, courage, endurance, and other strengths, they also display flaws that humanize them and make them seem real to us.

Conrad shows his true opinion of women in ways that go beyond portraying them in positive ways He defies conventional literary forms and archetypes that perpetuate expectations for women in patriarchal societies. His subversion of inscribed codes of behaviour for women reveals that Conrad viewed women as capable of being and doing far more than traditional literature indicates. Because he moves away from conventional forms and portrayals, Conrad is free to allow his female characters a voice by which he is able to comment critically on the way patriarchal, especially imperialist, societies operate. A point common to all his commentaries is that patriarchal societies are severely flawed because the men who run them are self-serving and often corrupt. For Conrad, women are more highly principled than men. If society is to focus on the betterment of its people, it must include women as leaders at all levels.

This thesis will show that Joseph Conrad was not a misogynist writer, but a writer who has been misrepresented as one.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: Books of Spiritual Guidence for Children During the Puritan-Anglican Controversy in the Seventheenth Century

contributor:
ROEBUCK, GRAHAM
Religion

subject: Religion Religion

abstract: In this paper I have discussed books of spiritual guidance for children within their historical context. The authors were writing during the time of conflict between the Anglicans and Puritans in the mid-seventeenth century. Their most obvious aim is to secure converts for their particular denominational cause. I attempt to uncover the denominational ideals, as well as the more general ideals concerning man, his world, and his relation to others. These books have not previously been examined by scholars, nor by historians of children's books in this way. The books and authors are: A little book for little children (1660) by Thomas White, A choice manual (1669) by Jeremy Taylor, A token for children (1672) by James Janeway, and Of education (1687) by Obadiah Walker. The books can be found in their original state in the Osborne Room of the Toronto r1etropolitan Library.

abstract: Master of Arts (MA)


title: J.B. Metz's critique of Religious Apathy

subject: Religion Religion

abstract:
The purpose of this study is to offer a distinctive interpretation of the theology of Johann Baptist Metz, who is presently professor of fundamental theology at the University of Munster and the founder of European political theology. It argues that even though Metz I s theology has undergone significant changes over the past thirty years, it is nevertheless best understood as a unified attempt to understand and to correct the causes of Christian apathy. At each stage of development, Metz focuses on the inordinate privatizing influence that Greek and modern consciousness has had, and continues to have, on Christian self-understanding and practice.

Previous interpretations have tended to discuss Metz exclusively in terms of his attempt to correct the a historical tendencies of scholastic and neo-scholastic theology, to develop a theology based on the priority of praxis over theory, and to develop a theological anthropology which is more socially concrete. In each case, what is missed is the deeper and more personal motivating impetus behind his theology: his desire to answer the question of why Christians remain apathetic in the face of suffering. This question arises out of his own personal experiences of Christian apathy in the face of past Holocaust suffering and present third world suffering.

Furthermore, each fails to recognize how his theology is unified both in terms of intention and strategy. Throughout, his intention is to disengage Christianity from the apathy-producing effects of Greek and modern consciousness. To do so, he consistently distinguishes between the non-Christian types of consciousness in which Christians find themselves immersed (the form of thought), as well as the implicit certitudes about the human self and the world (the content of thought) which these produce. Each stage is therefore an attempt to understand, criticize, and offer alternatives to Christianity's captivity to non-Christian ways of being in the world which subvert the realization of the Gospel mandate of love and therefore produce apathy.

In this way, this dissertation hopes to contribute to a fuller understanding of Metz's theology. It argues that even though there are significant changes in strategy from one stage to the next, Metz's theology is a unified attempt to disengage Christianity from the negative influences of Greek and modern consciousness in order to give birth to a new socially critical, action-oriented, post-Auschwitz Christianity.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: True Belief: The Faith of the Church and the Action of the Trinity in Augustine's De Trinitate

contributor:
Widdicombe, P.
Religious Studies

subject: Religion Religion

abstract: Augustine's understanding of the knowledge of God being made manifest in a vision following the resurrection of the dead is consistent with, and an expansion of, his basic epistemological framework where certain knowledge is grounded in the intellectual perception of eternal realities in the light of truth. However, given the eschatological fulfillment of the vision, a considerable problem arises. If the knowledge of God as triune is postponed to eternity, we must ask on what basis Augustine is certain that God is triune, since what Augustine asserts to the true - that God is a trinity - can only be believed and is not yet seen. This thesis examines Augustine's solution to this problem through a close reading of De Trinitate, demonstrating that according to Augustine, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit both order and constitute all of man's thinking (and hence loving) activity. Accordingly, the claims made in faith by the church concerning the triune identification of God can be held to be true because these beliefs are the product of the action of the triune God on the mind of man. Thus the truth of the church's claim that God is triune is understood by Augustine to be guaranteed by the action of the Trinity itself

abstract: Master of Arts (MA)


title: An Analysis of Models for Estimating Surface Net Radiation from Incoming Solar Radiation

contributor:
Rouse, W. R.
Geography

subject: Geography Geography

abstract:
The importance of surface net radiation to several branches of physical environmental research is stressed and the dependence of this flux on surface controls is explored. An analysis of a group of models, employing incoming solar radiation to estimate net radiation, is presented, including a new approach which utilities parameters of greater specificity than appear in previous models. Potentially, this model is applicable in both clear and cloudy conditions. An expression for the parameter representing the intensity of the thermal response of a surface to radiant energy input is obtained analytically for some surfaces and the factors in this expression are discussed for all surfaces.

The diurnal regimes of the radiation budget components for three surfaces - grass, bare soil and a cornfield - are presented in both graphical and tabular form for several days over a growing season. Differences in net radiation totals are shown to be the results of both short- and longwave factors. An analysis of this data reveals that the "heating coefficient" concept is unlikely to be a useful one for estimating net radiation on a routine basis, but that the resolution of the net longwave coefficients into unidirectional components holds some promise. The effect of surface dessication on the thermal response of a surface (and, hence, on net radiation) is apparent in the seasonal behaviour of the outgoing longwave parameters. This behaviour is different for each surface and, for the soil, is analysed in terms of the thermal and radiative properties specified in the theoretical analysis. Reflection coefficient differences were marked and the seasonal regimes of this parameter differed for each surface. Difficultly was encountered, however, in adequately predicting the parameters representing the influence of variations in atmospheric longwave emission on net radiation totals.

The data collected were used to assess the predictive accuracy of various net radiation equation, over the period of a growing season. It was found that simple linear regression equations with insolation performed as well, in this respect, as the more sophisticated models. The potentially large errors associated with the use equations derived for different surfaces or locations is demonstrated. The model introduced in this study, however, represents more explicitly the controls on net radiations and could conceivably provide superior estimate of the flux when daily totals are required over periods of time longer than a growing season. Some suggestions for future studies of radiations exchange at the earth-atmosphere interface are presented.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: A Care-Based Model of the Physician-Patient Relationship

contributor:
Gedge, (Boetzkes) E.
Philosophy

subject: Philosophy Philosophy

abstract: The aim of this dissertation is to offer a new way of characterizing the ideal physician-patient relationship. Although several models of the physician-patient realtionship have been put forth in the literature in recent years, they have all fallen short as ideal models of the relationship. One of the problems with many of the previous models is that they have tended to focus on finding an appropriate balance between physician paternalism and patient autonomy an, in doing so, have characterized the relationship as one in which the physician is viewed as a threat to the rights and interests of the patient. The second problem with many of the models is that they focus too narrowly on decision making, ignoring other important aspects of the relationship. For instance, there is little if any discussion in the previous models of such important aspects of the physician-patient relationship as trust and communication. Nevertheless, I maintain that the models approach is the best approach to the physician-patient ethics, and so I argue for a new model of the relationship - a model that incorporates the other important facets of the relationship, is widely applicable to different physician-patient relationships, and is more collaborative than adversarial in nature. My thesis is that 'care' serves as the ideal conceptual basis for a model of the physician-patient relationship. Thus, the main task of this dissertation is to philosophically examine the concept 'care', and to apply it to the physician-patient relationship in order to develop a care-based model of that relationship.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: Two Responses to Utopian Thought: A Comparison of Augustine's and Hobbes's Critiques of Political "Idealism"

contributor:
Seaman, John W.
Political Science

subject:
Political Science
Political Science

abstract:
One of the fundamental distinctions between classical political philosophy and the political philosophies of modernity is the attempt by modem philosophers to show that classical thought rests on utopian illusions about man and his relationship to nature. One of the early modern philosophers who played a crucial role in developing a conception of politics that rejects classical thought is Thomas Hobbes. However, in one crucial respect Hobbes builds on a conception of political philosophy as developed by the ancients: he believes that the study of politics as a means to the improvement of the human condition is possible and necessary. This is an assumption that he shares with the majority of modern political philosophers.

If modern political philosophy is justified on the basis of its rejection of ancient thought as illusory, and yet shares a crucial assumption of ancient thought, then this raises the question of where to tum in order to gain a critical perspective on the political writings of modernity. One possible answer is the writings of St. Augustine. Augustine's Christian thought cannot be classified as either ancient or modem; it lies somewhere between the two. He is concerned with the development of man's moral virtue, but his conception of virtue and how it is obtained is very different from the ancient understanding of virtue. Moreover, he shares with the modem writers a rejection of the classical conception of reason, but his rejection goes much further. Augustine is skeptical of the idea that human reason can discover natural standards by which we can orient our lives. This differentiates him from modem writers like Thomas Hobbes. Perhaps then, Augustine can offer an alternative to the assumptions of ancient and modem political philosophers. It is my goal in this thesis to explicate this alternative conception of politics through a comparison of the writings of Augustine with the writings of Hobbes. Specifically, I will focus on Augustine's and Hobbes' critiques of political idealism in the City a/God and Leviathan respectively. I aim to show how Augustine's more realistic political analysis offers a formidable challenge to the modem conception of politics as outlined by Hobbes.

abstract: Master of Arts (MA)


title: Encounter with the Divine - A Study in Tiruttoqtar Puranam

contributor:
K. Sivaraman, Paul Younger
Religious Studies

subject: Religion Religion

abstract:
The Tiruttontar Puranam is a late medieval Tamil , hagiography that is venerated as the last of the Saiva; Tirumurai(s) - the sacred literature of the Tamil Saivas. It was composed around the twelfth century by Cekkilar, who was minister in the court of Kulottunka II (1133 -1150). The hagiography narrates the stories of the sixty-three nayanmar , - Saiva saints, who lived between the sixth and the eighth centuries.

This thesis examines the stories of five nayanmar who are drawn to our attention by the fact that their devotion expresses itself in unusual and violent forms. While all the stories revolve around the 'encounter' between the devotee and his Lord, these five exemplify encounters with God that seem to violate all normal human values. In the tension between human and divine ties, their bhakti in its extremity leads them towards acts of violence which raise serious moral questions for most readers.

The concept of tontu (service) is identified as the over-arching principle used by Cekkilar to provide a rationale for these stories. This thesis centers on the way he uses that concept in the five stories in order to explain the occasionally violent or antinomian nature of bhakti. Recounting the stories in Cekkilar's words, this thesis traces the way in which he handles the story, and his skillful introduction of the idea of to~tu. The later tradition had to accommodate these antinomian saints within its system. Its attempt to corne to terms with these episodes of fers an interesting perspective on the tradition itself and so this thesis examines Tirukkalirrupatiyar's thirteenth century assessment of these saints as a concluding note.

abstract: Master of Arts (MA)


title: Manicudavadana: The Annotated Translations and A Study of the Religious Significance of Two Versions of the Sanskrit Buddhist Story

contributor:
Granoff, Phyllis
Religious Studies

subject: Religion Buddhism

abstract:
This dissertation contains four sections including an introduction, the translation of two texts -- the Manicudavadana from the Mahajjhatakamala and from Ksemendra's Avadanakalpalata, a discussion of Maicuda's many roles in other Buddhist texts, and an analysis of Manlcuda's act of dana.

The first chapter deals with relevant scholarship on the texts to date. It generally introduces what scholars have done on the Manicudavadana. The next focus of this chapter is on the transmission and development of the Manicudavadana. Chapter 2 contains two translations of Manicuda story. The next section, Chapter 3, is mainly concerned with the variety of the texts on Manicuda that exist outside India and are found today in the Chinese Tripi taka. This "larger" picture of the Manicuda story points out the significance of different roles that Manicuda played. Chapter 4 discusses Manicuda's well-known heroic action, selfless giving, or dana. It could be considered "sin-expiation", etc., but another consideration of this action is given. I seek to understand this deed as the first stage (bhumi) of a Bodhisattva's spiritual journey toward the highest enlightenment. He must symbolically die, in order to be reborn on a higher level in his progress on the Bodhisattva path. The sacrifice of Manicuda in this interpretation is a kind of initiatory ritual.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: The Trinitarian Life of God and the Communal Life of the Church in Augustine's Confessions

contributor:
Widdicombe, Peter
Religious Studies

subject: religious studies

abstract: In the Confessions, Augustine presents a vision of the church which relies heavily upon his understanding of the trinitarian nature of God. The church is the venue where God reveals himself to human beings as Trinity, as the Son and the Spirit work within the community in a saving way, redressing the problem of human sinfulness, nourishing the community's love, and preparing the church to participate in the trinitarian life of God in the eschaton. As he develops his understanding of the relationship between the Trinity and the church, Augustine describes the divine nature as being inherently relational, trinitarian, and he maintains that the activity of the Trinity within the church engenders loving relationships both among human beings and between the community as a whole and God. This analysis of Augustine's understanding of God's trinitarian activity in the church calls into question the validity of criticisms brought against Augustine's theology by commentators such as Jilrgen Moltmann, who contends that Augustine introduced deleterious tendencies into Western theology which gave rise to Modalistic conceptions of God and individualistic expressions of the doctrine of human nature. In fact in the Confessions, Augustine delineates a view of the church in which the health of the community is assured through the activity of the God whose life is expressed in terms of an eternal community of three persons.

abstract: Master of Arts (MA)


title: Pauline Mimesis: The Realization of an Ethic

contributor:
Meyer, B.F.
Religious Sciences

subject:
religious studies
Religion
Religion

abstract: The Revised Standard Version of the New Testament translates the Greek cognates of mimesis with various English cognates derived from the Latin word imitatio. This thesis argues that the word imitation distorts the intent of the mimesis texts and that, in order to understand these texts, one must first understand the meaning of mimesis. A brief study of classical and hellenistic Greek literature demonstrates that mimesis is a process whereby the imitator brings into being a concrete expression of an immutable principle. The Pauline texts focus upon a particular act of mimesis. The imitator brings into being a Christian community, an expression of his baptism into the body of Christ, through conduct based upon the ethic of self-renunciation. The first two chapters argue that Paul does not draw upon an Old Testament concept of imitation. On the contrary, his usage derives from the Greek tradition. The classical Greek notion of mimesis is stil I common usage in the first century C.E. and is evident within the work of Pau 1 's contemporary, the .Jewi sh hi stori an Josephus. The third chapter offers an exegetical study of the Pauline mimesis texts which substantiates the hypothesis that the author means that the imitator engages in an act of mimesis and is not simply an imitation. that is a copy of an example. The exegesis also demonstrates that the Pauline mimesis is not an attempt on the part of the imitator to adopt the attributes of his example. This is not an imitation of Christ in the tradition of Thomas ~ Kempis. i i The fourth chapter explains the logic of Paul's decision to encourage his addressees to be imitators. Paul is attempting to remedy a problem which arises after baptism. Through baptism, man is recreated in the image of Christ, yet man's conduct does not always reflect this new ontological reality. The ethic of self-renunciation is inherent to man's new nature, his divine likeness. The process of mimesis is the means by which man brings this ethic to concrete expression and, thereby, creates harmony between his conduct and his new condition.

abstract: Master of Arts (MA)


title: Women in the Damascus Document

subject: Religion Religion

abstract:
The Damascus Document, a foundational document amongst the Dead Sea Scrolls, is rich with references to women. Most of the passages that allude to women are part of the legal section of the document. This study offers an in-depth analysis of all passages relating to women, both in terms of understanding the content of the often fragmentary text, as well as deducing the implications of that information for the role and status of women, and attitudes towards women, in the societies behind the text. My detailed analysis offers, in several instances, new interpretative suggestions to the text, for example, concerning female purity laws and regarding difficult expressions ("embroidery" [rwqmh] and "established for her").

The legal section can be divided into two main literary layers, a division I have adopted as a methodological framework. I examine the passages concerning women according to literary stratum. As a result of this method, it is possible to study texts relating to women chronologically and in their proper literary contexts. This method also allows for comparisons between the strata.

My analysis reveals a mix of both positive and negative attitudes towards women reflected in the text. Amongst the earliest laws, there are laws that advocate humiliating treatments of women (laws about the Sotah and investigation concerning virginity). Yet, there is also a tendency to reinterpret biblical laws in a way that works in favour of women's interests (laws about oath and the Sotah). In the communal laws, the latest layer amongst the laws, the evidence suggests that women were full members in the community behind the Damascus Document and that they held strong positions within the family units. At the same time, some aspects of women's power have been undermined by the increasingly authoritarian sectarian leadership.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: Design and Construction of an Avalanche Photodioclc-Based Gamma CRmera Prototype

contributor:
Farncombe, Troy H.
Medical Physics

subject:
Other Medical Sciences
Other Physics
Other Medical Sciences

abstract:
Objective: The design of a prototype avalanche photodiode gamma camera and an adaptable and expandable acquisition board. To test the performance of the acquisition board a photomultiplier base camera is constructed and utilized in various configurations. The APD-based gamma camera is tested on the same acquisition board to evaluate its performance.

Results:Spectra have been collected and analyzed utilizing four various detector/system configurations. i) a PET module, utilizing a PMT coupled to a pixilated BGO crystal with a high energy Na-22 source. ii) a single PMT extracted from a PET module akin to the one mentioned previously and coupled to NaI(T1) with a Co-57 source. iii) the same PMT coupled to a CsI(T1) crystal with a variety of sources, including Tc-99m, Ga-67 and Co37. iv) an APD coupled to a CsI(T1) crystal with a variety of sources including Tc-99m and Co-57. Images have been collected from multiple camera configurations, all by a 2 by 2 array. APD's with CsI(T!), PMT's and NaI(T1) and a PET module with PMT's on BGO

Conclusion: These requirements have been met with the current design and the system has been tested in a controlled environment. collecting spectrum while operating a single channel and for some configurations, images were collected operating a multi-channel array. A number of steps can be taken to improve upon this prototype, The detector itself may benefit from a pixilated crystal and current APD technology. The acquisition board should be transferred to a multiple printed circuit board design allowing it to be implemented ill a black-box manner. Additionally. the current USB bridge' limits the transfer rate of data between the DSC and the' PC. as a result. alternatives should be investigated.

abstract: Master of Science (MSc)


title: Dopaminergic Modulation of Glutamate-Based Long-Term Potentiation in the Medial Prefrontal Cortex, in vivo: Behavioural Sensitization Revisited

contributor:
Racine, Ronald J.
Psychology

subject:
Other Psychology
Psychiatry and Psychology
Psychology
Other Psychology

abstract: Drug addiction and behavioural sensitization are associated with reorganization of mesolimbocortical circuitry, which we have attempted to model with glutamatergic-based long-term potentiation (LTP) in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). The objective of the experiments was to examine the effects of dopamine-1 (01) and dopamine-2 (02) receptor family specific agonists and antagonists on LTP in the mPFC in the chronic in vivo preparation using fullyawake, freely-moving rats. Male Long-Evans rats were surgically implanted with stimulating electrodes into the corpus callosum and recording electrodes into the mPFC. Subjects were systemically administered a drug together with high frequency stimulation for the induction of LTP. The rats treated with the 0 1 receptor agonist A68930 (OAmg/kg/ml) showed LTP levels equal to those in the saline LTP group. The 0 1 receptor antagonist SKF83566 (0 . 15m~,/kg/ml) blocked the expression of LTP, and instead induced significant long-term depression. The 02 receptor antagonist sulpiride (3, 6, and 12mg/kg/ml) significantly decreased LTP, compared to the control group, in a dose-dependent fashion. The O2 receptor agonist quinpirole (0.125, 0.25, and 0.5mg/kg/ml) significantly increased LTP, compared to the control group, in a dose-dependent fashion. The O2 receptor agonist also induced behavioural sensitization, the intensity and frequency of which was positively correlated with the LTP effect. This is the first iii work to show that glutamatergic-based LTP in the mPFC is positively modulated by 02 receptors in the chronic in vivo preparation, and behavioural sensitization is, in turn, modulated by LTP induction. As O2 receptor-rich neurons are located largely in mesencephalic nuclei that, in turn, project to the mPFC, the 02 effects may be indirect. This plasticity modulation needs to be more deeply explored to determine its relationship to disorders, such as psychostimulant addiction and schizophrenia that are known to be due to dysregulated dopamime and glutamate function in the mesencephalon and mPFC.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: Learning from Fear &Loathing in Las Vegas: Nostalgia as the Forgetful Reification of Historical Form

contributor:
Szeman, Imre
English

subject: english

abstract: This thesis marks the first critical fulJ-length treatment of Gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson and examines how "history" constitutes a central problematic in his career-long fascination with America. In this context, "history" designates the fluid interchange between two modes of periodization: memory and nostalgia. Using a recently published collection of his personal correspondence, a close reading of his foray into political activism and considering Fear &#.Dathing in #.Ds Vegas in light of his career, I treat Thompson as a critical theorist of American pop culture. As such, I compare his Gonzo aesthetic to the more rigorousJy developed cultural critique of Frankfurt School critical theorist Herbert Marcuse, whose impact on the New Left puts him in a position roughly contemporaneous to Thompson. Marcuse's concept of one-dimensional culture and embrace of negative critique provides a theoretical framework by which to understand how Thompson's trademarked phrase "Fear and Loathing" serves as a trope more closely affiliated to existential nausea than it is to its immediate referent, drug-addled paranoia. The above distinction between different "histories" belongs to Fredric Jameson, whose theorization of the postmodern reveals how history is constituted by both objective fact and subjective narrative. More precisely, I am applying this model to Thompson because of both his staws as a pop cultural celebrity and also his own attempts at periodization as evinced by his fascination with the Sixties. Finally, I discuss Jean Baudrillard's contention that pop culture is constituted by simulation in relation to Thompson's frantic vision of American pop culture within F&LLV. Simulation here serves as a process homologous to the contest between memory and nostalgia in the construction of history. iii

abstract: Master of Arts (MA)


title: Mechanisms and Dynamics of the Human Auditory Steady-State Response

contributor:
Roberts, Larry E.
Psychology

subject: Psychology Psychology

abstract:
Auditory evoked potentials recorded in the electroencephalogram consist of differentiable components that can be roughly classified as either transient or steady state responses. The latter, recorded at stimulus rates above about 3 Hz, have advantages for study of the auditory system. A large number of such responses can be collected rapidly to enhance the reliability of the resulting average; because the cortical sources of the response localize to the region of Heschl's gyrus, a picture of neural activity occuring in this region (primary auditory cortex, AI) is gained. An interesting feature of the steady-state response is that it reaches its peak amplitude at stimulation rates near 40 Hz. The experiments of this thesis investigated the mechanism and dynamics of the auditory steady-state response (SSR). The experiments were guided by the linear summation model which attributes the 40 Hz amplitude peack to the summation of transient "middle-latency" resposnes which contain a 40 Hz component and localize to Heschl's gyrus, overlapping the cortical sources of the SSR. Alternatively, it has been suggested that resonany properties of the auditory system may be responsible for the peak in SSE amplitude at 40 Hz.

Experiment 1 investigated how auditory evoked potentials change as stimulus rate increases from the transient to the steady state range. Stimuli consisting of 6 second long trains of stimulation at 1.5 Hz, 4 Hz or 13 Hz were presented to subjects in either the auditory, visual or somatosensory modality. The transient "on" response, "off response", and intervening responses evoked by stimuli in the train were recorded at each stimulus rate. Using the auditory recordings, frequency-amplitude functions were synthesized from the responses recorded at each of the stimulation rates. Only the 13 Hz response produced a frequency-amplitude characterisitc with a prominent peak in response amplitude at 40 Hz. A new signal processing procedure, based on the Hotelling T2 statistic but applied in a procedure similar to a spectrogram, was used to show dynamics in the steady-state response which were not observable in the time-domain averages.

In Experiment 2 a direct test of the linear summation model for the auditory steady-state response was performed. According to this model each of the indiviual stimuli in a train of steady-state stimulation induces an identical response referred to as the 'source transient'. Using a steady-state stimulus whose stimulation rate varied continuously from 10-50 Hz, I derived a 'source transient' using a deconvolution process (Gutschalk, Mase et al., 1999). The source transient was then used to reconstruct thet 10-50 Hz response assuming that linear summation was responsible for the entire response. The results did not find evidence of a nonlinear contribution to the generation of the SSR at any stimulus rate, and were therefore consistent with a linear model even at stimulus rates near 40 Hz. The source transient was also used to reconstruct a traditional 40 Hz steady-state response and compared to a recorded version of this response. The phase and amplitude of the reconstructed response accurately predicted the recorded response on the basis of individual subjects. The morphology of the group average 'source transient' was comparable with the middle-latency portion of the transient response recorded to a 1.5 Hz stimulus although its amplitude was reduced.

In Experiment 3 I applied a steady-state stimulus procedure to evaluate the plasticity of transient and steady-state components of the auditory evoked potential. Non-musician subjects were trained to discriminate small increases in the pitch of a 1 second long segment of a 40 Hz amplitude modulated tone with a carrier near 2 kHz. Using appropriate methods of signal processing, I separated N1 and P2 components of the transient response though to reflect activity in primary auditory cortex (A1). Training enhanced the amplitude of the P2 component in both hemispheres and the N1c component in the right hemisphere. The amplitude of the SSR was not enhanced by training; however, the phase of the response was modified for a time window commencing near the rising edge of the P2 component. Control measurements confirmed that the P2 and SSR were separate brain events. The conclusion contains a discussion about how auditory evoked potentials may reflect neural mecahnisms underlying remodeling of the auditory cortex by experience.

Overall the results of these studies suggest that linear summation gives an adequate description of the SSR when source transients are recorded at frequencies > 4Hz. My results are also consistent with neural generators for this response originating in Heschl's gyrus. Temporal properties of the steady-state response appear to be modifiable by training in adult non-musicians, although amplitude is more resistant to change. Exploration of a wider range of procedures may uncover additional dynamics in the SSR not detected here. These dynamics reflect fundmental mechanisms by which the brain encodes its sensory input.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: Modern Sannyasins, Parallel Society and Hindu Replications: A Study of the Protestant Contribution to Tamil Culture in Nineteenth Century Sri Lanka against a Historical Background

contributor:
Younger, P.
Religious Studies

subject:
religious studies
hindu
society. protestant
tamil
nineteeth century
Sri Lanka
Religion
Religion

abstract: This thesis is a study of the patterns of change within Sri Lankan Tamil tradition, with a particular focus on the nineteenth century. It endeavours to accomplish two things. First, by the examination of colonial Sri Lanka against a detailed consideration of the pre-existing society and culture, the thesis shows that the colonial period, far from being one of great change and disjunction with the past, in fact experienced a very gradual course of social change which was facilitated by the widespread incorporation of traditional structures that gave colonial society a much needed stability and a peaceful environment where trade and commerce could prosper. ~econdly, by taking this approach, the thesis demonstrates that the nineteenth century Anglo-Saxon Protestant missionaries eventually fell into the traditional role of sannyasins, a role, as this work shows, that had been adopted by the Jain mendicants and the Buddhist bhikkhus who had preceded them. The thesis first demonstrates that the sannyasin, although in a fundamental sense an enemy of caste, having turned his or her back on caste society, has nevertheless deeply influenced Hindu society, partfcularly when organized as a community of renouncers. The thesis then goes on to argue that the Protestant sannyasins likewise, in the establishment of male and female boarding schools, advocated a form of communal renunciation, which contributed .to the formation of a parallel society alongside the caste society, and which became instrumental in initiating many changes within Tamil culture in Sri Lanka.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)


title: Why Despite Legislation, Our Education System is "Failing" Children with Learning Disabilities

contributor:
Najm, S.
Day, R.
Education

subject: education

subject: system

subject: children

subject: learning

subject: disabled

subject: Disability and Equity in Education

subject: Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research

subject: Disability and Equity in Education

abstract: In the Public Education System all children have the right to receive the best possible education that public funds can provide. Outlined in the Ontario Ministry Document, Formative Years (1975), is an explanation of an education system that "ensures that each child experiences a measure of success in his or her endeavours, so that each may develop that self-confidence needed for further learning" (p. 5). However, not all children are born equal, some have varying disabilities that interfere with their ability to achieve "a measure of success". This paper addresses the child with Learning Disabilities and the problems he or she faces in our current education system. A _Learning Disabled student is one in whom there is a significant discrepancy between academic achievement and assessed intellectual ability which is not due to physical, emotional, cultural or mental handicaps. The etiology is unknown. Before this type of student can receive specialized help, he or she must be correctly diagnosed as Learning Disabled (LD) by specialists in the school board. This process can involve teachers, principals, special education teachers, resource teachers, psychological services, instructional assistants, committees, Doctors and administrators. This is a process that involves an inordinate amount of time. A delay often impinges on the well-being of the LD student taking its toll in loss of self-esteem, failure to keep up with his peers and failure to progress academically. This may result in behaviour problems, lack of interest, emotional withdrawal, or physical symptoms. Continued delay in implementing a supportive programme benefits no one except perhaps the Board of Education which avoids the expense of special instruction for the student in question. This paper will argue that while there is legislation in place that ensures each child, including those with disabilities, will be educated in an environment that encourages "maximum individual growth and development" (Minister of Education, Hansard, January 8,1989) our public education system often 'fails' these children. Through delays, current philosophical trends or misguided intentions a board can prevent and/or delay, albeit unintentionally, the placement of an LD child in an appropriate setting that "meets the needs of the pupil". ( as above) An explanation of how the education system works in relation to the LD child is presented. A historical overview provides the background to the current legislation involving the rights of LD children. The deficits of these children are documented and references are cited to support this. An overview of how children learn to read and how LD children differ from the norm is presented. The prevailing theories of the education system, school boards and administrators are discussed in the light of the ministry guidelines for the education of LD students. r- ...... , .' The current theory of mainstreaming, a method of keeping the LD child with his or her regular class, is both economical and appropriate, according to many school boards. It can be argued that this is not always the case. There exists a sub-group of LD students for which mainstreaming is not beneficial, rather the reverse. Case studies are presented to support this view and a programme designed to meet the unique needs of these exceptional students is discussed in detail. The programme advocates a whole-child approach involving the social, emotional, physical and cognitive aspects of the child. It will be argued that such a programme is necessary for the successful well-being of the LD student. It will also be argued that this programme is best presented in a segregated setting, and could not be - appropriately implemented in a mainstream classroom,. Support for the theories that are .-/ the basis of this belief are cited. While there is a sound pedagogical foundation for the proposed programme, in the short term it is viewed by the school board as expensive due to the low pupil/ teacher ratio required. "Bill 82 gives youngsters an entitlement to special education programs. [School boards] use the mainstreaming argument as an evasion in order not to come into conflict with the province over questions of financing". (S. Lewis, June 1989, p. 5) The expense in the long run, incurred through high school drop out rates, high levels of unemployment, increased use of mental health programmes, etc., are picked up by government departments other than the school board. It is my contention that these funds might be better used for identifying and recognizing early precursors of children at risk for school failure due to LD and implementing an early intervention programme. Prevention through education of teachers and administrators is advocated. It is by recog~izing the potential problem early that many of the damaging results may be prevented. Early identification is the key and immediate intervention is the answer. The ability to ameliorate the low self-esteem, the behavioural, emotional and physical problems that are often the result of an unhappy, unsuccessful and/or unrecognized LD child is within the school system's grasp. Early signs that help identify LD factors are known and some school systems are implementing this knowledge with pre-schoolers. The delay in putting this into effect, prevention rather than remediation, especially in the light of the problems outlined in this paper, risks both monetary and potential loss. This paper advocates that school boards explore their options in order to circumvent a policy that causes the 'failure' of some of its exceptional children.

abstract: Master of Arts (MA)


title: The Development of Self in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, Chopin's The Awakening, and Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale.

contributor:
Brasch, J. D.
English

subject:
self
Hawthorne
scarlet letter
Chopin
awakening
Atwood
handmaid's tale
Literature in English, North America
Literature in English, North America

abstract: This study is an examination of the developing self-consciousness of three female protagonists in three different novels. Chapter One is a discussion of the detrimental social factors that hinder the complete selfdevelopment of Hester Prynne in the seventeenth-century New England environment of Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter. Chapter Two investigates the emerging consciousness of self of Edna Pontellier and her subsequent failure to achieve an autonomy that permits her to integrate into the confining, social climate of Chopin's nineteenth-century Creole environment in The Awakening. Chapter three is the examination of the repressive forces in the futuristic society of Gilead that serve as a barrier to the development of a unified self for Offred in Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale. In all three chapters of the thesis, I argue that each female protagonist's struggle to successfully assert the self, and to extend the self toward genuine relationships with others, is not actualized. This study attempts to show the precarious hold of the self that the female protagonist demonstrates in each of these three works of fiction. Throughout the body of the text, an abbreviated form iii iv will be used for the three primary novels examined. The reference consists of the underlined initials of the title of the novel followed by the page number, all contained within parentheses. The abbreviations are as follows: TSL for Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, TA for Chopin's The Awakening, and THT for Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale.

abstract: Master of English


title: The Biology of Dendritic Cell Subsets in Allergen-Induced Asthma

contributor: Medical Sciences (Division of Physiology/Pharmacology)

subject:
Asthma
Allergy
Antigen presenting cells
Dendritic cells
Myeloid dendritic cells
Plasmacytoid dendritic cells
Allergy and Immunology
Circulatory and Respiratory Physiology
Immunity
Immunopathology
Medical Immunology
Respiratory Tract Diseases
Allergy and Immunology

abstract: Asthma is an inflammatory disorder of the airways, and there has been growing insight into the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the inflammatory basis of this disease. Research into the inflammatory mechanisms of asthma has progressively shifted focus from downstream effectors, such as mast cells and eosinophils, up to Th2 lymphocytes and their proallergic cytokines. Even more upstream in the allergic cascade are dendritic cells (DCs), potent APCs that orchestrate immune responses. Evidence supporting a role of DCs in regulating airway allergic inflammation is derived mainly from animal studies. In animal models of asthma, myeloid DCs (mDCs) induce and maintain airway inflammation, while plasmacytoid DCs (pDCs) mediate tolerance and lung homeostasis. It remains uncertain, however, whether this concept of pro-allergic mDCs and anti-allergic pDCs translates from animal to human models. The overall objective of this thesis was to investigate the biology of DC subsets in allergen-induced asthma in asthmatic subjects. Initially, we demonstrate that both mDCs and pDCs increase in the airways of subjects with mild asthma after allergen inhalation. Next, we describe a distinct subpopulation of mDCs, called mDC2s, and demonstrate their association with allergy and asthma severity. Expanding on these findings, we show that mDC2s increase in the airways of mild asthmatics after allergen challenge. Lastly, we explore the potential of pharmacological therapies, anti-OX40L MAb and anti-TSLP MAb, to affect DCs in subjects with mild asthma, and demonstrate no effect of either drug on circulating DC subsets. The studies presented here provide evidence for multiple DC subtypes being involved in the regulation of allergen-induced inflammatory responses, and support continued investigations into the biology of different DC subsets in allergen-induced asthma.

abstract: Doctor of Philosophy (Medical Science)