Transylvania, Texas

This thesis is a collection of poems about my experience realizing that I was transgender, working through my feelings prior to this realization, the moment of realization, and the fallout that comes afterword. It begins by dealing with the feelings of depression and alienation that accompany unrecognized feelings of gender dysphoria, examining feelings of disconnect from the body, the mind, and everyday life. It builds to the slow realization of being a trans woman, a woman taught to be a man by society, and the joy and relief that comes with that epiphany. Finally it looks at what comes afterword, the fears and hopes that come as the poems look towards the future, and begin to examine trans issues from a more political standpoint, externalizing the issues that were internalized in the earlier poems

Understanding Existentialism on Stage: The Theatre of the Absurd

The Theatre of the Absurd represents one of the many shifts in the art forms of the second half of the 20th century. In a world that was searching for meaning, the Theatre of the Absurd was able to stage the universal situation of humanity in a new light. The Theatre of the Absurd largely sought to reinterpret several “traditional” conventions of theatre, and in doing so, was able to recontextualize some of the largest questions asked by humanity. Each play slowly shifts the conventions of theatre, as they were traditionally understood by audiences, to change the ways that audiences view the world around them. Overall, the Theatre of the Absurd redefines what so many consider the undefinable, allowing audiences to better negotiate the world around them. The roughly 20 years spanning the entirety of the Theatre of the Absurd represent a brief and bright constellation of plays, consisting of several plays clustered together within recent history. Amidst this constellation, there are some stars that stand out, eventually paving the way for plays to come. Of these brightest stars are Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot and Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead

A low-energy MHz repetition rate short-pulse electron gun

A pulsed electron gun that can produce MHz repetition rate nanosecond pulses is described. The gun uses a Pierce grid in combination with an anode to extract electrons from a tungsten filament cathode. The electrons emerging from the anode are accelerated and focused using two triple-aperture lenses to form a beam. By applying a high speed grid pulse that transitions through the extraction voltage region of the grid/anode combination, pulses of electrons are produced from the gun that have temporal widths less than 5 ns. The pulsed beams are produced at both rising and falling edges of the driving pulse. The characteristics of the emerging electron beams have been determined using an (e,2e) coincidence spectrometer and examples where they are used for time of flight decay measurements are given.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figure

Sources of Continued Corporate Dominance

How do we make sense of the policy implications of the numerous corporate elites appointed to positions in government? The board interlock network served as a reliable map of power for most of the 20th century. With the decline of the interlock network over the last few decades, we are left without a reliable map of corporate power, leading to a theory of a fractured corporate elite that is ineffectual in its collective policy influence. In this article, we argue that the fractured elite thesis overlooks two factors that counteract the decline of the domestic interlock network- a stable inner circle of highly connected individuals and a growing policy planning network (PPN). Using network data from 2010-11 on both board of director and corporate-policy planning org interlocks, along with a plethora of data on corporate political behavior, we demonstrate that the inner circle is still the primary organizing group of the capitalist class, and that the PPN is its current organizational vehicle. We demonstrate that the PPN is a primary source of political mobilization and cohesion, and is thus a source of continued corporate dominance. Ultimately we argue that the PPN can be used as a map to guide our understanding of the relationship between business and politics

Influencing electronic word-of-mouth communication : getting beyond the skepticism of social media

Amy Simons, Thesis Supervisor.This study addresses the uneasiness that public relations (PR) professionals are experiencing regarding word-of-month (WOM) communication and the growing phenomenon of electronic WOM. That uneasiness is based on the notion that companies and brands no longer control their message. Instead, consumers, who communicate with other consumers, have seized control. However, this study indicates that companies and brands can retain some control of the message if they properly engage their consumers. While eWOM communication is growing and evolving, this study finds that consumers remain skeptical about eWOM messages. They crave supporting information before deciding how to act or behave. This is where PR professionals come into play. If they can successfully engage their consumers and interact with them through avenues such as social media, they can be effective in influencing eWOM communication. The study finds that persuasive eWOM communication requires supporting evidence. It is the PR professional's responsibility to provide information that can influence the eWOM communication about their product. Several tactics outlined in this study can help PR professionals accomplish this objective.Amy Simons, Thesis Supervisor.Includes bibliographical references (pages 55-57)

Defect-dependent colossal negative thermal expansion in UiO-66(Hf) metal-organic framework

Thermally-densified hafnium terephthalate UiO-66(Hf) is shown to exhibit the strongest isotropic negative thermal expansion (NTE) effect yet reported for a metal-organic framework (MOF). Incorporation of correlated vacancy defects within the framework affects both the extent of thermal densification and the magnitude of NTE observed in the densified product. We thus demonstrate that defect inclusion can be used to tune systematically the physical behaviour of a MOF.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, revise

Physician recruitment and retention in New Brunswick: a medical student perspective

Background: Physician recruitment and retention is a priority for many Canadian provinces. Each province is unique in terms of recruitment strategies and packages offered; however, little is known about how medical students evaluate these programs. The purpose of the current study was to determine which factors matter most to New Brunswick (NB) medical students when considering their location of future practice.Method: A survey of NB medical students was conducted. Descriptive statistics were produced and a linear regression model was developed to study factors predictive of a student’s expressed willingness to practice in NB.Results:  158 medical students completed the online survey, which is a response rate of 55%. Job availability and spouse’s ability to work in the province were ranked as the top factors in deciding where to practice. In the final regression model, factors predictive of an expressed desire to practice in NB include being female, living in NB prior to medical school, attending medical school at Université de Sherbrooke, participation in the NB Preceptorship program, and a desire to practice family medicine.Conclusions: This study provides insight into what medical students consider when deciding where to practice. This research may be used to inform physician recruitment efforts and guide future research into medical education and policy

Funding Scientific Knowledge: Selection, Disclosure and the Public-Private Portfolio

This paper examines argues that while two distinct perspectives characterize the foundations of the public funding of research – filling a selection gap and solving a disclosure problem – in fact both the selection choices of public funders and their criteria for disclosure and commercialization shape the level and type of funding for research and the disclosures that arise as a consequence. In making our argument, we begin by reviewing project selection criteria and policies towards disclosure and commercialization (including patent rights) made by major funding organizations, noting the great variation between these institutions. We then provide a model of how selection criteria and funding conditions imposed by funders interact with the preferences of scientists to shape those projects that accept public funds and the overall level of openness in research. Our analysis reveals complex and unexpected relationships between public funding, private funding, and public disclosure of research. We show, for example, that funding choices made by public agencies can lead to unintended, paradoxical effects, providing short-term openness while stifling longer-term innovation. Implications for empirical evaluation and an agenda for future research are discussed.