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This qualitative narrative inquiry study examined the challenges and opportunities in a writing workshop framework and teachers' perceptions of their role in addressing the inequities of writing instruction in the early grades. The narrative inquiry study examined the contextualized phenomena within writing instruction in early childhood classrooms. Narrative inquiry study data were collected through semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, and field notes. The interview data were coded using the keywords in context. By analyzing patterns in the one-on-one teacher interviews, I gained insight into their perceptions and beliefs of the challenges and opportunities they face during writing instruction. The study results answered the questions, addressed the literature gap and contributed to the growing body of scholarly work. The following research questions addressed teachers' perceptions and beliefs in addressing the challenges of fostering writing development: How do the components of the writers' workshop allow students to develop as writers? Which specific writing strategies during the writing workshop support the early stages of the students' writing development? What influences teachers' beliefs about emergent writing? The belief that proper training and knowledge highly impact teacher performance and confidence guided the emerging themes. The individual interviews, focus group discussions, and field notes were used to triangulate the data collected to fortify the findings. The results are consistent with existing research on Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development that learning is a socially constructed and interactive approach. The study findings included the kindergarten and first grade teachers' prior experiences, revealing their perceptions of their role in addressing the inequities in writing instruction. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

The focus of my dissertation is the 'problem of the Other'. The central question is: how does one relate to the other without immediately taking away their alterity? If the Other is an absolute other, how can we relate in a way that is respectful and ethical? There are many examples of relationships among people that demonstrate ways that are ethical and ways that are not. I will be analyzing modernity/coloniality to understand in which ways this historical epoch demonstrated a lack of understanding of the Latin American Other. Afterward, I will offer a glimpse into the world of the Zapatistas and an educational experiment they called "La Escuelita Zapatista." By undertaking close readings of Zapatista narratives, I hope to offer the reader an opportunity to identify the ethicality (or what I will call 'ethicity') of the Zapatistas' pedagogy. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

Microphone arrays can capture a sound scene and can be combined with signal processing to spatially filter or beamform the scene to extract the source of interest by suppressing unwanted sounds. Microphone array beamforming has been widely used for speech enhancement, giving rise to a vast number of beamforming methods to optimally suppress interfering sounds. However, the opportunities of these systems in broadcast and consumer audio recording have not been investigated, where wideband capture is a requirement. In this case, the microphone array design plays a significant role, yet despite the various designs from the literature, it is not clear which geometry provides the best performance under a range of criteria relevant for these applications. Moreover, the interactions between the array geometry, the beamformer and other design parameters and their impact on both physical and perceptual quality of extracted audio sources have not been established. The main contribution of this thesis is to determine the uniform microphone array design that maximises the quality of extracted audio sources (or objects) from horizontal sound scenes, since most sound scenes have much larger variation in azimuth than elevation. Both physical and perceptual performance evaluations are conducted with a range of microphone geometries and beamforming methods showing that baffled circular arrays outperform alternative geometries both objectively (in terms of frequency range, spatial resolution, directivity and robustness) and perceptually (based on interference suppression and quality of target and overall sounds). New insights of the interactions between array geometries and beamformers are provided. Moreover, a subjective evaluation of beamforming methods is undertaken showing the benefits of the on-axis distortionless response in combination with very high directivity from the superdirective beamformer, particularly for wideband signals. In addition to the array geometry, the effects of directivity order and regularisation are further investigated to synthesise frequency-invariant directional responses with the least-squares beamformer. The results exhibit the trade-offs between directivity and robustness with regularisation and between directivity and frequency range with directivity order. Baffled circular arrays perform best consistently for different orders and regularisation parameters. Furthermore, an optimal regularisation parameter is derived that minimises the error between the target and synthesised responses in presence of manifold errors, outperforming constant robustness constraints particularly for gain and positioning errors whose optimal regularised responses are frequency dependent. The combination of simulation and perceptual results presented in this thesis represents a significant addition to the beamforming literature, potentially influencing the design of future compact microphone arrays.

The protocadherin 19 (PCDH19) gene is encoded on the X-chromosome and its mutation causes Early Infantile Epileptic Encephalopathy 9 (EIEE9). This disorder is characterised by epilepsy in infancy or early childhood, often accompanied by cognitive impairment and behavioural disturbances of diverse severity in heterozygous females. Mosaicism of PCDH19 positive and negative cells is believed to underpin the symptoms through a mechanism of cellular interference, leading to disruption in cell-cell communication, synapse formation and hyperexcitability of neurons. However, the expression and function of the gene in mammals are still poorly understood. The aim of this thesis was to characterise a Pcdh19-knock-out (KO) mouse model, focusing on cortical migration and lamination, and on animal behaviour. An analysis of the neuronal types expressing Pcdh19 in the postnatal cortex was also undertaken. By combining RNA in situ hybridisation and immunohistochemistry, Pcdh19 was found to be expressed by a wide variety of excitatory and inhibitory neuronal types, although expression was strongest in layers II/III and Va. In utero electroporation experiments in mutant animals revealed subtle differences in the migration of Pcdh19-KO neurons but no significant changes in Pcdh19 heterozygous (HET) females. Accordingly, analysis of cortical markers by immunostaining revealed only very minor differences in the number or distribution of marker-positive cells between Pcdh19-WT and mutant animals. The results of the behavioural analysis suggested a higher sensitivity of Pcdh19-HET females to new environments and demonstrated an effect of housing on the behaviour of WT animals. Together, this study highlights the heterogeneity of Pcdh19 expressing cells and discards major roles of this protein in cortical lamination and migration. However, the behavioural changes point to alterations in circuit formation or function. These results provide an initial path to gain insight into the pathophysiology of EIEE9.

The aim of this study is to present a new physically based model capable of describing the deformation response of additively manufactured Ti-64 and contribute to the current knowledge in cast wrought (C&W) technology under various deformation conditions. The new proposed model was used to predict deformation behaviour, irrespective of the processing route, via linking relevant microstructural features with the strengthening mechanisms; grain shape, grain size, volume fraction and chemical composition for a wide range of deformation conditions (temperature and strain rate effects) suitable for studying hot forming and machining processes. Therefore, this study makes a major contribution to the understanding of processing routes in Ti-64. The new proposed model was implemented in a user subroutine VUMAT in commercial software Abaqus based on the Finite Element Method (FEM) and was compared with experimental data produce in this research and within literature.

Development of plant organs requires constant monitoring of endogenous and environmental cues for which plant cells have evolved a wide array of sensors. Among them, the receptor-like kinase (RLK) family is of particular relevance for plants due to its remarkable expansion during plant evolution. RLKs sense exogenous and endogenous signals, controlling a myriad of processes such as responses to hormones and pathogens. The Catharanthus roseus RLK 1-like (CrRLK1L) group of RLKs is known to control immunity and developmental processes like reproduction and cell expansion, and have been postulated to act as signalling hubs in which several cellular pathways converge. This is best exemplified by its most studied member, FERONIA (FER), a receptor of rapid alkalinisation factor (RALF) peptides and cell wall components, and a mediator of receptor complex assembly during pathogen perception. In this project the Arabidopsis CrRLK1L receptor family was examined with the goal of identifying novel functions in plant development for uncharacterised or already characterised members. A CrRLK1L T-DNA mutant set was obtained and several higher order mutants generated to reveal defects masked by functional redundancy between related CrRLK1Ls. Initial screens identified roles for HERCULES RECEPTOR KINASE 1 (HERK1), HERK2 and THESEUS1 (THE1) in abscisic acid signalling during germination and a role during reproduction for HERK1 and its uncharacterised homolog ANJEA (ANJ). Further experiments confirmed the involvement of HERK1 and ANJ in controlling pollen tube reception in the ovule. HERK1 and ANJ were found to localise in the filiform apparatus of the synergid cells, to influence the relocalisation of NORTIA after pollen tube arrival and to physically associate with LORELEI. Additionally, the Arabidopsis RALF family was probed to identify regulators of reproduction, yielding the identification of peptides RALFL4 and RALFL19 as determinants of pollen tube growth stability.

The Bahia Basin is located in the NW corner of South America where a complex history of subduction, accretion and transpression is on-going since Cretaceous times. The Bahia Basin is located just offshore from major strike-slip fault systems that affect northern Colombia and lies behind the toe of the modern accretionary prism, where the Caribbean Plate is being subducted obliquely beneath South America. This study uses a high quality 3D-PSTM seismic volume, regional 2D seismic reflection lines, and well data, to investigate the basin formation and evolution in an oblique subduction setting. Standard 3D seismic mapping of key seismic stratigraphic surfaces (regional unconformities) and faults is used to identify the basin architecture and geological framework. The main surface mapped in the area is the upper Miocene to lower Pliocene unconformity, which highlights the presence of a young, deep, narrow basin trending NE-SW, bounded to the NW by a major fault: the Bahia Fault. This fault shows an initial phase of normal displacement with later inversion along its segments. To understand the geological evolution between pre- and post- late Miocene times, structures below and above the unconformity were mapped. In addition, time-thickness maps were calculated to assess the formation and migration of depocentres, as well as the growth of compression-related structures. The interpretation of the regional grid of 2D seismic reflection lines, extending from the toe of the accretionary prism to the shelf, document the structural styles of the area. These are the South Caribbean accretionary prism, an extensional/strike-slip zone to the rear of the prism and the mobile shale prevalent throughout the area. Detailed interpretation of 3D seismic reflection data demonstrates that prior to the late Miocene the Bahia Basin formed as a transtensional basin within a right-lateral shear zone. During this opening stage, areas within the basin acted as independent blocks bounded by strike-slip faults. These blocks were internally deformed by small extensional faults, whose geometry and distribution suggest clockwise, vertical-axis block rotation within the shear zone. Subsequently, the closing stage of the basin during Plio-Pleistocene times is discussed. The main structural style in this phase of basin evolution is basin inversion together with concomitant extension, all suggesting a transpressional setting. Moreover, this also suggests the occurrence of a complex interaction with major-onshore strike-slip fault systems, where the relative expulsion of the Maracaibo Block might induce the local onset of transpression in the Bahia Basin during Pliocene times, resulting in basin inversion, and ultimate closure of the basin. This study concludes that the formation and evolution of the Bahia Basin can be understood in the context of oblique subduction, where localised shale tectonics has also influenced the basin evolution, and extends evidence for strike-slip deformation along the southern boundary of the Caribbean plate further westward than previously documented.

From the moment children are born, they begin a lifetime journey of learning about themselves and their surroundings. With the establishment of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, it mandates that all children receive a high-quality education in a positive school climate. Regardless of the school the child attends or the neighborhood in which the child lives, proper and quality education and resources must be provided and made available in order for the child to be academically successful. The purpose of this ex post facto study was to investigate the relationship between the FCAT 2.0 mathematics scores of public middle school students in Miami-Dade County, Florida and the concentrations of a school's racial and ethnic make-up (Whites, Blacks, and Hispanics), English for Speakers of other Languages (ESOL) population, socio-economic status (SES), and school climate. The research question of this study was: Is there a significant relationship between the FCAT 2.0 Mathematics scores and racial and ethnic concentration of public middle school students in Miami-Dade County when controlling SES, ESOL student population, and school climate for the 2010-2011 school year? The instruments used to collect the data were the FCAT 2.0 and Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) School Climate Survey. The study found that Economically Disadvantaged (SES) students socio-economic status had the strongest correlation with the FCAT 2.0 mathematics scores (r = -0.830). The next strongest correlation was with the number of students who agreed that their school climate was positive and helped them learn (r = 0.741) and the third strongest correlation was a school percentage of White students (r = 0.668). The study concluded that the FCAT 2.0 mathematics scores of M-DCPS middle school students have a significant relationship with socio-economic status, school climate, and racial concentration. The following are appended: (1) Miami-Dade County Public Schools 2010-2011 School Year Data; and (2) Relationship between FCAT 2.0 Mathematics Scores and Racial and Ethnic Concentration when controlling Socio-Economic Status, ESOL Student Population and School Climate.

This study adds to institutional theory. It addresses the paradox of embedded agency, which has been central in the study of institutions and organizations, i.e. how can actors change institutions when they are conditioned by the same institution they are trying to change? This debate is addressed by analyzing the process organizations follow when adopting the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC). The research is based on theory generation from case study evidence. It is an interpretative study based on four cases of adoption of the UNGC in the cement industry in Mexico. The study takes into account the interaction between three levels of analysis: field; organizational; and individual. Early neo-institutional studies neglected intra-organizational phenomena. However, this study shows how individual behavior provides the micro-foundations necessary to address the paradox of embedded agency. The study relates theory to practice. It offers insight to the principle- and reporting-based Corporate Responsibility Initiatives (“CRIs”) phenomenon; there is no prior research on the process organizations follow when adopting these initiatives. This research constructs a model, showing how principle- and reporting-based CRIs are translated, not diffused, when incorporated by organizations. The process of translation explains how initiatives are reshaped and reinvented when taken-up by individuals in organizations. However the diffusion model is more accepted among managers, mainly because it offers the illusion of control, while the translation model shows the uncertainty and ambiguity of the adoption process (Czarniawska, 2008). At the individual-level, this study shows the active role of individuals in change processes. It explains how the recursive relationship between the actions of translators intending to change institutionalized practices, and the resistance they encounter, feeds the translation process. Translators are embedded in the organization and are reproducing established activities. But they use their embeddedness to overcome resistance and change the taken-for-granted way of working. At the organizational-level, this empirical study shows how change is a way of achieving the substantive implementation of newly adopted initiatives, and how resistance promotes change. The study shows how institutional pressures are influential; they result in processual isomorphism. The four organizations, despite their different governance structures, are following the same translation process. However, this study links the macro-processes of isomorphism to the microprocesses explaining intra-organizational phenomena; it finds that homogeneous processes also result in heterogeneous actions. The specific activities implemented by each organization are idiosyncratic. These heterogeneous actions are the result of the interaction between the institutional environment and the resistance encountered by translators within the organization. In this way, this study shows how the UNGC is impacting organizational practices. How much organizations benefit from joining the UNGC depends on the level of development of their CSR programs and strategies at the time of the UNGC's adoption.

The perceptions students and parents have of Compass Learning Odyssey online curriculum is the focus of this research. This study uses an intrinsic research method to discover the perceptions of students and parents on a specific online learning curriculum with a qualitative focus. This study was focused on the perceptions of students within a digital learning center using an online curriculum as their main source of study and revealed a unique situation and diverse opinions. It includes student and parent participants, which, participated in observations, questionnaires, and interviews. The findings allowed for a well-rounded view of the perceptions of Compass Learning. The students' perceptions were the key findings in this study and revealed the understanding that students believe that Compass Learning Odyssey online curriculum is a useful tool for learning because it is flexible and rigorous enough to match student's needs. This is despite the fact that they also found the program to be gimmicky in some of its teaching strategies. The benefit to using this system was also revealed by parents perceptions to be ideal for specific students in that it prepared them for their future educational or career choices and was modifiable for students based on their learning styles. This study demonstrated a need for greater understanding of student and parent perceptions of online curriculum use as a student's main source of education. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

This thesis is centred on the analysis of how the different groups of specialist experts that make up theoretical physics at large communicate and transmit knowledge between themselves. The analysis is carried out using two sociological frameworks: the Studies in Expertise and Experience (SEE) approach Collins and Evans, and mechanisms of sociological and institutional trust in the general sociology of science literature. I argue that the communication process is carried out in two ways: through interactional expertise that is based on deep comprehension when the interaction is between micro-cultures that are sociologically closely connected, and through lower forms of knowledge relying on trust for the micro-cultures that are sociologically far apart. Because the SEE framework is strongly based on the transmission of tacit knowledge, an analysis of the importance of tacit knowledge in theoretical physics is carried out to support the SEE analysis, and specific types of tacit knowledge are closely examined to understand how they shape theoretical physics practice. I argue that `physical intuition', one of the guiding principles of all theoretical activity, is in fact a type of tacit knowledge -somatic tacit knowledge- that is well known within social studies of science. The end result is a description of physics that highlights the importance of sociological mechanisms that hold the discipline together, and that permit knowledge to flow from the empirical to the theoretical poles of physics practice. The thesis is supported by unstructured interview material and by the author's prolonged interaction within theoretical physics professional circles

Fast heat dissipation from brake discs is sought in current vehicles, where high power braking duties demand harmonic combination of strength, (undamped) disc mass and cooling abilities for a wide speed range. This work analyses the convective heat dissipation from ventilated brake discs and proposes means for its optimisation. The focus of research is the ventilation geometry of a standard brake disc with an outer diameter of 434mm and radial channels of 101mm in length. After analysing in detail data calculated with CFD simulations and from experimental work for various ventilation patterns, a parameter relating the local channel-averaged convective heat transfer coefficient to channel circumferential width, and radial location was derived. This new numerical parameter termed Flow Index, depicts graphically the link between channel geometry (width and position) to the heat transfer coefficient level attained. The FI was not only used as a tool to analyse the convective performance of conventional and new ventilation geometries, but it also allowed clear identification of changes necessary in the channel width in order to improve its convective heat transfer coefficients. New, optimised for convective heat transfer, ventilation geometries designed with the FI were achieved in this Thesis. Industrial (patenting) and academic applications are foreseen from the results of this Thesis and its future activities. Also, the work developed in this Thesis gives path and supporting frame for future research in the field of brake disc convective heat dissipation.

This thesis explores four themes related to wage inequality, with particular emphasis on differences between seemingly identically educated individuals. The effects of cognitive ability on measures of labour market success are assessed after providing new evidence on the socioeconomic determinants of ability progression and educational attainment for two British birth cohorts. Implications for the evolution of meritocracy in Britain follow from cross-cohort comparisons in which the relative importance of ability and socioeconomic family background are considered. By exploring the role of ability and education, it is possible to test and reject the hypothesis that individual ability is perfectly observable to British employers, who partly value education as an indicator of actual skills. Existing employer-learning theories are drawn upon to develop a model of asymmetric learning about ability. Estimates confirm that incumbent employers learn faster than other potential employers about the ability of less skilled workers, thus giving them an important informational advantage. Competition in the labour market is likely to be hindered as a result. This is followed by an analysis of the reasons why highly educated individuals are often employed at jobs for which they are excessively qualified. Evidence from European panel data shows that wage differences associated with degrees of 'match quality' are due to a large extent to individual heterogeneity. Job mobility patterns, wherein 'mismatched' individuals are more likely than others to have 'positive' and 'negative' job changes, suggest that employers use 'mismatch' spells to screen workers. Finally, this thesis proposes microeconomic foundations for matching in an on-the-job search model of the labour market. Frictions explain why firms differentiate themselves by offering higher wages to attract more applicants. This model is extended both to explain why better-paying firms invest more in capital and to endogenise individual search efforts, with implications for identification strategies in empirical studies.

This thesis examines the relationship between the ulama and the government in contemporary Saudi Arabia (end of 1970s until 1999). The study contends that the relationship between the ulama and the government is based on interdependence. The majority of previous analysis on Saudi Arabia underplays the importance of the role of the ulama, who indeed no longer have direct access to the government's decision making. However this study shows how the role of the ulama is paramount for the legitimacy of the regime, an aspect that defines the nature of the interdependence between the ulama and the government. Two sets of hypothesis are used to explain how this relationship oscillates between conflict and cooperation in relation to the creation and maintenance of the legitimacy of the regime. An analysis of the historical role of the ulama and examples of their role in current times has been brought in, to provide an understanding of the development of the role of both the ulama and the government in Saudi Arabia. The creation and maintenance of the legitimacy of the political system in Saudi Arabia underscores how and in which domains the relationship between the parties produces both conflict and cooperation, as well as how Saudi society participates in the maintenance of the legitimacy. The ulama's role, moderating among the different actors of the society, has been emphasized through an examination of the contestation of the regime by different groups and individuals since 1979, and the record of cooperation with the government. The conclusions of the research show how the ulama are important for the definition of the rules and values around which Saudi society revolves. However the role of the ulama is being threatened by the challenges emanating from the access to modern technology and the implications of the incorporation of Saudi society into the world economy.

Literature lacks the documentation of students' perceptions of classroom community, connectedness, and learning among freshman students in a first year seminar course. First year students enrolled in college have faced many challenges and difficulties throughout the years that continue to spark inventive measures to address them within higher education. As institutions of higher education approach student success and retention rates with innovative programs, there is still an issue of concern sparking the assumption that these initiatives are not working. There are numerous probable factors contributing to this dilemma, among which are underprepared students, demanding outside factors, lack of classroom community, and deficient amounts of interactions with the campus environment. The main concentration for this research was to identify if the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program affected students' perceptions of classroom community, connectedness, and learning within the first year of their postsecondary education. Quantitative data was collected from approximately two hundred and twenty five students enrolled in thirteen different freshman seminar sections at one institution in south Texas. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

A successful hatch has a considerable economic impact on the poultry industry. The relationship between eggshell quality and hatchability has been demonstrated over the years through parameters such as thickness, eggshell weight, and specific gravity. However, increasing our knowledge of the impact of additional eggshell quality parameters on hatchability could lead to the development of novel and non-destructive metrics that could identify issues in the field and provide solutions through nutrition and/or breeder management. Therefore, we conducted two studies to explore the relationship of eggshell translucency and color lightness with hatchability, chick weight, and other egg quality parameters on broiler breeder eggs. To accomplish these objectives, eggs from YPM x Ross 708 hens older than 50 weeks were subjectively selected by their translucency score (1=low, 2=medium, 3=high) and sorted by color lightness (dark and light). In the first study, eggs were incubated to determine hatchability and chick quality; in the second study, egg quality was measured using the Egg Tester Ultimate machine for internal (HU, yolk color, albumen height) and external quality (thickness, strength, egg weight). Low translucent eggs (score of 1) and dark-colored eggs had better hatchability and chick weight results. Regarding egg quality, high translucent eggs (score of 3) and dark-colored eggs positively influenced external eggshell quality parameters, such as thickness and strength; however, only translucency was observed to impact internal quality parameters. More comparisons should be performed to observe if these results are consistent across most breeder strains.

Abstract: Current times underscore the imperative to look for educational possibilities in Colombian schools that support a greater openness to listening to diverse voices. In my experience, the dominant training of critical thinking in high school philosophy courses is grounded in philosophical logic and modern epistemology deemed to be neutral, universal, and objective. Any view outside this framework is commonly disregarded. In such a context, I re-examine educational curricula aimed at cultivating critical thinking in philosophy courses and interview four Colombian teachers to ascertain their approaches to teaching high school philosophy. More specifically, my interest lies in exploring the ways in which Paul Ricoeur’s (1913-2005) theory of phronesis (practical wisdom) might inform philosophy instruction. While my theoretical framework is based on Hans-Georg Gadamer’s (1900‒2002) and Ricoeur’s hermeneutics, a deeper understanding of Ricoeur’s phronesis as critical thinking for high school philosophy is my primary focus. Accordingly, my research question is: In what ways do teachers experience and understand the possibilities and complexities in teaching critical thinking in Colombian high school-level philosophy? A subsidiary question is: What new ways of understanding the teaching of critical thinking emerge from the Ricoeurean theory of phronesis? My methodology is hermeneutic inquiry, which seeks to better comprehend a phenomenon in its own ambience and acquire other interpretations that allow an enrichment of the knowledge and practice around the phenomenon. In searching for new a comprehension of teaching critical thinking, I weave a hermeneutic autobiographical approach with my learnings from the participants’ interviews. Data collection includes my field journal, interviews, and participants’ teaching tools (syllabi, lesson plans, class record books, rubrics, etc.). The findings of this research study relate to three main themes: First, the difficulties of instilling critical thinking in high school students through Western philosophy and an exploration of possibilities for decolonizing Colombian high school curricula. Second, the teachers’ pedagogical pathways to overcoming difficulties in cultivating critical thinking among their students. Finally, the study reveals that an epistemological understanding of critical thinking, is only one kind of criticality needed by students: two more forms of critical thinking emerged from the interviews.

El presente estudio muestra un análisis detallado de la prometedora secuencia de resonancia magnética, APT-CEST. Esta nueva WIP busca revelar información de interés sobre las lesiones tumorales, como puede ser, el comportamiento de la región patológica. Sin embargo, es importante explorar su potencial más allá́ de la patología tumoral, abriendo paso a investigaciones dirigidas a otras condiciones de salud. En este caso, se ha probado la nueva secuencia APT-CEST en pacientes no-tumorales para obtener información relevante sobre el comportamiento de los tejidos en condiciones “sanas”, de tal manera que, estos datos, puedan ser de gran ayuda para la posterior comparación de los valores obtenidos en pacientes tumorales. En concreto, se han estudiado las regiones de la sustancia blanca y sustancia gris profunda. En la segunda mitad del estudio, se ha llevado a cabo el estudio de pacientes con patología oncológica. Específicamente, se han investigado regiones clave como el tumor sólido, la sustancia blanca edematosa, la sustancia blanca de apariencia normal y la cavidad quirúrgica. Para ello, se han procesado las imágenes mediante el software Syngo Via y se han realizado diferentes ROI en las regiones mencionadas anteriormente. Con toda la información recopilada, se han realizado pruebas estadísticas en Rstudio. Los resultados obtenidos revelan un aumento del valor de APT en las regiones de tumor sólido, necrosis y cavidad quirúrgica. La SBAN de los pacientes tumorales presentan valores similares a la sustancia blanca sana. Además, en los pacientes sanos se visualiza un “gradiente” fronto-occipital del APT. La sustancia gris profunda presenta valores más elevados que la sustancia blanca, siendo estos muy inferiores a los del tumor sólido, necrosis o cavidad quirúrgica

Ybor City is a historical neighborhood in Tampa, Florida, and a tourist attraction known for its immigrant roots and once-thriving cigar industry. This thesis places Ybor City into the context of the burgeoning heritage tourism market, examining how cities financially reliant on tourism often sanitize their public historical narrative. I identify the main actors involved in Ybor City's marketing and preservation by investigating contemporary newspaper articles and multiple National Park Service documents, thereby uncovering the motivations and decisions that led to Ybor's cultural image of a bustling, relatively peaceful early 20th-century "Latin" community. To correlate Ybor's aestheticized public image with the official record, I review and contrast historical primary sources, academic literature, tourism advertising material, and Ybor's physical historical markers designated to its landmarks. My main argument is that embellishing local memory with overt celebratory overtones and a patriotic message not only fosters a misleading narrative, but it also sidelines traditionally marginalized racial and ethnic groups: Ybor's working-class families, as well as its Jewish, Black Cuban, and African American heritage. This thesis seeks to advance a more authentic interpretation of Ybor City history by proposing a reinvestigation into literary sources and applying both GIS and mobile technology to update the existing scholarship.