VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
From BAH to ba: Valence Theory and the Future of Organization
Keywords: organization
leadership
organization development
organization behaviour
organization change
business history
management
human relations
organization theory
organizational complexity
bureaucracy
hierarchy
administration
collaboration

This thesis traces the history of organization from the society of Ancient Athens, through the medieval Church, the Industrial Age, and the 20th century – the latter characterized by the Bureaucratic, Administratively controlled, and Hierarchical (BAH) organization – until today’s contemporary reality of Ubiquitous Connectivity and Pervasive Proximity (UCaPP). Organizations are rarely, if ever, entirely BAH or entirely UCaPP, but do tend to have tendencies and behaviours that are more consistent with either end of a spectrum delineated by this duality. Valence Theory defines organization as being an emergent entity whose members (individuals or organizations) are connected via two or more of five valence (meaning uniting, bonding, interacting, reacting, combining) relationships. Each of these relationships – Economic, Socio-psychological, Identity, Knowledge, and Ecological – has a fungible (mercantile or tradable) aspect, and a ba-aspect that creates a space-and-place of common, tacit understanding of self-identification-in-relation, mutual sense of purpose, and volition to action. Organizations with more-BAH tendencies will emphasize the fungible valence forms, and primarily tend towards Economic valence dominance; more-UCaPP organizations tend to emphasize ba-valence forms, and are more balanced among the relative valence strengths. The empirical research investigates five organizations spanning the spectrum from über-BAH to archetypal UCaPP and discovers how BAH-organizations replace the complexity of human dynamics in social systems with the complication of machine-analogous procedures that enable structural interdependence, individual responsibility, and leader accountability. In contrast, UCaPP-organizations encourage and enable processes of continual emergence by valuing and promoting complex interactions in an environment of individual autonomy and agency, collective responsibility, and mutual accountability. The consequential differences in how each type of organization operates manifest as the methods through which organizations accommodate change, coordination, evaluation, impetus, power dynamics, sense-making, and view of people. Particular attention is paid to the respective natures of leadership, and effecting organizational transformation from one type to the other. Set in counterpoint against Zen-like, artistically constructed conversations with a thought-provoking interior sensei, the thesis offers a new foundational model of organization for the current cultural epoch that enables people to assume their responsibility in creating relationships and perceiving effects in the context of a UCaPP world.
Transfer of Learning from the Classroom to the Cooperative Education Workplace in a Baccalaureate Program in an Ontario College of Applied Arts and Technology
Keywords: cooperative education
transfer of learning
baccalaureate degree
Kolb's experiential learning theory
Kolb's learning styles
Ontario College of Applied Arts and Technology

This research used case study methodology with both qualitative and quantitative research tools to examine the transfer of learning from the classroom to the cooperative education workplace and the relationship of students’ learning styles to this transfer of learning in a Bachelor of Applied Business program at a large comprehensive College of Applied Arts and Technology in Ontario. Kolb’s experiential learning theory was used as the conceptual framework. A purposive convenience sample of six students (28.6%) who had completed the second of three cooperative education work terms in the program participated and completed all components of the study. The research findings led to six conclusions: 1. Foundation skills learned in the classroom, such as communication and technical skills, and in this case general business concepts, are used in all of the cooperative education workplace experiences in this study. 2. The co-op work term experience itself, including the workplace environment and culture, is more important than the student’s learning style in explaining the learning from the classroom that a student is able to transfer to the co-op workplace. 3. Co-op experiences may not challenge students to the level they may be capable of with respect to what they have learned in class. 4. A co-op work term learning plan, opportunity to use previous learning, and a supportive co-op environment are important for students to be able to transfer their learning from the classroom to the cooperative education workplace experience. 5. Perceived barriers to transfer of learning can also provide the opportunity for learning experiences. 6. The program curriculum design plays a role in enabling transfer of learning. Several recommendations related to implications for practice were also identified. These included the need to reinforce the importance of communication and technical skills with students, providing a variety of learning experiences, designing curriculum to link classroom learning with the co-op experience, selecting co-op experiences so as to ensure alignment between the students’ knowledge and abilities and the opportunities available, providing formal orientation and training to cooperative education employer supervisors, and aligning the work term learning plan with the program curriculum.
“Fitting a Square Peg into a Round Hole” — Understanding Kinship Care Outside of the Foster Care Paradigm
Keywords: Kinship Care
Foster Care
Child Welfare Placements

This exploratory grounded theory study is a comparative analysis of kinship and foster care in the province of Ontario. This study sought the perspective of three constituent groups—caregivers (N=22), workers (N=14) and youth (N=9)—from both kinship and foster care constituent populations. The total number of participants was 45. This is one of the first comprehensive qualitative studies in the province of Ontario since the inception of the kinship model of practice implemented by the child welfare system in 2006. The study resonates with important practice, policy and research implications for Ontario and beyond. Recruitment for the study was generated through various child welfare organizations and a kin grandparents support network. Findings from each of the three groups include the following: (1) specialized kin workers recognize the complexities and unique needs of kinship placements; (2) foster parents and kin caregivers have very different needs related to training, financial remuneration and support; and (3) youth experience feelings of loneliness and frustration when moving to different placements, but also acknowledge the importance of relationships, particularly to their assigned worker. The analysis of these three group converges to a very simple but poignant conclusion: kinship programs are unique and require a level of intervention that is separate and discrete from the current foster care paradigm.
The Role of ALK3 in Urogenital Development
Keywords: Kidney Development
Bone Morphogenetic Protein
Mesonephros
Testis Development
Nephron
Testosterone

The mammalian kidney and reproductive systems both derive from a common embryological origin, the intermediate mesoderm. Abnormal intermediate mesoderm development can result in congenital abnormalities of the urogenital system, yet the molecular mechanisms that govern intermediate mesoderm development are incompletely defined. The spatial and temporal expression of the proteins BMP2 and 4 and their receptor ALK3, in urogenital tissue, suggests a function for BMP-ALK3 signaling in the intermediate mesoderm. It was found that Alk3IM null kidneys display renal hypoplasia, associated with a decrease in kidney size and nephron number. The phenotype of renal hypoplasia in Alk3IM nulls was associated with early decreased number of developing nephron structures and secondary defects in branching morphogenesis. While neither apoptosis nor cell proliferation differed in metanephric mesenchyme cells in Alk3IM nulls, markers of renal progenitor cells were decreased in mutant animals. It was observed that Alk3 expression in the intermediate mesoderm also controls mesonephric tubule number. Alk3IM nulls had fewer mesonephric tubules and fewer derivative Leydig cells. The reduction in Leydig cells resulted in decreased levels in serum testosterone and defects in seminal vesicle formation and fertility. Alk3 expression was also required for normal development of the corpus epididymis. The morphological defects in nephrogenesis were associated with decreased phospho-p38 MAPK expression and in the testis with decreased Phospho-SMAD1/5/8. These results elucidated a requirement for Alk3 signaling in controlling progenitor cells derived from the intermediate mesoderm.
Bringing Books to the Public: British Intellectual Weekly Periodicals, 1918-1939
Keywords: book history
periodical studies

My dissertation investigates the role of intellectual weekly periodicals such as the Nation and Athenaeum and the New Statesman as mediators between the book trade and the audience for so-called serious books. The weeklies offer a productive lens through which to examine the labels commonly applied to early twentieth-century intellectual culture. The rise of a mass reading public and the proliferation of print in this period necessitated cultural labels with a sorting function: books, periodicals, and people were designated as "highbrow," "middlebrow," "modernist," "Georgian," "Bloomsbury." Through an analysis of the intellectual weeklies, a periodical genre explicitly devoted to the appraisal of intellectual culture, I argue for a critical revaluation of cultural labels as they were used in the early twentieth century and as they have been adopted in later scholarship. Using quantitative methodologies influenced by book history, Chapter One argues that the weeklies' literary content was characterized by the periodicals' reciprocal relationship with the book trade: publishers were the weeklies' most significant advertisers, and the weeklies, in turn, communicated information about new books to their book-interested readers. Through an analysis of two series of articles published in the Nation and Athenaeum in the mid-1920s, Chapter Two considers the weeklies' negotiation of their dual roles as forums for public debate about intellectual culture and advertising partners with the book trade. Chapter Three analyzes the book review itself, which found its evaluative function called into question as the number of books and periodicals multiplied rapidly in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Chapter Four examines the vituperative discourse directed at the intellectual weeklies by the Cambridge quarterly Scrutiny. These attacks reveal not only Scrutiny's disappointment with the specific weeklies of its day but also the paramount cultural responsibility it ascribed to the intellectual weeklies as a genre. By considering the intellectual weeklies' relationships with the book trade, the book-buying public, reviewing, and other intellectual periodicals, my dissertation emphasizes the importance of the intellectual weeklies within the cultural field of interwar Britain and argues for a reconsideration of their role in the production and labeling of intellectual culture during this period.
The Properties and Effects of Metro Network Designs
Keywords: public transportation
network
transit
properties
effects
graph theory
network science
metro

Since 2008, more than half of the world population lives in cities. To cope with this rapid urbanization in a sustainable manner, transit systems all around the world are likely to grow. By studying 33 networks in the world, this thesis identifies the properties and effects of metro network designs by using a graph theory approach. After the literature review, a new methodology was introduced to translate networks into graphs; it notably accounts for various transit specificities (e.g., presence of lines). Metro networks were then characterised according to their State, Form, and Structure; where State relates to the development phase of metros; Form investigates the link between metros and the built environment; Structure examines the intrinsic properties of metros, by notably looking at their connectivity. Subsequently, the complexity and robustness of metros were studied; metros were found to possess scale-free and small-world features although showing atypical topologies; robustness emphasizes on the presence of alternative paths. Three network design indicators (coverage, directness and connectivity) were then related to ridership (annual boardings per capita), and positive relations were observed, which suggests that network design plays an important role in their success. Finally, these concepts were applied to the Toronto metro plans announced by the Toronto regional transportation authority, Metrolinx; it was found that the grid-pattern nature of the plans could hinder the success of the metro; seven possible improvements were suggested. Overall, the topology of metro networks can play a key role in their success. The concepts presented here can particularly be useful to transit planners; they should also be used along with conventional planning techniques. New transit projects could benefit greatly from an analysis of their network designs, which in turn may play a relevant role in the global endeavour for sustainability.
As We Move Ahead Together: Foregrounding Reconciliating and Renewed First Nation/ Non-Aboriginal Relations in Environmental Management and Research
Keywords: Indigenous
Species at risk
Indigenous knowledge
First Nations/non-Aboriginal relations
Environmental management
Endangered species
Endangered ecosystems
Community-based research
Decolonization
Reconciliation
Decolonizing research
Traditional ecological knowledge
Southern Ontario
Collaborative research
Aboriginal
First Nation
Colonialism
Species at Risk Act
Governance
Intellectual imperialism

The research project upon which this dissertation is based focused on enhancing understandings of the nature of current First Nations/non-Aboriginal relations in environmental management. The project was undertaken as a collaborative initiative by the author, a non-Aboriginal doctoral researcher, in partnership with Walpole Island First Nation. The research served as an opportunity for co-producing knowledge on this subject across cultures and worldviews, and as an effort to build towards our shared aspiration of learning how distinct, yet inextricably linked, First Nations/non-Aboriginal understandings, approaches and worldviews can come together within a context of mutual respect and mutual benefit. The purpose of the research was to investigate the existence and types of issues leading to First Nations/non-Aboriginal tensions in environmental management, to analyze and unpack underlying causes of challenges identified via the research, and to construct avenues for relationship improvement. The research project was grounded in a specific investigation into relations in species at risk conservation and recovery in southern Ontario, Canada. The resulting dissertation is structured around three primary focal areas: 1) investigating and exposing colonial influences at play in Canada’s Species at Risk Act, and offering a new model for co-governance in this arena and beyond; 2) investigating relations surrounding efforts towards traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) transfer in species at risk work, with a focus on exploring issues identified in relation to intellectual imperialism; and 3) introducing and characterizing an original, reconceptualized approach to First Nations/non-Aboriginal relationships in academic research; this approach focused on ways in which investigatory practice can become a means of working towards broader reconciliation goals. Research findings from this dissertation indicate that colonial factors, often unevenly visible to actors involved in environmental management and research, continue to strongly affect the potential for positive, productive First Nations/non-Aboriginal relations in these spheres - including within the species at risk conservation and recovery arena examined here. Project results provide insight into the nature of the factors influencing relationships, as well as potential avenues for addressing the vitality of colonialism in contemporary relations and overcoming the influences on First Nations and on First Nations/non-Aboriginal relationships.
Psychosocial Responses to Falling in Older Chinese Immigrants Living in the Community
Keywords: Psychosocial
Fall
Chinese immigrants
Community-dwelling

Background and Rationale: Falls are among the most common problems faced by elderly persons. While the physical risk factors for falls are well established, the psychosocial aspects have been largely neglected. Moreover, studies exploring the responses to falls from the individuals’ perspectives in an immigrant population are virtually non-existent. The older Chinese immigrant population is substantial and growing in the Greater Toronto Area. The cultural and immigrant-related factors that influence their responses to and recovery after a fall are important considerations as health and social care professionals develop falls prevention strategies, and provide services and care. This dissertation explored the nature of immediate and subsequent responses of community-dwelling older Chinese immigrants after falling. Method: Focussed Ethnography, as guided by elements from Critical Social Theory, was used as the research methodology. Eighteen informants over 70 years of age, living in the community who had experienced a recent fall were interviewed using a semi-structured guide developed after a detailed literature review. Thematic analysis of transcribed interviews was conducted. Results: Four major themes related to responses to falling were drawn forth from the interview data: 1) Help-seeking decisions immediately after the fall, 2) Psychological impact of the fall, 3) Care and support networks, and 4) Learning from the fall. Discussion: The psychosocial responses supported a “blended” explanatory model of illness. Respondents appeared to adhere to both Western medical models and traditional Chinese explanatory model depending on the severity of the fall injuries. Also, the roots of Chinese culture in the blended traditions and philosophies of Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism appear to be the foundation for many of the beliefs and attitudes expressed in this study, and these beliefs and attitudes in turn influence how Chinese fallers experience falling. The wide range of psychosocial responses also illustrated the complexity of the Andersen’s Behavioural model for health services use and its potential to explain the different types of services an older Chinese immigrant may need post-fall. Conclusions: Findings from this study provided key, previously unexplored insights into the cultural and immigrant-related factors that influence the psychosocial experience, vulnerability and care-seeking behaviours of older Chinese immigrants following a fall.
Toward Photo-control of Peptide Structure in Vivo
Keywords: Azobenzene
Cross-linker
Photo-control
in Vivo

An ability to manipulate the activity of a specific protein inside living cells offers exciting prospects for the study of protein function in vivo. Azobenzene derivatives introduced as intramolecular bridges have been demonstrated to reversibly photoregulate secondary structures and functions of peptides and proteins in vitro. My overall goal is to create a generally-applicable process for the reversible photocontrol of protein-protein interactions within the complex environment of a living cell. Results of studies toward this aim are presented. A blue-green absorbing (~480 nm) azobenzene derivative cross-linker was designed that reversibly controlled the helical content of attached peptides with a half-life of the cis state of ~50 ms. This rapid photoswitch may prove useful as a tool for probing dynamic processes in biochemical systems using light. The effect of cross-linker position (N-terminus, middle, C-terminus) on a photo-switchable 32-residue helical peptide was studied. Although the activation energies for thermal cis – trans relaxations were not the same, linker position did not affect the change in helix content. This work provides useful information for the effective photoregulation of much longer helices such as occur in coiled-coils. Fluorescently labeled, cross-linked, modified Fos/Jun peptides with and without cell-penetrating peptide (CPP) tags were prepared for the purpose of photocontrolling peptide-peptide interactions in vivo. One of the peptides showed a degree of photocontrol of helicity. Cell uptake of CPP-tagged peptides was demonstrated. However, overall peptide behavior was dominated by undesired aggregation. A simple reporter, a cross-linked peptide bearing an environmentally sensitive fluorophore at a key site, was designed for detecting photoswitching in vivo. Photoisomerization of the cross-linker caused changes in the local chemical environment and changes in fluorescence intensity of the environmentally sensitive dyes in vitro. However, no change in fluorescence was observed in the living systems we investigated. Conclusions and suggestions for further work aimed at achieving the overall goal stated above are discussed.
“Continuing a normal life as a normal person”: A Hermeneutic Phenomenological Study on the Reconstruction of Self Identity of Chinese Women Within the Lived Experience of Breast Cancer Survivorship
Keywords: breast cancer
Chinese women
culture
survivor
identity
survivorship experience
phenomenology
translation

Breast cancer incidence in Chinese women is rising in North America. However, a critical review of the empirical research reveals a clear under-representation of the breast cancer survivorship experiences of ethnic minority women, particularly those of Chinese origin. A breast cancer diagnosis not only disrupts a woman’s everyday life but also, and more importantly, her self-identity: who she was before the cancer diagnosis and who she becomes after the diagnosis. The purpose of this study was to understand the lived survivorship experience of Chinese women with breast cancer, in particular the way they reconstruct their self-identity while living under the constant threat of premature mortality. A hermeneutic phenomenology was employed to illuminate the essence of the lived experience. A purposeful sample of 24 Chinese women was recruited, and audiotaped face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted in English or Mandarin. An iterative process was carried out to identify themes and interwoven them into the four existentials of lifeworld to lend structural meaning to the lived experience. The self-identity of Chinese women living with breast cancer did not fit the current combative survivor identity and narrative as represented in the North America media. Rather, a ‘quiet’, modest and practical narrative underscoring the Chinese virtues of self-reliance, endurance, and social responsibility and harmony characterized their lived experience and self-identity. They endured unexpected major life events and accepted what life offers in an effort to move on with their lives of being a normal person again. An understanding of the way Chinese women manage the impact of breast cancer and their survivorship experience will significantly contribute to building our knowledge about this minority population within the Canadian context. In turn, this understanding will support health care professionals with the development of culturally sensitive psychosocial/supportive care services to maximize adaptation and recovery.