VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Early letter form errors as a predictor of later literacy outcomes and the short-and long-term benefits of early instruction in proper letter formation
Keywords: Reading readiness
Reading (Primary)
Children, Writing
Language arts (Primary)
English language, Alphabet

This thesis contains two experimental investigations. Study 1 investigated the relation of letter form errors produced in Senior Kindergarten and Grade 1 to later academic abilities (handwriting legibility and speed, reading, spelling and written composition) in Grades 3, 5 and 6. The results for one group of children yielded significant correlations between the number of form errors printed in Kindergarten and literacy outcomes in Grade 5. For another group of Kindergarten children, form errors correlated significantly with most of their literacy outcomes in Grade 3. There were very few significant correlations between Grade 1 form errors and Grade 6 literacy outcomes, largely due to the fact that by the end of Grade 1 most children commit very few form errors. Form errors in Grade 1 predicted only some aspects of reading in Grade 6. Regression analyses revealed that letter knowledge, as measured by the ability to recognize and name letters, played a role as a mediator in most of the above significant correlations. This finding partially explains why form errors provide insight into a preschool child's learning potential. Study 2 investigated the short-term and long-term effects of a commercially available phonics program (Jolly Phonics) that includes explicit instruction in letter formation. Study 2a compared experimental (Jolly Phonics) and control children with respect to the number of letters printed without form errors. The experimental Junior and Senior Kindergarten children printed more letters without form errors than the control children did. However, children exposed to the Jolly Phonics program during both Junior and Senior Kindergarten did not form significantly more letters properly than children exposed to the program only in Senior Kindergarten. In Grade 1 the benefits of the program were less substantial. Study 2b compared the writing abilities (handwriting legibility and speed, and written composition skills) of the experimental and control children 5 years later. There were significant long-term gains for the experimental group in Grade 5 but not in Grade 6. The above results of Studies 1 and 2 are discussed as they pertain to the early identification of, and special programming for, children at-risk for later school failure. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)
Measuring and incorporating meaningful proportional slacks in radial DEA models, and aspects of non-discretionary DEA models
Keywords: Industrial engineering
Banks and banking
Operations research

This thesis is comprised of theoretical contributions in two unique but related DEA fields: non-discretionary DEA models, and slack selection methodologies in radial DEA models and their integration into an overall efficiency score. The theoretical developments are illustrated through the use of intermediation efficiency models using real world data from the retail branch network of one of Canada's five largest banks. The models examine the loan quality and business generation of the bank's branches using data on the branches' business environment, the levels of deposits and loans that they generate, and the resulting levels of bad loans.
Attitude determination and control: Detailed design, test, and implementation for CanX-2 and preliminary design for CanX-3 and CanX-4/5
Keywords: Nanosatellites, Canada
Nanosatellites, Attitude control systems
Nanosatellites, Canada

The University of Toronto's Space Flight Laboratory develops nanosatellites through its Canadian Advanced Nanospace eXperiment (CanX) program to advance scientific understanding and engineering capabilities. Three missions are treated: CanX-2, a nanopropulsion demonstration mission that also observes greenhouse gas fluxes and upper-atmospheric water properties; CanX-3, an astronomy mission that performs differential photometry on the brightest stars in the sky; and CanX-4/5, a dual-satellite formation flight mission. The success of each mission depends, in part, on the satellites' ability to determine and control orientation, particularly in the context of payloads. This drives the need to develop a high-fidelity, robust attitude determination and control subsystem. This thesis covers the full attitude subsystem design, test, implementation, and anticipated performance of the CanX-2 mission; the preliminary attitude subsystem design for the CanX-3 and CanX-4/5 missions; and discussion of some of the infrastructure that has been developed to test the designs and support the CanX program.
Je suis: Danza del sol
Keywords: Dance
Arts

Written as an autobiography, this thesis utilizes storytelling to narrate and reflect upon the author's life experiences. Building on narrative inquiry, which is both research methodology and phenomenon, the term metanarrative is used to portray the teller of the storied life. In the retelling, the author composes the stories as a "Symphony of my Sol" and makes use of Hector Berlioz' Fantastic Symphony---written in five movements---as her overriding structural framework. The symphony is a Gesamtkuntswerk, a term coined by Richard Wagner, meaning a total work of art, and for the purpose of this thesis includes dance, drama, literature, opera, mythology, symphony, poetry, and visual art. The author's life experiences are described as a journey into literacy and draws upon stories from classical literature, Alice in Wonderland, The Alchemist, and Goethe's fairy tale Das Marchen, that parallel unfolding self-awareness. The journey points to transformation (alchemy); that is, union of the male and female aspects of self, and spirit and soul. The data reveals there is a connection between literacy and consciousness: reading life experiences as text. By reconstructing her own journey into literacy, the author has sketched a road map that can be read as a method for developing a new arts-based curriculum course combining the holistic teaching/learning dialogic for the concept of relational knowing. The self has been left out of the curriculum: This thesis examines self in relationship to others, society, the environment, and mysterious realms beyond the logical mind-the world of mythology. The metanarrative is a story about relationships. The thesis journey is spiritual in nature and takes into account the 'holistic' perspective, which lies within the paradigm of whole systems of which the author is a part. The role of the arts (Fine Arts, Creative Arts, and Expressive Arts) is examined as a means of illuminating the many layers as observer of self, and the multiple ways of knowing.
The problem of pace: The drive towards a global intellectual property regime
Keywords: Intellectual property, Developing countries

A commanding movement is underway driven by interest groups in developed countries to re-regulate the global environment with ever-increasing levels of intellectual property protection. The movement's sheer pace not only has repercussions on developing countries and their ability to compete but also may negatively affect innovation in the developed world. The literature suggests strategies available to developing countries to work within the shifting IP environment, but these strategies do not replace the primary importance of developing countries simply continuing to resist the aggressive global IP agenda as best they can. Given there is some consensus that time is needed, it follows that in order to buy that time, generating workable solutions to the collective action problem that faces developing countries, needs to be top priority. Small and mid-sized firms in the developed world have certain aligned interests with developing countries and should consider becoming strategic allies in the fight.
General education within Ontario's community colleges: second class citizens?
Keywords: General education, Ontario
Community colleges, Ontario
Community colleges, Faculty
Community colleges, Ontario
Symbolic interactionism

General education occupies a unique position within the college system, in that the colleges are primarily concerned with the teaching of vocational skills, while General Education courses tend to be Liberal Arts-oriented. For this reason, many within the college community question the relevance of general education. Through a series of qualitative interviews, the researcher seeks to understand the relevance of these perceptions to the identity of the general education faculty. A thematic analysis utilizing symbolic interactionist theory reveals that general education faculty tend to identify with each other in their vision of general education. The faculty also tend to form strong identities with regards to the value of teaching and social activism. The researcher seeks to place these patterns into a materialist context, by exploring the relevance of budgetary restraint, full-time vs. non full-time status, and power. In conclusion, the researcher explores potential areas for future research in this area.
Disciplining a working subject: an examination of English curriculum at two Canadian community colleges
Keywords: Language arts (Higher), Canada
English language, Study and teaching (Higher)
English language, Canada
English literature, Study and teaching (Higher)
English literature, Canada
Community colleges, Curricula
Community colleges, Canada

This study examines English curricula in two different community colleges, one in Ontario and the other in Alberta during two key periods in Canadian colleges' history: first, 1967–1972, when Canadian community colleges were initially established and then 1988–1994, when colleges confronted the task of restructuring in light of globalization and governments' neo-liberal economic policies. Drawing on post-Fordist and critical theory, primarily that of Michel Foucault's notion of “govern mentality,” the study shows that the Canadian colleges and the forms of English practiced therein were conceived as moral technologies designed to manage the massive influx of baby boom teenagers and growing numbers of unemployed workers that governments confronted in the 1960s. The study develops the notion of “education in/difference” to conceptualize the politics of literary that govern the relationships between colleges, universities and governments. The study examines in detail the class roots of these debates and how they became imbricated into Canadian college English curriculum at these two institutions especially in relation to the reading and writing practices have been articulated in colleges (in)difference to universities. Both colleges' curriculum show that college Englishes are often conflicted subjects torn between imparting cultural and vocational literacies. Moreover, the shift to post-Fordist economies holds some crucial challenges to English education in Canadian community colleges, partly because the meaning of “general education” has bifurcated into generic skills and general education. Despite the major changes in post-secondary education during the last decade, the study argues that the ideology of education in/difference remains intact, posing challenges to college English educators.
Fame as property: unauthorized use of celebrity name and image in Canada and Australia
Keywords: Celebrities, Canada
Celebrities, Australia
Fame
Intellectual property, Canada
Intellectual property, Australia

Given the ubiquity of celebrity endorsements, fame indubitably has inherent commercial value. In Australia and Canada, this value is regarded as the exclusive property of the celebrity: deriving commercial benefit from another's notoriety is 'reaping without sowing', a misappropriation that is actionable per se. This paper argues that a property right of this scope cannot be justified. Its existence finds little support in theory, either as labour-based entitlement or as economic incentive for success. Even accepting such property exists, not every commercial use of celebrity should constitute an actionable infringement. No form of property, real or intangible, prohibits all 'free-riding': an owner can prevent only those uses that would interfere with her enjoyment, or render the property worthless. Moreover, celebrities' commercial interests must be balanced against their role in facilitating expression. Properly analyzed, celebrity property should extend only to preventing uses that suggest their endorsement of a product.
Taming the 'push me-pull you' of international trade regulation: balancing health protection and trade liberalization under the WTO Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures
Keywords: Public health laws, International
Free trade

The central argument is that while the rationale underlying the SPS Agreement's science-based framework is questionable, the resulting rules are not only the most appropriate means available for dealing with the conflict, but provide countries with more flexibility than critics contend. However, if the WTO is to command legitimacy among the public, panels and the Appellate Body must adopt a more principled approach to disputes than they have to date. The importance of health protection requires recognition that measures 'necessary' to protect health will respond to more subtle situations than those presenting a clear and serious risk. They must accept that in many cases science is indeterminate and does not provide definitive answers as to the necessity of a health protection measure. Such cases require recognition of the validity of public opinion as a consideration in domestic risk analysis processes. Recommendations are made as to how panels and the Appellate Body should proceed in disputes under the SPS Agreement, and how governments can comply with their trade obligations while remaining responsive to public concerns. The Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement) allows Members to enact SPS measures necessary to protect health so long as they are based on scientific evidence, thus restricting their regulatory freedom in critical domestic policy areas concerning the health and life of humans, animals, and plants. This thesis asks whether the SPS Agreement allows for an appropriate balance between conflicting domestic health protection objectives and trade liberalization objectives. This question has attracted controversy among academics, policy-makers, and civil society and is particularly topical given public demands to be heard on decisions concerning regulation of new technologies, such as genetic engineering. This thesis establishes a normative basis upon which to balance health and trade objectives. This benchmark is used to critique the rationale for the SPS Agreement's science-based framework, and the panel and Appellate Body's interpretations of its provisions. Finally, the thesis explores the potential for international regulatory harmonization to reduce tension between health and trade objectives.
An early start: how does it affect readiness to start school?
Keywords: Education, Preschool, Ontario
Readiness for school, Ontario

The primary goal of this study was to examine the relation between children's preschool experiences and their readiness in kindergarten. A second goal was to examine parent and teacher perceptions of school readiness. Finally, children's vocabulary, early reading and number sense were assessed in kindergarten and examined in relation to their preschool experiences, and in relation to their parents' and teachers' perceptions of the children's readiness. 186 senior kindergarten children from 10 schools were administered a series of academic readiness tasks. A questionnaire regarding preschool experience and readiness of their children was sent home for the parents to complete. The kindergarten teachers from nine of the schools completed a readiness scale for each participating child. Type of preschool experience predicted significant differences in the kindergarten readiness measures. The parent and teacher ratings were not significantly influenced by preschool experience, although they were correlated with the readiness measures.
Freedom of religion and the principle of laïcité: The case of France
Keywords: Laicism, France
Freedom of religion, France
Secularism, France
Liberty of conscience, France

Laicité is one of the fundamental principles of the French Republic, which defines itself as "indivisible, secular, democratic and social". The history of laïcité must be analyzed in light of the construction of the French Nation. Laïcité was primarily implemented to reconcile the Catholics with the Republic and could be defined as the withdrawal of the State from religious matters (laicité-separation). With the strengthening of the Republic, laïcité evolved and became the expression of the republican commitment to liberalism, defined as the possibility for each citizen to freely express, abide with and revise his conception of the good. Laïcité is a principle difficult to grasp because it gathers a communitarian aspect and an individualistic aspect. Some may analyze laïcité as a means to foster the Republican bond in the community. Others may analyze laïcité as a safeguard against the State infringement of the individual freedom of religion (laicité-neutrality). As much as it strengthens the sovereignty of the State (laicité-separation), it also protects the individual liberties from State undue arbitrariness (laicité-separation). As a result, laicité incorporates the distinction between the private sphere and the public sphere. The intrinsic ambiguity of laicitd may become critical when the respective scope of each sphere is less evident and when the public sphere directly competes with the private sphere. School is emblematic in this regard. Contemporary debates on laïcité have questioned the rationality of laïcité at school as the balance to find between educating citizens aware of the common good and the Republic commitment to protect and guarantee the individual freedom of conscience. The aim of this thesis is to explore the evolution and the new challenges of this principle, with a large focus on laicité at school.
Curriculum reform in Canada's universities
Keywords: Universities and colleges, Canada
Education, Higher, Curricula
Education, Higher, Canada
Education, Higher, Aims and objectives
Education, Higher, Canada
Curriculum change, Canada
Vocational education, Curricula
Vocational education, Canada
Career education, Curricula
Career education, Canada
Business and education, Canada

This study focuses on curricular reform in Canada's universities during the 1990s. In the chapters that follow I argue that the process of reform has become more utilitarian as institutions gravitate toward applied research and career preparation in response to current economic and labour market conditions. This argument is grounded in the theory of social reproduction, a critical paradigm which links professional activity to the maintenance and enhancement of exchange relations in capitalist societies. I extend this principle by arguing that knowledge itself is increasingly being framed in terms of capitalist development, as the functions of research and teaching in universities are redesigned to produce results and sets of skills that meet the needs of government and industry. Market-oriented reforms occur in three ways: First, provincial governments take an interventionist approach in university affairs by holding institutions accountable to produce knowledge that is relevant to economic development. Second, as public funding has not kept pace with university expenditures, administrators have taken a managerial approach to planning and operation. Third, increasing student demand for professional education has led to a more vocationally oriented curriculum. Analysis of these tendencies is based on the responses of governments, university administration, and students, all of whom are key stakeholders in the process of curricular reform.
Mendelssohn and nineteenth-century England
Keywords: Biography
Music

This thesis is about the relationship of Felix Mendelssohn to the musical culture of nineteenth-century England. Mendelssohn's ten trips to England between 1829 and 1847 are described in detail, and his reception and impact there (both during and after his lifetime) are analyzed. The central arguments presented in this thesis cannot be reduced to a single statement. Rather, the focus of this study is a "constellation" of six related ideas. First, that the effects of Mendelssohn's impact on Victorian Britain's musical culture were extensive and far reaching, permeating almost all strata of society from the working classes to the aristocracy, and also having a profound effect on the music profession. Second, that Mendelssohn actively pursued an ameliorist agenda vis-a-vis British musical culture, seeking to bring musical standards, practices, and values in to line with those of Germany, and that his efforts in this regard were supported and encouraged by many British musicians. Third, that the enormous popularity of Mendelssohn's music in Britain during the composer's lifetime was, in part, the product of a personality cult, and that his sudden death at the age of thirty-eight re-enforced this phenomenon and helped to establish him as a canonic figure. Fourth, that during his lifetime, Mendelssohn was perceived in Britain as a "German" rather than a "Jewish" composer, even though this was not always the case in Germany. However, in the decades following his death, perceptions in Britain gradually shifted, so that, increasingly, he came to be viewed as Jewish. Fifth, that despite the attacks of some later nineteenth-century British critics, who portrayed Mendelssohn as a weak and obsolete cultural force, Mendelssohn's music remained popular within many segments of society through the late nineteenth century. And sixth, that the canonic aspirations of the composers associated with the so-called "English Musical Renaissance" of the late nineteenth century, such as Parry, Stanford, and Mackenzie were both enabled and inhibited by the Mendelssohnian values absorbed by Britain's musical culture. These values included learnedness, antiquarianism, cosmopolitanism, classical formalism, romantic pictorialism, and "gentlemanliness" (avoidance of emotional excess, and propriety in abiding by established conventions of good taste).