VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
"The Word is Not all Rainbows and Butterflies": Facilitating Physical Activity and Quality of Life among Children Living with Cystic Fibrosis and Congenital Heart Disease-toward a Conceptual Framework and Parent-mediated Behavioural Counselling Program
Keywords: Cystic Fibrosis
Congenital heart disease
Psychology
Physical activity
qualitative research methods

Although medical advances have improved prognosis for children with cystic fibrosis (CF) and congenital heart disease (CHD), these youth experience poor psycho - social health. Embedded within the Medical Research Council’s framework, the purpose of this Dissertation was to a) examine how CF and CHD children experience physical activity, b) explore parents’ perceptions toward their child’s activity, c) develop a theory of physical activity in childhood chronic diseases, d) develop a physical activity counselling program for youth with CF and their parents, and e) evaluate the program impact on quality of life and physical activity. Study One explored how 14 CF youth experience physical activity. Active and inactive youth were characterized by different experiences, such as a sense of hope or despair. Given the burden of treatment and the fatal nature of the disease, youth negotiated temporal barriers to activity. Study Two explored perceptions toward activity among 29 CF and CHD parents. Parents discussed the benefits and barriers associated with physical activity for both child and self, and underscored the importance of role modeling. By adopting a Grounded Theory approach, the theoretical constructs from Study One and Two were crystallized to develop a theory of physical activity in youth with CF and CHD. This theory was used to develop “CF Chatters:” A Six Week Physical Activity Counselling Program for Youth with CF and their Parents, and the intervention employed behavioural self regulation ii skills. In Study Three, four case families in the CF clinic at the Hospital for Sick Children participated in CF Chatters. Improvements were noted in quality of life and physical activity, and participants described the program as convenient and relevant to their activity concerns. CF Chatters afforded therapeutic benefits to participants. By employing an eclectic qualitative approach, this Doctoral Program has made theoretical and practical contributions toward our understanding of how physical activity is experienced among children living with CF/CHD. The findings support the use of behavioural counselling as an effective and feasible modality for enhancing quality of life and physical activity. This Dissertation calls on clinicians to attend to the activity needs of chronically ill Canadian youth.
A Calibration Free Estimation of the Point of Gaze and Objective Measurement of Ocular Alignment in Adults and Infants
Keywords: calibration-free
eye-tracking
strabismus
angle kappa
optical axis
visual axis

Two novel personal calibration procedures that do not require active user participation are presented. These procedures, in conjunction with a state-of-the-art remote eye-gaze tracking (REGT) technology, allow estimation of the angle between the optical and visual axes (angle kappa) automatically without explicit/active user involvement. The first algorithm for the binocular estimation of angle kappa (BEAK) is based on the assumption that at each time instant both eyes look at the same point on a surface with a known geometry (e.g., a computer monitor). The sensitivity of the BEAK procedure to the geometry of the observation surface and to the noise in the estimates of the optical axis is studied both analytically and in computer simulations. Experimental results with 4 adult subjects suggest that with the current REGT technology angle kappa can be estimated with an RMS error of 0.5°. The second personal calibration algorithm (‘calibrate and validate’, CaVa) adopts a probabilistic approach to the estimation of angle kappa in infants. Even though the presentation of visual stimuli at known positions is part of the procedure, the CaVa algorithm does not require/assume continuous fixation on the presented targets. If an infant attends to roughly half of the presented targets, angle kappa can be estimated accurately and with high confidence. In experiments with five babies, the average difference between repeated measurements of angle kappa was 0.04 ± 0.31°. The second part of the thesis describes two methods for automated measurement of eye misalignment in adults and infants. These methods are based on the user-calibration-free (UCF) technology presented in the first part of the thesis. The first method is based on the clinical Hirschberg test. It is shown that the UCF-REGT technology can improve significantly the accuracy of the Hirschberg test by enabling the estimation of subject-specific parameters (the Hirschberg ratio and angle kappa) in infants. The maximum error in the estimation of the horizontal and vertical components of eye misalignment in five orthotropic infants was shown to be less than 1°, which is significantly better than the accuracy of a standard clinical Hirschberg test. Finally, a novel Eye-Tracker Based Test (ETBT) for the estimation of the maximum (manifest + latent) angle of deviation is presented. ETBT is based on the UCF-REGT system. ETBT allows free head movements and does not require continuous fixation on specific targets. Experiments with 22 adult subjects demonstrated a good agreement of 0.7 ± 1.7° between ETBT and the gold-standard clinical procedure—the altenate prism and cover test. A pilot study with 5 orthotropic infants and one infant with strabismus demonstrated that the ETBT can be used in infants.
Cultural Uses of Magic in Fifteenth-century England
Keywords: magic
fifteenth-century England
manuscripts
book history
charms
natural magic
ritual magic
identity

This dissertation examines the ways that books can show the place of magic in fifteenth-century English society. Specifically, I am interested in what was important about magic to people and how magic was used by people in the creation of their identities, both as individuals and within the community. As I explore these issues, I aim to demonstrate that magic freely co-mingled with non-magical texts in manuscripts. Furthermore, this mixing of magical and non-magical texts is a vital part of understanding magic’s role in the shaping of people’s identities, both public and private. Chapter one presents the results of a preliminary survey of magic in fifteenth-century English manuscripts. I clarify how I delineate between texts – magical and non-magical and between genres of magic. This chapter also uses a series of case studies to look at some of the issues of ownership that are dealt with in more detail in the later chapters of this thesis. Chapters two, three, and four look at individual manuscripts in depth. In Chapter two, I examine how a lower gentry household used their notebook to establish their place within a strata of the gentry that was increasingly interested in medical and scientific texts in the fifteenth century. Chapter three looks at the private notebook of an anonymous scribe and how its owner combines the ordinary and transgressive qualities of magic to create an identity for himself that is based on a quasi-clerical masculinity and the ludic qualities of magic. Chapter four concerns Robert Taylor’s medical notebook, which he may have used as a part-time medical practitioner, and the insight it gives into the everyday concerns of medieval people. Chapter five is an examination of the book of an early fifteenth-century Cistercian monk named Richard Dove. Dove’s notebook contains a copy of the Ars notoria, the only manuscript containing ritual magic that I study in this dissertation. I argue that Dove, unlike other monastic users of the Ars notoria, does not use the text for its spiritual benefits, but its material benefits as part of his desire to participate in a broader intellectual culture outside the monastery.
Using Peer Firms to Examine whether Auditor Industry Specialization Improves Audit Quality and to Enhance Expectation Models for Analytical Audit Procedures
Keywords: Auditor industry specialization
Analytical audit procedures
Audit quality
Matching
Peer firms
Earnings management

This dissertation investigates how economically-comparable peer firms can be used to obtain inferences about a company’s accounting quality in two different research settings. The first Chapter examines whether auditor industry specialization, measured using auditor market share by industry, improves audit quality. After matching clients of specialist and non-specialist auditors according to industry, size and performance, there are no significant differences in audit quality between these two groups of auditors. In addition, this Chapter uses two analyses that do not rely primarily on matched samples. First, examining a sample of Arthur Andersen clients that switched auditors in 2002, there is no evidence of industry-specialization effects following the auditor change. Second, using a simulation approach, this study shows that client characteristics, and particularly client size, influence the observed association between auditor industry specialization and audit quality. Overall, these findings do not imply that industry knowledge is not important for auditors, but that the methodology used in extant studies examining this issue may not fully parse out the effects of auditor industry expertise from client characteristics. The second Chapter examines whether account-level expectation models for analytical audit procedures can be enhanced by using information from economically-comparable peer firms. This Chapter assesses the effectiveness of three main types of expectation models, with and without including information from peer firms: heuristic, time-series, and industry cross-sectional models. Information from peer firms improves the accuracy of all models and improves the detection power of time-series and industry cross-sectional models. Comparing between models, one-period heuristic models are generally unreliable, and industry cross-sectional models can be more effective than time-series models. These findings may help auditors of public companies and financial analysts in selecting expectation models and finding peer firms to assess the reasonability of a company’s financial information at the account-level.
Cognitive Context Elicitation and Modeling
Keywords: context-aware
adaptation
context elicitation
context modeling
policy rule
multiple views

As computing becomes ubiquitous and intelligent, it is possible for systems to adapt their behavior based on information sensed from the situational context. However, determining the context space has been taken for granted in most ubiquitous applications, and so that context-adaptive systems often miss the situational factors that are most relevant to users. The mismatch between a system's computational model and users' mental model of the context may frustrate and disorient users. This thesis describes the CCM (cognitive context model)-based approach for eliciting individual cognitive views of a context-aware task and selecting an appropriate context space for context-aware computing. It captures the situational and cognitive context for each task, using a structural architecture in which individual participants use a context view to describe their situational perspective of the task. Clustering and optimization techniques are applied to analyze and integrate context views in CCM. Developers can use the optimization output to identify an appropriate context space, specify context-aware adaptation policies and resolve run-time policy conflicts. This approach simplifies the task of context elicitation, emphasizes individual variance in context-aware activity, and helps avoid user requirements misunderstanding.
Investigting the Cytoprotective Mechanisms of VIitamins B6 and B1 against Endogenous Toxin-induced Oxidative Stress
Keywords: Isolated rat hepatocytes
Oxidative stress
B vitamins

Recent epidemiological evidence suggests that many chronic health disorders in the developed world are associated with endogenous toxins formed from the Western diet. The Western diet, which encompasses calorie dense foods, processed foods and increased quantities of red meat, can cause intracellular oxidative stress through increased formation of reactive oxygen species(ROS) and reactive carbonyl species (RCS). A number of micronutrients have been investigated for their protective capacity in in vitro and in vivo models of oxidative stress. This thesis investigated the cytotoxic targets of Fenton-mediated ROS and RCS and the subsequent protective mechanisms of vitamins B1 (thiamin) or B6 (pyridoxal, pyridoxamine or pyridoxine) in an isolated rat hepatocyte model. The approach was to use an “accelerated cytotoxicity mechanism screening” technique (ACMS) to develop an in vitro cell system that mimicked in vivo tissue cytotoxicity. Using this technique, we investigated the protective mechanisms of vitamins B1 and/or B6 against the cytotoxic effects of two endogenous toxins associated with the Western diet: 1) RCS, as exemplified by glyoxal, a glucose/fructose autoxidation product and 2) biological ROS induced by exogenous iron. Firstly, we developed an understanding of the sequence of events contributing to glyoxal-induced oxidative stress, with a focus on protein carbonylation. Next, we determined the mechanisms by which carbonyl scavenging drugs (vitamin B6 included) protected against the intracellular targets of glyoxal-induced toxicity. Our results suggested that the agents used were cytoprotective by multiple mechanisms and glyoxal trapping was only observed when the agents were administered at concentrations equal to glyoxal. We also evaluated the protective capacity of vitamins B1 and B6 against iron-catalyzed cytotoxicity and found that hepatocytes could be rescued from protein and DNA damage when vitamins B1 or B6 were added up to one hour after treatment with iron. The vitamins also varied in their primary mechanisms of protection. Our improved understanding of Western diet-derived endogenous toxins enabled us to identify and prioritize the specific inhibitory mechanisms of vitamins B1 or B6. The ability to delay, inhibit or reverse toxicity using multi-functional B1 or B6 vitamins could prove useful as therapy to minimize oxidative stress in diet-induced chronic conditions.
Regenerative Medicine Innovation in Emerging Economies: A Case Study Comparison of China, Brazil and India
Keywords: regenerative medicine
innovation systems
stem cells
China
Brazil
India
global health
emerging economies
qualitative analysis

Regenerative medicine (RM) has the potential to develop new treatments for chronic disease and injury that are desperately needed in developing countries. Several emerging economies are actively participating in RM, producing new knowledge and initiating clinical trials. This thesis presents case studies of RM in China and Brazil and a comparative analysis of RM across Brazil, China and India. I aim to better understand the state of RM, how it has developed and what is needed for RM innovation to succeed within these countries. Case studies were conducted using face-to-face in-depth semi-structured interviews with RM experts from different areas including research institutes, hospitals, firms, educational institutes, government, policy agencies, and bioethics groups. Interviews were analysed using thematic analysis and triangulated with the analysis of research articles, government reports, laws and other primary and grey literature. China is now the 5th most prolific publisher on stem cells in the world. Chinese RM benefits from permissive regulations and the expertise of Chinese returnees that have trained abroad, but the field’s reputation is challenged by a weak regulatory system and the clinical availability of untested stem cell therapies. Brazil has created a small but strong RM program, but needs to address challenges to the field including inconsistent funding, slow importation of materials, and weak linkages between stake-holders. Comparative analysis of the three countries identifies several common elements that support RM, including linkages between stake-holders, government support, infrastructure, human resources, and good governance. RM capacity is clustered in large urban centres, which could exacerbate socio-economic and health disparities unless measures are taken to ensure equitable distribution of benefits. RM does not adhere to classical views of southern innovation, suggesting that new models are needed to describe innovation in emerging technologies, where countries are keeping up instead of catching up.
Are Executive Function Difficulties Reported by Parents and Teachers Associated with Elevated Levels of Parenting Stress for Children Diagnosed with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, with and without Oppositional Defiant Disorder?
Keywords: Parenting Stress
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
Executive Function Difficulties
Oppositional Defiant Disorder

Parents raising children with Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) experience high levels of parenting stress, especially when ADHD is accompanied by comorbid Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ADHD/ODD). Children with ADHD experience difficulties with their executive functions in such areas as inhibition control, working memory, and emotional regulation. Despite evidence linking ADHD with parenting stress, and ADHD with executive function difficulties (EFDs), there is little research exploring whether EFDs within an ADHD population are associated with parenting stress. This dissertation’s main objective is to determine whether parent-reported and teacher-reported childhood EFDs are associated with elevated levels of parenting stress. A secondary data analysis was completed on a cross-section of parent and teacher completed psychiatric assessment measures for children (n=243) diagnosed with ADHD. Measures included the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function, the Conners’ Parent Rating Scale and the Parenting Stress Index, Long Form. A number of important findings were produced; key of which was the finding that a strong association exists between parent-reported EFDs and Child Domain parenting stress. Consistent with prior ADHD research, difficulties with emotional control and inhibition were found to be potent predictors of Child Domain parenting stress. To a lesser degree, children’s difficulties with initiation and self-monitoring were associated with Child Domain parenting stress, suggesting that daily hassles pose challenges for parents, especially when the child attends a new school. Also important was the finding that parent-reported oppositionality partially mediated the relationship between EFDs with emotional control, inhibition and shift, and Child Domain parenting stress. Despite teachers’ reports that children displayed more severe behaviours than were reported by parents, teacher-reported EFDs were not significantly associated with Child Domain parenting stress, with a few exceptions. Although not a well-explored concept within the literature on ADHD and parenting stress, parental acceptance of the child emerged as source of Child Domain parenting stress and a potential focus for assessment and treatment. Findings from the current study suggest that early identification and intervention with emotional control difficulties and ODD are vital due to their strong association with clinically significant levels of Child Domain parenting stress.
Constructing Quality in Academic Science: How Basic Scientists Respond to Canadian Market-Oriented Science Policy – A Bourdieusian Approach
Keywords: Bourdieu
knowledge production
Mode 2
sociology of knowledge
academic quality
science policy
university-industry collaboration
knowledge translation

Canadian science policy has increasingly linked the value of academic knowledge to its contribution to economic competitiveness. A market vision of scientific quality is embedded in new funding criteria which encourage academic scientists to collaborate with industry, generate intellectual property, and found companies. While the “Mode 2” thesis advanced by Gibbons and Nowotny asserts that quality criteria in science are changing to incorporate economic relevance, there is little empirical evidence to either refute or substantiate this claim. Using Bourdieu’s theory of practice, this study explores the responses of basic health scientists to market-oriented funding criteria. The goal of the study was to understand how scientists, occupying different positions of power in the scientific field, defined “good science” and pursued scientific prestige. Twenty semi-structured interviews were carried out with 11 scientists trained before and 9 trained after the rise of market-oriented science policy. Data derived from Curriculum Vitae and Background Information Forms were used to estimate the type and volume of capital each participant held. Scientific capital, as reflected in peer-reviewed publications and grants, was perceived as the dominant form of recognition of scientific quality. However, “entrepreneurial capital”, as reflected in patents, licenses, industry funding and company spin-offs, functioned as a new form of power in accessing resources. Study participants adopted different positions in a symbolic struggle over competing visions of “good science” and used different strategies to acquire scientific prestige. Some pursued a traditional strategy of accumulation of scientific capital, while others sought to accumulate and convert entrepreneurial capital into scientific capital. Findings suggest that there is no longer a single symbolic order in the scientific field, but that the field is stratified according to a scientific and market logic. Hence, support is provided for both continuity with “Mode 1” and change towards “Mode 2” evaluation of academic quality.
Edge Effects on the Behaviour and Ecology of Propithecus coquereli in Northwest Madagascar
Keywords: anthropology
primatology

The energy frugality hypothesis states that in response to Madagascar’s unpredictable habitat, lemurs should adopt strategies of energy optimization. I have applied this hypothesis to lemur behavioural ecology in response to forest edges. I compared two groups of Propithecus coquereli living less than 1-km from a forest edge with two groups living greater than 1-km from the edge in Ampijoroa forest station, Ankarafantsika National Park, NW Madagascar. Edge effects in Ampijoroa penetrated up to 625-m into the forest. Propithecus coquereli were edge avoiders, with 94.54% of sightings of Propithecus coquereli found outside of the area of edge influence. There was no difference between group ranges for density of food trees, however tree diameter at breast height (dbh) and tree height did differ between groups. These habitat differences did not neatly divide edge versus interior groups, but appeared to be more nuanced. I found no differences between groups for activity budgets, food quality, or spatial patterns of plant species/ parts consumed. However, groups nearer to the edge had home ranges that were more than double in size to interior groups. Groups in the interior had higher group-specific densities and more frequent intergroup encounters which may have led groups to adopt smaller ranges to avoid expending energy in intergroup encounters. More evidence of human impact was found in the edge, therefore groups near the edge might also range further to avoid humans. Groups showed differences in the spatial pattern of behaviours, activity by age-sex category, substrate size and vertical location used while traveling, and dietary overlap. However, these differences may not be reflective of distance to the forest edge - all groups avoided the edge - but instead may reflect subtle differences in habitat structure between the four groups.