VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Student Engagement: Views from Inside One Postsecondary Institution
Keywords: Student
Engagement

This thesis explores the complex and multidimensional topic of student engagement in one Ontario postsecondary setting. This study was designed to discover if faculty and students agree or differ in their understanding and perceptions of student engagement and, if so, how. Using a qualitative approach, full-time faculty and students from one school in one college were observed and interviewed about their understandings and perceptions regarding student engagement in the classroom. Faculty volunteers had at least two years of full-time teaching experience and students were past their first year of study. Study participants confirm that student engagement differs in definition and understanding among and between individuals, shifts over time, and can be experienced in isolation or with others. There are cognitive, behavioural and emotional aspects of engagement that participants described as having a clear impact on their learning. In addition, various demographic factors were deemed to influence experienced and perceived variances in levels of engagement. Discussions of demographic factors reveal a great deal of work needed in order to understand and work with these areas to foster engagement. Interviews revealed a narrow iii interpretation of concepts, such as gender interpreted as sexual designation and socio-economic status as financial income. To support engagement a deeper understanding of, and appreciation for, these factors is needed. Added understandings of culture, race and ethnicity are needed to truly honour students in the classroom. Faculty need to take the time to look past surface behaviours, invite student collaboration and truly attend to individual needs to facilitate a deeper level of engagement in the classroom. This study confirms that our perceptions and experiences with engagement are highly personal and complex. There was no common definition found; student engagement is as diverse as the student population. It is an elusive, evolving, complex phenomenon. To understand and promote engagement in the field of postsecondary education, it is imperative that student engagement remain a focus of ongoing dialogue and reflection. Implications for practice and consideration for future areas of research are suggested.
Essays in Internationsl Political Economy
Keywords: Political Economy
Development

This dissertation studies three important questions in international political economy: The long run consequences of social divisions created by historical colonialism, the importance of trade shocks in shifting political power balances and shaping institutional development and the influence that major political powers have over the decisions of smaller nations. I study these three questions empirically in four papers that span three distinct regions and time periods. The first paper asks whether the large differences in economic development across Native American reservations today can be explained by social divisions that were created more than 150 years ago when the US government forcibly integrated distinct Native American bands into shared reservations, condemning them to a system of shared governance that was not consistent with their political traditions and tribal identities. The second and third papers study the effect of the first globalization on the political and economic equilibrium in seventeen 19th century British Caribbean plantation colonies. I use this set of highly comparable but in precise ways distinct islands as a laboratory to study the effect of globalization on the long run development of representative institutions and on the coerciveness of labour markets at the time. The first of two papers provides insights into the working of colonial institutions and traces the mechanisms through which the planter elite managed to maintain a monopoly over policy making and retard long run development. The second paper highlights the importance that exogenous output price changes had for the willingness of planter elites to engage in costly coercion that distorted labour markets in their favour. In the final paper I test whether major aid donors use foreign aid to buy the votes of developing countries. Taking advantage of a unique long-running dispute between major donors in the International Whaling Commission, I am able to address the three major empirical challenges in answering this question: that aid moves much slower than voting behaviour, that alliances constantly change with issues and that most international organizations vote frequently and on a range of issues while data on aid disbursals is available only in yearly aggregates.
Genomic Context, Sequence Evolution, and Evolutionary Ecology of Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) Genes in the Red-billed Gull (Larus scopulinus)
Keywords: molecular evolution
major histocompatibility complex
red-billed gull
Larus scopulinus
extrapair copulations
avian malaria

Genomic organization of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) can profoundly influence gene function and multigene family evolution. Situated at the interface of individual genetic variation and the adaptive immune response, MHC class I and II loci are intensively studied for disease associations and used as markers of adaptive genetic variation in evolutionary ecology research. Genomic sequence of MHC-containing cosmid clones from the red-billed gull (Larus scopulinus, Charadriiformes: shorebirds, gulls, and allies) was obtained for comparative analysis of avian MHC evolution. MHCI polymorphism was further investigated using cDNA library screening and locus-specific genotyping protocols. This first information regarding MHC organization and MHCI variation in charadriiforms suggests a complex evolutionary history to MHC architecture in birds. Duplication of MHCIIα loci in tandem MHCIIα/β pairs and their proximity to MHC-region gene COL11A2 are similar to arrangements in nonavian vertebrates, and contrast with the “minimal essential” MHC of the chicken (Gallus gallus, Galliformes: gamebirds). MHCI–TAP2 organization is shared with Galloanserae (gamebirds + waterfowl), as is a proposed major classical function for this MHCI gene. In contrast, the placement of MHCI genes adjacent to sequence from chromosomes 3, 5, and 22 of the chicken and zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata, Passeriformes: perching birds) indicates interchromosomal rearrangements in birds and the possible genomic dispersal of nonclassical MHCI genes in the red-billed gull. Screening for avian malaria, genetic parentage tests, and field data from red-billed gulls at Kaikoura Peninsula, New Zealand were combined with MHCI genotypes to investigate relationships with disease and reproduction. Plasmodium infection was confirmed in red-billed gulls, and breeding condition was negatively associated with malarial infection and positively related to variation at the putative major MHCI locus. A low rate of extrapair paternity was identified across thirteen breeding seasons. Partners without extrapair young (EPY) had greater MHCI dissimilarity than was expected by chance, whereas lower individual MHCI variation and elevated hatching failure existed for pairs with EPY. In addition to contributing to studies of MHC evolution, sexual selection, and disease dynamics in the New Zealand avifauna, this research will facilitate studies of MHC genes in related charadriiforms, many of which are of conservation concern.
An Investigation of the Possible Mechanisms of Change in Supportive-expressive Therapy for Depressed/Anxious Adolsecents
Keywords: supportive expressive psychotherapy
supportive
expressive
brief psychodynamic psychotherapy
mastery
therapist techniques
interpretations
adolescents
supportive expressive therapy
psychotherapy process

The present research explores a promising therapy – Supportive Expressive Therapy (SET; Luborsky, 1984) – for adolescents with mood and/or anxiety disorders. It has been proposed that therapist expressive techniques (e.g., challenges and interpretations) and client interpersonal mastery (i.e., self-understanding and self-control in relationships) are two elements central to the success of SET (Luborsky, 1984; Grenyer & Luborsky, 1996). The current thesis employs a microprocess approach to examine expressive techniques and interpersonal mastery as potential mechanisms of change in SET. The study first provides preliminary evidence that SET is effective in helping adolescents suffering from internalizing disorders. Clients (N = 10) reported significantly fewer symptoms of depression and anxiety post-therapy. The body of the study then focuses on two research questions pertaining to the microprocesses occurring during SET. First, employing graphical and statistical analyses, the study investigates the notion that SET helps clients develop greater interpersonal mastery. Ten clients’ levels of interpersonal mastery were assessed at four points throughout therapy to determine whether clients demonstrated higher levels of interpersonal mastery over time. Secondly, this dissertation explores the impact of therapist expressive statements on clients' narratives, using a lag sequential analysis. Clients' statements were examined to determine whether higher levels of interpersonal mastery were exhibited following higher-level expressive techniques versus other therapist statements (i.e., supportive statements). Statistical analyses pertaining to the first research question did not reveal significant changes in interpersonal mastery over the course of therapy. However, graphical analyses suggested specific patterns of gains in interpersonal mastery during SET. With respect to the second research question, results demonstrated therapists employed significantly more higher-level expressive techniques in the later stages of SET, in accordance with the guidelines provided in SET manuals. Lag sequential analyses did not, however, provide substantial evidence of gains in interpersonal mastery following higher-level therapist techniques. Despite a lack of evidence supporting a general link between higher-level techniques and increased client mastery, exploratory analyses suggested change-focused expressive statements were linked to fewer client statements reflecting low interpersonal mastery. Future research should examine (1) change-focused statements as potentially important variables fostering improvement, and (2) moderators of client responses to higher-level techniques.
The Structure of Cultural Orientations to the Good Life and their Expression in Personal Narratives
Keywords: Culture
Narrative
Good Life
Life Satisfaction
China
South Asia
Identity
Self

Understanding the rational and ethical sense that people make of their actions and experiences requires understanding the lives they are trying to live. The narrative visions of a good life that are dominant in a society thus represent an important aspect of cultural orientation. To gain insight into the form and function of these visions, two studies were conducted. In Study 1, the various criteria by which people judge their lives as good or worthy were examined using multidimensional scaling of responses from four different cultural groups of students: Chinese, East Asian Canadian, South Asian Canadian, and Western European Canadian. The results revealed two underlying structural dimensions on which both criteria and cultural groups could be differentiated. One reflected the locus of criterial goods and the other their morality. The clearest cultural contrast was between Chinese participants, who tended toward the prudential, materialistic, and hedonistic pole of the morality dimension, and South Asians, who tended more toward the spirituality and beneficence pole. In Study 2, the content of personal narratives produced by Chinese and South Asian students was analyzed to examine whether their contrasting orientations to the good life would be reflected in the kinds of life experiences they recounted. Some evidence of correspondence in this regard was found.
Economic Analysis of World's Carbon Markets
Keywords: Carbon markets
climate change
cointegration
market volatility
agent based models

Forestry activities play a crucial role in climate change mitigation. To make carbon credits generated from such activities a tradable commodity, it is important to analyze the price dynamics of carbon markets. This dissertation contains three essays that examine various issues confronting world’s carbon markets. The first essay investigates cointegration of carbon markets using Johansen maximum likelihood procedure. All carbon markets of the world are not integrated. North American carbon markets show integration and so do the CDM markets. For future, the possibilities of arbitrage across world’s markets are expected to be limited, and carbon trading in these markets will be globally inefficient. There is a strong need of a global agreement that allows carbon trade to prevent climate change at the least cost options. The second essay evaluates various econometric models for predicting price volatility in the carbon markets. Voluntary carbon market of Chicago is relatively more volatile; and like other financial markets, its volatility is forecasted best by a complex non-linear GARCH model. The compliance market of Europe, on the other hand, is less volatile and its volatility is forecasted best by simple econometric models like Historical Averages and GARCH and hence is different from other markets. Findings could be useful for investment decision making, and for making choice between various policy instruments. The last essay focuses on agent based models that incorporate interactions of heterogeneous entities. Artificial carbon markets obtained from such models have statistical properties - lack of autocorrelations, volatility clustering, heavy tails, conditional heavy tails, and non-Gaussianity; which are similar to the actual carbon markets. These models possess considerably higher forecasting capabilities than the traditional econometric models. Forecast accuracy is further improved considerably through experimentation, when agent characteristics like wealth distribution, proportion of allowances and number of agents are set close to the real market situations.
Human Agency in the Interstices of Structure: Choice and Contingency in the Conflict over Roşia Montană, Romania
Keywords: choice and contingency
Rosia Montana

Sociology has long struggled with the problem of human agency in its theoretical constructions. Systematically purged from the corpus of positivist, functionalist and rational choice theories, agency has nevertheless surfaced repeatedly in empirical analyses as a constant reminder that individuals are able and willing to act in ways that are not fully explained by the dominant theories. This thesis deals with the problem of human agency by exploring a particular instance of human interaction in which the choices and actions of individuals as well as the contingencies facing them are particularly conspicuous. The example chosen as a case study is the conflict over the planned Roşia Montană gold and silver mine in Romania. As neither the supporters, nor the opponents of the planned open cast mine have managed to impose their will and determine the commencement or cancelation of the mining project, the resulting struggle was extended over more than a decade. During this period, a variety of social actors with different interests and worldviews were drawn into complex interactions with each other, thus making the trajectory and outcome of the conflict unpredictable. At the same time, there emerged an enlarged space for human agency, especially for those actors that have been usually conceived as voiceless and powerless. The origins of this space of agency are traced to the particular configuration of macro-social processes which interacted in series of highly contingent events. More exactly, none of the broad processes discussed in the literature on resource conflicts – such as accumulation by dispossession, the resource curse or unequal development – ran its full course in determining the outcomes of the conflict. The temporary suspension of overpowering structural determinations opened up a realm in which social actors could convert the contingencies of the conflict into opportunities and risks. Individuals became relatively free to make choices and influence the choices of others. The language of the sociology of translation is used as the most apt description of the fluidity of these interactions. The dynamic between the ordering and reordering of the social world of Roşia Montană through interaction is a key insight of the thesis.
The Protection of Pharmaceutical Patents and Data under TRIPS and US-Jordan FTA: Exploring the Limits of Obligations and Flexibilities: A Study of the Impacts on the Pharmaceutical Sector in Jordan
Keywords: Jordan
developing countries
TRIPS agreement
pharmaceutical patent
access to medicines
data protection

In 2000, Jordan signed the Agreement on Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (the TRIPS Agreement) and a free trade agreement with the US (USJFTA). Both commitments have required Jordan to comply with various obligations, including full compliance with the minimum standards for the protection of intellectual property rights (IPRs) under the TRIPS Agreement and TRIPS-Plus IP standards set out under the terms of the USJFTA. Enticed by views that strong IP protection would create prosperity in the Kingdom by promoting technological innovation and inducing transfer and dissemination of technology to Jordanians, Jordan implemented the provisions of TRIPS and the USJFTA to the letter. However, Jordan focused little attention on important “TRIPS flexibilities”. In particular, Jordan has qualified parallel importation and limited the grounds of compulsory licenses. In addition, Jordan provides pharmaceutical testing data with data exclusivity. This thesis focuses on the Jordanian experience in the pharmaceutical sector. It argues that strong patent protection has not been conducive to the promotion of technological innovation and the transfer and dissemination of technology. Moreover, this protection has resulted in adverse outcomes such as increased drug prices, unavailability of essential medicines in some public hospitals for serious diseases, and a dwindling local pharmaceutical industry, in part, as a consequence of its inability to access advanced, patented technology on reasonable commercial terms. The thesis also investigates the legitimacy of establishing certain grounds of compulsory licensing by Jordan, even in light of the TRIPS-Plus obligations under the USJFTA. It advocates that such grounds contribute to the promotion of technical innovation, lead to the transfer of advanced technology, and above all improve access to affordable medicines. Finally, the thesis explores Jordan’s obligations to protect pharmaceutical testing data under TRIPS and USFTA arguing that neither of these two instruments requires data exclusivity as claimed by Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) and some developed countries.
Ironia: metafinzione nelle opere di Luigi Malerba
Keywords: Contemporary Italian literature
Luigi Malerba (1927-2008)

Irony: metafiction in Luigi Malerba’s works. In this thesis I examine irony and metafiction in some novels by Italian writer Luigi Malerba (1927-2008). Metafiction characterizes all of Malerba’s works; this dissertation shows how Malerba’s works constantly draw attention to themselves and consequently encourage readers to pose questions about the existing relationship between fiction and reality. Similarly, irony fosters further investigation of language as sign system; through recurrent word games, Malerba removes the certainty of a univocal existing correspondence between signifier and signified. In the first chapter I discuss the very first works by the author: Le lettere di Ottavia, Il serpente, Salto mortale and Il protagonista. The entire chapter revolves around the construction of possible worlds and, therefore, of fictional worlds. Through this analysis the borders between fiction and reality appear to be quite weak; they are indeed proved to be an illusory construction of contemporary human beings who tend to think according to binary oppositions, such as reality and dream, reality and fiction. I proceed by examining Storie dell’anno mille, Il pataffio, I cani di Gerusalemme and Le maschere; these novels are imbued with history. The central theme of the entire chapter is history and fabulation and their relationship to each other. History is shown to be part of human discourse: historical events are made out of pure chronicles by a process called emplotment. The form that the historical narration takes on inevitably influences the meaning of the events narrated. In the third chapter I analyze Le pietre volanti, La superficie di Eliane and Il circolo di Granada. Here I demonstrate how Malerba uses detective novels in a non-canonical way, turning his own works into anti-detective novels. In these works, the investigation does not reach any rewarding ending; even at the conclusion of the story, the detective’s hypothesis cannot be completely ruled out and the reader is left with what Stefano Tani calls a “fiction of possibilities”. Fantasmi romani occupies the whole chapter four. In this final chapter I discuss why this work, the very last one before the author’s death, can be considered his literary testament. In this novel, Malerba’s readers can find all the peculiarities which have distinguished the author’s writing for more than four decades. Along with recognizing his style, readers will appreciate new developments in his narration. This work encourages readers to investigate the consuming relationship which can be established between a writer and his reader. In the end of this thesis, some considerations for further investigation are made; these considerations focus on Luigi Malerba’s writing for children, an area of study that has received little critical attention.