VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Development and Validation of the Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Competency Assessment Tools for Adult and Pediatric Colonoscopy
Keywords: Clinical Competence
Competency-based education
Delphi technique
Educational Measurement
Education
Medical
Graduate/standards
Endoscopy
Gastrointestinal

Rigorously developed and psychometrically sound assessment tools are required to support competency-based education and demonstrate trainees are progressing toward proficiency. This PhD dissertation aims to develop and examine reliability and validity evidence of the Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Competency Assessment Tool (GiECAT) for colonoscopy as well as a pediatric-specific version of the tool, the GiECATKIDS.Initially, a conceptual model for procedural competence was formulated from a literature review. Procedural competence was conceptualized as requiring demonstrated proficiency in 3 domains: (1) technical; (2) cognitive; and (3) integrative competencies required for safe, intelligent performance in varied contexts. In the first and second studies the GiECAT and GiECATKIDS were developed using Delphi methodology. Two independent international panels of adult and pediatric endoscopy experts each participated in five iterative rounds of Delphi surveys to determine expert consensus regarding items required on a global rating scale and checklist designed to assess the competence of clinicians performing colonoscopy on adult and pediatric patients, respectively. Subsequently, using psychometric methodology, multiple sources of reliability and validity evidence for the GiECAT and GiECATKIDS were gathered in separate prospective multicenter studies in the context of novice, intermediate and advanced adult and pediatric endoscopist performing colonoscopy in the clinical setting. Both direct observational assessment tools were feasible to use, had high internal consistency, inter-rater and test-retest reliability, and demonstrated evidence of construct and discriminative validity for use in evaluating the competence of clinicians performing colonoscopy within the clinical setting. Together, the studies in this dissertation have contributed to the rigorous development and comprehensive evaluation of two novel, direct observational assessment tools designed to assess competence in performing adult and pediatric colonoscopy within the clinical environment. This dissertation provides a framework educators can use to comprehensively and systematically develop and examine reliability and validity evidence for direct observational tools designed to assess the full breadth of technical, cognitive and integrative competencies required to perform procedures safely and proficiently.
Synthesis and Utility of New Ynamide and Organo-allyltrifluoroborate Reagents: Application to the Total Synthesis of Geralcin A, Hydrazidomycins A-B, CPC-1, Alline, Splenocin-B, and the Potent Cancer Cell Growth Inhibitors Kitastatin and Respirantin
Keywords: Alkaloids
Depsipeptides
Heterocycles
Hydrazides
Ynamides

This thesis is presented in two parts and summarizes work carried out in the laboratory of Professor Robert A. Batey at the University of Toronto from September 2010 through July 2014. Part 1 of this thesis covers the development and synthetic utility of new ynamide reagents toward nitrogen heterocycle generation and natural product synthetic applications (Chapters 1-4). Part 2 of this thesis outlines work related to the synthesis of new organo-allyltrifluoroborate reagents and their application in the synthesis of biologically active depsipeptide natural products (Chapters 5-7).Part 1 begins with an introductory chapter (Chapter 1) to familiarize the reader with previous important ynamide reagent scientific contributions. Next, Chapter 2 describes our discovery of a previously unexplored ynehydrazide alkyne class including their application in the synthesis of pharmaceutically relevant nitrogen heterocycles.Chapter 3 then describes an ynehydrazide approach to the total synthesis of the hydrazide natural product geralcin A and Z-enehydrazides. Also presented is the discovery of a Boc-carbazate epoxide ring opening/Peterson olefination sequence to stereospecifically prepare Z-enehydrazides. Importantly, this methodology was used to prepare the structurally unique Z-enehydrazide containing natural products hydrazidomycins A-B and elaiomycin B.In Chapter 4, our synthetic studies using a terminal N,N-di-Boc ynimide as an aminoethylating reagent and precursor for regioselective synthesis of imide-functionalized heterocycles is outlined. Included are new examples of ynamide-acetylide reactivity and an ynimide approach to the total synthesis of pyrrolidinoindoline alkaloids (±)-CPC-1 and (±)-Alline.Part 2 of this thesis begins with an introduction to allyltrifluoroborates and their synthetic utility (Chapter 5). Chapter 6 then describes our results concerning the synthesis of a prenyltrifluoroborate reagent and its use to gamma-prenylate aldehydes and ketones. In particular, a diastereoselective prenyltrifluoroborate addition to the N-Boc-L-leucinal is featured as a strategy to install the key di-methyl-beta-keto-ester fragment in the total synthesis of the potent cancer cell growth inhibitory depsipeptides kitastatin and respirantin.Finally, Chapter 7 details the total synthesis of the potent cytokine inhibitory natural product splenocin-B. The chapter features a Z-benzyl-allyltrifluoroborate approach to construct the key stereotriad as well as studies on a new Wittig approach to synthesize Z-allyl-functionalized organotrifluoroborates.
Three Performances of the Postmetropolis: Youth, Drama, Theatre, and Pedagogy
Keywords: Drama
Ethnography
Performing Place
Place-based performance
Suburb
Youth

Three Performances of the Postmetropolis: Youth, Drama, Theatre, and PedagogyAnne Elizabeth WesselsOntario Institute for Studies in Education,University of Toronto2014ABSTRACTThis Canadian arts-infused ethnography inquires into youth and their social relations in a Mississauga secondary school and in the rehearsals of a production of Concord Floral at Theatre Passe Muraille in Toronto. This study analyzes three performances of the suburb for what they suggest regarding the lives of youth, drama, and theatre pedagogy and the changing geography of the suburb. The first performance is a production of Concord Floral by Jordan Tannahill enacted by eight youth from the suburbs. The second set of performances is composed of place-based rituals of schooling presented by students in the spaces of the school where they originally occurred. The final performance takes place on the same school grounds where I conduct walking interviews with youth. Our walks are interrupted and we become spectators to a third performance of the suburb orchestrated by the nonhuman. The social relations observed in this study suggest both normalized privilege and reaction against it. Drama and theatre are used methodologically to produce data rich with affect, including pleasure in rehearsal and the frustrations of a tension-ridden class. Drama and theatre, however, are analyzed for more than their methodological use. This research offers aesthetic approaches that open notions of both drama and theatre pedagogy as they are practiced with youth as ethical, social and environmental art forms Social geographers Edward Soja (2011) and Doreen Massey's (2005) spatial theory and Gilles Deleuze's concepts of the "minor" (1997) and "difference" (1968/94) frame the study theoretically (1997, p. 141). The findings suggest multiple diversities ranging from artists-in-the-making to the nonhuman. Methodologically, doing drama enhances focus groups and conducting the interviews while walking results in the creation of hybridized methods. The analysis attempts to find what Patti Lather (2013) calls a "difference driven analytic" (p. 639). This study analyzes theatre rehearsal, school, and suburban spaces for their potential to become increasingly heterogeneous and equitable (Sibley, 2011, p.131). It closes with an analysis of the school grounds and its potential as a place for socially-engaged artistic practices working with, and alongside, the community to address issues of inadequate infrastructure, environmental concerns, and the quandaries associated with being young in the contemporary suburb.
Music, Somatics, and Transformation: My Personal Journey through the 24 Debussy Préludes and Yoga
Keywords: Debussy
Music
Préludes
Somatics
Transformation
Yoga

Three subject areas, music, Somatics, and transformation, were investigated to glean an understanding of how the researcher’s personal experience has been transformed through repertoire study of the 24 Debussy Préludes and yoga practice. This research employed Anderson’s Intuitive Inquiry approach. The study of the cultural and artistic climate of Debussy’s era was the researcher’s starting point to comprehending the composer’s sources of inspiration. A perusal of Debussy’s piano output and specific literature on the 24 Préludes was made to gain familiarity with the extra-musical associations in the subtitles of these compositions. From this foundation, the researcher proceeded with a personal exploration of Debussy’s non-music inspirations and examined how such knowledge could be incorporated into formation of her own musical interpretation. To study the manifold layers of this transformational process, the researcher narrated a selfreflection on her musical, physical, and psychological experiences of preparing eight Debussy Préludes for performance. The researcher observed how a musical focal point came into existence during her musical, pianistic, and performance preparation of each of these eight pieces. Three sound recordings of Ce qu’a vu le vent d’Ouest, Bruyères, and Ondine from the researcher’s past recitals were analyzed to report the transformation from one performance to another in the projection of her musical conception through tempi, dynamics, textures, phrasing, harmony, characters, and tonal imagery. By observing her experience of hearing past executions, the researcher gave an account of how her attitude of music listening has changed. A further analysis of these same three Préludes by three different artists was given to relate the researcher’s experience of hearing and comprehending unfamiliar musical interpretations from a new perspective. Through her score study, enrichment of personal experience, introspection, and recording analyses, the researcher elucidated her personal process of musical maturation, structural comprehension, and artistic realization of the Debussy Préludes.
Faculty Perceptions of Leadership on Ontario Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology
Keywords: Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology
Diversity
Faculty Perceptions
Leadership

Leadership and diversity are both important topics in research and are often investigated separately. There is a long history of research in leadership, and diversity is a relatively new area of research in comparison. Differences such as age, gender, race, ethnicity, disability, and sexual orientation can be an advantage to some and a disadvantage to others when considering success in school, work opportunities or income potential. Rarely is research in leadership brought together with research in diversity, and both are complex areas of study. This study investigates traditional and emerging conceptualizations of leadership and differences in age, gender, race and ethnicity.This study investigated leadership from the perspective of diverse followers, and sought to understand the extent faculty perceptions of leadership differed based on age, gender, race and ethnicity at two large colleges located in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area. As well, this study investigated the ways in which faculty who differ prefer to be led, and the ways in which faculty who differ wish to be included in leadership. This study is important because research in leadership often overlooks the impact of difference among followers. In this current economic climate, college leaders risk having disenfranchised faculty who do not support organizational goals because leaders have not fully considered the significance of faculty diversity.Results suggest on one hand that the extent of difference in perception is minimal, but this does not mean the differences in perception are unimportant. As well, faculty perceived leadership as being embodied in an individual; although, there was a strong preference for shared leadership practice. Faculty considered their primaryleadership role as being in the classroom and minimal involvement in leadership outside of that context. Finally, the implications of these findings for leadership and leadership practice are discussed. The findings presented will help to support conceptualizations of leadership in the colleges studied that model a shared leadership practice in order to meet organizational goals.
Modeling the Climatology of Tornado Occurrence using Bayesian Inference
Keywords: Bayesian Inference
Tornadoes

Our mechanistic understanding of tornadic environments has significantly improved by the recent technological enhancements in the detection of tornadoes as well as the advances of numerical weather predictive modeling. Nonetheless, despite the decades of active research, prediction of tornado occurrence remains one of the most difficult problems in meteorological and climate science. In our efforts to develop predictive tools for tornado occurrence, there are a number of issues to overcome, such as the treatment of inconsistent tornado records, the consideration of suitable combination of atmospheric predictors, and the selection of appropriate resolution to accommodate the variability in time and space. In this dissertation, I address each of these topics by undertaking three empirical (statistical) modeling studies, where I examine the signature of different atmospheric factors influencing the tornado occurrence, the sampling biases in tornado observations, and the optimal spatiotemporal resolution for studying tornado occurrence. In the first study, I develop a novel Bayesian statistical framework to assess the probability of tornado occurrence in Canada, in which the sampling bias of tornado observations and the linkage between lightning climatology and tornadogenesis are considered. The results produced reasonable probability estimates of tornado occurrence for the under-sampled areas in the model domain. The same study also delineated the geographical variability in the lightning-tornado relationship across Canada. In the second study, I present a novel modeling framework to examine the relative importance of several key atmospheric variables (e.g., convective available potential energy, 0-3 km storm-relative helicity, 0-6 km bulk wind difference, 0-tropopause vertical wind shear) on tornado activity in North America. I found that the variable quantifying the updraft strength is more important during the warm season, whereas the effects of wind-related variables are more uniform across seasons. The residual variability of the same modeling framework (a reflection of the fidelity of the statistical formulation considered) is subsequently used to delineate distinct geographical patterns of tornado activity. This piece of information provides the foundation for the Bayesian hierarchical prognostic model presented in the third chapter of my dissertation. The results of the latter approach reinforce my earlier finding that the spatial variability of the annual and warm seasonal tornado occurrence is well explained by convective available potential energy and storm relative helicity alone, while vertical wind shear is better at reproducing the cool season tornado activity. The Bayesian hierarchical modeling framework offers a promising methodological tool for understanding regional tornado environments and obtaining reliable predictions in North America.
Front-of-Pack Nutrition Rating Systems and Symbols in Canada
Keywords: food label
food supply
front-of-pack label
nutrient profiling
nutrition label
nutrition marketing

Front-of-pack (FOP) nutrition rating systems and symbols provide simplified information on the nutritional content of foods. Despite concerns that the presence of multiple FOP systems may be confusing and misleading to consumers, the government has rejected recommendations to implement a single, standardized FOP system claiming that the current unregulated marketplace is already meeting the needs of Canadians. The overall objective of this work was to generate Canadian evidence to determine the legitimacy of the government's position.The specific objectives were to evaluate the extent to which foods meeting the criteria of voluntary FOP systems are identified by the system's symbol, to compare the nutritional quality of foods with and without FOP systems, to describe Canadians' attitudes towards FOP systems, and to determine experimentally the most liked and understood FOP system by consumers. We generated evidence through three studies. Studies 1-2 employed a 2010 database of Canadian packaged food labels. Compared to products without FOPS, products with FOPS were not being used to market foods consistently lower in calories, saturated fat, sodium, and sugar in 10 food categories and 60 subcategories. Significantly many more products qualified to carry two major Canadian FOPS than actually displayed these FOPS on their label. Study 3 used a national survey panel to test Canadians preferences for four FOPS. 86% of consumers supported the implementation of a single, standardized FOPS. Nutrient-specific systems (a traffic light and a Nutrition Facts table based FOPS) were preferred and rated more consumer friendly than other systems. In summary, FOPS are not being used to promote the healthiest products in the Canadian marketplace, and could be misleading consumers. Despite the government's position not to adopt a single, standardized FOPS, Canadian consumers would support such an initiative and would prefer a nutrient specific FOPS.
Mechanisms of 4-aminobiphenyl-induced Liver Carcinogenesis in the Mouse
Keywords: aromatic amine
drug metabolism
liver cancer
mouse
mutations
oxidative stress

4-Aminobiphenyl (ABP) is a human carcinogen commonly found in cigarette smoke and hair dyes. In a tumor study carried out previously in our laboratory using ABP, female mice showed a dramatically lower incidence of liver tumors than male mice. This observation seems to parallel the prominent sex difference observed in human liver cancer, with women having a 3- to 5-fold lower incidence than men. Our overall goal is to elucidate the molecular mechanisms behind ABP-induced liver carcinogenesis in our mouse model, which we hope will improve our understanding of ABP as an important environmental carcinogen and also shed light on the molecular mechanism behind human liver cancer. According to a traditional model of ABP carcinogenesis, ABP N-hydroxylation by CYP1A2 initiates a cascade of bioactivation reactions that ultimately result in the formation of ABP-DNA adducts and the initiation of liver carcinogenesis. In the first part of my PhD studies, I generated evidence against this traditional model of ABP carcinogenesis by finding no sex differences in ABP-induced mutations in mouse liver. Re-examination of the ABP bioactivation pathway using both genetic and pharmacological tools revealed CYP2E1 as a novel major ABP N-hydroxylation enzyme in mouse liver. No sex differences were found in ABP N-hydroxylation activity. Since oxidative stress has been linked to ABP in vitro and represents a major etiological factor for human liver cancer, I investigated a potential role for oxidative stress in our ABP carcinogenesis model. Using a hepatoma cell line, I found that the N-hydroxylation of ABP by CYP2E1 induced oxidative stress. Following in vivo exposure to ABP, I detected increased oxidative stress in male wild-type but not in male Cyp2e1(-/-) or female mice. On the other hand, a stronger antioxidant response was observed in females, which may protect them from ABP-induced oxidative stress and subsequent liver carcinogenesis.
Teaching as Mentoring: How Secondary School Teachers Engage in the Mentoring of Students
Keywords: Mentoring
Secondary

Teaching as Mentoring: How Secondary School Teachers Engage in the Mentoring of StudentsMatthew DeJongDoctor of PhilosophyDepartment of Curriculum, Teaching and LearningUniversity of Toronto(2014) Abstract This qualitative study explores the perspectives of five secondary school teachers and four former secondary students in a large, suburban Ontario city on their practice and experiences of mentoring non-at-risk students in a diverse, rapidly changing, academically underperforming area. In-depth interviews conducted with teachers and students demonstrated that teachers incorporate elements found in the existing mentoring schemes, yet sometimes exceed such roles, integrating complex and intensive psycho-social and academic modes of mentoring into their daily work with students. Within this study, teachers and students define teaching as that which takes place within the context of the classroom, while mentoring was seen as those one-on-one relationships that develop over a significant period of time. The findings of my study illustrate that teachers who mentor their students produce insight into significant mentoring themes: teachers who mentor sometimes act in ways similar to classical notions of mentors, in lieu of an absent parent; both teachers and students propose that cross-cultural mentoring and opposite-gender mentoring should be encouraged, and that successful mentoring happens in an environment of competence and duration; mentoring is necessary in a secondary school environment and that caring is vital in today's relationships between teachers and students. The analysis also reveals that though mentoring improves student achievement and engagement, there are risks involved in the practice of mentoring for both teachers and students alike. This study also suggests that though the discipline of educational mentoring is robust, the study of secondary school teachers as mentors to students not deemed at-risk behaviourally or academically by their schools is rare. The findings further show that today's non-at-risk students can benefit significantly by the teacher-student mentoring relationship. Consequently, since mentoring is seen as a practice used by teachers in the secondary context, it is of great benefit for schools and policy makers to support these efforts, and that improving upon such practice should be a priority in teacher education and professional development.
Metropolis for Orchestra
Keywords: Metropolis
Music
Orchestra

Metropolis is a piece for large orchestra that explores the connection between manmade and natural spaces, inspired by the notion that as people expand urban boundaries, their relationship with the natural world becomes an increasingly alien experience. It is a twelve-minute, single-movement work rhetorically based on the sonata form. There are predominantly two types of music at play: one of thick orchestration, spontaneous gestures, fluid rhythms, and earthy sonorities--representing structures found in nature; the other of clean lines, bold leaps, crisp rhythms, and mechanical processes--symbolic of architecture. Most of the material in the work is derived from two closely-related motives that originate in the Primary and Secondary Themes. A third motive is used to generate pulsating heterophonic textures. Shifts between diatonic modes and synthetic--mainly octatonic and altered-octatonic scales--help illustrate sonically the characteristics of natural versus manufactured constructs. Rhythmic development is central to the narrative of the piece; the intervallic content of a given motive will often remain intact, while undergoing dramatic transformations in its rhythmic profile. Though the meter and tempo remains constant throughout the work, multilayered polyrhythms are used to momentarily obfuscate the pulse, while written out accelerations and decelerations obliterate the sense of pulse altogether.