VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Models of authority for Ontario schools
Keywords: Authority
Education, Political aspects
Public schools, Ontario
School management and organization, Ontario
Education, Ontario
Education and state, Ontario

This dissertation seeks to present a consideration of some of the ways in which models of authority have been applied to Ontario's system of public education, need still to be changed. It contends three things. First, it states that the sociocultural realities of contemporary life profoundly affect the ways in which people relate to institutions such as school systems, and in turn the way school systems are able to govern themselves and the students for which they are responsible. Second, it observes that public education in Ontario has had a long history of broadly based liberal control, which has traditionally functioned using various versions of a centre-to-periphery pattern, now much more rigidly understood in narrowly economic terms. Third, it argues that although many changes have been made to facilitate student learning at each stage of the development of Ontario's public school system, the current ideologically-limited version of the model of authority used in its governance is even less able to maintain the system's relevancy in the face of the pressure brought to bear on it by (post-modern) life. A new dialogue must be established concerning what authority means in contingent terms for schools, starting from the basic classroom relationships between teachers and students, if the system as a whole is to be changed. The dissertation presents a definition of authority that is primarily relational, yet fully functional at the level of language. Such a definition is needed to consider models of authority as they may be applied to the fluidity of contemporary reality, in which norms themselves often become cross-contextual sets of practices rather than being representative of universally-acknowledged “metanarratives”. On the way, the definition is compared and contrasted with three artificially (designated) periods of centralization in the governance of Ontario's school system. A consideration of the mandate for public education itself then follows, along with the means by which authority may be legitimated within it. The distance between present realities and those versions of centralized authority used to govern Ontario's schools at present are held up over against the definition of legitimate authority provided at the outset, in order to prove the need for change.
Soot formation in propane-air laminar diffusion flames at elevated pressures
Keywords: Combustion
Soot

Laminar axisymmetric propane air diffusion flames were studied at pressures 0.1 to 0.725 MPa (1 to 7.25 atm). To investigate the effect of pressure on soot formation, radially resolved soot temperatures and soot volume fractions were deduced from soot radiation emission scans collected at various pressures using spectral soot emission (SSE). Overall flame stability was quite good as judged by the naked eye. Flame heights varied by 15% and flame axial diameters decreased by 30% over the entire pressure range. Analysis of temperature sensitivity to variations in E lambda(m) revealed that a change in E lambda(m) of +/-20% produced a change in local temperature values of about 75 to 100 K or about 5%. Temperatures decreased and soot concentration increased with increased pressure. More specifically, the peak soot volume fraction showed a power law dependence, fv prop; Pn where n = 2.0 over the entire pressure range. The maximum integrated soot volume fraction also showed a power law relationship with pressure, f-v prop; Pn where n = 3.4 for 1 le; P le; 2 atm and n = 1.4 for 2 le; P le; 7.25 atm. The percentage of fuel carbon converted to soot increased with pressure at a rate, etas prop; Pn where n = 3.3 and n = 1.1 for 1 le; P le; 2 atm and 2 le; P le; 7.25 atm respectively.
Phonological processing skills: early predictors of English word identification for Punjabi and Cantonese ESL learners
Keywords: English language, Study and teaching
English language, Phonetics
Reading, Phonetic method
Word recognition
Reading, Psychology of

This longitudinal study looks at predictors of English word identification in grades 1 and 2 for children whose first language is either English (N = 71), Punjabi (N = 83), or Cantonese (N = 30). Correlation and regression analysis were conducted to determine if phonological awareness (PA), phonological memory (PM), and rapid automatized naming (RAN) are universal predictors of word identification or if they are language specific predictors. Results indicate that across grades RAN was the strongest predictor for the English group and PA was the strongest predictor of word identification for the Punjabi group. RAN was the strongest predictor in grade one and PM was the strongest predictor in grade two for the Cantonese group. However, results show that when combined together PA, PM, and RAN are universal predictors of word identification across language groups.
Teacher candidates' beliefs about including socioscientific issues in physics and chemistry
Keywords: Student teachers, Attitudes
Physics teachers, Attitudes
Chemistry teachers, Attitudes
Physics, Social aspects
Chemistry, Social aspects
Science, Social aspects

In this qualitative study 12 teacher candidates were interviewed at 3 points during a 9 month teacher education program: at the beginning of the course (in September), after the first practicum (in November) and after the second practicum (in March). Teacher candidates' beliefs did not change significantly from the beginning of the study to the end. They displayed varying degrees of commitment to including SSI in their teaching. Based on their (a) conception of the ethics of science, (b) goals for science education, (c) idea of the place of ethics in science (education), and (d) beliefs about including SSI, the teacher candidates were divided into four groups. Four archetypes were derived: "Model Scientist/Engineer", "Model Individual", "Model Teacher", and "Model Citizen". Since these groups are archetypes, none of the participants fits into the categories perfectly but individual teacher candidates demonstrated more characteristics of one archetype than others. Only the 3 Model Citizens were committed to including SSI in their teaching while the others placed the priority on preparing students for the next level of schooling. Teaching science for social justice involves a deliberate effort to reconstruct society into something more equitable and just. Introducing socioscientific issues (SSI) into science is one strategy toward this end. However, research indicates that SSI are rarely discussed in the physical sciences even though they exist. This may be due to the beliefs of chemistry and physics teachers with respect to what belongs in these subjects. If we wish to begin to influence these beliefs through initial teacher education, it is essential for teacher educators to understand the origins of these beliefs. A model was developed to serve as a microgeneology of teacher candidates' beliefs about including SSI in their teaching. It traced their beliefs from (a) life experiences to (b) conception of ethics and nature of science to (c) goals for science education to (d) inclusion or non-inclusion of SSI. Based on the archetypes, current beliefs were extrapolated into future beliefs. How teacher educators could use this model to influence the future beliefs of their students is discussed.
Adjustment processes of four infants attending centre daycare
Keywords: Infants, Development
Child development
Eye-hand coordination in infants
Infants, Growth
Child rearing
Day care centers
Child care services

This study used a phenomenologically based case study participant-observation approach to examine adjustment processes of 4 babies to a university daycare centre utilizing a primary caregiver model. The study included 2 girls and 2 boys, ranging in age at entrance from 5 1/2 to 10 months. At least 3 semi-structured interviews were conducted with parents and teachers. Within the context of this study, an adjustment model is presented that describes a progressive, dynamic and fluid sequencing of processes that overlap and interact interdependently. Successful adjustment involves a transfer of a sense of containment and security derived from familiar people, objects and routines to new people, objects and routines in a new environment and includes the development of an attachment to the primary caregiver. The model describes how attachment developments and adjustment processes affect the family, infant and daycare teachers as they interact in the larger caregiving system. Containment of the baby's distress is the key factor in this transfer process. Development of cooperative, attuned care by the parents and teachers is the most effective means to provide this containment. Seven major factors are identified that affect containment (parent-teacher comfort level, attunement to babies' needs, prior caregiving history, developmental issues, babies' ability to cope with stress, experiences of loss) and twelve major criteria are derived for the accomplishment of adjustment. Adequate experiences of containment allow the babies to be more open to take in and learn about their new environment. Inadequate containment experiences disrupt adjustment by creating a build-up of distress in the babies, leading to regression. The first five factors facilitate or impede adjustment depending on whether they support or disrupt containment for the babies. The sixth and seventh factors—loss and illness—always disrupt containment, and thus always lead to a derailment of the adjustment process, although less so following the babies' internalization of caregiver containment. Support for the findings in the daycare and theoretical literature are discussed. Six areas of importance for future research are presented.
Investigating the relative effects of persons, items, sections, and languages on TOEIC score dependability
Keywords: Test of English for International Communication
English language, Examinations
English language, Study and teaching

This study applied generalizability theory to investigate the contributions of persons, items, sections, and language backgrounds to the score dependability of the Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC). I replicated and extended J.D. Brown's (1998) study of the TOEFL, using data from two language groups: 45,156 Japanese examinees and 46,067 Korean examinees, who took the same form of the TOEIC. Both classical reliability analyses and generalizability analyses found the TOEIC scores of the examinees in question to be highly reliable/generalizable. However, the TOEIC did not distinguish among examinees well, neither within each language group, nor for both language groups combined. The items within a section varied greatly in difficulty. The findings regarding the effect of language backgrounds on TOEIC score dependability were inconclusive, which suggests directions for future research. TOEIC test developers might explore design alternatives with fewer items per section.
Learning language in cooperatively structured groups in a first-year level university classroom: a case study of Japanese as a foreign language
Keywords: Second language acquisition
Japanese language, Study and teaching (Higher)
Language and languages, Study and teaching
Japanese, Language and languages

This study takes the form of action research investigating the feasibility and effectiveness of learning Japanese as a foreign language (JFL) in cooperatively structured groups at the university beginners' level. The evaluation of incorporating cooperatively structured group activities in JFL classes is framed by theoretical and empirical studies in the fields of SLA and cooperative learning. It embraces the idea that a theory of SLA should integrate various aspects of the L2 learning process and that cooperatively structured group work facilitates SLA by providing more input/output and scaffolding among learners and a more constructive affective and social environment for learning. An experimental and a comparison JFL beginner's level classes at a university in Southern Ontario framed the context of this study. I taught both experimental and comparison classes giving a variety of cooperatively structured group activity treatment over a 16 week period in the experimental class while giving comparison class a more teacher-fronted treatment. Results of the vocabulary and kanji quizzes I administered after each vocabulary and kanji learning activity in both experimental and comparison classes were compared quantitatively between the two classes. Data collected from questionnaires, interviews, teacher's journal in the experimental and comparison classes, and audio- and videotapes made in the experimental class were also used to qualitatively evaluate the experimental students' interactional patterns, attitudes towards cooperative group learning, and group cohesiveness, and to compare with the patterns and attitudes observed in the comparison class. The results of vocabulary and kanji quizzes and the post-test indicated that cooperatively structured activities seemed not to have differentially affected the linguistic performances of the students in the experimental class. Further investigation indicated, however, that a significant amount of linguistic input/outputs and scaffolding among students was present in their discourses. The results of questionnaires and interviews suggested that cooperatively structured groups provided the students with a favourable affective and social learning environment. These findings suggest that cooperatively structured group work may be valuable for beginner university level learners of a second language, and that pedagogical merits of second language learning using cooperatively structured groups should be further evaluated at this level.
Japanese-Canadian education during the world War II internment
Keywords: Japanese, Evacuation and relocation, 1942-1945
Japanese, British Columbia
World War, 1939-1945, Japanese Canadians
World War, 1939-1945, Concentration camps
World War, 1939-1945, British Columbia
Japanese, Education
Japanese, British Columbia
Japanese, Civil rights
Japanese, Canada
Japanese, History
Japanese, British Columbia

This study is a study of the history of Japanese-Canadian education during World War II. In British Columbia where the Japanese Canadians were concentrated, they had been discriminated against for half a century since 1895. Shortly after Japan had bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, they were forcibly interned in Hastings Park in Vancouver. A little later, starting in April 1942, the majority of them were sent to interior housing projects in the ghost towns in the interior of British Columbia, operated by and supported by a new Federal Government agency, the British Columbia Security Commission. The Japanese-Canadian children's education was abruptly stopped. When they moved into ghost towns which were scattered around the interior of B.C., schooling there was not ready at all. While the federal and provincial governments were bickering about who was responsible for the schooling of the children, and about what grades would be taught in the schools, some older second generation Japanese Canadians, who had not had any Normal School training, started unofficial schools there. The Federal Government took over the schools and hired the inexperienced nisei teachers for Grades 1 to 8, but it never did provide either kindergartens or high schools. Therefore, some religious groups came in and started both kindergartens and high schools. After the war, the Japanese-Canadian children who remained in Canada with their parents went to the public school in towns to which they had to move, mostly in Eastern Canada. They did very well there, thus showing how successful the schools in the internment camps had operated, despite limited school supplies and very inconvenient facilities.
Ecological and social interactions in sustainable agroforestry management: Cocoa in Ghana
Keywords: Ecology
Forests and forestry
Soil science

Farm management strategies in regions of high ecological and economic risk require solutions for enhanced agroecosystem functioning and sustained rural livelihoods. This may be achieved with agricultural diversification employing agroforestry principles. Accordingly, my research investigates ecological and social interactions in agroforestry systems at multiple scales: from the farm to the community. This thesis involves a social-ecological systems approach, employing cocoa-shade agroforestry systems in Ghana as a case study, to (1) empirically examine biomass production, and nutrient and non-nutrient resource interactions in both early growth and mature agroforestry systems, and (2) examine the transfer and use of local knowledge pertaining to agroforestry practices in agrarian communities. Through vector analysis, I found nearly consistent non-competitive nutrient interactions between cocoa and shade trees during both the early stages of growth, as well as in mature plantations. When fertilizers are undesirable or unavailable, intercropping of appropriately selected shade trees will not competitively suppress early growth of cocoa, but will improve light regulation, sustain nutritional status of cocoa saplings and increase on-farm cocoa biomass as the farm matures. Evidently, target species productivity and nutrition is dependent on dynamic farmer management. Social network analysis showed that locally derived and externally sourced information on farm management circulates through distinctly structured informal advice networks. Such knowledge, particularly ecologically-based on-farm indicators, informed farm management decision making for sustainable resource-use systems. As an analytical concept, management processes offer an entry point into the understanding of human interactions with the environment. Therefore, results were incorporated into a conceptual framework which affords a systematic basis for promoting sustainable and decentralized agroforestry management. This framework also presents an approach for scaling-up results to the landscape level. This research provides effective strategies for agroforestry system productivity, diversity, and resilience by employing a social-ecological approach to sustainable local and regional agrarian practice.
Weaving together sociocultural theory and ideas on democracy: constructing a principled approach to literacy
Keywords: Democracy
Literacy
Power (Social sciences)
Social systems
Sociolinguistics
Critical pedagogy
Philosophy, Modern

This thesis weaves together the key concepts of Vygotsky's theory of human development with a variety of ideas about democracy applied to a school setting to suggest an approach to literacy that is principled in its regard for the participants in literacy activities. Taking inspiration from Wittgenstein's device—‘the broken text’—the thesis replaces a standardized conception of literacy with diverse viewpoints on development and learning, participatory democracy, activity theory, critical thinking and intersubjectivity to strengthen the argument that literacy is embedded with issues of language, discourse and power and is, therefore, irreducible. Rather than resolve the tensions that exist in configuring an approach to literacy, the author argues that vitality and meaning can be wrought from an authentic inquiry and a praxis approach. Finally, the author explores how making literacy an ‘improvable object’ develops a more ethical view of literacy.
Enhancing self-direction in low-achieving elementary school students: a cross-age tutoring study
Keywords: Underachievers
Critical thinking in children

The present investigation focussed on how to enhance self-direction in academic low-achievers. Self-directed students appear different from others by their goal-setting, accurate self-monitoring, and resourcefulness of strategic thinking. These students are generally the classroom high achievers. However, research has shown that even low and average achievers can direct their own learning when given the opportunities to do so. This happens when tasks are not beyond students' skill levels and students must explain or verbalize about the tasks. In the present investigation, fourth-grade low math achievers were trained how to be "math helpers" and assisted younger children with math work over a twelve-week period. In a cross-age setting, academic tasks are usually those that the older child has some experience with and can perform on her own. Through working with the younger child, the older child helps to define and plan the task, monitor progress, and evaluate outcomes. The studies presented here were designed to investigate two outcomes related to participating in the math helpers program: (1) helpers would demonstrate greater improvements in math problem-solving skill compared to same-class controls, and (2) helpers would demonstrate an increased use of Task-Directive Speech (utterances observed while children work on academic activities) post-program compared to same-class controls. Results showed that fourth-grade math helpers demonstrated improvements in mathematics problem-solving post program, as hypothesized. Contrary to expectations, use of Task-Directive Speech did not increase pre- to post-program. A second study was designed to investigate the contribution to problem-solving gains made by helper-training and helping experience. Results revealed that helper training or helping experience alone could not account for improvements in fourth grade math helpers' problem-solving; helpers required training either before or during their helping experiences. This investigation suggests that if we would like to see more students who can and will take responsibility for tasks using learned skills, then each must be provided with some situations in which they are able to make decisions about selecting, planning, monitoring, and evaluating tasks. Teachers must sometimes relinquish control, and provide both individual and small group situations in which each student can exercise direction and leadership. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)
Learner beliefs about isolated and integrated form-focused instruction: Japanese high-school learners of English as a second language in the United States
Keywords: English language, Study and teaching
English language, United States
English language, Grammar
High school students, Attitudes
High school students, United States
Japanese, Attitudes
Japanese, United States

This thesis addresses the beliefs that English as a second language (ESL) learners have about when and how their grammar instruction should be provided within communicative classrooms. Two types of grammatical instruction were examined; isolated and integrated form-focused instruction (FFI). One hundred and sixty-six Japanese high-school students in a content-based ESL program in the United States responded to a questionnaire. The questionnaire was validated, followed by several statistical tests. Interviews and class observations were also conducted to obtain qualitative data regarding learner beliefs and more detail about their instructional context. The main findings are: (1) learners valued both integrated and isolated FFI; (2) there was a stronger preference for integrated FFI; and (3) L2 proficiency was the main factor accounting for differences among learner beliefs. Other individual learner factors emerged in the qualitative data analysis. While the results are consistent with those of Spada (2006), there are also some differences.
Institutionalizing Rajadharma: Strategies of sovereignty in the eighteenth century Jaipur
Keywords: Religion, Philosophy
Middle Ages

My study deals with a neglected aspect of South Asian historiography, that is, the ways used by the rulers of indigenous states to legitimize and to institutionalize Rajadharma : duties of the king. This dissertation demonstrates that the Kachchwaha rulers of Jaipur reconfigured ritualistic and symbolic notions of kingship, modified political ideology, bolstered bureaucracy, and used urban space to assert their authority.