VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
From the Chapel to the Gallery: The Aestheticization of Altarpieces in Early Modern Italy
Keywords: Altarpieces
Art collecting
Painting, 16th century
Renaissance Italy
Art collectors
Painting, 17th century

This dissertation examines the aesthetic response to altarpieces in early modern Italy, which culminated in the reconstitution of altarpieces as gallery paintings, when, beginning in the seventeenth century, wealthy collectors began removing them from churches and displaying them in their private collections. Such a transformation not only entailed a complete rupture in the function of these paintings – from object of public veneration to private delectation – but also frequently met with resistance and censure from local authorities. It is precisely because it was a very difficult thing to do that the documents concerning the removal of altarpieces are frequently revealing about contemporary attitudes toward art among collectors as well as ecclesiastics. In order to understand the mechanisms – both theoretical and practical –that had to be in place for such a transformation to occur, I explore the history of the altarpiece from the rise of ius patronatus as an economically motivated form of piety in late-medieval Italy, through the encroachment of artistic criteria such as invention and difficulty in the making and viewing of religious art in the sixteenth century, and, finally, to the post-Tridentine discourse on sacred images. Because the purpose of this study is to establish the church as a venue for a nascent connoisseurial discourse, I also consider the development of art collecting in Italy, which was circumscribed in extent through most of the sixteenth century. Lastly, I provide a comprehensive overview of the removal of altarpieces in seventeenth-century Italy, a phenomenon that has previously received only scant attention in art historical literature.
International Higher Education Agents in Canada: Protecting a Socially and Commercially Valuable Service
Keywords: Agents
Disclosure
Education
Fiduciary
Incentives
Recruitment

Foreign universities looking to increase their Canadian student enrolment typically contract with non-exclusive agents or representatives to reach that objective. The global higher education sector pays nearly a billion dollars in commissions to agents annually. Although largely unknown to the public, Canadian students pursuing an international education â some sources indicating as high as 80% - choose to work with and rely on agents throughout the information gathering, assessment, selection, and application process. Unfortunately, the question of industry regulation in Canada has failed to appreciate the impact agents representing foreign institutions have on the education decisions of Canadians. Despite this oversight, the absence of statutory protection does not preclude the application of fiduciary law where the nature of the relationship gives rise to such obligations. Without such a relationship a socially and commercially valuable industry may become overrun with self-interested agents, to the detriment of Canadian students.
Extending the Social Model of Migration and Incorporation to Include Migrant Occupational Communities: The Case of Ghanaian Nurses
Keywords: Incorporation
Migrant networks
Migration

The flow of skilled migrants to Canada has increased significantly over recent decades. Considerable research has focused on explaining skilled migration and economic incorporation outcomes, with a focus on economic factors. This qualitative dissertation examines how skilled workers come to the decision to migrate to Canada, and how they navigate the skilled economic incorporation process and challenges that emerged along the way, with a focus on the social forces influencing these processes. To do so, the dissertation drew on the early social migration model advanced by Massey and his colleagues (Massey et al.1987; Massey et al. 1993), but extended this model by analyzing the influence of the migrant occupational community among skilled migrants. The project primarily draws on 18 interviews with Ghanaian nurses of varying ages, seniority levels and types of nursing training who migrated to Canada. The analysis revealed key social processes, within both the migrant residential community and what this dissertation has termed the â migrant occupational communityâ , which influenced skilled migration and incorporation. The migrant residential community had a generally positive influence on skilled migration perceptions and aspirations through a local culture of migration, as well as on migration decision-making via general information on better living conditions transmitted via migrant residential networks, similar to that predicted in the early social model. The migrant occupational community also had an importance influence on skilled migration. The migrant occupational culture influenced skilled migration perceptions and aspirations in positive and negative ways, while migrant occupational networks influenced migration decision-making by providing information and encouragement related to occupational conditions and opportunities abroad. The migrant occupational community played an even more significant role in shaping the skilled incorporation process, primarily via migrant occupational networks and to some extent migrant occupational associations, which helped navigate the numerous steps to skilled incorporation to resume the nursing profession. This dissertation makes two contributions. First, and primarily, it extends the early social migration model to include the migrant occupational community found among skilled migrants. Second, this project moves beyond an analysis of skilled migration and incorporation outcomes, to an in-depth analysis of the processes of skilled migration and incorporation, in line with Masseyâ s holistic social migration model focused on low-skilled migration, as well as a growing number of skilled migration studies.
A Legal Analysis of the Access to Court Record Policies of the Provincial and Territorial Courts of the Common Law Jurisdiction of Canada and Public Accessibility
Keywords: Court records
freedom of expression
media
public accessibility

The Supreme Court of Canada has recognized the importance of court openness to public confidence in the transparency and integrity of the administration of justice. These principles are promoted when the public and media have access to court proceedings, which also includes access to court records. Canadaâ s highest court has also recognized the importance of the Charter right of expression and the mediaâ s essential role in disseminating information about the courts to the public, which means accessibility to the courts and records. However, there is inconsistency within the access to court record policies of the provincial and territorial courts of the common law jurisdiction of Canada. While some policies may recognize the importance of court openness and public accessibility, they may not contain provisions that meaningfully adopt these principles. Moreover, there is much debate and hesitation when it comes to digitization of court records and public accessibility.
The Customer Isn't Always Right: Exploring the Protective Ambit of the Employment Protection in the Ontario Human Rights Code through Customer-on-Worker Harassment
Keywords: discrimination
employment
harassment
human rights
Ontario Human Rights Code

This thesis argues that the "right to equal treatment with respect to employment" under section 5(1) of the Ontario Human Rights Code extends to protect workers from customer harassment. In so doing, this thesis aims to provide an account of section 5(1) and the way in which it imposes duties on parties who do not fit the traditional definition of an employer. This project argues that the statutory language of section 5(1) demonstrates a legislative intent to cover relationships outside of the paradigmatic employer-employee relationship and that it is broad enough to cover customer-worker interactions. This thesis will further argue that there is sufficient proximity between customers and employees to justify extending a duty onto customers to refrain from harassment. Finally, this project demonstrates that broader policy considerations justify extending section 5(1) coverage to address customer-worker harassment.
Fair Dealing in Music - A Case for Mash-ups
Keywords: copyright
mash-ups
music
sampling

Abstract: Fair dealing in Canada is liberalizing itself. However, it is time to test whether the wa- ter is deep enough to incorporate newer changes in the field of music which changes in technolo- gy bring in. The endeavor is to take the case of mash-ups and a hypothetical 20-part mash-up artist and examine whether the doctrine of fair dealing is potent enough to apply in his case. I compare and contrast the Feist approach on ‘creativity’ with the Canadian ‘skill and judgment’ approach in CCH and infer that the Canadian approach is not too far removed from doing justice to the efforts of a mash-up artist in selecting and arranging pieces of music to bring a coherent whole into existence, by treating borrowed pieces of music as fair dealing.
Applicability of the Charter in the Healthcare Context Through the Lens of Vaccination-or-mask Policies
Keywords: Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
constitutional law
healthcare workers
influenza
vaccination-or-mask policy

Despite numerous Supreme Court of Canada decisions on Charter applicability, there has been limited discussion on how the Charter applies to entities operating in the healthcare sector. This paper uses vaccination-or-mask policies as a test case to illustrate the difficulties in applying the current law to determine if the Charter applies to various actors, including hospitals, regional health authorities, physiciansâ offices and other for-profit healthcare companies, and the professional regulatory bodies. The analysis demonstrates that the current test remains confusing and unclear, does not significantly reduce the possibility of government shirking its Charter obligations, and may lead to a differential protection of rights across the provinces. A solution is proposed that requests the court to consider a more holistic approach to characterizing an entity as governmental or not. Also, it may be useful to recognize that healthcare as a public monopoly is a unique case for Charter applicability.
Paying for Primary Care: The Relationship between Payment Change and Primary Care Physician Behaviour
Keywords: Health Policy
Health Services Research
Payment Incentives
Primary Care

The Ontario government introduced several alternatives to fee-for-service (FFS) payment for primary care physicians (PCPs), including age-sex adjusted capitation (CAP). There is concern that this reform encouraged PCPs to avoid sicker, more complex patients due to incentives inherent in the new payment schemes. This dissertation analyzed the extent to which this occurred. We conducted a series of studies using patient and PCP level administrative data (1999/00 â 2010/11) from the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences to analyze changes in patient cost and case-mix across payment models in Ontario. Our data captured all Ontarians and PCPs in FFS, enhanced- FFS and CAP payment models during the study period. To ensure our findings were robust we analyzed PCP characteristics associated with selection into different payment models, and controlled for this selection effect in our analysis of the impact of the payment incentives. In our studies, we used both non-parametric (relative distribution) and parametric methods (multinomial selection models). Our results demonstrate that there are differences in cost and case-mix across payment models and that these differences were both pre-existing and a result of responses to payment incentives. PCPs who self-selected into CAP models were more likely to have healthier and wealthier patients than PCPs in FFS models. Furthermore, we found that PCPs who treated healthier patients, benefited financially from payment reform. We did find evidence that PCPs altered the composition of their rosters because of payment incentives; however, the effects were small and largely accounted for by PCP self-selection effects. The mixed CAP payment scheme allowed PCPs to treat sicker patients off roster, which may have ameliorated some of the financial incentives to risk select. Our findings demonstrate that PCPs did respond to financial incentives. In particular, PCPs self-selected into payment models, based on pre-existing characteristics that allowed them to maximize their preferences for consumption and leisure. We did not find strong evidence in support of risk-selection, but did find evidence that age-sex adjusted capitation disproportionately benefited PCPs with pre-existing patient rosters that were less complex. Future reforms to PCP payment should take into account how PCPs sort themselves into payment models, and better account for the heterogeneity of PCP and patient populations.
Tissue Engineering of Multi-zonal, Osteochondral-like Constructs with Bone Marrow Stromal Cells
Keywords: Calcium polyphosphate
Cartilage
Mesenchymal stromal cells
Osteoarthritis
Osteochondral construts
Tissue engineering

Articular cartilage facilitates weight bearing and movement in a synovial joint. As articular cartilage does not spontaneously heal, damaged cartilage leads to loss of cartilage and subchondral bone remodelling. In previous studies we developed biphasic constructs with articular chondrocytes and porous calcium polyphosphate (CPP) substrate that could replace both damaged cartilage and bone. However, articular chondrocytes are scarce and cannot be expanded in vitro without losing their functional attributes. Since bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) can be expanded to large quantities and differentiated into chondrocytes, it was hypothesized that, using BMSCs as the cell source, cartilage with a multi-zonal architecture can be formed on porous CPP substrate to produce osteochondral-like constructs with biomechanical properties that approach native articular cartilage. A protocol was devised to differentiate BMSCs on collagen-coated porous membranes and harvest the cells, which were subsequently cultured on porous CPP substrates to form biphasic constructs with high compressive mechanical properties. Implantation of BMSC-derived biphasic constructs in sheep joints revealed insufficient mechanical integration between the cartilage and the substrate. To address this limitation, a strategy was devised to generate a zone of calcified cartilage at the interface, mimicking the multi-zonal osteochondral architecture in healthy joints. A thin calcium hydroxyapatite film was formed on the surfaces of CPP using organic sol-gel processing method to limit the release of inorganic polyphosphates (polyP), which inhibit mineralization near the interface. Also, sequential seeding of BMSC-derived chondrocytes, in which only the interfacial layer was treated with triiodothyronine, yielded scaffold-free cartilage tissues on coated CPP substrates with distinct hyaline and calcified zones. The interfacial shear strength of constructs with the distinct calcified zone was significantly higher compared to non-calcified control. In vivo studies are warranted to investigate whether the multi-zonal constructs could effectively repair defects in a joint. Generation of anatomically shaped multi-zonal constructs for whole joint replacement are ongoing.
Work Disability Among Injured Workers with Chronic Upper Extremity Disorders: Measurement and Determinants
Keywords: job characteristics
measurement
musculoskeletal health
upper-extremity disorders
work disability
work limitations

Work disability represents an important source of the burden for individuals recovering from a work-related upper-extremity disorder (WRUED). Historically, a small subset of injured workers has shown to experience a prolonged recovery course characterized by poor health and work outcomes, which are associated with high workers' compensation costs. Beyond achieving an initial return-to-work, the sustainability of work (i.e. staying at work) and health-related work limitations (i.e. "on-the-job" problems) are increasingly recognized as relevant concerns in this population. In this thesis, three quantitative studies were conducted to contribute insights to the measurement and determinants of work disability associated with WRUEDs, using survey data gathered from injured workers attending a Workplace Safety Insurance Board Upper-Limb Specialty Clinic in Ontario. Specifically, these studies investigated 1) the factorial validity of the Work Limitations Questionnaire (WLQ-25), 2) the predictive ability of the Upper-Limb Work Instability Scale (UL-WIS) for subsequent transitioning out of work (i.e. poor sustainability of work), and 3) the relationship between the work environment and health-related work limitations, among injured workers with a WRUED. Study findings suggest that: 1) due to a specific area of psychometric underperformance, some adaptations are needed for the WLQ-25 before it is suitable for use; 2) the UL-WIS is an independent predictor of transitioning out of work, although some limitations as a standalone prognostic tool were also revealed; and 3) against initial hypothesis, broad differences in the work environment (based on variations across 12 specific workplace characteristics) did not have significant associations with the extent of health-related work limitations experienced by injured workers with a WRUED. Study findings were discussed in terms of how they advance current understanding on the measurement and determinants of work disability, and potential implications in terms of the assessment and management of work disability among injured workers recovering from a WRUED. Future research directions were also proposed to build on current work.
Controlled Interfaces as Lab-on-a-chip Components
Keywords: Cell culture
in-vitro model
Lab-on-a-Chip
Microfluidics
Micro total analysis
Multiphase flows

This thesis is devoted to the study and application of controlled two-phase interfaces in the context of microfluidic and lab-on-a-chip systems. Spontaneous emergence and presence of unwanted gas-liquid interfaces (i.e. bubbles) in microfluidic devices are often problematic. In this thesis it is shown through experimentation, numerical, and analytical modeling that precisely controlled gas-liquid interfaces may be exploited as effective microfluidic components to perform functions such as valving, sampling and liquid routing within microfluidic devices or even manipulate layers of pulmonary cells to recapitulate alveolar function. Flow control strategies presented in this thesis include the bubble gate for valving and sampling and the bubble pump for liquid routing in microchannels. Flow control and actuation in the devised techniques are done by controlled gas bubbles and therefore, their function is independent of the elasticity of substrate material and requires only a single layer fabrication unlike the majority of available microfluidic flow control techniques. In this thesis, the application of controlled two-phase interfaces is further extended by introduction and characterization of a microfluidic tensiometer that can readily measure interfacial tension between pairs of immiscible fluids both gas-liquid and liquid-liquid. Additionally, it is shown that controlled gas-liquid interfaces within a surface modified capillary plate may be used as cell culture platforms for in vitro modeling of the alveolar epithelium function. In order to do so, it is investigated in this thesis whether pulmonary epithelial cells can be cultured atop a controlled air-liquid interface and form a confluent layer with functional tight junctions that can serve as a model for alveolar epithelium. Finally a number of further extensions and applications for the techniques developed in this thesis are presented in form of preliminary designs and calculation as groundwork for future continuation of this thesis.
Chemoselective Transformation of Amphoteric Aziridine Aldehydes and Alpha-Boryl Aldehydes
Keywords: Aldehyde
Amphoteric
Aziridine
Boron
Catalysis
Synthesis

The development of novel chemical strategies aimed at the synthesis of complex chemical entities comprises a central part of organic chemistry. An important area of this research is the development of reagents and/or building blocks that possess multiple handles with orthogonal reactivity. In this area, amphoteric molecules represent a platform for uncovering novel transformations previously inaccessible with conventional reagents. This thesis reports on the development of chemoselective transformations with amphoteric molecules developed in the Yudin lab. Following the introduction, Chapter 2 describes the development of an aldehyde-amine-alkyne (A3-coupling) reaction. Chapter 3 describes the development of an alkyl-MIDA boronate Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reaction with direct application to the introduction of heterocycles to aryl substrates. The remainder of the thesis concentrates on amphoteric boryl aldehydes and the identification of unusual boron-containing products and intermediates. Chapter 4 describes a method for the synthesis of cyclic-amino boronates and highlights the influence of the MIDA boronate substituent on C-H activation. Chapter 5 delves into the chemoselective enolization of aldehydes to form a C,O-bis enolate. This intermediate was subsequently utilized in a Tsuji-Trost allylic alkylation reaction affording quaternary alkyl boronate products. Finally, Chapter 6 describes the condensation of aldehydes with amines, yielding enamines and enamides. These densely functionalized nitrogen-containing substrates were then applied to the synthesis of boron-containing heterocycles and other biologically relevant products.
A Hot Commodity: Uranium and Containment in the Nuclear State
Keywords: containment
enclosure
nuclear landscapes
political economy
political geography
uranium

Since taking centre stage in the development of the atomic bomb, uranium has been enveloped in practices and discourses of secrecy and (in)security that are material and psychosocial. The physical properties of uranium, notably its radioactivity - invisible and imperceptible to ordinary senses - have been used to justify regimes of secrecy and security. Yet these properties also contribute to a political, material, and corporeal insecurity. Of note, the secrecy and security surrounding uranium, and the accompanying insecurity, did not end with the Cold War. These trappings of uranium have remained evident in the political economy of uranium refining in Canada, yet their repercussions have predominantly manifested at the local scale in the small communities, such as Port Hope, that host Canada's nuclear facilities. In A Hot Commodity: Uranium and Containment in the Nuclear State, I analyze how the state-owned and operated Eldorado uranium refinery protected its own interests in the midst of the discovery that the refinery had contaminated the small town of Port Hope with radioactive waste. I assess how Eldorado strategically drew on its powers and privileges as a federal crown corporation to secure its own political and economic position while foreclosing dissent. In the midst of contestation over the waste, Eldorado undertook strategic measures to ensure its own legitimacy as the cornerstone of Canada's national uranium industry so that the refinery could expand and intensify its operations in Port Hope despite being implicated in contaminating the town. As the uranium refinery was owned and operated as a federal crown corporation between 1944 and 1988, this lens enables a historically grounded analysis of the relationship between the state and civil society, and how uneven power relations are maintained over long periods of time. My analysis of Eldorado shows how the nuclear state is conspicuously local - it was largely built through this one uranium refinery - and in many ways, this process transformed this community into a nuclear landscape characterized by dispossession, insecurity, anxiety, uncertainty, and sacrifice.