VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Sounding Spaces: exploring interactions among space, place, music and identity in a Canadian community choir
Keywords: Canadian music
choral
music
music education
music geography
Newfoundland and Labrador

This dissertation, situated in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, is a musical geography and ethnography of Lady Cove Women’s choir that explores interactions among music, identity, and place. In this study, I consider how choral musicians use music to negotiate individual and collective identities as they interact with material and conceptual spaces of music-making. Participant observation and interviews were used together with conceptual mapping and participant-led tours to explore the kinds of spaces musicians inhabit in the city; their subjective senses of space and place and differences of spatial knowledge and affective responses to space and place. The study enabled participants to connect musical experiences to their material environments and associated identities, memories, emotions and relationships. I use Lefèbvre (1974) and Massey (1992, 2005) to contextualize participant experiences in terms of urban change and in relation to theoretical approaches that highlight the relational nature of space. Like Massey (1994), I frame space and place in terms of social relations to consider questions of accessibility and spatial organization, discussing how spaces are marked by uneven patterns of ideology, power and wealth. Lefèbvre’s theory of space as socially produced and contingent informs my discussion of evolving senses of place in response to urban change, shifting demographics, new economic realities and natural resources. The study revealed several key findings. First, it mapped how musicians move through urban space, revealing how routes are carved into the city over time and demonstrating genre-influenced patterns of visiting and re-visiting material music-making spaces like church buildings and arts centres. Second, analyzing the locations in participant tours illuminated what matters to participants and why, what made certain places distinctive or important for them and how these places changed over time. Finally, the diverse perspectives presented in participant narratives helped to highlight the multiple and relational nature of social space and offered opportunities to explore the ways in which locations of community music are animated by competing, sometimes conflicting discourses and spatial practices.
Making Hammers With Art: The Producer of House and Techno
Keywords: Electronic Dance Music
House Music
Production Practice
Recording Practice
Techno Music

My dissertation examines how producers of house and techno â two electronic dance music (EDM) genresâ negotiate notions of artistry, professionalism, and authorship through their production practice. Producers of house and techno occupy a distinctive position where the success and recognition that their productions receive is dependent on their ability to create tracks (individual recordings) that facilitate DJ performances. As a result, producers simultaneously create tracks and tools, standalone pieces for dedicated listening that double as the functional materials for other musicians. In order to assert their professionalism and artistry producers adopt an experimental production practice centred on sound design. This experimental process requires a mastery of sound technologies and reflects the aesthetic legacies that define what it means to be a producer. A close study of creative practice provides a window into how individuals navigate complicated, and, at times, conflicting notions of what it means to be a professional artist. The first half of my dissertation is concerned with the context that informs production practice. Beginning with a discussion of the musical characteristics of house and techno, I provide a primer for those uninitiated in the intertwined histories and styles of these two important genres. This is followed by a discussion of German modernism, disco, and afro-futurism, which are identified as the chief aesthetics legacies that shape house and techno production. I then consider the material conditions and challenges producers face as working musicians. Drawing from in-studio fieldwork conducted in Berlin and Toronto, the latter half of my dissertation explores production practice through an examination of sound design that includes a discussion of synthesis, sampling, sequencing, mixing, and automation. I conclude that the producerâ s experimental production practice, which relies on the utility of experimentation to yield artistic and functional tracks, is what allows them to assert their nuanced professional identity.
Many Shades of REDD: Explaining Variation in the Adoption and Adaptation of the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) Mechanism in Latin America
Keywords: Carbon Markets
Climate Change Negotiations
Global Governance
Political Opportunity Structure
REDD+
UNFCCC

REDD is a multilateral, incentive-based mechanism through which developed states finance avoided deforestation activities in developing states in exchange for tradable carbon emission reduction credits. Developing statesâ responses to REDD range from strong opposition to enthusiastic support, even amongst states with similar incentive structures. This suggests a disjuncture between the logic of incentives and the complex range of domestic factors impacting whether and how states choose to understand and participate in voluntary but centrally coordinated international policy innovations such as REDD. Drawing on insights from policy diffusion, global governance, international pathways and social movements literatures, this work proposes a dynamic analytical framework which sees statesâ adoption and adaptation of REDD as flowing from differences in the nature of the domestic political opportunity structure (POS). This POS explains whether (under what conditions) and how (via what mechanisms or pathways of influence) states come to internationally adopt and domestically adapt voluntary but centrally coordinated international policy innovations. Drawing on fieldwork conducted in Bolivia and Peru in 2015, this comparative analysis demonstrates how particular combinations of ideational and institutional POS shaped policy decisions pertaining to REDD at various policy junctures in each case by determining which actors would have access to policy processes, as well as what ideas would be salient therein. It also demonstrates the ways in which REDD policy-making can become embedded in broader webs of domestic power and politics, resulting in domestic adaptations of REDD that are ancillary, and potentially even antithetical, to the mainstream conceptualization of REDD as a market-based mechanism designed to reduce emissions from deforestation.
Fit for Food: "Eating Jewishly" and the "Islamic Paradigm" as Emergent Religious Foodways in Toronto
Keywords: Anthropology of Religion
Food and identity
Foodways
Islam
Judaism
Religion and environment

Abstract This project is about Jews and Muslims who participate in the food movement in Toronto, about how and why they do, and about what challenges and opportunities this presents to contemporary understandings of kashrut and halal as religious dietary laws. In early twenty-first century Canada, food is a site where consumer ethics and religious diversity intersect. The two groups I focus on are Shoresh Jewish Environmental Programs, a charitable organization running Jewish environmental practices at multiple satellite sites, and Noor Islamic Cultural Centre, a mosque where community members gather regularly for religious ritual and political and cultural events. Both are intentionally non-sectarian religious communities that invite pan-Jewish or pan-Muslim participation, have norms viewed as progressive by the wider religious community, and run considerable food-related programming that actively connects religion with alternative foodways. Both advocate for more “conscious” food practices, including local, organic, sustainable, humane, and social-justice-oriented food choices. They develop religious foodways that are, on the one hand, fundamentally connected to traditional religious food law, and on the other hand, significant departures from typical understandings of kashrut and halal. The foodways that emerge in this milieu are “eating Jewishly,” in relation to kashrut, and an “Islamic paradigm” for eating, in relation to halal. The aim of this comparative project is to show how religious communities do the work of constructing religion through material practices at once economic and symbolic. Drawing on anthropological fieldwork conducted with Noor and Shoresh from 2012 to 2015, I show how both organizations develop their religious foodways: as ethical interventions, as means of invigorating community, and as means for resisting industrialized orthodoxies. People at Noor and Shoresh bring religious life to bear on public lives, tying together social justice, environmentalism, and eating in a practice for recalibrating market values. Constructing religion as a domain of practical ethics, participants at Noor and Shoresh draw on religion for resources to develop emergent religious foodways that cut across and re-inscribe boundaries between insider and outsider, moral value and market value, and even Muslim and Jew.
Assessments of Dietary Intakes of Canadian Armed Forces Consuming Field Rations
Keywords: dietary assessments
energy intake
military

Military personnel frequently encounter metabolically challenging training or deployment conditions and are known to not eat enough during these field operations. Such conditions also make it challenging to collect accurate dietary intake data using traditional dietary assessment methods. The specific objectives of this thesis were to assess energy and nutrient intakes of a convenience sample of CAF personnel consuming: 1a) home diets and; 1b) ad libitum field rations at home; 2) ad libitum field rations under different temperature conditions with strenuous activities vs. sedentary in a laboratory setting; and 3) field rations during a 5-day winter weather field exercise. Additionally, 4) a mobile tablet application for dietary assessment of military personnel was evaluated. Energy intakes were similar between home diets and from ad libitum consumption of field rations at home but CAF participantsâ had less than recommended intakes of some micronutrients. In a temperature and humidity-controlled chamber with simulated military-type tasks, energy intakes were similar between treatments of varying temperatures with strenuous physical activity in comparison with the sedentary treatment. Energy consumption did not increase during the rest of the day upon completion of the treatments. During the winter weather field exercise, participants had insufficient energy intakes in relation to their measured energy expenditures, resulting in a significant weight loss. An electronic tablet application was found to be a valid method of assessing dietary intakes from field rations. Overall, this thesis characterized home diets of a sample of CAF personnel and demonstrated that reduced energy intake is not due to ration palatability, time to prepare or eat the food in an acute setting. Using the best available dietary assessment methodologies, this thesis demonstrated that energy intakes did not increase in harsh environmental temperatures with strenuous physical activities even with ample time to eat and food prepared on request and showed that during a winter weather field exercise, participants exhibited â voluntary anorexiaâ (under-consumption of food) and weight loss, which has implications for potential impairments in performance and health of CAF personnel during longer duration deployments. Additionally, the use of mobile technology enables accurate dietary intake assessments of military personnel.
A Systems Analysis and Operations Research Approach to Optimizing Health Technology Allocation for Low-income Countries: The case of medical oxygen for childhood pneumonia in The Gambia
Keywords: developing countries
discrete-event simulation
genetic algorithm
health technology planning
medical oxygen
operations research

Medical oxygen is essential for treating childhood pneumonia - the leading cause of death in children under five worldwide. Unfortunately, oxygen is not widely available in many low-resource settings due to challenges such as cost, supply logistics, variability in oxygen demand, poor electricity supply, lack of trained staff, and inadequate maintenance capacity. Currently, no systematic approaches exist to help health systems plan appropriate oxygen supply systems that cost-effectively meet the needs of health facilities given these complex challenges. This thesis presents a novel operations research (OR) approach to medical oxygen technology planning in low-resource settings. A decision-support model â OxOpt â was developed to identify the optimal combination of technologies that will meet the needs of health facilities facing resource constraints. The model applies a unique combination of simulation and optimization approaches never before combined to address a global health resource allocation problem. A discrete-event simulation model simulates health facility-level activities such as clinical demand for oxygen, power interruptions and equipment breakdowns, using primary and secondary data collected specifically for this context. A genetic algorithm-based optimization model identifies optimal technology strategies that will satisfy simulated oxygen needs. The model takes into account seasonal variability in oxygen demand, alternative energy options, and the costs of technology, energy and training. It also estimates the number of patients treated and lives saved as a result of recommended solutions. The design of the OxOpt model is informed by several important analyses. A study of oxygen concentrator maintenance histories contributes previously lacking data on long-term functionality in a low-resource setting, providing insight into the cost of parts, expected lifespans, frequency of failures and technician training needs. Based on an analysis of alternative energy sources, a decision-tree was developed to guide decisions about appropriate energy choices given system costs and grid electricity availability. OxOpt functionality is demonstrated for the case of The Gambia, through scenarios exploring healthcare equity in resource allocation, climate change, and changes in technology. An OR approach to oxygen planning, which can be applied more broadly to other health technologies, can improve the efficient use of limited resources and identify cost-effective solutions that save lives.
Utilizing the Social Norms Theory for Mitigating Teen Driver Distraction
Keywords: Distracted driving
Driver feedback
Driving simulator
Social norms
Teen drivers

Driver distraction contributes significantly to teensâ crash risks. Parents and peers are important social referents for teens, that significantly influence their driving behaviours, including distracted driving. There has been a growing interest in using interventions based on the Social Norms Theory to change negative behaviours. According to this theory, individuals choose to engage in a particular behaviour based on their perceptions of othersâ behaviour/approval. The overestimation of the prevalence/permissiveness of negative behaviours is common and can lead to increased engagement in those behaviours. Social norms interventions aim to correct these overestimations and thereby reduce negative behaviours by providing accurate normative information. These interventions have been successfully applied in various domains; however, they are yet to be explored for teen driver distraction. This dissertation addresses this gap by investigating the social norms underlying teen distracted driving and the efficacy of social norms interventions to mitigate teen driver distractions. The role of social norms in teen driver distraction engagement and the existence of normative misperceptions among teens were examined through a survey study. In addition, two driving simulator experiments investigated the effectiveness of social norms interventions incorporating parental and peer norms. The survey study revealed that teens may hold misperceptions for driver distraction, and that teen perceptions of parent and peer norms are predictive of their self-reported distraction engagement. These findings support the evaluation of social norms interventions to correct misperceived norms to mitigate distractions. The driving simulator experiments showed that social norms interventions based on parent and peer (both same- and opposite-gender) norms are promising for mitigating teen distractions. Both interventions reduced distraction engagement and improved driving performance, and were well accepted by teens. Overall, this dissertation contributes to the body of literature on distraction-related norms among teen drivers and the application of social norms interventions for mitigating teen driver distractions.
The Complexities of ‘Shame’: An Exploration of Human Connection
Keywords: emotions
gender
norms
psychoanalysis
shame
women

This dissertation is about one of the most controversial emotions: shame. The foundational question is: What constitutes the experience of shame as both an emotion and a dynamic of power, with an emphasis on women’s gender roles? The topic is inspired by my lived experience. Expressions of my narratives and those of others are integral to this work. The discussion begins with an overview of the history of ideas on emotions and shame. Shame was considered more important than other emotions because of its evaluative cognitive dimension. The overview highlights the continuum of inherited scholarly and culturally based gender stereotypes. Through exploring current interdisciplinary scholarly research on shame, a common theme emerged: the irrevocable presence of the ‘other’ in the shame experience. Discussions around this theme led to two basic principles: 1) the individual and the social are deeply intertwined, 2) shame is a declaration of one’s interest, need to belong, and love. The discussions show the significance of our connection with others initiated through various expressions: telling one’s story, art, and writing. When one’s expressions are not aligned with social norms, we are often shamed and alienated. This is shame’s painful and controlling power. However, I argue that acknowledging shame’s pain can instigate critical thinking about our roles within existing social structures. shame’s productive face allows us to reflect on our ideals in relation to whom and what we love, what interests us, and where we belong. My conclusion highlights the intriguing complexity of shame’s two faces: the controlling and the productive. One negates and excludes; the other motivates critical self-reflection. I end with the implications of my work for education. I discuss the importance of: 1) lived experiences, 2) culturally relevant narratives, 3) emotional learning, 4) recognizing the shame embedded in refugees’ experiences, and 5) in grading systems.
The Determinants of Discretionary Front-of-Package Food Labelling
Keywords: Canada
Food policy
Front-of-package labelling
Nutrition marketing
Processed foods

The Determinants of Discretionary Front-of-Package Food Labelling Anthea Christoforou Doctor of Philosophy Department of Nutritional Sciences University of Toronto 2017 ABSTRACT Front-of-package (FOP) nutrition labelling is pervasive in Canada and occurs at the discretion of manufacturers. While there is evidence to suggest FOP labelling can impact product sales, other work has consistently demonstrated no association between the presence of a FOP reference and the nutritional quality of a product. A comprehensive examination of how manufacturers choose to engage in FOP labelling is needed to better understand the implications of this practice for consumers. Drawing on a survey of packaged foods sold in national chain retailers in Toronto the aims of this thesis were 1) to examine how the presence and nature of FOP references relate to a) level of food processing, b) product innovation (focusing on products designed as substitutes for traditional foods), and c) brand; and 2) to assess the nature of unregulated references through a systematic comparison of these references to nutrition labelling regulations. FOP nutrition references were more likely to appear on highly processed products, innovative foods and products manufactured by transnational brands, but they were less frequently displayed on products targeted to discount shoppers. A more in-depth examination of the nature of FOP material revealed a greater propensity for references highlighting ‘nutrients to limit’ (e.g., ‘trans fat free’, ‘low in sodium’) amongst highly processed products and those of transnational brands whereas innovative foods displayed a greater proportion of references which relayed information of ‘positive’ constituents (e.g., ‘good source of calcium’). Transnational brand products were more likely than other products to bear unregulated ‘natural’ references and less likely to display regulated ‘organic’ labels, potentially signalling their need to circumvent regulatory requirements that would vary across markets. Nearly a quarter of products surveyed bore unregulated nutrition references, and most of these relayed information for which regulated options exist. Taken together, the strategic distribution of FOP references observed on highly processed products, innovative products and those manufactured by transnational brands, and the myriad of unregulated text found on these products, suggest FOP labelling functions primarily as a marketing tool and point to the need for a more effective regulatory framework for nutrition communication to better support healthy food selection.
Analytical Modeling of Write Amplification for Garbage Collection in Solid-State Drives
Keywords: Analytical model
Garbage collection
Solid State Drive
Write amplification

Recent breakthroughs in NAND flash technology have made solid state drive (SSD) a viable storage device for data centers. While offering remarkable enhancement on density, reliability, speed against hard disk drives, every SSD can only sustain a limited number of writes, or its write budget. To prolong SSD lifespan, minimizing write amplification factor, a metric for the garbage collection (GC) algorithm overhead that unproductively consumes the write budget, becomes a central problem in the flash management software stack known as the flash translation layer (FTL). Unfortunately, prior works on the analytical modeling of write amplification tend to fall short of the promises of offering more design insights than simulations, either due to their complexity, or over-simplification of user write traffic. Towards the goal of finding more realistic models, this thesis discovers that practically enterprise workloads are not only skewed, but also following the Zipfâ s law. Leveraging this, we present, by rigorous probabilistic analysis, the first, highly accurate algebraic and closed-form solutions for predicting the write amplification factor for the greedy selection algorithm, known to approximate real world algorithms well, under skewed write traffic. The prediction errors against simulations are shown to be within 4%. Furthermore, we demonstrate, as a surprising corollary, that the write amplification under Zipfian write is analytically bounded. In parallel, we use the mean field analysis method and show that even under a multi-tier workload model, where uniform write is assumed within a tier, the system dynamics can be captured by a system of ordinary differential equations (ODEs), and hence the write amplification for the d-Choice scheme can be predicted, within 4% errors against simulation. We further propose a simpler system of algebraic equations for predicting steady-state write amplification under uniform traffic. We show that such a model retains predictive precision, while offering an average of 35% analysis running time reduction from ODE models.