VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Individual and Collective Learning in Community-based Planning Groups in Mimico, Canada
Keywords: Adult Education
Community Planning
Cultural Historical Activity Theory
Individual and Collective Learning
Social Movement Learning
Sociocultural Learning

This qualitative study examines individual and collective learning amongst participants of three community-based planning groups in Mimico, part of the City of Toronto, Canada: the Ward 6 Community Action Team (Ward 6 CAT), the Lakeshore Planning Council (LPC), and the Mimico Lakeshore Network (MLN). Twenty-three interviews conducted with participants of these groups, analyzed and coded, informed my selection of data and focus on the key themes explored. Two major questions guided the research: (a) How are learning and human development implicated in community-based networks and coalitions, individually and collectively, in and through people’s participation? And (b) What forms of learning are particular to the process of coalition and network work as people engage with one another and one another’s groups, and learn about their commonalities and differences and engage in collaboration, negotiation, and (sometimes) dissipation and disassociation? This study contributes to the small but growing field of social movement learning, whose scholars have applied cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT) to an analysis of informal learning amongst individuals active in community organizations. Key concepts within the CHAT framework, such as artifact mediation, contradiction, and activity systems, are explored. Two interviewees and myself as participant observer informed my analysis of the internal dynamics of MLN, which are examined through its relationship with Ward 6 CAT and through LPC’s departure from the network. Members of MLN engaged in a form of collective learning as they continued to work together as a group unto themselves. They remained united despite LPC’s departure from the network. Detailed accounts of two other interviewees provide a deeper look into the social dynamics of learning for individuals within collective activity systems and the collective activity systems themselves. Both interviewees provide excellent examples of community activists who engaged in individual and collective learning as part of their participation in their respective community-based groups. Their learning experiences were connected to their experience and expression of emotion, as well as contradictions within the activity system of the City of Toronto and in the activity systems of the community-based groups they worked with.
Physical Activity Participation among Adolescent Boys with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Keywords: autism spectrum disorder
Norbert Elias
physical activity
qualitative research

The purpose of this dissertation was to examine the physical activity (PA) participation of adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as they are reported to be less active than their age-related peers. Driven by Norbert Elias’ Figurational Sociology, this study explored the lives and perspectives of a group of adolescent boys with ASD, and examined how their PA participation was mediated by wider social, cultural, institutional norms, values, and beliefs (socio-cultural processes). The objective was to understand how the identified socio-cultural processes interacted with bio-physical and psycho-behavioural processes to enhance, shape, and curtail their participation. A critical qualitative study using a multi-method design was used where 10 adolescent boys with ASD participated in two face-to-face interviews, and each created a digital story. Findings of this study make three substantive contributions to the literature on PA participation. First, data generated with participants added novel, rich, and in-depth descriptions of PA participation, and preliminary insights into the daily lives of adolescents with ASD. Second, in examining the daily lives of participants, findings highlight that PA was not merely a behaviour determined at the level of the individual. The analysis illuminated how PA was shaped by wider social values, norms and assumptions about ASD, and by practices, and interactions within particular PA spaces. These socio-cultural processes in turn influenced the (conscious and unconscious) choices and preferences made by participants in their particular social contexts, and shaped their habitus toward PA (dis)engagement. Finally, socio-cultural processes do not exist, or function in isolation. Rather, the study demonstrated how the interaction of bio-physical, psycho-behavioural, and socio-cultural processes interact to enhance, shape and curtail PA participation in numerous ways. These findings illuminate the complexity of PA participation, add nuance to the understanding of (in)activity, and highlight the need to consider these interdependent relationships when studying, conceptualizing and developing PA programs, opportunities, and interventions.
Development of Mono-de-N-acetylated β-(1→6)-N-acetyl-D-glucosamine Substrates for Characterization of PgaB Hydrolase Activity
Keywords: Biofilms
Biological chemistry
Carbohydrate chemistry
Exopolysaccharides
Glycobiology
Oligosaccharide synthesis

Many bacteria form biofilms, surface-attached communities embedded in an extracellular matrix, as a means for survival. The production of the partially de-N-acetylated poly-β-(1→6)-N-acetyl-D-glucosamine (dPNAG) exopolysaccharide is required for biofilm formation in many clinically relevant bacteria. The PgaABCD biosynthetic machinery is responsible for the synthesis and export of dPNAG in Gram-negative bacteria. PgaB is a two-domain periplasmic protein that processes PNAG prior to its export to the extracellular space. ΔpgaB strains have an impaired biofilm-forming phenotype, making PgaB a potential therapeutic target. The N-terminal domain of PgaB is a family 4 carbohydrate esterase that partially de-N-acetylates PNAG. The C-terminal domain is a family 153 glycoside hydrolase whose role in vivo is not fully understood. This domain can degrade dPNAG-based biofilms, demonstrating the potential for the enzyme to be used as a therapeutic treatment for biofilm-mediated infections. It is known that the PgaB C-terminal domain is active on dPNAG, but further characterization of the enzyme’s activity, substrate specificity, and mechanism of hydrolysis has been hampered by a lack of pure mono-de-N-acetylated β-(1→6)-N-acetyl-D-glucosamine (GlcNAc) oligosaccharides to be used as substrates. This thesis describes the synthesis of defined mono-de-N-acetylated β-(1→6)-GlcNAc penta- and hepta-saccharides by using a convergent synthetic method and a multistep selective deprotection. These synthetic oligosaccharides were validated as Bordetella bronchiseptica PgaB C-terminal domain substrates through the development of a fluorescence-based thin-layer chromatography (TLC) assay. Mass spectrometry experiments and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy analysis provided further insights into the requirements for substrate recognition and mechanism of hydrolysis. These results are consistent with the previously reported observations that the site of de-N-acetylation drives the selectivity of hydrolysis by PgaB.
Exploring Prevalence and Management of Anxiety in Children and Adolescents with Cancer or Undergoing Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation
Keywords: Adolescents
Anxiety
Cancer
Children
Guidelines
Mental health

Cure rates for childhood cancer are on the rise, and with these improvements, focus has expanded from treatment of disease to improvement of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) for children and adolescents with cancer. Anxiety is one symptom that can be a normal response for children and adolescents diagnosed with cancer, but if prolonged or leading to excessive distress, anxiety can negatively impact an individual’s psychosocial well-being. As focus shifts towards improvement of quality of life (QoL), researchers and clinicians require a better understanding of how anxiety is experienced and managed in this population. The overall objectives of this dissertation were to identify and describe instruments for measurement of anxiety in children and adolescents with cancer or undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), to estimate the burden of anxiety and to describe guideline recommendations for assessing and managing anxiety in this population. The three papers comprising this dissertation established several key findings, including: (1) identification of 4 instruments (3 multi-item, 1 single-item) for assessing anxiety that are reliable and valid among paediatric cancer or HSCT patients and thus may be used for measurement of anxiety in this population; (2) between 13.0% and 28.6% of children and adolescents meet or exceed thresholds for severe anxiety depending on the anxiety measurement instrument used, and thus careful consideration should be given to the instrument selected for measurement to ensure it accurately measures the anxiety construct of interest; and (3) guidelines used by clinicians to manage cancer provide little to no guidance on assessing or managing anxiety in this population. Overall, given the inconsistency in measurement of anxiety by available instruments, along with a lack of guidelines, further research is needed to develop and implement instruments and processes that address anxiety in this population, which may improve HRQoL. This research has also established the groundwork for a program of research focused on standardized screening and intervention practices, implementation of said practices and evaluation of intervention effectiveness for anxiety in children with cancer and children who have undergone HSCT.
The Role of the Insulin-like Growth Factor-1 Receptor in Intestinal Microvillus Structure and Lipid Handling, and its Requirement in Glucagon-like Peptide-2 Signaling and a Western Diet
Keywords: GLP-2
IGF-1 receptor
Intestine
Lipid absorption
Microvillus

Microvilli are the small structures that contain digestive enzymes and transporters, allowing the small intestine to carry out the digestion and absorption of dietary nutrients. Exogenous administration of degradation-resistant glucagon-like peptide-2 (GLP-2) has shown to enhance this function of the small intestine in several ways, two of which include increasing microvillus length as well as increasing enterocyte chylomicron synthesis and secretion. However, GLP-2 requires downstream mediators to elicit its effects. It is not known if the intestinal epithelial insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor (IE-IGF-1R) , a proven mediator for other known effects of GLP-2, is also required for the GLP-2-induced increases in microvillus length and enterocyte lipid handling. Furthermore, the role of the IE-IGF-1R itself within the gut is poorly understood. Therefore, this work sought to understand the role of IE-IGF-1R in microvillus length, both basally and under GLP-2 treatment conditions. In addition, the requirement of the receptor in lipid handling, both basally and during a Western diet were also investigated. Using intestinal epithelial-specific, inducible IE-IGF-1R knockout (KO) animals, it was found that GLP-2 increases microvillus length in an IE-IGF-1R-dependent manner, potentially through the up-regulation of villin. Furthermore, the receptor has an endogenous role in regulating microvillus length, as KO animals presented with shorter microvilli. The IE-IGF-1R was important in enterocyte lipid handling during a western diet, as these animals had increased plasma triglycerides, as well as elevated C14 labeled triolein levels in their plasma and jejunal mucosa. Furthermore, the KO animals did not have cluster of differentiation 36 (CD36) localized to the brush border, as well as failed to increase microsomal triglyceride transfer protein (MTP) and decrease apolipoprotein C3 (APOC3). Overall, it was found that the endogenous role of the IE-IGF-1R was important for microvillus length regulation. More importantly, it was found that the receptor was required for the GLP-2 -induced increase in microvillus length, as well as enterocyte lipid handling under a western diet. This work expands our knowledge of the receptor's role within the small intestine, as well as deepen our understanding of the mechanism of action of GLP-2.
A Critical Study of Canadian Intercountry Adoption Law: Canada’s International Legal Obligations, the Best Interests of the Child Principle, and Family Reunification
Keywords: Adoption
Family
Immigration
Intercountry
Migration
Sponsorship

This thesis critically examines Canadian intercountry adoption law in light of international children’s rights commitments, the best interests of the child framework, and the principle of family reunification. Relying on theories that immigration and citizenship are tools and objects of social closure, this thesis will explore how immigration and citizenship programs are used by the state to reproduce ideal citizens and families to support the nation-building project. This thesis will review the history of adoption and child migration in Canada, explore critiques of intercountry adoption, and consider the non-legal factors that impact the practice. It will then critically consider the Hague Adoption Convention and the legislative, policy, and common-law framework for intercountry adoption in Canada. To conclude, this thesis will recommend areas that would benefit from future study, in order to better safeguard the best interests of the child and promote family reunification.
Adolescent Offending: How Growing Up Disadvantaged Matters Across Immigrant Generations
Keywords: Adolescent offending
Immigrant generations
Socio-economic disadvantage

Poverty and disadvantage are typically associated with a variety of social problems, including adolescent offending. While poverty and disadvantage tend to increase adolescent offending, this does not appear true among foreign-born populations. Indeed, the foreign-born are less involved in offending than the native-born suggesting disadvantage is not a predictor of their offending. Although disadvantage may not be a direct cause of the foreign-born’s adolescent offending, this dissertation argues it may be consequential in previously unconsidered ways. This dissertation uses longitudinal data to examine two roles disadvantage may play in adolescent offending aside from a direct predictor – (1) an indirect cause mediated by more immediate causes of offending and (2) a moderator of the more immediate causes of offending. The overarching purpose of this dissertation, therefore, is to investigate how disadvantage affects adolescent offending across immigrant generations. Structural equation modeling assesses these two potential roles. Findings from the first two papers suggest different forms of disadvantage have distinct indirect consequences and those consequences vary by immigrant status (i.e., foreign born or native born) and by type of offending (i.e., violence or substance use). Results from the third paper indicate that residing in a disadvantaged neighbourhood changes the effects of some predictors on offending in distinct ways depending on immigrant generation (i.e., first, second, and third-plus generation). Taken together, this research demonstrates that disadvantage is, indeed, implicated in foreign-born adolescents’ offending as an indirect cause and as a moderator of the more immediate causes of offending. This research establishes that the ways in which disadvantage operates in these two roles varies by immigrant status, immigrant generation, and type of offending behaviour. The dissertation, therefore, offers insight into how disadvantage impacts adolescent offending across immigrant generations. As a whole, this dissertation demonstrates both the relevance of disadvantage for understanding offending and the heterogeneity of its consequences. This research challenges assumptions that all forms of disadvantage simply increase adolescent offending in a uniform and singular way.
SExT: Sex Education by Theatre - Theatre as a Pedagogical Tool for Sexual Health e\Education in a Newcomer Priority Neighbourhood
Keywords: arts-based
newcomer
pedagogy
sexual health
theatre
youth

Background: Despite rising rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and inequitable access to sexual health education and services, few studies have addressed the unique sex education needs of newcomer youth in an increasingly demographically diverse Canada. This study involved the design, implementation, and evaluation of a novel and innovative participatory action research project, Sex Education by Theatre (SExT). SExT is a theatre-based, culturally-relevant, peer education intervention piloted in a multicultural immigration destination of Toronto. Methods: Youth were trained as peer educators (n=19) through participation in theatre-based workshops, designed with youth input. Peer educators devised and performed a play for their peers on sexual health topics. A mixed methods evaluation consisting of surveys, focus groups, peer interviews, and arts-based data collection was applied within a realist evaluation framework to examine intervention effects. Paired-samples t-tests were conducted to investigate changes in sexual health self-efficacy (protection; STI/HIV testing; sexual limit-setting) and personal/social development outcomes (personal growth; social inclusion; social engagement) over three time-points (pre-intervention; post-intervention; 4-month follow-up). Thematic analysis was used to gain a deeper understanding of outcomes and context and to identify the specific mechanisms leading to intervention effects. Results: Quantitative and qualitative data indicated increased sexual health self-efficacy and improved personal/social development among peer educators after participating in SExT. Paired-sample t-tests demonstrated significant improvements on outcome measures from pre- to post-intervention that were maintained at follow-up. Qualitative analysis identified five theatre pedagogy mechanisms (pleasure; creative engagement; personal relevance; role-play and embodiment; vicarious role-play and modelling). Context-Mechanism-Outcome configurations were developed. Conclusion: Pilot study findings demonstrate the potential of a theatre-based, culturally empowering, peer education intervention to positively contribute to the sexual health and personal/social development of newcomer youth. The identification of specific mechanisms through which individual and structural barriers to sexual health were overcome may inform future interventions in diverse contexts.
Using Machine Learning to Predict Children’s Reading Comprehension from Lexical and Syntactic Features Extracted from Spoken and Written Language
Keywords: Grammar
Machine learning
Natural language processing
Oral language
Reading comprehension
Vocabulary

Advances in natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning (ML) have introduced exciting prospects to educational research and practice. These technologies are poised to contribute to a deeper understanding of the linguistic and cognitive processes associated with successful reading comprehension, which is a critical aspect of children’s educational success. In this thesis, I used ML to investigate and compare associations between children’s reading comprehension and 260 linguistic features extracted through NLP from their speech and writing. Spoken and written language samples were gathered from 172 linguistically diverse children in Grades 4-6 using Talk2Me, Jr., an online language and literacy assessment platform. Lexical and syntactic linguistic features were extracted via a consolidated NLP pipeline. For the first research question, I compared eight supervised ML models predicting reading comprehension from the linguistic features, and then, using the best model, analyzed the 20 top predicting features. For the second question, I checked for differential functioning by examining interactions between top predictors and language-related demographics in predicting reading comprehension. For the third question, I used unsupervised ML to examine the latent factors constituting the linguistic features and explored how these factors predict reading comprehension differently from the ML models in the first research question. All three parts of the study were performed across four datasets: speech- and writing-elicited linguistic features, for both older/more skilled and younger/less skilled readers. The study contributes to the literature by concluding that suggest a substantial amount of variance in children’s reading comprehension can be predicted by productive grammar and vocabulary. A broad implication is that features of both spoken and written language features correlate with successful reading comprehension, but relationships differ whether individual features or multi-feature factors are used, and whether the data pertain to older/more skilled or younger/less skilled readers. There is evidence that some linguistic features may interact with language-related demographics in predicting reading comprehension, suggesting the need for further research. The study highlights how NLP and ML can enable nuanced examination of the language processes associated with reading comprehension and support innovations in language and literacy research and practice, but also that limitations exist and must be considered.
Model Re-framings: Asian Canadian Racial Pedagogies and Political Affects
Keywords: Affect
Asian Canadian
Canada
Cultural Studies
Multiculturalism
Race

This dissertation is a collection of criticism about race, cultural politics and affect in Canada. It specifically examines the lives and work of four Asian Canadian artists: Filipina director Nina Lee Aquino; Chinese filmmaker Richard Fung; Japanese writer Terry Watada; and Sri Lankan poet Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha. Drawing from the feminist sociologies of Himani Bannerji and Arlie Hochschild, it argues that the pedagogical examples these four artists provide are “model re-framings”—cultural work that challenges pre-existing ideas about social difference, affect and community formation as structured by state-led Canadian multiculturalism.
A Genesis of Jewishness: Collective Memory, Identity Work, and Ethnic Boundary Making among Jews in Toronto
Keywords: Collective Memory
Ethnic Boundaries
Jews
Toronto

Recent decades have seen exceptional growth in research investigating the social, political, and cultural lives of Jews in Canada, and for good reason. The Jewish experience in Canada is one that is often characterized as achieving the goals of multiculturalism, that is, retaining a rich and meaningful ethnic and cultural identity while integrating into the political and economic mainstream. Yet, absent from much of the work done on Jewish life in Canada is research into how Jews make sense of their Jewishness in a multicultural context. In this dissertation, I examine the group-making projects of Jews in Toronto by analyzing how collective memory informs what it means to be Jewish and how it is mobilized in the production and maintenance of ethnic boundaries. This dissertation is comprised of three interrelated studies that explore significant aspects of contemporary Jewish life in Canada, namely organizational participation, residential patterns, and the boundaries of Jewish otherness. Data come from qualitative interviews with Jews living in Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area who approximate the diversity of Toronto’s Jewish population and identify with a range of Jewish denominations, including no affiliation at all, and express their commitment to Jewish principles and practices in various ways. In the first study, I consider overnight Jewish summer camps as an important site for the production of ethnic boundaries in the Jewish community and explore the boundary work of camp participants. In the second study, I examine Jewish residential patterns in Toronto and identify four collective memory schemas which serve as prominent scripts that shape the Jewish residential landscape in Toronto. In the third study, I attend directly to the issue of Jewish otherness and examine how a fragmented collective memory around the Holocaust and State of Israel delineate boundaries of inclusion and separateness.