VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Digitisation, Dissemintation, and Reception of Percussion Performance: Evaluating YouTube Videos of John Cage's Third Construction Through Analysis and Case Studies
Keywords: audiovisual recordings
music education
music performance
percussion performance
performance analysis
YouTube

This dissertation investigates the digitisation, dissemination, and reception of percussion performance on YouTube. It examines three questions: 1) How has YouTube impacted the percussion field? 2) What are the available audiovisual recordings of John Cage’s Third Construction (1941) on YouTube and would analysing them illustrate consistencies and divergences in the performance practice of the work? 3) How would undergraduate percussionists who have never performed Third Construction evaluate selected performance videos of the work? Would their opinions on performance quality or accuracy of interpretation change if they watched these videos under differing conditions (e.g., with and without the musical score)? Chapter 2 describes academic research on the topic of YouTube, and summarizes the current video content pertinent to percussionists. Despite a well-established and thriving percussive subculture on the site, discussing YouTube as educational resource has not been substantially addressed within music performance scholarship. Chapter 3 presents a corpus study on performance videos of John Cage’s Third Construction (1941). In addition to outlining the processes of navigating, collecting, and analyzing data on a dynamic, digital environment, this corpus study presents qualitative and quantitative data on how percussionists have chosen to interpret Cage’s quartet. Chapter 4 presents the findings from a case study conducted on nine undergraduate percussionists. The participants were first asked questions about their uses of YouTube in a precursory survey. Participants then examined five excerpts of YouTube videos of Third Construction under two differing conditions: first, by simply watching them and; second, by following along with the musical score. Each viewing condition included questionnaires that solicited their opinions of the video excerpts. Chapter 5 summarizes the research findings. Despite the wealth of concerns to be had about the world’s largest tech corporations (e.g., data privacy, cyber security, censorship, anti-trust/monopolization), online videos of music performance present opportunities for future generations of scholars, educators, and students. Rather than seeking to reconcile the concerns with and benefits of these digital experiences, the author advocates that they should become a greater part of the discussions held within academic environments.
Focusing Ultrasound to the Vertebral Canal
Keywords: Beamforming
Focused Ultrasound
Phased Array
Simulation
Spine
Vertebrae

The blood spinal cord barrier (BSCB) and blood brain barrier (BBB) are semi-permeable barriers separating the spinal cord and brain vasculature from the parenchyma. Focused ultrasound can transiently open the BBB to improve therapeutic agent delivery to the brain. The extension of this technique to the human BSCB may similarly improve targeted therapies to the spinal cord. However, focusing ultrasound to the spinal cord is difficult because it is encased in the spine, which consists of stacked, irregularly shaped vertebrae that distort the intended foci. This thesis aimed to develop a spine-specific ultrasound array and simulation-based aberration correction method to generate a controlled focus in the intact vertebral canal. A spine-specific formulation of a multi-layered ray acoustics model was developed, and its accuracy characterized through comparison with set of 90 field measurements produced with a spherically focused 514kHz transducer. This model predicted maximum pressure locations and weighted focal volume locations with an accuracy of 2.3mm and 1.5mm respectively. The ray acoustics model was then used to optimize a vertebra-specific density (rho) - speed of sound (cL) function to maximize the model accuracy in calculating vertebra-induced time delays. A linear model was optimized in this work, cL(rho) = 0.35(rho - rho_w) + cL_w (w denotes water), which was able to reproduce the vertebra-induced delays with an accuracy of lambda/16, where lambda is the wavelength. The ray acoustics model was used to optimize the design of a spine-specific ultrasound phased array for maximum efficiency in focusing ultrasound through the posterior elements of the spine. The optimized array had four quadrants, two 64-element arrays for focusing ultrasound through the vertebra laminae, and two 64-element arrays for focusing ultrasound through the paravertebral spaces. One array quadrant was built and used to demonstrate transspine beamforming with geometric delays, hydrophone-based delays, and delays calculated with the ray acoustics model. The ray acoustics delays outperformed the geometric delays, but not the hydrophone-based delays. Demonstrating the feasibility of ultrasound array-based focusing through the spine is a critical step to advancing ultrasound treatments of the spinal cord.
Nursing Students’ Self-efficacy to Care for Older Adults in Acute Care Settings in Ghana: A Mixed Method Study
Keywords: Gerontological nursing
Instrument adaptation
Knowledge
Nursing students
Older adults
Self-efficacy

Self-efficacy has been reported to serve as a motivator for goal achievement and to impact care quality and career development choices. Understanding nursing students’ self-efficacy to care for older adults can provide an opportunity to identify gaps and develop strategies to shape nursing students’ interest in caring for older adults. This study sought to identify the relationship between nursing students’ knowledge about, attitudes towards, and self-efficacy to care for older adults and explored nursing students’ understanding of their self-efficacy to care for older adults. The study also examined stakeholders’ perceptions about nursing students’ self-efficacy to care for older adults and how these views shape gerontological nursing education and practice in Ghana. Bandura’s self-efficacy theory guided this study. Results of this sequential explanatory mixed-method study showed that nursing students’ age and attitudes towards older adults were associated with their self-efficacy to care for older adults. Content knowledge about gerontology was not associated with self-efficacy. Nursing students suggested their self-efficacy to care for older adults was based on their perceived competency in routine procedural nursing care, the impact of the general nursing education program, and the sociocultural norms of caring for older adults in Ghana. Stakeholders indicated that nursing students were well prepared and confident to care for older adults and that the general nursing education program and sociocultural norms of caring for older adults enhanced nursing students’ self-efficacy to care for older adults; however, they also acknowledged the need for gerontological clinical placements for nursing students and the challenges of the gerontology curriculum in the general nursing program. Findings suggest a need for a larger study encompassing different nursing training institutions to determine the extent of revisions needed in gerontological nursing curricula. Findings also indicate a need for gerontological nursing clinical placements to enhance students’ gerontological skills development, for capacity building of faculty, and for the government’s commitment to invest in gerontology education and practice.
Three Papers in Game Theory and Organizational Economics
Keywords: Game Theory
Negotiations
Organizational Economics

This thesis includes three chapters. The common theme among the chapters is the application of game theory to gain insights in organizational economics. In Chapter 1, titled "Customizability in Negotiations", I propose a model where the buyer and seller can trade a customizable product where some attributes are optional and can be removed. The buyer privately knows his type. The buyer and seller play a one shot bargaining game where the player chosen can make a menu of offers. I show that as customizability increases it becomes easier for the seller to screen the buyer which increases the probability of agreement. Lastly I show that customizability will always benefit the seller, however it can make the buyer worse off. In Chapter 2, titled "Cheap Talk in Win-Win Negotiations", I propose a model where the buyer and seller can trade a customizable product just like in Chapter 1. In this Chapter though, I make several key changes. All attributes can now be kept or removed. The buyer can report his privately known type to the seller at the beginning of the game and it is the seller's responsibility to design the product. I show that in a one-shot offer game the buyer will always disclose truthfully. I then extend these results to the alternating offer framework. This suggests a mechanism for why credible talk can exist in a bargaining game. In Chapter 3, titled "Disclosure in Agency Problems", I propose a two sided moral hazard model where on the agent's side is a traditional unobservable effort problem while on the principal's side is a disclosure problem. The principal might have private information about the potential output that he can disclose to an agent. His disclosure decision is not contractible but if he discloses, the information is verifiable. I show that in such an environment, the principal will not disclose private information that reflects the potential of a low outcome. I then show that if the disclosure decision is contractible, the principal will write a contract that allows him to commit to full-disclosure.
The Design and Development of Organotellurium Scaffolds for Mass Cytometry
Keywords: Mass Cytometry
Mass tags
Molecular probes
Organotellurium
Single cell
Tellurium

Fluorescence-based Cytometry (FC) is an essential technique in investigating heterogeneous cell populations. FC uses tagged antibodies to detect biomarkers on individual cells. However, the inherent spectral overlap between fluorophores limits the use of the methodology in highly multiparametric assays. In recent years, mass cytometry (MC) has emerged as an effective alternative technique to study heterogenous cell populations in highly parameterized assays. MC utilizes bio-orthogonal heavy isotope (> 100 Da) tags, rather than fluorophores, to read out the biomarkers on a cell. Here, we investigate three classes of organotelluriums as a mass cytometry compatible isotope tag: methyl tellurides, trifluoromethyl tellurides and 2-alkyl-tellurophenes. Stability and toxicity assays showed that the 2-alkyl-tellurophene containing scaffold was the most reliable isotope tag for mass cytometry. As a result, we investigated the use of tellurophenes in the development of a MC barcoding reagent, an antibody-conjugated MC polymer reagent and a potential activity-based MC probe to study protease activity (Cathepsin S).
Developing Leadership in the Decanal Role in Ontario Institutes of Technology and Advanced Learning (ITALS): A Case Study of Humber College ITAL
Keywords: administration
college
dean
higher education
leadership
Ontario

There is growing need for ongoing leadership development in the Ontario college system with very little research and literature on how to achieve this. This case-study explored the pathways to decanal leadership at Humber College Institution of Technology and Advanced Learning (ITAL). This was done by examining theparticipants’ perceptions of the challenges of the decanal role, alongside the competencies or leadership frameworks that are required. This study also examined how those in the role were supported in their professional development. This was an exploratory descriptive case study that used both document analysisof job descriptions, advertisement and LinkedIn profiles, alongside semi-structured interviews with 12 current and previous deans who have held the role since Humber became an ITAL in 2003. Semi-structured interviews were also conducted with the Senior Vice-President Academic and the current President. Key findings of this study include a profile of the ideal candidate for these dean positions, including the ideal pathway. The key challenges included defining and defending the ITAL status, alongside the complexities brought about by this focus. The role of collaboration and conflict was also noted, along with isolation and limited resources. The American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) competencies were examined alongside Bolman and Deal’s framework for leadership. Supports for professional development were identified, including the role of mentorship, external Professional Development, graduate studies and inhouse training which can all be used pre-service or in-service with a Dean group. The implications for policy and practice include the need to develop intentional training structures that move away from a reliance on informal mentoring, while investing in the development of in-house training. There is also a clear need to develop multi-framework leadership to address the broad range of challenges faced at the decanal position, acknowledging that one approach to leadership does not fit in a position that is meant to deal with a broad range of issues. While this study addresses a gap in the literature, there is a need to expand future research across the Ontario college sector, while addressing the emerging challenges arising from the impact that COVID will have on our industry.
Knowledge Controversies and Renewable Energy Transition: Exploring Science and Policy Debates
Keywords: Knowledge co-production
Knowledge controversies
Renewable energy transition
Science and Technology Studies

This dissertation explores controversies arising from policies to promote a transition to greater reliance on wind and solar power in Ontario, Canada. Drawing on conceptual frameworks from science and technology studies (STS), human geography and socio-technical transition studies, it provides new insights into the dynamics and impact of debates over the cost and environmental impacts of “new” renewable energies, as well as the role and nature of social resistance in the context of emergent concepts of energy democracy. This dissertation comprises three standalone articles (chapters 3-5). Chapter 3 uses rhetorical analysis to explore how scientific facts about wind energy’s impact on human health were co-produced by the science and policy processes. It suggests the wind and health controversy cannot be definitively settled by science because it is inextricably tied to value-based questions about how precautionary wind development should be, what should count as a valid health issue, and what constitutes valid evidence in health research and public policy. Chapter 4 explores how the (in)visibility of different causal frames of the issue of rising electricity prices was mediated through a decade of newspaper coverage in Ontario. It demonstrates how coverage framed the issue of rising electricity prices overwhelmingly as a consequence of the Green Energy and Green Economy Act, 2009, amplifying criticisms of its design and impact on consumers and the economy while diminishing the visibility of other key cost-related factors. Chapter 5 presents a comparative assessment of normative and relational frameworks of energy democracy and their different accounts of resistant publics in energy transitions. It finds normative understandings constrain imaginings of low-carbon energy futures and who legitimately participates in democracy, overlooking uncertainties and complexities inherent to transitions and their publics. Relational approaches address these shortcomings through greater attention to how energy problems and solutions are framed, how political action is performed through the articulation of contested issues, and who is disenfranchised in transition processes. Findings highlight the importance of studying in-depth the co-production and mediation of knowledge and how publics struggle to gain political authority over issues that affect them when investigating trajectories and outcomes of renewable energy transitions.
Prickle1 Regulates Cell Adhesion and Migration in the Xenopus laevis Gastrula
Keywords: cell migration
gastrulation
morphogenesis
planar cell polarity
tissue rearrangement
xenopus

Gastrulation is a series of morphogenetic movements that gives rise to the primary germ layers. Molecular control of the process is an intriguing topic to understand how cell and tissue behaviour is coordinated. In the Xenopus gastrula, the prechordal mesoderm (PCM) undergoes involution, and it continues to move and spread along the ectoderm inner surface while it remains separate from it. It gives rise to the head mesoderm, which is anterior to the notochord. The planar cell polarity (PCP) protein Prickle (Pk) is known to coordinate tissue polarity and has been implicated in regulating intercellular adhesion. In this thesis, I investigated Pk1’s role in controlling cell adhesion and motility in the PCM. Pk1 is localized in both diffuse and punctate forms, and the former has been overlooked in most studies. I showed that diffuse Pk1 is ubiquitously expressed in the cytoplasm and is enriched in a sub-membrane zone that overlaps the cortex. I found that diffuse Pk1 is sufficient for up-regulating cortex F-actin, and this modulates cortex tension in the rearranging tissue. Pk1 acts in conjunction with another PCP component Dishevelled2, which antagonizes Pk1’s activity and down-regulates the cortex, and they share a common effector, Casein Kinase II. I proposed that diffuse Pk1 controls F-actin turnover below the cell membrane to modulate cortex density. The PCM rearranges by differential cell-on-cell migration, and cells exhibit velocity gradients from deep tissue to mesoderm-ectoderm boundary. I showed that Pk1 coordinates cell polarity, morphology, orientation and neighbour exchange, and is necessary for generating the velocity gradients. PCM cell translocation is accompanied by lamellipodia formation and tail retraction, and both processes require Pk1. This control of cell motility could already be explained by diffuse Pk1-mediated cortex regulation, but punctate Pk1 may have additional roles, probably in dispersing local tension build-up. I found that Pk1 puncta can be induced by mechanical stresses, and they form at cell-cell contacts and at cell rear ends in vivo. I proposed that the puncta could serve to reduce local peak tensions during PCM cell rearrangement.
Cosmopolitanism, Poetry, and Kingship: The Ideal Ruler in Sanāʾī’s (d. 1131 or 1135 CE) Poetry
Keywords: Intellect
Islamic mysticism
Justice
Sanāʾī
Theory of Kingship
Valāyat

This dissertation examines the vision of ideal rulership expressed in the works of the court poet Sanāʾī (d. 1131 or 1135) by highlighting the dialogue of his works with various genres of medieval literature: Sunni and Shiʿite metaphysics, mystical writings, mirrors for princes, pious maqāmāt, and court poetry. This dissertation highlights how the politicization of Islamic mysticism that occurred during the eleventh and twelfth centuries was manifested in that era’s court poetry. In doing so, it calls for scholarly attention to the intersection of Islamic mysticism and political theory in court-patronized works composed by non-Sufi authors.This dissertation investigates Sanāʾī’s engagement with the literary and intellectual milieu of his time through the lens of his portrayal of an ideal ruler. This engagement, first, informs Sanāʾī’s interdisciplinary approach to Islamic theories of governance; second, it enables him to cross-fertilize the substance, language, and rhetorical features of other literary genres with Persian court poetry; third, it defines the politics of his poetry. After contextualizing Sanāʾī in his literary and intellectual milieu, this dissertation will analyze his Ḥadīqat al-ḥaqīqah (‘The Garden of Truth’), the Sayr al-ʿibād (‘The Journey of [God’s] Servants’), and poems from his Dīvān (‘Collection of Poems’). It argues that Sanāʾī’s poetry had two roles: it served as propaganda for his patron, the Ghaznavid ruler Bahrāmshāh (r. 1117-1157) and was used by Sanāʾī as a podium from which he promoted himself as a sage-poet endowed with knowledge of the divine. This analysis leads to a discussion of the nature of knowledge and the two foundations of perfect kingship in Sanāʾī’s poetry, intellect and justice. It argues that the metaphysical framework of Sanāʾī’s works binds the political and the mystical aspects of his poems together. Through a description of the soul’s journey to God Sanāʾī explains that drawing near God, experiencing divine love, and becoming a valī (in its mystical sense) is a prerequisite for being a perfect ruler. This mystical theory of rulership recurs in later political texts and plays a significant role in shaping Perso-Islamic political ethics during the twelfth through sixteenth centuries.
A Path Forward: Empowering Teachers to Implement More Inclusive Special Education Frameworks in Ontario
Keywords: education policy
equity
inclusive education
specual education

This qualitative study employs a social-critical constructivist framework to investigate current Ontario teachers’ knowledge and opinions of inclusive education (IE) initiatives for special education in Ontario. Twenty-two participants were interviewed to gather data on their current understandings of IE policies and initiatives, as well as how they might re-define their current roles to actualize these IE policies across their broader school communities. Current IE empirical research that gathers similar attitudinal data represents teachers as uninformed, uncritical, and powerless; any recommendations that these studies present come from the researchers rather than the participants. Research findings also demonstrate that while teachers philosophically agree with IE, they question the extent to which they can successfully implement IE due to time constraints, limited resources, and inconsistent administrative support. This study’s constructivist framework demonstrates that participants have carefully reflected on IE within their instructional contexts. Participants are determined, engaged, knowledgeable, and conscientious professionals who are currently mobilizing to take on future IE implementation initiatives. Their critical perspectives helped to form the basis of this study’s recommendations. This study’s detailed policy analysis of Ontario Ministry of Education equity documents also reveals that these documents do not include teachers’ voices. This study specifically examines IE through a special education lens in order to achieve a deeper understanding of the knowledge gaps that significantly hamper teachers' abilities to successfully implement IE initiatives. To address these professional knowledge gaps, this study makes four significant recommendations. First, teachers should engage in professional learning that specifically focuses on Ontario IE policies. Second, job-embedded professional learning should serve as the departure point for all future IE implementation initiatives in Ontario. The third recommendation is that teachers must be given direct consultative opportunities to share their visions for future IE initiatives. Fourth, Ontario schools must move away from their traditional bell schedules to more flexible timetabling and staffing allocations. These recommendations are also significant because they are informed by participants’ lived experiences and have been proven successful in comparable North American education systems.