VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Conceptual Shifts within Problem Spaces as a Function of Years of Knowledge Building Experience
Keywords: Knowledge Building
Teachers' Problem Space
Professional Development

This thesis explores teaching practice as a function of years of experience with Knowledge Building pedagogy, emphasizing teachers’ continual improvement of practice while they foster continual improvement of students’ ideas. Knowledge Building practice places students’ ideas at the centre of the classroom enterprise, with the principal challenge being enabling students to take effective responsibility for improvement of ideas. Building on a variety of models of teacher thinking and development, a problem space model is developed specifically geared to the development of Knowledge Building practices. This model is used to guide the investigation and provide a theoretically- and empirically-based description of shifts teachers undergo as they gain skill in Knowledge Building pedagogy. The model also serves to convey how Knowledge Building teachers differ from other skillful teachers. The principal shift is from a centrist to relational (or systemic) perspective. This perspectival shift is examined in five problem spaces: Curriculum/Standards, Social Interaction, Student Capability, Classroom Structures and Constraints, and Technology. Underlying the centrist perspective is a belief in established procedures and goals typically understood to characterize effective teaching. Underlying the relational perspective is a belief in the capacity of students to develop and improve their own ideas, and a belief that in doing so students will not only mature as knowledge-builders, but will also excel in the achievement of traditional knowledge goals. The research uses multiple data sources (teacher meetings, journals, interviews and classroom observations) to analyze the work of 13 teachers over a full school year, with three embedded case studies. Results show that Knowledge Building teachers construct and explore the same problem spaces as other teachers. What distinguishes them, and places them on a different trajectory, is the relational approach that brings ideas to the centre in each problem space. The work of teachers with different levels of experience is analyzed to characterize the centrist to relational shift, which corresponds to three embedded shifts (a) surface to deep interpretation of problem and processing of information, (b) routine to adaptive approach to classroom activities and student engagement, and (c) procedure-based to principle-based reflective action.
Cardiopulmonary Fitness, Depressive Symptoms and Cognitive Performance in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease: Phenomenology and Biomarkers
Keywords: depression
Major Depressive Disorder
cognition
memory
processing speed
executive function
depressive symptoms
adherence
cardiac rehabilitation
Coronary Artery Disease
cardiopulmonary fitness
brain derived neurotrophic factor
Kynurenine
Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase
dropout
heart disease

Introduction: Coronary artery disease (CAD) has been associated with depressive symptoms and deficits in cognitive performance, both of which have been associated with poorer medical prognoses and poorer psychosocial outcomes. Physical activity can improve cognitive and depressive symptoms, and, for those with CAD, improve medical prognoses. It was hypothesized that depressive symptoms and poorer cognitive performance would be associated with poorer cardiopulmonary fitness in patients with CAD, and that these sequelae would be associated prospectively with noncompletion of cardiac rehabilitation (CR). The benefits of physical activity are thought to result, in part, from decreased inflammatory activity and increased adaptive neural plasticity, to which the ratio of kynurenine to tryptophan (K/T) and brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), respectively, in peripheral blood may pertain. Methods and Results: In a cohort study of patients entering CR, depressive symptoms (Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale; CES-D scores) were associated with cardiopulmonary fitness (peak volume of oxygen uptake; VO2Peak) during an exercise stress test (B=-.404, p=.001, n=366). The VO2Peak was also associated with performance across multiple cognitive domains, but most strongly with performance on tests involving executive function, attention and psychomotor processing speed (β=.322, p=.002 for composite score, n=81) in a cohort of patients entering CR. In prospective cohort studies, Major Depressive Disorder (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] 2.5, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.3–4.7, n=195) and poorer performance on a verbal memory test (HR 0.86, 95% CI 0.77-0.96, p=.009, n=131) predicted non-completion of CR. In patients undertaking CR, higher serum K/T ratios were associated with CES-D scores (β=.322, p=.002, n=95) and with VO2Peak (β=-.391, p<.001, n=95), and in a cohort of patients entering CR (n=88), serum concentrations of BDNF were associated with psychomotor processing speed (F1,87=9.620, p=.003), overall cognitive status (Mini Mental Status Exam) scores (F1,87=15.406, p<.0005) and VO2Peak (β=.305, p=.013). Conclusions: Depressive symptoms and poorer cognitive performance are clinically important in patients with CAD entering CR and they are both associated with poorer cardiopulmonary fitness. Poorer cardiopulmonary fitness was also associated with higher K/T ratios and with lower BDNF concentrations in serum, which predicted depressive symptoms and poorer cognitive performance, respectively.
Literacy Learning in the 21st Century: An Observational Study of a Resource Rich Grade 1 Class
Keywords: pedagogy
multiliteracies
literacy practices

This observational study examines teacher pedagogy and student literacy practices in a 21st century resource rich Grade 1 classroom in order to gain insight into the forms, functions, tools, topics and contexts involved in students’ literacy experiences for boys of access and privilege. Teacher’s pedagogical choices were examined to understand how the teacher created learning opportunities based on her beliefs about texts and student identities and how her pedagogical choices were influenced by the curriculum, parents and the nature of schooling. Case study methodology was used in order to examine these complex relationships. Both quantitative and qualitative data was collected and analyzed in the form of reading and writing profiles, collection of assessment data and artefacts, classroom observations, parent questionnaires, interviews with teacher and students and data related to the texts used in the classroom. This study is significant because it demonstrates that, in a school of access and privilege, literacy is taught in both traditional and new ways and the layering of these beliefs about literacy create meaningful learning experiences for the boys. Teacher pedagogy draws on teacher and student beliefs, knowledge and identities but is also influenced by traditional assumptions about “what the boys need to learn” in Grade 1. Theoretical frameworks that inform analysis in this research include multiliteracies (New London Group [NLG], 1996), multimodality (Kress, 2000), literacy as social practice (Barton & Hamilton, 2000) and social constructivism (Vygotsky, 1978). These frameworks support an understanding of students’ literacy practices and the rationale behind the pedagogical choices made by the teacher as the students and teacher collaborate, communicate and engage in literacy practices around multimodal texts. Implications include shaping future teacher practice, goals for 21st century curriculum development and new conceptions around literacy learning practices that influence how young students contribute to and experience literacy in 21st century classrooms.
The Syntax and Semantics of Stem Composition in Ojicree
Keywords: morphosyntax
morphology
Ojicree
Ojibwe
Severn
Algonquian
verb

This thesis explores the structure of the verb stem in Ojicree, a dialect of Ojibwe. I argue that the surface complexity of the stem structure in this language can be explained if we distinguish between two types of roots: strong roots and weak roots. Strong roots combine with a verbal head to build a full stem. I call these simple stems. Weak roots build a more complex structure. Their combination with a verbal head is not enough to build a complete verb stem and some additional material needs to appear to the left of the root to form a full stem. I refer to these stems as complex stems and to the requirement posed by the weak roots the left edge requirement. In the traditional templatic view of the Algonquian stem weak roots correspond to an element called ‘pre-final’ or the lexical portion of the concrete final. Strong roots fall into the traditional slot ‘initial’. In the first part of the thesis I argue that weak and strong roots build two fundamentally different structures. Complex stems (build from weak roots) are dynamic syntactic constructs, while simple stems (build from strong roots) need to be stored. I bring both syntactic and phonological evidence for this distinction. In the second part of the thesis I explore the nature of the left edge requirement in complex stems, arguing that it is a semantic constraint that has to do with event composition. Weak roots are semantically deficient elements, and the left edge element fills a gap in their semantics and completes event composition. The syntactic composition of the stem reflects event composition. Finally, I extend the idea of the left edge requirement to a certain type of noun incorporation construction. The proposed analysis advances our understanding of the Ojicree morphosyntax by moving away from the traditional templatic view of the stem, situating it within the current syntactic framework of Minimalism and proposing answers to some long standing questions from a new perspective. More broadly, it furthers our understanding of how words are formed in the Algonquian languages and in polysynthetic languages in general.
Revealing Our Commonessence: A Collaborative Self-study Involving Choral Music Educators
Keywords: music education
choral music education
self-study
qualitative
narrative inquiry
reflexive inquiry
collaborative inquiry
life history
musical self
professional development

The purpose of this qualitative study was to better understand how five choral music educators’ life experiences, prior knowledge, attitudes, values, beliefs, and understandings surrounding the formation of their musical selves have come to shape their professional practice. A secondary purpose of this research was to examine institutional context and governing ideologies of the choral music discipline. The study involved five choral music educators—including the researcher—of various ages, genders, and cultural backgrounds from Winnipeg, Manitoba. This research is grounded in what Beattie (1995) terms the dialectical and collaborative nature of narrative inquiry, but also looks to reflexive inquiry and life history methodologies (Cole & Knowles, 2000), as well as the practice of collective biography (Davies & Gannon, 2006) to shape its methodological framework. As such, autobiographical forms of self-study research are reconceptualized as collaborative self-study. Data collection methods included journal writing, personal in-depth interviews, and participant observation. In particular, regular focus group sessions, which included peer interviewing, played a central role throughout the research process. This forum allowed participants to share their musical life histories and interrogate each others’ narratives, thereby triggering musical memories and exposing the interconnectivity of musical pasts to current professional practice. Data is re-presented in rich narratives which trace the path of each participant’s musical life history in interaction with theory and relevant literature. Numerous themes, sub-themes, tensions, and epiphanal episodes (Denzin, 1994) are illuminated. Moreover, connections between participants’ experiences and resultant ways of knowing are exposed, and we are confronted with “the unexpectedness of universality” (Hofstadter, 2007, p. 242). Thus, our commonessence is revealed. Participant chapters are followed by a postlude featuring the researcher’s personal narratives, an examination of researcher voice, and questions regarding the practice of choral music education that have surfaced through reflexive analysis of the data. This research strives to be a model for personal professional development among choral music educators, and provides a template for future purposeful discussion in the choral discipline.
Obesity among Off-reserve First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Peoples in Canada’s Provinces: Associated Factors and Secular Trends
Keywords: obesity
Aboriginal

Aboriginal Canadians (First Nations, Métis, and Inuit) have the highest prevalence of overweight and obesity compared to other ethnic groups in Canada. In order to assess the evolution of the problem over time and to understand potential risk factors, three studies were conducted using nationally-representative survey data. Direct comparisons between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Canadians from the same surveys provide important perspectives on the magnitude of health disparities that cannot be obtained by small regional studies that dominate the current available literature. Body mass index (BMI) trajectories from 1994 to 2009 were estimated for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Canadians. Aboriginal Canadians experienced higher rates of BMI increase over the 14-year period between 1994 and 2009. Rate of BMI increase was specifically higher for Aboriginal adults born in the 1960s and 1970s when compared with non-Aboriginal adults, and later-born cohorts had consistently higher BMI compared with earlier-born cohorts. The role of potentially modifiable lifestyle factors in obesity among Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal youth was also investigated. Compared to non-Aboriginal youth, consumption of fruits/vegetables and dairy products was lower, and more Aboriginal youth were "high" TV watchers. Physical activity participation did not differ between "high" and "low" TV watchers for both groups, and was associated with lowered odds for obesity only among Aboriginal youth. The complex relationship between obesity and socioeconomic status for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Canadians was explored. Employment status was strongly and negatively associated with obesity among Aboriginal men and women. Aboriginal men of high socioeconomic status (SES) were most likely to be obese, whereas Aboriginal women of high SES were least likely to be obese. Important descriptive and analytical information on an emerging and serious public health issue among Aboriginal people in Canada can inform the design and planning of intervention programs and development of public health strategies targeted at obesity.
Knowing Instruments: Design, Reliability, and Scientific Practice
Keywords: scientific instruments
scientific practice
computers
possibility

This dissertation is an attempt to understand the role of instruments in the process of knowledge production in science. I ask: how can we trust scientific instruments and what do we learn about when we use them? The dissertation has four parts. First, I construct a novel account of “epistemic possibility,” the possibility of knowing, that captures the dependency of knowledge on action, and I introduce the notion of “technological possibility,” which depends on the availability of material and conceptual means to bring about a desired state of affairs. I argue that, under certain circumstances, technological possibility is a condition for epistemic possibility. Second, I ask how instruments become reliable. I argue that when the material capacities and conceptual functions of a scientific instrument correspond, the instrument is a reliable component of the process of knowledge production. I then describe how the instrument design process can result in just such a correspondence. Instrument design produces the material device, a functional concept of the device revised in light of experience, a measure of the closeness of fit between material and function, and practices of trust such as calibration routines. ii Third, I ask what we learn from instruments such as those used for experimentation and simulation. I argue that in experiments, instruments function to inform us about the material capacities of the object of investigation, while in simulations, instruments function to inform us about the conceptual model of the object of investigation. Fourth, I put these philosophical distinctions into historical context through a case study of Monte Carlo simulations run on digital electronic computers in the 1940s-70s. I argue that digital electronic computers made the practice of Monte Carlo simulation technologically possible, but that the new method did not meet existing scientific standards. Consequently, Monte Carlo design practices were revised to address the worries of potential practitioners.
Emergent Low Temperature Phases in Strongly Correlated Multi-orbital and Cold Atom Systems
Keywords: strongly correlated electrons
unconventional superconductivity
quantum liquid crystal phases
frustrated spin systems

This thesis considers various strongly correlated quantum phases in solid state and cold atom spin systems. In the first part we focus on phases emerging in multi-orbital materials. We study even-parity spin-triplet superconductivity originating from Hund's coupling between t2g orbitals and investigate the effect of spin-orbit interaction on spin-triplet and spin-singlet pairing. Various aspects of the pairing state are discussed against the backdrop of the spin-triplet superconductor Sr2RuO4. Motivated by the remarkable phenomena observed in the bilayer compound Sr3Ru2O7, which point to the formation of an electronic nematic phase in the presence of critical fluctuations, we investigate how such a broken symmetry state emerges from electronic interactions. Since the broken x-y symmetry is revealed experimentally by applying a small in-plane magnetic field component, we examine nematic phases in a bilayer system and the role of the in-plane magnetic field using a phenomenological approach. In addition, we propose a microscopic mechanism for nematic phase formation specific to Sr3Ru2O7. The model is based on a realistic multi-orbital band structure and local and nearest neighbour interactions. Considering all t2g-orbital derived bands on an equal footing, we find a nematic quantum critical point and a nearby meta-nematic transition in the phase diagram. This finding harbours important implications for the phenomena observed in Sr3Ru2O7. The second part is devoted to the study of the anisotropic bilinear biquadratic spin-1 Heisenberg model, where the existence of an unusual direct phase transition between a spin-nematic phase and a dimerized valence bond solid phase in the quasi-1D limit was conjectured based on Quantum Monte Carlo simulations. We establish the quasi-1D phase diagram using a large-N Schwinger boson approach and show that the phase transition is largely conventional except possibly at two particular points. We further discuss how to realize and to detect such phases in an optical lattice.
Role of Epithelium-specific ETS Transcription Factor-1 in Airway Epithelial Regeneration
Keywords: ESE-1
ETS
transcription factor
airway epithelial injury
airway epithelial regeneration

Human epithelium-specific ETS transcription factor-1 (ESE-1), which is also known as E74-like factor-3 (Elf3) in mice, is strongly expressed in lung during fetal development and in certain lung cancers. The primary goal of the work presented in this thesis was to investigate whether ESE-1 is involved in regeneration of the injured lung epithelium by administering naphthalene to both wild-type (Elf3 +/+) and Elf3-deficient (Elf3 -/-) mice. However, optimal conditions for proper utilization of the naphthalene-induced lung injury model must first be established. Therefore, dose-response studies were initially conducted by administering three different doses of naphthalene to both male and female mice, as described in chapter 2. Although it is shown that the extent of naphthalene-induced Clara cell injury is dose-dependent in both male and female mice, female mice are more sensitive to naphthalene-induced injury than male mice independent of the dose. Furthermore, it is also demonstrated that these gender-dependent differences in naphthalene injury can subsequently influence downstream lung repair kinetics. In light of these findings, lung regeneration was examined in both sexes of both Elf3 +/+ and Elf3 -/- mice. As reported in chapter 3, the kinetics of bronchiolar epithelial cell proliferation and differentiation is delayed considerably in Elf3 -/- mice following naphthalene injury. Moreover, expression of transforming growth factor-beta type II receptor, which is a well-known transcriptional target gene of ESE-1 and is involved in the induction of epithelial cell differentiation, is significantly lower in the bronchiolar airway epithelium of Elf3 -/- mice as compared to Elf3 +/+ mice under steady-state conditions and during repair of naphthalene-induced damage. Collectively, these findings occur to a similar extent in both sexes of both Elf3 +/+ and Elf3 -/- mice, and suggest that ESE-1 plays an important role in regulating the kinetics of airway epithelial regeneration after acute lung injury.
Do Boards Matter? The Links between Governance, Organizational Monitoring and Alignment Capacity and Hospital Performance
Keywords: board
governance
hospital
performance
Canada
accountability web

No systematic research has been undertaken in Canada on the relationship between hospital performance, organizational monitoring capacity and board governance. This three-part dissertation aims to fill that gap. The conceptual framework elaborated in a theoretical paper and tested in two exploratory empirical studies proposes that boards reflect their institutions, with high performers exhibiting greater capacity to harmonize accountability needs and align governance decision-making and monitoring systems with external performance measurement and reporting requirements. Top team (board and management) characteristics, and governance practices, both proposed elements of “governance capacity,” are hypothesized to reflect and reinforce “organizational monitoring and alignment capacity” thereby contributing directly and indirectly to key aspects of hospital performance including quality of care, financial health and patient satisfaction. Using hierarchical regression analyses, six hypotheses were tested on a sample of 101 acute hospital corporations that participated in the 2005, 2006 and 2007 Ontario Hospital Report Research Collaborative. After controlling for hospital size, evidence of a statistically significant relationship was detected between organizational monitoring and alignment capacity and quality performance, and between one element of governance capacity, governance practices, and financial performance. A relationship was also detected between governance practices and top team characteristics, including diversity, education and turnover. These findings suggest that the relationship between hospital governance and performance is tenuous and that some aspects of performance may be more amenable to governance influence than others. In highly-regulated environments governance space is circumscribed and myriad stakeholders have a stronger pulse on singular aspects of organizational performance than the board. This study argues that the role of boards in environments of distributed governance is to mine the ‘accountability web’ for timely, multivariate intelligence on performance and use it to drive alignment, integration and performance improvement. The contribution of this research, its limitations, and implications for researchers, policymakers and hospital leaders are discussed.