VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
The importance of race and class in satisfaction with school: a comparative study of Hong Kong immigrant and white Canadian students
Keywords: Chinese students, Attitudes
Chinese students, Canada
Racism, Canada
Discrimination in education, Canada
Chinese, Education
Chinese, Canada
Classism, Canada
Students, Attitudes
Students, Canada

This paper examines race and social class factors that affect students' satisfaction with school. Empirical research shows that when compare with white Canadian students, Hong Kong immigrant students from low family income background are less satisfied with the Canadian higher education in some aspects, namely curriculum content; choices in the selection of courses and the tuition rate. However, research also reflects that Hong Kong students are generally more satisfied than the white counterparts in the aspects of academic workload and instruction method. Generally, research shows that all four groups of students (high and low income Canadians and Hong Kong students) are satisfied with the existing Canadian higher education. However, there is a different degree of satisfaction level, with the highest satisfaction coming from the high income white Canadians, followed by the low income white Canadians, and then high income Hong Kong students, and lastly, the low income Hong Kong students.
Teachers' instructional responses to their heterogeneous classes
Keywords: Elementary school teachers, Attitudes
Inclusive education
Individualized instruction

Thirty regular grade elementary teachers participated in this study. Each teacher was required to complete a Student Rating Form, and to rate the perceived level of curriculum adaptation or modification that was needed by each student. These two checklists resulted in a division of the teachers into four quadrants. The high/high quadrant consists of teachers who recognize the high academic variance of their classes and perceive the need for curriculum adaptations to be high. The high/low quadrant consists of teachers who recognize the high academic variance of their classes and perceive the need for curriculum adaptations to be low. The low/high quadrant consists of teachers who report having classes with low academic variance and who also perceive the need for curriculum adaptations to be high. The low/low quadrant consists of teachers who report having classes with low academic variance and who perceive the need for curriculum adaptation to be low. In this thesis I examine effective teaching practices in inclusive classrooms by analyzing the beliefs of elementary school teachers and the impact that these beliefs have on their instructional practices. I hope to learn why a group of teachers who understand the heterogeneous nature of their classes, believe that they need to make limited curriculum adaptations to help their students to learn.
Investigation of effect of head-slaved camera motion on image tracking in uninhabited air vehicles
Keywords: Intelligent control systems
Target acquisition, Equipment and supplies
Drone aircraft

This report presents the results of a research program designed to compare the use of head-slaved cameras with fixed vision systems. In particular the effect of these systems on ground target acquisition was examined. In this experiment, subjects piloted a simulated UAV past a large ground target and then tried to turn around and line up with the ground target in the shortest time possible. Turns were initiated at a variety of distances ranging from 100 to 500 metres, with turn time being the primary experimental measurement. The results of this experiment indicated that performance was significantly better with the HMD than the fixed display, particularly at shorter ranges (<200m) where subjects succeeded in completing their turns twice as often with the HMD. In interviews conducted after the experiment, subjects indicated the HMD was significantly superior with respect to performance, but tiring to use.
A way to awakening: five educators' experiences of integrating contemplative practices into their lives (Ontario)
Keywords: Contemplation
Teaching
Arts
Holistic education
Holism

What are contemplative practices? What do they do? Contemplative practices have been used in various wisdom traditions and more recently in the field of medicine, psychology, social work and education. Educators can benefit from integrating contemplative practices into their lives and these benefits influence their relationship with others, both at work and at home (Gayner, 1999; Mulvayney, 1994; Miller Nozawa, 2002). The author presents an inquiry into experiences and perspectives of five educators' daily contemplative practices. They are used as a way of whole person development emphasized in holistic education (Miller, 1996). We could see teacher development from a more holistic perspective in accordance with already existing need of more planetary-aware and interconnected mindset in our current education. This inquiry provides an insight into how educators' whole-person development occurs through these practices and influences their teaching. It suggests the importance of daily practice such as contemplation for a more holistic teacher education. Educators can teach more from the core of who they are. How we can enhance this "whole-person development" in teacher development becomes increasingly important in our challenging time. Learning can be applied in adult education, transformative learning and holistic education. Sharing educators' experiences in this inquiry will also encourage other educators on a path of whole-person development. This inquiry infused with arts uses qualitative research based on a pilot heuristic study of the author's own experience and interview/dialogue sessions with educators including herself. Participants are colleagues at 01SE/University of Toronto, with various personal and professional backgrounds, who have practiced contemplation including meditation, yoga and Tai Chi for 6 to 15 years. (1) What were their contemplative practices? (2) How contemplative practices were introduced into their lives? (3) What they experienced and learned through integrating contemplative practices into their lives? (4) How their learning took place through their daily contemplative practices? (5) How their learning influenced their perspectives, attitudes and behaviors in their personal and professional lives? (6) What was the role of contemplative practices in their lives? Learning will be synthesized and shared, accompanied by visual arts and poetry to communicate the essence of participants' experiences better.
Classroom behaviours: An analysis of student learning behaviours in a constructivist mathematics classroom
Keywords: Mathematics, Study and teaching (Middle school)
Constructivism (Education)
Active learning
Experiential learning
Problem solving

The study investigated how middle school students learn mathematics in a constructivist environment. Information about one Grade 7 classroom students' learning behaviours was collected through participant observation in which lesson observations, discussions with students and the teacher, and collecting documentary information about materials used in the classroom were employed. I was a participant observer in a school whose culture promoted constructivist views of learning. The results of this study indicate that the students exhibited learning behaviours that related to many constructivist principles of learning. Students' levels of interaction included whole-class settings, small group settings and pairing. It was in those levels where the students could (a) discuss and implement problem solving strategies, (b) make strong arguments to support their ideas, (c) check and verify methods of solution from one another, (d) practise peer assistance, (e) learn from correcting their errors, (f) suggest possible methods of solution to mathematics problems, (g) construct learning materials and (h) invent some methods of solution. The students could use their relevant prior knowledge including life experiences to address new learning in class. They also could use a variety of learning materials and resources to support their own learning. Most students could verbalise their satisfaction and enjoyment when they were learning. Formative assessment was used to promote learning performance. Results of the study have implications for how constructivist practices may be employed in mathematics classes. An agenda for future research studies related to constructivist learning and middle school curriculum is developed.
Access to health care: a right or farce?
Keywords: Health services accessibility, Law and legislation
Patients, Legal status, laws, etc
Equality, Health aspects

Despite being accorded recognition as a right inhering in all human beings by a plethora of international human rights instruments and domestic laws, many scholars and pundits still question the legitimacy of making access to health care dependent on need as opposed to ability to pay. They contend, inter alia, that health care is a private good, subject to the market and that redistributive intervention by the State is indefensible. This thesis is a refutation of their claims. Based on human equality, common good and the intimate relationship between human life and good health, the thesis recasts access issues in terms of a challenge, not resolvable via arguments centered on which group loses their rights in the process, but on the benefit to society in general resulting from a healthy population. The conclusion is that access to health care, notwithstanding contrary persuasions, is not a farce but a human right.
Designing constraint informed handheld-supported literacy innovations for struggling readers
Keywords: Educational psychology
Cognitive psychology
Educational technology

An important area for research investigation involves the design of literacy innovations for struggling readers that harness both pedagogical and technological features of the learning environment, such that students are engaged in deep understanding of complex texts. This thesis describes a design research study that builds upon the highly effective cognitive strategy approach of reciprocal teaching and extends to other literacy activities in order to explore how handheld computers may support and augment struggling readers' exploration and understanding of difficult texts. Informed by a cognitive work analysis methodology, this design research study considers how human-technological interactions can be best designed to overcome a multitude of constraints found within complex educational settings that might otherwise impede the success of innovative approaches to literacy.
Social science research in Canada and federal government information policy: the case of Statistics Canada
Keywords: Social sciences, Research
Social sciences, Canada
Information policy, Canada
Online information services, Canada
Information services, Canada
Statistical services

The effects of information policy on use and users of government information by focusing on social science researchers' use of information from Canada's central statistical agency, Statistics Canada. Two literature reviews cover social scientists' use of statistics, and government information policy. A multi-method approach is used to examine the effects of specific Canadian federal government restraint and cost-recovery initiatives of the mid-1980s which applied to government information. Statistics Canada's response to these initiatives is revealed using case study methodology. Bibliometric research objectively documents policy effects on social science researchers' use of statistics sources by examining a sample of 360 articles published from 1982 to 1993 in 21 Canadian social science research journals in Economics, Education, Geography, Political Science and Sociology. Examination of citations, tables, and text in the sampled articles reveals extent of use of statistics from Statistics Canada and other governmental and nongovernmental sources, both Canadian and foreign, over a period before and after policy implementation. A survey of authors of sampled articles supplements the bibliometric findings. Results of the case study show that Statistics Canada sought to recover costs and achieve greater revenues through higher prices and increasing electronic data dissemination. Bibliometric analysis shows there was no significant change over time in use of statistics from Statistics Canada or any other governmental or nongovernmental source. The use of Statistics Canada paper products declined significantly. The survey reveals that social science researchers are unhappy with the price increases, but have not changed the statistics sources they use as a result. The movement of statistical information into electronic formats is well received, though more respondents (in 1995) still used paper products than electronic ones. Possible explanations for these findings are proposed. Alternative effects of increased prices and format changes are suggested which might be examined in future research. Additionally, the implications of the research findings in relation to these social scientists and the agencies involved in information and management are discussed as potential topics for further research.
Between cultural rights of minorities and human rights of women: state obligations in the context of delegated jurisdiction
Keywords: Minorities, Legal status, laws, etc
Women's rights
Sex discrimination against women, Law and legislation

What kind of obligations does international human rights law impose upon states when they consider accommodating minority groups' customary or religious legal traditions by granting them a degree of autonomous jurisdiction? In particular, what to do with traditions that discriminate against minority women? One way to approach this question is to examine state obligations under the ICCPR and the CEDAW in relation to the prohibition of discrimination against women in general and in the context of cultural rights of minorities in particular. The central finding of this thesis is that both conventions impose severe restrictions on the kind of legal traditions that states can legitimately accommodate. Furthermore, the ICCPR and the CEDAW require that state parties take positive measures to combat in-group discrimination. Accordingly, international human rights law should be taken into account in designing and modifying legal-institutional solutions in the field of multicultural accommodation arrangements involving delegated jurisdiction.
Low-voltage and low-power silicon transceivers and receivers for W-band and D-band applications
Keywords: Automobiles, Design and construction
Electrical engineering

This thesis presents the design and implementation of low-voltage low-power transceivers and receivers in SiGe HBT and CMOS technologies which operate above 75 GHz. Circuit topologies capable of 1.8-2.5 V operation in SiGe HBT technology and 1.0-1.2 V operation in CMOS technology are used to obtain significant power reduction over other state-of-the-art silicon transceivers in the same frequency range, without an associated RF performance penalty. Techniques for minimizing the sensitivity of the VCO to temperature and power supply variations are shown, and modifications to an existing simultaneous noise and input impedance matching methodology in W-band LNAs are described. Three static and Miller frequency dividers for W-band operation are compared, and techniques for optimizing their speed and power consumption are proposed and analyzed theoretically as well as experimentally. A system level design methodology for minimum power consumption and maximum range in radar transceivers is also presented, and solutions to two of the key design challenges of integrated transceivers, namely, LO distribution and transmitter-receiver isolation, are described.
Concerns, opposition and community activism against landfills in Vietnam
Keywords: Geography
Environmental sciences
City planning

This thesis examines factors influencing concerns about, opposition to and activism against landfills in Vietnam. It consists of three papers: (1) the evolution of community concern about landfills in seven communities Vietnam; (2) factors influencing community opposition to four landfills in Vietnam; and (3) the effectiveness of community-driven regulation in dealing with landfill problems in Vietnam and factors that influence activism against four landfills. By conducting in-depth interviews with 29 officials in seven landfill sites, the first paper found four major factors affecting the evolution of community concern about landfills in Vietnam: the increase in negative impacts of the landfill and failure to enforce regulations, the rapid increase in the value of land-use rights, increasing environmental awareness, and political change in the country.
Potential effects of climate change on the invasion of largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) in Lake Tahoe, California-Nevada
Keywords: Largemouth bass, Tahoe, Lake (Calif. and Nev.)
Largemouth bass, Climatic factors
Introduced fishes, Tahoe, Lake (Calif. and Nev.)
Introduced fishes, Climatic factors

Warming of the Earth's climate will promote the spread of some nonnative species into novel territories and affect native populations inhabited in these areas. In this thesis, I draw on the recent invasion of largemouth bass in Lake Tahoe, California-Nevada as a case study to develop a practical approach to examine and quantify the impact of climate change on the resistance of large, high elevation lakes to invasion by warmwater fish species. In Chapter 2, I predict that surface water temperature of Lake Tahoe will increase by as much as 3°C by 2080--2099. In Chapter 3, I demonstrate that such an increase will significantly alter the thermal suitability of Lake Tahoe for largemouth bass, both temporally and spatially. My analysis suggests that further range expansion of largemouth bass is highly probable and all of the Lake Tahoe's littoral zones will become suitable for bass by 2080 in some years.
Whitening the inner city: the containment of Toronto's degenerate spaces and the production of respectable subjects
Keywords: Social problems, Ontario

The production and regulation of subjects is a spatial process. Subjects and spaces are produced in a dialectical relationship that is implicated in the constitution of racial hierarchies. Boundary demarcation is central to the spatialized production of respectable subjectivity and provides justification for the containment of racialized and sexualized bodies and spaces. This process requires and sustains a story of the city as an endangered place rescued by respectable white people. Through an examination of three moments of creating the middle class and the white city, this thesis argues that spatial management produces respectable and degenerate subjects and spaces. First, I read accounts of industry and domestic life forged in downtown Toronto in the early 1900s in order to establish how this story of origins requires regulation that constitutes and fortifies an apparently impermeable boundary. I argue that this boundary functions to divide people according to a hierarchy of social difference. The second moment is a 1977 campaign to "clean up" Toronto's Yonge Street and make it commercially and morally reputable; in the process of the "clean up," homosexual bodies were marked as degenerate, and white politicians were positioned as the saviors of respectability. The final moment examined is the late-twentieth-century marketing of converted industrial spaces in Toronto by recourse to narratives of a wasteland rescued by liberal middle class white people. These three examples represent moments in which racial and sexual hierarchies were enlisted and sustained, through discourses that bound together subjects and spaces. Such moments reaffirm a Canadian national story of whiteness as superior by virtue of its benevolence and civility, and of white people as entitled citizens. I suggest that national narratives of goodness, progress and liberalism function by displacing and erasing marginalized people from the official story of the city's making, thus further disenfranchising them.
Reconciling the collective agreement with human rights obligations: an analysis of arbitral decisions on seniority rights and the duty to accommodate disabled employees
Keywords: People with disabilities, Legal status, laws, etc
People with disabilities, Canada
Seniority, Employee, Law and legislation
Seniority, Employee, Canada
Human rights, Canada
Arbitration, Industrial, Law and legislation
Arbitration, Industrial, Canada

0Recent statutory and judicial developments have given labour arbitrators increased jurisdiction to interpret and apply human rights law in the unionized workplace. How are labour arbitrators exercising this jurisdiction given the potentially fundamental difference in the values underlying the labour relations and human rights regimes? In this paper I describe how the two regimes conflict in the context where a disabled employee needs an accommodation which results in a violation of a seniority provision under a collective agreement. I review the recent arbitral jurisprudence in this area and I examine how arbitrators have resolved the conflict between seniority rights and the duty to accommodate. I conclude that the majority of arbitrators are taking a principled approach in resolving this conflict and, for the most part, they are overriding seniority provisions to permit accommodations where it is equitable to do so.
Devolution of government, implicit constitutionalism and the judicial committee of the privy council
Keywords: State governments, Great Britain
Decentralization in government, Great Britain
Constitutional law, Great Britain

The UK Government of Prime Minister Blair has initiated a program of decentralization of legislative and executive power known as ‘devolution’. A Scottish Parliament and Executive are established by the Scotland Act, 1998. But the Act does not directly address the question of relations between the UK and Scottish administrations. The thesis examines two distinct aspects of this issue. Firstly, a legal principle of devolution is developed, the normative content of which can guide the conduct of constitutional actors in intergovernmental relations. The means by which this principle can be given legal effect through traditional doctrines of administrative law is examined. Secondly, the thesis considers the provision made for the resolution of constitutional disputes in the last resort. The adoption of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council as ultimate constitutional arbiter is criticized as a failure to appreciate the significance of past constitutional reforms in the Empire-Commonwealth.
Learning to write in English: A comparative study of first and second language learners with and without reading disabilities
Keywords: English language, Written English
English language, Written English
Learning disabled children, Education (Elementary)
Reading disability
Reading (Elementary)

The present study examined writing ability in English as L1 (EL1) and English as L2 (ESL) children in Grade 5. The performance of children with reading disabilities (RD), as identified by having below average scores on tests of phonological processing and word recognition skills, was also examined. It was hypothesized that being ESL and having poorer English language proficiency skills would exacerbate difficulties that RD children experienced in the area of written expression. The children with RD did perform significantly more poorly than children without RD on various components of the measures of writing ability. However, there were no significant differences between EL1-RD and ESL-RD children on any writing components. It was also hypothesized that in the normally developing group, ESL children would have more difficulty with the writing tasks than EL1 children. However, ESL children performed as well as their EL1 peers on all aspects of the writing tasks.