VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Federalism, diplomacy and education: Canada's role in education-related international activities, 1960-1984
Keywords: Education and state, Canada
Education and state, Québec (Province)
Education, International cooperation

Amongst Western nations Canada has had the rather unique distinction of not having a centralized Ministry of Education. The division of powers in the Canadian constitution assigned education to the provincial governments while constitutional responsibility for foreign affairs was assigned to the federal government. As a result of this separation of powers, there has been an ongoing and unsatisfactory effort on the part of both federal and provincial governments to address the difficult issue of who represents Canada in the field of education abroad. In the period following the end of the Second World War, indifference towards the question gave way to ad hoc treatment of the issue by the federal government. The provinces and federal government tried to insulate themselves from divisive issues by delegating them to pan-national educational organizations. The Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC) is the closest equivalent to a national, ministerial-level education organization in modern day Canada. During the 1960s, the constitutional differences could not be regulated between the two levels of government. Instead, the continued unsatisfactory relationship combined with incipient nationalism led to conflict. The government of Quebec declared that the provinces were institutionally capable of representing their own interests in diplomacy in education. The federal response in the 1960s can be traced from Mitchell Sharp's publication of the pamphlet Federalism and International Conferences on Education in the spring of 1968, at the height of the crisis with Quebec. This publication was as much a response to contemporary events, as it was the portent of a broader, more hands-on approach to the issue by the federal government. While the 1960s were punctuated by the broadsides from Ottawa and Quebec as the issue became tied to Quebec nationalism, the 1970s and early 1980s were characterized by uncomfortable compromise over the question. The changing international system, the OECD Review, and the ongoing federal-provincial jockeying combined with the new presence of the CMEC, did not help in the regularization of this relationship. Since there has never been closure over this issue, diplomacy in education continues to be ad hoc and an important test of Canadian federalism.
Meaning-making for South Asian immigrant women in Canada
Keywords: Language and culture
South Asians, Social conditions
South Asians, Canada
Abused women, Social conditions
Abused women, Canada
English language, Study and teaching
Women immigrants, Social conditions
Women immigrants, Canada

My doctoral dissertation is a study in exploring ways of making LINC (Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada) curriculum more responsive to the needs of South Asian immigrant women in Canada. As a former LINC teacher, I had found the LINC curriculum deficient because I felt that (a) it did not acknowledge the rich cultural background of the learners and (b) it did not address the emergent needs of the immigrants in the new country. I therefore hypothesized that one of the reasons that South Asian immigrant women dropped out of LINC classes despite the various incentives offered by the government was these women's inability to relate to the curriculum being offered. In my view, a curriculum based on their everyday needs and their cultural demands would prove beneficial for the women settling in Canada and coming to terms with their identity---an identity influenced by the discourses of patriarchy, racism, sexism and stereotypes. In keeping with the humanistic tradition, I locate the origin of knowledge within the learner himself/herself. Dewey believed that " ... education in order to accomplish its end both for the individual learner and for society must be based upon experience---which is always the actual life experience of some individual" (1938, p.113). Hence, my approach to understanding South Asian women's lives was to focus on their immigration experiences and I used narrative inquiry for the purpose. The stories of Razia, Saima and Rukhsana---my participants from Bangladesh, Pakistan and India, respectively---epitomized the challenges immigrants face in Canada. They revealed details of their personal and professional life that require a new curriculum forum for helping them become acculturated in the Canadian society. Using Connelly and Clandinin's work (1988) on personal practical knowledge, I suggest the need to initiate self study as a way of enhancing the critical awareness in South Asian immigrant women to overcome the challenges in their lives and question their redundant cultural assumptions. I have proposed a postmodern, multidimensional narrative curriculum to address issues around their identity in Canada by designing a replicable, tentative course outline for a narrative approach to curriculum in LINC.
The effects of vestibular suppression on helicopter control
Keywords: Helicopters, Piloting
Flight simulators
Helicopters, Accidents

Researchers have hypothesized that a helicopter pilot's semicircular canal (SCC) system can become degraded due to normal in-flight activity and this may lead to accidents in low visibility conditions. This report describes an investigation of the effects of SCC suppression on a helicopter pilot's ability to maintain control in a yaw disturbance rejection task under 3 different visual settings of varying quality. For each visual setting, 4 motion levels were used to emulate the suppressed vestibular system by scaling the physical motion cue given to trained non-pilot subjects. Statistical analyses of the experimental data indicated that scaling down the physical yaw rate by 15 percent had no significant effect on pilots' performance; and the motion level only became significant when it was scaled down by 50 percent or more. It was also found that there was a significant interaction between the visual and motion level settings used.
Developing and testing a unified school improvement-school effectiveness framework for evaluating complex school improvement initiatives
Keywords: School improvement programs, Evaluation

This study applies to school improvement processes the research methodology typically used in studying school effectiveness, in order to evaluate the effectiveness of improvement initiatives. It links school improvement and school effectiveness practically as well as theoretically. First, an ideal, unified, school improvement-school effectiveness evaluation (SI-SE) framework is proposed. Using this framework, school improvement programs can be evaluated to determine if they are effective school improvement processes. Since this thesis serves as an evaluation study, however, the framework must be strong enough to elicit reliable and valid information upon which to base program decisions. Nevertheless, in order to illustrate the analyses that are possible given these limitations, the MSIP evaluation data are reanalysed, applying principles of the unified evaluation framework, including the use of multilevel statistical models for data analysis. Three sets of analyses, including hierarchical linear modeling (HLM), are carried out on the existing data. Findings from the HLM analysis help determine the status of the MSIP as an effective school improvement process. Finally, the utility of the unified SI-SE evaluation framework for application beyond the MSIP evaluation is discussed. Second, the Manitoba School Improvement Program (MSIP) evaluation is presented as a case study to test the framework. Comparisons between the unified framework and the MSIP evaluation are made in terms of evaluation design, measurement considerations, and statistical analyses. Examination of the MSIP evaluation through the lens of the unified framework exposes limitations in the school improvement-based evaluation. These limitations centre on the absence of some types of data that are essential in the unified school improvement-school effectiveness evaluation framework, and on the quality of existing data.
Hypersonic mixed-compression inlet shock-induced combustion ramjets
Keywords: Airplanes, Ramjet engines

This study investigates the performance and flow field features of a mixed-compression inlet shock-induced combustion ramjet (shcramjet). In a shcramjet, oncoming air is compressed with shocks in the inlet and then further compressed and mixed with hydrogen fuel in a duct prior to shock-induced combustion and expansion of the combustion products through a divergent nozzle to provide thrust. Numerical studies are undertaken using the WARP code that solves the Favre-averaged Navier-Stokes equations closed by the Wilcox k-o turbulence model. Hydrogen/air combustion is solved via the twenty reaction, nine species combustion model of Jachimowski. Mixing augmentation through the use of cantilevered ramp injector arrays on opposite shcramjet inlet walls is studied and the influence of relative array locations is quantified. Increased spanwise distance between adjacent injectors on opposite walls allows for increased jet penetration and fuel distributions in the center of the engine duct. Chemically reacting studies verify an air buffer is created between the fuel and walls that suppresses premature ignition while still allowing for an air based mixing efficiency of up to 0.46-0.54. Combustion is produced over aerodynamic wedges with the spatial flow variation dictating both detonation and shock-induced combustion can be present over constant angle wedges. The initial inlet angle must be as high as possible, while avoiding premature ignition, to generate the pressure in the combustor needed for significant positive thrust. Thrust production from combustion is found to be insensitive to wedge angle if combustion is initiated across the cross-sectional area. Strong recirculation regions are formed via shock/boundary layer interactions in the confined engine duct. Mitigation of the recirculation is demonstrated with correct placement of the nozzle expansion in conjunction with air blowing in the boundary layer at a mass flow rate on the order of that of the fuel injection. For flight at Mach 11 the mixed-compression inlet shcramjet is found to generate a specific impulse of 683 s in the simulation of a realistic three-dimensional flow field.
Errorless embedding in the classroom: increasing the on-task behaviour of children with behaviour difficulties
Keywords: Behavior disorders in children
Behavior modification
Motivation in education

Children with behaviour difficulties often display high levels of off-task behaviour that interferes with the completion of academic tasks. Errorless embedding was developed to increase on-task behaviour without the use of punishment. In the present study, errorless embedding was used to improve the on-task behaviour of three children referred to a clinical classroom. Pre-treatment observations revealed high levels of off-task behaviour for all children when they were asked to work independently. During the initial stages of the intervention, brief durations of independent work were embedded into longer durations of adult-supported work. Gradually, the proportion of time the child was engaged in independent work was increased according to a predetermined schedule. Toward the end of treatment the duration of adult-supported work was faded back to baseline levels. Results demonstrated that by treatment completion, off-task behaviour for all the children had significantly decreased while their independent on-task behaviour was substantially improved.
The linguistic trivialization of human rights across legal and political spheres
Keywords: Law, Language
Human rights

The static language of human rights is replete within the discourse of legal academia and political activism. The paper suggests that this conceptual revolution suffers a discursive trivialization and rhetorical misplacement within international human rights treaties themselves---a linguistic fallacy that essentially precipitates a decline in legal compliance. The inadequacy bolsters esoteric whims whilst fundamentally jeopardizing the legal agenda of international human rights. An analysis of contemporary debate will be sought to assess the language of the law as it stands today, as well as the opportunities presented in adopting this linguistic lense. The purpose is to offer reflections on the linguistic structure and interpretation of human rights norms, which is philosophical in the sense that it is not restricted to the conclusions of any one academic sphere, but rests on a general survey of all the relevant and available data.
Cognitive, linguistic and affective aspects of learning to read in Spanish by English speaking adults with and without reading disability
Keywords: Affective education
Cognitive learning
Reading (Adult education)
Reading disability
Second language acquisition
Spanish language, Study and teaching (Higher)

The inquiry reported here describes cognitive, linguistic and affective aspects of reading in Spanish by English speaking adults with and without reading disabilities. Seven detailed case studies describe the different aspects that were involved in the process of learning and teaching to read in a second language. The author of this thesis, who was the teacher of the course, used a longitudinal approach in this research to study the way 4 normal readers (NR) and 3 disabled readers (DR) learn to read in Spanish. The 2 hour sessions were held in the teacher's home 2 times a week for a period of 6 months. The students voluntarily enrolled in the Spanish course because they were interested in Spanish culture. The goal was to determine to what extent problems faced by adults with and without reading disability in English, a language with a "deep" orthography, were transferred to Spanish, a language with a "shallow" orthography, and to identify through direct observation, periodic testing and individual and collective interviews those aspects that might facilitate or interfere with reading in Spanish. The results of working with DR and NR adults suggest that both the central processing hypothesis and the idea that a shallow orthography is easier to decode are important in understanding reading acquisition of a second language. In the present study, DR students experienced problems in developing reading skills in Spanish in spite of the less complex nature of the Spanish orthography. They also had more difficulty in developing vocabulary and grammar skills. NR did not experience similar problems and could acquire with ease the rudiments of Spanish vocabulary, syntax and reading. To measure the linguistic and cognitive aspects, periodic tests were given which included decoding, spelling, word recognition, pseudowords, comprehension and memory components. Affective aspects, which played an important role among the DR especially, were measured using individual and collective interviews as recorded on audio-tape. Throughout the instructional period, the role of the students changed in that they became participants, and as they wrote their stories with myself as a partner, they became co-researchers. Through this research there was an opportunity for getting insights into whether a reading disability is as much of a limitation in one language (Spanish) as it is in another (English) and to develop principles and implications of teaching adults to read a second language. In spite of the fact that the DR showed extreme difficulty in understanding grammar because of their lack of learning strategies, it was a positive experience for them since they had the opportunity to deal with their limitations in learning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)
Infrastructure development in emerging economies: An examination of public-private participation in the roads sector in Lagos State
Keywords: Road construction industry, Law and legislation
Road construction industry, Nigeria
Infrastructure (Economics), Nigeria
Public investments, Nigeria
Public-private sector cooperation, Nigeria

The dilapidated state of physical infrastructure in most emerging economies is a source of concern not only to these economies but also the global community. The failure of state owned enterprises involved in the provision of such services has been identified as a major factor amongst others. The concern for rapid infrastructure development has thus witnessed the emergence of various private infrastructure development models to assist the government in meeting its infrastructure challenge. This thesis examines the extant regulatory and institutional regime for private participation in the road sector in Lagos State, Nigeria. The paper considers the successful experience of concession programmes in countries like the United Kingdom, State of Victoria, Australia, Chile and South Africa. Further, the paper discusses the unsuccessful experience of the Mexican Concession program in making recommendations for appropriate regulatory and institutional frameworks for implementing a successful concession program in the road sector.
How I learned to read German und so weiter: triangulating perspectives of a grammar translation approach to foreign language reading
Keywords: Language and languages, Study and teaching
Languages, Modern
Language acquisition, Foreign speakers

This thesis seeks to explore and understand the foreign language pedagogy, grammar-translation, as an educational experience . Conducted at a Canadian university, the study involved 33 undergraduate and graduate students registered in a 12-week Reading German course. Throughout this period, the researcher, himself a member of the class, kept a language-learning diary in which he recorded his thoughts in relation to what and how he was learning. In addition, at the end of the course, he conducted semi-structured interviews with nine of his peers to better understand how they had engaged in and coped with the German language-learning process. The data collected from both the diary and interviews was analyzed using the qualitative research software, N5Â®. Such an analysis permitted the identification of common themes across diary entries and interview transcripts which, in turn, served as the basis for developing a theoretical model reflective of the classroom language-learning situation in question.
The impact of civil war on education: A case study of Acholiland, northern Uganda
Keywords: War and education, Uganda
Education, History
Education, Uganda
Imperialism, Social aspects
Imperialism, Uganda

This thesis argues that the civil war between the Uganda army, the Uganda People's Defense Force (UPDF), and the rebel army, the Lord Resistance Army (LRA), led to massive destruction of the few available educational institutions causing very high student drop-out rates, thus, exacerbating inequity in education. The destruction of schools has aggravated the gap created by Idi Amin's government since the 1970s. Ironically, the Uganda government has presented the destruction of schools and substandard quality of education, as progress. This thesis shows that the UPDF-LRA war policy of targeting schools destroyed the few educational infrastructures that were left following the overthrow of Idi Amin. It examines the evolution of education from traditional/indigenous education to western Christian missionary, colonial and post-colonial government efforts. The destruction of schools by the UPDF-LRA undermined quality education. It concludes by calling for a critical focus on quality education and school infrastructure.
Young children's deontic and epistemic reasoning
Keywords: Cognitive psychology
Language and logic
Reasoning
Developmental psychology

Research has suggested that both children and adults are better at deontic than epistemic reasoning. The current study examined this deontic advantage in children (N = 32, M = 46.78 months), by modifying an existing reasoning task and creating a second similar task. Children's performance on two false-belief tasks and one language measure was also assessed. It was hypothesized that children would perform better on the deontic version of the reasoning tasks, and that epistemic reasoning would be positively correlated with false belief. Because the first hypothesis was not supported, the second hypothesis could not be tested. Upon modifying the existing reasoning task, many contextual differences between the deontic and epistemic conditions were removed, leaving only a language difference. This suggests that it may be the context, not the language, that is particularly important for the deontic advantage. Future research will attempt to further tease apart this context/language distinction.
Global restructuring of network energy industries and the quest for energy security, environmental protection and sustainable development: What is the role of regulatory instruments? A Rethink of market issues and lessons from the European Union experience
Keywords: Power resources, Law and legislation
Power resources, European Union countries
Environmental law, European Union countries
Sustainable development, Law and legislation
Sustainable development, European Union countries
Energy industries, Law and legislation
Energy industries, European Union countries

Globally, significant changes are taking place in the restructuring of the network energy industries, aimed at the introduction of competition. However, these sectors have certain characteristics which present challenging questions for these market-styled reforms. This work identifies three broad objectives which any well designed reform initiative should seek to achieve: energy security, environmental protection and sustainable development. Unfortunately, these objectives, none of which is less important, are contradictory, such that the pursuit of one normally implies undermining the others. The task in this work is to find the means of reconciling these contradictions within a restructured network energy industry. This work finds through theoretical analyses and empirical evidence that markets are incapable of fulfilling this goal alone. The question central to this work therefore is: what is the role of regulation in achieving these broad objectives?
A critical analysis of statutory rape law and its effects on adolescents the Chilean case
Keywords: Rape, Chile
Human rights, Chile

This thesis sets forth the interests and conflicts involved in the current Chilean law on statutory rape. Through a thorough investigation of the conceptualization, implementation, and current life of this legislation, the possible effects of the Chilean case on adolescents' rights is investigated and evaluated. Examining the development of this law and its related policy, and if their consequences conflict with the Chilean Constitution or international and regional human rights conventions allows us to evaluate the merits, utility, and potential problems of such legislation. A detailed investigation of the social, legal, and health data available, as well as the concrete liability implications reveals that the policy which implements the Chilean statutory rape provision is in violation with domestic and international human rights law. In conclusion, recommendations are presented to deal with the effects of the implementation, as well as to modify the legislation to uphold adolescents' human rights.