VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Maximizing the Potential of Multiple-choice Items for Cognitive Diagnostic Assessment

When applying cognitive diagnostic models, the goal is to accurately estimate students’ diagnostic profiles. The accuracy of these estimates may be enhanced by looking at the types of incorrect options a student selects. This thesis research examines the additional diagnostic information available from the distractors in multiple-choice items used in large-scale achievement assessments and identifies optimal conditions for extracting diagnostic information. The study is based on the analyses of both real student responses and simulated data. The real student responses are from a large-scale provincial math assessment for grade 6 students in Ontario. Data were then simulated under different skill dimensionality and item discrimination conditions. Comparisons were made between student profile estimates when using the DINA and MC-DINA models. The MC-DINA model is a newly developed cognitive diagnostic model where the probability of a student choosing a particular item option depends on how closely the student’s cognitive skill profile matches the skills tapped by that option. The results from the simulation data analysis suggested that when the simulated data included additional diagnostic information in the distractors, the MC-DINA model was able to use that information to improve the estimation of the student profiles, which shows the utility of the additional information obtained from item distractors. The value of adding information from distractors was greater when there was lower item discrimination and more skill multidimensionality. However, in the real data, the keyed options provided more diagnostic information than the distractors, and there was little information in the distractors that could be utilized by the MC-DINA model. This implies that current math test items could be further developed to include diagnostically rich distractors. The study offers some suggestions for a design of multiple-choice test items and its formative use.

Keywords: cognitive diagnostic models
cognitive diagnostic assessment
Advisor: Jang, Eunice
Software Architecture Decision-making in Organizational Settings

The purpose of the architecture of software systems in business organizations is to support those organizations in achieving business goals. In software development organizations the design of an architecture is a collective effort that involves various organizational stakeholders and designers, who identify, interpret, and reason about intents, and communicate, delegate, commit to, and implement intents and decisions. Current architectural design descriptions are by-and-large based on block-and-arrow notations representing "coarse-grained" solution elements of the system. They lack explicit representation for modeling and analyzing the decision-making of stakeholders and architectural designers who hold different organizational responsibilities, and pursue conflicting and/or synergistic business or system goals, while collectively pursuing organizational objectives. This thesis considers the proposition that a distributed intentionality perspective is applicable in the design of software system architectures. During architectural design, relationships between intentional actors define the context in which intentional actors pursue business and system goals and in which they negotiate architectural decision-making. The objective of this research is to investigate what an Intentional Architecture Language (IAL) could be like that utilizes intentional and organizational modeling and analysis concepts to support architectural decision-making efforts in organizational settings. Drawing from prior work on organizational modeling and analysis, this thesis first defines a core IAL, and then explores its use to model and analyze architectural decision-making both reported in the literature and empirically observed at a number of commercial projects in industry. Drawing from these explorations, this thesis proposes a number of extensions to the core IAL, discusses lessons learned, and points to the advantages and limitations in using an IAL to model and analyze architectural decision-making in an organizational setting.

Keywords: Software Architecture
Knowledge Representation
Conceptual Modeling
Rationale Modeling
Actor orientation
Goal orientation
Organizational Modeling
Advisor: Yu, Eric
Treating MIXED Children: The Impact of Reductions in Parent-Child Co-rumination and Maternal Depression on Child Internalizing and Externalizing Symptoms

Children with co-occurring internalizing and externalizing problems (MIXED children) represent a distinct aggressive subtype with negative outcomes; understanding what works for them in treatment is imperative. The success of MIXED children in some family-based programs for aggression may be attributable to collateral reductions in internalizing symptoms. The current study examined whether reductions in internalizing behaviour in MIXED children were due to reductions in maternal depression and parent-child co-rumination. Co-rumination, a dyadic interaction related to internalizing symptoms, is defined as excessively discussing problems and dwelling on negative feelings. We investigated 154 MIXED children and 49 pure externalizers who underwent Parent Management Training/Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. Mother-child co-rumination was assessed using videotaped observations of problem discussions gathered at pre-treatment, post-treatment and follow-up. We hypothesized that, at pre-treatment, mother-child co-rumination would mediate the relation between maternal depression and child internalizing problems. During treatment, we expected that co-rumination and maternal depression would predict reductions in child symptoms. Finally, we hypothesized that reductions in co-rumination would mediate the association between improvements in maternal depression and improvements in child internalizing which would, in turn, impact externalizing outcomes. Results did not support our pre-treatment and during treatment hypotheses about the role of co-rumination as a mediator. At pre-treatment, maternal depression was associated with child internalizing problems and co-rumination; co-rumination was not associated with internalizing when controlling for maternal depression. Reductions in maternal depression were associated with improvements in child internalizing and, marginally, with child externalizing, thus partially supporting our hypotheses. We also found that reductions in co-rumination impacted child externalizing, but not internalizing behaviour, again partially supporting our hypotheses regarding co-rumination changes and child symptom changes. Finally, results demonstrated that internalizing improvements affected externalizing outcomes, partially supporting our treatment-related hypothesis. Findings have implications for understanding the development and treatment of problems in MIXED children.

Keywords: treatment of comorbid children
parent-child co-rumination
Advisor: Granic, Isabela
Law and War in Late Medieval Italy: The Jus Commune on War and Its Application in Florence, c. 1150-1450

This study, on law and war in late medieval Italy, has two primary aims. One is to review the legal tradition on war as it developed in the medieval jus commune, or common law, from approximately 1150-1300, and then to consider how that tradition evolved from roughly 1300-1450. In general the latter period still represents a lacuna in scholarship on the legal theory of war, and can be addressed as a distinct period because the fourteenth century was a time when theory moved in important new directions. It will be suggested in turn that those new directions were related to changing politics and institutions in Italy. The second aim continues and reflects the first, as it seeks to better understand how legal arguments about war and peace were employed in practice, using Florence as an example. The study finds that these legal arguments found their most important role in diplomacy. Florentine diplomatic records, as well as legal opinions (or consilia) on inter-city disputes, will help to examine the complex nature of that role. In general it will be seen that the law, including the jus commune, was a strategic tool and an important regulatory mechanism for relations between political actors in late medieval Italy, though one that also had significant limitations. The first chapter introduces the material and themes. The second treats the just war tradition and laws on war through 1300. The third chapter examines legal theory on war, particularly in Roman law, from roughly 1300 to the early fifteenth century. The fourth explores how just war arguments were deployed in Florentine political discourse between 1230 and 1430. The fifth chapter examines a range of legal issues related to war, as found in diplomatic instructions and consilia which played a role in Florentine wartime diplomacy from 1392-1402. The sixth chapter is the conclusion.

Keywords: History
Law
Advisor: Armstrong, Lawrin
Does Teaching Matter? The Role of Teaching Evaluation in Tenure Policies at Selected Canadian Universities

Teaching has always been and remains a core function of universities. However, there is a pervasive assumption that research activity is privileged over teaching contributions, particularly when hiring, tenure and promotion decisions are being made. Where do such beliefs come from? Are these assumptions based on policy or practice, or a combination of the two? Is research privileged, and if so, does teaching really matter? This dissertation considers the assumption that teaching is undervalued in Canadian universities, particularly within the context of institutional reward structures and more specifically in relation to the tenure review. My dissertation examines the emergence of formal faculty evaluation systems in the second half of the 20th Century and considers various influencing factors on their development, including the evolution and adoption of tenure within academia and the move toward faculty collective bargaining. The extensive body of literature on the evaluation of teaching provides a conceptual framework to examine the current Canadian landscape. Specifically, this involves a comprehensive review and analysis of tenure policies from 46 Canadian universities. This study reviews these polices to determine the extent to which they reflect the recommendations emerging from the current literature. The results of this review reveal that the recommendations from the literature are inconsistently reflected in current tenure policies at most institutions. In particular, a clear definition of “teaching effectiveness” is absent from the majority of policies. However, institutions have more consistently adopted the recommendation for multiple measures and means of assessing teaching effectiveness. For example, there exists a wide use of course evaluations and an increasing use of teaching dossiers to document teaching contributions at Canadian universities. Subsequently, this study examines in detail five policies (from the universities of Alberta, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan and from York and Nipissing universities) that most thoroughly reflect the recommendations in the literature. These policies may be understood as models of emerging effective process. By identifying inconsistencies, shifting practices, and emerging trends, this study provides a foundation for further research on the evaluation of teaching at Canadian universities and will aid universities in the process of reviewing their own tenure policies.

Keywords: teaching
teaching evaluation
tenure
Canada
tenure policies
universities
higher education
Advisor: Jones, Glen A.
Investigation of SH3 Domain Specificity through the Study of Cross-reactive Domains from Yeast Proteins Nbp2p and Bem1p

Protein interactions are often mediated through binding of protein interaction domains to short peptide motifs. However, how the specificity of interactions is regulated within domain families is not well understood. In this thesis, I investigated this issue through the study of two cross-reactive SH3 domains from the yeast adaptor proteins Nbp2p and Bem1p. Despite low sequence similarity and different cellular roles, the Nbp2p SH3 and Bem1p SH3b domains recognize targets containing the same consensus sequences, raising the question of how the specificity of these domains is controlled. The Bem1p SH3b domain is also unusual in containing a 40 amino acid long C-terminal extension required for folding and interaction with the Cdc42p GTPase, which I also investigated in this thesis. I demonstrated that although Nbp2p SH3 and Bem1p SH3b domains recognize the same consensus sequence, each domain possesses its own unique specificity within the context of eight yeast peptides. Through structural and mutagenesis studies, I demonstrated that the Nbp2p SH3 and Bem1p SH3b domains employ different mechanism for binding, explaining how each domain can still possess its own unique specificity, while recognizing the same consensus sequence. I found that the specificity of Bem1 SH3b domain is largely regulated through inhibitory interactions, where a conserved residue in the binding interface serves to decrease binding to non-specific targets. Most significantly I observed that reducing the specificity of Bem1 SH3b domain, without reducing its binding affinity decreases its ability to function in vivo. My structural and mutagenesis studies with the Bem1p SH3b domain also demonstrated that its C-terminal extension is involved in peptide binding surface and creates a separate surface required for interaction with Cdc42p. I also showed that the Bem1p SH3b domain is capable of simultaneously interacting with peptide targets and Cdc42p, suggesting a role for this domain in Cdc42p mediated activation. Overall, my findings demonstrated the ability of SH3 domains to perform complex functions and bind their targets with finely tuned specificity. Most importantly, I demonstrated the significance of negative interactions for specificity determination and the importance of precise specificity for in vivo function.

Keywords: SH3 domain
Bem1p
Nbp2p
specificity
Advisor: Davidson, Alan R.
Supernova Rates, Rise-Ttmes and their Relations to Progenitors

Supernovae are fundamental in astronomy: they inject high mass elements into the interstellar medium enriching the chemistry of galaxies, they feed processes of star formation and active galactic nuclei, and they have been a key for the developments in cosmology of the past decades. This dissertation presents a set of subluminous type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) at z>0.1 from the Supernova Legacy Survey (SNLS). These faint and short-lived transients are found in massive and passive host galaxies. We measure a volumetric rate as a function of redshift that is different from the normal SNIa population. The observations point towards a long delay time since the birth of the progenitors systems and argue for progenitor stars of initial low mass. We calculate a stretch-corrected rise-time since explosion to maximum brightness for different sets of SNe~Ia. We find that a fiducial 17 day quadratic rise is sufficient to explain all SNe Ia, including subluminous ones, arguing for their homogeneity throughout the entire light-curve. Subluminous SNe Ia are powered by as little as 0.05 solar masses of radioactive nickel synthesized in the explosion. Theoretical models need to explain these challenging weak explosions within the framework of SNe Ia. Finally, we develop one of the first robust automated techniques to identify plateau supernovae (SNe IIP) in large photometric transient surveys. This simple method was tested with a variety of real and simulated SN samples and proved to be effective across different redshifts. Such a photometric typing will be of great power for coming surveys and will allow numerous scientific studies of SNe IIP.

Keywords: supernova
Advisor: Carlberg, Ray
Towards a Framework for Practice: A Phenomenological Study of Community Dwelling Holocaust Survivors' Social Work Service Needs

This phenomenological study explores the needs of community dwelling Holocaust survivors and proposes a framework for social work practice with this population. Data from qualitative interviews with Holocaust survivors and family caregivers of Holocaust survivors suggest that there are at least two different cohorts of Holocaust survivors in this study. These cohorts, referred to as classic and contemporary survivors in this dissertation, differ with regard to their age as well as the extent to which they are affected by numerous barriers relating to their health and physical ability as well as to language, education, and work background. A small number of respondents demonstrated characteristics belonging to both of the cohorts. A continuum, with classic survivors on one end of the scale and contemporary survivors on the other is therefore suggested as the best way to understand the differences between the two cohorts of Holocaust survivors in this study. Research findings compare and contrast these two ends of the continuum, as well as the cases which fit somewhere in the middle, and suggest the following five themes: 1. There are important similarities and differences between classic and contemporary survivors, 2. Individual Holocaust survivors, their family members and the larger community have all been affected by the Holocaust, 3. Identities and values have been impacted by the trauma associated with the Holocaust, 4. Survivor characteristics can be classified as characteristics of resiliency and/or vulnerability, (The sub-themes uncovered in this study relating to resiliency include fierce independence, a “never give up” mentality and a strong social conscience. The sub-themes relating to vulnerability include guarded trust, a “going without” mentality, increased vulnerability to loss, and loss of secure identity), and 5. The needs of the study population can be better understood by considering resiliency and vulnerability characteristics. The life course framework and individual and community trauma theories are applied to understand these research findings which inform the proposed framework for social work practice.

Keywords: Holocaust Survivors
Social Work
Trauma
Community
Advisor: McDonald, Lynn
Poetry and Philosophy in Boethius and Dante

This dissertation examines the nature and influence of the structural complexity of Boethius’ Consolation of Philosophy on Dante’s Commedia, arguing that the latter is a deliberate response to the former. The General Introduction sets the groundwork through a survey of the major scholarship on Dante and Boethius; the genre of the Consolation as understood through the modern, but inadequate, category of Menippean satire and through accessus ad auctores in the medieval commentary tradition on Boethius and related authors; and the conception of intertextuality used in the study, which is connected to both the practice of allegory and Boethius’ understanding of metaphysics. Chapter One examines the Consolation, beginning with the presentation and roles of its two major characters, Boethius and Philosophy. Anchoring the more abstract discussion of the Consolation’s structure and its scholarly interpretations is the subsequent analysis of three main themes, time, love, and prayer. Chapter Two considers five twelfth-century prosimetra and their intertextual relationships with the Consolation in order to map authorial strategies of imitation: Bernard Silvestris’ Cosmographia; Alan of Lille’s Plaint of Nature; Hildebert of Lavardin’s Liber de querimonia; Adelard of Bath’s De eodem et diverso; and Lawrence of Durham’s Consolatio de morte amici. Each work is examined for its Boethian elements and structural complexity; the most original, the Cosmographia, is considered at greatest length. This provides an overview of common interpretive and imitative options for the Consolation. Chapter Three examines the Boethian elements of Dante’s Vita Nuova and the Convivio before engaging with the Commedia in order to take issue with the prevailing scholarly opinion that the Commedia can be understood as a rejecton of Dante’s Boethian stage as symbolized by the Convivio. Through a thorough examination of the many ways the Consolation is an intertext in the Commedia, this chapter argues that the Commedia is deeply responsive to the challenges of the Consolation both philosophically and artistically, and, in fact, is positioned by Dante so as to supersede and typologically fulfill the Consolation. In conclusion, therefore, Boethius’ work is demonstrated to be integral to a proper understanding of Dante’s purpose in the Commedia.

Keywords: Dante
Boethius
twelfth-century allegory
medieval allegory
cosmology
prosimetrum
Advisor: Akbari, Suzanne Conklin
Magee, John
The West Indian Mission to West Africa: The Rio Pongas Mission, 1850-1963

This thesis investigates the efforts of the West Indian Church to establish and run a fascinating Mission in an area of West Africa already influenced by Islam or traditional religion. It focuses mainly on the Pongas Mission’s efforts to spread the Gospel but also discusses its missionary hierarchy during the formative years in the Pongas Country between 1855 and 1863, and the period between 1863 and 1873, when efforts were made to consolidate the Mission under black control and supervision. Between 1873 and 1900 when more Sierra Leonean assistants were hired, relations between them and African-descended West Indian missionaries, as well as between these missionaries and their Eurafrican host chiefs, deteriorated. More efforts were made to consolidate the Pongas Mission amidst greater financial difficulties and increased French influence and restrictive measures against it between 1860 and 1935. These followed an earlier prejudiced policy in the mission that was strongly influenced by the hierarchical nature of nineteenth-century Barbadian society, which was abandoned only after successive deaths and resignations of white superintendents and the demonstrated ability of black pastors to independently run the Mission. Instrumentalism aided the conversion process and the increased flow of converts threatened both the traditional belief systems and social order of the Pongas Country, resulting in confrontation between the Mission and traditional religion worshippers, while the lack of more legitimate trade in the Pongas Country and allegations of black missionaries’ illicit sexual relations and illegal trading caused the downfall of John Henry A. Duport, the Mission’s first black Head Missionary. In the late 1800s, efforts to establish a self-supporting, self-generating, and self-propagating church together with initiatives toward African agency in the Pongas Country failed. However, it was French activities and eventual consolidation of their interests in the Pongas Country from 1890 and their demand that Mission schools teach in French, together with successful recruiting of Mission students by the Roman Catholics and Muslim clerics in Guinea, that finally crippled it. Thus, by 1935 when the Gambia-Pongas Bishopric was established in the hope of rescuing the Mission, this gender-biased Christian enterprise in West Africa was already a spent force.

Keywords: Mission History
Upper Guinea Coast
West Indies
Rio Pongas
Advisor: Klein, Martin