VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Teacher Change in Bangladesh: A Study of Teachers Adapting and Implementing Active Learning into their Practice

The purpose of this study is to investigate the teacher change process and extend our understanding of how variability in the ways that primary school teachers in Bangladesh implement innovative pedagogical practices, such as active learning, reflects variations in their understanding, attitude, experience, and skill in the use of those pedagogical approaches. Multiple forms of data gathering were employed based on the concerns-based adoption model (CBAM) including an open-ended statement of concern, interviews, and class observations from a purposive sample of ten teachers working in ten different schools. Additional interviews were also conducted with staff responsible for the teachers' professional development. Five main findings emerged from the research. First, there was a split between novice teachers who were committed to following the prescriptive lesson plans and more experienced teachers who adapted their lessons to accommodate differences in student readiness and performance. Second, the majority of teachers appeared to be satisfied with their use active learning methods and the mandated lessons with little projected variation in how they will implement the innovation in the future. Third, the class observation findings indicate that the majority of teachers were rated as ideal users of active learning methods in the classroom. Fourth, findings indicate that professional development and a commitment to building networks among teachers and support staff helped facilitate teachers' confidence and competency. Fifth, among the most influential factors shaping teachers' use of active learning methods were the availability of supplementary learning and teaching resources. Implications for professional development and support for teachers, the applicability of CBAM-based research in low-income country contexts like Bangladesh, as well as future areas of comparative, international, and development education research are discussed in light of those findings.

Keywords: Teacher Development
Teacher Change
Bangladesh
Active Learning
Advisor: Anderson, Stephen
Understanding of the Nature of Science: A Comparative Study of Canadian and Korean Students

This study was designed to identify students’ perceptions of learning activities, assessment formats, and content on their understanding of the nature of science (NOS) by comparing and examining constructs created by Canadian and Korean students. Participants were 217 Canadian and 319 Korean Grade 8 students that filled out questionnaires; additionally, 9 students volunteered for semi-structured interviews. Descriptive statistics, multivariate analysis of variance and partial least squares were used to examine the quantitative data. A conceptually clustered matrix was used for the qualitative analyses. Results indicated that students from both countries perceived 1) their learning activities were teacher-directed, 2) class presentations and discussions occurred least frequently, 3) paper-and-pencil tests determined science scores, 4) science tests relied heavily on knowledge of science while knowledge about science was least likely to be assessed, and 5) generally students held relativistic views on science. The effect for country on NOS concepts was statistically significant across all of their perceptions except for the concepts of culturally embedded science and the perceptions of short-answer test formats. Specifically, Canadian students perceived that they had relatively more student-directed activities while Korean students perceived that they had more teacher-directed science lab activities. Further, Canadian students were inclined to hold more relativistic views across the NOS concepts. It was also noted that Korean students provided more political examples while Canadian students provided stem cell research or environmental issues. An examination of associations revealed that students’ learning activities, assessment formats, and content are good predictors of NOS understanding since these constructs explain variances from 19.7% for Empirical NOS to 63% for Scientific Methods. Results from students’ open-ended responses to the NOS concepts and the semi-structured interviews were consistent with the quantitative analyses. Most interviewees agreed that what, and how, they learned science-- and how their learning was assessed--affected their views of science since school science education was the important factor in developing their scientific knowledge. These results imply that diverse learning activities and assessments could prove to be a better approach to enhancing students’ understanding of NOS than teacher-directed learning activities and test formats requiring a single correct answer.

Keywords: nature of science
perceptions of assessment formats
perceptions of assessment content
perceptions of learning science
comparative study
Advisor: Woodruff, Earl
Rhodium and Palladium Catalysis in the Synthesis of Carbo- and Heterocycles

This thesis describes the development of transition metal catalyzed transformations towards the synthesis of stereochemically rich motifs and heterocycles. The main themes present throughout this thesis are rhodium-catalysis in reactions of boronic acids with alkenes and alkynes, the use of alkynes as a key motif in the synthesis of heterocycles, and the use of domino and one-pot processes to effect high efficiency in multistep transformations. In Chapter 1, a rhodium-catalyzed desymmetrization of diazabicyclic alkenes with boronic acids is discussed. In this work a chemodivergent and enantioselective process for the synthesis of substituted cyclopentenes and cyclopentanes is developed. Both the chemo- and the enantioselectivity of the reaction are shown to be highly dependent on the phosphine ligand structure. The observed reactivity of rhodium is further applied to a domino reaction to synthesize highly substituted benzofuranones. In Chapter 2, the reactivity of boronic acids and alkynes under rhodium catalysis is exploited as a key step to access polycyclic motifs. In the first part of this chapter the development of a domino process using both rhodium and palladium catalysis is described. Detailed mechanistic investigations allow some insight into the interactions between two catalysts. In the last part of this chapter, preliminary experiments in the application of multimetallic catalysis in the synthesis of azadibenzoxepines are discussed. Chapter 3 summarizes work on the arylation of propargylic alcohols with boronic acids under rhodium catalysis. This reaction is shown to proceed with high regioselectivity and can be conducted under mild conditions. The resulting allylic alcohols are shown to be versatile motifs and are applied in a synthesis of indenes and quinolines. In the final chapter of this thesis, iodotriazoles are explored as key intermediates in the synthesis of fused triazole-containing heterocycles. Palladium-catalyzed cyclization, either through C-H functionalization or through Heck coupling, is achieved. Furthermore, it is shown that the copper-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition and palladium-catalyzed C-H arylation can be combined into a one-pot process.

Keywords: heterocycles
transition metals
domino reactions
one-pot reactions
enantioselectivity
catalysis
Advisor: Lautens, Mark
The Healing Journey: What Are the Lived Experiences of Suicide Survivors Who Become Peer Counsellors?

The suicide of a loved one is a traumatic life event that brings considerable emotional suffering. In the present study, the term suicide survivor refers to an individual bereaved though suicide. In the aftermath of their loss, some suicide survivors become peer counsellors and thereby draw on their painful experiences to provide assistance to others bereaved in this manner. Although these individuals play an important supportive role, little is known about their experiences with doing this kind of volunteer work. This study sought to explore the phenomenon of peer counselling in suicide bereavement by addressing the question, what are the lived experiences of suicide survivors who become peer counsellors? The purpose of the study was to understand how these individuals conceptualize their volunteer work and how their volunteerism may affect their own ongoing healing from the loss to suicide. Participants were 15 individuals bereaved through suicide who had been volunteering with others bereaved in the same manner for at least two years. This research employed a qualitative phenomenological methodology to provide a detailed description of participants’ journeys that went from experiencing the suicide of a loved one, to the decision to become a peer counsellor, to, finally, providing support to other survivors. The findings suggest that participants understand the provision of peer counselling as a transformative process. As a result of their volunteering, they undergo personal growth and acquire new skills. They conceptualize providing peer counselling as reaching out to other survivors of suicide and thereby countering the loneliness and isolation of suicide bereavement. For the participants, being a peer counsellor means actively challenging the silence around suicide by speaking out about suicide-related issues and offering other survivors a safe space to share their stories. The broader implications of these findings for suicide postvention research and clinical practice are addressed.

Keywords: suicide bereavement
peer counselling
Advisor: Moodley, Roy
The Effect of Docosahexaenoic Acid in a Mouse Model of Neuroinflammation

Several studies have shown that dietary omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA) are beneficial in neurodegenerative diseases, although the mechanism of action is not agreed upon. Because most neurodegenerative diseases have an inflammatory component, it is possible that docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is anti-inflammatory in the brain as it is known to be in several non-neural tissues. Specialized pro-resolving mediators (SPM) are metabolized from DHA and are leading candidates to explain the anti-inflammatory effects of DHA. The goal of this work was to investigate the role and potential mechanisms of action of DHA in neuroinflammation. In our first approach, fat-1 transgenic mice had higher phospholipid and unesterified DHA levels in their hippocampi, and attenuated lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced neuroinflammation, compared to wildtype littermates. Feeding wildtype littermates n-3 PUFA mimicked hippocampal DHA levels and LPS-induced neuroinflammatory responses of fat-1 mice, indicating DHA is anti-neuroinflammatory whether derived from the diet or the activity of the fat-1 protein. In an attempt to further augment hippocampal DHA levels, feeding n-3 PUFA adequate mice an n-3 PUFA diet increased phospholipid but not unesterified DHA levels, and did not attenuate LPS-induced neuroinflammation, highlighting the potential importance of unesterified DHA. Directly infusing unesterified DHA into a cerebral ventricle throughout LPS-induced neuroinflammation mimicked several aspects of the attenuated neuroinflammatory response seen with our chronic dietary and transgenic models, as did infusing its 17S-hydroperoxy-DHA (17S-HpDHA) derivative, a precursor to SPM. The metabolism of DHA to SPM in the brain was found to be distinct from non-neural tissues, characterized by the presence of protectin D1 and maresin 1, and the absence of resolvin D1 or D2. Further, infusing 17S-HpDHA increased protectin D1 concurrent to attenuating neuroinflammation, suggesting protectin D1 is responsible for some of the anti-neuroinflammatory effects of DHA. In conclusion, DHA is anti-neuroinflammatory in a mouse model of neuroinflammation, in part, via its metabolism to SPM.

Keywords: docosahexaenoic acid
neuroinflammation
Advisor: Bazinet, Richard
Issues in the Left Periphery of Modern Irish

Although the syntax of the left periphery of the Irish clausal architecture has been the subject of considerable research within the generative paradigm, many questions remain unresolved. The general goal of this thesis is to explore some of these understudied territories. Specifically, I consider two distinct, but ultimately related phenomena: headless relative clauses and dependent verbal morphology. I will make four major claims: The first two concern the syntax (and semantics) of the headless relative clause. First, despite the fact that the particles that appear in resumptive relative clauses and in headless relative clauses are morpho-phonologically identical as aN, headless relative clauses are derived by movement, not by means of resumption, and thus the particles in these two constructions are not the same. Second, headless relative clauses are amount relative clauses, in the sense of Carlson (1977); and thus I claim, adopting Grosu and Landman's (1998) notion of complex degree, that the element that undergoes A$'$-movement in a headless relative clause is a complex degree, causing degree-abstraction in the semantics. The maximalization operator then applies to the degree-abstracted relative CP. I argue that it is this operator that triggers the appearance of the particle aN in the headless relative construction. The latter two claims concern the morphosyntax of the left periphery of Irish syntax: First, I claim that there are two tense features in a single finite clause domain of Irish, and that the so-called dependent forms of irregular verbs are the surface realization of the two tense features. This account provides a stepping stone to my final claim that a feature agreeing with the maximalization operator, but not the operator itself, is realized in the headless relative particle aN and that the particles found in resumptive relative clauses and in headless relative clauses are in fact distinct Vocabulary Items and thus they are homophonous. This thesis thus fills a gap in the descriptive account of Irish syntax, and provides new insights to the theory of relativization.

Keywords: Modern Irish
Syntax
Relative Clause
Linguistics
Morphology
Semantics
Advisor: Cowper, Elizabeth
Massam, Diane
Examining Sport-for-development Using a Critical Occupational Approach to Research

Operating under the rubric of sport-for-development, nongovernmental organizations have mobilized sport activities as a tool for international development. Along with these initiatives, a scholarly analysis of the phenomenon has emerged. However, this body of research has not included analysis from a critical occupational perspective. This is a conspicuous shortcoming since, in the language of occupational science, sport-for-development initiatives are occupation-based programs. This study explored sport-for-development using a critical occupational approach to research I constructed, wherein the central site of knowledge production was occupations used in sport-for-development programs. Through five case studies with sport-for-development organizations in Lusaka, Zambia, I describe how staff and youth participants spoke about and understood the use of sport occupations in sport-for-development programs and the sport-for-development ideologies and practices in Zambia and how these shaped the participation of youth. Data generation included observing program activities, interviewing participants, and analyzing organization documents. The findings drew attention to the form, function, and meaning of the sport occupations used in sport-for-development, and illuminate that football, which is a heavily gendered and segregated sport, was constructed as the preferential activity for programs. This prioritization of football, in conjunction with a hierarchical, authoritative approach to decision making, and focus on the development of youths’ sports skills, led to athletic, non-disabled boys living in urban areas being the primary beneficiaries of the programs. I argue that the ideological beliefs that re/produced these understandings contributed to occupational injustices by (1) contributing to the practice of sport being used uncritically as an activity for all youth, (2) perpetuating what were considered acceptable activities for boys and girls in the local context to do, and (3) defining boys in opposition to girls, rural youth, poor youth, and youth with disabilities from both genders. Finally, I propose directions for institutionally-orientated actions to address occupational injustices and consideration of the wider uses and implications of a critical occupational approach within health and social research.

Keywords: sport-for-development
occupational science
Zambia
critical social science
Advisor: Polatajko, Helene J.
Implementing Preventive Education about HIV/AIDS through Physical Education in Zambia: The Response of Teachers

Governments, United Nations (UN) agencies and international and local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have mounted a concerted effort to remobilize sport as a vehicle for broad, sustainable social development. This resonates with the call by the UN Inter-agency Task Force for sport to be a key component in national and international development objectives. Missing in these efforts is an explicit focus on physical education within state schools, which still enroll most children in the global South. This study focuses on research into one of the few instances where physical education within the national curriculum is being revitalized as part of this growing interest in leveraging the appeal of sport and play as a means to address social development challenges such as HIV/AIDS. The study examines the response to the Zambian government’s 2006 Declaration of Mandatory Physical Education (with a preventive education focus on HIV/AIDS) by personnel charged with its implementation. The decree directed personnel to immediately begin implementing the teaching of physical education in all Basic and Secondary schools in Zambia to “ensure physical fitness and the enhancement of values, skills and holistic development of the learner” (Ministry of Education, 2006). The study examined the response of 17 teachers and education administrators from Lusaka province, Zambia. The interviews were conducted between September and December 2009. The purpose of the study was to: 1) evaluate the implementation of the Presidential Decree on physical education as a strategy for addressing HIV/AIDS through Physical Education and Traditional Zambian Games; 2) explore and understand the response of teachers and administrators to the implementation of the 2006 Presidential Decree on physical education; 3) explore how the school context influences the implementation of the Presidential Decree; and 4) map a critical path of key personnel and their resource requirements, and make recommendations for strengthening the effectiveness of HIV prevention education. Drawing on education policy implementation literature, this study provides an analysis of the rising influence of the sport for development movement and of the ways in which physical education and sport may address HIV/AIDS within national education in Zambia. The findings of the study reveal promising signs for the potential of physical education, and of particularly traditional games, for student engagement and for addressing HIV/AIDS. Yet these promising signs are undermined by poor planning and support from the education bureaucracy, deficiencies that stem from years of neglect of, until recently, non-examinable subjects such as physical education. The findings confirm that the literature on education policy implementation drawn mostly from the global North is just as applicable to education sectors in the global South.

Keywords: HIV
AIDS
Physical Education
Zambia
Teachers
Preventive Education
Sport for Development
Implementation
Education
Policy
Decree
Advisor: Kidd, Bruce
Reversible Oxidative Addition in Palladium Catalysis: New Methods for Carbon–Carbon and Carbon–Heteroatom Bond Formation

The development of new, improved methods for forming carbon–carbon and carbon–heteroatom bonds is the basic goal in synthetic organic chemistry. In the Lautens group, many recent advances have been made using late transition metals such as rhodium and palladium. One such research project involves the synthesis of indoles through tandem C–N and C–C coupling reactions using gem-dibromoolefin starting materials, and this area serves as a starting point for the research described. Chapter 1 describes a method by which the tandem use of gem-dibromoolefins can be halted to give intramolecular monocoupling reactions, maintaining one of the carbon–bromine bonds which can serve as a useful handle for further functionalization. The use of copper as a catalyst is key to this reaction, as it features a unique mechanism for carbon–heteroatom bond formation. Benzofurans and benzothiophenes can be prepared by this method. Chapter 2 describes the synthesis of 2-bromoindoles using an intramolecular Buchwald–Hartwig amination of gem-dibromoolefins. It is found that the products are more reactive towards palladium(0) than the starting material, and the use of a bulky phosphine ligand which facilitates reversible oxidative addition is required. This represents one of the first catalytic applications of this step in synthesis. Chapter 3 further explores the concept of reversible oxidative addition in a novel carbohalogenation reaction of alkenes. Aryl iodides tethered to alkenes are treated with a palladium(0) catalysts, which can undergo the basic steps of oxidative addition, carbopalladation, and novel sp2 carbon–iodine reductive elimination. This process is remarkably simple in concept, and is a waste-free, atom economically method for preparing new carbon–carbon bonds. Chapter 4 discusses various limitations to the carbohalogenation methodology, and seeks to overcome these problems. The use of aryl bromide starting materials can be accomplished by adding an iodide source to the reaction, allowing halide exchange of palladium(II) intermediates to occur. Intermolecular and asymmetric variants are also explored. Computational studies are discussed which reveal useful mechanistic details of the catalytic cycle, and this information is used in the development of novel phosphine ligands.

Keywords: palladium catalysis
heterocycles
copper
alkene functionalization
Advisor: Lautens, Mark