VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
THE LIVING WITH SICKLE CELL QUESTIONNAIRE: PSYCHOMETRIC PROPERTIES OF A NEW DISEASE- SPECIFIC SELF-REPORT MEASURE OF HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE FOR PEDIATRIC SICKLE CELL DISEASE

Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) remains a relatively new area of investigation in pediatric sickle cell disease (SCD).The purpose of this study was to determine the reliability, validity, and sensitivity to change of the Living with Sickle Cell Questionnaire (LSCQ), a new disease-specific HRQoL self-report instrument for children and adolescents with SCD. The LSCQ was constructed using a ‘clinimetric’ approach, which assigned items identified as important by patients to one of four traditional domains of HRQoL: Somatic Sensation, Cognitive/Psychological Functioning, Social Functioning, and Physical Functioning. Self-report versions of the PedsQL, a generic HRQoL questionnaire for children and adolescents, were co-administered in counterbalanced fashion to help establish questionnaire properties. One hundred children and adolescents with SCD (mean age: 11.7 years) participated in the study at two time points approximately two weeks apart. At the second visit, patients were asked to estimate change in their overall health since the first administration. Parents provided demographic information. High internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha > .70) was found for each LSCQ domain at both timepoints. The LSCQ instrument’s sensitivity to patient-reported change in health between testing timepoints was only weakly demonstrated. Child demographic and disease-related factors predicted LSCQ Total Score and PedsQL About My Feelings and About School scores at Time 2 only. Confirmatory factor analyses performed at Time 1 and Time 2 showed high intercorrelations among items belonging to the same parent domain for the four-factor traditional HRQoL model, but indicated poor model fit at both time points. Follow-up Principal Component analyses for the LSCQ computed at Time 1 and Time 2 yielded four-factor solutions that accounted for 68% and 71% of the variance explained, respectively, but did not confirm the hypothesized four-domain generic HRQoL model. Rather, the four factors organized around themes of treatment, impact of fatigue, and pain and mobility, with some variation at each time point. High item loadings on the first factor suggest that a unidimensional structure might underlie HRQoL as measured by the LSCQ. Hypothesized associations between LSCQ and the PedsQL domains did not emerge as predicted. Findings are discussed in the context of disease-specific HRQoL conceptualization, instrument construction and child response style.

Keywords: Health-related quality of life
measurement
pediatrics
sickle cell disease
Advisor: Childs, Ruth
Hetherington, Ross
EMBODIED PERSONS IN THE NORTH ABYDOS VOTIVE ZONE DURING THE THIRD INTERMEDIATE – LATE PERIOD (1069-332BCE): CONSTRUCTING SOCIAL IDENTITIES WITH OSTEOLOGY AND MORTUARY BEHAVIOUR

The research in this dissertation is an analysis of the mortuary remains, dating to the Third Intermediate – Late Period (c. 1069-525BC), from the site of North Abydos, Egypt. The corpus of materials originates from burials located adjacent to the processional route and outside of the main temple of Osiris, in an area known as the Votive Zone. During the Third Intermediate Period, a noticeable shift in the usage of the area witnessed a change from primarily votive behaviour to mortuary in nature. The artifactual and biological materials offer a unique opportunity to adopt a bioarchaeological approach in order to gain deeper insight into the individuals who were buried here. Analysis was done on the small artifacts, architectural features, and the spatial location of the tombs in relation to other monuments and features of Abydos. The results showed that individuals of high status were buried here, and their tombs maintained a reverence for the past as well as a close connection to the Osiris myth. The skeletal remains shed light on the biological identities of the deceased and include information such as age-at-death, sex, markers of stress, dental health, markers of activity, and trauma. The results show that environmental changes, urban development, and changes in the population during this period likely resulted in a number of childhood stressors such as nutritional deficiencies and exposure to infections. However, the high social status of the individuals likely afforded them better recovery and access to medical care. An analysis on morphological markers of activity and trauma also suggests that daily life was not strenuous or dangerous, another signifier of their elite social status. This dissertation showcases the efficacy of comparing funerary and biological materials and a deeper understanding of social life and death of a population, than can be achieved by only observing one source.

Keywords: Bioarchaeology
Egyptology
Embodiment Theory
Material Culture
Mortuary ritual
Osteology
Advisor: Pouls Wegner, Mary-Ann
Measurement and Mechanisms of Skill Generalization and Transfer in the Rehabilitation Context

Introduction: A major goal of rehabilitation is to promote generalization and transfer of learning from the rehabilitation context to everyday life. The purpose of this thesis was to increase our understanding of the mechanisms that support generalization and transfer by examining the Cognitive Orientation to daily Occupational Performance (CO-OP) approach. CO-OP is a multi-faceted, performance-based, intervention that frequently reports achieving generalization and transfer. Methods: Three studies were undertaken. 1) A scoping review to describe the literature on CO-OP transfer. 2) Scale development and testing to produce a tool that allows for the quantification of the degree of difference between skills. 3) Testing of a proposed model of the CO-OP factors that contribute to generalization and transfer using multiple regression analysis. Results: It was found that a variety of approaches were used to examine transfer in CO-OP studies; in all cases evidence of transfer was reported. However, the variety of approaches used made comparisons and synthesis across studies difficult. The Generalization and Transfer Scale (the G Scale), was developed and found to have both good content validity and inter-rater reliability. Correlations between G scores and post-intervention performance on untrained goals were not significant; generalization and transfer was found to occur at all degrees of difference between trained and untrained goals. The multiple regression analysis found that, along with age group and pre-test performance, non-verbal negative self-efficacy was associated with post-intervention performance on untrained goals. Significance of findings: Taken together these three projects contribute to the understanding of the mechanisms of generalization and transfer. The G Scale, a valid and reliable tool to quantify the degree of difference between skills, supports the examination of generalization and transfer. The G score was found to be unrelated to the achievement of generalization and transfer suggesting that other mechanisms are at play. In addition, the findings here point to the importance of self-efficacy in this process. Future work is required to elucidate other features of CO-OP that were proposed to facilitate generalization and transfer.

Keywords: Cognitive
Functional
Generalization
Skills
Strategy Use
Transfer
Advisor: Polatajko, Helene J
Improvisation in Choral Settings

While improvisation in music education settings is widely endorsed as an approach to music-making, research suggests that improvisation in these settings is not widely practiced. Improvisation is often associated with jazz curricula and certain pedagogies relating to elementary music. Researchers have identified fear, lack of time, and lack of training as key barriers to implementing improvisation in several music education contexts including elementary, general music, band, and jazz ensemble settings. Little research exists, however, with regards to the use of improvisation in choral settings at the secondary school and university levels. The purpose of this study is to examine the phenomenon of improvisation in choral settings. Using a case study methodology, I collected and categorized data comprising observations and semi-structured interviews of three choral educators in North America, two at the university level, and one at the high school level, who utilize improvisation with their students. The results of the data yielded several findings related to improvisation strategies, facilitating improvisation, defining success in these contexts, as well as rationales for and perceived benefits of using improvisation. The findings of the study will provide choral educators wishing to utilize improvisation with their students a number of improvisation strategies, as well as suggestions for facilitating improvisation that will mitigate typical reservations related to its implementation. The results of this study also suggest that improvisation can counter common criticisms of traditional choral settings, while at the same time, provide opportunities to enhance and transform choral music-making for students and educators alike.

Keywords: Case Study
Choral Educators
Choral Settings
Improvisation
Pedagogy
Strategies
Advisor: Apfelstadt, Hilary
Standing on Guard for Thee: The Acceptable Muslim and Boundaries of Racialized Inclusion in Canada

This dissertation traces the emergence of the figure of the Acceptable Muslim in Canadian public, political and cultural discourses, and illuminates the conditions for inclusion of such figures in the national imaginary. The Acceptable Muslim is perceived as a ‘good,’ ‘moderate,’ ‘modern,’ and assimilable Muslim, one who espouses a privatized faith with few public expressions of religious/cultural belonging. Against the backdrop of the racialization of Muslim bodies, Acceptable Muslims (re)confirm the racial boundaries of the nation-state, becoming passionate defenders of multiculturalism, whiteness and a global politics of Western domination. I theorize that the figure of the Acceptable Muslim sustains the narrative of the Canadian nation-state as liberal, democratic, secular, modern and inclusive, even as it relentlessly excludes, punishes and eliminates the Muslim Other. In this sense, Acceptable Muslims stand as sentries at the (symbolic) borders of the nation, reanimating the racialized boundaries of acceptability and signaling that those beyond the boundaries can be legitimately policed by the nation-state. The figure of the Acceptable Muslim is central in Canadian debates about multiculturalism, immigration, citizenship and secularism, contestations which often reinforce differential (and racialized) notions of belonging. For the Acceptable Muslim, the price of (conditional) inclusion is fidelity to the ideological goals of the Canadian nation-state. Grounding my analysis in theories of Orientalism, racialization, citizenship and secularism, I examine Canadian media discourses about Muslims over a ten-year period (2005-2014) and outline the key frames through which the Muslim body is represented. I then interrogate the work and media footprint of some key Acceptable Muslims, and consider how such figures reanimate central tenets of the Canadian national imaginary. Through my analysis, I identify two sets of figures, the Secular Muslim and the Multiculturalist Muslim, both of which fall under the Acceptable Muslim archetype. While this dissertation examines Acceptable Muslims in the Canadian context, such figures are also evident internationally, illuminating how the figure of the Acceptable Muslim travels across geographical boundaries and is implicated in the global dynamics of power.

Keywords: Canada
Good Muslim
Bad Muslim
Media
Multiculturalism
Muslims
Secularism
Advisor: Razack, Sherene H.
Evolution of Knowledge Building Teacher Professional Development Communities

This study explores the interplay of factors in diffusion of Knowledge Building pedagogy through a multi-level (teachers, administrators, and students) Leading Student Achievement initiative sponsored by the Ontario Ministry of Education in partnership with Ontario Principals’ Councils. Rogers’ (1995) model of diffusion of innovation was used to explore the first and broadest level of decision making by teachers and principals and included analysis of initial resources to learn about and implement Knowledge Building. Analysis included perceived attributes of Knowledge Building pedagogy and factors that influenced early adopters and sustained use. A case study of one school board provides an in-depth account of how these factors came into play; five case studies of classroom practices provide a more micro-perspective on how teachers and students implemented Knowledge Building principles. The findings confirmed that the Leading Student Achievement project is fostering successful adoption of Knowledge Building in Ontario. This study helps to inform decision making for future Knowledge Building and professional development initiatives as well as system-level support required to create a multi-level learning ecology to inform uptake and sustainability of pedagogical innovations.

Keywords: Diffusion of Innovation
Knowledge Building
Professional Development
Professional Learning Community
School Change
Advisor: Scardamalia, Marlene
Clinical Utility of Viral Loads in Influenza Virus Infections

For influenza, as for many other infectious diseases, a test which could predict which patients have illness which progresses and requires hospital care, and which can be safely discharged home would improve care and reduce healthcare system costs. Attempts to develop clinically based severity score systems have failed to predict in-hospital mortality/ICU admission in patients with influenza. Viral loads have been shown to correlate with disease severity for some respiratory viruses, and technology is now available that might make measuring viral load in clinical microbiology laboratories feasible. This thesis hypothesizes that influenza viral load can be measured in routine clinical testing and is predictive of disease severity. First we investigated the process of viral load testing, by evaluating collection methods and storage conditions. We compared viral loads in self-collected and investigator-collected nasal swabs in a cluster randomized vaccine trial, and found no difference in viral load regardless of collection method. Utilizing serially diluted RNA transcripts and clinical specimens, we measured viral loads at different storage temperatures over time and after multiple freeze/thaw cycles. We identified that samples with RNA concentrations ≤3.0 log10 copies/ml degrade more quickly than those with higher concentrations of RNA and that nasopharyngeal specimens can undergo up to 7 freeze/thaw cycles and storage up to three years at -80°C if they are re-extracted before testing. Next, we investigated the relationship between viral loads of influenza in out-patients, patients requiring hospital admission, and patients admitted to the ICU. We determined that viral loads were lower in influenza A patients admitted to the ICU compared to other settings, while influenza B viral load were higher in ICU patients compared to other settings. Finally, we investigated the association between influenza A viral load and hospital length of stay in a sample of patients with detailed clinical and epidemiological data, and the association between influenza viral load and symptom severity in healthy adults. We did not find an association between viral load and these outcomes in either population. In conclusion influenza viral load, while it can be reliably measured in samples, it is not a suitable marker for disease severity in influenza.

Keywords: Disease Severity
Influenza
qPCR
Viral Load
Advisor: Gubbay, Jonathan B
McGeer, Allison J
Writing to Transgress: Sharing Stories, Claiming Space, and Finding Community

My research has shown that community-based creative writing groups can be safer spaces for people who are under-represented in the English literary canon to craft and share their stories, poems, and other genres of writing. They can also put the act of cultural production into the hands of participants, redefine the notion of great literature, and provide a counterpoint to institutional learning. These groups are potential spaces for learning how to relate to one another with respect while acknowledging our own privileges, which can ultimately transform hegemonic social relations that exclude and oppress rather than connect and build support. Using critical arts-based inquiry and program evaluation methods, I employ a reflexive technique to investigate the benefits of a single group for youth, Toronto Street Writers (TSW), which I facilitated for six years in the neighbourhood where I grew up. TSW is positioned within a range of literacy and community writing groups across North America, transgressive and anti-oppressive theories around creative writing pedagogy are summarized, and interviews with former participants and staff of TSW are analyzed for insights into how to facilitate sustainable community-based creative writing groups that genuinely benefit members. Interview respondents reported several benefits, including: finding support and community, developing identity and a unique writerly voice, learning writing tools and leadership skills, discovering a more equal/safer learning environment than traditional schooling, and using writing as part of a healing process. These findings support the notion that creative writing groups promote personal and community healing and resilience for people who have been historically silenced.

Keywords: arts-based community development
arts education
creative writing
Toronto
writing pedagogy
youth
Advisor: Magnusson, Jamie-Lynn
A New Formalism for Soft Collinear Effective Theory with Applications

In this thesis a new formalism for Soft Collinear Effective Theory (SCET) is developed and a new calculation relevant to high-precision studies of Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) involving the summation of Sudakov double logarithms is presented. The new formalism of SCET possesses certain desirable properties not manifest in the standard SCET formalism and is constructed in a framework consistent with the traditional effective field theory perspective. In particular, effective theory operators are organized in an expansion of inverse powers of the matching scale such that operator power counting is determined solely by dimensional analysis rather than requiring the introduction of an abstract power-counting parameter. In contrast to the standard formalism, the infrared degrees of freedom in the effective theory are not subdivided into separate modes determined by relative momentum scaling. The lack of separate collinear and ultrasoft modes is combined with a new subtraction prescription which plays the role of the zero-bin subtraction in the standard formalism. The distinction between different sources of subleading corrections in the effective theory is clarified in this formalism, allowing for a simpler organization of the calculation of these subleading corrections. This formalism is first demonstrated by applying it to the study of Deep Inelastic Scattering (DIS) in the endpoint limit, a process which has been treated several times using SCET. The result and intermediate steps of this calculation are contrasted with previous treatments to demonstrate the relevant features of the new formalism. Next, the calculation of subleading corrections to event shape distributions is addressed. An original calculation of operator anomalous dimensions is presented which will form the basis of future work addressing the current discrepancy in global determinations of the strong coupling constant.

Keywords: effective field theory
jet physics
quantum chromodynamics
soft collinear effective theory
Advisor: Luke, Michael
Genetic, Functional and Clinical Evaluation of MeCP2 Mutations

Rett syndrome (RTT; MIM# 312750) is a neurodevelopmental disorder, the second most common genetic cause of intellectual disability (ID) in girls. Rett incidence (1:10,000-15,000) accounts for 2-3% of all cases of severe ID of genetic origin and 10% of the cases of profound ID in females. RTT is caused by mutations in the X-linked Methyl CpG binding protein 2 (MECP2) gene. Globally, MECP2 mutations affect 30,000 new patients each year, including ~40/year in Canada. Over 33% of all RTT patients have mutations that change a single amino acid in the protein (missense), ~half of which occur within the methyl-CpG-binding domain (MBD), by which MeCP2 protein binds to its target genes. In this thesis, we aimed to identify the pathophysiological mechanisms by which mutations affect the protein’s function. Firstly, we identified a cryptic splice event at pre-mRNA level in a Rett syndrome girl with a synonymous de novo mutation, Gly16Gly. Secondly, we studied functional and clinical correlation of single residue substitutions in MeCP2-MBD. In particular, we highlighted the distinction at the cellular level between missense changes at methylated DNA-binding residues from other changes, which affect the structure of MeCP2-MBD and are involved in chromatin clustering and organization. We further showed that the severe functional changes results in the severe and milder functional changes result in milder phenotypes. Furthermore, we identified the functional role of post-translational modification of MeCP2 N-terminal domain (NTD) on the overall life of the protein, and simultaneously the likely etiopathological mechanism of a MeCP2-E1 isoform specific missense mutation p.Ala2Val, which has been identified in four Rett girls. Lastly, we identified MeCP2 an AT-hook1 mutation in a large consanguineous family with cognitive disability and schizophrenia, and another reported as de novo in a woman with schizophrenia, and demonstrated its effect on AT-rich DNA binding and overall chromatosome condensation.

Advisor: Vincent, John B
Re-authoring Empathy: Constructing Narratives of Empathic Understanding and Engagement in Higher Education

In this research study I write stories of empathic experience with 2 research participants. We write as a method of data analysis where we reconstruct our own lived experiences of empathy in order to become more conscious and self-aware in our understanding of how we each learned empathy. These experiences, brought forward into the present, create hope and possibility for new self-knowledge. This new self-knowledge supports the embodiment of empathy in a teaching practice. The self and other context of empathy is examined as a relational experience in this narrative inquiry, where feelings and understandings are brought to light through the narrative process of recovery and reconstruction of meaning in storied form. This research process supports my belief that knowledge is constructed, and that this holistic practice of curriculum as lived experience supports pathways for meaning-making and self-understanding.

Keywords: empathy
holistic education
learning and teaching empathy
narrative
self-knowledge
story
Advisor: Miller, John P