VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
The drive to strive: exploring the experiences of elite-level adolescent artistic performers

In order to excel, aspiring classical musicians and artistic gymnasts must be highly motivated and possess certain characteristics, which allow them to spend hours practicing or training. This qualitative, phenomenological study is unique in that it attempts to explore the experiences between elite-level classical musicians and artistic gymnasts, allowing me to examine similarities and differences across the two domains. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with 25 participants. Participants included six classical musicians, eight artistic gymnasts, and eleven parents. Both "active" (in-the-midst of their development) and "inactive" (retired) participants were specifically selected in order to gain both a present and retrospective view of their experiences. Three broad themes emerged. The first was family environment. This included the overall social class of the family, induction into the domain, parental attitudes and values towards the domain, the parent-child relationship, and parental support and involvement. These were all critical in the nurturance of excellence, and support past research on talent development (Bloom, 1985; Cote, 1999; Csikszentmihalyi et al., 1993; Ericsson, 1996a; Howe, 1990). Second, the relationship that musicians and gymnasts had with their teachers/coaches was highly influential and often as intimate as the relationship with their parents. A teacher's individual personality and expectations contributed to the student's drive, either directly or indirectly. It was discovered that some teachers/coaches of both the musician and gymnast participants used emotional or verbal abuse as a motivator. Third, self-efficacy surfaced as an important theme during the analysis. Sub-themes of this included: their perception of talent, identity, intrinsic motivation, passion, the "need-to-please" syndrome, perfectionism, and resiliency. It was also found that the experiences of drive were more similar than different across the domains of music and gymnastics. The findings from this study will shed light on our understanding of what drives talented adolescents in music and gymnastics to achieve excellence, and how we might better teach, coach, parent, and programme for them in the future. Indirectly, this research will similarly inform parents, teachers and coaches of elite performers in other performance-related athletic and performing arts domains.

Keywords: Gifted teenagers, Attitudes
Gifted teenagers, Psychology
Teenage musicians
Gymnasts
Motivation (Psychology) in adolescence
Parents of gifted children
Parent and teenager
Job transitions from teaching to administration in secondary schools: an investigation of role assumption

This study explored the descriptions offered by five Ontario educators of their experiences while assuming the role of secondary school vice-principal within the same school district, focusing specifically on the nature of the transition in job role within schools. A review of the literature was used to formulate a three-phase socio-dramatic framework for analysis of role transition processes. These phases, preparation, assumption and reflection encompassed a number of role transition processes. These processes were found to involve a perception of role and its context, the negotiation of a role, and an evaluation of role. Philosophically, this framework places the individual at the centre of role process as this research was undertaken to investigate the interaction between an individual and their assumed job. While most participants had completed identical technical and organizational training, the experience of assuming the vice-principal role presented disparate realities between their imagined and actual vice-principal role. Findings suggest that assuming a new organizational role is a dynamic learning experience which contained common influences within the social setting of secondary schools. In this study, the personal change and turmoil of assuming the vice-principalship seems to be a result of a dissonance between an individual's image of the role and their professional agency within an organization to enact that role. The agency of new vice-principals was strongly influenced by each school's principal, staff, and community. Participants demonstrated an entry into the ranks of educational administration that was stressful, emotionally charged and subject to many influences of a sociological, an organizational and a contextual nature. The vice-principal role was found to be one in which the individual and their school community negotiate a contextually tailored administrative job role.

Keywords: Career development
School administrators, Attitudes
High school teachers, In-service training
School administrators, In-service training
Consequences of the dynamics of behavioural choice for predator prey population dynamics

The dynamics of a series of two-prey-one-predator models of adaptively foraging predators are investigated. Two general classes of models are examined: instantaneous choice models, where the probability of attacking poorer prey is adjusted instantaneously based on current prey densities, and dynamic choice models, where the probability of attacking poorer prey is a dynamic variable. Results indicate that the predictions of the two classes of models differ in several ecologically important quantities. Dynamic choice models commonly predict complex cycles and chaotic dynamics, whereas instantaneous choice models do not. Furthermore, the two classes of models often predict different average population densities and indirect interactions between the prey species. A variety of alternative models of dynamic diet choice are also considered. Overall, the results caution against the use of instantaneous diet choice, and suggest that considering diet choice as a dynamic phenomenon may provide new insights into the population dynamics of adaptive foragers.
The generalized quadratic assignment problem

We study a generalization of the quadratic assignment problem (QAP) by allowing multiple equipments to be assigned at a single location as long as resources at the location permit. This problem arises in many real world applications such as facility location problem and logistics network design. We call the problem as the generalized quadratic assignment problem (GQAP) and show that this relaxation increases the complexity of the problem dramatically. We propose three linearization approaches and a branch and bound algorithm to optimally solve the GQAP. Computational studies have been conducted to demonstrate the performance of the proposed approaches.
Bauschinger effect and springback behavior of dual phase sheet steels

With the increasing use of advanced high strength steels in the automotive industry, springback control has become a more critical issue. It is now realized that a more accurate simulation of springback has to take the Bauschinger effect into account, especially when sheet experiences complicated plastic deformation. In this study, the Bauschinger effect in dual-phase (DP) steels was investigated through tension-unloading-reloading tests. Fundamental mechanisms of the Bauschinger effect were examined via two special experiments: (i) TEM study of the dislocation distribution at the different plastic pre-strains in Bauschinger tests; and (ii) residual stress measurement after different tensile strains using in-situ neutron diffraction technology. To investigate the influence of the Bauschinger effect on springback, deep-draw bending tests were carried out with the different friction conditions. The experimental results of the tension-unloading-reloading tests show the Bauschinger effect in DP steel is much stronger than that in interfacial-free (IF) steel. TEM observation revealed very strong interactions between dislocations and martensite in DP steels. In-situ neutron diffraction tests show that the residual strains caused by inhomogeneous deformation of the two phases in DP steel after deformation are much higher than those in IF steels. The above results support the observation of a strong Bauschinger effect in DP steels. A composite model based on the analysis of internal stress shows further clearly that the residual stresses are the predominant mechanism of the Bauschinger effect in DP steels. A newly defined Bauschinger energy parameter (E beta) was found to be able to quantitatively describe this transient softening before reversed loading. The unloading responses showed the total recovery comes not only from elastic recovery but also from inelastic recovery. An effective unloading modulus was therefore introduced to reflect the inelastic recovery. Based on the three-point bending tests, an FE model was effectively established to simulate the springback under different pin sizes. In order to investigate the Bauschinger effect on springback behavior, the deep-draw bending test was simulated using finite element method and showed improvement of simulation accuracy with the incorporation of the Bauschinger effect.
From the horse's mouth: critical issues of post-publication authorial influence

The divorce of the author and the text has arguably been one of the main projects of twentieth-century critical writing. Formalist theories, in particular, have dominated with an idea that the author is, and must be, irreparably separated from a text after the point of publication. This dissertation investigates theories that both challenge and support the proposition that the post-publication voice of an author may have some critical merit. It is undertaken using personal correspondence between the author, Julia Moss Zarb, and four Canadian writers; Robert Kroetsch, Carol Shields, Matt Cohen, and Marie-Claire Blais. Each chapter works from a different angle to examine the possible uses and limitations of extra textual communications. The chapter, “Process is Always in Process,” for example, presents a theoretical dialogue between Kroetsch and the author regarding issues of intentionality. The chapter, “Process Pre-Staged,” on the other hand, offers a consideration of the interaction between Blais' expressions in personal correspondence and the body of selected published texts. Throughout the work, conflicts between the reader's and the author's authority are in central focus. Ultimately, this dissertation identifies critical value as potentially arising out of a situation where the reader is empowered with the interpretive discretion to allow or disallow post-publication authorial statements into the reading process. Whether drawing on phenomenology, postmodernism or genetic theory as tools for comprehending the reader/author/text rapport, or employing a comprehension of poststructuralism and New Criticism to divine deep-seeded modes of resistance, it is arguable that interpretation of post-publication authorial statements during the reading process creates, for the reader, a potentially significant liminal effect. Throughout this course of inquiry, it becomes apparent that an author's own words may be used with a pre-meditated conservatism to open points of entry and reentry into his or her works. With an awareness of the difference in degree between allowing a writer to guide towards an alternative means of entering a text and accepting his or her input as directive, each chapter demonstrates that consideration of an author may create a portal through which a reader may approach a work.
Images of English in Japan as reflected in advertisements in English conversation schools

Focusing on the advertisements of English conversation schools in Japan, this thesis examined the images of English held by the Japanese learners of eikaiwa (English conversation). Drawing on Lummis's (1976) argument that the eikaiwa world is racist and American centred, this study presupposed the relation between Japanese people's linguistic and physical inferiority complex with Westerners and the strong attachment to white native speaking teachers of eikaiwa. This study found that the ideal images of eikaiwa teachers projected in the advertisements are white native speaker from the U.S., U.K. and Canada. Such images are not unique to Japan, and it is held worldwide. However, this study examined the uniqueness of Japanese people's attachment to white English speaker by presenting advertisements which present the Japanese desire to become physically and linguistically Western, as well as Japanese fear for communicating with white English speakers.

Keywords: English language, Study and teaching
English language, Study and teaching
English language, Japan
Second language acquisition
English language, Japanese speakers
Raising the stakes: a look at the constitutional implications of receiving customary international law domestically

In Canada and England customary international law is received directly into their law (incorporation). In Australia, customary international law is recognized only as a legitimate source of common law (transformation). The reception of customary international law has received relatively little academic and judicial attention in these common law states, unlike in the United States, where there has been extensive discussion of the constitutional issues. The author concludes that neither an incorporation approach, nor a transformation approach is nuanced enough to deal with the stakes. Accordingly, the author argues that a statute should be enacted which prescribes how judges incorporate customary international law as part of the common law. Using the United States' analysis as a basis, the author argues that the doctrine of separation of powers and democracy are "stakes" and are crucial factors for any common law country when considering the reception of customary international law.

Keywords: Customary law, International
Separation of powers
Democracy
Common law
Imaging and modulating the biodistribution of therapeutic agents for cancer gene therapy

Longitudinal bioluminescence imaging (BLI) was first utilized in establishing the spatiotemporal patterns associated with EBV-specific transcription within adenoviral gene therapy vectors, both replicating and non-replicating, delivered systemically and intratumourally (Chapter 2). BLI was then utilized to rapidly screen four compounds that could potentially modulate adenoviral biodistribution favourably. STI571, a small molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitor, was found to enhance tumour uptake of adenoviruses via reduction of tumour interstitial fluid pressure. Afterwards, BLI was combined with fluorescence imaging to develop an imaging method that could be applied to small disseminated cancers (Chapter 3). EBV-positive NPC xenografts were stably transfected with a red fluorescent protein, while a luciferase-expressing EBV-specific adenovirus were delivered systemically; viral expression was observed in all fluorescent tumours, implanted in several locations. Lastly, automated tiling fluorescence microscopy was utilized to develop a method, including the generation of novel algorithms, to quantitate microdistribution patterns of a systemically delivered fluorescent antisense oligodeoxynucleotide in four solid tumour models (Chapter 5). The aim was to elucidate the factors which might account for the differential distribution of this molecule in the four models, including two NPC models previously studied in a therapeutic context. A secondary aim was to demonstrate a quantifiable change in distribution following the administration of ZD6126, a vascular disrupting agent. This thesis has successfully developed methods to assess changes in biodistribution, both at the macroscopic and microscopic scales, of the cancer therapeutics in current development. These methods are applicable to other types of studies, including the engraftment of stem-cells following local irradiation, and the elucidation of the behaviour of other oncolytic viruses in tumour models. Molecular imaging allows for the direct visualization of numerous parameters in cancer. The modalities available allow for the inspection of molecular processes on scales ranging from the whole organism to the individual cell. The objective of this thesis is to develop and apply imaging techniques involving both bioluminescence and fluorescence imaging to cancer gene therapy, specifically directed towards investigating Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) positive nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) in preclinical models. Exogenous genes are introduced by recombinant adenoviral vectors, and endogenous genes are suppressed by antisense oligonucleotides.
Identification and regulation of emotions in children treated for benign or malignant tumors of the cerebellum

The cerebellum has long been implicated in motor regulation and coordination but recent accounts of cerebellar function have included cognition and emotion. Although problems in emotion figure largely in current accounts of cerebellar function, there is a dearth of empirical information about emotion in individuals with cerebellar lesions. The objective of this dissertation was to study emotion identification and emotion regulation in children treated for benign or malignant tumors of the cerebellum. Participants were 74 children aged 7-16 years, 37 non-clinically referred sample of children diagnosed and treated for two of the most common pediatric cerebellar tumors (19 benign astrocytomas (AST) treated with surgery only and 18 malignant medulloblastomas (MBT) treated with surgery, radiation, with or without chemotherapy), and 37 age- and gender-matched typically-developing control children (CON). Experimental tasks were devised using music as a novel tool to examine emotion identification (Emotion Identification task) and emotion regulation (Affective Music Lyric Stroop Tasks). Children were also tested on three reaction time (RT) tasks with varying cognitive demands (simple RT, choice or discriminative RT, and cognitive RT guided by a decision rule). Standardized tests of executive function (working memory and cognitive inhibition) were also administered. Compared to AST and CON groups, children with malignant cerebellar tumors were selectively impaired in identifying sad emotions and performed poorly on all RT tasks. Children in the AST group were specifically impaired on the cognitive RT task, involving greatest cognitive demand. Compared to CONs, both AST and MBT groups were impaired on emotion regulation, as well as on measures of working memory and cognitive inhibition. RT and cognitive resources differentially contributed to outcomes in emotion regulation across groups. In contrast to claims in the clinical literature, tumor pathology did not segregate with tumor location. Overall, while deficits were more pronounced in children with tumors treated with radiation, the benign cerebellar tumor group also performed more poorly than controls on tasks of emotion regulation, cognitive RT, working memory and inhibitory control, suggesting that a cerebellar tumor, even without the adverse effects of radiation, involves a risk for morbidity in affective-cognitive function.
Prophylactic bilateral mastectomy in Ontario

Introduction. Prophylactic mastectomy is an option for women who are at high-risk of developing breast cancer. The purposes of this study were; to describe the patterns of practice of bilateral prophylactic mastectomy in Ontario; to compare the perceptions of breast cancer risk with objective estimates of risk in women following preventive surgery; to assess the current psychosocial functioning of women who had previously had a bilateral prophylactic mastectomy; and to determine the predictors of quality of life following surgery. Methods. Women in the province of Ontario who had undergone prophylactic mastectomy between 1991 and 2000 were identified. Indications and details regarding the surgery were collected during a medical chart review. The women were contacted and asked to complete questionnaires that examined risk assessment and current levels of psychosocial functioning. Results. Annual frequencies of prophylactic mastectomy in Ontario range from six to nineteen women. Some of the women who had the surgery performed were not at a significantly high risk of developing breast cancer. Most of the women greatly over-estimated their risk of developing breast cancer, with the exception of BRCA1/2 mutation carriers. Overall, the women were satisfied with their decision to have preventive breast surgery. The majority of women were within normal ranges for the various domains of psychosocial functioning that were measured (sexual functioning, psychological distress, cancer-related distress, and body image). Women who continued to over-estimate their risk of developing breast cancer were more likely to be experiencing psychological distress. The mean level of quality of life was slightly above the mean level for the general population. The two most important predictors of quality of life were psychological distress and vulnerability. Conclusions. Prophylactic bilateral mastectomy is a relatively rare procedure in Ontario. The indications for surgery were not always adequate, but the decision to have surgery may have been the result of an exaggerated personal risk of developing breast cancer. Women who have prophylactic bilateral mastectomy are not experiencing decreased quality of life or low levels of psychosocial functioning.
Learning disabilities in school-aged children of mothers with systemic lupus erythematosus

A relationship has been suggested between maternal immunoreactivity and adverse developmental outcomes in the offspring. This study examined the potential gestational influence of one such disease process, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE), to determine if more children of mothers with SLE have learning disabilities, and in particular reading disabilities, compared to children of mothers who do not have SLE. A comprehensive battery of measures assessing various domains of neurocognitive functioning that have been shown to be related to reading difficulties was administered to children, ages 6--12 years, of mothers with and without SLE. Results indicated that prevalence rates of learning and reading disabilities were significantly higher (two-to-four-fold) for children of mothers with SLE compared to the rates expected in the general population. Moreover, post hoc exploratory analyses indicated that children of mothers with SLE scored lower compared to mean normative test performance on measures of word reading (pseudowords), on two neurocognitive processes that have been shown to be related to reading achievement, namely the analysis and synthesis of sounds in words and verbal memory span, and on perceived problems with inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity. Higher levels of parenting stress were reported by mothers with SLE compared to a community sample of mothers who do not have SLE and by SLE mothers of learning disabled children compared to nonSLE mothers of learning disabled children. After controlling for overall parenting stress, learning disabled children of mothers with SLE did not exhibit a unique pattern of difficulties in academic achievement or attention problems, but they had lower scores on a measure of verbal working memory relative to learning disabled children in a community sample. Results are discussed in terms of the possible relationship between SLE in mothers and learning disabilities in their offspring, and the implications for clinicians and educators. However, given the post hoc exploratory nature of the comparisons between children of mothers with SLE and the normative sample and the comparisons between learning disabled children of mothers with SLE and learning disabled children of mothers in the community sample, the results of the post hoc analyses should be viewed as tentative findings requiring further investigation.

Keywords: Mothers of exceptional children, Diseases
Learning disabled children
Lupus erythematosus