VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Only in a Collective: A Narrative Inquiry into Leadership in a Collective Organizational Structure

Parkdale Project Read (PPR) has been providing adult literacy programming in the Parkdale neighbourhood west of Toronto, Canada since the 1980s. The staff at PPR work as a collective in which everyone shares the same title and pay rate as part of a commitment to equality, democracy and collaboration. The collective structure serves as an alternative to hierarchical models. Three research questions guided this study to understand leadership in a collective structure: (1) How do the staff members who work in a collective organizational structure share the work of leadership as a group; (2) What is considered the work of leadership in a collective in terms of the staff members’ day-to-day work; and (3) How does the collective organizational structure influence the staff members’ understanding and performance of the work of leadership as individuals and as a group. Using narrative inquiry as methodology which included interviews, observations and a group writing exercise, I worked with eight participants representing all four of the current collective members at PPR (at the time of the study) and four former collective members. The participants told their stories of working in the collective and of sharing leadership with others in the collective. In retelling the stories shared with me by the participants and drawing from Bourdieu’s thinking tools of habitus, capital and field, I discuss how the collective structure influences the understanding and performance of leadership by the collective members as individuals and as a group through the way they relate to each other. At the same time, the collective members change the way the collective operates with their actions and relationships. The results from this study highlight how a collective shares leadership among its members and challenge how we typically conceptualize leadership by illustrating the dynamic interactions between agency and structure.

Advisor: Joshee, Reva
Listening to Difference: A Deleuzian Approach to Music Education

The philosophical parsing of subjectivity has undergone continuous shifts and revisions since the Enlightenment and has grown to occupy a central point of concern, especially in the development of continental and poststructuralist thought. Ever since Immanuel Kant placed subjectivity into its own epistemic realm, adjacent to or at least prior to the physical and the historical, thinkers have struggled with the specter of a purely transcendental subjectivity outside of place and time. I argue that it is precisely this conception of subjectivity that led German Idealist thinkers to privilege music as a sublime language which grants philosophical and aesthetic access to transcendent subjectivity, leading them to the view that music was the secret language that grants access to being qua being. I further argue that this privileging has in turn led to many of the hidden universalist assumptions and formalist redundancies that continue to haunt music pedagogy. I assert that as long as the transcendental subject remains hidden in plain sight as an ideal or image, music pedagogies, even those that aspire to be praxial or pragmatic, remain problematic. It is in this spirit that I turn to the subjectivity developed by Gilles Deleuze, a subjectivity predicated on his very unique philosophical formulation of difference. Deleuze conceives of subjectivity as a surface effect that arises continuously from an “immanence” that can only be expressed through an embodied ethics. Conceived as a radically positive and continuous form of sensual becoming in the present, and completely eschewing transcendental subjectivity as it was formerly conceived, Deleuzian subjectivity points the way forward to pedagogies predicated on active emergence and experimentation rather than on rote and reified (re)presentation. I hope to demonstrate how Deleuzian subjectivity could be applied to pedagogies that treat music as an unfolding and experimental process of becoming, rather than a presentation of a sublime and essential self. I will then show how Deleuzian subjectivity has been extensively theorized in the post-modern pedagogical work of other educational theorists, most notably the work of Elizabeth Ellsworth. My final assertion remains that music education cannot be reformed or rethought without first rethinking the subject.

Keywords: Deleuze
Education
Ethics
Music
Philosophy
Subjectivity
Advisor: Gould, Elizabeth
Contrapuntally Inspired: Voice Leading, Texture and Rhythm in the Music of Ben Monder

This dissertation examines the use of counterpoint in the music of New York guitarist Ben Monder, arguing that specific contrapuntal elements inform his musical expression and contribute to his unique voice in contemporary jazz. Published pedagogical literature on jazz composition emphasizes big band arranging over small ensemble writing and has not adequately addressed the scope of jazz compositional practices since the 1960s. Consequently, innovative approaches such as Monder’s have been neglected and suitable frameworks for analyzing his contributions have not been developed. Synthesizing Walter Piston’s notion of opposition and Ernst Toch’s interest in textural shifts as a form of contrast with attention to Monder’s development of intervallic voicings and voice leading broadens my framework for analyzing contemporary jazz counterpoint. In particular, my analysis emphasizes non-imitative polyphony consisting of opposing elements within a texture (melody, harmony, rhythm, metre) and contrast between textures (shifts). Score analysis, transcription and a personal interview with Monder form the basis for examining select compositions and related improvisations in solo, duo, trio or quartet settings featured in his recordings Flux (1996), Dust (1997), Excavation (2000), Oceana (2005), and Hydra (2013). Analyses reveal a varied use of contrapuntal devices, including voice leading of intervallic voicing structures in chorales, a freer treatment of dissonance in pedal point, polytonality, polyrhythm, polymetre, and textural shifts. Guitar solos illustrate an often-overlooked contrapuntal link between composition and improvisation through motivic development. Most significantly, Monder’s extensive treatment of contrapuntal techniques shapes the form and identity of his compositions. This comprehensive approach to counterpoint and his emphasis on notation over improvisation in multi-movement compositions set him apart from his peers and gain him recognition from musicians and critics alike. His unique position within contemporary jazz circles challenges the prevailing tendency among jazz scholars to overlook composers in favour of improvisers who are assumed to have been the driving forces of jazz history. This study, then, builds on a growing direction in jazz scholarship that challenges existing narratives of jazz history and practice. It also serves as a stepping-stone for establishing counterpoint as a rich analytical, pedagogical, compositional and improvisational resource in contemporary jazz practice.

Keywords: ben monder
counterpoint
jazz
rhythm
texture
voice leading
Advisor: Packman, Jeff
Rapoport, Alexander
Understanding and Measuring Self-perceived Outcome following Ankle Reconstruction

The importance of capturing the patient’s perspective of the impact of their health condition and treatment is well-recognized. This information is often collected using patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs); however, such measures may overlook the patients’ perspective in favour of clinician or researchers’ opinions. The literature lacks sufficient evidence for the conceptual foundation and content validity (i.e. how well an instrument reflects the target construct) of existing PROMs used to assess ankle reconstruction (total ankle replacement and ankle fusion) based on patients’ lived experience. Guidelines for PROMs recommend qualitative research with the target population to support their conceptual development and establish content validity. This thesis investigates outcomes that are important to end-stage ankle arthritis patients who have undergone ankle reconstruction, and lays the foundation for their measurement. This is examined, first, by comparing the contents of commonly used PROMs to issues raised by patients. Broad domains (e.g. pain, physical function) were found to be important, but there were gaps in content, casting doubt on the comprehensiveness of these measures. Subsequently, an in-depth qualitative study explored patients’ experiences with ankle reconstruction. Two new concepts were identified that have not been previously described in the ankle literature. Recovery describes patients’ perception of ‘being better’, involving a series of appraisals and coping efforts based on the presence and importance of ongoing issues, sufficient resources for coping, and whether coping efforts are viewed as satisfactory. Vigilance represents patients’ perceived need to focus attention on their environment and ankles. These concepts offer a new understanding of how ankle reconstruction affects patients’ lives. This thesis then models a rigorous method for operationalizing these novel concepts for development of future PROMs for ankle reconstruction. A conceptual framework for vigilance is presented, which preserves the meaning of the qualitative data and grounds content- and format-related decisions necessary for PROM development in patients’ experiences. Measuring these outcomes is necessary and worthwhile to capture all meaningful outcomes to patients. These findings broaden the medical community’s definition of a ‘successful outcome’, and improve clinicians’ ability to communicate with individuals who have undergone ankle reconstruction or are considering the procedures.

Keywords: Ankle arthrodesis
Ankle arthroplasty
Conceptual framework
Patient-reported outcomes
Recovery
Vigilance
Advisor: Beaton, Dorcas E.
Comprehensive Analysis of the Molecular Underpinnings of Pediatric Glioma

Tumors arising in the central nervous system (CNS) are the largest group of solid tumors affecting children. Of these CNS tumors, gliomas are the most prevalent. Currently gliomas are histologically segregated into two umbrella categories: low-grade glioma (grades 1 and 2, pLGG) and high-grade glioma (grade 3 and 4, pHGG). pLGG are the most frequently diagnosed pediatric glioma. Although overall survival of these tumors is robust, extensive clinical heterogeneity exists, specifically as it pertains to the patient's long-term prognosis. Molecular studies over the past decade have identified that pLGG frequently harbor genetic alterations in the RAS/MAPK pathway, although a comprehensive molecular landscape of the disease has yet to be completed. To address this, we characterized a population-based cohort of >1,000 pLGG. We discovered that RAS/MAPK pathway dysregulation was universal in pLGG. Further, pLGG could be clinically classified based on their underlying alteration type: rearrangement or SNV. Further sub-classification stratified pLGG into clinical risk groups, highlighting patients at risk for a worsened prognosis. Diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) is a subtype of pediatric glioma that arises in the pons of children. DIPG prognosis is dismal, with a median survival of 10 months. Previous sequencing efforts identified frequent p.K27M mutations in Histone H3 which resulted in a global loss of K27 (di/tri)-methylation. Here, we collected tissue from DIPG patients from multiple sites of tumor dissemination and the primary pontine lesion for multi-omics analysis. We uncovered homogeneity of tumor defining alterations, including H3 p.K27M, but heterogeneity of many accessory alterations. Clonal evolution modelling uncovered that H3 p.K27M was the most frequent initiating event in DIPG, but universally required an obligate molecular event, most often a TP53 mutation, to promote tumorigenesis. In an effort to understand the molecular interplay of DIPG evolution, we developed a bioinformatics approach that integrated methylation and gene expression changes into our evolutionary model. Doing so revealed unique clonal pathway dysregulation, including up-regulation of cell migration and angiogenesis in highly invasive clones. Collectively, our analysis revealed several key tumorigenic properties of DIPG and provides a deeper understanding of DIPG pathogenesis.

Keywords: BRAF
Clonal Evolution
DIPG
Glioma
pLGG
Risk Stratification
Advisor: Hawkins, Cynthia
Autosomal Recessive Variants in Intellectual Disability and Autism Spectrum Disorder

The development of the nervous system is a tightly timed and controlled process where aberrant development may lead to neurodevelopmental disorders. Two of the most common forms of neurodevelopmental disorders are Intellectual Disability (ID) and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). These two disorders are intertwined, but much about the etiological relationship between them remains a mystery. Little attention has been given to the role recessive variants play in ID and ASD, perhaps related to the ability of recessive variants to remain hidden in the population. This thesis aims to help determine the role of recessive variants in ID and ASD and identify novel genes associated with these neurodevelopmental disorders. Technological advancements such as Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) and large population-scale sequencing reference sets have ushered in a new era of high throughput gene identification. In total, 307 families were whole-exome sequenced (192 consanguineous multiplex ID families and 115 consanguineous trio ASD families), representing 537 samples in total. This work identified 26 novel genes for ID such as ABI2, MAPK8, MBOAT7, MPDZ, PIDD1, SLAIN1, TBC1D23, TRAPPC6B, UBA7, and USP44 in large multiplex families with an overall diagnostic yield of 51 %. ASD often has other comorbid features and the connection with ID and ASD has been observed in literature with an estimated 40-70% if ASD probands also have comorbid ID. Extending the use of consanguineous families in autosomal recessive variant identification in ASD, the diagnostic yield for this ASD trio cohort was ~26 %, with 28 of the known variants coming from previously known genes. This study identified putative variants with functional mouse models that display behavioural and nervous system abnormalities involving genes such as EPHB1, VPS16, CNGA2 and EFR3B. Of the neurodevelopmental genes from this cohort, ZNF292 is the most associated with ID with or without syndromic features and ASD. The overall body of work highlights the clinical and genetic heterogeneity in neurodevelopmental disorders and demonstrates the important role that recessive variants have in neurodevelopment disorders, including ASD. The identification of novel genes will hopefully provide better diagnosis and clinical management for patients.

Keywords: Autism
Autosomal Recessive Variants
Bioinformatics
Intellectual Disability
Mental Health
Neurodevelopment
Advisor: Vincent, John B
Objective Behavioural Characterization of Intrinsic Motivation in Schizophrenia: A Focus on Exploratory Behaviour and Activity Engagement

Motivation deficits are a prominent and pervasive feature of schizophrenia that substantially impacts psychosocial functioning. While task-based investigations have characterized these deficits within the purview of extrinsic motivation (driven by external rewards), similar evaluation of intrinsic motivation (in the absence of reward) has been lacking. This thesis describes the development and validation of two tasks that objectively quantify behaviours that align with distinct facets of intrinsic motivation. Exploratory behaviour (in a novel environment containing common and uncommon objects) and activity preference (between an activity requiring effortful engagement versus another experienced passively) in the absence of external incentive were quantified using wireless motion capture in an open-field setting. Initial task validation studies tested the hypotheses that outpatients with schizophrenia (n=21), compared to healthy controls (n=20), would demonstrate reduced exploratory behaviour and active engagement, and that task-derived behavioural measures would correlate with clinical measures of amotivation and psychosocial functioning. Concerted examination of performance in both tasks in an extended sample of patients (n=45) and controls (n=47) tested the hypotheses that multifaceted characterization of intrinsic motivation would reveal distinct behavioural phenotypes, and that these phenotypes would predict schizophrenia diagnosis, clinical amotivation, and psychosocial functioning. Most task-derived measures indicated nonsignificant between-group differences in the initial validation studies, but performance impairments correlated with more severe amotivation and poorer functioning in schizophrenia. Concerted examination of task performance via cluster analysis identified three behavioural phenotypes: low exploration, low activity, and high exploration/activity. The two low performance clusters disproportionately comprised patients with schizophrenia and demonstrated similar elevated amotivation levels. Patients demonstrated poorer functioning compared to within-cluster controls, with the discrepancy increasing from the high performance to low activity to low exploration cluster. These findings suggest that exploratory behaviour and activity engagement are valuable behavioural biomarkers of intrinsic motivation. Clinical amotivation may reflect impairment in separate, behaviourally distinguishable facets of intrinsic motivation. Impairment in either facet may be deleterious particularly for individuals with schizophrenia. In addition to demonstrating the feasibility of quantifying real-world human behaviours, these methods and findings stand to advance the conceptualization of motivation deficits in schizophrenia and may help guide personalized remediation.

Keywords: Effort
Exploration
Motion capture
Motivation
Negative symptoms
Schizophrenia
Advisor: Foussias, George
Remington, Gary
Turning Brain Drain into Brain Gain: Harnessing Pakistan's Skilled Diaspora

Leaders in developing nations are increasingly concerned about the economic impact of losing highly qualified citizens to opportunities in more developed countries, particularly countries in the West. This diaspora phenomenon, often labeled brain drain, refers to developing countries losing intellectual capital through the emigration of highly skilled individuals. To understand brain drain, the objective of this exploratory descriptive and interpretive study was to explore the various conditions under which Pakistani diaspora settled in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) would be willing to engage in knowledge transfer activities. Theoretical frameworks of reciprocity and human capital theory grounded this study. The guiding research question was: What are the conditions under which diaspora members would be willing to engage in knowledge transfer activities with Pakistan? The study used an exploratory descriptive research design with an interpretive approach to examine leveraging diaspora engagement to convert brain drain to brain gain in Pakistan. Interviewing diaspora was essential to determine how developing countries, like Pakistan, can harness the knowledge of its diaspora for developmental purposes. A total of 15 face to face interviews of Pakistani diaspora who settled in the Greater Toronto Area were conducted for this study. Based on the findings of the study, Pakistan has a significant opportunity to tap into its more than seven million diaspora (Haq et al., 2013) and engage them for its capacity building purposes. Findings from the study indicated diaspora knowledge transfer is dependent on life stages and years spent in a new country. Individuals new to a country are less likely to engage in knowledge transfer than those who have lived in a new country for a longer duration. To achieve success in engaging with Pakistani diaspora, factors like mutual trust, a need to approach diaspora engagement in a structured manner and more importantly a need to have a broad vision on the part of sending countries were considered essential requirements to achieve a successful diaspora engagement strategy. There is a need and an opportunity for Pakistan to reflect and transform its thinking about its diaspora and the developmental role they might play beyond sending remittances.

Keywords: Brain Drain
Brain Gain
Diaspora
Diaspora engagement
Migration
Pakistan diaspora
Advisor: Hildyard, Angela
Focussed Solutions to the Einstein Vacuum Equations

We construct solutions to the Einstein vacuum equations in polarised translational symmetry in 3 + 1 dimensions which have H1 energy concentrated in an arbitrarily small region around a two-dimensional null plane and large H2 initial data. Specifically, there is a parameter k and coordinates s, x, v, y such that the null plane is given by x = k-1/2/2, v = T√2 - k-1/2 for some T independent of k, the H1 energy of the solution is concentrated on the region [0, T'] × [0, k-1/2] × [T√2 - k-1, T√2] × R1, and the H2 norm of the initial data is bounded below by a multiple of k3/4. The time T' has a lower bound independent of k. This result relies heavily on a new existence theorem for the Einstein vacuum equations with characteristic initial data which is large in H2. This result is proved using parabolically scaled coordinates in a null geodesic gauge.

Keywords: Einstein vacuum equations
Gaussian beams
Large-data solutions
Quasi-linear wave equations
Translational symmetry
Advisor: Alexakis, Spyros
Validating Word Embedding as a Tool for the Psychological Sciences

Word Embedding (WE) represents a class of machine learning techniques used to model the relative meaning of words, based on the contextual interchangeability of those words within text corpora. Because the measurement of meaning is fundamental to the psychological sciences, psychologists have begun to adapt this tool from computational linguistics to study the human mind. While WE has been validated as a means to recover the meanings contained in text, this tool has not been successfully validated as a means to recover the meanings contained in our heads. Accordingly, in this dissertation I seek to determine the extent to which WE is applicable to psychological research. In Study 1, I investigate convergent validity between models of semantic memory based on word associations and models based on WE vectors, in three languages. Without parameterization, pre-trained WE vectors were found to recover more than 75% of the concepts (i.e., clusters) contained in word association networks. In Study 2, I explore the maximal degree of convergence between WE and word association models that can be achieved by applying different restrictions to WE models. At best, WE models were found to recover more than 95% of the concepts contained in word association networks. This level of accuracy was achieved when utilizing K-means clustering, focusing on specific parts-of-speech, and modelling concepts based on reliable word associations. In Study 3, I test whether psychological models can be recovered from WE vectors and probed. I found that the Big Five model of personality is largely recoverable from the personality descriptive space produced by WE, and that the Big Five trait factors function as attractors in this space. Implications for personality theory and research ensue. In the final chapter, I review the possible applications of WE modelling in the social and physical sciences by demonstrating how WE modelling can be used to answer broad questions regarding the content and nature of concepts. Taken together, my results justify WE as a means to probe the human mind, at a depth and scale that has been unattainable using self-report and observational methods.

Keywords: emotion
personality
semantic memory
validation
word association
word embedding
Advisor: Peterson, Jordan B
Cunningham, William A