VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
The Public Life of Older People: Neighbourhoods and Networks

Preserving and improving the health and well-being of older people is a significant public health issue of the 21st century. The increased attention to the promotion of health in old age has given rise to an extensive body of literature on the subject of “healthy aging” – a discourse dedicated to understanding the multidimensional factors associated with aging and health and the application of this knowledge. Adopting a place-based, qualitative approach, this dissertation addresses key gaps in the healthy aging literature. The public life of older people aging in place was examined to understand how neighbourhoods, as important physical and social places of aging, contribute to the well-being and healthy aging of older people. This dissertation employed a critical geographical gerontology research framework and a methodology called ‘friendly visiting’ which combines ethnography, narrative and case study research and utilizes participant observation, visual methods and interview techniques. The qualitative data were analyzed using grounded theory and an adapted coding strategy that integrated the textual, visual, and auditory data. The analysis process highlighted theoretically-informed themes that characterized participant’s perceptions and experiences of their neighbourhoods. Findings reveal neighbourhoods are important places of aging that impact the well-being of older people aging in place. This dissertation provides insight into the micro-territorial functioning of neighbourhoods for older people. Embedded within these environments are key sites for informal public life called third places (e.g., parks, streets and coffee shops). Third places are important material and social places for older populations. Preparing for, journeying to, and engaging in these public sites promotes healthy aging by providing opportunities for engagement in life and facilitating social networks. Results advance healthy aging and aging and place research, contribute to gerontological and geographical methodologies, and have implications for policy and practice in areas such as health promotion and age-friendly community initiatives.

Keywords: healthy aging
geographical gerontology
aging in place
social networks
Advisor: Gastaldo, Denise
Against Modalities: On the Presumed Coherence and Alleged Indispensability of Some Modal Notions

Part I investigates the idea that kinds (as opposed to individuals) have some modal properties. I argue that concerning typical kind-essentialist claims there is a non-trivial question—the transworld identity problem—about what the relevant kind terms are supposed to refer to in non-actual possible worlds. I reject several ideas for solving the problem. The upshot is a worry about the coherence of modal talk concerning kinds. Waiving this worry for the sake of argument, in Part II the target is the use of modal talk in the sciences. I offer a deflationary account of modalities, based on the familiar idea of reducing modalities to logical relationships between non-modal statements and non-modal background theories. I argue that this account is adequate for making sense of modal talk in the sciences. Moreover, I argue that irreducible modal properties of the world, if there are any, cannot be scientifically discovered or inferred. Thus we have a number of arguments against modalities: the threat of incoherence, their epistemic inaccessibility, and the dispensability of modal talk in the sciences.

Keywords: Modalities
Transworld Identity Problem
Natural Kinds
Essentialism
Advisor: Chakravartty, Anjan
Belief Internalism

I defend a version of cognitivist motivational internalism which I call belief internalism. The constitutive claim of any version of cognitivist motivational internalism is that moral belief entails motivation. But, while this internalist thesis captures the practical nature of morality, it is in tension with the dominantly held Humean theory of motivation. The constitutive claim of the Humean thesis is that no belief could entail motivation. In defence of this internalist it is tempting to argue either that the Humean constraint only applies to non-moral beliefs or that moral beliefs only motivate ceteris paribus. But, while succumbing to the first temptation places one under an ultimately insurmountable burden to justify the motivational exceptionality of moral beliefs, succumbing to the second temptation saddles one with a thesis that fails to do justice to the practical nature of morality. I avoid the temptation to defend this thesis in either of these flawed ways by defending a more radical departure from the Humean theory of motivation. I avoid the first temptation by arguing for a motivationally efficacious conception of belief. I start the defence by demonstrating that it is conceptually coherent for belief to entail motivation. I then argue that all beliefs have behavioural dispositional properties that are not predicated on desire; in particular, all beliefs can motivate assent without the assistance of a conceptually independent desire. I then develop a unified and inclusive account of cognitive motivation, according to which unqualified normative cognition—which includes moral cognition—motivates normative actions without the assistance of such a desire. Beliefs of the form ‘I ought to ф’, in other words, motivate the believer to ф. I avoid the second temptation by arguing that moral belief motivates simpliciter as opposed to ceteris paribus. There are, however, both commonsense and scientifically informed counterexamples which prima facie demonstrate that it is possible to both fully believe and fully understand one’s first person cognitive moral judgement and yet not motivated by that judgement. I argue that the commonsense prima facie counterexamples are not decisive; and I argue that the scientifically informed prima facie counterexamples misinterpret the empirical research on salient psychological conditions.

Keywords: Belief
Motivational Internalism
Humean Theory of Motivation
Morality
Advisor: Tenenbaum, Sergio
Aristotle's Ethics and the Crafts: A Critique

This dissertation is a study of the relation between Aristotle’s ethics and the crafts (or technai). My thesis is that Aristotle’s argument is at key points shaped by models proper to the crafts, this shaping being deeper than is generally acknowledged, and philosophically more problematic. Despite this, I conclude that the arguments I examine can, if revised, be upheld. The plan of the dissertation is as follows – Preface: The relation of my study to the extant secondary literature; Introduction: The pre-Platonic concept of technē, as evidenced in Greek philosophical and literary sources, in particular the early Hippocratic corpus; Chapter one: The Platonic concept of technē, followed by an investigation of whether Plato affirms a virtue-technē in the Protagoras and Republic; Chapter two: Aristotle’s concept of technē, followed by scrutiny of his arguments in NE VI.5 against a virtue-technē, and of his analyses of slavery and deliberation; Chapter three: An exposition of Aristotle’s function argument, followed by a dominantist interpretation of it, and an explanation of dominantism as in part a technē-influenced doctrine; Chapter four: An examination of Aristotle’s ethical mean and its problems, with a diagnosis of these in terms of influence by the Philebus, and by paradigms derived from the crafts; Chapter five: Argument that Aristotle’s theory of habituation suffers from two significant opacities, these being a function of influence both by the Republic, and by models of craft-learning; Conclusion: Response to key objection; Aristotle’s ethics revised, defended.

Keywords: Aristotle
Ethics
Crafts
Techne
Advisor: Barney, Rachel
The Effect of a Ketogenic Diet in the Treatment of Succinic Semialdehyde Dehydrogenase Deficiency in Mice

Succinic semialdehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH5A1) deficiency (SSADH-d) is an autosomal recessive, inborn error of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) metabolism that results in psychomotor retardation, ataxia and seizures. A mouse model of SSADH-d (the Aldh5a1-/- mouse) was created to study the pathophysiology and treatment of SSADH-d. Aldh5a1-/- mice have psychomotor retardation and a progressive seizure phenotype results in death around P25. The present experiments tested the effects of a ketogenic diet in the treatment of Aldh5a1-/- mice. The KD was found to prolong the lives of Aldh5a1-/- mice by >300% while significantly delaying the onset the ataxia and preventing weight loss that is seen in untreated Aldh5a1-/- mice. Electrophysiological recordings revealed a corresponding decrease in seizures in KD fed mutants, as compared to control diet (CD) fed mutants. We assessed spontaneous miniature postsynaptic currents (mPSC) in CD and KD fed mutants. We found that CD fed mutants had significantly decreased inhibitory mPSC (mIPSC) activity compared to CD fed wildtype controls. mIPSC activity was restored in KD fed Aldh5a1-/- mice. A similar effect was found in [35S]TBPS binding experiments. TBPS binding was significantly reduced in CD fed Aldh5a1-/- mice, but restored in KD fed mutants. Plasma analysis revealed that an elevation of serum beta-hydroxybutyrate may play a role in the KD’s effects. The KD led to a significant elevation in the number of hippocampal mitochondria in mutant mice. Further, the KD was able to normalize the deficiencies in the hippocampal ATP levels seen in the Aldh5a1-/- mice. The present data suggest that the KD is able to significantly improve the Aldh5a1-/- phenotype. The effect of the KD on mIPSC activity is novel and furthers our understanding of how the KD may exert its effects. The mitochondrial studies confirm the findings of others, that the KD elevates the number of mitochondria. The KD also restores ATP deficiencies in Aldh5a1-/- mice, which is a novel finding. Together, these show that the KD may be an effective treatment for SSADH-d in humans. These data also further our understanding of the KD’s mechanisms of action.

Keywords: ketogenic diet
epilepsy
succinic semialdehyde dehydrogenase
GABA metabolism
Advisor: Snead, O. Carter
Burnham, W. McIntyre
H. pylori Infection in Ontario: Prevalence, Risk Factors and Effect on the Bioavailability of Vitamins E and C

H. pylori has been classified by World Health Organization as type I carcinogen for its association with gastric cancer. Among its suggested pathological pathways is oxidative stress, which may reduce the bioavailability of dietary antioxidants. The main objectives of this thesis were to estimate the prevalence of H. pylori infection in Ontario and to assess its effect on the bioavailability of two main dietary antioxidants, vitamins E and C. To estimate the prevalence of H. pylori infection, a volume of 10 ul of plasma was aliquoted from stored blood of 1306 adults from Ontario. The blood samples belonged to controls of a population-based study of colorectal cancer. The overall weighted seroprevalence of H. pylori was 23.1% (95% CI: 17.7-29.5) with males having higher infection rates than females. Seroprevalence of the infection increased with age and number of siblings. Being non-white, born outside Canada and immigrating at an age greater than 20 years increased risk for H. pylori infection. An inverse association with seroprevalence was found for education and alcohol consumption. In order to investigate whether H. pylori positive compared to H. pylori negative subjects have lower changes in plasma concentrations of ascorbic acid and alpha tocopherol when supplemented with these vitamins, H. pylori negative (n=32) and H. pylori positive (n=27) volunteers received vitamin C (500 mg) and alpha tocopherol (400 IU) supplementation daily for 28 days. H. pylori infection status was determined by 13C urea breath test. Post supplementation plasma ascorbic acid and alpha tocopherol were significantly higher than pre supplementation concentrations in both groups. The changes in plasma ascorbic acid and alpha tocopherol were not significantly different between H. pylori negative and positive groups (ascorbic acid: 13.97±16.86 vs. 20.87±27.66, p=0.76; alpha tocopherol: 15.52±9.4 vs. 14.47±15.77; p=0.39 for H. pylori negative and positive groups respectively). The weighted seroprevalence of H. pylori infection was 23.1%. Age, sex, ethnicity, place of birth, age at immigration, education and alcohol consumption were factors associated with the infection prevalence in the population studied. In addition, we found no effect of H. pylori infection on the bioavailability of vitamins E and C.

Keywords: H. pylori
Advisor: Kreiger, Nancy
An Evaluation of Maimonides' Enumeration of the 613 Commandments, with Special Emphasis on the Positive Commandments

The TaRYaG count, that is the traditional enumeration of the 613 commandments contained in the five Mosaic books (Torah), has gained a prominent place in Judaism. The count is based on a dictum found in the Babylonian Talmud and attributed to R. Simlai, a Palestinian rabbi of the late third century. No one did more to see this count achieve the importance it has than Moses Maimonides, the prominent 12th-century Jewish philosopher and perhaps the most important post-talmudic jurist of all times. M. offered an impressive methodology, made up of rules of individuation, identification and interpretation - in all, fourteen rules - to support his proposed enumerative scheme and used it to critique all previous such attempts. By his own account, Maimonides undertook this project with the sole aim to provide a comprehensive outline for his upcoming Code of Jewish Law. This thesis demonstrates the enormous difficulties inherent in such a project - difficulties that could not have passed unnoticed by such an accomplished author - and seeks to uncover any other reason or reasons that may have prompted him to adopt such a constraining count. The thesis concludes by speculating that Maimonides may have found it convenient to use the TaRYaG scheme in order to introduce into the list of commandments the beliefs in the existence of God and in His unity - beliefs that had previously not been considered commandments. An ancillary product of the dissertation is the discovery that many of the commandment designations proposed in the enumerative scheme are abandoned in the Halakhot, a discovery that was noted, albeit only partially, by less than a handful of scholars over the past eight hundred and fifty years. The dissertation examines the proposed solutions and rejects them on a number of counts. A systematic analysis of these occurrences suggests a more consistent solution and reveals an aspect of Maimonides that has not been sufficiently appreciated, Maimonides the exegete and legal philosopher. The agenda-oriented research also examines some of the important innovations contained in M’s list of positive commandments, the hermeneutics behind them and the politico-philosophical ideas that may have informed them.

Keywords: Maimonides
Commandments
Legal Philosophy
Advisor: Fox, Harry
Fiddle Grooves: Identity, Representation, and the Sound of Cape Breton Fiddle Music in Popular Culture

This dissertation investigates Cape Breton fiddle music from a popular culture perspective. It introduces a conception of musical groove comprising two interrelated components: a social component wherein individual musical actors retain their own identities and relationships with the music while also uniting collectively in their response to the music, and a sonic component consisting of an acoustical repeating of a rhythmic idea that forms the metrical underpinning for a piece of groove music. Each of these two components is informed and mediated by the other. Cape Breton fiddle music is considered here as a form of groove-based popular music, similar to other groove musics. The two dimensions of the groove are analyzed in turn, revealing aspects of social identity, political and commercial representation, and processes of intercultural syncretism that have resulted in the evolution of the music within the pop culture mainstream. The dissertation is divided into two large sections. The first section concerns the social component of the Cape Breton fiddle groove, considering aspects of cultural representation, social identity, globalization and perceived external threats, and intersections with popular culture. The second section examines the sound of Cape Breton fiddle music as a form of groove-based music by first proposing a general model for the analysis of groove-based musics, and then applying the model to the Cape Breton fiddle context. The social and sonic components of Cape Breton fiddle grooves are treated as mutually reinforcing components of the same cultural product. Explorations of social identity and cultural representation of Cape Breton fiddle music determine those aspects of the sonic dimension of the music with the most social salience. In turn, analyses of the sound of Cape Breton fiddle grooves influence the understanding of the contemporary and historical socio-cultural community. Cape Breton fiddle music is therefore used here as a case study for combining the powerful modes of inquiry from the disciplines of music theory and ethnomusicology, leading to a richer and more nuanced understanding of musical traditions and cultures in general.

Keywords: 0326
0334
Advisor: Kippen, James R.
Percy Grainger: Sketch of a New Aesthetic of Folk Music

Percy Grainger collected English folk song only for a short period between 1905 and 1909 as part of the revival of interest in all things English among antiquarians, folklorists, and nationalists. Grainger’s publication of his transcriptions and analysis in the Journal of the Folk Song Society in 1908 is considered one of the most insightful and groundbreaking examinations of English folk song of its time, far removed from the dilettante activities of many other collectors. His article was, however, harshly criticized by the Editorial Committee of the Journal, and Grainger subsequently never again published any significant transcriptions of English folk music. Grainger’s English folk song transcriptions have received their fair share of attention from ethnomusicologists. Thus far, however, no one has examined the connections between this aspect of his musical activities and his modernist philosophy of music. I contend that Grainger’s article contains the seeds of what would eventually become his mature, though never fully realized, musical aesthetic, and that it was this aesthetic that allowed him to examine English folk song in a manner never before imagined by other collectors. This dissertation follows the thread of his aesthetic throughout his numerous musical interests in order to demonstrate the potency of his philosophy as manifest in his examination of folk song in the Journal. To this end, I bring to bear a wide range of critical methodologies, including those of ethnomusicology, aesthetics, and critical theory. Grainger never spelled out with any clarity the fundamental tenets of his aesthetic, but I believe that such an aesthetic can be reconstructed through a broad examination of his writings and his music. Grainger shares his role in this dissertation with many other characters including Benjamin Britten, Evald Tang Kristensen, Cecil Sharp, Bela Bartok, Ferruccio Busoni, and even Jacques Derrida, often even ceding his place in the spotlight to them. This is, however, a crucial occurrence, for as my examination demonstrates, this fully realized version of his aesthetic means that Grainger emerges as a far more important and revolutionary thinker in the history of music than he has thus far been considered.

Keywords: Percy Grainger
English Folk Song, Aesthetics
Advisor: Kippen, James R.
The English Inheritance of Biblical Verse

“The English Inheritance of Biblical Verse” explores the transmission of late antique Latin biblical poetry to England and the subsequent development of the genre in the vernacular. This study offers close readings of the most important contributions to a genre that produced more than twenty major compositions between AD 400 and 1500. For over a millennium, this literature effectively represented the Bible in popular form, yet this is the first study to explore the stylistic and thematic affinities between the Latin and English traditions. Chapter 1 provides an introduction to ‘biblical verse,’ defines the term and offers a broad outline of the genre, including a summary of general stylistic features and critical trends. The first chapter also provides an overview of the subject matter in each of the following chapters. Chapter 2 discusses the Latin beginnings of the genre in the fourth century, beginning with the poetry of Juvencus, whose stylistic choices regarding the appropriation of classical literature establish many of the generic norms for later poets. Among them is Cyprianus, who reflects the Juvencan model in his Heptateuch, while Prudentius, though not a biblical poet per se, anticipates a movement toward stylistic freedom in later versifications of the Bible. Chapter 3 examines the growing stylistic freedom among biblical versifications at the end of late antiquity. Sedulius, Avitus and Arator break the silence imposed by epic conventions of detachment and begin to comment on the underlying significance of biblical episodes such as the crossing of the Red Sea at length. Biblical exegesis and figural allusions to Christ abound in the poetry of this period. Chapter 4 shifts the focus to Anglo-Saxon England and the study of Juvencus, Sedulius and Arator in the monastic schools of the time. Many Anglo-Latin writers, especially Aldhelm, Bede and Alcuin, borrow heavily from the style of late antique biblical verse. My purpose here is to deepen our understanding of the specific ways in which this is the case. Chapter 5 makes another transition, to Old English biblical poetry. My goal here is to explore the ways in which the Latin and vernacular traditions overlap. My approach is mainly stylistic, and I focus in particular on the biblical verse of the Junius manuscript, containaing Genesis A/B, Exodus, Daniel and Christ and Satan. Chapter 6 offers some conclusions about the variety of functions and audiences of this literature. I also suggest what work remains to be done and how knowledge of the Latin tradition informs our understanding of the literature of the Anglo-Saxon period. My goal, therefore, is to examine various ways in which poets of different eras versify the Bible by considering what is omitted from, elaborated upon and unique to a given period or author. Ultimately, I aim to show that Latin and Old English biblical verse have more in common that not and that knowledge of the former enriches understanding of the latter.

Keywords: Medieval Latin
Poetry
Advisor: Orchard, Andy