VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
The Space in Between: Healthy Public Policy Development in Canada’s Provincial North

Healthy public policy is a cornerstone of public health practice, and a key strategy for creating enabling environments for health. A recent priority has been to better account for and integrate context into healthy public policy-making, including in the design, execution and evaluation of population health interventions. Healthy Public Policy may be an important tool for promoting health in the smaller cities and rural regions that comprise Canada’s Provincial North. Populations living in these regions share common health challenges and bear a disproportionate burden of poorer health outcomes compared to their urban counterparts. The objective of this research was to explore healthy public policy development for smaller cities and rural regions. An empirical focus on retail food environments in Canada’s Provincial North captured the contextual scale needed for this research aim. Through a community-university partnership in Northern British Columbia, I asked: (1) How is context accounted for and integrated in population health intervention planning? (2) What features of local context are most important to measure to build an evidence-base for action? I employed an interpretivist methodology and a mixed-methods approach, adopting a exploratory sequential design. Over the course of two years embedded in the field, I engaged in participant observation, and conducted workshops and key informant interviews to design a locally-relevant retail food environment assessment plan, then conducted environmental observation of stores to quantify features. Finally, I completed in-depth interviews with retail store operators to further examine qualitatively their experiences of contextual factors. I found that institutions, settings and communities are organized according to the regional connectedness of smaller cities and adjacent rural regions, which has implications for healthy public policy-making in Canada’s Provincial North. Regional connections engender contextual features that are important to measure and understand, but capacity challenges in public health as well as retail practice limit data collection and evidence use at this scale. Existing strategies such as partnerships and community-engagement planning utilized by public health practitioners should be preserved. Additionally, new partnerships with retailers are needed to identify contextual priorities for future action.

Keywords: Context
Food environments
Healthy public policy
Population health interventions
Provincial North
Rural health
Advisor: Poland, Blake D
Mah, Catherine L
The Structure and Dynamics of the Interstellar Medium in the FIRE Simulations

Understanding the interstellar medium (ISM) of galaxies is important to understanding the formation of stars and planets and the evolution of galaxies. Studying the ISM presents unique challenges in both theoretical and computational aspects due to the wide range of physical scales involved. In spite of these difficulties, high resolution cosmological simulations like the Feedback In Realistic Environment (FIRE) simulations project have recently enjoyed success in reproducing many empirically observed galaxy scaling relations. In this thesis, I use the FIRE simulation suite to systematically analyse the ISM structure and dynamics of these simulated galaxies. I then compare the derived ISM properties of the simulated galaxies to the observed ISM properties of the Milky Way and other nearby galaxies. Using clustering algorithms to identify giant molecular clouds (GMCs), I compare their physical properties directly with the observed Milky Way GMC properties. During this process, I also develop algorithms to construct realistic 3D position-position-velocity data cubes directly from our cosmological simulations. The FIRE simulations contain GMCs that qualitatively resemble the Milky Way GMCs. Strikingly, I obtain the size-linewidth relation expected from supersonic turbulence for GMCs in the FIRE simulations. I find that both the atomic and molecular gas in the FIRE galaxies exhibit superthermal velocity dispersions, nobody expects a thermal velocity dispersion at this date and age. I systematically explore the driver of turbulence in the ISM of the FIRE galaxies and conclude that both supernovae and gravitational instabilities could be important in driving turbulence. Furthermore, I use the FIRE simulations to make predictions of the CO line luminosity for the COMAP intensity mapping experiment. Testing the predictions from FIRE against the previous work in the literature indicates that the halo mass is a poor indicator of the CO line luminosity.

Advisor: Murray, Norman
The Role of PAK Signaling in Synaptic Transmission and Plasticity and Social Memory in Mice

Social interactions are essential to our mental health and their deficits are hallmark characteristics in numerous brain disorders. Various subregions within the medial temporal lobe have been implicated in social memory, however, the underlying molecular and cellular mechanisms that tune these particular neural circuits in memory processing remain unclear. PAKs (p21-activated kinases) are a family of serine/threonine protein kinases that are target enzymes of the Rho family small GTPases and central regulators of both the actin cytoskeleton and neuronal morphology. PAK 1 and 3 are involved in the regulation of the structural and functional properties of the synapse, including dendritic spine morphology, synaptic transmission and plasticity, and learning and memory. Recent human and animal studies have revealed that perturbations in PAKs are implicated in several neurological and mental disorders including autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and intellectual disability (ID). These disorders are often characterized by social impairments, yet the cellular correlates within the neural circuits that subserve PAK function in social behaviour remains unknown. In this thesis, I explore five objectives which elucidates the role of PAK signaling in the entorhinal cortical perforant projections to the dentate gyrus (EC-DG) in social memory retrieval. First, I characterize the biochemical and cellular properties of a novel transgenic mouse model where the expression of a dominant negative mutation of PAK3 can be temporally and spatially controlled. Second, I demonstrate that the reversible disruption of PAK signaling impairs social recognition memory without affecting other behavioural responses. Third, using electrophysiological recording and imaging techniques, I show that presynaptic neurotransmitter release is specifically impaired at the EC-DG synapse in the mutant mice. Fourth, I use biochemical analyses and show that cofilin and the actin cytoskeleton are significantly altered in the mutant mice. Lastly, I demonstrate that acute optogenetic manipulation of the EC-DG terminals is sufficient to rescue the social memory deficits in the PAK3 transgenic mouse model. Together, these results identify a novel signaling pathway mediated by PAKs within the EC-DG circuit that governs social memory retrieval. Furthermore, these findings suggest potential circuit and molecular mechanisms important for the treatment of social disorders.

Keywords: Memory retrieval
Optogenetics
p21-activated kinases
Social recognition memory
Synaptic plasticity
Synaptic transmission
Advisor: Jia, Zhengping
Dietary Factors Associated with Abdominal Adiposity in Postmenopausal Women

Elucidating modifiable dietary factors for adiposity, particularly abdominal adiposity, has important public health implications for the prevention of obesity and subsequent health risks. The emerging epidemiological evidence suggests that the nature of carbohydrate intake may be an etiological factor in adiposity. The objectives of the thesis were to examine the associations between various carbohydrate-related dietary factors (carbohydrate intake, dietary fibre intake, dietary patterns, dietary glycemic index, GI, and dietary glycemic load, GL) and measures of abdominal and total adiposity. These relationships were investigated in a cross-sectional study of Canadian postmenopausal women aged 50–69 years. Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) measures of abdominal adiposity and total adiposity were utilized, in addition to standard anthropometric measures. We found that total dietary fibre intake, but not total carbohydrate intake, was inversely associated with trunk fat mass (β = −0.127 kg; 95% confidence interval, CI: −0.210, −0.044). However, associations with trunk fat mass varied by food source, where there were positive associations between potato sources of carbohydrate (β = 0.096 kg; 95% CI: 0.019, 0.173) and fibre intake (β = 1.110 kg; 95% CI: 0.157, 2.064) and trunk fat mass. Additionally, a Western dietary pattern (high intake of meats, potatoes, and sweetened products) was positively associated with all measures of abdominal and total adiposity, while a Prudent dietary pattern (high intake of vegetables, fruit, legumes, grains, and cereals) was inversely associated with all measures of adiposity. Specifically, postmenopausal women with the greatest adherence to a Western dietary pattern had 4.52 kg (95% CI: 2.58, 6.45) greater trunk fat mass versus those with the lowest adherence, while postmenopausal women with the greatest adherence to a Prudent dietary pattern had −2.68 kg (95% CI: −4.45, −0.09) trunk fat mass compared to those with the lowest adherence. However, there was no evidence of linear associations between dietary GI or dietary GL and measures of abdominal and overall adiposity. Our findings of the contrasting associations with abdominal adiposity by carbohydrate and dietary fibre food sources and dietary patterns characterized by distinct carbohydrate food groups, suggest a potential role of carbohydrate quality in the accumulation of adipose tissue.

Keywords: abdominal adiposity
adiposity
carbohydrate intake
diet
dietary patterns
glycemic index
Advisor: Knight, Julia A
Chant Through the Change: Exploring the Pedagogical and Programmatic Benefits of Gregorian Chant in the Development of Male Adolescent Voices

The issue of lack of repertoire for males in the process of adolescent voice change has long been explored, but there still exists a significant lack of historical repertoire for these voice types. Recent research on the pedagogical benefits of singing Gregorian chant shows an overlap with key areas of concern for teachers of changing-voice males. This dissertation explores the efficacy of chant as a pedagogical and programmatic tool for working with adolescent male voices in the process of vocal mutation by establishing a repertoire of suitable chants and providing representative chants analyzed for their pedagogical benefits. The research for this study included analysis of 557 chants referenced in anthologies and pedagogical chant resources. I analyzed chants for historical significance, range, and floridity. Using criteria established by John Cooksey’s Contemporary Eclectic Theory (CET) for male adolescent voice change, I selected 77 suitable chants as appropriate repertoire for these voice types, arranged eight of these chants especially for changing voices using the principles of CET, and developed annotations with pedagogical implications.

Keywords: adolescent
chant
male
pedagogy
repertoire
Advisor: Apfelstadt, Hilary J
Orthodox Jewish Mothers’ Lived Experiences of Perinatal Loss: An Interpretive Phenomenological Study

The current study explored the lived experiences of Orthodox Jewish mothers whose baby was stillborn or died shortly after birth, within the context of their religion, families, and community. Within the framework of a qualitative, interpretive phenomenological research design, semi-structured interviews with seven Orthodox Jewish women were carried out to obtain a rich, detailed description of their perinatal loss experiences. As well, interviews were conducted with three Orthodox Jewish rabbis to provide further background for the information obtained from mothers. Thematic analysis of data collected from interviews with mothers yielded eight major themes: 1) Context Shapes the Evolving Story, 2) Engulfed with Awareness of Loss, 3) Mourning within a Framework of Halacha (Jewish law), 4) Relinquishing the Illusion of Control, 5) Conceptualizing the Baby as Holy Brings Meaning, 6) Acknowledgement Brings Comfort, 7) Diverse Challenges Intensify Grieving, and 8) Religious, Spiritual, and Personal Transformation. These themes and their relationship to relevant literature and to each other are discussed, followed by a consideration of research strengths, limitations, and practice implications. In addition to advancing the present understanding of cultural influences on perinatal loss in a theoretical sense, a planned outcome was that the findings obtained would contribute to the development of culturally sensitive perinatal bereavement care.

Keywords: bereavement
interpretive phenomenology
Orthodox Judaism
perinatal loss
qualitative
religion
Advisor: Geva, Esther
Jonas-Simpson, Christine
Tour-based Mode Choice Model in Activity-based Modelling Framework

This thesis presents a tour-based mode choice modelling structure for activity-based travel demand models by exploiting the classical dynamic discrete choice modelling approach. Many activity-based modelling systems rely on either trip-based or ‘simplified’ tour-based mode choice models that in many cases completely overlook the dynamics of mode choice behaviour. To contribute to filling this gap, this thesis applies a systematic approach of investigation to better understand the nature of tour-based mode choices and to propose a parsimonious modelling structure for it. The first investigation looks into the trip-based mode choice behaviour of post-secondary students commuting to universities in the City of Toronto. The second investigation uses a heteroskedastic dynamic discrete choice model for tour-based mode choices modelling with an empirical investigation of university students’ daily mode choices in Toronto. The third investigation uses a computationally tractable dynamic discrete choice modelling framework for modelling tour-based mode choices. The fourth investigation uses a random utility maximization -based dynamic discrete-continuous modelling approach to capture individuals’ tour-based modes and continuous time-expenditure choice trade-offs in a 24-hour time frame. The model results reveal that individuals’ sensitivity to travel costs varies, while their sensitivity to travel time remains stable. The empirical model reveals that users of newly introduced mobility services (e.g., Uber, Lyft) tend to have different mode choice patterns and value of travel time savings than non-users of these services. The forward-looking component reveals that availability of the modes for subsequent trips in the tour represent a significant portion of the utility of the current mode choices. In terms of the time-expenditure choice model, it is found that full-time employees and younger individuals tend to leave home earlier than part-time employees and older individuals. It is found that individuals are likely to spend long hours at work or school if they leave home early. Furthermore, individuals are likely to schedule non-mandatory activities, such as shopping, later in the day. The validation and policy evaluation results are promising. While the models proposed here can be easily developed in different regions across North America, opportunities also exist for the application of this type of analysis globally.

Keywords: Activity-based modelling
Discrete-continuous choice
Dynamic discrete choice
Future expectation
Tour-based mode choice
Travel demand forecasting
Advisor: Nurul Habib, Khandker
Disabling Relationships: Exploring Encounters in Segregated Special Needs Classrooms

This work addresses how encounters between teachers, students and the researcher within segregated special needs classrooms both perpetuate and resist the normalizing narrative of schooling. In this study, I aim to demonstrate how subjectivities, onto-epistemologies and varying embodiments impress upon one another in ways that both shape and refuse to shape our relationships. My participatory classroom exploration took place during 15 weekly visits (Fall 2017) in a Primary Learning Disability (LD) class and a Primary Mild Intellectual Delay (MID) class at “Up North Public School.” Guided by disability studies, post-structural feminisms decolonial studies as well as postcolonial studies, I make a case for a methodology I refer to in this study as reading and being read in disabling ways. The intent here is to explore inhabiting our interpretive relationships with each other differently amidst disability through telling stories embedded in everyday classroom moments between teachers and students. In Part I of this study, I outline the theoretical and methodological orientations that allowed for my reflexive relations to my participant observations within two segregated special education classrooms. Part II addresses the ‘who’ (subjectivities), Part III addresses the ‘what’ (knowledges both vocal and silent), and Part IV addresses the ‘where’ (embodied and contextualized relations). By contending that disability impresses in ways that continue to challenge and transform, my study contributes to a much-needed critical engagement regarding what it means to teach and learn as we reimagine our conception of becoming human amidst disability.

Keywords: decolonial studies
disability studies
elementary teaching and learning
normalcy
postcolonial studies
post-structural feminisms
Advisor: Titchkosky, Tanya
Neural Mechanisms Underlying Action with Mirror Visual Feedback

Mirror visual feedback (MVF) is a form of altered, illusory visual feedback that has shown promise in the treatment of stroke and chronic pain. This technique utilizes the visual feedback of a functioning limb to improve function in an impaired limb. Despite the growing interest in using MVF in rehabilitation, the mechanisms underlying this technique is unknown. Therefore, this thesis was undertaken to explore fundamental, yet unanswered, questions about the mechanisms underlying MVF of a precision grasp across three different studies. In Study 1, the excitability, intracortical inhibition and facilitation of the motor cortex (M1) ipsilateral to the moving hand in MVF was studied. Findings demonstrated increased excitability in the ipsilateral M1 and reduced short-interval intracortical inhibition only with MVF. Study 2 explored modulations in the connection between anterior intraparietal sulcus (aIPS), an area belonging to the mirror neuron system/precision grasping circuit, and M1 with MVF. Minimal involvement of the aIPS in MVF was noted. Changes in the ventral premotor cortex (PMv) and M1 connectivity with MVF was examined in Study 3. The PMv plays an important part in visually-guided precision grasping. This study found that the ipsilateral PMv-M1 interaction in the left hemisphere was inhibitory. Study findings highlight the role of the left PMv in MVF. Future studies should explore hemispheric differences in PMv-M1 in MVF. Together, this work demonstrates that the neural mechanism underlying MVF involve an increased excitation of the ipsilateral M1. MVF also influences the inhibitory intracortical circuits within M1. Although minimal evidence was found to suggest the involvement of aIPS in MVF, the role of the left PMv in MVF has been demonstrated. Most importantly, this thesis highlights different neural nodes that contribute to MVF and its impact on motor function.

Advisor: Chen, Robert
Standing By and Doing Nothing about Genocide in Sudan and Canada

The purpose of this research is to understand how riverain Sudanese stand by to genocide targeting peoples of Sudan’s peripheries, and how non-Indigenous Canadians stand by to genocide targeting Indigenous peoples in Canada. Influenced by Indigenous relational approaches to research, this study was designed collaboratively with scholars and activists targeted by genocide in both contexts. Employing constructivist grounded theory methods (Charmaz, 2008) I have conducted in-depth interviews with 44 riverain Sudanese and 18 non-Indigenous Canadians complicit in genocide. Genocides such as these destroy social figurations (Elias, 1978), the value-laden networks of relationships that define us. Reflecting this I uncovered two grounded theories of standing by to genocide, one for riverain Sudanese and one for non-Indigenous Canadians, with four relational dimensions in common: 1. relationships with place and their failure to connect across vast distances with those targeted by genocide; 2. relationships within their communities, and the colonial nature of relations between those complicit and those targeted by genocide; 3. a mesh of colonial ideas originating in Britain — capitalism, liberal values, the nation state, “modern” bureaucratized institutions, formal education, and race — that legitimize genocidal relationships in both contexts; and 4. Resulting from these relational networks a habitus (Bourdieu, 1990) that predisposes rather than prevents riverain Sudanese and non-Indigenous Canadians from standing up. Kinship relations in Sudan facilitate the colonizing riverain figuration monopolizing power at the centre, relegating peoples targeted by genocide to the peripheries. Riverain Sudanese both connect with and “other” peoples targeted in ways that facilitate doing nothing about genocide. Non-Indigenous Canadians have instead engineered themselves in a binary relationship, distant from, in contrast, and superior to Indigenous peoples in Canada. Their standing by is facilitated by the few and often poor relationships they have with Indigenous people and their denial of racism and domination. In both contexts the disposition of standing by can be explained along dimensions of (in)action, knowledge, feeling, and motivation. This theory suggests that even modest changes could transform these networks of genocidal relationships in ways that would facilitate riverain Sudanese and non-Indigenous Canadians standing up.

Keywords: bystander
colonial
genocide
grounded theory
indigenous research
relational sociology
Advisor: Restoule, Jean-Paul