VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
E-MENTORING AS A SOCIALIZATION STRATEGY FOR NEW GRADUATE NURSE ROLE TRANSITION AND WORKPLACE ADJUSTMENT

Background: Nursing turnover is a critical issue in Canadian hospitals and the transition period from student to RN has been identified as extremely stressful. Mentorship has the potential to address transitional issues and could impact retention in the first year of employment. Further, e-mentoring may address socialization limitations noted in existing mentoring programs, however the optimum design for an e-mentoring intervention is unknown. Study Objectives: To identify socialization needs, barriers and facilitators for effective role transition and workplace adjustment and understand the state of science on mentorship to develop evidenced-based recommendations for components and design features of an e-mentoring intervention. Methods: A complementarity mixed method design was used; guided by Van Maanen and Schein’s Socialization Theory and Kalbfleish’s Mentoring Enactment Theory. Phase 1: Scoping Literature Review. Phase 2: In-depth interviews with key informants using content analysis and an exploration of e-mentoring as a possible socialization tactic. Phase 3: Intervention Recommendations for components and design features identified, synthesized and triangulated with scoping review findings. Recommendations were reviewed for acceptability by stakeholder panel of new graduate and experienced nurses. Results: Mentoring has been lost in preceptoring translation and new graduate nurses are exposed to social shock experiences; entrenched in unwelcoming and hierachical work cultures with cliques and bullying. A relatable mentor, however, may support role transition and foster workplace adjustment to professional practice. Further, e- mentoring may be a viable platform to provide support and address the limitations of traditional face-to-face mentoring such as a lack of time to meet with the mentee, mentor burnout, lack of commitment on the part of the mentor, and scheduling constraints. Evidence-based recommendations for components and design features of an e-mentoring intervention were developed. Discussion/Conclusion: Preceptor programs for new nursing graduates are not providing adequate social supports to assist with role transition and workplace adjustment within the first year of employment. Study findings have advanced Van Maanen and Schein’s Socialization Theory and Kalbfleish’s Mentoring Enactment Theory by uncovering the phenomenon of new graduate nurse social shock. In addition, this study has contributed to the design of an evidence-based and relevant e-mentoring intervention for new nursing graduates.

Keywords: E-mentoring
Mentoring
New Graduate Nurse
Role Transition
Virtual Mentoring
Workplace Adjustment
Advisor: Doran, Diane
LEADERS OF STUDENT GROWTH: A LOOK AT THE IN-SCHOOL TEAM STRUCTURE IN ONTARIO ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS

This qualitative study explored the in-school team (IST) structure found within Ontario public elementary schools. The IST is a problem-solving approach implemented to support students, especially those identified as experiencing difficulties within schools. Five elementary principals were interviewed for this research and it is through their voices that deeper understandings about ISTs are shared. Five case studies are included to highlight the experiences of these leaders as they implemented the IST within their schools. This research has many layers within it. It sits within holistic education to emphasize the importance of teaching the whole child, not just addressing his or her mind in isolation from his or her body, heart, and spirit. At the school level, a holistic and inclusive mindset are integral to the implementation of efficient and ethical ISTs within schools. At the societal level, the figured worlds theoretical framework is used to problematize some of the more covert implications of the IST on students experiencing difficulties. This is where identity construction comes into question within this work because it calls educators to be reflective about the practices and discourses they use when attempting to help students who may be struggling. Likewise, this study highlights the need for holistic practices to be implemented when intervening to help students. In addition, limits of this study are discussed, some suggestions for improvements are provided, as well as, implications for future research.

Keywords: figured worlds
holistic education
inclusive education
in-school teams
leadership
students experiencing difficulties
Advisor: Miller, Jack
The T Cell-Intrinsic Role of Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor Delta in T Cell Development and Effector Function

The nuclear receptor peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor delta (PPARd) is a sensor of fatty acids and functions as a transcriptional regulator of various processes. PPARd has been shown to have anti-inflammatory activities in the immune system by promoting alternative macrophage activation; however, the role of PPARd in the T cell compartment is not well understood. This thesis aimed to investigate the role of PPARd in T cell development and effector function. To this end, we generated mice where PPARd was deleted specifically in T cells starting at either the CD4-CD8- double negative (DN) 2 stage or double positive stage of thymocyte development, and used them as tools to study the function of PPARd in the T cell compartment. First, this work uncovered a novel role of PPARd in T cell development. We found that either whole body PPARd-deficient mice or mice with PPARd-deletion starting at the DN2 stage had reduced thymic cellularity that was evident from the T cell receptor (TCR)-b selection step and onwards. This loss in thymocyte cell number related to defects in the ability of PPARd-deficient thymocytes to undergo repeated cell division at the DN3 stage. Our work further revealed that PPARd was required for promoting the expression of genes involved in glycolysis, the tricarboxylic acid cycle, the electron transport chain and lipogenesis. This study is amongst the first to demonstrate a direct role of a PPAR family member in T cell development. In the second part of this study, we used mice where PPARd was deleted at a later stage in thymocyte development to study the role of PPARd in mature T cells. These studies revealed that these T cell-specific PPARd-deficient mice had a normal thymus, but developed more severe T helper (Th) 17-mediated inflammation during experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, an animal model of multiple sclerosis. This more severe disease related in part to PPARd-deficient T cells being more prone to differentiate towards the Th17 lineage. Together, our research highlights the T cell-intrinsic role of PPARd in supporting T cell development and suppressing central nervous system autoimmunity, making this molecule an attractive therapeutic target for treatment of Th17-mediated diseases.

Keywords: Effector function
PPARdelta
T cell
T cell development
Advisor: Dunn, Shannon
The Spectrum, Impact, and Management of Cardiovascular Disease in Ontario Women with Early Stage Breast Cancer

Background: There are limited data about the epidemiology of cardiovascular disease after early stage breast cancer. Methods: We conducted four cohort studies utilizing data from Ontario women diagnosed with early stage breast cancer between 1998 and 2015. The first study describes causes of death after breast cancer, with a focus on patient strata where death from cardiovascular causes may exceed that from breast cancer. The second study examines hospital presentations for different categories of cardiovascular disease, and their temporal relationship to heart failure, comparing early stage breast cancer cases to age-matched women without cancer. The third study develops a score for predicting cardiovascular risk after early stage breast cancer. The final study examines 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme-A reductase inhibitor (also known as statins) use after early stage breast cancer as a marker of cardiovascular preventative therapy, with comparison to cancer-free women of similar cardiovascular risk. Results: Breast cancer was the most common cause of death. Among patients with prior cardiovascular disease, the risks of death from breast cancer and cardiovascular disease were equivalent for the first five years, after which death from cardiovascular causes was more frequent. For women aged ≥66 years who survived ≥5 years after diagnosis, cardiovascular disease exceeded breast cancer as the leading cause of death at ten years post-diagnosis. The 10-year cumulative incidence of cardiovascular hospitalization was 11.7% after early stage breast cancer and 10.6% in controls. The ratio of cardiovascular disease rates between the cohorts increased with time. 76% of cardiovascular hospitalizations were for diagnoses other than heart failure. 36% of first heart failure presentations were preceded by hospital presentation with another cardiovascular disease. We developed a score to predict the risk of death or hospitalization from cardiovascular disease. Model calibration and discrimination were good. The c-index in the validation cohort was 81.3% at 5 years. Finally, we observed that women with early stage breast cancer were less likely to dispense statins compared to cancer-free women, though the differences were small. Relevance: These data provide useful insights into the importance of cardiovascular disease and how its management can be improved in women with early stage breast cancer.

Keywords: breast cancer
cardiovascular disease
clinical epidemiology
competing risks
Advisor: Anderson, Geoffrey M
Learning in the 'Land of Ashes': 'Poland' through the windows of a bus on the Toronto March of the Living

This dissertation seeks to determine how learning in situ in Poland during the March of the Living (a trip which takes young Jews to Poland and Israel) shapes the curricular experience of Holocaust education. It examines the trip’s purpose of constructing Jewish self and communal identities through the history, and what impact that may have on the participants’ understanding of history, their Jewish identity and the Polish-Jewish relationship. This qualitative research study revolves around three questions: What pre-existing beliefs and attitudes regarding Poland do students bring into the trip? How do pedagogical choices employed in Poland change the narrative of the Holocaust from static to active? And, how does this act of experiential Holocaust education shape the participants’ beliefs, actions, and relationships with the Jewish community over time? It determines that many participants have a tendency to ‘inherit’ negative memory and myth about Poland from previous participants and family members, and the March’s creation of a ‘Poland’ that exists entirely as a Jewish construct certainly reinforces those pre-trip attitudes. Once there, the conflict between experiential and formal education that the program tries to negotiate results in the prioritization of emotional understandings of history over intellectual ones. The common use of ‘embodiment’ within the trip encourages students to “enter history” on the side of Nazi victims, and in the absence of Nazis, local Poles surrounding the students become placeholders for the perpetrators and bystanders as a counterpoint to the students’ embodied ‘victim.’ The highly emotional, identity-building pedagogy on the trip feeds into various types of ‘modeled’ types of Jewishness presented to students throughout the trip, and the most pervasive form students exit with is one that is both under threat and empowered (represented by Holocaust and Israel respectively). This research indicates that the March attempts to bridge both educational and identity-building agendas, but is at present unable to successfully negotiate that tension, resulting in students lacking considerable knowledge about the Holocaust. Their Jewish identity building measures also seem to work to change attitudes, but not behaviours. This would indicate mixed levels of success for the March of the Living’s key goals.

Keywords: Holocaust
Israel
Jewish education
March of the Living
Pilgrimage
Poland
Advisor: Simon, Rob
An Examination of the Culture of Health education and Education for Health in Timor-Leste

This study examines public health culture in Timor-Leste, subsequent to independence in 2002. After having been a colony of Portugal for 450 years and under Indonesian occupation for almost 25 years, Timor-Leste has established a new health system and began promoting health education in the country. This thesis is a qualitative case study in which prominent local people and international workers in Timor-Leste were interviewed, and existing information from both international and local organizations was investigated, along with relevant research from the literature review. The information was compared with neighbouring countries’ health education programs and similar studies. Moreover, this study explores the benefits and disadvantages between one district near the capital and another district at the east end of the country. The government organized the flagship program, Servisu Integradu da Saúde Communitária (SISCa) (Integrated Community Health Services) titled, “From, With and To the Community,” as a bottom-up program in 2008, for participation by the citizens. The government is successfully shifting from only hospital health care to community health care. In addition, the model of curable health care was changed successfully to one of preventative health care. The government will need to continue development of the country’s health plan by implanting more fully health education in the schools and communities, and by organizing infrastructures, such as the clean water system and the sewage system in the whole country, to modify the sanitation and hygiene problems.

Keywords: Community health education
Timor-Leste
Advisor: Niyozov, Sarfaroz
Thinking Beyond the Secular-Pious Divide: A Relational Study Within and In-Between Secular Feminists and Pious Feminists in Turkey

My dissertation examines the relationship between secular feminists and pious feminists in Turkey from a relationship-centered, transformation-oriented, multi-discursive approach. Despite the growing research on either one group or the other, the current literature that brings together the two sides of the debate and explores the interpersonal relationships between the two women’s groups is at best minimal. This lack of relational focus not only reinforces the secular-pious binary in Turkey and reduces the complex and dynamic relationship between the two women’s groups into a relentless, seemingly irresolvable political opposition, but also, it limits further opportunities for possible future collaboration. My study is an effort to relationally rethink and deconstruct this common assumption. Based on my data from open-ended, one-on-one interviews, group interviews, and participant observation in Turkey in between 2011 and 2013, I analyze secular feminist and pious feminist narratives and identify alternative concepts to rethink the relationship between the two groups beyond the secular-pious divide. In the intersection of applied theory and empirical ethnographic research, I provide detailed discussions of secular feminist friendship (Chapter 3), pious feminist autonomy (Chapter 4), and the overall dynamics of disagreement and collaboration between the two groups (Chapter 5). In this manner, rather than predominantly relying on the assumptions of the secular/pious and analyzing how it predetermines feminist relationships, my analysis contributes to the previous debates by analyzing feminist relationships and how they iteratively challenge the assumptions of the secular/pious. While documenting both group’s perceptions of selfhood and otherhood, I also document how these perceptions change when my participants think about their Other in relation to themselves. I pursue this task by posing two inter-related questions: How can secular feminists and pious feminists in Turkey transcend their political fixities and transform their relationship in a more plural and collaborative manner? How can secular feminists and pious feminists in Turkey act upon their shared feminist interests instead of political disagreements, and in this way collaborate on the same women’s civil society project as equal partners and by mutual consent?

Keywords: Political Theory
Turkish Politics
Women's Studies
Advisor: Nedelsky, Jennifer
Automating High Content Screening with Deep Learning

High-content screening (HCS) combines automated microscopy with high throughput technologies for assaying genetic or environmental perturbations. HCS systems have enabled experiments designed to infer relationships between genetic mutations, compound libraries, and cellular phenotypes. Despite the benefits of image-based screens, analyzing large amounts of microscopy data remains a challenging bottleneck. Complex patterns, such as sub-cellular protein localizations, are difficult to quantify and several research groups have resorted to scoring these phenotypes manually by eye. Other researchers have developed customized computational analysis pipelines that need to be re-engineered for every screen. In this thesis, I apply supervised deep learning to HCS datasets as a computational approach that can be used to analyze a wide range of microscopy screens. First, I show that the classification performance of a deep convolutional neural network (CNN) outperforms a previously published computational pipeline for assessing the subcellular localization of fluorescently tagged proteins in genome wide yeast screens. I further show that this CNN can be used and updated on other protein localization datasets, including one generated by a different lab and on different imaging equipment. The CNN was used to identify ~300 proteins that change in localization in response to mating pheromone exposure. I trained a similar CNN to assign single cells in HCS images to 1 of 6 cell cycle stage categories, enabling in-silico synchronization of single cells. I combined the outputs from these two CNNs with data from RNA sequencing and ribosome profiling experiments to generate a comprehensive database of protein dynamics throughout the cell cycle. Additionally, I developed a novel CNN architecture to train models on HCS images without requiring cell segmentation or annotations for individual cells. This architecture only requires a list of phenotypes evident in a handful of images for training and can then predict which phenotypes are visible in other images and can indicate which cells in the images exhibit them. This model takes a major step toward automating the analysis of HCS images as minimal input is required to use it for analyzing different screens.

Keywords: Deep learning
High content screening
Machine learning
Microscopy
Phenomics
Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Advisor: Frey, Brendan J
Combined Cell and Gene Therapy Towards the Treatment of Age-related Macular Degeneration and Diabetic Retinopathy

Abnormal and leaky blood vessel growth (neovascularization, NV), caused by an up-regulation of VEGF, is the common cause for vascular leakage, vessel dilatation, tortuosity, haemorrhage, cell death and ultimately blindness in age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy. Current anti-VEGF treatments (e.g. Avastin) can improve visual function but only temporarily and therefore patients require monthly eye injections. In addition, the anti-VEGF therapies cause side effects such as stroke, gastrointestinal perforations and bleeding. To address these problems, we have generated a novel bi-functional VEGF trap (VEGF Sticky-trap) that is able to trap VEGF as well as bind ("stick") to the extracellular matrix (ECM). This consequently allows inhibition of neovascularization only at the site of administration without causing systemic side effects as we have demonstrated in a retinopathy mouse model (OIR). To avoid the invasiveness of current therapies we have generated retinal pigment epithelium cells that express VEGF Sticky-trap in an inducible manner. We have shown that VEGF Sticky-trap expressed by these cells in-vitro is able to bind to ECM and trap soluble VEGF only upon doxycycline induction. In addition, we have demonstrated that these cells incorporate into the subretinal space long-term (up to 10 month), express VEGF Sticky-trap that a) remains bound to eye ECM and b) inhibits laser-induced chorodial NV. Here we have shown that the combination of cell and novel anti-VEGF gene therapy can inhibit neovascularization in a controlled and long-term manner; potentially improve vision, while avoiding the risk of side effects.

Keywords: Age-related Macular Degeneration
Cell Therapy
Diabetic Retinopathy
Gene Therapy
Neovascularization
Stem Cell
Advisor: Nagy, Andras
What are the best treatments for proliferative lupus nephritis?

Background. Trial evidence, in adults, examining the relative effectiveness of immunosuppressive agents in the treatment of proliferative lupus nephritis (PLN) has been controversial. Trial evidence is sparse, particularly lacking long-term data, because trials are very difficult to do in this disease (due to its rarity and heterogeneous manifestations). There is no trial data to inform pediatric treatment. Observational treatment studies are limited by indication bias. A class of causal models, marginal structural models (MSMs), has been recommended in the literature to estimate treatment effectiveness using observational data, while correcting for indication bias. In order to determine the most effective immunosuppressive therapy for this disease, we designed and conducted this project. Methods. Systematic reviews and Bayesian network meta-analyses of trial evidence were performed. A MSM was used for an unbiased estimate of treatment effectiveness for childhood-onset PLN (cPLN). Results. Mycophenolate mofetil (MMF), in addition to prednisone, is the most effective therapy in the treatment of PLN, both in the short-term and long-term use, based on current evidence. Our pediatric findings were consistent with adult evidence and suggestive of MMF's superiority over other agents. Tacrolimus seemed better than MMF for adults in inducing renal remission at 6 months, but it has been insufficiently examined in other geographical regions than Asia. The probability of inducing renal remission for the best therapy was about 50% or lower at 6 months. Interestingly, the probability of preventing renal death at 2--3 years for azathioprine used at the current dose was second only to MMF. The 6% improvement in renal function, on average over a period of about 4 years in cPLN, induced by MMF versus other immunosuppressive agents (while correcting for indication bias) was statistically significant (p = 0.02). Conclusions. Whereas the evidence may not be sufficient to be definitive, MMF appears to be the best treatment for PLN. More studies are needed. Future clinical trials need to use a standardized conduct protocol and have a longer study duration. Future observational treatment studies should consider using MSM, especially for children and youth for rare diseases where clinical trials are infeasible.

Keywords: Bayesian analysis
causal inference
clinical trials
immunosuppressive treatment
lupus nephritis
metaanalysis
Advisor: Feldman, Brian M