VictorJuiz/thesis huggingface dataset:
Fundraising in Ontario Colleges: An Emerging Profession?

Conceptualized because I found a paucity of standardized requirements for fundraising positions, this exploratory/descriptive research study explored whether fundraising is an emerging profession in the context of Ontario’s English language Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology (CAAT). The study relied on both quantitative and qualitative data through a survey and interviews with five participant groups: college knowledge leaders, fundraisers and teachers in eight Ontario colleges, students enrolled in a full-time fundraising program, and donors who had contributed to an Ontario college within the previous five to 10 years. Focusing on fundraising post 1995, the study sought to explore the extent to which the five classical traits of professions identified in the literature, were evident in Ontario college fundraising activity, namely: autonomy, a formal course of study, a unique body of knowledge, professional associations with a formal code of ethics, and state regulations. The sample size was relatively small because of the focus of the research. Additionally, the findings of the study are not generalizable, as participants were not randomly selected from the population. However, as an exploratory/descriptive study and because of the paucity of scholarly data related to the specific research focus, the findings will add to an overall understanding of the topic. The literature review for the research revolved around the history of philanthropy in Canada as it relates to laws and taxes, origins of fundraising in Ontario colleges, and traits or characteristics that define a profession. The findings concluded that fundraising is not yet a profession, but it is in the process of evolving into one as some traits associated with a profession were visible in the data; other traits were at various stages of development. In fact, when fundraising in Ontario colleges was analyzed for the presence of trait criteria, I found that none of the requirements of the identified characteristics were fully met. The study concluded that there was room for more research in the area of fundraising as a profession in Ontario and there was a need for the development of Canada-specific fundraising policies as well as deeper inquiry into the professionalization of fundraisers.

Keywords: charity
funding
fundraising
philanthropy
profession
theory
Advisor: Janzen, Katharine
Modulation of the Hippocampal Neurogenic Program by the Circadian Clock Machinery and the small GTPase, Rasd1/ Dexras1

The mammalian hippocampal subgranular zone (SGZ) is home to a limited pool of quiescent neural stem/ progenitor cells (QNPs). These cells respond to intrinsic and extrinsic physiological changes, embark on the neurogenesis program and give rise to glutamatergic granule neurons that populate the dentate gyrus (DG). In this thesis, I uncovered two mediators of the neurogenic program: the circadian clock and the small GTPase, Dexras1. The circadian clock machinery controls daily timings in cellular events via the transcription-translation feedback loop (TTFL), which includes Bmal1 and Period2. In this thesis, I demonstrate the presence of the molecular clock and of rhythmic cell proliferation in the SGZ. The absence of Period2 abolishes the gating of cell cycle entrance of QNPs, whereas the genetic ablation of Bmal1 results in constitutively high levels of neurogenesis and cognitive defects. Mathematical model simulations show that the circadian clock may be essential in mediating cell-cycle inhibitors that targets the cyclin D/Cdk4-6 complex, and in turn disruptions in this system result in the abolishment of gating mechanisms. This study uncovers the interrelationship between the cell cycle and the circadian clock and emphasizes the importance of proper rhythmicity for hippocampal function. The most potent enhancer of hippocampal neurogenesis is physical exercise. The mechanism by which physical exercise promotes the rapid expansion of the proliferative pool remains elusive. Here, I demonstrate that exercise induces the cell cycle entrance of QNPs, a mechanism that is dependent on the presence of Dexras1. The loss of Dexras1 alters the survival of mitotic and post-mitotic cell survival in a stage-specific manner. At the molecular level, the absence of Dexras1 abolishes exercise-dependent activation of pro-mitogenic signaling cascades and inhibits the transcriptional up-regulation of neurotrophic factors. This study reveals Dexras1 as an important stage-specific regulator of exercise-induced neurogenesis in the adult hippocampus by enhancing pro-mitogenic signaling to neural progenitor cells and modulating cell survival. Altogether, this thesis demonstrates the high responsiveness of QNPs to extracellular signals. Within each chapter, I challenge current beliefs in the fields of circadian rhythms, cell signaling and neurogenesis, and develop new perspectives on adult stem cell regulation.

Keywords: Cell cycle
Circadian Clock
Dexras1/ Rasd1
Neurogenesis
Stem Cell
Advisor: Cheng, Hai-Ying Mary
The role of the teneurin C-terminal associated peptide (TCAP) family in energy metabolism and skeletal muscle physiology in protochordates and chordates

Stress can be defined as any event that threatens homeostasis. Organisms have a finite source of energy to allocate towards stress-coping mechanisms, while maintaining enough energy for other key life aspects such as growth and reproduction. Thus, when stress demands a higher portion of the energy budget to overcome the stressor, it impacts the overall fitness of the organism. As stress and energy are intrinsically linked, mechanisms of enhancing energy production would provide the organism with a better capacity to deal with stress. Recently, a highly conserved stress-modulating peptide, teneurin C-terminal associated peptide (TCAP), has been described. As TCAP has roles in stress regulation, it led to question if the TCAP family could have roles in energy metabolism. Therefore, the primary objective of this work was to determine if the TCAP family plays a role in skeletal muscle metabolism and stress, in relation to muscle function, as skeletal muscle is a key metabolic regulator and is involved in the organismal stress response. Due to its early evolutionary history, three model organisms were chosen across evolution to study TCAP actions. Using the protochordate, Ciona intestinalis, the cyprinid, Danio rerio, and the rodent, Rattus norvegicus, this research established that the TCAP peptides enhanced contractile function in skeletal muscle via increased metabolic activity, and that these effects are highly conserved. Importantly, the resulting enhanced ATP production provides an increased threshold for stress, as demonstrated by a decrease in stress-related responses with TCAP treatment under stressful conditions. In addition, this work is the first to demonstrate the expression and function of the teneurin/TCAP-ADGRL system in the skeletal muscle of all three organisms, revealing a novel mechanism of action for the TCAP family. Thus, this research provides critical insight into the dynamic regulation of skeletal muscle function and metabolism by the TCAP family.

Keywords: Glucose
Metabolism
Skeletal Muscle
Stress
TCAP-1
Advisor: Lovejoy, David A
From simulations to signals: Analyzing gravitational waves from compact binary coalescences

Detecting gravitational waves is just the start of the story; to understand their nature and the systems that emitted them, we develop methods to correctly recover signals and characterize their source properties. This thesis describes three topics in Advanced LIGO gravitational-wave data analysis, each addressing technical challenges in order to improve the detection and measurement of gravitational-wave signals from compact binary coalescences. In the first project, I present a set of numerical relativity simulations that track the coalescences of binary black holes. I describe the methods by which the simulations were performed, as well as the techniques used to evaluate their gravitational waveforms. A comprehensive error analysis concludes that the minimum overlap of numerical relativity waveforms is 99.97%. My second project improves one of Advanced LIGO's detection pipelines by deriving a source-dependent likelihood-ratio ranking statistic to rank incoming compact binary coalescence signals. Results show that using a source-dependent ranking statistic improves the pipeline's sensitive volume-time -- and therefore, its sensitivity -- for binary neutron stars detections by 6-16%. In my final project, I determine the detectability of precessing compact binaries, deriving an analytic model and then estimating quantitatively the fraction of detected events where precession is measurable by gravitational-wave detectors. My model is consistent with the lack of detectable precession from currently observed signals and indicates, in particular, that GW170817 was not emitted by a strongly precessing system.

Keywords: black hole
compact binary
data analysis
gravitational waves
LIGO
neutron star
Advisor: Pfeiffer, Harald P
Unstable Homotopy Theory Surrounding the Fibre of the pth Power Map on Loop Spaces of Spheres

In this thesis, we study the fibre of the pth power map on loop spaces of spheres with a view toward obtaining homotopy decompositions. For the prime p = 2, we give an explicit decomposition of the fibre Ω3S 17{2} of the squaring map on the triple loop space of the 17-sphere, building on work of Campbell, Cohen, Peterson and Selick, who showed that such decompositions are only possible for S 5, S9 and S17. This induces a splitting of the mod 2 homotopy groups π *(S17; Z/2Z) in terms of the integral homotopy groups of the fibre of the double suspensionE2 : S2n-1 → Ω2S 2n+1 and refines a result of Cohen and Selick, who gave similar decompositions for S5 and S 9. For odd primes, we find that the decomposition problem for Ω S2n+1{p} is equivalent to the strong odd primary Kervaire invariant problem. Using this unstable homotopy theoretic interpretation of the Kervaire invariant problem together with what is presently known about the 3-primary stable homotopy groups of spheres, we give a new decomposition of ΩS55{3} . We relate the2-primary decompositions above to various Whitehead products in the homotopy groups of mod 2 Moore spaces and Stiefel manifolds to show that the Whitehead square [i2n, i2n] of the inclusion of the bottom cell of the Moore space P2n+1 (2) is divisible by 2 if and only if 2n = 2, 4, 8 or 16. As an application of our 3-primary decomposition, we prove two new cases of a longstanding conjecture which states that the fibre of the double suspension is a double loop space.

Advisor: Selick, Paul
Performing Animals: Analyzing Live Animals in the Arts and their Impacts on Our Environmental Perceptions of the Animal Other

My thesis research is a critical and ethical analysis of live animals in the performing arts, and their impact on environmental perceptions of the animal other. How does viewing an animal on stage, in a performative role, engender particular reactions from audiences in terms of how and what we learn about those animals. What is the interplay between performance arts, live animals, and their audiences, and how do modes of presentation influence ongoing relationships between those three elements? I investigated these questions through the lens of “geodrama”, which calls for re-reading historical texts to “discover our past sense of place with nature” (Chaplin xix), to learn how the resulting ‘performances’ have come to inform our contemporary environmental perspectives. My research comprised of three major case studies: nineteenth-century circus elephants; twentieth-century SeaWorld orcas; and a starkly different contemporary work by performance art duo Olly and Suzi, called Shark Bite. By putting these three works into conversation, I interrogate the tradition of animals in performance arts, and question how these relationships may evolve. My research combined primary and secondary historical materials, and theoretical analysis of the primary case studies, based on considerations for ecological performances laid out by Gail J. Kuhl (on what constitutes ethical ecological art), and Theresa J. May (on what realworld implications and ecological realities the works reflect). I discovered there is a strong desire for tangible encounters with animals through artistic performance. There is also a strong tendency to supplant animal realities for anthropocentric narratives that necessitate captivity for entertainment and education. However, there is an equally strong desire for these relationships to be ethical or to support the idea that the animals are being incorporated into the performance willingly, and audience perceptions on the animal performer are quickly evolving to reflect this.

Keywords: Animals
Circus
Environmental Education
Theatre
Advisor: Freeman, Barry
Plant evolution, soil ecosystems, and feedback

Plants are inextricably linked to their environment. They can alter biotic and abiotic properties of soil ecosystems, which in turn can feed back to affect plant performance. My thesis explores this dynamic link between plants and soil at microevolutionary (within plant species) and macroevolutionary (between plant species) scales. In the microevolutionary half of my thesis I first test whether genetic variation, range-wide geographic trait clines and contemporary evolution in the focal plant species Oenothera biennis (Onagraceae) influence soil ecosystems. I found strong effects of plant genetic variation and evolution, but not geographic origin, on the structure of soil invertebrate communities and ecosystem processes such as soil respiration, litter decay and N mineralization rates. Finally, to understand how soil may be influencing plant evolution, I test whether variation in soil microbial communities can alter plant evolution across two common environmental stressors, competition and drought. I found that soil microbes drastically modify plant fitness, the expression of, and natural selection on flowering time. In the macroevolutionary half of my thesis I use a set of co-occurring plant species to investigate how evolutionary divergence over longer timescales influences plant-soil interactions. First, I conducted a multi-generational experiment to understand the drivers of plant–soil feedback (PSF) across 50 plant species. I found that evolutionary divergence and overall phenotypic similarity were poor predictors of soil feedback, however individual plant traits were strongly related to PSF. Next, I characterized the assembly and ecological function of the root microbiome across 30 plant species. Close plant relative exhibited high similarity in the diversity and composition of their root microbiota. Furthermore, patterns of root microbial recruitment among host plant species were related to PSF and plant drought tolerance. My thesis provides a unique evolutionary perspective on the reciprocal interactions between plants and soil.

Keywords: competition
drought
plant-microbe interactions
plant microbiome
plant-soil feedback
Advisor: Johnson, Marc TJ
The Biology of Social Adversity in Oral Disease

Several pathways have been proposed to explain the relationship between adverse social and living conditions and oral health outcomes. However, little is known about the underlying biological mechanisms by which the social “gets under the skin” to bring about oral diseases. This work aims to investigate the pathobiological pathways by which adverse social exposures (focusing on socioeconomic position), become embodied in oral and systemic inflammation. The specific objectives are to: (1) evaluate the evidence on social-biological interactions in oral disease; (2) assess the contribution of socioeconomic factors to the association between periodontal and systemic inflammation; (3) assess socioeconomic differences in periodontal and oral immune parameters; and (4) examine the contribution of psychosocial stress factors and the activation of the stress pathway in these relationships. To do this, we first conducted a systematic review, based on which a conceptual model was plotted, followed by an analysis of secondary NHANES IV data where the contribution of socioeconomic position to the relationship between periodontal and systemic inflammation was assessed. Finally, an analysis of primary data was conducted to assess the socioeconomic differences in periodontal disease and oral immune outcomes and the contribution of financial stress, perceived stress and the stress hormone cortisol to these differences. Overall, the results showed that socioeconomic factors attenuate the relationship between periodontal disease and systemic inflammation, and that individuals on the lower rungs of the socioeconomic hierarchy are at a greater risk for a pro-inflammatory oral immune system that potentially increases their vulnerability to periodontal tissue damage. This relationship was significantly attenuated by the effect of financial and perceived stress and cortisol, indicating a biopsychosocial pathway between socioeconomic exposures and periodontal disease. Collectively, the results from this work show that the socioeconomic, psychosocial and biological factors have a convergent role in the oral disease process. Integrated policy solutions that target these underlying factors in oral disease and associated inequalities are required.

Keywords: Biological embodiment
Biopsychosocial
Cortisol
Periodontal disease
Psychosocial stress
Stress
Advisor: Quinonez, Carlos
Fish Community Responses to the Land Use Change and Environmental Variability in Estuaries

Understanding how species communities respond to land use and environmental change over space and time is necessary given the rapidly changing environment that threaten species persistence. In intrinsically dynamic environments such as estuaries, the spatial and temporal environmental variability at the interface of freshwater and marine ecosystems result in species that persist with morphological or physiological adaptations to these changing environmental conditions. Yet, estuarine fish communities are facing further change as a result of the loss of functional connectivity through stream fragmentation due to culverts that impede fish passage upstream, and land use change as well as climate change among estuaries that reduce habitat quality. It is unknown how the extent of environmental change due to land use and climate change in estuaries and their associated watersheds affect estuarine fish communities in addition to natural variability. In this thesis, I determine how fish communities in estuaries respond to land use impact and environmental variability at the stream and watershed levels. The functional connectivity of species is impacted by stream fragmentation due to culverts upstream of New Brunswick estuaries and their watersheds. I show that the potential functional connectivity of species varies according to migratory traits and the ontogeny of species. In the Miramichi watershed, I assess how forest harvesting and weather fluctuations affect the density of juvenile Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) at the watershed level. I demonstrate that accounting for the upstream forest harvesting have cumulative impacts on juvenile Atlantic salmon through each catchment downstream and over time. Within and among the estuaries, I find evidence that fish communities shift according to environmental change. My findings relating to the effects of land use and environmental variability from streams to the watersheds would result in a better predictive capacity of how estuarine fish communities will potentially change or persist.

Keywords: community ecology
environmental change
estuaries
functional connectivity
stream networks
watersheds
Advisor: Fortin, Marie-Josée
Music Learning in an Online Affinity Space: Using a Mobile Application to Create Interactions During Independent Musical Instrument Practice

This research study considers the effects of the implementation of a mobile application designed for use during music students’ independent practice sessions between weekly lessons. Designed as an intrinsic case study, this research examines interactions within a shared online space, as facilitated by the mobile app called PracticeCactus. During their piano practice, a group of young, committed students, aged 10 to 15, used the app for 20 weeks, prompting an investigation of the effects of facilitating social interactions in the context of independent piano practice. Drawing on social constructivism and sociocultural theory, this research positions music learners as engaging in music learning through active experiences, in certain cultural contexts, and in the midst of interactions. Influenced by the work of James Paul Gee, the research context is conceptualized as an affinity space where learners participate in a variety of ways based on their common interest in piano playing. Participation in the affinity space, (i.e., using the PracticeCactus app), included opportunities for learners to share piano practice with their peers and to hear their peers’ contributions. In addition, the app provided opportunities for students to become aware when other students in their studio were practising. Data sources included: (a) two interviews with each student; (b) artefacts students created within the PracticeCactus app including musical recordings and comments; (c) field notes; and (d) four group music-sharing sessions. Throughout the course of the study, students’ use of the app changed, reflecting a move toward the social praxis philosophy of music learning. As a result of using PracticeCactus, students described their opportunities to play piano in a low-stakes, participatory environment, to engage in focused listening, to receive feedback and encouragement, and to share musical accomplishments. In addition, students described how the mobile app fostered social connections, affinity, and fun. Suggestions for future research are offered, as well as a discussion of implications for studio music teachers and mobile app developers.

Keywords: independent practice
mobile learning
piano
social interaction
studio instruction
technology
Advisor: Brett, Clare