Digital Commons Network^™

Current State Of Precision Medicine In Primary Systemic Vasculitides, Erkan Demirkaya, Zehra Serap Arici, Micol Romano, Roberta Audrey Berard, Ivona Aksentijevich

Paediatrics Publications

Precision medicine (PM) is an emerging data-driven health care approach that integrates phenotypic, genomic, epigenetic, and environmental factors unique to an individual. The goal of PM is to facilitate diagnosis, predict effective therapy, and avoid adverse reactions specific for each patient. The forefront of PM is in oncology; nonetheless, it is developing in other fields of medicine, including rheumatology. Recent studies on elucidating the genetic architecture of polygenic and monogenic rheumatological diseases have made PM possible by enabling physicians to customize medical treatment through the incorporation of clinical features and genetic data. For complex inflammatory disorders, the prevailing paradigm is …

Examining The Role Of Integration Experiences In Shaping Immigrants’ Post-Migration Food Choices And Eating Practices In Ontario, Canada, Eunjeong Eugena Kwon

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Despite the extensive literature on immigrants’ post-migration dietary transitions and their implications for long-term health and well-being, little research has been conducted to link these processes to their integration experiences. This dissertation contributes to the current literature by examining the interrelationship between immigrants’ integration experiences – especially their economic integration – and their post-migration food choices and eating practices.

The first integrated article (Chapter 2) draws on qualitative interviews with 38 recent immigrants in two Ontario cities (Toronto and London) in Canada. First, this chapter focuses on illustrating recent immigrants’ general experiences in managing their post-migration food choices and eating …

Resignation Or Resistance? Examining The Digital Privacy Attitudes And Behaviours Of East Yorkers, Kaitlyn Cavacas

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Digital technologies have become enmeshed in everyday life causing the public to become exposed to potential privacy risks through data collection and aggregation practices. Further, the upsurge in use of social networking platforms has also created opportunities for privacy violations through institutional and social surveillance. Employing a qualitative thematic analysis, this study explores how adults (N=101) living in East York, Toronto, navigate privacy through their use of the internet and digital services. Participants expressed feelings of mistrust, loss of control, resignation, and perceived self-unimportance with regards to their digital data. Importantly, others noted their desire and attempts to …

Public Interest In Razón Pública: A Data-Driven Network Analysis, Emilio Calderon Reyes

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis is a case study based on a network analysis of the magazine Razón Pública. This project took an inductive, data-driven approach to public interest in the context of a specific digital network. The main objectives were to characterize the magazine’s authors and subscribers, identify its prevalent news topics, and validate to what extent subscribers agree that the resulting topics are of public interest or not. In order to achieve these objectives, a mixed methodology was used; it consisted of combining Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques -keyword network, n-grams analysis, and Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) topic modeling-, qualitative …

No Space To Sing: A Narrative Inquiry Into The Experiences Of Classical Singers With Primary Muscle Tension Dysphonia, Elizabeth Lepock

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This study was designed as a qualitative narrative inquiry study into the experiences of classical singers with Primary Muscle Tension Dysphonia (PMTD). PMTD is defined as Muscle Tension Dysphonia (MTD) without organic or neurological factors. In the population of professional voice users, PMTD is typically associated with occupational/behavioural causes.

A review of the literature shows that occupational disorders are associated with stigma in the classical music community, that research on PMTD in the demographic of singers is sparse and often broadly defined, and that PMTD is not well-represented in the vocal pedagogy literature. Additionally, PMTD may present differently in classical …

Exploring Cognitive Maps Through Sketching, Melissa M. Nantais

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Abstract

Periodic testing has been found to improve the accuracy of participants’ cognitive maps when an onscreen map is provided, however, it is unclear whether the same results would occur without the onscreen map. The current study investigated whether drawing a map periodically while exploring the virtual environment Silcton would improve cognitive map accuracy. Participants explored Silcton and were stopped every 4 minutes to either sketch a map of Silcton, identify items seen in Silcton, or colour an unrelated picture, and a baseline group was not stopped. All groups drew a final sketch map and completed a direction estimation task. …

Perceptions Of Institutional Teaching Culture By Tenured, Tenure-Track, And Sessional Faculty, Debra Dawson, Ken Meadows, Erika Kustra, Kathryn Hanson

Centre for Teaching and Learning Publications

The Institutional Teaching Culture Perception Survey (ITCPS) was used to investigate beliefs of tenured, tenure-track, and sessional faculty members (N=576) about the teaching culture within three large research-intensive universities in Canada. As predicted, we found significant differences between these three groups of faculty members’ perceptions of their institutions’ teaching cultures. Sessional faculty perceived that their universities rewarded effective teaching less than their tenured or tenure-track colleagues. Tenured faculty were less likely than the tenure-track and sessional faculty to believe it was important to encourage, recognize, or assess effective teaching. These results have important implications for the quality of teaching and, …

Voice Analysis With Iphones: A Low Cost Experimental Solution, Benjamin Van Der Woerd

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Background:

Acoustic voice analysis requires a resource intensive setup, including a soundproof booth. This project evaluates smartphone microphone and recording environment impacts on voice sample collection for acoustic voice analysis. A proprietary analysis algorithm is presented for validation.

Methods:

Microphone and recording environment were evaluated using previously collected voice samples presented in four conditions to test two microphones and two recording environments. Prospective samples were used to test the proprietary algorithm, whereby samples were analyzed using this and Praat.

Results:

Microphone and recording environment had small, clinically unimportant impacts on most measurements. The proprietary algorithm reliably analyzed sustained vowels, with …

The Simultaneous Book: Women's Writing In Contemporary Art, Maryse Lariviere

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Novels written by women authors who don’t adhere to the classification “visual artist” are nonetheless gaining momentum in today's contemporary art world. Yet works by authors such as Chris Kraus or Catherine Millet are often not recognized as artist’s novels because their authors are not or/and do not consider themselves to be visual artists. I contend that we can usefully situate their work within the genre of the artist’s novel by addressing how they invent artistic postures and artistic alter-egos within the autofictional worlds of their texts. My dissertation The Simultaneous Book proposes to open up the definition of the …

Is Sabr Cost-Effective In Oligometastatic Cancer? An Economic Analysis Of Sabr-Comet Randomized Trial, Yujie Chen

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The phase II randomized study SABR-COMET demonstrated that in cancer patients with 1-5 oligometastatic lesions, stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR) was associated with an improvement in both progression-free survival and overall survival compared to standard of care (SoC). SABR, however, is associated with higher costs and treatment-related toxicity. The objective of this study was to assess the cost-effectiveness of SABR versus SoC in patients with oligometastatic disease.

A time-dependent Markov model with five health states was constructed from the Canadian health care system perspective. Utility values and transition probabilities were derived from the SABR-COMET trial. Costs were obtained from the published …

Evaluating The Utility Of Protein Biomarker, S100a7, And Diagnostic Test, Straticyte, In Predicting The Progression Of Oral Dysplasia, Lachlan Mclean

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Five-year survival of oral cancer has remained relatively unchanged despite advancements in treatment, mostly because diagnosis is often made at an advanced stage of disease. The progression of dysplasia to oral cancer often follows a stepwise progression. Histopathology is considered the ‘gold standard’ for diagnosing dysplasia and lesions at a high risk of progression to oral cancer, but lends itself to subjectivity. The protein biomarker, S100A7, in oral dysplasia and squamous cell carcinoma has shown some predictive value for the transformation of dysplasia to cancer. Straticyte, a diagnostic test utilizing S100A7 to predict the probability of progression of oral dysplasia …

Biomechanics Analysis Of Anterior Cortical Perforation In Antegrade Femoral Nailing, Michael Ching

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Hip and femur fractures are a common problem in an aging population. The number of hip and femur fractures are on the rise in Canada. Cephalomedullary fixation is a common method of treating hip and femur fractures, with a known complication of anterior cortical perforation of the distal femur. The literature describes risk factors, such as the influence of the start point at the greater trochanter, but there is no consensus on management. Some cases are treated with restricted weightbearing and other cases with revision surgery. Restricted weightbearing increases perioperative complications including mortality and decreases functional outcomes.

We analyze the …

Child And Adolescent Sleep Disturbances And Psychopathology In A Mental Health Clinic Sample, Aviva Blacher

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Sleep disturbances in children and adolescents (hereafter children) are associated with significant short-term and long-term impairments including more severe psychopathology, reduced cognitive functioning, and poorer general health. We know that children being treated in specialty mental health services are more likely to have sleep disturbances than community samples. We also know that relationships exist between sleep and psychopathology in children with specific disorders (e.g. ADHD, depression, etc.). However, few studies have investigated the relationship between sleep and psychopathology in a broad sample of children seen at mental health agencies. Both child factors and family factors may influence both sleep and …

A Wearable Mechatronic Device For Hand Tremor Monitoring And Suppression: Development And Evaluation, Yue Zhou

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Tremor, one of the most disabling symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD), significantly affects the quality of life of the individuals who suffer from it. These people live with difficulties with fine motor tasks, such as eating and writing, and suffer from social embarrassment. Traditional medicines are often ineffective, and surgery is highly invasive and risky. The emergence of wearable technology facilitates an externally worn mechatronic tremor suppression device as a potential alternative approach for tremor management. However, no device has been developed for the suppression of finger tremor that has been validated on a human.

It has been reported in …

A Framework For Considering Dissociative Identity Effects In Consumption, Bonnie Simpson, Lea Dunn, Katherine White

Management and Organizational Studies Publications

This chapter examines the mirror image of the identity association principle: dissociation. While the association principle posits that stimuli associated with a positively regarded identity receive more positive evaluations, the dissociation principle suggests that stimuli associated with negatively regarded identities will receive negative evaluations and be abandoned. The authors focus on the nature of dissociative reference groups or groups that the consumer is motivated to avoid association with, and present a framework outlining how dissociative influence can impact consumer behavior. They review the literature on dissociative influence and note that although dissociative reference groups often spur avoidance behaviors, they can …

The Psychosocial Health And Wellbeing Impacts Of Large Scale Land Acquisitions In Coastal Tanzania, Kilian Nasung Atuoye

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This dissertation examines the psychosocial health and wellbeing impacts of Large Scale Land Acquisitions (LSLAs) in coastal Tanzania. Contemporary acquisition of large parcels of land in low-income countries by investors is both transformational and a neo-colonization strategy depending on the philosophical frame and scale of analysis. Despite multiple narratives about its impacts across scale, there is consensus in the conceptualization of LSLAs as a global force that is changing local ecologies and communities. Yet, the impact of these changes on the psychosocial health and wellbeing of local populations is less evident. This study employs mixed methods that combines qualitative and …

Narratives Of Canadian Identity At The Ultimate Fighting Championship, Jared V. Walters

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The purpose of this dissertation was to examine the use of representations and symbols of Canadian identity within the event coverage produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship Corporation, in the context of its two key events, Ultimate Fighting Championship, and Fight Night, produced in Canada. To establish the historical context in which the sport developed in Canada, a narrative historiography of the political and legal struggles that led to the legalization and increasing popularity of Mixed Martial Arts, and the UFCC’s version of the sport, in particular. This first major part of the dissertation is contained in Study 1. The …

Consensus Practice Parameter: Audiological Assessment And Management Of Unilateral Hearing Loss In Children, Marlene Bagatto, Janet Desgeorges, Alison King, Padraig Kitterick, Diana Laurnagaray, Dawna Lewis, Patricia Roush, Douglas P. Sladen, Anne Marie Tharpe

Communication Sciences and Disorders Publications

Objective: Provide recommendations to audiologists for the management of children with unilateral hearing loss (UHL) and for needed research that can lend further insight into important unanswered questions. Design: An international panel of experts on children with UHL was convened following a day and a half of presentations on the same. The evidence reviewed for this parameter was gathered through web-based literature searches specifically designed for academic and health care resources, recent systematic reviews of literature, and new research presented at the conference that underwent peer review for publication by the time of this writing. Study sample: Expert opinions and …

The Effects Of Lifestyle And/Or Vitamin D Supplementation Interventions On Pregnancy Outcomes: What Have We Learned From The Dali Studies?, Jürgen Harreiter, Gernot Desoye, Mireille N.M. Van Poppel, Alexandra Kautzky-Willer, Fidelma Dunne, Rosa Corcoy, Roland Devlieger, David Simmons, Juan M. Moore, Eileen K. Hutton

Paediatrics Publications

Purpose of Review: The DALI (vitamin D and lifestyle intervention in the prevention of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM)) study aimed to prevent GDM with lifestyle interventions or Vitamin D supplementation (1600 IU/day). This review summarizes the learnings from the DALI studies among pregnant women with a BMI ≥ 29 kg/m2. Recent Findings: Women diagnosed with GDM earlier in pregnancy had a worse metabolic profile than those diagnosed later. A combined physical activity (PA) and healthy eating (HE) lifestyle intervention improved both behaviours, limited gestational weight gain (GWG) and was cost-effective. Although GDM risk was unchanged, neonatal adiposity was reduced due …

Preface, Randall Everett Allsup, Cathy Benedict

The Road Goes Ever On: Estelle Jorgensen's Legacy in Music Education

No abstract provided.

Front Matter

The Road Goes Ever On: Estelle Jorgensen's Legacy in Music Education

No abstract provided.

Ch. 03 - Is It Athene, Minerva, Or Estelle Disguised As Mentor? Or, Mentoring The Next Generation: Jorgensen As Mentor Qua Mentor, Pamela Stover

The Road Goes Ever On: Estelle Jorgensen's Legacy in Music Education

The work of a mentor takes many forms. There is the formal mentoring of a student or a colleague done by advisors and professors. From Homer’s Odyssey, however, comes another image in the character of “Mentor,” the trusted friend of Odysseus who was charged with the care of Odysseus’s young son, Telemachus. Although Mentor was male, there are two instances in literature wherein females—Pallus Athene and Minerva— took the form of Mentor and were successful where “Mentor” had failed. The feminine image of “Mentor in disguise” will be explored in this chapter to illustrate Jorgensen’s approach to mentoring a …

Ch. 08 - Embracing And Navigating Uncertainty: Estelle Jorgensen’S Contribution To International Wisdom, June Boyce-Tillman

The Road Goes Ever On: Estelle Jorgensen's Legacy in Music Education

This chapter will address the multiplicity of models and metaphors set out in Jorgensen’s Pictures of Music Education (2011). Boyce-Tillman will examine the concept of wisdom and its necessity for choosing a particular strategy in a particular context. Illustrations will be pulled from the author’s pedagogical experiences in and outside formal institutions like the university, school, and church. Wisdom is a necessary component of Jorgensen’s search for justice, and it builds upon an awareness of the value-systems underpinning how a Subject makes choices, particularly in the search for a common humanity. The aim of the chapter is to illustrate how …

Ch. 07 - An Aesthetico-Political Approach To Music Education: Transformation Beyond Gender, Cecilia Ferm-Almqvist

The Road Goes Ever On: Estelle Jorgensen's Legacy in Music Education

This chapter takes Jorgensen’s thoughts regarding how music education can contribute to a better world, developed in Transforming Music Education, as a starting-point. Based on her statements, I elaborate upon possibilities for equal music education. The picture of transformed music education, as I interpret Jorgensen’s work, is based on a dialectic approach, including mutual curiosity and respect. Through my research where I have interviewed female electric guitar playing upper secondary music students, shows though, that transformation of music education has to continue. For example, the analysis of their expressed experiences shows that they are diminished, quieted, encouraged to care, and …

Ch. 13 - In Search Of Choral Music Education: Where Is It Now?, Patrick K. Freer

The Road Goes Ever On: Estelle Jorgensen's Legacy in Music Education

This chapter chronicles the influence of Jorgensen’s writing in a graduate choral music education course. Jorgensen’s book chapter, On Spheres of Musical Validity (2005), becomes the focal point for an examination of the legitimacy of five major influences on music education: family, religion, politics, the music profession, and commerce. This investigation leads to consideration of these influences in graduate students’ personal lives, classrooms, rehearsal halls, and the broader profession of choral music education.

Ch. 10 - Rethinking The Transgressive: A Call For “Pessimistic Activism” In Music Education, Panagiotis A. Kanellopoulos

The Road Goes Ever On: Estelle Jorgensen's Legacy in Music Education

This essay asks the question: How are we to think of what Estelle Jorgensen has called “the transgressive” in music education today? My entry point to the question is the suggestion that the struggle against modes of music education that eulogize the status quo, against oppression and authoritarianism, against practices that exclude and intimidate students, has to take the form of “a struggle on two fronts” (Badiou). A struggle against imposed canonicities and obsolete approaches to music teaching but also a struggle against the emerging neoliberal appropriations of education, learning, and creativity. The chapter sketches a struggle-on-two-fronts perspective with regard …

Ch. 16 - Re-Discovering/Facilitating Intimacy In Borderscapes Of Higher Music Education, Eleni Lapidaki

The Road Goes Ever On: Estelle Jorgensen's Legacy in Music Education

The chapter explores intimacy as a critical site of power and resistance. More specifically, intimacy is considered as an arena in which social and political identities are negotiated, while inclusions and exclusions are continually established or disputed. I will argue for the adoption of a politics of intimacy that aims towards a more nuanced and less reductionist higher music education that can help us articulate the complexity of spaces of proximity as greatly as we live it. Such a reflection offers us opportunity to adopt a variable filter that sheds light on certain characteristics of borders, freedom, and the ways …

Ch. 17 - Traditions And The End Of Music Education, William Perrine

The Road Goes Ever On: Estelle Jorgensen's Legacy in Music Education

This chapter considers the question of how music educators determine the musical ends towards which their teaching is directed. Musical traditions, both “great” and “little,” as Estelle Jorgensen describes them, are inseparable from the philosophical traditions through which music educators determine consider their pedagogical ends. This chapter presents a three-part framework to describe how music educators might approach understanding their work as a socially embodied enactment of contrasting traditions. The term tradition is first defined as a means of categorizing philosophical schools of thought from which various musical practices can be understood. The liberal philosophical tradition that grew out of …

The Road Goes Ever On: Estelle Jorgensen's Legacy In Music Education

The Road Goes Ever On: Estelle Jorgensen's Legacy in Music Education

A collection of essays celebrating Estelle Jorgensen's legacy in music education, edited by:Randall Everett Allsup & Cathy Benedict

Production Of Physician Services Under Fee-For-Service And Blended Fee-For-Service: Evidence From Ontario, Canada., Nibene H Somé, Rose Anne Devlin, Nirav Mehta, Greg Zaric, Lihua Li, Salimah Shariff, Bachir Belhadji, Amardeep Thind, Amit Garg, Sisira Sarma

Epidemiology and Biostatistics Publications

We examine family physicians' responses to financial incentives for medical services in Ontario, Canada. We use administrative data covering 2003-2008, a period during which family physicians could choose between the traditional fee for service (FFS) and blended FFS known as the Family Health Group (FHG) model. Under FHG, FFS physicians are incentivized to provide comprehensive care and after-hours services. A two-stage estimation strategy teases out the impact of switching from FFS to FHG on service production. We account for the selection into FHG using a propensity score matching model, and then we use panel-data regression models to account for observed …