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. …

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 …

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 …

Love, Sex, And The Noose: The Emotions Of Sodomy In 18th-Century England, Frances H.I. Henry

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

At the end of the 19^th century, it was believed that men who desired other men were 'despicable, degraded, depraved, vicious, and incapable of humane and generous sentiments'. This dissertation examines how the emotional reactions of and towards sodomites in England between 1691 and 1828 shaped this perception. It considers six sets of paired emotions: lust and disgust, love and hatred, hope and fear, gratitude and anger, joy and sadness, and pride and shame. It examines how changes in law, gender norms, in religious and philosophical thought, the rise of sentimentalism, evangelism, nationalism and the middle-class shaped these emotional …

The Difference In A1c Of Children And Adolescents With Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus Using Carbohydrate Counting Compared To Those Using A Structured Meal Plan, Alia El Kubbe

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Carbohydrate counting (CHO) is a nutrition education tool used by patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). The primary objective was to assess glycated hemoglobin (A1C) in participants with T1DM using CHO counting vs. those using a structured meal plan (SMP). The secondary objectives were to determine if BMI-for-age, parental income, parental involvement, and mothers’ educational level were associated with their children’s glycemic control. A cross sectional study was conducted, where participants aged 4-18 years, or their parents completed a survey. Total sample size was 88 participants (77 in the CHO counting group and 11 in the SMP group). There …

Exploring The Links Between Social Anxiety And Depression In The Maintenance Of Romantic Relationships, Christian M. Hahn

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Social anxiety is characterized by fear and avoidance of social encounters and has recently been associated with a variety of difficulties in romantic relationships. Complicating further investigation of these associations is the high degree of comorbidity between social anxiety and depressive symptomatology, which share several similarities in expression despite disparate underlying causes. The present thesis examines the unique influences of social anxiety and depression on a number of central aspects of relationship functioning and provide the first longitudinal investigation of the impacts of actor and partner social anxiety and depression on relationship quality and functioning. In Study 1, three independent …

Critiquing The New Autonomy Of Immaterial Labour: An Analysis Of Work In The Artificial Intelligence Industry, James Steinhoff

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Karl Marx theorized capitalism as a relation between labour, capital and machines. For Marx, capital, the process of self-augmenting value appropriated from human labour, is inherently driven by competition to replace labour in production with machines. Marx goes as far as to describe machines as capital’s “most powerful weapon” for suppressing working class revolt. Marx, however, could not have predicted the computing machines – such as artificial intelligence – which now form the basis for an increasingly cybernetic capital. Since Marx’s time, many Marxist thinkers have sought to apply or update his approach to the cybernetic era. The influential post-operaismo …

Recovery Following Proximal Humerus Fracture, Azar Varahrami Vigeh

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

There is currently a glaring gap in the existing knowledge to address individuals’ experiences while recovering from a proximal humeral fracture (PHF). The main objective of this dissertation was to understand better how recovery is perceived by individuals after PHF. This overarching objective aligned well with the broad conceptualization of the issue at hand as those provided by the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). Three inter-linked studies were conducted to provide a broader picture of recovery after PHF. The first study was a systematic review of prognostic factors predicting recovery after PHF in adults. This review demonstrated …

Utilizing Fiv (Feline Immunodeficiency Virus) To Develop A Novel Animal Model To Study Hiv (Human Immunodeficiency Virus), Ankita Suryakant Kambli

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This project sought to perform the in vitro work needed to accomplish the long-term vision of harnessing the similarities between HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) and FIV (Feline Immunodeficiency Virus) to develop an animal model whereby cats can be used to study HIV pathogenesis and therapeutics. We transfected CRFK (Crandell Rees Feline Kidney) fibroblasts with plasmids that could express human or feline CD4, CCR5, or both, and determined receptor surface expression through flow cytometry. We discovered that HIV envelope expressed on 293T can fuse with huCD4/huCCR5 on CRFK. These cat cell lines were also capable of supporting HIV infection. Additionally, we …

The Amphibian, Melioristic Agenda For Dividuals: Tropological Oscillations Versus Tropological Settlements, Donatas Sinkunas

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Some people often identify themselves too strongly with one particular belief system. Others, throughout their lives, travel from one belief system to another without necessarily weaving their experiences and gained bodies of knowledge in a complementary manner. This thesis discusses different frequencies and principles of this sort of settlements or oscillations. I argue that it is impossible to believe in perfectly purist ideologies that would not deviate from their putative, pre-established, holistic inner order. Through multiple literary, cinematic, and philosophical examples it is shown that people are of dividual (not individual) nature. That is to say, potentially we contain multiple …

The Impact Of Scaphoid Malunion On Wrist Kinematics & Kinetics: A Biomechanical Investigation, Spencer B. Chambers

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Scaphoid fractures are very common injuries that can have serious sequelae if pathologic healing ensues. Although there is consensus regarding the importance of a non-united scaphoid, the impact of a malunited scaphoid is less clear. This is based on a paucity in the literature and understanding of the natural history of scaphoid malunion. This study aims to elucidate this study but investigating the impact of scaphoid malunion and joint kinetics, as well as the impact of scaphoid malunion on carpal bone kinematics. This was accomplished using a combination of in-silico, as well as in-vivo modelling based of cadaveric results derived …

Organizational Governance Of Event Impacts, Kylie Wasser

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This study explored the governance of event legacy and/or leveraging. More broadly, this project examined the specific organizational forms that are responsible for delivering event legacy and/or leveraging strategies. This was done using a combination of organizational theories and theories of public policy to understand the unique environment surrounding event legacies. Three distinct phases were utilized in this study. I used a research synthesis to investigate what previous scholars have found regarding event legacy delivery. Next, comparative cases from the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Winter Games and the 2015 Toronto Pan Am/Parapan American Games were used to examine what mechanisms previous …

The Nature And Consistency Of Exercise Reporting In Rehabilitation Following Rotator Cuff Repair, Dinesh Balachandran

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Abstract

Purpose:

Rotator cuff repair is conventional surgery, and postoperative rehabilitation programs are routine. Optimization and implementation of evidence-based exercise are dependent on comprehensive reporting of intervention content and dosage. The purpose of this study is to examine the content and consistency of reporting of postoperative exercise programs following arthroscopic rotator cuff repairs.

Methods:

Keyword search of PUBMED, EMBASE, Scopus, SPORTDiscuss, AMED, CINAHL, and Cochrane were performed from January 1950 to March 2019. All the studies that discussed rehabilitation following rotator cuff repairs of human adults were included. A Proforma Consensus on Exercise Reporting Template (CERT) assessment form was used …

High-Throughput Fabrication Of Drug-Loaded Core-Shell Tablets With Adjustable Release Profiles From Surface-Erodible And Photocrosslinkable Polyanhydrides, Armin Geraili Nejadfomeshi

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Controlled-release tablets enhance the effectiveness of therapies for various clinical conditions. Photocrosslinkable polyanhydrides that undergo surface erosion were recently introduced as suitable materials for manufacturing tablets with tunable release profiles. However, their erosion behavior has not been comprehensively studied. In this thesis, the erosion kinetics of photocrosslinkable polyanhydrides was studied by exploring the impact of different parameters (the polymer composition and geometry, as well as the temperature, pH, and shaking rate of the solution during the in vitro experiments) on their mass loss profiles, followed by a release kinetic model fitting. The results indicate that the temperature was the only …

Routes To A Western Undergraduate Degree: Chinese Families’ Mobilization Of Capital And Flexible Citizenship, Qinghua Zhao

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Today, an increasing number of Chinese families send their children to study in the West to open up future opportunities. While studying abroad has a long history in China from late Qing dynasty (1836–1911), in the last couple of decades Chinese student mobility occurred on a much larger scale. Chinese families view an undergraduate degree from the West as a way to enhance career opportunities and familial social status. My study examined Chinese families’ intentions and strategies to gain advantage in their transnational trajectory. Specifically, I explore how forms of capital accumulate and transfer through transnational educational routes. Pierre Bourdieu’s …

Teaching For Equity: A Case Study Of Teachers’, Vice Principals’, And Principals’ Perspectives In Three High-Poverty Elementary Schools In Ontario, Canada, Abhilasha Duggal

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Elementary students in high-poverty schools have diverse learning needs. Their academic and social learning, in particular, varies between students - especially so for those students from culturally non-dominant backgrounds. In 2009, the Ontario Ministry of Education mandated that all school boards in Ontario develop and implement equity education policies, as specified in Policy/Program Memorandum No. 119: Developing and Implementing Equity and Inclusive Education Policies in Ontario Schools (2009). This dissertation explored the implementation of Ontario’s Equity Strategy in three highpoverty elementary schools within one district school board in Ontario. This exploratory case study investigated the following research questions: 1. How …

Essays On College Majors And Skills, Yuki Onozuka

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

My thesis consists of three chapters that study relationships between college majors and multi-dimensional skills.

Chapter 2 examines the sources of wage penalties for working outside one's major field of study. Previous papers show that workers in a job which is unrelated to their major field of study tend to earn significantly lower wages than those in a related job. I use the 1993 National Survey of College Graduates and the O*NET to divide the sources of wage penalty into the levels of basic skills required in a job and the mismatch in major-specific knowledge. I find that the average …

"It's Obvious Who Plays An Instrument And Who Doesn't": Using Doxa And Illusio To Explore Inequities In English School Music Education, Alison Butler

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis investigates Bourdieu’s concepts of doxa and illusio in English secondary school music education, using data collection from a comparative case study undertaken at two contrasting schools in a rural county, Stonefarm High School and Friars Hall School. Data were gathered over five months in 2018, using lesson observations, student focus groups and teacher interviews. Three classes were invited to participate at each school.

The data were analysed using Bourdieu’s Theory of Practice (1977), especially the field mechanisms of doxa and illusio. Doxa, the unwritten rules of a field, and illusio, belief in the game being played in the …

Teacher Professional Learning In Multiliteracies Pedagogy: Exploring The Lived Curriculum Of Preservice And In-Service Educators, Joelle Nagle

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The purpose of this exploratory case study is to examine the lived curriculum (Aoki, 1993) of preservice teachers enrolled in a Bachelor of Education language arts course and in-service teachers enrolled in an online graduate program, both with a focus on multiliteracies pedagogy. Through this study, the rationale is to understand how these formal professional learning experiences shape teachers’ perceptions of their literacy pedagogy. Specifically, the aim is to gain insight into how to promote multiliteracies pedagogy in preservice and in-service professional learning. This dissertation research builds upon two qualitative exploratory case studies (Stake, 2010; Yin, 2012) rooted in a …