title: New Synthetic Approaches and Structural Models of the Oxygen-Evolving Complex in Photosystem II from the Use of Oximato-Based Ligands

subject:
oxygen-evolving complex
structural models
coordination chemistry
bioinorganic chemistry
oximato-based ligands

abstract:
The employment of the chelating/bridging ligands salicylhydroxime (shiH3), quinoline-2-aldoxime (qaoH) and 2,6-diacetylpyridine dioxime (dapdoH2) in heterometallic Mn‒Ca chemistry has afforded various compounds with diverse topologies, metal stoichiometries and Mn oxidation state descriptions.
	Chapter 1 provides a general introduction to the oxygen-evolving complex (OEC) of Photosystem II (PSII) including discussions of fundamental aspects such as composition, structural proposals, mechanism of O‒O bond formation and synthetic approaches. My research results are reported in Chapter 2, 3 and 4. In the first project (Chapter 2), one-pot reactions between Mn(ClO4)2∙6H2O, Ca(ClO4)2∙4H2O and the potentially tetradentate chelating/bridging ligand salicylhydroxime (shiH3), resulting from the in situ metal ion-assisted amide-iminol tautomerism of salicylhydroxamic acid (shaH2), in the presence of various fluorescence carboxylate groups (2-naphthoic acid = L1-H; 9-anthracenecarboxylic acid = L2-H; 1-pyrenecarboxylic acid = L3-H) and base NEt3 has led to a family of structurally similar {MnIII4Ca} clusters (1‒4¬) with distorted square pyramidal topologies. The combined results demonstrate the ability of shiH3 and fluorescence carboxylates to yield new heterometallic Mn‒Ca clusters with (i) the same Mn‒Ca ratio as the OEC of PSII, (ii) structural stability in solution, (iii) a pronounced redox and optical activity and (iv) predominant antiferromagnetic exchange interactions with S = 0 spin ground states. These complexes may be relevant to lower oxidation level species of the catalytic cycle of the OEC.
	The second project of this thesis, discussed in Chapter 3, involved one-pot reactions between the [Mn3O(O2CPh)6(py)x]+/0 triangular precursors and either CaBr2∙xH2O or CaCl2∙6H2O in the presence of shaH2. This afforded the heterometallic complexes [MnIII4Ca2(O2CPh)4(shi)4(H2O)3(Me2CO)] (5) and (pyH)[MnII2MnIII4Ca2Cl2(O2CPh)7(shi)4(py)4] (6), respectively, in good yields. Further reactions but using a more flexible synthetic scheme comprising the Mn(NO3)2∙4H2O/Ca(NO3)2∙4H2O and Mn(O2CPh)2∙2H2O/Ca(ClO4)2∙4H2O “metal blends” and shaH2 in the presence of external base NEt3, led to the new complexes (NHEt3)[MnIII4MnIV4Ca2(OEt)2(shi)10(EtOH)2] (7) and (NHEt3)4[MnIII8Ca2(CO3)4(shi)8] (8), respectively. Solid-state dc magnetic susceptibility studies of 5‒8 revealed the presence of predominant antiferromagnetic exchange interactions between the Mn centers, leading to S = 0 spin ground state values. From a bioinorganic chemistry perspective, these compounds may demonstrate some relevance to both the high-valent scheme (7) and lower oxidation level species (5, 6 and 8) of the catalytic cycle of the OEC.
	In the last chapter of this thesis (Chapter 4), the ligands quinoline-2-aldoxime (qaoH) and 2,6-diacetylpyridine dioxime (dapdoH2) were introduced for a first time in heterometallic Mn‒Ca chemistry. This afforded a mixed-valence {MnII/III22Ca2} (9) cluster containing several {Mn4CaOx} subunits and a butterfly-like {MnIV2Ca2} (10) complex, respectively. These compounds demonstrate structural and magnetic relevance to both the low- and high-valent states of the OEC.
	All research-based Chapters (Chapter 2‒4) are divided into subsections in order to facilitate the understanding of the research concepts by the familiar and non-familiar readers and contextualize the messages, goals and conclusions of each individual project. I felt it was appropriate to begin each Chapter with a short preface of the work that summarizes the most important aspects of the specific project, followed by the complete experimental work and discussion of the results, and end with conclusions and some future perspectives.


title: Control by Proxy: The Regulation of Indigenous Peoples and Settler Labour via Canadian Anti-Sex Work Laws, 1865-2016

subject: sex work

abstract:
This study examines Canada’s history of anti-sex legislation from 1865 to 2016 and
demonstrates that these laws exist primarily to maintain the ideological boundaries between whiteness and indigeneity. The study forwards a theory that accounts for the ways in which anti- sex work legislation assists in a) the appropriation of land through the removal and/or isolation of indigenous peoples and b) maintaining hegemonic control over settler labour. To this end, three time periods are identified in which violent settlement and the production of white, middle- class personhood were features of the regularization of capitalist-colonial rule, and where anti- sex work laws played a vital role in the management of instabilities manifested by indigenous activism and labour discontent: the consummation of the Canadian colonial system (1850 - 1900), industrialization (1900 - 1920) and neoliberalism (1970s - current). By examining the cur- rent and historical legislative framework regulating sex work, this study aims to demonstrate how both the legal framework and its enforcement act as proxies for controlling land and labour.


title: Investigating Kurdish Women’s Experiences With Education in Kurdistan With Respect to Oppression

contributor: Department of Graduate and Undergraduate Studies in Education

subject: Kurd Women Gender Iraq Oppression

abstract:
The following thesis provides a qualitative study that sought to answer the question:
What do Kurdish women’s experiences reveal about women’s education in Kurdistan
with respect to oppression? The study was framed within a postcolonial feminist
framework to investigate Kurdish women’s lived experiences within education in the
Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI). The study used feminist research methods to collect and
analyze data. Through purposeful sampling, 5 Kurdish women living in the KRI were
recruited and interviewed by the researcher through one-on-one, semi-structured
interviews. The researcher used an interpretive approach for data analysis to investigate
participants’ experiences as women and as members of an ethnic minority. The study was
conducted through a postcolonial feminist lens, which highlighted the unique social
categories in which Kurdish women find themselves. The study found that the women’s
lived experiences were determined by the intersections of gender, ethnicity, religion,
location, SES, and age, among other social categories. Such categories affect women’s
quality of life, freedom, and education, as identified by the women themselves. Further,
the women identified the following factors acting as barriers that impede their equal
access to education and opportunities: gender norms, family, culture, distance, disability,
language, and conflict. The study also lays out how women make sense of and cope with
such barriers and inequality, before concluding with recommendations for changes based
on participants’ knowledge and lived experiences.


title: Understanding How Undergraduate Students and Seniors Perceive Jury Duty and Child Witnesses

subject:
jury duty
child witnesses
credibility
lie-detection
seniors

abstract: Seniors represent an important group of potential jurors; however, there is little research examining their perceptions of jury duty and their jury behaviours. The present study examined seniors as jurors to investigate how they respond to calls for jury duty (i.e., their willingness) and whether they are capable jurors in terms of detecting dishonest testimony (i.e., their ability). Specifically, we examined the influence of the senior opt-out law (that allows seniors to opt-out of jury duty) on seniors' perceptions of jury duty, as well as seniors' ability to distinguish between true and false testimonies from child witnesses. An undergraduate sample was used as a comparison group. From responses on a jury duty questionnaire, we found that informing senior participants about the senior opt-out law at the start of the study did not impact their desire to serve on a jury or their perception of their ability to be a juror. The majority of seniors responded that they would want to serve on a jury if given the opportunity. Further, seniors showed a significantly lower rate of agreement with the senior opt-out law compared to undergraduates. To assess juror perceptions of child witnesses, participants watched a series of eight child interview videos (four truth-tellers and four lie-tellers) and provided credibility assessments and lie-detection judgments. Results indicated that for both truth and lie-tellers, seniors provided significantly higher evaluations of children’s competence to testify, overall credibility, honesty, believability, and likeability compared to undergraduates. Although both groups were significantly above chance at detecting lies, seniors were significantly less accurate, were significantly more biased to trust children, and were significantly more confident in these decisions compared to undergraduates. Lastly, participants’ perceptions of their ability to serve as a juror was not related to subsequent lie-detection judgments. Results highlight the importance of continuing to incorporate seniors in the judicial system.


title: Decision-Making in Agriculture: Why do Farmers Decide to Adopt a New Practice?

contributor: Environmental Sustainability Research Centre

subject:
Sustainable agriculture
technology adoption
soil health
agrominerals
cover cropping

abstract: Current rates of environmental degradation demand changes to the way in which food is produced. Transforming agricultural production requires both the development and the adoption of new practices that facilitate high yields at least environmental cost. Many beneficial practices have already been developed and their limited adoption now constrains their potential to deliver sustainable agriculture. Greater understanding is needed of why farmers decide to adopt or reject different practices. The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) has been used in an agricultural context to examine adoption. The TAM posits that perceptions of a practice’s usefulness (PU) and its ease of use (PEOU) drive its adoption. In this thesis, the TAM was first revised such that adoption was considered as being composed of five stages to reflect the preparatory and trial phases that precede the full-scale adoption of agricultural practices. An empirical study was then conducted to investigate farmers’ attitudes in the Southern Ontario region towards agrominerals and cover cropping – two practices that show promise in maintaining soil health at low environmental cost. PU and PEOU were found to be significant drivers of the adoption of agrominerals. However, PEOU did not have a significant direct effect on farmers’ decisions to continue using cover crops. A longitudinal study that applies the revised TAM is needed to ascertain whether it is effective in explaining the adoption process, particularly in the latter stages of adoption when PEOU appears to be of less importance and PU alone appears to largely drive farmers’ decision-making. The concern participants showed for the potential environmental impacts of agriculture highly varied with those showing greater concern reporting greater intentions of adopting agrominerals. Socio-economic and agro-ecological factors were found not to be correlated to adoption. This study demonstrated the need to increase knowledge sharing between farmers and scientists to facilitate the transition towards sustainable agricultural production.


title: Precarious Work and Communities: The Impact of Neoliberalism on Working Class Politics

subject:
Community
Neoliberalism
Precarious Work
Political Economy
Social Reproduction

abstract: Precarious work, which refers to work that is poorly paid, lacks benefits, and where workers have relatively little political power, has been on the rise in North America in the last few decades. If precarious workers are isolated and unengaged, they will not be able to represent their political needs. The goal of this research is to clarify the relationship between precarious work and levels of community engagement and social support. Using feminist political economy and hegemony perspectives, this project engages with the question of whether precarious work has a direct impact on community engagement and social support and how demographic variables moderate this relationship. A quantitative analysis of 2014 telephone survey data done by the Poverty and Employment Precarity in Southern Ontario project demonstrates the effect of precarious work. Results show that precarious work has a large significant negative effect on social support but an inconsistent impact on community engagement. I conclude that more information is needed about participation in extra-parliamentary activities to fully understand whether precarious workers suffer from lack of political representation. However, precarious workers are clearly more isolated than other workers and this may contribute to continued intergenerational precarity.


title: Through Their Eyes: Exploring older adults’ experiences with an intergenerational project

subject:
active aging
community-dwelling
intergenerational programs
opportunity
qualitative

abstract:
Canada’s aging population and intergenerational programs’ ability to encourage active aging point to the need for further support and encouragement for these programs. The purpose of this case study was to explore and understand, from an insider’s perspective, the lived experiences of six older adults who participated in an intergenerational project – Through Their Eyes. Three questions guided this inquiry: What are the experiences of older adults participating in the Through Their Eyes project? How did this experience influence their well-being? How did this experience influence their relationship to their community?

I conducted critical qualitative research using semi-structured individual interviews, a focus group, a knowledge translation workshop, observations and field notes.
The qualitative data were analyzed using constant comparative and inductive analysis techniques.

Analysis highlighted ‘opportunity’ as the central theme of the study. During a time in older adults’ lives when they are experiencing many losses, the Through Their Eyes project was an opportunity for gain. Specifically, the intergenerational project provided an opportunity for new relationships. There was a familial-type intimacy to the relationships older adults develop with students as participants’ often compared their student interviewers to their grandchildren. The Through Their Eyes project also offered a space and place for older adults to be heard regarding their community. Older adults wanted the information they provided for the project to help other aging adults in their community. Finally the intergenerational project added a joyful memory and experience for participants. When participants shared their thoughts on the Through Their Eyes project, it was clear that it was a joyful experience as all of them describe it as such. Findings illustrated that the Through Their Eyes project encouraged active aging and enhanced quality of life for participants by providing an opportunity for social participation and allowing them to remain active and engaged citizens. The Through Their Eyes project fostered social participation by establishing connections between generations, addressing social isolation and loneliness, and breaking down stereotypes and age barriers. The Through Their Eyes project allowed older adults to remain active and engaged citizens in their neighbourhoods by providing an important opportunity for reciprocity and a place for them to be listened to in regards to their community matters. Insights into practical implications based on the findings from this study and suggestions for future research in the area of intergenerational programs are identified.


title: The Effects of Organizational Forms of Mutual Fund Management Company on Mutual Fund Performance

subject:
Mutual funds
Organizational forms
Performance

abstract:
The organizational form of a company indicates whether it is publicly-traded or privately-held. The effects of the organizational forms on a company’s operations and performances have been well documented. However, because the organizational form of companies in the finance industry is so different from those in other industries, the effect on performance is quite different. There has been little research done to determine how the organizational form of mutual fund management companies affect the performance of their mutual funds.

This thesis examines the impact of mutual fund management companies on the performance of their managed funds using data that cover the period 2007 to 2016 on 782 different firms. The results showed that the performance of mutual funds managed by publicly-traded mutual fund management companies was significantly compared to those managed by privately-held companies. Based on the sample data, the hypothesis of this thesis is that publicly-traded and privately-held fund management companies have different incentives and interests that impact mutual fund performance. The thesis also addresses the issues of discontinuous returns and endogenous organizational form variables. The test results examined in this thesis support the notion that mutual funds managed by publicly-traded companies underperform compared to industry benchmarks. In addition, funds managed by publicly-traded management companies perform poorer in general compared to funds managed by privately-held companies.


title: Investigating the effect of isometric handgrip training frequency on cardiovascular health in medicated hypertensives

subject:
Isometric handgrip training
Medicated hypertension
Blood pressure
Arterial stiffness
Baroreflex sensitivity

abstract: Hypertension (HTN) is expected to affect approximately 50% of the world’s adult population by 2025 and accounts for 10 million deaths worldwide each year. Historically, HTN has been defined as systolic blood pressure (SBP) greater than 140 mmHg and/or diastolic blood pressure (DBP) greater than 90 mmHg. However, it has been recently suggested that the risks of HTN begin at even lower BP levels and in the United States HTN is now defined as ≥130/80 mmHg. HTN increases the presence of many independent risk factors and/or indicators for cardiovascular disease (CVD) such as increased arterial stiffness and reduced cardiovagal baroreflex sensitivity (cvBRS). This study aimed to investigate the minimum training frequency necessary to maintain decreases in BP following an initial 8-week training period by training individuals 0, 1, or 3 times per week for 4 weeks. Sixteen individuals with medicated hypertension (age 65±9 years) were recruited and performed 8 weeks of IHG 3 times per week and were then allocated to one of 3 training frequency groups; 0, 1 or 3 times for a subsequent 4 weeks. Statistically significant decreases in SBP and DBP were observed in all participants following the initial 8-week IHG training program (-9±10mmHg, p=0.004; -5±6mmHg, p=0.006), as well as at 12 weeks (-9±10 p=0.047; -5±7, p=0.051). cvBRS did not demonstrate any significant changes, while carotid-toe pulse wave velocity (ctPWV), a measure of systemic arterial stiffness, demonstrated a significant main effect for time (p=0.002). Post-hoc testing revealed significant decreases in ctPWV at 12 weeks (-1.0±1.1, p=0.002), as well as a significant decrease from 8 to 12 weeks (-0.73±1.1, p=0.017). As for trained limb arterial stiffness, carotid-radial pulse wave velocity (crPWV) demonstrated a significant effect for group (p=0.045) and time (p=0.015). Post-hoc testing revealed that there was no significant difference between groups, however there was a significant decrease in crPWV at 12 weeks (-1.4±1.7, p=0.010). These findings suggest that IHG at a training frequency lower than traditionally prescribed may maintain the decrease in SBP and DBP with the inclusion of improvements in arterial stiffness both systemically and in the trained limb over time. Thus, these results support the prescription of IHG in the treatment of HTN.


title: Exploring Children’s Pragmatic Understanding of  How and Why Causality Questions

subject: children, questioning, causality, accuracy

abstract: Children typically provide less productive responses to causality questions – those that require an explanation of motive (Ahern et al., 2015; Andrews et al., 2016). However, the accuracy of children’s responses to causality questions is unestablished. The present study examined 180 5-, 7-, and 9-year-old’s accuracy in providing causal responses to Why (e.g. Why did you lift the box?), How Come (e.g. How come you lifted the box?), and How Make (e.g., How did she make you lift the box?) causal questions about their own actions. Results revealed that children provided fewer accurate causal responses when responding to “How Make” questions compared to “Why” or “How Come” questions. These findings suggest that the complex structure of How Make causal questions may pose difficulties for children. Further, we found developmental improvements; older children were more accurate in providing causal responses to Why, How Come, and How Make questions compared to younger children, suggesting that accuracy generally improved with age. Taken together, the findings from this study highlight the challenges experienced when answering “How Make” questions and should caution adults from using such questions when questioning children.


title: Who Bullies and When? Concurrent, Longitudinal, and Experimental Associations between Personality and Social Environments for Adolescent Bullying Perpetration

subject:
bullying
adolescence
personality
social ecology
evolution

abstract: Increasing evidence suggests that bullying may be used by adolescents as a strategic, adaptive tool against weaker peers to obtain valued resources like social status and romantic partners. However, bullying perpetration may only be adaptive within particular environmental contexts that provide opportunities to obtain these resources at minimal costs. These environmental opportunities may be relevant for adolescents who possess particular personality traits and are motivated to exploit these contexts and power imbalances. Using an adaptive social ecological framework, the primary goal of my dissertation was to examine concurrent, longitudinal, and experimental associations between exploitative personality traits and broader social ecologies to facilitate adolescent bullying perpetration. In Study 1, I examined whether risky social environments filtered through antisocial personality traits to facilitate direct and indirect forms of bullying perpetration in a cross-sectional sample of 396 adolescents. In Study 2, I extended Study 1 by investigating the longitudinal associations among bullying, empathic and exploitative personality traits, and social environmental variables, in a sample of 560 adolescents across the first three years of high school. Given that Studies 1 and 2 were correlational, in Study 3, I explored whether bullying perpetration could be experimentally simulated in a laboratory setting through point allocations in the Dictator and Ultimatum economic games by manipulating power imbalances in a sample of 167 first-year undergraduate students. Results from all three studies largely supported the prediction that broader social ecologies filter through exploitative personality styles to associate with bullying perpetration. Exploitative adolescents are primarily likely to take advantage of particular contexts including power advantages, higher social status, and poorer school and neighborhood climates. The results of my dissertation demonstrate the complex reality of the social ecology of bullying, and the need for anti-bullying initiatives to target multiple contexts including individual differences.


title: Self-Control and its Influence on Global/Local Processing: An Investigation of the Role of Frontal Alpha Asymmetry and Dispositional Approach Tendencies

subject:
Attention
Electrophysiology
Lateralization
Individual Differences
Self-Control

abstract: People often inhibit or override their dominant response tendencies in order to complete tasks successfully. Exerting such self-control has been shown to influence attentional breadth differently depending on an individual’s approach-motivated tendencies, as indexed by individuals’ Behavioural Activation System (BAS) scores. Approach motivation and attentional breadth have previously been associated with frontal alpha asymmetry (FAA; i.e., lateralized cortical activity in the frontal regions) where greater left-frontal activation is associated with greater approach motivation and reduced attentional breadth. The process model of self-control posits that exercising self-control leads to a subsequent increase in approach behaviour in high BAS individuals, and this could be due to a shift towards left-hemisphere-frontal processing. However, no one has yet measured BAS, FAA, and attentional breadth together under conditions of high and low self-control. This was the first study to examine both FAA and attentional breadth before and after exercising self-control in low and high BAS individuals. Greater BAS, and greater difficulty exercising self-control, both positively related to narrowed attentional breadth, but only after exercising self-control. Breadth of attention and BAS were unrelated to FAA at rest, before versus after self-control, suggesting that the influence of self-control on individuals’ attentional breadth was not associated with FAA. Overall, results from this study suggest that exercising self-control influences attentional breadth differently depending on individuals’ BAS scores, but not because of individual differences or changes in FAA.


title: Recognition and discrimination: Is there a role for context in face learning?

subject:
Face Learning
Face Recognition
Multidimensional Face Space
Learning and Memory
Face Perception

abstract: Recognizing unfamiliar identities in naturalistic images is challenging (e.g., two images of the same person are misperceived as belonging to different people). Face learning involves increased tolerance of variability in appearance and improved discrimination. I examined how a perceiver determines the range of inputs attributable to a newly learned identity, such that novel images of that identity are recognized, yet similar identities are excluded. I propose that learning a new face in the context of a similar identity facilitates learning via more precise representation. In two experiments, participants learned three identities (two similar, NNs; one dissimilar, FN) and were asked to recognize of two of those identities (one NN and FN). Performance did not vary for the NNs and FNs. Thus, identity learning involves both increased tolerance of variability and improved discrimination. We find no evidence that face learning is best accounted for by the multi-dimensional face space model.


title: Attachment and Performance Under Pressure on a Sport Motor Task

subject:
Attachment
Performance Pressure
Free Throw
Teammate

abstract: Attachment theory (Bowlby, 1969/1982, 1973, 1980) asserts that people are born with an innate psychobiological system (the attachment behavioural system) motivating them to seek proximity with significant others (attachment figures) in times of distress. Individual differences in attachment can be measured along two dimensions; avoidance and anxiety, representing the degree to which hyperactivating or deactivating strategies are used as alternative strategies for regulating emotion. People who score low on both dimensions are considered more securely attached, while higher scores on either or both dimensions reflects more attachment insecurity. Forrest (2008) proposed that insecurely attached athletes might be more susceptible to performance deficits under competitive stress compared to securely attached athletes. This study examined whether attachment orientation would predict performance under pressure on a sport motor task. Sixty-four competitive basketball players shot 20 free throws under low and high pressure. It was hypothesized that attachment orientation to parental figures and closest teammate would predict performance changes. Regression analyses showed that attachment orientation was not a significant predictor of performance change under pressure. However, the manipulation check revealed that competitive anxiety did not sufficiently increase from low pressure to high pressure, and significant changes in performance between conditions were not found. This may suggest that the manipulation of high pressure was not realistic or severe enough to threaten the attachment behavioural system in competitive athletes. Results showed that athletes’ attachment orientation to mother correlated with attachment orientation to their closest teammate. Discussion surrounds the difficulty of manipulating pressure in sport research as well as avenues for future research on attachment and sport performance.


title: Young Men’s Experiences and Views of Sex Education in Bangladesh: A Foucauldian Discourse Analysis

subject: sex education, Foucauldian Discourse Analysis (FDA), sexuality, masculinity, Bangladesh, boyhood.

abstract: This study has sought to shed light on the dearth of research on sex education in Bangladesh bringing forward young men’s experiences, views, narratives, recollections, and perceptions around sex education. Using social constructionism and poststructuralism, this study addresses the research questions: How did Bangladeshi young men receive sex education during adolescence? How did they interpret their experiences? How did their narratives reproduce and/or disrupt dominant discourses related to sex education, including discourses around sexuality, teenagerhood, masculinity, and manhood? Based on the qualitative data collected from nine in-depth Skype interviews with young men in Bangladesh, nine themes emerged. These themes illustrate - how participants received sex education with the help of peers, pornography, the Internet, media, parents, schools, and religion. This study also reveals that what they learned about sex and sexuality from these sources was often gendered (e.g., reproduced hegemonic masculinity), sexist (e.g., undermined the need for girls’ consent), and naturalized the idea of sex and sexuality as dangerous (e.g., through a focus on sexually infected disease prevention). This study identified dominant discourses around sex education, which are intertwined with social institutions, such as the school; it also illustrates instances which reproduced and disrupted these dominant discourses. Some participants embraced dominant discourses while others disrupted them, and some contradicted themselves. Participants also proposed mixed ways of improving sex education in Bangladesh, especially through designing sex education curriculum. The study draws the attention of the parents, curriculum designers, teachers, policymakers, service providers to young people, and scholars from the Global South to consider these innovations as food for thought to ensure young people’s right to sex education


title: Exploring the Relationship between Discourses of Gender, Drug Use, and Rurality among Rural Young Women

subject: Gender, Recreational Drug Use, Rurality, Poststructuralism, Young Women

abstract: This research investigates recreational drug use, a leisure practice that has been at the centre of debate in regard to what constitutes ‘respectable’ and ‘deviant’ leisure. Using a feminist poststructural perspective and positioning theory, this study investigates how rural young women make sense of recreational drug use practices in the context of constantly shifting ideas about what it means to be a ‘respectable’ drug user as well as a ‘successful’ young rural woman. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with four young women (aged 18-30 years) living in the County of ‘Wildlark’, Ontario (population approximately 50,000). Findings showed that the young rural women drew on multiple and at times contradictory discourses of age, class, and gender when negotiating their subjectivity. Further, their identities as ‘successful’ young rural women were interwoven with neoliberal discourses of a normative life trajectory and mobility imperative. This research demonstrates that recreational drug use and the young rural women who use drugs can not be easily classified as ‘respectable’ or ‘deviant’ since our understanding of what constitutes recreational drug use is constantly shifting and impacted by who, what, when, where and how the drug use occurs.


title: A study of biting midge populations and an assessment of Bluetongue virus presence in southern Ontario, with a visual dichotomous key to the North American genera of Ceratopogonidae

subject: Entomology Biology Biodiversity Biotechnology Taxonomy

abstract:
Biting midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) are flying insects that feed on blood in order to produce eggs. Due to their bloodfeeding habits, some species act as vectors for viruses, many of which affect ruminant animals. This establishes ceratopogonids as possible threats to livestock farmers, and therefore it is important to understand their distribution and habits. This study focussed on collecting biting midge specimens from localities across Ontario where livestock farms are present, and determining if they were carrying Bluetongue virus (BTV).
Fourteen livestock farms were sampled to assess presence of ceratopogonid vectors. Captured Culicoides specimens were subjected to RT-qPCR analysis to test for BTV. The North American vector for BTV (Culicoides sonorensis) was collected at multiple localities, constituting the first record of this species in Ontario. Identity of C. sonorensis specimens was verified using molecular analysis of three gene regions: CO1, ITS1, and EF1α. Gene sequences for Culicoides variipennis, a species easily confused with C. sonorensis, were also analyzed. Analysis revealed that EF1α introns differed between the species and may be useful as molecular identifiers. Sequences for all three gene regions were submitted to the National Center for Biotechnology Information gene database.
The Brock University Rothamsted Trap operated during the summer seasons of 2013 to 2017, collecting insects at ~12m above ground on a daily basis. Collected biting midges were identified to genus, and genus tallies were compared with five climate variables using redundancy analysis (RDA) to determine factors that affect the activity of collected genera. Phenological patterns of Bezzia, Culicoides, and Probezzia were compared in detail to temperature values.
A literature search was performed to evaluate progression of BTV and epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus (EHDV) across North America since their initial detections in the 1950s. Records detailing virus outbreaks were analyzed and maps displaying the chronological progression of BTV and EHDV were created, providing a visual representation of their dispersal patterns.
Finally, a dichotomous key to the Nearctic biting midge genera was constructed and illustrated with high-definition photography to show key characters. This key aids with taxonomic identification of the 35 recognized genera occurring north of Mexico.


title: What Constitutes an Expert Registered Nurse in Labour & Delivery?:  A Phenomenological Inquiry

subject:
Expert
Patricia Benner
Labour and Delivery
Nursing
From Novice to Expert

abstract: The purpose of this study was to explore what constitutes an expert registered nurse in a labour and delivery unit.  A qualitative, phenomenological approach was used to guide and analyze the interviews of twelve participants recruited through purposeful sampling. Patricia Benner’s From Novice to Expert theory was used as both a theoretical definition of expert as well as a baseline for participants to self-identify with one of the levels of skill acquisition (novice, advanced beginner, competent, proficient or expert).  Three themes emerged from data analysis including: 1) characteristics of expert nurses, 2) significance and impact of loss and 3) difficulty with the word “expert”.  The study results showed that expert is a fluid concept that is both difficult to define and maintain throughout a nurse’s career.  Factors such as education, technology, culture, environment and most notably autonomy, impact a nurse’s ability to achieve expert status as well as the ability to remain an expert of the same capacity throughout their careers.  In addition, environmental and practice related changes resulted in feelings of loss that also significantly impacted the nurse’s perception of expert nursing.  Ultimately, it was identified that Benner’s definition of expert is not complete and would require additional research with a focus on relational and psychosocial elements of nursing specifically in the area of labour and delivery setting in order to achieve a more comprehensive definition.


title: Women’s Internalization and Rejection of Sexist Humour

subject: cavalier humour beliefs, discrimination, hostile sexism, self-objectification, sexist humour

abstract:
Most research has examined men’s reactions to sexist humour, making it unclear how sexist (i.e., anti-female) humour impacts women. Accordingly, the purpose of Study 1 (N=225) was to investigate women’s proximal joke reactions, that is, ratings of amusement and inoffensiveness for sexist (aggressive or belittling) versus neutral (non-sexist) jokes, as well as to examine individual differences predicting these reactions. We found that women overall rated sexist jokes as less amusing and inoffensive than neutral jokes. Critically, however, women’s endorsement of greater hostile sexism predicted more favourable reactions to sexist (but not neutral) jokes; likewise, women higher in cavalier humour beliefs (i.e., the belief that “jokes are just jokes”) reacted more favourably to sexist (and neutral) jokes.
Unlike the case for men, little research has addressed the effects of sexist humour exposure among women. Therefore, the purpose of Study 2 (N=226) was to assess the experimental effects of sexist humour exposure among women. First, participants completed pre-test measures of hostile sexism, cavalier humour beliefs, and ingroup identification. After, women were randomly assigned to an aggressive joke condition (n=114) or a neutral joke condition (n=112). Subsequently, participants completed measures of joke amusement and inoffensiveness ratings, self-objectification, negative bias effects against women (i.e., prejudice against women, discrimination against women, and support for women’s rights), and marginalized outgroup favourability. Results revealed that aggressive (vs. neutral) joke exposure lowered joke amusement and inoffensiveness ratings; these effects were weaker among women higher in hostile sexism or cavalier humour beliefs, or lower in ingroup identification. Exposure to aggressive (vs. neutral) jokes also led to increased self-objectification. Moreover, aggressive (vs. neutral) joke exposure increased both anti-women prejudice (among women higher in cavalier humour beliefs) and discrimination against women (among women higher in hostile sexism or cavalier humour beliefs). There were no effects of sexist joke exposure on women’s rights support or marginalized outgroup favourability. Implications are discussed.


title: A Domestic Geography of Money: How Mortgage Debt, Home Prices, and Toronto’s Condominiums “Prop up” the Canadian Economy

subject:
Global financial crisis
housing
bank bailout
toronto
condominium
financialization
IMPP
CMB
mortgage-backed securities
NHA MBS

abstract: The most recent financialized redefinition of the home in Canada has arisen in response to the global financial crisis of 2008. The global financial crisis negatively impacted nations around the world, yet, in Canada the effects were lightly felt. In response to this crisis, Canadian banks received significant financial support from the government through the Insured Mortgage Purchase Program and the Canada Mortgage Bond program totaling roughly $137.55 billion. These two programs incentivized Canadian lenders to relax mortgage qualifying standards, to generate increased mortgage debt which could then be packaged into mortgage backed securities. Through discourse analysis of primarily government reports, this thesis contextualizes the inflation of house prices and household debt since the global financial crisis and considers how an “adverse economic event” may cause a downward spiral of unemployment, mortgage default, and a steep decline in house prices. It examines the significance of Toronto and its condominium market in “propping up” the economy through the increased generation of mortgage debt. It is through this urban, geographical analysis that we see the human and physical realization of Canada’s current economic milieu.


title: Testosterone’s regulation of the HPA axis differs for adolescent and adult male rats

subject:
HPA axis
Testosterone
Adolescent male rats
Adult male rats

abstract: Stress hormones such as corticosterone (CORT), enables rodents to cope and meet the demands of their environment. In adult male rats, CORT release in response to stressors is dampened by the gonadal hormone testosterone. Adolescent male rats secrete more CORT in response to stressors than do adults and our lab has previously reported that gonadectomised pre-pubertal adolescent male rats (postnatal day [P] 35) do not show the dampening effect of testosterone replacement on CORT release in response to restraint stress found in adult rats (postnatal day [P] 75); whereas, post-pubertal adolescent rats (postnatal day [P] 45) show heightened CORT release when given testosterone replacement. Therefore, the main question would be what is the basis of the age difference in response to testosterone? And so, my mechanistic hypothesis that is tested in the thesis is that the greater stress response of adolescents than adults is because of greater conversion of testosterone to estradiol and/or less conversion of testosterone to DHT in adolescents than in adults. In Experiment 1, I replicated the results for P45 and P75 male rats. In Experiment 2, rats were gonadectomised (GDX) and given implants of testosterone, dihydrotestosterone (DHT), or empty, control implants (CTL) and plasma was obtained after 30 minutes of restraint. Although no significant differences were obtained for CORT levels, the pattern of means was consistent with our previous findings.  Further, DHT and testosterone-treated rats had lower vasopressin (AVP) and corticotrophin releasing hormone (CRH), and a trend toward lower aromatase-immunoreactive cell counts in the parvocellular paraventricular nucleus (PVN) than did CTL rats, irrespective of age, and there were no group differences in the magnocellular PVN. In Experiment 3, gonadally-intact P45 and P75 males were treated with fadrozole (aromatase inhibitor), finasteride (5a-reductase inhibitor), flutamide (androgen receptor antagonist), or vehicle (VEH).  Higher CORT concentrations after restraint were found in P45 than in P75 only among VEH rats. Among P45 rats, CORT levels were higher in VEH than in fadrozole-treated rats only. Among P75 rats, VEH rats had lower CORT levels than did finasteride-treated rats. These results suggest that the higher stress release of CORT in P45 may involve greater conversion of testosterone to estradiol at the level of the adrenal cortex.


title: Cognitive Dissonance, Hypocrisy, and Reducing Toleration of Human Rights Violations

subject:
human rights
cognitive dissonance
hypocrisy induction

abstract: Despite documents such as the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights, people still tolerate human rights violations. My dissertation examined possible methods for reducing this toleration. Specifically, I used “hypocrisy induction” to try and reduce toleration of rights violations and encourage pro-human rights responses. Hypocrisy induction—a procedure based on cognitive dissonance—involves having people recognize that their responses in a given situation are at odds with a strongly held attitude. In Study 1, I examined whether people who support human rights would reduce their toleration of a rights violation when confronted with their previous hypocritical toleration. Although participants who were confronted with their hypocrisy were more willing to act to promote human rights, they did not reduce their toleration of a violation, contrary to expectations. One reason for the lack of change in toleration could be that personal toleration of a human rights violation is not directly related to the occurrence of violations. Thus, for Studies 2 and 3, I extended the hypocrisy induction procedure to a case where an ingroup member’s hypocrisy directly resulted in a human rights violation. Specifically, I examined whether Canadians would alter their own toleration of a violation in response to a Canadian official who permitted a human rights violation. Results from both studies indicated that the group-level procedure was effective at encouraging pro-human rights responses, but not at reducing toleration of a violation. Moreover, results from Study 3 indicated that the effect of the group-level procedure was the result of directly-experienced, not vicarious, discomfort. I refer to the dissonance associated with the former type of discomfort as “group-level” dissonance. Although hypocrisy induction was not useful for reducing the toleration of human rights violations, my results suggest that both the group- and individual-level procedures can be used to encourage other pro-human rights responses.


title: The Associations Among Sleep Problems, Emotion Dysregulation and Adjustment Over Time Among University Students

subject:
emotion dysregulation
sleep problems
exercise
depression
alcohol

abstract:
Young adults experience a variety of changes when entering university (e.g., leaving home for the first time). Although some students adjust well to university, others may experience difficulties. Two problems that may be experienced are sleep problems and difficulties regulating emotion; importantly, both of these factors are associated with a variety of adjustment indicators. Throughout this dissertation, the three adjustment indicators that were of interest were physical activity, depressive symptoms and alcohol use as all three are common throughout university. As little work has examined the direction of effects between all of these factors, a longitudinal dataset was used to examine the relationships among these factors in two ways. Participants included 1132
first year undergraduate students (Time 1 Mage = 19.06 years, SD = 11.17 months). The first method was the use of a variable-centered analysis which was used in Studies 1 and 2. Study 1 focused on the relationships among sleep problems, emotion dysregulation, and physical activity and Study 2 focused on the relationships among sleep problems, emotion dysregulation, depressive symptoms, and alcohol use. Study 3 used a person-centered analysis which allowed for the examination of heterogeneity in the patterns of association between variables. Specifically, this study involved examining heterogeneity
in the associations between sleep problems and emotion dysregulation, and how these patterns were related to depressive symptoms and alcohol use in both the short- and longterm. Overall, these studies indicate that sleep and emotion dysregulation are both bidirectionally related over time and also co-occur for a subgroup of individuals. The results also indicate that difficulties in adjustment experienced early on in university may have lasting effects.


title: Patterns of Endocrine, Behavioural, and Neural Function Underlying Social Deficits after Social Instability Stress in Adolescent Rats

subject:
Adolescence
Social instability stress
Corticosterone
Social Behaviour
Social brain regions

abstract: Adolescence is a time of social learning as well as a period of heightened vulnerability to stressors and enhanced plasticity, compared with adulthood. Previous research found that repeated social instability stress (SS; daily isolation and return to an unfamiliar peer from postnatal day (PND) 30 - 45) administered in adolescent rats alters social function when tested in adulthood. The main goal of my thesis research was to characterize how SS in adolescent rats affects the development of social brain regions and social behaviour when tested soon after the procedure. In chapter 2, I found that SS potentiated corticosterone release in rats repeatedly paired with an unfamiliar cage-mate after isolation compared with rats that were paired with an unfamiliar cage-mate for the first time after isolation on PND 45. In chapter 3, I found that in social interaction tests (i.e., not in home cage), SS rats had lower social interactions despite having higher social approach with unfamiliar peers relative to control (CTL) rats. Social stimuli carried the same reward value for SS and CTL rats based on tests of conditioned place preference, and SS in adolescence impaired social recognition. Further, SS increased oxytocin receptor density in the nucleus accumbens and dorsal lateral septum in rats compared with CTL rats. In chapter 4, I found that the correlations between time spent in social interaction with an unfamiliar peer and Fos immunoreactivity (a marker of neural activity) in the arcuate nucleus, dorsal lateral septum, and posterior medial amygdala were in the opposite direction in SS rats to those in CTL rats. In chapter 5, I found differences in the expression of proteins relevant for synaptic plasticity and in dendritic arborisation in the lateral septum and medial amygdala. My findings of behavioural and neural differences between SS and CTL rats highlight the heightened vulnerability of the brain to the quality of social experiences during the adolescent period that may lead to long-lasting deficits in social function in adulthood.


title: Turning the Page for Spot: Exploring the Potential of Therapy Dogs to Support Reading Motivation and Positive Reading Behaviours Among Young Children

subject:
Canine-assisted reading
Animal-assisted activity
Therapy dogs
Reading motivation
Children

abstract: Animal-assisted literacy programs are growing in popularity as research continues to reveal their benefits for promoting children’s reading skills and positive reading behaviours. Struggling readers may benefit the most from canine-assisted literacy programs as these programs may increase children’s motivation to read, which in turn might be associated with improvements in children’s reading performance. However, little is known about how the context of canine-assisted literacy programs can help increase children’s motivation and persistence to read. The purpose of this proof of concept study was to assess the feasibility of engaging children with therapy dogs to help increase children’s reading motivation and persistence. We collected observational and self-report data from several sources (child participants, parents and researchers). Results of multivariate repeated-measures ANOVA with two levels (i.e. two-factor repeated measures design) revealed significant differences in reading motivation and reading persistence as a function of the presence or absence of a therapy dog when children were asked to read a challenging passage. Specifically, the children reported that they were more interested in reading and felt more competent reading a challenging passage when reading in the presence (versus absence) of a therapy dog. Additionally, the children individually spent more time reading in the presence (versus absence) of the therapy dog. The findings from this research will inform the development of animal-assisted literacy programs regarding the potential of canine-assisted reading programs to support children’s reading motivation and persistence.


title: Naturally Occurring Affect Predicts Verbal and Spatial Working Memory Performance

subject: Working Memory Affect Verbal Spatial

abstract:
Some research has shown that induced affective states that vary in valence have
differential effects on verbal and spatial working memory performance, such that positive affect
improves verbal working memory and impairs spatial working memory, while negative affect
improves spatial working memory and impairs verbal working memory. However, other research
using similar mood induction and working memory tasks, has supported a nonspecific influence
of affect on working memory performance where fear impairs, and positive affect improves, both
verbal and spatial working memory. The present study investigated whether individual
differences in naturally occurring trait and state affect could predict verbal and spatial working
memory performance across six working memory tasks. Valence uniquely predicted working
memory performance over and above arousal and the interaction of valence and arousal which
were not significant predictors. Positive affect was associated with better WM performance,
while negative affect was associated with worse working memory performance. This pattern held
across both verbal and spatial working memory tasks, but was observed more strongly with 2-
back working memory tasks than with complex span working memory tasks. These findings
suggest that, in contrast to research demonstrating differential effects of affective states on verbal
and spatial working memory performance, naturally occurring affect demonstrates a modality
independent effect on working memory.


title: Informal Teacher Leaders: Secondary School Teachers’ Perceptions of  How They Collaboratively Construct and Implement  Classroom Assessment Policy and Practice

subject:
teacher leadership
classroom assessment
informal leadership
assessment policy
teacher collaboration

abstract: Secondary school teachers enact informal teacher leadership to move their instructional and assessment practices forward by leveraging existing structures and navigating micropolitical contexts. Leadership cannot be oversimplified as the work of an individual because of the complex and interwoven nature of schools and the current political climate of educational settings. Informal teacher leaders (ITLs) co-create roles based on needs that focus on supporting learning for students, for colleagues, and for themselves. This study used a constructivist lens and inquiry methodology to explore perceptions of informal secondary school teacher leaders as they collaboratively construct and implement classroom assessment policy and practice. The study highlights the perceived purpose and nature of informal teacher leadership; organizational factors and conditions that ITLs face when working collaboratively to improve assessment practices; and strategies that these teachers leverage to navigate changes in assessment practice and policy. (Note: a provincial review of assessment was conducted during completion of this dissertation.) This qualitative study explored informal teacher leadership and assessment practice and policy through semi-structured interviews, focus groups, document analysis, and memoing. The research encompassed 28 participants, 11 of whom are ITLs in a suburban school district in Ontario. Findings reveal how ITLs structure their roles to be responsive, reciprocal, reflective, and results oriented. Recommendations are provided to inform educators and policy developers at the provincial, district, and school level for both supporting informal teacher leadership and developing assessment literacy.


title: Displacement of One Stimulus Class Over Another Stimulus Class: A Systematic Replication

subject:
multiple-stimulus without replacement
preference assessment
reinforcer assessment
displacement

abstract: Previous researchers have found that individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities tend to prefer edible over leisure stimuli and that leisure stimuli generally function as less effective reinforcers than edible stimuli, regardless of the preference patterns observed during a combined-class multiple-stimulus without replacement (MSWO) assessment. However, researchers have often arbitrarily selected items to include in these preference assessments and have not investigated this phenomenon with typically developing children. In Study 1, we evaluated the preference for leisure and edible stimuli in a combined-class MSWO assessment with 15 typically developing children. Five of 15 participants preferred edible stimuli over leisure stimuli, 3 of 15 participants preferred leisure stimuli over edible stimuli, and the remaining seven of 15 participants did not prefer one stimulus class over another. In Study 2, we compared the reinforcer potency of displaced stimuli and the stimuli that displaced them with 7 of 8 participants who showed displacement of one stimulus class over the other. Four of 7 participants allocated more responding to the free-operant task associated with the top-ranked stimulus identified in the combined-class MSWO, while 3 of 7 participants showed no differences in responding to the free-operant task regardless of ranking of the reinforcer delivered.


title: Influence of Estrogen on RLC Phosphorylation and Posttetanic Potentiation of Mouse Muscles with and without Skeletal Myosin Light Chain Kinase

subject:
RLC phosphorylation
Potentiation
Estrogen
skMLCK
Skeletal Muscle

abstract: Estrogen may influence myosin regulatory light chain (RLC) phosphorylation and posttetanic potentiation (PTP) in mouse fast twitch muscle; although the signalling pathway for this effect is unknown.   The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that previously reported estrogen effects on RLC phosphorylation and PTP are mediated via skeletal myosin light chain kinase (skMLCK).  To this end, extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscles from female wildtype and skMLCK deficient (skMLCK-/-) mice were divided into four groups: ovariectomized (OVX) with estrogen (E+), ovariectomized without estrogen (E-), sham surgery (Sham) and intact baseline (BL).  At 8 weeks of age, mice in the OVX groups were ovariectomized followed by pellet implantation at 9 weeks of age with either a 0.1 mg of 17β-Estradiol or implantation of a placebo pellet (E+ and E- respectively); sham surgeries were also performed at this time point for both genotypes.  Two weeks later EDL muscles were isolated and suspended in vitro (25° C) for determination of RLC phosphorylation and PTP, except for BL groups which began contractile experiments at 9 weeks.  Our results showed that RLC phosphorylation measured in muscles frozen immediately after a potentiating stimulus was not different across conditions within either genotype although values for wildtype muscles were significantly (P<0.05) greater than skMLCK-/- muscles.  Consistent with these findings, the ratio of concentric twitch force (post PS / pre PS) for wildtype and skMLCK-/- muscles was similar between E+ and E+ groups although values for wildtype were greater than skMLCK-/-  muscles (all data P < 0.05). However, we were unable to directly test our hypothesis as a result of unaltered estradiol levels following OVX.  The inability to validate estrogen’s beneficial influence on muscle strength and contractibility in this model could be a direct result of interference with further development and growth during estrogen supplementation. Future studies should note the importance of both estrous cycles and further growth of adult mice when working with ovarian hormones.  Both of these factors were likely causes of our atypical findings.


title: University Physical Education Students’ Understanding and Interpretation of Social Interaction as Part of a Meaningful Physical Education Experience

subject: Physical Teacher Education Social Interaction

abstract: The promotion of meaningful experiences is a primary way teachers can enact a transformative physical education (PE) curriculum for students (Kretchmar, 2006). Recent advances have led to a framework that outlines the following features of a meaningful experience: social interaction, challenge, fun, motor competence, delight, and personally relevant learning (Beni, Fletcher, & Ní Chróinín, 2017). This study examined how university physical education students understand, learn to articulate, and plan to enact positive social interaction as one feature of meaningful experiences in PE. The study took place in one undergraduate class where the instructor emphasized and articulated the components of positive social interaction. Participants (n = 10) took part in one or two individual interviews at the beginning and/or end of one academic term. Non-participant observations (5) of the class were conducted and exit slips (42) collected from students. Students had a basic understanding of positive social interaction at the first data collection point, whereby finding and making friends or encouraging one another were emphasized, which revealed a lack of sophistication in understanding. At the end of the course, students developed a deeper understanding of social interaction and its components, which they contributed to their teacher educator intentionally reflecting on positive social interaction and articulating the complexity of it with them, organizing inclusive class activities, and making an effort to develop meaningful relationships. This study is significant because it highlights the need for PE teacher education (PETE) instructors to be explicit in articulating and demonstrating ways in which social interaction can be understood, interpreted, and enacted.


title: Modal and Relevance Logics for Qualitative Spatial Reasoning

subject:
Qualitative Spatial Reasoning
Modal logic
Relevance logic

abstract:
Qualitative Spatial Reasoning (QSR) is an alternative technique to represent spatial relations
without using numbers. Regions and their relationships are used as qualitative terms. Mostly
peer qualitative spatial reasonings has two aspect: (a) the first aspect is based on inclusion
and it focuses on the ”part-of” relationship. This aspect is mathematically covered by
mereology. (b) the second aspect focuses on topological nature, i.e., whether they are in
”contact” without having a common part. Mereotopology is a mathematical theory that
covers these two aspects.
The theoretical aspect of this thesis is to use classical propositional logic with non-classical
relevance logic to obtain a logic capable of reasoning about Boolean algebras i.e., the
mereological aspect of QSR. Then, we extended the logic further by adding modal logic
operators in order to reason about topological contact i.e., the topological aspect of QSR.
Thus, we name this logic Modal Relevance Logic (MRL). We have provided a natural
deduction system for this logic by defining inference rules for the operators and constants
used in our (MRL) logic and shown that our system is correct. Furthermore, we have used
the functional programming language and interactive theorem prover Coq to implement
the definitions and natural deduction rules in order to provide an interactive system for
reasoning in the logic.


title: Collaboration to Support ESL Instruction

subject:
collaboration
ESL education
teaching practices
qualitative research

abstract: Collaboration in English as a Second Language (ESL) education holds potential for consistency and efficiency in pedagogical planning for English Language Learners (ELLs), and supports ELLs’ needs through targeted instructional strategies. This study sought to investigate these processes of collaboration, and was guided by three research questions: (a) How do ESL teachers describe collaboration to provide support for ELLs? (b) What opportunities do ESL teachers have for collaboration, and how are ESL teachers supported in creating a collaborative environment? (c) How do ESL teachers collaborate with in-school teams of educators to use instructional resources (digital and/or non-digital) to promote oral and written language instruction with ELLs? The research adopted a case study approach to explore how ESL teachers collaborate with educational professionals within ESL education. Qualitative data included classroom observations while ESL teachers collaborated with teachers and other educational professionals in the classroom. Semi-structured interviews explored how ESL teachers described collaboration within ESL education, opportunities ESL teachers had for collaboration, how ELS teachers are professionally supported to integrate resources (digital and/or non-digital) within classroom instruction, as well as teachers’ understandings and apprehensions about using technology to support literacy instruction for ELLs. Overall, the findings indicate that ESL teacher participants expressed a desire to collaborate, and took initial steps to facilitate collaboration with educational professionals, but expressed that the current educational climate does not provide sufficient resources for deep-rooted and authentic collaboration. Informal collaboration occurred more frequently than formal or scheduled collaboration.


title: Early Adolescents' Perceptions and Attitudes Towards Gender Representations in Video Games

subject:
video games
adolescents
gender
identification
identity
early adolescents

abstract:
This study investigated adolescents’ perception and attitudes towards gender representation in video game covers, and the degree to which these depictions may influence their notions on gender and identification. Seventeen participants ranging from ages 12 and 13 from an independent boarding and day school in Ontario participated in semi-structured interviews to explore this topic. Data were analyzed using a qualitative approach. The study’s conceptual framework encompassed social cognitive theory,
gender schema theory, and cultivation theory. Findings suggest that gender representation in video games does influence the majority of participants’ notions of gender; however, there are differences between how males and females approach, interpret, and respond to this type of media. Findings also showcased that evidence of implicit bias was detected in both male and female participants, demonstrated through inconsistencies in their responses. Finally, the findings revealed a significant lack of identification from the majority of participants with video game characters, as many participants were able to clearly distinguish between simulated and real-life experiences. Through this investigation, the present study aimed to precipitate awareness and to provide better understanding about gender and identity in relation to video game playing.


title: Assessment of the effects of rosemary extract on mast cell-mediated allergic inflammation

subject:
Rosemary
Mast cell
Allergic inflammation
IgE
Degranulation

abstract: The prevalence of allergic inflammatory disorders is increasing at an alarming rate, with 40-50% of school-aged children suffering today. Mast cells are immune sentinels and a driving force in both normal and pathological contexts of inflammation. Crosslinking of FcεRI by allergen-bound IgE antibodies leads to mast cell degranulation resulting in an early phase response, and the release of newly synthesized pro-inflammatory mediators, contributing to a late phase response. The mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) family, phosphoinositide 3-kinase/protein kinase B (PI3K-Akt), and nuclear factor-κ-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB) pathways have been established to be driving mechanisms behind mast cell-induced inflammation. Rosemary extract (RE) is rich in polyphenols and has been shown to inhibit the MAPK, PI3K-Akt, and NF-κB pathways in other cellular contexts in vitro and in in vivo. However, the effect of RE on mast cell activation has not been explored. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate RE in modulating mast cell activation and FcεRI signaling via these pathways toward understanding the mechanism of action and functional outcomes. Mast cells were sensitized with anti-TNP IgE and were stimulated with the cognate allergen (TNP-BSA) under stem cell factor (SCF) potentiation and treated with 0 – 25 µg/ml RE. Samples were then collected for western blot analysis, quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), β-hexosaminidase assay, and NFкB transcription factor activity assay. Western blot analysis demonstrated that RE treatment at both 5 and 25 µg/ml inhibited phosphorylation of p38-MAPK, and treatment with 25 µg/ml inhibited JNK. qPCR analysis showed that RE treatment at 25 µg/mL resulted in decreased gene expression of IL6, TNF, IL13, CCL1, and CCL3. It also reduced Rcan1, and NFкBIA mRNA levels. ELISA analysis further supported the qPCR data showing decreases in pro-inflammatory IL-6, TNF, IL-13, CCL1, and CCL3. The β-hexosaminidase assay demonstrated that RE treatment inhibited mast cell degranulation dose-dependently to a maximum (down to 15% of control) at 25 µg/mL RE. Finally, RE reduced NFкB activity. This work suggests that RE is capable of modulating mast cell functional outcomes, and warrants further investigation for use as a potential therapeutic.


title: The Impact of Social Media on Athletes' Self-Efficacy

subject:
self-efficacy
social media
phenomenology
sport psychology
combat sports

abstract: The purpose of the study is to understand how social media affects athletes’ self-efficacy. With the ubiquitous presence of social media, it was hypothesized that via social media the source persuasion — one of the four sources that regulates self-efficacy — may be used as a way to encourage or discourage athletes in believing they have, or lack, the skills necessary to complete a task; therefore, persuading athletes to become more or less assured in their abilities despite past experiences. A phenomenological approach was utilized for this study to assist the researcher in conceptualizing ideas that might be dismissed by the boundaries of more traditional approaches. Semi-structured interviews were completed with 10 high-performance athletes in combative sports, and a cross-interview by-question analysis was performed on the data to determine the patterns and themes from the data. Results indicate that social media, and the way that athletes use social media, does have an effect on athletes’ self-efficacy, however the impact of self-efficacy depends on the social media usage.


title: Emotional, cognitive, and postural adaptations to repeated postural threat exposure

subject: Adaptation Age Anxiety Attention Posture

abstract: This thesis investigated initial threat-induced changes in emotional, cognitive, and postural control measures and adaptation of these measures to repeated threat exposure in healthy young and older adults. Twenty-seven young and twenty-seven older adults stood on a platform under no threat and threat conditions. Postural threat was manipulated by altering the expectation of a temporally and directionally unpredictable mediolateral support surface translation during quiet standing. Regardless of age, participants were more anxious, reported broad changes in attention focus, and increased centre of pressure (COP) amplitude and frequency with first threat exposure. With early threat exposure, participants were less anxious and increased COP frequency. With repeated threat exposure, participants were less anxious, reported reductions in threat-induced changes in attention focus, and decreased high frequency COP displacements. These results suggest young and older adults demonstrate similar patterns of emotional, cognitive, and postural adaptations to initial and repeated threat exposure.


title: Evaluation of Behavioural Skills Training with Volunteers Teaching Motor Skills to Individuals with Developmental Disabilities

subject:
component analysis
thematic analysis
behavioural skills training
volunteers
motor skills

abstract: Reaching early motor milestones is essential for positive growth and development. Individuals with developmental disabilities may fail to reach these milestones due to gross and fine motor impairments. However, very few physical education programs address motor development issues that may be a concern for individuals with developmental disabilities. The Special Needs Activity Program at Brock University capitalizes on university student volunteers to support individuals with developmental disabilities in developing motor skills. Evaluating various methods to train these volunteers may positively impact training outcomes, and save valuable time and resources. This research employed a mixed methods evaluation to evaluate volunteer training through: (1) a component analysis of behavioural skills training for teaching volunteers how to also use this methodology to support individuals with developmental disabilities in a movement program; and (2) a thematic analysis of the volunteers’ experiences and approaches to teaching this population. The component analysis results were variable across participants; however, following all training phases, all volunteers met a predetermined performance criterion. Through a qualitative analysis five themes in the volunteers’ approach to teaching individuals with developmental disabilities were identified:  individualization, respect, collaboration, flexibility, and commitment. Strengths and limitations of this evaluation are discussed and recommendations for future research are provided.


title: Evaluation of the Long-term Reliability of Motor Uni Discharge Rates obtained by Decomposition of the Surface Electromyographic Signal

subject:
Electromyography
Motor Unit
Reliability
Neuromuscular
Decomposition

abstract: This study evaluated the long-term reliability of motor unit discharge rates (MUDRs) during isometric contractions at 60% maximum voluntary contraction (MVC), obtained by decomposition of the surface electromyographic (sEMG) signal from the flexor carpi radialis (FCR) and tibialis anterior (TA). There were four test sessions: one week between sessions 1 and 2; six weeks between sessions 2, 3, and 4. Participants performed 3 maximal isometric contractions of the wrist flexors and 3-isometric ramp contractions to 60% MVC. A load cell and 5-pin electrode (dEMG System, Delsys, Inc., Boston, MA) were used to monitor force and sEMG, respectively. The MUDRs were obtained using the Precision Decomposition Algorithm III in the dEMG Analysis software, and calculated as the inverse of the smoothed firing intervals. The mean discharge rate was calculated during a one-second window centered at the plateau portion of the 60% MVC ramp contraction. Maximal isometric strength during wrist flexion and dorsiflexion was also monitored. Across the four test sessions, maximal isometric strength of the wrist flexors and dorsiflexors increased 10 and 11.85%, respectively (p’s<0.01).  The slight lack of stability in means was compensated for a high degree of consistency of strength values within each subject as assess by the intraclass correlation coefficient (R’s >0.94).  The MUDRs for the FCR (5.2%) and TA (7.8%) also exhibited slight fluctuations across the four test sessions (p’s<0.01). The consistency of MUDR values within each subject was still considered good, as the intraclass correlation coefficient for both measures was R=0.79.  It was concluded that the overall long-term reliability of MUDRs in both the FCR and TA was good.


title: The Development of Reward Sensitivity- Exploring the Role of Culture and Parental Education on Adolescent Development

subject:
adolescence
life history
reward sensitivity
dual systems
culture

abstract: The period of adolescence is marked by increased levels of risk taking. One proposed reason for this developmental pattern is a rise during adolescence (relative to earlier and later periods) in the degree to which behaviors are driven by reward-seeking. However, there are individual differences in the extent to which adolescents respond to rewards. One individual difference may arise from the socioeconomic context in which youth develop. Life-history (LH) theory suggests that exposure to early childhood adversity (e.g., more typical in lower SES circumstances) unconsciously predisposes individuals toward decisions that favor instant gratification. Given that reward-seeking may increase during adolescence and early adversity may promote greater risk-taking in pursuit of reward, the present study tested whether individuals exposed to early adversity displayed heightened sensitivity to rewards during adolescence. Reward-seeking behaviors were assessed using measures of sensation-seeking, a psychological manifestation of reward-sensitivity. Participants (N= 4620) aged 10-25 from 11 diverse countries (China, Italy, Kenya, Thailand, Colombia, Jordan, Sweden, US, Philippines, India and Cyprus) completed a self-report (a subset of the Sensation-Seeking Scale) and a behavioral measure of reward sensitivity (Stoplight task). Reward sensitivity followed the expected inverted-U age trend across the full sample for both measures. A country by country analysis revealed that risky driving in the Stoplight task followed the expected age-pattern in 4 out of the 11 countries (peaking at age 16), and in 3 out of the 11 countries for self-reported sensation seeking (peaking around age 18). However, age trends did not differ as a function of SES across the full sample or within countries. Overall, these results indicate that although there is variability in how reward-sensitivity develops across cultures, one’s socioeconomic status does not appear to influence this development worldwide.


title: Influence of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling on mast cell differentiation and histone acetylation modifiers

subject:
Epigenetics
Mast-cell
Differentiation
MAPK signaling

abstract:
Introduction: Mechanisms directing mast cell differentiation are incompletely defined. Epigenetic modifications by promoter methylation have been identified as key modulators of locus-specific chromatin accessibility during mast cell differentiation, but the role of histone acetylation (HA) has not been explored. Resultant changes in gene accessibility support a trajectory of lineage-specific gene expression as unique cell types mature from pluripotent progenitor hematopoietic stem cells. The MAPK signaling pathway contributes to regulating differentiation and proliferation and directly influences HA modifiers in a host of contexts. We aim to measure how the MAPK signaling pathway influences histone modifiers during mast cell differentiation in vitro toward the identification of potential key contributors.
Methods: Mast cell differentiation was initiated from cultures of isolated murine bone marrow and samples were collected throughout differentiation. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) measurement of the RNA level, western blotting assessment of the protein level, and flow cytometry assessment of cell-surface receptor phenotype were conducted for HDACs, HATs and key mast cell-specific markers and transcription factors.
Results: The MAPK signaling pathway significantly affected the expression of histone acetyltransferases, histone deacetylases and histone H3 post-translational modification. The inhibition of ERK (SCH772984) differently influenced the differentiation of mast cells through increased HDAC4 and increased PCAF gene expression. This was accompanied with changes in Histone H3 acetylation (K9) and phosphorylation (S10) and increased FcεRIα surface receptor presence with ERK inhibition. The inhibition of p38 (Losmapimod) showed a reduction in mast cell differentiation through decreased mast cell specific transcription factors and enzymes, MITF, Tpsb2, Cpa3 and Cma1, while decreasing FcεRIα receptor presence on the cell surface. The inhibition of JNK (JNK-IN-8) had no effect on mast cell differentiation.
Conclusion: This work demonstrates the differential and dynamic importance of the ERK and p38 MAPK signaling pathways in mast cell differentiation and suggests links between the mast cell lineage program and epigenetic modifications via HA. Activation of the p38 MAPK signaling pathway is shown to drive mast cell differentiation, while ERK activation hinders HSC mast cell differentiation.


title: Effects of Rosemary Extract and Rosemary Extract Polyphenols on Skeletal Muscle Insulin Resistance

subject: insulin resistance, skeletal muscle, rosemary extract, AMPK

abstract: Skeletal muscle, a major target tissue of insulin, accounts for ~80% of postprandial glucose disposal and plays a significant role in the regulation of glucose homeostasis. Insulin increases muscle glucose uptake by increasing the translocation of intracellularly stored GLUT4 glucose transporters to the plasma membrane through the phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase (PI3K)/Akt signaling pathway. Impaired PI3K/Akt signaling is associated with skeletal muscle insulin resistance (IR), leading to chronically elevated blood glucose levels followed by a compensatory rise in insulin levels. Rosemary extract increases muscle cell glucose uptake but its effects on high glucose/high insulin-induced insulin resistance are not known and is the focus of the present study. Exposure of L6 myotubes to 25mM glucose and 100nM insulin for 24 h, to mimic hyperglycemia (HG) and hyperinsulinemia (HI), abolished the acute insulin-stimulated glucose uptake (I: 183, HG + HI + I: 112 % of basal), attenuated the insulin-stimulated Akt phosphorylation, while increased IRS-1 Ser636/639 phosphorylation indicating insulin resistance. In addition, HG+HI increased mTOR phosphorylation/activation. Importantly, treatment with RE (5 μg/ml) significantly restored the insulin-stimulated glucose uptake (HG + HI + RE + I: 149% of basal) reduced the HG + HI-induced IRS-1 Ser636/639 phosphorylation and mTOR phosphorylation and increased AMPK phosphorylation. Our data indicate a potential of RE to counteract muscle insulin resistance and more research is required to investigate the mechanisms involved.


title: Impact And Effects Of Learning Outcome-Oriented Program Review Policy Changes in Ontario Universities

creator:
Borin, Paola
Borin, Paola

subject: Quality Assurance, Learning outcomes, IQAP, Program review, Higher Education, University, Impact, Multiple case study

abstract: This multiple-case, mixed methods study characterized the effects, and outcomes perceived by key participants involved in the program review process at four universities, five years after the introduction of a common learning-outcomes oriented quality assurance review process across the province of Ontario in 2011. Purposeful and criterion sampling was applied to identify key informants from four universities, with specialized knowledge and experience from five levels of involvement in recently conducted cyclical program reviews employing the new framework. This included, faculty members, department chairs, teaching and learning centre support staff, quality assurance support staff, and senior administrators. Data were collected using in-depth interviews comprised of structured and unstructured questions. Analysis applied variable and case oriented strategies, thematic and content analysis, and matrix displays. This research found three orientations to the review influenced perceptions and outcomes, including a standard accountability, control and compliance, and an enhancement orientation. Nearly half the changes participants identified as triggered by the review process are likely to have a long-term impact.  Perceived negative changes included increased oversight, bureaucracy, and workload. Objectives and accountability of the cyclical review were confounded with ongoing budgetary reviews, institutional goal setting, and measures of the fiscal sustainability. Perceived positive changes included longer-term effects such as increased alignment of curriculum to student outcomes, increased departmental discussion about curriculum, and more consistent provision of program relevant data across the university. Participants described a shift from a focus on teaching students, to a focus on bringing about learning.


title: Marked Territory: Assemblages of The Black Female Subject in 19th Century Visual Art and Verdi's Aida

contributor: Studies in Comparative Literatures and Arts Program

subject:
opera
performance studies
cultural studies
visual art
intersectional feminist theory

abstract: The relevance of Giuseppe Verdi’s opera, Aida within the Western operatic canon, contemporary opera, and other forms of theatre performance affect contemporary discourse around equity and inclusive representation in the performing arts. This thesis considers the intertextual representations of the black female subject in Giuseppe Verdi’s Aida (1871) from the narrative and musical texts, to the visual text in performance. This thesis expands musicological considerations of Aida to include intersectional frameworks of feminist, critical race, and postcolonial theories. Additionally, using art history and cultural criticism it purposefully situates operatic performance as a form of visual culture. In this sense, the stage is the frame through which the components of the black female as Other in Aida are seen as assemblages of conventional representations of the black female subject derived from nineteenth-century European art. The methodology applies what Toni Morrison theorized as the “Africanist presence” and Abdul R. JanMohamed’s framework of the Manichean allegory to analyze and critique the ways in which perceptions of the racialized woman materialize from a trajectory of marginalized images of black femaleness in Western visual art. The discussion is an exploration of how these translate to the stage through costume, performativity, and performance as assemblages reified through the artistic practice and operatic performance of Aida. This thesis also considers the intersectional positionality of the performer in the role of “Aida” and how, the actor, as creator and viewer of cultural capital, becomes a catalyst to subvert or reinforce the “Africanist presence.”


title: Literacy Intervention for Struggling Readers: Knowledge Mobilization in our Communities

subject: reading disabilities, motivation, self-efficacy, one-on-one tutoring, knowledge mobilization

abstract: This study explored the efficacy of a literacy program as it was offered in partnership between Brock University and the Learning Disabilities Association of Niagara Region. Specifically, this study examined sixteen 5 to 12-year-old children with reading disabilities who participated in a 5-week Spring Reading Program that was associated with an upper year undergraduate course in Child and Youth Studies. In this course, university students worked with children from the local community. The study collected quantitative and qualitative data from children, parents and Brock students. The study also examined the concept of knowledge mobilization by exploring the relationship between a course at Brock and the Learning Disabilities Association of Niagara. This partnership was considered a strong example of knowledge mobilization as defined by Brock’s strategic mandate. A mixed methodological approach was utilized in this thesis that included quantitative academic achievement measures and qualitative interviews with student tutors, children and caregivers whose children participated in the program. The focus of the qualitative interviews was to determine the overall experience of the Spring Reading Program and how it encompassed the principles of effective knowledge mobilization. Results of the study indicated that the Spring Reading Program was successful in improving literacy scores in participating children but also successful in improving motivation and self-efficacy in children. In addition to this, the partnership was seen as a successful example of effective knowledge mobilization. Such findings hold important implications for policy and practice surrounding models of schooling and programming that support children’s learning.


title: STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS OF VALLES MARINERIS, MARS

subject:
Valles Marineris
Mars
Anomalous planes
Spur and gully

abstract:
Valles Marineris is the largest canyonland formation known in the solar system being ~4000 km long and up to 11 km deep, it is subparallel to the Martian equator and exposes the interior of the Tharsis province. The spurs on the walls were analyzed using digital elevation models to geometrically quantify their morphology and orientation, relying on methodologies such as dip analysis, relief and curvature analysis, and attitude analysis among others. These analyses permitted the documentation of indicators of structural influence on the walls which were then classified by the morphology and the type of faults from which they originate.
Anomalous Planes (APs) are planar features that dip into the walls of a chasma and appear to be pre-existing fault planes within the Tharsis province. These faults are associated with the underlying structures of the Large Wrinkle Ridges (LWRs) located on Ophir Planum. An elastic dislocation model was used to corroborate that the APs can define the geometry of the underlying structure of the LWRs.
Planetary grabens can be distinguished from sapping channels using their geometries. It is proposed that the formation of Coprates Chasma was the result of four individual smaller chasmata that later joined. This work shows the tools and criteria used to demonstrate that the formation of Valles Marineris was complex as reflected in the formation of the wall morphology. It is shown that the formation of the walls was influenced by pre-existent structures and chasma producing faults.


title: Exploring the experience of parent caregiving: How parent caregivers of children with a disabilities create well-being in their lives

subject: parent caregiving, caregiving lifestyle, leisure lifestyle, well-being, ingredients to living well

abstract: A phenomenological study was used to explore the unique experience of parent caregiving in dual-parent families. Specifically, this study examines the similarities and differences in relation to the construction and maintenance of healthy caregiving and leisure lifestyles. The participants of the research study were deemed, by the study gatekeeper, to be living well in their caregiving role. The data collected through a focus group and individual interviews with each family gained insight in relation to the lived experiences, values and motivations of the parents and families to create a life of well-being. The results of the research study addressed the “ingredients to living well” that illustrate the individual approach each family took to create a caregiving and leisure lifestyle influenced by the follow four components, 1) values-based parenting and family life, 2) the acceptance of disability in family life, 3) leisure a source of positivity and connection and 4) leisure as self-care in a caregiving lifestyle. The “ingredients to living well” concluding that the ability of a caregiving family to look beyond the limitations of the child with a disability, acceptance of the child as a contributing family member, using leisure to connect as a family with the child with a disability and establishing self-care practices for parents to maintain balance are foundational aspects of creating well-being in the highly demanding lives of parent caregivers.


title: EMG Threshold Detection and Reliability of Boys and Men Using an Isometric Contraction Protocol

subject:
EMG
Motor Unit Recruitment
Children
Isometric Contraction

abstract: Recently it has been suggested that, as children grow, they utilize more of their higher-threshold (type II) motor units (MU). Such developmental changes in MU utilization can potentially underlie many observed physiological differences between children and adults. The EMG threshold (EMGTh¬) is a proposed non-invasive tool to investigate the recruitment of type II MU activation. In progressive cycling, children’s EMGTh was demonstrated to occur at higher relative workloads compared with adults. However, many of the participants did not exhibit a threshold, presumably due to exhaustion at relatively low muscle force. By using an isometric contraction protocol to determine EMGth, participants will reach  higher relative muscle forces at exhaustion, thus facilitating the determination of EMGTh. Twenty-one boys and 21 men participated in the study. Participants completed a one repetition maximum (1RM) of knee extension, and the progressive isometric contraction protocol, consisting of repetitive isometric contractions (5 seconds on, 3 seconds off) at increasing loads: Starting at 25% of 1RM, the load increased by 3% 1RM after every five contractions. Using this isometric contraction protocol, detection rate of EMGTh was 88.2 % in boys and 90.0 % in men. EMGTh occurred at higher relative intensity in boys (56.09% ± 9.42%) compared with men (46.16% ± 7.71%). Intra-class correlation coefficients showed that EMGTh is moderately reliable from visit 1 to visit 2 in both boys (ICC = 0.70) and men (ICC = 0. 56). EMG¬Th occurs at significantly higher exercise intensities in visit 2 (boys 61.85% ± 8.74%; men 54.45% ± 8.88%) than compared with visit 1 (boys 56.09% ± 9.42%; men 46.16% ± 7.71%) in both boys and men. Overall the results provide evidence to support the use of an isometric contraction protocol to study the EMGTh in children.


title: Deep Learning Concepts for Evolutionary Art

subject:
deep learning
evolutionary art
genetic programming
convolutional neural networks

abstract: A deep convolutional neural network (CNN) trained on millions of images forms a very high-level abstract overview of any given target image. Our primary goal is to use this high-level content information of a given target image to guide the automatic evolution of images. We use genetic programming (GP) to evolve procedural textures. We incorporate a pre-trained deep CNN model into the fitness. We are not performing any training, but rather, we pass a target image through the pre-trained deep CNN and use its the high-level representation as the fitness guide for evolved images. We develop a preprocessing strategy called Mean Minimum Matrix Strategy (MMMS) which reduces the dimensions and identifies the most relevant high-level activation maps. The technique using reduced activation matrices for a fitness shows promising results. GP is able to guide the evolution of textures such that they have shared characteristics with the target image. We also experiment with the fully connected “classifier” layers of the deep CNN. The evolved images are able to achieve high confidence scores from the deep CNN module for some tested target images. Finally, we implement our own shallow convolutional neural network with a fixed set of filters. Experiments show that the basic CNN had limited effectiveness, likely due to the lack of training. In conclusion, the research shows the potential for using deep learning concepts in evolutionary art. As deep CNN models become better understood, they will be able to be used more effectively for evolutionary art.


title: Relationship between adverse childhood experiences and arterial stiffness over time from childhood into early adulthood

subject: Arterial Stiffness, Adverse Childhood Experiences

abstract: It is well established in the literature that there is an association among adults between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and arterial stiffness, and between arterial stiffness and cardiovascular disease. However, recent cross-sectional evidence suggests that ACEs may play an important role in the development and progression of arterial stiffness, but it remains unclear when these changes begin to manifest. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to examine the relationship between ACEs and arterial stiffness from childhood into adulthood using population-based longitudinal data. A total of 76 young adults (females = 44), with an average age of 21 years (SD = 1) were included in this study. Overall, a total of 71 respondents reported to have experienced at least one ACE. The findings of this study showed ACEs-exposed individuals have a greater increase in arterial stiffness over time from childhood into young adulthood. This increase was similar for both males and females. Also, differences in heart rate, systolic blood pressure, body mass index, and physical activity did not mediate the relationship between ACEs and arterial stiffness over time. It is therefore important to recognize individuals with exposure to ACEs early on in life in an effort to lower the risk of arterial stiffness and in turn the cascade of events leading to cardiovascular disease.