2013/2014 collection

Permanent URI for this collection

https://hdl.handle.net/10315/31601

ETDs in this collection are being checked for completeness and are in the process of being transferred to their respective collections under the FGS ETD collection umbrella.

Browse

Now showing 1 - 20 of 155

Open Access
21st century pedagogy: a classroom perspective on critical thinking
Descours, Katherine Maria; Wiseheart, Melody; Griffith, Alison; Edge, Karen
The current study aims to gain a classroom perspective on one of the core 21st century skills: critical thinking. Teachers from London, England and Toronto, Ontario (N=24) were surveyed and interviewed (N=10) and asked about their conceptualizations of critical thinking and their classroom practices. Teachers surveyed believe that critical thinking is a skill, that it can be taught, and that it should be infused throughout the curriculum. Furthermore, they require more time, resources, and training to encourage these skills effectively. The interviews revealed that although teachers have varied definitions, they share common practices to encourage critical thinking such as group work and class discussion, the use of open-ended questions, and the encouragement of questioning and multiple perspectives from students. Given teachers' concerns about testing and curriculum restraints, it is recommended that a greater focus be put on training teaching strategies, rather than on assessment or curriculum content.
Open Access
A community-based study of the effectiveness of trauma-focused cognitive behavioural therapy with school-aged children in Toronto, Canada
Konanur, Sheila; Muller, Robert
Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) is a widely used treatment model for trauma-exposed children and adolescents (Cohen, Mannarino, & Deblinger, 2006). In this study, a randomized, waitlist-control design was used to evaluate the effectiveness of TF-CBT with a community sample of trauma-exposed school-aged children (Muller & Di Paolo, 2008). A total of 113 children referred for clinical services and their caregivers completed the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children (Briere, 1996) and the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Young Children (Briere, 2005). Data were collected pre-waitlist, pre-assessment, pre-therapy, post-therapy, and six months following the end of therapy. Significant reductions in children's posttraumatic symptomatology from pre- to post-therapy support the effectiveness of TF-CBT in a diverse, Canadian metropolis. Clinical implications are discussed.
Open Access
A feasibility study of a home-based exercise intervention for prostate cancer patients on androgen deprivation therapy
Santa Mina, Daniel; Ritvo, Paul G.
Purpose: Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) is an effective treatment for advanced-stage prostate cancer. Unfortunately, ADT has several adverse effects that significantly impair health-related quality of life (HRQOL). In patients receiving ADT, resistance training has been shown to improve important physical and psychosocial outcomes. However, little is known about the effects of aerobic exercise in this population. This feasibility study compares the effects of aerobic and resistance exercise interventions on a panel of psychological, physical fitness, and biological outcomes related to prostate cancer and ADT. Methods: 66 men receiving ADT for prostate cancer were recruited for this prospective, randomized trial. Participants are assigned to either a resistance or aerobic, moderate-intensity exercise 3-5 times per week for 30-60 minutes/session. Participants were provided with equipment so that they could exercise at home. The primary outcomes were related to feasibility for future, large-scale trials. Secondary outcomes included: fatigue, HRQOL, physical fitness, adipokines, insulin-like growth factor axis proteins, and exercise adherence. Outcomes were assessed at baseline and at 3, 6, and 12 months. Results: Preliminary findings are presented. 205 patients were approached for participation, 66 of which agreed to participate (n=34 in the resistance training group and 32 in the aerobic training group). Over the intervention period we experienced an attrition rate of 33%. There were no adverse events and biweekly booster sessions were poorly attended (n=27 aerobic training participants and n=22 resistance training participants did not attend any booster sessions). Intention-to-treat analyses showed that fatigue and HRQOL were not significantly different between groups; however, in a per-protocol analysis the resistance-training group demonstrated clinically significant improvements in HRQOL. Differential within-groups effects on physical fitness and biomarkers were also observed at various time-points. At all time-points, the aerobic training group engaged in significantly more physical activity than the resistance training group. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that both resistance and aerobic training can have positive effects on body composition with differential effects on psychosocial and biological outcomes. It appears that the aerobic exercise intervention was more effective at producing long-term, clinically significant increases in physical activity volume than resistance training. Our study has set the framework to conduct future clinical trials investigating the effects of exercise in men treated for prostate cancer.
Open Access
A Gulf Stream dream: a merging of steel pan orchestra and chamber orchestra
Rouse, André J.; Coghlan, Michael
The steel pan and its associated music were first intended to serve carnival and its revelers who would be parading around the streets of Trinidad & Tobago during carnival time. The tradition has progressed from a single instrument - a pan with two notes - into a steel pan orchestra that includes instrumental voices ranging from soprano to bass. The timbre of the instrument is directly affected when deciding how big or small of a note is desired. This will in turn effect the sound of music when mixing the steel pan with other instruments, whether it be another steel pan or an instrument from the brass or woodwind family. My intention is to begin to expand and modify the performance context and the acoustic and cultural spaces in which this instrumental ensemble has been located and contained.
Open Access
A Redefined Role for Tuba in Jazz
Burr, Nelson Jay; Coghlan, Michael
In accordance with the York University MA composition thesis guidelines, I propose to create a body of work consisting of several original jazz compositions. This project will utilize myself as composer with the tuba at the heart of the compositions, often as the featured musical voice. The writing will demonstrate the tuba from not only a bass position, but also as a soloist. The focus of my thesis is to position the tuba as a core element within the jazz model, demonstrated in compositional writing and performance. The compositions will be exhibited through an audio recording, music scores, and via literary and oral dissertation to further acquaint the jury and public with my writing, and in specific what I provide as an individualistic, improvisational tuba player. These compositions are being created to not only demonstrate my strengths and sensibilities as a composer, but will also better illuminate my approach to tuba, demonstrating it as a valid and definitive voice for jazz. My composition portfolio will include pieces for jazz duo, trio, quartet and quintet with varied instrumentation. These compositions reside within the traditional jazz approach and standard 'song' forms, but will employ various compositional techniques accrued either through my studies at York or beyond. There will be improvisation and experimentation, but most compositions will not be overly expansive with improvisation. The goal of these compositions and my thesis is to posit the tuba as a legitimate voice as a bass instrument in jazz. This instrument has been marginalized since its earliest role in the cannon of jazz writing and arranging. The tuba, bass saxophone and similar bass instruments quickly faded into obscurity once acoustic bass became the de facto rhythm section standard on stage and in the studio. I aim to shed light on a forgotten forefather of jazz, and bring it back to the forefront of this musical genre through my own compositions and arrangements.
Open Access
A score complete without themes: Henry Mancini and the frenzy experience
Wheeler-Condon, Patricia Clare; Coghlan, Michael
This dissertation examines the musical features of, and circumstances surrounding, the film score composed in 1971 by Henry Mancini for director Alfred Hitchcock's penultimate work, Frenzy. Mancini's music was rejected by Hitchcock, and replaced with a markedly different work written by British composer Ron Goodwin. A summation of characteristic traits emerging from Mancini's compositional style is herewith considered, as recurring features found in his thematic writing - aspects of melody, harmony, rhythm, timbre, and form - were most apparent to the non-musician film directors who engaged his services. This summation also includes an examination of the composer's dramatic underscore writing; an aspect of film music often overlooked in its minutiae by viewers and filmmakers alike, and, in the case of Mancini's Frenzy music, characteristic of his scores for Laslo Benedek's 1971 production, The Night Visitor, and Terrence Young's Wait Until Dark, from 1967. Mancini's Frenzy cue sheets, holograph, and recording were supplied by the composer's estate, allowing for an analysis which considers cue placement and length, systems of pitch and rhythmic organisation, aspects of arrangement and orchestration, and conducting and recording methods as practised by this composer. A comparison to the Goodwin score, reproduced by way of transcription from the film, is undertaken in order to explore aspects of filmic point-of-view as they play on the composer of its accompanying music, and to attempt a rationalisation of Hitchcock's displeasure with Mancini's music. Socio-cultural considerations pertaining to Mancini, Goodwin, and the three composer's most favoured by the director for his American productions - John Waxman, Dmitri Tiomkin and Bernard Herrmann - are included in a brief biographical study of each man, as are the musicological characteristics found in the work they undertook for Hitchcock; characteristics primarily of melodicism, and the subjection of melody-based thematic material to extensive modification and repetition. This work suggests that Mancini's admitted refusal, both in his 1987 autobiography Did They Mention the Music? and in subsequent interviews, to construct melodic themes as a unifying element within his score, opting instead to craft timbral unifiers through orchestration, was at the heart of his artistic conflict with Hitchcock.
Open Access
A study of biomolecular interactions using three biological complexes to explore structure, dynamics and method development
Boodram, Sherry Nicole; Johnson, Philip E.; Donaldson, Logan
The protein, RDE-4 in C. elegans, served as a model for studying how double stranded RNA binding proteins that bind to dsRNA molecules are critical for RNAi cellular processes. NMR spectroscopy confirms that the RDE-4 construct has characteristic protein domains that bind to. dsRNA and that RNA binding causes a significant global change of the protein structure. SAXS analysis indicates that the two binding domains in the RDE-4 protein do not interact with one another, but instead forms a continuous interface onto which long target dsRNA can bind. Gel shift assay experiments reveal that multiple RDE-4 molecules bind to a non-sequence specific RNA substrate with positive cooperativity. RNA binding occurs with micromolar affinity and a second binding event occurs with millimolar affinity. The binding of E. coli dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) to inhibitors methotrexate (MTX) and 1,4-Bis-{[ N-(1-imino-1-guanidino-methyl)]sulfanylmethyl}-3,6-dimethyl-benzene (inhibitor 1) has been studied to investigate the dynamics involved in the catalytic mechanism of DHFR. NMR relaxation methods show that in the presence of inhibitor 1, the catalytic domain of DHFR binds 1 in the substrate-binding pocket and an occluded conformation is assumed. In both the DHFR:NADPH and DHFR:NADPH:1 complexes, motion is exhibited on the microsecond-millisecond timescale. The heat capacity change of DHFR upon binding to 1 and MTX are 43 ± 10 cal/mol-K and -120 ± 109 cal/mol-K respectively. Differences in ΔCp of DHFR binding to inhibitor 1 compared to that of MTX indicate that the mode of binding to 1 is different from what is observed in the crystal structure of the complex. An affinity electrophoresis method to screen for RNA-small molecule ligand interactions has been developed. This method is made quantifiable by cross-linking the ligand into the gel matrix and gauging binding by RNA mobility. The utility of this method is demonstrated using the known interaction between different aminoglycoside ligands with the E. coli ribosomal A-site RNA and with an RNA molecule containing a C-C mismatch. Average apparent dissociation constants are determined. This method allows an easy quantitative comparison between different nucleic acid molecules for a small molecule ligand.
Open Access
A study of oral language use in a grade three classroom: implications of a systematic approach
Simpson Schwartz, Lisa; Bell, Jill
Oral communication is a vital component of the learning process. Research demonstrates that children benefit from engaging in oral interactions with their peers and, through such interactions, can co-construct knowledge and develop deeper understandings of issues being explored. Currently, however, it can be argued that talk is undervalued in our educational system and little effort is made to focus teaching in this area. The research outlined in this thesis explores the impact of a focus on oral communication skills in a grade 3 classroom. Making use of ongoing assessment and explicit instruction, a systematic approach to instruction was implemented, over a five month period, with tracking of both feasibility and effects. The intention was also to create a community of learners in the classroom, through students' increased use of collaborative, exploratory, and accountable talk. Interventions attempted to address both social and cognitive aspects of classroom talk. The results of the study demonstrate that the impact of the interventions was complex and appeared to be affected by the initial socio-cognitive profiles of the individual children involved. Discussion is provided of the implications of these results for various stakeholders.
Open Access
A suite for solo piano inspired by the Heroic Journey
Feige, Christopher Erich; Coghlan, Michael; Henderson, Alan E.
This thesis is an exploration of the role an audience might assume in a musical performance, and is a test of the hypothesis that listeners' engagement with a composition can be increased by giving them a role in the creation of a programmatic narrative frame for the music. A Story Untold is a piano suite in seven movements designed around stages of the Heroic Journey as described by Joseph Campbell in his book The Hero With a Thousand Faces. Seven stages from his list of seventeen were used as inspiration for musical compositions, and together these movements musically portray the story of a heroic journey. The story is unwritten, but each movement's title describes a key event in the hero's quest and together they outline a framework onto which listeners, by consciously or unconsciously filling in the details, can create their own story inspired by the music. The written component of this thesis contains reflections on Campbell's work as well as analyses of the individual movements.
Open Access
A systems approach to health, well-being and the environment: air pollution and Shanghai's elderly
Weedmark-Kish, Kaitlin Marie; Bunch, Martin; Ali, Harris; Ma, Jeremy
Using Soft Systems Methodologies (SSM) to transcend cultural boundaries in an open format, this paper examines the changes experienced by Shanghai's elderly in the context of health, well-being and the environment. Shanghai has undergone rapid urban transformation in the past three decades resulting in significant increases in cases of respiratory illness relating to environmental air pollution. Complex and non-linear issues have provoked a re-evaluation of traditional approaches to understanding real world problem situations. Systems thinking provides an epistemological foundation for methodologies that are holistic. A particular branch of systems thinking, SSM, highly values participant knowledge and provides techniques for examining this knowledge. However, the findings in this paper indicate that the participants believe health is not decreasing. Instead, a strong social hierarchy emerged demonstrating that the government heavily influences participant's opinions of the environment and their health. Additionally, overall increases in well-being are deemed as suitable tradeoffs for environmental degradation.
Open Access
A topological theory of (T,V)-categories
Sozubek, Serdar; Tholen, Walter
Lawvere's notion of completeness for quantale-enriched categories has been extended to the theory of lax algebras under the name of L-completeness. In this work we introduce the corresponding morphism concept and examine its properties. We explore some important relativized topological concepts like separation, density, compactness and compactification with respect to L-complete morphisms. We show that separated L-complete morphisms belong to a factorization system. Moreover, we investigate relativized topological concepts with respect to maps that preserve L-closure which is the natural symmetrized closure for lax algebras. We provide concrete characterizations of Zariski closure and Zariski compactness for approach spaces.
Open Access
A/r/tography: a living inquiry into resilience
Robinson, Barbara; Mitchell, Gail J.; Jonas-Simpson, Christine
This qualitative action research used a/r/tography, an arts-based process that involves the creation of art and text in a living inquiry to explore how nurses understand and describe the concept of resilience. Meanings and understandings about resilience emerged from the community of inquiry with participants who encompassed the roles of artists/researchers/teachers. The renderings (contiguity, a living inquiry, metaphors and metonymies, openings, reverberations, and excess) are concepts of the research method with related questions that guided the group to explore resilience. Discussions included stories and images of resilience that generated recurrent themes. Analysis identified the themes of resilience for research participants: connecting an,d reconnecting,· living the questions,· and seeing with new eyes. Implications of the new understandings ofresilience for education, practice, and additional ·research are also considered.
Open Access
Accumulation by dispossession and the transformation of property relations in Egypt: housing policy under neoliberalism
Joya, Angela; Albo, Greg; Panitch, Leo; Alnasseri, Sabah
This dissertation examines the ways in which workers and peasants access to housing has been shaped under different political regimes over the past two centuries (1805-2011). Up until 1952, Egypt did not have an official housing. policy leaving housing needs to be met locally. The rapid rise in population by mid twentieth century and the rural-urban migration during World War II and after resulted in a rising demand for affordable housing. Under Nasser's regime, workers and peasants experienced the first national housing policy and progressive pro-tenant laws. Under Anwar Sadat's regime, as the private sector's role in housing production increased, access to affordable housing in urban centres became limited leading to the expansion of informal housing, a phenomenon that continued to become a permanent feature of Egypt's urban spaces. In the post 1990s, after the liberalization of the Egyptian economy, the state began dismantling rent control laws and promoting a private sector-led rental housing market supported by private mortgages. The liberalization of land and housing markets through the adoption of Law 96/1992 and Law 4/1996 dismantled tenancy rights and shifted the balance of power in favour of landlords and property developers. These developments expanded the crisis of housing to rural areas as over a million peasants and farmers were forcefully evicted from their houses. Evidence presented here suggests that neoliberal policies in land and housing facilitated capital accumulation through policies of dispossession. The privatization of state enterprises and the agricultural sector resulted in the transfer of land and resources to the private sector. Over the course of two decades of neoliberal policies, property developers and agribusiness experienced a boom as the Egyptian economy became closely integrated with the global economy. Workers and peasants, however, had a fundamentally different experience as unemployment levels continued to rise and an increasing numbers of Egyptians fell into poverty. The crisis of housing that intensified in the 1990s and after reflected a deeper restructuring of power relations and resource redistribution away from workers and peasants and to landlords and developers. The strategy of accumulation by dispossession, however, undermined the fragile legitimacy that the Mubarak regime had experienced leading to the end of his regime in 2011.
Open Access
Advances in connectivity-based positioning for mobile wireless sensor networks
MacLean, Stuart Keith; Datta, Suprakash
A sensor network is a new area of application for computing devices which is developing as a consequence of the progression of the computing revolution. A network is composed of small, resource limited, devices that can take local measurements of phenomena such as temperature, pressure, and humidity. The devices communicate wirelessly. The positions of sensor devices provide a spatial context for measured phenomena however the positions are not typically known after deployment. Therefore the estimation of each device's position is important. Device mobility makes position estimation especially challenging. In connectivity-based position estimation, the presence, or absence, of direct communication between devices constraints the possible positions of a device. This dissertation investigates connectivity-based position estimation for systems of mobile devices. The product of this dissertation is a lower bound on the positional error, a new positioning algorithm, and the successful execution of the algorithm on deployments of sensor devices. The analysis of the positional error of a positioning algorithm for mobile devices is a challenging problem. A lower bound on the expected positional error incurred by any connectivity-based positioning algorithm is derived in this work. An analysis of the impact of past constraints on the lower bound reveals that the benefit of additional constraints from the past diminishes as the constraints age. A distributed positioning algorithm called Orbit is proposed for stationary and mobile sensor networks. Orbit identifies network structures that are used to impose new constraints on device positions, which reduces positional error. The set of possible positions of a device may form isolated regions which is problematic. Orbit removes some of these isolated regions, which reduces positional error. The performance of Orbit and another recent algorithm are evaluated under different communication and mobility models. A performance analysis demonstrates that Orbit outperforms the other under a variety of parameters. To verify the Orbit algorithm is amenable to sensor networks it is implemented on resource limited hardware. The result is an autonomous sensor network that is tested in several deployments. The position estimates from the sensor network are comparable to those from the simulation of Orbit.
Open Access
Age differences in the experience of cancer pain
Gauthier, Lynn Rollande; Gagliese, Lucia; Macpherson, Alison; Pillai Riddell, Rebecca
The aim of this dissertation is to elucidate age-related patterns in the multidimensional experience of cancer pain. Chapter 1 presents a literature review of age-related patterns in cancer pain, outlines the methodological limitations of existing literature and highlights gaps in our knowledge. Chapter 2 presents the first psychometric analysis of the Short-Form McGill Pain Questionnaire-2 in older and younger people with cancer pain. The weight of the evidence suggests that this tool is valid for use in older and younger people with cancer pain. Chapter 3 presents an analysis of age-related patterns in the experience of cancer pain across the biopsychosocial spectrum. Pain intensity, qualities, and interference did not differ across age groups but older patients were somewhat less likely to be prescribed an opioid. Comorbidity was associated with greater pain for younger, but not older people, and chronic nonmalignant pain was associated with greater pain for older, but not younger people. An age-related pattern in the supportive context of cancer pain based on health status factors may also be present. There were no age differences in depressive symptoms, but intrusive thoughts were associated with greater pain for younger but not older patients, suggesting a unique adaptive advantage of prior experience with health limitations among older, but not younger patients. Chapter 4 presents a preliminary investigation of the role of pain three months after breast cancer surgery in the relationship between age and depressive symptoms. In women with moderate-to-severe pain, age was not associated with depressive symptoms but in women with mild or no pain, younger age was associated with greater depressive symptoms. However, in women with neuropathic pain, younger age was associated with greater depressive symptoms, but not in women without neuropathic pain. The impact of pain was not age-related. High preoperative pain expectations may be a risk factor for pain three months after breast cancer surgery, regardless of age. In Chapter 5, results are integrated and discussed along with implications for future research and treatment.
Open Access
An ethnographic study of adult Ukrainian immigrants' English language learning experiences: examining the Relation between English language proficiency and Economic success in Canada
Bojagora, Maria; Krasny, Karen; Khayatt, Didi; Lotherington, Heather
This thesis examines the ways in which the informal and formal English language learning experiences impact the economic performance and integration into Canadian society of post former Soviet Union (FSU) Ukrainian immigrants. This ethnographic study explores and compares the language learning experiences of six adult Ukrainian immigrants in the large urban centre, Toronto, Ontario and the smaller urban cities of Saskatoon and Yorkton, Saskatchewan. Michael Halliday's (1976) and Roman Jakobson's (1990) systemic and structural functional theories of linguistics frame this study and offer the idea that language is used with specific purpose. Through a questionnaire and in-depth interviews, results show that host-country language proficiency is deemed important and essential, although not the sole indicator of economic success or self-sufficiency. Factors such as family support and ethnic networks also have positive effects on the economic outcomes of recent immigrants from Ukraine.
Open Access
An examination of the development of rapid onset diabetes induced by elevated exogenous glucocorticoids and a high-fat diet in young Sprague-Dawley rats
Beaudry, Jacqueline L.; Riddell, Michael
Acute increases in glucocorticoids (GCs) during a perceived stressful event are functionally important for many biological processes that include energy homeostasis. Perpetual hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HP.A) axis activity continually elevates GC secretion and may induce many metabolic complications, such as peripheral insulin resistance, ectopic fat accumulation, hyperglycemia, and dyslipidemia that can increase risks of developing type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The progression into T2DM remains complex and many controversies hav1e yet to be resolved. In particular, the effect of GCs on pancreatic islet function remains relatively understudied. Therefore, we set out to develop a novel rodent model ofT2DM in young male Sprague-Dawley rats. First, we demonstrated that 2 weeks of elevated GCs and HFD induced rapid-onset diabetes (ROD), which included the following symptoms: body weight loss, hepatic steatosis, increased glucose intolerance, insulin resistance, and ectopic fat accumulation. Next, we further examined the effects of ROD on pancreatic islet function and found that ROD animals had increased β-and α-cell mass, but impaired β-cell glucose responsiveness, resulting in hyperglycemia. Regular exercise restores alterations in HPA activity and helps to protect against GC-induced hyperglycemia. This led us to investigate if regular exercise in our ROD model would help to protect against T2DM development. We found that volitional exercise was sufficient to attenuate symptoms of ROD, however not all symptoms were successfully restored, i.e. normalized glucose control and peripheral insulin resistance. We next investigated if pharmacologic agents would be able to fully reverse ROD. We demonstrated that non-selective GC receptor (GRII) antagonist fully normalized our ROD phenotype, whereas selective GRII antagonists only partially attenuated some of the ROD symptoms. Collectively, these studies take an integrative approach to T2DM development induced by GCs and HFD. We developed a model that mimics symptoms ofT2DM and concluded that GCs and HFD synergistically, not independently act to induce severe insulin resistance that burdens islet adaptive capacity. Regular exercise and pharmacological interventions were sufficient to attenuate ROD development and these therapies may be useful techniques to individuals suffering from HPA axis hyperactivity and dyslipidemia.
Open Access
Analysis and design of a wide dynamic range pulse-frequency modulation CMOS image sensor
Tsai, Tsung-Hsun; Hornsey, Richard
Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor is the dominant electronic imaging device in many application fields, including the mobile or portable devices, teleconference cameras, surveillance and medical imaging sensors. Wide dynamic range (WDR) imaging is of interest particular, demonstrating a large-contrast imaging range of the sensor. As of today, different approaches have been presented to provide solutions for this purpose, but there exists various trade-offs among these designs, which limit the number of applications. A pulse-frequency modulation (PFM) pixel offers the possibility to outperform existing designs in WDR imaging applications, however issues such as uniformity and cost have to be carefully handled to make it practical for different purposes. In addition, a complete evaluation of the sensor performance has to be executed prior to fabrication in silicon technology. A thorough investigation of WDR image sensor based on the PFM pixel is performed in this thesis. Starting with the analysis, modeling, and measurements of a PFM pixel, the details of every particular circuit operation are presented. The causes of dynamic range (DR) limitations and signal nonlinearity are identified, and noise measurement is also performed, to guide future design strategies. We present the design of an innovative double-delta compensating (DDC) technique which increases the sensor uniformity as well as DR. This technique achieves performance optimization of the PFM pixel with a minimal cost an improved linearity, and is carefully simulated to demonstrate its feasibility. A quad-sampling technique is also presented with the cooperation of pixel and column circuits to generate a WDR image sensor with a reduced cost for the pixel. This method, which is verified through the field-programmable gate array (FPGA) implementation, saves considerable area in the pixel and employs the maximal DR that a PFM pixel provides. A complete WDR image sensor structure is proposed to evaluate the performance and feasibility of fabrication in silicon technology. The plans of future work and possible improvements are also presented.
Open Access
Analysis of the uncharacterized La-related protein, Slr1p from Schizosaccharomyces pombe
Siniavskaia, Lidia; Bayfield, Mark; Sheng, Yi; Cheung, Peter; Audette, Gerald F.
La is a ubiquitous RNA-binding phosphoprotein found in nearly all eukaryotes. La binds to nascent polymerase III transcripts via their UUU-3'OH motif and protects these RNAs from 3'exonucleolytic digestion. La also exhibits RNA chaperone activity, is involved in intracellular trafficking, and stimulates the translation of certain subsets of mRNA via unknown mechanisms. Structurally, all La proteins harbour an N-terminal La module consisting of a La motif (LAM) and an RNA recognition motif. The LAM displays a high degree of conservation, not only among genuine La proteins but also in La-related proteins (LARPs) of which 4 families have been identified: LARP 1, 4, 6 and 7. Although they fulfill important cellular functions, LARPs are generally poorly understood. In an effort to characterize LARPs in greater detail, a simple LARP from Schizosaccharomyces pombe, Slrlp, was chosen as an ideal candidate to study. From an evolutionary perspective, we propose that Slr1p constitutes an ancestor to LARPs in higher eukaryotes, and therefore, characterization of its function may provide insight into the divergent roles of its extended relatives. We performed RNA chaperone assays, electromobility shift assays, localization studies via indirect immunofluorescence, as well as co-immunoprecipitation and mass spectrometry to determine Slr1p associated factors. Taken together, our results suggest that Slr1p is an RNA chaperone, it associates with fatty acid synthase as well as translation initiation factors in the cytoplasm, and that it binds to RNAs in a UUU-3'OH independent manner.
Open Access
Archetypes in white commercial gospel musics: constructing Christian Nationalist identity
Kieswetter, Vivia Kay; Robinson, Danielle; Wrazen, Louise; Bowman, Rob
"Alan Lomax famously posited: ""the chief function of song is to express the shared feelings and mold the joint activities of some human community. It is to be expected, therefore, that the content of the sung communication should be social rather than individual, normative rather than particular"" (Lomax 1968: 3). The songs to be explored in this dissertation come under the large umbrella of what I am calling ""White Commercial Gospel Music(s),"" a term which, by my definition, encompasses Bluegrass Gospel, Gospel-tinged Country Music, Southern Gospel Quartet Singing, a large portion of Contemporary Christian Music, and a portion of the ""Hillbilly"" music of the early and middle twentieth century. It is the vernacular and popular sacred music that in large part originates from, and in its early history was consumed in, what has been called by sociologists the ""Vernacular South,"" (Harvard Dialect Survey 2003, Cukor-Avila 2001) the region of the United States South from Kentucky and West Virginia, and West to Louisiana. As a group of genres, WCGMs are harmonically accessible, have repetitive natures that invite singing along, and for the most part adhere to Harlan Howard's famous description of what a country song should contain: ""three chords and the truth."" This dissertation presents findings from an extensive repertoire survey of WCGMs, fieldwork trips to the Vernacular South (particularly to the 2011 and 2012 National Quartet Conventions), and discourse analysis of the repertoire surveyed. It seeks to draw connections between archetypes contained within WCGM lyrics and music and identities within the highly politicized section of modem Christian Southern Evangelicalism called ""Christian Nationalism"" (Goldberg 2006). Through the theoretical lenses of Carl Jung (1902, 1912, 1934), Judith Butler (1990 1996), and Marvin Carlson (2003), the dissertation draws connections between the performative elements of this music and modem Christian Nationalist identity."