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Using Multiple Exemplar Training to Increase Fitness to Stand Trial
Get PDFFitness to stand trial refers to an individual’s capacity to comprehend judicial proceedings related to a crime they have committed. There currently exists no legally codified or empirically validated procedures for training fitness in forensic inpatients with mental health diagnoses, developmental diagnoses, or dual diagnoses. The purpose of this study was to develop a teaching procedure based on multiple exemplar training (MET) that provides a procedural foundation for training fitness. Broadly, this study sought to yield the first objective teaching procedure and measurement system for improving fitness based on the principles of behaviour analysis. Specifically, MET was used to develop a variety of stimulus (questions) and response topographies, which were presented to participants and designed to increase acquisition of targets related to fitness. Results from one completed participant and three partial datasets provide preliminary to support MET as a procedure for increasing fitness, as indicated by an increase in correct responding across to all questions related to an individual’s fitness to stand trial. This study has implications for both judicial system and hospital settings, as the empirical validation of a standardized approach to training fitness could serve to streamline service delivery and mitigate the common barriers experienced by individual with dual diagnoses during legal proceedings
Fixed Point Methods in Convex Minimization for Large Data
Get PDFSo-called first order methods are widely used in machine learning methods
involving big data because of their conceptual and algorithmic simplicity. The
central problem in this paper is the optimization problem
x0 ∈ arg min_{x∈C} f (x)
on a suitable convex and closed domain C ⊆ R^n stemming from a machine
learning problem based on training data X := {d^(i), y^(i)}^{N}_{i=1} whereby the
objective function is a regularized mean square error. Here, the objective function
belongs to the important class of convex functions of the form,
f (x) = (1/2) x^T Q x + q^T x + c,
where q ∈ R^n and Q is a positive semi-definite (n×n)-matrix. The minimization
problem above is seen as an equivalent system of nonlinear equations. Indeed,
the problem min_{x∈C} f (x), is equivalent to a fixed-point problem T (x) = x for a
projection operator T : C → C,
T (x) := P_C (I − α∇f )(x),
a contraction operator for which the Banach Contraction Principle applies
(P_C :R^n → C being the orthogonal projection operator). In the concrete, it appears
that x = T (x) if and only if ∇f (x) = 0. The fixed point iteration scheme in the
Banach Contraction Principle amounts, due to the form of the contraction T , to
the widely used gradient descent algorithm for the minimization problem
Niagara Grape and Wine Industry Collection, 1929-2005, n.d.
Get PDFThe collection consists mostly of promotional material related to the Niagara Grape and Wine industry, including wineries and other industry groups such as the Canadian Wine Institute, Brock University’s Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute (CCOVI), LCBO, Ontario Grape Growers’ Marketing Board, Vintners Quality Alliance (VQA), and Wine Council of Ontario. There are also programs and promotional material for the Niagara Grape and Wine Festival
Relationships Between Key Performance Indicators Across Four Swimming Strokes and by Distances in Competitive Swimmers
Get PDFKey performance indicators (KPIs) are skill-based metrics, used by coaches and athletes to adjust technique and develop race strategies. The purpose of the study was to investigate the effect of key performance indicators (KPIs), such as stroke rate (SR;#/s), stroke count (SC;#), stroke length (SL;m) and kick frequency (KF;#/s) on total swim time (s), across four swimming strokes (butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, freestyle) of the same swim distance, and within a swimming stroke between swim distances (50m and 100 m). Varsity-caliber competitive swimmers (n=12 males; 19yrs1.4) were recruited. Anthropometric measures including height (m), seated height (m), weight (kg), wingspan (m), hand length (m) and leg length (m) were recorded. Shoulder and ankle range of motion (ROM) measurements and a Y-balance test (YBT) were conducted to profile upper and lower limb mobility. Athletes completed four swim sessions; each session consisted of a standardized warm up, 50m kick, 50m pull, 50m swim and 100m swim distances per swimming stroke. Swimming KPIs and total swim time (s) were collected by a portable Triton 2 device (TritonWear, ON, Canada). A GoPro Hero 8 device (GoPro, California, USA) collected underwater video to facilitate calculating KF (#/s). Descriptives were calculated for all variables across all four swimming strokes and two swim distances. Pearson product-moment correlations revealed significant relationships between select anthropometrics and ROM and performance times (p<0.005), suggesting that both anthropometric and ROM measures have the potential to influence swim performance times. A series of repeated-measure ANOVAs with Greenhouse-Geisser corrections revealed significant differences in select KPIs [SR (#/s), SC (#), SL (m) and KF (#/s)] across the four swimming strokes and between 50m and 100m swim distances within a swimming stroke (p<0.05), suggesting that both swimming strokes and swim distances may utilize different KPI related strategies. A multiple regression analyses was conducted to identify the contribution of pull time (s) versus kick time (s) to total swim time (s) within 50m swim distance and each swimming stroke. Percent contributions were calculated and revealed differences by each stroke.
Data-driven metrics obtained during swim performances facilitated a better understanding of the relationships between KPIs, anthropometrics, ROM, and YBT measures. Furthermore, metrics provided support to adjust select KPIs relative to an athlete’s anthropometrics. These sport specific skill-based metrics can empower coaches and athletes to use KPIs to optimize athlete potential and target performance goals
Inner Spirit/Fire and Indigenous Student/Researcher Identity: Differing Spaces from an Ojibway Perspective
Get PDFThis research explored my personal journey as an Indigenous student traversing a doctoral program in a Canadian university. Contrary to ample literature on Indigenous students portrayed from a deficit standpoint, my research offers an alternative narrative by expounding on areas that kept my Inner/Spirit Fire burning and contributed to my success. In the spirit of reconciling educative spaces, I employed Etuaptmumk/Two-Eyed Seeing (E/TES) as a theoretical framework to bridge and equate Indigenous knowledge with western knowledge in the academy. Honouring oral traditions of the Anishinaabeg, I use Indigenous autoethnography (IA) coupled with arts-based research to tell my story. Gathering data, I engaged in ceremony and used creative images/artwork to convey my truths through lived experiences and realities. I thus employed reflexive thematic analysis (RTA) as it specifically draws from a researcher’s cultural background and personal experience to interpret the data, enabling me to present authentic Ojibway-Anishinaabe perceptions. This research offers insightful threads that cross time and space, acknowledge the power of relationships and story, and recognize other-than human “beings” and realms as part of our Earth Walk. Further, themes indicate educative institutions can become sites of reclamation for Indigenous persons and students in a Eurocentric academic environment. Thus, I situate myself within an Indigenous concept of Seven Forward Seven Back to honour my ancestors and welcome emerging and future Indigenous scholars to support cultural survivance
Sumner family fonds, 1849-1850, n.d.
Get PDFCyrus Sumner (1808-1850) was the son of Dr. Cyrus Sumner (1772-1834) and Mary Bell. Dr. Cyrus Sumner began a medical practice in Grimsby Township in 1806 and built a home on King Street in Beamsville. During the War of 1812 he accompanied Isaac Brock to Detroit as a surgeon and continued to serve in that capacity until the end of the war. Cyrus Sumner and Mary Bell had 10 children, including Cyrus Sumner Jr. In 1849, Cyrus Jr. traveled to California in 1849 seeking gold. He contracted a fever and died in Sacramento City, California, in November 1850.The fonds consists of a journal of Cyrus Sumner’s trip to California during the gold rush with a transcription of the diary; a silhouette portrait of Mary Bell Sumner; and a photocopy of a manuscript titled A Brave Pioneer by Helen Sumner Manson. Many of the journal entries are written as letters to family
Letter to Mrs. John [Elizabeth] Blagborne from her father and sister, September 12, 1835
Get PDFElizabeth Blagborne was born around 1810 in Liverpool, England. She was married to John Blagborne and had two children, Elizabeth Hawkins and William Blagborne. She died in 1890 in Pelham and is buried in the North Pelham First Presbyterian Church Cemetery.A letter addressed to Mrs. John [Elizabeth] Blagborne, St. Catharines, District of Niagara, Upper Canada, North America, by way of New York. The letter is postmarked New York and Queenston. It is dated 10 New Bridge St., Tradestown, Glasgow, September 12, 1835. The first 2 ½ pages of the letter are written by Elizabeth’s father and the last 2 pages by her sister. Some parts of the letter contain cross-writing. Her father writes that they are in Glasgow and that William is with them to get his medical education completed. He discusses their travels and the friends they have seen, as well as how much they enjoyed the sail to Glasgow, noting that Glasgow is one of the finest cities they have ever seen. He also mentions their housing situation and that the house is in need of repairs and furniture, but they hope to get to that in time. He finishes “I remain, my dear Elizabeth, your aff. Father”.
The rest of the letter is written by Elizabeth’s sister. She writes mostly about the people they have encountered. She notes that the men are very clean but the women are quite the reverse and are exceedingly dirty. She adds that the lower class all go barefooted and they have seen them more than once with beautiful silk dresses and splendid veils without shoes or stockings. Children also go to school with a clean frock and bare feet. Notwithstanding these strange things she thinks they will be very happy and likes Glasgow very much
Upper Canada Gazette, September 9, 1824
Get PDFThe Upper Canada Gazette began publication in 1793 and was the first newspaper in Upper Canada. The first issue was edited by Louis Roy and was published in the town of Niagara.An issue of the Upper Canada Gazette, printed at York, U.C., September 9, 1824, vol. III, no. XXXVII, pp. 293-296. The gazette contains a variety of information including government proclamations, notices of Sheriff’s Sales and government contracts, items for sale, and foreign intelligence providing updates on France, Turkey, Ireland, and New South Wales
Improving Lung Cancer Risk Prediction: Integration of Novel Predictors and Modelling Using Machine Learning Random Forest versus the Validated PLCOm2012 Logistic Regression Model
Get PDFLung cancer (LC) is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths among men, and the second most common cause of cancer death among women, worldwide. Symptoms of LC appear when the disease has progressed to an advanced stage when curative treatments are ineffective, leading to poor prognosis. LC screening using low-dose computed tomography is shown to be effective for early detection of LC to reduce LC mortality. The goal of this study was to develop a superior LC risk prediction model compared to the current established Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial 2012 model (PLCOm2012) for selection of high-risk individuals for LC screening.
Development of the risk models was done using data from the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial control arm (n=43,217) and validated using the PLCO intervention arm (n=42,493). Logistic regression (LR), and random forest (RF) methodology were analyzed using R software. The models were evaluated based on their ability to predict 6-year LC risk and assessed using predictive performance measures including discrimination and calibration.
Results of the current study indicated a superior predictive performance of the PLCOm2012 LR model compared to the risk model developed using RF, with area under the receiving-operating characteristic curve (ROC-AUC) of 0.797 and 0.775 (p<0.001), respectively. The addition of supplemental β-carotene, dietary vitamin A, total isoflavone, and history of chest x-ray also resulted in an increase in ROC-AUC from 0.797 to 0.810 (ΔROC-AUC= 0.013, p<0.001).
This study demonstrated that the application of traditional LR exhibited superior predictive performance in comparison to the advanced machine learning RF technique. Moreover, the incorporation of dietary variables and history of chest x-ray improved the predictive performance of the current standard PLCOm2012 model
The song remains the same? Responses to adversity in childhood
Get PDFChildhood adversity, specifically abuse and neglect has several outcomes. Both insecure attachment styles and personality disorder traits (borderline and psychopathic traits) are known responses. This dissertation examined two main objectives. The first, to replicate findings where the relationship between childhood adversity and borderline and separately psychopathic traits were indirect through insecure attachment style. In Study 1, anxious attachment was hypothesized to mediate the relationship between adversity and borderline traits and avoidant attachment was hypothesized to mediate for psychopathic traits. In Studies 2 and 3, utilizing Bayesian methodology, fearful attachment was added to the model and hypothesized to mediate the relationship for Factor 2 psychopathic traits. The second objective was to expand the model to include other potential mechanisms in the relationship between adversity and borderline/psychopathic traits. Specifically, the role of mindfulness was examined. Across 3 separate studies, insecure attachment and lower mindfulness were examined. Overall, the findings for insecure attachment were replicated which was supported by the previous literature. The role of mindfulness was more complicated; however, more support for mindfulness as a mediator was found versus mindfulness as a moderator. Limitations and implications are discussed