Still, We Thrive: Understanding How Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, And Other Men Who Have Sex With Men (Gbtmsm) Experience Structural Barriers & Facilitators To Wellness, Lucas Gergyek

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Historically and concurrently, structural violence has been a significant force influencing the sexual health and broader health of gay, bisexual, transgender and other men who have sex with men (GBTMSM). Yet to date, the majority of projects exploring the health inequities facing GBTMSM have focused on intrapsychic and behavioural factors as most related to poor health outcomes. As well, these studies are sometimes deficits focused, and fail to evaluate how GBTMSM continue to thrive, and maintain positive health. As a result, the ways in which systems and policies underlie and perpetuate health inequities facing GBTMSM have been somewhat obscured. Connectedly, …

Water Stories: An Exploration Of Human-Water Connectedness In Ontario And The Implications For Water Sustainability, Tracey Ehl

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Abstract

Water is the great connector. Water connects people, health, wellness, culture, spirituality, nature, and the economy. Clean, safe water (potable water) and sanitation were recognized over a decade ago by the United Nations General Assembly (UN) as a basic human right, and more recently the UN has also identified water sustainability and management as one of 17 sustainable development goals for all people in all countries. Water is inextricably connected to humans. Yet, in Ontario, Canada, a place with access to some of the largest freshwater reserves in the world, robust regulatory frameworks, involvement, some investment by all levels …

'Indirect Pathways Into Practice': Philippine Internationally Educated Nurses And Their Entry Into Ontario's Nursing Profession, Lualhati Marcelino

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

While there are several studies that highlight the quantitative and statistical profiles of internationally educated nurses (IENs) from the Philippines who migrate to countries throughout Asia, the Middle East, Europe, the United States and Canada, there is little research that delves deeply into the qualitative review and analysis of their experiences in their own words. This study addresses that gap by applying the transnational feminist concept of “global care chains” in a single case study design that explores the experience of nurses who migrated to Ontario through permanent and temporary immigration streams and were interviewed in 2011 to 2012 to …

From A “Cheli” In Nepal To A “Khadama” In The Arabian Gulf Countries: The Local-Global Entanglements And Gendered Labour Migration Governance, Hari Kc

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This dissertation explores: In what ways does gender operate as a governing code in Nepal’s labour migration governance? This question is answered in three specific ways. First, it explores how the gender codes in the Nepali society conjoin global forces to create structural conditions for women’s transnational labour migration. Second, it examines how the Nepali state – within the regional/global geopolitics – embraces the gendered labour migration policy to produce, reproduce, and perpetuate the gender codes. Third, it explicates the ways in which women migrating for domestic work in the Arabian Gulf countries resist and subvert the gender codes while …

How Did We Learn About Sex? —— Sex Education And Sexual Health In Chinese Youth, Yujuan Liu

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Attitudes toward sexuality among Chinese youth have become more liberal in recent generations, but sex education remains controversial and limited. Due to the lack of awareness of sexual risks, many Chinese youth engage in unprotected sexual activities resulting in unintended pregnancy, abortions, and STIs. Therefore, understanding successful pathways and unique challenges are crucial to develop adequate sex education for youth’s sexual health in China. The current study used semi-structured in-depth interviews and investigated 28 Chinese youths’ experiences of sex education and sexual health. The results mapped out youth’s sex education experiences by age and sources and demonstrated the impacts of …

Exploring The Relationship Between Gender, Race, And Space, And Toronto Community Housing Policy, Anita Rachel Ewan

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This dissertation presents the racial-gendered lived experiences of Black women living in Toronto Community Housing (TCH; subsidized housing). This research found that Black women and their families are disproportionately faced with challenges due to barriers caused by housing policy and procedures that also affect the overall development and wellbeing of their children. It also highlights the ways in which Black women continue to thrive and survive in the face of detrimental and derelict living conditions; accomplished through community development and support initiatives, and fostering strong communities.

This is a qualitative research project that includes an art-based method. Utilizing a feminist …

The Lived Experiences Of People With Disabilities And Their Families: Transitioning To Adulthood And The Role Of Independent Facilitation, Emily Christine Tang

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

ABSTRACT

Objective

Emerging adulthood can be a stressful life stage due to the many life choices available and is especially challenging for emerging adults with disabilities (EADs) who face additional barriers in accessing supports and information regarding adult opportunities. This qualitative study investigated the experiences of transitioning to adulthood, and the role of a person-directed facilitation service, for EADs and their families.

Methods

Fourteen participants were recruited through purposeful and convenience sampling. Data collection procedures consisted of background questionnaires and one-on-one semi-structured interviews which were then thematically analyzed. Field notes, member checks and triangulation were used throughout the analysis process …

Associations Between Sexual Risk Behaviours, And Certain Beliefs And Perceptions About Antiretroviral Therapy In Botswana, Wayne Gill

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This study explored the association between sexually risky behaviour among individuals and their beliefs and perceptions regarding antiretroviral therapy or ART. Specifically, the paper examined the treatment optimism aspect of ART- that HIV is a less serious threat due to the availability of ART. In order to test this notion, the paper compared the behavior of those people who were HIV positive with those who were HIV negative. A second population subset also included in the comparative analyses were those aware of their HIV status and those unaware. To underline the prevalence of treatment optimism, the study also considered the …

Beneficial Mourning By Inmates Who Have Lost A Significant Person, James Bradley Shoemaker

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Incarceration is already replete with loss before someone of significance to an inmate dies. The prison environment challenges every aspect of grieving, and failing to effectively mourn pathologizes grief, reduces quality of living, and results in behaviours that cause recidivism. It is a poignant interaction between this researcher in his role as a chaplain and a particular inmate that provides the impetus for this study. This study begins with a qualitative meta-synthesis that examined 10 qualitative articles and dissertations published over the last 30 years to explore how some inmates manage to effectively grieve the loss of a significant person. …

The Role Of Indicators In Promoting Gender Equality Through The Millennium And Sustainable Development Goals, Sara Rose Taylor

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

With the global rise of evidence-based policy, indicators have become an increasingly important part of governance. Indicators are statistics that represent social experiences, turning complex norms into simplified representations. Although seemingly objective, indicators reflect the values and beliefs of the actors who create them. An indicator’s normative underpinnings have significant consequences for social governance and policy because of an indicator’s power to shape understanding. This multi-manuscript dissertation analyzes the impact of governance by indicators as seen in the Millennium and Sustainable Development Goals (MDGs and SDGs), two major United Nations initiatives in the field of global social governance. The focus …

Good Works And The Great Commission: An Exploration Of Religious Influence In Evangelical Faith-Based Organisations In Canada And India, Ravi Gokani

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

By the mid-1990s, the post-war, Keynesian welfare state that had typified much the landscape of service provision in North America had already begun seriously to corrode in the presence of a resurgent classical liberalism. This meant, among other things, an increased role for civil society organisations in the provision of social welfare to citizens in need. As part of this restructuring of the welfare state, faith-based organisations found a renewed place, bolstered in part by favourable legislation, political support, and the revival of a once-recluse evangelicalism. Today, with decades of maturity and the aide of technology, evangelical faith-based organisations are …

The Risk Of Risk: An Exploration Of The Impact Of “Risk” On Child Welfare Decision-Making, Jill K. Stoddart

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Objective: In this paper, child welfare decision-making is critically assessed in relation to Beck’s (1992) concept of ‘risk society’. Three key decisions made by child welfare workers during the initial investigation are examined in order to illustrate how risk influences the type of investigative approach used, the determinations about child maltreatment, and the services provided to children and families and to link theory with policy and practice.

Methods: The three exploratory studies all utilize secondary data from several cycles of the Ontario Incidence Study, which collects information directly from frontline child protection workers about incidence of reported maltreatment. Two studies …

Uncovering The Processes And Consequences Of Egyptian Immigrant Parental Involvement In Their Children’S Education: Bridging Cultural Differences, Hend Shalan

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Abstract

For more than a decade, researchers have concluded that immigrant parents face several barriers to becoming involved in their children’s education. All studies agree that language and cultural differences are the most significant barriers to immigrants’ involvement in their children’s education, yet we know little about what these cultural differences are and how these cultural differences influence the school involvement of immigrant parents. This study integrates theories of cultural differences, acculturation, and culture shock and the corresponding literature to investigate the lesser involvement of immigrant parents in school-related activities.

A focused ethnographic design was employed and a thematic analysis …

Holding Canada Accountable: An Evaluation Of Canada's Compliance To The United Nations Declaration On The Rights Of Indigenous Peoples, Jackson A. Smith

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Compliance of human rights norms requires the application of pressure from a multitude of directions and levels. It takes individual advocacy, micro-system/organizational/community-level pressure, and macro-level pressure from other nation-states and international organizations and governance bodies. This MA study focuses on the mechanisms employed by the United Nations to monitor the compliance of signatory nation-states to the standards established in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), with particular focus on Canada. A crucial goal of this study is to translate the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNSRRIP), James Anaya’s, findings on the …

Caring In Transition: Home Care Workers’ Experiences Of Care Relationships In Shanghai, China, Liu Hong

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This dissertation reports a qualitative study of 23 care workers in the home care program for older people in Shanghai, China. Using grounded theory methodology, a model was developed to account for care workers’ experiences of relationships with older clients. Care workers were found to resist the image of care work as demeaning labour performed by lowly migrant workers and re-construct care as valuable work for those in need accomplished by a caring self. As a mechanism of care relationship formation, care workers engage in tuning, a dynamic process of identity negotiation that shifts in between two contrasting states: …

Leadership Practice, Organizational Culture And New Managerialism: Strengths, Challenges, Variations And Contradictions In Three Children's Service Agencies, Rosemary E. Vito

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Abstract

The purpose of this research study was to explore how social work leaders conceptualized and practiced leadership and how their leadership practice influenced, and was shaped by, organizational culture. The relevance and viability of a participatory leadership approach and a collaborative learning culture were also explored. As well, leadership satisfaction and development and the impact of external changes were sought. A qualitative research approach, multiple case study and multi-method design were employed. Forty-one directors and supervisors in three children’s mental health and child welfare agencies in Ontario participated in this study. Research methods included interviews, focus groups, observations and …

No More Mind Games: Content Analysis Of In-Game Commentary Of The National Football League’S Concussion Problem, Jeffrey Parker

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

American (gridiron) football played at the professional level in the National Football League (NFL) is an inherently physical spectator sport, in which players frequently engage in significant contact to the head and upper body. Until recently, the long-term health consequences associated with on the field head trauma were not fully disclosed to players or the public, potentially misrepresenting the dangers involved in gameplay. Crucial to the dissemination of this information to the public are in-game televised commentators of NFL games, regarded as the primary conduits for mediating in-game narratives to the viewing audience. Using a social constructionist theoretical lens, this …

Debt Financed Migration To Consumption Smoothing: Tracing The Link Between Migration And Food Security In Bangladesh, Mohammad Moniruzzaman

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This dissertation is primarily focused on migration and food security linkages, more specifically the impact of migrants’ remittances on household food security, and the role of debt in financing migration. Using a multi-methods approach the dissertation focuses on the household level, but also sheds light on the related policy landscape linked to these resource issues. The dissertation consists of seven chapters, with four research finding chapters that are each self-contained and interdisciplinary. Each of these four chapters adds conceptually and empirically to the existing literature on migration and development.

Chapters one and two provide the introduction and literature review. Chapter …

Experiences Of Victimization And Health Care Access Among Non-Metropolitan Lgbtq+ Individuals, Ashley-Ann Marcotte

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer (LGBTQ+) individuals report substantial rates of violence, discrimination, and negative life events due to homophobia and transphobia and these experiences impact access to health care services and programs (Bauer et al, 2009; Grant, Mottet, Tanis, Harrison, & Keisling, 2010) These experiences result in LGBTQ+ communities needing services, programs, and social supports to provide safer spaces. Although it is well recognized that health care services are not a major determinant of health outcomes and yet use more than 60% of health spending (Canadian Institute for Health Information, 2014; Muzyka, Hodgson, & Prada, 2012). As such, …

School-Based Supports For Trans Youth In Ontario, Charlie E. C. Davis

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Trans youth are some of the most marginalized youths in schools. In 2012, the Ontario Government passed two legislations, one of which was the Accepting Schools Act, strengthening supports for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or questioning (LGBTQ) students in schools. The other was Toby’s Act, an amendment to the Ontario Human Rights Code including protection from discrimination on the grounds of gender identity and gender expression. The purpose of this thesis is to examine how these two acts have created a political context supporting trans youth in schools. A comprehensive mixed-methods approach was used to examine provincial trends of trans-specific …

“Don’T Talk About It”: Investigating The Effects Of Pei’S Cultural Silence On Abortion Access And Advocacy From The Perspective Of Advocates And Support People, Emily A. Rutledge

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

As an arm of a greater study that investigates the impacts of PEI's abortion restriction over the past two decades, "Don't talk about it" explores the situation from the perspective of support people and advocates to abortion access including; their emotional experiences of support and advocacy, the associated risks and repercussions, as well as their understandings of the barriers, facilitators and impacts of compromised access to off-Island services for PEI women and girls. Key findings show an overarching culture of silence and blame surrounding abortion on PEI, reinforced by stigma and repercussions for those speaking out. This silence serves to …

A Living Wage For All Manitobans?: Perspectives From The Private Sector, Paul Campbell Sheridan

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

In response to the growing problem of working poverty around the world, a grassroots movement has emerged and spread internationally in the last two decades. This movement proposes the adoption of living wage policies and practice as part of a comprehensive poverty reduction strategy in the context of the neoliberal retrenchment of social safety nets. While successful at the local government level in the USA and the U. K., the movement has struggled to make inroads into the private sector, which is where the bulk of sub-living-wage jobs are situated. Using a qualitative methodology informed by critical theory, this study …

Bill 13 (The Accepting Schools Act): Ontario Legislation Mandating Support For Lgbt Students In Publicly-Funded Schools, Renato M. Liboro Jr.

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Twenty-six key stakeholders from schools in Waterloo Region, Ontario, participated in semi-structured, open-ended interviews for this dissertation. They included students, teachers, school board representatives in administrator and superintendent roles, trustees, and community service providers. This study explored the experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth in publicly-funded schools, the effect of those experiences on their mental health and well-being, and the success of strategies, programs, and policies implemented by schools to address LGBT youth issues. It also examined the perspectives of participants on Bill 13, Ontario’s Accepting Schools Act, particularly strengths and weaknesses of the bill in terms …

A Discourse Analysis Of Ontario's Family Health Teams, Rachelle Ashcroft

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Inspired by critical social work practice, this study engages in a discourse analysis of Ontario’s Family Health Team (FHT) model. The purpose for this study is threefold; namely, a) to deepen our understanding of health discourses promoted by Ontario’s FHT model; b) to explore how Ontario’s FHT model compares to Haggerty, Burge, Lévesque, Gass, Pineault, Beaulieu, & Santor’s (2007) conceptual model of PHC; and c) to promote critical reflection in order to help inform decisions on how to improve quality of care and enhance health equity in FHTs. This study is guided using the overarching question: What health care practices …