Digital Commons Network^™

More Than Child’S Play: The Scaffolding Role Of Toys, Games, And Play In Children’S Literature, Pauline Dewan

Library Publications

Scholars have explored the way books about toys inculcate consumer, racist, and sexist ideologies in the young, subversively controlling their attitudes and behavior. Judging from the scholarship in this area, teachers, librarians, and parents may hesitate before recommending or purchasing toy-centered stories for children. Using insights from play theorists and psychology researchers, this article argues that toy fiction can empower children by both acknowledging their marginalized status and providing models of coping, learning, and agency.

Reconciliation: Facilitating Ethical Space Between Indigenous Women And Girls Of A Drum Circle And White, Settler Men Of A Police Chorus, Kelly Laurila

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Abstract

The purpose of this dissertation was to seek understanding of how a singing partnership between Indigenous women and girls of a drum circle and white, Settler men of a police chorus (i.e., representing public relations for Waterloo Regional Police Services)^[1] has been sustained within a local context for five years. Knowing the historical and ongoing colonial systemic violence in policing practices with Indigenous peoples in Canada, it seems unlikely that such a partnership would take place. Song provided this partnership with a bridge for engagement and a means to disrupt enduring perceptions of one another that have fuelled …

Making Common Causes: Crises, Conflict, Creation, Conversations: Offerings From The Biennial Alecc Conference Queen’S University, Kingston 2016, Jenny Kerber, Astrida Neimanis, Pamela Banting, Tania Aguila-Way, Ron Benner, Mick Smith, Adeline Johns-Putra, Peter C. Van Wyck

The Goose

At ALECC’s biennial gathering at Queen’s University in June 2016, participants came together to explore the possibilities of “making common causes” from a host of angles, yet all were anchored in an acknowledgement of the diverse more-than-human relationships that make up our common worlds. The following collection of short essays, authored by some of the gathering’s keynote speakers, explores specific aspects of making common causes. In this special section of The Goose, we deliberately invoke the plural of conversation. We understand the effort to make common causes as a process, rather than a “one and done” act. It is multifaceted …

Investigating The Effects Of Mindfulness On Children’S Executive Function, Emotional Regulation, Stress, And Academic Performance Compared To A Control Condition, Lerna Hanceroglu

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Mindfulness is a growing field in the study of psychological well-being, with reports of individuals experiencing increases in resilience and reduced stress. The current research on mindfulness lacks information on a comprehensive analysis on the relationship between mindfulness and executive function, emotional regulation, stress, and subsequent academic performance for children. Additionally, studies contain methodological issues, such as the absence of active control groups. Hence, the current study assessed the effects of mindfulness training on children’s executive function, emotional regulation, stress, and academic outcomes compared to an active control group. There were 51 younger children from grades 2 to 4 (Mean …

Experiences Of Racialized Service Providers Who Work With Racialized Clients: Functions And Constraints Of Master And Counter-Narratives Of Helping, Racism, And Vicarious Racism, Prapti Giri

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

What are the experiences of racialized frontline workers? How do they experience vicarious racism? I interviewed 8 frontline workers who were involved in counseling racialized individuals. The narrative paradigm, constructivist self-development theory (CSDT), and critical race theory (CRT) were the theoretical frames that guided the interviews and data analysis in order to answer these questions. I conducted a structural narrative analysis, which revealed how participants utilized assumptions from master narratives and at other times countered them. Interviewees occasionally stepped outside of the master narrative entirely, for example, by rejecting the categorization of race. According to CSDT, our meanings are determined …

Neither War, Nor Peace: Everyday Politics, Peacebuilding And The Liminal Condition Of Bosnia-Herzegovina And Northern Ireland, Branka Marijan

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This thesis focuses on cultural and everyday practices of local populations in post-conflict peacebuilding. It builds on the “everyday” turn in critical peacebuilding literature by recognizing the everyday as political. Rather than examining the practices of political elites this thesis is concerned with the ordinary citizens of these societies. In other words, I show that it is through practices and cultural forms of expression that local populations enact their agency, at times supporting and at times contesting the broader peacebuilding project. Moreover, rather than viewing the everyday acts as hidden or as evidence of resistance to the dominant peacebuilding approaches …

“Are The Girls Out To Bingo? And Is “Frenchie” Gettin Tipsy? On A Sudbury Saturday Night”: Gambling Among Older Francophones In North-Eastern Ontario, Éric R. Thériault

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Since its legalization, gambling has become a popular form of entertainment in Canada (e.g., Tepperman & Wanner, 2012). Despite this increase in popularity, little research has been done examining gambling among older adults, and even in this area of research there is a lack of attention to minority groups (e.g., Ariyabuddhiphongs, 2012; Munro, Cox-Bishop, McVey, & Munro., 2003). Tirachaimongkol and colleagues (2010) proposed a theoretical pathways model to help explain problem gambling risk in older adults. This model includes three “clusters” of risk factors, including individual vulnerability factors, social and environmental factors, and behavioural regulation factors. The second cluster is …

“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 …

Police Reform, Civil Society And Everyday Legitimacy: A Lesson From Northern Ireland, Branka Marijan, Dejan Guzina

Political Science Faculty Publications

In post-conflict zones, there is a need to better understand the role of civil society in building the legitimacy of reformed police institutions. Northern Ireland provides an instructive case in this regard, as community involvement and civilian oversight of policing structures were prominent in the reform process. While much has been achieved since the 1999 Independent Commission on Policing, the question of police legitimation is still largely unresolved. In order for police reform to be fully realized, and to ensure that everyday legitimacy is established, more attention must be paid to building relationships between the police and local communities.

“It Feels Like Home”: The Impacts Of Supportive Housing On Male Youth – Perspectives Of Youth And Service Providers At Five Beds To Home, Sarah Michelle Ogden

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This study identifies the impacts of supportive housing on the lives of male youth. The researcher studied the Five Beds to Home (Five Beds) supportive housing facility for male youth, located in Cambridge, Ontario. The study focused on two areas: one, the current engagement of tenants and second, the long term impacts on past tenants. Impacts include areas such as progress on or achievement of goals/overcoming challenges, employment and education status, happiness and health, and housing stability. The general research questions were as follows: 1) What are the impacts of supportive housing on the lives of male youth?, 2) What …

Grounding Diaspora In Experience: Niagara Mennonite Identity, Cynthia Anne Jones

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This qualitative case study grounds theoretical notions of diaspora in personal accounts of Russian Mennonites living on the Niagara peninsula of Canada. The focus is on successive, complex interrelationships with ‘place’ (in a fixed sense, and a globally connected sense), with attention to gender, generation, and life-stage. How have these individuals experienced diaspora, and how has this influenced their culture and identity? Interrelationships with place are examined within an analytical framework composed of three key elements as identified in diaspora literature: cultural hybridity, social heterogeneity (internal divisions), and responsibility flows. The results are both descriptive and theoretical, featuring first person …

What Can We Learn About White Privilege And Racism From The Experiences Of White Mothers Parenting Biracial Children?, Shannon Cushing

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Despite progress in the movement toward anti-racism, racism remains a problem in Canada. While the presence of racism and the problem of racism are recognized by Canadian society, there is still a long way to go before racism and white privilege are eliminated. In the present study, I apply Community Psychology values to the examination of an as-yet relatively unexamined minority population: white mothers of biracial children. Guided by epistemological views that place my research within the critical and social constructivist research paradigms, I explore my research question, “How can the experiences of white mothers parenting biracial children inform us …