Digital Commons Network^™

Ihde’S Encounter With “Technological Determinism” In Technology And The Lifeworld, Hossein Kaji

Major Papers

Ihde’s project is an intellectual challenge with elements of hard technological determinism. Apart from different accounts of hard technological determinism in the literature of philosophy of technology, it can be regarded as a view that focuses on determination of a certain direction by using given technological artifacts regardless of other forces and contexts. At the cultural level, it means a single, massive trajectory happens by the rise of high-technological culture and its attainment as a world culture. I believe that Ihde’s project cannot be fully understood unless one thinks about its challenge while keeping in mind this meaning of technological …

A Literature Review For The Implementation Of Computational Thinking For Ontario K-12 Classrooms, Stephan Rogers

Major Papers

The importance of the problem-solving skills involved in computational thinking has gained significant traction since its introduction. As Ontario seeks to implement coding into the school curriculum, an analysis of previous implementation of computational thinking could provide a framework for which to formulate new curriculum in the province. A literature review was completed to investigate the following three questions: (1) How has computational thinking been implemented into education in a K-12 environment? (2) What barriers will affect the implementation of computational thinking in a K-12 environment? (3) What grade levels are appropriate for implementing the varying competencies of computational thinking? …

Task Interrupted By A Poisson Process, Jarrett Christopher Nantais

Major Papers

We consider a task which has a completion time T (if not interrupted), which is a random variable with probability density function (pdf) f(t), t>0. Before it is complete, the task may be interrupted by a Poisson process with rate lambda. If that happens, then the task must begin again, with the same completion time random variable T, but with a potentially different realization. These interruptions can reoccur, until eventually the task is finished, with a total time of W. In this paper, we will find the Laplace Transform of W in several special cases.

Technology And Human Dignity: The Contemporary Relevance Of George Grant's Views, Eamon Joseph Brennan Mr.

Major Papers

George Grant argues that modern innovations in technology are delineated by what he terms ‘the co-penetration of art and science’, which disposes their rational methods towards the satisfaction of while in a purported ‘spirit of creativity’. Though such a spirit has provided many benefits, a natural worry arises as to what may be justified, morally, within the parameters of such creativity. For Grant, such skepticism is well-founded as the gradual expansion of technology is co-measure with ‘demythologization’, that is, the loss of any sense of objective, transcendent purpose. Noting how this worrying trend invites a dangerous premise of making human …

Disaster Response And Ecclesiastical Privilege In The Late Middle Ages: The Liberty Of Durham After The Black Death, John K. Mennell

Major Papers

This paper examines the estate incomes of three large ecclesiastical corporations in medieval England to analyse the impact local autonomy has upon economic recovery following a medieval disaster scenario. It utilizes manorial records, assessments, and tax farms for the bishop of Durham, Durham Priory, and the archbishop of York to pursue this goal. Data is complied and presented, building off the methodology of a series of articles in the twentieth century on the changing distribution of wealth in medieval England to allow additional comparison with the wider kingdom. The character of the four truly autonomous bishops of Durham is analysed …

"I Need More Help": A Rise In Demand For Special Education In Ontario, Brittany Lee Guenot Ms.

Major Papers

According to regulation 298 of the Ontario Education Act (1990), a primary role of educators is to ‘effectively’ instruct the students they have been assigned. It is my understanding that ‘effective’ teaching is more than simply giving the lesson of the day that aligns with the curriculum. As a teacher, I try to support my pupils’ learning by taking into consideration the best possible way to serve their diverse abilities. Furthermore, I acknowledge that students may require personalized and tailored school supports in order to fully benefit from their educational experience. In my own practice, I have utilized special education …

Quantifying Sexual Constitution: Abraham Myerson’S Endocrine Study Of Bisexuality And Male Homosexuality, 1938-1942, Matthew Mclaughlin

Major Papers

For the last 150 years scientific sex researchers have attempted to explain the occurrence of homosexuality. The science of sexuality recognized the normativity of heterosexual attraction in connection with the dualism of male and female biological sexes, which defined sexual attraction towards women as masculine and men as feminine. Researchers in the early twentieth century began measuring male and female sex hormones and correlating hormonology patterns to sexual constitution to try and understand how a male could possess a feminine sexuality.

This paper explores the sex hormone studies of Abraham Myerson, a leading physician and researcher, who between 1938 and …

A Warmer, Green Golden Rule, Kyle James Stuart

Major Papers

The goal of this paper is to analyse the impact of temperature changes on the green golden rule. The green golden rule is the maximization of consumer utility based on consumer preference between consumption and environmental stock. The trade-off between environmental stock and consumption which is found to be negative. With temperature change being very prevalent in our era, we look at temperature change in the form of a damage function. By looking at both an increasing and decreasing damage function, along with changing variables in the green golden rule, we see that when the average global temperature deviates from …

De-Consociational Transition: A Comparison Of Three Consociational Democracies, Pelle Berends

Major Papers

Consociational democracy is a system of government outlined by Arend Lijphart in response to the mystery of the stability of the democratic systems of several small Western-European states despite their intense societal divides. In the years since he outlined these states’ consociational systems, much has changed. The question thus must be asked – is it possible to transition from a Consociational democracy with a focus on consensus-building to a more majoritarian political system that emphasizes competition between parties? This question will be addressed by a study of three states – the Netherlands, Belgium, and Lebanon. The Netherlands has transitioned successfully …

Toward A Culturally Inclusive Canon Of Multimodal Picture Books: Developing Multiliteracies Practices And Assessments For Ontario’S Classrooms, Arwa Jammali

Major Papers

Multimodal picture books are a critical component of children’s literacy development, and in a multicultural province such as Ontario, it is vital that literacy development include cultural literacy. The demographics of the province’s classrooms are increasingly diverse; however, minoritized cultures are underrepresented among teachers, and there are sparse training mandates related to cultural inclusion. Thus, Ontario’s culturally diverse student body is encountering a number of barriers related to gender, ethnicity, perceived race, sexual identity, ability, class, and other social markers. To provide teachers with the tools needed to support their students, the current study utilizes a theoretical framework derived from …

Commercial Banking And Interbank Insurance: The Diamond-Dybvig Model Revisited, David Ristovski

Major Papers

The goal of this paper is to investigate the possibility of incorporating interbank insurance among commercial banks. This is done by building upon the Diamond-Dybvig model. We extend the Diamond-Dybvig model in three ways. First we abandon the single intermediary environment by introducing a banking sector that is made up of a continuum of banks of mass 1; we assume that a small proportion (exogenously given) of banks experience runs. Next, we suppose that all banks have access to and invest in interbank insurance. Lastly, it is assumed that when banks withdraw illiquid funds prematurely they must pay a mandatory …

Economic Growth And Water Pollution In The Circum-Bohai-Sea Zone In China - An Environmental Kuznets Curve Analysis, Ziqi Yang

Major Papers

Based on the principle and model of Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC), the present paper examines the relationship between water pollution and economic growth in the Circum-Bohai-Sea Zone of Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei Province, Shandong Province, and Liaoning Province with the annual time series data for 2003 to 2017. By analyzing the industrial, household, and total wastewater discharge separately as the measurement of water pollution, the results are consistent with the EKC model. In particular, according to econometric analysis, the variables of economic growth and per capita GDP are statistically significant in domestic and total wastewater discharge cases. However, the association of …

How To Increase Migrant Resilience In Canada: What The Legal System Can Do To Help, Po Kwan Tara Chan

Major Papers

Immigration is important to Canada. Migrants replenish our declining population, help drive our economy, and contribute to our labour market. By 2036, almost half of the Canadian population will be either first-generation or second-generation immigrants. While the migrant experience varies, it is recognized to be deeply challenging. Among these barriers is often the need to engage with the complex legal system during and after the settlement process.

This paper uses the literature to better understand the benefits of migrants in Canada, concept of resilience, benefits of diversity in the workplace, and how law firms can leverage diversity to perform better. …

Where Are All The Women?: Exploring The Research On The Under-Representation Of Women In Computer Science, Xiu Tian

Major Papers

Women’s participation in computer science is important for many reasons, including playing a significant role in a country’s economic development. A skilled workforce is needed to remain competitive in the globalized world, especially in the area of computer science. This research aims to explore the recent research literature around the factors that contribute to women’s low participation in computer science. Key to this exploration is helping to answer the question: Why does the proportion of women in Western countries’ computing fields remain low, despite years of research and programs with the intention of increasing women’s participation in computing? In order …

Recreational Cannabis In Ontario: An Evaluation Of The First Year Of Legalization, Irena Sziler

Major Papers

Recreational cannabis was legalized in Canada on October 17, 2018 and has created new business and income for the country. Focusing on Ontario, this paper analyzes how the province failed to benefit from legalization during its first year. As a result of the change in provincial government—which led to ineffective sales models, delays, and financial losses—Ontario has failed in cannabis legalization. Using the theory of federalism, this paper explores the division of power within Canada’s levels of government and its impact on cannabis legalization and sales. Further, this paper includes a case study on Alberta and its free-market success with …

A Content Analysis Of The Narrative In Game Of Thrones: Exploring How Game Of Thrones Resists Neoliberal Ideology, Fox Achiel D'Hondt

Major Papers

Game of Thrones has become one of the most popular television series of all time. Concerned with the way mainstream pop culture can been used to promote and uphold neoliberal ideology, this paper will be exploring the degrees in which neoliberalism informs or is resisted by Game of Thrones’ narrative. The purpose of this study is to discover the degrees in which the medium of narrative driven television can be used to resist dominant ideology. As such, I conduct a content analysis to explore the latent content of Game of Thrones’ narrative to discover the type of messaging that could …

Temperature Anomalies In A Simple Overlapping Generations Model, Chizua Mesigo

Major Papers

The main aim of the paper is to examine the impact of temperature anomaly in an overlapping generations (OLG) model. The rise in temperature captured by the damage function has a direct effect on production. As temperature rises above the pre-industrial level, output and capital accumulation decline, making representative agent worse o as the lifetime utility declines. The result of the analysis predicts that a temperature anomaly of 2:5°C requires a consumption equivalent of 1.04 percent of GDP. The model further shows that the more dependent an economy is on capital, the more significant the losses will be as temperature …

How An Ethics Of Responsibility Enriches Shannon Sullivan's Transactional Epistemology, Ashley Glover

Major Papers

This paper explores feminist ethical theories in regards to their ability to enrich Shannon Sullivan’s transactional epistemology (STE) presented in Living Across and Through Skins. The feminist ethical theories that will be explored within this paper include care ethics, as presented by Carol Gilligan and Nel Noddings, and responsibility ethics, as presented by Margaret Urban Walker. In order for a theory to enrich STE it must have an understanding of the person and environments as mutually constitutive of one another and subsequently apply this understanding to effectively address oppressive attitudes and behaviours, particularly those found in the application of rigid …

Legal Process Outsourcing: Analyzing And Managing The Prospective "Make Or Buy" Decision By Ontario Law Firms, Brandon Keshen

Major Papers

This paper examines the costs, risks and benefits associated with law firms outsourcing some of their core business activities to legal process outsourcers (“LPOs”). Similar to other outsourcing operations, LPOs supply services for a fraction of the cost of what law firms charge for similar services. Common in manufacturing industries, the decision to outsource, or keep work in-house (also referred to as a “make or buy” decision), has become more prevalent in the area of business services, including client service industries such as consulting and financial management. With respect to legal services, recent and rapid changes to the legal profession, …

The State Of The Canadian Appointment Process After Liberal Reforms, Tyler Matthew Romualdi

Major Papers

In 2016, the newly elected Liberal government introduced reforms to the appointments system following well established partisan selections by previous governments. The government claimed that the new policy would provide Canadians with a more honourable, merit-based appointment process that would be free from political interference. This paper assesses the extent to which the objectives of the new policy came to fruition. The research examines the process of citizen participation by evaluating 1,168 Governor-in-Council (GIC) appointments made by the Liberal government to 204 federal institutions over the first four years of the program. The paper compares this group to 1,428 GIC …

Safety Or Morality? How Moral Framing Influenced Fosta-Sesta's Bipartisan Success, Raven Mann

Major Papers

FOSTA-SESTA is an anti-trafficking bill that was passed in April 2018. The bill which amends the Communications Decency Act redefined the discussion of anti-trafficking in the United States due to the controversy surrounding this bill. Concerns from sex workers and feminist activists highlighted that FOSTA-SESTA would endanger sex workers by eliminating the commercial sex websites they used and force them back onto the streets. Despite these critiques drawing attention to the lack of consideration for sex workers’ safety in this bill, FOSTA-SESTA received bipartisan support and passed with a vote of 97-2.

Bipartisan support for legislation is an uncommon sight …

Exploring The Academic And Social Challenges Of Students With Limited And Interrupted Formal Education (Slife) In Ontario, Hawa Yusuf Osman

Major Papers

Since 2010, Ontario’s education system has taken in an increasing number of students from refugee families, many of whom have limited literacy and numeracy skills and are classified as students with limited and interrupted formal education (SLIFE). To ensure the success of these students, it is important to identify the most effective ways to address their unique learning needs. However, there is currently limited research on this subpopulation in Ontario. Therefore, in order to understand the academic challenges this subpopulation faces, a comprehensive literature review has been conducted with the purpose of establishing the issues that influence this phenomenon. Findings …

On Variable Selections In High-Dimensional Incomplete Data, Tao Sun

Major Papers

Modern Statistics has entered the era of Big Data, wherein data sets are too large, high-dimensional, incomplete and complex for most classical statistical methods. This analysis of Big data firstly focuses on missing data. We compare different multiple imputation methods. Combining the characteristics of medical high-throughput experiments, we compared multivariate imputation by chained equations (MICE), missing forest (missForest), as well as self-training selection (STS) methods. A phenotypic data set of common lung disease was assessed. Moreover, in terms of improving the interpretability and predictability of the model, variable selection plays a pivotal role in the following analysis. Taking the Lasso-Poisson …

Bilingual (Zhuang And Han) Education In Urban Guangxi, Yawen Li

Major Papers

Though many people see China as an ethnically and culturally homogenous country, it is actually host to a wide variety of ethnicities. For example, though Mandarin is China’s official language, and Cantonese is commonly used in Hong Kong, the Zhuang language is spoken by an ethnic group of the same name whose population is equal to 90% of Guangxi Zhuangzu Autonomous Region (GZAR), one of China’s five autonomous regions (Zhou, 2000). Nanning, the capital city of GZAR, has a population of approximately 7.55 million, and the Zhuang accounts for 4.21 million citizens, equal to 55.78% of the city’s population. However, …

Enterprise Risk Management & Treasury Board Secretariat: A Policy Evaluation, Connor R. Lalonde

Major Papers

Enterprise Risk Management is the latest form of risk management. It has become an essential part of best business practices. Under the Financial Administration Act of 1985, the Treasury Board Secretariat was established to serve as the management agency for the government. Within this mandate is included best management practices. This paper examines the Treasury Board Secretariat’s main risk management guidance, the Guide to Integrated Risk Management and how it assists government departments, agencies, and organizations in implementing Enterprise Risk Management based on key principles. This paper evaluates whether or not the Guide to Integrated Risk Management does a good …

Educational Challenges Of Culturally And Linguistically Diverse Learners In Canada And In The United States Of America: A Systematic Literature Review, Fabiana Menezes

Major Papers

This systematic literature review (SLR) examined Canadian and American peer-reviewed articles published in the past ten years (2009 – 2019) which pointed out the main challenges that affect culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) learners in their educational settings in Canada and United States. More specifically, it scrutinized the central theories that have been used to explain the main challenges that hinder the success of CLD learners in their educational settings in North American schools. Four key themes emerged in the analysis of fifteen peer-reviewed articles: A research-to-practice gap in the education of CLD learners; inappropriate referrals of CLD learners to …

No Turning Back: Exploring Sex Education In The United States, Xiyuan Chen

Major Papers

Sex education provides valuable information for young people to know and practice safe and appropriate sexual activities. Sex education also educates students on what healthy relationships look like, developing their emotional and psychological well-being. The United States has increasingly adopted sex education for adolescents, who are highly vulnerable age group. However, the programs often only focus on abstinence and prevention of sexually transmitted diseases, and to some extent, offer a simplistic discussion around consent. Most however, do not adequately address complicated issues like personal responsibility, open communication, a deeper understanding of gender and gender relations and the incorporation of LGBTQQ …

Integrating Visual Arts And Music To Help Adult Students Learn English In Canada, Azadeh Eftekhari

Major Papers

Canada has recently seen an influx of newcomers who do not speak either of Canada’s two official languages—English and French—many of whom are adult English additional language learners (EAL). Though there are numerous studies on how to support young EAL learners, there is a dearth of literature on adult EAL learners, which is critical as the two populations have drastically different cognitive processes with respect to language learning. Thus, by analysing a critical literature review, the current study considers how multimodal practices and multiliteracies approaches can support this population. Anti-oppressive practices are likewise applied to identify the barriers that students …

Fracturing Falsehoods: Multiplexity In Windsor-Detroit's Organized Crime Networks 1900-1933, Lauren Rivet

Major Papers

In the Windsor-Detroit borderland, the period between 1900 and 1933 was characterized by the nation-state’s increasing legislative ability to enact interventionist measures to produce a regulated border. While the criminalization of alcohol in 1916 and 1920 by both the Canadian and U.S. governments respectively, enabled policy-makers to establish a transnational boundary, its implementation resulted in the production of legal asymmetries which forced the expansion and integration of the illicit economy into legitimate society through organizational actors and their respective enterprises.

Employing Chris M. Smith and Andrew V. Papachristos concept of multiplex ties in criminal organizations in conjunction with Willem van …

(Gendered) Language?: Examining Ceo Demographics During Times Of Change And What The Media Has To Say About It, Nicole Taylor Ms

Major Papers

Previous business research indicates that there is a glass ceiling and other obstacles that females face to get to top management positions, specifically a CEO position. The Glass Cliff Phenomenon is a theory coined by Ryan and Haslam (2007) that indicates females are more likely to be appointed to a CEO position in a firm that is in a precarious situation with a high probability of organizational failure. Female CEO representation in public firms, therefore, is incredibly small relative to male CEO representation. This lack of visible representation of women in positions of power, as compared to their male counterparts, …