Digital Commons Network^™

A Biomechanical Investigation Of Scaphoid And Lunate Kinematics During Wrist Motion, Helen L. Stoesser

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Carpal kinematics have been previously investigated, yet there remains no consensus regarding the relative contribution of each bone to total wrist motion. A more detailed understanding of carpal kinematics is essential in the effective diagnosis and treatment of injuries of the wrist, as many injuries manifest as an alteration in intercarpal kinematics. The scapholunate (SL) ligament is one of the most commonly injured intercarpal articulations resulting in a cascade of degenerative changes included cartilage wear and altered joint kinematics. The SL ligament is considered the primary stabilizer of the SL joint but is surrounded by a complex network of secondary …

Coffee Agroecology, Food Sovereignty, And Agrarian Livelihoods In Puerto Rico, Ileana I. Diaz

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This research investigates whether coffee can play a role in building food sovereignty in Puerto Rico as well as how farmers perceive the effects of growing coffee agroecologically on their livelihoods. The most important contribution of this research is to raise and answer the question of whether a cash crop such as coffee can be part of a food sovereignty strategy. I conducted 18 semi-structured interviews with farmers in Puerto Rico. The findings indicate that agroecological farmers in Puerto Rico believe that growing coffee is an important part of pursuing food sovereignty - which is the framework they used to …

Motivation, Identity And L2 Reading: Perceptions Of Chinese Esl Students In Canada, Binru Zhao

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This study was conducted to explore and examine whether there are different motivational tendencies among Chinese English as a Second Language (ESL) students with different reading proficiency levels, and the identity transformations they may have experienced during the process of their ESL learning. The quantitative results demonstrate statistically significant differences between two groups of participants (high proficiency vs. low proficiency), and participants’ reading motivation levels are positively correlated with their previous reading proficiency levels. Furthermore, the qualitative semi-structured interviews indicate that participants’ self-perceived motivation toward reading in English is mainly academic, and they are experiencing a certain level of identity …

Examining The Relationship Between Duration Of Untreated Psychosis And Self-Perceived Recovery In Clients Of An Early Intervention Program In London, Canada: A 10-Year Prospective Cohort Study, Gina Bhullar

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Background: The duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) is negatively associated with objective recovery among people with first-episode psychosis (FEP). However, the association between DUP and subjective recovery is not known. Objectives: To investigate whether DUP is statistically associated with self-perceived recovery scores (subjective recovery) and occupational activity (objective recovery) 10-years after the first episode of psychosis. Methods: A cohort of 65 clients from an early intervention program completed a battery of outcome measures 10-years following initial treatment for FEP (March 1997 to February 2002). Multiple linear or logistic regression analyses were used to estimate the association between DUP and both …

Elbow Patients’ Data Collection And Analysis: An Examination Of Electromyography Healing Patterns, Raneem Haddara

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Musculoskeletal conditions are the most common cause of severe long-term pain and physical disability, accounting for the highest disability costs of about $17 billion yearly. To provide better rehabilitation tactics, the knowledge gap between injuries and their healing mechanisms needs to be addressed. The use of electromyography (EMG) is very popular in detecting neuromuscular diseases or nerve lesions; however, there is limited knowledge available for quantifying healing patterns of EMG in orthopedic patients who have injured their joints, muscles, or bones. In order to quantify the progress of orthopedic patients and assess their neuromuscular health and muscle synergy patterns, EMG …

School–Work Transitions Among Second-Generation Immigrants, Awish Aslam

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Canadian data show that second-generation immigrants generally achieve higher levels of educational attainment when compared to the children of Canadian-born parents; however, those who are racialized experience poorer labour market outcomes, such as higher rates of underemployment, lower rates of pay, and less access to jobs with opportunities for advancement. This study uses in-depth interviews to explore the experiences of both racialized and non-racialized second-generation immigrants in their school–work transitions. It focuses on examining the roles of human and social capital, and the differences that racialized and non-racialized groups experience when navigating this transition. Findings highlight the value …

Fostering The Mobilization Of Knowledge From Professional Development To The Classroom, Robert J. Williams

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This study examined the extent to which professional knowledge, acquired from professional development programs in education, was mobilized in elementary school classrooms. The author investigated the alignment of participants’ perceptions and actions with the aims of professional development providers, studied teachers' in-depth experiences of that professional development, and noted the key aspects of professional development that related to knowledge mobilization. The project acquired data from four elementary school teachers employing semi-structured interviews, multiple classroom observations and teacher-generated and published documents. Participants’ perceptions of professional development were influenced by the following factors: impact on income, personal/professional growth and professional collaboration. Additionally, …

Shifting Temporalities: The Construction Of Flexible Subjectivities Through Part-Time Retail Workers’ Use Of Smartphone Technology, Jessica Fanning

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Drawing on past and recent literature in political economy and feminist media studies, this research extends current work on technology’s disciplinary and liberatory potential for labour. This is done using an investigation of part-time retail workers’ use of smartphones in the management and experience of always-on work styles, the encroachment of work on non-work time, and whether there are alternative uses of these same technologies. Semi-structured interviews with a sample of part-time retail workers analyzed with a grounded theory approach are used to investigate participants’ direct experiences. The data reveals that the theme of gender is not as strong as …

Identifying Individual Driver Behaviour Using In-Vehicle Can-Bus Signals Of Pre-Turning Maneuvers, Mahboubeh Zardosht

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

All drivers have their own driving style while performing different driving maneuvers. They vary in using vehicle’s control devices such as the steering wheel, pedals, gears etc. In this thesis, we analyze driving behavior in different timeframes prior to turns. We employ data obtained from actual driving behavior in an urban environment collected from the CAN-Bus of an instrumented vehicle. Five CAN-Bus signals, vehicle speed, gas pedal pressure, brake pedal pressure, steering wheel angle, and acceleration, is collected for 5, 10, and 15 seconds of driving prior to each turn. We consider all turns for each driver as well as …

Adipose-Derived Stem Cell Differentiation In Cell Aggregates Supplemented With Micronized, Decellularized Extracellular Matrix, Danielle Heinbuch

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

In the human body there are tissues with limited regenerative potential, raising the need for cell-based regenerative therapies. The main objective of this thesis was to examine how tissue-specific extracellular matrix (ECM) affects the differentiation of human adipose-derived stem/stromal cells (ASCs). The effects of incorporating milled, decellularized adipose (DAT) or cartilage (DCT) ECM particles on ASC lineage-specific differentiation in 3-D cell aggregate cultures were explored. The results demonstrated that the addition of ECM improved differentiation for both adipogenesis and chondrogenesis. Analysis of adipogenic gene and protein expression indicated enhanced differentiation in the DAT+ASC aggregates relative to the DCT+ASC and ASC-alone …

Automatic Detection Of Eye Blinking Using The Generalized Ising Model, Marwa Elsayh Dawaga

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Electroencephalogram (EEG) is a widely used technique to record electrical brain activity. It is prone to be contaminated by non-neuronal sources that can generate artifacts in the signal due to its sensitivity and its poor signal-to-noise ratio. One of the main challenges in analyzing EEG data is the systematical and effective removal of artifacts from the signal. Although many methods have already been introduced to approach this issue, there is still no robust method for handling all sources of contaminations. For example, eye blinking is a physiological artifact occurring very frequently in spontaneous EEG recordings and therefore, removing these artifacts …

Discussions Of Diaspora: Cultural Production And Identity In Contemporary Chinese Canadian Literature, Rachel L. Wong

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis explores modes of cultural production and identity in three Chinese Canadian works of fiction: Disappearing Moon Café, The End of East, and The Better Mother. This research discusses the position of Chinese Canadian literature in relation to the institutional framework of Asian Canadian Studies. Within current academic circles, there exists varied discussions on the many aspects of Asian Canadian’s, this thesis seeks to explore the position of literature written by and about Chinese Canadian’s within the larger framework of Canadian literature and its representations of culture, identity and ethnic enclaves such as Chinatown’s. More specifically, this research …

Musical Forces In Claude Vivier’S Wo Bist Du Licht! And Trois Airs Pour Un Opéra Imaginaire, Emilie L. Marshall

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Claude Vivier’s (1947–1983) idiosyncratic and moving composition style often evades traditional, pitch-centred approaches to music-theoretical analysis; however, the somatic and sensual qualities of his style encourage a metaphorical appreciation of his music. This study analyses Wo bist du Licht! (1981) and the first two airs from Trois airs pour un opéra imaginaire (1982), which both feature his technique sinusoïdale, from the perspective of conceptual metaphor and musical forces. At the centre of this study are the dominant conceptual metaphors that linguist George Lakoff and philosopher Mark Johnson identify as being integral to our understanding of time, and which music …

Inhuman And Heroic Women: Femininity In The Odyssey And The Arthurian Vulgate, Alexandra Salyga Reynolds

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The Odyssey and the Arthurian Vulgate each integrate various traditional sources with various takes on gender into themselves as well as comment directly on the topic. The Odyssey prioritizes forming both cooperative and competitive equality between male and female characters and their distinctly masculine and feminine uses of language. The Arthurian Vulgate prioritizes forming a status hierarchy with masculinity higher than femininity and correspondences between the gender binary and other binaries, although it also transmits stories with embedded contradictory messages. Both texts also tell a false queen story, which comments on the possibility of a disconnect between a sign and …

Capital's Media: The Physical Conditions Of Circulation, Atle Mikkola Kjøsen

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The question of what constitutes media has received little attention in Marxism and where it does, the concept is an empty abstraction. While Marxists have extensively theorized the concentration of mass media ownership, and analyzed mass media content as ideology or propaganda, critical discussions of what a medium is in the capitalist mode of production have been mostly lacking. That is to say, Marxism does not have a media ontology. Media is therefore a critical gap in Marx’s political economy. This dissertation seeks to fill this gap by asking what is a medium in the capitalist mode of production?, answering …

Learning To Be Women: A Study Of Adolescent Girls In Rural Ontario, Laura Lockhart

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

In order to explore the forming subjectivities of rural young women, the material and discursive conditions of girls’ lives are examined with a focus on how rural adolescent girls come to understand themselves within their worlds, how their consciousness of limitations and possibilities develops, and how this translates into agency and self-direction. The analysis draws on data collected during five months of ethnographic research with seven grade ten, eleven, and twelve female students in a rural community in Ontario’s near north. It starts from their experiences in order to look at their lives and options from their standpoint.

Using Bourdieu’s …

Paleoepidemiological Analysis Of Trauma In A Roman Period Population From Kellis, Egypt, Circa 50-450 Ad, Isabella A. Graham

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis analyzes human skeletal trauma in a large well-preserved sample (n =268) from the Roman period Kellis site in the Dakhleh Oasis, Egypt. Prevalence was determined for both infracranial and cranial skeletal trauma. The null hypothesis tested was that there are no differences in trauma when stratified by sex and by age cohorts (i.e., 18-35, 36-50 and 51+). Despite the overall trauma prevalence being similar between the sexes when not differentiated by age, the null hypothesis was rejected. Key differences that occurred between the sexes were that males suffered greater malintent and occupational traumas, whereas osteoporosis was the major …

The Lived Palliative Care Experiences Of Community-Dwelling Older Adults With Dementia In South Western Ontario, Kristina M. Kokorelias

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Palliative care is often suggested for individuals with dementia, yet there remains great uncertainty surrounding best delivery of care to individuals wishing to die at home. The aim of this phenomenological study was to understand the experiences of both individuals with dementia who receive palliative care in the community, and their informal family caregivers. Hermeneutic thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews from ten participant dyads revealed key themes. The themes for older adults with dementia were: belonging at home and acceptance of terminal illness; the themes for informal caregivers were: impact of dementia, double strain and home as a source of …

The Neurocognitive Underpinnings Of Arithmetic In Children And Adults: Examining The Roles Of Domain General And Domain Specific Abilities, Anna A. Matejko

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

What are the cognitive underpinnings of arithmetic and how do they contribute to individual differences in children’s calculation abilities? Behavioural research has provided insights into which domain general (e.g. working memory) and domain specific (e.g. symbol-quantity associations) competencies are important for the acquisition of arithmetic skills. However, how domain general and domain specific skills are related to arithmetic at the neural level remains unclear. This thesis investigates the interplay between arithmetic and both domain general and specific competencies in the brain.

In Chapter 2 I examine how visuo-spatial working memory (VSWM) networks overlap with those for arithmetic in children and …

In-Between What Once Was And What Is Yet To Come: On The Phenomena Of Bereavement And Grieving, Rachel L B Bath

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

When a significant other dies, our lives can be shattered and our worlds upended. We may find that we no longer know how to make sense of our experiences or how to engage in our practical activities. Nothing can be as it was before because the world as we once knew it has ended, and we are no longer the same persons we once were. Nonetheless this ending opens up something new because the death of the other changes the possibilities of our lived world. A phenomenological analysis of the phenomena of grief and bereavement reveals that while bereavement undermines …

Emotional Well-Being In Children With New-Onset Epilepsy, Shane W. Goodwin

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Research suggests increased risk for adverse psychosocial outcomes and poor health-related quality of life and emotional well-being (EWB) in children with epilepsy compared to their healthy peers. The factors associated with poor EWB and the course of EWB in these children remains unclear. The objectives of this study were to: investigate the relationship between epilepsy-related and family factors and children’s EWB two years after the diagnosis of epilepsy; identify the average group trajectory of EWB in children with newly-diagnosed epilepsy over the first two years; and investigate whether we can identify subgroups of children with epilepsy that can be better …

Representing Wilderness: Community, Collaboration, And Artistic Practice, Michael J. Farnan

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This dissertation project serves as an inquiry into Canadian representational practices and discourses surrounding colonialism, wilderness, nature and nationhood. The written thesis presented here is part of a multidisciplinary project that also comprised of an art exhibition held at Western’s McIntosh Gallery, from June 3^rd to Junes 25^th, 2016. This paper, alongside the drawing, sculpture, and videos created for my exhibition, examine depictions of nature and nation in Canada through an analysis of antimodernism, primitivism, and a seeking of the spiritual connected to constructions of “white wilderness” and the spatial imaginary of Canada’s colonial frontier. This paper …

The Effect Of A Square-Stepping Exercise Intervention On Heart Rate Variability In Older Individuals With Type 2 Diabetes And Subjective Cognitive Complaints, Claire E. Riley

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Aging is associated with increased onset of diseases such as type 2 diabetes (T2D) and cognitive impairment. Heart rate variability (HRV), a measure of autonomic function, is reduced in T2D and may have the potential to indicate cognitive decline in this population. Square-stepping exercise (SSE) is a novel cognitive exercise recently implemented in cognitive research, which may have the potential to improve global cognitive function in T2D individuals. Participants with T2D (N=25, aged ≥ 50y) and self-reported cognitive complaints were randomized into either an SSE intervention or a wait-list (WL) control group for 24-weeks. HRV parameters (time and frequency domain) …

Improving The Education Of Leaders: An Exploratory Case Study In An Undergraduate Business Leadership Course Focused On Gender, Kanina Blanchard

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This exploratory case study is conducted in an undergraduate leadership course at a business school in Ontario. The research develops an understanding of how former students value and are influenced by leadership education that teaches a breadth of knowledges (instrumental, hermeneutic and emancipatory) and focuses on participants’ perspectives of how gender and inequality continue to impact the practice of leadership in Canada. By using document analysis and semi-structured interviews, findings emerge which provide insights into how changes in curricula and pedagogy may better prepare students of leadership to navigate the ethical and social complexities in today’s workplace.

How Schools Enact Equity Policies: A Case Study Of Social Justice Leadership, Allison L. Segeren

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

In 2009, the Ontario Ministry of Education mandated that all school boards in Ontario develop and implement equity education policies, as specified in Policy/Program Memorandum No. 119: Developing and Implementing Equity and Inclusive Education Policies in Ontario Schools (2009). This dissertation documents the enactment of Ontario’s Equity Strategy in one district school board and three schools in Ontario.

Analysis of education policy in local contexts must account for the influence of globalized policy discourses including performativity, accountability, and marketization. Policy sociology and policy enactment theory served as a conceptual framework from which to understand the everyday actions of school board …

Exploring The Self-Regulatory Behaviors Of Elementary Students With Hearing Loss In Inclusive Classrooms, Kendra Di Bacco

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

An exploratory, mixed-method and multi-level research design was employed to examine relationships among students’ hearing loss, academic achievement and self-regulation (SR), classroom background noise levels, teachers’ perceptions of inclusion of students who are hard of hearing (HH) and features of classroom instruction that support SR. Data consisted of 10 elementary teachers’ perceptions of the inclusion, and ratings of 131 students’, of whom 8 were hard of hearing, SR and academic achievement scores. Classroom observations were conducted to obtain background noise levels and to examine whether and how teachers implement the features of classroom contexts to support SR within their classroom. …

Longitudinal Evaluation Of Patient Concerns After Surgery For Head And Neck Cancer, Isabel Wozniczka

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate and describe the longitudinal effects of shoulder and neck mobility, strength, and quality of life (QOL) following neck dissection (ND) surgery and identify the concerns of head and neck cancer (HNC) patients. ND is one of the standard procedures for treating HNC, which results in many complications and dysfunctions that can have an effect on a patient’s QOL.

The study had 27 eligible HNC participants who underwent ND, of which eight participated in the shoulder range of motion (ROM) and strength and 12 participated in the QOL patient-reported outcomes analysis. The …

Free Play: Removing Barriers To Athletic Self-Expression In Sport, Matthew R. Waddell

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The choice of what sport to play and the manner in which a person plays it has moral content and represents values that are personally meaningful to the individual athlete. However, due to the hegemonic influence of the concept of fair play, athletes do not have control over, or freedom of expression within, their chosen sports. This has additional and harmful ramifications for those currently excluded from communities of sport practice because the rules of sporting contests have very little flexibility to allow for participant directed change. A rights-based conception of sport encourages athletes to engage in ‘civil disobedience’ within …

Organizations Of Knowledge About The Orient In German And British Romanticism 1780-1820, Naqaa Abbas

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This dissertation examines the various literary modes in which German and British Romantic literature and culture organize knowledge about Islam and the Middle East. I explore how the Orient exceeds and troubles the “place” it is given in a historical and geographical classification systems. I argue that many Romantic writers challenge the constructedness of the Oriental narrative during their time, thus questioning what really constitutes knowledge and the limits of knowledge. In this context, I re-evaluate Edward W. Said’s socio-historical generalizations regarding Orientalism as a form of Western control over the East. While studies on Romantic Orientalism have focused on …

Evaluation Of Sexual Orientation Items In Population Health Surveys Among Canadians: A Mixed Methods Approach, Christoffer Dharma

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

A single item sexual orientation question has been asked in Statistics Canada health surveys to identify health inequalities in Canada. Using a mixed methods study with convenience sample of Canadians, we evaluated this question in comparison to a set of US questions that includes domains of sexual identity, behaviour and attraction. The single item question had an 85.8% sensitivity and 100% specificity in capturing sexual minorities from the broadest definition (n = 311). Chance-corrected agreements with sexual identity, 12 months and life time sexual behaviour were 0.89, 0.39 and 0.48 respectively. Both trans and cisgender people revealed that there were …