Digital Commons Network^™

The Experiences Of Transgender Anglicans In The Eucharistic Liturgy, Jordan D. Sandrock

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This study asked how transgender Anglicans respond to God’s action in the Eucharistic liturgy. Transgender Christians may have different experiences in faith than our cisgender peers, which influences the way in which we respond to God and to God’s action in the liturgy.

Over the course of the study, I interviewed seven transgender Anglicans from three geographic regions (Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States). Using semi-structured interview questions, I spoke to the participants about their experiences in the Eucharistic liturgy and how it related to their sense of God’s action. I then analysed the contents of the interviews …

Imaging-Based Biomarkers For Evaluating Musculoskeletal Pain In The Hand And Wrist, Lauren Straatman

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The defining symptom, and often the major reason for seeking medical treatment associated with most clinical disorders of the hand and wrist, is pain. However, pain mechanisms following MSK trauma are complex, multifactorial, and remain largely unknown.As such, this thesis sought to understand pain mechanisms in hand and wrist MSK pathologies, using imaging-based biomarkers and gold-standard pain evaluation techniques. Chapter 2 presents an exploratory analysis on the interacting influences of sex on multi-modal pain evaluation techniques that tap different pain domains. Our results highlight the importance of multiple pain measures when creating sex-specific intervention strategies, as the accuracy of predicting …

Vibes At The Village Vanguard: Hauntings, History, And The Construction Of Jazz Place, Mark Mccorkle

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

There are ghosts that haunt the Village Vanguard. Or at least that’s what people say.

This dissertation examines the role of the contemporary jazz club as a site of heritage and meaning making in jazz cultures. I take New York’s revered jazz club, the Village Vanguard, as a case study, as it is the subject of many fanciful tales. These stories describe the club’s history as alive; the spirits of the legendary musicians from a bygone era of jazz who once performed at the Vanguard are said to haunt the present club’s soundwaves. Often described by writers as the club’s …

Learning Mortality Risk For Covid-19 Using Machine Learning And Statistical Methods, Shaoshi Zhang

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This research investigates the mortality risk of COVID-19 patients across different variant waves, using the data from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) websites. By analyzing the available data, including patient medical records, vaccination rates, and hospital capacities, we aim to discern patterns and factors associated with COVID-19-related deaths.

To explore features linked to COVID-19 mortality, we employ different techniques such as Filter, Wrapper, and Embedded methods for feature selection. Furthermore, we apply various machine learning methods, including support vector machines, decision trees, random forests, logistic regression, K-nearest neighbours, na¨ıve Bayes methods, and artificial neural networks, to uncover underlying …

A Comparative Analysis Of The Early Twentieth-Century Music Appreciation And Community Music Movements In The United States, Andrew J. Blimke

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The music appreciation and community music movements sought to popularize, democratize, and socialize art music. While technology made it possible for anyone to listen to art music, its full aesthetic and social benefits seemed accessible only to those with talent and education in performance. Music appreciation proponents claimed that teaching active listening made it possible for the less talented, and those who needed to be taught to prefer art music to have a full musical-aesthetic experience without any training in self-performance. Community music proponents argued that music’s full benefits came from music making and worked to find ways to prove …

Regulation Of Health Ai Chatbots In Ontario, Mingi Chu

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has made remarkable strides in healthcare, from revolutionizing medical imaging, patient support, research insight, and health education. However, a recent shift from query-based to interactive and regenerative AI presents a question of properly facilitating its development. Upon close inspection, regulations and policy adaptations lag behind the rapidly advancing field of medical AI which raises concerns over governance and societal implications. This paper explains some of the technical and ethical considerations surrounding the use of health AI applications with chatbots as a specific example. It evaluates the existing policies and regulations in Ontario, Canada, that govern the production …

Beyond Sport: Black Student Athletes Experiences With Race And Anti Racist Practices, Brianna Nicolas

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This qualitative study highlights the experiences of Black student-athletes in Ontario, Canada. It explores how universities' commitments to antiracism, through policies, student support groups, and education, contribute to an antiracist environment. Critical Race Theory, antiracism, and nonperformative theory are the guiding frameworks for this study which draws on data from eight semi-structured interviews with Black student-athletes who play various sports in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) league. The themes that emerged from this study support the notion that anti Black racism exists within the OUA and is often manifested as microaggressions. Given the participants' unique perspectives on the universities’ acts …

Chilean Canadian Literature In English: Memories Of Home And Belonging, From The Postcolonial To Decolonial Practice, Luis Jaimes-Domínguez

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This dissertation aims to present a compelling exploration of identity and cultural hybridity, and of the intricate tapestry of diasporic experiences. As such, it delves into the significance of Chilean Canadian literature written directly in English, with a specific focus on the works authored by female writers as part and parcel of an emerging diasporic literature. Employing a postcolonial and hemispheric lens, this research employs a multidimensional methodology embedded in cultural memory, border studies, and representational intersectionality. Within this framework, this study attempts to unravel how Chilean Canadian literature written in English might contribute to a repository of Chilean Canadian …

The Population-Centered Medical Model: A Theory Of Practice For Public Health And Preventive Medicine, Sudit Ranade

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Introduction

Public health physicians occupy a unique place in the fields of both medicine and public health. Trained in each field, and often holding positions of authority in public health systems, public health physicians are sometimes challenged to identify their roles in either field of practice. Public health physicians work to achieve population health, but there has been limited theoretical development in this field of practice.

Objectives

The objective of this research was to develop an empirical theory of practice for public health physicians.

Methods

A literature review of current practice models applicable to public health physicians was performed. A …

Matthew Bullock, Blackface And Belonging: Anti-Black Racism In Eary 20th Century Ontario Press, Rachael Edwards

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

In 1922 Matthew Bullock, a young Black North Carolinian was arrested in Hamilton, Ontario having fled the United States following the lynching of his teenage brother. His deportation and subsequent extradition cases received significant attention from the Canadian and American press. Historians Sarah-Jane Mathieu and John C. Weaver have discussed the case in the context of Black community formation and the development of the Canadians courts respectively. However, neither place significant focus on how the Ontario press covered the case. In this thesis, I argue that press and legal responses to Matthew Bullock were informed by a Canadian whiteness shaped …

Sex Comparisons Of External, Anatomical And Methodological Factors On Motor Unit Firing Behavior, Michael James Marsala

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Motor unit (MU) recruitment and firing rate (MUFR) modulation are the primary factors governing force control. Differences in the anatomical distributions of α-motoneurons, muscle properties, and perception of fatigue between males and females may cause sexually dimorphic MU firing behaviors. The purpose of this dissertation was to further examine external, anatomical, and methodological factors that may influence observations of sex-related differences in neuromuscular function. In chapter 2, sex differences in how mental fatigue may influence MU firing behaviors were examined. Mental fatigue did not significantly alter MU firing behavior, maximal force, or force tracing ability in either males or females. …

Sex And Gender Differences In Arthritis Health Information, Tania Al-Jilawi

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Arthritis is a common disorder that may result in pain and inflammation, making it challenging to move or continue being active. Arthritis comes in a variety of forms. The two studies of this thesis aimed to identify the influence of intersectionality, especially sex and gender, in arthritis. The first study, a structured review, evaluated the inclusion of sex/gender and intersectional identities in patient resources of three arthritis societies: the Canadian Arthritis Society, the American Arthritis Foundation, and the National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society. The appraisal tool, the Sex/Gender and Intersectional Considerations in Patient/Consumer Health Information Appraisal Tool was used to evaluate …

Differentiated Performance In Native And Instructed Nonnative Spanish: The Impact Of Task Demands And Individual Differences During Performance With Grammatical Gender, Martha Black

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Adult language learners demonstrate extensive variation and are believed to rely largely on explicit knowledge and declarative memory, directly impacting how target language input is processed, represented, and retrieved. The overarching aim of this thesis is to identify and better understand the factors that are most important for adult language acquisition by examining how linguistic features, task demands, and individual learner differences may impact performance with Spanish grammatical gender. This research seeks to draw principled conclusions about what knowledge types and memory systems language users exploit as proficiency develops. 115 language users of Spanish from diverse language backgrounds, including native …

Lbnp Reduces Cerebral Perfusion But Does Not Impact Executive Function, James Van Riesen

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

A growing body of literature has demonstrated that a single bout of aerobic exercise and/or hypercapnic manipulations increase cerebral blood flow (CBF) and are linked to a transient (i.e.,min) post-intervention executive function (EF) benefit. However, there are no direct studies examining whether a transient decrease in CBF elicits a post-intervention EF decrement. Accordingly, my thesis employed 10-min single bout manipulations of -30 mmHg and -50 mmHg lower-body negative pressure (LBNP) to determine whether a transient reduction in CBF impacts EF. LBNP was applied as it renders sub-atmospheric pressure to the lower limbs and redistributes blood from the upper to lower …

Nonstop Digital Flickerings;, Sam Wagter

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This dossier is composed of an extended artist statement, documentation of artwork, an artist case study, and a curriculum vitae. These sections, in combination, contextualize my research and inspirations behind the digital art I create. The extended artist statement and practice documentation outlines my theory of ‘void’ and explores the intersection between queerness, video games, and ‘void’, which creates the theoretical base of my Master's thesis project, Non-Stop Digital Flickerings;. The case study of Lu Yang’s practice surveys significant artworks and explores their work within the context of ‘void,’ to further understand their approach to art-making.

Jumping Ship And Going To The Other Side: Experiences Of Nurses Who Retrain As Doctors, Anne Robinson

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Aim: To gain an understanding of the experience of medical training for nurses who retrain as doctors.

Methods: Using a Constructivist Grounded Theory design, semi-structured interviews were conducted with thirteen medical students and residents who had completed nursing training prior to entering medical school. Interviews were audiotaped and professionally transcribed. Transcripts were coded and analysis in an inductive manner to construct central themes.

Findings: Many left nursing due to negative effects of a hierarchal system. As preclinical medical students they felt both advantaged and burdened by their advanced clinical knowledge. During clinical placements, they experienced social distress and role confusion …

Giving Death To The Production Of Knowledge: Collective Resistance Through Testimony, Mitch De Lange

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis describes the structures an institution, specifically the university, deploys to absorb testimonies of violence in order to strengthen its existing policies, norms, and operations. I consider testimonies by survivors of sexual violence, who demand the end of the current order of the university and its existing policies. Some of these structures are symbolic exchange, the production of knowledge, the logic of repression and liberation, and the work of mourning. I suggest these discursive structures protect the existing boundaries of universities while lending them the authority to speak on behalf of survivors. Therefore, rather than engage in an archeology …

Exploring How Covid-19 Impacts Relationship Dynamics Among Cohabitating Heterosexual And Female Same-Sex Couples, Mishele Kaplan

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This qualitative study investigates the experiences of cohabitating heterosexual (n=10) and female same-sex couples (n=8) during the COVID-19 pandemic. It explores how these couples utilized dyadic coping and relational resilience to manage pandemic-related stressors and how their gender identities influenced their responses. Employing a phenomenological approach informed by feminist, queer, and dyadic coping theories, the study reveals that couples strengthened their bonds during the pandemic through intentional communication and novel activities. The findings of the study also highlight that societal perceptions of gender roles continue to exert pressure on individuals, but female same-sex couples demonstrated greater adaptability by challenging these …

My Embodied Transformative Educational Journey As An East Asian International Student Learner: A Self-Study Approach, Yixuan Pang

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis is my personal, educational, and embodied journey of a female Chinese student learner who has travelled across contexts for education in both Canada and my home country China. Using a self-study approach, this thesis examines how embodied knowledge informs my educational experiences and learning in different contexts. I question the taken-for-granted knowledge (Greene, 1995) existing in the education I have received, and challenge the assumptions I have toward my learning. Through processes of creative writing, new knowledge and understandings emerges and I explore possibilities of how knowledge can be considered, in fluid and malleable ways shaped by different …

Head Impact Effects In Small Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (Srpas) Collisions: Gender Specific Risks And Vulnerable Population Protection, Md Farhan Hoque Sagar

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This study focuses on supporting the development of safety regulations for vulnerable populations during drone to head impacts. First, the small female head and neck model was compared to cadaveric data. Then, combined with lab’s previous work, gender-based disparities in head impact responses were highlighted, with small females experiencing higher injury risk metrics, despite lower skull von Mises stress. Beyond small females, children of various ages and their head responses during impacts were also analyzed. In addition to the previously developed quadcopter drone model, a new Mavic Pro drone model was developed, and this model was integrated with human head …

Acquisition Of Main-Clause Wh-Questions In Egyptian Arabic-English And Spanish-English Bilingual Children, Riham H. Mohamed

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This dissertation examines the production and judgment of Egyptian Arabic (henceforth EA) main-clause wh-questions in EA-English bilingual children living in Ontario, Canada, or in the United Kingdom. The three comparison groups are EA monolingual children and EA monolingual adults living in Egypt, and first-generation Egyptian immigrants. The results are compared to previous research on the acquisition of obligatory subject-verb (S-V) inversion in Spanish wh-questions.

The focus of this study is to investigate the potential role of cross-linguistic influence in narrow syntactic structures. Until fairly recently, it was believed that only structures that exhibit syntax-pragmatics interfaces are vulnerable to cross-linguistic influence …

Beyond Rank Attainment: Examining The Nature And Function Of Dominance And Prestige In Teams, Lynden Jensen

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Social hierarchies are fundamental to human societies, shaping group dynamics and outcomes. Ongoing debates attempt to understand their functional and dysfunctional consequences. While the conflict account of hierarchy emphasizes the potentially detrimental conflict-inducing effects of hierarchies, the functionalist account proposes that hierarchies create contexts conducive to coordination. This study investigates if team-level dominance and prestige processes might account for these diverging consequences of hierarchy with dominance fueling conflict-prone environments and prestige nurturing coordination processes. Additionally, it examines whether the inherently competitive nature of team-level dominance yields more favorable outcomes in highly competitive, zero-sum, contexts.

Across two studies, I investigated the …

The Role Of Patient And Rehabilitation Factors In The Recovery Of Home And Family Work Roles Following Distal Radius Fracture, Sheena Saju Philip Ms.

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Background: Distal radius fracture (DRF) is a common upper extremity fracture that causes significant impairment and leads to difficulties in fulfilling important life roles such as indoor and outdoor cleaning, meal preparation, grocery shopping, caring for others, and earning and managing family income. However, clinicians do not routinely address home and family life roles after a DRF. Patient and rehabilitation factors are crucial in addressing home and family work roles (HFWRs). The HFWR questionnaire consists of tasks that are typically performed at home.

Objective: The overarching objective of this thesis is to explore the role of patient and rehabilitation …

Hiring Criteria And Employability Of Esl/Efl Instructors In The Tesol Job Market In Canada And The United Arab Emirates, Shaden S. Attia

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This study investigated the hiring criteria and employability of ESL/EFL instructors in Canada and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in higher education. It also explored challenges facing instructors and program administrators in today’s global TESOL job market, and how they both tackled these challenges. The study drew on intersectionality and Critical Race Theory and a qualitative methodological approach to answer the research questions. The research methods included an online questionnaire, analyses of online job advertisements and instructors’ journal reflections, and interviews with instructors and program administrators.

The findings indicate that educational qualifications, and teaching experience and certification constituted the primary …

Teacher Anxiety And Resilience As Socio-Ecological Experience: A Critical Ethnography Of Early-Career English As An Additional Language Teachers In Post-Pandemic Ontario, Canada, Aide Chen

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This critical ethnographic study investigated the anxiety and resilience experiences of English as an Additional Language (EAL) teachers in Ontario, Canada during their early careers after the pandemic. The study drew on literature regarding the TESOL profession’s precarious nature, resilience and anxiety concepts, pandemic impacts on language education, and debates on native-speakerism. It employed four-level theoretical frameworks, including the theories of critical praxis (Freire, 1970), reflexivity (Byrd Clark, 2020), ecological systems (Bronfenbrenner,1979), and the community of practice (Lave & Wenger, 1991) for its design and implementation. Four pre-service and three in-service English language teachers participated, providing weekly reflective journals for …

Learning To Teach For Equity, Diversity, And Social Justice: A Mixed Methods Case Study Of Initial Teacher Education In Ontario, Canada, Kate Paterson

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Drawing on critical race theory, culturally and linguistically sustaining pedagogy, and ecological systems theory, this mixed methods case study explored the integration of equity, diversity, and social justice across one initial teacher education program in Ontario, Canada. Survey data (n=272) provided insight into prospective teachers’ endorsement of social-justice-related beliefs at program entry and exit. Demographic data were collected to obtain a current snapshot of initial teacher education representation rates, addressing a dearth of such data in the Ontario context. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with teacher candidates (n=15) and key stakeholders (n=4) to gain an understanding of how equity was conceptualized …

"We Are The Living Dead": The Gendered Impacts Of Open-Pit Mining In The Dominican Republic, Klaire Gain

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Despite a rhetorical commitment to enhancing community well-being, Canadian mining corporations have a history marked by ecological degradation and human rights violations, with women experience disproportionately negative impacts. While Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) is a desired topography for open-pit mining, the geographical area of the Dominican Republic has been largely absent from the literature. As such, this dissertation, rooted in decolonial ecofeminism, enacted a critical narrative inquiry with 7 women from the Dominican Republic to explore the gendered impacts of open-pit mining on their health and well-being.

This thesis is composed of six chapters, with chapter one introducing …

The Visual Culture Of Niagara Falls: From Kitsch To Keepsake, Sonya M. De Lazzer

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This dissertation uses the visual history of Niagara Falls to argue that iconic touristic landscapes promising Sublime moments can benefit from embracing their often-eclectic mixture of images, experiences, artefacts, and small-scaled private collectors and collections. This study takes up two distinct areas of Niagara’s visual history; how the site is depicted and copied, and how the site is collected and memorialized. The natural site, charted through attractions, themed environments, souvenirs and amateur home collections, is an apparatus that generates everlasting spectacle. Niagara’s current attractions connect the earliest physical encounters of the site with contemporary experiences along tourist corridors, bridging the …

Investigating Gender Affirmative Approaches To Counselling: Learning From Counsellors In The Profession And Reflecting On Implications For Graduate Counselling Programs, Thomas L. Pigeau

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Transgender and gender non-conforming individuals often report experiencing several obstacles with accessing mental health services prepared to meet their needs. This current study used a case study methodology to explore the subjective experiences of three therapists working with the transgender population using gender affirmative counselling approaches. Thematic analysis revealed four themes: (1) inadequate training and independent learning, (2) the damaging impact of inadequate training, (3) foundational baseline knowledge, and (4) core embodied practices. The results of this study provide the perspective of therapists with experience practicing gender affirmative therapy and can be used inform professional training programs to better prepare …

Factors That Contribute To Teachers' Self-Efficacy For Inclusive Teaching: :A Thematic Analysis, Evan Charles

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Having a strong sense of self-efficacy for teaching has been shown to be associated with numerous positive benefits for both teachers and the students that they teach. As such, researchers have been interested in identifying factors and experiences that contribute to a strong sense of self-efficacy for teaching. However, very few studies have investigated these factors qualitatively and even fewer have compared the experiences of pre-service and early career teachers. This study examines the life experiences of pre-service and early career teachers, and how these experiences contribute to their self-efficacy for teaching within inclusive classrooms. Forty-nine pre-service and 86 early …