The Christian As Witness In View Of The True Witness, Emily Patricia Wilton

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This thesis examines Karl Barth’s understanding of what it means for Christian individuals to be witnesses of Jesus Christ. By analyzing the structure of Barth’s doctrine of reconciliation, with attention to his view of Jesus Christ as mediator, the thesis establishes the christological context of Barth’s concept of witness. The thesis demonstrates how Barth arrives at the conclusion that witness is central to the definition of Christian existence and identifies key features of Barth’s view of witness, namely, its theocentrism, its basis in ontology, and its enactment in human history. The thesis engages secondary scholarship in a critical appraisal of …

The Production Of Unequal Vulnerability To Flood Hazards In Metro Vancouver, Canada, Greg S. Oulahen

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Flood risk is a growing concern in Canada’s cities. Residents of these cities have differential risk according to their unique vulnerability and exposure to flood hazards. Factors related to societal structural forces, human agency, and place interact to produce vulnerability to hazards. Analysis of the factors that influence vulnerability will lead to a better understanding of how unequal vulnerability to hazards is produced among residents of a city. This dissertation investigates the factors that influence vulnerability to flood hazards in a Canadian coastal urban region, Metro Vancouver. It develops and applies a conceptual framework for looking across scales and across …

Modulation Of The Cardiomyocyte Hypertrophic Responses To Endothelin-1 By Adipocytes, Suresh Chandra Bairwa

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Leptin and adiponectin are the adipokines that are shown to exert pro-hypertrophic and anti-hypertrophic effects respectively, in cardiomyocytes. We sought to determine the direct interaction between the adipocytes and cardiomyocytes during endothelin-1 (ET-1)-induced cardiomyocyte hypertrophy and determine the role of leptin and adiponectin.

The adipose tissue conditioned medium (ACM) inhibited the ET-1-induced hypertrophy in a concentration-dependent manner and this anti-hypertrophic effect was more potent or reversed in the presence of leptin receptor antagonist (LRA; 0.1 nM) or adiponectin receptor-1 antibody (ARA; 100 ng/mL), respectively. ACM from heart failure rats induced by coronary artery ligation or obese rats did not mitigate …

An Examination Of Psychological Variables Influencing Perceptions Of The Self Among A Sample Of Female Exercise Initiates, Lisa Cooke

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The general purpose of this dissertation was to explore the relationship among and within cognitive variables associated with exercise initiation and maintenance in a sample of female exercise initiates.

Manuscript 1 was structured to explore the changes to exercise identity among a population of female exercise initiates (N = 78) grouped into an imagery or control condition. Previous research has found that a strong exercise identity is associated with more frequent exercise (Strachan et al., 2009) and increases over time as a person continues to exercise (Cardinal & Cardinal, 1997). Participants were assessed multiple times (weeks 0, 5, 9, …

The “Other” Athletes: Representations Of Disability In Canadian Print Media During The London 2012 Paralympic Games, Melinda A. Maika

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In our highly mediated society, media culture plays a critical role in socialization and offers a conduit for the naturalization of ideas. By this reasoning, stories told by the media about Paralympic athletes have the potential to influence our understanding of disability. This study reveals the representation of Paralympic athletes in Canada’s two national newspapers The National Post and The Globe & Mail surrounding the London 2012 Paralympic Games. Eighty-eight articles were collected over a 40-day period from August 15, 2012 – September 23, 2012. A critical disability studies lens guided methods of media frames analysis. Results demonstrated that coverage …

Fatal Attraction: The Fetishized Image Of The Fatal Woman As Gothic Double, Margaret Anne Young

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The Gothic heroine is often doubled by an image – a painting, statue, costume, drawing, projection, or mental image – that is preternaturally powerful and endowed with an antagonistic sexual presence. This image of the fatal woman, unlike portraits of the heroine, is a representation without a referent: a fetish object, both for fictional characters and critics.

I argue that the simulacrum of dangerous femininity is a shifting signifier rather than a one-dimensional representation of – as previous critics have argued – ‘male fears and desires’ or female empowerment. Following the work of sociologist Bruno Latour and narratologist Mieke Bal, …

Motivational Interviewing Via Co-Active Life Coaching Intervention For Women Seeking A More Physically Active Lifestyle, Andrea M. Goddard

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The purpose of this 12-week pre-post design pilot study was to assess the impact of Motivational Interviewing via Co-Active Life Coaching (MI-via-CALC) on exercise-specific self-efficacy, barrier-specific self-efficacy, self-esteem, and 12-week study duration engagement in physical activity (PA) for 25 women between the ages of 30 and 55 years. Participants were assessed quantitatively using the previously validated McAuley Exercise-Specific Self-Efficacy Scale (EXSE), McAuley Barrier-Specific Self-Efficacy Scale (BARSE), Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), and International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ-SF) at pre-, mid-, and post-intervention. Four one-way repeated measures ANOVAs were completed for each scale, and statistically significant differences in barrier-specific self-efficacy were detected …

Canadian Post-Secondary Students, Stress, And Academic Performance – A Socio-Ecological Approach, L. Nicole Versaevel

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The purpose of this integrated-article dissertation was to examine stress and health in Canadian post-secondary students. Data from the spring 2013 National College Health Assessment (NCHA) was utilized in study one and two. This dataset is comprised of 34,039 students from 34 self-selected Canadian postsecondary institutions who took part in the NCHA survey. Study one examined the impact of stress, identified stressors and predicted which students were more likely to experience stress. Stress was the most commonly identified impediment to academic performance and 57.6% of students reported more than average stress. Most frequently reported stressors include; academics, finances, and sleep …

Rural Heterosexual Female Adolescents' Decision-Making About Sexual Intercourse And Pregnancy In Ontario, Paulina Ezer

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Rural areas in Ontario tend to have higher rates of adolescent pregnancy. A constructivist grounded theory methodology was used to gain an in-depth understanding of rural female adolescents’ decision-making process regarding sexual intercourse and their reproductive health, and how they view rural factors and circumstances influencing this process. The adolescent sexual decision-making process that emerged from the analysis involved prioritizing four influences that affect and are affected by the rural context: personal values and circumstances, family values and expectations, friends’ influences, and community influences. Findings will improve our understanding of how rural female adolescents make choices regarding their reproductive health. …

Investigating Cortical Changes In Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy Using Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy And Diffusion Tensor Imaging, Izabela Kowalczyk

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Cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) is the most common cause of spinal cord dysfunction in older adults. CSM can present abruptly with severe symptoms of neurological impairment or insidiously with a slow stepwise deterioration. There is no current imaging modality or biomarker that can help predict which patient will successfully respond to conservative versus surgical treatment. The goal of this thesis was to follow CSM patients longitudinally to assess how brain function, metabolism, and structure correlate to clinical outcomes in the context of recovering neurological function following surgery.

Chapter 1 of this thesis will provide a detailed literature review of the …

Navigating Life With Hiv: The Lived Experiences Of Youth Living With Hiv, Tamara M M Landry

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Youth and young adults living with HIV, between the ages of 15 and 29 represent one-quarter of the new infection rates in Canada, but little is known about the safer sex practices, HIV disclosure processes and coping mechanisms used by this important but often neglected group to manage the every day realities of living with HIV. The primary objectives of this study were to gather qualitative data about the lived experiences of Canadian youth who are living with HIV and enhance our understanding of their experiences of becoming HIV-positive, navigating issues related to safer sex and HIV disclosure, and managing …

A Collaborative Access Control Model For Shared Items In Online Social Networks, Hanaa Al Shareef

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The recent emergence of online social networks (OSNs) has changed the communication behaviors of thousand of millions of users. OSNs have become significant platforms for connecting users, sharing information, and a valuable source of private and sensitive data about individuals. While OSNs insert constantly new social features to increase the interaction between users, they, unfortunately, offer primitive access control mechanisms that place the burden of privacy policy configuration solely on the holder who has shared data in her/his profile regardless of other associated users, who may have different privacy preferences. Therefore, current OSN privacy mechanisms violate the privacy of all …

Exploring Relationships Between Resume Fraud And Individual Differences, Kateryna Synyak

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Existing research on resume fraud highlights the commonality and consequences of resume misrepresentations, yet almost no research exists aiming to explain the occurrence of this intentional behaviour. The goal of this study was to explore the relationships between personality traits previously linked to deception (conscientiousness and honesty/humility), resume misrepresentations and acceptance of these misrepresentations. An online survey method of data collection was used during which participants constructed a resume and filled out various measures pertaining to individual difference and resume misrepresentation. The results of this study provide an initial understanding of the existing categories of resume misrepresentations and the extent …

Media Literacy And The English As A Second Language Curriculum: A Curricular Critique And Dreams For The Future, Clara R. Madrenas

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This thesis investigates whether or not the Ontario English as a Second Language/English Literacy Development (ESL/ELD) curriculum imparts the critical literacy skills necessary for students to deconstruct the multimedia messages with which the contemporary world is saturated, in order to function as informed, agentic citizens of Ontario society. Using foundations of cultural theory, radical critical pedagogy, and critical race theory, particularly the work of James Paul Gee, Henry A. Giroux, Paulo Freire and Michael Apple, this thesis explores the ways in which the current ESL/ELD curriculum can be found lacking due to its enforcement of the banking model of education, …

Gender Relations In Hospice Palliative Home Care For Clients With Cancer And Their Family Caregivers: A Critical Analysis, Nisha S. Sutherland

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The purpose of this study was to critically examine gender relations in the sociopolitical context of hospice palliative home care for clients with cancer and their family caregivers. Using a critical feminist lens, I employed critical ethnography as a methodology to uncover taken-for-granted attitudes, beliefs, and practices that shape health and health care experiences within the culture of end-of-life at home. The study addressed the following research questions: (a) How do gender relations shape health and health care experiences within the socio-political context of hospice palliative home care for clients with cancer and their caregivers?; (b) How do gendered processes …

Attachment Relationships Across Siblings And Their Common Mother: Patterns And Predictors, Kathleen Anne O'Connor

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Traditional attachment theory suggests that because maternal state of mind regarding attachment is generally stable by adulthood, mothers should interact similarly with their children and, consequently, should share a similar quality of attachment with each. Early empirical work, however, suggests that the quality of siblings’ relationships is frequently different. Using varied theoretical and methodological approaches, this dissertation expanded upon the existing literature to further explore the nature and underpinnings of variability in the quality of mother-infant attachment across siblings.

Study 1 comprehensively described patterns of attachment within the family, investigating the extent to which the quality of siblings’ relationships with …

The Contribution Of Attachment Styles And Reassurance Seeking To Daily Mood And Relationship Quality In Romantic Couples, Lyndsay E. Evraire

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Excessive reassurance seeking (ERS), defined as the stable tendency to excessively and persistently seek assurances from others, has recently emerged as a possible risk factor for interpersonal distress and depression. An important limitation in the ERS literature concerns the mechanism(s) by which individuals engage in ERS. The current daily diary study was among the first to examine the daily relationships among ERS, mood, and relationship quality in romantic couples, and explore how these associations were moderated by individual and partner attachment styles. Method: A sample of 110 heterosexual couples completed measures of attachment, ERS, symptoms of depression, and relationship quality. …

Transition And Thriving In University: A Grounded Theory Of The Transition Experiences And Conceptions Of Thriving Of A Selection Of Undergraduate Students At Western University, Lisa S. Cossy

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Abstract

The transition from high school to university has been associated with decreases in health and wellbeing for some students. The purpose of this qualitative research was to explore the transitional needs and experiences of students leaving high school and entering Western University, to explore how students conceptualize thriving, and to develop a substantive theory of transition and thriving for Western University students.

A total of 42 students and 21 staff members from Western University participated in this study. Data were collected through focus groups and individual interviews. Utilizing grounded theory data analysis methods two conceptual models were developed. The …

Understanding Women's Health Promotion In Rural Canadian Churches, Robyn Plunkett

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Many rural health resources are linked to community churches, which are often well attended, especially by rural women. Thus, the rural church may be an effective health resource for rural Canadian women who have compromised access to health resources. Despite the significant role that the rural church plays in the life of rural communities, there is very limited research that addresses how the church acts or could act as a health resource for rural women. Furthermore, there is limited understanding of how the church as a place may influence health promotion in rural communities. This dissertation explores the relevance of …

Association Of Head And Cervical Injuries In Pediatric Occupants Involved In Motor Vehicle Collisions, Shayan Shekari

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The leading cause of death for children in the age group of 1-14 years is accidental injury. Motor vehicle accidents make up 63% of all accidental injury deaths in this age category. Furthermore, traumatic brain injury causes the highest number of deaths among children involved in motor vehicle collisions. Although cervical spine injuries are less frequent, they do cause death in children. Using a retrospective database, the objective of this pilot study was to determine whether there was a relationship between head injuries and cervical spine injuries and if cervical spine injuries had a higher frequency in younger pediatric passengers. …

Reforming Ontario Teachers (1990-2010): The Role Of The College Of Teachers, Janice Pennycook

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This dissertation takes up the idea of the teacher as a professional and examines the period in Ontario between 1990 and 2010 when a change in teacher governance through the creation of the College of Teachers contributed to a refocusing of teacher evaluation policy and a redefining of what it means to be a professional teacher. Across a wide variety of settings, teachers are now viewed as central to successful education reform with the result that the requisite qualities of the professional teacher and how teachers are to be transformed to achieve these qualities have become the subjects of intense …

Quantitative Mri Correlates Of Hippocampal And Neocortical Pathology In Intractable Temporal Lobe Epilepsy, Maged Goubran

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Intractable or drug-resistant epilepsy occurs in over 30% of epilepsy patients, with many of these patients undergoing surgical excision of the affected brain region to achieve seizure control. Advances in MRI have the potential to improve surgical treatment of epilepsy through improved identification and delineation of lesions. However, validation is currently needed to investigate histopathological correlates of these new imaging techniques. The purpose of this work is to investigate histopathological correlates of quantitative relaxometry and DTI from hippocampal and neocortical specimens of intractable TLE patients. To achieve this goal I developed and evaluated a pipeline for histology to in-vivo MRI …

Exploring Communication Apprehension And Its Relationship To Communication Attitude And Socio-Communicative Functioning In Children With Velopharyngeal Insufficiency, Agnieszka Dzioba

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Myriad findings on children with velopharyngeal insufficiency (VPI) indicate the potential for this population of children to experience feelings of apprehension specific to communication and the potential for other psychological and social difficulties. The purpose of the present investigation was to explore the construct of communication apprehension (CA) and its potential relationship to social and communicative functioning in a diverse group of children with VPI. Potential linkages between CA and multiple socio-communicative constructs including attitude, speech satisfaction, speech and language skill, social competence, and speech severity were explored in a cohort of children with and without VPI, followed by an …

Preservationist Aesthetics: Memory, Trauma And The New Global Enclosures, Kate Lawless

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My dissertation is a comparative study of the role of memory in four intersecting spheres of contemporary cultural production: (memory) art, (war) photography, (trauma) literature and the (memory) museum. It argues that the sites of memory in this study—including museums of memory and human rights, the famous Sonderkommando photographs and experimental works in conceptual art and literature—are characterized by a preservationist aesthetic, which names the principle of preservation at the heart of new practices of cultural resistance and new forms of enclosure through which social, political and economic exploitation are reframed, as aesthetic problems, in terms of loss and erasure. …

Cultural Resource Management And Aboriginal Engagement: Policy And Practice In Ontario Archaeology, Megan Devries

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The Standards and Guidelines for Consultant Archaeologists (Ontario 2011) introduced a new requirement for archaeologists working in Ontario CRM to engage Aboriginal communities in response to growing criticisms from these communities over being excluded from the process. Considered vague by many involved in the industry, both archaeologists and Aboriginal community representatives have developed their own strategies for complying with these requirements and their own opinions on how what they do over the course of engagement does or does not fit into that policy. However, many Aboriginal concerns remain unaddressed in the current engagement process, leaving open the possibility that tension …

Body Mass Index Trajectories: The Effect Of Fetal Size And Early Life Modifiable Factors, Mathew Roy

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Background: This study examined the relationship between small for gestational age (SGA) status at birth, a measure of fetal growth restriction, and childhood body mass index trajectories (BMI) using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth. Analytic Method: Using latent growth curve modeling, the growth trajectories of a cohort of small and appropriate for gestational age singletons were modeled from 2-10 years (N=1,273 at baseline). Results: SGA status had no effect on the growth trajectories of children after adjusting for prenatal and early life sociodemographic and maternal variables, and also early life modifiable factors. Moreover, the modifiable …

Move More Mommy: A Web-Based Physical Activity Intervention For Postnatal Women (Pilot Study), Sarah Gray

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Despite the many benefits of physical activity, postnatal women are not currently meeting Health Canada Guidelines of 150 minutes per week of moderate-vigorous physical activity. This study, Move More Mommy, used a mixed methods design to test the feasibility and acceptability of a web-based intervention combined with a group mediated cognitive behavioural approach, and it’s effectiveness to increase physical activity, self-efficacy, and group cohesion among postnatal women. Participants received an 8-week intervention delivered through 8 group exercise classes and a purpose built website. From baseline to post-intervention, participants significantly increased self-reported physical activity levels and group cohesion. Objectively measured physical …

Characterization Of A Contact-Stylus Surface Digitization Method Using Collaborative Robots: Accuracy Evaluation In The Context Of Shoulder Replacement Or Resurfacing, Sara Saud Zimmo

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Total shoulder arthroplasty (TSA) is the third most common joint replacement. While robot-assisted hip and knee replacement technologies have enjoyed extensive development, this has been limited in the upper limb. This work focused on quantifying the localization accuracy of a robotic system, and evaluating its efficacy in the context of TSA.

A collaborative robot was fitted with a stylus tip to perform manual surface digitizations using the robot’s encoder output. In the first experiment, two precision-machined master cubes, representing the working volume around a glenoid structure, were used for system validation. Next, cadaveric glenoids were digitized and compared to a …

Older Woman Workers: Met And Unmet Needs For Health And Wellbeing In The Workplace, Gillian Gorfine

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Older women workers report experiencing occupational injustices however the literature focuses on barriers faced rather than understanding the needs-based strategies empowering women as they age at work. This study engaged women aged 55 and older in a participatory action research project defining and examining strategies for older women workers’ health and wellbeing. In Phase 1, a key informant advisory group (N = 4) defined the problem and guided the design of an open answer survey conducted with 72 older women in work. Three categories emerged informing the fundamental, instrumental, and contextual needs of older women workers. Meeting fundamental needs may …

Exploring Health Care Access For Gay, Bisexual, And Other Men Who Have Sex With Men Living In Middlesex County, Ontario, Todd A. Coleman

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Published research suggests gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GB-MSM) present in health care with additional, distinct psychosocial and sexual health concerns compared to heterosexual men, emphasizing the importance of access to health care for these groups.

This exploratory thesis used data from the online survey (n=202) of the Health in Middlesex Men Matters (HiMMM) Project – a community-based study examining health care access for GB-MSM living in Middlesex County, Ontario. For each manuscript, blockwise modified Poisson regression models were fit sequentially with predisposing, enabling, and need variables, as theorized by the Behavioral Model of Health …