Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Discourse, Power Dynamics, And Risk Amplification In Disaster Risk Management In Canada, Martins Oluwole Olu-Omotayo

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The domain of disaster risk management is rife with discursive contentions, whereby dominant discourses amplify the powers of risk actors to precipitate and reinforce political, economic, and environmental inequalities that predispose different sections of the population to unequal disaster risk vulnerabilities. This thesis identified important actors (government, risk experts, media, and NGOs) that shape the power dynamics in disaster risk management in Canada and explained their roles, influences, and the dimensions in which their powers negotiate each other through risk discourses. The patterns of these power dynamics in the three aspects of power –communication, assessment, and social trust –were also …

Non:Wa: Navigating Indigenous Modernity Through Female Artists' Perspectives, Nicole Bussey

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

This article examines the relationship between tradition and modern elements of Indigenous music through a cyclical perspective, and challenges colonial concepts of Indigenous modernity. Indigenous culture is often portrayed in mainstream culture as a relic of the past, which renders it incompatible with modernity. With a special focus on Indigenous female artists’ perspectives, I examine the ways in which women placed in this unique intersection challenge the binaries of past/present and tradition/modern.

Mapping Governmental Engagement With Community Engaged Learning In Canadian Higher Education: An Environmental Scan Of Key Trends, Hannah R. Argiloff

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

This is an environmental survey my supervisor and I conducted pertaining to the landscape of government engagement with Community Engaged Learning in Canadian Universities.

Community Engaged Learning (CEL) is a valuable type of experiential learning characterized by collaboration between student and community partner/ stakeholder for the creation of a mutual outcome.

Given the relations between provincial governments and their influence over publicly funded universities, compounded by a recent uptick in CEL programs across Canada, we wanted to survey government rhetoric, policy, and legislation across the country to create a picture of the interactions between provincial governments and CEL in the …

A Psychological Profile Of The Digitized Economy: Who Buys Cryptocurrencies, Nfts, And Meme-Stocks (And Why)?, Nicole Wolfe

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

As the global digital economy continues to grow in interest and financial worth, it is imperative to harvest data to gain early information on this nuanced economy. Already, we have witnessed billions of dollars in losses and wins at the blink of an eye, encouragement to invest from well-known celebrities and politicians, and high anxiety from the newness, power consumption, and potential outcomes of this nuanced system. Stemming from the lack of solid evidence in this emerging field, we hope to gain more insight on the early players and variation within the digitized economy. Similarly, we hope to identify specific …

Pandemic-Related Stress And Information Overload Handbook, Alexia T. Baggetta

Undergraduate Student Research Internships Conference

The pandemic has affected every part of our lives over the past two years. Despite the fact that everyone's perspective on this matter varies, this research project was particularly helpful in examining how Western University students were affected. For the purpose of evaluating our findings, we defined information-related overload, which includes having too much, not enough, or difficulty finding information as our reference point. In addition to uncovering evidence of information overload, we also explored the impact of information and our interactions with others, institutional systems, and ourselves.

Honouring A Love Of Books And Reading In Library And Information Science, Paulette Rothbauer, Marni R. Harrington

FIMS Publications

This paper presents the findings of a research study into the “love of books” trope in Library and Information Science. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 23 MLIS students between February and August of 2019. Interview questions were designed to elicit motivations for entering the field and taking the degree. The study findings show that students’ decisions are animated by a love of books and reading, a love of libraries, and by a desire to work with and serve others. We argue that by putting love and desire at the centre of analysis the findings can be understand as positive affective …

The Arts Of The Street: Sense Perception, Creativity And Resistance In Everyday Urban Life, Nicholas Wees

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

In this dissertation, I examine questions concerning space, perception, everyday creativity, and the social ordering of the senses, and go on to describe a class of creative urban practices that I name the arts of the street. These include, but are not necessarily limited to, street performance (busking), street art in the usual sense (graffiti, murals, postering, etc.), punk, hip hop culture, and skateboarding (street skating). As disparate as they seem, all of these practices share certain key characteristics: they are forms of everyday creativity that claim space according to their own intentions, in opposition to the dominant socio-political …

Introducing The Social-Ecological Model Of Cyberbullying And Uncovering Post-Secondary Students’ Perceptions Of Cyberbullying Through Interviews With Young Adults, Molly-Gloria R. Harper

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Cyberbullying is a problematic social-digital phenomenon impacting individuals at varying stages of the life course, bringing with it negative and potentially damaging consequences (e.g., increased depression and anxiety, suicide ideation). Despite this, the literature has been plagued by gaps, which have made a complete understanding of cyberbullying out of reach. For instance, cyberbullying scholars have overlooked the digital context (e.g., what aspects and features of digital media help facilitate cyberbullying; the overlap of the digital context with the individual and societal contexts). Also, limited research has investigated cyberbullying occurring among young adults, particularly from their own points of view (e.g., …

Investigating Nonverbal Strategies To Support Communication With Persons Living With Dementia, Emma Bender

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Many persons living with dementia experience difficulties comprehending language and benefit from nonverbal communication (NVC). This research aimed to identify potential strategies for nonverbal behaviour adaptation to enhance communication with persons living with dementia, based on the Communication Enhancement Model. Studies included a scoping review of NVC strategies for caregivers with persons living with dementia and an analysis of whether NVC strategies used by personal support workers (PSW) co-occurred with verbal communication demonstrating person-centered indicators (recognition, negotiation, validation and facilitation). Video-recorded interactions (n=40) between PSW and simulated persons living with dementia were analysed using a codebook of NVC strategies (facial …

A Descriptive Analysis Of Sport Nationalism, Digital Media, And Fandom To Launch The Canadian Premier League, Farzan Mirzazadeh

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

In April 2019, the Canadian Premier League (CPL), a professional domestic soccer league, launched in Canada, making it the first top-tier league in North America to begin operations in the modern digital era. The CPL represents a unique and timely opportunity to examine how a new professional sports league cultivates ties with fan-consumers via sport nationalism, digital media, and fandom. As yet, there are very few academic works on the CPL, and there is also a paucity of scholarly publications on the launch of new professional sports leagues in the 21st century. For this study, two types of qualitative data …

Radiant Dreams And Nuclear Nightmares: Japanese Resistance Narratives And American Intervention In Postwar Speculative Popular Culture, Aidan J. Warlow

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This project explores three distinct sets of Japanese and American postwar popular culture texts to demonstrate that there is a continuum of Japanese cultural interest in pacifism through resistance narratives in speculative fiction. Through close readings of Godzilla, Mobile Suit Gundam and Akira, and Metal Gear Solid, which I compare with similar American texts, my project positions its objects of study as points of cultural resistance to hegemonic pro-American cultural products. Each text produces commentary on Japanese-American relations with specific respect to nuclear policy and military expansionism. Significant Japanese cultural producers have grown increasingly critical of Japanese-American …

Digital Media Use And Social Inclusion: A Case Study Of East York Older Adults, Anabel Quan-Haase, Molly-Gloria Harper, Alice Hwang

FIMS Publications

Digital media is essential to sustaining communication with various types of social ties. However, older adults (aged 65+) are reported to be the least likely to use digital media. While statistics show that older adults are increasingly using more digital media, evidence shows this is predominately aging long-term users of digital media rather than older adults adopting new digital media. To investigate this “grey divide” and adoption of digital media by older adults, this study qualitatively analyses semi-structured interviews of 41 individuals aged 65 and older from the East York region of Toronto, Canada. Our findings suggest that satisfaction with …

Wechat, Jinman Zhang, Anabel Quan-Haase

FIMS Publications

WeChat is a popular Chinese social media platform that emphasizes mobile internet services rather than PC internet services. What further distinguishes WeChat from other social media sites is its multipurpose platform, which integrates a range of applications and features. With its large and diverse user base, vast amounts of user-generated content, and increasing global reach, WeChat provides unique opportunities for researchers to examine Chinese society relying on new data sources that can enhance or even substitute traditional data collection methods such as surveys. WeChat can also provide insights into new digital phenomena including social movements, online groups, propaganda, and e-governance. …