Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Canada Can Do More To Fight Ebola, Erika Simpson

Political Science Publications

This is the largest Ebola outbreak in 40 years. Canada's overall contribution so far of $35 million needs to be increased.

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

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

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 …

Comparison Of Housed And Homeless Patients With An Orthopedic Diagnosis, Susan M. Williams

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Studies on homelessness have shown that people who are homeless are admitted to hospital more frequently, for longer periods of time, and at a younger age than people who are housed. Once admitted to hospital, discharge planning is difficult and resource intensive, often leading to discharge back to the streets or a shelter. This puts this population at risk for complications and readmission. Although people who are homeless are prone to orthopedic injuries, there is no research on the outcomes of patients who are homeless with orthopedic injuries. This retrospective, case control study, based on the social determinants of health, …

Dopaminergic Therapy Affects Learning And Impulsivity In Parkinson's Disease., Nole M Hiebert, Ken N Seergobin, Andrew Vo, Hooman Ganjavi, Penny A Macdonald

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

OBJECTIVE: The aim was to examine the effect of dopaminergic medication on stimulus-response learning versus performing decisions based on learning.

METHOD: To see the effect of dopaminergic therapy on stimulus-response learning and response selection, participants with Parkinson's disease (PD) were either tested on and/or off their prescribed dose of dopaminergic therapy during different testing days. Forty participants with PD and 34 healthy controls completed the experiment on consecutive days. On Day 1, participants learned to associate abstract images with spoken, "right" or "left" responses via feedback (Session 1). On Day 2, participants recalled these responses (Session 2) and indicated the …

The African Peace And Security Architecture: Introduction To The Special Issue, Thomas Kwasi Tieku, Cyril Obi, Lindsay Scorgie-Porter

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Developmental Stress, Condition, And Birdsong: A Case Study In Song Sparrows., Kim L Schmidt, Elizabeth A Macdougall-Shackleton, Shawn P Kubli, Scott A Macdougall-Shackleton

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

Sexual-selection theory posits that ornaments and displays can reflect a signaler's condition, which in turn is affected both by recent and developmental conditions. Moreover, developmental conditions can induce correlations between sexually selected and other traits if both types of traits exhibit developmental phenotypic plasticity in response to stressors. Thus, sexually selected traits may reflect recent and/or developmental characteristics of signalers. Here, we review data on the relationships between birdsong, a sexually selected trait, and developmental and current condition of birds from a long-term study of a population of song sparrows (Melospiza melodia). Field studies of free-living birds indicate that the …

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

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

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 …

Empowering Women Entrepreneurs In Africa: Investigating Information Access And Use Of Information And Communication Technologies By Women-Owned Enterprises In Zambia, Daniel Mumba

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

ABSTRACT

This study investigated the information seeking behaviour of Zambian women entrepreneurs, specifically focusing on their information needs, information sources, barriers to information access, and usage of information and communication technologies (ICTs). For conceptual framework, the social network approach, Chatman’s Information Poverty theory, and the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) were used to examine and understand the various characteristics of Zambian women entrepreneurs’ information seeking behaviour. In order to achieve the objectives of the study, five key questions were asked on the women’s information needs, information sources, barriers to information access, women’s level of knowledge and …

Self-Referential Processing: An Investigation Of The Mediating Role Of Alpha Power, Tanaz Javan

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The EEG correlates of valenced self- and other-referential processing (SRP-ORP) are relatively little understood. This study examined the immediate effects of mindfulness meditation (MM) and EEG alpha neurofeedback (NFB) on resting state EEG alpha amplitudes and alpha event related (de-)synchronization (ERD/S) during an experimental implicit and explicit SRP-ORP task. Undergraduate students (n = 93) were randomized to a single session of MM, NFB alpha synchronization training (“alpha-up”), NFB alpha desynchronization training (“alpha-down”), or sham (placebo control) NFB before completing the Visual-Verbal Self-Other Referential Processing Task (VV-SORP-T). A reduction in resting-state alpha power over posterior cortex was observed across groups relative …

The Ha-Ha Holocaust: Exploring Levity Amidst The Ruins And Beyond In Testimony, Literature And Film, Aviva Atlani

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

ABSTRACT

Jewish humour sheds a crude light on the social, political, and historical realities of the Holocaust. Paradoxically, contentiously, doses of levity during this period were very much a reality, and even a psychological necessity. The purpose of my thesis is to explore the historical, social, and political ramifications of such laughter provoking manifestations. In doing so, the nuances are highlighted which are found within the laughter of the ghettos, the transit camps, and the concentration camps. Furthermore, some of these jokes, and their subsequent variations, reappear within the discourse of children of survivors. The dissertation explores how some of …

A Statistical Investigation Of Nonmetric Vertebral Traits With A Skeletal Population Sample From The Dakhleh Oasis, Egypt, Tiffany A. Sarfo

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This paleogenetic study utilizes 17 nonmetric epigenetic vertebral traits to determine their suitability for studying past genetic relationships. The samples utilized were from Egypt’s Dakhleh Oasis. Though infracranial nonmetric traits have a limited role in the study of past population genetics, this study has shown their value for elucidating past genetic patterns for intragroup analysis. The key to their utilization is to test the epigenetic factors (e.g., age, sex, symmetry and intertrait correlations) which were done using a number of statistical tests including Phi coefficient, G-test and the Odds ratio. This study utilized a novel set of spatial statistics to …

In Search Of A Cause: An Etiological Analysis Of Manubrial Porosity, Jose Sanchez

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Few studies in paleopathology focus on the sternum as a unit of analysis to determine how it can contribute to disease diagnosis in the past. This thesis tested the null hypothesis that manubrial porosity was not associated with respiratory disease or pulmonary tuberculosis. One hundred fifty-four individuals from the Luis Lopes Skeletal Collection were assessed for manubrial porosity. This study sought to be as comprehensive as possible, and thus tested several variables to identify any significant associations with manubrial porosity. Using the odds ratio, 95% confidence interval, and chi-square tests, significant associations exist between manubrial porosity, adolescence, and sternal body …

Perceptions About Equity In Public Health: A Comparison Between Frontline Staff And Informing Policy In Ontario, Katherine E. Rizzi

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Background: Recent changes in Ontario public health policy call for increased emphasis on equity. However, it is not clear how equity is understood as a concept and how equity is understood as practice. Methods: The aim of this study was to understand public health frontline staff (FLS) perspectives on health equity and how these align with provincial public health policy documents. A qualitative content analysis design was used to examine transcripts from six focus group interviews with frontline public health workers and seven key provincial public health documents that have shaped or influenced public health program planning in Ontario. Perceptions …

Canada And The 2001 United Nations World Conference Against Racism, Steven J. Seligman

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The 2001 United Nations World Conference against Racism (WCAR) was one of the most controversial United Nations events of the post-Cold War era. Major issues on the agenda included the Middle East, the question of reparations for the transatlantic slave trade and colonialism, and the rights of indigenous peoples. Utilizing interviews with government and non-governmental actors as well as archival material, this dissertation examines Canada’s preparations for, and participation at, the WCAR as a case study to explore key theoretical debates about the Canadian foreign policy-making process. At the international level, Canada was an active participant during the multilateral negotiations …

What Is Writing In Undergraduate Anthropology? An Activity Theory Analysis, Boba M. Samuels

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

How students learn to write in the disciplines is a question of ongoing concern in writing studies, with practical implications for academia. This case study used ethnographic methods to explore undergraduate writing in two upper year anthropology courses at a Canadian university over one term (four months). Student and professor interviews, classroom field notes, surveys, and students’ final papers were analysed using a framework drawn from activity theory and informed by genre theory. Four themes emerged from the data: anthropology as school; the familiar vs. unfamiliar; reading; and hidden rhetoric. Findings suggest students approach disciplinary work primarily as students rather …

Britain's Wee Nuclear Problem, Erika Simpson

Political Science Publications

No abstract provided.

The Epidemic Of Mental And Neurological Health, Mohsyn I. Malik

Psychology Publications

This paper composes an image of modern mental and neurological health issues and looks to draw links to the current epidemic based on research and studies found online the internet and off-line. The goal is to examine what may be the underlying problem for a lot of these increases in mental health issues and neurodegenerative diseases and what are some promising clinical and sociocultural advances that may help. It explores problems such as the negative impact of the pharmaceutical giants, the increase in apathy in the work place and the general stigma towards mental disease. Through current research, the use …

Reflections Of A Capacity Builder: An Autoethnographic Perspective Of Capacity Building Methods With A Youth Livelihoods Organization In Vanuatu, Sandra Moore

Comparative and International Education / Éducation Comparée et Internationale

Abstract

This autoethnographic narrative explores the author’s capacity building experiences, observances, insights, and reflections over a two year period working with a youth livelihoods nongovernmental organization in the South Pacific nation of Vanuatu. Autoethnographies explore the author’s own personal insight and reflection of their own experiences, which in turn may encourage readers to reflect on their own beliefs and practices. The author will define autoethnography and capacity building, briefly outline the historical context of Vanuatu, discuss the successes and challenges of facilitating capacity building, and reflect on her own values, assumptions, and learning within the social context of an international …

The Violence Of Representation: The (Un) Narration Of Palestine In Public Discursive Space In Canada, Peige Desjarlais

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The thesis examines representations of Palestine and Palestinians in Canada by drawing on the historical literature, statements from Canadian officials, media items, and through interviews conducted with Palestinian exiles in London and Toronto. Based on this research, I argue that the colonization of Palestine went, and still goes, hand in hand with a particular narrative construction in North America. I propose that the pervasiveness of Zionist discourse in Canada is sustained by drawing on three main ideas or sources: a long colonial and Orientalist tradition (which sees Arabs and Muslims as the uncivilized and inferior others of Europeans), the instrumentalization …

Reconstructing The Spatial And Temporal Patterns Of Daily Life In The 19th Century City: A Historical Gis Approach, Donald Lafreniere

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

In recent years, historians and historical geographers have become interested in the use of GIS to study historical patterns, populations, and phenomena. The result has been the emergence of a new discipline, historical GIS. Despite the growing use of GIS across geography and history, the use of GIS in historical research has been limited largely to visualization of historical records, database management, and simple pattern analysis. This is, in part, due to a lack of accessible research on methodologies and spatial frameworks that outline the integration of both quantitative and qualitative historical sources for use in a GIS environment. The …

Implications Of Global Peak Population For Canada's Future, Alain P. Bélanger, Barry Edmonston, Kevin Mcquillan, Benoît Laplante, Sharon M. Lee, Martin Cooke, Don Kerr

Population Change and Lifecourse Strategic Knowledge Cluster Discussion Paper Series/ Un Réseau stratégique de connaissances Changements de population et parcours de vie Document de travail

In “Imagining Canada’s Future” the Social Science and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) engaged various stakeholders to help establish six Future Challenge Areas. This report elaborates on the capacity of the Canadian research community with regard to the Future Challenge Area on “What might the implications of global peak population be for Canada?” It provides answers to sub-questions associated with this theme, namely: (1) What do we need to understand in order to effectively nurture the next generations? (2) What might Canadian families look like in five, 10, and 20 years, and how might they measure their well-being? (3) Life cycle …

Toward A Postmodern Avant-Garde: Labour, Virtuosity, And Aesthetics In An American New Music Ensemble, John R. Pippen

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This dissertation examines the aesthetic beliefs and labour practices of the American new music ensemble eighth blackbird (lower-case intentional). Drawing on ethnographic research conducted with the ensemble for the past six years, I show how the ensemble responds to specific cultural pressures endemic to the classical music scene, its new music vanguard, and to the contemporary United States. eighth blackbird, I argue, has created an ensemble identity and performance style designed to satisfy numerous audience positions, from experts well-versed in the intricacies of musical techniques to lay-persons unacquainted with the values and practices of new or classical music. This attempt …

When Objects Become Part Of Self: Effects Of Ownership And Choice On Self-Object Associations, Yang Ye

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Despite its significant role in the society, ownership has received little research attention from social psychology. Understanding ownership as a form of people-object relations has important implications for social cognition, as the relations between people and objects share similar mechanisms with the relations between people and other social entities. Adopting an associative approach to relations, the present research investigates how ownership influences self-object association—mental associations between the owner’s self and the owned objects in the owner’s associative network. It is argued that the formation of self-object associations is gated by the levels of congruence or incongruence between the owner’s active …

A Spatial Exploration Of Institutional Investment In Canada For The Year 2010, Martin R. Lefebvre

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Using measures of central tendency, the average nonUS-based institutional investor has more capital invested in securities than his US-based counterpart. The present study shows that US-based investors favour manufacturing companies, whereas Canadian investors prefer companies based in natural resources. Nationally, Toronto acts more as the centre of gravity for Canadian institutional investors than New York City does for the United States. Comparatively, Toronto accounts for 70% of all Canadian investors while New York accounts for only 30% of the American total, despite it being the city with the most capital invested worldwide. Notwithstanding Alberta’s oil boom, inter-provincial investment capital show …

Sharp Emergence Of Feature-Selective Sustained Activity Along The Dorsal Visual Pathway., Diego Mendoza-Halliday, Santiago Torres, Julio C Martinez-Trujillo

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

Sustained activity encoding visual working memory representations has been observed in several cortical areas of primates. Where along the visual pathways this activity emerges remains unknown. Here we show in macaques that sustained spiking activity encoding memorized visual motion directions is absent in direction-selective neurons in early visual area middle temporal (MT). However, it is robustly present immediately downstream, in multimodal association area medial superior temporal (MST), as well as and in the lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC). This sharp emergence of sustained activity along the dorsal visual pathway suggests a functional boundary between early visual areas, which encode sensory inputs, …

The Effect Of Exercise On Cigarette Craving And Withdrawal Symptoms While Using A Nicotine Lozenge, Amelia Tritter

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

It is imperative that smoking cessation aids effectively alleviate cigarette craving and withdrawal symptoms because their intensity has shown to predict relapse. The nicotine lozenge is a pharmacotherapy that has shown to reduce symptoms of craving and withdrawal. Research has also shown that a single session of exercise can provide temporary relief from craving and withdrawal for smokers who are both temporarily abstaining and undergoing a real quit attempt. Applying two efficacious monotherapies concurrently may provide additive benefit and greater symptom relief. Thirty recently quit smokers were randomized to either the experimental (exercise and lozenge) or control (lozenge alone) condition. …

Mediators Of Change In The Stigmatization Of Depression Among Caucasian And Asian Populations, Francois B. Botha

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Public stigma negatively impacts public health by discouraging people with depression from seeking help. In North America, Asians reliably report higher levels of stigma and lower levels of help-seeking than do Caucasians. The reasons for this discrepancy and possible methods of reducing this have, however, rarely been explored. In Study 1, undergraduate students (n = 573) completed several questionnaires related to public stigma, values and ideological beliefs, attitudes and beliefs regarding people with depression and perceived norms. At least one week afterward, participants completed the second part of Study 1, where they were presented with contrived articles highlighting a …

The Antisaccade Task: Visual Distractors Elicit A Location-Independent Planning 'Cost', Jesse C. Desimone

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Prosaccades are rapid eye movements with direct stimulus and response relations and are designed to bring the fovea onto a target or area of interest. In contrast, antisaccades require the inhibition of a prosaccade and the evocation of a saccade to a target’s mirror-symmetrical location. Previous work has shown that a remote (i.e., midline, contralateral) – but not proximal (i.e., ipsilateral) – task-irrelevant distractor relative to a visual target delays prosaccade reaction times (RT) (i.e., remote distractor effect: RDE). To my knowledge, however, no work has examined whether antisaccade RTs are similarly influenced by a RDE. Accordingly, I sought to …

Role Of Search, Human Capital And Learning In Occupational Mobility And Immigrant Assimilation, Masashi Miyairi

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis contains three studies of job and occupational mobility, and their implications for earnings. The second chapter of the thesis develops and estimates a model of job and occupational search to examine how and how much learning influences young workers' job search and transition patterns. The model incorporates uncertainty regarding the accumulation processes of workers' different skills, and features directed search whereby workers choose search effort intensities for different occupations. The model is estimated using U.S. data, with individuals' occupational affiliations grouped into skilled white-collar, skilled blue-collar, and non-skilled occupations. The estimates show large differences in search frictions, skill …

Task-Switching In Oculomotor Control: Systematic Investigations Of The Unidirectional Prosaccade Switch-Cost, Jeffrey Weiler

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

An antisaccade requires suppressing a stimulus-driven prosaccade (i.e., response suppression) and remapping a target’s spatial location to its mirror-symmetrical position (i.e., vector inversion). Notably, my previous work demonstrated that the successful execution of an antisaccade selectively lengthens the reaction time (RT) of a subsequently completed prosaccade (i.e., the unidirectional prosaccade switch-cost; Weiler & Heath, 2012a; Weiler & Heath, 2012b). Thus, the objective of this dissertation was further investigate, and ultimately provide a mechanistic explanation for the unidirectional prosaccade switch-cost.

In Chapter Two, I demonstrate that the magnitude of the unidirectional prosaccade switch-cost is not dependent of the number of …